New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-05-13
BACH AT BETHLEHEM.
SOME LACK OF SHADING.
THE festivals MiSsion-Y esterdau's
Performances.
Tsr TELEGRAPH TO TEE TRIBUNE. ]

10y TELEGRAPH TO TRIBUNE.
r,.+rIeheru. Penn May 12-There is only one
..s,e wanting to make the Bethlehem Bach festi-
,-als ideally beautiful and that is perfection of
-e-fo-ragnce Nature shows herself in her most
r-ac5ous mood here the spirit which auirnates the
Fs1ivsl forces lovely and the external features
which have fastened themselves upon the affair ap-
,s~er;lv Of their accord. such as the trombone
music from the belfry. the attitude of the iistners
n the church. the absence OF anything like
.a.iou il the choir loft where the singers and
s+-r1-aertzlists sit. well fl the of the
hearers the sincerity and obvious unselfshness Of
.ve-vbodv concerned in the meeting all combine TO
,ske the festival out OF the ordinary category and
set Il apart thing even more noteworthy than
rhe wagner festivals at Bayreuth. Two years ago
= seemed entirely justfable &c hope that perfection
~ performance or something closely approaching
Il would distinguish the third festival The choir
aa mastered three Of the finest products OF Bachs
genius and Il dc not appear necessary that special
effort should be made 10 extend the list This
seems 70 have been the popular well as the
critical view. There was great show Of interest
IN the unfamiliar music produced yesterday; there
--ss 10 more to-day. when at two sessions in the
afternoon and evening. the Christmas Oratorio'
was performed n its entirety. and there is not
lielv 70 be any more toner row. when the second
Rrandenburg concerto and two solo cantatas ill UP
me scheme But there will be vacant places in
the audience room Thursday and Saturday,
when the Passion According TO St Matthew and
he great mass are TO be brought forward There
not always found il singing societies. and IT
reared reasonable 20 expect two years ago that the
r,erod o. preparation for the third festival would
he devoted largely 70 making the performances as
UNIQUE in character are the programmes. More
over rs z matter of fact. Nj Wolfe did not put a
very great burden upon his singers by his extension
Of the festival from three DAYS six In one Of to-
rnor-ows cantatas there Is nothing for the chorus
O sing; in the other there is only chorale, which
might almost have been left for prnna vista read
ing.
On Monday there was only one chorus requiring
study in the csntata and Friday the case VIII
be rsreste6 IN each OF the cantatas. Practically,
therefore all that the choir has had TO learn eE
ovo during the last two years has been the Mag
,lifcat" and three cantata choruses- For a cooy
Of SINGERS willing TO meet twice, thrice. even SIX
times week this hardship, and it seems
IS II The offerings presented 20 the Visitors VINO
hz1,e come from distant places. attracted by the
fame achieved by Mr.. Wolfe and his singers at the
festival OF le01, might have had little more dis
Inactive character than has been disclosed up to
the present time.
i sea-S cburlisr to find fault with SO unique and
lovely striving as is exemplihed in this festival
but since It is unique and lovely and can never
enter into ccrppanionshp with the other musical
festivals OF periodical recurrence given in this con-
Try fl IS only natural that its mission should be
kent before il. That mission is not 10 perform
rach's music for the entertainment of the people
OF the Iehigh Valley. but 10 set standard Tor the
performance Of Bachs music which shall be recog-
rized and acknowledged in church and concert
room throughout the United States Such mis-
sion Is exalted and the conditions which have been
created here make II feasible. Before discussing
some Of its features let record be made OF the
dotngs Of to-day.
Three Of the cantatas which constitute the Christ
mas O-atorio'' were performed in the afternoon
and the remaining three in the evening The SOLO
singers were Miss Fife Stewart. Miss Lucy Brick
enstein Miss Marguerite Hall, Nicholas Douty and
r5erf,e-t YVttherspoon The performance, fun OF
excellent features, not as good as that OF two
wears ego. though Il brought out strIs4ngly the
fine Qualities OF the chorus and the virtues OF the
Festival environment The Moravisn Church has
5o,-sh1e acoustic qualities and with every singer
singing the choir Of lis made much greater eHect
than is usually heard festivals, where the noni-
nal strength Of the performers is three or four
times as great. This is one Of the delghtful
features OF the Bethlehem festivals. There is an
intimacy Of feeling between performers and hear
e-s which cannot be found elsewhere It is like
sitting II 2 room elbow 10 elbow. with q band OF
chamber music players. where one can hear and
feel the bite rosiDed horsehair and let one
musical sensibilities vibrate spontaneously with
the strings. To-day the choir sent one exciting
shock sfter another through its hearers What
vas wanting was not precision, not volume Of
tone not exacrness Ct utterance. but variety and
heaurv Of uuance feeling. expression. This We
had in the evening. in instance, the exquisite
@eyIrated chorale -lTesus. Who Didst Ever Guide
Ne" and Il came down from the choir loft like a
gracious benson
The solo performances were very uneven. Miss
Stewart seems 10 have been sadly overtasked with
she r,-ipcipal solo work OF two days. and fire.
r.,enrIv sang with q nervous breathlessness that
,ra-red the enjoyment which should have been
given By her naturally excellent voice and her
manifest anxiety 10 do artistic work AS Mon
ray the singers who were most firmly seated IN
-bet- saddles were Miss Hall and Mr.. Witherspoon,
though the latter was guilty OF somewhat uncouth
,Itteraace in many of the passages which tried the
higher register Of his voice This. like much else
q the work Of all concerned, seemed TO be due
largely 20 NJ woIle's nervous and unsteady tempt
M Doutv sang the recitatives in sentimental
manner OF questionable propriety, artistically
s-eslsrr This is q common fault when Bachs
,,,sso Is sung and one which singers would not so
often be guilty Of were they 10 recollect that the
eciter Of the Bible in these church COMPOSE
lions merely represents the reader Of the ancient
church There was much in Mr. Douty's singing OF
me airs which cannot be praised. but he sci an
exsrnple TO some OF his companions In phraslng'
ard the manner IN which he overcaIne the appalling
technical difficulties with which the air Haste ye
e,eoherds~ bristles was astonishing, 10 say the
least
And now there might follow the discussion which
.rss 1pperuost IN nay mind when began this DIS
match but there is no time and it can wait' ior
he week OF music is yet young 1t shan not De
forgotten
MRS STRAUSS OWNER OF OPERAS.