Connecticut western news., 1921-05-26
MUSICIANS UNION CAUSE
 FOR CUT IN CONCERTS
Continued from page 3


 Mir. Stoeckel was a son of Gustave J. Stoeckel, graduate of a contin- ental university who had known and worked with Mendelssohn and other classic musicians, who was, for long period, professor of music at Yale and who, during his last years, was a resident of Norfolk. Mrs. Carl StOeckel herself, an accomplish ed musician, was the first instructor of the musical society in N0~fo'k. but when it was seen that the society had grown to the point where d pro- fessional conductor was required, N. H. Allen of Hartford was secured. Richmond P. Payne, also of Hart ford, later took up the work.
 From this small beginning grew the Litchtield County Choral Union which has made Norfolk, as it is fre- quently called, 'the Bey~outn of America," and which has reached proportions which, it is safe to say, were never dreamed of by the origin al promoters. Societies were formed in other towns in the county until there are now five---in Norfolk, Win sted, Torrington, Canaan, and Salis- bury---which are actively in the choral union and several others, such as those in Cornwall, Goshen ard New Hartford, which were stimula- ted and inspired by the choral 1nion but which do not gain their fina'cial support from it.
 Elaborate Preparations
 From about January to June of each year, these five main societies, with a total active membership of from six to eight hundred, meet in their respective towns or in pairs for the study of representative oratorios or cantatas. To instruction in this work two nationally known musi- clans, Arthur Mees and his assistant Frank Kasschau, devote practically their entire time, going from town to town all winter. Several accom- panists are also employed.
 In June, 425 of the best singers from these societies are selected to sing at the festival concerts. On the first day of festival week they are gathered in Norfolk at the fam ous music shed" which has been built and enlarged on the grounds of MT. and Mrs. Stoeckels estate for a private concert-rehearsal with solo ists and full orchestra. Hitherto, ] this concert-rehearsal, has always been followed by three public con- certs with three morning rehearsals for orchestra and soloists.
 There are 2,200 seats in the music shed of which exactly five hundred are occupied by the chorus md orchestra the remaining 1,700 being occupied almost exclusively by mem bers of the families of the singers. For this is the peculiar feature of the concert. No ticket can be bought for any price and none can be ob- tained by casual application. A few sets are set aside for musical critics and visiting musicians but all the rest are assigned to the members of the chorus who can give them only to designated persons from whom they are transferable only by rasslng again through the hands of the eff | cers of the choral union. The object | of this apparent eXcluslYeness is to 1 assure the fact that the concerts be | preserved wholly for the benefit of | the persons for whom they were | originally intended---the active work CTS in the chorus and their friends.
 Famous Singers Obtained
 The choral work however has be- | come only one part of the festival, | for it was early recognized that a musical appreciation could be culti- | vated not merely by rendering the best music but by hearing the best performances of the time. To this end n1mber of internationally | FONT singers such as Louise Homer, | lie Hlmpel, Orville Harold, AL | la GI ok Herbert Wi*herspoon, Florence Hinckle and Mabel Garri- l
 A,.ve been obtained each year, | some to sing the solo parts in the hor&l n mbels and some as soloists | o~r1 and simple. To give a we'll 1.nded m 4sical week instrumental l IS s4ch as Percy Grainger, Maud | Powell, Fritz Kreisler. Efrem Xim- | ba!ist and Sergei Rachmaninolf have been introduced to the programs.
 Even this however left one feature | of m 1sical work unrecognized. The | health of all art depends on new | production which, in music, means original composition. To stimulate original composition which did not | depend on the caprice of "popular- ity'' for it's production, from one to three of the leading composers of the world have been invited annually ! (wlth of course proper recom- pense) to write an orchestral work l for the festival and to conduct, per sonally, it's initial performance. 1 Practically all the greatest Ameri- can composers of "absolute" or 'abstract' music of recent years have thus written works for the Norfolk festival while from England | Sir Charles Villiers Stanford and | Coleridge Taylor have sent or brought work. The great Sibelius | was brought from Finland and in- !