New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-12-17
Interesting Features in the
Concert of the Musical
Art Society.
QUAINT TREATMENT
OF BRITISH FOLKSONG
Happiness Echoed in a Varied
and Interesting Pro-
gramme.
by n. r.. kREHBIEf..

night with a concert which began and
ended with music which echoed the spirit
OF the Christmastide. though not all OF IT
was in the printed programme There
was an ingenious German Christmas song
at the beginning C'Stille nacht. heil'ge
nacht'D. which has come TO he regular
feature Of the first annual concert OF the
society and belongs TO the class OF quasi
folksongs. and the delightful "Joyeuse
Noel" which Gevaert rescued from the
almost forgotten music Of the French
people. and which has stood proudly
among TIT programme pieces Of The So
ciety al the end Between these naive
expressions Of the gladstone spirit OF the
time there came a series Of well con-
ira sted artistic compositions, divided into
| three groups, in the first Of which the
audience heard chiefly the voice Of the
Church. which then gave way to the voice
universal.
There was the Christmas motel. "Hodie
Christus natus est" by Palestrina; a mo
tet by Melchior Franck. In den Armen
dein" which carried the history of &C.
clesiastical music century down the
stream Of time: another Christmas motet
"Angelus ad Pastores." which illustrated
the Dutch art in the interim modern
Ave Maria" by the Chldishly deyout
Brrckner. and q setting Of modern
poem Mrs. RrowninS's The Virgin Mary
to the child Jesus by Walter Damrosch,
in the form OF a motel for eight voices.
So much for the matter Of the first
Part The second WAS taken W with three
pieces for small orchestra. either created
hy or arranged bv Percy Aidridg"
Granger whose WALKING Tune Tor wind
Instruments had been played on the after
noon Of Monday by tho Barrere Ensemble.
and evoked more amused than serious
comment from the newspaper reviewers
perhaps for reasons which will az least b"
suggested later They were called
Mock Morris Dance" an! an Fish tune
from the COUNTY Derry for strings. and
real MorrN Dance. entitled Shepherd
Hey" for strings. flute. clarinet. horn ana
here q novelty concertina.
In the third part there was a large pre-
dominance Of things new 10 the lists -
the Musical Art Societr The historical
TACT that the Reformation brought INTO
the use Of the church 4 large number Of
tunes which hitherto had been wholly
secular but which acquired a tremendous
pussauce when they We're accepted for
divine service, was illustrated by Hans
Leo Hasters love song "Mein G'muth
ist mir yerwrret" sung in its original
form and then as q ChOrale hafmonized
b. Johann Sebastian Bach. Had the text
by which IL Is known almost as widely
among Engiish-speaking Protestauts as
Germans been used-"O Sacred Head.
Now Wounded perhaps the interesting
historical fact would have been enforced
more forcbly than IL was hy the para
phrase from the st Matthew Passion"
but musicians would still have missed
some Of its musical beauty. Two secular
love songs prepared Tor Performance
by pr DamrosCh. followed. Robins
IN 'sime." from Adam de Ia iial"'s "Jeu
de Robins .; de Marion'-a significant
historical document Of the thirteenth
century-and Las ii ma nul NAL hy
jacques Leffvre For the formal close.
before the French carol. there came three
songs. FOR women's voices tOp. 40. by
Brahms. and three songs by a Finnish
composer Selim Palmgren: very different.
popular notice by the recent visit Of p
Finnish choir 10 London. Very much too
much this. not for an evenings enjoy
ment. maybe, but for such detailed DIS
cusslOn as the concerts ~ the Musical
Art Society always invite. Attention can
be given only 10 few Of the many Items.
For several years the English Foiksong
Society has been working industriously
not only gathering songs from the simple
folk I'm whose memories they reposc. but
printing them. subjecting them 10 analyt-
zeal and comparative study and seeking
10 put them back into the mouths and
hearts OF the British children During
this time NJ Granger has also sought
10 perform a pretty and pious duty by
going 10 the songs for artistic material
and publishing arrangements for concert
purposes Nothing was known OF his
doings here until AT a concert OF IN"
Schola Cantorum last spring the irish
tune which was on laSi nights pro-
gramme and a song entitled I'm Seven
teen Come Sunday" came 90 the for" as
the most fascinating features OF an other
wise extremely ambitious programme.
The Irish tune was sung without words.
not because ii never had any. but prom
ably because the original words were
lost 1t first appeared in the famous
collection Of Irish melodies made by
PetrIe. where its origin Was described.
and II was stated that its name was un-
known. Since then 1t has been provided
with at least two sets Of words anu
there seemed no reason for treating IL
differently than scores Of other BrIuSh
folksongs have been treated. Nheie
| would Scotch balladry be without buThs
No doubt il was TO humor some Oh WI
Graincer's fantastic notions that the song
was sung as he printed H. Mr.. Grange
affects a malntness which Or Damrosch
! thought IL rcgt TO ignore in his announce
ment Of the pieces OF the house Dill dHc
in the annotated programme DOOR ia"
! the COMPOSERS wishes been followed We
J should have had the Mock Morris d'-
scribed az a Room Music Tlt-Blt' III
| stead Of piece of chamber music anu
as having been composed ''for string Sly
some and have been Informed thht ho
| folk music tune-stuns" had been used III
a. and that, though the rhythmic cast
! OF the piece is morris-like neither the
build OF the tunes nor the general layout
Of the form keep to the morris dance
| shape" All this TO say that his compost