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THE MUSICAL CRITIC AND TRADE REVIEW.
May 5th, 1882.
THE GREAT MUSIC FESTIVAL.
OPENED UNDER EXCELLENT AUSPICES IN THE
SEVENTH REGIMENT ARMORY.
SCOPE OF THE FESTIVAL—ANALYSIS OF THE PRO-
GRAMME—COMPOSITION OF THE CHORUSES
AND SKETCHES OF THE PROMI-
NENT ARTISTS-REVIEW OF
THE FIRST THREE
CONCERTS.
ODE TO THE FESTIVAL.
Hail, happy day, that to the world unfolds
Our Feast of Song by St. Cecilia blest!
Hail, day of joy, on which world-weary souls
In music's charm serenely seek sweet rest!
Amid spring's airy train of days, thou'lt stand
As one that's doubly beauteous, fair and bright,
Nor with thy sisters four, throughout the land
Forgotten be, while hearts in song delight!
11.
All hail, O Temple, wont erstwhile to ring
With din of arma, and loud Olympian games!
Let Mars be silent while the Muses sing
In homage to revered, immortal names!
And may these perfect harmonies remain
To haunt with gentle spirit evermore
Thy walls! oft then shall soft, melodious strain
Shed peaceful glow where dwelt but strife
before!
in.
Loud welcome greet ye, nations gathered here,
Drawn by divinest Art's resistless sway!
Let hearts exultant throb, lend willing ear
Before the shrine of Harmony to-day!
Undying music's strains must e'er inspire
To better lives, and make us happier men;
From sordid cares set free, with souls afire
Unto the feast, with awe, approach ye theu!
Enthusiasm's sacred light your souls illume.
And bright-eyed Fancy whisper soft and low!
Then only shall each masterpiece assume
A living form; its lofty contents glow
And glorify your lives for coming days!
Then shall this Feast of Harmony disclose
Truths so divine, that theirs the power "to raise
Him who shall read them o'er all earthly woes!"
v.
Resound, oh, trumpet, viol, flute and lyre,
Awake the echoes with your hymns of praise !
Burst fortii in song, O thousand-throated choir,
And swell their measures with yonr festal lays!
O sing, ye gifted ones, by all the earth admired,
Whose tones with thrills of wildest joy we greet!
Until, by music's mystic power inspired,
In full response each listening heart shall beat!
VI.
With him to whom the world of sound was sealed,
But whose gigantic soul the louder spoke,
Ye shall begin! Then stand revealed
The Titan thoughts of one whose kiss awoke
The sleeping tragic muse with god-like power!
Who feared not flame of fire nor danger's might;
Whose genius from the depths in crowning hour
Invoked bright, gleaming gold to glad the sight.
From sacred thought to classic scene then stray,
From solemn tread to graceful rhythm unbend!
Sweet melody, too, exert her pleasing sway,
And to our feast a grateful incense lend!
vn
All hail, glad feast, thou temple, O ye listening
band,
Ye instruments and tuneful voices all!
Thrice happy ye, that in such mighty hand
Was laid the magic wand whose gift to call
From silent space this marvelous world of sound!
Ah! who in music's realm more worthy found
To paint in life-like tints undying thought;
All hearts that are by music's mysteries taught
With fervent, reverent zeal, secure to hold,—
Than he, who oft in happy days of old
From classic page such wondrous tales hath told!
Let mem'ry all her rarest treasures show,
Hope doth with fairer, brighter promise glow;
And future ages shall in triumph sing
Loud praise to Him, our Festival's great King!
H. D.
301
very nature must be most progressive. A mu-
sic
festival is the occasion when living genius
The greatest and most effective factor in the
be accorded a plaee of honor next to the
advancement of the art of music and its general should
masters.
dissemination among the masses, is a music festi- dead
We should be afforded the opportunity of learn-
val, organized upon a large scale.
and appreciating the inspiration and tendency
The cultivated amateur and lover of the art ia ing
the young and active element in music—that
always informed of the various musical societies of
element which, by its genius, is constantly keep-
and the opportunities for musical culture which ing
best active thought of the day centered
their performances offer, and there exists under upon the
it. Without detracting fiom the immortal
the auspices of each and every musical organiza- fame of
great minds that originated and for-
tion a limited clientele which supports the concerts mulated the
the laws of the art, and that subsequently
of each society.
developed the grandest theories and applied them
These societies are, as a rule, few or numerous, with such force that they have become everlasting
in proportion to the population of the communi- —without even slighting them or giving their names
ties in which they exist. The effect of their work an indifferent position, it does seem that some of
upon the art is necessarily limited; it does not our living, active composers should have received
appeal to the masses, and consequently cannot the compliment of a prominent position on the
excite a local or national interest. In some of the programme.
European countries this fact stood out so clearly
And as a matter of education it should have been
that a pressure was exercised towards a gradual considered
a duty to show us what has been accom-
expansion of the sphere of classical music, which plished iu the
latter day; how old forms have been
resulted in the formation of musical festival or- utilized for modern
musical thought; how the
ganizations.
treatment of large vocal bodies differ from that of
At first their scope was small, and related only the old school; how instrumentation has been de-
to a small section of country. Local celebrities veloped since the application of Berlioz's wonder-
were engage'd for solo purposes, and choruses ful innovation; howtbe recitative has been applied.
from neighboring towns were collected; but since These and many other fundamental questions are
the days of the Nieder-Rhein Festivals, at Diissel- of such interest to the musical students of to-day,
dorf, and the great English Festivals, their scope that a contrast would have afforded them untold
has enlarged to such an extent that choruses of benefits.
thousands of singers are enrolled, and the most
renowned artists of the globe are selected for the It is for these reasons that we think it would
have been more than desirable to present one
occasions.
modern choral work.
Musical directors of eminence conduct the great great
Many of the solo artists are distinguished. We
works of the masters, and the festivals become append
sketches of their careers, and also Bketches
national in their character.
the musical activity of Theodore Thomas and
The New York Festival of 1882, although not of
Dudley Buck.
the first of its kind in this country, belongs to Mr.
The
management has been under the
this class. It was designed with the intention of control business
of the most eminent citizens, and
producing an effect which weuld be national, at- it is due of to some
their energies and cooperation that
tracting the widest attention and creating the pecuniary success
has been assured.
most intense interest in the art of music among
the people.
The choruses are very large and drawn from
SKETCH OF THE ARTISTS.
communities that are gradually becoming identi-
fied with music to a degree heretofore unprece-
MATERNA.
dented. The orchestra is considered the most Amalia Materna is a native of St. George, a
competent that can be selected in any city on the
market town of Styria. She was born in
globe. The solo artists are among the musical small
Her father, the town schoolmaster, was an
celebrities of the day, and Theodore Thomas is 1847.
musician, who could perform upon half
one of the best known directors on either side of excellent
a dozen instruments. His talent for music ap-
the Atlantic.
pears to have been transmitted to his daughter.
In her ninth year little Amalia distinguished her-
THE PROGRAMME.
self as a soloist in church, and was in great de-
One of the features of a musical festival which mand on holy days in all the neighboring ham-
requires extraordinary attention, coupled with lets.
wise discretion, is the selection of the works and
When the girl was 12 years of age her father
the order of their performance. Mr. Thomas has died,
his family penniless. Amalia's
been exceptionally distinguished for his ability brother, leaving
however, had faith in her future, and at
in arranging programmes. Most of the concerts once proposed
a journey to Vienna, where a com-
that he has directed are memorable for the
musician miglit try her voice and under-
model programmes that he arranged. In the con- petent
culture. Thither traveled the pair, and
struction of the Festival programme he seems to take its was
presented to Prof. Gentiluorno. The
have been influenced by considerations from Amalia
Professor admired her voice, but the advantages
which he could not free himself, as it must be ad- contingent
upon undertaking Amalia's musical
mitted that there is an absence of an element education did
not impress him as sufficiently
which finds in him an ardent follower, and that is tempting to accept
her as a pupil. Badly disap-
the modern element in music.
pointed, the child quitted Vienna and joined her
The programmes of each performance are ad- mother in Upper Styria, where , she passed the
mirably arranged, but in the general selection of ensuing three years.
workB no place is devoted to any great modern
choral work. Simply as a question of compari- At the expiration of this period, the whole fam-
son, it would seem to us to have been more than ily emigrated to Gratz, where, after acquiring
judicious to place one of the later choral works considerable local repute in church services and
concerts, Amalia finally obtained an engagement
among the compositions of the festival.
Time has been taken to study the works now at the theatre. Forty gulden—about 320—a
on the programme, and in place of a few numbers, month was her first salary; but after her successful
that could have been dispensed with without detri- appearance in Suppe's "Flotte Burschen," this
ment to the whole, a choral work of Brahms, small sum was increased to 100 gulden. During
Rubinstein, Liszt, or Saint-Saens, could have her two years' sojourn in Gratz Amalia Materna
been rehearsed, if not by all the societies, at least filled almost all the leading rules in the Offen-
bachian and light repertoire. After her second
by those in this immediate section.
The prominence given to Wagner is justifiable, season in Gratz, she was engaged for the Carl
and the selections from " Der Ring des Nibelun- Theatre, in Vienna, at an annual salary of 5,000
gen " are without doubt the best that could have gulden, and an extra honorarium of five gulden for
been made, taking the surroundings into consid- each performance. While confining herself still
to the repertoire of opera comique and opera
eration.
bouffe, however, she aspired to reach a higher
Yet Wagner is only one of the great masters of plane
of art. To this end she studied diligently
the day. No festival could be complete here that the more
trying roles of opera seria under Prof.
did not embrace a prominent work or fragment of Proch, and
day her execution of Donna El-
a prominent work of this genius; but the same viras grand one
air in "Don Giovanni" so delighted
rule should have been applied to others equally as Hofkapellmeister
Esser that the latter insisted
profound in their peculiar field of labor.
upon
her
engagement
for the Imperial Opera
As a whole evening is devoted to Handel, and House in Vienna.
one of his master works selected to do honor to
his name, could it not have been arranged so that
Her debut in grand opera was effected in April,
a modern choral work would be sung instead of 1869.
She appeared in "L'Africaine," and her
his "Jubilate" on the first evening, even if the success was immediate. Subsequent representa-
programme in consequence would have been tions of Amalia in "Un Ballo," and Leonora i»
enlarged?
"Fidelio," led to Fraulein Materna's re-engage-
We question
the advisability of adhering strictly ment for three years, and since those days, al-
r
t© tradition, especially in an art which from its though she has been accorded leave of absence to
SCOFE OF THE FESTIVAL,.