Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-10-18

powers were displayed, to leave the field
| open to others for fear it may be said Mrs.
Blank sings beautifully, but she is growing
| passe, her voice is no longer what 1t was
ten years ago, she should retire gracefully
and give way to others? Are the tenors and
and bassos and altos of the Cantata days
determined to retire from the field at time
| when their powers should be in fullest vigor
and highest excellence?
SIMS REEVES AND PATTI.
Sims Reeves, the most famous of English
tenors, did not leave the field of his great
successes until 80 or thereabouts. What is
the secret of PATHS retention of her power
and sweetness of voice when nearly 30?
She told someone once it was because she
knew how to take care of it. She would
never consent to strain it by singing in
German opera. She would never touch
Wagner's music, but confined herself to
Italian. The thought of this came to
mind when 1 heard Albani shrieking
against the bray of brass in the
Flying Dutchman." Has such singing
spoiled her voice? Who would not like to
know the whereabouts of the old favorites
and what they are doing? Is Annie Louise
Cary, who used to bring down the house,
rocking the cradle of young contraltos? Has
housekeeper? Castle is still going the
rounds; Myron Whitney still sings "Why
Do the Heather Rage, and the People
Imagine Vain Thing" Why, then, should
not some of the richly gifted singers of
Pittsburg appear more often, and not leave
the field so altogether to the callow
youngsters who, while many of them are
rich in promise and give token of splendid
power in days to come, are yet not equal to
their predecessors. The town should hear
more often from Mr. and Mrs. G. G. Mellor.
from the many who made the old societies
prominent for talent.
MUSIC AND MEMORY.
A writer upon music has said: 'The
strangest phenomena of all connected with
musical perturbation are to be found in alli-
ance with memory; but musical sound is
only one of many mediums that connect us
vividly with the past. But for freshness,
and suddenness, and power over memory all
the senses must yield to the sense of hear
ing; memory is the great perturber of music
al meaning. When memory is concerned,
music is no longer itself; it ceases to have
any proper plane of feeling; it surrenders it
self wholly, with all its rights, to memory,
to be the patient, stern and terrible expo
nent of that recording angel What is lt?''
Without pausing to analyze the full
meaning of all this we may say that few
notes of the "Sweet Bye and Bye will re-
call to thousands the time and scene asso-
ciated with its first hearing. The singing
of "When This Cruel War Is Over" will
bring into fullest remembrance the boys in
blue, the bloody battle fields, the lonely
homes, the anxious hours. the hurryings to
and fro, the gatherings for sanitary work,
the soldiers funerals, the horrors of prisons
and every picture of the war. ''When
Johnny Comes Marching Home" brings up
the discharge of the troops, the train loads
of returning soldiers, the shouts, hurrahs,
and the scenes in every village and town
when the boys got home. Just so the
strains of the messiah, " the "Come Let us
Sing" the 'Elijah," F." the all of it bring up
the picture to those who were there of the
winter nights, the dark stairs, the dingy
hall, the figure of Tetedoux so smiling
when pleased, so full of "Sacres" under his
moustache when things went wrong, the
picture of Mr.. Mellor, at the piano, and the
bright faces and gay laughs of the singers.
INTERESTING EPISODE
A few musical notes have power to call
up the picture of the fainting of Miss Page
at one of the concerts. Miss Page was
foreigner, so to speak. For some unknown
reason the women singers were "down on
her," and their GOODNESS and passivity were
appalling. a 1rlenQ mao TO come upon the
stage to support her when she was to sing.
The frostiness of her reception made her
faint dead away. G. S. Reinhart's sketch
of that famous faint passed around the
next day was 80 wondrously true
to nature and withal so funny
that everybody enjoyed it immensely. This
incident is sometimes said to have marked
out his career.
What fun those societies did havei
Whether the Mozart is more "strictly busi-
ness is not known, but certainly with all
its superior advantages it can surely set
forth nothing more admirable than was then
accomplished.
The Mozart is the direct successor of these
two societies. Its leader has good ability
as a musician, and has sustained it remark
ably well. A musical taste has been created
now in Pittsburg that will always furnish
audience to classical music. That much of
the object of the old Cantata has been at
tanned. 1t should hold reunion and cele-
brate. May the Mozart prosper and en-
deavor to avoid the rocks upon which its
predecessors split BESSIE BRAn1BLE.