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56 PAGES,
With which is incorporated THE KEYNOTE.
V O L . XXIX. No. 19.
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill at 3 East Fourteenth Street. New York, Nov. 4,1899.
T^HAT the study of music in the public
1 schools of this country is becoming a
serious matter is apparent from the admir-
able policy outlined and now being de-
veloped by the gentleman in charge of
these departments.
For example, in Nashua, N. H., at the
beginning of the school year, Musical
Director Hood advocated that the study of
music should be made optional with the
pupils of the High School, inasmuch as
it is compulsory in all the grades below
the High School. The Board of Edu-
cation granted the request, with the re-
sult that out of about 180 pupils, 126
have elected the singing class. The choral
works to be studied during the ensuing
year are Mendelssohn's oratorio, "St.
Paul," and Greger's cantata, "Spring."
In addition to this Mr. Hood has intro-
duced an extra course for the two upper
classes for the study of history and theory
of music, musical forms and biography.
In conjunction with this course the develop-
ment and forms of music will be exempli-
fied before the class by competent inter-
preters. A class of twenty-five has elected
this course. The text books to be used
are "How Music Developed," by H. J.
Henderson; Hunt's "Student's History of
Music," Pauer's "Musical Forms" and
Grove's "Dictionary of Music and Musi-
cians."
Mr. Hood is also making arrangements
for a series of educational lecture recitals
to be given by some of the best talent of
New England, as a part of this course of
study. The pupils who elect music have
the privilege of this course of lecture re-
citals; these will also be opened for the
general public.
*
T is interesting, in view of the foregoing
facts, to note the remarks of Arthur
Peppin, director of Clifton College, Eng-
land, on this subject of music study in the
schools. He holds that, whether a pupil is
musically gifted or not, a conscientious
and intelligent training in the art is of
great value in the training of his mind and
character, yet such musical training ought
not to be carried out at the expense of his
general preparation for the business of
life, and his physical development. The
atmosphere of the public schools reflect
pretty faithfully the atmosphere of the
community at large, which as a rule is not
I
an artistic atmosphere; moreover, boys are
sent to a public school to be fitted primarily
for the business of life, and therefore in
these days of high pressure such subjects
as music should in the vast majority of
cases take a very secondary place.
*
\ / I S I T O R S to Europe during the past
summer have since their return been
speaking enthusiastically of Rose Ettinger,
who is now making a sort of triumphal
tour of France and Germany. Miss Et-
ROSE ETTINGER.
tinger, who is an American by the way,
will arrive here in December, and begin-
ning in New York will make a cemplete
tour of the country under C. L. Young's
management. She has a soprano voice
which by all accounts is marvelous in its
purity and its range. One hesitates to
quote critics who write calmly that her
high F is as perfect as the high C of other
sopranos. We shall know all about that
later, but we have the most satisfactory
assurances from the critical columns of the
European press that she is an accomplished
singer and a genuine artist.
Miss Ettinger is a native of Oregon, 111.,
where she was born close on twenty-two
years ago. In '95 she journeyed to Paris
where she spent some years with Mme.
Marchesi. She later went to Berlin where she
remained a year. Leipsic was the scene of
$2.00 PER YEAR.
SINGLE COPIES 10 CENTS.
her debut, where she achieved an instanta-
neous success.
During the past year her reputation has
been steadily growing and she comes to
her native country to win a substantiation
of the good opinion held of her talents by
the European public.
A CCORDING to the London Truth,
**• Prof. Parker of Yale, whose " Hora
Novissima " was sung at the recent Wor-
cester festival, proved himself personally
very popular—so much so that the choir,
learning that he was just about to cele-
brate his thirty-six birthday, voluntarily
subscribed sixpence each, and to the great
astonishment and delight of the American
musician, presented him with a vase of
Worcester ware. " But if the ' Hora Novis-
sima ' had been written by an English-
man," the same critic adds, " I doubt
whether it would have stood much chance
of a festival hearing." It is also reported
that Prof. Parker complimented the choir
on having sung his cantata better than it
had ever been done in America, which led
another critic to reflect that American
choruses must be pretty poor. What a
pleasant world this would be if there were
no critics in it!
*
C R N E S T VAN DYCK, the Belgian
•*—' tenor, who arrived in New York on
Saturday last, and who makes his appear-
ance in Lohengrin in St. Louis this even-
ing with the Grau Company, says that
salaries are going up in Europe. "In
Vienna," he said, "the direction offered me
$500 a performance for one hundred per-
formances which was unprecedented there,
showing the competition necessary to keep
all the singers from coming to this coun-
try. New York still continues to get the
best in the world, however."
Van Dyck will appear in two new roles
this season. He will sing Tristan with
Mile. Ternina, and will later sing Flores-
tan in "Fidelio" for the first time.
*
T H E Madrigal Singers, under the direc-
* tion of Frank Taft, were among the
attractions secured for the opening series
of concerts at the Brooklyn Institute.
Their concert on Oct. 18, was an unequiv-
ocal success, and their magnificent ensem-
ble singing excited as much enthusiasm as
it did last year at Chickering Hall.