New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-29
PARAPHRASING THE MASS
A New Work Sung by the
Oratorio Society.

Whenever the Oratoro Society has IN
the past performed work which has
had suggestion of the incense of the
missal Service about IT there have been
fear and trembling on the pa. all
OF the good people who pay the netcits
every season not given out wholly 10
Handel and Mcndelssohn II was there
fore q brave thing for the society under
its new conductor Mr.. koemmenich. 20
give first performance 10 the German
Mass" bv otto Taubmann AZ effort
was made to sugar coat the pill by calling
il It choral service" term which has
a meaning that WAS not even limited az
by the pardphraSe of the work. and. II the
attendance may BE- taken az a criterion
the attempt was successful. for nm"
audience heard the performance. How
much Of ii was enjoyed. how much good
naturedly accepted. how much simply ell
dured. IL was impossible to Judge. The
work itself I'm the abstract, as what
might be called non-conformist ecclesiasu-
al music. was entitled 20 the patient
hearing that IL received Fine deutsche
Messe" is an obvious imitation Of the
German Requiem" which Brahms com
posed when filled with the emotions called
up by the Franco Prussian War and the
death NJ his mother and it is probably
as worthy a successor OF that work as
any German composer could have pro-
duced-which is "A compliment of gener-
Gus proportions especially since II is
paid To musician who labors under the
embarrassment II being both an artist
and critic Taubmann. however has
,ssayed to give his words. consisting Of
excerpts from the Lutheran version OF
the Bible. a greater intimacy with the
missaI text than Brahms. and has found
that the external device could not
take the place of the inspiration
which impeled Brahms. II is noI
likely that it would have done so rad
he been the creative artist that Brahms
was. There is no substitute. can be no
substitute for the words of the mass as
they have come down 10 us through the
ages. In them there has been inspira-
ton for composers from the time that
ecclesiastical music was born: and the
fountain will never be exhausted. Moth
ing can be gained by initiating the
manner 81 plbhH VIVA ft'tN w. ''f' '''' ~
John. even ii it is done SO marvellously
as is the case in Taubmanns "Deutsche
Messi." The work is one of magnitude
In every respect. and ii was highly
creditable thing To perform II. but tho
first chorus from the Passion music ac-
cording to 81 Matthew a chorus from
Elijah" or st. Paul. and any one OF
Handcl's oratorio fugues would hdVe
brought home to the listeners all the
lesson contained in the new work, and I'M
pressed il more pleasantly
Mr.. Koemmench won a large measure
of credit for himself by the manner IN
which he produced the exceedingly diff
dcult work His solo singers were Miss
Inez Barbour Miss Mildred Potter John
Young and Putnam Griswold. his or
chestra was that of the symphony So
cietv. From the conductor down 10 the
last chorster and instrumentalist every
body seemed to be imbued with the de-
termination to give the new music
worthy hearing. and that II received.
The Oratorio Society has never presented
itself more creditably TO the public than
IL did last night. H. T.. N.