New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-05-07

ark and Jersey City. A visit to the
first festival concert, however. brought
the comforting yet mournful reflection
that no disrespect had been shown to
music in the failure to include the
Newark affair in the list of festivals. II
was monstrously big in its externals
and monstrously small in artistic value.
A more imposing sight than that pre-
scented at the lst Regiment Armory
can scarcely be imagined. 1t has no
parallel in the writer's experience with
music festivals covering a period OF
over forty years. The magnificent room
was decorated magnifcently and with
a magnficence controlled by excellent
taste. A chorus of some 1000 voices
was numerically banked up at one
end of the room and before 1t sat an
orchestra of festival proportions, II not
altogether festival quality. The chairs
covering the vast floor were occupied
by an audience numbering 5000. "hen
choir and audience sang the nationai
anthem after long address, which IN
the nature of things could not be un-
derstood, though the room had ad-
mirable acoustical properties and the
speaker a good voice. the effect was
thrilling. But when the festival per
formers got down 10 what should have
been its business all the delightful ex-
pectations aroused by the scene van
ished into air and the hope that some
thing was to be accomplished for art
gave way to the feeling that good
deal was going to be done to the detri-
ment of music.
And so il was. Intellectually the
standard Of the festival was proclaimed
by the announcement with which the
audience was greeted at the doors OF
the building: Each person must show
their ticket" This standard was re-
Elected in the arrangement OF the pro-
pramme, in the performances Of the fes-
tival forces, and, unfortunately, also
in the behavior of the audience, that
showed much more interest in the sp-
pearance Of the solo singers and ex-
hibited much more delight over
"Mavourneen' song mot the pretty. old
sentimental ditty set by F. y. Crouch,
but another) and Cuckoo" song than
over Professor Paine's Island Fan
tasy" or the three prize compositions.
These compositions were the work Of
three American composers, one OF ma
tive and two Of foreign birth. The win
ner of the first prize was Franz Carl
Bornschein, of Baltimore, where ne was
born in 1879, and where he studied and
Is now employed as teacher Of the violin
in the Peabody Conservatory Of Music.
His work is a cantata for soprano solo,
chorus and orchestra entitled "Ono-
wa" Of which the text was written by
Frederick r. Martens. Real "occs-
sional' poetry this, with real
occasional" musical setting. The story
is an Iroquois version of an incident
of the classic Legend of orpheus and
Eurydice. The dead wife Of an Indian
returns TO him and tells him they are
TO be united again. but he must not
embrace her until they, who had wan
dered far from their home before her
death, had looked again upon the faces
Of thei. ribes-people. On the homewsrd
Journey desire overcomes the lover
husband, and he clasps her TO his breast,
only to find that he Is embracing a log
Of wood which he had carved in her
image.
The performance Of this work was
not such as TO invite a conscientious
reviewer TO attempt to discuss its mer-
its as a composition. Il is no doubt
much better than il sounded; il could
not be as bad without covering the
judges who rewarded It's composer with
a prize with disgrace. IL may be said.
however. that il did not seem from the
performance. supplemented by look
into the printed pages, TO have as much
refinement OF style and thought, or
distinction Of spirit, as thu work
which carried OF the third prize and