The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-09-24
Varied Concert Programme En-
 joyed By Large Audience
HIPPODROME WAS FILLED
Saeneerfest to Conclude This Even. ing With Picnc-Place for Hold ing Next Southern Saengerfest
 Will Be Decided Today.

with a picnic or volksfest at Germania Park
 The saengerfest concert at the Hippo drome last night was d brilliant event socially and in some respects a highly eredtable affair from an artistic point Of view. The hall was filled. The audience numbered fully two thousand people and included a large part of the flower of Birmingham society
 In the absence of Mayor Ward, Alder man klotz male an eloquent address of welcome to the visiting Maennerchors and special guests. Frank Deedmeyer, for the singers responded, his remarks being as follows:
 We appreciate much your kind welcome, spoken in behalf of the city of Birming ham to the singers and to the other visit ing guests. Birmingham, destined to be in d short time one of the great cities of the American continent, attracts and de- serves the best of every kind. Hand In hand with the development of our bounti- ful material resources must go the un- folding of the mind and the cultivation of the fine arts. The historian in later centuries will analyze and explain the period of our great industrial expansion. commencing with the close of our civil war, and which, we hope, hns not yet reached it's continuation. He will assign as causes for this marvellous development in every line a general diffusion of Snowl- edge and the successful application of scientific principles to the forces of na- ture, making these subservient to the uses of man. I his future historian will record that the progress of this phenomenal epoch-and, as such it will be character ized in ages to come--is not unilateral, but that 1t embraces every sphere of hu- man activity and develops harmoniously all the gifts conferred by a munificent Providence.
 Religion, defining the relation of the creature to the Creator, is better under stood today than at any time heretofore. Every department of science and knowl- edge is prosecuted with a zeal and sue cess that makes a comparison with other great epoehs in the intellectual develop ment of mankind but futile and never be- fore has so much been done for the cul- tivation of the fine arts as we witness in our time.
 The Creator has singled out man by ondowing him with three great gifts. which dfferentiate him from all other creatures. These gifts reason, artie- ulate speech and taste for the fine arts Faith, which is the offspring of req son, and the fine arts. are the adornments of the soul They are the sources of our highest and noblest pleasures,
 Music Is the oldest of the fine arts. IL is also the greatest Like artculate speech it Is necessity of mans being. the means of expressing feelings and sensa- tons that can be communicated in no other manner. The highest aspirations and inspirations of the soul vent through melody and harmony. There is no human being so low in the scale of intellectual development, but that he expresses his sensations in and through music. In every stage of mans progress to higher and nobler existence he has had and em- ployed this means to give expression to his thoughts and emotions. It nterprets every passion and sentiment, and linked II u ton of language
 It is for the cultivation of this ono of the fine arts that the North American Saengerbund or association of singers, has been established. The southern dis trlct of the bund is composed of singing societies from the larger cities Of the south. Each year q saengerfest is held in one of the cities having society belong ing to the district organization. These fests witness the progress made by the different societies, and they become an in- eentive to attain to higher perfection in this noble art. By the fostering of the folk songs, illustrating the life and the traditions of the common people the deepest and noblest feelings are cultivated and preserved
 Let us hope that the artistic success of the fest of 1907 in Birmingham may re- ward our southern singers for the efforts which they put forth to bring to per- lection the interpretation of music, and that this fest may become an incentive for many to cultivate more and more this oldest and greatest of the fine arts.
 The programme was varied in It's mu- sical character and while all the num- bers were artistic the folk pieces were perhaps the most heartily enjoyed and the best rendered.
 The united chorus numbered about 125 voices and the orchestra nearly forty pieces The most pretentious orchestral work was the Parslfal overture and the la argest choral performance was The Genius of Tone" It would have been bet ter had something easier than Parsifal been selected. This great overture was heard in Birmingham under exceptionally favorable conditions when Conreds Met ropolitan Opera company presented Wag ner s master music drama at the Jefer- son theatre sea son before last The local performance naturally suffered in com parison.
 Mr Friermood was well received in his solo, in "Eastermorn," and Miss Cunning ham achieved a triumph in her solos. One of the best things on the programme was "The Almighty" in which Mrs. McQuade of Chattanooga had the soprano role This lady sang as an artist and her sweet voice and muscianly method made a decided impression.
 Mr. Grambs, fest conductor, won great applause as did also MT. Memoi, director of the orchestral numbers. As an encore to the duet for cello and flute, the orchestra rendered Schumann's ''Traumerei."