Omaha daily bee., 1915-04-25

HWfW&m TINS week. And for several
SS1 reasons, one of whics. and
perhaps the greatest one. is that at
these concerts there is such boundless
opportunity to revel in the spirit Of the
riusic, because In the work of our great
choir and the famous Chicago orchestra
the spirit is there to be revealed in.
Music paints in the overtones of lam
guage, and the poems presented by the
choir will suggest through their musical
settings much which is said in and be-
tween the words. Sometimes a mood Is
enhanced, sometimes a background Of
nature is suggested running water or
the surging sea; perhaps one can imagine
the rustic Of breezes, or the simmer OF
n oonlight, the rocking of a cradle or
boat or the seductive delights of the
merry dance. The character of the music
depends upon the meaning of the song.
IL one reads the words carefully and then
listens attentively 1t is easy to see how
the music enriches and strengthens the
words or mood of the poem, and how il
OFTEN suggests much more than is said
1t does not only depend upon the rean-
ing of the song, however, for. granted
that the music is well written II depends
upon the singers and even more upon the
conductor to present the spirit of IL, and
then lastly. it depends upon the listener
When 1t is presented to hear It.
The Mendelssohn Choir and the Chi
cago Symphony Orchestra have long
since proven their ability in the art of
Interpretation. The spirit Of every num-
Der is there in clear and finished express
sion. 1t is possible to hear and enjoy,
but in order to do so one must concen-
trate upon the music and not be count
ing the members OF the choir and or
chestra, the lights i'm the Auditorium.
nor studying the effect of n neighbor's
attire, nor thinking how very i'll one is;
IN other words, one must be what Schauf-
Tier calls creative listener. who by at
tention and appreciation so reflects the
inspiration of the music that 1t reacts
upon the performers and returns again
vastly strengthened by the listeners sup
port Did you ever try being a creative
listener? The delight and inspiration
gained more than pay for the expert
ment. One cannot help but receive some
effect from the music in this way, some
pleasure or new idea to take home, and
it is this which is the valuable part
-
Sidney Lanier, poet and musician.
wonderful flute player, and soloist with
the Peabody Symphony orchestra, writes
thus Of the Theodore Thomas orchestra
In 1911. And tonight come out of what
might have been heaven Twas opening
night of Theodore Thomas orchestra at
Central Park Garden and 1 could not
resist the temptation to 20 and battle !
in the sweet amber seas of the music
OF this fine orchestra, and so went and
tugged me through vast crowd and
after standing some while. found a seat,
and the baton tapped and waved, and 1
plunged into the sea, and lay and floated.
All! the dear flutes and oboes and horns
dritted me hither and thither, and the
great violins swayed me upon waves and ,
overlooked me with strong lavations,
and sprinkled glistening foam in my face.
and in among the clarinetti as among
waving waterlilies with flexible stems,
pushed my easy way, and so, even lying
in music water floated and flowed nv
soul utterly bent and PROSTATE"
Not word of analysis, nothing but the
pure enjoyment he had experienced, the
inspiration which he had gained from the
music which the orchestra still possesses. !
-
There is so much to be learned and en- |
joyed at the Mehdelssohn Choir Festival
that no really sincere teacher or student |
can afford to miss these concerts, yet II |
every music teacher in Omaha saw to IL |
that every pupil should attend. the Audi |
forum would be full without drawing
upon outside music lovers. One wonders
why this is not accomplished? Choir
singers could learn from and be inspired
by the choir solosts and all vocal stu
dents could learn from the distinguished
soloist leach voice is represented); violin
lists and other players of orchestral in
struments could learn from the orchestra:
pianists could learn OF the great tonal
effects and the large works; organists
could learn how to produce orchestral
effects properly and harmony students
would have an unequalled opportunity to
study form.
As was said at the beginning, all musi-
cal Omaha is anticipating these concerts.
because these are the ones who know
their value.
Walter Damrosch, conductor of the ia
nous New York Symphony orchestra,
which gives one concert only at the
Brandeis theater on Friday evening, May
z was born in Breslau, Prussia, January
so, 1862. At very early age he showed