The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-11-11
OUR NATIVE SONGSTERS.
When Not Discoursing Sweet
Music at Home, Their
Voices. Swell New
York Choruses.
THOMAS VS. THE ELDER DAMROSCH.
Miss Emma Kennedy as a Humor-
ist-SOcial and Musical
Chat.
THOMAS VS. THE ELDER DAMRoSCH.

supper, a company of musicians leaves
Jersey City, crosses the river, boards an
l., and arrives at that uptown temple OF
the arts, Carnegie Music Hall. On this
night the New York Oratorio Society, on
whose training a large proportion of the
fame of the younger Damrosch rests,
holds its regular rehearsals, and every
week for seasons past jersey City has
sem her delegation to join the chorus-a
small one indeed, but one may gratefully
add, making up for quantity in quality.
The chorus of the Oratorio Society is
justly the greatest monument to the two
Doctors Damrosch. 1t is not only that
its members are selected from trained
voices, competent as ~soloists, but that
the whole company has become SO thor
oughly unified, under the incessant
labor and wonderful personal magnetism
of the conductor, that it responds to his
will, expressed not only by the motion OF
his baton, but by the expression OF his
features, and the slight but all important
gestures to one and another row, as II 1t
were one mighty instrument, of its own
will discoursing heavenly harmony. The
Oratorio Society has made itself famous
for the chorus from the Messiah" For
Unto Us a child is Born" eve though
its fame were not based on more extended
grounds.
THOMAS AND DAMRosCH.
No one that has followed the career Of
the various singing societies in New
York, but has some anecdote TO tell OF
the elder DR.. Damrosch, than whom a
more devoted laborer for The elevation of
musical standards in New York never
livel. You will hear Of the ruffied air
| with which tina VptnTNnL cnndlptay wynn
had not then left US for the Exposition
City. greetea the appearance of a second
worker in musical fields, and or the way
in which he Informed the new conner that
there was not room for two such conduct
ors in New York, and how Dr., Damrosch
politely replied that somebody else beside
himself would have TO do the leaving and
how after this little conversation, which
occurred in an Union Square music store,
the veteran spoke no more to the new
conner. They tell a story about this same
veteran, several OF whose men played In
Damrosch's orchestra. First ne tried TO
make them promise to play for no one
but himself. Then, failing in this, he
exacted q contract TO attend all concerts
and a stipulated number Of rehearsals.
Then as soon as he found out the date of
a Damrosch concert, he called a rehearsal
for that day. Nice scheme that, and
adapted to make people draw compar
isons between the rivals.
II there is such a thing as a post-mortem
revenge, however, DR.. Damrosch must
lave mad it, when after his rival had
spent a lifetime begging, praying. shout
ing, working for a large hall suitable for
oratorio or symphony orchestra, Walter
Damrosch, without the least difficulty,
has the new music hall presented him
on a silver dish, SO to speak. Is it to be
wondered that we lost a about
tina time, and that our loss was Chicago's
gain?
IN THE CHORUS
These are some of the stories you would
hear told IL you should engage in CONVEX
satlon some of the vocalists who have
come from jersey City to rehearse the
Tower of Babel" in Recital Hall. AS
for their names they are in the main
familiar to musicians in the city. There
is Miss Virginia Doggett of Jewett ave-
nue., organ1st and choir director of the
First Universalist Church, Summit ave-
nue., buster than any bee that flies, with
her church work, yet always find
ing time to attend the weekly rehearsals.
And there is Miss Minnie Backus, also
from the Heights. whose voice has been
heard in CONCERTS here; Miss Trip, the
smallest delegate, with by no means the
smallest voice; Mrs. Margaret Sheppard
of Mercer street, and Mr.. T. w.
Kennedy. whose name is identi-
fed with almost every musicalmovement
" \ ~ - AZ VIZ i Y
the Melopoia and Schubert singing
societies. Mr.. William Fl. H. Kase, who
has been a member of the Oratorio
Society, 10! these many years. knows the
inside workings of every singing society
that has done anything worth noticing
since he had a voice, in New York and
Jersey, too. In last Aprils production OF
"Erminie" by the Amateur operate AS
ISOLATION, Mr.. Kase sang the "S~ergeant's"
role, and since the days of the departed
Choral Union, when everyone who could
sing we'll united in one great society that
ought never to have died, he has sung
either from the choir or the concert stage.
Another chorisJer from this city is Mr..
Limerick, who has been in attendance on
the rehearsals for several seasons past.
AT WAsHINGToN's CHURCH.
In addition to the quartette of st.
PauPs Gnu rch, broad way. tners is q vol
unteer choir of some twenty voices, which
must be Of excellent quality aud under
some degree OF Individual cultivation, II
is called a volunteer" choir, but it is by
no means the g. sy matter to enter that
the word would imply. First, one must
lessor Kofier about it; then ones voice
must be tried: aDd then comes a wait of
some six months until someone inside
the charmed circle marries or dies or
leaves to accept an advanced position and
there is a place vacant. Professor Kof-
SA0 wv VA hAASo u n ulIET
Of Mercer street. ava back in the early
part OF the summer. and tonight she is TO
attend her first rehearsal. Miss Emma
Kennedy, daughter of Mr.. I. W. Ken
nedy, is another member of the choir and
one who makes things amusing for her
companions if rumor says true. It
has been said that Miss Kennedy
could make a stone man laugh ii
she should only try, and even the
conductor has to descend from his dig
nifty every now and then. and smile at
some particularly clever speech or action.
The contralto of the quartette. Miss Flor
ence Bachmann, is a Jersey City girl.
blue eyed, fair haired, suggesting Nilsson
a trihe In her appearance, and possessing
a wonderfully deep, clear, mellow voice.
Up to thetime Of her marriage Miss Bella
Watson, of Communipaw avenue, was
the soprano OF the quartette, and full as
many came to hear her sing as TO perform
the rites of the church.
From all this it may be seen that al
though Jersey City has suffered as TO its
musical standing by its proximity to New
York, it has returned good for evil by
sepdipg across the river not q few OF her