The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-05-31
sings
the CREATION

Hettinger, N. D.. May 29.-On Sun
day last, the little southwestern North
Dakota town of Reeder again did itself
proud in a fine rendition of high class
oratorio, the work presented being
Haydn's glorious oratorio. The Crea-
ton, ...- .
People who live in centers of cul-
ture, finance, and population, find that
such an effort invariably requires the
best Of their strength and devotion.
An oratorio demands the enthusiastic
personal effort of more than a hundred
able singers, and the financial obliga-
ton oftener exceeds than falls below
the $1,000 mark. Yet here at Reeder,
right in the heart Of the sod shack, coun-
try, they again, and for the third time,
rendered an o~ratorio, complete, inspir-
ing and truly artistic in sentiment and
force, last Sundays concert being the
first time that The Creation was sung
here.
This splendid cultural work is the
result of the high-minded and devoted
Service of one J. l.. Effort, a Reeder
citizen, banker, elevator man, booster,
real estate man n legislator in his
little world, but above all a singer and
devotee to musical art. Five years ago
Mr.. Hjort shook the dust of Minneap-
oils from his feet, for reasons Of
health, to help in the upbuilding Of
the country tributary to the Milwau-
kee coast extension, and hen his
friends tried to dissuade him from 60
ing into the songless wilderness of the
land of coyotes, horned toads and rat
tiers, Jacob L. confidently waved aside
their protests, saying he would have
his honyak neighbors help him sing
oratorios within five years.. Sure
enough, Mr.. Hjort made his promise
good, for in the early spring of 1912
the lReeder Choral society rendered
twice that masterful and difficult
work, HandeIs Messiah, complete.
| with a %quartete of soloiSts, two of
whom were amateurs, picked UP" on
the prairie but who, with Mr.. Hjort,
and Madame Loe-Skaug, rendered
their difficult parts in a Of
which none need be ashamed. And that
chorus, fifty strong, sang the stirring
lines of the choral parts in a manner
that spoke splendidly for their Y
ton to the better things Of ideal life,
as well as for the magic influence OF
their captain.
This years concert, given last Sun
day before an audience Of some $50
people, deserves honorable mention.
The oratorio was rendered, practically
in its entirety. The solos were SUM
by Miss Clara Williams. soprano. Of
Minneapolis; Frank E. E%llickson,
tenor, of Regent, N. D., and j. F.. Paul
Gross, baritone of Lemanon, S. d.
by Misses Walborg Hort, and Emma
Byers, on the piano, n by a devoted
string quartette.
Too much cannot be said in praise
of Miss Williams glorious singing.
Having been heard and appreciated
throughout the northwest wherever
oratorio music finds d%evotees, she
g~raciously sacrificed to sing the glori-
Gus strains Of her part in an out-of-
the-way corner Of earth, more for the
love of the cause than for reason of
gold or glory. Mr.. Ellickson fairly
took his friends by surprise with the
splendid effect of his singing. He
possesses a lyric tenor voice, vigorous
and true as steel, and has moreover,
that gift Of soul which allows him,
though an amateur, to render an inter
probation not usually to be looked for
except in the tried PROFESSIONALS.
The baritone solos were to have been
rendered by Carl IIjort, of Hillsboro,
but illness made it impossible for him
to appear, and at the eleventh hour
u. b. Paul Gross, who had the year
before successfully rendered the Mes
siah solos, consented to sing his part.
Considering that he had but two days
in which to prepare himself for that
exacting demand, he acquitted him.
self splendidly, and the Reeder folks
were unanimous in their sentiment of
! appreciation for the timely service he
rendered them in stepping into the
breach.
What is there in a song? Mr..
Hjort's single hearted devotion to his
art may not have brought to Reeder
much money. But 1T has helped vital
ly to enable the struggling homestead