Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1915-05-31
SPLENDID ART
At THE GERMAN
SONG FESTIVAL.
The Great Chorus of 5000
Voices Thrills Audience
With Melody.
NEWARKERS PROMINENT IN
THE NOTABLE PROGRAM
Nothing More Impressed the
Hearers Than a Chorus Fine
Iy Rendered by Choir Boys.
From a stan Correspondent.

From Stan Correspondent.
NEW YORK, May 3l.-Singers
from Newark and all parts of New
Jersey are taking part in one of the
| greatest musical festivals this coun-
! try has ever known and now being
held in the armory of the Thirteenth
Regiment. Coast Artillery, Brooklyn,
| n. Y.
1t is the occasion of the twenty
fourth triennial song festival of the
Northeastern Saengerbund made up
of singing societies in fifteen cities
from Connecticut TO Washington, d.
c. The festival, beginning Saturday
night, will last until Wednesday,
| when it viii close with big picnic
and the awarding of prizes to the
winning cities and individual so
! cieties
In the concerts of last night, held
in the big hall of the armory. 5000
men, under the baton of Carl Fique
of Brooklyn, formed a massed chorus
delivering their songs as If they had
been rehearSing together for years
And yet, yesterday morning the
whole chorus met for the first time
and had but one rehearsal. This big
chorus will again sing tonight, under
the direction of DIR. Felix Jaeger
In the concert last night the choir
was assisted by Johanna Gadslli,
prima donna soprano. and an or
chestra of 100 men. Each number had
to be repeated, an audience of many
thousand people, which crowded every
nook and corner of the armory, go
ing wild as each number was COM
pleted.
The men entered heart and soul
into the spirit of the music, With
every eye eagerly watching the every
movement of the director, the voices
rose and fell. Gentle as a zephyr in
the trees in some passages, the voices
rose to thunderous crescendos, fairly
rocking the building. And this was
done with a delicacy of shading and
unanimitv of phrasing but little
short Of the miraculous.
The following program was pre-
sented:
Prelude, Die Meistersinger' Wagner,
Orchestra.
When the Spring Upon the
Mountains Creeps' ....,... Wilhelm
Mass chorus
Afsa from .0beron, ...s.....s Weber
Johanna Gadsld.
Love of the Fatherland' -. Wengert
Mass chorus
Overture. Der Freischntzn -. Weber
Orchestra.
ta) Hon Could II Ever Be" Kucken
tb) ITO Wander. .Zollner
Mass chorus at eapella
Isolde's Narrative from Tristan
and Isolde" ......,..........W Wagner
Johanna Gadslti.
fa) Good Might" Silcher
(bl "Heark, What's Coming
Wolfrum
Mass chorus a capella.
- -. Il IL
Orchestra.
Pilgrims Chorus from Tam
hauser" NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Wagner
Mass Chorus and Orchestra.
This afternoon a chorus of 1900
pupils OF the schools of New York
city gave q concert for the visiting
societies. and at the same time the
contests were begun. Societies of the
second. third and fourth classes as
sembled to compete for their prizes
in the Broadway Theatre, Broadway
and Myrtle avenue, Broos<lyn In
these classes were the Badische
Iiederafel and the Bayrischer Saen-
gerbund of Newark, and the NJ. g. "
Fintracht, of Union Hill; the Gutten-
berg NJ. G.. ", of Gutenberg; the
Turner Maennerchor of Atlantic City:
and the Bayonne Maennerchor, OF
Bayonne.
In the concert tonight the big
chorus will have the assistance of
Ernestine Schumann- Heink and Her
man We'll as soloists. The seats,
numbering more than 1000 have all
been sold. and there is still a clamor-
Gus throng seeking tickets.
Newark men took an active part In
the opening ceremonies Saturday
night Major Carl Lentz. as presi-
dent Of the directors of the North
eastern Saengerbund, was escorted
to the platform by his fellow officers
and welcomed the audience. The
major in his address of welcome,
said that the abandonment of the
music festival would have led to a
misinterpretation of the sentiment OF
Germans in this country He said in
part:
"When this festival was planned,
no one of US thought of the possibil-
ity OF war. and when it did come the
singers thought of postponing it. but
they finally decided that 1t would be
hest 10 proceed. If only to show that
the mission of German-Americans
here was not one of war but of peace
We want to cultivate German song
and music, and those of you who
hear us will know that 'barbarism
could not have the love of the beau
tiful that is inherent in our race.
NATURALLY our hearts beat for Ger
MANY and we hope that in the end
she will win. for then our German
songs and our German language will
live with her forever
Major Lentz was accompanied by
several representa- tives of Newark,
among them being August Goertz.
who Is treasurer of the board OF
directors Of the Northeastern Saen-
2erbund
President George McAneny, of the
Board of Aldermen, who is acting
mayor in the absence of Mayor
Mitchell addressed the singers, bid
ding them welcome to the city.
Saturday nights concert was en-
tirely given by Brooklyn singers The
male chorus OF the United Singers OF
BROOKLYN. the mass chorus of the
ladies' singing societies and large
boys chorus took part.
The choir boys, under the direc-
tior Of Ernest Scharpf, were easily
the most popular with the immense
audience seated in the auditorium,
and was the only body of singers
compelled TO respond to an encore.
This was when they sang WeinzierIs
"Das Msdchen aus der Fremde''
f''The Girl from the Unknown') TN
der M. Scharpfs baton their young
voices rang out clearly. They sang
with unanimity that would have done
credit TO an organization Of more
mature songsters.
- las.