New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-09-26
War Song from Cigars
king Olaf" Sung by
Chorus, a Feature.
ARTISTS NIGHT" ENDS
57TH GATHERING
Rudolph CAM, Just Returned
from Duty In War Zone,
a Soloist.
By Il. E. KREHBIEL.

Worcester, Sept. 25.-The fifty-sev-
enth annual meeting of the WOrces-
ter County Musical Association came
to close with an afternoon and an
evening concert to-day. IL has passed
of very much like its immediate prede-
ccSsors for dozen years past, except
that 1t has been unsuccessful financial
ly, which some Of them were not. How
ever, the deficit is 80 far from disturb
ing the minds of the officers of the AS
Sociation that they do not seem even to
be specializing as to its cause.
Perhaps 1t is a spirit Of economy
cue to the European war, perhaps the
weather, perhaps a lack of attractive
ness in the programmes; maybe gem
etsl feeling Of mild decay in interest,
which may be arrested next year or
hereafter. At any rate, there is moth
ing ominous in the contemplation of
loss of $4,000 or $4,000, for there is
well disposed body Of guarantors who
have enlisted for several years, or TO
the end Of the war, like Kitchener and
the British volunteers, and also a
EOodly endowment fund of some thirty
odd thousand dollars to fall back on at
the last. So, if the artistic results be
satisfactory, what more would you?
These results have been gratifying
so far as the higher purposes Of the
enterprise are concerned, the purposes
which we're expressed in the perform
ances Of the festival choir, and which
are as old as the association and the
church music conventions out of which
it grew. Unfortunately, they have lost
some potency in the passing of the
years and the growth of the spirit TO
which the final concerts were devoted.
lr ha NHsaa oil a
negligible quantity. The singers sat in
their chairs on the platform in the
evening, and after the audience had rev.
elled for two hours in the glories and
happiness of artists night" they sang
the war song from Cigars King Olaf"
The festival thus received dignlhed
and sonorous ending, though nearly all
that preceded it in he doings of the
day had only local in crest. II must
suffice for this record to state that the
afternoon concert had its climax in II
brilliant performance of TschaIkow-
sky's pianoforte concerto in B fiat
minor by Rudolph CAM, that Miss
Olive Kline sang the Shadow Dance
song from Meyerbeer's "Dinorah" and
that the orchestra played Schumann's
Symphony in D minor, Ravels "Mo;her
Goose" suite and Sibelius's "Finlan-
dia."
Listeners with their minds more or
less on that great act of "divine pile
botomy" now going on in Europe might
have found some stimulation TO
thought in two of these incidents, at
least. Mr.. CAM, who played with su-
perb dash and spirit, was fresh from
military service in Switzerland and
full of indignation that the murderous
madness of the great powers was keep
ing his native land in arms; so per-
haps he felt keyed up in special
sense to make proclamation of the
Slavic peril which lies in Tschaikow-
sky's music. And then there was the
clang of Freedoms sword in the over
ture by the Finnish composer.
1t was worthy of note that the or
c.estra seemed to do TIE best work Of
the week in the accompaniment of the
concerto conducted by Mr., Strube. The
parade of vocal virtuosi in the even
ing was participated in by Alma Gluck,
Evan Williams and Clarence White
hill, who trotted out their horses and
sang and sang again till the last wor-
shipper Of the festival stars was salts
fed.