The sun., 1902-11-21
A PHILADELPHIA QUARTET.
FOUR LADIES AND 4 FIDDLER
FROM QUAKER TOWN.

An Evening OF Interesting Experiments
In Pnch-How TO Sing Quartets In
-Four Different Keys At Once and
Other Things In Mendelss0hn Hall.
Lang war mein Schaf ich bin erwacht.'
remarks Brunnhilde in the last scene Of
"Siegfried," after she has sat up on her
stony bed and rubbed her eyes. II will lie
recalled that Brunnhiide had been asleep on
a secluded but comfortably warmed noun
tain top for years numerous enough for
Siepfried to be born. grow up. mend his
fathers sword, kill skulking dragon.
smash the spear of his grandfather and
climb the mountain. His kiss awakened
the sleeping beauty, and in view OF the
seething love duet which ensued 1t is no
wonder that the flames vanished.
Who kiss. d Philadelphia is not known, but
her musical awakening is the real thing.
Her wide walls. which stretch past German
town junction even TO the elbows OF the
Delaware AT Tacony, can no longer contain
her sawyers Of strings, nor her twangers OF
vocal cords. They have crossed the bridge
~ Trenton and New York ia free no more.
The first scouting party appeared in the
amusement district last night. The main
column in the shape Of the Philadelphia
Orchestra, permanent by guarantee flor at
least three years.. ia coming next week.
THE man that hath no music in himself.
nor is not moved by concord of sweet
sounds" ought TO have been in Mendelssohn
Hall last evening. IL was his night. The
New Century Vocal Quartet Of Philadelphia
made its bow To Gotham. Ii i a quartet
composed wholly of women, and it sings
difficult part songs in difficult manner.
Any one could tell that the songs were
hard by the way the ladies' sang them
The chief obstacle in the way Of attaining
the ideals which the four singers had set
before themselves was not want of voice.
All of them could sing with sufficient
loudness. Sometimes they were too gen
erous with their tones The ear would
have been satisfied with much less. The
first soprano could soar upward toward
the heights of Walhalla and the second
alto could descend almost TO Niebelheim.
big chest register had this second so-
prano, and when she opened the stop wide
II sounded as rich and rare az bass clarinet
The ladies opened the meeting by nging
haw!tys Song OF the Season, and TO do
Them justice they sang IL very well. But
the next time they came forward they
roads in harmony and spriukled literally
Win chords mshegotten like Swinburne's
cold old crimes. These chords were the
undoirg of the quartet. They departed
iIOm stem justice of intonation and they
staid away from it the rest Of the evening
Some of the dissonanc.s which they pro-
duced IN their performances would have
driven Richard Strauss Wild with envy.
In addition To their quartet numbers
each Of the ladies in turn sang "a solo, and
although charity does not begin in Phla-
delphla II may as well take the town in on
this occasion Three Of the ladies also
e>sayed the rio Of the Rhine maiGens from
'Gotterda nmorunE, which. heing inter-
pre;ed. means Dusk of the Gods II was
"a little cloudy at dusk last night
With tn" New Century ocal Quartet
came Elkan kusman, viunist. who was
formerly the principal Of the strings Of the
Philadelphia Orchestra. He played a bal
lade by Sinding, and tle ROndo Caprc.
cipso of Saint -SaeAs. Mr. Kosman has a
sonorolIs. but not perfectly smooth tone.
and "A vigorous bow arm. He has warmth
of style, too, and plays with plenty of dash
and spirit.
But was il not Hamlet who uttered a
warning about tearing a passion TO 'atters?
tie said II 20 some etroll!ng players who
had gone over 20 Elsinorc to show them
how 10 act, hut i will apply just as we'll
70 muCicianS. The area Of low pressure
affected Mr. kosman's intunation, and he
played out Of tune with as little concern
as the ladies sang. Altogether, it was an
evening Of wierd hearings, and many Of
the auditors must have hone home with
rIngings IN their ears, like noises in a
sWOund