The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-11-07
DAVID BISPHAM SINGS
AN ENGLISH PROGRAM
What Glenn billiard Gum Has to Say
About Performer Who Comes
Here Next February.

Glenn billiard Gum, IN recent IS
sue of the Chicago Tribune, has the
following comment about David Bis
pham, who appears in Keokuk Feb. b,
1912. under the management OF Jesse
e. Baker.
Reformers are said to be unbeloved
in their own generation, but 1t mas
been the good fortune of David BIS
pham to prove the exception to the
rule. For several years he has stood
prominently in the ranks of those
who believe that we should hear
opera and song in the language OF
the country, and though this move
ment has not yet attained the sup
port of the general public for the rea-
son that the public has had little OPP
portunity to Judge whether 1t really
wants to understand the texts of the
operas or not, 1t is worthy of note
! that when popular singer like Bis
pham presents program In English,
even on Monday evening. his hear
ers are not only numerous but exceed
ingly appreciative, for his recital in
Orchestra hall Monday night was we'll
attended.
Mr.. Bispham has long since proved
himself to be one of the most remark.
able masters Of diction among the
singers, of whatever nationality, who
compete for the attention Of the con
cert public, but there was a time
when we were obliged to enjoy the
most significant examples of his art
IN foreign tongue. Now Mat he ex-
ponds upon an English text the same
mastery that has heretofore been re-
served for German or French poems,
the argument that OUR tongue is I'M
singable can no longer be advanced.
In songs or arias by Handel, Secchi,
Mendelssohn, Cornelius, Verdi and
Strauss. Mr.. Bispham showed that 1t
was possible to find translations OF
the texts that were perfectly suited to
the music and that in several in
stances possessed as great literary
merit as may be discovered in the or
iginal poems. 1t is safe to say that
the humor of the Page" song from
"Falstaff" has never before been fully
apprehended by Chicago audience;
that the storm and passion of Strauss
hearers at former presentations has
lacked measure of that justification
that may have been found with the
aid of the English version, or that
the reverent mood of tThe Monotone
by Cornelius has to great degree
been obscured by the original German
text only to be fully revealed by the
translation.
Mr.. Bispham is not obliged to rest
his appeal to the public on patriotic
grounds, though he chose to empha
size them by representing native or
resident composers in the songs by
Eleanor Everest Freer, Louis Elbel
N. ]. Elsenheimer, and Sidney Homer
and Heniot Levy's melodrama after
Tennyson's "Guinevere." The great
American baritone retains many o.
the vocal attributes that were the
glory Of his prime. The voice Is still
warm and resonant, as colorfull!
adapted to the changing mood of thu
l text. It's volume is, perhaps, somewha
diminished, but that proved so Sigh
disadvantage to such master o
vocal and interpretative means tina
the nearer can afford to disregard
entirely. Such was the evident dispt
sition Of last evenings audience, fo
an encore was demanded after ever
group.
The Freer songs represented tn
highest creative level among the o
y ferings of resident and native cor
posers They are distinguished by a
4 the freedom in harmonic treasmel
that is characteristic of the presen
I and possess, further, many feature
h of structural originality, as we'll as
wealth Of melodic beauty that mai
them the worthy tonal symbols of til
! beautiful "Sonnets from the Port
l guese" by Elizabeth Barrett Brow
] ing, from which the texts wei
| drawn. Mr.. Levy's music to the TIE
i nyson poem was somewhat oversha
4 owed by Mr.. Bispham's splendid de
/ lamation, to which it supplied a plea
/ ant but too unobtrusive backgroun
In short, Mr.. Levy falls jsst short
strong and Vigorous characteriz
| ton. His music POSSESSES much tn;
is technically of interest and co
siderable measure of sensuous CHAIR
/ But it is elaborated in such we'll wol
strophic patterns that its variety
harmonic resource remains it's chi
recommendation.
RESUME CONCRETING
ON ILLINOIS SID