New-York tribune., 1918-12-05
"'pr'nfd from ysste'doy's lato cditions
Vita Nuova'' and a Dirgc
by a French Woman nj
an OratOrio Concert
By III. {. krehbiel

y luUsc ny Cnc excellence o. IT'S
performance last night IN Carnegie
Hall, the OratorIo Society has been
purified by the fires of a1iiction and
has come out Of tho ordeal of last year
enriched In spirit and strengthened in
body. The concert was IN all things
one of the finest achievements in its
class that New York has enjoyed for
years. Wolf-Ferrari's "Vita Nuova"
was the principal work on the pro-
grammc, and it is pity that it was not
the only one. The impression which
this work Of transcondent beauty and
imaginative exaltation made was so
profound that it must have been with
regret that its hearers suffered it
to be mcasurably erased by the music
which followed, This was compost
tion entitled "For Soldiers Burial"
Tor barytone solo, chorus and or
chestra, written by Mile. Lii Boulan-
ger, young woman of rare talent, who
diod few months ago, and the chorus,
Thanks Bo to God" from Men,
delssohn's "Elijah." which was sub
stituted for another work of Mile
Boulangcr's called "A Hymn to the
Sum- which. though announced, could
not be performed because Of the fail
ufe Of the orchestra parts to arrive
from Paris, though, as Mr.. Walter
Damrosch explained, they had been
shipped six weeks ago. AS it was, the
concert was quite long enough, and it's
effectiveness would have been greater
If the "Vita Nuova" had been per
mitted to stand alone.
In the performance Of this extraor-
dlnary work there was much which
invited unqualified praise-the singing
or the chorus, which was not in the
conventional style which marks ora
torlo performances in general, but
touchingly expressive and individual
IN character; the exquisite playing of
the instrumental parts by the Sym
phony Society with Charles A. Baker
at the pianofortc and Frank l.. Sealy
at the organ, but especially the reading
and SINGING OF Mr.. Reinald Werren-
rath, and TIE poetical Interpretation
OF the score by Mr.. Damrosch OF
Miss Rosnlie Miller's singing more
need not be said than that her pure
J voice and Unaffected style were both
inteliigently applied and helped to sus-
tain the performance in the ecstatic
Key N which it was pitched. Mr. Wer-
renratn declaimed the narrative por-
tions Of Dante's tex, with which the
musical numbers are linked together,
and by his we'll modulated voice and
admirable eloc&tion added much TO the
!ntelligibilty Of the work. which is as
unique in style. as it is in contents. As
to mis- singing of the sonnets, We can
only say that in considerable number
OF performances in this city and else
Where we have never heard it egua!led.
scarcely even approached.
We're we not inclined to think lightly
OF official pronouncements by pub
should have come to the hearing of this
new French composition with awe, for
we were told few weeks ago that by
the dlctum Of the musical world Of
Parls" and Nh. Damrosch Madamoiselle
Boulanger was "the greatest woman
composer the world has yet produced !"
Alter that, who would dare approach
lhe music with critical intent? 1t
would be like laying profane hands
upon the Ark of the Covenant But
news-p1lnt paper is patient, printers
ink is still cheap enough to be copi
ously used, and, after all, we do not be-
lleVe that the musical world of Paris
and Nr. Damrosch are in possession of
lhe daIa necessary TO prove their con-
tentlon. Women have been composing
music long time. longer than the
memory OF the present generation runs.
and much Of it which may have been
very good indeed has gone into
oblivion in company with the works Of
masterful men. Why, bless US! A
woman with the just now singularly an
propriate name of De la Guerye com
posed an opera more than 225 wears
ago! Since her day women have writ
ten INTO the record at least 200 works
IN the large dramatic and epic forms
lhey produced an average of one opera
year in the last quarter of the nine
teenth century, and we cannot even
imagine how many orchestral and
chamber compositions besides. Victor
Hugo turned his story of "Notre Dame
qe farls' INTO an opera book for Mile.
Louise Bertin. and though the French
historians Of opera tell us that
the lady's "tIsmeralda" "tomba imme-
dlatement,' two other operas. one of
/ them on the subject of "Guy Manner
lng,' had measure of success
Nine. Sebault who fourished less
than seventy-five years ago, produced
dozen or fifteen operas, and a roval
dame, Amalla, Princess of Sake, quite
as many. In our day Augusta Holmes
wrote an opera, Hero ct Leandre," and
symphony, Lutece,' and, not content
with celebrating Paris in this work. She
! Elorlfed Ireland and Poland as well in
TWO other symphonic creations. There
were only few of the compositions in
large forms written by this Irish Gaul-
Ish woman, whom Cesar Franck did not
hesitate to own as pupil Women of
all nations have composed serious
works. Our own Mrs. Beach's Gaelic"
symphony. has been heard here at a
concert of the Boston Orchestra. Ethvl
Smyth, an English woman, has written
operas almost under our noses, and we
heard one OF them at the Metropolitan
IN 1903. Miss Chaminade and Mrs. Liza
Lehman produced some Of their music
N our concert rooms not long before
the war, but perhaps the French wom-
ans pretty planoforte pieces and songs
and the English womans setting sof
In Persian Garden" are not to be
considered, since they are not in the
class of this composition by Mile.
Boulanger. However, we have heard
line things said OF a symphony by Cor
nehe van Oostersee. Dutch woman.
born IN Java, and of operas and songs
and things by lngeborg Starck Won
Bronsart, whose career was truly cos
mopolitan. since she was a Swede, born
III Russia, who studied with List, mar.
red German and composed a march
Tor the official celebration Of the re-
turn Of the victorious troops to Berlin
ErnruJ,c Mrul Vnnv rurarnr f. poo,