Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
ject of the first movement of Beethoven's
"Eroica" Symphony, or of Hadyn's "Heavens are
Telling," and our "Lass of Richmond Hill." It
In Music Most Marked—Some Pastimes of
is equivalent to the use of such a phrase in lit-
Jean DeReszke and Sir Hubert Parry.
erature as "It was a fine morning." Two writers
Sir Hubert Parry, the well-known English might use that phrase without in the least de-
composer, like Jean De Reszke, has recently been stroying the individuality of their work, as Mo-
amusing himself and his friends by tracing the zart and Beethoven used similar phrases without
similarity of the tunes, and thus, constantly pass- in anywise destroying theirs, or as Mr. Cannon
ing from one opera to another. For instance, he uses the first five notes of the subject of the
took the opening phrase of Hans Sach's "Wahn "Leonora" Overtures Nos. 2 and 3 without mak-
Wahn" in "Die Meistersinger," and converted it ing "Bill Bailey" Beethovian.
into the beginning of Mendelssohn's Wedding
In like manner composers have a weakness for
March. Snatches of "Nibelungen" motives mixed certain phrases. Wagner is very fond of a little
up with bits of "Rule Britannia," music-hall melodic twist consisting of the three notes tonic,
ditties, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," bits from leading note, super-tonic. It is used constantly
the "Pathetic" symphony, Beethoven's violin in "Tannhauser," and is a leading theme in the
concerto, Haydn, and Richard Strauss, made up "Ring," yet there is no sense of sameness, owing
the rest of his musical medley.
to difference of treatment. So Sir Arthur Sulli-
This brings to mind, by the way, that simi- van used the first phrase of his own hymn-tune,
larity of phrase is not unusual. The classic ex- "Onward, Christian Soldiers," in the drawing-
amples are the commencements of the last move- room music of his comic opera, "Utopia," and of
ment of Mozart's G Minor Symphony and of the the hymn-tune usually sung to the words, "Hark,
first movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in my soul, it is the Lord," in his chorus of aesthetic
F minor, or of the first subject of, Mozart's "Bas- maidens in "Patience" without any sense of in-
tien et Bastienne" Overture, and of the first sub- congruity.
SIMILARITY OF PHRASE
SPECIAL OFFER TO
THE MVSIC TRADE
We shall furnish the books mentioned
below at special prices for introduction
until June ist. You will receive in a few
days our circular giving full particulars
and prices, also circulars giving retail
prices only, for distribution among your
customers.
KELLEY'S FIFTY EASY PIECES FOR
VIOLIN AND PIANO. (1st Position)
KELLEY'S THIRTY PIECES FOR VIO-
LIN AND PIANO.
(1st Position)
KELLEY'S TWENTY PIECES FOR
VIOLIN AND PIANO.
John Craig Kelley. (1st to 3d Position)
WOHLFAHRT'S (Franz) SIXTY VIO-
LIN STUDIES. Op. 45. Books 1 and 2.
SITT'S (Hans) VIOLIN STUDIES.
Op. 32 In three books.
VENZL (Josef) UNIVERSAL STUDIES
FOR THE VIOLIN.
Op. 88.
STAR METHOD FOR MANDOLIN.
Sep. Winner.
FAVORITE DUETS FOR MANDOLIN
AND PIANO.
TWENTY-FOUR GUITAR SOLOS.
EASY DANCE MUSIC FOR CORNET
AND PIANO.
POPP'S SCHOOL FOR FLUTE.
Prices to you include cost of transpor-
tation. We will send direct to any of
your customers upon receipt of order,
and will use your own label if you fur-
nish it.
The benefits of a wide introduction of
new books among your trade cannot be
overestimated. We are sending circu-
lars with your imprint, and hope you
will circulate freely.
Remember tliat all of our advertise-
ments, everywhere, instruct the reader
to order of the Home Dealer.
THIS MEANS YOU
Orders may he sent to
OLIVER DITSON COMPANY, Boston
C. H. DITSON 6 CO., New York
J. £. DITSON 6 CO., Philadelphia
whichever is most convenient.
ST. PATRICK'S MAY HAVE NEW ORGAN
Robert Hope-Jones, the British Organ Builder,
is Installing New Design of Instrument
Which Will Be Given Trial at Easter—
Wooden Resonators
Placed
Beside Huge
Reed Pipes Give Marvelous Tone Effects.
As the result of an experiment now under way
it is probable that the great organ in St. Pat-
rick's Cathedral will be taken out and will be re-
placed by one built on the lines of some of the
famous instruments in Great Britain. Robert
Hope-Jones, builder of the organs in Worcester
Cathedral, Edinburgh Town Hall, Llandaff Ca-
thedral and others equally noted, has been re-
cently engaged in putting up in the cathedral
loft a model of an instrument, and this is to be
compared with the present one by the cathedral
authorities.
Additional interest will be lent to the Easter
mass at the cathedral by the fact that Mr. Hope-
Jones' model will then have its first public trial.
It will be employed in the mass in connection
with the old organ.
Mr. Hope-Jones, who came to America about
two years ago, and now lives in Bloomfield, N. J.,
was called upon by the cathedral authorities sev-
eral weeks ago to give a demonstration of his
THAT "PARSIFAL" COMBAT
method. He has since erected at the side of
the great organ eight of twelve resonators of
Fails to Materialize on March 25, as Expected
wood, which in his model serve instead of pipes.
—Good Publicity for Savage.
An electrical attachment for the working of the
The famous "Parsifal" challenge issued by model has been installed in the loft.
Organists in New York are greatly interested
Henry W. Savage to Herr Conried, has not been
accepted by the latter evidently, for the date set in the test, and many have recently visited the
for the "encounter" (March 26th or 27th) of the loft to see Mr. Hope-Jones' work. His ideas were
traveling "Parsifal" armies has passed. Milwau- long regarded as almost iconoclastic by many or-
kee was the spot where the bloody gore, meta- ganists in his own country, and musicians here
phorically speaking, was to be spilled. Tele- have been divided over them.
graphic dispatches, wireless or otherwise, fail
Mr. Hope-Jones discards entirely the reed pipes
to disclose any news of the battle.
that have traditionally been the dependence of
It will be remembered that Mr. Savage organ builders. Whereas these pipes depend for
wagered $8,000 against an equal amount to be their tones upon the beating under air pressure
of a metal tongue against an opening in the pipe,
put up by Herr Conried as follows:
"(1.) $2,000 that the American female chorus Mr. Hope-Jones has employed such mechanical
of our 'Parsifal' company is better than the fe- devices as springs, valves and cylinders.
male chorus of the 'Parsifal' in German.
He was an electrical engineer before he was an
"(2.) $2,000 that the American male chorus of organ builder, and in the design at the cathedral
our 'Parsifal' is better than the male chorus of he has procured the beating or puffing of the air
current necessary to sound the great notes of the
the German 'Parsifal.'
"(3.) $2,000 that the six solo flower maidens organ by a device that reminds one of a piston on
of our 'Parsifal' are better than the 'Parsifal' in an engine. Under the influence of an electrical
blower on the one hand and his other mechanical
German.
"(4.) $2,000 that my general ensemble, light- devices, this piston works up and down, alter-
ing effects and scenic production is better than nately admitting and excluding the air current.
Mr. Conried's.
By this device Mr. Hope-Jones declares that he
"A decision to be made by three unbiased mu- can obtain much clearer and more powerful tones
sicians to be selected, one by Herr Conried, one than are possible with the old reed-pipe device.
by myself, and the third by the first two. The It is not necessary to have the great pipes, either,
decision to be based on quality of voices, tech- as he gains his effect from cubes, spheres and
nicality of skill and sympathetic interpretation, other shapes. In the cathedral loft, his model,
the names of the contestants to be taken from which he demonstrated in a test yesterday, will
the company's salary sheet of March 4. One- give a stronger tone than the most powerful of
half of the amount of $8,000 forfeited by the the reed pipes, and has for resonators what look
loser to be donated to the Actor's Fund and the like oblong wooden boxes that are dwarfed beside
remaining one-half to any worthy charity to be the giant pipes.
mutually agreed upon."
The builder also gains his effect by the use of
This famous challenge was due to some ani- few stops, and declares that he obviates a great
madversions of Herr Conried on Mr. Savage's defect of the reed-pipe organs, whose many sound
company after Conried's poor season in Boston. waves often interfere with one another, and so
destroy the volume and purity of tone.
TEN SCORES FOR ROSSINI PRIZE.
Ten scores were sent in to the Paris Academy
of Fine Arts for the Rossini prize, but not one
was deemed worthy of it. Honorable mention,
however, was made of the score bearing the
motto "Alea jacta est," and, should the composer
desire it, the sealed paper containing his name
will be opened. The same libretto, "L'Ame de
Paris," by M. Fernand Beissier, will again be
offered to candidates for next year's competition.
GOOD ONE ON GARCIA.
The humorous element in the life of Manuel
Garcia, whose hundredth birthday is to be cele-
brated in London March 17, is that he quitted
the operatic stage in 1829, because "his physique
was not equal to the strain"!
GENIUS INIMICAL TO "PRIZES."
There is not in existence a single great opera,
oratorio, symphony, or indeed any fine piece of
musical art which is the result of the prize sys-
tem. There is "Cavalleria," which is drivel,
there are other works which are worse drivel,
but no one can name to me a really fine work
that has won a prize. The reason, though ap-
parently ridiculously simple, is sufficient. In
music the big men contemptuously refuse to
compete for prizes. I know that in sculpture it
is otherwise; Stevens's Wellington affair,' which
they tell me is kept in a cellar somewhere, is
proof of that; but there is not a fine prize play,
prize picture, prize poem, prize piece of music.
Still, what has failed a thousand times may suc-
ceed the thousand and one-th.—London Saturday
Review.