New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-05-03
THE MUSIC FESTIVAL.
FIRST EVENING.

sact The chorus ana orcneSia sno"Vu
-, good quality. Frau Materna oDtaino"
s.nrne ovation. and rarely mas s"e
eenuno ,ronolis more richly deserved such honors.
Az Candidus. in the little WORK 'Hss le,l ~
mi ell iustifed his reputation and made an eN-
snaIe' 'O i.-.sson. The o:hcr solo singers, no
eoN'DN "a onr concert halls, were cordlaly wei
s'a" rbs whole performance passed on WIN sp'ri'
conieN' -, In a word the result was even
anu Pnos;ng than the beat friends OF the en'ei
HiOi0 .ah.hIv expected it TO be- ana 'ne co"ool'
prse I'm and amid shouts of delight ana se"-
Can o~obance of congratulations. Inc Ioiio"4Ns
was the programme:
PART
cantasa stronghold sure 81 T;cS y
Mr. SS1 I. Wor 1as and Reading orchestra
organ Dudley Buck orsanis'' Mozart
symPhQqy and 51 I4si ~Absclenlicler,"
pldenO' Frau Materna
PART II. ~,
Jubnate Utrecht Tocdi Nj iiIcnsche Chorus
MISS ~ before. Orchestra organ
ioaI gatherings at Cincinnati 1t has
- f,,orite device of Thomas to fix the charac-
80 The whole festival by strongly marked pro
,ramme on the opening night He has done 'ne
some thing here The first concert gives the Key 10
The series Religious grandeur Is the dlstlhcOIVe
Dote # the festival OF 1882 and we shall see as Ve
week goes on that all the principal WORKS
are in harmony with the LOFTY spIl'
- tho Cantata and the Psalm. Even the miscei-
loreors selections diversified and often brilliant as
tbev are have in general a certain dignity hard 10
s-o1r1e but impossible to overlook which estao-
1bos their relation with the solemn choral master
riaces forming the chief substance of the concerts
Tbo +emper of mind in which Bach
1sft rs last evening is the temper Of
- which will best fit all the pro-
examines of the week. In the Cantata sturdy
simnlicity of meaning is expressed under coihpl-
Gated and somewhat difficult forms At hrst the
idea is involved in elaborate coutrapunth lnveh-
4ions il becomes clearer and clearer as one humDeT
follows another; and the close IS an imposing de-
livery of the bare choral theme, with the mul1i-
tude of voices in harmony, but with no lnsiru-
mental accompaniment whatever. The plan OF the
work is marvel of happy invention, and the effect
CT the close Is sublime.
A. our readers already know, the orchestral &C
comnaDilaent for this Cantata was arranged by
Theodore Thomas The necessity of substituting
new score for the impracticable fragments which
remain to US of Bachs instrumental parts is geuer-
ally admitted. AT the time Of the perform
ance of this work IN Cincinnati, two
wears ago. we explained Thomass method
Of proceeding in detail and here we need only
repeat our previous appreciation of the reverenhal
spirit by which he has been guided and the adj
mirable result he has obtained. He has not only
adhered closely to the style of the master but be
has literally used the masters own materials, and
supplied lost Accomplishments without the employ
ment of a figure not found in the work
itself. In providing substitutes for obsolete
instruments he shows his intimate knowledge of
the characteristics of the orchestra. But 1t is re-
markable that, while he surpasses even Robert
Franz in fidelity TO the original, he has allowed
himself freedom in the use of new agencies Of
expression upon which. so far as we can discover,
no other adapter of the archaic classics
has ever ventured. He draws upon all
the rich resources Of the modern or
chestra at pleasure. In the union of reverence
and boldness his method is unique. and the splendid
result is It's v1ndicatiOn. Three numbers-a duo fer
soprano and bass. and aria for soprano. both of
highly antiquated pattern-together with duo for
alto and tenor were omitted last night Perhaps
they would not have been found suitable for
building of such vast size as the ArmOry. The num-
bers performed the three chOruses, bass reel
tatve, and tenor recitative and arioso. In these
the genius of the Lsipsic Cantor was wonderfully
illustrated and people who listened with little
perplexty to the formal phrases of the opening cho
rus gradually yielded to the spell which this mighty
thoughts are rightly interpreted.
We have said the chorus-singing manifested all
good qualities. It's most striking characteristics
were not unlike those of the music itself Strength
assurance, precision. mejesty were among the fore
most excellences of this grand body of performers
The difficult music rolled from their mouths with
freedom and boldness which quickly put the
audience at their ease made clear the involved de-
vices of the harmony, and Illuminated the recon- |
dits thought. The beauty of the phraslng and the
intelligence and distinctness of the delivery, |
gave a charm to the performance for |
which inexperienced listener would hardly |
have been prepared. But it is with singing as it
with poetry the first requisite Of an eloquent de-
livery is that the reader shall be quite of the
sense and the rhythm and one reason why We
have so much ineffective chorus singing is that
Ghoirs are apt to be little in doubt about both
There was no such fault last night Thomas is one
OF the cleareSt of all conductors, and he
had evidently taught his people from
the start to be absolutely certain |
Of their meaning. To this in part attribu- |
table the quckness and irmness of their attack and
the purity Of their intOnation The splendid open
ing chorus a great triumph for them the diff
cult second chorus still greater; but at the close
Of the Cantata, where the Lutheran choral is given
by the voices alone in polyphonic harmony, the
beauty of their tone and the nobility of their style
made the most profound impression. If in
the Bach Cantata it may be said that they exhib-
tied the fundamental qualities of good, steady. |
straightforward singing, namely. pure full tone
prompt attack, sef-confdence, and clear phrasng |
1t is equally true that in Handels short |
Jubilate they added graces of refined and |
sympathetic expression which are rarely |
found in large bodies of singers. Those
hat niIsha al in
natl, and who have watched the progress oil his
New-York and Brooklyn societies during the past
winter, are probably not surprised by the revela-
lions of the festival but Ia the majority of the |