New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-10-14
RUSSIAN Church MUSIC
A Convention Concert in Synod
Hall.

I Convention OF the Protestant Episcopal
Church in the United States. now In ses-
sion on Morningside Heights. Church.
men are not so deeply concerned with
music now as they were when Few art
loving cardinals called in the help OF Pal
estrina to save artistic music for the
Church. Choirs may be what the parish
administration, for financial or aesthetic
reasons, chooses to make them. Mixed
! quartets. mixed chOruses, "angellcal OF
supplied men and boys-and the churCheS
have nothing to say. The anthems anu
hymns may be dignihed and nave the
I stamp OF period when England leu 'he
world in the art I'm which Englishmen
now say she is poverty -stricken, or thelr
tunes may be Hgging and smack OF rag
time. and there is no body or nobody 10
approve or utter protest. If another
l spirit were prevalent, concert winch
took place in the new Synod Han last
night would transcend in Importance
many of the questions which are 10 Co'''e
up before the convention. tnder the
! auspices of a committee of organlsts anu
| choirmasters the choir of the RUSSIAN
! Cathedral Of St Nicholas gave an eN-
position of the modern music oil the
! Orthodox Greek Church. Dean Grosvenor'
| of the Cathedral of st. John the DIVINE
introduced the choir in a few REMARKS
and told Of how a visit 10 the Church oil
the Saviour I'm Moscow had been q
revelation to him, and his expectation oil
] . Ia.
the choir had sung for an hour and a
half Dean Hotovitzky. OF the Russian
| Cathedral. returned thanks for the devout
attention which had been paid to his sing
ers. and paid a tribute to the spirit Of
the men who had built the beautiful nan
in which the audience was assembled and
the unnamed benefactor who had made
the Introduction OF Russian Church music
in a worthy manner I'm the United States
possible
The affair was not service, like That
in the cathedral last Wednesday evening
nor was il all concert, the auditors
were worshippers as well "a mere listen
ers They stood devouty when the Lord 3
I PRAYER was chautcd by the choir To the
traditional music Of the Russian Church.
and also when the creed was SUNG. Bu'
so moving was the performance Of Gret-
chaninow's setting of the creed. 50 beau
uful the music. that applause broke out
involuntarily 4 few minutes later dur
ing an interinission. Dean Grosyenor at
the request Of Dean Iotovizky eN-
planned that no offence could be taken at
the signs OF approval after a devotional
utterance. since the people had applaud
ed the preaching and singing of st. John
Chrysostom Again, at the close Of the
concert. the audience arose to pay tribute
TO MY Country. It's Of Thee" and the
Russian national hymn. with which the
choir brought a most delightful and ediiv-
ing evening 20 q close.
Something was said In The Tribune last
winter when the choir Of the Cathedral
of St Nicholas gave a concert in Carnegie
Hall about the character of-ihe music 81
the Russian Church and the admirable
manner in which IT is performed al tho
cathedral. Much more might Doe added
row II time allowed. for last nights dem
cnstration was even more beautiful and
impressive than the first There were Few
| in the audience TO whom the music and
its manner OF performance were familiar
from visits 10 Moscow or 81. Petersburs.
To the hundreds who crowded the hall.
! TO the members OF the convention, the
choirmasters and the boys Of the cathe-
dral school who sat IN a group In the
gallery lesson of loneliness was con-
vincingly and impresslvely taught
There were but twenty-seven voices In
the choir-twenty- boys and six men
but 80 marvellously pure was the intona-
ton. In the most trying Of modern hdr-
monies, so perfect the precision, that the
organ. which was taboo I'm all the music
but had been used in a prelude, was put
to shame. The singular treatment OF
the voice-parts, no less than the eXtraor-
binary color impaired by the single con-
tra-bass singer mingled with the childish
I sopranos, the character Of the melodies
the daring OF the harmouics, the won
derful nuanccs and the obedience in all
things to the directions Of the choir mas
ter. Mr.. Govokhoff. who gave the singers
the pitch I'm "A manner inaudible to the
audience and by his restrained and uncon-
ventional gestures, suggested expression
rather than time. were all new things TO
the audience which seemed 10 be i'm Il
rapture at the close Twice the choir
had sung the phrase "Gospody pomi luy'
C'Lord have merry'D in "A setting by
Lvovsky, while the audience sat in
amaze. Here was something absolutely
without precedent in the literature Of
church music. Roman or Anglican. "A
simple rciteration Of the petition I'm all
gradations Of tone and on constantly
changing but beautiful harmones, now
simple, now intricate and reconcile IT
seemed TO lift the listeners out Of them
selves. Moments more impressive were
| provided by an Easter canticle by Smo-
lensky. and two chants, in which "A solo
voice was projected against a choral
BACKGROUND. beautiful and moving in
melody and harmony But there is no
time for detailed comment The set pieces
on the programme We're by Ivanoff,
| Tschaikowsky, Schvedotf, Rachmaninow.
Gretchaninow. Lvovsky. Arkhangelsky.
lppoltow-Iyanow, Kastalsky and Smo-
| lensky. II. r.. X
n m