Deutscher Liederkranz Concert: 2nd

“The New-York Liederkranz produced at their own hall last night Max Bruch’s new work, ‘Scenen aus der Irrfahrt des Odysseus’ (Scenes from the wandering of Ulysses), which has only been heard up to this time in one or two cities of Germany We find it described in certain foreign journals as a symphonic poem; but it is a cantata of respectable proportions, taking nearly two hours in performance, and involving soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone solos, with chorus and full orchestra. There are eight scenes, beside an orchestral introduction, and they are sung with only very short intervening pauses—some of them, for example the fourth and fifth and the seventh and eighth, naturally running into each other. The central figure is of course Ulysses, represented by the baritone, to whom fall the noblest and most impressive numbers in the work. The other solo parts are of decidedly inferior interest. The first scene, Ulysses in the Island of Calypso, opens with a charming Chorus of Nymphs, and this is followed by a beautiful and pathetic passage for Ulysses, too irregular perhaps in structure to be called an aria, which Mr. Sohst delivered with real eloquence and feeling A fine piece of declamation by Hermes gives the tenor his only notable opportunity for display, and the scene, having risen steadily in dramatic strength and effective coloring since the first measures, closes with the magnificent invocation by Ulysses, ‘Allmächtiger Zeus.’ The second scene, ‘Ulysses and the Syrens,’ is full of delicate and varied fancies, the songs of the syrens mingling with the voice of Ulysses and the chorus of his companions. In the third scene we have a vivid story of the Storm at Sea, with choruses of Tritons and the Oceanides. The fourth is devoted to the episode of Nausicaa (soprano), and contains some of the most beautiful passages of the whole work, the Chorus of Maidens being admirably interwoven with the soprano and baritone duet. The fifth scene is the entertainment given to the wanderers by Alcinuous, beginning with a chorus of the Phaecians, to which succeeds a remarkable Chorus of Rhapsadists, standing for the song of the musician Demodocusas described in Homer. The voices here have a loud, (vigorous) pizzicato accompaniment by all the strings and the harp (Mr. Thomas’s harpist, Lockwood, having been borrowed last night), and as the story goes on one wind after another comes in to add a fresh coloring and new excitement to the song. The disclosure of the name of Ulysses leads into a beautiful quartet, and the scene ends with a chorus of the people. The sixth scene is wholly given to Penelope (alto). The Seventh is the Return, ending with a grand solo for Ulysses; and the Eighth depicts the Festival at Ithaca, with short solos for Penelope and Ulysses, a good duet, and a spirited final chorus.

The music is all strong and highly dramatic. The popular audience will miss clear-cut melodies and rhythmic forms—for the cantata is constructed on Wagner’s principle of ‘continuous melody.’ But every one will recognize its refined and thoughtful poetic spirit, its brilliant instrumentation, and its majestic, dignified character. Voices and orchestra are both superbly treated. The performance was highly creditable to the Society. The choruses were all vigorous and correct, and the orchestra under the direction of Mr. Pauer was all that could reasonably have been demanded. Besides Mr. Sohst, whose admirable delivery of the music of Ulysses we have already mentioned, the principal solo singers were Miss Anna Simon (soprano), Miss Antonia Henne (alto), and Mr. Graf.

The cantata was preceded by a miscellaneous concert, in the course of which Mr. S. B. Mills gave a beautiful performance of the romanza and finale of Chopin’s great E minor concerto.”

“The Liederkranz Society gave last night a very interesting concert at their hall, in Fourth street, the principal feature of which was the first performance in America of Max Bruch’s latest work, being a musical illustration of scenes from Homer’s ‘Odyssey.’ It is a truly magnificent work, Mendelssohnian entirely in spirit, possessing numerous reminiscences from ‘Meerestille,’ ‘St. Paul,’ and even ‘Walpurgisnacht.’ The wanderings of the wise Ulysses present a favorable theme for such a genial composer as Max Bruch. It would be impossible after a single hearing to give a detailed account of a work of such magnitude and to do justice to the greatest effort of such a composer. There are eight scenes from the ‘Odyssey’—1, Ulysses on the Island of Calypso; 2, Between Scylla and Charybdis; 3, Storm at Sea; 4, The Queen of the Phaeacians; 5, The Royal Banquet; 6, Penelope; 7, The Wanderer’s Return; 8, The Welcome Home. They were interpreted last evening by Miss Anna Simon, soprano; Miss Antonia Henne, contralto; Mr. Graf, tenor, and Mr. A. Sohst, barytone; the full chorus of the society and an orchestra from the Philharmonic Society. The burden of the work fell on Mr. Sohst, who sung the part of Ulysses. His superb barytone voice, of no ordinary compass and full of thrilling expression and resonance, and his finished school and artistic manner of phrasing, gave effect to the intensely dramatic music of his part. Mr. Graf sung the short solo of Hermes, and Miss Simon the measures of Naussicaa, Queen of the Phaeacians, very commendably, and the scene of Penelope lamenting the absence of Ulysses was rendered with dramatic spirit by Miss Henne. The first part of the concert introduced Mr. S. B. Mills in selections from Chopin’s concerto, the work in which he has gained his highest honors in this city. From the concerto he selected the celebrated romance and finale and played them in his best style. The chorus of the society in Bruch’s work were fully up to the high standard of excellence that the Liederkranz singers have always been accredited with, and especially in the storm description they did full justice to the ideas of the composer. We trust that this grand composition will be brought out again this season. Under the direction of Theodore Thomas, at Steinway Hall, and with his unrivalled orchestra, it would create a sensation.”

“The Liederkranz Society gave the second concert of the winter at their concert hall last evening. The interest of the occasion centered in a performance of a cantata by Max Bruch for soli, chorus, and orchestra, founded on the theme of the wandering Ulysses. The work has never before been heard in this country. When first performed at Leipsic, and subsequently at Dusseldorf and other German cities, it did not fail to excite a lively interest and to add to the reputation of its composer.

It is the largest and most serious work that he has attempted. The subject, though a classical one like the Oedipus and the Antigone of Mendelssohn, has not been treated at all with the severity of form that their composer thought it necessary to give to his Greek subject. Mendelssohn conformed himself to the [illegible] of style of Sophocles, but Bruch has [illegible] of the Homeric freedom. The Homeric [illegible] is condensed, beginning with the departure of Ulysses from Calypso’s Island and [illegible] the ship wreck, the reception of the [illegible], his reception by [illegible], the festival in his honor, and his return to [illegible].

The subject is [illegible paragraph].

The work has been translated into English, and it will repay the study of any [illegible] have the resources at their command to properly produce it.

The performance by the Liederkranz was in all respects a creditable one to the society, both choruses and solos being admirably sung, and receiving the support of a powerful and [efficient?] orchestra.”