The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-21
Siegfried" Will Be Heard at the Yale
Bowl, Verdi's Manzoni Requiem at
the Polo Grounds and "Aida' Will
Also Be Presented Out of Doors

que, 'Caliban by the Yellow Sands"
which will he performed from Tues
day to Saturday. May 23 to 81. at the
city College Stadium. has been com
posed by Arthur Farwell. 1t will &C.
cupy a considerable portion Of the two
and half hours Of the performance.
and Will comprise c%horuses. ritual
dances. professions. dramatic accom-
paniment for the action and mclo-
drame In the strict sense. The score
was completed and orchestrated some
weeks ago and has been In rehearsal
by the picked chorus Of 400 voices
aud the orchestra Of eighty under the
direction Of Louis Koemnenich. on
ductor Of the New York Oratorio So
cicty. The facts herewith presented
have been received from official
sources.
II text Of the masque presented IN
unusual problem TO the composer. MIR.
Mackaye's work aims to present in
symbolic form the progress OF the art
Of the theatre through the ages. from
ancient Egypt TO modern times. Much
or this symbolic. presentation IL per-
formed in ritual by the 500 trained
amateurs in the community inter-
iudes." Mr.. Farweii's problem was to
make. the music reflect the spirit OF
each period. and yet preserve its W
unity. To some extent he has used
musical material Of the various
periods. where this Mas available. but
In general the music is composed in
modern spirit.
Il have regarded the masque az a
modern work SAYS Mr.. Farwell.
presenting an interplay of modern
spiritual themes. and have in No way
initiated the style Of E~lizabethan
music. Tn the contrary ! have given
The musical portions OF tho poem a
setting Intended to appeal as strong
~ as possible to the general musical
sympathics of the present time. |
have aimed to carry out in the mus
zeal aspects OF the drama what | con-
ceive to have been the poet's intrn-
ton in the poem itself. namely. "a
present living and timely ideas and
meanings. I have thus been IN no.
wise concerned with historical must
cal values"
Simple and expressive melody has
been aimed at in al instances. There
has been no attempt to follow up the
later innovations Of ultra-mudp-nism.
except Tor the use Of strong dissonanCc
for dramatic purposes. The characters
OF Pyosprro. Scf"bos. 'dhbdu and NJ
roRdd have been given characteristics
musical themes, These. however, have
been used sparingly. As Prospcro
master-artist and white magician
represents n principle directly opposite
TO that Of S"tcbos. the god OF print
tive and blind nature. the themes for
these two are IN versions u' each
other In general. a free lvr.cal setting
has been given the chorus poems
introduced 10y Mir MacKiy. lao .01-
IDENTIFY o! the various themes. when
are employed chiefly in an incidental
way - lead spoc.a; mus.,ai ,uiui 10
The characters and TO certain scenes.
In the opening chorus of the spirits
Of Ariel and Setebos the themes of
P,0spcro and Sctcbos are used in IA
sort Of contrapuntal conflict. The
Shakespearian lyric Come Until These
Yellow Sands is treated in a purely
modern way. For the episode of the
Roman mob Mr.. E'arwcll has written
"A powerful march filled with DISCO
nance, and for the appearance of the
Christian cross he has used a Greg
orian hymn intoned in unison. pne
OF the most effective passages is the
choral in the episode ON the Field Of
the Cloth of Cod a broad and Sonor-
Gus hymn. enriched with a suggestion
II modern harmonips, For the Eliza
h"than episode some ~ the traditional
English lance tunes have been used.
Both chorus and orchestra will he
concealed within the stage structure.
above the stage proper. Wooden
sounding boards have been provided.
which will reflect the sound toward