New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-06-18
MUSICAL MATTERS.
THE GERMAN SINGERS AND THEIR
FESTIVAL.
HISTORY AND PECULIARrTIEs or sAENGER-
FEsTE- PROGRAMME OF THE NEW
YORK AFFAIR.

|
YORK AFFAIR
Tho seventeenth National singers festival Of the
| Northeastern Singers Union is to be held IN TINS
city from Friday Of this week to Tuesday OF next
| inclusive The announcement sounds Urine a"h-
ward hut that is the meaning OF the "Sebenzehntes
| Rationale Sangerfest des Nordostchen sanger
| bundles" and sometimes accuracy Is virtue even
1 I'm writings musical topics SahgerleSt -
sui generis The word has exact equivalent IN
English singers festival coming nearest TO H.
| Song festival" and music festival will scarcely
| do for 70 the inexperienced American mind they
convoy ONLY n fragment Of the Idea which comes De-
| fore the German when he speaks OF a Sangerfest'
| Inseparatey wrapped up with the word as also
with such allied words Lledertafe Sangerrunde
| or Sangerbund. IS the conception GemntniichKeit'
which would also require an essay TO make its
| meaning clear Socability and goodfellowship, as
| manifested in communal consumption OF beer IN
vast quantities. is a large factor In the conception
Mix this Gemnthlichkeit with music made by mems
voices IN about equal proportions, and you get III
broad lines idea OF what Shnger1est Is
| So much as a definition OF the name OF the big
| thing which Is 10 give holiday air to the East
side from the 22d to the 18th inst 1t Is calculated
to advance the history of music In America In IN
teres, and importance. TO reflect that IN severa'
! features OF musical practice this new country Is
! abreast with the old. our Philharmonic Society IS
| ae old as the Vienna society Of the same name and
| has better record so far az uninterrupted activity
is concerned. This that New-York was az
early as the musical capital Of Europe In the pos
session Of a body of professional musicians organ
Ted for the purpose OF performing high-class music
for the public instead Of the courts Though cholrs
OF professional church singers had been In existence
I'm Europe for centuries before such things couil De
Thought OF on this side Of the It Is more than
likely that Berln's Sng-Akademie. which Is written
down az the first organization Of amateur singers
was antelatel in New York we'll "a England
| And now. 10 the point OF these histor'cal
| compa risons such specifically German things as
Manncrch3re (chors OF mem and SangerfeSte are
almost as old Ia the United States they are In
Germany The rst OF these societies. strictly speak
Ing was organized by Zel,er in 1909 in Berlin. only
twcnty-six years later Philadelphia had It's Manner-
| Choir and within fifteen years after that date there
wa scarcely a large city or town from the Atlantic
Ocean 10 the Mississippi River with an appreciate
| contingent Of Germans IN it, population that dld
| not boast it, singing society OF men. But mucn
more striking IS the comparative history OF the
festivals. The first held In Germany took place III
August 1856. 1t was held In Wurzburg. and LIB
singers. representing all parts Of Germany, par
rlcpa,.l Before tho second festival took place dn
is5 In Passau) the United States already had en-
,oys-l two festivals IN the Wes; and the singers had
organized the North American SHngerbund en-
braclng the societies OF the Western States and the
Northeastern SEngerbund whose seventeenth fes'i-
| val confrDnts Though the East took the lead
| IN tho formation n the German societies. III WAS
the West that called tho Saugerfeste into existence
| n fact which Is probably 70 be explained by he
/ greater devotion Of the German immigrants who
came 20 America IN tho nfth decade of the century
70 the social institutions ~ the Fatheraul AMI the
more ioieran, spirit Of the communities with which
they cast their fortunes TIE first Sangerfes' which
! WIS held IN Cincinnati IN lSia grew out Of an ex-
! change Of visits between two singing societies ~
/ Cincinnati AMI Louisville Similar visits had pre-
! vloisly taken place between the societies ~ New
| York. Philadelphia and Baltimore. brt the festival
/ flea sprang up I'm the West. The festivals In Ger
| many naturally were 90 greater magnitude IN the
beginning bat oven Ia respect % be number =
singers Engaged Il NOT ,ong before the festivals
/ Germany In the first festival In Wurzburg l773
! took part. I'm the second AZ PasSau. 100; In the
! r.lrl In ISL at Nuremberg 500. at the fourth. In
NO at Ores len over societies represent u
! some u them from America and even Australia.
| AMI the number of sinReru between 500 and
! 1000 The Northeastern Bunl-o-. as Il was first
called the Eastern iund-was organized IN $50 with
/ ten societies. ana soon grew 20 thirty The North
American Bud VII en- gave q his organ "a TO-.
also stimulated another. the Northwestern, which
! hal its ccu're IN Milwaukee. Tho societies coming
| from be states II Illinois. Iowa, Wisconsin AMI
/ Michigan. Its first festival was given IN 40. the
first f'sfiya Il %" Northeastern SunKcround 10 M
! Inc original union. hat founded in cincinnati IN
/ lAI9 gave Is twenty-seventh festival last year In
/ cleveland IN ~" rst decade ~ lts existence the
! Festivals were - annual occurrence. Ine rate OF
! grow th during ne first decade is shown In The
| following table which shows also the cities ~
| which me festivals were hrl!.