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46
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
DECEMBER 21,
1918
A STRONG PRODUCTION CATALOG
THE HISTORY OF MINSTRELSY
NEW HOMECOMING SONG FEATURED
Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., Inc., Publishing
Music of Several Successful Shows
Some Interesting Sidelights Upon Those Who
Composed Songs and Poetry in Olden Days
Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., Inc., now appear as
publishers of the leading song numbers in sev-
eral musical comedy successes at present run-
ning in New York or other cities, the produc-
tions including "The Melting of Molly," "Little
'Simplicity," "Somebody's Sweetheart" and "Lis-
'teri, Lester."
! 'The Melting of Molly" is a Shubert produc-
jt^Ojn, with a book by Maria Thompson Davies
and Edga-r Smith, lyrics by Cyrus Wood, with
•music by Sigmund Romberg. Among the mu-
sical numbers are "Darling," "Dear Old Gowan,"
"You'll Remember Me," "Oh, Doctor, Doctor,"
^'Lodger," "You Win," "Dancing School," "Wed-
ding by Proxy," "Jazz, How I Love to Hear
It," "Floating Down a Moonlight Way" and "I
Want My Husband."
Arthur Hammerstein is the producer of
"Somebody's Sweetheart," and the words and
music are by Arthur Hammerstein and Herbert
Stothart. Prominent among the songs are "In
thie 1 Old-Fashioncd Way," "It Gets Them All"
and "An American Beauty Rose."
V'.'Little Simplicity" appears to have several
numbers which should have good sales, "The
Boomerang," "My Caravan," "When the Whistle
Blows," "A Military Fox-Trot" and "Follow the
Boys." The Messrs. Shubert are also the pro-
ducers of the above, and the book and lyrics
are by that successful author, Rida Johnson
Young, with music by Augustus Barratt.
"Waiting," "I Was a Very Good Baby," "I'd
Love to," "When the Shadows Fall" and "Show
a Little Something New" are the song numbers
from John Cort's successful musical comedy,
"Listen, Lester." The book and lyrics are by
Harry L. Cort and Geo. F. Stoddard, and the
music by Harold Orlob.
Minstrelsy played an important role in the
social and intellectual life of the early centuries,
when hand-wrought books were rare and price-
less, and a single line of print would have baf-
fled the mightiest conqueror, says "Along Broad-
way."
The art of minstrelsy reached its height in the
tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries, although it
was in 850, B. C, that the immortal Homer,
greatest of all minstrels, sang his thrilling tales
of the Trojan wars.
The "Mimes" of the Roman Empire and the
"Minnesingers" and "Meistersingers" of Ger-
many were among the first organized bands of
minstrels. Across the Channel, with the Nor-
mans, came the royal troubadours and the pic-
turesque "jongleurs" in their many colored coats
and flat shoes.
All royal persons boasted their own minstrels
and Edward III of England is said to have had
nineteen in his pay. They were often employed
by towns and cities as "Histroines" or public
story tellers. There was a wide difference in
the social status of the several types of min-
strels. Those who belonged to royalty enjoyed
many privileges and considerable distinction,
and were in no way associated with the wander-
ing groups of bards that plied their trade from
town to town. The Troubadours were poets of
royal blood, many of them reigning princes, who
followed art for its own sake.
The most famous of these poet kings was
Richard, Coeur d' Lion, and there is a charming
legend told of him and his favorite Minstrel,
Blonde!. On his return from the Crusades in
Palestine, Richard was captured by Leopold,
Duke of Austria, and made a prisoner. Blondel,
determined to find his master, wandered in dis-
guise throughout Germany until he came to the
castle of Diirrenstein, where he had heard there
was an illustrious captive.
Standing beneath the tower, Blondel sang a
song that he and Richard had composed to-
gether. The first verse was hardly finished when
the voice of Richard in the tower took up the
second. Overjoyed, Blondel returned to Eng-
land and was the means of securing Richard's
ransom.
With the advance of Christianity and the de-
velopment of the art of printing, minstrelsy fell
into disfavor. At last a general edict was is-
sued against all "gleemen, dancers, jugglers,
bear leaders and tumblers."
Sir Walter Scott, in "The Lay of the Last
Minstrel," pictures the long, gray twilight of
minstrelsy:
"The last of all the bards was he
Who sung of border chivalry;
For well aday! their date was fled,
His tuneful brethren all were dead:
"No more on prancing palfrey borne,
He caroled, light as lark at morn; '^
No longer courted and caressed,
High-placed in Hall, a welcome guest,
He poured to lord and lady gay, -'.
The unpremeditated lay:
"A wandering harper, scorned and poor,
He begged his bread from door to door,
And tuned, to please a peasant's ear,
The harp a king had loved to hear."
Fact That John McCormack Was to Sing "I
Shall Meet You" (Boosey), Strongly Featured
—Number Received With Great Enthusiasm
PEACE SONG PROVING A SUCCESS
M. Witmark & Sons' new song, "Ring Out,
Sweet Bells of Peace," has had good success
from the day it was issued, shortly after the
armistice was signed. The number is from the
pens of Caro Roma, the well-known composer,
and William H. Gardner. Madame Frances
Alda, one of the stars of the Metropolitan
Opera Co., recent introduced it at one of the
Sunday concerts at the New York Hippodrome,
a«d since that time many others have pro-
gramed it, including the Rialto Quartet and
Greek Evans, the prominent baritone.
Karl Fuller, who has been featuring Gilbert &
Friedland's "Singapore," has, so it is understood,
made a dance record of the number for the Co-
lumbia Graphophone Co.
'JEROME H.REIIICK&CO.'S
Sensational Song Hit
SONGS
"Madelon"
"Till We Meet Again 11
"A little Birch Canoe and You"
"Smiles"
"Blue Ridge Blues"
"Tackin 1 »Em Down"
*
"Give A Little Credit to The
Navy".
N
"Comprenez-vous Papa"
"In tn«- Land Where Poppies
Bloom"
"Germany, You'll Soon Be No
Man's Land"
"Blue Bird"
"M'Everythlng"
"I'll Say She Does
Pace A. Handy, originators of the "BLUES,"
specialists in rags and Southern ballads, offer
TWO SENSATIONAL HITS
The (He's
Kaiser's
Got the Bines
Got Them Weary Blues)
By BROWN and HANDY
A Good Manfelard to Find
SEND FOR CATALOG
JEROME H.REM1CK&CO.
PACE & HANDY MUSIC CO., Inc.
1547 Bf^dw^r (CUiety The.U. Bldg.), NEW YORK
Seldom has a high-class song been brought to
the attention of the concert-going public so
strongly as was the case last week with the new
number, "1 Shall Meet You," heralded as a
homecoming song and written by Wilfrid San-
derson, the composer of "God Be With Our
Boys To-night." "I Shall Meet You" was fea-
tured by John McCormack at his most success-
ful concert at the New York Hippodrome on
Sunday night, and for several days previous, as
well as on Sunday morning, the amusement col-
umns of the newspapers carried large advertise-
ments inserted by Boosey & Co. and calling at-
tention to McCormack's use of the song. The
New York American gave a special reading no-
tice regarding the number on Sunday, reproduc-
ing the lyrics by E. M. Chesham.
The success of the new song as featured by
Mr. McCormack was instantaneous and tremen-
dous, and the number bids fair to outshine even
its predecessor, "God Be With Our Boys To-
night." The Hippodrome was packed to suf-
focation, and several thousand people were un-
able to gain admission. The audience was quick
to recognize both the timeliness and merit of
the new song.
MUSIC DEALER ^VRITES NEW SONG
Archie L. Hamilton, a well-known piano and
music dealer of Dayton, O., has written an at-
tractive new song entitled "My Garden That
Blooms in the Night." The number has already
been recorded on music rolls.
BERT WILLIAMS SINGS IT
"A Good Man Is Hard to Find," one of the
new songs in the Pace & Handy catalog, and
which is being feaured by Bert Williams, is
having a good demand in the Middle West.
C C. CHURCH & COMPANY
60 ALLYN ST., HARTFORD. CONN.
Successors to CHURCH, PAXSON & CO., N«w York
ROBERT TELLER SONS & DORNER
Music Engravers and Printer*
SEND MANUSCRIPT AND IDEA OF
TITLE FOR ESTIMATE
311 West 43d Street
New York City
The Song of the Moment
"KEEP THE HOME-
FIRES BURNING"
('Till the Boys Come Home)
CHAPPELL & CO., Ltd.
41 East 34th St.
NEW YORK
BUY YOUR MUSIC FROM
BOSTON
PuMishe
"
WALTER JACOBS
rth St.
BOSTON. MASS.
"See Dixie First"
Oliver Diteon Company
BOSTON
NEW YOR*
Aattatpwte and supply I w y R«qnirMn«nt st Mwte
White-Smith Music Pub. Co.
PUBLISHERS, PRINTERS AND ENGRAVERS OF MUSIC
Main Offices: 62-64 Stanhope St., Boston.
Branch Houses: New York and Chicago.