Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-04-25

S.he!U -.
for taking palms" From September until
April weekly rehearsals are held and as
the time OF the festival approaches there
are even more frequent rehearsals.
The choir numbers about 175 voices.
And the average attendance at rehearsals
IL about "a per cent a remarkable figure
when sickness, absence from the city and
other unavoidable circumstances common
20 humanity are considered.
Three prime requisites are named for
membership In the choir:
!. To sing music OF ordinary difficulty
| readily at sight.
2. To attend ali rehearsals faithfully.
3 To mark all instructions in the music
The last Of these IL very easy, but II
/ requires assiduity and Mr.. Kelly declares
! that In the Mendelsohn choir the lead
pencil Is mlghtier than the sword or any
other instrument in the hands OF the
members.
That is one OF the reasons why attend
ance at all rehearsais Ii absolutely essen
tiai." he said. II unhesitatingly put the
lead pencil next only to their voices and
their brains. They must use all three in
order to be acceptable members of the
| choir"
For two years the newly organized
singers rehearsed without giving any pub
lie concert. working with the raw ma
terial OF human vocaiity as tho potter
works with his clay. And It Is an In
finltely more difficult task TO mould 1T5
voices into harmony OF sound than to
mould one piece of clay into harmony Of
form.
The first concert Of the choir was given
in the new Rrandeis theater. in which no
concert had been given before.
People stilt talk OF the beautiful picture
presented when the curtain and the lights
went up at the same time.
Assisting the choir at that Initial APP
pearance was the celebrated Swedish
baritone. John Forsell OF the Royal
opera, stockholm. now one Of the prin-
cIpal singers OF the Royal Opera IN
Berlin.
The next important problem TO be met
by the choir was the securing OF an or
chestra 1t happened that. just at tho
| psychological moment. the agent for the
Chicago symphony orchestra, at that time
the Theodore Thomas orchestra. was In
the city and made a proposition of part
nership.
A contract was closed on this basis and
the two organizations are partners. Last
year when money was lost on the festival
| the orchestra bore its share OF the loss
and no call was made on the guarantors
for any pecuniary assistance.
The Mendelssohn Choir il decidedly an
exponent OF IN. lively choral style OF
Wagner and Belasco as contrasted with
the old school in which the chorus gave
no intimation that It was human except
by the movement OF the lips.
"The choir must not be merely sup
plement TO the orchestra" said Mr.. Kelly
1T must he alive. II must be intelligent.
II must act the part which II Is singing.
II must feel II and must show that feeling
vocaiiy.
THE old style chorus stood, stiffly. like
so many wooden Indians and sang words.
Wagner was the first to break these old
Ideals In "rannhaeuser.' for instance, the
hunting chorus enters with horns and
then come the attendants actually bearing
the game-deer, boars, stays. Then the
masters OF the hunt enter on horseback
and finally the two masters OF the hounds
take their places at the foot OF the
proscenium arch. each holding four
hounds In leash.
"Belasoo introduced this school in
America One OF his Roman mObs IL
really a mob and got merely a body OF
men making a noise like a flock OF owls
The same Is true OF the productions OF
Henry w. Savage.
"of course the Mehdelssohn choir
doesn't act physically but Il does de-
eidedly. act vocaliy. II we are singing
for example. about the hammer OF Thor.
the god OF thunder, We do not sing In the
same tone as though we were singing
about how sweetly sleeps the moonlight
on the rivers bank
II remember that much favorable com
ment was made on how tho choir sang
the Baal chorus from Elijah This
chorus is the song OF lot OF barbarian.
heather Philistines and the choir was
taught TO realize and remember that and
10 sing II accordingly
In BY Babylon's Wave there Is an
effect that speaks OF the babes being
dashed against the stones, and the choir
that makes one almost shudder. Again.
the line.
Take all the prophets OF BaAls
Let not one OF them escape
must Be sung with an absolutely murder
ons tone.
He that shall endure % the end
Shah be given crown OF life
IL to be rendered with tone OF calm
confidence which Is different again from
the vocal acting In the glad line.
Thanks be 70 Cod
He laveth the THIRSTY land.
Some q the most difficult themcs are