New-York tribune., 1905-02-24
MUSIC.
Mr. Franko's Archaic Concerts.


Very winning were the pleasures provided by
Mr.. Sam Franko for the last OF this seasons con-
certs of old music which took place in Mendeissohn
Hall; stimulating also to the historical student and
even dverting to the seeker after "reminiscences,
who again brought face TO face with the fact
that despite the infinite variations of which the law
Of permutaton shows the tones OF the simple diatonic
scale to be susceptible extremes frequently meet in
the works Of classical masters and the ingenious
composers for the multitude. The most significant
Of these musical paralleisms last night were not
between artistic and popular music however. but
between two works of the master musician
Beethoven. The people who make up Mr..
Franko's audiences a musical folk, and the
strains of the choral symphony, pussantly
proclaimed at a PhiI4' rmonic concert only fort
night ago must have found a singular echo
when Mr.. Frankie, Senior da Motta, the orches-
the choir of Society for Ethical Culture
produced Beethover's Choral Fantasia. 1t required
a pretty long memory to recall the last public per-
formanee of the work in the metropolis 1t took
place score of years ago in Steinway Hail. with
Mr. Joseffy at the pianoforte and Theodore Thomas
at the conductors desk. Mr. Thomas seems to
have had fondness for the composition, though hs
sometimes did things with it which his musical
friends had difficulty in reconciling with that
alted notion OF his artistic seriousness intelligence
and sincerity popularity attributed him It not
long before the Steinway Hall performance that he
produced it in Cincinnati. with Longfellow's Psalm
OF Life substituted in its vocal portion for the joy
OUT song praise or music which had inspired Bee
thoven to the creation of the work. There no
such mesalliance in last nights performance though
there were lugubrious thoughts awakened at times
by Mr.. Franko's tempt and the singing of the
named members of the solo quartet. This, however,
IS not largely consequential. The fantastic fitted
into Mr.. Frankos scheme chiefly because like so
many Of the compositions in his lists threw light
despite its simple ingenious beauty, on the widely
different products which supposed TO have
taken possession OF this latter day. BY its fortu
iuytau with fba
Choral Symphony, it made those unfamiliar with
II cognizant Of the fact that it is In design the
Choral Symphony in Besides the points Of
resemblance mentioned in the music notes of this
journal last Sunday-namely, the fact that the
final movement consists of series of variations on
a theme, that there is striking similarity in the
themes and also the climaxes of the two works.
and hint at the recitatives OF the double basses
in the symphony-others may now be mentioned
There is recurrence of the dialogic even contro-
versal episode, between the instruments which
leads 70 the invocation of the voices. and also of
the martial music which plays a large part in the
finale Of the Ninth Symphony. 1t may, though it
need not, disturb ones admiration for the poetical
conceit upon which Beethoven rested his last sym
phony. but the fact must be stated that he had
already sketched the scheme OF its finale in the
Fantasia fifteen years before he finished It. But
there is more in this story than can be discussed
now.
The fact that the Choral Fantasia is not fire.
quentIy performed Is easily explained. To those
BeethOveD'S
masterpieces In their soul, this music must sound
almost childish in its pursuit OF simple beauty But
II ought not to be forgotten that II emaua-
ton Of the period which produced the minor
symphony and that in It lies the germ which found
a development in the symphony beyond which
Beethoven thought he could CO. and which
seemed to Wagner to be the final demonstration
that the purely instrumental art had reached at
once its climax and conclusion It would be well to
recall it to mind by performance, for only per-
formances make music vital; books never do It.
There were defects in last nights performance.
Senior da Motta might have done more to proclaim
the sensuous beauty Of its pianofore part; but he
was hampered, perhaps by his mechanical agent
as he seemed be in the Mozart concerto. which
played earlier in the evening: and-also pos
sibly-by q failure appreciate the real beauty
and dignity of these Old Music concerts-mertts
that going TO grow in significance and favor
year after year, until affectation and impertinent
humbug driven out Of the art by the compel
ling force of real art The did distinguish
itself in the Fantasia, but in Mozarts motet. Ave
Verum Corpus it sang beautifully and won a
recall, as it might have done with the setting Of
the old Rhenish folksong "Sandmannchen," had 1t
preceded instead of following the exquisite Mozart
Niece It was enough that the beauty Of the latter
piece was not lost on the audience; and 1t was
gratifying in view Of the propaganda which Mr..
Franko's concerts are making.
The other pieces on the programme were an over
ture by Hummel and set OF Dances by Gretry.
The overture, spirited and energetic might have
been labelled Mozart, a generation after" in
view the fact that it written in the Weber
period; yet it very rightly gave pleasure, did
the familiar Gretry peces-famiar. thanks to Mr..
Franko. a final word about some opening words
In this screed-ts significance depends the point
Of view Of the reader. The opening phrase of
'Dixey'' appeared in the rondo Of Mozarts con-
certo; phrase from the Welsh song. "Ar hyd
nos in Gretry's "Darse d'Hommes." from Pan
urge" and a phrase from Hail Columbia" (and
also spiritual suggestion of Rule Britannia) IN
the same composers ''Marche des Jannissaires'
from La Carayane du CaTre''