Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-17
Latest Form Of Art Enterprise as
Developed in the East End.
MERIT OF DAMR0SCH'S ORCHESTRA.
Room for improvement in the Public
Estimation of Criticism.
A BUDGET OF GENERAL NEWS ITEMS


interest to the modest beginning in the de-
partment of choral music to be made this
week.
As was announced last Sunday, Mr..
Joseph c. Breil has called meeting of
singers for next Thursday evening at 8
O'Clock, in Photographic studio at No. 30
Frankstown avenue, for the purpose OF
organizing a choral society, which Mr..
Breil offers to conduct gratis. While op-
portunity has been lacking for the general
public, including the present writer, to form
personal estimate of Mr.. Breil' qualifications
the fact of his going to Germany for an e1-
tended course of musical study and the
hearsay evidence upon his various achieve
ments as tenor singer and as composer. are
sufficient to make out a pripa faci case in
his favor. Such being the case he should
have the whole-hearted and practical sup
port of all East End music-Iovers and es-
pecially of all experienced chorus singers
residing in that locality. The future holds
our promises enough to make it well worth
while for all to join with voice or patron
age, as the case may be.
But much depends upon the way in
which such an enterprise is begun. In the
first place, as local experience has amply
shown, permanent success cannot be at
tanned by 'one-man-power" chorus. The
organization itself, not the conductor, must
be the object of loyalty. The conductor
should not be expected to attend to the gem
eral business Of the society; he should be
elected by the society periodically under
bylaws which define his sphere of duty and
provide officers and committees to assist
&1s II
ment of affairs
A point of even greater delicacy and of
at least equal importance, is the selecting
of singers for the chorus. An inefficient
singer is very much worse than useless in a
chorus; every one such is q positive draw
back to the efficiency of the rest. Perhaps
a wise way at starting would be to fix the
limit at number we'll within the number
of voices offered and empower the conductor
(aided, it might be, by committee to divide
the responsibility to select the best of the
material A small chorus Of say, 20 to 30
picked voices is vastly more efficient than if
increased by adding less desirable material
This is true not only for the sake of final re-
suits before the public, but also, and even
more, for the sake of the singers themselves.
The need of drilling the poorer singers over
and over on simple passages, is what dis
gusts the better singers and drives them
away finally.
There is delightful music lying ready for
just such small chorus to take up. The
glees and madrigals of the earlier English
writers and the part-songs of their present
day successors are quite generally intended
to be sung without accompaniment and are
suited to smaller choruses. These would
lead nicely to the rich mines of pure choral
music of the Palaestrina school, from which
no rIIbh oh Of n bo brn ho1
away. This unaccompanied music is
always effective to the public, in
addition to its especial interest
to the musician. 1t forms an almost virgin
field for the new chorus-so far as this COM
munity is concerned-and is emphatically
the field best suited for a society that can
not, for the present at least, command the
aid of an orchestra
Wide opportunities open out before the
proposed society, if rightly formed and
guided; and it lies in the power of the ex-
perienced singers of the East End and
nearby sections to start the enterprise in
such manner as to realize those opportuni-
ties to the utmost.
x**
A Discussion of Relative Merit.
Those who have questioned The DIS
PATcH's remark that Walter Damrosch's
orchestra Is not the equal of the Boston
Symphony Orchestra may be surprised to
see what the New York papers said
of the Boston band upon its first
concert there this season: Sun, ''The
palm of supremacy over all kindred
organizations on this side of the water"
Herald, THE finest body of strings ever
heard in this country Recorder, 'Nothing
like it in New York, neither in quality nor
in e1ssenble;' World, "Among the three or
four foremost orchestras of the world" To
which in the same week was added by the
Brooklyn Eagle, ''The rival of any force of
the kind in the world" and by the Phila- |
delphia Record, "The most proficient band |
of musicians ever organized in this coun- |
try"
1t is much more pleasant to quote these |
praises than to quote the words of censure |
that frequently appear in the best critics |
reviews of MIR. Damrosch's concerts. Suf- |
fee it to say that THE DISPATCH accorded |
the New York orchestra and its conductor
more generous treatment than they COM
monty receive at home and elsewhere. On
the many points as to which the defects of
Cyclorama Hall rendered a positive judg-
ment unsafe, the benefit of the doubt was
invariably given to the performers
Yet, however clearly the performances
1ell DeloW the hlghest standards IN this or
that respect, the visit of Mr.. Damrosch and
his men to this orchestrally benighted COM
munity was an important and most enjoya-
bic occasion, as has always been said in
these columns. The Allegheny Musical
Association should have every encourage |
ment to repeat the experiment.
x*#
Some Ideas on Criticism.
Apropos of this vexed question of musi-
cal criticism and its difficulties, there is a
very interesting and feeling treatment of
the subject in last months Boston MaGsical
Herald over the signature of Mr.. Philip
Hale, himself one of the country's best
critics. Part Of Mr.. Hale's article follows:
But the most dangerous foe to criticism is
the great and enthusiastic concert-public.
Some go to concerts because it is the fashion,
some are curious to see and hear celebrated
people. Let it be granted, however, that
eight out of ten are honestly fond of music.
Some of this latter class have taken a few
nia n uOfOrta IesaOuS able TO |