Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
posed outside of the Keith doors and she
permits her artistic downfall to glare more
fiercely by using the names of the Boston
Symphony Orchestra and the New York
Oratorio Society to show the height she
had attained.
If the musical conditions are such that
this step is the result of impossibility
to get engagements, then young women
would better cease to think of art and get
down to the practical of life, for in that
case America is not worthy of art; it is a
country where advance in art is over-
shadowed with a curse. But even this
would- not justify Mrs. Bloodgood in the
move she has made.
If there were any reason why she could
no longer secure engagements, surely she
could have gone to some smaller city and
entered the ranks of teachers, as her repu-
tation would have assured her pupils. One
owes a duty t o one's art as well as to one's
self and the step from oratorio into vaude-
ville is one that is far-reaching in its evil
influence upon others who are struggling
along the same hard road and to whom
those who have achieved reputation and
success should be an example.
HONORING BRITISH MUSICIANS.
C R O M a Cambridge University corre-
spondent the information comes that
it is proposed to confer, as honorary de-
grees, Doctorships of Music upon Frederic
Hymen Cowen and Edward Elgar; and a
Mastership of Arts upon James Oswald
Dykes, D. D., Edinburgh, Principal of
Westminster College, Cambridge.
In the history of England's music there
has never been any one jump into
the world's favor so quickly and so
securely as Elgar, unless it may be
Coleridge-Taylor, also of England.
In
many respects the latter is one of the most
striking personalities among living native
composers. The son of a West African
father and an English mother, his dusky
skin and frizzy hair proclaim in unmis-
takable fashion his mixed descent, though
his music is purely European in its bril-
liancy, originality and finished art. His
greatest hit, so far, has been his "Hia-
watha " music.
Coleridge-Taylor, who is now only twen-
ty-five, begin his musical studies at the
mature age of six. At ten, he was a
chorister in a church choir at Croy-
den. Then he entered the Royal Col-
lege of Music, where he studied the vio-
lin, composition, and so forth, and car-
ried off numerous prizes. One of his
earliest works—a clarinet quintet—was in-
troduced in Berlin by Professor Stanford
and Dr. Joachim. Further chamber pieces,
songs, symphonies, orchestral ballads and
other compositions, all marked by unde-
niable melodic beauty, harmonic original-
ity, and a rare feeling for rhythm and
verve have since flowed from his fertile
pen. One of his newest works, a cantata
based on Longfellow's "Blind Girl of Cas-
tel-Cuille," is to be heard at next year's
Leeds Festival. Coleridge-Taylor is a vio-
lin professor at the Croydon Conservatory
of Music, where he acts also as conductor.
variations is passing, and even it is par-
donable for a greater man to improve up-
on a smaller man's work,but to orchestrate
Beethoven is indeed to "gild the sunbeam,
to paint the lily," and it is strange that
Theodore Thomas did not see this in the
same light.
that Tinsley is a sympathetic interpreter
of Taylor's compositions. He is a pupil of
William M. Burritt and is also regarded a
song composer of merit.
Pauline Hall could sing, but she studied
hard and continued all the time. Marie
Tempest and Marion Manola could sing,
but they have passed out at least for the
present, and those who now furnish the
amusement do so purely by their ability to
be funny, by their attractive personalities,
but never by the slightest approach to
knowing how to sing. Nor is this confined
to the female portion; if anyone believes
this let him ponder over the startling exe-
cutions of Francis Wilson, James T. Pow-
ers, Cyril Scott, Dan Daly, and be con-
vinced.
COniC OPERA SINGERS.
A S soon as the discovery is made that a
young woman has a voice her thoughts
J\ A ANY will be interested to know that immediately turn to grand opera. That
the most sympathetic interpreter of there is any other field never enters her
Samuel Coleridge Taylor's songs in Amer- head; at least, if it does she tries to eject
ica is Pedro T. Tinsley, a colored man and the thought as soon as possible. But the
a resident of Chicago, says the Times- fact stares one straight in the face, that
Herald of that city.
" T h e Wedding there are so many singers with grand opera
Feast," which is regarded one of Taylor's aspirations and comic opera personalities;
two masterpieces—-the other being the and, indeed, the field for singers in comic
Hiawatha cantata—will be performed by opera is, or should be, unlimited; for where
the Apollo Club at the beginning of this can you find a handful who can sing.
Eliminating that charming artist, Hilda
year's fall and winter season. Bispham
was the first to acquaint American music Clark, as also Bertha Waltzinger and Helen
lovers with the high character of his com- Bertram, it is safe to assert that the comic
positions. Pedro T. Tinsley, however, is opera stars are favorites for their comedy,
the first American singer to make us famil- and far be it from their audiences to even
iar with the rare distinction and beauty of think of them as singers. Virginia Earl,
his songs. Tinsley is the choirmaster of Edna Wallace Hopper, Anna Held, Lillian
the Grace Presbyterian Church in Chicago, Russell, Edna May, are all favorites in
and recently gave a song recital, the pro- comic opera, and they are all charming
gram of which contained exclusively the enough in their way, but as singers—alas!
songs of Samuel Coleridge Taylor. A col- no. Not a trace of correct vocalism is to
ored man himself, it is not passing strange be detected in any of them.
SONATA ORCHESTRATION.
P R O M Chicago comes the information
that the nestor of conductors, Theo-
dore Thomas, has arranged for orchestra
some works which were originally written
as piano soli and at a recent concert he
presented the andante from Beethoven's
Kreutzer sonata for violin and piano as an
orchestral number. That this was very
interesting cannot be doubted as Thomas
is a great enough man to make anything
he says or does interesting.
Just how artistic this may have been is
another matter and one not so easily an-
swered. Beethoven himself had remark-
able powers when it came to orchestrations
and had he so desired could have made
this an orchestral work then and there.
It is not unlikely that this "caught on,"
because of the element of popularity which
it doubtless must contain, but in Chicago
after all Thomas' great and noble work
and determination to give the best and to
educate the public up to his standard,
is it necessary to drop to the level of those
who want the popular? Is it artistic and in
keeping with Mr. Thomas' highly digni-
fied policy? The day of transcriptions and
VAN DERSTUCKEN RESIGNS.
A FTER the close of the present sea-
son's concerts in Cincinnati, Van der
Stucken the eminent conductor, will leave
that field, having tendered his resignation
as conductor of the orchestra and as Dean
of the College of Music where he has pre-
sided for six years. His plans have not
been made known, but it is naturally in-
ferred that he will come east. Both his
movements and the speculation as to his
successor will make lively topics for Cin-
cinnati.
THE FIRST ORATORIO.
T H E first oratorio was entitled Rappre-
sentatione di Anima e di Corpo. It
was composed by Emilio del Cavaliere, per-
formed and printed in Rome in 1600. The