The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-10-12

makes no claim to be a. religious ser vice, it is conducted with perfect pro- priety on the part of both players and audience, and stands much on the same footing as an oratorio performed in
 England in an ordinary concert hall under the condition that there shall be
 no applause.
 In fact, the play may, for the most
 part, be described as an oratorio, the
 several numbers of which are connect
 ed by acclaimed narrative, Illustrated
 by tableaus, As at Ober Ammergau,
 the tableauX are not confined to the story of the Passion They commence with the first stage of the Creation
 Let there be light"-and comprise
 many of the episodes of Old Testament
 history, such as the Expulsion from
 Paradise, the Murder of Abel, the Sac
 rifice of Isaac, Jacobs Dream, the Sale of Joseph and the Finding of Moses, down to the proclamation of the Law in
 Sinai. The opening of the story of the
 Gospels-the Birth of Christ, the Flight
 into Egypt, the Baptism in the Jordan, as we'll as the Sermon on the Mount
 the Blessing of Children and the Entry into Jerusalem bring the first part ot the representation to a close. After the
 midday adjournment the subject of the Passion is itself entered upon, and a 1 change of treatment in certain parts of
 the narrative takes place. The Meet
 ing at the Palace of Caiaphas, at which the dangers of the new teaching were discussed, and it was decided, if possi- ble, to crush the Teacher the Accusa- ;rrl, O,ein nd | several scenes before Pilate are acted-- | the text of the Gospels being consid- cred amplified for the purpose. With these dramatic scenes are interspersed,
 as before, living pictures of other cpl 1 sodes of the sacred story-the Last | Supper, the Watching and Seizure ln | the Garden of Gethsemane, the Scourg- | ing, the Crown of Thorns, the Progress | to Calvary, and, finally, the Crucifixion, | the Resurrection and the Ascension. | Accompanying these tableaus are recitative of the narrative and of the | words of Jesus, and reflective and peni- | tential airs and chorales, after the | manner of Bachs Passion music. The singers are for the most part concealed, | but some choruses are sung by robed | choir standing before the curtain. 1n- | strumental music and acclaimed narra- ! tive, as in the first part, further link 1 the several scenes and tableaus togeth- | CT.
 | THE MUSIC OF THE PLAY. | Such is the general character of what
 is certainly on the whole striking rep
 resentation. There is naturally aburl- 1 dant room for criticism. The music of
 the oratorio, for the most part the
 work of the Rev. H. r. Muller, of Full da, though containing much that is | touching and melodious, strikes one as l neither original nor powerful. One
 cannot help wishing that Bach, Handel
 and Hayden had been put under requi- | sition. When the beautiful conceptions | of master minds were available it was l gratuitously venturesome to go in | search of new lights. Moreover, the n- | fiuence of Bach's treatment upon Mir.
 Muller's work is so obvious ts inevita- l bly, to entail comparison and disap- | pointment. The execution of the mu- | sic, so far as the orchestra is concerned, l also leaves much to be desired. The in
 strumentalsts are very few, and their
 performance is only tolerable. The
 chorus singing, especially that of the
 men, is, on the other hand good and the soloists sing correctly and in good
 taste. The dresses are carefully stud jed, suitable and harmonious. Many of
 the tableaus in the second part are
 close copies of old masters, and the ef-
 feet is at once rich and sober. While
 some of the most ambitious scenery,
 such as that which purports to indicate rty... q Lt... 1T. T A 1 semblies of the Heavenly Hierarchy, is,
 from the nature of the case, apt to of- I fend rather than impress, most of it is in good taste and pleasing. The dra- matic scenes are acted with vigor. 4 And, above all, the portrayal of the
 (Continued on Eighth Page.)