The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-21
a GREAT SAENGERFEST
EIGHTEENTH NATIONAL MEETING
ALL WEEK IN PHILADELPHIA.
Contests Between Big Eastern Socie+
ties with Grand Chorus of 5000
Males and 5000 Children.

PHILADELPHIA, June 2O.-The eight
eenth national saengerfest of the North
eastern Saengerbund will open in this city
tomorrow, and there is every indication it
will be the most mammoth musical event
of the kind ever held in this country. The
socities which will participate in the fes-
tival come from all the larger cities in the
eastern portion of the United States and
the mass choruses, which will form dis
tinguishing feature of the fest, are made
up of the best singers in each society. The
various numbers in these choruses
will be rendered by six thou
sand male voices, in addition to
which there will be school chill
drens chorus of three thousand voices, and
choruses of mixed voices numbering sew
eral thousand. The first three days of the
festival will be devoted to the vocal con-
tests and concerts, and the remaining three
days to open air diversions and the dis
tribution of prizes. Many months have been
spent by the local committees and their
aids in perfecting the details of the occa-
sion, and the result of their labors has
been to gather together a chorus of male
voices, seldom if ever equaled in point of
numbers, and the arrangement of a most
elaborate programme to be sung in an audi
torium specially constructed for the purpose
and capable of seating comfortably nearly
ten thousand persons, and by d little
crowding tLlly five thousand more can be
accommodated In addition the utmost at
tention has been given to rehearsing. For
the past two years the musical directors
OF the league have been making regular
tours through the territory of the associa-
tlon lnstrictlEg the singers in the numbers
to be rendered.
The fest will open with a reception con-
cert by the United Singers of Philadelphia
and a woman's chorus Arno Leonhardt
p1 esident OF the United Singers. will well
come the visiting societies, as will Governor
Hastings, Mayor warwick and it is hoped
Vice Presidelt Hobart although the at
tendance OF the latter is doubtful Carl
Lenz, president of the Saengerbund, also
Will make an address. Following this will
come c;nI5e. the the festival hymn composed espe-
cially for the occasion. On Tuesday there
will be prize singing for individual societies
in the first and second class and one-half of
those in the third class. The second day
Will be brought to a close by a grand fes-
tlVal concert, under the direction of Carl
Samans The rext day will be taken up
of the third class for Individual societies
and the two classes for the City Federation
prizes. Samuel Hermann will direct the
festival concert Wednesday night, and at
its close the 'St1r-spangled Banner" will be
sung by the six thousand male voices and
the audience. The prizes will be distributed
in connection with the open air exercises
to continue until Saturday, when the official
closing of the fest will be announced bv
President Ieonilal dt
The five judges CT the contests have been
selected. Each is an accomplished profess
sional musician and not connected with anv
society In the league. They have been Sc
lected in such manner as to withhold the
Identity Of one from the other and not
until the contests are over and they meet
to compare notations, VIZ each learn who
his associates are. The different Qualities
to be jud sed are ntondtion, precision, light
and shade. phrasing and enunciation Th1
are six points to each quality. and the So
ciety scoring the highest number of points
in each contest will be awarded the first
prize of that class.
The auditorium covers the entire block
bounded by Eleventh, Twelfth York and
Cumberland streets The area is 200 by 352
feet and the height is 65 feet The style
of architecture is German renaissance
There are no galleries and the acoustic
properties of the place, as demonstrated by
the rehearsals which have been going on
for the past several weeks are as perfect
as the most advanced scientific construction
can make them. The organizations which
will participate consist of some of the most
famous In the history of German-Ameri-
can music.