library of the harvard musical association · doria was the stage name of clara kathleen barnett,...
TRANSCRIPT
Library of
The Harvard Musical
Association
Bulletin No. 18
January, 1950
Library Committee CHARLES R. NUTTER HUGO LEICHTENTRITT CYRUS W. DURGIN GROVER J. OBERLE ALEXANDER W. WILLIAMS
Director of the Library and Custodian of the Marsh Room CHARLES R. NUTTER
Library and Marsh Room
MURIEL FRENCH
Marsh Room
FLORENCE C. ALLEN To the Members of the Association:
Your attention is called to an article in this issue by Edward Ballantine. * * * *
Previous bulletins have discussed in sufficient detail eight seasons of the Harvard Orchestra in addition to the more general narrative in Bulletin No. 5. This bulletin continues the story with an account of three more seasons.
Mr. Dwight’s report for the ninth season (1873‐74) is lost, strayed, or stolen, although if the last it could hardly be caused by envy of possession. Its loss is regrettable since this season for the first time there was a financial loss and Dwight’s explanation would have been illuminating. The season’s receipts amounted to $8798.00, the expenditures to $10,004.52, the loss $1206.52. The Concert Fund, increasing as each season produced a surplus, wisely designed for such a contingency, easily met the draft on it, leaving an ample amount to meet unfortunate repetitions of loss in later seasons.
For the second time, as a part of the Harvard Orchestra, the Cecilia sang in several concerts Gade’s “Spring Greeting” and “Comala”, Schubert’s “Twenty‐third Psalm”, Mendelssohn’s “Loreley”, Bach’s “Ich hatte viel Bekummerniss”, and the finale to the first act of “Euryanthe.”
There were evidently no extra concerts this season. Among the soloists were Ernst Perabo, Benjamin J. Lang, J. C. D. Parker, Hugo Leonard, all local pianists (paid from $50 to $100) and Mme. Madeleine Schiller, pianist; Clara Doria, Hermine Rudersdorff, George L. Osgood (a local musician with a beautiful tenor voice) vocalists; August Fries, Mme. Camilla Urso, violinists; John K. Paine, organist, playing Bach’s Organ Prelude and Fugue in A minor.
Doria was the stage name of Clara Kathleen Barnett, born in England, studied in Germany, in 1871 came to America and sang in the Parepa Rosa Opera Company and the Maretzek’s Opera Company, as well as giving vocal recitals. She settled in Boston and married Henry M. Rogers, who was very well known locally and, incidentally, long a member of this Association. She was an instructor at the New England Conservatory of Music. She died in 1930. Mme. Schiller (Mrs. Marcus Benetti) was well known in England and in Australia. She lived in Boston for a time and after 1865 became a noted teacher in New York. Mme. Urso, born in France, appeared in many cities in this country. She was acknowledged to be a
violinist of the first rank; She settled permanently in New York in 1895. Hermine Rudersdorff, a Russian born in the Ukraine, was a pupil of Bordogni in Paris and of Micherrut in Milan, both famous teachers. She was a member of opera companies at Karlsruhe, Frankfort, and Breslau, and for two years in London. She sang in the Boston (National) Jubilee of 1869, after which she settled in this city. All these musicians were of the first rank in those days; the Association never secured the services of second raters.
The tenth season (1874‐75) again met with financial loss. “For the second time,” reported Mr. Dwight, “a loss in the regular season of $1500.62—to this must be added a further sacrifice of about $250 expended in the vain attempt to give a repetition of ‘Paradise and the Peri,’ making a total loss of $1751.06 which had to be drawn from the Concert Fund reserved out of the earnings of the first 8 years to enable us to tide over any such occasional bad seasons.”
Analyzing the causes of the loss, Mr. Dwight gives several reasons which can in part be briefly quoted, omitting his elaboration of them. (1.) The mistake of making the price of season tickets too low. Eighty cents per concert is absurd and cannot pay. At $10 per ticket with the same number (900) of subscribers we should have gained instead of losing. (2.) Aggressive competition [the Thomas Orchestra] with far more formidable orchestral means than ours, with great skill and activity in managing the press; determined apparently to leave no stone unturned to drive us out of our hail and occupy it themselves; challenging us on our own ground, imitating our name, our programmes— our new choral feature. (3.) The “hard times”—people felt poor. (4.) The caprices of fashion . . . the rage for brilliant and exciting novelties; the Wagner, Raff etc. fever waxing to its height. (5.) A remarkable run of bad weather. (6.) Considerable extra expense, attending the Cecilia, efforts to secure superior musicians in the orchestra, etc.
The Cecilia took part in several concerts of this tenth season, They sang Mendelssohn’s “Walpurgis‐Night” (repeated by request), Schumann’s “Paradise and the Pen” (the first time in Boston with an orchestra), Durante’s “Magnificat in B flat”, the finale to the first act of Weber’s “Euryanthe”, and fragments of Mendelssohn’s “Loreley”. By special request “Paradise and the Pen” was repeated at an extra concert.
This Cecilia organization, a mixed chorus of 100 voices, was organized and managed by the Association on the expectation that it would financially benefit the Harvard Orchestra. Benjamin J. Lang was the Director and Charles C. Perkins (who has appeared before in these bulletins) the temporary President. But this bright hope gradually faded as realization usurped the seat of expectation. Dissatisfaction increased in both parties. Rarely was the chorus at full strength at a concert, due in part to the obvious difficulty of attendance by the male members in the afternoon. Then, also, the young voices of the members were not strong enough to combine audibly with an orchestra; moreover, these members preferred to sing a capella. The stage of Music Hall was not large enough to hold comfortably orchestra and chorus. In short, the plan for a chorus, excellent on paper, was not successful in execution. Consequently separation was agreeable to both parties and in 1876 the divorce was effected with great relief all around. The Cecilia became an independent organization, with Lang as Director, serving as such for 33 years, and S. Lothrop Thorndike (at one time President of this Association) as President, a position he held for 9 years. Sometimes mediocre, sometimes with fair success in concerts, for some years rather loosely organized and disciplined, it escaped demise and gradually grew able to stand on its own legs. It owes some gratitude to this Association for having created it.
If, as is sometimes said, success breeds success, by the same token failure could breed failure. Unfortunately financial failure was becoming chronic and more unfortunately crystallized into a habit for nearly the remainder of the seventeen seasons. The eleventh season (1875‐76) again failed financially. The loss was $2414.05, again easily met by the Concert Fund. In the following extract from his report on this season Mr. Dwight analyzes the reasons for this loss.
Again, for the third time in succession, the Treasurer’s report shows a loss, and larger than before,—a loss of
$2414.05 (the loss last year was $1750, and for the year before that $1206). Yet in the long run of eleven series of
concerts there has been no loss; the earnings of the first eight years were in great part reserved for a concert fund, which has proved ample for the payment of all losses thus far, and leaves us at least $2,000 still good for the future.
The causes of this loss are readily enumerated, although the comparative effect of each of these may be matter of opinion. 1. “Hard times”, beyond example hitherto. This has affected all concert enterprises. It would be hard to name a series of concerts, in this or any of the large cities, which has really paid. 2. The mistaken policy (as it has proved) of admitting the season‐ ticket holders to the last rehearsal of each concert. This was offered as a new inducement to subscribers; but it simply killed the sale of single tickets. No matter what the attraction—the most popular pianist or fresh singer, or new music—the number of tickets sold for each concert never exceeded 91, and once went so low as 52; except when the Cecilia sang. 3. The Cecilia not only cost us more than it brought in (an addition perhaps of $100, on two occasions and of $200 on another); but through the free tickets given to its members for their friends, it has prevented the purchase of tickets by just the 200 or 250 persons whom it was the very purpose of the Cecilia to attract.
And here a singular phenomenon must be remarked, to wit: while it appears that about every member of the Cecilia, to the number of 125‐30, has been faithful in claiming the free tickets, hardly more than half that number have rendered any service either in concerts or rehearsals! Finally, many of its members seem to have not felt happy in singing with an orchestra, upon that stage, and the result is that they have organized themselves upon a new and independent basis, to sing hereafter for their own pleasure and that of their friends, and not for the concerts of the Association from which the body has derived its origin and its entire support. 4. It has been greatly against us, always from the first, that an orchestra can not be had in Boston for evening concerts, owing to the engagement of the musicians in the theatres. 5. The old limit to our season subscription, expressed in the demand for “best seats or none”, is still felt. 6. But doubtless our concerts have suffered most through the comparison, which has been so frequently and persistently forced upon us, between the execution of our own imperfect orchestra, made up every winter for these few occasions, and the remarkably brilliant and thoroughly trained orchestra of Mr. Thomas which, by traversing the States, is kept in practice the entire year round. It has had the effect to create differences of musical taste and opinion even among our own members. It has divided the support which Boston could give to orchestral concerts, never much more than sufficient for a single series. And there have been speculators enough, finding nothing for them to speculate upon in concerts like ours given purely in the interest of Art, who have been ever ready to employ this formidable rival as often as possible for our discouragement, and not over‐scrupulous in means, fostering jealousies and enmities on the part of critics of the press particularly. But it is useless to enlarge upon a matter so well understood.
The next bulletin, if and when issued, will probably conclude the detailed story of the seventeen seasons, since again most of Mr. Dwight’s later annual reports are lost, strayed, or stolen, and not much more can be recorded beyond the financial figures, their melancholy story being a faint handwriting on the wall which eventually became strong and significant. Not financial weakness alone, however, was the cause of the demise of the Harvard Orchestra; an entirely new factor entered into the field of orchestral music in Boston.
* * * * The story of the astonishing National Jubilee, held in Boston in 1869, was narrated in the last
bulletin. The story of the World or International Jubilee, held in Boston in 1872, is narrated in this bulletin. It was far bigger and busier than the National Jubilee but not better, at least from a financial consideration, for although the first Jubilee closed with a small surplus this second Jubilee ended with figures in the red.
Before narrating the fortunes and misfortunes of the World Jubilee however, a few corrections for the sake of historical accuracy should be recorded anent the National Jubilee, and a few journalistic comments added. For instance, the Board of Aldermen did not, as was recorded in the bulletin narrative, rescind their vote to permit the Coliseum to be erected on the Common. Like city fathers before then and since they stuck to their guns. It was the National Jubilee Association, disturbed at the wide and vehement public outcry against such “desecration,” which hurriedly bowed to the clamor and chose
instead St. James Park, suggested by Gilmore. Again, Gilmore, who gave various statistics in his published account of the National Jubilee, made no mention of the actual number in the children’s chorus. Twenty thousand school children, the modest number planned, were not assembled. Various accounts put the number as 10,000, 8,000, 6,000. You may take your choice but it does not matter. What ever the number, it implies much wearisome preliminary training, let alone satisfactory management and control of so many small people on the day of their concert.
Journalistic accounts of this National Jubilee were not confined to local newspapers; the Jubilee was widely reviewed. Recorded here are certain of these reviews, of interest because they give the outsider’s reaction and they appear to be evidently fair and unprejudiced. Dwight, in his Dwight’s Journal, gave pages to it in several issues. The enormousness of the project alone was enough to create widespread public interest. The astonishing success of performances by such immense numbers in the chorus and in the orchestra, with the novel accompaniment of bells and cannon, was unexpected and consequently surprising.
The first review of several reviews selected is by Dwight in his Journal issue of August 26, 1869. It may be remembered that Dwight pronounced the project as a “monstrosity”, an outrageous offense against “true Art.” Naturally, therefore, however correct his criticisms may be, the pen that wrote them was guided by a mind indignant and outraged.
. . . while the accuracy of time and excellence of tune which the 10,000 voices exhibited, were greater than
had been feared, the volume of sound given forth was exceedingly small in proportion to the number, and therefore the Festival, in this respect, was a failure. . . . Now that the glamour of Jubilee has passed away, and the result of the Festival can be considered from a purely musical view, we can easily see that the failure results not from imperfectness of execution, but from an attempt to combat the simple laws of nature.
The voices of two men cannot be heard farther than the voice of one man. This is the simple explanation of the failure. Within the limits of sound, near enough for the ear to readily and effectively hear a single voice, an added volume of tone of the same calibre tends to increase the sensation in the ear; but when the limits of hearing have been reached, a thousand added voices are no more discernible than one. They all fall short at the same point that one did…
The size of the Coliseum is such as to include or nearly include the limits of an ordinary voice. Mme. Parepa, with a strong, telling voice, standing nearly one‐third of the length of the building from one end, was clearly heard, and just heard, at the other end of the building. It was noticed that at the opposite balcony the eight voices which sang the “Inflammatus” made scarcely any more effect than Mme. Parepa did alone. The forty voices which sang the solos in “The Heavens are telling” sounded like a weak quartet. The fifty trumpets were scarcely more sonorous at the same distance than one. The two hundred violins were no more telling than those of an ordinary Music Hall orchestra, and not nearly so pungent in quality of tone. The great chorus was just heard in the piano passages, and in the loudest bursts was not so voluminous as the ordinary Handel and Haydn choruses in the Music Hall. The great organ sounded as a common church organ does to one passing by in the street . . . the Coliseum, which was very inartistically contrived to reinforce and continue the sound made by the performers. Instead of a continuous arch, which would gather the sound and reflect it, the roof was broken into an inclined plane over the galleries, and an upright chimney in the centre, perforated with open windows. The gallery ceilings were covered with cotton cloth, from which depended, at regular distances, curtains of the same, effectually cutting off and smothering the tone which might have been carried along by resonant surfaces. The body of the building was hung with flags, stretching across and absolutely hiding the choristers from those in the corridors. All this, instead of assisting the distant voices, added to the normal hindrances to their being heard. Those on the floor were so low that the mass of tone rose far above them, leaking out at the many open windows and losing itself in space.
We have been speaking throughout of the natural and artificial hindrances to the success anticipated, of the causes why the voices of 10,000 singers sounded so faintly in the Coliseum. But we cannot omit to commend the chorus heartily for what it did, for its accuracy of time and tune, and to ascribe the highest praise to Mr. Zerrahn for the masterly way in which he led his vocal forces.
The Springfield Republican carried a long review of the jubilee from which article comes the following extract.
It would have been marvellous, indeed, if such an immense undertaking had shown results wholly without
blemish; and the brilliant meed of success which was secured was scarcely less marvellous in view of all the untoward circumstances.
In the first place the Coliseum, with its roomy accommodations for thirty or forty thousand persons, is really much too large for a concert room. Sounds which would elsewhere be deafening are perfectly harmless there; and hundreds who attended the jubilee hoping to be stunned were more or less disappointed, except when the “big guns” came in. The popular impression that eight thousand singers can produce eight times as much noise as one thousand was pretty thoroughly exploded. In fact the eight [ten] thousand voices in the Coliseum gave hardly as loud an account of themselves as the eight hundred in the Music Hall at the last Handel and Haydn festival. For this, of course, the Coliseum is really to blame. But the New York critics, who deify Noise, charge the fault on the chorus and even complain that Mr. Gilmore’s cannonading wasn’t very loud!. . .
The inference which every close observer must have drawn from the jubilee concerts is that, while such a great congregation of singers can be used most effectively for choral music and for such stately‐moving compositions as Handel’s “Hallelujah chorus” it is impracticable to attempt much else with them. There is a limit in numbers beyond which the best‐drilled chorus becomes unwieldy and easily liable to get beyond the conductor’s control. Whether that limit is one thousand singers or five thousand is by no means plain, but the chorus at the Boston jubilee over‐reached it. Besides, when so many as four or five thousand singers are assembled, the addition of as many more will not, strange as it may seem, add any very appreciable amount to the volume of their tone, while it will inevitably make the whole mass in a degree uncontrollable, and insomuch endanger the musical effect. It was really no fault of the chorus last week that they so often fell behind the more pliant and ductile orchestra. No finer body of singers could be assembled anywhere; certainly no city in America can call together such a glorious chorus, and the New Yorkers, much as they sneer at Boston, know that as well as any one. . . . There is an indescribable sense of immensity—not mere immensity of noise—in the harmonious massing and unity of a great number of voices. It is a sublime suggestion of the infinite, such as no other combination in music can give. And in this respect the greater the host the grander the result.
The choral successes of the festival were due in a very great degree to the magnificently powerful Organ, whose tone buoyed up the voices and added immeasurably to the grandeur of the combined effects. No number of orchestral instruments could have performed this office so well, and the singers’ voices, many as they were, would have sounded weak in extreme parts of the Coliseum without its aid.
The orchestra was excellent—rather, would have been elsewhere than in that Mammoth Cave. The most delicate instrumental effects were absolutely lost in its vast expanse. A room of such dimensions is no place for performing the best class of orchestral compositions, although more dashing and tumultuous martial music was given there with unbounded vim and startling effect. We find no fault with Mr. Gilmore because he made works of this kind so prominent in his programme; he was shrewd enough to know that a great popular success, such as he sought and won, could he obtained only by the performance of popular music, and he improved the opportunity to let the masses hear at the same time works of unquestioned merit—the acknowledged classics of the art. In this popularization of music, and in the sharp impulse given to musical education in New England, and, in a degree, throughout the country, the jubilee will have wide‐reaching and beneficent results.
The New York Tribune, which had written in scathing terms of the Jubilee when it was first
proposed, condescended to review the whole affair in its editorial columns. Gathering up the sober opinions of wise men upon the great Boston feast, now that the noise has died away,
and hot blood has cooled, and angry editors have ceased to beat the air, we ask ourselves no longer whether Boston and Gilmore have really attained the glory for which they looked, but whether the prize was worth the winning. For with all its comical aspects—and there surely were enough of them—the Jubilee was a pretty serious affair, a magnificent gathering of enthusiasm, which is too valuable a force to be wasted. . . . But it was something more than a concert, and we think upon the whole it must do good. It will go far toward familiarizing the people with the higher kinds of music, and weaning them from the unwholesome theatrical stimulants which have so much
corrupted the public taste. It will be felt by a class of persons whom the ordinary concert does not reach, because they never go to it. It may perhaps popularize musical festivals in this country such as are frequent in Germany and other parts of Europe. It will certainly promote the formation of permanent choral societies, especially among the men and women who sang in the great Jubilee chorus. . .
We have said that the Jubilee could have been organized nowhere but in Boston. A great orchestra can be collected by anybody who has the money to pay for it; but a great chorus, in the present condition of American musical culture, is impossible except in the capital of New England. Boston has the best chorus leader in the United States,—a gentleman who does not confine his labors to that city, but exerts them all through the towns of Eastern Massachusetts and some of the neighboring States, and who had personally trained about one‐third of all the ten thousand singers. This was a great help, but it was not all. Children in Boston learn music with their alphabet. Singing by note—not the mere screaming of tunes— is taught in the most thorough and systematic manner in all the public schools. This is why Boston has such magnificent choruses; and shall we not say that the charming good order, good temper, and enthusiasm which were so conspicuous in the motley crowd that overflowed the Coliseum were also attributable in no small degree to the refining and elevating influence of an early musical education. Here New York and all the great cities of America may find their lesson of the Jubilee.
The New York Sun also printed a long article written in a serious vein in praise of the enterprise,
and certain portions are of interest. The results of so great an undertaking as that just concluded at Boston, deserve to be carefully weighed. . . .
The immense numbers engaged in it, and their culture and intellectual standing are alone sufficient to give the affair dignity. Aside from this, it is freighted with great consequences to American art, and its lessons should be thoroughly studied. . . . One good result that is likely to be gained by it is a recognition of American art. Heretofore America has had no standing in the musical art‐world. England has looked down on us. Germany has supposed that no festival could be given here except by her Sängerbunds. Italy and France have recognized for us no higher possibilities than the production of their operas. At one step, without any preliminaries without more special preparation than could he crowded into a few weeks, we have lifted ourselves, so far as great musical art gatherings are concerned, to an artistic level with these nations. Hereafter, when the noted musical festivals of the world are enumerated, not only will it not be possible to ignore America, but she must head the list. The journals of Europe, heretofore silent on all questions concerning our musical art, are now called upon to tell their surprised readers that the largest gathering of singers and players ever brought together has just been held in the United States.
The enterprise has been conceived and executed on a scale in keeping with the vastness of the country, with the breadth and largeness of the American methods, and with the expedition and fearlessness that characterize all our attempts in untried fields of effort. It challenged the attention of the world by the magnitude and daring of the scheme proposed, and must now command its respect by the manner in which it has been accomplished. If it has done for us no more than this, it has done enough.
But it has done more. It has shown that our people can think of something beyond mechanical inventions and the almighty dollar, and it has given earnest of a noble musical future for America. The great chorus which did the work of the first four days demonstrated this; but confirming it was the astonishing fact that when they withdrew there were still ten thousand children ready to step directly into their places, and possessing the ability to sing almost as well as their elders.
And here let us give New England the credit that is due her. Thanks to the excellent training in the rudiments of music which is part of her common school education, and the very general cultivation there given to chorus singing, by far the greater part of the immense army of vocalists who took part in the Jubilee were from the Eastern States.
These reviews may well close with an excerpt from an article by William Dean Howells. Howells was of the literary profession; Editor of the Atlantic Monthly; a well known writer of novels of the so‐called Realistic School, a good example of which and still readable (it has been narrated over the radio) is his Rise of Silas Lapham.
I had the good fortune on the morning of this first Jubilee day to view the interior of the Coliseum when there was scarcely anybody there,—a trifle of ten thousand singers at one end, and a few thousand other people scattered about over the wide expanses of parquet and galleries. The decorations within, as without, were a pleasure to the eyes that love gayety of color; and the interior was certainly magnificent, with those long lines of white and blue drapery roofing the balconies, the slim, lofty columns festooned with flags and drooping banners, the arms of the States decking the fronts of the galleries, and the arabesques of painted muslin everywhere. I do not know that my taste concerned itself with the decorations, or that I have any taste in such things; but I testify that these tints and draperies gave no small part of the comfort of being where all things conspired for one’s pleasure. The airy amplitude of the building, the perfect order and the perfect freedom of movement, the ease of access and exit, the completeness of the arrangements that in the afternoon gave all of us thirty thousand spectators a chance to behold the great spectacle as well as to hear the music, were felt, I am sure, as personal favors by everyone. . .
The choral and orchestral thousands sang and piped and played; and at a given point in the scéna from Verdi, a hundred fairies in red shirts marched down through the sombre mass of puppets and beat upon as many invisible anvils.
This was the stroke of anti‐climax; and the droll sound of those anvils, so far above all the voices and instruments in its pitch, thoroughly disillusioned you and restored you finally to your proper entity and proportions. It was the great error of the great Jubilee, and where almost everything else was noble and impressive,—where the direction was faultless, and the singing and instrumentation as perfectly controlled as if they were the result of one volition,—this anvil‐beating was alone ignoble and discordant,—trivial and huge merely. Not even the artillery accompaniment, in which the cannon were made to pronounce words of two syllables, was so bad.
* * * *
*THE WORLD’S PEACE JUBILEE AND
INTERNATIONAL MUSICAL FESTIVAL
Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, whose famous band was known throughout the States, was a musician of parts. He was also a capable businessman, with vision, initiative, persistence, and courage. It was these qualities which in part laid the foundation of the success of the National Jubilee. He had what President Eliot was always looking for in others—constructive imagination. Almost before the close of the National Jubilee his imagination envisaged a bigger, busier, better festival. But unfortunately this second festival, in 1872, was a horse of another color. (Interesting enough, this “saying,” its origin unknown, can be traced back several centuries. It was undoubtedly used in today’s meaning in the days of Shakespere. He used it, worded a little differently, in Twelfth Night in the phrase “a horse of the same color.” The meaning must have been well known to his audiences). The monstrous horse of the first festival was, financially, black in color. The elephantine horse of this second festival was, alas, red in color. It is the purpose in this article to narrate, as far as space permits, the chief features in the birth, the life, and the prolonged demise of this red horse.
The first Jubilee was not over, when Mr. Gilmore began to think of the project of holding another, which
should be as much grander than the Jubilee of 1869, as that had exceeded all previous musical festivals. For two years he labored alone, maturing his plans. At length, in the fall of 1871, he made the first preliminary announcement of his project. It was, of course, received with something of coldness and incredulity. The public, which had seen the magnificent triumph of 1869, and had participated in it, could not, at first, be brought to believe that any further increase in the size of the building and in the number of performers was practicable. But Mr. Gilmore’s energy and enthusiasm had conquered the indifference and disbelief before, and they were still equal to the contest. There was no such word as “fail.” He proceeded with his plans as calmly as if they were seconded enthusiastically by the entire community, instead of by a few faithful friends only. His confidence in the success of the second Jubilee was infectious. Offers of assistance and suggestions soon came from numerous quarters. But Mr. Gilmore had determined that, before he asked support in his grand scheme, he would lay a basis for such requests; he would make
*The chief sources for the story of the World’s Peace Jubilee are a handbook published by James R. Osgood & Co., 1872, the Boston newspapers, and portions of Gilmore’s personal account.
engagements that would prove the claim of the festival to the designation of International. With this view, Mr. Gilmore made a visit to Europe, which extended over several months. His object was to interest the governments of Europe in his project, and to secure permission for their great military bands to come to Boston and take part in the festival. Everywhere he was received with the utmost cordiality, and on every hand secured valuable co‐operation in his gigantic scheme. In London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Dresden, and other chief cities where he went to consult government officials and leading musicians, he was listened to with the greatest attention, and his propositions looking towards a representation of the several nations at the festival were readily responded to. He returned to America early in December, and was welcomed most cordially by his large and already rapidly‐growing circle of friends interested in the Jubilee of 1872.
“I met [wrote Gilmore] with every success in England; though there were, of course, delays attendant upon my exertions. On arriving in London, I went direct to the American legation, and presented my letters, one of which, as you may remember, was from the President, in which he heartily indorsed my scheme, and asked the co‐operation of the representatives of this country abroad. Gen. Schenck was absent; but every attention was paid to me by Mr. Moran, the Secretary of the legation. He was greatly impressed with the magnitude of the undertaking, and entered into its promotion with commendable spirit, and placed me in the proper channels to bring it before the English officials. Accordingly I was introduced to Mr. Cardwell, the Secretary of War, and laid my plans and official letters before him. From the outset, a favorable ear was given me: but, coming to the matter of granting the use of a band, great objections arose, the foremost of those being that no precedent existed for such a step, and that there was, furthermore, a possibility in the absence of all international laws to insure their return, that, the moment the band was on American soil, members, if they saw fit, might bid farewell to the English service. . . .
“In Paris, my success was not complete, and this from the fact that the military bands of the nation were undergoing re‐organization after the war, and in the gay capital of the French nation military music appeared to be in a somewhat chaotic state; most of the bands having become depleted by casualties. I received through our minister, Mr. Washburne a letter from the French Minister of War, regretting that such was the case, and affording me no encouragement; but since then I am happy to say that I have received information that an effort will be made to have France properly represented at the Jubilee. . . .
“I called upon our minister at Brussels, Mr. Jones, who at once took up the matter in the most earnest manner; and, having consulted with the proper Belgian authorities, he assured me that he had no doubt whatever f Belgium contributing its best band. . . .
“My first visit on reaching Berlin was paid to Mr. George Bancroft, for years the American minister to Prussia. Through his kindness the matter was brought to the notice of the proper authorities. A few days subsequently he informed me that he had spoken with that great soldier, Von Moltke, who gave the idea his hearty indorsement. Mr. Bancroft felt quite pleased at imparting to me this information, and took immediate steps to place the matter in proper train, he having received suggestions from Von Moltke as to the necessary proceedings to take. He desired me to draw up a memorial to the Emperor, inasmuch as, after the matter had been passed upon by the war authorities, it would be necessary to receive the indorsement of His Imperial Majesty. . . .
“At Vienna I met our minister, Mr. John Jay, who authorized his secretary of legation, Mr. John F. Delaplane, not only to commend the matter to the Austrian authorities, but to accompany me in person, and give me an official introduction to them. We called upon Baron Schwartz, the general manager of the great Austrian Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, which is to be holden in Vienna in 1873. . . . The baron took a reciprocal view of the Jubilee, and indorsed the idea.”
An important matter, naturally, was placing the project on a sound financial basis. Subscription
books for a guaranty fund were opened and subscriptions were obtained with less difficulty than Gilmore experienced for the National Jubilee. In a comparatively short time the entire sum of two hundred thousand dollars was subscribed. This amount seemed sufficient to insure the guarantors against loss.
Almost equally important was the choice of officers, men of prominence and integrity, and the personnel on many committees. The Hon. Alexander H. Rice was elected President during his absence in Europe; on his return he declined firmly to serve and the office was not filled. Gilmore was captioned as Projector and Advisory Director. Eben D. Jordan consented to be Treasurer as he had been in the National Jubilee. Henry G. Parker was Secretary. Twelve committees were appointed: Executive, Finance, Ticket,
Building, Decoration, Music, Invitation and Reception, Transportation, Printing, Reception of the Press, and a General Committee of 200, headed by Governor William B. Washburn and Mayor William Gaston. The Jubilee Ball was handled by Director‐in‐Chief Col. William V. Hutchings, assisted by 35 Marshalls and Ball Committees for Invited Guests, Seats, Dances, Decorations and Floor, Police, Carriages, Badges, Coat Room, and Refreshments. There were 144 Floor Managers. The Press headquarters contained many accommodations and conveniences. The room was 105 feet long and 50 feet wide; the walls hung with a collection of Prang’s loaned chromos; five writing‐tables 25 feet long, 5 feet wide; twelve instruments in the telegraph office, the wires connecting with lines all over America and Europe. In short, all the working machinery was well organized.
Invitations to take part in the chorus were cast right and left. To form the Grand Chorus the members of at least 165 choral societies from near and far applied; they were auditioned more or less and the rejected songsters were vehement in outcries. This chorus was to consist of 20,000 voices. In the end there were 17,282, consisting of 5115 sopranos, 4258 altos, 3592 tenors, 4317 basses. This number, however, was not the complete total. To it must be added the auxiliaries (reported to number nearly as many), the professional Operatic Chorus, and the Bouquet of Artists. This Bouquet consisted of carefully selected voices among the leading solo singers of the country, 175 in all, whose honored function was to sing in unison the music designed for solo rendition. In charge of all these voices was again Superintendent Dr. Eben Tourjeé, who once more accomplished with magnificent result a very tedious, wearisome, and detailed job.
The Grand Orchestra numbered 1000; the American and foreign bands increased that number to a total of nearly 2000 musicians. They represented 36 American cities and included London. Again J. Thomas Baldwin capably performed the job of organization.
There were certain special instruments. The Great Organ, built by Messrs. J. H. Wilcox & Co. of Boston, was double in capacity that of the National Jubilee organ. Eight pumps, controlled by Brayton’s ready motor, a new gas engine, supplied the needed air. The Great Organ numbered 15 stops; the Swell Organ 7 stops; the Pedal Organ 7, one being the Megalophonia of 32 feet, “the only one in the country.” There were also, of course, the usual couplers and levers.
The Great Drum was enormous in its proportions and such a curiosity that, like its twin brother in 1869, it was exhibited in public.
The great drum is so gigantic in its proportions as to deserve mention. Its various parts are as follows: the shell, or outer part, is made in three sections, of rock‐maple boards one‐eighth of an inch in thickness; each section being fastened to the other with copper bolts and glue. Six hundred feet of one inch Manilla rope, and seventy‐eight drum‐ears are required to put the monster in proper trim for use. Messrs. Woodman and Williams of Farmington, Me., are the builders of the wood‐work of the instrument. The heads are constructed of cowhide. The ornamentation of the heads is very elaborate and handsome. On one are the coats‐of‐arms of all the European nations, circumscribing a centre‐piece containing a handsomely embellished scroll with the words “Universal Peace.” Beneath this is the American eagle, holding in his beak the motto, in gilt letters, “E Pluribus Unum,” and in his talons the shield of America intertwined with laurel. On the “beacon” head of the drum, the outer ring of ornamentation consists of the coats‐of‐arms of the thirteen original States of America, and beneath these the shields of those that have since been admitted into the Union, encircling a centre scroll containing the words “Let us have Peace.” Under this scroll is painted a white dove bearing the olive‐branch, and beneath the dove are the flags of various nations intwined by laurel. The drum is twelve feet in diameter, thirty‐six feet in circumference, and weighs nearly six hundred pounds.
One hundred anvils, varying in weight from 100 to 300 0unds, were imported from Birmingham expressly for the Jubilee and were whanged lustily by 100 selected members of the Boston Fire Department in the Anvil Chorus and in any musical selection where added noise and uproar could increase the auditors’ excitement and cause chasing thrills up and down their spines. The cannon and the bells were the same in number and position as at the National Jubilee and they too added excitement and
more thrills with their explosive booms and discordant clanging. As is so painfully evident today, audiences longed more for quantity than quality of sound.
All the Jubilee performers were under the control (when they had it) of the various conductors, the outside noises better controlled under the literal thumb of the conductor, who had only to press electric buttons on his desk for their cues, than those choristers under his baton, which at times they could not see and occasionally declined to see. At times Zerrahn ran frantically up and down the chorus aisles in an attempt to persuade the vocal choirs to keep together, while the orchestra continued blithely on its way, oblivious of any vocal partner. There were occasional resemblances to the race between the hare and the tortoise. However, they all managed to reach the home plate at the same time and if the plate were a fortissimo the applause was deafening.
On the podium and in turn stood four conductors. Of Patrick S. Gilmore nothing now needs to be said. Of Carl Zerrahn it should be necessary only to remind readers of his reputation—and engagement—as a choral trainer and director throughout New England, and of his reputation as an orchestral conductor, greatly increased by seventeen seasons with the Harvard Orchestra. Johann Strauss and Franz Abt need only the statement of their names. While these men attained recognition and journalistic mention for their services, too scant credit was given the man who had by far the most difficult job, one far out of the limelight, continuing constantly for weeks, days and evenings, in various places, nerve wracking, wearisome, perplexing, and discouraging. This was Eben Tourjeé, best remembered as the founder of the New England Conservatory of Music, who assembled and trained these thousands of voices.
There was a number of bands, and those from foreign lands were the drawing cards Gilmore hoped they would be. The English Grenadier Band, founded hundreds of years ago, the personnel of young men numbering—at that time—fifty‐eight, was one of the three celebrated bands in England, the other two being the Coldstream and the Scotts Fusileers. The Kaiser Franz Garde‐Grenadier, of sixty members and each one a skilled soloist, was connected with the oldest and best regiment in the Prussian service. Both this band and the regiment, because of the discipline and efficiency of the members, were held in high esteem. The French band, attached to the Garde Republicaine, a celebrated regiment of some 3000 men, had taken the first prize at the International Exposition of 1867, and in 1871 had given a series of concerts in London with marked success. Although only these three bands, instead of the greater number advertised, came from over seas the quality made up for the quantity. Their performances as well as their unusual regalia aroused applause loud and long.
The American Bands were from New England States, though one was from Troy, New York, and the most prominent one, the United States Marine Band, was from Washington. There were 28 of these Bands, twelve of them from Boston. Whether they equalled the foreign bands in quality of performance may be a question but not so in quantity of personnel. The list included 608 performers on brass instruments.
Exceptionally fine and widely renowned were three of the soloists. Mme. Peschka‐Leutner, a native of Vienna, young and attractive, was well known in the musical centres of Europe. Her soprano voice was distinguished for its remarkable strength, purity, and evenness. Its compass was unusual—from middle tones usually allotted to contraltos to G flat in alt. This astonishing range was an octave above the range of Nilsson. Mme. Hermine Rudersdorff, a Russian, had had a brilliant career abroad as a concert singer, appearing by request before the crowned heads of Europe, admired particularly by the Empress Louise, with whom the singer was on friendly social terms. Arabella Goddard was an exceptionally fine pianist; she had been enthusiastically received on concert tours through Europe; she had played before Queen Victoria, the King of Belgium, and the Crown Princess of Prussia; for some ten years she had been considered the leading pianist in England. Franz Bendel was the least known. He had lived in Berlin and been appointed court pianist. Perhaps the most known of him—if it was known—is found in a quotation: “He can play from memory, at two hours’ notice [sic] all of Beethoven’s sonatas and
four concertos, all of Chopin’s and all of Schumann’s works, Schubert’s best known piano works, all of Liszt’s fantasies, and his own works, which are by no means few in number”. Some feat—this; an astonishing reputation which, perhaps, needs a little salt for satisfactory assimilation.
So, elegantly accoutered, with every piece of his equipment of the very best, the quality of each without peer (although some pieces were super‐quantity to an unmanageable degree) the elephantine red horse was led forth on June 17, 1872, before enraptured spectators and listeners to begin a performance lasting twenty days. He performed in the new Coliseum.
This Coliseum, erected on the site of the former one in St. James Park, was larger, more elaborate in design and architecturally, in the Italian style, more attractive. To recognize this one has only to compare the photographs in this bulletin with those in the preceding issue. The architect was William G. Preston. The city fathers not only granted the land rent free for a year but agreed to construct bridges over the railroad tracks on Huntington Avenue and what was then Newton Street. Erection of the building had to be pushed rapidly and a part of this had been accomplished when, on April 26, a heavy gale demolished it with a loss of about $40,000. The incident caused an advantageous change in the plans and a vote to insure the life of Gilmore for two hundred thousand dollars.
The foundations of this building consisted not of piles but planks four inches thick fastened into platforms eight feet square for the mainposts, which numbered eighty supporting the trussed roof, and a hundred twenty for the lean‐to roof. Two hundred twenty supported the galleries and eighty supported the sills. In all there were five hundred platforms on which the building stood. The trussed roof spanned an intermediate space of two hundred feet. Twenty trusses supported it, each composed of three spans over sixty feet each. Seven octagonal louver turrets, twenty feet in diameter and fifteen feet high, provided ventilation, further provided by forty double windows, five by nineteen feet in the side‐walls, twenty‐four of the same size on the ends, and two semi‐circular windows twenty‐five in diameter. There were many other windows admitting light. Nearly all were given the effect of stained glass by a certain process.
Twelve door‐ways, each twenty‐five feet in width, and six others of smaller dimensions provided for entrance and exit.
The exterior was surmounted with flags and banners. The centre tower was to carry an oriflamme banner of white bunting, fifty feet long, bearing in red letters the words “International Music Festival”; the four corner towers bearing oriflammes twenty‐one feet long; the other towers and turrets flying the flags of various nations. Over each of the three principal entrances a lyre hung surmounted by an eagle of twelve foot spread, the bird painted in oil on wood, tipped in gold, with a green wreath depending from the lyre, which was supported by gilded rosettes. A standard seventy‐five feet high, ornamented with a dove bearing the olive branch, stood on each side of the doors. The word “Peace”, in red letters, was borne on a white oriflamme banner twenty feet long, four and a half wide. The Union shield, in oil on wood, flanked by American flags, hung mid‐way between the standards. The walls of the vestibules were coated with water color in neutral tints, with valances in crimson and gold. Between the braces hung oval armorial shields, festooned with varicolored draperies in tent form. To visualize the exterior from this scanty description is difficult—more so and confusing would have been a fuller description, unnecessary anyway—but imagination can paint an exterior colorful and striking, possibly a bit flamboyant.
The interior was even more ornate, its vastness easily inferred from the photograph. It was amazingly colorful. The entire roof was painted an ethereal blue, and the timber and truss work was in buff or straw color. The supporting columns were light gray. The walls in the clere‐story were of Pompeian or brownish red. From the beams of the trusses at the apex of the nave were suspended horizontal Pompeian rods tipped with large pineapples of gold, from the ends of which hung red, white, and blue festoons. All the nave columns were decorated with pending oriflamme banners of the various nations. Between the columns were medallion portraits of the composers of all nations, alternating with
heraldic emblems, arms, and crests of all nations. Above the organ was an allegorical painting, semi‐circular in form, containing the clock‐dial, six feet in diameter. The painting represented one of the Nine Muses, and on respective sides were representations of morning and evening. This Muse was eighteen feet in height; and the whole width of the picture was sixty‐eight feet.
The large central window at the west end was not decorated, but on one side was an enormous
painting of the Genii of Peace and on the other side an equally large painting representing America. The former was a male figure, the white dove of peace escaping from his right hand palm held aloft, a laurel‐ branch held in his left hand. The female figure, typical of America, held in her right hand an olive branch and in her left the Roman fasces. At the foot of each figure, with other emblems, was the American eagle. Inserted in the panels of the front of the great balcony was a vermillion colored cloth, ornamented with heavy gold scroll work of antique design. The railing of the balcony was covered with brilliant terry to match. Other woodwork about the balcony front was covered with fresco in neutral colors.
Again the imagination, even if somewhat confused, can picture an interior dazzingly ornate, with its overabundance of flags, banners, bunting and what‐not. The eye may have been pleased but the ear was less satisfactorily served. For, judging from certain journalistic reviews, the music did not “reverberate through the arches with full effect”.
In this enormous and overdecorated building, before an audience that on some occasions filled all of the seats and on other occasions left some empty, the elephantine red horse performed, sometimes uncontrolled and in a wild and disconcerting manner, from June 17 to July 6, inclusive. Perhaps he was at his best behaviour on June 26, when was present the President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant, who repeated his visit at the National Jubilee.
To the present moment the writer can find no report on the expenditures and the receipts and consequently these figures cannot be recorded. He has sought for these in every source he can think of or
that has been suggested. Naturally they were assembled but possibly the authorities considered that discretion advised against their publicity. However, there was a deficit and this was met by $100,000 from the guarantors.
So, finally, fell the curtain on two remarkable affairs in the musical world. For seventy‐eight years, undisturbed, it has gathered dust, and should it ever rise again it is not likely to reveal a scene of such a colossal nature. Yet, withal, this scene, revealed to a much wider audience than the local one, may have been an inspiration to this wider audience, in places unknown, and the inspiration itself may have greatly stimulated the cultivation of music in schools and in communities. And that, perchance, is the best epitaph.
The programmes in many respects were truly marvellous. These programmes, as well as those of
the National Jubilee in the previous bulletin, are presented as printed and distributed to the audiences. They were compiled by several persons, perhaps in some haste or confusion or ignorance of composers and their compositions, and the writer is not responsible for any whimsical variations of fact. He is aware, for instance, that, as announced in the National Jubilee programmes, three different composers did not write an overture to Tannhäuser. It is now, however, too late to visit on their heads the sins of these programme compilers.
These programmes stated what was to be performed but as a matter of fact there were many substitutions. Encores were constant, demanded by an audience that clapped and stamped and shouted its approval. The demonstrated enthusiasm of the large crowds did “reverberate through the arches”.
MONDAY, JUNE 17, 1872 (Great National Day) Preliminary Exercises
1. Prayer, By REV. PHILLIPS BROOKS. 2. Address of Welcome, By HON. WILLIAM GASTON. (Mayor of Boston) 3. Inaugural Oration, By GEN. NATHANIEL P. BANKS.
PART I
1. GRAND CHORAL. “Old One Hundred” Franc. Full Chorus, Organ and Orchestra 2. OVERTURE. “Rienzi” Wagner. Grand Orchestra 3. CHORUS, “Damascus”, Grand Triumphal March, from Oratorio of “Naaman”, Costa. Full Chorus and Orchestra 4. PIANO SOLO, Grand Fantasia, “The Skating Ballet”, from Meyerbeer’s “Le Prophete”, Liszt. Performed by Herr Franz Bendel, the Eminent German Pianist. (His first appearance in America) 5. FOUR PART SONG, “Farewell to the Forest” Mendelssohn. Grand Chorus (unaccompanied) 6. INFLAMMATUS, Stabat Mater, Rossini. Solo by Mme. Erminia Rudersdorff. Accompanied by the Full Chorus, Organ and Orchestra 7. SEXTETTE, from Lucia di Lammermoor, “Chi ma Frena”, Donizetti. Sung by the “Bouquet of Artists” with Orchestral accompaniment.
PART II
8. GRAND SELECTION of Favorite Airs of England and America, Haydarech. Performed by the United States Marine Band of Washington, Henry Fries, Director. [The Marine Band attends the Jubilee by permission of the United States Government.] 9. NATIONAL AIR, “Star Spangled Banner,” Key.
Full chorus, with Organ, Orchestra, Military Bands, Bell and Cannon Accompaniment. Solo in Third Stanza sung by Mrs. Julia Houston West.
10. GRAND CONCERT WALTZ “On the Beautiful Blue Danube,” Strauss. Performed by the Grand Orchestra, conducted by the renowned composer and director, Herr Johann Strauss, of Vienna. [His first appearance in America.] 11. GRAND SCENA, from Il Trovatore: “Anvil Chorus”, Verdi. By Full Chorus, Organ, Orchestra, Military Band, Drum Corps, Anvil, Bell and Cannon Accompaniment. [The one hundred Anvils will be played upon by members of the Boston Fire Department.] 12. CHORUS, “This is the Witness of God,” J. K. Paine. From the now being published Oratorio of St. Peter. Full Chorus, Organ, and Orchestra.
13. HYMN (Bethany) “Nearer, my God, to Thee,” Dr. Lowell Mason. 1st Verse sung by the “Bouquet of Artists”; 2nd Verse by the “Bouquet of Artists” and the Full Chorus; the remaining stanzas by all the voices and instruments combined. The audience are respectfully invited to join.
TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 1872. (English Day.)
PART I.
1. CHORAL. “Now may the Will of God be Done,” Bach. Full Chorus, Organ, and Orchestra 2. OVERTURE. “Leonora,” No. 3, Beethoven. Orchestra. 3. FESTIVAL HYMN, “Peace and Music.” Words and Music by Dudley Buck. Full Chorus and Orchestra. 4. GRAND ARIA from “The Magic Flute,” Mozart. Madame Peschka‐Leutner. 5. FINALE. 3rd Act of Ernani, Verdi. Bouquet of Artists, Professional Operatic Chorus, Full Chorus and Orchestra. 6. PIANO SOLO. Fantasie on “Last Rose of Summer” Thalberg. Madame Arabella Goddard. 7. CHORUS from Woman of Samaria, “Abide with Me,” Bennett. Grand Chorus, Organ and Orchestra.
PART II.
[By special permission of Her Majesty’s Government.]
First appearance of the celebrated Band of the Grenadier Guards of London.
Mr. Dan Godfrey, Band‐Master.
1. BRITISH NATIONAL ANTHEM. “God Save the Queen.” Solo in 3rd verse by Madame Erminia Rudersdorff, with Full Chorus, Band of the Grenadier Guards, Organ, Orchestra, Military Band, Bell, and Cannon Accompaniment. 2. GRAND CONCERT WALTZ, “Wine, Women and Song,” Strauss. Orchestra, conducted by Herr Johann Strauss. 3. SCENA FROM IL TROVATORE, “Anvil Chorus, Verdi. Full Chorus, Organ, Orchestra, Military Bands, 100 Anvils, and Cannon Accompaniment. 4. ROMANZA. “L’Eclair,” Halevey. 1st Verse, Sopranos in Unison; 2nd Verse, Sopranos and Tenors in Unison; Flute, Oboe, and Violoncello, obligato, and Full Orchestral Accompaniment.
5. CHORUS. FROM “ELIJAH.” “He Watching over Israel,” Mendelssohn. Full Chorus and Orchestra. 6. MISSIONARY HYMN. “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains,” Mason. 1st Verse by Bouquet of Artists; 2nd Verse by Full Chorus; Audience will please join in 3rd Verse.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 1872. (German Day.)
PART I.
1. CHORAL. A Strong Castle is our Lord, Luther. Chorus and Orchestra. 2. OVERTURE to “Tannhauser,” Wagner. Orchestra. 3. CHORUS from ELIJAH. “Yet doth the Lord,” Mendelssohn. Chorus and Orchestra. 4. ARIA E VARIE, Proch. Madame Peschka‐Leutner. 5. CHORUS. “All we like Sheep.” Messiah, Handel. Chorus and Orchestra. 6. GRAND CONCERT WALTZ. Strauss. Conducted by Herr Johann Strauss. 7. PIANO SOLO. Herr Franz Bendel. 8. FANTASIA ON THEMES. From Meyerbeer’s “Le Prophete,” Wieprecht. [By special permission of Emperor William I, of Germany.]
First appearance in America of the Band of KAISER FRANZ GRENADIER REGIMENT, of Germany Herr Heinrich Saro, Leader
PART II.
1. GERMAN UNION HYMN, Keller.
[Composed expressly for and Dedicated to William I, Emperor of Germany.] Chorus, Organ, Orchestra, and Military Bands.
[By special permission of the Emperor of Germany.] 2. CORNET QUARTETTE. Selected. By the Emperor’s Quartette of Soloists. First appearance in America. 3. SCENA FROM LES HUGUENOTS.—”Benediction des Poignards.” Meyerbeer. Professional Operatic Chorus, and Full Chorus, with Organ and Orchestral Accompaniment. 4. “WHEN THE SWALLOWS HOMEWARD FLY.” Abt. For Soprano Solo, Sopranos and Tenors in unison, and Full Chorus. Directed by Franz Abt, the Eminent German Composer.
5. SCENA FROM “IL TROVATORE”“Anvil Chorus,” Verdi. Full chorus, with Organ, Orchestra, Military Bands, Anvil and Cannon Accompaniment. 6. HYMN. Kingdoms and Thrones. (Hamburg.) Gregorian.
Chorus, Organ, and Orchestra. The audience are requested to join in singing the 3rd verse.
THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1872. (French Day.)
1. GLORIA, FROM “TWELFTH MASS,” Mozart. Chorus, Organ and Orchestra. 2. FESTIVAL OVERTURE, Leutner. Orchestra. 3. ARIA, “Let the Bright Seraphim—(Samson)” Handel. Madame Erminia Rudersdorff. [Trumpet Obligato by Mr. M. Arbuckle.] 4. SCENA “Anvil Chorus,” Verdi. Chorus, Organ and Orchestra. 5. GRAND CONCERT WALTZ. “1001 Nights,” Strauss. Orchestra. Conducted by Herr Johann Strauss. 6. CHORUS. “The Heavens are Telling (Creation),” Haydn. Chorus, Organ, and Orchestra. 7. PIANO SOLO. Grand International Fantasia. Arranged and performed by Mr. James M. Wehli.
PART III. OVERTURE “William Tell,” Rossini. (Flute Solo by M. Elie; Oboe Solo by M. Bouler.) By the Band of the Garde Republicaine, of Paris, M. Paulus, Leader.
[By special permission of the French Government.] 1. FRENCH NATIONAL HYMN, “Le Marseillaise,” Chorus, Organ, Bands and Orchestra. 2. GRAND ARIA E VARIE. (By request.) Proch. Madame Peschka‐Leutner. 3. SCENA FROM FAUST (Soldier’s Chorus.) Gounod.
Operatic Chorus, Full Chorus, and Orchestra. 4. NAZARETH, Solo and Chorus, Gounod. Baritone Solo by Bouquet of Artists. Full Chorus and Orchestra. 5. HYMN. “Watchman, Tell us of the Night,” Dr. Lowell Mason.
The audience are requested to join in 2nd and 3rd verses.
FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 1872. (Austrian Day.)
1. NATIONAL HYMN. “Angel of Peace,” Keller. Words by Dr. O. W. Holmes.
Chorus, Organ, Orchestra and Bands. 2. OVERTURE. “Kaiser,” Westmayer. [Dedicated to the Emperor Francis Joseph I. of Austria.] Orchestra. 3. CHORUS. “See, the Conquering Hero Comes.” Judas Maccabeus, Handel. Chorus and Orchestra. 4. GRAND ARIA. (Selected.) Madame Peschka‐Leutner. 5. SOLO FOR CORNET. “7th Air e varie,” De Beriot. Mr. M. Arbuckle. 6. CONCERT WALTZ. “Kunster Leben,” Strauss. Orchestra. Conducted by Herr Johann Strauss.
PART II
1. a. OVERTURE. “Semiramide,” Rossini. b. SELECTION. Reminiscences of Meyerbeer Selected from Le Prophete, Les Huguenots, Robert le Diable, l’Etoile du Nord, etc. Solos for Euphonium, by Mr. Lawford; Cornet by Mr. Ellis; Clarionet by Mr. Spencer. Meyerbeer.
Band of the Grenadier Guards. (Second appearance) Mr. Dan Godfrey, Leader.
2. CHORUS. “Sleepers Wake.”“St. Paul,” Mendelssohn. Chorus and Orchestra. 3. PIANO SOLO. (Selected.) Madame Arabella Goddard. 4. SEXTETTE. FROM “LUCIA,” Chima Frena, Donizetti. Bouquet of Artists, Operatic Chorus and Orchestra. 5. FOUR PART SONG. “Farewell to the Forest.” (By request) Mendelssohn. [unaccompanied] 6. HYMN. “Coronation,” Holden.
The audience will please sing the 3rd and 4th verses.
SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 1872. (Russian Day.)
PART I.
1. OVERTURE. “Der Freischutz,” Von Weber. Orchestra. 2. NATIONAL HYMN. “To Thee, O Country.” Eichberg. Chorus, Organ and Orchestra. 3. CONCERT WALTZ. “New Wien.” Strauss. Orchestra. Conducted by Herr Johann Strauss.
4. FINALE. 3rd Act Ernani. (Second Time.) Verdi. Bouquet of Artists, Operatic Chorus, Full Chorus, with Organ, Orchestra, and Full Military Bands. 5. GRAND ARIA. (Selected.)
Madame Peschka‐Leutner. 6. QUICK MARCH. “The Inman Line.” Warren. Orchestra and Full Military Bands. [Respectfully dedicated to William Inman, Esq., through whose noble generosity the splendid Band of the Grenadier Guards, of London, have been given free transportation to and from America, by his famous line of steamers.]
PART II. 1. GRAND SELECTION. Second appearance of Kaiser Franz Grenadier Regiment Band. Herr H. Saro, Band Master. 2. SONG. “When the Swallows Homeward Fly” Abt. 1st verse for sopranos in unison; 2nd verse, sopranos and tenors in unison; 3rd verse, chorus, with Organ and Orchestra.
Conducted by Herr Franz Abt. 3. HYMN. “Mine Eyes have seen the Glory of the Coming of the Lord.” Julia Ward Howe. To the music of “John Brown.” Sung by a choir of 150 Colored Singers, including the Hyer Sisters, and the Jubilee Singers, from Nashville, Tenn., with Grand Chorus, Organ, Orchestra, Military Bands, and Cannon accompaniment.
The audience are invited to join in the chorus. 4. THE CURFEW. Words by Longfellow. Music by Anderton. Chorus and Orchestra. 5. SCENA FROM “LES HUGUENOT” Benedictione des Poignards.” Meyerbeer. Bouquet of Artists, Operatic Chorus, Full Chorus, Orchestra, Organ, and Military Bands. 6. OUR NATION’S SONG. Written and composed expressly for the Festival, by Harrison Millard. 1st Verse by the Bouquet of Artists, and Operatic Chorus. 2nd and 3rd Verses by the Full Chorus, accompanied by the Orchestra, Bands, and Organ. Conducted by the Composer 7. HYMN FOR THE PEOPLE. “The Morning Light is Breaking,” Geo. Jas. Webb.
The audience are invited to join in singing all the verses.
SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 1872 (Grand Sacred Concert.)
PART I.
1. CHORAL. “Angel of Peace,” Chorus and Orchestra. Keller.
2. OVERTURE. “Rienzi,” Wagner. Chorus and Orchestra. 3. SOLO. “Aria E Varie,” Proch.
Madame Peschka‐Leutner 4. CHORUS. “He Watching over Israel,” Mendelssohn. Chorus and Orchestra. 5. INFLAMMATUS. (Staber Mater,) Rossini. Solo by Madame Erminia Rudersdorff. 6. CORNET QUARTETTE. (Selected.) Performed by the German Emperor’s Quartette from Berlin.
PART II. 1. CHORUS. Gloria from Twelfth Mass, Mozart. Chorus and Orchestra. 2. SOLO FOR CORNET. “Ave Maria,” Schubert. Mr. M. Arbuckle. 3. HYMN. (Bethany.) “Nearer, my God, to Three,” Dr. Lowell Mason.
The audience are respectfully invited to join. 4. HYMN. The Jubilee Singers, from Nashville, Tenn. 5. FOUR PART SONG. “Sweet and Low.” Words by Tennyson Barnby. Chorus and Orchestra. 6. HALLELUJAH CHORUS. (Messiah) Handel. Grand Chorus, Organ and Orchestra.
MONDAY, JUNE 24, 1872 (Oratorio Day)
Handel Grand Oratorio
“Israel in Egypt.” B. J. Lang,Organist Carl Zerrahn, Conductor The Handel and Haydn Society, forming the first Chorus, and the Salem, Lynn and West Roxbury Societies forming the second Chorus, with Grand Orchestra and Organ.
Principal Vocalists. Madame Rudersdorff, Mrs. C. A. Barry, Mr. W. J. Winch, Mr. J. F. Winch, Mr. J. F. Rudolphsen.
[Text omitted here]
TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 1872 PART I.
1. HAIL TO THE CHIEF U. S. Marine Band, European Military Bands, Organ and Orchestra.
2. CHORUS. “See, the Conquering Hero Comes (Judas Maccabeus.) Handel. Bouquet of Artists, Chorus and Orchestra. 3. SONG. Homage to Columbia! Melody composed, the words written, and sung by Madame Erminia Rudersdorff,
accompanied by the Band of the Grenadier Guards. Conducted by Mr. Dan Godfrey. 4 SELECTIONS. “Reminiscences of Bellini.” from “I Puritani,” “Norma,” “La Somnambula,” “Beatrice di Tenda,” etc. Bellini. Solos for Cornet, Mr. McGrath. Clarionet, Mr. Spencer. Euphonium, Mr. Lawford. Band of the Grenadier Guards. 5. ARIA AND VARIATIONS, Adam. Madame Peschka‐Leutner Flute Obligato by Mr. C. Koppitz. 6. CONCERT WALTZ. “Kunstier Leben.” (Artist Life.) Strauss.
Conducted by Herr Johann Strauss.
PART II. 1. FANTASIE ON THEMES from “Les Huguenots,” Meyerbeer. Band of Kaiser Franz Grenadier Regiment of Germany. Herr H. Saro, Leader. 2. HYMN. “Hail, Gentle Peace.” (Federal Street.) Words and Music by Gen. H. K. Oliver.
The audience are invited to join in singing all the verses. 3. THE “STAR SPANGLED BANNER,” Key.
Solo in 3rd verse by Mrs. Julia Houston West. Chorus, Organ, Orchestra and Cannon Accompaniment.
4. OVERTURE, “ZAMPA,” Herold. Band of Le Garde Republicaine, of Paris, M. Paulus, Leader. 5. SELECTIONS. The Jubilee Singers from Nashville, Tenn. 6. MILITARY MARCH, “Prussian Prize.” Orchestra and Military Bands.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 1872. (Afternoon Concert.)
PART I.
1. OVERTURE. “Kaiser,” Westmayer. 2. CHORUS. “Thanks be to God.” (Elijah) Mendelssohn. Chorus, Organ and Orchestra. 3. AIR E VARIE, Proch. Madame Peschka‐Leutner. 4. OVERTURE, “Merry Wives of Windsor,” Nicolai. Band of Kaiser Franz Grenadier Regiment of Germany. Herr H. Saro, Leader. 4. FINALE. 3rd Act “Martha,” Flotow. Bouquet of Artists, Chorus and Orchestra.
5. CIRCASSIAN MARCH, Strauss. Conducted by Herr Johann Strauss.
PART II. 1. OVERTURE, “Oberon,” Von Weber. Band of Le Garde Republicaine, of Paris, M. Paulus, Leader. 2. HYMN. “Pleyel’s.” The audience are requested to join in singing all the verses. 3. CORNET QUARTETTE. “Fruhlingslust,” Mischke. The Emperor’s Quartette, from Berlin. 4. SELECTION. Don Giovanni, Mozart. Cornets, Messrs. McGrath and Ellis; Althorn, Mr. Carter; Petite Clarionette, Mr. Maby. Band of the Grenadier Guards, of London. Mr. Dan Godfrey, Leader. 5. CHORAL. “Old Hundred,” Franc. Chorus, Organ and Orchestra.
THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 1872. (Afternoon Concert.)
PART I.
1. CHORAL. “Commit thy Ways,” Bach. Chorus and Orchestra. 2. OVERTURE. “William Tell,” Rossini. 3. LET THE BRIGHT SERAPHIM. (Samson.) Handel. Madame Rudersdorff. Trumpet Obligato by Mr. M. Arbuckle. 4. SELECTION FROM “LUCIA.” (Arranged by M. Paulus.) Donizetti. Band of Le Garde Republicaine, of Paris, M. Paulus, Leader. 5. CONCERT WALTZ. “Wine, Women and Song,” Strauss. Conducted by Herr Johann Strauss. 6. SEXTETTE FROM “LUCIA,” Donizetti. Bouquet of Artists, Chorus and Orchestra.
PART II. 1. GRAND SELECTION. Reminiscences of Auber. Airs from Zanetta, Masaniello, Fra Diavolo, etc.
Solos for Cornet, Mr. Ellis; Euphonium, Mr. Lanford; Clarionet, Mr. Spencer.
Band of Grenadier Guards. Mr. Dan Godfrey, Leader. 2. HYMN. “Jesus, Lover of my Soul.” (Martyn.) Marsh. The audience are invited to join in singing both verses. 3. CORNET QUARTETTE. “Schafer’s Sonntagslied,” Kreutzer. The Emperor’s Quartette, from Berlin.
4. CHORUS. “All we like Sheep.” Chorus and Orchestra. 5. OVERTURE, “Frieschutz,” Weber. Band of Kaiser Franz Grenadier Regiment, of Germany. Herr H. Saro, Leader
THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 1872. (Evening Concert.)
BAND OF KAISER FRANZ GRENADIER REGIMENT, OF GERMANY Herr H. Saro, Leader
PART I.
1. FEST‐MARCH. “Schiller” Meyerbeer. 2. OVERTURE. “Euryanthe,” Weber. 3. AVE MARIA, Schubert. 4. SELECTION. “Blatter und Bluthen,” H. Saro.
PIANO SOLO Herr Franz Bendel.
PART II. 1. OVERTURE. “Ruy Blas,” Mendelssohn. 2. FANTASIA On Themes from “Tannhauser,” Wagner. 3. SCENA AND ARIA, from “Traviata,” Verdi. 4. EMPEROR WILLIAM’S MARCH, H. Saro.
FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 1872. (Afternoon Concert.)
PART I.
1. HYMN. “With one consent let all the Earth,” (Hebron.) Dr. Lowell Mason. (The audience are requested to join in singing all the verses.) 2. OVERTURE. “Masaniello,” Auber.
BAND OF GRENADIER GUARDS. Mr. Dan Godfrey, Leader.
3. POLKA BRAVOURA, Muhldorfer. Dedicated to and sung by Madame Peschka‐Leutner 4. OVERTURE. “Jubel,” Weber. BAND OF KAISER FRANZ REGIMENT, of Germany. Herr H. Saro, Leader. 5. CONCERT WALTZ. “Neu Wien.” (New Vienna), Strauss. Conducted by Herr Johann Strauss. 6. SOLO FOR CORNET. “Alexis,” Hartmann. Mr. M. Arbuckle.
PART II. 1. OVERTURE. “Rienzi,” Wagner.
Band of the 9th Regiment of New York. D. L. Downing, Leader.
2. FINALE. 3rd Act of Ernani, (by request), Verdi. Bouquet of Artists, Chorus, Organ and Orchestra. 3. CORNET QUARTETTE. “The Night,” Schubert. The Emperor William’s Cornet Quartette. 4. WALTZ. “Beautiful Blue Danube,” Strauss. [In compliment to Herr Johann Strauss.] Band of Le Garde Republicaine, of Paris, M. Paulus, Leader. 5. CHORUS. “Hallelujah.” (Messiah,) Handel. Chorus and Orchestra.
FRIDAY EVENING, JUNE 28, 1872. BAND OF THE REPUBLICAN GUARD
of Paris. M. Paulus. Leader.
PART I.
1. OVERTURE. “Oberon,” Weber. 2. FANTASIA from “Rigoletto,” Verdi. 3. AIR AND VARIATIONS with Solos for all Instruments, Mohr. 4. MARCH AUX FLAMBEAUX, Meyerbeer.
PART II. 1. INVITATION A LA VALSE. Weber. 2. FANTASIA from “Lucia,” Donizetti. 3. SOLO FOR CORNET‐A‐PISTON. Air e varie, Arban. M. Sylvestre. 4. L’APPEL DU REGIMENT, (with Fifes and Drums.) Leon Moguier.
SOLOISTS: SAXHORN CONTRALTO, M. Maury, 2nd Leader. CLARIONET, M. Pares. PETITE CLARIONET, M. Beckmann, from Vienna. PETITE FLUTE, M. Elie, from Hauschu. CORNET‐A‐PISTON, M. Ligner. SAXAPHONES, Mm. Cambray and Bonnaire.
SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 1872. (Afternoon Concert.)
PART I.
1. HYMN. “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains,” Dr. Lowell Mason. (The audience are requested to join in singing all the verses.)
2. OVERTURE. “Stradella,” Flotow. Gilmore’s Band. P. S. Gilmore, Leader 3. SECOND ARIA. “Day of Vengeance.” (Magic Flute.) Mozart. Madame Peschka‐Leutner 4. OVERTURE. “Athalie,” Mendelssohn. Band of Kaiser Franz Grenadier Regiment. Herr H. Saro, Leader. 5. ANVIL CHORUS from. “Trovatore,” Verdi. [By general desire] Chorus, Organ and Orchestra, with Anvil, Bell and Cannon accompaniment. 6. GRAND CONCERT WALTZ. “Jubilee,” Strauss. [Composed especially for the occasion, and dedicated to Mr. P. S. Gilmore.] Conducted by the composer, Herr Johann Strauss. 7. INFLAMMATUS. “Stabat Mater,” Rossini. [By desire.]
Madame Erminia Rudersdorff With full chorus, Organ and Orchestra.
PART II.
1. FOUR PART SONG. “Farewell to the Forest,” Mendelssohn. Chorus (unaccompanied.) 2. SEXTETTE FROM “LUCIA”’ (Chima Frena.) Donizetti. Bouquet of Artists, with Orchestral Accompaniment. 3. ANDANTE AND MARCHE NUPTIALE. “Lohengrin,” Wagner. Band of Le Garde Republicaine, M. Paulus, Leader. 4. STAR SPANGLED BANNER, Key.
Solo in 3rd Verse by Mrs. Julia Houston West. Chorus, Organ, and Orchestra, with Cannon Accompaniment.
5. GRAND POTPOURRI OF IRISH MELODIES. Arranged by Mr. Dan Godfrey. Band of the Grenadier Guards. Mr. Dan Godfrey, Leader. 6. MARCH MILITAIRE. “The Inman Line,” Warren. Orchestra.
SATUDAY EVENING, JUNE 29, 1872 GRENADIER GUARDS BAND. Mr. D. Godfrey, Conductor.
PART I.
1. OVERTURE. “Robin Hood.” Macfarren. [By Desire.] 2. SELECTION. Reminiscences of Balfe,” Balfe. Selected from The Bohemian Girl, Rose of Castille, Satanella, etc. Cornet, Mr. Ellis; Euphonium, Mr. Lawford; Petite Clarionette, Mr. Hall; Althorn, Mr. Carter, etc. 3. CONCERTINA SOLO. “Erin,” Roe. (On Irish Melodies.)
Mr. Roe.
4. VALSE. “The Royal Bridesmaids,” D. Godfrey. [Composed for the Wedding of H. R. H. the Princess Louise and the Marquis of Lorne.]
ORGAN SOLO FUGUE IN G MINOR Bach.
Mr. James Caulfield, of Montreal.
PART II. 1. OVERTURE. “Rob Roy,” Sir H. Bishop. (On Scotch Airs.) 2. CORNET SOLO. “The Excelsior Polka,” Frewin. Mr. McGrath. 3. GLEE. “The Chough and Crow,” Sir H. Bishop. 4. PICCOLO SOLO. “Warblings at Morn,” Roe.
Mr. Roe. 5. LANCERS QUADRILLE. “Knights of St. Patrick,” D. Godfrey.
MONDAY, JULY 1, 1872. (Afternoon Concert.)
(Irish Day.)
PART I. 1. STAR SPANGLED BANNER, Key.
Chorus, Organ and Orchestra with Cannon Accompaniment. Solo in 3rd verse sung by Mrs. Julia Houston West.
2. FANTASIA, from “Faust,” Gounod. Band of Le Garde Republicaine, M. Paulus, Leader. 3. CHORUS. “Believe me if all those endearing young charms,” Moore. Chorus, Organ and Orchestra. 4. ARIA from “Magic Flute,” Mozart. Madame Peschka‐Leutner. 5. CONCERT WALTZ. “1001 Nights,” Strauss. Conducted by Herr Johann Strauss. 6. ANVIL CHORUS. “Trovatore,” Verdi.
Chorus, Orchestra and Organ, with Anvil and Cannon Accompaniment. OVERTURE. “Crown Diamonds,” Auber. The Irish National Band, of Dublin. Mr. Edmund Clements, Leader. (First appearance.) CHORUS. “The Harp that once through Tara’s Halls,” Moore. Chorus, Organ and Orchestra.
PART II. 1. FOUR PART SONG. “The Soldier’s Farewell,” Kinkel. Tenors and Basses of the Great Chorus. 2. OVERTURE. “Oberon,” Weber. Band of the Grenadier Guards. Mr. Dan Godfrey, Leader. 3. THE LAST ROSE OF SUMMER, Moore. Bouquet of Artists.
4. OVERTURE. “Don Juan ‘‘ Mozart. Band of Kaiser Franz Grenadier Regiment. Herr H. Saro, Leader 5. HYMN. “With one consent let all the earth,” (Hebron.) Dr. Lowell Mason. Chorus, Organ and Orchestra.
(The audience are invited to join in the singing.)
TUESDAY, JULY 2, 1872. (Afternoon Concert.)
(Italian Day.)
PART I. 1. OVERTURE. “William Tell,” Rossini. Orchestra. 2. GRAND SELECTION. Band of the Grenadier Guards. Mr. Dan Godfrey, Leader. 3. CHORUS. “Thanks be to God.” (Elijah.) Mendelssohn. 4. ARIA from “Martha,” Flotow. Madame Peschka—Leutner. [Accompanied by Kaiser Franz Grenadier Band.] 5. OVERTURE. “Jubel,” Flotow. Kaiser Franz Grenadier Band. Herr H. Saro, Leader 6. CONCERT WALTZ. “Wine, Women and Song,” Strauss. Conducted by Herr Johann Strauss.
PART II. 1. HYMN. “Nearer, my God, to Thee,” (Bethany.) Dr. Lowell Mason.
(The audience will please join in the singing.) 2. SELECTION. “The Lily of Killarney,” arranged by Godfrey. Irish National Band. Mr. Edward Clements, Leader 3. FREUDENFESTGRUSSE, Mohring.
The Emperor’s Cornet Quartette,—Messrs Kosleck, Phillip, Senz and Deicheu. 4. CHORUS. Selected. Chorus and Orchestra. 5. SELECTION from “Robert le Diabie,” Meyerbeer. Band of Le Garde Republicaine, M. Paulus, Leader. 6. MARCH. Orchestra.
TUESDAY EVENING, JULY 2, 1872. BAND OF THE REPUBLICAN GUARD OF PARIS.
M. Paulus, Leader.
PART I. 1. GRAND MARCH, “Salut a Boston,” Thomas. 2. LE TROUVIERE, Fantasie, Verdi. 3. FLUTE SOLO, Demersmann. Mr. Elie. 4. WALTZ. “The Gardens of Armide,” Godfrey.
PIANO SOLO. Fantasia on Themes from Masaniello. Madame Arabella Goddard.
PART II. 1. FANTASIA from “Robert le Diable,” Meyerbeer. 2. AIR VARIE, introducing all the Soloists, Mohr. 3. MARCHE DU REGIMENT, Boullon.
SOLOISTS. SAXHORN CONTRALTO, M. Maury, 2nd Leader. CLARIONET, M. Pares. PETITE CLARIONET, Mm. Beckmann and Vienne. PETITE FLUTE, Mm. Elie and Hauschau. CORNET‐A‐PISTON, M. Ligner. SAXOPHONES, Mm. Cambray and Bonnaire.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 1872. (Afternoon Concert.)
PART I.
1. OVERTURE. “Egmont,” Beethoven.
Band of Kaiser Franz Grenadier Regiment. Herr H. Saro, Leader
2. CHORUS. “Farewell to the Forest,” Mendelssohn. (Unaccompanied.) 3. GRAND WALTZ, Venzano. Madame Peschka‐Leutner. 4. SELECTION.
THE IRISH NATIONAL BAND. Mr. E. Clements, Leader 5. CONCERT WALTZ, Strauss. Conducted by Herr Johann Strauss. 6. ANDANTE AND WEDDING MARCH from “Lohengrin,” Wagner.
Band of Le Garde Republicaine, M. Paulus, Leader
PART II. 1. HYMN. “All hail the power,” (Coronation.) Holden. (The audience are requested to join in the singing.) 2. GRATIAS AGIMUS TIBI, Guglielmi.
Mrs. H. M. Smith. Clarionette Obligato by Mr. Thomas Ryan. 3. ANVIL CHORUS, “II Trovatore,” Verdi.
Chorus, Organ and Orchestra, with Anvil and Cannon Accompaniment. 4. FEST‐GRUSS, Mohring.
The Emperor’s Cornet Quartette,—Messrs. Kusleck, Philip, Senz and Deicheu. 5. GRAND PROCESSIONAL MARCH. The Silver Trumpets, Viviani.
As played at St. Peter’s, at Rome, on Christmas and Easter Day. Band of the Grenadier Guards, Mr. Dan Godfrey, Leader.
6. MARCH, Warren. Grand Orchestra.
WEDNESDAY EVENING, JULY 3, 1872. BAND OF KAISER FRANZ GRENADIER REGIMENT.
Herr H. Sarro, Leader.
PART I. 1. MARCH from “Tannhauser,” Wagner. 2. OVERTURE. “Magic Flute,” Mozart. 3. SERENADE for Flute and Horn, Tittl. Herrn Botha and Schultze 4. “ZIMMERGRUEN” Potpourri, Saro.
PIANO SOLO. Herr Franz Bendel.
PART II.
1. FAVORITE MARCH, Saro. 2. ENTR’ACTE AND BRIDAL SONG. “Lohengrin,” Wagner. 3. LA GRIVE, Polka for Cornet‐a‐piston, Christoph. Herr Hoch.
THURSDAY, JULY 4, 1872. (The Great National Day.) First Concert, 9 A. M.
PART I.
1. THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER. Key. Mrs. Julia Houston West. 2. MARCH, “Athalie,” Mendelssohn. 3. SELECTION. “Fra Diavolo,” Auber. Band of the Grenadier Guards. Mr. Dan Godfrey, Leader. 4. HOMAGE TO COLUMBIA.
Words written and music composed and sung by Madame Erminia Rudersdorff. (Accompanied by the Band of the Grenadier Guard.)
5. WALTZ. “Mabel,” Godfrey. [By desire.] Conducted by the Composer, Mr. Dan Godfrey.
PART II. 1. ORGAN SOLO. Mr. B. J. Lang. 2. OVERTURE. “Tannhauser,” Wagner. Band of the Kaiser Franz Grenadier Regiment. Herr H. Saro, Leader. 3. CORNET SOLO, “The Wreath.” Performed by Herr Hoch.
4. MARCH. “King Charles.” Unrath. Band of the Kaiser Franz Grenadier Regiment.
Herr H. Saro, Leader.
SECOND CONCERT, 2 P. M.
PART I. 1. OVERTURE. “Zampa,” Herold. 2. WALTZ. “Belgravia,” Godfrey. Band of the Grenadier Guards. Mr. Dan Godfrey, Leader. 3. SELECTION. “Reminiscences of Verdi.” Introducing Melodies from Somnambula, Traviata, Trovatore, Rigoletto, Nabuco, etc. Band of the Grenadier Guards. 4. STAR SPANGLED BANNER, Key. Madame Peschka‐Leutner.
PART II. 1. ORGAN SOLO. Mr. James Caulfield. 2. SOLO FOR CORNET. “Over the Alps,” Kosleck. Herr Kosleck, of the Emperor’s Cornet Quartette. (first appearance in Solo.) 3. MARCH AUX FLAMBEAU, Macfarren. 4. FANTASIA from “Faust,” Gounod. 5. AIR VARIE, introducing all the Soloists of the Band. Band of Le Garde Republicaine, M. Paulus, Leader.
THIRD CONCERT, 6 P. M.
PART I. 1. MARCH. “Erin,” Coote. 2. QUADRILLE. “Colleen Bawn,” Cassidy. 3. SELECTION.’“Lily of Killarney,” Benedict. Irish National Band, Mr. Edward Clements, Leader. 4. CONCERT WALTZ. “On the Beautiful Blue Danube,” Strauss. Conducted by Herr Johanna Strauss.
PART II. 1. STAR SPANGLED BANNER, Key. Madame Erminia Rudersdorff. 2. Solo FOR CORNET. 7th Air E Varie, De Beriot. Mr. M. Arbuckle. 3. OVERTURE. “Merry Wives of Windsor,” Nicolai. 4. GERMAN PEOPLE’S SONG, Boehner. 5. LE REVEILLE DU LION, Kontsky. Band of the Kaiser Franz Grenadier Regiment. Herr H. Saro, Leader.
FOURTH CONCERT, 9 to 12 P. M. GRAND PROMENADE CONCERT AND DANCE FESTIVAL. With music for dancing by a large and well selected orchestra.
MUSIC FOR PROMENADE.
OVERTURE. Zampa, Herold. Band of Le Garde Republicaine. M. Paulus, Leader. FANTASIA. “Gems of Ireland,” Sibold. The Irish National Band. Mr. E. Clements, Leader. AIR VARIE. For all the Soloists. Band of Le Garde Republicaine. WALTZ. “Kate Kearney,” Coote. Irish National Band. FANTASIA. From “Robert le Diable,” Meyerbeer. Band of Le Garde Republicaine. QUARDRILLE. “Erin go Bragh,” D’Albert. Irish National Band. Etc., etc.
There seems to be no available programme for July 5. The chorus had concluded its participation on the previous day, and the members were presumably packing for their return home or perhaps indulging in such alluring social events or exciting entertainments as the Boston of that day provided.
In the afternoon the German Band gave a concert, before a crowded house, for their own benefit, an agreement made when their contract was signed. Financially it was no meagre benefit, since they took home $60,000. Unfortunately, as in familiar incidents today when the dollars are divided among many, there was dissatisfaction in the distribution of the dollars. For the Band, once home, protested loudly, vehemently, and long that Herr Saro, the Leader, had presented to himself a far greater proportion of the spoils than he was entitled to. Nearly the entire German nation rocked with the violent controversy, and finally the Government had to intervene.
In the evening the French Band gave a farewell concert. No mention is found of payment of dollars (though all the bands were to get something) and presumably the members went home peacefully.
SATURDAY, JULY 6, 1872.
(Benefit of Herr Johann Strauss.)
PART I. 1. OVERTURE. “Kaiser,” Westmayer. 2. WALTZ. “Wine, Women and Song,” Strauss. 3. GRATIAS AGIMUS TIBI (by request). Gugliemi. Mrs. H. M. Smith. 4. CIRCASSIAN MARCH, Strauss.
PART II. 1. OVERTURE. “Fest,” Leutner. 2. ANNEN POLKA (by request), Strauss. 3. CORNET SOLO. “Facilita.” Air e varie, Hartmann. Mr. M. Arbuckle.
4. WALTZ. “Kunstler Leben,” Strauss.
CONDUCTORS. JOHANN STRAUSS. P. S. GILMORE.
Well, when the monstrous affair was over, the vast numbers of performers and audience had
vanished, the Coliseum was empty and silent save later for the noise of the wreckers’ implements, what was the recorded impression. What said the musical critics
“Who play not with viol and pipe, but with pen, And nightly repair to an editor’s den.”
And what said the reviewers who penned not in a den but in a more commodious editorial room. A few journalistic reviews will answer. By Mr. Dwight in his Journal. …As the idea took outward form and substance, an enormous shrinkage silently went on. The huge figures were still used for advertisement, sent off as echoes into California and Illinois and Germany and England, to re‐echo here at home, and multiply the myriad tongues of rumor, while a more moderate scale (nevertheless too large in our view) controlled the realization. The auditorium, instead of 100,000 had 21,000 seats! Supposing that 9,000 persons could have stood in aisles and corridors, there may have been 30,000 people in the audience on the most crowded day, whether it were the President’s day or that of Gilmore’s benefit. The chorus at the utmost numbered 18,000 shrinking to half that after the first week, and really finding its vocation almost gone (except for Psalmody and hacknied repetition of “Star Spangled Banner,” and the like), so popular had the music of the three admirable foreign Bands become in comparison with the imperfectly produced or imperfectly heard effects of the grand chorus in compositions of a more artistic and elaborate structure.
The Grand Orchestra (one of the better features this time, and far better than the last) could hardly have exceeded 800 instruments the first week, and was very much reduced during the last half of the time, while the countless Brass Bands that were to have made it up to two thousand, were nowhere visible, nor were they missed; having the fine foreign bands, the instrumental legion was more serviceable without them. The Bands “from every nation” were just three, capital ones all, from England, France and Prussia. . . The Monster Drum, on which much ink and gush were wasted, did duty in procession through the streets as drummer‐in, but after the first trial, it was soon drummed out and hung up as a trophy as far off from the stage as possible. Great also was the shrinkage in the proportion of “noblest compositions ever written” in the programmes as performed. The “Classical Overtures” except by Bands, which at the best are substitutes for and imitations of an Orchestra, could be counted on five fingers, while under the head of “Symphonies” or parts of symphonies, there figured not one solitary representative. From the Daily Advertiser. . . . But there were the ever‐present obstacles of the size of the auditorium and the unwieldiness of its own numbers, which, steadily operating, either singly or together, made it impossible for such fine effects to be produced as have been frequently heard from Mr. Thomas’s and Mr. Zerrahn’s orchestras in the Music Hall. If any proof were needed of the truth of this, it would be found in the character of the selections presented. In this respect the Jubilee of 1872 was far behind that of 1869, not a single symphonic fragment even being performed on the latter occasion, and the instrumental repertoire of 1872 being narrowed down to a few operatic overtures, military marches, waltzes and polkas, which were given over and over again. Considering the difficulties with which it had to contend the orchestra did finely; but, judged by the absolute success obtained on less pretentious occasions, its efforts were not especially impressive except in the one particular already noted.
In summing up the results of the choral work of the festival we desire above all things to do justice to the chorus itself and to the spirit of conscientious fidelity which animated the great majority of its members. The mere
assemblage of such a body, after months of careful preparation, was an impressive circumstance, and when we consider the amount of assiduous and self‐denying exertion which this preparation involved, the cheerful patience with which for more than a week the great company of singers bore the fatigues and hardships of their daily labors at the concerts, and the comparatively slender share in the popular acclamations with which they were rewarded, we congratulate the Commonwealth upon the possession of material so well adapted for the advancement of the divine art. . . Nor do we deny that a surprising degree of precision and skill was obtained, considering the obstacles presented—as in the case of the orchestra—by the size of the building and the number of the performers. And we take this occasion to express our high admiration and appreciation of the great ability and patience which distinguished the efforts of the gentlemen who trained the chorus and to whom the measure of success attained is largely due; the combination of mental and moral endowments—to say nothing of professional—exhibited by Zerrahn, for example, in the accomplishment of his work was nothing short of remarkable. But, after everything has been granted that can be granted, the truth remains that the chorus obtained nothing more than a succès d’estime. . . . Besides the “Anvil Chorus” of which almost everybody became heartily sick, and the Star Spangled Banner with its cannon accompaniment, there was not a noisy piece in the entire list of programmes. And during the choral performances the auditor, though stationed in the most favorable position, was inexpressibly teased and disturbed by the lack of power in the passages marked forte and fortissimo….
Looking at the festival as a whole, there can be little doubt that the good decidedly preponderated in its concerts over the bad. It brought together a company of foreign artists which could never have been gathered in this country upon any other occasion; and it stimulated the love of music throughout the country. It had obvious imperfections and limitations, especially in the scope, freshness and variety of the compositions presented; but it has given a new and mighty impetus to the wave of art enthusiasm which is soon, as we hope and believe, to spread itself over the length and breadth of the land.
From the Worcester Palladium. The great chorus, for the most part, has proved a failure; though it has sung some things splendidly and
with spirit; but it has generally been weak, uneven, fitful, and at times sadly astray. Many of the chorus‐singers make the organ responsible for their failings; and, annoying as the instrument with its brazen, blatant voice and falsity of tone has been to the audience, the apology can be easily accepted. Then the change of conductors has been a source of annoyance to them. With not sufficient rehearsal to make them acquainted with the peculiarities of each, and the immense distance, which deprives the majority of a close following of the baton, the wonder is that they are ever successful. The unevenness of the chorus has been attributed to the fact that many of the singers have given their tickets for a day’s entrance to friends who were unable to sing a note. The whole thing is too gigantic and unwieldy for good effects, and seems only calculated for band performances and patriotic selections. The sound is lost in the vastness of the building, and the combined force produces much less volume than was anticipated.
Musically the Jubilee is not an entire success, as could hardly have been expected; but the idea of drawing so many of the world’s best musicians together for friendly and harmonious intercourse, is a grand one, and must work happy results in the organization of musical societies over the country, for the study of the best works. . . . Mme. Leutner is one of the world’s great singers, and unbounded enthusiasm has greeted her at every appearance. Her voice is a glorious one; clear, telling and resonant; wonderfully flute‐like in its character, and of the purest quality; she reached G in alt with perfect ease, and sustains it with clearness. Her voice reaches with fullness the remotest corner of the Coliseum, even in its softest tones; her execution is wonderful, and she sings with perfect freedom and ease.
From the Springfield Republican.
. . . At first the masses were conspicuously absent, but the prices of admission were lowered, and since then the attendance and the bank account has improved. Then the orchestra, a large source of expense, was cut down more than one half after the first week, and with this and other economic reductions, the balance at the close is likely to be on the right side of the ledger. But has the Jubilee been a musical success? In special features, very decidedly, Yes. As a whole, and so far as its monster character is concerned, No. It is very grand to hear 20,000 voices sing “Old Hundred” and the other
familiar tunes which have been performed there; but this Jubilee chorus had a higher aim. The book in which they were drilled for weeks and months contained many selections of special merit and some degree of difficulty. The chorus learned them, and went to Boston, expecting to sing them, but not a fifth part of them has been heard at all. Why? Because Mr. Gilmore found at the start that his chorus, although actually better trained than that of the first Jubilee, was too large to be manageable, except in slow movements, and he has been afraid to trust it with much else. The range of the music performed has therefore been very limited; a few selections have been sung and re‐sung, and the part of the chorus, which was to be, and should be, the great feature of the festival, has been for several days absolutely insignificant. The orchestra was also too large at the start for any finished, clean cut performance, although it did excellent work in spite of the disadvantages of place and numbers; and the organ, a miracle of noise, was, in every musical sense, a failure. . .
If the Jubilee can boast only one great vocalist, it is certainly to its credit that that one is a consummate artist. Mme. Peschka‐Leutner has shown herself a soprano of dazzling capabilities. There is apparently nothing in the way of vocal execution that is beyond her reach; and it is not merely the twittering of a bird, but splendid, intelligent singing. To secure so fine a singer was one of Mr. Gilmore’s triumphs, and to introduce to America composers so famous as Abt, the German song‐writer, and Strauss, the Austrian waltz‐maker, was another.
The following short paragraphs, from certain articles printed while the Jubilee was in progress, and the editorial review of the festival at its end are from the Boston Globe, a newspaper noted then as it is today for its impartial and unprejudiced point of view, its careful coverage of important matters, and its accuracy of statement.
One week has passed since the opening of the doors of the Coliseum, a week which may be truthfully said, so far as the purpose of the festival is concerned, to have been crowned with abundant success. Up to this writing we have yet to hear of the first unfortunate, or even unpleasant circumstance as having occurred in connection with the grand musical event. The executive committee have not promised anything which they have omitted to fulfill, and, indeed, have far exceeded their promises to the public in all respects. The famous artists from abroad have fully entered into the spirit of the occasion, and a pleasant exhibition of emulation as to the individual contribution of each and all to the object of the festival has been freely manifested.
It is almost impossible to say anything new about the performances at the Coliseum. The critical vocabulary
is limited, and adjectives and adverbs are not inexhaustible. We have a small stock of both on hand, as yet unhackneyed, but they are of a derogatory nature, and we have had but few opportunities afforded us to use words of that class in connection with the Jubilee concerts. The words “enthusiasm,” “applause,” encore” and “reception” became monotonous to pen before the Jubilee was a week old, and, after having exhausted every synonym for them of which we had knowledge and resorted to euphemism as a last resource, we long ago found ourselves forced to return to them in sheer desperation.
Everything that was promised in the stupendous programme of the Jubilee by Mr. Gilmore and his
supporters, the executive committee, was more than fulfilled, and the minutest details of the arrangements were deliberately and carefully carried out. No reasonable expense was for a moment considered by the executive committee, and had they possessed a royal exchequer, upon which to draw with unlimited credit, no greater spirit of liberality could have been exhibited in the enterprise. The incentive which actuated them was quite sufficient. They were Bostonians, working for the credit of art and of the good name of the city itself, extending its influence, its kindly relations with the whole country and with Europe, placing her in point of enterprise and ability among the first cities of the world. Had it been a matter of private interest and speculation, the grand result which we have witnessed could hardly have occurred. Petty counsels would have crept in, individual jealousy would have shown itself here and there, and adverse purposes would have marred the grand harmony of its progress. But the grandeur of its design, the self‐abnegation of each and all of the promoters, the one desire that it should result in a vast and lasting good for our city and our citizens generally, all these sentiments were elevating in themselves, and would admit of no jarring, sinister or selfish designs.
The whole story of the Jubilee cannot be told without referring to the wholesale swindling that has been carried on with the various styles of admission tickets that have been in use thus far. People whose integrity would hardly have been doubted in anything else have entered into deliberate combination to swindle the management by using the season and admission tickets repeatedly the same day. Just how this is done need not he told here. It is, however, well known to the managers and to those who have practiced the swindle. The use of the chorus tickets by those not entitled to them is also notorious, and the firemen even have aided in this dishonorable practice. The fact that a person has obtained admission dishonestly is rather boasted of by the person who has succeeded, and unsuccessful attempts in this line are spoken of as rather a good joke. . .
The old trouble of lack of confidence in the programme was again felt, as changes and omissions were made, notwithstanding the title page bore the word “Official” upon it. One change was quite serious, for undoubtedly many of the audience left the building with the firm conviction that Madame Rudersdorff was a little boy five years old, and that “Let the Bright Seraphim” sounded just like the things they call a potpourri of popular melodies, as the place given on the programme to the sacred number by the eminent artist was filled for some unknown reason by a youthful violinist, who gave a medley of familiar airs. In the same way, many were deceived in the chorus “All we like Sheep,” and are now in their distant homes trying to fit these words to the stately music of the march from Naaman. If people’s ideas are thus confused it is impossible to say what the result will be.
For three weeks our city has been in a feverish dream; a dream in which all the visions were happy, but, in
which, nevertheless, the pulse beat more rapidly, the blood flowed more swiftly than in perfect health. Each afternoon thousands of our people have passed hours in a delirium of musical enthusiasm, carried beyond and above themselves by the vast flood of melody poured out by the immense chorus and huge orchestra at the Coliseum. . .
The Jubilee is over, but the good results which may be expected to flow from it are boundless. The increase of the popular love for music, the higher standard in the art which has been introduced among us by the foreign bands, and the social intercourse among musicians from all parts of our own land and from other shores, are the most important of these; but Bostonians also hope for some other advantages, which, without the Jubilee, would loom very far in the distance. They think that possibly New York journalists may learn from the condemnation which they have received from those of other cities to tell the truth in future….
With the performance on Saturday last, being the occasion of the Strauss benefit, the Jubilee proper may be said to have ended. There will doubtless be other and attractive exhibitions offered within the walls of the Coliseum, but the grand purpose of the projectors of the International World’s Jubilee has been consummated. Entire success has presided over the progress of this unprecidented affair, and we have yet to learn of the first serious accident or annoyance which has occurred. When it is remembered that at times there were fully sixty thousand people under that one roof, gathered from all parts of the world and representing all classes of humanity, and that the exposition continued for twenty days, this exemption from accident is remarkable. As far as human forethought could go, every matter was duly provided for, and any serious exigency rendered nearly impossible. . .
From an educational point of view, the Jubilee has accomplished much; it has taught us how great are the possibilities of energy, liberality, and true public‐spiritedness when combined; it has performed a great and lasting service to the cause of music, both choral and instrumental; it has given birth to a spirit of emulation, the fruits of which will never be obliterated in this community; it has produced a spirit of affiliation between famous artists and famous bands of musicians from different nationalities, and the one scene when the English, Prussian, French and others joined hands and sung together in the Coliseum, was alone worth a pilgrimage to behold and participate in. The true spirit of art has been elevated by this grand festival, and the hundreds of foreign artists return to their native land, each one a missionary, who will bear witness from the standpoint of truth concerning this country and its citizens.
* * * * Edward Ballantine requires little preface or introduction. He joined the Department of Music at
Harvard as Assistant in Music in 1912 and retired as Associate Professor Emeritus in 1947. In 1907 he received Highest Honors in Music from Harvard. In 1942 he was given the degree of M.A. from Harvard and in 1949 the honorary degree of Doctor of Music from Marietta College. Three of his cornpositions have been played by the Boston Symphony Orchestra: Prelude to the Delectable Forest, Eve of St. Agnes (tone poem), and Suite—From the Garden of Hellas. One of his best known compositions which we have the good fortune to hear him play, is his Variations on “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, in the styles of twenty famous
composers. A member of this Association since 1913 he is, regretfully, too seldom heard by us professionally and, equally regretfully, too seldom seen by us socially. Since his resignation from Harvard he resides at a distance, interested vocationally in some‐thing‐or‐other, avocationally, according to rumor, in floriculture. Much to the point, however, is the appreciation of the writer and of readers of his interesting article for his willingness to write it for this issue.
THE USE AND ABUSE OF MUSICAL BIOGRAPHY.
When an amateur wants “to know more about music” he usually sets about reading the biography of some great composer, and when a college teacher needs to make an assignment in a music course which will “count for the degree” the easiest thing to do is to call for a twelve page biographical sketch. The value of such reading or rescript of reading in relation to the hearing and understanding of music may not be thought out by teacher, student, or even biographer. The first two trust that the accepted preparation for becoming “an intelligent listener” has been made. As for the biographer, if he cannot be Bach he can still know more about Bach than Bach himself who probably never dreamed that his name might come near being changed into Johann Sebastian Baroque. Musical biography is of value as a record of artistic work in its relation to the whole life of the artist and his environment, and as a satisfaction of natural curiosity about the personal character of a genius, As a help toward understanding music, as distinct from understanding about music, I believe that much biographical reading is not only of doubtful value but may produce distraction from the main issue by the intrusion of facts or of fantastic legends. The chronicled events of a composer’s life can throw little light upon the content of his music, and particular compositions can seldom be paired off with particular events since any large work is usually a project carried out over an extended period during which a variety of things may happen. The time spent in tracing the love life of a composer would be much better spent in studying the growth of his musical style. To do this a small amount of biographical information and a large acquaintance with the music itself are necessary.
Some years ago, in connection with college teaching, I read the long and detailed “Life of Beethoven” by Thayer three times, besides using it as a reference book. In the years that followed I have felt that with listening, playing, and musical analysis my appreciation of Beethoven’s music was growing, but with every gain of an ounce of appreciation I have lost a pound of biography, and I am not aware that any fact learned about the daily life of the composer has increased my comprehension or enjoyment of his music. I even wish that I could forget more things than I have, such as the regrettable business of the publication of the Missa Solemnis so irrelevant and even disturbing to the exaltation of the music. The reports of what Beethoven said, especially about his own art, are extremely interesting, but we are interested in what he said because of the music he wrote, rather than in the music because of what he said. In the musical world there would be a more peaceful concentration upon music if there could be an agreement to minimize biographical information. An individual may choose to do this for himself; if he does not he should seek reliable sources for data copious enough to avoid over‐simplification. Fortunately the number of responsible short biographies is on the increase, but there is still plenty of attractive misinformation repeated in radio announcements, program and record album notes, and popular books.
“Sweet are the uses of Adversity” takes on an added meaning when it comes to the writing of musical biography. This sweetness caters to the reader who hopes to find that “our hero” was unhappy far bond the common lot, an idea which seems like a survival of the primitive need for human sacrifice. The more a composer has suffered in producing his symphony the more satisfaction the listener is expected to take in it. The assumption that great music must be the product of suffering goes with indifference to the idea that composition at its best might well be a healthy activity of a happy or, even at the time, abnormally happy person. Music, among the arts, seems to have a corner in suffering. You do not hear sympathy expressed for the builders of the Parthenon. In reading the life story of any individual it is not long before you encounter troubles, and if the subject of your reading is a composer these troubles are presented as the cause of his compositions in minor keys. But, according to popular and even certain scholarly writers, the minor refers to the composer’s personal distress only if it is used at the beginning of a piece, usually with the word minor appearing in the title. A page or two in minor in the middle of a work is not recognized as a signal of distress, and one suspects that the commentator has not noticed that a movement in sonata form which begins and ends in major most often goes into minor keys in its development section, and that a movement which starts in minor will make for the relative major as soon as it can and usually stay there for two thirds of the exposition. What has become of our hero’s trouble then? The tribulations of Mozart’s last years are so well known that all his works of the period are said to be written either “because of” them or “in spite of” them. The “in spite of”
is indispensable, since the cheerful works outnumber the others. The G minor Symphony is the most famous example of the “because of” group, while the C major Jupiter, written in the same six weeks, represents the “in spite of”. Beginning with childhood, Mozart showed a recurrent fondness for the key of G minor. In his notebook of 1764, published in 1908 by Breitkopf and Haertel, ‘Mozart as an Eight Year Old Composer”, there is an agitated Allegro in this key with poignant dissonances. In the same year, during his examination in London, he was asked to improvise an “aria di furia” and he became so excited that he bounced up and down on his chair and beat the keys of the harpsichord. He was already familiar with G minor as the favorite key for the pathetic aria of the heroine of any 18th century Italian opera and he used it for the same purpose, from his first opera seria, Mithridates, written for Milan when he was almost fifteen, to what Alfred Einstein calls “Pamina’s moving plaint in G minor” in The Magic Flute, twenty‐one years later. Besides the G minor Symphony of 1788 there is the “Little” but vehement G minor Symphony of 1773 which thanks to recordings has emerged, after nearly a century and a half, from the category of early Mozart works “that have not lived”. Program notes for the String Quartet in D minor, K.421, automatically attribute its sombre quality to Mozart’s anxiety during the first confinement of his wife. Then how account for the other Quartet in D minor, K.17, written ten years before when there was no Mozart baby n the horizon? When Haydn writes a symphony or quartet in a minor key it is customary to refer it to the influence of the Sturm und Drang period in German literature, since Haydn’s unhappy marriage, in books of reference, has not been certified as a source of musical inspiration. Beethoven at the age of twelve wrote three sonata not included in the usual collections. The key of the second is F minor and the motive material as well as the style is prophetic of his Sonata Pathétique. It may be objected that the youthful works of any composer do not exhibit the depth of pathos of later ones. But this increased depth may be found equally in the expression of every mood, sorrowful, serene, or joyful, and results not only from experience of life but from the mature command of the means of expression. There is no more convincing optimism in Mozart than in The Magic Flute of his last year, and the finale of Beethoven’s 9th does more than lip service to joy. While it is true that on occasion a personal grief may be expressed directly in music, it must be recognized that a great composer has the pathetic style at his summons, and that he does not have to wait for hard times in order to set to music the tragic parts of a given text, or to write an instrumental piece of the same character. We study the lives of people who are distinguished by their power of imagination and then discuss them as if they were photographers making candid shots of their passing states of mind. Every mood which a composer might have is talked about except the mood to compose, which is the most important mood to him. When that mood is on him he may get a wonderful idea for a funeral march and within a few moments the theme of a riotous scherzo. If an actor gives a great performance of Hamlet we do not jump to the conclusion that his own father must have been foully murdered the night before, nor on that account do we discredit the validity of the emotion which he puts into his acting. A musician, composer as well as performer, is very much an actor, and he can create a mood as well as a tune. He may find himself thinking of a new tune and this tune of itself will bring on an unexpected mood.
It is very unfortunate that the world ever knew that Beethoven was deaf. Beethoven himself said nothing to show that he feared that his deafness, which began gradually when he was nearly thirty, would interfere with his composing, but he did say that he was worried lest it would be adversely judged as the work of a deaf man. That is just what has happened, and if not really adversely, yet judged with misconceptions that would not have occurred otherwise. The works of his last period, at the end of which deafness became extreme, have been called abstract, disembodied music to be contemplated apart from their actual sound, there being a strange idea that because Beethoven could not hear his works in concert that he did not want other people to hear them. And how account for all the nuances of tone production prescribed in the late works? Do the sul ponticello in the Scherzo of the C# minor Quartet and the pizzicato in the finale of the last quartet represent solely the Platonic idea of those effects? There is in Beethoven no finer orchestration just as sound than in the slow movement of the 9th symphony. In the last five piano sonatas the sense of piano tone becomes more delicate than before, and in Op. 106 Beethoven makes more frequent use of the interval of the 10th in place of the octave, as in the close of the Adagio, suggesting the l0ths of Chopin. But it is sometimes said that this sonata should be played only in the mind. Incidentally there are those who harbor the idea that it was written for some mammoth piano of peculiar mechanism because of its familiar name of Hammerklavier which is only the German word for piano, Beethoven having been persuaded to use German terms for a time. The extra length of the sonata is involved in this misunderstanding, as if there had to be a corresponding extra size in the instrument. Actually a good deal of the three voiced fugue finale might sound well on a harpsichord. At the time that Beethoven wrote this second of the last five sonatas, nine years before he died, he could still hear the piano when he played it himself or stood close to it giving lessons to his nephew. While it would be much fairer to his music if it could be judged entirely on its merits, ignoring or forgetting his deafness, if this subject is to be
considered it is clear that a few scraps of information will not do. There must be knowledge of how deaf Beethoven became and when, and of the fact that when his hearing was still good he did much composing in his head while on long walks. No composer has an orchestra playing his work to him while he writes it, and Wagner is said to have had the scores of entire operas engraved before he had heard them performed. The majority of laymen are handicapped in dealing with this problem because they do not realize that, just as a writer can call to mind remembered colors, a composer can work with remembered tones.
Turning from questions of health and private affairs, we find in Beethoven’s sketchbooks and manuscripts a detailed record of the ways in which he worked out specific musical ideas. The sketches are instructive to a composer, and can help the amateur to understand more about music and how it is written, but they may become an obstacle to the appreciation of the music as the composer wanted it to be revealed in its finished form. A movement in a certain sonata begins with a measure which Beethoven added to the proof after the sonata had been engraved. The measure is thematically related to the whole and makes a happy, epigrammatic introduction to the first theme and all that follows. To be conscious that it was an afterthought spoils its truly integrated effect, and produces a poor kind of “listening intellectually” in which an associated piece of “scholarship” intrudes upon the artistic experience. I have purposely not indicated the location of this measure out of consideration for those enviable persons who do not know about it. Knowledge of the fact is of value for what it shows about the processes of composition, as evidence that what is called inspiration may take the form of an addition or revision. Once this principle has been grasped it is distracting to take note of all the specific places in which it has been applied. If it were so important for the world to be acquainted with the early stages of masterpieces why have the composers made no effort to have them published? Perhaps a pile of examples is needed to convince the amateur that the master of composition is one who expects that he may revise and re‐revise up to the last moment, while the beginner rejects the slightest suggestion for a change in his piece with the remark, “It came to me that way”.
With the advance of musicology there is a salutary move away from the personal, biographical approach, to the study of music as a part of the whole artistic and social life of its time. But here too one must be on one’s guard against the glittering generality, and remember that a standard of comprehensive knowledge has been set which is worth working toward but is beyond realization. How can one person “know all about the 18th century” before he approaches Mozart, and how can he be equally appreciative of all the arts? The interior decoration to be observed in the houses of some musicians should make one skeptical of their ability to pass judgment on visual beauty. Devising analogies between the different arts makes as amusing a parlor game as pinning the tail on the donkey. When a famous scholar tells us that Handel’s themes were so often ponderous because the majestic heroes of his operas could move only slowly in their ponderous costumes, the student seizes upon the statement as a gem for his notebook; but it could well be that both the costumes and the themes conformed to a general taste for the grandiose in Handel’s day, while the taste of the present day runs to every variety of “Information, please.” Whenever the historian or biographer uses the word “because” we must be prepared for more conjecture than fact, and a lot of home‐made theories of psychology and heredity, going almost as far as to assert that Mozart was a great melodist because his grandfather was a bookbinder and “legato” means “bound”. When one voices doubt concerning the basis of an anecdote or some notion of cause and effect one is sometimes confronted with the question, “What difference does it make?”, even from the very person who has brought up the subject; and then one may reply, “If it makes no difference whether it was 1770 or 1780 why did you ever mention 1770?”. Too often it seems that all that “makes a difference” to dispensers and recipients is that the given space in program and record notes, or the allotted radio minutes, be filled with something that sounds like information. At the last moment before the music begins what is the sense of being told who the Margrave of Brandenburg was? Better save biographical lore for a time when it does not interfere with direct attention to the music, and then let it be welcomed as a contribution to the knowledge of life and not as an essential part of musical experience.
EDWARD BALLANTINE. VINEYARD HAVEN, MASSACHUSETTS.
* * * *
The following list contains most of the recent purchases and gifts since the issue of the last bulletin. An asterisk denotes a member of the Association. The Library appreciates the generosity of donors.
PURCHASES Walton—Belshazzar’s Feast for mixed choir, baritone solo and orchestra, piano score Randolph, ed.—Ozark Folksongs. Vol. 3 Honegger—Jeanne d’Arc, piano score Strauss—Salome, piano score Poulenc—Les Mamelles de Tirésias, piano score Bartók—String Quartets, Nos. 3‐6 Strawinsky—Orpheus, piano score Kabalevsky—Sonata No. 1 in C major, op. 13. For piano Albeniz—Suite Española for piano Mahler—Symphony No. 5. Arr. for 2 pfs., 4 hds. Mozart—Overture to The Marriage of Figaro. Arr. for 2 pfs., 4 hds. Lowens—Three songs for voice and piano. Supplement to Musicology Van Vastor—Sonatina for flute and piano “ “ “ Smetana—The Bartered Bride, piano score Britten—Albert Herring, piano score Foss—String Quartet in G. Parts and score The Life and Death of Chopin. Trans. by Norman Guterman—Wierzynski The Wagner Operas—Newman The Rape of Lucretia, (libretto)—Britten, comp. Albert Herring, (libretto)— “ “ Salome, (libretto)—Strauss, comp. Chopin: The Man and his Music—Weinstock The Orchestra: From Beethoven to Berlioz—Carse Strawinsky in the Theatre—Lederman, ed. The Turk in Italy. Trans. and revised by Goldovsky, (libretto)—Rossini, comp. The Symphonies of Mozart. Trans. by Leslie Orrey—Saint‐Foix Beethoven—Scott The Master Musicians Series Bizet—Dean “ Brahms—Latham “ Fauré—Suckling “ Handel—Young “ Palestrina—Coates “ Schubert—Hutchings “ Verdi—Hussey “ Wagner—Jacobs “ The Hymnal 1940 Companion—Protestant Episcopal Church César Franck—Demuth Harpsichord Music—Kenyon Early Chamber Music—Rowen Mozart’s Piano Concertos—Girdlestone
GIFTS History of the National Peace Jubilee and Great Musical Festival, by
P. S. Gilmore—*Charles R. Nutter
From Mrs. Virginia Morrell Ritmo from Danses Andalouses for 2 pianos, by Infante Tango at midnight from Suite “Partita Americana,” by Simmons (arr. for 2 pfs., 4 hds.) Natchez‐on‐the‐Hill. 3 Virginian Country‐Dances, by Powell (arr. for 2 pfs., 4 hds.) Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, by Mozart (arr. for 2 pfs., 4 hds.) Prelude Miltaire, by Rachmaninoff “ “ “
CHARLES R. NUTTER