El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-06-23

" HE thirty-sixth annual Saenger-
fest of the North American Bund
is being held in Milwaukee this
week, and not only the German-Ameri-
cans but all of the music lovers of the
country are interested in the festival
Singers from scores Of cities are in
attendance and the choral numbers
will be sung by a consolidated chorus
of approximately 5000 voices. This
huge chorus was rehearsed in detail
Professor Albert s. Kramer, of the Mil
waukee Mannerchor, in the past six
weeks visited 10 cities of the eastern
states rehearsing the singing socie-
ties for their parts in the great Mil
waukee chorus Herman A. Zeitz, d.
rector of the Milwaukee Musikverein,
performed a similar service in the cities
of the southern and southwestern
states.
The First Saengerfest.
The first saengerfest in the United
States was held in Cincinnati in 1S49
by German-American of that city.
only four years after the revival of the
choral festivities in the Fatherland-
Cincinnati always has been a center Of
musical culture and especially of choral
activity. The city was founded in 1888.
and it had a singing school as. early as
1900. 1t was incorporated as a city in
1914, and it had an organized choral
society in 1916. Out of this choral So
ciety grew the idea of a separate choir
for the German-Americans. who were
numerous in Cincinnati, and the first
great Saengerfest was held in 1S49.
Years later, in 1873. the music lovers
of Cincinnati united, and under the di-
rection OF Theodore Thomas held their
first great May festival of music in
1873 From this May festival various
81 h0 "a the idea
for similar musical events. even as
many eastern cities have followed the
example of the older institution Of the
Worcester festival For the spring and
fall of this year no less than so Amer
lean cities and towns have held, or will
hold. musical festivals planned on the
lines of the great Cincinnati May fes-
tival.
The Worcester Festival.
The autumn festival held in Worces-
ter IS peculiarly interesting because 1t
is entirely American in origin and had
none of the adventitious aid given to
Cincinnati by the Germans. The New
England Puritans were Psalm singers
who abhorred what they termed pro
fame" music as a pagan survival and
an invention of the devil Boston was
more than a century old when the
first organ was put in a church there,
and that not until after terrific con-
troversy. The puritanic objection to
instrumental music in churches has
now almost disappeared and is heard
only among two or three sects and
schisms almost exclusively rural In
their membership But there was
time when this was a mighty ques-
ton
The triumph of the ear was sure, If
slow. The precentors Of the PSALM
singing New England congregations
began to strive for cooperation In I'M
proving the music III the churches
This cooperation resulted in holding
conventions of precentors and singing
teachers in Worcester, and. in turn.
these conventions developed into
choral society, which viii this autumn
hold its fifty-fourth annual festival
The inspira ton of the German
Saengerfest is social and patriotic The
great annual gatherings are tributes 10
the Fatherland. and the club houses OF
the local societies are intended TO ap-
proximate the opportunities for social
diversion afforded in the home coun-
try. There are probably 10 German
musical societies 10 one Of any other
kind in the United States. and IT is
from the saengerbund, the manner
Choir. the 1iederkranz and the musk
verein that the ranks Of American mu-
sicians are largely recruited
The Festive Features.
The festive features OF the Saen-
gerDund are distinctly European, pecu-
liarly German The puritanism tnat
vet pervades American life has yield
ed its opposition to music. but not 10
Bacchus. Theodore Thomas agreed to
organize the first May FESTIVAL In
Cincinnati only upon condition that
the convivial features of the Saenger-
fest be excluded The precedent then
set has been rightly observed, and
this fact perhaps has helped to keep
M the separate organizations OF the
German singers
The inspiration Of practically all 9TH
er choral societies in the United states,
aside from the German clubs. has been
religious Sometimes, as in the case OF
Worcester. this origin is remote, but
more often 1t Is immediate. Next to
the national saengerfest the largest
body of singers that meets annually
in the United States is the chorus OF
re annual conference of the German
BAPTIST church, commonly called Dunk
crs. While the denomination has
membership of only about 100000 the
attendance at the annual conferences
is frequently 10000. The Dunkers are
the German puritans, and they con-
r,usic in churches. but they have pro-
vided the alternative Of trained cho-
raj singing The annual chorus or
several thousand voices Is directed by
Prof. George B. Holsinger, OF Bridge
water college
The Bethlehem Choir.
Another religious chorus. also Ger
man in origin but purely local in ex-
tent. is the Bach choir of Bethlehem.
Pennsylvania This town was found ed
by the Moravians. and at the very first
the Moravian leaders established
Collegium Museum, on the foundation
of which has been reared a remarka-
BILE musical superstructure- This
choir of about 100 voices was the first
in America to produce complete the
stupendous Bach mass in B minor, p
achievement of which Bethlehem is
pardonably proud. The choir is more
than a century old.
Still another interesting music center
that had its origin in a religious in
spiration is the remarkable Swedish
choir of Lindsborg, Kansas. Lindsborg,
in Mcpherson county. is a country
town Of less than 1000 population Its
people are mostly Of Scandinavian ORR
gin, Woodworking and thrifty. and yet