The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1906-03-16

Of spirit land is that evil follows when
ever the sprites make themselves visible
to a hiarnan--determine to welcome.
him to their reyels. The disobediencs
brings fearsome consequences. The
sombre representative OF fate reluc-
family agrees to pipe in order that his
elfn folk may dance before the peasant.
Iolan is impelled BY the music first to
take part In the mad revel and finally
in wild outbreak oil. gayety to snatch
from the OLD One his basset-horn and
attempt to draw music from it,,
Even to touch the weird instrument
is absolutely forbidden to rnortals.
Iolan can bring from it only discordant
strains, which tNaoia, who lies on sick
bed, stricken with fever, hears afar
of. and. led by an irresistible impulse
makes haste to join her lover in the
forest. The interval up to her arrival
is filled with recital OF Iolan's dream
of happiness in which the efforts with
which he has prepared his house for
the wedding and the plans that have
been made for a life OF usefulness and
delight are glowingly described. The
recital is interrupted by the coming of
Naoia, faint from the hardsfips of a
journey which she was unfit to under
take. Tenderiy welcomed by Iolan, she
dies in his arms, and the luckless swain
in rather long drawn out anguish per-
ishes by her side. The Old Ones
prophecy is thus complete. % 4 T
Around this literary theme Mr.. Con-
verse has built up true opera, with
| notable overture and continuous in
| terturning of the mystic and sombre
numbers OF the Old One with the riot
Gus springtime strains of his subjects.
The music runs in an alternating cur
rent Of dark and bright. The swaying
| dance of brilliant salamanders, long
bearded gnomes and shadowy undines
! Ihalts as the Old One warns: ssa,.
otis the Pipe God gave to Lilith,
| And she played to man in Eden, ~ r.
But its charm was rent by woman;
| Now we play its potent music r
4 That those in solitude may hear, r..
! And continue, restless, wandering,
III Searching ever .E. sy -.
Let thy tune, now sad, now merry,
/ Wax and Wane with every breath;
| Let the joy of loves beginning
1 Blend unto the chant of death
! { Let the mortal who dares play thee
Without knowledge of thy mood,
Pale in terror at thy meaning,
/ And die when he has understood
/ Mr.. Converse is member of the
Igroup of Boston composers which in
Ieludes George ", Chadwick, Professor
HIT. K. Paine, Mrs. H. H. A. Beach,
Miss Margaret tRuthven Lang, Arthur
lFoote and several others. After a
hcourses at Harvard he studied with Pro-
fessor Paine and with iRheinberger at
Munich. He now teaches harmony at
the. New England conservatory, and
for the past three years has been as
Isistant professor of music in Harvard
university which has lately entered i'm
to reciprocal relations with the conser-
lvatory Many Of his works have al
i lfeady been perfornied-among them
1.-THE Mystic Trumpeteer, based upon
Il Walt sNiiitmafl's poem, brought otil
Il lastsyear by the Philadelphia symphony
Il orchestra and about to be given this
1 spring in Cincinnati by Van der Stuck
i en-; and two symphonic poems, Endy-
rnion' Narrative. which the Boston
4 symphony orchestra played in 1908
and The Festival of Pan, which has
Ebeen heard in London, Warsaw, Bos.
Il ton, Cambridge, Chicago and else.
y where His ballad, La. Belle Dame
ESans Merci, based upon Keats poem
Il was sung by David Bispharn at Sym.
4 iphony hall, Boston, on March Z.
| George E. Barton, author of the Ii.
i lbretto Of The Pipe Of Desire is an ar.
chitect of literary tastes. Fifty mer
| from the Boston symphony conposee
| the orchestra Their leader was Wal.
| lace Goodrich, acting director Of ths
conservatory during the absence in Eu.
| rope of Mr.. Chadwick, and conductor
Of the Worcester music festival and
| the Boston choral art society. The
4 cast consisted entirely Of local talent
Several of the members were advanced
i students from the opera school Of The
Iconservatory The chorus OF gnomes
| lsylphs, uf1dines and salannanders was
ldrawn from the same source.