Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-10
MUSICAL NOTES

| ~ man as Well dS ny lllo Oh ~ "iA
~ audience that filled nearly every
seat in Simpson auditorium last night
listened entrariced for two perfect
hours to a concert program presented
by David Bispham.
One element of Bispham's success,
and one that Immediately puts him in
close touch with his audience. is the
class of music he gives them, and us
tening to the dear, intimate sings he
sings one forgets that he has been
acclaimed by critics 1.-The foremost Am
erican baritone" and only hears the
beauty of his voice and the personal
quality, the joy or the pathos, OF MS
| Interpretation.
Two Beethoven numbers and two of
Shubert's, with four Brahms selec-
tions and a group of songs by Franz,
were the offerings of the first half OF
| the program, one full of contrast ana
so greatly enjoyed by his hearers that
he was persuaded to repeat verses OF
gen" and "Liebchen list Ia" with
clark, Hank, the Lark and the old
English ballad, Edward" set to music
| by Loewe, as encores.
| Bispham's exceedingly dramatic
rendering of the latter selection met
with instant recognition. and evoked
q storm of applause with which MIN
| RleQ CRIES OI bIdNO' anu N1iio ~
| the singer.
Harold Osborn Smith, who through
out the evening rendered Mr.. Bispham
very satisfactory support at the piano,
had his opportunity at this point, and
gave a delightful rendering of "Har-
monies du Soir" (Liszt), and in re-
Spouse to enthusiastic applause played
an exquisite 'Impromptu" in + minor
| by Faure.
The big number of the evening was
Poe's Raven" which Mr.. Bispham
gave to incidental music by Arthur
Bergh, and although programmed as
recitation" as interpreted by Mr..
Bispham 1t became a convincing reve-
lation of dramatic art and watching
him one realized that the stage lost a
star of first magnitude when he de-
voted his great histrionic ability to the
muse.
1t is not in depreciation of Mr..
Bispham's remarkable rendering or
Poe's masterpiece, but rather in de-
spite of it's great success that venture
to criticise the appropriateness of in
terpolating a number of this nature
into a concert program. The artist
cannot be at his best in monologue
so entirely at varience with the other
selections, no one persons personality
is compelling enough to hold SO many
people to the point of sympathy re-
Qu1TcQ III OTutI W CICdlS tllC lloiI CT
mosphere, and from an artistic point
of view the result is something like US
ing water colors and oils in the same
picture.
The four English songs that COM
prised the last group were followed by
''Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes, )"
in response to tumult of applause.
The program consisted of the following num-
bers:
'In ouesta Tomba oscurt." Creations
! Hymn" beethoven; AN Die Leyer'" Der
Wanderer." (schuberD Mr.. Bispham
I'm Waldeseinsamket,' "Stanchen,' 'Wir
wandeiten," 20 I.iebliche wangen,' CBrahms) /;
MARIE 'Liebchen list d. I'm Maj"
>f aaarmoni ME du soir" Qaiszt) Mr. Smith.
'The Raven" Poe). recitation to music by
Arthur Bergh =.
The Pauper's Drive" (sidney Homer>; "A
Beat Song tHarriet ware); Danny Deever'
(walter Damrosch), Mr.. Bispham.
s.
The Poe centenary naturally brings
up the question, What is Poe's infiu-
ence on American music?" says re-
cent issue of Musical America. Poe
is perhaps the most musical of Amer
lean poets, and it would be surprising
if he had not stimulated the American
composer to activity. Poems which
are the most musical in themselves
are, however often the least good for
SOHSS. UG uChNNSS PCSeAS
cadence is so full of meaning to the
ear that the composer, approaching
this, cannot bring himself to bury it
in a coarser or simpler musical
rhythm. People usually demand more
obvious rhythm in music.
number of American composers,
however, have set themselves the task
of composing Poe's poems. An early
setting of "Israfel" "the angel whose
heartstrings are lutte" was made by
man named King. Whether King was
an Englishman or an American cannot
be determined at the moment Groves
dictionary gives various Kings, but
none sufficiently recent to have COM
posed "Israfel." The first bold stroke
in the composing of Poe was made by
Edgar Stillman Kelley, in his two
magnificent songs, "Israfel'' and eel
dorado" dedicated to Robert Franz.
"Israfel' is a veritable "Khubla Kahn"
of imagination, and positively Gothic
in it's architectonics. The essence of
Kelley's best gifts is revealed in this
song, a fairylike imagination, lucid
construction and powerful form. ell
dorado" has a curious G sharp run
ming through it's entire length, which
suggests the endless quest of the
knight, and produces a very curious
effect upon the listener. At the point
where the shadow" tells the seeker
that he will find the land of Eldorado
cover the mountain of the moon,"
Kelley rises to a height of imagina-
ton not frequently attained by any
composer.
Charles Martin Loeffer has made a
most exquisite setting to Poes poem,
ITO Helen" which to the average
musician will appear less esoteriG
than much of Mr.. Loefher's work.
His setting of "a Dream Within a
Dream" is also extremely poetic.
Arthur Reginald Little has also made
setting of ITO Helen" which has
breadth and a fine climax. Henry
Gilbert has piano composition of
some length based upon 1.-THE Island of
the Fay This prose poem" of Poe
may be read again and again with the
keenest delight. Its beauty of imagery
and language never wearies one. Mr..
Gilbert's composition possesses much
of the eerie quality of Poe's singular
work which is likely to interest
musicians for some time to come. 1t
received it's first public performance
at the hands of John Beach, at the
Poe celebration at the Authors club
in Boston, recently. Arthur Foote has
made a little choral setting of por-
ton of 'The Bells" for the Laurel
Song Book, a work prepared for
American schools. to which Kelley has
also contributed chorus on "The
Sleeper"
Max Heinrich has made musical
background for a recitation of 1.-THE
Raven" in which the word never
more" is sung in deep voice and cal
culated to produce as grewsome an eff
feet as the tones of the "Stone Guest"
A,~f11 nYserI, ho