New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-09-24
Fifty-Seventh Annual Fes-
tival of the Musical
Association.
PERFORMANCE UNDER
DIR. MEES ADMIRABLE
Florence Hinkle, Mildred Potter,
Evan Williams and Herbert
Witherspoon Sing.
BY II. E. kREHBIEL


Worcester, Mass, Sept. 23 The
fifty-seventh annual festival Of the
Worcester County Musical Association
had its actual beginning tonight with
performance Of Mendelssohn's
elijah" The Worcester people al
ways set aside an entire week for the
annual function, and so, according 20
their reckoning, the festival began last
Monday, but they are simple souls, in
which there survives some Of the old
musical convention spirit of half a
century ago, who count thus, and the
prosaic reckoning Of the visitors with
in their walls need not count.
Under the circumstances, it is a
negligible matter after all, for, so far
as outward appearances 60, a conven-
ton of men concerned with electrical
contrivances has far outshadowed the
musical meeting. Small wonder, per-
laps, for the commercial meeting rep
resents the spirit Of to-day and to-mor
row, while the festival celebrates thus
far only the spirit of the last genera
ton and the generation before that. A
prophetic spirit, looking at the pos
sible consequences of the present Euro
pean war, may have a provision Of a
time when such music as that of to-
night shall have renaissance, for
there is surely coming a retaliation
of artistic as well as moral and intel
lectual conceptions, and beautiful
music is coming into its own again,
but for the moment Mendelssohn's
oratorio made but an uninteresting
opening for the festival.
1t is the most hackneyed of orator
los because it has not the excuse of
the Christmastime performances OF
THE Messiah" and the Worcester fes-
rivals have known it from a dozen per-
formances since 1876. However, there
are many veteran concert-goers who still
love it, and those who were on hand
this evening enjoyed its music to the
full because the performance, under
the direction of DR.. Arthur Mees, was
an admirable one, and according TO the
accepted standards. Something more
might have been expected, of course.
The cld-fashiOned oratoriO has lost its
mold on the public that we are told
over and over again. But some of us
think that it is not so much the fault
of the cid oratorios as it is the man
nCr in which they are performed.
We would like to see the chorus
stimulated into life, so that it might
become an animate body, capable Of
and disposed to dramatic expression.
Such a consummation is easier in
Elijah" than in any other work of
its kind, and to record a performance
of ordinary excellence is no great
pleasure, for it says nothing of
progress. However, it must be one i'm
terms complimentary to the chorus,
to DR.. Mees, to the orchestra and in
a particular measure to the quartet Of
solo singers composed of Florence
Hinkle, Mildred Potter, Evan Williams
and Herbert Witherspoon. The two
men made good use Of their dramatic
possibilities.
There was a fair attendance only
and the prospects for the festival
managers are not brilliant, financially.
For this the European war is blamed,
of course. Why it should have influ-
enced the sale of tickets is not plain,
but the management wss kept OH the
anxious seat for time because of the
orchestra uncertainty. The festival
was set week earlier than usual to
accommodate the Boston musicians
who had projected a Western trip.
When the time came some score Of
members of the Boston Orchestra were
absent in Europe, and either doing
military service or in danger of con-
scription.
At the last it was possible to say
that the Boston Orchestra would be
preserved practically in its entirety,
but meanwhile the festival plans had
been bit disarranged and the meet
ing in a terrible heat was one of the
consequences. 1t is likely that if there
is a financial failure it will be charged
I'D partly to that circumstance as we'll
as the war. Meanwhile it is an agree
able duty to report that all seems well
with the Boston Orchestra. The or
ganization has lost a contrabassoonist
and half a dozen strong players, but
that is all. Mr.. Ellis, the manager, is
due from New York any moment, and
DR.. Muck is expected to sail from Eng
land next Saturday.