Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-10-31
ADJUSTMENTS
VOICE AND VIOLIN COMPETE
WINH HE.l.REA,IlsIl ,l,ll - L.,


Literally unique in the musical his
tory OF Itchmond was the concert
given last night In the Jefferson Au-
ditorium. which was filled to the doors
ana beyond by an interested and de.
lighted audience. the collective guest
of G.. Is. Haynes & Company For the
numbers that constituted the program
were presented by Il well-known So
prano, Il fine violinist and-,for accom-
panfment, comparison, obligato, coun-
ternelody, occasional substitute, or
whatnot-by an Edisonian reproduction
OF the sopranos voice and the;violinisSs
singing tone. In short, though con-
certs of this character have been given
in other cities. Richmond heard for the
first time last night artists in person
vyinE with their own performances as
offered by the Edison machine.
Laboratory recreation" the process,
of reproducing by this method is Gale 4,
and not pretentiously. but justiGably.
When Julia Heinrich, who substituted
for the unnvoidably absent Christine
Miller, rested her hand on the cabinet
and sang with the instrument. or when
Arthur Walsh stood with his violin and
played. either In unison or harmony
with his own work, there were many
moments when 1t was impossible TO
distinguish between the flectinG voices
and the perpetuated tones.
| This was true, not only during sus-
tained passages, when singer And v;o-
| liniSt had opportunity, both when the
record WAS made and during the con-
| cert, TO form and color their tones de-
| liberatcly, but during the florid meas
urcs OF less flowing numbers: for eX-
ample. in Miss Iieinrichs singing Of
! Wilson's IA Spring Morning. and In
Mr.. "alsh's performance Of the clos
| ing bars OF the well-loved "medita-
| ton" from That's" 1t was so con-
! spicuously true In the first-named that
when the light was cut off during the
number, and, after Il brief interval
flashed on again, about half the au
| diencc was astounded to sec that Miss
Heinrich wasn't even OH the stage
so perfectly was the machine singing
| with her voice.
| Because OF the absence OF Miss Mil
Ter. there were many changes in the
| program as first announced. but most
| OF the pieces in which Miss Miller was
to take no part were retained. But the
| substitution Of a soprano for con-
tralto made little difference in the Sc
| we're test to which the machine was put
| in reproducing the heavier voice. be-
cause of the fact that Miss Heinrch's
| voice is of a mezzo soprano quality, the
| lower register being rounded and far
richer than that of the pure soprano.
In LISTS Die Lorelei; "PleureZ. Pleu-
rez. mes Yeux." from Massenets lie
Cid; II know That My Redeemer Liv-
eth and the Wilson song already re-
ferrcd to, Miss heinrich sang in unison
with her voice. SO to speak. stopping
| momcntarily now and then SO as to
| emphasize the precise similitudc of the
| two voices. And this course was fol-
lowed also by Mr.. Walsh in Becker's
romance"
But in Schubert's "Serenade" Miss
| Heinrich sang countermeiody to the
melody carried by her own voice. In
other words. throughout the number
she sang duet with herself. Mr.
Walsh too, departed from the "Thais"
| melody toward the end. and played nm
obligato. or second. And-this was the
feature OF those features-only ia
| miliarity with the melodies made prob
able, the certain determination which
was singing the written meiodv-the
voice Or violin or the machine. And
sometimes even familiarity forgets
! Douglas Gordon.
WORTHWHILE Operas Til. Week.
Since THE Lilac Domino" PLAYED