Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1900-03-11
METROPOLITAN MUSIC.


NEW YORK, March 9.-The last public
hearing this season of Rossinis "Stabat
Mater" was given on Sunday evening with
Marcenlli as conductor. Nordica repeated
her success in the "Inflamatus," Mantelli
was effective In the duett "Quis est
Homo and her great aria, Fac ut por-
tenn, and the newly imported tenor Corun-
bert sang the "Cujus Amman with the
clear ringing tones of which he is so
prodgal in all of his work
There is no magnet in Maestro Graus
operate bag that is SO potent as this semi
operate oratorio of Rossini's, and l regret
that we shall not have the pleasure of
hearing 1T again during the present lenten
season, for no more appropriate musical
score could be found, and surely the Met
ropolitan forces are especially qualified to
give US an adequate rendering of Rossini's
well known setting of this lenten hymn
1t has a curious history-this Rossini
music-It was never meant (by the COM
poser for publication, but was written for
a friend, and (to use his own words), 'can
really be called only mezzo serio." Ros-
SIM was undoubtedly one of the brightest
musical luminaries of the century. He
revolutionized Italian opera and has left
nearly fifty examples of operate COM
position. And yet, not only is his 'Stabat
Mater" the most famous setting of the
hymn in existence but / venture the state
ment that no other one composition of his
entire list has added more to his popularity
If not to his reputation than this theatric
musical dress of the Mater Dolorosa
For five long centuries the musical poets
had set their sweetest notes to this sad
plant of the middle ages. Josquin de Poes,
| Palestrina, Fergoles Astorga, Haydn,
each had left a beautiful tribute to the
poem. And, in our own day. Hunt.
Henschel, de Grandual and Dvorak have
given us differing examples of equaf
beauty, in their various conceptions of the
musical setting of the story-the saddest
of all stories-the story of broken hearted
mother, standing at the foot of a cross
| watching the death agonies of her son
''Stabat Mater Dolorosa
| JuXta crucem lacrymoSa
| DUN pendebat flius."
And yet we have waited for Rossini,-
the gay, lght-hearted, pleasure-loving
| Rossini, to give us our best known and
! best loved music for Benedetto's verse
and tho it be theatric, and sensual, and
! q had almost added gay and fippant,
| 1t is beautiful, and for its beauty's sake
! we cherish it, love it, and are thankful
! that any one has been permitted to write
| it and that we are permitted to hear it.
~
NJ. de Pachmann has been giving another
successful series of Chopin matinees-suc-
| cessful in all meanings of the word and
| | sometimes wonder where the eccentric
little pianist managed, with his mimetc
power, to obtain so much Chopin atmos-
| phere for his pianistic exhibitions. 1t is
, startling at times. 1t makes one almost
believe in a reincarnation of Chopin fingers
If not his soul A most peculiar tempera-
ment is de Pachmanns He is magnetic
! and repulsve He wins you with his grasp
of Chopin's inner meanings and repels you
| with mannerisms that, were they not de
| Pachmanns, would Danish their owner
| from any concert platform.
But say what you will there are times
even while you are watching the grotesque
antics of the player, that he transports
| you to a moonlit chamber across the sea.
where sits the composer himself, and about
him are grouped AIRY Schaeffer, George
Sand and other intimates that haunted his
/ music room and listened with bowed head
and beating heart to such music as only
he knew and played. This power is given
to the few. Let US acknowledge it wher-
ever we may.
! The Society of American Composers and
| Musicians is without a president. Mr..
MacDoweA has seen the error of his ways
and dropped the honor and the burdens of
presiding officer, before his first season of
work had fairly begun. Mr. de Koven had
his innings in the position and the club
under his rule advanced in certain lines
with great rapidity and distinction. But
the office is no sinecure and unless one is
willing to saerifice-sacrif1ce, and again
sacrifice, one might as we'll lay the bur-
den down first as last and enter other
lists. Poor De Gerrit Smith nearly lost
his health, wealth and life in his many
sided zeal for the cause. But no one else
ever can or will be so foolish again. 1t
seems pity that there is no broad firm
platform upon which to build society
OF this kinda company of representative
American musicians and composers, who
will sink self and help the cause of Amer
lean music. l had hoped, a few years
ago, that such was the possibility of the
then Manuscript Society. But party feel
ing ran high and the desire for individual
preferment still higher, and between the
two. the poor society. as a society, Ian
guished and fell by the wayside, tired and
disguised at being made a catspaw for the
= ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of individuals whose tai
>pts per Sc were not sufficiently recog-