New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-04-04
MUSIC.
NEW sTABAT MATER.

night nj the third concert of the New-i Cnorus
Society. A foretaste of the work was hsd oy .
favored few on Tuesday night OF last week. when
.u.u choir. opposed of the 2ubils Of Mr.. William
Courtney gave it III private concert IN nan ID
Thirty third-st., but owing to the absence VI Vue
orc aestra which is element of great Importance
On The work, the performance was rather insipd
compared with that of last night. The produouon
of the Stabatr in London March l3 under the
direction of the composer. hailed there as the
most noteworthy occurrence of the musical season.
and this notwithstanding that the work had been
heard a wear before To us il the first introduce
ton not only of a new and exceedingly mersorious
work but also of the composer IN another chalac'or
than that of h niasicsl specialist Hltherto we
have known Dvorak only a composer OF Slavonlc
rhapsodies for the orchestra IN which character 10
has had that degree of appreciation winch
always commanded by an artist who mas eomo-
thing novel and interesting to say and says IL we'll
He emerged rather suddenly from deep obsourity
few years ago. chiefly because OF the interest taken
IN him by those " no then led public opinion Ia
Yienna-Heroeck, Hansck and Brahms; and he
A now sailing high on the tide OF popularity,
helped materially by the pufs which continue 10
eo,oe from the same quarter and from Berlin,
where Joachim has become his champion. In Lon
don symphony In D, pianoforte concerto IN U
minor and number of chamber pieces OF his NAYS
been performed besides the StAbat,' but here our
knowledge of his creative skill has been confined
till now to that derived from the orchestral rhap
sodies which have appeared on Mr. Thomas's pro-
grammes At intervals.
Uwill not surprise those who have studied the de-
velopment of music in Europe during the last half
century if we say that In spite of sthe beauties
which We recognize in Herr DvOIak's choral work,
It has less Of the quality that challenges and holds
attention now adays than the smaller and less pre-
teptous works from his pen with which We are
measurabIy familiar. Without using Slayonlc foik
tunes Herr Dvorak infused 50 much or ms NATION
ality into those compositions that they are instinct
With the spirit which has even given music vitality
the spirit which is caught from the unconstraned
utterances of the people II Is kthe spirit whch IN
instrumental music first showed itself tmtuy IN
Hadyn's works. cropped ont with more assurance
in Schuhert's. and finally took complete possession
of Cbopin's II made Chopin the most fHnique
character In musical history since Beethoven and
now gives alife to the works of Grieg. Svendsen'
Tschaikowsky and score of other writer's
In setting Jacopones famous Old hymn Herr
Dyorak could not and did not try TO make use Oh
the colors which permeate his other compositions
He approached the task in the spirit of modern
church writer and with only such advantage over
other composers as his marvellous skill in handling
an orchestra gave him. 1t is therefore not strange
that while his work must be commended for It's
serionsness of purpose, its well sustained dignity
It's comparative freedom from musical platitudes'
its unfaIng tunefulness and its ingenuity II can
not be highly praised for novelty of structure OF
extraordinary freshness of melody. Its most
unmstakable merits lie in another direction.
We are inclined to look upon the happy union of
voices and orchestra in this "Stabat Mater" as us
most characteristic element and as that which, II
ANYTHING. will enttle it TO be mentioned with the
Uofy al
of these "Stabats" is not long and it
has not been added to since lo4l
when the indolent Rossini persuaded to pub
lish the composition with which he closed his
career as a composer, and which had occupied ms
attention at odd times for ten years. Palsstrinas
written about the middle of the sixteenth
century Astorga's, composed for the society
Of Antient History IN London IN IIo,
Pergoess com posed in the third decade OF the last
century and Rossinis-these the settings OF the
"Stabat which have permanently arrested the az
teption Of musicians and music lovers. Unfortun-
atsly owing to the fact that have no society de-
voted to the cultivation of classical church
music know ledge of the first Of these compositions
n limited to a small circle We cannot recall
single performance of the work in this country.
Four years ago. Mr.. Thomas, inspired by the fact
that Richard Wagner had not long before edited
pal.stripa's "Stabat provided il with tempo and
expression marks and arranged II Tor church
and concert performance ana pi&eed IL upon tne
scheme Of the Cincinnati Musical Festival. Before
study was begun, however, 1t was dropped ont OF
the festival plan The only performance OF
Astorgas composition IN this country which we
can call TO mind Is that Of the BOylston Club IL
boston in November 1879. PergoesPs has fire.
quently been gwen, We suppose though
we can remember only one performance ana thst
an incomplete one. by the pupils of a local teacher
of siu ging little more than three years ago The
four sett ngs have few if any points OF contact
tbs eedIssia.tica style Which bears bis name
AstOrgas employs orchestra, and is the legitimate
forernnner Of Dvorak's 1t separates the hymn
into nine divisions, and treats each division as a
musical number ere being the customary aiterna-
ton of solo and concerted pieces 1t has, be
a beautiful composition. full of learning and sin
cere feeling. 1t is grief made musical without
said Mr. Dwight IN his review Of the Boston per
formance Pergolesis has been the sub
feet of much romance writing and equally
TWO %S Sopranos and string orchestra The old Cantor
Hitler. Of LeIpsc. one of Bach successors so oyed
four voices instead of two adding flutes and eeoss
Klopstock's paraphrase Of the Latin sequence
Rosslni's composition is the familiar opera IN
church vestnents." aud among the best abused and
the best loved Of modern compositions.
In its structure DOrak's Stabat Mater Is not
very different from AstOrgas though of course
1t represents vastly diderent style OF
writing. Through it all the orchestra
weavee a charming web of lovely threads, beautiful
In color and harmonious in arran cement. Never
before hare instruments taken so prominent part
In the ports ya of the tragedy. which Is the merit
of the poem. A hundred fine devices are en-
ployed to give tenderness and color 70
The music, to deepen its grief or
TO intensity IT'S prayerful accents. Dvorak has
divided the hymn into ten parts for musical treat
ment as follows: l., Quartet and chorus, "Stabat
mater dolorosa" H., Quartet, mQnis est homo i
Ill. Chorus. Eta, mater; ~, Bass solo and
chorus Fac ut ardeRt" v, Che
rus, "Tui .Nah"; VI, Tenor solo,
Fac me yere"; VII Chorus, Virgo, yirginum
praeca.a >; VIII, Duet Fac ut porteu p" TX. Alto
Solo, Inaammatus x, Quartet and chorus,