New-York tribune., 1882-04-23
MUSICAL FESTIVALS.

IT used to be thought q few years ago t!lat
the habits of busy metropolitan city were ILL
fitted for musical festivals. Such enterprises
demand the outlay of money that brings no In
terest. and of hard work without pay, and the
chief incentive to this expenditure Is usually
local prde-a sentiment OF which metropolis
is almost always destitute. For this and for
other reasons the best American Festivals have
hitherto been in Boston and Cincinnati, rather
than in New-Y York, just as the most important
musical gatherings of England and Germany are
those of the provincial cities instead of London,
Berlin and Vienna. But last year it was proved
+ that if the difficulty of organization could be
overcome there would be no lack in our metrop-
oils of public interest in a series of phenomenal
performances; and this spring the enthusiasm
over the Festival appears to he much greater
than that of 1881, and greater than anybody
anticipated. We shall have to revise oar
opinion about the feasibility of great choral
celebrations i'll great capitals.
1t is fortunate that an undertaking of this
sort can be carried out in the midst OF COM
munity in which culture is extensive and the
standards of excellence are high. An unedu-
Gated public is almost sure to value Festival
chiefly for those of its characteristics which are
least valuable TO speak of Boston audience
as uneducated would of course be unheard-ot
impiety; and if we refer to the excitement
created by Mr.. Gilmores Jubilees as llustra-
tions of foolish and undiscriminating applause
of what was big and bad, we wish to be under
stood as excepting from our criticism the really
musical element in Boston society, which
frowned upon all the absurd proceedings at the
Eol;e tbfI he m
captiyated by the musical strength of the
chorus and band, the imposing appearance of
the long futtering ranks, and the majestic
dimensions of the great drum. Size is the
easiest test of importance. We presume that
hundreds even of our own people are already
measuring the Festival which they expect to
attend next month by some statistical table of
comparison, and counting upon special salts
faction because they to hear a chorus of
8. 1000, band of 800, and prima donna large
enough in style to have been the Bayreuth
Brunhide Of 1876. How general indeed is the
confusion of ideas respecting the uses of Fes-
tval was shown by the newspaper comments
upon the performance last year. Most OF the
writer's assumed that high finish, or even strict
accuracy, ought not to be required of large
masses of players and singers, and that if the
conductor pulled his people through without
disaster he accomplished very useful and
brilliant work.
This is a delusion. The last thing that true
connosseur cares about in a Festival is its size !;
the first thing is perfect execution. There
are certain works, like the "Missa Solennis !"
and Israel in Egypt" which require excep-
tionally large forces, and there are certain
musical effects, distinct from mere loudness
which can only be produced by multitude. But
in all these cases an exact performance is essen
tial in order that the numbers may tell and if
a conductor should consent to sacrifice elegance
in the hope of securing majesty he would find
that he had sacrificed both The great impor-
tance of the Cincinnati Festivals of the past few
years lies partly in the fact that they illustrate,
what so few of us realize, that an exquisite
finish of detail, rare suavity and elegance of
style, and the greatest possible breadth and
variety of expression can be obtained from very
large bodies of performers When this is un-