Evening star., 1940-02-26

iS friendly and informal, which tm-<
mediately dispells any feeling Of
constraint. The public liked her
for this, and her evident desire to
give pleasure with her art brought
its reward In the enthusiasm which
she evoked.
Tall and slender In q long, sheath
like white gown, she had an arrest
Ing stage presence. Even her man.
ner Of walking to the center of the
stage-quite an ordeal in Constitu-
tion Hall-was interesting in its
freedom and stateliness Of move
ment. Her facial expression mir
rors the meaning of her song, but
in such . natural way as to Danish
all feeling that her art is studied,
and the ease and spontaneity Of
her presentation Is expertly COM
bined with a well-grounded musi-
cianship. In the wholesome union
Of unaffected sincerity and the spe-
cial equipment Of an artist ac-
claimed in many fields, Miss Jepson
stands unique and her success yes
terday was q recognition of how
much the public appreciated her
ability to combine the several ele-
ments.
Voice Of Rare Beauty.
Miss Jepson's voice is one Of rare
beauty. Its purity is preserved
throughout its range and the rather
tender note, that is its particular
establishment, Is present from the
lowest to the highest note she sings.
She does not try to accomplish too
much by way Of volume, but exer-
cises skillful discrimination in at
tanning her climaxes, relying mostly
on changing color to this end. Be-
cause Of the absence Of attempts at
dazzling effects, her singing has an
intimate quality directed by musical
appreciation and intelligent under
standing.
Among the songs programmed, a
group by Hugo Wolf was the most
noteworthy, each requiring a per-
sonal feeling for their various
moods. The seldom heard Mig
non" and "Und whilst du deinen
Lebsten sterben sehen" were beau-
tifully sung, the former especially,
with its reiteration, into which Miss
Jepson managed to convey so much
meaning. Her voice is particularly
well suited for French songs and in
Duparc,s "LTnvitation au voyage"
Koechlin's lie Matin" and Moret's
lie Nelumbo" its tonal clarity and
delicate expressiveness gave more
verify to them than most singers not
of that nationality can achieve.
She sang three arias, among which
was the short Mirror Song" from
''Thais" Miss Jepson has succeeded
Mary Garden as interpreter of this
role and her singing of this very
diddcult bit was done with great
beauty of tone. The "Ballatella," !"
from "Pagliacci." and the King Of
Thule" and Jewel Song" from
Faust" brought a broader style
and q special ringing quality to her
voice. Among the many encores
she gave was the "sempre liberia"
aria, from la Traviata," less sue
cessful from a vocal standpoint,
however. than the other operate
numbers.
Encores Carefully Chosen.
Her program began and ended
with songs in English and in the
last group was included an inter-
esting song without words, PAS
torale" by stravinsky. Miss Jepson
was liberal in adding to her printed
numbers at the insistent demand of
the audience and these encores were
as carefully chosen and as interest
ingly given as the major part Of
the program and we're received with
the greatest enthusiasm.
With the first numbers which he
accompanied, the audience began to
take notice of Mr.. Wallenborn. He
played without music, but it was not
this feat alone that counted. for it
is not novelty, but rather the very
individual character that he put into
everything that he did. When, later,
he played his three solos he disclosed