“Mrs. Caroline Richings-Bernard, a lady well known in the musical world as an accomplished operatic singer, has organized a troupe of some two dozen singers, who sing in costume the music of olden time, varying it with miscellaneous selections. This troupe, which has already made a favorable impression in concerts in Philadelphia and Brooklyn, will appear to-night at Steinway Hall, this being their first entertainment in this city.”

“Caroline Richings-Bernard, assisted by 26 select Artists in songs of various countries and rich and elegant costumes appropriate to the music.”

“Songs of all nations. Rare musical gems from the quaint and touching Songs and Anthems of Ye Olden Time.” Beneath this card is an advertisement for “Mrs. Taylor, Theatre and Ball Costumes” for “Old Folks’ Concerts.”

Brief. “Mrs. Caroline-Richings Bernard has organized an old folks’ concert party, who will make their first appearance, at Steinway Hall, on Monday evening.”

“Mrs. Richings-Bernard having temporarily left the operatic stage, has organized a troupe of twenty-six vocal and instrumental performers, and with them is giving a series of miscellaneous concerts in old-fashioned garb. Strictly speaking, these entertainments are not ‘old folks’ concerts,’ for the ‘old’ music constitutes but a very limited portion of the programme. Only two old-fashioned tunes were given, for instance, in the long programme sung last night at Steinway Hall, the rest of the list consisting of solos and choruses of the most varied character. Mrs. Richings, who is an artist of a high order, had nothing to sing really worthy of her decided ability, yet added greatly to the interest of the evening. Mr. Bernard proved to be a buffo-singer who knew how to awaken the mirth of his auditors. A good pianist and organist, and the representative saxophone player now in this country, lent their aid to the troupe. There were several specimens of good chorus singing and a male quartet which had to be repeated. One of the jubilee songs was given in a mutilated style.

The encores were frequent, and it was evident that the audience was highly pleased with the entire entertainment. From an art point of view it was, moreover, something provincial in the whole affair, from the entrée of the troupe to the gesticulation in ‘Auld Lang Syne’ at the close; but with all this, an evening with the Richings troupe affords much that is droll, entertaining and enjoyable. The combination of rocking chairs, hymn tunes, powdered wigs, old songs, Quaker courtships, instrumental solos, snuff taking, buffo duets, quaint costumes and pleasing choruses is certainly so very pleasant that it would be hypercritical to find fault with the agreeable medley simply because it is lacking in artistic unity.”

“The company of ‘Old Folks’ which Mrs. Caroline Richings-Bernard has recently organized, made its first appearance in New-York last night at Steinway Hall. It consists of 26 persons, including a pianist, a performer on the cabinet-organ, and a performer on that little known and not very agreeable instrument, the saxophone. All appear in ancient costumes of the most pronounced and variegated character, with powered wigs, and mammoth fans, and snuff boxes, and other amusing properties. And Mr. Pierre Bernard especially, who officiates as conductor, is arrayed in a rig which defies rivalry and baffles description. The musical exercises are interspersed and accompanied with an abundance of more or less comical by-play which verges too far upon broad burlesque perhaps to satisfy an exacting taste, but seemed at any rate last night to afford the audience a great deal of entertainment. The singing, with one or two exceptions, was good,—some of it very good. The concert began with two psalm-tunes,—the old fashioned ‘Russia, representative of the style of 1800, sung purposely with more force than sweetness, and with a strong nasal flavor, and ‘Thanksgiving,’ a tune of 1871, given in a very pleasing an artistic manner. The pieces that followed were a curious medley of choruses, solos, and comic duets, in which the music of the olden time before a singularly small part. We cannot help thinking that the introduction of a few glees and part songs, and a few really antique ballads, would have been more judicious than the selection of such pieces as Adam’s ‘Cantique de Noël,’ which Mr. Bernard sang in his ludicrous burlesque attire (taking we may add several liberties with the composer), or the slave song ‘Steal Away,’ which has been much better done at Steinway Hall by the Jubilee Singers. The great fault with these ‘Old Folks’ is that they give us hardly any old music. Nevertheless they presented some very pretty things, very neatly executed, such as ‘The Triton,’ the ‘Tramp Chorus,’ the ‘Lullaby,’ &c. They have good voices, which they know how to use with discretion, and though they have sung together for only two months they have already acquired a great deal of discipline, and considerable delicacy in the distribution of light and shade.”

“A very large audience was present in this hall last night. The attraction consisted of a large number of ladies and gentlemen who sang several vocal and instrumental pieces, which were designated on the programme in language supposed to belong to the olden time, and, according to the announcement, every personw ho attended the concert was expected to hear nothing but music of a century old, as it prevailed in the New England States. Mrs. Caroline Richings-Bernard is the governing spirit of this organization. There was some good part singing last night and one or two well rendered solos. The voices are naturally good, and the training of the ensemble is excellent. But no musical critic can approve of such a desecration of the divine art as took place at Steinway Hall last night. Without reference to the individuality of the singers and instrumentalists an impartial critic cannot but come to the conclusion that these old folks’ concerts are not calculated to bring credit to the cause of true art. When a musical organization is obliged to depend upon outlandish dresses, which by no means represent truthfully the dresses of our ancestors, for attraction, and use orthography purporting to be that of a century ago in their announcements and pretend that their musical selections are ‘as old as the hills,’ when modern composers supply the best part of the music, it can only be placed under the same category as the Woolly Horse of the Fiji Mermaid. Music is too sacred a subject to be polluted by such humbug. In the programme was Adams’ ‘Cantique de Nöel,’ which was so magnificently sung on Christmas Day by Mlle. Ocatvie Gomien, and which was unfortunately entrusted to a tenor on this occasion. We can only designate the musical entertainment last even as an insult to the cause of real musical art.”

Brief.