The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-03-29

oiiu Inc ooui 10 70 INC e8oA' w
poem ends.
The composer begins his score with
an instrumental prelude Of extraordinary
beauty and solemnity. Its prevaihng
mood Ia one Of expectation. and IL al
mirably brings the mind Of the listener
into a state Of eagerness at 70 what IL 70
follow. Gerontius. represented by tenor
voice, begins to tell his feelings, his rail-
ing powers, and his sudden fear OF APP
preaching death. The tenor voice In the
old-fashioned German oratorio was used
40 much for merely narrative purpo 20
that II dramatic possibilities were Cd
scured. Let us note at the outset, then'
that Mr.. Cigars treatment Of this tenor
part throughout his cantata is supremacy
beautiful
The text 10 adequately expressed and
the poignant emotions are voiced 10
musical idiom which In a. far removed
from pure theatricalism as II Ia from the
pretentious formalities OF the old-time
recitative. In fact, Mr.. Cigars style In
this solo part Is purely original and wonder
fully effective. Only once in the whole
work does he momentarily seem to sink
below the high level established In the be-
ginning and that is In the dialogue with
the Angel at the opening Of Part II. Ye.
AZ the composer Ii here trying to sustain
the illusion Of q soul just freed from the
prison OF sense and enjoying the FIRST mo-
ments Of disembodiment, 1t 10 not dinhcult
to see that q certain monotony OF style
was inevitable.
This, however, Ia anticipating. A semi
chorus chants the @Kyrie' by the side OF
the dying Gerontius. and . second chorus
enters with Holy Mary, pray for him.
Here We get the first glimpse OF the CON-
p9ser's easy handling Of polyphonic writing.
Gerontius continues his confessions, and
prayers and the chorus again enters with
BE merciful, be gracious Gerontius
recites his creed In q solo OF much beauty,
and the orchestra follows with a graphic
description Of the approaching terror.
This is q most powerful piece OF writing
and II leads with great eloquence to the
cry Of Gerontius. -Oh. Jesu help In which
the voice rises to a B fat introduced most
expressively.
A chorus, Rescue Him. leads to q very
beautiful recasting Of an old church chant.
Noah from the waters in q saving home
followed by q short double chorus. &C.
1ilu tiiC 1TtSott O<zrsos AOOasoV "a
admirably sacerdotal style. 60 forth upon
thy journey. Christian soul The chorus
repeats this, and then the text Is worked
up in double chorus, while the Priest con-
tinues his recitative. The working out
OF this number Is the writing Of master.
and it brings the first part OF the cantata
to close with stupendous impressiveness.
II will be seen that much Of this material
IL taken from Roman rituals. but all Is
modernized by Mr.. Cigars dramatic inter-
probation In tones.
The second part opens with lovely
instrumental mood picture. as pure and
sustained as Gluck's Interpretation OF the
thought Of Eysian fields. Then follows
the dialogue between Gerontius and the
Angel. The course Of the second part Is
sufficiently indicated by the brief outline
OF the poem already given. The salient
musical features OF this part are the ex-
quisite beauty Of the duet with which the
scene with the Angel ends, the extraordinary
viRor and picturesqueness Of the orchestral
description OF the demons. the mastery
treatment Of their chorus. with IT. bitter
laugh, the beautiful entrance Of the young
angels Praise to the Hottest In the height,
and the effective double chorus afterward
built with this and the GLORY to Him who
evermore. the magnificent outburst Of the
Praise to the Holieet' as Gerontius enters
the seat Of Judgments sustained piece OF
choral writing which has not its equal in
recent musio-the overwhelming proclama-
ton of the judgment by the orchestra. and
the beautiful double chorus with which the
cantata concludes.
All through the work one 10 impressed
by the serene beauty OF the solo style and
the astonishing richness and fexibility OF
the choral writing. The orchestration is
simply superb. 1t 10 filled with life and |
color, It is graphic in illustrative device. |
yet 1t never transcends the propriety Of |
the subject
II will be recalled that some years ago |
we heard Edgar Tinel's st. Franciscus,'
which was q legitimate attempt TO intro
duce into the field OF oratorio the apparatus
Of the wagnerian music drama. That
experiment was q dismal failure because
Tinel imported all the theatricalism OF
Wagner along with his harmonic style
and his dense Instrumentation. Mr.. Elgar
has succeeded where Tnel failed. He has
not held himself to Wagner, nor to any
other one man. Therefore he has not
blindly into the pitfalls Of imita-
lion, but rather has he walked in the wide
domain Of music as one In a garden, pluck
ing here q flower and there . flower. to
make q new bouquet.
Let this not be Misunderstood. Mr..
ElRar 10 not q borrower Of other mems
thoughts. He 10 . genuine composer.
He has ideas and brains. But he stands
1t the close OF the nineteenth century
with comprehensive glance backward
upon the work OF his predecessors. One
,an say: This he learned from Bach;
hat he learned from Brahms; here he sat
At the feet OF Berlioz, and here he listened
o the voice OF Richard Strauss The
,ame must be said Of every composer that
,yer lived. He used the materials left
him by his forbears. Beethoven and
Mozart did 1t. Richard Wagner and
Richard Strauss did II. Elgar has done
\. and he has employed tADpsterials Of
,is ara with the skill Of nlAster. ,.
In utilizing the orchestral idioms Of