The New York herald., 1922-12-17


includes Z fine regard for elegance
and Q gentlemanlike respect for what
may be called the courtesies Of art.
There are many situations from
which Q German mind would find no
issue save Q fugus, but from which
Frenchman discovers some delight
full side avenue of escape leading
into q meticulously kept garden OF
gallantries and graces. To be sure
the fugue 10 more serious matter and
Is not q thing to be lightly under
taken by a mere boulevardier.
The Vision Of the WofAadays.
But somehow or other the terres-
trial vision of the workaday man and
the concert haunting woman glows
less brightly on the professional
gentleman with the spectacles, the
Ph. D., the long hair and the fugue
than on the smiling Partisan with hat
IN hand, finger tips drawing blown
kiss from his lips, and a 'tiri lon lai'
in his music. Anlfos the troubadour
Che was also a king, but they are out
OF date) wrote thus:
Yet to glad my JOY and pride
verdure, sun and sky--outvied
BY sweet birds that hedges hide
Cheer and set my heart at ease;
For delight 10 not my guide
30 lady fair DEGREES;
Honor and worth In her reside,
Joy and beauty, wit beside;
Nausht grudse her heart to appease.
That is a stanza from a medieval
song. The Frenchmen Of to-day are
sInging similar sentiments. They sing
in a not dissimilar style. They are
nothing IL not debonair That is per-
haps one reason why the reporter,
wandering through the halls OF song.
found himself suddenly confronted
with a blaze Of glory when he listened
20 the c minor trio of Pierne.
Good friends patted him on the
ehonlder the next day and said: 80.
boy. so. Really you know 1t was not
quite all that. Rather neat music OF
course, but so Parisian.' Well, the
reporter comforted himself with the
memory OF some excellent things that
had worn the stamp OF Paris for many
years--"Alceste" and "Iphigenie en-
.Aulide," for examples.
Unfortunately trios are not played
frequently. Meanwhile we may revert
20 the heinous offense Of Mr.. Fairchild
I'm deliberately treading the sidewalks
of Paris. He was not up to date. to
lie sure, for he wrote like French
man OF twenty or twenty-five years
ago. But It might interest some of
those who scolded Mr.. F'airchild to
recall that In 1915 Alfredo Casella
published in the Riformd Musicale OF
Turin an article on famous Russian
master, in which he said that young
italian composers would do well to
follow the example OF Igor Stravinsky.
who about 1908 studied Debussy,
Ravel and Dukas. just as Debussy
about 1890 had studied Boris Godu-
nov" Debussy's application resulted
in the wholly French "Pelleas ct Nell
sande" and Stravinsky's In the en-
tlrely Russian Rise of Spring"
What's that7 Mr.. Fairchid did not
produce a Rise of Spring." Well,
you said Il; not the reporter. The
American. however. did one thing
noteworthy. He put bit of American
negro melody into an Opera Comique
score. He got away from the French
nen In that, at any rate.
smiths GreRorian Quartet.
David Stanley Smiths "Gregorian"
quartet. produced by the Letz organi-
gation, utilized the beautiful old me-
dieval hymn. "Jesu corona virginum."
as It's chief melodic thought. The re-
porter Of musical doings for THE NEW
YORK HERALD would like to read an
essay on this quartet by Amedee Gas
toue or Canon winifred Douglas or
Pietro Yon. For himself he finds a
certain confusion Of mind In confront
ing a venerable canticle fashioned
from the melodic materials Of Crego-
rian mode. harmonized after the style
OF an Anglican chant and sung 10 him
by four stringcd instruments operated
by bows
But II Is an interesting quartet and
what IS much more important It is
good music. IL is agreeable TO hear
And II Ia short. Prof. David Stanley
Smith Of Yale says what he has to say
ond then stops What a pity that hun
ireds Of other musicians cannot do
likewise. They say what they have tn
ray land Il IL often so lamentably un-
importantly and then they say II again