New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-05-08

The hurly-buIly at the seventh Regiment
Armory on Friday evening, when some thou
sands OF people struggled for admission 10 a
hall where there was no room for them was
not the only confusion OccaSiOncd 10y the New
York Music Festival. The spectators seem
quite unable to determine whether they ought
to have been satisfied or not with the entertain
ment provided for them and uncrtical critics
in the newspapers have added 20 the hcvildcr-
ment of the public mind 10y reckless and indis-
criminatc encomiums Of which nearly all rca-
sonable persons felt the extravaganza. The
truth appears to be that while great effect
was produced by the assembling of vast MASSES
of performers and listcners-for there j. always
something impressive in the gathering OF a
multitude intent upon one ONJCCt-thc musical
results Of the enterprise were Disappointing.
The only really important undertaking WAS the
production of the BcIlioz Requiem, aud that
if we can trust the Judgment of the most cN-
pericnced musicians and connoisscurs was sub
stantiay failure. Nor, indeed IF we apply
the proper standard of criticism 90 the work of
the chorus and orchestra, can We avoid proc
nouncinc the same hard verdict upou other p,r-
formanccs of the week q, we'll Joe chorus
often sang ont of time and ont of tune, Tire
band was rude and uncertain, and although
there was a rough yigor i'm many places. u Va,
noticed, Is "a curious and unexpected phouomc-
non which some attributed to acou>tIC,l detect,
in the building, and others 20 an imperfect
mastery by the conductor of tAc forces under
his command. thar crc-ccudo pa-,asc~ missed
Their effect and left the car Uusnu,iicd This is
the account which many intelligent listeners
| have given OF their impressions at the Festival.
! If We expect to accomplish anything worth
while by great musical gatherings. tlc principle
must be kept steadily in view tla, the proper
aim Of such enterprises is not To- give bigger
concerts but better concerts than wc can hear
in an ordinary hall and with ordinary ioiccs.
What SENSE is there in striving all winter for q
polished and expressive rendering OF ihc mas
J terpicccs of Beethoven and Handel if IN the
| spring we are 10 crown our work Joy calling to-
gcthcr a great company of people To perform
| the same symphonies and Oratorio> with less
accuracy, less polish, and less cXprc--iycnc,s
| All musicians know that even the expected
sonorousncss in such casts j., not always OBJ
tanned. massive effects depending far more
upon perfection Of drill than multiplicity of
numbers. This, we thought, was pretty well
established when the Gilmore dclusiOn died out
in Boston.
The difficulty which 50 many writers have cx-
perienced in dealing with the present Festival
arises from uncertainty as to the proper tests to
apply 10 it, But the rule is simple. Every
Musical Festival held under n roof must hc
! Judged by the highest possible standard Of OK
cellence. There is no elegance in expression,
no beauty, softness and grace of shading, no
precision and purity Of touch and tone attain
able in symphony concerts which cannot also
| be attained 10y OrchestTas and chOIUses large
enough for great festivals; and when it is
| urged in excuse for the shortcomings of a per-
! Torrance that the performers were too numcr-
GUS 10 do it any better, an unanswerable reason
is thereby given why the performance ought
not To have been held. We make these re-
marks not so much in the way OF criticism upon
the concerts of last week rs in order TO guard
against mistakes for the future. The celcbra-
ton lust closed has shown that festival in
New-York will attract an audience large
enough to pay expenses, and there is no doubt
that the adventure will be frequently repeated
| Il would be "A lameDtable result of our musical
enterprise if so much exertion and such an out
lay Of money should end in the lowering of OuI
standard of artistic excellence, If we should
spoil the best concerts in the world for the sake
of getting the Greatest Show on Earth
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