New-York tribune., 1909-04-19
MUSIC
A CONCERT OF AMERICAN COMPOST



TIONS.
There a concert of muse written by Ameri-
can composers at Carnegie Hall yesterday after
noon. 1t was the third meeting of the New York
centre OF tho American Music Society and was in
an especial manner expression of the interest
and enthusiasm which Mr.. David Bispham. the pres
ident Of the centre, is taking in the movement to
give public hearing to American music In scope.
in dignity and in the character OF Its programme It
much superior to the earlier meetings. 1t en-
tertained audience of encouraging numbers and
was in some things illustrative Of the efforts
which American composers are making to
find a distinctively American idiom. The composers
who had representation in the list were William J.
Mccoy. Californian; Charles Martin Loeffier.
Alsatian who has been a resident of the United
States about twenty-five years; Edward Mac
Dowell, a New Yorker; George W. Chadwick.
native OF Massachusetts,; Arthur Farwel an Amer
lean who. publisher lecturer and composer, has
for years devoted his energies to exploiting
what he considers form of native expression; Ar
thur Bergh who halls from Minnesota and Harry
Rowe Shelley, who born In New Haven.
Messrs. Chadwick, Farwell. Bergh and Shelley con-
Quoted their works, and the others who took
part in the music making. except some Of the mem
bers OF the orchestra (Which was that which Is In
the service of the Peoples Symphony Society were
also American; they were Mr.. Bispham Miss Au-
gLsta Cottow Mr. F. X. Arens and Mr.. Harold
Osborn Smith.
Efforts at characteristic American expression were
10 be found only in two of the compositions-those
Of Mr.. F'arwe1I and Mr.. Shelley, Mr. Loef9er was
represented by four songs, with viola obbligato.
which individual utterances. but show the dis
cipeship of a highly cultivated musician to De-
busy. Mr.. ChadWicks composition was a setting
FOR barytone voice and orchestra of Scott's ballad
which tells the story OF Young Lochinvar It is
fluent piece of writing. frankly meodious and which
in its introduction of Scotch color (the rhythm OF
the reel and the skirlng and drone of pipes in
the episode of the dance suggested that possibly
Stanford's "Phaudrig Crohoore' had not been with
out effective influence The parallelsm lies in the
story as well as the musical device. Mr.. McCoys
composition was a prelude to masque entitled
The Hamadryads." written five years ago for one
OF the annual outing festivals of the Bohemian
Club Of San Francisco. 1t is music which fits the
mood OF the story for which IT written "a
sylvan is indicated by its title) is appeal
ing in melody, harmony and orchestration but
which. when given in the room. would
benefit greatly by the omission of the hootng OF
an owl, which cheapens the music and receives It's
sanction only from a dramatic motif which IS
significant in the play. Taken in connection with
an effect TO which Mr.. Bergh also resorted in his
melodraInatic music composed for Poe's Raven"
1t served TO illustrate the proneness OF young
composers to-day 70 realistic Illustration. Every
aHusion to the raps and taps at the poets chamber
door was accompanied by physical rappings and
tappings in the orchestra The poet told OF an in
cident that was past: the composer made il con- I
tcmporaneous for the listeners the narrative. |
The performa recalled the feeble and faulty
agination of another American composer. who from
his sojourn IN San Francisco brought to the East
incidental music for Macbeth for which he was |
said TO have great favor on the Pacific Coast. !
In this Macbeths speech after the murder of Dun
can accompanied throughout by the hooting Of 4
owl to the rhythm Of sleep more" the |
composer having materialized the voice Of con- /
science and disclosed his naturalization both be |
fore and after the scene OF the killing
Overlooking this defect and the fantastic pro- |
gramme which made OF the narrator a grief |
stricken who has taken TO the OF drugs |
and goes mad from abnormal craving, the
and Its performance with Mr. Bispham)
had many moments of eloquent beauty Two themes.
both apposite and effective used 10 deIineate
the with its rhythmical croak and the lost
Lenore and they ingenousy applied and
trasted. Mr- Bispham acted the poem with genuine
power. and paid back the honor due 10 the English
vowels which he had sadly maltreated IN his sing
ing
Mr. Fsrwelrs contribution TO the concert was a
''Phantasy for Orchestra. after Indian legend"
entitled Dawn Its melodic foundation is an
Omaha song which Miss Alice c. Fletcher printed
in her book Indian Story and Song from North |
America" and called The Old Mans Love Song"
1t was that too when Mr.. Farweil arranged it for
pianoforte and published it some eight years ago
Then Mr Farwell said of its melody that 1t gave
expression TO a meIlowed love Of life born Of
years of benign ennobling existence. voiced at
dawn in the presence OF peaceful nature" Having
worked himself up rhapsodic mood. ne went
on: is tribute. in song to the spirit Of love
and beauty In the world The dreamy and idyllic
prelude is but floating breath This song, with
Is phrases like birds. and its pastoral
musings. is singularly self-explsnatory- II watts
ike the breath of zephyr over the grasses Of
gentle hiIltops. and Is not inferior in its iGylic
quality TO the music which Wagner conceived for
he flower maideas in Parsifal' % Sweet are the
pleasures OF the imagination The melody IS but
,ariation of the stock phrase which may be said
o be at the bottom Indian song a whole |
Any cooI-headed student OF the music of the Amer
can aborIgnes ought be able to duplicate 1t
iftv times in hour. II is so 'selt-explanatOry
n its wood notes wild and its pastoral musings
hat il serves equally well for gambling song. a
var dance a ghost dance any other purpose TO
which Indians put their rude music There is no
,fectation even if also there Is no elegance or
of uttsrance in the dances which Mr.
Shelley calls Creole Days" and with which he
brought the concert to a merry end. h Z h
TRANSATLANTIC TRAVELLERS.
Among the passengers who arrived yesterday