The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-03-24
RECITAL OF SONGS
BY MARCELLA CRAFT
American Soprano Discloscs
Dramatic Temperament and
. Poetic Fancy.
SINGING NOT THE BEST

Mavcella Craft. soprano. rave a SONG
recital yesterday afternoon in Aeoiian
Hal. Miss Craft 10 one Of the numerous
american singers who have been com.
PEELED TO make their careers in Europe
because In this country there is a want
OF opera houses In which beginners may
n openings with prospects NJ rising
to the top. She has suns in Munich.
Dresden and Berlin. and In the frs, two
cities 10 an established favorite. lier
So'o,nc 10 regarded as authoritative and
she has given song recitals In Germany
with much honor.
All OF those things which this inter-
esting American has done In the land
OF Ieutonic ideals can be done with more
glory there than here. Germany is a
musical. but not a vocal country. II a
singer can treat the text with eiocution-
airy skill, placing accent, emphasis and
tonaT color In such manners as to dis
close tho purpose Of the poem, and can
bring to this type OF Interpretation suf-
hciently good tone to indicate the mel
ody. II not actually to sing Il. and can
add some touches OF temperament, sue
cess Is absolutely certain.
NO amount OF bad tone in the medium,
shrieking upper notes. singing out OF
tune or breaking phrases can discourage
AN audience In Germany. Of the timer
qualities Of vocal art hearers over there
appear TO be wholly ignorant. THE
SUNS music reviewer has many times
observed with wonder the enthusiasm OF
German audiences while songs were be-
ing interpreted with almost nothing like
real singing and has been sea rified from
Berlin to Vienna for telling about Il.
But IL il good TO tell the truth.
Miss Graft IL not 80 poor in vocx, re-
/ S0uTce az many nj tho lindar SIpp,rS 80
tho Fatherland but she Is far from
reaching the standard Of singing recos-
nixed in this provincial city. She has q
voice which was probably AZ ono time
a very good one and which still contains
some beautiful tones. especially in the
middle register. Hut the noisy Teutonic
opera house has lone much to destroy
the quality Of the voice. which il hard
and worn and which refuses to he true
TO the pitch at all times, Furthermore
II was apparent that Miss craft had
never been a mistress of vocal techuic.
for sh- frequently produced upper tones
In the familiar vicious manner and
forced all parts Of her voice through
the Use Of muscular nterferences. Her
piano singing was often extremely good
In this she often sang ION the BREATH"
and 1t was plain hat she knew the
value OF the head quality in such work.
Blu, the velvet WAS brushed from her
voice long ago and her singing wanted
Just the mcllowness and soft resonance
which Is essential to the creation OF a
sensuous beauty.
Dramatic temperament. Intelligence
and a knowledge Of style
are her greatest assets. Fine insight
and poetic imagination were shown iE.
every number. She WAS too nervous
TO sing her FIRST songs we'll. hut never
thei-ss her delivery of Scariatti's "Se
Florindo e fidele'' was = model of taste
and communicative method. She sang
Brahns's "F~eldeinsamkeit" with poverty
Of tone. hut great riches Of feeling.
Her mastery OF the Composers intent
was complete. There were other lyrics
In which similar excellence was shown.
Miss craft departed from custom, by
placing her -ruup OF songs by American
composers third. There were eight
songs most Of them hopelessly duh.
conventional and even pointless. Pc
haps after all 1t is better to put the
Americans "A, the end, where Miss 'ra..
placed fftzucr. strauss. I~andonai, Mas
cagni and Mazxone, Il noblc company
Of allies.