The sun., 1903-12-18
The MUSIC OF YESTERDAY.
SECOND OF THE MUSICAL ART So
CIETY'S CONCERTS.
A Thoroughly Enjoyable Programme. In.
cluding y Fine Psalm ny BOrtniansky
and . Handel Concerto GrOssO-Miss
Jeanne Clerihew Song Season.

SOohuO SOho >S"~'''
The second concert OF the eleventh sea-
son of the Musical Art Society called to-
gether in Carnegie Hall last night such an
audience as only these entertainments
can draw. Is it a "fad" to worship at the
shrine Of the fathers of modern musc9
Is it fashion to sit at the feet of Pales-
trina and Lasso and the makers of the
purest devotional strains ever sung out
side of the heavenly choir? II it be a
"fad" or fashion, 1t is gifted with extra
ordinary length Of days, for this Is the
eleventh season of the Musical Art Society,
and the end Is not yet
The world wags It's head wisely and ac-
claims the masters of the Netherlands
school, whose music a decade ago was to
them as the tabled monsters of the E ast
to the travellers of Marco Polo's time.
Now Palestrna and Sweelinck and Eccard
and Hobrecht shake hands with Tschaik-
owsky and Brahms and Lassen at these
concerts and the inner brotherhood is hard
put to it to tell why the ancients with their
simple diatonic harmonies, fragrant with
the medieval quaintness Of the ecclesiastic
modes, stand 80 firmly on their pedestals
of glory in the presence Of the moderns
with their diablerie of chromatios and
more unresolved discords than the fifteenth
century dreamed of in it's philosophy.
Last nights concert WAS a delight for
many reasons, and not the least OF them
was its demonstration Of the fact that the
treasury of old time music Is still plethoric
The first part Of the programme contained
an ave Maria" by Palestrina, two old
Christmas songs. "Weihnaohtsgesang"a and
1Weihnaohtslied" -Gaudete Omnes' by
Sweelinok, two more old German Christmas
songs, namely, Eccard's "Freude uebef
Freud" and the always welcome "SUille
Naoht," and Borthiansky's setting Of the
PThirty-ninth Psalm.
Then came the customary instrumental
interlude in the shape OF an unfamiliar
double concerto by Handel, composed in
the delect able key OF F major for two wind
ohoirs and an accompaniment OF aringed
inst ruments played with the bow. Fol,
lowing this we're the modern works, ushered
in by one archaic number-a ballet for five
voices by Tomkins, one of the fathers Of
English composition.
The real moderns were Lassen, repre-
sented by four part songs. Brahms by his
'All Meine Herzgedankens and I'm Herbst, ;"
sSommerlied" and -Talisrnane" These mod
erns are we'll enough In their way and their
way is we'll enough, too. But they are
everyday companions. We hear the morn
ing stars sing together less often and their
glory is in its own kind
The Palestrina ave Maria" sung last
night. is an old friend; but its wonderful
counterpoint, its apparently spontaneous
and unprecedented Interviewing of the
voice parts into a web of marvellous voca-
beauty, came with the freshness of new
thought. Such music never grows old
any more than Greek architecture or the
poetry Of the Psalms The choir Gang it
with lovely balance Of tone and with excel
lent intonation.
first on the programme, one from the fam
o,ls ALocheimer Liederbuch" and the other
from the "Liederhandsohrft.. delighted
every hearer by their, exquisite melody
and their ehurohly haronIss' s,swne sMee,
OF his style, and its final .Alleluia" proved
to be most inspiring. Eccards famous
hymn achieved its due effect, and. Of course.
"Stille Nacht" had to be repeated.
hearers, and it made q deep impression.
Its composer was the father Of Russian
church music and died In 1925; A pupil OF
Galuppi, his style shows clearly the Italian
,esa but hs also Rssh sems of the Of sSs Ss
passages in his psalm sounded like Men
delssohn and are worthy Of that composer
at his best. Others had a fine leaning
toward dramatic recitative. and, sung as
they were WIN peTleCJ pNTdsHlB, eHuhch
ton and accent by the choir, they went
home with complete conviction. The work
ends with a fugue. the fugue OF a master,
in which the learning is used to mako ex-
precision and to build up imposing masses
OF tone.
The concerto crosse heard last night is
one OF Handel's works about which little Is
known However, it is clearly established
that II was composed by the irritable old
Saxon, who could write like an angel when
he tried. 1t is most tuneful work. and II
takes good men and true, much better and
truer than those Of last night, to play it
rightly. The labor union horns we were re
woony in tone, and the solo violin was not
impressive.
However, in the duet for two oboes the
players acquitted themselves creditably
and made one Of the most captivating
movements 60 charmingly. The concerto
as a whole proved to be interesting, though
there are Handel works which will GER
tainly command a larger measure of
popularity.
uTy,RF FENTERPRJSEo GOES RROkE