March 2, 1922
MUSICAL COURIER
50
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS
the composer and the audience—“Die Heil’gen drei Könige,” “Morgen,” and a dainty serenade, which was encored, “Meinen Kinde,” “Freundliche Vision,” and “Cacilie.”—Daily Telegraph.
Ethel Frank, who sang six of the songs, with orchestral accompaniment, much increased her reputation by her efforts. The audience was not slow to recognize both the charm and the expressiveness of her delivery of “Morgen”_ and of “Cacile,” and numbers in each group were repeated.—Morning Post.
I noticed no signs of opposition, and polite applause changed to an enthusiastic ovation after “Don Juan” and three exquisite Strauss songs beautifully sung by Ethel Frank.—Daily Sketch.
Several of the composer’s songs were sung during the evening by Ethel Frank, Strauss conducting the orchestral accompaniment. Miss Frank sang very beautifully the “Drei Heilige Könige” and the “Ständchen,” giving the latter so charmingly that it had to be repeated. Another group, equally delightfully sung, included “Cacilie” and “Freundliche Vision.”—Daily Chronicle.
Ethel Frank sang a number of the earlier Strauss songs in beautiful style.—Sunday Times.
Miss Frank advanced her reputation by her exceedingly accomplished singing, which lacks only a touch of self-forgetting magic. Daily Mail.
Not all the songs benefited by the orchestral accompaniment but they were all finely sung by Ethel Frank.—The Referee.
To some extent Ethel Frank came to the rescue by giving performances of some of the songs in a style which could truly be described as interpretation.—Evening Star.
Ethel Frank Scores with Strauss and London Symphony
January 17, at Royal Albert Hall, London, a concert of compositions of Richard Strauss was given, with Ethel Frank, soprano, soloist, and the London Symphony Orchestra. The program was as follows : Symphonic poem, “Don Juan,” Richard Strauss and orchestra; songs with orchestral accompaniment—“Die Heil’gen drei Könige,” “Morgen,” “Ständchen”—Ethel Frank and _ Richard Strauss . with orchestra; symphonic poem, “Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks,” orchestra and Richard Strauss ; songs with orchestral accompaniment—“Mienen Kinde,” “Freundliche Vision,” “Cacilie”—Ethel Frank and Richard Strauss with orchestra ; symphonic poem, “Tod and Verklarung,” orchestra and Richard Strauss.
The success of Miss Frank is well shown by the following unedited comments of the London press :
Between the orchestral works were groups of well known songs sung with orchestral accompaniment by Ethel Frank. The happiest was the delicate instrumentation of the popular “Ständchen.” Miss Frank sang them with rare refinement and sympathy. “Morgen, one of Strauss’ most appealing songs, suited her peculiarly well, and it was remarkable with what success she managed to preserve the personal feeling of the lyric, so that while she was singing it there was a real silence throughout the audience, a thing which only comes in the Albert Hall when the singer has gained complete attention.—The Times.
Jeanne Laval’s Successful Engagements
Jeanne Laval, the contralto, sang January 31 at the Hotel Statler, Detroit, and her appearance in Indianapolis (“The Messiah”) December IS brought her equal success, an audi-
JEANNE LAVAL, mezzo contralto.
ence of ten thousand people attending the affair. Following her recital in Town Hall, November 17, the New York press agreed as to her merits, publishing the following:
A contralto voice of charm which she matched with songs of three centuries and four languages. The best known was “Fleur des Bles” in admirable French.—New York Times.
Sang with taste, sentiment, and intelligent use of her gifts. Her French songs had grace and charm.—New York Herald.
Charming simplicity and directness characterized her singing of a program of Italian, German, French, Russian, and American songs.—New York Evening Telegram.
Miss Laval’s contralto voice has an upper register of almost true soprano quality and of much beauty. She sang with taste and style.—New York Evening Mail.
Jeanne Laval is a singer well worth listening to—a voice of real richness and warmth and excellently schooled, permitting her a considerable range in dynamic shading and much variety in expressive color. She did some charming singing, especially in the mezzo voce delivery of Grieg’s “Die Verschwiegene Nachtigall and in the full flooded pronouncement of his “Dein Rath ist worn gut. —New York Evening Journal.
A contralto of even range and well controlled. Her vocal equipment is broad. This was proved by the material that made up her program and its efficient interpretation.—New York American.
Jeanne Laval sang at the Town Hall yesterday afternoon. Her personality took possession of the audience, and her expressive, mobile face, and her voice deserved all the applause showered upon her. . . . She is unusual among contraltos in having a voice which peals like a bell at the top of its range, and descends without throaty murmurs into mellow chest tones. And she enunciates remarkably in English, Italian and German, as if she regarded each consonant and vowel as an important thing—as an artist regards his tools—as vehicles of expression. . . . She was good in dramatic moods, and at her best in lyric moods, as in Rontani s Or cho ip non seguo piu,” Hugo Wolf’s “Mausfallen-Spruechlein, and a delicate old French-Canadian song, “Sainte Marquente, arranged by Grant-Schafer. Her program, also included Duparc, Debussy, Gretchaninoff, Granville, Bantock, and others; and throughout she seemed to be an artist joyously engaged in doing the work she liked.—New York World.
Van der Veer Triumphs in St. Louis
Ernest Colvin, critic of the St. Louis Star, wrote the following paragraph in his paper after Nevada Van der Veer’s recent appearance in that city as Delilah, in “Samson
But if there was no personality in the conducting there was any amount in the singing of some Strauss songs by Ethel Frank, whose extraordinary gift for sustaining and poising a big phrase showed up better than ever in this vast space. Her emotional absorption in the music even reacted on Strauss, into the orchestral accompaniments of the songs, and especially of the lovely “Morgen, ’ he put an intensity of feeling that was mostly sadly lacking in his conducting of the symphonic poems.—Manchester Guardian.
Miss Frank, who sang some half a dozen of the songs, surpassed herself, and I can recall n6 singer whose work betrays a higher sense of musicianship, or who holds the balance between the demands of song and interpretation more evenly. Some of her entries were remarkable for the subtlety of their making, and her expressive voice throughout was part of the orchestra rather than a separate unit.—London Express.
Never was singer better accompanied than Ethel Frank in the six Strauss songs on Tuesday. I had expected to find her voice too small for this hall, and, of course, in a sense no voice (as certainly no orchestra) is ever big enough for it. But she never, at any climax, gave out more tone than her organ was capable of producing musically, and she should thank conductor and orchestra for giving her no incitement to do so. Her phrasing and articulation were well-nigh perfect, and her whole interpretation thoroughly artistic. She has indeed taken a long step forward since her first appearance in this country last season.—The Observer.
But—with what divinity of grace was the music written; and how brilliantly Ethel Frank sang the German words.—London Graphic.
The program was exclusively composed of Strauss’ own works— the three symphonic poems “Don Juan,” “Till Eulenspiegel and “Death arid Transfiguration”—and two groups of songs rendered
ETHEL FRANK,
soprano.
by Ethel Frank with consummate artistry. Indeed, the warm applause was due as much to her pure vocalization and perfect interpretation as to Strauss’ conducting.—The Daily Mirror.
Miss Frank, although suffering from cold, overcame this disadvantage, and sang with her usual culture and intellectualism, colored with that touch of rare genius which transforms words with music into the beauty and charm of a perfect song. The Lieder > were in many moods—the religious fervor of ‘The Three Holy Kings, the daintily tripping “Serenade,” the “Meinen Kinde lullaby, and wholly delightful “Cecily,” which the audience insisted on having repeated.—Westminster Gazette.
On the whole the songs were the most attractive feature of the evening, for Ethel Frank not only gave them a personal note, but also sang with delightful ease and purity of tone.—Daily News.
From the listener’s point of view, the most satisfactory performances were those in which the orchestra employed was of more modest proportions, the songs which Ethel Frank sang pleasing
YEATMAN GRIFFITH
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