The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-24
THE PERFORMANCE OF BACH.
QUESTIONS RAISED ATTHE BETH-
LEHEM FESTIVAL.
j. Fred Wolfe rs an Authority on
Rttardanui. AppOgiaturas and other
Particulars or Bach's Music--Why
s.s~,s~, objections Were offered.


TIE protests which were recently made
against parts OF the readings OF the WORKS
of Sebastian Bach byJ. Fred Wolls. organist
~ the Morayian Church at Bethlehem IN
the course of the weeks music festlva.
held at that place were received with some
thing like amazement by the local admirers
of the conductor Many Of the visitors also
we're unable " see any objection to MIR.
WolIes readings, and wondered on what
ground critics based their censlres.
Reasons were given, but the eXigenci's
Of Geographic work did not permit OF giving
them at length 1t SEEMS. therefore, alto
gether fitting that something should now
he added in tn, calm which succeeds the
heat of controversy.
Mr. Wofle's chief offence was the uss OF
the musical device known "a the ritardando
on every cadence in work. cadence
may be defined popularity as the conclusion
OF a musical CLAUSE 1t is conventional IN
melodio and harmonic structure a1i the
ear Immediately recogniz IS it. 1t is one OF
the elements of external musical form ~
that element from who's domlhat'oh
Wagner so eagerly strove to escape, because
it's employment held his musical structure
to the song or dance form OF music.
In all old music cadences are very clearly
made, and what is known as the closing
cadence--that which has the sans effect
as a period in the writing OF languags-s
very common. Bach naturally us'd It
freely Mr. Wolfe is in the habit OF retard-
ing the speed of movement whenever he
approaches a cadence. He always reads
thus:
Now Is the winter OF our discomfort.
Made glorious summer by this-sun-of-fork.
In one place in thu performance of thu
st Matthew Passion" h, began ritar-
d.,ndo eleven measures before the end OF the
ssction In the first thirty minutes Of the
performance hs made twenty-siN rltar-
dandi. Mr.. Wolfe says that this is the right
way to perform the music Of Bach. Some
9th n persons do not agree with him. In
Bethlehem people do not know that any one
except Mr.. Wolfe is acquainted with the
music Of Bach. They hlve never heard of
the great authorities on tn subject. Mr..
Wolfe. tn " say. has devoted his entire life
to the study OF this music. How, then.
can any one elss dare to CRITICS, him
unfavorablyp
After the festival o. two years ago, one Of
ing article on the Interpretation Of the music
Of Bach. In regard to the employment OF
the ritardando he said:
THE tempo rubato is manifestly out OF
character with music of such a scope. Yet
an unyieldng metronomic tempo which.
with a total tack OF graduation Of tone
power, some would have US believe charac-
teristic Of Bach, is equally out of place.
After one has become accustomed to the
at tn, cadence it seems to be
the happy mean between tn two extremes.
II br. axis up the stiffness without q COM
promise of dignity. Then. too, it has q
still higher function; it s,rves to indicate
the structure of the work; it punctuates
and Civ. accent to the architectural SYM
metry which is 80 characteristic Of Bach.
1t would be an error to suppose that Mr..
Wolfe marked every cadence with an in
varably broad ritardando 1t was study
Of the keene st inter- st to follow on tn, score
his varying trt atment OF the ritardandi.
The discriminating hearer soon dscov-
erd that they varied from the slightest
allarzando to the broadest motto ritardando.
He saw that the minor divisions Of the work
received the minor ritardandi. the larger
portions the broader ritardandi' and where
the ritardando was manfestly contrary
to the sentiment, it was altogether sup
pre- ssed'
Doubtless all this was true at the time
it was written. Very little discussion arose
over the employment OF the ritardando at
the Il stival of 1901 Mr.. Wolfe was much
more temperate in it's employment at that
time. but in the week of Bach in the present
L. l.; IN
has fallen the victim of habit. Further
more. there is nothing in tn, statements
Of the writer to show the source of Mr..
Wolle's authority for this, alterations of
tempo. However. the fundamental idea
is correct. The union Of the ritardando
with certain final cadences does produce a
noble imprt ssion. and is in no wis, hostile
TO the spirit of Bach's music. But the in
variable employing mt Of the device at every
cadence is unwiss and produces a weari-
some impre ssion of monotony. 1t Is in
conceivable that a musician OF Bach q
fecundity of conception and sublimity OF
imagination would have thought of per-
forming his own music in a manner strik-
iRgly similar TO that of an Italian opera
singer. whoss ritardando in the final phras /,
10 as dear to him as his t. rmata on high
tone
The nature of Bach's music Is opposed to
anything like sentmentalism and there
fore excludes many of the nuances intro
ducsd into modern music. But it is GER
,ainly not mechanical and Civ, no counten-
ance to a device which is employed with
mechan neal regularity. 1t is quite possible
that the writer of the article above quoted
discovered nthe performances of the festival
Of 1901 the charming variations of the ritar-
dandi which he mentions, and it is not to he
deni, d that there were notifications in the
length and breadth of the numerous ritar.
dandi in the concerts of the present year,
but they were not sufficient to oblterate
tLo iri,pre ssion Of sameness in style. The
use of the RI tard r. ached the point OF af-
te.tdtion, and that is a quality which has
no place nor part in the Interpretation OF
Sebastian Bach.
HI the B MINOR me IS the conductor intro.
duced an effect which he had not used in
otncr works He made one or two &C.
ceierandi, or accelerations Of the rate OF
mo rement. These were followed by re.
turns to the original tempo and thence the
conductor went ON 10 his customary retard
at the close, In the Gloria of the mass
the conductor caused the chorus ut the
utterance of the words 'et in terra pax
l,.s