Mendelssohn Glee Club Concert

“The first private concert of the ninth season of the Mendelssohn Glee Club was given last evening at Irving Hall, which was filled with a brilliant assemblage of distinguished persons who had been honored with coveted invitations to attend this social entertainment.

The first choral piece consisted of a Strope and Antistrophe from the ‘Antigone’ of Sophocles, sung to Mendelssohn’s music. The selection of this chorus was a most happy one, for it is the only one in the score in which the vocal parts are unaccompanied by the orchestra. The classic grace of the text, and its perfect enunciation, as well as Mendelssohn’s beautiful music, by an exceptional good performance were fully enjoyed. The ‘Rose,’ by Nessler, was made particularly effective by a most skillful rendering of the extremely soft passages, in which the harmonies were all heard with perfect clearness and entirely free from the dull, muffled effect which too frequently destroys the charm of a chorus of men’s voices, in which the chords cannot be fully spread, but must remain confined in a rather low region which does not always offer the best facilities for their satisfactory display.

Solos were performed in the first part by Mr. Wm. H. Beckett and Mr. F. Bergner, both of whom are old favorites with the friends of this society.

A composition from the pen of Mr. Joseph Mosenthal, the able conductor of the society, as a matter of course attracted considerable attention. It was fully entitled to receive the praise that was bestowed upon it, being a successful essay in a style of composition which demands special gifts and study for its attainment. The mention of Milton’s words, ‘Blest pair of sirens,’ will remind many persons of the celebrated English quintet written on the same text; yet although the composer was doubtless familiar with it, his mode of procedure is not similar, for he exhibits the poem in an entirely different aspect. The form adopted is that of a quartet and chorus, with a short inserted solo for baritone voice. Throughout the composition the music appears to have been constructed with the one single aim of displaying the text and bringing out its full meaning. In no case does the writer attempt to construct a simple melody which may render us partially indifferent to the words, and which may even be unsuited to their character, as well as their natural linguistic rhythm. On the contrary, he designs phrases which allow of the most satisfactory enunciation of the language technically, and, with the high aims of an earnest art-worker, not only seeks to bring out the general significance of each single phrase, but the particular sense of each individual word. Many instances might be given in illustration of these three good points, but it will be sufficient to recall the exceptional use of the rhythmic triplet, ‘jarr’d against,’ the treatment of the phrase ‘hymns devout’ and the word ‘din.’

From a purely musical point of view, there is much to admire, and specially with reference to the conduct and treatment of the separate vocal parts, which are all made equally interesting as melodies to the singers, and do not appear in any case as auxiliary or supplementary, the chords resulting from their combination form living streams of harmony and not dead masses of coloring. And though musical theorists have expressly prohibited the unrestricted use of the second inversion of the triad, and musical composers have not as yet found it expedient to employ this chord as freely as it is used here, and especially at the words ‘inbreathed sensible to pierce,’ yet perhaps this peculiarity, in common with other similar exceptional features, is designedly retained by the composer, whose decisions must in all cases be accepted and respected, if only because they are his. The work was sung with evident pleasure and zest by the society, and afforded such high gratification to the audience that it was followed with long and prolonged applause, which led to an encore, and thus to a more complete appreciation of its many beauties.

Mr. Joseph Mosenthal is entitled to great praise for the successful manner in which this choral body has been trained. In all the pieces the harmonies were well defined and perfectly in tune as from untempered intervals; the language was distinctly heard, and being uniform in its pronunciation resulted in the formation of musical tones of ever varied and satisfactory quality. The parts were perfectly balanced, and the phrasing clear and intelligent. The ‘attack’ was made entirely without promptings from a musical instrument, and the pitch was retained throughout. ‘A Song of Freedom,’ by Schumann, ‘Mirza Schaffy,’ by F. Hiller and the ‘Battle Song’ from Wagner’s ‘Rienzi’ completed a well arranged programme of good music. Mrs. Dowlard sang one of Blumenthal’s favorite songs so well that it was redemanded. In the second part she gave Braga’s ‘Angel’s Serenade,’ the obligato violoncello part being played by Mr. Bergner.”