Vocal and Instrumental Concert and Ball

“Last evening, the mixed-voice chorus, ‘Polyhymnia,’ gave a vocal and instrumental concert along with a dance in the Germania Assembly Rooms. The most interesting part of the concert was the performance of Hiller’s tone-painting piece, ‘Lorelei,’ sung by the Polyhymnia chorus with orchestral accompaniment under the direction of F. Krüger. Ferdinand Hiller’s ‘Lorelei’ is an outstandingly remarkable piece; however, it has never been successfully performed, not even in Germany, where it was done several times under other conductors, and not even in Cologne, where it was performed under the direction of the composer himself. The melodies’ clear, uninterrupted flow resembles the shimmering waves of the moon-lit Rhine, on whose shores the beautiful Lorelei myth originated. As they flow by, the melodies certainly make a pleasant impression, but they leave the listener cold. In this respect, the preponderance of slow, drawn-out vocal lines is not without effect: the work is long, and for amateurs, difficult. Except for some small unevenness, coming in part from the orchestra, the work’s performance by Polyhymnia was praiseworthy. The solos were well performed by Mrs. Ehlers and Mr. Achmann. About the performance of ‘Arion’ and Mr. Wellenhauer, we cannot comment, because we were not able to attend the first part of the concert. The concert was followed by a ball. The performance was well attended, better than could have been expected, given the unpleasant weather.”