New-York tribune., 1903-05-24

. srea-, ,s the establishment OF centre of Bach
culture in Bethlehem Of the fine old MofaFish
meeting house the home Of performances "hch
should set a standard for concert room and church-
20 which singers should repair TO learn the correct
manner Of singing the old music, ano huslcians
30 hear authoritative readings II Bach Is 10 De-
come really living word for the people OF to-das
.ucb 2 ..Stvbiidungsehule'' as Wagner wisheo 10
see established for his art is necessity Inc
education received by the majority OF the singers
and instrumentalists OF to-day takes no heed OF
many things which essential 10 the mere utter
snce of The text of Bach's music Not one pianist
sn a hundred can read the engraved pages Of even
his simplest works they came from his hands;
not one singer IN a thousand knows either now 10
-eproduce his arias they sounded lSe years ago,
or how 10 make them acceptable to the changed
Taste of to-day Few conductors organists or COM
osers are equal 10 the task Of revising his scores
20 make them practicable for performance or OIL
alling I'd the lacunse with which they abound MI
rToras made notable attempt TO give model per-
sormauce from the modern, not the archaic, point
.,g Ttsu of the B minor mass the Music Festival
"a Cincinnati last year, going so lar as 10 nave
every establishment written into the parts exactly
as he wished il ito sound. and holding every per
former strictly his Interpretation But music
festival Of the dimensions Of the Cincinnati AFFAIR
and with its conditions and environment cannot
become school for musical style and interpreta-
5ion Such school must be founded on intimacy
devotion and love shared alike by performer ana
listener.
The Bsthlehem festival idea in its original con-
reption was beautiful and uplifting No one would
have dared TO entertain it who was not iaInlilar
with the aaspeiousness Of the conditons out OF
which Il sprung II there ever was place ioeaily
adanta5 10 become the home Of a specific Bach
cult that place was Bethlehem Mr. Wolfe Eoula
never have been the man that he is-one rap'
;dealist filed with tremendous practical energy
had he not grown up in atmosphere and en-
,fronnent which nourished his idealisn and IN
,r,rea his energy The 3dylc scenes with whlch
ne was surrounded taught him TO dream OF Oeau-
4ffu things; the eager pulsng. industrial NE "te
met his gaze when he looked up from ms Arusi0
a,roodngs taught him how to act Every Gay ne
-,-a1.e5 through the groves OF his native town IN
she picturesque Gehigh Valley as through Ao,s
+eraple and his daily duties kept hlm perpeludnS
reminded OF the old cantor Of St Thonass 6Eeis
5ay the minds OF creator and Interpreter mel II,
r,r,-ouu;ou The resonant walls Of the me oio
church which echoed TO his organ and cholF eVefs
Sunday must have seemed TO him 10 p4eao ioi o.
onportunity to give back worthily the loIty strains
,rbscb could not be fitted into the customary
,7i,I,rgtcal service Thus echoed he knew that the
.-cbaie music would again become VITAL Winning
compelling and put understanding and love IN tie
mace OF curiosity and perplexed admiration
To the musical world at large the festivals nave
anpeared to be a miraculously spontaneous ehc
recent growth; n fact, they are the outcome %
many years OF patient labor. hrs1 HeAiu %
Tsetblehem and it's Bach cult fifteen years 0eo'
when Mr.. Wolfe was planning perIorIna.ce ' U
fhe Passion According to St John, whlcE toOA
,,lace On June s. 1855 -Four years later the Fas-
sion According 70 St Matthew was brought lor-
ward and Two years after this the Chrisiinas 1
Crstorfo'' The singers in these peTAOf 1Il~-loes ~
v-ara the choristers Of the MoraVlan SH1A Ca
o1ssa,, In 1893 the Bach Choir was organizeo'
and the mass IN minor was brought IOF"aiu IA
800 The performance took place ohueI 04i OAAA
stances similar TO the recent meeting anu "eS
,.eI,ea festival but it belonged almost exclusive
=. - xs+,Iohe,,,. ,ts story was scantily told even
=. Trna T>rshuue The second festival drew a larger
patronage and the harmonious song OF LOs - -
sr-nnhs wss sent ringing around the "OiiN' -
,rt-s furnished proof of the persuasive force Vi
chat soug The festival tardily ana 'hsuHl-
.ta,.lxy prnounced vet an average or one 1lou-
sand r.ersons must have heard the last I've Soii
~erts Arong them were many MUSICIANS -
80. +be pilgrimage to the Bachian Mecca in the
confident nope that a rare experience 9"0
80, II .bss et least they not disappointed
Never before had they been so near 20 bacn
music never communed so intimately WIN az
.n,r5t The church walls seemed TO throp Will 10
strains and their hearts throbbed synchrohousiE
zith them Everything was fun OF sponlaneis
- s,,+trsiasrp and even the cruoities OF the per
<orrnance lent color TO the fancy that sorne1iiie
IKE This though sonOrous, were the services
3, the churches Of St Thomas and -. Nlchoias
sr Ieiuse 4 century and half ago. Fun OF ao-
-t-..to- sor tha spirit which could create so
71lioue an artistic refreshme1t the musicians VINO
had iourneyed IN love and had mac llat to'e
strengthened gathered in knots 10 discuss IN, elLo
works ;nd the details Of their performance WIN
ono accord they auded the remarkable achleVe-
rnent Of the choir and its conductor and accepted
Il The demonstration which they had mace OF liie
,,rsctieab bUjty Of what had been merely Inc
-7,-fc,,as writer's Grearv-the setting apart OF
Teetblehera as the fountain-head Of cult, gentle
rare elevated and pure protected from common
place selhshuess. cant and pTetence py the 1esH-
vaTs gracious surroundings. One thlns oliy Was
lacking TO make the meeting absolutely loea+'
"a 49, MAS sucb 2 measure Of excellence in the
,erfo-nances as TO set standard for future read
.rgs of Racb's works Thus they spoke, and for
.bis were fooIishly rebuked; yet they refused 70
WELD I'D a title Of their gratitude and enthusiasm
And now 10 a consideration Of some of the things
which interfered with perfect enjoyment Of the
festival and which were referred 10 in the tee-
graphic reports sent 10 this journal The merely
technical defects no longer concern us: in q way
they were more than Offset by the merits of the
performances. and at any rate they were inconse-
,1,ential compared with the matters which sarred
the interpretations Of the music such. The
zisitors were certainly entitled to expect better
orchestral work in Of the fact that the price
Of tickets unusually large. and the impression
had gone cut that the band was TO be that OF
Philadelphia In point OF fact il was largely made
I'D OF amateurs like that Of two years ago Some
Of the readings which were set down as faulty
sn The Tribune seemed TO be due TO ezaggera-
zion OF the nteralDess OF the text or hints de-
rived from commentators.
The phenomenon is q common IN the work Of
lbs conductors of to-day. Wagner's suggestions as
70 tempt in Beethovens Eighth symphony and a
few dynamic nuances in the overture TO Der
Eretschfltz' have been applied in many quarters
with such excess Of zeal 10 bring those works in
ghe hearing the verge o. caricature- It
something similar TO this on the part OF Mr. Wolfe
which robbed his performance of the appoggiatura
sT All grace and fuency Ia many of the numbers
as O. rule, Bach's appoggaturi short but this
does not mean that IN moderate movement they
ere 20 be taken like the snap Of q whip in the
shortest appreciable time. Their purpose is TO en-