Easter Sunday Concert

“A grand Easter Sunday concert was given at Steinway Hall last night before a very large audience. The horrible state of the weather did not seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the audience for the artists who appeared, Madame Parepa-Rosa, Carl Rosa, Miss Alida Topp, J. R. Thomas, George Simpson, and G. W. Colby, and who were received with applause. The programme was one of rare excellence, the first part consisting entirely of selections from oratorios and the second part of ballads, glees, and madrigals.”

“The concert which Madame Rosa gave last night at Steinway Hall was exceedingly well attended, though the weather was so stormy. The programme was arranged on a somewhat unusual plan. The first part consisted almost entirely of selections from oratorios, the second principally of English glees. Madame Rosa sang the recitative and aria, ‘If guilty blood,’ from Handel’s ‘Susannah,’ one of those triumphant and delicate songs in which the power and clearness of her clarion voice and the refinement, of her method are both well exhibited. Madame Testa gave the pathetic ‘O Rest in the Lord,’ from Mendelssohn’s ‘Elijah,’ with much taste and correct expression. Mr. Simpson sang ‘In Native Worth,’ from ‘The Creation;’ and the artists already mentioned, with the addition of Mr. J. R. Thomas, sang two sacred quartets—‘Come, Every One that Thirsteth,’ from Elijah, and ‘Honor and Glory,’ from Costa’s ‘Naaman.’ The latter—never before sung in American concert-rooms—is smooth, melodious, and effective. The sacredness of this portion of the entertainment was interrupted by Miss Topp, who gave a brilliant performance of Liszt’s ‘Venezia e Napoli,’ and, on being recalled, played most charmingly a passepied of Bach’s, which it is always a pleasure to hear. The glees and songs in the second part were by Bishop, Shield, Loder, Hatton, and others, and were all well done and keenly appreciated. There is an abundance of excellent music of this sort with which our audiences are not familiar, and we trust that Madame Rosa may be induced to give us an opportunity of becoming better acquainted with it. The only instrumental performance in the second part was by Mr. Carl Rosa, who played on the violin Sainton’s ‘Recollections of Scotland’ with his usual good taste, delicacy, and conscientiousness.”

“The first section of the programme was devoted to sacred music, while the second contained several glees, ballads, and madrigals. 

Mme. Parepa sang delightfully; indeed one might almost wish that sometimes she would fall short of her usual excellence so that one might deviate occasionally from the set phrases of admiration. Miss Topp played one of Liszt’s vagaries in such fine style and with such grace as to win an encore; to this she responded with a quaint Air and Gavotte in the Bach style. Mme. Testa sang ‘O rest in the Lord’ and another solo in a simply shocking manner.”