The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903, 1895-11-23

contrast 10 BeethOvenS Marche Fune-
bre. That had healthful gloom. This
was morbid. 1t, too, seemed to tell of
death. or rather. of the dead. Its NUT
ed strings muttered of thronging ghosts.
all murmuring innumerable. signing.
sobbing, the whole thin-voiced array of
the wailing dead. Beethoven's dead
may move in gloom, but they move like
the great march of the dead In Vedder's
grand Illustration to Omar. calm, pen
sive, reproachful nations. Yet IL moves.
this phantom music. 1t is not sentiment
tai. 1t has the morbidness of a strong
nature. the phantastic imaginative NOR
bidness of a Heine. It's swift little notes
SSBsssm 6IoQouBIsm ssspssI IIsql pIsIS
and pass-into the night.
Miss Davis played Wieniawskrs Ro-
nance with much feeling. The chief
defeat was in fulness of tone-owing
in great part, to the instrument, which
refused to warm to the player. Her
bowling was excellent. giving a con-
nected smoOthness. an even flow of
tone. She caught alphabetically the
sobbing pathos of the Polish music.
She lacks, however.-excellenta as she
is, in the most emotional mood-in
steady interpretive power. In quiet
passages, her calmness becomes indif-
ferent. She should study the meaning
of music to find that 1t may have mes
sage without strenuous emotion, to dis
tinguish between calm beauty and mere
mOnOtony. Mrs. Cotter's work was
technically excellent. 1t lacked. how
ever, what audiences demand i'm singers,
richness and thrilling tone Mr.. APP
no. xxSs -
tiful and heart-moving melodies in ex-
istence; let it be sung with fairly-cor-
rect expression and finish of phrasing
by voice in no way distinguished by
beauty Of timber. In an average audi
ence, the greater number of listeners
will be little moved by it. But let it be
sung by a voice of great richness. and
especially Of fine vibrating quality, and
nearly the whole audience will be deep
ly affected" 1t may be unjust, but it's
true. Perhaps it is most noticeable in
such solos as Fear Me Not, o Israel"
where the grave simplicity cells espe-
cially for richness of rendering.
The number from Schubert, the AL
legro, was delicately vivacious, the
theme almost catchy in it's spright-
illness. The wavering accompaniment,
almost in motto per petuo. ran through
it like ripping laughter. 1t was a
pleasant relief from the darkness of
the funeral march and the morbid shud-
dering of the Tchaikowski Andante.
The Mozart Gloria is music Of true
religious nature. 1t turns its back to
failing and defeat, and revels in ecstat-
ic praise. Its opening Of ascending
notes scars strong, Its body is praise,
it's close repeats yet more triumphantly
the ecstatic motive of its opening flight
1t ranks in spirit with the Hallelujah
Chorus. with all the great music of up
lifting praise.
1t is a pity that the quartet cannot
include in its selections a little of Wag-
ner's music. Little Of 1t, it Is true. Is
written for quartet, and adaptations are
not very satisfying. But isolated as we
are from orchestras and opera compa-
MES. it would be pleasant to hear. even
in translation-for transcription is but
musical translation-some of the works
of this modern master. Mr. Hagenow is
doing nobly in giving us so much of
Bach. 1t speaks well of Lincoln au-
diences that they show appreciation of
music so generally unappreciated. Wag-
utT > IuuSlc, HOWeNeT, HdS Dceu 81 stIoHS
an influence, that the educational mis-
sion of the Music Services can hardly
be complete without some presentation
of it. There are some vocal solos, from
and Lohengrin, that might
well be in order. Or would ii not be pos
sible to get transcriptions of some of the
marches and best-known numbers? OBJ
jectionable as they are, they are better
than nothing. If Russian literature
were to be closed to us till we should
learn Russian. most of us would wait
a long day. And it is hard to wait for
Wagner till we can afford a weekly or.
chestra. We can pardon even rather
faulty transcription if it will but give
us glimpse of some grand original.