MUSICAL COURIER
50
April 6, 1922
Marx Oberndorfer’s New Song Cycle
A unique case of a prominent musician who has recently come to the front as a composer, is that of Marx E. Obern-dorfer of Chicago. Mr. Oberndorfer, who has assisted almost every prominent artist appearing in Chicago in the past fifteen years, has long held a place in the foremost ranks of America’s accompanists. His studio class in piano and coaching is a large and busy one, and he has had, therefore, little time to devote to the art of a composition.
While a student of Leschetizky, Mr. Oberndorfer spent one year in a special course in Munich, under the great
MARX E. OBERNDORFER
theorist, Josef Rheinberger; but, since he was devoting his greatest efforts toward piano study, his work with Rheinberger was of a more theoretical nature than in constructive composition.
Three years ago, while recuperating from a severe illness, Mr. Oberndorfer took up anew the study of composition with Arthur Olaf Andersen of Chicago, from whose studio many of the prominent young composers of today have emerged. About this time he saw some verses written by Ralph Chaplin, a government prisoner at Fort Leavenworth. Mr. Oberndorfer was inspired to set these to music, and they are soon to make their appearance as a cycle for baritone, entitled “Three Prison Sonnets.” These are published by the Darch Company, New York City. Only a few singers have seen them, but all have been most enthusiastic about them, including the late David Bispham. These songs are now being orchestrated by the composer.
Mr. Oberndorfer enjoys the distinction of having seven compositions published within the first year of his work. His first song, “My Mother,” came out over a year ago, and, within a month from the date of its publication, more than seventy-five prominent singers had signified their intention of using it. Another work from his pen, which is attracting much attention from the young people of the country, as well as their music teachers, is “The Teenie Weenie Music Book,” a set of piano pieces for children, based on the adventures of the famous “Little People” created by William Donahey. This book is published by J. Fischer & Brother. An arrangement of it has been made for school orchestras, and the “Teenie Weenie Pageant” is soon to be published. J. Fischer & Brother has also published two songs by Mr. Oberndorfer, entitled “Aspiration” and “Love's Morn,” which art meeting with great success.
From the press of Fors.ter in Chicago, will soon appear his semi-popular song, “I Can Hear the Temple Bells,” which Forster predicts will uphold the reputation for “best sellers,” for which the House of Forster is famous.
The songs of this composer find their strength and charm in a beautiful, sweeping melody, which always lies perfectly for the voice; while modern in feeling, they follow a definite, formal outline, and the accompaniments are always playable and possible for the average good accompanist.
Rust Pupil to Give Recital
Oskar Rust will present his pupil, Pauline Graham, in a violin recital at the Kempner Theater, Little Rock, Ark., April 23.
H E ÌVI F»E L
AssiítpH hv Coenraad V. Bos, Pianist Assisted ny Louis p, Fritze, Flutist
For Dates Address:
Management of Frieda Hempel
New York
164 Madison Avenue
DAISY KREY
CONTRALTO
Concert—Recital— Oratorio — Festival
401 Knabe Building New York
temporary tribunes built for the royal wedding there would not have been nearly enough room. Imagine: an immense cathedral filled with listeners at 6 o’clock on a working day! It was surely worth their effort, for I have never heard more beautiful—and unacademic—organ playing in my life. And the sight of that great concourse silently filing out into the delicate mist of a London evening was distinctly impressive—and significant.
The English Singers.
But of course it’s not only Bach. Bach appeals to the Englishman because of his ruggedness, his devout but full-blooded expression that is reminiscent of the Tudor-Gothic spirit. It is the same spirit that resides in the psalms and madrigals of Byrd, of Morley, Wilbye, Gibbons and the rest. There is an ensemble of six singers in London who sing these sixteenth century gems with the finish and precision of the modern virtuoso, but quite in the spirit of Shakespeare’s time. They are not remarkable for vocal opulence and show; but I am pretty sure that their otherwise excellent qualities would commend themselves to an American audience as well. The atmosphere of intimacy (they sit about a long table with their song books before them) ; the rollicking jollity, alternating with quiet seriousness and devotion, and their flawless intonation and diction make their offerings an irresistibly enjoyable treat. The English Singers, with their fidelity to style and authentic interpretations of na-
ENGLAND’S LEADING HARPSICHORD PLAYER.
Recitals of old music, with Mrs. Gordon Woodhouse at the harpsichord, are always crowded, even if those of famous virtuosi are not. (Drawn by Edmond A. Kapp and reproduced by courtesy of the Musical News and Herald.)
tional masterpieces, are an indisputably important influence
in the specifically English musical life.
*
“The Beggar’s Opera” Revised.
I could go on citing any number of such influences—un-conscious encouragements in the upbuilding of a new national art on ancient foundations. There are concerts of old English music of all sorts, from virginal and lute pieces to “The Beggar’s Opera” (the revival of which is distinctly a part of the general musical renaissance), and the harpsichord is no longer the exotic in English concerts that it was. “The Beggar’s Opera,” by the way, has taken on a new lease of life by substituting a new selection of songs from the original score, but leaving its essential features intact. Hardly a day passes without some such manifestation of the unconscious encouragement of native music, and the British Music Society is no longer the sole means of hearing British works. Indeed, chamber music concerts and song recitals without English works are a rarity these days.
Gilbert and Sullivan.
The important thing—and the gist of this letter—is that native art has found a public in England. English people are less prone to flock to everything that is imported, and are gradually giving preference, as in all other fields of production, to the hall-mark “British-Made.” The present generation realizes, for instance, the tremendous artistic value of the musical comedies of Gilbert and Sullivan, and English managers can do no better financially than by a Gilbert and Sullivan “run.”
Thus, at the Prince’s Theater virtually the whole repertory is being given to capacity audiences which enjoy themselves quite as much as their compatriots at the latest Cochran review. (We heard “Iolanthe,” with by no means an “all-star” cast, but decently done, with sole reliance upon Gilbert’s lines and Sullivan’s tunes.) When you have your public—the ordinary public—with you, and the critics as well, you have recognition in its fullest sense.
That is what British music is coming to, and it is just as well for the foreign artist to realize it. The opposition to Rosenthal, because of his omission of the English classics from his historical programs, was a straw in the wind. Let those who would cater to British audiences have regard to the existence of British music or the time will come when the British public will get on without them. That it can get on without them even now—of that I am thoroughly convinced.	César Saerchinger.
Amy Neill Playing Abroad
Amy Neill,.the violinist, was scheduled to give a recital in Belfast, Ireland, on March 29. April 27 and May 11 she is booked to appear in Aeolian Hall, London. While abroad Miss Neill also expects to go to Berlin and Paris.
LONDON
(Continued from page S)
old English music by Mrs. Gordon Woodhouse, a recital of Shakespearean songs by John Coates, or a concert of the Oriana Madrigal Society, and the hall will be full whether it is at the Chelsea Town Hall or the East End.
I went, a week or so ago, to hear a concert of the Bach Choir of Newcastle-on-Tyne. It is an organization built up by a musical crank. Its conductor, Dr. W. G. Whittaker, founded it in the belief that Bach’s cantatas and passions and motets were written for a small choir, accompanied by a small band of strings and woodwinds supported by the harpsichord (or organ), and that their proper effect is lost in “mass productions.” And he has trained his choir of forty or so to sing this music as he thinks it should be sung: with all the individual expression, the agility and the finesse of phrasing and diction that a soloist’s ensemble would achieve. And so he has made the Newcastle Cathedral a second Thomaskirche and spread the fame of his choir through the land.
The Fad for Bach.
At this London concert—one of the three—the hall was crowded to the doors. There were motets (including the wonderful and difficult ’’Sing Ye to the Lord,׳’ for double choir) and a capella chorales; there were groups of songs with harpsichord (excellently sung by Dorothy Silk), and there were harpsichord solos by Mrs. Gardon Woodhouse, looking strangely Oriental but playing like a good Christian nevertheless. It was all done with astonishing technic and perfect taste—a veritable, feast for sensitive ears. The applause, tempestuous, was in reverse ratio to the quietness of the music. That is typically English.
Next day, at St. Michael’s Church, Cornhill, in the heart of the “City,” there was a mob to hear this Bach music that required all the ingenuity of a squad of London bobbies to handle. On this showing one may surely be justified in proclaiming the-English to be lovers of Bach. Or is it merely a fad?
Again, take an organ recital of Bach’s music held in Westminster Abbey by fir. Albert Schweitzer, the Alsatian doctor-organist who is now devoting all his life and knowledge to the physical welfare of the African blacks. Dr. Schweitzer, the author of a. famous book on the master, is reputed to be an authority on the interpretation of Bach. This was enough to draw to Westminster a crowd which completely filled the great Abbey. Indeed, if it had not been for the

EVERY MUSIC LOVER SHOULD
OWN THIS BOOK
Music
Appreciation
By CLARENCE G. HAMILTON, A. M.
Professor of Music, Wellesley College
Price, $2.50 postpaid
To read this book will enhance your enjoyment of the opera, of every form of concert, and of music at home; to study it attentively will give you a comprehensive knowledge of musical form and structure in all its aspects.
Typical Piano Pieces and Songs
Used as Illustrations in Hamilton’s Music Appreciation
Price, $1.50 postpaid
Catherine Conway, New York City:
“Neither bribe nor threat could induce me to part with the book.”
Dr. W. H. P. Faunce, President, Brown University :
“A notable book, of the greatest value to all students of the art.”
Walter H. Aiken, Director of Music, Cincinnati, Ohio:
“One of the best, in my opinion, of anything thus far in print leading to music appreciation through music analysis; telling the student what to study and how.”
Arthur Foote, Boston, Mass.:
“The scheme is a new one and seems to me of much practical value. The analyses are lucid and just the thing to teach the pupil how to think and work out such matters for himself.”
OLIVER D1TS0N COMPANY, 178-179 Tremont St., Boston 10 Ctas. H. Ditson & Co., 8-10-12 East 34th St., New York Order of your local dealer