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Show A GREAT ORATORIO. Cardinal Newman's Great Poem Receives Re-ceives a Fitting Setting. Edward Elgar's cantata, "The Dream of Gerontius," which Frank Damrosch and the Oratorio society performed recently re-cently at Carnegie hall for the firsi time in Xew York, is really a music-drama music-drama in two acts. In his setting of Cardinal Newman's text depicting the experience of a man's soul just before and immediately after death, the English Eng-lish composer has written ultra-modern dramatic music. He has cast aside the old oratorio form, with its set numbers, num-bers, its prescribed arias, its necessary duets and trios, and he has , followed Wagner into the domain of music whose form is dominated by its content. con-tent. Put on the stage with scenery (it happens to be a subject impossible of such transfer), this would be, not an opera, in the technical sense, but a full-fledged full-fledged music-drama. Its action, in each of its two parts, is continuous; there are no pauses of any sort; the characters speak when dramtic necessity neces-sity arises, and the chorus itself carries car-ries the story forward, instead of being only an ornamental .accessory to give contrast and relief to the solo voices. The music is free from the ordinary formal restrictions, though . the composer com-poser has not hesitated to write fugues when the musical effect is enhanced by this treatment, and the score fairly bristles with passages betraying absolute abso-lute mastery of both form and counterpoint. coun-terpoint. The essential characteristic, however, is the prominence given to the text, in determining the general contour of the music; the composer has also used' typical motives, developed as in .the "Wagner dramas, and he has Civen some of the weightiest proclamations procla-mations to the-orchestra. . All this might be true of a new composition, com-position, and yet it might lack, the spark of life. That spark, in Elgar's work, becomes a veritable luminary, and its name its melody. "The Dream of Gerontius" is simply overflowing with melodic ideas, from the long passages pas-sages wherein the dying rtan's soul reveals re-veals itself, its fears and ecstacies, to ,the noble choruses of earthly and heavenly choirs. , The orchestral ' prelude pre-lude sets, forfh theme: that appear when allusion is' made or implied -of judgment, fear, sleep, energy and other ideas or emotions, and the score itself contains many more that are less important im-portant and that need no names, such as the exquisite theme of the guardian angel's "Softly and gently, dearly ransomed ran-somed soul." Elgar has not been content merely, to invent these ideas, and to state, them. He has extracted their full beauty and significance through development of the highest sort. He has used every, device of a modern orchestra, and his score, while "technically more masterly than Brahms eVer dreamed - of," as Theodore Thomas asserted in a letter of a fortnight ago to the present writer, writ-er, is not merely that of a -learned pedant or juggler, but a thing .of inspired in-spired beauty and color. It is a masterpiece, mas-terpiece, the most important novelty of recent years. ' To single out passages for special recognition rec-ognition in such a w ork is hardly worth while, but mention may be made of the prelude, the "Rescue Him" chorus, the appeal of the priest and assistants, "Proficiscere, anima Christiana, de hoc mundo;" the string prelude to the second sec-ond part, the chorus of demons, the massive chorus, "Praise to the Holiest," Holi-est," with its poignant climax, and the "Lord, thou hast been our refuge." The performance was remarkably good. Mr.-Damrosch and the Oratorio society, aided by a chorus from the Musical Art. society, simply outdid themselves. The work is hugely difficult, diffi-cult, but the choristers knew it well and sang it freely and with a shading unusual in so large a body of singers. The drchestra was efficient, and Mr. Sealy's organ playing contributed its share. , The part of Gerontius was sung by Mr. Van Hoose, who put to his credit an excellent performance of a trying role. Miss Ada Crossley sang the mezzo-soprano's -music in an earnest . but colorless way, and Mr. Bispham wag highly dramatic as the priest and he angel of the agony. A fine audience was present and applauded ap-plauded with genuine enthusiasm. ''The Dream of Gerontius" might well be repeated re-peated next year. Samuel Swift in New York Mail and Express. . " |
