National Saengerfest of the Northeastern Saengerbund of America: 12th

German pluck and endurance; heartiness and good cheer; awarding of prizes.

Grand procession from the Bowery and review of the societies in front of Steinway Hall; picnic at Jones’s Wood.

Procession to Steinway Hall; review by Gov. Hoffman; arrival at Jones’s Wood; mass meeting on the lawn; awarding of prizes; evening festivities.

Torrents of rain as the procession was to begin; description of the procession, its route and participants; clearing for afternoon picnic; distribution of prizes, 6 pm; oration by Sigismund Kaufmann; prizes awarded; another brief shower, and a continuation of the festivities until a late hour. 

Description of the procession from Germania Hall to Steinway Hall, amid torrential rain; return to Germania Assembly Rooms; independent routes of the societies to Jones’s Wood; artistic decorations at the park. “At times eight or ten bands were engaged at once, playing different airs, in different parts of the grounds.” Awarding of the prizes; requisites demanded by the judges.

Close of the biennial Saengerfest; marred by weather; the concerts not all that fancy painted them; little really good singing at the contest for prizes; inescapable blemishes at the Rink entertainments; limits to the physical endurance of even a German Sängerbruder; festivals like this among the pleasant characteristics of German life that Americans desire to imitate; surprise of the success of a society comprised of Americans; realization of the American ideal of a festival.

Festivities indulged in by participants in the festival. 

General inferiority of New York City Germans to those from other states in knowledge of national questions; guests were nearly all Republicans, the hosts nearly all Democrats. 

Magic influence of the divine art pervading the German character; example to be followed by representatives of other nationalities; objection to the remarks of a contemporary in the mixing up of music with politics and religion.    

From the Weekly Review, July 1: “The twelfth musical festival of the North-Eastern Sängerbund has been celebrated this week in the usual manner. As we expected, it has been a failure, financially and artistically. All these festivals can only flourish in small cities, where people have but little excitement, and look upon the display of ribbons, emblems, transparencies, processions as the most momentous question of the day. It is not so here. The few thousand ribboned persons, the fuss and pretensions of those who are put in brief authority, pass unnoticed in the bustle of daily New York life. We could not help smiling, when one of the singers gave vent to his indignation, that anybody should have asked him, ‘what was it all about?’—There is a serious side to this matter. These festivals are very expensive, chiefly on account of what may be called the social accessories. The question arises, whether the result is adequate to the outlay; whether it is really worth while to spend thousands of dollars, in order to gratify the appetite for social pleasure on a large scale. For after all, this is the essence of all these gatherings, the music is only the pretext.

We will not deny that some of the singers have the ambition to improve their musical abilities; but we ask any impartial observer of what was going on during this festival, whether such an ambition can be satisfied? The very social element in these gatherings, which seemed to be considered so necessary, must and does hinder the development of the musical resources of the societies. The festival of this week gave a perfect illustration. The singers were so soon worn out that already the second day they were unfit to do their work, and that on the third day they broke completely down.—Under such circumstances art can derive little benefit from these festivals, which might just as well be dispensed with, especially as in their present form and arrangement they are only a pale reflex of the customs of the Middle Ages.”