The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-19
MUSICAL THEMES VARIED.
CHORAL TRAINING HERE AND
MUSIC STUDY ABROAD.

Censervstsries which Compel Pupfis to
Learn Harmony. Theory, History
and Score Rcad1ng-Free singing
Classes Which Open Treasures
The musical season Is In its 'Dammerung.
Like the Gotter In the last Of the four huge
dramas OF Richard Wagner's over grown
tetralogy. II is fading away. But oh. what
difference! Wagner's gods fade away
TO music which stands on level with the
best ever projected from the infinite depths
Of human imagination into q finite and
detected world to wake II to new Joy. The
music which hmps along the verge Of the
waning musical season. however, In pale
and even Of a sickly Greenish tint. like
the gods In the second scene Of 'Das Rhein-
gold,' when Freia, the good, Is carried
of by the blonde and brunette giants to
the deep satisfaction OF red-haired Looe,
the fire hend.
In the week which has Just ended there
was only one musical incident OF import
anoe. namely. the Peoples Choral Union
concert at the Metropolitan Opera House
on Monday night. Haydn's Seasons
was selected for performance, probably
because IL was easy and could not be re-
garded az too substantial pabulum to
place before a weary public at the end OF
a long winter OF Brahms, Beethoven and
Bach.
1t was prettily performed. but without
the slightest evidences Of sincere interest.
The conductor ought not to be blamed
for wanting excited feeling In delivering
himself and his choral organization OF
this delectable polyphonio bon bon. How
could any one grow excited over Haydns
Seasons? Yet 1t In on record that the
people who heard Il for the first time did
30. Those were happy days. Think OF
the joy Of being 30 simple minded In music
as to find food for wild enthusiasm In this
sweetly melodious oratoriol Think OF be-
ing able to weep with joy at the revela-
ton OF the emotions Of Simon and Lucas
and Janet
Yet there was time when people could
do that. Dear old fuzzy-wuzzy Dolmetsch
would tell us that people in those days
were a great deal more musical tnan we
are now. Maybe that Is true. Now we
use four horns where Mozart and Haydn
used two. and three bassoons to their four.
and have added more flutes and clarinets.
and thrown In q bass clarinet and an Eng
y.
And az Dolmetsch said. we call that prog
ress.
Good Papa Haydn invented a lot Of
thin. g for US in his oratorios. He devised
the orchestral depletion Of rolling and
fosming pillows and every composer since
his day has been initiating and expanding
the idea. He initiated frogs and crickets
and set UP a general scheme OF instru-
mental photography Of external objects.
His combination Of this orchestral de-
scripion with text explicitly setting forth
the purpose of the musical painting, has
been followed with sincere nattsry by all
the modern operate writer's. Wagner has
not been behind the others in accepting the
suggestions Of the good old musical candy
manufacturer, who would have tainted at
hearing the overture to the Flying Dutch
man or the music ride OF the valkyrs'
horseback club.
Yet how near Haydn came to Wagner in
some things. The works Of these two
masters cover the whole period of the
development Of modern orchestral music.
Haydns first symphony was written in
1882 and between that time and 1882, when
Wagner placed his mystic and strangely
inconsistent 'Parsifal' before an aston
ished world, the modern orchestra and the
method Of writing for II expanded from
the simple scheme OF the cheerful old
Viennese master TO the complex plan of
the restless propaganda Of BAyreuth.
In view Of this II Is more than simply in
terestng to note that the last fifteen or
twenty measures Of the prelude to The
Creation sound a. II they had been taken
bodily out Of Tristan und Isolde Not
only are the melodic and harmonic Sc
quences exactly in the style Of that work,
but the instrumental color Is the same.
L. there really nothing new under the SUM-
Perhaps the Viennese Of 1901 were not 80
naive as we are fond OF believing them
TO have been. Perhaps Papa Haydn could
have made longer casts into the future Of
his art than he did. Perhaps he had VIZ
sion Of the world and all the wonder that
would be. You may believe all that II you
like. but the truth undoubtedly il that
Haydn was just kind, gentle. lovable man.
whose chief object in life was to wIite
music that would please the public without
falling below the level Of good art. There
was nothing profound about the good old
gentleman. but he was q composer Of un-
Questionable genius and q musician Of the
soundest knowledge.
In his later years he trod q path trod
by many other masters Of music. He
began to lean forward to meet approach
ing eternity, and his mind became touched
with religious fervor. His two oratorios
were the musical embodiment OF this
mood OF his declining years. The Sea-
sons to be sure, il q secular oratorio.
but 1t 10 reverential in spirit and filled with
devotional expression.
Frank Damrosch deserves we'll OF this
community for the work he 10 doing with
his Peoples Choral Union. This organiza-
ton and the Peoples free singing classes
out Of which II has grown. are two Of the
most potent factors for the spread Of
musical taste in this town. A statement
OF this nature must not be regarded a. in
consistent with critical comment on tho
performance Of the chorus last Monday
evening
1t IL quite true that the quality Of tone
produced by the body Of singing was some
what thir, an " the soprano register .
little strident. But that was TO be ex-
pected Most Of the women In the chorus
are very young and none Of them. in all
probability. has had opportunity to culti-
vate tone production. When they sing IN
II Il -A-Inl 49,