New-York tribune., 1901-09-27
MUSIC.
,R KELLEY'S AND MR.. CHADwICK'S
COMPOSITIONS AT WORCESTER.
TBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE. ]


= nublic are less interested in this meeting than
- we're in any OF It's recent predecessors Why
.L,v should be II is not easy to tell, unless
=, which is not fattering to local taste and in
igence IS. nevertheless. valid II would be griev-
- "a be compelled 10 say that hundreds of the old
o,rors OF the festivals remaining at home this
- because there is operate prirna donna of
e-ldw1de celebrity in the list Of solo singers. Yet
.,,v two explanations have been offered TO account
s- the falling of in interest. One is the absence
- Emma Eanes and the other is advance of 81
n the cost OF a subscription ticket But the coun-
--v is prosperous and Worcester and the towns
-o,ud about sharing generously in that pros
,s-iry Can the dollar have been the bugaboo?
the programmes are admirable and the perform
snoes II all they ought to be in the matter of
v.euenos are AT least as good as the audiences
as accustomed TO hear. Fortunately, the produc-
-on of Mr. ChadVick's work, Judith this
evening proved be a stimulus both in the matter
n attendance and in interest, and the doleful sub
SECT need not be pursued
feature Of the matinee concert, which put the
eote-ie q critics and choir conductors here
ssubIed on the cut vive was the entrance OF Miss
Fstelle Liebling the concert stage OF her native
and Miss Lieblng is the daughter OF Max Lteb
ing planoforte teacher OF New-York. She has
.,nd,ed in Berlin and last winter engaged pro-
visionaly al the Court Opera in Dresden. Last
sumner she studied with Nine Marchesi IN Paris,
and she now purposes essay a career in America.
shs Is q soprano OF the hortd type, and she ef
fected her debut with the bill song from ''Lakue."
The greeting which she received was gracious and
sncouraging but not demonstrative. The young
,nnans voice seems to be naturally OF fine quail
nv for the kind Of singing which she has de-
-oted herself For some which It would be
idle 10 speculate about, it seems 70 have become
little stale Its range is ample. and II is naturally
ssxible Some Of her staccau in the familiar show
Mere were brilliant but her registers are not
ecualized and ever and anon she enits a sadly
veled tone
IT, American COMPOSERS were represented
,o-day's programmes. IN the afternoon fantastic
suite entitled Aladdin" composed by Edgar Still
man KeIley. was played by the orchestra; the en-
IRE evening was taken up by the performance.
,be first which il has had. OF Mr. Chadwtcks
.1udirh" /" This work was described some length
IN an article which appeared in The Tribune last
sunday and il is not necessary that its story be
discussed again. Touching the title, "a lyric
drama" which the composer gave il, question
was raised in that article which, II was hoped,
might be definitely settled by a hearing Of the
music The question was whether Judith ought
n be called a lyric drama or a dramatic oratorio
Tnhappily the performance left the question IN
doubt So far as the action and mise en- scene sug-
gested in the stage printed in the vocal score
and li5retto and illustrated less vividly
bT the music are concerned, Il must be repeated
that Judith" is even less operate than Saint
saens's Samson and Dalilah' which II seems not
unfair to assume was the model in the mind OF
the composer when he planned IT, Whether or not
Mr. William Chauucey LangdOn, who wrote the
words kept the Frenchmau's work in his minds
eye cannot De said; nor does IL matter. since Mr.
Chadwick drew up the scenario Of the work He
st least contemplated theatrical production. But
50 did saint-Saens, and also did Rubinstein
when he composed his so-caIed Biblical Operas,
which are a combination Of incidents void OF ac-
ton and action incapable Of representation by any
known theatrical devices. Mr.. ChadWicks work
is. Ike Rubinsteln's Tower Of BebeF' and Moses,
a mixture Of opera and oratorio, and there is no
descriptive term that will 1T Il for the sticklers
the subject Of correct terminology- Musical
". the operate element is concentrated in and
about the scene which perusal OF the book sug-
eested the dramatic rnovement-the scene
between the heroine and Holofernes, IN which the
former preserves her purity and the latter loses his
head, first rretaphoricaily and then physically.
The musical numbers which precede this scene and
those which follow il and bring the work 10 close
belong 70 oratorio, and Mr. Chadwick most
successful in his music when he frankly admitted
the fact and composed in style which would make
but concert in costume, no matter how lavishly
the stage might be piled with spectacular furn-
ture. There is considerable music IN the score.
which discloses that Mr.. Chadwick has studied the
idioms which commonly associated with the
East 10 good advantage, and he has characterized
Hoofernes with striking effect; but his individ-
valuation Of the dramatis persona stops with the
two principal characters-the Assyrian general and
she Jewish heroine. The bacchanalian scene in the
tent Of Holofernes is delineated in vivid -coors,
and one Of the most admirable features Of the
score is the varied and effective orchestration.
Mr. KeLey's composition is interesting expert
nent in the employment Of exotic folk song ele-
nnents in large orchestral forms. The composer
Is filing the chair OF music at Yale University
Just in place Of Professor Horatio ". Parker,
who is enjoying his first sabbatical year in Eu-
rope. His suite has been played in New-York.
but under circumstances which did give II a
very extensive hearing. A few music lovers in the
metropolis with long memories may remember Mr..
Kelley as the producer of some incidental music
Tor shakespeares Macbeth in which the poetic
insight Of the composer was luminously exhibited
By the circumstance that he converted the voice
of Macbeth's conscience into physical tones and
had an orchestral owl hoot Sleep more" in
the rhythm OF the German quail accompani-
nent 70 the Thames speech after the murder. Also
some may remember that il was Mr.. Kelley who
od the stupendous service to contemporaneous
music by Wiping Brahms out Of existence with
single essay. Those who have forgotten these
Two achievements ought to remember him by rea-
son Of exceedingly clever song. in which
chinese effects were ingeniously initiated. called
The Lady Picking Mulberries' Mr.. Kelley has
lived Fl san Francisco and there he took in
tsrest IN Chinese music. Choosing for musical ex-
position the familiar story OF Aladdin, ii is told
n the Arabian Nights Entertainment" ne COM
posed the suite performed to-day illustrate four
oi The scenes which he labels follows: l. AT
tae Wedding OF Aladdin and the Princess; II.
N TIE Royal Pear Garden (Serenade)": ILL., The
right OF the Genii with the Palace; ". The
heturn; Feast Of the Lanterns" Much Of the
nlsie. ali OF il. in fact, except the third
aenf. which is little else than prolonged series
q spasnodic gruntings. groanngs and makings OF
csnnahle musical faces. is exceedingly happy. and
He composition is bound to give pleasure all
sho are interested in seeing folk song idioms put
!" artistic uses Though Mr.. Kelley does not
publish the fact he has made use Of motivi bor-
soTec from authentic Chinese tunes Thus the
Aerne OF his first movement is the first phrase
q the tune 'Moo-le-wha." THE Jasmine
.aower,' which the curious may find in Williams's
Middle Kingdom and elsewhere. and the ther1e
@the last movement IS borrowed from the Chinese