Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-03
THE MUSIC WORLD.
Critical Review of the Mozart Clubs
Third Annual Performance
OF HANDEL'S GREAT MASTERWORK.
Johann Strauss Doesn't Seem to Re Great
Success in Grand Opera.
WALTER DAMROsCH AND HIS PLAYERS

| Old City Hall has rarely held an audi
ence superior IN numbers or culture to that
gathered last Monday evening to hear the
Mozart Clubs third annual performance of
the messiah"
1t is always in place to refresh the read
er's memory as to such masterpieces as this
the following note, compiled by an East
ern programme-maker, fits nicely at the
head of this brief review:
Handel composed his masterwork. "The
Messiah in "a days. 1t was commenced on
August %, 174l, and concluded on September
IA. He was ut that time Sc years of age. 1t
had its frst performance on April 49, i7l2 in
Dublin, for the benefit of q charitable So
ciety.. The ladies were requested, on this
gentlemen without their swords By
this means the ushers were able to
seat 100 persons instead of 600. On
the occasion of its first performance i'll Lon
don. some years later, it is related that the
audience was so much affected by the music
that when the Hallelujah chorus WIS sung
the King and the rest of the audience with
one impulse started to their feet and re-
NAMED standing to the end of the chorus.
This custom has been followed ever since.
Strange to say, the poet who selected the
music. He said that HE has made fine en-
tertainment of it, though not near so good
as he might ard ought to have done" In
this opinion the poet, however. stands alone,
for the universal opinion now is that the
"Messiah'' is the greatest work of its kind
ever written. "Other oratorioS may be COM
pared with one another" says Mr. Upton:
"the Messiah stands alone. majestic
monument to the memory of the composer,
an imperishabe record of the noblest senti-
ments of human nature and the highest as
plrations OF men,"
The Havoc of La Grippe.
Two unavoidable causes worked together
to cast shade over Monday evenings per-
formance. The first was the fact that the
grip" seemed bent on depriving the audi
ence of hearing any bass solos. The pre-
valent ailment kept Mr.. Ivan Morawski at
home in Boston and then also at the last
moment attacked William L. Whitney, his
substitute and compelled him to give up
before finishing his first aria This pro-
duced general effect of uneasiness and
discomfort as we'll on the stage as in the
audience, enormously increasing the ten
sion upon Conductor McCollum and pro-
ducing proportionate lack of spirit and
vigor through the earlier part of the even.
ing.
The other unexpected difficulty lays In
the orchestra, from which a number of
wonted faces were absent while those
present were tired out by the holiday rush
of social engagements. Under the condi-
tions, Mr.. Whitney and the orchestral
players are entitled to credit for doing all
they could. and are not to be blamed for
being the unwilling distractions to an other
wise assured success.
The chorus saDz their best at their first
opportunity, "And the Glory of the Lord"
which was delivered with superb vigor and !
impressiveness. "Unto Us a Child is
Born" was not announced with the old
time thrilling power, and there was a
eral of the other choruses, noticeably in
'sSurely He Hath Borne Our Griefs." But
the singers retrieved themselves in ''Glory
to God," and they made of the sublime
"HalleIujah" a noble paean of praise 1t
was good work throughout, though not
quite up to what. the club has accomplished
in the same work under bester conditions.
Among the soloists, Mr.. F. W. Jamison
deserves the palm as an oratorio singer;
especially in the recitatives and in the air,
"Behold, and See," did he show an ap-
propriate feeling, simplicity and
directness of defamation and proper
that deserve high praise. Miss
stHe Shall Feed His Flock" with tender
sentiment and made decided impression
with it which "He Was Despised" hardly
confirmed. Miss Hortense Pierse, the So
prano, displayed a pure, sweet voice
and many good musical traits,
but evidently was not in |
her own proper sphere in singing oratorio.
She had been heard here before in concert |
to greater advantage. Much credit was
earned by Mr.. John A. Strouss by his daring
the grip and coming down from the chorus |
to hold the post. from which two men had
already been driven He maintained his |
excellent local reputation most amply.