Church Music Association Public Rehearsal

“Steinway crowded this afternoon for our last C. M. A. rehearsal. Opened with Auber’s overture—then the overture to the Midsummer Night’s Dream & the latter half of that work & then the Mass from Gloria to finale. Ellie treated herself, unlawfully, to a seat not on the stage & enjoyed it all intensely. Niedermeyer is strongly approved. Dr. Barnard declares himself ‘a convert to Niedermeyer.’ So did Mr. Ruggles [Strong’s father-in-law]. Some movements of this Mass are hard to beat, and especially the Agnus with its lurid bits of trombone color, its weird cadences, its intense passionate climax, its broad lights & shadows. I can only call it ‘unearthly,’ and class it among the finest of church compositions—& I have known it these twelve years, so this is no hasty judgment. It is an awe-ful movement.

Tonight’s Post prints a flaming eulogy of C. M. A., with extracts from my little essay, to which (during my absence South) my name was appended in full, instead of the ‘S. T. G.’ with which I signed the manuscript.”