New-York tribune., 1922-10-22
By Fl. <. Krehbicl


dcggerel IN shcse ,lays) beginning:
I'm pilgrim and I'm stranger,
] can tarry, can tarry but night,
Do not detaia me, for am going
10 where the fountains are ever
flowing.
I'm q pilgrim and I'm q stranger,
can taxry, can tarry but a night"
Is was long time afterward that at
concert By q college glee club in
Chickering Hall the same individual, q
Sunday school scholar no longer, but
The Tribune's music reviewer heard
the old tuns sung to o strangely trans
saogrihed text. Now. the club I've
think /. came from Yals) still speak
ing 10 the FIRST person singular, like q
Greek chorus, assured US that he was
cockroach and katydid and could
play the fiddle with his left hind leg.
1t was Q queer prank OF memory which
called this and other things to mind
when we opened "The Harvard Song
Book" recently published by the
Harvard Glee Club, Abbot Low Moffatt
chairman Of the book committee. Last
spring, for instance, we read in The
Tribune that the Harvard Glee Club
purpcsed giving a concert in New York
and singing some unaccompanied can
ticles by Bach and Palestrina. Other
things than college giee clubs had oe-
cupied our attention for many years,
and as we read we said to ourselves:
"That blessed makeup person in the
composing room has been at 1t again.
Wonder whose program 1t is7" But
when the time came it turned out that
no one had been drawing on the plots
OF "yi Trovatore" and 'Pinafore' and
mixing childrea up, but that Harvard
glee club actually sang chorale by
Bach, motif by Palestrina, a "Credo"
from the liturgy Of the Greek church
by Gretchaninoff, psalm by Miihaud,
besides Finnish students songs, Ger
man songs, an old English song by Nor
ley, new English song by Bamtock
and ether things equally calculated to
cause fellow to rub his eyes, hold
down his head sidewise and kick TO get
something foreign out OF his ears.
Gone was the bulldog from the bank
aad the buIlfrog from the pool. Some
body had smoked last cigar. We won
aered, now, whether or not we should
ever again hear "Upidee" or "The Son
Of a Gamboiier.r for here was reform
with q vengeance. A revolution, &
cstaclysm had taken place while we
were listening to operas, symphonies,
chamber music concerts and about 4o,-
600 recitals by other fddlers than
hatydids.
And then there came recollection Of
o day when we were inspired with q
wild idea that 8 change for artistic
Righteousness might be wrought In
American college music. At the Paris
Exposition Of 1900 many things were
offered for the entertainment of the
American member Of the musical jury
which did not lie within the field of
his lahors. such as concerts by orches-
tras, singing societies, instrumental
yirtuosos, etc. The orchestra Of the
Vienna Opera gave some concerts in
the TYocadero, Colonies Orchestra
played and the Schola Cantorum sang
in Old Paris, military bands enter
! tanned out-of-doors crowds every day
(Sonsa's far and away the most popu-
lsr). On every hand there was much
making of music, bat at the receptions
of offcials, native and foreign, one or,
gan!zation seemed TO DO an essentia
texture. This was the Russian Baia
iaiks Band. which exercised muBica
fascination because Of the novelty ant
the charm OF It's music. Fragments o
IL soon drifted TO America. and I'll
dotsan and jetsam are still observable
here and there. A similar band pro
vided the instrumental part Of tn,
musical program Of the Russian Isba
which deserved as much success Al
Baiieff's Chauve-Souris. but never re
csived It. 1t fiickered out after two ol
three performances, at q new theater II
cross street near Broadway. The
postwar fad which now threatens tt
swamp us tand them) with Russian
entertainments had not yet obsessee
tie public.
When tho American musical juroy
heard tho Baiaiaikn band his thoughts
turned At once to the possibility and
tbs desirability OF its substitution for
the Eaitarists. banjoists and mandolin
tsts Of the college glee clubs; the de-
STABILITY because tho iausic was genu-
snsly artistic. One thing gave him
pause. The players played different
parts. like the players In an orchestra,
and the college boys would not be able
TO do anything with the instrument
unless they learned 60 read rnusic
Were instruction books, scores and
passs obtainahie? he sought inferna.
ton 'on, the Russian leader, AFR. An.
dreie1. Not yet, said that gentleman
bat sccn. They we're In preparation
and wonid be published in st. Peters.
burg. But the texf would be Russian /
Yes. That was discouraging, but The
dinlcul.y Eaight be overcome.
Would members OF college glee clubs
sRcrifce themselves in study for the
sake of 9 thing artistically good as
we'll ss entertaining All, that was q
different matter. Musical departments
v..se,n