The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-07-05

cent number of Die Zeit contains a
number Of letters in reference to Wag-
ner's Tristan and Isolde" written by
Devrient. Dingelstedt and SchOber to
Hulsen Of Berlin. The writer's agreed
that il was impossible to find singers
who could cope with the difficulties of
/ Wagner'S style. That was forty years
ago. In the meantime many great
singers have mastered that "impos-
sible" score. and their voices have
grown more beautiful. more flexible.
more impassiOned the more they have
sung it. Some of these singers-nOta-
bly, Lilh Lehman and Lillian Nordica
are also experts in the cid fOrid
style The leading opponents of this
ford style. on the other hand-Patti.
Melba. Sembrich-are unable to sing
Wagner. Must we not conclude. there
fore, that the perfect Wagner singer
I is the highest type Of vocalist known
! to history? She is mistress not only
of the bel cantO. but of a style of the
vocal art which calls for infinitely more
than mere beauty Of tone and agility
of execution. Yet there are ignorant
persons who pirate about the decline OF
the vocal art They might as well
lament the decline of science.
II the municipal prophets Of the last
generation had foretold that in the
present year Of grace bands would be
engaged to give upwards of 5000 hours
Of music in the various parks and open
spaces of London. the comparatively
trifing cost being betrayed out Of the
rates, they would have been deemed
daft Yet during the season which be-
gan last Thursday 1,2O0 open air con-
certs Of about three hours each have
been arranged for by the London coun-
" council. the veriest tory agreeing
with the most progressive member that
the money is well spent. Nor do these
figures at all take into count the Sun
day afternoon performances given by
the crack military bands in the royal
parks or the open air concerts Of the
Sunday league and others. The coun-
ty council performances cost on an
average about e10 each, for to the
public they are absolutely free, except
that the opulent may sport a half
penny upon a programme, and fur
ther halfpenny upon a reserved seat.
More than the nimble penny even the
most arrant spendthrift cannot dis
burse
Not only do band concerts multiply
IN England, but according to ]. NJ. Ro-
gan, who recently delivered a lecture
on the subject. the military bands now
play music of a far higher class than
was formerly the case. This, he said,
was largely due to the interest mani
tested in music by the king and mem
bers of the royal family. The lecturer
took occasion. incidentally. to express
surprise that the English composers do
not turn their attention more to the
writing of music Cor military bands, as
do several foreign composers. British
bandmasters, he remarked, are often
accused Of a want Of patriotism on the
ground OF preference accorded to the
works of foreign musicians But tlee
fault really lay, not with the band
masters, but with the composers. who
fail 70 write music of the kind re-
Quired. with the result that arrange
ments and prescriptions had to be re-
sorted to, which, in many cases, were
scored by writer's having an Inadequate
knowledge OF the requisite tone-eoior.
II. G. Wells expresses the opinion. in |
the Fortnightly Review. that all
teaching of the pianOforte should be
done at home. and that &c should never |
be done at school. He has found that
the general ignorance manifested in ex- I
animation papers becomes, in the mat
ter Of music. special. profound and dis /
He admits that it Is prob /
able that a different sort Of music 4
teaching altogether teaching that 4
would aim, not at decentralization, |
but. At frfo11foanf apr,ra1f a Il