San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-08-26
BY PIERRE V. r. KEY.

isome very acceptable music Oh
slVenice's grand canal. 1t consists
ichiefly OF singing, with a background
Accompaniment made up of Vloiln
'or two and some other instruments
of miscellaneous assortment. On q
\ fair night, when the moon shines, the
4 lgondolas pick their way like dark
! shadows over the surface Of the
s,Adriatic waters; and presently III
YOU happen 10 be in one of these
graceful boats) your gondolier manou-
Ners his craft into space where 1t
seems impossible 10 crowd. Then
Won have reserved seat for the con-
cert, a seat far more comfortable
Than anything an American opera
: house or concert auditorium can Of
fer. and at a much lower price
We had such an experience. not so
many evenings ago. From landing
near st. Marks Place (wherc. as al
most everyone knows. it is the Gus
I tom to feed the pigeonsl our skip
per and crew shot his craft into the
stream. He did it so neatly. without
.hurry, that one was impelled to lean
back against the cushions and let
well enough alone. Even the heat of
the day could be forgotten in that
I scene. We moved along as though
sdrawn, or pushed, by some invisible
spower, for your Venetian gondolier
snever splashes his oar. Presently.
sAfter we had traversed a hundred
yards or more, came the sound of
singing voice.
The listener is not likely ever TO
sforget the effect of such singing, so
sfaintly heard. II is as though the
svoice had been passed through a Sc
sfies of refining processes until all
sthe hardness vanishes. Your gon-
sdola approaches nearer, and within
"a few minutes from starting time
tthere you are one of the throng of
shauticsl auditors at what is musical.
sly novel in the extreme.
When you are placed near enough
80 see. it becomes apparent that the
srow of lights forming a semi-circle
scome from paper lanterns, festooned
sAbout the awning of huge gondola.
Thereafter still more is discerned; the
Figures of the orchestra players. the
.singer who happens to be singing,
sand those seated waiting their turns
10 perform.
Remunerative Agility.
: The voice we first heard on this
sparticular occasion was baritone.
sHaving at length reached a spot no
farther off than a hundred feet from
the stern Of. the music-gondola we
aInade a further discovery it was q
Zine baritone voice. The music was,
rof course, operate. In this instance
ut proved to have been chosen from
sAndrea Chenier; they do nothing by
Halves, on the Venice grand canal
4 Ahead of US lay scores of gently
shobbing gondolas. They were strung
fa ba 49, o,I "a e.. IL.
Over head shone the moon, with the
REFLECTED light breaking n silver path
9falf a mile long. Imagine the lights
pickering from the nearby hotels,
outlines Of the palaces thanking both
sides Of that section of the grand
canal which were built in the time
pf the doges and you have some faint
idea the impression such an expert
fhce brings.
Not so far away stands the former
nome OF Eleonora Duse; and directly
across from it the less pretentious
place where in Gabrielle d'Annunzio
used to dwell. Home of Elizabeth
Barrett-Browning and other illustrious
pnes, playground for the artistic-lov-
2ng and romantic alike, Venice radi-
Rfes its own individual charm. 1t
all seems TO rise before the minds
sye during one of those evening con-
ferts. There are no footing takes, |
rs IN Paris, nor sounds of tram cars
fattilng by some open windows.
While the second number was be- |
Sng given a nimble young man passed |
from one gondola to the next. ex-
pertly accomplishing the feat with a
nonchalance similar to that of his |
demand for few lire from each pas
tenger for the privilege of listening |
b Musical Gondoliers.
venetian gondoliers may have their !
OWN individual dialect as well as
pther pecuiiarities not common to
an Italians, but there is no question
ing their musical appreciation, They
were amongst the first to applaud
come well turned phrase, or to utter
cspieasure at something which real
deserved it. At appropriate mo-
nents these dark skinned watermen
kpicturesque in appearance. the old
er ones) called out demands for some
fayorite composition.
II we listened TO lyric tenor, who
s0ppeo at nothing short of the Che
GENOA mamma from Boheme; and
then q fairly competent soprano sang
Standing under the reflected lights
each "artist" was silbouetted effac'
ryeiy against the dark background.
no foreign sound (save one) OBJ.
sruded. This proved to be musical.
Deing nothing else than the strains
rom counter-program which was
peing given trifle further down the
canal. After a time we passed on TO
this other musical tid-bit and there
We listened to really excellent SO.
prano voice which was technically
yell used.
Giovanni Martinelli, the New York
metropolitan Opera Company dra-
matte tenor, is a Venetian. We do
not Know whether he ever appeared
tn one of these Grand Canal concerns
We could not refrain from tbinking
81 him and of how his tones would
eave sounded, borne across the water
20 gratefully waiting ears.
shes, Venice has its charms and NOT
fhe least of them is its music
dispensed in the manner lust de-
kcribed. '''
81 Busy ImpresariOs.
2 MANY people who attend onara
save the notion that an impresario
nas an easy time OF it. just winter.
fflme work, then summer lolIinp
anout. Nothing could bc fartbep
Nem the truth. A few weeks ago we
net Giulio GstG-Casazza. of New
scrks Metropolitan. Still more re.
Gently did we come face n Fqco iii,