The St. Louis Republic., 1904-04-11
"PARSIFAL" IN CONCERT FORM
RETURN OF THE BOSTONIANS

Mr. DamrosCh has been able 10 claim
the possession of advanced mUsicanship.
Yesterday. at the Odeon. he re-enforced
that cl:, i'm by evidence of scholarly edit
orship Of. perhaps. the most abstruse
tonal text eXtant. BY way Of demon
strating that he knows Wagner, he
placed upon his programme initially tn:
M-isttrSiuger Eorspicl There are two
Overtures by which Wagner would have
immurtai.zed himself. had he written no
0ther-Meistersinger and Tanhhauser. In
Die Meistersinsrr We hnve the joyous
Wasner-.he Wagner that saw the fru-
tion of hopes long deferred.
Somewhat in this sense. Nr. Ddmrosch
began his concert. and after the last note
of the Norspiel has hidden itself In the
remote recesSeS of the DleUn. the 20D
auditors instirctiveiv felt that an un-
matched event in local music had begun.
Mr.. DamrOsch took the theme descriptive
Of the procession of the guilds in splendid
mood. He wrought through his reading in
fine fashion the prize song Of the devoted
Walther. the violins responding beautifully
and the yood-wnd developing unison
that proved an una iloyed delight. Finally
when the pregnant contrapuntai theme of
the overture develops. when Wagner tries
himself as Wagner. Mr.. DalnroSch kept
his seventy men in a rhythm and a mel
liiuouS sorority that delighted the en-
thusiasts aud informed the tyros. Like
Theodore Thomas. Mr.. Damrosch did not
play ii. because there is but one Theodore
Thomas with the all-perradps Thnirasfan
cumLuision. hut. next to this. Mr.. Dam
rosch's Nelstersnssr Eorspiel deserves
10 stand by Caesar and give direction.
When the applause subsided Mr.. Dam
rosch called the audience 10 quiet and the
receptive humOr needful for consideration
OF the greater things in store.
He begun his informal talk on 'ParSi-
fall the place of the opera in the Wae-
merriam scheme. and. with "A few Woros.
ception regarding the book of the work
ly saying that .Parsifal' legends, one
and all. are grounded in German medieval
ISM The Christoiogy of The present day
and that Of the Tenth TO the Fourteenth
centuries he declared were distinct and
separate conceptions. Wagner. said the
speaker. went 10 the fountains OF German
folklore rather than the sources of what
is known as revealed religion. for the
composition of his story. and the deeper
he delved into the ineyilaustible material
1T hand the more he was inclined to dhail-
don his first impulse to Opsratize the Bible
episodes of a later sXegesis, as he mad first
intended
Mr. Damrosch drew a simile between the
t:.nsl scheme of ''Siegfried" and the young
..Pa.sifar' that proved positively luminous.
and he demonstrated the religiosity of
Wagner in d manner that would serve 10
confound the critics who seek sources OF
sacrilege in this conservation stage festi-
val play The audience listened with atten- I!
tion to the s,rik!ngly postured young man
a, the dirigen;al desk, and followed him |
with evident delight when he would ue-
scend his pot.um and play on the piano |
the cluc!datorv passages before calling |
o., the eEtiTe orchcS cStrd for more resonant
Ii was. taken all i'll all. |
I'm this respect alone. striking contfibu- |
ton to our understanding ef 4 WORK. the |
discussion of which has crossed and re
crossed The Atlantic as has no other that
can readily be called to mind.
The soloists were Misses Harmon. ken !
Iedv Crawford Wheeler and Eic"m-
f,e,d. Nine Ruby Cutter Savage: Mtssrs |
Fr1ncIs Arci,amba lit and Dan /. Bed''oe, !
t;s,s H.