Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-06-10
NEWS OF MUSIC
By DAY THORPE

MUGS Oll Vic DOAAAOs AAAC
oratorio King David said
Wendell Margrave, of The
Stars music staff, sis strictly
from Honegger." Mr.. Mar
grave was expressing. presum-
ably, not a critical dictum. but
only a bon mot. He was more
succinct than anybody else last
week. but he was only one of
thousands who were talking
about the ad lib bomb.
Was the bomp which ex-
ploded In the Washington
Cathedral Saturday the device
of a critic unable to express
himself in suitable words?, Was
1t the bitter or megalomaniacal
reproach of a frustrated singer
who had been failed his audi
dition and been refused mem
bership in the Washington and
Cathedral Choral Societies?
Could it have been a frivolous
publicity stunt of George
towns new and thriving So
ciety for the Disestablishment
Of Music?
1t could scarcely have been
timed by saboteur with a keen
sense of musical values, for the
contralto solo for which the
explosion became an added
orchestration needed no such
Jovian punctuation, while if
the big noise had been delayed
until next fall when the
Cathedral will resound with
the thunder of the Is kettle
drums of Berlioz's Requiem, the
bombardier could legitimately
have demanded union wages
for a happy and effective con-
tribution.
No Pause in Performance
1 was present at the ex-
plosion not as a newspaper
reviewer, but as a choral bass,
and have since heard a tape
recording of the incident. 1t
Is truly remarkable that there
was not the slightest trace of
disruption or fear or even
curiosity on the part Of Paul
Galloway, the conductor, or
of Beverly Wolff, the singer
(from Atlanta, Ga. by the way,
and not from New York. where
the papers insisted on domi-
Cling herr, or Of the members
Of the orchestra.
The noise was as loud as the
report of a 5-inch gun, accord
ing to a naval officer in the
chorus, but while 1t drowned
out the music for a few Sec
onds, it did not interrupt its
progress by so much as a beat.
Musicians are impervious to
competition.
After the explosion there
was no smell Of smoke or pow
der, but there was dust in the
air stirred up by the concus-
sion. Several members of the
orchestra and chorus who were
not playing at the moment
thought that a tympani had
burst. and glanced at Fred
Begun. the drummer. Begun
shrugged as if to say. Look,
no hands-it wasn't l."
Dean Sayre Keeps Calm
Dean Francis B. Sayre, al
though he said later that he
saw the flash of the explosion
and knew at once either that
the Cathedral had been struck
by lightning or that a bomb
had gone off. did not leave his
seat to investigate until the
concert was over. 20 minutes
later. 1t is possible that if he
had stood and shown signs of
excitement, a panic might
have resulted. AS it was there
was no commotion whatever.
wonder if maybe the audi
ence did not take the bomb
for a legitimate sound effect,
nicely planned by Honegger
and carefully contrived by
Galloway.
d. F.. Tovey once said that
there is no nonsense so pal
pable that it will not be con-
sidered by an English school,
boy as a possible correct
translation of a Greek or
Latin classic verse. Perhaps
the audience Of a symphony
orchestra is likewise Injured to
the contemporary composer,
and is incapable of surprise.
A late story. possibly apoc-
ryphal, has Mrs. x and Mr.. Y
intently following the music in
a pocket score. AS the cathe-
dral is shaken by the explo-
sion, Mrs. X peers at the music
through the dust.
Gus, l don't see that mere"
she says.
Gus shuffles the pages and
remarks that they must have
lost the place.
yes. here it is" he says,
pointing at the two heavy par
allel lines that separate two
systems of slaves.
incidentally, while Beetho-
ven never scored for bombs.
he does write for cannon in
one of his symphonies. Each
boom" is indicated in the
score by a solid black dot
about the size of a large peal
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