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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
26
ARE WE LESS JOYFUL THAN WE USED To BE ?—
WORKMEN SHOULD SING AND MAKE MERRY
—A NIGHT OF TRIUMPH FOR SEIDL AND
CALVE—THE SUNDAY CONCERT AT
THE METROPOLITAN A SUCCESS
—HOW THE ORGANIST WAS
SHOCKED — STILL
ANOTHER ON
TA-RA-RA—
PADERF.WSKI RELIES MORE UPON MUSCLE THAN
GENIUS—THREE CONCERTOS EASY TO SLI-
VINSKI—DR. DOREMUS* SOUVENIR OF
OLE BULL—MR. LEON MARX, ANOTHER
PRODIGY—SALE OF VALUABLE
AUTOGRAPHS—DR. WALDTERN
PEGG.
we less inerry than we used to be ? Do
we sing less ? If so, is it because we
work harder, asks the Brooklyn Eagle. In
Shakespeare's day England was called a sing-
ing nation and people sang at their work. Apro-
pos of this a noted Bostonian says that in his
town labor is unaccompanied by song. If a
conservative Bostonian should surprise his
tailor in a vocal burst he would suspect alcoholic
stimulation ; he might not accuse him boldly
of intoxication, but he would mentally charge
him with undue incalescence and feverish
gestuation. The French still have street cries,
and many were noted in music by Kastner.
They are very old, these calls, very old. They
go beyond the time of Henry of Navarre, and
some, confounded or synonymous with plain
song, were heard in the mists of antiquity. The
grand monarch no doubt lent them gracious
condescension. They sounded in the ears of
the Marquis de Sade as he sighed after the lost
books of Elephantis and meditated on Helio-
gabalian enormity. They rose mingled with
horrid jests to the pallid guests of the guillotine,
while the avenging women sat below and
knitted and knitted. Nor were they drowned
in the booming of German cannon without the
city walls. I am told that the people of London
town are invited with musical vehemence to
purchase muffins, cat's meat, primroses and
mackerel. In Boston we have only the wild
shriek of the huckster of oranges or strawberries.
Why should our workmen and errand boys ply
their calling in morose silence ? Each occupa-
tion should have at least a characteristic musi-
cal phrase. Then might the messenger of
leaden heels appease a wrathful humorist by the
boyish freshness of an ironical presto. Then
might the seller of cucumbers accompany his
acceptance and delivery with the initial strains
of a dead march. And even the plumber, that
grim man, might then herald his approach by a
soothing and conciliatory tune.
* * *
The first Sunday night concert by the artists
of the opera company was a night of triumph
for Anton Seidl and Mme. Calve. It is no mis-
use of terms to speak of this French woman as a
great artist. Her voice is not remarkable for its
quality ; her technical facility is not extraor-
dinary. But there are in her singing the greater
elements of heart and soul. Delicately and yet
most absolutely she endows the musical phrases
she sings with their sentiment. Her charming
and magnetic personality individualizes her
song. Her first number was the intermezzo
from Mascagni's " Cavalleria Rusticana," ar-
ranged as an Ave Maria, the voice taking the
dainty melody usually played by the violins.
In the second part of the program she roused
the audience to such a pitch of enthusiasm that
it reminded one of those demonstrative gather-
ings that have become proverbial in La Scala.
She sang "LeMysoli," from Felicien David's
" Perle du Bresil," with such exquisite musical
diction, its notes emitted with such delicious
tenderness, that, following an irresistible im-
pulse, the enchanted listeners broke out in a
storm of applause which drowned the unfinished
cadenza, in which flute and voice mingled in
absolute purity of tone. She was so palpably
pleased with her success that the encore she
gave, a simple, pathetic little song, without in-
strumental accompaniment, seemed like the gift
of a delighted woman.
M. Plancon sang several songs with that per-
fection of phrasing which has given him his
high reputation. Mme. Arnoldson displayed
her facile vocalization in the Dinorah Shadow
Song, and Mme. Nordica sang a Gounod aria
with breadth and dramatic vigor.
The orchestral selections were all interesting.
Mr. Seidl's arrangement of Liszt's Spanish
Rhapsody is a brilliant piece of harmonic or-
chestration. It was well played, as were the
Berlioz " Dance of the Sylphs " and Tschaikow-
sky's "Pizzicato Ostinato."
Composers of popular music have achieved
happy results by changing the tunes of old songs
and substituting up-to-date words. The most
recent atrocity of this kind occurred in Brooklyn
a few Sundays since, and was perpetrated by the
leader of a popular metropolitan male quartet.
He took the air of one of the most popular songs
and arranged it as a quartet for mixed voices.
As the air is really a meritorious composition,
the harmony when the arrangement was com-
pleted was exquisite. Then he put the words
of an " O Salutaris Hostia " to it and sprung it
on the choir at rehearsal. The time in which it
was sung was so slow that neither the orchestra
nor the singers suspected the truth. All were
captivated by the harmony, and Bob got a good
deal of credit for his new (?) composition. After
the choir had sung it over several times and it
had been decided to sing the selection at vespers
the next evening, Bob said to the organist:
" I wish you would try it over just a little
faster."
"Oh, no, Bob," said the organist, "the time
is just right. A faster movement would spoil it.
As it is at present it breathes the very spirit of
earnest supplication and adoration."
"Yes, yes; I know all about that," replied
Bob, '' but I have tried it in several movements
and I am not entirely satisfied that the faster
movement is the better one. Just run off a few
measures in jig time."
" Why, that would be sacrilege ! " exclaimed
the organist, horror-stricken. '' It would violate
the highest emotions."
" Oh, nonsense," exclaimed Bob. "Jig off"a
few measures and let's hear how it goes."
The organist complied. The attention of the
whole choir had been attracted and everybody
was listening intently. The character of the
music was entirely changed by the change of
time. Only three measures of music had drop-
ped from the fingers of the player when he stop-
ped and looked at Bob. The face of the com-
poser was split with a grin like that of Billy
Kersands. The soprano sent a hymn-book fly-
ing with such accuracy that it struck Bob under
the left ear. Then all hands roared with uncon-
trollable laughter.
It was " Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay."
* #
*
A musician relates an anecdote which shows
that Paderewski does not rely upon genius, but
upon that quality, which in New England, they
say, makes perfect bread—elbow and wrist work.
A friend of this musician's had a room next to
the apartments occupied by Paderewski when he
was in this city, and used frequently to hear the
pianist when at his practice. One day, over-
hearing the virtuoso play a couple of bars a
number of times, this listener thought that he
would keep tally of the number of times Pader-
ewski played those two bars before going to
something else. This silent tally kept the
listener long past his dinner hour, but when
Paderewski at last stopped and the list was
counted, it was found that he had played it over
878 times without stopping. Musicians say
that Paderewski's countryman, Slivinski, will
entail a greater amount of physical strength and
endurance than was necessary for Paderewski to
show at any one of his concerts, for he thinks
nothing of playing in the same evening three
concertos of great length and full of prodigious
difficulties.
*
Dr. Ogden Doremus, the great chemist, was
an intimate friend of the noted violinist, Ole
Bull, and when the latter was dying he presented
the Doctor with his watch as a keepsake. In
the Doctor's handsome house there hangs in a
conspicious place a life-sized portrait of Ole Bull.
The Doctor has not lost interest in the family of
the violinist and often hears from Mrs. Bull,
who resides in Cambridge, Mass. Recently, it
is stated, he heard of the approaching marriage
of Mrs. Bull's daughter, who has the unique
cognomen of Olea Sarah Bull. The Olea is
intended to be the feminine of Ole. Professor
Doremus is an excellent judge of music and a
good critic.
V
Mr. Leon Marx, a gifted young violinist, is a
recent arrival from the metropolis of the West.
He is a pupil of Jacobssohn, and has played
with great success at the Thomas' concerts. He
comes to us highly recommended. Mr. Marx
is young and attractive, and possessing the
requisite hirsute adornment to make him popu-
lar with the ladies, combined with unusual
musical talents, there is no reason why he
should not obtain a successful footing among
our metropolitan musicians. We shall look for
him at one of our Sunday evening concerts be-
for long.
Wm. H. Sherwood, the celebrated teacher,
says: "Mr. Leon Marx, of Chicago, is one of
the most promising violinists that it has ever
been my pleasure to encounter. He bids fair to
be one of the great violinists of the day, and to
do his great teacher, Jacobssohn, credit."
* #
*
A very high price was obtained for some
musical autographs at a late auction in Berlin.
The original of the cantata " D a Friedefurst,
Herr Jesus Christ," by Joh. Sab. Bach, sixteen
folio pages, was sold for 1,600 marks to Albert
Cohn. Two other Bach MSS. in Bach's own
hand, twelve to fifteen folio pages, .brought 1,400
and 1,300 marks. A number of other manu-
scripts of the great composer varied from 120 to
350 marks, and the whole collection of twelve
{Continued on page 2S.)