New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-01-29
MUSIC AND TIE DRAMA.
THE NETWORK CHORUS SOCIETY.

York Chorus Society was an l"!P'''9 -,
Probably few persons of oil me huh'i. ~,
that filed what space there was rev ." w.
hall after chorus and orchestra were seated on mo
oooss,l stage had imagined that during the past 'o"
,,o,+hs the ouiet work Of Mr.. Thomas and mis- sup
rorters in the plan TO give great
rsic festival next May had been pe't-
INC such rleneous and hooio liu''
asexh bIted last night, and 1t came npoh IIich
with all the force of complete surprise Anoio
,ra, indeed much cause for wonder. In me ilrS'
,locc there was something far out OF the ORDINARY
= .ha scale OF concert which sacTihcca . i2IEc
or,iou of the seating capacity oil the mouse |" VIC
erforuers and which forced II upon inc "''''.'ioi
.; cu,c that another purpose than money -i"1Aiie
was the actuatiug motive o. INC co"c'' '-s' -.
w., - os,nuudine was the sight of a choir
Of nearly 600 Voices without oiE' i1?"
CIV months ago. moi only attempting but singing II,
aaard civic The choral numbers OF trying ana
,o,ec,ino programme. This programme was ah"'hef
.,1toortbv feature for it unique IN Tue beauty
onJ variety Of its numbers. Tbosc were the pieces;
III" ,'Ii ~ ,,,.. .......... Handel
U m.5 WSh Mr. rocdt Ic~ine'ta chorus and
@'ohesuA beethoven
Choral ia2ia' 5a G Miss scbcl Miss WGrn3 Miss
Winaut, M 1o-dt @r. iIeumHan. MI N'h'
Music to the (Hdipas URANUS" J. X. Paino
Mr. oc4 H., male G 5SG r 5nd os'4e'. Bcroa
Mss schcl and Miss Wnan; ,...e,.
S'neF7o 'l''i Mr &c To s ana orchestra
Chorus Wake. The Dawnlng Day - Near -."'s"r'
If is seldom that 50 much good music is 80 happily
consorted in a single concert. The "Juhiiate''
which began the scheme is part OF the religions ser
vice composed by Handel TO celebrate the Peace
~ Utrecht: il is old-faShioncd, OF course
Int swelling piece of music, filled with Juhllaht
s,iri+ and containing some choral effects wmco
made il splcnldy adapted 70 exhibit the power
and skill Of a large body OF singers. 1t Is upon INC
festival scheme and gave last night a ioie'aS'e
of the pleasures which are 10 come IN greater
frlIue,s next May. More han the Beethoven All
+os;a and more than the chOrale from " he Mei'-
terslncer." which closed the concert, II brought ou'
tbe merits of the Gloria fresh, SonoiodS el""olc
Iody of tone precision that Vled VII"
at of tbe trained rumcntaii'ts Iii
the orchestra, an lnSpiI'lhR t'Sl q
attack prompt obedience and commcndahie taste
fuIuess in all things 1t seemed more than
LITTLE audacious to put so large choir, aug
y,euted TOO bv band of eighty instruments,
IN so small a concert room, and the effect might
have been fatal had not q thoroughly
musical spirit been evident iii everything. MI
Thomas has shown over and over again that ne IS
lover of noble musical tone; 80 the quality DC
nqr(ect the balance of voices just and all harsh
ness absent he is not afraid oi quantity
There is health in normal tone AMI he courts II;
and 50 last night, though the last Amer" OF tHe
"Jubilate" called out such sWeiing
harmony az the walls OF Aiein"ay
had never before echoed to. the effect was not to
assault the ears but to fill them with delightful
sound. This was the telling piece of the concert,
for its sorority was purer and more agreeable
than the heavily Orchesratcd Wagner
music at the close Compared with II all
else shrunk in dimensions. BeethOvcns fantasia
for pianoforte. solo voices orchestra ana chorus
did not lose its charming loneliness, nor DID Mr..
.Josefy's new composition fail of apprccl1tion'
but these things nevertheless over7hado"ed
in significance by that work which
had In il so much promise for the future. One num-
Der only on the programme after the "Jubliate"
gave food for thought; it was the selections from
the music written by an American composer for the
GrceK tragedy which is to be gwen at Booths
Theatre this week.
Ne are inclined to look upon the music which
Mr. Paine has written for tho first "G'iipus as by
all means the most interesting and valuable contr-
bption 10 musical literature made by native ma
stefan in a long time. The province upon which lie
ventured in it is that is filled with dllhcntes
which cannot be brushed aside OF ignored, when
he entered upon the work at the request OF the pro-
fessors and students of Harvard University, who
were interesting themselves for the performance OF
the Greek play, it was understood that III this re-
spect as we'll as in others, effort was TO he
made to approach near possible to antique
methods. Gradually the Inpracticabillty OF the
plan forced itself upon the enthusiastic antigua
rians but to none did it come with more convincing
weight than TO Professor Paine Masks and CO.
thurni might have been worm and the evoutions OF
the choric dance might have been essayed,
bat how could an attempt he made, with any
prospect of success, to restore the music OF the
tragic chorus from the vague and documentary
4 txxl oh, ttggT1 Iaft4Sf XnnT
He had long been teacher Of musical history, aud
knew that the experiment, if undertaken
in never so serious and revcrent spirit,
would make no appeal TO the modern
car such as would save the impression. that despite
a few anachrOnsms, could confidently be counted
upon from the Dialogue and action OF the tragedy.
The best that he could have done Ill harmony with
the original purpose, would have been TO
write a melody of simple structure, built III the
modes used by Sophocles and keeping Its rhythm
steadily regulated to the metre of the text, and had
ii sung in unison by chorus of fifteen voices For
an accompaniment, harps, flutes and ohoes or clar-
nets might have been used with tTiile more free
dom as 20 RHYTHM than the voices, but IN Scant
and primitive harmony. Strophe and ants rOphe
he would have been obliged TO set alike. these,
perhaps, with tile license to use the same nstru-
lnents the harp for the kitbdTd and the WIND IN
strumcnts for the GuiOi TO occasionally accompany
the dialogue in mcOdTamatlc style, would have
been his whole uDquesnOned tonal apparatus, ana
il is plain that It's product would NOT nave seemed
10 modern ears in keeping with the sOnorOus
periods and noble sentiments of the dialogne. Con
fronted with this dlemma Mr.. Paine cast
The restrictions TO the winds aud wrote
what 10 his feelings and intellect was worthy
music. Some of the old ideas seemed
10 him effective with slight notifications
and were taken into his scheme. For instance
there is great deal OF unisonal music, iull harmony,
III many cases coming in the vocal parts only AT the
cadcnces; ordinarily strophe and antlstrophe have
the same setting hut TO avoid mOuOtOsy at the
Cambridge performance the strophes were sung by
the dramatic chorus of fifteen, and the antIsrophcs
alf Cd IN The he