New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-05-20
A CENTENNIAL FESTIVAL.
MUSICAL CULTURE IN CINCINNATI.
THE BEGrNSIYGs OF CHORAL MUSIC THERE
PROSPECTS OF THE EIGHTH BIENNIAL
FESTIVAL UNDER THE DIRECTION
OF MR.. THEODORE THOMAS.
.,,,s,c ,.st,va, Of Cincinnati will

a.v evenine Since the first festival in 1873 the read
ers OF The Tribune have been kept INFORMED ABOUT
tbose great artistic gatherings which, through COM
bipation OF happy circumstances, have been maze 10
take position Of the highest sgnifc snce In the annals
"a musical activity the world over How TAR the
coming festival win meet the expectations created by
the fame that went out with lis predecessors can
not be foretoh confidently at the present time Inc
festival organization has had to contend With serious
endorsements during the last two years, and IL re-
ports which have reached my cars are venned, the
choir may lose much Of Its wellearncd glory next
week. In respect Of popular support, however, IL Is
already assured that the affair viii eclipse its three
immediate predecessors. This is due to the interest,"
excited by tho fact that this is centennial year IN
Ohio and the festival is looked upon feature OK
tho patriotic celebration.
The hgh-w water mark Of financial success was
reached by the festival Of 1878 when the new music
hail. its great organ and other things stimulated pop
ular excitement TO such degree that with expenses
reaching S55 sos there yet profit nom the en-
terprse od $4,000 Up to this time the fesuVal
choir had embraced singers from several elites ana
towns but since then Il has been up exclusively
of home talent and its affairs have been administered
by the Festival Association. The fourth festival was
again successful, financially, but In 1882, 1854 ana
1856 losses made. Tho seventh festival, In the
year las mentioned, depleted the treasury ana Tor
the first time the history Of the proud enterprise
necessary
guarantee Sund This circumstance coupled with
a growing conviction that If the promoters of the
enterprise to be called upon to meet deficits be-
sides paying for their own tickets and giving their
time and services to the business management of the
festivals, tho sacrifices would better be made so that
home institutions rather than foreign would benefit,
led to a pretty vigorous movement in 1886 in favor
of such a reform In methods would utilize Gin
cinnati talent extensively and tend to build up
,larlr In afi
Orchestra There were strong art reasons In favor
of this plan, and equally strong financial hr
Thomas and his orchestra were always drafted from
New-York and the leading solo singers came either
from Europe the Eastern cities Nearly all OF
the money paid for the solo and orchestral depart
ments went out of Cincinnati, and this cost grew
greater with every succeeding festival How Sig
nfcant the sums were i able to tell In 1873
orchestra and solo singers cost S15,s75; in 1879
s15,9s7; in 1873, s17 ,34s 65; in 1850. $22322 81
I'm 1882 So, 097 IS; In 1884 S26,567 As. The pro-
portion which these sums bear toward the whoie
expense grew even rapidly than the sums them
selves so that while In 1873 the solo singers and
orchestra less than onethird Of the money OK
pended, In 1884 they cost more than one-half Con-
corning 1856 unable to report In DETAIL but that
the figures wero not encouraging might be Inferred
from the circumstance that when the directors OF the
Festival Association resolved TO give another festival
on the old lines of tho stanchest friends OF the
enterprise declined further to be connected with IL IN
an official capacity.
sincere friend Of musical culture In America
can scarcely blame those who, two years ago, be-
lcved that the time had como for a change In 1873
such concerts Theodore Thomas gave were rarity
and TO hear his orchestra and tho singers from the
East was an int ectua aud aesthetic delight 10 INC
Cncinnatians. But Mr.. Thomas had hinsen iaiu
down his artistic plans as TO subscrve an educaon
al purpose and Cincinnati, being not only proud OF
itself but having a degree OF polite culture worth
being proud Of soon put itself in position where
Mr. Ihomass musc no longer came liko iesst ai'er
fast 1t even called Mr.. Thomas from New-YorK
and mt its musical destinies in his hands.
Tho experiment was not entirely successful, but tho
agitation lifted Cincinnati far above her sister Clues In
tho West in respect of musical culture ana Justine"
Change in her attitude toward her festivals. Homo
culture became duty which the financial failures OF
1882 1884 and 1886 impressed upon the minus OF
many OF her sitizcns The friends Of the old regime,
however found their opportunity In the centenary OF
the first settlement northwest Of the Ohio River. Ino
commercial spirit of Cincinnati had been aroused ana
without much difficulty guarantee fund OF Tlooo'ooV
tecn raised to insure great Centennial hNposluoh
July Tho festival directors took advantage OF this
ebulltion of local patriotism, and got subscriptions
year in advance sufficiently large to guarantee financial
success for the festival Of 1883 In TINS rcspec''
therefore, 1t will begin under moro favorable auspices
than any of its predecessors.
There are more phases than one'in which the musi-
cal culture of Cincinnati is an interesting SUBJECT oi
study Eight years ago spent long time searching
through the musty old newspapers in the hleroom OF
The Gazette and turning all the historical data
Afforded by public and private libraries IN soaroi
for facts appertanlng to the origin ana grown VI
music In tho Ohio Valley To the discoveries maue
then have often turned since with surprise at the
yicor and fertility of its social soil in the early
days Of the State. Three years later, "heh
undertook similar task In New-York City, TINS SUI
prise grew into amazement One reason OF TINS may
DO stated here now. The earliest organized singing
tociey of which Professor Ritter found record IN New"
York was established in 1928 Doubtless there "oio
chors long before that time for 1t is known tna'
Hsndel's Messiah' was sung with organ accompan-
mens In Trinity Church on January o. 1770 less than
twenty years after tho first performance OF the
work under the composers direction In the New MUSIC
Hail. Fishamblest. Dublin, and twenty years pcioro
thu performance Of the oratoro In vienna 1or "hion
Mozart wrote tho additional accompaniment. But
OF the earlier chors all traces seem TO be lost unless
Professor Ritter Is incompetent investigator
Trinys choir at that time and for many years there
t as largely recruited from the boys Of the Charity
School ~ -
The settlement at Marietta was made In l'eo. IN
1919 Cincinnati already boosted Haydn society conf
posed Of the singers from the dlnerent societies
of the town. that these societies had areaaS poon
,u existence for several years by An advertise
ment I'm the Liberty Hall" OF April s, 1885, In which
ono John Mccormick proposes to publish py SUD-
ption a book TO DO called " The Western HaImo-
nist The author,' RMS the advertisement nay ss
ing bscn many years In the contemplation OF this
work aateI, himself that he will be able TO furnish
tho different societies with the hur most cb oST
ful tunes and anthems" That churcn d SnoaS
by records found Of the Episcopal singing society,
which organized ia the same year WIN Inc n
ground and Jacob Baymiller gave 1t house.
doubt whether at that time there was single 9tner
amateur choir in the United states which owned It's
meeting place. There exceedingly few now On
Nav % 1919, tho Haydn Society gave concert lot
The benefit of an organ in Christ Church EPISCOPAL.
An adv ancc notice OF this conccff 10 Inc spy says:
novelty here are quite common in the Eastern cities,
and IL we'll performed never fail 10 AFFORD great pleas
to tho audience" Here Is the review Va .ao
concert which appeared in The spy" four days after
tho concert
The concert Of the Haydn society on duesHsy o'o ss