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January 5th,
THE MUSICAL CRITIC AND TRADE REVIEW.
for most any price; and as they do so, the mana-
gers or directors think that good players, who
have devoted time and attention and study to the
art, must also do so.
There should be a grade of distinction between
players who are of value to an orchestra, and those
who are mere mackines. Tho most discouraging
feature of all this is, that the price is gradually
decreasing, and with it the quality of the music.
I am quite sure that Prof Finke will have less
trouble with his chorus, which consists of ama-
teurs generally, than with his orchestra, which
consists of professional players.
SOMETHING INTERESTING PROMISED.
The secret of all this is the valuation placed
upon a player's work. At some later day I will
give you an interesting review of the whole or-
chestral system, as it prevails in our city. It will
prove interesting reading to many people here
who often go into ecstacies when they hear, or
think they hear, music at the Peabody.
we were mistaken. The Society seemed to appre-
iate the general effects of music on the feelings,
passions, and sympathies of mankind, and showed
general acquaintance with the practical science
ecessary for the production of superior works of
larmony, such as
" T H E MESSIAH."
Notwithstanding a most inclement night, the audi-
ence was very large, and looked quite brilliant and
ay, with large opera hats. How said opera hats
ooked to the fellows seated behind them, was a
tudy. Without any knowledge of physiognomy,
ive will venture to say they wanted to swear, and
some did, sure. This is one of the greatest nuis-
ances now prevalent in the musical world. The
ncore fiend is another. The musical mendicant,
who steers a concert for the benefit of one who
has no claim on the public for a benefit, is another
nuisance,—all of which should be abated.
Mr. Cross certainly deserves great credit. He
made the most of his forces, and in a most artistic
manner secreted his defective singers, of whom
there are some in every Society, of course. How-
ever, the chourses were well sung, in fairly good
ime, and, beyond a disposition to slacken at the
difficult passages, the volume of sound was excel-
lent. In several places the attack was not good,
and some of the choruses were marred by voices
singing notes too high for them, as was particu-
larly noticeable in " His yoke is easy," etc. " For
unto us," etc., was nicely rendered, and received
a well-deserved encore.
In the " Glory to God," the "good wills" were
a little too far apart, as in fact was the case with
similar passages throughout the work, i. e., where
one part should attack simultaneously with the
onclusion of the other. Here each one waited
until the other stopped entirely, and thus lost
one of the nicest effects. Another thing: The
orchestra played much too loud. The oratorio
was liberally cut, sixty pages being stricken from
the one hundred and eighty-two pages.
1SS
house, fn fact, every ticket had been sold a week
before, and some promised had to be recalled.
Such complete financial success—for these were
ieason tickets—rarely attends a musical organi-
;ation, and the management is all the more worthy
f commendation. The fact also that every ticket
as taken for the entire series, shows the high
appreciation in which the Club is held.
The concert was a complete success. The chorus
/as en rapport with the conductor, and sang with
he precision of a quartette. But one mistake was
made, and that was in " Romisehe Leichenfeier,"
where one or two of the basses took a third above
he E note in the bass lead, " Seine kruger seh'n,"
which did not fit very well when the tenors came
in three bars later. With this exception the
shorus sang admirably, and aroused great enthu-
iasm for the remainder of the work, especially so
n the andante meastosa.
The gem of the evening was a vintage song,
'Autumn is come again," by Corder. The audi-
nce enthusiastically demanded an encore, which
Mr. Gilchrist vainly endeavored to beg out of.
You TEEPE.
The transition from the major to the minor key,
in the third verse, was beautifully done.
PHILADELPHIA.
Miss Fales contributed Nicalo's "Ave Maria"
PHILADELPHIA, December 24.
nd an encore. She is a young lady, with a clear,
r
p H E past week, although dull at the theatres,
beautiful
soprano voice, of very high register.
TT
_L as is usually expected by the managers, has
nfortunately, it is cold.
been most important and brilliant in its concerts
Mr. Thos. A Becket was the accompanist. Mr.
—the two by Madame Patti and those of the
Becket's reputation is as wide as the land, having
Cecilian and the Mendelssohn Club.
accompanied every first-class artist, native or
The question has frequently been propounded,
foreign, at one time or another.
Is music—that is, music really worthy of the name
Herr Martinus Yon Gelder contributed Gade's
—popular in Philadelphia ? The universality
sonata in D minor, Wieniawaski's "Legende,"
of the love to listen to and enjoy the harmony
and the " Lauralie," with private variations as an
of sweet sounds is undoubtedly present in our city.
encore. Herr Yon Gelder comes to us from across
This was fully demonstrated by the brilliant and
'the pond," with credentials of the highest
enthusiastic audiences which attended the concerts
degree. He is quite a young man, but possesses
of our home societies and those of
reat technical ability. He handles his bow beau-
tifully, and shows evidence of good training
MADAME ADELINA PATTI.
throughout; but he lacks repose and security and
And, by the way, Madame Patti has not only made
powerful fullness of tone.
good her title as "Queen of the Lyric Drama,"
We do not like to have a solo artist sit down,
MRS. E. ALINE OSGOOD,
but has, during her brief stay in our city, been
yet very few will stand and play a Gade sonata,
from
England;
Miss
Emily
Winant,
of
New
York;
feted by our best society, although, at her own re-
xcept with orchestra. If a sonata is too long for
quest, everything was very quiet and unostenta- Mr. Theo. J. Toedt, of New York, and Mr. John a person to stand up and play it, why, it's possibly
F. Winch, of Boston, were the soloists. We under- too lengtliy for the appreciation and entertainment
tious in the social courtesies extended her.
The Patti season has been a complete success, stand Mrs. Osgood sang in Chicago the day before, of a popular audience.
musically and financially, as the two Philadelphia and came to Philadelphia by express, reaching The piano accompaniment, by Mrs. Von Gelder,
concerts brought Mr. Abbey upwards of $17,000, here only two hours before ike concert; and this was was too loud in parts. A different selection, ac-
the reason assigned for her unsatisfactory singing. companied by a few chords on the piano, would
of which one-third was clear profit.
If it was Mrs. Osgood's desire to fulfill nu-
proved a better encore. In fact, Herr Von
PATTl's SINGING.
merous engagements, she did not treat the have
Gelder played too much on the high strings, and
"Did you like her vocalization?" asked the Philadelphia public properly, and, while she may we do not like a violin without an accompanying
rsmateur, reaching over the seat on which Mrs. have made some extra money, she has lost decidedly instrument.
Partington sat, as a prima donna concluded a grand in drawing-power in Philadelphia.
Mr. Von Gelder deserves praise, and may be
aria in a manner that sent a thrill of pleasure We never heard her before, and so we can't say placed well up amongst the best violinists in this
what was journey and what was nature. She sang country. We cannot close without a word of praise
•through the audience.
" Did you like her vocalization ?" he repeated. sharp throughout the evening, and marred the for the admirable arrangement of Gounod's " Naz-
"Yes," replied she, with animation, beating the effect of the oft-recurring sentence. "I know that areth." The arrangement had a grand swing to it,
time on her umbrella handle, "and I like her sing- my Redeemer liveth," by some very original and the transfer of the theme to one and another
ing, too. The music of the spears can't be no phrasing. Still, she sang the whole aria in a of the parts lent great variety, while the harmonic
dreamy, delicate way, which many of the audience contrasts maintained the interests to the end. It
better."
Patti's vocalization, true artistic method, and seemed to like. Yet, we have frequently heard it is the best arranged solo we have ever heard, and
•execution, so complete and so facile—such true sung with more effect.
this much-sung solo derived a new and special
Miss Winant's voice is good, but her style is too interest from Mr. W. W. Gilchrist's facile pen.
singing, pure, firm, even, and brilliantly refined—
lachrymose entirely. We admire pathos, but don't
delighted and satisfied the audience.
"PATIENCE."
The great Diva came tripping on the stage much like to see a burst of tears impending. Her best
as she did when the Prince of Wales applauded singing was the first part of "He shall feed his Comic opera does not recede an inch. It's all
flock
like
a
shepherd,"
which
was
transposed
one-
her in the Academy twenty-one years ago, and she
one can do to keep track of the companies play-
was nightly greeted with enthusiastic applause. fourth lower in the key of F for her.
" Patience " in this city. The leading parts
Her audience followed her spell-bound until she Mr. Toedt sang very agreeably, and made a good ing
so numerous in "Patience," that it is appar-
quickly tripped behind the scenes, always followed impression. Only we could not see the necessity are
ently as difficult to cast it as " Don Giovanni."
by a burst of applause and a ripple of half-sup- of his taking the F, near the end of "Behold and
Mr. T. B. Pugh gives us " Patience " next week,
see if there be any sorrow," in falsetto tone.
pressed cheers.
As to Mr. Winch, a great while ago he had a fine on a largo scale, at the Academy, conjointly with
Patti has presented us a wonderful exhibition
J. Stetson, of Booth's Theatre. This has
of versatility in her art. She sang the classic and bass voice, with a beautiful open tone up to C Mr.
been
announced as the only original, expressly
Every
time
we
have
seen
him
since,
he
has
lost
one
florid music of Rossini, the spasmodic and intense-
licensed by the authors and proprietors of the
ly tragic notes of Verdi, the sparkling and tender of those open tones, and his voice has steadily copyright, and contains all the scenery, all the
music of Gounod, and English ballads with the closed downwards until now we do not believe ho music, and all the costumes of the original version.
simplicity and directness that a ballad ought to has an open tone in his voice. Some said he had a Just think of it: The music was a little thin and
have; and all these with clearness, breadth cold, and others that he was lazy; but we have kind o' threadbare, to start with. How must the
beauty, and stirring dramatic force. Her perform assigned the true reason for his lack of success. original scenery and costumes look if unpatched,
ances have been versatile and complete, and the In "The trumpet shall sound," which, by the way and patches surely cannot be aesthetic. A rent is
audience on each occasion expressed repeatedly its we consider the most difficult of all the "Messiah' the accident of a day, but a patch is premeditated
high appreciation of her artistic worth, and of the solos, where he proclaimed "We shall be changed," poverty, and it cannot be a'sthetie to be poor. It
uncommon pleasure with which her too short visit his words proved prophetic, as his voice went to will become too fashionable, by half. However,
pieces, and "Richard was not himself again."
will be remembered.
we shall see what we shall see.
Mr. Cross did not give the soloists a full show
Her last song, in answer to a storm of applause
RICE'S OPERA COMPANY
as she stood with her whole company before the as the "quartettes" were sung by the full chorus.
We will say that we were pleased with the work
curtain, was, appropriately, "The Last Rose o
have
played
"
" all the week at the Opera
Summer," which, in the autumn of 1800, on the of the chorus, and the result of many weary weeks of House. There Patience
are not many of the old "Surprise
same stage, almost smothered with flowers, was study gave the Cecilian a popular musical triumph Party"
left, but there is too much of the "free
last lhursday evening. The "Worthy is the Lamb,"
the first triumph of her great success.
from "Blessing and honor and glory," out to th and easy " to do justice to "Patience."
Rose Temple played Patience with unexceptional
THE CECILIAN.
end of the oratorio, were sung as well as we hav<
We believe a taste for and a capacity to enjo heard older and more pretentious Societies do it, an< taste. Mr. Dixey's Bunthorne is excellently acted,
but poorly sung. Rosa Cook is not only a mas-
superior music is far inoro common than the this last is something of a chorus, you know.
sive, but intelligent, Lady Jane. The Colonel sings
amount of science necessary to provide satisfaction
THE MENDELSSOHN CLUB
badly, and so does the Major, and the Dragoon
for such a taste; and this we believed to be th
relative relations of the Philadelphia public and gave the first concert of the present season, Dec. generally out of time.
(Continued on page 157.)
the Cecilian Society. We must honestly confes 20, in St. George's Hall, to a brilliant and crowded