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THE:
SINGING OF SONGPROVES FRAUD.
Will Rossiter Prosecutes Songwriter for Selling
Copyrighted Song and Obtaining Money
Under False Pretenses.
(Special to The Review.)
Chicago, 111., July 15, 1912.
Municipal Judge Newcomer's court room was
turned into a theatre for a short time recently,
during the preliminary examination of Benjamin
Dunham, colored, a song writer, who is dharged
with obtaining money by false pretenses. Will
Rossiter, a music publisher, charges that Dunham
sold him a copyrighted song, five years old, for
$100.
"Honey, How I Love to Sit and Look at You,"
was the title of the ballad. Frank J. Gage, secre-
tary to Mr. Rossiter, sang the song to Judge New-
comer. Then he sang a song entitled ''I Love to
Sit and Look at You."
"You can see for yourself that the songs are
practically indentical," declared Mr. Rossiter.
Dunham was lined $50 and costs and sentenced
to three days in jail.
"A COMEDY WITH MUSIC."
This Is How Leo Fall's "Der Liebe Augustin"
Is Described After Its Production in London.
A recent Berlin success, Leo Fall's "Der Liebe
Augustin," has been produced in London in an
English adaption, under the title of "Princess
.Caprice." It is described as "a comedy with mu-
sic; "implying that the play is of greater import-
ance than the music; but this, it seems, is not
the case, for while there are fewer musical num-
bers than us'ual, Dr. Fall has contributed music
of rare charm. It is Viennese, of course, with a
predilection for waltz rhythms, and the Telegraph
pronounces it "a miracle of refinement." That is
the feature of the score "which strikes one first
and foremost. There is not a phrase, not a bar,
in it to which the most fastidious musical ear
could take exception in that respect. In point of
actual melodic invention there have been occa-
sions, it is true, when the composer 'has s'hown
himself better inspired, and given the public tunes
more clearly destined at a first hearing for popu-
larity than any of those, perhaps, for which an in-
troduction was claimed on Saturday. But it may
well be doubted whether the graces of Dr. Fall's
musicianship have ever been better exemplified
than in the pages of his latest work. Over it all
MILLION CORY HIT
Down By The Old Millstream
Also New Hiti
Ntw WHEN WE WERE SWEETHEARTS New
Ntw
UNDER THE OLD OAK TREE New
New
WAY DOWN SOUTH
New
New
RAG RAG RAG
New
New
THAT SUBWAY RAG
New
New
FRANKIE AND JOHNNY
New
TELL TAYLOR, MUSIC PUBLISHER
NEW YORK
CHICAGO
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
is an air of daintiness and delicacy in keeping
with the best traditions of the lighter art-forms.
There is a lightness, too, in the composer's touch
that will be readily recognized and appreciated by
all w'ho lend an ear, in particular, to the tokens of
fancy and taste that abound in his instrumenta-
tion. Full of deft touches, yet free from any
over-elaboration, his scoring is, indeed, a model
of what such things should be."
THAT NATIONAL SONG.
Further Controversy Regarding the Suitable
Qualities of the Songs We Already Have, and
What Is Really Needed.
It is an interesting and singular trait that pe-
riodically there is an outbreak of discussion over
our lack of a national hymn, and the merits and
demerits of some of the claimants for that posi-
tion. In this debate individual taste is dogmatical-
ly stated as canons of art. The New York World
and the New York Post are the latest exponents
of this sort of controversy. The World describes
"America" as unsatisfactory, while the Post re-
joins rather tartly that there "is all the difference
imaginable" between "The Star-Spangled Banner"
and "America," the first having "harsh and
pedantic" wording and an "unsingable" tune, while
the latter is "simple and fluid." Further, the
World asserts that "we can all sing" "John
Brown's Body," "Marching Through Georgia," or
"Dixie."
One of the troubles with the search for a na-
tional hymn is that it sets up an ideal which never
has been realized, and probably never will be.
For instance, the criticism of "The Star-Spangled
Banner" as "unsingable" really is that it is un-
singable by people who cannot sing. It is unsing-
able in the same sense, though to a less degree,
that the sextet from "Lucia" is. An untrained
crowd has little business to attempt it. But with a
fine and powerful soprano in the 'solo lines and
trained chorus, it is among the most impressive
and inspiring of compositions. "America" is the
most easily sung by the masses. Both are subject
to the objection that the music is the adoption of
European compositions antedating our existence as
a nation. Here we run up against the doubt
whether there are any more new tunes, more seri-
ous than if there are any more new jokes or new
plots for novels. At all events, until American
composers give us something original and better we
may be content to take "America's" music from the
English, just as England was content to take the
same music from the Dutch—especially since we
have joined it to more dignified words than any of
its predecessors.
Another very peculiar aspect of the discussion is
the tendency to drag in certain songs as aspirants
to the position which are neither national hymns
nor anthems. "Marching Through Georgia" is a
catching song about what was no more than a
simple maneuver. "Dixie" is distinctly sectional,
and is a jingling tune which will be very appropri-
ate for a quickstep. Surely the sentiment, ll ln
Dixie Land I'll take my stand, to live and die in
Dixie," is the reverse of national.
THIS MAN SINGS DUETS WITH HIMSELF.
German physicians are trying to discover the
mysttry
of a man with a double voice. His nor-
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mal voice is a baritone of wide range, but in sing-
ing he is able to accompany himself in a higher
key. The Berliner Klinische Wochenschrift says
that Dr. Schreier introduced this man at a recenf
meeting of the Berlin Laryngological Society, the
members of which examined him, without being
WALTER JACOBS
107 Tremont St.
BOSTON. MASS able to throw any.light on this human duet.
Publisher of
In demonstrating his faculty he sings an air first
"Kist • / Spring." "Some Day Whtn Drtams Com* True."
in the normal, then in the double voice. Unfor-
And Some Others World Famous
tunately, when the laryngoscope is in position for
OLIVER DITSON COMPANY study the double singing is produced with great
BOSTON
NEW YORK
difficulty, and the artist would not permit the use
Anticipate and Supply Every Requirement of Music Dealers of cocaine. The possession ot the double voice
makes it easy for him to imitate various instru-
WHITE-SMITH MUSIC PUB. CO.
ments. As this class of mimetics and also ven-
PUBLISHERS, PRINTERS & ENGRAVERS OF MUSIC
triloquists has already been studied profitably with
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radiography, the thought lay near to use this diag-
BOSTON S i l l
nostic resource in the present subject. The skia-
grams showed enough to suggest to Schreier that
the double voice was produced by the simultaneous
action of the vocal cords and epiglottis. Others
have suggested that the extra voice might have
been produced with the soft palate or ventricular
bands. It is highly improbable that it can be pro-
duced by the vocal cords alone. As the vibrations
cannot be seen their causation must remain con-
jectural.
FEIST CHICAGO MANAGER HERE.
M. J. Stone Visits Headquarters to Get Line on
Next Season's Plans.
M. J. Stone, Chicago manager for Leo Feist,
was at the headquarters of the house in New York
this week looking over the new line of publications
that are expected to develop into the hit class in
the fall. Mr. Stone has a habit of taking the
songs that do not particularly impress the selling
force at headquarters and plug them so •success-
fully in the West that the demand keeps the print-
ers working overtime. While here Mr. -Stone was
alternately condemning New York weather and
sighing for the lake breezes that sweep over his
home city.
ARE SLIDESJHJT OF DATE?
Head of Big Slide Company Says Day of Pres-
ent Form of Song Slide Is Passing—Motion
Slides the Next Step.
According to the head of one of the big slide
companies, the day of the present form of illus-
trated song slide is drawing to a close, and that
many of the picture houses are confining them-
selves to the use of the title page and cover until
such time as a new form of song illustration, prob-
ably in the form of moving pictures, makes its ap-
pearance. Motion slides for illustrating songs have
already been experimented with, but the first at-
tempts have not proven very successful, and fur-
ther improvements will have to be made before the
motion slides are ready for the market. Mean-
while the music publishers who have been for-
tunate enough to obtain slides for their songs are
not complaining for lack of demand on the part
of singers.
Ted S. Barron, general manager of the Jerome
& Schwartz Publishing Co., is at present in the
midst of an enjoyable fortnight's vacation in the
woods of Maine. Mr. Barron is also making good
use of his fishing tackle, and writes that when he
lands a fish weighing two pounds or less he uses
it for bait to catch the regular fish.
Heard
Everywhere!
PIROUETTE
By HERMAN FINCK
Composer of the celebrated
"In the Shadows"
Your customers will be asking for it
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