MUSICAL COURIER
28
June 8, 1922
but not difficult piano accompaniment. The range for the voice is not large and it presents no difficulties for the singer. A song likely to become popular in the home both because of the beauty of the melody and the sentiment of the words.
(Harold Flammer, Inc., New York)
“MOTHER, MY DEAR”
This number by Bryceson Treharne is about the only “semi-popular” song that this composer ever wrote, and it has been his best seller. The publishers now offer it in an octavo form, for a chorus of mixed voices, in a good arrangement by F. S. Newcombe.
“THE ANNUAL PROTEST,” “CORPORAL PUNISHMENT,” “THE BROTHERS,” “WHAT THE BOY SAID”
Frieda Peycke is responsible for these comparatively rare readings, to be accompanied by appropriate music played on the piano. Frieda Peycke has written four of them. They are all short and the music in each case accompanies a humorous poem. Had they voice parts, one would call them encore songs, and a recitationist would, one imagines, use them for a similar purpose. The music is ingeniously made and in each case catches adequately the merry mood of the poem.
(The Arthur P. Schmidt Company, Boston and New York)
“GO, LITTLE SONG” (for Voice)
A spontaneous song by Emma L. Ashford, which sings and listens well, being the message in song to the beloved, moving on finely, with natural melody and plain chord accompaniment. Three stanzas of similar melody, but the last containing a treble chord accompaniment, with final triplets and climax. Poem by Wilbur Fisk Tillett. For high or medium low voice.
(Enoch & Sons, London, New York, Paris, Toronto)
“O, FALMOUTH IS A FINE TOWN” (Song)
By Landon Ronald. The lyric is from “Vignettes” (W. E. Henley), and is a hearty, hale-fellow sea song, describing Falmouth with its bay and ships; “And it’s there I wish I was today,” sings the sailor man in march tempo, with closing mention of the babe at home whom he has never seen. A rousing, good natured, happy song, essentially English, in three keys. “To my old chum, C. D. E.”
(C. Schirmer, Inc., New York)
“MORNING,” “THE WINDFLOWERS,” “SUMER IS ICUMEN IN” (Songs)
Thomas Heywood, old English poet, wrote the verse of “Morning,” an extremely graceful song, with what might be called obligato trill accompaniment, for a trill continues throughout most of its piano-part. The composer echoes the easy grace of the poet, with its reference to the larks, “fair good morrow” nightingale, Robin Redbreast, blackbird and thrush; even the little cock-sparrow, stair and linnet, are summoned by the poet and composer to “Sing my love good-morrow” .	.	. Bird-calls, pretty imitative
notes, sweet music continue throughout the song. For soprano, range low D flat to high G flat.
“The Windflowers” is a lively song, poem.by Rutherford McLeod (from “Song to Save a Soul”). The descriptive figured accompaniment, with its pleasant modulations, the daintiness and coloratura effects in voice and piano, the sweet unconstrained mood of the song, all this is worth noting. Range for soprano, low E flat to high A flat. “To Harriet Van Emden.”
“Sumer Is Icumen In” is an anonymous “Rota” poem, about A.D. 1240, the modern English version being by A. E. Springarn., It has been frequently set to music, with much naming , of the cuckoo, the young does darting, etc. The composer has caught the spirit of the poem, providing-original music, based almost entirely on real simplicity of song, with continuous accompaniment of fifths, as if. playing the old-fashioned lute, with the call of the cuckoo prevailing. An altogether unusual song, for mezzo soprano, range low E to F sharp, top line. Werner Josten is the composer of all three of these songs.
“A PICTURE”
The composer of that lovely song “Dawn,” also of “Rain,” “Life,” and “Ho! Mr. Piper,” Pearl Gildersleeve Curran (in private life Mrs. Hugh Grosvenor) has a worthy successor to these in “A Picture,” which was sung with such success at the last Mozart Society concert, New York, and is from the pen of Pearl G. Curran. It is a sweet contemplation, naming “A home in the hills, a garden, a fountain, a rose-covered gate; the odor of pine in the breeze from the mountain,” etc. It represents a pastoral picture, nature in its purity, with singing of birds, and an optional vocal coloratura part, all most effective. The text is by the composer, the maid, the roses, the fountain and the moon all appear cn the title-page illustration. For high or low voice.
(Heidelberg Press, Philadelphia)
“ASK ME NO MORE,” “THE NOT IMPOSSIBLE ONE,”
“APRIL,” “A SPRING PET,” “THE WORM,” “I MET MY MASTER FACE TO FACE” (Songs); and “SAVIOUR, BREATHE AN EVENING BLESSING,” “SWEET SAVIOUR,
BLESS US” (Anthems)
Edwin Evans, the composer, is a born Welshman, was a church organist in Philadelphia at sixteen, has sung as soloist with leading choral societies of the country, been vocal instructor and a member of various clubs in Philadelphia. It is evident that what he composes must be singable, and as a matter of fact that is particularly the case with the music noted above. “Ask Me” is a love-song in Old English style, closely after Handel, the text by Thomas Carew (1598), slow, straight music, also provided with words for church use. “To Mr. Phil Hippie,” for high and low voice.
“The Not Impossible One” is a humorous song, song of the philanderer, one who likes change, and cannot tell whether he will be constant to his lady until he has seen many another. A bright, useful encore song; dedicated to Reinald Werrenrath. “April” is a joyous, short spring song, natural, taking, fine at any time of the year. For high and low voices. “Spring Pet” and “The Worm” are
optimist, an optimist with a lot of good, hard, ordinary common sense. A detailed account of the work is unnecessary. Its value lies as much in its manner of presentation as in the “secrets” it divulges. It is more, much more, than a mere book on singing; it is an inspiration to hard work, an inspiration to hope and faith in self rather than in some friendly spirit of the world of dreams.
The “Secrets of Svengali” originally appeared in serial form in the Musical Courier. It is now published in convenient, compact form and will be a welcome addition to the library of every teacher of the voice as well as an incentive to the pupil to go out and look for Svengali in the only way he may be found, the way of hard work.
MUSIC
(Carl Fischer, New York)
“NOVELETTE FOR PIANO,” Op. 25, and “FOLK SONG,” Op. 21
Eugen Putnam is doing a valuable work in collecting the “white” folk songs of the South and arranging them either as singable songs or as piano pieces. Of these two compositions the first, “Novelette,” is a brilliant piano number made from a folk dance found in Laurens County, S. C., the home county of Governor Robert A. Cooper, to whom the work is dedicated. The melodic basis of it is almost grotesque in its simplicity, and no one could doubt its folk basis. Its arrangement is effective and will certainly appeal to pianists both on the concert platform and in the home.
The second of these compositions is a song entitled “I'd Rather Have a Young Man”—a most quaint, bucolic and rustic conception—and Mr. Putnam has had the great wisdom to leave it alone and not to ruin it by superfluous arrangement. It is cleverly and sensibly harmonized, and it is perfectly sure to become-a popular concert number with American singers who have the intelligence to consider the taste of their audiences in making, up their programs. Its folk humor is equal to anything that comes from Europe and will appeal to anyone who has even the smallest degree of sympathy with our native population.
(Iters & Erler, Berlin)
“MADCHENLIED,” “LIED DES EINSAMEN,” “TIEFE SEHNSUCHT,” “WEISST DU NOCH”
These poems by Otto Julius Bierbaum and Detlev von Liliencron have been set to music in a most scholarly and effective manner by Theodore Spiering, whose masterly musicianship and technical efficiency are manifest in every bar. The first of them, “Madchenlied,” is printed separately, the others as three songs under one cover. These three songs were sung last season by Reinhold Warlich, accompanied by Fritz Kreisler. They are brilliant and effective compositions, the voice in each case supported by a flowing accompaniment, well conceived for the piano and grateful to player and singer alike. They are replete with pleasing musical ideas intimately associated with the meaning of the text.
The “Madchenlied” is a conception of quaint grace. It is a little encore song, somewhat humorous in content, and charming in its idyllic simplicity. It has been sung with success by Alma Beck.
(Meritoirs Music Co., Montgomery Ala.)
“LOVE SMILED” and “MEM’RIES DIVINE”
The lyrics of both of these are by the composer, John Proctor Mills, and are so well made that they add to the value of the songs. “Love Smiled” is a gay, brilliant little piece, a good encore number. “Mem’ries Divine” is a ballad with a very flowing melody and a striking refrain. There are two melody verses. The voice is supported by a broad and sonorous accompaniment. Both of these are good songs.
(Gimble Hinged Music Co., Chicago)
“SING, JOYOUS HEART”
This is the best thing that has so far come from the pen of John Proctor Mills. It is a brilliant song with a brilliant and difficult accompaniment—a song for singers, intended for concert purposes and entirely satisfactory. It calls for a light, high voice like that of Frieda Hempel for whom it was written and to whom it is dedicated.
(Harold Flammer, Inc., New York)
“NIGHT SONG”
A simple but attractive and free flowing melody by Oscar J. Fox, set to some pleasant verses by Reginald Cleveland. A love song which is not over-sentimental.
(C. W. Thompson & Co., Boston)
“WHEN LOVE DOTH FADE”
This song, of which both the words and the music are by John Proctor Mills, is a simple lyric conception possessed of a graceful melody well supported by a sonorous
REVIEWS AND NEW MUSIC
BOOKS
(James T. White & Co., New York)
“THE SECRETS OF SVENGALI”
By J. H. Duval
It is not only in the fabulous East that humanity has amused itself in the imagination of spirits good and evil— not only in the “Arabian Nights” ,that magic favors have been conferred upon mortals by genii in conformation to the laws of a mysterious lamp, a bewitched carpet, or other material symbol of the supernatural. From the beginning of time we have endeavored to persuade ourselves that a change was possible in the laws of cause and effect, have endeavored to deceive ourselves into the hope that the impossible might, for us, become the possible, that we might slip unnoticed into the apex of converging forces that give to one man power, wealth, genius, and to the other slavery, poverty and stupidity. We have all of us, except the favored few, sometimes imagined ourselves Cinderellas awaiting the magic slippers, the sudden, miraculous escape from ourselves, the embrace of the prince of good fortune.
Upon that and nothing else is based the romance literature of the world; upon that is based the demand for a happy ending that is so all but universal. We are all children awaiting the touch of the magic wand. In every hero or heroine we see ourselves, in every pictured conquest we see personal hope- writ large, in every villain quelled we see the conquest and confusion of our own enemies. We are all, consciously or unconsciously, looking for the easy road to the attainment of our desires, whatever they may be, and if success in song is our end and aim, we long for the coming of the mystic Svengali with his magic touch, his knowledge of age-old mysteries, mysteries buried for the most of us under the impenetrable veil of nature.
Svengali! It is a name to juggle with, a name already become fabled, embodying all of the secrets of the voice world, secrets that lie just beyond the door. Could we but open the door! There, in that secret chamber, is the way of our dreams, the key to our hopes. How many there are who beat with tired hands upon its frozen panels, growing old and jaded in the hopeless quest of the combination, the open sesame, that would grant them access to its mysterious depths!
Alas! There is nothing mysterious about it. The age of fairy tales is past. We of this rather dreary day of old, effete civilization, know that there is but one law, the immutable law of cause and effect. No prayer, no magic, nor even the hypnotic hands of a Svengali can give us more than a moment of intoxication, of self-deception, of hope only created to be dashed with the return of !the realization of cold, hard fact—the world as it is, not the world as it might be.
It is in this realization that lies the unusually great power and utility of Mr. Duval’s “Secrets of Svengali.” The real Svengali, the Svengali of Du Maurier, is set aside as a fabulous being, a being non-existent, a figure well designed by the poet-painter-novelist to depict (those longings that are the familiar of every artist-failure. And Mr. Duval takes this figure and makes of it what it is in real life—a secret, indeed, but not a mystery.
From the hopelessness of longing for a miracle he turns to’ the hopefulness of fact. The fabled figure of the hypnotist he turns into the eminently practical figure of the scientist who has studied the secrets of the singing voice from the simple attitude of cause and effect. There is no mystery in this secret of Svengali. True, there is also no magic wand by which the neophyte may be touched and instantly translated into the realms of satisfied longings. In its place is thought and toil, study, understanding—and with these a naturally fine physique, such as that with which Trilby was endowed, a natural ear for music, a naturally good voice, a natural genius for persistent effort, and a natural fund of common sense.
To take magic and to make of it the hard fact of everyday life, as. Mr. Duval has done in this valuable addition to the literature of voice culture, is the inspiration of an
“AMERICA’S MOST UNIQUE DRAMATIC ARTIST”
“SUPERB ACTING”—Utica Daily Press.
Season 1922-23 Now Booking
Management: Caroline Evans
53 Washington Square,	New York.
Second Annual Grand Opera Season
De Feo Grand Opera Company
GEORGE DE FEO, Director	Carlin’s Arena, Baltimore, Md.
Four weeks, beginning Monday, ,June 5
Artists: Mme. Edith De Lys, Mile. Dreda Aves, Helen Yorke, Pauline Cornelys, Mary Potter, Richard Bonelli, Henry Weldon, Carlo Milhou, A. Gandolfi, Dalle Molle, Giovanni Dias, Fausto Bozza, Paolo Quintina.
Conductors: Ugo Barducci, Walter Golde.
Repertory: Aida,״ “.La Boheme,” “Rigoletto,” “Il Trovatore,” “Il Barbiere Di Siviglia,” “Carmen,” “Faust,” “Don Pasquale,” “Lucia Di Lammermoor,” “Madam Blotter fly,” “La Traviata,” “Tosca,” “Cavalleria Rusticana,” “I Pagliacci.”
Chorus and orchestra recruited from Metropolitan Opera Company, New York