The record-union., 1899-06-18

aAszps
The London News" says: Recently
Elijah has been performed at Yoko-
hama, and the japanese could not
make head nor tail of it, understanding
nothing of the Old Testament legend,
nor the music. The Japanese scale is
different from ours and the melodies
of Mendelssohn doubtless seemed to
them strange cacophony.''
|
| Kaiser Wilhelm not long ago attend
ed performance of Siegfried Wagner's
Der Barenhauter," and the monarch
was so pleased with the work that he
has ordered its production at the Ber-
lin Royal Opera next autumn.
SO
The .Inter-Ocean'' of Chicago has the
following regarding the appointment of
Clarence Eddy as official organist for
the United States at the Paris exposi-
tion: Mr.. Eddy won his first honors
as official organdst of the Auditorium in
this city, where he naturally fell under
the observant eye of Commissioner
Peck There may be other American
organists in Paris during the exposi-
ton season of 1900, but Mr.. Eddy alone
will be authorized to play for this coun-
try with the official sanction of our
Government Whenever Mr. Eddy sits
down in front of the keyboard, The au-
dience will feel that every note which
issues from The pipe is. sanctioned by
the American Government. To be an
official organist is something that car
ries with it responsibilities as we'll as
pleasures. If Mr.. Eddy's vox humma
should break loose while the third tier
of pedals was screwed to the stage, for
| instance, it might involve lis in serious
complications, for the French are nat
| urally sensitive people. ard there must
be no cracks in the, back pipes when
Mr.. Eddy's fingers are running toward
the upper register Of keys Of the Mar
| seillaise.' Yet let us hope that our OH
cial organist, as we'll as our official or
gan, may escape all discorGant notes.
7 Musical America: The question is Of
! ten asked how blind musicians acquire
their repertoire. Perhaps the best ex-
ample of the we'll educated musician
who has been handicapped from enid
| hood by loss of sight is Edward Baxter
Perry, the pianist. capable concert
| player, and an intelligent and well in
formed man. His plan, which probably
resembles that Of most blind musicians
of the higher grade. is to have some one
read to him the notes Of q new compo-
sition, measure by measure, giving each
note in the chord. the length of the
| notes and the marks Of expression.
From this reading he memories the
| selection, and is then ready to practice.
1t seems hard, but it has cornpensating
| 1,,o Il; rT.Ix
| low grade performers of the Blind Tom
| order merely initiate the music they
hear usually very Incorrectly, instead
of constructing, their own Interpretation
| from the notes. 1t has been suggested
that the phonograph, the pianoia and
other automatic contrivances might
| advantageously be used to avoid the
necessity for the tedious work of the
readers, and perhaps this has been done
| in individual cases. There is a good
deal of music, too that has BEEN printed
for the blind, and the range of this
repertoire will constantly increase, and
| music makes a. valuable part Of the
| New York Free Circulating Library for
| the Blind located in the basement of
ST. Agnes Church in Ninety-first street.
The New York Evening Post" says:
| Several years ago one of the daily pa
perS published a description of library
! for the blind of a neighboring city. This
called forth, some days later COM
ment on the fact that New York City
possessed no such library, ard a sug-
| gestiOn that a fund be started for that
purpose. The appeal was responded to
| at once, and in November, 1896 the Ii
| brary was formally opened for the use
| of all worthy blind. From a small be-
ginning of sixty volumes. the first year
saw the number increased 10 nearly 500,
with several hundred pieces of music
| fcc organ, piano, guitar and violin, ar
ranged for the blind. There are now
1,154 books and $40 pieces Of music in
the library The number of regular
readers is about 115''
A musical London gossip says it is
fact that Mascheroni's ballade For
All Eternity the copyright of which
has just been sold by private contract
for $11 200, was originally Offered to a
London music publisher for $50 and was
refused. In this connection the R. +.
j Wood Music Company beg to call at
! tention to two new songs of this COM
poser which were not refused when Of
fered, and which will soon be published
| by them. The titles are The Brighter
Day" and "Lal-la-loo.' The refrain
.of the latter is one of those which haunt
the brain for long time, and will De-
come popular as soon as heard. The
I Brighter Day. is as we'll adapted to a
yesper service as to the concert room
There is line of civic deyelopnent
| in an esthetic direction which appeals
to other senses than sight, says Charles
Mulford Robinson in the June .Atlan-
tic The claim of the ear is not for
gotten. In Philadelphia and ir Bos-
! ton there is already a municipal band.
The Mayor of Philadelphia writes that
the one in that city has steadily grown
| in favor. In the summer of 1897 it
gave ninety concerts in twenty-t.l-ee
squares. The band in Boston gave lis,
| first concert last June. A series fol-
lowed, one each Sunday ON the Com
mon. and two or three every week in
public parks and squares. A music
commission had been created, as an ex-
preston of the cdty's wish 20 furnish
good free music to the people. The
Municipal Band was of its creation.
and was made. excellent a choral So
ciety was organized, and the programs
were varied with vocal music. instru-
mental solos,. etc. The popular snc-
cess was immense, audiences number
| ing 10000 persons sometimes gathering
on Sunday. The commission also pur-
chased the Mechanics Hail organ.
which it is proposed to place in a pub
| lie building accessible to fl.o ,,oo,,Io.