New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-04-03
Exposition of Artistic Gre
ativeneSs Is Shown at
SchOla CantOrum.
MUSIC OF MANY
NATIONS "EARD
Melodies of Russian Peasants in
Contrast with Those of
American Negroes.
BY IT. T.. KREHBIEL.

Cantorum last Wednesday evening de-
served to be heard from the first note to
the last, Notwithstanding that the pro-
gramme dixie all Of those arranged by Mr..
Kurt Schindler) was of inordnate length.
The most interesting as we'll as most
promising tendency of music, instru-
mental as well as vocal, just now has
been toward the exposition Of racial and
national characteristics. Folksong and
folkdance have supplied the element of
vitality which seemed in danger Of dis
appearing when the venerable forms
which had served the classical masters
threatened to become empty formularies.
1t was in its illustration of how effectively
the spirit of the music created by the folk
can animate the artistic forms that the
value Of the concert lay
Mr.. SCHNEIDER chose his material for the
first part of his programme from works
resting on the history and folklore of
Russia, and for the second part went
to the folksongs created by the former
black slaves of the United States, and the
folksongs and dances of Great Britain
and, in one instance, the Farce Islands
This last number was presented in the
somewhat fantastic and extravagant dress
given 1t by Percy Aldridge Granger who
is seeking methods of expression which
are as novel as anything that is attempt
ing by the revolutionaries OF Germany
and France.
In both fields there was interesting
variety. Rimsky-K "Sadko'
(neither unknown nor familiar to local
lists was a bit of delineative music de-
signed to tell the tale of a minstrel who,
thrown into the sea, like another Arion
or Jonah, was not saved by a dolphin or
a whale, but found himself among the
wedding guests of Oceanus and the
daughter of the sea king. There his music
set all the company, and even the fishes,
to dancing until Oceanus raised a storm,
which wrecked all the VESSELS in the
neighborhood. Built or an undulating
figure suggestive of watery motion, the
composition is pleasing. but that is all,
like so much of the ballet music of the
Russian composers Its only association
with folksong came from It's employment
of the Russian dance called hopak.
In Moussorgsky's cantata, Joshua"
which had been previously heard Ut a
concert Of the Mcdowell Chorus in
March, 1911, work of strong character
and striking beauty, there was an illustra-
ton OF a species Of folksong which has
grown up in Russia, though it does not be-
long to the Russian people. Except in the
case of this composition and an orches-
trail rhapsody by Zolatariew, which Mr..
Altschuler introduced to our concert
rooms several years ago, the folksongs
OF the Russian Jews have never been
heard here. OF the two themes which
are fundamental in Joshua" one is
sung by the Jews in the Yiddish jargon,
while the other is synaSogal melody.
In cantata and rhapsody this unfamiliar
body of song is shown to have elements
of real effectiveness and beauty. A second
composition by Moussorgsky was the
overture to the opera "Kovantschina,"
which does not deal with myth or fairy
tale, but with hstory-the political strug-
gle of two fanatical religious sects. OF
this struggle there is no suggestion in the
overture, which is another descriptive
piece in which sunrise in Moscow is de-
picted. vocal fragment, which was
performed later in the evening, proved to
be utterly commonplace down TO its final
prayer, and in neither Of the numbers
was there suggestion Of the great dra-
matte genius who composed Boris
Godounow," though i'm the overture there
appeared some sounds which seemed like
a faint echo of the splendid clangor
Of the bells of the Kremln in the
opera which has been so triumphantly
successful at the Metropolitan Opera
House. A chorus from Borodin's prince
Igor" belonged 10 the pieces heard at
the concert in March, 1911, and the re-
manning Russian numbers were very
pretty Persian dance from "Khovant-
selma" and arrangements for unaccom-
panied voices by A. r. Rubetz OF dance
song, "In the Fields" and the most IA
miliar of all Russian folksongs. -"Ay,
oukhnem," to which Madame Linef gave
years ago. and which has been heard in
a variety of forms-vocal SOLO chorus,
orchestral fantasy, symphonic poem, as
well as from tinkling baalaikas-ever
since word about this fine specimen
OF folksong may not be out of place 1t
was announced on the programme as
n Song OF the Nolga boatmen"
and it has become habit Of these news
paper writer's always TO associate 1t with
the Volga River. But though originally a
bargeman's song. created to regulate the
80
straps across their breasts towed boats
against the rivers current. IL has for
long time done the duty OF a sailormans
"chanty' for laborers who perform their
tasks in common. It Is a laborer's song
and no longer specifically bargemans
It Is doubtless OF great antiquity. At
any rate, the meaning of one of its lines
has been lost. In Mr.. Sigmund Spaeths
translation the line is rendered Curly
birches drawing near" but the lit
eral rendering Is we untwst the
curly birch" the meaning of which is
n subject for speculation. Mr.. Rubetz.
teacher at the Conservatory at st.
Petersburg preserved In his arrangement
an effect which was not heard in any
of the other transcriptions which we have
heard. BY putting pause between the
two syllables OF the word "oukhnem."
he produced the effect OF a sudden ennis
sion of the breath, after violent effort
an effect which emphasized the appro-
priateness OF the song for the purpose to
which It is applied. Though it may once
have been peculiarly a song N the bour-
laki of the Volga, II Is now general. and
when the Russians wish to celebrate
Mother Volga" they do It in another