Messiah

“The first oratorio of the season was given last night at Steinway Hall before a very large audience. Madame Parepa-Rosa has long ago been crowned the queen of oratorio, and to- day we know of no artist that can dispute her sovereignty in this line. In the ‘Messiah’ particularly her grand sonorous voice and thorough school of singing is displayed to the fullest advantage; and in those immortal airs, ‘Rejoice Greatly,’ ‘Come Unto Him,’ and ‘I Know that My Redeemer Liveth,’ she is more at home than even in opera or concert. Her voice was in excellent condition last night, despite the wear and tear it has undergone since the opera season opened here three weeks ago. Mrs. Edward Seguin rendered the beautiful air ‘He was despised’ with expression and tenderness. Her sympathetic, well-trained contralto voice is welcome alike in the oratorio, opera or concert, and a more conscientious artist it would be difficult to find. Aynsley Cook was the basso on this occasion and gave additional proof of his versatility. He made a very favorable impression. George Simpson is the recognized oratorio tenor of New York, and his thorough knowledge of the subject compensates to a great degree for the deficiencies of his voice. The chorus consisted of nearly two hundred and fifty singers belonging to the Mendelssohn Union and a symphony orchestra of forty instruments, all under the baton of the ablest conductor and most celebrated musician in America, George F. Bristow. With such a director and good music to start with it was not surprising that the choruses, which constitute the most important element in the work, went like clockwork, and that the greatest of them all, ‘Hallelujah,’ created a perfect furor. Both Mme. Parepa-Rosa and Mr. Bristow have reason to congratulate themselves on the successful performance of the grandest of all musical works.”

“The ‘Messiah’ last evening was well and satisfactorily rendered by the Mendelssohn Union, with Mmes. Parepa and Seguin, and Messrs. Simpson and Aynsley Cook in the solos, though the voices of these latter showed signs of the fatiguing labors of the last few weeks. Mr. Simpson’s high and sweet tenor was highly effective in the opening recitative and air, ‘Comfort ye my people’ and ‘Every valley,’ of Part I., and in the beautiful air of Part II., ‘Behold and See.’ Mme. Rosa at first sang with a little less firmness and clearness than usual with her, but the beautiful air, ‘Come unto Him,’ with its silvery high notes at the close, brought an enthusiastic encore. ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth’ was given with all her usual energy, and the splendid burst, ‘For now is Christ risen,’ was like the very trumpet-call of resurrection and hope.

Mrs. Seguin was warmly encored in ‘He shall feed his flock,’ which she sung with great feeling, but, as we have suggested, with some signs of vocal fatigue. Mr. Aynsley Cook gave a conscientious rendering of the basso music of the oratorio, but his guttural delivery, rather uncertain intonation, and the perceptibly veiled quality of many of his notes, forbid more earnest commendation.

The orchestra, though not numerous, and the chorus, in most of the numbers, deserved great praise—though a little shading and an occasional improvement in time and ‘snap’ in the more intricate passages would have done no harm. The invitation to the audience to rise during the performance of the Hallelujah chorus took many by surprise. As an agreeable change of position during a long sitting it could hardly fail to be welcome, and personally we could wish a certain freedom in this matter allowable at more frequent seasons. We fail, however to recognize any aesthetic or liturgic propriety in calling on the audience to stand during this especial number rather at many other points of the oratorio.”

“A satisfying, though a rather uneven, performance of ‘The Messiah’ took place at Steinway Hall, last evening, with Mme. Parepa-Rosa, Mrs. Seguin and Messrs. Simpson and Cook as the vocal quartet, and the choral forces of the Mendelssohn Union, and a full orchestra under the direction of Mr. George F. Bristow. Mme. Rosa has often been heard here in oratorio, and the reader least acquainted with the lady’s resources and talent need hardly be told that she is, of all songstresses in America, the one most competent to do justice to the deep sentiment and grand phrases of that order of music of which Handel is the highest representative. Last night’s audience was moved and charmed anew by the lady’s delivery of ‘Rejoice Greatly,’ of the second part of the tuneful air, ‘He Shall Feed His Flock’—the first being allotted to the contralto—and of ‘I Know that My Redeemer Liveth,’ each of these pieces prefacing an encore. The sympathetic quality of Mrs. Seguin’s voice, aside from a recollection of the artist’s culture, so often proven, with never-failing recognition, on the operatic stage, caused her share of the work to be received with favor, though the tremulousness of her sustained tones and a style not severe enough for oratorio, would scarcely have commended her efforts to critical listeners. Mr. George Simpson is well known as an interpreter of Handel’s music, to the recital of which he brings a well- controlled organ, a good deal of taste, and a knowledge of all the traditions. Mr. Cook’s singing was of unequal merit; in the aria ‘The People that Walked in Darkness,’ there was abundant promise, which the rendering of the very florid music, at a more advanced stage of proceedings, did not fulfill. The choruses were given with unusual precision, and, like the orchestra, were handled with a keen eye to the value of contrasts. The chorus, ‘For Unto Us a Child is Born,’ was especially creditable to the singers and to the conductor; equally difficult writing has never been read with more clearness and finish, though pianissimo, on the same platform. Steinway Hall, it only remains to add, was quite filled, and there was a great deal of applause.”

“The Mendelssohn Union, which under Mr. Bristow’s direction has made gratifying progress during the past year or two, gave a creditable performance of ‘The Messiah’ last night, and was rewarded for its enterprise by an excellent audience. How many came to hear ‘The Messiah’ and how many to hear the prima donna is a question which we fortunately need not decide. The society mustered about 250 members, with a competent orchestra. It gave most of the choruses with correctness, vigor, and a good volume of voice; and although the singing lacked polish, and the intonations, in the pianissimo passages, were at times defective, there was a spirit and intelligence in the delivery which atoned for many faults, and produced upon the whole a very satisfactory effect. Madame Parepa Rosa gave to the soprano solos the full beauty and grandeur which she alone, of all the soprano singers who have essayed Handel’s music in New-York, can perfectly interpret. We all know her so well, and admire her so highly in this part, that there is need only to say that last night she was at her best, her voice fresh, her strength unimpaired by her recent extraordinary efforts, and her spirits apparently buoyant. Her rendering of ‘Come unto Him’ was a fine example of the sustained cantabile style, admirable alike for its clean phrasing, the religious sentiment, and the perfection of each individual note. But in ‘I know that my Redeemer Liveth’ the art was still higher. The song was so delicate, so thoughtful, and anon so triumphant, that its delivery seemed not like art but inspiration. Mrs. Zelda Seguin brought to the alto solos the same rich and sympathetic voice, careful method, and truthful unaffected style which have made her such a favorite in other walks of her profession. Her work is always good, whatever it may be. There was an especial charm last night in the interpretation of ‘He shall Feed His Flock,’ and as usual the air was encored, the same compliment being awarded, we need hardly say, to Madame Rosa’s ‘Come unto Him.’ Mr. Simpson (of course) had the tenor solos, and Mr. Aynsley Cook took the bass, in which, albeit his voice was husky and weak, he showed a good oratorio style.”