The Washington times., 1922-10-20
KOSHETz TRUE
MASTER|;.F0Lk
SONGS CHARM
Cossack Conductor plays
on Ukrainian Chorus as :
Human Symphony" >.

Alexander Koshetz, the Cossack
conductor, was the outstanding fea-
ture Of the first concert Of the
Ukrainian National Chorus yester-
day afternoon at the New President
theater. Another concert will he
given Monday afternoon. i,
Laud the remarkable singing
qualities Of the 45 native-garbcd
singers all you want, extol the
plaintive beauty Of the Ukrainian
folk songs to the skies, but II you
were among the all too few music
lovers at yesterdays concert, you
will return with increasing amaze.
ment to Koshetz, the master.
The work Of the Ukrainian Ma
tionai Chorus Is q contribution Of
distinctive character and lasting
value. Breathing the life history
Of a country the inhabitants Of
which have eked out a trying ex.
istence.. the choristers voiced the
aspiration Of their native land in
music Of strangely pathetic power
The marvellous viol.like. quality Of
the astonishingiy deep basses, the
flutey sopranos. the clear. bell-hke
tones Of the tenors and the
''motherly" voices ,of the altos, all
keyed up to, the highest pitch Of
choral perfection, mystified the audi
eRce.
kOshetz Marvel.
KoshetZ was not a conductor in the
generally accepted sense of the word.
He played his human symphony.
Eschewing the baton. this broad.
shouldered Cossack, by a crook OF
the little finger. brought out a Ger.
tain brassy quality in the basses. or
by a wave Of the hand swayed his
human instruments into a great
crescendo, followed by a diminuendo
which tapered off into nothingness.
The program was divided into five
parts, each containing four or five
numbers. The chorus work consist
ed of dainty little folk songs and can
ticles. The folk song which won
most applause was II Sat Spinning,
Spinning" by Leontovich. "Koza."
boisterous number by the same
composer. ended with a real Cossack
shout
Koshetz himself Is a composer Of
no mean ability. His "A Violin Is
Playing in the Street" was admir-
ably executed, as was his Poor Haw.
thorne." II Wish to, Go to the
The monk" must have been a
merry fellow who did not take his
religious vows any too seriously,
Judging from the Hitting melody. But,
then. as koshetz points out in tn"
monk.
Soprano Appeals.
Mile. Oda Slobodska ia, leading dra-
matte soprano of the Russian Opera
at Petrograd, and a newcomer on the
American concert stage, sang
series of songs which appealed to the
audience. OF course, there were
many curtain calls and flowers for
the singer. all of which she justly
deserved.
Mile. Slobodskaja is a statuesque
woman. She has a powerful dra-
as a bell and almost uncannily
true" and her personality II ap-
pealing.
She sang the. aria from Russian
and Ludmila," by Glinka: a simple
melody, Look, Pretty Maiden" by
Dargomijsky; Ceasar Cuts Desire;
"The Dream" by Glszounoff; scene
Of Natascha from the opera
"Russalka," by Dargomijsky;, Had
I Only Known Tschaikowsky;
THE Nymph," Rimsky.Korsakoff,
and the plaintive reverie and wild.
care.free dance from THE Fair Of
Sorotchinsk, by ,Moussorgsky.
In paying tribute to Mile, Slo-
bodskaja, the audience did not for.
get to applaud the efforts of Alex.
ander Labinsky, accompanist.
1t Is too bad many seats were
empty in the beautiful new Presi-
dent Theater. Perhaps by Monday
afternoon, when the news Of the
tremendous success Of the Ukrainf
ian National Chorus has been broad.
cast, the house will be filled to
overflowing. as In New York, when
hundreds were turned away. at the