The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-12-26
HANDEL IS THE MESSIAH

Nothing was better suited to round
GUT a. christmas day otherwise without
nav IMAM the superb rendering Of The
| MESSIAH, at the Auditorium last even
Ing by the Philharmonic club and the
Minneapolis Symphony orchestra. At
fill the Auditorium were in that state
OF mind. Not all Of them were regu-
lar, patrons Of the club and orchestra,
and not all were musical. A large part
were people who have come to look
upon The Messiah as an essential
part Of the Christmas festivities, and
they. attend. its rendition with religious
Perhaps a more appreciative and
sympathetic audience, lever filled that
great temple of music. IF the music
was good, certainly an appreciable de-
gree OF its excellence can be attributed
to the perfect sympathy existing be-
tween the performers and the audience.
Time and circumstance seem to re-.
move a performance Of this nature
from the field j of 3 critical comment.
Even If. the concert asa performance
how mild, it would seem out Of keep
ing with the spirit Of 1.-The occasion to
measure it by ordinary standards. 1t
you'd be like sitting in Judgment ON
Christmas gift from ones best friend.
The work of the Philharmonic and
the orchestra from beginning to end
was done with such fervor and zeal,
and with such precision of technical
detail, and such appreciation of the in
SEPARATION Of the wonderful composition,
note, that no Christmas audience could
fail to respond. The audience did re-
spond, and never have singers or play
ers been accorded. more honest and sin
cere praise 50 : ~ ~ : > g.
One almost has to- ask pardon for
venturing to suggest that any one Of
the four soloists excelled the others,
but if such a hairsplitting decision
were to be made, i the laurel wreath
would probably 20 to Reed Miller. the
tenor. Mr.. Miller has "a, sWeetly lyrical
siah solos, and, Besgsss wondering his
and enunciatiion, ha. threw, into his
work a sympathy that sometimes was
lacking in the others. Mrs Mabelle
Crawford-Welpton, contralto, failed in
some, degree to appreciate just how
vast halT the Auditorium is, and her
voice sometimes failed to penetrate to
the remote corners. But she made up
I in depth and sweetness, for any failure
in volume. Her aria, "He Was De-
spised and Rejected of Men," album
dainty. atoned for microscopic shortcom-
ings in other parts. Miss Marie Stod-
DART, soprano, also failed slightly to-
fill the great hall, and she sang best
when she did not attempt the impos-
sible. The sweetness Of her singing,
particularly when accompanied only by
the great organ, left an impression that
will always endear her I'd 4 Minneapolis
audience. :. ~ 80. r. ...
Only good can be said Of Tom Dan
iel, basso: Large, handsome. benign
looking, he sang his way into instant
favor, eliminating at the last with his
magnificent Interpretation Of 'FWhy Do
the Nations So Furiously Rage9' His
voice is full of warmth and sympathy.
It is no fault Of any Of the soloists
if the Auditorium WAS too, vast for
them to fill. Singers: trained to smaller
halls cannot be expected here to ac-
complish with their voices what they
could easily do in halls half as large.
A sense of the, thore harmony ,ex-
listing among the soloists, the Philhar-
monies and the orchestra, born of a
| mutual respect for. the authority and
ability of each, was impaired to the
audience, and created an impression
that the three combined to make a
particularly well balanced rendering Of
the great oratorio. ~, I'll - 80: 3