Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
A
CHARMING little incident, which
connects the two wonderful
and
greatly beloved musicians, Mendelssohn
and Jenny Lind, is told by Elise Polko in
her "Errinnerungen an Mendelssohn."
It was after a grand concert in Leipsic,
at which both artists had taken the audi-
ence by storm, that Mendelssohn made his
first appearance as an orator.
The directors of the Gewandhaus gave a
torchlight serenade in honor of the famous
singer, and so many people thronged into
the garden of the Brockhaus, where Jenny
Lind was at the time, that it was crowded
to overflowing. The ovation was so wildly
enthusiastic that it bewildered the "Swed-
ish Nightingale," who turned to Men-
delssohn, and asked what she should do to
satisfy the crowd of people who had
thronged to serenade and do her homage.
"You must go down and say a few words
to make them happy," prompted Men-
delssohn.
"Good," she replied, after a minute's
hesitation. " I will go to them, but you
must lead me, and speak in my place."
Mendelssohn presented his arm, and they
went down and out into the crowd of ar-
tists and admirers in the garden. The ap-
pearance of these two together raised a
perfect tempest of applause. When Men-
delssohn could at last make himself heard,
he spoke:
"My dear friends," said he, "you must
not think for a moment that I am now
Mendelssohn; I am Miss Jenny Lind, and
I thank you heartily for this delightful sur-
prise.
"After, however, taking to myself the
honor of this splendid personality, I will
now return to my former self, the Leipsic
musical director, and cry with you all:
'Long live Jenny Lind!' "
A thousand-voiced echo followed this
cry; even though the singer protested
against the manner in which he had per-
formed the task she had intrusted to him,
she was moved by the beauty ard grace of
his little speech, and, accompanied by the
strains of Mendelssohn's "Wood Song,"
the pair left the place together.
* *
Manager Charles Frohman, now the afflu-
ent director of a round dozen important
theatrical companies, and having in his
employ more actors and actresses than any
other manager in the world, has had his
ups and downs like other venturers on the
troubled sea of amusement speculation. A
number of years ago Mr. Frohman, then
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
r i
going through the process of "getting the
worst of it," made a tour of the Pacific
Slope and the extreme Northwest with
what a placer miner would call
the
"tailings" of the Lester Wallack company.
The other evening he was relating to some
old friends his experience in those days of
hard times. He told of the queer charac-
ters encountered, the adventures undergone
and the •many difficulties attendant upon
steering clear of the rocks of disaster with
a troupe that could not, or at least did not,
draw money enough to pay its expenses.
"Everybody who had a company in the
Northwest at that time," said Mr. Froh-
man, "was fervently wishing himself at
the other end of the country—that is, at
this end. In one place I met an organiza-
tion that had been playing for months to
$30 or $40 a night and just managing to
get from one town to another by the skin
of its teeth, as we say in the classics.
Well, in this place of which I speak, by
some curious and wholly inexplicable fluke,
this company had drawn a six hundred
dollar house. Of course everybody was
flabbergasted by this bit of good luck. No-
body undertook to find out how it hap-
pened, but all hands, in a stunned sort of
way, sat around silently. In the morning
the manager, having paid the bills and
laid aside a few dollars, went to the rail-
road station with his company and pushed
the remainder of his money through the
window of the ticket office.
" 'Gimme eleven tickets,' he said.
" 'Where to?' inquired the station agent.
"'East!'"
Dell," "The Vacant Chair," etc.
Dr.
Root's songs were a force in the Civil War,
creative of courage and productive of valor,
and his services in this connection alone
entitle him to an unique place at the hands
of historians. Some idea of the extent and
popularity of his war songs may be gath-
ered from the fact that in a catalogue of
114 "National War Songs," recently pub-
lished, no less than thirty-six are from the
pen of Dr. Root. None of them failed of
success, or at least a degree of popularity.
But "Tramp, Tramp!" and "The Battle
Cry" achieved a phenomenal record. At
one time • the publishers had fouiteen
presses at work on the latter, and were even
then unable to fill the orders which crowded
in from every direction. It was not un-
usual for a single house to order 20,000
copies at once, and the aggregate sale of
each song is estimated at from 500,000 to
750,000. In addition to the numerous lyrics
that made him famous, Dr. Root wrote
several cantatas, among the best known of
which are "The Haymakers" and "The
Flower Queen.'
.
•
*
*•
I met Carl Schurz the other day on
upper Broadway.
He has aged tremen-
dously during the past few years. At one
time there was a striking resemblance be-
tween the ex-Union General and Carl
Neuendorffer, the valued aide of Wessell,
Nickel & Gross. Although to-day there is
a strong facial resemblance, yet Mr. Neu-
endorffer has the decided advantage of
Mr. Schurz in looks.
He has the same
strong features which were a distinguish-
ing mark of Schurz years ago.
Mr.
Neuendorffer preserves also the same up-
right carriage and soldierly bearing which
as a young soldier must have made his a
strong figure when he entered Paris with
the victorious army of united Germany
after that long and terrible siege a quarter
of a century ago.
*
•
*
-
By the death last week of Dr. Geo. F.
Root, this country lost one of her best
loved
and
representative
composers.
Wherever the English language is spoken,
these great war songs which he wrote in a
great crisis in our country's history, are
known and sung. It is impossible to over-
estimate the influence of such soul-stirring
songs as "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp the Boys
are Marching," "Just Before the Battle,
Mother," "The Battle Cry of Freedom,"
and others of that order, or the simple,
healthy sentiment of these ballads which
are associated with our childhood, "Hazel
* *
*
Dr. Root was born in Sheffield, Mass.,
in 1820, and unaided, learned the use of a
number of musical instruments. Later he
studied in this country and in Europe.
He was the originator of the normal musi-
cal institutes, and when the first one was
held at New York in 1852, was one of the
faculty. During his long career he did
much to elevate the standard of music in
this country, not only by his musical com-
positions, but also by his "methods" for
the piano and organ, handbooks on har-
mony and teaching and innumerable arti-
cles for the musical press.
Dr. Root became connected w 7 ith the
music trade in i860, when the firm of Root
& Cady was founded in Chicago. Up to
the time of the fire, when they lost almost
a quarter of a million dollars, they were
most successful. Later they sold out to the
John Church Co. and the S. Brainard's
Sons.
Dr. Root was a charming personality,
and could count upon every man as his
friend. Modest, sociable and ever helpful
to those struggling on life's stormy path,
his memory will ever live in the hearts of
his countrymen.
This is truly the age o£ advertising—
original advertising.
As I passed down
Broadway last Wednesday night I noticed
an election-night crowd gazing skyward in
the region of Thirty-seventh street and
Broadway. Curiosity prompted me to in-
vestigate, and leaving the car, I found the
commotion was due to a huge sign, illum-
inated by electricity, which was suspended
about 1,000 feet above terra finna, bearing
the familiar legend "Sapolio."
How it
got there, what invisible power held it in
place, and how it was so successfully ma--
nipulated, were the questions asked on all
sides. I marvelled with the rest, and in
the meantime paid homage to the genius
who conceived this most original and effect-