Church Music Association Rehearsal: 1st

“First Rehearsal tonight for C. M. A.—to which I now looked forward uneasily. E. and I drove far uptown to pick up Mrs. Henry Howland. She was a Miss Miller, with no great voice, but a thorough musician—and then proceeded to Tr. Chapel Schoolhouse. C. M. A. made a much better beginning than I expected. About 50 amateurs appeared.

“The publishers disappointed us with no copies of Mozart’s Mass, so Pech took up Oberon and put the amateurs thro’ the first four or five choruses. Few of them had ever before sung a note of this difficult music, but they did it fairly. It is very brilliant and taxing even thus roughly rendered. What must it be when well executed—with an orchestra—and that Weber’s orchestra! Pech seemed interested & pleased. But a really large undertaking like this cannot be carried through without many sore experiences of disappointment, discouragement, and desperation.

“The lovely opening chorus of the First Act is as staccato as possible—staccatissimo. Its first phrase is of seven notes (‘light/as/fairly/foot/can/fall’). It was curious to notice how hard the chorus found it to do them right. Cause of the difficulty was obvious. Tho’ they had never sung Oberon, they were all familiar, for years, with the [illegible] tune into which this phrase has been converted by a change of accent and expression, tho’ the notes are identical.

“It will be cause for hearty gratitude if this undertaking succeed. Its success will teach N. Y. fashionables something about true religious music, as distinguished from the flashiness of adaptations from modern Italian operas, and the dullness and deadness of Anglican ‘services.’ The prospect looks well just now. If it do succeed, Ellie will be entitled to most of the credit for its success. When I ‘set this ball in motion’ last May, I never dreamed that any work would be devolved on her. But she saw, with her feminine eyes, that the active aid of one rather prominent and popular ‘woman of society’ was essential to the success of the undertaking, so she took hold and has for the last month been working like a horse or rather a pony—(salva reverentia)—writing note to people, calling on people, inciting people to call on other people, &c, &c, &c, and has thus enlisted in the cause a certain large and influential element of the ‘fashionable world”—ignoring at the same time the Belmonts, Duncans, &c, &c, &c, of the mere ‘high finance’ cast. Mrs. P___ S___ may seem an exception to this rule. Perhaps she is. But her favor was necessary to enable us to secure Miss___ as Prima Donna.”

First rehearsal of the Church Music Association of the music from Weber’s Oberon for concert on Jan 12, 1870.