The sun., 1919-09-19
VATICAN CHOIR WINS
PRAISE IN CONCERT
Large Audience in Carnegie
Hall Welcomes Singers Of
Maestro Cassimfri.
SOPRANOS ARE PLEASING
Shading and Phrasing Excite
Comment and Balance Of
Parts Admirable.

A choral body styled the Vatican
Choirs was heard for the first time here
in concert at Carnegie Hall last eve
ming. The singers are officially declares
to be members OF the choirs of the
sistine Chapel. st. Peters and 81. John
Lateran. They are conducted by tho
Rt Rev. Casslmiro Casslmiri. maestro
OF ST. John Lateran. The singers are
boys and men. the latter not only tencrEs
barytones and BASES but also some so
pran and contraltos.
The musical public lately had an OPP
portunity TO hear quartet of mixed
male voices but the effect TO be obtained
from full choir could not be estimafed
from such hearing. Last nights con~
cert undoubtedly had aroused large in
terest among the Roman Catholics oe
the city, as II very properly should,
and doubtless too among music loverh
OF other faiths but not unacquainted
with the splendid history Of Roman
church singing, from the foundation of
schools of chant by Pope Julian in sf4
to the present
The higher development of singing ia
the Catholic Church dates from Ss7.
when the Council of Laodicea forbade
the musical liturgy TO canons who alono
might ascend to the ambon and sing
TO the congregation. The presence OF
priests In the choir heard last evening
descends from that time when all the
| singers had to be ordained by a prcs-
byter and received the Injunction, "Ses
| that thou believe in thy heart what thou
| singest with thy mouth, and approve III
thy works what thou believest in thy
heart
The organization which sang to an
audience of considerable size is a well
CHOSEN and well trained body. The gen.
eral quality of tone last evening was
good That OF the boy sopranos and
contraltos was excellent. The balance
of the parts was admirable. The poly
phonio structures of the various compo-
sidons was clearly exposed, yet without
evidence of labor. This clarity 10 OF
course one OF the most inexorable re-
! quirements of the music of the old
princes OF the capella art. The shading
| OF the cholr's delivery was such, as to
excite the liveliest satisfaction, while the
style in general fulfilled the demands ex-
plicitly set forth in the writings of the
Solesmes fathers The sustained phras-
ing was beautiful, while the lighter and
more incisively rhythmicai passages were
given with tho requisite delioacy ana
| nicely adjusted variety of accent. In
foridity the singing was perhaps q little
cumbersome, but II was GEAR ~,
On the whole the choir justified It's
visit, albeit this city has not now 10
learn the splendor of the masterpieces of
the Catholic churches. From the DAYS
OF Caryl Florio's Palestrina Choir 70
those OF Frank Damrosch's Musical Art
Society they have been familiar to the
concert going pubic. while assurediy
| devout Catholics never have wanted op-
portunities 10 hear them under the Paul
| list Fathers nor lately from the COM
petent singers OF Mr.. Yon. .s's
The composers represented last eve
ming were Palestrina, Vittoria Viadana
! and Cissimiri, the conductor The pro-
gTamme contained an announcement
that the choir would be heard in q Sec
ond concert at the Hippodrome on o.
tober 5. -'n