The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-04-18
Popular


neatly put II. ito he a king and a
father was to I've bass"
The libretto had to be constructed
in such a way that II made the con-
ventional musical arrangement prac-
ticable. There was always an aria
dentrata tentrance air) for each
principal person. and II two Of them
had a scene together It's chief object
was to lead up to q duet. When sew
eral characters were on the stage at
once a quartet, or perhaps a grand
ensemble number. had TO he offered. as
in the case OF the celebrated sextet
for which the tragedy of Lucia halts.
But the trend Of progress was al
ways in the direction OF developing
the declamatory element in the lyric
drama. and even In his early works
the great Maestro Verdi led the way.
For who can forget tho almost pro-
phetic style Of the great soliloquy of
Rigoletto in the second act7
The final disappearance Of the set
numbers" from opera was due chiefly
to the self-analysis OF Wagner, who
used them In his first works. but
gradually abandoned them in his pro-
found search for some means OF over
coming the autocratic rule Of music
over dramatic verify. since his ascen
sion to the throne OF operate suprem-
acy composers have generally sought
to write their voice parts In such 4
way that while they should not cease
to be replete with musical charm they
should offer the illusion OF dramatic
speech and thus We have gradually
reached a stage where the accentua-
ton Of the verbal emphasis and the
exaggeration OF the consonantal
sounds have seriously injured the
smoothness and fiuency OF all singing
Much may be done to correct thc
evil by students OF singing. The Ara,
step for them Is to learn to speak
beautifully. Most Americans speak
very badly. in the hack Of the throat
with impure vowel sounds and in
distinct consonants. II they would
labor to make their vowel sounds
roundly and musically in the moutt
mot in the throaD and to enunciats
neatly instead OF violently. they wou,t
soon solve the problem Of deliverinc
vocal music in such a way that ever,
would then he able to declaim or sins
"a perfect legato at will
Certain letters have been received
by the musical editor of THE SrN
with sincere regret. The letters carry
German signatures and their content,
consist chiefly OF patiently groundles.
and foolish assertions. These charac.
teristics Indicate that they either be.
long TO the general German propa
gauda of the time or at least follow IL;
peculiar methods.
Three German singers sang bad,
in the past week and the facts wer,
recorded in this paper. These fool
ish letters declare that the record wa
, made because the singers were Ger
man. The musical editor OF TIVE ST.
, regrets that he cannot waste IN
space OF the paper in answering thes'
correspondents at length.
No shadow Of war sentiment Ia,
fallen upon the musical department
Of TIVE Sr'N I'LL thrown there by Ger
mans TIVE SUS's long continue,
laudations OF Bach. Beethoven
Brahms. Wagner. Schubert and Schu-
mann have not yet evoked any pro.
test from an Englishmnn. a Russian
or "A FrenChman.
The present writer's attacks" a.
they are called. on bad German sing
ing have been going on for more thar
quarter of a century. His praise
Of good German singing and othei
good things in German life. art ant
1 literature have been going on just a:
/ long. Some Of the complaints abov,
referred 10 were caused by sharI
comments on an especially bad per
Torrance of Die Walkucre" on Apri
Is On the previous evening ,April 4
Die Meistersinger" was given an
the next morn.ng the following com
, ments appeared in THE Sun:
1T may not be out of place in 4
record OF operate art to call atten
ton to the truly beautiful neutralit,
+ which dwel,s in the musical world II
; these warlike times. Die Meister
singer is ~ all Wagners works til.
one most thoroughly alive with Ger
man feeling. II il a Teuionic crea
ton and is Teutonic in all its artist,
/ fibre. Il deals with a phase Of Ger
man life in its historical as we'll a.
its ideal aspects. 1t has the tint o.
local color more brilliantly apple
than any OF the other Wagner dramas
Nevertheless an Italian maestro d.
rects it with profound sincerity anC
audiences composed Of people who's
| sympath.-s are of many kinds to-da.
/ hear II with unaffected joy. Few in
! deed stay away from its representa-
! tions. as far as can he judged. he
cause Of the feelings which may eXis
! antipathetical to Germany In he
present struggle. This is a beautifr
tribute to a beautiful work. one o
the masterpieces Of lyric drama ant
! 1t is "A brilliant demonstration of tn
! fact, already proved by many othe
| instances, that German music mus
always hold its place in the esteem
of intelligent people"
| YAcr yIyTCY nr opTpA