The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-01-17


 red-shod feet; the shame and aversion in the beautiful eyes at the task the young exile forced to barter in gay, wicked Paris, the glorious national dance, sacred to the halls of her fathers, for the terri ble winning of bread.
 Thus genius is immortal, for these two could not take a summer night stroll without crystallizing the interest of a passing show into two vivid bits of beauty which will always live.
 Isn't that a charming little story 2" she asked.
 "Yes,tit is beautiful" was all that I could say.
 And after Chopin ?"-I meditated.
 "Oh love Beethoven and Bach pas sionately," she averred, "but not the three 'B's'-for l do not love Brahms I know this isn't musicianly and all that, but I simply don't and that's the end of it. My love of Bach, was the inspiration of Theodore Thomas. and Nicklish, under whose batons some of the finest music I have ever heard has been rendered.
 And speaking of ensemble work" said, "I meant to congratulate you upon the excellent selections given by the Treble Clef club at the recital recent ly under your direction. Particularly lovely was the The Moths, it's dainti- ness and clarity quite notable, and 1t proved charming number. What are your plans for the Treble Clef club work?"
 "Oh, we are going to do some very enthusiastic reply. '"There are some beautiful voices in the club, and large amount of talent; and best of all there is the fire of ambition without which nothing can be accomplished.
 And that brings me to inquire what you think of Brmingham's ambition in regard to having a musical festival?"
 Mrs. Rivers declared with spontaneous enthusiasm: "Whv I think 1t is splendid In the first place I dearly love both or chestral and choral music and I always seize with avidity any opportunity to hear them. Then too festival stirs communitys musical thought nourishes and develops its tastes and helps to ma ture it's artistic sense. You know the Treble Clef club is to have an evening at the coming festival"
 Yes" I said T think that is very nice And in regard to the choral prepa- rations in the few intervening weeks be- tween now and May?"
 Mrs. Rivers smiled and answered.
 We all know that 'art is long, and a few weeks-the most heeting thing possible-but 1t seems to me that good conductor of sufficient skill and magnetic personality could take the material here, the Treble Clef club, the Choral club, the German society, the city's choirs and i procure chorus numbering 200 voices sufficiently versed In singing to work up , some of the many pleasing choral com positions that will not tax volunteer and busy people too heavily
 But inquired will not such con ductor be hard to find? ?"
 Not necessarily" she replied. "Yet 1t takes more than knowledge to make a successful conductor Some men of excellent knowledge plod on with chorus forever without pleasing results Yet others take hold and so vitalze and vivify the singers with the dynamic quick ening of artistic inspiration and imagina. tion that results come speedily and the fort is stormed in short order. For in. i stance I have seen Tali Morgan raise his baton over a chorus that seemed doomed to failure, without at least six months arduous toll. and in two week. time they would be singing with unbe levable smoothness."
 Do you think Impossible to give cred itably, an oratorio at the coming fes tival?"
 Hardly, unless one is selected whicl is familiar to most of the chorus, sucl | as the Messiah. this might be prepare, with judicious cutting
 'Do you think the festival will be O permanent good to Birmingham?'
 Inevitably. If it does nothing else, 1 will give some sort of standard of ar measurement to the mass of student and unlettered music lovers in our midst Great ir bn 1f tl,; must be imported luxuries in new south ern towns. dependent upon the capric of the wealthy and fashionable who woul far rather go to New York and hear must at its American best than to help pay fo the masses to hear. say fair orchestra here. But what pleasure on earth is S keen as listening to a beautiful orchestra effect? And he who cannot get wonderfl messages from the deep and labarynthin soul of an orchestra, Shakespeare ha labelled him.
 Music is too much the diversion ( the amateur With many it is a favor ite ignorance. It is indeed a long CT between the moving picture show must and the art of the arrogant. contemptu ous, over-wise, woud-be cassicst
 'There is bound to be some good. half way, ground somewhere, and easter states have found 1t in the love of tn oidtotlo ana tne fnuSlcal IeSt1Val.
 And this years work?' asked
 ''We can make little more than a bray start but if we will be patient, modest invincible, in the aim to do good ar work, and not be daunted by fickers O discouraeement or criticism. believe he fore three years have passed we can hoI up our heads (chorally) before othe cities and challenge their respect"
 And so my afternoon was spent il "music-land" with the pretty scenic eff feet Gas they say on the stage) of Mrs Rivers Studio as a background Man, nictures of famous artists crowd th