Evening star., 1926-04-07
BACH CHOIR GIVES
FINE PERFORMANCE
Work of Chorus Outstanding
| in Passion According to
st. Matthew"

muSlcallS oil the season lSLo-@o III
Washington took place at the Wash
ington Auditorium last night, when
several thousand music lovers and
musicians enjoyed the initial perform
ance in this city of Johann Sebastian
Bach's great Easter work, THE Pas
| sion According 20 st. Matthew" sung
by the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Pa.
assisted by the members Uf several
| local choirs and with prominent So
loists, under the direction of DR.. J,
! Fred Wolfe, who is probably the
| greatest interpreter of Bach's choral
music today. The instrumental music
was played b. so members Of the Phil
adelphia symphony Orchestra. with
| Ruth Becker at the piano and I,
| Edgar Shields at the organ.
A unique feature of this work is
| the active participation demanded Of
| the audience itself. as III of the Is
chorals in the work are sung by au-
dience and choir. The four other
chorals and short passages here and
there were omitted, so as to make
| the performance come within an or
dinary evenings CONCERT space of,
time. After the opening number,
| Come, Ye Daughters" during which
bers of the Friday Morning Music
Club and the Tuesday Evening Music
| Club, Lucy Brickenstein, director,
sang from the orchestra pit, these
| members dispersed TO places in the
| aud ience. and with the other singers
| from local church choirs who had
been drilled in these chorals by Adolf
| Torovsky of Epiphany Church, led
| the audience.
Symphony Of Voices.
A musical authority has stated
| that the Bach Choir is the finest
| thing musically that the United
States has developed to date. Born
! in the Moravian settlement of Beth
| lehem, and constantly brought to
| increa sing state bordering on per-
| lection under DIR. Wolle's careful
guidance during quarter of a CEN
tury, this choir affords the listener a
genuine inspiration above and be-
yond orchestra or organ efforts, for
it is q symphony of human voices.
marvelously controlled.
The work of the chorus in the Pas
sion" was by far the greatest thing.
With the powerful assistance of full
orchestral group and organ in the pas
sage following where Christ Is Bound
and Led Away" the chorus gave one
of the climaxes vividly dramatic IN
terpretation. Another passage which
showed that Bach possessed a genius
for interpreting in music what in TINS
day would be called mob psychol-
ogv" was that of 1.-The Crucifixion.
Closely following on it's last note was
the most beautiful phrase that Charles
Trowbridge Tittmann, Washington bas-
so, who sang the solo part of the
Christ, had in. his entire part--"Eli,
Eli, lama Sabachthani?" Mr.. Tit
mann sang this so beautifully that 1t
was almost a regret that the tenor
recitative took up the same phrase
with English translation. 1t is so
written in the score, yet it seems an
anticlimax.
Mr.. Tittmann was in good voice last
night 1t was only to be regretted
that frequently his passages started
with a note in his higher register that
made it difficult always to get an ac-
curate tone. His enunciation. how
ever, and deeper tones, were, as al
ways. excellent. The work of the
strings in accompanying the Christ 8
music was another thing at which to
marvel.
Patton Wins Laurels.
Fred Patton, the New York bari
tone. who created a sensation with
his splendid reading of the role Of the
high priest in the performance of
Samson and Delilah" given here ear
lier in the season by the Washington
Opera CO., won the supreme solo
laurels last night when he. sang all
the villainous roles Of Peter, Judas.
Plate and everything, in fact, except
the robbers, that was villainous. His
tones were firm and true and his ring
ing, big voice showed to marked ad-
vantage. His diction, too, was beyond
reproach. 1t is interesting to note
here that the last time Mr.. Patton
and Mr.. Tittmann sang this work
together, the parts were reversed, Mr..
Patton singing the music of the Christ
and Mr.. Tittmann singing the other
role.
Nicholas Douty, the tenor, who long
ago established his reputation firmly
as a master singer of Bach, substi.
tuted at a days notice for Arthur
Kraft undertaking the longest and
most trying role in the entire work,
that of the Evangelist. AS ever, Mr.
Douty's style was superb. He is a
true artist and gives in this role his
own personal conception of accent and
phrasing.
The two woman singers. Emily
Stokes Hager, soprano, and Mabel
ed upon to sing these roles and
others in Bach Choir performances.
They accomplish the difficult feat of
the tricky, forid passages admirably,
but compared to the male voices,
their tones appeared thin and weak.
Chorus Is Thing.
The chorus, however, is the thing!
A wonderful organization managed by
a sunny-tempered, magnetic Bach
| wizard. The bringing Of this great
| music by a great body of American
trained American singers to Washing
| ton is an achievement for which all
| Washington should offer a vote of
hearty thanks to that far sighted and
sincere group known as "The Friends
of Music in Washington whose lead
ing committee is composed of Mrs. w.
| Sinclair Bowen, Miss Lucy Bricken-
! stein, Rev. Dr. w. l.. Darby, Carl
Engel, DIR. Alexander Hennemann.
Mrs. Walter Bruce Howe, Mrs. Adolph
G. Miller. Mrs. Edwin B. Parker, Rev.
DR.. u. B. Phillips. Miss Ella MAY
| Powell. Right Rev. Mgr. C.. F.
Thomas, Mrs. Lawrence Townsend,
Rev. DR.. Jason Noble Pierce, Rev.
DR.. Abram Simon and T. Arthur
Smith.
Also the guarantors for the choir,
which, besides many outstanding in
dividuais of official. musical and resi-
dent society. included significantly
such organizations as the Chamber
Music Society and the Friday Morn