New-York tribune., 1919-03-17
Music
Old Church Music on Ritz Carl.
ton Programme; Last Sym
phony Concert Given
By H. E. Krchbiel

To give music Of high order
which is withheld from the public by
the ordinary concert organizations of
the city is the professed mission Of
the Society of the Friends of Music.
1t has not always lived up to it's pro-
fessions, but when it has done so the
occasions have been interesting and
we'll calculated to promote popular
knowledge and good taste. It's final
concert in the Hotel Ritz Carlton yes
terday afternoon was Of this kind.
The Musical Art Society, after culti-
waiting high-class unaccompanied music
for quarter Of century under the
direction Of DR.. Frank Damrosch, hav-
ing felt obliged to discontinue it's min
istrations during the present season,
the society undertook to continue it's
work. The programme, arranged by
Ernest Bloch, went step beyond the
schemes with which DR.. Damrosch has
been won't to set up, in that it was
confined wholly to compositions by
Italian, Flemish and Finnish compos-
ers of the fifteenth and sixteenth CEN
turies, omitting all instrumental mu-
sic and all compositions in the severe
style by modern writer's.
The German writer's of the old a
capella school had a single representa-
tion in Regina Cnli." by Aichinger;
the Italians were represented by one Of
Palestrina's short masses, the Flamands
by an "Ave Maria" Of Jusquin de
Pres, penitential psalm and secu-
lar madrigal, by Orlando di Losso; the
French BY madrigal Of Jannequins's s
and madrigal and some chansons by
Claude lie Jeune.
An example Of the Spanish school
by Vittoria and motet by the Italian
Nanlnl; though set down in the
printed list, were omitted because they
would have unduly prolonged the con-
cert, which, as it was, suffered some
what from monotony Of style. The
defect might have been obviated in
a measure had the exquisite 80 mag
mum mysterium" of the Spaniard been
permitted to remain, and some of the
less interesting and more archaic
pieces of Claude le Jeune sacrificed
instead. These were interesting chief
ly from an historical point of view
Mr.. Bloch, who had planned the
concert for the society, was i'll, and
the choir, selected from the chorus of
the Metropolitan Opera House, was
raned it. was M no ss5 doub Saf Set3er had
Music Of this character requires
intimacy of understanding between
singers and director. The choristers
were professionals. They approved
themselves as good readers and obe-
dent followers of their leader. Their
singing was precise, but the quality of
tone and delicacy Of nuance, which are
essential elements of music of this
character, were not such as the trained
amateurs, or professionals, of the
Musical Art Society have accustomed
us to. Nor is the ballroom of the
hotel acoustically we'll adapted to such
concerts. Lovers of the beautiful old
ecclesiastical art must have been graft
fed to see the room crowded and the
audience attentive to the last.
The last of this seasons Sunday
afternoon concerts by the Symphony
Society took place at Acolian Hall
yesterday afternoon. Nine. Hulda
Lashanska was the solo attraction. The
orchestral numbers were Schubert's
unfinished" symphony, the prelude
and finale of Wagners Christian and
Isolde" Liszt's "Preludes," and two
short melodramatic pieces (pseudo-
Gluckian confettD from Mr. Walter
Damrosch's music to Iphigenia in
Aulis" and "Medea" Nine. Lashanska
sang Susanna's air "Deh vieni non tar
dar" from lie Nozze di Figaro" "Ah
10 so" from the Italian version of "Die
Zauberfl6te" and the little air from
Ischaikowsky's Eugene Onegin." She
sang with great loveliness and purity
OF voice and nice appreciation, if not
1uil attainment, of the style which is
natlve TO them in the Mozart airs. The