Church Music Association Public Rehearsal: 1st

Brief. “The next rehearsal will be next Tuesday afternoon, at 4 o’clock, at Steinway Hall.”

“The first of the public rehearsals will be head to-morrow afternoon at 4 o’clock, at Steinway Hall. A large chorus is expected to attend. It should be understood that these rehearsals are not concerts, and that repetitions of the same movements or passages may be necessary more than once in order to arrive at a more perfect ensemble. The orchestra, seventy in number, will not appear until the last three rehearsals.”

“C. M. A. rehearsal, Steinway, 4 p. m., fair attendance. Beethoven Mass to end of Benedictus. It came out grandly in this large concert room. I may say that I never heard it before. I certainly never appreciated its grandeur till this afternoon. Every movement is a great point. There is much more song & melodie flow throughout the work than I had recognized, and the quality is notable in the accompaniment as condensed for the piano. I expect extended effects from the orchestra. For the first time at Steinway the chorus sang without its fifty paid allies. On the whole we do well without them. There was no faltering, the quality of tone was purer, and articulation much more distinct. I suspect these Teutons & Teutonesses merely sang their notes without understanding the words or trying to articulate them & thereby overwhelmed & obscured the distinct enunciation of the amateurs. They were a rather low set & the ladies are glad to be rid of them. But it still remains to be seen whether we can depend on our volunteer army to be perfectly steady without a brigade of regulars to give them confidence.”