New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-01-26
MUSIC
Baroness Won WoIzogen's Song
Recital.

There was somewhat more OF promise
than fulflment from an educational point
Of view In the recital of folksongs given
by the baroness Won Wolzogen in Men
delssohn nan Yesterday afternoon. Two
Of the three divisions OF the programme
were devoted TO folksongs Of different peo-
pies and ii was announced that the singer
would accompany them upon an ancient
German Lutte. She PLAYED upon a lutte
indeed. but she did not play lutte music
her accomplishments being all OF an ele-
mentaTy chOrdal kind for which n guitar
would have served Just az we'll. u not bet
ter. The lutte once fulfilled mission In
domestic, and even concert music. like
that OF the pianoforte to-day. and the
old foksongs and dances of Germany.
Italy and France which were set for II DID
not nave 'tum-ti-tum-tum'' accompani-
ments' but were polyphonic and quite as
severe and learned a. the music written
for the organ or any other keyboard in
struinant. II would have been asking a
little too much, no doubt. 10 have asked
Nine. Won Wolzogen to present her
songs OF thc fifteenth. sixteenth and seven
teenth centuries 'in the original package
(to Use mercantile phrase. but had she
sung such fine examples OF folksong A.
"Drei Laub auf elmer Linden" Der Tod
Won Flandern" and the spiritual drinking
song Of the nuns Of the lower Rhine. In
den Rosen,' which was written down by
Anna Won Coellen (Ann Of Cologne I'm the
first quarter OF the fifteenth century. with
archaic harmonies they would have been
more interesting and also more effective.
even If the modern pianoforte had been
used Better such an anachronism than
that presented by her treatment ~ the
lutte as If it were a guitar.
As for the art ~ the lady. there IS much
that is charming in II. Her voice is not
that Of a singer cut out for lofty things.
but neither is II devoid Of good qualities
and evidences OF training Nine Won Vol
zogen's forte approaches that Of Ivette
Guilbert While the latter. however. has
equally good command Of pathos and hu-
NOR, the former touches the note Of deep
feeling but seldom and lightly. She amused
her audience greatly by such songs as the
Italian TN Plato di Mascheroni." the
Austrian Web. Sollst Hoamgehn'' and the
Westphalian Der Kafer und die Fliege, 20
but treated all OF her serious songs much
too fppantly. She made her closest APP
lIpdti u Julius III an lllAFi' N''''t%0
sition called "Das RECOMMENDATIONS In this
the composer. Adalbert Won Goldschmidt'
successfully tried an experiment In the field
which Humperdinck essayed when he made
his first setting Of "Konigskinder the field
Of melodrama in which the voice. without
indulging in anything like srophic song
vet declaims rhythmicaly and moves IN
melOdic contours. The text Il a pathetc
bit OF prose from Grimm's fairy tales-the
story of the mother who was persuaded 70
stop weeping over the death OF her child
bv the child who returned from his grave
10 tell her that her tears kept his shroud
wet and he would not be able 70 rest ii'
comfort until il was dry. Here Nine. Won
NoIzogen's defamation was eXquisitely re-
fined and awakened a regret that Herr
Humperdinck's experiment was found 10 DC
impracticable. The lady made a dehghudi
impression by her appearance. dress ana
graceful bearing. and there was pretty
piauancy in her unaffected TRANSACTIONS VI
some Of the songs: but folksong literature
offers many examples which might proH'-
ably have replaced some Of the numbers OF
her programme. ~ !" ""