New-York tribune., 1901-05-24
MUSIC.
THE BACH FESTIVAL BEGUN IN THE
QUAINT MoRAyIAN TOWN OF
BETHLEHEM.
BETHLEHEM.
my TELEGRAPu TO THE rn,n,.,.r

mi which in he
OF time. is bound TO give ii also a unioue distinc
,,on century ago travellers cann bara b.. -.
score TO study the quaint institutions of the Mo
ravian settlement. whose religious zeal combined
with industry ana thrift, had already made the
Mace famous. In many respects the old order to
changed giving place to the new and to-day
visitors are here by the hundred TO attend tbrea
days festival Of Bach's music. They are a ser,
Gus minded folk these visitors and find as much
cause for wonderment as did their predecassors .,
a century ago. and rightly
The Bach festival is as great an anoral,, 80 a,,
as were the Moravian institutions of primitive
times, and TO be appreciated il ought to be an
preached in a similar spirit OF reverence That
spirit however, could scarcely be wanting even IN
the most casual observer. The town has taken a
holiday Sauntering up and down the shaded
streets are scores of men and women carving
vocal scores OF Bach's music and. the weather be-
ing warm, the social attitude of the community
unconventional and the purpose Of the multitude
one singers and visitors are all in festal garb and
festal mood
The second festival of the Bach Choir has begun
and begun auspciously. From severely critical
point OF view the dongs of the day were not mo-
entous; but the severely critical point of view is
not that which prevails The feeling is rather one
Of admiration for the spirit which could prompt
such an undertaking. and of delight in the har-
monious cooperation of the elements concerned
The people heard the Christmas Oratorio to-day.
and heard it under circumstances which made
the occasion more than a mere concert of un-
familiar music. They were summoned into the
old church by a choir Of trombones playing
famous old German chorale in the belfry. II was
an unconV ntional summons hut a lovely one and
its fitness came with particular force TO those
who could recognize in il the music of a gadsome
Christmas hymn that Luther wrote for the ediica-
ton of his own children.
In the performance itself there were other re-
ninders os the functions which gave rise 10 the
music The audience was a congregation in thought
feeling and conduct. 1t not only listened to the
glad musical tidings but participated in their
procamaJons. All the hymns interspersed in the
oratorio were sung by the people who TO their
feet for each occasion. / had seen the experiment
tried years before AZ a performance OF Bach's st
Matthew's Passion " in Boston. but what
failure then was triumphant success here. There
the chorales We're musical compositions which had
70 be laboriousy read at sight by those who essayed
to sing. Here. far as the tunes were concerned
they were household words TO the overwhelming
majority Of the listeners, and the refreshment
which they brought great the artistic
enjoyment keen
The forces. choir Of something above a hundred
voices and orchestra Of half the number, occu
pied the organ gallery in the Of the church
and, following the example Of Bach Mr.. J. Fred
Wolfe conducted and also played the accomran-
rnents the rected narrative pianoforte. This
distribution OF the forces. the fact that the work
given in its integrity, and the serious spirit in
which the work was given and received the ap-
proval Of the audience being manifested IN its active
stamped the affair with a character absolutely
unique in the history Of choral festivals in America
Bach's Christmas Oratorio has been little heard
IN this country and never in its entirety before to-
day. The Boston Handel and Haydn Society has
performed two Of its six parts. and so has the Cn
cnnau Festival Choir. under Mr. Theodore Thomas.
Mr. Frank Damrosch made the second part which
is more directly concerned with the story Of the
nativity than the others, central feature of
Musical Art Society concert in New-York some
7 hav hea a1lr X
cept the first two Boston. and If the work made
deeper impression to-day than ever before 1t was
due partly the peculiar festa spirit or the occa-
sion already mentioned and partly TO the circum-
stance that the work Of the little choir was better
than that Of the larger organizations in Boston
and Cincinnati. though not as finished as that OF
the Musical Art Society. But the New-fork per-
formance was fragmentary.
Whether or not there lies any special merit in
giving the work without exoisons is matter that
can be left for discussion hereafter 1t is surely
an unusual proceeding. IT is q unit in design, yet
one made up Of six parts, which in Bachs cay
were spread over the six church festivals between
Christmas and Epiphany Sunday. Like the great
.'st Matthew Passion" 1t lay fallen for one hun
dred wears after Bach even in its native Germany.
when II was revived. in 1874. in Breslau II was per-
formed in full but fancy that from that cate 10
this the times that it been given in its entirety
might be counted on the fingers Of ones hands 1t
&c therefore not a familiar work. AS a matter OF
fact IL IS idle to talk of familiarity in connection
with any OF Bach's choral works
There is so little Of a real Bach cult anywhere
outside Of a few Of the musical centres OF Ger-
many that II seems idle talk Of any Of the great
masters works as more less familiar than the
rest The Passion According to St Matthew has
been performed a few times in New-fork, Boston
Cincinnati and possibly Chicago and a few other
races: the st John" Passion has been heard mere
IN this little town (Which local Tag has duooed
-Bachlehem'D ard elsewhere. and once in decaoe
one or the other Of the church cantatas has cropped
I'M in the programme of choral society; but OF a
sincere and consistent cultivation Of Bachs music
there is no long story TO be told Flahoioi'e e e
teachers Of the right sort use the lnVentlohs ana
few Of the preludes and fugues from the wen
Tempered Clavichord" for the development OF hnser
to.brio ., tbeir pupils and pianoforte virtuosi
thunder IN the index of their recitals with Tausig
or Ifszt transcrptions OF few organ pieces. Ihat
is the extent Of Bach culture pretty much an the
world over outside OF the organ rectals' "hlci tiie
public look upon as functions Of too great soienl-
rifv 10 be visited for entertainment or eoiying re-
fr.st-,an, 7, fart the attitude Of the musical
pufsic toward zach is very like that which the
literary nublic occupied toward Klopstock when
Iesslng INDUCED himself in his malicious disuch'
.'ycr wfrd NIGHT einen Klopstock lobenE
Doch wird ihn jeder leseng Nein'
TIE world has its mouth fun Of praise for Bach
b., is scant in performance Of his works All the
greater the credit Of the jealous little comnunl,S
which has preserved enough Of fits original earnest
ress 10 transform the universal and ide Woro li'o
the local and vital Deed. Praise 100 10 tiie WIS
com of the musician who. planning 80 great "
act o. artistic devotion the festival begun TO-
dav chose the s'Christmas Oratorio" as me open
Ing number.
have no knozIedee Of Mr. wolle's motives in
framing his festival scheme IL is easy TO surmise
that IN the sequential production OF the thie'
works which make UP his programme ne va"
guided bv an appreciation Of the spiritual poho
dc