El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-12-29
CONCERT
WELL RECEIVED
Splendid Presentation of
Messiah" Oratorio By
Choral Society.

Before an. audience that well filled
the auditorium of the First Presby-
terrain church the oratorio Messiah"
by George Frederick Handel was sung
last evening An interesting thing
about the audience was the large num-
Der of men who made up a part OF 1t
for when men of a community len0
to good music the success OF chorals,
orchestras, and individual rec1tals IN
that community is assured And the
gratifying thing about this audience
was that 1t was receptive, that 1t
listened understandingly. and that II
gave that added personality 10 the
voices and Observation-Disclosures grouped on
the platform which makes II possible
for the performers to give forth their
best II
1t was therefore a creative gather
ing Of listeners as well as a creative
assembly of performers who Joined IN
terest and enthusiasm in the GIVING
and the receiving of Handlers noDlest
composition. Taking into consideration
that a choral of this character must
be regarded as a whole thing and that
the artists who sing have the same re-
lationship to the whole as any section
of the orchestra has TO the whole or
chestra the local talent who con-
tributed the arias and the recitatiVes
fully measured up TO the eXacting ar
tistic task imposed upon them.
The Messiah oratorio was written
from the pOlyphonic religious chants
and masses of Scarlatti, Stradella and
Palestrina TO the centered strength OF
the unified chorus Part singing helo
its fine sway but the parts became
more closely affiliated and the climax
of this unificauOn comes with the
magnificent Gloria" and the triumph
ant "Allelujah' which the choristers
sang so broadly and finely last even
While the music of the Messiah at
times does not reach the sublime poet
icaI height which distinguishes the
words of the Scripture, no genius came
nearer to expressing in the elusive
field Of music those multitude OF as
cending and descending tones when
register the emotions Of the heart AT
all times the music is noble dramatic.
thrilling. sometimes austere anu
crashing these undercurrents OF the
spiritual and the psychic. James y
McNary, the director, developed IN ms
orchestra. the chorals and solo parts,
those elements and qualities which
make for the difference between a
sympathetic and an unsympatneuc
Criticism of things musical is al
wavs difficult With music il IS the
thing of a moment. It registers us
appeal in the heart The verulct OF INC
auditors in the church auditorium was
favorabl- There was not that abund-
ance Of applause that characterlzes an
operatic or symphonic program TOO
for that-out instead an earnest WAIT
ing and receptivity which must nave
been quite as stimulating 10 the mu-
s.cians-
From many sides came the statement
that no chorus has ever been assem-
lied in FL PasO that has sung with
finer concept and unity than the han
del chorus of last evening. To say
that enc choral excelled the other
would be absurd Each one was dis
tinctive. Each struck a new note in
new tempo and was under the speli
of magic air Y ct with ali the magic,
one never escaped the sense that here
were men and women singing things
of the human heart Humanity paying
a human tribute to its GOdhead-
Certain flaws that had made them
selves manifest at the rehearsal on
Monday evening. were skilfully erased
last evening. The orchestral support
and the subtle Interviewing Of the
organ under the trained fingers OF MIS-
McNarv were highly satisfying. Music
became what music should be il a
great oratorio, background: Tnere
were times when instrumental moths,
such as the trumpet sound proclaim
ing Judgment and lastingness and tr1-
umph scared out above the general
uprising Of voices, but never to the
subordination of those voices
Not enough praise can be bestowed
upon the orchestra. 1t was not one
OF those big, dangerous and unWieldy
things that make for marvellous
beauty or terrible blunders, but some
such gathering as would have rejOiced
the splendid sympathetic nature OF
Handel himself The work Of the
strings was exquisite-and the task
that lay before them Of lending a con-
slant support with hardly minute s
intermission was big and noble one
Their work ranged from the most deli
cate passages TO great sOnorous modu-
lations where the horns sustained them
in building up larger and still larger
tones
The work Of the chorus was on a
big and artistic scale The part sing
ing was emphatic and. to the phrase,
in good taste. Nothing was so pleas
ing as the gradual swelling and dimin-
ishing of tones. with constant care for
detail of expression. All the elements
Of pathos. worship and heroism were
expressed and by this not in words
alone but the tonalities that tell that
J the thing SING is being sung with al