The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-05-25
IN THE SOCIETY WORLD.
General Notes of Society and
Personal Items.
Recent Social Events in Topeka
and Vicinity.
Items of Interest About Topeka Peo-
pie and Visitors in Town.

Topeka people should be very grateful
to the Federated clubs as being the
means of bringing Mrs. Mary H Ford
TO Topeka Such a treat has not been
afforded the musical and literary cir
cles tor a long time. To appreciate
Mrs. Ford however, one must hear her.
She is a small woman of attractive APP
pearance and a magnetic manner that
it is impossible to resist. She has been
an untiring student all her life and the
result is something remarkable
MIS- Ford delivers over 200 lectures
without manuscript or notes; IN 1acl'
she never writes them at ali so they are
never given twice in exactly the same
manner. A phreHOlOgiSt after eXalllln-
ms her head one time told her that her
memory is nothing extraordinary put
she possesses great concentration OF
thought; and this faculty she has cult
waited to a remarkable extent
Yesterday she spoke on Wagner and
the Music of the Future. To the many
people who do not understand Wagner,
the following extract from mrs Il ora
lecture may give q deeper insight INTO
his theory:
.'Wagner's theory Of musical express
siOns is usually very DuZZ1ng 10 the
student who has not learned to think
of music as feeling TO represent per
sons. things. emotions. events by little
melodies apparently separate and dls-
tinct from them seems very peculiar
W.
Wagner's method of composition, the
process becomes very much clearer. He
wrote the poems to the four great Nj
belungen operas before he composed the
music. but in sending the dramas 10
Iliszt he said. I don't know as 4
shall ever write down the music to
these things but of course it is all IN
INV head. otherwise. I could never have
written the poems The dramas sang
themselves into the ears of the must
clan as he wrote them down and the
beautiful little melody on the horns was
as much Siegfried as the enerance upon
the stage of the sunny-haired hero that
i'm the mind it was impossible TO separ-
at- the two.
There is no better Illustration of the
mower of Nagner'S theory than the
scene in 'Siegfried' where the hero lies
alone upon the stage in the central
moment of his great achievement lie
lies upon q couch Of skins for about ID
minutes and there is no acton save tnaU
of the wonderful music as its volume OF
harmony rises and fails. However the
entire psychologist succession Of Sieg-
fried's thought IS painted before the
audience. All the horror and excite
lnent of the death Of the dragon and
sinner the triumph of the sword and
the her0iSm of Siegfried give place at
last to the tender and exquisite accents
of the love music of the Walkerie, the
most beautiful lo7-e music that Wagner
ever wrote. We ~ OW that Siegfrfed IS
thinking Of his mother. the mother
whom he has always lOnged- The boy
brought up TO the wild life Of the for
est has never known love. The know
ledge of what it is maybe rises in him
first through the recollection Of his
mother and then suddenly there is
change and We hear the motif of Brun-
hide and the fire music. The soul of
the hero Is awakened; he Will find love,
not the gentle clinging, clOying love but
the love, fit alone. for the hero soul;
the love which inspires to great deeds
and high endeavors; the love of Sieg-
fried for Brunhilde. He springs from
the couch and follows the little bird
through the passage which leads to the
fire bound rock upon which the goddess
lies We know the impulses of his in
sDiration and decision. because the
music reveals it to us.
Mrs Ford speaks this afternoon on
THE Holy Grail and tomorrow even
Ing at 8 o'clock she will speak on Col
our"
Yesterday afternoon Mr.. Won
Dahlen opened the program by sing
ing The Two Grenadiers" by Schu-
mann and Dreams" by Wagner. For
an encore he sang Grieg's I Love
Thee" When Mr.. Won Dahlen
found that Mrs. Ford would speak on
THE Holy Grail this afternoon, he
kindly offered to sing the Swan Song
from LOhengrin.