Church of the Holy Savior Benefit Concert

“There was a large and fashionable attendance at Association Hall last night on the occasion of a concert given by Mr. Mora for the benefit of the Church of the Holy Saviour. Madame Gazzaniga, Miss Ridgeway, Signor Lefranc and Signor Centemeri were the vocalists, the latter winning special applause for his admirable rendering of a melody from Meyerbeer’s ‘Dinorah.’ Miss Tedeska played on the violin a charming concerto by De Beriot, and Miss Krebs—who took the place of Mr. Mills—was as successful as ever in her piano-forte selections. Mr. Mora performed several pieces on the organ of Association Hall. Barring one or two little drawbacks the concert proved to [be] a highly agreeable musical treat, and judging by the appearance of the house must have materially benefitted the treasury of the church.”

“A concert was given by Signor A. L. Mora at Association Hall last evening for the benefit of the Church of the Holy Savior. The audience was a large, and may be termed also without impropriety, a fashionable one. The request for ‘evening dress’ was literally complied with, and some of the toilets were exceedingly elaborate and elegant. Mr. Mora had worked faithfully to make this concert successful, and the result reflects considerable credit on him and on those associated with him. The names of Gazzaniga, Lefranc, Tedesca and Mills were sufficiently powerful to insure a thoroughly good concert. But the programme was entirely too long. It may have been eminently proper to tax the purse of an audience for the benefit of a church, but it can hardly be considered fair to tax their patience also. Miss Graziella Ridgway, a young lady with a clear and sympathetic voice of much promise, added considerably to the pleasure of the evening by the spirit and feeling with which she rendered a charming little song called ‘She Wandered Down the Mountain Side.’ Signor Lefranc, though laboring under the disadvantage of a slight cold, won an enthusiastic encore by his interpretation of the ‘Cantique de Noel.’ Mr. Mills’ absence was amply atoned for by the presence of Miss Marie Krebs, whose skill and merit as a pianist are readily admitted by all who have heard her. Mlle. Tedesca will easily rank among the best of lady violinists, and she rendered in an exceedingly finished manner a difficult concerto by De Beriot, and a fantasia by Vieuxtemps. Signor Centemeri, whose voice is too seldom heard in the concert-room, sang a solo from Meyerbeer’s ‘Pardon de Ploermel.’ The organ was, of course, dragged into the programme, and even Mr. Mora’s ability as an executant could not prevent it from marring the magnificent trio from ‘William Tell,’ which was in some respects the choicest piece on the bill. The instrument is a poor one, and the transcription from ‘Don Juan,’ while allowing an opportunity for some good pedal playing and rapid changing of the stops, was but a parody of an original. It might as well have been played on a hurdy-gurdy as on the box of whistles in Association Hall, so far as really good music is concerned. The overture to ‘Semiramide’ seems, we are told, to be a ‘style of composition which the public believes suited to the organ,’ and as long as it does, plenty of organists will be found ready to gratify its taste in this direction. As a whole, the concert was exceedingly enjoyable, and we take pleasure in recording its success.”