Omaha daily bee., 1898-07-03

Flesche OF the government service ct wash
ington, who read a paper accompanying the
Illustrations.
The scientific phases Of the subject were
treated in detail by Prof. Fillmore and then
the pyschic aspects by Miss Fletcher. Six
Indian youths and men from the reserva-
ton at Bancroft, who arrived early in the
day, were present, and under the direction
OF Mr.. La Flesche, who is a highly educated
Indian and who has been in the government
service for several years. examples of all
kinds of Indian songs were sung. This
feature proved TO be highly entertaining
and the audience received the strange, word
less, weird chants of the civilized red men
with much enthusiasm.
1t was an enlivening spectacle to see the
Indians waving their hands and arms and
singing, while one OF them kept UP an in
cessant rumble on a drum. One of them
handled the rattle and they waved gaily
bcdecked batons. Miss Fletcher's paper
dealt with the tribes of Indians between
the great lakes and the Pacific ocean north
OF the fortleth parallel. Miss Fletcher,
among other things, said:
Indian music, and in fact, all music, can
be studied in two ways, physically. as an
expression Of feeling in melodic form. or
mechanically ITOul inc SldlllOlHl VI IuyHlCs.
ut Is difficult for us to think of vocal
music as separate from words. We are
accustomed to lean upon the words more
than upon the melody for an understanding
of the feeling to be interpreted. The In
dams sense of musical fitness is such that
when he used words at all there was in his
mind so close a correspondence between the
idea they conveyed and the music that he
could not tolerate a enforcement and a
new combination The rituals sung in his
various ceremonies were no exception to
this rule. The music so universal in the
Indians rites and ceremonies were no en-
bellishments, but an actual expression OF
emotions. He was unable to define intel
lectually, and that these emotions were not
altogether vague is indicated by the fact
that he never separated his melody from
it's original subject; that he never applied
one time to two distinct themes.
Most of the Indian songs were entirely
without words, vocables being used to float
the voice; these when once set to a song
were never changed, but their order was
preserved as carefully as IL they had been
actual words representing ideas. They were
not fragments of words, archaic or other
wise, but we're a primitive attempt to give
an intellectual definition to the emotion of
the song.
Examples of Indian Singing.
"There are two generally received opin-
ions concerning Indian songs; that they are
improvised and forgotten after they have
once been rendered, or that even II the
same song is attempted twice it is subject
to variations, intentional or otherwise. The
extended observation of many years among
many tribes has failed to prove these sup
.o,t..-, n, ~. o,tr,r. I have honr I'D
the same song again and again sung b.
different Indians and have been unable tc
detect any variation. Songs have been re-
corded upon graphaphone cylinders, which
fourteen yczrs previously l had transcribed
from the singing of the Indian, and an ex-
animation of these duplicate songs show
a complete agreement
Speaking of the characteristic expression
of different kinds Of songs, Miss Fletche
said:
Songs expressive of the gentle emotion
or which sought to reach the mysterious su
pernatural powers had flowing or breathin,
a~spirate syllables, as 'he-ha, hi, abe, a-hi.
In courtship the lover breathed his senti
ments in signing vocables: 'Hi-dha, no, ha
hi-a he-ha he! Hi-a he!' No words inter
preted the funeral song, breathing vocable
alone carried the voice: 'I-ah dha-ha ah-i
dha-he ah-ha ha-ah.' When the Indial
wished to represent action and power ii
songs descriptive of strength and valor. o
when warlike feeling was to be excited h
used the explosive syllables, va. vi, vi
yaw,' as in the Mi-ka-thi songs.
His (the Indian's) song is subjective i
its cause and in it's effect; he seems to hav
sung from the simple impulse to voice hi
aspirations, his joys and his sorrows, tina
could in no other way find utterance."
The untutored song was the close fifth
{ garb of emotion, betraying its outlines wit
, undisguised truthfulness; Indian song:
, therefore, offer strong evidence that unmu
steal expression is a necessity in the natur
of man, is the spontaneous utterance OF feel
5 ing that lies outside the province of word.
Following Miss Fletcher's address Mis-
Amanda Vierheller rendered a pathetic In
dian ballad for the speaker and Franz Adel
mann performed upon the violin India
S melodies depicting the various modes an
5 shades of feeling that the red man endeavor
to express by his chants.
4 1t is Mr.. La F1esche's desire to presery
some of the melodies of the race. They al
fast disappearing and unless what rites al
known to remain among the tribes al
1 carefully preserved and cultivated much
= the meaning of Indian songs will be foreve
t lost.
t Commencing at 4 o'clock Bernhard Listt
e mann, violinist, and Miss Jennie Duttol
soprano, of Chicago captivated the lars
C audience by a number of skillfully rendere
s compositions. Both earned and receive
e encores spontaneously given.
There has been no little c%omplimentaI
d comment upon the performance of Erne
e Kroeger, who gave an American con
S posers' program Friday. The selection
e were all from well known music write
between ST. Louis and New York and fl
this display of loyalty Mr.. Kroeger's con
a patriots and his admirers have sung h
i. praises often.
Monday the Musical congress will clio
with an american music" festival, whiC
Mr.. Moore has so delightfully."- urged. 1t w