National Saengerfest of the Northeastern Saengerbund of America: 12th

The honor of supplying the first prize awarded to the firm of Steck & Co.;  committee’s purchase of the finest concert grand piano that money could procure.

Participating societies; judges.

“A competitive concert at a Saengerfest is a novel and interesting entertainment. Take that of yesterday for example. At two o’clock in the afternoon there was not a vacant seat in Steinway Hall and crowds of music pilgrims could not find aught but standing room, and very little of that. This is probably the only occasion during the festival when attention of the strictist and most rigid kind is exacted of everyone present. A whisper, a creaking boot or an untimely cough or sneeze is sure to draw down the indignation of the audience on the head of the unlucky offender. This concert is the ruling principle of the Saengerfest, and no political club on election day ever watched more intently for the returns than do the assembled singers for the appearance of each of the competing societies. The jolly, good-humored faces that seem to be the exclusive property of those children of song become for the moment preternaturally solemn as if their existence depended on the result. At the Fifteenth street entrance to the hall white hats and linen coats surged to and fro, and red, white and blue badges fell into line as a hoarse Teuton at the head of the stairs called out the name of the society next on the list. The Belvidere House was crowded with singers discussing the merits of the competitors, and there was an expression of relief in the faces of those who had just sung in the hall, as if they had passed successfully through some terrible ordeal. In front of the stage sat the dread council, the judges—Messrs. F. L. Ritter, George Matzka, S. P. Warren, F. von Breuning and H. C. Timm—and above and around waved the handsome flags and decorations with which the Messrs. Steinway had ornamented their hall, and for which the skillful hand of Herr Reck was responsible. The competitors were divided into three classes, each being arranged according to the number of singers. Hence the first class, the prize for which is a magnificent Steck grand piano, were allowed many more singers than those of the second class, the prize for which is a Cycloid piano; and the third class was limited to a small number of singers, with a prize consisting of a book and music case. Besides the competing societies there was present to fill up the intermissions an orchestra under the direction of Carl Bergmann. The following was the programme [see above].

Of the three lieder or works given to the societies to sing, by far the most trying and difficult was the ‘Charms of the Wood’ for the second class. Regarding the performance of all the societies we can make a general estimate of those which will receive the premiums. And in this our judgment is borne out by the verdict of the majority of the audience present. The first prize lies between the two Baltimore Societies, the Liederkranz and the Germania Mannerchor [three illegible lines of type]… American and consisting of gentlemen not usually classed with German singers on account of their total unacquaintance with the German language, that is, outside of the words they sing. The third will probably be given to either the Germania, of Poughkeepsie, or the Buffalo Liedertafel.

The society which pleased the audience [illegible] during the entire concert, and received the [illegible] applause, was the Choral Society, of Washington.

According as each society concluded their arduous task they were deluged with bouquets by their friends and greeted with the inevitable ‘[illegible].’” 

“The prize singing which took place yesterday at Steinway’s was a curious and interesting feature of German musical life. The eighteen competing societies, from Washington, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Buffalo and Poughkeepsie, were classified according to numbers, the smaller clubs singing first. The third class, of which there were six, comprised about twenty members each; the second class, seven in number, about thirty members or over, and the first-class nearer fifty. The Philadelphia Männerchor, the second of this class on the programme, did not sing.

The songs appointed as a test were [see above]. They were not notable for anything like evident or catching melody, and were undoubtedly selected with a view to offering considerable difficulties in time, interval and harmonic blending. The execution was on the whole highly satisfactory, though in this there were naturally enough some marked differences. It might, perhaps, be expected that the larger societies should acquit themselves better, or at least produce a more imposing effect on the imagination of the hearer, than the smaller. A noticeable virtue in almost all was their accuracy in time; a prominent defect, the roughness and heaviness in tone resulting from the predominance of the bass and baritones over the tenors. To judge from this performance one would be inclined to fancy the German voice—as a national characteristic—only moderately adapted to vocal music, strong indeed, and of a certain masculine fullness, but not sympathetic, sweet, or flexible. Indeed, a very noteworthy feature of the performance was the excellence of general effect obtained by care and drill from rather mediocre vocal materials. The Washington Choral Society, of the second class, which, by an exception to this general statement, possesses one or two very sweet, clear, high tenors, seemed by that fact to gain the suffrages of the public in a manner a little out of proportion to the merits of its performance in other regards. It would be indiscrete to attempt to anticipate the decision of the committee; but we may state in general terms that in the third class, the Baltimore Harmonia and the Buffalo Saengerbund and Liedertafel, in the second the Washington Choral Society and the Philadelphia Quartet Club, and in the first the Philadelphia Saengerbund and the Baltimore Liederkranz seemed to our poor thinking to do themselves especial credit. A droll feature of the afternoon was the rain of bouquets—not apparently ordered by the management, but slung with hearty energy by muscular and friendly arms from all parts of the great hall, and usually ‘taking’ the foremost of the auditory in the rear, to be by them good-naturedly picked up and forwarded to their destination on the stage.”

[Preceded by a description of the decorations in the hall, list of participating societies, prizes to be awarded, names of judges, and the points upon which their decision will rest] “The afternoon performances were begun at two o’clock. The hall was filled with spectators, many of them being the personal friends of the various singers, as was made amply apparent by the showers of bouquets that fell upon the contesting society as it made its exit. They were intended so to fall we should say, for most of them came short of the mark, and administered fragrant but unpleasant thumps upon the heads and backs of persons in the audience.

We shall speak of the several classes in the order in which we have named them. But we will first premise by saying that, considered from a really high musical standard, there was no genuinely artistic and first rate singing at all. It only approximated to what it should have been, the best of the societies marring their work with noticeable faults.

Among the lesser clubs, the first of the three classes above named, the most meritorious were the Germania of Poughkeepsie and the Harmonia of Baltimore, and the first named is very likely to take the prize in this class.

The Harmonia sang very well; but there was no ring or quality in their first tenors. The Beethoven Maennerchor of Philadelphia grouped themselves into a horseshoe form, so that the backs of some of the first tenors at one end of the line, and of the second basses at the other, were turned to the audience. The quality of tone suffered in consequence; it did not come out into the hall. The Saengergund of Buffalo acquitted itself well and stood third in merit. Both the Germania of Philadelphia and the Buffalo Liedertafel lost the pitch and fell into confusion and absolute discordance. Both stumbled at the same point, the first line of the third verse, where there is some intricacy in the modulation and a change of key. The sentiment was well expressed by the Poughkeepsie society, and in other respects they did better than their rivals, though not altogether well.

A prediction hazarded. The successful society in the second class will be either the Choral Society of Washington or the Quartett Club of Philadelphia. It should be the former, for they sang with fine spirit and marked intelligence. They were exceedingly fortunate in having a first tenor for the solo parts whose voice was of exceptional beauty. They sang moreover without their notes, showing thereby a thorough acquaintance with the music, and being moreover able to give their undivided attention to their leader.

The Saengerbund of Washington also sang excellently, though their solo quartette was so inferior as probably to rule them out of all chance of success. They certainly were either second or third in merit.

The Schuetzen-Liedertafel of Philadelphia started out with a blunder, the tenors and basses beginning in different keys. The conductor stopped them, and they began again, but not to much better purpose. We hope that the Washington Choral Society may take home the cycloid, and though this club is composed of Americans and the judges are Germans, we believe that strict justice will be done.

It only remains to refer to the larger clubs. Here the contest will be between the two Philadelphia societies. The Steck grand will undoubtedly go to the City of Brotherly Love, and will be found either at the headquarters of the Junger Maennerchor or at those of the Maennerchor. The singing of the two societies was as nearly equal as their names, and yet the latter seemed to us entitled to the prize. If they lose it, it will be for the fault of one of their tenors, whose impatience caused him to take his note in several instances a little too soon, and so marred the precision of time. But certainly this club’s conception of Herbeck’s beautiful song was exceedingly fine. They sang with great expression and artistic finish.

The Liederkranz of Baltimore and the Saengerbund of Philadelphia also acquitted themselves with much credit.

It is to be noticed that none of the New York societies took part in the prize singing, it being the rule of etiquette that the local clubs of the city in which the Saengerfest is held shall not contend for the prizes to be awarded.

On the conclusion of the contest the various societies, local and out of town, sought their private quarters, and enjoyed themselves for the rest of the afternoon.”

“An afternoon entertainment, whereof prize-singing by eighteen competing societies supplied the attraction, and an evening concert, with a programme of vocal and instrumental music intrusted [sic] for interpretation to the masses taking part in the festivities, were the incidents of the Saengerfest yesterday. The prize-singing was carried on in Steinway Hall, which establishment, by the way, was not only placed at the disposal of the Saengerbund by the Messrs. Steinway, but was tastefully decorated by liberality from the same quarter. The house was crowded. The performance was an exceedingly creditable one. Out of the eighteen recitals by the different choral bodies, but one was marked by an actual blunder—an attack in a wrong key—and none disclosed either lack of judgment, study or spirit. The contestants were divided into three classes, the organizations ranking highest being summoned on the platform last. To each class was allotted one test-piece. The printed bill will explain the order [see above].

The judges of the affair were Messrs. F. L. Ritter, G. Matzka, S. P. Warren, F. von Breuning and E. Timm. Its praiseworthy characteristics have been mentioned above. Naturally enough, the societies of the first class are to be complimented for especial finish of interpretation. But if this was to be anticipated, the fact that the most admirable work was to be done in the second class, and by the single American body struggling with the purely German societies, was not. It is not to be denied that the execution of ‘Waldeszaueber’ by the Choral Society of Washington, wholly made up, we believe, of Americans speaking German, far surpassed in appreciativeness, in variety of reading and in unanimity, the labor of their opponents. The crescendos and diminuendos were managed with special skill, and for a lavish recognition of nuances, and a seemingly unlimited power of expressing them, their brief task will certainly be remembered as reflective of great honor. In the same class the singing of the Philadelphia Quartet Club was noteworthy above that of the remainder. The doings of the first class attained in most cases an almost uniform excellence. These vocal deeds of the Saengerbund were interspersed with three orchestral recitals under the baton of Mr. Carl Bergmann. After Weber’s glorious Jubilee ‘Overture,’ Liszt’s ‘Mazeppa March,’ resting upon a wild barbaric theme, which is treated with the sonorousness, not to say the jangle habitual to that composed, was delivered with much vigor. The overture to ‘Ruy Blas,’ by Mendelssohn, was subsequently given. At 4 ½ the contest was over.”

“The exercises began at Steinway Hall at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Flags and flowers in great profusion decorated the stage, and quantities of bunting were draped about the walls and galleries. The audience numbered about 2,000, and a very excitable and deeply interested audience it seemed to be. The songs were listened to with the closest attention, but the tumult of applause after the most satisfactory performances was something tremendous. The arrangement of the contest was excellent for those who wanted to estimate the comparative excellence of the societies, but rather wearisome for the miscellaneous public which went to hear the music and did not care who got the prize. All the societies of a class sang the same song. Thus in a concert lasting two hours and a half there were only three songs, the first of which was given six times, the second seven times, and the third five times. Only three of the clubs were conspicuously excellent, and several certainly were conspicuously bad. Indeed it must be confessed that the prize contest, as a whole, was not artistically brilliant. The concert opened with Weber’s Jubel overture, played by an orchestra of about 80 pieces under Mr. Bergmann. There was too much resonance in the hall for a band of that size, and we believe that about half as many instruments would have made a better effect; forty or perhaps sixty is the number of pieces for which Steinway Hall is best adapted. The societies of the third class then entered the lists with a good song by Dr. F. Eyrich, ‘Das macht das dunkelgrüne Laub.’ The first in order was the Harmonie of Baltimore, 28 strong, directed by Mr. Tillman, and barring an occasional uncertainty in the first tenors it did remarkably well. Pelted with bouquets from all parts of the house, and followed by shouts and applause, it then filed off the stage by the door opposite that at which it entered, and close upon its heels came the Beethoven Männerchor of Philadelphia, 24 men, directed by Mr. Groebel. The other entries for the prize of the third class were the Buffalo Sängerbund, 29, singers, conducted by Mr. Gaertner; the Germania of Poughkeepsie, 19 men, Conductor Kuehn; the Germania of Philadelphia, 24 men; and the Liedertafel of Buffalo, 28 men. It is useless to speculate in advance upon the verdict of the judges, but the prize doubtless rests between the Buffalo Liedertafel and Sängerbund and the Baltimore Harmonie. In truth, however, none of the singing in this class was very good.

Liszt’s ‘Mazeppa’ march followed, and then came the trial of the societies of the second class. Their song was the ‘Waldeszauber’ (‘Charms of the Woods’) of E. Reiter. Like the two other selections, it was an admirable study in harmony, and full of difficulties that tested thoroughly the acquirements of the chorus, but it had also some elements of popularity which the others lacked, and hence the second part was much the most interesting of the three. The competing clubs were the Washington Choral Society, 46 men, Mr. H. C. Sherman; Washington Sängerbund, 37 men; Baltimore Arion, 36 men; Buffalo Orpheus, 39 men; Philadelphia Concordia, 32 men, Mr. Engelke; Philadelphia Schützen-Liedertafel, 34 men, Mr. Heineman, and the Philadelphia Quartet Club, 30 men, Mr. Hartman. The superiority of the first and last of these over all the others, in either the second or third-class, was unmistakable, and was recognized by the audience in the most emphatic manner. It is of course very gratifying that the first appearance of an American Society, led by an American conductor, in one of these concerts which the Germans have made so peculiarly their own, should be rewarded with such distinguished success as fell to the lot of the Washington Choral Society, and if we are not mistaken its only competitor, the Quartett Club of Philadelphia, is also in large part American. The former rejoices in the possession of one tenor singer with a remarkably sweet, true, and strong voice which in the quartett that forms part of the song produced a beautiful effect. The excellent rendering of this quartett constitutes the Society’s chief claim to the prize. In the rest of the composition it was surpassed by Mr. Hartman’s Quartett Club, which did not give the quartett at all but sang the whole piece as a chorus. We are not sure whether the departure from the score is allowable; if it is, the Quartett Club deserves the highest honors of the day—with perhaps a single exception to be hereafter noted. It too has an excellent leading tenor, with a voice less sweet than the one from Washington, but firmer and more trusty.

Mendelssohn’s ‘Ruy Blas’ overture served as the next interlude. The competition song for the societies of the first class was John Herbeck’s ‘Frühling und Liebe’ (‘Spring and Love’), and the contestants were the Junger Männerchor of Philadelphia, 47 strong, directed by Mr. Hartman; the Philadelphia Sängerbund, 50 strong; Philadelphia Harmonie, 41 strong; Germania Männerchor of Baltimore, 45 strong; and Baltimore Liederkranz, 47 strong. The Philadelphia Männerchor was also on the programme, but did not appear. The general verdict assigns the preeminence in this department to the Baltimore Liederkranz,--and this is the one society which shares with the Philadelphia Quartett Club the first place in the feast.

The prize will probably be officially awarded on Wednesday.” 

Confusion over which society failed to make its appearance.

From the Weekly Review, July 1: “On Monday afternoon at Steinway Hall the so-called prize singing took place. The competitors were from Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Buffalo, and Poughkeepsie. Three songs were sung by the various societies, so that listeners had the felicity of hearing each song at least six times. The compositions treated of the charms of the forest, of love and spring—a very nice subject, if dwelt upon in a poetical manner. To hear ‘I love thee’ may be, under certain circumstances, very pretty, but to hear it eighteen times with very little variation, by a host of very robust men, becomes in the end exceedingly tedious. The songs have very little artistic merit. That by Herbeck (for the best rendering of which a Steck Grand was awarded) is very pretentious without cause. It has a few difficult modulations which will tax the singer, but not to such an extent as to upset him if he has any experience, yet most of the societies could not overcome them. The song ’Waldeszauber’ (second prize--Cycloid piano from Lindemann & Sons) has more depth of expression. It was well rendered by the Choral Society of Washington and the Quartett Club of Philadelphia. The song of the third prize (book and music stand): ‘Das macht das dunkelgrüne Laub’ is in idea and expression very common, one of the thousands of quartets for male voices, with which the market abounds.

The decision of the judges was as follows: The first prize was given to the Baltimore Germania Maennerchor; the second to the Choral Society of Washington; and the third to the Buffalo Liedertafel. We congratulate the American society upon its success. It was well deserved, although some opposition has been raised on account of the pronunciation of the singers, which, with conception, rhythm, and intonation, was made a point that actuated the decision of the judges. But candidly, on the whole, the Americans pronounced as well as the Germans did.

Three instrumental pieces for full orchestra varied in a most welcome manner the monotony of the proceedings. The conductor was Mr. Carl Bergmann, who did full justice to the task, especially in Liszt’s symphonic poem ‘Mazeppa.’”