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THE
fffllSIC TIRADE
VOL. x x x v i i . No. 25.
pmiMet Efery Sat. IT Eiwart Lym Bill at 1 Maflison Aye, New Tort, Dec. 5,1903.
THE MAN OF THE HOUR.
C E W men have been through such
* a rain of good natured chaff
as the distinguished composer Vic-
tor Herbert, whose portrait appears
on our cover page this week, be-
cause of his having been kissed, on the
opening night of "Babette," by the enthusi-
astic and impulsive prima-donna, Fritzi
Scheff. We venture to say, however, that
there wasn't a person in the audience, man
or woman, who did not feel that the com-
poser deserved the embrace, for in "Ba-
bette," Mr. Herbert has not only written a
charming opera which will live, but he has
completely vindicated himself of the cruel
and malicious charges which were made
against him a few years ago. The opera
is nothing if not original.
Although
abounding in popular airs it still received
so classic a treatment that one well-known
critic called it a miniature grand opera.
Mr. Herbert was born in Dublin and is
the grandson of Samuel Lover, the famous
Irish novelist, and any one familiar with
the life and writings of the latter can easily
see the grandfather reproduced in the char-
acter of his grandson. Mr. Herbert had his
early training in Germany. His father died
when he was quite young and his mother
took him to Stuttgart to be educated.
Medicine was his first preference, which
he later abandoned for the study of music.
He devoted himself to the 'cello, and dili-
gently studied composition, and soon ob-
tained an important position in the musi-
cal world of Germany, which enabled him
to keep himself and his mother in comfort.
Anton Seidl brought him to America. Prior
to that time he had hardly spoken a word
of English for ten years, but up to this day
he has never lost his beautiful Milesian
brogue, nor, we may add, the effect of hav-
ing kissed the Blarney Stone. While the
musical atmosphere of Germany undoubt-
edly had much to do with the development
of his musical genius he is still an Irishman
to the core. Mr. Herbert played with
Seidl and Thomas and was frequently
heard in concerts as a solo 'cellist. He is
now the conductor of the Pittsburg or-
chestra, an organization which is to-day
considered one of the finest in the country.
As a comic opera writer, Mr. Herbert
has been exceptionally successful; "Prince
Ananias," "The Singing Girl," "The Wiz-
ard of the Nile," "The Ameer," "The Set
enade," "The Idol's Eye," and the "Fortune
Teller," al| having been given with great
success by the most prominent operatic
stars; but it is during this present season
that Mr. Herbert has fairly surpassed him-
self in dramatic composition, by his writ-
ing of "The Babes in Toyland," "Babette,"
and the incidental music for "A Mid-Sum-
mer's Night Dream," which places him at
once in the category of classic writers.
This has been a verv strenuous year for
Mr. Herbert, as in addition to attending
rehearsals and productions of these musical
comedies he has had a protracted and won-
derfully successful tour with his orchestra,
and has also turned out a number of sep-
arate compositions all of which are a speci-
men of fine musical writing.
We may add that "The Fortune Teller "
has had a most successful revival this year,
also the "Serenade," by the Bostonians. It
has recently been produced in Melbourne,
creating something of a furore, so that
there is small wonder Mr. Herbert's
genial countenance is lighted these aavs
by a more than ordinarily expansive smile.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON CONCERTS.
orchestral concerts on Sundav after-
T H E noons
in this city seem to have won
their way into popular favor. This is not
surprising, and the wonder is that the move-
ment was not started vears aer*. In Paris
the principal orchestral concerts are given
on Sunday afternoons. Chevillard (the suc-
cessor of Lamoureux) and Coionne both
opened their season on October T8. Coionne
had Berlioz's Fantastic Svmnhonv, a Bach
concerto, and Beethoven's Ninth Svmnhonv,
while Chevillard ^ave a concert performance
of the whole third act of Wagner's "Gotter-
dammerung." Both had larsre audiences, and
rVipvillard nromntiv announced a repetition
of his nroeramme for the following Snndav.
This places him in a somewhat embarrassing
position, because he recentlv declared that
Warner belongs in the onera house and not
on the concert stage. He has m^de up his
mind, however—another siVn of the times—
to make the Parisians acquainted with the
works of other modern composers. notabV
Liszt, who has heretofore been as shamefully
neglected in Paris as Berlioz used to be.
•t
OUR NATION AT. ANTHEM.
H E United States N s w Department has
issued an order which virtualiv estab-
lishes "The Star Smneled Banner" as the
National ^nthem. The regulations on Ameri-
can warships have for ma.nv vears required
that every man shall stand at attention when
this air is played, unless his d"tfes at the mo-
ment prevent his doing so. The new order,
however, enacts that preciViv the same re-
snect snail be paid to the Nationa.1 anthems
of all other countries when their official repre-
sentatives are present.
T
SINGLE COPIES 10 CENTS.
$2.00 PER YEAR.
CLERGYMEN AND THE MUSIC DRAMA.
HP H E discussion in the papers and the
courts the last few weeks regarding
"Parsifal" must have brought joy to the
heart of an astute manager like Heinrich
Gonried. While unsolicited, he could not
have desired any better form of publicity
to" concentrate attention to his forthcom-
ing production of this much discussed and
famous work of Wagner's.
Amusing features of the controversy were
the contributions of a number of clergymen
who started out to prohibit the production on
the ground that it would be sacrilege and
blasphemy. The arguments which they pre-
sented demonstrated that they were but
superficial students. Instead of reading the
poem in the original, they preferred to base
their premises on an English paraphrase of
the drama.
It is undoubtedly true that Wagner has
attributed some traits to Parsifal that were
drawn from the life of Christ, but, as W. J.
Henderson so illuminatingly says, "Parsifal"
is in the main the embodiment of mediaeval
and still older legends, steeped in the mys-
ticism and romanticism of mediaeval Chris-
tianity. It teaches ethical truths in an investi-
ture of beautiful symbolism, and its animat-
ing purpose is profoundly moral. As a dis-
tinguished student has said, Wagner "has
preached a sermon on the necessity of per-
sonal purity in the service of God, on the
beauty of renunciation of sensual delight, on
the depth of the curse of self-indulgence, and
on the nature of repentance. * * * It is
an exemplification of Wagner's theory that
the theatre ought to be an artistic expression
of the thoughts and the aspirations of a peo-
ple."
"To appreciate the work at its full
worth," says another, "it must be accepted
for the lesson which it inculcates, and that
lesson must be accepted in the spirit of the
time which produced the materials of the
drama." It is scarcely likely that "the securi-
ty of the State" will be menaced by such an
acceptance.
ft
BROOKLYN'S ACADEMY DESTROYED.
The destruction bv fire of the Academy
of Music in Brooklyn, on Mondav, will
necessarily mean a change in the plans of
a number of musical affairs scheduled to
take place in that borough this season.
Brooklvn has lone been poorlv equipped in
a building suitable for opera or concerts
bv the Boston Symphony, and the erection
of an opera house or large concert hall i?
now among the possibilities.