The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-17
CHORAL UNION SINGS WE'LL.
A Spirited Performance Of MendelSsOhn's
Oratorio "St. Paul"

Mendelssohn's "St. Paul was sung at
Carnegie Hall last night at the annual oon-
cert Of the Peoples Choral Union. The
chorus was one Of liberal size. numbering
something like six hundred voices. 1t was
beautifully supplied with tenors and BASES,
so beautifully that there was ground for
wonder that the ancient and respected
Oratorio Society does not acquire the COM
mendable habit Of borrowing a few OF them
to exc out the scanty substance OF In male
choirs.
There were numerous good sopranos and
contraltos, too, and when the composer
gave the entire chorus opportunity to let
loose the rivers Of its tone In streaming
chord SUGGESTIONS there was a sound as OF
many waters. 1t was q big, penetrating
human tone and II made the welkin, or
whatever corresponds to a welkin In the
mystic c~rannies Of Carnegie Halls acous-
tics, ring joyously. 1t Is something up
lifting to hear q chorus sing with such
spirit, with such boldness, with such spon-
taneity. The graduates OF Mr.. Dam
rosoh's free singing GLASSES are manifestly
music lovers and they sing con omore,
Tn the fugato passa gee there was not
40 much freedom OF style, and there was
room for suspicion that many Of the choris-
ters were q little timid about this part OF
their task. But on tho whole it was good
choral singing and stirred up the small
audience. There is plenty for the chorus
to do in "St. Paul." for Mendelssohn wrote
generously for II in this work, while he
did not rise to the dramatic heights OF
Elijah in the solo parts.
The solo singers last night were Mrs.
Mihr-Hardy, soprano; Janet Spencer, con-
tralto; Cecil James, tenor; Frank Croxton,
BARITONE, and 4. A. jain. bass. !Mrsl
Mihr-Hardy Is a newcomer on the loca
concert platform, and perhaps she Is still
suffering from that curious nervousness
which attacks the confident singers OF
other cities when they look into the faces
Of New York auditors. At any rate there
was a good deal OF uncertainty In the so
prano's singing last night. Some OF this
was in the matter of pitch and some in the
matter Of style. The general results were
lame and impotent.
Janet Spencer is making commendable
progress in the art of tone formation and
phrasing. Her %intonation used to be
| faulty, but last night she held the pitch
with loving firmness. She sang Blu the
Lord Is Mindful Of His Own" beautifully
were concerned. Color and more intimate
expressiveness will probably come in time
Temperament-but temperament is after
all a hayward and rebellious thing, and
perhaps we may be thankful for a certain
cool restfulness Of which temperament
might rob this flowing and delicious voice;
Cecil James struggled manfully with the
prosaic duties Of the tenor narrator. Men,
delssohn never did better thing for musical
art than when he abolished this official in
Elijah" and turned him out of the fold OF
o~ratorio for the rest Of time. After Bach
the tenor narrator WAS an impoesibility.
| Bach set him on a musical pinnacle to which
no other composer could hope to climb.
Mr.. James may at some time have seen
Bach's pinnacle, but as through a glass
darkly. He saw even Mendelssohn's dlmly
Mr.. Croxton does not seem to advance
along the fowery path Of legato. He sang
Consume Them an in a manner that
the gates Of Wahnfried to him. 1t would,
however. probably bly, have sv . a g.roishf d,s Msn-
sation Of the parts, had little to do. The
New York Symphony Orchestra supplied
the instrumental support with the assist
ance of Frank Seely at the organ, and Frank
Damrosch conducted.