The Washington herald., 1913-11-23

have the courage 10 make any great poem
into song. I feel that II the poem is
sufficiently perfect to inspire music, then
it is almost safe to say that II needs no
music. Perhaps the real impulse-the best
one-that stirs the composer Is the feeiing
that the music is already there In the
poem. and that by listening with hum
Bile ear he may hear 1t and record IT..
ANY one who knows Tagore's 'Gttan-
| jail must understand what ! mean Il
believe that in all literature there has
never been more wonderful combination
of universal, eternal thought, with an
I, utterly simple. utterly poignant power Of
expression. Tagore's English has naive
and sensitive quality which seems to me
TO be entirely new to the language His
poems belong to all ages and to every
nationality. Their thought Is as old as
the world and as young as rose lear
It has the high calm of an ultimate re-
| ligion.
u have tried to listen to the music In
some of the GitanjalP and to record II.
But when my work was done there came
to my mind the wonderful words OF the
thirteenth poem:
1.-THE song that came to sing remains
unsung to this day.
at have spent my days in stringing
and in unstringing my instrument.
1.-THE time has not come true, the
words have not been rightly set; only
there is the agony Of wishing in my
heart"
The following select musical program
was given last night at the Foreign
Mission Seminary at Takoma Park:
Prelude RachimaninofD, Mr.. Hamer;
berceuse from "Jocelyn'' (B. Godard),
Mr.. and Mrs. Johnson. mandolin; The
Failure Of Cunningham (Andrews), Mrs.
Caviness; vocal solo (selected, Mrs.
Hamer; June Barcarolle" Up. Tschai-
kowsky), Mr. Lehman, cello: 20. That
We Two Were Maying" (Nevin), Mr..
and Mrs. Hamer; "Serenade Badine"
| Gabriel Marie). Mr.. and Mrs. Johnson,
mandolin; reading (selected), Mrs. Cavi-
ness; "Humoresque" (Anton Dyorak,
Mr.. Lehman. cello; March Mllitaire"
(Schubero. Miss Fontana and Mr.. Hamer.
The fondest traditions Of a race OF peo-
pie are best preserved in the folk songs
OF the hidden people" Folk songs and
folk music express most clearly the at
tributes and the history OF the people,
and tell in IunmIstakable language the
characteristics Of the makers Of the ma
ton. II is only rarely that these songs
1
creation. Folk songs are born of legend
and they live and die In the legendry Of
their birth.
One of the attractions of the great mu-
steal festival which will mark the year
1915 in the Panama-Pacific international
Exposition at San Francisco will be the
rendering Of folk songs and folk music
by massed bands from all countries in
| the world. No more effective plan could
have been adopted for the stamping OF
ancient and almost forgotten music with
the mark Of the classic than the execu-
tion OF this idea as conceived by the
Exposition musical directors.
| For the first time in history the strange
fantastic airs OF the Tyrol Of the Welsh
mountains and of the unknown Orient,
will be interested amid the grandeur Of
modern musical masterpieces.
At the Peabody concert last Wednes-
day night Miss Alwarda Casselman, OF
this city, again showed her fine tech
nique.
Miss Casselman played Mozskawskrs
/ Caprice Espagnor' with finish and