The San Francisco call., 1908-11-09
CHARMS AUDIENCE
WITH FINE VOICE
De Gogorza Interprets Poetry
OF Verses as Well as Music
of His Melodies
Concert Given by Well Known
Barytone Proves Rare Treat
to Music Lovers
By Walter Anthony

For perfect contentment and JOY TO
the ear and heart let me listen to De
Gogorza. Some there are, among barry
tones, who sing higher than he-yes-
terday he cut some top tones and stayed
on optional and less climatic lower lev
els-and some sing louder than he. but
no barytone sings more alluringly or
vely-unless it be Pol Plancon.
De Gogorza has an artistry that eX-
tends TO the last syllable of every WORD.
He is the true song. singer and he IN
terprets the poetry of his verses no less
than the music of his melodies. He is
not limited, as are most singers, to
eXpressiveness in this or that variety
of vocal composition, but groups a folk
song with an artificial Massenet aria,
and then sings a Schumann or Brahms
lleder before or after Handel for
mallty. lie is apparently at home IN
anything that is worthy of vocal eN-
preston. At Christian Science hail yes
terday afternoon we did him homage.
not because he came with a reputation
from abroad, but because he opened up
his throat and heart and sang for us.
HALL WELL FILLED
1t is good to record too. that Chris
tian Science hall was nearly filled with
an appreciative crowd, and that viii
Greenbaum, whose enterprise has
brought the great singer here, will not
have to console himself for the loss of
sheckels in the advance of art 1t was
a paying no less than an enthusiastic
audience.
Likewise it is good to contemplate
the two more chances of hearing this
artist sing, Thursday night next and
Sunday afternoon.
Does 1t take a foreigner to sing a
native song, written by an American?
The thought naturally arises when you
hear De Gogorza sing group of songs
with English words, by such native
composers as Sidney Homer, Howard
Brockway and Horatio Parker. The
latter's, The Lark Now Leaves Its
Watry Nest" was a gem in old Eng
lish style and missed only the high"
ending to be perfect; Sidney Homer's
Requiem" and Sing Me a Song were
gems-particularly the first-and Brack-
ways original composition, "A Dream =
showed what American composers are
like when they are sung with the art
that is usually placed at the shrine of
Schumann and Schubert and Brahms.
SONG BRINGS ENCORE
De Gogorza's Interpretation of the
musically weak but POLITICALLY fine
Mother o. Mine" brought him an en-
core and was excellent proof that a
good singer may even dispense with a
good composer if there is a Kipling
poem to interpret.
There was also a group of Alvarez
songs. Spanish things they WERE and
each earned, though did not get, an en-
core. The Massenet arias from Rio de
Lahore was given a superb reading
and the collection from the pens of
German composers and poets-including
Schumann's ''Mondnacht" and Wild
mung, and Brahms "Feldeinsamkeit''
showed the singers command over the
Teuton mode of song. In this group
he sang the much and ever loved .Ich
Liebe Dich," by Greig, and the audience
wouldn't let him go till he had done
it over again.
An evening, in brief, or an afternoon
spent with De Gogorza will be one to
remember and cherish. His singing is
a rare treat and his art is quite mex
haustible.
Henry c. Whittemore plays some
piano classics, while De Gogorza rests
his throat and makes the intermissions
endurable. His touch is rather infiex-
ible, his phrasing and pedaling are good
and he has an excellent, though rather
stiff, sense of rhythm. His accom-
paniments are excellent. He bends
freely to the will of the fine singer,
who leans against the grand piano and
sings his poems straight into your
hparf