The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-03-01
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STEPHENS TESTIMONIALS
Lake never did a handsomer thing
than last evening. when, with a whole
souled unanimity that was as surpris-
ing as it must have been gratifying to
Mr.. Stephens, she poured forth a throng
Of people which packed the historic old
| tabernacle from the choir back to the
| rear walls, and mrde 500 people stand
UP around the fringe of the galleries
throughout the evening. 1t was a
mammoth tribute to the musician who
has done so much for the divine art
since he took up his abode with US, and
there is no manner of doubt that he APP
| preciated il to the utmost. 1t was en-
/ phatically the browning triumph of Mr.
! Stephens career as a conductor and a
composer, and it must have been with
many conflicting emotions that he gazed
out upon that sea of upturned faces"
| assembled to do him honor, and con-
trasted the spectacle with that of the
bashful country boy who, only a few
years back, used to make occasional
visits to the city, listen with awe
struck wonder to the choir and the
great organ, and build castles in the
! air as he dreamt of the day when one
| of his secretly written compositions
might be rendered by such a body of
singers. The widest of his dreams
1 came true last night, as he experienced
the intoxicating pleasure of seeing the
| children of his brain brought forth, and
heard thsm saluted by the ringing plau-
/ dts OF thousands who recognized their
t, beauty and grace.
There was not one of the Il numbers
on the programme which was not
written by MIR. Stephens himself; from
1 the simple but sympathetic duo of The
/ Blo.hers, written in his 18th year (and
| rendered with so much feeling by the
7 composer and Mr.. ChristopherSon that
| 1t was re-demanded), down to the last
| big composition he has given the public,
! The ode to the Pioneers" and includ-
| ing selections from an oratorio, an
| opera, duets, solos, etc. Mr.. Stephens
was monarch of all he surveyed. While
| at another time this might have been
/ objected to as giving the programme
4 same-ess and a somewhat heavy
| tinge, no one seemed to mind it last
| night, and there was a feeling of af
fectionate warmth over the whole aud
! fence which quite smothered any ten
dency to criticism, and glazed over any
/ passing imDerfections.
Pretty much the entire musical talent
/ OF the town was in evidence; the man.
moth choir of 500 voices: all the ladies
! in white, the gentlemen in black, were
! banked up in their usual places; Pro-
/ fessor Daynes presided at the organ;
! Mr.. Weihe's enlarged orchestra with
/ two cellos and with Mr.. Shepherd at
/ the piano. added magnifcently to the
! accompaniment. and the solo vocalists
| included Mrs. Pugsley, Mrs. Edwards,
! Mrs. Thomas Miss Dwyer, Miss
Daynes, Miss Clayton, Mr.. Goddard,
/ Mr.. Piper, Mr.. AshwOrth. Mr.. Peterson
| and the Messrs. ChristoDherson. Such
an aggregation could hardly do other
! wise than arouse enthusiasm. Generally
| speaking, it can be said that the prin-
| cipal musical effects of the night were,
/ first, the opening scene of the opera,
| The Diva" the effect of the choir, of
| the solo voice (Mrs. Edwards), heard
above the rest, of the count (Mr. God
! dard), and the foster brother (Mr.
/ Pyper), singing in the foreground, was
admirable, and ranks among the very
/ best things Mr.. Stephens has written;
/ second, the Oratorio, THE Siege of the
/ Nephites," the most striking part of
which, and one that was heartily ap-
plauded, being the duo between Messrs.
Goddard and Piper. accompanied by
the male chorus; another equally Strik-
ing was the soprano aria in the same
number with ladies' chorus; this was
beautifully rendered, and heightened by
the exquisite work of the strings, the
two cellos standing out in telling fash
ion.
Mr.. Goddard has never been in bet
ter voice than he was throughout The
oratorio throughout is written in nobly
impressive style, and dates back II
years ago. The motel, 'oGd OF Israel
is an effective number, and was excel
lently done. Miss Daynes. whose tone
steadily improves. and Miss Clayton
sang the duet Love- with correctness,
but the composition is hardly as strik-
ing as others by the same author. The
well known "HOsannah" and the ma
jestic Pioneer Ode" went with the ac-
customed effect; parts of the latter are
in Stephens best form. Mrs. Thomas
and Mr.. Ashworth's duet had a big re-
call; their work was all good except the
| finish, which was off the key; Mrs. Ed
words sang charrningly a solo, 'LinGer
Not" and Utah, We Love Thee"
wound up the programme. though
many of the audience left during the
rendition, owing to the lateness of the
hour. Professor Daynes' solo, admir-
ably rendered, was not appreciated as
it would have been, but for the same
reason.
There were probably from 5000 to
1000 people who paid admission, and
! though the tickets were but 25c, hand
sc me sum must have been realized
Mr. Stephens was given an ovation
when he appeared, the choir all rising
and waving their handkerchiefs, and
he had another when Committeeman
Pierce presented him with two beautiful
plants, a sword fern from the choir
and an arrow leaf palm from Professor
Daynes. He would have had still an
other had he squelched the encores; the
programme was just too long by the
length Of the recalls, only one of which
was a bona fide demand from the aud
fence. Mr.. Stephens would place his adj
mirers under lasting obligation if he
would learn to distinguish between a
genuine spontaneous call for repeti-
ton from the audience, and one from
n dozen clackers scattered over the
house, generally led by attaches, and
usually given where there is no artistic
reason for it.
During the evening the ladies were
requested to remove their hats, very
popular innovation in the tabernacle.
Presidents Woodruff and Cannon sat
the concert throughout.
g g @
One would have thought there were
not enough people left in the town last
night after looking at the tabernacle,
to fill a second place of amusement,
but the Grand held very good aud
fence when the curtain rang up on
Town Topics" There was no crowd,
but the attendance was more than fair
The slxit is the same merry, musical
farce brought down to the present
writing. and bcasting such well known
laugh makers as World, Keller and
Mack, in its ensemble. All three are
as good as ever. Roach, the coon,
made hit, and was encored heartily
for his principal effort. The two bright
n