The San Francisco call., 1898-04-16

Bispham stands up to sing. I ain sensible of fiuttering all around me; fronf the corners of my eyes I see beautiful women pinch one another in ecstasy Of joyful an- ticipation; I hear issue from four-score lovely bosoms long drawn-out signs of perfect bliss, on the waves of which float such sweet expressions as oh, isn't he lovely" 'Ah, what a man!' Did you ever know such an artist?' What voicer How he does sing,' Isn't he the sweet est thing?' and to cap the climax of hys- terfa this last, Oh, aren't you glad you're alive? There are some good, common, sensible people who will fancy perhaps that I am making these tales out of whole cloth, but I assure them, and will swear on a stack of Bibles if demanded of me, that I have written not a whit more than the truth in telling what hap pened at the Astoria
 Jan Blockx and Tieres successful opera, ''The Princess of the Inn,'' is to be pro- duced at the Monnaie Theater, Brussels, next season; Berlin has also secured it. The other day it reached it's fiftietA per- formance at Ghent, and, among the mani- festations of which the composer was the object on that occasion was one which shows how generally librettists are neg lected. Amid the acclamations of the crowded theater Jan BlockX was called to the box of the Mayor, M. Braun, who, surrounded by his civic officers, solemnly presented the successful composer with a gold medal bearing the inscription: La Vile de Gand a Jan Blockx-Princess dAuberge, 1S9S": (The city of Ghent to Jan Blockx, Princess of the Inn''-1S9S) Jan Blockx gracefully expressed his thanks for the tribute, and there was 0rron hn wi OP the Municipal Council several of the Councillors asked the Mayor why the librettist, M. de Tiere, had not been asso- ciated in the homage rendered Jan Blockx. M. Braun answered frankly: I've forgot all about him. The musician had been the only one remembered no one had given one thought to the libret- tist It is the general rule to overlook librettists in this manner, but the Muni- cipal Council of Ghent resolved to do the right thing, so the Councillors at once or dered medal to be struck off for M. de Tiere. It was too late, however, to offer it to him publicIy, so it was finally re- solved to send the librsttist his medal by post.
 The veteran song writer, Henry Rus sell, although so very popular some years ago, received scarcely any emolument
 
 realized was made by giving concerts and singing and playing his own songs. Had he written the whole of his works last year he might have been wealthy man to-day, but there were no royalties" in the thirties. Nowadays the composer of a popular song may make thousands of dollars by one effort, but the songs which rang through England and America years ago brought practically no result, apart from MT. Russells singing of them. "Cheer, Boys, Cheer was sold for & sovereign, and The Gamblers Wife," 'The Maniac and ''The Slave Ship yield ed like amount. "Nowadays,' says MT. Russell, "a man receives fourpence for every copy sold of his song, bull neverre- ceived a single fourpence in royalties. On one occasion thirty-nine presses were working to supply the demand for Cheer, Boys, Cheer, yet all I got was a sovereign, though afterward the pub fisher did give me ten-pound note But he made a fortune out of my work
 Jules Schuloff, whose pianoforte com positions are known to amateurs all over the world, has just died in Berlin at the age of B. Schuloff was born in Prague, and completed his musical studies in Paris under Chopin. He made numbers of tours as concert-pianist through Europe, especially Germany, England Russia and Spain. For forty years he gave pianoforte lessons in Paris, and later in life settled in Dresden and finally at Berlin. Among his best-known com- positions are "The Shepherds Song Chant des Bergers), the "Fantasie" on popular Bohemian airs and his Concert Waltzes."
 The commission that Is organizing the coming exposition at Turin has requested Luigi Mancinelli to write an inaugural cantata to words by E. Berta. The com poser has accepted the offer. Mancinelli is the only Italian whose name figures on the programme of Covent Garden Opera House this season; the singers are Amer ican, English, Scotch, Polish, French, Scandinavian, Belgian. etc, etc., but Mancinelli, one of the conductors, Is the only Italian in the long list of singers, conductors, etc.
 Raynaldo Hahn. who set to music Pierre Loti's "Le Marriage de Loti," Is one