The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1903-04-17


town notwithstanding the published
report that they had taken a cottage
at Mendham for the season. Mr.. and
Mrs. Frederick Il. Humphreys and the
children have returned from Southern
California and are now occupying their
house on Sherman hill. They will
spend the summer here with the ex-
ception of a few weeks in the fall
when they will take their annual trip
to the Adirondacks. This family ar
rived on Monday, as did Mr.. and Mrs.
Colgate, and were very glad to get
back to old Morristown again. Mr.
and Mrs Richard a. McCurdy have
opened their house at Morris Plains
and will be there for the season. This
afternoon Mrs. McCurdy will enter
tain the Friday Euchre Club. There
will be present Mrs. Louis A. The
baud, Mrs Howard Coghill, Mrs. H.
H. Walker, Mrs. William Shark Letch-
ford, Miss Rowland and Mrs. McCurdy.
Mr.. and Mrs. Robert B. McCurdy win
return to their place at Morris Plains
on the 23rd of the month. They have
spent a few days in the country oc-
casionally during the winter but for
the past two weeks have been in New
York. Next time they come out, how
ever, it will be for good.
1t was a critical and appreciative
audience which gathered in Lyceum
Hall Wednesday evening, the occasion
being the concert of Dannreuther
String Orchestra with Madame Char
lotte Maconda as soloist. Those who
braved the storm were amply repaid.
for a more delightful evening of music
it has been the pleasure of few to en-
JOY this year.
Madame Maconda is lyric soprano
whose name and fame has reached be-
yond the confines of the Metropolis
and who is judged to be the peer of
such concert singers as Melba and
Blauvelt. She certainly proved her
right to the title of prima donna for,
Notwithstanding that the weather
was such as would make most singers
hoarse and throaty, her tones were as
clear and perfect as on the rarest day
in June. She sang with an ease and
hexibility of voice which showed per-
feet mastery of difficult and intricate
passages and at no time was there the
least suspicion of conscious effort in
her work. And therein is the great
charm of Madame Maconda- as well as
of all other great singers. Her free
dom was due in great measure, of
course, to the excellent accompani-
ment work of Mr.. Baldwin. He has
made great strides in his chosen pro-
fession in the past three years and can
now be numbered with the leading
pianists of New York. His best bit of
work was in the first number which
Madame Maconda sang, the charmant
oiseau from David's LA Perle du
Bresil.o The accompaniment has a
duet passage with the voice and this
is taken by the flute when the accom-
paniment is orchestral. Mr.. Baldwin
played it on the piano and did it so
nicely as to elicit the admiration of
the audience and to receive the con-
CALCULATIONS of the singer when she
had finished.
| Besides the number noted Madame
Maconda sang the Polonaise from
Thomas's Mignon, sic suis Titania, :"
and three little numbers: "Mignon'
by Gounod, 'Solvejgs lied" by Grieg,
and "You and |" by Liza Lehman.
She was not at all stingy with encoreS
and responded each time without
great urging, but only after it had
been demonstrated that they really
wanted to hear her sing.
The orchestra under under direc-
tion of Mr.. Gustave Dannreuther did
splendid work and showed that a
small band of strings can make excel
lent music. The orchestra was made
up of four violins, two yiolas two
vioilncellos and contra-bass, an octette
with the addition of the bass. The
most pleasing number and the one in
which the strings showed off the best
advantage was the first, the Allegro
moderate from the Octette in e fiat
major by Mendelssohn. This was
played without the cOntra-baSs, 1t
was a fair sample of Memberships
best eight part writing and gave the
Instruments an opportunity to show
what they could do, The pianissimo
passages were rendered with a delicacy
altogether delightful the crescendo
diminuendo passages were effected
with ease and grace, the forte and
fortissimo passages were played with
a sorority of tone which gave one the
idea of vast number of instruments
playing. The ensemble work was
good at all times and showed diligent
practice together. Other numbers
played by the orchestra were Sere
made by ITALIAN, Dreams by Wagner,
and Ala Polka by Glazounow. Only
once was the orchestra asked for an
/ encore and that after the Petit Bolero
/ For an encore Mr.. Dannreuther play
ed the celebrated Bach Air in G major.
4 The exquisite beauty of that melody
4 played as a G string solo, was fully
revealed by the admirable manner in
which it was interpreted, and by the
j throbbing. pulsating tone which the
/ performer drew from his instrument.
1t was like a prayer and when finished
not a sound was to be heard in the
room for a full minute then the APP
plause was deafening.
\ Among those present We're: Mr.. and
Mrs. Alexander Harvey Tiers, Mrs,
Ridley Watts, Mrs. Harry Hoy, Rev.
f. Landon Humphreys, d. d., and
\ .fS.,,t 81, of