New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-03-12
Musical Art Society Pre-
Sents Archaic Music with
Modern Instruments.
ADAPTATIONS BY
DR.. DAMROSCH
Gabrieli, Lotti, Schreck, Grieg,
Rachmaninoff, Elgar, Granger
and Others on Programme.
By III. T.. KREHBIEL.

, annual Lenten meetings. There Is no
reason why il should not be called
service, though il took place in a
concert hall and not in church. The
first part of the programme was de-
voted in large part TO some of the
most beautiful music ever written for
the Roman Catholic Office for Holy
Week. and seven of the eleven numbers
in the scheme were religious in char
ecter. the majority of these pieces
belonged TO the Roman liturgy, but
there was one number from the Rus
sian and two numbers from the Ger
man and Norwegian Lutheran or Re
formed churches. IL was only toward
the end Of the evening that the secular
voice was heard and then il came with
something like the effect produced BY
the gladness Of the Eastertide. after
the penitential gloom of Passion
Week
Much Of the music had been heard
at earlier concerts of the society. but
none of it was ever better sung Three
responses BY Palestrina from the Ottics
for Holy Week, which opened the con
cert, remained in the memory even
after the concert came to close, with
choir and brass band united in merry
performance of Grainger's arrange
ment Of I'm Seventeen Come Sunday,
as in all respects the most beautiful
and Uplifting feature of the evening.
Brought into contrast with the light
voiced "Crucifxus" of Lott, the pas
sion Hymn by Schreck. Giovanni
Gabrielis sacred symphony "ln
Ecclesiis" and Grieg's setting of an old
Norwegian hymn. the responses pro
claimed as with the voice of angels the
unquestioned and unquestioning faith
of the Church and mistaken confidence
in her authority and power.
II may be a bit fantastic 10 say so,
but already in the composition By
Babrieli and the missa fragment by
lotti there seemed to be present that
spirit of individualism set free by the
Reformation. Gabrieli was a contem-
porary of Luther, and though his
Catholicism was firm as a rock, 1t is
almost unavoidable TO recognize IN his
music a different influence from that
which speaks in the seraphic motets
and masses of Palestrina. The influ-
ence may, however. have been purely
secular. The significance OF his
SUmDhOnide sOcrde in history lies ir
their employment of a choir Of in
struments in conjunction with vocal
Chors. There are indications that in
sitions as far back as the middle OF
the sixteenth century, but what the
instruments were and how they were
used are matters of conjecture only.
Compositions were written 10 be sung
or sounded" but there were no indie
pendent parts for the instruments. at
least none Of significance, until Gabri-
eli lifted the elemeB into significance
by the compositions Of which that sung
last n ght is one of the most striking
examples 80 doubt they were the
fluit of the first lyric dramas.
Aesthetically, the effect produced by
an Ecclesiis" was much less profound
than that made by the compositions OF
Palestrina, Lott and Victoria C"Jesu
Dulcis Memoria"), but that there was
| a tremendous uplift in the concluding
. portion of the work was incontestable
. As the purely instrumental interlude
tSinfoniaD which interrupted the
piece after two proclamations by So
prano and tenor solos and two rather
Sombre-col ored choral outbursts pre-
, figured the orchestral music of to-day
so did the jubilant union of both vocal
, chorus with the instrumental choir
b prefgure the oratorios and church can
/ tatas Of Bach
The music was the most archaic Of
its kind that has yet been heard in
New York; much more distant from
prcsent-day conceptiOns, indeed, than
even the Seven Worlds" by Schutz
who was a pupil and enthusiastic ad-
mirer Of Gabrielle. performed by the
Oratorio Society long ago.
4 In performing it DR.. Damrosch per
formed also duty TO the patrons OF
the Musical Art Society, who have now
- been privileged TO observe every step
that ecclesiastical music has taken from
Josquin Desprez TO Max Roger. Pursu-
ing his educational purpose - strove
to make the music sound as it may be
, .n/gined to have sounded in St
! Marks Church. in Venice, at the end
Of the sixteenth century.
The difficulties which he had TO face
were discussed in an article in this
journal last Sunday. The greatest OBJ
stacle was created by the fact that the
; cornetti of Gabrieli's time, of which
he employed three against one viol da
GAMBIA and two trombones, were not
the modern comets, but narrow trum
pets of wood. Their tone, we fancy
, was something like that Of the Alpine
' horn, but they had finger holes and
Z were capable Of producing all the tones
of the scale with some chromatlcs, as the
- music of the piece shows. NO member
- Of the modern woodward band having
p voice approXimating this, DR.. Dam
rosch felt constrained TO employ the
, modern instrument of the same name
but he modified its tone by mutfine
! the bell in felt cloth. By this device
, he succeeded in sitting some OF the
brazen blare which is native TO the in
- strument, though not all Of It. Since
- II Gambia. which was a violin cello OF
small growth, could not at all prevail
2 against the brass instruments, DR.
t Damrosch rewrote its part FOR a THIRD
, trombone. He also added an organ
p part. in the style Of the period 10 the
solos. which are left barren Of accom-
- pauiment on the score, as II has been
/ preserved in the Old prints, and IN
, Winterfeld's study Of GABRIEL and his
, period. In doing this he was, We
t think. justified, though Ambros as well
as Winterfeld, makes mention OF the
/ absence of the accompaniment as dis
| tinpuiShang feature of the composition
} St. Marks was famous for its organ
music. It's record of organists runs
back 20 a y. 1918, and II was really
the cradle Of organ music.
Through the ministrations Of the
choir Of the Russian Cathedral OF 81
/. Nicholas. New Workers have had an
opportunity TO become fairly familiar
with the lituIgical music of the Rus
. sian Church Composed for men and
bows. with 2 part for contra bass
voice peculiar TO Slavic countries. the
music must be rewritten # it is 10 be
sung by mixed choir of adults. The
piece on the programme was setting
of the cherubc hymn from the mass
Of ST. John Chrysostom by Rachmani-