The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-11-19
MIR. KREHBIEL.
Lecture Before the Friday
Morning Club.

Mr.. Henry f. Krehbiel, critic of the
New York Tribune, gave very inter-
esting lecture on Scandinavian music,
last evening, at the Friday Morning
Club rooms in Day building. Mrs. Kreh-
biel sang several folk songs and art
songs by way of illustration, and it may
be said once for all that her singing
was delightful and in every way an
appropriate companion to the high
scholarship of her husbands discourse,
/ From the nature of the case, Mr..
KrehbiePs remarks We're frequently
chronological in character, dealing with
the history, habits and occupations of
the scandinavian peoples. and the geo
graphical, climatic and political condi-
/ lions of their country because all these
things have their influence upon the
character Of their folk songs.
He spoke of the Scandinavians as the
/ first people to stamp their individuality
upon formal music so deeply as to
make it permanently and universally
recognizable Chopin, the Pole, List,
! the Hungarian, Swetana and Dvorak,
| the Bohemians had done something in
( this line for their respective nationali-
| ties, but none had gone so far as to
L
symphony and give new forms and new
material to orchestral music.
List had confounded gypsy music
with the Hungarian, and had attributed
to the gypsy tunes that had been stolen
| from the Hungarian and tricked out
with Oriental fourishes typical of the
tribe, and applied by the gypsy to
whatever music he plays, whether it be
! Hungarian, German, Spanish or even
n
need only listen to a gypsy band play
ing the familiar airs of a Gilbert and
Sullivan opera.
Mr.. Krehbiel was at some pains to
deprecate the attempt to divide
music into schools of compost
tion,' because the lines Of demarkation
are SO indistipot Nationality in music,
on the other hand, is obvious and I'M
mistakable. and for that reason he con-
graduated the club upon its present
course of study.
| Mr.. Krehbiel described the Scandina-
Wan folk songs and folk dances, often
quoting Scandinavian writer's as au-
| thority for his statements. Melancholy
| is the most striking trait. and large
majority of both songs and dances are
| in the minor key. Neither songs nor
| dances are the Inspiration of joy, but
rather of sorrow, and from the peoples
who have suffered most comes music
| of the deepest import and strongest
feeling. Northern Europe and Russia
! extending south to the Black and Cas-
| plan seas, are the nations of the minor
mode, while the rest of Europe sings
and dances in the major. 1t therefore
| comes about that Scandinavia and Rus
STA are richest in beautiful folk songs.
| In the treatment of his subject Mr..
| Krehbiel proved the breadth Of his
scholarship, for history, folklore, 1T
erature. art, philology and the science
| of ethnology were all laid under con-
tribution to illustrate or prove the
points which he made. Norwegian,
| Swedish, Danish and Finnish folk
songs were on the program to show
| their kindred ethnlc character, and
beautiful songs they were. All We're in
manuscript, and new to the audience
1t was while speaking of the Finnish
songs, that Mr.. Krehbiel brought out
the fact that Longfellow borrowed a
Finnish rhythm or meter for his
American poem 'Hiawatha,' 1t was
from one of the Swedish songs, meek
ems Polska," that Ambrose Thomas
borrowed the slow theme for the mao
scene of his opera, "Ophelia."
The last half of the program wa.
given up to songs by modern compos
ers, KjeruR and Sinding, the Norwe
CLANS; Sjoegrin, the Swede; Heise ant
LANCE Mueller, the Danes. All blu
one were new. They were not oni,
beautiful, but instructive as showing
how the native composers have incoT
porated the spirit and racial traits O
the folk song into formal music. Mr.
Krehbiel described Christian Sindinl
as the most vigorous and inspired O.
the Scandinavian composers, to whom
Grieg must stand second, and he tOlC
a pathetic story of the rescue of the
composer from suicide, in Leipsig, b!
Adolph Brodsky, who a few years age
was concert master in Walter Dam
rosch's orchestra in New York
In introducing the speaker, Mis-.
! Georgia Bacon, president of the club
told of the enlarged scope of the organ.
ization and the plans for the years
work. 1t is a reproach to a city OF
Worcester's musical reputation and
pretensions that no larger audience
should have been gathered to listen tC
an entertainment that promised and
afforded so much genuine pleasure, to
say nothing of the instruction to be
derived from so accomplished an essay
list as Mr.. Krehbiel. He spoke in a
pleasant, conversational manner, and
held the attention of his listeners per-
fectly, despite q rather trying atmo-
sphere. The lecture was specially pre-
pared for the occasion.
|