New-York tribune., 1904-08-14
We must needs be

content with that
historian who chronicles overrnuch small
beer and discourses solemnIy about tnconse-
QuenuaI persons. as Mr.. Elson has done in So
many OF his pages. brings discredit upon the
eI-Ie congregation Of American musicians
hhat proportions would a history OF conrer,
pofary composers assume In France or Ger
many. Italy or England If pages were nrintad
ABOUT every man OF respectable attainments
VINO had studied at a reputable conserva+orv
written In the serious forms, served his term as
newspaper critic or made something Of \
reputation II one city Of a thousand? How
many volumes would be required TO tel the
present state Of the art in Berlin, Vienna
Lonooh or ST Petersburg IL newspaper criti-
S-sLls OF each mans song or each mans unpub-
Asheo symphonic poem were to be printed in the
record7 The want Of perspective in this work
Is not due wholly TO the cause set forth by the
editor; II Is matter Of personal EQUATION The
polht OF view Is not that Of a historian but Of q
reporter OF current happenings who is salts
hed and willing too often to take his subjects
estimates Of themselves and write for the world
as he would write for the village II is mar
FelloUs what regulations have been attained
abroad by single performance OF 4 work stlu
in manuscript at a concert especially arranged
for such exploitation. Who ever before this
heard Of history made out Of laudatory comment
on works never published. never performed
sometimes even never completed? We had much
Of this In Mr.. Rupert Hughes's amiable book
on American composers but that little work did
not parade as history
The historian who would do his duty by Amer
lean music must devote patience. zeal and labor
10 original research There Is not single field
that has been adequately explored. What Hood
and Ritter and Dwight, especially Dwight.
gathered up about early music IN Boston con-
tains serviceable historical materials; but IT
does not exhaust the subject in a single phase
Despite Ritter and Krehbiel, New-York is as
good as virgin soil TO the historian Moreover.
the historian Of to-day has no right TO content
himself with the local view. The Brattle organ
in Boston was not the first organ In America,
II il is true, as has been stated in this journal
that there Is organ IL St Thomas's Church
in Hancock, Nd, which was brought TO Vir-
ginia in 100 It is very unlikely that the organ
partly built by Edward BromheId. tr. in 1745
was the first organ built il America, as stated
by Hood and repeated here on his authority
The first organ in Trinity Church, New-York
was ordered in 173s and set Up in 1T4I It
Was built in Philadelphia by Johann Gottlob
Klenm Che is called John Clenm in Trinity
recgrds), who came to America in 1I36. He was
a journeyman from the factory Of Andreas
Sherman, and seems to have been No
rayian; at least, he died q member Of the
community IN Bethlehem, Penn, in 11G0 Among
the descendants Of one Of the Swedes who set
tled under Minut or Printz AZ Tinicum on Del
aware was Gustayus HesseI (Hesselius), VINO
built the organ for the Morayian Church in
Bethlehem in 1746. klemm lived in Philadel-
phia and Bethlehem as well in New-York,
and IT is scarcely 10 be assumed that an expert
OF his calibre would be idle in his vocation for
two years after his arrival in this country On
the contrary il is more than likely that organs
were built by him and Hessel before either OF
the American instruments mentioned
Mr.. EIson would have Us believe that artistic
chamber music was practically non-eXistent IN
III The foundation Of the Mendelssohn Quintet
in Boston in 1919; yet there was Moravian
wagner who went TO Egypt as missionary in
the eighteenth century. was bastinadoed and
While lying in prison waiting for his feet TO get
weu composed string quartets which Haydn
afterward saw and praised IN Vienna He came
hack 70 bethlehem, where there was chamber
music and orchestral music IN church before any
Of the Boston dates which Mr. Elson accepts
from writers Who did not profess 10 do anything
hut write local history. Billings. OF Boston, was
not the first American composer; Mr- O. Q. Son
neck chief Of the department Of music in the
Library Of Congress. has proved that that dis
tinction belongs to Hopkinson. OF Philadelphia,
. nusicia- Of 2 very different order. In fact
there were brave men before all Of Mr.. Elson's
Agamemnons Intelligent conducting Of orches-