Popular concert

“A very pleasing concert was given at Association Hall last Saturday afternoon by the Brown and Whitney combination. Mrs. Imogene Brown sang Gounod’s ‘Ave Maria’ with feeling and expression, and in an opposite school of music, as expressed in one of Verdi’s lighter melodies, gave proof of decided vocal fluency. Mr. Whitney sang well, as he always does, and Miss Barron, Mr. Pearce, the organist, and Mr. Pease, the pianist, lent their aid to make the concert a success. A young violinist, Mr. Carl Feininger played with charming skill, and awakened hearty enthusiasm. During the latter part of the concert the encores were frequent, and the entire entertainment was an artistic success. Popular concerts, such as these, should certainly crowd Association Hall every Saturday afternoon, for as musical treats they are unpretentious, enjoyable, and require from the concert goer but a minimum outlay.”

“The new series of popular Saturday matinées at Association Hall promises exceedingly well. With Mrs. Imogene Brown for their chief attraction, Mr. M. W. Whitney for their main prop, and the good judgment somewhere in the background which has secured the co-operating group of artists, of whom each one is more than respectable, it is to be hoped that these concerts will become a permanent institution. On Saturdays there are always people waiting to be entertained. On that day, for many persons, the business of the week is pretty well over, and there is a willingness to prepare for the Sunday’s rest and devotion by a little mild excitement, just as in Catholic countries the austerities of Lent are ushered in by the profanities of Carnival. 

The programme of last Saturday’s concert, the first of the series, gained in variety what it lost in distinctiveness of character. Mr. Pearce’s organ solo was a judicious selection. Not so Mr. Whitney’s choice of Mendelssohn’s cavatina, ‘I’m a Roamer.’ The fun of this song is too German for any non-German to enjoy. Mr. Carl Feininger’s violin solo was fearfully long, and even Mrs. Imogene Brown’s refined and beautiful singing of Gounod’s ‘Ave Maria’ did not remove the chill which at first seemed to hang over the audience. An English duet, ‘The Siren and Friar,’ sung by Mrs. Brown Mr. Whitney, seemed, however, precisely to hit the fancy of the assembly. Words and music were sufficiently commonplace, but the latter was so charmingly sung, and the former were so distinctly spoken, that the listeners could enter into the humor of the thing. It was quaint to hear two grave members of choirs making naughty proposals about being ‘wedded under the sea;’ and after a hearty laugh and some audible allusions to Father Hyacinthe, the duett was encored, the audience settled down to enjoy themselves, and the concert was a success thenceforth. Each number was received with tokens of satisfaction, and the gem of the programme, Arthur Sullivan’s charming quartet, ‘O Hush Thee, My Baby,’ was as heartily re-demanded as it was delicately and sweetly sung.

We have not space at present fully to express our admiration of Mrs. Imogene Brown’s singing. She has the true artistic temperament, which never spares itself, but is ready to fill every gap with unstinted exertion. Mr. Whitney, on the contrary, with his fine voice and stately manner, needs to be roused. Miss Sarah Barron is a young and promising contralto after the school of Mme. Patey-Whytock. Mr. F. Graff has an agreeable tenor voice, knows how to co-operate with others as only those do who have gone through the drill of operatic singing, and, but for an occasional nasal tone, would be a model of good style. Mr. Pearce’s rendering of two of Mendelssohn’s ‘Lieder’ was admirable, the various stops of the organ bringing out the harmonies in a delightful manner. Mr. Alfred H. Pease was as acceptable as he always is. Perceiving that the concert was already too long, he, with much sense and tact, substituted a brilliant fragment for the second fantasia he was to have played. Two things only seem to be necessary to make these artists entirely prosperous. First, they must make up their minds whether they do or do not mean to accept encores. If they do mean to yield to the pernicious practice they must shorten their programmes accordingly. Secondly, they must obtain the services of a good accompanist. These points settled, such capital entertainments, given, as they are, for the small admission fee of half a dollar, should become thoroughly and permanently successful.”

“An effort to give a series of really good concerts at a half-dollar rate of admission deserves attention. Such an effort is now being made by what is termed the Brown and Whitney Combination, at the Saturday matinées at Association Hall. The programmes for these concerts seem to be selected with a careful appreciation of what is good as well as of what is popular. At last Saturday’s concert Mrs. Brown sang Gounod’s ‘Ave Maria’ with much feeling, and showed vocal fluency in Verdi’s ‘Saper vorresti.’”