The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-18
FINE CHORUS REHEARSAL
MIR. VAN DER STUCKEN's BATON
WAVED OVER 400 LAST NIGHT.
AmphiOn Club Joins in BOdy-Pres-
ident Beveridge COngratu-
Iates the Singers.

| The rehearsal of the chorus of the May
music festival last evening at the High
| School Hall furnished cause for much con-
| graduation to the directors and friends of
/ the festival. There was a larger attend
ance of singers than was ever known at
festival rehearsals in the past. over four
| hundred voices took part in the singing,
and Professor Van der Stucken was in his
element. Enthusiasm and earnestness man.
! ifested itself on all sides and such was the
excellence of the chorus work that, as one
lady remarked, it was almost as pleasure
BILE to be there as to attend the May fes-
| tival itself.
An event of the evening was the admis-
sion into the chorus of the Amphion Club,
! an organization which contains in it's mem
| bership some of the best male voices in
/ the city If there is one thing which the
| festival choruses have lacked in the past
more than another it has been masculinty,
and the advent of the Amphion Club sup
| plies the deficiency to the full. The en-
/ trance of the club was made the occasion
| of sCme ceremony. The members of the
| chorus who have been practicing for the
last three months assembled early but not
a note was sung until the Amphion Club
arrived, which it did in a body. AS the
| young men marched down and took the
front seats reserved for them they were
| greeted with applause and the waving of
| ladies' handkerchiefs.
PRESIDENT ADDRESSES THE CHORUS
When this pleasing demonstration was
! over Albert j. Beveridge was introduced by
the professor to make little speach in
| behalf of the directors. Mr.. Beveridge spoke
in his usual graceful and eloquent way
extending TO the Amphions welcome. he
said, to begin with, that the coming of
the club in body demonstrated the exist
| ence of that condition in the community
| which had made possible the great Indian
apois festival. Said he: Every musical
society in the city bears to the May fes-
tival the same relation that the States bear
| to the Union. Each society is separate
every State is separate, and yet all the
societies are united in the festival as all
| the States are joined in the Union APP
plause interrupted the speaker frequently
| but. continuing he expressed the apprecia-
! ton felt by the directors for the fruitful,
| untiring and enthusiastic work of the
| chorus and said that its members had their
] reward in the knowledge that they were
! succeeding IN bringing to modest lndianap-
| oils the reputation of producing each May
| one of the greatest musical events of the
entire country. He said that this reputa-
| ton was extending even beyond the United
! OtdleS To foreign ldNuS. MT. FeTulndQQ
| Mayer, said he, zone of the directors,
| while in London some time ago was sur
| prised to pick up the Times of the great
| metropolis one morning and find therein a
| long account of the musical festival pro-
duced every May in Indianapolis u. S. A.
| Mr.. Beveridge also called attention to the
| fact that Louisville had recently sent a
| committee to this city to investigate the
| Indianapolis festival plans and the members
| of this committee had gone home and
\ raised in three days a guarantee fund for
a festival in their city amounting to $12, 600
| This Louisville enterprise is the outgrowth
of a conviction among the puhlic-spirited
business men of the Falls City that Indian
| apoS was reaping great benefit from her
| annual festivals. The festival there will be
! held one week later than the in this
| city. Mr.. Beveridge closed by saying: Il
| now turn you over to the tender mercieS
| of one who has sworn by all the gods and
| goddesses to make this the greatest festi-
val of them ALL" This sentence was cut
into by long applause at the end of the
word sworn, the chorus seeming to think
| that it saw something extremely apropos
which others could rot fathom. AS Prof.
! Van der Stucken arose the chorus extended
him demonStratiVe ovation, after which
| the work of the evening began with vim
| and an enthusiasm which spoke volumes
| 1Qr the masterful manner in which the
! chorus Is being trained this year. When it
| was all over Prof. Van der Stucken
pressed his elation over the evenings re-
| suits.
MR.. VAN DER sTUCKEN ELATED.
T. am more than pleased" he said. Il
|
anced- And another thing-I think we have
made very happy selections" Some of the
selections are Schubert's "Omnipotence,"
! olaf Tryvason," by Greig the great Nor
wegian composer; Ride of the Cit COM
position with much dash and vigor in it,
by D1ndy, the foremost of the young
French composers, and the third act of
Tannhauser.' These selections have al
ready been rehearsed, but the greatest piece
to be rendered by the chorus is the famous
| work, Lucifer," which has never before
been produced in the western hemisphere.
| This wonderful composition was written by
| Benot, the great Flemish composer, and it's
rendition Will be participated in by over
! four hundred adults and two hundred chill
! dren The rehearsal of the work will begin
| the first week in February and the mem
! bers of the chorus who expect to sing it
must attend the regular Monday rehearsals
| from now The rehearsals for ladies
| hereafter will begin at 1880 and those for
! Mr. Andrew Smith. of the music commit
! tee, said after the rehearsal that the chorus
! work this year would prove the best of any
! of the festivals. THE chorus is larger than
| ever said he, containing, as it does, over
! four hundred voices, and one special feature
! about 1t Is the strength OF the male side of
! it. We expect fully two hundred male MEM
| berS in the chorus. We have been rehears-
! ing for three months, and still have three
| months more in which to work. The timber
| OF the chorus tonight has been unusually
| good"
attention during the evening TO the great
| need there is in the city for an adequate
! hall for rehearsals. If any, spirited
citizen wishes to do a good thing by the
city" he said ''he could not find a better
way OF doing it than by erecting suitable
| music hall" He also said that there was
great absence of famous vocalists in the
country al this time but that all of the best
artists that could possibly be secured had
| been. The chorus work is TO be a special
feature of this years festival, and in the
/ way of artists the following probably will
| be engaged: Madame Gadski, dramatic So
| prano; Lillian Blauvelt. soprano Mrs. ia
! CODY, contraltO; David Bispham, bassO
! George Hamln, tenor; Paul Haase, bari
I tone; Baron Berthold. tenor; Signor Cam
| panari baritone Ffrangon Davis, basso.
I and David Ysaye, the great Belgian vio-
| linist.
A new train. christened the Florida Linn
tied left the Pennsylvania depot in Jersey
l l1itN NnsferlaN. a II 30 for ST ALRIs-