The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-06-16


| Here is nut for our local conductors to
crack.
Mr.. Dramatic and Lyric.
This a city containing much musical
talent, both vocal and instrumental, with
men of recognized musical ability as con-
ductors, and yet our vocal soloists seem
oblivious to the fact that many of their
| best gems are completely lost, with the
audience, in the loud noise of the &C
companying instruments, tho conductor
seeming totally unconscious of this fact.
Now, why is it that the practice il this
| respect is so prevalent here with orchestral
conductors! If aything that can be imag-
ined is disagreeable to those wanting to
hear the voice of a good singer, it is, to
have the squeak of violin follow its every
note, or the loud and full sound of &C
companying instruments drown 1t, not eX-
cepting an organ or piano.
Who that has ever seen the in
comparable Arditi but has been charmed
| by the delicacy of the tone OF
his orchestral accompaniment! His
every look watching and following the
singer. and no sound of the voice lost or
smothered by loud instruments. We can
not, of course, expect such perfection in
local conductor or orchestra, comparatively
unframed, but l cannot understand why
they can't make the effort to at least emu
alte Arditi's worthy example in this re
spect.
For one, l feel like wishing that the mem
bers of the orchestra would sink through
the floor, leaving the singer high and dry
and all alone when their playing is so loud
as to drown the voice and,spol its pleasant
effects. When an orchestra is to perform
an overture in its proper place, appreciate
it, but when singer appears on the plat
form | want to hear his notes clear and I'M
trammeled, and let the tiddles and things
hold their strings till their proper turn
comes.
The great beauty of orchestral or any
other accOmpaniament, is to do it so quietly
that the listener loses sight of the fact that
the singer is being accompanied, until the
voice ceases, and then it strikes him how
well the accompianist did his work, and his
admiration is deep and genuine. But, for
single individual or an orchestra to play
an accompaniment so that attention is
drawn to him or them, is in no way com
plimentary and displays lack OF thorough
knowledge in what they are attempt
ing
The music of an accompanies should be
so well touchdown as to form harmon
ious background to the melody of the song
picture in the front, and the conductor
should follolu every gesture and note of the
singer, aiming to show the voice to its best
possible advantage and in its native purity, |
not so that one may only occasionally catch |
a note through the clamor of instruments |
accompanying it. The singer should not be
hampered by being compelled to
follop the orchestra. which is re-
versing the, practically, true position.
Artists of the highest class would object |
to it and would oblige the orchestra to fol |
low them l mean this in the sense that |
the accompanist must go with the singer,
in which case any little errors on the
singers part are, to a great extent, con
cealed from the audience, whereas, on the
other hand, they are plainly shown when
the singer attempts to follow the accom-
PIANIST.
In these views but voice the sentiment
of many lovers of good music and singing,
in this city, who would be glad to see an
improvement in this respect, on the part of
our, otherwise, talented conductors.
BERNARD.
Miss Bertha Bayliss, of Salt Lake, ap
pears to be taking Omaha and Council |
Bluffs by storm She has lately appeared |
in both places in an opera by an Omaha
lady, ana we CLEAN the following para
graphs from the criticisms in the news
papers.