Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-11-12
ALMA GLUCK TRlUMPHS
IN ACADEMY RECITAL
An Exceptional Evening Of Beauti-
fully Sustained Song.

lully SUSTAINED song
when Alma Gluck was heard here a few
weeks ago with the Philadelphia orches.
ira 1t was evident that her voice. on the
/ Friday afternoon which was the basis oi
/ the critical reviews, was not at its best
/ As II to corroborate tina Judgment she
/ sang last night at the Academy Of Music
/ in a recital OF her own. She sang I'm such
q manner, with such easy and beautiful
/ perfection that the memory Of her previ-
Gus singing faded forever. In some q
songs she never once faltered, never once
descended from the pure and high level
Of complete artistic expression It was a
wonderful evening
Il is to be hoped that Nine. Gluck will
never return to opera. On the concert
stage every virtCe Of her voice appears,
without the meretrcious trappngs of
strained coloratuIa or Of haihetlC drama
which opera miRSt demand OF hcr. Even
her lower tones are not dramatic; she is
purely emotional In her expression For
the concert stage she has beautiful ap-
pearanCe, certain graceful dignity of
expressive gesture, and a heaven-sent
voice. And it is only to be hoped that she
viii come again and again to Philadelphia
this winter. and next spring, and as long
after that as she cares to sing.
The endowment which Nine Gluck has
Is vocal instrument beyond criticism.
But wherever did she learn In her COM
paratively brief years to use 1t with
the superb righteousness such an in
strument demands? There are not, per-
haps, three other sgners of whom II
can be said that at a given moment their
voice ceases to be produced and seems
to float without effort. without labor, Is
disembodied and becomes essentially
pure. Geraldine Farrar learned this from
LII Lehman, we know. Nine, Gluck
either learned it by a miracle or has
had teachers of wonderful ability
In the whole course OF the evening her
phrasing was never at fault, her Cadences
were flexible easily sustaned her
blessed legato," which great singers ac-
quire at the age of 30 or So had a lowell
ness which moved her hearers to the
perlous brink of tears. Schumann's Der
Nussbaum" was perfectly sung and the
accompaniment, as throughout the eve
ming, was sensitively done. The songs
in the third part of the program were
perhaps the richest in emotion. They
were Russian and Bohemian folk songs,
sung with an instinct for the folk, which
becomes more and more rare as singers
develop in art and leave the people be-
hind. The folk songs of Little Russia,
composed by Efrem zlmbalist the sing
er's husband, was n double triumph. The
melodious first song, followed by a char
acteristic dance motif, showed Mr.. Zim-
oalist as a composer i'm even n happier
nght than his own offerings of like ma
terial last week. The final group of
songs was by American composers and
included Homer's "Way Down South"
and Cadman's From the Land of the
Sky-Blue Water" Repeated calls for
encores were graciously granted, but
when Nine. Gluck sang the 'Chant
Hindou." Of Rimsky-Korsakow, 1t was
too fine to ask for more
MIR. BIsPHAM's RECITAL.
David Bispham's genial personality, his
cheerful interest in a wide variety of
subjects and his excellent dramatic sense
were the chief features of the recital
which he gave last night at Witherspoon
Hall. Mr.. Bispham no longer depends
upon his voice, but when his voice is
demanded he can use it with force and
vigor and precision. That he proved last
night in his rendition of the Song of
the Stonebreaker," to which Richard
Strauss has written the music. Nothing
more dramatic, more bitter and intense
is known in modern song, and Mr.. Bis
pham gave 1t all its qualities On the
other hand his singing of Mozart's "Non
piu andrai" aria from the Marriage of
Figaro" was not so well done, because
the merriness and turbulence of the song
demanded very powerful voice, which
Mr. Blspham could not give to it.
After the group of songs by Europeans
Mr.. Bispham sang an interesting group
by Americans. The prologue from Had
ley's "Atonement of Pan" was one of
this group, eXcellently sung, and Dam
rosch's Danny Deever," a song-reclta-
tion in Mr., BisphRm's choicest manner,
was another Finally Mr.. Bispham re-
cited to music Coles setting of Long
fellows king Robert of Sicily" Harry
NJ. Gilbert was at the piano and played
the first movement OF Bartkiewicz' $
sonata.