The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-03-22

of sort of antiphonal dialogue between
different instruments, and the violin ana
cello form pair perfectly suited Tor TINS
effect.
The fathers of the early New England
Church must have possessed decided pre-
objection for the cello. Usually exercis-
ing rigid severity against any innovation IN
| their simple services, they seem 10 have
| admitted this instrument in the eighteenth
| century, sometimes paying the player as
much as $40 a year. Just why they chose
| this particular instrument il is not easy
| TO understand: but the fact remains that
they looked upon it with favor, while re-
| garding the violin as a device of Satan
and the organ as the most utter abomina-
| ton in the eyes of the Lord.
Cello playing was of slow growth, as for
a long time the old six-Stringed viol da
, gambia kept the newer instrument out OF
orchestral and chamber music. But the
| more powerful tone of the cello was needed
! in the time of Corelli and Tartini we find II
| in definite use for accompaniment. Gradu-
| ally it became solo instrument and gained
prominence in the string quartet under
| Haydn and Boccherini. sonata by the
| latter master will open Miss Ruegger's pro-
| gramme here. With the advent of the
vance, his introduction of the chromatic
| lingering marking an epoch in the history
| of the cello So well did this performer
play that Voltaire, enraptured by the ex-
| pressive tones that he drew from the un-
| wieldy instrument, said to him: You make
me. believe in miracles. for you make a
| Voltaire was hard to please; he said ANY
thing too silly to be said is sung"
In the last century the great virtuosi
| have taken pride in performing the
cello the most difficult violin pieces. such
I as Tartini's 'Trille du Diable." The most
/, wonderful master of the cello was Adrien
| Francois Servais, who died in 1866. Under
his large and vigorous hand the cello vi
| brated with the utmost facility of ex-
preston. Never before his appearance had
| it yielded such effects and his compositions
Il in &C a
velous instrumental art, comparable only
| to those of Paganini for the violin. David
| violoncello players. Three of his delightful
/ compositions will be on Miss Rueggers
programme
| The complete programme of the next
| fall festival in Munich at the Richard Wag-
ner Festival Playhouse has just been given
out The Wagner playhouse is the Prinz-
regenten Theater. the newest and most
| magnificent auditorium devoted entirely to-
| the production of the works of Germany's
| greatest opera composer. Though less than
two years old this theater has supplanted
the Festspielhaus at Baireuth, built by
| Wagner himself. 1t was Baireuth's wan
| ing authority which made the Prinzre-
| genten Theater possible What a hold 1t
has secured may be indicated by the fact
| that Baireuth will have no festival this
year, while Munich will have probably the
| greatest feast of the masters music ever
| held within similar time limits. Eight OF
| the Wagnerian music dramas will be
| played five times each within forty days,
| beginning Aug. next. OF special interest
| to American music lovers is the fact that
| Nine. Lillian Nordica, an American prima
| donna, will be the bright particular star
| among the feminine artists engaged, as
| she was when the Munich theater was ded-
| icated Frau Henk-almost an
| American. her youngest son being named
| George Washington-will have the domi-
| nant contralto roles. Theodor Bertram,
| Fritz Friedrichs, Ernest Kraus and AL
| bert Reiss. all well known in New York,
| Boston and other American music centers,
| will be among the most prominent singers
| on the programmes. The eight works which
| will be included in the festival this year
| will be "Das Rheingold." die Walkure. Z"
"Siegfried," "Gotterdammerung." Iris
| tan und Isolde 'Lohengrin," Tam
| hauser" and die Meistersinger Won MUIR
emburg." The performances will be under
the immediate eye of Herr Ernest Won
| Possart the eminent managing director
| general of the royal Bavarian theaters.
| The singers have been selected from near