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FROM   THE   LIBRARY   OF 


REV.    LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON.   D.  D. 


BEQUEATHED   BY   HIM   TO 

THE   LIBRARY   OF 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY 


I 


x<^OF  PRI/V^ 


^ 


HISTORY 


MR  31 193?  . 

Logical  st^ 


HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY, 


OF  BOSTON,  MASSACHUSETTS. 


VOL.    I. 


FROM  THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  SOCIETY  THROUGH 
ITS  SEVENTY-FIFTH  SEASON: 

1815-1890. 


CHAPTERS  I-lII    By  Charles  C.  Pe?ikins. 
CHAPTERS    IV-XV    By  John   S.   D wight. 


B  O  S  T  O  N^  : 
ALFRED    MUDGE    &    SON,    PKINTERS 

1 8  8  3  - 1  8  9 .3  . 


PEEFACE 


The  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  has  ever  since  its  foundation 
been  the  object  of  sincere  attachment  on  the  part  of  its  members, 
whose  unfailing  devotion  to  its  interests  has  given  it  cohesion  and  con- 
tinued vitality.  To  those  who,  having  joined  it  as  3'oung  men,  have 
grown  old  in  its  service,  few  things  in  this  world  seem  so  important  and 
so  worthy  of  respect,  and  the  personal  interest  which  they  take  in  its 
affairs  ceases  only  with  life.  Like  all  genuine  feeling,  their  enthusiasm 
is  contagious.  It  permeates  the  chorus,  and,  by  stimulating  all  to 
exertion  in  a  common  cause,  gives  strength  and  unity  of  effect  to  its 
performances. 

That  the  members  of  an  organization  animated  with  such  senti- 
ments should  wish  to  have  its  history  written  is  natural,  and  the 
desire,  long  since  manifested,  would  have  been  gratified  ere  this  had  it 
not  been  for  circumstances  over  which  they  had  no  control.  The 
Society  first  employed  Dr.  Luther  Farnham  as  its  historian,  and  then 
appointed  Mr.  Samuel  Jennison  in  his  place.  This  gentleman,  who 
undertook  the  task  as  a  labor  of  love,  worked  at  it  from  1873  to  1878 
in  the  rare  moments  of  leisure  which  he  could  snatch  from  the  duties 
of  his  profession,  and  accumulated  a  great  mass  of  material,  consist- 
ing of  extracts  from  printed  books,  letters  from  early  members  of  the 
Society,  newspaper  cuttings,  etc.  He  intended,  as  he  states  in  a  com- 
menced introductory  chapter,  to  cover  the  whole  field  of  musical 
history  in  Boston,  as,  for  instance,  "  the  rise  and  fall  of  various  singing 
and  other  musical  associations  ;  the  introduction  of  music  into  the 
schools,  the  erection  of  the  Music  Hall  and  its  organ  ;  the  establish- 
ment of  educational  institutions  and  conventions,  and  musical  jour- 
nals ;  the  growth  of  musical  criticism,  the  advent  of  Italian  opera 
'  troupes '  and  of  German  orchestras,  the  visits  of  foreign  musicians, 
the  '  debuts  '  and  careers  of  our  own  vocalists  who  .have  achieved 
distinction,  the  progress  of  the  manufacture  of  instruments,  and  in 
short  everything  worthy  of  note  connected  with  the  advance  of  the 
art  among  us." 

With  so  vast  a  scheme  and  very  limited  time  at  his  disposal,  it  is 


4  PREFACE. 

not  surprising  that  Mr.  Jennison  finally  decided  to  abandon  his 
cherished  project ;  but  instead  of  turning  the  key  on  his  treasures  as 
one  actuated  by  selfish  motives  would  have  done,  he,  wheu  asking 
to  be  relieved  from  the  work  which  he  felt  obliged  to  relinquish, 
generously  offered  to  place  his  papers  in  the  hands  of  whoever  might 
be  appointed  in  his  place  without  any  restriction  as  to  their  use.  All 
that  his  successor  can  do  in  recording  so  liberal  a  proceeding  is  thus 
publicl}'  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  for  much  valuable  matter, 
which  he  might,  through  want  of  observation,  research,  or  opportunity, 
have  otherwise  failed  to  secure. 

After  spending  no  little  time  in  examining  the  materials  placed  at 
my  disposal,  in  gleaning  where  my  predecessor  had  left  anything  to 
gather,  and  in  making  notes  from  the  Societ^-'s  records  and  contem- 
porary sources,  I  began  to  feel  that,  considering  the  extent  of  the 
ground  to  be  covered,  I  might  pass  the  remainder  of  mj^  life  in  like 
preparation,  when  the  plan  of  publishing  the  history  in  numbers  as 
successivel}'  completed  was  suggested,  and  it  has  been  adopted,  in 
the  hope  that  if  once  commenced  the  work  would  not  be  abandoned. 
In  this  first  number  I  have  endeavored  so  to  begin  it,  that  my  succes- 
sors may  not  find  it  necessary  to  pull  down  what  I  have  been  allowed 
to  build  up. 

The  histor}'  of  a  societ}'  which,  after  sixty-eight  3'ears  of  life,  is  full 
of  vigor,  and  has.  as  we  ma}'  reasonably  hope,  a  long  future  before  it, 
will,  as  years  of  activity  succeed  each  other,  call  for  fresh  chroniclers 
to  take  up  the  thread  where  those  who  preceded  them  have  dropped 
it.  May  it  be  long  before  the  last  appears  to  write  the  word  jinis 
to  this  record  of  an  institution  whose  services  to  the  cause  of  good 
music  have  been  alwa3's  so  conspicuous  and  so  beneficial ! 

A  histor\'  which  deals  with  an  annually  repeated  series  of  meetings, 
rehearsals,  and  concerts,  differing  in  degree  of  success,  but  never  in 
kind,  must  be  to  some  extent  monotonous.  Small  opportunity  is 
ottered  of  var3'ing  the  narrative  of  the  earlier  years  of  this  Society  by 
biographical  details  concerning  individuals  who  have  carried  on  its 
work,  for  the  simple  reason  that,  with  few  exceptions,  nothing  is 
known  of  them,  but  that  the}'  were  honest  and  worth}'  men,  animated 
with  a  sincere  love  of  music  and  a  hearty  desire  to  do  their  duty  as 
officers  and  members.  Such  being  the  case,  it  is  hoped  that  those 
readers  who  find  little  in  the  following  pages  either  to  interest  or 
amuse  will  extend  some  measure  of  indulgence  to  the  author. 

C.  C.  P. 

July  1G,  1883. 


INTRODUCTION. 


"Next   unto   Theology   I   give   the   place    and    highest  honour  to  musick,  for 

THEREBY  ALL  ANGER   IS   FORGOTTEN,   THE    DEVIL  IS   DRIVEN  AWAY,   UNCHASTITY,   PRIDE,   AND 

other  BLASPHEMIES  ARE  EXPELLED."  —  Luther's  Table  Talk. 

The  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  was  founded  nearl}'  two  centuries 
after  the  Pilgrims,  on  landing  at  Pl3'mouth,  Sunda}^  Nov.  9,  1620, 
had  sung  the  first  psalm  of  praise  heard  on  the  shores  of  New  Eng- 
land. This  psalm  was  a  simple  choral  in  unison,  one  of  the  plain 
tunes  set  down  in  Ainsworth's  version, i  framed  in  harmon}'  with  the 
Puritan's  Confession  of  Faith  (1572),  which  allowed  the  people  to 
join  in  singing  with  one  voice,  but  not  of  '-tossing  the  psalms  from 
one  side  to  the  other  (antiphonal) ,  with  the  intermingling  of  organs."^ 
Such  metrical  psalmod}',  which  had  its  origin  at  the  time  of  the  Refor- 
mation, was  first  used  in  public  worship  b}^  Luther  as  early  as  the 
3'ear  1517.  The  great  Reformer  wished,  as  he  said,  "■  to  see  all  arts, 
and  more  especially  music,  in  the  service  of  Him  who  gave  and  created 
them."  and  with  this  view  he  prepared  the  first  Protestant  hymn,  or 
choral  book,  which  was  published  at  Wittenberg  in  1524.^     Calvin, 

1  The  Book  of  Psalmes :  Engliahed  both  in  Prose  and  Metre,  by  the  Rev.  Henry 
Ainsworth  (b.  1560,  d.  1(522),  an  eminent  Non-conformist  divine  and  Hebrew  scholar, 
who  about  1590  distinguished  liimself  among  the  Brownists,  a  famous  Puritan  sect, 
SO  called  from  its  founder,  Robert  Brown,  who,  after  settling  with  his  followers  at 
Middleburgh  in  Zealand,  returned  to  England,  gave  in  his  adhesion  to  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  and  accepted  a  rectory  at  Northampton,  where  he  died  about  1030. 
When  Ainsworth  was  driven  from  England  by  the  state  persecution  of  the  sectaries, 
he  took  refuge  at  Amsterdam,  and  when  the  Brownists  built  a  church  there  they 
made  Francis  Johnson  their  pastor,  and  Ainsworth  their  doctor  or  teacher.  The 
first  edition  of  his  psalms,  with  critical  notes,  was  published  in  1612,  the  second  iu 
1(517.  The  Puritans  used  it  exclusively  until  1(510,  when  it  was  superseded  by  the 
Bay  Psalm  Book,  comi)iled  by  the  colonial  clergy.  Ainsworth's  version  kept  its 
place  at  Salem  until  16(57,  and  at  Plymouth  until  1(592.  The  tunes,  in  the  German 
choral  style,  were  printed  in  lozenge  or  diamond-shaped  (called  buckwheat)  notes 
over  the  psalms,  without  dividiug  bars. 

See  George  Hood's  History  of  Music  in  Xew  England,  p.  11. 

2  A  sarcastic  expression  used  by  Th.  Cartwright,  whose  views  were  controverted 
by  Whitgift  and  Hooker.  See  Ecc.  Polity,  Y.  38  ;  and  History  of  the  Puritans,  by 
David  Neale,  Vol.  I.,  p.  194. 

3  In  selecting  tlie  best  Latin  hymns  and  German  songs  for  this  book,  Luther  was 
assisted  by  John  Walter  (publisher)  and  Conrad  Rumpf ,  both  musicians  iu  the  service 


b  INTKODUCTION. 

like  Luther,  favored  congregational  singing,  and  soon  after  his  arrival 
at  Geneva  (1519)  demanded  the  restoration  of  sacred  song  to  a  place 
in  divine  worship,  from  which  it  had  been  excluded.^  In  order 
that  the  people  might  learn  how  to  sing  in  a  decent  and  becoming 
manner,  he  advised  that  children  should  be  instructed  in  some  sober, 
ecclesiastical  tunes,  in  which  the  congregation  should  be  allowed  to 
join  after  listening  until  it  was  able  to  sing  them.  For  this  purpose  the 
Psalms  in  French  and  German  were  at  first  set  to  popular  melodies 
(''Volkslieder"),  but  these  were  soon  superseded  by  German  chorals 
and  old  church  chants,  whose  superiority  was  acknowledged  even  by 
the  unmusical  Calvin. 

The   difficult}^  of  finding  writers  capable  of  making  a  rhythmical 

of  Friedricli  der  Weise,  Elector  of  Saxony.  Before  the  Reformation  the  Roman 
ritual  prevailed  in  all  the  European  churches.  After  it,  Luther,  formed  a  ritual, 
with  the  assistance  of  Melancthon.  The  Psalmodia,  "  Hoc  est  Cantica  sacra  veteris 
EcclesiJB  selecta,"  printed  at  Nuremberg  in  1553,  and  at  Wittenberg  in  15G1,  with  a 
preface  by  Melancthon,  proves  that  the  whole  of  Luther's  liturgy  was  a  musical 
service.  The  Psalmodia  is  divided  into  four  books:  1.  Antiphonas,  responsoria, 
hymnos,  et  sequeutiae.  2.  Cantica  veteris  ecclesire,  etc.  3.  Cantiones  missae. 
4.  Psalmi  cum  eorum  antiphonis,  finalibus,  etc.  Luther,  who  was  himself  a  practical 
musician  and  composer,  gives  his  opinion  of  music,  and  of  its  lawfulness  in  divine 
worship,  in  his  CoUoquia  Mensalia.  In  Sleidan's  History  of  the  Reformation  of  the 
Church,  for  which  he  parai>hrased  the  IGth  Psalm,  "  Ein  fester  Burg,"  and  set  it  to  a 
noble  tune  of  his  own  composition,  Luther  speaks  of  his  skill  in  music  "as  an 
acquisition  that  he  would  not  exchange  for  a  great  matter."  Probably  the  sweet 
motets  which  he  sang  at  supper  with  his  friends  were  German.  The  practice  of 
psalmody  had  its  rise  in  Germany,  in  all  probability,  but  during  Luther's  lifetime  it 
Avas  chiefly  confined  to  family  worship.  At  the  time  of  his  death  no  Vulgate  trans- 
lation of  the  Psalter  had  appeared.  For  this  indulgence  the  Protestant  churches 
were  indebted  to  the  college  of  the  Sorbonne,  whose  doctors,  in  1543,  allowed 
Clement  Marot  to  publish  a  French  version  of  the  first  thirty  psalms,  dedicated, 
says  Bayle,  to  Francis  I.  To  these  he  added  twenty  more,  and  a  version  of  the 
remainder  was  supplied  after  Marot's  death  by  his  friend,  Th.  Beza. 

See  Sir  J.  Hawkins's  General  History,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  531  et  seq. 

1  Calvin,  in  establishing  a  church  at  Geneva,  divided  the  service  between  prayer, 
preaching,  and  singing.  Plain  metrical  psalmody  only  was  allowed.  Antiphon, 
hymn,  and  motet  were  e'iminated  as  being  Romish.  Calvin  emjjloyed  Guillaume' 
Franc  to  set  Marofs  version  of  the  Psalms  to  easy  tunes  in  one  part  only.  In  1583 
he  (Calvin)  divided  the  Psalms  into  pauses  (small  portions),  and  apportioned  them 
to  be  sung  in  churches.  Louis  Bourgeois  set  eighty-three  psalms  to  music,  in  four, 
five,  and  six  i)arts,  printed  at  Lyons  in  15G1.  Claude  Goudimel  set  all  the  Psalms  in 
four  and  five  parts,  printed  at  Paris  in  15(55.  Fifty  of  Marot's  psalms  were  published 
with  music  at  Strasburg  in  1545.  Claude  Le  Jeune,  of  Valenciennes,  a  Protestant 
favorite  of  Henri  IV.,  styled  "  le  Phenix  des  musiciens,"  set  the  psalms  of  Marot  and 
Beza.  His  settings,  like  those  of  Goudimel,  were  in  four  parts,  —  superius,  contra- 
tenor,  tenor,  and  bassus.  The  tenor  part  carried  the  air  or  melody,  composed  by 
some  other  i^erson,  to  which  Goudimel  and  Le  Jeune  added  the  harmony  in  the  other 
parts.  The  original  melodies  which  constitute  the  tenor  part  were  probably  com 
posed  by  Guillaume  Franc.     Sir  J.  Hawkins,  II.,  i)i).  531,  535. 


INTRODUCTION.  ' 

version  of  the  Psalms  was  not  overcome  by  Calvin  until  1542,  when 
the  poet  Clement  Marot,i  having  been  expelled  from  France,  came 
to  Geneva,  and  composed  tunes  which  were  sung  in  churches  together 
with  the  compositions  of  Goudimel  and  Bourgeois.^ 

In  1549  fift3'-oue  of  the  psalms  versified  by  Thomas  SternhokP 
were  published  without  notes,  and  thirteen  years  later  (1562),  after 
Sternhold's  death,  these  and  the  remaining  psalms  making  the  first 
complete  edition  of  the  Psalter,  prepared  by  I.  Hopkins  and  others, 
"  with  apt  notes  to  sing  them  withal,"  issued  from  the  press,  having 
the  music  in  one  part,  written  continuous!}'  without  division  into  bars.^ 


PSALM  III. 


^ 


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ntp  «)o?njip  ^  tmtlonm  borl),anti  tljon  bolDft  t)p  mp  fteau. 


1  Clement  Marot  published  eighteen  psalms  and  three  songs,  with  melodies  at- 
tached to  the  first  verses,  at  Strasburg  in  1539.  A  revised  edition,  prepared  by 
Calvin  and  Theodore  Beza,  was  iiublished  at  Geneva  in  1561,  of  which  upwards  of 
one  hundred  editions  were  printed  before  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
M.  Boyet,  Hist,  du  Psautier. 

2  Boui-geois's  variation  and  rearrangement  of  the  old  German  airs  became  as 
popular  among  the  Germans  as  among  the  French.  Challoner's  History  of  the  Science 
and  Art  of  Music,  p.  58. 

8  Native  of  Hampshire,  "styled  Groom  of  his  Majesty's  robes,"  in  his  will  (1549). 
He  held  this  office  under  Henry  VIII.  and  Edward  VI. 

4  In  this  edition  such  of  the  melodies  as  were  not  taken  from  foreign  collections 
were  probably  composed  by  English  musicians  then  living,  such  as  Dr.  Tye,  Mare- 
beck,  Tallis,  Bird,  Shepherd,  Parsons,  and  Mundy,  all  reformers.  Tbe  tunes,  about 
forty  in  number,  are  in  general  suited  to  the  i>itch  and  compass  of  a  tenor  voice. 
The  fac-simile  inserted  in  the  text  was  made  from  a  copy  of  the  original  edition  of 
Sternhold  and  Hopkins  in  the  Boston  Public  Library.     It  is  an  oblong  octavo,  with 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

Thanks  to  the  liberal  views  entertained  about  music  by  the  fathers 
of  the  Reformation,  it  was,  as  we  have  shown,  made  an  important  and 
integral  part  of  divine  worship  ;  but  although  thus  retained,  it  was 
reduced  to  the  simple  form  of  unaccompanied  tunes,  whose  grave  and 
solemn  character  was  strictlj^  in  keeping  with  a  religious  service  which 
depended  for  its  effect  upon  no  outward  show  or  complicated  ritual. 
Like  all  other  parts  of  the  Puritan  service,  it  formed  a  strong  contrast 
with  that  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  its  use  in  England  was  not 
brought  about  without  determined  effort  and  a  long  struggle. 

Until  Henr}^  YIII.  quarrelled  with  the  Pope  and  made  himself 
absolute  head  of  the  church,  the  only  music  used  in  English  churches 
consisted  of  Latin  masses  and  services  of  the  Roman  ritual,  which, 
after  that  event,  were  translated  and  modified  ^  The  reign  of 
Edward  VI.  (1546-1553),  which  was  so  full  of  promise  to  the 
friends  of  re  form  ,2  proved  too  short  to  allow  of  radical  changes, 
and  such  progress  as  had  been  made  towards  them  was  violently 
checked  b}'  his  successor,  Mary,  surnamed  the  Blood}*, ^  who,  instead 
of  destroying  their  cause,  as  she  fondly  hoped,  strengthened  it,  by 
compelling  many  earnest  and  devout  men  to  take  refuge  from  per- 
secution on  the  Continent,  where  the}*  saw  their  ideas  of  church  govern- 
ment carried  out,  and  were  thus  able  to  work  in  the  light  of  experience, 
when,  on  the  accession  of  Elizabeth  (1558-1603),  they  returned  to 
their  own  country,  hoping  to  find  favor  in  the  eyes  of  a   Protestant 

seventy-seven  leaves,  title  A  1  wanting.  Each  tune  has  an  initial  letter.  Title:  "  The 
whole  hook  of  Psalms  collected  into  English  meter  by  T.  Sternholdt,  I.  Hopkins,  and 
others,  conferred  with  the  Ebrue  ;  icith  apt  votes  to  sing  them  with  withal.''  Colophon: 
*'  Imprinted  at  London  by  John  Day,  dwelling  near  Aldersgate,  beneath  St.  Martin's, 
—  cum  gratia  et  priuilegio  majestatis  per  septenariinn.  15G2."  On  the  fly-leaf  is  written, 
W.  G.  Medlicott,  Longmeadow,  Mass.  The  lozenge-shaped  notes  are  very  clearly 
printed.  Page  li7  has  a  tail-piece.  On  page  141  is  a  prayer  by  M.  Tallis  (organist  to 
Queen  Elizabeth). 

1  Until  1530  the  Liturgy  was  sung  in  Latin.  In  153G  the  Creed,  Pater  Xoster,  and  the 
Ten  Commandments  were  by  the  King's  command  translated  into  English,  and  this, 
says  Fuller  (Church  Hist,  in  Brittaiue,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  .380),  was  the  farthest  pace 
which  the  Reformation  stepped  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  The  retention  of  the 
choral  service  in  England  is  ascribed  by  Sir  John  Hawkins  to  the  love  of  the  four 
last  Tudor  princes  for  music.  Henry  VIII.  was  skilled  in  music,  as  were  all  his 
children.  Edward  VI.  played  on  the  lute.  Mary  and  Elizabeth  on  the  virginals  and 
the  lute.     See  Sir  J.  Hawkins,  op.  cit.,  pp.  535,  538. 

At  Geneva,  music  in  parts  and  instruments  were  not  allowed  in  religious  services 
for  more  than  a  century  after  the  Reformation. 

2  The  first  Eaglish  litur^^y  under  Edward  VI.,  composed  by  Cranmer  in  1548, 
was  set  to  musical  notes  in  tlie  following  year.  The  King  had  a  body  of  household 
musicians  — of  gentlemen  and  of  children —attached  to  the  royal  chapel.  During 
his  reign,  Bisliop  Miles  Coverdale,  of  Exeter,  published  his  version  of  certain  psalms. 

3  The  Romish  ritual  was  restored  on  Mary's  accession. 


INTRODUCTION.  If 

princess.  Contrary  to  their  expectations,  "  she  proved  herself  to  be 
more  the  daughter  of  Henr}-  than  the  sister  of  Edward, ^  seeming 
to  disUke  nothing  of  poper}'  but  its  inconsistenc}'  with  her  title  to  the 
throne  and  its  claims  against  her  ecclesiastical  supremac}'."^  "  The 
service  in  her  chapel,"  says  Neale,^  "  was  so  splendid  and  showy,  that, 
barring  the  English  tongue,  foreigners  could  not  distinguish  it  from 
the  Roman,  being  sung  not  onh'  with  the  sound  of  organs,  but  with 
the  artificial  musick  of  cornets,  sackbuts,  etc.,  on  solemn  festivals."^ 
The  forty-ninth  of  the  fifty-three  articles  called  "  The  Queen's  Injunc- 
tions,'* by  which  all  matters  connected  with  the  discipline  and  service 
of  the  Reformed  Chnrch  in  England  were  regulated,  relates  to  music  in 
collegiate  churches.  It  directs  that  singing  men  shall  be  continued 
and  maintained,  and  that  there  shall  be  a  modest  and  distinct  song 
so  used  in  all  parts  of  the  common  prayers  that  the  same  may  be  as 
plainl}^  understood  as  if  it  were  read  without  singing  ;  and,  furthermore', 
allows  that,  "  for  the  comforting  of  such  as  delight  in  musick.  it  ma^^be 
permitted  that  in  the  beginning  or  end  of  the  common  prayer  there 
ma}^  be  sung  an  hymn  or  such  like  song  in  the  best  sort  of  melody  and 
musick  that  maj'  be  conveniently  devised,  having  respect  that  the  sen- 
tences of  the  hymn  may  be  understood  and  perceived."  These  are 
certainly  what,  as  contrasted  with  Romish  practice,  would  seem  to  be 
satisfactorv  provisions  for  the  musical  part  of  the  church  service  ;  but 
thej'  evidently  did  not  satisfy  the  Separatists  or  the  Xon-conformists, 
for  various  petitions  were  presented  in  the  early  part  of  Elizabeth's 
reign  praying  for  still  greater  changes,  particularly  in  regard  to 
instrumental  accompaniment,  which  was  especially  abhorrent  to  the 
Reformers.-^ 

1  The  second  liturgy  of  Edward  VI.  was  restored  when  Elizabeth  came  to  the 
throne.  The  returned  Reformers  from  Frankfort  and  Geneva  tried  to  prevent  the  use 
of  the  choral  service,  and  appealed  to  the  authority  of  Calvin,  hut  the  Queen  would 
make  no  more  concessions.    Tallis  and  Bird  were  organists  in  the  royal  chapel. 

2  Thirteen  historical  discourses  hy  the  Rev  Leonard  Bacon,  p.  7. 

3  Op.  cit.,  I.,  p.  103. 

4  Strype,  in  his  annals,  says,  in  Sept.,  1559,  began  the  new  morning  prayers  at  St. 
Antholin's;  bell  rang  at  5  a.  m.,  when  a  psalm  was  sung  after  the  Geneva  fashion,  all 
the  congregation  —  men,  women,  and  boys  —  singing  together. 

5  The  censures  on  church  music  in  the  decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  154.5-15()3, 
were  directed  against  the  abuses  rather  than  against  the  practice  of  music.  The  Re- 
formers wished  to  bring  back  the  old  church  rule,  "  Simplicem,  sauctamque  melodi- 
am,  secundum  morem  ecclesife,"  and  the  thirty-two  commissioners  appointed  by  stat- 
ute (Henry  VIII.  27,  c.  15)  eiuleavored  to  remove  from  the  cluirch  what  they  called 
"curious  singing,"  that  is,  intricate,  elaborate,  and  unedifying  music, — Cantus 
figiu-atus,  i.  e.,  song  abounding  in  fugues,  responsive  passages,  and  a  commixture  of 
intricate  proportions,  termed  descant  by  musicians.  Sir  J.  Hawkins,  op.  cit.,  II., 
p.  5o7. 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

Thus  in  1562  the}'  asked  "  that  the  psalms  may  be  sung  distinctly 
by  the  whole  congregation,  and  that  organs  may  he  laid  aside"  ;  and  in 
another  petition,  ''that  the  use  of  organs  maybe  removed";^  and 
in  still  another,  of  1564,  mention  "  musick  and  organs  in  divine  wor- 
ship "  among  the  grievances  to  be  redressed  or  dispensed  with.  In 
the  Puritans'  Confession  of  Faith  (1572),  both  the  use  of  organs  and 
antiphonal  singing  are  forbidden,  and  singing  in  unison  is  enjoined. 
Dismal  indeed  must  have  been  the  effect  of  a  service  at  which  no 
other  music  was  permitted  than  the  intoning  of  Dowd's  version  of  the 
Psalms  in  a  monotonous  voice,  unmelodious  and  unaccompanied. 
But  music  to  these  stern  Reformers  was  an  unchristian  recreation,  and 
again  and  again  did  they  attack  it  with  a  vehemence  of  which  the 
reader  ma}'  form  some  idea  by  the  following  extract  from  a  pamphlet 
circulated  in  1586,  entitled  "A  Request  of  all  true  Christians  to  the 
Honorable  House  of  Parliament,"  wherein  the  petitioners  pray  that 
"  all  cathedral  churches  may  be  put  down,  where  the  service  of  God  is 
grievously  abused  l)y  piping  with  organs,  singing,  ringing,  and  trowl- 
ing  of  psalms  from  one  side  of  the  choir  to  another,  with  the  squeaking 
of  chaunting  choristers,  disguised,  as  are  all  the  rest,  in  white  sur- 
plices, some  in  corner  caps  and  filthy  capes,  imitating  the  fashion  and 
manner  of  Antichrist  the  Pope,  that  man  of  sin  and  child  of  perdition, 
with  his  other  rabble  of  miscreants  and  shaA^elings." 

It  is  evident  that  this  and  other  efforts  of  the  same  kind  on  the  part 
of  the  Puritans  had  not  sufficed  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century  to  secure  for  them  what  they  desired,  a  service  exactly  like 
that  of  the  Reformed  Continental  churches  at  Geneva,  Amsterdam, 
and  Frankfort, 2  for  in  1603,  when  James  I.  entered  London,  one  of 
the  reforms  demanded  in  the  famous  "  Millenary  petition  "  then  pre- 
sented to  his  Majesty  by  the  Puritans  was  that  ''  church  songs  and 
musick  may  be  moderated  to  better  edification."  In  this,  as  in  many 
other  ways,  the  new  monarch  failed  to  meet  the  wishes  of  his  Puritan 
subjects,  as  did  the  royal  martyr  (1625-1618),'^  in  the  latter  part  of 


1  This,  after  great  debate,  owed  its  rejection  to  a  single  vote  by  proxy  of  an 
absent  member.     Sir  J.  Hawkins,  II.,  5i3. 

2  The  dispute  at  Frankfort  (1554:)  between  those  who  desired  strict  conformity  in 
pnblic  services  to  the  order  established  in  England  by  Edward  VI.,  and  those  who 
desired  to  imitate  the  simplicity  of  the  Reformed  Continental  chnrch  service,  marks 
the  beginning  of  the  Puritan  party,  as  the  name  of  Puritan  was  then  given  to  the 
latter  by  their  opponents. 

3  In  1()32  an  attempt  was  made  to  supersede  the  old  English  version  of  the 
Psalms  used  since  1564,  by  that  of  James  I.  It  was  not  successful,  but  radical 
changes  were  made.  The  old  version  was  used  until  lOiXJ,  when  the  new  was  intro- 
duced with  the  sanction  of  William  III.  It  was  entitled  "A  new  Version  of  the 
Psalms  of  David,  fitted  to  the  Tunes  used  in  Churches." 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

whose  reign  (1641)  a  memorandum  for  reformation  was  submitted  to 
a  committee  of  accommodation,  praying  ''  that  the  music  in  cathedral 
and  collegiate  churches  be  framed  with  less  curiosity,  and  that  no 
hymns  or  anthems  be  used  whose  ditties  are  framed  b}'  private  men, 
but  such  as  are  contained  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  or  in  our  Liturg}'  or 
l^raj-ers,  or  have  public  allowance."  ^  In  1644,  the  year  after  the 
beginning  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  liturgy  and  the  choral  service 
were  abolished,  and  the  Westminster  asserabh'  of  divines  having  de- 
clared it  to  be  a  Christian  duty  to  sing  psalms  both  at  home  and  in 
church,  directed  ministers  to  appoint  some  fit  person  to  read  the  psalm, 
line  b}'  line,  before  the  singing  thereof  b}'  the  whole  congregation. 
Soon  after  the  enforcement  of  this  regulation  for  congregational  sing- 
ing, the  work  of  taking  down  organs  ^  and  burning  choral  books  began, 
and  was  so  thoroughh'  carried  out  that  at  the  Restoration  (1661)  it 
was  almost  impossible  to  find  organs,  organists,  notes,  or  singers. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  hislor}'  of  church  music  under 
Puritan  control  in  New  England,  where  those  who  crossed  the  Atlantic 
in  order  to  carr}'  out  their  ideas  of  church  government  without  hin- 
drance, evinced  the  same  dread  of  choral  and  instrumental  services, 
regarding  them  as  popish  devices,  as  those  of  their  persuasion  who 
remained  in  the  mother  conntrj'  had  done  and  continued  to  do. 

We  read  in  the  ••  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  written  hj  John  Bunyauin  Bed- 
ford jail  between  1660  and  1672,  that  after  Christian  issued  from  the 
Valley  of  the  Shadow  of  Death  he  saw  the  caves  where  Pope  and  Pagan 
had  lived  in  old  times.  Pagan  had  died  long  ago,  but  Pope  was  still 
living,  though  he  had  grown  so  crazy  and  stitf  in  his  joints  that  he 
could  do  little  more  than  '•  sit  in  his  cave's  mouth,  grinning  at  pilgrims 
as  the}'  went  b}^  and  biting  his  nails  because  he  could  not  come  at 
them."  Our  forefathers,  although  well  aware  of  Pope's  decrepitude, 
could  never  rid  themselves  of  the  fear  that  he  whom  the}'  regarded  as 
the  arch  fiend  in  person  might  some  day  find  means  to  grow  young 
again,  and  in  the  matter  of  music,  as  in  all  else,  kept  their  gates 
closely  barred  against  him. 

The  New  England  pastor  opened  the  service  with  prayer,  after  which 
the  teacher  read  and  expounded  a  chapter  of  the  Bible  ;  then  a  psalm 
was  sung  in  unison  by  the  congregation.     Men  and  women, "^  rising  in 

1  Xeale,  op.  cit.,  p.  701. 

2  The  organ  of  Magdalen  College,  taken  down  during  the  Rebellion,  was  removed 
by  Cromwell's  orders  to  Hampton  Court,  where  it  remained  until  the  Restoration, 
when  it  was  carried  back  to  Oxford. 

3  The  Rev.  Elias  Nason  doubts  whether  women  were  allowed  to  sing  in  Puritan 
times.     See  the  Ancient  Psalmody  of  America.     Discourse  before  the  Hist.  Genea 
Soc,  Nov.,  1875. 


12 


INTKODUCTION. 


their  seats,  stood  facing  the  pastor,  and  sang  eacli  line  as  it  was 
"lined  out"  or  "deaconed  off,"  ^  that  is,  distinctly  read  by  the 
elder,  the  time  taken  in  Old  Hundredth  being  regulated  by  one  beat  of 
the  pulse. 2  After  the  psalm  thus  rendered  came  the  sermon,  the  prayer, 
and  the  benediction. 


1  The  practice  of  lining  out  the  psalm,  which  originated  with  Luther,  was  re- 
vived in  New  England,  probably  on  account  of  a  want  of  psalm-books  sufficient  for 
increasing  congregations.  It  does  not  seem  to  have  been  a  practice  of  the  first 
settlers.  At  Plymouth  it  was  not  adopted  until  1(582,  Many  objected  to  it  as  having 
no  Scripture  authority,  and  also  because  reading  of  the  psalms  "  doth  hinder  the 
melody,  the  understanding  the  affection  in  singing."  Hood,  p.  13.  The  practice 
was  protested  against  by  Watts  (ed.  1718).  In  his  preface,  he  advises  that  all  who  cant 
should  bring  psalm-books,  in  order  to  get  the  sense  completely;  and  that  the  clerk* 
before  lining,  should  read  the  whole  psalm  over.  The  practice  gave  way  in  the  last 
quarter  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  permission  was  given  to  the  best  singers 
in  the  choir  to  sit  in  the  front  gallery  with  the  person  appointed  to  set  the  psalm.  In 
1785  the  church  at  Roxbury  voted  to  allow  singing  once  upon  each  Lord's  day,  with- 
out reading  by  the  deacon.  Lincoln,  in  his  History  of  Worcester  (1779),  tells  how  the 
venerable  Deacon  Chamberlain  insisted  upon  reading  the  psalm  line  by  line  until  at 
last,  finding  that  his  voice  was  drowned  by  the  choir,  he  seized  his  hat  and  retired 
in  a  flood  of  tears.  For  this  he  was  censured,  and  for  a  season  not  allowed  to  com- 
municate. 

^  The  Old  Hundredth  was  one  of  the  melodies  selected  by  Luther  from  the  people's 
Songs,  popular  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation.  The  epithet  "  Old"  was  added  after 
the  publication  of  the  new  version,  in  1(3%,  to  denote  that  it  was  a  tune  taken  from  the 
preceding  psalter  of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins.  Challoner  (p.  59)  says  it  may  have  been 
brought  from  the  East  by  the  troubadours,  and  Nason  that  it  was  comiiosed  by  Gil- 
laume  Franc.  Sir  J,  Hawkins  (II.,  530,  note)  says  that  Handel  has  been  often  heard 
to  say  that  the  melody  —  which,  by  the  way,  is  identical  with  that  of  the  134th 
Psalm  of  Goudimel  and  Le  Jeune  —  was  composed  by  Luther.  Dr.  Gilman 
(Village  Choir,  p.  70)  speaks  of  Old  Hundredth  as  a  piece  of  musical  antiquity, 
which  had  not  been  sung  in  any  meeting-house  for  upwards  of  thirty  years. 
When  sung,  according  to  Latrobe,  it  was  so  drawled  out  that  a  breath  was  more  than 
expended  on  each  word.  Mr.  Sharp  used  to  relate  an  anecdote  of  a  clergyman  under 
whom  he  sat  in  England,  whose  practice  it  was  on  each  successive  Sunday  to  give  out 
the  Old  Hundredth,  as  if  to  sing  it  were  a  perfectly  novel  idea.  "  This  morning,  my 
brethren,  we  will  sing,"  etc.  One  of  the  choristers  at  last  became  so  exasperated 
that  one  morning,  on  hearing  the  first  line  given  out  by  the  deacon,  he,  to  the  horror 
of  the  congregation,  broke  out  with,  "  Damn  all  nations  that  on  earth  do  dwell." 

Gould  (Church  Music  in  America,  p.  29)  says  that  Old  Hundred  is  the  only  tune 
now  used  to  be  found  in  Sternhold  and  Hopkins,  and  prints  it  thus:  — 


Ravenscroft,  1018,  who  first  gave  names  of  cities  and  towns,  as  Canterbury,  York, 
etc.,  to  tunes  in  his  choice  collection,  styles  Old  Hundred  or  Hundredth  a  French 


INTRODUCTION. 


13 


No  better  description  of  the  Sunday  services  in   a  New  England 
meeting-iiouse  exists  than  this,  in  Ta3'lor's  verses  : —  ^ 

*'  Old  home  of  Puritauic  wood, 

Through  whose  unpamted  windows  streamed. 
On  seats  as  primitive  and  rude 
As  Jacob's  pillow,  when  he  dreamed, 

"The  white  and  undiluted  day  ! 
Its  naked  aisles  no  roses  grace 
That  blossomed  at  the  shuttle's  play, 
No  saints  distempered  '■*  bless  the  place. 

"  Like  feudal  castles,  front  to  front, 
In  timbered  oak  of  Saxon  Thor, 
To  brave  the  siege  and  bear  the  brunt 
Of  Bunyan's  endless  Holy  War, 

"The  pulpit  and  the  gallery  stand, 

Between  the  twain  a  peaceful  space, 
The  prayer  and  praise  on  either  hand, 
gospel  face  to  face. 


tune  (1G21).    It  probably  first  bore  the  name  of  Savoy, 
of  Marot's  psalms  (15G1)  it  is  given  thus:  — 


In  Theodore  Beza's  edition 


^ 


:&c. 


With  the  words  :  — 


Or  sus,  serviteurs  du  Seigneur 
Vous,  qui  de  nuit  en  son  lionneur 
De  dans  sa  maisou  la  servez, 
Louez  le,  et  son  nom  elevez. 

ORIGINAL  FORM. 


tWr- 


^^- 


±==t 


ffl^ 


^- 


-i&- 


r — 

^' 1       1       1 

1 

1 

1 

1         1     - 

^ 

r^ 

=        ^    ^-'^  ■^- 

^  ■  p 

^    <;:>     ^             : 

_| ^ 

~ — &- 

f:>—^ 

Like  other  melodies  in  the  German  Psalter,  it  is  an  adaptation  of  a  secular  tune  of 
the  time.  Bourgeois  was  editor  of  the  German  Psalter  from  1542-1557,  and  to  him 
the  tune  in  its  present  form  may  be  ascribed.    Grove,  Diet.,  IL,  p.  495. 

In  Ravenscrof t  it  is  thus  printed :  — 


m 


IB.  F.  Taj'lor,  —  from  poems  entitled  The  Psalm  Book  in  the  Garret, 
lished  in  volume  entitled  Songs  of  Yesterday.    S.  L.  Griggs  &  Co.,  Chicago. 
2  i,  e.,  painted  in  distemper,  frescoed. 


pub- 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

"  I  hear  the  revereud  elder  say, 

*  Hymn  fifty-five,  long  metre,  sing  I ' 
I  hear  the  psalm  books'  fluttered  play, 
Like  flocks  of  sparrows  taking  wing. 

**The  congregation  rise  and  stand, — 

Old  Hundred's  rolling  thunder  comes 
In  heavy  surges  slow  and  grand 
As  beats  the  surf  its  solemn  drums. 

"  And  now  they  sing  a  star  in  sight, — 
The  blessed  star  of  Bethlehem ; 
And  now  the  air  is  royal  bright 
With  Coronation's  diadem. 

"  They  show  me  spots  of  dimpled  sod, 
They  say  the  girls  of  old  are  there ; 
Oh,  no !  they  swell  the  choir  of  God, — 
The  dear  old  songs  are  everywhere." 

On  comiDg  to  New  England  the  Puritans  brought  with  them  Ains- 
worth's  version  of  the  Psalms,  1612.  "  Printed  in  Amsterdam,  the 
words  and  the  music  togetlier."  Of  this  version  we  have  already  spoken 
as  well  as  of  that  of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins,  an  edition  of  which  was 
published  at  Cambridge  in  1693.  and  used  inoneor  twoof  the  churches 
before  1640,  when  the  Ba}^  Psalm  Book,i  the  first  book  printed 
on  this  continent  north  of  Mexico,    appeared.      To    AVelde,  Eliot,^ 

1  1st  ed.  pub.  at  Cambridge,  1640,  —26th  ed.  pub.  at  Boston  in  1744,  —  the  27th  ed. 
at  Boston  between  1746  and  1750.  A  copy  of  the  1st  ed.  (1640)  exists  in  the  Boston 
Public  Library,  10.  4.  8.  O.  S.  132,  formerly  in  the  Old  South  Library.  Aslipof  p;iper 
pasted  on  the  front  page  reads,  "  belonged  to  the  Xew  England  Library,  begun  to  be 
collected  by  Thomas  Payne,  1703."  It  is  a  small  8vo  volume  without  notes.  "  The 
whole  Book  of  Psalms  faithfulh*  translated,"  etc.  The  preface  is  a  plea  for  the  sing- 
ing of  psalms  as  authorized  by  Holy  Writ.    It  concludes  with  these  words,  — 

"  That  we  may  sing  in  Sion,  the  Lord's 

song  of  prayse  according  to  his  owne 

will,  until  he  take  us  from  hence 

and  wipe  away  all  tears, 

and  bid  us  enter  into 

our  Master's  joye, 

to  sing  eternall 

Hallelujahs." 

The  2d  ed.  of  the  Bay  Psalm  Book,  revised  and  increased  by  the  Rev.  Henry 
Dunster,  president  of  Harvard  College,  and  Mr.  Richard  Lyon,  appeared  in  1(3.50,  It 
was  printed  in  Pres.  Dunster's  house  by  Stephen  Day,  who  came  from  England  in 
1639  with  printing-press  and  font  of  ill-cut  type. 

For  description  of  the  Bay  Psalm  Book,  see  Tyler,  Hist,  of  American  Literature; 
Duyckinck's  Cyc'a  of  Literat\n-e;  and  article  by  Tarbox  in  Xew  Englander  for 
March,  1880;  also,  Meml  Hist,  of  Boston,  I.,  p.  513. 

2  The  Indian  apostle,  who  in  1660  printed  the  metrical  version  of  the  Psalms, 
in  his  translation  of  the  Bible  into  the  Indian  (Nipmuck)  tongue.    In  1689,  Dr. 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

Mather,  and  the  other  eminent  divines  who  prepared  it,  as  to  all 
sound  Puritans,  non-conformit}'  to  the  sacred  text  was,  as  Hood 
remarks,  ''  the  fault  of  faults,"  and  they  therefore  made  their  transla- 
tion of  the  Psalms  into  metrical  verse  as  literal  as  possible. ^  At  the 
close  of  the  volume  the  reader  is  "  admonished  that  the  verses  of 
these  psalms  may  be  reduced  to  six  kinds,  the  first  whereof  ma}'  be 
sung  in  verj'  neere  fourty  common  tunes,  as  the}'  are  collected  out  of 
our  chief  musicians  (English,  Scotch,  and  Welsh  composers)  by 
Thomas  Eavenscroft."  ^  In  the  course  of  a  century  the  Bay  Psalm 
Book,  which  was  almost  exclusively  used  in  New  England  churches, 
passed  through  nearly  thirty  editions.  Those  printed  before  1690  con- 
sisted of  text  only,  for  the  singing  of  which  five  or  six  tunes,  such  as 
York,  Hackney,  Windsor,  St.  Mary's,  and  Martyrs,  were  written  out  in 
copies  used  by  the  congregation,  but,  as  the  want  of  a  greater  variety 
of  tunes  was  then  felt,  an  edition  with  text  and  notes  was  published  in 
1G98.3 

Although  sanctioned  by  the  church  in  New  England,  the  Bay 
Psalm  Book  did  not  at  first  meet  with  universal  acceptance,  owing  to 
the  great  variety  of  opinions  prevalent  among  God-fearing  men  as  to 
the  propriety  of  singing  at  all.  To  some  the  metrical  rendering  of 
the  Psalms  was  a  tampering  with  the  Sacred  Text,  and  to  sing  them 
was  sinful,  as  Christians  ought  to  praise  God  with  the  heart  only. 
Others  thought  that  one  of  the  congregation  should  sing  while  the 
rest  listened,  joining  with  him  in  the  final  amen  ;  while  still  another 
party  held  that  none  but  members  of  the  church  should  be  allowed  to 
sing.  Further  questionings  arose  on  allowing  women  to  sing  with  men, 
women  being  forbidden  to  speak  in  church  (Cor.  xiv.  34),  or  to  proph- 
esy (Tim.  ii.  11,  12)  ;  and  also  on  the  propriety  of  singing  psalms 
in  metre  devised  by  man  to  tunes  written  perhaps  by  the  ungodly, 

Increase  Mather  wrote  to  Dr.  John  Leusdeu,  Hebrew  professor  in  the  university 
at  Utrecht:  "  The  whole  congregation  of  Indians  praise  God  with  singing,  and  some 
of  tliem  are  excellent  singers."  The  same  assertion  is  made  in  a  letter  written 
from  New  England  to  the  Princess  of  Grange  in  1689.    Hood,  op.  cit.,  p.  50. 

1  Free  translations  or  paraphrases,  like  those  of  Watts,  or  of  Addison,  of  which 
'•  The  spacious  firmament  on  high  "  may  he  taken  as  an  example,  would  have  found 
no  favor  with  our  forefathers.    Hood. 

2  Thomas  Ravenscroft,  bachelor  of  music,  published  in  1628,  the  whole  Book 
of  Psalms  with  the  hymns,  evangelical  and  spiritual,  written  in  four  parts  by 
sundry  authors,  such  as  Tallis,  Dr.  John  Dowland,  John  Milton,  the  poet's 
father,  etc.  In  it  the  tenor  part  has  the  tune,— called  the  tenor,  or  plain-song,  or 
Faburden,  —  Falso  Bordone,  —  a  species  of  descant.  Eavenscrof t's  book,  republished 
in  16;>5,  became  the  manual  of  psalm  singers  throughout  the  Kingdom. 

3  Tunes  printed  in  two  parts,  initial  of  syllable  placed  under  each  note,  with 
directions  as  to  singing. 


1 0  INTRODUCTION. 

■which  might  be  looked  upon  as  uninspired  tunes  in  contradistinction 
to  those  which,  by  long  usage,  had  come  to  be  regarded  as  inspired. ^ 
All  these  objections  were  discussed  and  met  by  the  Rev.  John  Cot- 
ton in  his  famous  tract  (1647)  entitled  "  Singing  of  Psalms  a  Gospel 
Ordinance."  ^     The  four   "  particulars  "  treated  are  :  — 

"  I.  Touching  the  duty  itaelf,"  i.  e.,  of  audible  singing,  respecting 
which  the  reverend  author  concludes  "that  sinoinor  of  Psalms  with 
a  lively  vo3'ce  is  an  holy  dut}^  of  God's  worship  now  in  the  dayes  of 
the  New  Testament,"  the  which  he  proves  by  the  commandments  of  the 
Lord  by  Paul,  "through  the  examples  of  Christ  himself  and  of  his 
Saints  and  Disciples  in  the  New  Testament,  the  prophecies  of  the  Old 
Testament  foretelling  and  persuading  such  a  dut}-  in  the  New." 

II.  "  Touching  the  matter  to  be  sung."  —  On  this  head  the  author 
declares  that  "  not  onl}^  the  Psalms  of  David,  but  any  other  spirituall 
songs  recorded  in  Scripture  may  be  lawfully  sung  in  Christian 
churches,  as  those  of  Moses,  Asaph,  etc.,"  and  also  "that  an}'  private 
Christian  who  hath  a  gift  to  frame  a  spirituall  song,  may  both  frame  it 
and  sing  it  privately-  or  before  the  Church  ;  nor  is  to  be  forbidden  to 
make  use  of  an  Instrument  of  music  in  his  own  house,  so  that  atten- 
tion to  the  Instrument  do  not  divert  the  heart  from  attention  to  the 
matter  of  the  Song." 

III.  "  Touching  the  singers''  the  writer  argues,  that  all  should 
sing,  women  as  well  as  men,  sinners  as  well  as  saints,  for  we  are  told, 
**Is  any  among  you  afflicted?  let  him  pray.  Is  any  merry?  let  him 
sing  psalms."  (James,  v.  13.) 

IV .  ' '  Touching  the  manner  of  singing." —  Under  this  head  the  author 
discusses  whether  Psalms  in  metre  of  man's  device  may  be  sung, 
"  whether  in  tunes  invented,  and  whether  it  be  lawfuU  in  order  unto 
singing  to  reade  the  Psalme."  He  argues  in  favor  of  the  versification 
of  psalms,  and  the  composing  of  melodies  or  tunes  to  which  the}"  may 
be  sung,  that  it  is  as  lawful  to  translate  them  into  verse  as  into  prose, 
and  that  as  words  invented  by  Englishmen  may  be  properl}'  usedto 
convey  divine  truth,  so  ma}'  tunes  composed  by  the  same  for  a  like 
purpose.  Finally,  he  makes  answer  to  those  who  think  that  reading 
the  Psalms  is  not  to  be  allowed  in  order  to  singing  by  saying,  that  as 
all  have  not  books,  and  all  do  not  know  the  Psalms  by  heart,  "  it  will 
be  a  necessary  helpe  that  the  words  be  openly  read  beforehand,  line 
after  line,  or  two  lines  together,  that  so  they  who  want  either  books  or 
skill  to  reade  may  know  what  is  to  be  sung,  and  joyne  with  the  rest  in 
the  dutie  of  singing." 

1  Gould,  op.  cit.,  p.  33.  2  Hood,  op.  cit.,  35-48. 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

The  strong  opposition  to  *  the  use  of  instruments  in  Puritan 
churches  1  makes  it  surprising  that  so  early  as  1641,  Thomas  Lech- 
ford  pleaded  for  it  in  his  so-called  ••  Plaine  Dealing"-  in  these  words  : 
••  If  Psalms  and  Hymns  and  spiritual  songs  are  to  be  sung  in  the 
church,  and  to  sing  melodioush'  and  in  good  harmony  is  the  gift  of 
God,  and  uncomely  singing  is  a  kind  of  sin  in  the  holy  assemblies, 
why  should  not  the  chief  leaders  and  rulers  of  the  Church  appoint 
some  one  in  their  stead  to  take  charge  of  the  singing  in  the  Church  ? 
and  may  not  some  be  better  fitted  to  lead  in  singing  than  others? 
and,  lest  they  may  fall  out  in  their  tunes  to  jarring,  wh\'  ma}'  they  not 
use  the  help  of  f<ome  musical  ins  ruments?  and,  lest  thej'  should  want 
able  men  this  way,  why  should  they  not  take  care  that  some  children 
be  trained  up  in  Music?  " 

The  voice  of  this  man,  in  advance  of  his  time,  was  like  that  of  one 
crying  in  the  wilderness.  Do  we  not  read  in  the  Prophet  Amos 
(v.  23),  said  the  Puritans,  "Take  thou  away  from  me  the  noise  of 
th}'  songs,  for  I  will  not  hear  the  melod}'  of  thy  viols?"  and  is  not  the 
use  of  instruments  in  the  house  of  God  like  the  idolatrous  concert  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  (Daniel  iii.  5),  who  ordered  that  '^  at  what  time  ye 
hear  the  sound  of  the  cornet,  flute,  harp,  sackbat.  psaltery,  dulcimer, 
and  all  kinds  of  musick,  ye  fall  down  and  worship  the  golden  image 
which  the  king  has  set  up?"  Furthermore,  is  it  not  a  mockery  to 
make  wood  and  strings  perform  acts  of  devotion,  properly  performed 
by  the  human  spirit  only  ?  To  such  objections  it  might  have  been  an- 
swered that  the  Psalm  which  saith  '•  Let  evervthiug  that  hath  life  and 
breath  praise  the  Lord"  also  saith,  "Praise  him  with  timbrels  and 
dances  "  Instruments  of  music  were  regarded  as  "  of  the  Devil,"  be- 
cause the  Romish  Church  sanctioned  their  use  ;  and  of  all  instruments, 
the  organ,  as  being  specially  identified  with  popery,  was  the  most 
abhorred.  Writing  from  England,  in  1660,  Mr.  Leverett  (agent  for 
the  General  Court)  refers  to  the  use  of  the  organ  as  one  of  the  most 
discouraging  signs  of  a  return  to  Romish  practices,  adding,  ••  the  Lord 
keep  and  preserve  his  church,  that  there  may  not  be  fainting  in  the 
da}'  of  ordeal !  "  ^     In  derision,  the  organ  of  that  day  was  called  a 


^  In  early  Puritan  times  not  even  a  pitch  pipe  was  allowed.    A  law  enacted  in  one 
of  the  X.  E.  States  (1»)75)  prescribed  that  no  one  should  play  on  any  kind  of  music 
except  the  drum,  the  trumpet,  and  the  jew-sharp.     Everything  of  the  kind  was  con- 
sidered common  and  unclean.    Tlie  fiddle,  being  associated  with  theatres,  balls,  etc., . 
was  called  the  Devil's  instrument. 

2  Plaine  Dealing,  or  Xews  from  Xew  England  (among  certain  questions  concern- 
ing chui"ch  government). 

8  Palfrey's  Hist,  of  X.  Eng.,  II.  p.  448.  The  London  Punch  of  April  3,  1880,  points 
•2 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

box  of  pipes,  and  such  in  fact  it  was,  in  comparison  with  the  splendid 
instruments  of  our  own  time  ;  but  then,  as  now,  it  was  an  instrument  of 
man's  devising.  Tliis  cause  of  feeling  against  it  finds  expression  in 
the  storj'  of  the  preacher  of  a  later  period,  when  it  had  somewhat 
gained  a  foothold,  who,  on  being  asked  to  lead  in  prayer,  after  the 
organ  had  been  heard  with  the  singers,  cried  out,  "  Call  on  the 
machine.  If  it  can  sing  and  play  to  the  glory  of  God,  it  can  pray  to 
the  glory  of  God  also  :  call  on  the  machine  !  "  i 

Colonial  records  give  but  little  information  about  singing  in 
churches  ;  but  confined  as  it  was  to  men  who  sang  without  accom- 
paniment some  half  a  dozen  tunes  in  common  metre,^  learned  by  rote, 
it  must  have  been  dreary  and  monotonous  to  the  last  degree.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  18th  centur3%  when  part  sin^iing  was  extremely  rare, 
the  singer's  repertor}^  was  enlarged  by  various  publications,  the  first 
of  which,  an  "  Introduction  to  the  Singing  of  Psalm  Tunes,"  by  the 
Rev.  E.  Tufts,  with  a  collection  of  thirt3^-seven  tunes  in  three  parts, 
viz.,  cantus,  medius,  and  bassus,  appeared  in  1712  or  1714,  and 
reached  its  eleventh  edition  in  1744.^     Next  in  order  of  publication 


out  the  existence  of  this  anti-organ  prejxidice  as  still  to  be  found  in  Scotland.  The 
text  to  the  illustration  "  Avaunt  "  runs  thus:  Free  Kirk  divine,  of  advanced 
opinions,  who  has  recently  introduced  an  organ  into  his  chapel.  "  I'm  sorry  to  hear, 
Mrs.  ]\[cGrunty,  that  you  are  hy  no  means  so  regular  in  your  attendance  at  church  as 
you  used  to  be."  Fair  Beggite  (indignant  at  the  pastor's  latest  iniquity).  'Kirk, 
indeed !  Wud  ye  luure  me  tae  Rome  wi'  the  rest  of  them,  wi'  your  orgins,  an'  anthems, 
and  sich  like  abominations?  Na,  na;  until  ye  gie  me  the  auld  Hunder  agin  without 
the  whustles,  I'll  tak'  ma'  speeritual  comfort  at  hame."  So,  again,  in  Latrobe's 
Music  in  the  Church,  London,  1831,  p.  31(5.  it  is  stated  that  so  late  as  1807,  when  an 
attempt  was  made  to  introduce  an  organ  into  a  church  at  Glasgow,  the  presbytery 
declared  their  determination  to  avert  so  dire  a  calamity  from  our churcli  and  county; 
to  crush  in  the  bud  so  scandalous  a  prostration  of  sacred  things.  The  Rev.  E. 
Nason  relates  that  in  1735,  when  Bishop  Berkeley  presented  an  organ  to  Trinity 
Church,  Newport,  the  joeople,  in  public  meeting,  voted  that  '•  an  organ  is  an  instru- 
ment of  the  Devil,  for  the  entrapjjing  of  men's  sovils,"  and  declined  to  accept  it, 
though  they  afterwards  would  seem  to  have  reconsidered  their  vote,  as  the  organ  is 
still  in  the  church.  W.  B.  Fowler,  in  his  Hist,  of  Durham,  Conn.,  186(5,  p.  101, 
says,  "  a  certain  man  in  my  recollection  would  go  to  the  s.  door  of  the  Meeting 
House  and  enquire,  '  is  the  great  fiddle  there?  '  On  being  told  that  the  Bass  Viol 
was  there,  he  would  depart  to  his  home.  He  was  not  willing  to  be  present  where 
there  was  such  a  '  Dagon.'  " 

1  Latrobe,  op.  cit.  j).  354.  Barrel  organs  were  occasionally  admitted  into  churches 
in  lieu  of  finger  organs. 

2  In  Aiiisworth's  and  N.  E.  Psalm  Book,  psalms  written  in  alternate  lines  of 
eight  and  six  syllables.  Gould,  p.  3(5,  mentions  Oxford,  Litchfield,  York,  Windsor, 
St.  David's,  and  Martyrs  among  tunes  used  before  l()i)0. 

8  Instead  of  notes  the  initial  letters  of  pitch  names  were  iised  as  F.  for  fa,  S.  for 
sol,  etc.,  time  marked  by  punctuation  marks  on  right  side  of  letters,  as,  e.g., 
F  :  =  a  breve;  F  .  =  semibreve;  F  simple  =  a  minim. 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

came  the  Psalteriiim  Americanum  (1718), ^  b}'  Dr.  Cotton  Mather, 
'^  fitted  unto  the  tunes  commonly  used  in  the  church,"  and  after  it,  a 
singing-book  bj^the  Rev.  T.  ^Valter  (1721),  entitled  the  '•  Grounds  and 
Rules  of  Musick  explained  ;  or,  an  Introduction  to  the  Art  of  Singing  by 
Note,"  containing  tunes  in  three  parts,  made  up  of  semibreves  and 
minims,  and  notable  as  the  first  music  printed  in  America  with  a  bass 
part.'^  The  author  states  that  he  was  moved  to  the  publication  of 
this  book  by  the  deplorable  state  of  singing  in  New  England.  Tlie 
four  or  five  tunes  in  use,  he  sa3's,  "  had  become  so  mutilated,  tor- 
tured, and  twisted,  that  psalm  singing  had  become  a  mere  disorderly 
noise,  left  to  the  mercy  of  every  unskilful  throat  to  chop  and  alter, 
twist  and  change,  according  to  their  own  fanc}',  — sounding  like  five 
hundred  diff'erent  tunes  roared  out  at  the  same  time,  and  so  little  in 
time  that  they  were  often  one  or  two  words  apart ;  so  hideous  as  to  be 
bad  beyond  expression,  and  so  drawling  that  the  singer  had  some- 
times to  pause  twice  on  one  word  to  take  breath.  The  decline,"  con- 
tinues the  writer,  '*  had  been  so  gradual  that  the  ver}'  confusion  and 
dissonance  seemed  to  have  become  grateful  to  their  ears,  while  melody 
sung  in  time  and  tune  was  offensive  ;  and  when  it  was  heard  that  tunes 
were  sung  by  note,  the}"  argued  that  the  new  way,  as  it  was  called, 
was  an  unknown  tongue,  not  melodious  as  the  old  ;  that  it  made  dis- 
turbance in  churches,  was  a  needless  contrivance  of  the  designing  to  get 
mone3^  required  too  much  time,  and  made  the  young  disorderly,  — 
old  way  good  enough." 

Other  puerile  objections  urged  against  the  new  waj'  were  that  the 
next  thing  will  be  to  pra}"  by  rule  and  preach  by  rule,  and  then  comes 
popery  ;  that  it  savors  of  witchcraft  to  sing  a  tune  bj'  following  printed 
characters  wiih  the  eye,  without  having  first  learned  it  by  ear ;  that 
singing  by  note  will  bring  about  the  use  of  instruments  ;  that  the  names 
of  the  notes  are  blasphemous  ;  that  it  is  foolish  to  adopt  a  new  way 
when  the  old  wa}"  is  good  enough,  etc.,  etc.^ 

As  early  as  1720,  when  singing  by  note  was  first  adopted  in  Boston, 
the  Rev.  Thomas  Symmes  defended  it  in  an  essay  entitled  "  The  Rea- 


1  The  preface  to  an  edition  of  Watts's  Hymns,  published  in  1718,  advises  the 
singer  not  to  dwell  too  long  on  one  note,  but  to  increase  speed  in  pronunciation,  and 
points  out  such  defects  as  drawling,  flatting,  singing  some  notes  too  flat  and  others 
too  sharp,  so  called  embellishments,  etc. 

2  This  book  went  through  several  editions,  the  last  of  which  was  published  in 
IIM.  In  that  year  Josiah  Flagg  published  a  collection  of  forty-six  tunes,  printed 
by  Paul  Revere.  The  author  boasts  that  the  paper  is  Yankee  if  the  music  be 
English.     See  Gould,  p.  38. 

3  Hood  cites  ten  objectious.  — pp.  86,  87. 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

sonableness  of  Regular  Singing,  or,  Singing  b}'  Note,"  maintaining 
that  all  could  learn  to  sing,  and  recommending  the  opening  of  singing 
schools  He  was  followed  in  1727  b}'  the  Ixev.  Mr.  Chnuncey,  in  a 
pamphlet  entitled  "  Regular  Singing  defended,  and  proved  to  be  the 
onl}'  Wa}^  of  singing  the  Songs  of  the  Lord."  D wight,  Thacher,  Dan- 
forth,  Mather,  Stoddard,  and  others  took  the  same  ground. 

The  contest  raged  for  twenty  years  (1720-1740),  during  which  the 
example  set  b}^  Boston  was  gradually  followed  in  country  towns 
either  wholly  or  partially.  In  some  places,  as  at  Glastonbury,  Conn. 
(Feb.,  1733),  a  compromise  was  effected,  by  permitting  the  congrega- 
tion to  sing  one  half  the  Lord's  day  by  note,  and  the  other  half  by 
rote  ;i  and  at  Braintree,  after  the  pastor,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Niles,  had 
expelled  eight  members  of  the  congregation  for  persisting  in  note  sing- 
ing, they  were  restored  by  the  council,  and,  in  order  to  satisfy  both 
parties,  the  congregation  was  directed  to  sing  alternatel}"  b}'  note  and 
by  rote.-  In  1742,  note  singing  was  formally  adopted  at  Hanover, 
Mass.,  and  the  example  was  followed  in  other  country  towns,  where 
singing  schools  were  of  necessity  established.  The  first  of  these  use- 
ful institutions  in  Boston  was  that  opened  in  Brattle  Street  b}'  Dr. 
Benjamin  Coleman's  society,  1720,  and  the  first,  or  one  of  the  earliest, 
in  a  country  town  was  that  opened  atHadley,  Mass.,  bj:  John  Stickney 
and  his  wife.^  Before  1800,  singing  schools  could  generally  be  found 
from  Maine  to  Georgia.  Roxbur3^  Dorchester,  Cambridge,  Taunton, 
Bridgewater,  Charlestown,  Ipswich,  Newbur3^  and-  Bradford  made 
special  and  early  efforts  to  reform  and  improve  singing,  and,  if  we  may 
accept  the  testimony'  of  the  Abbe  Robin  who  visited  Boston  in  1781, 
not  without  success.  In  speaking  of  the  New-Englanders,  this  traveller 
says,  "  Their  psalmody  is  grave  and  majestic  and  the  harmou}'  of  the 
poetry  in  their  national  tongue  adds  a  grace  to  the  music  and  contrib- 
utes greatly  towards  keeping  up  the  attention  of  the  worshippers.'^ 

1  This  arraiigeiueut  was  to  be  in  force  until  the  next  election.  In  July,  it  was 
voted  to  defer  the  use  of  the  new  way  on  Sabbath  days  until  the  December  meeting, 
it  being  understood  that  the  townspeople  should  meet  once  a  week,  or  fortnight,  to 
learn  it. 

2  Mr.  Niles  was  so  little  satisfied  with  this  arrangement  that  he  held  service  in 
his  own  house  Dec.  1,  1723,  where  the  sound  of  the  "  popish  notes"  could  not  be 
heard,  leaving  his  deacons  to  manage  the  '  crotchety  sticks  "  as  best  they  could  in 
the  meeting-house,  llev.  Ellas  Nason's  Discourse  before  the  Gen.  Hist,  Society, 
Nov.,  1875. 

3  From  172vO  onward,  a  few  singers  met  occasionally  in  towns  for  i^ractice  in  sing- 
ing; but  meetings  for  learning  the  theory  and  practice  of  mu.-ic  were  scarcely 
known  before  1770.     Gould,  op.  cit.,  p.  77. 

4  Hist,  of  Mass.,  by  I.  S.  Barry,  ;5d  Period,  p.  201,  note  1,  relates  that  the  Abb^ 
Kobin,  when  in  Boston,  lodged  in  the  house  with  a  Frenchman  who  began  to  play  the 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

Brissot  de  Warville,  who  came  among  us  a  few  years  later  (1788),  also 
bears  witness  to  the  changed  state  of  public  feeling,  b}^  saying  that 
''  music,  which  their  teachers  formerly  proscribed  as  a  diabolic  art, 
begins  to  make  part  of  their  education."  ^ 

Before  speaking  of  the  Billings  craze,  —  which  intervened  between 
the  general  adoption  of  singing  b}'  note  and  the  early  part  of  the  19th 
centur}',  when  what  may  be  property  called  the  musical  reformation 
began,  —  a  few  examples  of  the  grotesque  text  of  some  of  the  h3^mns 
our  forefathers  sang  with  the  utmost  seriousness  ma}'  be  given. 
Here  is  a  verse,  taken  from  the  Rev.  8.  W.  Christopher's  "  Poets  of 
Methodism,"  ^  which  could  hardly  be  surpassed  in  oddity-. 

"  Ye  monsters  of  the  bubbling  deep, 
Your  Maker's  praises  shout ; 
Up  from  the  sands,  ye  codlings,  peep, 
And  wag  your  tails  about." 

The  same  writer,  after  quoting  from  Dr.  Watts's  9 2d  Psalm  the  lines, 
"  Oh,  let  my  heart  in  tune  be  found. 
Like  David's  harp  of  solemn  sound," 

relates,  that  a  singer,  wishing  to  improve  upon  them,  gravely  proposed 
to  his  pastor  to  substitute  these  lines  :  — 

"  Oh  may  my  heart  be  tuned  within 
Like  David's  sacred  violin !  " 

to  which  the  reverend  gentleman  answered  by  waggishly  suggesting  as 

an  amendment, 

"  Oh  may  ray  heart  go  diddle-diddle, 
Like  Uncle  David's  sacred  fiddle  !  " 

When  Billings  got  the  upper  hand  with  his  so-called  fugue-ing 
tunes, 3  hearts  did  indeed  go  "  diddle-diddle,"  and  wild  were  their 
dances.  The  paramount  influence  obtained  by  William  BiUings 
(b.  Oct.  7,  1747,  d.  A.  D.  1800),  a  tanner,  who  plied  his  trade  in  Eliot 

flute  on  Sunday  for  his  amusement.  This  so  enraged  the  people  that  they  swarmed 
about  the  doors,  and  would  have  mobbed  the  musician  had  not  the  landlord  warned 
him  of  his  danger  and  obliged  him  to  desist  from  his  unhallowed  occupation. 

1  Shurtleff's  Topography  of  Boston  (1871),  p.  85. 

2  Page  14,  verse  quoted  by  Dr.  Belcher,  an  American  authority  in  psalmodic 
literature.  The  first  edition  of  Dr.  Watts's  Hymns  was  published  by  Dr.  Franklin 
at  Philadelphia  in  17il.  Many  of  these  hymns  had  found  their  way  into  churches 
before  this,  through  Dr.  Cotton  Mather,  to  whom  Dr.  Watts  sent  a  copy  about  1721. 
Hood,  op.  cit.,  p.  V)6,  says  Watts  did  not  take  the  place  of  the  Bay  Psalm  Book 
mitil  after  the  American  Revolution. 

3  Gould,  op.  cit.,  p.  42,  says  fugue  iug  music,  thougli  called  Yankee  music,  origi 
nated  in  England,  where  it  was  adopted  in  many  Protestant  churches  long  before 
it  was  heard  of  in  this  country. 


22 


INTRODUCTION. 


Street,  Boston,  and  was  the  first  native  self-taught  American  composer, 
is  partly  to  be  ascribed  to  the  political  enmities  of  the  time,  to  his 
own  zealous  patriotism,  and  to  the  friendship  and  support  of  Samuel 
Adams.  The  tune  of  Chester,  called  the  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Revo- 
lution, composed  by  Billings,  was  the  only  tune  which  the  Continental 
pipers  were  allowed  to  play  when  on  the  march,  and  the  words  to 
which  it  was  sung  breathe  that  spirit  of  defiant  trust  characteristic  of 
the  people  and  the  times.  Had  the  American  Cyclops,  as  he  was 
called  from  his  one  eye,i  been  a  Rouget  de  I'lsle,  he  would  have 
given  them  a  very  difl'erent  setting,  but,  however  good  a  patriot  he 
may  haA^e  been,  he  was  very  far  from  being  an  inspired  musician.' 
His  tunes  and  fugue-lings  are  what  might  be  expected  as  the  work  of 
an  uneducated  man  who  knew  but  little  of  the  laws  of  harmony,  mod- 
ulation, or  the  preparation  and  resolution  of  discords,  and  who  had 
had  no  opportunities  of  purifying  his  taste  or  correcting  the  false 
theories,  which,  as  he  tells  us  in  the  preface  to  one  of  his  books,  led 
him  to  believe  "that  Nature  is  the  best  dictator:  she  must  do  tlie 
work  ;  and  so  I  think  it  best  for  every  composer  to  be  his  own  carver." 
Taking  as  his  model  the  "Urania,"  a  book  published  by  one  James 


iThe  Rev.  Dr.  Pierce,  of  Brookline,  who  knew  Billings  intimately,  says  he  was 
somewhat  deformed  in  person,  blind  of  one  eye,  with  one  leg  shorter  than  "the  other, 
and  with  a  withered  arm.  His  voice  was  stentorian  and  his  habits  repulsive.  He 
used  to  carry  snuff  in  his  waistcoat  pocket  and  take  it  by  the  handful.     Gould,  p.  46. 

2  When  the  British  occupied  Boston,  the  American  army  being  stationed  at 
Watertown,  Billings  thus  paraphrased  the  137th  Psalm:  — 

By  the  rivers  of  Watertown  we  sat  down  and  wept,  when  we  remembA-ed  thee,  O  Boston. 


( 


iggn 


SiSil^E 


w^^j.  n^i 


By  the  rivers  of  Watertown  we  sat  down  and  wept, 

I 


Gould,  op.  cit.,  p.  48. 


"  If  I  forget  thee,  O  Boston, 
Then  let  my  numbers  cease  to  flow, 

Then  be  mj-  muse  unkind. 
Then  let  my  tongue  forget  to  move, 

And  ever  be  coulined." 


INTRODUCTION. 


23 


Lyon,  at  Philadelphia,  in  1761,  which  contained  the  first  so-called 
fugue-lug  tunes  ever  published  in  this  countr3%  he  prepared  himself 
"  to  make  the  sanctuary  resound  with  fugues  within  a  compass  of  four 
short  hues,  of  which  the  closing  one  went  doubUng  on  its  track  like  a 
fox  pursued  by  the  hunters."  ^  Shade  of  the  great  John  Sebastian 
Bach,  it  was  not  of  such  fugues  as  these  that  Milton  thought  when  he 

sang 'of  the  organist, 

"  Whose  volant  touch, 
Instinct  through  all  proportions,  low  and  high, 
Fled  and  pursued  transverse  the  resonant  fugue," 

but  of  such  models  of  organic  strength  as  those  with  which  thou  wast 
to  endow  the  world,  —  fugues  whose  first  law  is  order,  and  whose  abid- 
ing characteristic  is  inspiration. 

What  Billings  aimed  at,  to  quote  his  own  words,  was  "  to  tickle 
the  ear,  to  rouse  the  attention  dulled  by  the  drawling  tunes  of  past 
times";  and  to  do  this,  he,  in  certain  instances,  directed  that  those 
which  he  substituted  for  them  should  be  still  more  enlivened  by  the 
dapping  of  hands.  "  M  v  music,"  he  said,  "has  more  than  twenty 
times  the  power  of  the  old  slow  tunes  ;  each  part  straining  for  mas- 
tery and  victor}',  the  audience  entertained  and  delighted,  their  minds 
surprisingly'  agitated  and  extremely  fluctuated,  sometimes  declaring 
for  one  part,  sometimes  for  another.  Now  the  solemn  bass  demands 
their  attention,  next  the  manly  tenor  ;  now  the  lofty  counter,  now  the 
volatile  treble  ;  now  here,  now  there,  now  here  again.  Oh,  ecstatic ! 
Rush  on,  ye  sons  of  Harmony  !  "  And  rush  on  the}'  did  with  unexampled 
vehemence.  "The  chorus,"  says  Channing,  "chewed  the  tune  and 
swallowed  the  words"  ;  ^  and  another  writer  remarks  that  "  one  part 
raced  after  another,  fearful  of  not  winding  up  together  on  the  last 
syllable."^     A  practical  illustration  of  the  effect  produced  was  fur- 


1  Billings's  first  work,  the  N.  E.  Psalm  Singer 
or  American  Chorister,  was  published  in  1770. 
The  author  gives  a  short  glossary  of  musical 
terms  in  the  preface,  and  defines  "  Fuge  or 
fuging  {sic)  as  notes  flying  after  each  other, 
altho'  not  always  the  same  sound.  Music  is  said 
to  be  fuging  when  one  part  conies  in  after  an- 
other," etc.  There  is  a  copy  of  this  book  in  the 
Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Library. 

2  Recollections  of  Newport,  p.  100. 

3  In  some  cases  each  of  the  four  singers  sang 
different  words,  as  in  a  tune  called  "  Montague," 
cited  by  Prof.  Hubbard. 


^m 


t=r 


Your  songs  iuvite,Those 


1 


Let  the  high  heavens 

— 9' 


r-[— r-t- 


Those  spacious  fields  of 


--^?i^h*E 


Of  brilliant  light  where 


24 


INTRODUCTION. 


nished  one  evening  by  some  mischievous  boys,  who  hung  a  couple  of 
cats  by  their  hind  legs  over  the  shop  sign  at  the  composer's  door,  on 
which  ''Billings's  music"  was  conspicuously  inscribed. 

Censured  for  his  misuse  of  discords,  Billings  published  a  tune  called 
"  Jargon,"  set  to  these  words  :  — 

"  Let  horrid  Jargon  split  ^^^®  ^^^' 
my  ear, 
the 
And  rive         nerves  asunder; 

Let  hateful  discord  greet  the  ear, 
As  terrible  as  thunder." 

In  his  accompanying  address  to  the  Goddess  of  Discord, i  which 
he  calls  as  neat  a  piece  of  writing  as  was  ever  penned,  Billings  requires 
the  goddess  whom  he  styles  "  Dread  Sovereign,"  to  sign  the  following 
quittance :  — 


^   1  See  Singing  Master's  Assistant,  pp.  28,  29,  and  p.  102.     Also  Musical  Recollec- 
tions of  the  last  Half  Century,  pp.  350  and  377. 


^^^ 


-f=^ 


-t._t 


'5'-^r-r-»- 


E^^^igi 


iS^j 


t=t 


^^^E^m 


Let  hor-rid  jar  -  gon  split  the  air,       And  rive  the  nerves  a  -  sun-der, 


-«— ^- 


1=1: 


i 


-0 — ^-- 


t=V 


^ 


t=t 


■■^- 


fortissimo. 


1=]: 


T=\- 


I 


^_*_a- 


:[=[: 


-^— g^- 


-^-v- 


■0—f^-  -i 


U^\ L_L_EEtz: 


'f- — '9 — F'5' 


• J2 


i—n — t: 


;2-F#— ^- 


^ 


:_rri^z=«z=pz:r^_^: 

.z=t=t=t=t[==p: 


-^—&- 


f^    g? 


BSIgPPJl 


Let  hateful    discord  gi-eet  the  ear, 


As    tcr  -  ri  -  ble    as  thunder. 


.;22_,i2_ 


J-4 


r-ry-t 


INTRODUCTION.  25 

"Received  of  the  author  a  piece  of  Jargon,  it  being  the  best  piece  ever 
composed,  in  full  of  all  accounts  from  the  beginning  of  time  and  througli  the 
endless  ages  of  eternity.  I  say,  received  of  me,  Goddess  of  Discord,  given 
from  our  iuliarmouious  cavern,  in  tlie  land  of  chaos,  from  the  year  of  our 
existence,  which  began  at  Adam's  Fall,  5782. 

"  Demon  Dread,  SjJeaker. 
Human  Horror,  Secretary.'" 

Further  on,  the  following  directions  are  given  for  its  adequate  per- 
formance :  ''  Let  an  Ass  bra}^  the  Bass,  let  the  filing  of  a  Saw  carry 
the  Tenor,  let  a  Hog  who  is  extremel}'  hungr}^  squeal  the  Counter,  and 
let  a  Cartwheel  which  is  heavy  loaded,  and  that  Jias  been  long  without 
grease,  squeak  the  Treble." 

Enough  has  perhaps  been  said  to  show  the  reader  what  manner  of 
man  this  was,  who,  through  sheer  impudence,  kept  the  New-England ers 
under  his  yoke  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century, ^  a  period  which 
Gould  calls  the  dark  age  of  music  in  New  England,  and  with  reason,  for 
it  was  a  time  when  men  worshipped  false  gods,  the  work  of  their  own 
hands,  and  despised  the  solemn  and  decent  strains  which  had  been 
dear  to  the  ears  of  their  forefathers  "  Devotion,  appalled  at  the  un- 
hallowed sound  of  the  (so-called)  fugue,  had  fled  the  sanctuar}-,"  says 
one  writer;  and  another  states  that  "  it  was  as  useless  for  singers  to 
attempt  refined  music  as  for  the  screech-owl  to  emulate  the  song  of  the 
nightingale."  2  Another  writer,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Dana,  declares  that  in 
the  3'ear  1800  "music  in  New  England  was  still  in  its  infancy.  For 
3'ears  the  country-  has  been  overflowing  with  musical  productions  not 
destitute  of  sprightliness,  nor  in  an}' instance  of  gleams  of  genius,  but 
composed  on  no  plan,  conformed  to  no  principles,  and  communicating- 
no  distinct  or  abiding  impression  through  fugitive  and  unsubstantial 
things  which  fill  the  ear  and  starve  the  mind."  In  the  latter  part  of  the 
last  century  efforts  were  made  to  emancipate  music  from  the  thraldom 
of  Billings  ;  and  although  some  congregations  persisted  for  some  time 
after  his  death  in  singing  his  music  on  alternate  Sundays,  the  publication 
of  books  containing  such  standard  tunes  as  Old  Hundred,  Mears,  and 
St.  David,  which  had  been  laid  aside  for  the  past  fort}'  years,  and  the 
earnest  efibrts  of  Drs.  Chaplin  of  Groton,  Pierce  of  Brookline,  Dana  of 
Newport,  Law,  Holyoke,  Albee,  and  others,  gradually  brought  about  a 

1  Billings  published  six  collections  of  tunes,  for  the  most  part  of  his  own  making^ 
of  which  the  Singing  Master's  Assistant  (1778)  is  the  best.  He  himself  thought  it 
much  superior  to  the  N.  E.  Psalm  Singer,  his  earliest  work  (1770). 

2  Treatise  on  Musical  Taste,  by  W.  Hastings,  p.  29  (1822).  See  also  the  Musical 
Gazette,  Boston,  1838,  and  Templi  Carmina,  article  on,  in  the  North  American  Re- 
view, 1820,  Voh  II.,  p.  38. 


26  INTRODUCTION. 

better  state  of  things.  They  were,  however,  bad  enough  at  the  best, 
during  the  first  twent}*  3'ears  of  the  present  century.  Referring  to  that 
time  in  an  address  delivered  in  1851,  Dr.  Lowell  Mason  says,  "  I  have 
seen  eight  or  ten  persons  rise  when  a  hymn  was  given  out,  and  with 
pitch-pipes  or  tuning-forks,  and  singing-books  in  hand,  attempt  what 
might  be  in  tiuth  regarded  as  the  burlesque  choral  service  of  a  religious 
meeting."  Here  and  in  the  mother  countr}-,  as  late  as  1817,  the 
music  in  man}'  churches  was  "  a  scandalous  mocker}'  of  psalmody,  led 
by  a  barrel  organ  or  an  incompetent  professor."  The  same  defects 
were  rife  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  namely,  "  singing  flat  with  a 
nasal  twang,  straining  the  voice  to  an  unnatural  pitch,  introducing 
continual  drawls  and  tasteless  ornaments,  trilling  on  each  syllable, 
running  a  third  above  the  written  note  ;  and  thus,  by  a  sort  of  triplet, 
assimilating  the  time  to  a  Scotch  reel,  etc.,  etc."  ^  So  far  as  the  selec- 
tion of  music  included  in  collections  published  between  1800  and  1815 
is  concerned,  it  was  very  much  better  than  in  those  which  had  ap- 
peared previously  ;  but  in  point  of  correctness  there  was  little  gain. 
Consecutive  fifths  were  not  only  tolerated,  but  admired ,2  and  con- 
secutive octaves  between  the  parts  attracted  no  one's  attention. 
Tunes  were  often  introduced  from  recent  English  publications  having  a 
figured  bass,  but  as  no  one  could  read  it,  or  had  the  least  idea  what  it 
meant,"^  such  aid  to  the  right  filling  up  of  the  parts  was  of  no  avail. 
With  incorrect  music,  ill-trained  singers,  and  incompetent  professors,'* 
the  ordinary  church-choir  singing  must  have  been  intolerable  to  edu- 
cated ears.     The  proportion  of  women  to  men  was  about  twenty  to  one 

1  These  defects  are  pointed  out  as  characteristic  of   church  music  in  England,  by 
Latrobe,  op.  cit.,  p.  139. 

2  e.  g.,  Ocean  (Swan),  Father  Kemp. 


^  Gould,  op.  cit.,  p.  72. 

^  Leaders  of  choirs  who  followed  the  directions  given  for  beating  time  in  the 
Farmers'  Evening  Entertainment  (S.  Howe,  Northampton,  1804)  must  have  found  it 
difficult  to  keep  the  singers  together.  "  To  Beat  Crotchets  in  common  Time,  let  the 
fingers  fall  on  the  table  six  inches,  then  bring  the  heel  of  the  hand  down  gently,  then 
raising  it  a  little  higher,  throw  open  the  fingers  to  begin  the  next  bar."  For  triple 
time,  let  the  fingers  fall  on  the  table,  tlien  the  heel  of  the  hand,  then  raise  the  whole 
liand  six  inches,  keeping  the  fingers  straight,  which  fills  the  bar. 


INTRODUCTION.  27 

hundred  and  thii-teen.  The  bo^'s  and  counter  tenors  sang  the  air  with 
the  sopranos,  and  the  alto  part  was  generally  intrusted  to  men  with 
falsetto  voices. 1  Great  opposition  was  made  when  it  was  proposed 
to  have  the  melod}'  sung  b}'  women,  on  the  ground  that  men  had  a 
prescriptive  right  to  lead,  and  that  women  were  forbidden  to  take  the 
first  part  in  song  or  any  other  religious  service.  Solo  singing  by 
women  was  unheard  of  in  churches,  and  did  not  become  common  in 
public  until  after  it  had  been  allowed  in  the  concerts  of  the  Handel 
and  Haydn  Society.  Church  choirs  in  the  earl}'  part  of  this  century 
sang  generalh'  to  the  accompaniment  of  some  one  or  more  wind  and 
stringed  instruments, — flute,  bassoons,  and  viols.  Organs  ^  were,  as  we 
have  already  said,  long  kept  out  of  churches  as  papal  emissaries  ;  and, 
even  when  the  old  prejudice  had  died  away,  were  the  exception,  on 
account  of  the  outlay  necessary  to  obtain  them.  The  first  organ  ever 
heard  in  New  England  was  that  bequeathed  to  Brattle  Street  Church 
by  Thomas  Brattle,  treasurer  of  Harvard  College,  May  23,  1713, 
with  the  proviso  that  if  the  bequest  was  accepted,  "  the  elders  should 
within  a  year  procnre  some  sober  and  discreet  person,  that  can  pla}^ 
skilfully  thereon,  with  a  loud  voice."  In  case  of  refusal  to  accept,  the 
said  organ  was  to  be  successively  offered  to  King's  Chapel,  Harvard 
College,  and  to  William  Brattle,  nephew  of  the  testator. ^  The  Brat- 
tle Street  Church  authorities  having  declined  to  take  the  organ,  it  was 
offered  to  those  of  King's  Chapel,  where  it  was  set  up  in  1714,  and 
played  upon  b}'  Mr.  Edward  Eustace,  an  Englishman,  who  was  ap- 
pointed organist,  with  a  salary  of  £20  a  year."*  Some  sixty  3'ears 
later,  an  organ  was  purchased  in  P2ngland  for  Brattle  vStreet  Church  ; 
but  it  is  evident  that  the  same  spirit  of  opposition  which  had  pre- 
vented the  acceptance  of  Mr.  Brattle's  gift  at  a  former  time  still 
lingered  in  the  congregation,  for  we  are  told  that  one  of  its  members 
offered  to  pa}'  the  original  cost  of  the  instrument  and  all  expenses 

1  The  air  was  generally  sung  by  men,  and  the  part  assigned  to  women  was  written 
on  the  upper  staff  in  the  brace.  The  alto  or  counter,  placed  on  the  third  staff, 
had  a  peculiar  clef,  called  the  C  clef,  originally  designed  for  boys.  As  boys  sel- 
dom had  skill  to  lead,  and  few  men  could  reach  the  high  notes,  women  with  soprano 
voices  were  put  on  this  part  also,  as  in  Park  Street  Church,  1810.  This  choir 
consisted  of  about  forty  singers,  accompanied  by  a  flute,  bassoon,  and  viol. 

-In  the  early  part  of  the  18tb  century,  the  pipes  or  sets  of  pipes  were  called 
an  "  orgin  "  or  organ,  and  when  collected  in  a  case,  the  "  orgius." 

3  Article  by  Gen.  Oliver,  Transcript,  Nov.  19,  1874. 

*  Other  writers  say  that  the  organ  set  up  in  King's  Chapel  in  1714  was  a  present 
from  Queen  Anne,  in  the  latter  part  of  her  reign.  On  its  arrival  from  England,  it 
w;vs  left  unpacked  under  the  portico  for  many  months, —  so  strong  was  the  opposition 
to  its  admission  into  the  clmrch. 


2S  INTRODUCTION. 

incurred  bj'  the  societ}^  in  bringing  it  across  the  Atlantic  if  they 
would  send  it  back  again  ;  and  that  a  committee  of  members  waited 
on  the  Rev.  Dr.  Tliacher,  the  then  incumbent,  and  made  a  like  offer, 
if  he  would  arrange  with  the  captain  to  have  the  organ  thrown  over- 
board. As  the  reverend  gentleman  declined  to  listen  to  them,  it  was 
set  up,  and  used  until  the  church  was  pulled  down,  in  1872.  Before 
this  imported  instrument  was  set  up  in  Brattle  Street  Church,  two 
organs  had  been  built  in  Boston,  —  one  in  1745,  for  the  Old  South 
Church,  b}'  Edward  Bromfield,  the  first  ever  constructed  in  America,^ 
and  the  other  in  1752,  for  Christ  Church,  b}'  Thomas  Johnston. 

The  first  organ  factor}^  in  Boston  was  that  of  William  Goodrich, 
and  the  first  instrument  constructed  in  it  was  placed  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  on  Franklin  Street  in  1815.2  In  1807,  Erastus 
Walker,  of  Lebanon,  built  a  hand  or  barrel  organ  of  unusual  size,  for 
New  London,  —  the  largest  pipe  being  twelve  feet  in  length,  and  the 
stops  ten  in  number.  When  it  was  dedicated,  the  rector,  taking  for 
his  text,  "  In  that  da}^  shall  there  be  upon  the  bells  of  the  horses, 
holiness  unto  the  Lord"  (Zech.  xiv.  20),  preached  on  the  design  and 
benefits  of  instrumental  music.  "In  that  day,"  he  said,  "even 
those  instruments  of  music  which  have  long  been  devoted  to  other 
purposes,  and  considered  to  be  the  signals  of  carnal  merriment,  shall 
be  enrolled  among  those  articles  on  which  the  words  '  Holiness  to  the 
Lord  '  shall  be  inscribed." 


1  It  had  two  manuals  and  many  hundred  pipes. 

2  In  1815  there  were  four  organs  in  Boston  churches,  King's  Chapel,  Christ,  Brattle 
Street,  and  Cathedral.  Two  years  later  four  had  been  added,  viz.,  First  Church 
First  Universalist,  Old  South,  and  Federal  Street.  —  Transcript,  Nov.  30,  1874. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 


CHAPTER  I. 


It  would  be  an  error  to  suppose  that  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society 
sprang  suddenly  into  life,  like  the  mythic  olive-tree  at  the  bidding  of 
Athena.  Its  coming  was  heralded  by  man}-  earlier  organizations  of 
its  kind,  formed  in  Massachusetts  towards  the  close  of  the  last  and  in 
the  first  fifteen  3'ears  of  the  present  century,  whose  eflbrts  to  amelio- 
rate the  st3'le  of  performing  sacred  music,  and  to  raise  the  standard  of 
taste,  deserve  recognition  and  remembrance.  Among  these  were  the 
Stoughton  Musical  Society,  founded  Nov.  7,  1786,  notable  as  the  fir»t, 
and  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  as  the  onh'  musical  institution  which  has 
held  uninterrupted  meetings  from  so  remote  a  period  down  to  the 
present  time  ;  ^  the  Independent  Musical  Society,  established  at  Boston 
in  the  same  3'ear,  which  gave  concerts  at  King's  Chapel  in  17^8,  and 
took  part  there  in  commemorating  the  death  of  Washington  (Dec.  14, 
1799)  on  his  first  succeeding  birthday;  th »  Franklin  (1804),  the 
Salem,  the  Middlesex,  the  West  Boston  (1806-23),  the  Massachu- 
setts Musical  (1807),  the  Lock  Hospital  (1812), 2  and  the  Norfolk 
Musical  Societies. 3  The  onh'  one  of  them  which  has  an}'  special  con- 
nection with  our  subject  is  the  Massachusetts  Musical,  whose  records, 
presented  in  1864  to  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Societ}'  b}'  Henry  S. 
Nolen,  a  descendant  of  its  first  secretarj^,  are  inscribed, 

1  So  spoken  of  by  Dr.  Alden  of  Randolph  in  a  sketch  of  its  history,  printed  in 
the  Norfolk  County  Gazette,  Aug.  13,  1870.  The  society  celebrated  its  fiftieth 
anniversary  Jan.  2,  1837,  postponed  from  Nov.  7,  1S36. 

2  So  named  from  the  Lock  Hospital  Collection,  published  at  Boston,  Septem- 
ber, 1809.  The  society  sang  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Mechanics  Charitable 
Association,  Dec.  17,  1812. 

3  Other  societies  which  sprang  from  Boston  church  choirs  were  the  Brattle  Street, 
Hollis,  Bowdoin,  and  ^Yiuter  Streets,  each_  having  its  own  books,  contaiuiug  tunes 
for  special  use.  The  Park  Street  choir,  1810-27,  and  the  Essex  Street  Musical 
Society  (1814-20)  may  also  be  mentioned  among  Boston  organizations  of  their 
sort.  The  Lockhart  Singing  Society,  at  Andover,  was  founded  early  in  this  cen- 
tury, as  were  the  Hubbard  at  Dartmouth  College,  and  the  New  Hampshire. 


30  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL   AND   HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

CONSTITUTION   ANT)   MINUTES 

OK  THE 

MASSACHUSETTS  MUSICAL  SOCIETY, 

FOUXDED   BY 

CHARLES    NOLEN,   Sex., 

and  from  which  sprang 

The  Boston  Handel  and  Haydn  Sociktt. 

The  claim  ^  here  made  in  favor  of  the  older  society  is  untenable, 
since  it  ceased  to  exist  five  3'ears  before  the  birth  of  its  pretended 
offspring  ;  nor  can  any  other  connection  between  the  two  be  allowed 
than  that  of  a  common  membership,  in  cases  where  individuals  who 
had  belonged  to  the  first  societ}"  joined  the  second,  and  as  it  turned 
out  to  better  purpose. ^  A  similar  claim  might  for  like  reason  be  set 
up  for  other  musical  organizations  in  Boston,  such  as  the  Second  Bap- 
tist Singing  Societj^  and  the  Park  Street  Choir,  which  Gould  ^  rightly 
designates  as  having  been  "  an  important  nucleus  to  the  Handel  and 
Ha3'dn  Society,  and  as  having  taken  a  prominent  part  in  its  perform- 
ances." 

We  have  before  us  two  letters,  written  to  Mr.  Samuel  Jennison  by 
the  late  Mr.  George  Gushing,'*  one  of  the  most  prominent  original 
members  of  the  Handel  and  Ha3^dn  Societ3%  from  which  we  extract 
the  following  passages  to  show  the  reader  how  he  regarded  the  claim 
set  up  b}^  Mr.  Nolen  :  — 

"  I  know  not  whether  it  is  important  for  the  public  to  know  what 
was  the  immediate  origin  of  the  societ3%  but  if  it  is,  I  submit  that 
facts  and  not  conjecture  should  be  the  basis  of  such  knowledge.  As 
to  the  Massachusetts  Musical  Society,  I  can  safely  say  that  its  name 
was  never  mentioned  in  our  discussions  ;  certainly,  I  for  one  did  not 
know  that  such  a  societ}'  had  ever  had  an  existence." 

The  letter  containing  these  words,  dated  Dec.  1.   1871,  was  fol- 

1  Dr.  J.  B.  Upham  speaks  of  the  Massachusetts  Musical,  in  his  semi-centennial 
address,  May  23,  1865,  as  one  of  the  earliest  agencies  having  a  direct  bearing  upon 
the  foundation  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society. 

2  One  of  these  was  Charles  Nolen  himself,  who  was  secretary  of  the  Massachusetts 
Musical,  and  afterwards  trustee  and  librarian  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn. 

^  Op.  cit.,  p.  7.5. 

*  This  gentleman,  who  was  for  many  years  cashier  at  the  old  Columbia  Bank,  lived 
at  Hingham  for  many  years,  and  died  at  Watertown  in  1880,  at  the  age  of  ninety- 
four.  He  played  the  flute  for  a  long  time  in  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Orchestra,  and  is 
spoken  of  by  J.  S.  Dwight  (Mem.  History  of  Boston,  I.,  p.  415)  "as  always  an  euthu 
siastic  admirer  of  Haydn  and  Mozart." 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND   HAYDN    SOCIETY.  31 

lowed  two  daj's  later  b}'  a  second,  containing  a  still  stronger  repudia- 
tion of  the  claim,     ^ye  give  it  iti  extenso :  — 

HixGH-\3i,  Dec.  3,  1871. 
My  dkar  Sm,  — 

I  did  not  mean  to  trouble  you  again  on  the  vexed  question  which  has  occu- 
pied your  attention  so  long,  nor  should  I  have  done  so  but  for  the  new  item 
of  information  your  last  note  gave  me.  I  think  that  said  "titlepage"  con- 
tains about  the  coolest  piece  of  assumption  I  have  met  with.  I  should  like 
to  ask  "  the  gentleman  from  Penn."  what  was  his  authority  for  such  a  positive 
statement.  For  aught  I  know,  there  may  have  sprung  from  tlie  M.  M.  S.  a 
Handel  and  Hayden  Society,  but  not,  as  I  think  I  have  sufficiently  shown,  the 
genuine  Handel  and  Haydn.  If,  however,  the  compilers  of  the  forthcoming 
history  persist  in  their  statement  of  the  origin  of  our  Society,  I  can  only  say 
that  they  cannot  do  so  without  calling  in  question  the  veracity  of 

Yours  respectfully,  G.  Ccshixg. 

This  we  certain!}-  have  no  disposition  to  do,  as  we  entirel}'  agree 
with  Mr.  Gushing  about  the  facts  of  the  case  ;  but  at  the  same  time 
we  think  that,  zealous  partisan  as  he  was,  he  would  have  admitted  that 
the  Massachusetts  Musical  and  similar  organizations  prepared  the 
way  for  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  and  enabled  it  to  start  under 
better  auspices  than  it  would  have  done  had  the}^  never  existed.  Its 
beginnings  were,  in  truth,  ver}-  much  on  the  same  level  as  theirs,  its 
aims  professedl}'  identical,  and  its  resources  and  attainments  for 
many  jears  equally  meagre  :  but  it  lived,  while  they  died,  because  it 
was  established  at  a  time  when  the  tide  was  setting  in  new  directions 
with  sufficient  power  to  carr}-  those  who  trusted  themselves  to  its  cur- 
rent rapidly  forward. 

That  the  founders  of  the  Massachusetts  Musical  Society  deserve 
the  credit  due  to  those  who  take  a  new  departure  in  any  art  or  science 
on  a  higher  level  than  an}'  previously  taken  will,  we  think,  be  allowed 
bv  all  who  ma}'  have  the  patience  to  read  the  following  abstract  of  its 
brief  histor}'  given  in  the  alread\'  mentioned  volume  of  records. 
From  it  we  learn  that  in  the  month  of  June,  1807,  fifteen  gentlemen, 
including  Mr  Charles  Nolen,  having  subscribed  two  dollars  apiece 
for  the  purchase  of  Handel's  Messiah,  Judas  Maccabeus,  and  Acis  and 
Galatea,  Prang's  twent}'  Anthems,  Stephens's  Cathedral  Music,  and 
Mozart's  six  Anthems,  as  a  foundation  for  a  musical  librar}-,  agreed 
to  meet  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Marean,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a 
society  for  the  selection,  practice,  and  improvement  in  the  mode  of 
performing  sacred  music.     At  the  meeting,^  which  took  place  on  the 

1  The  persons  present  at  this  meeting  were :  Charles  Noleu,  William  Bennett, 
Samuel  White,  Jr.,  Elijah  Mears,  Thomas  Burley,  James  Pierce,  Isaac  Davis,  Asa 
Peabody,  J.  P.  Chaplin,  Elias  Mann,  and  Edward  Bowman. 


32  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

20th  of  June,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  a  constitution, 
which  was  reported  on  tlie  21st  of  October,  and  accepted.  It  con- 
sisted of  sixteen  articles,  and  the  following  high-toned  preamble : 
' '  Having  observed  with  regret  the  limited  knowledge  of  most  of  the 
professors  of  the  divine  science  of  music,  and  deplored  the  prevalent 
vitiated  style  of  performing  that  part  of  sacred  worship,  the  under- 
signed, believing  that  musical  libraries  and  associations  would  greatly 
tend  to  remedy  those  evils ,  do  agree  to  form  ourselves  into  a  society 
for  the  purposes  of  forming  a  musical  librarj'.  and  of  occasionall}^ 
meeting  to  perform  and  discuss  the  st3ie  of  performing  sacred  music." 

We  shall  not  wear}'  the  reader  with  administrative  details,  but  con- 
tent ourselves  with  saying,  that  among  the  duties  of  the  president  J  as 
defined  in  one  of  the  articles  of  the  constitution,  were  the  naming  of 
tunes  to  be  performed,  the  assigning  a  place  to  each  member,  and 
that  of  "  keeping  time"  (conducting).  All  questions  relative  to  the 
style  of  performing  music  at  meetings  and  the  selection  of  tunes  to  be 
sung  were,  however,  referred  to  a  selecting  committee,  whose  recom- 
mendation was  necessar}'  to  ratify  the  president's  action. 

The  tunes  appointed  to  be  sung  at  the  first  meeting  were.  Old 
Hundredth, 2  St.  Anne,  Blendon,  Easter,  the  97th  Psalm,  and  an 
anthem  —  "  O  Lord  God  of  Israel"  —  from  the  Worcester  Collection  of 
Psalmodv,^  but  as  the}'  were  found  to  be  too  difficult,  other  pieces 
were  substituted,  including  Ple^'el's  H3'mn.  At  subsequent  meetings 
held  in  1809-10,  Holden's  Dominion,  Morgan's  Hymn  for  Easter  Day, 
Handel's  "  Worth}'  is  the  Lamb,"  a  chorus  from  Saul,  Williams's 
anthems  "Lift  up  your  Heads,"  "Arise,  shine,"  and  the  psalm 
tunes  Cambridge,  Hotham,  and  Worcester,  were  sung.  In  February, 
1810,  the  Society  voted  to  sing  the  Hallelujah  Chorus  from  the  Messiah 
at  the  next  meeting,  —  but  it  is  doubtf  il  whether  they  ever  did  so.  Few 
of  the  members  could  read  music,  and  while  it  was  easy  for  them  to 
learn  short  psalm  tunes  by  ear,  they  were  incapable  of  committing  to 
memory  a  long  and  intricate  chorus  like  the  Hallelujah.  Staggered 
by  the  difficulties  which  opened  before  them,  and  unwilling  to  meet 
the  ever-increasing  expenses,  the  members  agreed  on  the  21st  of  March 
to  sell  their  small  library,  valued  at  about  SoO,  in  order  to  pay  out- 
standing debts,  and  on  July  5,  at  Vila's  Hall,  after  the  sale  had  been 
effected,  voted  "  unanimously,"  says  the  final  record,  "  that  this 
Society  be  dissolved."     Signed,  "  Ch.  Nolen,  Secretary.     Amen." 

1  James  Pierce  filled  this  office  from  1807  to  October,  1809, 

2  Called  iu  the  Village  Choir  a  "  piece  of  musical  autiquitj,"  which  had  not  been 
suug  iu  auy  meeting-house  for  at  least  thirty  years. 

^  The  first  music  printed  from  type  in  America,  by  Isaiah  Thomas,  January,  1776. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  33 

During  its  three  years'  existence  tlie  Society  held  tweuty-three 
meetings,  either  in  Boston  at  Vila's  Hall,  in  Roxbur}-  at  Sumner's,  or 
in  Cambridgcport  at  Hove^-'s  Hall ;  but,  though  a  public  exhibition  was 
at  one  time  contemplated,  it  was  never  given 

We  have  alread}'  referred  to  t  le  Park  Street  Choir  as  one  of  the 
most  important  aids  ''  to  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  at  its  forma- 
tion." This  organization,  which  is  spoken  of  b\'  Gould  ^  as  "  un- 
doubtedlj^  the  best  of  its  kind  in  Boston,"  owed  its  superiorit}"  to 
Elnathan  Uuren,  who,  besides  being  a  skilful  musician  and  an  excel- 
lent singer,  had  that  all-important  power  of  ''moving  a  school  or  a 
choir  at  his  will,"  without  which  no  one.  however  gifted,  can  make  a 
good  conductor.  The  singing  b}'  his  choir  at  the  dedication  of  Park 
Street  Church,  in  1812,  and  on  other  public  occasions  for  many  years, 
is  spoken  of  in  contemporary  records  "as  among  the  last  things  to 
be  forgotten  b}'  those  who  were  performers  or  hearers."  One  of 
these  —  the  now  venerable  Gen.  H.  K.  Oliver,  of  Salem,  long  an  active 
member  of  the  Handel  and  Ha3Tln  Societ}',  and  at  all  times  zealous  in 
the  cause  of  good  music  —  says,  in  a  letter  written  to  the  Rev.  Luther 
Farnham,  Feb  20,  1869,  "1  was  a  member  (bo}'  singer)  of  Park 
Street  Choir  from  1810,  or  thereabouts,  and  there  knew  Elnathan 
Duren,^  his  brother  Abel,  Nathaniel  Tucker  (a  Boston  wine  mer- 
chant), N.  A.  Gould  (born  a  Duren  and  name  changed),  William  T. 
Eustis,  John  Brigham,  and  manj'  others,  all  of  whom,  if  I  do  not  err, 
were  earlv  promoters  of  the  new  (H.  and  H.)  Society.  There  were 
also  Amasa  Winchester, ^  a  Mr.  Webb,"*  Samuel  Richardson,  —  with 
a  bass  voice  of  marvellous  ponderosity,^  —  William  Rowson,  trumpet 
pla3'er,^G.  Graupner'''  (father  of  Mrs.  Ostinelli),  music  publisher  and 

1  Op.  cit.,  p   75. 

2  Trustee  of  the  H.  aud  H  S.  in  1815  and  1816. 

^President  of  the  Mass.  Musical  Society  from  October,  1809,  to  its  dissolution,  in 
1810;  vice-president  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  in  1815,  1816,  and  1818; 
trustee  in  1817  ;  president  from  Sept.  6,  1819,  to  Sept.  1,  1823,  aud  again  from 
Sept.  6,  1824,  to  Sept.  3,  1827  ;  trustee  in  1827,  1828. 

*  This  person  can  neither  be  Col.  T.  S.  Webb,  the  first  president  of  the  Handel 
and  Haydn  Society,  nor  Geo.  I.  Webb,  president  in  1837. 

°  One  of  the  most  efficient  solo  singers  in  the  Handel  and  Haydn  concerts.  Hi3 
delivery  of  the  part  of  Goliath  in  Neukomm's  Oratorio  of  David  (1836)  made  a  great 
sensation. 

^  Member  of  the  Philharmonic,  and  constantly  employed  by  the  Handel  aud 
Haydn  Society. 

"  Gottlieb  Graupner,  whose  shop  was  in  Franklin  Street,  four  doors  on   the  left 

from  WashiuLTton  Street,  is  spoken  of  by  Mr.  J.  S.  Uwight  (Mem.  Hist,  of  Boston,  I., 

116)  as  the  pioneer  of  good  instrumental  music  in  our  musical  wilderness,  the  first 

important  teacher  of  "  the  piano-forte  in  Boston,  a  leader  in  good  works,  with  a 

3 


34  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

double  bass  player,  Simon  T\^ood,  bassoon,  and  a  second  Graupner 
who  pla3'ed  the  violin.  To  these  I  should  add  Miss  Bennett  and  her 
sister,  Mrs.  Martin,  remarkable  sopranos,  from  Park  Street,  and  a 
Miss  Holbrook."  i 

Besides  the  Park  Street  Choir,  other  choirs  of  note  furnished  con- 
tingents to  the  Handel  and  Ha^dn  Society,  such  as  those  of  the 
Universalist  Church,  in  School  Street  (ded.  1817),  and  the  Central 
Universalist  Church  (ded.  1823).  The  singing  gallery-  in  the  latter 
edifice,  which  extended  across  one  of  its  ends,  was  large  enough  to 
accommodate  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  singers, ^ 
and  a  small  orchestra.  An  idea  of  the  quaUty  of  the  music  produced 
by  the  choristers  may  be  formed  from  the  following  semi-serious 
description,  taken  from  "  Oilman's  Village  Choir"  :  ''  The  taste  and 
knowledge  of  music  performers  was  far  from  being  uniform.  While 
some  sang  with  great  beaut}^  of  expression  and  a  nice  adjustment  to 
the  sentiment  of  the  happy  modulations  of  a  flexible  voice,  others 
made  no  more  distinction  t)etween  the  different  notes  than  did  the 
printed  singing  itself,  or  any  lifeless  instrument  that  gives  out  the 
tone  required  with  the  same  strength  and  the  same  unvaried  uni- 
formity on  all  occasions.  Nothing,  too,  could  be  rougher  than  the 
stentorian  voice  of  Mr.  Broadbreast,  and  nothing  more  piercing  than 
the  continued  shriek  of  the  pale  but  enthusiastic  Miss  Sixfoot.  I 
shall  not  disclose  the  name  of  the  man  who  anno3'ed  us  not  a  little 
with  his  ultra-nasal  twang ;  nor  of  another  who,  whenever  he  took  the 
tone  pitch,  did  so  by  a  happy  accident;  nor  of  another,  who  had  an 
ungainly  trick  of  catching  his  breath  violently  at  ever}^  third  note  ; 

meagre  followiug."  After  playing  the  oboe  in  the  band  of  a  Hanoverian  regiment 
before  1788,  when  he  was  honorably  discharged,  he  went  to  London,  where  he  played 
in  Haydn's  Orchestra  in  the  twelve  Salomon  Concerts,  1791-92.  He  subsequently 
went  to  Prince  Edward's  Island,  and  thence  to  Charleston,  S.  C,  1796-7,  where  he 
married,  and  whence  he  came  to  Boston  in  1798.  Here  he  kept  a  music  store,  en- 
graved music  for  his  pupils,  and  with  a  few  associates  formed  a  small  orchestra.  In 
1810  or  1811,  he  and  his  musical  friends,  chiefly  amateurs,  formed  a  Philharmonic 
Society,  which  met  on  Saturday  evenings  in  Pythian  Hall,  and  practised  symphonies 
for  their  enjoyment.  This  society  gave  its  last  concert  on  Nov.  24,  1824,  at  the  Pan- 
theon, Boylston  Square.  The  orchestra,  of  perhaps  sixteen  musicians,  was  led  by 
Mr.  Graupner  with  his  double  bass.  The  violins  were  M.  Granger,  Amasa  Warren, 
Mr.  Dixon  the  I^nglish  consul,  and  M.  Eustaphie've,  Russian  consul;  clarinet, 
Granger,  Sen.;  bassoon,  Simon  Wood;  trumpet,  William  Rowson;  flute,  George 
Gushing;  French  horn,  tympani,  and  bass-viol  (cello)? 

1  These  ladies  sang  constantly  in  the  earlier  concerts  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society. 

^  They  were  drilled  in  a  singing  school  maintained  at  the  expense  of  the  Society, 
which  was  open  two  evenings  in  the  week  during  the  autumn  and  winter  months. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND   HAYDN    SOCIETY.  35 

Dor  of  several  of  both  sexes,  whose  pronimciation  of  many  words, 
particular!}^  of  'how,  iv-io,'  etc.,  was  dreadfully  rustic,  and  hardl}'  to 
be  expressed  on  paper." 

After  the  dissolution  of  the  Mass.  Musical  Society,  in  1810,  no 
effort  was  made  to  found  a  new  organization  of  a  similar  character 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  The  welcome  news  that  a  treat}'  of  peace 
had  been  signed  at  Ghent  on  Christmas  day,  1814,  reached  Boston 
on  the  13th  of  February,  1815,*  and  was  received  with  the  utmost  enthu- 
siasm. A  concert  of  sacred  music  at  the  Rev.  Dr.  Baldwin's  meeting- 
house had  been  announced  by  the  Second  Baptist  Singing  Society 
for  Thursday,  the  16th,  with  a  programme  made  up  of  selections  from 
"the  oratorios  of  the  most  favorite  authors  of  Europe,"  to  wit,  the 
first  part  of  the  Creation,  the  Hallelujah  Chorus,  parts  of  Judas  Mac- 
cabeus, the  Ode  to  St.  Cecilia's  Day,  and  the  Dettingen   Te  Deum.^ 

The  Advertiser  of  Feb.  10  invited  the  public  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  opportunity  thus  afforded  of  listening  "to  the  rare  and 
astonishingly  sublime  and  descriptive  production  of  Haydn,  which  has 
never  been  exhibited  in  New  England "  ;  and  the  same  newspaper 
of  the  loth  made  an  additional  appeal  for  patronage  on  account  of 
the  peculiar  adaptation  of  some  of  the  pieces  to  the  present  glorious 
and  happy  circumstances  of  the  times."  .  .  .  These  "perform- 
ances," sa\s  the  writer,  "  seem  purposely  calculated  to  celebrate  the 
attainment  of  that  peace  which  has  so  long  been  the  object  of  our 
solicitude  and  of  our  prayers."  We  are,  unfortunately,  unable  to  say 
how  far  the  concert  was  treated  as  a  peace  jubilee  by  the  audience, 
for  the  only  notice  which  we  have  been  able  to  find  of  it,  signed 
"  Many,"  simply  expresses  the  writer's  satisfaction,  and  says  that  the 
ode  written  by  Mr.  Lathrop,  and  sung  by  Mr.  Phipps,  "was  loudly 
applauded.'  ^  In  musical  annals,  it  is  notable  on  account  of  the  first 
performance  in  New  England  of  a  considerable  portion  of  Haydn's 
popular  oratorio,  and  it  deserves  remembrance  and  recognition  as 
indirectly  connected  with,  though  not  given  in  honor  of,  the  great 
event  of  the  time. 

1  The  news  reached  New  York  forty-eight  days  after  the  signing  of  the  treaty, 
whence  it  was  transmitted  to  Boston  in  thirty -two  hours,  with  what  was  then  "  unex- 
ampled despatch." 

^  "  Anthems  and  choruses,  with  full  accompaniment,  trios,  duets,  and  songs,  with 
light  accompaniment.  Accompaniment  to  most  of  the  above  pieces  written  by 
Messrs.  Granger  and  Scheffer.  Concert  to  begin  at  six  o'clock,  with  Overture  of 
Pleyel  by  the  Band.     Tickets  50  cents  each."  —  Advertiser,  Feb.  10, 

^  Columbia  Centinel  of  Feb.  18.  "  The  extracts  from  the  Creation  were  very 
happily  chosen,  and,  considering  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking,  extremely  well 
executed." 


36  HISTORY    or    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

It  was  followed  by  a  jubilee,  expressly  planned  b}'  the  rejoicing 
inhabitants,  on  Feb.  22,  the  birthday  of  Washington.  "  Nothing  but 
a  Te  Deum  Laudamus^'"  said  the  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  in  his 
address  at  the  opening  of  the  First  Musical  Festival,  May  21,  1857, ^ 
"  could  satisf}'  the  emotions  of  the  hour,  and  the  great  feature  of  the 
occasion  was  a  source  of  thanksgiving  and  praise,  without  orations  or 
sermon,  in  the  Old  Stone  Chapel." 

The  procession,  in  which  all  the  State  and  cit}^  dignitaries  took 
part,  moved  from  the  State  House  at  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
the  22d,  to  the  Stone  Chapel,  where  the  exercises  were  opened 
by  the  band  with  an  overture.  Then  followed  Handel's  Chorus, 
*'The  Lord  shall  reign,"  after  which  Col.  Webb  and  Mrs.  Graup- 
ner^  sang  the  duet,  "O  Lovely  Peace,"  from  Judas  Maccabeus. 
The  remainder  of  the  programme  consisted  of,  "  We  praise  Thee, 
O  God,"  chorus  from  theDettingen  Te  Deum;  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Lathrop ;  hymn,  ''Peace,  the  welcome  sound  proclaim";  Chorus 
from  the  Creation;  an  Ode,  written  by  L.  M.  Sargent,  and  sung  by 
Mr.  Huntington ;  passages  from  Scripture,  read  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Lalhrop ;  hj-mn,  "Now  Peace  returns  with  balmy  wing,"  sung  to 
the  tune  of  Old  Hundred ;  and,  lastly,  the  Benediction,  pronounced 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Carey. ^  If  we  may  trust  the  reporters,  "  the  con. 
cert  electrified  a  crowded  auditory,  and  received  most  unqualified 
applause  from  strangers  and  citizens  who  have  attended  the  celebrated 
jubilees  in  Europe,"  and  we  do  not  doubt  what  the  writer  sa3s,  "  that  it 
was  the  best  music  ever  performed  in  Boston  within  his  remembrance."  '* 
That  the  lovers  of  music  should  have  taken  advantage  of  "the 
enthusiasm  of  the  hour"  to  renew  their  former  efforts  to  found  a 
new  musical  society  is  so  natural  a  suggestion  that  we  readily  accept 
Mr.  Winthrop  s  surmise,^  "  that  the  impressive  services  of  the  Peace 
Jubilee  gave  the  primary  impulse  to  the  establishment  of  the  Handel 
and  Haydn  Society."  This  is  not  recognized  in  the  accounts  given 
of  the  first  steps  taken  by  its  founders,  but  their  action  followed 
so  closely  upon  the  Jubilee  that  we  may  accept  it  as  such,  though  we 
regard  the  concert  of  the  Second  Baptist  Singing  Society,  which 
immediately  preceded  it,  as  equally  entitled  to  be  considered  a  factor 

1  Addresses  and  speeches,  18.52-1867,  p.  334. 

2  We  do  not  know  whetlier  this  lady  was  the  wife  or  sister-in-law  of  Gottlieb 
Graupner,  the  publisher.  Her  name  appears  in  several  of  the  early  programmes  of 
the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society. 

^Advertiser,  Feb.  23. 
*  C.  Centinel,  Feb.  25. 
^  See  his  already  quoted  address. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.      37 

in  the  matter.  The  already  quoted  letter,  written  to  the  Rev.  Luther 
Farnham  b}"  Mr.  George  Gushing  in  December,  1871,  gives  an 
interesting  account  of  the  origin  of  the  Societ}' :  — 

"  I  was  a  member  of  the  Philharmonic  Society,  which  was  got  up  b^^ 
a  number  of  amateurs  for  the  performance  of  vocal  and  instrumental 
music,  prhicipall}'  the  latter. i  In  the  intervals  of  the  performances, 
the  low  state  of  church  music  was  a  frequent  subject  of  conversation. 
On  one  of  these  occasions,  a  group  of  four  or  five  happening  to  meet, 
thcv  subject  was  renewed,  when  your  humble  servant,  who  was  one  of 
them,  remarked  that  it  was  useless  to  talk  any  more  about  it,  but  that 
we  had  better  proceed  to  action  b}'  having  a  meeting  called  of  such  as 
felt  an  interest  in  the  subject.  This  being  at  once  assented  to,  a 
meeting  was  shortl}'  after  held  in  Mr.  Graupner's  Music  Hall, 
which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society. 
The  names  of  the  group  of  persons  just  referred  to,  as  far  as  I  can 
recollect,  were  as  follows :  G.  Graupner,  Augustus  Peabod}'  (coun- 
sellor-at-law),  Matthew  S.  Parker  (cashier  of  the  Suffolk  Bank),  John 
Dodd,  and  myself." 

The  meeting  referred  to  by  Mr.  Gushing  probably  took  place  on 
the  24th  of  March.  It  was  succeeded  b}^  a  second,  the  first  on  record, 
held  at  Mr.  Graupner's  Hall,  on  March  30,  to  consider  the  prac- 
ticability of  forming  a  societ}^  made  up  of  members  from  several 
choirs,  and  attended  b}'  sixteen  persons.^  At  an  adjourned  meet- 
ing on  Thursday,  April  13,  the  constitution  was  adopted,  and  Mr. 
Matthew  S.  Parker  was  appointed  secretary.  This  gentleman  was 
directed  to  call  a  meeting  on  the  20th,  as  he  did  by  notices,  of 
which  the  following,  addressed  to  Mr.  Amasa  Winchester,  and  dated 
April  15,  is  an  example  :  — 

1  Mr.  Gushing  played  the  flute  both  in  the  Philharmonic  and  Handel  and  Haydn 
orchestras. 

2  We  quote  from  the  Advertiser  of  April  1,  1815,  a  paragraph  entitled  Improve- 
ment of  the  Taste  for  Sacred  Music :  "  It  is  with  much  pleasure  we  learn  that 
exertions  are  making  to  form  a  general  association,  comprising  the  leaders  and  most 
active  members  of  the  different  singing  societies  of  the  several  congregations  in  this 
metropolis,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  into  general  use  the  compositions  of  Handel 
and  Haydn.  To  create  a  fondness,  to  correct  the  ear,  and  improve  the  taste  by- 
practising  the  works  of  those  justly  celebrated  men,  so  universally  esteemed  in 
Europe,  must  be  an  object  worthy  the  attention  of  all  those  who  feel  a  desire  to 
become  acquainted  with  the  wonderful  conceptions  and  extraordinary  genius  of 
talent  displayed  in  their  compositions  of  sacred  music.  The  association  contemplates 
digesting  a  plan,  embracing  all  the  musical  talent  in  this  town,  for  the  purpose  of 
sacred  oratorio  performances,  towards  establishing  a  fund  to  carry  so  laudable  and 
praiseworthy  an  undertaking  into  full  operation." 


38      HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

"  Sir,  —  You  are  hereby  notified  that  the  gentlemen  who  are  to  compose  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  Society  will  meet  on  Thursday  evening,  the  20th  inst.,  at 
7  o'clock,  at  Mr.  Graupuer's  Hall,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  the  said  so- 
ciety and  electing  the  officers  thereof,  at  which  meeting  your  attendance  is 
requested. 

"  By  order.  Matthew  S.  Parker,  Sec'y" 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  name  of  the  Society  is  given  in  this 
notice,  which  preceded  its  organization.  Who  suggested  it  we  do  not 
know  ;  but  we  ma}'  safel}'  give  the  credit  to  one  of  the  five  gentlemen 
named  in  Mr.  Cushing's  letter,  and  suppose  that  it  was  agreed  upon 
at  their  prelimiuar\'  meeting.  In  response  to  the  secretary's  circular, 
sixteen  persons  i  met  at  Mr.  Graupner's  Hall  at  the  appointed  time, 
with  Mr.  Withington  in  the  chair,  when  the  chairman  and  secretary, 
with  Messrs.  Webb,  Peabody,  Winchester,  and  Withington,  were  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  draft  regulations,  and  notice  was  given  of  a 
future  meeting,  at  which  the  regulations  would  be  presented,  and  to 
which  the  same  committee  was  empowered  to  invite  such  other  persons 
besides  those  present  as  they  saw  fit  to  select.  When  it  was  held  at 
the  house  of  Elnathan  Duren,  on  the  26th  of  April,  the  constitution 
was  adopted  and  signed  b}'  the  fort3'-four  persons  present,  and  the 
following  officers  were  elected  to  serve  until  the  annual  election  in 
September :  Thomas  L.  Webb,^  president ;  Amasa  Winchester,  vice- 
president ;  Nathaniel  Tucker,  treasurer;  M.  S.  Parker,  secretary; 
Messrs.  E.  Duren,  B.  Holt,  J.  Bailey,  Ch.  Nolen,  Eb.  Withington, 
John  Dodd,  Jacob  Guild,  W.  K.  Phipps,  Jon.  Huntington,  trustees.^ 
On  taking  the  chair,  the  newly  elected  president  addressed  the  mem- 
bers in  "a  few  but  impressive  words,"  after  which  the  members 
subscribed  $53,  in  sums  of  about  $3  apiece,  to  meet  expenses.  This 
sum  was  to  be  repaid  when  the  state  of  the  treasury  should  allow. 
We  quote  the  preamble  to  the  constitution,  not  given  in  the  printed 


1  G.  Graupner,  T.  S.  Webb,  J.  Dodd,  S.  Richardson  (Brattle  Street  Choir)  ;  S.  H. 
and  M.  S.  Parker  (Trinity  Chnrch  Choir);  Eb.  Withington,  "^yhose  alto  towered 
aloft  in  'O  thou  that  bringest ' "  (Syphax.,  1874);  J.  Huntington  (Old  South 
Choir) ;  A.  Winchester,  Joseph  Baldwin  (Hanover  Street  Choir) ;  Luke  Eastman, 
Aaron  or  Asa  Peabody,  and  Dr.  J.  Miliken. 

2  Bom  at  Boston  in  1771,  son  of  Samuel  Webb;  he  learned  the  rudiments  of 
music  from  Billings,  and  became  an  active  member  of  the  Brattle  Street  Choir.  At 
Providence  he  became  president  of  the  Psalterian  Society.  He  composed  the  music 
for  many  odes  used  by  the  Freemasons,  among  whom  he  held  high  rank.  —  Free- 
mason's Report,  p.  57,  No.  28. 

3  This  name  was  changed  to  Board  of  Directors  in  1866,  when  a  deed  of  trust 
was  executed  for  the  creation  of  a  permanent  fund,  administered  by  three  trustees. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.      39 

copies  of  the  by-laws,  as  it  sets  forth  in  an  impressive  manner  the 
objects  for  which  the  Society  was  formed  :  — 

'^  While  in  our  country  ahnost  ever}'  institution,  poUtical,  civil,  and 
moral,  has  adv^anced  with  rapid  steps,  while  ever}'  other  science  and 
art  is  cultivated  with  a  success  flattering  to  its  advocates,  the  admirers 
of  music  find  their  beloved  science  far  from  exciting  the  feelings  or 
exercising  the  powers  to  which  it  is  accustomed  in  the  Old  World. 
Too  long  have  those  to  whom  heaven  has  given  a  voice  to  perform 
and  an  ear  that  can  enjoy  music  neglected  a  science  which  has  done 
much  towards  subduing  the  ferocious  passions  of  men  and  giving 
innocent  pleasure  to  society  ;  and  so  absolute  has  been  their  neglect, 
that  most  of  the  works  of  the  greatest  composers  of  sacred  music 
have  never  found  those  in  our  land  who  have  even  attempted  their 
performance.  Impressed  with  these  sentiments,  the  undersigned  do 
hereby  agree  to  form  themselves  into  a  societ}',  by  the  name  of  the 
Handel  and  Ha3'dn  Society,  for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  stj'le  of 
performing  sacred  music,  and  introducing  into  more  general  use  the 
works  of  Handel  and  Ha3'dn  and  other  eminent  composers  ;  and  we 
agree  to  adopt  thirteen  regulations  for  the  government  of  the  societ}^, 
and  to  abide  b}-  them." 

These  regulations  provide  for  the  dedication  of  proceeds  of  the  sale 
of  tickets  (after  payment  of  expenses)  for  the  purchase  of  a  library 
and  of  musical  instruments,  and  fix  certain  important  matters  of 
administration.  They  provide  that  the  president  shall  conduct  per- 
formances and  assign  to  members  the  part  which  they  are  to  sing ; 
that  a  seven-eighths  vote  of  members  shall  be  required  to  elect  officers  ; 
that  the  roll  shall  be  called  at  each  meeting,  and  members  not  present, 
unless  able  to  give  a  valid  excuse  for  their  absence,  shall  pay  a  fine  of 
fifty  cents  ;  that  those  guilty  of  disorderl}'  conduct  or  non-observ- 
ance of  regulations  shall  be  liable  to  expulsion  b}'  a  two-thirds  vote  ; 
and  that  meetings  shall  be  held  on  Thursday-  evenings  ^  of  each  week,  at 
which  standing  rules  or  b3'-laws  may  be  adopted  as  required,  etc.,  etc. 

An  article  signed  "Public  Good"  in  the  Centinel  of  April  19 
speaks  thus  favorably  of  the  enterprise  :  ' '  The  Handel  and  Haydn 
Societ}'  will  combine  and  select  members  from  the  choirs  of  the 
several  congregations  gathered  in  this  metropolis,^  and  will  extend 
to  gentlemen  properly  qualified  from  the  towns  in  the  vicinity.     It 


1  Changed  to  Tuesday  by  new  by-law  adopted  March  19,  1816. 

2  Those   which   furnished   members  to  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  were, — 
1,  Brattle   Street;  2,  Old   South;  3,  Trinity;  4,  Hanover  Street;  5,  Hollis  Street 
6,  Federal  Street ;  7,  West  Church ;  8,  Chauncey  Street ;  9,  Park  Street. 


40  HISTORY   OF   THE   HANDEL   AND   HAYDN   SOCIETY. 

is  contemplated  to  practise  the  compositions  of  such  European 
masters  as  have  been  most  eminently  great  in  their  works  of  sacred 
music,  and  it  is  intended  to  perform  oratorios  (/.  e.,  give  concerts) 
for  the  geneial  improvement  of  the  science.  No  pains  will  be  spared 
to  carr}'  out  this  laudable  undertaking,  and  no  doubt  can  be  enter- 
tained that  the  pulilic  wHll  bestow  such  a  degree  of  patronage  as  the 
exertions  merit,  to  insure  which  the  gentlemen  will  necessarily  be 
obliged  to  act  with  caution  and  circumspection  in  the  admission  of 
members  to  the  Society,  as  well  as  in  the  election  of  its  officers." 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  trustees  (directors),  held  at  the  house 
of  Elnathan  Duren,  April  26,  Mr.  S.  Richardson  was  chosen  librarian 
and  purveyor.  His  duties  were  to  attend  all  meetings,  to  see  that 
music  and  books  needed  were  made  read}-,  and  to  provide  suitable 
refreshments,  attendants,  fire,  and  lights.  Shortly  after  (May  1)  a 
room  was  engaged  at  S2  per  evening  in  Mr.  Withington's  house,  Ha}'- 
market  Place,  for  trustee  meetings,  and  Pj^thian  Hall,  a  small  wooden 
building  in  Bedford  (then  Pond)  Street,  next  door  but  one  to 
Kingston  Street,  near  Rowe's  pasture,  was  taken  at  S3  an  evening,  for 
Societ}'  meetings,  and  so  used  until  the  middle  of  February,  1817.1 

The  account  of  the  early  rehearsals  of  the  Handel  and  HaA^dn 
Society,  given  by  Mr.  James  Sharp  ^  in  an  address  delivered  in  1866, 
at  a  meeting  held  to  celebrate  Mr.  Benjamin  B.  Davis's  fiftieth  year 
of  membership,  is  so  interesting  that  we  transcribe  it  for  the  benefit  of 
our  readers :  — 

"In  1816  I  had  passed  twenty  years  of  my  early  life  in  England,  —  that 
twenty  jea.rs  which  usually  determines  and  fixes  a  man's  tastes  and  habits. 
Music,  vocal  music,  was  my  passion,  and  I  had  lived  in  a  community  that 
encouraged  it.  Mj'  musical  companions  w^ere  the  choir  of  Winchester  Ca- 
thedral, under  the  charge  of  Dr.  ,  Doctor  of  Music,  and  the  Southampton 

Glee  Club ;  and  when,  on  Saturday,  April  3,  1816,  I  went  on  board  (at  the 
London  docks)  the  ship  '[Minerva'  for  Boston,  I  gave  to  my  friends  my  little 
musical  library,  supposing,  of  course,  that  I  should  never  again,  till  I  returned 
to  England,  hear  an  anthem,  much  less  an  oratorio.  After  a  three  months' 
boisterous  vo3'^age,  I  arrived  in  the  town  of  Boston,  and  although  a  stranger 
and  a  foreigner,  I  soon  found  hospitality  and  friendship.  I  resided  at  South 
End;  had  been  in  Boston  perhaps  two  weeks,  when  one  Sundaj^  evening  I 
took  my  solitary  walk  across  some  fields  near  Essex  Street,  which  were  then 
called  'Eowe's  Pastures.'  The  day  was  closing,  the  shades  of  evening  were 
falling  upon  the  quiet  streets,  and,  as  I  passed  occasionally  a  house  where  I 
could  see  the  happy  family  gathered  around  the  evening  lamp,  I  felt  my 

1  Pythian  Hall  is  said  to  have  been  moved  to  South  Boston,  corner  of  C  and 
Fourth  Streets,  where  it  was  raised  up  a  story  and  used  as  a  tenement  house. 

2  An  Englishman,  vice-president  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  in  1828. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   HANDEL   AND  HAYDN   SOCIETY.  41 

loneliness ;  I  realized  the  absence  of  those  friends  and  those  enjojniients  from 
which  a  wide  ocean  separated  me.  Just  at  this  moment,  while  my  feelings 
were  thus  subdued,  a  breath  of  soft  and  distant  music  floated  in  the  air 
around  me,  —  so  peculiar  and  so  unexplained  that  my  fancy  almost  suggested 
some  supernatural  agency. 

"  Listening,  I  discovered  from  which  quarter  the  sound  came,  and,  guided 
in  that  direction,  I  ascertained  more  and  more  distinctly  the  theme  that  had  so 
fascinated  me.  It  was  the  favorite  minor-keyed  and  well-remembered  subject 
of  one  of  Handel's  choruses,  '  And  He  shall  purify  the  sons  of  Levi.'  You 
may  imagine  that  I,  by  entreaty,  found  admittance  to  the  meeting.  That 
evening  I  witnessed  for  the  first  time  a  rehearsal  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society,  —  a  society  in  whose  ranks  and  whose  engagements  I  have  passed 
some  of  the  happiest  hours  of  fifty  years  of  my  life ;  and  the  most  valuable 
and  constant  friendships  I  have  known  have  been  friendships  commenced  by 
acquaintance  on  that  memorable  evening.  The  place  the  meeting  then  occu- 
pied was  one  of  a  class  of  buildings  not  uncommon  at  that  time  in  Boston. 
It  was  a  ten-foot  wooden  building ;  it  stood  at  the  bottom  of  a  street  called 
*  Pond  Street,'  was  probably  built  for  a  primary  school-house,  and  was  called 
'Athenaeum  Hall.'  In  this  unpretending  place  were  prepared  those  perform- 
ances which,  afterwards  in  the  King's  Chapel  and  elsewhere,  secured  to  this 
rising  Society  reputation  and  respect ;  and  at  these  primary  meetings  were 
found  those  gifted  men  whose  judicious  and  untiring  eftbrts  guided  the 
Society  to  its  present  elevated  and  permanent  position.  The  seats  which 
these  men  once  occupied  are  now  mostly  vacant ;  but,  as  long  as  the  records 
of  this  institution  are  preserved,  the  names  of  Winchester,  Dodd,  Par- 
ker, Chickering,  and  a  long  list  of  others,  will  be  mentioned  with  grateful 
aficction." 

Having  the  fate  of  the  Massachusetts  Musical  Society  before  their 
eyes,  the  first  managers  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  niust  have 
felt  how  important  it  was  to  proceed  with  the  utmost  circumspection 
in  all  things,  and  we  are  therefore  not  surprised  to  find  thut  as  early 
as  the  30th  of  Ma}'  the}^  decided  to  admit  such  persons  only  as  had 
received  a  unanimous  vote.  The  one  necessary  qualification  was  the 
possession  of  a  good  voice  ;  and  this,  considering  that  very  few  readers 
at  sight  were  available,  was  all  that  could  be  asked.  For  this  reason 
judgment  had  to  be  exercised  in  the  selection  of  music  for  performance 
which  could  be  easily  learned  by  ear,  and  care  had  to  be  taken  to 
announce  the  list  of  selected  pieces  beforehand,  so  that  the  singers 
might  have  time  to  prepare  them.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  tunes  which 
were  to  be  sung  at  the  regular  meeting  on  the  1st  of  August  were 
selected  by  the  president  on  the  14th  of  Jul3\  What  th^y  were  is  not 
mentioned;  but  the  programme  given  in  the  records  for  the  31st  of 
August  contains,  not  only  such  well-known  psalm  tunes  as  Mardeii, 
Alton,  and  Harvard  College,  but  something  of  a  more  ambitious  char- 
acter, namely,  "The  Heavens  are  telling,"  and  the  Hallelujah  Chorus. 


42      HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

The  result  was  so  far  satisfactory  that  after  the  annual  election  on  the 
4th  of  September,  when  the  same  chief  officers  were  re-elected  for  the 
ensuing  3'ear,i  ^  vote  was  passed  '*  that  the  government  of  this  Society 
make  preparations  for  a  public  exhibition  as  soon  as  may  be."  A 
committee  was  soon  after  appointed  "  to  ascertain  what  music  had 
best  be  attempted  and  whether  accompaniments  to  the  same  can  be 
procured."  As  the  Society  had  no  music  of  its  own,  a  subscription 
was  opened  (Sept.  4)  among  the  members  for  the  purchase  of  copies 
of  the  Old  Colony  collection,  on  condition  that  the  editors  agree  to 
print  in  it  from  time  to  time  such  music  as  may  be  selected  for  pub- 
lication by  the  board  of  trustees,  and  a  conference  was  held  with 
them  concerning  this  matter,  as  well  as  about  the  price  of  single 
copies  to  members  of  the  Society  This  plan,  under  the  superintend- 
ence of  Messrs.  Holt  and  Bailed',  who  were  appointed  to  act  for  the 
trustees,  led  to  the  publication  of  "  Lift  up  3'our  heads,"  *'  Behold  the 
Lamb  of  God,"  and  "  His  Yoke  is  easy,"  from  the  Messiah,  of  the 
Hailstone  Chorus,  and  "  The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war,"  from  Israel  in 
Egypt,  and  of  a  Sacred  Glee,  b}'  George  I.  Webb,  entitled  "  Wlien 
winds  breathe  soft." 

A  number  of  copies  of  Haydn's  Creation  (single  vocal  parts  on  half- 
sheets)  were  also  purchased  (Sept.  22)  from  Mr.  Graupner  for  five  cents 
a  page.  Active  preparations  began  on  the  4th  of  September  for  the 
first  public  performance  of  the  Society,  which  was  afterwards  appointed 
to  take  place  at  King's  Chapel  on  Christmas  night,^  and  as  the  time 
approached  rehearsals  were  multiplied. ^  The  last  two  were  fixed  for 
the  Saturda}^  and  Sunda}'  nights  before  Christmas  ;  but,  although  the 
members  had  been,  as  a  rule,  ver}^  regular^  and  punctual  in  their 

1  A  change  was  made  in  the  board  of  trustees.  Charles  Nolen  retired  from  it 
and  William  Rowson  and  Otis  Everett  were  added  to  it. 

■■^  The  Centinel  of  Dec.  22  says  of  the  proposed  concert,  "  We  are  happy  to  see 
that  this  respectable  Society  has  appointed  a  time  to  favour  the  public  with  an  oppor- 
tunity of  listening  to  its  performances.  We  have  been  favoured  with  a  copy  of  the 
Constitution  of  this  Society,  and  are  pleased  to  find  that  their  views  are  liberal  and 
commendable  ;  they  exclude  no  sect,  but  cheerfully  unite  with  all  in  singing  the  high 
praises  of  God.  We  ardently  wish  them  to  persevere  in  their  labours,  and  most  sin- 
cerely say,  *  Peace  be  within  thy  walls  and  prosperity  within  thy  palaces  ! '  " 

3  Sept.  7,  1815.  Rehearsal  attended  by  forty-eight  members.  Oct.  5.  Secretary 
directed  to  supply  each  member  with  a  copy  of  the  Creation,  parts  of  which  were 
rehearsed.  Oct.  30.  Vocal  parts  assigned.  Time  of  performance  fixed.  Eight 
rehearsals  held  during  the  seventeen  days  before  Christmas,  one  of  which  (Dec.  16) 
was  attended  by  the  Philharmonic  Society. 

•*  This  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  the  minutes  the  number  of  those  absent  and 
not  of  those  present  is  noted.  —  Sketch  of  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  Musical 
Library,  p.  11. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.      43 

attendance,  it  is  said  that  the  president  felt  so  little  satisfied  with  the 
rehearsal  of  Sunday  night  that  he  ordered  an  extra  rehearsal  on 
Monday  afternoon,  and  told  the  members  that  unless  it  proved  more 
satisfactor}^  than  the  last  that  even  at  that  late  hour  the  concert 
would  be  given  up.^  This  proved  to  be  unnecessary,  and  in  view 
of  the  result  we  may  safely  attribute  a  large  part  of  the  president's 
anxiety  to  the  responsibilit}"  of  his  position  as  conductor.  The  pro- 
gramme, which  we  give  for  its  historical  interest,  is  as  follows  :  — 

SACRED    0RAT0EI0.2 
THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY 

WILL  PERFORM  AN  ORATORIO 

Consisting  of  a  Selection  of  Pieces  of  Sacred  Music,  chiefly  from  the  works  of  Handel  and  Haydn, 

ON  MONDAY  EVENING,    THE  25th  INST., 

IN    THE     STONE    CHAPEL    IN    SCHOOL    STREET, 

To  commence  at  6  o'clock. 

ORDER    OF    PERFORMANCES. 

PART   L 

Airs,  Choruses,  etc.,  in  the  first  part  of  the  Creation,  ending  with  "The 
Heavens  are  telling." 

PART   II. 

Chorus.     "  They  plaj^ed  iu  air,"  etc. 

AiR.     "  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth." 

Chorus.     "  Sing  ye  unto  the  Lord  our  God,"  etc. 

AiR.     "  He  shall  feed  his  flock,"  etc. 

Chorus.     "  Lift  up  your  heads,"  etc. 

Air.     "  Let  the  bright  seraphim,"  etc. 

Duet  and  Chorus.     "  By  Thee  with  bliss,"  etc. 

PART  IIL 
Duet.     "  The  Lord  is  a  man  of  w\ar." 
Chorqs.     "  He  gave  them  hailstones  for  rain." 
Air.     "  'T  is  Liberty,  dear  Liberty  alone,"  etc. 
Duet.     "  Come,  ever  smiling  Libert j\" 
Chorus.     "  When  winds  breathe  soft,"  etc.     {Wehh.) 
Air.     "  Oh  had  I  Jubal's  Lyre  !  " 
Chorus.     "  The  Lord  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever." 
Chorus.     "  Hallelujah  !     For  the  Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth." 

1  This  is  not  mentioned  in  the  records. 

2  In  those  days  the  word  "  oratorio "  was  used  to  designate  a  concert  of  sacred 
music.  The  word,  derived  from  orare,  to  pray,  was  first  applied  by  San  Filippo 
Neri  to  hymns  and  psalms  sung  by  the  "  Congregazione  Dei  Padri  dell  Oratorio  "  in 
their  oratory.  The  place  name  was  afterwards  given  to  the  exercise.  Who  first 
used  it  as  we  do,  to  designate  a  sacred  musical  drama,  is  not  known,  but  the  first  real 
oratorios  were  those  composed  by  Francesco  Balducci,  who  died  about  1645. 


44  HISTORT   OF   THE   HA>T)EL    AXD    HAYDN    SOCIETT. 

This  programme  is  noticeable  on  divers  grounds :  and  first,  as  de- 
noting the  high  standai-d  of  the  Society  from  the  beginning.  Instead 
of  l>eing  made  up  of  such  psalm  tunes  as  were  generally  sung  by  church 
choirs,  it  consists  of  a  numl^er  of  the  finest  choruses  and  airs  from 
Handel's  chief  oratorios.  Great  credit  is  due  to  Col.  Webb  and  the 
trustees  for  having  set  the  ship  in  the  right  direction  at  the  outset, 
and  thus  determined  her  future  course.  Secondly,  we  may  notice  the 
exc-essive  length  of  the  programme,  which  must  have  occupied  at  least 
three  hours  in  performance.  It  should,  however,  be  remembered  that 
as  concerts  were  rare  events  in  1815,  the  good  i>eople  of  that  day  were 
disposed  to  make  the  most  of  their  opportunities. 

On  the  appointed  evening  the  concert  to<:)k  place,  before  an  audience 
of  nearly  1,000  persons,  with  a  chorus  of  ninety  male  and  ten  female 
singers,  whose  treble  was  strengthened,  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
time,  by  a  few  falsetto  voices.' 

In  his  interesting  account  of  '•  the  first  oratorio  of  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society,"'  written  for  the  Transcript^  ^Mr.  Jennison  says  :  — 

"  At  the  organ  sat  Mr.  Stockwell.  The  orchestra  was  composed  of  the 
two  Gransers.  Bennett,  and  Warren,  violins:  Niebnhr.  'single  bass'; 
Graupner.  doable  bass:  Alexis  Eostaphieve.  the  Russian  consul,-  a  noted 
patron  of  the  art,  Mr.  Cashing,  who  played  the  flate,  and  Boquet.  with  per- 
haps a  few  others.  The  opening  recitative  in  the  Creation  was  sang  by  Mr. 
Jacob  Gaild.  Mrs.  Graupner  saog  •  With  verdure  cind.'  Mr.  John  Dodd 
made  his  debut  in  the  air.  *  Boiling  in  foaming  billoirs.'  in  the  performance 
of  which  he  was  for  many  years  famous.  Other  recitatives  aod  airs  in 
the  first  part  were  given  by  Messrs.  Huntinsrton.  Holt.  Singleton,  and  Steb- 
bins.  In  the  second  part.  '  /  knoic  that  mij  Bf-deemer  Ureth '  was  sung  by  Mr. 
Huntington:  'He  shall  feed  his  ilo'-k,'  by  Mr.  Brown.  In  this  part  Mrs. 
Graupner  is  remembered  to  have  sung  in  brilliant  style  '  l>t  the  bright  sera- 
phim.' This  was  accompanied  by  Rowson  on  the  trami)et.  Other  soloists 
were  Mrs.  Withington.  Messrs.  Winchester.  Parker.  Park,  and  Phipps.  Mr. 
Webb,  the  president,  took  part  with  Mrs.  Withington  in  a  duet." 

The  effect  of  the  performance,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  news- 
papers of  the  time,  was  very  great.  *•  We  have  no  language ^  says 
a  writer  in  the   CeiUinel  of  Dec.  27,  '•'to  do  juHke  to  the  feelings 

1  At  this  concert  the  price  of  tickets  was  tixed  at  SI. 00.  Sixteen  hundred  tickets 
were  printed,  of  which  ninety-one  were  given  to  members,  thirty-eight  to  clergymen, 
two  to  each  member  of  the  orchestra,  two  to  each  lady  singer,  twenty-eight  to  ward- 
ens and  vestrymen  of  church,  thirty-one  were  distributed  to  press  and  several  given 
to  Dr.  Jackson.  5496  worth  of  tickets  were  sold  ;  four  handre<*  and  twelve  tickets 
were  given  away.     Total  proceeds,  $533. 

*  This  "  polished  gentleman  from  a  European  capital,"  as  he  is  styled  in  the  record, 
"  was  invited  by  the  president  (Jan.  18,  1816)  to  become  a  member  of  the  Society  in 
acknowledgment  of  the  value  of  his  services.*' 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.      45 

experienced  in  attending  to  the  inimitable  execution  of  a  most  judicious 
selection  of  pieces  from  the  fathers  of  sacred  song.  He  can  sny  that 
those  tvho  are  Judges  if  the  performance  are  iinanimous  in  th  ir  dec- 
laration of  the  superiority  to  any  ever  before  given  in  this  town. 
Some  (f  the  parts  electiifid  the  ichoU  auditory,  and,  notwithstanding 
the  sanctity  ifthei^lcice  and  day,  th-  excitement^i  to  loud  applause  were 
fr  quently  irresistible.  The  perjormers  amounted  to  about  one  hundred, 
and  appeared  to  embrace  all  the  musical  excellences  of  the  town  and 
vicinity.  We  should  not  particularize^  but  some  of  the  solos  ivere  sub' 
lime  and  animating.  All  the  pans  of  the  chapd  from  which  the  music 
gallery  could  be  seen  were  fud  to  crowding ;  but  we  have  learnt  that 
many  persons  who  ivere  desiioiis  of  being  present  loere  prevented  by  the 
engagements  of  Chri.-^tm'is.  For  this  cawie,  as  ictll  as  to  be  indulged  in 
a  double  gratifi  ation,  ice  hope  this  oratorio  will  be  immediately  an- 
nounced for  repetition.'* 

There  is  a  ring  of  heartiness  in  this  writer's  words,  due  in  part  to 
his  untrained  and  unsatiated  condition,  which  forcibly-  contrasts  with 
the  often  grudgiugh-  given  commendations  of  modern  critics.  In  his 
day  people  were  quick  to  express  the  enjoyment  which  anyth  ng  above 
the  average  gave  them,  and  writers  were  neither,  as  now,  incHued  to 
non-wonderment  {dOai'naaia) ,  nor  troubled  with  the  fear  of  committing 
themselv-es  by  praising  that  which,  in  the  eyes  of  the  better-informed, 
did  not  deserve  praise.  "  Such  ivas  the  ixcitemeit  if  the  heare/s  and 
the  en'hu.'-iasm  of  the  performers,''  says  an  associate  member,  writing- 
in  the  light  of  memory  thirtj'-seven  A'ears  later,  ^'  that  there  is  notniug 
to  be  compared  ivith  it  at  the  present  day."  No  wonder  that  the  trustees 
of  the  Society  soon  responded  to  the  widelv  expressed  desire  for  a 
repetition  of  a  concert  whose  unwonted  excellence  was  so  generally 
acknowledged.^ 

1816-1817. 

It  took  place  on  the  18th  of  Januar}'  with  the  same  singers,  and 
was,  we  may  presume,  even  better  than  the  first  from  a  musical  point 

1  On  the  4th  of  January  a  letter  asking  for  the  further  use  of  the  King's  Chapel 
was  addressed  to  the  wardens  and  vestry,  in  which,  after  expressing  tlie  hope  that 
the  church  had  received  no  injury  at  the  first  concert,  the  secretary  says,  "  If  this 
Society  had  been  instituted  for  private  emolument  or  sii^ister  purposes,  they  could  not 
hope  to  obtain  the  use  of  a  building  erected  for  the  worship  of  God ;  but  the  object 
being  rather  of  a  public  than  of  a  private  nature,  and  intended  to  improve  and 
propagate  a  knowledge  of  sacred  music,  they  felt  persuaded  that  you  would  indulge 
tliem  in  granting  the  use  of  the  house  when  they  made  the  application ;  but  it  is 
with  great  diffidence  they  now  solicit  a  repetition  of  the  same  favour."  Records 
Jan.  4,  1816. 


46      HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

of  view,  though  pecuniaril}"  it  was  less  successful,  as,  although  more  tick- 
ets had  been  given  awa}'  than  sold,  the  number  of  persons  present  was 
less  b}'  about  two  hundred  and  fift}'  than  on  the  first  occasion,  a  fall- 
ing off  which  can  onlj^  be  accounted  for  by  the  proverbial  fickleness  of 
the  public,  which,  then  as  now,  is  apt  to  disappoint  those  who  build 
their  hopes  on  its  passing  enthusiasms. ^ 

The  notice  that  three  daj^s  before  this  second  concert  ^  the  Centinel 
stated  thsit 'Hts  Excellency  the  Governor  and  the  Honorable  Council 
would  be  present^  and  ventured  to  express  the  hope  that  the  members  of 
the  Legislature  would  "  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity  of  hearing 
the  performance^  which,  for  excellence  of  style^  it  is  confidently  believid 
has  not  been  eqtialled  in  this  country."  With  what  indiflference  would 
such  an  appeal  for  active  show  of  interest  in  a  musical  event  be 
received  at  the  State  House  nowadays,  and  how  surprised  the  State 
and  city  officials  would  be  were  they  invited  to  attend  a  concert  of  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  Society  ! 

"  Tempora  mutantur^  et  nos  mutamur  in  illis" 

Shortly  after  the  second  concert  had  taken  place,  the  president  made 
application  for  an  act  of  incorporation  (Feb.  5),  which  act  was  duly 
signed  and  sealed,  on  the  9th  of  February,  b}"  the  Hon.  Caleb 
Strong,  then  governor  of  the  Commonwealth.  Through  it,  as  stated 
in  its  first  section,  "Thomas  Smith  Webb,  Amasa  Winchester,  Na- 
thaniel Tucker,  and  Matthew  Stanley  Parker,  with  their  associates 
and  successors,  were  made  a  body  politic  and  corporation,  for  the 
purpose  of  extending  the  knowledge  and  improving  the  stjle  of  per- 
formance of  church  music,  by  the  name  of  the  "  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society." 

The  first  meeting  of  the  thus  duly  legalized  Society  was  held  at  Pond 
Street  Hall  on  Feb.  13,  and  the  second  at  Mr.  Withington's  house  on 
March  1,  at  which  all  the  persons  named  in  the  act  were  present  A 
vote  was  then  passed  that  all  who  should  sign  the  constitution  and 

^  One  thousand  six  hundred  and  twenty-six  tickets  were  printed,  of  which  four 
hundred  and  thirty-four  were  given  away,  —  to  officers,  members,  governor  and 
council,  wardens  and  vestry.  Whole  number  of  singers,  one  hundred  and  sixty-one ; 
players,  seven.  Tickets,  $1.00;  persons  buying  four  tickets  became  entitled  to  a 
fifth  gratis ;  and  those  who  bought  six,  to  two  tickets  gratis. 

2  Shortly  before  the  concert  it  was  found  that  the  Boston  Theatre  had  advertised 
a  performance  for  the  same  evening.  As  this  would  have  deprived  the  Society  of  the 
orchestra,  President  Webb  requested  Manager  Dickson  to  change  his  night.  He,  while 
disavowing  any  intention  of  interfering  with  or  attempting  to  obstruct  the  plans  of 
the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  said  that  he  could  not  do  so  without  considerable 
expense.     Ultimately  he  excused  Granger,  Warren,  and  Niebuhr  from  the  theatre. 


HISTORY    OF   THE    HANDEL   AND   HAYDN   SOCIETY.  47 

by-laws  within  three  months  from  date  should  be  admitted  members  of 
the  corporation.  Thirty-nine  persons  did  so,  at  a  third  meeting,  on 
the  1 9th  of  the  same  mouth,  when  the"  then  officers  were  reappointed 
to  continue  in  office  until  the  annual  meeting  in  September,  and  the 
president  was  authorized  to  purchase  one  hundred  and  fifty  copies 
of  Handel's  Messiah  from  J.  Loring  for  $2  a  cop}',  half  bound,  with 
leather  corners. ^  Some  of  these  copies  were  doubtless  used  at  the 
third  concert  of  the  Societ}',^  which  was  given  at  King's  Chapel  on 
the  30th  of  May,  when  Misses  Bennett  and  Holbrook,  and  Messrs. 
Munroe  and  Shaw,  aided  by  several  singers  who  had  taken  part  in 
the  first  two  concerts,  sang  selections  from  the  Creation,  Messiah, 
Israel,  and  Judas,  together  with  Purcell's  Anthem,  "Oh  give  thanks." ^ 
The  expenses  incident  to  the  three  concerts,  the  hire  of  the  hall  for 
rehearsals,  and  the  purchase  and  publication  of  music,  having  alread}" 
created  a  small  debt,  an  assessment  of  $5  was  laid  upon  all  the  mem- 
bers who  had  not  already  advanced  money  to  the  Societj,  under  the 
condition  that  it  should  be  repaid  when  the  state  of  the  treasury  might 
allow.  Thus  the  sum  of  $181  was  raised  before  the  ann*ual  meeiing 
on  Sept.  2,  when  the  same  chief  officers  were  re-elected  for  the  en- 
suing 3'ear.^ 

The  death  of  Mr.  Stockwell,  who  had  been  the  organist  of  the 
Society  since  its  foundation,  took  place  in  the  early  winter,  and  the 
difficulty  of  finding  a  successor  was  the  cause  of  some  embarrassment 
to  the  trustees.  Boston  possessed  the  ver}'  man  of  men,  so  far  as 
musical  abilit}'  was  concerned,  in  Dr.  G.  K.  Jackson,  then  organist  at 
King's  Chapel ;  but  if  we  are  to  trust  the  Centinel^^  he  asked  "  so  enor- 
mous a  sum  for  his  services  "  when  he  was  asked  to  assist  the  Society  at 
a  contemplated  performance  of  the  Messiah,  that  the  secretary',  Mr. 
Parker,  was  directed  to  invite  Dr.  Rayner  Taylor  ^  to  come  on  from 
Philadelphia  for  the  purpose.     This  gentleman  at  first  declined  to  do  so 

1  Published  at  2  Cornhill  Street,  for  voice,  organ,  and  violin,  with  choruses  in 
score.  Price,  $3.  Under  the  patronage  and  inspection  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society. 

^  Proceeds  of  concert,  $286 ;  six  hundred  and  fifty-three  persons  present. 

^  Eleven  numbers  by  Handel,  four  by  Haydn,  and  several  by  Purcell,  Kent,  Nares, 
Dr.  M.  Green,  Stephens,  and  Gregory.  The  concert  closed  with  the  Hallelujah 
Chorus. 

*  Melvin  Lord  succeeded  S.  Richardson  as  librarian,  while  Otis  Everett  and 
William  Rowson  replaced  Charles  Nolen  and  W.  H.  Phipps  on  the  board  of  trustees. 

^  April  16,  1817.  The  reason  alleged  by  the  secretary  is,  that  the  Society  "being 
an  incorporated  body,  Doct.  Jackson  does  not  associate  with  it." 

®  Dr.  Taylor  came  to  America  in  1792,  and  in  the  following  year  settled  at 
Philadelphia.     See  notice  of  Dr.  Taylor  in  J.  R.  Parker's  Musical  Biography,  p.  179. 


48  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

on  account  of  his  engagements,  and  urged  the  Society  to  come  to  terms 
with  Dr.  Jackson,  if  possible,  but,  on  hearing  that  this  was  out  of 
the  question,  reconsidered  the  matter,  as  we  shall  see.  Dr.  Jackson's 
action  was  commented  on  bj'  the  newspapers  of  the  time  in  a  sarcastic 
spirit,  which  is  not  surprising  under  the  circumstances.  We  trusty 
sa3's  the  Centind,^  referring  to  the  fact  that  the  Society  had  procured 
an  organist  from  Philadelphia,  that  the  Doctor  of  Music  (Jackson) 
is  HOW  Convinced  that  his  services  are  not  essential  to  the  perform  dices 
of  the  Messiah  and  the  Creation.  It  is  evident  that  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  showed  great  courtesy 
and  patience  in  their  negotiations  with  this  very  intractable  per- 
son, and  thereb}'  put  him  all  the  more  in  the  wrong.  Thus  in  1818, 
forgetting  previous  rebuffs,  tiie  committee  appointed  to  obtain  an 
organist  waited  on  him  and  received  the  answer  reported  May  24, 
that  the  doctor  refused  to  ha>e  anything  to  do  with  the  Societij^  unless 
he  could  have  absolute  control  of  its  concerns^  or  in  other  vonls,  be 
president.  This  was  not  to  be  thought  of,  but,  to  sho'^  that  the 
board  was  able  to  rise  above  personal  feelings,  and  do  honor  to 
remarkable  talents,  even  when  coupled  with  rude  manners,  we  ma}^ 
mention  that  on  Oct.  4,  1821,  it  appointed  a  committee  to  wait 
on  Dr.  Jackson  and  ask  permission  to  dedicate  to  him  their  col- 
lection of  church  music,  then  about  to  be  published,  and  confer  with 
him  about  the  same  This  time  their  advances  met  with  a  better 
reception,  as  the  report  of  the  committee,  Nov.  19,  ''that  Ur.  Jackson 
has  complied  icith  their  request,"  indicates.  The  following  sketch  of 
his  career  in  Boston  will  show  the  reader  that  this  remarkable  musician, 
who  was  conspicuous  for  his  extreme  corpulence  ^  as  well  as  for  his 
talents  and  his  irritable  temper,  treated  all  the  world  alike  when  he 
could  not  have  his  own  wa}*.  After  his  arrival  at  Boston  from  Eng- 
land, in  1812,3  he  officiated  as  organist  at  Brattle  Street  Church  for  a 
few  mouths,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  was  obliged  to  leave  the  city 


1  April  16,  1817. 

^  He  weighed  about  three  hundred  pounds.  The  only  record  of  his  appearance 
is  a  poor  engraving,  after  a  pencil  sketch  made  by  Stuart  Newton  on  the  back  of  the 
organ  at  Brattle  Street  Church. 

^  1745,  born  at  Oxford;  1774,  choir  boy  at  King's  Chapel  Royal;  1784,  sung  at 
Handel  commemoration;  1791,  received  a  diploma  from  St.  Andrew's  College;  1796, 
came  to  America,  visited  Norfolk,  Va.,  Alexandria,  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and 
New  York;  1812,  at  Boston  appointed  organist  at  Brattle  Street  Church;  1813, 
gave  series  of  concerts  at  Boston  and  Salem,  with  Graupner  and  Mallet  ;  1815, 
settled  at  Boston,  successively  officiated  as  organist  at  King's  Chapel,  Trinity,  and 
St,  Paul's.     Musical  Biog.,  J.'  R.  P.,  129,  130. 


HISTORY   OF    THE    HANDEL    AND   HAYDN    SOCIETY.  49 

on  account  of  his  refusal  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  American 
government,  which  was  required  of  all  persons  known  or  supposed  to 
sympathize  with  the  British,  whose  ships  were  hovering  about  the 
harbor. 

His  departure  must  have  occurred  after  the  29th  of  October,  as  on 
the  evening  of  that  day  he  took  part  in  a  concert  given  at  King's 
Chapel,  on  which  occasion  he  pla3'ed  the  carillon,  an  instrument  con- 
taining three  rows  of  bells  placed  side  by  side,  which  were  made  to 
sound  by  means  of  hammers  connected  with  a  keyboard.^ 

AVe  next  hear  of  him  in  1813  as  associated  with  Messrs.  Graupner 
and  Mallet  in  a  series  of  concerts  given  at  Salem  and  at  Boston,  where 
he  finally  established  himself  (1815)  in  a  house  near  the  foot  of 
Middlecote,  now  Bowdoin  Street,  and  successively  officiated  as 
organist  at  King's  Chapel,  Trinity,  and  St.  Paul's.  Whenever  oppo- 
sition was  offered  to  his  will  the  doctor  sent  in  his  resignation,  as  at 
Brattle  Street  Church,  when  complaint  was  made  that  he  made  too 
great  a  display  of  his  accomplishments,'^  and  at  Trinit}'  when  Dr. 
Gardiner  requested  him  to  shorten  his  voluntaries,  and  he  replied  by 
advising  the  reverend  gentleman  to  curtail  his  sermons.  On  the  fol- 
lowing Sundaj'  he  gave  vent  to  his  ill-humor  b}'  picking  out  the 
psalm  tunes  with  one  finger,  and  on  Easter  Sundaj',  in  assertion  of 
his  dignity  as  sufficient  to  exempt  him  from  mterference,  appeared  in 
the  choir  attired  in  the  dress  of  an  English  Doctor  of  Music,  with 
plum-colored  coat,  j-ellow  breeches,  and  a  square  cap.  This  filled  the 
measure  of  his  offences  and  brought  about  the  acceptance  of  his 
resignation. 

1817. 

As  at  the  beginning  of  the  new  year  the  Society,  with  about  one 
hundred  and  fift\'  members,  had  fairl}"  outgrown  its  cradle,  the  little 
hall  in  Pond  Street,  new  quarters  of  more   spacious  dimensions  were 

iWlien  the  great  Sebastiaa  Bach  was  organist  at  Mulhausen  (1707-8),  he 
invented  and  applied  a  carillon  (glockenspiel)  pedal  of  twenty-six  bells  as  an  organ 
attachment. 

'^  That  is  to  say,  that  his  accompaniments  were  too  florid.  Ernest  David  {La  vie 
et  les  oeuvres  de  J.  S.  Bach)  tells  a  parallel  story  of  Sebastian  Bach  at  Arnstadt,  as 
follows :  "  His  style  of  accompaniment  being  considered  too  ornate  by  the  church 
dignitaries,  the  superintendent,  Oleauus,  requested  Bach  to  shorten  his  improvisations 
and  moderate  his  arabesques.  He  immediately  fell  into  the  opposite  extreme  so 
markedly  as  to  give  offence.  His  biographer  attributes  this  conduct  to  an  excess  of 
susceptibility,  etc.;  but  the  subsequent  history  of  the  great  musician's  troubles  at 
Leipsic  with  the  directors  of  the  Thomas  Schule  leaves  no  doubt  that  his  temper 
was  despotic  and  his  character  irritable. 


50 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


sought  and  found  for  it  at  Bojdston,  then  South  Market,  Hall,  which, 
despite  the  destruction  of  so  niany  old  landmarks,  still  rears  its 
ungaiul}'  front  on  Washington  Street.  The  price  agreed  upon,  as  we 
learn  from  the  record  of  a  meeting  held  on  the  2d  of  February,  was 
$3  an  evening,^  including  the  use  of  the  organ,  a  small  instrument 
with  one  manual  which  stood  at  the  west  end  of  the  hall."^  While  it 
was  being  prepared  for  the  use  of  the  Societ}^  rehearsals  of  the 
Messiah  and  the  Creation  were  held  at  Pond  Street,  where,  on  the  2d 
of  Januar}^  the  Rev.  John  Pierpoint  recited  a  poem  called  ''  Airs  from 
Palestine,"  which,  as  we  are  told,  gave  great  satisfaction  to  all  present. 
The  last  rehearsal  in  Pond  Street  took  place  on  the  4th  of  February, 
and  about  the  loth^  the  Society  took  possession  of  Boylston  Hall, 
which,  small  as  it  now  looks  to  us,  must  have  seemed  palatial  to 
the  members  in  comparison  with  their  former  quarters. 

The  diagram  here  given,  drawn  b}'  Mr.  Sharp,  shows  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  chorus  and  orchestra^  upon  the  stage  in  relation  to  the 
organ  at  the  period  of  which  we  are  speaking. ^ 


MALE  ALTOS, 
TWO  ROWS. 


ORGAN   BLOWER. 


ORCHESTRA. 


SOPRANOS, 
MALE   AND  FEMALE, 


^  This  was  at  the  rate  of  S350  a  year  for  accommodations  which  in  1860  were 
rented  for  82,500. 

2  The  pedal  organ  represented  on  the  concert  tickets  is,  according  to  a  letter 
written  by  Mr.  Sharp  in  1871,  one  which  was  built  in  London  fof  the  Eev.  Mr. 
Frothingham's  church.  However  this  may  be,  we  know  from  the  Society's  records 
that  a  vote  was  passed  on  the  28th  of  October,  1817,  to  hire  an  organ,  valued  at 
$1,500,  of  John  jMackay,  who  agreed  to  keep  it  in  tune  for  $90  a  year,  but  reserved 
the  right  to  sell  and  replace  it  if  sold. 

3  In  the  Centinel  of  Feb.  7  the  hall  is  advertised  as  "  to  be  let,"  and  in  the 
issue  of  Feb.  15  adjourned  meetings  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  are 
announced  for  the  16th  and  18th,  so  that  the  hall  must  have  been  engaged  for  the 
Society  between  the  10th  and  15th. 

*  Members  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Orchestra  in  1817,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Sharp : 
S.  Wood,  bassoon;  J.  Hart,  clarinet;  G.  Pollock,  1st  flute  ;  Filleborn,  2d  clarinet 
or  oboe;  Niebuhr,  1st  horn;  S.  \Yetherbee,  2d  horn;  T.  Granger,  1st  violin; 
L.  Ostinelli,  2d  violin  ;  H.  P.  Heiurich,  2d  violin  ;  A.  Warren,  2d  violin;  W.  Bennett, 
2d  violin  or  viola;  A.  Passage,  2d  violin  or  viola  ;  G.  Graupner,  double  bass. 

5  At  a  later  period,  before  1825,  as  we  learn  from  a  previously  quoted  letter, 
written  bv  Gen.  Oliver,  who  then  became  an  honorary  member  of  the  Society,  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.      51 

The  chorus,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  in  number,  consisted  of 
one  hundred  and  thirtj'  men  and  bo3's,  including  basses,  tenors,  and 
altos,  and  of  twent}'  women. 

What  with  the  want  of  proper  balance  between  the  parts,  the 
absence  of  contraltos,  whose  soft  rich  tones  are  to  the  modern  chorus 
what  those  of  the  celli  are  to  the  orchestra,  and  the  shrill  sound  of 
male  voices  singing  in  falsetto,  the  effect  of  such  a  body  of  singers, 
even  if  well  disciplined,  must  have  been  be3^ond  conception  extraor- 
dinary;  but  if  we  consider  that  the  chorus  singers,  of  whom  we  are 
speaking,  were  incapable  of  doing  their  work  with  any  measure  of 
what  we  should  consider  correctness,  or  anj^  degree  of  what  we  under- 
stand b}'  style,  as  denoting  a  comprehension  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  compositions  of  the  great  masters  should  be  sung,  we  may  sup- 
pose that  their  performances  would  be  to  us  intolerable. 

As  a  rule,  no  confidence  is  to  be  placed  in  the  correctness  of  con- 
temporary appreciations  to  be  found  in  the  newspapers  of  the  time, 
since  they  were  written  for  the  most  part  by  men  whose  musical 
education  was  of  the  most  limited  nature  ;  but  when,  as  in  an  article 
signed  "O.,'*  printed  in  the  Centinel  of  April  16,  1817,  we  find  a 
departure  from  the  usuall}'  indiscriminate  note  of  praise,  we  may  put 
some  trust  in  the  record  as  an  exponent  of  the  real  state  of  the  case. 
The  writer  referred  to  begins  b}"  saj'ing  that  the  high  gratification 
which  the  performances  of  the  Societ}^  have  afforded  him  arises  not  so 
7nuch  from  their  positive  merit  as  from  the  promise  given  him  of  a 
more  mature  and  chaste  style  of  execution  at  some  future  period^  and 
adds,  "  defects  have  been  great ^  and  we  are  surprised  that  they  are  7iot 
greater.  Compare  the  effect  of  Hamlet's  soliloquy  when  uttered  by  a 
Cooper  and  ivhen  uttered  by  a  school-boy.  The  parallel  will  hold  in 
music.  The  violins  apparently  played  with  no  confidence  (steadijiess) 
in  time  or  tune^  the  chorus  was  more  than  once  completely  thrown  out 
by  them  {the  violins) ,  and  the  efforts  of  the  vocal  performers  completely 
paralyzed  by  their  want  of  spirit.  The  trumpet  seemed  to  require 
painful  effort  to  give  it  utterance,  and  was  frequently  behind  time.  The 
kettledrums  were  too  loud,  and  sometimes  out  of  time;  and  the  per- 
former on  the  cymbals  should  have  remembered  that  he  was  not  in  the 
open  air  with  a  military  band.     In  '  Surely  He  hath  borne  our  griefs  * 


forces  were  marshalled  on  the  stage  as  follows :  "  The  northern  end  of  the  hall  held 
the  organ ;  in  front  of  this  was  a  space  for  the  orchestra  and  the  principal  soloists, 
and  on  right  and  left  was  the  chorus  ;  tenors  behind  trebles  (sopranos),  and  basses 
behiud  altos.  These  last  were,  I  think,  males,  and  few  in  number.  Second  trebles 
(sopranos)  had  not  come  on  (i.  e.,  were  as  yet  unknown).." 


52      HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

the  chorus  was  thrown  completely  out  by  the  orchestra.  Much  confusion 
ensued  in  the  last  chorus  of  the  Creation^  when  there  teas  a  clashing  in 
time  for  a  few  bars  between  the  instruments  and  the  voices.  Some 
examples  occurred  of  such  excessive  loudness  and  stress  of  voice  as  to 
destroy  all  musical  tone.  The  bass  was  best.  The  counter  tenor  icas 
mostly  given  in  falsetto,^  a  voice  of  so  little  power  as  to  be  almost  lost 
in  the  chorus.  More  treble  was  desired,''  etc.  These  criticisms  are 
somewhat  softened  b}^  the  acknowledgment  of  the  writer,  that  many 
numbers  icere  sung  by  the  chorus  in  an  altogether  unexceptionable  style; 
but  even  with  this  qualification  his  account  leaves  a  strong  impression 
of  the  man}^  great  imperfections  noticeable  and  presumable  from  the 
very  nature  of  the  case  without  the  evidence  of  an  ej'e- witness. 

An  interval  of  eleven  months  (May  30,  1816,  to  April  1,  1817) 
separates  the  third  from  the  fourth  concert  of  the  Handel  and  Ha3^dn 
Society,  during  which  it  had,  by  a  change  of  quarters,  increased  its 
importance  and  fairly  donned  the  "  toga  virilis."  The  second  period 
of  its  history  properl}^  begins  with  its  establishment  at  Bo^'lston  Hall. 
On  the  27th  of  January,  being  still  in  Pond  Street,  the  trustees  decided 
to  give  three  public  performances  of  the  Messiah  and  the  Creation, 
with  a  selection  of  suitable  pieces  between  the  parts,  and  on  the  27th 
of  March  voted  that  they  should  take  place  on  April  1 .  On  the  2d 
of  February  the  president  informed  the  board  that  Dr.  S.  P.  Taylof 
had  agreed  to  come  to  Boston  for  a  fortnight,  in  order  to  play  the 
organ  at  the  four  last  rehearsals  and  the  three  concerts  for  the  sum  or 
$200  and  the  pa3'ment  of  his  expenses,  which  terms  were  accepted. 
The  Columbia  Centinel  of  March  19  mentions  his  arrival,  and  inserts 
a  call  for  the  general  and  punctual  attendance  of  members  at  the  re- 
hearsals, "  as  it  is  intended  to  perform  the  whole  of  those  two  celebrated 
oratorios^  the  Messiah  and  the  Creation,  which  have  never  before  (in 
their  entirety)  been  heard  in  this  country."  The  reason  for  so  doing, 
given  in  the  same  paper  of  March  26,  is  in  the  last  degree  ingenious 
and  surprising.  As,  saj's  the  writer,  there  is  a  diversity  of  opinion 
about  their  comparative  merits,  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  proposes 
the  following  plan  to  give  an  opportunity  of  judging  between  them : 

^  Moscheles,  during  his  visit  to  London  in  1821,  expressed  his  surprise  at  hearing 
the  alto  part  sunj^  by  elderly  men  with  head  voice  instead  of  by  boys,  as  in  Germany. 
In  1839,  the  late  H,  F.  Chorley  attended  the  Brunswick  Festival,  and  in  writing  about 
it  he  speaks  of  the  relief  that  it  was  to  be  relieved  from  male  counter  tenors,  and  of 
how  much  the  quartette  gained  by  the  substitution  of  contraltos.  {See  German 
music,  cit.  p.  26.)  He  cites  as  a  proof  of  the  want  of  good  contralto  voices  in  Ger- 
many the  almost  universal  avoidance  of  the  contralto  voice  as  a  solo  by  every  com- 
poser earlier  than  Mendelssohn. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.      53 

They  will  perform  one  of  the  three  sections  into  which  each  oratorio 
is  divided  upon  each  evening,  iL-liicli  will  give  specimens  of  both  before 
the  other  is  forgotten.  Comment  upon  such  a  device  is  unnecessary, 
and  we  pass  on  to  sa^^  that  in  a  subsequent  paragraph  the  same  writer 
states  that  he  lately  attended  one  of  the  rehearsals^  and  was  pleased  to 
Jind  among  the  singers  a  greater  variety  of  Jine-toned,  poiverfid^  and 
well-modidated  voices  than  could  have  been  expected.  The  effect  of 
many  of  the  choruses  was^  he  adds,  highly  sublime. 

The  four  concerts,^  making  a  sort  of  a  musical  festival,  were  given 
within  a  week  of  each  other.  Three  only  had  been  announced,  but 
owing  to  their  great  success  a  fourth  was  added,  whose  programme 
consisted  of  solos  and  choruses  selected  from  the  programmes  of  the 
previous  evenings.  Unfortunatel}^  we  have  no  record  of  the  decision 
of  the  public  concerning  the  relative  merits  of  the  two  masterpieces 
then  performed  with  the  view  of  settling  the  disputed  question. 

The  leading  lady  vocalist  was  Mrs.  Withington,^  of  whose  singing 
of  '''Tis  Liberty',  dear  Libert}^"  the  PaVadium  grandiloquentlj' re- 
cords that  never  did  the  melUJluous  tones  of  the  human  voice  more 
gratefully  salute  the  ear  than  in  this  piece.  The  honors  of  the  day 
seem,  however,  to  have  been  awarded  to  Oliver  Shaw,  the  blind  tenor 
singer,  composer,  and  music  publisher,  from  Providence, ^  whose  plain- 
tive and  expressive  voice,  as  we  are  told,  took  such  hold  of  the  feel- 
ings, that,  although  audible  applause  icas  to  have  been  withheld^  as 
unsuitable  to  the  occasion  aiid  place^  the  rule  was  disregarded.  I 
have  heard  from  the  l>ps  of  one  ivho  Usteued  to  him,  writes  Mr.  Samuel 
Jennison,  that  by  his  sweet  singing,  which  was  simple  and  natural, 
without  any  pretension  to  style  or  ornament,  Mr.  Shaw  often  so 
touched  the  hearts  (f  his  audience  that  there  would  be  hardly  a  dry  eye 
in  the  house.'^  He  sang  again  in  Boston  at  a  concert  given  by  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  Society  on  the  evening  of  Saturday,  July  5,  at  the 
First  Church  in  Chauncy  Place,  in  honor  of  President  Monroe's  visit 
to  Boston. 


'  April  1,  4,  6,  and  8,  the  total  receipts  amounted  to  $1,542. 

2  This  lady,  who  liked  to  make  herself  conspicuous,  was  in  the  habit  of  seating 
herself  at  the  extreme  end  of  the  gallery,  so  that  she  might  attract  as  much  attention 
as  possible  when  she  was  called  upon  to  move  to  the  front  in  order  to  sing  a  solo. 
On  one  occasion,  says  Mr.  Geo.  Gushing,  the  president,  instead  of  going  to  lead  her 
forward,  gave  her  a  sharp  lesson  by  substituting  another  lady  in  her  place. 

3  Mr.  Shaw's  song,  "  This  world  is  all  a  fleeting  show,"  was  most  rapturously 
applauded.  —  Centinel,  April  5.  Mr.  Shaw  was  honorably  having  his  compositions 
republished  in  London  in  an  elegantly  engraved  edition.     Euterpiad,  11,  45. 

^  Miss  Beal,  Mrs.  Glynn,  Master  Withington,  Messrs.  M.  Park,  J.  Stone,  L.  Wood, 
and  S.  P.  Taylor  were  the  chief  singers  at  these  concerts. 


54  HISTORY   OF  THE   HANDEL   AND   HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

The  programme,  which  is  of  excessive  length,  runs  as  follows  :  — ^ 

SELECT   ORATORIO, 

Peeformed  in-  Chauxct  Place,  Bostox,   Saturday,  July  5,  1817, 

BY  THE 

HANDEL  AXD   HAYDN   SOCIETY, 
In  presence  of  James  Monroe,  President  of  the  United  States.^ 

ORDER   OF   PERFORMANCE. 
Military  Movement,  composed  by  F,  Granger,  called  "  President  Monroe's  March." 

Part  I.  —  Handel. 

1.  Duet :  "  Hail,  Judsea,  happy  land!  " 

Clioriis,  do. 

2.  Solo  (Hayden)  :  "  Now  heaven,"  etc.     Creation. 

3.  Chorus  (from  Israel  in  Egypt)  :  "  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel." 

4.  Recitative  :  "  For  the  house  of  Pharaoh." 

5.  Chorus  :  "  The  Lord  shall  reign." 

6.  Eecitative  :  "  And  Miriam,"  etc. 

7.  Air  :  "  Sing  ye  to  the  Lord." 

8.  Chorus  :  "  The  Lord  shall  reign." 

9.  Trio:  "  Desolate  is  the  dwelling."     Calcott. 

10.  Solo  :  "  There  rest  the  sinful  Mary's  tears."     Shaw. 

11.  "  He  gave  them  hailstones,"  etc.     Israel. 

12.  "  In  splendour  bright."     Creation. 

13.  Chorus  :  "  The  heavens  are  telling." 

Part  II. 

1.  "  Welcome,  welcome."     Semi- Chorus  from  Solomon. 

2.  "  David  his  ten  thousands  slew." 

3.  Ode  :  "  Wreaths  for  the  chieftain."     Sung  at  Peace  Jubilee. 

4.  Chorus  :  "  Achiered  is,"  etc.     Creation. 

5.  Solo  :  "  'T  is  Liberty,  dear  Liberty." 

6.  Duet:  "  Come,  ever-smiliug  Liberty." 

7.  Trio  and  Chorus  :  "  Sound  the  loud  timbrel."    Arison. 

8.  Solo  and  Chorus  :  "  The  marvellous  work." 

9.  Ai'ia  and  Chorus  :  "  Strike  the  cymbal."    Fucitta. 
10.  Chorus:  "Hallelujah." 

^  Quoted  from  a  volume  of  tracts  in  Boston  Athenaeum.     B.,  1693. 

2  The  Centinel  of  July  9  says:  "About  6  o'clock  the  President  returned  to  town, 
and  immediately  attended  a  sacred  oratorio,  performed  in  honour  of  his  visit  by  the 
H.  and  H.  Society,  with  which  he  expressed  himself  as  much  pleased.  The  house 
was  well  filled,  and  the  performances  were  very  animated.  We  learn  from  Mr.  F.  H. 
Jenks  that  at  this  concert  the  lady  who  was  to  sing  one  of  the  solos  was  suddenly 
taken  ill,  or  was  seized  with  '  stage  fright,'  and  that  Miss  Bennett  took  her  place  at 
a  moment's  notice.  There  icas  somejiurry  about  this,  and  the  usual  professional  pique 
and  jealousy." 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND   HAYDN   SOCIETY.  55 

This  concert  ^  was  the  last  given  b}^  the  Societj"  during  Col.  Webb's 
administration.^  Having  officiated  as  president  for  a  little  more  than 
two  years,  this  worthy  gentleman  wrote  to  the  secretary  on  Aug.  31 
to  decline  a  renomination,  on  account  of  business  engagements  which 
called  him  to  the  West  for  an  uncertain  period.  After  making  his 
warm  acknowledgments  for  the  politeness  which  he  had  received 
during  his  tenure  of  office,  Col.  Webb  expressed  his  regret  in  giving 
up  the  enjoyments  in  which  he  had  so  often  participated,  and  con- 
cluded by  expressing  the  hope  that  the  Society  may  loiig  continue 
in  peace  and  harmony  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  ivhich  the  sublime  art  it 
professes  is  so  eminently  calcula'ed  to  produce.  On  receiving  this 
letter,  read  at  the  annual  meeting,  Sept.  1,  the  new  president,  Mr. 
Benjamin  Holt  ;3  the  vice-president,  Joseph  Baile}' ;  the  secretary, 
Matthew  S.  Parker;  and  the  first  trustee,  Amasa  Winchester,  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  present  the  thanks  of  this  Society  to  the 
late  president  for  the  important  services  rendered  by  him  in  the 
judicious  and  instructive  manner  in  which  he  has  presided  over  the 
Society  since  its  institution^  and  to  express  the  high  esteem  the  Society 
have  of  his  gentlemanly  manners  and  refined  musical  taste^  ivith  other 
qualifications  embracing  an  uncommon  suitableness  for  the  office  he 
has  filled  with  great  honor  to  himself  and  which  has  stamped  a  char- 
acter upon  the  Society  that  cannot  be  erased  but  by  its  dissolution. 
This  note  was  communicated  to  Col.  Webb  in  a  letter  from  the  secre- 
tary, evidently  dictated  by  feelings  of  high  regard.  Official  documents 
are  not  always  to  be  trusted ;  but  the  general  tone  of  this  letter,  and 
the  aflE'ectionate  farewell  with  which  it  concludes,  place  its  sincerity 
above  suspicion.  In  1818  Col.  Webb  returned  to  Boston  on  a  visit, 
and  the  Societ^^  taking  advantage  of  his  presence,  invited  him  to 
deliver  the  first  of  a  series  of  annual  addresses  at  the  opening  concert 
of  the  season.     This  he  declined  to  do,  on  account  of  his  intended 

^  The  receipts  amounted  to  $465. 

2  Weekly  meetings  were  held  by  the  officers  of  the  Society  during  the  summer  of 
1817,  for  the  practice  of  sundry  pieces  of  music,  "that  they  might  tit  themselves  to 
be  useful  to  the  members  at  rehearsals."  The  frequent  entry  in  the  records  of,  closed 
at  eleven  o'clock,  shows ~that  they  were  zealous  in  their  work.  On  Aug.  8  the  secre- 
tary wrote  to  Messrs.  Farnhara  and  Badger,  who  had  informed  the  Society  of  their 
intention  to  bring  out  an  American  edition  of  the  Creation,  to  cost  a  third  less  than 
the  English  edition,  that  the  want  of  sufficient  funds  alone  prevented  the  trustees 
from  subscribing  liberally ;  that  they  would  strongly  recommend  it  to  the  members, 
would  solicit  individual  subscriptions,  and  subscribe  in  the  name  of  the  Society  for  as 
many  copies  as  the  state  of  their  funds  would  justify. 

^  Mr.  Winchester  was  elected,  but  declined  the  honor,  while  expressing  his  will- 
ingness to  promote  the  interests  of  the  Society  as  a  member. 


56      HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

departure  for  the  West ;  but  he  took  occasion  in  his  reply  to  express 
his  approval  of  a  project  which,  in  his  opinion,  would  be  signally 
beneficial  to  the  Society.  Just  a  year  after  this  letter  was  written, 
the  records  tell  us,  under  date  Aug.  19,  that  appropriate  services  were 
performed  this  evening  in  conjunction  with  the  Philharmonic  Society, 
and  the  higher  orders  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  in  celebration 
of  the  obsequies  of  the  late  Thomas  S,  Webb,  Esq.  Eulogy  by  the 
Rev.  Paul  Dean.  This  gentleman  spoke  of  the  deceased  as  one 
whose  whole  soid  was  attuned  to  harmony.  Able  in  theory,  skilful 
in  practice,  and  favored  with  the  nicest  discriminating  power,  his 
capacious  and  discerning  mind  enabled  him  to  discern  the  smallest 
defect,  and  indicated  to  him  the  instrument  or  the  voice  that  would 
best  supply  its  place  and  perftct  the  harmony  of  the  whole.  With 
what  admiring  satisfaction,  continued  the  preacher,  have  we  seen  him 
lead  in  singing  the  infinitely  sublime  gloiies  of  Creation^  Redemption, 
and  the  M  ssiah  of  God,  and  almost  forgotten  that  the  lays  were  mortal 
arid  the  place  ivas  not  heaven. 

In  less  grandiloquent  language,  but  in  words  which  are  of  far  more 
historical  value,  as  they  clearl}^  explain  the  secret  of  Col.  Webb's 
influence,  his  biographer  ^  says,  he  possessed  the  faculty  of  sur- 
mounting difficulties,  removing  objections,  and  allaying  jealousies  not 
infrequent  among  musicians,  and  at  the  same  time  of  retaining  the 
confidence  which  he  had  once  inspired.  Through  his  urbanity  and 
the  persuasive  conciliation  of  his  disposition,  he  was  peculiarly  fitted 
to  discharge  the  duties  which  devolved  v^oon  him  as  president  of  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  and  vice-president  of  the  Philharmonic  /Societies. 
Frothingham,  one  of  Gilbert  Stuart's  pupils,  painted  a  portrait  of 
Col.  AVebb,  from  which  an  artist  named  Penniman  made  a  drawing 
of  fanciful  design,  engraved  b}'  Annim  &  Smith,  about  1820.2  The 
print  (see  p.  58),  a  framed  cop}^  of  which  was  presented  to  the 
Societ}'  b}'  Col.  Webb's  daughter,  consists  of  a  bust  encircled  by  a 
wreath  of  roses  and  supported  on  a  pile  of  music  books.  An  organ, 
a  precipitous  and  most  unnatural  mountain,  a  halo  of  glory  and  clouds 
evolved  from  ''the  inner  consciousness"  of  the  artist,  form  the  acces- 
sories, and  the  whole  is  completed  by  the  following  dedicatory  inscrip- 
tion :  — 


1  J.  R.  Parker,  Musical  Biography,  p.  185. 

2  The  drawing  was  burned  in  Penniman 's  store,  Cornhill,  and  the  plate,  with  a 
few  impressions,  shared  the  same  fate  in  1835,  when  a  building  occupied  by  the 
Bewick  Printing  Society,  corner  of  Court  Square,  where  they  were  j^laced  for  safe 
keeping,  was  burned.  \ 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.      57 


To  the  Masonic  Fraternity  throughout  the  United  States,  who  were  cheered 

and  ilUimined  by  the  liglit  of  his  mind,  to  the  Handel  and  Haydn  and 

Philliarmonic  Societies,  wliich  commenced  and  flourished  under  liis 

auspices,  to  the  enliglitened  and  good  of  all  classes  of  men  who 

reverence  genius,  and  love  science,  taste,  and  virtue,  this 

print  is  respectfully  dedicated  by  their  humble  servants. 

•'  John  E.  Pexxmax. 
Annoi  &  Smith." 

HISTORICAL   SYNOPSIS, 

1815. 

First  meeting  of  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  .        .        .        March  30. 
Eleventh  annual  meeting  of  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,         Sept.  4. 
First  concert  of  Handel  and  Haydn  Society    .         .         .         Dec.  25. 

1816, 

Second  concert Jan.    18. 

Act  of  incorporation  signed     ......  Feb.  9. 

Third  concert May  30. 

Second  annual  meeting     .......  Sept.  2. 

1817. 

Fourth  concert .  April  1. 

Fifth         "                "4. 

Sixth         '* "6. 

Seventh     "                "8. 

Eighth       "                July    5. 

Third  annual  meeting Sept    1. 


58  HISTORY   OF   THE   HAXDEL   AXD   HAYDN   SOCIETY. 


hS\k  f  d 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.      od 


CHAPTER    II. 

"If  Anything  be  overlooked,  or  not  accurately  inserted,  let  no  one 
find  fault,  but  take  into  consideration  that  this  history  is  compiled  from 
all  Quarters."— £ia^m/s. 

THIRD    SEASON. 

Sept.  1,  1817,  to  Sept.  7,  1818. 

At  the  third  anuiial  meeting  of  the  Society,  held  ou  Sept.  1, 
Colonel  Webb's  letter,  declining  a  renomination  as  president,  was 
read  by  the  secretary,  and  Amasa  Winchester  was  elected  to  that 
office.  As  he  refused  to  accept  it,  for  reasons  given  though  un- 
recorded, Benjamin  Holt,  who  had  served  on  the  board  of  trustees  for 
the  past  two  years,  was  nominated  and  elected.  Of  this  gentleman, ^ 
by  profession  a  school-teacher,  we  know  but  little.  Preceded,  as  he 
was  to  be  followed,  by  a  president  of  remarkable  ability,  his  peaceful 
and  reasonably  prosperous  administration  was  only  notable  on  account 
of  the  occupation  of  Boylston  Hall  by  the  Society,  and  the  appear- 
ance of  Thomas  Phillips  and  Charles  Incledon  at  its  concerts. 

Boylston  HaU,  which  was  to  be  the  home  of  the  Society  for  twenty- 
two  years,  had  been  taken  about  the  middle  of  September,  1817,  on  a 
four  years'  lease,  with  liberty  to  give  it  up  at  the  end  of  the  first 
twelve  months  on  forfeiture  of  850.  At  the  first  rehearsal  held  there 
on  Nov,  4,  the  members  sang  Old  Hundredth,  selections  from  the 
Messiah,  and  several  anthems  from  the  Old  Colony  Collection,  to 
an  invited  audience  ;  and,  having  thus  taken  possession  of  their  new 
and  yet  scantily  furnished  quarters  by  the  performance  of  a  pro- 
gramme which  was  repeated  at  rehearsals  during  the  remainder  of  the 
year,  they  made  preparations  for  a  concert.  The  secretary  was 
directed  to  advertise  the  hall  as  a  suitable  place  for  concerts,  lectures, 
and  dancing  parties,  by  the  trustees,  who  in  December  discussed  the 
advisability  of  inviting  ladies  to  assist  at  the  rehearsals  and  concerts 
during  the  season,  and  decided  this  important  question  in  the  affir- 
mative, though  not  without  considerable  opposition.  The  Misses 
Singleton,  Wiswall,  Wellington,  Cade,  Lynch,  and  Dixon  were  the 

iMr.  Holt  married  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Baldwin,  pastor  of  the  Sec- 
ond Baptist  Church.  He  passed  the  latter  part  of  his  life  at  Lancaster,  Mass.,  and 
died  there  when  past  eighty  years  of  age. 


60      HISTOKY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

favored  candidates.  The  additiou  of  female  voices  to  the  chorus, 
thus  made,  is  worth}'  of  notice  as  denoting  the  acceptance  of  an  im- 
portant principle  in  the  constitution  of  a  chorus  ;  but  in  point  of  fact 
it  was  at  the  time  harmful,  and  so  continued  to  be  until  the  then  prev- 
alent practice  of  assigning  the  tenor  part  to  the  sopranos,  and  the 
treble  to  the  male  altos  and  tenor,  was  abandoned.  The  confused 
and  often  painful  effects  of  inverted  harmonies  produced  by  female 
voices  singing  in  thirds  and  fifths  above  the  melody  were  too  glaring 
to  be  long  endured,  and  the  parts  were  in  time  properly  distributed. 
But  it  was  not  until  Lowell  Mason's  day  that  "  order  fair  prevailed." 
In  1821  the  old  system  had  its  advocates  in  country  towns.  This  is 
proved  by  a  letter  in  the  Columbian  Centinel^  written  by  a  Mrs.  Rus- 
sel,  in  which,  speaking  of  a  concert  at  Maiden,  she  says,  "The  char- 
acter of  some  of  the  finest  specimens  of  psalmody  was  entirely 
destroyed  by  soprano  voices  singing  tenor  parts." 

With  such  abuses,  and  the  defects  incident  to  the  untrained  condi- 
tion of  the  amateur  chorus  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society, 
drilled  and  conducted  as  it  was  by  an  inexperienced  amateur,  whose 
ideas  about  time,  expression,  light  and  shade,  etc.,  were  purely  per- 
sonal, it  is  wonderful  that  the  Society  should  have  found  not  only 
patient  but  enthusiastic  listeners  to  their  performances  of  such  an 
oratorio  as  the  Messiah  during  many  years  of  probation.  This  can 
only  be  explained  by  supposing  that  Handel's  music,  and  the  Scripture 
texts  to  which  it  is  set,  had  become  so  much  a  unit  in  the  minds  of 
our  forefathers,  that,  however  performed,  thej'  accepted  it  as  an  integral 
part  of  revealed  truth.  To  some  extent  this  is  still  the  case,  although, 
as  knowledge  of  how  the  music  ought  to  be  sung  has  immeasurably 
increased,  the  right  and  duty  of  criticism  have  asserted  themselves 
with  regard  to  the  JSIessiah  as  with  regard  to  any  other  musical  work, 
sacred  or  secular. 

For  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  Society's  existence,  the  Messiah 
was,  what  it  still  is,  the  oratorio  of  all  oratorios  to  attract  the  public. 
Every  great  work  of  art  has  an  aesthetic  and  a  scientific  side,  both  of 
which  are  appreciated  by  the  artist,  and  one  only,  the  first,  by  all  who 
with  ears  to  hear,  eyes  to  see,  and  hearts  to  feel  beaut}'  as  revealed 
in  human  work,  have  not  knowledge  sufficient  to  analyze  structure, 
and  be  able  not  only  to  admire,  but  to  comprehend  why  they  admire. 

Thus  in  painting,  while  the  sensitive  though  untrained  nature  per- 
ceives and  enjoys  beauty  of  form,  expression,  and  color,  the  nature 
which  is  both  sensitive  and  cultivated  has  the  superadded  enjoyment 
arising  from  a  full  comprehension  of  the  painter's  mastery  over  mate- 
rials, his  skill  as  a  draughtsman,  his  power  of  grouping  and  composi- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  HI 

tiou.  his  use  of  the  brush,  his  mauagemeut  of  light  and  shade,  aud 
color. 

Music  beiug  of  all  the  arts  that  in  which  the  aesthetic  and  inspired 
is  most  clearly  separable  from  the  scientific  aud  intellectual,  appeals 
on  the  one  hand  most  markedly  to  those  whose  nature  enables  them 
to  enjoy  it  as  they  enjoy  a  sunset  or  a  flower,  with  charmed  senses, 
but  without  mental  action  ;  and  on  the  other,  to  those  whose  knowl- 
edge of  the  theory  of  the  art  makes  them  to  dissect  the  complex 
structure,  to  follow  the  development  of  the  leading  ideas,  to  appre- 
ciate the  balance  of  parts,  and  to  trace  the  evolution  of  the  whole 
work  from  its  parent  germs. 

To  these  sources  of  enjoyment  a  third  is  added  in  a  great  oratorio 
like  the  Messiah,  built  upon  and  growing  out  of  sacred  Writ,  —  an 
enjoyment  shared  by  all  religious  minds,  namely,  that  of  finding  in  it 
adequate  expression  given  to  the  spmt  and  significance  of  our  Lord's 
life  and  words.  It  is  not  then  surprising  that,  appealing  as  it  does  to 
the  lover  of  beauty,  the  musician,  and  the  believer,  the  Messiah,  in 
which  the  light  of  Handel's  genius  shines  with  incomparable  bright- 
ness, should  have  kept  an  unrelaxed  hold  upon  popular  affection  for 
wellnigh  a  century  and  a  half,  and  that  now,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1886,  it  should  be  as  fresh  to  our  ears  as  it  was  to  the  ears  of  those 
who  heard  it  on  the  13th  of  April.  1742,  when  it  was  first  sung  under 
Handel's  direction  at  Dublin. 

But  to  return  to  our  history  at  the  beginning  of  1818.  The  records 
for  January  oft'er  no  items  of  interest,  save  the  election  of  Samuel 
Cooper  as  organist,  and  the  death,  on  the  19th,  of  an  excellent  tenor, 
William  A.  Codmau,  in  memor}'  of  whom  the  members  sung  some 
appropriate  pieces  on  the  27th,  and  the  Centinel  of  Feb.  17  quoted 
the  lines,  — 

"His  voice  so  soft,  so  clear. 
That  listening  augels  leaned  to  hear." 

Like  January,  February  had  its  seven  rehearsals  but  no  concert. 
Meantime  the  work  of  fitting  up  Boylston  Hall  was  rapidly  pushed 
forward  and  completed  before  the  18th  of  March,  when  it  is  spoken 
of  in  the  Centinel  as  "  weU  furnished  with  settees,  brilliantly  illumi- 
nated with  gas,  and  provided  with  an  orchestra  (platform),  which 
good  judges  from  every  part  of  the  country  pronounced  superior  to 
anything  of  the  kind  in  the  Lnion."  AU  this  new-found  splendor 
was  displayed  to  an  admiring  public  at  the  ninth  concert  of  the 
Society,  March  31.^  when  Miss  Bennett  and  Miss  Glynn,  with  Messrs. 

1  Proceeds,  S160. 


62  HISTORY   OF    THE    HANDEL   AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Dodd,  Winchester,  S.  H.  Parker,  and  other  members,  assisted  by 
the  chorus,  sang  anthems,  selections  from  the  Creation,  and  from 
the  Messiah,  in  which  the  principal  solos  were  intrusted  to  men, 
Coolidge  taking  "O  thou  that  fallest!",  Phipps,  ^'He  shall  feed  His 
flock,"  and  Huntington,  ''  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth."  These 
airs  were  originally  written  in  the  soprano  clef,  but  it  is  well  known 
that  Handel  was  not  at  all  particular  as  to  the  keys  in  which  his  airs 
were  sung.  Neither  did  he  think  it  necessary  always  to  allot  them  to 
the  same  voices.  "Thus,"  says  his  latest  biographer,^  "we  find 
'  Comfort  ye,'  '  Every  valley,'  '  Rejoice  greatly,'  and  the  airs 
relating  to  the  Passion,  assigned  to  a  soprano  or  a  tenor  indis- 
criminately." 

In  anticipation  of  the  tenth  concert  of  the  Society,  which  took 
place  on  April  2,  with  much  the  same  programme  as  that  which  pre- 
ceded it,  the  Centinel  calls  attention  to  "the  laudable  exertions  of 
the  Society,"  and  with  characteristic  Bostonian  feeling  says,  "  We 
attend  its  performances,  not  only  to  be  pleased,  but  to  be  improved. 
Here,"  adds  the  writer  in  grandiloquent  language,  "  while  the  critic 
in  music  admires  the  display  of  skill,  and  the  mere  lover  of  fine 
sounds  enjoys  an  exquisite  repast,  the  dead  spirit  may  be  awed  with 
admiration,  melted  into  tenderness,  and  kindled  to  praise." 

Among  the  solo  singers  whose  names  constantly  appear  in  the 
programmes  of  this  period  is  Miss  Bennett  (Mrs.  Martin) .  If  the 
current  anecdote  be  true  of  the  gentleman  at  Roxbury,  who,  on  hear- 
ing this  lady  sing,  "Angels  ever  bright  and  fair,  take,  oh  I  take  me  to 
your  care,"  burst  into  tears  and  audibly  exclaimed,  "  He  will,  He 
will !  ",  this  lady  must  have  sung  with  no  little  sweetness  and  pathos  ; 
but  my  duty  as  an  historian  obliges  me  to  say  that  Mrs.  Martin  failed 
to  recollect  the  incident  when  questioned  about  it  in  the  year  1878. 
She  had  still,  however,  very  clear  ideas  about  the  special  defect  in 
singing  at  these  early  concerts  of  the  Society,  for  on  being  asked 
to  name  it,  she  replied,  "  Out  of  tune." 

Of  Mr.  Amasa  Winchester,  who  was  one  of  the  best  solo  singers, 
and  of  Mr.  John  Dodd,  who  had  a  rich  baritone  voice,^  I  shall 
have  occasion  to  speak  elsewhere  ;  but  of  Miss  Glynn,  one  of  the 
leading  vocalists  of  the  time,  I  have  been  unable  to  obtain  any  par- 
ticulars. All  the  singers  who  took  part  in  the  first  ten  concerts  of 
the  Society,  with  one  exception,  were  Americans  born  and  bred  ;  but 
at   the  eleventh  it  had  the   assistance  of    an  English  tenor  sins^er, 


1 W.  S.  Rockstio"s  Life  of  Handel,  p.  258. 
2  Letter  of  Nov.  12,  1874. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  63 

Thomas,  called  Irish  Phillips,^  who,  as  actor,  singer,  and  lecturer 
on  the  art  of  singing,  attained  no  small  reputation  in  this  country, 
though  in  England  his  name  is  known  to  few,  even  of  those  best 
acquainted  with  its  musical  history.  Nothing  is  known  of  his  career 
there  but  that  he  sung  at  the  English  Opera  House  (the  Lyceum) 
before  coming  to  America  ;  that  he  lectured  on  the  art  of  singing 
at  Dublin  between  his  first  and  second  visits  to  Boston  ;  that  he  was 
principal  tenor  in  EUiston's  troupe  at  the  Surrey  Theatre  after  his 
return  to  London  in  1823  ;  and  that  he  was  killed  in  an  accident  on 
the  Grand  Junction  Railway,  Oct.  10,  1841. 

He  made  his  first  appearance  in  Boston,  April  10,  1818,  as  Count 
Bellino,  in  the  operetta  of  the  ''  Devil's  Bridge,"  a  character  in  which 
he  was  painted  by  Penniman  when  singing  the  popular  air,  "  Fauc3^'s 
Sketch."  In  our  day  the  portrait  would  certainly  not  be  ranked  as  a 
masterpiece,  as  it  then  was,  neither  would  the  singer  in  all  probability 
escape  criticism  :  but  all  agree  that  he  had  one  excellence  which  would 
have  entitled  him  to  modern  favor,  namely,  that  of  distinct  articula- 
tion,—  so  distinct,  we  are  told,  ^^that  the  ivords  of  his  softest  passages 
ivere  audible  in  every  part  of  the  house."  AVithout  remarkable  compass 
or  specially  tuneful  quality  of  voice,  he  made,  by  skilful  management, 
the  most  of  what  voice  he  had  ;  and  as  his  personal  appearance  was 
striking,  and  his  ability  as  an  actor  above  the  average,  he  had  many 
admirers.  The  Galaxy  of  Dec.  26.  1821,  says  that  ''he  probably  did 
more  towards  correcting  the  public  ear  and  refining  the  public  taste, 
than  any  other  individual"  ;  and  if  this  be  so,  his  visit  may  indeed  be 
looked  upon  as  "  marking  an  epoch  in  our  musical  annals." 

Kelly  in  his  reminiscences  makes  mention  of  Phillips  as  a  pupil  of 
Dr.  Arnold,  an  accomplished  singer  and  sound  musician,  and  by  far 
the  best  singing  actor  on  the  English  stage  ;  ^  and  Ireland  declaring 
that  he  sung  with  more  feeling  and  expression  than  any  other  male 
vocalist  we  have  ever  had  here,  Incledou  alone  excepted.  On  the 
other  hand,  adverse  criticism  is  not  wanting.  '^His  voice."  says  a 
contemporary,  "  has  not  the  slightest  natural  melody  in  its  tones, 
and  he  vainly  strives  to  conceal  this  radical  defect  by  attempts  at 
scientific  ornament.  Whoever  recollects  how  Braham  sang  '  Love's 
Young  Dream,'  will  never  sit  with  patience  to  listen  to  Mr.  Phillips, 
whose  manner  is  totally  devoid  of  pathos,  taste,  and  expression. 
He  occasionally  tries  to  imitate  Braham  in  those  outpourings  of  voice 
which  in  his  case  were  so  grand  and  overpowering,  and  gives  us  little 

^To  distinguish  him  from  Henry  Phillii^s,  the  famous  English  baritone,  who 
came  to  America  in  1844. 

-  Quoted  by  Richter,  Music  in  America,  p.  151. 


64      HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

else  than  plain,  downright  bawling."  ^  Finally,  we  feel  bound  to 
mention  Wood's '^  statement:  ''Phillips  regarded  music  as  a  trade, 
and  pursued  it  without  the  slightest  enthusiasm  for  the  art."  Unable 
as  we  are  to  decide  between  those  who  praise  and  those  who  decry 
Phillips's  ability  as  a  singer,  we  can  form  an  estimate  of  his  knowledge 
of  the  art  of  singing  from  the  abstract  of  his  lectures  giyen  in  the 
Euterpiad.  of  which,  as  well  as  of  President  Winchester's  estimate 
of  his  talents,  we  shall  speak  presently. 

At  the  regular  meeting  of  the  Society  on  April  18,  1818,  the  mem- 
bers yoted  to  engage  Phillips  to  sing  at  a  concert  on  the  28th,  and  to 
pay  him  S200  for  his  seryices.  He  was  present  at  the  rehearsals  held 
on  the  25th  and  26th  of  the  month,  and  at  the  concert,^  which  took 
place  on  the  appointed  eyenings,  sung  ''Comfort  ye,"  •'  Lord,  remem- 
ber Dayid."  '•  For  the  House  of  Pharaoh,"  and  •'  Let  the  Bright 
Seraphim,"  so  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  trustees,  that  immedi- 
ately after  the  conclusion  of  the  concert,  they  met,  and  wished  to 
engage  him  on  the  same  terms  for  another  on  May  1,  at  which  he 
sang,  "  Now  Heayen  in  all  her  glory  shone,"  "  Lord,  what  is  man?" 
"  In  splendor  bright,"  ''Total  eclipse,"  and  "  Gentle  airs,  melodious 
shrines."  '*  Well  pleased  with  his  reception,  and  grateful  to  the 
Society  for  the  opportunity  afforded  him  of  appearing  as  an  oratorio 
singer,  Phillips  presented  to  the  library,  in  June,  a  duet,  "  Here 
shall  soft  Charity,"  in  September,  an  air  and  saci'ed  dirge,  and  on  the 
9th  of  April.  1821,  sent  from  England  a  manuscript  anthem,  "O 
Lord  I  our  Goyernor,"  composed  and  dedicated  to  the  Society  at  his 
request  l)y  Sir  John  Steyenson.^  which  was  afterwards  printed  in  the 
third  yolume  of  the  Society's  collection.  In  the  letter  which  accom- 
panied the  manuscript,  Phillips  says  :  "  I  send  it  as  the  best  remem- 
brance I  can  offer  for  those  attentions  shown  me  by  the  Society  at  large 
during  my  yisitto  Boston."  Of  his  second  yisit  we  shall  speak  in  its 
proper  place.  Hardly  had  Phillips  completed  his  first  yisit.  when  a 
greater  English  tenor  singer  than  himself,  Charles  Benjamin  Incledon, 
arriyed  in  Boston.  A  genuine  English  singer  of  ballads,  "  not  of  the 
modern  sentimental  cast,  but  of  the  original  manly  and  energetic 
strain."  This  celebrated  artist,  son  of  a  medical  practitioner  at  St. 
Kenan,  Cornwall,  was  born  in  1763.  and  at  the  age  of  eight  became 
a  choir  boy  at  Exeter.     Haying  studied  music  under  Richard  Langton 

1  Galaxy,  Nov.  9,  1821. 

2  W.  B.  Wood,  Personal  Recollections  of  the  Stage  (Philadelphia,  1855),  p.  276. 

3  Proceeds,  SG03. 

4  Proceeds,  .Sill. 

5  For  Sir  John's  letter  to  Phillips,  see  Appendix,  letter  A. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND   HAYDN    SOCIETY.  65 

and  Dr.  Jackson,  of  Exeter,  he  either  enlisted  on  board  the  "  For- 
midal)le,"  1779,  or,^  according  to  another  account, ^  was  carried  off 
to  sea  against  his  will,  to  prevent  him  from  giving  evidence  in  a  trial 
relating  to  one  of  his  superiors.  After  he  had  been  transferred  to 
the  "  Raisonable  "  on  the  West  India  station,  his  fine  tenor  voice 
attracted  tlie  attention  of  Admiral  Pigot,  with  whom,  and  with 
Admiral  Hughes,  he  was  wont  to  sing  glees  and  catches.  These 
officers  gave  him  letters  of  introduction  to  Sheridan  and  Coleman 
when  he  was  about  to  return  home  in  1783.  On  arriving  in  London, 
he  joined  Collins's  company,  and  made  his  debut  at  South  Hampton 
in  1784,  as  Alphonso  in  Dr.  Arnold's  "  Castle  of  Andalusia."  Then 
followed  engagements  at  Bath ;  at  Vauxhall ;  at  Covent  Garden, 
17th  of  September,  1790;  and  thirty  years  of  activity,  during  which 
he  was  the  prime  favorite  of  the  English  musical  world  at  theatres, 
concerts,  and  oratorios.  His  natural  voice,  which  extended  from  A 
below  the  line  to  G  above,  was  full  and  open  and  simply  emitted, 
while  his  rich  and  brilliant  falsetto,  in  which  he  could  execute  orna- 
ments of  a  certain  class  with  volubility  and  sweetness,  ranged  from 
D  below,  to  E  and  F  above  the  line.  His  singing  was  bold  and  for- 
cible, with  little  pretence  to  delicacy  or  tenderness  ;  his  trill  was  even, 
and  his  intonation  much  more  correct  than  is  common  to  singers  so 
imperfectly  educated.  As  we  have  seen,  Phillips  sang  for  the  second 
time  at  the  twelfth  concert  of  the  Society,  on  the  1st  of  May.  At 
the  thirteenth  concert,  on  the  2d  of  June,  the  regular  singers  sang 
selections  from  the  Messiah  and  the  Creation,  and  first  performed 
Handel's  Grand  Coronation  Anthem. ^  On  the  21st  of  the  same 
month,  Incledon  was  present  at  the  rehearsal,  and  as  he  was  known 
to  be  thoroughly  trained  in  Handel's  music,  his  opinion  was  looked 
for  with  no  little  anxiety.  We  are  indebted  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  William 
Staunton,  of  New  York,  an  early  and  now  honorary  member  of  the 
Society,  for  the  following  interesting  account  of  the  characteristic 
manner  in  which  he  gave  it:  ''When  the  chorus,  'For  unto  us  a 
child  is  born,'  was  going  on,  Incledon  became  impatient,  and  finally 
begged  the  president  to  stop  the  performance,  for,  as  he  bluntly  re- 
marked, the  choir  knew  nothing  about  the  grand  and  peculiar  charac- 
teristics of  that  chorus.  He  then,  by  request,  told  the  Society  what 
he  knew  by  tradition,  and  proceeding  to  drill  the  singers,  insisted  on 
the  unexcited  progress  of  the  semi-chorus  portions  till  the  climax 
was  reached  with  the  words,  '  Wonderful ! '  '  Counsellor,'  etc.,  which 
should  burst  upon  the  ear  with  the  square  and  solid  stroke  of  a  vast 

1  Grove,  II.,  p.  2.  ^ EiUerpiad,  Vol.  I.,  p.  121.         3 Proceeds,  S04. 


6(y  HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

explosion.  On  this  point  of  contrast,  Incledon  was  strenuous,  bring- 
ing down  bis  npUfted  arms  and  open  bands  with  resounding  strokes 
on  tbe  top  of  bis  desk."  Tbat  was  a  vabiable  lesson,  and  we  bave 
reason  to  believe  tbat  it  was  taken  in  tbe  right  spirit. 

Nowhere  in  the  records  of  the  Society  is  there  any  sio^n  of  that 
unwillingness  on  tbe  part  of  the  members  to  submit  to  cnmjyetent 
criticism,  which  amateur  singers  often  manifest,  and  it  is  to  this  ex- 
cellent disposition,  in  a  great  measure,  tbat  the  Society  owes  its  long- 
continued  existence  and  its  present  prosperity.  At  tbe  last  rehearsal 
before  the  first  concert  in  1815,  the  president,  as  we  bave  already 
said,  declared  tbat  it  should  not  take  place  unless  the  singers  "  made 
better  work  with  the  music,"  and  in  so  saying  be  struck  the  common 
chord  of  exertion,  submission,  and  patience  whose  sound  is  still 
heard  in  our  midst.  But  to  return  to  Incledon :  the  records  tell  us 
that  on  the  27tb  of  June  the  president  was  deputed  to  engage  him  for 
the  fourteenth  concert  of  the  Societ}^  which  took  place  on  tbe  1st  of 
July,  and  at  which  he  sang,  *'  Great  God,  what  do  I  see  and  bear?  " 
*'  Charity  decent,  modest,  easy,  kind,"  "  Comfort  ye,"  "Every  val- 
ley," " The  horse  and  bis  rider,"  and  "Total  Eclipse."^  There  is 
little  doubt  tbat  at  this  period  of  his  life  the  great  singer's  powers 
were  considerably  impaired,  and  it  must  also  be  remembered  that  his 
forte  was  ballad,  and  not  sacred,  music.  When  be  sang  "  The 
Storm,"  which  is  described  as  a  unique  vocal  and  histrionic  exhibition, 
Incledon  could  still  electrify  his  audience,  but  the  very  qualities  which 
be  then  displayed  were  rather  hindrances  than  helps  to  him  when  he 
appeared  in  oratorio. ^  How  could  the  man  who  "  sang  like  one  grat- 
ified to  excess  with  his  own  tones  and  his  own  expression,"  adapt 
himself  to  music  which  for  its  perfect  execution  demands  an  eleva- 
tion of  style  born  of  self-forgetfulness?  "Vanity,"  says  an  anony- 
mous writer,  quoted  in  Saroni's  Musical  Times,^  ''  was  the  besetting 
sin  of  Incledon,  the  chief  yet  amusing  abatement  to  his  otherwise 
just  and  liberal  character.  In  pronouncing  his  own  name,  be  believed 
he  described  all  that  was  admirable  in  human  nature.  Incledon 
called  himself  the  English  ballad  singer,  par  excellence,  a  distinction 
be  would  not  bave  exchanged  for  tbe  highest  in  tbe  realm  of  talent." 

If  his  sincerity  is  to  be  trusted,  he  carried  back  to  England  a  more 


1  Proceeds,  $75. 

2 Mr.  Spear  tells  me  (S.  J.,  Oct.  29,  '73)  that  he  has  played  accompaniments  for 
Incledon ;  that  Incledon  would  sing  wrong  notes,  and  Spear  would  correct  him, 
Incledon  said  that  he  did  not  know  anything  about  notes.  He  learned  wholly  by 
ear ;  sang  C  in  alt  freely  and  easily. 

»May4,  ia50. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.      67 

favorable  opinion  of  the  condition  of  music  in  this  country  than  he 
had  expected  to  form.  '^  I  have  been  most  aoreeably  surprised,"  he 
said,  in  a  letter  to  the  Morning  Post^^  "  at  finding  it  in  such  high  cul- 
tivation. I  have  never  been  more  agreeably  surprised  than  by  my 
rapid  glance  at  America.  I  shall  always  hold  in  affectionate  remem- 
brance the  country  which  welcomed  me  as  a  stranger,  and  patronized 
me  with  as  much  ardor  as  it  could  have  showed  had  I  been  her  son." 
Under  the  name  of  the  ''Wandering  Minstrel,"  as  he  called  himself  in 
the  latter  part  of  his  life,  Incledon  sang  in  many  parts  of  England 
up  to  1826,  when  he  was  attacked  with  paralysis  at  Worcester,  and 
dying,  was  buried  at  Hampstead,  Middlesex. 

The  report  of  the  condition  of  the  Society,  made  b}^  the  secretary 
at  a  meeting  held  on  Aug.  20,  is  favorable  in  every  respect.  Instead 
of  a  debt  to  be  paid,  there  is  a  small  balance  of  $120  in  the  treas- 
urer's hands, ^  patrons  have  increased,  and  the  performances  have 
improved  in  quality.  "The  Society,"  says  Mr.  Parker,  "by  good 
management  and  a  strict  adherence  to  the  motives  and  objects  which 
led  to  its  formation,  has  attained  a  character  which  promises  dura- 
bility. Its  leading  and  most  important  object  is,  and  always  should 
be,  the  promotion  of  a  uniform,  pure,  and  just  style  of  performing- 
sacred  nmsic  in  our  houses  of  public  worship.  This  requires  such  a 
knowledge  of  its  science  and  practice  as  shall  enable  the  Society  to 
perform  the  compositions  of  the  most  highly  appreciated  authors  who 
have  written  on  sacred  subjects,  that  their  style  may  be  diffused 
through  the  community.  To  accomplish  this  desirable  object,  it  is 
evident  that  a  considerable  individual  sacrifice  of  time,  as  well  as  of 
opinion,  is  indispensably  necessary.  A  punctual  attendance  is  desir- 
able. Ordinary  meetings  should  be  well  attended,  as  we  are  liable  to 
the  company  of  auditors,  including  strangers,  by  whom  we  shall  be 
■well  or  ill  spoken  of  abroad  as  our  performances  may  merit.  It  is 
important  that  each  member  should  be  in  his  place  whether  he  has  to 
perform  or  not,  as  otherwise  a  bad  example  is  set  to  young  members, 
and  the  member  appears  lukewarm.  We  have  surmounted  many 
obstacles,  and  are  sure  of  success  if  we  are  true  to  ourselves.  Let 
each  member  cherish  an  affection  for  the  Society,  which  will  produce 
a  corresponding  spirit  of  accommodation  and  forbearance.  When 
called  to  order,  let  every  member  come  forward  and  appear  in  his 
proper  place,  with  a  heart  duly  impressed  with  the  solemnity  of  the 
employment  in  which  he  is  about  to  engage,  that  of    singing  praises 


*  Republished  in  the  Palladium,  Dec.  10,  1819. 

2  Tickets  sold,  $2,763.07.    Balance  to  new  account,  S120.12. 


68  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

to  the  Most  High.  While  thus  conscientiously  and  faithfully  fulfill- 
mo:  our  duty,  may  we  not  humbly  hope  that  the  great  Fountain  of 
Harmony  may  be  pleased  to  prosper  our  sincere  attempts  to  promote 
His  praise  ?  " 

FOURTH   SEASON. 
Sept.  7,  1818.  to  Sept.  0,  1819. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  Sept.  7,  three  of  the  four  chief  officers  of 
the  past  year  were  re-elected  for  another  twelvemonth  ;  the  fourth, 
Joseph  Bailey,  was  succeeded  as  vice-president  b}^  Amasa  Winches- 
ter. On  the  17th.  Joseph  Lewis  was  appointed  librarian ;  and  on  the 
4th  of  October,  Jonas  Chickering,  who  was  to  prove  one  of  the  most 
efficient  and  faithful  members  of  the  Society,  was  elected  to  member- 
ship. 

The  position  of  organist  was  offered  to  Miss  Hewitt ;  but  as  she 
declined  to  take  a  place  which  she  subsequently  filled  with  so  much 
credit  to  herself  for  several  years,  Mr.  S.  P.  Taylor,  of  New  York^ 
who  had  played  for  the  Society  at  several  concerts  in  1817,'  was 
appointed  in  her  stead. 

The  season  opened  on  Nov.  24,  with  a  concert  of  selections  from 
Handel.  Mozart.  Chappie.  Shaw,  and  Webbe,  sung  by  Miss  Bennett 
(Mrs.  Martin)  and  other  leading  solo  singers,  who  repeated  the  pro- 
gramme on  Dec.  3.  Thus  far  the  Society  had  contented  itself  with 
singing  portions  of  the  Messiah  and  the  Creation,  but  had  not  ven- 
tured on  producing  either,  or  any  other  oratorio  as  a  whole.  It  took 
this  important  step  with  the  Messiah,  at  Christmas,  and  followed  it 
up  before  the  close  of  the  season  with  the  Creation  and  the  Dettingen 
Te  Deum.  The  principal  singers  at  the  Christmas  concert  were 
Misses  Sumner  and  Bennett,  Mr.  J.  Sharp,  and  Master  White,  the 
infant  phenomenon  who  on  another  occasion  made  so  strong  an  im- 
pression upon  "  Syphax  "  by  his  manner  of  singing  Oliver  Shaw's 
"  When  the  cloud  has  passed  away,"  that  in  a  letter  written  in  1874, 
he  says,  "  The  sweet  air  is  as  fresh  in  my  memory  as  though  sung  but 
yesterday  "  At  the  close  of  his  letter,  ''  Syphax  "  refers  to  a  custom  of 
thpse  early  days  which,  shocking  as  it  appears  to  us,  was  then  no 
stumbling-block  of  offence.  It  is  difficult  to  believe,  though  it  is 
nevertheless  true,  that  decanters  of  ardent  spirits-  were  habitually 

^  See  first  number,  Chap.  I.,  p.  52,  where  his  name  is  incorrectly  printed. 

2  That  this  was  a  general  habit  in  church  choirs  at  the  time  is  shown  by  Gould 
{Church  Music  in  America,  p.  102),  who  says:  "  TVe  have  heard  with  our  ears,  if  not 
seen  with  our  eyes,  that  during  the  recess,  ardent  spirit  was  generously  handed  round 


HISTORY    OF   THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  69 

provided  for  the  use  of  the  male  singers,  by  the  superintendent  of  the 
hall,  in  one  of  its  anterooms  ;  and  when  these  were  thought  to  be 
too  public,  in  a  place  under  the  platform,  fitted  up  for  the  purpose. 
'•'  Among  my  earliest  recollections,"  writes  a  gentleman  who  joined  the 
Society  in  1851,  "nothing  impressed  me  more  than  seeing  members 
leave  their  seats  at  rehearsals  in  the  old  Boylston  Hall,  and  retire 
down  the  little  narrow  and  steep  stairs  on  either  side  of  the  organ,  to 
refresh  the  inner  man.  The  process  was  called  '  tuning ' ;  and  the 
members,  while  engaged  in  the  laborious  effort  to  master  Handel's 
difficult  choruses,  found  it  necessary  to  •  tune  '  quite  often  during  a 
rehearsal." 

The  agitation  of  the  temperance  question,  and  the  formation  of  the 
Massachusetts  Temperance  Society,  gave  a  death-blow  to  this  most 
objectionable  custom,  and  made  it  a  scandal  of  the  past.  The  new 
year  brought  no  other  change  in  the  work  of  the  Society  than  the 
substitution  of  the  Creation  for  the  Messiah  at  its  rehearsals,  which 
were  followed  by  the  production  of  Haydn's  masterpiece  entire,  at 
three  successive  concerts,  on  Feb.  16  and  21,  and  March  2.^  The 
Dettingen  Te  Deum  was  then  taken  up  and  sung  on  April  1 .  Thus 
within  four  months  the  Society  had  added  three  works  to  its 
repertory,  of  which  the  two  first  have  been  repeated  ad  infinitum 
from  that  time  to  this,  while  the  last  had  up  to  18()4  been  sung  but 
three  times,  including  its  first  performance  in  the  spring  of  1819. 

Mrs.  French,  a  new  singer  of  high  reputation,  came  to  Boston  from 
Philadelphia  in  May.  and  gave  a  concert  in  aid  of  the  Boston  Female 
Asylum  on  the  18th  of  June,  with  tlie  assistance  of  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society,  for  whose  benefit  she  sang  in  return  on  the  22d,  with 
great  and  unequivocal  success. 

This  lady  is  first  mentioned  by  Mr.  Dyer,'2  an  English  music  teacher 
at  Baltimore  and  Georgetown,  in  a  letter  dated  July.  1817,  written 
to  Mr.  Secretary  Parker,  as  the  wife  of  a  dry-goods  merchant,  and  pupil 
of  Mr.  B.  Carr,  of  Philadelphia.  ''  Her  compass  of  voice  and  exe- 
cution," he  says,  ''were  considerable.  She  ascends  to  D  in  alt  with 
ease,  and  I  have  heard  her  sing  up  to  F.  On  the  wliole,  I  do  not  doubt 
that  she  is  the  finest  female  singer  on  the  continent."     **  She  is,"  he 

among  the  singers  in  the  gallery  of  the  church,  to  cheer  them  on  their  course.  This 
was  done  publicly,  the  minister,  elders,  members,  and  the  whole  congregation  look- 
ing on  with  apparent  satisfaction  to  see  the  young  people  enjoy  themselves.  .  .  . 
At  a  certain  period,  anj-where  and  everywhere,  a  glass  of  liquor  was  looked  upon 
to  be  just  as  proper  and  innocent  as  a  cup  of  cold  water." 

1  The  receipts  were  respectively  8304.  S211,  and  .S8*t. 

2  S.  Dyer,  editor  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  Collections  of  Church  Music, 
1827,  1828. 


70      HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

adds,  "a  more  scientific  singer  than  Mrs.  Burke,  called  the  'American 
Catalan!,'  of  whom  you  have  doubtless  heard."  ^  With  such  qualifi- 
cations as  a  voice  so  sweet  that  the  silvery  charm  of  every  note  was 
to  the  ear  like  polished  ivory  to  the  touch,  great  distinctness  of  artic- 
ulation, and  an  extremely  lady-like,  graceful,  and  pleasing  presence," 
Mrs.  French  had  no  difficulty  in  captivating  her  audiences  here  and 
elsewhere.  The  papers  of  the  time  vied  with  each  other  in  praising 
her,  and  many  were  the  verses  penned  in  her  honor.  One  poet,  writ- 
ing in  allusion  to  the  fall  of  a  part  of  the  ceiling  at  Washington  Hall 
in  Philadelphia  during  one  of  her  concerts,  expressed  his  over- 
wrought feelings  in  the  following  lines,  which  rise  somewhat  above 
the  average  of  like  tributes  :  — 

'"T  is  said  that  Orpheus  played  so  well, 
He  raised  Eurydice  from  Hell : 
And  St.  Cecilia  sang  so  clear 
That  augels  leaned  from  Heaven  to  hear. 

"  But  our  Cecilia  far  excels 
These  fabled  feats.     Her  trills  and  swells 
Enchant  the  vaulted  roofs  and  walls 
Until  the  azure  ceiling  falls."  - 

Another  poet,  of  a  more  sentimental  order,  thus  tunes  his  lyre  :  — 

"  Lady  I  to  thee  a  voice  was  ^iven 
The  sweetest  e'er  bestowed  by  Heaven. 
Seldom  such  strains  are  heard  on  earth  : 
They  are  of  more  than  mortal  birth. 
Our  passions  own  the  sweet  control. 
To  sympathy  they  wake  the  soul ; 
And  O  !  thy  soft,  melodious  art 
With  love  and  joy  can  warm  the  heart. 
Inspire  with  hope,  relief  bestow 
On  the  sad  child  of  orrief  and  woe  I  " 


FIFTH   SEASON. 
Sept.  0.   1810.  to  Skpt.  4,   1820. 

"We  have  already  spoken  in  our  first  chapter  ^  of  the  memorial  ser- 
vices held  by  the  Society  on  the  19th  of  August,  with  the  assistance 

1  Previous  to  Mrs.  French's  appearance,  Incledon  and  Phillips  had  both  regarded 
Mrs.  Burke  as  the  best  singer  in  America.  "Mrs.  French,"  says  the  Palladium,  of 
May  28,  "  is  her  superior  in  cultivation  and  taste,  while  her  voice  has  equal  volume 
and  sweetness  and  greater  comi)ass.  " 

^Philadelphia  Gazette,  reprinted  in  Palladium  of  June  12. 

3  See  p.  5(5,  first  number. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY,  71 

of  the  Philharmonic  Society  and  the  Masonic  Fraternity,  in  honor  of 
its  first  president,  Colonel  T.  S.  Webb.  His  death,  which  must  have 
taken  place  before  July  28, —  as,  according  to  the  records,  a  committee 
was  then  appointed  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements  for  the  pro- 
posed services  in  his  honor,  —  was  followed  closely  by  the  election  of 
his  real  successor,  Mr.  Amasa  Winchester.  Mr.  Holt  had  on  the 
20th  of  July  written  to  decline  re-election,  on  the  debatable  ground 
that  ''  the  interests  of  the  Society  would  be  promoted  by  limiting  the 
term  of  office  to  two  or  three  successive  years";  and  at  the  annual 
meeting,^  Sept.  6,  the  members,  taking  him  at  his  word,  nominated 
and  elected  Mr.  Winchester.  Assuredly  they  could  not  have  done  a 
better  thing,  for  thereby  the  right  man  was  put  into  the  right  place. 
As  the  president  was  ex  officio  conductor,  the  election  of  a  profes- 
sional musician,  like  Dr.  Jackson,  for  instance,  would  have  been 
wiser  from  a  musical  point  of  view  ;  but  while  he  would  certainly  have 
drilled  the  singers  more  efficiently,  his  irritable  disposition  would  have 
kept  them  in  a  chronic  state  of  disturbance.  With  the  doctor  to  con- 
duct and  Winchester  to  preside,  all  would  have  gone  well ;  but  as  the 
idea  of  thus  openly  dividing  the  responsibility  never  occurred  to  any 
one,  the  election  of  the  latter  was  for  the  best.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Staunton,  of  New  York,-  one  of  the  early  members  of  the 
Society,  who  claims  to  have  a  distinct  recollection  of  Mr.  Winchester, 
describes  him  as  ''  a  man  of  the  old  school,  courteous  and  affable  in 
manner.  .  .  .  At  the  rehearsals  and  concerts  he  occupied  a  box  or 
stand  resembling  an  old-fashioned  pulpit,  which  was  placed  on  the 
main  floor  in  front  of  the  platform.  In  this  post  he  stood,  like  our 
present  conductor,  between  the  audience  and  the  performers,  but  did 
not  really  or  visibly  act  as  leader,  either  by  gesture  or  by  use  of  the 
baton.  I  have  no  recollection  at  that  period  of  seeing  any  actual 
conductor,  but  (with  the  exception  of  an  occasional  hint  from  the 
president)  there  seemed  to  be  an  understanding  that  Sig.  Ostiuelli's 
violin  was  to  be  the  guiding  helm  by  which  all  things  moved." 

This  shows  that,  in  point  of  fact,  the  president's  role  as  conductor 
was  little  more  than  nominal ;  the  burden  really  rested  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  the  leading  violinist,  Ostinelli.  Mr.  Winchester  was  an  ama- 
teur, who,  as  we  are  told,  had  a  great  love  for,  and  a  fair  knowledo-e 
of  music,  and  was,  moreover,  a  good  singer.  He  came  to  Boston 
from  Newton,  where  he  had  at  one  time  been  a  school-teacher,  and 

1  The  treasurer's  report  showed  a  balance  of  8194.51,  and  stated  the  amount  of 
debt  incurred  to  be  81,061.56.  Half  of  this  sum  was  owed  to  Otis  Everett  for  fit- 
ting up  Boylston  Hall.     On  Sept.  2,  an  assessment  of  810  was  laid  on  the  members. 

2  Honorary  member  of  the  H.  and  H.  Society.     Letter  of  Nov.  1,  1881. 


72      HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

became  a  provision  dealer  iu  Faiieuil  Hall  Market,  and  a  member  of 
the  Rev.  J.  Stillman's  choir. ^ 

A  writer  in  the  Euterpiad^  who  signs  himself  "  Ralph,"  gives  an  ac- 
count of  one  of  the  Society's  concerts  which  he  attended  in  1821,  and 
says  :  "  The  president  of  the  Society  took  his  stand  among  the  choir. 
With  a  fine  body  of  voice,  much  true  feeling,  much  exquisite  taste, 
and  a  very  distinct  yet  musical  pronunciation,  he  sang;  and  I  will 
only  say,  in  the  language  of  Kirke  White,  — 

'  M}'  spirit  soared  bej'ond  the  skies,  and  left  the  stars  behind.'  " 

Besides  his  voice,  which  made  him  practically  useful  to  the  Society, 
and  a  fine  presence,  which  made  him  an  agreeable  object,  Mr.  Win- 
chester had  a  kindliness  of  nature,  and  a  tact  in  dealing  with  men, 
which  won  for  him  their  affection  and  respect.  Of  the  many  anec- 
dotes which  illustrate  his  character,  it  will  suflSce  to  mention  that 
when  an  assessment  of  $10  had  been  laid  on  the  members,  which 
some  of  them  could  ill  afford  to  pay,  he,  while  insisting  upon  its 
being  paid,  would  secretly  slip  the  needed  bank-note  into  the  hand  of 
the  impecunious.  Again,  when  Tom  Granger,  the  violinist,  of  whom  it 
was  said  "  that  he  could  play  as  well  asleep  as  awake,"  was  out  of 
humor,  and  proposed  to  throw  up  his  place  in  the  orchestra,  the  pres- 
ident said  to  him,  *' We  shall  miss  you  greatly"  ;  and  added,  "By  the 
b}',  I  have  a  very  superior  steak  to-day,  and  I  shall  send  you  home  a 
piece."  In  these  wa3"S  he  left  behind  him  such  a  reputation  for 
kindly  tact  that  his  probable  conduct  in  difficult  cases  was  sometimes 
cited  as  a  guide  to  his  successors.  Thus,  during  Dr.  Lowell  Mason's 
administration,  it  happened  one  night  that  Kendall,  the  tenor  trom- 
bone, could  not  reach  some  high  notes  in  his  part ;  and  Mason,  rap- 
ping sharply  on  his  desk,  said,  "We  cannot  have  that  trombone."  At 
this  the  irate  musician  left  the  hall.  Fearing  that  he  should  lose  him 
altogether.  Mason  said  to  one  of  the  members,  '•  What  would  Win- 
chester have  done?"  ''  He  would,"  answered  the  person  questioned, 
"have  tapped  ver}^  lightly  on  his  desk,  and  said,  '  That  trombone  is 
very  beautiful ;  but,  if  you  please,  we  will  try  the  air  without  it,  and  see 
how  it  sounds.' " 

During  the  four  years  of  Mr.  Winchester's  tenure  of  office,  John 
Dodd  was  vice-president,  Joseph  Lewis,  secretary,  and  P^benezer 
Frothingham,  treasurer.  The  first  was  a  baritone  singer,  who  fre- 
quently appeared  at  the  Society's  concerts.  "-'  His  rich  baritone 
still  rings  in  my  ears,"  says  "  Syphax"  ;  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Staunton, 

^  Letter  of  B.  B.  Davis,  April  5,  18G9. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY  73 

iu  the  letter  already  quoted,  speaks  of  Captain  Dodd,  as  he  calls 
him,  as  "  a  conscientious  man,  always  aiming  to  do  his  best  for  the 
credit  of  the  Society."  With  this  aim,  when  he  was  called  upon  to 
sing  the  recitatives  in  the  Creation,  ''  for  which  he  was  admirably 
fitted  on  account  of  his  distinct  utterance,"  it  occurred  to  him  that 
by  committing  words  and  music  to  memory,  he  would  be  able  to  de- 
liver his  part  with  greater  freedom  and  effect.  "  The  plan,"  says 
Dr.  Staunton,  *'  worked  well  for  a  while  ;  but  on  one  occasion  the  cap- 
tain's memory  failed  him,  and,  becoming  confused,  he,  to  the  infinite 
amusement  of  his  hearers,  sang,  '  And  God  created  great  whales, 
and  He  said  unto  them,  be  fruitful  and  multipl}',  —  and  —  sit  and 
sing  on  every  tree.'"  ^'The  gravity  of  the  Society,"  adds  the  same 
writer,  ''  was  also  to  my  own  knowledge  severely  put  to  the  proof  at 
times,  by  the  vagaries  of  a  trumpet-player  named  Rowson,  who  usu- 
ally sat  on  the  uppermost  tier  of  seats,  apart  from  the  orchestra.  He 
had  learned  in  early  life  to  play  on  an  old-fashioned  instrument  with- 
out valves,  on  which,  for  the  production  of  many  notes,  the  action  of 
the  lips  and  tongue  was  necessary  ;  and  his  attempts  to  execute,  with 
his  thickened  and  rugged  lips,  the  long  runs  of  semiquavers  in  the  ob- 
ligato  accompaniment  to  ^Let  the  bright  Seraphim,'  were  so  uncertain 
in  pitch  and  frolicsome  in  movement  that,  with  the  utmost  self-com- 
mand, it  was  difficult  to  control  the  temptation  to  laughter."  AVithall 
these  and  other  drawbacks,  the  effect  of  the  Society's  performances, 
if  we  may  trust  the  memory  of  early  members,  was  often  striking, 
and,  as  they  tell  us,  all  the  more  so  because  the  hall  in  which  they 
took  place  was  of  small  dimensions,  *'  I  have,"  says  a  gentleman 
who  was  a  member  dHring  Mr.  Winchester's  presidency,  '•  a  distinct 
recollection  of  the  clearness  with  which  the  several  points  of  attack 
in  intricate  fugues  were  treated  and  made  conspicuous,  notwithstand- 
ing the  mass  of  sound  given  out  by  the  choir,  the  orchestra,  and 
brilliantly  voiced  organ." 

Turning  to  the  records  of  the  last  months  of  1819,  we  find  little  of 
interest  to  chronicle.  A  proposal  was  made  in  September  to  restrict 
pul)lic  performances  to  charitable  or  other  special  occasions,  and  rely 
on  the  sale  of  season  tickets  at  $10,  admitting  a  gentleman  and  two 
ladies,  and  at  $5,  admitting  one  person,  which  plan,  though  not 
accepted  at  the  time,  foreshadowed  the  later  action  of  the  Society. 
Its  twenty-third  concert  was  given  on  Dec.  23,  when  a  part  of  the 
Creation,  and  selections  from  the  Old  Colony  and  Lock  Hospital  collec- 
tions, were  performed  by  the  chorus  and  the  usual  solo  singers,  includ- 
ing Miss  Bennett.  Mr.  Merriam  having  declined  re-election  as  libra- 
rian, Mr.  S.  Clarke  was  appointed  in  his  stead  on  Sept.  9.     The  last 


74  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

rehearsal  of  the  year  took  place  ou  Dec.  26,  with  singing  from  the 
Messiah. 

With  the  new  year  (1820)  came  the  inevitable  return  to  the  Creation. 
As  when  the  sun  sets,  the  moon  rises,  so  in  ordered  and  unvarying 
sequence  the  two  musical  planets  which  gave  light  to  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society  followed  each  other,  giving  opportunit}'  for  vocal  stars 
to  shine  when  such  were  available,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  was  seldom 
the  case.  At  the  twentv-fourth  and  twentv-fifth  concerts,  given  on 
the  3d  and  22d  of  February,  Miss  Bennett  and  Miss  Copeland, 
with  the  usual  male  solo  singers,  assisted  the  chorus  in  singing  parts 
of  the  Creation  and  various  selections  which  we  shall  not  enumerate. 
In  this  same  month,  at  a  meeting  held  on  the  16th,  the  plan  of  pub- 
lishing a  Collection  of  Sacred  Music,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Society, 
was  first  proposed,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  a  sub- 
scription paper  suitable  for  circulation.  The  great  financial  success 
of  this  undertaking,  to  which  the  Society  probably  owed  its  escape 
from  dissolution,  gives  an  interest  to  the  following  short  announcement 
addressed  to  the  musical  public  by  the  committee  on  March  5  :  — 

''  The  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  desirous  of  extending  the  knowl- 
edge of  sacred  music  from  works  of  eminent  composers  (and  to  effect 
such  an  extension  they  wish  to  make  it  an  object  to  all  lovers  of 
melody  and  scientific  harmony),  have  in  contemplation  to  issue  a 
publication,  as  soon  as  sufficient  encouragement  may  be  given,  styled 
the  Handel  and  Haydn  Collection,  containing  select  pieces  from 
Handel,  Haydn,  Mozart,  Beethoven,  and  other  authors  of  celebrity, 
many  of  which  have  never  before  been  published  in  this  country.'* 

To  this  end  public  patronage  is  confideuth"  solicited,  and  it  is  stated 
that  the  work  is  to  be  printed  with  pianoforte  or  organ  accompani- 
ment, in  good  type,  on  double  paper,  in  numbers  of  twenty-four  pages, 
eight  of  which  will  make  a  volume,  with  all  possible  despatch.  The 
price  to  subscribers,  who  will  be  allowed  to  withdraw  their  names  on 
the  completion  of  the  first  volume  if  they  be  so  disposed,  is  fixed 
at  thirty-four  and  one  fourth  cents,  and  a  tenth  copy  is  promised 
gratis  to  those  who  will  purchase  nine  copies. i  Early  in  May  the 
committee  on  selecting  and  publishing  music,  consisting  of  the  presi- 
dent, vice-president,  and  secretary,  Holt,  Huntington,  and  Parker, 
speedily  brought  out  an  edition  of  the  first  number,  consisting  of  one 
thousand  copies  ;  and  on  June  15,  the  title  of  the  work  was  deposited 
at  the    District  Clerk's  office  by    the  secretary.     The  Euterpiad    of 


1  Jiine  3,  the  price  of  the  first  number  was  fixed  at  from  thirty-seven  and  one  half 
cents  to  forty-four  cents  at  the  discretion  of  the  committee. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  75 

June  o,  ill  noticing  the  publication,  says  :  ''In  style,  form,  and  work- 
mansliip.  it  exceeds  anything  of  the  kind  hitherto  attempted  in  this 
country."  The  writer  then  goes  on  to  discourse  upon  religious  music 
in  a  philosophic  strain,  and  winds  up  with  a  reference  to  the  diffusion 
of  taste  for  it  which  may  be  expected  from  the  establishment  of  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  Society  as  a  permanent  institution  of  this  town. 
A  second  notice,  in  the  issue  of  June  24.  contrasts  the  first  number 
advantageously,  both  as  to  selection  and  arrangement,  with  many 
late  musical  publications,  encumbered  with  false  harmony,  forbidden 
progressions  and  fruitless  attempts  at  counterpoint.  Upon  such  it  was 
certainly  a  great  advance  in  all  respects.  It  contained  "  The  Lord's 
Prayer."  by  Denman,  a  composer  unknown  to  Hawkins,  Fetis,  or 
Grove;  '-Fallen  is  thy  throne,"  by  Martini  (the  Padre?);  "'The 
satfron  tints  of  morn,"  by  Mozart;  "  Sound  an  alarm,"  and  chorus 
'•  We  hear."  from  Handel's  Judas  Maccaba?us  ;  "  Total  Eclipse,"  and 
'•  Oh  !  first  created  beam,"  from  Samson. 

A  second  number  was  published  before  July  29.  on  which  day  it  is 
reviewed  in  the  Euterpiad  in  like  terms  of  commendation  with  the 
first.  It  contained  Haydn's  beautiful  National  hymn,  "Gott  erhalte 
Fnniz  d'-ii  Kaiser^"  set  to  words  by  Dr.  Collyer ;  '-Lovely  is  the 
face  of  nature  "  ;  Handel's  "O  lovely  peace  I  "  from  Judas  Maccabaeus  ; 
••Is  there  a  man?"  by  the  same  composer;  and  Kent's  ^  anthem, 
••  Give  the  Lord  the  honor  due  unto  his  name,"  —  printed,  unlike  the 
other  numbers,  with  figured  bass. 

The  third  number,  which  was  ready  for  distribution  to  the  members 
on  Aug.  20,2  contained  Handel's  "How  green  our  fertile  pastures," 
from  Solomon  ;  ••  O  Lord  !  whose  mercies,"  from  Saul ;  "  How  willing 
ni}'  paternal  love."  •-  AVith  might  endued,"  and  "  To  fame  immortal 
go,"  from  Samson  ;  Haydn's  chorus,  "  Come,  sweet  spring,"  from 
the  Seasons  :  "  He  sees  and  he  believes,"  Bishop  ;  and  a  trio,  "  The 
bird  let  loose."  words  by  Moore,  music  by  Beethoven.  Although 
nothing  could  be  more  simple  in  harmony,  more  absolutely  tonal  than 
this  composition,  the  writer  in  the  Euterpiad,  awed  by  the  great  com- 
poser's name,  declares  that  in  it  •'  the  author  explores  many  of  the 
inmost  recesses  of  harmony  and  modulation." 

Early  in  October  appeared  the  fourth  number  of  the  collection, ^ 
containing  an  anthem  for  four  voices  by  John  Mosh,^  -'O  Lord  who 

•  James  Kent,  born  March  13,  1700;  organist  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  and 
of  Cathedral  and  College  at  Winchester;  died  Dec.  10,  1736. 

2  Reviewed  in  Euterpiad,  Sept.  9. 

3  Noticed  in  Euterpiad,  Oct.  14,  1820. 

^  English  amateur,  composer,  and  performer,  1750-1828. 


76  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

has  taught  us";  "Winter  has  a  charm  for  nie,"  quartet,  by  A. 
Herbury,  an  English  glee  writer  of  the  last  century  ;  i  '-Arm.  arm 
ye  brave  I  "  with  chorus  ;  "  We  come  in  bright  array,"  from  Handel's 
Judas  Maccaba^us  ;  and  the  anthem  for  four  voices,  "  They  played, 
in  air  the  trembling  music  floats,"  by  Sir  John  Stevenson,  which  it 
will  be  remembered  was  sung  by  the  Society  at  its  very  first  concert, 
Dec.  25,  1815.2  Ring's  oratorio,  "The  Intercession,"  filled  the  next 
two  numbers  of  the  volume,  of  which,  and  of  the  remainder  of  its  con- 
tents, we  shall  speak  further  on,  when  noting  its  completion  early  in 
1821.  The  Society  gave  its  twenty-sixth  and  twenty-seventh  concerts 
on  March  31  and  May  2,  when  the  Messiah  and  the  Creation  were 
interpreted  by  the  chorus,  with  solo  aid  from  Misses  Sumner  and  Ben- 
nett, and  Messrs.  Coolidge,  Baily,  and  Sharp.  On  June  30,  sixty 
members  took  part  in  the  religious  services  at  the  consecration  of  St. 
Paul's, 3  with  Dr.  Jackson  at  the  organ,  assisted  by  Messrs.  Graupner, 
Ostinelli,  Tavlor,  and  a  full  orchestra. 


SIXTH    SEASON. 
Sept.  4,  1820,  to  Sp:pt.  3,  1821. 

At  the  annual  meeting  on  Sept.  4,  an  encouraging  account  of  the 
Society's  financial  condition  was  presented  by  the  treasurer.  The 
debt  had  been  reduced  within  the  year  from  SI, 150  to  SlGl,  and  the 
secretary  felt  autliorized  to  state  that  the  institution  ''  has  never  been 
in  a  more  conspicuous  situation  than  at  present," —  the  word  "  con- 
spicuous," as  we  presume,  being  intended  to  coverall  social  and  finan- 
cial questions.  Well  satisfied  with  the  management  of  its  affairs,  the 
members  re-elected  the  same  chief  officers,  appointed  the  president, 
vice-president,  and  secretary,  with  Messrs.  Holt,  Huntington,  and 
Parker,  to  be  a  committee  on  selecting  and  publishing  music,  and 
appointed  Mr.  S.  Clark  their  librarian.  So  far  back  as  Jan.  10,  Mr. 
S.  P.  Taylor  had  resigned  his  position  as  organist,'^  though  he 
offered  to  serve  in  it  until  his  successor  should  be  appointed.  In 
September  he  intimated  that  he  could  no  longer  continue  to  do  so, 
and  on  the  26th,  Miss  Hewitt  accepted  the  place.     This  lady  (eventu- 

1  Musician  in  ordinary  to  George  III.,  died  Jixne  11,  175)6. 

2  For  programme,  see  p.  57,  end  of  Chaj).  I. 

3  Exiterpiad,  I.,  p.  55. 

4  He  was  then  elected  an  honorary  member,  and  thanked,  in  a  letter  from  the 
president,  "  for  the  faithful  and  scientific  maimer  in  which  he  had  presided  at  the 
organ." 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  77 

■ally  INIrs.  Ostinelli)  was  the  daughter  of  James  H.  Hewitt  (music 
dealer  aud  publisher  in  Boston  and  afterwards  in  New  York),  violin- 
ist, organist,  conductor,  and  teacher,  who  brought  her  before  the 
public  at  the  age  of  seven. ^  Until  18 IG  she  occasionally  sung  in 
concerts  at  New  York,  where  she  resided,  and  taught  music  in  Mrs. 
Brenton's  music  school.  Dr.  Jackson  gave  her  lessons  on  the  organ, 
and  Messrs.  Ferrand  and  Moran  on  the  piano  and  harp.  "  Her 
piano  playing,"  says  a  contemporary,  'Ms  plain,  sensible,  and  that  of 
a  gentlewoman ;  she  neither  takes  by  storm  nor  by  surprise,  but  she 
gradually  wins  upon  the  understanding,  while  the  ear,  though  it 
never  fills  the  other  senses  with  ecstasy,  drinks  in  full  satisfaction.'* 

We  give  this  quotation  as  a  specimen  of  the  fine  writing  of  the 
period,  but  we  prefer  the  more  sober  record  of  one  who  still  remem- 
bers her  as  "  the  leading  professional  pianist  of  Boston,  whose  per- 
formances at  the  Apollo  Societ}^  were  received  with  as  much  enthu- 
siasm as  those  of  Joseffy  and  his  peers  by  modern  audiences.  Her 
ability  as  an  organist,"  says  the  same  gentleman,  '•  may  be  estimated 
from  the  fact  that  at  the  rehearsals  and  concerts  of  the  Society,  she 
played  the  most  elaborate  accompaniments  from  copies  which  had 
been  sorely  neglected  by  the  proof-reader." 

That  Mrs.  Ostinelli's  services  were  appreciated  by  the  Society  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  she  retained  her  place  as  its  organist  for 
ten  years  ;  but  it  is  also  equally  clear,  from  the  circumstances  which 
accompanied  the  appointment  of  her  successor,  Mr.  Zeuner,  here- 
after to  be  related,  that  she  was  not  fitted  for  the  more  advanced 
demands  of  a  later  stage  of  musical  development,  which  required  a 
more  thoroughly  educated  musician.  Her  husband,  Sig.  Ostinelli, 
the  best  violinist  in  Boston,  and  leader  in  the  Philharmonic  Orchestra, 
was  a  conscientious  and  earnest  musician,  ''who,"  says  the  same 
witness,  "never  scrambled  through  his  work  like  a  hireling,  and  was 
always  in  full  sympathy  with  the  chorus." 

From  May  7,  the  Society  contented  itself  with  rehearsals  until 
Nov.  14,  when  it  gave  its  twenty-eighth  concert,  consisting  of  selec- 
tions ;  and  this  was  followed,  on  Dec.  19,  by  the  twenty-ninth,  which 
concluded  with  the  final  chorus  in  Beethoven's  Mount  of  Olives. ^ 

AVe  cannot  close  the  record  of  this  year  without  drawing  the 
reader's  attention  to  the  evidence  given  of  the  increased  reputation  of 
the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  by  the  following  advertisement  of  a 
so-called  Grammatical  Music  School,  kept  by  a  Mr.  Huntington,  in 


1  See  I.  R,  Parker's  Musical  Biographies,  Boston,  1825. 

2  The  two  iirogrammes  are  given  in  full  on  p.  167,  Vol.  II.,  of  Euterpiad. 


78  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Cornhill :  ''  Young  gentlemen  taught  to  sing  and  play  upon  the  flute, 
and  qualified  for  performance  at  church,  or  at  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society." 

At  the  third  concert  of  the  season,  on  the  IGth  of  January, 
1821,  the  selections  were,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Euterpiad  critic, ^ 
"  uncommonly  choice  "  ;  "  but,"  he  adds,  as  he  dons  the  judicial  cap, 
' '  it  would  be  a  dereliction  of  principle  not  to  declare  our  unequivocal 
dissatisfaction  with  what  we  heard  from  all  quarters,  instrumental  and 
Tocal.  The  apparent  want  of  individual  exertion,  constituting  a  pal- 
pable neglect  of  dut}^  towards  public  expectation,  showed  itself  on 
this  occasion.  We  were  reminded  by  the  effect  produced  upon  our 
minds  of  the  following  effusion  of  an  ancient  bard  of  oui'  metropolis 
on  jargon:   'Let  horrid  jargon  split  the   air,   etc.'"^ 

In  the  same  strain,  a  critic  writes  in  t\\Q  Xeiv  England  Gcdaxy :  — 

"  Why  we  cannot  tell,  but  one  thing  is  certain,  the  oratorios  of  the  present 
season  have  given  less  satisfaction  to  the  public  than  those,  of  past  seasons. 
That  of  Tuesday  evening  last  could  hardly  rank  above  an  ordinary  rehearsal. 
The  orchestra  was  lamentably  deficient  in  numbers  or  power,  perhaps  in  both. 
The  chorus,  '  Lord  have  mercy  on  us,'  was  responded  to  with  all  the  heart  by 
every  auditor." 

Such  severe  strictures  show  that  miproA'ement  in  style  of  perform- 
ance hardly  kept  pace  with  improvement  in  public  taste,  which  it 
should  always  lead,  not  follow.  The  time  had  come  when  stricter 
discipline  and  better  training  were  needed  to  keep  the  Society  in  the 
van,  and  it  was  perhaps  owing  to  the  feeling  of  non-dependence 
upon  public  patronage,  engendered  by  the  late  pecuniary  success  of 
the  publishing  venture,  that  a  more  vigorous  effort  was  not  made  to 
obtain  it  by  increased  musical  excellence.  The  production  of  a  new 
work,  King's  Intercession, ^  at  a  concert  given  on  the  Gth  of  Feb-^ 
ruary,  and  its  repetition  on  the  loth  of  March,  seem  to  have  some- 
what stimulated  pu})lic  interest,  as  might  have  been  expected  from  the 
popular  character  of  the  music.  "  It  is  more  modern  and  more  easy 
of  execution  than  the  Messiah  and  the  Creation,"  says  the  Euter- 
piad^ "  and  the  music  admits  of  more  fashionable  embellishments  than 
they  do.  [  !  I  !]  The  choruses  have  rather  the  simplicity  of  those  at 
the  opera  "  ;  with  more  in  the  same  vein,  which  shows  us  that  while 
the  singers  found  the  Intercession  easier  to  sing,  and  therefore  sang^ 


^Jan.  20,  182L     Euterpiad,  Vol.  II.,  p.  171. 

2  Billings.     See  No.  1,  p.  24. 

3  Matthew  Peter  King,  pupil  of  C.  F.  Horn.     The  Intercession  was  brought  out 
at  (V>vent  Garden  in  1817. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL   AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  79 

it  better,  the  public  found  it  more  suited  to  their  capacity,  and  there- 
fore listened  with  greater  complacency.  The  work  is  published  in 
the  first  volume  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Collection,  of  which  it 
filled  numbers  five  and  six.  The  choruses,  simply  conducted  upon 
tame,  not  to  say  trivial,  themes,  modulate  from  tonic  to  dominant, 
and  occasionally  to  related  minor  keys,  making  no  attempt  at  counter- 
point in  vocal  or  instrumental  parts.  The  music  is,  in  short,  a  modifi- 
cation of  the  psalm  tune  and  the  ballad,  to  which  latter  class  the 
once  popular  solo,  called  "Eve's  Lament,"  a  melody  of  a  common- 
place character,  belongs.  As  men's  character  may  be  judged  of  by 
their  associates,  so  ma}^  their  level  of  musical  cultivation  be  tested  by 
the  sort  of  music  which  they  appreciate  ;  whence  one  may  conclude 
that  as  the  Intercession  was  admired  by  Boston  audiences  in  1821, 
their  level  was  not  a  very  high  one. 

We  presume  that  a  letter  signed  "Ralph,"  reprinted  in  the  Euter- 
jnad^  from  the  Galaxy  about  this  time,  relates  to  the  concert  of  March 
15,  at  which  the  Intercession  was  performed  for  the  second  time, 
although  the  writer  refers  in  it  to  the  selections  given.  "  The  singer 
of  the  recitative  and  air  from  the  Creation  [probably  Capt.  Dodd] 
showed  good  taste  and  feeling,  but  wanted  animation.  '  Rejoice,  O 
Judah  ! '  was  given  by  a  distinguished  bass  voice  [Richardson  ?] ,  under 
perfect  command.  '  Father,  thy  work  is  past,'  by  the  president 
[Winchester],  with  a  fine  body  of  voice,  much  true  feeling,  exqui- 
site taste,  and  a  very  distinct  yet  musical  pronunciation.  A  youth 
with  a  voice  as  sweet  as  a  lute  sang  '  In  youth's  gay  spring.'  The 
choruses  were  mostly  exceedingly  well  performed,  though  one,  in 
which  the  short  tenor  solo  in  the  word  '  Amen '  sounded  like  the  cries 
of  a  boy  afflicted  with  the  colic,  might,  in  the  writer's  opinion,  as  well 
have  been  omitted." 

At  its  sixth  concert, 2  on  April  5,  the  Society  performed  the  Mes- 
siah ;  and  at  its  seventh,  on  May  15,  sang  selections  from  Handel, 
Haydn,  Mozart,  Beethoven,  Boyce,  and  Bray,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Howard  Benevolent  Societ}',  "  thus  making  "  (to  borrow  the  language 
of  a  letter,  signed  "Edward  Everett  and  others,"  in  which  the  Soci- 
ety's aid  is  asked  for  this  charity)  "  the  pleasures  of  harmony  a  source 
of  happiness  and  relief  to  those  who  are  otherwise  excluded  from  their 
enjoyment."  ^ 

The  first  number  of  the  second  volume  of  the  Society's  collection 

^  March  17,  1821. 

2  Programme :  "  Hpnor  and  Arms  "  ;  "  To  thee,  Cheruhhn,"  from  Dettiugeu  Te 
Deiim;  "  Glory  to  God,"  Mozart;  "  Tlie  Smile,"  Shaw,  etc. 

3  Proceeds  3150,  which  sum  was  paid  over  to  the  Howard  Benevolent  Society. 


80  HISTORY   OF    THE    HANDEL    AND   HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

of  sacred  music,  which  was  published  in  August,  coutains  Kent's 
anthem,  "  INIy  song  shall  be  of  mercy  and  judgment,"  Handel's 
"Pious  Orgies,"  a  quartet  by  I.  S.  Smith  on  Milton's  words,  "Blest 
pair  of  Sirens,"  and  Zerlina's  '' Batti!  Batti!  hel  Mazetto,''  from 
Mozart's  Don  Giovanni,  arranged  for  solo  and  chorus  on  the  words,. 
' '  Gently  Lord,  O  gently  lead  us  !  "  It  is  well,  perhaps,  ' '  that  the  devil 
should  not  have  all  the  best  tunes,"  but  the  principle  of  association  is 
strong  in  the  human  mind,  and  the  substitution  of  "  Hallelujah"  for 
^'^ Batti!  Batti!  hel  Mazetto,''  in  the  following  passage. 


5: 


g^gt^^ 


Hal  -  le    -     lu    -  jah»    Hal  -    le  -  lu  -  jah, 
Bat    -  ti,         Bat  -  ti,      bel       ma  -  zet  -  to, 

is  as  amusing  an  instance  of  its  violation  as  could  well  be  cited. 

The  rehearsal  of  Aug.  12,  which  was  attended  by  the  West  Point 
Cadets,  under  Major  Worth,  had  all  the  "prestige"  of  a  concert. 
Their  leader,  Mr.  Willis,  played  the  trumpet  obligato  part  to  the 
Judgment  Hymn,  "  The  Trumpet  shall  sound  "  (sung  by  S.  Richard- 
son), and  "  Let  the  Bright  Seraphim"  (sung  by  Mrs.  Martin). 


SEVENTH  SEASON. 
Sept.  3,  1821,  to  Sept.  2,   1822. 

The  conclusion  of  the  season  brought  the  usual  business  meetings 
in  its  train,  reports  for  the  year  showing  the  Society  to  be  free  of 
debt,  with  a  small  balance  in  the  treasurer's  hands  ;  a  statement  that 
the  sale  of  the  first  volume  of  the  Collection  had  paid  all  printing 
expenses;  the  re-election  of  the  same  officers  (Sept.  3)  for  the 
ensuing  year ;  and  of  Miss  Hewitt  as  organist,  and  T.  Bird  as  libra- 
rian, vice  Mr.  Clark,  resigned. 

At  a  meeting  held  on  Sept.  18,  Lowell  Mason,  who  was  to  play  an 
important  part  in  the  histor}^  of  the  Society,  was  elected  an  honorary 
member ;  but  as  he  preferred  to  take  an  active  part,  he  declined  to 
accept,  and  joined  the  Society  as  a  regular  member  in  the  month  of 
October.  The  "  father  of  American  church  music,"  as  he  has  been 
called,!  was  born  at  Medfield,^  Mass.,  on  the  8th  of  January,  1792, 
and  died  at  S.  Orange,  N.  J.,  Aug.  11,  1872.     He  went  to  Savannah, 

^Oration  of  Rev.  Geo.  B.  Bacon.     Congrerjational  Monthly,  January,  1873. 
^  Ritter,  p .  169,  says  Mansfield. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  81 

Ga.,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  and  according  to  the  account  of  Mr.  S. 
Jubal  Howe,i  who  knew  Mm  there  in  1821,  was  superintendent  of 
sales  in  a  jeweller's  shop,  and  conductor  of  a  chou',  for  whose  benefit 
he  occupied  his  leisure  moments  in  harmonizing  psalm  tunes. ^  He 
had  previously  learned  something  of  thorough-bass  by  correspondence 
with  Mr.  S.  G.  Taylor,  organist  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  and 
was  then  studying  with  F.  L.  Abel,  a  musician  who  resided  at  Savan- 
nah. Thither,  as  it  chanced,  came  JNIr.  W.  M.  Goodrich,  a  Boston 
organ-builder,  to  set  up  an  organ  ;  and  Col.  Newhall,  a  singing-master 
with  a  good  voice,  who  had  some  work  to  do  in  connection  with  a 
large  hotel,  then  in  process  of  erection.  Mason,  who  became  intimate 
with  both  these  men,  was  very  anxious  to  find  means  to  publish  his 
collection  of  church  music,  consisting  of  selections  from  the  works  of 
eminent  composers  adapted  to  the  use  of  his  chou',  believing  that  it 
would  meet  with  a  ready  sale,  and  they  probably  encouraged  him  in 
the  idea  that  he  could  not  do  better  than  make  the  attempt  in  Boston. 
Having  determined  to  do  so,  he  embarked  with  Mr.  Howe,  the  narra- 
tor, on  board  a  sailing  ship,  in  which  they  were  the  only  passengers. 
At  their  request  they  were  landed  at  Falmouth,  where  they  hired  a 
boy  with  horse  and  carryall  to  take  them  to  Plymouth,  which  they 
reached  on  a  Saturday  night,  and  where  they  spent  the  Sunday  in  visnting 
a  Mr.  Hobart,  whose  name  was  known  to  Mason  as  publisher  of  the 
Old  Colony  Collection.  Finding  that  he  was  not  a  musician,  the 
travellers  proceeded  to  Boston,  where  Col.  Newhall  introduced  Mason 
to  Dr.  Jackson,  who  examined  his  manuscript  and  gave  him  a  first- 
rate  certificate.  The  certificate,  dated  Oct.  5,  1821,  five  days  before 
Mason  signed  a  contract  with  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  by 
which  they  became  joint  partners  in  publishing  a  book,  to  be  entitled 
"The  Boston  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  Collection  of  Church  Music, 
harmonized  for  three  and  four  voices,  with  figured  bass,  for  Organ 
and  Pianoforte,"  runs  as  follows  :  — 

•  •  I  liaA'e  been  higlil}'  gratified  witli  the  exarnlnatioii  of  the  maiinscript  of 
the  Haudel  aud  Haydn's  Societ}^  Collection  of  Music.  The  selection  of 
tunes  is  judicious ;  it  contains  all  the  old  approved  English  melodies  that  have 
long  been  in  use  in  the  church,  together  with  man}' compositions  from  modern 
English  authors.     Tlie  whole  are  harmonized  with  great  accurac}',  truth,  and 


1 T.  F.  Seward  says  he  was  employed  at  a  hank. 

2  S.  Jubal  Howe  related  these  facts  to  Mr.  S.  Jennison  in  1871  They  agree  in 
the  main  with  those  given  in  a  pamphlet,  entitled  The  Educational  Work  of  Dr. 
Lowell  ifason,  by  Theodore  F.  Seward,  which  contains  a  list  of  Mason's  works, 
and  a  sketch  of  his  life  by  A.  W.  Thayer,  first  printed  in  Dwight's  Journal  of 
Music. 


82  HISTOPvY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDX    SOCIETY. 

judgment,  according  to  the  acknowledged  principles  of  musical  science. 
I  consider  the  book  as  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the  church,  as  well  as  to 
every  lover  of  devotional  music.  It  is  much  the  best  book  I  have  seen  pub- 
lished in  this  country,  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  give  it  my  most  decided 
approbation. 

••  Very  respectfully  yours. 

■   G.  H.  Jackson." 

••  President  AViuehester."  says  Mr.  Howe  iii  the  letter  quoted  above, 
'•  was  also  much  pleased  with  Masou's  manuscript,  and  made  a  bargain 
with  him  about  its  publication  by  the  Society,  without  any  mention  of 
his  (Mason's)  name."  This  stipulation  was  inserted  in  the  contract  at 
Mr.  Mason's  request  for  the  following  reason,  thus  given  by  himself  :  — 

"  I  was  then  a  bank  officer  in  Savannah,  and  did  not  wish  to  be  known  as  a 
musical  man.  as  I  had  not  the  least  thought  of  CA'er  making  music  a  profes- 
sion. The  clause  in  the  contract  which  gave  the  Society  the  right  to  dispose 
of  and  sell  the  property  was  also  inserted  at  my  suggestion,  because  I  had 
more  confidence  in  Mr.  Winchester  for  this  purpose  than  in  myself,  and 
besides  my  residence  in  Savannah  rendered  it  proper  and  even  necessary." 

The  contract  ••  to  select  and  publish  from  the  Collection  already 
prepared  by  Mr.  Mason,  stipulates  that  no  piece  is  to  be  inserted 
without  the  consent  of  both  parties  :  that  the  Society  is  to  have  the 
superintendence  of  the  publishing  of  all  editions,  and  the  right  to 
dispose  of  them  for  such  sums  as  they  may  think  proper,  but  not  to 
dispose  of  the  copyright  without  Mason's  consent."  Before  this  time, 
as  we  learn  from  a  letter  written  by  Mason  to  Mr.  Farnham,  !March 
14.  1869,  some  musical  arrangements  of  his  had  been  published  in  the 
Old  Colony  Collection.     He  writes  :  — 

•  The  first  music  that  I  ever  furnished  to  the  Society  will  be  found  at  p. 
128,  in  the  second  volume  of  that  collection.  I  put  the  English  words  to  the 
Kyi'ie  of  Mozart,  and  sent  them  to  a  poor  musical  friend  in  Waltham.  advis- 
ing him  to  ofler  them  to  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  and  perhaps  he  might 
obtain  some  little  remuneration.  He  did  so,  and  I  believe  was  rewarded,  etc. 
The  next  thing  was  the  very  popular  Gloria  by  Mozart,  p.  133.  This  was 
about  1S20." 

But  to  retm-n  to  Mr.  Howe's  reminiscences  relating  to  Masou's 
visit  to  Boston  in  the  following  year,  and  his  contract  of  Oct.  10. 
"  Winchester,"  he  says,  '-sold  the  copyright,  and  Mason  probably 
put  8500  into  his  pocket,  and  went  back  to  Savannah,  where  he  was 
still  clerk  in  a  bank,  feeling  rich."  The  first  intunation  given  him  of 
the  success  of  the  publication  was  in  a  letter  from  Mr.  Howe,  who  at 
his  request  called  on  ^h\  Lord,i  and  learned  that  it  was  selling  well, 

1  Messrs.  Richardson  &  Lord  took  3,000  copies  for  ?500. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY.      83 

Terv  well  indeed,  and  that  another  edition  would  soon  be  needed. 
On  hearing  this,  ]Mason  busied  himself  in  preparing  the  materials,  it 
having  been  agreed  in  the  first  contract  that  he  should  continue  to 
select  and  arrange  deskable  compositions  for  future  editions.  These 
multiplied  rapidly,  and  at  the  end  of  five  3^ears  had  3'ielded  the 
handsome  profit  of  $4,033.32,  to  be  divided  between  the  contracting 
parties.  Mr.  Mason  then  came  to  Boston  in  1821,  and  entered  upon 
a  long  and  successful  career,  of  which  more  hereafter. 

Of  the  three  last  concerts  before  the  end  of  the  year,  the  two  first, 
given  on  Oct.  30  and  Dec.  11,  are  of  no  special  interest;  but  the 
third,  on  Dec.  25, ^  for  the  benefit  of  the  family  of  Col.  Webb,  was 
notable  for  its  object,  and  for  the  reappearance  of  Thomas  Phillips, 
the  English  tenor,  after  a  three  years'  absence  in  England.  His  sing- 
ing of  the  recitative  and  solo,  "  The  horse  and  his  rider,"  was,  says 
the  Euterpiad^  ' '  superior  to  anything  within  our  recollection."  Warm- 
ing with  his  subject,  the  critic  goes  on  to  say  that  the  effect  produced 
by  Phillips's  delivery  of  "In  splendor  bright,"  will  not  be  forgotten  ; 
and  then,  rising  to  a  pitch  of  unsurpassable  eloquence,  he  records 
that  on  repeating  "Lord,  remember  David,"  "into  whose  ad  libitum 
passages  he  had  already  introduced  some  new  and  extraordinarily 
eft'ective  modulations,  he  added  scintillations  of  science  both  novel 
and  classical  "II!  As  if  one  star  of  the  first  magnitude  was  not 
enough  on  this  memorable  evening,  whose  performance,  "  taken  as  a 
whole,"  we  are  told,  "has  never  been  equalled,"  a  second  of  almost 
equal  brilliancy  rose  in  the  sky  in  the  person  of  Mrs.  Holman,  who  is 
mentioned  in  the  Centinel  as  "  a  beautiful  and  interesting  woman,  with 
an  admirable  voice  both  in  tone  and  compass."  She  sang  "Angels 
ever  bright  and  fair,"  and  repeated  it  "in  response  to  torrents  of 
applause  from  every  part  of  the  hall."  Sang  an  anonymous  poet  in 
the  Palladium:  — 

' '  O  lady !  when  the  wings  of  worth 
To  heaven  thy  ripened  virtues  bear, 
Breathe  but  the  tones  thou  breath'dst  ou  earth, 
Aud  tliou  wilt  find  a  welcome  there."  ^ 

Another  female  vocalist  of  merit.  Miss  Davis,  a  mezzo-soprano, 
described  as  "an  interesting  and  truly  classic  vocalist,"  lent  her  aid 

^  Proceeds  $302. 

-  Mrs.  Holman  api^eared  on  the  stage  with  Phillips,  who  from  sundry  anecdotes 
Avould  seem  to  have  been  not  a  little  jealous  of  her  success.  On  consulting  him  as 
to  wliether  she  should  sing  the  favorite  song  of  "  Tally-Ho  "  at  her  benefit,  he  replied, 
■"  By  G— !  madam,  you  bad  better  put  on  the  breeches  at  once,  and  play  Macheath." 
(Beggar's  Opera.) 


84      HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY. 

OD  this  occasion.     She  was  Phillips's  pupil,  and  a  successful  teacher 
of  singing  and  the  piano  in  Boston. 

The  newspaper  articles  of  the  time  show  clearly  that  Phillips's 
second  visit  to  Boston  was  less  successful  than  the  first.  "And 
why?"  asks  a  writer  in  the  Galaxy . 

"  Is  not  his  voice  as  full,  as  perfect,  as  forcible,  liis  articulation  as  dis- 
tinct? Does  not  his  execution  display  as  much  feeling?  Are  not  his  musical 
ornaments  as  brilliant  and  sparkling,  his  cadences  as  intricate  and  as  wonder- 
ful as  ever?  Yes;  but  in  the  first  place,  his  most  celebrated  songs  have  been 
sung  or  played  during  his  absence  by  almost  every  real  or  pretended  amateur 
in  music,  by  professional  men  on  the  stage,  by  every  girl  who  could  finger  a 
piano,  by  every  boy  who  could  whistle,  and  b\^  about  every  fifer  who  could 
play  a  march  before  a  company  of  militia." 

As  his  old  songs  were  worn  threadbare,  his  new  ones  inferior  to  the 
old,  and  his  voice  less  powerful  than  of  yore,  it  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered at  that  the  singer  found  his  hold  on  public  favor  diminished ; 
but  he  must  have  l)een  gratified  by  the  general  verdict  that  he  had 
done  much  for  musical  culture  in  Boston.  This  feeling  is  strongly 
expressed  in  a  letter  written  to  him  b}'  Mr.  Winchester  after  his  final 
leave-taking  in  1822.  "My  regret  that  the  most  finished  specimens 
of  vocal  talent  which  have  ever  been  exhibited  among  us  should  have 
met  with  so  disproportionate  a  reception  is  increased,  when  I  reflect 
that  the  improvement  of  the  vocal  art  resulting  from  your  visit  to 
this  place  will  be  a  source  of  delight  to  the  lovers  of  music  for  ages  ; 
and  this  consideration,"  he  adds,  "will  be  your  best  remuneration. 
It  was  but  little  that  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  were  able  to 
contribute  to  your  happiness,  but  that  little  flowed  from  hearts 
sensible  of  the  benefits  received  from  your  precepts  and  example." 

Our  account  of  Phillips  would  be  incomplete  were  we  to  omit 
reference  to  his  lectures  on  the  art  of  singing,  delivered  in  Du])lin  in 
1820,  and  repeated  in  Boston,  at  Boylston  Hall,  on  the  17th  and  21st 
of  December,  with  great  eclat.  In  these  he  analyzed  different  styles 
of  singing  ;  maintained  that  any  one  with  an  average  voice,  and  indus- 
try to  follow  a  few  plain  rules,  would  soon  become  an  agreeable  and 
perhaps  an  excellent  singer  ;  and  illustrated  his  remarks  by  singing 
passages  from  many  beautiful  songs  and  anthems,  to  his  own  piano- 
forte accompaniment.  His  last  appearance  in  Boston  was  at  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Society  on  the  15th  of  December,  1822,  when  he  sang 
Handel's  "  Lord,  remember  David,"  and  Haydn's  "  In  native  worth." 
In  June,  1823,  he  took  final  leave  of  an  American  audience  at  the 
Park  Theatre,  New  York,  and  shortly  after  sailed  for  England. 

AVe  shall  conclude  our  record  of  the  vear  1821  with  a  rhodomon- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  85- 

tade  entitled  the  "  Genealogy  of  the  Common  Fiddle,"  which  appeared 
in  the  Galaxy^  June  8  :  — 

"  I  have  been  unwearied  in  mj- efibrts  and  unbounded  in  my  researches, 
and  with  an  immense  deal  of  trouble  have  at  last  discovered  that  the  Great. 
Fiddle  which  2:roans  so  audibly  (we  presume  with  old  ag:e)  in  the  oratorios 
of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  the  mother  of  all  little  Fiddles  in  this 
quarter  of  the  globe,  was  left  by  Columbus  at  Hayti,  in  San  Domingo,  when 
he  landed  on  the  island ;  and  that  it  was  presented  and  forwarded  to  the  liter- 
ary emporium  of  the  New  AYorld  by  Prince  Saunders,  Esq.,  as  a  testimony  of 
love  and  respect  for  his  native  city." 

Was  it  in  consequence  of  this  humorous  diatribe  that  the  Society 
found  it  advisable,  in  1822,  to  purchase  a  double-bass  of  Mr.  Wood, 
for  the  sum  of  SI 00? 

Both  Mr.  Phillips  and  Miss  Davis  sang  for  the  Society  on  the  8tli 
and  15th  of  January.  At  the  first  of  these  concerts,  as  we  learn  from 
the  FaUaclnim.  Phillips  sang  "Deeper  and  deeper  still"  in  his  best 
style.  In  this,  and  in  "  Eveleen's  Bower,"  which  was  rapturously 
encored,  he  gave  a  practical  illustration  of  what  may  be  achieved  by 
following  his  rules  for  pronunciation  and  singing.  Miss  Davis  sang 
"Farewell,  ye  limpid  streams,"  and  the  '•  Mocking-bird,"  thus  prov- 
ing that  secular  music  was  not  excluded  from  the  programmes  of  the 
Society  when  professional  singers  took  part  in  them.  A  little  more 
frequent  assistance  of  the  sort  wonld  have  been  advisable,  for  the 
occasionally  severe  criticisms  which  are  to  be  found  in  newspapers  of 
the  time  show  that  the  solo  singing  by  members  of  the  Society  was 
by  no  means  of  the  best. 

Here  are  specimens,  —  the  first  from  the  Euterjnad,  relating  to  a  con- 
cert given  in  February.  "We  never,"  says  the  writer,  "  experienced  so 
great  a  disappointment  as  in  listening  to  the  tenor  (J.  Huntington) 
who  attempted  '  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth.'  "  Again,  a  season- 
ticket  holder,  writing  to  the  Golaxy  at  a  later  date.  May  14,  1824, 
speaks  of  the  performances  of  solo  singers  as  "calculated  to  do 
little  credit  to  themselves  or  to  the  Society.  If  needed,  they  should 
be  sought  outside  of  its  limits.  The  solo  singers  at  the  rehearsal  of 
the  18th  of  April  were  thoroughly  inadeqnate.^  On  the  whole,  we 
think  it  is  the  most  ridiculous  rehearsal  we  have  ever  heard."     Stric- 


^  To  some  of  these,  the  advice  given  by  Haydn,  to  a  minor  canon  of  Gloucester 
Cathedral  about  1753,  Avould  have  been  suitable.  This  canon,  who  had  simg  in  the 
chorus,  was  violently  hissed  when  he  attempted  a  solo.  Haydn  said  to  him,  "  I  am 
very  sorry,  very  sorry  indeed  for  you,  my  dear  sir:  but  go  back  to  your  cathedral  in 
the  country.  God  will  forgive  yoii  for  your  bad  singing,  but  these  wicked  j)eople  lol 
London,  they  will  not  forgive  you." 


^G  HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

tures  are  not  coufined  to  the  singers,  but  extend  to  the  orchestra. 
*' When,"  says  another  critic,  "professional  men  are  paid  for  their 
services,  the  public  is  entitled  to  theii'  best  possible  exertions  ;  but  the 
inability  of  some,  the  incapacity  and  indifference  of  others,  com- 
bined with  the  absence  of  those  most  needed,  had  a  tendency  to  dete- 
riorate the  performance  of  many  of  the  most  effective  pieces.^  Two 
abuses  which  existed  in  1822,  and  have  ever  since  been  annually 
pointed  out  as  needing  correction,  are  the  habit  of  applauding  at 
oratorios,  "  a  habit,"  says  the  Euterpiad^  "  more  worthy  the  amuse- 
ments of  Thespis  than  of  a  place  devoted  to  choral  worship  "  ;  and 
that  of  leaving  the  hall  during  the  performance  of  the  final  chorus. 
If  people  must  leave,  they  should  do  so  before  it  begins,  was  said 
sixty  years  ago,  and  is  said  now,  and  will,  we  suppose,  have  to  be  said 
a  hundnsd  ^^ears  hence. 

I  happen  to  have  in  my  possession  a  letter  written  a  few  years  ago 
by  one  of  the  oldest  living  members  of  the  Society,  in  which  the 
writer  speaks  of  the  very  period  which  we  have  under  consideration, 
as  marked  h\  an  ' '  entke  absence  of  applause  and  of  encores  during 
the  performance  of  oratorios  and  sacred  pieces  by  the  Society,"  The 
passage  just  quoted  from  the  Euterpiad  shows  that  such  was  not  the 
case,  and  proves  that,  like  Elijah,  we  are  not  in  this  respect  better 
than  our  fathers. 

There  are  occasions  when  the  feelings  are  so  wrought  upon  that  it 
is  well-nigh  impossible  to  resist  the  impulse  to  give  them  outward 
utterance  ;  but  such  occasions  are  rare,  and  when  they  occur,  though 
the  offence  may  be  condoned,  it  still  remains  an  offence  against  pro- 
priety. 

It  seems  hardly  necessary  to  remark  that  we  are  speaking  of 
-applause  as  ill-timed  when  bestowed  upon  such  essentially  sacred  music 
as  that  of  Handel  and  Bach.  Works  like  the  Stabat  Mater  of  Rossini, 
written  expressly  for  vocal  display,  savor  of  the  opera  house,  and 
may  be  fitly  met  with  demonstrations  suitable  to  it ;  but  these  are  out 
of  place  when  made  at  performances  of  works  like  the  Messiah  or 
the  Passion,  whose  words  and  music  are  alike  sacred. 

The  programmes  of  the  concerts  given  on  March  12  and  25, 
May  31,  Nov.  12,  and  Dec.  1  were  made  up  of  the  Intercession,  the 
second  part  of  the  Creation,  and  divers  selections,  of  which  the  solos 
were  sung  by  Mrs.  Stone  and  Mrs.  Martin,  Misses  Cambridge  and 
Woodward,  Messrs.  Sharp,  Dodd,  etc.  These  call  for  no  special 
comment.    Phillips,  as  we  have  already  said,  was  present  at  the  rehear- 

^  Euterpiad,  11.,  196. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  87 

sal  of  Dec.  15,  and  sang  for  the  last  time  to  the  members,  who  doubt- 
less parted  from  him  with  regret. 

EIGHTH   SEASOX. 
Sept.  2,  1822,  to  Sept.  1,  1823. 

The  annual  meeting,  at  which  the  same  chief  officers  were  re-elected 
for  the  ensuing  3'ear,  was  held  Sept.  2.  The  treasurer  reported  a 
balance  of  over  S400  in  hand,  although  a  new  organ  worth  $1,200 
had  been  purchased  of  Mr.  Mackav  in  the  early  part  of  the  year. 
This,  with  eight  hundred  copies  of  the  Society's  publications,  worth  at 
least  $2  per  Tolume,  placed  it  on  a  sound  financial  basis.  On  the  6th 
of  September,  Mr.  Bird  was  elected  librarian  and  Miss  Hewitt 
organist,  and  on  the  24th  of  December  the  publishing  committee  was 
directed  to  superintend  a  second  edition  of  the  collection  of  sacred 
music. 

The  most  interesting  matter  connected  with  the  history  of  the 
Society  in  the  year  1823,  to  which  its  progress  has  brought  us,  is  the 
fact  that  BeethoTen  was  commissioned  to  write  an  oratorio  for  it. 
That  the  commission  was  given  is  certain,  but  as  it  is  not  mentioned 
in  the  records.  Mr.  A.  ^X.  Thayer  is  probably  right  in  thinking  that 
it  was  given  unofficially  by  Eichardson  and  two  or  three  other  mem- 
bers. In  October,  1854,  Mr.  Thayer  wrote  a  letter  to  Mr.  J.  S. 
Dwight,  the  well-known  editor  of  the  Miisiccd  Journal,  to  say  that  he 
had  questioned  Schindler,  Beethoven's  biographer,  on  the  subject, 
and  had  learned  from  him  that  in  1823,  a  Boston  banker,  whose  name 
was  unknown  to  him,  having  occasion  to  write  to  Geymuller,  a  Viennese 
banker,  had  sent  an  order  to  the  great  musician  to  compose  an  oratorio 
for  somebody  or  some  society  in  Boston,  and  that  it  was  forwarded  to 
its  destination.  At  the  time,  Beethoven  was  about  to  begin  a  work 
for  a  Viennese  society,  to  be  called  the  Victory  of  the  Cross  (Der  Sieg^ 
des  Kreuzes),  the  text  of  which  had  been  furnished  by  his  friend 
Bernard.  Pleased  with  the  order  sent  him  for  Boston,  he  determined 
at  once  to  fill  it  with  this  oratorio.  AVishing  to  know  the  truth  about 
the  matter,  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Thayer,  then,  as  now,  U.  S.  consul  at 
Trieste,  for  information,  and  in  reply  learned  that  in  one  of 
Beethoven's  note-books  at  Berlin,  he  had  found  this  passage  :  — 

"  Biihler  writes  —  '  The  oratorio  for  Boston? '  I  caunot  write  what  I  should 
best  like  to  write,  but  that  which  the  pressing  need  of  monej^  obliges  me  to 
write.  This  is  not  saying  that  I  write  only  for  money.  When  this  period  is 
past,  I  hope  to  write  what  for  me  and  for  art  is  above  all,  Faust." 


88  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Mr.  Thayer  also  found  an  article  on  Beethoven  in  the  Morgen- 
hlatt  far  gebildete  Lesftr,  Nov.  5,  1828,  which  closes  with  a  notice 
of  three  projected  works,  one  of  which  is  the  oratorio,  with  English 
text,  for  Boston.  1  Xeither  at  Vienna,  nor  in  the  Beethoven  papers 
preserved  by  Schindler,  could  Mr.  Thayer  find  any  further  mention  of 
this  matter,  and  we  must  conclude  that  it  was  never  anything  more 
than  a  project  with  Beethoven. 

We  return  now  to  the  affairs  of  the  Society  during  the  remainder  of 
the  season.  Between  the  .1st  of  January,  1823,  and  the  annual  meeting 
on  Sept.  1,  four  concerts  were  given,  —on  the  evenings  of  Jan.  28, 
when  the  whole  Creation  was  sung,  and  on  Feb.  11,  March  25,  and 
May  27,  when  the  programmes  were  made  up  of  selections,  and  the 
solo  singers  were  there  with  whose  names  we  are  familiar.  ''  The 
chorus  of  this  time,"  says  one  of  its  still  living  members,  ''  could  hardly 
have  numbered  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  voices,  and  the  orchestra 
from  twenty  to  twenty-five  players,  among  whom  were  several  vigorous 
trombones."  The  instrumental  strength  is  here  probabh^  somewhat 
exaggerated  ;  at  least,  we  know  that  but  thirteen  players  took  part  in 
the  concert  of  March  25,  and  that  the  whole  amount  paid  for  orches- 
tral assistance  during  the  season  amounted  only  to  S382. 

The  purchase  of  an  organ,  a  double-bass,  and  a  pair  of  drums  left 
the  Society  S353  in  debt  at  the  close  of  the  season,  despite  the  largest 
sale  of  season  tickets  ever  known.  Nevertheless,  the  condition  of 
affairs  might  be  considered  satisfactory,  as  the  treasurer  had  received 
$711  from  the  sale  of  the  Society's  publications,  of  which  about  nine 
hundred  copies  remained  on  hand,  valued  at  two  dollars  a  volume,  and 
its  property  was  valued  at  $5,346. 


NINTH   SEASON. 
Sept.  1,  1823,  to  Sept.  G,  1824. 

At  the  annual  meeting  on  the  1st  of  September,  the  chief  officers 
elected  were  all  new,  with  the  exception  of  the  secretary,  Joseph 
Lewis.  The  successful  candidates  were  Robert  Rogerson,  president ; 
Joseph  Bailey,  vice-president ;  and  AVilliam  Coffin,  Jr.,  treasurer.  As 
the  gentlemen  who  had  filled  these  offices  during  the  present  season 


^  "  Eine  Symplionie,  qiiartetteii,  ein  Biblisches  oratorium  ihm  durch  den  Ameri- 
kanischen  Consul,  in  EnfjHsclier  sprache,  ans  dem  Vereinigten  Staaten  iiberscliickt 
und  vielleicht  eine  der  Diclitungen  von  Grilli^arzer  steht  zu  erwarten."  Tliis  poem 
of  Grillparzer's  was  tlie  libretto  of  a  German  opera  called  Melusina,  accepted  and 
then  abandoned. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  89 

ivere  now  appointed  members  of  the  board  of  trustees,  it  is  evident 
that  theii'  cordial  relations  with  the  Society  had  suffered  no  change. 
The  new  president,  3Ir.  Rogerson,  had  been  a  member  of  the  board 
during  the  past  four  seasons,  but  his  name  is  not  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  the  Society  after  a  close  of  his  single  presidential  year, 
which  was  singularly  uneventful.  A  concert  of  selections  was  given 
on  Nov.  11,  but  otherwise  the  Society  remained  inactive  until  the 
opening  of  the  new  year,  during  which  no  new  singers  appeared,  and 
no  new  works  were  offered  to  the  public.  This  total  want  of  enter- 
prise did  not  pass  unnoticed.  Severe  comments  upon  the  inadequacy 
of  the  solo  singers,  and  the  shortcomings  of  the  orchestra  at  the 
Society's  concerts,  appeared  in  the  newspapers,  and  judging  by 
the  lame  attempts  to  controvert  them,  which  only  succeeded  in  proving 
the  weakness  of  the  writers'  cause,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
criticisms  made  were  fully  justified.  Three  concerts  of  selections,  on 
Jan.  20,  March  IG  and  23,  and  two,  on  Feb.  24  and  March  10.  at 
which  the  Creation  was  sung,  represent  the  Society's  work  during 
the  five  mouths  of  1824  which  preceded  the  annual  meeting,  and 
closed  the  weak  administration  of  Mr.  Roo'erson. 


TEXTH  SEASON. 

Sept.  0.  1824.  to  Sept.  5.   1825. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  after  filling  the  office  of  president  for 
four  successive  years  with  singular  success,  Mr.  Amasa  AVinchester 
had  declined  a  reuominatiou.  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Rogerson. 
The  change  of  pilot  had  not  proved  satisfactory,  and  an  eff'oit  was 
made  to  induce  Mr.  AVinchester  to  accept  a  reuominatiou.  Whether 
he  had  declined  to  do  so  before  his  election,  which  took  place  at  the 
annual  meeting  on  Sept.  5,  1825,  we  do  not  know  :  but  on  being 
informed  of  it,  he  refused  to  accept,  and  the  Society  was  informed  on 
legal  authority,  that  as  the  existing  laws  contained  no  provision  for 
filling  the  vacancy  thus  caused,  it  must  pass  a  special  act.  A  meeting 
was  accordingly  called  for  Oct.  5,  at  which  a  motion  was  made  to 
suspend  ''  any  by-law  or  laws  which  prevent,  or  may  be  considered  to 
prevent,  the  members  from  electing  a  president  for  the  remainder  of 
the  present  year  "  :  but  after  considerable  debate  it  was  voted  down  by  a 
large  majority,  probably  because  its  opponents  entertained  the  hope 
that  Mr.  Winchester  would  cut  the  Gordian  knot  by  reconsidering 
his  refusal.  This  we  may  presume  he  did,  as  no  further  mention  is 
made  of  the  matter  in  the  Society's  records,  and  his  name  appears  as 


90  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

president  ill  the  list  of  officers  for  1824,  with  the  names  of  Joshua. 
Stone  as  vice-president,  Joseph  Lewis  as  secretary,  and  William 
Coffin,  Jr.,  as  treasurer.  Mr.  Chas.  Xolen  was  re-elected  librarian, 
and  Mrs.  Ostinelli,  organist.  The  financial  report  for  the  year  showed 
a  balance  in  hand  of  Sl,281.71,  leaving  about  SlUU  in  the  treasury 
when  outstanding  bills  should  have  been  paid.  In  November,  Messrs. 
Eichardson  &  Lord  were  appointed  to  superintend  the  publication  of 
5,000  copies  of  the  Society's  collection  of  sacred  music,  at  a  cost  of 
$833.33  ;  and  at  the  same  meeting  a  proposition  was  made  to  purchase 
a  piece  of  land,  on  which  a  hall  might  be  erected  for  the  Society's 
use  ;  but  unfortunately,  as  we  cannot  but  think  when  we  consider  the 
relative  value  of  real  estate  at  that  and  at  the  present  time,  it  was 
not  seconded.  Had  land  been  then  purchased  in  the  heart  of  the  city, 
at  a  moderate  price,  even  if  no  building  had  been  erected,  it 
might  have  been  afterwards  sold  with  sufficient  profit  to  buy  and  build 
elsewhere.  In  such  case  the  Society,  instead  of  being  a  homeless 
wanderer,  would  now  perhaps  occupy  a  building  of  ample  proportions, 
of  a  simple  and  somewhat  severe  exterior,  containing  a  noble  concert 
hall,  adorned  with  statues  of  the  two  great  titular  composers,  and 
with  portraits  of  all  the  great  writers  of  sacred  music  hanging  upon 
its  walls  ;  having  a  fine  organ,  an  ample  stage,  with  permanent  seats 
for  the  chorus  singers ;  rooms  for  the  meetings  of  the  board  of 
government  and  for  the  examination  of  candidates  :  and  a  library, 
where  scores,  musical  histories  and  treatises,  manuscripts,  etc.,  could 
be  consulted  at  ease.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  sooner  or  later 
this  '•  castle  in  Spain"  will  become  a  reality  in  Boston,  but  it  will  be 
when  those  who  are  now  living  have  long  since  passed  away. 

May  those  who  are  to  realize  the  long-contemplated  project,  and 
enjoy  what  their  predecessors  would  fain  have  enjoyed,  remember  that 
"  Hoc  erat  in  votis  "  during  many  generations. 

Whether  because  a  dearth  of  good  singers  prevailed  in  the  land,  or 
that  funds  were  wanting  to  engage  such  as  might  have  been  found, 
certain  it  is  that  none  appeared  during  the  tenth  season,  which  we 
have  now  under  consideration.  Its  programmes  are  somewhat  more 
varied  than  those  of  the  previous  year,  but  they  contain  the  names  of 
no  new  works,  nor,  judging  by  the  remarks  of  the  critics,  was  any 
improvement  in  the  manner  of  performing  old  established  favorites- 
perceptible. 

Selections  were  sung  on  Dec.  21,  and  on  Jan.  25,  1825,  King's 
Intercession  was  revived,  as  was  the  Dettingen  Te  Deum  on  Feb.  27. 
A  part  of  the  Messiah  was  given  on  March  22,  and  the  whole  of  the 
Creation  on  Mav  3.     Such  is  the  record  of  a  vear  which  mav  fairly 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.      91 

be  regarded  as  one  which  added  little  or  nothing  to  the  reputation  of 
the  Society,  whose  activities  seem  to  have  been  specially  devoted 
to  the  publication  of  a  third  edition  of  its  Collection,  and  to 
the  preparation  of  a  third  volume  of  its  Sacred  Music  series. 
The  purchase  of  Dr.  Jackson's  copy  of  Dr.  Samuel  Arnold's  edition 
of  Handel's  works  in  fifty-eight  volumes  folio,  effected  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  season,  made  an  important  addition  to  the  library,  which, 
remained  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Charles  Nolen. 


ELEVENTH   SEASON. 

Sept.  5,  1825,  to  Sept.  -t,  1S2(). 

At  the  annual  meeting  on  Sept.  5,  the  same  chief  officers  were 
re-elected.  In  October,  the  board  of  trustees,  moved  by  the  late 
severe  comments  of  the  press  upon  the  public  performances  of 
the  Society,  which  had  been  but  poorly  attended,  and  confident  that 
it  could  support  itself  on  the  sale  of  its  publications,  voted  that  its 
concerts  "  be  and  are  intended  for  the  improvement  of  its  members 
and  the  amusement  of  their  friends,  and  that  no  season  tickets  shall 
be  issued."  The  concert  given  on  Nov.  13  was  consequently 
attended  exclusively  by  the  friends  of  the  members,  who,  as  we  are 
told,  "  were  highly  gratified  by  the  singing  of  selections  from  the 
Messiah  and  the  thu'd  volume  of  the  Society's  Collection."  With 
Mrs.  Ostinelli  at  the  organ,  and  an  orchestra  of  eleven  musicians, 
engaged  for  the  season  at  $347,^  the  year  passed  economically  and 
quietly,  if  not  brilliantly ;  but  as  the  policy  of  excluding  the  public 
was  not  adhered  to,  it  is  clear  that  the  members  felt  the  want  of  that 
stimulus  to  exertion  which  can  only  be  supplied  from  without,  and 
thought  it  better  to  reopen  the  doors  and  let  in  fresh  air,  than  t"  die 
for  want  of  it.  Criticism  is  often  disagreeable  to  societies  as  to 
individuals,  but  it  is  healthful,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  that  it 
di-aws  attention  to  the  little  done  in  comparison  with  the  much  that 
remains  to  be  done. 

"  Das  weuige  verschwiudet  leicht  dem  Bhcke 
Der  vorwarts  sieht,  wie  viel  noch  iibrig  bleibt." 

Semi-public  rehearsals,  to  which  the  members  were  allowed  to 
invite  their  friends,  were  held  by  the  Society  in  the  three  first  months 
of  1826,  and  concerts  were  given  on  Jan.  31,  April  23,  and  June  4. 

1  Marcus  Colburn,  bass,  one  of  the  most  noted  singers  of  the  day,  joined  the 
Society  in  1825. 


92  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY. 

In  March,  an  assessment  of  six  dollai-s  was  laid  on  each  meml>er, 
with  the  proviso  that  those  who  paid  the  fii'st  instabnent  Ijefore  Api-il 
21.  should  receive  three  tickets  gratis  for  a  conceit  to  be  given  on  the 
23d.  One  might  suppose  that  the  funds  in  the  treasury  were  at  low- 
water  mark,  did  not  the  report  of  the  auditing  committee  in  Sep- 
tember mention  a  balance  to  credit  of  8787.32.  --This."  savs  the 
record.  *•  proves  that  the  Society  can  exist  without  extensive  public 
patronage."  apparently  forgetting  that  an  assessment  (always  most 
unpalatable  to  members)  had  just  been  found  necessary,  and  that 
the  Society  was  kept  alive  by  the  sale  of  its  publications.  Under  the 
fii'st  contract  with  Lowell  Mason,  which  expired  in  this  year,  the 
Society  cleared  82.516.66.  a  sum  which  imder  the  second  contract 
rose  to  85. 058. '"-^4.  A  committee  was  appointed  in  August  to  consider 
the  agreement  entered  into  by  the  Society  with  this  gentleman,  in 
regard  to  the  publication  of  church  music,  and  it  very  justly  reix)rted 
a  supplementary  agi-eement  making  provision  for  Mr.  Mason's  heirs  in 
case  of  his  death,  consideiing  that  'should  it  occm*.  *  •  it  would  be 
contrary  to  every  piinciple  of  honor  and  justice  to  allow  that  the 
Society  could  claim  and  hold  all  the  property.''  The  subject  was 
probably  brought  up  in  consequence  of  Mr.  Mason's  anival  in 
Boston,  at  the  solicitation  of  Mr.  ^'in Chester  and  other  friends  who 
had  agi*eed  to  guarantee  him  an  income  of  82.000  a  year,  for  two 
years,  if  he  would  make  the  change.  Thi'ough  then*  influence  he  was 
appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  music  in  the  Hanover  Sti*eet.  Green 
Street,  and  Park  Street  C  hm-ches  alternately,  for  six  months  each  :  and 
when  he  became  dissatisfied  with  this  plan,  and  by  making  a  penna- 
nent  arrangement  with  the  Bowdoin  Sti"eet  Chm'ch.  made  it  necessary 
to  give  up  the  proposed  guarantee,  they  procm-ed  him  a  position  as 
teller  in  the  American  Bank.^  At  the  church  or  the  bank  Mr.  Mason 
was  near  at  hand  to  prepare  new  works  for  the  Society,  or  revise 
those  ah-eady  published,  and  this  was  eminently  convenient  for  all 
paities  concerned. 

The  most  notable  event  in  the  history  of  the  Society  dining  the 
season  of  l'"^26  was  its  paiticipation  in  the  commemoration  sei-vices 
held  at  Faneuil  HaU  on  Aug.  2.  in  honor  of  John  Adams  and  Thomas 
Jefferson.  These  eminent  patiiots  died  on  July  4.  a  day  whose 
return  this  year  completed  the  fii'st  half-century  of  oui-  National 
Independence,  the  day  of  all  others  with  which  theh*  names  are  most 
closely  linked. 

The  exercises,  held  in  the   ••  Cradle  of  Liberty."  opened  with  a 

*  Theodore  F.  Seward,  op.  rit. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.      93 

so-called  funeral  symphony  by  Mozart.  After  a  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Lowell,  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  sang  selections  from  Handel's 
*' Anthem  for  the  Queen  Caroline's  Funeral,"  i  at  the  conclusion  of 
which  Daniel  Webster  delivered  an  oration  on  the  lives  and  services 
of  the  illustrious  dead  in  language  equal  to  the  occasion. 

''A  superior  and  commanding  human  intellect,"  said  the  orator, 
*'  a  truly  great  man,  when  heaven  vouchsafes  such  a  gift,  is  not  a 
temporary  flame  burning  brightly  for  a  while,  and  then  giving  place 
to  returning  darkness.  It  is  rather  a  spark  of  fervent  heat,  as  well 
as  radiant  light,  with  power  to  enkindle  the  common  mass  of  human 
mind,  so  that  when  it  glimmers  in  its  own  decay,  and  finally  goes  out 
in  death,  no  night  follows,  but  it  leaves  the  world  all  light,  all  on  fire 
from  the  potent  contact  of  its  own  spmt." 

After  Mr.  Webster  had  ceased  to  speak,  the  Society  sang  a  dirge, 
set  to  the  following  text :  — 

Hark  I  attendant  spirits  say, 
Patient  spirits  come  away ; 
Ye  on  earth  whose  work  is  clone, 
Ye  whose  glorious  race  is  won ; 

Ye  among  the  faithful  found 
With  your  country's  blessing  crowned; 
Ye  to  whom  free'd  millions  raise 
Hymns  of  gratitude  and  praise  ; 

Summoned  from  this  house  of  clay. 
Called  in  their  full  hour  awaj', 
Lono:ing  for  their  native  skies, 


Grieve  not  for  the  hallowed  dead. 
Mourn  not  worth  and  wisdom  fled, 
Filled  with  years,  with  honors  blest. 
They  alike  in  glorv  rest. 


TWELFTH   SEASON. 

Sept.  4,  1826,  to  Sept.  3,  1827. 

At  the  annual  election  on  Sept.  4,  Mr.  Winchester  was  re-elected 
president  for  the  seventh  and  last  time.  Mr.  John  Dodd  was 
appointed  vice-president  in  place  of  Mr.  Joshua  Stone,  and  Messrs. 

^Original  score,  dated  Dec.  12,  1737. 


94  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Lewis  and  AVilliam  Coffin  were  respectively  re-elected  secretary  and 
treasurer.  Concerts  with  miscellaneous  programmes  were  given  on 
Nov.  12  and  Dec.  IG,  and  after  the  new  year  other  concerts  of  the 
same  sort  followed.  At  those  on  Jan.  2  and  May  13  selections 
were  sung,  and  at  that  of  March  25  the  Creation  was  performed 
entire. 

This  meagre  musical  record  of  Mr.  Winchester's  last  season  as 
president  is  a  fair  sample  of  the  records  of  previous  seasons  under 
his  direction.  It  is  true  that  under  "  selections  "  we  are  to  understand 
an  infinite  number  of  solos,  duos,  trios,  and  choruses,  many  of  which 
were  sung  in  Boston  for  the  first  time  at  some  one  of  the  forty  con- 
certs given  during  his  septennate,  but  the  complete  list  of  programmes 
shows  that  the  only  new  work  produced  in  its  entirety  on  any  occa- 
sion was  a  work  of  the  third  or  fourth  rank,  King's  Intercession,  on 
Feb.  6,  1820.  Parts  of  the  Messiah  and  the  Creation  were  often 
sung,  but  the  first  was  given  completely,  or  nearly  so,  but  twice  in  the 
seven  years,  and  the  second  but  six  times,  while  the  Dettingen  Te 
Deum  was  sung  but  once,  Feb.  27,  1825.  The  secret  of  this  lack  of 
enterprise,  this  apparent  indifference  to  any  widening  of  the  field 
of  observation  in  music  by  the  production  of  new  and  great  compo- 
sitions, of  which  we  cannot  but  accuse  Mr.  Winchester  and  his  col- 
leagues, is  that  they  allowed  themselves  to  become  so  completely 
absorbed  in  the  endeavor  to  prepare  and  publish  as  many  volumes  of 
sacred  music  as  possible,  that  any  other  work  for  the  Society  seemed 
of  little  comparative  importance.  It  is  true  that  in  this  way  they  did 
a  great  deal  towards  spreading  a  knowledge  of  good  music  through- 
out the  community  ;  and  it  is  also  true  that  their  course  probably 
saved  the  Society  from  ruinous  embarrassment  and  possible  dissolu- 
tion ;  but  while  for  these  signal  services  they  deserve  commendation  and 
gratitude,  they  cannot  on  the  other  hand  be  altogether  excused  for 
overlooking  the  no  less  incumbent  duty  of  studying  and  bringing  for- 
ward from  time  to  time  previously  unheard  works  of  the  composers 
whose  names  the  Society  bears,  as  well  as  compositions  of  high  merit 
by  other  great  musical  writers. 

It  is,  however,  certain  that  those  who  have  had  much  to  do  with  the 
management  of  such  a  Society  as  the  Handel  and  Haydn,  knowing 
how  difficult  it  often  is  to  conciliate  the  material  interests  upon  which 
continued  existence  depends  with  the  artistic  aims  which  only  a  richh^ 
endowed  institution  can  exclusively  pursue,  will  be  disposed  to  take 
a  comparatively  lenient  view  of  Mr.  Winchester's  musical  shortcom- 
ings, especially  as  he  was  in  every  other  respect  one  of  the  best  pres- 
idents that  the  Societv  has  ever  had. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  95 

THIRTEENTH   SEASON. 
Sept.  3.  1827,  to  Sept.  1.  1828. 

When  Mr.  Winchester  decliued  a  renomiuation,  there  can  have 
been  little  doubt  in  anybody's  inind  as  to  the  choice  of  his  suc- 
cessor. The  man  whom  he  had  brought  to  Boston  to  be  the  Society's 
musical  editor,  the  able  and  enterprising  Mr.  Mason,  was  at  hand, 
and  upon  him  all  votes  naturally  united  at  the  annual  meeting  on 
Sept.  3,  1827.  On  being  informed  of  his  election,  he  was  introduced 
by  the  presiding  officer,  and  after  addressing  the  members  "  very 
pertinently,"  to  quote  the  records,  "  accepted  the  trust."  A  vote  of 
thanks  was  then  passed  to  the  retiring  president,  "  for  the  zeal  and 
interest  which  he  has  always  manifested  for  the  welfare  and  prosperity 
of  the  Society,  and  especially  for  the  talent,  independence,  and  impar- 
tiality which  have  uniformly  marked  his  conduct  as  presiding  officer." 

That  thanks  were  never  better  deserved  than  in  Mr.  AViuchester's 
case  goes  without  saying,  nor  were  expressions  of  regret  ever  more 
genuine  than  those  caused  by  the  retirement  of  one  who  had  endeared 
himself  to  all  his  associates  by  countless  acts  of  kindness  and  fore- 
thought. In  his  successor  the  Society  found  other  qualities,  less 
engaging  but  more  important  to  its  welfare, — the  qualities  which 
belong  to  a  very  able  teacher  and  a  strict  disciplinarian.  It  had,  as 
we  have  seen,  lost  much  of  its  hold  upon  public  favor,  and  stood  in 
need  of  thorough  reform  in  its  methods  of  study  and  style  of  per- 
formance. 

Impressed  with  the  necessity  of  providing  more  competent  solo 
singers  as  a  matter  of  the  first  importance,  Mr.  Mason,  within  three 
weeks  after  his  election,  persuaded  the  board  of  trustees  to  hire  a 
room  furnished  with  a  pianoforte,  where  he  could  meet  and  instruct 
such  members  as  in  his  judgment  were  likely  to  become  proficient  in  the 
art  of  singing.  The  organization  of  a  solo  class,  and  the  appointment 
of  the  president  as  its  instructor,  which  could  hardly  have  been 
avoided  under  the  cu'cumstances,  were  wise  steps  ;  for  the  first  was  a. 
crying  necessity,  and  although  more  learned  musicians  might  have 
been  found  than  Mr.  Mason  to  direct  it,  he  was  even  at  this  period 
of  his  career  exceptionally  fit  for  the  post.  "He  was  not  a  genius," 
says  Dr.  Ritter,  "  perhaps  only  an  average  talent,  but  a  clear- 
sighted, practical  man,  fit  leader  of  the  American  people  as  they 
were,"  and  we  may  add,  in  many  respects,  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society  as  it  was.  Fkst  and  foremost,  he  was  not  so  very  much 
superior  to  the  members  as  to  be  unreasonably  impatient  at  their  short- 


96  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

comings.  Second,  he  was  a  born  teacher,  who  bv  hard  work  had  fitted 
hmiself  to  give  instruction  in  singing.  Third,  he  was  one  of  them- 
selves, a  plain,  self-made  man,  who  could  understand  them  and  be 
understood  of  them.  At  a  later  stage,  a  leader  with  a  higher  ideal 
than  the  psalm  tune  was  desirable,  but  some  preliminary  drilling  in 
reading  at  sight,  keeping  time,  light  and  shade,  enunciation,  etc.,  was 
needed,  and  in  these  things  Mason  was  fitted  to  do  good  service. 
Some  details  of  his  career  beyond  those  already  given  naturally  find 
place  here. 

From  1826,  when  he  came  to  reside  in  Boston,  until  1851,  when  he 
removed  to  New  York,  and  there,  until  within  four  years  of  his  death, 
which  took  place  in  1873,  he  exercised  great  influence,  through  his 
compilations,  his  lectures  at  teachers'  institutes,  and  his  musical  text- 
books. ^  While  in  Boston,  he  lived  two  and  one  half  years  in  Essex 
Street,  Hanover  and  Park  Streets,  fourteen  years  in  Bowdoin  Street, 
and  seven  and  one  half  in  Central  Street.  "  His  long  life  of  more  than 
eighty  years,"  said  the  Rev.  Geo.  B.  Bacon  in  a  funeral  oration  deliv- 
ered in  1873,  ''  spans  almost  the  whole  history  of  sacred  music  in 
this  country,"  and  by  its  fruits  entitled  him  to  be  called  the  father  of 
American  church  music.  He  left  behind  him  no  less  than  fifty  vol- 
umes of  musical  compositions  and  compilations. ^  The  first  are  gen- 
eralh^  corrects  harmonized  psalm  tunes,  of  simple  structure  and  little 
inspiration.  The  harmonies  shift  from  tonic  to  dominant  and  back 
again,  with  an  occasional  modulation  into  the  relative  minor  or  some 
closely  related  major  key.  For  these  he  will  not  be  remembered,  but 
rather  for  the  real  service  which  he  rendered  to  the  cause  of  music 
by  the  introduction  of  vocal  instruction  into  school  education  on  a 
practical  and  sensible  plan.  Initiated  about  1831,  by  Mr.  AVoodbridge, 
after  his  return  from  Europe,  into  the  Pestalozzian  system  as  taught  by 
Nageli  and  Pf  eiffer.  Mason  adopted  it  as  the  basis  of  his  ' '  Boston  Acad- 
emy Manual,"  and  it  is  to  this  little  book  ^  that  we  owe  the  teaching  of 
singing  as  a  branch  of  common-school  education  on  sound  principles. 
With  some  modifications  it  might  be  adopted  as  a  text-book  to-day,  and 

1  Lowell  Mason  had  the  degree  of  Miisical  Doctor  conferred  upon  him  by  the 
University  of  JSew  York  in  1855. 

- "  Psalm  tunes,  short  anthems,  and  songs  for  children's  classes,  simple  treatment, 
melodic  and  harmonic ;  in  many,  evident  endeavor  to  imitate  German  chorales ; 
tunes  smooth,  simple,  rhythmical  constitution,  rather  prosaic  expression,  alternat- 
ing with  commonplace  sentimentality,  little  originality  in  them.  Harmonic  treat- 
ment confined  to  closely  related  chords,  generally  correct.  Four-part  arrangement 
has  little  individual  life.  Alto  and  tenor  have  a  predilection  for  stationary  existence. 
Mason  was  not  much  of  a  contrapuntist."—  Bitter. 

3  Second  edition  imhlished  in  183(5. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AXD  HAYDN  SOCIETY.      97 

do  excellent  service .  This  is  no  slight  praise,  considering  the  many 
laborers  who  have  followed  him  in  the  field  during  the  last  half-cen- 
tury, i 

As  showing  the  appreciation  in  which  Mason's  services  were  held 
here  in  1851,  we  may  mention  that  on  his  leaving  Boston  in  July  of 
that  year,  he  was  presented  by  his  admirers  with  a  silver  vase  thirteen 
and  one  half  inches  high,  nine  and  one  half  wide,  designed  by  Charles 
E.  Parker,^  and  executed  by  Henry  Haddock,  silversmith,  which  bore 
this  inscription  :  ' '  Presented  to  Lowell  Mason  by  the  past  and  pres 
ent  members  of  his  chou-s,  July,  1851."  The  vase  was  decorated  with 
an  elaborately  engraved  church  organ,  and  with  shields  supported  by 
musical  instruments,  on  one  of  which'was  inscribed  "  Omnis  spiritua 
Jaudet  Dominum.'''  Elsewhere  appeared  the  words  '^ Laus  Deo''-, 
'^  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  Collection^  1822"  (the  first  book  pub- 
lished by  Lowell  Mason)  ;  ''  Cantica  Laudis,  1850''  (the  last).^ 

As  at  the  annual  meeting  which  resulted  in  Mr.  Mason's  election  as 
president,  the  members  re-elected  Messrs.  Dodd,  Lewis,  and  Coffin  to 
the  offices  of  vice-president,  secretary,  and  treasurer,  he  had  experi 
enced  advisers  to  assist  him  in  conducting  the  affairs  of  the  So- 
ciety. The  financial  report  for  the  past  season  stated  its  expenses  at 
$•2,141.19,  the  receipts  at  $1,502.35,  and  the  profits  on  sales  of  copies 
of  the  Society's  edition  of  the  Creation,  SI, 000.  This  left  a  balance  of 
Sl,"50inhand  for  use  as  required.  In  September,  Charles  Nolen 
was  re-elected  librarian,  and  Mrs.  Ostinelli,  organist.  Boylston 
Hall  was  hired  for  another  year  at  a  rental  of  S5oO,  and  there  the 
Society  sang  the  Creation  on  the  2od  of  December.  The  only  new 
name  mentioned  among  the  solo  singers  on  this  occasion  is  that  of 
Miss  Rock.  At  the  first  concert  given  in  1828,  on  Feb.  1",  selections 
from  the  Messiah  were  sung —  "'  Comfort  ye,"  and  ''  He  shall  feed  his 
riock  "  —  by  Mr.  Sharp.  Among  the  selections  given  at  the  second 
concert  on  March  9  were  the  Sanclvs  and  Benedictus  from  Mozart's 
Requiem  ;  and  at  the  third,  on  April  13,  the  Dies  Ir^te  and  the  Benedic- 
tus from  the  same.  Mrs.  Holden,  Miss  Pease,  Lowell  Mason,  and  S. 
Richardson  were  among  the  singers  at  this  concert,  and  at  the  fourth 
and  last  for  the  season,  given  on  Aug.  24,  when  selections  from  the 
Creation  were  sung.  Besides  singing  at  its  own  concerts  in  1828,  the 
Society  took  part  in  a  concert  given  on  Jan.  G  by  Mr.  Charles  Edward 

^  Lowell  Mason  went  to  Europe  in  1837,  and  again  in  1852,  when  he  bought  tlie 
Rink  Library  at  Darmstadt,  which  he  bequeathed  to  Yale  College.  See  Ritter,  op. 
cit.  p.  171,  and  Musical  Letters  from  Abroad. 

-  Firm  of  Bond  &  Parker,  arclntects. 

^Saroni's  Musical  Times,  III.,  180. 


98      HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Horn,  who,  at  a  later  period,  as  we  shall  see,  became  its  conductor. 
This  distinguished  English  singer  and  composer,  who  was  born  in 
London  in  1786,  first  studied  music  under  his  Saxon  father,  Karl 
Friedrich,  and  afterwards  under  Incledon's  master,  Vincenzo  Rauzzini. 
Before  his  first  visit  to  America,  ^  he  had  sung  with  success  at  the 
Lyceum  and  Drury  Lane  Theatres,  and  had  officiated  as  director  of 
music  at  the  Olympic.  His  voice  was  poor  in  quality,  but  so  exten- 
sive in  compass  that  he  was  able  to  take  tenor  as  well  as  baritone 
parts  in  opera.  The  secretary's  record  of  Mr.  Horn's  concert,  "  as 
perhaps  the  greatest  and  the  best  musical  entertainment  ever  given 
in  this  city,  if  not  in  this  country,"  makes  us  regret  that  he  did  not 
enter  into  particulars  about  it.  All  we  know  is  that  IMrs.  Knight,  Mrs. 
Blake,  Miss  Gillingham,  Messrs.  Paddon  and  Knight  were  the  solo 
singers,  that  the  chorus  was  that  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society, 
and  the  orchestra  that  of  the  Tremont  Theatre. 

Of  Mrs.  Ostinelli's  benefit  concert  on  April  20,  at  which  the 
Society  also  assisted,  we  are  told  that  the  audience  was  large  and  the 
performance  of  the  first  order.  Other  items  of  importance  connected 
with  this  year's  history  are  the  agreement  between  the  Society  and  its 
president  that  he  should  edit  a  collection  of  church  harmony  to  be 
published  by  Messrs.  Richardson  &  Lord :  the  hiring  of  Boylston 
Hall  for  a  further  period  of  three  years,  at  a  rental  of  $400  ;  the 
printing  of  three  hundred  to  five  hundred  copies  of  Haydn's  Mass  in 
B  flat ;  and  the  revision  of  the  by-laws,  which,  as  then  revised,  and 
with  later  revisions,  are  printed  in  the  edition  of  1867. 


FOURTEENTH   SEASON. 

Sept.  1,  1828,  to  Sept.  7,  1820. 

At  the  annual  meeting  on  Sept.  1,  the  same  officers  were  elected, 
with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Dodd,  who  was  succeeded  as  vice-president 
by  Mr.  J.  Sharp.^  At  this  meeting,  the  small  sale  of  season  tickets, 
the  high  rent  of  Boylston  Hall,  which  had  been  leased  for  religious  ser- 
vices on  Sundays  during  a  portion  of  the  year  only,  were  mentioned 
by  the  treasurer  as  sufficiently  explaining  a  balance  of  $1,220  against 


^The  notice  of  Horn  in  Grote's  Dictionary  says  he  went  to  America  about 
1833,  the  date  of  his  second  visit.  His  first,  as  proved  by  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
records,  took  place  in  1828.  He  was  appointed  conductor  to  the  Society  on  July 
23,  1847. 

2  On  Sept.  2,  Mr.  Sumner  Hill  was  appointed  librarian,  and  Mrs.  Ostinelli  re- 
appointed organist. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  99 

the  general  account ;  and  the  acknowledgment  was  made  by  the  secre- 
tary that  the  performances  of  the  Society  have  not  been  as  highly 
appreciated  in  Boston  as  might  have  been  wished.  "  Its  publications," 
however,  he  added,  by  way  of  consolation,  "  have  found  favor  in  the 
eyes  of  the  most  eminent  musicians  in  every  part  of  the  country." 

During  the  season  which  followed,  the  publishiug  interests  seem 
still  to  have  been  in  the  ascendant.  The  seventh  and  eighth  editions 
of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Church  Music  book  were  published,  and 
the  receipts  derived  from  it  and  other  Society  publications  amounted  to 
$2,213.96.  Some  evidence  of  musical  enterprise  was  shown  by  the 
production  of  Haydn's  Mass  in  B  flat  at  a  concert  given  on  the  28th 
of  February,  and  of  Mozart's  Mass  in  C  at  another  given  on  April 
12,  but  the  programmes  of  the  other  two  performances  given  during 
the  season,  on  Jan.  18  and  March  1,  were  made  up  of  selections,  sung 
by  members  of  the  Society,  probably  belonging  to  the  president's  solo 
class. 


FIFTEENTH   SEASON. 
Sept.  8,  1829,  to  Aug.  2,  1830. 

The  annual  election  on  Sept.  8  resulted  in  the  re-appointment  of 
Messrs.  Mason,  Lewis,  and  Coffin  to  their  respective  offices,  and  the 
election  of  Samuel  Richardson,  a  book-keeper  by  profession,  as 
vice-president.  1  He  had  served  on  the  board  of  trustees  in  1826, 
was  elected  president  in  1832,  and  at  a  later  period,  as  we  shall  see, 
sang  the  part  of  Goliath  in  Neukomm's  oratorio  of  David.  A 
contemporary  describes  him  ''  as  a  man  of  large  frame,  noisy,  jovial, 
jolly,  generous,  obtrusive,  free  and  easy,  not  too  refined,  and  as 
given  to  doing  the  i<?aiecessary  talking  business  at  the  Society's  meet- 
ings." We  are  told  that  when  he  thought  the  chorus  was  singing  out 
of  tune,  he  would  stamp  loudly  with  his  foot ;  but  this  is  hardly  credi- 
ble, for  no  musical  society  could  long  hold  together  under  a  conduc- 
tor w^eak  enough  to  tolerate  such  a  breach  of  propriety.  Contrary  to 
their  usual  habit,  the  trustees  decided  in  November  to  announce  a 
series  of  six  concerts  to  be  given  during  the  season,  with  season  tickets, 
at  S16,  admitting  a  gentleman  and  two  ladies,  or  two  gentlemen,  and 
appointed  a  committee  of  twenty-six  members  to  solicit  subscriptions. 
At  the  first  concert  of  the  series,  given  on  Dec.  13,  amass  by  Buhler, 
-who  is   spoken  of  in  the  records  "  as  one  of  the   most  eminent   com- 


^Mr.  Cah'in  Bullard  was  appointed  librarian,  and  Mrs.  Ostinelli,  organist,  on 
Sept.  18. 


100  HISTORY    OF   THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

posers  of  the  present  day,"  was  sung.  We  must  frankly  confess  that^ 
though  tolerably  familiar  with  at  least  the  names  of  the  great  musi- 
cians of  this  century,  we  knew  nothing  of  Biihler,  and  found  it  neces- 
sary to  have  recourse  to  the  dictionaries  for  information  about  him. 
Grove  gave  us  no  help,  and  this  was  consolatory  to  our  pride,  as  show- 
ing that  he  could  hardly  have  been  so  eminent  as  the  secretary  had  been 
led  to  believe.  This  suspicion  was  confirmed  l^y  reading  Fetis's  notice 
of  Frangois-GregoireBiJhler,  chapel-master  of  the  cathedral  of  Augs- 
burg, who  died  in  that  city  Feb.  4,  1824,  after  having  written  many 
compositions  characterized  by  his  biographer  as  "  weak  in  style, 
abounding  in  ideas  unsuited  to  sacred  music"  ;  a  composer,  in  short, 
"  whose  natural  and  facile  melodies  obtained  favour  in  small  towns, 
where  they  can  be  adequately  executed  with  but  little  trouble."  AVas 
it  because  Boston  was  then,  comparatively  at  least  with  what  it  is  at 
present,  considered  a  small  town,  and  because  the  mass  in  question  cost 
the  Society  but  little  trouble  to  prepare  it,  that  it  was  the  one  novelty 
of  the  season  selected  for  performance?  Four  of  the  five  other  concerts 
of  the  series  given  after  the  new  year,  namely,  on  Jan.  24,  P'eb.  21, 
March  21,  and  June  20,  had  miscellaneous  programmes.  The  fifth,  on 
April  4.  gave  the  public  another  opportunity  of  listening  to  the 
familiar  strains  of  the  Creation.  For  the  programmes  of  all  these 
concerts  save  the  first.  President  Mason  was  directly  responsible, 
as  on  the  26th  of  January  the  board  had  empowered  him  to  select  the 
music  to  be  performed  during  the  remainder  of  the  season.  While 
we  know  what  he  selected,  we  should  be  glad  to  know  how  what  he 
selected  was  sung,  so  as  in  some  measure  to  be  able  to  judge  what 
progress  had  been  made  since  he  began  to  drill  the  chorus  and  teach 
tlie  solo  singers  immediately  after  his  first  election.  This  we  cannot 
do  with  the  imperfect  data  which  have  come  down  to  us. 

We  notice,  among  the  curiosities  of  the  season,  a  letter  addressed 
to  the  board  by  the  committee  of  the  Central  Universalist  Singing 
Society,  in  which  complaint  is  made  that  its  performances  and  rehear^ 
sals  are  seriously  interfered  with  by  the  Handel  and  Haydn's  occupa- 
tion of  every  Sabbath  evening  for  "  performances  in  sacred  music." 
The  object  of  this  address  is,  says  the  letter,  "  to  request  you  to- 
omit  your  meetings  on  the  first  and  third,  or  second  and  fourth.  Sab- 
bath evenings  in  every  month,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  us  and  other 
societies  who  are  complaining  of  the  same  disadvantages  an  opportu- 
nity for  lectures,  rehearsals,  etc.  Evidently  the  world  was  not 
'^  wide  enough  for  you  and  me."  in  the  opinion  of  these  gentlemen. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  101 


CHAPTER   III. 

"No  MAX  CARRIES  HIS  BED  INTO  HIS  FIELD  TO  WATCH  HOW  HIS  CORN  GROAVS, 
BUT   BELIEVES   UPON   THE   GENERAL   ORDER   OF   PROVIDENCE  AND   NATURE;    AND   AT 

HARVEST  HE  FINDS  HIMSELF  NOT  DECEIVED."  —Jeremy  Tuylor  (of  Faith). 

SIXTEENTH   SEASON. 

Aug.  2,  1830,  to  AuCx.  1,  1831. 

By  a  vote  passed  on  the  9tli  of  February,  1830,  the  time  for 
holding  the  annual  meeting  was  changed  from  September  to  August. 
It  accordingly  took  place  on  the  2d  of  the  latter  month,  when  the 
same  chief  officers  were  chosen  for  the  ensuing  year.  As,  on  the 
30th,  the  treasurer  was  empowered  to  invest  $800  in  the  Massachu- 
setts Life  Insurance  Company  as  the  nucleus  of  a  permanent  fund,i 
w^e  may  conclude  that  the  Society  felt  itself  financially  prosperous, 
perhaps  because  the  ninth  edition  of  its  Church  Music  book  had  been 
contracted  for,  and  a  good  revenue  continued  to  be  derived  from  the 
other  publications,  previoush^  prepared  by  its  indefatigable  president, 
whose  editorial  activity  was  unceasing.  Not  that  he  was  otherwise 
neglectful  of  the  Society's  interests,  as  he  proved  at  this  time  by 
using  his  influence  to  insure  the  election  of  Mr.  Charles  Zeuner  as 
organist,  in  place  of  Mrs.  Ostinelli.  This  took  place  on  the  24th  of 
September,  to  the  great  indignation  of  the  friends  of  the  late  incum- 
bent, who,  in  a  letter  signed  by  thirty-eight  members, ^  remonstrated 
against  it  on  the  ground  that  as  Mrs.  Ostinelli  had  filled  the  situation 
'•with  ability  and  success  for  eleven  years,"  she  ought  not  to  be 
dispossessed  by  "a  German  professor  of  music,  a  foreigner  to  whom 
many  of  us  are  strangers,  and  wdiose  qualifications  for  the  situation, 
however  scientific  may  be  his  acquirements,  cannot,  we  presume,  be 
placed  in  competition  with  one  who  has  presided  so  long  and  faith- 
fully, and  with  so  much  satisfaction  to  a  majority  of  the  Society,"  etc. 
•' AVe,  therefore,"  say  the  remonstrants,  "request  that  the  president 
and  trustees  will,  at  their  next  meeting,  reconsider  their  vote,  ancl 
prevent  the  existence  of  discord  and  schism  among  the  members  of  an 

1  This  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  the   existing  i)ermanent  fund  Avhioh  was 
established  on  May  25,  1866,  during-  Dr.  Ui)hain's  presidency. 
-  See  Appendix. 


102     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AXD  HAYDX  SOCIETY. 

institution  whose  real  object  is  the  creation  of  harmony  in  word  and 
deed."  This  the  board  declined  to  do,  by  a  vote  of  seven  yeas  to 
five  nays,i  "moved,"  as  they  said  in  their  answer,  by  "a  sense  of 
duty  to  the  Society,  whose  performances  must  improve  under  a 
professional  musician,  conversant  not  only  with  the  organ,  but  with 
orchestral  effects,  and  generally  skilled  in  the  theory  and  practice  of 
instrumental  and  vocal  music."  This  answer  admitted  no  reply. 
Zeuner,  as  every  one  knew,  was  a  trained  musician  and  a  man  of 
talent,  and  so  far  superior  to  any  person  then  connected  with  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  in  knowledge  of  choral  requirements  and 
effects,  that  his  appointment  was  a  step  in  the  right  direction.  Had 
his  temper  been  under  better  control  and  his  temperament  less  hasty, 
he  would,  however,  have  been  of  far  greater  use  to  the  Society  than 
he  was,  during  the  nine  years  of  his  connection  with  it.  Born,  like 
Luther,  at  Eisleben,  in  Saxony,  Sept.  20,  1795,  he  was  baptized 
Heinrich  Christophe,  a  name  which,  for  some  unknown  reason,  he 
exchanged  for  that  of  Charles,  after  he  had  established  himself  in 
Boston.  Moore  ^  says  that  he  came  to  America  about  1824,  though  as 
we  have  no  certain  information  concerning  him  until  1830,  when  he 
became  organist  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  for  whose  concert 
of  Nov.  20,  1830,  he  wrote  an  organ  concerto  with  full  orchestral 
accompaniment,  and  composed  a  march,  the  "Grand  Masonic," 
performed  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Masonic  Temple 
we  should  be  inclined  to  place  the  date  of  his  arrival  several  years 
later. 3  In  1832  he  published  an  oratorio,  called  the  Feast  of  the 
Tabernacles,  which  was  performed  at  a  concert  of  the  Boston 
Academv  of  Music  in  1836.'* 


1  As  some  compensation  to  Mrs.  Ostinelli  for  her  ejectment,  the  board  presented 
her  with  a  double  ticket  to  the  Society's  oratorios  and  rehearsals,  and  offered  her 
the  free  use  of  Boj'lston  Hall  for  a  concert  at  the  end  of  the  season. 

2  Appendix  to  Moore's  Encyclopaedia  of  Music. 

3  Transcrifjt,  Oct.  5,  1830. 

4Ritter,  Music  in  America,  p.  250,  quotes  from  Academy  Report,  as  to  this 
performance  in  18-36.  According  to  an  account  published  in  the  Metronome,  Octo- 
ber, 1873,  Zeuner  wrote  the  oratorio  in  18-38  or  1839,  and  offered  it  to  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society  for  §3,000.  This  they  refused,  and  as  a  counter  proposal  offered  to 
produce  the  work  at  their  own  risk.  Zeuner  then  offered  the  manuscript  to  the 
Boston  Academy  of  Music,  and  it  was  accepted,  the  oratorio  to  be  performed  eight 
times  and  the  profits  to  be  divided.  The  rehearsals  began  with  Zeuner  as  con- 
ductor, and  George  J.  Webb  as  organist,  but  they  soon  exchanged  roles,  as  Zeuner's 
irritability  and  impatience  with  the  chorus  made  it  impossible  to  get  on  with  him. 
After  the  eight  performances  at  the  Odeon,  moreover,  Zeuner  demanded  his  share 
of  the  profits,  and  finding  that  not  only  were  there  no  profits,  but  a  considerable 
loss  (which  the  Academy  took  upon  itself),  he  went  to  the  Odeon,  got  possession  of 
his  manuscript  and  printed  parts,  and  in  his  anger  destroyed  them. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AXD  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     103 

The  "American  Harp,"  a  thick  volume  containing  all  save  five  of 
his  compositions,  appeared  in  1839,  and  this  was  followed  in  1848  by 
the  "Ancient  Lyre."  Many  tunes  in  the  Psaltery  and  new  Car- 
mina  Sacra,  published  b}"  Lowell  Mason,  were  written  by  Zeuner, 
who,  while  in  Boston,  officiated  as  organist  at  Park  Street  Church, 
as  president  of  the  Musical  Professional  Society,  as  organist  of  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  Society  from  1830  to  1838,  and  as  its  president 
from  May  of  that  year  to  the  following  February. *  He  then  left 
Boston  for  Philadelphia,  where  he  became  organist  of  St.  Andrews's 
Episcopal  Church.,  and  afterwards  of  the  Arch  Street  Presbyterian 
Church.  Towards  1857  he  showed  signs  of  aberration  of  mind ;  but 
as  he  had  always  been  noted  for  his  eccentricities,  they  passed  more 
or  less  unobserved.  They  were,  however,  called  to  mind  on  the  7th 
of  November,  when  his  dead  body  was  found  lying  in  Smith's  woods, 
near  the  Schuylkill,  where  the  unhappy  man  had  shot  himself  through 
the  head  with  a  gun. 

Zeuner  must  have  taken  his  place  for  the  'first  time  as  the  Society's 
organist  at  a  concert  of  selections  on  Nov.  21.  Selections  were  also 
sung  at  the  second  and  third  concerts  of  the  season,  on  Dec.  '26  and 
March  16.  In  April,  the  Buhler  Mass  was  repeated  for  the  second 
time,  as  were  the  Agnus  Dei  from  the  Haydn  Mass  on  June  5, 
and  the  Creation  later  in  the  month.  In  this  same  month  the 
Mechanic  Charitable  Association  invited  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society  to  subscribe  towards  the  erection  of  a  building  containing  a 
hall  suitable  for  their  purposes.  On  this  condition,  the  trustees 
replied  on  the  29th  that  they  would  recommend  the  members  to 
become  subscribers,  and  would  gladly  engage  to  hire  the  hall  when 
finished.  They  did  not,  however,  offer  to  subscribe  for  the  Society ; 
and  perhaps  on  this  account  the  project  remained  in  nublbus.  On 
the  10th  of  June,  the  trustees  accepted  Messrs.  Appleton  &  Co.'s 
estimate  for  building  a  new  organ.  The  price  named  was  81:, 000,  and 
the  old  oro-an  was  ordered  to  be  sold  for  81,000. 


SEVENTEENTH    SEASON. 

Aug.  1,  1831,  to  Aug.  6,  1832. 

At  the  annual  meeting  on  Aug.  1,  Lowell  Mason  was  elected  presi- 
dent for  the  fifth  and  last  time,  with  J.  S.  Withington  as  vice-presi- 


Hack's  Mtisical  Magazine  for  1840,  p.  197,  regrets  his  departure,  but  says  that 
his  loss  will  be  comparatively  little  felt,  "as  he  has  of  late  lived  in  retirement, 
hiding  his  talent  and  wasting  it  on  trifles." 


104     HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY. 

dent ;  Messrs.  Lewis  and  Coffin  were  re-elected  to  their  respective 
offices  ;  and  the  Society,  thus  fulW  equipped,  entered  upon  its  seven- 
teenth season,  which,  sooth  to  say,  offered  little  of  novelty,  either  in 
the  way  of  music  or  solo  sinoers. 

Selections  were  sung  with  the  Haydn  Mass  on  Oct.  2,  Dec.  11,  and 
Jan.  15.  Washington's  Birthday  was  celebrated  by  a  concert  on  the 
2Gth  of  February,  when  Horn's  Ode  to  the  Pater  Patrice^  an  ele- 
gantly bound  copy  of  which  had  been  presented  by  the  composer  to 
the  Society  on  Jan.  19,  1829,  was  sung,  together  with  appropriate 
choruses  and  anthems. 

The  final  performance  of  the  season,  when  selections  were  again  sung, 
took  place  on  the  20th  of  May,  in  Boylston  Hall,  which  was  taken  on 
a  fresh  lease  of  five  years,  at  $400  per  annum.  In  the  early  autumn 
the  stage  was  re-arranged,  the  seats  in  the  auditorium  raised,  so  that 
it  became  as  well  suited  to  its  uses,  as  a  hall  of  its  capacit}^  could  be. 

EIGHTEENTH   SEASON. 
Aug.  G,  1832,  to  Aug.  5,  1833. 

The  treasurer's  account  presented  at  the  annual  meeting  of  Aug. 
6,  1832,  stated  the  receipts  of  the  past  season  to  have  been  $1,146.15, 
and  the  expenses  $1,959.29,  leaving  a  debt  of  $813.14,  whch  the  mem- 
bers voted  to  pay  off  from  the  publication  fund.  After  the  usual 
business  had  been  transacted,  they  elected  Samuel  Richardson  as 
president,  with  the  same  vice-president,  secretary,  and  treasurer  as 
before.  The  retiring  president,  to  whom  a  vote  of  thanks  was  passed 
for  "his  promptitude,  zeal,  and  fidelity,  and  his  untiring  and  well- 
directed  efforts  to  promote  the  great  objects  of  the  institution,"  was 
chosen  into  the  board  of  trustees.  On  Oct  23,  his  new  collection  of 
sacred  music,  "The  Choir,"  was  commended  by  vote.^  On  Sept.  18, 
Chas.  Zeuner  was  re-elected  organist,  and  B.  S.  Hill,  librarian. 

Musically  speaking,  the  season  now  under  consideration  was  unus- 
ually active.  No  less  than  thirteen  concerts  were  given  ;  but  as  no  new 
works  were  produced  and  no  new  singers  appeared,  they  are  conspic- 
uous rather  for  number  than  quality.  Selections  were  given  at  the 
four  first  of  the  season,  which  took  place  on  Nov.  4,  Nov.  18,  Dec.  2, 
and  Dec.  9.  The  first  of  them  inaugurated  the  new  organ,  built  by 
Messrs.  Appleton  &  Co.,  which  had  1,688  pipes,  three  banks  of  keys, 
and   pedals  comprising  two  octaves,   and   a  plain  case   in  what  the 

^The  tenth  edition  of  liis  Church  Music,  14,000  copies,  had  been  published  in 
1831. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  105 

newspapers  call  the  Grecian  style,  flanked  by  square  towers  ;  ^  on  the 
whole,  a  more  modest-looking  instrument  than  the  great  Music  Hall 
organ,  that  Jumbo  among  instrumental  elepliants,  and  in  comparison 
a  pygmy  indeed,  being  but  twenty-one  feet  high  and  fourteen  broad. 

At  Christmas,  or,  to  be  particular,  two  days  earlier,  and  in  celebra- 
tion of  Christmas,  the  ^lessiah,  which  had  not  been  given  at  this  festi- 
val since  its  first  complete  performance  on  Dec.  25,  1819,  was  sung 
by  the  Societ3^  Then  necessarily  followed  the  Creation,  twice  given, 
on  Jan.  27  and  Feb.  3,  and  this  in  turn  was  succeeded  by  the  Messiah 
in  March.  On  the  24th  and  31st  of  the  same  month,  selections  from 
the  Mount  of  Olives  and  the  Creation,  with  the  Haydn  Mass  in  the 
second  part,  were  sung,  as  w^ere  other  selections  on  April  29,  and  on 
May  12,  at  Mrs.  Ostinelli's  benefit  concert,  and  on  June  23,  in  aid 
of  the  completion  of  Bunker  Hill  Monument.  Whether  President 
Andrew  Jackson  was  or  was  not  present  on  this  occasion  is  uncertain  ; 
probably  not,  as  he  was  indisposed,  and  went  to  Cambridge  after  the 
morning  service  on  Sunday,  and  as  the  reporter  of  his  progress.  Major 
Jack  Downing,  does  not  refer  to  the  oratorio. 

NINETEENTH   SEASON. 

Aug.  5,  1833,  to  Aug.  4,  1834. 

The  purchase  of  a  new  organ,  and  the  fitting  up  of  Boylston  Hall, 
at  an  aggregate  cost  of  $5,000,  were  unusual  items  of  expense,  which 
told  heavily  against  the  Society  in  the  treasurer's  account,  presented 
at  the  annual  meeting  on  Aug.  5.  The  receipts  had  been  unusually 
large,  S3, 482. 29  ;butsohadthe  expenses,  which  amounted  to  $6,971.21, 
leaving  a  balance  against  the  general  account  of  $3,518.92.  Still,  as 
the  property  of  the  Society  was  valued  at  $8,433.05,  and  its  many 
publications  still  continued  to  sell,-  the  new  board  of  chief  officers, 
or  rather  the  old  board  re-elected,  saw  no  reason  for  down-hearted- 
ness,  so  far  as  we  are  aw^are.  As  Ex-President  Lowell  Mason  found 
himself  much  pressed  with  outside  work,  he  declined  to  serve  again  as 
trustee,  and  Geo.  W.  Edmunds  was  chosen  in  his  place.  On  the  13th 
of  August,  Mr.  Zeuner  was  again  elected  organist,  with  a  salary  of 
S2()0,  increased  on  Nov.  1  to  $300,  and  Mr.  B.  S.  Hill  was  re-appointed 
librarian. 

1  Travscript,  March  18,  1833. 

2  On  Nov.  26,  the  Society  extended  its  contract  for  the  publication  of  its  Clmrch 
Mnsic  collection  four  years,  in  the  agreement  that  it  should  be  stereotyped  at  the 
expense  of  the  firm,  and  that  the  new  book  of  Psalmody  should  be  in-inted  in  new 
type  like  the  last  edition  of  The  Choir. 


106 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


Foui'  concerts  were  given  before  the  new  year,  namely,  on  Oct.  '27 y 
selections  ;  Dec.  1  and  8,  the  Creation  ;  and  Dec.  22,  parts  of  the 
Mount  of  Olives  and  the  Haydn  Mass.  AVe  spare  the  reader  the 
dates  of  the  eleven  concerts  given  between  Jan.  1, 1834,  and  the  close 
of  the  season,  referring  him,  if  he  be  curious,  to  the  classified  list  given 
at  the  end  of  this  chapter.  Nor  shall  we  trespass  on  his  patience 
otherwise  than  by  repeating,  once  for  all,  that  the  programmes  were 
made  up  of  selections  from  the  Messiah,  the  Creation,  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  and  the  Haydn  Mass,  with  Miss  Belcher,  Miss  Adams,  and 
Mrs.  Baker,  Mrs.  AYashburn,  Mrs.  Cuddy,  Mrs.  Adams,  and  Mrs. 
.X^^  ^^  Long  as  female  vocalists.  As  it  seems  desirable  to  illustrate  the 
(^y^  character  of  the  music  included  under  the  oft-repeated  word  "  selec- 
tions," we  shall  here  reprint  the  programme  of  one  of  the  above 
concerts  from  a  time-worn  copy  which  we  happen  to  have  in  our 
possession. 

OPvATOPvIO 

TO  BE  GIVEN    BY   THE 

' '  Ha  71  del    a  n  d   Ha  y  dn    Society  ^^^ 

AT  THEIK   HALL,   ON   SUNDAY  EVENING,   MAY    18,  1834. 


\ 


PART  I. 

GRAND    ORGAN   CONCERTO. 

[Composed  and   dedicated    to  the  H.   &    H. 
Soc'y.  by  their  Organiet,  Charles  Zeuner.] 

CHORUS. 

The    great    Jehovah   is   our  awful    theme, 

sublime    in    majesty,    in    power    supreme  — 

Halleluiah. 

O.  C.  C.  Vol.  2.  p  81.    Haxdel. 

DUET.  Ch.  Zeunek. 

There  is  an  hour  of  peaceful  rest, 
To  mourning  wand'rers  given, 
There  is  a  joy  for  souls  distrest, 
A  balm  for  every  wounded  breast, 
Tis  found  above  in  heaven. 

There  is  a  soft,  a  downy  bed, 

Tis  fair  as  breath  of  even, 

A  couch  for  weary  mortals  spread, 

Where  they  may  rest  their  aching  head. 

And  find  repose  in  heaven. 

CHORUS. 

Pharaoh's  chosen  Captains  hath  he  drowned 

in  the  Red  Sea.    Thou  in  mercy  Lord  hast  led 

thy  people  forth,   hast  led  them  forth    like 

sheep. 

Soc.  Coll.  Vol.  2.  p  160.    Haydk. 


RECITATIVE   AND   ARIA. 

[Composed  expressly  for  the  H.  &  H.  Society 

by  T.  Comer.] 
[Words  from  Thompson's  Hymn  to  Nature.] 

ACCOMPANIED   RECITATIVE. 

Grreat  source  of  day  !  best  image  here  below 
Of  thy  creator,  ever  pouring  wide. 
From  world  to  world,  the  vital  Ocean  round. 
On  nature  write  with  every  beam  His  praise. 
The  thunder  rolls;  be  hushed  the  prostrate 

world ; 
While    cloud    to    cloud  returns    the    solemn 
Hymn. 

ARIA. 
Bleat  out  afresh,  ye  hills,  ye  mossy  rocks, 
.Retain  the  sound;  the  broad  responsive  low. 
Ye  vallies,   raise;    for  the    Great   Shepherd, 

reigns; 
And  his  unsuff'ring  Kingdom  yet  will  come  — 
There  with  new  powers  will  rising  wonders 
sing. 

CHORUS. 
How  Excellent  thy  name  O  Lord,  in  all  the 
world  is   known,   above  all  heavens  O  King 
ador'd,  how  hast  thou  set  thy  glorious  throne. 
Soc.  Coll.  Vol.  2.  p  143.    Handel. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


107 


PART   II. 
CHORUS. 

[From  the  Oratorio  of  Israel  in  Egypt.] 

He  gave  them  hailstones  for  rain,  Fire 
mingled  with  the  hail,  ran  along  opon  [«ic] 
the  ground. 

O.  C.  Coll.  Vol.  1.  p  65.    Handel. 

SACRED   CAVATINA,    BY    CH.    ZEU- 

Oh !  cease  my  wand'ring  soul 
On  restless  wing  to  roam, 
All  this  wide  world,  to  either  pole 
Has  not  for  thee  a  home. 

Behold  the  ark  of  God ! 
Behold  the  open  door ; 
Oh  I  haste  to  gain  that  dear  abode, 
And  rove,  my  soul,  no  more 

There,  safe  thou  shalt  abide, 
There,  sweet  shall  be  thj-  rest. 
And  every  longing  satislied 
With  full  salvation  blest. 

RECITATIVE    &   CHORUS. 

And  Israel  saw  the  great  work  which  the 
Lord  had  done,  to  bring  his  people  to  their 
inheritance. 

Arise  O  Judah,  arise  in  the  song  of  glad- 
ness, for  the  Lord  hath  chosen  his  people  to 
their  inheritance,  hear  it  O  Judah,  the  Lord  i:^ 
ever  gracious  to  his  people.  O  praise  him  for 
evermore.    Amen. 

S.  C.  Vol.  2.  p  ISO.    Hatdx, 

[Recitative  and  Aria,  from  the  Oratorio  of  the 

"  Creation."] 

RECITATIVE. 

And  God   said,  Let  the  earth  bring  forth 

grass,  the  herb  yielding  seed,  and  the  fruit  tree 

yielding  fruit,  after  its  kind,  whose  seed  is  in 

itself  upon  the  earth ;  and  it  was  so. 


ARIA. 

With  verdure  clad  the  fields  appear,  delight- 
ful to  the  ravish'd  sense;  by  flowers  sweet 
and  gay,  enhanced  is  the  charming  sight. 
Here  vent  their  fumes,  the  fragrant  herbs; 
here  shoots,  the  healing  plant,  by  load  of 
fruits  th'  expanded  boughs  are  press'd;  to 
shady  vaults  are  bent  the  tufty  groves;  the 
mountains  brow  is  crowned  with  closed 
wood. 

liecitatire  and  Aria,  from  the  Oratorio 
"THE  FEAST  OF  TABERXACLES  "  — 
(manuscript  )  Poetry  by  Rev.  Professor 
Henry  Ware,  Jr.  of  Cambridge,  (piece  No. 
10  1st  part.)  —  Music  by  Charles  Zeuner. 
I/igh  Priest, 

RECITATIVE. 
Now  let  the  morning  sacrifice  begin  I 
Fire  the  rich  censer  I  Let  the  incense  rise 
In  rolling  clouds  of  fragrance,  till  it  fill 
The  ffofi/  Place,  and  with  the  clouds  of  heaven 
Mingle  its  perfume.  —  Bring  the  victims  forth ! 
Bid  the  high  Altar  blaze  I  And  while  its  fires 
Flash  upward   brightening   all   the    morning 

sky, 
Ye  tuneful  Levites,  at  your  sacred  post. 
Exalt  ffisnaiuie,  for  whom  these  honors  rise. 

ARIA. 

Strike  all   your  strings  I    Breath  forth  your 

loudest  voice  I 
Wake  timbrel,  harp  and  lute  —  wake  psaltry, 

pipe 
And  sackbut  cymbal,  drum  and  trumpet,  wake ! 
Let  Zion  hear  and  Israel's  utmost  shore, 
Let  furthest   Gentile    catch    the    sound    and 

know- 
That  Israel's  God,  is  God  of  earth  and  heaven. 

Grand  Hallelujah  I  Chorus  from  the  Orato- 
rio of  the  Messiah. 

Coodon,  Printer,  32  Congreas  Street,  Boston. 


As  after  a  dead  calm  at  sea  a  little  breeze  is  refreshing,  so  is  it  in 
the  voyage  of  life.  We  may  therefore  imagine  that  the  board  of 
trustees  felt  a  little  pleasurable  excitement  necessary  one  evening  in  the 
month  of  April,  as  they  listened  to  a  letter  from  President  Richardson 
complaining  of  Mr.  Zeuner's  irritable  and  jealous  disposition,  and 
threatening  to  resign  unless  the  offender  was  immediately  dismissed. 
AVisely  reflecting  that  they  might  find  it  more  difficult  to  fill  the  place 
of  oro-anist  than  that  of  president,  and  at  the  same  time  desirous  of 
actins:  courteously  towards  their  chief  officer,  they  directed  the  sec- 
retary to  inform  him  in  a  respectful  manner  that  the  feelings  of  the 
board  were  such  as  to  prevent  them  from  proceeding  in  any  other 


108     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

way  than  that  of  indefinite  postponement  of  the  subject  of  his  com- 
munication, and  before  separating,  passed  a  vote  requesting  him  to 
continue  in  office.  AVhen  he  carried  out  his  threat  on  the  27th, 
they  accepted  his  resignation,  and  the  Society  would  have  been  left 
without  a  head  had  not  Mr.  Richardson  finally  consented  to  keep  his 
place  until  the  end  of  the  season.  We  notice  that  on  June  30  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  examine  into  the  articles  of  copartner- 
ship between  Mr.  Lowell  Mason  and  the  Society,  and  to  obtain  a 
legal  opinion  as  to  whether,  in  case  the  said  bond  is  dissolved  by 
-common  consent,  the  Society  will  be  prevented  from  printing  or  pub- 
lishing new  editions  of  its  collections  of  sacred  music.  This  action 
seems  to  have  given  rise  to  rumors  unfavorable  to  Mr.  Mason,  for  on 
the  13th  of  August  he  addressed  a  letter  to  the  board,  asking  tha 
the  joint  contracts  and  accounts  may  be  properly  looked  into  so  as  to 
put  an  end  to  false  reports  in  circulation.  This  request  was  complied 
with  by  the  appointment  of  an  investigating  committee,  which  in  due 
time  reported  that  the  Society  had  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  As 
concerns  its  gains  in  the  matter,  it  certainly  had,  for  on  Oct.  31  of 
this  year  they  had  amounted  to  $10,621.32.  For  the  rest,  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  explain  more  fully,  when  we  reach  tl^e  period  at 
which  a  peaceable  separation  between  the  parties  concerned  was 
effected. 

TWENTIETH    SEASON. 
Aug.  4,  IHS-t,  to  Aug.  3,  1835. 

With  the  close  of  the  season  Mr.  Richardson  retired  from  office, 
and  the  members  elected  as  his  successor  INIr.  Charles  AV.  Lovett, 
who  in  1832  and  1833  had  filled  the  office  of  vice-president,  to  which 
Mr.  Jonas  Chickering  was  now  appointed'.  The  same  secretary  and 
treasurer  were  re-elected  at  the  annual  meeting,  as  were  the  same 
librarian  and  organist  a  fortnight  later.  In  September  an  orchestra 
of  fifteen  musicians  was  engaged,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Comer  was  ap- 
pointed conductor. 

The  new  president,  Mr.  Lovett,  who  was  born  in  Boston  in  1802, 
and  died  there  in  1873,  held  a  position  in  the  State  department  for 
fifty  years,  for  the  last  seventeen  of  which  he  was  chief  clerk  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth.  His  fine  tenor  voice  made  him  a 
valuable  member  of  the  West  Church  choir  and  of  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society,  which  he  joined  in  1828.  Braham,  after  hearing  him 
sing  a  certain  song,  paid  him  the  high  compliment  of  saying,  *'  I 
know  of  but  one  person  who  can  sing  it  better,  and  that  is  myself." 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  109 

His  swau  song  ^^'as  ^'Tlie  Heavens  are  Telling"  (from  the  Creation), 
uttered  so  faintly  that  his  son,  sitting  by  his  bedside,  had  to  lean  over 
him  to  catch  the  broken  accents  of  a  chorus  in  which  he  had  so  often 
joined.  Thus  died  ''  this  worthy  gentleman  of  the  old  school  and 
faithful  public  officer,  whose  death,"  says  an  obituary  notice  published 
at  the  time,  "  will  ])e  lamented,  and  whose  memory  will  be  cherished 
as  such  by  all  who  knew  him."  During  the  autumn  and  early  winter 
after  his  election,  the  Society  gaye  six  concerts,  at  three  of  which, 
on  Oct.  5,  12,  and  '2(),  Mr.  Loyett's  favorite  oratorio,  the  Creation, 
was  sung.  At  the  fourth,  on  Nov.  2,  Handel's  overture  to  the 
Occasional  Oratorio,  with  additional  accompaniments  by  Mr.  Comer, 
was  performed.  At  the  fifth,  selections  from  the  Mount  of  Olives 
and  the  Havdn  Mass  were  repeated,  and  at  the  sixth,  on  Dec.  '28, 
the  Messiah. 

Between  New  Year's  day,  1835,  and  the  close  of  the  season,  nine 
more  concerts  were  given,  at  which  the  Creation  and  the  Messiah, 
selections,  including  Zeuuer's  "Ode  to  Washington  "  on  Feb  22,  were 
sung.  The  programme  of  the  ninth  concert  included  selections  from 
the  Chevalier  Xeukomm's  oratorio  of  David,  which  was  brought  out 
in  the  following  year  with  the  most  unexampled  success.  In  January 
the  board  had  voted  to  print  HajTln's  Seasons,  with  a  view  to  its 
speedy  production,  but  a  mouth  later  it  decided  to  substitute  David,  as 
"  having  higher  claims  on  its  immediate  notice,"  and  requested  Mr. 
Mason  to  superintend  tlie  printing  of  a  sufficient  number  of  copies 
for  its  use. 

TWEXTY-FIRST    SEASON. 

Aug.  3,  1835,  to  Aug.  1,  183G. 

But  one  new  name  appears  in  the  list  of  chief  officers  elected  at 
the  annual  meeting  on  Aug.  3,  namely,  that  of  Mr.  Allen  Whitman, 
as  successor,  in  the  important  place  of  secretary,  to  Mr.  Joseph  Lewis, 
who,  on  retiring  after  sixteen  years  of  faithful  service,  received  a 
vote  of  thanks,  and  a  silver  pitcher  appropriately  inscribed.^  As 
librarian,  Mr.  William  Bennett  succeeded  Mr.  Hill,  but  the  conductor 
and  the  organist  were  unchanged.  Thirty-eight  ladies  were  engaged 
for  the  chorus,  and  fifteen  musicians  for  the  orchestra,  with  Mr. 
Warren  as  leader  of  the  violins.  Thus  equipped,  the  Society,  after 
singing  the  Creation  and  the  Messiah  each  twice,  and  the  Haydn 
Mass   with   selections   from   the    Mount   of    Olives    once,    between 

1  This  pitcher,  which  cost  875,  was  iiresented  to  Mr.  Lewis  on  Sept.  29. 


110     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

October,  1835,  and  the  end  of  January,  1836,  brought  out  David  on 
the  28th  of  February,  and  performed  it  at  seven  concerts,  the  last 
of  which  took  place  on  the  10th  of  April. 

The  extraordinar}^  vogue  of  this  oratorio  in  Boston  was  in  a  great 
degree  due  to  the  dramatic  interest  of  the  libretto,  and  the  popular 
character  of  its  music.  Hack  says  truly  ^  it  stands  nearer  to  the 
stage  than  to  the  church,  and  Ritter^  characterizes  it  as  "shallow 
and  empty."  Its  author,  the  Chevalier  Sigismund  Neukomm,^ 
Haydn's  favorite  pupil,  was  a  man  of  talent  and  facile  invention, 
but  he  was  not  a  man  of  genius  ;  and  although  for  a  time  he  enjoyed 
great  popularity, "*  his  name  is  now  forgotten  save  by  the  few  who 
knew  him  personally,  and  esteemed  him  for  his  charming  and  lovable 
qualities.  These  made  him  welcome  everywhere,  as,  for  instance,  in 
Moscheles's  household  at  Leipsic,  where  he  went  by  the  name  of  the 
Encyclopaedia  ;  for  whoever  wanted  information  on  any  subject,  says 
Madame  Moscheles,  in  the  life  of  her  husband,^  was  sure  to  obtain  it 
of  him.  "Sorry,"  she  adds,  "that  he  writes  such  an  inordinate 
quantity  of  music,  and  carries  out  the  principle  he  advocates,  that 
one  must  be  writing  daily."  Mendelssohn's  "  Letters  "  and  Chorley's 
"Musical  Recollections"  give  the  same  impression,  making  us  feel  that 
the  Chevalier  wrote  music  as  TroUope  wrote  books,  by  a  daih^  grind : 
"  No  matter  what  the  grist-mill  might  turn  out,  it  had  to  be  put  in 
operation  every  twenty-four  hours."  Is  it,  then,  surprising  that  his 
numerous  compositions  for  the  church,  his  five  oratorios,  and  his 
innumerable  songs,  have  alike  been  shelved  for  all  time?  Even  at 
its  first  performance  at  the  Birmingham  festival  of  1834,  for  which  it 
was  written,  Neukomm's  David  was  characterized  by  a  leading  Eng- 
lish periodical  as  ''theatrical  and  noisy"  ;  as  occasionally  possessing 
the  grace  of  Haydn,  but  never  approaching  the  majesty  of  Handel ; 
as  a  structure  whose  parts  are  consummately  put  together,  rich  in 
embellishment,  but  wanting  in  majesty  ;  having  melodies  frequently 
graceful  but  never  original,  and  choruses  which,  in  accordance  with 
the  whole  style  and  character  of  the  piece,  belong  to  the  theatre  rather 
than  to  the  church. ^ 

Now  that  we  have  seen  what  the  critics  thought  of  David  as  an 

1 1.,  125. 

2  History  of  Music  in  America,  p.  235. 

3  Born  in  Salzburg,  July  10,  1778 ;  died  in  Paris,  April  13,  1858. 

4  Chiefly  gained  by  his  two  songs,  "  The  Sea  "  and  "  Napoleon's  Midnight  Review." 
At  Birmingham  he  was  familiarly  known  as  the  King  of  Brummagem.  —  Grote's 
Dictionary. 

5 Life  of  Moscheles,  I.,  218. 

6  Quoted  by  Hack,  Vol.  I.,  p.  157. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     Ill 

oratorio,  let  us  see  what  they  had  to  say  about  the  way  in  which  it 
was  presented  by  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society.  Speaking  of  the 
performances  in  the  season  of  1S3U  to  1840,  a  writer  in  the  Musical 
Magazine^  whose  words  are  quite  as  applicable  and  even  more  so  to 
those  of  183G.  which  we  liave  now  under  consideration,  says  that  with 
the  limited  resources  of  the  Society  in  regard  to  place,  choir,  and 
orchestra,  the  oratorio  here  labored  from  the  first  under  a  triple  dis- 
advantage as  compared  with  those  afforded  it  by  the  Birmingham 
Society.  Owing  to  the  smallness  of  the  Boston  hall,  the  want  of 
balance  between  the  choir,  in  which  the  male  voices  predominate  over 
the  female,  and  the  orchestra,  in  which  the  wind  smother  the  stringed 
instruments  (fourteen  of  the  first,  half  of  brass,  and  only  eleven 
of  the  last) ,  the  oratorio  never  received  its  proper  effect.  Still  an- 
other cause  of  failure  was  the  want  of  ensemble  in  both  choir  and 
orchestra,  due  to  the  fact  that  each  performer  sang  or  played  as  an 
individual,  without  any  reference  to  the  body  of  performers  or  to  the 
unity  of  the  whole  work.  The  critic  illustrates  this  remark  by  an 
ingenious  and  apt  comparison  between  ancient  battles,  in  which  each 
warrior  attacked  an  individual  enemy  to  conquer  or  l)e  conquered, 
and  modern  battles,  where  the  various  "corps"  act  in  concert  with 
the  main  body,  and  never  lose  sight  of  its  operations.  How  the  solo 
singers  acquitted  themselves  the  deponent  sayeth  not.  As  the  parts 
were  at  first  distributed,  Colburn  sang  Dnvid ;  Dodd,  Saul;  Taylor, 
Jonathan;  AYithington,  Goliath;  Lothrop.  The  High  Priest;  Sharp, 
The  Messenger;  Mrs.  Strong,  3Iichael ;  and  Mrs.  Baker,  DaticVs 
Sister.  As  for  the  success,  it  was  prodigious.  On  the  opening  night. 
Feb.  28,  "the  large  audience  was  most  enthusiastic."  At  the  fifth 
performance,  March  27,  "*  BoylstonHall  was  again  filled  to  suffocation, 
and  many  who  were  unable  to  procure  seats,  went  away  disappointed." 
And  so  it  went  on  until  the  end  of  the  chapter.  Verily,  "Saul  has 
slain  his  thousands,  and  David  his  ten  thousands." 

TWEXTY-SFXOXl)    SEASON. 
Aug.    1.    183G,    to    Aug.    7,    1837. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  held  on  the  1st  of  August,  Bartholomew 
Brown  was  elected  president,  George  J.  Webb,  vice-president,  J.  Hill 
Belcher,  secretary,  and  Abner  Bourne,  treasurer.     The  new  president,- 

'I.,  pp.  125  to  128. 

-Born  ill  Danrers,  Mass.,  Sept.  8,  1772;  died  in  Boston  of  paralysis,  April  11, 
1851,  aged  eighty-one  years  and  six  months ;  joined  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society, 
Nov.  5,  1815. 


112     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Society,  who  proved  to  be  its  Jeffer- 
son Davis  within  a  year,  is  thus  credited  with  every  virtue  by  his  biog- 
rapher, Ebenezer  Alden.i  '•  P^minently  popular  on  account  of  his 
goodness  of  heart,  loving  and  beloved,  he  was  a  lawyer  of  standing, 
given  to  literary  and  musical  pursuits,  a  friend  of  temperance,  and 
foremost  in  every  good  work."  Many  of  his  compositions,  glees, 
''  anthems,  and  choruses  are  printed  in  the  'Bridgewater  Collection  of 
Music,'  which  he  edited  jointly  with  Judge  Mitchell,  of  Bridgewater." 
How  far  this  excellent  record  is  reconcilable  with  the  two  facts  that 
Mr.  Brown  was  the  first  president  who  accepted  a  salar}^  for  his  ser- 
vices as  such,  and  that,  failing  to  obtain  a  re-election,  he  left  the 
Society,  and  devoted  his  energies  to  the  formation  of  a  rival  institu- 
tion, we  must  leave  the  reader  to  determine  for  himself. 

Of  the  new  vice-president,  Mr.  George  J.  Webb,  who  was  to  render 
valuable  aid  to  the  Society  in  many  ways  during  his  long  connection 
with  it,  we  shall  speak  as  occasion  offers.  The  report  of  the  treasurer 
for  the  season  just  concluded,  stated  the  gross  receipts  to  have  been 
$5,335.44,  of  which  sum  $1,904.50  came  from  public  performances. 
As  the  expenses  amounted  to  84,760.86,  a  balance  of  B574.58 
remained  in  the  Society's  favor. 

On  the  12th  of  August  the  board  voted  the  president  a  salary  of 
$300  per  annum.  This  grave  innovation,  wdiich  w^as  soon  abandoned, 
would  hardly  have  been  justifiable,  had  Mr.  Brown  come  to  Boston  to 
conduct  the  concerts  of  the  Society,  as  it  has  been  said  that  he  did.^ 
This  we  doubt  altogether.  That  he  came  to  Boston  six  years  before 
the  Society  was  founded,  we  know  from  Mr.  Alden,  and  that  he  joined 
it  in  1815,  the  year  of  its  foundation,  is  certain;  but  neither  in  Mr. 
Alden's  memoir,  nor  in  the  records,  is  he  otherwise  mentioned  than  as 
a  member  of  the  cliorus. 

Oil  the  1st  of  October,  according  to  an  agreement  entered  into  with 
Mr.  Lowell  Mason  on  the  20th  of  May,  the  new  contract  governing 
their  publishing  interests  went  into  operation.  By  it  Mr.  Mason, 
after  paying  S2,000  to  the  Society,  w^as  entitled  to  sale  profits  for  two 
years,  at  the  end  of  which,  and  for  a  like  term,  the  Society  was  to  take 
two  thirds  and  Mason  one,  he  being  at  liberty,  during  the  whole  four 
years,  to  publish  on  his  ow^n  account  whatever  he  pleased.  Subse- 
quently, during  a  further  period  of  ten  years,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  the  book  propert}^  became   vested  in  the   Society,   it  w^as  to 


1  See  Memoir  of  Bartholomew  Brown,  read  at  a  meeting  of  the  New  England 
Historic  Genealogical  Society,  Feb.  5,  1862, 

2 Mr.  James  Sharp  made  this  statement  to  Mr.  Jennison. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  113 

receive  ninety  per  cent  of  tlie  profits,  and  Dr.  Mason  the  remaining 
ten.  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Luther  Farnham  which  lies  before  us,  dated 
March  U,  ISGD,  Dr.  Mason  says  :  — 

' '  I  was  lookiiiii-  over  old  papers  lately,  and  happened  to  come  across  the 
enclosed  airrcement  between  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  and  myself.  It 
is  onr  tinal  auTeement  to  dissolve  the  copartnership  in  the  book  matter ;  I  send 
it  to  you  merely  for  the  purpose  of  showing  you  that  it  was  all  a  quiet, 
peaceable  doing-  on  both  parts,  notwithstanding  much  talk  came  out  of  it, 
and  attempts  were  made  by  a  few  individuals  to  make  it  out  that  our  separa- 
tion was  caused  by  a  quarrel,  or  something  worse,  on  my  part.  Those,  how- 
ever, who  were  the  most  forAvard  to  make  difficulty,  afterwards  became  my 
warm  friends,  though  perhaps  some,  or  one  at  least,  may  have  always  sup- 
posed that  I  wronged  or  took  some  undue  advantage  of  the  Society.  I  do 
not  write  this,  dear  sir,  Avitli  any  thought  that  the  subject  will  be  alluded  to 
in  your  liistory,  l)ut  merely  for  your  own  information,  and  thinking  that  the 
old  paper  may  have  some  interest  to  3'ou." 

0\\  Oct.  2  the  Society  brought  out  a  new  oratorio  by  Mr.  Charles 
E.  Horn,  entitled  the  "Remission  of  Sin,"  with  text  taken  from 
Milton  1  Composed  for  the  New  York  Sacred  Music  Society  ^  in 
1835,  it  was  first  performed  at  their  hall  in  Chatham  Street  on  the  7th 
of  May,  with  the  son  of  the  composer,  Charles  Horn,  Jr.,  his  wife, 
Miss  Julia  Wheatle}^,  and  Mr.  Sheppard  as  the  principal  vocalists. 
Partly  because  the  receipts  did  not  cover  the  expenses,  and  partly  on 
account  of  the  lateness  of  the  season,  it  was  not  repeated  in  New  York 
at  the  time,  and  Mr.  Horn  accepted  the  offer  of  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society  to  produce  it  in  Boston,  if  he  would  furnish  the  solo 
singers.  Here,  too,  it  was  sung  but  once  in  1836,  though  it  had  a 
second  hearing  in  February  of  the  following  year.^  Ten  of  the  other 
seventeen  concerts  of  the  season  were  devoted  to  Neukomm's  David, 
four  to  selections,  one  to  the  Creation,  one.  that  of  Jan.  1,  1837,  to 
the  Messiah,  and  one  to  the  Haydn  Mass  and  Horn's  "  Remission  of 
Sin." 


1  Hack,  11.,  p.  87. 

2  American  yhisical  Jovrnal,  p.  96. 

3 The  original  score  and  parts  of  another  oratorio  by  Horn,  called  "Daniel's 
Prediction,"  are  said  in  the  Metronome,  October,  1873,  to  be  in  the  possession  of  Mr. 
W.  M.  Byrnes,  president  of  the  Franklin  Insurance  Company,  an  old  member  of  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  Society  (joined  in  1839),  and  one  of  the  principal  amateurs  of 
his  day. 


114  HISTORY    OF   THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

TWi:XTY-THIRl)    SEASON. 
Aug.  7,   1837,  to  May  28,   18:58. 

The  annual  election,  held  on  the  7th  of  August,  resulted  in  the 
election  of  Mr.  George  J.  Webb  as  president,  Mr.  Jonas  Chickering 
as  vice-president,  Mr.  William  Learnard  as  secretary,  and  Mr.  Abner 
Bourne  as  treasurer.  The  election  of  i\Ii-.  Webb  seems  to  have  been 
a  surprise  to  Mr.  Bartholomew  Brown,  who  on  its  announcement 
addressed  the  mem])ers  on  the  subject  of  his  non-election  to  a  second 
term  of  office,  and  left  the  hall.  Shortly  after,  he  joined  a  new 
musical  organization  called  the  Boston  Oratorio  Society,  taking  with 
him  several  other  disaffected  members  ;  and  when  the  trustees  of  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  Society  learned  that  Neukomm's  ''  Hymn  of  the 
Night,"  which  they  had  printed  for  their  own  use,  and  announced  for 
performance  on  Oct.  1,  had  been  sung  on  the  same  evening  b}^  the 
rival  association,  they  appointed  a  committee  to  consider  what  action 
ought  to  be  taken  in  the  case.  On  the  13th  it  reported,  that  as 
Bartholomew  Brown,  Thomas  Comer,  Marcus  Colburn,  Allen  Whit- 
man, J.  C.  Brown,  Anselm  Lathrop,  and  W.  H.  Henderson  had 
violated  then-  obligations  as  members,  they  were  by  the  fourteenth 
article  of  the  by-laws  deserving  of  expulsion.  A  vote  to  expel  in 
case  of  non-repentance  was  taken  on  the  20th  ;  and  on  the  25th  the 
same  conmiittee  reported  that,  despite  all  arguments  to  the  contrary, 
the  delinquents  persisted  in  their  right  to  do  as  the}'  pleased  in  the 
matter,  stating  that  they  had  promised  to  assist  the  new  society  at 
ten  more  concerts,  and  intended  to  do  so,  whatever  the  consequences 
might  be.  On  hearing  this,  the  trustees  voted  to  expel  Messrs.  Brown, 
Lathrop,  and  Whitman.  Mr.  Henderson  afterwards  tendered  his 
resignation  to  the  board,  and  it  was  accepted.  What,  if  any,  action 
was  taken  in  regard  to  Messrs.  Comer  and  Colburn,  we  do  not  know. ^ 

In  the  month  of  August,  Mr.  Zeuner  was  re-elected  organist,  and 
Mr.  Sumner  Hill  librarian  ;  but  as  lie  had  not  returned  to  the  city  in 
September,  Mr.  Edward  Haskell  was  chosen  in  his  place.  The  new 
president,  Mr.  Webb,  made  a  brief  address 'to  the  Society  on  Sept. 
3,  and  thus  inaugurated  an  administration  which  proved  beneficial 
in  every  respect ;  for  besides  being  an  accomplished  musician,  com- 
poser, and  singer,  he  was  a  kindly  and  efficient  officer.  The  follow- 
ing letter,  written  forty-six  3'ears  after  his  first  election,  in  reply  to  one 


iJn  January,  1838,  the  trustees  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Brown,  complaining 
of  his  exi)ulsion,  to  which  they  returned  no  answer. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  115 

asking  him  for  some  reminiscences  of  his  connection  with  the  Society, 
to  be  used  in  this  History,  shows  that  his  affection  for  it  had  not  cooled 
with  the  hipse  of  time. 

Xkw  Youk  City,   125  E.  24Tn  St., 
July  17,  18S8. 
Chaklks  C.  Pei?kixs,  Esq. 

Jly  Dear  Sir  ; —  Owiiia-  to  tlie  misdirection  of  your  letter  of  the  2d  inst., 
it  did  not  reach  me  till  within  a  day  or  two  since.  I  was  happy  to  hear  from 
3'ou,  as  it  recalled  to  my  recollection  some  pleasing  memories  of  tlie  long  past. 
My  age  now  is  just  eiglity  years ;  and  luiAing  kept  no  written  record  of  the 
events  which  transpired  during  my  membership  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society.  I  am  unable  to  recall  any  incidents  tliat  might  serve  you  in  your 
History  of  that  Society. 

The  more  prominent  members  during  my  official  position  were  Jonas 
Chickering.  Eichardson,  Chas.  Lovett.  James  Sharp,  and  Capt.  John  Dodd. 
The  solos  were  chiefly  sustained  by  the  four  latter  names.  At  that  time  it 
was  an  exceptional  thing  to  engage  outside  professional  singers,  thougli  at 
about  this  time  we  employed  Caradori,  Madam  Bishop,  and  the  English  tenor, 
John  Braham. 

I  am  realh'  sorry  not  to  have  it  in  my  power  to  aid  you  in  your  purpose, 
and  I  must  beg  you  to  take  the  -  will  for  the  deed." 

With  sincere  regards,  believe  me. 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

George  J.vrsiEs  Webb. 

In  this  letter  ]Mr.  AVebb  alludes  to  three  distinguished  artists  who  sang 
for  the  Society  presumably  while  he  was  president.  Madam  Bishop 
did  not,  however,  appear  in  Boston  until  1S5*J,  when  he  had  long  since 
ceased  to  take  an  active  part  in  Handel  and  Haydn  affairs.  Braham, 
however,  came  in  1840,  during  Mr.  AVebb's  second  term  of  office,  and 
Caradori  Allan  in  1887,  during  his  first.  This  great  singer,  then  in 
her  thirty-eighth  year,  and  the  fourteentli  of  her  professional  career, 
after  singing  in  opera  with  great  success  on  the  Continent  and  in 
England,  abandoned  the  stage,  and  made  her  first  appearance  in 
oratorio  at  Westminster  Abbey  in  1834.  Subsequently  she  assisted 
at  many  festivals  and  concerts  in  English  cities,  and  after  her  return 
from  America  sung  at  Birmingham  in  the  Elijah,  at  its  first  perform- 
ance on  Aug.  26,  1846.  Her  high  brilliant  soprano  voice  had  lost 
none  of  its  beauty  when  she  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  gave  to  crowded 
audiences  in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Boston,  new  ideas  of  the 
enchanting  power  of  the  human  voice.  The  critics  thought  her  style 
somewhat  too  florid  for  oratorio,  and  such  perhaps  it  was ;  but  with 
this  admission  enouoh  remained  to  make  her  singino-  a  thousand  times 
welcome  to  the  thousands  who  were  privileged  to  listen  to  it.  She 
sans    twice    in    Boston    for  the    Handel   and  Havdn   Societv    in   the 


IK)  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Messiah,  on  New  Year's  eve  and  on  the  7th  of  Jannary.  At  the 
first  of  these  concerts,  says  the  secretary,  her  delivery  of  ''  1  know  that 
my  Redeemer  liveth  "  will  long  "be  remembered  as  a  masterly  per- 
formance, jnst  in  intonation  and  exquisite  in  taste."  At  the  second, 
he  records  that  "  she  acquitted  herself  with  the  same  distinguished 
ability  as  on  the  former  occasion. "^  About  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
persons,  including  chorus  and  orchestra,  were  present  at  the  first  concert, 
but  at  the  second  the  audience  was  somewhat  smaller.  The  orchestra 
of  twenty- three  musicians,  eight  of  whom  were  volunteers,  was  dis- 
tributed as  follows  :  — 

Three  first  violins  (one  volunteer),  six  second  violins  (five  volun- 
teers), two  flutes  (one  volunteer),  two  clarinets,  two  altos,  one  double 
bass,  two  trumpets,  two  horns  (one  volunteer),  one  trombone,  one 
bassoon,  one  kettle-drum. 

The  records  from  which  these  details  are  taken  mention  that  a  number 
of  Indian  chiefs.  Sacs  and  Foxes,  were  present  at  a  rehearsal  of  the 
Society  on  Oct.  29,  1837,  and  that  they  were  especially  delighted  with 
the  organ,  which  they  conceived  to  be  the  abode  of  the  Great  Spirit. 
Between  Jan.  7  and  the  close  of  the  season,  the  Society  sang  the 
Creation  twice,  Neukomm's  "  Hymn  of  the  Night,"  with  selections^ 
once,  and  once  selections  only. 

In  April,  Mr.  Webb,  whose  salary  we  notice  had  been-*  fixed  by  a 
vote  of  the  board  at  $150,  wrote  to  decline  a  renomination,  and  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  urge  him  to  reconsider  his  action,  as  his 
withdrawal  after  a  single  term  would  be  highly  prejudicial  to  the 
interests  of  the  Society.  As  he  refused  to  do  so,  although  his  return 
to  office  two  years  later  shows  that  this  was  not  on  account  of  any  want 
of  cordial  feeling  betw^een  him  and  the  trustees,  they  passed  a  vote 
thanking  him  for  the  dignity  and  impartiality  with  which  he  had  dis- 
charged his  duties  as  presiding  oflBcer,  and  expressing  their  high 
respect  for  his  talents  and  character. 


TWENTY-FOUKTH    SEASON. 

May  28,  1H38,  to  May  27,  1839. 

At  the  annual  meeting  on  May  28,  Mr.  Charles  Zeuner,  whose 
appointment  as  organist  eight  years  before  had,  as  the  reader  may 

•  Mme.  Allan  had  agreed  to  sing  in  the  Messiah  on  the  following  terms :  After 
deducting  $(]0  for  exiienses,  she  was  to  have  three  fourths  of  the  receipts.  These 
amounted  to  ^6m  at  the  first  of  the  two  concerts ;  at  the  second,  $480  were  taken  at 
the  door. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  117 

remember,  met  with  violent  opposition,  was  elected  president.  Cer- 
tainly no  better  proof  that  he  had  in  the  mean  time  gained  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  the  members  could  have  been  given  than  this  ;  but, 
as  the  sequel  showed,  it  would  have  been  wiser  to  have  taken  some 
other  mode  of  recognizing  his  signal  services  than  this.  The  only 
good  result  which  followed  was  that  the  place  of  organist,  left  vacant 
by  Mr.  Zeuner,  was  filled  by  Mr.  A.  U.  Hayter,  an  English  musician 
and  composer,  who  was  destined  to  play  a  most  important  part  in  the 
annals  of  the  Society.  Born  at  Gillingham,  P^ngland,  on  the  16th  of 
December,  171)1),  at  the  age  of  six  ^  he  was  sent  by  his  father,  Sam- 
uel Hayter,  an  eminent  organist,  to  the  collegiate  school  connected 
with  Salisbury  Cathedral.  Here  he  received  instruction  from  Mr. 
Corfe,  organist  of  the  cathedral,  whose  place  he  eventually  occupied 
for  several  years.  Called  to  a  like  post  at  Hereford,  he  remained 
there  until  1835,  wdien  he  came  to  New  York,  and  took  the  place  of 
organist  at  Grace  Church,  of  which  his  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wain- 
wright,  was  rector.  Shortly  after.  Dr.  AVainwright,  who  had  accepted 
a  call  to  Trinity  Church,  Boston,  went  to  P^ngland  to  purchase  an 
organ  ;  and  in  1837,  when  it  had  been  received  and  set  up,  he  sent  for 
]Mr.  Hayter,  who  came  and  took  the  place  of  organist,  wdiich  he  was  to 
fill  for  more  than  twenty-five  years.  One  who  knew  him  well  ^  says  that 
he  was  ''  an,  P^nglish  churchman  and  organist  of  the  strictest  sort  in 
liis  creed  and  playing,  so  strict  in  the  first "  that  thousands  of  dollars 
would  not  have  tempted  him  to  play  at  any  other  than  the  Episcopal 
service,  and  in  the  last  "severely  proper."  In  the  records  of  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  Mr.  Hayter  is  first  mentioned  as  having 
taken  Zeuner's  place  at  the  organ  on  Eeb.  11,  1838,  at  a  rehearsal. 
In  ]May,  as  we  have  seen,  he  was  called  to  fill  it  for  a  season.  This 
proved  to  be  a  prelude  to  many  other  seasons,  during  which  he  not  only 
played  the  organ,  but  also  advised  the  trustees  in  all  musical  matters  ; 
instructed  those  members  who  had  been  selected  to  sing  solos,  how 
they  should  be  sung ;  and  virtually  conducted  the  performances, 
although  the  office  of  conductor  was,  more  or  less  nominally,  vested 
in  the  president.  When,  as  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Wel)b,  he  happened 
to  be  a  trained  musician,  Mr.  Hayter's  role  was  that  of  a  wise  coun- 
sellor in  time  of  need  ;  l)ut  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  non-profes- 
sional presidents,  like  Mr.  Clark  and  Mr.  Chickering,  were  only  too 
glad  to  give  the  baton  into  the  hands  of  an  organist  whose  knowledge 


1  These  biographical  details  are  taken  from  a  notice  of  Mr.  Hayter  which 
apjteared  in  the  Fost,  1873. 

■^  Mr.  James  Sharp,  vice-president  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  in  1828, 
and  for  several  seasons  member  of  the  board  of  triistees. 


118  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDX    SOCIETY. 

and  experience  so  far  surpassed  tlieir  own,  and  thus  to  make  lihn  con- 
ductor de  facto  if  not  de  jure. 

Proof  tliat  they  often  did  so  is  furnished  bv  the  statement  of  an  old 
member^  that  he  "  distinctly  remembers  atteudiug  rehearsals  night 
after  night  conducted  by  Mr.  Hayter,  through  whose  untiring  patience 
and  energy  the  Society  was  enabled  to  give  some  of  the  finest  per- 
formances ever  given  in  this  country,  and  without  the  aid  of  outside 
talent."  After  the  annual  meeting  which  made  Mr.  Zeuner  president, 
he  ofiiciated  as  the  Society's  organist  for  the  last  time,  on  June  4, 
when  services  incident  to  the  two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company  were  held  in  Chauncy 
Place  Church,  and  ''Old  Hundred,"  the  ''Hallelujah  Chorus,"  and 
"  Awake  the  Trumpet's  Lofty  Sound  "  were  sung  by  the  Society.  After 
this,  until  October,  public  performances  were  suspended.  The  trus- 
tees had  indeed  discussed  the  advisability  of  giving  them  up  altogether, 
as  they  had  become  a  source  of  expense  instead  of  profit,  and  con- 
fining the  work  of  the  members  to  reliearsals,  to  which  they  would  be 
allowed  to  invite  their  friends.  That  those  who  advocated  this  course 
had  some  show  of  reason  on  their  side,  is  evident  from  the  small 
receipts  taken  not  only  at  ordinary  concerts,  but  also  at  those  given 
with  the  aid  of  distinguished  singers.  Thus,  for  example,  at  the  three 
last  given  in  the  early  winter  and  spring  of  1838,  with  Mrs.  Franklin's 
aid.  the  receipts  were  respectively  830,  $38,  and  $27.50  ;  while  at  the 
two  preceding,  when  Caradori  Allan  sang,  they  amounted  only  to 
$3(51  and  i'liW.  Now  as  Mrs.  Franklin's  salary  was  $200  for  the  sea- 
son, and  Madam  Caradori  was  paid  three  fourths  of  the  receipts, 
minus  $80  taken  by  the  Society  for  expenses,  it  is  evident  that  with 
the  ordinary  or  the  extraordinary  prima  donna,  the  giving  of  concerts 
was  a  losing  game.  The  JLisica.l  Mayazine^  finds  reasons  for  this 
state  of  things  in  the  want  of  a  proper  building  ^  and  the  want  of 
sufficient  rehearsals.  "If  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  would  every 
year  give  us  only  one  new  and  sterling  oratorio,  thoroughly  rehearsed, 
and  repeat  that  often  enough  to  make  the  audience  familiar  with  it, 
we  think  it  would  do  much  good  to  the  cause  of  music.  It  has  the 
means  to  do  it,  so  far  as  the  director,  chorus,  and  orchestra  are  con- 
cerned ;  and  with  careful  practice  the  same  would  be  true   also  of  its 


1  Transcript,  August,  1873. 

2  fluck,  Vol.  I.,  p.  15. 

3  The  subject  of  obtaining  one  was  again  brought  up  in  June,  1838.  On  the  18th, 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  confer  witli  Mr.  Pike  about  a  new  hall,  to  ascertain 
terms  for  the  purchase  of  an  estate,  make  a  survey  of  it,  and  obtain  a  general  plan 
for  the  building  to  be  erected  on  it. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     119 

solo  singers,  for  it  has  good  tenor,  bass,  and  soprano  voices  at  com- 
mand." The  proposal  to  give  up  public  concerts,  and  the  above 
advice  given  by  the  editor  of  the  Musical  Magazine^  were  alike  disre- 
garded, and  matters  were  allowed  to  take  their  usual  course.  In 
October,  Madam  Caradori  sang  in  the  Creation  twice  to  tolerable 
houses.  November  had  its  tw^o  concerts  of  selections,  with  but  a  beg- 
garly sale  of  tickets  ;  and  December,  one  on  the  last  day  of  the  year, 
when  the  Messiah  was  sung  to  an  audience  which  brought  S27.50  into 
the  treasury. 

It  was  evidently  high  time  to  "  sound  an  alarm."  Called  together, 
the  trustees  determined  to  summon  David  to  their  aid,  trusting  that, 
armed  with  the  sling  and  the  stone  of  Neukomm's  music,  he  might 
avail  to  slay  the  Goliath  of  public  apathy.  In  this  they  were  not 
disappointed.  Eleven  times  before  the  close  of  the  season  did  he 
give  proof  of  his  power,  bringing  $1,142  into  the  treasury,  and  giv- 
ing the  Society  about  S500  profit.^  Instead  of  Colburu  and  Withing- 
ton,  who  had  sung  the  parts  of  the  Philistine  giant  and  the  Israelite 
shepherd  boy  when  the  oratorio  was  first  brought  out,  Messrs.  Jonas 
Chickering  and  Samuel  Eichardson  were  substituted.  ''This  selec- 
tion," says  the  Rev.  William  Staunton,  in  an  already  quoted  letter  of 
personal  recollections,  ''  was  obviously  made  in  view  of  their  vocal 
ability,  and  of  the  spirit  in  which  they  would  be  sure  to  perform  the 
duty  allotted  to  them  ;  bnt  over  and  above  this,  it  happened  that  there 
was  a  very  marked  correspondence  between  the  physique  and  general 
bearing  of  these  gentlemen  and  the  ciuTent  ideas  which  we  have  of 
the  ancient  combatants  whom  they  were  called  upon  to  represent. 
Richardson  was  a  tall,  bulky,  and  muscular  man,  of  jovial  aspect,  with 
a  radiant  countenance  and  powerful  lungs.  Added  to  this,  one  of  his 
eyes  was  in  true  position,  while  the  other  sensibly  verged  toward  a 
squint.  I  honestly  think  that  a  better  Goliath  could  hardly  have  been 
found  either  in  or  out  of  the  Society's  ranks.  And  when  in  the 
course  of  the  oratorio  he  came  forward  as  the  champion  of  the  Phil- 
istines, the  dismay  and  uproar  of  the  Israelites,  expressed  in  the 
chorus  'Behold  the  Giant!',  seemed  fully  justified.  On  the  other 
hand,  Chickering  was  a  man  somewhat  delicately  made,  rather  below 
the  average  statm-e,  and  with  a  face  expressive  of  all  that  was  gentle, 
winning,  and  benignant.  And  when  he  modestly  stepped  to  the  front 
in  a  line  with  the  towering  giant,  who  glanced  at  him  with  a  droll 


^  At  the  fourth  performance,  March  17,  the  aisles,  galleries,  and  every  seat  and 
every  foot  of  flooring  were  occupied.  Hundreds  were  turned  away,  unable  to  find 
their  way  within  the  doors  of  the  hall.—  Transcript,  March  19,  1839. 


120  HISTORY    OF    THE    HAN'DEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

contempt,  exclaiming,  'Give  me  a  man,  that  we  may  fight  together  I', 
the  only  check  to  the  expression  of  svmpathethic  feeling  on  the  part 
of  the  audience,  was  the  secret  assm'ance  that  Chickering  would 
speedily  give  the  braggart  heathen  his  due  with  a  sling  and  a  stone." 
An  article  on  Ha^'ter,  in  the  Metronome  for  September,  1873,  says 
that  Richardson,  who  had  previously  sung  the  part  of  Goliath  in  a  very 
crude  manner,  was  correctly  retaught  it  by  Hayter.  It  says  nothing 
of  Mr.  Chickering's  David,  but  mentions  Colburn  in  the  part  as  "  a 
shouter  rather  than  a  singer,  relying  rather  on  coarse,  violent  effects 
than  on  the  skilful  management  of  his  voice."  Marshall  Johnson,  who, 
as  we  learn  from  the  same  source,  was  selected  from  the  chorus  and 
trained  in  the  part  by  Hayter,  sang  it  "in  far  better  style  than  Colburn, 
doing  great  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  Society."  As  a  fitting  con- 
clusion to  the  history  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society's  performances 
of  David,  we  give  the  Chev.  Neukomm's  answer  to  a  letter  written 
b}^  the  secretary,  at  the  board's  request,  to  inform  him  of  his  election 
as  an  honorary  member,  and  of  the  great  success  of  his  oratorio  in 
Boston.^ 

Paris.  Dec.  21,   1839. 
t 

Gentlemen,  —  I  have  just  received  the  letter  which  you  did  me  the  honor  to 
address  to  me  on  the  27tli  of  May  last.  Xot  finding  me  in  Paris,  it  was 
forwarded  to  London,  which  I  had  just  left,  and  then  sent  back  to  Paris,  where 
I  have  just  received  it.  All  these  circumstances  will  serve  as  an  excuse  for 
my  tardy  answer.  Accept,  gentlemen,  my  best  thanks  for  the  kind  reception 
which  you  have  given  to  my  works.  Permit  me  also  to  express  my  grateful 
sense  of  the  honor  which  you  have  done  me,  by  inscribing  my  name  on  the 
list  of  members  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society.  May  the  Xew  World,  under 
the  protection  of  these  two  sul)lime  men  of  genius,  preserve  the  sound  doc- 
trines of  our  art,  and  with  them  the  purity  of  musical  principles.  Maj^  it 
forever  repudiate  all  those  extravagant  productions  of  the  present  day 
engendered  by  the  mania  for  novelties,  which  tend  to  destro.v  even  the  tra- 
clitions  in  our  old  and  decrepit  Europe,  together  with  the  masterpieces  which 
a  better  age  had  left  us.  Accept,  gentlemen,  all  the  wishes  which  I  shall  not 
cease  to  form,  for  the  prosperity  of  your  Society. 

I  am,  with  the  highest  consideration,  gentlemen,  your  devoted  servant, 

SiGISMUXD   NeUKOMM. 

Address  : 

Care  of  ^I.  A.  Leo.  banker,  11  Hue  Louis  le  Grand. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  salary  first  attached  to  the  presi- 
dential office  during  Bartholomew  Brown's  administration,  and 
accepted  by  him  and  his  successor,  Mr.  Webb.  On  Jan.  9.  18.39,  it 
was  fixed  at  $300,  but  President  Zeuner  refused  to  accept  it.   Whether 

iPvecords  of  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  Vol.  IV.,  and  letter  on  file. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  121 

be  would  have  had  the  same  couscieutioiis  scruples  if  he  had  felt 
himself  at  ease  iu  his  new  position,  and  working  in  harmony  with  the 
board,  is  questionable.  Certain  it  is  that  within  a  month  of  the  time 
when  the  salary  was  voted,  remarks  were  made  (Feb.  3)  in  the  board 
upon  his  continual  absence  from  its  meetings  and  those  of  the  Societv, 
and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  inform  him  "that  the  interests  of 
the  Society  and  his  own  reputation  seem  to  require  him  to  resign,"  and 
to  request  Mm  to  do  so.  This  he  did  on  the  7th  ;  and  the  board  replied 
by  passing  a  vote  of  regret  and  of  high  esteem  for  his  talents  as  a 
composer  and  executant  of  sacred  music.  Thanking  him  for  his  long 
continued  services  as  organist,  they  express  the  hope  that  he  and  the 
Society  may  soon  again  co-operate  in  the  promotion  of  the  art  divine. 
This  co-operation  they  endeavored  to  bring  about  on  June  11,  by 
electing  him  organist  .for  the  season  :  but  as  he  declined  the  position, 
Mr.  Hayter  was  re-appointed,  and  authorized  by  vote  to  spend  $100, 
during  his  proposed  visit  to  Europe,  in  the  purchase  of  the  scores  of 
the  Messiah  with  Mozart's  additional  accompaniments,  St.  Paul,  Mt. 
Sinai,  and  sets  of  parts  for  the  Creation  and  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and 
one  new  oratorio  not  specified. 

Mr.  Zeuner  shortly  after  left  Boston  for  Philadelphia,  where,  after  a 
residence  of  some  eighteen  years,  he,  as  has  been  already'  recorded,  put 
an  end  to  his  life  during  a  fit  of  insanity  in  1857.  Hack,  in  a  review 
of  the  winter  season  of  1 839-40, '  speaks  of  Zeuner  as  one  whose 
name  stands  identified  with  the  history  of  music  in  Boston.  "  for  he 
has  contributed  towards  elevating  our  style  of  church  music  by  his 
publications." '2  '^  His  loss  is  comparatively  little  felt  at  the  present 
time,"  adds  the  writer,  -'as  he  had  lately  kept  much  retired,  hiding  his 
talent,  and  wasting  it  on  trifles."  ^'^^e  hope,"  he  concludes,  "that 
his  new  career  [as  organist  in  Philadeli)hia]  will  excite  him  to  new 
exertions,  and  will  again  place  him  in  that  station  in  regard  to  the 
art  which  he  is  qualified  and  ought  to  fill.  Otherwise  we  would 
remind  him  of  the  man  in  the  parable  who  hid  his  Lord's  talent  in  a 
napkin." 

'^Musical  Magazine,  Vol.  II.,  p.  197. 

2  So  also  Hack,  I.,  p.  80,  refers  to  David,  given  on  2J:tli  of  Fehrnary,  and  adds, 
**  We  are  sorry  to  see  Mr.  Zeuner  no  longer  at  the  liead  of  this  [Handel  and  Haydn] 
Society.  "We  regret  the  necessity-  which  led  to  his  resignation,  will  not  examine  into 
who  is  to  hlame,  hiit  will  say  that,  if  there  had  been  on  all  sides  a  genuine  love  for 
the  art,  mutual  good-will  and  forbearance,  Mr.  Zeuner  would,  by  his  talents  and 
knowledge,  have  been  capable  of  bringing  the  Societj-  forward  very  much." 


122  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY. 

TWENTY-FIFTH    SEASON. 
May  27.   ls39.  to  May  27.   1S40. 

3I1-.  Increase  S.  Witliiiigtou,  who  had  l)eeii  a  member  of  the  board 
of  trustees  iu  lS2f<  and  1829.  and  who  had  snng  the  part  of  Goliath  in 
the  oratorio  of  David  as  originally  cast,  was  elected  president  at  the 
annual  meeting  on  May  27,  with  Mr.  George  Hews  as  vice-president, 
and  Messrs.  Learnard  and  Parker  as  secretary  and  treasurer.  As  the 
new  president  had  had  experience  in  the  conduct  of  affairs,  and  as  he 
was  a  good  amateur  musician,  we  may  believe  that  Hack  was  justified 
in  saying  that  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  make  a  better  choice 
among  the  members  of  the  Society.  The  report  of  the  treasurer 
showed  a  balance  of  81.436.44  to  the  Society's  credit,  and  the  secretary 
stated  that  with  l)ut  two  exceptions  dming  the  last  twelve  years,  there 
had  not  l)een.  as  now,  money  enough  on  hand  at  the  end  of  the  season 
to  meet  all  demands. 

Between  Sept.  29  and  Nov.  3,  five  performances  were  given,  — 
two  of  selections  and  thi-ee  of  David.  They  were  the  last  concerts 
of  the  Society  in  Boylston  Hall,  which  it  had  occupied  for  so  many 
years.  The  first  steps  towards  a  change  of  quarters  were  taken  in 
October,  when  negotiations  were  opened  with  Mr.  Redman,  proprietor 
of  the  Lion  Theatre,  to  hire  the  building  for  five  years  at  81,700  j;er 
annum.  The  bargain  was  concluded  late  in  the  month,  and  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  fit  up  the  hall,  which  finally  received  the  name 
of  the  Melodeon.^  Additional  regulations  for  the  government  of  the 
Society  in  its  new  home  were  thought  necessary,  and  the  secretary 
being  requested  to  report  them,  wrote  a  circular,  which  was  printed 
for  the  convenience  of  the  members,  and  written  out  at  length  iu  the 
fifth  volume  of  the  records.  Beginning  with  a  short  statement  of  the 
reasons  which  made  a  change  of  quarters  desirable,  Mr.  Learnard 
reminds  the  members,  that  to  secm-e  all  the  advantages  incident  to  the 
occupation  of  larger  and  more  suitable  accommodations,  it  will  be 
necessary  for  them  to  be  faithful  in  their  attendance,  zealous  to 
improve  the  character  of  performances,  and  active  in  exerting  influ- 
ence with  then-  friends  to  attend  the  concerts  of  the  Society,  so  that 
it  may  have  funds  to  enlarge  the  scale  of  its  operations,  and  be  able 
to  add  to  its  library.  More  than  all,  they  must  attract  the  public  by 
increased  excellence  in  choral  singing.  Among  existing  evils  he  points 
out  too  much  nominal  membership  ;  too  loose  an  observance  of  the 

1  It  was  at  rirst  proposed  to  call  it  the  Adelphi. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     1  23 

by-laws,  which  ought  to  be  more  energetically  enforced  than  tliey  have 
been.  It  is  only  by  •*  individual  exertion,  and  steady  devotion  to  the 
interests  of  the  Society,"  he  adds,  that  it  can  be  raised  to  a  hioher 
place  than  it  has  hitherto  occupied.  In  conclusion  lie  points  out  that 
the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  ought  to  be  regarded  as  a  scJiool  of 
instruction,  and  expresses  a  hope  that  professors  of  music  will 
generally  take  an  interest  in  the  rehearsals,  and,  when  not  otherwise 
engaged,  will,  whether  members  or  not.  attend  them.  When,  on 
Saturday,  Dec.  8,  the  members  met  for  the  last  time  in  Boylston  Hall, 
which  they  had  occupied  for  twenty-three  years,  the  president  pro- 
posed that  they  should  take  leave  of  a  place  which  liad  been  the  scene 
of  so  many  pleasant  meetings,  by  singing  the  Hallelujah  Chorus  at 
the  close  of  the  rehearsal.  This  they  did,  as  the  record  says,  '•  with 
full  organ  accompaniment  and  in  excellent  style." 

On  Dec.  22  they  met  again  for  the  first  time  at  the  ^lelodeon. 
seventy-one  in  number,  to  rehearse  the  Messiah  for  performance  on 
the  26th,  when  it  was  sung  before  an  audience  of  uearly  one  thousand 
persons,  by  a  chorus  and  orchestra  of  about  one  hundred  and  seventv- 
five  persons,  with  Mrs.  Franklin,  the  Misses  Wakefield  and  Fuller. 
and  Messrs.  Eichardson,  Baker^  Taylor,  and  Johnson  as  soloists. 

The  new  hall  is  spoken  of  in  the  Musical  JIagazine  ^  as  elegant  and 
commodious.  ••  The  stage  part  of  the  house,"  says  the  editor,  ••  is 
fitted  up  with  seats  rising  in  a  semicircular  form  for  the  choir  and 
orchestra,  in  the  midst  of  which,  at  the  end,  the  Society's  large  and 
excellent  organ  is  to  be  placed.  We  congratulate  the  Society  on  their 
new  and  superior  accommodations." 


TWENTY-SIXTH   SEASOX. 
May  27.   1840.  to  Miy  31,   1841. 

On  May  25,  Mr.  Withiugton  informed  the  trustees  of  his  resolution 
not  to  accept  a  renomination  as  president.  They  received  it  with 
expressions  of  regret,  followed  by  a  vote  of  thanks,  which  he  acknowl- 
edged •*  in  a  few  brief  but  pertinent  remarks."  Two  days  later,  at  the 
annual  meeting,  Mr.  George  J.  Webb  was  elected  as  his  successor, 
with  the  same  vice-president,  secretary,  and  treasurer  ^  as  before,  and 
Mr.  Withiugton  was  appointed  to  the  board  of  trustees. 

"■  Vol.  I.,  p.  407. 

2  Mr.  Abner  Bourne,  who  had  heen  treasurer  for  the  i)a.st  four  years,  died  on  the 
10th  of  July,  1^0.  On  the  21st,  Mr.  Matthew  S.  Parker  was  elected  in  his  place, 
and  Mr.  I.  F.  Payson  to  that  of  Mr.  Parker  in  the  board  of  tiitstees. 


124  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

The  report  of  the  secretary  made  at  this  meeting  speaks  of  the 
fiuaucial  couditiou  of  the  Society  as  unexpectedly  favorable,  consid- 
ering the  heavy  expenses  incident  to  its  removal  to  the  Melodeon. 
These,  including  the  sum  expended  on  necessary  alterations  and  the 
rent,  will,  he  thinks,  be  covered  by  the  sum  derived  from  the  lease 
of  the  Iniilding.  when  not  needed  by  the  Society,  to  outside  parties. 
He  acknowledges  that  good  results  have  followed  upon  the  issue  of 
the  cii'cular  a  twelvemonth  previous,  in  which  members  were  admon- 
ished of  their  shortcomings  in  regard  to  attendance  at  rehearsals  and 
concerts,  but  at  the  same  time  he  seizes  the  opportunity  to  remind 
them  that  the  existence  and  prosperity  of  the  Society  depend  more 
than  ever  upon  their  hearty  and  constant  co-operation,  now  that  other 
societies  are  lal)oriug  in  the  same  field,  and  that  the  diminished  sale  of 
the  Society's  pul)lications  betokens  the  speedy  termination  of  further 
profit  from  that  hitherto  fruitful  source  of  support.  After  alluding 
to  the  fact  that  at  the  close  of  twenty-five  years  since  the  foundation 
of  the  Society,  but  three  of  its  original  members,  Messrs.  Dodd, 
Parker,  and  Richardson,  still  take  an  active  part  in  its  affairs,  he 
mentions  that  others  are  still  living,  who,  though  seldom  present  at 
its  meetings,  have  lost  nothing  of  their  old  interest  in  its  prosperity. 
Of  these,  three,  Messrs.  John  Mackay,  Otis  Everett,  and  Winches- 
ter, the  ex-president,  "  to  whom  perhaps  more  than  to  any  other  per- 
son the  Society  owes  its  present  high  and  honorable  popularity,"  have 
within  the  year  given  substantial  proof  of  then*  good-will  by  gifts,  the 
first  and  last  named  of  $100  each,  and  the  second  of  SoO. 

The  twenty-sixth  season  was  opened  on  the  4th  of  October,  with  a 
new  oratorio.  Neukomm's  Mt.  Sinai,  sung  on  that  evening  and  on 
four  sul)sequent  occasions,  the  last  on  Nov.  1.  by  Mrs.  Franklin, 
Miss  Stone.  Messrs.  AVithington.  Wetherbee.  Johnson,  and  Welling- 
ton. Lacking  the  dramatic  and  sensational  elements  of  DaAdd,  which 
it  preceded  in  the  order  of  composition,  though  superior  to  it  as  an 
oratorio,  it  met  with  a  rather  cold  reception  in  Boston,  and  was  soon 
laid  on  the  shelf.  The  JL/sicol  Magazine  ^  praises  Mrs.  Franklin's 
tuneful  and  expressive  singing  in  Mt.  Sinai,  Init  it  takes  exception  to 
meretricious  cadences  and  embellishments  which  she  saw  fit  to  intro- 
duce. It  also  commends  the  solo  bass  singers  for  their  unassuming 
good  taste  in  delivery,  but  it  more  than  hints  that  they  had  but  little 
command  over  their  voices  ;  and  while  mentioning  that  the  tenor  had 
a  powerful  voice,  of  good  compass,  expresses  the  regret  that  he  had 
done  so  little  to  improve  the  capital  which  God  had  given  him ;  the 

^  For  an  analyst's  of  Mt.  Siiiai,  see  Vol.  II.,  p.  37ie<  seq. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  125 

chorus  has  hnproved  in  light  and  shade  diii'iiig  the  past  year,  and 
had  the  brass  instruments  in  the  orchestra  been  less  blatant,  the  gen- 
eral effect  would  have  been  satisfactory.  Though  by  no  means  the 
first  critic  of  the  Society's  performances,  the  editor  of  the  3Iusical 
Magazine  brought  more  ability  and  experience  to  l)ear  in  the  execu- 
tion of  his  task  than  any  of  his  predecessors  ;  and  as  he  took  care  to 
make  alloAvance  for  existing  conditions,  and  tempered  censure  with 
l)raise  when  it  was  deserved,  he  secured  for  himself  a  hearing,  and 
did  good  service  to  the  cause. 

In  the  first  number  of  his  periodical,  after  arguing  in  favor  of  the 
Society's  practice  of  giving  concerts  on  Sunday  evenings,  he  reminds 
the  members  that  they  thereby  declare  them  to  be  not  social,  but 
reUgious,  exercises  :  which  they  only  can  be,  if  care  is  exercised  in 
selecting  such  works  for  performance  as  breathe  a  duly  religious 
spirit,  like  the  compositions  of  Haydn.  Handel.  Mozart,  and  Bach,  and 
when  much  attention  is  given  to  the  manner  of  performing  them. 
The  first  condition  he  says  is  easy ;  but  the  second,  as  depending  upon 
steadiness  of  purpose  and  an  entire  absence  of  selfishness,  is  more 
difficult.  "  For  it  is  not  only  the  spirit  in  which  nuisic  is  conceived 
and  composed,  but  also  that  in  which  it  is  performed,  which  gives  it 
its  sacred  character."  This  position  he  illustrates  in  another  place  by 
commenting  on  the  way  in  which  a  bass  singer  in  the  Creation  came 
leisurely  down  from  his  seat,  and  carelessly  sang  the  recitative  '-And 
God  said ;  "  and  by  pointing  out  as  disrespectful  the  habit  of  many 
l)eople  in  the  audience  of  putting  on  their  overcoats  and  crowding  to 
the  door  as  soon  as  the  signal  for  the  final  chorus  in  an  oratorio  is 
given.  Hack  had  furthermore  the  sense  to  see  that  the  shortcomings 
of  the  chorus  were  due  not  only  to  insufficient  rehearsals,  but  also  to 
the  incompetency  of  their  amateur  conductors  ;  and  in  the  JIuskal 
Magazine  of  Jan.  4  he  pointed  out  the  remedy  ;  namely,  the  separa- 
tion of  the  office  of  president  from  that  of  conductor,  who,  as  he  says, 
ought  to  be  '•  one  of  the  most  talented  professional  men  in  the  city." 
This  needed  reform  was  virtually  effected  by  the  election  of  Mr. 
George  James  AVeU).  whose  competency  no  one  could  dispute.  He 
had  shortly  before  resigned  his  connection  with  the  Boston  Acadeni}" 
of  Music  owing  to  some  not  fully  explained  dissension  between  him- 
self and  its  conductor,  Mr.  Lowell  Mason,  and  was  therefore  able  to 
accept  the  position  again  offered  him  by  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society. 

The  greatest  musical  event  of  his  administration  was  the  appearance 
of  the  oreat  Enolish  tenor,  John  Braham,   then  in  the   sixtv-seventh 


126     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

year  of  his  age,i  at  the  Society's  concerts.     After  filling  Europe  with 
his  fame,  and  amassing  a  large  fortune,  which  was  swallowed  up  in 
theatrical    speculations   undertaken   in  1831,  Braham  determined  to 
cross  the  ocean,  believing  that  the  strength  of  his  reputation,  and  the 
voice  which  yet  remained  to  him,  would  suffice  to  attract  the  public, 
and  enable  him  to  replenish  his  purse.     In  his  best  time  his  voice  had 
a  compass  of  nineteen  notes,  and  his  falsetto  from  D  to  A  was  so 
entirely  under  control,  that  the  point  of  transition  between  it  and  his 
natural   voice  was  hardly  recognizable, "^  but   in  1840  it  had    lost  a 
great   deal  in  power  and  tone.^     Still,   his  noble   style  of  delivery, 
which  time  could  not  affect,  remained  to  charm  his  hearers.     If  I  may 
judge  from  my  own  experience,  the  impression  made  by  this  truK  great 
singer  is  ineffaceable  ;  for  though  forty-six  years  have  elapsed  since  I, 
a  lad  of  seventeen,  heard  him  sing  ''  Total  eclipse  "  at  the  Melodeon, 
it  is  still  clear  and  strong.     This  must  have  been  at  one  of  the  four 
concerts  given  by  the  Society  with  his  assistance  in  November,   1840. 
On  turning  to  the  records  after  writing  the  above,  to  consult  the  pro- 
grammes of  these  concerts,  I  found  that  on  Friday  evening,  Nov.   1, 
the  concert  began  with  the  overture  to  Samson,  and  that  unmediately 
after   it   Braham    made   his   dehut   by   singing   the   famous   aria   in 
question.     As  he  did  not,   so  far  as  subsequent  programmes  show, 
repeat   it,    I   must   have  heard  him  at   this    concert,  when,  accord- 
ing to  the  record,  the  veteran  tenor  "  fully  sustained  his  pre-eminence  " 
as  the  first  living  vocalist,  and  completely  answered  the  high  expecta- 
tions which  had  been  raised  in  the  public  mind.     While  it  is  interest- 
ing to  know  what  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society-  thought  of  Braham, 
it  is  interesting  to  hear  what  so  good  a  judge  of  chorus  singing  as  he 
said  of  the  Society.     In  a  letter  to  President  Webb,  dated  Baltimore, 
March  15,  1841,  he  writes  :  — 

"I  never  heard  choruses  more  beautifully  given  than  hy  the  Society. 
The  different  liirhts  and  sliades,  so  difficult  to  be  attained,  the  delicacy  of 
delivery  by  a  body  of  choristers  as  if  performed  by  a  single  voice,  do  the  utmost 
credit  to  the  conductor,  Mr.  Webb,  the  organist.  ^Ir.  Hayter,  as  Avell  as  to 
the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  Society." 

The  announcement  of  Braham's  first  appearance  on  Friday  evening, 
Nov.  1,  excited  great  interest.    One  thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty- 


1  Born  in  London  in  177i ;  died  there  Feb.  17,  185(J. 

2Grote's  Dictionary,  Vol.  I.,  p.  2(59. 

3  His  skilful  performances  gained  him  as  many  friends  and  iiartisans,  as  the  want 
of  youthful  buoyancy  in  his  voice,  Avhich  no  skill  coiild  completely  disguise,  and  his 
style  of  singing  (sometimes  so  exaggerated  and  affected  as  to  border  ou  the  absurd ) 
made  him  bitter  antagonists,  —/^ac^•,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  173  and  419. 


HISTOKY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  127 

five  tickets  were  sold  at  the  door  before  the  concert  began,  and  the 
audience  mnnbered  about  sixteen  hundred  persons,  who  enthusiasti- 
cally applauded  the  great  tenor's  singing  of  "  Total  eclipse,"  "  Waft 
her,  angels,"  "Sound  an  alarm,"  and  ''  In  native  worth."  He  again 
appeared  on  the  20th  and  22d,  with  undiminished  success,  and  then 
left  Boston  to  sing  elsewhere,  promising  to  return  shortly.  After 
two  other  concerts  of  selections  in  November,  the  Society  sang  the 
Messiah  at  Christmas,  and  repeated  it  on  the  3d  of  January. i  This 
last  was  the  better  performance  of  the  two,  says  Hack. ^  "Comfort 
ye  "  was  beautifully  given,  but  in  "  Thou  shalt  break  them  "  the  tenor 
broke  down,  a  catastrophe  "which  he  would  have  avoided  had  he 
not  tried  to  imitate  Braham."  So  much  for  high-vaulting  ambition. 
The  great  original  re-appeared  on  the  17th  and  21th,  in  Neukomm's 
David.  Hack,  who  speaks  of  the  first  performance  as  one  of  the 
best  of  this  oratorio  wliich  he  has  ever  heard, ^  takes  Braham  to 
task  for  loading  the  first  recitative  with  embellishments,  and  for 
sio'hino-  and  drao-o-lno-  his  voice  from  one  note  to  another  in  the  air. 
"  1  Avill  lay  me  down  in  peace,"  on  the  21tli,  he  sung  more  "  simply 
and  in  a  nobler  style  ;  "  but  on  the  31st,  he  closed  Luther's  Judgment 
Hymn'*  with  "a  prolonged  figurative  cadenza,"  which  raised  the 
critic's  ire. 

This  was  appeased  at  a  subsequent  concert,  the  second  of  two  given 
with  Braham  in  February,  when  he  sang  in  ]Mt.  Sinai,  and  abstained 
from  all  extemporaneous  embellishments,  and  "  dehghtiug  us,"  says 
Hack,  by  the  expression  which  he  gave  to  every  word  of  his  text, 
"  which  is  the  principal  excellence  of  his  style."  ^  "Again  the  mighty 
grandeur  of  the  Commandments,  and  the  beautiful  accompaniment  of 
the  very  melodious  solo  songs  throughout,  struciv  us  as  the  principal 
excellences  of  the  work,  which  is  of  far  greater  excellence  than  the 
same  composer's  David  :  though  for  want  of  a  tale  to  tell,  and  lack  of 
action,  it  failed  to  excite  any  great  interest  in  the  audience." *5  After 
Braham's  departure,  David  was  repeated,  on  May  2,  for  the  benefit  of 
eight  musicians,  who,  having  been  dismissed  from  the  orchestra  of  the 
Tremont  Theatre  for  having  assisted  the  Society  in  six  concerts  during 

1  Receipts,  S59.50.  2  Vol.  II.,  p.  15.  3  vd.  H.,  p.  48. 

4  The  last  lines  are  said  to  have  been  delivered  by  Braham,  in  the  declamatory- 
style  of  which  he  was  master,  with  thrilling  impressiveness.  Fairhanks's  letter  to 
S.  J.,  Oct.  24,  1871. 

5  Hack,  Vol.  II.,  p.  64;  and  on  p.  172,  he  says,  "How  many  have  learned  from 
Braham  to  use  judgment  in  giving  effect  to  every  note  of  the  song,  to  every  tone  of 
the  voice." 

6  April  20,  funeral  obsequies  of  President  Harrison.  Society  assisted,  and 
.secretarv-  acted  as  marshal ;  no  singing  mentioned ;  Rufus  Choate,  orator. 


128  HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

the  engagement  of  Mr.  Braham.  had,  as  they  stated,  snffered  a  loss 
of  $240. 

On  this  occasion  the  members  of  the  orchestra  vohmteered  to  play 
without  remuneration,  and  the  Society  purchased  tickets  liberally.  The 
concert  yielded  8223,  which  sum  was  paid  over  to  the  beneficiaries. 
In  this  same  month  of  3Iay  (28th),  the  board  decided  to  establish  a  class 
for  musical  instruction,  under  the  direction  of  President  Webb,  and 
to  grant  the  gratuitous  use  of  the  Melodeon  for  that  purpose.  The 
prospectus,  printed  by  Hack  J  calls  it  an  annual  class  to  be  lield 
during  the  sessions  of  the  National  Musical  Convention,  and  from  the 
first  meeting  on  Aug.  18,  choral,  glee,  and  solo  singing  are  included  in 
the  course,  together  with  lectures  on  thorough-bass.  Evidently  this 
class  was  started  in  emulation  of  one  of  the  same  description  previously 
established  by  the  Boston  Academy  of  Music,  under  Lowell  Mason's 
du'ection.  Hack^  very  justly  observes  that  instruction  limited  to  so 
short  a  period  as  the  meeting  of  the  Convention,  ten  days,  can  be  of 
little  use,  especially  in  the  theory  of  music ;  and  says  that  if  the  So- 
ciety really  means  to  do  good,  it  should  make  the  class  permanent. 

Other  editorials  and  communicated  letters  published  in  the  Musical 
Magazine  show  that  the  Academy  and  the  Society  were  pitted  against 
each  other  in  this  matter  of  teachers'  classes,  and  that  the  rival 
leaders.  Mason  and  Webb,  had  their  hot  partisans.  '-The  Conven- 
tion met,"  says  Hack,^  '-and  we  are  sorry  to  say  our  fears  [of  the 
result  of  rivalry]  are  fully  realized  ;  for  it  has  ceased  to  exist.  Two 
new  Conventions  have  grown  out  of  it,  —  the  American  Musical  Con- 
vention, organized  at  the  Odeon,  and  the  National  Musical  Convention, 
re-organized  at  the  Melodeon.  .  .  .  We  fear  that  this  separation  will 
not  end  the  war,"  etc.  According  to  the  record,  the  Convention 
was  dissolved  on  the  2Gth  of  August,  •'  owing  to  the  discussion  of  a 
question  intended  to  injure  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society."  This 
question,  as  Hack  tells  us."*  was,  •'  ^  Do  oratorios,  as  they  are  generally 
conducted,  exert  a  salutary  infiuence  in  the  cause  of  church  music  ? ' 
This  was  taken  l)y  the  one  party  as  a  direct  attack  :  and  in  their 
defence  they  took  the  broader  ground  of  defending  the  salutary 
influence  of  oratorios  in  the  aVjstract,  in  which  the  other  party  met 
them  ;  and  poor  Handel  had  much  to  suffer  for  his  wickedness  and 
want  of  religion  in  composing  the  Messiah  for  the  amusement  of 
the  people.-^     Thus  our  confused  ideas  of  sacred   music,   not  music 

1  Vol.  II.,  p.  208.  2/ir,.  p.  204.  3 Vol.  II.,  p.  328  4page328. 

5  An  Oi'thodox  clergyman  was  represented  in  the  newspaper  report  as  having  said 
that  Handel  knew  nothing  of  sacred  music,  and  that  there  was  nothing  which 
partook  of  the  nature  of  sacred  music  in  the  Messiah.  —  S.  J.,  ms.  note. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     129 

sacred  to  US,  but  music  contained  in  the  psalm  books,  {rem  acu  tetigit) 
again  worked  mischief,"  etc.  Ritter,  in  his  Music  in  America,^ 
referring  to  the  short  duration  of  the  first  National  Musical  Conven- 
tion, says  :  "  It  owed  its  independence  to  a  quarrel  which  in  1889  arose 
between  Mason  and  Webb.  The  importance  which  it  seemed  to 
acquire  was  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the  class  conducted  by 
Mason.  Means  were  therefore  found  l)y  the  Mason  party  to  destroy  the 
independence  of  the  Convention,  in  order  to  protect  their  private 
interests."  A  dissolution,  as  we  have  seen,  followed  ;  and  of  the  two 
new  associations  then  formed,  only  one  lived  for  a  few  years,  namely, 
the  American,  under  the  control  of  Mason  and  the  Academy. ^  From 
it  issued  the  so-called  convention  music  teacher,  who  composed  psalm 
tunes,  compiled  old  collections  '-with  new  and  startling  titles,"  and 
evolved  new  singing  methods  out  of  stale  material  or  musical  manu- 
als, in  order  to  diffuse  musical  knowledge,  according  to  the  eclectic 
system  or  no  system. ^  The  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  made  no 
further  attempt  at  giving  instruction,  and  in  October  the  board 
indefinitely  postponed  all  consideration  of  a  scheme  for  founding  a 
couservatory  of  music,  proposed  by  President  Webb  on  Sept.  8,  and 
reported  on  favorably  on  the  loth. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    SEASON. 

May  31,  1841,  to  May  30,   1842. 

At  the  annual  meeting  on  May  31,  it  appeared  from  the  treasurer's 
report,  that  owing  partly  to  the  cost  of  publishing  Xeukomm's  ora- 
torio of  .Nit.  Sinai,  and  of  makuig  certain  indispensable  alterations 
in  the  Melodeon,  calculated  to  increase  its  usefulness  as  a  lecture- 
room,  etc.,  the  expenses  for  the  season  had  exceeded  the  receipts  by 
about  one  thousand  dollars.  The  secretary,  in  view  of  the  deficit, 
recommended  fewer  concerts  during  the  ensuing  year,  giving  more 
time  for  stndy  and  consequent  improvement.  He  stated  that  the 
Society's  performances  had  never  been  more  highly  commended  than 
during  the  past  season,  referred  to  Braham's  warm  praise  of  ''their 
manner  and  style,"  ended  his  report  with  an  exhortation  to  the  mem- 

1  Page  259. 

2  Saroni,  Musical  Times,  Teachers'  Institute,  Webb  and  Mason  Lectures,  p.  27, 
1849;  pj).  580,  90,  and  603,  1850.  Persons  attending  musical  conventions  in  New 
York  can  hardly  form  an  idea  of  what  a  Boston  convention  is.  Teachers  and  pupils 
here  mingle  together  to  work  for  the  common  good.  Mr.  Mason  is  tlieir  god,  and 
Mr.  Webb  is  his  prophet.— iSe/><.  2,  1850. 

3 Ritter,  p.  261. 


130     niSTOKY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AXD  HAYDX  SOCIETY. 

bers  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  secure  the  permanency  of  an  institu- 
tion which  has  thus  far  '•  happily  withstood  the  open  assaults  of  its 
adversaries  and  the  cuDuiug  artifices  of  its  secret  foes." 

On  this  same  evening,  Messrs.  Webb,  Hews,  aud  Learnard  were 
respectively  re-elected  to  the  offices  of  president,  vice-president,  and 
secretary,  and  Matthew  S.  Parker  was  chosen  treasurer.  On  June 
22,  the  president's  salary  was  fixed  at  S300,  and  iu  view  of  the  neces- 
sity of  economy,  that  of  Mrs.  Frauklin  was  cut  down  to  S150. 
This  she  at  first  refused  to  accept,  and  when  in  July  she  reconsidered 
the  matter,  it  was  too  late,  as  other  arrangements  had  been  made 
with  Mrs.  Turner,  Miss  Wakefield,  and  Miss  Stone,  who  in  the 
mean  time  had  volunteered  to  take  solo  parts  when  required,  and 
''  thus  save  the  Society  from  the  expense  of  hiring  any  female  siuger 
permauently."  ^ 

At  the  first  concert  of  the  season,  given  in  November,  the  Society 
sang  Spohr's  cantata.  ^-  God.  Thou  art  great,"  aud  Romberg's  ''  Tran- 
sient and  Eternal."  These  works  had  been  so  insufficiently  rehearsed 
that  the  performance  is  noted  in  the  records  as  "the  most  inferior  given 
for  many  years."  Instead  of  repeating  them  after  more  careful  prep- 
aration, the  trustees  engaged  Braham  to  sing  in  the  Creation  on  Dec. 
12.  and  in  the  Messiah  on  the  10th.  The  receipts  were,  respectively, 
S320  and  82(30  ;  Init  at  a  repetition  of  the  latter  oratorio  with  local 
singers  on  the  26th,  they  fell  to  81)5. 

In  February,  1812,  Braham  returned  to  Boston  for  the  last  time.  At 
a  concert  of  selections  given  on  the  (3th,  he  sang  ••  The  Better  Land  " 
with  much  feeling  and  fine  taste  :  and  at  his  farewell  performance 
on  the  loth.  ••  All  is  Well."  with  his  son  Charles,  •'  a  youth  not  yet 
out  of  his  teens,  with  a  voice  of  great  compass,  of  exceedingly  pleas- 
ant and  melodious  quality."-  '•  To  hear  this  duet,"  said  Miss  Stone, 
*'  was  alone  worth  the  price  of  a  ticket." 

The  rehearsals  of  Spohr's  Last  Judgment.^  which  had  been  con- 
tinued through  January,  were  resumed  after  Braham's  departiu'e,  aud 
the  oratorio,  brought  out  on  the  20th  of  March,  was  repeated  on  the 
27th.  and  on  the  3d,  10th,  and  17th  of  April.  At  three  of  these 
performances  the  principal  soprano  part  was  sung  by  the  daughter  of 


1  Aug.  It),  excm-siou  to  Xaliant.  complimentary  to  lady  singers  engaged  for  season ; 
abont  one  hundred  and  twenty  present :  dinner,  dancing,  and  singing  of  songs  and 
glees.  Expenses  defrayed  by  a  voluntary  contribution.  President  Wel)b  in 
attendance. 

2  Transcript,  Feb.  2(5. 

3  Die  Letzien  I)ii>f/e,  first  produced  at  Dus.seldorf  in  182G.  is  not  to  be  con- 
founded with  Spohr's  earlier  work,  Das  Jungste  Gervht.  written  in  1811. 


HISTOKY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AXD    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  131 

the  composer,  Madam  Spohr  Zahu,  whose  great  artistic  merits  were 
not  at  all  appreciated.  Hack^  says,  '^that  while  Braham,  whose 
performances,  bv  their  exaogeration  and  affectation,  sometimes  border 
on  the  absnrd,  was  cheered  and  flattered.  Madam  Zalm,  with  her 
powerful  and  touching  presentation  of  German  song,  was  entu-ely 
neglected."'  The  contrast  to  the  ear  between  the  ornate  manner  of 
the  English  tenor,  and  the  severely  classic  style  of  the  German  soprano, 
must  have  been  as  great  as  that  to  the  eye  between  a  flamboyant 
Gothic  cathedral  and  a  Greek  temple.  Braham  gave  all  the  world 
somethiug  to  admire,  purists  as  well  as  sensationalists,  but  Madam 
Zahu  addressed  herself  only  to  the  educated,  who  form  the  minority 
in  every  audience.  Again,  in  singing  her  father's  really  great  orato- 
rio, she  stood  at  a  disadvantage  with  a  public,  whose  taste  for  the 
sensational  in  nuisic  had  long  l)een  assiduously  cultivated  by  listening 
to  Xeukomm's  David.  Meditative,  suggestive,  and  uudramatic  save 
in  the  highest  sense,  Spohr's  Last  Judgment  seemed  tame  to  ears 
attuned  to  cheap  effects,  and  it  was  withdrawn  after  a  few  perform- 
ances. Again  the  Society  had  recourse  to  David  :  but  whether,  as  the 
secretary  oi)ines,  the  public  had  liecome  satiated  with  concerts  for- 
eign and  native  during  the  season,  or  l)ecause  it  had  had  enough  even 
of  its  loug-established  favorite,  it  was  sung  to  small  audiences  both 
on  April  24  and  May  1.  The  part  of  Micali  was  taken  by  Miss 
Anna  Stone  (now  Mrs.  P^llsworth  PLliot),  who  for  many  years  ren- 
dered signal  service  to  the  Society.  Her  name  first  appears  on  its 
records  as  one  of  the  three  ladies,  already  mentioned,  who,  when 
Mrs.  Franklin  declined  to  sing  during  the  season  on  the  terms  offered 
her  by  the  trustees,  enabled  them  to  dispense  with  her  assistance 
by  volunteering  to  take  solo  parts  when  required.  This  she  did  in 
Romberg's  '•  Transient  and  Eternal,"  and  in  the  Messiah  in  the  latter 
part  of  1841.  It  is  evident  that  she  was  at  once  regarded  as  the  best 
solo  singer  in  the  Society,  for  in  February  of  the  following  year  she 
was  called  upon  to  sing  Handel's  duet,  "O  Lovely  Peace  I"  with 
Braham.  "•  Possibly,"  we  should  say  certainhj  from  our  own  recollec- 
tions. "  Miss  Stone  was  one  of  the  most  effective  singers  that  Bos- 
ton has  produced."  ~  She  began  as  an  alto;  but  Paddon,  the  great 
teacher  of  tliose  days,  decided  that  her  voice  had  the  treble  ring  to  it, 
and  in  the  course  of  a  season  or  two  brought  her  out  in  soprano  solos. 
She  was  never  refined  or  delicate  in  her  vocal  efforts,  but  she  pos- 
sessed a  voice  of  phenomenal  force  and  compass,  and  in  such  selec- 
tions as  ''  Let  the  bright  seraphim."  and  '^  Rejoice  greatly  "  she  was 
without  a  rival. 


Op.  cit.  III.,  p.  44.  2  Boston  Budget,  March  2,  1884. 


132  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

TWENTY-EIGHTH    SEASON. 
May  80,   1H42,  to  May  20,   1843. 

As  Mr.  Webb  had  declined  a  renomiiiatioii  to  the  presidency,  Mr. 
James  Clark,  a  builder  by  trade,  and  one  of  the  original  members 
of  the  Society,  was  nominated,  and  elected  at  the  annual  meeting, 
with  the  same  vice-president,  secretary,  and  treasurer  as  before.  On 
the  special  qualifications  he  may  have  had  for  the  office,  history  is 
silent ;  but  his  short  administration,  which  bridged  a  gap  between  two 
remarkable  presidents,  Messrs.  Webb  and  Chickering,  is  notable  for 
the  production  of  two  new  works  of  great  importance,  Mendelssohn's 
St.  Paul  and  Rossini's  Stabat  Mater.  Before  either  was  brought  out, 
the  members,  having  refreshed  their  spirits  by  an  excursion  to  Horn 
Pond  in  July,  where,  with  their  invited  guests,  they  greatly  enjoyed  an 
entertainment  conducted  on  strictly  temperance  principles,  once  more 
endeavored  to  attract  the  pul^lic  by  putting  the  once  magic  name  of 
David  on  their  programmes  ;  but  the  four  performances  in  October 
and  November  were  thinly  attended,  and  the  last,  on  the  13th,  brought 
only  S32.o0  into  the  treasury.  On  the  11th  of  December  they  sang 
selections  and  Romberg's  "Transient  and  Eternal,"  and  at  Christmas 
the  Messiah,  but  with  no  better  results.  The  vSociety  had  entered 
upon  one  of  its  periodical  fits  of  depression,  which  the  two  new  works, 
brought  out  soon  after  New  Year's  day,  failed  to  relieve.  St.  Paul, 
first  given  on  Jan.  22,  with  Misses  Stone,  Garcia,  and  Emmons,  and 
Messrs.  Taylor,  Kimberly,  Baker,  Byram,  and  Wetherbee,  as  soloists, 
was  twice  repeated  within  a  month  to  audiences  which  grew  small  by 
degrees  and  beautifully  less.  This  was  partly  owing  to  the  want  of 
special  vocal  attraction,  and  partly  to  the  inability  of  the  public  to 
appreciate  music  so  lofty  in  its  strain  of  inspiration  and  so  scientific 
in  its  character. 

Greatest  of  modern  oratorios  in  the  opinion  of  many  nuisicians, 
St.  Paul  never  has  been  and  never  can  be  a  popular  favorite  like  the 
Stabat  Mater^  which  succeeded  it  on  the  Society's  programmes,  but  the 
latter  work  needs  great  singers  to  give  its  operatic  arias  and  concerted 
pieces  due  effect,  and  these  were  not  obtainable  when  it  was  brought 
out  in  the  JLnglish  text,i  on  the  2Gth  of  February,  before  a  somewhat 
larger  audience  than  any  which  had  attended  the  performances  of  St. 


'-  Mr.  George  Parker  translated  the  Latin  text,  and  Mr.  Hayter  adapted  it  to  the 
music.  He  also  tanght  the  singers  how  it  was  to  he  sung,  and  arranged  the  orches- 
tral parts  in  an  effective  manner!  —  Metronome,  Septemher,  1873;  Transcript,  Dec.  5, 
1846. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  138 

Paul.  At  the  second  and  third  repetitions  the  attendance  steadily 
diminished,  and  at  the  fourth,  was  so  small  that  the  receipts  amounted 
to  S62.50  only.  "This,"  says  the  secretary,  "  was  not  an  adequate 
return  for  the  expense  and  labor  of  preparing  new  and  beautiful 
music,  which  the  public  is  not  inclined  to  encourage  and  patronize." 

After  this  double  failure,  the  Society  returned  to  Neukomm's 
"Hymn  of  the  Night,"  Romberg's  "Transient  and  Eternal,"  and 
selections,  which  were  given  at  three  concerts,  whose  receipts 
amounted,  respectively,  to  $16,  S29,  and  $19.50. 

No  wonder  that  at  the  close  of  such  a  season  the  affairs  of  the 
Society  were  found  to  be  anything  but  prosperous.  With  a  debt  of 
$1,708.  the  cessation  of  all  income  from  the  sale  of  its  publications, 
and  perplexity  as  to  what  could  be  done  to  win  back  public  favor,  the 
situation  was  not  a  little  depressing.  Feeling  himself  unal)le  to  cope 
with  it,  or  influenced  by  some  other  unknown  reason,  Mr.  Clark 
declined  a  renomination,  and  retired,  with  a  suitable  vote  of  thanks  for 
his  services. 

TWENTY-NINTH    SEASON. 
May  29,   1843,  to  May  27,   184-t. 

The  same  page  of  the  records  which  contains  the  vote  of  thanks  to 
the  retiring  president,  contains  a  second  vote,  thanking  Mr.  Jonas 
Chickering  "  for  his  generous  loan  of  a  pianoforte  during  the  past 
season,  and  for  his  many  acts  of  liberality  to  the  institution."  If 
the  gratitude  thus  expressed  was  founded  on  a  lively  sense  of  favors 
to  come  from  the  same  quarter,  no  feeling  of  the  sort  was  ever  more 
fully  justified  by  the  result,  for  the  vote  of  1843  has  been  substan- 
tially passed,  with  a  change  of  Christian  name,  at  every  subsequent 
annual  meeting  up  to  the  last  held  in  May,  1886.  The  subject  of 
the  oriojinal  vote  has  lono-  aoo  gone  to  his  honored  rest,  but  his  exam- 
pie  has  been  followed  by  his  sons,  to  one  of  whom,  Mr.  George 
Chickering,  its  present  vice-president,  the  Society  continues  to  be 
indebted  for  the  annual  loan  of  a  grand  piano  at  its  weekly 
rehearsals.  Standing  so  high  in  the  esteem  of  the  members  of  the 
Society  as  Mr.  Jonas  Chickering  did,  it  is  not  surprising  that  they 
chose  him  for  their  president  at  the  annual  meeting  held  on  the  29th 
of  Mav.^     He  had  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  in   1831, 


^  Tlie  other  chief  officers  elected  were:  J.  Q.  Wetherbee,  vice-president,  rei)laced 
in  October  by  B.  F.  Baker;  A,  O.  Bigelow,  secretary ;  M.  S.  Parker,  treasurer ;  J. 
F.   Payson  and  S.  Moody,  librarians. 


134     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY. 

1832,  1833,  aud  vice-president  in  1835  and  1837,  so  that  he  was 
thoroughly  conversant  with  the  affairs  of  the  Society,  which  was  now, 
as  we  know,  in  special  need  of  such  wise  guidance  and  counsel  as  it 
had  every  reason  to  expect  from  him  as  chief  officer.  ^  The  secre- 
tary's report,  which  was  read  on  the  evening  of  his  election,  suggests 
several  extreme  measures  calculated  to  free  the  Society  from  debt, 
such  as  dropping  the  orchestra  altogether,  or  reducing  it  to  a  string 
quartette,  limiting  the  performance  "  of  gems  like  the  Messiah  and 
the  Creation  "  to  extraordinary  occasions,  inasmuch  as  in  his  opinion 
"  the  community  has  a  positive  disrelish  for  orchestral  sounds  when 
administered  in  large  doses,"  and  giving  only  miscellaneous  pro- 
grammes, "  which,"  he  sarcastically  suggests,  "  approach  nearer  to  the 
understanding  of  those  who  are  paying  auditors." 

None  of  these  propositions  was  adopted.  On  Nov.  16,  the  trustees, 
at  the  suggestion  of  the  president,  discussed  the  bold  policy  of  giving 
a  series  of  oratorios  on  a  much  more  magnificent  scale  than  hitherto, 
"  for  the  purpose  of  re-establishing  the  reputation  of  the  Society,  it 
being  very  evident  that  its  performances  have  during  the  last  two  or 
three  years  been  of  a  less  high  order  than  before."  AVith  this  intent, 
the  president  and  orchestral  committee  were  empowered  to  engage 
the  orchestra  of  the  Academy  of  ]Music  for  twelve  successive 
Sunday  evenings,  if  it  can  be  done  for  $50  per  night;  and  when,  on 
the  24th.  the  committee  reported  that  this  was  impossible,  the}'  were 
authorized  to  engage  as  good  an  orchestra  as  could  be  obtained  for 
the  sum  specified,  with  Leopold  Hering,  a  remarkable  violinist  who 
had  lately  taken  up  his  residence  in  Boston.  Admitting  that  he  had 
little  knowledge  of  oratorio  music  at  the  time  of  his  appointment,  as 
has  been  said,^  and  that  Hayter  had  considerable  trouble  in  teaching 
him  how  to  play  Handel's  music,  he  was  from  the  first  a  valuable 

1  The  following  biographical  details  are  taken  from  the  Metronome,  for  April, 
1873,  p.  4.  Jonas  Chickering,  son  of  a  blacksmith  at  New  Ipswich,  X.  H.,  was  born 
in  April,  17{>7.  At  the  age  of  seventeen,  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  cabinet-maker  for 
three  years.  The  next  year  he  showed  his  ingenuity  bj-  skilfully  repairing  the  one 
pianoforte  in  the  town  belonging  to  Mr.  S.  Batchelder.  His  love  of  music  induced 
him  to  learn  to  play  on  the  clarinet.  In  1818,  Feb.  15,  he  came  to  Boston,  worked 
for  some  time  at  his  trade,  and  then  found  employment  in  Mr.  Osborne's  pianoforte 
factory,  the  only  one  in  Boston,  until  Feb.  15,  1823,  when  he  and  a  Mr.  Stewart  en- 
tered into  partnership  as  pianoforte  manufacturers  under  the  firm  name  of  Stewart  & 
Chickering.  On  its  dissolution  in  1826,  Mr.  Chickering  carried  on  the  business 
single-handed,  and  gained  no  little  reputation  as  a  maker  of  pianos.  On  Feb.  13, 
18:3(),  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Mackay,  which  lasted  for  ten  years,  and 
carried  on  business  at  No.  334  Washington  Street,  afterwards  on  Franklin  Square. 
Mr.  Chickering  occupied  the  Music  Temple,  where  he  fitted  up  a  room  for  chamber 
concerts.     Died  Dec.  8,  1853. 

2  Metronome,  October,  1873. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  135 

addition  to  the  orchestra,  which  he  strengthened  and  steadied  with  his 
violin.  We  can  well  believe  that  the  president,  when  conducting  the 
intricate  passages  of  an  oratorio,  found  it  convenient  to  lean  upon  so 
skilful  a  leader  as  the  new  incumbent. 

The  first  concert  of  the  season  on  June  18,  when  selections  were 
sung  by  members  of  the  Society,  was  made  socially  notable  by  the 
presence  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  ;  while  the  second,  on 
Sept.  24,  had  a  musical  importance,  as  the  Stahat  Mater  was  then 
sung  by  the  Seguiu  troupe,  which  had  lately  arrived  from  England  to 
begin  a  long  and  successful  series  of  operas  and  concerts  in  the  prin- 
cipal cities  of  the  Union.  Though  not  vocalists  of  the  first  class, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seguin  were  conscientious  and  pleasing  singers.  The 
lady  had  a  soprano  voice  of  considerable  compass,  with  some  previ- 
ous training  as  an  oratorio  singer ;  her  husband,  a  deep  bass,  which 
so  fascinated  the  ears  of  a  tribe  of  Indians,  to  whom  he  sang  in 
Canada,  that  they  made  him  a  chief,  and  gave  him  a  name  in  their 
language  signifying  -'the  man  with  the  deep  mellow  voice.  "^  During 
the  remainder  of  the  season,  the  Society  contented  itself  with  its  own 
solo  singers,  giving  three  performances  of  the  Creation  on  Oct.  29, 
Dec.  3  and  10,  and  two  of  the  Messiah,  on  the  27th  and  31st. 
David  was  once  more  revived  on  Jan.  21,  and  repeated  on  the  27tli, 
and  on  Feb.  4  and  11.  Then  followed  Spohr's  Last  Judgment,  on 
the  3d,  the  10th,  and  the  17th  of  March,  and  the  season  closed  with 
three  performances  of  the  Stahat  Mater,  on  the  7th,  14th,  and  21st 
of  April. 

THIRTIETH    SEASON. 
May  27,  1841,  to  May  26,  1S45. 

The  secretary's  report  at  the  annual  meeting,  which  took  place  on 
the  27th  of  May,  and  at  which  the  same  chief  officers  were  re-elected, 
is  written  in  a  gloomy  tone,  fully  justified  by  circumstances.  The  debt 
of  the  Society  amounted  to  $2,018.13.  The  Melodeon  had  not  l)een 
let  for  some  time,  and  of  the  one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  members, 
not  more  than  half  had  attended  at  rehearsals  or  concerts  during  the 
past  season.  To  meet  the  debt,  the  secretary  proposed  a  quarterly 
assessment  of  fifty  cents,  or  an  indirect  assessment  In'  the  compul- 
sory sale  of  a  copy  of  Neukomm's  Mt.  Sinai  to  each  member. 

Fortunatelv  better  davs  were  at  hand,  and  the  necessitv  of  resort- 


1  He  died  in  1852,  in  New  York,  where  liis  wife,  who  retired  from  the  stage,  tanght 
mnsie  for  many  years . 


136  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

iug  to  either  measure  was  avoided  by  an  unexpected  turn  of  for- 
tune's wheel.  Meanwhile  the  members  cheered  their  spirits  by  organ- 
izing an  excursion  to  Horn  Pond,  where  a  complimentary  dinner, 
attended  by  one  hundred  and  six  persons,  was  given  to  the  ladies  of 
the  chorus  on  the  ")th  of  August.  They  met  again  to  sing  the  Crea- 
tion on  the  30th  of  September,  at  a  concert  which  may  be  taken  as 
marking  the  nadir  of  the  Society's  fortunes.  These  began  to  rise 
towards  the  zenith  on  the  20th  of  October,  when  the  eminent  English 
baritone  singer.  Henry  Phillips.^  the  original  Send  to  Braham's  Di/v/d, 
made  his  first  appearance  in  this  country  at  a  concert  whose  pro- 
gramme was  made  up  of  selections.  In  England  he  had  made  a 
great  reputation  for  himself,  both  in  opera  and  oratorio,  and  since  1825 
had  filled  the  position  of  first  bass  singer  at  the  concerts  of  ancient 
music.  His  voice  can  have  lost  but  little  when  he  visited  America, ^ 
as  on  his  return  home,  after  a  year's  absence,  he  with  little  diffi- 
culty regained  his  place  as  the  leading  English  basso  over  such  rivals 
as  had  meanwhile  disputed  it.  During  his  first  visit  to  Boston,  he 
sang  four  times  with  the  Society  after  his  first  appearance,  namely, 
on  Oct.  27  and  Nov.  3  in  the  Creation,  on  Nov.  10  in  the  Messiah, 
and  on  the  17th  in  a  miscellaneous  programme.  Two  other  concerts  of 
the  same  kind  were  given  in  December,  the  first  on  the  8th  and  the 
second  on  the  loth,  with  the  assistance  of  Mme.  Arnault,  about  whose 
powers  as  a  singer  I  can  find  no  record. 

We  now  come  to  the  happy  moment  when  the  mighty  Samson  did 
by  his  strength  partially  pull  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  out  of 
the  pit  of  debt  into  which  it  had  fallen. 

The  great  success  of  the  oratorio  was  mainly  due  to  Mr.  Hayter, 
who  suggested  it  to  the  Society,  and  did  everything  in  his  power  to 
perfect  its  performance.  This  is  duly  acknowledged  in  the  following 
inscription,  engraved  ui)on  a  silver  pitcher  and  a  pair  of  goblets, 
which  were  given  to  him  after  the  thirteenth  performance:  "Pre- 
sented by  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  of  Boston,  to  A.  U. 
Hayter,  in  token  of  their  estimation  of  his  services  as  organist,  and 
his  assiduous  exertions  in  bringing  so  successfully  before  the  public 


^  Born  in  Bristol.  Aug.  13.  ISOl :  retired  in  1863.  Phillips  sang  for  the  last  time  in 
public,  in  May,  1S71,  at  St.  James's  Hall.  His  name,  associated  imperishably  with 
the  classic  days  of  ballad  singing,  was  known  only  by  report  to  many  of  the  audience. 
{Metronome,  p.  5.)     He  died  in  Dalston,  Nov.  8,  1876. 

2  A  musical  critic  of  the  time  says :  "  We  are  among  those  who  think  that  Phillips 
excels  Braham  in  sweetness  and  purity  of  tone,  in  tlexibility  of  voice,  and  in  that 
power  which  gives  true  expression  to  the  more  tender  emotions  of  the  human  heart." 
—  S.  J.,  note  :  extract  from  Mr.  Stone's  scrap-book. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     137 

Handel's  oratorio  of  Samson,  May  20,  1845.*'  After  a  few  rehears- 
als of  the  oratorio  late  in  1844,  it  was  laid  aside  until  the  new 
year,  when  it  was  again  talven  up.  and  finally  brought  out  on  the 
2()th  of  January,  with  Miss  Stone,  INIiss  Garcia,  and  Messrs.  Baker, 
Marshall,  Aikin,  and  Taylor  as  chief  vocalists.  A  writer  in  the 
Metrotiome  for  September,  1873,  states  that  Hayter  taught  the  solo 
singers  their  respective  parts.  This  arduous  task,  together  with  his 
professional  engagements,  occupied  his  whole  time,  and  robbed  him 
of  needed  rest  and  recreation.  He  also  drilled  the  chorus  until 
they  could  sing  their  parts  almost  faultlessly,  supplied  additional 
orchestral  parts  to  Handel's  meagre  score,  and  on  the  evenings  of 
the  public  concerts  "  played  the  organ  in  such  a  marked  manner  that 
it  held  the  whole  mass  of  singers  and  players  together.  The  presi- 
dent did,  indeed,  stand  up  and  wave  his  baton.  Init  in  point  of  fact 
everything  depended  upon  Hayter,  who  conducted  tlie  oratorio  from 
his  organ  bench."  ^ 

In  contemporary  comments  upon  the  performance  of  Samson,  we 
find  complaints  of  the  accompaniments  as  "  altogether  too  loud  and 
boisterous  for  the  solo  parts,"  Imt  the  piercing  tones  of  Bartlett's 
trumpet  in  the  accompaniment  to  "Let  the  bright  seraphim"  are 
spoken  of  as  niore  than  rivalled  by  the  magnificent  voice  of  Miss 
Stone,  elsewhere  compared  to  "  the  shower  of  meteors  which  illumine 
our  November  nights."  ]Much  delay  is  said  to  have  occurred  between 
tlie  recitatives,  airs,  and  choruses,  perliaps  to  afford  the  conductor  an 
opportunity  of  changing  his  place  from  the  piano  to  the  organ,  and 
also  in  the  rising  of  the  chorus.  The  most  important  error  in  the 
cast  of  Samson  was  the  assignment  of  the  part  of  his  father  Manoah, 
and  announced  by  Micah  as  "the  reverend  sire,  old  Manoah," 
coming  "  with  careful  steps  and  locks  as  white  as  snow,"  to  a  hand- 
some young  man  of  eighteen  or  twenty,  whose  juvenile  appearance 
destro^'ed  all  dramatic  effect.  The  effect  was  almost  ludicrous,  when, 
at  another  moment,  the  youth  sang,  "  Where  is  my  son,  Samson, 
l)roud  Israel's  boast?  Infirm  my  age  I  "  Despite  all  these  drawbacks, 
the  success  of  the  oratorio  was  unequivocal.  It  was  given  thirteen 
times,  for  which  the  receipts  were  about  three  thousand  dollars  ;  nnd 
the  season,  in  consequence  of  this  unexpected  turn  in  affairs,  is  spoken 
of  by  the  secretary  in  his  annual  report  as  "  the  most  successful  ever 
known."     At    the    ninth    performance,    on    March   23,    the    part    of 

^  A  writer  in  the  Transcript  for  1842  speaks  of  the  peculiar  and  admirable  style 
in  which  Hayter  played  accompaniments,  adapting  himself  to  the  singer  without 
display,  accompanying  and  not  presiding  at  the  piano  and  at  the  organ  without  a 
rival. 


138  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Samson  was  sung  by  Mr.  Jones,  an  English  vocalist  of  some  celeb- 
rity, before  "  a  house  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity;"  and  at  the 
twelfth,  on  April  20,  by  Henry  Phillips,  under  equally  successful  cir- 
cumstances. The  same  distinguished  singer  took  the  part  of  Saul  in 
Neukomin's  David  on  the  18th  and  IDth  of  April. 

One  more  piece  of  good  fortune  occurred  in  this  season,  namely, 
the  renting  of  the  Melodeon,  on  Feb.  13,  to  tlie  Rev.  ]\Ir.  Parks's 
society,  for  Sunday  services,  at  $1,200  a  year. 


THIKTY-FIKST    SEASON. 
May  20,   lS-t5,  to  May  26,  1840. 

We  may  believe  that  members  present  at  the  annual  meeting  held 
on  May  2(3,  who  listened  to  the  report  of  a  season  spoken  of  by  the 
secretary  as  '•  the  most  successful  ever  known,"  were  cheerful  and 
hopeful  in  spirit.  With  a  profit  of  fully  $2,000  on  the  thirteen  per- 
formances of  Samson  and  a  decidedly  increased  average  of  attendance 
at  rehearsals  and  performances,  there  w^as  ground  for  confidence  in  the 
future.  It  is  true  that  the  financial  condition  w^as  not  yet  as  sound  as 
might  have  been  desired,  but  it  was  sounder  than  it  had  been  three 
months  ])ef ore,  w^hen,  as  stated  at  a  meeting  held  on  Feb.  11,  the 
liabilities  of  the  Society  amounted  to  about  $5,500.  As  the  treasurer 
had  but  $1,518  on  hand  to  meet  them,  a  quarterly  assessment  of  two 
dollars  was  voted,  to  be  continued  until  the  debt  should  be  extinguished. 
On  May  24,  although  the  Melodeon  had  been  refitted  at  an  expense 
of  $4,000,  the  debt  stood  at  $3,500,  and  with  the  hope  of  reducing  it 
still  further  ])v  Samson's  aid  before  the  end  of  the  year,  the  annual 
meeting  broke  up,  after  the  same  chief  officers  had  been  re-elected. 
The  autumn  campaign  opened  w4th  Samson,  which  was  sung  three 
times  in  October,  on  the  10th,  19th,  and  26th,  and  it  would  have  been 
repeated  on  the  2d  of  November,  had  not  the  sudden  death  of  Leo- 
pold Ilering,  of  disease  of  the  heart,  on  the  day  previous,  caused 
a  postponement.  This  event  caused  great  regret,  expressed  in  the 
resolutions  adopted  by  the  Society,  connnending  this  accomplished 
violinist  as  man  and  musician.  At  a  general  meeting  held  on  Dec.  8, 
a  motion  to  discontinue  the  assessment  laid  in  February,  prevailed, 
partly,  i)erhnps,  because  it  had  been  found  difficult  to  collect  it,  and 
partly  because  it  was  thought  possible  to  get  along  without  it,  in  view 
of  the  approaching  production  of  Moses  in  Egypt,  which  the  Society 
counted  on,  and,  as  the  event  proved,  justly,  for  a  success  second  only 
to  that  of  Samson.     It  was  brought  out  in  tlie  English  text  on  the 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY .  130 

21st  of  December,'  and  after  the  Messiah  had  been  sung  on  Christmas 
evening,  was  repeated  on  the  29th,  b}^  Miss  Stone,  Mrs.  Franklin,  and 
the  English  tenor,  Mr.  Jones,  aided  by  solo  singers  from  the  ranks 
of  the  Society.  "Miss  S.,"  says  a  contemporary  critic,  "  sang  with 
great  spirit."  For  good  reading,  time,  intonation,  and  steadiness,  she 
particularly  commended  herself  to  all  good  musicians.  TJie  presence 
of  Sanguiso  with  Siguora  Basili,  his  prima  donna,  and  the  other  mem- 
bers of  his  Italian  troupe,  is  said  to  have  given  "  fresh  impulse  and 
animation  to  the  singers,"  who,  at  this  and  at  the  seven  subsequent 
repetitions  of  the  oratorio  during  the  next  three  months,  were  greatly 
applauded  for  their  efforts.  These  repetitions  took  place  on  Jan. 
18  and  26,  Feb.  1,  8,  and  22,  and  on  March  1  and  8.  After  Samson 
had  been  twice  performed  on  the  22d  and  29tli  of  the  same  month, 
Moses  again  continued  his  triumphant  progress  on  the  4th,  5th,  and 
12th  of  April.  The  receipts  for  the  fourteen  performances  given 
during  the  season  are  stated  in  the  treasurer's  report,  presented  on 
May  22,  to  have  been  $2,700 ;  the  balance  against  the  Society, 
$1,938.27.  On  April  14,  Miss  Stone  was  paid  $142.50  for  her 
services,  which,  considering  how  great  they  had  ])een  during  the 
season,  seems  but  a  meagre  recompense. 


THIRTY-SECOND    SEASON. 
May  20,  1840,  to  May  31,  1847. 

The  annual  meeting  held  May  26  resulted  in  the  re-election  of  the 
same  chief  officers,^  and  the  musical  season  opened  on  Oct.  11  with 
the  Creation,  which  was  repeated  on  the  18th.  The  subsequent  per- 
formances of  David  on  Nov.  8  and  15,  and  of  Moses  on  Dec.  G,  13, 
20,  and  27,  were  attended  by  small  audiences,  and  severely  criticised 
in  the  newspapers  as  inferior  to  the  general  standard.  The  chorus 
had  grown  careless,  and  the  public  tired  of  hearing  these  familiar 
works  interpreted  by  the  same  singers,  while  the  orchestra  no  longer 
had  the  help  of  Hering,  whose  place  was  inadequately  supplied  by 
Herr  Mijller,  the  new  leader.  The  appointment  of  a  professional 
musician  as  conductor  was  suggested  in  the  board  as  most  desirable, 
but  this  needed  step  was  not  taken  until  the  following  year,    as  the 


^  "  Its  production  in  English  not  attempted  in  any  other  part  of  America,  nor 
even  in  England."  —  *S'.  J. 

2  The  treasurer  reported  the  debt  of  tlie  Society  to  beSl,i)38.27.  The  receipts  from 
ten  performances  of  Moses  during  tlie  season,  amounted  to  about  S2,70<\ 


140  HISTOKY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

president  considered  it  inexpedient.  Between  New  Year's  day  and 
the  close  of  the  season  ten  concerts  were  given,  at  wliich  Moses  was 
performed  six  times  and  Samson  four,  with  but  mediocre  results. 


THIKTY-THIKD    SEASON. 

May  31,   1847,  to  May  29,   184.S. 

With  the  exception  of  the  secretary,  Mr.  A.  O.  Bigelow,  who  was 
succeeded  by  Mr.  Joseph  G.  Oakes,  the  same  chief  officers  were 
re-elected  at  the  annual  meeting  on  May  31.  The  report  of  the 
secretary  speaks  of  the  large  number  of  members  who  had  absented 
themselves  altogether  from  rehearsals  during  the  past  season ;  of  the 
want  of  proper  rehearsals,  wliich  had  caused  the  poorness  of  several 
performances  to  be  severely  commented  upon  by  the  press  ;  and  of  a 
falling  off  of  81. ."^00  in  the  receipts  of  the  season,  as  compared  with 
those  of  that  which  preceded  it.  All  these  things  gave  the  new  board 
of  trustees  matter  for  reflection,  and  it  resulted  in  the  taking  of 
two  important  steps,  namely,  the  l)ringing  out  of  a  new  oratorio, 
Judas  Maccabiieus  :  and  the  appointment  of  a  conductor,  with  a  salary 
of  8300.  The  gentleman  selected  for  this  important  office,  never 
before  formally  filled,  was  ^Ir.  Charles  E.  Horn,  an  English  musician 
and  composer  long  known  to  the  Society,  which  had  assisted  him  at 
his  first  concert  in  Boston  in  January,  1S28.  and  had  sung  his  orato- 
rio. ''The  Remission  of  Sin."  in  1837  and  1838.  With  such  a  musician 
at  the  conductor's  desk,  and  Mr.  Hayter  at  the  organ,  great  progress 
was  to  be  looked  for  in  the  style  of  performance,  and  we  are  not 
surprised  to  be  told  that  when,  after  twelve  careful  rehearsals,  Judas 
Maccabieus  was  brought  out  on  Dec.  5,  the  chorus  showed  the  effect 
of  '•  careful  training  in  promptitude  and  decision  of  attack,  and  solid, 
unwavering  execution."  At  the  third  performance  on  the  19th,  the 
tenors  were  found  fault  with  for  want  of  precision  in  attack,  and  Mrs. 
Eranklin  for  continually  singing  below  pitch.  ''  See,  the  conquering 
hero,"  says  a  critic,  "  suggested  Bombastes  Furioso,  for  the  drum  came 
in  with  such  force  as  to  bear  down  chorus  and  orchestra,  both  of  which 
were  out  of  tune."  At  the  fourth  performance  on  Dec.  26,  Mrs. 
Franklin  contrasted  unfavorably  with  Miss  Stone  ;  Mr.  Jones,  the 
English  tenor,  sang  flat ;  Mr.  Thomas  Ball,^  bass,  here  first  mentioned, 
lacked  spirit  and  flexibility ;  and  in  the  final  chorus  the  orchestra 
made  a  bad  slip,  which  passed  unperceived,  "  thanks  to  the  homeward 

'  Admitted  to  membership  ou  March  3,  1847. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     141 

rush  of  the  audience."  *'  Despite  these  drawbacks,"  says  the  critic, 
by  way  of  makiug  up  for  his  previous  sti'ictures,  '•  the  concert  gave 
great  satisfaction."  However  this  may  be,  the  oratorio  did  not 
attract  sufficiently  to  pay  its  expenses  :  and  after  one  more  perform- 
ance, on  Jan.  2,  it  was  hiid  aside  for  Elijah,  which  fortunately  met 
with  the  heartiest  approval  and  support.  The  first  rehearsal  of  this 
great  work,^  second  only  to  the  Messiah  in  favor  with  the  Boston 
public,  took  place  on  Jan.  16  ;  and  the  first  performance,  after  only 
six  rehearsals,  on  Feb.  13,  with  a  chorus  and  orchestra  of  nearly 
two   hundred   performers.       The    solo   singers  were :    Thomas   Ball, 

Elijah;  Jones,    Obadiah ;  E.    Taylor.    Ahab ;  Miss    Stone.   t!.e 

Queen  ;  Miss ,  the  Wi'hic ;  Miss  Emmons,  the  Angel. 

According  to  the  newspapers,  the  hall  was  crowded,  and  the 
applause,  not  customary  on  Sunday  night,  was  hardly  restrainable. 
Such  success,  says  the  Chromatype.  was  never  before  known  to 
attend  a  first  performance.  In  the  trio  ••  Lift  thine  eyes,"  Miss 
Stone's  voice  was  too  prominent,  but  in  the  declamatory  airs,  "  Hear 
ye.  Israel,"  ''Thus  saith  the  Lord."  -'its  unequalled  brilliancy  told 
with  wonderful  power."  Mr.  Ball,  who  made  his  debut,  sang  with 
feeling,  power,  and  dignity  :  but  in  ••  Is  not  His  word  "  he  wanted  fire  : 
••  in  a  word,  his  musical  boots  were  a  little  tight."  After  this  brilliant 
beginning.  Elijah  continued  its  triumphant  course  until  April  9,  when 
it  was  sung  for  the  ninth  and  last  time  during  the  season.  Within  the 
following  week  the  Society  took  part  in  the  funeral  services  held 
(April  15)  in  honor  of  John  Quincy  Adams  at  Faneuil  Hall,  by  sing- 
ing a  chant,  "Blessed  is  the  man."  a  hymn  to  the  tune  Savannah, 

••  Oh,  what  is  man.  gi'eat  maker  of  maiikmd. 
That  thou  to  hhn  so  great  respect  tlost  bear  I  " 

and  an  air  and  chorus  from  the  Messiah.  Prayer  was  offered  by  the 
Rev.  C.  A.  Bartol.  and  a  eulogy  delivered  by  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett. 
At  the  two  last  concerts  of  the  season,  on  May  6  and  14,  the 
Stabat  Mater  was  sung  by  Misses  Stone  and  Emmons,  Sig.  Perelli, 
Sig.  Novello.  and  Siguora  Biscaccianti.  daughter  of  the  well-known 
violinist.  Louis  Ostinelli,  whose  name,  with  that  of  his  wife,  who  was 
for  ten  years  organist  to  the  Society,  has  been  so  often  mentioned  in 
these  pages.  Miss  Eliza  Ostinelli.  born  in  Boston  in  1827,  went  abroad 
in  1843  to  perfect  her  musical  education,  under  Madame  Pasta.  Vaccai, 
Nani,  and  Lamberti.^     In  1847  she  married  Signor  Biscaccianti   at 


» Originally  sung  at  Birmingham.  \Tnder  Mendelssohn's  direction,  on  Aug.  16, 
1846.  "  2  Moore. 


14J  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Lilian,  made  her  debut  in  Verdi's  Eroani.  and  soon  after  returned  to 
America,  with  the  reputation  of  an  accomplished  singer.  With  her 
fine  soprano  voice,  which  had  a  compass  of  two  octaves  and  a 
half,  and  effective  presence,  she  became  an  established  favorite  from 
the  date  of  her  first  appearance  in  Boston  at  the  concerts  of  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  Society  in  May,  1848.1 


THIRTY-FOUKTH   SEASON. 
May  29,  K^-t,^.  tu  May  2s.   1849. 

No  change  was  made  in  the  list  of  chief  officers  nominated  for  elec- 
tion at  the  annual  meeting  on  May  29,  at  which  time  the  whole  num- 
ber of  members  was  two  hundred  and  thirty-three.  The  secretary 
complained  in  his  report  of  the  scant  attendance  at  the  Society's 
monthly  meetings,  three  of  which  had  adjourned  for  want  of  a 
quorimi  during  the  past  season.  He  reported  the  death  of  the  Ex- 
President  Samuel  Richardson,  and  spoke  with  great  satisfaction  of 
Mr.  Horn,  who.  on  June  10.  was  re-elected  conductor,  with  a  salary 
of  84U0. 

On  July  25.  by  order  of  the  trustees,  members  who  had  not  paid 
assessment  dues,  were  notified  that,  unless  they  did  so  on  or  before 
Sept.  1,  they  would  forfeit  their  membership. 

The  concert  programmes,  from  October  to  January,  present  three 
new  names  of  solo  singers,  with  which  all  are  familiar ;  namely, 
those  of  August  Kreissmann,  tenor,  who  sang  with  Mr.  Ball  and  Miss 
Stone,  in  Moses,  on  Oct.  29;  John  Liphet  Hatton.  tenor;  and 
INIme.  Anna  Bishop,  soprano,  who  appeared  with  Miss  Stone.  Messrs. 
Ball.  Provost,  and  Millard,  in  the  two  performances  of  the  Messiah 
given  on  Dec.  24  and  31. 

Mr.  Kreissmann,  president  of  the  Orpheus  Society,  and  long  a 
successful  singing  teacher  in  Boston,  was  a  familiar  figure  in  its 
musical  circles,  until  illness,  of  which  he  died  in  Germany,  obliged  him 
to  retire  from  active  life.  His  pleasing  voice,  excellent  style,  and 
sympathetic  delivery  made  his  singing  of  German  Ueder^  of 
Beethoven's  Adelaide,  and  songs  of  its  class,  most  acceptable  ;  his 
kind   and   gentle  disposition  endeared  him  to  his  friends ;  and  his 

'  After  sej)arating  from  her  husband  in  California,  Biscacciauti  returned  to 
Europe,  and  established  herself  as  a  music  teacher  in  Florence.  Several  years  ago 
her  friends  in  America,  hearing  that  she  was  in  need  of  pecuniary  help,  raised  a 
subscription  for  her.  and  seven  or  eight  hundred  dollare  were  contributed  towards 
it  in  Boston. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  143 

excellent  musical  traiuiiig  euabled  liinv  to  do  very  excellent  aud  effi- 
cieut  work  iu  his  profession.  Mr.  Hatton,^  an  accomplished  English 
mnsician.  l)red  in  the  traditions  of  the  old  school,  was  a  facile  com- 
poser of  ballads,  glees,  aud  part  sougs,  aud  is  remembered  as  such  rather 
than  as  a  vocalist,  though  his  fine  style  aud  good  voice  management 
enabled  him  to  produce  an  excellent  effect  iu  the  concert-room.  Of 
Mme.  Auna  Bishop,  the  thu'd  new  singer  who  assisted  the  Society  in 
December,  1848,  we  have  been  able  to  obtain  but  scant  information.  In 
England,  her  highly  cultivated  soprano  voice  gained  her  a  position 
second  only  to  that  of  Clara  Novello  as  a  concert  singer,  aud  as, 
unlike  that  celebrated  artist,  she  travelled  extensively,  not  only  iu  the 
United  States,  but  in  Mexico  and  Austi-alia,  her  name  became  far 
more  widely  known.  Notices  of  her  visit  to  Boston  eleven  ^^ears  after 
her  first  appearance  speak  of  ''her  classic  features,  her  bewitching  eyes 
aud  mouth,  of  her  voice,  which  still  retained  its  peculiar  purity, ^  and  of 
that  clear,  crisp  enunciation  and  breadth  of  style  characteristic  of  the 
best  English  vocalists,  which  marked  her  delivery  of  recitative."  ^ 
This  is  referred  to  by  another  critic,'^  who  says  ''  her  correct  English 
style  of  delivery  in  recitative  is  highly  to  be  commended.  Her  voice 
is  a  full-toned  soprano,  of  a  rich,  melodious  quality,  aud  under  the 
best  possible  control  of  a  mind  that  understands  and  is  capable  of 
appreciating  the  great  works  of  the  immortal  Haudel." 

Madame  Bishop  sang  again  for  the  Society  with  Mr.  Hatton  on  Jan. 
7  in  a  miscellaneous  concert,  and  then  probably  left  Boston,  for  at 
the  next,  on  the  28th.  the  Stabat  Mater  was  sung  by  Biscaccianti, 
Perelli,  and  Rosi.  Mr.  Hatton  re-appeared  iu  Elijah  ou  the  11th  and 
18th  of  February,  and  perhaps  sang  iu  the  final  concert  of  the  season 
on  the  18th  of  March. 


THIRTY-FIFTH    SEASON. 

May  2S.   ls4t».  to  May  27.   1850. 

At  the  annual  meeting  on  the  28th  of  May.  the  same  chief  officers 
were  re-elected,  two  of  them,  the  president  and  vice-president,  for  the 
last  time  The  season  had  uot  been  remunerative,  partly,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  secretar3%  on  account  of  bad  weather  ou  mau}^  concert 


^  Boi-n  iu  180t> :  chiefly  self-taught ;  wrote  several  operas  and  musical  entr'actes 
for  tragedians,  which  were  brought  out  at  the  Princess's  Theatre,  when  he  was  music 
director  under  Charles  Kean.  His  sacred  drama  of  Hezekiah  was  brought  out  at 
the  Crystal  Palace  in  1877. 

'■2  Boston  Journal,  18o<t.  3  Boston  Post,  1859.  ^Daibj  Evening  Traveller. 


144  HISTORY    OF    THE    TIAXDEL    AND   HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

nights,  and  partly  because  an  unusual  number  of  concerts  had  been 
given  during  the  winter.  On  the  21st  of  October  the  Society  met 
with  a  serious  loss,  by  the  death  of  its  conductor,  Mr.  Charles  E. 
Horn,  whose  place  was  not  professionally  filled  until  1851,  when  Mr. 
J.  E.  Goodson  received  the  appointment.  The  death  of  Mr.  Horn 
was  particularly  unfortunate  at  the  time,  as  the  Society  was  about  to 
bring  out  Donizetti's  Martyrs,  originally  sung  in  Paris  as  an  opera  in 
1840.  It  was  performed  in  Boston  for  the  first  time  on  Dec.  16,  with 
the  following  cast:  Miss  Fanny  Frazer.  PauHna;  Mr.  F.  Howard, 
Polyeucte;  Mr.  J.  L.  Hatton,  Sever  us ;  Mr.  Thomas  Ball,  Felix;  Mr. 
D.  A.  Granger,  Calixtus. 

Despite  the  musical  weakness  of  the  work,  which  even  as  an  opera 
occupies  an  inferior  place  in  the  list  of  its  author's  compositions  for 
the  stage,  the  Martyrs  achieved  a  success  so  decided  on  the  first  night 
of  performance  that  it  was  repeated  six  times  before  the  end  of 
January  to  full  houses.  Saroni,^  who  attended  the  fourth  perform- 
ance, speaks  of  Miss  Frazer  as  a  great  acquisition.  He  commends 
her  pleasing  voice  and  her  decidedly  impressive  manner  of  singing 
sentimental  passages.  He  has  also  a  good  word  for  Mr.  Ball,  "who 
sings  with  taste  and  discretion,"  and  for  INIr.  Granger,  the  basso  ;  but 
about  Mr.  Howard  and  JNIr.  Hatton  he  is  silent.  The  choruses,  he 
says,  were  for  the  most  part  well  sung,  though  not  exempt  from 
deficiencies  and  inaccuracies  in  time,  and  the  orchestra  pretty  good, 
when  not  so  overpoweringly  loud  as  to  mar  the  effect  of  solo  passages. 
Samson  was  to  have  followed  the  Martyrs,  but,  after  several  rehears- 
als, it  was  laid  aside,  on  account  of  the  lateness  of  the  season,  which 
closed  with  two  performances  of  the  Stabat  Matei\  on  April  7  and  21, 
by  Max  Maretzek's  Italian  troupe,  under  his  direction.  As  the  singers 
were  Bertucca,  Patti,  Perrini,  Guidi,  and  Novelli,  it  goes  without  saying 
that  the  audiences  were  laroe  and  enthusiastic. 


THIRTY-SIXTH   SEASON. 

May  27,  1850,  to  May  2G,  1851. 

Before  the  annual  meeting,  Mr.  Chickering  had  written  to  decline  a 
renomination,  on  account  of  his  increased  business  occupations.  His 
decision,  which  caused  much  regret,  gave  the  board  an  opportunity  of 
expressing  their  "  deep  sense  of  obligation  to  him  for  the  zeal  and 
intelligence  with  which  he  has  discharged  the  very  responsible  duties 


i  Musical  Times,  Vol.  I.,  p.  181. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  145 

of  his  office."     These  words  were  fi  preamble  to  the  following  resolu- 
tion, passed  at  the  annual  meeting  :  — 

"  Besoh-ed.  That  the  thanks  of  this  board  be  presented  to  Jonas  Chicker- 
iiig,  Esq.,  for  the  able  and  impartial  manner  in  which  he  has  presided  over 
tlie  meeting-s  of  the  Society  and  of  the  board  of  trnstees :  also  for  his  liber- 
ality in  permittino-  the  Society  and  the  ])oard  to  hold  their  nnmerons  meetings 
at  his  extensive  warerooms  dnring  the  past  seven  years  of  his  administration." 

The  election  which  followed  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Charles  C. 
Perkins  as  president,  and  Abraham  ().  Bigelow  as  vice-president,  with 
Messrs.  Oakes  and  Parker  as  secretary  and  treasurer.  Never  having 
belonged  to  the  Society,  I  was  elected  a  member  before  my  election 
as  its  chief  officer,  and  on  June  4  took  the  chair  at  a  meeting  of  the 
trustees,  with  what  the  secretary  was  pleased  to  record  as  "  ver}'- 
appropriate  remarks,  and  thanks  for  the  honor  bestowed."  At  this 
meeting  a  committee  was  appointed  to  consider  and  report  upon  a 
plan  of  proceeding  calculated  to  advance  the  mterests  of  the  Society, 
including  the  selection  of  oratorios  to  be  performed  ;  an  arrangement 
for  the  sale  of  tickets  which  would,  as  far  as  possible,  preclude  loss  ; 
rules  for  securing  regular  attendance  at  rehearsals,  and  the  engage- 
ment of  competent  solo  singers. 

Tlie  report  of  the  committee  on  Aug.  4,  advised  that  two  oratorios 
should  be  given  at  six  concerts  ;  that  one  thousand  tickets  should  be 
sold  by  subscription  through  the  efforts  of  the  members  ;  that  free 
passes  should  1)e  dispensed  with  ;  and  that  any  member  who  had  failed 
to  attend  the  three  rehearsals  held  before  each  concert  should  not  be 
allowed  to  sing  or  enter  the  hall  without  having  purchased  a  ticket. 
These  recommendations  were  adopted,  and  two  oratorios,  the  Crea- 
tion and  the  Elijah,  were  selected  for  performance.  But  to  give 
them,  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  find  that  vara  avis,  a  competent 
tenor  singer,  and  this  proved  to  be  a  matter  of  no  small  difficulty. 
The  first  selected  was  a  Scotch  ballad  singer,  ^Ir.  Dempster,  who 
proved  himself  so  incompetent  at  a  rehearsal  of  the  Creation  on  Dec. 
1,  that  the  president  was  requested  to  advise  him  to  withdraw,  rather 
than  run  the  risk  of  injuring  his  reputation  by  attempting  to  sing  music 
completely  foreign  to  his  style.  This  delicate  mission  having  been 
performed  with  the  desired  result,  Sig.  Guidi,  an  Italian  tenor  belong- 
ing to  Max  Maretzek's  troupe,  was  tried  with  success  on  Dec.  13,  and 
he  was  engaged  for  three  performances  of  the  Creation,  which  took 
place  on  Dec.  22,  29,  and  Jan.  3,  Misses  Stone  and  Garcia,  and 
Mr.  Ball,  singing  the  other  solo  parts.  Rehearsals  of  Elijah  began 
on  Nov.  10,  and  it  was  sung  in  public  on  March  2,  9,  and  16,  by  the 


146     HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Misses  Stone,  Emmons,  and  Lothrop,  Mrs.  Fowle,  Mrs.  Hill,  and 
Messrs   Thomas  Ball,  Gnidi,  AVebb,  Clark,  and  Botliamly. 

The  season  closed  witli  two  performances  of  the  Creation  on  A[)ril 
6,  with  Sig  Gnidi,  and  April  27,  with  Mr.  Arthnrson,  an  English 
tenor  who  took  his  place.  All  these  concerts  were  well  attended,  and 
warmly  praised  by  the  newspaper  critics. 

The  success  of  the  Elijah  was  due  in  so  great  measure  to  Mr.  Ball, 
that  the  Society  moved  to  give  him  a  solid  proof  of  their  appreciation 
of  his  services.  Accordingly,  on  April  28,  the  secretary  sent  him  a 
letter  saying  that  — 

"As  for  the  first  tunc  in  many  years  the  concerts  have  been  sustamed  by 
the  public,  the  government  wishes  to  express  its  feelings  of  gratitude  to 
those  who  have  assisted  gratuitously  at  them;  and  '  in  view  of  Mr.  Ball's  past 
services,  and  the  able  way  in  which  lie  has  sung  Elijah,  beg  to  oiler  him  a 
testimonial  of  a  purse  containing  one  hundred  dollars  in  gold,'  and  a  watch 
inscribed  '  A  tribute  to  the  vocal  merits  of  Thomas  Ball,  from  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Societjs  Boston,  April,  1851.'  With  best  wishes  for  your  health  and 
prosperity,  and  our  hopes  that  your  purse,  like  the  widow's  cruse  of  oil,  may 
fail  not  till  Time  in  his  course  around  the  dial  of  yonr  watch  shall  tind  you, 
like  the  Elijah  of  old,  ready  to  die,  we  remain,"  etc. 

To  this  letter  Mr.  Ball  replied  on  the  30th,  saying  that  he  shall 
always  look  upon  the  watch  with  pride  and  pleasure,  —  "  pride  that  I 
have  been  called  upon  to  take  so  conspicuous  a  part  in  the  concerts  of 
so  great  a  Society,  and  pleasure  in  possessing  such  a  proof  that  my 
efforts,  however  unsuccessful,  have  been  approA^ed." 

At  the  close  of  this  successful  season  ^  1  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
board,  declining  the  honor  of  a  renomination  on  account  of  my  inten- 
tion to  pass  several  years  in  Europe,  and  a  few  days  later  received  a 
highly  gratifying  answer,  containing  a  copy  of  resolutions  passed  ])y 
the  government,  and  signed  by  the  vice-president  and  secretary. 
These  expressed  "regret  for  my  departure,  thanks  for  untiring  efforts, 
close  attention  to  the  interests  of  the  Society,  and  uniform  courtesy," 
and  tendered  "warm  wishes  for  my  welfare  and  success."  Thus 
terminated  my  first  short  connection  with  the  Society,  which,  after  the 
lai)se  of  twenty-live  years,  was  destined  to  be  more  enduringly  renewed. 

I  shall  conclude  this  chapter  with  a  letter  addressed  to  "Messrs. 
Handell  and  Hayden,  Musicians,  Boston,  Mass.,"  which  I  received 
during  my  year  of  office,  and  have  carefully  preserved  as  a  literary 
curiosity. 

'  Receipts,  3<), '509. 43;  expenses,  . 55,218.4*). 


HISTOKV  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY.     147 

Clarksburg.  Va..  July  27.  1850. 
Messrs.  Handeli.  and  Hayden 

Gentlemfti.  Hearing  from  a  gentleman  lately  from  Boston,  that  yon  were 
the  instructors  of  a  mnsical  society  in  that  place.  I  take  the  liberty  of 
addressing  you  a  few  lines  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  some  information 
regarding  your  Society,  and  you  will  please  excuse  the  liberty  I  have  taken, 
as  I  am  an  entire  stranger  to  you.  I  wish  to  know  the  terms  upon  which  you 
take  scholars  for  instruction,  and  whether  you  take  any  ior  their  services, 
who  have  not  the  means  to  pay  for  tlieir  tuition.  I  have  thought  lately  of 
cultivating  my  taste  for  music,  which  I  think  is  very  good,  or  at  least  tolera 
bly  good.  The  first  time  I  attempted.  I  could  pla.v  a  tunc  on  the  violin,  and 
in  three  or  four  days  I  could  play  most  any  tune  I  knew  except  some  difficult 
waltzes  or  reels.  I  can  play  on  the  flute  as  well,  or  verj'  nearly  as  well,  as  our 
best  performers,  and  some  of  them  have  been  to  our  fashionable  watering- 
places  playing.  Besides  playing  on  several  bass  instruments,  on  the  accor- 
dion and  the  piano,  but  I  never  tried  the  piano  but  once,  and  I  played  a  tune 
on  it  then.  I  can  play  some  ten  or  twelve  instruments  all  together.  Please 
let  me  hear  from  you  soon,  and  if  your  terms  suit.  I  can  give  you  most  any 
number  of  certificates  of  my  musical  talents.  Awaiting  your  answer.  I  remain 
yours  faithfully. 

Then  follows  the  signature,  here  suppressed  for  obvious  reasons. 


PEEFACE  TO  VOL.  I. -NO.  3. 


So  far  had  this  History  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  progressed, 
under  the  able  hands  of  its  late  lamented  president,  Charles  Calla- 
han Perkins,  when,  through  a  fatal  accident,^  he  was  so  suddenly 
summoned  from  a  useful,  beautiful,  and  happ}'  life  to,  doubtless, 
higher  fields  of  usefulness,  for  which  his  cheerful,  unremitting,  and 
unselfish  labors  here  had  been  a  constant  education. 

As  one  of  his  friends  and  fellow-laborers  for  many  years  in  the 
musical  vineyard  of  our  dear  native  Boston,  and  as  one  who,  unpro- 
fessionalh^,  has  had  a  pretty  intimate  acquaintance  with  our  musical 
development  for  half  a  century,  especially  during  the  period  of  the 
Journal  of  Music^  which  bore  my  name  for  nearly  thirt}'  years  (April, 
1852,  to  September,  1881),  I  am  requested  by  the  Society  to  con- 
tinue these  annals  from  the  point  where  he  left  off.  With  no  great 
assurance  of  my  own  worthiness  to  follow  in  his  footsteps,  I  fear  it 
would  trouble  m}-  conscience  were  I  to  decline  the  task.  So,  trusting 
to  indulgence,  I  will  do  what  in  me  lies  to  carr}'  on  the  record  a  few 
stages  further. 

JOHN  S.  DWIGHT. 

Boston,  April,  1887. 


1  From  the  very  interesting  memoir  of  Mr.  Perkins  by  his  friend  and  kinsman, 
Samuel  Eliot,  LIj.  D.  (reprinted  from  the  Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Histor- 
ical Society),  I  take  the  following  paragraph :  — 

"  In  the  latter  part  of  August,  1886,  he  went  to  Windsor,  Yt.,  to  make  a  visit  at 
his  son's  summer  home.  Two  grandchildren  were  there  to  welcome  him,  and  with 
them  and  their  parents  a  few  serene  and  happy  days  sped  by.  On  the  afternoon  of 
Aug.  25,  he  went  to  drive  with  two  companions,  one  of  them  a  young  lady,  who 
afterwards  spoke  of  his  enthusiasm  at  the  beautj^  of  the  country  and  of  his  conver- 
sation on  many  lovely  things.  Something  about  the  harness  gave  way,  control  of 
the  horses  was  lost,  and  the  carriage  was  swept  on  as  to  destruction.  The  young 
lady  relates  that  the  last  thing  she  remembers  of  him  was  the  smile  he  gave  her, 
as  if  to  save  her  from  alarm .  Then  the  crash  came;  he  was  thrown  and  instantly 
killed." 


HISTOKY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  151 


CHAPTER  JV. 
THIRTY-SEVENTH   SEASON. 
May  26,  1851,  to  May  31,  1852. 

We  resume  the  history  at  a  comparatively  feeble,  uneventful  period, 
just  upon  the  eve  of  the  completion  of  the  Boston  Music  Hall,  through 
which  and  other  stimulating  influences  the  old  Society  was  soon  to 
feel  new  life,  and  gain  expansion.  Its  members  and  supporters  re- 
gretted the  absence,  in  Europe,  of  its  late  president,  Mr.  Perkins, 
from  whose  zealous  devotion,  sincere,  enlightened,  practical,  so  much 
was  to  be  hoped.  But  they  knew  that  even  from  the  Old  World  his 
eye  was  on  them,  and  he  watched  their  progress,  looking  about  him 
for  what  good  means  might  fall  in  his  wa}^  for  furthering  it.  Mean- 
while, the  Society  did  not  despair,  but  looked  around  among  its  fore- 
most for  the  man  to  take  his  place.  The  annual  meeting  (May  26) 
resulted  in  the  election  of  Abraham  O.  Bigelow  for  president,  with 
J.  S  Farlow  for  vice-president ;  and  for  treasurer  and  secretar}^, 
Messrs.  M.S.  Parker  and  J.  G.  Oakes,  as  before. 

Mr.  Bigelow,  long  known  as  the  senior  member  of  the  prominent 
firm  of  Bigelow  Brothers  &  Kennard,  jewellers,  was  born  at  Westmin- 
ster, Aug.  2,  1812,  and  died  (as  it  were,  but  yesterda}')  on  the  29th 
of  April,  1887,  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy-five,  at  Jamaica  Plain, 
where  he  had  long  resided  with  his  family.  He  was  well  known  and 
held  in  high  esteem.  He  had  served  the  city  for  two  years  as  alder- 
man a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  and  was  sent  to  the  State  Legislature 
for  two  successive  years.  Like  his  brothers,  he  had  a  real  love  for 
music,  and  from  the  time  of  his  short  presidency  to  his  death  was 
always  interested  in  the  work  and  success  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society.  For  several  years  he  had  been  president  of  the  Massachu- 
setts National  Bank.  He  is  truly  described  as  ''a  man  of  warm 
affections  and  deep  sympathy,  and  any  work  tending  to  the  benefit  of 
the  city  or  the  people  of  Boston  always  had  his  cordial  support  and 
co-operation." 

On  June  24,  a  letter,  accompanying  a  service  of  plate,  was  sent  to 
the  secretar}-,  J.  G.  Oakes,  in  thankful  recognition  of  his  services  for 
four  years  past,  to  which  Mr.  Oakes  replied  with  "deep  gratitude'' 
a  few  davs  later. 


152  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY. 

President  Bigelow  did  not  essa}-  to  wield  the  baton  in  jyroprid  per- 
sond;  but,  Aug.  15,  Mr.  J.  E.  Goodson,  an  accomplished  English 
musician  and  organist,  —  one  of  the  first,  within  our  recollection,  who 
plaj-ed  fugues  of  Bach  here,  in  Tremont  Temple, — a  thinking  man, 
too,  with  mind  much  occupied  in  philosophical  and  social  questions, 
was  appointed  conductor.  We  have  the  impression  that  he  sta3^ed 
not  longer  than  a  year  or  two  in  Boston,  and  then  sought  his  fortune 
in  the  West ;  but  we  have  quite  lost  sight  of  him.  At  the  same  time, 
Mr.  George  F.  Ha^'ter,  son  of  A.  U.  Hayter,  was  appointed  organist. 

Early  in  October,  five  hundred  and  ninety-five  subscribers  were 
reported  for  a  series  of  six  concerts,  at  the  good,  old,  popular  price, 
be  it  remembered,  of  fift}'  cents  per  concert !  But  it  was  a  period  of 
depression  and  of  small  things  for  the  remainder  of  the  3'ear.  After 
a  noble  beginning  with  the  Elijah^  in  March,  the  too  sleepy  public 
required  more  "  realistic  "  stimulus,  and  the  old  year  went  out  with  a 
return  to  Neukomm's  David,  which  was  given  Dec.  14,  21,  and  28. 
The  heavy  giant's  forehead  was  still  impressible  to  the  sharp  stone 
from  the  young  shepherd's  sling.  Saroni  {Musical  Times,  Jan.  3, 
1852)  thinks  "  they  might  have  spent  their  time  on  something  wor- 
thier than  this  threadbare  product  of  the  Chevalier  N.,  which,  for  the 
most  part,  possesses  little  intrinsic  merit."  He  hails  good  promise  in 
the  directorship  of  Goodson,  though  "  he  allows  himself  to  be  carried 
away  by  the  powerful  choruses,  he  following  them,  rather  than  they 
him."  "  He  has  one  requisite,  i.  e  ,  spirit  and  enthusiasm."  Accord- 
ing to  this  writer,  some  of  the  choruses  were  sung  very  w^ell ;  some, 
very  badh' ;  the  principal  fault  being  want  of  attention  on  the  part  of 
the  singers.  "  In  the  final  chorus  it  appeared  to  us  that  choir  and 
orchestra  vied  with  each  other  to  see  which  could  produce  the  greatest 
discord." 

For  the  three  remnining  concerts  of  the  subscription  series  (Feb.  8, 
15,  and  22,  1852),  damson  was  selected,  and  vigorously  rehearsed 
thirteen  times,  partly,  we  can  imagine,  as  being  in  its  subject  some- 
what kindred  in  dramatic  interest  to  David,  and  popular  on  that 
ground,  while  in  the  higher  musical  sense  contrasting  with  it  as  a  work 
of  pure  Handelian  gold.  Counting  from  its  performances  by  the 
Society  in  1815,  when  it  ran  through  sixteen  Sunday  evenings  in  suc- 
cession, with  a  single  interruption  (and  that  David!),  these  were  to 
be  the  twenty-third,  twenty-fourth,  and  twenty-fifth  renderings  of 
Samso7i.  Evidently,  it  was  not  a  success  financialh^,  however  it  may 
have  been  from  an  artistic  point  of  view,  for,  at  a  meeting  held  Feb. 
21,  it  was  decided  not  to  repeat  it,  on  account  of  the  expense. 

So  the  season  was  allowed  to  close  with  two  presentations  (March 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  15o 

■25  and  April  4)  of  a  miscellaneous  programme,  more  economical, 
inasmuch  as  the  solos  were  gratuitoush'  sung  by  members.  On  the  first 
evening  the  audience  numbered  about  twelve  hundred,  at  the  Melo- 
deon.  The  first  part  consisted  of  selections  from  the  Creation;  the 
second  was  more  miscellaneous.  In  that  very  month  of  April  it  was 
—  if  mention  of  the  coincidence  be  pardonable  —  that  the  first  at- 
tempt, both  serious  and  persistent,  at  instructive  musical  journalism  in 
Boston,  Dicighfs  Journal  of  Music,  alwaj's  an  ally  of  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society,  and  at  least  an  honest  and  a  friendly  commentator  on 
its  work,  during  the  nearly  thirty  years  of  its  continued  publication, 
first  made  its  modest  bow  to  the  friends  of  music  in  this  country.  In 
its  second  issue  (April  17),  the  editor,  who  had  not  heard  the  Creation 
extracts,  wrote  :  "  But  the  second  part  displa3'ed  much  laudable  and 
not  ineffectual  ambition  on  the  part  of  a  number  of  our  native  ama- 
teurs and  choristers.  Miss  Bothamly  is  a  new  germ  of  rare  promise. 
,  .  .  To  a  voice  of  liquid  purity,  large,  penetrating,  and  of  good 
soprano  compass,  she  unites  unmistakable  assurances  of  soul  and 
real  talent.  Her  sister,  Mrs.  Emmons,  too,  possesses  a  large  and  gen- 
erous contralto,  which  she  blended  with  the  more  trained  voice  of  the 
other,  with  true  musical  feeling  and  perception,  in  Rossini's  '  Quis  est 
homo.'  Only  b}'  the  best  Italians  have  we  heard  their  rendering  of 
that  duet  surpassed."  Praise  is  also  given  to  "  a  very  precise  and 
delicately  balanced  piece  of  male  quartet  singing  "  of  The  Chapel,  by 
Kreutzer. 

About  this  time,  in  the  illness  of  Mr.  Oakes,  Mr.  J.  L.  Fairbanks 
was  made  secretary  pro  tern. 


THIRTY-EIGHTH   SEASOX. 

M.vY  31,   1852,  TO  May  30,  1853. 

At  the  annual  meeting.  May  31,  Messrs.  Bigelow  and  Oakes  having 
declined  a  re-election,  the  following  choice  of  officers  was  made  :  — 

Silas  P.   Merriam        .  .  .  President. 

.   John  Dodd  .....  Vice-President. 

John  L.  Fairbanks  .         .  Secretary. 

Matthew  S.  Parker  .         .         .  Treasurer. 

The  reports  of  treasurer  and  secretary  were  not  altogether  encour- 
aging. The  receipts  of  the  past  year  were  $2,275.98  ;  the  expenses, 
?2,930.32.  The  secretary  reported  nominally  200  members,  of  whom 
80  had  not  appeared   during  the  season.     The  average  attendance  at 


154  TTISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDX    SOCIETY. 

rehearsals  and  concerts  was  onl^^  68.  "A  faithful  nucleus  keeps  the 
Societ}'  alive."  But  we  may  hope  that  better  da3's  are  coming.  Are 
we  not  soon  to  have  a  grand  new  music  hall,  with  a  Beethoven  statue 
in  it,  and  a  great  organ  at  a  vast  expense,  to  be  the  pride  of  all  the 
land?  And  are  we  not  to  have  a  permanent  conductorship,  in  a  man 
of  tact  and  presence  and  authority,  wielding  the  baton  to  this  day 
(1887),  and  who  knows  how  much  longer?  And  shall  not  the  old 
Society  expand  and  strengthen  under  new  quickening  influences  and 
in  a  broader  field,  not  limited  to  three  oratorios  of  "  Mr.  Handell  "^ 
and  the  one  b3'  "Mr.  Hayden  "? 

The  summer  and  autumn  records  offer  only  the  following  items : 
Aug.  19,  resolutions  were  passed  in  honor  of  the  late  secretarv^ 
J.  G.  Oakes,  who  died  July  2.  Aug.  31,  Mr.  George  James  Webb 
was  appointed  conductor.  Sept.  7,  of  three  candidates  for  the  place 
of  organist  (A.  U.  Hayter,  G.  F.  Ha^'ter,  and  F.  F.  Mueller),  Mr. 
Mueller  was  elected.  On  the  question  of  orchestra,  it  was  proposed 
to  engage  the  "Musical  Fund"  for  three  concerts,  and  the  "  Ger- 
mania"  for  three.  But  the  former  would  have  "  all,  or  none"  ;  and 
it  was  voted  to  take  the  Germania  ;  in  which  case  Mr.  Webb  declines 
to  conduct.  The  Germania,  on  being  asked,  refuse  to  retire  from  the 
field  ;  and  Mr.  Webb's  resignation  is  accepted  (Nov.  10),  after  a  few 
rehearsals  of  Judas  Maccabceus. 

In  October,  proposals  were  issued  for  six  oratorio  performances  : 
three  of  Handel's  Judas,  and  three  of  Engeddi,  the  Anglicized  re- 
christened  (or  un-christened)  version  of  Beethoven's  Christ  at  the 
Mount  of  Olives;  all  the  music  was  retained,  but  transferred  to  an 
older  subject,  with  other  characters  and  words,  except  in  such 
choruses  and  airs  as  might  fit  an}'  sacred  subject. 

But  meanwhile,  in  anticipation  of  the  season's  programme,  an 
episode  occurred  which  may  in  some  sense  be  regarded  as  the  start- 
ing-point of  a  new  period  in  the  Society's  development.  In  Novem- 
ber of  this  year  the  long-expected  Boston  Music  Hall  stood  complete 
in  all  its  grandeur  and  its  beaut}'.  Here  was  a  hall,  larger  and  finer 
than  any  in  this  country,  or  hardly  any  in  the  Old  World,  destined 
thenceforth  to  be  the  theatre  of  oratorio,  as  well  as  other  noble  music. 
Its  architecture,  internally,  was  noble  and  attractive,  although  exter- 
nally the  building  stood  far  back  of  the  two  streets,  Winter  and 
Tremont,  nearly  concealed  from  view,  while  sheltered  from  street 
noises,  and  required  no  architectural  adornment,  —  only  plain,  solid, 
fire-proof,  well-proportioned  walls.  Its  height  from  floor  to  ceiling 
was  60  feet,  length  120  feet,  and  width  60  feet;  in  shape,  a  regular 
parallelogram,  having  on  three  sides  two  shallow  balconies,  though  the 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  155 

lower  balcom^  opposite  the  stage  was  wide  aud  capacious.  It  was 
beautifully  lighted  by  jets  of  gas  running  round  the  cornice  on  all  four 
sides  far  above  the  audience.  It  had  seats  for  2,700  people.  It  was 
owned  in  joint  stock,  largeh*  held  by  a  few  munificent  subscribers, 
among  whom  occur  the  well-known  names  of  Upham,  Apthorp,  Perkins, 
Curtis,  Chickering,  and  others,  but  also  as  widely  as  possible  distributed 
in  small  shares  among  actual  musicians  and  music-lovers  of  humbler 
means.  This  arrangement  gave  excellent  assurance  for  some  time 
tliat  the  costly  structure  would  be  kept  sacred  to  its  proper  end  and 
use,  to  art,  and  not  become  the  foot-ball  of  stock-jobbing  interests. 
Unfortunately  for  the  future,  in  the  rules  of  tlie  corporation  it  was 
forgotten  to  require  the  general  sanction  for  the  transfer  of  individual 
shares  ;  and  cunning  speculators,  unobserved,  soon  began  to  pick  them 
up,  in  the  hope  of  acquiring,  collectively  or  singly,  a  controlling  in- 
terest, with  power  to  divert  the  propert}^  from  its  original  uses,  which 
they  had  not  much  at  heart.  Only  by  the  zealous  intervention,  more 
than  once,  of  some  wealthy  and  right-minded  individual  has  the 
Music  Hall  thus  far  (1887)  been  saved. 

The  new  hall  was  inaugurated  on  the  evening  of  Saturday,  Nov. 
20,  by  a  brilliant  concert,  in  which  all  the  leading  musical  societies  of 
Boston  eagerly  took  part,  to  wit :  besides  the  Handel  and  Haydn,  the 
Musical  Education  Society,  the  Musical  Fund  Orchestra,  the  Germa- 
nia  vSerenade  Band,  and  Kreissmann's  Liedertafel,  of  German  part- 
song  singers.  And,  by  a  lucky  chance,  just  then  two  of  the  world's 
famous  queens  of  song,  each  with  her  concert  troupe,  were  singing  to 
delighted  crowds  here  in  our  city.  Not  Jenny  Liud  ;  that  queen  of 
all,  with  her  commanding  power,  her  genius  and  her  mngnetism.  had 
taken  her  farewell,  after  being  married  to  Otto  Goldschmidt,  in  the 
house  of  Boston  friends  ;  and  though  the  first  thought  of  the  new 
hall  really  sprang  from  a  feeling  of  the  lack  here  of  any  sufhcient 
place  for  such  a  singer,  her  voice  was  never  heard  in  it,  nor  with  the 
old  Society  at  all  in  oratorio.  But,  next  to  the  Lind,  we  probably  were 
never  favored  by  two  finer  singing  birds  of  passage  than  Mmes  Son- 
tag  and  Alboni.  The  latter  was  engaged  at  great  expense  to  add  spe- 
cial lustre  to  the  inaugural  concert.  The  great  contralto  sang  on  this 
occasion,  strange  to  say,  only  soprano  or  mezzo-soprano  arias,  the 
same  as  in  her  own  opening  concert  a  few  nights  before,  —  such  as 
"  Casta  Diva,"  a  canzone  from  La  Fille  clu  Regiment,  "  Non  piu 
mesta,"  from  Cenerentola,  and  in  a  trio  from  //  Barbfere,  with  Sig. 
Sangiovanui  and  Sig.  Rovere.  But  her  voice  had  great  compass,  as 
well  as  that  rich,  warm,  generous,  unctuous  quality,  which  corre- 
sponded with  her  person  ;  and  her  execution  had  such  perfect  ease  and 


15<)  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAIT^N    SOCIETY. 

finish,  that  in  spite  of  characteristic  nonchalance,  she  always  roused 
enthusiasm.  The  two  oratorio  societies,  united,  sang  '*  The  Heavens 
are  relliug "  and  the  -Hallelujah  Chorus"  from  TJie  Jfe-siaJi ;  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  sang  the  *•  HalleUijah"  from  Beethoven's  Mount 
of  Olii'y-s:  and  the  Musical  Education  Society  the  chorus.  '-Happy 
and  Blest."  from  St.  Paul;  and  the  latter  was  the  more  fortunate 
effort  of  the  two ;  for  the  younger  chorus  was  ambitious,  and  took 
pains  :  while  the  parent  society,  so  to  speak,  was  not  just  then  in  per- 
fect health  and  discipline.  Its  ••  Hallelujah  "  in  the  new  hall  was  heard 
confusedlv.  imperfectly,  while  the  delicate  and  lovely  St.  Pml  chorus 
told  with  perfect  distinctness  in  every  comer  of  the  hall,  even  its 
softest  passages.  The  overtures  to  Die  Zinberflote  and  Oberon^ 
which  opened  the  two  parts,  were  neither  heard  nor  played  well :  the 
Andante  of  the  Fifth  Symphony  was  better.  But  miscellaneous  occa- 
sional programmes,  combination  concerts  of  societies  and  artists 
co-operating  only  for  the  nonce,  are  seldom  satisfactory.  And  then 
it  was  the  first  test  of  a  great,  brand-new  haU.  And  the  walls  of  a 
hall,  like  those  of  a  violin,  must  ripen  and  grow  musical  by  frequent 
and  continuous  response  to  musical  vibrations  :  they  must  outgrow 
their  crude  condition,  and  become  gradually  attuned,  acclimated  to 
harmony.  Besides,  there  were  aU  manner  of  theoretic  speculations 
and  opinions,  some  d  priori,  some  only  of  the  moment,  about  the 
acoustics  of  the  hall,  to  distract  the  ear  and  mind  from  listening  to 
the  music  musically.  The  truest  tones  were  heard  the  best.  Every 
note  of  the  Alboni  (who  had  her  own  conductor)  ••found  all  that 
space  obedient  and  responsive  to  its  true  vibrations"  Mr.  G.  .T. 
^ebb  was  the  conductor-in-chief. 

This  dedication  of  the  hall  was  supplemented  the  next  evening 
(Sunday)  by  a  concert  given  jointly  by  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society  and  the  other  bright  star,  named  above,  the  ladylike,  refined, 
accomplished  Henrietta  Sontag,  one  of  the  purest  and  most  finished 
of  soprano  singers,  no  longer  in  her  prime,  but  one  in  whom  a  rare 
perfection  of  art  and  faultless  taste  went  far  to  make  up  for  the  loss 
of  virgin  freshness  in  a  voice  once  so  exquisite.  Rossini's  Stabat 
Mater  was  never  before  heard  to  such  advantage  in  oui-  city.  The 
solos  were  sung  by  Mme.  Sontag.  MUe.  Caroline  Lehmann,  and  Sigs. 
Badiali.  Pozzolini.  and  Rocco :  oui-  own  Society  supplied  the  chorus : 
the  Germania,  largely  augmented,  the  orchestra  ;  Carl  Eckert  (of  the 
Sontag  troupe)  conducted  admirably;  and  Carl  Bergmann  led  the 
violins.  Mme.  Sontag  was  at  her  best;  her  ^n^si  jioriture  and  her 
pianissimo  were  heard  distinctly  in  the  farthest  parts  of  the  hall. 
She  also  sang  ••  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,"  so  the  record 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  lo7 

saith,  *•  as  SO  consummate  an  artist  could  not  help  singing  it,  but 
with  no  peculiar  loftiness  or  genuine  fervor  of  expression  ;  that  song 
was  not  inspired  with  her."  The  choruses  were  '^  unimpeachable," 
and  though  there  were  fewer  instniments  than  on  the  night  before, 
this  time  there  was  no  complaint  of  their  not  sounding  well. 

This  episode  well  past,  with  the  new  Music  Hall  completed,  tested, 
and  approved,  and  with  its  ample  theatre  secured  as  field  for  oratorio 
practice  and  performance,  the  old  Society  resumed  its  steady  course 
with  a  fresh,  buoyant  spirit  and  hopeful  signs  of  progress.  The 
next  step  was  to  appoint  Carl  Bergmann  conductor  pro  tern.  Mr. 
Bergmann.  who  first  joined  the  Germanians  as  a  troml3one  player, 
was  also  a  violoncellist  of  rare  skiQ  and  taste,  at  home  in  all  the 
finest  classical  chamber  music.  He  was  a  sterling  musician,  in  the 
best  sense,  and  was  soon  called  to  the  headship  of  that  choice  little 
orchestra,  where  he  proved  himself  *'  a  conductor  of  the  true  stamp  ; 
one  who  not  only  feels  and  understands  the  music,  but  who,  by  a  sort 
of  natui-al  eloquence  of  look  and  gesture,  expresses  the  force  of  each 
musiciil  idea  as  it  is  coming,  keeps  before  the  music,  visibly  anticipat- 
ing each  effect,  possessing  all  his  men  with  the  same  feeling  in  safe 
season  for  the  attack."  Such  a  conductor,  with  his  model  orchesti-a. 
which,  though  small,  could  be  filled  out  according  to  requii*ement, 
was  a  real  gain,  as  the  rehearsals  of  the  winter's  programme  showed. 

Leaving  the  Chi-istmas  performance  of  Tlie  Messiah  to  another 
society,  this  time,  as  for  one  or  two  years  before,  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  proceeded  to  give  the  three  promised  performances  of  Judas 
Jfaccabceus,  on  Dec.  10  and  "26  and  Jan.  2.  The  chorus  was  larger 
than  ever  before, — two  hundred  and  fifty  voices.  The  solos  were 
by  Anna  Stone,  brilliant  in  *•  From  mighty  Kings":  Mrs.  Kmma 
A.  Wentworth,  whose  sweet,  petite^  fine,  clean  budlike  notes  pene- 
trated every  hearer"  in  **  Pious  Orgies":  Mrs.  T.  H.  Emmons,  and 
Messrs.  Fix)st,  tenor,  Hamilton,  Low.  etc.  Mueller  was  organist :  but 
through  most  of  this  period  the  organ  was  so  out  of  order  that  the 
pianoforte  did  duty  for  it.  The  spacious  auditorium  was  completely 
filled.  The  three  performances  were,  on  the  whole,  thought  unsur- 
passed by  any  former  triumph  of  the  old  Society.  —  especially  the 
chorus  singing  and  the  orchestral  accompaniment. 

On  Feb.  n,  1853,  the  Germania  Society,  under  Bergmaouf  direc- 
tion, gave  to  Boston  its  first  hearing  of  the  gieat  Ninth  or  Choral 
Symphony  of  Beethoven.  The  Handel  and  Haydn  Society*  sang  in 
the  last  or  choral  portion  of  the  work,  to  words  from  Schiller's 
••Hymn  to  Joy,"  a  most  arduous  undertaking,  in  which  no  singers 
can  succeed  except  by  sheer  enthusiasm,  which  lifts  them,  for  the 


158  HISTOKY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

time,  above  themselves.  The  quartet  of  soli,  commonly  deemed 
impossible  by  any  but  the  most  exceptional  voices,  was  fairly  repre- 
sented by  Miss  Stone,  Miss  Humphrey.  Mr.  Low,  and  Mr.  Thomas 
Ball.  The  assembly  was  immense,  —  larger  than  could  find  seats; 
and  though  there  was  a  very  great  variety  of  opinions  regarding  the 
charm  and  value  of  a  work  so  difficult  to  understand  without  repeated 
hearings,  yet  b}'  the  more  appreciative  it  was  heard  with  wonder  and 
delight ;  and  the  performance,  even  on  so  small  a  scale  orchestrally, 
was  pronounced  a  great  success,  —  so  great  that  it  had  to  be  repeated 
April  2.  The  concert  had  a  frontispiece  consisting  of  the  Zauberjio'e 
overture,  a  concerto  of  Viotti,  by  the  "little  Camilla  Urso,"  and  the 
second  piano  concerto  of  Mendelssohn,  played  by  Alfred  Jaell. 

On  the  next  evening,  Feb.  G,  came  the  first  performance  of  Eiigedi^ 
with  Bergmann  for  conductor,  and  the  Germanians  for  orchestra  ;  for 
soloists,  ]Miss  Stone,  Mrs.  Weutworth,  Mr.  S.  B.  Ball,  and  Mr.  B.  F. 
Baker.  The  oratorio  was  preceded  by  a  short  first  part,  which  in- 
cluded Mehul's  overture  to  Joseph^  and  selections  from  Elijah.  The 
choruses  exhibited  the  fruits  of  thorough  drill  under  Herr  Bergmann, 
one  editor  exclaiming,  "What  a  godsend  to  us  is  this  man  I  "  The 
solo  singers  received  favorable  mention,  the  ladies  high  praise.  The 
distant  chorus  of  approaching  soldiers  (not  Romans  I),  and  that  ex- 
pressing the  fear  of  the  surrounded  party  (not  Christians  I),  were 
made  graphic  and  impressive,  and  the  closing  Hallelujah  was  sublime. 
It  was  a  night  of  drenching  rain,  and  the  receipts  were  only  $125.50 
at  the  old  fifty-cent  price,  remember.  Besides,  how  could  David  in 
the  Wdderness  be  half  as  interesting  and  impressive,  or  how  could 
Beethoven's  music,  in  such  forced  connection,  sound  as  well  as  it 
would  wedded  to  his  own  chosen  subject,  Christ  at  the  Mount  of 
Olives?  Verily,  the  Anglican  ecclesiasticism  is  not  so  human,  not  so 
large  and  catholic  as  music!  Engedi  —  if  we  must  take  it  in  that 
form  —  was  repeated  Feb.  13.  with  selections  from  Judas  and  the 
Creation  ;  and  Feb.  2(»,  with  some  from  the  JIessi{(h ;  and  again  in  an 
extra  concert  on  the  27th.  On  March  6,  Judas  was  given  once  more 
to  the  delight  of  a  great  audience  ;  the  organ,  now  rehabilitated,  con- 
tributed not  a  little  to  the  effect,  under  the  skilful  hands  (and  feet)  of 
Mr.  Mueller. 

On  the  17th  "  a  social  levee"  was  held  at  Union  Hall,  to  "cele- 
brate the  victory  "  of  an  uncommonly  successful  season.  April  3, 
the  Creation  was  given,  with  Anna  Stone,  Mrs.  AVentworth.  and 
Messrs.  S.  B.  Ball,  J.  H.  Low,  and  Thomas  Ball.  Audience  immense. 
April  24  and  May  1,  the  Son  tag  company  gave  the  Stabat  Mater 
again,  preceded  by  miscellaneous  selections.     The  Sontag  orchestra 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AXD  HAYDX  SOCIETY.     l.")9 

was  "  not  so  congeDial  "  to  the  chorus  singers  as  theh-  now  accus- 
tomed Germania  ;  and  all  agreed  that  these  renderings  were  not  very 
felicitous. 

THIRTY-NINTH    SKASON. 
May  30,  1853.  to,  May  29,  1851. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  MAy  30.  the  principal  officers  were  re-elected. 
In  a  long  report  the  secretary  tells  of  the  lease  of  the  Music  Hall  for 
five  ^ears,  for  such  evenings  as  the  Society  might  require  during  its 
active  season,  at  a  rent  of  $50  for  each  Sunday-evening  concert,  and 
$15  for  each  use  of  the  lower,  or  Bumstead  Hall,  for  rehearsal.  i!e 
spoke  highly  of  the  services  of  F.  F.  ^lueller  as  organist.  Twenty- 
nine  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  had  been  held.  The  season 
was  financially  and  otherwise  successful.  Income  exceeded  outlay 
by  81,448.58;  deducting  rent  of  halls  (S780),  there  was  a  net  cash 
balance  of  $668. o8. 

The  summer  passed  with  notliing  to  record  except  the  presentation, 
July  5,  of  a  silver  service  to  the  indefatigable  secretary.  J.  L.  Fair- 
banks, and  a  merry  excursion  down  the  harbor  to  Hingham,  — indica- 
tions that  the  happy,  social  spirit,  resulting  from  a  successful  concert 
season,  had  not  yet  wholly  effervesced,  —  until  Nov.  19,  when  six  sub- 
scription concerts  were  announced,  at  popular  prices  :  for  the  series, 
$2.00,  for  the  single  evening,  fifty  cents.  Sams')n  and  3foses  in 
Erjypt  were  to  divide  the  course  equally.  The  Germania  to  be  the 
orchestra  ;  with  Bergmann  for  conductor,  and  Mueller  at  the  organ. 
On  the  27th.  Samson  was  performed  with,  for  solo  artists,  Miss  Stone, 
Mrs.  Weutworth.  and  Messrs.  Low,  H.  M.  Aiken,  T.  Ball,  and  B. 
Wheat.  Again  the  Handel  and  Haydn  waived  the  performance  of 
the  Messiah  at  Christmastide.  But  it  was  given  twice  :  on  Christmas 
eve,  by  the  Musical  Education  Society,  with  Bergmann  for  conductor, 
and  with  Anna  Stone  and  Miss  Doane,  soprani,  .Miss  Agnes  Stone, 
contralto,  Mr.  Arthurson,  tenor,  and  Mr.  Aiken,  bass  ;  and  on  the  even- 
ing of  Christmas,  by  the  newly  formed  Mendelssohn  Choral  Society, 
for  its  debut,  also  under  the  baton  of  Carl  Bergmann,  and  also  with 
Anna  Stone,  besides  Mrs.  AVentworth.  Miss  Humphrey,  Mr.  S.  B.  Ball, 
and  for  a  powerful  basso,  Herr  F.  Meyer.  We  mention  these  particu- 
lars to  show  how  dependent  on  the  same  solo  talent  and  the  same  con- 
ductorship  the  three  choral  societies  of  that  day  were.  On  Dec.  4, 
Mme.  Sontag  having  been  persuaded  to  give  the  first  of  her  farewell 
series  of  concerts  with  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  selections  were 
sung  from  the  Jlessiah,  Samson,  Judas,  and  Rossini's  Stabat,  with  a 


160     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

brilliant  success.  Furthermore,  Dec.  11,  the  same  factors  were  com- 
bined in  a  performance  of  the  Creation. 

But  meanwhile  a  shadow  of  great  mourning  came  over  our  old 
Society,  —  as  in  fact  over  the  whole  community.  On  the  Dth  of 
December  was  announced  the  death  of  Jonas  Chickering  !  ^  No 
personnl  loss  could  have  been  more  deeply  felt.  An  ardent  and  most 
useful  member  of  the  Society  almost  from  its  beginning,  and  at  one 
time  its  president,  he  was  endeared  to  all  its  members  by  his  gener- 
ous and  gentle  traits  of  character ;  his  practical  good  judgment, 
energy,  and  uprightness  ;  ^  his  proverbial  charity  and  kindliness,  and 
his  unceasing  benefactions,  not  only  toward  the  choral  society  which 
he  loved,  but  to  all  deserving  musical  enterprises  and  musicians. 
Prosperity  onl}^  set  in  a  clearer  light  that  native  simplicity  and  mod- 
esty, w^hich  went  with  real  dignity  in  him.  It  was  truly  said  of  him, 
"  He  was  a  representative  man;  the  words  friend,  neighbor,  fellow- 
citizen,  meant  more  to  us  when  we  met  his  face  and  took  his  hand."  ^ 

The  old  Society  was  prompt  to  meet  and  pass  resolutions  expressive 
of  the  general  feeling,  one  of  which  "  requests  the  privilege  of  paying- 
some  tribute  to  his  memory  at  his  funeral."     We  read  :  — 

*  The  funeral  cortege  was  very  large,  consistmg,  besides  the  Immediate 
family  aud  friends  of  the  deceased,  of  the  members  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
and  Musical  Education  Societies,  the  Massachusetts  Charitable  Mechanic 
Association,  several  Masonic  bodies,  the  workmen  of  his  factory  to  the 
number  of  some  two  hundred,  and  other  bodies  of  pianoforte  manufacturers 
and  their  employes.     These,  with  nearly  all  the  resident  musical  professors 


1  See  pages  68,  133-4  of  this  vol. 

2  Which  suggested  the  playful  toast  once  offered  to  his  health  :  "  Jonas  Chicker- 
ing, like  his  own  pianos,  grand,  lapright,  and  square!  " 

3  In  the  preceding  September,  at  a  dinner  of  the  Massachusetts  Charitable  Me- 
chanic Association,  of  Avliich  Mr.  Chickering  was  then  the  president  (shortly  after 
tlie  destruction  of  his  pianoforte  warerooms  by  fire),  the  following  tribute  was 
received  from  the  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop:  — 

"  I  had  intended  to  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  to  propose  the  health  of  my 
valued  friend,  your  president.  May  I  ask  you  to  do  this  iu  my  name,  if  it  has  not 
previously  been  done  by  soriiebody  else  ? 

"  I  have  met  Mr.  Chickering  in  more  than  one  association,  civil,  political,  and 
religious.  I  may  almost  say,  in  the  wpll-remembered  words  of  Shakespeare,  '  I  have 
sounded  him  from  the  lowest  note  to  the  very  top  of  his  compass"  ;  and  I  can  truly 
add,  that  I  have  always  found  him  in  perfect  chord,  and  tuned  to  concert  pitch. 
He  makes  pc^rfect  harmony  wherever  he  goes. 

•'  The  sympathies  of  the  whole  community  were  with  him,  when  the  devouring 
element  arrested  his  business  for  a  moment,  and  we  all  rejoice  that  he  has  re-estab- 
lished liimself  so  speedily  and  so  successfully. 

"  I  would  offer  as  a  sen'iment  — 

" '  JOXAS  Chickering,  who  fulfils  the  whole  idea  of  a  President  of  a  Mechanic 
Charitable  Association.  He  has  been  tried  in  the  fire,  and  has  come  out  pure 
metal.' " 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     161 

and  principal  amateurs,  and  many  of  our  most  distinguished  citizens,  occu- 
pied the  body  of  the  church.  There  were  crowds  who  could  not  And  entrance. 
The  solemnities  consisted  of  the  Episcopal  service  read  by  Bishop  Eastburn 
and  assistant,  and  of  solemn  music  by  the  organist  and  choir  of  the  church. 
The  societies  above  named  escorted  the  procession  to  Cambridge  bridge, 
where  carriages  were  provided  for  the  many  who  Avished  to  follow  his 
remains  to  their  last  resting-place  at  Mount  Auburn."  —  Journal  of  3Iusic, 
Dec.  17. 

Handel's  very  dramatic  oratorio,  Samson, — full  of  deep  and  ten- 
der, as  of  grand  and  stirring  numbers,  yet  apt  to  weary  by  its  over- 
proportion  of  recitative  and  aria  to  great  choruses,  which  should 
preponderate  in  oratorio  proper,  —  was  repeated  with  the  same 
singers  on  the  evenings  of  Jan.  1  and  8,  1854.  Then  a  retirement 
for  a  few  weeks,  until  Jan.  29,  for  a  new  run  of  the  popular  opera 
done  over  into  quasi  oratorio  shape,  Kossini's  florid,  sensuous,  en- 
chanting strains  of  Moses  in  Egypt^  —  always  a  good  charm  to  con- 
jure by  when  the  public  appetite  seemed  dull  to  food  more  strength- 
ening. With  the  same  conductor,  orchestra,  and  organist,  and  with 
the  usual  soloists  of  that  time  (Miss  Stone,  Mrs.  Wentworth,  Miss 
S.  E.  Brown,  and  Messrs.  Arthurson,  T.  Ball,  Aiken,  and  AYheat), 
it  was  repeated  Feb.  5  and  12,  to  complete  the  series  of  six,  to  over- 
flowing crowds  on  pleasant  nights  ;  but,  on  the  plea  that  several  of 
the  nights  were  stormy,  an  imperative  demand  was  raised  for  extra 
performances  of  Moses ^  which  were  given  on  March  5,  12,  and  19, 
and  April  6.  Whereat  one  "  discomfortable  cousin"  of  a  critic 
remarked:  "We  cannot  blame  the  Society  for  harping  upon  any 
string  that  vibrates  to  the  chink  of  dollars ;  but  it  would  be  good  to 
hear  some  solid  choruses  of  Handel  once  more  !  "  Nay,  once  again, 
on  April  18,  were  the  mellifluous  strains  set  playing,  like  an  exhaust- 
less  artificial  fountain.  Verily  the  "Swan  of  Pesaro "  was  in  the 
ascendant !      Vox  populi^  vox  Dei ! 

And  so  ends  the  thirty-ninth  season.  And  with  it  the  long  connec- 
tion with  its  brilliant  soprano,  Anna  Stone,  who  soon  after  became 
the  wife  of  Dr.  Eliot,  and  removed  to  New  York.  Can  we  do  less 
than  reproduce  our  own  words  at  the  time  ? 

' '  Boston  can  hardly  realize  the  loss  it  will  sustain  in  the  departure 
of  Miss  Stone.  Every  oratorio  known  to  the  present  generation  of 
music  lovers  hereabouts  is  associated  with  her  voice  in  the  principal 
soprano  part.  To  the  Messiah,  Samson^  Judas  31accahoeiis^  etc.,  of 
Handel ;  to  the  St.  Paul  and  Elijah.,  of  Mendelssohn ;  to  the  Stabat 
Mater  and  Moses  in  Egypt,  of  Eossini,  and  to  many  others  she  has 
been  indispensable  :  not  to  speak  of  the  choir  singing  and  the  mis- 


162     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

cellaneous  or  classical  concerts  in  which  she  has  so  frequently  borne 
distinguished  part.  Her  clarion-like  soprano,  in  some  of  Handel's 
most  soul-stirring  songs,  and  especially  on  the  top  waves  of  a  sublime 
surging  chorus  with  solo,  can  hardh'  be  replaced.  Her  great  facility 
in  reading  music,  too,  however  difficult  ;"her  quick  comprehension  and 
mastery  of  complicated  musical  relations,  have  made  her  services 
invaluable  in  the  first  study  and  first  bringing  out  of  the  great  master- 
pieces of  oratorio."  —  Journal  of  Music^  April  22. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     163 


CHAPTER   Y. 

FORTIETH   SEASON. 
May  29.   1854,  to  May  28,   1855. 

At  the  annual  meeting.  May  29,  the  secretaiy  paid  a  feeling  trili- 
ute  to  Jonas  Chickering,  b}^  whose  death  the  Society  had  lost  a  great 
benefactor  and  an  ever-thonghtful  friend.  He  also  suggested  a  meas- 
ure calculated  to  benefit  the  Society,  both  economically  and  otherwise, 
namely,  the  formation  of  a  solo  class,  composed  of  a  few  singers  on 
each  part,  to  be  taught  at  the  general  expense  during  the  summer 
months.  The  idea  was  received  with  favor,  and  on  the  30th  of  June 
a  plan  of  organization  was  considered  and  adopted.  When  it  came 
to  the  annual  election,  Mr.  Merriam  having  declined  further  service, 
after  a  presidency  of  two  years,  the  following  officers  were  chosen :  — 

J.   L.  Fairbanks         ....  President. 

Gkorge  Hkws    .....  Vice-President. 

H.   L.  Hazelton        ....  Secretary. 

M.  S.  Parker  .....  Treasurer. 

O.  J.  Faxon      .....  Librarian. 

Mere  properly  begins  a  new  chapter  of  our  history,  for  this  year 
solved  the  problem  of  a  permanent  conductorship.  In  September,  to 
the  general  regret,  the  Germania  Musical  Society  disbanded.  Youth 
and  single-blessedness  were  essential  to  its  fraternal  tie.  Some  of 
its  members  had  yielded  to  the  dual  destiny,  and  they  scattered,  set- 
tling singly  or  in  groups  in  various  cities.  Boston  retained  a  goodly 
share  of  them  ;  but  their  excellent  leader,  Carl  Bergmann,  could  not 
be  induced  to  stay  among  us  ;  Chicago,  and  afterwards  New  York 
won  him,  for  he  felt  more  at  home  in  a  community  of  Germans. 
Upon  his  recommendation,  Mr.  Carl  Zerrahn,  the  first  flute  player  of 
the  Germanians,  a  good  musician,  a  gentleman  of  refined  tastes,  full 
of  zeal,  and  of  commanding  presence,  as  well  as  of  persuasive  man- 
ner, was  on  Sept.  5  made  conductor  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn. 
With  a  few  of  his  old  comrades  and  some  of  the  best  resident  musi- 
cians, he  soon  began  to  orojanize  and  train  a  small  local  orchestra. 


164     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

According  to  a  recent  biographical  notice,  Carl  Zerrahn  was  born 
at  Malcbow,  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Mecklenburg-Schwerin,  JuU'  28^ 
1826.  He  began  to  study  music  in  his  twelfth  year,  at  Rostock,  witb 
Friedrich  Weber,  and  continued  his  musical  education  at  Hanover 
and  Berlin.  How  long,  we  are  not  informed  ;  but  not  many  years 
after  he  had  entered  upon  his  professional  work,  he  found  himself 
obliged,  like  many  other  3'oung  musicians  in  Germany,  to  look  abroad 
for  those  means  of  support  which,  owing  to  the  grave  political  dis- 
turbances of  the  year,  1848,  had  been  greatly  imperilled  at  home. 
He  accepted  the  position  of  flutist  in  the  '' Germanian  Orchestra,'* 
newly  formed  by  young  men  in  the  spirit  of  Liherte,  Egalite  et  Frater- 
nite,  full  of  enthusiasm,  to  give  concerts  in  the  United  States.  On 
their  way  hither,  by  the  advice  of  the  distinguished  musical  amateur. 
Lord  "Westmoreland,  then  British  ambassador  at  Berlin,  thev  srave 
several  concerts  in  England  with  more  honor  than  profit ;  and  then^ 
Aug.  2,  1848,  embarked  for  New  York,  where  their  performances, 
begun  in  October,  excited  the  greatest  enthusiasm.  Their  progress 
in  the  principal  cities  of  the  Union  was  triumphal ;  and  no  wonder, 
considering  their  very  great  superiority  (in  all  but  numbers)  as  an 
orchestral  organization  to  any  previously  heard  in  America.  AVhen  it 
broke  up,  its  members  scattered  to  sow  good  seed  single-handed,  and 
among  them  no  one  more  abundantly  than  Carl  Zerrahn,  who  imme- 
diately entered  upon  his  new  duties  as  conductor  to  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society.  Each  w\as  eminently  suited  to  the  other,  as  the 
event,  now  for  three-and-thirty  years,  has  proved.  The  members 
needed  for  their  leader  just  what  they  found  in  Zerrahn.  A  well- 
trained  musician,  quick  to  recognize  shortcomings,  but  at  the  same 
time  fully  conscious  that  some  of  these  must  be  overlooked  in  order 
to  gain  the  maximum  of  attainment  possible  from  a  body  of  amateur 
singers,  brought  together  at  weekly  intervals  during  a  portion  of  the 
year ;  with  eminently  good  judgment  as  to  what  he  could  command  ; 
with  unfailing  patience  and  good-humor,  and  many  popular  qualities, 
Zerrahn  soon  won  and  has  always  kept  the  esteem  and  confidence  of 
the  chorus,  whose  members  will  bear  from  him  a  sudden  and  sometimes 
sharp  rebuke,  or  a  playful  bit  of  sarcastic  comment,  which  from  any 
one  else  would  rouse  their  opposition  and  generate  ill-feeling. 

By  the  terms  agreed  upon  with  the  Society,  Mr.  Zerrahn  was  to  be 
paid  $25  for  each  public  performance  during  the  season.  The  first 
rehearsal  under  him  was  held  at  Bumstead  Hall,  Sept.  24,  when  the 
members  sang  "  The  horse  and  his  rider,"  from  Israel,  and  the  '•  Hal- 
lelujah," from  the  Mount  of  Olives.  In  October,  a  programme  of 
eight  subscription  concerts  was  issued,  which  included  three  perform- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY.     165 

auces  of  Elijah,  the  Jfessiah  at  Christmas,  and  selections  from  Israel 
in  Egypt,  Neukomm's  Mt.  Sinai,  etc.,  while  for  more  popular  bait,  the 
same  old  clusters  from  the  Rossini  vine  still  dangled  in  near  prospect. 
Elijah  opened  the~  season  on  Dec.  3,  with  Mr.  Aiken  as  the  Prophet, 
and  Mr.^Arthurson,  the  English  tenor,  a  conscientious,  refined  sino-er, 
with  a  sweet  voice  and  good  style,  and  a  fi'ne  model  for  our  singers  at 
that  period  in  the  art  of  recitative.  For  female  solo  talent,  reliance 
was  mainly  placed  on  young  debutantes  from  the  new  Handel  and 
Haydn  Solo  School.  Credit  was  won  by  Miss  Twichell.  contralto, 
Miss  Hazeltine,  soprano,  and  Miss  Hill,  in  the  part  of  the  Widow. 
It  was  repeated  on  the  10th  and  17th.  By  these  performances  the 
xiew  conductor  made  his  mark.  The  new  orchestra  was  fairlv  o-ood  • 
the  chief  drawback  was  in  the  solo  singers,  and  some  thought  it  a 
pity  that,  instead  of  economic  fledglings  from  their  own  solo  school, 
the  Society  could  not  have  secured,  for  one,  the  English  prima  donna 
Miss  Louisa  Pyne.  then  giving  English  opera  at  the  Boston  Theatre. 
On  Christmas  eve  another  tenor.  Mr.  Harrison  Millard,  an  American 
proved  himself  an  acquisition  in  the  Messiah;  besides  whom,  Miss 
Anna  Stone  was  induced  to  come  on  from  New  York,  and  Mr.  Aiken 
sang  with  good  effect,  supported  in  "The  trumpet  shall  sound"  bv 
the  excellent  trumpet  playing  of  Mr.  Heinicke.  Some  of  the  most 
important  alto  and  soprano  arias  were  intrusted  to  the  pupils  of  the 
solo  school. 

The  sixth  concert,  Jan.  7,  1855,  consisted  of  selections  from  Sam- 
son, Jephtha,  and  Neukomm's  Mt.  Sinai,  —  the  last  commonlv  voted 
dull  Millard's  two  tenor  solos,  "Total  eclipse"  and  "Waft  her 
angels,"  gave  great  satisfaction  ;  his  voice,  even  in  its  lower  tones 
filling  the  ear  in  all  parts  of  the  great  hall,  and  with  no  loss  of  its 
native  sweetness.  The  air,  with  florid  accompaniments,  from  Mt. 
Sinai  was  well  sung  by  Mrs.  Hill.  The  quaint  overture  of  Samson 
pleased:  and  the  great  choruses,  "Great  Dagon,"  "O  first  created 
beam,"  and  "  Let  their  celestial  concerts  all  unite,"  were  made  effec- 
tive. Here,  too,  the  solo  requirements  were  eked  out  by  pupils  of  the 
solo  school ;  and  here,  too,  we  take  leave  regretfullv  and  finallv  of  this 
school,  finding  no  further  mention  of  its  doings.  It  does  not  seem 
to  have  proved  so  fruitful  a  nursery  as  had  been  expected.  Whv.  we 
are  at  a  loss  to  say,  for  certainly  the  idea  was  good.  These  selections 
were  repeated  on  the  following  Sunday,  with  the  wise  substitution  of 
some  things  from  Elijah  lor  some  from  Mt.  Sinai. 

The  seventh  concert  of  the  season,  Feb.  11,  was  a  star  occasion. 
A  double  star,  of  rarest  lusti-e  and  of  world-wide  fame,  shone  over 
Boston,  —  Grisi  and  Mario  were  singing  here  in  opera.     Of  course 


166     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

thev  must  illuminate  one  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  nights,  at  least ; 
and,  of  course,  Stabat  Mater  —  what  we  may  call  the  p?/>7>Ze  cluster 
from  the  Rossini  vines  —  must  be  hung  out  in  front  again  ;  for  what 
else  is  there  at  all  available  for  a  sacred  concert  with  Italian  opera 
song-birds?  These  great  artists  came  not  in  their  prime.  The 
"Diva"  was  at  least  forty-four  3'ears  old,  and  had  been  singing  in 
public  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  without  interruption  when  she  came 
to  America.  The  magnificent  voice,  which  for  sixteen  consecutive 
seasons  had  enchanted  Frenchmen,  Englishmen,  and  Russians,  was  so 
far  in  its  decline  that  those  who  heard  her  in  this  country  for  the  first 
time  could  form  but  little  idea  of  what  she  had  been  in  her  prime. 
"  My  own  recollections  of  them,"  saj^s  the  beginner  of  this  history, 
in  a  note,  "  go  back  to  the  year  1843,  when  they  sang  together,  ''A^lx 
Italiens,'  with  Tamburini  and  Lablache,  in  Bon  Pasquale  (composed 
for  them  by  Donizetti)  ;  when  as  Norma,  Anna  Bolena,  Semiramide,. 
and  Donna  Anna,  Grisi  seemed  the  very  queen  of  song  ;  when  she 
and  Mario  were  the  rose  and  the  nightingale  of  Heine's  Parisian 
letters  —  'the  rose,  the  nightingale  among  flowers;  the  nightingale, 
the  rose  among  birds.'  What  mattered  it  that  those  who  were  behind 
the  scenes  said  that  Giulia  Grisi  was  no  musician  ;  that  she  learned 
her  parts  b}'  rote  and  with  great  difficult}^?  With  her  superb  voice, 
her  noble  beauty  and  her  dramatic  power  she  filled  the  stage,  and  left 
an  ineffaceable  impression.  Mario,  handsome  as  a  picture,  showing 
the  gentleman  in  every  movement,  with  a  real  tenor  voice,  whose 
quality  lapped  the  senses  in  delight,  was  then  the  ideal  Almaviva  and 
the  Don  Ottavio  par  excellence,  from  whose  lips  pearls  and  diamonds 
fell  as  from  the  lips  of  the  princess  in  the  fair}^  tale.  When,  twelve 
3^ears  later,  he  came  to  America,  the  voice  was  less  rich  than  of  yore, 
the  falsetto  less  easily  reached  and  more  frequently  resorted  to  ;  but 
it  was  still  lovely  at  times,  and  with  him  what  had  been  was  more 
evident  to  them  who  heard  him  for  the  first  time  than  with  Grisi." 

With  them  came  to  the  Stabat  Mater  Signorina  Donovani  and 
Signor  Cesare  Badiali,  the  ripe  and  noble  basso  who  had  sung  before 
with  the  Societ}^  in  the  inaugural  concerts  of  the  Music  Hall,  Novem- 
ber, 1852.  As  he  made  his  first  appearance  on  the  Italian  operatic 
stage  at  Trieste  in  1827,  he  had  seen  nearly  thirt}^  years  of  profes- 
sional life  when  he  came  to  America  ;  but  as  his  method  was  sin- 
oularly  good,  his  execution  facile,  and  his  voice  of  fine  quality,  he 
was  still  able  to  astonish  and  delight  an  audience.  Both  chorus  ranks 
and  auditorium  were  remarkably  full  that  night ;  the  Orchestral  Union 
had  been  "  strengthened  in  its  strings,  not  to  say  fearfully  in  its 
brass,  by  spare  hands  from  the  Italians  "  ;  and  after  a  fugue  voluntary- 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     167 

on  the  organ,  Sig.  Arditi  waved  his  baton  and  the  orchestra  gave 
what  is  called  Mercadante's  Overtnre  to  tlie  Stabat  Mater,  of  which, 
of  course,  there  followed  a  notnble  performance,  which  need  not  be 
described. 

For  the  eighth  and  last  subscription  concert.  Feb.  18,  the  other, 
shall  we  say  the  (jolclen  cluster  from  the  old  Rossini  vines,  Moses  in 
Egypt^  was  brought  out  once  more,  with  Miss  Stone,  Mrs.  Hill, 
Arthurson,  Aiken,  and  J.  W.  Adams,  to  such  overflowing  audience 
that  it  was  waved  before  them  twice  more,  on  the  evenings  of  Feb.  25 
and  March  4.  So  closed  the  season.  The  promised  selections  from 
Israel  in  Egypt,  if  they  were  rehearsed  at  all,  were  prudenth'  reserved 
for  a  future  season. 

FOETY-FIRST    SEASON. 

May  28,  1855,  to  May  20,   185G. 

At  the  annual  meeting.  May  25,  j\Ir.  J.  S.  Farlow  was  elected 
president,  and  all  the  other  officers  were  re-elected.  The  event  of 
the  season  was  the  production,  for  the  first  time  in  this  country,  of 
Handel's  Solomon,  of  which  the  work  of  rehearsal,  under  Carl  Zer- 
rahn,  began  in  September,  and  the  public  performances  followed  on 
Nov.  18  and  25,  and  Dec.  2  and  9.  This  last  but  tln-ee  of  Handel's 
twenty-six  oratorios,  composed  in  1749,  contained  much  to  interest  and 
charm  even  a  popular  audience,  both  b}'  its  picturesque  dramatic  char- 
acters and  situations,  and  by  its  wealth  of  noble  music  full  of  variety 
and  contrast.  The  proportion  of  recitative,  aria,  and  duet  to  chorus 
is,  perhaps,  too  great,  and  added  so  much  to  the  length  of  the  first 
performance  that  it  had  afterwards  to  be  abridged  The  subject  is 
treated  in  three  parts  (reduced  here  to  two).  Part  I.  celebrates  the 
wisdom,  piet3%  wedded  love  happiness,  and  splendor  o^  King  Solomon. 
It  is  a  sort  of  royal,  religious  idyl.  Part  11.  is  dramatic  ;  its  theme 
is  justice,  and  it  recites  or  sings  in  aria,  duet,  and  trio  the  judgment  of 
the  wise  king  in  the  case  of  the  two  mothers  claiming  the  same 
infant.  Part  III.  introduces  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  and  is  mainly 
lyrical,  being  largely  occupied  with  a  series  of  contrasted  choruses, 
somewhat  in  the  manner  of  Dryden's  "  Ode  to  St.  Cecilia,"  illustrat- 
ing the  power  of  music  in  describing  various  passions.  The  audience 
nearly  filled  the  hall ;  the  chorus  numbered  over  two  hundred  singers  ; 
the  orchestra  was  on  the  scale  of  four  first  and  four  second  violins,  — 
effective  as  it  well  could  be  without  "  added  parts"  to  the  thin  and 
incomplete  instrumentation.  The  choruses,  so  far  as  we  remember, 
were  sung  with  precision,  fair  balance  of  parts,  rich  and  full  ensemble 


168     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

of  tone,  and  plenty  of  spirit,  especialk  the  grand  and  splendid  ones  ; 
in  the  lovelier  and  softer  ones  —  some  of  those  passion  choruses,  for 
instance  —  there  was  room  for  more  light  and  shade,  and  the  ex- 
quisite "Nightingale"  chorus  had  not  the  pianissimo  suggested  b}^ 
its  words. 

The  parts  of  both  queens  were  rendered  in  a  sweet,  silvery,  flexible 
voice  of  large  compass,  and  well  trained  to  such  florid  music,  by  an 
English  lady,  Mrs.  Leach,  a  favorite  soprano  in  the  concerts  of  New 
York.  The  two  women  were  represented  by  Mrs.  Reed  and  Mrs. 
Hill,  fairly,  considering  the  ungracious  character  of  some  of  the  music. 
Mr.  George  W.  Pratt,'  a  young  Bostonian  fresh  from  Leipsic  studies, 
sang  the  part  of  Solomon  in  a  strong  baritone,  rich  and  telling  in  the 
upper  notes,  with  clear,  correct,  sustained  delivery,  distinct  articula- 
tion and  good  recitative.  He  could  have  learned  a  grace  or  two  from 
the  two  Englishmen,  Mr.  Leach,  who  sang  the  two  bass  airs  of  the 
Levite,  and  Mr.  Arthurson,  our  model  Handelian  tenor  of  that  time, 
who  took  the  character  of  Zadoc. 

At  the  second  performance  of  Solomon  a  severe  storm  thinned  both 
audience  and  chorus  ;  but  it  went  off  with  spirit,  being  reduced  to 
more  reasonable  length,  and  several  of  the  solos  were  sung  better  than 
before.  It  was  much  improved  the  third  and  fourth  time,  Dec.  2  and 
9.  Mr.  Hayter  had  heightened  the  expression  of  that  tender  song  of 
Solomon,  ''What  though  I  trace,"  by  tasteful  additional  accompani- 
ments. But  there  was  still  reason  to  think  that  the  dramatic  scene  of 
the  two  women  added  more  to  the  tedium  than  to  the  edification  of 
the  evening  ;  the  music  rewards  study,  but  must  be  ineffective  without 
more  accompaniment  and  very  superior  singers  :  it  could  be  spared. 
Mr.  Millard  took  Mr.  Arthurson's  place  the  last  time.  Solomon  was 
at  all  events  a  solid,  rich  addition  to  the  Handel  and  Haydn  reper- 
toire ;  yet  it  was  laid  upon  the  shelf,  not  to  be  taken  down  again  for 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  namely,  at  the  Festival  of  1880. 

The  Christmas  season  was  at  hand  ;  and  so  was  our  Boston  favorite 
of  the  dramatic  stage  and  concert  room,  our  rich  contralto,  Adelaide 
Phillipps,  who,  after  long  and  earnest  European  studies,  particularly 
under  Manuel  Garcia  in  London,  to  whom  she  had  been  strongh^  com- 
mended, with  substantial  gift  of  means,  by  Jenny  Lind,  had  returned 
to  America  in  the  spring  of  this  year,  the  result  justifying  every 
promise.  She  was  born  at  Stratford-upon-Avon,  Shakespeare's  birth- 
place. Her  father  brought  her  to  this  country,  at  the  age  of  seven. 
Her  mother  was  of   Welsh   extraction,  and  from   her  she  inherited 


Died  in  March  foUowini 


'history  of  the  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     169 

many  noble  and  tender  traits  of  character.  In  Boston  at  a  very  early 
age  she  began  to  be  known  and  admired  upon  the  dramatic  stage  at 
the  Museum,  where  she  was  the  favorite  for  years.  Her  first  lessons 
in  the  art  of  singing  were  with  Mme  Arnoult,  who  took  great  in- 
terest in  her  voice  and  talent.  She  returned  from  pAirope  an  accom- 
plished artist.  1  She  had  already  earlier  in  the  month  been  singing  to 
enthusiastic  acceptance  in  the  Messiah  and  St.  Paul,  as  given  by  the 
Mendelssohn  Choral  Society.  Now  she  was  to  be  heard  with  the 
Handel  and  Haydn,  who  gave  the  Messiah  on  the  Sunday  evening 
before  Christmas,  Dec.  23.  The  hall  was  packed  in  every  corner  a 
good  half-hour  before  the  beginning,  for  there  was  a  feeling  that  the 
old  Society  was  about  to  do  its  best.  We  read,  too,  that  after  a  suc- 
cession of  stormy,  dismal  Sundays,  "  the  day  itself  had  been  beauti- 
ful beyond  any  of  the  rare  and  rosy  winter  days  in  one's  remembrance  ; 
the  earth  smelt  sweet  of  spring  ;  it  seemed  a  day  borrowed  from  some 
better,  purer  planet;  you  met  cheerful  faces  everywhere."  All  the 
more  so  after  that  notable  performance.  Miss  Phillipps  made  a  very 
deep  impression  by  her  rendering  of  the  great  contralto  arias,  espe- 
cially "  He  was  despised,"  and  even  in  "I  know  that  my  Redeemer 
liveth,"  which  was  transposed  half  a  tone  to  accommodate  her  voice. 
"He  shall  feed  his  flock"  and  "Come  unto  Him"  were  divided 
between  her  and  Mrs.  Wentworth.  Mr.  Millard  surprised  all  by  his 
pure  and  simple  style  in  "  Comfort  ye  "  ;  and  though  he  had  not  all  the 
depth  of  sentiment  for  "  Thy  rebuke,"  or  all  the  strength  for  "  Thou 
shalt  dash  them,"  yet  he  acquitted  himself  artistically  in  both.  Mr. 
Leach,  for  a  bass  voice  not  ponderous,  did  excellent  service.  The 
Messiah,  with  the  same  singers,  was  repeated  on  the  3i'th. 

For  the  second,  or  new  year  half  of  the  season,  the  record  is  as 
follows  :  Feb.  10,  1856,  the  Creation,  with  Mrs.  J.  H.  Long,  Mrs. 
Wentworth,  Mr.  C.  K.  Adams,  and  Mr.  J.  Q.  Wetherbee.  Feb.  17, 
selections  from  Moses  in  Egypt  and  Stabat  Mater,  with  artists  from 
Maretzek's  Italian  opera:  Mme.  Lagrange,  Mile.  Nantier-Didiee, 
Miss  Elise  Hensler,  and  Signori  Brignoli,  Salviani,  Morelli,  and 
Amodio.  March  30,  April  6  and  10,  Moses  thrice  again,  with  Mrs. 
Harwood,  Mrs.  Wentworth,  Mrs.  F.  A.  Hill,  and  Messrs.  Arthurson, 
J.  W.  Adams,  Wetherbee,  and  S.  B.  Ball. 


^  For  a  full  account  of  her  life  and  character,  and  her  distinguished  career,  see  the 
Record  "  by  her  devoted  friend,  Mrs.  R.  C.  Waterston. —  Boston,  1883. 


170  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.' 

FORTY-SECOXD    SEASON. 
May  26,  1850,  to  June  3,  1857. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  May  26,  Charles  Francis  Chickering,  second 
son  of  the  late  Jonas  Chickering,  was  elected  president ;  Geo.  Hews, 
vice-president ;  Loring  B.  Barnes,  secretary  ;  M.  S.  Parker,  treasurer  ; 
and  O.  J.  Faxon,  librarian.  In  July,  Mr.  Zerrahn  was  reappointed 
conductor,  with  a  salary  of  8250  :  and  ]Mr.  F.  F.  Mueller,  org-auist. 
The  first  suggestion  of  the  new  president  was  to  produce  the  new 
English  oratorio,  LU,  by  Costa,  the  famous  conductor  of  opera  and 
oratorio  in  London,  where  the  new  work  had  excited  so  much  atten- 
tion during  the  year.  Rehearsals  began  Sept.  21.  There  was  also 
talk  of  giving  Mehul's  Joseph^  one  of  Mendelssohn's  two  oratorios, 
besides  his  Christus  fragment,  and  one  or  two  of  his  Psalms,  chorals  of 
Bach,  etc.  Vaiu  hopes  were  entertained  of  the  great  English  soprano, 
Clara  Xovello.  The  mood  was  enterprising.  There  was  no  public 
performance,  however,  until  Dec.  23,  when  the  Messiah  was  given 
with  a  chorus  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  voices,  brought  well  up  to 
*'  concert  pitch"  by  their  months  of  work  upon  the  fresh  material  of 
Eli,  and  with  Mrs.  Long,  Mrs.  T^^entworth,  Mrs.  I.  I.  Ilarwood, 
and  Messrs.  C.  R.  Adams,  J.  P.  Draper,  and  Thomas  Ball  for  solo 
singers.  The  hall  was  crowded.  The  newspapers  pronounced  the 
chorus  singing  the  finest  yet  heard  in  Boston,  —  prompt,  distinct, 
expressive.  Orchestra  unusually  good  ;  in  it  were  such  men  as  Suck, 
Eckhardt  Fries,  Gaertner,  Schulze,  and  Riha.  The  solos  were 
thought  less  commendable,  though  high  praise  was  awarded  to  Mrs. 
Long  in  the  great  soprano  arias  ;  and  Mrs.  Harwood's  fresh,  rich 
mezzo-soprano,  of  a  peculiarly  sympathetic  quality,  was  much  relished 
in  the  contralto  songs.  Mr.  Draper  pleased  b}"  the  good  tenor  quality 
of  his  voice  and  his  good  style,  but  wanted  power.  Mr.  Adams  to  a 
delightful  voice  added  tasteful  delivery  and  good  conception  of  the 
music.  Mr.  Ball  sang  as  of  old,  with  lack  of  life  and  elasticity,  and 
a  tendency  of  the  ponderous  voice  to  droop  away  from  pitch  ;  "  evi- 
dently he  had  been  moulding  beauty  out  of  marble  more  than  out  of 
tones  those  two  years  past  in  Florence." 

Now  for  the  first  time  in  eight  or  ten  3'ears  was  the  old  Society 
Tvithout  rivals  in  the  oratorio  field.  Both  the  Musical  Education  and 
the  younger  Mendelssohn  Choral  Societies, ^  weary  of  courting  fickle 

^  The  Musical  Education  Society,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  George  J.  Webb, 
dated  back  to  about  the  year  1847.  The  Mendelssohn  Choral  Society  was  formed  in 
October,  1853,  under  the  presidency  of  * '  that  vigorous  organizer  in  choral  as  in  mili- 
tary matters,  the  late  Gen.  B.  F.  Edmands." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY.     171 

public  favor,  had  retired  into  private  sessions  for  theii'  own  improve- 
ment and  enjoyment.  They  had  done  good  work,  both  of  them,  and 
must  have  the  credit  of  devoting  their  time  to  worthy  tasks,  such  as 
St.  Paul,  Ahxandej-'s  Feast,  parts  of  Jephtlia  and  of  Israel  in  Egypt, 
€tc.  ;  but  they  had  not  succeeded  in  proving  any  actual  necessity  for 
their  existence,  while  it  was  so  hard  to  find  support  for  even  one 
great  choral  organization. 

The  study  of  EU  still  went  on  industriously.  Meanwhile  Thalberg, 
the  first  of  the  ''new  school"  pianists,  was  in  town;  and  with  him 
the  renowned  contralto  Mme.  D'Angri  and  the  baritone  Morelli ;  and 
it  was  thouoht  advisable  to  enlist  these  artists  in  a  Sundav-evening 
■concert.  Accordingly,  the  Handel  and  Haydn,  with  very  short  time 
for  rehearsal,  gave,  on  January  18,  the  Requiem  of  Mozart,  a  truly 
great  work,  of  which  few  of  the  Boston  audience  had  ever  heard 
more  than  a  few  extracts.  Mrs.  Long  and  Mr.  Arthurson  also  sang  iu 
it.  In  spite  of  not  a  few  shortcomings,  the  work  made  a  great 
impression  upon  manv,  although  one  writer  notes  it  down  as  a  dis- 
creditable fact  that  the  Requiem  was  received  with  chilling  indiffer- 
ence. That  for  the  first  part.  The  second  part  included  the  Rossini 
Stabat  Mater,  which  seemed  secular  and  showy  after  Mozart,  and  the 
aria  "  Ah  !  mou  fils  "  from  the  Prophete,  sung  with  great  sweetness 
and  expression  by  Mme.  D'Angri.  And  what  was  there  for  the  great 
pianist?  "^Vhy,  he  played  two  of  his  operatic  fantasias,  —  two 
*' sacred"  ones, -  —  namely  :  on  his  own  Erard  instrument,  that  on  the 
Choral,  etc.,  from  Les  Huguenots,  and  on  a  Chickering  grand,  his 
broad  transcription  of  the  Prayer  from  Moses  in  Egypt,  followed  by 
his  Andante  for  an  encore. 

Costa's  Eli  reached  performance  Feb.  15.  The  chorus  exceeded 
three  hundred  voices,  and  the  orchestra  (Mr.  Zerrahu's  ''  Philhar- 
monic," with  which  he  had  been  for  some  time  giving  symphony  and 
miscellaneous  concerts  with  good  success)  numbered  thirty-six  instru- 
ments. The  new  oratorio  (composed  for  the  Birmingham  festival  of 
1855)  surpassed  the  expectations  of  the  severelv  classical,  and  proved 
to  be  a  noble  and  impressive  composition,  learned  and  musician-like, 
tasteful,  dignified,  often  beautiful  and  occasionally  grand,  —  not  a 
work  of  genius,  but  of  high  musical  culture.  Never  did  a  first  per- 
formance of  an  oratorio  here  pass  off  more  successfully.  The  solos 
were  by  Thomas  Ball,  as  Eli;  Miss  Mary  E.  Hawley,  a  refined  and 
musical  contralto  from  New  York,  as  Samuel;  Mrs.  J.  H.  Long,  with 
her  clear  and  flexible  soprano,  as  Hannah;  Mr.  C.  R.  Adams,  tenor, 
as  Elkanah  ;  Mr.  Wilde,  whose  fresh  and  resonant  baritone  told  to 
advantage  in  the  denunciations  of  the  Man  of  God  ;  and  Mr.  S.  B.  Ball, 


172  IIISTOEY    OF    THE    IIAXDEL    AVD    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

tenor,  who  struggled  manfully  with  the  ungracious  war-song  of  Saph. 
Eli  was  repeated  Feb.  22,  improving  on  acquaintance  ;  yet  the  mod- 
erate attendance  was  so  discouraging  that  it  was  then  laid  aside  until 
a  better  time,  and  Elijah  was  taken  up  for  rehearsal,  mainly  with, 
reference  to  a  new  plan,  —  what  might  be  called  an  '•  epoch-making" 
movement  in  the  old  routine  of  the  Society.  This  was  nothino-  less 
than  a  great  three-days'  musical  festival,  after  the  model  of  those  at 
Birmingham,  Cologne,  and  elsewhere,  for  which  singers  and  musicians 
should  be  drawn  together  from  all  quarters,  and  three  oratorios  be 
given,  with  perhaps  miscellaneous  or  orchestral  concerts  between,  —  all 
on  a  large  scale  for  these  parts.  But  in  the  mean  time,  Thalberg,  with 
Mme.  D'Angri  and  company,  had  returned  to  Boston,  and  on  the 
29th  of  March  the  Mozart  Requiem  was  again  performed  by  the  Han- 
del and  Haydn,  with  a  quartet  of  solo  artists:  Mme.  D'Angri,  Mrs. 
Long,  Mr.  Arthurson,  and  a  new  basso,  Herr  Weinlich,  who  seems  to 
have  made  sad  work  with  the  Juba  mirum,  though  his  voice  told  in 
concerted  pieces.  For  second  part,  a  "sacred  concert"  followed,  in 
which  Thalberg  played  mainly  the  same  t'lings  as  before;  Mme. 
Johannseu  sang  the  old  church  air  by  Stradella,  Pietd.  Signore,  admi- 
rably ;  D'Angri  again,  Ah!  monjils;  and  the  Hallelujah  Chorus  closed 
the  whole. 

The  Festival  was  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Chickering,  March  15.  It 
was  warmlv  seconded,  and  a  special  committee  appointed  to  mature 
the  plan.  On  the  next  day  the  members  were  asked  to  sign  a  book, 
promising  to  attend  all  rehearsals  and  concerts  during  the  Festival,, 
which  was  to  take  place  on  the  21st,  22d,  and  23d  of  May.  A  sub- 
scription guaranty  fund  was  raised  to  the  amount  of  88,000,  —  twice 
the  amount  asked  for.  The  Society's  debt.  April  21,  was  represented 
to  be  $1,905.16.  which  was  paid  off  by  subscriptions  among  members 
and  friends.  The  terms  for  the  Music  Hall  were  8300.  Mr.  Zerrahn, 
the  indefatigable  conductor,  had  8300  for  his  services.  He  went  to 
New  York  and  engaged  musicians  enousfh  to  swell  the  number  of  the 
orchestra  to  seventy-eight  instruments  ;  namely  :  twelve  first  violins,, 
twelve  second  violins,  nine  violas,  ten  violoncellos,  eight  double- 
basses,  three  flutes,  three  oboes,  four  clarinets,  two  bassoons,  four 
horns,  four  trumpets,  four  trombones,  one  tymp.  and  triangle,  one 
bass  drum  and  cymbals,  one  side  drum.  The  chorus,  at  its  fullest, 
as  in  the  Messiah^  numbered  six  hundred.  The  solo  singers  engaged 
were:  Mrs.  Eliot  (Anna  Stone)  for  two  oratorios,  at  8325;  Mrs 
Long,  at  concerts.  8100;  Miss  Adelaide  Phillipps,  8800;  Mr.  Simp- 
son, tenor,  from  New  York,  8175;  Mr.  S.  W.  Leach,  8150.  Alsa 
Mrs.  Mozart,  Mrs.  Hill,  Miss  Twichell,  Mr.  C.  R.  Adams,  and  Dr. 
Guilmette,  of  New  York. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  173 

The  Society  was  modest  enough  in  its  ideas.  It  did  not  pretend  to 
rival  the  loug-established  European  festivals,  but  only  at  an  humble 
distance  to  follow  their  example,  and  hoped  to  realize  a  feast  of  noble 
music  on  a  scale  then  unexampled  in  America,  and  give  a  quicken- 
ing impulse  to  the  choral  societies  and  orchestras  of  our  comparatively 
young  and  untaught  country.  Wisely  the  oratorios  selected  for  the 
three  days  were  the  three  with  which  the  singers  were  the  most  familiar  ; 
three  which  they  felt  themselves  at  home  and  sure  in,  while  they  all 
ranked  and  must  ever  rank  among  the  noblest  works  in  oratorio  form, 
—  Haydn's  Creation^  Mendelssohn's  Elijah,  Handel's  Messiah.  —  all 
three  great,  and  sure  of  a  great  audience.  The  first  and  the  last  were 
rendered  obbligato  bv  the  very  name  of  the  Society,  while  the  work 
of  Mendelssohn,  next  to  those  of  Handel,  had  made  the  greatest  im- 
pression here,  at  least,  among  all  oratorios.  The  time  for  Bach  was 
yet  to  come.  To  give  more  significance  and  dignity  to  the  open- 
ing, one  of  our  most  distinguished  citizens,  who  had  few  peers  as 
statesman,  orator,  and  scholar,  one  who  from  his  college  days  had 
loved  the  noblest  music,  who  followed  every  earnest  effort  in  its  behalf 
with  an  intelligent  interest,  always  a  strong  friend  and  supporter  of 
this  old  Society,  the  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  was  invited,  and  con- 
sented to  deliver  an  inaugural  address  before  the  first  day's  oratorio. 
The  miscellaneous  and  orchestral  programmes  had  in  the  nature  of 
the  case  to  be  made  up  somewhat  tentatively  at  first,  and  liable  to 
changes  as  the  time  approached.  One  great  feature  which  had  been 
seriously  contemplated,  Beethoven's  Choral  Symphony,  was  given  up  ; 
the  task  looked  too  formidable,  at  least  to  solo  singers.  The  number 
of  DwighVs  Journal  of  Music  for  that  week,  issued  on  Thursday  in 
advance,  was  made  a  festival  number,  and  contained  Mr.  AVinthrop's 
address  entire,  from  copy  furnished  by  the  author,  together  with  de- 
scriptive analyses  of  the  three  oratorios,  briefer  notices  of  the  instru- 
mental music,  and  an  outline  of  the  historv  of  musical  festivals  abroad. 
And  so,  by  the  unstinted  labor  of  president  and  secretary,  and  com- 
mittees, especially  of  the  strong  and  ever-vigilant  conductor,  and  of 
all  concerned,  the  scheme  was  ready  for  the  trial. 

First  Day.  Thursday,  May  21.  Rain,  rain,  rain  !  Three  days  of 
it,  after  ten  days  of  a  chilling,  pertinacious  easterly  storm,  —  fit  type 
of  the  old  Puritan  spirit,  foe  to  all  things  genial.  But  then  it  was 
just  on  the  verge  of  "ministers'  week,"  the  anniversary  May  meetings 
of  the  religious  societies,  which  had  come  to  be  proverbially  rainy. 
It  was  somewhat  discouraging  to  the  public  ;  not  so  to  the  givers  of 
the  feast,  the  managers,  and  those  who  took  part  in  it  At  the 
appointed  hour  of  ten  in  the  morning,  while  the  rain  still  fell  in  tor- 


174  HISTOKY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

rents,  — yet  a  milder  kind  of  rain,  not  out  of  harmony  with  the  young 
buds  and  springing  grass  and  Haydn's  music,  which  we  were  to  hear, 
—  there  were  about  one  thousand  persons  in  the  audience,  leaving 
some  fifteen  hundred  seats  unoccupied.  Yet  a  brilliant  and  imposing 
spectacle  presented  itself.  The  well-filled  chorus  seats,  rising  terrace- 
wise  back  to  the  organ  screen,  and  into  the  first  balcony  upon  each 
side  ;  the  orchestra,  filling  the  main  space  in  the  middle,  with  singers 
crowding  round  it ;  the  dais  for  the  principal  singers  and  part  of  the 
female  choir  built  out  in  front ;  the  noble  statue  of  Beethoven  over- 
looking all.  —  there  was  a  sight  to  shame,  not  indeed  the  present, 
but  the  indifferent,  utilitarian  absent  public.  In  a  few  moments  the 
government  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  took  their  seats  in  the 
semicircle  in  front  of  the  stage,  and  the  president,  Charles  Francis 
Chickering,  introduced  the  orator  of  the  day,  who  was  received  with 
due  applause.  Mr.  AVinthrop's  truly  eloquent  address  was  in  every 
way  worthy  of  him  and  of  the  occasion.  It  struck  the  moral  key-note 
of  the  Festival,  and  was  exceedingly  happy  in  conception,  execution, 
and  delivery.  It  recognized  how  feeble  is  poor  human  speech  com- 
pared with  music's  own  transcendent  heavenly  expression  ;  it  contained 
enough  of  history,  musical  reminiscence,  and  appreciation,  surveying 
the  whole  field  in  a  rapid  glance  from  a  commanding  point  of  view, 
not  overloaded  with  superfluous  learning,  not  technical,  but  leading 
the  mind  up  by  easy,  sure  ascent  to  a  just  sense  of  the  value  of  the 
art,  and  of  festivals  held  in  its  honor,  like  the  present.  All  heard 
delighted,  and  were  the  better  prepared  to  listen  to  the  great  music 
with  an  understanding  spirit.  (The  address  will  be  found  in  full  in 
the  Appendix.)  The  orator  threw  in  some  extempore  allusions, 
which  were  very  timely ;  one  especially,  to  the  presence  of  the  vener- 
able Josiah  Quincy,  which  of  course  waked  a  warm  and  audible 
response. 

After  some  delay,  at  a  few  minutes  past  eleven,  the  principal 
singers  were  conducted  to  their  chairs  in  front,  amid  loud  applause, 
particularly  Boston's  old  favorite,  Mrs.  Anna  Stone  Eliot  (then  of 
New  York) ,  whom  the  members  of  the  choir  seemed  to  take  great 
delight  in  welcoming.  Several  hearty  rounds,  too,  announced  the 
advance  of  tall  and  stately  Carl  Zerrahn  to  his  conductor's  stand. 
In  the  chorus  I  had  counted  four  hundred  singers  during  the  address  ; 
there  were  probably,  by  this  time,  at  least  four  hundred  and  fifty  in 
the  seats  Then  from  the  seventy-eight  instruments  began  the  orches- 
tral introduction,  representing  Chaos,  to  Haydn's  Creation.  A  very 
graphic  and  impressive  rendering.  And  it  may  as  well  be  said  here 
once  for   all,  that   all  the   rich  and   exquisite   instrumentation,  which 


HISTORY    OF    THE    TIAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  175 

forms  so  essential  a  feature,  in  this  oratorio,  and  is  so  characteristic 
of  Haydn's  genius,  both  in  the  accompaniments  and  in  the  interludes 
and  the  descriptive  fragments,  was  brouglit  out  with  more  vividness 
and  beauty  than  we  had  ever  heard  it  here  before.  If  any  of  us  had 
grown  weary  of  the  tone-pictures,  which  seemed  like  ingenious  child's 
play  in  music,  now  we  were  once  more  surprised  and  pleased  ;  it  was 
all  fresh  again,  like  the  green  fields  after  a  purifying  shower.  Ever}^ 
instrument,  except  the  flutes  occasionally  flatting,  did  its  part  per- 
fectly ;  the  fine  body  of  violins,  and  indeed  all  the  strings,  told  with 
beautiful  effect  in  such  passages  as  the  Sunrise  symphou}',  and  the 
bassoon  was  admirable.  The  chorus  singing  surpassed  what  we  had 
heard  before,  sublimely  thrilling  in  the  great  moments,  such  as  the 
outburst  upon  "And  there  was  light  !  "  "The  Heavens  are  telling," 
etc.  ;  boldly  pronounced,  and  with  infallible  precision  in  the  frag- 
mentary, responsive  parts,  where  phrases  are  tossed  from  one  mass 
of  voices  to  another  in  complicated  fugue  or  canon,  as  in  '•  Despair- 
ing, cursing  rage  attends  their  rapid  fall"  ;  while  very  smooth  and 
clear  and  even  in  such  flowing  passages  as  "Anew  created  world." 
There  was  a  balanced  fulness  of  parts,  and  such  ensemble  as  we  had 
not  often  heard. 

Mrs.  Eliot  was  yet  suffering  the  effects  of  recent  illness,  which 
rather  impaired  the  old  clarion  ring  and  splendor  of  that  voice.  But 
in  the  choruses  with  solo  it  touched  the  edges  of  the  waves  with 
brilliant  light ;  and  there  was  a  refined  and  thoughtful  tone  and  spirit 
in  her  arias,  especially  "On  mighty  pens,"  where  her  fine  execution 
and  experience  atoned  for  all  sliortcoming  of  the  vocal  organ.  The 
other  great  song,  "  With  verdure  clad,"  was  rendered  tastefully  and 
smoothly  in  the  rich  and  mellow  voice  of  Mrs.  Mozart.  Mr.  Leach 
had  had  a  thorough  English  schooling  in  the  oratorio  music  of  Handel 
and  of  Haydn,  and  was  master  of  those  st3'les.  His  bass  voice  was  not 
ponderous,  but  his  expressive  shading  more  than  made  up  for  the 
want  of  power.  In  those  graphic  images  of  "  foaming  billows,"  the 
*' purling  brook,"  the  "roaring  lion,"  the  "flexible  tiger's  spring," 
•etc.,  he  was  always  happy.  There  were  two  tenors.  Mr.  George 
Simpson,  a  very  young  singer  from  New  York,  won  favor  more  by  a 
very  sweet,  pure,  easy  flowing  voice,  —  so  far  vox,  et  2:)rLetei'ea  nildh  — 
than  by  any  considerable  claims  to  style  or  culture,  or  by  any  show 
of  fire  or  passion.  Nor  had  he  got  beyond  "  a  certain  level  sentimen- 
tal ballad  sweetness,  which  smacked  more  of  the  popular  serenaders 
and  minstrels  than  of  the  oratorio  school."  The  other  tenor,  Mr. 
Charles  R.  Adams,  already  regarded  as  the  most  promising  of  our 
young  native  tenors,  —  a  promise  brilliantly  fulfilled  since  in  Vienna, 


176  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

where  he  held  the  first  place  iu  the  opera  for  nine  years,  — was  ill  and 
not  in  his  be§t  voice,  —  ah,  those  east  winds  and  rain!  Yet  he 
acquitted  himself  very  acceptably  in  several  recitatives,  in  the  air,. 
"  Now  vanish  before  the  holy  beams,"  and  in  the  beautiful  trios  with 
Mrs.  Eliot  and  Mr.  Leach.  The  parts  of  Adam  and  Eve  were  sus- 
tained by  Dr.  Guilmette  and  Mrs.  J.  H.  Long.  The  latter  fell  easily 
and  gracefully  into  the  quiet  rapture  of  Eve's  liquid  melody.  The 
bass  was  strong  and  telling,  and  showed  thoughtful  study,  but  seemed 
better  fitted  for  a  more  declamatory  kind  of  music. 

Many  who,  after  long  enjoyment  of  the  naive,  happy,  childlike, 
sunny  melody  and  harmony  of  good  father  Haydn,  had  grown  dull  to 
its  mellifluous  sameness,  this  time  found  the  familiar  oratorio  brightened 
into  fresh  life  and  charm.     It  rose,  indeed,  "  a  new  created  world." 

In  the  afternoon  at  half  past  three,  with  no  increase  of  audience, 
and  no  surcease  of  rain,  began  the  first  miscellaneous  concert.  Ver}' 
miscellaneous  :  from  Beethoven  to  De  Ribas,  from  the  mighty  Corio- 
lanus  overture  to  a  Scotch  ballad  !  The  orchestra  was  admirable  ; 
the  vocal  selections  hackne3'ed,  left  as  they  were  to  the  singers'  own 
convenience,  almost  at  the  Inst  moment.     Here  is  the  programme  :  — 

Overture — "  Tannhauser  " B.  Wagner. 

Air  —  D'Alamiro,  from  "  Belisario  "  ....         Donizetti. 

Mr.  Ada:ms. 
Violin  Solo — '•  La  Sylphide,"  Fantasia    ....        JloIIenhauer. 
Herr  Edward  Mollexel^uer. 

Aria:  Che  faro —  "  Orfeo  " Gluck. 

Miss  Adelaide  Phillipps. 
Scherzo  -  from  the  Scotch  Symphony      ....         Mendelssohn. 

PART  II. 

Overtm*e  —  "  Coriolanus  " Beethoven, 

Scotch  Ballad  —  '^  Bonnie  Wee  Wife." 

Mr.  George  Simpson. 
Fantasia  —  On  theme  from  "  Gustavus"  for  Oboe    .         .         De  Bihas, 

De  Ribas. 

Ah,  non  gimige — "  Soniiambula  " Bellini. 

Miss  Adelaide  Phillipps. 
Overture — '•  William  Tell" Bossini. 

Of  course,  the  Mendelssohn  scherzo  and  the  Tell  overture  are  always 
interesting.  So  is  the  aria  from  Gluck's  Orfeo.,  when  sung  in  the 
large  voice  and  style  of  Adelaide  Phillipps.  The  violin  and  oboe 
solos  were  well-executed  show  pieces,  and  nothing  more. 

Second  Day.  Friday,  May  22.  A  bright  sun  shone  at  last,  and 
there  was  a  much  larger  audience,  with  plenty  of  room  for  more. 
Mendelssohn's  Elijah,  not  yet  an  old  story  among  the  oratorios,  was 
the  one  for  which  man}'  busy  people  had  reserved  their  one  spare  fore- 


HISTORY    OF    TPIE    HANDEL    AXT)    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  177 

noon.  This  fact,  with  the  more  modern  and  dramatic  nature  of  the 
work,  aud  the  rich  modern  instrumentation,  gave  a  zest  and  fervor 
to  its  getting  up  ;  so  that  its  performance,  critically  weighed,  was 
the  best  work  of  the  three  days.  It  was  given  entire  without  omission 
of  a  single  bar.  The  chorus  was  larger  than  on  the  da}'  before,  and 
sang  with  a  will,  leaving  little  to  be  desired  in  power  and  volume,  in 
euphony  aud  balance  of  parts,  or  in  precision,  animation,  light  and 
shade.  The  rich  and  noble  instrumentation  came  out  bravely.  In 
the  part  of  the  Prophet,  Dr.  Guilmette  sang  with  a  strong  and  telling 
voice,  with  animation,  and  good  understnnding  of  the  music.  In  that 
profoundly  tender  aria  with  violoncello,  "It  is  enough,"  he  showed 
not  a  little  pathos  ;  but  he  was  not  always  true  in  pitch,  and  sometimes 
careless  in  the  cantabile  recitative.  His  delivery  was  too  unequal ; 
a,nd  sometimes  he  prolonged  a  note  beyond  sense  or  reason,  as  if 
coolly  illustrating  a  method.  Mr.  Simpson  sang  sweetly,  but  impas- 
sively, with  good  carriage  of  the  voice,  the  tenor  air,  "  If  with  all 
your  hearts  "  Mr.  Adams  was  ill,  and  had  to  retire  after  a  single  reci- 
tative. Miss  Phillipps  in  the  contralto  airs,  Mrs.  Long  iu  "Hear  ye. 
Israel,"  and  the  part  of  the  queen,  aud  Mrs.  Mozart  in  the  scene  of 
the  widow,  gave  good  satisfaction.  The  duet.  "  Zion  spreadeth  her 
hands,"  was  agreeabh'  sung  by  Mrs.  Mozart  and  Miss  Twichell ;  so 
was  the  part  of  the  boy,  in  the  duet  preceding  the  Rain  Chorus,  by 
Mrs.  Hill.  Three  choir  boys  from  the  Church  of  the  Advent,  Masters 
IVhite,  Loriug,  and  Chase,  gave  pure  delight  iu  the  unaccompanied 
Angel  Trio.  The  oratorio  made  a  great  impression  ;  there  would  have 
been  few  empty  seats,  could  it  have  been  sung  again. 

The  afternoon  concert  was  some  improvement  in  respect  of  pro- 
gramme upon  that  of  the  day  before  ;  yet  even  that  would  shine  in 
comparison  J5^-itll  some  miscellaneous  programmes  iu  the  English  fes- 
tivals. It  was  as  follows  ;  certainly  nothing  could  liave  been  much 
better  than  the  opening  numbers  of  the  two  parts  :  — 

Symphou}',  No.  5 — (C  minor) Beethoven. 

Coucertstueck Weber. 

William  Mason. 


Overture  —  "Euryanthe" Weber. 

Cavatiua  —  0  Mio  Fernando,  from  "  La  Favorite  "     .         .         Donizetti. 

Mks.  Mozart. 
Grand  Concerto  —  for  the  violin  (F  major)  .         .         .  Vieuxtemps. 

Herr  Edward  Mollexhauer. 
Cavatina — from  "  Torquato  Tasso  "  ....         Donizetti. 

Miss  Twichell. 

Grand  March  —  from  "  Lohengrin  " JR.  Wagner. 

"  Reception  at  the  Emperor's,"  with  Eight  Trumpets 
ObbUiiato. 


178  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

A  perfect  summer  morning  smiled  on  the  third  day  of  the  Festival. 
The  order  of  things  was  reversed  this  time,  —  the  miscellaneous, 
concert  given  in  the  morning  for  the  fevf  not  swallowed  up  in  busi- 
ness, and  the  Messiah  in  the  evening  for  the  many.  If  the  concert 
programme  was  not  wholly  free  from  trivial  features,  it  was  rich  in 
matter  of  the  sterling  sort :  — 

Symphony,  Xo.  7  —  (A  major) Beethoven. 

Koudo  —  PreiicU  per  me De  Beriot 

Miss  Adklaide  Phillipps. 

Overture —"  Fiugal's  Cave  " Mendelssohn. 

Sceua  ed  Aria  —  "  I  Brigaiiti  " Mercadante. 

Dr.  Gullmette. 
Allegretto  Sclierzando  —  from  the  Eighth  Symphony        .         Beethoven. 
•         Duet  — The  Thirteenth  Psalm,  with  French  Horn  and  Vio- 
loncello Obbligato  by  Messrs.  Hamann  and  W.  Fries. 

Composed  expressly  for  this  occasion,  and  dedicated  to  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  by  the 
President  of  the  Xew  York  American  Music  Association. 

Miss  Phillipps  and  Dk    Guilmette. 
Overture  —  'Leonora" Beethoven. 

Evening.  Handel's  Messiah.  If  the  reader  will  fancy  himself 
seated  in  the  Boston  Music  Hall  on  that  last  night  of  the  Festival,  he 
will  probably  regard  the  scene  much  as  a  certain  writer  did,  who  said 
of  it  sincerely  at  the  time  :  ''  The  Festival  has  at  length  wrought  con- 
viction in  men's  minds,  that  it  is  something  honest,  as  it  is  rare  and 
good.  It  is  now  clear  to  all  that  this  is  no  musical  '  Convention  '  for 
the  sale  of  psalm-books,  no  Julien-Barnum  Crystal  Palace  humbug, 
but  a  sincere  Festival  of  Art,  a  presentation  of  grand  music  on  a  suf- 
ficiently grand  scale.  The  public  is  awakened  at  the  eleventh  hour  to 
a  sense  of  the  great  opportunity,  which  it  will  seize  by  the  skirts  ere 
it  quite  vanish.  The  Music  Hall  is  crammed  with  listeners  in  every 
seat,  and  standhig  place,  and  doorway,  from  floor  to  upper  gallery. 
31  any  have  paid  extra  prices  for  their  seats.  There  is  the  utmost 
eagerness  to  hear  the  Handel  Hallelujahs  from  that  mighty  chorus. 
And  it  is  mightier  than  ever ;  the  stage  is  packed  as  closely  as  the 
auditorium."  Newspapers  report  the  number  of  singers  at  about  540  ; 
say  175  sopranos,  150  altos,  130  tenors,  and  85  basses;  but  it  was 
said,  on  good  authority,  that  the  choir  fell  not  much  short  of  seven 
hundred. 

Yet  it  is  not  strange  that,  of  the  three  oratorios,  the  Messiah  was 
the  least  perfect  in  the  presentation.  It  was  too  familiar,  and  conse- 
quently had  been  carelessly  rehearsed.  The  orchestra  was  frequently 
at  fault.      All  which  did  not  prevent  the  work  from   being  the  most 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     179 

impressive  of  the  three.  Handel  is  always  Handel ;  and  in  any 
decent  rendering  his  Hallelujahs  do  their  perfect  work.  The  several 
solo  singers  entered  well  into  the  spirit  of  the  music  :  Mr.  Simpson, 
sweet  and  true  in  "  Comfort  ye,",  etc.  ;  Mv.  Leach,  with  his  not  heavy 
bass  voice,  more  than  feebly  indicating  the  recitative  and  aria  of 
"Darkness,"  "  Why  do  the  heathens  rage,"  etc.  ;  Adelaide  Phillipps, 
if  not  at  her  best,  yet  rendering  feelingly  and  beautifully  the  con- 
tralto strains  ;  Mrs.  Eliot,  Mrs.  Long,  and  Mrs.  Mozart,  all  good  in 
the  soprano  arias.  Mr.  Charles  R.  Adams  sang  with  much  expres- 
sion, •'  Thy  rebuke,"  and  in  the  duet,  "O  death,"  with  Miss  Phillipps. 
Mr.  Simpson's  light  and  innocent  voice  and  manner,  in  ''Thou  shalt 
dash  them."  was  likened  by  one  listener  to  "  a  child's  head  in  a  heavy 
iron  helmet."  Dr.  Guilmette  sang,  "  Thou  art  gone  up,"  and  "Be- 
hold, I  tell  you  a  mystery,"  in  which  the  "last  trumpet"  (finely 
played  by  Heinicke)  was  senselessly  encored. 

This  was  the  end.  Enthusiasm  was  unbounded  ;  long  and  loud 
plaudits  shook  the  hall ;  three  rounds  of  cheers  for  the  Society  ;  calls 
for  Carl  Zerrahn,  amid  deafening  shouts  and  clapping  of  hands,  who 
came  forward  to  receive  a  wreath  in  token  of  the  general  gratitude  for 
his  unceasing  and  efficient  services  in  conducting  the  enterprise  through 
such  a  series  of  artistic  triumphs. 

Now  for  a  calm  survey  of  the  results.  I  quote  from  my  own 
record,  as  it  was  jotted  down  a  few  days  after  the  feast ;  some,  per- 
haps, will  think  it  over-sanguine  :  — 

'•111  a  word,  the  result  has  been:  artistically,  inoralh'.  a  great  success; 
financially,  a  failure ;  but  in  the  circumstances,  such  a  failure  as  amounts,  in 
all  minds,  to  a  virtual  triumph.  In  spite  of  the  overwhelming  audience  of 
Saturday  night,  the  guarantors  will  have  to  pay,  how  much  we  know  not. 
Yet  no  one  is  discouraged;  all  are  in  the'  best  spirits  possible.  They  have 
shown  what  can  be  done ;  the  public  will  believe  hereafter,  and  will  look  out 
in  season  when  another  Festival  approaches.  We  have  left  ourselves  no  room 
to  more  than  hint  some  of  the  animating  reflections  with  which  the  Festival 
has  filled  our  mind.  We  announced  it,  saying  that  we  could  not  overestimate 
its  importance.  We  find  we  did  not  say  too  much.  For  these  reasons,  among 
others :  — 

"1.  For  the  first  time  almost  in  our  country  has  an  artistic  demonstration 
here  been  made,  and  carried  through,  upon  a  grand  scale,  without  false  pre- 
tence, vain  show,  or  humbug.  The  best  thing,  the  most  hopeful  thing  about 
it  is,  that  it  has  all  been  honest.  Nothing  of  artistic  integrity  and  value  has 
been  sacrificed  to  mere  money-making  views.  They  who  undertook  it  of 
course  hoped  to  succeed :  but  they  were  more  anxious  to  do  a  good  thing. 
They  were  not  so  eager  to  advertise  it  to  excite  great  expectations  of  what 
should  be  done,  as  they  were  to  do  it,  and  to  do  the  best  that  could  l)e  done. 
Eveiw  promise  has  been  kept,  to  the  letter  and  in  the  spirit.     Three  of  the 


180  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

greatest  oratorios  were  to  be  brought  out  on  a  grand  scale,  worthy  of  com- 
parison with  English  festivals,  and  it  has  been  done.  The  choir  was  to  reach 
six  hundred  voices,  so  announced  on  the  strength  of  seven  hundred  accepted 
invitations;  it  has  averaged  that,  as  nearly  as  accident  and  business  allowed, 
and  there  were  no  dummies  in  the  choir.  The  orchestra  was  to  be  seventy-five, 
and  it  was  seventy-eight.  The  best  available  solo  talent  was  to  be  engaged, 
and  so  it  Avas  ;  it  was  no  one's  fault  that  there  could  not  be  had  better.  The 
music  was  to  be  thoroughly  reliearsed,  and  nothing  slighted ;  and  it  was  so, 
and  most  ettectively,  thanks  in  great  part,  to  the  unwearied  energ}'  and  skill 
and  patience  of  Mr.  Conductor  Zerrahx.  In  spite  of  a  cold  and  unresponsive 
public,  and  in  the  face  of  certain  loss,  they  did  all  this,  and  did  it  in  a  manner 
that  eclipsed  all  our  former  musical  performances,  electrified  all  who  heard 
from  the  very  first,  and  finally  stirred  up  that  slow  and  sceptical  public  to  a 
loud  and  anxious  call  for  more,  for  a  repetition  on  Sunday  evening,  —  an  efibrt 
to  recall  what  by  their  own  fault  they  had  let  go  by  and  lost.  The  which  call, 
to  the  honor  of  the  Society,  was  not  complied  with.  They  would  do  what 
they  had  undertaken,  no  more,  no  less.  They  would  not,  even  for  the  sake 
of  certain  gain  so  easily  secured,  sufi'er  this  Festival  to  contract  any  taint  of 
association  with  the  too  usual  management  of  public  exhibitions,  in  which 
the  '  last  time  '  is  followed  by  the  '  positively  last,'  till  words  have  lost  their 
meaning.  Eager  as  any  one  to  listen  to  another  such  performance,  we  appre- 
ciate and  respect  the  motive  of  this  refusal.  The  managers  have  done  them- 
selves all  honor  in  the  premises.  The\'  have  their  reward,  in  the  wholesome 
feeling  which  attaches  to  this  Festival,  in  the  conviction  now  created  of  its 
genuineness,  and  in  the  certainty  that  such  sound  seed  so  planted  shall  surel}' 
spring  up  to  an  abundant  liarvest  in  the  future.  There  will  be  more  festivals. 
They  will  become  an  institution  in  the  land.  This  Festival  might  have  been 
managed  with  more  stir,  and  have  reaped  more  money;  but  would  it  have 
contained  so  fair  a  future? 

"2.  It  has  revived  people's  faith  in  great  music.  Music  has  been  under  a 
cloud  with  us  for  two  or  three  years.  Humbug  and  showy,  dazzling  things 
have  been  so  much  more  successful  than  good  things,  that  the  good  things 
have  lost  prestige.  It  needed  an  occasion  like  this  to  brighten  out  the  neglected 
beauties  of  immortal  works  and  make  them  live  again,  and  lift  us  up  again. 
There  is  a  new  sense  now  in  many  minds  of  the  importance,  the  iudispen- 
sableness  to  our  best  life,  of  the  great  works  of  musical  art  and  genius. 

"  3.  Listening  to  the  grand  orchestra  and  chorus  has  taught  not  a  few,  for 
the  first  time,  the  right  relation  between  solo  and  ensemble.  The}'  have  learned 
to  enjoy  a  great  musical  performance  as  a  whole,  and  not  regard  a  few  solo 
singers,  prime  donne  and  tenori,  as  the  all  in  all.  It  is  seen  that  these  maj'  be 
of  moderate  excellence, — may  be  in  some  parts  quite  feeble, — and  yet  the 
grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  whole  be  felt.  It  were  better,  of  course,  to  have 
Jenny  Linds,  Novellos,  and  Lablaches, — and  some  day  we  shall  have  them; 
but  we  have  found  hoAV  well  we  can  get  along  without  them,  so  long  as  we 
have  Handel,  Mendelssohn,  or  Beethoven  speaking  through  impersonal  but 
adequate  masses  of  voices  and  of  instruments. 

"  4.  We  have  been  pleased  to  notice  the  improved  tone  of  newspaper  criti- 
cism which  this  Festival  seems  to  have  created.  yVlmost  for  the  first  time  we 
have  had  really  criticism;  we  have  seen  articles  not  limited  to  petty  details, 


HISTORY    OF    THE    H  AX  DEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  181 

to  mere  talk  about  individual  performers,  but  entering  into  some  instruetive 
notice  and  analysis  of  compositions  and  of  authors,  and,  seizing  the  spirit  of 
the  whole,  discussing  the  right  points.     It  is  a  good  sign,  and  may  it  go  on. 

"5.  It  has  created  Vi  popular  interest  in  great  works.  Symphonies, 
played  on  so  grand  a  scale,  have  made  their  mark  on  all  who  listened.  That 
I^eethoveu's  statue  now  has  a  significance  to  many  who  thought  but  little  of 
the  man,  '  the  idol  of  the  classicists,'  before ;  and  so  of  Handel,  so  of  Men- 
delssohn, and  others." 

This  estimate  of  the  results  of  the  Festival,  of  course,  is  not  com- 
plete without  the  following  compte  rendu ^  which  could  only  be  pre- 
sented a  week  or  two  later  :  — 

"The  total  receipts  of  the  Festival  were  85,336,  and  the  expenditures 
are  estimated  at  §7,299,  leaving  a  deficiency  of  81, 903  to  be  assessed  upon 
the  guarantors  at  the  rate  of  thirty  per  cent  upon  their  several  subscriptions. 
The  guaranty  was  subscribed  b}'  quite  a  large  number  of  persons,  in  sums 
ranging  from  8500  to  825,  and  less.  We  have  not  heard  of  one  who  does  not 
bear  the  tax  quite  cheerfully ;  for  all  regard  the  Festival  as  a  complete  success, 
full  of  encouragement  for  like  attempts  hereafter.  Perhaps  the  uninitiated 
would  like  to  know  how  much  it  costs  to  get  up  such  an  aflair.  Here  are  the 
principal  items  :  — 

For  orchestra,  extra  music,  loan  of  libraries,  copying  music,  etc.   .  §2,917  -15 

"    vocal  and  instrumental  soloists 1.337  00 

"    printing,  advertising,  posting,  etc 1,2G9  73 

'*    rent   of  hall,    and   alterations,    together    witli    door-keepers, 

ticket-sellers  and  ushers 995  20 

"    conductor,  organist,  librarians,  etc 493  73 

"  It  strikes  us  this  is  very  modest  pay  for  the  conductor  and  the  organist, 
considering  their  indefatigable  labors  throughout  all  the  numerous  rehearsals 
and  in  private,  — labors  that  would  seem  to  outweigh  what  is  done  by  all  the 
solo  singers.  But  Carl  Zerralm  has  found  further  reward,  not  alone  in  glory, 
but  in  a  very  pleasant  occasion  which  we  were  too  late  to  chronicle  last  week  : 
to  wit,  a  meeting  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  Society  in  Chickering's 
rooms,  when  the  president,  in  a  neat  speech,  presented  the  conductor  with  a 
purse  of  8200  in  gold,  subscribed  by  members  as  a  hearty  testimonial  of  their 
sense  of  his  great  services  in  conducting  them  so  safely  and  so  gloriously 
through.  Mr.  Zerrahu  and  wife  are  already  on  their  way  to  Europe  for  a 
summer  visit  to  the  fatherland." 


182     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

rORTY-THIED    SEASON. 
June  3,  1857,  to  May  31,  1858. 

The  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  may  well  be  imagined  to  have  come 
out  of  its  first  three-days'  Festival  in  jubilant  and  hopeful  spirits.  If 
it  was  not  a  matter  of  financial  rejoicing,  it  was  essentially  a  great 
success.  So  near  did  it  come  to  making  both  ends  meet,  and  so 
cheerfully  was  the  small  loss  borne  by  guarantors,  that  in  itself  how 
could  it  fail  to  give  new  impulse,  and  inspire  a  new  ambition  to 
achieve  yet  worthier  and  nobler  things?  The  victory  must  be  fol- 
lowed up.  Now  can  we  seek  the  best ;  now  can  we  emulate  the  high- 
est ;  now  can  we  afford,  in  this  our  new  access  of  faith  and  strength, 
BOW  on  the  full  tide  of  enthusiasm,  to  throw  away  weak  fears,  and 
resolutely  disdain  cheap  bids  for  popularity  ? 

Alas  I  so  it  seemed  ;  but  it  was  reckoning  without  our  host,  —  the 
times  !  The  times  were  sick,  past  all  remedial  virtue  of  Ars  Musica. 
We  could  not  sing  them  into  health.  The  very  atmosphere  was  close, 
and  full  of  doubt  and  ominous  suspicion  and  mistrust,  which  more 
and  more  from  day  to  day  seemed  to  settle  down  like  a  black  and 
fatal  pall,  and  overshadow  our  fair  national  existence.  A  great, 
absorbing  conflict,  a  terrible  rebellion,  and  a  war,  one  of  the  greatest 
in  all  history,  between  two  sections  of  our  glorious  Union  of  free 
States,  was  steadily  and  rapidW  —  3^et  to  most  minds  so  slowly  as  to 
seem  incredible  —  approaching.  Few  saw  it  clearly,  but  it  was 
written  in  the  stars.  A  vast  and  seemingly  insoluble  problem,  in- 
volving a  conflict  of  material  interests,  divided  South  from  North. 
Slavery  weighed  like  an  incubus  upon  the  national  consciousness  and 
conscience.  The  whole  temper  of  society,  of  business,  of  politics, 
was  growing  more  and  more  uneasy.  Some,  while  they  felt  it,  won- 
dered what  it  meant ;  others  knew  too  well.  The  dark  local  institu- 
tion to  which  one  section  of  our  people  blindly,  madly  clung — the 
national  crime  and  curse  of  slavery — had  reached  a  climax  when,  by 
all  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  God,  it  must  be  strangled,  flung  away 
forever,  or  the  dear  light  of  liberty,  the  Ufe  of  our  Republic,  must 
utterly  go  down,  and  with  it  the  world's  best  hope. 

The  cloud  had  not  yet  burst,  by  many  it  was  scarcely  heeded,  at 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  183 

the  beginning  of  the  period  upon  which  we  are  now  entering  in  our 
Handel  and  Haydn  history.  But  the  crash  was  near  enough  to  trouble 
the  tides  of  consciousness  in  all  the  public  and  the  private  life. 
There  was  a  strange  anxiety  that  paralyzed  business,  made  men  feel 
their  fortunes  insecure,  and  inclined  them  to  an  indefinite  postpone- 
ment of  the  delights  and  graces  of  all  music,  arts,  and  finer  culture. 
Even  before  the  end  of  this  Festival  year  1857,  the  times  were  "blue"  ; 
we  hear  of  "  money  panic  "  ;  the  air  was  full  of  suspicions  of  each 
merchant's  credit.  Four  years  of  this  dubious,  anxious  twilight  fol- 
lowed ;  then  four  years  of  ivar!  This  chapter  must  include  these 
eight  years  of  terrible  depression  and  transition  between  our  first 
bright  Festival  and  the  next,  which  only  came  with  victory,  coincid- 
ing fortunately  with  the  fiftieth  birthday  anniversary  of  our  Society. 
With  this  forewarning  bird's-eye  glimpse  of  the  near  future,  we  resume 
our  steady  chronicle  of  the  Society's  transitional  and  half-suspended 
consciousness  and  effort  for  the  next  eight  years.  It  will  not  be  a 
brilliant  chapter. 


At  the  adjourned  annual  meeting,  June  3,  1857,  the  principal 
officers  were  re-elected.  Of  course,  President  C.  F.  Chickering,  to 
whose  impulse  the  Festival  was  so  largely  due,  with  his  energetic 
adjutant.  Secretary  Barnes,  must  be.  allowed  an  opportunity  to  carry 
on  a  work  so  well  begun,  if  it  were  only  within  their  or  any  human 
power.  A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Festival  orator,  Hon.  R.  C.  Win- 
throp,  was  passed.  An  invitation  was  accepted  to  sing,  at  Charles- 
town  (Bunker  Hill),  on  the  17th  of  June,  an  original  ode  by  the  Hon. 
George  Lunt.  The  secretary  reported  thirt^^-four  new  members  added 
during  the  past  year.  Sept.  4,  Conductor  Zerrahn  was  reappointed ; 
salary,  $250.  Sept.  25,  Mr.  James  C.  D.  Parker  was  appointed 
organist  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Mueller,  who  had  accepted  a  call  to 
Albany.  Mr.  Parker  was  a  young  Bostoniau  of  high  connections 
and  of  liberal  culture,  a  Harvard  graduate  of  1848,  in  whom  the  love 
of  music  prevailed  over  professional  tastes  and  interests  (he  studied 
law  awhile),  and  drew  him  to  Leipsic,  where  he  availed  himself  of 
every  means  to  make  himself  a  sound  musician,  both  in  theory  and 
practice,  as  interpreting  performer  and  composer  ;  always  a  very  quiet, 
modest  gentleman,  fall  of  zeal  for  art,  and  constantly  improving. 

Thus  equipped,  the  chorus  set  themselves  about  the  study  of  Israel 
in  Egypt  once  more,  the  generous  president  haviug  imported  score 
and  parts  of  that  and  of  the  Hymn  of  Praise.  At  least  four  con- 
certs were  contemplated :    Messiah    (Christmas)  ;   Mozart's  Requiem 


184  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

and  Ili/mn  of  Praise;  Elijah;  and  then  Israel,  which  was  rehearsed 
throughout  November,  but  then  dropped  until  ''  the  times  "  should  be 
less  "  blue."  Indeed,  it  was  even  urged,  "  Why  not  accept  the  measure 
of  the  times,  and  have  cheap  concerts,  at  twenty-five  cents  admis- 
sion?"—  on  the  principle  that  half  a  loaf  is  better  than  no  bread. 

The  Christmas  performance  of  the  Messiah,  Saturday,  Dec.  20, 
was  for  the  charitable  fund  of  the  Boston  Provident  Association,  and 
the  tickets  were  put  at  one  dollar.  The  soloists  were  Mrs.  Long^ 
Mrs.  Weutworth,  Mrs.  T.  H.  Emmons  (sister  of  Mrs.  Mozart),  Mr. 
C.  R.  Adams,  and  Mr.  J.  Q.  Wetherbee.  It  was  a  "raw  night"  for 
music  or  for  charity,  therefore  the  more  need  of  both  ;  and  both 
were  realized  in  fair,  if  not  full,  measure.  A  journal  says  :  '•  There 
were  for  audience,  say  more  than  half  the  Music  Hall  full  of  people, 
and  most  of  these  were  such  as  came  in  earnest,  paid  their  way  and 
listened  well."  ^ 

Nothing  more  was  heard  this  season  of  two  features  of  the  con- 
templated programme  ;  to  wit,  the  Requiem  and  Israel  in  Egypt. 
The  presence  here  of  operatic  stars  was  availed  of,  as  so  many  times 
before,  to  lend  attraction  and  eclat  to  the  performances,  and  their 
convenience  was  consulted  in  the  choice  of  oratorios.  This  time  it 
was  Carl  Formes,  the  great  basso,  alike  renowned  in  oratorio  and 
opera,  the  chief  star  then  of  Ullman's  operatic  troupe.  He  was  of 
Spanish  origin.  His  father  fought  under  the  banner  of  Napoleon^ 
The  young  Carl,  born  at  Muhlheim,  on  the  Rhine,  in  August,  1818^ 
was  himself  a  soldier.  He  was  taught  music  at  an  early  age,  and 
showed  a  great  love  for  the  art.  But  his  father  urged  some  other 
occupation, "2  which  he  found  distasteful,  and  to  avoid  it  he  enlisted 
in  the  Austrian  service.  This  took  him  to  Vienna,  where  he  found 
good  musical  instruction.  In  January,  IS r2,  he  made  his  dehiit  in 
Cologne,  in  the  part  of  Sarastro  in  the  Zauberftote,  with  unequivocal 
success,  and  was  admitted  into  the  company  of  artists  from  that  night. 
In  1813  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Court  Opera  at  Mannheim, 
and  in  1844  became  a  prima  basso  assolnto  at  the  Imperial  Opera  in 
Vienna,  witli  the  largest  salary  ever  before  given  to  a  German  artist^ 
and  secured  to  him  for  life.  In  the  Revolution  of  1848,  he  took  up 
arms  in  the  cause  of  the  people,  and  was  among  the  first  in  the  barri- 
cades. After  other  vain  attempts  in  other  cities,  shut  out  from 
Vienna,  he  became  a  member  of  a  German  opera  company,  which 

1  For  several  years  before  and  after  this,  each  member  was  allowed  to  bring-  two 
friends  to  the  ijerforniances.  This  practice  helped  to  fill  the  hall,  but  not  the 
treasury. 

-  He  was,  for  a  while,  shoemaker,  beer  brewer,  and  sexton. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AXD  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     185 

went  to  London  and  gave  performances  at  Drury  Lane,  in  1849. 
With  him  were  Mmes.  Kudersdorff  and  Caradori,  Reichardt,  the  tenor, 
and  Carl  Anschiitz  as  director.  The  affairs  going  badly,  Formes  took 
the  burden  on  himself,  producing  the  operas  and  singing  day  by  day, 
refusing  all  remuneration,  that  the  poorer  ones  might  live.  This  gave 
him  solid  fame  and  friendship  among  artists.  Then  he  went  to  the 
Royal  Italian  Opera  at  Covent  Garden,  and  created  a  perfect  enthu- 
siasm in  Meyerbeer's  Robert  le  Diahle  and  Les  Huguenots.  But  what 
most  endeared  him  to  the  London  public  was  his  grand  performance, 
in  the  Knglish  language,  in  the  oratorios  of  Handel,  Haydn,  and 
Mendelssohn.  Surely  it  was  something  for  us  to  get  a  taste  of  that 
here  in  our  Boston  .Music  Hall!  Nature  had  showered  her  gifts  on 
Formes,  which,  with  his  strong  intellect  and  earnestness,  he  had  im- 
proved, so  as  to  make  him  the  greatest  basso  artist  of  his  day.  He 
was  received  with  great  distinction  by  Queen  Mctoria,  who  selected 
him  as  the  musical  tutor  of  her  children.  Mendelssohn  honored  him. 
The  operas  of  Martha^  Straclela,  and  the  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor 
were  composed  for  him  ;  and  so  was  Costa's  Eli.  His  form  was  full, 
manly,  and  commanding  ;  his  face  and  eyes  were  dark,  with  an  expres- 
sion at  once  severe  and  genial.     He  looked  the  scholar  and  the  soldier. 

With  Formes  came  Mme.  Caradori  and  Mr.  Perring  of  the  UUman 
troupe  ;  and  these,  with  Miss  Milner,  Mrs.  Harwood,  Miss  Haw  ley, 
contralto,  and  Mr.  C.  R.  Adams,  and  with  a  well-balanced  chorus  of 
over  three  hundred  voices,  who  caught  the  spirit  of  the  noble  basso, 
and  were  moved  to  do  their  best,  sang  Elijah  on  Saturday  evening, 
Jan.  23,  followed  on  the  next  evening  by  the  Creation^  in  which  Mr. 
Wetherbee  took  the  part  of  Adam,  holding  his  own  well  even  so 
nearly  side  by  side  with  Formes.  Caradori  was  the  Eve,  and  .she,  too, 
in  Elijah,  sang  '•  Hear  ye,  Israel,"  with  a  large  and  powerful,  but 
hard  kind  of  German  voice,  with  energetic  delivery  and  considerable 
execution.  The  freshness,  vitality,  and  sweetness  of  Mrs.  Har wood's 
voice  in  the  quartets,  the  recitatives  of  the  youth,  etc.,  bore  the  palm 
among  the  sopranos.  Both  performances  were  completely  successful. 
There  were  two  thousand  listeners  the  first  night,  and  many  more  the 
second  Music  Hall  was  again  in  its  glory.  Formes  is  reported  to  have 
said  that  he  had  never  sung  Elijah  in  London  with  a  better  chorus. 
The  voice  of  Formes  was  a  genuine  basso  jyrofondo,  from  low  C  to  G, 
—  two  octaves  and  a  fifth ;  of  equal  quality  throughout,  all  smooth 
and  very  powerful. 

In  February,  Manager  UUman  proposed  an  oratorio  with  the  Society, 
to  be  given  in  New  York ;  but  this  was  found  impractical )le.  He 
agreed,  instead,  to  come  on  here  with  his  singers  and  give  four  per- 


186  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

formances  :  Elijah,  April  3  ;  Messiah,  April  4  ;  the  Hymn  of  Praise^ 
preceded  by  a  miscellaneous  selection,  April  10  ;  and  the  Creation^ 
April  11.  Elijah  suffered  from  the  fact  that  Formes  was  partially 
disabled  by  a  cold  and  the  fatigue  of  recent  labors,  and  from  a  want 
of  the  usual  spirit  in  some  of  the  choruses.  But  Mme.  D'Angri  was 
much  admired  in  the  contralto  arias,  and  in  the  Angel  Trio,  in  which 
Mrs.  Long  and  Mrs.  Harwood  co-operated  finely.  In  the  Messiah^ 
Formes  made  a  grand  impression,  in  spite  of  the  drawback  (so 
common  with  ponderous  bass  voices)  that  his  intonation  was  not 
always  true,  and  of  the  worst  fault  of  his,  a  tendency  to  too  much 
portamento^  to  which  add  some  remaining  signs  of  hoarseness.  Mr. 
Perring's  sweet,  pure  tenor  tones  were  much  admired  ;  a  voice  not 
robust,  not  great,  but  his  execution  was  praised  as  being  smooth^ 
artistic,  chaste,  expressive  throughout.  Mme  D'Angri,  Mrs.  Long, 
and  Mrs.  Wentworth  won  sincere  applause,  though  the  large  contralto 
was  by  some  thought  too  dramatic, — too  much  as  if  acting  out  her 
sorrows  on  the  stage,  in  "  He  was  despised." 

On  April  10,  Mendelssohn's  Symphony-Cantata,  Lobgesang,  or 
Hymn  of  Praise,  —  one  of  his  greatest  works,  both  as  orchestral 
symphony  and  oratorio,  — was  given  for  the  first  time  in  Boston.  The 
symphony,  in  three  long  and  beautifull}^  contrasted  movements,  was 
finely  played  by  Mr.  Zerrahn's  orchestra  ;  and  with  his  thorough  drill 
and  skilful  handling  of  the  choruses,  the  old  German  choral,  etc.,  the 
success  of  the  work  was  complete.  Mrs.  Harwood  and  Miss  Adams- 
sang  the  duet  for  two  sopranos  very  finely.  The  intensely  dramatic 
and  exciting  passage,  '*  Watchman,  will  the  night  soon  pass?" 
which  leads  into  the  uncontainable  rapture  of  the  chorus,  "The 
night  is  departing,"  needed  a  tenor  more  robust  than  Mr.  Perring^ 
could  command.  Of  the  Creation,  the  next  evening,  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  say  more  than  that  Herr  Formes  was  unusually  false  in 
intonation  in  the  descriptive  arias  of  Raphael,  but  that  he  sang  the 
part  of  Adam  in  a  much  truer,  smoother,  and  more  satisfactory  man- 
ner ;  that  Mrs.  Long  surpassed  herself  in  the  two  airs,  ''  With  verdure 
clad,"  and  "  On  mighty  pens,"  while  Mrs.  Harwood,  as  Eve,  and  Mr. 
Perring  were  equal  to  the  melodious  requirements  of  the  music. 

For  such  a  season  of  depression,  not  a  bad  record,  both  as  to  quan- 
tity of  programme  and  of  work  I  Although  Handel's  Israel  must  wait 
another  year.  But  it  is  not  a  bad  policy — in  fact,  it  is  wise  economy 
—  for  the  old  Society  to  keep  certain  great  and  diflScult  works  in  store- 
for  several  years,  taking  them  down  for  study  now  and  then,  await- 
ing the  fulness  of  time  for  bringing  them  out  in  pubhc.  They  will 
keep  I 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY.     187 

•  Ou  the  12tli  of  April,  resolutions  of  sincere  regret  were  passed  on 
occasion  of  the  removal  of  President  C.  F.  Chickering  to  New  York, 
the  great  piano-making  business  of  Chickering  &  Sons  requiring  that 
a  member  of  the  firm  should  represent  it  there. 


FORTY-FOURTH   SEASON. 
^[ay  81,  1858,  TO  May  30,  1859. 

Thomas  E.  Chickering,  the  oldest  of  the  three  sons  of  Jonas  Chick- 
ering, was  elected  to  succeed  his  brother  in  the  presidency.  The 
other  offices  were  filled  as  before.  The  treasurer  reported:  Receipts 
for  the  past  year,  S4,59.").20  :  expenditure,  $5,239.07;  leaving  a 
balance  due  to  the  treasurer  of  S543.87.  all  bills  having  been  paid,  and 
no  claim  existing  against  the  Society.  The  secretary's  report  touched 
on  the  organization  of  the  Society,  gave  an  interesting  account  of 
some  of  its  first  concerts,  and  reviewed  the  season  in  a  hopeful  spirit. 
The  regular  business  of  the  annual  meeting  over,  Mr.  Alexander  W. 
Thayer  (biographer  of  Beethoven)  suggested  and  urged  the  propriety 
and  expediency  of  a  Festival  in  April,  1859,  in  commemoration  of 
the  Centennial  Anniversary  of  Handel's  death.  But  this  was  no  time 
for  festivals  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

After  four  quiet  summer  months,  rehearsals  began  at  Chickering's 
rooms  in  the  Masonic  Temple,  Oct.  3.  A  concert  followed  on  the 
10th,  by  an  arrangement  with  Mr.  Strakosch  and  his  opera  troupe, 
which  included  Mme.  Pauline  Colson,  for  some  time  the  favorite 
prima  donna  of  the  New  Orleans  Opera  ;  Sig.  Junca.  the  great  basso 
profondo  of  the  same  ;  also  Teresa  Parodi,  Mme.  Patti-Strakosch, 
Sig.  Brignoli,  who  for  many  years  since  was  a  favorite  tenor  in  Bos- 
ton :  Sig.  Labocetta,  tenor  ;  Amodio,  baritone  ;  and  Barili,  tenor.  The 
first  part  was  miscellaneous,  opening  with  the  Mercadante  overture 
to  Rossini's  Stabat.  For  a  first  '•  sacred  "  piece,  Sig.  Labocetta  sang 
the  romanza  from  II  Gi v. ramento  -^ith  considerable  expression.  Mme. 
Strakosch  gave  a  chaste,  musical  rendering  of  '•  Ah  !  mon  fils."  The 
charming  Colson's  voice  was  hardly  suited  to  Schubert's  Ave  JIaria  ; 
it  was  too  tremulous,  though  there  were  beauty  and  fervor  in  her  sing- 
ing. Junca,  in  "  Qui  sdegno  "  (''  In  diesen  heil'  gen  Hallen"),  the 
great  bass  aria  from  Mozart's  Zauberflote,  was  firm,  correct,  but 
hard  and  lifeless  after  Formes.  Parodi  did  her  best  in  a  very  bold 
and  impressive  rendering  of  Mendelssohn's  ''Jerusalem,  thou  that 
killest."  Of  course,  Part  Second  was  the  Stabat  JIater,  which  seems 
to  have   been   providentially   written  for  Italian  opera   singers,  when 


188  IIISTOKV    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIEIY. 

engaged  to  lend  eclat  to  oratorio  performances.  Colson  sang  splen- 
didly, "  Et  intlammatus  "  ;  Hrignoli  unequally,  but  for  the  most  part 
expressively,  in  "  Cujus  animam";  Amodio,  effectively  and  well  in 
*'  Pro  peccatis."  Mmes.  Parodi  and  Strakosch,  too,  were  good  ;  and 
the  unaccompanied  quartet,  "  Quando  Corpus,"  was  rarely  heard  in 
better  tune,  or  sung  more  sympathetically  than  that  time.  The  audi- 
ence nearly  filled  the  Music  Hall. 

Rehearsals  of  Israel  in  Egypt  filled  the  interim  until  Dec.  19,  when 
advantage  was  taken  of  the  presence  here  of  Ullman's  opera  troupe  — 
this  time  a  famous  one  —  to  give  a  miscellaneous  concert  with  his 
principal  artists.  These  were  the  bewitching  little  Countess  Piccolo- 
mini ;  Mile.  Poinsot,  a  fine  high  soprano;  iMme.  Laborde,  the  exquis- 
itely finished  florid  French  soprano  (what  the  Germans  call  a  coloratur 
singer)  ;  with  them  Carl  Formes,  Mr.  Perring  and  Mrs.  Harwood. 
The  selections  were  from  Israel^  the  Creation^  Solomon,  and  Elijah. 
The  audience  was  about  twelve  hundred. 

On  Dec.  26,  the  Music  Hall  being  pj'eoccupied  by  a  Fair  in  aid  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  the  Christmas  performance 
of  the  Messiah  was  given  in  the  elegant  and  spacious  Boston  Theatre, 
to  the  delight  of  some  and  the  regret  of  others.  Great  was  the  crowd, 
and  great  the  joy  of  the  Society  at  putting  money  in  its  purse  after 
such  frequent  losses.  Here  was  a  temptation  which  it  required  some 
courage  to  resist,  a  new  attraction  for  the  multitude.  For  many  went 
to  see  the  theatre,  under  cover  of  a  somewhat  unworldly  occasion ; 
and  many  went  to  enjoy  an  anti-puritanical  triumph  in  this  new  recog- 
nition of  a  place  too  long  eschewed  as  secular  and  unclean.  Many 
were  the  arguments,  in  newspapers  and  in  conversation,  to  show  what 
an  advantage  it  would  be  to  oratorio  to  quit  the  sober  Music  Hall  and 
bring  itself  nearer  to  the  people  in  the  free-and-easy  gilded  temple  of 
the  drama,  which  with  a  little  carpentering  might  be  so  easily  adapted 
to  the  purpose.  But  the  unsatisfactory  acoustic  experience  of  that 
one  trial,  and  a  loyal  feeling  for  the  noble  Hall  which  had  been  built 
for  Music  at  such  great  expense,  prevailed  against  the  flattering  sug- 
gestion. The  effect  of  the  chorus,  ranged  in  rows  upon  the  stage, 
was  very  much  impaired.  If  the  sopranos,  well  exposed  in  front, 
were  sharply  heard,  the  other  parts  behind  them  were  smothered, 
swallowed  up  by  the  side  spaces  and  the  hanging  draper}-  above.  Yet 
the  choruses  had  been  studied  with  extra  care  under  Mr.  Zerrahn. 
Some  restorations  were  to  be  commended  :  such  as  the  too  often 
omitted  chorus,  "  And  with  his  stripes,"  and  the  short  series  of  con- 
trasted pieces,  "  For  as  by  man  came  death,"  etc.,  all  of  which  are  of 
the  finest  music  in  the  work.     The  tempi  were  well  taken,  and  it  was 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  189 

a  good  average  performance.  A  particular  attraction  was  Mme. 
Eliza  Biscaccianti  ^  {nee  Ostinelli),  a  native  prima  donna,  of  whom 
our  Boston  could  be  proud.  She  had  been  in  town  some  weeks  re- 
cruiting from  the  wear  and  tear  of  her  seven  ^^ears'  triumphant  oper- 
atic career  in  Italy  and  elsewhere,  and  more  recently  in  the  inclement 
climate  of  St.  Petersburg.  Unfortunately,  she  was  too  ill  to  sing,  so 
much  so,  that  her  name  was  withdrawn.  But  rather  than  disappoint 
an  audience  of  old  friends,  she  did  appear,  and  sang  between  the 
parts,  ^'  With  verdure  clad"  in  pure  Italian  style,  with  rare  delicacy 
•and  sweetness.  She  also  essayed  "  I  know  that  my  Redeemer,"  in 
spite  of  too  evident  ph3'sical  exhaustion  ;  nor  did  that  great  aria  lie 
within  the  peculiar  province  of  the  artist.  There  was  not  much  to 
admire  in  the  voice  or  st^'le  of  the  English  contralto  from  the  opera. 
Miss  Hey  wood.  Mrs.  Harwood  won  the  heartiest  responses  of  the 
evening.  Mr.  Perring  had  approval  for  the  simplicity  as  well  as  the 
chaste,  expressive  style  with  which  he  rendered  "Comfort  ye  my 
people."  Simplicity  was  not  among  the  virtues  of  Dr.  Guilmette's 
delivery  of  the  bass  arias. 

Feb r liar  1/  13,  1859.  Israel  at  last!  The  great  task,  occasionally 
nibbled  at,  attacked  in  fragments,  in  fits  of  resolution  few  and  far 
between,  was  finally  essayed  in  earnest ;  and  after  eight  more  re- 
hearsals, the  giant  Handel's  greatest  work,  with  the  sole  exception 
of  the  3fessiah, — commonly  ranking  as  the  equal  of  that,  —  was 
offered  to  the  public,  and  the  public  would  not  liave  it.  Of  course, 
it  had  a  public  here,  as  wherever  an  appreciative  interest  in  music 
exists  ;  but  the  great  public  which  decides  the  fate  of  such  enter- 
prises, at  least  for  the  time  being,  the  public  which  pays,  testified  its 
indifference  or  its  positive  dislike  b}^  staying  away,  or  by  finding  the 
whole  thing  dull  and  wearisome,  and  by  A^oicing  itself  in  newspaper 
criticisms,  full  of  rebuke,  contempt,  and  ridicule.  The  hall  was  only 
two  thirds  full.  Handel  in  this  form  did  not  pay.  The  loss  of  money 
sapped  the  courage  needed  to  repeat  a  great  work  which,  perhaps 
more  than  any  other,  requires  several  hearings  to  malvc  its  grandeur 
and  its  beauty  understood  and  felt.  Something,  to  be  sure,  must  be 
allowed  for  imperfections  in  a  first  attempt.  Some  of  those  colossal 
choruses,  which  Handel's  genius  upheaved  like  a  long  mountain  chain, 
are  exceedingly  difficult;  some  very  intricate  and  subtle  in  the  fugued 
interweaving  of  their  eight  parts.  And  then  there  are  so  many 
choruses,  —  twenty-eight  of  the  thirty-nine  numbers  being  choral. 
eleven  in  uninterrupted   (unrelieved,  the  critics  would  say)  sequence. 

^  See  earlier  notice  of  lier,  on  pages  141-2. 


190  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

The  arias,  duets,  melodies  —  the  verdant  vales  and  flowery  streams 
between  the  mountains  —  are  comparatively  few,  although  some  have 
been  added,  i.  e.,  adapted  out  of  Handel's  other  works,  which  are 
usually  incorporated  in  the  presentation  of  Israel  in  Egyjyt.  These 
arias  and  duets  were  commonly  found  too  quaint  and  antiquated  ; 
they  seemed  dry  and  tedious  after  the  intoxicating  melodies  of  the 
Italian  opera.  Yet  there  was  no  denying  a  certain  charm  and 
piquancy  in  the  airs,  finely  sung  by  Mrs.  Harwood  and  by  Mr. 
Adams,  or  the  duet  between  Mrs.  Long  and  Mrs.  Harwood  :  while 
the  sonorous,  martial  duet,  '^  The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war,"  in  which 
Mr.  Powers  and  Mr.  Wetherbee  so  manfully  bore  equal  part,  even 
startled  into  something  like  enthusiasm  those  who  called  the  oratorio 
dull.  Many  of  the  grand  choral  masses  moved  superbly,  and  by  not 
a  few  listeners  the}'  were  enjoyed  intensely.  AVhat  uplifting,  edify- 
ing, glorious  music  !  was  no  uncommon  exclamation  The  orchestra, 
for  that  day  at  least,  was,  on  the  whole,  efficient ;  and  the  important 
organ  accompaniments,  which  Mendelssohn,  with  reverent  and  skilful 
hand,  in  Handel's  spirit,  had  written  for  this  oratorio,  which  he  ''  had 
always  view^ed  as  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  lasting  musical  zvorks,'* 
were  carefully  played  by  Mr.  J.  C.  D.  Parker.  Still  the  Boston 
public  and  the  Boston  critics,  with  hardly  an  exception,  set  them- 
selves obstinately  or  facetiously  against  the  opinion  of  Mendelssohn 
and  Macfarren,  of  Mozart  and  Beethoven,  of  all  musical  Germany 
and  England,  and  the  verdict  was  :  a  failure !  And  there  was  no 
appeal  in  those  years,  any  more  than  there  was  rain  in  those  years  of 
Elijah  ;  none  until  another  Festival  after  the  coming  four-years'  war. 
Some  of  those  precious  specimens  of  newspaper  musical  "  criticism'* 
were,  fortunately,  pilloried  at  the  time  and  saved  up  for  the  curiosity 
of  future  antiquarians  of  the  art.^ 

^  Culled  from  fuller  extracts  in  DwiyhVs  Journal  of  ^hlsic,  Feb.  19,  1859:  — 
{From  the  BoHton  Courier.) 

"...  The  undivided  performance  of  even  the  best  of  Handel's  oratorios  is  an  in- 
fliction too  severe  for  an  audience  of  modern  tastes  to  endure.  As  Is^rael  in  Egypt 
is  not  the  best  of  Handel's  oratorios,  it  follows,  etc.  ,  .  .  The  music  does  not  fulfil 
the  musical  want  of  the  public.  ...  It  has  neither  sentiment,  grace,  nor  vitality. 
Of  course,  there  are  certain  noble  exceptions  among  Handel's  works,  such  as  a  few 
airs  in  damson  and  the  Messiah,  some  choruses  in  Solomon,  etc. ;  but  it  unfortunately 
happens  that  Ifrnel  is  unusually  deiicient  in  those  qualities  which  charm  or  rouse 
the  multitude.  It  contains  no  memorable  airs,  the  few  that  relieve  the  ponderous 
masses  of  choruses  being  all  in  the  meaningless  style  of  rough  roulade  which  com- 
posers in  Handel's  time  uniformly  followed.  .  .  .  The  performance  of  such  works^ 
entire,  adds  nothing  to  the  development  of  artistic  feeling  in  the  commiinity ;  the 
labor  and  expense  bestowed  upon  their  preparation  are  a  waste  of  means,  which  ought 
t  o  be  lamented  rather  than  encouraged." 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  191 

Thus  vras  a  noble  aspiration  balked.  The  reaction  was  to  the 
opposite  extrenje,  from  the  sublime  song  of  Mii'iam  to  Neukomm's 
David  with  his  sling  I  It  was  a  shifting  of  the  venue,  and  taking  the 
case  into  a  lower  court.  If  the  friends  of  the  higher  Art  will  not  or 
cannot  sustain  us,  let  us  appeal  to  those  who  love  the  circus  better, 
and  post  up  a  bill  for  them.     So  the  more  earnest  part  of  the  Society, 

{F7'om  a  facetioits  gi'umbler  in  the  Transcript.) 

"  What  could  possibly  induce  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society"  to  turn  body-catchers 
and  snatch  this  decently  interred  thing  from  its  well-secured  repose  ?  .  .  .  TYhy  not 
let  these  i)oor  old  Egyptians  and  Israelites  rest  quiet  in  their  sarcophagi,  instead  of 
exhuming  their  nuisty  remains  and  forcing  us  to  hark  from  their  tombs  a  doleful  cry 
of  their  i)lagues  and  sorrows?  Why  force  them  all  to  become  wandering  Jews,  to 
be  marched  out  and  handled  in  such  away?  .  .  .  We  certainly  sympathize  in  one 
thing,  for  we  are  glad  when  the  Israelites  had  departed.  They  go  through  '  the 
deep  and  the  wilderness ';  and  a  deep  wilderness  it  is,  a  howling  wilderness,  into 
which  the  poor  peo])le  get,  for  the  travellers  run  about  every  way  but  the  right  one. 

"  Among  the  most  oppressive  influences  is  that  produced  by  the  unfortunate  vic- 
tims who  are  thrust  forward  singly  to  bewail  their  fate.  One  youthful  Jewess 
arises,  and  in  a  dreary  strain  as  soggy  as  their  own  swamps,  tells  of  certain  frogs,  etc. 
.  .  .  Two  Israelitish  matrons  sally  forth  and  insist  that  the  '  Lord  is  their 
strength ' ;  and  a  garrulous  pair  they  are,  for  neither  will  let  the  other  make  the 
assertion  without  instant  interruption ;  and  judging  from  the  amount  of  breath  ex- 
pended on  the  same  remark,  the  Lord  must  certainly  have  endowed  them  with 
strength  of  lungs,  at  least-  Whether  their  endurance  would  outlive  that  of  their 
hearers,  we  cannot  say. 

"  Then  two  stalwart  felloAvs  arise  to  endeavor  to  prove  that  '  the  Lord  is  a  man  of 
war,' €tc.,  etc.  ...  A  little  Rabbi  starts  up  to  state  that  *  the  enemy  said  he  would 
pursue,'  etc.  .  .  .  When  this  little  Rabbi  disappears  on  the  run,  there  comes 
forth  a  lovely  Jewess,  who  affirms  that  '  the  Lord  did  blow  with  the  wind,'  and  a 
pretty  long  blow  it  was,  and  a  strong  one,  too.  What  else  but  the  wind  the  Lord 
could  blow  with,  she  could  not  suggest,  etc.  .  .  . 

"  One  grand  annoiincement  made  by  the  whole  tribe  is  that  '  the  peoi^le  shall  hear 
and  be  afraid.'  Here  is  a  certain  fact  I  For  those  Avho  hear  these  lugubrious  sor- 
rows of  fly-bitten  Egj-ptians  and  itinerant  Israelites  will  surely  be  mortally  afraid  to 
hear  them  repeated.  .  .  .  Seek  not  to  inoculate  the  life  of  1850  with  the  blotches  and 
blains  which  bother  the  whole  medical  faculty  of  Egypt,"  — and  so  on,  and  so  on. 

{From  the  A.TLA^  and  Bee.) 

"...  Several  of  the  choruses  are  extremely  grand  and  majestic;  .  .  .  but  we 
doubt  very  much  if  the  oratorio  will  be  considered  of  sufficient  interest  to  be  again 
performed.  It  has  been  shelved  long  since  (I)  by  the  sacred  musical  societies  of 
Europe,  and  now  only  a  chorus  or  two  is  ever  introduced  into  the  oratorio  perform- 
ances." (!  ?) 

{From  the  Boston  Journal.) 

"  We  must  confess  that  the  early  hearers  of  this  work  formed  a  correct  opinion  of 
its  merits:  nor  do  we  wonder  that  they  were  so  readily  cloyed  with  its  monotonous 
series  of  choruses.  .  .  .  The  Society  were  wise  in  announcing  but  one  performance 
of  this  work.  Where  an  audience  with  patience  to  sit  through  so  much  blatant 
vocal  music,  or  lungs  for  the  performance  of  it  can  be  obtained,  we  are  ignorant." 


li)2  niSTOHY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AM)    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

in  their  cbiigrin,  with  half-conscious  sarcasm,  were  prompted  to  re- 
solve, sure,  of  course,  of  support  from  the  class  found  everywhere, 
who  go  for  popular  applause  rather  than  for  the  reward  of  the  artistic 
conscience. 

On  Feb.  22,  a  concert  was  given  with  the  Mercantile  Library  Asso- 
ciation in  honor  of  Washington's  birthday,  when  an  address  was 
made  by  Governor  Banks.  Four  days  later,  David  was  taken  from 
the  shelf  for  rehearsal.  To  many  it  was  like  good  old  times  ;  to 
others,  mortifying  and  unappetizing.  But  why  mortifying?  There  is 
good  music  in  David,  of  a  commonplace  and  taking  sort.  It  has 
brilliant  instrumentation,  and  enough  of  the  dramatic,  rather  sa}' 
melodramatic,  operatic  character  to  make  it  by  no  means  ^-caviare  to 
the  general."  But  it  was  •'  a  worn-out  local  fancy  of  the  greener  days 
of  musical  taste  in  Boston."  It  was  truly  said  of  it  and  of  its  author  : 
*•  Xeukomm's  greatness  is  exclusively  a  musical  fancy  confined  to  this 
locality.  We  do  not  read  in  anv  of  the  musical  reports  of  Germany, 
France,  England,  of  am'  work  of  his  having  been  for  years  taken 
from  the  shelf.  He  belongs  as  a  composer  to  the  uninspired,  respect- 
able no-geniuses,  the  '  gdttlicJte  Philister.'  whom  the  Germans  are  most 
willing  to  let  sleep.  Here  in  Boston  an  accidental  popularity"  (it 
was  at  least  more  juicy  than  New  England  psalmody)  ••  attached  fif- 
teen years  before  to  David.  Some  still  remembered  it  with  pride,  and 
thought  to  recover  what  was  sunk  in  Israers  Bed  Sea,  by  setting  up 
this  golden  calf  one  more." 

So  David  was  announced  for  April  8.  ••  in  conformity  to  the  de- 
mands of  their  patrons  and  the  popular  taste  of  the  community." 
The  soloists  were  Mrs.  Long.  Miss  Louisa  Adams,  and  Messrs.  C.  R. 
Adams,  J.  P.  Draper,  P.  H.  Powers,  Geo.  Wright,  Jr.,  and  Edward 
Hamilton.  The  performance  was  a  good  one,  but  an  easterly  rain- 
storm thinned  the  audience.  April  10  it  was  repeated  to  an  audience 
still  smaller.  It  was  then  decided  to  give  a  benefit  concert  for  the 
Society,  in  the  hope  of  making  up  the  losses  of  the  season.  The 
hall  and  orchestra  were  offered  gratis  ;  and  the  Hymn  of  Praise  was 
given  May  14,  when  an  inspiring  performance  of  that  noble  work 
was  followed  by  a  miscellaneous  selection  :  1.  Weber's  FreyschUtz 
overture;  2.  Scena  and  duet  from  II  Trovatore  ("Qual  voce"),  b}^ 
Mrs.  Long  and  Mr.  Draper;  3.  Cavatina  from  II  Giuramento^  by 
Mrs.  Harwood  ;  4.  Scena,  "Fall  of  Zion,"  Paesiello,  sang  by  Mr. 
Powers;  5.  Coronation  March  from  Meyerbeer's  Prophete.  These, 
with  Mr.  Adams,  were  the  solo  singers  in  the  first  part.  There  was 
a  slim  attendance,  the  receipts  amounting  to  only  about  two  hundred 
dollars.     Shortly  before  this,  April  2,  the  Handel  and  Haydn  chorus 


HI8TOEY    OF    TJIE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  193 

had  lent  its  voice  to  tlie  sublime  "Joy"  hymn,  wliicb  concludes 
Beethoven's  Ninth,  or  Choral,  Symphony.  This  was,  on  the  whole, 
a  brilliantly  successful  performance  for  the  benefit  of  Carl  Zerralm, 
after  his  heroic  perseverance  through  another  season  of  his  "  Phil- 
harmonic"  (Symphony)  concerts.  Here  was  more  game  for  the 
Handel  "critics,"  —  for  the  small  newspaper  criticism  which  carps 
at  what  is  great  and  above  the  level  of  its  comprehension.  Yet  tlie 
occasion  was  a  grand  one  ;  there  was  real  enthusiasm  and  delight 
beneath  the  surface  in  the  moderately  large  audience  ;  and  the  singers, 
who  had  been  warmed  up  to  their  high  task  in  the  rehearsals,  seemed 
to  sing  "  better  than  they  knew  "  And  so  closed  another  season  ;  in 
the  words  of  Secretary  Barnes,  "  a  toilsome  season  of  uuremunera- 
tive  labor  "  AVe  seem  to  have  touched  low-water  mark,  if  not  the 
bottom.  The  next  reaction  must  be  upward.  And  we  must  remem- 
ber that  "the  times"  were  sick.  True  musical  enthusiasm,  in  the 
sense  of  art,  had  but  an  exhausted,  heavy,  and  depressing  atmos- 
phere to  breathe.  We  were  two  years  nearer  to  the  outbreak  in  the 
shape  of  war. 

Being  at  that  time  engaged  in  journalism,  I  ventured  to  make  a 
note  of  one  fact,  which  should  have  encouraged  the  Society  to  aim 
high,  and  persevere  with  faith  another  season.     It  was  this  :  — 

"The  siugers  in  the  Handel  and  Haydn  cliorns  probably  represent,  as  well 
as  any  two  or  three  hnndred  persons  whom  yon  could  select,  the  averao-e  taste 
and  likings  of  the  musical  audiences  of  Boston.  What  would  carry  the  vote 
in  the  chorus  ranks  to-day,  would  be  sure  to  be  ratified  by  a  general  Mnsic 
Hall  audience  to-morrow,  if  not  instantly.  Now,  we  fonnd  the  great  majority 
of  the  singers  getting  more  and  more  deeply  interested  and  enthnsiastic  about 
Israel  in  Egypt,  with  each  successive  evening  spent  in  its  rehearsal;  Avhile 
the  same  majority  went  mechanically  and  wearily  through  their  parts  in 
David.  It  was  their  corporate  dutj'^  to  their  brethren  in  the  minority,  alone, 
that  nerved  them  to  the  work." 

If  it  was  not  the  proudest,  this  was  not  the  least  instructive,  period 
of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  experience. 


FORTY-FIFTH   SEASON. 

May  30,  1859,  to  May  28,  1860. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  May  30,  the  officers  were  re-elected,  and  a 
deficit  on  the  past  j^ear  of  about  eight  hundred  dollars  was  reported. 
An  assessment  of  $5.00  was  laid  on  the  members,  payable  on  or 
before  Oct.  1.  A  donation  of  $100  was  received  from  Oliver  Ditson. 
The  secretary's  report  was  largely  historical,  deriving  from  the  past 


194     HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY. 

a  lesson  of  higli  faith  and  perseverance.  There  had  been  thirty-four 
rehearsals  since  the  beginning  of  October,  with  an  average  attendance 
of  less  than  two  hundred  ;  and  there  had  been  seven  concerts,  in  which 
from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  were 
found  occupying  chorus  seats  ;  whereupon  the  worthy  secretary  read 
a  lecture  to  delinquents.  He  recommended  a  fund  for  ordinary- 
expenses,  and  eventually  the  building  of  a  hall  to  seat  a  thousand  or 
twelve  hundred  persons,  to  be  used  for  ordinary  occasions  without  an 
orchestra . 

Here  let  me  mention  an  event  which  could  not  be  without  influence 
on  the  future  development  of  our  choral  societies  ;  namely,  the  begin- 
ning, during  that  summer,  of  the  public  school  musical  festivals, 
which  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  teaching  and  practice  of  vocal  music 
in  all  the  schools,  and  thus  tended  to  raise  up  singers,  fresh,  trained 
voices,  to  replenish  and  rejuvenate  the  choral  ranks  of  Handel  and 
Haydn  societies  in  future.  This  movement  in  the  schools  sprang 
mainly  from  the  enthusiasm  and  the  organizing  energy  of  Dr.  J.  B. 
Upham,  the  gentleman  who  was  soon  to  become  president  of  the  old 
Societ}^  and  lead  it  through  a  series  of  festivals,  which  fairly  entitle 
him,  in  this  history,  to  the  degree  of  Festival  President.  Nor  was  it 
all  feasting  ;  it  was  solid  work. 

October  1.  Mr.  J.  C.  D.  Parker  being  obliged  by  pressure  of  mani- 
fold professional  duties  to  resign  the  place  of  organist,  which  he  had 
acceptably  filled  for  several  years,  Mr.  B.  J.  Lang  was  chosen  his 
successor.  On  the  22d,  work  began  with  the  rehearsing  of  Handel's 
Samson  once  more.  —  a  giant  of  another  kind  from  the  one  slain  in 
David.  Now  there  is  hope.  It  is  like  a  reviving,  downright  rain 
after  a  midsummer  drought.  •'  Let  their  celestial  concerts  all  unite  !  " 
Two  performances  of  this  intrinsically  worthy  popular  favorite  were 
given  ;  the  first  on  Nov.  27.  The  leading  soprano  was  that  brilliant 
and  experienced  singer,  Mme.  Anna  Bishop,  who  was  once  more  in 
this  country,  with  her  voice  and  stjie  wonderfully  well  preserved. 
With  her  sang  Mrs.  Long,  Messrs.  C.  R.  Adams  and  P.  H.  Powers, 
and  Dr.  C.  A.  Guilmette.  The  orchestra  w^as  excellent,  the  chorus 
carefully  trained,  and  such  was  the  satisfaction  with  which  it  was 
received  by  an  audience  that  filled  the  Music  Hall,  that  a  repetition 
was  announced  for  Dec.  4  ;  but  a  violent  snow-storm  compelled  a 
postponement  to  Dec.  11,  when  it  was  given  with  a  result  equally 
encouraging.  The  Handel  and  Haydn  was  itself  again,  and  there 
were  new  hopes  of  Israel^  of  II>/mn  of  Praise,  of  St.  Paul,  even  of 
Handel's  Jephtha,  and  all  noble  things.  Mme,  Bishop,  with  her  full- 
toned  soprano  voice,  rich  and  melodious  in  qualit}',  created  a  furore 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  195 

in  "  Let  the  bright  Seraphim,"  with  Heinicke's  trumpet.  Her  delivery 
of  Delilah's  recitative  was  artistic,  and  her  singing  of  "With  plain- 
tive notes  "  was  ver}'  fine.  Mr.  Powers,  to  whom  belonged  the  part 
of  Manoah,  could  not  sing  on  account  of  illness,  and  his  place  was 
creditably  filled  by  Mr.  Aiken.  The  year  closed  with  the  annual 
Chi-istmas  performance  of  the  Messiah,  Dec.  25.  It  was  one  of  more 
than  average  excellence,  and  drew  a  good  house  The  two  choruses, 
"  Surely"  and  "  And  w^ith  his  stripes,'.'  were  not  among  the  omitted 
numbers  this  time,  and  served  to  prepare  by  contrast  the  reckless, 
careless  sounding  "All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray."  Mrs. 
Harwood  and  Mrs.  Long  distinguished  themselves  in  their  arias, 
although  the  latter's  bright  soprano  voice  was  hardly  suited  to  "He 
was  despised."  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Aiken  were  both  good.  The 
organ  voluntaries  of  the  3'oung  new  incumbent,  Mr.  Lang,  were  well 
chosen  and  effective.  And  this  nearly  makes  up  the  account  of  the 
whole  season.  After  New  Year,  Jan.  17,  the  Society  assists  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Franklin  Typographical  Society,  when  an  oration  is 
pronounced  by  Edward  Everett.  Feb.  11,  it  assists  in  Mr.  Zerrahn's 
third  Symphony  Concert,  singing  in  Beethoven's  Choral  Fantasia,  of 
which  Mr.  Lang  plays  the  pianoforte  part.  The  rest  of  February, 
March,  and  April  were  given  to  rehearsals  of  St.  Paul.  That  exhausts 
the  record  of  the  season. 


FORTY-SIXTH    SEASON. 
May  28,  18G0,  to  May  27,   1861. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  Col.  Thomas  E  Chickering  was  re-elected 
president,  with  the  other  principal  officers  of  the  last  year.  The 
secretary  reported  twenty-five  admissions  and  twenty-nine  discharges 
during  the  year ;  and  that  not  one  of  the  three  oratorio  performances 
had  paid  expenses.  From  the  treasurer's  report  it  appears  that  the 
season  had  cost  $4,476.60,  while  the  receipts  were  $4,189.10,  leaving 
a  deficit  of  8287.50.  There  was  also  a  note  against  the  Society,  due 
in  August,  for  SI, 200,  making  the  total  indebtedness  81,487.50,  and 
showing  a  financial  condition  not  so  good  as  that  of  the  year  before. 
Among  the  additions  to  the  library  were  the  scores  and  full  vocal  and 
instrumental  parts  of  Handel's  Jephtha  and  Mendelssohn's  St.  Paul., 
the  gift  of  Mr.  Theron  J.  Dale. 

September  30.  Rehearsals  began  in  the  beautiful  hall  of  the  new 
and  spacious  warerooms  of  Messrs.  Chickering  &  Sons,  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Avon  Place  and  AVashington  Street,  made  free  to  the  Society 


196     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY. 

with  the  characteristic  liberality  of  the  proprietors.  What  did  they 
rehearse?  The  times  were  bad  for  any  serious  new  enterprise  in  art. 
Both  oratorio  and  symphony  were  prudently  awaiting  the  subsiding 
of  the  tumultuous  waves  of  the  political  campaign  which  ended  in 
the  election  of  Lincoln  and  the  first  overt  measures  of  secession. 
This  absorbed  the  thoughts  and  time  of  the  whole  nation.  Yet  the 
Society  was  neither  dead  nor  sleeping.  The  music  of  the  day  was 
mainly  in  the  streets.  In  November,  a  guaranty  subscription  was 
solicited.  This,  like  the  prospectus  of  Mr.  Zerrahn's  Philharmonic 
concerts,  met  with  no  response  ;  so  that  an  utter  dearth  of  these  things 
threatened.  Nevertheless  the  Messiah^  after  Christmas,  Dec.  30, 
was  not  allowed  to  fail.  The  audience  was  immense,  but  the  discour- 
agements for  going  on  were  greater.  Adelaide  Phillipps  sang,  in  her 
large,  artistic  style,  of  course.  A  young  debutante.  Miss  Gilson, 
with  a  high  and  pure  soprano,  reaped  the  most  applause.  Mrs.  Har- 
wood  sang  *'  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  "  nobly  Mr.  C.  R.  Adams, 
not  then  the  tenore  robusto  that  he  now  is,  sang  expressively  and 
sweetly  ;  and  a  new  bass,  Mr.  J.  R.  Thomas,  showed  a  correct  method, 
with  a  light  and  flexible  voice.  Queer  criticisms,  of  the  facetious 
kind  that  followed  Israel  in  Egypt,  shrunk  not  from  the  3Iessiah  this 
time. 

The  next  public  efforts  were:  Feb.  10,  1861,  a  miscellaneous  con- 
cert, with  Mile.  Carlotta  Patti  and  Herr  Stigelli.  Selections  from 
St.  Pa?//,  Elijah,  Solomon,  and  the  Messiah.  It  opened  with  bad 
omen,  an  apology  for  Stigelli  on  account  of  indisposition,  which 
caused  great  deviation  from  the  programme  in  the  solo  numbers. 
He  sang,  however,  better  than  the  audience  expected.  Mile.  Patti 
displayed  her  florid  vocalization  in  Schubert's  Ave  JIaria.  as  well  as 
in  Mozart's  Queen  of  the  Xight.  March  17.  —  A  miscellaneous  concert 
at  the  Boston  Theatre  (then  called  Academy  of  Music),  with  Gran's 
opera  troupe.  Bad  management  and  poor  performance.  Great  con- 
fusion about  seats.  Rossini's  Stahat  Mater  a  foregone  conclusion. 
March  31.  —  The  Messiah,  given  with  the  Italian  opera  troupe,  filled 
the  hall  completely.  Yet  the  gross  receipts  were  897.50.  The  solos 
were  by  Miss  Adelaide  Phillipps,  who  sang  the  contralto  airs  ''  with 
inmost  feeling  "  ;  Miss  Clara  Louise  Kellogg  and  Miss  Isabelle  Hinck- 
ley, fresh  and  immature  in  the  Handelian  music;  Signor  (Herr^  Sti- 
gelli, the  fine  tenor,  who  sang  with  dignity  and  true  expression ;  and 
Dr.  Guilmette,  whose  voice  was  "  wavering." 

We  have  reached  the  eventful  month  of  April,  1861.  Now  the 
word  is  War  1  Civil,  domestic  war,  between  the  northern  and  south- 
ern sections  of   our  hitherto  united  great  and   free   Republic.     The 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     197 

secession  of  the  latter  had  ah'eady  been  five  months  in  formal  prog- 
ress. Now,  April  14,  Fort  Sumter  was  evacuated,  after  a  vigorous 
resistance  to  the  bombardment  of  the  rebels.  The  call  for  arms  in 
defence  of  the  Union  went  forth  at  once  from  Washington  ;  and  on 
the  17th  a  Massachusetts  regiment,  the  first  in  answer  to  the  call,  was 
mobbed  and  fired  upon  in  Baltimore  upon  its  loyal  march  over  the 
national  highway  to  the  capital.  Inter  a  ma  silent  leges.  And  music, 
too,  appalled,  —  music  as  Art,  —  must  needs  be  silent.  What  is  there 
now  for  oratorio,  or  symphony,  or  opera  to  do?  Only  the  drum  and 
fife,  the  bugle  and  the  trumpet,  the  cannons  and  alarm-bells,  now  can 
claim  attention.  A  Handel  and  Hadvn  Society,  appealing  to  a  serious 
love  of  music,  finds  things  more  serious  in  possession  of  all  earnest 
minds  ;  all  hearts  beating  to  the  rhythm  of  the  love  of  freedom  and  of 
country.  The  lighter  and  more  superficial,  even  frivolous  forms  of 
melody,  which  answer  the  momentary  ends  of  mere  amusement,  will 
naturally  be  most  in  vogue  at  such  a  time  ;  the  opera,  perhaps,  will 
have  some  chance. 

But  if  there  be  any  way  in  which  Music  may  lend  support  to  the 
nation's  cause,  whether  by  indirectly  raising  money,  or  by  uplifting, 
stirring,  cheering,  strengthening  (as  great  music  sometimes  does)  the 
spirit  of  a  people,  is  not  our  old  Society  ready  and  eager  to  do  its 
best?  One  opportunity  soon  came.  The  following  announcement 
was  issued:  "The  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  desirous  of  contribut- 
ing something  toward  the  preservation  of  our  common  country,  in 
this,  its  day  of  trial,  will,  with  the  co-operation  of  the  Philharmonic 
Orchestra,  the  Germania  Band,  and  Mrs.  Long,  Mrs.  Harwood,  Mrs. 
Kempton,  and  Mr.  Powers,  give  a  grand  concert  of  miscellaneous 
patriotic  and  national  music  at  the  Boston  Music  Hall  on  Saturday 
evening,  April  27.  The  entire  proceeds  will  be  handed  over  to  the 
Governor  of  the  Comm.onwealth  for  the  purpose  of  arming  and  equip- 
ping troops  in  the  service  of  the  country."  The  entire  proceeds  were 
S3 78. 50.  which  very  modest  sum  was  gratefully  received  in  the  name 
of  Massachusetts  by  his  Excellency  Gov.  John  A.  Andrew.  The 
concert  went  off  with  much  spirit.  The  patriotic  airs  were  brilliantly 
given  and  applauded  with  enthusiasm.  Some  stirring  Handel  choruses 
were  sung,  and  the  audience  joined  in  the  noble  strains  of  what  is. 
falsely  called  "  America,"  being  in  fact  "  God  save  the  King." 


198  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

FOKTY-SEVENTH    SEASON. 
May  27,  1861.  to  May  26,  1802. 

The  annual  meeting  was  held  May  27,  at  Chiekering  Hall,  the  vice- 
president  in  the  chair.  The  treasurer  reported  the  financial  condition 
to  be  about  the  same  as  at  the  last  annual  meeting ;  the  profit  on  the 
Christmas  performance  of  the  Messiah^  together  with  some  two  hun- 
dred dollars  contributed  by  members,  about  squared  the  expenditures 
of  the  season,  leaving  the  Society  in  debt  81,362.58,  secured  by  rail- 
road bonds,  exclusive  of  the  valuable  library  and  other  property.  The 
secretary's  report  was  long,  and  contained  much  important  matter. 
Thirty-three  regular  weekly  rehearsals  had  been  held,  besides  four 
business  meetings  of  the  Society  and  nineteen  of  the  Board  of  Trust- 
ees. Nine  members  had  been  admitted,  and  three  discharged.  He 
dwelt  on  the  fact  that,  in  the  then  present  state  of  things,  no  society 
could  rely  on  public  patronage  for  support ;  that  similar  organizations 
elsewhere,  and  for  similar  purposes,  like  the  Sacred  Harmonic  Society 
of  New  York,  exacted  a  yearly  price  of  membership  ;  that  a  moderate 
annual  assessment  on  each  member  would  not  only  meet  the  current 
expenses  of  conductor,  organist,  rent  of  library  room,  etc.,  but  would 
stimulate  esjjrit  de  corps^  and  enlist  the  hearty  co-operation  of  each 
and  every  member,  since  men  value  most  the  privileges  they  have  to 
pay  for,  and  membership  in  such  a  Society  is  certainl}'  a  privilege  ;  it 
is  the  one  way  of  becoming  familiar  with  the  great  sacred  creations 
of  Handel,  Haydn,  Mendelssohn,  and  others.  He  therefore  advised 
an  amendment  of  the  By-Laws  such  as  to  admit  of  an  annual  assess- 
ment of  jive  dollars.  He  also  alluded  to  the  great  advantage  which 
the  Society  would  gain  from  such  a  measure,  in  finding  itself  free 
from  all  "  entangling  alliances,"  however  temporary,  whereby  it  has 
been  often  forced  to  appear  before  the  public  wholly  unprepared,  in 
company  with  artists  "  who  care  nothing  for  us  or  the  audience  to 
which  we  introduce  them,  and  are  as  unprepared  as  ourselves  for  ren- 
dering satisfactorily  the  music  assigned  them." 

The  report  strongly  urged  the  importance  of  another  addition  to  the 
Bj^-Laws,  whereby  the  attendance  of  members  at  rehearsals  might  be 
secured,  on  penalty  of  forfeiture  of  membership  in  certain  cases,  with- 
out the  tedious  process  of  advertising  a  roll-call  in  "three  or  more 
daily  papers."  This,  even  if  it  reduced  the  members  of  the  chorus, 
would  lead  to  better  discipline  and  improve  the  quality  of  the  public 
performances.  After  these  and  other  suggestions  (not  all  so  sound 
as  these) ,  the  report  wound  up  with  a  glance  at  the  disturbed  condi- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     199 

lion  of  the  country  :  "  In  times  like  these  we  can  do  nothing.  Did  I 
say  we  could  do  nothing?  Have  we  not  already  commanded  the 
Muse,  and  brought  her  into  the  service  of  our  country's  cause?  We 
have  just  given  a  concert  for  the  benefit  of  the  troops.  .  .  .  May  we 
not  hope  that  our  trouble  will  soon  cease,  and  that  peace  may  be  pro- 
claimed throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  land?  Then  will 
we  again  unite  in  a  grand  triumphal  jubilee  of  welcome  to  those  who 
have  fought  our  battles,  and  contributed  of  their  might  to  the  uphold- 
ing of  the  majesty  of  the  laws."  It  was  a  hope  long  deferred,  but 
the  jubilee  came  none  the  less,  and  all  the  more  glorious,  in  the  ful- 
ness of  time. 

After  the  unanimous  nomination  of  Dr.  J.  Baxter  Upham  for  the 
office  of  president,  the  meeting  was  adjourned  to  June  4,  when  Dr. 
Upham  —  a  gentleman  of  culture  and  large  public  spirit,  a  graduate  of 
Dartmouth  College  in  1842.  and  of  the  Harvard  Medical  School  in 
1847,  a  gentleman  to  whom  Boston  was  indebted  more  than  to  any 
other  for  the  enterprise  which  built  the  Music  Hall,  and  secured  the 
noble  organ  which  was  soon  to  adorn  it  and  complete  it,  and  from 
whose  enthusiasm  the  cause  of  music  in  our  public  schools  was  still 
receiving  such  an  impulse  —  was  elected  president,  with  no  change 
of  other  officers.  A  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  the  retii'ing 
president.  Col.  T.  E.  Chickering. 

The  secretary,  in  the  report  above  quoted,  had  made  various  strin- 
gent recommendations  and  warnings  on  the  score  of  economy  in  those 
dark  times.  He  even  went  so  far  as  to  suggest  a  return  to  the  ancient 
practice  of  having  the  rehearsals  conducted  by  the  president  of  the 
Society,  instead  of  by  a  hired  conductor(  !).  This,  of  course,  caused 
a  smile,  as  possibly  the  wily  officer  intended  that  it  should  ;  for,  rather 
than  beat  such  an  ignominious  retreat,  what  sacrifice  within  their 
means  were  not  the  members  ready  enough  to  make?  It  does  not 
appear  that  the  five-dollar  assessment  project  met  with  a  very  warm 
response  ;  had  it  passed,  there  probably  would  have  been  no  further 
need  of  guaranty  subscriptions  to  this  day.  But  one  effect  of  the 
discussion  may  be  found  in  the  generous  attitude  taken  by  Mr.  Zer- 
rahn  and  Mr  Lang,  the  conductor  and  organist,  who  readily  agreed 
to  retain  office  without  fixed  salary,  and  be  content  with  whatever 
small  balance  might  remain  in  the  treasury  after  the  expenses  were 
paid.  (At  the  end  of  the  year,  .July  1,  1862,  they  got  $41.69  each !) 
The  work  of  rehearsal,  we  may  be  sure,  was  busily  resumed,  as 
usual,  in  October ;  for  therein  lay  the  real  life  of  the  Society.  By 
this  means  it  could  at  least  keep  itself  in  running  order.  Better  than 
gold  was  it  to  know  good  music,  and  be  able  to  sing  it  well  together. 


200     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

That  good  seed  planted,  the  harvest  would  be  sure  to  follow  in  due 
season. 

No  public  performance  was  attempted  until  after  Christmas,  Dec. 
29,  when  the  Messiah  was  given,  after  unusually  careful  preparation 
in  the  matter  of  the  choruses.  Not  a  chorus  was  omitted  nor  a  con- 
certed number  ;  nothing  but  a  piece  or  two  of  solo.  The  chorus  seats 
were  not  quite  so  full  as  on  some  earlier  occasions,  but  this  was  one 
of  the  good  results  of  the  new  rule  excluding  "  dummies,"  and  made 
up  in  quality  more  than  was  lost  in  quantity.  The  orchestra  was 
larger  and  better  than  could  have  been  expected  in  those  times,  when 
the  war  was  making  such  draughts  on  our  musicians.  We  were  re- 
duced to  one  bassoon,  and  that  of  a  somewhat  uncertain  sound  ; 
which  could  not  be  said  of  the  trumpet,  which  rang  out  splendidly  in 
"The  trumpet  shall  sound."  There  was  room  for  improvement  in 
the  chorus  singing,  our  singers  being  still  impatient  of  that  "Old 
World "  drill,  which  cultivates  a  sensitive  ear  to  what  at  first  seem 
inconsiderable  blemishes.  Few  of  them  had  yet  learned  not  to  con- 
found familiarity  with  mastery  or  knowledge.  In  the  soprano  arias 
Mrs.  Long  was  uncommonly  happy,  whether  in  voice,  or  style,  or 
feeling  ;  and  she  was  heard  with  peculiar  interest,  having  announced 
her  resolution  of  retiring  from  the  stage  and  devoting  herself  exclu- 
sively to  teaching.  The  airs  "  Come  unto  him,"  "  But  thou  didst  not 
leave,"  etc.,  and  "  How  beautiful  "  were  sung  by  Miss  Gilson,  a  fresh, 
3^oung  voice  of  silvery  purity  and  sweetness,  yet  a  little  cold.  Mrs. 
Kempton's  deep  contralto  was  as  rich  and  warm  as  ever,  but  her 
upper  notes,  owing  to  a  cold,  were  tremulous  and  husky.  There  was 
a  new  soloist,  announced  as  "the  celebrated  English  tenor,"  Mr. 
Gustavus  Geary,  whose  voice  was  robust,  rich,  and  resonant,  but 
whose  struggles  for  pathos  and  expression  seemed  affected  and  un- 
natural. Mr.  Thomas,  of  New  York,  rendered  the  bass  solos  well, 
albeit  with  a  voice  hard  and  dry  in  quality.  Great  was  the  crowd  of 
attentive  listeners,  and  the  receipts  were  $763. 

Great  applause  greeted  the  announcement  by  President  Upham 
that,  at  the  suggestion  of  Hon.  R.  C.  Winthrop,  the  Messiah  would 
be  repeated  on  New- Year's  afternoon,  for  the  benefit  of  the  United 
States  Sanitary  Commission  Fund  Conductor,  organist,  and  all  the 
assisting  artists,  vocal  and  instrumental,  volunteered  their  services 
for  this  most  worthy  object ;  and  the  friends  of  the  soldier  were 
exhorted  to  see  that  the  funds  of  the  Commission  were  increased 
thereb3^  The  receipts  were  $385.75,  as  stated  in  a  letter  of  acknowl- 
edgment from  Huntington  Wolcott,  Esq.,  treasurer  of  the  Sanitary 
Fund. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     201 

Early  in  February,  1862,  we  find  the  Society  engaged  in  the  rehear- 
sal of  Mendelssohn's  Lohgesang,  and  Handel's  Dettingen  Te  Deum. 
Both  works  have  victory  in  them,  —  the  thing  chiefly  wanted  in  those 
times.  Before  the  end  of  the  month  there  were  Union  victories  to 
talk  about  and  celebrate  with  song.  It  was  too  late  to  secure  the 
Music  Hall  for  the  22d,  Washington's  birthday ;  so  the  concert  was 
announced  for  Saturday  evening,  March  1,  Mr.  Zerrahn  having 
waived  the  right  of  the  hall  that  evening  for  his  fourth  Philharmonic 
concert,  and  lending  the  whole  force  of  his  orchestra  to  this  patriotic 
musical  rejoicing.  There  was  fine  field  for  it  in  the  symphonic  prel- 
ude of  the  Hymn  of  Praise,  as  well  as  in  the  accompaniments  of  that 
work  and  the  Dettingen  Te  Deum.  It  was  a  grand  solemnity,  this 
commemoration  of  victory.  Every  seat  was  filled ;  every  face  glowed 
with  sympathetic  fervor ;  every  singer  and  player  looked  as  if  his 
heart  was  in  his  work.  The  simple  decorations,  too,  were  tasteful 
and  suggestive.  Flags  culminating  in  a  wreath  encircled  the  motto, 
^'  Te  Deum,"  the  whole  forming  a  fine  background  to  the  noble 
statue  of  Beethoven,  "  who  is  certainly  in  place  where  Victory  means 
Freedom."  To  make  all  perfect,  and  to  bring  the  theme  directly 
home  to  all,  it  chanced  that  Col  William  Raymond  Lee,  and  other 
brave  officers  of  the  Twentieth,  had  arrived  home  only  the  evening 
before  from  their  captivity  in  Richmond  since  the  affair  of  Ball's 
Bluff.  Their  entrance  with  Governor  Andrew  and  his  staff,  amid 
patriotic  strains  from  the  orchestra,  and  the  repeated  cheers  of  the 
whole  hous(^,  made  an  enlivening  episode  to  begin  with  ;  which  the 
singing  of  the  "Star-Spangled  Banner" — the  solo  of  each  stanza 
given  out  with  fervor  by  Miss  Washburn,  and  the  whole  choir  joining 
in  the  refrain  with  orchestra  —  carried  up  to  a  thrilling  climax. 

Then  was  sung  (for  the  first  time  as  a  whole  in  Boston)  Handel's 
Dettingen  Te  Deum,  which  he  composed  in  1743,  to  commemorate  a 
victory  gained  by  the  Knglish  and  Austrian  arms  over  the  French, 
and  which  has  ever  since  voiced  the  national  thanksgiving  of  the 
English  after  victory.  If  not  to  be  counted  among  Handel's  greatest 
works,  it  is  massive  and  grand  in  its  choruses,  and  not  wanting  in 
solos  and  trios  of  considerable  interest.  By  its  solemn,  stirring  texts 
it  harmonized  with  the  occasion.  The  trumpet  call  which  introduces 
and  is  worked  into  the  whole  accompaniment  of  the  first  five-part 
chorus,  "We  praise  thee,  O  Lord,  we  acknowledge  Thee";  the 
semi-chorus,  "To  Thee  all  angels  cry  aloud,"  which  secures  by  con- 
trast the  full  splendor  of  that  most  inspiring  chorus,  "  To  Thee  Cher- 
ubim and  Seraphim  continually  do  cry,"  with  its  perpetual  reiteration 
of  the  phrase  "continually";  the  great  Sanctus,   "Holy,  holy";  in 


202  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

short,  all  the  choruses  bore  the  great  seal  of  Handel.  And  they  were 
in  the  main  sung  correctly  and  with  spirit.  The  solos  were  accepta- 
bly rendered  by  fresh  and  satisfactory  voices,  all  taken  from  the 
ranks  and  new  to  the  audience,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Simpson^ 
the  tenor  from  New  York.  Mr.  Myron  W.  Whitney  made  an  impres- 
sion by  his  remarkably  round,  sonorous,  musical  bass  voice.  Mis& 
Granger's  fresh  and  clear  soprano,  limited  to  bits  of  solo  in  a  quartet 
and  choruses,  told  with  good  effect.  And  Miss  Fitch  sang  the  alto- 
part  in  the  trio  with  tenor  and  bass  tastefully,  in  warm,  sweet  tones. 

The  Hymn  of  Praise^  besides  giving  more  scope  to  the  orchestra,. 
"  touches  every  key  of  praise  and  thankfulness,  from  the  most  trumpet- 
tongued  to  the  most  tender,  sweet,  and  trustful "  ;  and  the  whole  per- 
formance was  inspiring.  Miss  Granger  and  Miss  Washburn  blended 
to  a  charm  in  the  duet,  "  I  waited  for  the  Lord,"  the  choral  waves 
rolling  in  richly  and  smoothly,  so  that  the  piece  was  encored.  Mr. 
Simpson  had  cultivated  his  sweet,  sympathetic  tenor  to  a  reall}^  artistic 
style  since  the  first  Handel  and  Ha3'dn  Festival,  and  rendered  the 
dramatic  scene  of  the  "  Watchman  "  with  a  good  deal  of  expression. 
Chorus  and  orchestra  were  so  good,  worked  with  such  a  will,  that  the 
interest  waxed  more  and  more  exciting  to  the  end.  This  joint 
demonstration  of  music  and  of  patriotism,  one  of  the  most  memorable 
events,  so  far,  of  our  Music  Hall,  hardly  admitted,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  of  repetition,  with  all  the  circumstances  which  combined  to 
render  it  complete.     Of  the  result  financially  we  find  no  statement. 

The  season  ended  with  a  performance,  April  20,  of  the  Creation. 
Miss  Chapman  sang  the  largest  part  of  the  soprano  arias  after  but 
six  days'  study  of  the  music,  not  of  the  kind  she  learned  in  Italy  ; 
and  by  her  fine,  clear,  powerful  voice,  as  well  as  by  the  style,  the 
character  and  spirit  in  her  singing,  she  bore  away  the  first  honors. 
Miss  Gilson,  Mr.  Hazelwood,  a  new  and  pleasing  tenor,  and  Mr.  M. 
W.  Whitney  acquitted  themselves  with  credit.  The  receipts  fell  short 
of  the  expenses. 

FORTY-EIGHTH   SEASON. 

May  26,  1862,  to  May  25,  1863. 

At  the  annual  meeting  the  officers  were  re-elected.  The  receipts- 
for  the  past  year  were  reported  at  $4,623.20  ;  the  expenses.  So, 102. 40. 
The  secretary  in  his  long  report  drew  from  treasures  old  and  new  in 
the  annals  of  the  Society,  showing  how  much  had  been  done  through 
its  concerts  in  the  cause  of  charit}^  the  Messiah  having  proved  a 
fruitful  source  of  income    for  that  purpose  here,  as  it  had  done  in 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     203 

England  and  Ireland  in  Handel's  own  day.  He  dwelt  again  on  the 
need  of  stricter  discipline  and  more  punctual  and  constant  attendance 
at  rehearsals.  A  committee  had  been  charged  with  the  careful  con- 
sideration of  his  suggestions,  in  the  last  year's  report,  both  on  this 
subject  and  on  that  of  an  annual  assessment,  which  resulted  in  a 
strong  recommendation  of  both  measures.  But  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Society,  called  expressly  for  the  purpose,  it  was  decided,  in  view  of  the 
critical  state  of  the  times,  to  let  the  proposed  changes  lie  over  for  a 
season.  Five  gentlemen  had  been  admitted  to  membership,  and  four 
had  received  an  honorable  discharge.  A  tribute  of  respect  was  paid 
to  one  of  the  highly  esteemed  members  of  the  Society,  for  many 
years  its  secretary,  William  Learnard,  who  died  on  the  evening  of  the 
last  annual  meeting.  Some  of  the  iliost  active  members  had  gone  to 
the  front,  and  were  fighting  the  battles  of  the  country.  "  Our  pres- 
ident, too  (Dr.  Upham),  has  voluntarially  gone  forth  in  the  noble  work 
of  alleviating  the  sufferings  of  the  sick  and  wounded."  This  natu- 
rally has  reduced  the  chorus,  yet  the  oratorios  have  been  given  in  a 
creditable  manner. 

The  report  closed  with  a  reference  to  the  success  of  the  Musical 
Festival  of  1857,  the  first  of  the  kind  ever  attempted  in  this  country, 
and  proposed  in  glowing  terms  triennial  festivals  thereafter,  of  "  majes- 
tic proportions,"  alluding  in  this  connection  to  the  great  Handel  Fes- 
tival at  the  Crystal  Palace  in  London,  and  to  the  enormous  success  of 
Israel  in  Egypt ^  as  there  given  in  1859.  This  portion  of  the  report 
sheds  such  a  flood  of  light  upon  the  question  of  that  (here)  much- 
maligned  oratorio,  that  I  am  tempted  to  reproduce  it  in  full. 

The  secretary  says  :  — 

"  In  a  pamphlet  prospectus  of  the  coming  (London)  Festival, 
issued  by  Mr.  Manager  Bowley,  we  find  the  following  in  reference  to 
the  great  festival  of  1859,  when  twelve  hundred  were  gathered  to- 
gether, independent  of  the  band,  in  the  performance  of  Handel's 
oratorios.  He  says  :  '  For  the  last  day's  performance  in  1859  the 
sum  of  sixteen  thousand  pounds  was  received  for  tickets'  (I),  aud 
he  adds  :  '  With  what  additional  satisfaction  must  this  be  regarded, 
when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  this  unparalleled  amount  was  obtained 
by  the  representation  of  that  stupendous  masterpiece  of  musical  art, 
Israel  in  Egypt,  the  oratorio  of  oratorios  I  It  has  taken  one  hundred 
and  twenty  years  to  arrive  at  a  full  appreciation  of  its  merits  I ' 

"As  to  the  excellence  of  the  performance  of  Israel  in  Egy^jt,  and 
the  effect  thereof,  M.  Meyerbeer  is  quoted  as  having  declared  that, '  with 
all  his  life-long  varied  experiences  of  the  greatest  musical  solemnities 
in  all  countries,  Israel  in  Egypt,  at  the  Handel  Festival,  had  far  sur- 


204  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

passed  them  all.'  And  yet  when  this  same  great  work  was  performed 
here,  by  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  some  two  or  three  years 
since,— and  well  performed,  too,  considering  the  inadequacy  of  the 
choir,  as  to  numbers,  to  give  the  massive  composition  its  full  effect,  — 
the  carping  critics  brought  all  their  mighty  batteries  to  bear  in  a  flood 
of  ridicule  not  only  upon  the  oratorio,  but  on  the  Society  for  resusci- 
tating a  work  that  had  long  been  shelved,  as  they  said,  in  England, 
and  should  be  buried  so  low  here  as  never  to  reach  the  davliffht 
again  !  " 

But,  leaving  Israel  to  vindicate  itself  here,  as  elsewhere,  as  it  will 
surely  do  when  peace  returns,  our  thoughts  must  now  revert  to  the 
War,  which  is  still  making  larger  draughts  upon  the  young  manhood 
of  the  country,  and  even  claiming  recruits  within  the  ranks  of  harmony. 
Col.  Thomas  E.  Chickering,  late  president  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society,  has  assumed  command  of  a  fine  regiment  (the  41st),  which  he 
is  soon  to  lead  out  in  defence  of  countrv  and  free  institutions  This 
regiment  has  not,  like  others,  received  help  from  private  sources. 
Therefore,  the  old  Society  is  moved  to  give  it  and  its  chief  a  godsend 
in  the  shape  of  a  grand  patriotic  concert  in  aid  of  the  regimental  fund. 
It  took  place  Oct.  25,  with  the  co-operation  of  Miss  Julia  Houston, 
Mr.  R.  Hall,  the  Philharmonic  Orchestra,  the  Orpheus  Musical 
Society,  and  the  principal  military  bands  of  the  city.  — the  Brigade, 
Hall's,  Gilmore's,  and  the  Germania.  The  receipts  were  about  $650, 
of  which  $500  were  given  to  the  fund. 

The  Messiah,  as  usual,  came  round  in  Christmas  week,  Dec.  28. 
Mrs.  Long  had  been  drawn  from  her  retirement,  to  sing  once  more, 
and  at  her  best,  "There  were  shepherds,"  "Rejoice  greatly,"  and 
the  great  song  of  faith.  Miss  Gilson's  sweet,  clear  voice  betrayed 
"  stage  fright."  ]Miss  Annie  Louise  Cary,  a  healthy,  natural,  and 
hearty  singer,  fresh  from  her  native  Maine,  till  then  a  stranger  to  so 
large  a  stage,  but  destined  to  achieve  great  popularity  and  a  distin- 
guished rank  among  the  world's  contraltos,  sang  creditably,  but  with  a 
certain  lifelessness  of  style.  Her  day  will  come.  Mr.  William  Cas- 
tle, a  fresh  young  tenor  from  New  York,  whose  chief  musical  expe- 
rience had  been  among  the  "  minstrels,"  and  who  sang  this  music  for 
the  first  time,  made  an  excellent  impression.  His  pure,  sweet  voice 
had  enough  of  power  and  endurance  for  this  important  task,  and  he 
managed  it  with  such  skill  and  judgment  as  to  give  fair  expression 
and  eflTect  to  "Comfort  ye"  and  "Every  valley,"  and  even  the 
pathetic  "  Thy  rebuke  "  ;  but  he  was  not  equal —  scarcely  any  singer 
was,  except  Sims  Reeves  —  to  "  Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod  of 
iron."     For  him,  too,  there  were  laurels  in  reserve.     Mr.  Rudolphsen 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AXD  HAYDX  SOCIETY.     205 

delivered  the  bass  arias  with  dignit}'  and  power.  Some  of  the 
choruses  never  went  better.  But  the  chorus,  very  large,  was  not  well 
balanced  ;  tenors  and  basses  too  preponderating ;  contraltos  few  and 
feeble  ;  sopranos  feeble,  too,  though  many.  The  orchestra  was  excel- 
lent.    There  was  a  splendid  audience. 

Rehearsals  of  Ehjali  followed  with  the  new  year,  1863  ;  and  this 
unfailing  favorite,  well  selected  to  revive  the  flagging  interest  in 
oratorios,  was  performed  on  March  15.  The  Music  Hall  was  crowded. 
The  solo  singing  was  all  good.  The  "title  part "  was  intrusted  to 
Mr.  Rudolphsen,  who,  although  not  up  to  Mendelssohn's  ideal  of  the 
prophet, — nor  was  Formes,  nor  even  Mr.  Weiss,  in  England,  for 
whom  the  part  was  written,  —  yet  had  his  rich,  solid  tones  well  under 
control,  while  his  delivery  was  conscientious  and  appropriate,  never 
feeble  nor  offensive.  The  principal  soprano  arias  and  recitatives 
were  worthiW  presented  by  Mme.  Guerrabella  {iiee  AVard),  —  an 
American  lady  who  had  married  a  Russian  Count  Guerbel.  in  Rome, 
and  being  deserted  by  him,  began  a  successful  career  as  a  singer. 
She  had  been  very  highly  cultivated  in  the  Italian  style,  and  may  be 
supposed  to  have  been  more  at  home  in  the  music  of  Bellini  and 
Donizetti  than  in  that  of  Mendelssohn.  But  her  interpretation  was 
all  good ;  her  rendering  always  dignified  ;  her  feeling  of  the  music 
unaffected.  There  was  a  chaste  abstinence  from  ornament :  at  the 
most,  a  few  final  trills  finely  executed.  Her  manner  and  presence 
were  in  keeping  with  the  noble  music,  which  she  seemed  to  approach 
with  an  unfeigned  respect.  Miss  Houston  and  Mrs.  J.  S.  Cary  did 
justice,  respectively,  to  the  parts  of  the  queen  and  the  contralto  arias. 
Mr.  Castle  fully  confirmed  the  good  impression  he  had  made  in  the 
Jfessiah.  All  the  princij^al  artists  took  part  in  the  double  quartet, 
and  several  of  them  in  the  quartets,  which  compared  remarkably  well 
with  any  previous  renderings. 

March  22.  Elijah  was  repeated  with  diminished  audience  and  a 
loss  of  $250  ! 

FORTY-XIXTII    SEASOX. 

May  25,  1863,  to  May  30,  1864. 

Again  we  look  to  the  secretary's  report  made  at  the  annual  meeting. 
May  -^5,  to  learn  the  animus  and  temper  of  the  Society  for  twelve 
months  past,  together  with  its  hopes  and  purposes.  The  doings  we 
have  already  sketched.  After  a  brief  recital  of  these,  the  secretary 
reminds  us  of  the  difficulty  and  the  cost,  in  money  and  in  labor,  of 
preparing  such  a  work  as  Elijah   for  public  performance,  and  points 


206  HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

out  a  reciprocal  duty  between  the  Society  and  the  public.  Without 
local  rivals,  and  b}^  far  the  largest  and  most  efficient  choral  organiza- 
tion in  the  country,  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  is  still  defective 
in  many  important  requisites  for  a  perfect  rendering  of  the  great 
oratorios.  It  still  needs  better  balance  of  the  four  parts,  and  a  more 
constant  attendance  at  rehearsals  on  the  part  of  each  and  every 
member.  On  this  last  point,  Mr.  Barnes  is  more  stringent  than 
ever,  and  shows  up,  in  a  withering  light,  the  poor  excuse  of  those 
who  think  that  there  is  no  particular  need  for  their  rehearsing,  since 
they  have  sung  the  work  for  years,  and  know  their  parts  by  heart ; 
yet  when  a  part  goes  wrong,  it  is  commonly  traceable  to  some  of 
these  I  He  mentions  the  attempt  made  to  secure  better  attendance 
by  a  frequent  calling  of  the  roll,  "which  resulted  in  the  discharge 
from  the  Society  of  seven  members,  who  had  proverbially  been 
absent  from  rehearsals,  the  receipt  of  a  large  mail  of  excuses  from 
the  sick  and  disabled,  and  a  much  fuller  attendance  on  each  evening 
of  the  roll-call." 

The  report  then  proceeds  to  the  gratifying  announcement  that  the 
Great  Organ,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  perfect  in  the  world,  which 
will  soon  furnish  new  and  grander  background  of  accompaniment  to 
their  chorus  singing,  has  arrived,  and  is  to  be  erected  in  the  Music 
Hall  during  the  summer.  Kegarding  the  pecuniary  embarrassments  of 
the  Society,  he  relates  that  the  Board  of  Trustees,  at  a  recent  meet- 
ing, had  voted  to  make  an  appeal  to  friends,  and  the  public  at  large, 
for  aid  in  establishing  a  fund  of  $20,000  to  be  permanently  invested, 
the  income  to  be  expended  in  bringing  out  important  works,  institut- 
ing a  series  of  festivals,  and  combining  all  the  choral  force  of  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  Boston  in  one  great  choir,  after  the 
manner  of  London,  Birmingham,  and  other  English  cities.  He 
closes  with  suggesting  the  spring  of  1865,  at  which  time  the  vSociety 
will  have  completed  the  first  half -century  of  its  existence,  as  a  fit 
time  (one  might  say  imperatively  fit)  for  another  musical  festival, 
which  shall  be  greater  than  the  first  (in  1857).  Before  this,  he  would 
increase  the  membership  to  four  hundred.  And  coinciding  with  this 
sentiment  of  fifty  years  to  be  remembered  and  rejoiced  in,  we  shall 
find,  when  we  reach  the  time,  another  mighty  stimulus  and  inspira- 
tion, —  the  thrill  of  a  new  national  assurance,  enough  to  dispose  the 
general  heart  and  mind  to  everything  exultant  and  sublime  in  praise 
and  thanksgiving  and  great  festival  of  song.  But  many  a  dark  and 
trying  chapter  of  our  war  has  to  come  home  to  us  before  that ! 

President  Upham  had  returned  and  occupied  the  chair.  The  officers 
were  re-elected.     The  treasurer,  M.  S.  Parker,  showed  the  receipts  of 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  207 

the  year  to  be  $4,787.79,  and  the  expenditures  ?4,937.79,  leaving  a 
bahmce  of  SI 50  against  the  Society,  which,  with  a  note  of  $700  due, 
made  its  liabilities  S8o0  ;  to  meet  which,  the  Society  held  an  Ogdensburg 
bond  worth  $1,040,  thus  leaving  an  actual  balance  of  $190  on  hand. 

We  are  now,  it  must  be  remembered,  at  the  turning  period  and 
near  the  crisis  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  This  was  the  summer, 
1863,  of  the  momentous  battle  of  Gettysburg.  There  could  not  be 
much  room  for  music  in  men's  minds,  at  least  not  much  for  public 
musical  performances,  for  musical  enterprises  requiring  money,  time, 
and  thought.  The  fate  of  the  nation  trembled  in  the  balance.  It 
was  a  moment  of  absorbing  hope  and  fear.  The  storm  had  lasted 
longer,  had  raged  and  was  still  raging  far  more  furiously  than  our  san- 
guine secretary  in  his  report  two  years  before  so  confidentlv  trusted. 
Gettysburg  was  in  July.  But  six  months  earlier,  on  the  1st  of  January 
that  year,  a  new  element  of  strength,  a  new  great  hope  and  inspiration, 
was  added  to  the  Union  cause.  President  Lincoln's  immortal  Proc- 
lamation of  Emancipation  to  the  slave  had  been  that  day  promulgated  ; 
and  liberty-loving,  loyal  citizens  of  Boston,  on  the  afternoon  of  that 
day,  had  taken  worthy  recognition  of  the  great  event  by  a  memo- 
rable concert  in  the  Music  Hall,  —  a  "  Grand  Jubilee  Concert," —  a 
concert  as  remarkable  for  the  artistic  composition  of  its  programme, 
musically  considered,  as  for  the  occasion  that  inspired  it.  Mr.  Zer- 
rahn  and  his  orchestra  were  there  ;  Mr.  B.  J.  Lang  threw  himself  into 
it  with  fervor,  raising,  drilling,  and  leading  the  vocal  forces  ;  Mr. 
Otto  Dresel  stepped  from  his  habitual  retirement  to  iuterpret  the 
greatest  of  the  Beethoven  Concertos  ;  Miss  Houston  and  Mr.  August 
Kreissmann  sang.  And,  to  crown  all,  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  was 
there  to  read  his  ''Boston  Hymn,"  which  he  had  written  for  the  occa- 
sion, having  completed  it  that  ver^'  morniug.  P^x-Mayor  Josiah  Quincy 
introduced  the  poet.  Although  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  owing 
to  political  division  (or  at  least  lack  of  unanimity)  within  its  ranks, 
could  not  lend  its  aid  officially,  by  name,  yet  it  will  be  worth  remember- 
ing with  some  satisfaction  that,  without  a  Handel  and  Haydn  Society, 
the  important  choral  features  of  that  concert  would  have  been  impra<- 
ticable.  Elijah^  and  the  Messiah^  and  the  Hymn  of  Praise  looked 
to  that  quarter  for  a  large  proportion  of  the  voices.  To  those  of  its 
members  who  did  take  part,  feeling  that  the  war  question  had  now 
passed  the  stage  of  politics,  and  that  Providence  had  taken  it  out  of 
that  sphere  altogether,  it  must  always  be  a  pleasure  to  remember  that 
they  were  part  and  parcel  of  the  heartfelt  and  enthusiastic  rendering 
of  that  memorable  programme.  The  choral  history  of  this  period  is 
not  complete  without  it.     Here  it  is  in  brief  :  — 


208 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


PROLOGUE    BY    R.    W.    EMERSON. 


PAKT 


1.  Overture  to  "  Egmont  " 

2.  Solo  and  chorus  from  •'  Hymn  of  Praise  "  . 

Air    (Mr.    Kreissraann)  :     "  The    sorrows    of  death." 

..."  Watchman,  will  the  night  soon  pass?  " 
Soprano  (Miss  Houston)  :  "  The  night  is  departing!  " 
Choinis:  "The  night  is  departing."  .  .  .  "Gird  on  the 
armor  of  Light." 

3.  Concerto  in  E  flat,  for  piano  and  orcliestra 

Pianoforte  bv  Mr.  Dresel. 


Beethoven. 
Mendelssohn. 


Beethoven. 


TART    n. 

4.     Dr.  0.  W.  Holmes's  Army  Hjmn,  Solo  (Kreissmann) 

and  Chorus O.  Dresel. 

o.     Fifth  S.vmphonj" Beethoven. 

6.  («.)    Chorus  from    "Elijah":    "He   watching   over 

Israel" 3Iendelssohn. 

(6.)    Hallelujah  from  "  Messiah"        ....         Handel. 

7.  Overture  to  "  William  Tell  " Eossini. 

There  was  an  ntter  dearth  of  music  all  that  summer,  and  until 
November.  But  all  that  summer,  at  the  same  time,  during  six  long 
months,  one  of  the  builders  of  the  long-waited-for  Cxreat  Organ  (Messrs. 
Walcker  &  Son  of  Ludwigsburg) ,  with  his  men,  were  busily  putting 
together  the  great  instrument,  with  its  army  of  pipes  great  and  small, 
and  its  im.posing  frout  or  housing,  at  the  stage  end  of  the  Music  Hall. 
Its  capacity  and  qualities  had  been  tested  in  various  ways,  private 
and  public.  And  now  came  the  opportunity  for  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society  to  combine  its  voices  w4th  it  in  a  "Grand  Choral 
Inauguration  "  This  took  place  Nov.  28  ;  and  proved  so  impressive, 
so  inspiriting,  that  the  concert  had  to  be  repeated  on  Dec.  G.  The 
two  performances  may  be  spoken  of  as  one,  since  they  presented  the 
same  matter,  with  the  same  interpreters,  the  only  difference  being  in 
the  seating  of  the  singers  and  arrangement  of  the  stage.  We  find 
the  following  description  of  the  scene  :  — 

"  The  orchestra  of  forty  instruments  (AVm.  Schultze  at  their  head)  occu- 
pied the  middle  of  the  platform  before  the  organ,  at  which  sat  Mr.  Lang 
behind  Crawford's  statue  of  Beethoven.  The  sopranos  and  altos  were 
grouped  in  curved  lines  on  either  side:  and  rising  behind  them,  tier  on  tier, 
upon  a  temporary  staging,  the  tenors  and  basses  into  the  side  balconies,  mak- 
ing a  fine  show,  with  the  majestic  organ  in  the  background,  its  lower  corners 
only  being  obscured.  On  the  second  occasion  the  chorus  occupied  a  still 
loftier  and  wider  amphitheatre,  built  for  the  concert  of  the  twelve  hundred 
school  children,  and  the  platform  came  much  farther  forward  into  the  hall, 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HA>'DEL    AND    HATDX    SOCIETY.  209 

whereby  the  sound,  especially  of  the  orchestra,  told  more  eftectively.  The 
organ,  too.  shone  out  for  the  first  time  in  aU  the  glory  of  its  great  front  pipes, 
some  missing  ones  having  at  last  arrived ;  five  of  these  filled  the  central  field 
behind  the  carved  head  of  Bach,  vrhere  had  been  flags ;  these,  with  a  large 
pipe  in  each  of  the  square  end  towers,  made  the  front,  hitherto  abridged  of 
part  of  its  ett'ective  width,  shine  all  along  the  line." 

This  may  serve  for  a  general  type  of  the  spectacle  presented  by  the 
stage  and  organ  end  of  the  hall  at  many  festivals  and  concerts  in  the 
following  years.     Now  for  the  music. 

The  old  practice  of  "  playing  in  "  the  chorus  singers  with  an  organ 
"  vohintary  "  was  wisely  discontinued.  The  first  sounds  of  the  pro- 
gramme fell  fresh  upon  ears  not  already  dulled  by  music  heard,  but 
never  listened  to  as  music.  The  first  burst  was  overwhelming :  full 
chorus  of  near  four  hundred  voices,  full  organ  and  full  orchestra,  all 
\A^\\i\\\ig  fortissimo  in  Luther's  choral,  "  Ein'  feste  Burg,"  developed 
into  a  •'  Religious  Festival  Overture"  by  Otto  Nicolai.  The  volume 
of  tone  was  immense,  and  the  sonorous  ensemble  was  as  round  and 
musical  and  fresh  as  it  was  startlingly  grand  and  powerful.  Then  fol- 
lowed the  ingenious  and  somewhat  fanciful  symphonic  working  up  by 
the  clever  young  Berlin  composer  of  the  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,  on 
the  rendering  of  which  we  find  this  comment  in  our  journal  at  the  time  : 
'•Oh  that  Boston  had  an  orchestra  half  as  good  for  an  orchestra,  as 
the  organ  is  for  an  organ  I  "  Under  the  circumstances  we  would  have 
been  content  with  Luther's  choral  j)?(re  et  simple.  Then  came  Han- 
del's HaUelujali  chorus,  with  an  effect  that  can  be  easily  imagined. 

But  the  great  feature  of  the  first  part  was  Handel's  music  to  Dry- 
den's  ''Ode  for  St.  Cecilia's  Day,"  composed  in  1736,  never  before 
heard  in  this  country.  Although  not  to  be  counted  among  Handel's 
great  works,  it  is  full  of  genial  and  delightful  music,  and  is  moderate 
in  length,  — one  hour  at  the  most.  It  was  peculiarly  appropriate  for 
the  opening  of  the  organ,  both  by  its  allusions  to  the  characteristics  of 
the  various  instruments  embodied  in  an  organ,  and  by  its  cheerful, 
solemn,  noble  air,  with  prelude.  '-But  oh!  what  art  can  teach  the 
sacred  organ's  praise?"  Moreover,  it  has  stirring  and  heroic  pas- 
sages, which  chimed  well  with  the  temper  of  the  times  after  Gettys- 
burg. There  was  one  serious  difficulty.  Handel's  score,  as  he  has 
left  it,  offers  but  a  thin  sketch  or  outline  of  accompaniment ;  no 
Mozart,  Mendelssohn,  or  Robert  Franz  had  taken  it  in  hand.  Some 
of  the  arias  had  nothing  but  a  bass  with  a  high  flute,  or  violin  ; 
Handel  was  in  the  habit  of  filling  out  the  harmony  upon  his  organ. 
But  this  deficiency  was  turned  to  good  account  for  this  occasion.  The 
accompaniment  was   confined    exclusively   to    the    organ,    Mr.    Lang 


210  HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

having  transcribed  for  it  whatever  hints  there  were  of  Handel's 
instrumentation.  Thus  the  new  instrument  won  an  opportunity  to 
show  the  quality  of  all  its  various  imitative  stops,  oboe,  flute,  trum- 
pet, violin,  etc.,  which  he  contrasted  charmingly.  The  grand  choruses, 
*'From  heavenly  harmony  this  universal  frame  began,"  ''The  trum- 
pet's loud  clangor,"  with  the  "  Hark  I  hark!"  and  the  "Charge! 
charge!"  of  the  tenor  solo  (Mr.  L.  W.  AVheeler),  followed  by  the 
chorus  charging  all  along  the  line,  with  quick  reiteration  of  "  the 
double,  double,  double  beat  of  the  thund'ring  drum  "  ;  the  sublime 
finale  (solo  and  chorus),  ending  with  — 

"  The  trumpet  shall  be  heard  ou  high, 
The  dead  shall  live,  the  living  die, 
And  music  shall  untune  the  skj-,'' 

were  sung  with  spirit  and  precision.  Of  the  solos,  the  nobler  soprano 
strains  in  praise  of  Cecilia,  of  Music,  and  "  the  great  Creator,"  which 
continually  lead  the  movement  in  all  the  latter  portion  of  the  work, 
were  powerfully  delivered  by  Miss  Houston,  her  best  voice  seconding 
the  spirit  in  which  she  sang.  In  the  earlier  aria,  "What  passion 
cannot  music  raise  and  quell?"  slow,  sweet,  full  of  quiet  rapture, 
she  sang  in  a  pure  tone,  with  truth  and  delicacy  of  feeling;  and  in 
that  quaint  melody,  with  its  antique  cut  and  ornate  figures,  "  The 
soft,  complaining  flute,"  and  "  Woes  of  hapless  lovers,"  her  render- 
ing was  tasteful  and  as  effective  as  could  reasonably  be  expected. 
The  succeeding  tenor  aria,  "The  sharp  violins,"  which  the  poet 
couples  herewith  "jealous  pangs  and  desperation,  fury,"  etc.,  is  a 
curious  piece,  with  wide,  impassioned  intervals,  and  quaint  figures 
also  ;  but  Mr.  Wheeler  acquitted  himself  in  it  as  only  a  well-taught 
singer  could.  The  interest  of  the  ode  went  on  crescendo  from  the 
beginning  to  the  great  finale,  of  which  the  effect  was  wonderful.  We 
have  gone  into  so  m.uch  detail  of  the  work,  because  that  was  its  last 
(to  this  day)  as  well  as  first  production  here  in  Boston.  The  reason 
is  obvious  :  it  lies  in  the  matter  of  accompaniment.  Some  Robert 
Franz  must  help  us,  if  we  are  to  hear  it  again. 

The  second  part  of  the  concert  consisted  of  the  Hymn  of  Praise^ 
of  which  the  grandeurs  and  the  beauties  came  out  clear  and  unmis- 
takable. The  solos  were  finely  sung  by  Miss  Houston  and  Mr. 
Wheeler,  Mrs.  Fiske  seconding  the  former  well  in  the  duet,  "  I  waited 
for  the  Lord."  In  the  thrilling  notes,  "  The  night  is  departing." 
Miss  Houston's  voice  electrified  the  audience,  as  it  had  done  notably 
before  in  that  Emancipation  Jubilee. 

We  have  only  to  add  that  the  first  performance  added  from  four  to 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  211 

five  hundred  dollars  to  a  fund  for  the  extinction  of  the  debt  on  the 
organ.  The  repetition  was  by  invitation  of  the  Music  Hall  directors, 
who  paid  all  expenses,  dividing  the  proceeds  with  the  Society. 

The  Messiah,  after  Christmas,  Dec.  27,  drew  an  immense  audience, 
at  double  the  old  price.  The  receipts  were  $1,934.  The  organ  both 
helped  and  marred  the  performance,  if  we  may  trust  the  following- 
record  :  — 

"  It  made  the  choruses  more  ponderous  and  gi'ancl,  and  withal  raorebrilliaut ; 
its  hundreds  of  blended  voices  in  eacli  chord,  with  all  its  finely  attempered 
•  mixtures  '  and  harmonics,  being  clearer,  truer,  and  more  penetrathig  than  the 
indifierent  average  of  human  organs.  Some  of  the  choruses,  the  great,  broad, 
popular  ones,  like  the  Hallelujah,  went  splendidly-  Others,  more  fugued 
and  fragmentary  (hnitative),  full  of  points  to  be  snatched  up  quickly,  uow 
by  this  and  uow  by  that  set  of  voices,  went  badly  (such  as  •  He  shall  break 
their  bonds  asunder').  This  was,  in  a  great  measure,  owing  to  the  uuaccus- 
tomedness  in  singing  with  the  organ,  as  well  as  to  the  new  location  of  the 
difterent  bodies  of  singers,  which  the  organ  has  made  uecessarj-.  The 
conductor  stands  far  out  in  front ;  the  tone  reaches  his  ear  an  instant  after 
the  key  is  pressed  down,  so  that  the  organist  has  to  anticipate  by  just  that 
instant.  The  pipes,  according  to  the  quarter  where  they  are  housed,  arouse 
and  bear  oft'  the  nearest  singers,  in  spite  of  the  conductor's  wand.  The 
tenors,  for  instance,  sit  (sat  then)  right  against  that  side  of  the  organ  where 
all  the  strong  pipes  of  the  'great'  organ,  trumpets,  cornet  mixtures,  and  all, 
leap  out  aloud.  There  is  general  bewilderment.  Conductor  wonders  that 
the  Messrs.  Tenors  will  still  keep  in  advance ;  all  but  the  most  resolute,  sure 
singers  drop  away  for  fear  of  doing  mischief,  leaving  the  burthen  of  the 
work  in  a  great  measure  to  the  organ." 

But  these  were  difficulties  which  time  and  familiarity  were  sure  to 
remedy.  The  orchestra,  too.  often  began  out  of  tune  :  no  fault  of 
the  musicians,  since  it  was  an  awkward  thing  for  them  at  once  to 
adapt  their  instruments  to  the  low  French  normal  pitch  to  which  the 
organ  had  been  tuned.     Time  brought  the  remedy  for  that,  too. 

Of  the  solo  singers.  Miss  Maria  Brainerd,  of  New  York,  made  a 
good  impression  in  the  principal  soprano  airs.  She  had  some  sterling 
qualifications  for  an  oratorio  singer;  a  pure,  sweet,  powerful  voice, 
flexible  and  evenly  developed,  sustaining  itself  well  in  "  I  know  that 
my  Redeemer."  She  seemed  an  earnest,  conscientious  artist.  Hei; 
chief  fault  was  too  much  of  the  false  kind  oi  portamento .  Mrs.  J.  S. 
Gary's  contralto  was  more  rich  and  musical  than  ever ;  there  were 
feeling,  style,  fine  shading  in  her  rendering.  So  good  were  the  qual- 
ity of  tone,  the'method,  style,  and  spirit  of  the  tenor,  ;Mr.  Wheeler, 
that  it  was  said  of  him,  "He  really  deserves  to  have  more  power  of 
voice  "  ;   yet  it  was   by  no  means  painfully  inadequate  even  for  the 


212  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

great  Music  Hall.     Mr.  J.  R   Thomas,  of  New  York,  sang  the  bas& 
songs  very  evenly  and  clearly. 

On  Feb.  21,  1864,  for  the  first  tune  since  1857,  Costa's  Eli  was 
brought  out  again,  with  Miss  Houston  in  the  part  of  Hannah,  Mrs. 
J.  S.  Cary  as  Samuel,  Mr.  Wheeler  as  Elkanah,  Mr.  Kimball  as  the 
Man  of  God,  and  Mr.  Rudolphsen  as  Eli.  The  solo  singing  was  of 
more  than  average  excellence,  the  balance  of  parts  unusually  good, 
the  chorus  well  trained,  and  the  audience  large.  The  season  reached 
its  penultimate  task  in  a  second  (Easter)  performance,  before  a  very 
larse  audience,  of  the  Messiah^  in  which  the  Great  Organ  swelled  the 
volume  of  the  chorus  very  palpably,  and  with  all  the  more  effect  that 
it  was  sparingly  used  in  gentler  passages ;  while  the  solos  were 
remarkably  well  presented  by  Miss  Houston  (who  took  all  the 
soprano  pieces),  Mrs.  Cary,  Mr.  Wheeler,  and  Mr.  Rudolphsen  ;  and 
completed  itself,  May  8,  with  a  creditable  rendering  of  the  E  ij<h, 
which  the  singers,  then,  as  now,  were  sure  to  attack  with  zest  and 
con  amove.  Besides  Mr.  Wheeler  and  Mr.  Rudolphsen,  were  Adelaide 
Phillipps,  always  impressive  in  the  contralto  arias,  with  her  rich, 
large,  cultivated  voice  and  style  ;  ^liss  Houston,  at  her  best  and 
always  earnest  in  some  of  the  soprano  arias,  albeit  sometimes  ner- 
vous in  her  anxious  effort  to  do  justice  to  such  music  ;  and  another 
soprano,  Mrs.  H.  M.  Smith,  whose  purity  of  voice  and  honest  style 
commended  her.  And  these  three  ladies  sang  the  "Angel  Trio," 
which  rarely  had  been  heard  to  such  advantage. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     213 


CHAPTER   Yll. 

FIFTIETH    SEASON. 

May  30,  1804,  to  June  16,   1865. 

At  the  anuual  meeting,  Ma}^  30,  the  old  board  of  officers  were  re 
elected.  The  treasurer  reported  the  receipts  of  the  year  to  Ma^'  27, 
at  S'2^'254:  32  ;  expenses,  5^1,538.97,  —  leaving  the  Society  out  of  debt, 
with  a  balance  in  the  treasury  of  over  8700.  The  librarian's  report 
showed  an  addition  to  the  library'  of  eight  hundred  and  sixt3'-nine 
vocal  parts  and  seven  scores.  Secretary  Barnes  congratulated  the 
members  on  a  successful  year  at  last,  in  those  hard  times.  Of  the 
six  concerts  of  the  season,  five  had  been  in  the  joint  interest  of  the 
Society  and  the  Music  Hall  Association,  —  the  first,  as  we  have  seen, 
a  voluntary  offering  to  the  organ  fund.  There  had  been  thirt}'  rehears- 
als, with  a  fair  attendance,  averaging,  on  pleasant  evenings,  one 
hundred  and  ninet^^-seven  members  ;  the  highest  number  present  at 
any  rehearsal  was  two  hundred  and  ninety-one.  There  had  been 
thirty  admissions  of  new  members,  and  two  expulsions.  The  secre- 
taiy  did  not  discuss  the  condition  and  prospects  of  the  Society  in  his 
u^ual  exhaustive  manner,  but  gave  place  to  the  thoughtful,  excellent 
address  of  Dr.  Upham,  the  president.  After  a  complimentary  allu- 
sion to  "the  instructive  reports  of  our  worthy  secretar}-"  on  past 
occasions,  followed  b}'  pleasant  recognition  of  the  presence  on  the 
active  roll  of  members  (now  in  the  forty-ninth  year  of  the  Society) 
of  ''  an  honored  few,"  who  took  part  in  its  earliest  public  perform- 
ances ;  and  after  briefly  summing  up  the  work  and  the  successes  of 
the  season  (ah-eady  recorded  in  these  pages),  with  fit  tribute  to  the 
noble  organ,  the  address  becomes  didactic,  and  discourses  at  length, 
with  wise  and  practical  suggestions,  upon  what  we  maj'  call  the 
man  lie  of  a  choral  society.  This  is  too  much  to  the  purpose  not  to 
be  given  here  in  full :  — 

"  There  have  been  shortcomings  euoiigh ;  andglarmg  faults,  —  faults  which 
have  reference  to  the  Society  as  a  bocl}^  —  faults  (the  more  frequent  and  inex- 
cusal)le)  which  are  referable  to  a  few,  who  bj'  their  inattention  and  careless- 
ness liave  sadly  marred  the  well-directed  efibrts  of  all  the  rest,  —  and  faults, 
too,  of  that  still  more  limited  class,  who  are  yet  to  be  found  in  all  associa- 
tions of  this  nature,  —  termed  not  inappropriate!}"  the  individual  vociferators^ 


214  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

—  whose  zeal,  out  of  all  proportion  to  their  knowledge,  spoils  both  the  temper 
and  the  tone  of  their  immediate  neighbors,  and  is,  at  the  same  time,  sadly 
damaging  to  the  general  effect. 

"And  here  let  me  caution  the  Society  against  the  idea,  too  often  indulged  in 
by  associations  of  amateurs,  who  have  acquired  a  standing  and  reputation  for 
the  good  things  they  have  achieved,  that  perfection  in  their  performances  has 
already  been  attained.  This,  if  cherished,  will  prove  a  fatal  mistake.  Non 
progredi  est  regredi  (not  to  progress  is  to  retrograde)  should  be  the  motto  of 
us  all.  Nor  should  we  be  disappointed  and  restive  under  the  more  stringent 
animadversions  upon  our  best  efforts,  to  which  the  Society  has  in  later  years 
been  subjected.  Bear  in  mind,  what  has  been  well  said,  that  just  in  propor- 
tion as  an  association  for  the  promotion  of  art  — a  musical  association  in 
particular  —  has  been  successful  in  advancing  the  taste  and  judgment  of  the 
public  who  make  up  its  audiences,  in  the  same  proportion  it  must  expect  less 
indulgence  in  its  dtfects,  and  a  severer  criticism  of  its  most  faithful  per- 
formances. And  this,  indeed,  it  can  well  afford  to  bear,  for  the  strictest  criti- 
cism presupposes  an  acknowledged  capacity  for  excellence. 

"  Xow  for  a  few  plain  facts  and  hints  of  a  practical  cast. 

"The  first  and  most  important  in  the  category  of  complaints,  which  my 
two  or  three  years'  observation  with  you  leads  me  to  make,  has  reference  to 
the  ordinary  operations  of  the  Society.  It  is  the  want  of  regularity  and 
punctuality,  on  the  part  of  the  members,  in  their  attendance  upon  the  stated 
meetings  for  practice  and  rehearsal.  This  is  an  evil  which  has  long  been 
felt,  and  oftentimes  brought  to  your  notice.  From  the  abstract  of  the  records 
for  the  past  year,  just  given,  we  learn  that  it  is  still  in  full  force.  Indeed, 
absenteeism  seems  almost  to  be  the  rule  rather  than  the  rare  exception.  Now, 
it  needs  no  argument  to  prove  that,  without  an  honest  and  conscientious 
observance,  on  the  part  of  all,  of  their  duties  in  this  respect,  the  Society, 
constituted  as  it  is,  can  never  hope  for  progress  and  improvement,  much  less 
to  arrive  at  anywhere  near  the  confines  of  perfection.  But,  perhaps,  there 
may  be  some  to  Avhom  the  requirement  of  a  weekly  rehearsal,  during  the 
seven  or  eight  months  that  make  up  the  season,  appears  inordinate  and  unrea- 
sonable. To  such  we  would  refer  the  rules  and  regulations  of  similar  asso- 
ciations in  London  and  elsewhere,  where,  not  unfrequeutly,  in  addition  to  the 
meetings  for  weekly-  practice  throughout  the  whole  j'ear,  as  man}-  as  fifteen 
or  twenty  special  occasions  are  made,  at  all  of  which  the  members  are  bound, 
under  penalty  of  forfeiture  of  membership,  except  for  the  most  ample  and 
sufficient  reasons,  to  be  present.  In  the  London  Sacred  Harmonic  Society, 
the  candidates  for  admission  are  now  pledged  beforehand  to  a  rigid  observ- 
ance of  its  rules  and  regulations,  among  the  most  stringent  of  which  are 
those  requiring  punctual  and  regular  attendance  on  all  meetings  for  practice. 
It  would  be  well  if  a  similar  rule  were  adopted  and  enforced  in  our  own 
Society. 

"  Another  practice  of  a  portion  of  our  members,  which  grows  out  of  the 
laxity  of  rules,  and  which  deserves  to  be  strongly  reprehended,  is  that  of 
frequenting  only  those  rehearsals  which  immediately  precede  a  public  per- 
formance, and  with  such  superficial  preparation,  occupying  their  accustomed 
seats  on  the  evening  of  the  concert.  In  this  way,  as  has  been  intimated,  many 
an  otherwise  creditable  performance,  for  which  careful  rehearsal  by  a  consci- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     215 

■entioiis  few  has  been  made,  is  marred  and  ruined.  As  a  remedj'  for  this  evil, 
I  would  respectfull}-  suggest  that  some  means  be  adopted,  by  registration  or 
otherwise,  to  mark  the  attendance  of  individuals  at  such  rehearsals  as  may  be 
given  in  preparation  for  a  public  performance,  the  presence  and  participation 
in  three  or  more  of  which  should  be  required  of  all  who  take  part  in  the  con- 
cert. If  such  system  of  elimination  should  result  in  reducing  the  chorus  on 
these  public  occasions  to  one  half  its  usual  numerical  force,  the  accuracy  and 
-efficiencj^  of  the  residue  would  be  the  better  appreciated  and  felt. 

"Among  the  radical  faults  of  singers,  in  our  own  country  especially,  to 
which  this  Societj'  forms  no  exception,  is  the  almost  universal  inattention 
that  prevails  as  to  the  proper  position  of  the  body,  whether  standing  or  sit- 
ting. I  deem  this  subject  of  sufficient  importance  to  dwell  upon  it  emphat- 
ically, and  urge  it  upon  your  careful  consideration.  I  believe  that  if  every 
association  of  this  nature  had  its  competent  instructor  in  physical  training, 
as  it  is  understood  at  the  present  day.  especially  if  to  this  were  added  some 
knowledge  of  the  art  of  correct  vocalization  and  the  proper  management  of 
the  voice,  the  efiect  of  the  chorus,  in  respect  of  volume  and  power  of  tone 
alone,  could  be  at  least  doubled.  But  without  such  special  instruction,  a  sim- 
ple observance  of  an  erect  position  of  the  body,  and  a  proper  disposition  of 
the  organs  immediately  concerned  in  vocalization,  would  do  much  towards 
the  production  of  a  purer  intonation,  greater  ease,  precision,  and  fluency  of 
deliver}';  everything,  indeed,  that  is  improving  to  the  singing  voice. 

"Again,  a  positive  element  of  loss  which  too  often  prevails  in  an  extensive 
choral  organization  is  the  neglect  or  refusal  of  a  considerable  percentage  of 
those  who  are  abundantly  competent  to  sustain  themselves  creditably,  to  join 
in  all  their  allotted  parts  at  a  concert.  Some  of  the  finest  effects  of  the  '  Mes- 
siah,' as  given  by  this  Society  at  the  last  Christmas  season,  were,  as  I  believe, 
inadequately  produced  from  this  cause  alone.  It  may  be  by  reason  of  physi- 
cal fatigue,  on  the  part  of  some,  but  it  is  more  frequently  from  indifference, 
or  the  feeling,  perhaps,  that,  among  the  great  mass,  these  single  efforts  may 
not  be  missed.  To  this  argument,  however  specious  it  may  appear  in  a  single 
individual  case,  it  is  only  necessarj^  to  apply  the  reductio  ad  ahsurdum ;  for 
what  would  become  of  a  great  chorus  if  all  should  be  possessed  Avith  the 
impulse  to  remain  silent  at  one  and  the  same  moment?  It  is  only  necessary 
to  allude  to  this  point,  and  I  leave  it  to  the  reflection  and  good  sense  of  those 
who  may  have  been  accustomed  so  to  transgress. 

"  As  an  aid  in  bringing  about  and  maintaining  an  improvement  in  some  of 
the  points  to  which  I  have  alluded,  as  well  as  otherwise  to  increase  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  Society,  and  assist  its  practical  operations,  I  would  recommend 
the  establishment  of  a  Staff  of  Superintendents,  — as  they  might  be  called,  — 
to  consist  of,  at  least,  eight  persons,  one  half  to  be  taken  from  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  the  others  to  be  chosen  annually  from  the  Societ}*  at  large.  They 
should  be  selected  for  their  intelligence  and  ability,  and  for  their  devotion  to 
the  interests  of  the  Society,  and  conscientiousness  in  the  discharge  of  its 
required  duties.  It  should  consequently  be  regarded  as  a  post  of  honor,  as  it 
would  be  one  of  responsibility  and  labor.  They  could,  with  advantage,  be 
apportioned  equally  among  the  several  departments  of  the  chorus,  —  thus 
giving  two  to  each  part, — the  librarian  to  retain  as  now  his  general  super- 
vision of  the  orchestra,  and  be  included  among  the  staft'.     It  would  be  the 


216     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

dut}'  of  these  gentlemen  to  attend  to  the  proper  seating  and  arrangement  of 
their  respective  departments,  both  at  rehearsals  and  concerts,  —  to  see  that 
all  are  properly  supplied  with  music, — to  take  note  of  the  attendance  of 
members,  and  report  the  same  regularly  at  each  meeting  to  the  secretary  or 
the  president  of  the  Board,  and  generally  to  provide  for  everything  that  per- 
tains to  the  comfort  and  adds  to  the  efficiency  of  the  corps  under  their  imme- 
diate charge,  —  to  do  this  with  firmness  and  energy,  and  at  the  same  time 
with  discretion  and  courtesy.  This,  of  course,  would  take  the  place  of  the 
present  Seating  Committee,  whose  duties  are  merged  in  those  of  the  Staft'  of 
Superintendents.  The  number  could,  if  required,  be  enlarged  on  occasions  of 
extra  duty  and  emergency.  The  four  thus  chosen  from  the  Society  at  large, 
together  with  the  librarian,  might,  with  propriety,  be  ex  officio  members  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees,  but  without  the  privilege  of  a  vote  at  its  meetings. 
I  am  certain  that,  if  such  organization  be  established,  it  would  do  much  to 
regulate  and  systematize  the  Society's  operations,  and  bring  about  that  unity 
of  purpose  and  action  so  much  needed  in  every  association  of  this  kind. 

' '  A  word  here  as  to  the  proper  numerical  force  of  our  chorus  department, 
and  the  better  balancing  of  the  parts.  Taking  into  account  the  accommoda- 
tions and  acoustic  capacity  of  the  building  we  are  likely  to  occupy  for  public 
entertainments  for  some  time  to  come,  there  is  demanded,  to  give  proper 
effect  to  such  works  as  we  are  accustomed  to  undertake  on  our  ordinary  occa- 
sions, a  chorus  of  full  four  hundred  vocalists.  By  this,  I  mean  that  number 
of  really  competent,  co-operating,  and  well-trained  voices.  This,  with  the 
unrivalled  organ  we  have  at  our  command,  and  an  orchestra  of  sixty  instru- 
ments (the  command  of  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  at  present  we  have  not), 
would  leave  little  to  be  desired. 

"If  the  plan  now  before  the  School  Board  of  this  city  should  become  a 
law,  viz.,  the  introduction  of  a  system  of  thorough  instruction  in  vocal  music 
into  the  primary  schools,  under  the  supervision  of  an  able  teacher,'  —  as  it  is 
already  taught  by  a  special  corps  of  teachers  in  the  higher  classes  of  the 
grammar  schools,  —  we  shall  not  be  at  a  loss  for  material  wherewith  to  recruit 
our  ranks,  or  to  raise  our  complement  of  active  members  to  any  number  at 
which  we  may  deem  it  expedient  to  limit  ourselves;  for  the  result  of  such 
plan  must  be,  in  a  few  years,  to  increase  immeasurably  a  knowledge  of  the 
principles  and  practice  of  choral  music  throughout  the  whole  community. 
Indeed,  we  ought  even  now,  under  the  partial  operation  of  the  present  system 
of  musical  education  in  our  public  schools,  to  find  among  those  who  annually 
o-raduate  from  the  gi'ammar  department  an  abundant  supply  of  material  for 
this  purpose;  and  it  only  needs,  as  I  believe,  some  sj'stematic  mode  of  regis- 
tering the  best  pupils  in  the  advanced  classes  in  music,  to  render  the  scheme 
a  practical  one." 

The  address  concludes  with  a  reminder  of  the  interesting  fact,  that 
the  year  upon  which  the  Society  was  just  entering  would  terminate 


1  Since  the  above  was  written,  this  important  step  towards  the  establishment  of 
a  more  complete  system  of  musical  education  in  our  public  schools  has  been  taken, 

the  Board  having,  by  a  nearly  unanimous  vote,  adopted  the  order  recommended 

bv  the  Standing  Committee  on  Music,  for  the  appointment  of  a  special  instructor 
in  music  in  the  primary  schools  of  Boston. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  217 

with  the  completion  of  the  first  half  centui-y  of  its  life,  and  with  the 
following  cheerful  and  appropriate  suggestion  :  — 

"  It  is  fitting  that  so  memorable  an  epoch  in  our  history  should  be  celebrated 
with  more  than  usual  circumstance  and  ceremony ;  and,  while  I  would  not 
counsel  a  departure  from  the  ordinary  rehearsals,  and  a  rigid  preparation  for 
the  approaching  concert  season,  I  Avould  propose  that  a  proper  time  be  set 
apart  as  a  festival  week,  in  which  this  Society,  with  picked  orchestra  and 
chorus,  enlarged  to  the  utmost  limits  the  capacity  of  our  hall  will  allow,  and 
aided  by  the  most  renowned  virtuoso  talent  this  continent,  if  not  the  world, 
can  supply,  shall  interpret  in  succession  the  sublime  works  of  the  great  mas- 
ters of  symphony  and  oratorio. 

"It  would  be  out  of  place,  perhaps,  for  me  to  indicate,  now  and  here,  the 
details  of  a  gi-and  programme  for  such  occasion.  This  will  require  much 
thought  and  consideration  on  the  part  of  many,  and  the  careful  exercise  of 
discretion  and  good  judgment.  But  it  should  be  early  marked  out  and  deter- 
mined upon  in  all  its  features,  and  the  preparation  for  it  set  about  in  earnest 
by  all  who  are  to  take  part.  A  year  is  none  too  much  time  wherein  to  make 
ready  for  the  work.  I  would  adA'ise,  therefore,  that  this  matter  be  committed 
into  the  proper  hands  at  once,  with  instructions  to  spare  no  pains  nor 
expense,  within  reasonable  bounds,  to  make  the  occasion  significant  of  the 
^rand  epoch  it  is  to  mark  in  our  annals,  and  worth j'  the  great  names,  the  per- 
formance of  whose  noblest  works  will  be  linked  with  its  observance." 

It  was  voted  that  such  a  Semi-Centeunial  Festival  be  held  in  April 
or  May,  1865. 

The  temper  of  the  times  disposed  to  festival.  The  Union  cause 
had  very  largely  gained  ;  rebellion  had  shi'unk  into  narrow  limits, 
though  the  serpent  was  not  yet  quite  strangled.  But  there  were  signs 
of  light;  we  began  to  see  the  end,  with  peace,  and  liberty,  and  har- 
mony restored.  Yet  much  lay  still  in  doubt.  The  darkest  hour,  they 
say,  is  that  before  the  dawn.  And  the  two  months  of  July  and 
August  of  this  very  summer,  1864,  have  been  called  the  darkest  and 
most  anxious  period  of  the  war. 

If  no  brilliant  efforts  in  the  field  of  music  were  to  be  immediately 
expected,  preparation  for  the  Festival  would  soon  bring  earnest  work. 
Some  of  the  noblest,  most  important  and  befitting  tasks  for  such  a 
Society  had  been  too  long  held  in  abeyance.  Israel  in  Egypt  still 
remained  a  terror  ;  and  there  was  no  thought  yet  of  old  Sebastian 
Bach,  his  Christmas  Oratorio,  his  Passion  Music  and  Cantatas, — 
*•  a  richer  than  Calif ornian  field  for  exploration  even  in  the  Old  World, 
now  and  for  many  years  to  come."  Nay.  Jephtha,  Judas  Jfaccabceus, 
many  more  works  of  Handel,  had  either  faded  out  of  recollection,  or 
had  never  yet  been  heard  among  us.  The  Festival,  however,  will 
advance  us  somewhat :  future  festivals  still  more. 

The  weeklv  rehearsals  neoau  earlier  than  usual. — in  the   middle  of 


218  HI8TOKY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

September.  It  was  resolved  to  double  the  number  of  the  chorus- 
Israel  was  taken  up  again  in  earnest ;  the  Messiah,  Elijah^  perhaps- 
the  Creation^  and  the  Hymn  of  Praise^  were  to  figure  in  the  five  days'' 
programme  ;  and  there  should  be  an  orchestra  of  from  eighty  to  one 
hundred  instruments  for  alternate  concerts  between  the  oratorios- 
So  things  began  to  look  alive. 

But,  apart  from  Festival,  the  work  of  the  season  proper  must  not 
be  neglected.  It  began  Nov.  27,  with  a  performance  of  Costa's  Eliy 
with  the  same  solo  artists  as  in  its  last  performance,  Feb.  21  :  Miss. 
Houston,  Mrs.  Car}-,  Mr.  Wheeler,  and  Mr.  Rudolphsen.  There  was- 
but  a  moderate  audience. 

True  to  the  good,  old  custom.  Handel's  Messiah  was  restudied  and 
refurbished  up  for  Christmas,  the  choruses  again  undergoing  critical 
rehearsal  under  Carl  Zerrahn,  for  whom,  and  also  for  Mr.  Lang,  the 
organist,  the  heaviness  of  labor  must  have  been  lifted  into  joy  b}"  the 
success  which  crowned  it.  The  oratorio  was  given  both  on  Saturday 
and  Sunday  evenings,  Dec.  24  and  25,  changing  the  group  of  solo- 
singers,  with  the  exception  of  the  tenor,  Mr.  L.  W.  Wheeler.  For 
the  first  evening  there  were  :  Mrs.  Anna  Stone  Eliot,  of  New  York^ 
returning  to  the  scene  of  her  old  triumphs  ;  Mrs.  Smith,  who  sang- 
"Rejoice"  and  "How  beautiful"  with  charming  purit}",  sweetness^ 
and  evenness  of  voice,  and  with  simplicity  and  truth  of  feeling ; 
Miss  Addle  Ryan,  whose  chief  drawback  in  the  contralto  airs  was  the 
very  natural  one  of  magnifying  to  herself  the  terrors  of  singing  for 
the  first  time  in  so  large  a  hall,  and  consequent  over-exertion  of  her 
voice  ;  and  Mr.  M.  W.  AVhitney,  whose  bass  tones  and  whose  manner 
were  both  musical  and  manly.  The  hall  was  quite  well  filled.  Sun- 
day evening's  performance  was  the  best  of  the  two,  and  had  by  far 
the  greatest  audience.  The  special  feature  of  interest  was  the  re- 
appearance, after  several  years'  retirement  from  the  concert  room,  of 
Mrs.  J.  H.  Long,  "  who  took  upon  her  the  entire  soprano  part  with 
even  more  acceptance,  more  sustained  ease,  power,  eloquence  of  deliv- 
ery, more  sweetness,  evenness  and  reach  of  voice,  more  finish  and 
maturity  of  style,  than  in  the  days  when  these  great  songs  were 
thouo-ht  to  be  hers  bv  rioht  among  all  our  native  siug-ers."  Mrs.  J.  S. 
Cary's  warm  and  sympathetic  contralto  made  itself  and  made  the 
music  felt.  The  bass  arias  fell  to  the  share  of  Mr.  Rudolphsen,  who 
had  acquired  more  mastery  of  our  English  accent,  and  whose  substan- 
tial bass  voice  sustained  itself  through  the  Handelian  roulades  grace- 
fully and  well.  Mr.  Wheeler  had  scarceh^  risen  from  an  illness  of 
some  weeks,  so  that  his  tenor  voice,  never  very  powerful,  was  weaker 
than  usual ;  yet  he  exerted  himself  with  a  becoming  loyalty  to  art. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  219 

Nothing  more  until  April,  — the  eventful,  joyful,  suddenly  sad- 
dened, vet  triumphal  month  of  April,  1865  I  The  long  period  of 
depression  is  past.  Those  eight  long  years  of  a  whole  nation's 
travail,  of  coming  and  of  actual  war,  are  accomplished,  giving  birth 
to  a  new  world,  as  it  were,  of  real  Liberty  and  Union,  with  no  canker 
at  the  core.  Richmond  has  fallen  ;  the  heart  of  the  rebellion  has  been 
reached.  Peace  is  proclaimed.  Magnanimity  goes  hand  in  hand 
with  victory.  Arms  are  laid  down  ;  there  shall  be  no  further  calls  for 
drafting  and  recruiting  ;  the  peaceful  occupations  and  society  of  daily 
life  shall  be  no  more  disturbed.  We  are  one  people  in  a  fuller  sense 
than  ever  before.  The  air  is  full  of  rejoicing.  Music  and  our  old 
Society  must  not  be  behindhand  in  all  this.  We  were  just  on  the  point 
of  assembling  in  the  Music  Hall  to  find  voice  for  our  joy  and  gratitude 
in  the  great  anthems  of  victory,  and  hear  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
chorus,  with  new  inspiration,  sing  the  Hymn  of  Prai.^e  and  Handel 
Hallelujahs,  when  suddenly  came  flashed  over  the  land  the  appalling 
news  :  Lincoln  is  dead  I  This  second  Father  of  his  Country  has  fallen 
by  the  hand  of  the  assassin.  Music  held  her  breath  and  listened  to 
the  very  voice  of  God  in  the  great  national  bereavement.  These  two 
opposite  experiences,  which  made  one  little  week  so  long,  flashing  the 
clearest  light  across  the  whole  dark  struggle,  fusing  all  hearts  in  one 
great  solemn  joy,  —  and  then,  -'in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye,"  in  one  great  grief,  which  puts  the  seal  of  certainty  upon  the 
victory  of  Right,  —  have  made  a  Nation  of  us.  For  so  grand  a  victory 
a  typical  and  crowning  sacrifice  was  needed  ;  and  he,  who  had  so 
wisely,  firmly,  reverently,  humanely,  guided  us  through  the  long 
struggle,  —  he  who  had  ''  borne  his  faculties  so  meek"  and  been  "  so 
clear  in  his  great  office," — he  who  could  say  such  touching  words 
without  any  rhetoric,  —  he,  who  by  manifest  simplicity  and  goodness, 
by  plain,  unpretending,  solid  virtues,  by  absolute  integrity  and  a 
patriotism  that  knew  not  self,  by  sincerest  sympathy  with  the  people, 
the  whole  people,  nearer  to  all  because,  not  being  brilliant,  he  was  so 
full  of  the  true  life  and  purpose,  had  won  the  heart  of  all  this  people 
to  a  degree  scarcely  suspected  by  itself,  —  he,  our  good,  great  Presi- 
dent, became  the  nation's  martyr  in  its  highest  place.  Now  is  our 
cause  consecrated,  our  joy  solemnized,  our  victory  which  God  hath 
given  us,  complete. 

livery  concert  was  of  course  suspended,  —  nay,  forgotten  ;  every 
theatre  was  closed.  Silence  was  the  onlv  music  great  enough  to 
satisfy.  But  this  mood,  so  deep,  so  wholesome,  could  not  long  re- 
main. The  grief,  the  gloom,  had  a  new  hope,  new  life  in  it.  Art 
soon  finds  her  voice  again.     The  sacrifice  has  only  made  the  meaning 


220  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

of  the  victory  more  clear.  Now  are  the  times  ripe  for  a  festival  of 
music.  All  good  signs  concur.  Not  only  is  the  public  reacW  to 
support  it,  eager  to  enjoy  it,  but  all  these  glad  and  grave  experiences 
prepare  the  heart  to  feel  the  dignity,  the  holiness  of  great  and  real 
music.  And  this  great  moment,  by  a  fortunate  coincidence,  arrives 
just  on  the  eve  of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  the  Handel 
and  Haydn  Society.  The  Festival  may  now  go  on.  "Far  off  its 
coming  shines  "  ;  say,  rather,  it  is  close  at  hand. 

The  main  features  of  the  plan,  after  much  consultation,  correspond- 
ence, modification,  much  reluctant  sacrifice  of  fond  ideals,  were  now 
essentially  complete  and  definite.  The  Festival  was  to  occupy  the 
five  days  beginning  on  Tuesday  morning,  May  23,  and  ending  on 
Sunday  evening,  the  28th.  A  chorus  of  six  hundred  voices  was  an- 
nounced, —  a  promise  more  than  kept.  For  the  orchestra  one  hun- 
dred instruments  were  engaged,  including  nearly  all  the  old  "  Ger- 
manians,"  with  the  leading  members  of  the  New  York  Philharmonic 
Society,  and  others  from  Philadelphia,  besides  our  local  orchestra. 
And  the  accompaniments  were  to  be  enriched  and  strengthened  by 
the  massive  harmonies  of  the  Great  Organ,  played  by  B.  J.  Lang. 
The  weak  point,  comparatively,  was  in  the  array  of  solo  singers, 
which,  of  course,  could  not  vie  with  those  of  Birmingham  and  Lon- 
don. Large  pecuniary  inducements  had  been  offered  to  Sims  Reeves 
and  other  famous  English  artists,  but  in  such  hopes  the  managers 
were  disappointed.  They  could,  however,  offer  a  respectable  show 
of  many  of  the  best  concert  and  oratorio  singers  at  that  time  in  the 
country,  namely:  — 

Soprani:  Mme.Frederici,  of  Grover's  German  opera;  Mme.  Van  Zandt  and 
Miss  Maria  Brainerd,  of  New  York ;  Miss  J.  E.  Houston,  Mrs.  H.  M.  Smith, 
and  Miss  Matilda  Phillipps  (younger  sister  of  Adelaide),  of  Boston;  and  Mas- 
ter Richard  Coker,  the  "  boy  prima  donna"  (as  he  was  sometimes  called),  of 
Trinit}'  Church,  Xew  York. 

Contralti :  Mrs.  Jenny  Kempton,  of  New  York:  and  Mrs  J.  S.  Gary,  of 
Boston. 

Tenori :  Franz  Himmer,  of  the  German  Opera;  J.  E.  Perring  and  John 
Farle}',  of  Xew  York ;  G.  W.  Hazelwood,  of  Boston. 

Bassi:  Carl  Formes  and  Josef  Hermanns,  of  the  German  opera;  F. 
Rudolphsen,  of  Boston. 

These  were  the  interpreters.  For  subject-matter  the  nine  concerts 
of  the  five  days  and  evenings  offered :  Otto  Nicolai's  Religious  Festi- 
val Overture^  an  address  by  the  president  of  the  Society,  and  Mendels- 
sohn's Hymn  of  Praise,  for  the  inauguration  of  the  Festival  on 
Tuesday  morning  ;    four   evening  oratorios  :  the   Creation,  Israel  in 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  221 

^gyj^t  (selections),  Elijah,  and  the  Messiah.  The  four  afternoon  pro- 
grammes of  classical  and  miscellaneous  music  contained  the  Eroica 
and  Seventh  Symphonies  of  Beethoven,  the  great  C  major  Symphony 
of  Schubert,  and  the  Scotch  Symphony  (A  minor)  of  Mendelssohn ; 
Overtures  :  to  Leonore,  No.  3,  and  Coriolanus,  Beethoven  ;  to  Exry- 
anthe,  "Weber ;  to  Midsummer  NighCs  Dream  and  Ruy  Bias,  Mendels- 
sohn ;  to  William  Tell,  Rossini ;  The  Naiads,  Sterndale  Bennett ;  to 
Rienzi  and  Tanyihduser,  Richard  Wagner ;  also  Les  Preludes,  by 
Liszt,  the  Fackeltanz  (torchlight  dance)  by  Meyerbeer,  and  a  variety 
of  songs  and  arias,  and  vocal  show-pieces,  which  will  be  mentioned 
as  they  come  along.  To  the  nine  must  be  added  a  Great  Organ  con- 
cert given  by  Mr.  Lang  at  noon  on  Saturday. 

The  hum  of  preparation  is  continually  heard  about  the  Music  Hall. 
For  many  weeks  the  rehearsals  of  the  choral  forces,  under  the  ener- 
getic baton  of  Zerrahn,  have  been  going  on  with  intenser  fervor  and 
increasing  frequency, — for  some  time  three  rehearsals  every  week, 
until  orchestra  and  solo  artists  are  brought  in  to  make  up  a  complete 
whole.  An  ample  guaranty  fund  against  pecuniary  loss  has  been 
readily  subscribed  to,  and  now  all  is  ready  for  the  opening.  It  came 
with  the  usual  May  baptism,  the  old  rainy  habit  of  the  weather,  which 
had  prevailed  for  weeks  before  the  Festival,  and  did  not  abate  until 
the  first  day  was  over  ! 

Tuesday  Morning,  May  23.  The  hour  for  the  opening,  eleven 
o'clock,  had  arrived.  The  first  sight  of  the  imposing  scene  insured 
success.  There  at  a  glance  were  all  the  elements,  in  orderly  array, 
of  such  a  realization  of  great  song  and  symphony  as  had  been  so 
long,  in  hope  and  fear  alternately,  looked  forward  to.  When  all 
were  ready,  and  all  waiting  for  the  signal  from  Conductor  Zerrahn's 
baton  to  burst  forth  into  song,  suddenly  that  gentleman  stood  with 
fixed  look  toward  the  audience,  with  the  government  of  the  Society 
grouped  around  him,  and  gradually  all  the  faces  and  the  forms  of 
the  whole  mass  of  singers  and  musicians  became  likewise  fixed,  as 
in  that  famous  banquet  scene  in  the  palace  of  the  "  Sleeping  Beaut3\" 
It  was  soon  seen  that  the  photographer  in  the  gallery  was  holding 
back  the  flood  of  harmony  e'en  then  about  to  burst  on  the  impatient 
ear.  And  what  a  scene  it  was  there  at  the  stage  end  of  the  Music 
Hall !  I  have  not  the  photograph  at  hand,  which  was  only  partially 
successful ;  but  from  notes  taken  at  the  time  can  (also  but  imper- 
fectly) recall  the  scene  :  — 

"  The  seating  of  the  chorus  and  the  orchestra  was  in  itself  a  work  of  art. 
A  more  admirable  economy  of  room,  combined  with  acoustic  adaptation  and 
spectacular  effect,  could  hardly  have  been  contrived.     The  platform  had  been 


222  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

brought  forward  into  the  hall :  rows  of  seats  rose  araphitheatrically  on  either 
hand  into  the  side  balconies,  completely  filled  with  choristers ;  tenors  and 
basses,  crowding  that  section  of  the  balconies,  overflowed  down  several  steps 
of  either  staging,  and  the  stream,  still  broadening  forward  and  downward, 
grew  gay  with  the  manj^-colored  dresses  of  alti  and  soprani.  To  one  looking 
up  at  either  wing  of  the  chorus  from  below,  the  mass  of  heads  seemed  poured 
out  from  above  in  just  the  form  (a  frigid  simile  indeed)  in  which  the  glaciers- 
spread  down  through  the  mountains; — we,  the  audience,  may  pass  for  the 
moraine.  Clearly  the  promised  si\x /ir<?i(?red  voices  were  not  merely  nominal ; 
there  were  actually  at  least  seven  hundred.  The  level  space  at  the  feet  of  the 
two  great  choral  slopes  was  filled  with  the  orchestra  of  about  07ie  hundred 
instruments.  These,  too,  w^ere  ingeniously  and  Avell  an-anged.  In  the  fore- 
ground, facing  inwardly  from  each  side,  sat  row^s  of  violins,  twenty-two 
first  and  twentj^-one  second :  behind  them,  a  row  of  ten  violas  (tenors)  faced 
the  audience :  a  solid  square  of  wind  instruments  sat  behind  these  (three  flutes, 
four  oboes,  four  clarinets,  four  bassoons,  four  horns,  three  trumpets,  two 
cornets,  three  trombones,  one  tuba,  one  serpent),  flanked  on  each  side  by  a 
double  row  of  violoncellos  and  double-basses,  ten  of  each;  and  behind  them 
tj'mpaui.  drums,  triangles,  etc.,  abutted  on  the  front  of  the  Great  Organ, 
which  in  the  backgi'ound  looked  superbly.  Medallion  portraits  of  Handel 
and  Haj'dn  were  suspended,  amid  evergreen  and  flowerj'  wreaths,  with  golden- 
chorded  lyres,  vases,  national  flags,  etc.,  in  front  of  the  two  central  towers, 
just  hiding  the  two  carved  giants  ;  and  between  them,  the  bronze  Beethoven, 
somewhat  overweighted  with  garlands,  stood  the  august  genius  of  the  hour. 
In  that  orchestra  it  was  pleasant  to  recognize  the  faces  of  many  of  the  old 
'  Germania,'  though  we  missed  Carl  Bergmann.  AVilliam  Schultze  led  the 
violins." 

The  nervously  protracted  moment  of  suspended  vitality,  under  the 
spell  of  the  photographer,  found  relief  at  last  in  insuppressible 
laughter.  Then  up  went  the  conductor's  baton,  up  rose  all  the 
ranks  of  chorus  singers  on  their  feet,  and  the  flood-gates  of  harmony 
broke  loose.  The  first  burst  was  overwiielming,  chorus,  orchestra, 
and  organ  uniting  their  full  volume  in  one  massive  rendering  of 
Luther's  choral,  Ein'  feste  Burg,  upon  which  rugged  but  sublime 
foundation  Otto  Nicolai  has  built  up  his  Religious  Festival  Overture. 
This,  followed  by  the  overture  proper,  a  strong  fugue  movement, 
Handelian  in  style,  and,  after  contrapuntal  working  up  of  fragments 
of  this  theme,  the  entrance  of  a  second,  livelier  theme,  both  finally 
supplying  quaint  accompaniment  to  the  choral,  formed  a  significant, 
grand  opening  of  the  Festival 

Then  came  an  appropriate  address  by  the  president  of  the  Society, 
Dr.  J.  B.  Upham,  who  related  some  amusing  details  of  the  history  of 
a  choral  society  which  preceded  the  Handel  and  Haydn  in  Boston ; 
spoke  of  the  origin  of  the  latter,  of  its  achievements,  and  its  influ- 
ence on  musical  taste  in  the  whole  country  ;  drew  hopeful  anticipa- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  223 

tions  for  us  from  the  musical  history  of  the  Old  World  ;  and  briefly 
but  suggestively  characterized  the  great  works  which  composed  the 
programme  of  the  week.  The  address  was  heard  with  interest,  and 
frequently  applauded.     It  will  be  found  in  full  in  the  Appendix. 

So  much  for  introduction  of  the  great  symphonic,  choral  feature  of 
the  opening,  The  Hymn  of  Praise.  It  was  to  have  been  sung  in 
celebration  of  the  final  Union  victory,  when  music's  voice  was  hushed 
by  the  appalling  news  of  President  Lincoln's  death.  It  was  equally 
appropriate  for  the  thankful,  solemn,  patriotic  mood  of  the  whole 
public  mind  in  this  week  of  festival.  It  was  composed,  remember,  to 
celebrate  the  invention  of  the  art  of  printing,  and  for  the  inaugura- 
tion of  the  statue  of  Gutenberg,  at  Leipsic,  on  the  25th  of  June,  1840. 
Praise  and  gratitude  to  God  for  Light,  —  light  spiritual  and  intellect- 
ual ;  the  waiting  and  longing  for  it  through  all  the  weary  night  of  the 
dark  ages  ;  the  break  of  day,  the  free  career  and  joy  of  a  redeemed 
humanity  ;  and  first,  and  last,  and  throughout  everywhere,  in  every 
chorus,  song,  and  interlude,  the  praise  of  God :  tliese  were  the  themes 
and  promptings  of  Mendelssohn's  heart  and  genius  when  he  conceived 
the  Lohgesdiuj.in  some  respects  the  most  felicitous  and  most  inspiring 
of  his  larger  works.  It  sounded  well  that  morning,  —  better,  even, 
than  it  had  ever  sounded  to  us  before.  It  expressed  for  us  the  spirit 
of  the  hour,  —  for  those  of  us  tliere  gathered  in  the  Boston  Music 
Hall,  and,  so  it  seemed,  for  this  whole  people. 

There  is  no  need  to  enter  into  the  details  of  the  really  glorious  per- 
formance, or  attempt  to  describe  the  splendor,  the  mighty  volume, 
the  resistless  power  and  grandeur  of  its  choruses,  with  the  effect  so 
enhanced  by  seven  hundred  voices  and  so  complete  an  orchestra.  It 
was  a  new  experience  to  hear  such  an  orchestra.  '-How  searching, 
pungent,  tingling  with  nervous  vigor  and  vitality,  the  collective  tone 
of  all  those  violins,  moving  with  sympathetic  unity,  and  how  inevita- 
bly master  of  the  situation,  in  spite  of  all  the  brass  I  How  boldly, 
unmistakably  outlined  every  passage  !  How  rich,  warm,  round,  and 
satisfying  the  tone  of  the  middle  strings,  tenors  and  'cellos,  those 
heart-tones  of  the  orchestra,  which  we  had  always  missed  in  our  small 
bands  I  How  grand  the  dozen  double-basses  I  Another  delightful 
sensation,  for  years  onh'  remembered,  but  denied  the  ear  in  Boston, 
was  the  honest  sound  of  two  real,  good  bassoons  (we  had  had  to 
make  shift  with  a  'cello  for  one  of  the  pair)  I  All  the  wood  and  brass 
were  excellent.  Verily,  twenty  violins  upon  a  part  sound  more  than 
twenty  times  as  well  as  one ;  and  those  seventy  odd  strings  all 
together,  in  wide  harmony,  realize  a  tone  such  as  no  great  organ  can 
give  more  than  a  windy,  dry  suggestion  of."     Perhaps  this  enthusi- 


224     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

asm  may  cause  a  smile  to-da}^  when  we  have  half  the  year  for  daily 
food  an  orchestra  far  superior  to  that  just  now  described,  and  kept  in 
continual  training.  But  it  was  an  event  for  musical  Bostonians  in 
186.). 

In  view  of  the  time  and  the  circumstances,  which  gave  that  Festi- 
val a  twofold  significance,  it  will  be  well,  perhaps,  to  recall  the  thrill- 
ing impressiveness  of  the  great  dramatic  middle  point  and  climax  of 
the  work.  *'  The  anxious  tenor  recitative,  '  Watchman,  will  the 
night  soon  pass?'  with  the  fitful,  wild  accompanhnent ;  the  clear 
soprano  answer,  'The  night  is  departing  ! '  high  and  biight,  flooding 
all  with  instant  light,  like  the  first  ray  of  the  morning  sun  shot  sud- 
denly athwart  a  world  of  darkness  ;  then  the  blazing  outburst  of  the 
chorus,  taking  up  the  words,  waxing  more  and  more  excited  with  the 
fugued  rendering  of  '  Let  us  cast  off  the  works  of  darkness,  and  let 
us  gird  on  the  armor  of  light' ;  and  finally  the  massing  together  of 
all  the  male  voices  in  one  more  utterance  of  'The  night  is  departing,' 
echoed  by  all  the  female  voices,  '  The  day  is  approaching ! '  both 
masses  joining  in  long  notes  for  a  close  :  all  this  set  every  chord 
vibrating  in  the  inmost  American  and  human  heart  of  every  one  of 
us  ;  for  it  told  the  very  story,  all  the  suffering,  the  hope  and  fear,  the 
waiting,  the  joy,  the  miracle  of  those  four  great  yeai  s  in  the  history 
of  the  cause  of  Freedom."  ''  How  prophetic,"  indeed  (to  quote  from 
Dr.  Upham's  address),  '-would  that  performance  have  proved,  had  it 
come  earlier ! "  But  it  did  come  eailier,  if  in  an  humbler  way. 
Many  among  us  do  not  forget  that  the  prophetic  significance  and  up- 
lift of  this  solo  and  chorus  were  felt,  in  the  same  hall,  as  much  earlier 
as  the  1st  of  January,  1863.  when  it  was  sung  in  honor  of  Abraham 
Lincoln's  Emancipation  Proclamation,  not,  to  be  sure,  with  the  full 
force  and  will  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Societ}^,  but  with  stirring 
effect  by  a  hastily  improvised  much  smaller  chorus,  which  included 
many  of  its  members.  This  time  we  had  the  musical  aspiration  of 
that  day  realized  upon  a  grander  scale,  just  as  the  dawning  hope  of 
that  day  had  now  become  the  fully  risen  sun  of  victory,  with  liberty 
for  all  men. 

The  three  solo  singers  were  found  equal  to  their  parts  :  notably 
Miss  Houston,  whose  clear  soprano  rang  out  splendidly  in  "  The  night 
is  departing,"  as  it  had  done  on  that  truly  "prophetic  "  earlier  occa- 
sion ;  Miss  Laura  Goodnow  sustained  the  second  part  in  the  duet, 
"I  waited  for  the  Lord";  and  Mr.  George  W.  Hazelwood.  with  a 
sympathetic  tenor,  which  he  used  with  taste  and  judgment,  took,  at 
short  notice,  the  place  of  Mr.  Pening.  who  was  ill  in  New  York. 

The  audience,  though  large,  hardly  filled  the  hall  that  day.     Two 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AXD  HAYDX  SOCIETY.     225 

listeners  for  each  of  the  eight  hundred  sound-producers  on  the  plat- 
form were  about  its  measure.  This  shortcoming  was  owing  to  three 
drawbacks :  partly  the  rain ;  then  the  difficulty  of  procuring  famous 
solo  singers,  and  mortifying  disappointments  in  the  case  of  some  who 
were  engaged  ;  but,  most  serious  of  all  perhaps,  the  high  price  of 
admission,  so  foreign  to  our  democratic  habits  then,  and  necessarily 
excluding  many  of  the  best  music-lovers,  too  unwoldly  to  be  wealthy. 
Some  thought  that  lower  prices  would  have  paid  better  ;  but  there  was 
hope  that  the  audiences  would  go  on  increasing  with  the  momentum  of 
the  Festival. 

The  old  familiar  oratorio  of  the  Creation,  given  in  the  evening,  also 
lit  up  strongly  certain  texts  in  keeping  with  the  time:  ''And  there 
was  light,"  "A  new  created  world,"  "Achieved  is  the  glorious 
work,"  and  more  that  do  not  need  enumeration.  With  that  fine 
orchestra,  one  felt  a  new  justification  for  the  name  '*  Handel  and 
Haydn,"  which  the  Society  had  taken  at  the  outset,  instead  of  per- 
haps Bach  and  Handel :  namely,  in  the  fact  that  Haydn  in  those  days 
was  the  great  type  of  instrumental,  as  Handel  was  of  choral,  music 
The  Messiah  of  the  one,  the  Creation  of  the  other  :  on  those  two 
corner-stones  the  old  Society  was  built. 

The  audience  was  larger  than  in  the  morning,  for  there  was  natu- 
rally a  desire  to  hear  the  old  work  '•  re-created  for  us"  (as  the  Tran- 
script had  it),  by  such  a  choir  and  orchestra  and  organ.  Here  was 
music  in  which  the  seven  hundred  felt  at  home,  —  choruses  which 
almost  sang  themselves,  —  and  they  were  all  eager  for  the  fray; 
"there  was  an  exhilaration  about  it,  as  of  a  crowd  of  lusty  bathers 
plunging  into  the  surf."  The  ciioral  effects  surpassed  all  that  had 
been  imagined,  reaching  the  climax,  of  course,  in  "The  heavens  are 
telling,"  which  had  to  be  repeated.  But  the  chief,  the  characteristic 
charm  of  the  Creation  resides  in  the  orchestra  ;  and  with  such  an 
orchestra  for  the  interpreter,  all  the  luxuriance  of  delicate,  melodic 
figures  which  entwine  and  overgrow  the  whole,  tlie  billowy  rhythm  of 
bold,  massive  string  accompaniments  in  the  strong  passages,  the  blend- 
ing and  contrasting  of  rich  colors  everywhere,  were  as  enjoyable  as 
so  much  fresh  and  variegated  landscape.  The  array  of  solo  singers' 
was  hardly  equal  to  that  of  1857.  Mrs.  Van  Zaudt  and  Miss  Brain- 
erd,  both  of  Xew  York,  divided  the  soprano  arias  between  them. 
The  former,  having  the  younger,  fresher,  more  powerful  and  more 
sympathetic  voice,  sang  "With  verdure  clad,"  gracefully  and  sweetly, 
albeit  with  some  questionable  Italian  opera  ornament,  superfluous  in 
phrases  which  Haydn  has  already  turned  so  perfectly.  The  latter, 
with  much  more   culture    and    more  oratorio  experience,  sang  "  On 


226     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

mighty  pens  "  and  the  melodies  of  Eve  acceptably.  Mr.  Farley,  new 
to  the  task  of  oratorio,  with  a  clear,  rich  tenor  in  the  upper  tones, — 
less  satisfactory  in  the  lower,  —  did  all  carefully,  some  things  effec- 
tively, but  had  not  Arthurson's  mastery  of  recitative.  There  was 
disappointment  in  the  case  of  Formes,  who  was  ill,  and  Mr.  Rudolph- 
sen,  a  still  improving  artist,  sang  all  the  bass  solos  in  a  large  and 
manly  style. 

Second  Day.  Wednesday,  3  P.  M.  The  only  public  performance 
that  day  was  the  first  of  the  four  instrumental  and  vocal  concerts. 
Some  time  must  be  left  for  rehearsal ;  if  not  of  chorus,  at  least  of 
orchestra  and  solo  singers  —  birds  not  to  be  caught  too  often.  Pro- 
gramme :  — 

PART   I. 

1.  Overture  to  "  Rienzi " Wagner. 

2.  Quartet  (Canon)  from  "  Fidelio"         ....        Beethoven. 

Mme.  Fuedkrici.  Mrs.  KE:NrpTON,  Franz  Himmer, 
Jos.  Hermanns. 

3.  Symphony  No.  7,  in  A  major Beethoven. 

PART  n. 

1.  Overture  to  "  Midsummer  Night's  Dream  "         .         .        Mendelssohn. 

2.  Lied:  "  An  den  Sturmwind "  (To  the  Storm)     .         .         Carl  Evers. 

Joseph  Hermanns. 

3.  Prayer  from  "  Der  Freyschiitz  " Weber. 

Mme.  Frederici. 

4.  Reiselied Mendelssohn. 

Franz  Himmer. 

5.  Fackeltanz Meyerbeer. 

The  Seventh  Symphony  had  been  for  years  a  prime  favorite  among 
symphonies  in  Boston,  next,  if  not  equal  in  interest,  to  the  one  in  C 
minor.  To  hear  it  brought  out  by  such  an  orchestra  was  an  event 
for  those  days.  It  was  grand,  uplifting,  glorious  indeed  ;  yet  critical 
listeners  missed  the  fineness,  the  nice  gradation  of  light  and  shade, 
which  might  have  been  expected  from  so  rich  and  rare  a  combination 
of  means.  Want  of  sufficient  rehearsal  was  the  trouble.  The  hurried 
conditions  of  the  Festival  only  admitted  of  one  rehearsal  for  each 
concert,  which  had  to  be  held  in  the  forenoon  of  the  same  day,  be- 
tween the  exhausting  labors  of  oratorio  and  concert.  Could  that 
orchestra  have  been  kept  together  for  months,  instead  of  a  single 
week  !  Yet  the  chance  of  hearing  four  symphonic  masterpieces  in 
four  days  was  too  rare  to  forego  for  the  sake  of  more  refining  upon 
one  or  two.  The  "  Midsummer  Night's  Dream"  overture  was  more 
delicately  rendered ;  the  fairy  flutter  of  the  many  violins  subdued  to 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  227 

something  like  a  real  jyianissimo .  The  opening  and  closing  numbers 
of  the  programme  had  plenty  of  smart,  brilliant,  loud  effect,  the 
early  overture  of  Wagner  beginning  well,  but  running  into  brass- 
band  commonplace,  and  Meyerbeer's  Torchlight  being  better  suited 
for  the  streets  than  for  an  oratorio  festival.  But  these  selections 
o-ave  the  blowers  of  brass  instruments  a  chance  to  show  their  mettle 
(metal).  The  vocal  pieces  were  sung  by  three  favorite  artists  of 
Orover's  German  opera :  Mme.  Frederic!  Himmer,  the  Herren  Him- 
mer  and  Hermanns,  and  Mrs.  Kempton,  who  gave  the  famous  quartet 
from  Fidelio  so  well  that  they  had  to  repeat  it.  But  the  effect  was 
weakened  by  the  want  of  orchestral  accompaniment ;  Mr  Lang- 
sketched  this  skilfully  upon  the  organ,  but  such  -a  canon  needs  the 
marked  individuality  of  separate  instruments.  The  same  want  of 
orchestra  destroyed  the  effect  of  Frederici's  exquisite  singing  of  the 
prayer  from  Freyschiltz.  The  prayer  alone,  without  the  recitative 
and  the  whole  scena,  seemed  a  small  thing  to  come  all  the  way  from 
New  York  for.  The  bass  and  tenor  Lieder  were  given  with  good 
effect  It  was  one  of  the  penalties  of  crowding  so  much  into  a  week, 
and  one  of  the  misfortunes  of  engaging  solo  talent  at  a  late  hour, 
after  man}^  disappointments,  that  all  orchestral  accompaniment  to 
the  singing  in  these  concerts  had  to  be  dispensed  with. 

Third  Day.       Thursday,  3   P.   M.      Second   afternoon    concert. 
Programme  :  — 

PART    I. 

1.     Symphony  in  C  major Schubert. 


1.  Overture  to '•  Leonora "  (No.  3)  ....     Beethoven. 

2.  Aria  from  "  La  Traviata  " Verdi. 

Mrs.  Jenxie  Van  Zandt. 

3.  Cantata:  "Adelaide" Beethoven. 

Mr.  John  Farley. 

4.  Concert  Waltz Venzano, 

Mrs    Yax  Zandt. 

5.  Overture  to  "  Taunhauser " Wagner. 

The  glorious  Symphony  by  Schubert  had  been  looked  forward  to 
as  one  of  the  rare  attractions  of  the  Festival.  It  had  been  presented 
here  half  a  dozen  times  before,  from  as  early  as  1852,  but  never 
fairly,  only  outlined  as  it  were  with  insufficient  means,  and  sneered 
at  by  newspaper  critics  as  "tedious,"  "prolix,"  "music  of  the 
future,"  "broken  crockery  music,"  lacking  "  symphonic  form"  (  !), 
etc.     But  these  musicians,  who  were  now  to  play  it,  kneiv  how  good 


228  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

it  was.  They  sprang  to  their  task  with  a  will ;  they  enjoyed  all  their 
labor  that  week,  but  this  they  enjoyed  most  of  all.  And  truly  it  was 
given  with  great  ver^'e;  the  players  forgot  themselves  in  the  music; 
and  each  successive  movement  wrought  up  the  great  audience  to  a 
higher  pitch  of  inspiration.  Doubtless  most  listeners  were  ready  to 
subscribe  to  Schumann's  satisfaction  with  its  "  heavenly  length." 

The  great  Leonora  Overture  (commonly  called  the  third  which 
Beethoven  wrote  in  C,  but  properly  the  second)  had  also  passed 
through  its  humiliations  of  inadequate  performance  and  of  withering 
newspaper  criticism.  Will  it  stand  the  fiery  trial  this  time?  Yes, 
for  it  has  at  last  become  somewhat  familiar  with  us,  and  has  for  the 
most  part  outlived  criticism.  Here  w^ere  now  violins  and  other  strings 
enough  to  build  up  the  great  crescendo  near  the  end ;  here  was  Mr. 
Arbuckle  for  the  fine  trumpet  flourish  from  without ;  and  here  was  all 
the  orchestra  required  to  bring  out  all  its  dignity,  dramatic  fire,  and 
depth  of  sentiment.  But  with  not  a  few  hearers,  it  is  quite  supposa- 
ble  that  the  Taunhduser  Overture  bore  off  the  palm  among  the 
orchestral  productions.  The  vocal  miscellany,  with  the  exception  of 
the  "  Adelaide,"  which  Mr.  F'arley  sang  with  taste  and  feeling,  was 
not  worthy  of  companionship  with  such  great  music. 

Thursday  Evening.  Selections  from  Israel  in  Egypt^  followed  by  a 
second  performance  of  the  hymn  of  Praise.  Handel's  Titanic  ora- 
torio, piling  Ossa  upon  Pelion  with  its  great  mountain  range  of 
choruses,  after  so  many  baflied  efforts  to  set  it  before  the  w^orld  here 
in  its  glory  and  its  grandeur,  should  have  been  the  great  event,  the 
crowning  triumph  of  this  Festival.  ''The  stone  which  the  builders. 
had  rejected"  should  have  "become  the  head  of  the  corner"  in^ 
this  temple.  But,  in  the  first  place,  there  were  only  selections,  — 
fifteen  out  of  the  twenty-five  choruses.  Then  the  recitatives  and 
arias,  considering  their  ([uaintness  and  their  difficulty,  required  great 
singers,  or  singers  trained  to  the  style  and  loving  it,  and  had  only 
good  ones  at  the  best.  Then  the  omissions  not  only  broke  the  con- 
nection, disturbing  the  unity  of  the  whole,  and  setting  several  pieces 
in  a  feeble  or  a  false,  uncertain  light ;  but  they  included  some  of  the 
most  remarkable  choruses  in  the  whole  work,  such  as,  "  The  people 
shall  hear  and  be  afraid,"  "  They  loathed  to  drink,"  etc.  It  is  a  case 
where  the  whole  is  better  than  a  part ;  specimens  could  do  no  justice. 
That  the  singers  must  have  been  equal  to  the  task  is  proved  by  the 
fact  that  they  were  successful  in  the  most  difficult  and  complicated 
of  all  the  choruses,  "He  led  them  through  the  deep,  as  through  a 
wilderness."  The  momentum  of  such  more  familiar  double  choruses 
as  "He  gave   them   hailstones,"  and    "  The   horse  and  his  rider," 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  229 

carried  all  before  it,  and  the  former  had  to  be  repeated.  But  there 
had  not  been  yet  quite  pains  and  drill  enough  to  secure  the  needed 
military  energy  and  promptness  of  such  an  army  of  voices  in  choruses 
so  trying.  Light  and  shade,  too,  had  been  comparatively  overlooked, 
or  postponed ;  it  was  all  one  uniform  fortissimo ;  passages  like 
"  Darkness  which  might  be  /eZ^"  which  would  have  gained  unspeak- 
ably by  being  hushed  to  a  pianissimo^  were  loud  like  the  rest.  It 
was  but  another  earnest  aspiration,  after  all ;  faith  in  themselves  and 
in  the  public,  courage,  labor,  will,  were  still  insufficient,  —  the  con- 
summation waits  for  another  Festival.  Most  of  the  solos  were  given, 
and  given  creditably  (bating  some  superfluous  trills),  by  Mrs.  Smith, 
Mrs.  Gary,  and  Mr.  Farley.  The  contralto  air,  "  Thou  shalt  bring 
them  in,"  suited  the  warm,  tender,  natural  cantabile  of  Mrs.  Gary  ; 
and  Mrs.  Smith  achieved  something  very  near  a  positive  success  in 
the  sublime  Miriam  passage  which  heralds  in  the  final  chorus. 

The  crowd  was  great,  the  room  warm,  the  delay  long,  so  that  the 
Hymn  of  Praise,  though  admirably  executed,  found  hardly  such  fresh 
listeners  as  before.  And  it  was  a  sad  curtailment,  that  of  the  first 
orchestral  movement. 

Fourth  Day.  Friday,  3  P.  M.  Third  afternoon  concert.  Pro- 
gramme :  — 

PART    I. 

1.  Overture  to  "  Emyanthe "   .         .         .         .         .         .         V/eher. 

2.  Aria,  "  l^obert,  toi  que  j'ahne" Meyerheer. 

Master  Eichard  Coker. 
8.     Symphony  Eroica  (No.  3) Beethoven, 

part  n. 

1.  Overture  to  "  William  Tell" Bossini. 

2.  Cavatiua  from  "  II  Giurameiito  "        ....        3fercadante, 

Mrs.  J.  S.  Gary. 

3.  Cradle  Song Gottschalk. 

Master  Coker. 

4.  Aria,  '•  O  mio  Fernando  " Donizetti. 

Miss  Matilda  Phillipps, 
.">.     Symphonic  Poem,  "  Les  Preludes "    ....         Liszt. 

Another  Beethoven  Symphony,  the  earliest  one  of  the  four  greatest 
of  the  immortal  nine  !  The  Eroica,  next  to  the  Ninth,  was  the  one 
least  familiar  here,  and  the  interpretation  it  received  this  time  did 
not  a  little  to  bring  its  wonderful  movements  home  to  us.  The  over- 
tures by  Weber  and  Rossini  are  of  the  most  brilliant  and  imaginative 
order,  without  a  particle  of  clap-trai),  and  it  is  always  good  to  hear 
them.     The    Preludes  is   commonly  regarded   as    the  best,  the  most 


230  HISTORY    OF    THE    HaNDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

musician-like  and  interesting  among  the  rather  anomalous  "  Sym- 
phonic Poems  "  of  the  Abbe  Liszt.  It  is  certainly  a  masterpiece  of 
instrumentation,  if  its  themes,  ideas,  are  sentimenal,  and  pall  upon 
the  ear  by  repetition  rather  than  development.  It  has  passages  of 
great  power  and  others  of  great  delicacy,  in  \Yhich  the  genius  of  each 
instrument  is  tenderly  coaxed  out.     The  rendering  was  splendid. 

The  vocal  selections  again  seemed  out  of  place.  The  "  bright,  par- 
ticular star  "  was  Master  Coker,  the  Trinity  choir  boy  of  New  York ; 
but  the  hackneyed  "Eobert,  Robert,"  was  neither  suited  to  a  boy  nor 
to  the  place.  His  delicious  voice  lent  charm  to  Gottschalk's  little 
Cradle  Song. 

Fourth  Day.  Saturday  Noon^  May  27.  Naturally  the  lovers  of 
organ  music,  especially  those  who  had  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the 
Festival  from  other  places,  were  curious  to  hear  all  they  could  from 
the  Great  Organ,  to  appreciate  its  various  registers,  and  realize  its 
power  and  volume.  And  so,  a  pleasant  little  noonday  episode,  an 
after-thought,  in  fact,  was  provided  for  them,  —  a  programme  of  organ 
music  by  itself,  played  by  a  master  of  the  stops  like  Mr.  B.  J.  Lang. 


1. 

Prelude  aud  Fugue  in  C 

. 

Bach. 

2. 

Transcription  of  the  Overture   to 

"  A    Midsummer 

Night's  Dream  "... 

. 

Mendelssohn 

3. 

Pastorale  in  F       . 

. 

Bach. 

4 

Flute  Concerto,  Allegro 

. 

Bink: 

5. 

Quartet   from    ' '  Fidelio  "    (played 

upon    the    Vox 

Humana  stop) 

. 

Beethoven. 

6. 

Improvisation. 

Saturday  Afternoon.  The  last  orchestral  and  vocal  concert  had, 
on  the  whole,  the  most  satisfactory  programme  of  the  four,  Beet- 
hoven's fierv,  compressed  Coriolanus  Overture ;  Mendelssohn's 
^'  Scotch"  Symphony  ;  Sterndale  Bennett's  graceful  concert  overture, 
*'  The  Naiads,"  and  Mendelssohn's  dramatic  overture  to  Ruy  Bias, 
all  received  excellent  treatment.  The  musicians  had  grown  more 
in  love  with  their  work  and  more  en  rapport  with  one  another  day 
by  day,  so  that  these  last  renderings  left  little  if  anything  to  be 
desired.  The  quartet  from  Fidelio  was  demanded  from  the  same  four 
artists,  who  were  in  fine  voice  and  "form,"  particularly  Frederici. 
She  also  revealed  a  remarkable  compass  of  voice  —  beautiful  and 
telling  always,  singularly  musical  and  strong  in  the  deep  contralto 
tones  —  in  "Ah  mon  fils ! "  from  Meyerbeer's  Prophete.  Mrs. 
Kempton  sang  Schubert's  "Wanderer"  with  p..wer  and  fervor;  Herr 
Hermanns  sang  a  little  German  song  in  English,  "  The  Mill  Wheel"  ; 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  231 

and  Herr  Himmer,  the  tenor,  gave  great  pleasure  with  an  Ave  Maria 
by  Marschner. 

Looking  back  over  these  four  concert  programmes,  one  can  hardly 
help  remarking  the  conspicuous  absence  in  these,  as  well  as  in  the 
oratorio  nights,  of  the  great  name  of  Mozart  !  Surely  his  perfect 
G-minor  S^unphony,  if  nothing  more,  might  have  replaced  a  hackneyed 
Italian  aria,  or  vocal  waltz  variation  piece,  to  good  advantage. 

Saturday  Evening^  May  27.  The  rush  for  tickets  (again  we  repro- 
duce our  own  notes  from  the  time)  exceeded  all  before.  Extra  seats 
had  been  placed  in  the  hall,  and  every  place  and  corner  had  its  occu- 
pant. There  had  been  a  presentiment,  which  was  fully  verified,  that 
Elijah  would  be  the  great  event  of  the  Festival.  It  was  the  great 
success,  indeed,  in  point  of  grandeur,  spirit,  light  and  shade,  and 
general  unity  of  performance.  The  singers  were  well  trained  in  the 
work,  and  they  all  loved  to  sing  it.  All  the  choruses  went  admirably. 
Master  Coker's  clear  voice-  was  in  place  here,  and  told  finely  in  the 
Boy's  part  before  the  Rain  choius.  Miss  Houston  sang  the  soprano 
solos  in  her  best  style.  Mrs.  Gary  distinguished  herself  by  her  truly 
beautiful,  chaste,  warm  rendering  of  the  contralto  airs  ;  some  thought 
there  had  been  nothing  better  in  the  week.  Herr  Hermanns,  to  heal 
in  some  degree  the  disappointment  about  Formes,  had  been  induced 
to  study  and  deliver  two  of  the  airs  of  Elijah ;  but  the  gain  was  only 
nominal ;  he  was  too  much  tied  to  his  notes  and  English  words  to 
sing  with  freedom.  But  Mr.  Rudolphsen,  who  took  up  the  burden  of 
the  grand  old  prophet,  covered  himself  with  honor.  His  declamation 
was  admirable,  his  musical  conceptions  good,  and  he  entered  fully 
into  the  spii-it  of  the  part,  making  it  dignified  and  grand.  A  few 
faults  of  English  accent,  and  the  somewhat  unpleasing  quality  of  a 
few  lower  notes,  were  about  the  only  drawbacks.  Mr.  Farley  marred 
the  conclusion  of  two  perfect  tenor  arias  by  his  eagerness  to  advertise 
his  high  B  flat.  But  as  a  whole,  this  performance  of  Elijah  was  a 
triumph,  and  sent  thousands  away  happier,  if  not  better,  stronger,  and 
believing  more  than  ever  in  great  music,  that  it  is  divine. 

Fifth  Day.  Sunday  Evening^  May  28.  The  Fiftieth  Anniversary 
Musical  Festival  ended  worthily  with  what  may  be  counted  as  the 
Society's  fiftieth  performance  of  Handel's  Messiah.^  The  crowd  of 
listeners  was  again  immense,  for  many  come  to  the  Messiah  as  to  a 
religious  service,  who  are  indifferent  to  other  oratorios.  There  is  no 
need  to  dwell  for  the  fiftieth  time  upon  its  beaut}^,  power,  and  grandeur. 


1  Counting  several  performances  of  portions  of  the  oratorio  in  the  early  days 
as  one. 


232     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AXD  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

It  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  it  acquired  new  interest,  new  inspira- 
tion and  new  depth  of  meaning  from  the  time  and  the  occasion,  and 
from  the  great  mass  of  voices  and  of  instruments  combined  in  the 
performance.  If  the  voices  showed  some  signs  of  fatigue  after  an 
exhausting  whole  week's  work,  the  performance  equalled  expectation 
in  the  main.  Many  of  the  choruses,  especially  the  "  AYonderful  " 
chorus  and  the  ''Hallelujah,"  carried  all  before  them,  the  latter 
drawing  most  of  the  listeners  upon  their  feet,  spontaneously,  rather 
than  by  constraint  of  custom.  The  chorus,  "  All  we  like  sheep,"  was 
too  hurried  for  the  indolent  and  careless  image  it  suggests  ;  nor  was 
the  deep  and  tender  feeling  and  beauty  of  "  Surely  "  and  "  With  his 
stripes  all  we  are  healed "  expressed  so  palpably  and  clearly  as  it 
might  have  been.  It  is  not  worth  while  to  mention  one  or  two  other 
slightly  blurred  passages  ;  they  were  not  enough  to  seriously  mar  or 
weaken  the  general  effect  of  a  truly  noble  choral  rendering.  The  reci- 
tatives and  arias  were  undertaken  b}^  Mi-ss  Brainerd,  Mrs.  Kempton 
(Miss  Twichell) ,  Mr.  Farley,  and  Mr.  Rudolphsen,  all  doing  their  best 
in  music  that  demands  the  best.  The  tenor  only,  whose  pleasing  voice 
had  learned  its  clever  ways  from  the  Italian  opera  singers,  showed 
that  he  had  never  yet  been  fairW  naturalized  in  the  serene,  high 
element  of  Handelian  oratorio.  But  he  was  more  careful  than  in 
Elijah,  complied  with  the  conductor's  hints,  and  did  not  take  liberties 
with  his  text  to  show  off  his  high  notes.  Mr.  Rudolphsen  had  ac- 
quired rare  evenness  and  aplomb  in  rolling  out  the  long  roulades  of 
Handel's  bass  songs.  All  he  did  was  unexceptionable.  Miss  Brain- 
erd made  her  best  impression  of  the  week  in  these  soprano  solos  ; 
they  were  at  least  carefully  studied,  fluent,  finished  renderings.  Mrs. 
Kempton  won  plentiful  applause  in  the  contralto  arias  ;  her  tones 
were  rich,  her  execution  good,  and  she  sang  with  a  certain  air  of 
fervor,  although  her  "pathos"  in  "  He  was  despised"  was  too  much 
after  the  unquiet  Italian  stage  manner  ;  the  expression  was  too  lachry- 
xnose,  —  a  common  fault  with  singers  in  that  music  ;  you  feel  the 
melody  of  Handel  most  in  the  most  chaste  and  simple  rendering. 

Such  was  the  Messiah^  at  its  best  as  we  had  known  it  here,  in  1865. 
But  we  are  writing  in  1887  ;  and  the  intervening  years  have  shed  a 
new  light  back  upon  all  past  renderings  of  the  work,  revealing  and 
explaining  serious  imperfections  which  were  perhaps  unnoticed,  but 
must  have  existed  in  them  all.  These  relate  chiefly  to  the  very  incom- 
X^lete  extent  to  which  Handel's  evident  intentions  in  the  matter  of 
the  instrumental  accompaniment  had  been  carried  out.  Mozart, 
whose  arrangement  was  the  one  always  used,  had  filled  out  the  instru- 
mental score  for  many  of  the  numbers,  but  by  no  means  for  all.     It 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     233 

was  only  some  years  later,  when  Robert  Franz,  at  the  request  of  our 
Society,  addressed  himself  to  this  important  task,  that  it  became 
possible  to  present  this  most  familiar  of  oratorios  in  its  completeness, 
and  with  all  its  beauty,  power,  and  meaning.  This  will  appear  later 
in  this  history. 

So  ended  the  second  Festival.  It  was  a  gratifying  and  inspiring 
success,  artistically  and  socially,  and  even  financially,  for,  while  it 
cost  more  than  SI 7,000,  it  left  a  balance  of  S4,000,  which  went 
to  the  benefit  of  the  two  great  war  charities  of  Boston  and  the 
Society's  own  fund.  One  half  of  this  profit  was  divided  equally 
between  the  Sanitary  Commission  and  the  Christian  Commission. 
The  other  half,  about  $2,000,  was  the  foundation  of  the  Society's 
Permanent  Fund,  which  was  put  in  trust  by  an  instrument  dated  May 
28,  18G6,  and  which,  at  the  date  of  this  writing  (1887),  amounts  to 
nearly  $30,000.  That  this  Festival  was  on  the  whole  a  just  theme 
of  pride  for  Boston,  and  ver}^  creditable  to  the  old  Society  (which 
seemed  to  rejuvenate  itself  in  that  effort),  creditable  to  its  devoted 
officers,  to  the  enthusiastic,  able,  indefatigable  conductor,  the  skilful 
organist,  the  well-selected  ample  orchestra,  and  to  the  seven  hundred 
volunteers  and  regulars  who  went  so  heartily  into  the  chorus  work  ; 
that  it  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  cause  of  noble  music  in  the  land, 
and  new  assurance  of  more  and  better  Festivals  to  follow,  was 
thought  to  be  the  least  that  could  be  said  of  it.  That  was  the  common 
feeling,  with  whatever  consciousness  and  frank  admission  of  short- 
comings. It  did  not  reach  the  ideal ;  and  if  in  certain  happy  moments 
it  did  seem  to  approach  it,  probably  no  member  of  the  Society,  with 
good  right  to  feel  elated,  lost  his  head  so  far  as  to  imagine  that  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  Societ}'  of  Boston  had  placed  itself  in  the  front 
rank  of  all  the  world  of  music  by  this  brave  effort,  or  that  it  was 
now  able  to  compete,  save  at  an  humble  distance,  with  the  great  fes- 
tivals of  Germany  and  England. 

A  great  success  it  was,  but  ichat  success?  Let  me  dovetail  to- 
gether a  few  sentences  from  my  own  comments  in  the  "•Journal  of 
Music  "  at  the  time  :  — 

1.  It  seems  to  have  been  agreed  that  the  success  was  more  one  of 
quantity  than  of  qualitv  in  execution,  much  as  there  was  to  praise 
in  that  respect.  The  effects  were  those  of  mass  and  grandeur,  rather 
than  of  fineness,  delicate  and  subtle  distribution  of  light  and  shade. 
There  was  more  of  spirit  and  momentum,  militar}^  energy  and  unanim- 
ity in  great  mass  movements  and  manoeuvres,  than  of  poetic  fusion 
and  subdued  blending  of  all  the  individualities  in  one  exquisite, 
expressive  whole.     Almost  never  a  2>^'^'^^issimo^  to  vary  and  relieve 


234  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

the  sweeping  and  triumphant  charges  of  the  seven  hundred ;  and 
what  effect  so  beautiful,  so  wonderful,  and  so  refreshing  as  the  pia 
nissimo  of  a  great  host  of  voices  !  The  conductor  knew  this  ;  but  it 
was  not  easy,  in  those  new  conditions,  before  each  singer  felt  himself 
entireW  at  home,  and  felt  the  others  with  him  in  those  strange  seats, 
so  many  and  so  far  apart,  to  persuiide  each  that  his  or  her  single 
voice  could  be  audible,  or  sound  like  any  voice  at  all,  unless  delivered 
with  full  force.  Singers  have  to  learn  to  trust  themselves  on  such 
occasions.  The  same,  too,  with  the  orchestral  performances.  There 
were  man}^  good  musicians  there,  but  they  were  brought  together  for 
the  nonce,  and  not  accustomed  to  each  other.  Rehearsals  necessarily 
were  few  and  hurried,  crowded  into  weary  hours  between  the  concerts. 
There  was  little  chance  for  an  exacting,  critical,  refining  study  upon 
the  master-works  performed. 

2.  As  we  have  already  seen,  the  solo  singing,  while  much  of  it 
was  satisfactory,  was  the  weak  feature  of  the  Festival.  The  manage- 
ment did  all  that  could  be  done,  but  the  time  was  unfavorable  for  the 
collecting  of  great  vocal  talent.  Here,  again,  hurry,  want  of  time 
for  consultation  and  rehearsal,  allowed  tares  to  creep  in  with  the 
wheat  in  the  selections  of  vocal  miscellany  for  the  afternoon  concerts. 
And  what  real  gems  there  were  suffered  for  want  of  proper  setting, 
—  that  is  to  say,  of  orchestral  accompaniment. 

.3.  The  programmes  certainly  contained  enough  pure  gold,  without 
too  much  alloy,  to  warrant  calling  the  Festival  a  grand  one.  It  was 
mainly  made  up  of  compositions  of  the  highest  order.  Four  great 
oratorios,  the  Hymn  of  Praise^  four  of  the  noblest  symphonies,  eight 
or  nine  of  the  most  sterlhig  overtures,  to  say  nothing  of  the  other 
selections,  were  enough  of  a  good  thing  for  one  week.  The  only  dis- 
turbing elements  were  the  hackneyed  Italian  opera  show-pieces,  the 
"  Venzano  Waltz,"  and  one  or  two  noisy  orchestral  effect  pieces,  full 
of  brass,  and  only  edifying  when  lieard  out  of  doors.  The  experi- 
ence of  such  a  Festival  ought  at  least  to  teach  one  lesson  :  that  in 
dealing  with  solo  singers,  in  the  making  up  of  programmes,  the  choice 
of  pieces  must  not  be  left  to  the  singer's  own  vanity  or  indolence,  or 
ignorant  unconcern  whether  his  or  her  pet  piece  and  patent  reaper  of 
applause  will  make  or  mar  the  harmony  of  the  whole  programme  ; 
but  it  must  be  controlled  by  the  conductor  or  by  the  management ;  at 
all  events,  by  the  one  mind  and  purpose  that  should  shine  throughout 
the  whole.  Some  great  names  were  conspicuous  by  their  absence,  — 
enough  to  mention  Mozart.  Nor  is  it  enough  to  have  onl}-  matter  of 
unquestionable  merit.  The  programme,  to  have  piquancy  and  to 
mark   progress,   should  offer   points   of   rarity  and   novelty.       Such 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     235 

points  in  our  Festival  were  Israel  in  Egypt  and  the  Schubert  Sym- 
phony. But  Bach  was  still  a  region  wholly  unexplored  by  us.  And 
much  more  might  be  named,  without  acquaintance  with  which  a 
Handel  and  Haydn  Society  must  not  be  content.  These,  of  course, 
are  only  questions  of  time. 

4.  It  ma}^  be  a  question  whether  our  programme  was  not  too 
ambitious,  —  in  the  amount  of  matter,  not  in  height  of  aspiration; 
whether  it  w^as  not  too  much  to  undertake  at  once.  "Enough  is  as 
good  as  a  feast."  The  Germans  have  learned  this  ;  their  festivals 
seldom  last  more  than  three  days,  and  they  seldom  load  those  days 
with  such  a  mountainous  outlay  of  work.  Would  not  three  days  be 
better  than  a  week,  and  much  more  sure  to  pay  ? 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  237 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

FIFTY-FIRST   SEASON. 

June  IC,  1865,  to  iMay  1^8,  1866. 

Having  chronicled  the  doings  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society 
from  its  birth  to  its  fiftieth  anniversMry,  and  having  duly  celebrated 
that  occasion  (which  so  happily  coincided  with  the  return  of  peace 
and  with  reunion,  without  slavery,  after  the  War  of  the  Rebellion)  by 
a  grand  live-days'  Festival,  which  showed  the  height  of  our  musical 
attainment  ^o  far,  let  us  now  pause  a  moment  to  look  back  over  the 
laborious  ascent,  and  make  a  brief  summarj-  of  progress  and  accom- 
plishment 

What  great  and  noble  works,  what  masters  has  the  Societ}'  intro- 
duced to  the  musically  inclined  people  of  Boston  and  its  neighbors, 
during  these  fifty  years?  In  other  words,  what  has  been  its  musical 
repertoire,  in  its  chosen  department,  so  far? 

1.  Of  standard  oratorios  proper,  the  list  has  surely  been  more  than 
respectable,  alike  in  length  and  quality.  Under  this  head,  we  count 
five  oratorios  by 

Handel  :   Tlie  Messiah,  given  almost  annually. 
Samson,  many  times. 
Judas  Maccabceus,  several  times. 
Solomon,  several  times. 
Israel  in  Egypt. 

To  which  add,  as  compositions  not  so  large,  but  worthy  of  the 
same  noble  company  :  — 

Dettingen  Te  Deum,  three  times. 
Ode  on  St.  Cecilia's  Day,  twice  in  1863. 
Haydn  :    7%e  Creation  (twin  corner-stone  with  the  Messiah,  on  which  the 

foundations  of  the  Society  were  laid) ,  also  almost  yearly. 
Beethoven:  Mount  of  Olives,  twelve  times  (although  four  times  under  the 

English  bastard  form  of  Engedi!). 
Mendelssohn  :  St.  Paul,  four  or  five  times. 
Elijah,  about  twenty  times 
Hymn  of  Praise,  eight  or  ten  times. 
Spohr  :  Last  Judgment,  eight  times. 
Costa  :  Eli,  four  times. 


238  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

2.     Then  of  church  compositions  in  other  large  forms,  —  Te  Deums^ 
masses,  requiems,  etc.,  —  there  were  performed  the  following  :  — 
Haydn  :  3Iass  in  Bflat,  eleven  times  between  1829  and  1837. 
Te  Deum  in  C,  once  onljs  in  1831. 

The  Storm,  a  descriptive  cantata,  usually  called  "The  Tempest," 
seven  times. 
Mozart  :  3Iass  in  C,  in  1829. 

Bequiem  Mass,  twice  in  1857. 
Rossini  :  Stabat  Mater,  fifteen  to  twenty  times. 

B.  To  these  add  a  miscellaneous  assortment  of  once  populnr  but 
Inferior  oratorios,  like  Neukomm's  David  and  Mt.  Sinai;  others  by 
composers  now  unknown  (Buhler,  King)  ;  operas  turned  bodily  into 
oratorios,  as  Rossini's  Moses  in  Egypt^  given  about  forty  times,  and 
Donizetti's  Martyrs  (seven  times  in  1849,  1850)  ;  occasional  odes; 
Romberg's  Foiver  of  /Song  and  Tra>sient  and  Eternal;  and  (not 
classed  here  as  being  trivial  or  of  no  value)  Nicolai's  overture  with 
chorus,  "  Ein'  feste  Burg."  These  mostly,  however  much  in  fashion 
some  of  them  were  once,  had  lived  out  their  little  day  before  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  ;  and  while  they  lived,  they  figured,  let  us  say.  as 
pastime  and  occasional  letting  down  from  the  more  serious  tasks,  both 
for  the  singers  and  for  the  crude  tastes  of  the  miscellaneous  public. 

Such  was  the  material  which  the  Society  had  bad  to  work  upon  in 
fifty  years  ;  such  the  music,  and  so  noble  most  of  it,  with  which  this 
community  had,  through  its  zeal  and  labor,  become  more  or  less 
acquainted,  and  really  familiar  with  the  best  of  it,  thousands  having 
learned  to  love  it. 

As  to  the  progressive  quality  of  the  performances  ;  as  to  the  num- 
ber of  singers  growing  on  from  year  to  year,  from  the  small  handCul  in 
1S15  to  tlie  seven  hundred  voices  at  the  fiftieth  anniversary  ;  as  to 
the  advancing  standard  of  choral  discipline,  of  style  and  taste  in  the 
delivery ;  as  to  the  wavering  steps  of  pi  ogress  in  the  meiins  of 
orchestral  accompaniment,  beginning  with  mere  skeleton  orchestras, 
enlarging  and  improving  very  slowly,  never  realizing  what  would  be 
•called  an  orchestra  in  these  present  days,  until  the  exceptional  get- 
ting together  of  a  great  body  of  musicians  for  a  festival  occasion ; 
and  as  to  the  number  of  distinguished  vocal  artists  ('*solo  talent") 
who  had  been  introduced  upon  our  oratorio  platform,  we  will  attempt 
no  summary,  simply  referring  to  the  foregoing  chapters  of  this  history. 

We  now  resume  the  record. 


The  Festival  was  followed  on  Wednesday  evening,  June  14,  1865, 
by  a  pleasant  social  reunion  in  the  Music  Hall.     The  ladies  and  gen- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  239 

tlemen  composing  the  Festival  chorus  felt  they  had  a  right  to  rejoice 
together  and  exchajge  congiatulatious  while  the  spirit  was  upon 
them.  It  was  partly,  perhaps  mainly,  designed  as  a  complimentary 
acknowledgment  to  the  ladies  who  had  taken  so  zealous  and  so  cred- 
itable a  part  in  the  oratorios.  (For  it  must  bo  remembered  that 
only  men  are  members  of  the  Society,  while  the  ladies  are  their  help- 
ers and  their  guests.)  It  was  also  made  the  occasion  of  several  well- 
merited  presentations.  To  Mr.  Loriug  B.  Barnes,  the  indefatigable 
secretary  of  the  Society,  who  had  been  as  it  were  the  chief  engineer 
of  the  gieat  enterprise,  was  presented  a  silver  tea-set  of  five  pieces  ; 
to  Conductor  Carl  Zerrahn  a  silver  ice-pitcher  and  salver,  and  also 
on  behalf  of  the  ladies  .of  the  chorus  a  pair  of  gold-lmed  goblets ; 
Mr.  B.  J.  Lang,  the  organist,  was  the  recipient  of  a  gold  guard 
chain.  Apt  and  interesting  speeches,  by  Gen.  Henry  K.  Oliver, 
Judge  John  P.  Putnam,  and  Mr.  Francis  H.  Underwood,  formed  the 
medium  of  presentation  in  each  instance  ;  Dr.  J.  B.  Upham,  the 
president  of  the  Society,  occupying  the  post  of  chairman.  Dancing 
and  supper  followed,  and  the  festivities  were  kept  up  with  great  zest 
till  after  midnight.  The  spirit  that  pervaded  this  reunion  was  a 
good  earnest  of  the  next  year's  work. 

Two  evenings  later,  June  16,  came  the  adjourned  annual  business 
meeting.     Ofiicers  were  chosen  for  the  ensuing  year  as  follows  :  — 

President.  — Dr.  J.  Baxter  Upham. 

Vice- President.  — Oren  J.  Faxon. 

Secretary.-  —  Loring  B.  Barnes. 

Treasurer.  —  Matthew  S.  Parker. 

Librarian.  —  George  H.  Chickering. 

Trustees. —  Edavard  Faxon,  George  Fisher,  George  W.  Palmer, 
J.  S.  Sawyer,  Charles  H.  Johnson,  Frank  N.  Scott,  O.  Frank 
Clahk,  George  Hews. 

Of  these  trustees  the  first  four  were  from  the  old  board.  A  vote 
of  thanks  was  passed  to  the  retiring  trustees,  Messrs.  Isaac  Wood- 
ward, S.  L.  Thorndike,  George  P.  Carter,  and  W.  O.  Perkins. 

The  treasurer's  report,  in  the  absence  of  the  venerable  incumbent, 
Mr.  M.  S.  Parker  (then  in  his  eighty-sixth  year),  was  read  by  the 
secretary,  showing  that  the  total  receipts,  ndded  to  the  balance  in 
hand  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  amounted  to  SI, 332. 01  ;  and  that 
the  expenditures  of  the  year  were  $989.31,  leaving  a  balance  in  the 
treasurer's  hands  of  $342.70,  with  the  Society  wlioUy  free  from  debt. 

The  librarian,  G.  H.  Chickering,  reported  increased  duties  owing 
to  the  Festival,  which  he  performed  with  characteristic  willingness, 
the  burden  having   been  greatly  lightened  by  Mr.   Bedlington.  the 


240  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

assistant  librarian.  Of  the  music  added  to  the  library  during  the 
year,  he  mentioned  the  orchestral  parts  of  Mendelssohn's  Porty-second 
P  aim;  105  vocal  parts  and  two  scores  of  Costa's  Eli;  300  copies 
of  Israel  in  Egypt,  —  all  these  mostly  procured  from  England.  The 
next  addition  purchased  was  a  portion  of  the  music  formerly  belong- 
ing to  the  Mendelssohn  Choral  Society,  consisting  of  118  chorus 
scores  of  the  M>^ssia,h,  144  of  Elijah,  and  many  orchestral  parts. 
The  additions  during  the  year  summed  up  as  follows  :  2,133  separate 
vocal  parts,  473  vocal  scores,  649  pianoforte  vocal  scores,  one  or- 
chestral score,  and  193  separate  orchestral  parts.  The  music  bought 
for  the  Festival  cost  about  SI, 050  ;  and  that  bought  before  the  Festi- 
val, not  for  it,  cost  S215.26.  These  additions,  with  what  the  Society 
possessed  before,  properly  arranged  on  shelves  and  complete  ly  filling 
them,  formed,  in  the  opinion  of  the  librarian,  the  most  valuable 
library  of*  its  kind  in  the  country.  There  had  also  been  purchased, 
jointly  with  the  INIusic  Hall  Association,  a  set  of  wood-wind  instru- 
ments (six  clarinets,  two  flutes,  two  oboes,  and  two  bassoons) .  made  in 
New  York,  to  overcome  the  difficulty,  or  impossibilitv,  of  tuning  the 
instruments  owned  by  the  members  of  the  orchestra  to  so  low  a  pitch 
as  that  of  the  organ.  The  Society's  share  of  this  expense  was  S300. 
The  instruments  failed  to  answer  the  purpose  for  which  they  were 
intended  ;  they  were  put  into  the  hands  of  the  orchestral  players, 
and  all  trace  of  them  is  lost. 

From  the  report  of  the  secretary,  Mr.  Barnes,  much  of  interest 
might  be  extracted,  were  there  room.  The  Festival,  of  course,  had 
dwarfed  the  every-day  work  of  the  Society.  Previous  to  that  it  had 
appeared  but  three  times  before  the  public  during  the  entire  season  : 
first  in  Eli  in  November,  which  resulted  in  a  small  loss,  and  twice  in 
the  Messiah  at  Christmas  to  full  houses.  A  concert  commemorative 
of  our  great  national  victories  was  in  preparation  for  Easter,  but 
was  suddenly  suspended  by  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln. 
Then  came  the  Festival  with  its  nine  oratorios  and  concerts,  with  all 
its  rehearsals  and  laborious  work  for  all.  That  excitem.ent  pnssed, 
"  there  still  remained  one  more  duty  for  that  great  Festival  chorus  to 
perform,  and  that  was,  in  answer  to  an  invitation  of  the  city  of  Bos- 
ton, to  perform  suitable  music  on  the  occasion  of  the  eulogy  by  the 
Hon.  Charles  Sumner  on  the  late  President  Lincoln."  That  occurred 
elune  1,  and  the  pieces  simg  were:  the  chorals  ''Cast  thy  burden 
upon  the  Lord "  and  Luther's  Judgment  Hymn,  and  the  chorus 
'•Mourn,  ye  afflicted  people,"  from  Judas  Maccaboius. 

Twenty  four  persons  had  been  admitted  to  membership  during  the 
year ;  and  five  or  six  more,  who  had  passed  examination  and  been 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  241 

admitted  by  ballot,  had  declined  to  qualify  and  were  not  enrolled. 
One  member  only  had  resigned,  and  there  were  no  expulsions,  a  thing 
unprecedented  for  several  years  before.  The  leport  made  mention 
of  the  death  of  two  of  the  « eldest  and  most  honored  members,  both  of 
whom  had  joined  the  Society  during  its  first  year,  namely,  John  F. 
Payson  ( lune  8)  and  John  H.  Piay  (July  6)  ;  also  a  third,  a  younger 
member,  counting  from  1838,  James  Dyer,  —  all  three  being  of  the 
most  active  and  efficient  members.  The  first  two  passed  away 
within  a  few  hours  of  each  other,  at  about  the  date  of  the  annual 
meeting  in  1864. 

Mr.  G.  W.  Palmer,  one  of  the  trustees  and  treasurer  of  the  Fes- 
tival Fund,  then  presented  a  brief  but  very  satisfactory  statement, 
from  which  it  appeared  that  the  whole  amount,  received  from  the  Fes- 
tival was  $21,180,  and  the  total  exi)enses  a  little  upwards  of  817,000, 
leaving  a  balance  of  very  nearly  $4,000,  of  which  one  half  was  divided 
equally  between  the  two  great  war  charities  of  Boston,  while  the  other 
$2,000  went  to  form  the  foundation  of  the  Society's  Permanent  Fund. 

The  pre-ident,  Dr  Upham,  then  read  his  annual  report,  an  inter- 
esting paper,  beginning  with  congratulations  on  the  success  of  the 
Festival,  and  the  marks  of  progress  and  improvement  in  the  general 
condition  of  the  Society.  He  alluiled  to  the  correction  of  some  prom- 
inent faults  pertaining  to  this  and  other  associations  of  a  kindred 
nature,  intimating  that  more  could  be  done  to  advantage  in  the  same 
direction.  ''Indeed,  the  more  the  discipline  of  the  Societ}'  can 
appro.ich  to  militarv  system  and  exactness,  the  belter  it  will  be 
ultimately  relished  by  the  membeis  themselves,  and  the  easier  and 
pleasant er  will  their  ordinnr}"  duties  at  our  meetings  appear."  Other 
standing  faults  were  pointed  out,  among  which  absenteeism  at  rehears- 
als was  counted  as  first  and  foremost  and  dwelt  upon  with  emphasis. 
The  habits  of  an  improper  position  of  the  body  while  singing,  of  an 
inadequate  utt'  ranco,  and  of  imperfection  in  the  quantitj'  and  quality 
of  ihe  voice,  were  recommended  to  the  careful  and  conscientious 
attention  of  the  singeis;  and  the  employment  of  a  competent  in- 
structor in  the  eleimnts  of  vocal  drill,  as  then  practised  in  the  several 
departments  of  the  public  schools,  was  advi>ed  as  the  best  possible 
inv-  stment  of  a  portion  of  the  time  and  money  of  the  Society. 
(Whether  the  members,  to  any  considerable  extent,  ever  availed 
themselves  of  this  excellent  advice,  the  writer  of  this  history-  is  unin- 
formed ;  it  can  hardly  be  said  that  subsequeiit  performances  made 
any  such  fact  palpable  to  sense.)  The  importance  of  an  equal  dis- 
tribution of  voices  among  the  four  parts,  and  the  policy  of  increasing 
the  standard  number  of  the  chorus  to  six  hundred,  and  of  keeping  it 


242     HISTORY  or  the  HANDEL  and  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

for  some  time  within  that  limit,  was  urged,  while  the  examiniDg  com- 
mittee were  asked  to  be  more  strict  and  careful  in  canvassing  the 
actual  apportionment  of  voices  and  ascertaining  with  exactness  the 
number  of  active  and  efficient  members. 

The  report  closed  with  an  interesting  and  instructive  historical 
sketch  of  the  great  musical  festivals  of  the  world,  from  the  Handel 
Commemoration  in  Westminster  Abbey  in  1  784  down  to  the  preater 
examples  of  our  own  da}'  in  England,  Germany,  Switzerland,  and 
now  in  our  own  land.  Letters  of  sympathy  and  cordial  greeting  and 
congj-ntulatiou  from  the  New  York  Harmonic  Society  and  the  Handel 
and  Haydn  Society  of  Philadelphia  were  then  read. 


Here  ends  the  record  of  the  Festival  of  sixty-five.  Now  we  take 
up  the  line  of  march  and  trace  the  mark  it  left  upon  the  life  and  work 
of  the  Society  (say)  for  the  next  twelve  years,  a  stadium  ending  with 
another  Festival,  the  fourth  Triennial,  in  ls77.  A  period  of  well- 
earned  rest  must  intervene  before  the  autumn  calls  to  new  rehearsals. 

The  first  symptoms  of  fre-h  enterprise  appear  in  an  unofficial 
announcement,  perhaps  hardly  more  than  rumor,  early  in  September, 
that  the  Society  has  a  plan,  a  good  one.  It  proposes  to  give  four 
oratorio  performances,  on  a  grand  scale,  with  a  chorus  of  six  hun- 
dred voices,  and  an  orchestra  of  double  the  usual  streng'h,  the  price 
of  tickets  to  be  one  dollar.  In  this  series  it  would  make  a  point  of 
bringing  out  Israel  in  Egypt  for  once  in  its  completeness ;  and 
besides  the  Messiah  and  Elijah,  to  revive  perhaps  the  Jephtha^  per- 
haps the  ,/udas  Maccabceus  of  Handel,  taking  more  time  for  the  study 
of  St.  Paul.     Worthy  aspirations  !     We  shall  see. 

The  time  for  the  beginning  of  the  series  was  fixed  for  Nov.  16. 
Meanwhile  the  Society,  alwa3's  ready  to  give  one  of  its  most  familiar 
oratorios  whenever  a  great  singer  came  along  to  help  them,  took 
advantage  of  a  short  stay  in  Boston  of  Mile.  Parepa,  and  with  her 
valuable  assistance  gave  the  Creation  on  the  15th  of  October.  She 
infused  life  into  the  beautiful  but  somewhat  hackne^^ed  oratorio,  even 
into  the  often  tedious  dialogue  of  Adam  and  Eve.  Mr.  Rudolphsen 
sustained  the  bass  part,  and  Mr.  Hazlewood  the  tenor.  A  more  than 
passable  orchestra  was  mustered  in  spite  of  distracting  claims  on  the 
musicians,  and  it  was  pleasant  to  see  Carl  Rosa  and  Theodore  Thomas 
working  in  the  ranks  with  the  first  violins  ;  it  is  so  artist-like  to  love 
to  help  out  the  ichole ! 

The  scheme  of  oratorios  for  the  season  proper  opened  Nov.  18,  with 
Judas  Maccabceus.  once  before  quite  popular  here,  and  more  often 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCLETY.  243 

sung  in  Germany  and  England  than  any  work  of  Handel  after  Israel 
and  tbe  Messiah.  How  it  escaped  performance  during  our  four 
years  of  war,  we  have  always  wondered  ;  for  it  was  the  very  music 
which  we  wanted  to  "  fire  the  Northern  heart."  In  the  earlier  phases 
of  the  great  life  struggle  of  the  nation,  we  could  all  have  sung  quite 
earnestly  that  chorus  :  — 

"  And  grant  *  a  leader  bold  and  brave, 
If  not  to  conquer,  born  to  save !  " 

But  the  memories  of  the  war  were  still  fresh.  No  texts  to  which 
great  music  could  be  set  could  more  insure  its  appeal  to  all  our  hearts- 
than  these,  to  which  Handel  wrote  his  patriotic,  his  heroic  oratorio- 
par  excdlence.  But  it  is  always  interesting  and  inspiring,  seldom  out 
of  season ;  if  it  was  not  heard  in  those  dark  days,  it  was  well  to  hear 
it  now. 

The  rendering  was  on  the  whole  successful,  considering  the  short 
preparation,  and  that  this  harp  had  been  hung  upon  the  willow  for 
twelve  3^ears.  There  was  room  for  improvement,  but  it  was  sung 
with  a  will,  some  of  the  choruses  very  effectively,  as  ''Tune  your 
harps,"  the  ''  Conquering  Hero,"  etc.  The  numbers  of  chorus 
singers  were  not  up  to  the  fond  ideal  of  600  ;  there  may  have  been 
400.  and  the  contralti  comparatively  weak.  As  for  the  orc'ies'ra, 
'Mt  had  bassoons"  for  once  !  So  necessary  was  it  thought  to  hail 
the  presence  of  an  instrument  so  essential,  and  which  Handel  used 
by  the  dozen  in  his  day.  The  great  organ,  played  by  Mr.  Lang, 
made  some  of  the  great  choruses  loom  like  distant  mountains  in  rare 
states  of  atmosphere.  The  weak  side  of  the  performance  lay  in  the 
solo  parts,  although  it  was  not  all  weak.  The  most  important  part, 
that  of  the  hero  Judas,  demands  a  great  tenor,  one  who  can  ring  out 
'•  Sound  an  alarm  "  with  the  vigor  of  Sims  Reeves.  Mr.  Farley  was 
inadequate  ;  his  recitative  was  stilted,  dragging,  and  monotonous. 
Nor  could  he  "  call  forth  powers"  to  cope  with  such  a  task  as  the 
air,  full  of  roulades,  which  has  those  words  for  its  theme.  Mr. 
Rudolphsen,  the  basso,  was  the  most  satisfying  of  the  soloists.  Miss 
Houston,  always  earnest,  having  her  inspirations,  which  now  and  then 
would  set  a  passage  in  a  fine  bright  light,  and  with  a  voice  clear,  musi- 
cal, and  flexible,  yet  lacked  that  reassuring  firmness  which  the  hearer 
would  fain  feel  at  every  point.  The  rich  contralto  of  Miss  Annie  Gary,, 
blending  with  Miss  Houston's,  left  the  lovely  duets  about  •'  Liberty" 
and  "  Peace"  among  the  pleasantest  memories  of  the  evening. 

The  same  oratorio  was  repeated  on  Christmas  eve  before  a  large,. 

*  The  petition  echoed  itself  in  Grant! 


244  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

not  crowded  house,  but  with  a  larger  chorus,  better  balanced,  better 
drilled,  and  with  a  great  accession  to  the  solo  force  ;  for  it  was  just 
the  music  for  Parepa,  and  Mr.  Castle  was  a  decided  improvement 
upon  the  last  tenor ;  especially  in  his  voice,  which,  while  of  a  rather 
light,  elastic  quality,  had  strength  and  reach,  and  was  musical  and 
sympathetic.  There  was  plenty  of  "silver  tiumpet "  in  the  manly 
vigor  with  which  he  surprised  the  audience  in  '-Sound  an  a'arm." 
But  in  his  general  style  he  was  far  from  showing  a  true  oratorio  cul- 
ture ;  the  habits  of  English  opera  and  ballad  singing,  and  the 
applause  of  unmusical  publics,  were  too  manifest  in  bad  accentuation 
and  pronunciation,  and  in  unrefined  cadenzas.  In  point  of  s'yle,  of 
well-conceived,  consistent  rendering  of  his  music,  Mr.  Somes,  in  the 
small  parts  allotted  to  him,  pleased  more  than  Mr.  Castle. 

On  the  next  (Christmas)  evening  the  Messiah  drew  an  enormous 
audience,  as  it  well  might  do  at  any  time,  but  the  more  so  this  time 
with  such  solo  artists  as  Parepa  and  Adelaide  Phillipps,  besides  Mr. 
Castle  and  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney. 

On  Saturday,  the  last  night  of  the  year,  the  hall  was  packed  even 
fuller.  This  was  for  Elijah^  the  unfailing  favorite.  With  the  crowd, 
or  in  spite  of  the  crowd,  it  is  reported  as  the  greatest  performance 
of  that  oratorio  yet  heard  in  America.  Enough  to  say  that  the  solo- 
ists were  Parepa,  Phillipps,  Mr  Castle,  and  Mr.  Campbell,  in  voice 
and  presence  more  commanding  than  Rudolphsen,  but  much  inferior 
in  style,  betraying  the  same  kind  of  musical  schooling  and  associa- 
tions which  have  been  remarked  in  Mr.  Castle.  That  week's  experi- 
ence certainly  developed  a  great  deal  of  true  musical  enthusiasm. 

Before  crossing  the  line  between  the  old  year  and  the  new  (IH65 
and  18GG)  to  record  the  work  of  the  Society  during  the  latter  half- 
year  of  its  fifty-first  season,  we  must  pause  a  moment  over  the  new- 
made  graves  of  two  of  its  oldest  and  most  honored  members.  John 
DoDD  died  in  November,  18G5.  Matthew  S.  Parker,  the  venerable 
treasurer  for  many  years,  followed  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years,  on 
the  9th  of  January,  186G.  At  a  special  meeting  of  the  board  of 
trustees,  held  Nov.  26,  the  following  resolutions,  offered  by  the 
president,  were  passed  unanimously  :  — 

Whereas,  The  trustees  of  the  Hauclel  and  Haydn  Society  have  learned  of 
the  decease  of  their  esteemed  friend  and  brother,  Mr.  John  Dodd,  whose 
long-  life  of  activity  and  usefulness  is  now,  at  the  ripe  ag:e  of  eighty-five 
years,  brought  to  its  close  : 

Therefore  I^esolved,  That  while  we  recognize  in  this  event  the  deafings  of 
an  all-wise  and  merciful  God,  we  cannot  but  mouru  with  unfeigned  sorrow  the 
loss  of  one  who  has  been  always  identified  with  the  interests  of  this  Soci- 
ety, whose  name  is  upon  the  honored  roll  of  its  original  founders,  and  after- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  215 

wards  and  for  many  years  prominently  connected  with  its  government ;  an 
earnest,  zealous,  and  faithful  worker  in  the  ranks;  a  pattern  of  punctu- 
ality and  promptness ;  a  worthy  example  to  the  young  and  old ;  and  also  for 
half  a  century  has  never  ceased  to  feel  and  to  manifest  a  deep  interest  in  the 
Society's  welfare  and  success. 

Besolved,  That  we  cherish  with  gratitude  the  thought  of  the  many  virtues, 
the  kindly  sympathies,  the  honor,  honesty,  and  integrity  of  life  which  show 
forth  so  conspicuously  in  the  character  of  our  beloved  associate ;  and  while 
we  sympathize  most  earnestly  with  the  bereaved  family  in  their  great  loss, 
at  the  same  time  we  rejoice  with  them  in  the  possession  of  that  un-peakable 
gift,  the  memory  of  a  just  and  good  man,  which  is  blessed. 

Besolved,  That  as  a  tribute  of  our  esteem,  and  a  lasting  memorial  of  our 
love  and  affection  for  our  associate,  these  resolutions  be  placed  upon  our 
records,  and  a  copy  of  them  be  presented  to  the  family  of  the  deceased 

LORING  B.  BARNES, 

Secretary  Handel  and  Haydn  Society. 

Again,  not  two  months  later,  Jan.  14,  1866,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Societ}^,  the  president,  having  been  requested  by  a  vote  of  the  board 
of  trustees,  submitted,  with  a  few  feeling  remarks,  the  following 
resolutions,  which  were  seconded  with  appropriate  words  by  others 
and  unanimously  passed  :  — 

Wheueas,  Since  the  last  meeting  of  this  Society  it  has  pleased  Almighty 
God  to  remove  from  the  scene  of  his  earthly  labors  our  friend  and  brother, 
Matthew  S.  Pahkkr;  therefore 

Besolved,  That  we  avail  ourselves  of  the  earliest  opportunity  individually 
and  personally  to  record  our  sense  of  the  great  loss  we  have  sustained  in 
the  death  of  our  esteemed  and  venerable  associate,  whose  many  estimable 
qualities  of  mind  and  of  character  had  so  endeared  him  to  all  our  hearts. 

Besolved,  That,  while  with  a  deep  and  earnest  sorrow  we  deplore  our  loss, 
we  also  thank  God  for  the  long  life  of  usefulness  and  honor  which  has  just 
closed;  a  life  fragrant  with  the  memories  of  good  deeds,  beautiful  in  its 
unpretending  piety,  full  of  Christian  benevolence,  abounding  in  charity  and 
kindliness  and  good-will  towards  all,  a  model  of  gentleness  and  purity,  and, 
outreaching  almost  the  utmost  limit  of  the  years  that  are  allotted  to  man, 
patient  and  resigned  unto  the  end. 

Besolved,  That  as  members  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Societ3%  of  which 
our  honored  brother  was  the  last  surviving  original  associate,  and  has  con- 
tinued now  more  than  fifty  years  its  firmest  and  most  steadfast  friend, — 
holding  all  this  while,  with  an  interval  of  but  two  or  three  years,  some  post 
of  honor  and  trust  in  the  administration  of  the  Society's  affairs,  its  first 
secretary,  and  for  the  last  twenty-five  years,  and  until  his  death,  its  trusty 
and  devoted  treasurer, —  we  desire  to  express  and  put  on  record  our  high  sense 
of  his  invaluable  services  in  the  sacred  cause  to  whose  interests  we  stand 
pledged;  of  the  faithfulness  and  assiduity  with  which  he  has  always  dis- 
charged the  official  duties  we  have  committed  to  his  care ;  of  the  praise- 
worthy example  he  has  given  us  in  his  conscientious  attendance  upon  the 
oft-recurring  and  sometimes  tedious  requirements  of  the  Society's  ordinary 


246  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN^    SOCIETY. 

work,  no  less  than  his  punctuality  and  constancy  at  its  public  performances, 
and  the  rich  legacy  he  has  left  us  in  the  memory  of  his  unsullied  honor  and 
integrity  and  consistency  of  character  in  all  the  relations  of  life. 

Besolved,  That  the  secretary  of  the  Society  be  requested  to  transmit  a 
copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  family  of  the  deceased,  expressing  to  them, 
at  the  same  time,  our  earnest  sympathy  with  them  in  their  affliction,  and  our 
firm  assurance  that  the  soul  of  our  friend  and  brother  has  found,  in  heaven, 
the  reward  of  his  Christian  faith  and  faithfulness  upon  the  earth 

With  the  beginning  of  the  new  year,  1866,  and  steadily  for  three 
months,  we  find  the  members  of  the  chorus  faithfully  employed  in 
the  study  and  rehearsal  of  St.  Pa»l^  one  of  the  two  great  oratorios 
of  Mendelssohn,  which  had  by  no  means  yet  received  its  fair  share  of 
attention  here,  in  contrast  with  Elijah.  Tlie  old  Society  was  at  last 
resolutely  facing  one  of  its  serious  problems  of  many  years.  Israel 
in  Egypt  was  another  and  had  been  in  contemplation  for  this  season, 
but  it  was  perhaps  wisely  enough  reserved  for  later  opportunities. 
St.  PauU  it  was  settled,  was  to  close  the  announced  programme  of 
the  season. 

It  came  to  performance  on  the  1st  of  April,  which  was  Easter. 
The  audience  was  so  large,  so  deepl}'  interested,  that  there  could  be  no 
excuse  for  letting  it  go  unperformed  so  long  again.  (In  fact  it  had 
only  once  been  attempted  by  the  Society  in  1843.)  Its  music  in  its 
prevailing  tone  of  color  is  more  sombre  than  that  of  Elijah^  yet  it  is. 
fully  as  exciting  to  the  deeper  feelings,  and  strengthening  and  uplift- 
ing to  the  soul.  If  it  is  less  brilliant,  and  presents  no  such  variety 
of  vividly  conceived  and  wonderfully  painted  scenes,  yet  the  one 
theme  is  taken  so  to  heart,  and  musically  developed  with  such  con- 
sistency and  such  completeness,  that  as  a  whole  it  is  equally  and  even 
more  absorbing  —  at  least  after  one  has  listened  to  it  carefully  sev- 
eral times  and  studied  it.  Elijah  may  always  be  more  popular,  but 
pause  before  you  call  it  greater  than  St.  Paul.  The  music  of  the 
latter  is  singularly  one  in  spirit  with  the  subject  and  the  text.  The 
composer  is  so  true  to  that,  has  so  filled  himself  with  its  import,  that 
he  seems  hardly  to  have  aimed  at  mere  musical  effect  as  such,  but 
only  at  a  noble,  sincere,  full,  and  never  overwrought  expression  of 
characters,  events,  and  sentences  all  full  of  meaning  and  most  sacred  ; 
the  expression  thereof  by  those  means  and  forms  of  musical  art 
which  had  l)ecome  to  him  an  ever-ready,  all-sufficient  mother  tongue. 
While,  therefore,  on  the  spiritual,  the  poetic,  the  dramatic  side,  the 
work  is  so  true,  so  earnest,  and  so  real  (not  '» realistic  "),  it  is  no 
less  beautiful,  original,  and  whole  as  a  work  of  art,  a  composition. 
With  all  its  contrasts,  —  songs,  chorals  (for  like  Bach  in  his  Passion 
music,    Mendelssohn   builds  here   on  the  choral,    the    sweet,    deep. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     247 

heartfelt  plain-song  of  the  Reformation),  and  choruses  of  serene, 
high  Christian  faith,  turbulent  outbursts  of  Jewish  prejudice  and 
vengeance,  or  light-hearted,  sensuous  heathen  worship, —  it  still  pre- 
serves a  unity  of  musical  style  which  makes  the  beauty  of  all  parts 
felt  and  implied  more  or  less  in  each  part.  And  here  we  may  ven- 
ture to  suggest,  that  possibly  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  in 
mastering  the  St.  Paid  problem,  were  already  unconsciously  prepar- 
ing for  the  yet  greater  problem,  with  which  they  were  morally  bound 
within  a  few  years  to  wrestle,  —  the  Passion  music  and  the  Christmas 
oratorio  of  John  Sebastian  Bach.  They  are  already  on  the  stepping- 
stones  to  that.  For  jMendelssohn  in  *S^.  Paul  not  only  makes  use  of 
the  choral,  but,  like  Bach,  too,  he  intrusts  the  narrative,  very  con- 
densed and  plain,  to  a  single  reciting  voice  (soprano  or  tenor) ,  which 
introduces  the  dramatis  personoi  and  then  lets  them  sing  in  person  ; 
now  the  two  false  witnesses,  now  Stephen,  now  Paul ;  now  the  voice 
from  heaven,  "  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  me?"  which  he  gives  to 
a  soprano  choir  to  make  it  as  little  earthly  and  (humanly  speak- 
ing) as  impersonal  as  possible.  There  is  something  quite  dramatic 
in  this  arrangement,  and  Mendels-ohn  had  the  resources  of  the  mod- 
ern orchestra  and  his  master}'  thereof  to  make  it  more  dramatic 
still. 

The  oratorio  appears  to  have  been  quite  as  well  rendered  as  could 
reasonably  be  expected  on  a  first  attempt ;  imleed,  considering  the 
ever  new  difficulties  which  a  work  so  long,  so  taxing  to  physical  and 
mental  powers,  presented  in  rehearsal,  the  effort  exceeded  expecta- 
tion. The  well-know^n  aria,  '^  Jerusalem!  thou  that  killest,"  was 
sung  with  fel'vor,  sweetness,  and  sustained  nobili'y  of  style  by  Miss 
Houston,  who  was  in  remarkably  good  voice  that  season  and  less 
unsure  of  herself  than  sometimes.  She  was  no  less  successful  in  the 
almost  equally  beautiful  soprano  arioso,  •'!  will  sing  of  thy  great 
mircies."  In  the  trying  recitatives  she  was  ofien,  but  not  always, 
happy.  The  one  air  for  contralto  (also  well  known  in  concert 
rooms),  ''  But  the  Lord  is  mindful  of  his  own,"  — that  warm,  rich 
strain  of  sincere  melody,  —  told  to  good  advantage  in  the  large,  rich 
voice  and  unaffected  style  of  Mis^  Annie  Cary,  not  yet  developed  into 
the  world-renowned  singer  that  she  afterwards  became  after  more 
study  and  with  more  earnestness  and  animation.  The  only  tenor 
aria,  "  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,"  received  an  eloquent  rendering 
from  Mr.  Castle,  who  had  rid  himself  of  some  bad  habits,  and  whose 
voice  had  even  gained  in  reach  and  volume  since  he  had  sung  here 
before.  He  snng  it  as  if  he  felt  that  it  meant  something.  His  reci- 
tatives in  the  First  Part,  especially  that  in  which  Stephen   rebukes 


248     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

the  council,  "  Ye  haivl  of  heart,"  demand  the  highest  powers.  He 
grappled  with  the  task  manfully  and  thoughtfully,  risiing  in  one  place 
to  great  energy  of  declamntion,  although  the  contrasts  of  loud  and 
soft  were  somewhat  too  spasmodic.  Mr.  AYhi'ney  deliveied  the  two 
strongh'  contrasted  bass  arias  in  the  character  of  Paul,  "  Consume 
them  all,"  and  ''  O  God.  have  mere}',"  in  a  serious,  manly  style,  and 
in  a  voice  at  most  times  musical  as  well  as  ponderous  and  tellinjz, 
though  somewhat  dry  and  hollow  in  the  upper  tones.  His  solo  with 
chorus,  *•  I  praise  thee,  O  God,"  was  one  of  the  satisfying  pieces  in 
the  oratorio;  and  his  duet  with  tenor  (Paul  and  Barnabas),  "For 
so  hath  the  Lord  himself  commanded,"  was  received  with  open 
applause.  Paul  also  has  a  noble  piece  of  recitative,  where  he  expos- 
tulates with  the  Gentiles  who  would  worship  them  as  Mercurius  and 
Jupiter,  ''  O  wherefore  do  ye  these  things  ?  ",  in  which  the  singer  mijjiht 
find  matter  for  long  study. 

Of  the  work  of  the  chorus,  and  the  performance  generally,  we  will 
briefly  quote  from  our  own  record  at  the  time:  -'The  plainer  cho- 
ruses, especially  the  chorals,  went  admirably,  —  a  full,  smooth, 
euphonious,  well-balanced,  and  well-blended  stream  of  tone,  refresh- 
ing and  edifying  even  in  that  hot  and  crowded  hall.  Most  of  the 
choruses,  even  the  more  complex  and  contrapuntal,  were  carried 
through  well ;  SMve  that  it  still  threatens  to  take  years  to  cure  com- 
pletel}'  that  chronic  fault  of  all  our  large  choruses,  the  timidity  and 
non-appearance  of  scores  of  voices  in  certain  difficult  and  critical  pas- 
sages ;  the  responsibility  of  carrying  them  thiough.  still  more  of  tak- 
ing theui  up,  is  commonly  left  to  the  few  who  are  more  sure  and 
confident.  We  think,  however,  that  we  notice  a  constant  improve- 
ment in  this  particular;  the  only  thorough  remedy  will  be  found  in 
the  same  full  attendance  upon  each  and  every  rehearsal  that  is  shown 
with  such  alacrity  when  it  comes  to  a  public  performance.  The  joy 
of  joining  in  the  festival  must  first  be  earned  by  study  in  rehearsal 
and  at  home.  The  heavier  choral  passages  wei'C  grandly  held  up  by 
Mr.  Lang's  sparing  and  judicious  use  of  the  great  organ  ;  and  the 
extremely  interesting  orchestral  accompaniments  (a  study  by  them- 
selves) were  made  effective  by  a  fuller  band  than  usual,  after  good 
rehearsal.  ]\Ir.  Zerrahn  conducted  with  his  usual  unflagging  vigil- 
ance and  energy,  and  has  reason  to  congratulate  himself  on  the 
result  of  his  long  and  faithful  training  of  his  lorces  for  so  great  a 
task.  We  certainly  think  it  a  mistake  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society  not  to  repeat  St.  Paul  at  the  earliest  convenience  ;  it  has 
made  a  good  impression  once,  and  many  hundreds  of  delighted 
hearers   only  wish    to   know  it    better   that    they  may   enjoy   it  and 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  249 

admire  it  more."  That  opportunity  we  were  not  to  have  until 
another  winter  ! 

Meanwhile  it  was  thought  best  to  spend  the  remainder  of  the 
season  in  the  preparation  of  a  concert  for  the  express  purpose  of 
increasing  the  Festival  Fund.  This  was  given  May  13,  foi'mally 
closing  the  real  mu-ical  season.  And  a  noble  close  it  was.  It  was 
in  some  sense  a  revival,  or  a  reflection,  of  the  splendors  of  the  Fes- 
tival of  twelve  months  before.  Between  five  and  six  hundred  voices 
were  assembled,  and  the  orchestra  increased  to  sixty  instruments,  so 
that  the  performance  was  nearh^  on  the  same  grand  scale.  The  drill 
of  chorus  and  of  orchestra  had  been  very  careful.  The  selections 
(Part  I.,  Nicolai's  Religious  Festival  Overture^  and  Mendelssohn's 
Forty-second  Psalm,  ''  As  the  hart  pants"  ;  Part  II.,  Mendelssohn's 
Hymn  of  Praise)  were  of  an  interesting  and  inspiring  character.  All 
went  heartily  and  full  of  life.  Yet  the  Music  Hall,  strange  to  say,  w^as 
not  crowded.     May,  with  its  apple  blossoms,  was  a  strong  competitor  ! 

The  chorus  singing  was  uncommonly  good ;  and  so  was  the 
orchestra  (for  those  days),  bringing  out  the  contrapuntal  interludes 
and  variations  of  the  Nicolai  Overture  with  strong  and  unmistakable 
outline,  while  the  choral  unison  on  Luther's  hymn,  '•  Ein'  fe.'itf^  Burg,"'' 
approached  the  sublime.  Tlie  Mendelssohn  Cantata  {Forty-second 
Psalm)  was  new  to  the  public.  Not  so  grand,  so  varied,  or  elaborate 
as  his  larger  works,  it  is  purely  beautiful  and  full  of  tender  feeling 
from  beginning  to  end  ;  indeed,  a  lovely  composition,  in  which  the 
inmost  yearning  and  deep  trials  of  the  soul,  as  well  as  the  sweetest 
comfort,  alike  find  expression.  Seldom  before  had  the  Society  been 
so  happy  in  the  rendering  of  a  whole  work  as  they  were  with  this. 
It  is  comparatively  easy,  lo  be  sure  ;  and  yet  it  was  no  child's  play. 
The  soprano  solos  were  divided  between  Miss  Houston,  who  sang 
admirably,  with  all  her  feeling,  and  Miss  Sarah  VV.  Barton,  who 
made  her  first  appearance  then  in  oratorio,  and  whose  clear,  rich, 
true  voice,  and  effective  execution,  not  without  fervor,  although  of 
too  birdlike  and  briijht  a  quali  y  for  the  mournful  sentiment  of  the 
strain,  made  a  highly  favorable  impression,  and  gave  much  to  lioj^e 
from  her.  The  Hymn  of  Praise,  then  grown  familiar,  was  nearly  as 
great  a  success  as  at  the  Festival.  In  the  nature  of  the  case,  one 
hardly  expects  to  hear  a  perfect  rendering  of  the  middle  portions  of 
the  chorus,  "The  night  is  departing";  with  the  best  training,  that 
needs  the  inspiration  of  some  good  genius  of  the  moment,  lifting  the 
singers  above  themselves  for  once.  For  the  rest,  the  choruses  went 
capitally.  Miss  Houston  sang  the  soprano  solos  ;  and  neither  the 
splendor  of    her  voice  nor  the  right    inspirations   failed  her.     Miss 


250     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Barton  sang  with  her  the  duet,  "  I  waited  for  the  Lord,"  which  was 
so  good  as  a  whole  that  the  call  for  a  repetition  was  irresistible. 
Mr.  Hazlewood  was  the  tenor. 

These  selections,  added  to  the  Creation^  Judas  Maccabceus,  the 
Messiah,  and  *S^  Paul,  certainly  made  out  a  rich  season  as  to 
quantity  and  quality  of  matter  studied  and  produced,  even  though 
Israel  in  Eg>j2)t  was  pushed  forward,  and  Bach's  day,  for  our  western 
hemisphere  (we  living  on  the  green  side  of  the  apple) ,  was  not  yet  to 
come  for  several  3'ears. 

FIFTY-SECOND    SEASON. 
May  28,  1866,  to  May  27,  1867. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  held  in  Bumstead  Hall,  May  28,  the  fol- 
lowing officers  were  elected  for  the  ensuing  year  :  — 

President. — J.  Baxter  Upham. 

Vice-President.  —  O.  J.  Faxon. 

Secretary.  —  Loring  B.  Barnes. 

Treasurer.  —  George  W.  Palmer. 

Librarian.  —  George  H.  Chickering. 

Trustees. — J.  S.  Saavyer,  Charles  H.  Johnson,  O.  F.  Clark, 
Levi  W.  Johnson,  George  Hews,  F.  N.  Scott,  S.  L.  Thorndike, 
John  A.  Noavell. 

Mr.  L.  B.  Barnes,   as  treasurer  j^ro  tein..  presented  the  following 

statement :  — 

RECEIPTS. 

Treasurer's  balance  from  last  year $342  70 

Amount  received  from  Mr.  Bateman  (Parepa's  manager)  for 

our  performance  of  the  Creation,  Oct.  15    1865  .         .  200  00 

Gross  receipts  for  performance  of   Judas  Maccahceus,  Nov. 

19,  1865 779  00 

Gross  receipts  of  performance  of  Judas  Maccahoius,  Messiah, 

and  Elijah,  Dec.  23,  24,  and  31,  in  connection  with  Mr. 

Bateman,  as  agent  of  Mile.  Parepa 

Gross  receipts  for  performance  of   St.  Paul  at  Easter.  April 

1,  1866 

Gross  receipts   for  benefit  concert  {Hymn  of  Praise,   etc.), 

May  13.  1866 

Admission  fees  of  65  members  at  $5.00  each    .... 
From  treasurer  Festival  Fund,  interest  on  $2,000,  1-^^  bonds 

due  June  15,  anticipated 

and  balance  of  Fund  in  his  hands  of 

Received  of  J.  B.  Smith  in  settlement 

Subscriptions  in  the  board  of  trustees  to  cover  deficit     . 


9,410 

00 

1,395 

00 

926 

00 

325 

00 

73 

00 

34  86 

50  00 

80  06 

§13,615 

62 

HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  251 


EXPENDITURES. 

For  advertising,  printing,  and  incidentals         .... 

P'or  soloists,  exclusive  of  Mile.  Parepa 

Paid  H.  L.  Bateman  for  his  share  of  receipts  on  the  perform- 
ance of  the  three  oratorios  named 

For  orchestra  the  entire  season 

For  rent  of  Mu>»ic  Hall  And  Bumstead  Hall,  including  erection 
of  stage  for  each  performance,  and  other  expenses  . 

For  purchase  of  new  music,  binding,  etc.  .... 

For  salaries  of  conductor  and  organist 

For  doorkeepeis,  ticket  sellers,  ushers,  etc 

For  rent  of  library  room 

Paid  Mr.  Williams  to  relinquish  the  Music  Hall  for  oratorio 

Elijah,  Dec.  31 100  00 

Paid  S.  M.  Bedlington  for  attendance,  and  for  preparing  new 

catalogue  of  library 200  00 

Paid  for  carriages  for  soloists 28  75 

Paid  for  insurance  on  librarv 35  00 


$1,808 

12 

1,610 

55 

4,705  00 

1,819 

00 

1,592 

00 

7(14 

45 

600  00 

242 

75 

100 

00 

$13,615  62 


From  the  reports  of  the  president  and  librarian,  it  appeared  that 
the  sources  of  the  loss  (made  up  by  members  of  the  board  of  trus- 
tees) were  "to  be  found  mainly  in  cojineetion  with  the  praiseworthy 
efforts  of  the  Society  to  increase  their  Festival  Fund  by  an  extra 
concert,  given  at  the  close  of  the  season  (May  13),  and  with  unusual 
attr  ictions  for  public  patronage.  Hereafter,  it  would  seem  that  such 
plans,  if  resorted  to  nt  all,  must  be  carried  out  with  greater  regard 
to  economy,  and  with  less  confidence  of  a  support  from  without,  in 
ratio  with  the  enlarged  forces  and  increased  attractions  that  may  be 
offered."  Material  additions  to  the  library,  however,  reckoned  at 
the  cost  of  8600.  made  the  financial  result  of  the  year's  operations 
really  a  g'in. 

Sixty-five  gentlemen  had  been  admitted  to  membership.  —  the 
larsfest  number  ever  before  added  in  a  sino-le  vear ;  and  there  had 
been  no  resignations,  no  expulsions,  though  very  serious  losses,  as 
has  been  already  shown,  by  death.  The  seven  public  performances, 
with  the  exception  of  the  hastily  improvised  one  of  the  Creation^  "in 
which  the  Societ}'  held  the  secondary,  and  somewhat  questionable 
position  of  accompanists  to  Parepa,"  were  given  after  much  thorough- 
ness of  preparation,  with  increased  orchestra,  and  the  best  available 
solo  vocalists  in  the  country,  the  large  organ,  and  a  chorus  of  be- 
tween four  and  five  hundred  voices.  The  rehearsals,  which  began 
early  in  October,  had  continued  weekly,  sometimes  oftener,  without 
intermission,  and  more  than  usual  interest  in  them  was  manifested 


252     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

by  a  larger  and  more  constant  nttendance  of  the  members  ;  yet  the 
president  wished  "it  were  possible  to  add,  that  absenteeism^  that 
bane  of  every  amateur  musical  society,  had  been  altogether  re- 
formed "  Other  faults  were  named  in  the  report :  too  great  haste  on 
the  part  of  many  to  leave  the  room  before  the  exercises  of  the  even- 
ing have  fairly  closed, —  nothing  so  disheartening  to  the  conductor, 
or  so  dampening  to  the  interest  and  enthusiasm  of  those  who  remain  ; 
loud  talking  an<l  whispering  on  the  part  of  auditors  present  by  invi- 
tation or  by  sufferance  at  rehearsals  ;  and  the  custom  of  some  mem- 
bers of  transformino-  themselves  into  auditors,  instead  of  takino-  their 
proper  places  in  the  choir. 

The  actual  numerical  force  of  the  chorus,  as  determined  by  their 
attendance  at  rehearsals  and  concerts,  was  568,  apportioned  nearly  a& 
follows:  sopranos,  176  ;  altos,  128;  tenors,  109;  bassos,  155.  This 
was  exclusive  of  about  160,  whose  names  were  upon  the  rolls  of  mem- 
bership, but  who,  from  their  distant  residence,  or  from  disability  of 
various  kinds,  rarely  met  with  the  Society.  From  this  it  appeared 
that  the  proper  balancing  of  the  chorus  was  not  yet  accomplished, 
the  sopranos  being  largely  in  excess,  the  tenors  lamentably  deficient 
in  numbers.  Hence  the  examination  of  candidates  for  admission 
should,  for  the  present,  be  restricted  to  o:ood  tenor  and  alto  voices. 
And  of  the  duties  of  the  examining  committee,  a  word  was  added  :  — 

"  Theirs  is  a  delicate  and  difficult  task.  It  often  happens  that 
those  who  have  excellent  \oices,  nnd  can  sing  readily,  with  good 
meihod  and  with  effect,  any  piece  they  have  learned,  present  them- 
selves before  the  committee  for  examination  ;  but,  when  required  to 
read  at  sight,  even  the  simpler  forms  of  psalmody,  they  find  them- 
selves at  fault. 

"  The  superficiality  of  many  who  set  themselves  up  for  teachers  in 
singing,  in  this  particular,  is  notorious.  The  committee  are  perfectly 
right  in  rejecting  all  such  candidates.  This  Society  is  in  no  sense 
a  school  for  beginners  in  the  art  of  reading,  but  rather  for  improve- 
ment, advancement,  and  progress  in  the  appreciation  and  practice  of 
music  in  its  highest  development." 

After  some  practical  suggestions  on  this  point,  the  report  spoke  of 
sixteen  meetings  for  business  which  had  been  held  by  the  board  of 
trustees  during  the  year.  At  one  of  the  last  of  these  they  unani- 
mously adopted  a  vote  creating  a  special  beard  of  trustees  for  the 
management  of  the  fund  which  had  its  origin  in  the  great  Festival  of 
1865.  The  report  recites  the  instrument  of  trust  in  full,  whereby 
the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  desirous  of  creaiing,  for  its  benefit, 
a  '•  Permanent  Fund,"  the  foundation  of  which  shall  be  the  net  pio- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  253 

ceeds  from  the  great  Festival  of  May,  1865,  to  be  increased  from  the 
profits  of  future  concerts  and  festivals,  and  from  tlie  donations  and 
legacies  of  their  friends  and  patrons,  or  otherwise,  give  and  transfer 
to  three  trustees,  J.  Baxter  Upham,  John  P.  Putnam,  and  Nathaniel 
Harris,  the  sum  of  two  thousand  dollars,  and  its  increase  up  to  that 
present  time,  to  be  held  by  them  and  their  successors  in  trust  for 
certain  uses  and  purposes  very  carefully  defined  at  length,  —  in  form 
too  technical  for  reproduction  in  these  pages. 

"  This  instrument,"  the  report  continues,  "  I  deem  to  be  of  the 
utmost  interest  to  the  Society.  It  sets  forth  the  fact  that  we  have  at 
last  the  nucleus  of  a  Permanent  Fund,  which,  it  is  hoped,  from  this 
small  beginning  may  grow  to  such  proportions  as  will  place  us  at 
length  in  a  position  to  be  no  longer  dependent  upon  the  assessment  of 
our  members,  or  the  fickleness  of  public  patronage  for  a  support." 

The  president's  report  alluded,  in  conclusion,  to  the  entiie  unanim- 
ity of  action  which  had  characterized  all  the  meetings  of  the  board, 
and  to  the  alacrity  and  good  feeling  with  which  its  recommendations 
had  been  seconded  and  carried  out  by  the  Society  ;  adverting  also,  in 
terms  of  highest  admiration  and  praise,  to  the  zeal  and  unwearied 
efforts  of  the  able  and  efficient  conductor,  Mr.  Zerrahn,  aided  by  his 
accomplished  assistant,  Mr.  Lang. 

And  now  for  the  usual  summer  rest,  with  hope  of  earnest  prepara- 
tion and  performance  to  begin  again  in  the  autumn,  and  result  in  a 
rich  season,  richer  perhaps  than  ever,  of  great  music  by  gieat 
masters. 

Plans  were  rather  slow  in  shaping  themselves.  By  the  middle  of 
September  none  had  been  announced.  There  was  a  certainty,  of 
course,  of  the  Messiah  at  Christmas.  But  from  grand  performances, 
as  last  year,  with  the  splendid  aid  of  Mme.  Parepa,  there  was  natu- 
ralW  a  shrinking,  seeing  that  that  involved  sharing  the  gross  proceeds 
with  her  manager,  as  if  the  lady's  single  services  were  a  fair  offset  to 
chorus,  orchestra,  organ,  conductor,  and  all  the  other  stars,  however 
differing  in  glory  !  But  there  were  many  good  and  noble  orntorios 
within  their  reach,  even  should  it  be  without  r/?'ea^  and  famous  singers. 
For  the  first  coming  together  for  autumnal  practice  it  was  not  amiss 
to  recommend  the  chorus,  ''  Be  not  afraid  !  " 

A  good  beginning  was  made  in  the  choice  of  St.  Paul  for  the  first 
oratorio  of  the  season.  That  one  performance  of  the  work  enlire  in 
the  spring  was  certainly  too  impressive  to  justify  any  unnecessary 
delay  before  its  repetition.  After  faithful  rehearsal,  it  came  to  per- 
formance on  Sunday  evening,  Nov.  25.     The  Music  Hall  was  com- 


254  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

pletely  full,  und  there  was  no  flagging  of  interest  from  the  b(  ginning 
to  the  end.  The  performance  as  a  whole  was  one  of  the  best  yet 
recorded  in  these  annals.  The  choruses  were  all  well  sung,  both  the 
grand  ones  and  the  sweet  and  graceful  ones,  both  the  plain  chorals 
and  the  fugued  and  intricate  pieces  of  polyphonic  writing.  A  marked 
improvement  both  in  the  balance  of  the  parts  and  in  the  average  qual- 
ity of  voices  in  all  parts,  particularly  in  the  tenors,  became  a  common 
theme  of  conversation  and  of  public  critical  recognition.  Then,  loo, 
the  rich  and  graphic  instrumentation,  than  which  none  more  masterly 
and  splendid  can  be  found  in  oratorio,  was  brightened  up  and 
strengthened  by  the  full  orchestra  of  the  Symphony  concerts.  —  not 
such  an  orchestra  as  we  can  boast  in  }^S8^  but  the  best  available  at 
that  day.  Mr.  Zerrahn  was  fully  master  of  the  situation,  and  all  told 
of  the  vigilance  and  patience  with  which  he  had  watched  the  whole 
thino:  throuojh  the  labors  of  rehearsal.  The  solo  work  was  creditable, 
without  resorting  to  great  notabilities.  The  singers,  witli  the  excep- 
tion of  Mr.  George  Simpson  (suddenly  called  in  to  supply  the  place 
of  Mr.  James  AYhitney,  confined  by  severe  illness),  were  all  of  our 
own  "domestic  talent"  Miss  Houston  was  equal  to  her  reputation 
in  the  soprano  recitatives  and  arias  ;  Miss  Kate  Rametti,  a  debutante, 
daughter  of  the  well-known  flutist,  sang  the  one  contralto  aria,  •'  But 
the  Lord  is  mindful,"  and  made  an  excellent  impression  by  the  power 
and  richness  of  her  voice,  her  simple,  tasteful  rendering  of  the  music, 
and  her  modest  manner.  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney  had  to  sustain  the  chief 
weight  of  the  solo  music  in  the  character  of  Paul,  and  he  achieved  the 
task  with  dignity  and  effect.  The  tenor  was  at  fault  sometimes  in 
reading,  as  well  as  weak  and  superficial  in  style  ;  but  the  manner  in 
which  he  sang  "Be  thou  faithful  unto  death"  proved  that  he  had 
it  in  him,  with  due  study,  to  do  justice  to  such  music.  And  was 
St.  Paul  to  relapse  into  silence  for  the  winter  here?  So  indeed  it 
proved. 

December  23.  Annual  Christmas  performance  of  the  Messiah,  Sun- 
da}'  evening.  Rain  fell  in  torrents,  but  the  Music  Hall  was  crammed  ; 
for  this  with  many  had  become  an  annual  religious  festival :  many 
must  hear  this  oratorio  at  Christinas,  who  seldom  care  for  any  other. 
The  choruses  went  on  the  whole  as  well  as  usual.  In  point  of  musical 
sonority,  balance  of  parts,  etc.,  the  e  was  improvement  manifest;  but 
there  were  tares  still  to  be  weeded  out,  and  there  were  timid,  tardy 
motions  to  be  strengthened  in  more  than  one  of  the  fugued  pieces, 
which  might  have  been  clearer.  The  airs  and  recitatives  were  mostly 
in  new  hands.  Their  efforts  were  all  creditable  ;  but  only  in  Miss 
Houston,  who  sang  "  I  know  that  my  Redeemer."  was  there  anything 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  255^ 

like  fresh  inspiration.  Mrs.  H.  M  Smith  vocalized  "  Rejoice- 
greatly  ''  and  other  airs  with  good  voice  skilfully  but  coldly.  There 
was  charm  and  pathos  in  Miss  Hametti's  rich  but  immature  contralto. 
The  younger  Mr.  Winch  (William  J.)  had  a  beautiful,  clear  tenor 
voice,  of  good  power,  hardh'  yet  developed,  and  sang  with  so  good  a- 
method,  in  so  chaste  a  style,  and  with  so  much  intelligence,  that  he 
was  heard  with  greater  pleasure  than  many  more  expeiienced  and 
would-be  impassioned  tenors.  The  new  basso,  also,  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch, 
had  a  capital  deep  voice,  and  sang  as  if  more  study  and  experience 
would  make  him  a  superior  oratorio  singer. 

With  the  new  year  (1867)  the  Society  took  up  an  oratorio  of  Han- 
del which  hid  never  before  engaged  its  attention  as  a  whole.  This 
was  Jephtha,  the  last  of  his  eighteen  English  oratorios,  of  which  the 
composition  whs  begun  on  the  21st  of  January  and  finished  on  the 
30th  (.f  August,  1751,  just  ten  years  later  than  the  Messiah.  The 
work  extended  over  six  months,  whereas  the  Messiah  cost  him  only 
twenty-four  days  ;  and  he  was  seldom  occupied  longer  than  a  month 
or  six  weeks  on  a  single  oratorio.  But  in  Jejyhtha  he  was  several 
times  interrupted  by  his  eye  disease  and  even  by  occasional  blindness. 
It  m;»y  be  easily  imagined  that  he  put  much  of  his  most  serious 
thought  and  feeling,  much  of  his  best  power  into  such  a  work,  and  it 
ranks  indeed  among  his  noblest  oratorios.  That  it  is  not  heard  more 
frequently  is  doubiless  due  in  no  small  degree  to  the  want  of  com- 
pletion by  an  able  hand  of  the  printed  sketch,  which  is  all  that  we 
possess,  of  Handel's  orchestral  accompaniments.  Without  that  even 
the  Messiah  yvould  have  been  unavailable  for  making  its  coinplete  and 
just  impression.  How,  or  to  what  extent,  the  difficulty  was  obviated 
by  our  Society  on  this  occasion,  we  are  not  informed.  It  is  significant, 
that  this  still  stands  as  the  first  and  only  performance  of  Jephtha  irh 
the  records.  A  few  extracts  from  it  have  been  well  known  here  both 
before  and  since  ;  such  as  the  fine  teiior  recitative  and  aria,  '^  Deeper 
and  deeper  still,"  and  ''Waft  her,  angels,  to  the  skies,"  and  one  or 
two  choruses.  But  the  music  for  the  most  part  was  new  and  untried 
for  our  singers.  It  shows  throughout  the  ripeness  of  the  composer's 
consummate  art,  and  contains  some  of  his  finest  inspirations.  The 
choruses,  all  of  them,  though  they  are  comparatively  free  from  fugues, 
are  very  original  and  grand.  '•  When  his  loud  voice  in  thunder 
spoke  "  ;  that  solemnly  impressive  one,  "  How  dark,  O  Lord,  are  thy 
decrees  "  (the  fac-simile  of  the  original  manuscript  of  which  shows  the 
very  place  at  which  Handel's  blindness  overtook  him,  compelling  a 
suspension  of  work  for  a  week  or  two),  "  They  ride  on  whirlwinds,'* 
*'  In  glory  high,  in   might  serene,"  etc.,   are   singularly  graphic  aad 


256     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

imaginative.  But,  it  must  be  confessed,  the  work  abounds  with 
solos  of  a  rather  formal,  uninspiring  cnt,  especially  in  the  First  Part; 
and  it  was  well  to  abridge  several  of  the  longi  r  ones  by  leaving  off 
the  minor  stniin  with  the  Da  capo. 

Jephtha  was  publicly  given  on  Sunday  evening,  Feb.  17,  —  once  and 
not  again.  Most  of  the  choruses  were  well  sung,  with  full  orchestra 
and  organ.  The  soprano  airs  furnished  few  great  opportunities  for 
Parepa.  She  sang  tliem  artistically,  as  she  did  everything,  with 
•clear  and  copious  tone  and  faultless  vocalization ;  but  naturally 
enough  much  of  the  time  with  a  free  and  easy  business-like  routine, 
securing  an  effect  now  and  then  by  the  superfluous  holding  out  of  a 
clear,  high  tone ;  great  audiences,  then  and  now,  being  children 
enough  to  applaud  such  tricks.  But  "  Tune  the  soft  melodious  lute  " 
was  exquisitely  sung. 

Mrs.  J.  S.  Gary  took  the  contralto  part  of  Storge.  wife  of  Jephtha, 
which  contains  the  richest  and  most  pathetic  of  the  solo  music,  full 
of  presentiment  of  woe  ;  and  her  warm,  sweet  voice,  her  uniformly 
true  style  and  feeling,  were  what  the  part  required.  The  part  of 
Hamor,  a  young  warrior  betrothed  to  Iphis,  was  intrusted  to  Miss 
Kate  Rametti,  whose  only  drawback  was  that  of  modesty,  amount- 
ing even  to  timidity,  this  time  aggravated  by  a  cold.  Miss  Clara  M. 
Lorino^  made  her  debut  in  the  Music  Hall  in  the  single  recitative  and 
air  of  the  Angel ;  her  clear,  fresh,  sweet  soprano,  and  the  way  in 
which  she  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  music,  won  her  a  success. 
Mr.  Simpson  did  his  best,  and  not  without  success  in  those  two  gems 
for  the  tenor  above  named,  which  Braham  and  Sims  Reeves  used  to 
sing  so  wonderfully,  and  which  Mr.  Arthurson  also  had  sung  here 
with  perfect  style  and  feeling,  though  with  limited  vocal  means.  To 
the  earlier,  heroic  strains  of  Jephtha,  Mr.  Simpson  was  haidly  equal. 
Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney,  in  the  part  of  Zebul,  wholly  recitative,  except 
once  near  the  end  (where  each  of  the  characters  is  led  up  to  the 
footlights  in  turn  to  sing  a  parting  recitative  and  air),  declaimed  with 
weight  and  dignity,  if  somewhat  monotonously.  The  Music  Hall 
was  crowded,  and  the  performance  much  admired.  When  will 
Jt-phtha.  be  taken  up  again,  in  real  earnest,  with  the  accompaniment 
properly  elaborated  by  some  true  Handelian  like  Robert  Franz,  and 
made  to  show  the  wealth  and  depth  of  beauty  and  of  meaning  there 
is  in  it? 

On  the  following  Sunday  evening,  Feb.  24,  for  a  more  popular 
•attraction,  the  Creation  was  brought  to  the  front  again,  with  the 
hall  so  crammed  with  standing  ticket- holders  that  it  was  ver}-  diffi- 
cult to  find  passageway  to  seats  ;  too  full  in  fact,  so  that  some  people 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  257 

became  nervous.  Doubtless  Parepa  was  the  magnet ;  certainly  her 
singing  of  this  music  was  always  something  magnificent.  Mr.  W.  J. 
Winch  was  the  tenor,  and  M.  W.  Whitney  the  basso. 

Armed  with  the  same  powerful  Parepa-Rosa  magnet,  besides  other 
good  soloists,  wiih  the  full  orchestra  of  the  S3'mphony  Concerts,  and 
the  great  organ,  the  Society  conjured  vast  crowds  into  the  Music 
Hall  on  Saturday  and  Sunday  evenings,  April  20  and  21,  for  its 
Easter  oratorios. 

Saturday  evening  offered  Rossini's  Stabat  JIa'er  and  Mendelssohn's 
Ilymn  of  Praise.  The  former  is  sensational  and  secular,  to  be  sure, 
except  in  some  passages,  and  had  become  hackneyed  as  the  only 
"sacred"  ventuie  of  the  Italian  opera  troupes,  whose  managers 
would  have  them  make  hay  on  Sundays  as  well  as  all  the  week.  But 
the  exceptional  excellence  of  the  performance  rendered  it  enjoyable. 
We  had  never  heard  the  soprano  parts  more  splendidly  sung  than 
by  Parepa  ;  and  Mrs.  Gary,  with  her  pure  contralto  and  chaste  st^^le 
and  feeling,  sang  like  a  truly  musical  and  soulful  artist.  Mr.  James 
W^hitney,  with  a  voice  sweet  in  quality  and  artistically  used,  lacked 
weight  and  power  and  sword-thrust  energy  for  "  Cujus  animam"; 
that  other  concert  hack,  the  ''  Pro  peccatis,"  would  have  been  re-gal- 
vanized into  life  by  Mr.  Rudolphsen,  if  it  could  have  been  by  any- 
body. The  opening  chorus,  the  unaccompanied  quartet,  "  Quando 
corpus,"  and  the  "  Inflammatus,"  in  which  both  Mme.  Rosa  and 
the  chorus  were  sublime,  came  upon  many  of  us  as  good  as  new.  It 
was  well  enough  in  itself  to  leave  off  Rossini's  weak  and  jejune 
fugue  finale  ;  but  that  involved  putting  the  ''  Quando  corpus  "  and  the 
paradisal  glories  before  the  "  Inflammatus,"  and  that  again  involved 
a  transposition  of  key  in  the  latter.  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney's  bass 
was  as  firm  as  a  rock  in  the  quartet,  as  wherever  he  bore  part,  and 
that  gem  of  the  work  was  sung  so  nicely  that  it  had  to  be  repeated. 
The  chorus  was  fuller  than  usual,  and  in  this  easy  work,  compared  to 
the  oratorios  on  which  they  had  been  studying,  the  voices  came  out 
round  and  clear  and  unanimous,  so  that  the  ensemble  was  inspiring. 

The  Hymn  of  Prcc'se^  a  work  of  more  sterling  metal,  followed  to 
advantage.  The  orchestral  symphony  charmed  more  than  ever  be- 
fore. One  or  two  of  the  choruses  might  well  have  been  taken  a 
shade  less  rapidly  ;  and  there  were  still  some  scrambling  and  confu- 
sion in  such  places  as  the  latter  part  of  "The  night  is  departing.'^ 
But  nearly  all  was  strikingly  effective.  Mme.  Rosa's  bright  voice 
was  electrifying  in  the  glad  announcement  that  ushers  in  that  chorus  ; 
and  everywhere  both  she  and  Mrs.  Gary  lent  their  best  powers  to  the 
music.     Mr.   J.  W^hitney,  for  the   tenor  recitative,  lacked  dramatic 


258     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY'. 

force  and  weight  of  voice,  but  he  did  all  with  feeling  and  with  good 
expression.     The  audience  showed  great  enthusiasm. 

The  Mendelssohniau  vein  was  well  kept  up  the  next  night  in 
Elijah,  a  spirited  performance;  the  great  choruses,  backed  bv  the 
thousand  throats  of  the  great  organ,  extremely  effective.  Mme. 
Rosa  had  full  field  for  her  glorious  voice  and  talent  in  the  chief 
soprano  pait  throughout.  In  the  fine  melodrama  of  the  boy  looking 
out  for  rain  ;  in  the  sublime  **Holy.  holy."  that  opens  the  quartet; 
in  "Hear  ye,  Israel,"  and  in  the  concerted  pieces,  no  one  at  that 
day  could  surpass'  her.  The  angel  trio,  with  three  such  voices  as 
Parepa-Rosa,  Miss  Houston,  and  ^liss  Fhillipps,  had  a  new  and 
peculiar  interest.  The  contralto  tones  of  the  last-named  lady  seemed 
to  have  reached  their  perfect  ripeness.  Miss  Houston  did  excellent 
service  in  some  of  the  smaller  soprano  parts.  Mr.  James  Whitney 
had  grown  into  better  rapport  with  the  Music  Hall,  his  tenor  solos 
coming  out  with  more  power  than  in  his  previous  efforts  ;  and  he 
caught  the  spirit  of  the  music.  For  the  central  figure,  the  prophet,' 
Mr.  Rudolphseu  was  highly  satisfactory.  On  both  evenings  every 
seat  was  sold  and  occupied,  and  a  handsome  sum  redounded  to  the 
treasury. 

At  a  meeting  held  May  1.  some  proposed  changes  in  the  by-laws 
-were  accepted;  and  it  was  voted  to  pay  Carl  Zerrahn  S500  for  his 
Tear's  services  as  conductor,  and  B.  J.  Lang  8300,  as  organist  and 
pianist. 

So  ended  one  more  season.  Its  record  was  a  good  one.  J^^phtha 
was  the  only  new  accession  to  the  repertoire.  St.  Poul  was  the  new 
thing  of  the  year  before,  and  it  preserved  still  novelty  enough.  And 
there  was  also  the  Messiah,  and  the  Creatini.  and  Judas  Maccabcens, 
and  Elijah,  and  the  Hyran  of  Praise,  the  Eorly-second  Psalm,  and 
Rossini's  Stabat  Mati-r.  Will  it  be  out  of  place  here  for  the  annalist 
to  recall  some  reflections  which  passed  through  his  mind  on  looking 
back  over  that  season's  record?  They  are  such  thoughts,  such  ques- 
tionings, such  fears,  as  must  huve  occupied  occasionally  many  of  the 
best  friends  and  even  members  of  the  Society.  There  is  safety  and 
precaution  in  the  entertaining  of  such  fears. 

"  The  Creation  and  Messiah,  great  and  never  to  be  forgotten,  are  very  old 
■stories  with  us.  —  so  much  so  that  it  would  cost  a  miracle,  at  least  a  new  in- 
-spiration,  to  lift  the  chorus  out  of  tlie  old  unconscious  habits,  faults  and  all^ 
in  singing  them.  Even  Etijah  and  the  H(/m7i  of  Praise  are  getting  to  be  as 
familiar  as  household  words  with  all  our  music  lovers.  Two  great  obstacles 
there  always  are  to  widening  the  field  of  our  acquaintance  with  great  works 
of  this  kind:  two  discouragements  to  studying  and  bringing  out  other  great 
\works  which,  bv  their  intrinsic  worth,  have  quite  as  great  a  claim  on  us  as 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  259 

any  in  our  list.  First,  the  mass  of  a  great  choir  are  too  hizy  to  set  to  work, 
with  mastering  energ}^  upon  a  difficult  new  work  (new  to  them),  even  should 
it  be  by  Handel's  great  contemporary,  who  was  at  least  his  equal.  Then,  the 
material  economy  of  such  a  society,  the  eye  to  outward  and  immediate  suc- 
cess, so  easily  forgets  the  real,  excellent  first  purpose,  that  of  learning  things 
and  doing  things  for  art's  sake,  being  ttinpted  by  some  dazzling  opportunity, 
as  the  chance  presence  of  a  famous  prima  donna,  into  doing  the  easy  old 
thing  over  again  for  the  hundredth  time,  just  for  the  sake  of  presenting  her ; 
the  people  pay  and  crowd  the  hall  to  hear  the  singer,  the  singer  being  the 
first  consideration,  the  music  altogether  secondary.  The  prosperity  is  so 
intoxicating,  so  easily  w^on,  that  the  same  round  of  oratorios  bids  fair  to 
repeat  itself  indefinitely;  indeed,  have  not  these  few,  Avhich  we  all  know 
almost  by  heart,  proved  just  the  right  sort  of  background  on  which  to  display 
the  nightingales  and  divas,  about  wdiom  we  are  all  so  crazy,  that  we  do  not 
care  w'hether  we  are  ever  to  know  Sebastian  Bach  or  not? 

"  Perhaps  for  that,  we  need  a  new  Society;  some  smaller,  earnest  club  of 
singers,  who  would  devote  themselves  to  this  specialty  of  learning  the  Pas- 
sion music,  the  Magnificat,  the  Christmas  Oratorio,  or  some  few  of  Bach's 
three  hundred  church  cantatas  We  confess  we  sometimes  wish  that  our  old 
Society  w^ould  either  become  a  great  deal  better,  made  up  entirely  of  earnest 
spirits,  or  so  much  worse,  that  we  might  without  ceremony  dispense  with  it 
and  build  up  another  on  a  new  foundation.  We  have  rejoiced  more  than 
once  of  late  years  at  the  infusion  of  new  wine  into  it;  but  perhaps,  after  all, 
new  wine  needs  new  bottles." 

We  cite  the  above  as  a  fair,  an  essential  part  of  the  history  we  are 
writing  ;  for,  to  appreciate  the  progress  of  the  Society,  we  must  also 
see  it  as  reflected  in  the  minds  of  friendly,  serious  observers.  But 
wait  awhile  !  Perhaps  the  time  is  near  when  we  may  exclaim,  as 
Frederick  the  Great  once  did  to  his  courtiers,  and  as  if  nothing 
else  could  be  half  so  interesting,  "  Gentlemen,  old  Bach  has  come  !  " 


FIFTY-THIRD    SEASON. 

May  27.   1867,  to  June  3,  1808. 

The  annual  meethig  was  held  in  Bumstead  Hall  on  Monday  even- 
ing. May  27,  the  president,  Dr.  J.  B.  Uphara,  in  the  chair.  The 
treasurer's  report  was  flattering:  receipts  for  the  year  past,  $12,- 
495.50  ;  expenditures,  $9,627.63  ;  leaving  a  balance  of  S-%867.87,— 
a  result  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  the  Society.  From  the 
president's  report  it  appeared  that  there  had  been  nine  regular  meet- 
ings ot  the  government,  and  that  the  Society  had  been  called  together 
Ave  limes  to  act  on  business  ;  and  all  these  meetings  were  harmoni- 
ous.    Thirteen  members  had  been  admitted,  eia^ht  discharged,  and 


2n0  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

four  had  resigned.  There  had  been  thirty-two  rehearsals  with  good 
attendance  and  six  public  performances,  with  choruses  of  five  hundred 
voices,  orchestras  of  fifty  (for  the  availableuess  of  which  thanks 
were  given  to  the  enterprise  and  liberality  of  the  Harvard  Musical 
Association),  aided  by  celebrated  singers,  and  by  the  response  of 
large  and  remunerative  audiences.  Besides  touching  with  renewed 
emphasis  on  the  evil  of  absente  ism  from  rehearsals,  and  other  minor 
points  of  discipline,  the  president  urged  the  speedy  taking  up  of  a 
plan  long  mooted  among  the  members,  the  preparation  of  the  annals 
of  the  Society  for  publication.  "  Such  a  history,"  he  said,  "would 
be  a  most  acceptable  possession  to  all  the  present  and  past  members 
of  our  venerable  association,  and  would  not  be  without  interest  to 
others  who  have  at  heart  the  welfare  of  the  cause  we  are  endeavoring 
to  support  and  to  advance.  The  time  for  such  a  work,  if  it  is  ever 
to  be  accomplished,  ought  not  to  be  much  longer  delayed.  Our  earli- 
est associates  are  rapidly  passing  away.  All  the  original  members 
are  now  dead.  In  a  brief  while,  it  will  be  impossible  to  find  among 
the  living  any  in  whose  memory  lingers  a  picture  of  the  early  trials 
and  struggles  through  which  our  now  sturdy  and  vigorous  manhood 
has  been  attained."  In  conclusion,  he  called  attention  to  the  fact 
that  the  coming  year  would  furnish  opportunity  for  the  first  in  the 
regular  series  of  Triennial  Festivals,  which  he  believed  it  to  be  the 
policy  and  purpose  of  the  Society  to  adopt,  and  of  which  the  great 
Festival  of  1865  might  be  considered  the  auspicious  beginning.  At 
the  same  time  he  hoped  '•  that  the  ordinary  work  of  the  year  might 
not  be  interfered  with,  nor  the  regular  concert  season  shorn  of  its 
goodly  proportions,  ])ut  that  all  things  appertaining  thereto  might  be 
provided  for,  decentl}'  and  in  order,  with  unabated  zeal  and  in  its 
proper  time." 

The  trustees  of  the  Permanent  Fund  stated  its  amount  at  82.248.20, 
according  to  the  value  of  the  government  bonds  held  by  the  Society. 

The  meeting  proceeded  to  the  election  of  officers  for  the  ensuing 
year,  with  the  following  result :  — 

President.  — J.  Baxter  Upham. 

Vine- 1 -resident. —  O   J.Faxon. 

Secretary.  — Lorixg  B.  Barnes. 

Treasurer.  —  George  AY.  Palmer. 

Librarian.  —  George  H.  Chickering  : 
all  re-elected  ;  with  an  almost  wholly  new  board  of  directors  : 

O.   Frank  Clark,  Theophilus  Stover,  Charles  H.  Webb.  D.  L. 
Laws,  E.  C.  Daniells,  R.  M    Lowell,  Stephen  Somes,  Oliver  B. 

LOTHROP. 


HISTOKY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  261 

The  first  meeting  of  the  new  board  was  held  June  4.  It  was 
voted,  that  the  first  Triennial  Festival  should  be  given  in  the  spring 
of  1868,  on  substantially  the  ba»is  of  that  of  I860  ;  and  that  appli- 
cation should  be  made  to  friends  of  the  Society  and  others  for 
subscri])tions  t'»  a  guaranty  fund,  like  that  of  1865,  not  binding  until 
$25,000  should  have  been  subscribed.  It  was  also  voted  to  have 
printed  and  suitably  bound  fifteen  hundred  copies  of  the  new  by- 
laws, with  the  deed  of  trust,  an  abstract  of  the  library  catalogue, 
etc.  Alt^o,  to  transfer  81.500  from  the  books  of  the  treasurer  to  the 
Permanent  Fund. 

October  2.  At  a  meeting  of  the  board,  Mr.  Carl  Zerrahn  and  the 
Hon.  John  Phelps  Putnam  were  made  honorary  members  of  the 
Society  ;  and  it  wns  voted  to  rehearse  Handel's  Samson  for  perform- 
ance in  November. 

At  this  meeting  there  sprang  up  a  lively  controversy,  a  thing 
extremel}'  rare  in  the  deliberations  of  the  board  of  government. 
That  sudden  overturning  of  the  old  board  of  directors  was  not  with- 
out its  significance,  it  seems.  There  was  a  point  in  view,  a  comet, 
as  it  were,  silently  foretold  :  it  now  stood  visible  in  the  horizon.  A 
motion  was  made  by  Mr.  C.  H.  Webb,  that  Rossini's  Moses  in  Egypt, 
as  the  Society  had  given  it  in  former  years,  should  again  be  taken  up 
at  an  early  day.  This  elicited  a  pretty  warm  discussion.  The  pres- 
ident and  all  the  five  executive  members  opposed  the  motion,  on  the 
ground  that,  although  the  work  had  been  given  and  had  been  popu- 
lar in  past  years,  it  was  really  not  an  oratorio,  and  should  never  have 
been  brought  out  by  this  oratorio  society  ;  and  that  it  would  be  a 
step  backward  to  return  to  it.  Hut  it  was  the  darling  wish  of  the 
other  members  ;  all  the  directors,  seven  of  whom  were  present,  advo- 
cated the  work,  and  deemed  it  suitable  and  proper  in  all  particulars, 
and  worthy  of  the  Society's  best  endeavors.  The  vote  stood  :  yeas. 
7,  nays  5.  And  so  the  sugary  Rossini  opera  —  excellent  in  its  way 
and  in  its  place  —  was  once  more  to  put  on  the  sober  garb  of  orato- 
rio, and  masquerade  in  the  same  company  with  Mendelssohn  and 
Handel.     But  the  struggle  was  not  yet  ended,  as  we  shall  soon  see. 

It  now  came  to  laying  out  a  programme  for  the  regular  season  in 
accordance  with  the  closing  suggestion  above  quoted  from  the  presi- 
dent's annual  report.  In  the  first  place,  concerts  were  to  be  pre- 
pared for  the  seasons  of  Thanksgiving  and  Christmas,  while  the 
winter's  practice  should  bear  chiefly  on  the  Triennial  Festival  in  May. 

The  first  concert,  on  Saturday  evening,  Nov.  23,  had  not  the  usual 
crowded  audience.  This  may  have  been  partly  owing  to  the  miscel- 
laneous character  of  the  programme,  which  was  made  up  of  excel- 


262  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAVDN    SOCIETY. 

lent  selections;  but  the  continuity  of  interest  was  too  often  broken, 
making  it  not  always  easy  for  the  chorus  voices  to  find  their  pitch  at 
once  with  certainty,  while  the  impression  of  each  chorus  obliterated 
that  of  the  one  before,  and  left  the  mind  distracted.  The  solos  were 
thrown  into  bad  perspective  by  the  medley.  Yet  Mrs.  Kempton, 
though  ill  and  therefore  a  little  tremulous,  sang  *•  But  the  Lord  is 
mindful,"  and  '' O  rest  in  the  Lord,"  with  power  and  feeling;  and 
Miss  Houston  gave,  ••  Jerusalem,  O  thou  that  killest,"  very  impres- 
sively. The  duet  ••  O  lovely  peace,"  from  Judas,  was  finely  sung. 
The  choruses,  four  from  St.  Paid,  and  ''  The  heavens  are  telling," 
from  the  (  realion,  were  impressive.  Mendelssohn's  foiiy- second 
Psalm,  "  As  the  hart  pants."  given  entire,  was  more  enjoyable. 

Handel's  S<nnson,  on  the  next  evening,  drew  a  larger  audience, 
■and  on  the  whole  went  admirably.  It  was  judiciously  abridged,  and 
given  with  great  spirit.  The  great  choruses,  some  of  Handel's  best, 
told  with  str.-ng  effect.  Miss  Houston  fairly  carried  her  audience 
away  by  the  clearness  and  brilliancy  of  her  high  tones,  and  by  her 
sure  and  admu'able  delivery  of  the  ringing  trumpet  song,  ''  Let  the 
bright  seraphim."  Mrs.  Kempton,  too,  won  sincere  applause  in  the 
part  of  Micah.  Mr.  James  Whitney  gave  the  touching  tenor  air, 
^' Total  eclipse,"  with  expressive  tone  and  style,  showing  careful 
study.  Mr.  H.  Wi'de,  with  a  strong  and  resonant  voice,  did  good 
justice  to  the  part  of  Manoah  ;  and  Mr.  M  AV.  AVhitney's  ponder- 
ous bass  was  heard  to  advantage  in  that  of  Harapha. 

These  two  performances  were  given  at  a  loss,  —  a  loss  made  good 
by  the  usual  Christmas  production  of  Handel's  Messiah.  It  was 
given  twice,  on  Saturday  and  Sunday  evenings  before  that  joyful  an- 
niversary. The  new  point  of  interest  on  the  first  evening  was  the 
first  appearance  in  oratorio  of  Mr.  George  L.  Osgood,  a  member  of  a 
large  family  all  amateur  musicians,  the  famous  singer  of  his  class 
(1866)  at  Harvard,  the  possessor  natuially  of  a  beautiful  tenor  voice, 
which  he  had  cultivated  for  a  year  in  Germany.  His  voice,  his 
refined  style,  and  true  expression  had  already  won  much  favor  in  one 
of  the  Symphony  concerts.  He  gave  "Comfort  ye"  in  clear,  pure, 
warm  tones,  with  admirable  declamation,  and  sang  "  PIvery  valley'* 
with  a  fluency  and  evenness  of  execution  remarkable  for  one  so 
young  in  years  and  in  this  kind  of  experience.  In  *•  Thy  rebuke," 
etc..  he  was  almost  equally  successful,  entering  into  the  deep  pathos 
of  the  music  with  true  intelligence  and  feeling.  The  only  want  was 
of  greater  weight  and  sustained  power  of  voice,  —  a  want  more  felt 
in  the  tasking  and  exceptional  air,  ••  Thou  shalt  break  them,"  though 
mucli  could  be   set   down  to   nervousness.     Of  Mme.    Parepa-Rosa, 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  263 

Mrs.  Gary,  and  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney,  there  is  no  need  to  repeat 
things  chronicled  so  manv  times. 

The  second  night  was  stormy,  but  made  slight  reduction  in  the 
audience,  though  greater  inroads  in  the  ranks  of  the  chorus.  Never- 
theless, the  Messiah  went  with  more  spirit  and  precision  than  the 
night  before.  Mr.  Castle  this  time  sang  the  tenor  solos,  with  greater 
power  and  volume  of  voice  than  Mr.  Osgood,  but  not  with  more 
expression,  nor  so  refined  a  quality  of  tone.  His  effort  was,  how- 
ever, highly  successful ;  and  so  was  that  of  Mr.  Rudolphsen  in  the 
bass  solos.     The  rest  was  as  before. 

December  28.  At  a  meeting  of  the  government  it  was  voted  to  give 
no  performance  at  Easter,  on  account  of  the  near  approach  of  the 
Festival.  Moses  in  Egypt  was  assigned  to  Feb.  29,  and  Elijah  to 
March  1. 

After  a  rehearsal  of  the  former,  Jan.  5,  186S,  at  the  request  of  the 
conductor  and  the  organist,  the  board  was  convened,  when  Mr.  Zer- 
rahn  protested  against  the  performance  of  the  Rossini  opera  as  an 
oratorio,  which  he  characterized  as  a  very  good  opera,  but  he  con- 
sidered it  as  progressing  backwards,  instead  of  forwards,  to  present 
it  to  the  cultivated  patrons  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society. 

Then  Mr.  Lang  spoke,  and  begged  the  government  to  reconsider 
their  action.  He  earnestly  protested  against  it,  and  wished  his  pro- 
test to  be  entered  on  the  records 

But  it  was  fighting  against  a  foregone  conclusion.  After  another 
long  discussion  of  its  propriety  (Jan.  10),  Mose-i  was  insisted  on  by 
a  vote  of  6  to  5,  and  it  was  rehearsed  for  five  or  six  weeks,  together 
with  Elijah.  The  Rossini  party  had  its  triumph;  let  us  trust  that 
they  enjoyed  it.  "'  Shall  there  be  no  more  cakes  and  ale,  because 
thou  art  virtuous?" 

On  Feb.  11,  the  president  submitted  to  the  board  a  programme  for 
the  Festival.  The  scheme  contemplated  nine  performances  ;  five  of 
them  choral,  and  four  miscellaneous  orchestral  and  vocal  The 
^'orks  then  agreed  upon  were  :  Hymn  of  Praise;  a  cantata  of  J.  S. 
Bach;  the  Creation;  St.  Paul;  Costa's  Naaman  (for  which  damson 
was  afterwards  substituted)  ;  the  Messiah.,  and  Beethoven's  Clioral 
Symphony. 

On  Feb.  29  (leap-year  day)  came  the  coveted  performance  of 
Rossini's  Moses  in  Egypt^  as  transformed  into  a  quasi  oratorio.  The 
house  was  full,  and  the  performance  was  a  good  one,  with  a  goodly 
array  of  solo  singers :  Mme.  Pare[)a-Rosa  (fortunately  recovered 
from  illness).  Miss  Edith  Abell,  My.  George  Simpson  (from  New 
York),  the  Messrs.  Winch,  and  Mr.  M.  W.  AYhitney.     There  was  a 


264  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

fitness  in  the  choice  of  date  for  these  delicious  melodies  and  con- 
certed pieces,  since  Rossini  wrote  them,  and  he  was  born  on  leap- 
year  day.  Many  undoubtedly  enjoyed  the  thing,  and  were  to  be  con- 
gratulated upon  having  had  their  way.  Probably  no  harm  resulted 
in  the  long  run  ;  the  appetite  once  appeased  was  not  likely  to  grow 
ravenous  again  very  soon,  and  the  Society  could  pursue  its  upward 
way  serene  and  undisturbed.  Its  programmes  did  not  show  a  down- 
ward tendency  from  that  day  onward,  as  the  Festival  would  soon 
make  evident. 

At  all  events,  Elijah^  which  drew  a  crowd  on  the  next  evening, 
March  1 ,  both  in  matter  and  in  manner  made  amends.  Chorus  and 
orchestra  (in  which  it  was  pleasant  to  see  Carl  Rosa  take  his  place 
among  the  first  violins)  were  prompt,  sure,  and  effective.  The  solos 
were  all  good,  with  the  exception  of  the  new  contralto,  Mme. 
Eliza  Lumley,  from  London,  whose  rich  voice  was  painfully  tremulous^ 
Mme.  Rosa,  taking  all  of  the  soprano  solos,  including  the  Youth, 
sang  superbly,  and  at  the  same  time  simply,  indulging  in  no  super- 
fluous cadenzas.  Miss  Houston,  limited  to  duet,  trio,  etc.  ;  Mr. 
Rudolphsen,  as  Elijah  ;  and  Mr.  Simpson,  were  all  up  to  expectation. 
The  receipts  that  evening  were  very  large. 

There  is  no  more  of  that  season  left  to  chronicle  until  we  reach  the 
third,  or  First  Triennial,  Festival,  for  which  the  guaranty  fund  sought 
(S25,00(  )  was  easily  doubled,  and  no  subscriber  had  to  be  assessed. 
This  it  comes  now  in  order  to  describe. 

THE  FIRST   TRIENNIAL   FESTIVAL. 

During  the  week  from  Tuesday,  May  5,  to  Sunday,  May  10,  inclu^ 
sive,  musical  interest  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  had  its  centre  in 
Boston.  Five  great  oratorios,  grandly  given  by  a  well  balanced,  well- 
trained  force  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  voices,  with  an  orchestra  of 
more  than  a  hundrerl  instruments,  the  best  solo  singers  in  the  coun- 
try, with  one  of  the  grandest  organs  in  the  world  too,  as  well  as  in 
the  noblest  Music  Hall  upon  this  continent,  —  besides  four  Symphony 
concerts,  with  splendid  programmes  and  with  such  an  orchestra,  — 
this  could  indeed  be  called  a  Festival.  There  might  have  been  more 
smoke  than  fire  in  all  this  ;  for  the  American  people  had  sometimes 
erred  in  the  ambition  to  do  things  on  a  bigger  scale  than  others,  to- 
compel  cheap  wonder  by  display  of  quantity,  with  too  small  regard 
to  quality.  So  this  great  Festival  might  have  been  a  windy,  unsatis- 
factory, self-glorifying  enterprise,  a  massing  together  of  imposing 
*' monster"  concerts,   havino-  a  doubtful  influence  on  musical  taste 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  265 

and  culture,  compared  with  tlie  usual  more  quiet,  steady  agencies. 
But  the  whole  spirit  and  the  matter  and  the  manner  of  it  forbade  that 
supposition.  The  musical  matter  chosen  was  all  of  high  intrinsic 
worth,  deserving  large  interpretation,  and  to  be  received  with  ears 
and  souls  quickened  by  a  general  sympathy  ;  the  means  of  execution 
were  adequate  ;  the  labor  of  arrangement,  organization,  and  rehearsal 
had  been  earnest  and  continuous,  prompted  by  an  artistic  desire  to 
make  all  these  means  cooperate  with  ease  and  certainty  in  perform- 
ance as  nearly  perfect  as  possible  in  this  busy  and  distracting  world, 
and  in  an  inclement  season  particularly  trying  to  singers'  throats,  as 
well  as  to  the  whole  musical  and  moral  temper  of  any  but  an  utterly 
unsensitive  '•  harp  of  a  thousand  strings." 

Our  old  Society  made  a  first  brave  experiment  of  musical  festivals 
in  May,  1857.  That  was  not  a  bad  one,  in  spite  of  many  discourage- 
ments. The  second,  in  May,  1865,  on  occasion  of  its  fiftieth  anni- 
versary, was  a  more  matured  attempt,  and  on  a  larger  scale.  This 
third  one,  inaugurating  the  custom  of  Triennial  Festivals,  went  as  far 
beyond  that  of  1865,  as  that  went  beyond  the  one  of  1857.  The 
chorus,  never  averaging  so  well  before  in  numbers,  or  in  quality  of 
voices,  or  in  the  right  sort  of  musical  spirit,  had  been  kept  in  re- 
hearsal nearly  all  winter  on  the  oratorios,  and  on  the  exacting  choral 
portions  of  the  Ninth  Symphony  ;  and  Mr.  Zerrahn's  drill  had  been 
more  critical  and  searching,  as  well  as  more  inspiring,  even  than 
before.'  The  four  parts  were  uncommonly  well  balanced.  Accord- 
ing to  the  handsomely  printed  and  convenient  book  programme  of  the 
Festival,  the  soprano  singers  numbered  230  ;  the  alto,  171  :  the  tenor, 
1-42.  and  the  bass,  20-1:.  —  total,  747  voices.  P'or  a  month  or  more 
there  had  been  four  rehearsals  in  a  week. 

For  solo  singers,  although  the  hopes  which  had  for  some  time  rested 
upon  one  or  two  of  the  ftimous  English  singers,  and  upon  the  great 
German  baritone  Stockhausen,  had  been  disappointed,  the  govern- 
ment were  able  to  present  a  goodly  list,  headed  by  Mme.  Parepa- 
Rosa  and  Miss  Adelaide  Phillipps,  each  a  host,  and  continuing  with 
such  names  of  good  assurance  as  ^liss  Julia  E.  Houston,  Mrs.  J.  8. 
Gary,  Mr.  Geo-ge  Simpson,  of  New  York  ;  and  Messrs.  James  Whit- 
ney, John  F.  Winch,  H.  Wilde,  J.  F  Rudolphsen,  and  M.  W.  Whit- 
ney. Two  distinguished  instrumental  artists  were  engaged :  Miss 
Alide  Topp,  an  interesting  young  German  pianist,  pupil  of  Von 
Billow,  strongly  recommended  by  Liszt,  and  Mr.  Carl  Rosa,  the  ex- 
cellent violinist. 

The  orchestra  was  larger  and  better  than  that  of  1865,  and  num- 
bered 115  musicians.     To  the   sixtv  or  more  of  our  own,  who  had 


266     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

been  moulded  together  and  refined  by  three  years'  good  practice  of 
the  best  classical  music  in  the  Sympliony  concerts  of  the  Harvard 
Musical  Association,  there  were  added  about  forty  of  the  best  mem- 
bers of  the  New  York  Philharmonic  Society  and  several  from  Phila- 
delphia,—  among  them  many  welcome  faces  of  Mr.  Zerrahn's  old 
"  Germania "  associates.  The  proportions  were  excellent:  22  first 
violins,  headed  by  our  own  William  Schultze,  with  Julius  Eichberg 
as  lieutenant;  20  second  violins,  12  violas,  10  violoncellos,  13  double 
basses,  4  flutes,  besides  piccolo,  4  oboes,  4  clarinets,  4  bassocms,  0 
horns,  4  trumpets,  1  cornet,  3  trombouf  s,  2  ophicleides,  1  serpent,  4 
instruments  of  percussion. 

Sunday  morning  and  evening  were  devoted  to  rehearsals  ;  that  of 
the  evening  being  public,  each  of  the  seven  hundred  and  fifty  singers 
being  allowed  to  bring  a  friend,  while  all  the  remaining  space  of  the 
great  auditorium  was  filled  by  those  who  paid  a  dollar  for  the  privilege 
of  an  advanced  hearing  of  the  opening  concert.  So  that  the  Festival 
excitement  really  covered  more  than  a  week.  Then,  for  the  first 
time,  the  full  force,  vocal  and  instrumental,  was  brought  together ; 
when  lo  !  a  curious  difficulty  :  there  was  too  much  of  a  good  thing ! 
As  the  sopranos  on  the  one  side,  and  the  conti  altos  on  the  other, 
filed  in  upon  the  platform,  the  human  tide  kept  rising  rank  upon  rank 
up  either  slope,  until  it  even  trenched  upon  the  side  balconies  ;  where 
were  the  gentlemen  tenois  and  basses  to  find  room?  The}-  bestowed 
themselves  in  the  corueis  around  the  organ,  in  the  balconies,  and 
finally  away  up  in  the  second  balcony  above,  and  still  more  remained 
outside,  to  wander  about  the  hall  finding  no  place  or  ■'  coigne  of  van- 
tage" whence  to  join  their  voices  with  their  brethren,  while  the  great 
choir  and  orchestra  ami  organ  rolled  out  their  mighty  floods  of  har- 
mony. But  this  was  an  evil  not  irremediable  ;  better  err  on  the  safe 
side  and  have  loo  many  rather  than  too  few  ;  a  natural  shrinkage  has 
to  be  allowed  for,  and  the  experience  of  great  choral  bodies  shows 
that  to  make  sure  of  six  hundred  singers,  at  least  eight  hundred  must 
be  invited.  (Modern  discipline  is  better.)  What  should  they  all 
accept,  all  come?  Well,  many  evils  cure  themselves,  as  Tuesday 
m.orniug  showed. 

The  day  of  the  opening,  Tuesday,  May  5,  was  bright  and  auspi- 
cious. 1  hat  spring,  until  then  black  and  wintry,  for  once  wore  a  sun- 
shiny and  delightful  aspect.  By  the  appointed  hour  of  11a.  m.,  the 
large  and  eager  audience  were  in  Iheir  places  ;  presently  the  tide  of 
o'chestra  and  singers  —  the  latter  reduced  to  a  convenient  seven  hun- 
(Xi'Q^  —  flooded  all  the  stage  again,  and  only  the  adjoining  lower  bal- 
conies ;  and  at  that  moment  the  Music  Hall  presented  a  beautiful  and 


HISIORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  2(l7 

brilliant  scene,  yet  with  wise  abstinence  from  extra  ornament.  In  the 
lull  that  ensued  after  the  principals  and  the  conductor  had  been  wel- 
comed to  their  places,  Dr  Upham,  president  of  the  Society,  stepped 
forward  and  made  a  brief  address  of  welcome  to  the  feast,  which  he 
explained  to  be  "a  series  of  musical  performances  which  the  Society 
hope  may  prove  to  be  the  first  of  a  long  and  unbroken  succession  of 
Triennial  Festivals,  similar  in  their  nature  to,  and  on  a  scale  commen- 
surate with,  those  great  musical  gatherings  which,  for  more  than 
half  a  century,  have  been  kept  up  triennially  at  Birmingham,  and  at 
brief  intervals  at  Liverpool,  at  Worcester,  at  Gloucester,  at  York, 
and  elsewhere  in  Great  Britain,  and  more  recently  in  the  Inrger 
cilies  along  the  valloy  of  the  Rhine  in  Germany." 

He  added  that  it  had  seemed  to  the  directors  of  the  Music  Hall 
Association  an  appropriate  occasion  on  which  to  plnce  against  those 
walls  the  rare  and  beautiful  sculptures  which  had  recently  been  pre- 
sented bv  Miss  Charlotte  Cushman,  then  for  the  first  time  to  be 
publicly  seen.  "  These  are  the  busts  of  Beethoven,  of  Palestrina, 
and  of  Mozart,  designed  by  Wilhelm  Matthieu,  a  Danish  sculptor 
living  at  Rome,  w^ho  was  a  companion  and  co-worker  with  Thorwald- 
sen,  and  whose  works,  I  venture  to  say,  can  claim  fellowship  and 
equ  ility  with  those  of  ihe  great  master  I  have  named,  with  those  of 
Canova  and  of  Dannecker.  It  is  a  beautiful  custom  in  the  cities  of 
the  Old  AVorld,  to  connect  the  first  exhibition  of  a  rare  work  of  art 
with  imposing  pageant  and  ceremony. 

"  '  As  of  yore  the  swart  Egyptians  rent  the  air  with  chor;il  song, 
When  Osiris'  golden  statue  triumphing  they  bore  along ; 
As  along  the  streets  of  Florence,  borne  in  glad  procession,  went 
Cimabue's  famed  Madonna,  praised  by  A'oice  and  instrument,' 

so  it  has  seemed  most  fortunate  and  opportune  now  and  here  to 
associate  the  unveiling  of  these  creations  of  a  kindred  art  —  the 
almost  living  and  breathing  porti  aiture  of  this  great  trio  of  musical 
kings  — with  their  own  solemn  revelations  in  symphony  and  in  sono-.'* 

Then  the  curtains  ag.iinst  the  rear  wall  of  the  Music  Hall  were  let 
fall,  and  there  were  disclosed  the  busts  of  Palestrina  and  of  Mozart, 
poised  upon  their  symbolical  brackets,  on  each  side  of  the  Apollo 
Belvidere.  Many  of  the  audience  rose  eagerh',  the  chorus  waved 
their  handkerchiefs,  and  Charlotte  Cushman's  gift  was  acknowledo-ed 
with  many  a  token  of  appreciation  and  of  pleasure.  The  Beethoven 
bust  and  bracket  were  set  up  temporarily  in  the  lower  vestibule. 

Conductor  Zerrahn  waved  his  baton,  and  all  the  voices  and  all  the 
instruments,  and  the  great  organ,  at  which  sat  Mr.  B.  J.  Lan^.  burst 


268  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

at  once  upon  the  ear,  fortissimo^  in  all  their  weight  and  splendor,  in 
Luther's  choral,  "  Eiyi'  feste  Burg,''  with  which  Nicolai  begins  his 
*'  Festival  Overture  "  This  is  a  massive,  brilliant,  and  effective  work 
for  an  opening;  but  it  had  been  given  here  twice  before  on  such 
occasions,  and  was  not  made  for  immortality.  Not  a  few  would 
have  preferred  one  of  the  cantatas  of  Bach  (a  purpose  which  we 
have  seen  the  directors  did  for  a  time  entertain).  How  fitting 
would  have  been  Bach's  cantata  on  that  very  choral ! 

Mendelssohn's  95th  Psalm,  "  Come,  let  us  sing,"  was  the  one  new 
vocal  selection  of  the  Festival,  —  short,  sweet,  full  of  fervor,  mas- 
terly in  style,  and  not  without  variety  or  powerful  contrasts.  The 
opening  tenor  solo,  "•  O  come,  let  us  worship,"  a  warm,  melodious, 
cheerful  invitation,  was  sung  in  good  voice  and  style  by  Mr.  Simp- 
son, who,  as  precentor,  ushers  in   the  chorus  with  the  same  strain. 

To  its  composed  and  peaceful  rhythm  succeeds  the  excited  6-4  of 
the  more  stirring,  jubilant,  tumultuously  tuneful  chorus,  ''  Come, 
let  us  sing  to  the  Lord  with  gladness,"  taking  pattern  from  a  half- 
sentence  of  bright  soprano  solo  (Mme.  Parepa-Rosa) ,  which  soars  to 
a  sustained  high  G,  and  drops  an  octave,  — very  animating  in  her 
large,  clear  tones.  This  splendid,  overwhelming  chorus,  which  is  in 
C  major,  ends  in  a  canon  in  the  minor ;  beginning  with  tenors  and 
basses  in  unison,  strong  and  stern,  "  For  the  Lord  is  a  mighty  God, 
and  a  mighty  ruler  over  all  false  idols,"  in  which  Truth's  terrible  and 
warning  aspect  for  a  moment  is  disclosed  with  a  right  Old  Testament 
Hebrew  relish  ;  of  course  the  final  chord  is  major  —  "a  might}^  God  " — 
and  triumphantly  held  out.  Next  comes  one  of  Mendelssohn's  most 
characteristic  and  beautiful  duets,  for  two  sopranos,  with  a  lovely  undu- 
lating figure  in  the  accompaniment,  '•  In  his  hands  are  all  the  corners 
of  the  earth,"  which  was  finely  sung  by  Mme.  Rosa  and  Miss  Phil- 
lipps.  From  its  gentle  and  beguiling  stream,  we  are  summoned  by 
the  bold  fugued  chorus,  "  For  His  is  the  sea,"  to  a  religious  sense  of 
what  is  grand  in  nature.  It  is  the  most  eloquent  chorus  in  the  Psalm, 
and  with  the  rich  and  lovely  orchestration  almost  graphic.  It  ends,  how- 
ever, in  a  gentler  and  familiar  strain,  a  return  of  the  opening  theme,  "O 
come,  let  us  worship."  One  felt  the  significmce  and  grandeur  of  this 
chorus  brought  out  in  the  rendering.  The  fifth  and  final  number,  in 
G  minor,  opens  with  a  sweet,  sad,  pleasing  andantino  for  the  tenor 
solo,  "Henceforth,  when  ye  hear  His  voice  entreating,  turn  not  deaf 
ears,"  etc.  This  touching  strain  is  akin  to  that  of  ''  Hear  ye,  Israel," 
in  Elji.h,  but  more  deeph^  shaded.  The  rhythmical  flow  is  ruffled  at 
the  thought  of  Israel's  rebellious  hearts,  and  the  instruments  whisper 
with  short  breath,  growing  more  and  more  excited,  and  swelling  to 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  269 

a  startling  climax,  as  the  voice  tells  of  the  divine  wrath ;  but 
the  music  means  it  more  in  sorrow  than  in  anger.  Then  the 
pleading  theme  is  sweetly  taken  up  in  chorus  by  the  female  voices 
only,  with  intermittent  tenor  solo,  till  it  takes  possession  of  the 
whole  chorus,  and  is  worked  up  with  increasing  power  and  volume, 
and  more  and  more  florid  and  highly  colored  instrumentation,  until  it 
reaches  a  pitch  of  agonizing'earnestness,  almost  unendurable,  in  that 
reiterated  diminished  seventh  chord,  "Turn  not  deaf  ears";  but 
instantly  out  of  this  stern  rock  is  struck  as  it  were  a  sweet  spring  of 
tears,  a  lovely  instrumental  figure  leading  us  back  to  the  meadows, 
and  rippling  around  the  remainder  of  the  chorus,  which  is  in  the 
tender  strain  of  the  beginning,  and  thus  brings  the  composition 
to  a  close,  only  with  a  whispered  last  reminder,  loving  and  gentle 
(yet  again  with  diminished  seventh,  this  time  inanissimo) ,  ''Turn 
not  deaf  ears  and  hard  hearts  !  " 

But  the  grand  feature  of  that  morning's  programme  was  the  Hymn 
of  Praise.  Sufhce  it  to  say,  that  that  Sinfonie-C'intata,  after  re- 
peated hearings  here,  seemed  greater  than  ever,  perhaps  the  greatest 
sacred  work  of  Mendelssohn  ;  in  no  other  surely  was  he  more  supremely 
Felix.  The  three  symphonic  movements,  with  such  an  orchestra, 
went  to  a  charm.  Then  the  whole  multitude  of  voices  burst  forth  on 
the  first  chorus,  "All  men,  all  things,"  as  if  by  an  innate  irresistible 
necessity,  as  if  their  song  had  been  all  the  while  potentialh'  contained, 
and  thus  far  detained,  in  the  long  symphony.  The  effect  was  stu- 
pendous, a  glorious  sun-burst  of  light  and  life  and  praise,  dazzling 
and  flooding  all.  The  solo  parts  were  all  good.  Mme.  Parepa- 
Rosa's  voice  seemed  never  more  bright  and  birdlike,  soaring  with 
perfect  ease.  The  duet  with  Miss  Phillipps,  "We  waited  for  the 
Lord,"  with  chorus  rising  full  and  tranquil  like  a  tide  of  sweet, 
exhaustless  harmony,  was  admirably  sung,  and  the  inevitable  encore 
was  insisted  on  with  more  than  usual  fervor.  Mr.  Simpson  sang  the 
Watchman  recitative,  and  other  solo  portions,  in  good  taste,  as  well 
as  with  good  voice.  Upon  the  whole,  this  noble  work  had  never 
before  received  here  a  more  inspiring  interpretation. 

Of  the  evening's  performance  of  Samson,  we  reproduce  our  own 
record  {Dwighfs  Journal  of  Music,  May  23,  1868)  :  — 

"  We  have  ever  found  this  more  tedious  than  any  of  Handel's  oratorios. 
And  for  the  reason  that  it  is  not  an  oratorio  in  the  distinctive  sense,  of  which 
the  Messiah,  Israel  in  Egypt,  Bach's  Passions,  and  Mendelssohn's  St.  Paul 
are  the  best  examples,  although  it  is  nearer  to  the  dramatic  origin  of  oratorio 
before  it  had  developed  into  an  independent  character  of  its  own.  Samson 
is  a  nondescript,  mainly  dramatic  and  personal,  crowded  with  characters, 
who  have  great  lengths  of  recitative,  almost  always  given  without  life  or 


270  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

point,  and  with  arias,  cliaracteristic,  to  be  sure,  and  sometimes  beautiful, 
very  various,  now  quaintly  florid  like  those  of  Delilah,  now  serious  and  noble 
like  'Return,  O  God  of  hosts,'  now  of  this  individuality,  now  that;  but 
broken  up  into  so  many  kinds  and  personalities,  that  all  seems  longer  than  it 
is;  and  even  with  the  omission  of  a  third  part  of  the  work,  as  on  this  occa- 
sion, it  taxes  patience  to  sit  through  it  all.  Scattered  among  these  are 
splendid  choruses,  whose  refreshment  ever  comes  most  timely;  they  sink 
into  the  mind  like  rain  into  the  thirsty  desert.  '  O  first  created  beam,' 
'  Then  round  about  the  starry  throne/  'Fixed  in  His  everlasting  seat,'  etc., 
are  splendid  pieces,  and  superbl}"  were  they  sung. 

"We  do  not  say  that  there  is  not  in  nearly  all  these  arias  something  to  re- 
ward study;  but,  crowded  into  one  work,  they  are  as  confusing  and  sit  as 
heavily  upon  the  spirits  (grown  so  nimble  through  the  choruses;  as  a  miscel- 
laneous promenade  concert.  Generally  they  fell  to  good  interpreters,  — 
excellent,  in  Mme.  Eosa  and  Miss  Phillipps.  The  former  sang  in  several 
characters,  warbling  '  the  merry,  merry  pipe  '  of  the  Philistine  woman,  and 
cooing  Delilah's  '  plaintive  turtle  notes,'  with  thorough  comprehension  and 
mastery  of  all  the  piquant  accent  and  quaint,  ingenious  turns  of  phrase  and 
ornament  through  which  Handel  makes  this  character  so  unmistakable.  Of 
course  '  Let  the  bright  seraphim  '  lost  none  of  its  refulgent  splendor.  Miss 
Phillipps  produced  a  deep  impression  in  the  contralto  air,  '  Return,'  and  her 
whole  part  of  Micah  was  indeed  admirable.  Mr.  Wilde,  in  the  part  of 
Manoah,  showed  himself  possessor,  hardly  master,  of  a  rich  and  telling  bass 
voice,  which  he  used  manfully,  with  fair  execution  and  expression.  Mr. 
Whitney  had  the  declamatory  part  of  Harapha,  and  did  it  ample  justice.  We 
wonder  that  such  musical  rodomontade  as  the  air  '  Honor  and  arms,'  by 
whomsoever  sung,  can  still  find  admirers  ;  it  is  as  uninteresting  as  so  pompous, 
commonplace  a  hero  himself  w^ould  be.  Simson  is  German  for  Samson,  but 
Mr.  Simpson's  voice  hardly  suggests  the  strong  man.  He  sang  the  sweeter 
portions  well;  best  of  all  '  Total  eclipse,'  an  air  which  has  a  certain  beauty 
of  its  own,  but  which  to  us  is  chiefly  interesting  as  prologue  to  the  sublime 
chorus,  '  O  first  created  beam.'' 

Second  Day.  Wednesday  Afternoon,  May  6.  First  miscellaoeous 
concert,  with  the  following  choice  programme  :  — 

1.  Overture  to  "  Euryanthe  " C.  M.  von  Weber. 

2.  Song  from  Kinaldo,  "  Lascia  ch'io  pianga  "      .         .Handel. 

Miss  Adelaide  Phillipps. 

3.  Symphon}-,  in  G  minor Mozart. 

4.  Concerto  for  the  Pianoforte,  in  A  minor  .         .  Schumann. 

Miss  Alide  Topp  (first  appearance  in  Boston). 

5.  Overture  to  Leonora  (No.  3)      .         .       '  .         .         .  Beethoven. 

The  symphony  and  overtures  were  the  same  which  had  figured  in 
the  first  concertj  of  the  Harvard  Musical  Association  three  years 
earlier.  The  home  nucleus  of  the  orchestra  had  become  so  much 
better  blended  and  assimilated  by  three  years  of  artistic  concerts, 
that  when  the  best  players  from  New  York  and  Philadelphia  came  to 
supplement  them,  they  played  together  as  if  they  had  long  been  accus- 


HISTORY    OF    TflE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETT.  271 

tomed  to  it.  Miss  Phillipps  sang  that  very  simple  but  very  noble  and 
pathetic  air  from  one  of  Handel's  Italian  operas  in  her  best  voice  and 
manner.  She  was  partial  to  the  song  which  suited  her  so  well.  The 
first  sight  of  Miss  Alide  Topp,  the  young  German  pianist,  was  the 
signal  for  spontaneous  and  lively  greeting ;  youth  and  grace  and 
beauty,  the  glow  of  artistic  enthusiasm,  blended  with  the  blush  of 
modesty,  won  quick  sympathy.  Her  performance  of  Schumann's 
extremely  difficult,  as  well  as  finely  poetic  and  original  concerto  was 
wonderful.  —  at  least  to  a  Boston  audience  at  that  day.  The  touch 
was  crisp  and  clear  ;  the  full  chords  rang  out  instantaneous  in  all 
their  breadth  and  fulness  ;  the  distribution  of  accent,  the  phrasing, 
the  light  and  shade,  seemed  all  that  could  be  desired ;  there  was  del- 
icacy where  that  was  needed,  there  was  force  to  a  wonderful  degree 
for  those  slender  arms,  —  force  which  the  strongest  passages  could  not 
exhaust.  There  was  the  charm  of  abandon  too  ;  she  lost  herself  com- 
pletely in  her  music.  Any  suspicion  of  affectation  was  at  once  dis- 
armed. All  the  best  qualities  of  the  modern  technique  were  there  in 
a  degree  we  had  hardly  seen  surpassed.  The  interpretation  of  the 
work  was  intelligent  and  highly  satisfactory ;  Schumann  seemed 
speaking  for  himself.  The  public  were  electrified.  After  no  end  of 
fine  piano  playing,  here  was  still  a  fresh  "sensation."  Persistently 
recalled,  the  young  artist  appeared  at  the  side  door  repeatedly,  in 
trembling  acknowledgment ;  but  there  was  no  help  for  it,  pla}'  again, 
she  must ;  four  giants  were  alread}^  covering  the  Chickering  grand 
with  coarse  cerements,  to  huddle  it  away,  when  this  bright  creature 
stood  among  them,  and  it  had  to  come  to  life  again  and  give  out  music. 
She  played,  from  memory,  the  first  of  Liszt's  "Hungarian  Rhapso- 
dies." displaying  every  phase  of  Lisztian  virtuosity. 

Third  Day.  Thursday  Ajternoon^  M ly  7.  Second  miscella- 
neous concert,  with  another  noble  programme  :  — 

1.  Overture,  "  Meeresstille  und  gliickliclie  Fahrt"  (Be- 

calmed at  Sea;  a  breeze;  happy  voyage;  coming 

into  port) Mendelssohn. 

2.  Scena  ed  Aria,  "  Ah,  perfido!  ■' Beethoven. 

Mme.  Pauepa-Rosa. 

3.  Concerto  for  the  violin,  in  G Spohr. 

Carl  Rosa. 

4.  Symphony,  in  C Schubert. 

Schubert's  gloriously  great  symphony,  of  the  "heavenly  length,'^ 
was  magnificently  played.  How  warmly,  with  sweet,  rich,  manly 
heart  tones,  the  'cellos  pleaded  in  the  andante !  How  the  great 
bassos  thundered  in  the  rush  and  whirl  of  the  finale  I  Mendelssohn's 
graphic  concert  overture,  —  a  "  tone-painting"  in  the  true  subjective 


272    HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

and  suggestive  sense,  —  an  illustration  of  a  fine  poem  of  Goethe, 
came  home  to  the  imagination  in  the  rendering  by  that  grand  orches- 
tra. Beethoven's  highh'  dramatic  and  impassioned  scena,  quite  Italian 
for  him,  was  a  good  selection  for  Mme.  Rosa  ;  the  best  resources  of 
her  voice  and  art  were  brought  in  play  to  good  advantage,  and  made 
a  great  impression.  Mr.  Carl  Rosa  plaj^ed  like  an  artist ;  he  held 
his  audience  in  close  attention,  and  was  heartily  applauded. 

Evming  of  Thursday.  For  the  first  time  the  Music  Hall  was 
crowded.  Strange  that  so  grand  a  Festival  must  reach  the  middle  of 
its  period  before  most  people,  music  lovers  too,  begin  to  realize  their 
opportunities  !  It  is  not  owing  to  indifference  so  much.  Think  how 
readily  and  solidly  this  Festival  was  guaranteed !  But  from  this 
point  of  the  Festival  it  was  full  tide  to  the  end. 

Mendelssohn's  St.  Paul  was  the  one  important  gain  to  the  reper- 
toire of  the  Society  since  the  preceding  Festival  (1865).  It  was 
timidly  approached  at  first ;  many  times  it  was  talked  of,  looked  at, 
tried  a  little,  and  then  put  back  on  the  shelf.  But  once  taken  up  in 
earnest,  it  got  a  great  hold  on  the  singers,  and  in  each  successive  per- 
formance it  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  public.  This  time  deeper 
still ;  for  it  was  in  truth  a  magnificent  presentment  of  an  essentially 
great,  artistic,  and  profoundly  religious  oratorio  ;  and  some  of  us  in- 
dulged the  hope  that  it  would  prove  a  stepping-stone  to  Bach  himself. 

The  solo  parts  were  all  creditably  given  by  Miss  Houston,  Mrs. 
J.  S.  Cary,  Mr.  Simpson,  and  Mr.  Rudolphsen.  For  the  rest,  we 
copy  a  few  sentences  from  one  of  our  New  York  visitors,  the  editor 
of  Wataon's  Art  Journal^  which  chimed  with  our  own  impression  at 
the  time  :  — 

*',  .  .  Admitted  that  St.  Paul  is  a  great  work,  we  must  as  candidly  admit 
that  on  this  occasion  its  choral  interpretation  was  in  every  respect  worthy  of 
its  greatness.  The  masses  of  voices  were  well  balanced  ;  they  had  studied  the 
work  thoroughly ;  and  there  was  a  heartiness  in  their  delivery  which  proved 
that  they  sang  for  the  love  of  singing,  and  with  the  desire  to  sustain  the 
reputation  of  the  old  and  honored  Handel  and  Haj^dn  Society,  —  a  reputation 
which  overshadows  that  of  any  other  vocal  organization  in  the  country. 
Thus  animated,  the  effectiveness  of  the  singing  may  be  imagined.  Accus- 
tomed as  we  have  become  to  hearing  this  splendid  body  of  singers,  the 
mighty  volume  of  tone  which  burst  forth  at  the  words  '  Lord !  thou  alone 
art  God!'  completely  overwhelmed  us.  .  .  . 

"The  superb  performance  of  this  opening  chorus  was  but  the  initial  num- 
ber of  a  series  of  grand  vocal  efforts,  which  seemed  to  increase  in  intensity 
with  the  development  of  the  work.  In  those  strongly  marked  and  emphatic 
choruses,  'Take  him  away,'  'Stone  him  to  death,' etc.,  the  spirit  and  the 
promptness  of  the  singers  were  manifest :  every  point  was  taken  up  with 
decision,  and  the  emphatic  enunciation  of  the  words  gave  a  feeling  of  reality 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  273 

whicli  is  not  often  achieved  by  a  chorus,  however  well  it  may  be  trained.  It 
needs,  besides  training,  an  ambition  to  excel,  and  a  love  for  the  work  being 
done. 

"In  the  gentler  choruses,  such  as  'Happy  and  blest,'  'How  lovely  are 
the  messengers,'  etc.,  other  fine  traits  were  displayed.  The  pianos  were  full^ 
rich,  and  soft;  the  great  volume  of  sound  was  toned  down  to  a  gigantic 
whisper,  and  the  current  went  as  smoothly  as  though  the  multitude  of  voices- 
were  one  voice,  cultivated  and  directed  by  art.  In  the  grander  choruses,  all 
these  qualities  were  combined ;  and  where  all  was  so  completely  admirable^ 
it  is  difficult  to  select  one  for  special  comment.  The  chorus,  '  O  great  is  the 
depth,'  which  is  unsurpassed  in  the  majesty  and  grandeur  of  its  movement, 
was  sung  with  a  power  and  weight  which  could  hardly  be  surpassed :  the 
same  may  be  said  of  the  first  and  last  choruses  of  the  second  part ;  but 
probably  the  most  impressive  of  all  is  that  brilliant  aspiration,  '  Rise  up^ 
arise ! '  which,  after  a  movement  of  unspeakable  majesty,  culminates  in  that 
w^onderful  choral,  '  Sleepers,  ^vake  !  a  voice  is  calling  I '  In  this  the  highest 
excellence  of  choral  singing  was  attained,  and  as  the  last  notes  of  the  warn- 
ing trumpets  died  away,  and  the  voices  sank  into  a  whisper,  the  wiiole  audi- 
ence burst  out  into  a  shout  of  applause,  which  made  the  building  ring,  and 
still  but  faintly  expressed  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people.  Mendelssohn  never 
had  better  justice  done  to  him  in  any  part  of  the  world;  no  finer  voices  ever 
joined  to  interpret  his  inspirations,  and  never  did  a  more  willing,  earnest, 
and  conscientious  body  of  singers  meet  together  to  perform  a  musical  work. 
Heartily  did  we  wish  that  New  York  could,  for  once,  hear  what  we  heard 
that  night,  and  at  each  oratorio  during  the  Festival ;  for  we  are  certain  that 
it  would  awake  it  to  a  sense  of  its  utter  inferiority,  and  would  shame  it  into 
the  endeavor  to  achieve  a  similar  result." 

Fourth  Day.  Friday  Afternoon^  May  8.  Third  concert,  vocal  and 
instrumental.  The  hall  was  crowded,  for  expectation  was  on  tiptoe 
for  Beethoven's  Choral  Symphony.  This  was  preceded,  for  a  first 
part,  by  Wagner's  Tannhduser  Overture,  brought  out  with  superb 
power  and  breadth  by  that  orchestra  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  in- 
struments ;  Weber's  grand  scena  from  Oberon^  "  Ocean,  thou  mighty 
monster !  "  to  which  Parepa  was  entirely  equal ;  and  the  two  move- 
ments from  the  unfinished  Symphony  in  B  minor,  of  Schubert,  which  _ 
by  their  sweet,  sad  melody  and  occasional  climaxes  of  grand  symphonic 
power  had  grown  in  favor  with  successive  hearings  ;  and  the  rendering 
this  time  wus  one  of  the  best  orchestral  interpretations  of  the  week. 

Then  came  the  great  event  of  the  Festival,  the  first  really  satisfac- 
tory performance  in  this  countr}'  of  the  Ninth  ov  '-'-  ChoraV  Sym- 
phony. There  had  been  on  the  whole  a  good  performance  of  it  in  the 
Harvard  Symphony  concerts  of  the  year  before  ;  but  then  Mr.  Zer- 
rahn  had  only  half  so  many  violins  and  basses  under  his  baton  ;  vol- 
ume and  breadth  were  wanting ;  then,  too,  as  in  all  earlier  attempts, 
the  quartet  of  solo  singers  were  not  equal  to  the  frightful  difficulties 


274  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

of  their  parts,  although  the  chorus  of  some  three  hundred  select  voices 
had  studied  it  in  earnest  until  the  music  realW  inspired  them,  and  the 
result  was  that  the  audience  got  a  never  to  be  forgotten  glimpse  of 
the  meaning  and  the  grandeur  of  that  highest  reach  of  the  deaf  mas- 
ter's creative  genius.  What  we  had  in  outline  and  in  spirit  then,  we 
were  now  to  have  in  spirit  and  in  palpable  embodiment.  The 
"  Ninth"  was  at  last  to  be  realized.  To  show  how  it  was  done,  the 
historian  will  take  the  libert}^  to  bring  in  evidence  a  nearly  verbatim 
reproduction  of  his  own  contemporary  record  :  — 

Thanks  to  the  fervent  co-operation  of  that  noble  orchestra,  —  of 
that  chorus  of  seven  hundred  voices,  who  had  become  so  well  einstu- 
dirt  (as  the  Germans  say)  into  the  music  that  it  lifted  them  above 
themselves,  so  that  they  sustained  themselves  at  giddy  heights  of 
song  where  mortal  singers  ordinarily  are  soon  made  breathless,  —  of 
that  quartet  of  soli  (Mme.  Rosa,  Miss  Adelaide  Phillipps,  Mr.  Simp- 
son, and  Mr.  Rudolphsen),  the  first  competent  one  it  ever  had  in  this 
country,  —  and,  above  all,  of  Carl  Zerrahn's  all-animating  earnest- 
ness and  calm  control  as  master  spirit  of  the  whole  preparation  and 
achievement,  —  this  vast,  perplexing,  much-disputed,  and  in  truth 
exceptional  creation,  about  which  not  only  musical  publics,  but  even 
musicians  of  high  standing,  have  been  sceptical,  was  felt,  confessed, 
almost  unanimously,  at  its  full  worth. 

The  three  instrumental  movements  were  wonderfully  well  brought 
'Out.  No  weakness  this  time  in  the  first  violins,  no  poverty  of  tone  in 
the  middle  strings,  no  mere  faint  outlining  of  the  'cello  part  so  all- 
important,  no  lack  of  mass  and  weight  in  double  basses  ;  so  that  the 
hollow  void  of  rustling  empty  fifths  in  the  beginning,  and  the  blinding 
force  of  the  stern  Fate  theme  that  cleaves  through  it,  and  the  stormy 
working  out  of  this  relentless  theme,  with  such  commotion  of  the 
nether  elements,  towards  the  end  of  the  Allegro,  were  palpable  in 
general  bearings  and  details  ;  while  the  doubling  of  the  usual  pairs  of 
reeds,  flutes,  horns,  etc.,  made  it  easy  to  show  all  the  warmth  and 
beauty  of  those  pleading  human  strains,  in  which  a  sweeter  solution 
of  the  now  dark  life  struggle  is  promised,  and  a  hint,  a  germ  of  the 
final  "  Joy"  tune  is  thrown  out,  if  we  did  but  know  it. 

The  uncoutainable  merriment  of  the  Scherzo,  the  shaking  off  of  the 
shadow  for  a  time  (vainly,  yet  it  is  wonderful  how  long  and  how  ex- 
quisitely the  humor  and  the  strength  hold  out),  simply  forgetting  it 
in  pastoral  gayety  and  healthy  tingling  life  in  all  the  senses,  with  the 
delightful  toying  of  bassoon  and  oboe  in  the  trio,  was  all  clear,  elas- 
tic, lifesome,  fine.  And  then  the  heavenly  Adagio,  where  the  tones 
of  the  first  chord  drop  in  one  by  one  like  musical  rain  from  heaven, 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  275 

and  where  the  choral  theme,  with  the  alternating  three-fonr  strain, 
so  rich  and  deep  in  feeling,  is  varied  with  such  subtle,  fine  divisions, 
—  the  whole  air  electric  with  those  pizzicato  sparks  emitted  by  now 
one  and  now  another  set  of  strings,  as  if  possessed,  enchanted  by  the 
theme,  until  the  slow,  good-natured  horn  itself  becomes  inspired  and 
soars  into  a  florid,  eloquent  cadenza,  —  did  it  not  hold  the  souls  of 
all  that  listened  poised  in  upper  air,  a  blissful,  serene,  spiritual  ele- 
ment, a  moment  of  eternity  ! 

But  neither  the  struggle  of  the  strong  will,  nor  child-like  abandon- 
ment to  the  simple  joy  of  living,  nor  spiritual  revery,  however  high 
and  holy,  avails  to  solve  the  problem.  Hence  the  second  part  of  the 
Symphony.  The  wild,  fierce  agitata  of  the  orchestra  cries  out  in 
anguish  for  the  solution,  and  the  dozen  double  basses  with  the  'cellos 
(this  time  in  perfect  unison)  almost  talk  in  their  recitative.  The 
motives  of  the  Allegro  and  the  Scherzo  are  recalled  in  turn  ;  but  the 
basses  grimly,  impatiently  refuse  comfort.  The  heavenly  Adagio  is 
touched;  the  answer  is  more  gentle.  But  more  yet  is  needed  The 
reeds  sweetly  hint  the  "Joy"  tune;  consentingly  the  basses  take  it 
up  and  hum  it  through  in  half -hushed  unison  ;  other  instruments  steal 
in  with  graceful  phrases  of  accompaniment ;  the  tune  takes  possession 
of  the  whole  orchestra  and  rings  out  in  full  harmon}^  tutti  fortissimo ^ 
subsiding  to  a  sweet  meditative  cadence,  before  the  theme,  now 
found,  is  taken  up  by  voices  and  instruments,  as  has  been  all  along 
intended.  The  a^iYa^o  prelude  is  renewed,  and  this  time  the  bass  solo 
voice  exhorts  to  cheerful  song,  to  words  of  love  and  universal  brother- 
hood, to  Schiller's  "  Hymn  to  Joy." 

How  it  is  sung,  by  alternate  soli  and  full  chorus  ;  with  what  won- 
drous changes  and  surprises  of  rhythm  and  of  modulation,  and  to  what 
a  sublime  heio;ht  all  the  voices  soar  and  hold  out  on  the  lono^  religious 
notes,  where  the  thought  of  the  ''  embrace  of  all  the  millions  "  leads 
to  the  felt  presence  of  the  Creator  and  the  Father,  while  the  whole 
air  thrills  with  the  vibration  of  the  instruments,  throbs  with  the 
sparkle  of  the  myriads  on  myriads  of  stars,  why  need  we  tell?  Suf- 
fice it  to  say,  those  seven  hundred  voices  did  do  all  that,  did  clearly, 
musically,  brilliantly  give  out  those  arduous  tones  and  firmly  hold 
them  out,  did  render  all  those  trying  passages  and  figures  without 
blur  or  indecision;  and  that  ihe  clear,  powerful  soprano  of  Mme. 
Rosa,  so  all-sufficient  and  enduring,  the  strongly  pronounced  bass  of 
Mr.  Rudolphsen,  mastering  the  difficulties  of  a  part  of  such  wide 
compass,  and  (though  with  less  certainty)  the  two  middle  voices,  less 
important,  did  achieve  those  solo  passages,  in  which  every  quartet 
before    had    nearly  broken  d(-wn,  even  to   that    elaborate    four-part 


276     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

cadenza,  —  all  so  palpably  and  clearly  that  all  felt  the  greatness  of 
the  music  and  were  transported,  filled  with  a  glorious  realizing  sense 
of  the  sublime  ideas  of  Schiller's  Ode  interpreted,  illumed  with  all  the 
heart  and  soul  and  genius  of  the  great  musician,  whose  life-long  high- 
est aspiration  (in  his  soul's  secrecy  and  in  his  art)  found  there  the 
very  text  it  wanted. 

Fifth  Day.  Saturday  Afternoon,  May  9.  Fourth  miscellaneous 
concert,  opening  with  Mendelssohn's  Reformation  Symphony .  This 
was  its  first  performance  in  this  country.  Neither  in  imaginative 
invention,  nor  in  unity,  nor  in  effectiveness,  did  it  seem  at  all  equal 
to  his  other  symphonies,  still  less  to  his  overtures,  which  are  so  origi- 
nal and  individual.  And  it  is  known  to  have  been  Mendelssohn's 
express  desire  that  it  should  not  be  published  ;  but  the  great  talk 
made  about  it  among  his  English  admirers,  together  with  the  specu- 
lative instinct  of  publishers,  finally  badgered  his  executors  into  giving 
it  to  the  world  among  the  "  posthumous  works."  It  was  composed 
for  an  occasion,  the  tercentenary  festival  of  the  Augsburg  Confession, 
June  25,  1830  ;  and  having  a  historical  significance,  as  well  as  points. 
of  musical  interest,  it  is  entitled,  like  any  elaborate  work  of  a  master, 
to  an  occasional  hearing  in  all  musical  communities.  Its  significance 
and  chief  power  are  found  in  the  last  movement,  which  is  based  on 
Luther's  choral,  ''  Eiri'  feste  Burg.''  This,  taken  as  the  type  of  Prot- 
estantism, is  worked  up  with  a  wealth  of  counterpoint  and  of  acces- 
sory thoughts,  and  with  a  charm  of  instrumentation,  far  more 
edifying  than  the  attempt  of  Nicolai,  with  which  the  Festival  began. 
The  first  movement  {Andaxte  and  Allegro  con  fuoco) ,  tliough  full  of 
rush  and  brilliancy,  —  a  struggle  of  the  old  and  new  religions,  they 
call  it,  —  did  not  give  us  a  feeling  as  if  it  were  kindled  from  a  fire 
within  ;  nor  did  it,  for  several  pages,  sound  quite  Mendelssohnian. 
But  there  is  one  gem  in  the  symphony,  one  charming  bit  of  sunshine, 
the  Scherzo  ;  healthy,  bright,  and  happy  enough  for  Father  Haydn  ; 
of  exquisite  art  and  grace  in  the  trio  with  its  autiphonal  trills  ;  but 
what  it  may  have  to  do  with  the  Reformation  is  not  clear.  The  An- 
dante, sweet  and  serious,  is  only  one  of  the  composer's  commonplaces, 
saying  more  feebly  what  he  has  said  better  elsewhere.  The  audience 
on  the  whole  were  interested,  for  the  work  was  well  interpreted. 

This  concert  offered  one  other  novelty  (for  that  day)  in  the  E-flat 
Concerto  by  Liszt,  which  served  for  a  second  display  of  Miss  Alide 
Topp's  brilliant,  exquisite  piano  playing.  She  played  it  with  an  enthu- 
siasm worthy  of  better  music  ;  "  for  anything  more  wilful,  whimsical, 
outree,  far-fetched  than  this  composition  is,  anything  more  incoherent, 
uninspiring,  frosty  to  the  finer  instincts,  we  have  hardly  known  under 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  277 

the  name  of  music."  All  were  again  iu  raptures  with  the  young 
pianist,  who  did  well,  on  being  recalled,  to  lay  Liszt  by  for  the 
unpretending,  more  poetic  Berceuse  of  Chopin. 

Miss  Phillipps  sang  Mozart's  "Voi  che  sapete  "  charmingly.  For 
overtures  by  the  great  orchestra  there  were  Spohr's  to  Jessonda,  and 
Rossini's  to  William  Tell,  —  the  latter  given  with  great  fire  and 
spirit. 

That  Saturday  offered  two  more  performances.  At  noon  an 
organ  concert,  with  an  excellent  programme,  Mr.  B.  J.  Lang  being 
the  competent  interpreter  on  the  great  organ  of  the  Music  Hall. 

1.  Organ  Prelude  and  Fugue  in  C    .         .         .         .  Bach. 

2.  Sonata  in  B  fiat,  Op.  65,  No.  4     .         .         .         .  Mendelssohn. 

3.  Pastorale  in  F Bach. 

4.  Fugue  on  the  letters  B-A-C-H      ....  Schumann. 

5.  Improvisation. 

6.  Fantaisie  in  G,  Grave  (full power  of  the  organ),  Bach. 

What  can  we  say  of  the  Creation  in  the  evening,  more  than  that 
the  hall  was  overcrowded,  and  that  the  rendering  was  of  the  very 
best  in  quality,  as  it  was  in  means  the  most  amply  furnished  of  any 
ever  before  known  in  Boston?  The  solos  were  sustained  by  Mme. 
Rosa,  Mr.  James  Whitney  (tenor),  a^nd  Messrs.  J.  F.  Winch  and 
M.  W.  Whitney  (basses). 

Sixth  and  Last  Day.  Sundaij  Evening,  May  10.  Handel's  Mes- 
siah makes  the  climax  in  all  Festivals,  the  Christmas  Festival  in- 
cluded, of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society.  Of  a  work  so  oft  return- 
ing, we  need  not  speak  in  detail.  Many  of  the  choruses,  especially 
the  "Wonderful  "  and  "  Hallelujah,"  we  thought  we  had  never  heard 
so  grandly  given,  not  forgetting  Birmingham.  We  only  regretted 
the  omission  (there  have  to  be  omissions)  of  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful and  most  pathetic  of  all  the  choruses,  "And  with  his  stripes," 
without  which  the  contrast  of  "  All  we  like  sheep  "  loses  much  of  its 
vividness  and  force.  This  time  the  solos  were  in  good  hands : 
Mme.  Parepa-Rosa,  Miss  Adelaide  Phillipps,  Mr.  Simpson,  and 
Mr.  Whitney. 

The  Festival  was  followed  by  a  social  reunion,  with  dancing  and 
congratulations,  on  the  evening  of  Ma}^  14,  in  the  Music  Hall.  At  a 
meeting  of  the  board  (May  18)  the  sense  of  obligation  to  Carl  Zer- 
rahn  for  his  great  services  as  conductor  was  expressed  by  voting  him 
a  yearly  salary  of  $300,  besides  $500  for  his  share  in  the  success  of 
the  Festival.  On  May  25,  he  was  also  offered  a  gratuity  of  $200. 
And  a  few  days  later  he  was  on  his  way  to  Kurope  for  needed  rest 
and  fresh  musical  experience. 


278     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AXD  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

FIFTY-FOURTH    SEASON. 
JuxE  3,  18G8,  TO  May  31,   1869. 

The  annual  meeting  was  held  on  the  evening  of  June  3.  The 
report  of  the  treasurer,  Geo.  W.  Palmer,  showed  the  receipts  for  the 
year,  including  cash  on  hand,  to  have  been  $12,639.87  ;  expenditures, 
$11,510.16  ;  balance  in  treasury,  $1,129.71.  The  receipts  at  the  first 
Triennial  Festival  were  $23,620  ;  expenses,  $20,283.06  ;  net  proceeds, 
$3,336.94,  which,  added  to  the  Permanent  Fund,  made  the  whole 
amount  of  that  fund  $7,576.05. 

The  president,  Dr.  Upham,  in  his  report,  paid  a  special  compliment 
to  Mme.  Parepa-Rosa,  and  alluded  to  the  Festival  as  an  achieve- 
ment worth}'  of  pride  and  congratulation.  Never  since  his  connection 
with  the  Society  had  there  been  a  greater  interest  among  the  members 
or  so  high  a  degree  of  attention  and  of  discipline,  as  during  the  past 
year.  The  death,  during  the  year,  of  Mr.  Stephen  Somes,  a  member 
of  the  board  of  trustees,  was  afterwards  brought  to  the  attention  of 
the  Society  in  a  few  words  of  appropriate  eulogy  by  the  president. 
Officers  for  the  ensuing  3'ear  were  then  elected  as  follows  :  — 

President.  —  J.  Baxter  Upham. 

Vice-President. — J.  F.  Faxon. 

Secretary.  —  L.  B.  Barnes. 

Tieasurer. —  George  W.  Palmer. 

Librarian.  —  George  H.  Chickering. 

Directors. —  Theophilus  Stover,  E.  C.  Daniells,  Oliver  B. 
LoTHROP,  Samuel  Jennison,  D.  L.  Laws,  R.  M.  Lowell,  George 
Fisher,  Levi  W.  Johnson. 

Now  follows  a  suspension  of  nil  concert  life  throughout  a  summer  of 
great  heat  and  drought.  The  only  music  was  that  of  the  brass  bands 
in  the  streets,  which  only  aggravated  the  feeling  of  extreme  heat ;  so 
that  one  was  reminded  of  the  answer  of  the  boy  sent  out  by  Elijah  in 
the  oratorio,  to  look  for  signs  of  rain  :  "The  heavens  are  as  brass 
above  us  I  "  ''Brass  !  all,  all  is  brass,"  might  have  formed  the  hotly 
whirling  motive  of  a  choral  fugue.  By  the  middle  of  September  the 
Society  had  not  full}'  shaped  its  plans  for  the  oratorio  season,  beyond 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  279 

xleciding  ou  a  performance  in  Thanksgiving  week.  Jeph'ha  was 
talked  of,  and  of  course  the  Messiah  for  Christmas.  There  was  also 
some  thought  of  taking  up,  for  a  novelty,  Sterndale  Bennett's  Woman 
of  Samaria,  after  its  recent  success  at  Birmingham.  Nor  did  it  look 
by  any  means  impossible  that  the  old  Society  would  brace  itself  up  to 
the  work  of  making  a  strong  beginning  upon  Bach,  and  devoting 
some  of  its  time  all  winter  to  the  study  of  the  Passio7i  Music,  so  as 
to  bring  it  out,  in  whole  or  part,  during  the  next  spring.  That 
indeed  w^ould  be  a  new  era  in  its  history  !  At  any  rate  such  aspira- 
tions, destined  sooner  or  later  to  be  realized,  deserve  to  count  in  the 
record  of  a  society's  true  inward  life  and  progress. 

In  October  the  Sundaj^-evening  rehearsals  were  resumed,  with  Mr. 
Lang  conducting  during  the  absence  of  Mr.  Zerrahn,  and  at  the  same 
time  accompanying  at  the  pianoforte.  Judas  MaccabcPAi-i  and  Elijah 
were  the  works  in  hand.  There  was  some  thought  of  taking  up  the 
Mass  by  John  K.  Paine  (since  made  musical  professor  at  Harvard), 
a  work  entitled  to  a  hearing  after  the  praises  it  had  won  in  Berlin. 
As  for  Bach's  S(.  Mattheio  Passion  Music,  the  government  had 
already  taken  measures  to  procure  the  most  approved  edition  of  the 
orchestral  and  vocal  parts,  and  to  have  the  text  done  into  English  in 
as  close  and  singable  a  version  as  possible,  so  that  both  might  be 
published  here,  and  the  study  of  the  great  work  begin  with  energy, 
in  the  hope  of  bringing  out  a  goodly  portion  of  it  during  Passion 
Week. 

Mr.  Zerrahn  was  welcomed  home  again,  full  of  fresh  musical  im- 
pressions gathered  in  his  Fatherland,  in  season  to  conduct  the  two 
oratorios  immediately  after  Thanksgiving,  on  Saturday  and  Sunday 
evenings,  Nov.  28  and  29.  The  first  was  Handel's  heroic  oratorio 
par  excellence,  the  ever-welcome  Judas  MaccabcEus.  The  performance 
seems  to  have  been  of  hardly  average  excellence.  Some  of  the  ringing 
easier  choruses  went  evenly  and  grandly  ;  but  in  others  voices  hesi- 
tated or  went  astray  ;  while  a  stridulous  quality  in  high  soprano 
passages,  and  a  coarseness  in  the  tenors,  were  noticeable  in  contrast 
with  the  Festival  chorus.  The  solos  were  more  fortunate.  Miss 
Houston  sang  "  From  mighty  kings  "  with  great  effect  Mrs.  Barry 
(late  Mrs.  Gary)  had  not  changed  her  warm  contralto  voice,  nor  her 
artistic  style,  with  change  of  name.  Miss  Anna  Granger  had  a 
fresh,  bright,  out-leaping  voice,  suited  more  to  gay  and  brilliant 
things  than  to  the  melodies  of  deep  interior  life.  A  good  singer  in 
her  way,  phrasing  the  music  well  and  losing  not  a  note,  nor  slighting 
one,  though  indistinct  in  verbal  utterance,  she  had  in  Judas  a  couple 
of  pieces  suited  to  her ;  in  "  So  shall  the  lute"  she  executed  the  rou- 


280  HISTORY    or    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

lades  witn  clean-cut  evenness  and  freedom;  her  "sprightly  voice 
sweet  descant  ran  "  indeed.  Mr.  James  Whitney  was  the  tenor,  and 
Mr.  Wilde,  the  bass. 

El'jah  fared  much  better  in  the  choruses,  but  the  orchestra  was 
rough  and  careless.  Miss  L.  M.  Gates  shared  the  soprano  solos  with 
Miss  Houston,  and  in  "Hear  ye,  Israel."  gave  proof  of  a  fine,  flexi- 
ble voice  of  large  range,  sweetness,  and  of  easy,  free  delivery.  Miss 
Houston  and  Mrs.  Barry  both  sang  with  characteristic  care  and 
fervor.  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch  took,  for  the  first  time,  the  part  of  Elijah, 
much  of  it  successfully.  Mr.  Wm.  J.  Winch,  with  large  tones,  not 
without  sweetness,  made  a  conscientious,  earnest  effort,  with  no  air 
of  pretence  ;  but  voice  and  manner  were  not  then  ripe  for  the  tenor 
solos  in  Elijah. 

Then  came  two  performances  just  after  Christmas.  On  Saturday 
evening,  Dec.  26,  the  hall  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity  by 
loyal  listeners  to  the  Messiah.  The  chorus  seats  were  not  so  full  as 
usual ;  and  the  orchestra,  owing  to  theatre  engagements  on  that  night 
of  the  week,  was  somewhat  shrunken  from  its  fair  proportions.  The 
instruments  were  sometimes  out  of  tune  ;  but  that  might  have  been 
largely  due  to  the  low  pitch  of  the  organ.  Most  of  the  choruses  went 
well;  and  the  beautiful  one,  "And  with  his  stripes,"  was  restored. 
The  performance  gained  peculiar  interest  from  the  two  principal  lady 
singers.  Miss  Adelaide  Phillipps  in  the  contralto  airs  surpassed  her- 
self, showing  herself  in  all  the  sincere,  ripe  artist.  Very  interesting, 
too,  was  the  first  appearance  in  oratorio  of  Miss  Anna  S.  Whitten  ; 
and  most  sincere  and  genuine  and  sympathetic  was  the  use  she  made 
of  her  beautiful  soprano  voice.  It  was  not  without  some  slight  fal- 
tering of  timidity  in  the  beginning ;  but  as  she  went  on,  she  won 
upon  her  audience.  The  spirituality  and  beauty  of  the  music  suffered 
little  in  her  rendering,  which  confirmed  the  promise  of  her  first  public 
effort  in  a  Symphony  concert  a  short  time  before.  Mr.  James 
AVhilney  and  Mr.  John  F.  Winch  sustained  the  other  principal  parts 
acceptably. 

Sunday  evening  brought  a  smaller  crowd  of  hearers,  while  the 
chorus  seats  were  full,  and  the  orchestra  was  raised  to  the  full  com- 
plement of  the  Symphony  concerts.  It  was  one  of  the  grandest 
presentations  of  El'jah  we  had  had  here  until  then.  Miss  Phillipps 
again  lent  her  noble  voice  and  art.  Miss  Houston  was  at  her  best  in 
the  principal  soprano  parts.  It  was  understood  that  she  was  about 
to  retire  into  domestic  life  ;  so  that  the  beauty,  brilliancy,  and  fervor 
of  this  supposed  last  public  effort  enhanced  the  feeling  of  the  loss. 
She   sang   as   if  she   loved   it,  and  fain  would  not   leave  it.       The 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  281 

smaller  soprano  parts  —  the  boy  looking  out  for  rain,  and  in  the  con- 
certed pieces  —  were  taken  by  IMrs.  D,  C.  Hall,  who  proved  her- 
self the  possessor  of  a  voice  so  true  and  beautiful,  so  telling,  and 
who  delivered  it  so  well,  that  one  wondered  why  she  never  had  been 
called  upon  before  in  this  way.  Mr.  Rudolphsen  came  back  to  his 
old  part,  the  Prophet,  which  he  always  made  effective,  more  so  than 
ever  this  time.  Mr.  Whitney  made  his  best  mark  so  far  in  the 
tenor  arias. 

For  the  Easter  season,  it  being  too  late  to  undertake  the  Passion 
Music  that  year,  two  oratorios  were  rehearsed,  one  of  them  new,  the 
other  great.  Costa's  Naaman  (which  probably  would  have  been 
called  Elisha  but  for  Mendelssohn's  Elijah)  drew  a  large  audience  on 
Saturday  evening,  March  27,  but  not  so  large  as  St.  Fanl  the  next 
night.  It  was  creditably  performed,  considering  its  novelty  and 
strangeness,  but  not  nearly  so  well,  ^o  heartily  as  kSI.  Paul,  which  took 
possession  of  the  singers.  Naaman,  as  a  composition,  was  all  one 
might  expect  of  the  author  of  Eli,  the  London  conductor,  an  Italian, 
graceful  and  thoroughbred  musician  as  he  was.  It  is  a  clever  work, 
but  not  a  work  of  genius.  It  is  pleasing,  —  at  least  where  the  author 
is  content  to  be  himself  and  not  too  ambitious  to  keep  step  with  the 
mightier  ones,  —  but  it  is  not  great.  It  is  frequently  pathetic,  some- 
times imposing,  oftener  brilHant,  but  does  not  seem  to  have  spruno- 
from  any  deep  religious  sentiment,  from  any  hond-fide  inspiration,  so 
much  as  from  the  pardonable  promptings  of  outward  position,  emula- 
tion, and  example.  It  cannot  be  called  original,  unless  certain  in^eu- 
ious  contrivances  of  orchestral  illustration  or  intensification,  dramatic 
surprises,  etc  ,  merit  that  distinction  ;  for  either  the  composer  flows 
on  easily  in  the  manner  native  and  habitual  to  him,  which  is  the 
Italian  operatic  manner,  good  of  its  kind  but  commonplace,  or  he 
labors  after  models  like  Elijah  in  too  obvious  imitation. 

It  is,  however,  quite  dramatic  (sometimes  melodramatic),  and 
herein  lies,  perhaps,  its  best  distinction.  The  characterization  of 
persons  is  well  considered  and  in  the  main  felicitous.  Certainly  the 
part  of  the  captive  Jewess,  Adah,  "  the  little  maid,"  is  musically  in- 
dividual and  charming  ;  and  it  was  well  suited  to  the  pure,  sweet 
soprano  and  the  fervent,  chaste,  devout  expression  of  Miss  Whitten, 
who  sang  it  beautifully.  The  part  of  the  distressed  widow  and  the 
miracle  of  the  oil  are  plainly  modelled  after  the  Widow  in  Elijah,  and 
come  in  at  the  same  early  stage  in  the  proceedings.  Miss  Phillipps 
evidently  had  her  own  distress,  that  of  a  severe  cold,  so  that  she  even 
sang  out  of  tune  for  once,  and  with  less  force  than  usual,  but  artist- 
like, with  true  expression.     She  also  sang  the  music  of  Timna,  wife 


282  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

of  Naaman,  mostly  recitative,  except  a  solo  with  chorus,  "Be  com- 
forted," and  the  second  voice  in  a  trio,  —  these  more  successfully, 
and  very  touchingly  and  simply  the  Dream  of  the  Child,  the  melody 
of  which  is  rather  in  the  commonplace  and  sentimental  modern  Eng- 
lish vein,  somewhat  ennobled  by  superior  musicianship. 

The  scenes  with  the  Shunamite  woman  contain  some  of  the  freshest 
music ;  for  instance  the  trio  in  the  first  part,  which  is  in  a  nobler  and 
less  Italian-stage  style  than  most  of  the  concerted  pieces.  There  is, 
real  pathos,  almost  Handelian,  in  the  air  addressed  to  her  dead  son ; 
and  in  all  the  part  the  clear,  true,  brilliant  voice  and  good  delivery  of 
Miss  Gates  showed  to  advantage.  Costa  treats  the  part  of  the- 
prophet  Elisha,  both  in  the  cut  of  its  recitative  and  melody  and  in- 
strumental illustration,  much  after  the  manner  of  Mendelssohn's. 
Elijah.  Like  that,  it  is  the  central  figure  of  the  oratorio,  dignified 
and  grand,  but  far  less  interesting.  Mr.  Rudolphsen  sang  it  all 
intelligently  and  carefully,  with  artistic  style,  but  in  a  somewhat  dry, 
hard  quality  of  tone,  which  had  been  growing  upon  him.  Mr.  James 
Whitney  lacked  only  strength  for  the  unhealthy  hero,  Naaman,  whose 
approach  is  always  heralded  by  a  sensational  and  pompous  march,  in 
which  form  of  writing  Costa  liked  to  indulge  a  turn  for  ingenious^ 
eccentric  instrumentation.  His  distressful  utterances,  with  their  fever- 
ish agitato  accompaniment,  are  perhaps  worthy  of  the  subject,  an  ill- 
chosen  one  ;  but  the  music,  with  some  fine  passages,  is  wearisome. 
The  second  tenor  part,  Gehazi,  was  fairly  rendered  by  Mr.  W.  J. 
Winch. 

The  most  popular  pieces  were  the  two  trios  and  the  quartet,  "  Honor 
and  glory,"  —  pleasing  and  graceful  in  their  wa}',  although,  with  one 
exception  named  above,  they  sound  as  if  right  out  of  the  modern 
Italian  opera.  The  trio,  "  Haste  I  to  Samaria,"  is  bright,  but  trivial. 
The  choruses,  various  in  character,  musician-like,  interesting,  seldom 
rise  to  grandeur,  nor  are  the  most  elaborate  ones  the  best.  In  these 
the  parts  flow  less  naturally  and  blend  less  genially  ;  the  intervals  are 
diflScult ;  and  from  the  very  fact  that  they  were  not  sung  with  any- 
thing like  the  confidence  and  the  effect  to  which  we  were  accustomed 
in  the  choruses  of  Mendelssohn  and  Handel,  voices  faltering  and 
some  parts  faintly  audible,  one  could  infer  that  the  music  did  not 
take  hold  of  the  singers  very  strongly,  though  many  of  them  may 
have  liked  some  of  its  details.  There  was  a  simple  grandeur  in  the 
choral,  '' When  famine  over  Israel  prevailed,"  which  is  plainly  har- 
monized, with  organ,  all  the  orchestral  voices  silent  except  the  huge 
bass  tuba.  And  "  The  curse  of  the  Lord  is  in  the  house  of  the 
wicked  "  has  a  fine  motive  beautifully  wrought  out.     The  finale  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     283 

first  part,  like  that  in  Elijah^  is  a  chorus  of  praise  and  thanks  for 
water  after  drought,  —  a  palpable  imitation,  as  in  the  rush  of  the 
violins,  the  strange  atmospheric  modulations  which  convey  the  sense 
of  moisture,  etc.  ;  it  is  graphic  and  exciting,  but  follows  longo  inter- 
vallo  after  "  Thanks  be  to  God,  wholaveth  the  thirsty  land."  As  the 
most  important  work  of  an  accomplished  musician,  Naaman  was  not 
unworthy  to  be  brought  out,  once  or  twice  at  least,  by  our  Society, 
considering  that  it  could  not  get  ready  early  enough  in  the  season  to 
take  up  Bach's  Passion  or  the  Israel  of  Handel,  and  that,  short  of 
these  great  things,  it  had  but  little  new  and  easily  practicable  to 
choose  from. 

St.  Paul,  on  Sunday  evening,  was  superbly  rendered  ;  the  music 
seemed  to  carry  all  along  with  it.  The  choruses  were  sung  with  a  will, 
and  came  out  full  and  round  and  strong.  The  solos,  b}'  Miss  Hous- 
ton, Miss  Phillipps,  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch,  and  Mr.  James  Whitney,  were 
highly  satisfactory. 

During  the  month  of  May,  there  was  much  thought  and  discussion 
in  our  city,  as  well  as  in  musical  circles  everywhere,  on  the  important 
question  of  a  reform  of  the  concert  pitch,  which  had  become  too  high 
for  the  convenience  and  best  effect  of  singing  voices.  It  was 
agreed  on  all  hands  that  the  pitch  had  risen  about  a  whole  tone  since 
the  time  of  Bach  and  Handel,  else  where  did  the  former  find  the 
human  voices  for  his  sustained  high  parts?  Here  in  Boston  we  had 
already  a  certain  foothold  gained  in  favor  of  conformity  with  the 
new  "  French  pitch"  ;  the  great  organ  of  our  Music  Hall  was  tuned 
to  it.  One  more  step  had  been  taken  by  our  public-school  com- 
mittee, who  had  introduced  the  new  pitch,  or  normal  diapason,  into 
all  the  schools.  What  more  could  be  done  to  bring  us  wholly  into 
line  with  the  new  movement?  The  orchestral  wdnd  instruments,  the 
reeds  especially,  could  not  be  lengthened  out  to  suit  the  organ  with- 
out deranging  their  scale,  altering  their  intervals  unequalh' ;  hence  a 
chronic  difficulty  of  pitch  in  all  the  oratorios.  To  procure  new  in- 
struments, properly  made  for  the  purpose,  would  involve  an  expense 
beyond  the  means  of  most  of  the  musicians.  It  was  therefore  agreed 
between  the  three  committees  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  the 
Harvard  Musical  Association,  and  the  Boston  Music  Hall  Associa- 
tion, to  have  another  set  of  instruments  (those  from  New  York  in 
1865  having  proved  unsatisfactory)  ordered  from  J^urope  ;  and,  to  meet 
the  expense,  a  concert  was  organized  and  given  on  Thursday  afternoon. 
May  20,  1869,  in  aid  of  the  efforts  of  the  joint  committee  ''  to  establish 
here  the  normal  diapason,  or  French  pitch,  for  all  orchestral  or  choral 
performances.''     The  concert  was  an  encouraging  success.     The  first 


284    HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

part  took  the  form  of  a  symphony  concert,  consisting  of  a  Beethoven 
symphony  (No.  8),  an  aria  of  Mozart  ("Non  piu  di  fiori"),  by  Miss 
Adelaide  Phillipps,  and  an  overture  (to  The  W  ater  Carrier)  by  Cher- 
ubini.  The  Handel  and  Haydn  chorus  furnished  the  second  part,  in 
an  excellent  performance  of  the  Hymn  of  Praise^  the  solos  by  Miss 
Houston,  Miss  Phillipps,  and  Mr.  W.  J.  Winch.  Mr.  Zerrahn  of 
course  conducted,  and  Mr.  Lang  was  in  his  place  at  the  great  organ. 
The  symphony  was  played  through  by  the  orchestra  at  the  usual  high 
concert  pitch  ;  but  before  the  voices,  with  the  organ,  came  in,  the 
instruments  had  to  be  tuned  down  (by  such  imperfect  means  as  were 
available)  to  the  organ  or  French  pitch ;  nor  was  there  much  attempt 
to  hide  the  awkward  process  either  from  sight  or  hearing.  Such  a 
tuning  (down)  as  there  was,  prolonged  and  m^^stifying !  Some  one, 
plainly  from  the  "  rural  districts,"  asked  his  companion,  "  What  is  all 
this?"  "  Oh,"  replied  he,  "  this  is  where  the  normal  diapason  comes 
in."  The  little  episode  was  a  good  practical  demonstration  of  the 
need  of  the  reform.  The  receipts  of  the  concert  were  nearly  $600, 
and  in  due  time  the  new  instruments  arrived ;  but  some  fatality  has 
always  beset  the  best  attempts  to  use  them  ;  and,  like  the  earlier 
ones,  they  have  vanished  out  of  sight  and  knowledge. 

On  the  next  evening  (May  21),  the  Society  joined  in  a  very  hearty 
and  enthusiastic  testimonial,  a  farewell  concert  to  Miss  Adelaide 
Phillipps,  who  was  soon  to  leave  us  to  fulfil  a  long  engagement  at 
the  Italian  opera  in  Paris.  The  work  selected  was  Rossini's  Stabat 
Mater,  with  Miss  VV bitten,  Miss  Phillipps  herself,  and  Messrs.  James 
and  M.  W.  Whitney.  There  was  Mr.  Zerrahn  with  his  orchestra, 
who  played  the  overture  to  Egmont^  and  accompanied  Miss  Alide 
Topp  in  the  Concert-stuck  of  Weber.  Miss  Phillipps  sang  Rossini's 
florid  aria  "  Una  voce"  with  the  most  brilliant  exuberance  of  oi'na- 
ment;  and  Miss  Granger  sang  "Come  per  me  sereno "  from  the 
Sonnamhula, 

So  ended  another  season,  richer  in  promise,  to  be  sure,  than  in 
fulfilment.  Glowing  aspirations,  hopes  and  plans  almost  heroic  fol- 
lowed the  great  Festival.  But  during  a  summer's  rest  enthusiasm 
is  on  the  ebb.  As  winter's  work  approaches,  it  becomes  not  so  easy  to 
do  all  that  had  seemed  so  attractive,  so  inspiring  in  the  hour  of  tri- 
umph. The  working  motive  comes  not  from  the  past,  but  from  a 
new  great  object  looming  before  us  in  the  immediate  future.  Life 
runs  in  waves,  and  ever  between  two  heights  must  lie  a  valley  of 
depression.  After  each  Triennial  Festival,  look  for  one  year  of 
shrinkage.  Still  the  year's  work,  unless  measured  by  the  hopes  and 
plans  at  the  outset,  was  by  no  means  below  the  average,  and  on  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     285 

■whole  more  than  creditable.  For  the  programme  (as  achieved,  and 
well  achieved)  reads:  Handel's  Judas  Ifaccabceus  and  Messiah; 
Mendelssohn's  Elijah  (twice),  !St.  Paul,  and  Hymn  of  Praise;  and, 
for  a  novelty,  Costa's  Naaman,  —  not  an  inconsiderable  list.  If  we 
had  reached  the  bottom  of  oar  valley,  we  were  still  far  above  the 
level  of  the  sea.  Many  a  choral  society  wonld  be  prond  to  climb  as 
high  as  that. 


FIFTY-FIFTH    SEASON. 
May  31,  1869,  to  May  30,  1870. 

At  the  annual  meeting  (May  31)  the  report  of  the  treasurer  showed 
that  the  receipts  from  concerts,  etc.,  together  with  a  balance  on  hand 
of  81,129.71  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  were  $9,723  12.  The 
whole  of  this  had  been  expended,  leaving  the  treasury  without  funds  ; 
but  as  the  Society  was  out  of  debt,  no  assessment  was  required. 
The  permanent  fund  was  valued  at  $8,195.  The  report  of  the  libra- 
rian showed  the  library  in  good  condition.  A  beautiful  fac-simile  of 
Handel's  autograph  score  of  the  Messiah,  in  chromo-lithograph,  had 
been  presented  b}^  Carl  Zerrahn,  and  a  fine  engraving,  representing 
the  "  Apotheosis  of  Handel,"  b}'  Dr.  Upham.  The  officers  were  all 
re-elected,  with  the  exception  of  one  director,  Mr.  Wm.  H.  AVadleigh, 
in  the  place  of  Theophilus  Stover.  The  president's  report  was,  as 
usual,  interesting  and  instructive,  but  too  long  to  give  here  in  full. 
After  some  introductory  details  and  comparisons  of  three  of  the  great 
choral  societies  of  the  world  (the  Sing-Akademie  of  Berlin,  the 
Sacred  Harmonic  Society  of  London,  and  our  own  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society),  Dr.  Upham  stated  that  there  had  been  fourteen  meetings  of 
the  government  to  attend  to  the  musical  and  business  interests  of  the 
corporation,  and  three  business  meetings  of  the  Society.  Thirty- 
nine  gentlemen  had  been  admitted  to  membership,  sixteen  had  been 
discharged,  five  had  resigned,  and  no  one  had  died  Much  was  said 
in  praise  of  the  unusual  number  of  rehearsals  ;  much  of  the  perform- 
ances, especially  of  Elijah  and  St.  Paul,  while  that  of  Jadas  Macca- 
bceus  feU  below  the  mark.     From  the  closing  paragraphs  we  quote  :  — 

"  VT'ith  this  anniversary  closes  the  eighth  vear  of  my  official  coiiDectiou  with 
our  venerable  association.  In  this  terra  of  eight  years,  the  Society  has  gone 
through  some  of  its  most  trying  experiences,  aud  it  has  known  some  of  the 
most  joyous  and  triumphant  eras  of  its  history.  It  has  seen  the  last  of  its 
original  members,  the  remnant  of  that  heroic  baud  who  upheld  the  honor 
and  bore  the  burden  of  its  struggling  iufaucy,  drop  into  the  tomb.  It  has 
passed  into  and  out  of  the  cloud  of  rebellious  war,  the  like  of  which  the 


286  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

world  had  never  known  before,  and  in  which  it  bore  its  share  of  the  general 
doubt  and  uncertainty  and  gloom. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  it  has  seen  the  creation  of  a  fund  upon  a  secure  and 
substantial  basis,  with  encouraging  prospects  of  its  continued  increase.  It 
has  established  a  series  of  triennial  festivals,  with  a  success  so  signal  and 
unqualified  as  to  give  assurance  of  their  permanency  as  an  institution." 
(Alas!  1888.)  "It  has  but  recently  joined  with  our  sister  associations  in 
art  to  arrest  and  bring  back  to  a  safe  anchorage  the  musical  pitch,  which  in 
these  latter  years  of  storm  and  excitement  had  drifted  so  wide  of  its  moor- 
ings. It  has  crossed  the  boundary  line  of  its  first  half -century  of  life,  and 
is  now  in  the  maturity  of  its  strength,  never  before  so  conscious  of-  its  own 
power,  never  so  honored  and  so  loved,  never  so  ready  and  so  able  to  do 
battle  for  the  noble  cause  to  whose  interests  it  stands  pledged." 

What  then  for  another  year?  With  a  glance  forward  over  its 
record  we  lind  no  concert  until  Christmas,  when  was  given  of  course 
the  Messiah^  and  Naaman  for  the  second  time  ;  then,  for  Easter  ora- 
torios, the  Creation  and  Elijah^  —  that  is  all.  On  the  other  hand  a 
beginning  was  at  last  actually  made  (Jan.  2,  1870)  on  the  study  and 
rehearsal  of  Bach's  St.  Mattlieio  Passion  Music^  though  it  came  not  to 
performance  that  year.  The  reason  of  all  this?  "  Peace  Jubilee," 
w^hich  so  disturbed  the  peace  of  music,  during,  before,  and  after  that 
midsummer  of  1869.  Into  the  current  of  that  great  wave  of  popular 
excitement,  into  that  broad  sea  of  many  thousand  voices  and,  many 
hundred  instruments,  gathered  by  the  enthusiasm  and  ambition  of  one 
man,  by  all  the  arts  of  advertising,  popular  appeal,  and  influential 
indorsement  quietly  and  skilfully  secured,  the  Handel  and  Haydn  of 
course,  some  reluctantly,  some  willingly,  na^^  ardently,  were  swept  as 
by  the  resistless  power  of  fate.*  It  swallowed  up  their  summer  and 
in  fact  their  year.  To  climb  out  of  the  valley  (if  we  may  return  to 
our  figure),  they  had  first  to  cross  a  vast  and  surging  sea.  They 
formed  of  course  the  nucleus,  the  sure  and  solid  heart  and  centre 
of  the  great  chorus  of  ten  thousand  voices  (instead  of  twenty  thou- 
sand, as  at  first  announced),  and  they  did  their  work  as  well  as 
practicable  under  the  strange  conditions,  the  vast  hall  for  sound,  the 
multitudinous  companionship,  the  audience  too  multitudinous  for 
musical  appreciation.  In  the  five  days,  June  15  to  19  inclusive, 
which  made  the  author  of  the  plan  a  popular  hero  in  his  way,  —  days 
in  which  fixed  stars  like  Mendelssohn  or  Mozart,  had  they  lived 
among  us,  must  have  "  paled  their  ineffectual  fires"  before  such  cal- 
cine effulgence, —  the  Handel  and  Haydn  chorus  swelled  the  volume 
of  Luther's  choral,  Ein'fesle  Btirg ;  "God  save  the  King"  (nick- 

*  The  invitation  to  join  in  the  Jubilee,  after  long  discussion  in  the  board  of 
directors,  was  accepted  by  a  vote  of  nine  to  two,  the  president  voting  nay. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     287 

named  America);  Rossini's  Injiammatus ;  "  Star-spangled  Banner  " 
(with  artilleiy  and  bells)  ;  great  choruses  of  Haudel,  Haydn,  Mozart, 
Mendelssohn,  and  more  which  need  not  be  mentioned.  It  shared  the 
abundant  popular  applause  ;  it  had  ranged  itself  on  the  side  of  the 
many,  of  the  idol  of  the  day,  but  largely  to  the  sacrifice  of  its  own 
proper  work.  Could  it  be  helped  ?  Its  fifty-fifth  season  tells  a  short 
and  comparatively  meagre  story. 

The  Jubilee  excitement  once  over,  the  old  Society  may  vibrate  back 
into  its  ''normal  diapason."  Here  is  a  good  sign,  which  we  read  in 
Ihvight's  Journal  of  Music  of  Aug.  28,  that  year  :  — 

*'  The  government  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  were  never  more  in 
earnest.  AVe  do,  not  know  that  the}'  have  decided  on  the  list  of  oratorios  to 
be  brought  out.  But  there  is  one  important  piece  of  news  which  we  are  quite 
safe  in  telling-.  This  time,  it  appears  to  be  really  a  settled  thing  that  Bach's 
great  Passion  Music  (after  the  gospel  of  St.  ^Matthew)  will  be  taken  up  and 
studied  with  the  design  of  producing  it  in  Passion  Week.  The  full  score  (as 
ediied  by  Kobert  Franz)  and  the  orchestral  parts  were  procured  from  Ger- 
many last  winter,  but  too  late  to  enter  upon  so  formidable  a  task  at  that  time. 
The  voice  parts  for  the  double  chorus  will  soon  be  in  readiness.  Messrs. 
Ditson  &  Co.  already  have  them  in  the  engraver's  hands,  and  are  prepai-ing 
to  publish  an  octavo  edition  (like  their  Mendelssohn  and  Handel  oratorios 
after  the  Novello  pattern)  of  the  entire  work  for  voices  and  pianoforte,  with 
both  German  and  English  words, — the  latter  translated*  here  expressly  with 
the  utmost  care  to  keep  them  as  close  as  possible  in  spirit,  sense,  and  form  to 
the  original  text,  antiquated  and  quaintly  pietistic  as  it  is,  while  scrupulously 
studying  in  every  sj'llable  and  vowel  sound  Bach's  never  careless  marriage  of 
the  word  and  tone.  Thus  there  will  be  plenty  of  copies  of  the  full  vocal 
score,  at  a  moderate  price,  both  for  the  singers  to  sing  from,  and  for  the  in- 
quiring listener  to  look  over  while  he  listens,  or  to  stud\-  at  his  leisure.  For 
an  American  publisher  this  is  a  bold  venture  and  an  honorable  one.  But 
we  believe  it  will  repay  in  the  long  run.  Bach's  Jlatthei'-  Passion  is  bound  to 
take  its  place  in  the  repertoire  of  the  great  choral  societies  in  this  country, 
as  it  has  long  since  done  all  over  Germany,  where  it  is  performed  in  a  dozen 
places  every  year ;  as  it  has  done  too  in  London,  where  it  is  to  be  revived  next 
winter,  and  even  in  Paris,  witness  the  interest  it  excited  at  the  Pantheon  a 
jxar  ago.  AVithus  it  is  a  question  of  time  only ;  it  may  never  be  popular,  but 
it  will  be,  it  is  already,  in  such  demand,  that  it  cannot  be  kept  out  of  the 
market  or  the  concert  room  much  longer.  For  our  old  Oratorio  Society,  too,, 
it  is  a  brave,  bold  undertaking;  perhaps  the  boldest  step  they  could  take; 
with  due  faith  and  persistency  it  will  not  prove  a  rash  one.  Why  should  they 
not  essay  the  boldest,  the  most  difficult  of  tasks?  They  have  for  years  been 
taking  all  the  arduous  steps  that  lead  right  up  to  it ;  they  have  mastered  Han- 
del's oratorios,  except  the  Israel,  which  yet  w^aits  for  adequate  performance; 
they  have  had  great  success  with  St.  Paul,  which  is  a  steppiug  stone  to  Bach; 
they  have  even  triumphed  signallj'  in  the  whilome  discouraging  choruses  of 

*  By  John  S.  Dwight,  adopting  Franz's  piano  accompaniment  for  many  of 
the  arias. 


288  IIISTOKY    OF    THE    HAM-EL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

the  Ninth  Symphony.  Wliat  task  remains,  what  further  height  to  gain,  if 
they  would  still  make  progress,  but  to  grapple  manfully  with  and  solve  the 
long-postponed  problem  of  the  great  religious  mut>ic  of  Sebastian  Bach? 
Even  if  they  do  not  succeed  in  doing  it  perfectly,  or  more  than  passably 
at  first,  for  w^ant  especially  of  great  solo  singers,  masters  of  the  (here  at 
least)  rare  art  of  recitative,  still  the  effort  will  reward  with  a  sweet  sense  of 
progress ;  it  will  inspire  and  charm  with  a  new  knowledge,  a  new  love,  with 
the  beginning  of  a  new  possession  that  shall  grow  sAveeter  and  richer  the 
more  deeply  they  enter  into  it  and  realize  it." 

On  the  16th  of  September,  the  Society  chose  ten  delegates  to 
represent  it  at  a  so-called  "  National  Musical  Convention,"  snmmoned 
by  Mr.  E.  Tourjee,  the  enterprising  bead  of  the  New  England  Con- 
servatory and  organizer  of  the  "  Peace  Jubilee"  chorus.  This  was 
one  of  the  feeble  offshoots,  or  say  echoes,  of  the  Jubilee.  It  held 
two  sessions  in  the  Music  Hall,  Sept.  22  and  23  ;  adopted  a  "  perma- 
nent organization "  (which  proved  very  short-lived)  ;  whereupon 
papers  were  read,  discussions  held,  with  agreeable  interludes  of  organ 
playing  and  vocal  music.  The  plan  seemed  vague,  and  so  seemed 
much  of  the  talking,  —  some  of  it  having  more  sound  than  sense.  But 
some  of  the  papers  which  were  read  contained  sound  and  valuable 
ideas.  In  March  following,  a  proposition  that  the  Societ}^  should 
join  the  "  National  Musical  Congress  "  in  a  "  Jubilee  "  in  June  was 
unanimously  negatived  ;  and  that  is  the  last  we  hear  of  the  ' '  Con- 
gress." 

There  were  many  Bach  "  straws  in  the  wind  "  that  autumn  ;  symp- 
toms of  expectation,  showing  how  much  the  long  talked  of  Passion 
Munc  occupied  men's  minds.  In  the  organ  concerts  at  the  Music 
Hall  arrangements  of  several  choruses  from  the  Passion  figured  in 
the  programmes;  while  organ  fugues,  toccatas,  etc.,  of  the  old  mas- 
ter, and  other  things  suggestive  of  his  name,  were  being  made  famil- 
iar. Communications  by  way  of  advice  or  suggestion  to  the  singers 
cropped  out  in  the  newspapers.  Tiie  time  for  study  and  rehearsal 
will  soon  come, — with  what  immediate  result? 

Early  in  December,  Mr.  Lang,  the  much-esteemed  organist  of  the 
oratorios,  after  a  long  illness,  sailed  for  Europe  with  his  family  and 
several  of  his  pupils,  intending  to  spend  about  a  year  principally  in 
Dresden.  INlr.  J.  C.  D.  Parker  was  the  one  preferred  to  occupy  his 
place  as  organist  during  his  absence.  -Meanwhile  rehearsals  went  on, 
with  an  attendance  ranging  from  200  and  250  on  stormy  evenings  to 
525,  averaging  390  singers.  The  works  in  hand  were  Naaman  and 
the  Messiah.  Forty  new  members  were  admitted  in  November;  165 
had  been  absent  from  all  meetings  and  rehearsals  for  eight  weeks,  91 
of  whom  were  "suspended." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     289 

On  the  evening  of  Christmas  (Saturday)  the  Music  Hall  was  com- 
pletely filled  with  the  usual  devouth^  attentive  audience.  The  chorus 
numbered  about  six  hundred  singers,  and  the  performance  w^as,  per- 
haps, the  best  ever  heard  here  until  then.  The  solo  principals  were 
Miss  Houston,  Miss  Adelaide  Phillipps,  Mr.  W.  J.  Winch,  and  Mr. 
Myron  W.  AVhitne}',  —  all  highly  satisfactory,  particularly  the  con- 
tralto. The  orchestra  was  hardly  strong  enough,  and  in  some  of  the 
wind  passages  the  chronic  incongruity  of  old  and  new  pitch  marred 
the  euphony.  Mr.  J.  C.  D.  Parker  presided  ably  at  the  organ. 
Sunday  evening  (Dec.  26)  the  rain  thinned  both  chorus  ranks  and 
audience  ;  yet  the  second  performance  of  Nuaman  was  more  spirited 
and  telling  than  the  first.  The  solos  were  sustained  by  Miss  Hous- 
ton, Miss  Phillipps,  Miss  Lizzie  M.  Gates,  and  Messrs.  W.  J.  Winch, 
Edward  Prescott,  and  J.  F.  Rudolphsen. 

With  the  new  year,  1870,  the  study  of  Bach's  Pa-sion  Music  was 
begun  in  earnest.  In  January  it  was  rehearsed  five  times  with 
attendance  varying  from  three  hundred  to  three  hundred  and  fifiy 
singers.  At  first  it  interested  but  comparatively  few,  who  came  to 
it  more  or  less  prepared  whether  by  inward  affinity  or  private  study ; 
but  gradually  and  steadily  it  gained  ground  in  the  sympathies  of 
many.  It  was  most  instructive  study,  whether  it  came  to  public  per- 
formance or  not,  and  it  sowed  seeds  in  many  hearts  of  a  deeper, 
sweeter  musical  sense  than  they,  perhaps,  had  known  before.  On 
Feb.  4  (the  vice-dresident,  O.  J.  Faxon,  being  present  for  a  short 
time  and  warmly  welcomed,  after  nearly  a  year's  absence  through 
severe  and  dangerous  illness),  it  was  voted  to  give  selections  from 
the  Passion  on  the  Saturday  before  Easter  (reckoning  without  the 
host !),  together  with  a  Mendelssohn  cantata  ;  and  Elijah  for  Easter. 
The  Bach  rehearsals,  with  the  same  average  attendance,  went  on 
into  March,  when  it  was  decided  to  substitute  the  Creation  for  the 
Passion  in  the  concert  of  April  16,  by  reason  of  inability  to  produce 
it  adequately  for  lack  of  a  sufficient  orchestra.     Time  will  cure  that. 

The  performance  of  the  Creation  (disappointing  all  our  hopes  of 
Bach)  was  an  indifferent  one  for  this  Society,  the  weather  stormy, 
orchestra  to  some  extent  a  makeshift  one,  audience  small,  and 
altogether  not  a  fortunate  revival.  The  chief  singers  were  Miss 
Houston,  Mr.  Prescott,  and  Mr.  M.  J.  Whituey.  The  next  evening 
(Easter,  April  17)  brought  a  fine  performance  of  Elijah.  It  had 
the  accustomed  orchestra ;  it  had  been  rehearsed  with  zeal ;  the 
chorus  seats  were  fuller ;  the  audience  larger  and  more  eager.  The 
central  figure  of  the  Prophet  stood  forth  very  nobly  in  the  recitative 
and  the  cantabile  of  Mr.  Whitney,  who  took  this  all-important  part 


290  HISTORY    OF    TTIK    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

for  the  first  time.  Much  had  been  expected,  but  not  more  than  was 
realized,  from  the  new  contralto,  Miss  Antoinette  Sterhng,  from 
New  York.  This  young  lady,  who  two  or  three  years  before  had 
created  a  sensation  in  a  miscellaneous  concert  here  by  the  richness 
and  the  volume  of  her  voice,  had  since  enjoyed  the  best  opportuni- 
ties of  instruction  abroad,  especially  with  Mme.  Viardot  Garcia,  of 
whom  she  was  a  favorite  pupil :  and  she  had  sung  with  marked  favor 
in  concerts  at  Cologne  and  London.  She  delivered  her  sentences  of 
recitative  with  fine  intelligence  and  with  great  power  and  fervor ;  and 
in  her  two  arias  all  was  simple,  earnest,  and  expressive,  her  tones 
singularly  rich  and  telling.  Her  manner  was  easy,  self-possessed, 
and  quiet.  Miss  Houston's  clear  and  powerful  soprano  more  than 
held  its  own.  Mrs.  J.  W.  Weston  sang  the  smaller  soprano  parts, 
that  of  the  youth,  etc.,  very  acceptably;  and  Mr.  ^y.  J.  Winch  in 
the  tenor  solos  showed  no  slight  improvement  both  in  voice  and  style. 
That  this  much-broken  season,  with  such  good  intentions  post- 
poned, was  not  pecuniarily  profitable,  appears  from  a  vote  of  the 
board  (May  11)  notifying  the  trustees  of  the  permanent  fund  that 
all  the  interest  thereof  for  the  past  year  was  needed  to  meet  the  bills 
of  the  Society.  And  again  (May  23)  the  treasurer  was  authorized 
to  borrow  a  sum  not  exceeding  five  hundred  dollars. 


FIFTY-SIXTH   SEASON. 
May  30,  1870,  to  May  29,  1871. 

At  the  annual  meeting  (May  30),  the  president  presented  his 
annual  report,  which  was  accepted  and  approved.  In  opening  he 
referred  to  the  deficiency  in  funds,  and  said  that  the  treasurer  had 
been  authorized  to  negotiate  a  temporary  loan.  Thirty-five  new  mem- 
bers had  been  admitted  during  the  year  ;  four  had  resigned,  and  four 
had  been  honorably  discharged.  In  the  same  time  ninety-one  had 
been  suspended  under  a  new  article  of  the  by-laws,  of  which  number 
seven  had  been  reinstated.  Two  members  had  died  in  the  course  of 
the  year.  The  number  of  rehearsals  was  twenty-nine,  with  an  aver- 
age attendance  of  three  hundred  and  six,  the  gentlemen  averaging 
better  than  the  lady  members.  The  public  performances  had  been 
fewer  than  usual,  only  four,  besides  the  assistance  rendered  at  the 
Peace  Jubilee,  and  once  at  a  celebration  of  the  Mercantile  Library 
Association.  The  annals  of  the  Society  would  probably  be  ready  for 
IKiblicatiou  during  the  coming  year. 

The  president  alluded  to  the   attention  given  to  Bach's   Passion 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     291 

3fusic,  and  said  that  the  reasons  for  its  non-performance  were  many 
and  sufficient ;  an  orchestra  adequate  to  the  double  functions  de- 
manded could  not  be  obtained ;  but  the  hope  of  vet  producing  it  was 
not  abandoned.  He  suggested  a  higher  standard  of  requirement  in 
the  examination  of  candidates  for  admission ;  complimented  the 
Salem  Oratorio  Association,  and  closed  with  eulogistic  reference  to 
the  invaluable  aid  of  their  excellent  conductor,  Carl  Zerrahn,  to  their 
accomplished  organist,  Mr.  Parker,  and  to  Mr.  O.  J.  Faxon,  then 
retiring  from  the  yice-presidencv,  after  filling  that  office  for  eleven 
years,  to  whom  a  complimentary  resolution  was  presently  passed. 

The  librarian  reported  six  hundred  and  fifty  copies  of  Bach'  s  Pas- 
sion Music  added  to  the  library.  The  treasurer's  report  showed  the 
receipts  of  the  year  (including  one  year's  income  of  the  fund, 
$438. G2)  to  be  $5,493.37  ;  expenditures  (with  balance  of  S395.25 
due  to  the  treasurer)  the  same.  There  were  outstanding  bills  leaving 
the  Society  in  debt  about  two  thousand  dollars.  The  permanent  fund 
amounted  to  S7,400.     The  election  of  officers  resulted  as  follows  :  — 

President.  —  Dk.   J.  Baxter  Upham, 

Vice-President.  —  S.  Lothrop  Thorxdike. 

Secretary.  —  Lorixg  B.  Barnes. 

Treasurer. — George   \V.  Paljier. 

Librarian. — George  H.  Chickering. 

Directors. —  George  Fisher,  Samuel  Jexxisox,  Levi  W.  John- 
son, A.  Parker  Browtje,  Edward  Faxon,  T.  Frank  Reed,  Charles 
H.  Johnson,  VT.  O.  Perkins. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  this  was  "Jubilee"  season;  Jubilee 
was  in  the  air.  Music  having  run  her  quiet,  modest  course  until  mid- 
summer in  her  wonted  way  of  Art,  then  all  seemed  given  over  to  the 
nois}'  echoes,  here  and  there,  of  the  last  year's  Peace  Jubilee  in 
Boston,  to  Monster  Concerts,  Choral  Festivals,  and  at  the  acme,  "  out 
of  all  whooping  wonderful,"  a  Beethoven  Centennial  Celebration  in 
New  York  (with  Gilmore  guns  and  anvils,  and  all  the  modern  im- 
provements which  may  have  been  supposed  to  interest  the  great  com- 
poser deaf  to  his  own  music,  —  of  which,  however,  one  whole  sym- 
phony and  extracts  from  others  were  included  in  the  programme,  to 
make  it  clear  that  this  great  splurge  had  something  to  do  with  Beet- 
hoven). Indeed  that  programme  was  astounding.  Nothing  more 
ingeniously  grandiloquent  and  swelling  could  have  entered  into  the 
imagination  of  the  inventor  of  the  Jubilee  himself.  Were  the  words 
"Grand,"  "Complete  Combined  Grand,"  "Grand-Popular-Clas- 
sical-Patriotic-National," etc.,  ever  reiterated  so  many  times  in  one 
bill  of  fare?     The  explanation  of  it  was  plain  enough.     The   same 


292     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

restless,  enterprising  class  of  spirits  who  got  up  the  Boston  Jubilee, 
existed  also  in  New  York  and  in  all  our  great  commercial  cities,  always 
eager  to  be  doing  something  on  a  ''  stupendous  scale  "  ;  could  they 
be  quiet  until  they  had  imitated,  possibly  surpassed,  the  great  exam- 
ple of  the  year  before?  The  centennial  year  of  Beethoven  (born  in 
December)  was  only  seized  upon  to  give  the  project  color. 

^  Now,  our  old  Handel  and  Ha^'dn  Society,  festively  inclined  no  less- 
than  musically,  were  not  slow  to  accept  an  invitation  to  that  New 
York  celebration,  all  their  expenses  of  journey  and  hotel  being  paid 
by  the  management.  On  Monday  evening,  June  13,  five  hundred  and 
forty-six  members  of  its  chorus  (S.  160,  A.  133,  T.  113,  B.  140)  left 
bv  the  three  boat  lines  and  reached  New  York  the  next  mornins;. 
During  the  first  two  days  they  attended  rehearsals  very  constantly. 
On  Thursday  evening  they  were  allowed  to  sing  the  first  part  of 
Elijah  (the  managers  lacking  courage  to  risk  the  whole  work).  The 
solos  were  by  Parepa,  Antoinette  Sterling,  Mr.  Castle,  and  Mr.  M. 
W.  Whitney.  It  was  pronounced  the  best  performance  of  the  cele- 
bration, and  the  one  most  enjoyed.  With  that  exception  the  whole 
huge  affair  was  ''  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  series  of  cheap  vocal 
and  instrumental  concerts."  On  the  fourth  day,  for  lack  of  public 
support,  the  great  bright  bubble  broke,  leaving  three  concerts,  includ- 
ing Handel's  Messiah^  to  exist  on  paper ;  and  our  friends  came  home, 
"  disgusted  with  the  management,  delighted  with  the  trip."  It  was 
on  this  occasion,  during  one  of  the  rehearsals  under  a  pretentious  bat 
incompetent  conductor,  that  a  severe  thunder-storm  came  on,  causing 
some  flutter  in  the  female  portion  of  the  chorus,  when  an  officer  of  the 

Society  called  out,  "  Ladies,  there  is  no  occasion  for  alarm.  Dr.  

is  a  perfect  non-conductor.'' 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Society,  a  few  days  later,  a  warm  vote 
of  thanks,  with  renewed  pledge  of  confidence,  was  passed  to  Carl 
Zerrahn  ;  also  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Secretary  Barnes.  Sept.  G,  at  a 
meeting  of  the  board,  a  committee  was  empowered  to  treat  with  Mile. 
Christine  Nilsson's  agent  for  four  or  more  appearances  in  oratorio  in 
November  or  later.  It  was  voted  to  hold  a  second  Triennial  Festival 
in  May.  Messrs.  Zerrahn  and  Lang  were  reappointed  at  salaries  of 
8500  and  $300.  Rehearsals  began  Oct.  2,  with  Judas  Maccabceus^  four 
hundred  singers  present.  Then  for  four  Sunday  evenings  the  choral 
portions  of  the  Ninth  Symphony  were  rehearsed,  attendance  from  four 
hundred  and  seventy-five  to  five  hundred  and  ten  (S.  168,  A.  138,  T. 
92,  B.  112).  Nov.  20,  Svmphony  and  Jfessw/i  rehearsed,  with  Mile, 
Nilsson  for  a  listener,  and  much  pleased  she  was  with  the  chorus. 
Nov.  27,  rehearsed  Israel  in  Egypt^  five  Imndred  voices. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDKL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     293 

On  Monday  afternoon,  Dec.  10,  after  a  week  of  various  musical 
performances  in  Boston  commemorative  of  the  centennial  anniver- 
sary of  the  birthday  of  Beethoven  (Dec.  17,  1770),  the  Society, 
jointly  with  the  Harvard  Musical  Association,  gave  a  performance  of 
the  Ninth  (or  Choral)  Symphony,  after  long  and  vigorous  rehearsal 
of  the  choruses.  This  was  preceded  in  the  programme  by  the  over- 
ture to  Egmont ;  the  quartet  (in  canon)  from  Firlelio ;  an  andante 
and  adagio  from  the  Prometheus  ballet ;  and  the  Hallelujah  chorus 
from  the  Mount  of  Olives.  In  this  memorable  concert  the  rich  week 
of  the  Beethoven  Centennial  reached  its  climax  and  its  close.  It 
was  a  remarkable  success,  although  the  audience  fell  short  of  expec- 
tation ;  there  was  a  loss  of  over  $500,  which  was  shared  equally 
between  the  two  societies.  The  chorus  was  five  hundred  and  fifty 
strong,  and  did  its  work  nobly  ;  the  orchestra  of  sixty-four  instru- 
ments was  never  more  responsive  to  ]Mr.  Zerrahn's  control.  Even 
the  almost  impossible  quartet  of  solo  singers  was  well  represented 
by  Mrs.  H.  M.  Smith,  Mrs.  C.  A.  Barry,  Mr.  W.  J.  Winch,  and  Mr. 
Rudolphsen. 

Next  in  order,  fitly  crowning  that  Beethoven  j^ear  (for  there  is 
always  kinship  among  greatest  things),  came  the  annual  performance 
of  the  Messiah,  both  on  Christmas  eve  and  on  the  evening  of  Christ- 
mas. The  fatigue  of  the  hard  week  was  felt,  and  so  was  the 
benumbing  spell  of  sudden  winter  ;  so  that  the  chorus  seats  were 
not  at  their  fullest,  and  the  orchestra  was  small.  But  with  Zerrahn 
at  the  helm,  and  Lang  at  the  great  organ,  with  a  chorus  well  trained, 
and  with  good  principal  singers,  the  oratorio  went  grandly  as  a  whole. 
On  Sunday  evening  the  house  was  full,  and  so  was  the  orchestra,  and 
there  was  more  life  and  spirit  pervading  the  whole  effort.  Mrs. 
Weston,  bating  excessive  nervousness  (it  was  almost  her  debut),  sang 
the  soprano  solos  on  the  first  evening  with  refinement :  a  sincere 
musical  quality  and  feeling  making  themselves  felt  in  her  pure,  fresh, 
liquid  tones.  On  Sunday  evening  Mrs,  Julia  Houston  West,  with  all 
her  wonted  fervor,  and  with  more  than  wonted  power,  sang  the 
great  arias  and  recitatives.  Miss  Sterling  took  the  contralto  solos. 
The  tenor  on  the  first  night  was  Mr.  Winch  ;  on  the  second,  Mr. 
F.  C.  Packard,  who,  for  a  first  appearance  in  so  formidable  a  task, 
made  a  remarkably  good  impression.  The  bass  solos  were  intrusted 
to  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney. 

1871.  The  new  3'ear  opened  with  six  or  eight  consecutive  rehear- 
sals upon  Israel  in  Egypt.  A  stormv  season  thinned  the  average 
attendance,  which  ranged  from  250  to  400. 

Early  in  February,  the  Society  and  the  community  were  called  to- 


294    HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

mourn  the  loss  of  Gen.  Thomas  E.  Chickei'iug,  the  oldest  of  three 
brothers  who  so  successfulh^  continued  the  noble  business  built  up 
by  their  father.  His  winning,  amiable  disposition  from  his  childhood 
made  him  many  friends.  He  had  served  a  thorough  practical  appren- 
ticeship in  his  business,  having,  first  and  last,  with  his  own  hands 
made  every  part  of  a  piano.  His  sympathies  were  large,  so  that  he 
found  time  for  zealous  participation  in  musical,  military,  charitable, 
and  social  enterprises.  He  had  been  president  of  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society,  Commander  of  the  "Ancient  and  Honorable,"  and 
during  the  war  did  honorable  service  at  the  head  of  a  regiment,  for 
which  he  was  brevetted  general.  He  was  modest,  manly,  kindly, 
gentlemanly,  and  true.  To  all,  in  all  conditions,  his  words  and  man- 
ner were  those  of  a  friend.  At  a  special  meeting  of  the  board  of 
directors  (Feb.  17)  the  following  resolutions  were  presented  by  Mr. 
Samuel  Jennison  :  — 

Whereas,  the  recent  and  sudden  death  of  Gen,  Thomas  E.  Chickering  has 
removed  from  among  us  a  gentleman  widelj'  and  honorably  known  in  this 
commimitv,  and  one  who  has  always  manifested  a  warm  interest  in  the  Han- 
del and  Haydn  Society : 

Hesolved,  That  the  sad  occasion  presents  fitting  opportunity  for  the 
board  of  directors  of  this  Society,  which  once  enjoyed  a  prosperous 
season  of  several  years  under  his  presidency,  and  which  never  failed  to 
receive  favor  at  his  hands,  to  express  their  appreciation  of  the  liberality 
with  which  he,  together  w^ith  the  firm  of  which  he  was  the  head,  ever 
responded  to  the  call  for  aid  in  all  musical  and  charitable  enterprises ;  and 
especiallj'  is  it  to  be  remembered  that  with  him  the  offer  of  aid  sprang  from 
the  generosity  of  his  nature  rather  than  from  the  desire  to  advance  private 
interest,  or  from  the  love  of  popular  applause. 

Hesolved,  That  to  him  as  the  head  of  a  partnership  of  brothers,  succeed- 
ing to  the  career  of  an  honored  father,  himself  once  president  of  this  Soci- 
et}',  this  community  is  indebted,  to  an  extent  that  cannot  be  estimated,  for 
the  means  of  promoting  the  cultivation  of  the  art  in  whose  service  this 
Society  had  its  origin,  which  has  shed  grace  and  refinement  upon  thousands 
of  New  England  homes,  and  has  lent  its  invaluable  influence  in  embellishing 
the  social  life  and  manners,  and  in  elevating  this  citj'  to  its  proud  and  emi- 
nent position  of  Patron  of  Music  and  of  Choral  Song. 

Hesolved,  That  this  Society  desires  to  pay  tribute  to  his  memory  by  taking 
part  in  the  musical  exercises  at  his  funeral,  and  thereby  to  testify  its  sympa- 
thy with  his  family  and  friends  in  their  sudden  bereavement. 

Hesolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  entered  upon  the  records  of  the 
Societj-,  and  a  copy  be  sent  to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

He  was  buried  with  distinguished  honors.  The  funeral  service  was 
at  Trinity  Church  in  Summer  Street,  Bishop  Eastburn  and  the  Kev. 
Phillips  Brooks  officiating.  Large  delegations  from  the  various  mili- 
tary bodies  with  which  Gen.  Chickering  had  been  associated  were 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  295 

present;  and  tlie  workmen  in  the  employ  of  the  Messrs.  Chickering, 
to  the  number  of  three  hundred  and  ninety,  filled  the  entire  left  of  the 
body  of  the  church.  There  was  an  impressive  musical  service  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  J.  C.  D.  Parker,  the  organist  of  the  church ; 
and  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  under  their  conductor,  Carl 
Zerrahn,  sang  the  choral  from  Elijah.  "Cast  thy  burden  on  the 
Lord."  The  funeral  cortege  then  moved  to  Mt.  Auburn,  where  the 
remains  were  deposited  in  the  family  tomb. 

The  work  of  rehearsal  now  went  on,  mainly  with  reference  to  the 
coming  Festival,  until  April,  and  with  an  average  attendance  of  411, 
the  highest  number  at  one  time  being  550.  On  March  3,  it  was  voted 
to  return  to  the  old  ''concert  pitch,"  for  the  reason  that,  although 
new  instruments  at  normal  diapason  pitch  had  been  provided,  still 
the  movement  in  that  direction  had  proved  a  failure  for  want  of  sym- 
pathy on  the  part  of  the  musicians  of  the  orchestra.  What  became 
of  those  new  instruments  (bassoons,  clarinets,  oboes,  flutes)  remains 
a  riddle  to  this  day,  1889. 

On  the  first  and  second  days  of  April  was  realized  at  last  a  long- 
cherished  desire  of  the  Society  to  give  some  oratorios  with  the  dis- 
tinguished aid  of  the  young  Swedish  singer,  Christine  Nilssou.  On 
Saturday  evening,  preceded  by  a  semi-public  noonda}^  rehearsal,  the 
Messiah  was  given  with  a  chorus  of  nearly  seven  hundred  voices. 
Our  notes  at  the  time  say  :  "  There  is  something  individual,  original, 
and  charmino;lv  sincere  in  what  the  vouno;  Swede  does  ;  somethino- 
genuine  from  within,  which  is  even  better  than  the  purity  and  sweet- 
ness of  her  voice  and  her  artistic  modulation  of  it ;  and  we  were  not 
surprised  to  hear  from  her  a  somewhat  different  rendering  of  the 
great  songs  in  the  Messiah  from  the  examples  set  to  us  by  great  sing- 
ers heretofore.  The  distinguishing  quality  of  Christine  Nilsson's 
singing  of  them  was  its  beautiful  simplicity,  much  of  the  time  almost 
childlike,  and  a  pervading  gentleness,  the  expression  as  of  a  deep, 
interior,  meditative  rapture  (even  in  '  Rejoice  greatly'),  rather  thau 
the  perpetual  giving  out  of  the  full  power  of  voice  to  triumph  by 
main  force.  Hence,  when  the  strong,  emphatic  points  did  come  out, 
they  told  with  a  peculiar  power,  because  the  feeling  was  so  genuine, 
so  uncontainable.  There  was  a  virginal  purity  and  sweetness,  and  a 
clear  power,  in  her  delivery  of  '  There  were  shepherds ' ;  it  was 
indeed  an  imaginative  realization  of  the  scene,  the  holy  peace  and 
beauty  of  the  starry  night,  with  its  mh*aculous  new  hope  !  '  Rejoice 
greatly,'  given  with  exquisite  grace  and  evenness,  was  not  less  truh' 
the  expression  of  true  joy  because  it  did  not  leap  out  into  loud,  bold 
revelry  of  song  ;  it  was  the  heart  full  of  happiness  communing  with 


296  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

itself  ;  something  too  much,  perhaps,  of  the  sotto  voce,  so  that  some 
of  the  more  shaded  tones  may  not  have  fully  reached  the  ear  in  all 
parts  of  the  hall ;  but  still  one  knew  how  true  and  good  it  all  was  ; 
and  how  feelingh'  the  words  '  He  is  the  righteous  Saviour,'  etc.,  were 
expressed  in  the  tearful  voice  !  ...  In  the  great  song  of  faith,  '  I 
know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,'  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  she 
actually  made  it  new  to  us,  imparting  such  freshness  to  it,  such  origi- 
nality (not  sought  for  as  such)  ^  that,  for  the  first  time  since  we  heard 
Jenny  Lind,  her  countrywoman,  sing  it,  we  were  not  bored,  but  happy 
to  hear  the  song  repeated.  It  was  characterized,  as  we  have  said, 
by  quiet  fervor  and  assurance  ;  a  heart's  confession  to  itself,  rather 
than  a  bold  proclamation  and  profession  ;  touchiugly  shaded  as  the 
various  reflections  came  up.  And  when  the  words  '  I  know  '  returned 
again,  it  was  not  with  strong,  bold  emphasis,  but  with  a  '  still  voice,' 
far  inward,  as  in  rapt  rever}'  and  ecstasy  of  faith." 

It  seemed  to  infuse  a  new  spirit  into  the  whole.  Seldom  did  the 
choruses  all  go  so  well,  and  well  were  the}'  accompanied.  The  other 
leading  singers,  also,  did  their  best:  Miss  Annie  Gary,  Mrs.  Houston 
AYest,  and  the  Messrs.  Winch.  The  Creation  had  a  no  less  uncom- 
monly good  performance.  Nothing  could  be  more  evenly  and  exqui- 
sitely melodious  than  Nilsson's  singing  of  "With  verdure  clad"; 
though  "On  mighty  pens"  was  better  suited  to  the  grander,  soaring 
st3'le  of  Jenny  Lind,  whose  voice  went  up  there  like  a  rocket  Mr. 
Whitney's  grand,  deep  bass  was  never  so  telling  as  in  those  descrip- 
tive pieces  ;  Mr.  Simpson  was  happy  in  the  tenor  airs  ;  and  Mrs. 
West,  in  the  trying  predicament  of  inheriting  the  soprano  role  from 
Nilssou  (in  the  Adiim  and  Eve  scene),  acquitted  herself  in  a  most 
praiseworthy  manner. 

From  that  time  forward  the  second  Triennial  Festival  in  May  was 
the  one  objective  point  of  the  whole  work  of  the  Society,  with  a  clear 
field  before  it.  Rehearsals  came  thick  and  fast :  no  less  than  twelve 
in  April,  with  attendance  varying  from  200  to  53G  ;  in  May,  five  more.- 


SECOXD   TRIENNIAL  FESTIVAL. 

May  0-14,  1871. 

The  scheme  was  an  immense  one.  perhaps  almost  too  ambitious. 
Think  of  Handel's  Israel  in  Egypt,  copious  selections  from  Bach's 
Passion  Music,  Mendelssohn's  Hymn  of  Praise  and  Elijah,  Beetho- 
ven's Choral  Sympliony,  and  Bennett's  Woman  of  Samaria,  together 
with  much  more,  in  one  week's  programme  !     Well  might  the  worthy 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  297 

secretary,  elated  with  the  result,  exclaim,  "•  Probably  the  most  stu- 
pendous programme  ever  presented  at  any  Festival,  either  at  home 
or  abroad,  was  here  presented,  and  the  performances,  of  the  oratorios 
in  particular,  elicited  from  the  most  critical  the  most  unbounded 
praise."  It  included  nine  great  concerts,  five  of  oratorio  and  four 
of  symphony,  etc.,  ending  on  Sunday  with  the  never-failing  3fessia7i. 
The  chorus  numbered  over  seven  hundred  voices,  properly  balanced 
and  of  better  average  quality  than  ever  before.  The  orchestra,  with 
that  of  our  own  symphony  concerts  for  a  nucleus,  included  many  of 
the  best  musicians  of  the  Philharmonic  and  Thomas  orchestras  of 
New  York,  others  from  Philadelphia  and  other  places,  to  the  number 
of  one  hundred  in  all.     The  principal  vocalists  were  :  — 

Sojyrani:  Mme.  Erminia  Rudersdorff,  for  the  first  time,  than  whom 
no  soprano  for  a  dozen  years  had  shown  herself  more  thoroughlj^  qual- 
ified for  the  oratorio  tasks  of  the  Birmingham  and  London  festivals  ; 
besides  Mrs.  Julia  Houston  West  and  Mrs.  H.  M.  Smith. 

ContraUi :  Miss  Adelaide  Phillipps,  Miss  Annie  Louise  Gary,  and 
Miss  Antoinette  Sterling. 

Tenon' :  jVIr.  AVilliam  H.  Cummings,  expressly  from  Loudon,  and 
Mr.  William  J    Winch. 

Bassi :  Mr.  Myron  W.  Whitney,  Mr.  J.  F.  Rudolphsen,  and  Mr. 
John  F.  Winch,  — all  residents  of  Boston. 

For  solo  pianists,  two  distinguised  German  artists,  Miss  Anna 
Mehlig,  of  Stuttgart,  and  Miss  Marie  Krebs,  of  Dresden,  were 
engaged.  Of  course  Carl  Zerrahn  conducted,  and  Mr.  B.  J.  Lang- 
presided  over  the  5,700  pipes  of  the  great  organ,  which  had  been 
tuned  up  to  the  reigning  concert  pitch  (at  a  cost  to  the  Societv  of 
81.000). 

First  Day.  Tuesday  Afternom,  Ma>/  9.  Nicolai's  Religious  Fes- 
tival Overture,  founded  on  Luther's  choral,  ^^  Ein'  fe^te  Burg,''  for 
orchestra,  chorus,  and  organ,  again,  for  the  fourth  time,  did  duty  at 
the  opening  of  a  Handel  and  Haydn  Festival.  It  has  hardly  the 
intrinsic  worth  to  warrant  that  distinction  ;  but  it  served  to  impress 
the  audience  at  once  with  the  full  weight  and  breadth  of  the  great 
gathering  of  forces,  vocal  and  instrumental.  Next  came  the  rousing 
aria,  "Sound  an  alarm,"  from  Handel's  Judas  Maccahceus,  which 
introduced  the  young  English  tenor,  Mr.  Cummings,  who  was  more 
than  a  good  singer,  really  a  good  musician,  having  had  an  organist's 
education,  which  is  an  excellent  foundation.  A  pupil  of  Dr.  Hop- 
kins, of  the  Temple  Church,  he  was  known  also,  unprofessionally,  to 
sing  well.  Accident  first  brought  him  out  in  that  capacity.  Only 
seven  years  before,  Sims  Reeves  had  called  on  him  to  take  his  place 


298  IirSTORY    OF    TFIE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

in  Judas  Maccabceus^  and  after  much  hesitation  he  consented ;  hi& 
success  was  marked;  he  was  encored  in  ''Sound  an  alarm,"  and 
from  that  time,  after  some  period  of  study  in  Italy,  lie  had  been  a 
public  singer,  mostly  in  the  field  of  oratorio.  A  musician  in  his 
instincts  and  his  culture,  we  found  him  also  a  refined,  intelligent, 
well-educated  gentleman.  We  never  heard  this  battle  song  so  pow- 
erfully given  by  any  one,  with  the  exception  of  Sims  Reeves,  who 
evidently  furnished  him  the  model.  In  an  able  review  of  this  Festi- 
val by  the  Inte  Mr.  F.  C.  Bowmau,  of  New  York,  we  find  the  follow- 
ing just  estimate  of  Mr.  Cummings  :  — 
"  There  was  no  passionate  earnestness  in  his  singing,  but  an  even  excel- 
lence. Whatever  he  did  was  characterized  by  discretion,  good  judgment, 
and  a  broad  intelligence.  He  was  a  sini^er  of  such  refinement  and  delicate 
sensibilit}^  that  at  the  close  of  whatever  he  sang  one  could  not  but  commend 
the  tact  with  which  the  salient  points  had  been  brought  out,  tlie  admirable 
wisdom  with  which  every  musical  phrase  had  been  balanced,  and  the  exact 
measure  of  expression  accorded  to  it.  Mr.  Cummings's  voice  was  by  no 
means  a  marvel  of  beauty,  whether  as  regards  quality  or  quantity.  Many 
men  have  finer  voices,  and  even  more  have  larger  ones;  but  in  the  well- 
trained  skill,  the  discipline  of  years,  the  discretion  and  the  wisdom  that 
o-uided  INIr.  Cummings  in  the  use  of  his  powers  to  their  best  advantage,  and 
enabled  him  to  convey  to  his  hearers  the  exact  meaning  of  the  composer,  he 
has  no  eciual  among  us." 

Third  on  the  programme  came  Mendelssohn's  four-part  song, 
"  Farewell  to  the  Forest,"  sung  by  the  entire  chorus  unaccompanied. 
It  was  an  absorbing,  rich,  cool,  broad  mass  of  euphonious  harmony, 
each  of  the  four  parts  being  palpably  felt,  and  all,  in  time  and  tune, 
in  lioht  and  shade,  in  clear,  precise  enunciation,  as  perfect  as  one 
could  wish.  In  the  third  stanza  it  went  without  the  conductor's 
wand,  steady  as  clock  work,  with  no  shade  of  drooping  from  the 
pitch.  It  had  to  be  repeated.  Yet  the  unpretending  part-song  was 
never  written  to  be  sung  in  that  way  ;  it  was  subjecting  it  to  too 
strong  a  magnifying  lens. 

After  a  graceful  rendering  of  Rossini's  "  Xon  piu  mesta  "  by  Miss 
Gary,  Mme.  Rudersdorff  made  her  first  appearance  here  in  a  scena  in 
the  classical  character  of  Medina,  composed  for  her  by  Randegger, 
then  the  foremost  Italian  teacher  of  singing  in  London.  Rudersdorff 
was  her  maiden  name.  She  was  born  in  December,  1822,  at  Ivan- 
owsky  in  Russia  ;  but  at  the  age  of  three  years  she  was  taken  to 
Hamburg,  where  her  father  was  engaged  as  concert  master.  Her 
beautiful  voice  was  formed  at  an  early  age  through  Marianne  Sessi ; 
afterwards  Banderali  and  Bordogni  became  her  teachers.  After 
appearing  in  England  and  Germany  as  a  concert  siuger,  she  made  her 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  299 

debut  in  opera  at  Carlsriihe  in  1841,  and  was  then  engaged  at  Frank - 
fort-on-the-Maiu,  where  she  was  married  in  1844  to  Dr.  Kiicheu- 
meister.  a  professor  of  mathematics.  In  the  prime  of  her  youth  and 
beauty,  both  of  voice  and  person,  she  made  a  notable  career  in  Ger- 
man opera.  After  renouncing  the  stage  for  a  time,  she  accepted 
an  engagement  at  Breslau  in  1846  ;  afterwards  in  BerUn  from  1852 
to  1854.  when  she  removed  to  London,  where  she  resided  until  her 
coming  here.  Her  first  role  in  London  was  Mozart's  Donna  Anna  ; 
but  she  soon  gave  herself  to  oratorio  and  concert  singing.  lu  the 
Birmingham  Festival  of  1861,  where  the  present  writer  first  heard 
her,  she  shared  the  leading  soprano  honors  with  such  artists  as  Tiet- 
jens  and  Mme.  Lemrhens-Sherringtou,  and  her  voice  at  that  time 
seemed  more  worn  than  it  did  here.  It  must  have  been  glorious 
once.  Her  strong  side,  next  to  her  complete  musicianship  (rare 
among  singers),  was  her  dramatic  fire  and  the  intensity  with  which 
she  threw  herself  into  the  passion  and  expression  of  her  song.  There 
was  a  marvellous  vitality  about  her  ;  her  earnest,  sympathetic  pres- 
ence seemed  to  quicken  chorus,  orchestra,  and  all  around  her  ;  it  was 
even  said  that  orchestras  in  London  stood  in  fear  of  her,  she  l<new 
their  parts  so  well.  She  was  at  home  in  all  the  great  music  and  in 
every  part  of  it:  if  need  were,  she  could  have. conducted  any  of  the 
oratorios  impromptu,  orchestra  and  all.  Mme.  Rudersdorff  was  a 
woman  of  great  and  various  experience  in  the  world  :  she  was  eccen- 
tric, brusque,  origiual,  genial,  very  social,  witty  and  entertaining, 
well  read  and  intelligent  on  many  subjects  besides  music,  a  brilli-mt 
conversationalist,  warm-hearted  and  generous,  very  independent, 
very  attractive,  and  sometimes  provoking.  In  1872  she  took  up  her 
abode  in  Boston  as  a  singing  teacher  ;  later  transferred  her  school  to 
a  farm  residence  in  the  interior  of  Massachusetts.  She  died  Feb. 
26,  1882.  The  clever  actor,  Richard  Mansfield,  is  her  son  by  a 
second  husband  whom  she  married  in  London.  Among  her  pupils 
were  Anna  Drasdil,  Emma  Thursby,  and  Emily  Winant. 

The  Jfedea  scena.  as  the  very  name  suggests,  is  a  long,  impassioned 
outburst  of  jealous  love,  revenge,  and  tenderness,  on  the  same  scale 
with  Beethoven's  *•  Ah  perfido,"  only  more  extravagant  and  with  a 
larger  proportion  of  fierce  declamatory  recitative.  It  sounded  the 
whole  compass  of  that  sort  of  passion,  as  well  as  of  tlie  singer's 
voice,  which,  while  weak  in  the  middle  portion  and  sometimes  inaudi- 
ble at  some  distance,  often  thrilled  you  by  its  splendid  high  tones,  as 
well  as  by  its  strong  deep  tones  of  indignation.  It  was  a  revelation 
on  her  part  of  superb  vocal  and  dramatic  power.  The  Hallelujah 
chorus    from    Beethoven's    Mount  of  Olives,  sung  and  accompanied 


300  HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

with  great  spirit,  dosed  the  miscellaneous  first  part  of  the  concert. 
Part  second  was  filled  by  Mendelssohn's  Symphony-Cantata  Lohge- 
sang  or  Hymn  of  Frai.se,  more  worthy  of  the  opening  of  so  great  a 
Festival.  There  is  no  need  to  repeat  what  has  been  said  so  many 
times  before  of  the  power  and  beauty  of  the  work,  or  of  the  zeal  and 
the  effectiveness  with  which  both  orchestra  and  ^singers  gave  them- 
selves out  in  it.  The  memorable  feature  was  the  admirable  render- 
ing which  Mr.  Cummings'gave  of  the  tenor  solo,  and  the  recitative, 
*'  Watchman,  will  the  night  soon'pass?"  And  Mme.  Rudersdorff,  in 
answer  to  the  AVatchman,  instead  of  ringing  out  the  sentence  in  a 
clarion  tone,  sang  softly,  sweetly,  "  The  night  is  departing,"  nnd  then 
repeated  the  word  "departing"  with  a  burst  of  splendor.  Many 
were  speedily  converted  to  the  new  reading.  In  the  lovely  duet, 
"  I  waited  for  the  Lord,"  her  dramatic  sforzando  habit  was  rather  in 
contrast  with  the  even  flow  of  Miss  Gary's  smooth,  rich  voice  ;  other- 
wise, the  duet  was  all  but  perfect  on  the  part  of  solos  and  of  chorus. 
Upon  the  whole  a  noble  opening  concert  I 

Second   Day.      Weonesday  Afternoon,  May  10.      A  concert,  or- 
chestral and  vocal,  with  the  following  programme  :  — 

1.  Overture  to  ieonora,  No.  3 Beethoven. 

2.  Fifth  Pianoforte  Concerto,  in  E  flat,  with  orchestra  .        Beethoven. 

Miss  Anna  Mehlig. 

3.  Cavatina;  "  Se  m'abbandoni,"  from  JV^iYocn        .         ,         Mercadante. 

Miss  Annie  L.  Gary. 

4.  Overture  to  Genoveva Schumann. 

5.  Symphony  in  G  (No.  13,  Breitkopf  &  Hartel)       .         .         Haydn. 
0.     Grand  Scena :  "Andromeda"       .        .         .        .         .        Mozart. 

Mme.  Eudersdokff. 

7.  Aria:  "  Una  A'oce  poco  fa,"  from /Z  ^a>-6fere      .         .        Itossini. 

Miss  Phillipps. 

8.  Symphonic  Poem:  "  Les  Preludes  "     ....         Liszt. 

In  the  evening  the  hall  was  crowded  for  Elijah,  the  oratorio  in 
which,  more  than  in  any  other,  the  seven  hundred  siugeis  were  known 
to  be  at  home  and  sure.  Every  chorus,  great  or  small,  sublime  or 
tender,  solemn  and  devout  or  graphic  and  dramatic,  went  to  a  charm. 
''Thanks  be  to  God  "  almost  took  the  audience  off  their  feet  ;  the 
orchestra,  too,  was  superb  in  that,  and  indeed  throughout.  The 
double  quartet  might  have  been  sung  better;  but  "Cast  thy  bur- 
den upon  the  Lord  "  (Mme.  Rudersdorff,  Miss  Phillipps,  Mr.  Cum- 
mings,  and  Mr.  Whitney)  was  almost  perfect  as  a  piece  of  quartet 
singing.  (It  was  understood  that  Mme.  Rudersdorff  had  drilled  the 
voices.)     By  some  fatality  the  Angel  Trio,  never   before  intrusted 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     301 

here  to  three  finer  artists,  never  went  so  badly  I  The  music  of  the 
Prophet  seeks  too  high  a  level  for  Mr.  Whitney's  best  voice  ;  but  much 
of  it  he  sang  nobly  and  impressively  :  particularly  "It  is  enough." 
Mr.  Cummings  was  all  that  he  had  taught  us  to  expect  of  him  in  the 
tenor  solos.  Mme.  Rudersdorff  threw  an  intensity  and  vigor  into  the 
part  of  the  Woman,  which  made  that  scene  for  once  quite  thi'illing  ; 
and  her  rendering  of  ''  Hear  ye,  Israel,''  and  ''  Be  not  afraid,"  was 
electrifying.  Miss  Phillipps  in  '*  O  rest  in  the  Lord,"  and  Mrs. 
Houston-West  in  the  smaller  soprano  parts,  were  excellent. 

Third  Day.  Thursday  Afternoon,  May  11.  The  second  orches- 
tral and  vocal  concert  had  not  so  large  an  audience  as  such  a  pro- 
gramme, with  such  an  orchestra,  and  such  solo  artists,  seemed  to 
warrant. 

1.  Overture  :•' Xachklange  aus  Ossian  "     .         .        .         Gade. 

2.  Aria:  '•  ¥sic  wfpoTlem.'' tvo\n  Stabat  Mater   .         .        Bossini. 

Miss  Cary. 

3.  Coucerto.  for  piauoforte  ■svith  Orchestra         .         .         Schumann. 

Miss  Marie  Khebs. 

4.  Cavatma  :  ••  Eobert.  toi  que  j"  aiiiie  ■'       .        .         .        Jleyerbeer. 

Mme.  Rudersdorff. 

5.  Aria,  from  Orchestral  Suite  iu  D     .         .         .         .        J.  S.  Bach. 

6.  Symphony  iu  C Schubert. 

Evening.  Israel  in  Egypt.  For  the  first  time  iu  this  country  this 
colossal  oratorio  of  Handel  was  presented  entire.  Only  fragments  of 
it  had  been  given  here  before.  The  Society,  since  its  fiftieth  anniver- 
sary (1865),  had  by  successive  timid,  half-way  efforts,  been  growing 
up  to  the  great  work  as  a  whole.  Again  we  must  be  allowed  to  copy 
from  our  own  notes  written  after  the  performance  :  — 

More  marked  than  the  improvement  in  performance,  seemed  the  progress, 
both  with  singers  and  with  public,  in  the  appreciation  of  this  music  :  it  would 
astonish  were  we  to  cite  some  of  the  newspaper  criticisms  of  those  former 
days  side  by  side  with  the  uniformly  respectful,  the  deeply  impressed, 
delighted  tone  of  the  comments  upon  this  occasion. 

The  unflagging  grandeur  and  sublimity,  the  vivid  imagery,  the  stupendous 
scene  shifting,  — •  sometimes  instantaneous,  by  a  single  chord,  as  when  a 
lightning  flash  lights  up  the  night,  always  in  the  stately  preparation  of  one 
wonder  by  another,  chorus  upon  chorus,  miracle  upon  miracle, — the  great 
lights  and  shadows,  the  long  repeated,  now  approaching,  now  receding,  echo 
of  the  contrapuntal  thunders,  of  that  great  mountain  range  of  choruses, 
was  palpable  enough  in  mass  and  substance,  clear  enough  in  outline,  precise 
and  positive  enough  in  all  main  strokes,  in  spite  of  confusion  and  timidity  in 
details  here  and  there,  to  awe  and  elevate  the  listening  crowd,  and  keep  expec- 
tation fresh  unto  the  end. 

There  was  a  sense  of  wholesome  feeling  in  the  completeness  of  this  efi'ort. 
Every  chorus,  every  recitative  and  curious  air,  even  those  in  the  -'Appen- 


302    HISTORY  OF  THK  HANDEL  AXD  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

dix,"  happily  adapted  from  other  works  of  Handel  by  Sir  George  Smart  (only 
excepting  the  bass  air,  "  He  layeth  the  beams,"  which  is  not  an  integral  part 
of  the  work),  Avas  given,  —  much  to  the  relief  and  lightening,  we  do  believe, 
of  any  "heaviness"  which  may  have  attached  to  old  abridged  presentations 
of  the  work;  it  is  a  case  where  the  whole  is  lighter  (more  elastic)  than  a 
part. 

Of  the  solos  we  will  speak  first,  as  the  greatest  novelty.  The  First  Part,  as 
left  by  Handel,  contains  nothing  but  two  bits  of  tenor  recitative  (one  usher- 
ing in  the  great  opening  chorus  expressing  the  sighs  of  the  children  of  Israel 
in  bondage,  the  other  immediately  after  it.  "  Then  sent  He  Moses,"  to  intro- 
duce the  series  of  "plagues  of  Egypt,"  both  delivered  with  true  simplicity 
and  dignity  of  style,  and  with  distinct  .enunciation,  by  Mr.  Cummings),  and 
one  aria,  "Their  land  brought  forth  frogs,"  etc.,  grotesquely  graphic  \vith 
its  hopping  violin  figure,  but  a  serious  and  melodious  air  enough,  which  Miss 
Sterling  sang  in  her  rich  tones  with  large,  simple,  sustained  style,  not  strain- 
ing for  too  much  expression.  Moreover,  of  Sir  George  Smart's  interpola- 
tions there  were  given  two  noble  pieces  of  soprano  recitative,  "Thrice 
happy  Israel  in  the  light  of  God,"  and  "But  soon  as  Pharaoh,"  which  gave 
room  for  some  of  the  best  tones  and  the  thrilling  declamation  of  Mme. 
Rudersdorfi".  Then  a  grand  one  for  the  bass,  "  He  measured  the  waters"' 
(without  the  air,  "He  layeth  the  beams")  :  and,  a  little  further  on,  another, 
"God,  looking  down,  confounded  all  their  host,"  followed  by  the  bold  and 
graphic  air,  "  Wave  from  wave,  congealed  with  wonder,  stood,  a  crystal 
wall,  asunder" ;  all  given  in  majestic  tone  and  style  by  ]\Ir.  Whitney. 

In  the  Second  Part,  after  the  great  opening  chorus  (the  Song  of  Moses), 
comes  a  duet  for  sopranos,  "The  Lord  is  my  strength,"  a  musing  minor 
strain,  begun  by  one  voice  after  the  other,  canon-like,  in  successive  frag- 
ments, truly  beautiful  and  quaint,  the  voices  joining  in  exulting,  bird -like- 
triplets  near  the  end,  and  carefully  and  nicely  sung  by  Mme.  Rudersdorfi"  and 
Mrs.  West,  though  in  quality  their  voices  are  not  very  sympathetic.  A  little 
further  and  we  come  to  the  great  duet  of  basses,  "The  Lord  is  a  man  of 
war,"  which  they  say  was  begun  badly,  but  which  leaves  on  our  mind  as  a 
whole  the  impression  of  very  admirable  singing  on  the  part  (equally)  of  Mr. 
J.  P.  Winch  and  Mr.  Whitney.  This  piece  pleased  so  well  that  it  required 
firmness  to  refuse  a  repetition.  In  the  trying  air,  "  The  enemy  said,  I  will 
pursue,"  Mr.  Cummings  gave  further  i^roof  of  his  intelligent,  chaste,  manly 
declamation,  giving  the  latter  part,  -I  will  draw  my  sword,"  with  fine 
energy.  The  soprano  air,  which  follows  it,  "Thou  didst  blow,"  is  quite 
peculiar  (as  it  was  to  most  entirely  novel)  in  its  half-declamatory,  half -florid 
structure,  and  very  difficult,  giving  opportunity,  however,  for  great  dramatic 
coloring,  which  Mme.  Rudersdorfi"  improved  like  a  true  artist,  though  it  did 
not  present  her  voice  always  to  the  best  advantage.  The  duet  for  soprana 
and  tenor,  "Thou  in  thy  mercy,"  is  a  quiet,  heart-felt  strain,  full  of  the 
sweet  sense  of  mercy  and  deliverance,  and  w^as  sung  with  fit  expression. 
There  remains  only  the  air,  "  Thou  shalt  bring  them  in,"  a  simple,  tranquil, 
trustful  melody,  in  low  tones,  where  Miss  Sterling's  voice  was  very  rich,  and 
simply,  beautifully  sung. 

Now  of  the  great  "  mountain  chain  "  of  choruses  (forming  twenty-eight  out 
of  the  original  thirty-five  numbers  of  the  work),  it  Avould  require  a  description 
of  them  all  to  tell  how  well  or  far  from  well  each  one  was  sung.    Most  of  them 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  303 

are  double  choruses,  most  of  them  very  difficult,  and  some  of  them  are  long. 
The  opening  double  chorus,  which  is  a  very  grand  one,  as  it  were  a  great 
choral  overture  or  prelude  to  the  whole,  "And  the  children  of  Israel  sighed," 
was  impressively  rendered.  The  four-part  fugue,  "  They  loathed  to  drink," 
with  its  strangely  characteristic  theme,  expressing  the  sense  of  '-loathing" 
by  the  interval  of  the  "  extreme  flat  seventh,"  was  perhaps  not  absolutely 
sure  and  true  in  intonation,  yet  the  intricate  movement  of  the  parts  was  on 
the  whole  clear  and  efiective.  A  difficulty,  more  in  the  single  than  in  the 
double  choruses,  must  have  been  experienced  by  the  singers  from  the  way  in 
which  they  Avere  placed,  divided  as  they  were  into  two  choral  bodies  at  oppo- 
site sides  of  the  stage,  so  that  many  who  were  singing  the  same  part  were 
separated  from  each  other  by  the  whole  w^idth  of  the  hall,  and  could  hardly 
hear  or  feel  each  other.  Moreover  they  had  rehearsed  it  only  once  in  that 
place  and  from  those  seats ;  could  the  stage  arrangement  be  made  permanent, 
rounding  that  end  of  the  hall  into  a  convenient,  graceful  amphitheatre,  so 
that  the  rehearsals  could  take  place  there,  the  difficulty  would  be  greatly 
remedied,  for  all  would  get  to  feel  at  home  in  the  situation  before  it  came  to 
a  public  performance.  How  aptly  the  ••  frog  "  air  followed  upon  this  chorus ! 
The  double  chorus  about  "all  manner  of  flies"  was  quite  effective,  and  the 
fine  divisions  of  the  violins  made  the  suggestion  very  vivid.  The  grand 
announcement,  "He  spake  the  word."  would  have  been  still  grander,  had 
Mendelssohn  (whose  arrangement  of  the  score  was  used)  known  of  the 
three  trombone  parts  which  Handel  actually  wrote  for  this  and  similar  pas- 
sages, and  left  on  a  separate  sheet,  which  has  since  been  embodied  in  the 
score  in  the  complete  Leipsic  edition  of  Handel's  works  now  in  course  of 
publication.  "  He  gave  them  hailstones  "  was  the  sensation  of  the  evening  ; 
it  was  magnificently  sung;  ."./?re  mingled  with  the  hail,"  /.  e.,  it  was  sung 
with  spirit;  and  all  parts,  orchestral  and  vocal,  "ran  along"  with  such  a 
crisp  and  positive  precision,  that  the  scene  was  real.  This  was  too  good  to 
pass  off"  with  one  hearing,  and  the  encore  had  to  be  granted.  The  strange, 
sombre  modulations  of  ' '  He  sent  a  thick  darkness  "  were  palpable  if  not 
precise;  and  the  "smiting"  chorus,  though  here  and  there  a  little  timid  irt 
attack,  held  attention  breathless  by  its  startling  and  relentless  force.  The 
pastoral  simplicity  and  sweetness  of  ••  But  as  for  his  people,  he  led  theiik 
forth  like  sheep,"  was  smoothly,  evenly,  and  beautifully  expressed. 

■|  hat  there  should  have  been  some  signs  of  unsteadiness,  some  blurred  and 
wavering  outline  here  and  there  in  such  a  long  stretch  of  trying  and  fatiguing 
choral  work,  was  to  be  expected,  nor  can  it  be  otherwise  until  the  same: 
singers  shall  have  performed  it  several  times  in  public;  new  singing  robes,, 
especially  such  regal  ones,  must  be  vorn,  to  feel  at  ease  in  them.  These 
symptoms  of  constraint  and  insecurity  were  mostly  noticeable  in  such  intri- 
cate poh^phonic  mazes  as  "He  led  them  through  the  deep,  as  through  a 
wilderness."  Here  they  were  in  the  woods  indeed.  Eight  voice  parts  (to  say 
nothing  of  the  instrumental  parts),  all  with  imitative,  yet  differing  frag- 
ments of  melodic  runs  and  turns,  heading  so  many  ways,  pausing  and  begin- 
ning each  so  fitfully  and  frequently,  and  yet  all  bound  to  strictest  unity  of 
plan,  were  surely  involved  in  a  task  that  might  well  be  bewildering  to  them- 
selves; and  even  should  they  thrid  the  labyrinth  ever  so  steadily  and  coolly, 
to  the  average  listener,  with  ear  untrained  to  musical  intricacies  of  this  sort, 
it  would  still  sound  bewildering,  as  doubtless  Handel  meant  it  should,  though 


304  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

■with  clear  hint  enough  of  a  divine  leading  all  the  while.  In  this,  and  a  few 
more  such  fugued  double  choruses  ("Thy  right  hand,  O  Lord,"  "Thou 
sentest  forth  thy  wrath,  which  consumed  them  as  stubble,'"  etc.),  there  may 
have  been  some  blur  or  faltering,  but  not  always  really  so  much  as  there 
seemed  to  be,  for  the  unfarailiarity  of  the  general  ear  with  movements  of  so 
intricate  a  structure  must  be  taken  into  the  account. 

The  same  qualification  must  apply  also  to  certain  criticisms  upon  another 
score,  that  of  seeming  discords,  or  imperfect  chords;  for  more  than  once, 
emboldened  by  the  grandeur  of  these  subjects,  Handel  used  such  freely;  his 
sure  instinct  told  him  that  nothing  commonplace  would  do ;  and,  once  rightly 
apprehended,  these  exceptional  eftects  are  very  grand;  not  all  the  discord 
must  be  charged  to  the  singers. 

Some  of  the  great  pictorial  passages,  however,  those  phrases  of  two  or  three 
bars  which  engrave  themselves  indelibly  upon  the  mind  as  complete,  awe-in- 
spiring pictures  ("  The  floods  stood  upright,"  "  the  depths  were  congealed," 
where  a  new  chill  strikes  through  the  tones  each  time  they  are  repeated  in  an 
altered  key,  "  shall  melt  away,"  ••  shall  be  as  still  as  a  stone,"  etc.),  made  their 
impression  in  a  way  that  will  not  be  forgotten.  Then  there  are  certain  great 
broad  choral  sentences,  or  proclamations,  in  eight  parts  of  course,  brief  and 
commanding,  which  introduce  the  more  elaborate  descriptions,  such  as,  "  He 
rebuked  the  Red  Sea,  and  it  was  dri-ed  up,"  "  And  Isr.iel  saw  that  great 
work,"  the  introduction  to  *'  The  horse  and  his  rider  " :  of  these  the  effect  was 
sublime,  almost  appalling.  Tlie  more  peculiarly  ecclesiastical  choruses,  in 
Alia  hreve  rhythm  ("And  I  will  exalt  him."  etc.),  evidently  modelled  upon 
the  old  Church  of  England  service  music,  tracing  its  lineage  to  Palestrina, 
of  course  are  not  calculated  to  flatter  the  popular  ear,  and  may  seem  dull  to 
many  who  admire  "Elijah,"  but  they  are  solemn  and  impressive,  and  they 
bring  repose  at  needful  moments  in  the  midst  of  the  exciting  splendors  of 
that  mighty  choral  and  orchestral  magic-lantern,  which  in  every  image  which 
it  casts  upon  the  wall  (of  darkness)  awes  you  with  the  vivid  likeness  of  a 
startling  miracle.  Verily  Handel  knew  what  he  was  about  when  he  put  in 
the  pieces  Miiich  we  children  fancy  to  be  dull ! 

Our  .possibly  too  trivial)  simile  reminds  us  of  what  we  once  witnessed  in 
Berlin  at  Christmas  time,  when  certain  artists  arranged  an  exhibition  of 
transparencies,  admirable  copies  of  great  master  works  of  sacred  painting, 
and  between  the  pictures,  as  we  sat  in  the  dark  room,  musing  on  what  we 
had  seen,  there  would  resound  a  strain  of  solemn  music  from  a  choir  invis- 
ible, the  celebrated  Dom-chor;  is  it  not  just  what  Handel  has  here  done,  to 
rest,  not  dissipate  the  mind,  between  his  more  stupendous  pictures? 

We  should  speak  of  the  Song  of  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel,  which 
begins  and  ends  the  Second  Part  sul)limely,  as  one  of  the  triumphs  of  this 
performance ;  just  alluding  by  the  way  to  the  pregnant  suggestion  of  those 
introductory  chords  in  the  orchestra,  where  the  chord  of  each  tone  of  the 
diatonic  scale  is  sounded  in  succession,  through  its  several  inversions,  as  if 
preluding  on  a  world  harp,  trying  all  its  strings,  preparatory  to  a  universal 
song.  In  the  intricacies  of  "  Tne  horse  and  his  rider"  the  singers  had  an 
arduous  task,  but  they  "triumphed  gloriously."  Where  it  returns  at  the 
end,  led  in  by  Miriam's  noble  recitative  and  exhortation,  "Sing  ye  to  the 
Lord."  to  the  height  and  grandeur  of  which  Mme.  Rudersdorft"  was  equal,  it 
justifies  itself  by  the  triumphant  true  ring  of  its  enduring  quality:  and  again 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  305 

the  long  tasked  voices  had  vitality  enough  to  bear  them  bravely  through.  Their 
leader's  animating  sign  seemed  present  everywhere,  from  tirst  to  last  of  the 
■whole  work ;  and,  like  strong  swimmers,  very  few  gave  out  before  they  reached 
the  shore.  It  was  indeed  a  noble  eftbrt  of  the  seven  hundred,  rewarded 
by  the  close  attention  and  delight  of  nearly  all  that  numerous  audience; 
and  it  must  have  gladdened  the  heart  of  Carl  Zerrahn  to  feel  that  the  severe 
and  patient  study  through  which  he  had  so  many  nights  conducted  them  and 
cheered  them  on,  had  wrought  out  anything  so  near  to  victory,  — the  begin- 
ning of  sure  victor}'  it  may  be  called,  so  surely  as  the  eflbrt  in  the  same  spirit 
shall  be  followed  up.  The  orchestra,  so  far  as  our  memory  serves  us,  did 
its  work  well  too ;  and  the  great  organ  (though  only  in  part  available,  being 
still  in  the  process  of  '•  tuning  up  "to  "  concert  pitch,"  —  heu  x>risca  fides  !) 
did,  under  Mr.  Lang's  skilful  and  judicious  treatment,  solidly  subsidize  the 
deep  foundation  harmonies  and  swell  the  volume  and  extend  the  background 
of  the  whole  Handelian  tone  architecture. 

Fourth  Day.    Friday,  May  12.    The  eveuiDg  was  given  to  rehearsal 
of  the  Passion  MxLsic.     The  afternoon  concert  was  as  follows  :  — 

Overture  to  the  Hindoo  Legend,  ••  Sakuntala"    .        .         .         Goldmark. 

Songs,     a.     '  •  Canzonetta " Mozart. 

b.     ■•  Es  war  ein  Konig  in  Thule  "  .         ,         .         LiszL 

Miss  Sterling. 
Grand  Recitative  and  Aria,  "  Deeper  and  deeper  still,"  and 

"  Waft  her,  angels,  to  the  skies,"  from  •' Jephtha"        .        Handel. 
Mr.  Cummings. 
Unfinished  Symphony Schubert. 


The  Ninth  (or  "  Choral  ")  Symphony,  in  D  minor,  Op.  125. 

(Comp.  1822-3) Beethoven. 

The  first  part  of  this  programme  was  too  long  to  usher  in  the 
Choral  Symphony.  Moreover  it  was  heavy  ;  the  Sakuntala  overture, 
with  all  its  beauties,  being  lengthy,  surfeiting,  and  sombre,  and  it 
was  not  discreet  to  let  a  smaller  symphony,  even  the  lovely  "  un- 
finished" one  of  Schubert,  step  in  immediately  before  the  giant  mas- 
terpiece of  Beethoven.  Mr.  Cummings's  Handelian  aria  was  in  good 
keeping  with  that,  and  admirably  sung  ;  so  was  Mozart's  well-known 
canzonetta  "  To  Chloe  "  ;  but  Liszt's  not  very  musical  setting  of  the 
Goethe  ballad  was  rather  out  of  place.  It'  was  a  new  proof  of  the 
vitalit}',  the  inspiration  of  the  '' Jo}'"  Symphony,  that,  after  we 
already  felt  satiety,  and  with  the  prospect  of  its  great  length  before 
us,  a  few  bars  of  the  opening  orchestral  movement  wrought  such 
mai*vellous  refreshment,  and  that  the  lengthening  procession  of  beau- 
tiful and  wonderful  ideas  kept  heart,  soul,  and  sense  alive  and  full  of 
rapture  to  the  end.  The  Ninth  Symphony  had  at  last  come  to  mean 
something  in  this  community.     Our  musicians  liked  to  play  it ;  our 


306     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

chorus  singers  never  were  more  happy  than  when  they  had  a  call  to 
sing  it,  terrible  as  the  task  once  seemed,  and  trying  as  the  voice 
parts  are,  ranging  at  a  height  which  nothing  but  a  certain  lift  of  joint 
enthusiasm  enabled  them  to  carry  and  to  hold.  This  time  the  work 
went  better  as  a  whole  than  it  did  three  years  before.  The  chorus 
sang  more  surely  and  more  easily,  the  natural  result  of  practice  and 
familiarity.  The  orchestra  was  admirable.  The  quartet  of  solo 
voices,  although  it  lacked  Parepa's  all-sufficient  and  unfaltering 
soprano,  was  on  the  whole  the  best  that  we  had  ever  had.  Mrs.  H. 
M.  "Smith's  musical,  clear  soprano  was  sure,  true,  telling,  well  sus- 
tained ;  Miss  Sterlings  contralto  b}^  its  weight  was  always  felt ;  Mr. 
Cummings  in  the  tenor  was  invaluable,  lending  a  new  charm  and. 
completeness  to  the  whole  ;  and  Mr.  Rudolphsen,  then  in  excellent 
condition,  delivered  that  most  difficult  opening  recitative  for  the  bass, 
the  exhortation  which  brings  in  the  voices,  as  well  as  his  trying  pas- 
sages in  the  quartet  (in  that  almost  impossible  qundrunle  cadenza  for 
instance)  in  a  manner  too  artistic  to  escape  the  recognition  of  exact- 
ing connoisseurs.  And  so  with  the  last  symphony  of  Beethoven 
closed  another  climax  of  the  Festival,  —  but  not  the  last  one. 

Fifth  Day.  Saturday^  May  13.  Three  performances.  At  noon 
an  organ  concert,  at  which  Mr.  B.  J.  Lang  performed  the  following 
programme  :  — 

1.  Fantaisie  in  G Bach. 

2.  Prelude  in  E  flat Bach. 

3.  Fugue  in  B  flat Schumann. 

4.  Improvisation. 

5.  Sonata  in  B  flat Mendelssohn. 

The  fourth  and  last  orchestral  and  vocal  concert  occupied  the  after- 
noon. It  opened  with  a  brilliant  performance  of  "Wagner's  overture 
to  Tannhduser.  Next  came  the  noble  recitative  and  aria,  "  Non  piu 
di  fiori,"  from  Mozart's  La  Clemenza  di  Tdo,  which  few  could  sing 
more  nobly,  with  more  delicate  expression,  than  Miss  Adelaide  Phil- 
lipps  sang  it,  with  the  fine  obbU'gato  accompaniment  by  Mr.  Weber  on 
the  clarinet.  The  charming  pastoral  adagio  and  andante  from  Beet- 
hoven's Prometheus  ballet  followed,  very  delicately  rendered,  espe- 
cially the  'cello  solo.  Then  came  the  exquisite  Chopin  concerto  in  F 
minor  (only  the  middle  and  last  movement,  to  the  general  regret), 
played  with  taste  and  feeling  by  Miss  Anna  Mehlig.  The  glorious 
old  C-minor  Symphony  of  Beethoven  (Boston's  first  love  in  symphony) 
worthily  closed  the  series. 

In  the  eveniiig  the  Festival  reached  its  highest  climax.  Then  at 
last  the  long-deferred  hope  and  aspiration  of  a  year  or  two  past  were 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  307 

partly  realized  in  the  actual  production  of  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  Passion  Music.  The  presentation,  and  successfulh',  though  only 
of  selections  from  perhaps  the  greatest  monumental  work  in  the 
whole  history  of  sacred  music,  —  Sebastian  Bach's  setting  of  the 
Passion  of  our  Lord  according  to  the  gospel  of  St.  Matthew,  —  was 
the  highest  mark  yet  reached  in  the  whole  history  of  our  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society  and  of  choral  efforts  in  this  country.  It  was  essen- 
tially the  newest  thing  of  the  week  ;  the  freshest  musical  experience 
that  Boston  had  enjoyed  for  years.  Is  it  too  much  to  say  that  it  led 
us  farther  into  the  inmost  sanctuary  of  the  divine  life  in  tones  than 
any  revelation  thereof  that  had  been  vouchsafed  to  us  before  ?  The 
saddest  of  all  music  (though  never  gloomily  oppressive),  yet  how 
uplifting  and  inspiring  I  Accepting  and  embracing  sorrow  with  all 
the  fervor  which  tones  only  can  express,  it  is  only  that  we  may  find 
in  it,  what  Beethoven  in  his  way  also  found,  beauty  and  '•  Joy  "  for- 
ever !  Could  we,  then,  listen  for  an  hour  or  more  to  a  theme  so 
serious,  so  seriously  treated,  and  yet  feel  a  strange  serenity  and 
sweetness  all  the  while,  a  renewal  of  hope,  a  new  sense  of  the  worth 
and  interest  of  life?  Verily  with  most  listeners  it  was  so.  "We  think 
we  describe  the  average  (of  course  not  unanidious)  impression  made 
on  that  great  audience.  Many  went  there  to  whose  minds  the  very 
name  of  Bach  had  been  to  that  hour  a  bugbear  ;  a  goodly  number  of 
them  came  away  enamoured  of  him,  longing  to  hear  more.  Some, 
doubtless,  went  to  sneer  ;  some  of  them  perhaps  persevered  in  that, 
doggedly  clinging  to  their  own  conceit ;  but  more  went  home  to 
praise.  By  far  the  greater  number  had  been  taught  to  fear  a  weari- 
some display  of  musical  '^  learning";  quaint  and  frigid  lengths  of 
curled,  conventional,  and  by-gone  melody,  far  from  melodious  to  mod- 
ern ears  ;  and  an  intolerable  heaviness  of  fugue  and  counterpoint, 
mere  "  intellectual  arithmetic,"  without  a  quickening  ray  of  soul  or 
genius  or  a  throb  of  real  feeling,  —  a  passion  passionless,  in  short. 
What  was  their  surprise  —  or  would  have  been  if  they  had  known 
•enough  —  to  find  that  there  was  not  a  single  fugue  in  all  of  it,  with 
just  the  one  short  exception  of  the  splendid  chorus  by  which  all  were 
overwhelmed  with  wonder  and  delight,  "  Ye  lightnings,  ye  thunders," 
■and  which  had  to  be  repeated  ! 

It  would  be  curious  could  we  reproduce  here  the  various  testimonies 
of  the  public  journals,  which,  taken  together,  may  be  supposed  to 
fairly  represent  the  average  impression  —  the  "public  opinion,"  so 
to  speak — regarding  that  experiment.  Any  good  lawyer,  putting 
that  evidence  together,  sifting  and  weighing,  making  all  due  allow- 
-ance  for  degrees  of  culture  and  of    preparation,  for  prejudice  and 


308     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

ignorance,  for  weak  and  vague  enthusiasm,  for  blind  echo  of  author- 
ity, ''fashion,"  guess-work,  and  what  not,  will  say  that  it  contains 
abundant  proof  that  to  the  mass  of  that  audience  what  they  heard 
then  of  the  Passion  3fnsic  was  a  new  revelation  of  sublimity  and 
beauty,  of  rich  humanity  and  tenderness,  of  most  profound,  sincere 
religious  feeling  ;  that  not  only  were  the  choruses  and  chorals  felt  to 
be  of  surpassing  fulness,  depth,  and  pathos,  and  of  a  kind  that 
seemed  original  and  fresh ;  but  that  the  instrumentation,  also,  of  the 
double  orchestra  possessed  a  singular  and  fascinating  fitness,  enhan- 
cing, vivifying  every  beauty,  every  apt  expression,  as  if  it  too  were 
all  alive  and  human,  and  all  in  a  style  they  never  heard  before,  tone 
combinations  altogether  novel,  yet  never  betraying  an}'  motive  but 
the  intrinsic  and  religious  motive  of  the  whole  work  ;  also,  that  even 
the  long  arias  with  all  their  quaintness,  and  the  wonderfully  human 
recitatives,  charmed  by  their  musical  and  sympathetic  truth  and 
beauty  ;  while  more  than  once  were  they  surprised  by  things  that 
sounded  strangely  modern  in  the  best  sense.  Indeed,  the  music 
made  its  mark,  and  it  awakened  a  desire  which  nothing  short  of  the 
whole  work  would  satisfy  again. 

Under  the  circumstances  it  was  the  part  of  prudence,  no  doubt,  to 
begin  then  with  selections  ;  though  several  of  the  pieces  necessarily 
lost  something  of  their  meaning  and  their  beauty  by  being  taken  out 
of  their  connection  with  the  whole.  Impressive  as  the  few  separate 
choruses  and  arias  were,  no  one  could  fully  feel  their  power  and 
beauty  who  had  not  studied  the  entire  work  as  one.  The  selections, 
on  the  whole,  were  made  with  judgment,  mainh*  from  the  most  strik- 
ing and  most  practicable  numbers,  including  fair  examples  of  each 
kind  :  the  narrative  recitative,  the  recitative  in  character,  the  formal 
aria  (preceded  sometimes  by  accompanied  cnntabile  recitative),  the 
harmonized  choral,  and  the  grand  chorus  (often  double)  :  enough  of 
it,  indeed,  in  the  First  Part,  to  preserve  something  of  the  progress  of 
the  mournful  story.  The  various  elements  which  enter  into  the  com- 
position of  the  text,  too,  were  in  some  sense  represented  :  as  (1)  the 
gospel  narrative,  recited  by  the  tenor,  called  Evangelist,  with  the 
usual  dry  chord  accompaniment.  This  recitative  is  so  beautiful  and 
so  expressive  in  its  whole  series,  each  phrase,  each  tone  of  music  so 
close  to  each  sentiment  and  image,  na}^  to  each  phrase,  word,  sylla- 
ble even,  of  the  text,  that  but  a  faint  idea  of  it  could  be  formed 
from  the  very  few  fragmentary  specimens.  Yet  even  these  failed  not 
to  interest  by  their  purity  of  style,  their  obvious  fitness  and  felicity. 
Mr.  Wm.  J.  Winch  delivered  them  in  clear,  true  tones,  simph'  and 
chastely,  and  with  a  fair  degree  of  expression.     They  were  merely 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  309 

a  few  sentences  connecting  the  words  of  the  betrayer  and  betrayed  in 
the  scene  of  the  Supper ;  a  few  more  where  the  Master's  "'  soul  is  sor- 
rowful" at  Gethsemaue  ;  and  again,  telling  how  he  ''  fell  down  upon 
his  face  and  prayed,"  as  introductory  to  the  one  bass  aria  selected. 

(2.)  Of  what  we  may  call  the  character  recitative,  or  dialogue,  the 
words  of  Jesus  of  course  are  of  chief  importance  ;  and  here  the  pious- 
heart  and  genius  of  the  musician,  with  utmost  reverence  and  tender- 
ness, have  conceived  and  rendered  every  tone  so  worthily,  that  it  would 
seem  actually  caught  from  the  dear  Master's  lips.  Possibly  all  did 
not  notice,  though  they  must  have  felt,  the  fine,  mysterious  thrill 
where,  whenever  Jesus  begins  speaking,  soft  tones  from  the  quartet 
of  strings  flow  in  to  weave  a  halo  round  his  sacred  head  and  make 
the  very  air  divine.  The  only  parts  selected  were  :  first,  from  the 
scene  of  the  Last  Supper,  those  which  relate  to  Judas,  the  blessing  of 
the  bread,  etc.  There  is  a  solemn,  sovereign  majesty  and  tenderness 
in  every  tone  of  this  recitative  ;  at  the  words  ''  Take  and  eat,"  and 
•'  Drink  ye  all,"  the  phrase  becomes  melodic,  and  ihe  instruments 
combine  to  make  the  voice  and  the  whole  scene  more  present;  then, 
farther  on,  the  words  ''  My  soul  is  sorrowful  unto  death"  ;  and  again 
where  he  prays  that  the  cup  may  pass  from  him.  This  is  for  a  bass 
voice,  and  of  course  demands  a  noble  one,  and  also  more  than  voice 
or  skill.  Mr.  TThituey  delivered  it  with  dignity  of  style  and  simple, 
true  expression,  if  not  always  with  all  the  sympathetic  delicacy  of 
which  it  is  capable  ;  indeed  that  would  require  a  singer  of  at  once  a 
finer  and  a  more  commanding  stamp  than  we  have  known. 

(3.)  The  chorals, —  people's  tunes, —  like  our  psalm  tunes  (but  so 
much  more  musical  and  from  the  heart  of  deep  experience),  by 
which  Bach  intended  the  participation  of  the  worshipping  congrega- 
tion in  the  Passion  service.  These  Lutheran  melodies  he  has  harmo- 
nized for  four  parts,  over  and  over  again,  each  time  with  a  new 
expression  suited  to  the  new  occasion,  with  such  truth  of  feeling  and 
such  perfect  art  as  to  elicit  all  their  meaning,  all  that  is  implied  in 
them,  and  make  their  beauty  ever  fresh  and  incorruptible.  Of  the 
dozen  which  he  introduces  in  the  Passion,  three  were  sung.  One,  the 
first  of  all,  after  Jesus  has  foretold  his  crucifixion,  — 

"  Say,  sweete^it  Jesii,  what  law  Thou  hast  broken. 
To  briug  on  Thee  the  dreadful  sentence  spoken,"  etc.,  — 

was  used  to  open  the  performance,  rather  abruptly  to  be  sure,  but 
nobly  and  impressively,  at  once  arresting  a  profound  attention.  The 
richness  of  the  sad  and  sombre  harmony,  supported  only  by  the 
instruments,  vrhich  play  the  same  parts  with  the  voices  :  the  Individ- 


310     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

ual  movement  of  the  voice  parts,  —  four  interwoven  strains  of  mel- 
od}',  —  each  helping  the  expression  of  the  whole,  made  itself  felt  by 
all.  The  public  yielded  to  the  choral  unconditionally ;  and  that 
was  a  good  beginning.  Still  more  captivated  were  they  by  the  two 
which  came  later,  '*  I  will  stay  here  beside  Thee"  (after  the  predic- 
tion of  Peter's  denial,  but  standing  in  the  selections  wholly  by  itself), 
and  the  same  tune  again  with  other  harmony,  *'  O  head,  all  bruised 
and  wounded."  For  all  three  of  them  were  sung  with  fine  precision 
and  expression  by  the  seven  hundred  voices,  so  that  it  all  sounded 
broad  and  full,  at  once  majestical  and  sweet. 

(4.)  Other  specimens  vouchsafed  to  us,  naturally  of  the  most  in- 
teresting and  important,  belong  to  what  may  be  termed  the  reflective 
element  in  the  Passion  Music.  It  is  the  more  subjective  portion  of 
the  text  and  music,  —  the  comments,  meditations,  prayers,  confes- 
sions, now  of  the  ideal  church  or  congregation  of  believers,  now  of 
the  individual  pious  heart  filled  with  warm  personal  love  and  sympa- 
thy for  Christ,  who  in  almost  every  instance  in  this  work  is  called  by 
the  human  name  Jesus.  These  are  interspersed  all  along,  prompted 
at  various  stages  of  the  narrative,  and  take  the  forms  of  chorus  and 
of  aria,  accompanied  in  polyphonic  harmony  with  independent  fig- 
ures and  suggestions  by  the  orchestra.  The  arias  are  very  numerous, 
elaborate,  commonly  preceded  by  a  verse  of  rhymed  melodic  recita- 
tive, and  are  for  each  of  the  four  kinds  of  voices.  The  clwruses  (of 
this  class)  are  few,  but  very  great,  serving  for  grand,  solemn  opening 
and  closing  of  the  two  parts.  More  numerous,  and  of  the  sweetest, 
deepest,  tenderest  of  all  the  music,  are  the  combinations  of  the  two, 
arias  with  chorus,  in  which  Bach  shows  some  of  his  most  character- 
istic and  imaginative  creative  power.  Perhaps  the  greatest  chorus 
of  this  kind  (unfortunately-  not  given  among  that  evening's  speci- 
mens) is  that  which  Bach  has  used  for  the  overture,  as  it  were,  or 
^ate  of  entrance  (grander  than  Dante's  to  the  Inferno)  to  the  solemn 
and  heart-rending  spectacle.  It  is  a  double  chorus,  with  double 
orchestral  introduction  and  accompaniment:  ''Come,  ye  daughters, 
weep  for  anguish  "  (at  the  sight  which  ye  shall  see),  in  w^hich  instru- 
ments and  voices  seem  pressing,  crowding  forward,  like  a  vast  mul- 
titude with  anxious  hearts,  yet  irresisdblj'  attracted,  all  moving  on 
in  long-drawn  figurative  phrases  ;  the  second  chorus  asking,  "  Who?" 
"  Where?"  "  How?  "  the  first  replying  ;  until  soon  a  third  choir  in 
unison  (boj^s)  joins  in  with  the  long  tones  of  a  choral,  line  by  line, 
intermittently,  "O  Lamb  of  God";  and  finally  both  choruses  and 
both  orchestras  are  brought  together  to  swell  the  mighty  current  of 
the  leadins  theme.     Nothino"  in  music  can  be  more  sublime  ;  noth- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  311 

ing,  perhaps,  more  difficult  to  execute.  Mr.  Laug.  by  the  way, 
showed  a  proper  sense  of  the  situation  by  making  his  opening  voUin- 
tary  on  the  organ  out  of  a  portion  of  that  orchestral  prelude. 

But,  if  we  lost  the  opening,  we  had  the  unspeakably  beautiful  and 
sacred  Schhiss-Chor,  or  concluding  double  chorus,  the  parting  hymn 
of  the  disciples  weeping  at  the  Master's  tomb.  What  other  art, 
what  poetry,  has  ever  yet  expressed  so  much  of  grief,  of  tender, 
spiritual  love,  of  faith  and  peace,  of  the  heart's  heaven  smiling 
through  tears,  as  this  tone  elegy,  —  at  once  an  inspiration  of  pro- 
foundest  pious  feeling,  and  the  ripest  masterpiece  of  complete  art? 

So  f<Jioidd  the  Passion  3Tusk  close,  and  not  with  fugue  of  praise 
and  triumph  like  an  oratorio.  How  easily  and  evenly  the  music 
flows,  a  broad,  rich,  deep,  pellucid  stream,  swollen  as  by  countless 
rills  from  every  loving,  bleeding,  and  believing  heart  in  a  redeemed 
humanity  !  How  full  of  a  sweet  secret  comfort,  even  triumph,  is 
this  heavenly  farewell !  It  is  the  "  peace  which  passeth  understand- 
ing." "Rest  Thee,  .sofily !"  is  the  burthen  of  the  song;  one  chorus 
sings  it  and  the  other  echoes,  ^'■Softly  rest."'  Then  both  together 
swell  the  strain.  ^Slauy  times  as  this  recurs,  not  only  in  the  voices, 
but  in  the  introduction  and  numerous  interludes  of  the  exceedingly 
full  orchestra,  which  sounds  as  human,  sympathetic,  and  spontaneous 
as  if  it  too  had  breath  and  conscious  feeling,  you  still  crave  more  of 
it,  for  it  is  as  if  your  soul  were  bathed  in  new  life  inexhaustible. 
The  middle  portion,  too,  before  the  return  of  the  main  subject,  and 
which  is  more  discursive  (the  lines,  "  Long,  ye  weary  limbs,"  etc.,  to 
'•  Closed  in  bliss  divine,"  etc),  is  wonderfully  beautiful,  and  shows 
in  how  high  and  free  a  range  of  pure  imagination  Bach  could  soar  in 
his  intensity  of  feeling.  {"  Want  of  said.''  forsooth  I)  —  This  cho- 
rus was  indeed  admirably  sung,  as  if  every  singer's  heart  were  in  it : 
and,  with  eight  vocal  parts  so  fully  manned,  and  blended  to  such 
purpose  by  the  master  soul  of  polyphony,  with  such  accompaniment 
of  double  orchestra  and  organ,  it  conveyed  a  sense  of  wealth  and 
fulness  such  as  no  combination  of  instruments  and  voices  had  ever 
given  us  before. 

First  in  order,  among  the  rejl^ctice  pieces  given  in  that  night's 
selection,  was  the  contralto  recitative  and  aria.  ''  Grief  and  pain." 
prompted  by  the  incident  of  the  woman  with  the  box  of  ointment,  — 
a  touching  melody,  with  slight,  but  tenderly  suggestive,  exquisite 
accompaniment,  —  simply  two  flutes,  in  thirds  and  sixths,  with  string 
-quartet  made  out  from  the  figured  bass  by  Franz.  It  was  well  suited 
to  the  rich  tones  of  Miss  Sterling,  who  sang  it  simply,  largely,  well, 
though  some  would  have  liked  a  little  more  dramatic  pathos. 


312  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDX    SOCIETY. 

One  of  the  happiest  selections  under  this  head  was  the  tenor  solo 
with  chorus  (recitative,  "  O  grief  !  "  and  aria,  "  I  '11  watch  with  my 
dear  Jesu  alw^ay,"  with  the  soft,  rich,  soothing  choral  response,  "  So 
slumber  shall  our  sins  befall").  To  each  intensely  pathetic  excla- 
mation of  the  recitative,  with  its  underground  of  not  less  eloquent 
accompaniment,  the  chorus  of  believers  respond  in  four-part  har- 
mony, subdued  and  serious,  self -accusing,  holding  up  in  several  new 
lights  the  choral  with  which  the  selections  opened.  Nothing  could 
be  more  beautiful,  unless  it  be  the  aria  which  sets  in  after  it,  in  a 
more  buo^^ant,  yet  moderate  tempo,  full  of  sweet  confidence.  The 
pregnant  melody  first  sings  itself  through  upon  the  oboe,  and  then  is 
taken  up  in  fragments  by  the  tenor  voices,  ''  I'll  watch,"  etc.,  while 
at  intervals  the  chorus,  soft  and  sweet,  and  evenly  diffused  like- 
summer  rain,  repeats,  "  So  slumber  shall,"  etc.,  then  stops  and  lis- 
tens partly  to  the  other  (kindred)  melody  of  solo  voice  and  oboe  ; 
the  latter,  like  a  silver  thread,  runs  through  the  whole.  In  the  tenor 
solo,  Mr.  Winch,  though  far  from  realizing  all  the  beauty  and  inte- 
rior meaning  of  the  music,  did  much  better  than  could  reasonably 
have  been  expected  of  one  just  entering  so  new  an  element.  The 
intervals  were  sure,  the  tones  true  and  musical,  the  style  manly  and 
honest.  The  only  fault  with  the  choral  responses  was  their  too  uni- 
form loudness. 

The  next  selection  followed  in  unbroken  sequence  :  the  recitative 
and  aria  for  bass  voice,  which  is  a  meditation  on  (or  application  of) 
the  prayer  of  Jesus  that  the  cup  might  pass  from  him.  The  air,. 
"Gladly  will  I,  all  resigning,"  etc  ,  is  full  of  beauty  and  resigned 
expression  ;  but  it  is  a  melody  of  so  elastic,  delicate  a  fibre,  that  it 
could  not  be  just  the  best  selection  for  Mr.  Whitney's  solid,  ponder- 
ous, majestic  manner.     It  is  Gothic,  so  to  speak,  while  he  was  Doric. 

And  now  came  (No.  33)  the  great  sensation  of  the  evening,  and 
the  most  startling  revelation  of  Bach's  wonderful  dramatic  power. 
Jesus  has  been  seized  and  led  away.  A  flute  and  oboe,  in  mournful,- 
quaint,  melodious  duet,  stand  out  from  the  deep,  sombre  background 
of  the  orchestra,  preluding  to,  and  then  accompanying  the  mingled 
lamentation  of  a  soprano  and  an  alto  solo,  "Alas  I  my  Jesu  now  is- 
taken."  As  they  sing  on  each  in  its  own  heart-broken,  long-drawn,. 
sobbing  strain,  lengthening  out  the  melodic  figures  in  grief's  unhur- 
ried and  involuntary  way,  the  sultry  atmosphere  is  ever  and  anon 
relieved  by  loud  bursts  from  the  indignant  chorus,  "  Leave  him  I 
bind  him  not."  "  Moon  and  stars  have  in  sorrow  night  forsaken," 
the  duet  continues.  ''Leave  him!"  thunders  again  the  chorus.. 
"  He  's  led  away  !    Ah  !    they  have  bound  him,  —  all  pity  banish'd,'^ 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  313 

-still  they  slug,  or  almost  wail  in  yet  more  long-drawn,  melting  ca- 
dence, when  suddenly  the  smothered  indignation  of  the  general 
breast  finds  full  vent  in  the  swift,  tremendous  double  chorus,  "  Ye 
lightnings,  ye  thunders,  in  clouds  are  ye  vanished?"  The  short, 
stern  motive  is  first  given  out  by  all  the  basses  ;  the  tenors  answer 
fugue-like,  while  the  deep  basses  of  the  orchestra  begin  to  roll  and 
rumble  ;  the  theme  goes  round  the  circle  of  parts  ;  the  roUing  move- 
ment takes  possession  of  the  vocal  basses  also ;  voices  echo  voices 
instantly  and  sharply,  like  clap  on  clap  of  thunder,  or  in  vivid  flashes, 
and  the  foundations  of  the  great  deep  seem  upheaved  in  foaming 
billows,  when  suddenly  there  -is  a  pause,  — a  moment  of  the  silence 
that  expresses  more  than  sound,  — and  then,  upon  the  major  of  the 
key  (heretofore  minor),  with  a  new  motive,  gathering  up  all  the 
forces  of  the  orchestra,  with  an  appalling  energy  and  splendor,  the 
storm  waxes  to  a  mighty  whirlwind,  as  quickly  over  as  it  suddenly 
came  on,  leaving  the  awed,  excited  hearer  listening  still  with  bated 
breath  :  — 

"  Burst  open,  O  fierce  flaming  caverus  of  Hell,  then  I 
Engulf  them,  devour  them, 

Destroy  them,  o'erwhelm  them, 
lu  wrathfullest  mood. 

O  blast  the  betrayer, 
The  murderous  brood !  " 

The  effect  was  overwhelming.  Such  a  rush  and  storm  of  harmony, 
such  vivid,  terrible  tone-painting,  such  startling  climax,  and  withal 
such  wonderful  sonority  and  wealth  of  tone  (for  to  Bach's  own  vocal 
and  instrumental  polyphony  Robert  Franz  had  added  the  brass  instru- 
ments, which  doubtless  Bach  himself  would  have  used  in  our  day), 
were  a  new  sensation,  a  new  sense  of  sublimity,  to  that  audience, 
even  so  shortly  after  Handel's  "  Hailstorm  "  chorus.  But  even  if 
the  two  choruses  may  come  into  comparison,  think  how  unique  is 
Bach's  conception  in  making  such  a  chorus  the  necessary  sequel  and 
development  of  such  a  duet  I  —  for  the  two  pieces  must  be  taken 
together  as  one  scene,  one  dramatic  moment.  Doubtless  many  a 
person  has  puzzled  over  the  notes  of  that  duet,  and  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  it  looked  long-winded,  dull,  and  thankless  ;  but  when 
we  came  to  hpcir  it,  framed  in  all  the  subtle  beauty  of  the  instrumen- 
tation, and  with  a  live  singer,  well  at  home  in  Bach,  like  Mme. 
Eudersdorff,  to  put  life  into  it,  and  seconded  so  well  in  the  contralto 
by  Miss  Sterling,  all  were  charmed  by  it.  (The  little  choral  inter- 
ruptions, too,  Bach's  instinct  knew,  were  as  essential  to  the  musical 
<}harm  as  to  the  vividness  of  the  dramatic  scene.) 


314     HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY. 

From  the  Second  Part,  which  is  the  longer  of  the  two,  only  tw^o 
numbers,  in  addition  to  the  choral,  ''  O  Haupt  voll  Blut  iind  Wuuden." 
were  vouchsafed.  One  was  the  not  wholly  unfamiliar  alto  aria 
(eqnalh' well  suited  for  the  mezzo-soprano  voice),  "  Erbarme  dich, 
mein  Gott"  ("O  pardon  me,  my  God  ")^  with  the  beautiful  violin 
solo  (remarkably  well  played  by  Mr.  Listemann) .  The  string  quartet 
had  been  enriched  by  Franz  with  a  quartet  of  reeds  (clarinets  and 
bassoons),  delicatelv  eking  out  and  coloring  the  intrinsic  motives  of 
the  piece  to  render  Bach's  intention  the  more  palpable.  This  very 
broad,  sustained,  and  difficult  melody,  the  loveliest,  the  noblest, 
most  pathetic  in  the  whole  work,  wns  sung  by  Mme.  EudersdorfT 
with  great  feeling  and  expression,  bringing  it  home  to  most  hearts 
more  powerfully  than  when  it  had  been  sung  before,  though  in  a  less 
scrupulously  chaste  and  even  style  than  that  to  which  we  had  been 
accustomed,  so  that  the  strong  dramatic  accent  and  the  frequent 
breath-taking  seemed  at  first  a  little  strange  ;  but  she  breathed  a  new 
life  into  it,  and  even  the  violin  and  whole  accompaniment  seemed  to 
become  possessed  with  her  magnetic  spirit.  The  other  was  the  won- 
derful concluding  chorus,  of  which  we  have  already  spoken. 

Of  the  many  numbers  Avhich  were  not  presented  (nearlj-  two  thirds 
of  the  entire  work),  we  have  only  mentioned  the  one  most  important, 
the  opening  double  chorus.  There  will  come  another  opportunity  to 
speak  of  the  many  things  left  over  for  a  more  complete  performance, 
—  many  arias  for  all  kinds  of  voices  ;  several  great  choruses  ;  many 
smaller  ones,  such  as  the  stirring  and  excited  ones  both  of  the  disci- 
ples and  of  the  Jewish  multitude,  called  turbce ;  and  three  fourths  of 
the  chorals.  The  selections  given  formed  a  good  beginning  upon  a 
work  requiring  years  of  study.  The  performance,  for  a  first  attempt, 
was  altogether  creditable.  It  was  the  highest  mark  in  pure  artistic 
effort  which  the  old  Society  had  reached  thus  far.  IMore  familiar 
things  it  could  sing  better,  but  here  it  found  its  worthiest  and  highest 
task. 

To  eke  out  the  usual  full  measure  of  ihe  concert  a  shorter  novelty 
was  given,  —  Sir  Sterndale  Bennett's  oratorio,  or  rather  sacred  can- 
tata, The  Woman  of  Samaria.  Hnd  it  been  ever  so  good,  it  had 
hardly  a  fair  chance  after  Bach.  That  impression  remaining,  this 
was  gaslight  in  the  midst  of  sunshine  ;  at  least  it  sounded  tame  in 
comparison.  Its  best  power  is  shown  in  the  choral  and  orchestral 
writing.  The  instrumentation  abounds  in  delicate  felicities,  worthy 
indeed  of  the  romantic,  genial  composer  of  the  two  charming  over- 
tures, the  Xaiades  and  the  Wood  Nympli.  The  finest  impression 
made  in  the  whole  work  was  the  unaccompanied  quartet,  very  simple- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     315 

in  itself,  but  executed  to  perfectiou  by  the  four  principal  singers, 
Mine.  Rudersdorff,  Miss  Phillipps,  Mr.  Cummings,  and  Mr.  J.  F. 
Winch,  each  of  whom  sang  also  an  effective  aria.  All  the  choruses 
showed  a  practised  hand  in  contrapuntal  vocal  writing.  The  most 
satisfactorv,  perhaps,  was  the  figured  finale,  ''  Blessed  be  the  Lord." 
The  cantata  seemed  to  be  of  moderate  difficulty  compared  with  the 
great  tasks  of  the  Festival ;  and,  though  it  suffered  from  such  great 
neighborhood  as  Israel  and  the  Passion  JIu.nc,  it  did  not  suffer  in  the 
rendering. 

Sixth  (Last)  Day.  Sunrlay  Eveniiuj^  May  14.  The  Festival 
concluded  with  the  most  widely  known,  most  loved  of  oratorios, 
Handel's  Messiah;  and  the  hall  was  crammed  to  overflowing.  Sing- 
ers and  audience  both  came  to  it  naturally  a  good  deal  fatigued.  As 
far  as  one  could  judge  in  that  condition,  it  was  in  the  main  a  very 
good  performance,  but  not  up  to  the  most  proud  traditions  of  the  old 
Society.  Some  of  the  choruses,  however,  went  superbly.  Mme. 
Rudersdorff  had  to  claim  indulgence  on  account  of  a  severe  sore 
throat;  but  in  "  I  kuow  that  my  Redeemer  "  she  made  up  by  her 
inspiring  earnestness  and  fervor,  and  by  her  thorough  understanding, 
for  what  she  lacked  in  voice.  ''  Rejoice  greatly  "  was  less  suited  to 
her.  Mr.  Cummings  was  nearly  all  that  could  be  wished  in  the  tenor 
solos  ;  Mr.  Whitney  was  nobly  at  home  in  the  bass  ;  and  Mrs.  West 
shared  the  soprano  part  to  great  acceptance. 

And  so  ended  the  most  important,  the  most  nobly  planned  and 
worthily,  successfulh"  executed  festival  of  music  of  which  this  coun- 
try could  3^et  boast.  In  the  magnitude  and  richness  of  the  programme 
it  even  surpassed  most  festivals  abroad.  So  many  of  the  greatest 
works,  choral  and  orchestral,  in  one  week,  are  ver}'  seldom  heard. 
The  main  element  in  this  success,  throughout,  was,  by  general  consent, 
the  chorus  singing.  Never  before  had  the  foremost  oratorio  society 
of  America  been  in  such  excellent  condition.  The  number  of  voices 
was  full  large  enough  for  any  work,  —  perhaps  too  large  for  some  of 
the  choicer  tasks.  The  proportion  of  young  and  live  material  in  the 
regiment  (of  700  or  750)  had  been  very  much  increased  within  three 
years.  There  was  a  good  average  of  fine,  fresh,  musical,  and  telling 
voices.  Most  of  them  were  persons  who  could  read  music  readily, 
and  who  loved  good  music,  and  were  willing  to  spend  time  and  effort 
in  learning  to  sing  a  great  work  as  it  should  be  sung  ;  this  they  had 
shown  by  the  fidelity  and  zeal  with  which  they  followed  up  the  long 
and  frequent  series  of  rehearsals  necessary  to  such  a  Festival.  Of 
course,  there  was  still  room  for  improvement;  the  ''weeding  out" 
process,  the  elimination  of  "  dead  wood,"  in  so  large  an  army,  and 


316  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

SO  old  and  proud,  must  go  on  always,  and  fresh,  young  life'must  take 
its  place.     There  must  be  some  mode  of  honorable  retirement  (from 
active  service)  provided  for  those  whose  zeal,  and  love,  and  pride  in 
their  old  Society  have  outlived  their  voices.  And  the  lesson  has  vet  to 
be  learned  in  this  country,  regarding  all  such  enterprises,  that,  beyond 
the  point  of  sufficiency,  much  virtue  lies  in  limitation  of  numbers. 
Enough  is  as  good  as  a  feast.     In  our  fast  age,  there  is  too  much 
ambition  to  do  things  on  the  biggest  scale.     Could  we  only  select  the 
soundest,  choicest  portion  out  of  the  crowds  of  singers  whom  the 
teaching  of  music  in  the  public  schools  is  raising  up  for'us,  is  it  not 
obvious  that  a  chorus  of  500  or  even  400  voices  might  be  trained  to 
execute  the   oratorios  even  more  satisfactorily   than   700  or    1000? 
And  then,  for  certain  of  the  finest  tasks, — getting  to  be  the  most 
important  now,  since  the  old  repertoire  has  grown  so  familiar,  —  such 
tasks  as  the  cantatas,   passions,  etc.,   of  Bach,  —  is  not  the  sound 
Jieart-ivood,  the  nucleus  choir,  always  more  prepared  and  more  avail- 
able than  the  "  great  bodies  which  move  slowly,"  waiting  for  raw 
recruits  and  stragglers  to  catch  up?     Of  course,  for  certain  thino-s, 
for  certain  effects,  a  more  general   massing  of  forces  is  desirable  ; 
and  that  might  be  by  combination  of  several  less  bulky  organizations. 
There  is  no  denying,  however,  the  great  and  solid  progress  which 
the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  had  made.     And  it  was  due,  not  onlv 
to  the  increased  respect  for  music  in  our  whole  social  life  and  educa- 
tion, but  more  immediately  and  signally  to  inspiring  devotion,  wise 
counsel  and  suggestion,  practical  ability  and  unstinted  labor  on  the 
part  of  the  officers  of  the  Society  and  their  long-tried  and  trusted 
musical  director,   Mr.  Carl  Zerrahn.     The  latter  gentleman  showed 
himself  fully  equal  to  the  great  undertaking.     He  had  been  instant, 
in  season  and  out  of  season,  in  the  laying  out  of  the  work,  and  in 
the  preparation  of  himself  and  of  the  forces  under  ,him,  which  he 
wielded  with  such  inspiring  certaint}^  for  the  achievement  of  so  for- 
midable a  programme.     All  were  grateful  to  him,  and  seriously  won- 
dered whether  without  him  such  a  week  would   have  been  possible. 
Nor  could  we  overrate  the  general  obligation  to  the  energetic  and 
devoted  secretary,  Mr.  Loring  B.  Barnes,  who  in   all  that  concerns 
the  business  affairs  of  the  Society  had  been,  through  a  large  part  of 
his  seventeen  years  of  service,  its  mainspring   and   factotum,  as  it 
were,  and  who  was  since  gratefully  promoted  to  the   place  of  presi- 
dent.    Of  the  retiring  president.  Dr.  J.  Baxter  Upham,  who  had  so 
enviably  identified  himself  with  the  cause  of  musical  education  in  our 
community,  and  who  for  eleven  years  had  so  well  upheld  the  dignity, 
and  courtesy,  and  harmony  of  the  old  Society,  and  done  much  to 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  317 

raise  its  ideal  and  enlarge  its  scope,  well  might  the  Society  express 
its  appreciation,  as  it  did  in  the  annual  meeting,  in  a  series  of  warm 
and  grateful  resolutions. 

The  financial  result  of  the  Festival  was  not  proportioned  to  its 
excellence.  There  was  a  loss  of  about  $5,000,  so  that  a  ten  per 
cent  assessment  had  to  be  levied  on  the  subscribers  to  the  guaranty 
fund  of  $50,000.  And  again  the  year's  income  of  the  permanent 
fund  was  required  to  meet  the  year's  indebtedness.  At  a  meeting  of 
the  board  (May  27)  Mr.  Zerrahn's  salary  for  the  Festival  was  fixed 
at  SI, 000  ;  and  for  his  services  until  Christmas,  at  $200  ;  Mr.  Lang's, 
as  organist,  at  $400  and  $100. 


318  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY 


CHAPTER   X. 

FIFTY-SEVENTH    SEASON. 
May  29,  1871,  to  May  27,  1872. 

The  annual  meeting  was  held  May  29,  Dr.  Upham,  for  the  last 
time,  in  the  chair.  The  treasurer,  Mr.  G.  W.  Palmer,  presented 
his  report.  The  total  receipts  of  the  year  were  $4,100.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  year  there  was  due  to  the  treasurer  a  balance 
of  $395.25,  which  at  the  end  of  the  year  was  reduced  to  $56.97  ; 
this  account  is  exclusive  of  the  Festival.  The  permanent  fund 
amounted  to  $8,220.  The  expenses  of  the  Triennial  Festival  were 
$2G,870,  which  it  was  expected  would  be  diminished  by  a  discount 
of  about  $1,000.  The  receipts  were  $20,601,  leaving  a  balance 
against  the  Society  of  $5,200,  to  be  apportioned  among  the  guar- 
antors. 

In  beginning  his  annual,  which  was  also  his  farewell  report,  the 
president,  Dr.  Upham,  said  :  — 

"  It  gives  me  the  siiicerest  pleasure  to  congi*atulate  you  upon  a  year  of 
acknowledged  artistic  success,  not  only  in  the  ordinary  operations  of  the 
Society,  its  routine  of  rehearsals  and  public  performances,  but  in  the  crown- 
ing labors  of  its  great  Triennial  Festival,  the  echoes  of  whose  triumphs  are 
now  coming  back  to  us  from  almost  every  town  and  city  in  the  land. 

*'  The  work  of  the  Society  in  its  necessary  routine  of  duties  has  been 
greater  in  the  past  year  than  at  any  former  season  within  my  remembrance. 
Our  meetings  for  practice  commenced  on  the  2d  of  October,  and  continued 
weekh%  as  usual,  until  the  26th  of  February ;  from  which  time  they  increased 
in  frequency,  in  a  constantly  accelerating  ratio,  till  the  opening  of  the  Fes- 
tival. The  number  of  these  rehearsals  (forty-eight  in  all)  is  greater  than  in 
any  previous  year  since  I  have  been  connected  with  the  Society.  The  average 
attendance  also  has  been  better  than  ever  before.  The  fullest  attendance 
was  on  the  evening  of  the  18th  of  December,  the  thinnest  on  the  28th  of 
April,  the  number  present  on  those  occasions  being  six  hundred  and  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  respectively.  Once  onW  were  the  rehearsals  entirely  sus- 
pended, viz.,  on  the  evening  of  the  12th  of  February,  at  Avhich  time  a  severe 
snow-storm  was  raging.  The  average  attendance  during  the  season  was  in 
round  numbers  four  hundred, — to  be  exact,  392  27-48,  — out  of  a  total  of  a 
little  more  than  seven  hundred  members.  I  have  not  included  in  this  enumer- 
ation the  rehearsals  which  took  place  during  the  Triennial  week,  nor  those 
which  preceded  the  New  York  Beethoven  Centennial  celebration  (so  called) 
in  June  last,  which  if  added  to  the  above  list  would  swell  the  total  number 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  311) 

of  rehearsals  proper  to  fifty-six,  and  increase  somewhat  the  percentage  of 
attendance. 

"  I  have  thus  minutely  dwelt  upon  this  point  because  of  the  great  impor- 
tance I  attach  to  it  as  being  at  the  same  time  the  test  and  the  measure  of  your 
progress  in  choral  excellence. 

"  It  appears  from  the  secretary's  records  that  the  government  have  been  ten 
times  called  together  for  business  purposes  during  the  year,  and  the  Society 
have  been  twice  summoned  for  the  admission  of  meml)ers  and  the  transaction 
of  other  business  connected  Avith  the  interests  of  the  corporation.  Sixty-two 
gentlemen  have  been  admitted  to  membership,  four  have  been  reinstated  after 
their  membership  had  for  some  reason  ceased,  six  have  been  discharged  and 
three  have  resigned.  Six  of  the  active  members  of  the  Society  have  died 
within  the  year,  viz.,  Messrs.  A.  W.  Brown,  James  D.  Kent,  C.  Judson  Mer- 
rill, A.  Pendergrass,  A.  J.  Tenny,  and  James  Rice,  some  of  whom  had  rendered 
long  and  valuable  service  with  us,  whose  presence  and  whose  aid  and  coun- 
sel will  long  l)e  missed.  The  year,  too,  numbers  among  its  dead  the  hon- 
ored name  of  Col.  Thomas  E.  Chickering,  one  of  the  past  presidents  of  the 
Society,  in  whose  sudden  and  unlooked-for  departure  the  whole  community 
will  mourn  with  ourselves  the  loss  of  one  who  had  identified  himself  as  the 
friend  and  patron,  not  of  art  alone,  but  of  every  noble  and  generous  enter- 
prise. 

"  It  may  be  proper  to  speak  in  this  connection  of  the  somewhat  unusual 
action  on  the  part  of  the  Society  in  the  month  of  June  last,  viz.,  the  accept- 
ance of  an  invitation  to  join  as  a  body  in  the  celebration  of  a  musical  festi- 
val in  a  distant  city.  I  allude  of  course  to  the  so-called  Beethoven  Centennial 
commemoration  in  the  city  of  New  York.  As  was  probably  well  known  at  the 
time,  my  individual  judgment  was  opposed  to  such  action,  fearing,  as  I 
expressed  to  mj'  friends  in  the  board  of  government,  lest  the  dignity  and  self- 
respect  of  the  Society  might  in  some  way  be  compromised  when  too  late  to 
be  remedied.  How  far  my  fears  in  this  regard  were  well  founded,  those  who 
were  present  at  that  celebration  are  best  qualified  to  judge.  Of  the  Society's 
performances  themselves,  so  far  as  they  were  allowed  to  be  given,  I  can 
only  speak  in  terms  of  unmeasured  praise.  My  only  object  in  speaking  of  this 
matter  now  is  to  suggest  the  propriety  of  much  and  careful  consideration  in 
the  future  before  any  similar  invitation  be  accepted,  should  occasion  again 
occur." 

Of  the  Festival  aud  its  financial  deficit,  Dr.  Upham  said  :  — 

"  Must  we  seek  for  this  (financially)  ill  success  in  the  actual  surfeit  of 
good  things  which  our  community  had  already  received  prior  to  this  final 
feast  of  sj^mphony  and  song?  Or  must  we  attribute  it  in  part  to  the  distrac- 
tions of  a  week  in  which  the  representatives  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic  and  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  divided  the  public  attention  with  the 
votaries  of  art?  But  amidst  our  regrets  at  the  monetary  aspect  of  the  Fes- 
tival, it  is  pleasant  to  remember  that  the  choral  occasions  were  those  which 
always  attracted  the  largest  and  most  appreciative  audience :  from  which  it 
is  fair  to  suppose  that,  had  your  physical  endurance  been  equal  to  the  task. 


320     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

and  we  had  added  still  others  to  the  already  herculean  labors  imposed  upon 
you,  the  financial  as  Avell  as  the  artistic  success  of  that  trying  week  might 
have  been  assured." 

After  touching  upon  a  variety  of  other  topics,  Dr.  Upliam  con- 
cliuled  with  these  words  :  — 

"  It  remains  for  me,  at  the  close  of  this  my  long  term  of  service,  to  ex- 
press to  my  esteemed  associates  in  the  board  of  government,  —  to  our  hon- 
ored conductor,  Mr.  Zerrahn,  and  to  my  accomplished  friend,  Mr.  Lang,  who, 
together  with  our  excellent  secretary,  have  been  co-workers  with  me  in 
always  kind  and  friendly  relations  from  the  very  first, — to  you,  gentlemen, 
one  and  all,  my  grateful  acknowledgment  of  the  uniform  kindness  and  cour- 
tesy I  have  received  at  your  hands  through  all  these  years  of  responsibility, 
of  enjoyment,  and  of  care.  In  so  many  times  as  I  may  have  been  forgetful 
or  negligent  of  my  duty  toward  you,  who  have  so  often  honored  me  with  the 
highest  office  within  your  gift,  I  crave  your  kind  indulgence  and  your  pardon. 
If  it  has  been  my  good  fortune  in  any  manner  to  aid  or  advance  the  noble 
cause  to  Avhose  interests  we  stand  pledged,  it  w^ill  be  to  me  a  source  of  unfail- 
ing satisfaction.  I  have  passed  with  you  the  best  ten  years  of  my  life,  — in 
many  respects  the  happiest  ten  years  of  my  life,  —  to  which  happiness  you, 
my  friends,  have  done  your  full  share  in  contributing.  Will  you  accept  for 
yourselves,  individually,  my  heartfelt  thanks  and  my  earnest  wishes  for  your 
welfare  and  continued  success?  May  the  present  prosperity  of  this  old  and 
honored  Society  be  perpetual,  and  may  the  blessing  of  Almighty  God  rest 
upon  you  and  upon  it  " 

The  officers  for  the  ensuing  year  were  then  elected  with  the  for- 
mality of  a  ballot,  although  nearly  every  candidate  received  the 
unanimous  vote  of  the  Society.     The  following  is  the  list :  — 

President.  —  Loring  B.  Barnes. 

Vice-President.  —  George  H.  Chickering. 

Secretarii.  —  A.  Parker  Browne. 

Treasurer.  —  George  W.  Palmer. 

Librarian.  —  Charles  H.  Johnson. 

Directors.  —  Edward  Faxon,  T.  Frank  Reed,  W.  O.  Perkins, 
Horace  B.  Fisher,  W.  Dexter  Wiswell,  William  H.  Wadleigh, 
W.  F.  Bradbury,  Curtis  Brown. 

The  retirement  from  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Upham,  the  election 
of  the  long-faithful  and  indefatigable  secretary  Mr.  Barnes,  as  his 
successor,  and  of  Mr.  A.  Parker  Browne,  as  secretary,  gave  especial 
interest  to  the  meeting.  Several  of  the  newly  elected  officers  were 
called  upon  for  speeches.  President-elect  Barnes  addressed  the 
Society  at  some  length  in  regard  to  its  future,  and  offered  resolutions 
complimentary  to  his  predecessor,  which  were  passed  with  hearty 
unanimity. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  321 

After  a  well-earued  summer's  rest,  the  first  partial  sign  of  life  was 
the  singing  by  fift}^  members  of  the  chorus  at  a  meeting  of  the  Amer- 
ican Peace  Society,  held  in  the  Music  Hall,  Sept.  26.  Mr.  Zerrahu 
conducted  in  three  choruses  :  ''  And  the  Glory  of  the  Lord  "  and  the 
"Hallelujah"  from  the  Messiah^  and  ''  How  lovely  are  the  messen- 
gers," from  St.  Paul.  Then  the  rehearsals  were  resumed  Oct.  8, 
upon  St.  PauU  with  an  attendance  of  350  singers,  and  Mr.  C  Peter- 
silea  at  the  pianoforte.  The  next  week  the  number  had  increased 
to  377,  and  Mr.  Lang,  who  had  just  come  home  from  Europe,  was  at 
his  old  post  as  accompanist.  Oct.  20,  150  members  took  part  in  a 
concert  for  the  sufferers  by  the  great  Chicago  fire  ;  audience  300  ! 
Judas  Maccahceus  and  Elijah  occupied  the  rehearsals  until  Saturday, 
Nov.  26,  when  Elijah  was  produced,  with  the  members  of  the  Dolby 
troupe  to  lend  peculiar  interest  to  the  performance.  These  were  : 
Miss  Edith  Wynne,  a  Welsh  lady  of  interesting  manner  and  good 
musical  culture  ;  well  schooled  in  almost  all  classes  of  music,  though 
her  chief  successes  in  England  had  been  in  oratorio  and  ballad  sing- 
ing. Mrs.  Whytock-Patey,  then  the  most  eminent  of  English  con- 
traltos, since  the  retirement  of  Mme.  Sainton-Dolby  ;  her  style  pure 
and  simple,  her  voice  deep  and  tender;  she  was  unsurpassed  in  ora- 
torio. Mr.  Cummings,  the  tenor,  had  already  made  his  mark  in 
Boston,  and  was  welcomed  back.  Mr.  Santley,  the  very  distin- 
guished English  baritone,  sang  all  reputable  kinds  of  music.  Eng- 
lish and  Italian  opera,  oratorios  and  so-called  ballads  were  all  in  his 
line,  and  he  sang  all  well.  Mr.  Patey,  a  fair  basso,  was  also  in  the 
group. 

Let  it  o()  without  savino-  that  the  Handel  and  Havdn  chorus  did 
their  part  well ;  did  they  ever  fail  in  Elijah?  And  never  had  they  a 
finer  audience  to  inspire  them.  There  was  an  orchestra  of  40,  and 
the  chorus  numbered  over  500  voices,  —  largel}'  in  excess  of  the 
usual  number  at  rehearsals.  This  chronic  symptom,  wliich  cannot 
have  escaped  the  reader's  notice  many  times  already,  the  historian 
must  confess  to  be  beyond  his  power  of  explanation,  considering  the 
rigid  disciplinary  by-laws  which  occupy  so  many  pages  of  the  secre- 
tary's records.     We  turn  then  to  the  new  solo  artists. 

To  begin  with  the  soprano,  a  truer,  sweeter  exponent  of  oratorio 
music  than  Miss  Edith  Wynne  we  cannot  wish  to  hear.  There  were 
greater  voices,  of  more  power  and  volume,  more  brilliancy,  more 
queen-like  majesty,  but  few  that  were  so  sweet,  so  pure,  so  womanly 
human,  and  trained  withal  to  such  easy,  even  flexibilitv,  such  exqui- 
site expression.  All  that  had  been  said  before  of  her  artistic  purity, 
"  unstained  of  the  world,"  her  earnest  dedication  of  herself  to  the 


322  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY. 

expression  of  the  music,  her  unerring  sense  of  fitness  and  propor- 
tion, and  her  uniformly  right  conception,  and  of  the  charm  with  which 
honest  intention  and  exertion  on  her  part  were  always  blessed,  was 
now  clear  to  all  who  heard  her  in  Elijah. 

Mme.  Patey,  with  less  experience,  perhaps  less  genius,  also  gave 
herself,  her  whole  generous  nature  and  rich,  generous  voice  with 
genuine  fervor  to  the  expression  of  the  contralto  music.  "  Woe 
unto  them."  and  still  more  *'  O  rest  in  the  Lord  "  (which  had  to  be 
repeated)  were  noljJy,  beautifully  rendered.  This  singer  had  from 
the  first  taken  a  deep  hold  upon  the  sympathies  of  our  musical 
public. 

]\[r.  Cummings  was  in  excellent  voice,  and  delivered  all  the  tenor 
recitatives  and  airs  with  that  refinement,  that  intelligence  and  consci- 
entious earnestness,  which  always  characterized  his  efforts. 

Mr.  Santley's  rendering  of  the  great  part  of  Elijah  was  all,  and 
more  than  all,  that  was  anticipated  ;  and  that  is  saying  a  great  deal. 
The  wealth,  and  beauty,  and  endurance  of  his  magnificent  voice, 
which  gave  itself  out  so  freely,  yet  always  had  power  in  reserve  ;  his 
frank  and  manly  presence  and  whole  way  of  doing  things ;  his  thor- 
oughly self-poised  and  easy  manner  of  approaching  and  of  carrying 
through  whatever  vocal  task  :  the  perfect  union  in  him  of  natural 
gift,  artistic  training,  clear  intelligence,  and  healthy,  genuine  feeling, 
made  him  the  noblest  interpreter  that  one  could  wish  for  such  exact- 
ing music.  He  was  equal  to  ever^-  variety  of  expression  called  for 
by  the  part.  In  the  dialogues  and  recitatives  nothing  could  be  more 
dignified  and  full  of  unction  than  his  delivery.  His  rendering  of  the 
almost  impossible,  the  iron  air,  ''  Is  not  his  word  like  a  fire,"  was  a 
new  revelation  of  unflagging  vocal  valor  and  endurance.  Every  note 
was  surel}'  taken  ;  every  accent  truly  marked,  magnetic  ;  ever}^  phrase 
precisely  chi-selled  out :  no  faltering  or  nervous  hurry  in  the  even 
progress  of  the  whole,  and  yet  there  was  power  left  for  a  magnificent 
blaze  of  splendor  at  the  end.  The  writer  heard  the  original  Elijah, 
Mr.  Weiss,  sing  this  in  London  ;  but  Santley  verily  was  greater. 

On  the  next,  Sunday,  evening  the  same  fine  group  of  artists  lent 
eclat  to  the  performance  of  Judas  Maccahonis. 

Handel's  heroic  oratorio  is  a  very  different  matter  from  Elijah; 
less  well  known  here  and  less  popular,  p  u'tly  because  of  its  quaint 
antique  cut  and  want  of  the  modern  sensuous  instrumentation,  partly 
because  of  its  many  diflSculties.  Had  such  a  performance  as  that  of 
Sunday  evening  been  anticipated,  there  hardly  would  have  been  so 
great  a  falling  off  of  audience.  The  work  is  full  of  beauties,  partic- 
ularlv  in  its  o-reat  varietv  of  solos,  which  onlv  needed   those  inter- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY.     323 

preters  to  make  their  beauty  felt.  For  the  tenor  few  oratorios  could 
be  more  trying  ;  and  Mr.  Cummings,  though  his  delicate  voice  showed 
symptoms  of  fatigue  at  times,  achieved  the  task  with  spirit  and 
expression.  "  Sound  an  alarm  "  was  done  even  better  than  at  the 
Festival,  and  the  way  in  which  he  grappled  with  that  most  difficult 
air,  '•  How  vain  is  man,"  which  we  think  no  one  had  attempted  here 
before,  proved  him  a  thorough  artist.  In  '•  Call  forth  thy  powers," 
too,  he  was  masterly. 

To  Miss  Edith  Wynne  belonged  the  liner  triumphs  of  the  evening  ; 
so  fully  did  she  reproduce  the  spirit  of  each  melody,  and  each  so 
individual,  that  she  won  all  hearts  to  Handel  and  herself.  She  gave 
new  charm  and  quaintness  to  •'  Pious  orgies."  The  lovely  air,  "'  O 
Liberty  I  "  with  violoncello  (commonly  omitted),  could  not  have  been 
more  lovinglv  and  exquisitely  sung;  and  the  words,  ''Bless  him, 
Jehovah,  bless  him,"  in  the  preceding  recitative  were  touched  with 
tenderest  and  ti'uest  feeling.  "  From  mighty  kings"  was  splendidly 
delivered.  The  long  roulades  of  So  shall  the  lute  "  were  evenly  and 
smoothly  executed,  although  she  had  not  the  long  breath  of  certain 
singers.  But  throughout  all  she  sang  there  was  the  same  devotion, 
the  same  artistic  finish  and  integrity. 

Mme.  Patey's  part  was  small,  mosth'  confined  to  the  melodious 
duets  with  the  soprano,  which  were  never  more  enjoyed.  Nor  had 
Mr.  Santley  by  any  means  a  great  part,  but  of  what  there  was  he 
made  the  most.  The  recitative,  ''  I  feel  the  Deity  within,"  and  air, 
"Arm,  arm,  ye  brave,"  were  most  inspiring;  and  in  '-The  Lord 
worketh  wonders "  we  had  an  instance  of  that  self-possessed  and 
steady  movement  through  long  stretches  of  most  difficult  roulades, 
which  we  had  hardly  found  in  any  other  singer  in  the  same  degree. 
And  how  he  shaded  the  tone  to  everj'  meaning,  as  in  the  words, 
"  And  still  as  He  thunders,  is  fearful  in  praise  I  "  One  could  object 
to  all  these  artists,  conscientious  toward  their  music  as  they  were, 
even  once  or  twice  to  the  soprano,  that  they  could  not  end  an  air  as 
it  is  written,  but  must  "  make  effect  "  with  a  high  tone  or  some  form 
of  cadenza.     But  this  was  English  usage. 

The  receipts  for  these  two  concerts  differed  widely ;  for  Elijah, 
about  83,300;  for  Judas,  about  SI, 500.  On  Dec.  10  the  Society 
joined  in  a  concert  given  by  Theodore  Thomas  in  honor  of  the  Rus- 
sian Grand  Duke  Alexis,  who  was  then  visiting  this  city.  Meanwhile 
the  rehearsals  all  had  Christmas  week  in  view.  And  two  more  noble 
oratorios,  both  of  which  could  by  that  time  be  counted  favorites, 
<s7.  Paid  and  the  Jlessiak,  were  given  to  crowded  audiences  on  Sat- 
urday and  Sunday  eveninojs,  Dec.   23  and  24,  with  the  valuable  aid 


324    HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

ouce  more  of  the  noble  group  of  solo  artists,  Miss  Wynne,  Mme. 
Patey,  Mr.  Cnmmings,  and  Mr.  Santley.     Need  we  say  more  ? 

1872.  On  the  13th  of  January,  a  miscellaneous  concert  was  given 
with  the  same  fine  artists,  —  their  farewell  in  short.  The  first  part 
consisted  of  Rossini's  Stabat  Mater.  Hackneyed  as  it  was, —  having 
been  murdered  in  a  ''  sacred  concert"  by  every  Italian  opera  troupe 
that  ever  came  here,  as  the  sole  meet  sacrifice  which  such  troupes 
had  to  offer,  —  it  has  much  beautiful  and  some  grand  music  in  it, 
which  was  rejuvenated  by  these  singers.  Nothing  could  be  better 
suited  to  the  large,  rich,  sensuous  contralto  of  Mme.  Patey ;  and  no 
richer  voice,  unless  it  were  Alboni's,  could  Rossini  have  desired  for 
it.  It  all  went  admirably  well,  closing  judiciously  with  the  ''  Injlam- 
matus,''  an  arduous  task  for  such  a  voice  as  Edith  Wynne's,  3'et  it 
soared  bravely,  musically,  above  orchestra  and  chorus.  The  best 
piece  in  the  work,  the  marvellous  unaccompanied  quartet,  Quando 
corpus^  was  sung  to  perfection.  The  second  part  began  with  the 
trumpet  choral,  "  Sleepers  wake  I  "  from  St.  Paid^  grandly  sung. 
Mr.  Cummiugs  sang  Handel's  "  Total  eclipse  "  with  more  beauty  and 
delicacy  of  tone  and  expression  than  ever.  Then  came  a  senti- 
mental commonplace  song  by  Gounod  for  Mme.  Patey,  hardly  worthy 
of  her,  ''  There  is  a  green  hill  far  away,"  in  which  the  music  does 
not  relieve  the  bald  sectarian  creed  statement  of  the  words.  The 
Society  sang  two  unaccompanied  part-songs  by  Mendelssohn  with 
fine  sonority  and  unity ;  and  then  Mr.  Santley  exerted  the  peculiar 
charm  of  the  sustained  continuity  and  large,  tranquil,  easy  flow  of 
his  great  organ-loued  voice,  with  perfect  simplicity  of  expression,  in 
Gounod's  ''  Nazareth  "  ballad,  wrought  up  to  a  climax  with  orchestra 
and  chorus  in  the  last  verse. 

The  most  important  of  the  selections,  however,  was  Bach's  aria, 
full  of  pious  ecstasy  of  bliss,  ''My  heart,  ever  faithful,"  inasmuch 
as  it  was  given  for  the  first  time  here  (perhaps  the  first  time  any- 
where) with  the  orchestral  parts  as  completed  by  Robert  Franz  ;  this 
accompaniment,  with  Miss  Wynne's  singing,  brought  out  its  intrinsic 
beauty  as  never  before.  The  concert  ended  with  the  "  Conquering 
hero  "  chorus  from  Judas  JIaccabrpus. 

The  next  evening  Elijah  was  repeated  in  the  same  grand  style  as 
before  ;  except  that  Mr.  Santley  suffered  from  a  severe  cold,  which 
he  surmounted  bravely  in  some  pieces  ;  while  in  others  it  gave  us 
opportunity  to  know  more  of  the  artistic  worth  of  Mr.  Patey.  who 
took  up  the  part  at  a  moment's  notice  and  did  it  with  great  credit. 

This  completed  the  season's  programme.  It  offered  nothing  new, 
but  it  was  all  pure  gold  :  four  noble  and  exacting  oratorios,  forming 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     325 

a  worthy  record  for  a  period  of  reaction  and  comparative  quiet  after 
the  strain  of  a  great  Triennial  Festival.  During  the  rest  of  January 
and  February  the  Passion  Music  was  again  rehearsed,  with  large 
attendance,  earnestly.  But  already  the  '^  Jubilee"  wind  was  again 
rising.  A  bigger  cyclone  than  before!  On  the  17th  of  February 
an  invitation  from  Dr.  E.  Tourjee  to  the  Society  to  take  part  in  Mr. 
Gilmore's  second  Jubilee  in  June  following,  called  this  time  the 
"  International  Jubilee,"  was  accepted,  and  a  force  of  over  700 
singers  was  drafted  for  that  service.  The  Passion,  Israel  in  Egypt, 
and  various  Jubilee  music  occupied  the  rehearsals  until  the  annual 
meeting. 

FIFTY-EIGHTH   SEASON. 
May  27,  1872,  to  June  2,  1873. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  May  27,  it  appeared  by  the  treasurer's 
report  that  the  receipts  during  the  3'ear  had  been  $8,136.75,  and  the 
expenses  $7,495.26  (including  the  balance  of  $56.97  due  the  treas- 
urer at  the  close  of  the  last  year),  leaving  a  balance  on  hand  of 
$641.49.  The  report  also  announced  a  bequest  to  the  Society  of 
$1,000,  by  the  late  Ebeu  Dale  of  this  city,  which  was  added  to  the 
permanent  fund.  The  income  from  the  fund  for  the  year  had  been 
^441.69,  which  would  be  added  to  the  principal,  as  no  occasion  for 
its  use  had  occurred.  The  currency  value  of  the  fund.  May  1,  was 
^8,705.36. 

The  election  of  officers  was  as  follows  :  — 

President.  —  Loring  B.  Barnes.  ' 

Vice-President.  —  George  H.  Chickering. 

Secretary.  —  A.  Par)^er  Browne. 

Treasurer.  —  George  W.  Palmer. 

Librarian.  —  C.  H.  Johnson. 

Directors. — W.  F.  Bradbury,  Cuktis  Brown,  W.  D.  Wiswell, 
Horace  B.  Fisher,  D.  L.  Laws,  John  H.  Stickney,  G.  W.  Warren, 
Edward  Faxon. 

Now  comes  a  second  period  of  "Jubilee,"  with  music  of  more 
instruments,  more  voices  than  were  ever  heard,  or  ever  can  be  heard 
together.  Again  the  disturbing,  stunning  shock  of  "Peace"  ex- 
pressed with  anvils,  cannon,  bells,  in  most  bewildering  harmonic 
turmoil.  At  all  events  we  come  at  once  upon  a  new  phenomenon  in 
Handel  and  Haydn  history,  that  of  summer  rehearsals.  These  were 
held  up  to  the  seventeenth  of  June,  in  preparation  for  the  Jubilee. 
It>rael  in  Egypt,  for  one  thing,  was  rehearsed  with  sister  societies  from 


326  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Salem,  Lynn,  and  West  Roxbuiy.  And  this,  as  given  by  the  four 
societies  together  forming  a  chorus  of  one  thousand  four  hundred 
voices,  with  an  orchestra  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  instruments,  was 
doubtless  the  best  thing,  the  most  reasonable  in  its  dimensions,  and 
the  most  artistic  in  its  character  and  spu'it,  in  the  whole  Jubilee  pro- 
gramme. But  the  work  fell  flat  with  the  audience  of  five  thousand 
people,  small  for  the  enormous  building.  For  so  poorly  was  it 
heard,  that  it  could  not  be  appreciated  half  so  well  as  at  an  ordinary 
Handel  and  Haydn  performance  in  the  Boston  Music  Hall.  As  we 
have  already  intimated,  and  as  many  even  now  remember,  this 
Jubilee  was  on  a  much  larojer  scale  than  the  first  one.  The  orio^inal 
prospectus  promised  a  chorus  of  twenty  thousand  voices  and  an 
orchestra  of  two  thousand.  Military  bauds  from  "  every  nation,"  del- 
egations even  ''from  classic  Greece  and  the  Holy  Land,  from  Turke}', 
China,  and  Japan,"  and  all  this  in  a  '•  Coliseum  that  will  seat  a 
hundred  thousnnd  people!''  And  so  on.  It  lasted  from  June  17 
to  July  4,  beginning  and  ending  upon  patriotic  anniversaries.  It  is 
not  for  us  here  to  write  its  history  ;  we  are  concerned  only  with  the 
part  the  Handel  and  Ha^'dn  Society  took  in  it.  VTe  have  already 
mentioned  its  one  best  peculiar  contribution. 

The  opening  day  (June  17)  was  almost  altogether  patriotic: 
"Star-Spangled  Banner,"  national  airs,  '-Old  Hundred,"  and  the 
like.  In  this  the  old  Society  counted  as  seven  hundred  in  a  chorus  of 
seventeen  thousand,  with  an  orchestra  of  one  thousand  five  hundred. 
Then  came  an  "  English  da}*,"  and  then  a  •'  German  day,"  and  then 
a  "  French  day,"  with  all  kinds  of  selections  from  oratorios,  operas, 
masses,  national  hymns,  Strauss  waltzes  conducted  by  .lohn  Strauss 
himself,  and  military  band  music  by  some  of  the  best  bands  of 
Europe.  Our  old  Society  could  not  but  be  lost  in  all  this,  and  it  were 
vain  to  look  after  it  amid  the  vast  confusion  at  this  late  day.  Were 
we  dealing  with  the  history  of  the  Jubilee  itself,  we  should  note  many 
interesting  observations,  and  give  credit  for  many  beautiful  and  rare 
effects  ;  for  instance,  the  marvellous  purity  and  beauty  of  the  sound 
of  many  hundred  children's  voices.  Still  it  was  on  too  enormous 
a  scale  of  size  and  numbers,  and  when  one  thinks  of  the  pecuniary 
loss  which  it  involved,  he  is  reminded  of  the  frog  that  tried  to  swell 
to  the  dimensions  of  an  ox.  To  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  their 
participation  in  it  may  be  considered  as  to  a  great  extent  a  recrea- 
tion ;  it  probably  refreshed  them  more  than  it  fatigued  them.  And  in 
tlie  natural  course  of  things  it  should  have  operated  to  give  them  a 
fresh  zeal  for  their  own  proper  work  during  the  fall  and  winter. 
Having  failed  with  Israel  in   Egypt  in  the  wrong  place,  the  Coliseum, 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  327 

they  might  naturally  wish  to  study  it  again  for  the  best  possible  per- 
formance in  the  right  place,  in  their  more  home-like  Music  Hall. 

But  when  the  rehearsal  season  came  round,  the  months  of  October 
and  November  were  devoted  to  new  studies  upon  Costsi's  Eli,  although 
it  was  not  publicly  performed.  This  was  in  view  of  an  arrange- 
ment with  Mme.  Rudersdorff,  whereby  four  oratorios  were  to  be 
given,  two  in  mid-winter  and  two  in  the  spring.  The  first  two 
{Elijah  and  Juchis)  were  not  successful,  and  the  other  two,  Eli 
being  one,  were  abandoned.  Whether  the  great  Boston  fire  in 
November,  preceded  by  a  great  storm,  with  the  horse  disease  and  the 
suspension  of  the  horse-cars,  damped  the  musical  ardor  of  our  city, 
we  are  not  competent  to  say.  In  December,  Messiah  rehearsals 
became  the  order  of  the  day  again,  and  the  never-failing  Christmas 
oratorio,  judged  by  an  ever-higher  standard  of  performance,  charmed 
and  edified  the  crowded  audience  as  much  as  ever.  The  rendering  of 
the  whole  series  of  choruses  was  up  to  the  highest  mark  remembered 
here.  The  solos  had  not  the  unwonted  lustre  of  the  Dolby  troupe  as 
in  the  last  performance  ;  yet  there  was  an  interesting  quartet  of 
soloists.  Mr.  Packard,  the  tenor,  placed  himself  at  once  in  a  worthy 
light  as  an  interpreter  of  a  high  theme  in  "  Comfort  ye,"  etc.  He 
had  a  pure  and  honest  style,  free  from  offensive  crudities  and  affecta- 
tions ;  his  voice  Avas  sweet  and  of  good  even  calibre,  not  brilliant,  but 
of  fair  power ;  his  method  excellent ;  he  sustained  a  tone  and  swelled 
it  admirably.  Mr.  AYhitney's  majestic  organ  seemed  to  have  ripened 
and  expanded  and  become  vivified  through  its  whole  range.  The  con- 
trjlto  was  Miss  Anna  Drasdil,  a  native  of  Bohemia,  who  had  lived 
for  several  years  in  England,  a  pupil  for  some  time  of  Mme.  Ruders- 
dorff,  and  had  made  a  great  mark  there  in  oratorio.  Her  very  first  tones 
"  Behold  !  a  virgin,"  arrested  attention  by  the  individual  timbre  of  the 
voice,  rich,  reedy,  sweet,  yet  with  a  singularly  penetrating  quality. 
It  reached  every  listener,  and  there  was  a  rare  charm  about  it. 
A  true  artistic  singer  was  soon  manifest ;  well  trained,  with  some- 
thing like  a  genius  for  it,  as  it  seemed  ;  dramatic  too,  and  full  of  fire. 
And  what  of  the  soprano? 

This  time  it  was  a  rare  voice  indeed,  a  new  sensation,  the  lovely 
voice  of  Mrs.  Charles  Moulton  (formerly  Miss  Greenough,  of  our  own 
New  England  Cambridge) ,  who  had  passed  many  years  abroad  and 
was  distinguished  vocally  and  socially  in  Europe.  But  she  had 
never  sung  in  oratorio,  nor  had  she  ever  even  heard  a  full  performance 
of  the  Messiah.  With  all  her  gifts  she  was  not  in  her  element  this 
time.  She  brought  to  the  effort  all  her  treasury  of  nightingale  and 
lark-like  tones,  with  the  spontaneous,  bird-like  springing  forth  thereof 


328  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

(though  sometimes  there  seemed  to  be  a  struggle  iu  the  throat  before 
the  nightingale  escaped);  all  her  finished,  fluent  vocalization;  her 
versatility  of  talent  and  quick  apprehension.  Nor  did  she  approach 
the  task  with  levity,  or  without  a  sense  of  its  importance,  or  without 
earnest  preparation.  Indeed  the  nervousness  apparent  at  the  first 
was  quite  sincere  ;  and  this,  added  to  a  cold,  entitled  her  to  large 
allowance.  Under  the  circumstances,  the  degree  of  success  which 
she  achieved  was  certainly  remarkable.  The  effort  won  respect 
throughout,  while  more  than  once  it  charmed  and  satisfied  in  a  high 
sense.  The  recitative,  "  There  were  shepherds,"  was  not  so  simply 
given  as  one  could  wish :  there  was  a  somewhat  forced,  unneeded 
pathos  in  its  tones ;  just  in  that  narrative,  recited  as  it  were  from 
heaven,  the  voice  should  be  impersonal,  though  human,  by  no  means 
dramatic.  "  Rejoice  greatly,"  was  in  her  true  vein,  and  seldom  had 
we  heard  it  sung  more  beautifully  :  the  serious  middle  strain,  too, 
was  tenderly  melodious.  Best  of  all  was  "Come  unto  Him,"  which 
seemed  to  reach  the  heart  of  the  audience.  Her  rendering  of  the 
great  air,  "I  know  that  my  Redeemer,"  was  an  earnest,  ver}'  cred- 
itable effort,  one  that  raised  her  in  her  character  of  artist,  —  but 
not  yet  a  triumph.  Here  too  there  was  a  somewhat  trammelled 
and  uneasy  leaning  on  traditions  (not  always  of  the  best),  and 
not  that  free,  assured,  and  noble  style,  sure,  simple,  and  sublime, 
by  which  that  song  has  maintained  its  supremacy.  But  Mn.  Moul- 
ton  was  full  of  song  and  full  of  talent.  If  a  Parisian  life  could  not 
imbue  her  with  the  oratorio  st^^le  or  spirit,  it  was,  perhaps,  not  too 
late  to  learn. 

The  first  rehearsal  in  1873  came  upon  a  very  stormy  night.  Only 
forty-nine  were  present,  who  passed  the  time  agreeably  in  practising 
four-part  songs  by  Mendelssohn.  Then  for  a  month  or  more  Elijah 
and  Judas  Maccabceus  were  the  subjects  of  rehearsal.  Jan.  30,  the 
board  of  government  met  at  the  Parker  House,  and  accepted  an 
invitation  from  Theodore  Thomas  for  the  Society  to  visit  New  York 
in  April  and  unite  with  his  orchestra  in  a  series  of  oratorios,  with- 
out compensation,  Mr.  Thomas  paying  all  expenses,  and  with  the 
understanding  that  Mr.  Zerrahn  should  be  the  conductor  and  Mr. 
Lang  the  organist,  except  in  the  Ninth  Symphony,  Mr.  Thomas 
paying  their  salaries  also. 

Elijah  and  Judas  Maccabceus  were  performed  on  the  evenings  of 
Saturday  and  Sunday,  Feb.  8  and  9.  The  former  drew  the  fullest 
house,  of  coarse.  If  there  was  any  oratorio  in  which  the  Society  was 
always  "  well  up,"  it  was  Elijah;  that  they  commonly  chose  when 
they  would  make  their  best  impression  upon  strangers.     The  chorus 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  329 

numbered  four  luiudred  voices,  and  there  was  an  orchestra  of  forty. 
The  chorus  was  good,  the  orchestra  below  the  average.  The  audi- 
ence was  not  very  large.  Mme.  Rudersdortf  went  far  to  place  the 
soprano  recitatives  and  arias  in  a  strong  light,  albeit  frequently 
a  somewhat  harsh  one,  owing  to  the  struggles  of  a  voice  no  longer  in 
its  prime  and  only  now  and  then  renewing  its  beautiful  youth  in  such 
a  way  that  all  could  hail  it  with  delight ;  yet  the  presence  of  the  great 
artist  was  alway  unmistakable. 

Miss  Alice  Fairman,  in  her  quiet,  unimpassioued  way,  but  with 
her  very  rich,  pure,  sweet,  and  even  voice,  and  thoroughly  sound  and 
honest  style  of  singing,  won  sincere  applause  by  her  delivery  of  the 
contralto  melodies.  And  she  took  "  O  rest  in  the  Lord"  in  a  less 
slow  and  drao-giuo^  time  than  we  had  been  too  much  accustomed  to. 
The  tenor  solos  found  adequate  expression  in  the  fine  voice,  the  pure 
intonation,  the  earnest  fire  and  true  intelligence  of  Mr.  Nelson  Varley. 
The  only  drawbacks  in  his  singing  were  a  certain  dry  and  slightly 
nasal  quality  in  some  of  his  tones,  and  in  high  climbing  passages  an 
apparent  effort  as  of  one  screwing  himself  up  to  "the  height  of  his 
great  enterprise,"  —  3'et  with  all  the  exactness  and  the  certainty  of 
such  a  lever.  It  seemed  as  if  he  struggled  with  the  remnant  of  a 
cold.  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney  presented  the  central  figure  of  the 
Prophet  with  his  usual  majesty  and  massiveness  of  style. 

Judas  Maccabceus  has  always  in  performance  labored  under  a 
peculiar  drawback,  that  of  meagre,  incomplete  accompaniment.  It 
is  well  known  that  in  the  printed  scores  of  Handel's  oratorios,  can- 
tatas, etc  ,  the  orchestral  accompaniment  is  for  the  most  part  a  mere 
sketch.  Handel  himself  was  accustomed  to  preside  at  the  organ  in 
the  performance,  and  could  fill  out  the  harmony,  the  intertwining 
polyphony,  according  to  his  own  idea.  But  in  the  written  and  after- 
wards engraved  scores,  with  only  here  and  there  an  exception,  we 
find  the  voice  part,  with  perhaps  a  principal  violin  or  oboe  in  unison 
with  it,  and  nothing  but  a  figured  basso  continuo  besides,  nothing  to  fill 
the  wide,  hollow  chasm  between  the  upper  melody  and  the  monoto- 
nous deep  rumbling  or  roaring  basses.  In  the  fugued  or  contrapuntal 
choruses,  of  course,  the  harmonic  texture  has  to  be  complete.  But 
with  the  arias  it  is  very  different ;  these  were  left  for  Handel's  per- 
sonal accompaniment,  or  for  after  elaboration  by  some  skilful,  sym- 
pathetic hand  ;  for  such  completion  of  the  sketch  as  Mozart  has  made 
for  the  Messiah  (and  yet  not  all  of  it),  and  Robert  Franz  for  the 
'*  L' Allegro  ed  il  Peiuieroso^'^  as  well  as  for  much  of  Bach's  Passion 
Music.  Now,  blindly  following  tradition,  it  has  been  the  custom 
here,  as  in  England,  to  perform  the  Judas  with  that  mere  empty, 


330  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN'    SOCIETY. 

colorless,  monotonous,  and  tedious  accompaniment,  which  is  all  that 
the  published  score  furnishes  for  many  of  the  most  important  arias. 
On  this  account  too,  doubtless,  many  of  these  arias  and  duets  are  left 
out  oftener  than  they  would  be,  were  they  enriched  and  illustrated  by 
a  complete  setting.  Of  course  most  hearers  are  unconscious  n:hy 
they  are  so  dull. 

A  striking  instance  of  the  difference  in  the  two  treatments  was 
shown  that  evening  in  two  of  the  finest  of  the  soprano  airs.  The  one 
in  which  Mme.  Rudersdorff  nmde  her  best  success  of  the  evening,  nnd 
which  she  sang  so  exquisitely,  ''  Wise  men  flattering,"  happened  for 
once  to  have  received  the  especial  attention  of  the  composer,  who  left 
it  armed  with  full  accompaniment,  and  everybody  felt  how  rich,  com- 
plete, and  beautiful  was  the  effect.  On  the  contrary  that  other  ex- 
quisite air  near  the  beginning,  *'  O  Liberty,"  was  sung  to  absolutely 
nothing  but  the  violoncello  obbligato  ;  can  any  one  for  a  moment 
imagine  that  Handel  so  intended  it?  So  too,  in  part  or  wholly,  with 
those  heroic  tenor  and  bass  arias  ;  splendid  vocalization,  a  ringing, 
fervent,  clear  delivery,  arouse  the  audience  ;  but  how  much  more 
magnificent  would  their  effect  be,  were  the  harmony  completed  and 
the  instrumentation  filled  out  as  it  is  only  at  the  return  of  the  first 
theme  in  "  Sound  an  alarm  !  " 

The  choruses,  so  beautiful  and  grand,  some  filled  with  heroic, 
patriotic  ardor,  others  breathing  the  most  pure  and  deep  religious 
feeling,  were  for  the  most  part  very  effectively  sung.  In  the  solos, 
Mme.  Rudersdorff  and  Miss  Fairman  answered  expectation ;  and 
Miss  Carrie  Brackett,  a  pupil  of  Mrs.  Harwood,  making  her  first 
appearance  in  these  oratorios,  with  a  pure,  sweet,  flexible,  but  rather 
thin  soprano  voice,  showed  good  style  and  execution  in  the  florid  air, 
*'•  So  shall  the  lute  and  harp  awake."  But  the  chief  honors  of  the 
evening  were  borne  away  by  the  tenor  hero,  Judas.  Mr.  Varley 
seemed  to  do  his  best,  fairly  electrifying  the  audience  b}^  his  splendid 
trumpet  tones  in  "  Sound  an  alarm,"  which  had  never  made  so  strong 
a  mark  here  before.  A  repetition  was  imperatively  claimed  and 
granted.  The  singer  showed  himself  master  of  the  Handelian  rou- 
lades in  other  arias,  and  was  most  successful  in  the  rendering  of  the 
very  diflflcult  "  How  vain  is  man."  Mr.  Whitney  sang  superbly  "  The 
Lord  worketh  wonders,"  and  generally  was  more  himself  than  on  the 
preceding  night. 

The  two  concerts  yielded  $2,457.  The  second  did  not  meet 
expenses. 

The  rest  of  the  month  of  February  was  given  to  a  few  rehearsals 
on  the  Passion  Music^  for  no  immediate  object,  but  for  improvement, 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  331 

for  •' art's  sake"  perhaps.  Time  so  spent  is  not  lost.  In  March 
and  April  there  were  rehearsals  on  Elijah^  on  the  Ninth  Symphony, 
the  Hymn  of  Praise,  and  Judas  Jfaccaba'us,  —  all  by  the  way  of 
brnshing  up  their  armor  for  New  York.  It  appears  that  Mr.  Thom- 
as's agent  objected  to  the  Hymn  of  Praise;  but  the  Society,  by  an 
unanimous  vote,  insisted  upon  singing  that  and  parts  of  Israel  in  the 
New  York  concerts.  This  New  York  Festival  was  a  much  more 
respectable  affair  than  the  one  into  which  the  Society  had  been 
beguiled  a  few  years  before.  There  was  no  "non-conductor,"  but 
there  was  Theodore  Thomas  with  his  noble  orchestra,  and  our  own 
Carl  Zerrahn  to  wield  the  baton  in  the  oratorios.  All  was  carefully, 
discreetly  planned  ;  good  programmes  and  good  management,  and  no 
*' Jubilee  "  pretension.  The  excursion  was  a  lively  one  ;  some  400 
of  our  singers  left  for  the  great  city  on  the  10th  of  April  in  the  best 
of  spirits,  enlivening  the  route  with  fun  and  frolic,  anecdotes  and 
impromptu  rhymes  in  a  facetious  vein.  Arriving  the  next  morning 
they  took  possession  of  a  new  hotel  provided  for  their  comfort,  where 
everything  was  to  their  taste  and  their  convenience,  and  for  four  or 
five  days  they  received  all  the  hospitality  they  could  desire.  The}* 
enjoyed  the  rehearsals,  they  enjoyed  Mr.  Thomas,  they  enjoyed  the 
city  and  its  sights,  and  they  enjoyed  the  hearty  applause  of  a  great 
audience  when  they  sang.  There  was  only  one  drawback  :  according 
to  a  New  York  correspondent,  "The  audience  is  seated,  the  great 
hall  (Steinway)  is  flooded  with  light,  but,  as  the  music  begins,  observe 
that  the  air  of  heaven,  that  free  gift  of  God,  has  been  carefdly 
extluded  from  the  hall."'  He  is  speaking  of  Elijah.  "For  a  while 
the  hearers  are  lost  in  admiration  ;  the  five  hundred  singers  are  like 
one  voice  I  The  crescendos  and  diminuendos  are  unequalled  by  any- 
thing we  have  ever  known ;  the  audience  is  enthusiastic  ;  but  pres- 
ently the  applause  becomes  less  general,  and,  finally,  it  is  confined 
to  a  few  musicians  scattered  here  and  there.  'We  observe  a  restless- 
ness, a  look  of  weariness  and  depression  on  the  faces  of  the  hearers. 
Has  the  music  lost  its  charm  ?  No  ;  oxygen  in  the  air  is  exhausted  ; 
in  less  than  an  hour,  audience,  orchestra,  and  chorus  are  gasping  in 
different  stages  of  asphyxia,"  etc.  Yet  the  Elijah  on  the  opening 
(Tuesday)  evening  "  was  rendered  as  never  before  in  New  York.*' 
On  the  second  evening  the  four  or  five  hundred  singers  deepened  the 
favorable  impression  by  singing  the  Hymn  of  Praise  entire,  and  selec- 
tions from  Israel  in  Egypt ^  namely,  the  choruses  "  And  the  children," 
the  "Hailstone"  chorus,  "The  horse  and.  his  rider,"  beside  the 
tenor  aria,  "  The  enemy  said,  I  will  pursue."  On  Thursday  evening 
thev  sang  Elijah  in  Brooklyn,  with  no  oroau  !     And  on  Saturdav  even- 


332     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

ing  the}'  had  then-  closing  triumph  in  the  choruses  of  Beethoven'& 
Ninth  Symphon}'.     The  Tribune,  after  this  occasion,  said  :  — 

"...  But  the  chorus,  the  chorus !  "With  this  the  glory  of  the  night  burst 
forth.  There  was  uo  fault  to  be  found  with  it.  Imperfections  there  doubtless 
were,  trips  now  and  then  over  some  of  the  many  stumbling  blocks  which  the 
relentless  composer  threw  all  about  the  score ;  but  petty  mistakes  were  swal- 
lowed up  in  the  overwhelming  torrent  of  song,  which  was  not  like  the  music 
of  earth,  but  the  awful  shouting  of  the  joyous  hosts  of  heaven.   .  .  . 

"  The  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  carry  back  to  Boston  the  sincere  grati- 
tude and  good  wishes  of  the  public  whom  thej^  haA'e  done  so  much  to  instruct 
and  entertain.  They  have  fully  sustained  the  great  reputation  which  pre- 
ceded them,  and  we  hope  they  have  aroused  a  becoming  spirit  of  emulation 
among  our  own  societies.  ...  It  is  pleasant  to  learn  that  a  feeling  of  warm 
cordiality  has  sprung  up  between  Mr.  Theodore  Thomas  and  the  chorus.  If 
we  can  believe  the  letters  and  reports  in  the  Boston  newspapers,  the  Handel 
and  Haydn  Society  are  equally  pleased  with  his  arrangement  for  their  per- 
sonal comfort  and  the  extraordinary  accompaniment  which  he  has  furnished 
for  their  singing." 

This  agreeable  excursion  and  its  laurels  brought  another  Handel 
and  Haydn  season  to  its  close.  And  now  that  they  have  satisfied 
their  roving  propensities  ;  now  that  they  have  sung  Elijah  in  New 
York  ;  now  that  there  is  no  more  prospect  of  Peace  Jubilees  to  tempt 
them  to  digression  (or  transgression) ,  there  seems  to  be  reasonable 
hope  that,  when  they  come  together  for  rehearsals  in  the  autumn, 
they  will  find  themselves  in  a  right  earnest  mood  for  learning  some- 
thing good  ;  the  more  so  as  the  next  objective  point  of  their  ambi- 
tion will  be  a  third  Triennial  Festival  of  one  year  later  ;  and  for  that 
occasion  it  already  looks  as  if  they  really  mean  to  study  the  Matthew 
Passion  Music  of  Bach  until  they  can  do  it  well  and  bring  it  out 
entire.  This  task,  begun  three  years  back,  in  spite  of  almost  popu- 
lar encouragement,  still  hung  fire  ;  there  always  seemed  to  be  a  Jubi- 
lee or  a  New  York  excursion,  or  a  temptation  to  do  Elijah  with  some 
famous  set  of  solo  singers,  to  nip  the  young  rehearsals  in  the  bud. 
How  different  at  that  time  in  London  !  Five  performances  of  the 
Passion  in  one  week  ! 


FIFTY-NINTH    SEASON. 

June  2,  1873,  to  May  25,  1874. 

The  annual  meeting  was  adjourned  to  June  2,  1873.  The  treas- 
urer's report,  counting  the  Dale  bequest  of  Si, 000  on  both  sides  of 
the  account,  showed :  receipts,  S6,747.64  :  expenditures,  $6,736.76^ 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY.     333 

•cash  on  hand  to  new  account  S10.88.  The  election  of  officers  for  the 
ensuing  year  resulted  as  follows  :  — 

President.  —  Loring  B.  Barnes. 

Vice-President.  —  George  H.  Chickering. 

Secretary.  —  A.  Parker  Browne. 

Treasurer.  —  George  W.  Palmer. 

Librarian.  — C.  H.  Johnson. 

Directors. — John  H.  Stickney,  H.  B.  Fisher,  W.  F.  Bradbury, 
AV.  D.  AViswELL,  D.  L.  Laws,  Curtis  Brown,  G.  W.  AYarren, 
W.  O.  Perkins. 

The  summer  meetings  of  the  board  of  government  were  chiefly 
occupied  with  plans  for  the  third  Triennial  Festival  to  be  held  in 
May,  1874,  with  speculative  and  tentative  measures  for  the  securing 
of  the  best  possible  solo  artists  for  that  occasion,  and  with  compari- 
son of  prices  in  view  of  the  compulsory  economy.  It  was  agreed, 
however,  to  engage  the  Thomas  orchestra,  and,  among  other  things, 
to  give  the  Passion  Munc^  Prof.  J.  K.  Paine's  oratorio,  St.  Peter ^ 
Mr.  Dudley  Buck's  Forty-sixth  Psalm,  and  Mendelssohn's  cantata, 
'•The  Sons  of  Art."  Also  to  engage  Miss  Annie  Louise  Gary  at 
$1,000  for  the  week.  St.  Peter  was  the  first  work  taken  up  for  study, 
and  was  rehearsed  throughout  October  and  November. 

Meanwhile  we  look  in  vain  for  any  concerts  until  we  come  to 
Christmas,  when  we  find  an  oratorio,  and  that  oratorio  of  course  is 
the  Jltssiah^  given  on  Sunday  evening,  Dec.  21.  There  was  not  an 
unoccupied  seat  in  the  Music  Hall.  The  chorus  numbered  500,  the 
orchestra  41.  The  preparation  had  been  very  careful.  But  a  sudden 
change  of  weather  attacked  the  throats  of  some  of  the  solo  singers. 
Mrs.  H.  INL  Smith,  from  whom  much  had  been  expected,  was  not 
able  to  appear  at  all ;  and  Mrs.  West,  always  at  home  in  the  soprano 
arias,  with  her  usual  kindness,  sang  them  all  in  good  voice  and  with 
true  expression  ;  in  the  great  song  of  faith  she  was  thought  admira- 
ble. Mr.  Varley,  laboring  under  a  severe  cold,  struggled  heroicalh' ; 
but  his  true  art  saved  him.  and  his  voice  came  out  better  and  better 
as  he  kept  on.  Mr.  Whitney,  too,  was  not  free  from  hoarseness  ; 
but  his  delivery  of  the  great  bass  arias  was  very  grand,  and  his  exe- 
cution of  the  long  roulade  passages  was  round  and  even.  The  con- 
tralto solos  were  intrusted,  for  the  first  time,  to  Mrs.  H.  E.  Sawyer, 
whose  modest  and  refined  presence  bespoke  favor,  steadily  confirmed 
by  her  fresh,  sweet,  delicate,  not  heavy  voice,  and  her  artistic  style 
and  unaffected,  pure  expression.  The  choruses  were  uncommonly 
well  sung.  Some  of  the  more  difficult  and  "  catchy"  ones  went  very 
smoothly.     The  balance  of  parts  seemed  much  improved  ;   and  never 


334  HISTOTIY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

before  had  the  Society  been  able  to  rejoice  in  so  sweet  and  powerful 
a  body  of  tenors.     The  concert  yielded  a  profit  of  Si, 000. 

This  left  a  clear  field  for  working  up  the  Festival ;  no  more  con- 
certs until  then,  with  the  exception  of  Elijah  at  Easter,  which  needed 
little  study.  This,  coming  to  the  front  after  so  long  a  period  of 
retired  and  as  it  were  underground  work,  was  a  sort  of  renvoi  to  the 
great  feast  in  preparation.  It  was  an  excellent  performance,  the  new 
point  of  interest  being  the  rendering  of  the  prophet's  part  by  Mr. 
J.  F.  "Winch,  whose  rich,  elastic  qualit}^  of  voice  gave  peculiar  life 
to  all  the  music.  Mr.  George  L.  Osgood  sang  the  first  tenor  aria  very 
beautifully,  but  he  was  evidently  laboring  under  great  depression, 
being  obliged  to  face  an  audience,  as  singers  and  actors  often  are, 
when  he  should  have  been  in  his  bed.  Mrs.  West  showed  signs  of 
great  fatigue,  after  protracted  Piaster  services  in  church  choirs,  but 
sang  with  her  usual  fervor  and  success.  Mrs.  Sawyer,  the  contralto, 
and  Mrs.  Weston,  as  "the  Youth,"  and  in  the  trio  and  quartets 
made  a  yevy  favorable  impression. 


THIRD   TRIENNIAL   FESTIVAL.     1874. 
Tuesday  Ev^exixg,  May  5,  to  Sunday  Evening,  May  10. 

All  the  auspices  were  favorable  for  a  rich,  choice  feast  of  oratorio 
and  symphony  and  song.  It  was  a  singularly  quiet  Festival  (exter- 
nally), which  to  a  refined,  artistic  feeling  is  refreshing.  This  is  said 
in  view  of  the  dignified  and  simple  style  of  its  announcements,  of 
the  absence  of  all  "splurge"  such  as  was  wont  to  accompany  all 
"big  things  "  in  this  country,  and  of  the  general  quiet  of  the  city  as 
if  there  was  nothing  remarkable  going  on.  And  yet  in  no  previous 
Festival  had  there  been  so  deep  and  true  an  interest,  and  none  had 
yielded  so  much  real  satisfaction.  It  seemed  a  wholesome  natural 
reaction  to  the  monster  "Jubilee"  excitements,  disposing  every  one 
to  greater  love  of  what  is  modest,  moderate,  sincere,  and  solid. 
Even  the  elements  conspired  to  bless  the  undertaking ;  for  the  first 
time  in  a  long  wintry  spring,  the  blustering  winds  for  a  week  sang 
truce,  and  there  was  continual  sunshine,  cheering,  though  not  very 
warming.  In  one  respect  a  little  less  of  quiet  would  have  been  more 
welcome  ;  the  visitors  from  other  cities  did  not  seem  so  numerous  as 
usual. 

Of  the  intrinsic  elements  of  strength  in  such  a  Festival,  —  the 
chorus,  orchestra,  and  solo  artists,  —  the  first  two  were  stronger  than 
ever  before,  while  the  average  excellence  in  the  list  of  principal  sing- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  335 

ers  compared  well  with  the  past.  If  the  great  chorus  had  before 
been  greater,  it  was  in  show  and  numbers  only  :  this  time  the  600 
voices  were  more  select,  more  truly  balanced  in  the  four  parts,  more 
carefully  trained  and  more  effective  than  the  700  or  800  of  some 
earlier  occasions.  The  600  were  divided  about  as  follows:  170 
sopranos,  150  altos,  130  tenors,  and  150  basses.  A  great  advantage 
was  secured  in  the  engagement  of  the  permanent  and  admirable 
orchestra  of  Theodore  Thomas  (one  of  the  fruits,  perhaps,  of  that 
memorable  New  York  excursion).  To  the  60  musicians  of  Thomas 
were  added  25  of  the  best  of  our  own  city.  Other  important  ele- 
ments of  strength  were,  of  course,  the  indefatigable  and  efficient 
conductorship  of  Carl  Zerrahn,  the  veteran  leader  of  such  hosts  ;  the 
noble  organ,  under  the  judicious  hands  of  B.  J.  Lang ;  then  the  great 
privilege  which  Boston  enjoyed  in  the  possession  of  a  Music  Hall  so 
nobly  fitted  for  these  great  occasions.  To  which  add  the  public  spirit 
of  so  many  of  our  citizens,  who,  as  usual,  made  up  the  guaranty  of 
nearly  850,000,  without  which  no  society  could  risk  so  great  an  under- 
taking ;  and,  above  all,  the  zeal,  the  fertiUty  of  resources,  the  judg- 
ment and  unwearied  industry  of  the  president  (Barnes)  and  secre- 
tary (Browne) ,  and  indeed  of  the  whole  board  of  management  of  the 
brave  old  Societ\'.  The  fine  audiences  added  their  important  sympa- 
thetic element  of  strength,  contributing  much  to  the  artistic  side  of 
the  affair,  to  its  morale^  if  not  enough  to  the  financial  side. 

We  have  not  yet  even  hinted  of  the  most  essential  feature  in  the 
whole  design,  inasmuch  as  matter  is  of  more  consequence  than  man- 
ner, —  the  programmes.  Of  these  as  they  occur  in  the  order  of  the 
feast. 

The  Festival  anticipated  its  own  opening,  practically,  by  a  public 
rehearsal  on  Sunday  evening  (May  3)  of  Bach's  Passion  Music. 
That  was  in  some  respects  a  mistake.  Such  confidence  was  rash ; 
for  it  was  bringing  together  for  the  first  and  only  time,  before  the 
regular  performance,  of  all  the  elements  of  this  immense,  unwonted, 
and  most  diflScult  combination  ;  the  first  and  only  trial  of  a  vast, 
most  complex  organization ;  orchestra  with  chorus,  until  then  trained 
separately  ;  orchestra  with  solo  voices,  not  yet  brought  into  full 
understanding  with  each  other.  The  consequence  was  a  great  deal 
of  friction  and  imperfect  fitting.  The  choral  eflfect  was  grand ;  but 
the  solo  singers,  having  parts  most  difficult  and  of  an  unfamiliar 
style,  and  furthermore  unsettled  in  their  sense  of  time  and  rhythm 
by  the  ceaseless  flow  and  the  peculiar  phrasing  of  the  instrumental 
parts,  were  exposed  to  the  awkwardness  and  nervousness  of  frequent 
stopping  and  repeating.     And  this  before  an  audience  quite  numer- 


330  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

ous  (perhaps  critical,  as  people  are  apt  to  be  of  a  Dew  thing  which 
they  do  not  understand),  an  audience  composed  of  over  400  season- 
ticket  holders,  and  200  who  had  bought  the  privilege,  besides  a  still 
larger  array  of  the  freely  admitted.  Puzzled  and  fatigued,  many  of 
the  audience  left  the  hall  before  the  rehearsal  was  half  over,  so  that 
an  impression  may  have  gone  abroad  by  no  means  favorable  to  the 
great  work  itself.  But  fortunately  the  fear  was  not  confirmed  by  the 
attendance  upon  Friday  evening,  which  proved  to  be  the  largest  of 
the  week  till  then.  Many  had  listened,  felt,  and  begun  to  love  that 
music  and  desire  more  acquaintance  with  it. 

First  Day.  Tuesday  Evening,  May  5.  A  large,  appreciative  audi- 
ence listened  to  such  a  performance  of  Handel's  Judas  Maccabceus  as 
had  not  been  heard  here  before.  They  say  it  all  went  to  a  charm, 
what  with  the  large  and  well-trained  chorus,  Thomas  orchestra,  and 
a  very  competent  quartet  of  solo  singers.  A  satisfactory  produc- 
tion of  the  fine  work,  with  two  deductions :  first,  the  want  of  some 
pious  labor  of  completion  to  the  accompaniments  in  man}'  pieces,  as 
we  have  intimated  before,  some  work  of  a  man  like  Robert  Franz  ; 
secondly,  a  sin  of  omission,  the  cutting  out  of  some  of  the  finest 
numbers  of  the  work,  for  instance,  the  chorus,  ''For  Sion  lamenta- 
tion make,"  and  the  abridgment  of  the  superb  chorus,  "  Tune  3'our 
harps."  Among  the  solo  singers,  Miss  Edith  Wynne  held  the  place 
of  honor.  She  had  recrossed  the  stormy  ocean  slightly  hoarse,  but 
with  all  the  purity  and  sweetness  of  tone,  the  artistic  fineness,  the 
simple  beauty  of  expression,  and  the  chaste  religious  fervor,  which 
won  all  hearts  when  she  was  here  before,  and  also  with  more  volume 
and  intensity  of  voice.  Miss  Annie  Gary's  rendering  of  the  little  that 
she  had  to  do,  the  serious  air,  "  Father  of  Heaven,"  and  in  the  duets 
with  soprano,  was  entirely  satisfactory.  Mr.  Nelson  Varley  was  in 
good  voice  for  the  heroic  tenor  parts,  and  gave  out  all  he  had  with 
a  N»  nole-souled  resolve  to  do  his  best.  Mr.  Whitney's  ponderous  bass 
tones  told  majestically  in  "Arm,  arm,  ye  brave,"  "Rejoice,  O 
Judah,"  and  particularly  in  "  The  Lord  worketh  wonders,"  giving 
its  sustained  roulades  with  remarkable  evenness  and  symmetry  of 
phrasing.  It  was  a  common  remark  that  this  was  the  "  most  per- 
fect rendering  of  an  oratorio  yet  heard  in  Boston."  The  hall  was 
two  thirds  full. 

Second  Day.  Wednesday^  May  6.  The  afternoon  concert  had 
the  following  programme  :  — 

1.  Overture  to  Euryanthe Weher. 

2.  Atisl:  ''  A\i\  quel  giorno,''  from  Semi ramide       .         .         Bossini. 

Miss  Anmk  Louis k  Gary. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  337 

*3.     Concerto  for  String  Orchestra.    Allegro  —  Adagio  — 

Allegro J.  S.  Bach. 

Violin  obbligato  by  Mk.  Bernhard  Listkmanx. 

4.  Untinished  Symphouy,  in  B  minor      ....  Schubert. 

5.  Overture  to  Midsumnier  Xiffht's  Dream       .         .         .  Mendelssohii, 

6.  Recit.  ed  Aria  :  "Ah!  Parlate,"  from  ^Iftra/no  .  Cimarosa. 

Miss  Edith  Wynne. 

*7.     Variations  on  a  theme  by  Haydn         ....  Brahms. 

*S.     Aria  :-' Qui  s'degno,"  from  II  Flauto  JIagico  .         .  Mozart. 

Mr.  Myron  W.  Whitney. 

*9.     A^orspiel :  Die  Meister singer  von  Xiirnherg  .         .  Wagner. 

The  Dumbers  which  are  starred  were  conducted  by  Mr.  Thomas  ; 
all  the  rest  by  Mr.  Zerrahu. 

In  the  evening  the  audience  was  very  large,  attracted  chiefly  by  the 
chance  of  hearing  Beethoven's  Choral  Symphony  under  such  rare 
advantages,  as  well  as  the  first  part  of  Haydn's  Seasons,  —  the  fresh, 
melodious,  cheerful  music  of  the  Spring,  in  which  the  old  man  seems 
to  have  renewed  his  youth.  But  the  concert  opened  with  the  over- 
ture to  Spohr's  Jessonda,  finely  played,  followed  by  the  tenor  air, 
'' Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,"  from  St.  Paul,  sung  in  good  voice 
and  with  considerable  fervor  by  Mr.  W.  J.  TTiuch.  The  gem  of  the 
''Spring"  music  was  the  chorus,  "  Come,  gentle  Spring,"  which  is 
simply  perfect  in  itself,  and  in  which  all  the  voices  blended  to  a 
charm.  All  the  chorus  work  was  nearly  faultless,  and  so  was  all  the 
graceful,  flowery  accompaniment..  The  songs,  duets,  and  trios  were 
most  acceptably  rendered  by  Mrs.  H.  M.  Smith,  soprano,  Mr.  George 
L.  Osgood,  tenor,  and  Mr.  John  F.  Winch,  bass.  Part  II.  was 
filled  by  the  great  Choral  Symphony.  A  writer,  whom  we  perhaps 
too  often  .quote,  said  of  the  performance  :  — 

'•  It  seemed  as  irood.  upon  the  whole,  as  any  we  have  ever  heard :  and  yet. 
though  there  was  everything  to  be  hoped  from  such  an  admirable  orchestra, 
we  cannot  say  that  every  part  seemed  quite  so  clear  or  so  impressive  in  the 
tirst  of  the  purely  instrumental  movements,  or  that  the  Scherzo  made  the 
blood  tingle  with  quite  so  tine  a  life,  as  in  some  former  renderings,  although 
the  reeds  and  horns  sounded  exciuisitely  in  the  playful  pastoral  trio.  But  the 
heavenly  Adagio,  alternating  with  Andante,  was  all  that  sense  or  soul  could 
crave.  The  excited  opening  of  the  second  part,  the  frantic  outcry  for  the 
solution  of  the  problem  of  true  joy  and  peace,  was  made  still  more  exciting  by 
Richard  Wagner"s  modification  of  the  trumpet  parts.  The  double  basses  spoke 
out  grandly  and  distinctly  in  their  recitative,  and  hummed  the  "Joy"  tune 
through  in  light  expressive  imison  The  entrance  of  the  human  bass  voice  with 
the  exhortation,  '  Brothers,  no  more,'  etc.,  a  most  eloquent  but  trying  piece  of 
recitative,  was  well  achieved  by  Mr.  Rudolphsen.  The  great  chorus,  and  the 
quartet  of  soli  (Mrs.  Smith,  Miss  Gary,  Mr.   Varley.   and  Mr.  Rudolphsen) 


338  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

rose  to  the  lieiirht  of  the  occasion,  with  what  seemed  a  genuine  crescendo  of 
enthusiasm,  so  that  even  the  long-sustained  high  notes  at  the  sublime  reli- 
gious climax,  %yhere  all  the  human  *  millions,'  in  a  general  embrace,  find  joy 
in  universal  brotherhood  and  so  rise  to  the  conception  of  the  Father,  sounded 
musical  and  true.  Always  excepting  the  lamented  Parepa-Rosa,  who  seemed 
made  for  such  a  part,  no  soprano  has  been  found  here  more  competent  to 
the  extremely  trying  soaring  passages  than  Mrs.  Smith ;  and  indeed  the  whole 
quartet  were  remarkaby  successful,  even  in  that  fourfold,  flowery,  long 
cadenza  near  the  end..  It  was  a  triumphant  feat  of  chorus  singing,  —  rather 
say  choral  service, —  for  the  singers  threw  themselves  into  it  with  some  devo- 
tion, in  a  whole-souled  way ;  and  so,  with  such  an  orchestra  besides,  the  audi- 
ence could  not  but  be  greatly  stirred  and  lifted  up." 

Third  Day.  Thursday^  May  7.  The  afternoon  concert  was  of 
great  interest.  It  began  with  a  fine  performance  nnder  Mr.  Thomas 
of  Ghick's  Iphigenia  overture,  wdth  "Wagner's  ending.  Then  Ha^'dn's 
tenor  song,  "In  native  worth."'  from  the  Creaion,  well  sung  by  Mr. 
Varley,  preceded  the  first  of  three  short  choi  al  works,  which  formed 
the  chief  attraction  of  the  programme.  This  was  the  beautiful  motet 
by  Mendelssohn.  ''Hear  my  prayer,"  for  soprano  solo  and  chorus, 
accompanied  only  by  the  organ  as  the  composer  wrote  ;  the  orches- 
tral accompaniment,  which  some  one  else  has  put  to  it,  is  sometimes 
rather  a  disturbance  than  a  help  to  the  pure,  delicate  impression  of 
the  work.  The  motet  was  first  introduced  in  Boston  in  some  concerts 
of  a  private  club  by  Mr.  Otto  Dresel ;  a  few  years  later  it  was  given 
by  the  Parker  Club.  The  solo  part  was  admirably  suited  to  Miss 
Wynne  ;  in  nothing  all  the  week,  with  the  exception  of  some  thiugs 
in  Judas,  did  she  produce  a  more  delightful  impression.  The  agon- 
ized petition,  "The  enemy  shouteth,"  and  the  cry  of  distress,  "My 
heart  is  sorely  pained,"  were  given  with  a  thrilling  pathos  ;  and  the 
sweet,  soaring  melody,  "  Oh  for  the  wings  of  a  dove,"  was  heavenly. 
The  choral  answers  and  accompaniment  were  nicely  sung. 

After  the  scena,  "Che  faro,"  from  Gluck's  Orfeo,  finely  sung  by 
Miss  Cary,  came  the  second  choral  work,  heard  here  for  the  first  time 
in  full,  with  orchestra  and  grand  chorus,  Mendelssohn's  unfinished 
oratorio,  Christvs.  These  fragments  indicate  a  grand  design, —  a 
work,  perhaps,  which  would  have  surpassed  Elijah  or  St.  Poul.  The}^ 
were  composed  in  Switzerland  in  the  summer  of  1847,  only  a  few 
months  before  his  death,  when  he  had  not  recovered  from  the  fatal 
shock  of  his  beloved  sister's  death.  The  plan  of  the  oratorio  was 
laid  out  on  a  grand  scale  ;  it  was  to  be  in  three  parts,  "  The  Career 
on  Earth,  the  Descent  into  Hell,  the  Ascent  to  Heaven."  In  the 
thematic  catalogue  these  fragments,  all  relating  to  the  earthly  career, 
are  divided  into  first  and  second  part.     To  Part  I.,  which  has  the 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  339 

glow  of  hope  and  prophecy,  belong,  first,  the  trio  for  tenor  aud  two 
basses,  of  the  wise  men  from  the  East,  "Say,  where  is  he  born? 
We  have  seen  his  star,"  which  is  strikingly  beautiful,  and  was  finely 
sung  by  Messrs.  W.  J.  and  J.  F.  Winch  and  Mr.  Whitney  ;  then  a 
noble  chorus,  "  There  shall  a  star  from  Jacob  come  forth,"  ending 
with  the  old  German  choral,  "  How  sweetly  shines  the  morning  star  !" 
in  plain  note-for-note  harmony.  These  *'star"  fragments  shone  in 
sweet,  pure  radiance  in  the  excellent  performance.  The  pieces  of 
Part  II.  are  Passion  music.  They  consist  of  a  few  sentences  of  nar- 
rative recitative  for  a  tenor  voice,  and  a  number  of  accusing,  angry 
choruses  of  Jews  (turbcE),  "  He  saith  he  is  Jesus,"  "  He  stirreth  up 
the  Jews,"  "  Away  with  him  and  give  Barabbas  to  us  !  "  —  all  very 
vivid  and  exciting,  reaching  their  climax  in  "  Crucify  him,"  which  is 
a  chorus  of  appalling  power.  Very  strong,  too,  is  the  short  inexora- 
ble one,  "We  have  a  sacred  law,"  etc.  These  harsh  pictures  are 
at  length  relieved  by  a  sweet,  tender  lamentation,  the  chorus, 
"  Daughters  of  Zion,  weep,"  in  which  simple  passages  for  the  sopra- 
nos and  altos  in  thirds  alternate  with  full  chorus,  —  a  very  lovely 
composition,  sure  of  sympathetic  audience  when  so  well  sung  as  it 
was  then.  The  last  of  the  fragments  is  a  choral  harmonized  in  four 
parts  for  the  male  voices,  "  He  leaves  his  heavenly  portals."  The 
Christus  made  a  deep  impression. 

A  new  work  b}'  one  of  our  own  composers,  Mr.  Dudley  Buck,  the 
Forty-sixth  Psalm^  closed  the  concert.  The  same  psalm  inspired  the 
famous  hymn  and  melody  by  Duther,  ^'  Ein'  feste  Burg."  But  Mr. 
Buck  has  treated  all  the  eleven  verses  of  the  psalm  in  the  extended 
and  broad  form  of  composition  with  which  we  have  become  familiar 
mostly  through  the  psalms  by  Mendelssohn,  though  earlier  examples, 
under  the  titles  of  cantatas,  anthems,  etc.,  abound  in  the  works  of 
Bach  and  Handel.  He  employs  full  chorus,  solo  voices,  and  orches- 
tra. In  portioning  out  the  different  sentences,  with  their  contrasts  of 
sentiment,  among  the  various  vocal  forms  of  air,  quartet,  chorus, 
etc.,  he  has  shown  tact  and  judgment.  Mr.  Buck's  work  was  some- 
what light  and  popular  in  style,  but  nearly  always  pleasing,  musical, 
felicitous,-  if  not  ver}:  original  in  thoughts  or  very  skilful  in  the  treat- 
ment. It  made  a  good  impression,  and  confirmed  the  good  opinion 
of  his  talent  which  prevailed  before.  The  fourth  verse,  "  There  is  a 
river,"  consists  of  a  soprano  solo,  which  was  sung  with  fervor  and 
with  good  expression  by  Mrs.  Julia  Houston  West,  followed  first  b}' 
a  quartet  of  sopranos  and  altos,  then  (to  a  new  verse),  "  God  is  in 
the  midst  of  her,"  by  a  quartet  of  tenors  and  basses,  and  then  by 
both  parties  combined  in  a  double  quartet  recalling  the  words,  "  There 


340  HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AXD    HAYDX    SOCIETY. 

is  a  river."  The  quartet  seemed  cleverly  wrought,  the  solo  melodi- 
ous, not  particularly  imaginative  or  deep  in  feeling,  a  little  operatic 
like  the  modern  Italian  sacred  music.  A  strong  declamatory  recita- 
tive, '•  The  heathen  raged,"'  was  grandly  delivered  by  Mr.  .J.  F. 
Winch.  Mr.  Nelson  Varley  made  the  best  of  an  elaborate  tenor 
solo,  "O  come  hither.''  And  a  quartet,  *' Be  still  then."  made  an 
agreeable  impression  as  sung  by  Mrs.  West,  Miss  Cary,  Mr.  Varlev, 
and  Mr.  Whitney. 

The  evening  of  that  day  was  devoted  to  a  full  rehearsal  of  Prof. 
Paine's  .SY.  Peter. 

Fourth  Day.  Friday.,  May  8.  The  third  of  the  afternoon  concerts 
attracted  a  goodly  audience,  but  not  a  paying  one.  This,  unfortu- 
nately, was  the  case  with  all  the  afternoon  concerts,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  one  occasion  on  which  choral  works  were  given.  The 
programme  this  time  offered  some  of  the  best  classical  works  for 
orchestra,  offset  in  very  sharp  contrast  by  some  of  the  characteristic 
and  (to  many)  questionable  things  by  Liszt  and  Wagner,  the  whole 
agreeably  relieved  by  songs. 

1.  Overture  to  Coriolanus Beethoven. 

2.  Aria  :  '•  My  heart,  ever  faithful  "        .         .         .         .        ./,  .S'.  Bach. 

Mi>>  Edith  Wynne. 

3.  Symphony,  No.  1,  in  B  flat Schumann. 

*4.     A  Faust  overture Wojjner. 

5.  Romanza,  ••  I  ^eet  thee  now,"  from  Rtickert,  Op.  20, 

Xo.  1 SchuheH. 

Mk.    GeOI'.GE   L     (JSGOOI). 

6.  Adagio,  from  The  Men  of  Prometheus        .        .         .        Beethoven. 

7.  Welsh  Songs,    a,''  The  Missing  Boat" :  ^y,  "  A  irentle 

maid  in  secret  sighed." 

Miss  Edith  Wynne. 
*8.     Symphonic  Poem,  Tasso Liszt. 

Mr.  Theodore  Thomas  conducted  in  the  Wagner  and  Liszt  pieces, 
which  could  not  suffer  in  performance  by  this  splendid  orchestra. 
Mr.  Zerrahn  conducted  the  rest  of  the  concert.  Bach's  gladsome 
aria,  that  rapturous  bird  song  of  a  heart  full  of  faith,  was  sung  with 
real  feeling  and  expression  by  Miss  Wynne  ;  and  her  native  Welsh 
songs  had  the  charm  of  quaint  simplicity  and  freshness,  especially 
a  third  one,  which  she  sang  for  an  encore,  to  Mr.  Lockwood's  harp 
accompaniment.  Schubert's  beautiful  and  serious  romanza,  ''  Sei 
mir  gegriisst."  was  so  finely  sung  by  Mr.  Osgood  that  he  was  obliged 
to  repeat  it. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  341 

The  evening  brought  the  great  experience  of  the  week,  —  the  first 
performance  in  this  country  of  the  larger  portion  —  twice  as  much  as 
we  were  allowed  to  have  three  years  before  —  of  Bach's  Passion 
Music  according  to  the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew.  To  give  the  whole 
work  in  a  single  performance  would  be  neither  practicable  nor  wise. 
If  it  is  to  be  produced  entire,  it  should  be  divided  into  two  concerts 
on  the  same  day,  as  it  was  originally  sung  in  church.  Part  I.  in  the 
morning,  and  Part  II.  in  the  evening  service.  It  called  out  by  far 
the  largest  audience,  until  then,  of  the  Festival,  an  audience  the  like 
of  which,  considering  both  character  and  numbers,  and  the  profound 
attention  paid,  had  not  for  many  a  day  been  seen  in  that  great  Music 
Hall. 

To  the  effect  produced  by  the  elaborate,  strange  music,  now  vast 
and  overwhelming,  now  tender,  dreamy,  mystical  and  subtle,  now 
full  of  deep  peace,  soothing  and  refreshing,  the  newspaper  reports 
of  the  day  bore  witness.  Their  testimony,  as  well  as  the  deeply  inter- 
ested aspect  of  the  whole  audience,  of  whom  not  a  dozen  persons  left 
their  seats  before  they  had  drunk  in  the  last  note  of  the  final  chorus, 
and  the  expressions  of  delight  and  wonder  heard  on  all  sides  as  the 
crowd  poured  out,  were  conclusive  as  to  the  decided  triumph  of  the 
difficult  and  doubtful  undertaking.  Of  course  there  were  exceptions  ; 
there  were  some  who  did  not  get  beyond  the  state  of  reverent  and 
patient  curiosity,  of  conscientious  listening,  like  a  jury  on  a  case 
which  on  the  whole  was  but  a  bore  to  them  ;  some  felt  the  beauty  and 
the  grand  repose  of  the  chorals,  were  startled  by  the  ''Lightning" 
chorus,  but  found  the  solos  tedious  and  untuneful,  and  would  have 
liked  them  left  out  like  the  part  of  Hamlet.  But  the  general  ex- 
perience was  one  of  unexpected  gratification,  of  a  new  sense  of  beauty 
and  of  power  in  music,  and  of  a  serene  and  holy  influence,  such  as, 
perhaps,  no  music  had  ever  exercised  upon  their  souls  to  quite  the 
same  degree  before.  And  this  was  the  intrinsic  potency  of  Bach's 
music.  The  miracle  was  wrought  by  its  mere  presence,  in  spite  of 
manifold  and  serious  imperfections  in  the  actual  performance.  It 
was  not  Boston's  first  experience  of  the  kind.  It  was  through  years 
and  3'ears  of  rude  and  crude  attempts  at  true  interpretation,  during 
our  days  of  small  things  in  the  way  of  instrumental  means,  that  the 
love  of  the  Beethoven  symphonies  at  last  became  so  rooted  in  this 
community.  The  weak  and  tentative  beginning  had  first  to  be  made, 
and  even  that  raised  up  the  nucleus  of  the  larger  audience.  It  was 
well,  therefore,  to  have  made  a  beginning  with  the  Passion  Music; 
the  effort  was  rewarding  both  to  those  who  sang  and  those  who  lis- 
tened.    In  that  imperfect  undertaking  a  new  love  was  planted,  and 


342  HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY. 

it  will  grow  and  be  abiding.  The  imperfections,  in  spite  of  which  the 
Passion  Music  took  at  once  so  strong  a  hold  upon  so  man^^  hearing  it 
for  the  first  thne,  were  chiefly  these  :  — 

1.  Those  due  to  the  want  of  full  rehearsal.  There  had  been 
frequent. and  careful  rehearsals  of  the  chorus  b}^  itself;  doubtless,  too, 
the  several  solo  singers  had  spent  earnest  private  study  upon  their 
unwonted  tasks  ;  there  had  been  at  the  most  one  or  two  trials  of  the 
solos  with  the  orchestra.  But  the  bringing  together  of  all  the  elements 
of  so  immense  and  difficult  a  work  had  been  risked  upon  a  single 
chance,  and  that  in  the  presence  of  a  large  audience  paying  for 
admission,  a  nervous  and  unenviable  predicament  for  the  soloists? 
who,  either  on  their  own  account  or  that  of  the  orchestra,  had  fre- 
quently to  be  stopped  and  made  to  repeat  passages  or  entire  arias. 
The  defect  from  this  cause  was  most  apparent  in  the  orchestra, 
which,  had  it  even  been  a  perfect  one,  could  not  be  at  home  in  music 
of  so  unusual  a  character,  requiring  to  be  fitted  with  such  nice  and 
delicate  discrimination,  in  all  details  of  rhythm,  phrasing,  accent, 
light  and  shade  and  color,  to  the  vocal  melod}',  particularly  to  the 
melodic  fragments  of  the  accompanied  recitative. 

2.  The  inadequacy  of  solo  singers  ;  not  to  be  wondered  at,  con- 
sidering the  difficulty  and  the  unwonted  character  of  all  the  melody. 
Even  Miss  Wynne,  with  her  sweet  voice,  her  exquisite  delivery,  and 
deep,  pure  feeling,  was  not  always  equal  to  this  music.  More  than 
once,  in  the  accompanied  recitative,  which  requires  to  be  given  in 
strict  time,  she  was  out  of  time,  partly  through  the  fault  of  the 
orchestra  (in  regard  to  accent,  phrasing,  over-loudness,  etc.).  But 
the  aria,  "  Never  will  my  heart  refuse  thee,"  was  beautifully  sung. 
And  in  the  latter  part,  that  divinely  lovely  aria,  '^  From  love 
unbounded."  with  its  delicate  accompaniment  of  merely  a  flute 
obbligato  and  two  clarinets,  was  given  with  the  truest  feeling.  It 
was  in  the  preceding  recitative,  "  He  hath  done  only  good  to  all," 
that  voice  and  instruments  failed  to  agree  ;  and  yet  the  singer  put 
dramatic  fire  into  it.  Miss  Phillipps  was  least  of  all  herself  in  the 
contralto  airs.  She  evidently  approached  the  task  with  much  mis- 
giving ;  and  though  she  doubtless  felt  the  beauty,  depth,  and  tender- 
ness of  the  music,  she  would  not  of  her  own  choice  have  sung  it 
publicly  before  she  could  wear  its  forms  as  easily  as  she  did  those 
of  music  she  had  sung  for  years.  In  the  great  aria,  *'  O  pardon  me  " 
{Erharme  dich),  she  was  out  of  tune,  and  the  whole  rendering  was 
lifeless.  Mr.  Listemann's  playing  of  the  violin  obbligato,  however, 
lent  considerable  interest  to  it.  In  her  first  aria,  "  Grief  and  pain," 
she  was  much  more  successful.     In  that  aria  we  have  an  instance  of 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     343 

Bach's  tendency  to  '^  picture  nuisic,"  which  with  most  composers 
is  mechanical  and  false.  But  here,  when  the  violin  staccato  phrases 
imitate  the  dropping  of  tears  ;  again  in  the  tearful  appoggiaturas  in 
"  O  pardon  me,''  and  in  the  duet,  "  Alas  !  my  Jesus  now  is  taken,"  it 
is  all  unconscious  on  Bach's  part,  and  only  shows  the  vividness  of 
his  imagination  all  alive  through  his  intensity  of  feeling.  This  duet 
before  the  thunder  and  lightning  chorus  was  touching  and  beautifully 
rendered. 

The  largest  measure  of  success  among  the  solo  singers  was  achieved 
by  Mr.  Wm.  J.  Winch,  whose  task  was  the  most  arduous  of  all,  both 
in  its  amount  and  its  peculiar  ditticulty.  All  the  tenor  recitatives, 
both  of  the  narrative  portion  (recitativo  secco)  and  the  accompanied 
and  more  melodic,  like  "  O  Grief!"  (with  chorus),  called  for  all  the 
voice  (mostly  in  the  higher  range)  and  all  the  understanding,  feeling, 
carefully  studied  method,  which  the  most  experienced  tenor  could 
bring  to  their  interpretation.  He  had  the  voice,  and  he  had  faith- 
fully learned  his  part  so  as  to  give  all  at  least  correcth^,  oftentimes 
with  much  expression  and  dramatic  power.  As  a  vocalist  he  had 
been  studying  to  some  purpose.  The  beautiful,  but  very  trving  aria, 
*'  I'll  watch  with  my  dear  Jesu  alway,"  where  the  oboe  exquisitely 
leads  off  with  the  melody,  and  where  the  soothing  and  refreshing 
chorus,  ''  So  slumber,"  keeps  stealing  back  under  continually  new 
forms  of  polyphonic  harmony,  made  really  a  deep  impression.  In 
the  narrative  recitative  the  crisp,  dry  chords  were  struck  by  Mr. 
Dresel  on  an  upright  piano,  which  was  far  more  reassuring  to  the 
singer  than  to  have  them,  as  in  the  rehearsal,  tardily  reach  him  from 
the  distant  organ  ;  moreover  every  such  contrast  in  the  character  of 
tone  reUeves  the  ear  in  such  a  work.  There  were  dignity  and  gran- 
deur, as  well  as  good  and  even  execution,  albeit  too  much  inert  weight, 
in  Mr.  Whitney's  rendering  of  the  bass  arias,  '*  Gladly  will  I,  all 
resigning,"  and  that  with  the  violin  solo,  after  Judas  has  cast  down 
the  silver  pieces,  ''Give  me  back  my  dearest  master."  The  latter 
he  had  made  in  some  degree  his  own  by  singing  it  in  concerts.  His 
delivery  also  of  the  recitatives,  the  Masters  words,  was  impressive, 
and  yet  needed  much  of  tenderness  and  delicacy,  as  in  the  scene  of 
the  supper.  Mr.  Rudolphsen  gave  an  intelligent,  artistic  rendering 
of  the  air,  "  Come,  blessed  cross  !  "  in  the  last  part,  with  the  florid 
violoncello  obbligato,  as  well  as  some  fragments  of  the  recitative  in 
the  pai't  of  Judas. 

The  wonder,  on  the  whole,  was  that  the  solos  went  so  well,  and 
that  so  many  strange  long  arias,  in  a  style  so  remote  from  all  the 
habits  formed  by  singers  of  our  day, —  a  style  for  which  even  Han- 


344  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

(lei  is  no  preparation,  —  he  so  classic,  Bach  so  Gothic,  —  should  after 
all  have  interested  so  man}^  of  the  audience  so  deeply  as  they  did. 
Enough  was  learned  by  that  experience  to  show  that  this  is  music 
well  worth  all  the  study  it  may  cost. 

3.  In  the  matter  of  selection  and  abridgment  perhaps  better 
judgment  might  have  been  used.  The  problem  was  a  difficult  one 
(how  best  to  compress  three  hours  into  two  hours),  and  the  best  solu- 
tion was  only  to  be  found  out  by  experience.  Looking  back  after 
the  performance,  it  became  clear  enough  that  the  long  series  of  solos 
in  Part  II.  would  have  been  much  relieved  by  the  interspersing  of  a 
few  more  chorals  (always  so  refreshing),  and  by  some  of  those  short, 
quick,  stirring,  and  exciting  "  iwr6ce,"  angr\^  choruses  of  Jews^ 
which  would  have  enlivened  the  whole  thing.  The  great  figured 
choral  at  the  end  of  Part  I.,  too,  was  a  serious  loss,  musically, 
although  dramatically  the  first  part  ends  well  with  the  taking  of 
Jesus  and  the  imprecation  of  heaven's  "  lightnings  and  thunders  " 
by  the  outraged  disciples.  The  opening  alto  aria  with  chorus  in 
Part  II.,  "Ah!  now  is  my  Jesu  gone,"  and  "Whither  has  thy 
friend  departed?"  so  romantic  in  its  tone,  as  if  from  the  Song 
of  Solomon,  would  have  supplied  another  element  of  fresh  variety 
and  contrast.  Again,  instead  of  Mr.  Whitney's  first  bass  aria,  the 
last  one  in  the  work,  preceded  by  the  recitative,  "  At  eventide, 
cool  hour  of  rest,"  a  great  favorite  in  Germany,  would  have  made 
more  impression.  So,  too,  it  was  a  pity  to  lose  the  first  of  the 
soprano  arias,  "Only  bleed,"  and  the  alto  air  with  chorus,  "Look 
where  Jesus  beck'ning  stands."  But  in  a  year  or  two  should  we 
not  hear  it  all,  given  in  two  performances,  say  on  the  morning 
and  evening  of  Good  Friday  ? 

The  great  impression  was  made  by  the  choruses.  Their  sublimity 
and  beauty,  their  great  variety,  now  of  dramatic  vividness  and  now 
of  sweetest  tenderness  and  tranquillizing  rest,  were  felt  by  all.  The 
rendering,  even  of  the  most  difficult,  was  indeed  a  triumph  of  hard, 
patient  study  ;  bating  now  and  then  a  fault  of  tempo  or  of  shading, 
it  was  all  reasonably  good.  The  colossal  opening  double  chorus, 
"  Come,  ye  daughters,  weep  for  anguish,"  was  overwhelming,  although 
the  movement  was  a  bit  too  fast.  As  the  broad  rhythm,  begun  by 
tlie  double  orchestra,  streamed  onward,  choir  answering  choir,  and 
finally  the  soprano  ripieno  (clearly  given  out  in  unison  from  the 
upper  balcony  b}'  about  sixty  boys  from  the  Rice  School)  came  in 
with  the  intermittent  lines  of  the  choral,  "O  Lamb  of  God,"  which 
seemed  to  bind  the  whole  vast  fabric  together,  there  was  a  sense  of 
sublimity  and    awe    experienced,  such  as  the  audience    had  hardly 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  o45 

•dreamed  of.  What  much  contributed  to  this  success  was  the  advan- 
tage offered  by  our  noble  Music  Hall,  for  the  effective  placing  and 
displaying  of  all  these  forces,  over  nearly  every  hall,  and  surely 
every  church  in  Europe.  The  two  or  three  short  colloquial  choruses 
of  disciples,  which  soon  followed,  quaint,  complex  in  the  interweav- 
ing of  the  parts,  but  graphic,  full  of  life,  were  clearly  and  success- 
fully achieved.  Nothing  more  beautiful,  more  tenderly  affecting,  is 
there  in  the  whole  work  than  the  repeated  intervention  of  the  chorus 
in  the  tenor  solo,  ''O  Grief,"  and  the  following  aria,  ''I'll  watch,'* 
etc.  :  there  the  voices  blended  exquisitely,  and  the  consoling,  heav- 
enly, ever-varied  harmony,  swelling  and  dying  into  pianissimo,  held 
every  heart  entranced.  Then,  of  course,  "Ye  lightnings,  ye  thun- 
ders," was  as  startling  and  stupendous  as  before,  and  had  to  ])e 
repeated  ;  unfortunately  the  effect  is  weakened  by  breaking  the  dra- 
matic connection,  by  not  repeating  also  the  whole  scene  from  the 
beginning  of  the  preceding  duet,  with  the  little  spasmodic  bursts  of 
chorus,  ''Leave  Him,"  "Bind  Him  not,"  etc.  Here,  too,  the  Franz 
instrumentation,  and  the  great  organ,  played  by  Mr.  Lang,  lent  new 
intensity  and  overwhelming  grandeur. 

"With  the  exception  of  the  chorals,  of  which  it  only  need  be  said 
that  every  one  of  the  too  few  tliat  were  sung  was  a  pure  moment  of 
the  most  solemn,  sweet  refreshment,  and  that  the  harmony  with 
which  Bach  has  clothed  them  has  in  it  a  certain  hallowed,  self -renew- 
ing charm,  of  which  no  other  composer,  not  even  Mendelssohn,  seems 
to  have  fully  caught  the  secret,  —  the  chorus  did  not  have  to  come  in 
again  until  they  were  called  upon  to  sing  those  wonderful  two  meas- 
ures, '•  Truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God,"  after  that  thrilling  piece  of 
scenic  recitative,  "Behold!  the  veil  of  the  temple  was  rent,"  for 
his  grand  declamation  of  which  Mr.  Winch  won  signal  credit,  for  it 
is  a  passage  of  tremendous  difficulty.  Then  came  the  tender  and 
unspeakably  beautiful  responses,  "  My  Jesu,  good  night,"  to  the 
alternate  sentences  of  solo  by  each  of  the  four  voices,  beginning 
with  the  Ijass,  "  The  Lord  has  lain  him  down  to  rest"  :  and  then  the 
incomparable,  the  holy  final  double  chorus,  the  farewell  of  the  disci- 
ples at  the  tomb  of  Jesus,  full  of  sadness  and  yet  fuller  of  deep 
peace  and  rest  for  weary  souls.  The  time  was  taken  slower,  prop- 
erly so,  than  in  former  renderings :  but  there  was  still  room  for 
improvement  in  the  alternation  of  moderately  loud  and  soft ;  to  the 
''Rest  thee  softly"  of  the  first  chorus  the  second  should  have 
ansvi-ered  jjicinissiyno  with  '•  Softly  rest." 

Fifth  Day.  Saturday.  May  0.  A  day  well  filled  up  with  music, 
—  three  performances.    At  noon  an  organ  concert,  by  the  organist  of 


346  HISTOr.Y    OF    the    IIANDEL    and    IIAYDN    SOCIETY. 

the   Society  and  of  the  Festival,   Mr.  B.  J.  Lang,   who  interpreted 
the  following  programme  :  — 

1.  Fautaisie  in  G Bach. 

2.  Organ  Sonata,  No  4,  in  B  flat,  Op.  05       ....     Mendelssohn. 

3.  Improvisation. 

4.  Transcription   for    organ    of    Mendelssohn's   Hymn    of 

Praise  Symphony,  tln-ee  movements. 

The  audience  was  small,  as  all  organ  audiences  are  apt  to  be,  at 
least  in  Boston  ;  but  for  those  present  it  was  an  hour  of  tranquil, 
soulful,  rich  enjoyment.  Bach  and  Mendelssohn  had  been  heard 
through  the  medium  of  that  great  organ  much  too  seldom  for  some 
time  before.  The  Fantaisie  bv  Bach  was  alwavs  one  of  Mr.  Lano-'s 
happiest  selections,  and  he  knew  how  to  make  its  beauty,  depth,  and 
grandeur  felt.  His  combinations  and  contrasts  of  registers  in  the 
Mendelssohn  Sonata,  and  in  the  three  symphonic  movements  of  the 
Hymn  of  Praise  were  excellent,  and  the  whole  treatment  gave  a  clear 
and  just  conception  of  both  compositions,  —  although  no  organ  and 
no  organ  playing  can  replace  an  orchestra. 

The  fourth  afternoon  concert  was  listened  to  b}'  an  immense  crowd 
(largely  composed  of  members  of  the  chorus  and  their  guests) .  We 
are  only  able  to  record  the  programme,  of  which  the  numbers  bearing 
stars  were  conducted  by  Mr.  Thomas  :  — 

1.  Overture  to  the  Jlagic  Flute Mozart. 

2.  "  Shadow  Song,"  from  Dinorah Meyerbeer. 

Mrs.  H.  M.  Smith. 

*3.     Symphony,  Lenore Baff. 

4.     Overture  to  Genoveva Schumann. 

*o.     Aria,  "  In  questa  tomba  oscura  " Beethoven. 

Mr.  Myron  W.  Whitney. 

*6.     Scherze,  La  BeineJIab,  oil  La  Fee  des  Songes  .        .         .  Berlioz. 

7.     Scena,  "  Softly  sighs,"  from  Der  Freyschutz    .         .        .  Weber. 

Miss  Edith  Wynne. 

*8.     Kaiser  Marsch Wagner. 

In  the  evening  the  oratorio,  *S^.  Peter ^  by  John  Knowles  Paine,  was 
presented  for  the  first  time  in  Boston,  after  having  been  given  only 
once  before,  namely,  in  the  composer's  native  city,  Portland,  Maine. 
The  old  Societ}'  had  taken  up  this  serious  and  formidable  effort  of  a 
young  American  composer  in  good  earnest  and  with  a  strong  desire 
to  find  the  promise  of  its  most  partial  eulogists  fulfilled.  Nearly  as 
much  time  was  s^iven  to  the  rehearsal  of  its  choruses  as  to  that  of  all 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  347 

the  Other  choral  pieces  of  the  Festival  together;  and  it  was  serious 
iip-hill  work, —  more  work  than  recreation.  Indeed  it  was  a  common 
complaint  among  the  singers  that,  in  many  of  the  choruses,  the 
music  did  not  help  them,  did  not  inspire  them,  take  them  up  and 
carry  them  along  with  it,  by  that  sort  of  charm  which  made  the  diffi- 
culties of  Bach,  for  instance,  or  of  Mendelssohn,  or  Handel,  or  even 
the  Ninth  Symphony,  melt  away  before  them  to  their  own  surprise. 
But  finally  the  task  was  mastered,  and  depression  gave  way  to  a  glad 
and  buoyant  sense  of  power.  It  was  a  trying  position  for  Mr. 
Paine's  work  to  be  placed  thus  immediately  between  the  master  works 
of  Bach  and  Handel ;  held  up  in  so  strong  a  light,  any  new  w^ork 
might  well  have  shrunk  and  shrivelled  into  nothingness  ;  that  it  sur- 
vived the  exposure  was  evidence  of  power  and  merit  in  it.  The  same 
juxtaposition  also  might  account  for  the  audience  not  being  so  large 
as  was  hoped  ;  three  elaborate  oratorios  in  three  successive  evenings 
could  not  but  suggest  fatigue  to  many,  and  few  Avere  willing  to  forego 
Bach  or  Handel.  Mr.  Paine's  subject  was  not  altogether  an  inspiring- 
one  ;  for  1  eter  is  the  central  figure  only  in  that  which  constitutes  the 
outward,  formal,  and  exclusive  phase  of  Christianity,  —  church  Chris- 
tianity ('^  Upon  this  rock,"  etc.),  — wdiereas  Bach  and  Handel  go  to 
the  heart  of  the  matter  and  bring  out  its  human,  universal  import. 
Yet  he  had  no  lack  of  interesting  themes  for  illustration.  Four  prin- 
cipal scenes  out  of  the  life  of  the  apostle  find  a  certain  unity,  although 
not  dramatic,  in  their  connection  with  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 
"  movement"  in  liistory.  The  oratorio  is  in  two  parts,  of  which  the 
first  includes  "The  Divine  Call,"  ending  with  the  chorus,  "The 
Church  is  built,"  and  "The  Denial  and  Repentance."  Part  Second 
treats  of  the  "Ascension"  (Christ's  reappearance  to  the  disciples), 
and  the  thrilling  scene  of  the  "  Pentecost." 

Without  attempting  to  describe  or  criticise  the  work  itself,  the  com- 
position, which  had  many  musician-like,  impressive  numbers  in  it,  was 
wholly  free  from  slavish  imitation,  thoroughly  in  earnest,  sometimes 
quite  dramatic,  sometimes  showing  depth  of  feeling,  and  which  as  a 
whole  won  respect  if  not  admiration,  we  must  confine  ourselves  to  its 
relations  with  the  Society  that  sang  it.  The  choruses,  very  various 
in  form  and  character,  had  been  well  studied  and  were  mostly  well 
sung.  There  is  a  large  share  of  solo  music,  both  aria  and  recitative. 
Each  of  the  four  voices  has  at  least  two  arias ;  the  bass,  in  the  char 
acter  of  St.  Peter,  more  ;  these,  being  naturally  the  most  important, 
were  given  with  good  effective  st^^e  and  just  expression  by  Mr. 
Rudolphsen.  First,  a  song  of  gladness,  after  the  divine  call ;  then 
an  air  of  deep  remorse  and  supplication,  "  My  God,  forsake  me  not," 


348  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

after  the  denial.  Again,  after  the  gift  of  tongues,  the  solemn  ex- 
hortation, ''  Ye  men  of  Judea,"  to  which  the  emphatic  iteration  of 
three  notes  in  the  accompaniment  seems  to  enforce  attention  before 
he  proceeds  to  recite  at  length  the  wonders  foretold  b}^  the  prophet 
Joel,  all  in  a  highly  dramatic  and  excited  strain,  with  splendor  of 
elaborate  instrumentation.  Some  of  Peter's  recitative,  as  rendered 
by  the  singer,  was  highly  characteristic,  as  where  he  reproduces  the 
phrase  of  the  first  chorus,  "  Repent,"  and  in  the  scene  of  the  Denial, 
and  in  the  answers  to  the  Saviour's  question,  " Lovest  thou  me?" 

The  words  of  Jesus  are  given  to  the  tenor,  and  one  of  the  sweetest 
and  purest  of  all  the  arias  is,  "  Let  not  3-our  heart  be  troubled."  Mr. 
Varley,  although  suffering  from  fatigue,  sang  it  with  fine  expression  ; 
and  he  was  very  happy  in  the  dialogue,  "  Feed  my  lambs."  The 
soprano  and  contralto  arias  suffered  somewhat  for  the  want  of  more 
rehearsals  with  the  orchestra  ;  but  both  Mrs.  West  and  Miss  Phillipps 
acquitted  themselves  conscientiously  and  sang  with  feeling.  The  first 
soprano  air,  "The  spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me,"  is  melodious,  and 
rises  to  brilliant  energy  at  the  words  "  Proclaim  liberty  to  the  cap- 
tives." The  other  aria,  sung  by  Mrs.  West,  "O  man  of  God,  be 
strong,  .  .  .  put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God,"  etc.,  is  a  swift,  bold, 
declamatory  strain,  giving  plenty  of  opportunity  for  sustained  high 
tones,  and  made  a  quickening  effect.  Of  the  contralto  airs,  there  was 
much  unaffected,  sweet  and  quiet  pathos  in  the  last  one,  "  As  for 
man  his  days  are  as  grass,"  which  was  touchingly  rendered  by  Miss 
Phillipps. 

The  chorus  sinoers  and  the  audience,  when  thev  came  to  sino-  iu 
St.  Peter,  and  to  hear  it  as  a  ivJiole,  liked  it  much  better  than  they 
were  prepared  to.  At  all  events  respect  is  due  to  the  first  earnest 
effort  on  so  great  a  scale,  and  giving  such  proofs  of  ability,  by  an 
American  composer  who  was  then  a  young  man. 

Sixth  Day.  Sunday  Evening,  May  10.  Like  all  the  Festivals  and 
all  the  years  of  the  Society,  this  third  Triennial  had  its  proper  close 
with  the  Messiah  and  a  most  crowded  audience.  The  receipts  were 
nearly  S4,000.  There  was  the  same  excellent  quartet  of  solo  artists 
as  on  the  opening  night. 

Artistically,  musically,  the  Festival  was  a  great  success  ;  but  not 
pecuniarily.  A  loss  of  $4,400  (about  ten  per  cent)  had  to  be 
assessed  upon  the  guarantors.  This  result,  however,  was  better  than 
that  of  the  preceding  Festival.  The  loss  was  chiefly  iu  the  afternoon 
concerts.  But  probably  the  real  reason  was  that  the  Festival  was  so 
long  and  the  performances  so  frequent,  that  the  strain  upon  attention, 
and  the  continuous  excitement,  were  more  than  most  people,  were 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  349 

they  ever  so  musical,  could  well  eodure.  Why  should  we,  in  this  busy 
country,  attempt  to  go  beyond  the  musical  festivals  abroad,  which 
seldom,  if  ever,  last  more  than  three  days? 

The  common  mistake  of  not  letting  well  enough  alone  was  unfortu- 
nately exemplified  in  an  extra  performance  given  on  Monday  evening, 
when  the  popular  Elijah  disappointed  expectation  in  regard  to  audi- 
ence. The  soloists,  Mr.  John  F.  Winch,  as  Elijah,  Miss  Wynne,  Miss 
Phillipps,  and  Mr.  Yarley,  were  equal  to  their  parts.  But  this  is  not 
to  be  counted  as  part  of  the  Festival. 


350     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 


CHxVPTER   XI. 

SIXTIETH    SEASON. 
May  25,  1874,  to  May  31,  1875. 

A  FEW  clays  before  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Society,  the  board  of 
directors  met  and  voted  to  pay  Carl  Zerrahn  81,000  for  his  services 
as  conductor,  and  B.  J.  Lang,  $400  as  organist,  of  the  P'estival.  The 
loss  was  reported  at  $4,238,  and  it  was  voted  to  levy  ten  per  cent 
upon  the  guaranty  of  $44,000  ;  also  to  call  on  the  trustees  of  the 
permanent  fund  for  one  year's  income.  Thanks  were  voted  to  Mr. 
Theodore  Thomas,  to  the  Harvard  Musical  Association  for  the 
gratuitous  loan  of  music;  to  John  Amory  Lowell,  Esq.,  for  the  gra- 
tuitous use  of  the  Lowell  Institute  hall  for  the  convenience  of  the 
chorus  ;  to  Mr.  J.  B.  Sharland  for  gratuitous  services  in  training  the 
boy  chorus  for  the  Passion  Music;  and  to  the  Apollo  Club  for  the 
gratuitous  use  of  a  room  for  meetings  of  the  board. 

The  annual  meeting  was  held  May  25,  w^hen  the  following  otticers 
were  elected  for  the  ensuing  year  :  — 

President.  —  Lori?^g  B.  Barnes. 

Vice-President.  —  George  H.  Chickerixg. 

Secretary.  —  A.  Pakker  Browne. 

Treusuier. — Gkorge  W.  Palmer. 

Librarian  —  W.  F.  Bradbury. 

Directors.  —  J.  H.  Stickney,  D.  L.  Laws,  AV.  O.  Perkins,  G.  W. 
AVarren,  M.  G.  Daniell,  R.  Beeching,  J.  S.  Saavyer,  F.  H. 
Jenks. 

We  find  no  treasurer's  report.  The  president,  L.  B.  Barnes,  pre- 
sented an  extended  report  covering  the  whole  progress  and  condition 
of  the  Society  for  the  year  then  past,  and  dwelling  with  pardonable 
pride  upon  the  great  achievement  of  the  third  Triennial  Festival. 
He  said  that  weekly  meetings  for  rehearsal  had  been  held  from  the 
first  Sunday  of  October  until  the  Festival,  with  the  exception  of  the 
two  evenings  on  which  the  only  public  performances  of  the  sen  son 
were  given.  Later  in  the  season  there  were  many  extra  rehearsals, 
in  some  instances  every  e^  ening  in  the  week.  The  average  attend- 
ance for  the  twentA'-eight  regular  weekly  rehearsals  had  been  nearly 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIKTY.     851 

four  Imndred  ;  the  average  for  all  the  forty-six  evenings  had  been  one 
hundred  less.  The  president  here  emphasized  the  importance  of  a 
more  punctual  and  uniform  attendance  of  rehearsals,  and  spoke  of 
several  points  of  discipline  and  of  performance  in  which  the  habits  of 
the  chorus  were  still  too  lax.  sixty-seven  members  (gentlemen)  had 
been  suspended,  only  eleven  of  wdiom  had  been  reinstated.  The 
remaining  fifty-six  were  liable  to  discharge  at  any  time,  and  while 
they  stood  suspended  were  debarred  from  all  participation  in  the 
business  or  rehearsals  of  the  Society.  Fifty-oue  had  been  discharged 
for  non-attendance,  and  seven  had  voluntarily  withdrawn  from  mem- 
bership. Many  ladies,  too,  had  been  suspended  uuder  a  special  rule 
of  the  board. 

Mr.  Barnes  next  enumerated  a  list  of  valuable  members  who  had 
died  since  the  last  annual  meeting  :  '^George  Hews,  who  joined  the 
society  in  1830,  and  who  served  it  faithfully,  whether  in  or  out  of 
office,  having  occupied  many  positions  iu  its  government,  and  whose 
name  may  be  found  in  the  list  of  vice-presideuts  from  1854  to  1858  ; 
James  Sharp,  who  was  enrolled  as  a  member  but  a  short  time  after 
the  organization  of  the  Society,  the  record  showing  Oct.  15,  1816,  as 
the  date  of  his  admission,  and  who  also  tilled  most  honorably  many 
positions  of  responsibilit}^  in  the  board  of  government,  who  never 
allowed  any  meeting  of  the  Society,  called  for  busuiess  purposes,  to 
pass  without  being  present  if  it  wjis  possible  for  him,  and  whose 
words  of  Avisdom  on  such  occasions  will  long  be  remembered  by  his 
associates;  Dexter  Bowker,  a  member  from  1846;  Jarvis  Lothrop, 
who  joined  in  1837  ;  Charles  VV.  Lovett,  whose  name  first  appears 
in  1825,  and  who  w^as  a  prominent  vocalist  in  the  Society  for  many 
years  thereafter,  and  was  subsequently  honored  with  the  votes  of  the 
Society,  which  placed  him  at  its  head  for  the  years  1834  and  1835;. 
Jubal  Howe,  admitted  to  membership  in  1822,  and  Lewis  Pierce,  in 
1820.  All  good  and  true  men,  and  who  ever  regarded  the  interests 
of  the  Society  of  paramount  importance  to  that  of  any  individual." 

The  report  proceeds  :  "  Candidates  for  admission  to  the  chorus  are 
requested  to  go  before  a  committee  on  examination  of  voices,  which 
committee  is  appointed  by  the  president  from  among  the  members 
composing  the  board  of  government.  Such  candidates  are  expected 
to  read  ordinarily  difficult  music  at  sight,  besides  showing  the  posses- 
sion of  good  voices  and  general  familiarity  with  the  requirements  of 
choir  or  chorus  singing. 

''  The  number,  of  both  sexes,  who  have  passed  such  examination 
and  who  have  been  admitted  during  the  past  year  is  seventy.     Of  this- 
number  twenty-Jive  were  gentlemen  and  forty -Jiot:  were  ladies." 


352  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

After  further  remarks  in  praise  of  the  last  Festival  and  its  remark- 
able programme,  with  especial  congratulation  on  the  great  step 
gained  in  bringing  out  at  last  so  large  a  portion  of  Bach's  Passion 
Music,  and  after  warmly  thanking  the  Thomas  orchestra,  the  solo 
singers,  the  conductor,  and  the  organist,  for  their  invaluable  services, 
the  president  spoke  of  several  practical  matters,  such  as  the  mani- 
festly great  improvement  in  the  manner  of  seating  the  singers  on  the 
stage,  the  fixtures  for  which  were  stored  away  for  future  use  ;  the 
financial  result,  from  which  he  argued  no  discouragement;  and  the 
suggestion  of  a  scheme  of  '•  associate  membership,"  in  view  of  the 
need  of  a  larger  and  more  expensive  hall  for  rehearsals,  where  those 
who  might  desire  to  attend  them  as  listeners  might  do  so  on  payment 
of  an  annual  sum. 

This  project  was  further  discussed  at  meetings  of  the  board  in  June 
and  July,  and  it  was  finally  recommended  that  the  new  Beethoven 
Hall  in  AVashington  Street  should  be  engaged  for  the  purpose  if  a 
sufllcient  number  of  paying  associates  could  be  secured.  A  circular 
of  invitation  was  sent  out,  stating  the  need  of  500  associates  at  $10 
each  per  annum,  which  sum  should  entitle  them  to  two  admissions 
each  to  all  rehearsals  besides  one  public  oratorio.  But  as  it  appeared 
in  the  beginning  of  September  that  only  105  such  subscribers  had 
been  obtained,  the  proprietor  of  Beethoven  Hall  offered  to  grant  a 
discount  on  the  rent,  and  it  was  voted  to  engage  the  hall  for  one  3^ear 
:at  S2,500.  On  the  17th  of  September  it  was  voted  by  the  Society  to 
change  the  title  "  Board  of  Directors"  to  "  Board  of  Government." 

The  rehearsals  were  resumed  Oct  4,  with  St.  Paul,  which  was  con- 
tinued nearly  until  December,  when  that  and  the  Messiah  were 
rehearsed  until  Christmas.  Oct.  21,  the  board  of  government  com- 
bined business  and  social  pleasure  at  Taft's  famous  hotel  at  Point 
Shirle}',  when  a  poem  was  read  by  W.  O.  Perkins,  celebrating  the 
eminent  virtues  of  individual  members  of  the  board.  The  rehearsals 
were  transferred  to  the  new  Beethoven  Hall  on  Sunday  evening,  Nov. 
1,  and  there  had  their  home  throughout  the  following  year.  The  hall 
was  95  feet  long,  65  feet  wide,  and  41  feet  high.  The  stage,  which 
was  partly  in  an  arched  recess,  had  a  fiont  of  40  feet,  and  was  20 
feet  deep.  There  were  roomy  balconies  on  the  sides  and  rear,  almost 
doubling  the  seating  capacity.  The  associate  members  sat  in  the 
balconies.  For  some  time  the  chorus  singers  could  not  feel  at  home 
there;  they  'had  n't  got  the  hang  of  the  school-house."  But  they 
soon  became  accustomed  to  the  place. 

The  Christmas  oratorios  were  given  Dec.  26  and  27.  On  Saturday 
evening  the  Messiah^  with  a  chorus  of  400  and  an  orchestra  of  44. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  353 

Seldom  were  the  choruses  more  satisfactorily  delivered.  The  soprano 
recitatives  and  arias  were  intrusted  to  Mrs.  H.  M.  Smith,  whose  pure 
and  brilliant  voice  and  fine  execution  only  needed  something  more  of 
sympathetic  fervor.  Miss  Drasdil,  whose  very  rich  and  powerful 
tones  possessed  a  certain  dramatic  and  magnetic  quality,  felt  in  her 
whole  style  of  song  and  declamation,  produced  a  deep  impression  in 
the  contralto  airs.  Mr.  W.  J.  Winch  in  the  tenor,  and  Mr.  J.  F. 
Winch  in  the  bass  solos,  did  their  best.  In  St.  Paul,  on  Sunday  even- 
ing. Mr.  J.  F.  Winch  (vvliose  voice  had  grown  husky  during  the  Mes- 
siak)  was  wholly  unable  to  appear,  and  his  place  was  supplied  at  a  few 
hours'  notice  by  Dr.  E.  C.  BuUard,*  who,  in  the  trying  circumstances, 
did  himself  great  credit,  by  the  refinement  of  his  style,  his  musical, 
expressive  voice,  and  the  quick  intelligence  with  which  he  read  and 
rendered  so  much  music  which  was  comparatively  new  to  him.  His 
chief  lack  of  resources  was  in  the  deep  bass  tones.  Miss  Abbie 
Whinery  sang  the  soprano  air,  '-Jerusalem,"  with  great  beauty  of 
voice  and  style,  and  with  true,  unaffected  feeling.  All  her  singing 
had  that  sympathetic  and  appreciative  qualit3^  though  the  middle 
portion  of  her  voice  was  sometimes  weak  and  tremulous,  while  in  the 
highest  tones  it  was  clear  and  strong  as  well  as  sweet.  Mrs.  Sawyer, 
in  the  contralto  pieces,  was  effective,  and  showed  thoughtful  study, 
but  somewhat  at  the  expense  of  that  simplicity  which  had  won  her 
audience  before.  Mr.  W.  J.  Winch  again  took  the  tenor  solos,  and 
with  eminent  success.     The  choruses  had  justice  done  them. 

1875.  The  year  began  with  rehearsal  of  choruses  from  Handel's 
Joshua,  followed  b}'  Mendelssohn's  Hymn  of  Praise  and  '•  Hear  my 
Prayer,"  and  Dudley  Buck's  Forty-sixth  l^salm.  All  these  were  aung 
in  a  concert  given  Feb.  6  to  the  associate  members.  In  the  psalm, 
''  G-od  is  our  refuge,"  Miss  Whinery  sang  with  her  usual  refinement 
and  truth  of  feeling  ;  and  Mr.  George  Simpson  was  the  same  sweet- 
toned,  true,  I'.nd  even  tenor  singer  as  of  old.  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch  mnde 
the  most  of  the  strong  and  telling  bass  solo,  ''The  heathen  raged," 
etc.,  which,  and  the  double  quartet,  were  the  chief  triumphs  in  the 
performance.  Next  came  the  motet,  "  Hear  my  prayer,"  in  which 
Mrs.  Houston  West  surprised  all  by  the  rejuvenated  freshness  of  her 
soprano  tones.  "  O  for  the  wings  of  a  dove,"  both  solo  and  sub- 
dued chorus,  went  beautifully.  The  one  novelty  of  the  programme 
was  the  fine  florid  soprano  aria  from  Joshua^  ''  Oh,  had  I  Jubal's  lyre, 
or  Miriam's  tuneful  voice,"  which  Miss  Whinerv  executed  to  a  charm. 
She  was  obliged  to  repeat  it,  and  no  one  felt  disposed  to  quarrel  with 

*D:ed  Apiil  13,  1889. 


354  HISTORY    OF    THE    HAKDEL    AM)    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

the  encore.  Goimod's  "Nazareth"  was  superbly  siino-  by  J.  F. 
Winch  with  chorus  ;  indeed  he  rivalled  Sautley  in  his  broad,  even 
and  sustained  delivery  of  that  simple  but  majestic  Christmas  ballad. 
With  the  swelling  choral  harmonies,  together  with  orchestra  and 
organ,  the  climax  at  the  end  was  really  almost  sublime. 

The  Hymn  of  Praise  formed  the  second  part  of  the  concert.  The 
three  symphonic  movements  were  fairly  rendered,  and  the  choruses 
were  given,  almost  without  exception,  with  precision,  light  and  shade, 
and  grand  effect.  Mrs.  West  seldom  appeared  to  more  advan- 
tage:  her  delivery  of  the  prophetic  announcement,  "The  night  is 
departing,  departing  I  "  revived  the  old  thrill  of  the  first  time  when 
she  gave  it  with  such  startling  splendor  at  that  memorable  concert  in 
honor  of  President  Lincoln's  Emancipation  Proclamation  (Jan.  1, 
18G3).  She  and  Miss  .Whinery  entered  fully  into  the  spirit  of  the 
duet,  •'  I  waited  for  the  Lord."';  Mr.  Simpson's  voice,  style,  and  in- 
telligence did  very  nearly  full  justice  to  the  dramatic  tenor  solos  in 
the  "  Watchman  '"  scene,  etc.  ;  Mr.  Zerrahn  conducted  with  his  usual 
firm  control :  and  Mr.  Lang  drew  from  the  great  reservoir  of  oro-an 
tones,  where  needed,  with  judicious  hand.  This  concert  resulted  in 
a  loss  of  about  S800. 

At  the  regular  rehearsal.  Feb.  28,  the  president  announced  the 
death,  in  London,  of  a  member  of  the  Society,  rapidly  acquiring  emi- 
nence as  a  basso  singer,  Mr.  Julius  E.  Perkins,  a  younger  brother  of 
Mr.  AV.  O.  Perkins.  The  sad  news  came  by  cable  despatch  from 
Mr.  Myron  W.  Whitney,  then  in  London.  Mr.  Perkins  had,  for  sev- 
eral years  before  leaving  for  his  studies  abroad,  been  a  member  of  the 
Society,  and  his  name  was  still  retained  on  its  rolls.  He  left  this 
country  at  about  the  age  of  twenty-two,  studied  first  at  the  Conserv- 
atoire in  Paris,  thence  went  to  Milan,  where  he  placed  himself  under 
the  best  masters  for  a  term  of  years,  and  then  to  Florence,  where  he 
■studied  with  the  celei)rated  Vannucciui.  When  he  returned  to  London 
the  operatic  impresario.  JNIr.  Mapleson,  was  not  slow  in  discoveiing 
his  vrorth,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  fulfilling  an  engage- 
ment of  six  years,  only  two  of  which  had  expired.  His  age  was  then 
but  little  short  of  thirty,  and  even  with  his  short  musical  career  he 
had  few  rivals.  The  members  of  the  Society  had  pleasant  recollec- 
tions of  him  in  the  chorus. 

For  an  Easter  oratorio  (March  28),  Haydn's  Creation^  which  had 
slept  for  four  years,  was  once  more  revived  with  iis  unbroken  flow  of 
melody,  its  contrapuntallv  woven  choruses,  and  its  graphic  instrumen- 
tation. Welcome  Father  Haydn  I  Welcome  Music  I  many  felt  who 
were  tired  of  seekina"  it  in  the  Waonerian  extracts  with  which  concert 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  355 

rooms  were  at  that  time  so  rife.  The  choruses  were  well  sung.  The 
principal  soprano  was  Mme.  Jennie  Van  Zanclt,  whose  pure,  strong, 
evenly  developed  voice,  and  fluent,  facile  execution  were  well  suited 
to  the  melodious  strains.  She  sang  them  charmingly,  although  now 
and  then  she  did  not  seem  to  be  entirely  at  home  in  the  oratorio ;  and 
in  the  great  aria,  "  On  mighty  pens,"  she  indulged  in  such  operatic 
prima  donna  tricks  of  effect  as  pitching  the  note  up  an  octave  and 
holding  it  out,  or  protracting  the  tone  on  the  word  "coo-ing,"  through 
many  measures  longer  than  the  music  or  the  sense  required.  For- 
tunately these  stereotyped  efects  fell  dead  upon  the  audience.  Mr. 
W.  J.  Winch  and  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch  sang  the  tenor  and  bass  solos  very 
acceptably.  That  concert  yielded  a  profit  of  about  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars. 

Haydn's  other  vocal  masterpiece,  the  Seasons^  was  next  placed  in 
rehearsal,  for  seven  evenings,  until  Wednesday  evening,  April  28, 
when  it  was  given  for  the  first  time  here  entire.  An  eager  audience 
nearly  filled  the  Music  Hall,  yet  it  resulted  in  a  loss  of  $400.  The 
chorus  numbered  four  hundred  and  fifty,  the  orchestra  thirty-seven. 
Thouoh  not  so  sjreat  a  work,  the  Seasons  had  the  charm  of  srreater 
novelty  compared  with  the  Creation.  The  orchestral  preludes  and 
accompaniment  are  exquisite,  but  suffered  somewhat  in  performance, 
sounding  thin  and  coarse,  and  showing  need  of  more  rehearsal ;  yet 
portions  enough  were  so  fairly  rendered  that  it  did  not  spoil  the  gen- 
eral impression  of  the  work.  The  choruses  were  for  the  most  part 
finely  sung,  surprising  many  of  the  listeners  by  their  great  variety  of 
power  and  beauty,  their  poetic  suggestiveness,  their  vivid  imaginative 
characterization.  The  familiar  "Come,  gentle  Spring,"  with  its  fine 
contrast  of  female  and  male  voices,  was  charmingly  sung.  Few 
things  could  be  more  impressive  than  the  "  deep,  tremendous  voice"  of 
the  thunder-storm  chorus,  prepared  as  it  was  by  music  most  expres- 
sive of  the  heat  and  languor  of  the  summer,  especialh'  the  recitative 
Immediately  preceding,  through  which  "  a  boding  silence  reigns," 
with  the  more  bodeful  rumble  of  the  deep  sub-bass  of  the  organ, 
until  the  voices  burst  forth  and  "  to  its  foundations  the  solid  globe  is 
shook."  If  this  chorus  fell  short  of  the  expectation  raised  in  the 
beginning,  it  was  partly  owing  to  the  cutting  out  of  much  of  the  mid- 
dle portion;  the  storm  was  incomplete.  In  the  "  Autumn"  we  had 
the  strong  chorus  in  praise  of  industry  ;  the  ringing,  echoing  hunting 
chorus,  full  of  vigor,  likewise  suggestively  introduced  by  fragments 
of  recitative  and  snatches  of  figurative  instrumentation,  which  almost 
make  one  see  the  pack  of  hounds  on  scent.  Then,  best  of  all,  the 
*'Wiue  Chorus."  with  its  episodical  bagpipe   and  dance  movement 


356  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY. 

(exquisite  dauce  melody  for  an  old  man  of  seventy).  But  this,  too 
was  weakened  by  the  omission  of  some  of  the  finest  music  in  the 
middle,  whereby  the  piece  lost  its  symmetry,  and  the  great  climax 
at  the  end  its  justification.  In  the  fourth  part,  "Winter,"  there 
was  the  fascinating  minor  cliorus  of  the  "  Spinning  Wheel."  alter- 
nating with  sopraiio  solo,  full  of  serious  suggestion.  The  final  chorus, 
"  The  everlasting  gates  of  life,"  has  grandeur,  but  it  was  made  to 
jump  to  its  conclusion  by  leaving  out  the  middle  portion,  which  is  a 
fugue,  not  perhaps  a  great  one,  but  a  good  one.  Putting  head  and 
tail  together  does  not  make  a  body.  Brevity,  of  course,  was  the 
motive  for  these  cuts,  for  the  work  is  verv  Ions:. 

'1  he  solos,  duets,  trios,  so  many  and  so  beautiful,  were  admirably 
sung.  Miss  Henrietta  Beebe,  of  New  York,  had  just  the  voice,  the 
execution.,  and  the  culture  for  the  soprano  melody,  which  is  full  of 
delicate  embellishment,  and  sometimes  brilliant.  AVe  may  name, 
among  other  numbers,  the  long  descriptive  recitative,  "  O,  welcome 
now,  ye  groves,"  and  the  air  which  follows  it,  "O,  how  pleasing  to  the 
senses."  Mr.  W.  J.  Winch  sang  the  tenor  solos  in  good  voice  and 
taste  ;  particularh'  the  recitative  and  cavatina  describing  the  sultry 
midsummer  heat ;  and  afterwards,  in  opposite  contrast,  the  "  Winter" 
picture  of  the  traveller  lost  in  the  snow-storm,  ^here  the  staccato 
figures  of  the  violins  seem  to  fill  the  air  with  fiuttering  flakes. 
Equally  welcome  was  the  grand  bass  of  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitne}',  just 
arrived  from  London  on  a  short  visit  home,  who  gave  a  most  satis- 
factory rendering  of  the  part  of  Simon. 

Thus  sweetly  closed,  with  two  melodious  evenings  of  Havdn, 
another  musical  season.  At  a  meeting  of  the  board.  May  12,  the 
income  of  the  permanent  fund  was  once  more  required,  and  the  treas- 
urer was  authorized  to  raise  by  notes  $1,500,  or  what  might  be  needed 
to  cover  the  indebtedness  of  the  Society.  Mr.  Zerrahn's  salary  for 
the  past  year  was  fixed  at  S500,  and  that  of  Mr.  Lang  at  $300. 


SIXTY-FIRST    SEASON. 

May  31,   1875,  to  May  29,  1876. 

The  annual  meeting  was  held  May  3L  The  treasurer's  report 
showed  the  expenditures  for  the  year  to  have  been  $10,666.17, 
the  income  $10,207  ;  leaving  a  deficit  of  $459.17.  It  was  voted  to 
assess  each  member  $5,  and  withdraw  the  note  for  $1,500.  President 
L.  B.  Barnes,  who  had  declined  the  nomination  for  re-election,  pre- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  357 

sented  a  report  giving  an  interesting  resume  of  the  Society's  history, 
and  speaking  particularly  of  his  own  relations  with  it,  which  extended 
back  twenty  years  ;  during  which  period  he  was  secretary  fifteen 
years,  director  three  years,  and  president  four  years.  During  the 
season  there  had  been  thirty-five  rehearsals,  with  an  average  attend- 
ance of  300  members.  He  thought  the  Society,  as  a  musical  body, 
was  in  a  better  condition  than  ever  before.  The  deficit  shown  in  the 
treasurer's  report  arose,  he  said,  in  no  degree  from  losses  by  concerts, 
but  from  the  occupation  of  Beethoven  Hall  for  rehearsals,  and  the 
system  of  associate  membership,  which  had  not  fulfilled  expectation. 

With  but  two  or  three  exceptions  the  vote  for  members  of  the 
board  of  government  was  unanimous,  the  newly  elected  president, 
Mr.  Charles  C.  Perkins,  receiving  the  entire  ballot  for  the  office, 
which  was  eighty  votes.  The  other  gentlemen  elected  are  the  fol- 
lowing :  — 

Vice-President.  —  George  H.  Chickering. 

Secretary.  — A.  Parker  Browne. 

Treasurer.  — George  W.  Palmer. 

Librarian.  —  John  H.  Stickney. 

Directors.  —  W.  O.  Perkins.  J.  S.  Sawyer,  R.  Beeching,  F.  H. 
Jenks,  M,  G.  Daniell,  W.  F.  Bradbury,  A.  H.  Wilson,  George 
T.  Brown. 

During  the  summer  and  the  early  autumn  the  principal  themes  of 
interest  with  the  Society  were,  first,  a  correspondence  (through  the 
medium  of  Mr.  Otto  Dresel)  with  Robert  Franz,  of  Halle,  request- 
ing him  to  prepare  for  the  Society  some  additional  orchestral  accom- 
paniments for  certain  numbers  of  the  Messiah  which  had  been  left 
uncompleted  by  Mozart,  and  likewise  for  Joshua.  The  result  will 
appear  in  the  sequel.  Second,  the  expectation  of  a  great  prima 
donna  and  oratorio  singer  in  the  person  of  INJlle.  Teresa  Tietjens, 
who  gave  her  first  concert  in  America  in  New  York,  Oct.  4.  She 
was  born  at  Hamburg,  of  Hungarian  parents,  some  biographers  say 
in  1834,  others  in  1831.  The  inscription  on  her  tombstone  states 
that  she  died  in  1877,  aged  46.  Her  voice  in  childhood  gave  such 
promise  that  she  was  educated  for  the  lyric  stage.  She  sang  for  the 
first  time  at  the  Hamburg  Opera  in  1849,  as  Lucrezia  Borgia,  and 
achieved  an  immediate  success,  which  was  confirmed  in  Frankfort, 
and  in  1856  in  Vienna,  where  her  performance  of  Valentine  in  Les 
Huguenots  raised  her  at  once  to  the  highest  rank.  Then  Mr.  Lumley 
engaged  her  for  his  last  season  at  Her  Majesty's  Theatre  in  London, 
where  her  impersonation  of  the  same  part  made  "a  success  which 
increased  with  every  repetition,  and  was  the  first  link  in  that  close 


358  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

union  between  her  and  the  public  which  was  onW  to  be  severed  by 
her  denth."  From  that  time  England  became  her  home.  Both  Co- 
vent  Garden  and  Drurv  Lane  were  the  scenes  of  her  frequent  operatic 
triumphs,  and  finally,  just  before  her  death,  she  sang  at  the  new 
house  in  the  Haymarket.  Sir  George  Grove  says  of  her  in  his  "Dic- 
tionary of  Musicians":  — 

"  Never  was  so  mightj'  a  soprano  voice  so  sweet  and  luscious  in  its  tone : 
like  a  serene,  full  light,  without  dazzle  or  glare,  it  filled  the  largest  arena 
without  appearing  to  penetrate.  It  had  none  of  a  soprano's  shrillness  or  of 
that  i)eculiar  clearness  called  'silvery';  when  it  declined,  as  it  eventually 
did,  in  power,  it  never  became  wiry.  It  had  a  mezzo-soprano  quality  extend- 
ing to  the  highest  register,  perfectly  even  throughout,  and  softer  than  velvet. 
Her  acting  in  no  way  detracted  from  her  singing;  she  was  earnest,  animated, 
forcible,  in  all  she  did  conscientious  and  hearty,  but  not  electric.  Her  stjde 
of  singing  was  noble  and  pure.  When  she  first  came  to  England  her  rapid 
execution  left  much  to  be  desired :  it  w^as  heavy  and  imperfect.  Fluency 
and  flexibility  were  not  hers  by  nature,  but  by  dint  of  hard  work  she  over- 
came all  difticulties,  so  as  to  sing  with  success  in  the  florid  music  of  Rossini 
and  Bellini.  Indeed  she  attempted  almost  everything,  and  is  perhaps  the 
only  singer,  not  even  excepting  Malibran,  who  has  sung  in  such  completely 
opposite  roles  as  those  of  Semiramide  and  Fides.  But  her  performance  of 
light  or  comic  parts  was  a  mere  toiu'  deforce;  her  true  field  was  grand  opera. 
As  Lucrezia,  Semiramide,  Countess  Almaviva,  she  was  great;  as  Donna 
Anna  and  Valentine  she  was  greater;  best  of  all  as  Fidelio,  and  as  Medea  in 
Cherubini's  opera,  revived  for  her  and  not  likely  to  be  forgotten  by  any  who 
heard  it. 

"  In  the  FreischUtz,  as  in  Fidelio,  her  appearance  "  (she  was  large  and  some- 
what heav}'  in  figure,  but  of  noble,  genial  aspect)  "  was  unsuited  to  her  part, 
but  she  sang  the  music  as  no  one  else  could  sing  it.  ...  Her  repertoire  also  in- 
cluded Leonora  (Trovatore),  the  Favorita,  Alice,  Lucia,  Amalia  {Un  Ballo  in 
3Iaschera),  Norma,  Pamina,  Margherita,  Marta,  Elvira  (Ernani),  Reiza 
{Oheroii),  and  Iphigenia  in  Tauris." 

A  singer  of  that  stamp,  living  in  England,  was  of  course  soon 
•drawn  also  into  sacred  music  :  and  Tietjens  applied  herself  to  the 
study  of  oratorio,  largely  under  the  advice  and  teaching  of  Mme. 
Rudersdorff,  who  was  warmly  her  friend  during  her  short  stay  in 
Boston.  Her  services  in  that  field  were  in  continual  request.  "  Per- 
haps the  hardest  worked  singer  who  ever  appealed,  she  was  also  the 
most  faithful  and  conscientious  of  artists,  never  disappointing  her 
public,  who  knew  that  her  name  on  the  bills  was  a  guarant}^  against 
change  of  programme,  or  apology  for  absence  through  indisposition. 
No  doubt  her  splendid  physique  enabled  her  often  to  sing  with  impu- 
nity when  others  could  not  have  done  so."  But  it  broke  up  her  con- 
stitution in  the  end. 

So  much  in  advance  of  the  coming  star  of  the  next  Handel  and 


HISTOHY    OF    THF    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIKTY.  359 

Haydn  concerts.  The  October  rehearsals  began  with  Handel's 
Joshua.  Then  Elijah  came  to  the  front  again,  and  was  performed 
with  Tietjens,  Nov.  8,  before  an  immense  audience.  The  receipts 
were  >4,600,  leaving  a  profit  of  $G50.  Those  were  days  of  prover- 
bial ''  hard  times  "  in  Boston,  and  yet  they  were  full  of  unusual  musi- 
cal attractions.  Hans  von  Biilow  was  giving  his  first  brilliant  con- 
certs here  ;  Tietjens  and  Arabella  Goddard  also  ;  and  there  were  the 
symphony  concerts  of  the  Harvard  Musical  Association  ;  and  the 
splendid  Theodore  Thomas  orchestra  was  close  at  hand.  But  the 
great  crowd  of  satiated  and  economizing  concert  goers  saved  itse'f 
for  Elijah  on  that  Monda}'  evening,  given  by  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
chorus,  600  strong,  with  a  fine  group  of  soloists  besides  the  glorious 
soprano.     How  was  expectation  rewarded  ?     We  road  :  — 

"  Every  chorus  was  effective,  orchestra  and  organ  helpiuo-  to  good  purpose. 
The  quartets,  double  quartet,  and  angel  trio  were  exceptionally  fine,  with 
such  singers  to  support  the  great  soprano  as  Miss  Anna  Drasdil,  contralto ; 
Miss  Sarah  C.  Fisher,  soprano ;  Miss  Ita  Welsh,  contralto ;  Mr.  AV.  J.  Winch, 
tenor;  and  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch,  basso,  who  joined  in  these  things,  besides 
grandly  giving  the  great  role  of  the  Prophet.  To  be  sure.  Mile.  Tietjens's 
great  organ  seemed  almost  out  of  proportion  to  the  others,  but  it  did  much 
to  steady  them ;  and  Miss  Drasdil's  voice  sounded  somewhat  dry  and  ineffec- 
tive in  the  concerted  pieces,  her  qualitj^  of  tone  not  blending  very  happily 
with  the  rest ;  and  in  this  way  only  was  she  heard  during  the  first  part ;  but 
when  she  came  to  the  solos  in  the  second  part,  she  gave  the  vindictive  recita- 
tive of  the  queen  with  great  dramatic  force  and  fire,  and  her  singing  of  "  O 
rest  in  the  Lord"  was  so  touching  and  so  full  of  feeling,  and  the  tones  so 
rich  in  their  strange  individuality,  that  the  whole  audience  were  delighted 
beyond  measure,  and  that  number  proved  the  great  hit  of  the  evening.  Miss 
Welsh,  who  sang  most  of  the  angel  solos,  particularly  the  air  '  Woe,  woe 
unto  him,'  charmed  everybody  hy  her  pure  style,  true,  simple  feeling,  and 
distinct  enunciation,  winning  a  round  of  applause  which  seemed  to  take  her 
by  surprise.  Her  rather  light  organ  is  very  sweet  in  quality.  Once  the  voice 
broke,  but  she  kept  on  bravely ;  and  once  or  twice  the  nervousness  betrayed 
itself  by  a  slight  drooping  from  the  pitch ;  her  contril)ution  on  the  whole, 
however,  was  a  beautiful  success. 

"  There  was  no  disappointment  in  Mile.  Tietjens.  She  was  in  admirable 
voice,  so  that  her  every  tone,  especially  the  highest,  rang  out  as  clear  and 
pure  as  a  bell,  and  with  a  very  sweet,  expressive  quality.  The  part  of  the 
wadow  w^as  given  with  great  dramatic  intensity ;  in  the  answers  of  the  boy 
sent  out  to  look  for  signs  of  rain,  the  cr^^stal  clearness  of  the  tones  was 
thrilling;  and  in  '  Holy,  holy,'  there  was  an  august  and  sacred  majesty  such 
as  we  have  only  heard  in  Exeter  Hall  from  Mme.  Goldschmidt,  whose  voice, 
however,  at  that  time,  was  by  no  means  so  well  preserved  as  that  of  Tietjens 
is  to-day,  and  who  used  it  not  without  much  more  effort.  '  Hear  ye,  Israel,' 
was  superbly  rendered,  and,  but  for  the  fact  that  it,  like  all  the  soprano  solos 
in  this  oratorio,  ends  in  a  chorus,  it  would  have  received  the  great  ovation  of 
the  evening.     If  some,  hearing  her  that  evening  for  the  first  time,  were  a 


3(30  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

little  disappointed  in  finding  the  voice  not  quite  so  sj'mpathetic  as  some 
others,  the}-  must  bear  in  mind  that  in  Elijah  the  most  sympathetic  portions 
of  the  solo  music  do  not  fall  to  the  soprano;  nothing  like  '  O  rest  in  the 
Lord,'  for  example.  On  the  whole  it  was  a  magnificent  performance  of 
Elijah,  and  made  that  almost  too  familiar  oratorio  seem  new  again." 

The  great  soprano  returned  to  us  for  the  Christmas  oratorios.  Oa 
Saturday,  the  evening  of  Christmas,  the  Music  Kail  was  crammed 
with  listeners  to  the  old  Society's  f^ixty -fifth  performance  of  the  Mes- 
siah . 

Teresa  Tietjens  sang  the  great  soprano  arias  gloriously.  Her 
large,  rich,  thoroughly  musical  and  pure  voice  was  here  engaged  in 
the  noblest  service.  She  sang  with  fervor,  with  right  understanding, 
and  with  thoroughly  artistic,  chaste  expression.  The  strong  declam- 
atory passages  were  all  given  in  the  noblest  style  and  without  over- 
doing. '*  Rejoice  greatly  "  welled  up  from  deep  springs  of  unaffected 
gladness  and  unfiiiling  opulence  and  buoyancy  of  tone ;  and  the 
second  part  of  it  was  touched  with  just  the  right  shade  of  tender 
seriousness.  In  "I  know  that  my  Redeemer  livetli,"  there  was  no 
forced,  defiant  declamation,  no  tedious  conventional  sentimentality  ; 
it  was  calm,  deep,  blissful,  assured  faith ;  and  every  phrase  and  note 
of  the  music,  every  accent  and  gradation  of  light  and  shade,  was  in 
accordance  with  that  lofty,  sincere  mood.  Who  will  live  to  hear  a 
worthier  interpretation  of  that  heavenly  music  ? 

Mrs  H.  E.  Sawyer  gave  a  careful,  well-conceived,  and  graceful 
rendering  of  the  contralto  solos  ;  her  singing  was  more  remarkable 
for  tenderness  and  sweetness,  and  for  a  certain  even  excellence,  than 
for  power.  Mr.  Maas,  with  a  light  tenor  voice  of  great  sweetness, 
very  pure  and  even,  made  a  marked  impression  by  his  intelligent, 
artistic,  and  expressive  style,  particularly  in  the  pathetic  pieces, 
*'  Thy  rebuke,"  etc.  Into  '•  Thou  shalt  dash  them  "  he  also  threw  a 
vigor  that  was  hardly  expected  of  him,  achieving  a  complete  success. 
Mr.  Rudolphspn  had  not  all  the  voice  he  once  had,  and  some  of  his. 
bass  tones  sounded  dry  ;  but  his  style  and  execution  were  masterly,, 
making  the  well-known  bass  arias  uncommonly  acceptable. 

The  chorus  was  large,  but  the  balance  of  the  lour  parts  not  quite 
so  perfect  as  usual.  Strangely  the  basses  were  too  feeble,  while  the 
contralto  was  the  strongest  part  of  all,  —  a  solid,  rich,  and  musical 
mass  of  tone.  Nearly  all  of  the  choral  work  was  done  with  spirit 
and  with  even  excellence.  A  few  shortcomings,  in  such  "catch}'" 
choruses  as  *•  His  yoke  is  eas}-,"  "  Let  us  break  their  bonds,"  scarcely 
disturbed  the  beautiful  and  grand  impression  of  the  whole. 

With  success  even  more  signal  the  Cre'ttion  was   given  the   next 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     3(U 

evening.  Bating  some  carelessness  in  the  orchestral  accompaniment, 
the  choruses  (with  better  balance)  went  splendidly.  The  trios,  too, 
were  beautifully  sung.  And  the  great  voice  and  art  of  Mile.  Tiet- 
jens  triumphed  in  this  more  flowery  and  graceful  melody  as  fully  as 
they  did  in  the  Messiah.  One  only  wondered  at  some  changes  of  the 
verbal  text,  for  which  no  reason  was  perceptible.  Why  '^  On  mighty 
icings  "  instead  of  ''  pens"?  Is  it  not  a  pleasure  to  have  the  original 
meaning  of  a  word  preserved  for  once  in  such  connection  with  undy- 
ing music?  Pen.  from  Latin  penna^  which  means  wing.  And  what 
is  the  objection  to  the  "  cooing"  of  the  dove?  It  is  a  word  expres- 
sive of  the  natural  sound,  and  surely  it  is  a  good  vowel  to  sing. 
Not  carinoj  to  o-o  back  so  far  as  Jennv  Lind,  we  never  heard  the  two 
great  airs  more  exquisitely  sung  ;  and  the  music  of  Eve,  in  the  third 
part,  was  given  with  a  genuine  warmth  and  tenderness,  which  had  no 
taint  of  the  weak  sentimentality  which  too  often  takes  its  charm  away. 
Mr.  Maas  sang  sweetly  and  artistically  as  before,  though  his  voice 
betrayed  exhaustion  from  previous  efforts,  or  perhaps  from  a  cold." 
Mr.  John  F.  Winch  sang  the  descriptive  bass  solos  with  admirable 
effect. 

The  weather  was  bad  both  nights.  The  Messiah  brought  in 
$3,600,  the  expenses  being  S2,800.  The  profit  on  the  two  perform- 
ances was  81,300. 

So  far  that  sixty -first  seasou  had  spent  itself  on  repetition  of  three 
•of  the  most  familiar  and  favorite  standard  oratorios  for  which  the 
Society  always  held  itself  in  readiness,  the  Messiah,  the  Creation,  and 
Elijah.  A  little  later  the  Hymn  of  Praise  was  brought  out  again  for 
the  farewell  of  Tietjens.  These  four  might  be  called  the  four  corner- 
stones, or  the  four  main  columns  on  which  the  Society  chiefly  rested. 
Perhaps  in  a  few  years  more  it  will  become  safe  to  add  a  deeper  sub- 
foundation  in  the  shape  of  the  Passion  Music  and  the  Christmas 
Oratorio  of  Bach,  the  first  of  these  already  growing  into  popularity, 
although  not  yet  completely  given. 

Rehearsals  of  Joshua  and  of  the  Passion  Music  occupied  the  first 
three  months  of  1876.  At  a  meeting  of  the  government,  Jan.  12, 
the  president  read  a  letter  from  Mr.  Dresel.  presenting  a  set  of  addi- 
tional accompaniments  for  the  Messiah,  prepared  by  Robert  Franz 
for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  Society.  President  Perkins  was  instructed 
to  write  a  letter  of  thanks  to  Herr  Franz  and  send  him  a  gratuity  of 
8100  for  the  service.  It  was  voted  to  perform  the  Passion  Music 
(not  entire)  on  April  9,  and  Joshua  on  April  16.  About  the  middle 
of  February,  Bach  seemed  really  in  the  ascendant  here  in  Boston  ; 
for  at  the  same  time  three  of  his  great  vocal  works  were  in  prepara- 


362  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

tion  ;  besides  the  Passion^  a  church  cantata,  '^  Ich  hatte  viel  Bekiim- 
merniss,"  to  be  sung  b}^  the  Cecilia  in  a  Harvard  symphony  concert, 
and  the  Mcignijicat ^  which  the  Sharland  Choral  Society  were  learning 
for  a  Thomas  concert.  In  April  (9-16)  came  a  week  of  oratorios: 
Passion  Music,  Hymn  of  Praise,  and  Joshua. 

Sunday  evening,  April  9,  Palm  Sunday,  witnessed  the  third  per- 
formance of  Bach's  Passion  Music,  —  that  is  to  say,  of  about  three 
fourths  of  it,  considerably  more  than  in  the  Festival  of  1874:  The 
selections  were  more  judicious,  and  in  their  connection  more  effective. 
The  most  important  additions  were  a  number  of  those  short,  vindic- 
tive and  excited  choruses  of  Jews,  taunting  and  clamoring  for  cruci- 
fixion, which,  as  representing  that  man3'-headed  and  many-voiced 
monster,  the  populace  or  mob,  were  formerly  called  tnrbce.  These 
are  wonderfully  constructed  double  choruses,  in  eight  real  parts, 
with  independent  orchestral  parts  besides.  They  are  sudden  gusts, 
whirlwinds  of  harmony,  gone  in  a  moment,  but  I  heir  effect  is  marvel- 
lous, and  they  enliven  the  serious,  sentimental  progress  of  the  work 
with  most  vivid  dramatic  represeutatious  of  the  excited  crowd.  They 
are  so  quickly  gone  that  the  hea  er  has  no  tim-  to  consider  the  con- 
summate ai't  implied  in  the  intricate  yet  clearly  expressive  polyphonic 
texture  of  each  little  piece  ;  hours  seem  concentrated  in  an  intense 
moment.  Such  are  (all  in  the  second  part)  ''  He  guilty  is  of  death"  ; 
"  Tell  us,  thou  Christ,  who  gave  the  blow"  ;  '•  What  is  that  to  us?" 
"  Let  him  be  crucified"  ;  ''  He  saved  others,  himself  he  cannot  save,'^ 
etc.  ;  andthe  startling,  appalling  shout  (diminished  seventh  chord) 
upon  the  word  "  Barabbas,"  in  answer  to  the  question,  "  Whether  of 
the  twain  will  ye  that  I  release  unto  3'ou?"  This  chord  was  struck 
with  surprising  accuracy  and  unanimit\  by  the  whole  chorus  of  five 
hundred,  considering  that  they  had  no  leading  notes.  And  all  these 
little  choruses,  requiring  the  utmost  vigilance  and  self-possession  for 
the  attack,  were  given  with  spirit  and  precision,  although  with  not 
quite  the  snap  of  the  preceding  evening's  rehearsal  in  the  smaller 
hall.  Nor  should  we  omit  to  mention  the  curious  little  chorus,  in  the 
first  part,  where  the  twelve  mingle  their  eager  exclamations,  '•  Lord, 
is  it  I?  is  it  I?" 

Several  arias  and  recitatives,  before  omitted,  enriched  this  per- 
formance, namely,  for  soprano  (No.  12),  "Only  bleed,  thou  dearest 
heart"  ;  the  recitatives  relating  to  Peter's  denial ;  the  tenor  recita- 
tive, ''  He  will  not  speak  "  (but  not  the  beautiful  aria  which  follows, 
'•  Behold  how  still,  how  calm  !  ")  ;  the  alto  recitative,  ^'  Great  Lord  of 
heaven,  here  stands  the  blessed  Saviour  bound  "  (but  not  the  aria  to 
wiiich  it  leads)  ;  the  alto  recitative,   "  Ah,  Golgotha  "  (No.  69),  and 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  363 

aria  ("with  ejaculations  of  cliorus)  ''  Look  where  Jesus  beckoning 
stands";  finally,  that  niost  beautiful  bass  recitative,  "At  eventide, 
cool  hour  of  rest"  (not,  however,  completed  by  the  equally  beautiful 
aria,  "  Cleanse  thee,  O  my  soul"). 

On  the  other  hand,  to  make  room  for  these  fresh  numbers,  several 
of  the  arias  sung  before  were  omitted,  besides  several  of  the  cho- 
rals :  indeed  only  four,  out  of  the  fifteen,  were  given.  This  was  to 
be  'regretted  for  the  grand  repose  they  bring  at  proper  moments  ; 
their  broad,  rich,  chaste  harmonies  are  so  tranquillizing,  strengthen- 
ing, and  uplifting  lo  the  soul.  It  is  a  kind  of  all-pervading  har- 
mony, which  seems  to  flow  in  (as  it  were  silently)  on  all  sides,  from 
around  you  and  below,  like  a  full  tide,  to  buoy  you  up  to  higher  life. 
But  it  was  impossible  to  give  all  in  a  single  evening  ;  as  it  was,  it 
lasted  very  nearly  three  hours  —  hours  of  intense  enjoyment  to  most 
of  the  vast  audience  apparently,  if  irksome  more  or  less  to  not  a 
few  ;  for  people  differ  in  their  natures  and  mental  conditions,  and  it 
is  simply  a  question  of  experience  and  time  as  to  Bach's  music.  Ask 
the  singers  who  have  studied  it  and  in  a  measure  learned  it,  wliether 
they  find  it  dry  or  tedious.  Certain  it  is,  that  that  whole  crowd,  with 
very  few  exceptions,  listened  attentively  until  the  last  chord  was 
sung.  To  give  the  Pass'on  Music  entire  requires  two  performances, 
either  in  the  morning  and  evening  of  a  single  day,  like  Good  Friday, 
or  on  two  successive  evenings  ;  that  experience  we  were  soon  to 
have. 

This  performance,  on  the  whole,  was  a  great  advance  upon  the 
previous  renderings.  Mr.  Zerrahn  covered  himself  with  credit  by  the 
zeal,  the  energy,  the  judgment,  with  which  he  had  worked  the  whole 
matter  up  ;  the  rehearsals  had  been  urged  through  with  great  tact  and 
efficiency,  and  he  conducted  as  one  who  had  come  really  to  love  and 
feel  the  music  ;  there  was  genuine  enthusiasm  in  it.  The  choruses, 
almost  without  exception,  were  remarkably  well  sung.  We  have 
already  spoken  of  the  turbulent  choruses  of  Jews  ;  the  short  choruses 
of  the  disciples,  in  the  first  part,  also  went  well, —  better  than  before  ; 
the  chorals  so  well  that  one  only  wanted  more  of  them.  The  gi^eat 
double  choruses,  at  the  beginning  and  the  end,  and  the  exciting  "  Ye 
lightnings,  ye  thunders,"  made  a  profound  impression.  The  solos, 
of  course,  offered  the  greatest  difficulties.  They  are  all  difficult  to 
unaccustomed  singers,  though  they  be  artists  in  more  modern  styles  of 
music  ;  and  many  of  them  are  difficult  to  unaccustomed  hearers.  Our 
Bach  culture  is  but  half  begun.  The  Bach  melody  is  peculiar  ;  one 
has  to  become  gradually  familiar  with  its  forms  and  steeped  in  its 
spirit.     Il  is  too  serious,  too  quiet,  too  sincere,  too  religiously  musical 


304    HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

and  too  musically  religious,  too  devoid  of  modern  effects,  and  it 
demands  too  entire  a  self-surrender  of  the  singer,  to  make  it  readily 
appreciable  to  all,  to  any  who  have  not  something  in  their  nature 
that  draws  them  to  it  by  innate  affinity.  Among  our  excellent 
vocalists  hardly  any  had  been  nurtured  upon  Bach ;  those  who  have 
been  will  never  find  in  music  more  unfailing  bread  of  life.  But  this 
time  the  solo  efforts  were  all  creditable,  some  of  them  successful  in  a 
bigh  degree. 

Miss  Beebe  had  many  qualifications  for  the  soprano  portion,  but 
not  all.  She  had  a  clear,  pure,  evenly  developed  voice,  a  finished 
style  of  execution,  and  she  had  studied  the  music  faithfully,  ap- 
l^roaching  the  task  with  reverence  and  no  doubt  with  diffidence,  and 
yet  with  courage  and  determination.  Tt  was  a  conscientious  effort, 
and  there  can  be  no  denying  that  she  sang  well.  It  is  only  that 
neither  the  character  of  voice  nor  her  previous  musical  atmosphere 
and  culture  were  much  in  sympathy  with  Bach  ;  the  Bach  feeling  was 
not  there.  And  3*et  there  is  much  to  be  said  in  praise  of  the  chaste 
style  and  discretion  with  which  she  sang  the  air  "  Only  bleed."  and 
in  the  plaintive  duet  which  precedes  the  outburst  of  the  lightning 
chorus;  and  the  exquisite  aria  with  the  flute  solo.  "From  love 
unbounded." 

To  Mme.  Rnder^dorff  were  assigned  the  important  alto  solos  in  the 
second  part ;  and  here  we  had  an  artist  of  long  experience  in  the 
Bach  school,  as  well  as  in  all  the  great  schools  of  vocal  art ;  one  who 
thoroughly  understood  the  music,  and  who  came  back  to  it  with 
strong  enthusiasm  and  with  desire  to  signify  her  undiminished  faith 
in  it,  with  zeal  to  convert  to  it  new  listeners.  Of  course  her  render- 
ing of  the  great  aria,  '-  O  pardon  me,  my  God  "  {Erbarme  dich),  in 
spite  of  some  unpleasant  tones,  was  a  fine  lesson  for  our  singers. 
There  was,  perhaps,  some  occasional  exaggeration  of  the  pathetic 
accent  in  the  recitatives,  "  Here  stands  the  blessed  Saviour  bound" 
and  "  Ah,  Golgotha  I  "  but  it  was  very  grand,  impressive  declamation  ; 
and  the  aria,  "  Look  where  Jesus  beck'ning  stands,"  was  most  artis- 
ticalW  given,  with  due  tenderness  and  fervor.  The  alto  solos  in  the 
first  part  were  fairly  sung  by  IMrs.  Laura  Hastings  Goodwin,  whose 
low  tones  were  rich  and  large,  but  her  delivery  somewhat  constrained 
and  cold. 

Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney  was  unable,  on  account  of  hoarseness,  to 
appear,  which  was  a  general  disappointment.  But  all  were  surprised 
at  the  excellent  manner  in  which  Mr.  J.  F.  Rndolphsen,  who  took  his 
place  at  a  few  hours' notice,  delivered  the  beautiful  and  holy  recitative 
which  falls  to  the  part  of  Jesus.     It  was  most  creditable  to  his  musi- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  865 

cianship,  his  quick  intelligence  and  taste.  The  other  bass  solos  (in- 
<jluding  the  recitative  of  Peter  and  of  the  High  Priest),  the  aria  (with 
recitative),  "  Gladly  will  I,  all  resigning,"  the  aria,  ''  Give  me  back 
my  dearest  Master,"  and  the  beantiful  recitative, '"  At  eventide," 
were  sung  by  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch,  all  in  his  best  voice,  and  in  a  taste- 
ful, noble  style  ;  Bach  evidently  had  begun  to  gain  possession  of 
him.  But  the  difficult  task  of  all,  and  on  the  whole  most  laudable 
achievement,  was  that  of  Mr.  Wm.  J.  Winch,  who  took  upon  him 
not  only  all  the  frequent  and  most  trying  recitative  in  the  connecting 
narrative  of  the  Evangelist,  but  all  the  tenor  solos  that  were  sung 
besides,  a  most  exacting  and  exhaustive  task.  And  on  the  whole  he 
did  it  admirably,  making  slight  modifications  in  now  and  then  a  high 
and  fatiguing  phrase  of  the  recitative,  but  giving  it  for  the  most  part 
with  sweet,  clear  voice,  and  with  distinct  enunciation.  In  the  solo  with 
chorus,  "  I'll  watch  with  my  dear  Jesu,"  his  voice  was  sometimes  so 
subdued  at  the  re-entrance  of  the  theme,  that  we  could  not  hear  it 
until  he  had  been  singing  several  measures  :  that  was  the  only  draw- 
back to  an  otherwise  artistic,  pleasing,  })eautiful  performance.  Mr. 
Lang  presided  ably  at  the  organ. 

The  farewell  of  Teresa  Tietjens  occurred  on  Wednesday,  April 
12,  between  Palm  and  Easter  Sundays.  The  great  prima  donna 
having  expressed  her  wish  to  sing  her  farewell  in  this  city,  and  with 
our  oratorio  society,  Boston  was  ready  to  avail  herself  of  the  honor, 
nnd  it  was  arranged  (at  very  short  notice,  with  small  chance  for 
rehearsal)  to  give  the  Hymn  of  Praise  and  Rossini's  Stahat  Mater. 
The  Music  Hall  was  crammed,  and  the  reception  of  the  noble  singer 
was  most  cordial.  In  the  necessarv  absence  of  Mr.  Zerrahu,  Mr. 
Lang  conducted.  It  was  difficult  on  a  theatre  night  to  collect  all  the 
desiral)le  musicians  for  an  orchestra ;  yet  the  opening  symphonv 
movements  and  most  of  the  accompaniments  to  Mendelssohn's  l)eau- 
tiful  Lohgsar>g  were  quite  well  rendered,  and  the  chorus  singing  was, 
with  slight  exceptions,  excellent.  Mile.  Tietjens  delivered  the  first 
solo,  "  Praise  thou  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,"  with  great  energy  and 
fervor,  and  in  her  noble  and  commanding  style,  with  full,  sweet,  pen- 
etrating tones.  In  the  duet,  "  1  waited  for  the  Lord,"  which  she  sang 
with  Miss  Clara  Smart,  a  light  but  pleasing  soprano,  her  tones 
seemed  not  so  sympathetic  as  they  were  sometimes  ;  but  the  sentence 
announcing,  "The  night  is  departing,  departing!"  rang  out  with 
thrilling  and  inspiring  splendor :  it  seemed  to  inspire  the  whole  mass 
of  singers,  for  never  had  we  henrd  them  sing  the  extremel}^  difficult 
chorus  which  immediately  follows  with  such  spirit  and  precision. 
Mr.  Tom  Karl's  voice  was  sweet,  but  hardly  equal  to  the  dramatic 


3«)»^  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

intensity  of  the  tenor  solo.  ••  Watchman,  will  the  nioht  soon 
pass?"' 

The  Stahat  Jftter  showed  more  signs  of  hasty  and  imperfect  prep- 
aration, not  having  been  sang  by  the  Society  for  some  time.  Mr. 
Tom  Karl  sang  Cvjus  animcun  very  acceptably,  and  all  the  other 
tenor  solo  parts.  Miss  Drasdil.  with  her  powerfnl  and  tellinL'  but 
ambiguous  voice  (at  times  you  would  take  it  for  a  tenor),  achieved 
one  of  the  great  successes  of  the  evening  in  the  alto  air.  Fac  ut  por- 
tem;  but  in  the  duet,  QuU  est  hon-o,  her  voice  and  that  of  Tietjens 
did  not  seem  very  well  matched  in  quality.  Indeed  all  the  concerted 
pieces,  including  the  beautiful  quu-tet,  Quaivlo  corpus,  suffered 
from  the  imperfect  blending  of  the  voices.  Mr.  T.  F.  Sullivan  sano- 
the  bass  solos  with  a  good  solid  voice,  but  in  rather  a  dry  stvle,  and 
not  always  in  perfect  tune.  Mile.  Tietjens  was  admirable  through- 
out, but  seemed  to  reserve  her  full  power  for  her  incomparablv  mao-- 
niticent  rendering  of  the  Injfammatus,  which  brought  the  concert  to 
a  splendid  climax,  the  weak  fugue,  with  which  Rossini  terminates  his 
Slaba',  being  wisely  left  off.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  audience  knew 
no  bounds  ;  and  it  was  long  before  they  ceased  to  recall  the  noble 
singer,  overwhelming  her  with  plaudits.  All  took  leave  with  regret 
of  one  whom  all  felt  to  be  tlie  noblest  living  representative  of  the 
grand  school  of  vocal  art. 

This  farewell  was  prophetic  ;  in  but  a  year  and  a  few  months  later 
Teresa  Tietjens,  having  returned  to  England,  bade  her  final  farewell 
u  thif  mortal  world. 

That  week  of  oratorios,  and  that  musical  year  of  the  Society  closed 
with  a  work  of  Handel  never  before  attempted  here.  Joshua,  an 
oratorio  in  the  same  high  heroic  strain  with  Judas  ^faccaboius.  was 
first  presented  to  a  Boston  audience,  and  indeed  to  any  audience 
in  this  country,  on  the  evening  of  Easter  Sunday,  April  16.  The 
Music  Hall  was  full. 

Like  most  of  Handel's  oratorios,  tlie  score  as  it  was  left  by  him 
was  very  incomplete  and  sketchy :  many  instrumental  paits  were 
wanting  to  fill  out  the  harmony.  He  could  provide  for  that  himself 
when  he  presided  over  the  performance  at  the  organ  ;  but  that  to 
musicians  of  our  day  is  a  lost  art.  Accordingly  there  had  to  be  done 
for  it — what  /udas  M accabcti us  st'iW  so  sadly  needs  —  what  Mozart 
did  for  the  Messiih,  what  Franz  did  for  Bach's  Passiou  Music  —  the 
work  of  completing  the  instrumentation  b}'  another  hand  ;  and  that 
could  only  be  intruste  1  to  a  musician  of  the  highest  order,  thoroughly 
iml)ued  with  the  spirit  of  those  old  masters  and  at  home  in  the  whole 
style  and  feeling  of  the  works  in  question.     Happily  in  the  present 


HISTOKY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  367 

case  this  service  had  beon  rendered  by  the  Dresden  KapeKmeister, 
Julius  Rietz  (Mendelssohn's  successor  at  Leipzig),  who  had  furnished 
additional  orchestral  parts  for  wind  instruments  for  a  performance 
of  Joshua  at  the  Diisseldorf  festival  in  1841.  The  Advrtiser  of  the 
day  before  the  performance,  in  a  brief  communication,  evidenth'  from 
the  president  of  the  Society,  shows  how  a  copy  was  obtained  :  — 

"  Dr.  Robert  Franz,  the  well-known  composer,  who  is,  perhaps,  of  all  musi- 
cians, best  qnalitied  to  judge  in  such  a  matter,  has  a  high  opinion  of  Kietz's 
work,  and  it  was  from  hira  that  Mr.  Otto  Dresel  borrowed  the  parts  that  he 
might  have  them  copied  expressly  for  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society.  The 
Society  also  owes  to  ^Ir.  Dresel's  intercession  the  additional  parts  to  Handel's 
Messiah  composed  by  Robert  Franz  to  complete  those  w^ritten  by  Mozart. 
Dr.  Franz  had  undertaken  this  work  some  years  ago,  but  had  laid  it  aside  to 
be  fluished  at  a  future  day.  When  requested  to  do  so  for  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society  by  the  board  of  management,  through  Mr.  Dresel,  he  resumed 
his  labors,  and  the  result  has  become  the  exclusive  property  of  the  Society. 
At  Christmas,  or  perhaps  even  at  an  earlier  date,  the  Boston  public  will  thus 
have  an  opportunity  of  hearing  the  Messiah  as  it  has  never  been  heard  else- 
where, enriched  not  only  by  the  additional  accompaniments  of  Mozart,  but 
also  by  those  of  Dr.  Franz,  whose  intimate  knowledge  of  Handel's  music 
and  profound  respect  for  his  genius  assure  us  that  he  has  worked  in  the  spirit 
of  Handel,  and  has  added  only  that  Avhich  will  enhance  the  beauties  of  his 
most  sublime  creation." 

To  return  to  Josh'/a.  Although  not  to  be  ranked  with  Handel's 
greatest  oratorios,  it  contains  several  of  his  grandest  and  most 
graphic  choruses,  some  arias  of  great  beauty,  as  well  as  some  of  a 
heroic  and  inspiring  strain ;  audit  abounds  in  recitative  (perliaps  a 
weariness  to  some)  which  is  always  fine,  discriminating,  eloquent, 
and  true  to  character  and  situation.  Its  martial  and  heroic  strain  is 
well  relieved  by  tender  passages  of  love.  Some  parts  of  the  earlier 
choruses,  like  'Tn  wat'ry  heaps  affrighted  Jordan  rolled,"  remind  one 
of  the  more  massive,  but  in  idea  not  grander,  double  choruses  in 
Israel.     There  are  no  double  choruses  in  Joshua. 

The  work  itself,  and  the  performance  on  the  whole,  proved  more 
acceptable  than  had  been  commonly  anticipated.  Indeed  it  was  lis- 
tened to  throughout  with  every  sign  of  pleasure.  Of  the  work  more  in 
detail,  and  of  the  way  in  which  it  was  performed,  w^e  must  borrow 
some  remaiks  from  one  of  the  daily  journals  of  the  time  :  — 

"  In  the  lirst  part,  which  illustrates  the  pieparation  of  the  tribes  of  Israel 
for  battle,  the  episode  of  the  meeting  of  Achsah  and  Othniel  is  given  such 
prominence  as  to  make  it  the  feature  of  this  portion  of  the  work.  Achsah 
is  introduced  in  the  plaintive  air,  'Oh!  who  can  tell,  oh!  w^ho  can  hear  of 
Egypt  and  not  shed  a  tear  ?  Hearing  Othniel's  praises,  she  fancies  the 
sweet  comiDliments  come  from  the  birds  of  the  forest,  and  sings,  to  the 


3()8  HISTOKY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXI)    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

accompaniment  of  the  tlute,  an  exquisite  song,  '  Hark,  't  is  the  linnet.' 
Then,  meeting  with  Othniel,  tliey  together  sing  a  love  duo  in  the  pastoral 
style,  '  Our  limpid  streams  with  freedom  flow.'  Their  wooing  is  interrupted 
by  the  trumpet  call,  and  the  first  part  closes  with  a  grand  chorus :  '  May  all 
the  hosts  of  heaven  attend  Mm.' 

"At  the  opening  of  the  second  part  occurs  the  ji/e'cf  Oe  resistance  of  the 
work,  the  solo  ( tenor)  and  chorus,  '  Glory  to  God.'  Some  passages  in  this  num- 
ber, notably  the  phrase,  '  The  nations  tremble,'  have  scarcely  been  excelled 
even  by  Handel  in  his  most  inspired  moments.  A  magnificent  air  for  the 
bass,  *  See  the  raging  flames  arise,'  follow^s.  which  is  succeeded  by  a  chorus, 
'  Almiglitj"  ruler  of  the  skies,'  which  describes  the  miraculous  passage  over 
Jordan.  A  superb  recitative  accompanies  Joshua's  invocation  to  the  sun  and 
moon :  and  the  chorus.  '  Behold !  the  listening  sun  the  voice  obeys,'  forms 
a  grand  climax  to  the  second  part.  The  third  and  closing  part  fairly  bristles 
with  gems.  Besides  the  well-known  bass  air.  '  Shall  I  in  Mamre's  fertile 
plains,'  and  then  the  not  nnfamiliar  soprano  air,  '  Oh,  had  I  Jubal's  lyre,' 
occurs  a  fine  aria,  '  Place  danger  ;i round  me,'  for  the  contralto,  a  sublime 
chorus.  '  Father  of  Mercy,'  and  the  great  chorus,  also  introduced  in  Judas, 
'  See,  the  conquering  hero  comes,'  which  celebrates  the  triumph  of  young 
Othniel. 

"The  leading  soprano  part  was  sung  by  Mme.  A'an  Zandt.  This  artist's 
style  is  not  entirely  suited  to  oratorio,  and  in  some  of  her  solos  she  Avas  not 
especially  successful:  albeit  she  sang  her  music  carefully  aud  conscientiously. 
Her  rendering  of  '  Oh,  who  can  tell '  was  Avanting  in  the  depth  of  feeling 
which  the  piece  demands,  and  in  '  Hark!  'tis  the  linnet.'  there  was  a  lack  of 
that  delicacy  and  naivete  for  which  the  music  called.  In  •  Oh  I  had  I  Jul)ars 
lyre,'  nothing  was  wanting :  for  the  piece  was  exactly  fitted  to  her  brilliant 
style,  and  she  won  a  hearty  encore.  Miss  Phillipps  as  Othniel  justified  the 
title  that  has  aptly  been  bestowed  upon  her  by  an  eminent  critic,  of  the  most 
emotional  singer  America  has  produced.  All  her  music  w^as  impressively 
rendered,  especially  the  diflicult  aria  in  the  third  part,  '  Place  danger  around 
me  '  Mr.  Maas  has  never  appeared  to  better  advantage  than  in  Joshua.  In 
his  recitative,  '  O  thou  bright  orl),'  he  rose  to  a  very  higli  point  of  lyric 
power.  Mr.  John  F.  Winch  is  entitled  to  Avarm  commendation  for  his  sing- 
ing of  the  bass  part,  Caleb,  which  he  assumed  at  very  short  notice,  owing  to 
the  continued  illness  of  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney.  The  audience  was  in  full  sym- 
pathy with  Mr.  Winch  in  his  trying  position,  but  his  efforts  called  for  no 
indulgence.  His  principal  air,  '  See  the  raging  flames.'  was  magnificently 
given.  Miss  Sarah  C.  Fisher  merits  favorable  mention  for  her  good  work  in 
recitative. 

"  To  the  chorus  belongs  much  of  the  splendid  success  attained.  Consider- 
ing tliat  the  work  was  entirely  unfamiliar,  the  choral  performance  was  mar- 
vellous in  its  uniform  smoothness  and  power.  .  .  .  Mr.  Zerrahn  held  the 
baton,  and  kept  the  chorus  up  with  his  usual  success.  He  was  honored  with 
a  delicate  but  significant  testimonial  from  the  lady  members  of  the  chorus, 
in  the  form  of  a  beautiful  floral  lyre.  His  discovery  of  this  tribute,  which 
occurred  at  the  end  of  tlie  first  part,  created  a  most  agreeable  sensation  in  the 
chorus,  which  broke  forth  into  quite  a  spontaneous  demonstration  of  ap- 
plause " 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  3f)9 

sixTY-sECoxD  s?:ason. 

May  20.   1S7(?,  to  May  28,   1877. 

The  amuuil  meeting  was  held  May  29.  The  president,  Charles  C. 
Perkins,  occupied  the  chair,  and  in  the  absence  of  A.  Parker  Browne, 
Mr.  M.  G.  Daniell  was  chosen  secretary  pro  tern.  The  librarian, 
J.  H.  Stickney,  reported  that  there  had  been  added  to  the  library 
during  the  year  one  hundred  pianoforte  chorus  scores  of  the  Messiah 
and  some  orchestral  music  He  also  presented  a  tabulated  list  of 
the  works  performed  by  the  Society  from  Dec.  25,  1815,  to  April  16, 
187G  (not  including  fragments  of  nn  oratorio),  as  follows  :  — 

NAME.  COMPOSER.  FIRST  TIME.  NO.  LAST   TIME. 

Miscellaneous Dec.  2,5,  1815 .   180  May  9,  1874 

Messiah Handel Dec  25,  1818. .  Co  Dec.  25,  1875 

Creadon Haydn Feb.  10,  1819  . .  59  Dec.  26,  1875 

Dettingen  Te  Deum Handel April  1,  1819 . .     3  March    1,  1802 

The  Intercession ]M.  P.  King Jan.  25,  1825 . .     1 

Mass  in  B  flat.  • Haydn Jan.  25,  1829 . .     5  Feb.  2,  1834 

Mass  in  C Mozart April  12,  1829 . .     1 

Mass Bnhler Dec  13,1829..     2  March  27,  1831 

Monntof  Olives  (Engedi). Beethoven Dec.  22,1833..     0  Feb.  27,1853 

])avid S.  Nenkomm.  .Feb.  28,  1830 . .  57  April  10,  1859 

Remission  of  Sin C.  E.  Horn. . . .  Oct.  2,  1830 . .     1 

Hymn  of  the  Night. S.  Nenkomm.  .Oct.  1,  1837 . .     2  April  23,  1843 

Mount  Sinai S.  Nenkomm .  -Oct.  4,  1840 . .     7  Aug.  21 ,  1841 

The  La'Jt  Judgment L.  Spohr March  20,  1812 . .     8  :Nrarch  1 7,  1844 

Saint  Paul Mendelssohn  .  .Jan.  22,  1843  . .     9  Dec.  27,  1874 

Transient  and  Eternal Romberg Nov.  14,  1841 . .     5  Dec.  15,  1844 

Stabat  Mater Rossini Feb.  20,  1843 . .  20  April  12,  1876 

Samson Handel Jan.  20,  1845 . .  32  May  5,  1808 

Moses  in  Egypt. Rossini Dec.  21,  1845 . .  45  Feb.  29,  1868 

Judas  Maccabjcus Handel Dec.  15,  1847 . .  15  May  5,  1874 

Elijah :\Iendelssohn .  .Feb.  13,  1848 . .  40  Nov.  8,*  1875 

The  Martyrs Donizetti Dec.  10,  1849 . .     7  Jan.  27,  1850 

The  Ninth  Symphony Beethoven ....  April  2,  1853 . .  5  May  0,  1874 

Solomon Handel Nov.  18,1855..  3  Dec.  9,1855 

Requiem  Mass   Mozart Jan.  18,  1857 . .  2  March  29,  1 857 

Eli M   Costa Feb.  15,  1857 . .  4  Nov.  27,  1864 

Hymn  of  Praise :Mendelssohn .  April  10,  1858  ..12  April  12,  1876 

Israel  iu  Egypt Handel Feb.  13,  1859 . .  4  June  24,  1872 

Ode  on  St.  Cecilia's  Day.. Handel Nov.  28,1863..  2  Dec.  0,1803 

Festival  Overture O.  Nicolai May  23,  1805 . .  5  May  9,  1871 

Psalm  XLII Mendelssohn . .  :May  13,  1 800 . .     1 

Jephtha Handel Feb.  17,  1867 . .     1 

Psalm  XCV :Mendelssohn.  .:Mav  5,1808..     1 


870  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

NAME.  COMPOSEK.  FIRST   TIME.  NO.  LAST  TIME. 

Kaamaii M.  Costa March  27,  1800 . .  2  Dt-c.     26,-1809 

The  Woman  of  Samaria.  ..W.  S.  BennettMay  13,1871..  1 

Hear  m.v  rrayer Mendelssohn  . .  May  7,  1874 . .  2  Feb.        6,  1875 

Christus Mendelssohn . .  May  7,  1874 . .  1 

]*salm  XLVI 1).  Buck May  7,  1874 . .  2  Feb.       0,  1 875 

The  Passion  Music  (Saint 

Matthew) Bach May  8,1874..  2  April      9,  187fi 

Saint  Peter J  K.  Paine May  9,  1874 . .  1 

The  Seasons Haydn April  28,  1875. .  1 

Joshua Handel April  16,  187C)..  1 

The  treasurer,  George  W.  Palmer,  reported  that  the  receipts  for 
the  year  had  been  S19,2G1.  IncUided  among  the  items  were  the  fol- 
lowing :  from  the  Messiah,  83,629.56  :  from  the  Creation,  $3,030.25  ; 
from  Bach's  Passion  Music,  $1,244.50;  portion  of  the  Tietjeus  con- 
cert, $1,124.57  ;  from  ,7bs7ma,  $1,674.50.  The  general  expenses, 
including  the  rent  of  the  hall,  etc.,  were  $3,073.04,  and  the  expenses 
of  the  concerts  had  used  up  the  remainder  of  the  receipts,  leaving  a 
balance  of  $54.22  in  the  treasury.  The  indebtedness  had  been 
reduced  from  $2,750  to  S2,000.  There  was  a  long  discussion  on  the 
advisability  of  assessing  the  members  to  pay  off  the  debt,  and  finally 
it  was  voted  to  levy  an  assessment  of  $5  on  each  member.  A  motion 
to  reconsider  was  lost. 

Mr.  Palmer,  who  was  also  chairman  of  the  examining  committee, 
reported  that  172  candidates  for  membership  had  been  examined,  of 
which  number  80  had  been  received  and  02  rejected.  Of"  those  re- 
ceived 25  were  sopranos,  26  altos,  10  tenors,  and  10  bassos. 

The  president  made  a  brief  address  in  the  nature  of  a  report.  He 
suggested  that  it  would  be  a  good  plan  to  have  a  library  room,  where 
the  music  could  be  kept,  and  of  sufficient  size  to  be  a  pleasant  place 
of  resort  for  the  members  ;  and  that  a  double  quartet  of  the  best 
singers  in  the  Society  should  be  selected  to  examine  music  and. report 
upon  its  merits  to  the  Society.  He  reported  that  thirty  rehearsals 
had  been  held,  at  which  the  average  attendance  was  340  persons,  and 
that  six  concerts  had  been  given,  at  which  the  average  attendance 
was  475.  He  also  suggested  that  a  musical  festival  be  held  in  ]May, 
1877,  and  this  suggestion  was  received  with  applause.  He  took  tlie 
opportunit}^  to  i)resent  to  the  Society  two  large  folio  volumes  of  the 
Handel  edition  of  the  Messiah,  and  he  urged  upon  the  members  the 
importance  of  more  frequent  donations  of  such  a  character.  The 
thanks  of  the  Society  were  extended  to  him  for  his  gift. 

The  election  of  officers  was  then  proceeded  with,  and  resulted  as 
follows :  — 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDFX    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  371 

President.  — Ciiakles  C.  Perkins. 

Vice-President. — George  H.  Chickering. 

Secretary.  —  A.  P.  Browne. 

Treaty rer.  —  George  AV.  Palmer. 

Librarian.  —  J.  H.  Stickney. 

Directors. — J.  S.  Sawyer,  R.  Beeching,  F.  H.  Jenks,  W.  F. 
Bradbury,  M.  G.  Daniell,  A.  H.  Wilson,  G.  T.  Brown,  and  J.  I). 
Andrews. 

Mr.  John  A.  Nowell  called  the  attention  of  the  Society  to  the  pres- 
ence in  the  meeting  of  Mr.  B.  B.  Davis,  of  Brookline,  who  had 
attended  regularly  sixty  annual  meetings.  Mr.  Davis  responded 
briefly,  testifying  to  the  great  good  be  had  received  from  his  con- 
nection with  the  Society  and  his  participation  in  the  noble  thoughts 
and  words  of  the  oratorios. 

As  this  was  to  be  a  festival  year  (the  fourth  Triennial) ,  the  cus- 
tom aiy  oratorio  work  of  the  Society  shrank  to  small  dimensions. 
Only  the  Christmas  and  Easter  oratorios  were  provided  for,  —  the 
Messiah,  and  for  the  second  time,  Joshua.  The  Festival  was  the 
''objective  point"  of  the  year,  absorbing  all  the  energy  beyond  the 
necessary  rehearsal  for  the  reproduction  of  those  two  works,  one  for 
the  sixty-sixth,  the  other  for  the  second  time. 

During  the  summer  little  or  nothing  of  importance  is  recorded. 
Some  things  were  discussed  without  definite  or  satisfactory  result. 
Perhaps  the  most  significant  was  Boston's  need  of  a  good  permanent 
local  orchestra.  Music,  especially  orchestral  music,  in  the  Fnited 
States,  was  felt  to  be  growing  too  peripatetic  to  be  relied  upon  for 
local  uses.  Through  the  frequent  invasion  of  trained  travelling- 
orchestras,  all  our  humble  attempts  to  build  up  a  local  orchestra 
were  crippled  by  the  falling  off  of  steady,  public  patronage  ;  and  from 
this  cause  the  oratorios,  as  well  as  the  purely  instrumental  concerts, 
suffered.  It  became  more  and  more  difficult  to  gather  from  among 
our  resident  musicians  a  really  sufficient  orchestra  for  the  accompani- 
ment even  of  Elijah  and  the  Hymn  of  Praise.  To  call  in  a  travelling 
virtuoso  orchestra  each  time  was  altogether  too  expensive.  (It  is 
l)etter  at  this  present  time  of  writing.  1881).) 

It  may  be  worth  mentioning,  as  showing  the  influence  of  good  ex- 
ample, that  Handel's  Joshua.,  a  few  months  after  the  first  production 
by  the  old  Society,  was  successfully  brought  out  (earh^  in  October), 
in  the  Nineteenth  Annual  Festival  of  the  Worcester  County  Musical 
Association  at  Worcester,  Carl  Zerrahn  conducting.  The  soloists  were 
Miss  Clara  Doria  (now  Mrs.  H.  M.  Rogers),  Miss  Mathilde  Phillipps, 
Mr.  J.  P.  Nilsen,  tenor,  of  New  York,  and  Mr.  J.  F.  AVinch. 


372  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Rehearsals  of  the  3fessiah  and  of  Joshua  occupied  the  Sunday 
evenings  from  Oct.  1  to  Christmas.  At  a  meetiug  of  the  board,  Dec. 
8,  tlie  committee  on  soloists  presented  the  first  draft  of  a  programme 
for  the  Festival ;  and  Dr.  Robert  Franz,  of  Halle,  Saxony,  was  made 
an  honorary  member  of  the  Society. 

Christmas  Eve  came  on  Sunday  eveniug,  Dec.  24,  when  the  Society 
gave  its  sixty-sixth  performance  of  the  Messiah,  that  being  its  five 
hundred  and  ninety-fourth  concert  in  the  sixty-two  years  of  its  exist- 
ence. As  usual  at  that  joyful  festival,  the  Music  Hall  was  crowded, 
and  the  performance  on  the  whole  was  one  of  the  best,  the  choruses 
having  been  rehearsed  with  zealous  care  and  even  with  enthusiasm. 
This  performance  derived  a  special  interest  from  the  use,  for  the  first 
time,  of  the  additional  accompaniments  furnished  by  Robert  Franz  to 
several  numbers  of  the  work  which  Mozart  had  omitted  to  complete 
in  the  admirable  manner  in  which  he  had  fitted  the  rest  of  the  oratorio 
for  public  performance  in  Vienna.  It  can  hardly  be  supposed  that 
the  mass  of  a  Boston  audience,  not  technically  musical,  noticed  par- 
ticularly wherein  the  passages  in  question  sounded  better  than  before, 
and  yet  unconscioush'  they  must  have  experienced  a  fresh  pleasure 
in  them.  To  musical  students  and  observers  the  improvement  must 
have  been  palpable.  A  much  richer  and  warmer  coloring  was  im- 
parted to  the  air,  "He  shall  feed  his  flock,"  by  the  addition  of  two 
clarinets,  two  bassoons,  and  particularly  two  horns,  though  this  had 
been  suggested  heretofore  at  least  upon  the  organ.  In  like  manner 
the  pair  of  clarinets  and  of  bassoons  filled  out  the  middle  harmouy, 
so  long  left  to  the  organ,  with  excellent  effect  in  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  the  choruses,  arias,  and  the  more  graphic  recitatives,  as  '-Thus 
saith  the  Lord,  And  I  will  shake,"'  etc.  And  several  times  the  fine 
contrapuntal  art  of  Franz  was  beautifully  manifested  in  the  answer- 
ing phrases,  imitations,  which  he  has  given  to  those  middle  instru- 
ments, or  instrumental  voices,  keeping  up  the  polyphonic  continuity. 
Who  can  doubt  that  Handel  himself  did  that  when  he  presided  at  his 
organ  ?  A  number  of  the  shorter  recitatives,  left  with  only  a  figured 
bass,  had  been  written  out  by  Franz  for  the  quartet  of  strings,  and 
certainly  they  sounded  better.  There  was,  moreover,  another  impor- 
tant improvement  in  the  treatment  of  the  orchestral  accompaniment. 
The  phrasing  and  liowing  of  the  violins,  and  all  the  strings,  which  had 
followed  an  absurd  tradition,  —  in  short  a  coarse  and  careless  habit 
of  playing  nearly  every  figure  with  a  hacking  staccato,  —  had  been 
carefully  conformed  by  the  conductor  to  the  evident  intentions  of 
Handel's  score,  so  that  we  no  longer  heard  the  incongruous  and  stilted 
separate  accent  on  each  note  accompanying  the  legato  of  the  voices. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     373 

The  solos  averaged  well,  if  there  was  no  singer  of  superlative 
excellence,  no  famous  prima  donna.  The  soprano  pieces  were  divided 
between  Mrs.  J.  W.  Weston  and  a  new  aspirant,  Miss  Lilian  B. 
Norton.  The  latter  had  a  pure,  large,  powerful  voice,  which  she  had 
a  tendency  to  use  (probably  in  the  over-anxiety  of  a  debutante  in 
that  large  hall)  somewhat  too  powerfully.  Her  vocal  culture,  too, 
seemed  hardly  equal  to  her  sympathetic  musical  feeling,  her  dramatic 
intensity  and  good  conception.  She  gave  "There  were  shepherds  " 
and  "  Rejoice)  greatly,"  with  fine  effect,  and  promised  to  Vake  high 
rank  among  our  singers  in  these  nobler  tasks.  Mrs.  Weston  sang 
"But  thou  didst  not  leave"  and  "  I  know  that  my  Redeemer"  ver}^ 
sweetly,  but  with  rather  indistinct  enunciation.  Miss  Mathilde  Phil- 
lipps  won  great  favor  in  the  contralto  solos.  Her  rich  and  sympathetic 
voice,  and  her  large,  evenW  sustained,  expressive  delivery,  appeared 
to  excellent  advantage  in  "O  thou  that  tellest,"  and  in  "He  was 
despised,"  the  latter  being  given  in  a  chaste  and  unaffected  manner, 
without  any  of  that  sentimental  overdoing  of  expression  which  has 
been  too  common  in  that  song,  and  without  that  mannish  qualitv  in 
the  deep  tones  so  offensive  in  many  of  the  pow^erful  contraltos.  Mr. 
AYm.  J.  Winch  sang  the  more  pathetic  tenor  solos  with  great  refine- 
ment and  true  feeling,  and  with  a  sweet  quality  of  tone.  And  in  the 
energetic  and  trying  "Thou  shalt  dash  them,"  he  was  remarkably 
successful,  except  that  the  high  A  on  "dash,"  in  his  strenuous  effort 
to  give  it  all  possible  emphasis,  was  rather  robbed  of  tone.  Mr.  M. 
W.  Whitney  was  in  grand  voice,  and  rendered  tlie  bass  solos  very 
impressively. 

The  chorus  numbered  four  hundred  voices,  and  there  was  an  orches- 
tra of  forty.  The  financial  result  of  the  concert  was  a  profit  of  one 
thousand  dollars. 

1877.  Among  the  announcements  of  forthcoming  musical  events 
that  season  appeared  this,  on  the  od  of  March :  — 

First  in  consequence  is  the  Triennial  Festival  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society,  next  May,  for  which  the  programme  is  full  of  interest  and  novelty, 
and  the  rehearsals  are  going  on  in  real  earnest.  There  will  be  six  perform- 
ances, as  follows :  — 

Wednesday  eveniwj,  May  16.  A  new  festival  overture  and  chorus  by 
Prof .  J.  K  Paine;  "  Sprinu,"  from  Haydn's  Seasons;  Ninety-fifth  Psalm  by 
Mendelssohn. 

Thursday  afternoon,  17tli.  Solos:  orchestral  selections;  Kedemption 
Hymn,  for  contralto  solo  and  chorus,  composed  expressly  by  J.  C.  13.  Par- 
ker; Marcello's  Eighteenth  Psalm,  "The  Heavens  are  telling"  (I cieli  nar- 
rano,  — the  one  described  in  Mme.  George  Sand's  Consiielo). 

Thursday  evenimj.  Bach's  Christmas  Oratorio  (two  or  three  parts) ;  Hil- 
ler's  Sony  of  Victory^  for  soprano  solo  and  chorus. 


:M4:  HISTOUV    of    THK    JIANDEL    and    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Friday  eveniiuj      Handel's  Samson. 

Saturdan  afternoon.  Solos  etc.  "Noel,"  a  Christmas  cantata  by  Saint- 
8aens. 

Siinday  erenim/.  May  2(>.  Handel's  irraudest  choral  work,  the  oratorio 
Israd  in  Egypt. 

Among  the  solo  singers  secured  are:  Miss  Clara  Louise  Kellogg,  Miss 
Phnma  C.  Thursby.  Miss  Annie  Louise  Cary.  Mr.  Charles  R  Adams,  tenor, 
from  the  Imperial  Opera  in  Vienna,  Mr.  Win.  J.  "Winch,  Mr.  John  F,  Winch, 
and  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney. 

Meanwhile,  at  Easter,  the  Society  will  perform  Handel's  Joshua,  with  Miss 
Thursby,  IMiss  A.  Phillipps,  Mr.  Maas,  and  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney  for  the  solos. 

Some  action  of  the  board  of  governmeut,  ¥eh.  IG,  shows  the  gen- 
erous patriotic  spirit  with  which  the  Society-  approached  this  Festival. 
It  was  then  voted  that  one  half  the  profits  be  devoted  to  the  "Old 
South  (Church)  Preservation  Fund."  That  surely  should  have  in- 
spired enough  additional  attendance  on  the  part  of  friends  of  Boston's 
sacred,  proud,  historical  memorials,  to  make  it  certain  that  there 
would  be  profits  to  divide      The  result  will  show. 

While  busily  working  on  the  P'estival  rehearsals,  the  chorus  still 
found  time  to  brush  up  their  rather  short  acquaintance  with  Handel's 
Joxhaa  for  the  Piaster  oratorio,  which  came  on  the  1st  of  April. 
Tliey  were  greeted  bv  a  full  house,  the  receipts  amounting  to  $2,200. 
If  not  so  great  as  its  great  brethren,  the  Messiah  and  Israel  in  Egypt, 
it  was  not  the  less  keenly  enjoyable  as  being  of  the  same  royal  line- 
age and  comparatively  new  to  a  Boston  public,  having  been  given 
only  once  before.  It  is  not  always  the  highest  mountain  that  we  care 
to  climlj ;  a  change  of  view  is  sometimes  more  to  us  than  height. 

The  performance  was  not  on  the  whole  so  good  as  that  of  the  year 
])efore.  The  chorus  sometimes  faltered  in  attack.  Then  too, — 
prol)a])ly  the  result  of  a  long  Wagnerian  dissipation,  —  the  orchestra 
was  often  coarse  and  careless,  yet  some  of  the  choruses  were  made 
remarkably  expressive  and  effective.  There  was  much  to  praise  in 
the  solo  singing,  while  some  of  it  was  inadequate.  Pretty  Miss 
Emma  Thursby,  fresli  and  natural-,  with  her  fresh,  sweet  voice,  — 
her  first  attempt  in  oratorio,  —  sang  the  music  of  Achsa  (with  many 
omissions)  very  beautifully,  with  artistic,  true  expression,  although 
she  seemed  not  quite  in  health,  and  put  less  life  into  lier  song  than  on 
some  happier  occasions.  But  "  Oh,  had  I  Jubal's  lyre  "  was  splen- 
didly delivered.  ''  Hark  I  't  is  the  linnet,"  too,  was  charmingly  sung, 
being  just  suited  to  her  liquid,  bird-like  voice.  Miss  Adelaide  Phil- 
lipps was  thoroughly  the  artist,  ripe  and  true,  in  the  melodies  of 
Othniel.  ^Ir.  Maas,  the  tenor,  sang  with  sweet  voi(  e  and  refined 
taste,  but  seemed  to  have  a  cold  and  lacked  wei2:ht  and  resonance  for 


HI8TOKV    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  375 

the  heroic  temper  of  the  songs  of  Joshua.  Mr.  Whitney,  too,  our 
grand  ])asso,  did  not  a  few  things  grandly,  yet  was  not  at  his  best. 
"  Shall  I  in  Manire's  fertile  plain"  was  given  with  a  sustained  and 
noble  gravity  on  his  part ;  but  the  flowing  chords  of  the  accompani- 
ment, quite  as  cantabile  as  the  voice  part,  were  played  in  so  staccato, 
or  detached  a  manner,  as  to  mar  the  effect  of  the  music  as  a  whole. 
And  now,  having  sent  forth  these  two  noble  frigates,  the  Christmas 
and  the  Easter  oratorios,  rejoicing  on  their  way,  we  have  the  harbor 
full  of  sails  and  full  of  stir  and  preparation  with  the  great  fleet  of 
the  Fourth  Triennial  Festival. 

"  Play  with  j'our  fancies  .  .  . 
Hear  the  shrill  whistle,  which  cloth  order  gi\'e 
To  sounds  confns'cl :  behold  the  threaden  sails, 
Borne  with  th'  invisible  and  creeping  wind, 
Draw  the  huge  bottoms  through  the  fnrrow'd  sea. 
Breasting  the  loftj*  surge.     O,  do  but  think. 
You  stand  upon  the  rivage,  and  behold 
A  city  on  the  inconstant  billows  dancing ; 
For  so  appears  this  fleet  majestical, 
Holding  due  course,"  etc.  Henry  V. 


FOURTH   TKIENNIAL   FESTIVAL. 

May  IT)  to  May  20,  1877. 

This  Festival,  unlike  its  predecessors,  presented  a  list  of  principal 
singers  who  were  all  American,  and  verily  a  fine  one.  For  sopranos, 
Miss  Clara  Louise  Kellogg  and  Miss  Emma  Thursby  ;  contraltos, 
Miss  Annie  Louise  Cary  and  Miss  Mathilde  Phillipps  :  tenors,  Mr. 
Charles  R.  Adams  (who  for  nine  years  had  held  a  high  position  in 
the  Imperial  Opera  at  Vienna,  and  who  was  sure  to  be  welcomed  back 
with  enthusiasm  to  the  scene  of  his  old  triumphs)  and  Mr.  William  J. 
Winch  ;  bassos,  our  two  stalwart  Handelian  ''  men  of  war,"  Messrs. 
John  F.  Winch  and  M.  W.  Whitney.  The  chorus  had  six  hundred 
voices,  the  orchestra  seventy  musicians,  including  the  Beethoven 
and  Mendelssohn  Quintet  Clubs.  Mr.  B.  J.  Lang  was  organist  and 
solo  pianist ;  Carl  Zerrahn,  conductor  of  the  whole,  as  he  had  been  of 
all  the  preceding  festivals,  five  in  number.  The  evening  oratorios 
began  at  7.45  ;  the  afternoon  concerts  at  2.30.  The  Chickering 
pianos  were  used  at  all  the  concerts.  The  order  of  the  programmes, 
it  will  be  seen,  was  somewhat  changed  since  the  first  announcement, 
and  Elijah  was  added,  while  Haydn's  '*  Spring"  was  omitted. 


37(j  HISTOHY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

First  Day.  Wednesday  Evenhnj^  May  16.  The  Festival  opened 
with  a  superb  performance  of  Mendelssohn's  Elijah,  the  most  popular 
of  all  oratorios,  and  one  which  the  chorus  knew  by  heart,  and  was 
almost  sure  to  sing  it  well ;  and  it  was  all-important  that  the  first 
start  in  such  a  Festival  should  be  an  inspiring,  unmistakable  success. 
The  choral  work  was  magnificent,  chorus  after  chorus  giving  more 
palpable  and  more  inspiring  proof  of  the  great  progress  the  Society 
had  made  within  three  years.  The  enthusiasm,  alike  of  singers  and 
of  audience,  culminated  in  the  stupendous  "  Kain  "  chorus,  '•  Thanks 
be  to  God,"  which,  it  is  safe  to  say,  was  never  before  given  here  with 
such  precision,  such  verve,  such  grand  sonorous  volume,  carrying  all 
before  it. 

The  quartet  of  principal  soloists  was  excellent.  Miss  Clara  Louise 
Kellogg,  to  be  sure,  was  somewhat  out  of  her  most  congenial  and 
accustomed  sphere  in  music  of  so  large  and  serious  a  character  ;  her 
voice  seemed  thin  and  hard  and  worn  in  several  passages,  and  once 
or  twice,  as  in  the  Angel  trio,  slightly  out  of  tune.  But  she  was  an 
accomplished  and  artistic  singer,  and  she  gave  herself  to  the  task 
with  right  good  will. 

Miss  Annie  Louise  Gary,  then  one  of  the  noblest  contralto  singers 
in  the  world,  came  back  to  us  in  the  full  ripeness  of  her  golden  voice 
and  art.  All  that  she  did  that  night  was  admirable  and  absolutely 
satisfying  The  pathos  of  '-Woe  unto  them"  could  hardly  find 
expression  more  sincere  and  truthful  ;  and  ••  O  rest  in  the  Lord  "  was 
given  in  tones  of  such  rich  and  even  volume,  such  a  pure  and  perfect 
cantabile,  and  such  chaste  and  simple  fervor,  that  it  required  all  her 
judicious  amiable  firmness  to  resist  the  call  for  a  repetition.  As  the 
arrival  of  Mr.  Gharles  R.  Adams  was  delayed  by  a  rough  passage 
from  Hamburg,  the  tenor  solos  fell  to  our  excellent  Wm.  J.  Winch, 
whose  voice  never  was  sweeter,  nor  his  style  more  pure,  finished,  and 
expressive.  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney  always  makes  a  grand  and  stately 
representative  of  the  Prophet.  This  time  his  ponderous  bass  voice, 
particularly  the  upper  range  of  it,  was  hardly  in  its  best  condition; 
but  most  of  his  sentences  were  grandly  delivered,  the  pathetic  arias 
were  sung  Avith  feeling  and  refinement,  and  the  swift,  strong,  uncon- 
tainable  ''Is  not  his  word  like  a  fire?"  was  given  with  great 
energy  and  certaint}^  making  the  '•  divine  rage"  of  the  music  felt. 
In  the  double  quartet  these  four  artists  were  assisted  by  Miss  Sarah 
G.  Fisher,  Mrs.  Jennie  M.  Noyes,Mr.  P'essenden,  and  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch, 
and  Miss  Fisher  joined  Miss  Kellogg  and  Miss  Gary  in  the  Angel  trio. 
AVith  the  exception  of  the  ti'io,  all  the  concerted  pieces  were  uncom- 
monlv  successful  in  the  renderino-. 


HISTOIIY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AM)    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  377 

The  Music  Hall  was  crowded  io  all  parts,  and  tlie  first  night  of  the 
Festival  was  a  decided  and  a  fruitful  triumph. 

Skcokd  Day.  Thursday  Afternoon,  3lay  17.  Another  crowded 
house  ;  receipts  %'l  600.  All  the  [principal  vocalists  appeared  in  the 
following  programme  :  — 

1.  Overture  to  Athalu\  Op.  74 Mendehsohn. 

2.  Air  from  tlie  Creation,  •■  KoUiiig  in  foaming  billows  "  .         Hojjdn. 

Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney. 
V>.     Aria  from  i^e^nVaw^V/e,  "  All,  quel  gioriio  !"  .         .         .         liossini. 

Miss  PniLUPpy. 

4.  Sceua  from  Z)o?i  G^ioraH^/,  "Nou  mi  dir"       .         .         .         Mozart. 

Miss  Kellogg. 

5.  Aria  from  Requiem  Mass.     "Ingemisco"       .         .         .         Verdi. 

Mr.  Chahlks  W.  Adams. 

6.  Psalm  X VIII.     "  The  Spacious  Firmament"  .         .         Marrollo. 

Solos  by  Mrs.  Jennie  M.  Noyes. 

Assisted  in  the  quartet  by  Mr.  AY.  J.  Winch,  Mr.  B.  F.  Gilbeut, 

and  Mr.  C.  E    Hay. 

7.  Adauio  from  Prometheus,  Op.  4H Beethoven. 

8.  Song  from  Xaaman,  "  I  dreamt  I  Avas  in  heaven"  .         .         Costa 

Miss  Caky. 

9.  Concert  aria.  '•  INIa  che  vi  fece  ' Mozart. 

Miss  Thii^srv. 

10.     Cantata,  "  Noel  ■'     [Christmas] Saint- Sa'ens. 

Solos  by  Miss  Kellogg,  Miss  Gary.  Miss  Phillipps, 
Mr.  W.  J   ^VIXCH.  and  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch. 

The  points  of  most  m.nrked  interest  in  tliis  concert  were  the  first 
hearing  of  ''  Noel,"  the  first  appearauce  of  JNIr.  Adams,  and  the 
Mozart  aria  as  sung  by  Miss  Thursln\  To  begin  with  the  last 
named,  it  was  a  triumph  for  the  fresh,  pure,  bird-like  young  sopi'ano. 
The  aria  itself  teems  with  happy  thoughts  in  the  modest,  genial 
orchestral  accompaniment.  It  soars  high  in  the  hnal  allegro  and 
revels  in  bright  florid  figures,  and  the  young  lady  sang  in  the  most 
crystal  clear,  sweet  tones,  witli  utmost  fluency  and  brilliancy  ;  her 
intonation  perfect,  and  her  style  sympathetic  where  the  passage 
called  for  that.  Miss  Kellogg  vocalized  fluently  and  gracefully  in 
the  *'  Letter"  aiia,  but  hers  was  not  the  Donna  Anua  sphere  of  song. 
Miss  Gary  sang  a  flat,  sentimental  piece  as  well  as  she  sings  every- 
thing ;  there  was  immeuse  applause  for  her.  Miss  JNIathilde  Phillipps 
seemed  better  fitted  for  the  stage  than  for  the  concert  room. 

^Ir.  Adams  was  most  warmly  greeted  as  he  presented  himself  with 
a  quiet,  manly  bearing,  and  au  air  of  experience  and  distinction, 
such  as  one  might  look  for  in  the  American  singer  who  had  held  the 
place  of  leading  tenor  for  nine  years  in  the  Imperi-d  0[)era  at  Vienna. 


378  HISTOKY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

There  was  the  stamp  of  the  artist  manifest  ere  lie  had  suii<>-  three 
measures.  His  was  the  robust  kind  of  tenor,  of  large  compass, 
evenly  developed,  under  complete  control,  and  intrinsically  very 
sweet  in  quality,  though,  probably  owing  to  the  "  sea  change"  from 
which  he  had  scarcely  yet  escaped,  a  certain  huskiness  obscured  his 
middle  tones.  He  sang  superbly,  in  a  frank,  large,  masterly  dra- 
matic style,  each  tone  fraught  with-meaning  and  intention.  The  high 
B  Hat  was  splendid,  and  his  baritone  notes  were  musical  and  solid. 
Nothing  could  be  finer  than  his  musical  declamation,  or  his  enuncia- 
tion, for  which  this  impassioned  ''Ingemisco"  from  Verdi's  Requiem, 
affected  as  the  composition  is  and  overstrained,  afforded  him  consid- 
erable scope.  Recalled  with  hearty  plaudits,  he  sang  it  even  bettor 
than  before. 

Of  Marcello's  Eighteenth  Psalm,  or  the  fragments  culled  from  it 
and  here  put  together,  with  full  orchestral  accompaniment,  by  Lind- 
paintner,  for  the  use  of  the  Parisian  and  other  Conservatories,  we 
have  briefly  remarked  elsewhere  :  — 

"It  is  a  portion  only,  and  the  smaller  portion,  the  rirst  iiKjvement  out  of 
several,  of  that  Psalm  Avhich  George  Sand  in  her  famous  novel  makes  Consuelo 
sing  before  the  great  composer,  under  the  direction  of  the  old  maestro  Por- 
pora,  beginnin,i>-,  ' I  cieli  immensi  narrano'  ('The  heavens  are  telling'). 
Marcello's  mnsic  covers  all  the  many  verses  of  each  Psalm :  the  selection 
here  made  has  greater  unity  as  well  as  brevity.  The  words  of  Addison's 
noble  hymn,  'The  spacious  tirmament  on  high,'  etc.,  are  found  to  suit  the 
music  admirably.  It  is  in  a  cheerful,  flowing,  even,  narrative  vein  of  mel- 
ody, so  simple  that  it  almost  sings  itself;  and  being  w^ritten  for  alto,  tirst 
and  second  tenors,  and  bass  voices,  without  soi)ranos,  and  harmonized  with 
admirable  art,  it  has  a  singularly  rich,  full,  hearty  sound,  as  refreshing  as  it 
is  unusual.  The  alto  solo,  however,  is  so  httle  that  we  wonder  how  .^Ime. 
Sand  came  to  make  so  much  account  of  it." 

And  did  it  occur  to  George  Sand  that  she  was  making  a  contralto 
of  her  budding  prima  donna?  The  piece,  though  well  sung,  made  no 
very  marked  impression  ;  the  heavy  orchestration  seemed  to  overload 
a  work  so  purely  vocal  and  so  modest ;  and,  pleasing  as  the  extract 
was,  it  is  by  no  means  the  best  part  of  the  Psalm,  nor  is  this  Psalm 
so  good  a  specimen  as  could  be  found  among  the  fifty.  The  solos 
were  fairly  sung  by  Mrs.  Noyes,  as  was  a  quartet  of  soli  in  one  place, 
reminding  one  of  Haydn's  '•  The  heavens  are  telling." 

Much  more  interesting  was  the  short  Christmas  Oratorio  (or  can- 
tata) by  Saint-Saens.  As  an  early  composition  (Op.  12),  it  shows 
rai'e  talent,  if  not  genius.  The  study  of  Bach  betrays  itself  at 
various  points  in  it.  Had  Bach's  Christmas  music  been  heard  first, 
every  one  would  have  recognized  in  the  instrumental  prelude  a  pal- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  371) 

pable  imitation  of  Bach's  Pastoral  Symphony,  —  the  same  12-8 
measure,  the  same  sort  of  phrasing,  the  same  contrasting  of  pastoral 
reeds  with  strings.  Only  here  the  orchestra  has  only  strings,  the 
reeds  being  represented  on  the  organ,  and  very  expressively,  by  Mr. 
Lang.  Bach's  prelude  is  far  more  poetic  and  ideal,  this  of  Saint- 
Saiins  more  realistic,  as  if  you  actually  heard  the  Abruzzi  peasants 
in  the  streets  of  Rome  ;  and  here  too  the  narrative  and  the  annuncia- 
tion, distributed  among  the  four  solo  voices,  may  be  called  conven- 
tional;  much  of  it  is  kept  upon  a  monotone,  like  church  chanting. 
The  chorus,  "  Glory,  now,  unto  God,"  etc.,  is  concise  and  effective. 
The  simple  air,  "Firm  in  faith,"  in  detached  phrases,  with  graceful 
instrumental  figures  between  them,  was  beautifully  sung  by  Miss 
Gary.  Miss  Kellogg  and  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch  did  justice  to  the  duet, 
''  Blessed,  ever  blessed,"  which,  but  for  the  tedious  continuity  of 
staccato  chord  accompaniment  by  the  organ,  has  much  beauty. 
There  was  nothing  more  impressive  in  the  whole  work  than  the  stir- 
ring chorus,  "  Wherefore  are  the  nations  raging?"  ;  and  nothing  more 
lovely  in  contrast,  though  the  connection  seems  forced,  than  the  gen- 
tle, flowing  ascription  to  which  its  turbulent  agitato  suddenly  gives 
wa3\  Solo  singers,  chorus,  orchestra,  and  organ  were  satisfactory 
throughout,  and  the  work  as  a  whole  probably  made  all  the  impres- 
sion that  it  ever  will  make.  It  certainly  gave  pleasure  here  for  once. 
Tliuvsday  Evening.     Third  concert,  with  this  programme  :  — 

1.  Christmas  Oratorio.     Parts  I.  and  II J.  S.  Bach. 

Solos  by  Miss  Thuhsby,  Miss  Caky,  Mr.  W.  J.  Winch, 
and  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch. 

2.  Recitative,  "  Deeper  aud  deeper  still "  ^  ^.^.^^^^^  j^^^^^^^^^  _     ^^   ^,  ^^^^^^^^^^ 
Air,  '•  Waft  her,  angels  "  > 

Mr.  W.  J.  WiNX'H. 
8.     Air  from  Eli,  "  I  Avill  extol  thee,  O  Lord"     .        .         .     J/.  Costa. 
Miss  Emma  C.  Thuhsby. 

4.     Hywm,  Bed' mption J.  C.  D.  Parker. 

Solo  l)y  Miss  Cary. 

.5.     Air  from  The  Prodigal  Son ^-1.  ^S'.  Snllivan. 

Mr.  J.  F.  Winch. 

0.     Cantata,  .1  ,Son(j  of  Victor;/ F.  Hiller. 

Solo  by  Miss  Thursby. 

The  two  parts  of  Bach's  Christmas  Oratorio  were  far  more  success- 
ful, both  in  their  presentation  and  reception,  than  we  had  dared  to 
hoi)e.  So  far  as  w^e  could  read  the  signs,  the  great  majority  of  the 
audience,  that  very  nearly  filled  the  hall,  were  charmed  and  deeply 
moved  by  nearly  every  number  of  the  music,  so  poetic,  so  ideal,  so 
sincerely  Christian  in  its  spiiit.     It  is  more  easily  understood  than 


380  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AM)    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

the  Passion  Music;  but  there  was  much  to  imperil  its  success.  It 
had  had  too  few  chances  of  rehearsal,  while  it  is  a  kiud  of  music  in 
which  our  singers  are  not  much  at  home.  Then  it  needed  the  addi- 
tional accompaniments  by  Franz  to  fill  out  Bach's  intention  ;  these 
unfortunately  arrived  only  the  day  after  the  feast.  Then  the  arias, 
on  the  old  model,  with  their  two  long  parts  and  a  da  cajyo  to  the  first 
again  (which  Franz,  in  his  arrangements  of  many  of  them  with  piano- 
forte, has  happily  abridged),  could  hardly  fail,  with  all  their  beauty, 
to  prove  wearisome  to  unaccustomed  ears.  But  we  were  agreeably 
surprised  in  hearing  the  entire  performance  go  so  reasonably  well. 
The  chorals  (five  of  them)  and  the  two  great  choruses  were  sung  with 
spirit  and  a  fair  degree  of  precision  ;  the  soloists,  instead  of  strug- 
gling painfully  with  their  exacting  tasks,  made  the  beauty  of  the 
music  readily  appreciable  :  and  the  orchestration  was  passably  eked 
out  with  parts  from  England,  and,  in  one  or  two  numbers,  from  The- 
odore Thomas,  while  the  organ  throughout,  handled  with  discrimi- 
nating tact  by  Mr.  Lang,  went  far  to  make  the  harmony,  if  not  the 
counterpoint,  complete. 

The  opening  chorus,  than  which  nothing  could  sound  more  glad  and 
jubilant,  had  a  most  inspiring  influence.  All  felt  its  power  ;  all  were 
delighted  at  the  free  and  hearty  childlike  way  in  which  this  learned 
old  musician  could  rejoice  and  shout,  and  all  so  musically,  and  as  if 
unconscious  of  his  own  consummate  art.  The  only  drawback  was  in 
the  awkward  English  version  of  the  text;  the  first  words,  "Chris- 
tians, be  joyful,"  was  not  easy  for  the  voices,  compared  with  the 
original,  '^  Javchzet^  froJilocket ."'  Miss  Gary's  delivery  of  the  reci- 
tative, "See  now  the  bridegroom,"  and  the  air,  "Prepare  thyself, 
Zion,"  was  in  the  rich,  heartfelt  tones,  and  the  chaste,  even,  pure 
cantahile  style  required,  with  just  enough  of  quiet  rapture  in  the  florid 
passage  preceding  the  da  capo.  The  serious  choral,  "  How  shall  I 
fitlv  meet  thee?"  was  well  sung,  as  were  all  the  chorals,  —  all  inim- 
itable specimens  of  Bach's  inexhaustible  genius  for  polyphonic  har- 
mony,—  and  had  a  refreshing  and  uplifting  influence.  ]\Ir.  AV.  J. 
Winch  gave  the  narrative  sentences  of  the  Evangelist  in  a  pure  and 
sweet  style  of  recitative,  reverentially  and  simply.  The  unison  cho- 
ral for  sopranos,  "  For  us  to  earth  He  cometh  poor,"  alternating  line 
])y  line  with  a  beautiful  orchestral  strain,  as  well  as  with  reflective 
sentences  of  bass  recitative,  was  perhaps  not  quite  so  clearly  brought 
out  as  some  other  numbers  of  the  work,  yet  enough  so  to  interest  by 
its  originality  of  form  as  well  as  by  its  intrinsic  beauty.  The  long 
and  florid  bass  air,  "Lord  Almighty,"  in  2-4  measure,  found  adequate 
expression  in  the  at  once  solid  and  elastic  voice  of  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch. 


HIJSTOHY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  381 

Aud  the  choral,  *'AhI  dearest  Jesus,"  with  the  trumpet  iuterhides, 
brought  the  first  part  to  a  delightful  close. 

As  to  the  heavenly  Pastoral  Symphouy,  with  which  the  second  part 
begins,  although  the  reed  parts  were  somewhat  blurred,  yet  its  exqui- 
site beauty  seemed  to  be  felt  by  all.  It  is  too  ideal,  too  artistically 
perfect,  to  be  compared  at  all  with  the  one  we  had  heard  in  the  after- 
noon. It  is  woven  out  of  the  most  vital  fibre,  instinct  with  life  in 
every  phrase  ;  every  instrument  is  a  melody  ;  each  sings  the  same 
thought,  the  same  motive  out  of  its  own  heart,  in  its  own  way,  as  if 
each  originated  it,  and  they  divinely  blended.  There  is  the  same 
ideality  and  poetic  freshness,  the  same  imaginative  realization  of  the 
scene  and  the  events  described,  in  the  recitatives,  ''  There  were  shep- 
herds," etc.,  etc.  Nothing  conventional  here,  nothing  for  a  moment 
commonplace.     It  is  all  charm  and  wonder  and  presentiment. 

Here  occurred  Miss  Thursb^'s  only  participation  in  this  work,  the 
single  page  of  the  announcement  ])y  the  angel,  "  Be  not  afraid,"  of 
which  her  delivery  was  most  pure  and  brilliant.  The  wonderful  tenor 
aria,  "  Haste,  ye  shepherds,"  so  tender,  yet  so  extremely  difficult 
and  florid  in  the  latter  portion,  received  a  tasteful,  highly  finished, 
fervent  rendering  from  Mr.  W.  J.  Winch ;  this  was  the  most  arduous 
task  for  any  solo  singer.  Beautifully  soft  and  harp-like  sounded  the 
accompaniment  to  the  bass  recitative  (well  declaimed  by  Mr.  J.  F. 
Winch),  exhortiug  all  to  sing  "with  one  accord,  beside  that  cradle 
holy."  And  then  the  cradle  song  of  the  mother,  "Sleep,  my  be- 
loved," the  loveliest  melody  of  that  kind  ever  invented,  and  wrought 
out  with  most  perfect  art.  Miss  Gary's  voice  and  singing  were 
entirely  worthy  of  it ;  chaste  and  deep  in  feeling,  and  faultless  save 
in  a  single  slip  at  the  end  of  the  second  part  through  momentary  in- 
attention to  the  score.  The  sublime  chorus,  "Glory  to  God,"  won- 
derfully elaborate  as  it  is,  and  so  involved,  in  the  independent  move- 
ment of  each  voice  part  and  instrument,  was  quite  effectively  given 
by  the  great  choir,  and  produced  a  marked  impression.  It  must  be 
heard  again  and  again  to  appreciate  a  tithe  of  all  its  beauty  and  its 
grandeur;  they  are  inexhaustible.  This  chorus  formed  the  exciting- 
climax  of  the  work.  Then  for  a  calm  and  peaceful  close,  the  return 
of  the  choral,  which  has  been  heard  twice  before.  l)ut  now  In  a  new 
rhythm,  the  12-8  of  the  Pastorale^  whose  lovely  second  theme  is 
brought  in  after  ever}'  line,  was  just  the  most  exquisite  and  perfect 
thing  that  ear  and  soul  could  crave. 

Singers  and  audience  were  wrought  up  to  the  highest  pitch  of 
enthusiasm  by  Mr.  Parker's  "  Redemption  Hymn."  It  was  the  sen- 
sation of  the  Festival.     It  was  sung  perfectly,  chorus  and  orchestra 


382    HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AXD  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

doing  their  best  out  of  a  hearty  sympathy  and  respect  for  the  com- 
poser.    The  alto  solo  was  admirably  sung  bj'  Miss  Gary,  and  then 

we  will  let  the  Courier  describe  the  scene  that  followed  :  — 

'•  After  :Miss  Cary  had  curtsied  her  acknowledgments  of  the  tumultuous 
applause,  cries  of  'Parker!  Parker!'  began  to  be  heard  from  various  parts 
of  the  hall  in  ever-growing  crescendo.  The  modest  composer,  apparently 
rather  overwhelmed  by  these  demonstrations,  was  at  last  prevailed  upon  to 
rise  from  his  seat  in  one  of  the  back  rows  on  the  floor  and  make  a  half -timid 
bow.  But  this  was  not  enough ;  hardly  a  hundred  people  had  seen  him,  or 
even  kncAV  where  to  look  for  him;  the  applause  and  cries  continuing  unabated, 
:Mr.  Zerrahn's  tall  figure  was  seen  striding  down  the  side  aisle,  like  inexora- 
ble fate,  bearing  down  upon  Mr.  Parker's  seat.  Escape  was  impossible,  and 
the  successful  composer  was  mercilessly  captured,  and  led  up  to  the  con- 
ductor's desk  on  the  stage,  from  whence  he  bowed  his  thanks  amid  cheers 
and  hand-clapping,  the  ladies  of  the  chorus  fluttering  their  handkerchiefs  as 
if  the  signal  had  been  given  by  an  electric  battery.  :Mr.  Parker  may  be  proud 
of  having  written  one  of  the  best  choral  fugued  movements  ('Art  thou  not 
it  that  hath  cut  Kahab,  and  wounded  the  dragon?')  that  contemporary  com- 
positions can  boast  of.  The  fugued  chorus  is  almost  a  lost  art,  and  to  have 
written  so  strongly  effective  an  one  is  no  mean  triumph.  The  composition, 
as  a  w^hole,  is  admirably  written,  and  shows  at  times  no  little  melodic  inven- 
tion.    Mr.  Parker  is  much  to  be  congratulated." 

Killer's  "  Song  of  Victory,"  imposing,  grandiose  in  plan,  in  its 
elaborate  structure  and  employment  of  all  modern  means,  was  very 
variously  received.  Some  were  carried  away  by  it,  and  some  shook 
their  heads  ;  to  the  most  its  very  brilliancy  and  (so  to  say)  grandilo- 
quence proved  wearisome.  Its  impressiveness,  as  a  whole,  was 
hardly  in  proportion  to  the  grandeur  of  design,  the  wealth  and  bold- 
ness of  the  harmony,  the  ingenuity  of  form,  and  the  considerable 
melody  displayed  in  it.  That  it  is  the  work  of  a  most  accomplished 
musician,  one  of  the  masters  of  our  time,  armed  and  ready  at  all 
points,  there  can  be  no  question.  But  Hiller  here,  as  elsewhere, 
seems  to  fall  just  short  of  wiiat  we  call  creative  genius  ;  the  vitaliz- 
ing spark  is  wanting.  Had  w^e  room  to  go  into  detail,  however,  it 
would  be  easy  to  point  out  many  a  passage  strikingly  etfective,  beau- 
tiful, and  even  original.  Some  of  the  choruses  are  woithy  of  their 
subject,  jubilant  and  full  of  exultation,  while  some  are  bizarre  and 
bordering  on  the  barbaric.  The  final  chorus,  "  Praise  the  Lord  with 
lute  and  harp,  with  tabors,  cymbals,  and  dances,"  seemed  the  literal 
reproduction,  or  '•  materialization"  of  that  text,  so  full  was  it  of  gay 
and  happy  sounds,  so  buoyant,  childlike,  and  like  Father  Haydn. 
The  choruses  were  commonly  well  sung ;  but  the  orchestration, 
always  heavy,  was  still  more  over-weighted,  as  was  sometimes  the 
vocal  melody  itself,  with  the  bloated  rirabornbo  of   a  big  bass  tuba. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  383 

Miss  Tliiirsby  made  the  most  of  her  several  soprano  solos  ;  in  the 
final  chorus  her  silver}^,  pure  voice  soared  and  revelled,  holding  out 
the  highest  tones  with  exquisite  beauty  and  quite  rapturous  expres- 
sion. 

This  really  brilliant  programme,  with  so  many  interesting  novelties, 
drew  but  a  moderately  large  audience,  the  receipts  being  only  $1,450. 

Third  Day.  Fourth  Concert^  Fri(kiy  Evniing,  May  18.  A  very 
larse  audience  assembled  to  hear  Handel's  Samson^ —  not  the  whole 
of  it  by  any  means,  which  would  have  taken  about  five  hours,  seeing 
that  this  performance,  in  which  the  cuts  and  omissions  amounted  to 
a  full  half  of  the  oratorio,  lasted  two  hours  and  a  half.  The  fact  is, 
Samson  is  an  endless  series  of  recitatives  and  arias,  many  of  them 
most  beautiful  and  characteristic,  but  relieved  by  comparatively  few 
choruses  ;  and  in  his  semi-dramatic  plan  of  treating  all  the  words  of 
somebody's  adaptation  of  Milton's  ''  Samson  Agonistes,"  so  many 
solos,  for  a  concert  room,  become  intolerably  prolix.  The  retrench- 
ment, to  be  sure,  was  made  chietly  from  the  solos,  and  this  left  a 
fairer  proportion  of  choral  numbers.  Still,  even  these  had  to  be 
reduced,  because  the  text  of  several  of  them  is  really  quite  unpre- 
sentable. What  would  happen,  in  these  days  of  woman's  rights,  for 
instance,  should  the  whole  Handel  and  Haydn  sisterhood  and  broth- 
erhood unite  in  singing  :  — 

•'  To  man  God's  iiniversal  law 
Gave  pow'r  to  keep  the  wife  in  awe," 

and  then  continue,  in  full  fugue  :  — 

"  Thus  shall  his  life  be  ne'er  dismay'd. 
By  female  nsnrpation  swayed !  " 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  very  excision  of  so  much,  so  frequently, 
hei-e  a  bit  and  there  a  bit  from  the  same  long  stretch  of  recitative, 
also  aggravated  the  sense  of  lengthiness  by  the  slight  confusion  and 
uncertainty  about  the  place  which  it  occasioned  both  with  listeners 
and  singers.  A  more  serious  drawback  was  the  imperfect  state  in 
which  this,  like  all  the  Handel  scores,  is  found  with  regard  to  orches- 
tral accompaniment,  middle  parts  of  the  harmony  being  too  fre- 
quently wanting,  or  but  imperfectly  supplied  upon  the  organ. 

Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  all  these  drawbacks,  there  was  much 
that  was  grandly  impressive,  much  that  was  fresh,  characteristic, 
beautiful  in  melod}',  while  nearly  all  was  enjoyable.  The  solos  were 
mostly  excellent.  Miss  Kellogg  was  eminently  in  place  in  the  soft, 
inveigling,  fondling,  pleading  melodies  of  Delilah  ;  she  cooed  and 
warbled  •'  With  plaintive  notes"  most  gracefully  and  tenderly;  and, 


384  HISTOHY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

in  another  and  a  nobler  vein,  her  ''Let  the  bright  seraphim"  was 
spirited  and  brilliantly  effective.  JNIiss  Mathilde  Phillipps  sang 
"  Return,  O  Lord  of  Hosts,"  and  indeed  most  of  the  music  of  Micah 
in  an  earnest,  thoughtful  manner,  and  with  good  expression  ;  and  it 
was  well  suited  to  her  rich  voice.  Mr.  Adams  had  a  fine  oppor- 
tunity to  illustrate  his  admirable  art  of  recitative  in  the  pai-t  of  Sam- 
son. He  is  a  model  in  enunciation  and  in  musical  declamation;  all 
his  phrasing  perfect,  never  missing  the  dramatic  point.  You  feel 
that  you  have  an  artist  before  you  always,  one  who  has  been  thor- 
oughly trained,  one  who  knows  himself,  his  business  and  his  vocal 
means.  Some  of  his  middle  tones  were  still  a  little  husky  ;  and  yet 
they  were  large  tones,  full  of  essential  sweetness.  Never,  unless  it 
were  in  Braham's  time,  had  we  heard  so  beautiful,  so  refined,  so 
touchingly  eloquent  a  rendering  of  "  Total  eclipse  "  ;  had  he  been 
blind,  as  Milton  and  Handel  were,  he  could  hardW  have  conveyed  the 
si)irit  of  the  poetry  and  music  more  imaginatively.  In  his  dialogue 
with  Delilah  all  his  replies  were  telling.  Mr.  M  AV.  Whitnc}^  sang 
*•  Honor  and  arms"  superbly,  and  was  in  capital  voice  and  trim  for 
{ill  the  music  of  the  boastful  Harapha  ,  pit}^  only  that  it  was  so  bare  in 
accompaniment !  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch  gave  an  agreeable  and  faithful 
rendering  of  the  part  of  "  aged  Mahoah."  Several  of  the  more  stir- 
ring choruses  were  well  sung,  others  not  so  well ;  the  singers  showed 
signs  of  fatigue  ;  so  much  work  in  a  crowded  hall,  and  in  the  first 
inti'use  heat  of  summer,  readily  accounts  for  it.  Yet  the  perform- 
ance was,  upon  the  whole,  a  fair  one,  and  given  to  a  fair  house  ; 
receipts,  $2,100. 

Fourth  Day.  Saturday  Afternoon^  May  19.  The  fifth  concert 
of  the  Festival  offered  another  very  miscellaneous  programme,  mainly 
made  up  of  solos,  mostly  vocal,  with  but  slight  intervention  of  the 
chorus,  and  no  important  orchestral  number  to  give  it  dignity,  beyond 
a  single  rather  indifferent  overture  The  crowd  of  listeners  on  this 
occasion  was  surpassing  ;  hundreds  of  people  stood  throughout.  The 
receipts  rose  to  $3,500.     The  se  ection  was  as  follows  :  — 

1.  Overture,  "  Hero  and  Leancler."  Op.  11  .         .        .         .         lUctn 

Fkstival  Ohchk.ntha. 

2.  Scena  from  ZyO/ie?if/r/;/.     The  Legend  of  the  Grail  .  Wajjiter. 

Mr.  Cm  vhles  M.  Adams 

3.  Aria  from  Z>o><  C«?'?os,  "  0.  Don  Fatale  "        .         .        .         Vej-di. 

Miss  Annie  Louise  Cauy. 

4.  Aria  from  ^'<?9}^^y«7)^?(:?^^  "  Bel  Raggio  "    ....         Bos^irri. 

Miss  Clara  Louise  Kellogg. 

5.  Aria  from  La  Jnive,  "  Se  oppress!  o<inor  "...        NaJevi/. 

Mr.  Myron  W.  Whitney. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  385 

..      ^         ^     ,  fa.     "  Cliiamo  il  mio  ben "      >  /n     i 

0.     Airs  from  Orpheus:  <  >     .         (-rluck. 

U>.     "  Addio  o  miei  sospin"  3 

Miss  ]\Iathild?:  Philltpps. 

7.  Fantasie  for  pianoforte,   Op.  15.      (Instrumeotecl  by 

Liszt) Schubert. 

:Mr.  B.  J.  Lang. 

8.  Fonr-part   soni>-    (unaccompanied),   "Farewell   to  the 

Forest" Jlendelssohii. 

Festival  Chorus. 

9.  Song,  "  Die  Allmacht " Schubert. 

Mr.  Adams. 

10.  Aria  from  Le  Pre  aux  Clercs,  "  Dell'  Etamia  primiera,"        Herold. 

Miss  Emma  C.  Thursby. 

11.  Aria  from  7Z  Pro/eia,  "  Pieta" Meyerbeer. 

Miss  Philijpps. 

12.  Qnartet  from  Fidelia,  Canon Beethoven. 

Miss  Thursby.  Miss  Cary,  Mr.  Adams,  :Mr.  Whitney. 

13.  Solo  and  Chorus  from  6'«a^>«i  3irtfer,  "  Inflammatus  "     .        Bossini. 

Miss  Kellogg  and  Festival  Chorus. 

Miss  Kellogg  was  at  her  best,  naturally,  in  ''Bel  raggio,"  and 
reaped  a  rich  harvest  of  applause  and  flowers,  huge  baskets  full. 
For  Rossini's  "  Inflammatus  "  she  had  not  the  thrilling  majesty  of 
voice  or  style,  though  technically  it  was  finely  executed.  Miss 
Thursby  sang  the  florid  aria  from  Le  Pre  aux  Clercs  with  the  utmost 
brilliancy  and  fluency  and  clear  bird -like  sparkle  (may  we  say)  in  the 
bright  highest  tones.  It  was  an  exquisite  piece  of  vocalization,  and 
received  with  great  enthusiasm  and  with  floral  tokens.  Miss  Gary's 
selection  from  Verdi's  Do7i  Carlos  was  a  highly  dramatic  one,  and 
exhibited  her  glorious,  rich  voice,  her  telling  declamation,  and  her 
singularly  even,  ripe,  sustained  cantabile,  to  full  advantage.  Cheers 
and  flowers  for  her,  too,  without  stint.  Miss  Phillipps  chose  her 
most  effective  concert  pieces  in  the  two  airs  from  OrjjJieus,  displaying 
great  fire  and  facility  in  the  bravura  of  the  second  one.  Among  the 
men  the  palm  belonged  to  Mr.  Adams,  whose  delivery  of  the  scena 
from  Lohengrin  had  all  the  intensity  and  the  romantic  tone  coloring, 
with  all  the  nobility  of  expression  which  Wagner  could  have  asked 
for.  Not  less  noble  was  his  rendering  of  ^the  majestic,  awe-inspiring 
song  of  the  divine  Omnipotence  by  Schubert,  though  it  was  only  half 
appreciated,  the  audience  being  unprepared  for  it,  not  having  the 
words  before  them.  Mr.  Whitney  sang  the  aria  from  "  The  Jewess," 
with  sustained  dignity  and  feeling.  Seldom  was  the  quartet  from 
Fi'leiio  so  finely  sung  here  (in  spite  of  the  weak  Italian  translation), 
and  yet  it  was  about  the  first  time  that  we  ever  knew  it  to  pass  with- 
out a  call  for  repetition.     The  rare  conjunction  of  four  such  voices 


380  HISTORY    or    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

and  such  siugers  in  a  gem  like  that,  should,  by  good  rights,  have  been 
made  the  most  of.  We  could  not  feel  that  the  Liszt-Schul>ert  fanta- 
sia, brilliant  as  it  is.  but  so  long  and  Ijeginning  to  be  a  trifle  hack- 
neyed, was  just  in  the  right  place  in  that  programme,  though  on  the 
part  of  Mr.  Lang  it  was  finely  played,  and  fairly  on  the  part  of  the 
orchestra.  The  rich,  cool,  broad  effect  of  the  whole  choral  mass  of 
voices  was  refreshing  and  inspiring  in  the  part-song  by  Mendelssohn, 
but  it  was  never  written  to  be  sung  by  more  than  a  club,  or  a  handful 
of  singers,  and  the  effort  must  be  rated  as  sensational,  rich  as  the 
sensation  was  :  voices  never  blended  more  euphoniously,  it  must  l)e 
said. 

Among  the  other  floral  tributes  of  this  concert  —  for  it  seemed  to 
be  the  time  of  general  rewards  of  merit — was  an  enormous,  beauti- 
ful harp  of  flowers  presented  to  Carl  Zerralm  (by  the  tenors  and 
basses  of  the  chorus) .  and  a  rich  basket  to  Mr.  Lang,  who  had  done 
such  faithful  and  efficient  work  at  the  great  organ,  as  well  as  at  the 
pinno  in  the  rehearsals  of  the  chorus. 

Fifth  and  Last  Day..  Sunday  Evening^  May  20.  Handel's 
colossal  oratorio.  Israel  in  Egypt ^  brought  the  Festival  to  a  most  noble 
and  impressive  close.  It  was  a  grand  experience.  For  the  first  time 
in  this  country  was  this  sublime  work  brought  out  complete  and  in 
a  manner  worthy  of  its  surpassing  grandeur  and  its  beauty  ;  and  for 
the  first  time  was  it  heartily  accepted,  as  a  whole,  by  a  great  audi- 
ence. This  time  it  was  appreciated,  for  this  time  it  was  adequate^ 
presented.  It  was  a  triumph  for  the  brave. conductor.  Carl  Zerrahn. 
and  for  all  his  cooperating  forces. 

After  the  opening  tenor  recitative.  ''  Now  there  arose  a  new  king 
over  Egypt"  (enunciated  as  only  Mr.  Charles  R.  Adams,  with  his 
rich  voice  and  perfect  art,  could  do  it),  the  double  chorus,  ''And  the 
children  of  Israel  sigh'd "  (in  bondage),  and  the  whole  series  of 
miracle  choruses,  each  itself  a  miracle  of  art,  were  so  sung  as  to 
bring  each  a  vivid  scene  before  the  mind  :  for  the  startling  succession 
of  these  choruses  is  a  kind  of  musical  scene-shifting,  a  vast  unfolding 
diorama  :  sometimes  the  imagery  is  so  strong,  so  bold,  so  graphic, 
so  intensely  irradiated  or  so  deeply  shaded,  so  exciting,  as  to  take 
the  listener's  breath  away.  The  violins,  too,  did  their  part  well,  sug- 
gesting the  swarming  of  ''  all  manner  of  flies  "  after  the  strong  unison, 
'*  He  spnke  the  word."  Of  course  the  '•  Hailstone"  chorus  was  re- 
ceived with  uncontainal)le  enthusiasm,  and  had  to  l»e  repeated  :  and  it 
was  perliaps  the  flutter  of  this  excitement  that  threw  the  singers  a  little 
off  their  balance  in  the  wonderful,  mysterious  modulations  of  '•  He 
sent  a  thick  darkness."     Even  that  most  intricate  of  double  choruses, 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  387 

''  He  led  them  through  the  deep  as  through  a  wilderuess,"  was  suug 
with  a  clearness  in  all  the  parts  such  as  we  had  not  heard  before  ; 
through  the  mazy  wilderuess  of  much  rehearsal,  the  conductor's  baton 
surely  led  them ;  but  we  may  not  go  through  them  all.  Next  in 
grandeur  to  these  miracle  choruses,  which  form  the  principal  matter 
of  the  First  Part,  is  the  sublime  song  of  Moses  and  the  Children  of 
Israel,  "The  horse  and  his  rider,"  which  begins  and  ends  Part 
Second  with  a  blaze  of  glory.  This,  too,  was  given  with  great  spirit 
and  precision,  making  Handel's  power  seem  inexhaustible.  There  is 
yet  a  tlnrd  class  of  choruses,  —  short,  one-page  sentences  of  double 
chorus,  which  ever  and  anon  stand  before  us  like  solid  mighty  monu- 
ments to  mark  the  progress  of  the  work.  Nothing  can  be  grander 
than  these  are  ;  such  a  wealth  and  electric  power  of  harmony  is  con- 
densed into  each  one  of  them.  "He  rebuked  the  Red  Sea,  and  it 
was  dried  up  "  ;  "  And  Israel  saw  that  great  work  "  ;  and  especially, 
"  And  in  the  greatness  of  thine  excellency,"  where  the  most  daring 
and  startling  of  discords  is  employed  with  the  most  wonderful,  naj^, 
the  most  strictly  musical  effect,  —  these  and  more  are  among  the  most 
characteristic  features  of  the  woik.  And  then  there  is  a  fourth  class, 
of  a  more  ecclesiastical  character,  single  choruses,  mostly  aJ'a  hrer-e.  or 
in  tempo  giusio,  which,  if  less  exciting,  add  a  new  and  graver  element 
of  variety,  and  offer  welcome  moments  of  repose.  Such  are,  "And 
believed  the  Lord,"  "And  I  will  exalt  Him,"  etc. 

We  said  the  work  was  given  complete  ;  it  was  even  more  than 
complete.  The  several  additional  solos,  introduced  in  the  Appendix 
by  Sir  George  Smart,  were  all  sung  after  the  traditional  English  cus- 
tom. This  was  very  well  from  one  point  of  view,  as  giving  to  the 
solo  singers  opportunities  but  sparingly  allowed  them  in  the  plan 
of  Handel's  work ;  and  that  great  child,  the  public,  brought  up  and 
spoiled  on  solos,  always  asks  like  Oliver  "  for  more."  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  work  itself  is  weakened  by  these  interpolations. 
They  come  in,  after  a  great  chorus  has  told  the  story  subhmely, 
leaving  nothing  to  be  said,  and  say  it  over  again  in  what  must  seem 
a  feeble  and  prolix  manner. 

The  soloists,  however,  for  the  most  part,  did  themselves  credit. 
The  great  success  in  this  kind  was  the  duet  (part  of  the  real  work), 
"The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war,"  in  which  the  two  basses,  Mr.  AVhitnev 
and  Mr.  Winch,  were  superbly  matched,  and  won  immense  applause. 
It  was  a  mistake,  however,  to  repeat  it ;  such  a  thing  [could  hardly 
sound  so  well  a  second  time  :  all  needed  repetition  is  provided  in  the 
structure  of  the  piece  itself ;  and  it  could  only  lengthen  the  perform- 
ance, weakening  what  came  after.     Mr.  Adams  sang  "The  enemv 


388  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

sakl,  1  will  pursue  "  very  tinely ;  and  his  recitatives,  of  course,  were 
all  tiiat  could  be  desired.  But  in  the  somewhat  bewildering  duet 
(with  Miss  Thursby),  ''Thou  in  thy  mercy,"  he  seemed  not  quite 
familiar  with  his  music.  The  lady's  soprano  was  most  brilliant  in 
the  part  of  Miriam  with  the  last  chorus,  and  she  sang  tinely.  Miss 
Gary  was  capital  in  the  quaint  air,  "Their land  brought  forth  frogs  "  ; 
and  the  tranquil  melody  of  -'Thou  shalt  bring  them  in"  was 
admirably  suited  to  her  voice  and  style. 

So  closed  the  Fourth  Triennial  Festival  with  Handel  in  his  sublimest 
phase.  The  receipts  that  evening  were  82,900.  This  Festival  was 
shorter  than  any  one  of  the  five  preceding,  and  in  that  respect  it  was 
more  wisely  planned,  for  all  the  others  proved  that  there  can  be  "  too 
much  of  a  sood  thino."  Six  concerts  in  four  davs,  all  on  so  large  a 
scale,  snd  offering  so  much  serious  matter,  is  quite  as  much  as  the 
most  eager  musical  appetite  can  w^ell  digest ;  nor  can  the  strength  and 
spirit  of  the  singers  and  the  players  well  endure  the  strain  much 
longer.  The  selections  certainly  were  excellent :  four  great  orato- 
rios, Elijah,  Samson,  Israel  in  Egypt^  and  for  the  first  time,  Parts  I. 
and  II.  of  Bach's  Christmas  Oratorio;  with  such  interesting  novel- 
ties as  the  Marcello  Psalm,  the  Christmas  Cantata  by  Saint-Saens, 
the  liedemption  Hymn  by  our  own  J.  C.  D.  Parker,  and  the  Song  of 
Victory  by  Ferdinand  Hiller ;  besides  tlie  wealth  of  orchestra  and 
vocal  solo  music  in  the  miscellaneous  concerts. 

The  Festival  was  a  gratifying  success  in  almost  all  respects  artisti- 
cally ;  but  the  expense  was  heavy,  slightly  exceeding  the  receipts, 
and  thus  disappointing  the  hope  which  the  Society  had  entertained  of 
contributing  an  equal  share  of  possible  ••profits"  to  the  '•  Old  South 
Church  Preservation  Fund."  There  was  ground  for  pride,  however, 
in  the  fact  that  the  hazardous  enterprise  had  been  carried  through 
without  an}'  financial  guaranty  whatever,  and  that  the  music  was 
rendered  solely  by  American  singers.  The  receipts  for  season  tickets 
were  83,250.  The  sale  of  single  admissions  was,  for  the  first  per- 
formance, 82,7-20  50  ;  for  the  second,  82,12-;  ;  for  the  third,  $898  ;  for 
the  fourth,  81,505;  for  the  fifth,  82,999.50;  for  the  last,  82,810. 5. >. 
There  was  also  derived  from  various  sources,  8448.15.  Total  receipts, 
Sl<;. 251. 65. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     389 


CHAPTER  XII. 

SIXTY-THIRD    SEASON. 
May  28,  1877,  to  May  27,  1878. 

The  euthusiasm  of  the  fourth  Triennial  Festival  (May,  1877) 
having  reached  its  climax  in  that  grand  performance  of  Handel's 
Israel  in  Egypt^  and  having  now  somewhat  subsided,  the  day  of 
reckoning  and  of  thoughtful  forecast  came  in  the  shape  of  the 
Annual  Business  Meeting,  which  was  held  in  Bumstead  Hall  on  the 
evening  of  May  28,  the  president,  Charles  C.  Perkins,  in  the  chair. 
The  treasurer's  report  showed  the  receipts  of  the  year  to  be 
S6,796.20,  making,  with  a  balance  on  hand  the  year  before  of 
So4.22,  a  total  of  86,850.42.  Paid  floating  debt  of  82,000.  Ex- 
penses of  the  year,  84,627.  Amount  on  hand,  8223.42.  It  was 
voted  to  hear  the  report  of  the  cost  of  the  festival  (receipts  already 
stated)  at  an  adjourned  meeting.  The  trustees  of  the  Permanent 
Fund  reported  the  interest  of  the  year  at  8899.20,  which  sum  was 
paid  to  the  treasurer  and  included  in  the  statement  of  receipts. 

The  president's  report  was  congratulator}^  and  encouraging.  The 
spirit  of  devotion  in  the  Society  had  been  attested  by  the  average 
attendance  of  three  hundred  and  eighty  singers  at  forty-four  re- 
hearsals during  the  year.  He  spoke  of  a  "  new  departure  "  to  be 
taken  by  the  Society  in  performing  Elijah  and  perhaps  other  ora- 
torios in  the  "Tabernacle"  (of  Mood}'  and  Sankey),  where  for 
the  first  time  five  thousand  people  could  hear  the  best  music  at 
prices  within  the  reach  of  many  now  excluded.  Of  the  Festival 
he  said  that,  although  its  expenses  slightly  exceeded  the  receipts, 
yet  it  was  carried  through  without  any  financial  guaranty,  and 
wholly  by  American  singers,  and  was  a  success  of  which  the  So- 
ciety might  well  be  proud.  Officers  for  the  ensuing  year  were 
elected  as  follows  :  — 

President.  —  Charles  C.  Perkins. 

Vice-President.  —  George  H.  Chickering. 

Secretary.  —  A.  Parker  Browne. 

Treasurer.  —  George  W.  Palmer. 

Librarian.  —  John  H.  Stickney. 


390  lUSTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Directors.  —  G.  T.  Brown,  J.  D.  Andrews,  W.  F.  Bradbury, 
A    H.  Wilson,  A.  K.   Hebard,   H.   G.   Carey,  J.   A.  Pray,  and 

R.    S.    RCNDLETT. 

The  first  call  to  action,  in  the  summer,  was  "To  your  tents,  O 
Israel."  The  Triennial  Festival  was  supplemented  on  Tuesday  even- 
ing, June  5,  by  a  repetition  of  Elijah  under  the  ample  but  temporary 
roof  of  the  "  Taljernacle."  The  music  sounded  better  than  was  com- 
monly expected  ;  yet  it  could  not  be  said  that  either  chorus,  orchestra, 
or  oroan  had  the  telling  sonority  that  they  had  in  the  Music  Hall ; 
much  depended,  however,  upon  how  the  hearer  was  placed.  The 
great  enclosure  was  so  cut  up  overhead  by  crossing  beams  and  rafters 
as  to  reduce  its  sound-reflecting  power  almost  to  nothing.  Every 
note  was  heard;  but  it  all  sounded  dull,  far-off.  One  journal  said: 
^^  Elijah  in  the  Tabernacle  is  as  effective  as  a  string  quartet  in  the 
Music  Hall :  both  can  be  distinctly  heard,  and  intellectually  compre- 
hended ;  but  neither  can  be  physically  felt." 

The  array  of  solo  artists  was  one  of  great  strength.  First,  Mme. 
Pappenheim,  of  the  German  Opera,  renowned  in  Wagnerian  music- 
dramas  and  in  Fidelio,  now  sang  in  oratorio  for  the  first  time.  In 
voice  sure,  true,  ample,  sympathetic,  and  far-reaching ;  in  st^'le 
artistic  ;  in  execution  facile,  finished,  even  ;  in  feeling  and  expres- 
sion, she  had  hardly  been  surpassed  in  that  music.  Her  "  Hear  ye, 
Israel"  (which  Mendelssohn  wrote  for  Jenny  Lind)  was  superb. 
Her  "Holy,  holy,"  too,  was,  next  to  the  Lind's,  the  nearest  to  the 
sublime  that  we  remember.  Mr.  Charles  R.  Adams,  in  the  tenor 
solos,  more  than  made  good  any  disappointment  in  the  Festival. 
Miss  Adelaide  Phillipps  was  all  herself  in  the  contralto  parts  :  and 
Mr.  J.  F.  Winch  was  careful  and  successful  in  the  music  of  the 
Prophet.  Miss  Sarah  C  Fisher's  sweet  and  clear  soprano  told' well 
in  the  part  of  the  Youth  and  in  the  Angels'  Trio  (which  had  to  be 
repeated)  with  Pappenheim  and  Phillipps.  The  concerted  pieces  all 
went  well  with  the  aid  of  Mrs.  Jenny  M.  Noyes,  Mr.  B.  F.  Gilbert, 
Dr.  E.  C.  Bullard,  and  Mr.  D.  M.  Babcock.  There  was  an  audience 
of  about  five  thousand,  at  prices  of  one  dollar,  seventy-five  and  fifty 
cents.  Receipts  about  S3, 100  ;  profit  about  81,000.  Thus  encour- 
ao-ed,  the  Society  announced  the  Messiah  at  the  same  tabernacle 
for  Wednesday  evening,  June  20,  having  secured  for  solo  artists 
Miss  Emma  Thursby,  Miss  Annie  Louise  Cary,  Mr.  Alfred  Wilkie 
(late  of  Chicago),  and  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney.  The  conditions  for 
musical  effect  were  improved  by  transferring  the  greal  chorus  and 
orchestra  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  long  building  and  placing  them 
upon  the  platform.     There  was  no  organ,  Mr.  Lang  presiding  at  a 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY.     391 

oraud  piano.  There  was  another  great  crowd,  many  people  hearing 
Handel's  Messiah  for  the  first  time  in  their  life,  thus  quickening  the 
charm  with  others  who  had  known  it  so  long.  The  new  tenor,  Mr. 
Wilkie,  an  Englishman,  of  sweet,  not  verj'  powerful,  but  S3'mpathetic, 
flexible,  and  well-trained  voice,  sang  in  a  cultured  style,  with  chaste, 
intelligent  expression.     The  other  three  were  equal  to  their  work. 

The  loss  by  the  Festival  was  more  than  offset  b}^  the  gain  of  those  two 
Tabernacle  concerts,  as  appears  by  the  report  of  the  treasurer  made 
to  the  Board  of  Government  July  6  :  Net  loss  of  Festival,  $1,400  ; 
■profit  on  Elijah,  8804.37  ;  on  Messiah,  8661.25.  One  thousand  dol- 
lars was  voted  to  Mr.  Zerrahn,  and  four  hundred  dollars  to  Mr.  Lang, 
for  ttieir  services  in  the  Festival,  and  subsequent  concerts,  and  both 
were  re-elected. 

To  your  tents  again  !  On  the  10th  of  October,  the  Tabernacle  was 
once  more  tested  as  a  home  for  oratorio.  Elijah  was  given,  with  a  good 
solid  chorus,  an  orchestra  of  fift3^  and  for  the  solos,  Mme.  Pappenheim, 
Miss  Antonia  Henne,  Mr.  Wm.  H.  Fessenden,  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney; 
and  in  the  quartets,  etc..  Miss  Fisher,  Mrs.  Noyes,  and  Messrs.  Whit- 
comb,  Wiswell,  and  Babcock.  There  was  an  audience  of  three  thou- 
sand. Receipts,  $1,460;  expenses,  $1,500.  The  novelty  of  such 
"camping  out"  was  gone;  "the  place  not  made  for  oratorio." 
Mme.  Pappenheim  and  Mr.  Whitney  were  themselves.  Miss  Henne 
was  a  new  appearance  here.  She  had  a  rich,  smooth,  evenlj'-devel- 
oped  contralto  voice,  of  sympathetic  quality' ;  but  her  singing  seemed 
timid,  cold,  constrained,  with  something  of  the  school-girl  manner. 
Yet  she  had  been  well  taught,  and  she  improved  as  she  went  on.  It 
was  Mr.  Fessenden's  first  essay  in  oratorio.  The  well-known  sweet- 
ness of  his  voice,  and  the  exceeding  delicacy,  the  soft  and  tender  ex- 
pression with  which  he  modulated  it,  served  him  well  in  his  opening 
recitative  and  aria  ;  but  he  soon  grew  husky  in  grappling  with  stronger 
passages.  At  all  events,  he  was  not  the  tenor  for  that  great  barn  of 
a  place,  nor  was  that  to  his  discredit. 

On  Sunday  evening,  Oct.  28,  Rossini's  Stahat Mater  (the  one  "sacred  " 
resource  of  opera  troupes)  was  given  at  the  Music  Hall  by  the  princi- 
pal artists  of  a  visiting  German  opera,  with  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
chorus.  Pappenheim  gave  out  the  full  power  of  her  voice,  with  heart 
and  soul,  in  the  Lijiammatus  est.  Miss  Antonia  Henne  sustained  the 
contralto  (or  second  soprano)  solos  verj'  acceptably.  Mr.  Adams's 
delivery  of  the  trying,  trenchant  Cajus  Animam  was  brilliant,  artistic 
in  the  highest  sense,  and  enjoyable  in  spite  of  even  unusual  hoarse- 
ness ;  in  tone,  his  voice  was  the  golden  sun  struggling  through  clouds. 
Mr.  Blum  displayed  a  very  smooth  and  musical  quality  of  voice  in  the 


392  HISTOEY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

bass  air,  Pro  Peccalis.  The  beautiful  Quartet,  Quando  Corpus,  was  not 
sung  quite  in  tune.  This  formed  the  Second  Part.  Part  First  opened 
with  an  organ  fugue,  Schumann's,  on  B-A-C-H,  finely  played  by 
Mr.  Lang.  Then  came  Mendelssohn's  "  Hear  my  Prayer,"  well  given 
on  the  part  of  the  chorus,  with  the  solo  earnestly  and  admirably  sung 
by  Mme.  Pappenheim.  Then  Stradella's  Pietci,  S ignore !  was  sung 
with  refinement  by  Mr.  Fritsch,  and  Gounod's  Ave  Maria,  pleasingly, 
by  Miss  A.  Hiimann,  with  accompaniment  of  organ,  harp,  and  violin. 
A  terzet  from  Rossini's  Messe  Solennelle  closed  the  concert,  with 
'•  crude,  strange,  and  uncertain  harmony."  The  attendance  was 
small.  Receipts,  SI, 100,  one  half  of  which  went  to  the  opera  com- 
pany, who  provided  soloists  and  orchestra.  (The  tickets  were  too 
high,  at  $2.00,  SI. 50,  and  SI.) 

The  Sunday  evenings  of  the  next  two  months  until  Christmas  were 
devoted  to  rehearsal,  the  number  of  singers  ranging  from  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  (on  a  very  stormy  night)  to  four  hundred  and  twenty- 
five. 

On  Dec.  23  were  given,  for  the  second  time  in  Boston,  Parts  I.  and 
II.  of  Bach's  Christmas  Oratorio,  with  the  additional  accompani- 
ments by  Robert  Franz,  followed  by  two  more  of  the  chief  successes 
of  the  May  Festival :  J.  C.  D.  Parker's  Redemption  Hymn,  and  the 
Cantata,  Noel,  by  Saint-Saens,  reserving  the  Messiah  for  the  evening 
of  Christmas  proper.  The  audiences,  both  evenings,  were  as  large  as 
the  great  hall  could  accommodate.  The  performances  were  in  the 
main  remarkably  good,  and  created  enthusiasm.  Bach's  music  was 
deeply  enjoyed  by  most  listeners,  more  or  less  by  all.  The  great 
opening  chorus,  *'  Mortals,  be  joyful,"  ushered  in  with  drum  and 
trumpets,  was  splendidly  sung  by  the  four  hundred  and  fifty  voices. 
So,  too,  the  still  greater,  but  more  complicated,  chorus,  "  Glory  to 
God,"  which  grows  and  swells  in  power  and  volume  to  the  end, 
sweeping  the  voices  on  as  in  a  whirlwind.  The  heavenly  peace  of  the 
Pastoral  Symphony,  the  serene  breadth,  depth,  and  beauty  of  the 
chorals,  especially  the  one  in  which  strains  of  the  Pastoral  Symphony 
escort  it  to  the  end  ;  all,  indeed,  breathed  a  wondrous  charm.  Miss 
Thursby  sang  the  Angel's  announcement  with  exquisite  simplicity 
and  purity.  Mrs.  H.  E.  Sawyer  delivered  the  contralto  recitative  in 
a  large  voice  and  style.  The  most  admired  of  all  the  arias  was,  of 
course,  the  Cradle  Song,  which  Miss  Annie  Cary  sang  wonderfully 
well.  Mr.  Wm.  J.  Winch  gave  the  tenor  recitative  intelligently,  and 
achieved  a  great  feat  of  fluent,  rapid,  florid  execution  in  the  extremely 
difficult  aria,  "  Haste  ye,  shepherds."  The  bass  solos  were  fairly 
well  done  bv  Mr.  A.  E.  Stoddard,  baritone,  of  New  York,  his  first 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  893 

appearance  here.  The  Pastoral  Symphon}'  certainh'  sounded  better 
than  before  on  account  of  the  Franz  accompaniments  ;  but  it  was  unfor- 
tunately taken  too  fast,  nor  was  the  legato  character  sufficiently  ob- 
served in  the  reeds.  The  added  pair  of  low  clarinets  (which  had  to 
serve  for  the  English  horns  with  which  Franz  replaces  the  old  ohoi  di 
cacct'a^  etc.)  made  the  whole  harmony  sound  warmer  and  less  poverty- 
stricken.  The  beauty  of  that  symphony  was  more  felt  this  time  ; 
but  it  still  fell  far  short  of  the  ideal  rendering  which  it  deserves,  as 
being  almost  the  most  beautiful  piece  of  pure  instrumental  music  to 
be  found.  (T\^e  may  say  that  we  have  not  even  yet  heard  it  played 
so  well  as  it  might  be.)  To  the  Cradle  Song  the  added  accompani- 
ments lent  a  new  charm  ;  but  their  use  is  to  be  credited  with  worthy 
intention  rather  than  with  adequate  realization.  In  the  choruses  the 
all-important  flutes  and  oboes  seemed  smothered  among  all  those 
voices.  (Handel  used  to  have  a  dozen  or  more  of  oboes  against  a  far 
smaller  choir  of  singers.) 

Mr.  Paiker's  Hymn  confirmed  the  good  impression  which  it  made 
before.  The  JVbe7  of  Saint-Saens,  in  spite  of  much  that  is  beautiful, 
more  that  is  ingenious,  and  a  few  passages  of  grandeur,  seemed  on 
the  whole  frivolous  and  superficial,  heard  right  after  Bach.  The  solos, 
trio  and  quartet,  quintet,  etc.,  by  the  artists  just  named,  were  finely 
sung,  Miss  Thursby's  sweet,  pure  voice  and  delicate,  refined  expres- 
sion contributing  not  a  little  to  the  good  impression  of  the  work. 
There  was  a  fair  house,  which  just  paid  expenses  ($1,700). 

The  Messiah  took  its  annual  turn  on  Christmas  evening.  We  find 
a  note  we  made  at  the  time  of  "  the  wonderful  period  of  mild,  clear 
weather,  with  most  exhilarating  air,  no  wind  nor  snow  nor  wet,  night 
after  night  of  brilliant  starlight,  while  the  evening  star  in  the  west,  so 
heavenly  pure  and  bright,  ever  reminding  one  of  the  '  Star  in  the 
East,'  appeared  to  reach  its  perfect  climax  on  that  holy  night,  and 
disposed  one  all  the  more  to  open  heart  and  soul  and  sense  to  heav- 
enly symphony  and  song."  Given  by  that  great  chorus,  all  knowing 
the  music  by  heart,  and  by  a  fine  quartet  of  principals,  —  Miss 
Thursby,  Mrs.  Flora  E.  Baiiy  (welcomed  back  to  these  scenes  and 
to  work  like  that!),  Mr.  Joseph  Maas,  and  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney,  and 
in  that  vigorous  and  zealous  period  of  the  old  Society,  —  we  can  trust 
the  general  report  of  the  excellent  treatment  which  Handel's  Christian 
oratorio  received.  That  performance  also  was  distinguished  by  the 
reinstatement  of  certain  choice  numbers  of  the  work  which  had  been 
omitted  for  many  years,  —  but  at  the  expense  of  others  which  no  true 
Handelian  could  help  missing  ;  such  as,  "  He  trusted  in  God,"  "  And 
with  his  stripes,"  and  the  second   part  of   the    air,  ''He    was   de- 


394  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

spisecl."  That  eveniug  the  Society  used  -  for  the  fii'st  time  the 
iDstrumentation  which  it  had  procured  from  Robert  Franz  for  several 
numbers  of  the  work  which  Mozart  had  passed  over.  The  experi- 
ment was  i)ut  partial^  successful,  because  the  parts  prepared  by 
Franz  were  not  represented  by  instruments  enough  to  tell  against  so 
vast  a  chorus  in  so  large  a  hall.  The  audience  was  enthusiastic. 
Profit,  S600. 

1878.  After  ten  Sundaj'  eveniug  rehearsals  (one  with  orchestra), 
St.  Paul  was  given  on  Wednesday  evening,  March  6.  That  was  the 
third  of  the  four  subscription  oratorio  performances.  It  filled  the 
Music  Hall  with  listeners,  although  it  was  not  presented  on  so  grand 
a  scale  as  were  the  Festival  oratorios.  The  chorus  numbered  four 
hundred  and  twenty -five,  with  an  orchestra  of  thirty-eight  instru- 
ments. The  organ,  in  the  absence  of  Mr.  Lang,  was  well  played 
by  Mr.  George  W.  Sumner.  The  chorus  singing  was  well  up  to  its 
highest  standard.  In  promptness  of  attack,  precision,  spirit,  light 
and  shade,  every  chorus  number  told.  Mme.  Pappenheim  was  all 
that  could  be  wished  in  the  soprano  recitatives,  —  musical,  expressive, 
giving  all  distinctly  and  purely,  free  from  all  affectation  or  exaggera- 
tion ;  like  a  true  artist,  absorbed  in  her  task.  Miss  Drasdil's  pecu- 
liarly rich,  emotional  quality  of  voice  made  her  one  song  ("  But  the 
Lord  is  mindful  of  his  own")  singularly  expressive.  Mr.  William  J. 
Winch  was  not  in  good  voice,  but  sang  the  tenor  parts  in  his  best 
style  ;  and  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch  was  most  satisfactory  in  the  bass.  Mr. 
Zerrahn  conducted  with  an  ease  and  confidence,  which  showed  how 
well  he  could  rely  upon  the  thoroughness  with  which  the  work  had 
been  rehearsed.  The  orchestra  was  weak  in  violins,  but  careful  and 
efficient.     Receipts  $1,800  ;  expenses  $1,560. 

The  Sunday  evenings  before  Easter  (April  21)  were  occupied  with 
rehearsal  of  the  Creation  and  Verdi's  Manzoni  Requiem.  Haydn's 
fresh,  descriptive,  happ}-  music  drew  a  large  and  well-pleased  audi- 
ence on  Easter  evening.  The  chorus  seats  were  full  and  the  ensemble 
of  tone  very  rich.  All  went  well  so  far  as  the  voices  were  concerned. 
But  the  instruments  warmed  slowly  into  perfect  tune.  "Chaos"  in 
the  Introduction  rather  overdid  its  part.  Mr.  Lang  was  again  at  his 
old  post  at  the  organ.  Nearly  every  one  of  the  great  choruses  proved 
inspiiing.  The  solos  were  in  excellent  hands.  Seldom  had  we  heard 
''  With  verdure  clad,"  or  the  soprano  part  in  the  Trios,  or  the  tender 
melodies  of  Eve  so  beautifully  sung  as  the}'  were  then  in  the  lovely  voice 
of  Miss  Thursby,  in  spite  of  a  little  hoarseness.  ''On  mighty  pens" 
was  a  greater  thing  with  a  great  voice  and  personality  like  Jenny 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY.     395 

Lind's,  yet  Miss  Thiirsby  sang  it  wonderfully  well.  Mr.  Whitney's 
ponderous  bass  was  grand  in  the  picture  passages  of  the  first  part ; 
for  Adam  it  was  perhaps  too  heavy  ;  such  a  contrast  with  so  delicate 
an  Eve  seemed  exaggerated.  A  bass  of  lighter  calibre,  more  like  a 
baritone,  would  seem  to  be  the  voice  for  Adam.  Mr.  Fesseudeu's 
delicate  and  sympathetic  tenor  w^as  considerably  clouded  in  the  early 
part ;  but  when  he  reached  the  air,  "  In  native  worth,"  his  tones  were 
rich,  clear,  manly. 

The  four  subscription  concerts  over,  there  now  loomed  in  prospect 
a  new  object  of  great  curiosity  and  interest  for  Boston  music-lovers, — 
our  first  hearing  of  the  Requiem  Mass  which  Verdi  had  composed  for 
the  anniversary  of  the  death  of  his  friend,  the  novelist  and  poet, 
Alessaudro  Manzoni ;  a  work  which  had  filled  all  Italy  with  enthusi- 
asm, and  had  found  many  admirers  in  France,  C4ermany,  and  Eng- 
land. The  vSociety  was  diligently  rehearsing  it,  and  the  public 
performance  was  announced  for  Sunday  evening,  May  o.  This  work 
had  been  loudly  heralded,  and  great  expectations  raised.  A  great 
sensation  was  at  hand.  All  sorts  of  prepossessions  and  opinions  were 
bruited  and  discussed  before,  as  well  as  after,  the  performance.  Some 
awaited  it  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Italian,  others  of  the  Ger- 
man school  of  music  ;  some  with  Catholic,  others  with  Protestant 
convictions ;  others  again  in  an  impartial,  uncommitted,  common- 
sense,  American  frame  of  mind.  That  the  performance  was  of 
remarkable  excellence  ;  that  the  four  solo  singers  (Mme.  Pappen- 
heim.  Miss  Adelaide  Phillipps,  Mr.  Charles  R.  Adams,  and  Herr 
Alwin  Blum)  were  all  equal  to  their  trying  tasks;  that 'the  or- 
chestra of  fifty  w^as  a  good  one  for  that  time  ;  that  the  great  chorus 
had  been  thoroughly  drilled  and  were  ably  led  by  the  energetic  con- 
ductor, Carl  Zerrahn  ;  that  the  "Great  Organ"  contributed  of  its 
might  amply  and  discreetly  under  the  hands  and  feet  of  Mr.  Lang  ; 
and  that  the  work  really  inspired  both  the  singers  and  the  larger  por- 
tion of  the  audience  with  a  certain  enthusiasm,  there  was  no  denying. 
Some  even  seemed  to  listen  with  profound  emotion.  The  soundness, 
the  enduring  quality  of  such  emotion,  such  enthusiasm,  of  course 
remained  to  be  tested  by  after-hearing,  after- thought,  and  feeling. 
Clearly  there  is  no  room  here  to  collect  and  sift  the  impressions,  criti- 
cisms, and  opinions  it  called  forth.  The  writer  of  this  History  is 
only  answerable  for  his  own  views  and  impressions  at  the  time.  He 
asks  indulgence  in  copying,  perhaps  too  much  in  extenso^  from  his 
record  in  Dwighfs  Journal  of  Music.  After  thanking  the  'Handel 
and  Ha3-dn  Society  for  such  an  opportunity  of  heariag  Signor  Verdi's 
most  important  work,  the  article  proceeds  :  — 


396    HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETi'. 

..."  We  listened  with  great  interest.  We  found  ranch  that  was  delicate 
and  beautiful ;  much  that  was  touching ;  passages  here  and  there  that  breathed 
rest  and  peace,  the  proper  sense  of  Jtequieni.  But  these  seemed  fragmentary ; 
they  were  too  soon  lost  in  things  startling  and  noisy,  with  the  constant  aim 
to  frighten  the  imagination.  We  found  cheap  and  coarse  effects  in  plenty; 
and  these  reproduced  again  and  again  until  the  effect  grew  feeble.  We  traced 
also  those  results  of  a  profounder  musical  study,  those  careful  marks  of 
contrapuntal,  fugal,  polyphonic  lore,  of  which  Verdi  is  said  to  have  availed 
himself  of  late  T  beginning  with  his  Egyptian  opera  Aida).  By  the  putting 
on  of  such  armor  his  great  native  genius  is  supposed  to  have  rendered  itself 
all-powerful  for  all  great  work.  We  could  perceive,  too,  where  he  had  not 
disdained  to  borrow  hints  of  effect  from  Mej^erbeer  and  Wagner;  so  that, 
uniting  in  himself  both  German  and  Italian,  he  must  needs  be  henceforth  (in 
the  eyes  of  his  admirers;  doubly  powerful.  But  to  our  mind  Verdi  is  Verdi 
still,  and  nobody  else.  His  individuality,  his  genius,  such  as  it  was  and  is, 
remains.  From  Aida  and  from  II  Trovatryre,  and  even  from  this  lieqniem,  he 
looks  out  on  us  with  the  same  eyes  and  habitual  expression.  He  may  have 
begun  to  score  more  carefully :  he  may  make  more  use  of  fugue  and  counter- 
point ;  he  may  have  studied  Berlioz  on  modern  instrumentation,  until  he  can 
produce  a  work  more  complex  and  less  superficial  in  its  structure  technically. 
But  the  spirit  is  not  changed ;  the  genius  is  no  more,  no  less ;  the  inspiration 
comes  from  the  same  source,  tends  to  the  same  ends,  namely  overstrained  in- 
tensity of  passion,  often  carried  to  a  frantic  pitch,  and  physical,  sensational 
surprises. 

.  .  .  "  To  us  here,  in  the  light  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  ideas,  it  does  seem 
a  strange  way  for  an  intellectual  musician,  a  patriot  of  the  young,  free  Italy, 
to  pay  honor  to  the  memory  of  a  gentle  poet  friend,  by  conjuring  up  over  his 
grave  all  the  terrors  of  the  last  trump  and  everlasting  fires,  with  the  frantic 
screams  and  prayers  of  frightened  sinners.  Is  this  the  way  to  sing  a  loved 
soul  to  rest?  Is  this  a  requiem  in  any  bat  a  traditional,  conventional,  eccle- 
siastical sense?  Peace,  gentle  prayer,  and  benediction  occupy  the  smallest 
•pace  amid  the  terrors  of  this  vast,  appalling  panorama:  the  Dies  iro-  claims 
almost  the  whole  of  it.  But  Verdi,  as  we  said  before,  is  Verdi;  and  it  was 
hardly  to  be  expected  that  the  composer  of  the  Trovo.tore,  the  pervading 
musical  motive  of  which  is  whirling  flame  and  burning  at  the  stake,  —  " /? 
rogo  "  being  the  image  burnt  upon  the  brain  of  the  poor  crazy  gypsy  mother 
and  her  minstrel  son.  —  could  resist  the  temptation,  armed  now  with  such  new 
means,  to  try  his  hand  upon  a  vastly  wider  canvas  in  Miltonic  flaming  scenery 
a  thousand  times  more  lurid  and  appalling. 


"1.  We  must  acknowledge  tenderness  and  beauty  in  the  opening  num- 
ber:  Eequiem.  which  is  like  a  murmured  prayer  for  peace;  and  sweetly  does 
it  glide  into  the  major  at  the  words,  Et  lux  perpetuo^and  return  after  Te  decet 
hymnus.  This  is  all  very  simple,  and  modestly  expressed.  The  Kyrie,  which 
follows,  is  not  in  the  elaborate  form  of  a  set  fugue  with  double  subject,  like 
Mozart's,  nor  has  it  the  beauty  of  that ;  yet  with  its  imitations  in  the  four 
solo  voices,  and  four  chorus  parts,  it  is  elaborate  enough,  and  not  without 
beauty,  giving  promise  of  yet  nobler  things  to  come.     Only  we  could  not  feel 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     397 

beaut}'  or  meaning  in  that  dull,  groping  accompaniraeut  with  which  it  begins 
and  which  savors  too  much  of  the  earh'  Verdi  operas.  .  .  . 

"  2.  Dies  inn!  Here  every  one  was  startled  by  what,  the  more  we  think 
of  it,  appears  to  us  a  cheap  and  coarse  effect.  It  is  an  attempt  at  quite  too 
literal,  realistic,  palpable  a  picture  of  the  '  crack  of  doom.'  The  world  is  on 
fire,  the  dead  rising  from  their  graves,  the  universal  air  filled  with  frantic 
shrieks  and  cries  for  mercy.  With  all  his  brass,  his  fierce  chromatic  scales, 
his  scouring  blasts  of  sound,  half  the  voices  descending  in  chromatics,  while 
the  sopranos  and  tenors  hold  out  one  high  note,  making  all  together  the  ex- 
treme of  discord,  he  does  his  best  indeed  to  realize  the  supposed  occasion ; 
weak  nerves  may  be  frightened ;  all  may  be  startled  out  of  their  dull  com- 
placency for  a  moment ;  they  may  call  it  grand  and  awful ;  but  is  it  really 
sublime?  Is  its  appeal  to  the  spirit,  or  only  to  the  senses?  And  when  this 
pandemonium  breaks  loose  again  in  the  middle,  and  still  again  near  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  work,  does  it  not  seem  more  and  more  a  false  alarm?  What  sort 
of  a  '  profound  emotion  '  is  this,  which  can  respond  at  all  to  such  a  boisterous 
appeal?  Mozart  and  Cherubini  with  much  more  quiet  means,  and  without 
overstepping  the  modesty  of  art,  still  making  music,  which  in  its  nature  is 
and  must  be  beautiful,  touch  the  inward  spiritual  springs  of  awe  and  guilty 
fear  with  a  much  surer  hand.  Not  to  speak  of  Mozart's  great  Requiem,  in  his 
Don  Giovanni,  where  the  statue  enters  in  the  last  scene,  there  is  music  which 
seems  to  shake  the  foundations  of  the  earth  and  of  one's  very  soul,  and  yet 
it  is  all  beautiful,  pure  music;  that  speaks  to  the  soul,  this  to  the  senses  and 
the  nerves. 

"  To  usher  in  the  Tuba  mirum  Verdi  has  indeed  contrived  a  great  effect; 
hie  four  pairs  of  trumpets,  some  near,  some  at  a  distance,  as  if  ringing  from 
the  four  quarters  of  the  world,  are  managed  with  much  skill  and  are  most 
exciting.  It  is  not  a  new  device ;  you  have  heard  it  in  Lohengrin,  where  the 
clans  are  mustered,  only  with  a  livelier  strain  ;  and  Berlioz  in  this  same  part 
of  his  Bequiem  had  employed  not  pairs  of  trumpets  only,  but  cornets, 
trumpets,  trombones,  ophicleides,  etc.,  in  four  separate  orchestras  of  brass, 
each  numbering  ten  or  more,  and  placed  at  the  four  corners  of  the  choral 
mass,  besides  eight  fagotti  and  thrice  four  horns  stationed  in  the  middle. 
The  Tuba  mirum  here,  however,  is  decidedly  impressive.  We  hardly  know 
whether  to  say  as  much  of  Jlors  stupebit ;  it  is  certainly  bizarre;  but  it 
introduced  to  us  a  noble  voice  in  Herr  Blum,  who  knows  how  to  use  it. 
Liber  scriptus  is  made  a  mezzo-soprano  solo,  of  earnest  character,  intense 
dramatic  accent,  full  of  a  warning  and  sincere  expression,  and  well  suited  to 
Miss  Phillipps,  who  sang  it  nobly  and  with  feeling.  This  and  other  solos  in 
this  middle  portion  contain  real  beauty  and  originality,  and  it  is  only  natural 
tliat  much  of  the  best  music  should  lie  so  near  the  heart  of  the  work.  Dur- 
ing the  solo  are  heard  faint  whispers  of  the  words  Dies  irce,  which  lead  into 
a  strong  pathetic  chorus  on  the  second  subject  of  No.  1,  which  is  more  like 
human  music  than  the  lurid  and  sulphureous  introduction. 

"  Quid  sum  miser  tunc  dicturus  is  a  Trio,  beginning  with  the  mezzo-soprano 
(Miss  Phillipps)  and  joined  first  by  tenor  (C.  R.  Adams),  then  by  soprano 
(Mme.  Pappenheim).  It  is  a  beautiful  Adagio,  with  an  expressive  bas- 
soon figure  underlying  the  accompaniment,  and  leads  into  a  tremendous  for- 
tissimo of  all  the  basses  on  the  Bex  tremendce,  amid  suppressed  ejaculations 


398  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

of  the  tenors  in  three  parts:  then  melodious  entreaties:  Salva  me,  a  short 
phrase  from  each  of  the  quartet  in  turn ;  and  then  the  whole  chorus  joins. 
The  melodious  phrase  acquires  new  beauty  with  a  change  of  key,  and  the 
whole  is  worked  up  with  great  skill  and  powerful  effect,  especially  where, 
beginning  with  the  basses,  voices  climb  over  voices  to  the  solo  soprano  in 
the  last  phrase  of  Salca  me. 

"  Next  comes  the  Becord<f.re,  opening  gently  and  sweetly  enough  with  the 
mezzo-soprano  (alto  •  for  short')  and  joined  by  the  soprano  in  a  provokingly 
half-pleasing,  half -too-artificial  duet,  which  seems  contrived  for  the  display 
of  the  two  voices,  and  smacks  very  much  of  the  identical  old  operatic  Verdi. 
An  ingenious  trifle,  by  the  side  of  Mozart's  Recordare.  It  was  finely  sung, 
especially  by  Mme.  Pappenheim. 

"  The  Ligemisco  and  Qui  Mariam  ahsoUisti  oflered  the  great  opportunity  for 
Mr.  Adams,  who  improved  it  nobly,  his  intelligent  phrasing,  perfect  enuucia- 
tion.  and  ringing  high  tones  in  the  soaring  passages  making  a  marked  sen- 
sation.    There  is  great  stir  in  the  accompaniment  all  through,  with  plenty 
of  aerial  and  subterranean  tremolos  at  the  mention  of  the  sheep  and  the 
goats  I' the  former  suggesting  a  pastoral  reed  motive),  while  between  the 
tremulous  extremes  the  other  instruments  rush  up  and  down  the  scale  in 
triplets.      There   is    solemnity  and   grandeur  in  the  bass  solo,    Confutatis 
maledictis,  grandly  sung  by  Herr  Blum :  only  here  again  we  might  complain 
of  cheap  effects  of  rushing  chromatic  scales  in  the  basses,  with  ear-piercing 
piccolo,  SitTfaraniis  acribus  addict  is  :  but  of  course  the  composer  of  the  Trova- 
tore  must  needs  revel  here.     We  can  almost  forgive  it  for  the  momentary 
relief  of  that  modulation  into  a  sweet  passage  :  Voca  me  cum  benedictis.     The 
last  notes  of  Oro  supplex  are  lost  in  a  fresh  outburst  of  the  sulphureous,  ter- 
rific Dies  ires,  which,  however,  is  not  carried  through,  but  dies  away  (that 
dying  more  impressive,  inwardly,  than  all  the  uproar),  to  make  place  for  the 
Locrymosa,  which  one   can  hardly  help  comparing,  though  we  know  it  is 
not  fair,  with  that  wonderfully  beautiful,  affecting  chorus  by  Mozart.    Verdi 
treats  it  as  quartet  with  chorus,  in  his  own  dramatic  way,  very  elaborately, 
drawing  upon  all  his  resources  of  melodic  invention,  imitation,  interweaving 
of  parts,  subtle  modulation,  and  strange  harmonic  contrasts.     The  soprano, 
having  sung  through  its  sad  melody  alone,  which  the  bass  echoes,  confines- 
itself  for  some  time  to  spasmodic  syncopated  sobs,  but  again  takes  the  lead, 
as  the  piece  grows  more  intense  and  complicated,  subsiding  into  Dona  eis 
req  uiem  ! 

"3.  Here  ends  the  old  Latin  hymn  of  the  day  of  judgment  with  its  ter- 
rors. The  Offertory  givs  us  pause.  It  is  for  the  quartet  of  soli,  and  begins 
quietly  and  gracefully:  Domine  Jesu.  At  the  thought  of  Signifer  sanclus 
Michael,  the  violins  are  faintly  heard  from  airy  heights,  so  that  you  involun- 
tarily look  for  Lohengrin  and  his  Swan ;  but  we  think  Verdi  had  used  such 
effects  before  Wagner.  The  Quam  olim  Abrakoi  seemed  to  us  dry  and 
cruelly  inireuious  in  its  restless  modulation;  the  Host ias,  vrith  its  serious, 
sweetly  echoed  theme,  flattered  us  that  we  were  done  with  Abraham,  but  he 
came  back  again,  and  the  quartet  ended  with  Libera  animas. 

"  4.  The  Snnctus,  here  made  to  include  the  Hosanna  and  the  Benedictus, 
is  treated  in  a  singular  manner.  It  is  all  one  swift  and  stirring  fugue  for 
double  chorus ;  and,  ingeniously  and  clearly  as  the  fugue  is  wrought,  it  has 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AXD  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     399 

not  the  solemnity,  the  sublimity  which  we  commonly  associate  with  that 
text.  It  is  of  one  theme,  one  texture,  part  and  parcel  with  the  Hosanna 
which  follows,  where  a  jubilant  and  stirring  fugue  is  more  in  place.  But 
yet  again,  without  pause,  same  theme,  same  swift  fugue  movement,  the 
Benedictus  joins  the  whirling  clamor,  subsiding  gently  at  the  end  aid  giving 
way  to  Pleni  sunt  cceli  and  Hosanna,  this  time  in  long,  tranquil,  choral  notes 
(amplified  from  the  latter  half  of  the  fugue  subject),  while  the  heavy  sea  is 
still  kept  boiling  and  rolling  in  the  orchestra,  and  chromatic  scales  {fff)  rush 
up  and  down  in  several  octaves  to  increase  the  turmoil.  Now  the  Benedictus 
is  commonly  made  the  text  for  a  gentle,  lovely  movement  by  itself;  in  nearly 
all  the  Masses  it  is  so,  and  it  seems  wronged  by  being  whirled  away  in  a 
tempestuous  Hosanna  fugue. 

"But  what  of  this  fugue  as  fugue?  What  of  the  charm,  the  beauty,  the 
expression  of  this  double  chorus  fugue?  There  is  skill  in  it;  there  is  life 
and  stir  in  it;  to  the  singers  there  may  be  excitement  in  singing  it,  the  voices 
chasing  each  other  round  in  spiral- play.  But  we  must  protest  that  to  our 
ears  it  sounded  dry,  mechanical,  and  hard.  A  true  Fugue  is  not  a  thing  of 
form  alone.  There  is  a  fugue  spirit,  as  well  as  a  fugue  form.  The  great 
fuguists  not  only  lived  and  freely  moved  and  had  their  musical  being  in  the 
essential  spirit  of  the  fugue  (whether  the  strict  form  or  freer  polyphony)  and 
breathed  it  as  their  native  atmosphere,  used  it  as  a  native  language  for  their 
poetic  inspirations ;  but  they  wrote  fugues  which  one  can  feel  and  love, 
fugues  which  not  only  please  the  understanding  but  go  to  the  heart.  In 
Bach's  fugues  there  is  consummate  beauty,  there  is  sentiment,  expression. 
They  are  as  much  inspired  as  melody  itself,  and  they  are  woven  out  of 
melody.  If  their  general  expression  is  impersonal  and  not  dramatic,  yet  there 
are  great  varieties  of  mood,  sentiment,  and  feeling  in  them,  and  still  more 
of  poetic  genius  and  fancy.  If  an  appreciative  person  will  take  the  eight 
and  forty  preludes  and  fugues  of  the  IVell-tempered  Clavichord  and  try  to 
characterize  each  one  of  them  in  writing  as  to  its  expression,  sentiment,  etc., 
he  will  perhaps  be  surprised  at  what  he  will  find.  We  cannot  think  that  any 
one  will  learn  to  love  and  cherish  this  so-boasted  fugue  of  Verdi ;  that  it  will 
ever  haunt  the  mind  as  a  dear  part  of  life.  Time  will  show.  We  admit 
beauty  and  religious  feeling  in  the  choral  conclusion,  —  that  is,  in  the  voice 
parts;  the  accompaniment  might  do  for  Ernani  or  Aida. 

••  5.  Agnus  Dei.  This  is  one  of  the  most  admired,  and  we  may  say  most 
original  pieces  in  the  work.  The  melody,  first  sung  in  octaves,  by  two 
sopranos  unaccompanied,  has  a  sort  of  local  coloring,  almost  as  much  so  as 
those  Egyptian  tunes  in  Aida.  It  is  calm,  sad,  seemingly  simple,  and  yet  very 
studied,  quaint,  and  singular.  It  is  four  times  repeated  :  first  by  chorus  with 
simple  accompaniment,  all  in  unison  ;  then  in  the  minor,  by  the  two  sopranos 
again,  with  some  instrumental  embellishment ;  thirdly,  with  three  flutes  twin- 
ing a  light  polyphonic  wreath  about  it  (a  hint  from  Bach  perhaps?);  and 
finally,  very  softh',  in  full  chorus  harmonized,  the  two  upper  parts,  however, 
still  holding  to  the  melody.  There  is  a  certain  fascination  in  all  this,  and  it 
could  only  be  Verdi's.  Whether  the  charm  will  keep  its  freshness  time  must 
show. 

"6.  Lux  (eternals  a  trio  for  alto,  tenor,  and  bass,  beginning  with  murmured 
monologue  of  the  alto,  in  no  settled  key,  amid  a  mysterious  tremolo  of  strings,. 


400    HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

high  and  low,  which  lends  a  certain  sacrificial  tone  to  it,  as  at  the  moment  of 
the  elevation  of  the  host,  with  swinging  censers,  clouds  of  incense,  etc., 
occasional  notes  of  the  bass  drum  or  chords  of  brass  deepening  the  sense  of 
awe  and  strangeness.  Much  of  what  the  three  voices  sing  is  made  out  of 
phrases  from  the  preceding  Agnus  Dei  melody,  which  lends  a  greater  unity. 
There  is  much  ear-tickling  arpeggio  and  tremolo  of  high  strings  and  flutes  in 
the  concluding  portion. 

"  7.  Libera  me,  etc.  An  ingenious  contrivance  for  effect,  at  the  beginning 
and  the  end,  is  the  monotonous  chanting  of  some  sentences,  first  by  the 
soprano,  then  by  the  chorus  harmonized.  The  declamatory  soprano  solo 
which  follows  (Dtim  veneris  judicare,  etc.)  is  intensely  dramatic,  expressing 
utmost  individual  terror ;  the  voice  dies  down  to  pj:)  and  pj-)})  and  finally  (sic) 
to pppppjy  (a  full  pod  of  peas!).  And  here  once  more  bursts  out  the  horrid 
din  and  fury  of  the  flaming  Dies  irce  chorus,  and  once  more  dies  away,  and 
Bequiem  is  softly  breathed  again  as  in  the  introduction  of  the  Mass.  Then 
a  long  fugue,  for  single  chorus,  on  Libera  me,  drier  and  harder  even  than 
that  in  the  Sanctus.  It  was  prudently  omitted,  — all  but  the  summing  up,  or 
Mretto  at  the  end.  The  petition  is  repeated  in  fragments,  in  various  forms, 
finally  the  monotonous  chant  again,  and  so  the  Mass  dies  out. 

"  That  it  is  '  a  great  work,'  in  the  Verdi  way,  we  do  not  question ;  but  that 
it  is  so  in  the  highest,  or  a  very  high  sense,  we  cannot  feel.  It  is  Verdi,  with 
all  his  limitations,  all  his  idiosyncrasy,  and  more  than  ever  of  his  great  pecu- 
liar power,  his  unique  and  decided  talent,  —  creative  genius,  we  can  hardly 
«ay.  Even  at  his  best,  we  often  feel  that  there  is  more  of  will  than  of  spon- 
taneous inspiration  in  it.  It  lacks,  after  all,  the  depth,  the  sincerity,  the  re- 
pose, the  inwardness  of  great  religious  music.  Its  passionate  intensity,  even 
in  view  of  these  tremendous  terrors,  is  not  religious.  The  dramatic  is  not 
inconsistent  with  the  religious  element;  but  here  is  too  much  that  is  cheaply 
theatrical,  melodramatic,  and  sensational.  Religious  feeling  rises  superior  to 
terrors,  and  subdues  them;  self  is  forgotten,  sympathy  and  love  resolve  its 
discords ;  every  danger,  every  fear  is  spiritualized,  and  physical  pains  not 
brought  too  vividly  before  the  imagination.  So  it  is  in  all  the  Passion  Music  of 
Bach;  so  in  every  sj^mphony  of  Beethoven;  if  there  be  struggle,  always  joy 
prevails.  In  the  requiems  of  Mozart  and  Cherubini  it  is  the  Requiem  and  not 
the  Quantus  tremor  subject  that  is  most  dwelt  upon  and  fondly  treated.  But 
the  author  of  the  Trovatore  is  more  at  home  (wilfully  at  home)  in  the  sensa- 
tional, shivering  suggestions  of  the  Day  of  Wrath.  That  he  has  been  more  in 
earnest,  more  careful,  better  fortified  with  contrapuntal  arts  and  studies  in 
this  work  than  ever  before,  must  be  admitted." 

Undoubtedly  the  general  audience,  after  this  first  hearing,  would 
have  voted  the  Manzoni  Requiem  a  success.  The  receipts  were 
11,600. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  401 

SIXTY-FOURTH    SEASON. 

May  27,  1878,  to  May  26,   1879. 

May  27.     At  the  annual  meeting  the  treasurer  reported  : 

Income  (iucludiug  balance  last  year) 812,095  5? 

Amounts  and  bills  paid 12,10-1:22 


Deficit,  due  treasurer §8  65^ 

The  interest  on  the  permanent  fund  for  the  past  year  amounted  to 
8889.10,  retained  for  reinvestment.  The  president  made  an  interest- 
ing report,  showing  that  the  Society  had  prospered  that  year.  There 
had  been  thirty-five  rehearsals,  with  an  average  attendance  of  three 
hundred  and  eight  singers.  Eight  concerts  had  been  given.  Fifty- 
five  ladies  and  thirteen  gentlemen  had  been  admitted  to  the  chorus  ; 
and  $200  worth  of  music  had  been  added  to  the  library.  President 
C.  C.  Perkins  and  the  other  principal  oflScers  were  re-elected,  with 
the  following  directors:  J.  D.Andrews,  H.  G.  Carey,  A.  K.  Hebard, 
R.  S.  Rundlett,  J.  A.  Pray,  M.  G.  Daniell,  F.  H.  Jenks,  G.  F.  Mil- 
liken. 

In  October  and  November  chorus  rehearsals  were  held  of  Judas 
Maccabcmis  and  of  Verdi's  Eequiem,  the  latter  in  compliance  with  a 
pretty  general  request.  The  number  of  singers  at  these  rehearsals- 
ranged  from  three  hundred  and  twenty  to  four  hundred. 

Xov.  24.  First  of  the  five  concerts  announced  for  the  season. 
Verdi's  Requiem  for  the  second  time,  with  a  chorus  of  five  hundred, 
and  an  orchestra  of  fifty-five.  Every  seat  was  occupied  and  there 
was  much  enthusiasm.  This  performance  was  on  the  whole  better 
than  the  first. 

In  the  soprano  solos  Mme.  Pappenheim  was  missed  ;  but  Mme^ 
Skelding  brought  to  them  a  clear  and  telling  voice,  too  much  afflicted 
with  the  tremolo.  Some  pieces  she  sang  well,  with  fair  diamatic 
power,  but  others  crudely  ;  so  that,  during  the  intermission,  very  con- 
tradictory opinions  of  her  were  overheard  among  the  audience.  Miss 
Phillipps  was  in  excellent  condition,  more  at  home  in  her  music  than 
before,  and  sang  the  trying  contralto  parts  to  great  satisfaction.  The 
marked  success  of  the  evening  was  that  of  Mr.  C.  R.  Adams,  particu- 
larly in  his  superb  delivery  of  Ingemisco.  He  was  in  uncommonly 
good  voice,  free  from  huskiness,  so  that  the  ringing,  rich,  and  golden 
quality  of  his  higher  tones  asserted  itself  to  great  advantage  ;  the 
hisfh  B-flats  were  oflorious.     Mr.  J.  F.  Winch's  noble  bass  was  fresh 


402     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AXD  HAYDX  SOCIETY. 

aud  musical  as  ever ;  3'et  be  lacked  fire,  or  was  not  quite  in  his  ele- 
ment in  that  veiy  Catholic  and  flaming  music.  A  practical  difficulty, 
both  for  solo  voices  and  chorus,  lay  in  the  frequency  of  passages  in 
unison  (the  old  Verdi,  as  we  knew  him  in  Ernani) .  The  unison  must 
be  absolute,  the  pitch  without  an  infinitesimal  shade  of  difference,  in 
order  that  such  passages  may  sound  well,  and  not  coarsely,  barbar- 
ously, as  in  the  monkish  monotone  familiar  to  all  travellers  in  Italy. 
The  receipts  were  82,650,  a  rise  upon  the  May  performance. 

The  Christmas  performance  of  the  Messiah  was  religiously  attended 
by  as  great  a  crowd  as  usual.  Mrs.  Dexter,  of  Cincinnati,  sang  the 
soprano  solos  with  intelligent  appreciation  ;  but  in  some  parts  a  cer- 
tain nervousness  appeared  to  hinder  her  control  of  her  voice.  Mr. 
Courtney  was  not  quite  rid  of  the  hoarseness  which  had  affected  his 
fine  manly  tenor  in  all  his  public  efforts  since  his  arrival  from  England  ; 
his  style  was  faultless.  Miss  Ita  Welsh,  our  young  contralto,  made  a 
successful  first  attempt  in  oratorio.  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch  (in  the  place  of 
Mr.  Whitney,  ill)  won  the  chief  triumphs  of  the  evening  in  the  great 
bass  airs.  The  chorus  bore  noble  testimony  to  the  thorough  training 
of  their  conductor,  Carl  Zerrahn.  The  receipts,  including  public 
rehearsal,  reached  $2,700;  expenses,  81,500. 

1879.  The  third  concert  of  the  season  was  given  Feb.  9,  with  a  pro- 
gramme of  shorter  pieces,  instead  of  an  oratorio.  First  came  Luther's 
choral,  Ein'  feste  Burg,  as  harmonized  by  Otto  Nicolai,  which  sounded 
o;randly  with  the  great,  solid  mass  of  chorus.  Next,  Mr.  J.  C.  D. 
Parker's  Redemption  Hymn  confirmed  the  good  impression  which  it 
made  at  the  Festival.  The  contralto  solo  was  beautifully  sung  by  Miss 
Annie  Louise  Cary,  and  both  the  chorus  portions  and  the  fine  instru- 
mentation were  well  done.  The  principal  novelty  was  the  "Flight 
into  Egypt  "  from  the  trilogy,  L'Enfance  du  Christ,  by  Hector  Berlioz. 
It  opened  with  a  little  antique-sounding  overture,  pastoral,  and  even 
rustic,  mainly  of  reeds,  the  Corno  Inglese  prodominating,  — a  vague 
and  idle  sort  of  warbling,  innocent  and  pretty,  but  some  thought  it 
artificial.  Then  a  chorus,  "  Farewell  of  the  Shepherds,"  very  naive, 
aud  melodious  for  the  most  part.  '  A  narrative  tenor  solo,  sweet  and 
simple,  was  sung  by  Mr.  C.  R.  Adams,  not  in  his  best  voice,  and  not 
too  familiar  with  the  music.  The  Sanctus  from  Gounod's  St.  Cecilia 
Mass  was  of  the  grandiose  kind,  overwhelming  with  its  massive 
weio^ht  of  harmony,  and  the  sensational  effect  of-all  of  biilliancy  that 
brass  could  add,  besides  the  bass  drum  imitating  cannon.  Mr. 
Adams  led  off"  impressively  in  tenor  solo ;  and  chorus,  orchestra,  and 
or<yan   answered,   swelling  to  a  climax   of   irresistible   sonority.     It 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  403 

liad  to  be   repeated ;    but   the    charm    was   of   the    kind   that   soou 
■wears  out. 

The  ever-welcoine  Hymn  of  Praise  formed  the  second  part.  The 
three  symphonic  movements  and  the  accompaniments  throughout  were 
played  with  fervor  b}'  an  unusuall}'  complete  and  capable  orchestra. 
The  choruses  went  finely-.  )l  Miss  Clara  Louise  Kellogg  sang  the 
soprano  solos  like  an  artist,  although  she  seemed  fatigued  and  out  of 
health.  Miss  Gary  was  altogether  admirable  ;  and  Mr.  Adnms,  albeit 
somewhat  husky,  was  very  noble  in  the  tenor  solos. 

What  with  tickets  given  to  the  chorus  for  their  friends,  the  hall 
was  very  full ;  yet  the  receipts  ($2,000)  only  met  the  expenses.  The 
secretary  in  his  record  says:  "I  think  we  have  had  all  the  opera 
singers  that  we  want ;  they  cost  more  than  they  bring." 

And  now,  for  the  next  two  months,  all  addressed  themselves,  in 
good  earnest,  to  the  rehearsing  of  Bach's  St.  Matthew  Passion  Music 
for  Good  Friday,  April  11,  when  the  great  work  was  to  be  brought 
out,  for  the  first  time  here  entire,  Part  I.  in  the  afternoon.  Part  II.  in 
the  evening.  Every  preceding  day  that  week  it  had  been  rehearsed, 
twice  publicly,  making  the  week  a  Passion  Festival  in  Boston.  It  was 
the  culmination  of  a  series  of  approaches  to  completeness,  begiunino- 
with  the  Festival  in  May,  1871,  and  resumed  in  May,  1874,  and  April, 
1876.  Increasing  interest  in  the  music  had  followed  all  these  efforts. 
The  singers  had  gradually  learned  to  love  it,  until  those  who  still 
thought  it  dry  and  merely  learned,  difficult  and  unrewarding,  were  left 
in  a  small  minority.  The  enthusiasm  spread  abroad,  until  at  last  the 
public  was  prepared  to  seize  with  eagerness  the  rare  opportunity  now 
offered.  The  Music  Hall  was  crowded  at  both  concerts,  many  per- 
sons coming  from  a  distance,  and  many  having  to  stand  up  throuo-h 
the  whole  ;  and  for  the  benefit  of  hundreds  who  could  not  procure 
seats,  public  rehearsals  of  both  parts  were  given  on  the  two  preced- 
ing afternoons.  The  first  part  occupied  two  hours,  and  the  second 
part  almost  two  hours  and  a  half.  Of  course  this  performance  of 
the  Passion  Music  was  distinguished  from  all  the  preceding  ones  bv 
the  introduction  of  many  important  numbers  which  were  omitted 
before.  We  shall  again  be  obliged  to  copy  from  our  own  record  at 
the  time  :  — 

..."  For  order,  we  will  take  the  various  elements  which  enter  into  the 
construction  of  the  work.  Of  course,  the  actual  order  is  that  of  the  gospel 
narrative  of  the  betraj-al  and  crucifixion  of  Christ.  That  narrative  forms  the 
connecting  thread  in  all  representations  of  the  Passion,  whether  dramatic  or 
musical,  and,  therefore,  we  have  to  consider  : — 

"1.     The  Becitative,  which  is  of  two  kinds:  first,  the  simply  narrative, 


404  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

which  is  assigned  to  a  high  teuor  voice,  in  the  character  of  Evangelist,  of  the 
kind  called  recitativo  secco,  sustained  by  mere  chords  struck  on  an  upright 
piano  (Mr.  Tucker).  For  the  singer  it  is  a  most  exacting  task,  requiring  not 
only  a  voice  of  high  range  and  great  endurance,  but  thorough  artistic  train- 
ing, taste  and  skill  and  feeling.  For  Mr.  Courtney's  delivery  of  what  wouid 
be  task  enough  for  two  voices,  independently  of  the  tenor  arias,  we  have  only 
praise.  .  .  .  Then  there  is  the  dialogue  recitative,  where  characters  are  intro- 
duced as  speaking,  and  which  are  more  cantabile,  and  none  could  be  more  char- 
acteristically contrasted.  The  words  of  Jesus  (bass),  as  here  set  in  tones,  have 
all  the  dignity  and  tenderness  that  could  be  imagined.  And  with  what  exqui- 
site sense  of  fitness  and  distinction  Bach  always,  the  moment  Jesus  begins, 
causes  a  delicate  stream  of  violin  harmony  to  flow  in  like  a  halo  about  his 
sacred  head,  as  in  the  old  pictures!  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney  gave  these  senten- 
ces with  due  solemnity  and  tenderness,  particularly  in  the  scene  of  the  Supper. 
Those  of  the  High  Priest,  of  Judas,  and  others,  equally  well  individualized, 
were  for  the  most  part  truly  and  strongly  brought  out  by  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch. 
And  then  such  expressive  bits  as  the  pert  accusation  of  the  two  maids : 
'  Thou,  too,  wast  with  Jesus  of  Galilee  1 '  .  .  . 

"2.  The  German  Chorals,  with  Bach's  inimitable  harmony.  .  .  .  These, 
like  the  choruses  in  the  old  Greek  tragedy,  reflect  and  comment  on  the  passing 
moments  of  the  action.  If  the  disciples  ask,  '  Lord,  is  it  I?  ',  when  told  that 
one  of  them  would  betray  him,  the  choral  takes  it  upon  itself  for  all  and 
each,  '  'T  is  I !  my  sins  betray  Thee  ! '  Some  of  the  chorals  come  in  by  them- 
selves as  moments  of  calm,  grand  repose,  amid  the  exciting,  agonizing  stir  of 
the  recital,  like  broad,  cool,  still  sheets  of  water  in  the  midst  of  a  bold,  wild 
landscape,  reflecting  hills,  and  woods,  and  sky;  others  steal  in  softly  and 
with  exquisite  eff"ect,  verse  by  verse,  at  intervals  during  a  solo;  and  one, 
clothed  with  a  marvellous  wealth  of  figurative  counterpoint,  and  with  an 
orchestral  accompaniment  as  rich  and  grand  as  a  symphony,  is  lengthened 
into  a  grand  concluding  chorus  for  the  first  part.  They  were  all  sung  (some 
of  them  for  the  first  time)  by  the  five  hundred  voices  with  impressive  power 
and  rich  sonority,  accompanied  by  instruments  in  unison  with  each  of  the 
four  parts,  as  well  as  by  the  great  organ,  used  discreetly  throughout  the 
work  by  Mr.  Lang.  We  felt,  however,  that  some  of  them  were  rather  too 
coarsely  sung;  we  should  have  liked  some  delicate,  expressive  shading  here 
and  there  in  lines.  .  .  . 

"3.  Grand  choruses  of  entrance  and  of  exit  in  each  part,  —  gigantic  portals, 
fitly  leading  up  to  the  stupendous  scene,  and  leading  us  away,  filling  the  mind 
with  wonder  and  with  awe,  or  swelling  forth  the  universal  requiem.  Never 
before  was  the  colossal  opening  (double)  chorus,  '  Come,  ye  Daughters,'  sung 
so  grandly  here,  and  so  well  accompanied.  .  .  .  The  boys,  drafted  from  three 
of  our  public  schools,  for  the  soprano  ripieno  choral,  had  been  well  trained  by 
Mr.  Sharland. 

"  'Ye  Lightnings,  ye  Thunders,'  that  swift,  tremendous  outburst  of  in- 
dignation, and  imprecation  of  divine  vengeance,  after  Jesus  is  bound  and  led 
away,  may  also  count  among  the  grand  choruses,  though  it  is  only  incidental, 
passing  like  a  whirlwind  in  an  instant,  and  is  properly  the  conclusion  of  a 
scene,  of  which  the  first  part  is  that  tender  duet  of  soprano  and  alto,  with 
exquisite  accompaniment  of  fiutes,  oboes,  violins,  and  violas,  in  which  every 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  405 

note  weeps,  and  in  the  midst  of  which  the  incontinent  rage  of  the  disciples 
vents  itself  in  exclamations,  •  Leave  Him!  bind  Him  not!  '  (which  we  would 
rather  hear  not  so  fortissimo),  like  the  muttered  thnnder  of  the  coming  storm, 
until  the  double  chorus  breaks  loose,  '  Ye  Lightnings! '  etc.  Somehow  this 
chorus  had  not  all  the  spirit  that  it  has  had  on  some  former  occasions  :  partly, 
perhaps,  because  so  many  of  the  tenor  and  bass  seats  were  empty  in  the  day- 
time, and  partly  because  it  was  not  taken  quite  fast  enough.  Yet  it  made  an 
impression,  and  was  loudly  applauded,  in  spite  of  the  request  that  there  might 
be  no  applause. 

'•  Then,  closing  the  first  part,  must  be  named  the  sublime  figured  choral,  '  O 
Man,  bewail  thy  sin  so  great,'  before  alluded  to,  which,  only  in  four  parts, 
sounds,  with  its  exceedingly  rich  and  gorgeous  orchestration,  quite  as  grand  and 
iDroad  as  any  of  those  in  eight  parts.  The  pervading  instrumental  figure  keeps 
up  that  caressing  of  the  notes  of  which  Bach  seems  so  fond.  The  melody,  or 
tune,  is  sung  always  by  the  sopranos,  beginning  just  ahead  of  the  other 
voices,  which  are  interwoven  in  an  inexhaustible  variety  of  most  expressive 
counterpoint.  The  parts  are  hard  to  learn,  but  once  learned  are  not  soon 
lost,  for  in  their  character  they  are  essentially  singable.  What  a  melodious, 
natural  flow  the  bass  part  has,  which  looks  so  difficult !  This  chorus  was  given 
here  for  the  first  time,  and  it  was  about  as  capital  an  achievement  as  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  Society  had  ever  reached. 

"  The  unspeakably  rich  and  tender  concluding  chorus,  which  we  have  called 
the  requiem,  '  Around  Thy  tomb  here  sit  we  Aveeping.'  never  fails  to  make 
a  profound  impression ;  it  is  simply  perfect ;  no  choir  can  sing  it,  no  audience 
hear  it,  without  deep  emotion,  which  all  carry  home  with  them.  It  was 
grandly,  nobly  sung;  and  yet  we  thought,  too  loudly,  with  too  rough  accom- 
paniment of  brass,  for  the  sentiment  of  words  and  situation,  '  Here  sit  we 
weeping,  and  murmur  low  in  tones  supprest :  Eest  thee  softly,'  etc.  .  .  . 

"4.  The  so-called  Turbi:e,  or  short,  stirring  choruses  of  an  excited 
crowd,  now  of  the  disciples,  now  of  an  infuriated  mob,  clamoring,  '  Let  Him 
be  crucified,'  etc.  All  of  the  more  moderate  ones  in  Part  I.  had  been  sung  here 
before.  .  .  .  Most  of  the  fierce  little  choruses  of  the  Jews  had  not  been  sung 
before,  and  it  was  no  easy  work  to  master  them,  and  so  successfully.  '  Let 
Him  be  crucified,'  for  instance,  which  occurs  a  second  time  in  a  key  one  tone 
higher,  is  in  its  intertanglement  of  parts  like  an  oak  wrenched  and  twisted  by 
the  hurricane  and  lightning.  What  a  satisfaction  to  have  mastered  such  a 
thing  1  So,  'He  guilty  is  of  death.'  '  0  tell  us  .  .  .  who  gave  the  blow,' 
'  What  is  that  to  us?  '  '  His  blood  be  on  us,'  '  Thou  that  destroy'st  the  tem- 
ple,' and  that  piercing  shout  (diminished  seventh  chord),  'Barabbas!'  all 
bring  an  angry,  taunting,  and  relentless  multitude,  exciting  and  outscreaming 
one  another,  in  a  few  brief  strokes  most  vividly  before  us.  The  conductor 
had  been  urgent  and  exacting,  and  the  chorus  had  wrestled  bravely  with  these 
knotty  problems,  and  they  solved  them  pretty  satisfactorily. 

"5.  The  Arias,  with  their  introductory  melodic  recitatives.  .  .  .  Quite  a 
number  of  them  had  been  sung  here  before :  and  among  these  were  some 
of  those  exquisitely  lovely  arias  with  chorus,  such  as  the  tenor  recitative  and 
aria:  'O  grief  1 '  .  .  .  'I'll  watch  with  my  dear  Jesus  alway,' in  which  the 
soft,  sweet  harmonies  of  the  choral :  '  So  slumber  shall  our  sins  befall,' 
come  in  repeatedly,  yet  never  twice  alike.      A  new  one  this  time  was  the 


406  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

opening  number  of  Part  II.,  alto  aria  :  'Ah  !  now  is  my  Jesus  gone,'  and  chorus^ 
in  a  somewhat  pastoral,  romantic  Aeiu,  suited  to  the  words  from  the  Song 
of  Solomon  :  '  Whither  has  thy  Friend  departed?  '  .  .  .  Miss  Henrietta  Beebe, 
from  New  York,  sang  the  soprano  arias  in  a  pure,  sweet,  flexible  voice,  in  a 
tasteful,  finished  style,  with  respect  for  the  composer,  and  with  good  expres- 
sion, althougli  her  voice  is  of  too  light  a  character  to  bear  all  the  weight  of 
emotion  with  which  these  songs  are  charged.  She  was  particularly  happy  in 
the  air  with  the  flufe  solo,  and  delicate  accompaniment  of  two  clarinets  : 
'  From  love  unbounded.'  Miss  Edith  Abell  has  a  rich  contralto,  or  mezzo- 
soprano  voice,  well  trained  and  efiective,  and  sang  all  her  arias  artistically, 
with  true  feeling  and  expression.  Her  great  aria,  '  0  pardon  me,  my  God,' 
{Erharme  dicK),  Mhich  properly  requires  one  of  the  greatest  singers,  great  in 
voice  and  great  in  heart  and  soul,  was  sung  Avith  breadth  and  sustained  noble- 
ness of  style.  Mr.  Remenyi's  violin  obligato  was  in  some  respects  finely  played , 
but  there  was  too  much  of  himself  in  it.  And  the  same  may  be  said  of  his 
obligato  in  the  bass  aria,  which  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch  sang  tellingly  and  grandly  : 
'  Give  me  back  mj'  dearest  Master.'  Mr.  Winch  was  hardly  in  his  best  voice, 
but  he  was  well  prepared  and  efi*ective  in  some  of  his  exceedingly  difficult 
tasks,  such  as  '  Come,  blessed  cross ! '  in  which  Mr.  Wulf  Fries  won  credit 
by  the  altogether  beautiful  and  faultless  manner  in  which  he  played  the  inter- 
esting and  very  diflicult  violoncello  solo.  Mr.  Courtney  was  as  artistic,  and 
on  the  whole  satisfactory,  in  his  trying  arias  as  in  the  narrative  recitatives,  — 
a  remarkable  achievement  for  one  man  indeed  I  Mr.  Whitney's  ponderous^ 
and  noble  bass  told  to  fine  advantage  in  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  bass 
solos,  the  recitative:  '  At  eventide,  cool  hour  of  rest,'  and  the  aria:  'Cleanse 
thee,  O  ray  soul,  from  sin,'  which  he  sang  with  a  sustained  and  even  breadth 
of  style,  and  with  true  feeling  and  expression." 

There  was  much  more  to  be  said,  —  of  the  orchestra,  of  the  debt 
due  to  the  conductor  aud  to  the  hard- working  officers  of  the  Society^ 
for  so  signal  an  achievement.  Was  it  not  one  of  the  Uiminous  historic 
points  in  the  whole  growth  and  onward  progress  of  the  old  Societ}^  ? 
Many  of  us  could  read  in  it  the  assurance  that  the  Passion  would 
thenceforth  be  given  annually  and  entire  in  the  same  way.  But  the 
stars  did  not  fight  with  those  who  entertained  that  hope  I 

Receipts,  $2,984.97,  expenses,  S2, 300.17,  profits,  S684  80. 

April  13.  Easter.  Handel's  heroic  oratorio,  Judas  Maccabmuxy 
was  given  with  great  spirit.  To  be  sure,  in  spite  of  large  omissions,  it 
was  too  long,  after  the  exhausting  music  of  the  Passion  week.  And 
many  numbers  of  the  work  needed  the  labors  of  a  Robert  Franz  to- 
fill  out  the  accompaniment.  The  choruses  were  on  the  whole  splen- 
didly sung.  The  soloists  were  :  Miss  Fanuy  Kellogg,  who  achieved 
a  brilliant  success  in  the  soprano  airs,  through  the  delightfully  clear, 
bright,  musical  quality  of  her  voice,  and  her  tasteful  execution ;  her 
chief  fault  being  the  habit  of  attacking  a  passage  with  a  too  explosive 
sforzando ;    Miss  Edith  Abell,  whose  voice  seemed  dull  and  weary 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  407 

after  the  week's  hard  siege,  though  she  sang  finely ;  Mr.  Courtney, 
who  again  distinguished  himself  by  the  clear,  ringing  tone  and  fervor 
of  his  martial  tenor  airs  ;  and  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney,  who  did  all  justice 
to  the  bass  part  of  Simon.  The  chorus  numbered  four  hundred  and 
sixty,  and  the  orchestra  fifty.     Receipts,  $1,700,   expenses,  SI, 350. 

On  Friday  evening.  May  2,  Elijah  was  performed  for  the  benefit  of 
Carl  Zerrahn,  on  the  completion  of  his  twenty-fifth  season  as  con- 
ductor. There  was  a  fine  audience.  The  receipts  (including  a  public 
rehearsal)  reached  S3. 331,  of  which  sum  $2,433.50  went  to  Mr. 
Zerrahn.  The  chorus  numbered  four  hundred  and  fifty,  the  orchestra 
(many  volunteering)  forty.  The  solo  singers  all  volunteered,  as 
follows  :  Mrs.  J.  Houston  West,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Weston,  Miss  Sarah  C. 
Fisher,  Miss  H.  A.  Russell,  Miss  Emily  Winant,  Mrs.  C.  C.  No3'cs, 
Mrs.  J.  R.  Ellison,  Mrs.  A.  L.  Fowler,  Mrs.  H  M.  Smith,  Miss 
Fanny  Kellogg,  Mrs.  H.  E.  H.  Carter,  Master  W.  H.  Lee  ("  the 
youth").  Miss  Ita  Welsh,  Mrs.  Abby  Clark  Ford,  Mrs.  A.  G.  Spring, 
—  Mr.  W.  H.  Fessenden,  Mr.  J.  C.  Collins,  Mr.  A.  C.  Ryder,  Mr. 
John  F.  Winch  ("  Elijah"),  Mr.  Alfred  Wilkie,  Mr.  C.  E.  Hay,  and 
Mr.  D.  M.  Babcock. 

Before  the  oratorio  Mr.  Zerrahn  was  met  in  Bumstead  Hall  by  the 
chorus,  who,  through  the  president,  C.  C.  Perkins,  presented  him 
with  elegantly  bound  orchestral  scores  of  Elijah^  St.  Paul^  and  the 
Lobgesang^  and  a  solid  gold  medallion  bearing  on  one  side  the  seal  of 
the  Society,  and  on  the  other  an  inscription  setting  forth  the  character 
of  the  occasion.  The  performance  was  brilliant  throughout,  and 
great  enthusiasm  prevailed.  The  conductor's  stand  was  adorned  with 
flowers,  and  with  the  gifts  of  the  chorus.  Other  magnificent  presents 
were  sent  by  Miss  Annie  Louise  Cary,  Mme.  Rudersdorff,  and  other 
friends. 

SIXTY-FIFTH    SEASON. 

May  26,  1879,  to  May  31.  1880. 

May  26.  Annual  meeting.  The  treasurer  reported  the  receipts  of 
the  year  $12,386.33,  expenditures,  $11,395.03;  deficit  last  year, 
$8.65;  balance  in  his  hands,  $991.30.  The  trustees  of  the  perma- 
nent fund  showed  a  balance  of  $12,604.66.  The  president's  annual 
report  was  a  wise  and  encouraging  review  of  the  year's  noble  work, 
especially  congratulating  the  Society  on  having  produced  the  entire 
St.  Matthew  Passion  Music  of  Bnch  for  the  first  time  in  America,  and 
recognizing  the  manifest  improvement  in  the  singing  of  the  chorus  after 
the  vocal  discipline  which  that  music  had  given  them. 


408  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

The  president,  vice-president,  secretary,  treasurer,  and  librarian 
were  re-elected,  and  the  following  directors  :  M.  G.  Daniell,  H.  G. 
Carey,  A.  K.  Hebard,  R.  S.  Rundlett,  G.  F.  Milliken,  F.  H.  Jenks, 
J.  A.  Pray,  Henry  W.  Brown. 

June  6.  Conductor  and  organist  were  re-elected  for  another  year. 
It  was  voted  to  hold  the  fifth  Triennia.  Festival  in  the  week  endino" 

o 

May  10,  1880,  and  to  give  three  concerts  in  the  season  previous. 

Nov.  23.  The  first  of  the  three  concerts  was  distinguished  by  the 
first  public  appearance  in  America  of  Arthur  S.  Sullivan,  Mus.  Doc, 
who  had  accepted  an  invitation  to  conduct  the  performance  of  some 
of  his  own  compositions.  The  attendance  was  worthy  of  so  notable 
an  occasion,  the  receipts  amounting  to  $2,835.  There  was  an  orches- 
tra of  sixty  ;  chorus,  five  hundred.  The  solo  artists  were  Miss  Edith 
Abell,  Miss  May  Bryant,  Mr.  Wm.  J.  Winch,  and  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch. 
The  tenor  Winch  was  at  his  best. 

The  first  part,  under  Mr.  Zerrahn's  direction,  opened  with  Beetho. 
ven's  Hallelujah  chorus,  which  was  very  impressively  sung,  the  sixty 
instruments  rendering  excellent  support  in  this  as  in  all  the  numbers 
of  the  programme.  Then  came  The  Flight  into  Egyiot  (Berlioz), 
which  improved  upon  acquaintance.  The  tenor  solo,  representing  the 
Repose  of  the  Holy  Family,  was  sung  so  exquisitely  that  there  was  no 
resisting  the  call  for  a  repetition,  and  many  remember  it  as  the  purest 
gem  of  the  evening. 

The  second  part  began  with  Dr.  Sullivan's  In  Memoriam  overture, 
composed  some  years  before  in  honor  of  his  father.  His  reception 
was  most  hearty,  and  he  had  long  to  stand  bowing  acknowledgment. 
Turning  to  the  orchestra,  he  entered  quietly  and  earnestly  into  the 
business  of  conducting.  His  manner  was  firm,  precise,  without  any 
flourish  ;  he  was  plainly  master  of  the  situation  and  held  all  his  forces 
well  in  hand.  In  the  rehearsals  he  had  shown  a  rare  faculty  of  mak- 
ing all  go  right,  quietly  insisting  on  the  carrying  out  of  his  ideas. 
The  overture  proved  itself  a  musicianly  work,  vigorous  in  themes, 
logical  in  development,  clear  and  symmetrical  in  form,  richly  and 
skilfully  instrumented,  and  worked  up  to  a  powerful  climax  with  the 
organ  at  the  end. 

His  short  oratorio,  The  Prodigal  Son^  composed  for  the  Worcester 
Festival  (England)  in  1869,  was  really  an  early  work.  The  Mendels- 
sohnian  influence  is  unmistakable  in  it,  naturally  enough,  for  Sullivan 
was  then  a  young  man  ;  he  had  held  the  first  "  Mendelssohn  scholar- 
ship," at  Leipzig,  where  Mendelssohn  was  still  the  ruling  spirit ;  and 
it  would  have  required  a  courage  amounting  almost  to  bravado  for 
him  to  make  his  debut  as  composer  in  any  marked  departure  from  the 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     409 

conventional  style  of  one  so  idolized  in  England.  Not  a  great  work, 
it  was  found  exceedingly  enjoyable.  The  great  assembly  left  the  hall 
with  a  new  admiration,  and  of  a  deeper  kind,  for  the  Arthur  Sullivan, 
who  had  already  given  so  much  pleasure,  far  and  wide,  by  his  lighter 
operatic  things,  like  Ptnq/bre. 

Dec.  28.  The  Mes>iiah  crowded  the  Music  Hall  again,  and  rarely 
had  there  been  a  better  performance.  The  soprano.  Miss  Fanny 
Kellogg,  showed  a  great  improvement ;  she  had  rid  herself  of  that 
explosive  way  which  used  to  mar  the  beauty  of  her  singing.  Miss 
Winani's  great  contralto  tones,  into  which  she  put  such  honest,  true 
expression,  charmed  the  audience.  The  tenor,  Mr.  Fritsch,  whose 
voice  was  not  quite  equal  to  some  parts  of  his  task,  sang  intelligently 
and  like  an  artist,  especially  in  "  Thou  shalt  dash  them."  The  basso, 
Mr.  Whitney,  was  in  all  his  glory.  One  of  his  final  sub-bass  tones 
made  one  think  of  the  traditions  of  Lablache.  The  concert,  with 
public  rehearsal,  brought  in  over  $3,000. 

1880.  The  rehearsals  thenceforward  until  Easter  were  devoted  to 
Spohr's  Last  Jurlgment ;  Handel's  Solomon^  Utrecht  Jubilate.,  and 
Israel  in  Egypt;  Haydn's  *S'easo?is;  The  Deluge  by  Saint-Saens  ;  St. 
Paul;  Verdi's  Requiem;  and  Rossini's  Stahat  Mater,  —  partly  for 
the  approaching  festival,  for  which  the  Board  {March  12)  voted  to 
raise  a  guaranty  of  830,000  ;  the  Society  heading  the  list  with  $2,000. 
The  prices  for  season  tickets  were  fixed  at  $12.  Single  seats,  $1.50, 
$2.00,  and  $2.50;  admission,  SI. 00. 

March  28.  Easter.  Israel  in  Egyjyt  was  given  for  the  third  and 
last  concert  of  the  subscription  series.  The  hall  was  ciowded.  The 
great  work  was  produced  on  a  grand  scale,  with  the  chorus  ranks 
full,  and  an  orchestra  of  sixty  musicians,  with  Mr.  Listemann  at  their 
head,  brgan  by  Mr.  Lang,  and  a  goodly  array  of  solo  singers.  Miss 
Fanny  Kellogg,  called  upon  at  a  day's  notice  in  the  place  of  Mrs. 
H.  M.  Smith,  who  was  ill,  and  soon  after  her  own  severe  bereavement 
(of  both  parents),  kindly  undertook  several  of  the  soprano  solos, 
having  never  sung  nor  heard  the  Israel  before,  and  won  warm  ap- 
proval. The  alto  solos  were  sung  by  Mrs.  Frank  Kinsley,  of  New 
York,  with  a  light,  pleasing  voice,  not  strong  enough  for  the  great 
hall ;  but  she  sang  intelligently  and  carefully  ;  only  her  efforts  were 
marred  by  a  habit  of  forcing  her  lower  tones  into  a  somewhat  boy-like 
quality.  Mrs.  F.  P.  Whitney  saug  very  satisfactorily  the  soprano 
solos  of  the  first  pa't,  and  in  the  duet,  ''  The  Lord  is  my  strength." 
The  tenor  solos  could  hardly  have  been  given  to  a  more  effective 
singer  than,  to  Mr.  W.  C.  Power  (new  to  the  Society),  who  had  a 
resonant,  robust  voice.     His   style  was  manly,  full  of  fervor,  and, 


410  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

although  not  a  Lloyd,  he  was  obliged  to  repeat  the  ah*.  '•  The  enemy 
said,  I  will  pursue."  The  bass  airs  in  the  ''appendix,"  ''  He  layeth 
the  beams  "  and  ••  Wave  from  wave."  were  nobly  sung  by  Mr.  Winch 
and  Mr.  Whitney.  Excellent  music  these ;  but,  being  taken  evi- 
dently from  Handel's  Italian  operas,  they  seemed  hardly  of  the  same 
cloth  with  the  rest  of  the  garment.  The  same  two  gentlemen  created 
such  enthusiasm  in  the  great  duet  of  basses,  ''  The  Lord  is  a  man  of 
war,"  that  they  had  to  labor  through  it- a  second  time.  Yet  it  is  an 
artistic  mistake  ever  to  repeat  that  very  long,  exhaustive,  difficult  duet ; 
it  repeats  itself  full  enough  when  once  sung  through  ;  it  was  never 
made  to  be  a  ••  twice-told  tale,"  and  it  never  goes  so  well  a  second 
time.  A  conductor  ought  to  be  a  despot  with  his  audiences  (who  in 
art  are  children)  no  less  than  with  his  choir  and  orchestra.  The 
receipts  from  /s/-ae/ were  82,200.  Now  follows  busy  hum  of  prepara- 
tion for  the 

FIFTH   TRIENNIAL   FESTIVAL. 
May  4  to  May  9,  1880. 

First  Day.  The  performance  of  St.  Paul,  on  Tuesday  evening. 
3fay  4,  was  pronounced  to  be  the  best  yet  given  of  that  oratorio  in 
Boston.  So  said  one  of  the  largest  and  most  cultivated  audiences 
ever  assembled  in  the  ^lusic  Hall.  The  chorus  seats  were  full, 
and  the  five  hundred  voices  (one  hundred  and  sixty-two  sopranos, 
one  hundred  and  forty-four  altos,  ninety-seven  tenors,  and  one 
hundred  and  thirty-six  basses)  were  sensitively  obedient  to  the 
conductor's  baton  in  all  points  of  light  and  siiade.  If  there  were 
a  few  shortcomings  anywhere  the}'  were  lost  in  the  abiding  mem- 
ory of  a  glorious  whole.  Possibly  the  addition  of  a  do^en  or 
more  good  ringing  tenors  would  have  made  the  balance  nearer 
perfect.  The  orchestra  of  seventy-five,  under  Bernhard  Liste- 
mann,  was  equally  efi;'ective.  The  violin  force  was  of  the  honest, 
telling  kind.  The  contrafagotto,  rather  a  stranger  to  our  concerts, 
made  its  presence  felt.  The  reeds  and  flutes  were  sweet  and  true  ; 
and  the  brass,  for  which  Mendelssohn  gives  splendid  opportunities  in 
St.  Faul^  rang  out  with  refreshing  and  exhilarating  challenge  :  '•  Rise 
up,  arise  !  "  "  Sleepers,  awake  I  "  etc.  Mr.  l.ang.  having  taken  pains 
to  procure  from  Germany  Mendelssohn's  full  organ  score,  made  the 
participation  of  the  great  organ  very  noticeable. 

The  principal  solo  singers,  botlr  in  recitative  and  song,  proved 
equal  to  their  exacting  tasks.  The  limpid,  lovely  quality  of  Miss 
Emma  Thursby's  pure  and  flexible  soprano,  and  her  refined  execution 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     411 

Trere  in  keeping  with  the  music.  Her  singing  was  that  of  a  bird- 
like, child-like,  happy  nature,  rather  than  a  deep  one.  Miss  Emily 
Winant's  rich  and  soulful  contralto  told  in  the  little  that  it  had  to  do. 
Mr.  M.  ^y.  Whitney  acquitted  himself,  as  always,  nobly  ;  yet  there 
was  a  certain  heaviness  which  needed  to  be  lifted  by  the  inspiration 
which  sometimes  possessed  him.  The  chief  honors  were  borne  off  by 
Mr.  Charles  R.  Adams.  For  once,  he  was  all  himself  again,  his 
manh'  tenor  free  from  huskiness,  and  he  improved  the  auspicious 
opportunity  to  show  himself  the  noble  artist  that  he  was.  When  it 
came  to  the  great  aria,  "  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,*'  he  rose  to 
something  like  true  inspiration  ;  the  effect  was  magical ;  every  tone 
was  full  of  fervor  and  of  beauty,  and  the  applause  knew  no  bounds. 
The  receipts  were  S2.000. 

Second  Day.  On  Wednesda}-  evening.  May  5,  the  audience  was 
even  larger,  the  receipts  being  $3,282.  The  chorus  numbered  four 
hundred  and  fift}^  voices.  Two  strongly  contrasted  works  were  given  : 
Spohr's  oratorio.  The  Last  Judgment,  for  the  first  time  here  in  twent3'- 
five  years,  and  Rossini's  rather  too  familiar  Stabat  Mater. 

All  found  the  music  of  Spohr  sweet,  melodious,  delicately  finished, 
wrought  out  with  a  rare  subtlety  of  harmony,  with  great  contrapuntal 
skill,  and  with  a  perfect  mastery  of  the  orchestral  means  of  his  day. 
The  sweetness,  however,  with  the  perpetual  chromatic  and  even  en- 
harmonic modulation,  while  details  were  beautiful,  was  cloying  on  the 
whole.  A  few  bnrs.  now  and  then,  of  plain  diatonic  harmony  would 
have  been  so  refreshing  !  Then,  as  a  treatment  of  an  awful  theme, 
nearly  the  whole  music  is  extremely  mild  and  amiable.  (AVhat  a  con- 
trast with  the  Verdi  Bequieml)  Only  a  single  chorus,  "Destroyed 
is  Babylon,"  taken  with  the  preceding  bass  recitative,  "  The  da}"  of 
wrath  is  near,"  contains  any  hint,  musically,  of  anything  appalling. 
The  chorus  singing  and  the  accompaniment  were  well  done.  The 
solos  form  rather  a  secondary  element  in  the  work.  Miss  Ida  W. 
Hubbell,  the  soprano,  new  to  the  Society,  sang  with  intelligence  and 
taste,  with  zeal  and  fervor.  She  had  a  clear  and  telling  voice,  some- 
times a  little  strident  in  the  highest  tones.  Miss  Winant,  Mr.  Court- 
ney, and  Mr.  M.  W^.  Whitney  were  up  to  their  own  high  mark.  The 
orchestra,  which  realh'  has  the  most  important  part,  was  equal  to  it. 
Besides  the  long  and  serious  overture,  there  is  a  yet  longer  intro- 
ductory syiuphouy  to  the  second  part,  where,  if  anywhere,  one  would 
expect  to  feel  a  dark  and  terrible  foreboding  of  the  wrath  to  come. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  almost  festive  ;  it  moves  with  a  gay,  buoyant 
rhythm,  like  a  prelude  to  some  gorgeous  pageant.  Think  what  one 
might  of  Spohr's  oratorio,  it  certainly  added,  in  the  way  of  contrast 
and  of  knowledge,  to  the  interest  of  the  Festival. 


412     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Rossini's  Stabat  Mater,  of  which  the  genial  composer  himself,  in  a 
conversation  with  Ferdinand  Hiller,  spoke  as  being  only  mezzo  serio, 
is  liked  by  all  the  singers,  because  it  affords  fine  opportunities  for 
their  voices.  It  went  well  in  nearly  every  part.  The  sensation  of 
the  performance  was  Signor  Campanini's  singing  of  the  Cujvs  animam. 
Miss  Annie  Gary  was  perfecth'  at  home  in  the  contralto  arias.  Mis& 
Fanny  Kellogg  had  hardly  the  physical  strength  for  the  Et  ivjlam- 
matus,  but  in  the  rest  of  the  soprano  part  was  eminently  successful. 
Mr.  J.  F.  Wincli  was  quite  equal  to  the  trying  Pro  peccatis  and  the 
other  bass  airs. 

Third  Day.  Thursday  afternoon,  May  6.  Beethoven's  Choral 
Symphony,  with  the  preceding  miscellaneous  selections,  drew  an 
overflowing  audience.  First  came  (for  the  third  time  in  Boston)  Mr» 
George  W.  Chadwick's  overture  to  Bij)  van  Winkle^  heard  with  fresh 
interest,  from  the  fact  that  the  young  composer,  who  had  recently  re- 
turned from  his  studies  in  Germany,  conducted  it  in  person.  He  was 
■warmly  received,  and  held  the  orchestra  well  in  hand.  Mr.  C.  R» 
Adams  sang  Schubert's  Erl-King^  with  an  orchestral  accompaniment, 
by  no  means  overpowering  or  extravagant,  by  Berlioz.  Then  ap- 
peared Miss  Thursby  in  the  scene  of  poor  crazed  Ophelia,  from  the 
Hamlet  of  Ambroise  Thomas.  It  was  a  charming  and  a  touching 
piece  of  vocalization,  and  the  audience  were  delighted.  Miss  Cary^ 
in  her  full  contralto,  and  in  her  noblest  style,  with  perfect  ease  of  ex- 
ecution, sang  the  jealous  Juno's  recitative,  "  Awake,  Saturnia,"  and 
aria,  "Hence,  Iris,  hence  away  I  "  from  Handel's  *S'e??ie^e,  superbly. 
The  short  Psalm,  without  orchestra,  by  Mendelssohn,  "  Judge  me, 
O  God,"  vras  impressively  sung  by  the  great  chorus,  the  unison  pas- 
sages being  firm  and  massive,  and  the  responses  prompt  and  sure. 

In  the  Ninth  Symphony  the  chorus  was  even  more  successful  than 
the  orchestra.  One  prime  condition  of  success,  enthusiasm,  clearly 
buoyed  up  the  singers  to  the  level  of  their  arduous  task.  In  the  sus- 
tained high  notes  of  the  religious  climax  it  all  sounded  well,  however 
inconsiderately  (for  voices)  Beethoven  may  have  written  it.  The 
quartet  of  soloists  —  Miss  Thursby,  Miss  Gary,  Mr.  Adams,  and  Mr. 
Dudle}' — were,  with  a  few  momentary  shortcomings  in  one  part  or 
another,  more  nearly  equal  to  their  arduous  task  than  any  we  remem- 
bered to  have  heard  before,  even  in  that  almost  impossible  quadruple 
cadenza.  Mr.  Dudley  had  a  manly,  ponderous,  telling  bass  voice, 
which  he  wielded  to  good  purpose  ;  and  he  led  off  in  the  vocal  work, 
after  the  suggestion  of  the  orchestral  basses,  veiy  nobly,  giving  a 
spirited  impulse  to  the  entire  chorus. 

The  orchestra,  of  over  seventy,  played  the  three  instrumental  move- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  413 

ments,  on  the  wliole,  finely,  especially  the  heavenly  Adagio.  The 
double  basses  burst  their  bonds  and  talked  out  very  effectually  where 
the  need  of  human  utterance  first  makes  itself  felt.  Certainly  those 
who  gave  themselves  simply  up  to  the  music  and  the  thought  found 
it  a  glorious  experience,  and  went  home  edified,  and  in  a  happy,  hope- 
ful and  believing  frame  of  mind.  If  the  St.  Paul  was  the  best  achieve- 
ment of  the  Festival,  this  was  the  other  best.  That  concert  brought 
in  S3, 410". 

The  fourth  concert.  Thursday  evening,  opened  with  Mr.  Dudley 
Buck's  Symphonic  Overture  to  Sir  Walter  Scott's  Marmion.  If  not 
strikingly  original  in  ideas,  it  did  impress  one  as  a  good  square  piece 
of  orchestral  writing,  largely  and  s^'mmetrically  laid  out,  effectively 
and  richly  instrumented,  with  several  good  themes  well  developed, 
although  perhaps  at  too  great  length. 

Then  followed  Verdi's  Requiem  {heavd  here  for  the  third  time). 
It  seemed  to  call  forth  the  best  energies  of  orchestra  and  chorus,  and 
to  prove  highly  satisfactory  to  the  great  mass  of  the  very  large  and 
eager  audience.  Of  the  work  itself  our  first  opinion  remained  un- 
changed. Its  appeal  is  not  to  the  best  that  there  is  in  us  ;  only 
seldom  does  it  touch  the  springs  of  deep  religious  love  and  aspiration, 
but  it  appeals  to  fear.  Those  texts  of  the  old  Latin  hymn,  which 
offer  the  best  chance  for  great  sensational  display  of  orchestral  effects, 
are  the  texts  chiefly  dwelt  upon.  It  is  not  so  with  the  greater 
masters,  Mozart,  Jomelli,  Cherubini,  who  sing  more  of  rest  eternal. 
The  performance,  on  the  whole,  was  excellent.  The  grander  scene- 
painting  came  out  vividly  and  strongly.  Light  and  shade  were  care- 
fully regarded.  The  arias  and  concerted  pieces  were  satisfactory  in 
the  main.  Mrs.  H.  M.  Smith's  clear  and  powerful  soprano  voice 
did  good  service,  though  sometimes  its  effects  were  overstrained  and 
marred  by  impure  intonation.  Miss  Gary  was  altogether  equal  to  her 
part.  Signor  Campanini  made  another  great  hit  in  the  aria,  '^  Inge- 
misco."  Mr.  Whitnev  sano-  the  bass  solos  with  grand  sonoritv  and 
dignity.  The  chorus  numbered  four  hundred  and  thirty.  The  house 
was  good  ;  receipts,  S2, 740. 

Fourth  Day.  Friday  evening,  3fay  7.  The  fifth  concert  offered 
*' Spring"  and '' Summer  "  from  Haydn's  Seasons,  and  The  Deluge 
by  Saint-Saens,  the  first  in  most  refreshing,  soothing  contrast  to  the 
unpeaceful  Mequiem  of  the  night  before,  and  to  the  overwhelming 
Deluge  that  immediately  followed.  Composed  by  an  old  man  of 
seventy,  it  is  the  happiest  expression  of  a  most  genial,  child-like 
sympathy  with  nature.  Its  fiowing  honey  does  not  cloy  like  that  of 
Spohr.     It  presents  a  varied   picture,  nowhere  overcolored,  nowhere 


414     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

weak  or  tame.  All  is  characteristic,  free  from  startling  contrast  and 
extravagance.  The  chorus  of  the  thunder-storm,  so  naturalh'  prepared 
by  passages  descriptive  of  intense  summer  heat,  may  be  a  puny  tem- 
pest by  the  side  of  Saint-Saens's  picture  of  the  Deluge^  but  intrinsi- 
cally it  is  more  near  to  Nature  and  more  powerful. 

These  two  parts  of  the  Seasons  were  sung  and  played  con  cunore. 
All  the  choruses  went  well  except  the  first:  '*  Come,  gentle  Spring," 
which  was  a  little  scrambling.  The  soprano  melody  was  particularly 
suited  to  the  voice  and  style  of  Miss  Thursby,  who  sang  most  charm- 
ingly. Mr.  Adams  was  again  in  good  voice,  and  with  his  true  artistic 
instinct  gave  a  most  expressive  rendering  of  the  tenor  part ;  espe- 
cially in  the  recitative  and  air  descriptive  of  the  summer  heat  and  its 
effects  :  "  Distressful  Nature  fainting  sinks,"  he  realized  the  full  in- 
tention of  the  music  in  the  most  complete  and  tasteful  manner.  Mr. 
Whitney  sang  the  song  of  the  *'  Husbandman,"  and  indeed  all  that 
fell  to  his  share,  very  finely. 

The  general  verdict  on  the  Cantata,  The  Deluge^  was  upon  the 
whole  unfavorable.  The  vocal  writing  seemed  to  interest  but  few, 
while  plentiful  praise  was  lavished  on  the  transcendent  brilliancy  and 
power  of  its  descriptive  instrumentation.  All  the  usual  and  unusual 
means  of  the  modern  orchestra  are  employed  to  work  up  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  rising  of  the  waters  to  a  fearful  and  extraordinary  climax. 
It  begins  suggestively  with  a  faint,  watery  tremolo,  and  presenth"  a 
bubbling  and  gurgling  sound  of  flutes,  and  a  chromatic  whistling  of 
the  wind,  all  quite  exciting  to  the  imagination,  till  finally  the  great 
deeps  are  unloosed  with  universal,  stunning  tumult,  the  like  of  which 
in  intensity,  variety,  and  cumulative  persistency  of  noise,  still  kept 
within  the  bounds  of  music,  was  never  realized  before.  Of  course 
the  culminating  point  of  rest,  at  the  subsiding  of  the  waters,  is  turned 
to  good  account  by  the  ingenious  composer.  But  taken  as  a  whole, 
the  work,  instru  men  tally  as  well  as  vocally,  was  to  our  feeling  weak, 
coarse,  wilful,  wanting  dignity,  unequal  to  the  subject,  and  unworthy 
of  a  composer  who  in  other  things  had  shown  so  much  genius  and  so 
much  musical  savoir  faire. 

After  the  great  flood  has  begun  to  subside,  we  have  in  Part  III. 
most  interesting  and  suggestive  themes  for  an  imaginative  composer : 
the  scattering  of  the  clouds,  the  sending  out  of  the  dove,  the  olive- 
branch,  the  descent  from  the  ark,  the  rainbow,  etc.  And  here  indeed 
we  have  the  gentlest  and  most  pleasing  portion  of  the  music.  But 
again  all  is  spoiled  by  what  should  be  a  sublime  conclusion.  The 
command:  ''Increase  and  multiply,"  naturally  suggests  a  fugue. 
But  what  a   fugue  we  get !     Learned  enough,  ingenious  enough  it 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HADYN    SOCIETY.  415 

may  be,  but  desperately  dry  aud  uninspiring.  The  performance  on 
the  whole  was  as  good  as  could  reasonabl}^  be  required,  especially  the 
orchestral  work.  The  principal  vocalists  (Miss  Hubbell,  Miss  Win- 
ant,  Mr.  Adams,  and  Mr.  Dudley)  did  themselves  as  much  credit  as 
could  be  expected  in  such  music.  The  chorus  numbered  four  hundred 
and  seventy.     Receipts  S2,665. 

Fifth  Day.  Saturda}^  afternoon,  May  8.  This  was  in  one  sense 
the  gala-da}^  of  the  Festival,  although  the  giver  of  the  feast,  the  old 
Society  as  such,  in  its  own  choral  capacity,  figured  less  than  in  any 
other  concert.  It  was  the  people's  day,  when  thousands  from  the 
country,  far  and  near,  thronged  to  Boston  Music  Hall,  attracted  by 
the  array  of  famous  solo  singers.  The  great  crowd  is  always  drawn 
b}'  a  certain  interest  in  the  personal  performer,  more  than  by  the 
beauty  or  the  grandeur  of  the  music  in  itself.  Hence  such  a  day  and 
such  a  programme  are  dear  also  to  the  solo  artists  ;  it  gives  them  all 
an  opportunity  to  shine  in  pieces  of  their  own  selection  ;  each  rides 
in  upon  his  own  hobby-horse,  with  which  he  has  won  before  and 
still  feels  pretty  sure  to  win.  The  consequence  is  that  nondescript 
affair,  a  miscellaneous  programme.  In  this  case  the  miscellany  was  a 
remarkably  good  one.  The  crowd  was  overwhelming ;  every  seat 
was  occupied  and  hundreds  of  applicants  were  turned  away.  The 
performance,  singly  and  collectivel}',  was  most  satisfactory.  With- 
out further  comment,  we  simply  give  the  bill  of  fare  :  — 

1.  Overture,  "  Riibezahl"  (Ruler  of  the  Sjnrits),  op.  27  .         .        Weber. 

2.  Utrecht  Jubilate,  Chorus Handel. 

Solos  b}^  Miss  Gary,  Mr.  Courtney',  and  Mr.  Whitney. 

3.  Romance,  from  La  Forza  del  Destino Verdi. 

SiGNOR  CaMPANINI. 

4.  Song:  "  La  Calandrina " Jomelli. 

Miss  Thursby. 

5.  Aria:  '' De  gioTiii  m\ei,"  from  II  Duca  d' Ebro  .         .        .Da   Villa. 

Mr.  Courtney*. 

6.  Duet:  "  Non  fuggh'e,"  from  William  Tell.         .        .        .       Bossini. 

SiGNOR  Campanini  and  Mr.  Whitney'. 

7.  Intermezzo  from  Sj'mphou)^  in  F,  op.  9      .         .         .         .        Goetz. 

8.  Air:  ''Yo'i  ohe  s2i\ittQ"  from.  Le  Nozze  di  Figaro      .         .       Mozart. 

Miss  Annie  Gary. 

9.  Miriam's  Song  of  Triumph Beinecke. 

Miss  Hubbell. 

10.  Air:  '''■ZQY\\m,''tvom.DieMeistersingervonN\irnherrj        .        Wagner. 

11.  Siegmund's    Love    Song:     "  Winterstiirme,"    from    Die 

Walkure Wagner. 

SiGNOR  Campanini. 


416    HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

12.  Aria  from  Criulio  Cesare Handel. 

Miss  Wixant. 

13.  Aria:  "  Non  s'  ode  alcun,"  from  L'Etoile  du  Nord    .        .        Veyerbeer. 

Miss  Thursby. 
[Flute  accompaniment  played  by  Messrs.  Schlimper  and  Rietzkl.] 

14.  Quartet  and  chorus  from  the  "  Cantata  per  ogni  tempo"    .       J.  S.  Bach. 
[The  Quartet  by  Miss  Hubbell,  Miss  Winant,  Mr.  Courtney,  and 

Mr.  Whitney.] 

Sixth  Day.  Sunday  evening,  May  9.  There  was  some  falling 
off  in  the  attendance,  the  evening  being  very  hot,  and  Solomon  being 
understood  to  be  not  one  of  Handel's  greatest  oratorios.  The  note 
about  it  appended  to  the  programme  book  concludes  :  "  As  a  whole, 
we  may  speak  of  Solomon  as  an  oratorio  which  contains  much  of 
Handel's  best  music,  but  too  long,  wanting  unity,  and  unusually  over- 
loaded with  long,  level  stretches  of  those  conventional  and  ornate 
solos,  which  it  requires  the  best  of  singers  to  lift  into  light  and  inter- 
est. The  choruses  are,  indeed,  wonderfully  fine,  and  touch  such  vari- 
ous chords  of  human  feeling  that  they  might  furnish  a  complete 
enough  entertainment  of  themselves.  The  oratorio  as  here  given  is 
curtailed  one  third.  Why  not  curtail  it  even  more?"  The  Society 
had  not  given  it  for  twenty-five  years  ;  this  was  the  fourth  perform- 
ance. One  great  obstacle  to  its  success  lay  in  the  fact  that  the 
sketchy  instrumentation  of  the  old  published  score  required  such  com- 
pletion as  was  made  by  Mozart  for  the  Messiah.,  and  by  Franz  for 
several  works  of  Bach  and  Handel,  to  fit  it  for  performance.  It  was 
found  impossible  to  procure  Sir  Michael  Costa's  parts  from  England; 
and  at  the  last  moment,  when  the  Society  was  committed  to  the  work, 
some  parts  for  the  clarinet  were  written,  and  those  for  bassoon  and 
horn  were  amplified  by  Mr.  J.  C.  D.  Parker,  Mr.  Zerrahn  preparing 
parts  for  the  trombones.  But  this  was  not  enough.  Of  course,  the 
organ  in  the  background  became  all  the  more  important,  and  Mr. 
Lang  put  in  good  work  there. 

Yet  in  spite  of  such  tiresome  length  of  the  old  conventional  cut,  ^ 
in  spite  of  the  comparatively  small  number  of  the  grandest  kind  of 
choruses,  and  in  spite  of  meagre  instrumentation,  there  was  much  in 
Solomon  to  charm  and  to  impress,  much  of  the  Handelian  tenderness 
and  sweetness  in  the  airs,  much  of  his  graphic  power,  his  majestjs  and 
lofty  inspiration  in  the  choruses.  The  latter  were  perhaps  hardl^'' 
sung  with  all  the  spirit  shown  in  some  preceding  concerts,  for  natu- 
rally the  singers  had  become  fatigued.  But  the  great  hymns  of  praise 
at  the  beginning  and  the  end,  the  charming  epithalamium  :  ''  May  no 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     417 

rash  intruder,"  with  its  sound  of  nightingales,  and  the  descriptive 
series  in  the  last  part,  especially  the  mournful  one  :  "  Draw  the  tear 
from  hopeless  love,"  —  a  piece  of  solemn  harmony  in  which  Handel  is 
at  his  very  best  —  were  all  well  rendered  and  produced  a  fine  im- 
pression. 

Of  the  solos,  the  chief  part  —  the  alto  part  of  Solomon  —  was  care- 
fully and  smoothly- sung  by  Miss  Gary,  though  her  noble  voice  showed 
some  signs  of  fatigue.  For  the  same  reason,  Miss  Thursby's  sweet 
voice,  finished  style,  and  intelligent  conception  feebl}-  expressed  the 
tenderness  and  pathos  of  the  parts  of  the  Queen  and  the  First  Woman. 
Miss  Fanny  Kellogg's  greater  voice  and  greater  earnestness,  in  the 
parts  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  and  the  vindictive  Second  Woman,  were 
in  strong  contrast  to  the  other.  Mr,  Courtney  sang  in  a  thoroughly 
artistic  manner  in  the  part  of  Zadoc,  rendering  the  long  stretches  of 
roulades  with  perfect  evenness  and  grace  ;  and  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch  was 
fully  equal  to  the  trying  bass  songs  in  the  character  of  the  Levite. 
The  house  was  moderately  full,  the  receipts  $2,150. 

So  ended  the  Fifth  Triennial  Festival,  favored  throughout  by  the 
sunshine  of  nature  and  of  public  favor.  The  average  attendance  was 
excellent.  No  accidents  nor  di&^appointments  marred  the  pleasure  of 
participants,  and  all  was  congratulation  at  the  end.  The  financial 
results  were  cheering,  leaving  a  fair  profit.  At  the  next  meeting  of 
the  Board  {May  27)  salaries  were  voted  for  services  at  the  Festival, 
as  follows:  Carl  Zerrahn,  as  conductor,  $1,000;  B.  J.  Lang,  as 
organist,  $400  ;  S.  M.  Bedlington,  as  librarian,  $200.  Voted,  also,  to 
pay  Mr.  Lang  $300  salar}',  as  organist  for  the  season,  exclusive  of  the 
Festival.  And  the  treasurer  was  instructed  to  pay  over  to  the  trus- 
tees of  th^  Permanent  Fund  the  sum  of  $2,000,  then  in  his  hands. 


418  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

SIXTY-SIXTH    SEASON. 

May  31,  1880,  to  May  30,  1881. 

May  31.     At  the  Annual  Meeting  the  treasurer  reported  :  — 

On  hand,  May,  1879 $991  30 

Receipts  of  the  regular  season        .         .         .         .         .         .        .         8,283  13 

Receipts  of  Fifth  Triennial  Festival 20.431  29 

$29,705  72 
Expenditures  of  the  regular  season        ....  $7,462  65 

Expenditures  of  Festival 19,287  72 

Paid  to  Permanent  Fund 2,500  00     $29,250  37 

Balance $455  35 

In  the  report  of  the  Permanent  Fund  it  appeared  that  a  donation  of 
$500  had  been  received  from  some  unknown  friend  of  the  Society. 
The  value  of  the  Permanent  Fund  was  $15,233.  The  president  and 
other  principal  officers  were  re-elected,  and  the  following  :  — 

Directors.  —  Henry  M.  Brown,  M.  G.  Daniell,  F.  H.  Jenks, 
Geo.  F.  Milliken,  Geo.  T  Brown,  Eugene  B.  Hagar,  W.  S.  Fen- 
ollosa,  josiah  wheelwright. 

The  president,  C.  C.  Perkins,  made  his  annual  report  (or  address) . 
He  said  :  '^  Were  I  to  say  that  the  season  has  been  the  bes|  so  far  in 
the  annals  of  the  Society,  and  that  the  Fifth  Triennial  Festival  far  sur- 
passed its  predecessors,  I  might  be  contradicted  ;  but  when  I  say  that 
no  exertions  were  spared  by  the  conductor,  the  singers,  the  organist, 
and  the  board  of  management  to  make  the  concerts  given  before  and 
at  the  festival  as  good  as  possible,  I  cannot  be  gainsaid  ;  for  this  is- 
strictly-  true."  He  took  an  interesting  survey  of  the  rise  and  progress 
of  the  Society,  and  claimed  that  the  choral  and  symphony  concerts 
in  which  Boston  rejoiced  were  in  a  measure  due  to  the  initiative  taken 
by  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  so  many  years  ago.  After  some 
eloquent  exhortation  to  future  effort  and  yet  higher  aspiration,  he 
closed  with  the  following  statistics  of  the  season :  Fifty-four  re- 
hearsals had  been  held,  with  an  average  attendance  of  four  hundred 
and  forty  singers.  Thirty-five  new  members  had  been  admitted ; 
fifty-five  ladies  had  joined  the  chorus,  and  fourteen  had  been  dis- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  41^ 

missed.  Eight  members  had  resigned,  and  three  had  l)een  dismissed. 
After  reciting  the  long  list  of  works  performed  before  and  at  the 
Festival,  he  alluded  to  the  deaths,  six  in  number,  which  had  occurred 
in  the  Society  during  the  year,  namely  :  Charles  Henderson,  who 
joined  in  1834;  Henry  A.  Coffin,  who  joined  in  1865;  T.  Frank 
Reed,  who  joined  in  1866  ;  Thomas  Grieves,  who  joined  in  1^70  ; 
Leopold  Lobsitz,  who  joined  in  1876  ;  and  Philo  Peabody,  who 
joined  in  1877.  Mr.  Heed  had  been  a  member  of  the  B(>ard  of 
Government  in  1870  and  1871.  "  Actively  interested  in  the  cause 
of  music,  always  conspicuous  among  those  who  were  best  capable  of 
promoting  it,  genial,  kindly,  and  courteous  to  all  who  came  in  con- 
tact with  him,  Mr.  Reed  is  not  a  little  missed  b}'  those  who  knew  and 
valued  him." 

During  the  summer  the  rebuilding  of  Tremont  Temple  (destroyed 
by  fire)  was  completed,  and  its  old  organ  was  replaced  by  a  new  and 
splendid  one  constructed  by  Messrs.  Hook  &  Hastings.  The  new 
Temple  was  dedicated  by  a  series  of  concerts  early  in  October.  To 
these  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  contributed  two  oratorio  per- 
formances. First,  on  the  formal  opening  night,  Monday,  Oct.  11., 
the  Messiah.  The  chorus  of  the  Society,  about  one  hundred  short  of 
its  usual  number,  on  account  of  the  limitation  of  the  stage,  was  well 
displayed  upon  the  curving  tiers  of  seats  in  front  of  the  elegant  and 
cheerful  architecture  of  the  organ,  while  the  orchestra  occupied  the 
space  in  the  middle,  the  whole  being  brought  so  far  out  into  the 
auditoiium  that  everything  w^as  clearly  heard.  The  choruses  came 
out  with  a  ringing,  rich  ensemble.  The  shading,  too,  was  good,  and 
the  accompaniment  felicitous.  Miss  Lillian  Bailey  (Mrs.  Henschel), 
singing  here  for  the  first  time  since  her  studies  in  Paris  and  her  suc- 
cessful career  in  England,  took  the  soprano  solos  ;  and,  considering 
her  youth  and  the  yet  juvenile  though  much-improved  quality  of  her 
voice  in  firmness,  evenness,  and  fulness,  acquitted  herself  most  cred- 
itably. Miss  Emily  Winant,  whose  rich  contralto  seemed  richer  than 
ever,  sang  with  unaffected,  simple  truth  of  feeling.  Mr.  Wm.  J. 
Winch  was  not  at  his  best  in  the  tenor  solos.  Mr.  M  W.  Whitney 
gave  the  bass  airs  in  his  grandest  voice,  with  rare  spirit  and  effect. 
The  chorus  singing  frequently  raised  the  audience  (only  moderate  in 
numbers)  to  enthusiasm. 

On  Wednesday  evening,  in  the  same  place  and  under  the  same 
conditions,  Elijalt  was  given,  with  the  same  choral  and  orchestral 
forces,  and  for  soloists  Miss  Fanny  Kellogg,  Miss  Winant,  Mr. 
Charles  R.  Adams,  and  Mr.  John  F.  Winch ;  and  in  the  concerted 
music  Miss  Lucie  Homer,  Mrs.  C.  C.  Noves,  Mr.  Geo.  W.  Want,  and 


420     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Mr.  D.  M.  Babcock.  The  Temple  was  only  half  filled,  but  the  per- 
formance was  a  fine  one.  It  was  an  unfavorable  week  for  a  series 
of  grand  concerts  in  an  unaccustomed  hall.  Man}'  of  the  most 
musical  families  were  still  out  of  town  ;  there  was  too  much  politics 
in  the  air  and  in  anxious  patriotic  minds  ;  beautiful  evenings  and  a 
reluctance  to  give  up  the  summer's  fascinating  freedom,  etc.,  etc.,  all 
together  proved  too  strong  for  the  charmer,  music,  to  overcome. 

The  remainder  of  the  autumn  months  was  occupied  with  rehearsal 
of  the  Mount  of  Olives  and  of  Mozart's  Requiem^  until  the  Messiah 
took  its  annual  turn  on  the  approach  of  Christmas.  The  public  per- 
formance was  on  Sunda}^  evening.  Bee.  26.  The  solos  were  by  Mrs. 
H.  F.  Knowles,  Miss  Anna  Drasdil,  Mr.  W.  C.  Tower,  and  Mr. 
Georg  Henschel.  The  chorus  singing  was  excellent  throughout 
(four  hundred  voices).  The  orchestra  of  sixty,  with  Mr.  Listemann 
heading  the  fine  bod^'  of  violins,  and  with  plenty  of  double  basses, 
was  uncommonly  efficient,  while  the  great  organ,  played  b}'  Mr. 
Lang,  lent  judicious,  unmistakable  support  wherever  it  was  needed. 
The  additional  accompaniments  by  Franz,  in  certain  numbers,  helped 
greatly  to  bring  out  the  beauty  and  the  richness  of  the  composer's 
meaning.  In  spite  of  the  John  Bull  critics,  who  would  hold  us  to  the 
letter  of  the  hasty  sketches  which  Handel  left  us  in  his  scores,  we 
■doubt  not  that,  could  the  old  giant  have  been  present,  his  big  wig 
would  have  vibrated  with  true  satisfaction  at  finding  his  hints  so 
finely  apprehended  and  carried  out.  While  the  solos  were  all  good, 
those  contributed  by  Mr.  Henschel  and  by  Miss  Drasdil  gave  dis- 
tinction to  this  repetition  of  the  most  familiar  (yet  never  too  familiar) 
of  oratorios.  A  new  stage  had  been  erected  for  the  chorus,  and  they 
were  seated  in  chairs,  instead  of  on  benches  without  backs,  as  be- 
fore,—  a  great  improvement  both  in  looks  and  comfort.  The  audi- 
ence was  large.     Receipts  about  $2,000. 

1881.  Jcin.  30.  The  second  concert  of  the  season  revived  two 
famous  works  which  had  not  been  heard  in  Boston  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century  :  Mozart's  Requiem.,  and  Beethoven's  Oratorio,  The  Mount 
of  Olives^  no  longer  given,  out  of  regard  for  sanctimonious  English 
prejudice,  with  an  absurd  change  of  text  and  subject,  under  the  title 
of  Engedi. 

Mozart's  Requiem  was  indeed  refreshing  after  one's  ears  had 
several  times  been  scorched  by  the  sensational,  devouring  flames  of 
Verdi's  intensely  lurid  and  appalling  picture  of  eternal  torment. 
Mozart  also  can  command  appalling  harmonies  ;  he  has  appropriate 
accent  and  tone-color  for  the  Dies  Irce,  Tuba  mirum,  Confatatis,  etc., 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     421 

but  he  treats  them  with  a  few  vivid  touches,  making  them  most  im- 
pressive. He  does  not  turn  the  whole  Requiem,  the  prayer  for  rest^ 
into  a  tremendous  picture  of  the  terrors  of  the  Judgment  Day.  Sweet- 
ness, tenderness,  repose  are  the  prevailing  key  with  him  ;  it  is  music, 
not  to  startle  and  to  frighten,  but  to  please,  to  comfort,  edify,  sus- 
tain, and  bless.  How  reposeful  the  broad,  tranquil  opening  :  Requiem 
Eteniam^  and  the  majestic  fugue:  Ki/rie  Eleuon!  How  beautiful 
the  Eecordare!  How  divinely  full  of  deepest,  tenderest  emotion,  and 
how  wonderful  in  rhythm,  climax,  harmony,  and  expressive,  ceaseless 
modulation  the  Lichrymosa^  which  hardly  finds  its  equal  unless  we 
turn  to  Bach  I  And  then  the  lovely  BenecUctus,  the  Agnus  Dei^  etc. 
(whatever  Siissmayer  may  have  had  to  do  with  them,  so  Mozartean 
in  spirit)  !  It  is  these  things,  out  of  the  sweetest,  inmost  heart  of 
music,  that  leave  the  permanent  impression  of  the  work,  and  not  a 
haunting  nightmare  dream  of  terrors,  as  with  Verdi. 

The  interpretation  of  this  immortal  music  was  very  satisfactory  on 
the  part  of  orchestra  and  chorus.  The  quartet  of  soloists  was  com- 
posed of  Miss  Hattie  L.  Simms,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  Miss  Ita  Welsh, 
Mr.  Courtney,  and  Mr.  Clarence  E.  Hay. 

The  Mount  of  Olives  never  ranked  among  Beethoven's  greatest 
works,  although  his  genius  and  consummate  art  shine  out  in  it  re- 
peatedly. The  instrumentation  is  thoroughly  Beethovenish.  The 
choruses  are  few.  There  is  only  one  of  much  importance  —  a  bril- 
liant, joyful  one,  with  very  florid  soprano  solo  —  before  we  come 
to  the  exciting,  graphic  little  choruses  (or  turbce),  first,  of  the 
soldiers  seeking  Jesus,  which  is  march-like,  pianissimo,  staccato ; 
then  of  the  disciples  :  "  What  means  this  crowd  and  tumult?"  alter- 
nating with  •'  Then  seize  and  bind  him  fast,"  "  Haste,  and  seize 
upon  the  traitor,"  etc.  Beethoven  shows  his  imaginative  power  in 
these  little  scenes  ;  they  are  not  weak  even  after  Bach.  Of  course 
there  is  no  need  to  speak  of  the  sublime  majesty  and  breadth  of  the 
well-known  final  Hallelujah  Chorus,  which  is  one  of  the  great  things 
of  Oratorio.  The  tenor  recitatives  and  arias  in  the  part  of  Jesus 
(Mr.  Courtney,  who  sang  in  his  usual  chaste,  expressive  style)  fall 
far  short  of  the  tenderness,  the  realizing  sense  of  Bach.  The  arias- 
of  the  Seraph  (soprano)  are  too  much  like  brilliant,  ornate  concert 
arias,  though  sometimes  justified  by  the  exultation  of  the  text.  Miss 
Simms,  who  sang  them,  a  pupil  of  Mr.  Courtney,  was  an  agreeable 
surpiise.  Her  voice  was  singularly  pure  and  fresh,  good  and  even 
throughout  its  large  compass,  and  soaring  to  the  high  C  with  perfect 
ease  ;  her  phrasing  intelligent ;  her  execution  and  expression  fault- 
less, and  her  manner  free  from  affectation.     Mr.  Hav  sangr  the  small 


422  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

part  of  Peter  with  good  taste  and  judgment.  There  is  no  contralto 
role.  This  short  oratorio  made  an  enjoyable  contrast  with  the 
Requiem^  though  not  so  great  a  work  of  its  kind  as  that.  The 
audience  was  fair;  receipts,  $1,500;  expenses,  $1,350. 

For  the  nine  following  Sunday  evenings  the  rehearsals,  having 
Holy  Week  and  Easter  in  view,  were  devoted  to  the  Passion  Jfusic 
and  St.  Paul^  the  attendance  varying  from  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  to  four  hundred  singers.  A  public  rehearsal  of  the  Passion  was 
given  on  Thursday  afternoon,  April  14^  the  sale  of  tickets  amounting 
to  8800. 

On  the  following  evening  (Good  Friday),  ^4p?v7  15,  Bach's  Passion 
Music  according  to  St.  Matthew  was  performed,  with  an  orchestra  of 
fifty,  a  chorus  of  four  hundred,  and  one  hundred  boys  in  the  balcon}- 
to  sing  the  intermittent  choral  in  the  great  opening  chorus.  It  seemed 
a  pity  that  the  work  could  not  be  given  entire,  in  two  performances 
on  the  same  day,  as  it  was  two  years  before.  To  reduce  it  into  one 
evening's  concert  is  not  only  to  omit  many  most  important  numbers  ; 
it  also  tends,  in  the  desire  to  save  as  many  beautiful  arias  and  cho- 
ruses as  possible,  to  make  that  one  too  long.  About  half  of  the 
chorals,  those  ever-welcome  moments  of  repose,  immortal  models, 
too,  of  four-part  harmony,  were  omitted  ;  while  the  narrative  recita- 
tive, so  trying  for  any  single  tenor  voice,  was  considerably,  and  very 
judiciously,  abridged.  As  it  was,  much  the  larger  half  of  the  work 
was  sung.  We  well  remember  the  tasteful,  delicate,  chaste,  pathetic 
manner  in  which  this  tenor  narrative  was  delivered  b}^  Mr.  William  J. 
Winch,  despite  some  signs  of  weariness  toward  the  end.  Miss  Annie 
Louise  Gary  took  our  feelings  captive  by  her  rendering  of  the  great 
aria  with  violin  obligato :  "O  pardon  me,  my  God"  {^''  Erbarme 
dich  "),  and  by  all  she  sang.  It  seemed  as  if  the  study  and  the  sing- 
ing of  this  music  was  an  entering  of  new  depths  of  life  for  her.  And 
here  is  the  place  to  speak  of  Mr.  Henschel,  since  these  two  more  than 
any  realized  the  spirit  and  transcendent  art  of  this  unsurpassable 
religious  music.  In  the  unspeakabl}'  beautiful  utterances  of  Jesus 
(always  distinguished  by  the  prismatic  halo  of  string  quartet  ac- 
companiment) his  expression  was  all  serious,  tender,  manly,  full  of 
majesty  and  full  of  love.  It  seemed  the  voice  of  the  divinely  human. 
Mrs.  Humphre}^- Allen  did  good  justice  to  the  soprano  arias  which  she 
sang,  especially  :  "From  love  unbounded,"  with  its  innocent  and 
exquisite  accompaniment  of  only  flute  and  two  clarinets.  Miss  Edith 
Abell's  efforts  were  intelligent  and  earnest,  but  the  voice  seemed  suf- 
fering from  a  cold.  Mr.  Wm.  AVinch  was  excellent  in  the  great 
tenor  scene  with  intermittent  stanzas  of  choral:  "O  orief  I  "  —one 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  423 

of  the  most  beautiful  iuspirations  in  the  work,  to  which  the  oboe 
melody  b}'  Mr.  de  Ribas  contributed  most  happil}'.  Mr.  John  Winch 
sang  the  bass  air:_"Gi\e  me  back  my  dearest  Master,"  with  more 
life  and  character  than  we  had  heard  it  sung  before,  as  well  as  the 
parts  of  Judas  and  of  the  High  Priest.  Mr.  Listemann  played  the 
beautiful  violin  solos  with  artistic  certainty  and  great  refinement. 

The  choruses,  for  the  most  part,  were  well  sung,  especially  the 
chorals  and  the  Schluss-Chor,  which  is  so  profoundly  affecting;  and 
the  orchestra  was  commonly  eifective  and  subdued  to  finer  light  and 
shade  than  ever  before  here  in  the  Passion  Music;  yet  there  were 
some  slips  and  some  rough  places  both  in  orchestra  and  chorus,  some 
indifferent  or  timid  entrances.  The  great  organ  lent  very  eflScient  aid 
under  Mr.  Lang's  hand,  particularly  in  the  appalling  picture  where 
''The  veil  of  the  temple  was  rent,"  etc.  On  the  whole,  this  fifth 
rendering  of  the  music  was  the  most  successful  since  the  Society-  first 
undertook  any  considerable  portion  of  it.  With  every  repetition  it 
had  gained  a  wider  and  a  deeper  hold  among  our  music-loving  people. 
The  performance  began  at  7.35  and  ended  at  10.24.  The  weather 
was  bad,  and  the  receipts  were  Si, 720. 

Easter  Sunday  evening,  J.pn7  17.  Performance  of  St.  Paul. 
Orchestra  of  fiifty-five,  chorus,  four  hundred  and  twenty-five.  There 
was  hardly  a  fault  to  be  found  with  the  chorus  singing.  In  the  long 
grave  chorus,  written  almost  uniformly  in  half-notes,  3-4  ("  But  our 
Lord  abideth"),  frequently  abridged,  there  is  a  second  soprano  part 
which  sings  a  choral ;  this  was  assigned  to  a  choir  of  boys  who  had 
been  drilled  for  this  and  for  the  opening  chorus  in  the  Passion  by 
Mr.  Sharland,  and  the  effect  was  good.  The  four  principal  soloists 
were  all  highly  satisfactory.  Mrs.  Henschel  (Lillian  Bailey)  sang 
the  aria  "Jerusalem,"  and  all  the  soprano  solos,  in  a  simple,  chaste, 
refined,  and  sympathetic  voice  and  manner,  winning  sincere  applause. 
Mrs.  Jennie  M.  Noyes  (her  first  appearance  in  a  principal  role) 
acquitted  herself  most  creditably  in  the  short  contralto  arioso  :  "  But 
the  Lord  is  mindful."  The  parts  of  Paul  (bass)  and  of  Stephen 
(tenor)  could  not  have  been  intrusted  to  better  artists  than  Mr. 
Henschel  and  Mr.  C.  F.  Adams;  it  was  a  great  treat  when  the\' 
sang  together  in  the  duet :  "  Now  we  are  ambassadors."  It  was  the 
most  artistic  and  complete  production,  so  far,  of  this  noble  oratorio  in 
this  cit3^  And  it  came  well  right  after  Bach,  being  conceived  so  much 
in  his  spirit.     The  audience  was  very  laige  ;  the  receipts,  82,275. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Board,  Ajyril  29,  Mr.  Nathaniel  Harris,  a 
trustee  of  the  Permanent  Fund,  having  died,  Mr.  Henry  P.  Kidder 
(of  the  banking-house  of  Kidder,  Peabody  &  Co.)  was  by  vote  re- 
quested to  take  his  place. 


424  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

SIXTY-SEVENTH   SEASON. 
May  30,  1881,  to  May  29,  1882. 

The  annual  meeting  was  held  May  30,  Vice-President  George  H. 
Chickering  in  the  chair.  The  report  of  the  president,  C.  C.  Perkins 
(then  in  Europe),  congratulating  the  Society  upon  its  excellent  con- 
dition, was  read  by  the  secretary.  The  report  of  the  treasurer,  Mr. 
George  ^V.  Palmer,  showed  the  total  receipts  of  the  year,  including 
the  balance  on  hand  at  the  outset  of  8455.35,  to  have  been  $9,311.64, 
and  the  total  expenses  88,917.34,  leaving  a  balance  in  the  treasury  of 
8394.30.  The  amount  of  the  fund  was  reported  at  821,828.27.  The 
report  of  the  librarian  showed  that  music  had  been  added  at  a  cost  of 
8289.79.  The  principal  officers  were  re-eltcted,  with  the  following 
Directors:  George  T.  Brown,  Josiah  Wheelwright,  H.  M.  Brown, 
Eugene  B.  Hagar,  W.  S.  Fenollosa,  D.  L.  Laws,  J.  D.  Andrews, 
and  R.  S.  Rundlett.  A  series  of  resolutions  was  passed  recognizing 
the  services  rendered  by  the  late  Nathaniel  Harris,  as  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Permanent  F.und. 

Before  passing  on  to  the  musical  work  of  the  new  season,  it  may 
be  well  to  mention  here  a  movement  which  had  been  some  time  in 
progress  among  some  of  the  officers  of  the  Society,  toward  ''  weeding 
out  the  old  choir."  It  was  proposed  to  authorize  the  Board  of  Gov- 
ernment to  remove  from  the  chorus  those  members  who  should  be 
proved  to  be  vocally  inefficient,  ofiering  honorary  retirement  with  cer- 
tain privileges  in  case  of  age.  To  this  reform  a  majority  of  the  Society 
were  still  reluctant,  but  it  was  bound  to  come  in  course  of  time. 

Jane  24,  The  Board  laid  out  a  programme  of  the  season's  work 
as  follows  :  For  Dec.  25,  the  Messiah;  Feb,  5,  Handel's  Utrecht  Jubi- 
late, Parker's  Redemption  Hymn,  Mendelssohn's  Hymn  of  Praise; 
April  5,  Bach's  St.  Matthew  Passion  Music;  April  7.  Creation. 

Sept.  16.  The  Board  received  letters  from  President  Perkins,  in 
Europe.  Voted  to  purchase  Cherubini's  Jlissa  Solemnis,  for  study 
and  performance;  also,  Graun's  Passion  {Tod  Jesu),  for  perform- 
ance this  season  in  place  of  the  Utrecht  Jubilate  and  the  Pedemption 
Hymn.  Accepted  an  invitation  to  take  part  in  a  great  Musical  Festi- 
val, under  the  direction  of  Theodore  Thomas,  in  New  York. 

In  October  and  November  the  rehearsals  were  devoted  to  the  Hymn 
of  Praise,  Creation.  Rubenstein's  Tower  of  Babel,  and  Graun's  Tod 
Jesu. 

Nov.  27.  The  death  {Xuv.  23)  of  George  W.  Palmer,  its  treas- 
urer, was  sad  news  to  the  Society.     Born  in  Philadelphia,  he  had  re- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  425 

sided  forty  years  in  Boston  ;  was  once  a  member  of  the  old  publishing 
firm  of  Jenks  &  Palmer,  and  had  held  the  positions  of  treasurer  of  the 
Brattle  Square  Church,  and  of  two  street-railway  companies,  one  of 
them  for  twenty-three  years.  After  the  rehearsal,  at  the  suggestion  of 
President  Perkins,  the  chorus  sang  "  Happy  and  blest,"  from  St. 
Paul. 
Dec.  9.     At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Society  it  was  unanimously 

Eei>olced,  ''  That  by  the  death  of  George  W.  Palmer  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society  has  lost  one  of  its  most  devoted  and  valuable  mem- 
bers. Since  he  joined  the  Society,  in  1841.  acting  as  a  Trustee  since 
1860  and  Treasurer  since  1806,  he  has  steadily  cared  for  its  interests, 
and  shown  a  constant  kindliness  and  courtesy  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duties,  which  will  always  be  gratefulh-  remembered  by  his  associate 
members  and  by  the  ladies  of  the  Chorus.  Loving  the  Society,  its 
work,  and  his  share  in  it,  he  was  always  present  at  its  rehearsals  and 
public  performances,  unless  compelled  by  sickness  to  absent  himself 
from  his  accustomed  post ;  and  now,  that  he  will  be  seen  in  it  no 
more,  his  presence  will  long  be  missed." 

Mr.  Moses  Grant  Dauiell  was  then  chosen  treasurer  in  his  place, 
and  Mr.  Wm.  F.  Bradbury  as  a  director  in  the  place  of  Mr.  H.  M. 
Brown,  who  had  resigned.  The  '•  weeding-out  "  amendment  to  the 
B3'-laws  was  rejected,  but  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  A.  Parker  Browne 
the  proposition  was  renewed,  with  change  of  form,  so  as  to  authorize 
the  Board  of  Government  "  to  retire  from  the  chorus  any  member 
whose  singing  falls  below  the  proper  standard,"  that  fact  to  be  deter- 
mined by  a  committee  consisting  of  the  four  choir  superintendents  and 
four  members  of  the  Society  at  large  (not  members  of  the  Board). 

Dec.  25.  The  Christmas  performance  of  the  Messiah  was  crowded 
(receipts,  82,750);  chorus,  four  hundred;  orchestra,  fifty.  Mrs. 
E.  Aline  Osgood,  a  native  of  Boston,  disappointed  many  by  her  lack 
of  '•  thrilling  and  impassioned  "  rendering  of  the  soprano  solos,  after 
the  reputation  she  had  acquired  in  England.  Mr.  Courtney  was  re- 
ported ''  under  the  weather,"  and  partly  so  Miss  Annie  Cary  and 
Mr.  J.  F.  Winch.  One  paper  called  the  whole  performance  of  the 
oratorio  a  '•  pallid  "  one,  too  much  a  matter  of  habit.  Another  said, 
*'  a  tame  and  insipid  performance."  Mrs.  Osgood,  however,  was 
credited  with  a  delightfully  pure  soprano,  of  great  compass  and  un- 
usual evenness,  and  with  being  a  careful,  conscientious  singer,  with 
an  admirable  stage  manner. 

1882.  Feb.  5.  The  second  concert  of  the  season  began  with  the 
first  performance  in  this  country  (probably  the  first  outside  of  Ger- 
many) of  Graun's  Der  Tod  Jesu.     Karl  Heinrich  Graun  was  born  near 


42<3  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Dresden,  in  1701,  and  died  at  Berlin,  in  1759,  so  that  he  was  mainly 
contemporaneous  with  Bach  and  Handel.  He  was  early  noted  as  a 
singer,  and  he  composed  a  Passions-Co/atata, — tliought  remarkable  for 
a  boy  of  fifteen.  He  was  much  under  the  influence,  both  as  singer 
and  composer  (as  was  Handel)  of  Keiser,  the  then  celebrated  com- 
poser of  Hamburg  ;  and  the  operas  of  the  Italian  composer  Lotti  also 
influenced  his  style.  In  1735  he  was  invited  to  the  residence  of  the 
Crown-Prince  of  Prussia,  afterwards  Frederic,  the  Great.  Here  he 
composed  fifty  Italian  Cantatas,  usually  consisting  each  of  two  airs 
with  recitatives.  When  Frederic  came  to  the  throne  he  continued  his 
patronage  of  Graun,  made  him  his  Kapellmeister,  and  sent  him  to 
Italy  to  form  a  company  of  Italian  singers  for  the  opera  at  Berlin. 
In  Italy  he  remained  more  than  a  year,  and  there  his  singing  was 
much  appreciated.  In  Berlin  he  composed  many  Italian  operas,  as 
well  as  instrumental  works,  which  are  forgotten.  Towards  the  close 
of  his  life  he  again  devoted  himself  to  church  music.  Two  of  his 
works  of  this  period,  through  which  his  fame  now  chiefly  lives,  are,  the 
Te  Deum^  for  Frederic's  victory  at  Prague  (1756),  and  Der  Tod  Jesu 
(death  of  Jesus),  a  ''Passions-Cantata,"  the  words  by  Ramler  (not 
from  the  Bible),  a  work  which  placed  him  in  the  rank  of  classical 
composers.  It  was  first  performed  in  the  cathedral  of  Berlin  on 
March  26,  1755,  and  has  ever  since  been  annually  sung  there  in 
Passion- Week.  Many  have  thought  it  too  antiquated,  but  the  repeti- 
tion  has  been  justified  by  the  complete  and  masterly  form  in  which  it 
embodies  the  spirit  of  a  bygone  age.  Grove  says,  "It  contains  so 
many  excellences  and  so  much  that  is  significant,  that  no  oratorio  of 
the  second  half  of  the  last  century,  excepting,  perhaps,  Mozart's 
I^equiera  and  Haydn's  Creation^  can  be  compared  to  it."  After 
Bach  and  Handel  this,  perhaps,  comes  next,  but  longo  intervallo.  In 
Berlin  Graun's  Tod  Jesu  occupies  almost  the  position  which  Handel's 
Messiah  does  here. 

Ramler's  rhymed  text  is  poor  poetry  indeed,  but  childlike  and  sin- 
cere and  in  the  spirit  of  its  time  and  countr}'.  Much  of  it,  especially 
in  the  recitatives,  deals  in  realistic  physical  terrors  rather  largely. 
But  Graun  is  greatest  in  these  recitatives  ;  his  music  ''casts  a  grate- 
ful veil  of  pure,  exalted  sentiment  over  the  terrible  details  of  the 
text."  The  airs  are  mostly  in  the  ornate,  brilliant  operatic  Italian 
style  of  that  da}-,  sometimes  cloyingl}-  sweet  and  sentimental.  The 
choruses  (only  five)  are  grand  ;  the  chorals  weak  compared  with  those 
of  Bach. 

The  work  gave  pleasure,  but  with  its  numerous  repeats  seemed  very 
long.     The  choruses  were  impressive,  and  several  of  the  recitatives 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY.     427 

and  airs  were  very  effective.  These  were  sung  by  Miss  Ida  W.  Hub- 
bell,  Mrs.  L.  S.  Ipsen,  Mr.  Wm.  J.  Winch,  and  Mr.  Georg  Hen- 
schel,  — all  excellent  in  voice  and  rendering.  The  chorus  num- 
bered three  hundred  and  fifty,  the  orchestra,  fifty-six.  There  was  an 
audience  of  one  thousand  three  hundred;  receipts,  only  81,200  ;  ex- 
penses, 81,600.  This  falling  off  was  owing  to  the  heavy  snowstorm  of 
the  night  before,  which  interfered  with  travel  in  the  suburbs. 

March  27.  That  evening  a  grand  combination  concert  was  given 
in  the  great  Mechanics'  Fair  Building  in  aid  of  the  Russian  Jewish 
Refugees.  The  old  Society  joined  forces  with  the  Lynn  Choral 
Union,  the  Salem  Oratorio  Society,  the  Taunton  Beethoven  Society, 
a  moderate  orchestra  (no  organ),  and  for  solo  singers,  Mrs.  H.  M. 
Knowles,  soprano.  Miss  Mary  F.  How,  contralto,  and  Messrs.  C.  R. 
Adams  and  J.  F.  Winch.  Conductors,  Carl  Zerrahn  and  Georg 
Henschel.  There  were  one  thousand  singers  present,  but  the  stage 
would  only  hold  six  hundred ;  the  rest  went  inio  the  hall  and  listened. 
The  programme  consisted  of  the  ''  Baal  "  and  '•  Rain  "  choruses  from 
Elijah^  the  ''Hallelujah*'  from  the  Jlessiah.  and  numerous  solos. 
The  night  was  stormy,  yet  the  audience  was  large.  The  hall  proved 
good  for  sound,  but  too  large  for  the  force  employed. 

April  7.  Good  Friday.  Bach's  Mat'hew  Passion  Music  was  for 
the  second  time  given  entire  in  two  performances,  with  a  chorus  of 
three  hundred  and  fifty  in  the  afternoon,  and  four  hundred  and  fifty 
in  the  evening.  Mr.  Henschel  sang  the  music  in  the  part  of  Jesus, 
and  also  the  recitative.  "At  eventide,"  and  the  following  air, 
"  Cleanse  thee."  Mr.  Wm.  F.  Winch  took  the  part  of  the  Evange- 
list and  the  other  trying  tenor  solos.  Mrs.  E.  A.  Osgood  was  the 
soprano,  and  Miss  Mathilda  Phillipps  divided  with  Miss  Edith  Abell 
the  contralto  solos,  at  short  notice,  in  the  place  of  Miss  Annie  Cary, 
who  was  ill  in'Xew  York.  The  bass  airs  and  minor  parts  (Judas, 
Peter.  Pilate,  etc.)  were  taken  by  Mr.  J.  F.  Winch  The  solo  obli- 
gatos  for  violin,  violoncello,  flute,  and  oboe  were  played  by  Messrs. 
Listemann,  Wulf  Fries,  Rietzel.  and  de  Ribas.  Mr.  Hiram  Tucker 
played  a  piano  accompaniment  to  the  recitatives.  The  choral  for 
soprano  ripieno  in  the  great  opening  chorus  was  sung  by  boys  from 
the  public  schools,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  J.  B.  Sharlaud. 

It  was  thought  that  the  Passion  Music  did  not  go  so  well  as  in  some 
previous  years.  The  arias  and  the  instrumental  parts,  peculiar  and 
extremely  ditficult,  needed  closer  and  continued  study.  And  the 
tenor  solos,  including  the  narrative  ones  for  the  Evangelist,  were 
really  too  great  a  load  for  any  singer  and  ought  to  be  divided  between 
two.     The  house  was  very  full,  the  receipts,  82.700. 


428  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

April  9.  For  Easter,  tlie  Creation  was  given  (for  the  sixty-first 
time  in  Boston),  with  a  chorus  of  five  himdred  and  a)i  orchestra  of 
fifty-five.  Miss  Fanny  Kellogg  sang  the  soprano  solos.  Mr.  Tom 
Carl,  the  tenor,  was  pronounced  "  timid,"  Mr.  Whitney,  the  basso, 
'•  rough,"  and  the  orchestra  "  careless"  at  times.  The  receipts  were 
82,400,  being  double  the  expenses. 

Now  followed  a  series  of  seven  rehearsals  (the  last  four  conducted 
by  Mr.  Theodore  Thomas)  of  Israel  in  Egypt^  for  the  New  York 
Festival,  which  occupied  five  days  {May  2-6).  Nearly  five  hundred 
of  the  Society  went  on  by  the  Providence  steamer  ''  Massachusetts," 
on  Thursday,  3Iay  4,  the  party  occupying  the  whole  boat.  Others 
had  preceded  them  a  few  days  earlier.  They  lived  on  board  the  boat. 
They  sang  in  Israel  in  the  fifth  concert  of  the  Festival  in  the  Seventh 
Regiment  armory,  occupying  the  central  seats  (the  post  of  iionor)  in 
the  great  chorus  of  two  thousand  seven  hundred  voices  (composed  of 
societies  of  New  York.  Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  Bos- 
ton). There  was  an  orchestra  of  three  hundred  instruments.  The 
solos  were  sung  by  Mrs.  E.  A.  Osgood,  Miss  Hattie  Schell,  Miss 
Emily  Winant,  and  Messrs.  William  Candidus,  Franz  Remmertz,  and 
M.  W.  Whitney  ;  conductor,  Theodore  Thomas ;  organist,  Dudley 
Buck.  The  societies  had  not  rehearsed  the  work  together,  but  the 
performance  was  pronounced  superb.  The  tone  volume  of  the  voices 
was  enormous,  rendering  the  orchestra  at  times  inaudible.  The 
fortissimos  were  impressive  at  first,  but,  being  too  uniformly  kept 
up,  grew  tiresome.  This  was  the  largest  chorus  ever  gathered  in 
America  for  any  important  work  (larger  perhaps  than  Handel  ever 
dreamed  of  I)  ;  but  the  great  waves  of  tone  were  steady  and  volum- 
inous. The  audience  amounted  to  seven  thousand  people.  Our 
Society  reached  home  on  Sunday  morning,  all  delighted  with  the  rare 
experience. 

Other  works  given  at  that  Festival  were  :  Beethoven's  Solemn  Mass 
in  D:  Bach's  Cantata  :  Eln'  feste  Burg;  Handel's  Utrecht  Jubilate; 
Berlioz's  Les  Troyens  (Act  2)  ;  besides  inatinees  of  classical  and 
modern  music.  The  soloists  were  Mme.  Materna,  Mrs.  Osgood,  Miss 
Annie  Cary,  Miss  Winant,  Messrs.  Campanini,  Candidus,  Toedt, 
Henschel,  Remmertz,  M.  W.  Whitney,  and  others.  The  expenses 
were  said  to  amount  to  about  812<J.000,  the  receipts  somewhat  less. 
All  the  expenses  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  were  paid  by  the 
Festival  Association. 

May  16.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Board,  it  was  voted  that  the  Judge 
of  Probate  be  requested  to  appoint  Henry  L.  Higginson  a  trustee  of 
the  Permanent  Fund  in  the  place  of  Hon.  John  Phelps  Putnam,  de- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     429 

ceased.  A  vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  the  New  York  Festival 
Committee  *' for  their  courtesy  and  attention  to  the  convenience  and 
pleasure  of  the  Society  during  its  visit  to  New  York  and  participation 
in  the  Festival." 


SIXTY-EIGHTH    SEASON. 

May  29,  1882,  to  May  28,  1883. 
May  29.     Annual  meeting.     The  treasurer's  report  showed  :  — 

•Cash  on  hand  at  beginning  of  year $394  30 

Receipts  from  all  sources 9,464  73 

Total $9,859  03 

Expenses  of  concerts $7,205  85 

'Current  expenses 1,917  65 

Additions  to  library 427  70 

9,551  20 

Balance  on  hand $307  88 

No  income  had  been  drawn  from  the  fund  during  the  year.  Pres- 
ent market  value  of  the  securities  held  by  its  trustees,  $20,460. 

The  librarian  reported  no  books  lost,  and  an  addition  of  five 
hundred  copies  of  Rubinstein's  Tower  of  Babel,  five  hundred  copies 
of  Graun's  Der  Tod  Jesu,  forty  copies  of  Cherubini's  Mass.  with  five 
hundred  and  fift}'  chorus  parts  of  the  same.  The  president's  report 
was  read,  accepted,  and  placed  on  file.  The  election  of  oflScers  for 
the  ensuing  year  was  as  follows  :  — 

President.  —  Charles  C.  Perkins. 

Vice-President.  —  George  H.  Chickering. 

Secretary.  —  A.  Parker  Browne. 

Treasurer. — M.  Grant  Daniell. 

Librarian. — John  H.  Stickney. 

Directors.  —  J.  D.  Andrews,  Wm.  F.  Bradbury,  George  T. 
Brown,  Wm.  S.  Fenollosa,  Eugene  B.  Hagar,  D.  L.  Laws,  R.  S. 
Rundlett,  Josiah  Wheelwright. 

The  ''weeding  out"  amendment  found  the  Society  not  yet  ready, 
and  was  indefinitely  postponed. 

Sept.  6.  Board  voted  to  hold  the  Sixth  Triennial  Festival  at  the 
Music  Hall  in  1883,  beginning  May  1  ;  to  give  the  Messiah  on  Sun- 
day evening,  Dec.  24,  and  two  other  concerts  during  the  season,  one 
•of  them  to  be  on  Easter  Sundav  ;  to  instruct  committee  to  consider 


430  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

the  suggestion  of  giving  an  oratorio  during  the  fall  in  the  great  hall 
of  the  Mechanics'  Building.  The  conductor  (Carl  Zerrahn)  and 
organist  (B.  J.  Lang)  were  reappointed,  on  the  usual  terms.  At  a 
later  meeting  {Se2)t.  20)  Mr.  Zerrahn's  salary  was  raised  to  $1,000. 

Rehearsals  of  The  Toicer  of  Bahel  and  the  Creation  were  held  through- 
out the  Sunday  evenings  of  October.  Nov.  12^  the  Creation  was  re- 
hearsed at  Mechanics'  Building  by  five  hundred  of  the  chorus.  On 
the  next  evening  {Noo.  13)  it  was  publicly  performed  there  in  the 
grand  hall.  The  chorus  numbered  about  six  hundred ;  the  orches- 
tra, led  by  Bernhard  Listemann,  seventy-six.  The  solo  singers  were 
Miss  Emma  Thursby,  Mr.  Charles  R.  Adams,  and  Mr.  John  F. 
Winch.  All,  it  appears,  sang  finely  ;  even  Miss  Thursby's  sweet  and 
delicate  soprano  was  not  lost  in  so  vast  a  hall.  The  most  effective 
moments  were  Mr.  Adams's  singing  of  ''In  native  worth  and  honor 
clad,"  and  the  great  chorus,  ''The  heavens  are  telling."  Mr.  Winch 
was  inaudible  at  times.  The  effect  of  the  hall  was  fairly  good  ;  and 
3^et  much  was  wanting  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  music.  It  was 
thought  that  the  hall  with  certain  improvements  might  be  made  very 
good  for  large  choruses.  The  audience  (one  third  of  which  was  free) 
numbered  not  quite  three  thousand  six  hundred.  The  tickets  were 
put  at  low  prices:  $1,  75  cts.  and  50  cts.  The  dollar  tickets  sold, 
the  most  freely.     The  receipts  did  not  exceed  the  expenses. 

Dec.  24.  At  home  again  in  Music  Hall !  The  Messiah  was  given 
with  an  orchestra  of  fifty-four,  and  a  chorus  of  five  hundred.  The 
soloists  were  Miss  tjenrietta  Beebe,  from  New  York,  Mrs.  Flora  E. 
Barry,  Mr.  William  J.  Winch,  and  Mr.  Georg  Henschel.  The  chorus 
work  appears  to  have  satisfied  the  critics  better  than  that  of  the  solo- 
singers.  The  audience  was  very  large.  Receipts,  $2,950.  Expenses 
$1,500.     That  sort  of  balance  is  music  to  the  managers  ! 

1883.  Throughout  the  month  of  January  the  Society  was  engaged 
in  the  rehearsal  of  a  new  oratorio  (?),  The  Redemption,  by  Gounod, 
which  the  Society  had  already  announced  as  one  of  the  attractions  of 
the  Sixth  Triennial  Festival  in  the  following  month  of  May.  At  great 
cost  the  right  of  performance  in  Boston  had  been  purchased  of  Mr. 
Theodore  Thomas,  who  controlled  the  use  of  the  authorized  edition, 
the  composer's  score,  for  the  United  States.  The  reasons  for  giving 
it  several  months  before  the  Festival,  namely,  on  Monday  evening, 
Jan.  29,  were  set  forth  in  a  preliminary  circular  as  follows  :  '"As  it 
now  appears  that  an  orchestral  accompaniment  has  been  prepared 
from  the  published  pianoforte  score,  and  that  the  work  may  be  per- 
formed in  that  unauthorized  and  incomplete  form  in  Boston  and  other 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AXD    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  431 

places,  therefore,  iu  justice  to  the  composer,  who  ought  to  be  heard  in 
his  own  wav.  to  the  public,  which  has  a  right  to  have  the  work  iu  its 
iuteo-ritv,  and  to  the  Societv.  which  has  paid  a  laroe  sum  for  the  use 
of  the  real  score,  it  has  been  decided  to  give  it  on  the  day  above 
named."  By  an  appeal  to  the  United  States  District  Court,  Mr. 
Thomas  succeeded  in  barring  the  public  use  of  the  '*  unauthorized 
edition,"  and  much  newspaper  discussion  and  controversy  helped  to 
create  a  factitious  interest  iu  the  work.  It  was  performed  at  the 
Boston  Theatre,  a  few  days  in*  advance  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  J.  G.  Lennon,  a  Catholic  musi- 
cian of  good  repute,  with  only  a  pianoforte  and  organ  accompaniment, 
a  choir  of  three  hundred  voices  from  several  Catholic  churches  of  the 
city,  and  a  goodly  array  of  solo  singers.  Then  came  the  performance 
from  the  original  complete  score  by  the  Society,  which  had  bought  the 
right  from  Theodore  Thomas. 

Naturally  there  was  a  wide-spread,  eager  curiosity  to  hear  a  work 
which  had  been  the  subject  of  so  much  litigation  and  discussion  here 
in  Boston ;  a  work,  too.  which  it  was  understood  that  Gounod,  com- 
poser of  the  admired  and  well-known  opera.  Faust,  regarded  as  the 
supreme  effort  of  his  genius.  The  Music  Hall  was  crowded,  and  by 
most  attentive  listeners.  The  receipts  amounted  to  S3. 110.  There 
was  an  orchestra  of  seventy,  and  a  chorus  of  five  hundred.  The  solo 
singers  were  :  Mrs.  E.  Aline  Osgood.  Miss  S.  C.  Fisher,  Miss  Emily 
Winant,  Messrs.  AV.  J.  and  J.  F.  Winch,  and  Mr.  Franz  Remmertz. 
Those  who  had  heard  its  first  production  in  England  at  the  Birming- 
ham Festival  in  August,  1882.  or  subsequent  performances  iu  Lou- 
don, New  York,  and  Philadelphia,  declared  that  this  performance 
compared  well  with  any  of  them.  The  voice  of  the  local  press  was 
loudly  in  its  praise. 

Of  the  work  itself,  in  its  intrinsic  character,  we  may  copy  from  the 
•'  Notes''  in  the  book  of  the  Society's  Sixth  Triennial  Festival :  — 

"A  Catholic  oratorio  is  au  anomaly  iu  our  time:  for,  althoiigli  tlie  name 
oratorio  is  Italian,  and  although  musical  representations,  in  dramatic  form,  by 
that  name  were  first  held  in  Rome,  yet  now  the  word  suggests  to  us  those 
grand,  sacred  musical  epics,  like  Handel's  3Iessiah,  Israel  in  Egypt,  Judas 
Jfaccabceus,  or  Mendelssohn's  St.  Paul  and  Elijah.vrhich  sprang  up  outside  of 
the  Church,  and  were  quickened  by  the  spirit  of  the  Reformation.  Gounod 
wrote  his  Hedemption  for  the  church,  the  Roman  Church  of  France :  and  very 
properly  the  title  by  which  he  wished  to  have  it  known  was  not  an  oratorio, 
but  a  '  Sacred  Trilogy  '  (^since  it  consists  of  a  prelude  and  three  parts).  The 
music,  in  its  whole  style  and  conception,  is  essentially  ecclesiastical,  and  it  is 
essentially  French.  Both  the  music  and  the  text  (of  his  own  writing)  have 
the  peculiar  French  Church  flavor:  they  are  emotional  in  a  sense  alike  remote 


432  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

from,  SSL}'  the  Passion  Music  of  Bach,  aud  from  the  cooler  Protestant  thought 
and  feeling  of  the  present  day.  Such  emotionalism  must  inevitably  seem  to 
many  of  us  very  artificial,  while  to  the  ardent  Catholic,  who  can  listen  to  the 
work  as  if  in  his  own  church,  transported  thither  by  the  sympathetic  spell  of 
Gounod's  genius,  it  may  all  speak  like  the  sincerest  ministry  of  St.  Cecilia's 
art  divine,  —  a  ministry  of  tears  and  exaltation.  Much  that  is  found  strange, 
affected,  sentimental,  morbid,  and  sensational  in  the  music,  aod,  perhaps, 
offensively  doctrinal  in  the  text,  one  might  be  more  than  reconciled  to  could 
he  only  listen  from  the  Roman  churchman's  point  of  view  and  with  his  sub- 
jective sensibility. 

"  These  remarks  are  not  made  in  a  spirit  of  condemnation,  but  simply  to 
account  for,  and  to  state,  in  a  very  few  words,  some  of  the  peculiarities,  one 
might  say  singularities,  of  Gounod's  Eedemption.  For  instance,  while  on  the 
one  hand  it  is  sentimental,  on  the  other  it  is  almost  too  painfully  realistic;  it 
dwells  with  a  pitiless  minuteness  on  the  cruel  images  and  details  of  the  Cross. 
The  narrative,  avoiding  all  that  exquisitely  human  and  expressive  recitative 
which  is  like  a  natural  language  with  Bach  and  Handel  and  Mozart,  is  here 
reduced  to  the  dry  monotony  of  church  chanting ;  it  is  not  music,  and  it 
is  not  speech ;  for  no  one  can  converse  upon  a  monotone ;  the  subtle  charm  of 
the  unconscious  natural  inflections  of  the  voice  is  half  its  eloquence.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  has  been  alleged,  that  this  arid  monotony  is  relieved  by 
the  wonderful  wealth  and  graphic  point  of  Gounod's  instrumentation.  It 
would  be  more  accurate  to  say  that  his  orchestra  does  the  narrating  and 
describing,  while  the  tfnor  or  bass  voice,  with  the  cool  unconcern  of 
the  stage  prompter  in  his  box,  or  the  expressionless  and  automatic  glib- 
ness  of  the  showman,  as  the  panorama  unrolls,  simply  notifies  what  it  is 
about. 

"  The  incessant  use  of  chromatic  scales  and  chromatic  sequences  of  chords, 
so  often  dangerously  near  to  discord,  with  all  the  startling  concomitants,  par- 
ticularly throughout  the  prologue  and  whole  first  part  Cor  act),  seems  to. 
appeal  to  a  physically  sensitive  imagination,  to  a  morbid  emotionalism,  rather 
than  to  an  enlightened  spiritual  sense,  chaining  the  hearer's  mind  to  the 
bare,  literal  earthly  facts,  instead  of  transfiguring  these  into  a  higher  mean- 
ing, as  Bach  in  his  Passion  Music  always  does,  however  bald  and  literal  the 
text.  The  harrowing  suggestions  are  in  some  degree  relieved,  however,  by 
the  early  appearance  of  a  iovely  bit  of  melopoeia  (frequently  called  a  •  Leit- 
motif,' signifying  '  The  liedemption '),  which  comes  back  repeatedly.  The 
'  March  to  Calvary  '  is  as  brutal  as  it  is  brilliant :  doubtless  intentionally  so. 
The  chorals,  scattered  through  the  work,  avoiding  all  the  saving  charm  of 
polyphonic  movement,  are  of  a  plain  and  commonplace  description,  almost  as 
much  so  as  our  own  New  England  psalmody ;  these  again  hail  from  the  popu- 
lar usage  of  the  actual  church  service.  Of  great  oratorio  choruses  there  are 
none,  in  the  sense  of  Bach  or  Handel  or  Mendelssohn,  none  with  the  masterly 
development,  the  universal  and  impersonal  suggestion  of  the  inexhaustible 
fugue  form  :  but  there  are  several,  near  the  end,  which  are  broad  and  massive 
and  imposing,  easy  of  apprehension,  popular,  in  one  of  which  reappears  the 
melody  which  Gounod  had  already  used  in  his  song  '  Nazareth.'  There  are 
many  pleasing  scenes  and  passages,  at  once  ingenious  and  childlike  in  their 
simplicity,  which  certainly  serve  for  a  relief,  if  they  do  seem  out  of  keeping 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  433 

with  the  gravity  of  the  whole  subject.  Such,  for  instance,  is  the  tripping 
little  quickstep  ushering  in  the  trio  of  the  Holy  Women  at  the  sepulchre,  —  so 
elastic,  so  light-hearted,  full  of  cheer,  that  it  would  do  well  for  '  Haste  to 
the  Wedding.'  " 

All  these  traits  were  variously  judged,  according  to  the  subjective 
couditioDS  and  the  religious  associations  of  all  kiuds  of  hearers  ;  by 
some  admired  intensely ;  by  others,  while  they  found  uot  a  little 
to  admire,  accepted  cmly  with  large  reservations.  Upon  the  whole, 
the  temper  of  the  public  was  found  so  responsive  that  it  was  decided 
to  grant  a  second  hearing  of  The  Redemption  on  Good  Friday.  March 
23.  It  drew  another  full  house  (receipts,  S2,800,  expenses,  about 
SI, 900).  The  chorus  numbered  four  hundred  and  fifty,  the  orchestra 
seventy.    We  copy  from  the  next  day's  Transcript  (W.  F.  Apthorp)  : 

•'The  solos  were  sung  by  Mrs.  Georg  Henschel,  Mrs.  E.  Humphrej'-AUen, 
Miss  Ita  Welsh,  Mr.  Wm.  J.  Winch,  Mr.  Georg  Henschel,  and  Mr.  Franz 
Remmertz,  the  latter  singing  the  part  of  Jesus,  as  at  the  first  performance. 
Mrs.  Henschel  has  not  the  vocal  power  of  Mrs.  Osgood,  who  first  sang  the 
soprano  music,  but  her  singing  was  exquisite  at  every  point.  In  the  solo  and 
chorus,  '  From  thy  love  as  a  Father,'  she  made  an  admirable  eftect  by  taking 
the  tempo  decidedly  slower  than  it  was  sung  before.  Miss  Welsh  sang  ex- 
tremely well  also;  Mrs.  Allen  did  not  seem  to  be  in  her  best  voice,  and  her 
singing  sounded  a  little  strained.  Mr.  Winch  made  a  decided  improvement 
upon  his  former  efibrt.  .  .  .  Mr.  Henschel,  as  the  bass  narrator,  sang  su- 
perbly, with  the  utmost  simplicity  and  in  a  purely  narrative  style,  but  with 
immense  effect.  Mr.  Remmertz  was  wonderful  as  ever.  Chorus  and  orches- 
tra did  excellently  upon  the  whole,  false  intonations  being  the  exception  • 
when  the  choir  did  take  it  into  its  head  to  sing  flat,  however,  they  sang  flat 
with  a  vengeance.  As  for  the  work  itself,  we  were  disappointed  at  findiuo- 
how  much  of  it  sounded  far  less  impressive  than  at  the  first  performance. 
One  fears  greatly  that  it  will  not  stand  the  wear  and  tear  of  many  more  per- 
formances, in  spite  of  isolated  passages  of  rare  beauty." 


March  25.  Easter  was  marked  by  a  grand  performance  of  Elijah,. 
the  oratorio  in  which  the  Handel  and  Haydn  chorus  always  feel  them- 
selves at  home  and  sure.  That  time  they  were  out  in  force,  five  hun- 
dred voices,  with  an  orchestra  of  sixty-five.  And  a  biilliant  array  of 
solo  artists  helped  to  attract  an  audience  that  filled  every  seat  and 
corner  of  the  Music  Hall.  These  were  :  for  principal  soprano,  Mme. 
EmmaAlbani;  Mrs.  J.  E.  Tippett,  Mrs.  E.  Cleveland  Fenderson,  and 
Miss  Mary  E.  How,  contraltos  ;  Mr.  C.  R.  Adams,  Mr.  M.  ^Y .  Whit- 
ney, Mr.  D.  M.  Babcock,  and  Mr.  A.  E.  Pennell.  Of  Albani's  siuo-- 
ing  one  of  the  critics  wrote:  ••  The  commanding  largeness  of  her 
voice,  with  its  matured  wealth  of  expressive  powei*,  stood  her  in  ex- 


434     HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY. 

cellent  stead  for  her  task,  and  added  to  these  advantages  was  the 
deeply  earnest  and  reverential  spirit  which  informed  her  delivery  of 
her  music,  making  it  in  a  very  high  degree  impressive  and  thrillingly 
eloquent."  Of  her  singing  of  her  great  air,  ''Hear  ye,  Israel"  (in 
composing  which  Mendelssohn  had  the  high  F  sharp  of  Jenny  Lind  in  his 
mind),  the  same  writer  says  :  "  It  was  not  only  so  pure  in  conception 
and  so  finished  from  a  purely  artistic  point  of  view,  but  so  profoundly 
moving  in  its  tenderness  and  so  appealing  in  its  earnestness  as  to 
make  it  almost  a  new  revelation^of  Mendelssohn's  thought,  and  there- 
fore an  event  to  be  gratefully  cherished  in  the  memory  of  all  who 
heard  it."  The  pure,  true,  somewhat  childlike  soprano  of  Mrs.  Tip- 
pett,  a  thoroughly  musical  nature,  musically  well  taught  and  full  of 
talent,  fitted  her  for  the  music  of  "  The  Youth."  The  two  contraltos, 
if  not  powerful,  appear  to  have  made  themselves  acceptable.  But 
neither  Mr.  Adams  nor  Mr.  Whitney  were  in  good  vocal  condition. 
The  others  are  reported  satisfactory,  while  orchestra  and  chorus  were 
"  at  their  best."     Receipts,  $4,000  ;  expenses,  82,900. 

And  now  the  Sixth  (and  last !)  Triennial  Festival  loomed  in  imme- 
diate prospect,  and  the  whole  month  of  April  was  given  up  to  rehear- 
sals, nineteen  of  them,  following  thick  and  fast,  in  preparation  for 
that  grand  but  ominous  event.  It  was  nobly,  generously  planned ; 
no  pains  were  spared  ;  a  fine  array  of  artists  were  engaged,  and  the 
week's  programme  was  rich  in  masterpieces  old  and  new,  —  such  a 
concentration  of  attractions  as,  it  would  seem,  could  not  fail,  judging 
from  past  experience. 


SIXTH   TEIENNIAL  FESTIVAL. 
May  1  TO  May  6,  1883. 

First  Day.  Tuesday  Evening,  May  1.  Two  contrasted  works, 
one  old,  one  new,  were  offered  in  the  opening  concert.  First  came 
Handel's  Ode  on  St.  Cecilia'' s  Day.,  composed  in  1739.  It  had  been 
twice  before  performed  by  the  Society,  in  Nov.  1863,  in  honor  of  the 
opening  of  the  great  organ,  with  organ  accompaniment  only,  as 
arranged  and  played  by  Mr.  Lang,  upon  stops  imitative  of  the  vari- 
ous orchestral  instruments.  (See  page  209.)  This  time  it  was  given 
(for  the  first  time  here)  with  orchestra,  —  such  orchestral  accompani- 
ments as  exist.  Miss  Emma  Thursby  "  was  in  excellent  voice,  and 
sano-  the  soprano  solos  with  a  clear,  full  sweetness,  generally  ade- 
quate to  their  true  effect,  and  into  her  final  recitative  she  threw  a  good 
deal  of  spiritual  fervor."     The  only  other  soloist,  Mr.  \Vm.  J.  Winch, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     435 

*'  gave  his  opening  numbers  neatly  and  with  finish,  saving  his  voice 
carefully  for  his  chief  air,  'Orpheus  could  lead,'  which  he  delivered 
in  a  very  stirring  and  impressive  style,  and  with  sufficient  mastery  of 
its  mechanical  difficulties."  Yet  another  writer  ''  cannot  explain  to 
himself  what  induced  him  to  give  a  rather  sad  and  sentimental  tinge  to 
the  music."  The  chorus  singing  wasjH'onounced  exceptionally  good. 
Very  different  in  form,  feature,  and  complexion  was  the  work  which 
followed  (here  for  the  j first  time),  Anton  Rubinstein's  "Sacred 
Opera,"  The  Toiver  of  Babel.  There  is  something  Titanic  in  the 
genius  of  this  eccentric,  bold,  adventurous  Russian,  then  in  the  ful- 
ness of  his  powers,  at  the  age  of  fifty-three.  His  passionate,  strong 
individuality,  often  verging  on  extravagance,  his  plethora  of  musical 
ideas,  now  noble  and  sublime,  now  delicate  and  tender,  now  rushing 
into  questionable  conceits,  were  shown  bolh  in  his  wonderful  piano- 
playing  and  in  his  multifarious  compositions.  Besides  writing  many 
operas, —  some  on  national  or  heroic  themes,  and  some,  like  Nei^o  and 
The  Demon,  far  from  inviting  in  their  titles,  —  he  had  long  entertained, 
and  in  several  instances  endeavored  to  carry  out,  a  pet  theory  of  his 
own  regarding  oratorios.  The  point  of  it  appears  in  a  remarkable  let- 
ter which  he  published.  Let  a  few  sentences  suffice  :  "  The  oratorio 
is  a  form  of  art  against  which  I  have  always  been  inclined  to  protest." 
...  "I  have  no  sympathy  with  the  objection  that  biblical  subjects, 
as  being  sacred,  do  not  belong  to  the  stage.  Ought  not  the  theatre  to 
serve  the  highest  ends  of  culture?  .  .  .  With  the  people,  there  has 
ever  been  a  craving  fur  the  sight  of  sacred  subjects  on  the  stage. 
This  is  proved  by  the  Mystery  plays  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  by  the 
great  impression  made  to-day  (in  spite  of  the  more  than  naive  music) 
on  every  one  who  witnesses  the  Passion  Plays  at  Oberammergau. 
What  a  mighty  impression  would  not  works  of  Bach  and  Handel  and 
Mendelssohn  produce  if  giv^n  on  the  stage  ?  .  .  .  I  have  conceived 
of  the  creation  of  a  distinct,  peculiar  art-form  which  should  find  its 
place  in  a  theatre  to  be  built  for  this  peculiar  purpose  "  (at  some 
holier  Bayreuth?).  "  This  kind  of  art  should  be  called,  in  contradis- 
tinction to  the  secular,  the  '  Sacred  or  Religious  Opera,'  and  the 
theatre  a  'Sacred  Theatre,'  as  distinguished  from  the  worldly  thea- 
tre," and  so  on  at  length.  With  this  view,  he  composed  his  Paradise 
Lost,  and  meant  to  compose  Cain  and  Abel,  Jloses,  Song  of  Solomon, 
and  Chi'istus.  His  dream  of  a  sacred  theatre  was  never  realized  ;  his 
Totver  of  Babel  has  only  been  performed,  like  other  oratorios,  without 
scenery,  costume,  or  action.  To  listen  understaudiugly  the  hearer's 
imagination  needs  a  little  prompting;  he  must  read  a  brief  '-argu- 
ment "  of  the  intended  action  :  — 


436     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

"  In  the  background  of  the  scene  appears  the  tower,  its  top  reachiui?  above 
the  stage;  sheds,  huts,  implements,  building  materials,  etc.,  cover  the  space 
round  about  and  in  front  of  the  tower.  On  the  right  of  the  proscenium  is 
seen  Nimrod's  mound  crowned  by  a  gigantic  tree,  from  which  a  tamtam  i» 
suspended.  The  people,  grouped  about  the  tower,  are  asleep ;  the  day  begins 
to  dawn.  The  master  workman  appears  with  two  trumpeters,  and,  the  call 
having  been  given,  he  summons  the  people  to  w^ork.  The  fires  are  lighted  '  to 
make  brick  for  stone  and  slime  for  mortar ' ;  and  soon  all  hands  are  at  work. 
Amidst  this  busy  scene  Nimrod  arrives  on  the  mound,  and,  contemplating  the 
progress  of  the  tower,  glories  in  the  expectation  of  soon  ascending  it  to  be- 
hold the  Creator.  Among  his  followers  is  Abram,  who  calls  upon  the  mighty 
monarch  to  abstain  from  a  design  which  he  cannot  hope  to  accomplish  with 
impunity;  but  Nimrod,  incensed  at  the  boldness  of  a  mean  shepherd,  orders 
him  to  be  cast  into  the  fire.  The  people  stop  their  work  and  hasten  to  obey ; 
but  hardly  has  Abram  been  led  to  the  flames  when  angels  appear  from  above 
to  protect  him;  the  fire  suddenly  subsides,  the  smoke  disappears,  and  Abram 
emerges  from  the  flames  unharmed.  Great  is  Nimrod's  consternation  at  this 
miracle;  greater  that  of  the  people,  who  soon  divide  into  their  several  tribes, 
of  which  each  claims  the  miracle  for  its  own  God.  The  tamtam  is  sounded ; 
at  Nimrod's  bidding  the  conflict  is  stayed,  and  work  reluctantly  resumed. 
But  now  the  angels  again  appear.  '  Let  us  go  down,'  they  sing,  '  and  there 
confound  their  language.'  The  scene  suddenly  darkens ;  Abram  predicts  the 
approaching  vengeance  of  Heaven ;  Nimrod  in  vain  orders  the  aflrighted  peo- 
ple to  throw  the  daring  shepherd  from  the  tow^er,  and,  before  he  can  enforce 
his  command,  the  tower,  amid  thunder  and  lightning,  falls  to  the  ground  with 
a  terrific  crash.  The  people  fly  in  all  directions;  Abram  alone  is  seen  kneel- 
ing in  prayer ;  and  Nimrod,  overawed  by  the  terrible  scene,  at  last  acknowl- 
edges that  he  cannot  cope  with  the  Deity.  Three  dissolving  views,  accom- 
panied by  the  chorus  behind  the  scene,  then  cross  the  stage  in  succession, 
representing  the  excdus  of  the  Shemites,  the  Hamites,  and  the  Japhethites. 
This  over,  the  scene  again  represents  the  plane  in  the  land  of  Shinar;  a  rain- 
bow appears,  spanning  the  background.  Nimrod  and  his  followers  gradually 
gather  in  the  foreground,  and  kneel  down  facing  the  rainbow ;  the  heavens 
open;  the  celestial  legions  appear  and  shed  their  dazzling  radiance  on  the 
scene.  At  the  same  time,  the  infernal  hosts  are  seen  rising  from  below,  and^ 
amid  the  hallelujahs  of  the  angels,  the  praises  of  the  people,  and  the  defiant 
shouts  of  Satan's  host,  the  scene  is  brought  to  a  close." 


As  to  the  merits  of  the  work  opinions  differed  widely,  some  calling  it 
great,  while  to  others  it  seemed  weak  and  uninteresting.  To  one  the 
musical  description  of  the  fall  of  the  tower  was  ''  commonplace  and 
trivial,  the  thundering  big  drum  being  even  comic."  Another 
thought,  ''  No  musical  passages  better  adapted  to  crisp  the  nerves- 
with  a  sense  of  fear  and  wonder  w^ere  ever  heard  here  than  those  in 
which  the  destruction  of  the  Tower  of  Babel  by  Jehovah's  lightning 
is  indicated."  All  seem  agreed  that  the  best  part  of  the  work  is  in 
the  choruses.     All  praised  the  rare  beauty  of  the  three  choruses  of 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  437 

the  descendants  of  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth.  Considering  the  im- 
mense difficulty  of  the  composition,  chorus  and  orchestra  "  performed 
their  task  with  great  credit,"  although  the  boys'  choir  was  often  out 
of  tune.  There  were  no  solo  parts  for  female  voices.  "  Mr.  M.  W^ 
Whitney  sang  the  (bass)  part  of  Nimrod  with  dignity  and  with  grand 
et¥ect,  and  Mr.  John  F.  Winch  did  much  good  work  in  the  (barytone) 
part  of  tbe  master  workman.  Mr.'  C.  R.  Adams's  voice  (Abram) 
was  in  poor  condition  and  almost  deserted  him  at  moments."  The 
audience  was  small,  the  receipts  not  exceeding  SI, 560. 

Second  Day.  Wednesday  ILvening,  May  2.  Prof.  John  K.  Paine's 
cantata,  The  Nativity/,  was  composed  for  this  occasion,  and  was  con- 
ducted by  himself.  This  was  tlie  op.  38  of  the  young  American 
composer.  Harvard's  musical  professor ;  his  most  important  effort 
after  his  two  symphonies,  besides  the  noble  music  that  he  wrote  for 
the  Greek  choruses  in  that  memorable  performance  of  the  (Edipus  of 
Sophocles  by  Harvard  students  and  professors  in  May,  1881.  Before 
hearing  we  attempted  a  description  of  the  work  as  follows  :  — 

Prof.  Paine  has  chosen  his  poetic  theme  for  musical  illustration  from  the 
hymn  in  Milton's  ode,  "  On  the  Morning  of  Christ's  Nativity,"  a  poem  which 
still  shines  pre-eminent,  as  with  the  lustre  of  the  morning  star,  among  all  the 
Christmas  odes  that  have  appeared  before  or  since  his  time.  The  hymn  is  toc> 
long,  even  without  the  long-lined  prelude,  to  allow  of  all  its  twentj'-sevcD 
stanzas  being  set  to  music  with  advantage.  Nor  are  the  thoughts  or  diction 
of  some  of  them  available  as  text  for  music.  Beginning,  therefore,  with  the 
first  stanza  :  "  It  was  the  winter  wild,"  he  has  found  the  texts  which  best  lent 
themselves  to  his  musical  idea  in  the  first  nine  stanzas  (skipping  the  second), 
and,  for  a  conclusion,  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth,  and  fifteenth,  — eleven  in  all. 
The  Cantata  (we  suppose  it  may  be  called)  is  divided  into  three  parts. 
Part  I.,  beginning,  after  a  short  prelude,  with  "It  was  the  winter  wild,'* 
goes  to  the  end  of  the  seventh  stanza.  It  opens  in  C  (andantino,  4-4)  with  a 
few  melodic  bars  by  all  the  strings  in  unison,  very  softly,  growing  to  a  fortis- 
simo with  trombones,  and  again  subsiding  as  harp  tones  soar  to  the  skyey 
octave,  and  a  "  Peace  "  motive  floats  down,  as  it  were,  from  heaven,  until  one 
by  one  the  voice  parts  enter,  finally  blending  in  full  harmony.  In  the  prelude 
the  rhythmical  division  of  the  quarters  is  into  triplets,  after  the  Siciliano 
model  of  Bach's  and  Handel's  pastoral  symphonies ;  but  the  twofold  division 
prevails,  so  that  the  composer  has  marked  it  4-4,  and  not  12-8.  The  move- 
ment in  the  main  is  pastoral ;  yet  a  certain  wild  and  restless  modulation  in 
the  harmony,  a  certain  ambiguity  of  key,  together  with  the  musing,  rapt  ex- 
pression of  the  melody,  suggests  in  one  scene  both  the  "winter  wild"  and 
the  "Heaven-born  Child"  sleeping  in  the  manger.  Where  "Nature  doffs 
her  gaudy  trim.  With  her  great  Master  so  to  sympathize,"  the  sopranos  linger 
tenderly  upon  that  word,  and  droop,  as  in  fond  revery,  down  to  their  lower 
tones  while  tremulous  triplets  in  the  orchestra  acknowledge  the  divine 
presence. 


438  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANOKL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

A  livelier  movement,  in  the  fresh  key  of  A  major,  for  soprano  solo  and 
chorus,  slogs  of  "universal  peace,"  as  told  in  the  third  stanza.  The  words 
are  full  of  lively  images  to  catch  the  fancy  of  the  composer,  and  the  music, 
though  not  imitative,  reveals  a  sympathy.  "No  war  or  battle's  sound  is 
heard  the  wide  world  round"  elicits  a  fiery  chorus  {allegro  moderato),  worked 
up  with  energy ;  the  bass  voices  prolonging  now  and  then  a  syllable  in  wind- 
ing phrases,  the  orchestra  still  conjuring  up  in  memory  war's  wild  alarms, 
though  now  no  longer  heard.  Those  grandly  imaginative  lines  :  "  And  kings 
sat  still  with  awful  eye.  As  if  they  surely  knew  their  sov'ran  Lord  was  nigh,"  are 
given  in  most  impressive  unison  by  all  the  voices  in  long  tones,  with  trom- 
bone chords,  followed  by  bold  efiects  of  harmony,  with  tremolo  accompani- 
ments, rising  to  a  climax  of  intensity,  and  finally  subsiding  to  a  thoughtful, 
awe-struck  pianmimo,  while  the  pastoral  12-8  figure  of  accompaniment  comes 
back  and  leads,  with  soaring  arpeggi,  into  the  next  stanza  of  the  "  Peace" 
text :  — 

But  peaceful  was  the  night 
Wherein  the  Prince  of  Light 

His  reign  of  peace  upon  the  earth  began,  etc. 

A  light,  caressing  figure  of  the  violins,  upon  an  undulating  bass,  accom- 
panies the  voices,  hushed  to  piinissimo  at  the  words:  "  The  winds,  with 
wonders  whist.  Smoothly  the  waters  kist";  and  when  it  comes  to  "  Ocean, 
who  hath  quite  forgot  to  rave,"  the  pastoral  accompaniment  again  appears, 
which  seems  to  pervade  the  work  like  a  leit-motif,  signifying  peace.  The 
low,  brooding  harmony,  "  While  birds  of  calm  sit  brooding  on  the  charmed 
wave,"  is  graphically  enlivened  with  bird-like  warblings  in  the  upper  instru- 
ments. These  continue  while  "The  stars,  with  deep  amaze,  stand  flx'd  in 
steadfast  gaze.  Bending  one  vmy  their  precious  influence"  That  last  line 
seems  to  have  made  its  impression  on  the  composer.  Verse  7  —  "And 
though  the  shady  gloom  "  — is  begun  by  soprano  solo  (the  melody  resumed 
essentially  from  that  of  the  first  piece),  still  waited  on  by  the  old  pastoral 
accompaniment.  The  chorus  grows  to  an  imposing,  brilliant  climax  at  the 
mention  of  the  sun,  —  "  He  saw  a  greater  sun  appear  Than  his  bright  throne  or 
burning  axle-tree  could  bear."  Here  the  musician  bravely  accepts  the  chal- 
lenge for  corresponding  grand  efl'ects  of  vocal  harmony  and  instrumental 
color.  The  polyphonic  movement  of  the  voices  is  expressive,  —  strikingly  so 
where  the  basses  descend  in  half-notes  through  the  compass  of  an  octave  and 
a  half,  and  then  the  solo  soprano  soars  to  the  bright  pitch  of  C  above  the 
staff,  thus  ending  the  first  division  of  the  work. 

Part  II.  "The  shepherds  on  the  lawn,"  etc.  For  the  first  time,  that 
Siciliano  "  peace  "  motive,  as  we  have  called  it,  which  seems  to  lurk  not  far 
away  —  when  not  palpably  present  —  almost  throughout  the  whole,  now  steps 
aside  entirely,  and  we  have  a  new  pastoral  theme  and  melody  in  a  new 
measure  (3-8,  andantino,  A  flat).  The  tune  is  quaintly  rural,  with  oboe  and 
horn  accompaniment,  the  strings  running  in  a  light  staccato  figure,  and  is  first 
taken  by  a  tenor  solo,  then  a  bass,  then  an  alto,  which  soon  blend  in  a  charm- 
ing trio.  The  momentary  enharmonic  change  to  the  key  of  E.  at  the  words 
"  Perhaps  their  loves,"  is  felicitous,  after  the  solemnizing  thought  of  "Pan 
comedown  to  live  with  them."  Verse  9  —  "When  such  music  sweet  their 
hearts  and  ears  did  greet"  —  is  sung  in  B  major  by  soprano  solo,  leading  into 


HISTORY   OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  439 

a  quartet,  with  florid  passages  in  one  voice  or  another,  expressive  of  the 
♦'divinely  warbled  voice"  or  "blissful  rapture,"  with  copious  sprinkling 
of  harp  embellishments.  The  shepherd  raelodj'  returns,  and  then  the  old 
pastoral  motive  again  steps  to  the  front  to  offer  duty,  this  time  in  a  nine 
instead  of  a  twelve  eight  rhj-thm.  The  poetic  theme  is:  "The  air,  such 
pleasure  loth  to  lose,  With  thousand  echoes  still  prolongs  each  heavenly 
close."  It  is  used  for  double  chorus  or  quartet  and  chorus,  making  a  rich 
conclusion  to  this  middle  portion  of  the  work. 

Part  III.  "Ring  out,  ye  crystal  spheres"  (stanzas  13,  14,  and  15),  gives 
the  text  for  the  strongest  chorus,  the  finale  of  the  work.  It  begins  and  ends 
in  C  {allegro  maestoso,  4-4)  and  is  jubilant  and  more  exciting  to  the  close, 
where  the  voices  hold  out  the  last  chord  as  long  as  they  have  breath.  At  the 
words,  "  And  with  your  ninefold  harmony,"  the  voice  parts  divide  (into  two 
sopranos,  two  altos,  three  tenors,  and  two  basses),  and  so  become  actually 
ninefold  on  the  one  word  "  nine,"  in  an  ///  passage;  but  it  comes  about  so 
naturally  that  the  voices  seem  to  do  it  from  their  own  spontaneous  impulse. 

..."  Surely  every  one  will  wonder  that  no  great  composer  ever  thought 
before  of  finding  a  sublime  subject  for  his  art  in  this  wonderful  ode  which 
Milton  wrote  when  he  was  only  twenty-one  years  old.  What  a  theme  for 
Handel,  whose  genius  had  such  aflinity  with  that  of  Milton  1  " 

The  composer  was  warmly  received  by  au  audience  still  small,  but 
enthusiastic.  His  work,  while  hardlv  calculated  to  win  popularity, 
gave  great  satisfaction,  particularly  the  final  chorus,  which  called  out  a 
great  burst  of  rapturous  applause.  The  solo  and  concerted  music 
was  suns:  verv  smoothlv  bv  Miss  Emma  Thursbv,  Miss  Mathilde 
Phillipps,  Mr.  George  W.  Want,  and  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney. 

After  The  Nativity  came  Cherubini's  Mass  in  D  3finor,  the  fifth  of 
his  eleven  Masses  (exclusive  of  his  two  great  Requiems) .  composed 
in  1811.  It  is  said  to  be  the  longest  mass  ever  written,  much  longer 
than  the  Missa  Solemnis  of  Beethoven  ;  while  in  intrinsic  value  as 
religious  music,  in  wealth  of  noble  and  expressive  musical  ideas,  and 
in  consummate  art  of  treatment,  many  have  thought  it  may  well  rank 
with  that  and  with  the  B-minor  Mass  of  Bach.  It  was  heard  that 
evening,  for  the  first  time  in  Boston,  in  its  integrity,  from  full  orches- 
tral score.  The  Advertiser  of  the  next  morning  called  it  wonderful. 
*'  In  almost  every  line  it  shows  the  hand  of  a  great  master,  and  it  may 
well  rank  as  the  first  of  his  works.  Pure,  elevated,  beyond  descrip- 
tion, in  genius,  it  never  fails  to  give  the  impression  of  simplicity  even 
in  its  most  elaborate  phrases,  and  of  sincerity  in  its  most  conven- 
tional. It  is,  indeed,  the  product  of  an  elder  time,  but  it  is  as  fresh  with 
the  youth  of  beauty  to-day  as  when  it  was  written."  So  soon  after 
hearing  Rubinstein's  Tower  of  Babel,  the  same  critic  cou'd  not  help 
noting  in  the  mass  "the  superior  repose  and  freedom  from  self- 
consciousness  as  well  as  the  higher  religious  aspirations  which  mark 


440 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


the  work  of  the  older  writer,  as  opposed  to  the  restlessness,  the  reli- 
gious doubt,  the  seusationalism  of  the  modern  genius."  Mrs.  E.  A. 
Osgood,  Miss  AVinant,  Mr.  Theodore  J.  Toedt,  Mr.  Henschel,  Mrs. 
F.  P.  Whitney,  Mr.  Want,  and  Mr.  A.  E.  Pennell  gave  the  solo  and 
concerted  music  ••  with  praiseworthy  skill  and  finish,  almost  the  whole 
burden  falling  upon  the  first  four  of  the  artists  named.  The  chorus 
improved  upon  their  performance  in  the  cantata,  and  sang  with  more 
accuracy,  firmness,  and  sustained  force,  though  their  effort  left  much 
to  be  desired  on  the  score  of  neatness.  The  orchestral  work  was 
nearly  all  excellent."  Another  says  :  ''  Cherubini's  Mass  made  great 
effect,  the  solos  being  given  in  almost  perfect  style."  The  receipts  of 
that  concert,  in  spite  of  such  attractions,  were  only  $1,550. 

Third  Day.  Thursday,  May  3.  The  third  concert  was  given  in  the 
afternoon.  A  miscellaneous  selection,  vocal  and  orchestral,  was  pre- 
sented, namely  : — 

1.  OvertuYQlo  Euryanthe Weber. 

2.  Air  :  "  Flowers  of  the  Valley,"  from  Act.  I.,  Euryanthe,         Weber. 

Mrs.  E.  Aline  Osgood. 

3.  Air  from  Jessonda Spohr. 

Mr.  Georg  Henschel. 

4.  Minuet  for  String  Orchestra Boccherini. 

5.  Scena  and  Aria:  -'Ah  I  Perfidol"         ....         Beethoven. 

Mme.  Gabriflla  Boema. 

6.  Fantasy,  for  piano,  sextet,  chorus,  and  orchestra  :  Mr. 

B.  J.  Lang,  pianist ;  Mrs.  Osgood,  Mrs.  F.  P.  Whit- 
ney, Miss  Mathilde  Phillipps,  Mr.  T.  J.  Toedt, 
Mk.  a.  E.  Pennell,  and  Mr.  Henschel  .        .        .        Beethoven. 

7.  Overture :   Thalia :  an  Imaginary  Comedy    .         .        .         Chadwick. 

8.  Duet  from  The  Flying  Dutchman Wagner. 

Mme.  Boema,  Mr.  Henschel. 

9.  Recitative  and  Aria  :  "  O  Patria  "  ;  "Di  tanti  palpiti," 

from  Tancredi Bossini. 

Miss  Phillipps. 

10.  Orchestral  Interlude :  Liebesliedchen     ....  Taubert. 

11.  'RecitSLtive  and  Air  from  Joseph  and  his  Brethren  .        .  MehuL 

Mr.  Tokdt. 

12.  Chorus:  "  Sanctus,"  from  J/ass  in  5  ?ni;ior         .         .        Bach. 


The  most  important  number  in  this  very  rich  and  varied  programme, 
Bach's  wonderful,  inspiring  Sanctus^  was  omitted  for  want  of  suffi- 
cient rehearsal,  and  its  place  was  taken,  not  made  good,  by  an  excel- 
lent performance  of  Haydn's  Motet :  Insance  et  vance  Curca.  Touch- 
ing this  interesting  work,  we  find  in  our  *'  Notes  "  :  — 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     441 

"Haydn  wrote  many  smaller  pieces  for  the  church,  besides  his  numerous 
masses.  One  list  of  his  works  contains  twentj'-one  motets,  oftertories,  Salve 
Beginas,  arias,  etc.,  some  for  solo  voices,  some  for  chorus,  some  with  a  mere 
organ  or  quartet  accompaniment,  and  several,  like  '  Insanoe  et  vanoe  Curoe,' 
for  full  orchestra  and  chorus.  Some  of  these  offertories  are  said  to  have  been 
transferred  from  the  concert-room  to  the  church,  and  have  been  traced  to  an 
occasional  cantata  or  to  his  oratorio,  The  Beturn  of  Tobias. 

"  The  Motet,  or  Offertorium,  with  which  we  are  now  concerned,  has  long 
been  a  favorite  in  some  of  the  Catholic  choirs  in  this  country,  as  well  as  in 
Europe.  But  here  it  has  commonly  been  given  with  only  an  organ  accompani- 
ment. Haydn  composed  it  for  a  fuller  orchestra  than  that  employed  in  most 
of  his  symphonies ;  besides  the  strings,  the  score  has  flute,  two  oboes,  two  bas- 
sc'ons,  two  horns,  two  trumpets,  two  trombones,  tympani,  and  organ.  It  is 
sometimes  called  in  Germany  the  Storm  Chorus ;  for  it  begins  with  a  stormy 
orchestral  prelude  (D  minor),  with  wild,  sweeping  passages  and  shifting 
chords,  frequently  diminished  sevenths,  and  keeps  on  working  up  the  same 
motives  to  a  fiercer  climax,  while  the  chorus  enters,  singing  of  the  insane 
and  idle  cares  that  invade  and  distract  men's  minds  and  fill  our  hearts  with 
madness.  The  vocal  writing  is  powerfully  expressive.  Once  we  have  a  re- 
minder of  that  (so  to  say)  barometrical  or  atmospheric  harmony,  bordering  on 
discord,  which  is  so  suggestive  in  the  '  rain  '  chorus  of  Elijah  ;  the  altos  alone 
sing  '  soepe  furore '  on  A,  the  sopranos  join  them  on  the  half-tone  above,  then 
the  tenors  on  E  flat,  and  then  the  basses  on  C. 

"  There  is  a  pause  in  the  storm  ;  the  key  changes  to  the  relative  major  (F), 
and  the  voices,  to  a  sweet  and  serious  melody,  sing  an  exhortation  to  forsake 
all  vain  reliance,  and  look  up  for  divine  support.  The  storm  returns  with  all 
its  fury  ;  but  the  heavenly  melody  again  pours  oil  upon  the  waves,  and  brings 
the  motet  to  an  end  in  the  bright  key  of  D  major. 

"  The  meaning  and  the  motives  of  the  music  lie  upon  the  surface,  too  ob- 
vious to  the  uninstructed  listener  to  require  description." 


Beethoven's  Choral  Fantasia  was  first  played  and  sung  in  Boston 
at  the  unveiling  of  Crawford's  noble  statue  of  the  Master,  when  a 
poem  was  recited  by  the  sculptor,  William  AY.  Story,  followed  by  a 
musical  programme,  which,  among  other  works  of  Beethoven,  in- 
cluded this  fantasia,  Mr.  C.  C.  Perkins,  the  giver  of  the  statue,  play- 
ing the  piano  part.  Once  more  it  had  been  performed  at  a  Harvard 
Musical  Symphony  Concert,  on  Dec.  15,  1870  (Ernst  Perabo  at  the 
piano),  during  a  week  which,  musically,  in  many  ways  and  in  many 
halls  of  Boston,  was  almost  wholly  given  up  to  a  centennial  com- 
memoration of  Beethoven's  birth.  It  was  composed  and  first  per- 
formed in  1808,  at  Vienna  ;  indeed  it  was  almost  improvised  for  an 
"  Academy  "  (as  such  concerts  were  then  called) ,  in  which  Beethoven, 
for  the  first  time,  brought  out  a  wonderful  collection  of  his  own  works. 
Some  look  upon  it  as  a  forerunner  of  the  far  grander  choral  symphony, 
—  like  the  toy-balloons  sent  up  to  feel  the  wind  before  the  grand 


442  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

ascension.  The  idea  rests  on  no  historical  foundation,  so  far  as  we 
know,  but  solely  on  internal  evidence,  and  that  slight,  —  simply  the 
two  coincidences :  that  in  the  earlier,  as  in  the  later,  work,  the 
development  of  instrumental  motives,  as  if  craving  more  complete 
expression,  leads  into  a  vocal  chorus  with  full  orchestra  ;  and,  sec- 
ondly, the  great  resemblance,  though  with  a  difference,  between  the 
simple  popular  tunes  sung  in  the  two. 

Of  this  third  performance  of  the  work  in  Boston,  the  Gazette 
said :  — 

*'  It  was  interpreted  very  well,  Mr.  Lang  playing  the  piano  part  with  ex- 
cellent taste  and  spirit,  and  only  erring  in  forcing  the  merely  accompanying 
figures  into  too  great  prominence.  The  chorus  here  achieved  some  of  its 
best  results  of  the  week." 

Of  other  features  in  the  concert,  the  same  critic  wrote :  — 
"Mr.  Chadwick's  delightful  TTialia  overture  (under  the  composer's  direc- 
tion) increased  the  favorable  impression  made  upon  its  earlier  presentation. 
Mrs.  Osgood  sang  an  air  from  Weber's  Euryanthevfith.  much  finish  of  style, 
but  with  no  marked  warmth  of  expression.  Mr.  Henschel's  singing  of  a  very 
vigorous  air  from  Spohr's  Jessonda  ('DerKriegeslust  ergeben')  was  admirable 
in  its  fire  and  dramatic  expression.  Mme.  Boema,  in  Ah,  Perjido,  sang  with 
the  same  largeness  of  dramatic  style,  power,  and  fervor  that  won  for  her  so 
much  deserved  admiration  upon  her  first  appearance  at  the  Symphony  Con- 
certs. Mr.  T.  J.  Toedt  distinguished  himself  greatly  by  his  singing  of  a  re- 
citative and  air  from  Mehul's  Joseph.  Miss  Mathilde  Phillipps  sang  Rossini's 
Di  Tanti  Palpiti  artistically,  but  with  a  want  of  delicacy  in  expression.  In 
the  duet  from  The  Flying  Dutchman,  from  some  cause  or  other,  best  results 
did  not  ensue." 

The  receipts  of  that  concert  were  not  encouraging,  —  $1,460. 

For  the  evening  concert,  the  fourth,  Gounod's  Redemption^  which 
had  not  yet  lost  its  interest  with  the  majority,  was  given  for  the  third 
time  by  the  Society,  and  drew  its  third  great  audience.  VVe  quote 
again  from  the  Gazette  :  — 

"  The  performance  reflected  the  highest  credit  upon  the  chorus,  which  sang 
with  exceptional  smoothness,  precision,  and  steadiness.  The  soloists  were 
Miss  Thursby,  Miss  S.  C.  Fisher,  Miss  Emily  Winant,  Mr.  W.  J  Winch,  Mr. 
J.  F.  Winch,  and  Mr.  Georg  Henschel.  Miss  Thursby  did  better  than  at  any 
of  her  other  performances  of  the  week,  and  afforded  a  large  share  of  pleas- 
ure. Miss  Winant  was  heard  to  fine  effect,  and  Mr.  Henschel  interpreted  the 
music  of  Jesus  with  a  refinement  of  sentiment  truly  delightful.  Mr.  W.  J. 
Winch  was  not  only  in  good  voice,  but  in  excellent  mood,  and  performed  his 
task  in  charming  style.  Miss  Fisher  was  wanting  in  fulness  and  power  of 
voice  to  do  all  justice  to  the  angel's  music  in  the  third  part.  The  presenta- 
tion, taken  as  a  whole,  was  the  best  that  the  oratorio  has  had  here.  It 
attracted  one  of  the  largest  houses  of  the  week,  and  elicited  the  most  applause.'* 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  443 

At  all  events,  ''  it  paid,"  — receipts,  S2,860. 

Fourth  Day.  Friday  Eveniug,  May  4.  In  this  fifth  concert  the 
Festival  reached  its  high  tide,  although  by  the  dollar-and-cent  meas- 
ure the  hall  was  only  half  full.  But  here  intrinsically  the  interest  of 
the  week  culminated.  As  Rubinstein  had  given  us  a  "  Sacred 
Opera,"  we  were  now  to  hear  the  converse,  a  secular  "  Oratorio," 
Max  Bruch's  Arminius,  And  to  lend  more  lustre  to  the  notable  oc- 
casion, the  composer  in  person  had  come  over  to  conduct  the  perform- 
ance. Of  him  and  of  his  work  our  Festival  "Notes  "  may  be  allowed 
to  speak  at  some  length,  in  consideration  of  its  novelty  :  — 

"  Max  Bruch,  born  at  Cologne,  in  1838,  received  his  first  musical  instruction 
from  his  mother,  a  favorite  soprano  singer  in  the  Rhenish  musical  festivals. 
At  the  age  of  eleven  he  became  a  pupil  of  K.  Breideustein,  and  alread}-  tried 
his  hand  at  composition  in  the  larger  forms;  at  fourteen  a  symphony  of  his 
was  publicly  performed  in  his  native  city.  In  1852  he  gained  the  Mozart 
scholarship  at  Fraukfort-on-Main,  and  became  for  four  years  a  special  pupil 
of  Ferdinand  Killer  in  theory  and  composition,  and  of  Reinecke  and  Breu- 
nung  in  piano  playing.  After  a  short  residence  in  Leipzig,  he  lived  (1858- 
61)  as  a  music  teacher  in  Cologne,  constantly  composing.  After  the  death  of 
his  father  (1861")  he  visited  many  of  the  German  musical  centres,  studying 
for  short  periods  in  Berlin,  Leipzig,  Vienna,  Dresden,  Munich,  finally  stop- 
ping in  Mannheim,  where  he  brought  out  (1863)  his  opera  Lorelei  (using  the 
text  prepared  for  :^[endelssohn  by  Geibel).  In  Mannheim  (1862-6-1:)  he  wrote 
his  Frithjof  Saga,  Boman  Song  of  Triumph  (both  of  which  have  been  given  in 
Boston,  and  admired),  Song  of  the  Heiligen  drei  Konige,  Flight  of  the  Holy 
Family,  and  other  choral  works.  In  1864-65  he  was  again  '  on  the  road,'  as 
actors  say.  visiting  Hamburg,  Hannover,  Dresden,  Breslau,  Munich.  Brussels, 
Paris,  etc.,  and  had  extraordinary  success  with  Frithjof  in  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
Leipzig,  and  Vienna.  In  1865-67  he  was  musical  director  at  Coblenz;  in 
1867-70  court  kapellmeister  in  Sondershausen,  during  which  time  he  wrote  his 
first  violin  concerto,  two  sj^mphonies,  parts  of  a  mass,  etc.  His  opera,  Her- 
rnione  (Shakespeare's  Tn?^^^^'^  Tale),  was  brought  out  1872  in  Berlin,  where 
he  spent  a  couple  of  years.  To  this  Berlin  period  belongs  also  the  greatest  of 
his  choral  works  yet  heard  in  Boston  (it  has  been  given  several  times  by  our 
Cecilia  with  increasing  interest),  the  Odysseus. 

"  From  that  time  he  lived  for  five  years  (1873-78)  in  Bonn,  devoting  him- 
self exclusively  to  composition,  especially  to  the  Arminius  and  the  Song  of 
the  Bell,  also  the  second  violin  concerto,  etc.  After  a  couple  of  visits  to  Eng- 
land, where  he  brought  out  several  of  his  works,  he  succeeded  Stockhausen 
(1878)  in  the  directorship  of  Stern's  famous  Choral  Society  in  Berlin;  and  in 
1880  he  succeeded  Benedict  as  director  of  the  Liverpool  Philharmonic  Society. 
(This  choice  was  so  oflensive  to  the  '  native '  prejudices  of  many  of  the  jealous 
Englifh  critical  papers  that  the  compositions  of  the  '  foreigner,'  particularly 
his  Odysseus,  performed  in  London  recently,  have  been  reviewed  by  some  of 
them  with  little  favor.)  In  1881  Bruch  married  the  singer  Frl.  Tuczek,  of 
Berlin  We  now  learn  that  he  has  resigned  his  post  at  Liverpool,  and  will, 
after  his  visit  to  America,  assume  the  kapellmeister  ship  at  Breslau.     Surely 


144  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

he  has  led  a  restless  life,  with  constant  shifting  of  the  scene,  in  striking  cor- 
respondence to  the  restless  modulations,  enharmonic  chauges,  and  chord- 
shiftings,  which  are  some  of  the  most  characteristic  medern  features  of  his 
largely  orchestrated  compositions. 

"  This  brief  biographical  sketch  (and  more  were  there  only  room)  seemed 
due  to  so  distinguished  a  composer,  —  one  who  holds  undisputed  place  in  the 
front  rank  of  his  contemporaries,  at  least  in  his  peculiar  sphere  of  large  choral 
compositions,  —  who  now  honors  Boston  with  his  presence,  and  is  to  conduct 
here  the  first  performance'  in  this  country  of  one  of  his  noblest  works,  as  yet 
but  little  known  in  Germany  or  any  part  of  Europe.  That  we  have  l)arely 
seen  a  mention  of  its  title  hitherto  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  it  was  over- 
shadowed by  the  popularity  of  his  own  Song  of  the  Bell,  which  was  published 
almost  at  the  same  time,  Schiller's  poem  being  such  a  household  word  in  Ger- 
many. The  score  of  Arminius  is  dedicated  to  his  friend,  Georg  Ilenschel, 
who  is  to  sing  the  principal  part,  that  of  the  old  Cheruscan  hero,  destroyer 
of  the  Roman  legions,  in  this  festival.  He  sang  the  same  part  in  the  very 
first  performance  of  the  work  (at  Zurich,  Jan.  21,  1877),  on  which  occasion 
he  had  also  to  supply  the  difficult  tenor  part  of  Siegmund,  the  local  tenor 
being  suddenly  taken  ill.  It  was  next  given,  during  the  same  year,  at  Bar- 
men, and,  we  believe,  once  in  some  other  place,  but  never  yet  in  Berlin.  Leip- 
zig, or  Vienna,  nor  in  any  of  the  great  musical  centres  of  Germany.  Practi- 
cally, therefore,  this  will  be  only  its  third  or  fourth  performance  anywhere. 
The  composer,  we  are  told,  regards  it  as  his  most  important  work.  Poet  and 
composer  could  hardly  have  selected  a  grander,  richer,  more  picturesque, 
more  thrilling  subject  than  the  successful  upri>iug  of  the  leading  German 
tribes,  in  the  year  nine  of  the  Christian  era,  against  their  Koman  oppressors, 
at  the  inspiring  call  of  Hermann  (or  Arminius),  chief  of  the  Cherusci,  ending 
in  the  entrapping  and  destruction  of  Varus  and  his  legions,—  a  theme  appeal- 
ing to  the  national  enthusiasm  of  every  German.  The  plot  is  extremely 
simple,  and  the  unities  of  time,  place,  and  action  could  not  be  observed  more 
strictly.  The  solo  characters  are  only  three,  —  Arminius,  bass ;  Siegmund, 
tenor;  and  a  priestess,  mezzo-soprano,  inclining  to  contralto;  all  the  rest  is 
orchestra  and  chorus.     It  is  divided  into  four  parts  :  — 

*'  Part  I.  opens  with  a  short  orchestral  introduction  (fall  modern  orchestra, 
"with  four  horns,  three  trombones,  and  tuba,  besides  an  organ  part).  First, 
loud,  startling,  minor  chords,  echoed  by  lower  instruments;  then  a  low, 
rumbling  figure,  mingled  with  galloping  triplets,  like  the  sound  of  horses' 
hoofs,  which  is  kept  up  throughout  the  chorus,  '  What  is  't  that  looms  like 
thunder  cloud,  afar?'  foreshadowing  the  approach  of  the  Romans.  No.  2. — 
Arminius,  and  then  Siegmund,  answer  the  anxious  inquiries  and  recite  the 
wrongs  done  their  people  by  the  Romans  in  strong  declamatory  recitative, 
the  orchestra  flinging  in  vivid  glimpses  of  the  legions,  witli  their  plumed 
'  Captain  on  stately  charger,  flying  along  the  ranks  '.  •  They  come  I  they  come  ! 
the  scourges  of  freedom  ',  etc.  3.  —  Chorus  of  the  advancing  Romans  :  '  We 
are  the  sons  of  Mars'.  The  rhythm  has  an  iron  strength;  the  harmony  is 
harsh,  hard,  barbaric,  cruel,  bordering  on  discord,  characteristic  of  the 
haughty  confidence  and  strength  of  these  ruthless  masters  of  the  world.  4, 
5.  —  Recitative  of  Arminius,  taken  up  by  full  chorus  in  slow  {grave),  solemn, 
and  determined  tones:  *  We,  freeborn  sons  of  Wodau,  have  not  learned  to 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND   HAYDN    SOCIETY.  445 

bend  to  the  stranger's  yoke';  this  leading  to  a  spirited  duet  {allegro'),  'Free 
soars  the  eagle  high',  between  Arminius  and  Siegmund ;  the  chorus  takes  up 
their  strain,  the  orchestra  all  the  while  being  very  active  ;  Arminius  points  to 
the  sacred  grove,  exhorting  them  to  there  register  their  patriotic  vows,  and 
the  {grave)  chorus  returns  for  a  grand  conclusion  of  the  first  part. 

"  Part  II.  is  the  consecration  of  the  warriors  of  Wodan  in  the  sacred 
forest.  No  Bellini  Druid  scene  this,  with  stately  Norma's  melody  of  '  linked 
sweetness  long  drawn  out,'  but  all  large,  grand,  awe-inspiring,  the  orchestra 
lending  the  chief  character  to  the  whole  scene  with  its  low,  murky  tone  of 
color,  its  rustling,  creeping  movement,  as  of  wind  through  the  branches  of 
the  old  oaks ;  the  utterances  of  the  priestess  being  mostly  declamatory  and 
dramatic,  after  the  manner  of  the  modern  '  music-drama ' ;  the  chorus  portions 
written  in  clear,  simple  harmony,  with  due  regard  to  vocal  euphony.  After 
the  murmurous,  low,  shaded  introduction,  suggesting  a  gloom,  pierced  ever 
and  anon  by  horn-tones,  echoed  by  the  wood  wind,  the  priestess  begins  on  a 
low  monotone,  '  Through  the  grove  a  sound  of  warning  stirs  the  mystic 
boughs;  he  who  rules  these  still  recesses  sends  a  tremor  through  my  soul,  as 
I  bend  in  prayer'.  .  .  .  '  Peace  on  you,  oh  faithful  sons  of  Wodan  ! '  The  re- 
sponse of  the  chorus  {adagio,  in  D),  '  Through  the  oak-tree's  sacred  branches 
swells  a  boding  murmur,  tells  us  that  the  God  is  nigh',  etc.,  gives  the  com- 
poser an  opportunity  for  fine  effect,  which  he  has  admirably  improved.  On  a 
background  of  smooth,  mellow,  sustained  tones  {pianissimo)  of  trombones, 
horns,  bassoons,  with  the  organ  and  other  basses  softly  swelling  and  falling, 
the  violas  and  the  'cellos  (in  contrary  motion)  keep  up  a  continuous  rustling 
figure,  while  the  wood- wind  quartet  sustains  that  of  the  voices,  the  several 
parts  of  one  in  unison  with  those  of  the  other.  The  effect  must  be  ver}' 
beautiful.  In  quickened  tempo,  with  rushing  string  accompaniments,  the 
priestess,  in  stronger  accents,  calls  attention  to  the  distant  roar  of  war, 
and  exhorts  to  courage,  pointing  upward  to  the  gods. 

"  7.  Five-part  chorus  {adagio).  The  prayer  of  the  warriors  and  people  : 
*  Ye  gods,  dwelling  high  in  Valhalla  '.  A  beautiful,  impressive,  tranquilizing, 
edifying  piece  of  full  vocal  and  orchestral  harmony,  with  full  organ  part. 
The  rhythm  (6-4)  flows  gently  on  in  rich,  full  stream ;  the  harmony  is  chaste 
and  pure,  the  coloring  refined  and  delicate,  the  phrasing  natural  and  melodi- 
ous; no  coarse,  barbaric  traits  are  woven  into  this  fine,  rich  web  of  tones, 
and  the  effect  upon  the  mind  is  hallowing  and  reconciling. 

"Part  III.  —  The  Insurrection.  — No.  8.  Rousing  appeal  of  Arminius  and 
strong  response  of  the  Germans :  '  Must  I  live  to  tell  my  people's  shame? 
All-Father,  art  thou  wroth?'  etc.  He  recalls  the  outrages  that  have  been 
put  upon  them,  and  fires  them  to  revenge.  Impetuous,  excited  declamation, 
strongly  dramatic,  with  bold  effects  of  modulation,  not  unrelieved  by  grate- 
ful contrasts. 

"9.  Recitative  and  air  of  Siegmund,  lamenting  his  sad  fate,  an  exile  be- 
cause he  slew  the  Roman  who  insulted  his  beloved  maiden,  and,  he  having 
fled,  they  have  thrown  his  father  into  chains.  His  agony  finds  vent  in  wild, 
impassioned  declamation  (mostly  in  E  minor),  accompanied  by  a  nervous 
little  figure  of  the  violins,  with  the  wood  wind  and  horns  holding  out  long 
tones.  '  Within  my  breast  there  rankles  deep  a  pain  past  tears',  etc.,  is  the 
burden  of  his  song  (which,  however,  is  not  a  song,  but  a  burst  of  intense 


446  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

musical  declamation).  At  the  thought  of  the  maiden,  'as  in  tranquil  con- 
verse we  sat  by  the  brook ',  there  is  a  moment's  sweeter  sadness  in  the  strain, 
followed  by  a  furious  fortissimo  of  the  instruments,  describing  his  revenge. 
The  rise  of  the  voice  an  octave  (G  to  G)  at  one  leap  on  the  first  syllable  of  the 
word  '  father'  shows  great  intensity  of  feeling.  The  final  climax,  '  Curst  be 
your  race,  ye  robbers  I  curst  by  all  gods  evermore  I '  demands  the  utmost 
strength  and  passion  of  a  high  tenor  voice. 

"  10.  Six-part  chorus,  sopranos  and  basses  divided  (andante  con  moto,  E 
minor,  6-4).  The  three  male  parts  enter  singly  in  broad  rhythm,  'Mine 
eyes  have  seen  their  fate'.  .  .  .  'Our  valiant  brothers  bound',  etc.  With 
these  alternates  the  semichorus  of  women,  mourning  the  fate  of  their  sisters. 
The  piece  begins  with  a  continuous  tremolo  of  strings ;  for  other  accompani- 
ment, sustained  horn  tones  and  the  bassoons  going  with  the  voice.  Gradu- 
ally all  the  instruments  come  in  (except  trombones  and  tuba),  as  both  choirs 
blend  in  a  now  subdued,  now  swelling,  lamentation,  richly  harmonized,  dying 
away  to  pianissimo.  This  gentler  chorus  well  relieves  the  rugged,  war-like 
character  which  naturally  pervades  most  of  the  music  of  this  oratorio. 

"  11,  12.  We  will  not  attempt  to  describe  the  great  scene  of  Arminius,  — 
his  clarion  call  to  '  Wodan's  freeborn  sons'  —  which  is  most  energetic  and 
exciting,  a  long  stretch  of  thrilling  declamation,  with  horns  and  trumpets 
kindling  the  electric  fire,  and  with  bold  modulations,  frequent  changes  of  key, 
and  most  effective  orchestration,  as  he  addresses  the  tribes  by  name  (Cherus- 
cans,  Mursians,  Frisians,  etc.);  nor  the  mighty  Battle  Song  (Arminius  and 
chorus),  '  To  arms  I  Let  Freedom's  banner  wave  I '  with  which  the  third  part 
ends. 

"Part  IV.  describes  the  battle,  victory,  and  triumph.  It  is  mainly  or- 
chestral description,  while  the  priestess,  in  snatches  of  recitative-like  solil- 
oquy, eagerly  listening,  scenting  the  battle  from  afar,  acts  as  interpreter. 
'  Hollow  thunders  the  storm'.  ...  -  Hoarsely  croaking  are  flocks  of  ill-omened 
ravens',  etc.,  etc.  Her  aria,  a  prayer  to  Wodan,  is  intensely  declamatory. 
We  will  not  attempt  to  describe  it,  nor  the  chorus  following,  which  tells 
how  the  o'erwhelming  force  of  Germans  pours  on  the  legions,  with  vivid 
suggestion  of  their  spears  like  lightning  flashing,  and  Thor's  golden  chariot 
rolling  loud  thro'  the  sky,  which  the  proud  Romans  hear,  and  tremble; 
nor  the  priestess's  invocation  to  Freya,  with  her  vision  of  the  Valkyries, 
'  white-robed  and  bright ',  hovering  o'er  the  slain  and  chosen  heroes  ;  nor  the 
swan-song  of  the  dying  Siegmund,  welcoming  death  in  victory  with  the  ten- 
der chorus,  'Raise  him  aloft',  followed  by  his  fond  vision  of  the  beloved 
maiden;  nor  the  chorus  of  men  and  women  welcoming  back  the  victors, 
glorifying  their  deliverer  Hermann,  from  that  day  forth  the  favorite  hero  of 
the  German  race,  and  ending  with  the  hj^mn  of  Germany  and  Freedom.  All 
this  is  highly  wrought  and  most  inspiring,  the  last  choruses  resuming  the 
peculiar  3-2  rhythm,  and  essentially  the  theme  of  the  battle  song  at  the  end 
of  Part  III. 

"  This  description  is  at  best  but  meagre,  vague,  and  unsatisfactory ;  yet  it 
will  suflSce  to  show  that  Arminius  is  not  to  be  judged  by  the  old  models,  either 
of  oratorio  or  of  opera;  that  it  is  conceived  and  carried  out  in  the  spirit  of 
the  most  modern  music,  so  far  as  that  might  be  without  scenery  or  action. 
Thus,  it  has  musical  declamation,  —  the  note  tied  always  to  the  word,  —  rather 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.    447 

than  independent  melody.  The  subject  and  the  three  characters  being  sternly 
heroic,  all  is  intense,  exciting,  rarely  tender.  The  only  feminine  element,  the 
priestess,  is  one  clothed  with  majesty  and  awe.  Could  the  plot  have  been 
modified  by  the  introduction  of  a  little  contrast,  could  there  have  been,  say, 
a  love  scene  or  two  between  Hermann  and  his  wife,  Thusnelda,  who,  with 
her  infant  son,  was  afterwards  captured  and  carried  to  Rome  to  grace  the 
triumph  of  Germanicus.  then  there  might  be  a  chance  for.  now  and  then,  the 
repose  of  real  melody  to  relieve  the  unrelaxing  strain  upon  the  nerves  of  so 
much  vigorous  orchestration.  That  was  the  one  want  most  felt  in  the  Odys- 
seus; and  yet  that  work  has  some  melodies. 

•'  Then,  too,  the  restless  modulation,  particularly  the  frequent  enharmonic 
shiftings,  aggravates  this  natural  craving  for  the  repose  alike  of  melody  and 
smoothly  flowing  harmony.  But  it  must  be  acquitted  of  the  charge  of  rest- 
lessness icithout  progress  (like  water  boiling  in  a  caldron,  which  neither  runs 
nor  rests)  ;  this  music  we  should  think  not  guilty  of  that  besetting  sin  of  so 
much  of  the  new  reformatory  art  work :  it  does  not  hold  you  in  a  tantaliz- 
ing nightmare  of  suspended  locomotion,  making  all  the  motions  and  yet  not 
proceeding. 

"  The  choral  writing  seems  to  be  all  truly  vocal,  clear,  unforced,  euphoni- 
ous. And  in  the  matter  of  subtile,  brilliant,  richly  colored,  and  efiective 
orchestration,  we  all  know  that  Max  Bruch  has  proved  himself  a  master." 

As  to  the  quality  of  the  performance,  and  the  impression  made 
here  by  the  work,  let  us  quote  from  the  Gazette :  — 

"Its  finest  feature  is  to  be  found  in  its  vocal  eflects.  Herr  Bruch  scores 
magnificently  for  the  voices,  and  with  a  mastery  rarely  equalled  and  certainly 
not  surpassed  by  any  composer.  He  is  here  always  clear,  and  the  difierent 
parts  come  out  with  extraordinary  distinctness,  while  the  eflect  of  the  whole 
is  always  striking  and  admirable.  His  orchestration  is  solid  and  scholarly, 
though  sometimes  too  persistently  massive.  Very  fine  indeed  is  the  manner 
in  which  he  assists  the  voices  in  the  choruses  without  clouding  their  quality. 
There  is  a  frankness  in  the  music  of  this  oratorio  that  is  not  without  a  certain 
charm,  but,  taken  altogether,  it  impressed  us  as  blatant  and  violent,  and  want- 
ing in  both  appropriateness  of  character  and  artistic  refinement  of  thought. 
Its  best  moments  were  to  be  found  in  the  dying  music  of  Siegmund,  which  is 
uncommonly  beautiful  in  sentiment  and  expression.  The  war  song  of  the 
Romans  and  the  liberty  song  and  chorus,  of  which  the  theme  is  '  Germania's 
Sons '  are  better  fitted  almost  for  any  other  place  than  oratorio,  no  heed  how 
'  secular'  it  may  be.  The  latter  has  more  of  the  character  of  a  table  song 
than  the  cry  of  a  people  announcing  their  freedom.  The  treatment  of  the 
work  is  everywhere  superior  to  its  idea«.  As  a  compositior.  it  is  but  chapel- 
master  music  written  perfunctorily;  in  its  working  out  it  is  far  more  worthy 
of  admiration,  though  even  here  it  shows  the  gifted  scholar  rather  than  the 
man  of  genius.  Herr  Bruch's  conducting  was  excellent.  He  held  both  chorus 
and  orchestra  well  together,  and  fully  demonstrated  that  he  had  perfect  and 
easy  control  over  them.  He  was  cordially  received,  and  his  work  was 
applauded  heartily  throughout.  At  its  end  he  was  recalled  with  much  enthu- 
siasm.    The  interpretation  may  be  greatly  commended.     There  were  some 


448 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


shortcomings,  but  only  one  of  serious  import.  Mr.  Henschel  sang  the  music 
of  Arminius  in  a  flawless  manner.  Mr.  C.  R.  Adams  was  heard  to  exception- 
ally fine  advantage  in  the  part  of  Siegmund,  and  Miss  Winant's  singing  of 
the  music  of  the  priestess  was  characterized  by  great  power  and  beauty." 


Aiiber. 
Auher. 


Weber. 


Max  Bruch,  each  soloist,  and  the  chorus,  were  cheered  again  and 
again.     Receipts,  $1,912. 

Fifth  Day.  Saturday  Afternoon,  May  5.  Again  a  miscellaneous 
concert,  with  the  following  programme  :  — 

Overture  to  Zanetta 

Air:  "  0  Sleep  I  "  ivoxa.  Masaniello 

Mr.  Charles  R.  Adams. 
Recitative  and  Air  :  "  Ocean,  Thou  Mighty  Monster,"  from 

Oberon 

Mme.  Gabriella  Boema. 
Orchestral  Fantasy  :   Une  Niiit  a  Lisbonne  .... 
Air:  "  Lascia  ch'io  pianga,"  from  Binaldo  .... 

Miss  Emily  Winant. 
Recitative  and  Air:  "  Sweet  Bird,"  from  L' Allegro,  II  Pen- 

sieroso  .ed  II  MoO.erato 

Miss  Emma  C.  Thursby. 
Song:  "  I  am  a  Roamer,"  from  the  Son  and  Stranger 
Mr.  Myron  W.  Whitney. 
Hymn  to  Diana,  from  Iphigenie  en  Tauride . 

Female  Chorus. 
March  and  Procession,  from  La  Heine  de  Saba   . 
Air:  "  Winterstiirme  wichen,"  from  D/e  Walkure 
Mr.  William  J.  Winch. 

Song:  "  The  Young  Nun  " 

Mme.  Boema. 

Rigodon,  for  Orchestra 

Tarentella 

Miss  Thursby. 
Motet:  Insanoi  et  Vance  Cur ce Haydn. 


Saint- Saens. 
Handel. 


Handel. 

Mendelssohn. 

Gluck. 

Gounod. 
Wagner. 


Schubert, 

Bameau. 
Bizet. 


We  may  trust  the  Transcript  of  the  next  day  for  a  fair  estimate  of 
the  manner  in  which  these  interesting  numbers  were  performed  :  — 

"  Mr.  Adams  sang  the  Slumber  Song  from  MasanieUo  with  all  the  expres- 
sive tenderness  and  perfection  of  style  that  won  all  hearts  when  he  first  sang 
It  here.  Mrs.  Boema  gave  the  great  Oberon  scena  with  telling  dramatic 
power,  if  not  with  the  complete  mastery  she  has  shown  on  some  occasions; 
but  her  singing  of  Schubert's  song,  which  was  given  with  Listz's  orchestral 
setting  of  the  accompaniment,  was  beautiful  indeed.  Miss  Winant's  noble 
voice  and  sincerity  of  feeling  entitled  her  singing  of  the  Handel  air  to  much 
admiration ;  onlv  she  took  it  too  slow,  so  that  all  the  swing  of  the  Saraband 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  449 

rhythm  was  lost.  Miss  Thursby,  admirably  seconded  by  Mr.  E.  Heindl's  flute, 
sang  Handel's  bird  song  charmingly,  and  gave  Bizet's  coquettish  and  ex- 
tremely difficult  Tarantella  with  delightful  eftect.  Mr.  Whitney  sang  the 
Pedler's  Song  from  Son  and  Slranger  perhaps  better  than  ever  before,  and 
Mr.  Winch  gave  Seigmund's  Love  Song  with  infinite  passionateness  of  ex- 
pression, albeit  we  should  have  liked  a  smoother  flow  of  the  rhythm  in  the 
first  part.  The  female  voices  of  the  choir  sang  Gluck's  inefiably  beautiful 
Hymn  to  Diana  exceedingly  well,  and  the  wondrous  Haydn  motet  again  made 
an  immense  eflect.  The  orchestra  played  the  little  pieces  by  Saint-Saens  and 
Rameau  very  deftly  and  nicely,  and  gave  the  Nicolai  overture  with  much 
spirit,  if  not  with  much  finish." 

That  concert  proved  but  moderately  attractive.  —  receipts,  SI, 840. 

Sixth  Day.  On  Sunday  Evening,  May  6*,  the  Festival  was  brought 
to  a  close  with  what  was  generally  recognized  as  an  excellent  per- 
formance (the  75th  by  the  Society)  of  Handel's  Mes.siah.  The 
soloists  were  :  Mrs.  E.  Aline  Osgood,  soprano ;  Miss  Emily  Winant, 
contralto ;  Mv.  Charles  R.  Adams  and  Mr.  Thodore  J.  Toedt,  tenors  ; 
and  Mr.  Myron  TV.  Whitney,  bass.  This  showed  what  the  Society 
could  do  in  emergencies  ;  for  the  conductor,  Mr.  Carl  Zerrahn  (who, 
by  the  way,  was  presented  during  an  intermission  with  an  immense 
basket  of  flowers  by  the  ladies  of  the  chorus),  stated  to  the  audience 
that  there  had  been  no  rehearsal  whatever  either  of  chorus,  oiches- 
tra,  or  soloists.  The  audience,  if  not  equal  to  that  of  some  Christ- 
mas performances,  was  large,  the  receipts  reaching  S2,480, 

So  ended  the  Sixth  Triennial  Festival,  more  flattering  to  the  artistic 
pride  than  to  the  financial  hopes  of  the  Society.  Certainly  there  was 
no  lack  of  choice  and  solid  matter,  nor  of  interesting  novelty,  in  its 
programmes.  The  list  of  principal  artists  was  attractive  and  supe- 
rior. No  means  nor  efforts  had  been  spared  to  make  both  orchestra 
and  chorus  all  that  they  should  be  for  the  interpretation  of  such 
works.  The  conductor,  Mr.  Zerrahn,  was  instant  in  season  and  out 
of  season,  using  all  his  characteristic  energy,  persistency,  and  pa- 
tience in  rehearsals.  The  president  and  secretary,  and  all  the  board 
of  government  gave  of  their  time,  their  counsel,  and  their  labor  freely, 
without  stint.  Yet  it  had  failed  financially  because,  in  the  terse 
words  of  the  secretary  in  his  records,  "  the  public  let  it  severely 
alone."  And  why  so?  Doubtless  one  reason  was,  that  music  in  Bos- 
ton had  become  so  much  more  plentiful  and  cheap  than  it  was  in  the 
days  of  the  earlier  festivals.  Think  how  amply  the  best  musical 
appetite  must  have  been  satiated  by  the  now-established  system  of 
twenty-four  Symphony  Concerts  with  twenty-four  public  rehearsals 
of  the  same,  making  forty-eight  such  concerts,  in  every  musical  sea- 


450  HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

son !  Then  there  were  classical  chamber  concerts  of  all  kinds. 
These,  taken  all  together,  gave,  so  to  say,  the  primacy  to  instru 
mental  music.  But  there  is  also  to  be  taken  into  account  the  com- 
petition with  the  old  Society  not  precisely  on  its  own  ground,  but  to 
a  considerable  extent  so,  on  the  part  of  smaller  choral  societies 
(each,  to  be  sure,  of  special  character),  like  the  Cecilia,  the  Apollo, 
and  the  Boylston  Club.  All  this  ministered  to  the  proverbial  restless- 
ness of  our  "modern  Athenians,"  like  their  old  Greek  namesakes, 
always  running  after  "  new  things."  Moreover  the  very  effort  made 
to  meet  the  cry  for  novelty  perhaps  only  made  the  matter  worse ;  for 
if  Gounod's  Redemption  drew  the  largest  audience,  did  it  not  in  the 
same  ratio  shake  the  confidence  of  the  more  cultivated  and  exactino- 
music-lovers  in  the  soundness  of  the  old  and  honored  institution?  On 
whom  but  on  that  class  of  supporters  must  such  a  society  in  the  long 
run  depend? 

But,  setting  these  reasonings  all  aside,  was  the  experiment  upon 
the  whole  a  fair  one?  Many  thought  it  failed  simply  by  undertaking 
too  much.  The  ambitious  passion  for  "big  things"  has  been  the 
cause  of  many  a  failure,  many  a  signal  crash  (we'd  symbolized  by  that 
Tower  of  Babel  in  this  verj-  Festival),  in  this  young,  enterprising,  and 
o'er-sanguine  American  people.  In  no  one  of  our  cities  have  we  the 
large  class  of  people  of  wealth  and  leisure,  free,  as  in  Europe,  to  de- 
vote a  whole  week  to  attendance  on  a  feast  of  oratorio.  Even  our 
wealthy  families  are  busy  and  grudge  time  for  such  things.  More 
than  that,  the  famous  musical  festivals  abroad,  at  all  events  in  Ger- 
many, rarely  if  ever  exceed  three  days  in  length.  Why  not  content 
ourselves  with  that  more  modest  plan?  Providing  for  a  three  days' 
festival  would  be  risking  less,  while  it  would  fall  within  the  power  of 
a  much  larger  audience  to  attend  it.  Besides,  three  days  of  good 
music  could  be  choicer  in  selection,  less  hurried  and  more  perfect  in 
the  execution,  than  a  whole  week  of  it,  however  imposing  and  mag- 
nificent the  prospectus.  Not  a  few  of  the  most  earnest  friends  of 
music  in  this  musical  city  deeply  regret  that  the  Triennials  were  given 
up  before  testing  the  experiment  upon  a  smaller  scale. 

When  the  Board  of  Government  came  to  meet  to  survey  the  battle- 
field a  few  days  later  {May  14)^  it  was  found  that  the  financial  result 
of  the  Festival  had  been  a  loss  of  about  86,000,  while  the  profit  of  the 
regular  season  had  been  about  $1,600  (to  which  could  be  added  the 
interest  of  the  permanent  fund,  —  about  $1,100).  it  was  voted  to 
lay  an  assessment  of  ten  per  cent  on  the  subscribers  to  the  guaranty 
fund  of  $30,000,  and  assume  the  balance  of  the  deficit.  It  was  voted 
to  pay  Mr.  Zerrahn  $1,000  as  conductor  and  Mr.  Lang  $400  as  organ- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.    451 

ist  of  the  Festival,  and  to  pay  Prof.  J.  K.  Paine  an  honorarium  of 
8200  for  the  use  of  his  Nativity.  The  treasurer  was  authorized  to 
raise  money  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  Festival  to  an  amount  not 
exceeding  $1,000. 

Misfortunes  never  come  single.  Indeed  the  brave  old  Society  was 
in  a  critical  condition.  Not  only  had  its  ideal  project  failed,  not  only 
did  it  see  itself  constrained  to  renounce  the  inspiring  stimulus  it  had 
received  from  looking  forward  to  an  indefinite  future  of  great  trien- 
nial festivals  worthy  to  compare  with  those  of  Birmingham  and  Nor- 
wich and  Cologne,  and  reduce  itself  again  to  toiling  on  the  old  road 
no  longer  shone  upon  and  cheered  by  such  light  from  above.  It  was 
now  to  lose  another  of  its  mainstays,  another  element  in  its  success. 
For  more  than  thirty  years  the  Great  Organ  of  the  Music  Hall,  one  of 
the  great  organs  of  the  world,  had  helped  to  temper,  to  enrich,  and 
swell  its  massive  harmonies.  Now  the  control  of  the  Music  Hall 
had  passed  into  new  hands  ;  and  it  was  determined  to  remove  the 
organ  to  make  more  room  for  orchestra,  perhaps  for  a  theatrical 
stage,  at  any  rate,  to  increase  the  seating  capacity  for  audience. 
Accordingly  the  noble  instrument  was  banished,  stowed  away  tempo- 
rarily somewhere.  After  much  negotiation,  it  Avas  sold  to  a  generous 
friend  of  the  New  England  Conservatory  of  Music,  for  the  benefit  of 
that  institution,  with  the  hope  that  it  might  acquire  new  ground  ad- 
joining the  large  hotel  which  it  already  occupied,  and  thereon  build  a 
stately  hall  wherein  oratorios  might  be  presented  with  all  the  added 
glory  of  such  an  organ.  That  hope  failed  ;  and  to  this  day  the  pipes 
and  all  the  works  and  costly  frame  of  the  Great  Organ  lie  packed  away 
in  a  rough  wooden  shanty  in  the  corner  of  a  burying-ground.  It  cost 
originally  sixty  thousand  dollars^  it  was  sold  for  Jive  thousarid!  Mean- 
while in  the  Music  Hall,  while  the  organ  end  of  the  hall,  once  so 
stately,  presents  a  bald  and  shabby  aspect,  a  small  but  vigorous  (sic) 
instrument  does  duty  for  the  oratorios  high  up  on  one  side  of  the 
end,  unbalanced  architecturally  by  anything  at  all  corresponding  on 
the  other  side. 

Yet  has  the  old  Society  not  become  discouraged ;  it  has  done  much 
noble  work  in  the  same  place  since,  and  hopes  and  means  to  do  much 
more  and  nobler. 


452  HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN*    SOCIETY. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

SIXTY-NINTH    SEASON. 
May  28,   1S83,  to  May  26.   1884. 

May  28.     Annual  Meeting.     The  treasurer  reported  :  — 

On  hand  May  29,  1882 8307  83 

Receipts  from  all  sources 15,212  06 


815,519  89 
Expense  of  concerts  ....         811,148  76 

Salaries  and  rent 2.453  53 

Additions  to  library 1.153  15 

14,755  44 

Balance  on  regular  season S764  45 

The  trustees  of  the  permanent  fund  reported  the  year's  interest  to- 
be  ?1,129.90,  and  the  present  value  of  the  securities  §23,008.91. 
The  interest  had  been  paid  to  the  secretary,  to  be  applied  to  the 
deficit  on  the  Festival,  which  the  treasurer  estimated  at  So, 000 ;  to 
meet  which  he  counted  on  :  — 

Surplus  of  the  season 

Interest  of  fund 

Assessment  on  guaranty  fund  .... 


leaving  a  balance  of  deficit  of  between  S500  and  600,  to  pay  which 
the  treasurer  had  been  empowered  to  borrow  money. 

Mr.  C.  TT.  Stone  offered  a  resolution  of  regret  at  the  refusal  of 
Col.  A.  Parker  Browne  to  be  again  a  candidate  for  re-election  as- 
secretary,  he  having  served  in  that  capacity  for  twelve  years  faithfnlly 
and  with  signal  ability,  and  the  present  high  condition  and  character  of 
the  Society  being  largely  due  to  his  untiring  labors.  This  was  passed 
unanimously.     The  annual  election  of  officers  resulted  as  follows  :  — 

President. — Charles  C.  Perkins. 

Vice-President.  —  George  H.  Chickering. 

Secretary.  —  Eugene  B.  Hagar. 

Treasurer.  —  Moses  Grant  Daniell. 

Librarian.  —  John  H.   Stickney. 


8764  45 
1,129  90 
2,540  00 

84,434  35 

HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  453 

Directors.  —  R.  S.  Rundlett,  D.  L.  Laws,  J.  D.  Andrews,  H.  G. 
Carey,  George  Y.  Daniels,  A.  Parker  Browne,  F.  H.  Jenks, 
Charles  W.  Stone  . 

The  president  submitted  his  annual  address,  showing  that  there  had 
been  held  fifty-three  rehearsals,  with  an  average  attendance  of  three 
hundred  and  sixty  singers,  and  that  twelve  concerts  were  given,  — ^ 
five  in  the  regular  season,  and  seven  in  the  Festival,  —  with  an  aver- 
age choral  force  of  from  five  hundred  to  six  hundred.  The  address 
dwelt  fairly  and  eloquently  on  the  gloonn^  side  of  the  picture,  and  on 
the  bright  one,  the  artistic  side,  suggesting  that  the  first  production  of 
the  Cherubini  Mass  marked  a  red-letter  year  in  the  history  of  the 
Society. 

The  first  concert  of  the  season  was  in  honor  of  the  four  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Martin  Luther,  given  in  the  Music  Hall  on 
Sunday  evening,  Nov.  11.  The  programme  consisted  of  Bach's  Can- 
tata on  Ein'  feste  Burg  and  Mendelssohn's  Hymn  of  Praise.  The 
cantata  was  produced  here  for  the  first  time.  It  was  composed  either 
for  the  Reformation  festival  of  1730  or  for  that  of  1739,  the  two 
hundredth  jubilee  of  the  acceptance  of  the  evangelical  doctrine  in 
Saxony. 

"It  begins  with  a  long  chorus  in  which  each  line  of  the  choral  is  made 
successively  the  subject  of  woudrously  varied  fugual  treatment.  Tech- 
nically speaking,  this  chorus  is  a  curiosity  of  rare  interest  from  the  exhaus- 
tive use  the  composer  has  made  of  every  variety  of  fugual  response,  — reaU 
tonal,  and  irregular.  In  the  higher  musical  sense,  it  is  no  less  an  astonishing 
piece  of  work.  In  grandeur,  dignity,  and  strong,  over-brimming  vital  force, 
it  ...  is  stupendous.  This  chorus  embraces  the  text  of  the  first  verse  of 
Luther's  hymn.  The  next  number  (second  verse),  set  as  a  brilliant  duet  for 
soprano  and  tenor,  was  omitted.  No.  3,  a  beautiful  recitative,  such  as  no 
one  but  Bach  has  ever  written,  merging  into  a  short  arioso  movement,  was 
smoothly  and  feelingly  sung  by  Mr.  Clarence  E.  Hay.  Mrs.  Henschel  mas- 
tered the  difficulties  of  the  ensuing  soprano  air  :  '  Within  my  heart  of  hearts,' 
like  the  true  and  accomplished  artist  she  is.  .  .  .In  the  next  number,  em- 
bracing the  third  verse  of  the  hymn  :  '  Were  all  the  world  of  devils  full,'  etc., 
the  chorus  sing  the  chorale,  in  unison  and  octaves  (6-8  time),  against  a  roar- 
ing tempest  of  furious  counterpoint  in  the  orchestra.  Here  again  Bach  shows 
his  genius  in  all  its  glory.  The  effect  is  overwhelming.  Next  follows  a  beau- 
tiful recitative  and  arioso,  finely,  if  a  little  too  formally,  sung  by  Mr.  Toedt, 
and  a  duet,  '  How  blessed,'  for  contralto  and  tenor,  which  Miss  Winant  and 
Mr.  Toedt  sang,  at  times  with  excellent  effect,  at  others  with  a  lack  of 
security.  The  work  closes  with  the  last  verse  of  the  hymn,  sung  in  flowing 
four-part  harmony  by  the  chorus.  The  effect  of  the  composition  upon  the 
audience  was  hardly  brilliant;  but  that  must  come  with  future  performances. 
The  chorus  sang  exceedingly  well,  saving  that  in  the  number,  *  Were  all  the 
world  with  devils  full ',  the  voices  were  persistently  behind  the  beat." 


454     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

(These  remarks  are  from  the  peu  of  Mr.  W.  F.  Apthorp  in  the 
Transcript.)  As  a  curious  offset,  showing  how  doctors  disagree,  we 
cite  a  couple  of  sentences  from  a  critic  of  another  sort,  one  of  the 
clamorers  for  novelties,  "  new  school,"  etc.  :  — 

"  As  the  Society  has  now  accompHshed  the  duty  of  givin,^  a  performance 
•of  the  Bach  Cantata,  it  might  be  well  to  pack  it  away  in  the  library  of  the 
organization,  and  label  it,  'For  the  Luther  Centennial  of  1983.'  It  is  quite 
possible  that  the  work  may  be  interesting  as  a  study,  and  it  has  a  certain 
value  as  a  relic  of  ancient  musical  forms,  but  the  public  will  hardly  demand  a 
second  hearing  of  it  during  the  present  generation." 

The  performance  of  the  Hymn  of  Praise  seems  to  have  been  a  ver}" 
brilliant  one,  Mrs.  Henschel,  Miss  Winant,  and  Mr.  Toedt  vying 
with  one  another  in  giving  the  solos  and  concerted  pieces  their  full 
significance.  The  fitness  of  this  work  for  the  Luther  programme  lay 
in  the  fact  that  Mendelssohn  composed  it  for  the  anniversary  of  the 
invention  of  the  art  of  printing,  which  had  much  to  do  with  making 
the  age  ripe  for  the  Reformation.  The  audience  was  discouragingly 
small,  —  about  one  thousand  three  hundred.  The  chorus  too  was 
small,  —  two  hundred  and  eighty-three,  against  an  orchestra  of  sixty- 
six.  It  was  too  early  in  the  season  to  expect  a  full  attendance, 
—  receipts,  SI, 258. 50;  expenses,  $1,639.32  ;  loss,  S380.72. 

Christmas,  which  came  on  Tuesday,  brought  with  it  the  annual  per- 
formance of  Handel's  Messiah^  preceded  by  a  public  rehearsal  on 
Sunday  evening,  Dec.  23.  The  chorus  was  small,  only  two  hundred 
and  sixty-seven,  but  sang  with  spirit  and  precision.  The  reduction 
in  numbers  did  not  perceptibly  impair  its  efficiency.  Miss  Elizabeth 
C.  Hamlin  made  her  debut  as  soprano  soloist,  with  a  voice  of  great 
purity,  large  volume,  and  extended  compass.  Her  singing  was  intel- 
ligent and  expressive.  Miss  Hope  Glen,  the  contralto,  with  a  rich, 
sweet  voice,  not  always  sufficiently  powerful,  sang  with  a  dignified 
reserve  well  suited  to  the  music.  Mr.  C.  R.  Adams  and  Mr.  J.  F. 
Winch,  both  somewhat  affected  in  the  throat,  sang  with  their  usual 
good  taste  and  vigor.  The  house  was  nearly  all  sold,  in  spite  of  a 
bad  storm,  —  receipts  (with  public  rehearsal),  $2,745.83  ;  expenses, 
$1,879.26;  profit,  $866.57, 

1884.  Jan.  1.  We  find  the  following  statement  in  one  of  the 
daily  papers  about  this  time  :  — 

"It  having  been  declared  that  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  had  not  done 
its  duty  by  native  singers,  a  search  of  the  records  for  thirteen  years  brings  to 
light  these  facts  :  Fifty-four  Americans  have  had  a  total  of  three  hundred  and 
twenty-two  engagements ;  twenty-two  foreigners  (most  of  them  being  per- 
manent residents  in  this  country)  have  had  eighty-seven  engagements." 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  455 

The  Sunday  evening  rehearsals  of  January  and  February  were 
occupied  with  St.  Paul,  The  Redemption,  and  Bach's  St.  Mattheio 
Passion  Music. 

Tuesday  Evening,  Feb.  26.  Gounod's  Redemption  was  performed, 
as  a  popular  attraction,  in  the  vast  Mechanics'  Hall.  This  was  to 
test  the  frequent  demand  for  oratorio  at  low  prices.  The  chorus 
numbered  three  hundred  and  nineteen,  the  orchestra,  seventy.  There 
was  a  great  array  of  solo  singers  :  Mme.  Pappenheim,  Miss  Gertrude 
Franklin,  Miss  Louise  RoUwagen,  contralto;  Mr.  Georg  Henschel 
and  Mr.  D.  M.  Babcock.  There  had  been  very  careful  preparation 
and  wide  advertisement.  Yet  the  sale  of  one-dollar  tickets  was  but 
1,172,  and  of  seventy-five-cent  tickets,  519.  The  weather,  how- 
ever, had  been  stormy,  or  threatening  for  three  weeks,  and  on  the  day 
and  niofht  of  the  concert  it  became  a  heavv  storm  of  most  wet  and 
disagreeable  snow.  The  financial  experiment,  therefore,  was  incon- 
clusive. The  performance  as  a  whole  was  generally  praised.  How 
well  the  oratorio  (or  trilogy)  had  been  prepared  was  proved  by  the 
unhesitating  steadiness  with  which  Mme.  Pappenheim,  the  orchestra, 
and  the  chorus  went  through  with  "From  thy  love  as  a  father"  in 
darkness,  the  electiic  light  having  gone  out  just  as  the  number  began, 
and  the  gas  not  getting  lighted  until  just  as  it  was  finished.  The 
closing  in  of  the  lobbies  on  the  floor  and  first  gallery  with  partitions 
of  wood  and  glass  was  found  to  have  greatly  improved  the  acoustic 
qualities  of  the  hall,  —  receipts  (including  rehearsal),  $1,5/2.50  ;  ex- 
penses, $2,581.85  ;  loss.  Si, 009. 35  ! 

For  those  on  whom  The  Redemption  had  begun  to  pall  from  the 
first  hearing  more  and  more  each  time  a  better  thing  was  in  store  at 
the  next  concert  of  the  season.  On  Good  Friday,  April  11,  Bach's 
St.  Matthew  Passion  Music  was  performed  for  the  sixth  lime  by  the 
old  Society.  But  it  was  reduced  to  the  limit  of  two  hours  and  a  half. 
The  soloists  were  :  Mrs.  Osgood,  Miss  Winant,  Mr.  George  J.  Parker, 
Mr.  Henschel,  and  Mr.  Remmertz.  Mr.  Parker's  tenor  in  the  narra- 
tive recitatives  showed  the  highest  refinement  of  style  and  beauty 
of  tone.  The  one  thing  wanting  was  a  larger  volume  ;  but  his 
original  power  was  fully  sustained  to  the  end.  Mr.  Henschel's 
delivery  of  the  music  in  the  part  of  Jesus  was  intelligent,  musicianly, 
and  expressive,  as  usual  with  him.  The  others  had  been  heard  to 
better  advantage.  The  chorus  was  best  in  the  chorals  ;  in  most  of 
the  other  parts  it  was  meritorious,  if  not  brilliant.  The  same  could 
be  said  of  the  five  and  forty  boys,  trained  by  Mr.  George  A.  Veazie, 
Jr.,  for  the  soprano  ripieno  in  the  great  opening  double  chorus. 
There  was  a  chorus  of  three  hundred  and  ninetv-one,  an  orchestra 


456  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

of    sixty-five,  —  receipts,    $1,713.34;    expenses,    82,072.81;    loss, 
$359  47. 

For  Easter,  April  13,  Mendelssohn's  St.  Paul  was  given,  with  Mme. 
Pappenheim,  Mrs.  Jennette  M.  Noyes,  Mr.  George  W.  Want,  and 
Mr.  Myron  W.  Whitney  in  the  solo  parts.  The  noble  overture  was 
uncommonly  well  played.  The  chorus  sang  with  unusual  clearness 
and  vigor  almost  throughout.  Mme.  Pappenheim  made  a  great  im- 
pression in  the  soprano  solos.  Her  large,  pure,  noble  voice  was  a 
delight  to  the  ear ;  only  a  certain  shortness  of  breath  sometimes 
obliged  her  to  cut  her  phrases  in  two,  and  gave  her  singing  an  un- 
comfortable sense  of  effort  now  and  then.  But  this  was  more  than 
counterbalanced  by  her  commanding  qualities,  by  the  nobility  of  her 
artistic  nature,  her  dramatic  instinct.  Mrs.  Noyes  sang  the  little 
music  of  her  contralto  part  with  devout  feeling,  and  with  sweetness 
and  evenness  of  tone.  Mr.  Want's  efforts  in  the  tenor  solos  were 
highly  creditable,  although  in  such  music  he  hardly  found  his  sphere. 
Mr.  Whitney,  in  the  part  of  Paul,  was  at  his  very  best,  —  chorus,  four 
hundred  and  forty- six ;  orchestra,  fifty-eight;  receipts,  $1,769.83; 
expenses,  $1,718.81  ;  profit,  Sol. 02. 

So  ended  a  season  fraught  with  financial  disaster,  the  net  loss  of 
the  five  concerts  being  $831.95.  The  obvious  causes  of  this  short- 
coming were  :  a  plethora  of  music  in  all  departments ;  stagnation  of 
business ;  almost  unprecedented  inclemency  of  weather ;  and,  as 
interfering  especially  with  the  last  two  concerts,  an  operatic  Wag- 
ner festival  directly  after  Easter. 

A2:)ril  20.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Board,  the  secretary  was  author- 
ized to  borrow  $2,500  in  behalf  of  the  Society,  and  give  its  promis- 
sory note,  payable  in  three  months. 


SEVENTIETH    SEASON. 

May  26,  1884,  to  May  25,  1885. 

May  26.  Annual  meeting.  The  treasurer,  Mr.  M.  G.  Daniell, 
presented  his  report  of  the  Sixth  Triennial  Festival  (1883),  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

Received $13,232  90 

Expended 18,218  36 

Loss $4,985  46 

This  loss  was  met  by  an  assessment  on  the  guarantors  ($2,557.50)  ^ 
a  year's  income  of  the  permanent  fund   ($1,129.90),  and  proceeds- 


I 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.    457 

of  treasurer's  note  for  $750  ($729.03).   Then  followed  the  treasurer's 
report  for  the  season  of  1883-84  :  — 

Cash  at  beginning  and  total  receipts         ....     $10,918  87 
Total  expenditure .        .       13,214  76 


Deficit •        .         .       $2,295  89 

This  deficit  was  met  by  the  proceeds  of  the  Society's  note  for 
$2,500,  on  three  months,  namel}^  $2,461.25,  leaving  a  balance  on 
hand  of  $165.36. 

The  treasurer  further  stated  that  the  debt  had  increased  from 
$601.83  at  the  beginning  of  the  season,  to  $2,334.64  at  its  close. 

The  trustees  of  the  permanent  fund  reported  its  income  during 
the  year  at  $1,141.56,  and  the  principal  (on  May  1,  1884)  at 
$22,826.58. 

It  being  reported  that  in  the  case  of  ten  tenors  recently  admitted 
the  initiation  fee  of  five  dollars  each  had  been  remitted,  a  protest  was 
made  on  the  ground  that  it  was  a  violation  of  the  by-laws,  and  a 
spirited  discussion  followed,  which  resulted  in  a  vote  of  ratification, 
coupled  with  a  clause  prohibiting  its  repetition. 

The  president,  C.  C.  Perkins,  read  his  annual  address,  reviewing 
the  year's  record  in  his  usual  tone  of  candid  recognition,  wise  counsel, 
eloquent  exhortation,  and  encouragement.  Perhaps  tbe  most  im- 
portant passage  was  the  following  :  — 

"Let  us,  then,  determine  to  spend  ourselves  upon  the  work  before  us 
with  fresh  courage,  and,  while  we  regret  that  we  have  been  unable  to  add 
anything  to  the  permanent  fund  for  two  successive  years,  look  forward  with 
no  less  hope  to  the  time  when  it  shall  have  been  so  increased  as  to  enable  the 
Society  to  build  that  concert  hall  which  it  first  proposed  to  itself  as  a  goal 
of  endeavor.  At  a  meeting  held  on  the  22d  of  November,  1824  —  now  well- 
nigh  sixty  years  ago,  —  a  motion  to  purchase  a  piece  of  land  for  the  purpose 
was  then  made  and  carried.  What  a  pity  that  no  subsequent  action  was 
taken !  By  this  time  the  property  would  have  so  risen  in  value  that  its  sale 
would  have  yielded  more  than  we  need  to  make  our  castle  in  Spain  a  reality 
in  Boston.  I  picture  to  myself  a  building  of  a  simple  and  somewhat  severe 
character,  containing  a  concert  hall  of  ample  dimensions,  adorned  with 
statues  of  the  Society's  titular  composers,  and  with  portraits  of  all  the 
great  authors  of  sacred  music,  a  fine  organ,  a  stage  fitted  with  permanent 
seats  for  the  chorus  singers,  rooms  for  the  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Govern- 
ment, and  the  examination  of  candidates,  and  a  library  where  scores,  musical 
histories,  treatises,  and  periodicals  could  be  consulted  at  ease  by  the  mem- 
bers. How  soon  or  how  late  the  Society  may  have  such  a  building  of  its 
own  depends  in  a  measure  upon  what  we,  its  present  members,  are  able  to 
accomplish.  This  conviction  should  nerve  us  to  fresh  eflbrt,  —  for  although 
the  end  will  not  probably  be  reached  until  long  after  we  have  passed  away. 


458 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


we  shall  have  done  our  part  towards  it.  May  those  who  are  destined  to  give 
shape  to  the  long-cherished  project,  and  enjoy  what  we  would  fain  have 
enjoyed,  rememoer  that  to  us,  as  to  many  generations  of  our  predecessors  — 

"  '  Hoc  erat  in  votis.'  " 


The  annual  election  of  officers  resulted  as  follows  :  — 

Preside/it.  —  Charles  C  Perkins. 

Vice-President.  —  George  H.  Chickering. 

Secretary.  —  Eugene  B.  Hagar. 

Treasurer.  —  Moses  Grant  Daniell. 

Librarian. — Francis  H.  Jenks. 

Directors.  — H.  P.  Blackman,  A.  P.  Broavne,  H.  G.  Carey,  J.  S. 
Sawyer,  A.  K.  Hebard,  J.  H.  Stickney,  G.  F.  Daniels,  C.  W. 
Stone. 

Attention  was  called  to  the  fact  that,  many  years  ago,  when  the 
pitch  of  the  Great  Organ  was  raised,  the  Society  contributed  a  sum 
toward  the  purchase  of  a  set  of  wood-wind  instruments  ;  and  it  was 
voted  that  the  secretary  make  inquiries  as  to  their  present  situation 
and  ownership,  and  sell  any  interest  which  the  Society  might  hold  in 
them.  The  secretary  offered  the  following  Chorus  Statistics  of  the 
season  of  1883-84. 

New 
Members. 
.       23 

31 

25 

12 

91 


Average  at  28  rehearsals,     337 
Average  at    5  concerts    .     361 


Total  No 

of  Chorus  Tickets. 

Sopranos 

166 

Altos      . 

. 

U3 

Teuors    . 

120 

Basses    . 

134 

Total 

. 

563 

Maximum  attendance    . 

456 

Minimum  attendance     . 

208 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Government  {June  ^),  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  George  Frederick  Handel  was  born  Feb.  23,  1685, 
and  that  the  bi-centennial  anniversaiy  of  his  birth  would  occur  dur- 
ing the  current  musical  season,  it  was  determined  to  commemorate 
the  occasion  by  devoting  the  programmes  of  the  season  of  1884-85 
entirely  to  works  of  Handel,  as  follows  :  — 

Dec.  21.     The  annual  Christmas  performance  of  the  Messiah. 

Feb.  22,  ISSo.  A  miscellaneous  Handel  concert,  with  a  pro- 
gramme so  constructed  as  best  to  illustrate  his  genius,  the  prefer- 
ence being  given  to  comparatively  unfamiliar  selections. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAY^DN    SOCIETY.  45^ 

April  3.     Easter.     Israel  in  Egypt. 

Durino:  the  months  of  October  and  November  choruses  were  re- 
hearsed  from  Solomon^  Deborah^  Jephtha^  Joshua^  Israel  in  Egypt., 
and  the  Messiah.  A  pleasant  incident  occurred  at  the  rehearsal  of 
Nov.  30.  Mr  B.  J.  Lang  was  addressed  by  President  Perkins,  who 
congratulated  him  on  the  completion  of  his  twenty-fifth  year  as 
organist  of  the  Society,  and  in  recognition  of  his  long  and  useful 
term  of  service,  presented  him,  on  behalf  of  the  Society,  with  a  valu- 
able gold  watch  suitably  inscribed,  a  set  of  Shakespeare's  works,  and 
a  book  containing  the  following  address  :  — 

"  To  Mr.  B.  J.  Lang,  Organist  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society : 

"Dear  Sir,  —  As  on  the  27th  of  November  of  the  present  j^ear  you  will 
have  held  the  position  of  organist  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  for  twenty- 
five  years,  and  have  during  that  period  discharged  the  duties  of  your  office 
with  distinguished  ability  and  unwearied  fideUty,  we.  members  of  the  Society 
and  lady  members  of  the  chorus,  desire  to  express  to  yon  our  sense  of  the 
value  of  your  services  and  to  offer  you  our  best  wishes  for  your  continued 
prosperity  and  happiness,  and  with  that  intent  have  hereto  signed  our  names." 

(Signed  by  C.  C.  Perkins,  president;  Carl  Zerrahn,  conductor,  and  between 
four  and  five  hundred  members  of  the  Society  and  chorus.; 

Mr.  Lang's  reply  was  brief,  but  full  of  feeling.  He  recalled  the 
fact  that  a  watch  was  given  him  thirty  years  before  by  a  Salem  so- 
ciety, which  he  had  alwaj's  prized  highly,  and  he  should  esteem  this 
later  gift  still  more. 

Dec.  7.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Board,  authority  was  given  to  the 
president  to  sign,  ia  the  name  of  the  Society,  a  petition  to  Congress 
for  an  International  Copyright  law  (now  while  we  write,  July,  1891, 
just  proclaimed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  be  in 
force !). 

Dec.  21.  The  first  of  the  Handel  commemoration  concerts,  the 
Christmas  performance  of  the  3Iessiah^  fell  on  a  very  stormy  night. 
Yet  the  audience  was  large.  The  solo  singers,  all  new  to  the  work, 
were  Miss  Gertrude  Franklin,  Mrs.  Ella  Cleveland  Fenderson,  Mr. 
George  J.  Parker,  and  Mr.  D.  M.  Babcock.  The  Gnat  Organ  was 
gone!  As  a  small  makeshift,  there  was  a  new  organ,  with  Mr. 
Lang,  ''  suspended  in  mid-air,  like  Mahomet's  coffin."  But  there  was 
some  partial  compensation  for  the  loss  in  the  chance  given  and  im- 
proved for  a  better,  more  effective  seating  of  the  orchestra  and 
chorus.  The  chorus  sang  finely,  and  the  soloists  did  their  work 
very  acceptably.  The  receipts  (at  $1.50  and  $1  prices)  amounted 
to  S2,100  :  the  expenses  to  $1,300. 


460 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


1885.  The  rehearsals  during  January-  and  February  were  all  in 
preparation  for  the  Handel  birthda}'  programme :  choruses  from 
Hercules^  Theodora^  Saul^  Afhaliah,  BeJshazzar^  and  other  works  of 
Handel.     The  concert  came  on 

Sunday  Evening,  Feb,  22^—  one  day  in  advance  of  the  actual  date 
of  Handel's  birth  two  hundred  years  before,  Feb.  23,  1685.  The 
selections  made  from  Handel's  works  were  mostly  new  to  nearly 
every  listener,  and  composed  an  exceedingly  interesting,  richly  con- 
trasted series  :  — 

Part  I. 
Chorus.     Immortal  Lord  of  earth  and  skies.  .        .       Deborah. 

Chorus.     Envy,  eldest  born  of  Hell Saul. 

Tenor.     Total  eclipse.    .......  ^ 

Contralto.     Return,  O  God  of  Hosts  I  . 
Chorus.     To  dust  his  glory  they  would  tread. 
Soprano.     Let  the  bright  seraphim.       .        .         .         .J 

Chorus.     Tyrants  now  no  more  shall  dread.  .         .       Hercules. 

Orchestra.     Dead  March Saul. 

Orchestra.     Larghetto.  .        .         .        .        .        .  ") 


Contralto.     Somnus,  awake 

Soprano.     Thyself  forsake. 

Bass.     Leave  me,  loathsome  light. 

Chorus.     The  mighty  power  in  whom  we  trust. 

Contralto.     He  bids  the  circling  seasons  shine. 

C  Deeper  and  deeper  still.  . 
Tenor.    \  ^^^^^  ^^^,^  angels,  to  the  skies. 

Contralto.     In  gentle  murmurs.  . 

Chorus.     When  his  loud  voice  in  thunder  spoke. 


f-  Semele. 

J 

I  Athaliah 

y  Jeplitha. 
J 


Part  II. 

Orchestra.     Minuet 

Chorus.     May  no  rash  intruder.     . 

Bass.     Shall  I,  in  Mamre's  fertile  plain. 

Chorus.     To  long  posterity  we  here  record. 

Contralto.     Place  danger  around  me.  . 

Chorus.     See,  from  his  post  Euphrates  flies. 

Soprano.     Ask  if  yon  damask  rose  be  sweet. 

Bass.     Racks,  gibbets,  sword,  and  fire. 

Chorus.     He  saw  the  lovel}'  youth. 

Soprano.    Angels,  ever  bright  and  fair. 

Tenor.     Sound  an  alarm. 

Trio  and  Chorus.     See,  the  conquering  hero  comes ! 


Samson. 
Solomon. 

Joshua. 

Belshazzvr. 
Susanna. 

Theodora. 

Judas  3Iaccabceus. 


For  the  interpretation  of  these  wonderfully  beautiful  and  various 
selections  from  the  prolific  fields  of  Handel's  genius,  there  was  the 
well-drilled  chorus  of  four  hundred  and  twenty-eight  voices  (one 
hundred  and   twenty-four   sopranos,  one  hundred  and  twenty  altos, 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  461 

sevent3'-eight  tenors,  one  hundred  and  six  basses) ,  an  orchestra  of 
fifty  seven,  and  the  following  solo  artists:  Miss  Medora  Ilenson, 
soprano  ;  Miss  Sarah  C.  Fisher,  soprano  ;  Miss  Emily  Winant,  con- 
tralto ;  Mr.  George  J.  Parker,  suddenly  called  on  in  place  of  Mr. 
William  J.  Winch,  tenor;  and  Mr.  Myron  W.  Whitney,  bass.  Mr. 
Carl  Zerrahn  conducted;  Mr.  B.  J.  Lang  was  organist;  and  Mr. 
Bernhard  Listemann  was  leader  of  the  orchestra.  Yet  the  audience, 
though  large,  was  not  remunerative  (receipts,  $2,001.83  ;  expenses, 
$2,013.88).  The  concert  was  too  long  —  nearly  three  hours;  and 
there  were  other  causes  to  account  for  the  absence  of  that  enthusi- 
astic response  which  the  Society  had  a  right  to  expect  to  a  pro- 
gramme of  such  exceptional  interest,  culled  from  such  rich  fields, 
and  to  a  concert  prepared  with  so  much  zeal  and  faithful  labor. 
These  reasons  are  clearly  enough  hinted  in  the  following  review  from 
the  Gazette:  — 

"The  selections  were  made  from  a  wide  variety  of  the  master's  works, 
and  presented  him  in  many  aspects  of  his  style ;  but  it  must  be  confessed 
that  the  music  was  all  wevy  much  alike  la  color  and  effect,  and  required  a 
special  mood  and  a  special  enthusiasm  to  enjoy  it  thoroughly.  The  con- 
stantly recurring  four  crotchets  in  the  basses  and  the  eight  quavers  in  the 
violins  became  at  last  painfully  monotonous,  especially  as  tliese  instruments 
invariably  played  such  phrases  without  any  deviation  from  a/orfe  color.  The 
scanty  instrumentation,  in  its  absence  of  nearly  all  contrast  in  effects,  was 
undoubtedly  the  cause  of  the  monotony  complained  of;  and  the  attempt  to 
remedy  this  by  the  tasteless  intrusion  of  a  bass  tuba  and  trombones  into  the 
scores  of  some  of  the  numbers  did  not  tend  to  modify  in  any  permissible  or 
pleasing  way  the  prevailing  evil.  Contrapuntally  the  music  was  abundantly 
interesting,  and  as  music  pure  and  simple  it  was  w^onderfully  fine  to  listen  to ; 
but  the  thin  and  tiresomel3^-mannered  instrumentation  was  a  distressing  draw- 
back to  one's  pleasure  after  an  hour  of  it  had  been  experienced ;  and  by  the 
time  it  had  extended  beyond  a  second  hour,  it  became  almost  exasperating. 

"The  chorus  work  throughout  was  very  good.  .  .  .  The  best  achieve- 
ments in  the  solos  fell  to  the  lot  of  Mr.  George  J.  Parker,  who  was,  owing  to 
the  indisposition  of  Mr.  Winch,  called  upon  suddenly  to  replace  him,  which 
he  did  w^ithout  rehearsal.  His  singing  of  '  Waft  her,  angels,'  was  beautiful 
in  expression,  chaste  in  style,  and  exquisite  in  its  delicate  gradations  of 
fight  and  shade.  .  .  .  Miss  Medora  Henson,  who  appeared  instead  of  Mme. 
Fursch-Madi,  acquitted  herself  with  zeal  and  earnestness.  Her  voice  is  clear 
and  bright,  but  is  cold  and  thin,  and  better  adapted  to  light  concert  music 
than  to  oratorio.  Her  intonation  is  sometimes  erratic,  and  her  style  is  lack- 
ing in  warmth,  finish,  and  maturity.  Her  best  effort  of  the  evening  was 
'  Angels  ever  bright  and  fair,'  of  which  her  singing  was  smooth  and  broad, 
but  it  was  disfigured  by  an  unpleasing  tremolo  and  exaggerated  sentiment. 
She  sang  'Ask  if  yon  damask  rose  be  sweet,'  from  fiiusanva,  flowingly, 
though  coldly,  and  with  very  indistinct  enunciation.  The  artist  proved 
scarcely  equal  either  in  largeness  of  style  or  volume  of  voice  to  '  Let  the 


462  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

bright  seraphim.'  .  .  .  Miss  Emily  Winant  sang  with  her  usual  devotedness 
and  care,  but,  as  it  seemed  to  us,  with  something  more  of  nervousness  than 
is  customary  with  her,  and  as  though  she  did  not  feel  certain  of  her  acquain- 
tance with  her  music.  In  the  more  florid  passages  of  her  bravura  air  she 
narrowly  escaped  disaster  at  several  points.  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney,  who  was 
warmly  received  on  his  appearance  by  the  audience,  orchestra,  and  chorus,  saug 
with  that  smoothness,  ease,  and  dignity  that  always  characterizes  his  work."  . 

But  with  all  the  diawbacks  complained  of,  granting  that  the  con- 
cert was  raiher  •'  monochromatic"  and  too  long,  and  that  the  instru- 
mentation was  thin  and  meagre,  needing  some  Robert  Franz  to 
complete  it,  and  not  in  the  coarse  English  way  with  tuba  and  trom- 
bones, the  scheme  was  noble  and  ideal,  worthy  of  the  high  aim  which 
the  Societ}'  had  cherished  from  its  origin. 

A  more  serious  criticism,  no  doubt,  was  made  by  many,  openly  or 
silently,  who  could  not  ignore  the  fact  that  the  bi-centennial  anni- 
versaries of  the  birth  of  the  two  gre:it  giants  in  music,  Handel  and 
John  Sebastian  Bach,  were  virtually  coincident.  Within  a  month  of 
time  and  a  few  miles  of  distance  those  two  greatest  musicians  the 
world  has  ever  known  were  born.  Would  not  the  celebration  htive 
been  even  more  significant  and  more  complete,  the  programme  less 
"monochromatic,"  had  it  included  representative  selections  from  the 
music  of  the  two?  Perhaps,  however,  that  would  have  required  two 
evenings.  And,  considering  the  labor  that  it  would  have  cost,  was 
it  not  natural  that  the  Society  should  limit  its  devotion  to  one.  and 
that  one  its  own  titular  hero,  Handel?  It  must  be  owned,  there- 
fore, that  it  chose  the  wiser  and  the  safer  course,  preferring  to  do 
what  it  could  do  well,  and  to  leave  the  commemoration  of  the  other 
of  the  Far  nohile  fratrum  to  some  other  body  of  admirers.  And  so 
it  came  about.  The  conductor  of  the  Boston  Symphony  Orchestra^ 
Mr.  William  Gericke,  arranged  for  Saturday  evening,  March  20,  a 
memorial  programme  of  Bach's  music,  consisting  of  :  — 

Part  I. 

Toccata,  arranged  for  orchestra  by H.  Esser. 

Aria:  '-My  heart  ever  faithful,"  from  the  Cantata:  God  so  loved  the  icorld 
(with  'cello  and  piano  accompaniment.) 

Miss  Emma  Juch,  Mr.  Giese,  and  Mk.  Tuckkr. 
Chaconne,  for  violin Mu.  Loeffler. 

Part  II. 
First  and  second  parts  of  the  Christmas  Oratorio,  with  orchestra  and  chorus 
of  three  hundred. 
Soloists :  Miss  Juch,  Miss  Winant,  Mr.  Wm.  J.  Winch,  and  Mr.  Franz 
Remmehtz 


HISTOKY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  4l)3 

And  thus  had  musical  Boston  "'fulfilled  all  righteousness "  in  the 
matter  of  a  pious  recognition  of  the  two  hundredth  arniversary  of 
the  birth  of  Bach  and  Handel,  —  names  which  will  alwa3's  be  in- 
separable. 

Ajml  5.  Easter.  The  colossal  oratorio,  Israel  in  E^ypt,  was 
given  for  the  third  and  concluding  concert  of  the  Handel  com- 
memoration series.  The  solo  artists  were  Miss  Emma  Juch,  soprano  ; 
Miss  Ita  Welsh,  mezzo-soprano;  Mr.  William  J.  Winch,  tenor;  Mr. 
John  F.  Winch,  bass;  and  Mr.  Myron  W.  Whitney,  bass.  •*  The 
soloists,  though  high-priced,"  says  the  secretary's  record,  "were 
spasmodically  good."  The  chorus  (four  hundred  and  two  voices), 
''  daunted  h\  no  difficulties,  rarely  reached  a  higher  standard."  Es- 
pecially noteworthy  was  the  deep,  mysterious  harmouy  and  creeping 
modulation  of  "He  sent  a  thick  darkness."  The  audience  icoulcl 
insist  once  more  upon  a  repetition  of  the  bass  duet  by  the  two  men 
of  war  !  There  was  an  orchestra  of  forty-five.  The  audience  was 
large.     Receipts,  82,154.61  ;  expenses,  81,835.76  :  profit,  8318.85. 

Thus,  worthily  and  grandly,  ended  both  the  Handel  bi- centennial 
commemoration  and  the  seventieth  musical  season  of  the  old  Societv. 


SEVENTY-FIRST   SEASON. 
May   25,    1885.    to   May   31,    1886. 
May  25.     Annual  Meeting.     The  treasurer  reported  :  — 

Balance  on  hand,  May,  1884 .  §165  3& 

Profit  on  Concerts 1,064  23 

Income  Permanent  Fund 1,172  80- 

Sundry  Receipts 357  47 

$2,759  92 

Salaries  81,400  00 

New  Music 292  43 

Bumstead  Hall 505  00 

Sundry  Expenses 484  51 

2,681  94 

Balance  on  hand $77  98^ 

The  outstanding  note  of  the  Society  amounted  to  82,613.75. 
Present  value  of  the  permanent  fund,  822,929.60. 

From  the  annual  address  of  President  C.  C.  Perkins  we  are  moved 
to  copy  largely,  both  as   showing  the  judicious,  happv  way  he  had  of 


464    HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

presenting  the  condition,  the  duties,  and  the  prospects  of  the  Society, 
and  for  the  reason  that  his  earthly  career  of  usefuhiess  was  destined 
to  be  so  soon  closed.     He  said  :  — 

"  You  will  remember  that  the  season  of  1882-83  closed  with  a  festival 
which,  though  inferior  to  none  of  its  five  predecessors  in  the  attractions 
which  it  offered,  was  so  insufficiently  attended  that  the  receipts  fell  far  short 
of  the  expenses;  and  you  will  also  remember  that  the  succeeding  season  not 
only  failed  to  repair  our  losses,  but,  through  its  own  shortcomings,  nearly 
quadrupled  our  debt.  The  announcement  of  this  state  of  our  affairs  cast  a 
gloom  over  the  last  annual  meeting,  and  left  those  of  us  who  were  then 
charged  with  the  management  of  the  Society  not  a  little  anxious  and  per- 
plexed, although  fully  determined  that,  if  prudence  and  economy  could  avail, 
the  coming  year  should  find  us  at  least  no  worse  off  at  its  close  than  we  were 
at  its  beginning. 

"Thanks  to  the  exercise  of  the  homely  virtues  above  referred  to,  this 
modest  hope  has  been  more  than  realized,  for  we  have  not  only  reached  the 
end  of  the  season  without  loss,  but  with  a  net  profit.  .  .  .  This  seems  to 
show,  on  the  one  hand,  that  so  long  as  the  Society  is  content  to  give  few  con- 
certs in  a  season,  and  to  produce  works  whose  power  to  attract  large  audi- 
ences can  be  relied  od,  as  proved  by  long  experience,  it  will  run  no  risk  of 
loss ;  and,  on  the  other,  that  such  risk  must  attend  the  multiplication  of  con- 
certs, and  the  production  of  altogether  new  works,  or  of  old  works  hitherto 
untried.  I  presume  that  the  Society  might  pledge  itself  to  repeat  the  Messiah 
on  every  Christmas  for  a  century  to  come,  and  to  sing  either  the  Creation  or 
Elijah  on  every  Easter  for  a  like  period,  with  the  certainty  that  it  will  not 
lose  a  dime,  and  the  probability  that  it  will  gain  many  thousands  of  dollars. 
But,  gentlemen,  at  what  a  cost  would  such  an  immunity  from  loss,  or  such  a 
possible  financial  gain,  be  purchased,  and  to  what  a  fossil  state  would  the 
Society  be  reduced  I  It  owes  its  present  honorable  standing  t j  the  fact  that, 
not  content  with  simply  existing,  it  has  lived  actively ;  on  the  one  hand,  keep- 
ing the  glory  of  the  old  composers  bright  by  frequent  revivals  of  their  master- 
pieces, and,  on  the  other,  helping  their  successors  to  attain  fame  by  bringing 
to  a  hearing  such  modern  works  of  high  and  noble  quality  as  may  from  time 
to  time  have  been  written.  This  policj^  is  so  plainl}^  dictated  by  duty,  and 
harmonizes  so  completely  with  our  best  interests,  that  I  am  under  no  appre- 
hension lest  it  should  be  abandoned.  As  in  1882  we  brought  out  Verdi's 
Bequiem  Mass,  in  1883  Bruch's  Arminins,  and  in  1884  Gounod's  The  Eedemp- 
tion,  so,  in  1886,  we  shall,  if  it  prove  worthy,  bring  out  Gounod's  Mors  et 
Vita,  and  thus,  by  keeping  pace  with  the  times,  deserve  a  continuance  of  that 
public  support  which  is  seldom  withheld  from  the  energetic  and  the  daring. 
'  With  such  recognition  of  the  claims  of  modern  composers  we  ought  to  recog- 
nize those  of  their  predecessors.  That  noble  Mass  by  Cherubini,  which  was 
sung  for  the  first  and  only  time  at  the  festival  of  1883,  should  be  revived,  and 
Bach's  great  B-minor  Mass,  of  which  we  have  long  owned  the  score  and 
parts,  should  no  longer  be  allowed  to  slumber  on  our  library  shelves.  But 
youw^ill  say,  How  can  this  be  done  in  the  present  changed  condition  of  things 
musical  in  Boston,  whose  effects  we  have  been  among  the  first  to  feel?  That, 
gentlemen,  is  the  question  which  all  future  boards  of  government  will  have 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY.     465 

to  meet  and  answer.  The  retiring  board  has  shown  what  can  be  done  with  a 
minimum  of  risk;  and,  although  its  course  was  fully  justified  under  existing 
circumstances,  we  must  all  hope  that  the  newly  elected  board  will  be  able  to 
widen  the  field  of  operations,  and  make  the  next  season  more  notable  in  a 
musical  sense  than  the  last  has  been. 

"  Amona  the  most  important  questions  which  it  will  have  to  decide  is  that 
of  holding  a  seventh  Festival,  which,  according  to  precedent,  should  take 
place  in  the  spring  of  1886.  Before  the  last  Festival  such  a  question  would 
have  been  unhesitatingly  answered  in  the  afiirmative ;  but  its  results  were  of 
too  serious  a  nature  to  justify  a  like  confidence  in  the  success  of  any  further 
attempt.  .  .  .  We  have  an  aggregate  loss  of  $16,615.17  in  four  out  of  the 
six  triennial  festivals.  It  is  true  that  a  net  profit  of  $4,376.80  was  derived 
from  the  other  two,  the  first  in  1868,  and  the  fifth  in  1880;  but  this  success 
was  due  to  exceptional  circumstances,  upon  whose  recurrence  no  dependence 
can  be  placed.  ...  I  am  as  far  as  possible  from  regarding  the  Handel  and 
Ha5'dn  Society  as  a  money-making  or  money-accumulating  institution.  It 
was  founded  to  serve  the  highest  artistic  interests,  and  these  only;  and  when 
it  loses  sight  of  them  it  will  forfeit  its  right  to  exist.  At  the  same  time,  it 
cannot  continue  to  serve  these  interests  if  it  be  materially  crippled  by  the 
imprudent  management  of  its  afiairs.  Plato  tells  us,  in  his  Theatetes,  that 
when  Thales  fell  into  a  well,  as  he  was  looking  up  at  the  stars,  a  clever,  witty 
Thracian  handmaid  said  he  was  so  eager  to  know  what  was  going  on  in 
heaven  that  he  could  not  see  what  w^as  before  his  feet.  From  this  anecdote 
we  are  not  to  conclude  against  star-gazing  as  unwise  or  objectionable,  but 
that  it  cannot  be  safely  prosecuted  unless  the  star-gazer  keep  the  earth,  as- 
well  as  the  heaven,  within  his  range  of  vision;  or,  in  other  words,  not  lose 
sight  of  his  actual  surroundings  while  considering  things  celestial.  So  we, 
while  keeping  the  highest  objects  in  view,  must  walk  with  circumspection, 
lest,  like  the  Grecian  sage,  we  come  to  grief." 

.  .  .  "Since  the  last  annual  meeting,  death  has  deprived  the  Society  of 
three  of  its  members,  namely,  Theophiliis  Stover,  who  signed  on  Dec.  28, 
1852,  and  died  on  the  15th  of  July,  1884;  Silas  Parkhurst  Merriam,  who 
signed  on  Aug.  4,  1829,  and  died,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three,  on  the  9th  of 
March,  1885,  This  gentleman,  whose  membership  lasted  fifty-six  j-ears,  w^as 
at  the  time  of  his' death  the  oldest  living  member  of  the  Society,  He  served 
as  president  for  two  years,  1852-1853,  and  both  during  his  oflicial  term  and 
after  his  retirement  from  the  chair  proved  himself  a  faithful  and  devoted 
member.     Charles  B.  Morton,  whose  membership  dates  from  June  5,  1845." 

Officers  for  the  ensuing  year  were  elected  as  follows  :  — 

President.  —  Charles  C.  Perkins. 

Vice-President. — George  H.  Chickering. 

Secretary. — Eugene  B.  Hagar. 

Treasurer.  —  Moses  Grant  Daniell. 

Librarian.  —  Francis  H.  Jenks. 

Directors. — Horace  P.  Blackman,  A.  Parker  Browne,  Henry 
G.  Carey,  George  F.  Daniels,  Albert  K.  Hebard,  John  S. 
Sawyer,  John  H.  Stickney,  Charles  W.  Stone. 


466  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

A  letter  was  read  from  ex-PresideDt  Dr.  J.  B.  Upham  denying  all 
knowledge  of  the  missing  wood-wind  instruments. 

The  secretary's  chorus  statistics  for  the  year  1884-85  were  as 
follows  :  — 

Whole  New 

No.  of  Tickets.  Members. 

^  Sopranos 169 36 

'  Altos 157 40 

Tenors 114 8 

Basses 131 13 

Average  attendance  at  twenty-five  rehearsals 327 

Average  attendance  at  three  concerts 393 

Largest  attendance 434 

Smallest  attendance 223 

June  15.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Government  the  question 
of  a  seventh  Triennial  Festival  in  May,  1886,  was  indefinitely  post- 
poned. It  was  voted  to  give  three  concerts  only  in  the  approaching 
season,  namely,  the  Mes.siah  on  Sunday  evening,  Dec.  27 ;  Gounod's 
Mors  et  Vita  (for  the  first  time)  some  evening  in  January,  1886  ;  and 
Elijah  at  Easter,  April  25. 

Carl  Zerrahn  and  B.  J.  Lang  were  reappointed  conductor  and 
organist,  at  salaries  respectively  of  $750  and  S300  (the  reduction 
being  due  to  the  financial  condition  of  the  Societ}'). 

Mors   et    Vita   was   rehearsed   through    October    and    November. 

Nov.  1.  It  was  voted,  on  account  of  the  great  length  of  the  work, 
to  give  it  in  two  performances,  afternoon  and  evening. 

Nov.  22.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  a  resokition  was  offered  con- 
cerning the  serious  rate  of  absence  from  rehearsals  ;  and  it  was  voted 
to  notify  the  members  of  the  chorus  that  the  by-laws  relating  to  at- 
tendance and  suspension  would  be  rigorously  enforced*. 

Dec.  27 .  The  annual  Christmas  performance  of  the  Messiah  on 
that  Sunday  evening  was  of  peculiar  interest  to  musicians,  from  the 
fact  that  the  new  edition  of  the  oratorio  b}-  Robert  Franz  was  used 
here  for  the  first  time.  Sticklers  for  Knglish  traditions,  especially  in 
England,  raised  an  indignant  protest  against  what  they  were  pleased 
to  call  a  "modern  tampering"  with  the  score  of  Handel.  But  both 
here  and  in  England  the  so-called  Mozart  score  had  alwa}  s  been  used 
in  all  performances  of  the  Messiah.  Indeed,  in  Handel's  original 
score,  comprising  fifty-two  separate  numbers,  only  twenty  numbers 
(six  recitatives,  one  air,  twelve  choruses,  and  the  Pastoral  Symphony) 
were  sufficiently  furnished  with  accompanying  parts  to  form  complete 
harmony  in  themselves.  Even  in  the  twelve  choruses  Handel  presup- 
posed an  organ  part,  which  he  neglected  to  write  out.     In  more  than 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     467 

half  the  oratorio,  including  all  the  airs  but  one,  he  left  the  orchestral 
accompaniment  incomplete,  sometimes  merely  hinted  in  a  figured  bass. 
It  was  not  merely  a  lack  of  instrumental  coloring  through  the  absence 
of  wind  instruments;  it  was  incompleteness  in  the  essential  harmony. 
The  rare  art  and  genius  of  Mozart  supplied  what  was  wanting,  won- 
derfully well,  in  many  parts,  but  not  in  all.  Moreover,  in  the  so- 
called  Mozart  score  there  are  certain  numbers  which,  as  arranged, 
were  always  felt  to  be  unworthy  either  of  Mozart  or  Handel ;  and  at 
last  some  of  these  were  discovered  to  be  of  spurious  authorship,  for 
which  Mozart  had  been  wrongly  held  accountable.  Hence  the  need 
of  the  task  which  F^ranz  imposed  upon  himself. 

"It  was,"  wrote  Mr,  W.  F  Apthorp  in  the  Transcript,  "twofold,  —  first 
to  rid  the  alleged  Mozart  score  of  all  objectionable  or  spurious  passages,  and 
then  to  fill  up  all  remaining  gaps  himself.  In  performing  the  first  part  of 
this  Augean  task,  he  was  guided  by  what  documentary  evidence  the  Adam 
Hiller  score  could  furnish,  and  by  his  own  highly  cultivated  musical  sense; 
for  in  many  instances  no  circumstantial  evidence  was  to  be  had,  merely  the 
internal  evidence  of  the  poor  quality  of  the  writing.  To  be  sure,  this  testi- 
mony was  often  satisfactory  enough,  for  it  is  inconceivable  that  a  man  like 
Mozart,  whose  additions  to  the  airs,  *0  thou  that  tellest'  and  '  The  people 
that  walketh  in  darkness,'  can  be  ranked  only  with  what  is  most  exquisite  in 
music,  should  have  been  guilty  of  some  of  the  intolerably  bald  passages 
attributed  to  him  in  '  He  was  despised.' 

"Franz  has  shown  the  greatest  reverence  for  Mozart,  as  well  as  for 
Handel,  in  the  manner  in  which  he  has  done  his  work.  .  .  .  Had  he  taken 
Handel's  original  score,  and  written  additional  accompaniments  to  it  through- 
out, without  reference  to  Mozart's  work,  there  would  have  been  nothing 
peculiar  in  his  task.  But  this  he  was  naturally  unwilling  to  do ;  the  pre- 
sumably authentic  part  of  Mozart's  work  was  so  fine  that  it  is  no  wonder 
that  a  man  of  Franz's  conscientiousness  and  modesty  could  not  take  it  upon 
himself  to  undo  it.  His  part  was  to  do  what  Mozart  had  not  done,  not  to 
do  over  again  what  he  had  done ;  and  from  this  very  fact  arose  the  peculiar 
difliculty  of  his  task.  In  all  the  other  old  scores,  by  Handel,  Bach,  Astorga, 
and  Durante,  that  Franz  has  filled  out,  he  has  constantly  borne  in  mind  the 
fact  that  these  composers  intended  what  was  lacking  in  their  written  accom- 
paniments to  be  filled  out  on  the  organ.  His  reason  for  discarding  that 
instrument  and  choosing  orchestral  instruments  instead  (generally  a  quartet 
of  clarinets  and  bassoons)  was  that  the  organ  is,  in  its  very  nature,  an  instru- 
ment lacking  both  flexibility  and  accent,  and  that  it  would,  therefore,  be  im- 
possible to  play  on  it,  in  a  manner  that  should  meet  our  modern  demands  for 
clear  and  expressive  performance,  such  complex  and  intricate  polyphonic 
passages  as  those  with  which,  tradition  tells  us.  Bach  and  Handel  used  to 
fill  out  the  gaps  in  their  orchestral  accompaniments.  But  in  writing  for 
clarinets  and  bassoons,  instead  of  for  organ,  Franz  has,  almost  in  every  case, 
written  his  four-part  harmony  in  a  pure  organ  style.  In  fact,  Franz's  quar- 
tet of  wind  instruments  really  represents  the  organ,  only  with  more  flexibility 
of  phrasing  and  greater  decision  of  accent.  .  .  .     Now  Mozart,  in  writing 


468  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

bis  additional  accompaniments  to  the  Messiah,  sliowed  that  he  had  no  such 
scruples  about  the  matter :  he  had  no  thought  of  even  distantly  suggesting 
the  organ,  but  wrote  his  additions  wholly  in  the  prevailing  orchestral  style  of 
his  own  day.  Here  was  Franz's  dilemma :  should  he  follow  Mozart's  lead 
and  fill  out  the  remaining  gaps  in  a  purely  orchestral  style,  which  was  not 
Handel's ;  or  should  he  fill  them  out  in  as  strictly  a  Handelian  style  as  he 
knew  how,  even  at  the  risk  of  having  his  additions  contrast  somewhat  in 
treatment  and  coloring  with  Mozart's?  He  chose  the  latter  alternative.  .  .  . 
But  he  left  what  Mozart  actually  wrote  untouched,  and,  except  in  cases  of 
actual  necessity,  added  nothing  to  it. 

' '  Besides  completing  the  score  of  the  Messiah,  Franz  has  made  a  sugges- 
tion or  two  concerning  performances  of  the  work.  As  the  fiorid  choruses  in 
the  first  part  —  No.  6,  'And  He  shall  purify,'  No.  12,  'For  unto  us  a  child 
is  born,'  and  No.  19,  'His  yoke  is  easy'  —  are  difficult  for  a  large  choir  to 
sing  clearly,  and  as,  moreover,  these  choruses  are  based  upou  three  of 
Handel's  earlier  chamber-duets,  he  suggests  that  large  portions  of  them 
be  sung  by  solo  voices.  He  also  suggests  that  the  accompaniment  to  the 
secco-recitatives  be  played  on  a  pianoforte,  if  there  be  room  for  one  on  the 
stage,  instead  of  by  the  strings,  as  he  has  written  them.  Last,  but  not  least, 
he  has  enriched  the  score  by  a  fully  written-out  organ  part.  The  trombone 
parts  to  several  of  the  choruses,  which  exist  neither  in  Handel's  original 
score,  nor  in  Mozart's,  but  were  written  by  an  Englishman  by  the  name  of 
Smithies,  have  naturally  been  omitted  by  Franz.  He  has,  moreover,  retained 
the  trombone  parts  written  by  Mozart  in  the  overture,  and  the  short  choruses, 
'Since  by  man  came  death'  and  'For  as  in  Adam  all  die,'  choruses  which 
have  hitherto  been  sung  by  us,  according  to  some  inexplicable  tradition,  as 
unaccompanied  quartets. 

"  A  worthy  companion  to  this  full  score  by  Franz  is  the  pianoforte  score 
arranged  from  it  by  Mr.  Otto  Dresel  of  this  city ;  it  is,  beyond  question,  not 
only  the  best,  but  the  only  thoroughly  good  pianoforte  score  of  the  Messiah 
in  existence." 

In  the  above  extract  the  reader  has  as  exact  an  account,  as  could 
well  be  given  in  so  few  words,  of  just  what  Robert  Franz  bad  done 
with  the  Messiah  in  the  wa}'  of  '•  additional  accompaniments,"  and  of 
what  changes  he  had  suggested  —  not  prescribed  —  in  the  customary 
treatment  of  certain  numbei  s  of  the  work.  So  far  as  the  accompani- 
ments were  concerned,  the  weight  of  opinion,  after  that  Christmas 
performance,  was  evidently  in  favor  of  the  new  edition.  Equally  so 
in  regard  to  most  of  the  suggestions ;  especially  the  dividing  of  those 
three  florid  choruses  of  the  first  part  between  vocal  quartet  and 
chorus.  About  some  other  changes  there  was  difference  of  opinion  ; 
for  it  was  largely  a  question  of  taste,  and  many  were  wedded  very 
naturally  to  the  old  practice.  The  cadenza  introduced  at  the  end  of 
"Rejoice  greatly"  found  hardly  any  favor,  although  a  cadenza  is 
directed  in  Handel's  original  score,  and  Franz  has  written  one  entirely 
in  the  vein  and  style  of  Handel,  to  be  used  or  not,  as  conductors  may 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     469 

see  fit.  The  re-arraugement  of  the  trumpet  solo  was  found  admh-a- 
ble  ;  and  so  by  perhaps  the  majority  of  the  most  musically  cultivated 
listeners  was  the  singing,  in  full  chorus,  of  the  two  short  sentences 
usually  given  as  unaccompanied  quartets.  In  the  matter  of  accom- 
paniments, of  course  the  difference  was  distinctly  recognizable  to  but 
a  small  part  of  a  miscellaneous  audience.  Upon  the  whole,  the 
Society  could  well  congratulate  itself  on  having  given  the  impulse  to 
so  valuable  a  piece  of  work  on  the  part  of  so  competent  a  musician, 
one  so  thoroughl}'  in  sympathy  with  both  Bach  and  Handel.  In  the 
nature  of  the  case,  criticism  was  busy,  both  in  advocacy  and  in  dis- 
paragement ;  but  it  seems  to  be  practically  settled  that  here,  at  least, 
however  it  may  be  in  England,  Franz's  is  accepted  as  the  standard, 
the  only  practicable,  truly  Handel ian  score  of  the  Messiah. 

The  audience  that  evening  was  immense  ;  every  seat  was  sold, 
besides  three  hundred  and  ninety-three  admissions  without  seats. 
The  chorus  numbered  four  hundred  and  fifteen  voices,  with  an  orches- 
tra of  forty-five.  The  ten  soprano  numbers  required  two  soprano 
soloists.  These  were  Mrs.  E.  Humphre^^-Allen  and  Miss  Sarah  C. 
Fisher.  The  contralto,  Miss  Hattie  J.  Clapper,  was  found  highly 
satisfactory  in  voice  and  expression.  Mr.  Whitney  Mockridge,  the 
tenor,  who  made  his  first  important  appearance  in  Boston,  gifted  with 
''a  fine  natural  organ,  strong,  penetrating,  pleasant,  and  of  ample 
range,"  seems  to  have  had  a  "  throaty  and  rigid  "  way  of  singing. 
Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney,  "  barring  some  unexpected  slips,"  sang 
grandly.  As  to  the  quartets,  leading  into  chorus,  they  were  sung 
somewhat  lamely,  so  that  the  suggestion  of  Franz  was  not  quite 
fairly  tested. 

Receipts,  82,983.95  ;  expenses,  $1,586.36  ;  profit,  $1,397.59.  How 
much  of  that  was  due  to  "  additional  accompaniments,"  who  knows? 

1886.  Rehearsals  of  Gounod's  second  Sacred  Trilogy,  Mors  et 
Vita^  were  resumed  in  January,  and  on  Sunday,  the  '24th^  the  work 
was  first  brought  out  before  a  Boston  public.  Part  I.,  Mors  (Death) 
was  given  in  the  afternoon.  That,  of  course,  was  the  most  serious 
part,  and  was  compared  to  a  Requiem  Mass.  Part  II.,  Jitdicium 
(Judgment),  and  Part  III.,  Vita  (the  Resurrection  and  the  Life), 
followed  in  the  evening.  As  to  the  merits  of  the  work,  the  criticisms 
were  strangely  at  variance,  ranging  from  the  extreme  of  praise  to 
contemptuous  disparagement.  Far  be  it  from  the  present  writer  to 
venture  an  opinion.  In  medio  tutissimus  ibis  were  probably  the  safe 
suggestion.  So  far  as  he  is  able  to  recall  his  impressions  at  the  time, 
all  based  upon   that  single  hearing,  the  second  Trilogy  had  all  the 


470     HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AND  HAYDX  SOCIETY. 

characteristics  of  the  first,  all  the  questiouable  and  unlovely  traits  of 
the  Redemption,  greatly  aggravated.  It  had  also  passages  of  beauty, 
of  a  "  sensuous  "  order.  And  great  events  seemed  treated  with  less 
power  than  we  have  been  accustomed  to  expect,  and  without  disap- 
pointment, from  great  masters.  It  abounds  in  orchestral  pictures, 
some  of  which,  while  cleverly  realistic,  seemed  to  us  vulgar,  cheap, 
and  flimsy.  Some  of  the  instrumental  effects  were  to  an  exceptional 
degree  sensational,  discordant,  and  extravagant.  Thus  the  trumpets 
at  the  last  judgment  sound  a  trichord  with  the  fifth  made  sharp  (the 
same  hideous  discord  in  which  Wagner's  Walkyrie  maids  disport 
themselves !). 

The  choruses,  according  to  most  accounts,  were  well  sung,  albeit 
with  some  tendenc}^  to  drag.  The  soloists  were,  for  soprano,  Mrs. 
Lillian  Norton,  who  sang  with  great  power  and  brillianc}' ;  contralto, 
Miss  Alta  Pease,  honest  and  accurate,  but  given  to  indistinct  enuncia- 
tion ;  Mr.  Charles  Abercrombie,  a  true  tenor  of  delightful  sweetness, 
except  in  the  higher  notes,  of  great  power  throughout ;  and  Mr. 
Charles  E.  Hay,  bass,  who  was  thought  to  surpass  his  former  efforts 
in  discrimination  and  in  dignity.  There  was  an  orchestra  of  forty- 
nine,  with  twelve  extra  instruments  participating  here  and  there. 
The  chorus  in  the  first  part  numbered  four  hundred  and  twelve  voices  ; 
in  the  second  and  third  parts,  four  hundred  and  fourteen.  Receipts, 
82,544.05;  expenses,  82,382.61;  profit,  8161.44.  Is  it  then  the 
doubtful  things  that  pay  ?  Is  curiosity  a  stronger  passion  than  the 
love  of  beauty,  even  in  music? 

The  Sunday  evenings  of  the  following  mouth  were  dedicated  to 
serious  study  and  rehearsal  of  portions  of  that  very  difficult  and  very 
great  work,  Bach's  Holie  Messe  in  H-moll  (High  Mass  in  B  minor). 
Then,  by  way  of  recreation  and  reward  after  those  strenuous  efforts, 
the  ever-welcome  Elijah  gave  vent  to  voices  and  to  spirits  for  a  few 
weeks  once  more. 

April  12.  The  Board  of  Government  considered  the  selection  of 
a  trustee  of  the  Permanent  Fund,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the 
death  of  Henry  P.  Kidder.  Mr.  0.  W.  Peabody,  another  member  of 
the  banking  house  of  Kidder,  Peabody  &  Co.,  was  elected. 

April  25.  Elijah  was  given,  'renewing  its  established  popularity. 
The  choruses  were  well  sung  by  four  hundred  and  thirty-four  voices, 
with  an  orchestra  of  forty-seven,  before  one  of  the  largest  audiences. 
The  quartet  of  principal  solo-singers,  as  announced,  consisted  of : 
Mme.  Fursch-Madi,  soprano;  Miss  Helen  D.Campbell,  contralto; 
Mr.  William  Candidas,  tenor  ;  and  Mr.  Alonzo  E.  Stoddard,  baritone 
(all  from  the  "  American  Opera  Company  ") .     For  the  second  quar- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  471 

tet  (in  the  concerted  pieces)  were  announced :  Miss  Elene  B.  Kehew, 
Miss  Gertrude  Edmunds,  Mr.  James  H.  Ricketson,  and  Mr.  Jacob 
Benziug.  But  Mme.  Madi  being  ill,  Miss  Kehew  took  her  place,  and 
filled  it  with  much  credit ;  and  Miss  Gertrude  Swayne  was  called  to 
the  second  soprano  part  without  rehearsal.  Mr.  Stoddard's  Elijah 
was  the  feature  of  the  evening,  one  of  great  spirit  and  brilliancy. 
Mr.  Candidus,  with  a  voice  of  great  power  and  range,  not  altogether 
sweet,  sang  without  much  warmth.  Owing  to  the  absence  of  the 
usual  wind-instrument  players,  the  high  pitch  had  to  be  used,  Mr. 
Lang  transposing  the  organ  part  a  semitone  upward.  Financially, 
Mendelssohn's  Oratorio  was  again  fruitful.  Receipts,  $3,215.27; 
expenses,  $2,010;  profit,  $1,205.21. 

May  7.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Board,  it  was  voted  to  pay  Mr. 
Zerrahn,  as  conductor,  $250,  in  addition  to  the  $750  voted  him 
before. 


SEVENTY-SECOND    SEASON. 
May   3],    1886,    to   May    30,    1887. 

May   31.     Annual  meeting.     The  treasurer  reported  :  — 

Amount  on  band  May,  1885 $77  98 

Total  receipts 12,099  52 

$12,177  50 
Total  expenditures 11,764  20 

Balance  on  hand $413  30 

that  $1,000  had  been  received  as  legacy  under  the  will  of  Benjamin 
B.  Davis;  also  a  gift  of  $1,000  from  an  unknown  friend;  that  the 
debt  had  been  reduced  b}'  $2,300,  and  now  amounted  to  $447.04. 

As  to  the  Permanent  Fund,  a  gift  of  $1,000  had  been  added  to 
the  principal;  the  year's  income  ($1,181.25)  had  been  paid  to  the 
Society,  and  the  value  of  the  Fund's  investments  April  24,  1886, 
was  $25,817.74. 

The  following  resolutions  were  passed  :  — 

^'  Be  solved,  That  the  two  one-thousand-doUar  donations  inspire  the  mem- 
bers with  fresh  zeal,  and  tend  '  to  hasten  the  day  when  the  Society's  musical 
policy  shall  be  emancipated  from  the  pecuniary  limitations  by  which  it  is  now 
constantly  constrained,'  etc. 

^'  Besolved,  That  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  in  common  with  many 
other  public  bodies  in  this  city,  sustained  a  great  loss  by  the  death  of  Henry 
P.  Kidder,  lately  a  trustee  of  its  Permanent  Fund. 


472 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HAXDEL  AXD  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 


"  We,  the  members,  desire  to  express  our  recognition  of  the  important 
place  which  he  tilled  in  the  community,  as  an  ever-active  and  generous 
supporter  of  all  useful  and  charitable  enterprises." 

The  secretary  reported  that  uothiug  was  vet  known  about  those 
wood- wind  instruments. 

The  election  of  officers  was  as  follows  :  — 

President.  —  Charles  C.  Perkins. 

Vice-President.  —  George  H.  Chickering. 

Secretary.  —  Eugene  B.  Hagar. 

Treasurer.  — Moses  Grant  Daxiell. 

Librarian.  —  Francis  H.  Jenks. 

Directors.  —  John  D.  Andrews,  Horace  P.  Blackman,  George 
T.  Brown,  Albert  K.  Hebard,  Roger  S.  Rundlett,  John  S. 
Sawyer,  John  H.  Stickney,  David  A.  Alden. 

Chorus  Statistics  for  1885-86. 


Sopranos 
Altos 
Tenors 
Basses 


Minimum  attendance  (Rehearsals  and  Concerts) 


No.  of 

Average 

New 

Tickets, 

Attendance. 

Members. 

170 

107 

29 

148 

97 

19 

103 

58 

8 

123 

85 

13 

544 

347 

69 

nd  Concerts) 

. 

.     446 

ud  Concerts) 

. 

.     211 

From  the  annual  address  of  President  Perkins  we  again  make 
large  extracts,  for  these  were  his  last  icords  to  the  Society  for  which 
he  had  done  so  much,  and  which  he  had  so  much  at  heart ! 

"  Friends  and  Felloio- Members  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society : 

"  Let  me  congratulate  you  on  the  fact  that  this  annual  meeting  takes  place 
under  more  inspiring  circumstances  than  those  which  attended  that  of  last 
year,  when  we  were  burdened  with  the  not  inconsiderable  residue  of  a  beavy 
debt,  resulting  from  untoward  events  in  the  past,  and  not  a  little  anxious 
about  the  future.  The  new  Board  of  Management  then  elected  assumed 
office  impressed  with  the  necessity  for  strict  economy,  and  aware  that  a,  pro- 
gramme must  be  prepared  for  the  coming  season  worthy  of  the  traditions  of 
the  Society,  and  at  the  same  time  likely  to  excite  public  interest.  To  frame 
such  a  programme  was  no  easy  task.  Handel's  Belshazzar,  Bach's  B-minor 
Mass,  and  a  host  of  other  masterpieces,  never  or  but  seldom  performed,  urged 
their  royal  claims  for  a  hearing,  and  tempted  enterprise.  Admonitions  were 
not  wanting,  from  certain  quarters,  that  our  duty  as  directors  of  a  musical 
society  instituted  for  high  ends  was  to  disregard  pecuniary  interests.     What 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  473 

did  it  matter,  said  our  distinguished  advisers,  if  the  Society  perished,  pro- 
vided that  it  did  so  with  the  proud  consciousness  of  having  done  its  duty? 
Give  oratorios  on  a  grand  scale,  at  cheap  prices,  and  abide  the  issue.  Better 
death  and  an  honorable  interment  than  life  supported  by  a  permanent  fund 
acquired  through  an  illiberal  and  narrow-minded  policy.  To  this  counsel 
your  Board  of  Management  turned  a  deaf  ear,  and  being,  like  '  George  Eliot,' 
open  to  conviction  on  all  points  '  save  dinners  and  debts,  holding  that  the  one 
should  be  eaten  and  the  other  paid,'  determined  to  conduct  the  campaign  pru- 
dently by  giving  the  Messiah  at  Christmas,  3Iors  et  Vita  in  January,  and 
Elijah  at  Easter,  with  competent  support.  The  three  concerts  yielded  a  profit 
of  $2,7G4.24.   .   .  . 

"  But  what  of  the  Triennial  Festival,  which  should  have  been  held  in  the 
spring  of  1886?  On  this  head,  gentlemen,  I  have  to  say  that,  from  what 
seemed  to  us  good  and  sufficient  reasons,  we  reluctantly  renounced  all  idea  of 
holding  it.  .  .  .  I  need  hardly  remind  you  that  the  last  festival,  that  of  1883, 
obliged  us  to  assess  our  guarantors  ten  per  cent  pro  rata,  and  to  apply  the 
sum  thus  obtained,  together  with  the  income  of  the  Permanent  Fund  and  our 
profits  on  the  concerts  of  the  preceding  season,  to  the  payment  of  our  debts. 
With  these  facts  and  figures  staring  us  in  the  face,  how  could  we  have  under- 
taken another  festival?  Where  should  we  have  found  guaranty  against  loss, 
without  which  it  would  have  been  suicidal  to  attempt  it?  Whether  our  suc- 
cessors may  take  an  opposite  view,  three  years  hence,  is  a  matter  which  I  will 
not  undertake  to  discuss,  though  I  may  say  that  I  hardly  think  it  probable  that 
they  will.  I  think  we  must  even  now  accept  the  fact  that  the  day  of  festivals 
in  Boston,  excepting  at  long  intervals,  when  some  special  anniversary  occurs, 
is  over.  '  Circumstances  alter  cases,'  as  the  saying  goes,  and  musical  circum- 
stances have  changed  greatly  with  us  of  late  years.  In  smaller  cities  and 
towns,  where  the  winter  has  aS'orded  but  little  opportunity  for  listening  to 
music  of  the  highest  sort,  even  an  annual  festival  may  be  held  without  risk 
of  loss  ;  but  here,  where  we  have  fortj'-eight  symphony  concerts  and  rehears- 
als during  the  winter  and  spring,  a  dozen  or  more  concerts  given  by  the 
Apollo,  the  Cecilia,  and  the  Boylston  clubs,  three  or  four  oratorios  performed 
by  this  Society,  and  a  host  of  musical  entertainments  provided  by  minor  asso- 
ciations —  festivals,  annual  or  triennial,  stand  but  little  chance  of  attracting 
sufficiently  large  audiences  to  cover  the  attendant  outlay  upon  them. 

"  Much  as  this  is  to  be  regretted,  on  aesthetic  grounds,  there  are  reasons 
connected  with  the  welfare  of  this  Society  which  may  somewhat  reconcile  us 
to  the  new  state  of  things,  chief  among  which  are  the  exhausting  labor  which 
festivals  entail  upon  the  chorus  singers,  and  the  overwhelming  amount  of 
work  which  they  require  on  the  part  of  the  secretary.  I  am  not  sure  that 
even  the  present  incumbent,  with  all  his  readiness  to  serve  the  Society  at 
whatever  inconvenience  to  himself,  would  have  accepted  the  situation  had  we 
decided  to  hold  a  festival  in  this  mouth  of  May,  which  comes  to  an  end 
to-night.  As  for  the  chorus,  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  members  would  have 
done  their  duty  at  it,  as  in  the  past,  but  we  may  well  question  whether  we 
had  a  right  to  ask  them  to  give  the  time  and  spend  the  strength  which  they 
must  have  given  and  spent  had  we  taken  a  diff'erent  course.  With  the  pres- 
tige which  the  long  and  honorable  career  of  the  Society  has  given  to  it,  with 
the  unique  opportunities  which  it  affords  for  the  study  of  the  highest  and 


474     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

noblest  music,  and  the  pleasure  which  its  performance  brings  to  those  who 
take  part  in  it,  we  may  safely  count  upon  a  never-failing  supply  of  the  best 
singers  in  the  city  to  the  chorus,  provided  we  do  not  ask  too  much  of  those 
who  have  already  joined  it.  We  have  a  right  to  insist  upon  regular  attend- 
ance at  the  Sunday  evening  rehearsals,  and  to  ask  for  close  attention  to  the 
conductor's  instructions,  in  order  that  the  works  under  study  maybe  worthily 
performed ;  but  more  than  this,  except  on  extraordinary  occasions,  we  can- 
not exact  without  risk  of  driving  away  many  whom  we  should  wish  to  keep 
in,  or  preventing  some  whom  we  should  like  to  add  to  the  chorus  of  our 
Society.  Its  foundations,  securelj'^  laid  on  good  ground  many  years  ago, 
have  enabled  it  to  resist  many  an  earthquake,  and  will  yet  give  it  strength  to 
survive  such  stress  of  weather  as  may  come  upon  it  in  the  future,  provided 
we  and  those  who  come  after  us  are  watchful  and  prudent  in  the  manage- 
ment of  its  affairs.  Indifferent  as  to  the  quantity,  we  should  be  more  and 
more  concerned  as  to  the  quality  of  our  work  —  for  it  is  the  last  consideration, 
and  not  the  first,  which  will  keep  the  Society  in  the  van. 

"  What  our  work  has  been  during  the  winter  you  all  know.  It  began  with 
the  3Iessiah  at  Christmas,  according  to  the  time-honored  custom,  which  up 
to  1850  had,  I  think,  been  disregarded  but  four  times.  The  performance  was 
especially  interesting,  as  for  the  first  time  the  version  of  the  score  as  amended 
by  Robert  Franz  was  used,  in  which  the  additional  accompaniments,  really 
written  by  Mozart,  are  preserved,  and  from  which  those  falsely  attributed  to 
him,  though  undoubtedly  by  Adam  Hiller,  have  been  eliminated  by  the  distin- 
guished composer  of  Halle,  who,  by  his  reverent  filling  up  of  harmonies 
indicated  in  Handel's  figured  bass,  and  b}^  the  addition  of  a  complete  organ 
part,  has  deserved  and  won  the  gratitude  of  musicians  and  music  lovers 
throughout  the  world. 

"  That,  as  acknowledged  by  Dr.  Franz  in  a  letter  sent  with  a  copy  of  the 
score,  he  was  induced  to  complete  this  work,  which  he  regards  as  the  most 
important  of  his  life,  by  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  is  a  fact  of  which  it 
has  every  reason  to  be  proud.  Certain  changes  suggested  and  adopted,  such 
as  the  assigning  of  parts  of  '  He  shall  purify,'  '  For  unto  us,'  and  '  The  yoke 
is  easjs'  hitherto  sung  throughout  by  the  chorus,  to  a  quartet  of  single  voices, 
seemed  to  many  undesirable  innovations;  but  it  is  possible  that,  on  a  second 
hearing,  the  gain  in  effect  will  be  more  generally  admitted. 

"  The  first  performance  of  M.  Gounod's  new  oratorio  (?),  3fors  et  Vita, 
took  place  on  the  afternoon  and  evening  of  Jan.  24,  and  the  favor  with  which 
it  was  received  seems  to  Avarrant  the  belief  that  it  will  be  well  to  repeat  it  at 
no  very  distant  period.  It  is  the  latest  and  most  important  sacred  work  of 
one  of  the  most  eminent  composers  of  our  day,  and  as  such  it  represents  one 
of  the  schools  of  oratorio  nmsic  in  modern  times  as  completely  as  the 
Messiah  does  another  wiiich  flourished  in  its  golden  age,  and  Elijah,  which 
we  sang  at  Easter,  does  still  another,  belonging  to  that  silver  age  which  lies 
more  than  midway  between  Handel's  day  and  our  own.  By  giving  the  three 
in  one  season,  we  have,  then,  illustrated  the  leading  phases  of  thought  in 
one  of  the  chief  forms  of  musical  expression,  and  may  claim  that  if  our 
programme  was  short,  it  was  comprehensive  and  catholic  in  spirit.  .  .  . 

"  During  the  year  we  have  received  a  legacy  of  f  1,000,  left  by  our  late  and 
honored  associate,    Benj.    B.    Davis,  who  joined  the  Society  May  2,    1816, 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  475 

and  died,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three,  Aug.  22,  1877.  For  this,  and  a  recent 
gift  of  $1,000  from  an  anonymous  benefactor,  one  of  those  who  are 

"  Resolved  on  scripture  grouuds  to  go  : 
What  the  right  doth  the  left  hand  shall  not  know, 

"  you  will,  I  am  sure,  desire  to  express  your  gratitude  in  suitable  form.  .  .  . 
The  list  of  members  deceased  since  the  last  annual  meeting  includes  the 
names  of  Mr.  Dexter  Wiswell,  who  joined  the  Society  in  1863,  served  on  the 
Board  of  Directors  from  1871  to  1873,  and  died  Aug.  11,  1885  ;  of  Mr.  Edward 
Faxon,  who  joined  in  1851,  served  as  director  from  1854  to  1856,  from  1863 
to  1865,  and  from  1870  to  1872,  and  died  Jan.  26, 1886 ;  and  of  E.  B.  Dearborn, 
who  joined  in  1841,  and  died  in  the  month  of  February  last.  To  this  list  1 
may  add  the  name  of  Frederick  Ferdinand  Miiller,  who  was  elected  organist 
of  this  Society  in  1852,  Sept.  7,  but  never  became  a  member." 

June  14.  The  Board  of  Government  voted  to  give,  during  the 
season  of  1886-87,  three  concerts  :  Dec.  26,  the  Messiah;  Feb.  20, 
Bach's  B-minor  Mass  {Hoke  Messe) ,  with  necessary  abridgement; 
Easter,  Apo'il  10,  the  Creation. 

The  following  reappointments  were  made  :  Carl  Zerrahn,  conductor, 
at  a  salary  of  $750,  besides  such  sum  (not  exceeding  $250)  as  may 
be  warranted  by  the  current  receipts  of  the  season,  exclusive  of 
gifts,  legacies,  and  income  of  the  fund  ;  B.  J.  Lang,  organist,  at 
$300  ;  and  S.  M.  Bedlington,  assistant  librarian,  at  $100. 

Aug.  25.  We  have  reached  now  one  of  the  darkest  pages  in  the 
annals  of  the  old  Society.  What  loss  could  be  greater  than  that 
which  suddenly  befell  in  the  instantaneous  death  by  accident  of  the 
honored  president,  Charles  Callahan  Perkins?  On  this  day  (Aug. 
25,  1886),  like  a  stroke  of  lightning  out  of  a  clear  sky,  the  fatal 
blow  fell.  It  was  in  the  town  of  Windsor,  Vt.,  near  the  farm  and 
summer  residence  of  U.  S.  Senator  Evarts.  Mr.  Perkins  was  on  a 
visit  to  his  son,  E.  C.  Perkins,  who  married  Senator  Evart's  daugh- 
ter. The  senator,  Mr.  Perkins,  and  a  young  lady  from  Washington, 
daughter  of  Judge  Stanley  Matthews,  of  Cincinnati,  were  out  riding, 
near  sunset.  W^hile  crossing  a  dike,  one  horse  being  restless,  the 
coachman  reined  him  up,  when  the  bits  parted,  and  the  bridle  came 
off,  setting  the  horses  into  a  run.  The  coachman  jumped,  and,  in 
trying  to  catch  the  horses,  was  thrown  down  the  embankment.  The 
horses  kept  on  at  a  fearful  pace,  and,  while  turning  a  sharp  corner, 
all  were  thrown  out.  Mr.  Perkins,  striking  a  stone,  was  instantly 
killed.  The  others  were  slightly  injured.  ''The  young  lady  after- 
ward spoke  of  his  enthusiasm  at  the  beauty  of  the  country,  and  of 
his  conversation  on  many  lovely  things.  The  last  thing  she  remem- 
bers of  him  was  the  smile  he  gave  her,  as  if  to  save  her  from  alarm  ; 


476     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

then  the  crash  came."     The  following  brief  record  of  his  life,  by  one 
of  his  friends,  appeared  in  one  of  the  papers  of  the  day  :  — 

"  He  came  of  a  distinguished  family,  his  grandfather  (Thomas  Handj^side 
Perkins)  having  been  a  prominent  old-time  merchant  in  Boston.  He  grad- 
uated from  Harvard  in  1843,  and  some  5^ears  afterward  went  abroad,  where 
he  remained  twelve  years,  spending  his  winters  principally  at  Rome,  and 
devoting  himself  to  the  study  of  music  and  painting.  He  was  the  first 
American  to  be  elected  a  member  of  the  French  Academy,  in  the  section  of 
inscriptions  and  belles-lettres.  After  his  return  home,  Mr.  Perkins  published 
a  number  of  works  on  art,  his  '  Tuscan  Sculptors '  appearing  in  1864,  and 
being  republished  in  London  the  next  year.  This  work  was  in  two  volumes, 
and  was  illustrated  with  forty-three  etchings  and  twenty-three  wood-engrav- 
ings from  original  drawings  and  photographs.  The  work  took  high  rank  in 
art  circles.  In  1867  he  published  '  Italian  Sculptors,'  also  profuselj'-  illus- 
trated, the  etchings  in  both  works  being  done  by  the  author.  In  1878  he  pub- 
lished a  biographical  and  critical  essay  upon  '  Raphael  and  Michael  Angelo,' 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  engaged  upon  a  comprehensive  work, 
entitled  '  The  Cyclopaedia  of  American  Art.'  Although  Mr.  Perkins  was  not 
a  professional  artist;  few  men  were  better  fitted  to  discuss  questions  of  art. 
His  broad  culture,  technical  training,  and  wide  study  eminently  fitted  him  for 
a  critic  and  patron  of  art.  He  was  among  the  first  to  advocate  and  carry 
through  the  establishment  of  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts.  He  was  for  many 
years  president  of  the  Art  Club,  resigning  this  office  in  1880,  but  always 
maintaining  an  interest  in  its  afi"airs. 

"  Perhaps  the  greatest  single  service  which  he  did  in  this  direction  was  the 
giving  of  the  fine  Beethoven  statue  to  the  Music  Hall,  the  work  of  Thomas 
Crawford.  The  sculptor  refused  to  accept  any  remuneration,  but  Mr.  Per- 
kins assumed  all  the  expenses  of  casting,  founding,  and  putting  the  whole 
work  in  place.  On  March  1,  1856,  there  w^as  a  Beethoven  festival  for  the 
inauguration  of  the  statue.  Mr.  W.  "W.  Story  wrote  and  recited  an  ode,  and 
selections  from  Beethoven's  music*  were  rendered. 

"  Among  Mr.  Perkins's  other  labors  in  the  cause  of  art  were  several  series 
of  lectures  delivered  by  him  at  the  Lowell  Institute.  Another  service  which 
he  rendered  to  the  city  was  in  connection  with  his  term  as  a  member  of  the 
School  Committeef,  in  1871,  when,  by  his  advice,  the  new  system  of  drawing 
was  inaugurated.  .  .  . 

"  Mr.  Perkins  was  equally  devoted  to  music,  and  was  one  of  the  members  of 
the  original  committee  appointed  by  the  Harvard  Musical  Association,  in  1851, 
to  consider  the  plan  of  a  music  hall  in  Boston.  He  was  one  of  the  largest  sub- 
scribers to  the  building,  which  was  erected  during  this  and  the  following  year, 
and  in  all  the  course  of  its  history  he  took  a  lively  interest.  .  .  .  He  was  a  promi- 
nent member  of  Trinity  Church,  and  a  warm  personal  friend  of  Rev.  Phillips 
Brooks.  Also,  he  was  honorary  director  of  the  Art  Museum,  a  member  of 
the  Union  and  Saturday  clubs,  a  member  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts 

*  Among  them,  Beethoven's  Choral  Fantasia,  in  which  the  pianoforte  part  was  played  by  the 
donor  of  the  statue. 

t  He  was  many  years  a  devoted  member  of  the  school  committee,  particularly  interested  in 
the  teaching  of  music  and  drawing. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     477 

and  Sciences  and  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  honorary  member 
of  the  Metropolitan  Art  Museum,  New  York,  corresponding  member  of  the 
French  Institute,  and  Chevalier  of  the  Legi5n  of  Honor.  He  was  a  careful 
collector  of  works  of  art,  and  had  gathered  together  a  valuable  gallery."  .  .  . 

Charles  C.  Perkins  was  a  man  of  fine  personal  presence,  who 
always  wore  a  youthful,  blooming,  blonde  complexion  ;  of  frank  and 
winning  manners  ;  a  gentleman  in  every  sense  ;  of  a  nature  singu- 
larly refined  and  noble,  with  the  look  and  air  of  a  born  artist.  One 
of  the  truest  friends  of  art  he  undoubtedl}^  was.  Born  in  easy  cir- 
cumstances, he  gave  his  whole  life  unselfishly  to  public  good,  to  the 
interests  of  culture  and  of  art.  In  ever}'  relation  of  life,  it  may  be 
truly  said,  he  always  did  the  best  that  he  knew  how.  His  life  was 
a  beautiful  and  an  inspiring  sacrifice.  "  There  was  nothing  low  or 
cheap  in  his  composition."  Always  cheerful,  always  friendly,  always 
ready  to  devote  his  best  powers  to  a  good  cause,  he  seemed  always 
happy.  And  was  he  not  thus  suddenly  called  away  to  yet  happier 
and  higher  service?  Of  course,  the  whole  community  were  appalled 
when  the  sad  news  came  on  that  hot  day  of  August ;  and  his  nearest 
friends  were  scattered  and  each  had  to  muse  upon  the  loss  alone. 

To  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  it  was  a  severe  aflfliction.  At 
the  first  rehearsal  of  the  season,  Oct.  5,  after  a  few  words  from  the 
secretary,  the  chorus,  in  memory  of  their  president,  sang  "  Happy 
and  blest  are  they  who  have  endured,"  from  Mendelssohn's  St.  Paul. 
A  few  weeks  later,  after  several  rehearsals  of  Bach's  great  Mass, 
which  he  had  been  so  zealous  to  have  studied  and  performed  (but 
which  he  did  not  live  even  to  hear  rehearsed  !),  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Society  specially  called  for  the  purpose  {Oct.  25),  Mr.  George  H. 
Chickering,  the  vice-president,  being  absent,  Mr.  Sawyer,  the  next 
senior  member  of  the  Board  of  Government,  took  the  chair,  when 
the  secretary,  Mr.  Hagar,  offered  the  following  resolution  :  — 

"  Hesolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Charles  C.  Perkins,  its  late  president,  the 
Handel  and  Haydn  Society  has  sustained  a  loss  of  no  ordinary  character. 
Stricken  by  death's  arrow  while  in  the  enjoyment  of  perfect  health,  the 
victim  of  a  catastrophe  so  swift  and  appalling  as  to  fill  all  hearts  with  hor- 
ror and  dismay,  there  has  passed  from  our  midst  a  prudent  guide  and  a 
devoted  friend.  At  two  widely  separated  periods  president  of  the  Society, 
the  second  time  for  a  term  of  more  than  eleven  years,  he  found  many  fields 
for  the  exercise  of  natural  gifts  of  a  high  order  in  its  service,  and  his  loyal 
spirit  neglected  no  opportunity  for  action  in  its  behalf.  Endowed  with  a 
refined  taste,  and  equipped  with  an  education  which  qualified  him  for  the 
performance  and  even  the  composition  of  musical  works  of  the  highest  class, 
his  discriminating  criticism  was  of  constant  value  in  shaping  the  musical 
policy  of  the  Society  and  in  promoting  its  efticient  execution.     '  Art  for  Art's 


478  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

sake'  never  found  a  more  unfaltering  champion  than  in  him,  and  his  allegi- 
ance to  the  highest  standards  knew  no  abatement.  The  sacrifice  of  genuine 
merit  to  pecuniary  gain  or  to  popular  applause  ever  encountered  his  unflinch- 
ing resistance ;  and  to  stimulate  the  Society  to  an  unceasing  struggle  for  the 
attainment  of  the  loftiest  ideals  was  his  constant  aim.  The  esteem  and 
aflection  of  his  associates  were  awakened  by  his  uniform  courtesy  and  aftable 
manner,  the  just  expression  of  a  kind  and  pure  spirit,  and  by  his  singular 
unselfishness,  a  virtue  which  adorned  him  in  an  eminent  degree.  The  His- 
tory of  the  Society,  happily  completed  by  him  to  the  close  of  his  first  presi- 
dency, in  1851,  a  task  to  the  performance  of  which  no  selfish  motives  could 
have  actuated  him,  is  a  monument  of  infinite,  but  gratuitous  and  uncomplain- 
ing labor,  a  cheerful  and  graceful  tribute  to  the  Society  which  he  loved.  His 
regard  and  good-will  were  further  evinced  by  the  final  disposition  of  the 
Beethoven  statue,  and  by  the  gift  to  the  Society  of  valuable  scores  —  par- 
ticularly that  of  the  Bach  Mass,  the  additions  to  which,  transcribed  by  his 
own  hand,  involved  so  great  personal  labor  to  himself.  His  successful  efforts 
to  avert  a  threatened  recoustruction  of  the  Music  Hall  will  not  soon  be  for- 
gotten as  a  conspicuous,  though  by  no  means  isolated,  instance  of  his  friendly 
zeal. 

"  His  purity  of  motive  and  forgetfulness  of  self,  his  patience  and  modesty, 
his  gracious  and  genial  manners,  his  refinement  of  nature,  his  honesty  of 
thought  and  candor  of  speech,  his  undeviating  pursuit  of  excellence,  his 
fidelity  to  the  cause  of  true  art  unmixed  with  base  alloy,  —  these  afibrd  a 
rare  example  for  his  successors,  and  their  memory  will  constitute  a  rich 
inheritance  to  a  grateful  Society." 

The  readiog  of  this  resolution  was  followed  by  remarks  in  eulog}' 
of  the  deceased  by  Messrs.  Hagar,  J.  S.  Sawyer,  A.  P.  Browne, 
Nowell.  Barnes,  and  Stone.  It  was  then  passed  unanimously,  all 
the  members  rising. 

Resolutions  in  the  same  sense  and  spirit  were  also  passed  by  the 
Harvard  Musical  Association,  of  which  Mr.  Perkins  had  long  been 
vice-president,  by  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  and  by  other 
societies  of  art  and  learning  of  which  he  was  a  member. 

It  may  here  be  mentioned,  in  explanation  of  some  things  said 
above,  that  in  a  codicil  to  his  will,  dated  April  27,  1881,  "  the  statue 
of  Beethoven,  which  has  been  in  Music  Hall  ever  since  the  hall  was 
built,  is  to  be  given  to  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  in  case  the  hall 
is  converted  into  an  opera  house,  pulled  down,  or  destroyed  l\v  fire." 
He  makes  the  gift  in  the  hope  that  the  Society  will  eventualh*  own  a 
hall  especialh'  devoted  to  its  concerts  and  meetings. 

At  this  meeting  {Oct.  25)  George  H.  Chickering  was  choson  presi- 
dent; and  at  a  meeting  held  Nov.  15,  A.  Parker  Browne  was  chosen 
vice-president. 

The  chorus  then  went  on  with  its  haid  study  on  the  Hohe  Jlesse  of 
Bach  until  near  the  Christmas  season,  when  the  Jres.^iah  was  given 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     479 

(for  the  seventy-ninth  time)  on  Sunday  evening,  Dec.  26.  The 
Franz  instrumentation  was  again  used,  and  on  the  whole  more  widely 
appreciated.  The  sale  of  tickets  was  immense.  The  orchestra  con- 
sisted of  forty -five  musicians  from  the  Boston  Symphony  Orchestra. 
The  chorus  of  four  hundred  and  twenty-one  voices  sang  for  the  first 
time  under  the  new  sounding-board,  which  had  been  placed  over  the 
stage  to  improve  the  accoustics  of  the  hall,  and  it  was  thought  that 
the  effect  was  somewhat  heightened.  The  choruses  were  given  in 
the  Society's  best  style,  the  body  of  tenors  being  particularly  strong. 
The  soloists  were:  Miss  Zippora  Monteith,  soprano  (of  the  quartet 
of  the  church  of  Rev.  Dr.  K.  Storrs,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.)  ;  Miss  Ger- 
trude Edmands,  contralto ;  Mr.  William  J.  Winch,  tenor  (his  first 
appearance  in  oratorio  since  his  return  from  England)  ;  and  Mr. 
D.  M.  Babcock,  bass  (of  the  American  Opera  Company).  Mr. 
Franz  Kueisel  headed  the  violins,  and  IMr.  Richard  Schuebruck 
played  the  trumpet  solo.  Miss  Monteith  had  a  voice  of  great  power 
and  wide  range,  moderate  flexibility,  not  quite  uniform  in  quality, 
nor  always  true.  Miss  Edmands  sang  with  her  usual  conscientious 
care,  good  judgment,  warm  and  earnest  feeling.  Mr.  Winch  was 
excellent,  but  hoarse  at  "Thou  shalt  break  them."  Mr.  Babcock 
was  hoarse  throughout,  yet  he  won  applause.  Receipts,  82,933.42  ; 
expenses,  $1,553.22;  profit,  81,380.20. 

1887.  The  year  began  with  nearly  two  months  of  study  and 
rehearsal  on  that  most  difficult  of  all  great  choral  works,  Bach's 
Hohe  Messe  in  H-moll  (High  Mass  in  B  minor)  and  of  Killer's  Song 
of  Victory^  which  had  been  sung  here  only  once  before,  at  the  Festival 
of  1877,  —  a  work  wholly  modern  and  in  contrast  with  the  Mass.  On 
Sunday  evening,  Feb.  27 ^  these  two  works  came  to  public  per- 
formance ;  that  is  to  say,  a  considerable  selection  from  the  Mass, 
followed  by  Killer's  work  entire.  Of  the  former  we  borrow  again 
from  our  own  Festival  ''  notes"  : — 

"  Manj^  regard  this  colossal  JNIass  in  B  minor  as  Bach's  greatest  work, — 
at  least  as  standing  on  an  equal  height  with  his  St.  Matthew  Passion  Music, 
although  the  two  works  are  so  entirely  different  that  one  marvels  at  the 
many-sided  genius  that  could  create  them  both.  Bach,  besides  his  almost 
innumerable  church  cantatas,  written  weekly  for  each  Sunday's  service,  his 
motets,  Christmas  Oratorio,  Magnificat,  and  five  Passions,  —  all  counted 
among  the  very  richest  treasures  of  church  music,  —  also  Avrote,  at  vari- 
ous times,  a  number  of  '  short  masses,'  all  intended  for  the  Protestant 
(Lutheran)  service;  and  in  them  are  found  a  number  of  pieces  transferred 
from  some  of  his  cantatas.  Some  instances  of  this  are  found  even  in  this 
last  and  greatest  effort  in  this  form,  the  Hohe  Jlesse  in  B  minor.     The  Kyrie 


480  HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

and  Gloria,  which  form  a  full  half  of  the  whole  work,  were  composed  in 
1733  for  his  Catholic  sovereign,  Friedrich  August  II.,  of  Saxony.  These  two 
parts,  with  all  their  themes  developed  on  so  extended  a  scale,  were  by  Bach 
regarded  as  a  whole  Mass  by  themselves.  It  was  some  time  afterwards  that 
he  composed  the  Credo  and  the  other  texts.  Nor  was  the  score  ever  com- 
pletely and  correctly  published,  after  careful  comparison  of  original  manu- 
script and  copies,  until  the  Bach  Gesellschaft,  in  Leipzig,  commenced  its 
noble  enterprise  of  bringing  out  in  uniform  edition  all  the  works  of  Bach 
that  could  be  found  in  print  or  manuscript.  This  Mass  had  been  selected 
for  the  first  annual  volume  of  the  splendid  series  (18-51) ;  but  various  ob- 
stacles, the  chief  of  which  was  a  certain  dog-in-the-manger  disposition  of 
the  holder  of  the  precious  manuscript,  were  so  slowly  overcome  that  its  pub- 
lication was  postponed  till  1856.  This  noble  edition  of  the  score,  just  as 
Bach  left  it,  now  places  it  within  reach  of  all  musicians.  Before  that  it  had 
first  been  published  part  by  Nageli,  of  Zurich,  part  by  Simrock,  of  Bonn, 
about  1830. 

"As  to  public  performances  of  the  entire  Mass,  its  great  length,  as  well 
as  the  formidable  difficulties  of  the  music,  almost  exclude  it  from  the  service 
of  the  churches.  The  Credo  was  performed  hj  Emanuel  Bach,  with  an  or- 
chestral introduction  of  his  own,  at  Hamburg,  before  1788,  the  year  of  his 
death.  The  Sing-Akademie,  of  Berlin,  gave  both  portions  of  it  in  1835.  In 
Frankfort  it  was  given  in  part  by  the  Cacilien-Verein,  under  Schelble,  who 
died  in  1837,  Mendelssohn  taking  his  place  in  some  of  the  rehearsals.  It 
became  one  of  the  Frankfort  Society's  stock  pieces,  and  was  performed  by 
them  entire  eight  times  between  1856  and  1875.  Other  performances  are 
mentioned:  B}'  Riedel's  Choir,  at  Leipzig,  in  April,  1859;  by  the  Sternsche 
Gesang-Verein,  at  Berlin,  in  1859,  and  by  the  Cacilien-Verein,  of  Hamburg, 
in  April.  1868 ;  at  Barmen,  in  March,  1872.  The  Credo,  alone,  was  given  by 
Hullah,  in  London,  in  1851,  and  at  the  Lower  Rhine  Festivals  of  1858  and 
1873. 

"  To  Otto  Goldschmidt  and  his  Bach  Choir  (amateurs)  belongs  the  honor 
of  first  attempting  this  colossal  task  in  London,  where  it  was  twice  brought 
out  publicly,  in  Ipril  and  May,  18"6,  and  again  in  1881,  producing  a  profound 
impression  among  truly  musical  people :  but  the  expression  ther<'of  seems  to 
have  stopped  short  with  general  praise  and  wonder.  Few,  so  far  as  we  can 
find,  have  had  the  courage  to  attempt  any  detailed  description  or  analysis  of 
the  Mass  itself. 

"Bach's  manuscript  is  divided  into  four  parts,  with  four  separate  title- 
pages,  as  follows  :  — 

"  No.  I.  (Kyric  and  Gloria)  is  called  '  Mass  for  five  voices '  (tw^o  sopranos), 
three  trumpets,  tympani,  two  flutes,  two  oboes,  two  violins,  one  viola,  and 
continuo. 

"No.  II.  Symboluni  Nicenum  (Xicene  Creed),  for  the  same  voice-parts 
and  instruments. 

"No.  III.  Sanchis,  for  six  voices  (two  soprano  and  two  alto),  three 
trumpets,  tympani,  three  oboes,  etc. 

"  No.  IV.  Osannaj  Benedictus,  Agnus  Dei,  Dona  nobis  pacem,  for  eight 
voices  (each  of  the  four  being  divided),  three  trumpets,  tympani,  two  flutes 
two  oboes,  violins,  etc. 


HISTOEY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  481 

"Mr.  Goldschmidt,  with  a  true  Bacli  devotion  (seconded  by  his  noble 
wife,  Jenny  Lind,  who  sang  in  the  chorus)  and  with  immense  labor,  had 
rearranged  much  of  the  instrumentation  according  to  the  best  Leipzig  and 
Frankfort  traditions,  —  supplying  here  and  there  a  viola  part,  changing  the 
three  high  trumpet  parts  (regarded  as  unplayable)  for  trumpets  and  clarinets, 
adding  an  organ  part,  expression  marks,  etc.  The  fruits  of  these  labors  will 
be  availed  of  in  to-daj-'s  performance  of  the  Sanctus,  and,  it  is  to  be  hoped, 
in  future  performances  by  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  of  the  entire  Mass. 

"  A  writer  in  the  London  Times  v,-e\l  remarks:  'That  the  great  musician 
could  look  back  to  the  Kijrie  and  Gloria  —  which  he  had  vouchsafed  to  his 
Catholic  sovereign  —  and  not  desire  to  go  on  with  the  work  thus  nobly  com- 
menced would  t.eem  impossible;  and  the  astonishing  Credo,  which  is  the 
division  next  following,  showed  with  what  fervor  he  set  about  resuming  his 
task.  It  is  remarked  by  C.  H.  Bitter  (one  of  Bach's  biographers)  that  the 
phrase  to  the  words  "  Credo  in  unum  Detim"  led  off"  by  tenors  and  answered 
by  the  other  voices  in  succession,  Is  the  melody  of  one  of  the  old  Gregorian 
church  songs.'  The  same  writer  says,  '  What  Bach  borrowed  for  his  immedi- 
ate purpose  he  borrowed  invariably  from  his  own  stores,  —  not  always  the 
case  with  Handel.  Enough,  that  the  Mass  in  B  minor  is  all  that  its  most 
ardent  admirers  have  pronounced,  —  a  masterpiece  of  form,  science,  and 
religious  expression;  a  thing  not  for  a  day,  but  for  all  time.' 

"  In  the  Sanctus  all  the  fervor  and  the  inspiration  of  this  wonderful  com- 
position seems  to  reach  its  climax.  Rightly  presented,  rightly  heard  and  felt, 
it  lifts  us  to  the  height  of  the  sublime.  In  its  musical  motives  and  construc- 
tion it  is  very  diflerent  from  the  Sanctus  in  most  Masses  (for  instance  that  of 
Cherubini,  above  mentioned),  where  the  '  Holj',  holy!'  is  commonly  pro- 
claimed in  long  tones  separated  hy  pauses.  Here  the  six  voices,  which  seem 
to  represent  a  union  of  both  human  and  angelic  choirs,  go  circling  ofi',  as  it 
were,  through  boundless  space  amid  and  beyond  the  planets,  in  answering 
and  commingling  triplet  phrases  (all  in  D  major,  4-4  measure),  while  the 
oboes  and  strings  fan  the  enthusiasm  with  strong,  wing-like  figures,  and  the 
trumpets  intermittently  flood  all  with  a  blaze  of  splendor.  On  and  on  the 
voices  circle,  higher  and  higher,  soaring,  climbing,  as  if  to  find  the  region  of 
pure,  perfect  light,  and  lose  themselves  in  the  ineffable  glor}^  of  the  Divine. 
Twice,  however,  the  five  upper  voices  relax  their  speed  and  linger  in  long 
notes,  while  the  basses  descend,  note  by  note,  a  full  octave,  with  stately 
tread,  the  instruments  still  pursuing  their  unwearied  flight.  At  the  words 
Pleni  sunt  cceli  et  terra  gloria  ejus  the  rhythm  changes  to  3-8,  and  a  fugue  sets 
out  unaccompanied  (except  by  the  basso  continuo),  until  all  the  voices  have 
got  in,  when  by  degrees  the  instruments  are  drawn  into  the  development,  and 
it  is  all  worked  up  with  increasing  splendor  and  excitement  (the  first  trumpet 
soaring  in  high,  bird-like  trills)  to  the  end.  How  far  this  impression  can  be 
realized  in  the  detached  performance  of  a  miscellaneous  concert  remains  to 
be  tested." 

To  the  above  it  seems  well  to  add  the  following  statement  from 
the  printed  programme  of  the  concert :  — 

"During  his  last  visit  in  London,  the  late  Mr.  Charles  C.  Periqns,  the 
president  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  was  given  access  to  Mr.  Gold- 


482  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Schmidt's  score,  and  was  presented  with  a  manuscript  copy  of  the  organ  part. 
Having  procured  a  copy  of  the  score  published  by  the  Bach  Gesellschaf  t  in 
Leipzig,  with  his  own  hand  he  transcribed  into  it,  from  Mr.  Goldschmidt's 
score,  all  additions  to  and  changes  in  the  orchestra  part,  expression  marks, 
practical  hints  for  performance,  and  historical  notes;  and,  from  the  manu- 
script presented  to  him,  the  organ  part.  The  additional  orchestra  parts  were 
first  copied  somewhat  roughly,  and  were  then  copied  a  second  time,  on  slips 
of  paper  carefully  fitted  to  the  available  spaces  in  the  score,  and  the  slips 
were  then  pasted  in.  The  organ  part  had  likewise  to  be  inserted  on  fitted 
slips  of  paper.  The  score  thus  amended,  together  with  the  memoranda  used 
in  the  process,  and  the  independent  organ  part,  were  then  handsomely  bound 
in  two  separate  volumes,  and  presented  by  Mr.  Perkins  to  the  Society.  For 
this  invaluable  gift,  enriched  by  personal  labor  of  Mr.  Perkins  that  can  have 
occupied  no  less  than  several  weeks'  time,  public  and  grateful  acknowledg- 
ment is  here  made. 

"  In  default  of  printed  orchestra  parts,' the  Society'  has  caused  a  complete 
set  to  be  written  out  from  this  score,  —  excepting  that  the  part  of  the  ohoe 
cVamore  (now  obsolete)  has  been  assigned  to  the  oboe  instead  of  the  clari- 
net; and  certain  high  passages  for  the  trumpet,  transposed  in  the  London 
score  for  clarinet,  have  been  retained  in  the  trumpet  part.  The  extremely 
difficult  part  of  the  now  obsolete  covko  cli  caccia  in  the  Quoniam  will  be 
played  on  the  French  horn;  and  the  contra-basses  will  be  doubled  by  the 
'cellos  throughout." 

All  this  shows  with  what  zealous,  conscientious  care,  and  in  what 
reverent  spirit,  the  Society  approached  the  performance  of  this  im- 
portant work.  It  could  not  undertake  to  bring  out  the  Mass  entire  ; 
that  would  have  been  too  much  for  a  single  effort,  and  the  ]Mass 
would  have  been  too  long  for  any  audience.  Selections  were  made, 
not  to  exceed  an  hour  and  a  half  in  time  ;  to  fill  out  a  programme, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  afford  relief  from  the  intense  mental  strain 
of  listening  to  music  so  elaborate  and  so  severe,  Ferdinand  Hiller's 
short,  more  modern,  and  easily  appreciable  Cantata  was  made  to  fol- 
low it.  Out  of  the  twenty-four  numbers  of  the  Mass,  six  solo  and 
six  chorus  numbers  were  performed,  —  a  good  half  of  the  work. 
The  numbers  presented  were  :  1.  Chorus,  ''  Kyrie  eleison  !  "  2.  Duet 
(S.  and  A.),  "  Christe  eleison!"  4.  Chorus,  "Gloria  in  excelsis"; 
9.  Aria  (A.),  "  Qui  sedes  ad  dexteram"  ;  10.  Aria  (B.),  "Quoniam 
tu  solus";  13.  Chorus,  "Credo";  14.  Duet  (S.  and  A.),  "  Et  in 
unum  Dominum";  16.  Chorus,  "  Crucifixus  "  ;  20.  Chorus,  "  Sanc- 
tus";  22.  Tenor  Aria,  "  Benedictus " ;  23.  Alto  Aria,  "Agnus 
Dei";  24.   Chorus,  "  Dona  nobis  pacem." 

The  solo  singers  were  :  soprano.  Miss  Lilli  Lehmann  (of  the  Im- 
perial Opera,  Berlin)  ;  contralto.  Miss  Mary  H.  How  ;  tenor,  Mr. 
George  J.  Parker ;  bass,  Mr.  Jacob  Benzing.  In  the  solo  music 
Miss  How  had  the  largest  share  and  won  most  honor.    Miss  Lehmann 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     483 

had  no  solo ;  in  the  two  duets  the  beant}^  of  her  voice  availed  her, 
aud  she  sang  correctly,  although  somewhat  coldl}'. 

Mr.  Parker  sang  his  single  solo,  "  Benedictus,"  with  delightful 
purity  and  delicacy  of  taste  and  truth  of  feeling.  Mr.  Benzing's 
wrestling  with  his  one  bass  aria,  "  Quoniam,"  betrayed  nervousness 
and  unsteadiness.  Ditilcult  in  itself,  his  vocal  path  was  hard  to 
keep  against  the  extremely  difficult  aud  florid  P'rench  horn  obligafo, 
which,  however,  was  marvellously  well  played  by  the  phenomenal 
hornisfc,  Mr.  Reiter,  of  the  Boston  Symphony  Orchestra.  The  two 
bassoon  parts  also  in  that  accompaniment  were  most  elaborate,  in- 
creasing the  perplexity.  Of  the  solo  numbers  generally  it  must  be 
said,  that  the  copied  orchestral  parts  were  not  free  from  errors,  and 
that  the  instrumentation  called  for  completion  by  probably  some 
abler,  subtler  hand  at  such  work  than  Mr.  Otto  Goldschmidt.  The 
chorus  singing  deserved  great  praise ;  only  a  little  more  rehearsal 
would  perhaps  have  given  it  the  crowning  grace  of  clearness,  ease, 
and  eloquent  expression.  The  most  complete  success  was  in  the 
Sanctus,  which  they  seemed  to  sing  as  if  inspired,  with  greatest 
power  and  accuracy.  In  other  choruses  some  indecision  aud  weak- 
ness were  betrayed.  But  the  chorus  work,  upon  the  whole,  was  su- 
perior to  the  Society's  first  public  trial  of  the  Passion  Music. 

"We  cannot  S3'mpathize  with  those  undoubtedly  sincere  and  well- 
instructed  lovers  of  Bach's  music,  who  thought  it  a  great  pity  to 
attempt  the  work  at  all  under  such  circumstances.  Even  such 
glimpses  of  the  glories  of  a  sublime  work  are  not  without  their  in- 
fluence as  the  impressions  work  on  in  the  mind.  We  are  nearer  to 
an  adequate  performance  of  the  Hohe  Messe  than  we  were  before  that 
attempt.  And  ever  since,  no  doubt,  a  higher  aud  more  earnest  aspira- 
tion has  been  stirring  in  the  bosom  of  the  old  Society,  and  a  more 
responsive  audience  has  been  ripening. 

In  the  Song  of  Victory  Miss  Lehmann  had  all  the  solos,  and  she 
displayed  more  warmth',  more  interest  in  her  task.  The  work  had  an 
enlivening  effect,  and  was  enjo^^ed  and  heartily  applauded.  Through 
its  intervention  it  is  easier  to  come  down  from  the  empyrean  of 
the  Sanctus  to  such  practical  details  as  these  :  The  chorus  num- 
bered four  hundred  and  twenty-three,  the  orchestra  fifty.  Receipts, 
81,949.57;  expenses,  $2,037.66;  loss,  $88.09  (not  a  very  heavy 
forfeit  to  pay  for  so  instructive  an  experiment)  ! 

April  10.  Easter  Sunday  was  marked  by  a  fine  performance  of 
Haydn's  Creation.  The  solo  artists  were  Mrs.  Georg  Henschel,  whose 
voice  had  expanded,  and  who  gave  what  could  almost  be  called  an 
ideal  rendering  of  the  soprano  part ;  Mr.  William  J.   Winch,  who 


484    HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

sang  with  fine  finish  and  appreciation,  albeit  not  always  quite  sure  of 
his  higher  notes ;  and  Mr.  Georg  Henschel,  who  always  sings  with 
rare  intelligence,  though  sometimes  a  bass  rather  than  a  baritone 
voice  seemed  called  for  here.  The  choruses  went  almost  always  well, 
at  times  finely.  Mr.  Hiram  Tucker  accompanied  the  recitatives  on 
the  pianoforte.  Miss  Nettie  C.  Foskett  sang  the  alto  in  the  final 
quartet.  Chorus,  four  hundred  and  thirty-six  ;  orchestra,  forty-six. 
Receipts,  $2,851.53;  expenses,  $1,659.12;  profit,  $1,192.41. 

Ap7'U  29.  The  Board,  considering  the  financial  result  of  the 
season,  voted  to  pay  as  salary  to  Mr.  Zerrahn  $250  in  addition  to 
the  $750  before  voted.  It  was  voted  to  pay  the  Society's  promissory 
note  for  $447.04,  due  May  8,  1887,  and  to  request  the  trustees  of  the 
Permanent  Fund  to  pay  over  its  income  for  the  year  to  the  Society. 

Mr.  B.  J.  Lang  was  unanimously  (by  a  rising  vote)  elected  an 
honorary  member  of  the  Society. 


SEVENTY-THIRD    SEASON. 
May  30,  1887,  to  May  — ,  1888. 

3fay  30.     Annual  meeting:     The  treasurer  reported  :  — 

Balance  on  hand  last  May ^413  30 

Xet  profits  three  concerts 2,484  52 

Interest  Permanent  Fund 1,241  33 

Sundry  receipts 271  72 

$4,410  87 

Salaries $1,400  00 

BumsteadHall 585  00 

New  music 104  40 

History  No.  2, 217  61 

Paid  note 447  04 

Sundry  expenses 510  63 

3,264  68 

Balance  on  hand $1,146  19 

The  amount  of  the  Permanent  Fund  at  market  prices.  May  12, 
1887,  was  stated  to  be  $28,869.50,  including  a  second  gift  of  $1,000 
from  the  same  anonymous  friend  of  the  Society. 

The  president,  Mr.  G.  H.  Chickering,  being  abroad  in  search  of 
health,  the  vice-president,  A.  P.  Browne,  presided,  and  presented  the 
annual  report.  Beginning  with  grateful  allusion  to  the  late  president, 
C.  C.  Perkins,  after  a  comprehensive  review  of  what  the  Society  had 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  485 

since  done  without  the  active  presence,  but  only  the  inspiring  memory 
of  "  the  gentle  man,"  he  offered  the  following  significant  hint  of  some- 
thing most  important  yet  remaining  to  be  done  :  — 

"  Several  times  has  the  Society  been  asked  to  pass  an  amendment  to  the 
by-laws  which  would  give  the  Board  of  Government  control  over  the  chorus 
of  the  Society  ;  but  these  propositions  have  never  met  with  sufficient  support 
to  be  adopted.  You  expect,  and  rightly,  that  your  directors  shall  engage 
competent  conductors,  organists,  orchestral  players,  and  solo  singers,  and 
they  have  absolute  power  over  the  sopranos  and  altos;  those  they  may  sus- 
pend or  discharge  at  their  discretion ;  but  when  it  comes  to  the  tenors  and 
basses,  there  your  contldence  in  your  Board  ceases,  and  you  limit  their  pow- 
ers. Let  a  member  avoid  breaking  rules  of  behavior,  and  he  may  break 
every  rule  of  singing,  and  yet  your  directors  have  no  power  to  silence 
him." 

After  the  vice-president's  address,  officers  for  the  ensuing  year 
were  elected  (mostly  re-elected)  as  follows  :  — 

President.  —  George  H.  Chickering. 

Vice-President.  —  A.  Parker  Broavne. 

Secretary.  — Eugene  B.  Hagar. 

Treasurer.  —  M.  Grant  Daniell. 

Librarian.  —  Charles  W.  Sjone. 

Directors.  —  David  A.  Alden,  John  D.  Andreavs,  W31.  F.  Brad- 
bury, George  T.  Brown,  Nathaniel  G.  Chapin,  George  F.  Dan- 
iels, Thomas  W.  Proctor,  Richard  S.Whitney. 

During  the  balloting  the  vice-president  read  some  extracts  from  a 
letter  received  from  Mr.  George  H.  Chickering,  president  of  the 
Societ}^  as  follows  :  — 

"Florence,  Italy,  May  13,  1887. 

"  You  are  doubtless  aware  that  Rossini's  remains  were  lately  removed  from 
Paris  to  Florence,  and  interred  in  Santa  Croce.  I  arrived  here  just  in  time  to 
take  part  in  the  ceremonies.  I  was  invited,  as  president  of  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society  and  vice-president  of  the  Apollo  Club,  to  join  in  the  proces- 
sion that  accompanied  the  remains  from  the  railroad  station  to  Santa  Croce. 
This  I  did,  with  Mr.  Thomas  Ball,  and  we  were  on  our  feet  from  half  past 
one  to  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  waiting  or  walking  in  that  section  of  the 
procession  devoted  to  musicians,  actors,  and  various  other  celebrities.  Near 
us  were  Von  Biilow,  Sgambati,  Buonamici,  and  other  men  of  note.  When 
we  reached  the  square  in  front  of  Santa  Croce  we  found  assembled  a  chorus 
of  six  hundred  voices  and  an  orchestra  of  a  hundred  players.  The  coffin 
was  taken  from  the  catafalque  and  placed  under  a  canopy.  The  chorus  sang, 
magnificently,  the  prayer  from  Moses  in  Egypt,  after  which  the  coffin  was 
conveyed  into  the  church,  and  placed  in  a  vault  under  the  pavement.  On  it 
were  laid  many  wreaths  that  had  been  sent  by  societies  and  cities,  and  which 
had  been  carried  in  the  procession. 

"I  have  since  had  made  a  large  laurel  wreath.    The  white  silk  ribbon 


486     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

attached  to  it  bears,  on  one  end,  in  letters  of  gold,  the  words  '  Homage  to 
Rossini,'  and  on  the  other,  '  The  Handel  and  Haj'du  Society,  Boston,  U.  S.  A.' 
Mr.  Ball  and  I  took  this  to  the  house  of  the  Sindaco,  the  Marchese  Torrigi- 
ani,  and  left  it  with  a  note  in  which  I  requested  permission  to  place  it  over 
Rossini's  tomb.  Next  morning  we  called  for  a  reply,  and  of  course  our 
request  was  granted.  We  took  the  wreath  to  Santa  Croce  and  laid  it  over 
the  place  where  the  remains  had  been  newly  buried.  All  this  we  did  in  the 
name  of  the  Society,  and  in  my  note  to  the  Marchese  I  referred  to  myself  as 
president  of  the  Society. 

"  I  have  heard  here  a  magnificent  performance  of  the  Stabat  JIater ,  hy  b. 
chorus  of  six  hundred,  an  orchestra  of  two  hundred,  and  Mmes.  Durand  and 
Barbara  Marchisio  and  Messrs.  Saui  and  Nannetti  for  solo  singers." 

After  considerable  amending  and  increasing  of  by-laws,  still 
ignoring  the  significant  hint  above  quoted  from  the  vice-president's 
address,  the  annual  meeting  dissolved. 

June  29.  The  Board  decided  to  give  four  concerts  for  the  season 
of  1887-88,  namely:  1.  Messiah,  at  Christmas;  2.  Te  Deum,  by 
Berlioz,  and  Prof.  Paine's  Nativity^  Jan.  29  ;  3.  Bach's  St.  Mat- 
thew Passion  Music^  before  Easter  ;  4.  Judas  Maccabceus,  at  Easter, 
April  1 . 

Conductor,  organist,  and  assistant  librarian  were  reappointed  on 
the  same  terms  as  before. 

Dec.  25.  Christmas  fell  on  Sunday  this  time,  and  the  Messiah  was 
given  for  the  eightieth  time,  with  an  overflowing  house,  as  usual. 
The  Franz  edition  was  used  again  for  the  most  part.  The  beautiful 
chorus,  "And  with  his  stripes,"  for  several  3'ears  omitted,  was 
restored.  The  chorus  throughout  was  clear,  firm,  steady,  and  effec- 
tive, if  the  quality  of  tone  was  not  of  the  best.  The  soprano  solos 
were  intrusted  to  Miss  Gertrude  Griswold,  a  young  singer  who  had 
taken  a  first  prize  at  the  Paris  Conservatoire,  had  sung  in  English 
oratorio  with  eminent  artists,  and  several  times  in  light  opera,  with- 
out marked  success,  after  her  return  to  this  country.  She  had  been 
trained  in  a  more  serious  direction.  Her  performance  drew  extremes 
of  criticism  in  opposite  directions,  praise  and  blame.  Her  voice, 
except  in  the  lower  portion,  was  ftiU,  pure,  sweet,  and  mellow  ;  her 
enunciation  faulty  ;  \\qv  fioriture  uncertain,  colorless,  and  weak.  She 
was  better  in  cantabile,  and  her  conception  always  good  ;  yet  she  was 
accused  of  too  much  2}ortame)Uo,  and  a  sentimental  style  in  phrasing. 
Miss  Gertrude  Edmauds,  in  the  contralto  arias,  confirmed  the  good 
impression  she  had  made  before.  The  tenor,  Mr.  Albert  Lester  King, 
of  New  York,  with  a  voice  of  great  power  and  range,  and  fairly 
sympathetic,  though  not  perhaps  of  such  volume  as  his  large  physique 
and  fine  presence  would  suggest,  made  a  very  favorable  impres-sion. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY.  4S7 

Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney  was  himself,  improved  perhaps,  in  some  respects, 
by  the  experience  he  had  had  npon  the  light  dramatic  stage.  The 
chorus  numbered  three  hundred  and  eighty ;  the  orchestra,  of  forty- 
four,  was  from  the  Boston  Symphon}*  Orchestra,  and  led  by  Mr. 
Kneisel.  The  trumpet  solo  was  played  by  Mr.  E.  N.  Lafricain. 
Receipts.  S-2, 772. 39:  expenses,  81.613.18  ;  profit,  81,159.21. 

1888.  The  year  began  with  six  rehearsals  of  the  music  assigned 
for  the  second  of  the  four  concerts  for  the  season  :  one  a  work  por- 
tentous, French,  by  a  composer  of  unquestioned  genius  but  suspected 
sanity.  Hector  Berlioz,  a  formidable  task  to  undertake,  but  hailed 
with  gleeful  triumph  by  the  party  of  "  the  newness  "  ;  the  other,  to 
precede  it  as  a  milder,  soothing  introduction,  the  Nativity,  by  Prof. 
John  K.  Paine,  which  had  already  established  itself  in  the  sincere 
favor  of  this  musical  community. 

Now  this  historian  finds  himself  obliged  to  confess  that,  although 
he  must  have  been  a  listener  at  that  first  and  only  performance  here 
of  the  wildly  lauded,  loudly  trumpeted  T%  Deum  of  Berlioz,  he  has 
not  the  slightest  recollection  of  it,  or  of  any  point  or  feature  in  it. 
His  mind,  or  memory,  on  that  matter  is  absolutely  blank.  The  daily 
and  weekly  local  press  of  that  date  is  full  of  it,  seemingly  marvel- 
lously excited  about  it,  both  before  and  after  the  performance,  with 
most  intensity  and  most  verbosity  before.  In  those  "  omnium- 
gatherum  "  Scrap-Books  {quoad  musical  matters)  which  threaten,  at 
the  rate  they  keep  accumulating,  to  burst  the  archives  of  the  old 
Society,  in  which  we  are  obliged  to  rummage  for  much  of  the  miscel- 
laneous material  woven  into  these  later  chapters,  we  find  enough  to 
bewilder  and  appal  a  poor  patient,  conscientious  annalist.  We  find 
the  monster  work  announced  in  articles  of  several  columns  in  the 
closest  type,  embodying  long,  critical  analyses,  or  rather  rhapsodies,  by 
admiring  countrymen  of  Berlioz  ;  and  we  find  the  concert  followed 
by  briefer  notices  {critiques) ,  which  range  through  the  whole  scale  of 
wonder,  praise,  and,  downward,  through  all  degrees  of  timid  fault- 
finding, to  outright  condemnation  and  contempt.  Xow,  if  the  alleged 
monstrosities  of  the  work  were  so  glaring  as  some  have  alleged,  we 
surely  should  be  likely  to  remember  something  of  it ;  the  wounded 
sensibilities  would  still  wear  some  scars.  And  if  it  did  abound  in 
lovely,  glorious  things,  we  should  have  loved  them,  —  and  love  fades 
not  out  so  easily.  As  for  the  prefatory,  perfunctory  long  articles 
referred  to,  we  can  give  the  gist  of  the  matter,  both  descriptive  and 
historical,  as  condensed  in  the  words  of  the  programme  of  the 
concert :  — 


488     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

"  The  Te  Deum,  by  Berlioz,  dates  from  1849,  and  stands  as  Op.  22  in  the 
list  of  the  master's  works.  It  was  originally  intended  to  form  an  episode  in 
a  grand  epic-dramatic  work,  to  commemorate  the  military  fame  of  Napoleon 
Bonaparte,  and  to  bear  the  title.  The  Return  of  the  First  Consul  from  his 
Italian  Campaign.  As  the  victorious  general  passed  (in  the  dramas  through 
the  portals  of  Notre  Dame  the  Ambrosian  hymn  of  praise,  as  the  Te  Deiim 
has  been  called,  would  resound  from  all  sides.  To  produce  the  eflect  of  a  com- 
plete invasion  of  the  cathedral  by  musical  forces,  Berlioz  prescribes  a  triple 
chorus,  composed  of  two  choirs  of  three  parts  each,  and  a  third  of  children's 
voices,  which  sometimes  double  the  sopranos  and  sometimes  the  tenors  of 
the  mixed  choirs.  The  Banner  March,  which  comes  at  the  close  of  the  hymn, 
was  to  be  played  as  the  flags  of  the  victorious  troops  were  brought  to  the  high 
altar,  and  there  consecrated  by  the  attendant  priests.  Berlioz's  score  is  char- 
acteristic in  the  number  and  variety  of  instruments  demanded.  There  are 
actually  prescribed  one  hundred  and  one  instruments  of  the  violin  family, 
twelve  harps,  sixteen  each  in  wood-wind  and  brass-wind  groups,  and  six  per- 
cussion; in  all,  at  least  one  hundred  and  flfty-one  players  being  needed. 
There  is  also  an  organ'  part,  obligato.  The  composer  directs  the  orchestra 
and  chorus  to  be  placed  at  the  end  of  the  church  opposite  that  occupied  by 
the  organ,  and  the  choir  of  children's  voices  to  be  set  on  a  platform  above  the 
orchestra.  The  composer,  however,  concedes  that  not  uU  these  conditions 
are  practicable  in  concert  performances,  and  explicitly  says  that  the  choir  of 
children  may  be  altogether  dispensed  with. 

•'  When,  in  1855,  the  first  internationaj  exhibition  in  Paris  was  about  to  be 
opened,  the  occasion  seemed  a  fitting  opportunity  for  a  production  of  the 
work.  It  was  accordingly  brought  out  on  a  magnificent  scale  —  orchestra  of 
one  huodred  and  sixty,  six  hundred  children's  voices,  two  choirs  of  one  hun- 
dred voices  each,  in  all  nine  hundred  and  sixty  performers,  in  the  Church  of 
Saiot  Eustache,  under  the  direction  of  the  composer.  By  chance,  the  work 
gave  emphasis  to  the  occasion, —  a  thanksgiving  service  in  recognition  of  the 
escape  of  Napoleon  III.  from  assassinaiion  two  days  before,  Berlioz  subse- 
quently directed  performances  of  portions  of  the  hymn —  Tibi  Omm^s  in  the 
Palais  de  1' Industrie,  Paris,  Judex  Crederis  at  Baden-Baden,  and  several  num- 
bers at  Bordeaux.  The  composition  slumbered  after  the  death  of  Berlioz 
(1869)  until  a  revival  was  attempted  at  Bordeaux  in  1883.  On  May  24,  1884, 
it  was  performed  at  Weimar,  at  the  jubilee  meeting  of  the  Allgemeiner 
Deutscher  Musikverein,  and  this  was  its  first  complete  presentation  in  Ger- 
many. Mr.  August  Manns  brought  it  out  at  a  concert  for  his  own  benefit,  in 
the  Crystal  Palace,  London,  on  April  18,  1885.  It  has  had  but  one  performance 
in  America,  namely,  by  the  Apollo  Musical  Club  of  Chicago,  Dec.  1,  1887." 

Jan.  29.  Second  concert  of  the  season.  Paine's  Nativity  (second 
time)  preceded  "  a  musical  problem  by  Berlioz,"  as  one  of  the  news- 
paper critics  called  the  Te  Deum,  given  by  the  Society  for  the  first 
time.  "  Not  being  able  to  solve  the  problem,"  continues  the  same 
critic  (and  many  others  seem  to  have  been  in  the  same  predicament), 
''we  took  our  enjoyment  in  the  first  half  of  the  programme."  Mr. 
Paine's  beautiful   setting  of  a  large   portion  of  Milton's  Christmas 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     489 

byma  was  heard  with  all  the  admh-ation  that  it  won  at  its  first  hearing 
at  the  triennial  festival  for  which  it  was  composed.  Miss  Gertrude 
Franklin  sang  the  solos.  The  chorus  is  said  to  have  lacked  volume, 
being  somewhat  obscured  by  the  orchestra,  enlarged  for  the  Te 
Deum. 

The  latterwork.it  will  be  seen,  was  not  given  on  the  vast  orchestral 
and  choral  scale  intended  by  the  composer.  The  orchestra,  instead 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty,  had  sixty-five  instruments.  The  chorus 
had  three  hundred  and  sixt^^-three  voices ;  and  the  six  hundred 
children's  voices  were  represented  by  thirty-nine  boys.  The  Banner 
March,  after  the  hymn,  had  but  a  single  harp  to  do  duty  in  dumb 
show  for  the  twelve  harps  prescribed  by  Berlioz.  After  the  confes- 
sion frankly  made  above,  the  historian  cannot  offer  an  opinion,  either 
on  the  intrinsic  merits  of  the  work  or  on  the  quality  of  the  pei-form- 
ance.  The  opening  number,  Te  Deum  laudamus  (for  two  three-part 
choirs,  with  a  third  in  unison  for  boys),  seems  to  have  been  sung 
fairly  well ;  and  the  same  is  said  of  No.  2,  Tihi  Omnes.  Nos.  3  and 
4,  Dignare,  Domine.  and  CJiriste,  Bex  Glorim,  went  ''  admirably  "  on 
the  part  of  the  sopranos,  but  "  execrably"  on  that  of  the  tenors  and 
basses.  The  prayer,  for  tenor  solo,  No.  5,  Te  ergo  qucnsumus,  was 
sung  by  Mr.  William  H.  Fessenden,  "  in  a  thoroughly  artistic  man- 
ner, and  with  admirable  expressiveness  "  No.  6,  the  final  chorus, 
Judex  crederis^  is  reported  to  have  been  sung  with  spirit  and  with 
power. 

Of  the  composition  itself,  one,  after  hearing,  writes  :  "  It  is  all 
so  strong,  manly,  and  noble  ;  its  effects  are  attained  so  easily,  and  it 
stands  as  so  majestic  a  whole,  that  to  pick  it  to  pieces  and  analyze  it 
were  wellnigh  futile  now."  To  another,  "  the  work  seemed  noi^y, 
blatant,  vulgar,  eccentric,  and  abounding  in  instrumental  and  vocal 
sensationalism,  directed  towards  the  production  of  mere  color  eff'ect, 
sometimes  grotesque,  sometimes  impress sive,  but  seldom  clear.  Every- 
where is  heard  the  profound  master  of  orchestral  resources,  but 
nowhere  is  heard  a  bar  that  seems  to  spring  spontaneoush^  from  a 
sincere  emotion."  .  .  .  "On  one  point  we  are  not  in  the  slightest 
doubt,  and  that  is,  that  the  work  is  supremely  difficult,  and  that  the 
chorus  found  it  a  ver}'  hard  task  to  stagger  under  the  load  it  was 
called  upon  to  bear."  So  the  experts  differ.  For  our  own  part,  may 
we  not  be  allowed  to  take  some  comfort  in  our  own  negative  experi- 
ence on  that  occasion,  and  to  think  what  a  good  thing  it  would  be 
were  all  questionable  music  endowed  with  the  quality  of  making  itself 
so  easily  forgotten? 

The  hall,  that  evening,  it  seems,  was   not  crowded,  nor  was  the 


490  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

applause  liberal.     Receipts,  SI, 540. 50  ;  expenses,  $1,702.02;    loss, 
$161.52. 

After  this  trying  encounter  with  the  much-mooted  "  problem  "  of 
Berlioz,  the  singers  could  comfort  themselves  with  Dr.  Holmes  :  — 

"  But  hark  I  the  air  again  is  still, 
The  musi<i  is  all  ground ; 
And  silence,  like  a.poultice,  comes 
To  heal  the  blows  of  sound." 

But  their  poultice  was  sweeter  even  than  silence.  It  came  in  the 
shape  of  Bach's  Matthew  Pas-ion  Music,  which  they  were  glad  to 
rehearse  again  for  several  weeks,  in  view  of  an  experimental  after- 
noon  performance.  It  was  given  (largely  abridged,  of  course)  on 
Sunday  afternoon,  March  4.  But  the  public  did  not  show  a  prefer- 
ence for  afternoons.  On  Saturday  afternoon  only  one  third  of  the 
hall  was  sold,  and  the  audience  was  eked  out  by  admission  tickets 
given  to  the  chorus.  The  performance  was  generall}^  conceded  to  be 
the  best  one  which  the  work  had  yet  received  in  Boston.  The  chorus 
was  voluminous,  sure  and  prompt  in  attack,  and  moved  easily  and 
steadil3\  The  orchestral  work  was  of  extraordinary  delicacy,  with 
nice  adjustment  to  the  voices.  Mrs.  Henrietta  Beebe-Lawton  and 
Miss  Mary  H.  How  sang  conscientiously  and  correctly,  but  with  less 
warmth  and  vitality  than  they  both  had  shown  before.  Miss  How 
lacked  physical  force.  Mrs.  Lawton's  voice  had  lost  much  of  its 
brilliancy,  and  she  had  dropped  into  a  style  more  sentimental.  Mr. 
W.  J.  Winch,  in  the  narrative  tenor  recitative,  had  to  save  himself 
too  much,  resorting  to  falsetto.  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney's  great  bass 
voice  was  not  always  in  tune  ;  but  he  sang  the  music  in  the  part  of 
Jesus,  and  the  beautiful  ^' At  eventide,"  with  entire  simplicity  and  with 
nobility  of  style.  Other  bass  solos  were  sung  by  Mr.  George  Prehn 
(new  to  Boston,  although  he  had  sung  in  Worcester  and  New  York), 
with  a  voice  large  in  compass  and  in  volume,  in  good  tune,  yet  with  a 
certain  cloudiness,  but  with  earnestness  and  vigor.  The  chorus  num- 
bered three  hundred  and  sixty-seven  (out  of  a  possible  four  hundred 
and  twenty-six),  the  orchestra  sixty-seven.  The  choir  of  boys, 
fifty-four  in  number,  were  from  several  churches,  and  were  trained 
by  Mr.  S.  B.  Whitney,  organist  and  musical  director  at  the  Church 
of  the  Advent.  Among  the  most  important  omissions  was  the  great 
figured  choral  at  the  end  of  the  First  Part,  —  a  much  worthier 
conclusion  than  the  exciting,  brilliant  chorus,  "Ye  lightnings,  ye 
thunders."     Expenses,  $2,236.95  ;  receipts,  $1,845.20  ;  loss,  $391.75. 

The    Sunday   evenings   of    the   month   of    March   were   given  to 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  491 

rehearsal  of  JiLrlns  Maccaboeus^  —  too  little  rehearsal,  it  was  thought, 
inasmuch  as  the  work  was  new  to  about  half  the  members  of  the 
chorus.  It  was  the  Societ3''s  seventeenth  production  of  this  oratorio, 
which  it  had  left  unsung  for  nine  years.  Written  to  commemorate 
the  battle  of  CuUoden,  it  is  conceived  in  a  happ}'  and  triumphant 
spirit  (which  perhaps  was  a  little  suppressed  and  solemnized  in  this 
performance)  ;  it  has  always  ranked  next  to  the  Messiah  and  Israel  in 
Egypt  in  popular  favor.  If  it  awakens  but  a  drowsy  interest  in  our 
modern  audiences,  "harps  of  a  thousand  strings,"  which  have  been 
played  upon  by  Verdis,  Gounods,  Berlioz,  and  all  the  later  prophets, 
it  is  not  altogether  nor  mainly  because  of  its  old  and  too  familiar 
Handelian  cut  (which  is  intrinsically  beautiful  and  noble)  so  much  as 
it  is  because  of  the  incomplete  condition  in  which  the  accompaniments 
have  been  left,  and  in  which  they  are  given  in  every  performance  of 
the  work  to  this  day.  Some  Robert  Franz  has  yet  to  do  for  them  the 
pious  work  which  has  been  done  for  the  Messiah  and  for  Bach's 
Passion  Music. 

The  chorus  sang  remarkably  well,  and  the  solo  singing  was  above 
the  average.  Notably  so  was  that  of  the  tenor,  Mr.  George  J. 
Parker,  and  the  bass,  Mr.  Max  Heinrich,  from  New  York.  Their 
singing  was  the  salient  feature  of  the  concert.  Both  were  heartily 
admired  ;  the  former  for  "  suavity  and  polish,"  the  latter  for  vitality 
and  vigor.  "  The  musicianly  quality  of  Mr.  Heinrich's  singing 
caused  one  to  forget  the  rough  dryness  of  his  voice."  Miss  Emily 
Wiuant,  in  her  one  absolute  solo,  sang  with  noble  voice  and  a  majes- 
tic st3'le.  Mrs.  Giulia  Yalda  (new  to  Boston),  who  had  the  long  and 
varied  soprano  part,  showed  a  voice  of  extended  range,  but  rather 
hard  and  uns3^m pathetic,  hollow  in  the  lower  register,  not  uniformly 
sweet  in  the  higher.  Her  singing  had  no  depth  of  expression,  betrayed 
bad  method,  and  was  unsteady  in  roulades.  In  short,  she  could  not 
be  called  a  Handelian  singer.  Yet  she  won  favor  with  the  audience. 
Miss  Louise  Laine's  "  sweet  and  ripe  soprano  voice  came  forth  most 
pleasantly  in  the  trio,  '  See,  the  Conquering  Hero  Comes.' " 

The  chorus  numbered  three  hundred  and  seventy-nine ;  the  or- 
chestra (still  from  the  Boston  Symphony),  forty-four.  Receipts, 
$2,124.56  ;  expenses,  $1,767.01  ;  profit,  $357.55. 

This  was  a  period  in  the  councils  of  the  Society  of  agitation  and 
suggestions  of  reform,  —  some  onl}^  tentative,  some  (soon  to  be) 
practical  and  final.  Already  we  have  seen  a  trial,  and  a  fruitless 
one,  of  a  Sunday  afternoon  instead  of  evening  for  a  concert.  Con- 
servative habit  was  too  strong.  Again  (April  24)  the  Board  of 
Government   compared    and  counted   answers   received   to  circulars 


492    HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AXD  HAYDX  SOCIETY. 

sent  out  to  all  the  members  of  the  Society  and  chorus  proposing 
a  change  of  the  weekly  rehearsal  night  from  Sunday  to  some  week- 
day evening.  It  was  a  question  of  convenience  and  preference  to 
the  singers.  In  support  of  the  proposed  change  were  these  consid- 
erations :  That  Sunday,  with  so  many,  was  a  day  of  rest ;  that 
manj'  came  to  the  rehearsal  already  much  exhausted  by  their  service 
in  church  choirs  ;  that  the  railroad  and  other  facilities  for  getting  in 
and  out  of  town  were  much  curtailed  on  Sundays.  On  the  other 
hand  were  urged  :  the  force  of  habit ;  the  comparative  peace  and 
leisure,  freedom  from  care,  on  Sundays  ;  the  multitude  of  engage- 
ments and  distractions,  social,  musical,  and  what  not,  to  which 
week-day  evenings  were  liable  ;  and  such  other  considerations  as  can 
be  easily  imagined.     The  answers  to  the  circulars  were  as  follows  :  — 

Whole  number  sent  out      / 481 

In  favor  of  change 153 

Against  change 221 

Xeutral 42 

So  it  was  wisely  concluded  to  '•  let  well  enough  alone."  Soon  will 
come  up,  irrepressibly,  a  question  which  has  ruffled  the  placid  sur- 
face of  this  record  several  times  already,  the  question,  namely,  of 
letting  very  bad  alone, —  that  of  "weeding  out,"  or  "purifying" 
the  chorus.     The  times  are  almost  ripe  ! 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AXD  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     493 


CHAPTER   XV. 

SEVENTY-FOURTH    SEASOX. 

May  28,  1888,  to  May  26,  1889. 

May  28.  Annual  meeting.  President  George  H.  Chickering  in 
the  chair.     The  treasurer  reported  :  — 

On  hand  May,  1887 $1,146  19 

Income  Permanent  Fund 1,275  78 

Profits  on  concerts 963  49 

Other  receipts 328  85 

$3.7U  31 

Expense  on  season 82,385  08 

Cost  of  History  No.  3 330  05 

2,715  13 

On  hand $999  18 

The  Permanent  Fund  was  vahied  at  827,126.75. 

In  his  address  (which  was  accepted  and  a  copy  requested  for  the 
press)  President  Chickering  declined  a  re-election  and  withdrew  from 
the  active  service  of  the  Societ}',  after  thirty-one  years  of  connection 
with  it  on  the  Board  of  Government.  He  eulogized  his  predecessor, 
Charles  C.  Perkins,  whose  death  removed  one  of  the  Society's  most 
active  and  most  honored  members,  and  he  presented  to  the  library  a 
bust  of  Mr.  Perkins,  modelled  by  Thomas  Ball  in  Florence,  an  old 
member  of  the  Society,  which  was  accepted  with  a  vote  of  thanks. 

Remarks  were  made  by  some  of  the  members,  expressing  their 
appreciation  of  the  debt  of  the  Society  to  the  Chickering  family, 
father  and  sons,  who  for  forty  of  the  seventy-three  years  of  its  ex- 
istence had  held  the  office  of  president,  and  had  at  all  times  been 
actively  associated  in  all  its  affairs.  The  following  resolutions  were 
passed  :  — 

"That  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  regret  that  their  president,  Mr. 
George  H.  Chickering,  is  unable  to  accept  the  re-election  which  they  would 
have  been  so  glad  to  give.  That  they  rejoice  to  have  had  the  privilege  of 
doiug  honor  both  to  his  own  personality  and  to  a  historic  name.  That  they 
express  anew  their  appreciation  of  the  numberless  courtesies  and  unfail- 
ing generosity  which  have  made  of  the  Chickering  family  their  traditional 
tower  of  strength." 


494     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

The  election  of  officers  was  as  follows  :  — 

President. — A.  Parker  Browne. 

Vice-President,  —  John  H.  Stickney. 

Secretary.  —  Eugene  B.  Hagar. 

Treasurer.  —  M.  Grant  Daniell. 

Librarian.  —  Charles  W.   Stone. 

Directors. — Dayid  A.  Alden,  John  D.  Andreavs,  William  F. 
Bradbury,  George  T.  Brown,  Nathaniel  G.  Chapin,  George  F. 
Daniels,  Thomas  W.  Proctor,  Richard  S.  Whitney. 

The  secretary's  amendment  to  Article  XIX.  of  the  By-Laws, 
adding :  — 

"The  Board  of  Government  may  permanently  retire  from  the  chorus  any 
members  who  are  not,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Board,  qualified  to  sing  in  the 
chorus," 

was  unanimously  adopted  as  amended  by  adding  :  — 

"  No  member  shall  be  so  retired  until  he  has  been  examined  or  has  had  an 
opportunity  to  be  examined  in  such  manner  as  the  Board  shall  determine." 

Article  XXII.  was  then  amended,  so  as  to  read  :  — 

"Any  member  who  has  belonged  to  the  Society  for  twenty  successive 
years,  or  who  has  been  retired  from  the  chorus  by  the  Board  of  Government 
under  Article  XIX.,  shall  be  entitled  to  an  honorary  ticket  instead  of  an  active 
chorus  ticket.  An  honorary  ticket  shall  admit  the  holder  to  all  rehearsals 
and  concerts  of  the  Society,  but  not  to  a  seat  in  the  chorus  at  concerts ;  and 
no  attendance  shall  be  required  of  him.  A  twenty-years'  member,  though 
having  previously  taken  an  honorary  ticket,  may  at  any  time  exchange  it 
for  a  chorus  ticket,  unless  he  has  been  retired  from  the  chorus  by  the 
Board  of  Government  under  Article  XIX.  Except  as  otherwise  provided 
herein  and  in  Articles  XVIII.  and  XIX.,  a  twenty-years'  member  shall 
retain  all  his  former  rights  and  privileges  and  be  subject  to  all  other 
liabilities  of  membership." 

Thus  have  the  "ripples"  of  reform,  wiiich  we  have  seen  occasion- 
ally fleetino;  across  the  surface  of  the  stream,  orathered  an  irre^^istible 
force  at  last  and  grown,  if  not  to  a  tempest,  at  least  to  an  invigorat- 
ing northern  blast  for  the  clearing  up  (purification)  of  the  close 
choral  atmosphere.  Call  it  weeding  out  or  ventilation,  if  you  like, 
a  better  state  of  things  is  certainly  at  hand.  The  amendment  will 
be  put  in  force,  with  what  commotion  and  what  beneficial  change 
of  air  we  shall  soon  see.  It  remains  to  append  to  the  record  of 
this  annual  meeting  the  careful  secretary's  "chorus  statistics"  for 
1887-S8  :  — 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AXD  HAYDX  SOCIETY.     495 

Tickets.  Xew  Members, 

Sopranos 159  35 

Altos 141  25 

Tenors 100  14 

Basses 114  13 

514  87 

Average  attendance  at  twenty-eight  rehearsals         .        .         .  302 

Average  attendance  at  four  concerts 372 

Maximum  attendance 380 

Minimum  attendance 87 

A  few  extracts  from  the  address  of  the  retiriDg  president  will 
doubtless  interest  the  reader.  Speaking  of  his  lamented  predecessor 
he  said  :  — 

"  In  the  tribute  paid  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Perkins  in  the  last  annual 
report  by  our  vice-president  he  is  alluded  to  as  the  '  gentleman '  (gentle 
man).  I  recently  read  in  Thackeray  a  description  of  a  gentleman  that  seemed 
to  me  so  applicable  to  Mr.  Perkins  that  I  shall  quote  it :  '  Perhaps  these  [gen- 
tlemen] are  rarer  personages  than  some  of  us  think  for.  Which  of  us  can 
point  out  many  such  in  his  circle  —  men  whose  aims  are  generous,  whose 
truth  is  constant,  and  not  only  constant  of  its  kind  but  elevated  in  its  degree ; 
whose  want  of  meanness  makes  them  simple;  who  can  look  the  world  hon- 
estly in  the  face  with  an  equal  manly  sympathy  for  the  great  and  the  small? 
We  all  know  a  hundred  whose  coats  are  very  well  made,  and  a  score  who 
have  excellent  manners,  and  one  or  two  happy  beings  who  are  what  they  call 
in  the  inner  cu'cle,  and  have  shot  into  the  very  centre  and  bull's-eye  of  the 
fashion;  but  of  gentlemen,  how  many?  Let  us  take  a  little  scrap  of  paper 
and  each  make  out  his  list.' 

'•  I  am  sure,  my  friends,  that  your  list  and  mine  would  be  headed  with  the 
name  of  Charles  C.  Perkins.  The  death  of  Mr.  Perkins  gave  me  the  office  of 
president  by  inheritance,  followed  by  the  time  in  October,  1886,  when  you 
honored  me  by  electing  me  president.  This  was  done  against  my  wishes, 
for  at  the  time  I  was  only  a  convalescent  from  a  very  long,  painful,  and 
dangerous  illness,  and  one  which  compelled  my  absence  in  search  of  health. 
I  accepted  it,  however,  not  only  as  an  honor  conferred  on  me  but  on  tho^e  of 
my  name  who  for  so  many  years  faithfully  served  the  Society,  at  the  same 
time,  with  the  knowledge  of  those  who  elected  me,  that,  owing  to  my  illness 
and  necessary  absence,  whilst  I  accepted  the  honor  of  the  office,  I  could  not 
perform  its  duties.  I  accepted  also  with  the  condition  that  at  the  end  of 
that  season  my  term  of  office  should  expire  I  left  my  case  and  condition  in 
the  hands  of  a  lawyer  who  is  well  known  in  this  Society.  What  information 
he  gave  you  about  my  condition,  or  what  arguments  he  used  at  the  caucus 
and  election  of  1887,  I  do  not  know,  for  at  that  time  I  was  still  absent. 
Whatever  they  were,  he  lost  his  case,  for  on  my  return  in  June  last  I  found 
I  had  been  re-elected.  Whilst  I  appreciated  and  felt  proud  of  this  great 
honor  and  mark  of  your  confidence,  I  regretted  it,  for  I  felt  that  the  Society 
needed  a  president  who  possessed  far  more  ability  than  I  ever  did,  and  whose 


496     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AXD  HAYDX  SOCIETY. 

health  was  more  to  be  relied  on  than  mine.  Hopeful,  however,  I  decided  to 
try  to  perform  the  duties  devolving  on  me.  I  have  only  been  partiallj^  suc- 
cessful, for,  during  most  of  the  working  season,  I  felt  obliged  to  give  up  all 
<ialls  of  duty  or  pleasure  that  would  expose  me  to  the  changes  and  chances 
of  our  climate.  For  this  reason  I  was  absent  from  the  rehearsals  and  from 
some  of  the  government  meetings." 


"The  following  deaths  of  members  have  occurred  since  the  last  annual 
meeting:  J.  Q.  Chace,  Dec.  11,  1887,  a  member  twenty-two  years;  George  W. 
Hunnewell,  Dec.  12,  1887,  a  member  nearh'  fortj'-four  years;  John  W.  Proc- 
tor, March  5,  1888,  a  member  thirty-eight  years:  Eobert  H.  Clouston,  March 
^3,  1888,  a  member  forty-five  years.  The  long  memberships  of  the  deceased 
are  noteworthy.  Also  died,  Oct.  7,  1887,  George  James  ^yebb,  aged  eighty- 
four,  a  member  from  1830  to  1842,  but  not  a  member  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  was  president  of  the  Society  in  1837,  1840,  and  1841,  during  which  time 
he  was  also  conductor,  a  customary  duty  for  the  president  to  perform  in 
those  days,  and  which,  from  Mr.  Webb's  accomplishments  as  a  musician,  he 
was  capable  of  doing  in  a  most  satisfactory  manner." 

The  address  closed  with  some  cogent  suo-aestions  on  the  o-reat  and 
pressing  topic  of  "  the  purification  of  the  chorus,"  showing  that  cases 
parallel  to  that  of  the  Societ}-  had  recently  existed  in  the  choral  so- 
cieties of  Birmingham  and  Norwich  in  England,  and  how  the  diffi- 
culty there  was  overcome  by  the  adoption  of  the  trenchant  measures 
proposed  here.  This  touched  the  heart  of  the  problem  of  chorus 
reform  ;  and  the  practical  solution  of  that  problem  was  destined  to 
be  the  prominent  and  distinctive  feature  of  the  next  year's  history  of 
the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society.  Naturally  the  movement  would  and 
did  cause  some  fluttering  among  some  of  the  oldest  and  most  devoted 
members  of  the  old  Society.  There  were  not  a  few  old  men  among 
the  tenors  and  the  basses  who  from  their  youth  up  had  sung  with 
zeal,  if  not  discretion,  in  the  ranks ;  to  whom  that  membership  was 
one  of  the  dearest,  proudest  associations  of  their  life ;  who  clung  to 
the  connection  with  a  determined  loyalt}' ;  b}^  whom  no  wound  would 
be  felt  more  sensitively  than  to  have  that  connection  severed.  It  had 
not  been  voted,  nor  proposed,  that  their  connection  with  the  Society 
should  be  severed.  But  what  was  to  be  done?  There  was  no  ignor- 
ing the  notorious  fact,  palent  at  every  concert  and  rehearsal,  that  the 
<;horal  effects  were  sadly  marred  by  the  presence  of  out-worn  and 
unpleasant  voices  ;  that  the  ranks  contained  so-called  singers  who 
really  could  not  sing.  These  had  to  be  eliminated  !  But  the  process 
was  to  be  conducted  in  the  gentlest  way  ;  all  due  cojisideration.was 
to  be  paid  to  |jast  services  and  to  intrinsic  character  and  loyalty.  If 
their  voices  couM  no  longer  help  in  chorus,  personally  they  were  to 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  497 

be  welcomed,  honored,  cherished  in  the  business  and  social  inter- 
course of  the  Society.  For  this  the  latter  clause  of  the  amendment 
just  passed  amply  and  tenderly  provides. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Government,  June  23,  the  ''retire- 
ment of  singers  "  was  practically  discussed,  surveying  the  field  for 
action.  It  appeared  that  about  one  fifth  of  the  active  chorus  had 
joined  within  five  years  (the  Examining  Committee  for  Membership 
having  had  their  hands  full  during  those  five  years),  and  that  about 
one  half  had  joined  within  ten  years.  Accordingly-  it  was  voted,  that 
all  who  would  have  been  members  of  the  chorus  at  least  ten  years 
on  the  1st  of  September,  1888,  should  be  examined  as  to  voice  and 
musicMl  capacity;  tliat  tlie  examination  should  be  conducted  by  a 
disinterested  ;)ro/ess«o/<a/ m^/6«cia?i;  that  those  accepted  b^'him  should 
be  accepted,  and  that  those  rejected  by  him  should  have  nn  appeal  to 
the  Beard  of  Government. 

Meanwhile  the  season's  work  in  the  way  of  rehearsal  and  concert- 
giving  had  been  laid  out  accordingly,  it  would  seem,  on  a  limited  and 
comparative!}'  easy  scale.  Three  concerts  only  were  to  be  undertaken  : 
the  Messiah,  as  usual ;  the  liequiem  of  Venli  ;  and  St.  Faul  for 
Easter,  April  21.  1889. 

Sept.  28.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  the  Committee  on  P^xamina- 
tioD  of  Voices  reported.  They  had  appointed  Mr.  Henry  M.  Aiken, 
a  musician  and  vocal  teacher  of  great  experience,  to  conduct  the  ex- 
amination. In  his  comparison  he  had  established  four  grades  :  1 . 
The  exceptionally  good.  2.  Satisfactory  and  useful.  3.  Of  little 
value.  4.  Bad.  In  the  first  grade  he  found  fifty  voices,  in  the 
second  grade,  sixteen,  in  the  third,  three,  in  the  fourth,  twenty- 
one.  Many  had  not  3'et  presented  themselves  for  examination,  and 
the  work  would  be  completed  on  the  loth  of  November,  188S.  The 
Board  then  voted  to  accept  all  in  grades  1  and  2.  Those  who 
paid  no  attention  to  the  summons  of  the  directors  were  treated  as  if 
they  had  failed  to  pass  the  examination,  and  were  ''  retired." 

The  result  of  all  this  canvassing,  examining,  and  ''weeding" 
was,  as  stated  in  the  secretary's  prospectus  for  the  Seventy-Fourth 
Season  of  concerts,  the  permanent  retirement  of  about  seventy-five 
sinoers  from  the  chorus  ;  while  new  members  in  laro;e  numbers  had 
fiocked  to  take  their  places. 

The  effect  for  a  time  was  a  sensible  contraction  of  the  chorus. 
Yet  the  rehearsals  in  October,  on  Verdi's  Requiem,  showed  an  average 
attendance  of  two  hundred  and  eight3'-three  singers  ;  and  in  Novem- 
ber, on  the  Messiah.,  of  three  hundred  and  forty-two,  showing  that 
fresh  air  was  rushing  in  to  supply  the  vacuum. 


498  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

At  Christmas  season,  Sunday  evening,  Dec.  23,  came  the  first  fruits 
of  the  reform,  in  the  performance  of  the  Messiah^  not.  as  we  have  so 
many  times  had  occasion  to  say.  "  as  usual,"  but,  under  the  new  con- 
ditions, with  a  chorus  sifted,  winnowed,  weeded  out,  and  replenished 
with  fresh,  young  life  and  voices  in  their  prime.  For  the  sevent3'-six 
old  members  who  had  been  ''retired"  between  one  hundred  and 
thirty  and  one  hundred  and  forty  new  ones  had  been  added.  The 
musical  public  were  on  the  qui  vive  to  test  the  improvement  with  their 
own  ears,  and  many  hundreds  of  would-be  purchasers  were,  turned 
away  from  the  ticket-office.  The  Franz  orchestration  was  used  again, 
with  a  return  to  the  old  disposition  of  the  entire  vocal  portion.  An 
attractive  quartet  of  solo  singers  was  provided.  For  soprano,  Miss 
Emma  Juch,  always  a  favorite  in  Boston,  who  sang  "  devotedh'  and 
well,  in  some  of  the  less  taxing  numbers  with  admirable  effect," 
though  signs  of  fatigue  and  operatic  wear  and  tear  were  noticed  in 
her  voice.  Miss  Winant  and  Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney  were  hardh^  at 
their  best.  Mr.  Charles  A.  Knorr,  from  Chicago  ("  the  most  emi- 
nent tenor  in  the  West"),  had  "a  sweet,  pure,  and  well-trained 
voice,"  sang  "  witli  skill,  ease,  and  smoothness,"  '-phrased  artisti- 
cally," and  was  ''delightfully  finished  "  in  style,  but  '- not  warm  in 
expressiveness,"  —  so  we  gather  from  the  critics.  The  trumpet  solo 
was  played  by  Mr.  Pierre  Miiller,  on  a  genuine  trumpet,  not  a  cornet, 
"  for  the  first  time  in  a  generation." 

And  what  of  the  renovated  chorus?     The  Transcript  said  : 

"It  was  up  to  the  emergency.  .  .  .  The  improvement  ran  all  through,  in 
sharpness  of  attack,  in  clearness  in  the  long  roulades,  in  intonation,  quality 
of  tone,  and  light  and  shade.  And  the  best  of  it  is,  that  a  chorus  that  can 
sing  as  well  as  that  can  be  made  to  sing  better  still.  The  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society  has  put  itself  into  a  condition  that  makes  constant  improvement 
possible ;  its  chorus  is  no  longer  an  inert  body." 

A  severer  critic  (in  the  Gazette)  wrote  :  — 

"  The  result  is  a  splendid  choral  body,  that  gives  forth  a  fresh,  brilliant, 
and  rich  volume  of  tone,  well  balanced,  and  fine  in  its  fulness  and  sonority. 
Its  exacting  work  was  done  with  steadiness,  precision,  and  smoothness,  and 
may  be  praised  as  mere  chorus  singing;  but  it  was  lacking  in  color  and 
expressiveness.  ...  A  society-  with  such  aspirations  should  strive  to  be 
abreast  of  the  highest  contemporary  development  of  musical  progress.  It 
has  now  the  opportunity  within  its  grasp.  It  has  given  us  a  fine  choral 
organization,  and  now  let  it  also  give  us  that  with  which  it  has  hitherto 
failed  to  delight  us  in  its  choral  performances  —  style,  phrasing,  color,  and 
expressiveness;  otherwise  it  will  have  reorganized  its  chorus  in  vain,  for 
fresh  voices  used  without  art  are  only  a  shade  better  than  worn  voices  used 
in  the  same  manner;  the  diflerence  being  in  degree,  and  not  in  quality.  ' 


HISTORY  or  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     499 

It  must  be  added  that  the  chorus  sang  this  time  under  one  special 
disadvantage  ;  the}'  were  practically  unsupported  by  an  organ.  The 
rats  and  the  November  rains  had  made  such  havoc  with  the  small 
instrument  provided  in  place  of  the  Great  Organ  that  no  part  of  it 
could  be  used  at  all  except  the  pedal  organ  ;  no  stop  in  the  manuals 
was  available.  The  orchestra  was  excellent,  though  eight  first  vio- 
lins were  hardly  sufficient.  The  chorus  numbered  three  hundred 
and  ninety-four ;  the  orchestra,  forty-four.  Receipts,  32,925.42; 
expenses,  $1,952.17;  profit,  $973.25. 

1889.  Feb.  24^  Sunday  evening.  The  second  concert  of  the 
season  was  made  to  open  with  the  genial  and  enjoj^able  motet  of 
Mendelssohn,  Hear  my  Prayei\  for  soprano  solo  and  chorus.  In  the 
beautiful  solo,  ''  O  for  the  wings  of  a  dove,"  Miss  Elizabeth  C.  Ham- 
lin's pure  and  lovely  voice  gave  great  pleasure,  though  her  intonation 
was  not  always  true,  and  she  was  too  much  addicted  to  the  use  of 
the  j^ortamento.  She  was  well  supported  by  the  chorus.  Verdi's 
Requiem  followed.  As  to  the  merits  of  the  work  itself,  there  was 
about  the  same  difference  of  opinion  as  before.  As  to  the  perform- 
ance, the  chorus  was  thought  to  have  improved  upon  the  gain  it  had 
already  shown  —  in  the  Messiah.  The  vigor  of  the  new  "  departure  " 
had  by  no  means  spent  itself,  but  showed  a  hopeful  onward  impetus. 
The  solos  were  sung  by  Miss  Hamlin,  less  effectively  than  in  the 
Mendelssohn  motet ;  Miss  Clara  Poole,  with  a  full  and  pleasing  con- 
tralto voice,  which  sank  below  the  key  occasionally  ;  Mr.  A.  L.  King, 
the  tenor,  who  took  the  high  notes  with  steadiness,  and  was  some- 
what '-throaty"  in  the  Ingemisco,  but  was  secure  in  intonation  and 
adequate  in  power.  Of  Mr.  Guiseppe  Campanari,  the  Italian  basso, 
''  it  was  easy  to  see  that  his  experience  as  an  orchestral  player  (vio- 
loncellist) stood  him  in  good  stead  in  his  singing  ;  for  no  one  who  is 
merely  a  singer  could  feel  the  absolute  security  in  such  music  as  the 
Uequiem  that  he  evidently  did.  .  .  .  His  Italian  instinct,  too,  led 
him  to  complete  sympathy  with  the  style  of  the  music,  and  he  sang 
it  with  admirable  effect  throughout.  His  phrasing,  intonation,  and 
expression  were  alike  fine."  Yet  his  voice  was  unequal  to  the  lower 
part  of  the  staff.  The  orchestra  laid  itself  open  to  no  fault-finding. 
Mr.  Lang  made  the  most  of  the  poor  wreck  of  an  organ,  which  had 
been  partially  patched  up.  The  audience  filled  the  hall.  Chorus, 
three  hundred  and  eighty-seven ;  orchestra,  sixty-five.  Receipts, 
$2,186.60;  expenses,  $1,927.47;  profit,  $259.13. 

The  remainder  of  the  season  was  devoted  to  the  rehearsal  and 
performance    at    Piaster    {April   21)    of    Mendelssohn's    St.    Paid. 


500    HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

There  was  a  great  audience,  eagerly  attentive.  The  rejuvenation  of 
the  chorus  was  now  complete.  While  seventy-five  of  the  older  and 
devoted  members,  with  declining  vocal  powers,  had  been  ''retired" 
from  active  service,  nearly  two  hundred  new  singers  had  been  added. 
The  chorus,  of  four  hundred  and  one  voices,  never  sang  better.  The 
performance  from  first  to  last  was  regarded  as  a  triumph.  Mr. 
Georg  Henschel  was  the  leading  power  among  the  solo  singers. 
In  spite  of  his  defects  in  quality  of  voice,  he  sang  with  the  greatest 
breadth  of  style,  and  true  dramatic  force.  Mrs.  Henschel's  purity 
and  refinement  of  voice  and  style  won  their  way,  in  spite  of  the  lim- 
ited calibre  of  her  tone.  Her  "Jerusalem  "  was  marked  by  repose, 
dignity,  and  depth  of  sentiment.  Mr.  George  J.  Parker,  tenor,  sang 
"Be  thou  faithful  unto  death"  with  care  and  taste  and  beautiful 
expression.  Miss  Flora  E.  Finlayson,  her  first  appearance  in  ora- 
torio, had  a  sweet  and  uniform  contralto  voice  of  not  great  power, 
but  an  excellent  vocal  method.  In  ''  But  the  Lord  is  mindful  of  his 
own  "  she  hushed  the  audience  to  absolute  stillness.  Mr.  Gardner  S. 
Lamson  and  Mr.  Arthur  B.  Hitchcock,  baritones,  were  excellent_  in 
the  duet  of  false  witnesses.  The  orchestra,  of  fifty-eight  instru- 
ments, mainly  of  the  Boston  Symphony  Orchestra,  played  superbly, 
while  the  ruined  old  organ,  under  the  patient  hands  of  Mr.  Lang, 
was  a  drawback  in  spite  of  his  mastery.  Receipts,  $2,740.31  ; 
expenses,  $1,765.40;  profit,  S974.91. 

SEVENTY-FIFTH    SEASON. 

May  27,  1889,  to  May  26,   1890. 

May  27.  Annual  meeting.  The  usual  reports  were  made  and 
accepted,  including  the  annual  address  of  the  president,  A.  Parker 
Browne,  whose  summary  of  the  year's  business  may  speak  for  all  con- 
cerned. The  following  extracts  cover  the  chief  points.  Of  the 
purgation  and  renovation  of  the  chorus,  after  enumerating  the 
concerts,  he  speaks  as  follows  :  — 

"  The  choral  force  was  powerful,  the  parts  well  balanced,  the  voices  fresh 
aud  bright,  and  the  executiou  clear  and  firm.  Much  improvement  in  expres- 
sion was  also  noted,  and,  in  fact,  the  chorus  singing  was  in  most  cases 
praised  without  stint.  "We  may  therefore  congratulate  ourselves  that  a  diffi- 
cult and  delicate  duty  has  been  at  last  performed,  and  that  the  results  have 
been  so  far  satisfactory;  but  we  must  remember,  what  has  been  so  often  said 
during  the  winter,  that  these  results  will  be  valuable  only  so  far  as  the  eflbrts 
which  have  produced  them  may  be  continued.  .  .  .  Some  of  the  most 
enthusiastic  praises  of  your  singing  have  come  from  tlie  lips  of  those  who 
have  been  retired.     In  the  knoAsiedge  of  this  fact  I  take  great  pleasure,  for 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  501 

it  emphasizes  the  loj^alt}'  and  disinterestedness  of  our  older  members,  and 
proves  that,  while  we  have  been  increasing  the  efficiency  of  the  Society  we 
all  love,  we  have  done  no  wrong  to  those  old  friends  to  whose  faithfulness 
in  the  past  we  and  the  public  owe  so  much. 

"  For  the  first  time  within  my  knowledge,  our  oratorios,  this  season,  have 
been  given  with  orchestral  accompaniment  alone,  the  small  but  sufficient 
organ  which  was  placed  in  the  ]\Iusic  Hall  after  the  sale  and  removal  of  the 
Great  Organ  having  been  so  nearly  ruined,  by  leakage  in  the  roof  during  the 
great  storm  of  last  November,  that  only  the  pedal  organ  could  be  used.  Of 
course,  not  even  Mr.  Lang  could  make  this  sufficient,  and  indeed  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  many  persons  in  the  audience  knew  that  an  organ  was  being  played 
at  all.  .  .  . 

"The  total  strength  of  the  chorus  this  year  was  five  hundred  and 
forty-six;  that  is,  so  many  chorus  tickets  have  been  issued,  though  it' is 
probable  that  not  more  than  five  hundred  persons  have  at  any  one  time  held 
them.  This  chorus  was  divided  thus:  One  hundred  and  seventy  sopranos, 
one  hundred  and  fifty-two  altos,  one  hundred  and  fifteen  tenors,  one  hundred 
and  nine  basses.     We  need  to  increase  the  proportion  of  basses.  .  .  . 

"The  average  attendance  at  twenty-nine  rehearsals  was  three  hundred 
and  eleven;  at  three  concerts,  three  hundred  and  ninety-four ;  and  for  all, 
three  hundred  and  nineteen.  The  maximum  was  four  hundred  and  eight,^ 
and  the  minimum  ninety-seven,  —  the  former  being  at  a  concert  and  the  latter 
at  a  rehearsal  on  ft  very  stormy  evening.  .   .  . 

"  Three  members  have  died  during  the  year  :  Philip  F.  Chase,  joined  March 
20,  1877;  died  Aug.  28,  1888.  Frank  E.  Upham,  joined  June  6,  1887;  died 
Aug.  11,  1888.  Benjamin  F.  Baker,  joined  April  16,  1837;  died  March  11, 
1889.     Professor  Baker  was  vice-president  from  1844  to  1849  inclusive. 

"  An  unusual  event  in  connection  with  our  chorus  and  its  discipline  merits 
attention  at  this  time.  One  of  our  sopranos,  Miss  Jane  Rosenberger,  joined 
the  chorus  in  the  spring  of  1868.  From  November,  1868,  to  November,  1888, 
a  period  of  full  twenty  years,  she  attended  every  meeting  of  the  chorus, 
whether  for  rehearsal  or  for  performance,  and  the  Board,  agreeing  with  you 
that  such  faithfulness  merited  very  full  acknowledgment,  voted  her  a  hand- 
some gift,  to  be  paid  for  from  the  Society's  funds,  and  this  gift  —  a  marble 
clock  —  was  sent  to  her  at  Christmas  time,  as  well  as  a  bouquet  at  the  concert. 
Such  an  appropriation  of  the  Society's  money  was  unusual,  but  there  is  no 
danger  that  a  similar  expenditure  on  each  similar  occasion  would  serioush^ 
impair  our  finances. 

"From  your  treasurer's  report,  which  has  been  read,  and  from  which  you 
see  clearly  the  present  financial  condition  of  the  Society,  I  have  extracted 
its  leading  features,  which,  for  matters  of  record,  I  incorporate  in  this 
report :  — 

On  hand  last  May 

Profits  of  concerts  ($973.25,  8259.13,  8974.91) 

Admission  fees 

Loan  and  sale  of  music  and  histories 

Income  Permanent  Fund 

Carried  forvmrd 


8999  18 

2,207  29 

280  00 

84  00 

1,154  53 

$4,725  00 

502  HISTOKY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Brought  forvmrd $4,725  00 

EXFKNDITURES. 

Conductor  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  $800  00 

Orgauist 300  00 

Librarian 100  00 

Doorkeeper .  46  50 

Rent  Burastead  Hall 580  00 

Library 26  25 

Insurance 81  00 

Sundries  (secretary,  a'2:ent,  history,  etc.)          .  1,039  95 

2,973  70 


Balance  on  hand $1,751  30 

"The  value  of  the  Permanent  Fund  is  $27,088.50.  During  the  past  year  a 
bequest  has  been  made,  by  the  will  of  the  late  Oliver  Ditson,  of  $1,000.  This 
sum  remains  to  be  added  to  the  Permanent  Fund.  Mr.  Ditson  had  been,  dur- 
ing all  his  long  and  useful  life,  a  firm  friend  and  helper  in  all  good  musical 
enterprises,  and  particularl}^  in  what  concerned  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society.  There  are  those  among  you  who  were  leaders  in  the  Society  when 
it  was  less  strong  than  now,  and  when  Mr.  Ditson  was  younger  and  took  a 
more  active  part  in  public  afiairs  than  he  has  of  late,  and  who  can  speak  to 
you  better  than  I  can  of  his  value  to  us  and  to  music  generally ;  but  I  came 
in  early  enough  to  speak  of  my  own  knowledge  of  his  warm  heart  and  open 
hand  and  purse,  to  which  the  Society  was  many  times  indebted  for  substan- 
tial help  in  time  of  need.  His  splendid  public  bequests,  and  particularly  that 
of  $25,000  for  the  relief  of  poor  and  needy  musicians,  are  a  monument  to  his 
will  and  power  for  good,  better  than  anything  I  can  say  to  you. 

"  The  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  was  organized  in  1815,  the  earliest 
recorded  meeting  thereof  having  been  held  on  March  20  of  that  year.  A  con- 
stitution was  adopted  April  13,  and  on  the  26th  it  was  signed  by  forty-four 
members,  and  a  Board  of  Government  was  elected,  Thomas  Smith  Webb 
being  the  first  president.  Next  year  will  bring  the  seventy-fifth  anniversary, 
and  I  think  you  will  agree  with  me  that  it  is  our  duty  to  observe  that  occa- 
sion by  a  musical  festival,  which,  if  it  is  to  be  worthy  of  the  history  it 
commemorates,  must  present  a  great  programme,  greatly  performed. 

"  To  the  Board  of  Government  you  to-night  elect  I  recommend  early  and 
careful  preparation  for  this  celebration,  and  to  the  members  of  the  Society  I 
appeal  to  help  on  that  work  by  every  means  in  your  power.  The  planning  of 
such  an  enterprise  must  be  done  by  a  few,  but  its  successful  accomplishment 
can  only  be  brought  about  by  the  hearty  co-operation  of  the  many.  "What- 
ever may  be  said  about  our  abandonment  of  the  scheme  of  Triennial  Festivals, 
there  can  be  but  one  opinion  as  to  the  propriety  of  giving  one  next  spring." 

The  Board  of  Government  was  then  elected,  as  follows  :  — 
President.  —  A.  Parker  Browne, 
Vice-President.  —  John  H.  Stickney. 
Secretary.  —  Eugene  B.  Hagar. 
Treasurer.  — M.  Grant  Daniell. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     503 

Librarian.  — Charles  W.  Stoxe. 

Directors.  —  William  F.  Bradbury,  Nathaniel  G.  Chapin, 
George  F.  Daniels,  Horace  B.  Fisher,  Henry  S.  Pray,  Thomas 
W.  Proctor,  Richard  S.  Whitney,  Sanford  C.  Chase. 

June  10.  The  Board  of  Goverument  took  up  in  earnest  the 
recommendation  above  quoted  from  the  president's  annual  address, 
and  voted  to  give  a  Festival  in  the  spring  of  1890  (beginning  with 
Easter  Sunday,  April  6),  to  celebrate  the  seventv-fifth  anniversary  of 
the  founding  of  the  Society  (1815). 

Voted,  To  have  no  concert  between  Christmas,  1889,  aud  the  Festival. 

Voted,  That  Carl  Zerrahn  be  conductor,  at  $1,250,  for  the  season  and 
Festival;  B.  J.  Lang,  organist  for  the  same  period,  at  8500;  and  S.  M. 
Bedingtou.  assistant  librarian,  at  S200. 

The  scheme  of  the  Festival  gradually  shaped  itself  in  the  councils 
of  the  Board  of  Government,  and  by  the  end  of  September  was 
announced  in  substance  to  the  members  by  circular.  It  was  to  begin 
on  Easter  Sunday,  April  6,  1890,  and  extend  into  the  following  week, 
concerts  probably  not  occurring  on  successive  evenings.  The  works 
appointed  to  be  given,  in  four  concerts,  were  :  Elijah^  Israel  in  Egypt., 
The  Redemption.,  Bach's  Christmas  Oratorio  (Parts  I.  and  11. ),  and  a 
cantata,  St.  John^  written  for  the  occasion  by  J.  C.  D.  Parker.  This 
scheme  embraces  the  three  periods  of  oratorio  composition,  as  set 
forth  in  one  of  the  annual  addresses  of  the  late  president  of  the 
Society,  C.C.Perkins,  namely,  1.  The  Bach  and  Handel  period; 
2.  The  middle  period,  Mendelssohn;  3.  The  modern  (quasi  Ora- 
torio), Gounod.  And  to  this  is  added,  as  modestly  representative  of 
our  own  immediate  present,  and  our  own  country,  Mr.  Parker's 
St.   John. 

It  will  be  remarked,  too,  that  the  scheme  avoids  one  fault,  which, 
as  we  have  hitherto  suggested,  was  one  main  reason  of  the  financial 
failure  of  the  Triennial  Festivals,  —  namely,  the  undertaking  to  give 
too  great  a  quantity  of  music  at  one  time,  preoccupying  a  whole 
week,  —  more  than  any  large  number  of  a  busy  people  can  find  time 
to  attend,  and  more  than  they  can  listen  to  without  exhausted  inter- 
est, or  satisfactorily  absorb  and  digest.  Now  there  are  to  be  but  four 
concerts,  instead  of  seven  or  eight ;  and  the  feast  is  not  to  be  con- 
tinuous, but  intermittent ;  a  day  of  rest  between  each  two  sittings. 
The  engagement  of  suitable  solo-singers  was  not  yet  complete  enough 
to  be  announced.  But  the  work  of  chorus  rehearsal  began  vigorously, 
.and  was  carried  on  persistently  throughout  October  and  the  first  half 
of  November,  on  the  works   above   named.     Meanwhile  the  Messiah 


504  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

had  to  take  its  aDuiial   turn    at  Christmas,   with   several   preceding 
Sunda}^  evenings  for  rehearsal. 

Dec.  22.  On  Sunday  evening  before  Christinas  Handel's  Messiah 
was  sung  b}'  the  Society  for  the  eighty-second  time.  As  this  is  prob- 
ably the  last  time  that  the  present  historian  will  be  called  upon  to 
write  about  the  Messiah,  he  has  made  it  a  point  to  carefuUv  read  all 
the  newspaper  criticisms  upon  that  performance  which  he  finds  pasted 
into  the  ninth  and  last  scrap-book  so  carefully  preserved  in  the 
archives  by  the  secretary.  These  criticisms  coincide  so  essentially, 
and  even  so  minutely,  that  it  is  not  difficult  to  gather  and  compound 
from  them  a  fair  conclusion  as  to  the  merits  of  that  evening's  inter- 
pretation of  the  immortal  work  (at  least  as  now  regarded).  The 
chorus,  considerably  augmented  for  the  Festival  so  near  at  hand, 
sang  never  better,  on  the  whole.  With  the  exception  of  now  and  then 
slight  weakness  in  attack,  it  was  good  in  all  respects,  —  far  better 
than  the  solo  singing,  on  the  whole..  Both  the  soprano.  Miss  Elene  B. 
Kehew,  and  the  contralto,  Miss  Lilian  Carll  Smith,  were  found  in- 
adequate in  voice  and  in  expression.  The  former,  timid,  uncertain, 
weak,  seemed  to  have  lost  her  large  voice,  while  what  of  voice  re- 
mained was  often  untrue.  It  was  urged  by  her  friends  afterwards, 
however,  in  excuse  for  these  short-comings,  that  just  before  the  ora- 
torio she  had  been  suddenly  attacked  by  the  then  prevailing  form  of  in- 
fluenza called  "  the  grip."  Miss  Smith  was  pronounced  a  promising 
and  ambitious  young  singer,  but  "  too  immature  in  art  and  in  feeling 
for  such  music  in  such  a  place,"  "  ill  at  ease  and  dryly  monotonous  " 
in  ''He  was  despised,"  '"  over- tame  and  insipid  in  the  contralto  solos, 
which  were  sung  with  much  crudeness  of  style  and  general  weakness 
in  effect,"  and  so  on.  Mr.  Williaui  Denison,  tenor  (from  New  York), 
was  generally  accredited  with  a  pure,  sweet  voice,  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary power,  sure  in  the  upper  register,  and  with  good  phrasing  and 
excellent  method.  In  "  Comfort  3'e  "  he  was  by  some  thought  rather 
sentimental,  but  not  so  in  '^  Thy  Rebuke,"  which  is  a  severer  trial  of  a 
tenor  singer.  The  honors  of  the  evening  (among  soloists)  were  unani- 
mously ascribed  to  the  bass,  Mr.  D.  Marks  Babcock.  His  delivery  of 
"  Why  do  the  nations  so  furiously  rage"  provoked  storms  of  applause. 

The  orchestra,  from  the  Boston  Symphony  Orchestra,  was  con- 
ducted by  Mr.  Charles  M.  Loeffler  in  the  absence  of  Mr.  Kneisel. 
Some  said  the  accompaniment  was  "  rather  clumsy."  The  trumpet 
solo  was  by  Mr.  Lafricain,  suddenly  called  upon  in  the  place  of  Mr. 
Mueller.  Touching  the  important  and  much-mooted  matter  of  the 
orchestral  accompaniment,  some  remarks  by  Mr.  Apthorp  in  the 
Transcrijjt  seem  to  be  worth  reproducing  here  :  — 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY.     505 

"All  internal  and  external  evidence  is  against  this  sort  of  vague  orches- 
tral whispering  which  we  are  still  called  upon  to  accept  as  an  accompani- 
ment to  Handel's  airs;  the  only  people  who  can  logicallj'^  approve  it  are 
the  singers,  who  like  it  because  it  allows  them  to  rule  the  roost,  and  make 
the  fullest  display  of  their  Majesties  Themselves,  without  orchestral  com- 
petition. The  whole  relationship  between  voice-part  and  accompaniment 
which  has  obtained  so  long  in  modern  music,  especiallj^  in  Italian  opera,  and 
in  which  the  accompaniment  is  distinctly  relegated  to  the  second  place,  and 
the  singer,  as  the  saying  is,  has  it  all  his  own  way, — this  relationship,  we 
say.  hardl}'  dates  back  farther  than  Gluck.  It  is  dianietricall}^  opposed  to  the 
musical  spirit  of  Handel's  day.  In  his  airs  there  is  no  question  of  '  voice 
and  accompaniment,'  in  the  modern  sense ;  the  voice- part,  far.  from  being  the 
ruler  whom  the  accompaniment  was  only  to  aid  and  abet,  was,  at  most,  '  First 
among  equals,'  —  like  the  pope  among  the  bishops.  It  was  but  a  part  in  a 
contrapuntally  organized  whole,  and  of  little  more  importance  than  the  other 
parts ;  it  was  to  be  distinctly  audible,  to  a  certain  extent  it  was  to  dominate, 
but  not  to  the  point  of  eflacing  or  extinguishing  the  others.  In  Handel's 
airs  the  accompaniment  has  always  something  of  definite  importance  to  saj^ 
and  should  be  made  to  say  it  with  due  clearness  and  emphasis;  the  very  struc- 
ture of  the  music  demands  this.  But,  as  the  fashion  of  our  daj'-  goes,  we 
have  yet  to  hear  a  Handel  air  accompanied  otherwise  than  if  it  were  a  Bellini 
cavatina,  as  if  the  accompaniment  had  nothing  better  to  do  than  to  '  support 
the  voice.'  A  little  firmness  on  the  conductor's  part  might  remedy  this ; 
singers  would  kick  against  the  pricks  for  a  while,  but  there  is  nothing 
either  in  the  Ten  Commandments  or  the  Forty-nine  Articles  that  neces- 
sarily implies  that  the  omnipotence  of  singers  need  be  eternal.  They  have 
had  it  their  way  for  a  century  or  so;  now  let  Music,  for  once  in  a  while, 
have  it  her  Avay. 

"  It  may  well  be  doubted,  however,  whether  the  desirable  result  could  be 
obtained  by  an  altered  style  of  playing,  alone.  A  remodelled  seating  of  the 
orchestra  might  be  necessaiy.  The  regular  constitution  of  the  modern  or- 
chestra, with  its  hard-and-fast  relation  between  the  strings  and  wind,  is 
admirably  exemplified  in  the  now  traditional  way  of  grouping  the  various 
classes  of  instruments  on  the  stage.  But  Handel's  orchestra  was  far  difter- 
eutly  constituted,  and  its  peculiar  character  is  not  so  well  shown  forth  by  the 
present  seating  of  the  players,  The  wind  parts,  which  are  often  of  prime 
structural  importance  in  the  music,  are,  as  a  rule,  too  nearly  inaudible,  es- 
pecially the  clarinets  in  Franz's  favorite  quartet  of  clarinets  and  bassoons. 
You  find  in  the  score  that  these  instruments  have  exceedingly  interesting 
things  to  say,  but  you  cannot  hear  them.  Now  an  experiment  costs  little ; 
w^ould  it  not  be  well,  for  once  at  least,  to  try  the  experiment  of  pushing  the 
whole  wooden-wind  band  farther  forward  on  the  stage,  up  to  immediately 
behind  the  solo  singers,  so  that  they  could  play  freely  out  into  the  hall,  with- 
out being  veiled  by  the  strings?  In  Haydn.  Mozart,  Beethoven,  or  Men- 
delssohn they  should  be  veiled  by  the  strings;  but  in  Handel  and  Bach,  they 
should  not.  The  two  styles  of  orchestral  treatment  are  fundamentally  dif- 
ferent ;  and  what  is  good  for  the  one  is  not  good  for  the  other.  Wooden- 
wind  that  is  used  chiefly  for  coloring  is  a  difierent  thing  altogether  from 
wooden-wind  that  is  treated  contrapuntally,  in  real  parts." 


506     HISTORY  OF  THE  HA^^DEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

The  chorus,  in  this  performance  of  the  Messiah^  numbered  four 
hundred  and  fifteen,  the  orchestra  fifty-four.  Receipts,  $2,804.04  ; 
expenses,  $1,466.69;  profit,  $1,337.35. 

1890.  The  year  opens  full  of  expectation  and  of  preparation  for 
the  Festival  with  which  the  Society  will  celebrate  the  completion  of 
its  seventy-fifth  year  of  choral  life  and  work.  For  that  now  a  clear 
field  lies  before  it,  with  nothing  to  distract.  The  months  of  January, 
February,  and  March,  with  the  first  week  in  April,  were  devoted  with 
enthusiasm  to  industrious  rehearsal  of  the  works  to  be  presented  upon 
that  occasion.  Israel  in  Egypt ^  the  Christmas  Oraterio^  Elijah^  The 
Redemptiori^  and  St.  John  share  the  hours  among  them  in  an  un- 
broken and  unflagging  series  of  twenty-two  rehearsals,  often  two  in 
one  week.  The  average  number  of  voices  present  was  between  three 
hundred  and  forty  and  three  hundred  and  fifty ;  and  they  were  live 
voices  ;  the  dummies  and  the  unmusical  ones  had  been  "weeded  out," 
as  we  have  seen.  The  chorus  as  a  whole  felt  a  new  life  in  itself  ;  the 
tuneful  body  felt  clean,  felt  vigorous,  and  true  to  pitch. 

And  while  the  chorus  were  rehearsing,  the  managers,  the  presi- 
dent, the  indefatigable  secretar}',  on  whose  shoulders  always  rests  the 
heaviest  burden  of  responsibility  and  labor,  and  the  whole  Board  of 
Government,  had  been  shaping  and  arranging  and  providing.  How 
much  anxious  forethought,  how  much  courage  and  self-sacrifice  an 
enterprise  of  that  sort  demands  !  In  due  time  all  was  read}-.  All 
the  diflScult  and  puzzling  problems  had  been  solved  ;  if  not  solved, 
tided  over.  For  instance,  that  vexatious  little  question  of  the  or- 
gan,—  the  persistent  effort  made  by  the  Society  to  get  that  little 
makeshift  instrument  removed  into  a  fitter  place,  the  recess  behind 
the  Beethoven  statue,  had  failed  despite  the  willingness  of  the  Society 
to  defray  a  large  part  of  the  cost.  The  Music  Hall  proprietors  re- 
paired it,  put  it  in  decent,  passible  order  where  it  stood.  A  new 
chorus  stage  was  constructed,  so  that  no  seats  faced  each  other  across 
the  hall  from  side  to  side,  but  all  looked  out  toward  the  audience. 
What  should  be  done  with  the  recess  back  of  Beethoven,  to  make 
that,  and,  so  far  as  possible,  the  whole  bald  stage  end  of  the  hall,  look 
more  respectable?  It  was  decorated  after  an  artistic  design  by  Ipsen, 
who  also  happily  employed  his  well-known  inventive  taste  upon  the 
covers  of  the  prospectus  and  the  programmes.  Then  to  fix  the  prices 
of  admission  ?  It  was  decided  to  have  three  grades  of  tickets : 
Season  tickets  (with  reserved  seats)  at  ten^  eighty  and  six  dollars  ; 
tickets  for  the  single  concert  at  $2.50,  $2.0Q,  and  $1.50;  for  admis- 
sion (without  seat)  $1.00.     The  orchestra  (mainly  from  the  Boston 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HADYN    SOCIETY.  507 

Symphony  concerts)  was  to  be  on  the  scale  of  twelve  first  and  twelve 
second  violins,  eight  violas,  nine  'cellos,  and  eight  double  basses. 

Hardest,  most  delicate,  question  of  all  to  settle  was  that  of  solo 
singers.  There  was  a  strong  desire  to  procure  a  new  and  first-class 
oratorio  tenor;  and  the  most  distinguished  English  tenor  of  the  day, 
Mr.  Edward  Lloyd,  the  worthy  successor,  in  some  respects  superior, 
of  Braham  and  Sims  Reeves,  was  first  approached  with  liberal  offers. 
But  after  much  correspondence  the  idea  was  reluctantly  and  all  but 
finally  dismissed  as  impracticable.  At  last,  however,  by  a  happy 
joint  arrangement  with  festival  managers  in  Canada  and  in  the 
West,  involving  further  negotiation  with  Mr.  Lloj'd,  it  was  made  for 
his  interest  to  come  to  this  country' ,  and  he  was  engaged  to  sing  in 
each  of  the  four  concerts  of  the  Festival.  Edward  Lloyd  was  born 
of  musical  parents,  in  London,  March  7,  1845,  and  received  his  early 
musical  education  in  the  choir  of  Westminster  Abbey,  under  James 
Turle.  In  1866  he  was  appointed  tenor  singer  in  the  chapel  of 
King's  College,  Cambridge,  which  position  he  resigned  in  1867  on 
being  appointed  a  Gentleman  of  the  Chapel  Royal,  a  post  which  he 
held  about  two  years.  From  that  time  he  devoted  himself  entirely 
to  concert  singing.  He  made  his  first  great  success  at  the  Glouces- 
ter Festival,  in  1871,  in  Bach's  St.  Matthew  Passion  Music,  and  in 
1874  won  universal  admiration  by  his  singing  of  "  Love  in  her  eyes 
sits  playing,"  at  the  Handel  Festival  at  the  Crj'stal  Palace.  This  is 
all  that  Grove  has  to  tell  us  of  him,  except  that  his  reputation  has 
steadily  increased,  and  that  ''  his  voice  is  a  pure  tenor  of  excellent 
quality,  and  his  style  musician-like  and  finished."  But  he  was  here 
to  speak  for  himself,  or,  what  is  better,  sing  to  us.  He  had  already 
sung  once  in  Cincinnati,  fully  vindicating  the  reputation  he  brought 
over  with  him.  In  his  first  rehearsal  here  we  understand  he  placed 
himself  at  once  in  pleasantest  relations  with  the  chorus,  singing  all 
his  part  in  full  voice,  and  gracefully  ready  to  oblige. 

The  other  artists  engaged  to  sing  solos  were  already  favorably 
known  in  Boston.  Heading  the  list  as  "bright  particular  star" 
was  Mrs.  Lilli  Lehmann-Kalisch,  one  of  the  first  soprano  artists  of 
the  dav',  not  only  distinguished  in  Wagnerian  declamation,  but  also 
as  a  singer  in  the  best  sense  in  music  of  Handel,  Mozart,  Beethoven, 
and  Mendelssohn.  There  were  three  other  sopranos  :  Mrs.  Lillian 
Nordica,  Miss  Clementine  DeVere,  and  Mrs.  Jennie.  Patrick  Walker. 
For  altos  there  were  Mrs.  Walter  C.  Wyman,  Miss  Emily  Winant, 
and  Miss  Clara  Poole.  For  tenor  (besides  Mr.  Lloyd),  Mr.  Herbert 
O.  Johnson.  For  basses,  Mr.  Myron  W.  Whitney,  Mr.  William 
Ludwig,  and  Dr.  George  R.  Clark. 


508  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

The  sale  of  season  tickets  was  unprecedented,  namely  :  six  hun- 
dred and  twenty-nine  at  $10,  one  hundred  and  ninety-seven  ot  $8.00, 
one  hundred  and  thirty-three  at  $6.00,^-  nine  hundred  and  fifty-nine 
in  all.  The  possible  chorus  was  stated  at  one  hundred  and  fifty-six 
sopranos,  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  contraltos,  eighty-four  tenors, 
and  one  hundred  and  ten  basses,  —  total,  four  hundred  and  eighty- 
six  voices.  The  active  chorus  was  larger  than  ever  before,  though 
there  had  been  sometimes  nominal  choruses  of  more  than  five  hun- 
dred. Undoubtedly  the  chorus  was  better,  more  effective,  than  the 
vSociety  could  ever  boast  before.  And  now  for  the  performance  — 
Easter  has  arrived. 

FIRST   CONCERT. 

Ajyril  6.  Sunday  evening.  Elijah  had  lost  nothing  of  its  power 
to  draw  a  crowd.  Every  seat  in  the  hall  was  sold,  besides  four 
hundred  mere  admissions,  and  multitudes  were  turned  away.  So 
great  was  the  crush  that,  at  a  hint  from  the  Fire  Commissioners,  the 
admissions  thereafter  were  limited  to  three  hundred.  The  chorus 
seemed  inspired  by  the  occasion  and  the  work  they  had  been  through. 
In  all  four-voice  parts  the  power  and  quality  of  tone  was  admirable. 
The  tenors,  though  comparatively  small  in  number,  won  especial 
praise  ;  every  voice  told,  and  all  were  musical  and  sweet  and  true. 
Mr.  William  Ludwig,  in  the  part  of  Elijah,  created  wild  enthusiasm 
by  the  spirit  and  vigor  of  his  impersonation,  for  his  singing  was  re- 
markably dramatic  ;  he  threw  himself  into  the  role  as  if  he  were  an 
actor.  His  voice  showed  signs  of  wear  and  tear,  sometimes  requir- 
ing a  little  time  to  steady  itself  in  a  note.  There  was,  moreover,  a 
lack  of  fluency  in  his  rapid  passages.  But  the  nobility  and  pathos 
of  his  rendering  merited  the  applause  he  got. 

Mr.  Edward  Lloyd  sang  with  a  high,  pure,  strong  tenor  voice,  of 
quality  refined  and  rich,  and  loveh^  timbre.  So  refined  was  his  de- 
livery, so  easy  and  unforced,  so  quiet  and  sincere,  that  few  seemed 
aware  of  the  full  power  he  was  putting  forth.  He  seemed  wholly 
absorbed  in  the  expression  of  the  music ;  it  was  the  music  that  pos- 
sessed him  ;  the  voice  was  the  willing  and  spontaneous  servant.  Both 
technically  and  artistically  he  showed  the  finest  skill.  He  was  not 
strong  in  the  lowest  register,  and  there  was  a  hint  of  throatiness. 
Other  blemish  there  was  none.  If  he  did  not  sing  with  passion,  he 
did  sing  with  a  deep,  strong,  sustained  power,  and  with  a  beautiful 
and  rare  legato.  Some  of  the  critics,  to  be  sure,  were  rather  disap- 
pointed. To  them  his  tones  were  very  throaty,  his  j^ortamento  "  fear- 
fully prominent,"  and  "  his  enunciation  by  no  means  so  clear  as  we 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  509 

expect  from  English  singers."  Another  well  suggested  that  ''The 
leading  tenor  part  in  Elijah  is  not  very  long  nor  very  grateful,  that 
therefore  the  public  did  not  have  much  opportunity  to  learn  more  of 
Mr.  Lloyd  than  that  he  has  a  beautiful  voice  and  that  he  is  one  of 
the  most  artistic  singers  who  has  ever  been  heard  in  this  country." 
Said  another :  ''  His  voice  seemed  a  little  husky  at  the  opening,  but 
as  he  reached  '  If  with  all  your  hearts,'  the  beautiful  mellow  quality, 
the  admirable  phrasing  was  clearly  manifest,  and  his  '  Then  shall  the 
righteous  shine'  was  the  signal  for  prolonged  applause."  We  must 
wait,  to  fairlv  know  the  singer. 

But  in  speaking  of  the  prophet  and  the  new-comer  in  the  oratorio 
we  are  postponing  homage  to  the  queen  and  chief  soprano  of  the 
Festival,  Lilli  Lehmann.  The  power  and  beauty  of  her  voice  and  her 
dramatic  fire  and  majesty  did  not  fail  her.  Yet  there  was  disappoint- 
ment felt  in  her  singing  ;  she  had  been  heard  here  to  better  advantage 
before.  The  scene  of  the  '' AVidow"  was  given  with  great  vividness 
and  force;  but  in  "Hear  ye,  Israel,"  there  was  room  for  improver 
ment  in  the  matter  of  expression  ;  it  was  not  like  Jenny  Lind.  Miss 
Clara  Poole,  the  contralto,  after  a  long  illness,  lacked  strength.  Her 
"Oh,  rest  in  the  Lord"  was  taken  too  fast  for  true  effect.  The 
secondary  quartet  of  soloists  (Mrs.  Jennie  Patrick  Walker,  Mrs. 
Walter  C.  Wyman,  Mr.  Herbert  O.  Johnson,  and  Dr.  George  R. 
Clark)  were  wholly  adequate.  The  Angel  Trio,  "  Lift  thine  eyes," 
and  the  double  quartet,  weie  sung  marvellously  well. 

The  actual  chorus  in  Elijah  numbered  four  hundred  and  fifty-nine 
voices,  the  orchestra  sixty-eight  instruments.  The  receipts  were 
$4,504.30  ;  the  expenses  (for  that  single  concert),  $3,456.65  ;  profit, 
$1,047.65. 

SECOND   CONCERT. 

Tuesday  evening,  April  8.  After  a  day's  rest  there  might  have 
been  a  keener  appetite  for  music.  Yet  that  evening  saw  the  smallest 
audience  of  the  four.  Two  hundred  and  forty-one  seats  remained 
unsold,  and  the  number  of  mere  admissions  was  but  sixty-nine.  The 
attractions  of  the  programme  as  originally  announced  had  been 
increased  by  the  interpolation,  between  Bach's  Christmas  Oratorio 
(Parts  I.  and  II.)  and  Mr.  J.  C.  D.  Parker's  Saint  John,  of  a  couple 
of  arias  from  Haydn's  Creation, — one  for  Mrs.  Lillian  Nordica 
("On  mighty  pens"),  and  one  for  Mr.  Lloyd  ("In  native  worth 
and  honor  clad"). 

In  the  Christmas  Oratorio,  Mrs.  Nordica,  Miss  Winant,  and  Mr. 
M.  W.  Whituev  sang  for  the  first  time.     Mr.  Llovd  was  at  home. 


510  HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

well  seasoned,  in  the  Bach  music,  and  had  now  an  opportunity  to 
show  his  mastery  in  that  most  rare  and  difficult  art,  the  ai  t  of  recita- 
tive ;  and  there  is  no  recitative  so  beautiful,  so  full  of  pious  feeling 
and  expression,  so  full  of  art  and  soul  and  poetry,  as  that  of  Bach. 
Mr.  Lloyd's  delivery  of  the  tenor  recitatives  made  a  beautiful  and 
deep  impression  ;  it  was  perhaps  more  artistic,  more  appealing  and 
expressive,  than  any  recitative  that  had  been  heard  in  Boston.  If 
his  one  terribly  difficult  aria,  "  Haste,  ye  shepherds,"  cost  him  a 
manly  and  visible  struggle,  he  came  out  conqueror.  The  critic  of 
the  New  York  Tribune  wrote  :  — 

"  I  have  never  heard  a  specimen  of  Bach  singing  so  perfect  as  his  '  Haste, 
ye  shepherds.'  Boston  lias  been  a  little  sceptical  about  the  righteousness  of 
the  claim  to  the  great  distinction  which  Mr.  Lloyd  en j  03^8,  but  his  work 
to-night  effected  a  complete  conA'ersion.  Musical  standards  are  growing 
more  and  more  confused,  as  great  singers  become  rarer,  and  I  fancy  that  Mr. 
Lloyd's  mission  in  America,  just  now,  is  to  recall  the  old  ideal  of  pure  sing- 
ing in  the  province  of  oratorio.  Popular  taste,  fed  on  the  virile  method  of 
dramatic  or  heroic  tenors,  may  not  find  complete  satisfaction  in  his  voice  or 
his  essentially  lyric  treatment  of  the  musical  text;  but  it  is  impossible  to 
escape  the  charm  exerted  by  the  delicious  suavity  of  his  manner,  the  con- 
sistent quality  of  his  voice,  the  faultlessness  of  his  phrasing,  and,  above  all, 
the  feeling  of  repose  which  is  inspired  by  the  impeccable  symmetry  of  his 
performances." 

Of  the  other  soloists  in  the  Bach  work,  Mrs.  Nordica  had  but  a 
single  sentence  to  declaim  ;  Miss  Winant  sang  with  apparent  effort, 
yet  with  sympathetic  expression,  the  beautiful  "  Slumber  Song,"  and 
Mr.  M.  W.  Whitney  was  all  there,  with  voice  unimpaired,  magnifi- 
cent power,  sonority,  security,  and  dignit}'.  The  jubilant  opening 
chorus,  "  Christians,  be  joyful,"  moved  steadily,  and  made  excellent 
effect.  The  chorals,  too,  all  sounded  rich,  reposeful,  and  refreshing. 
But  the  second  of  the  great  choruses,  "  Glory  to  God,"  was  sung  in 
a  tone  somewhat  ghastly  and  uncertain,  —  was  it  owing  to  bad  man- 
agement of  breath?  Fortunately  these  two  parts  (out  of  the  six 
composing  the  Christmas  Oratorio)  had  been  made  whole  in  the  mat- 
ter of  instrumentation  by  Robert  Franz,  so  that  they  were  in  condition 
for  performance.  Moreover,  the  intrinsic  beauty  of  the  work,  a  cer- 
tain pastoral,  poetic  charm  about  it,  its  fresh  and  hearty,  jubilant 
appeal,  made  it  one  of  the  best  among  the  hundreds  of  Bach's 
master  works  of  choral  music  to  bring  before  a  public  here.  The 
exquisite  Pastoral  Symphony,  which  opens  the  second  part,  and 
which  is  hardly  ever  played  as  well  as  it  ought  to  be,  went  much 
better  than  usual  this  time,  and  the  accompaniments  were  at  least 
respectable. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  511 

In  the  Intermezzo  (so  to  say)  of  solos,  Mrs.  Norclica  won  great 
applause  in  "On  mighty  pens',"  although  the  style  of  it  was 
"too  sophisticated"  for  Haydn.  Her  voice,  too,  sounded  rather 
hard  when  forced ;  but  it  was  a  voice  of  wide  range,  well  trained  and 
true.  Mr.  Lloyd,  in  "  With  native  worth,"  was  masterly  at  all 
points.     He  was  recalled  repeatedly  with  thunders  of  applause. 

Mr.  Parker  conducted  the  performance  of  the  Cantata  he  had 
written  for  the  Festival  —  Saint  John  —  calmly  and  gracefully,  inspir- 
ing orchestra  and  singers  with  his  own  intentions.  Mr.  Parker,  as  a 
composer,  has  the  merit,  not  too  common  in  these  days,  of  daring  to 
be  simple.  His  music  wins  a  sympathetic  hearing,  without  trying  to 
astonish,  without  straining  for  effect.  Jt  is  all  genuine  and  sincere. 
And  yet  it  has  refinement,  beauty,  dignity,  impressiveness,  the  sort 
of  unction  that  comes  from  purity  and  depth  of  feeling.  Even  where 
it  is  most  simple  you  must  own  originahty.  Thus  the  clioral  recita- 
tive with  which  it  begins  —  a  form  of  composition  characteristic  of 
the  structure  of  the  work  more  or  less  throughout,  —  seems  at  first  a 
very  humble  style,  and  quite  conventional  and  service-like  ;  but  it 
grows  upon  you  ;  you  find  that  there  is  meaning  in  it,  that  there  is 
beauty,  and  a  certain  fine  magnetic  power.  Moreover,  in  the  instru- 
mentation there  is  taste  and  judgment,  there  is  a  chaste  refinement. 
It  sounded  worthy  of  the  fine  orchestra  from  the  Symphony  concerts, 
under  the  lead  of  Mr.  Kneisel.  It  was  choice,  well  blended,  well 
contrasted.  The  composer  seemed  to  move  knowingly  and  easily 
among  the  instruments  ;  nothing  confused,  or  weak,  or  overdone  ;  no 
bloated  instrumentation  a  la  Wagner.  In  several  passages  the  trum- 
pets speak  "with  no  uncertain  sound,"  spreading  abroad  a  great 
light.  Of  the  Cantata,  and  of  its  performance,  the  Transcript 
(W.  F.  A.)  wrote  :- 

"...  The  composer  has  made  one  inuovation,  suggested  perhaps  b}' some 
things  modern  French  composers  have  done,  in  givinij  sucli  passages  as 
would  have  been  sung  by  '  The  Evangelist'  to  the  male  chorus  (and,  later  on, 
to  the  female  chorus)  in  unison.  These  passages  of  choral  quasi  recitative 
come  in,  apparently,  almost  at  random,  in  the  midst  of  beautifully  melodi- 
ous and  poetically  suggestive  bits  of  orchestral  writing,  and  with  admirable 
effect,  the  chorus  being  supported  by  full  harmony  on  the  organ,  while  the 
orchestra  goes  its  own  way.  The  choruses  proper  are  notable  for  purity  of 
style,  and  for  the  just  proportion  in  them  between  homophonic  and  contra- 
puntal writing ;  they  are,  too,  especially  and  highly  remarkable  for  a  masterly 
treatment  of  the  voices,  for  what  might  be  called  their  '  vocal  orchestration.' 
The  quality  of  tone  produced  is  invariably  of  the  finest.  This  beauty  is  also 
noticeable  to  a  high  degree  in  the  quartet,  '  Now  arc  we  the  sons  of  God.'  If 
the  solos  are  somewhat  less  inspiring  than  the  choruses,  they  still  impress  one 
by  their  beauty  of  sentiment. 


514     HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

"  The  bravura  passages  were  given  out  in  awonderfullj^clear,  smooth,  and 
even  way,  though  the  artist  was  at  some  disadvantage,  owing  to  the  inflexi- 
bility with  which  he  was  followed  (?)  by  the  conductor,  who,  instead  of  fol- 
lowing the  singer,  in  his  earnest  efforts  to  push  the  time  in  these  prolonged 
and  breath-trying  figures,  held  him  with  a  grip  of  iron  to  the  strict  tempo. 
It  needed  all  of  Mr.  Lloyd's  art  and  science  to  prove  equal  to  the  rigid  strain 
by  which  he  was  thus  hampered:  but  he  went  through  the  ordeal  successfully. 
He  was  rewarded  with  thunders  of  applause." 

Miss  De  Vere  declaimed  well  the  phrases  leading  in  the  final  chorus 
("  Sing  ye  to  the  Lord,"  etc.)  ;  but  the  other  efforts  of  the  two  female 
soloists  were  dry,  labored,  ineffective  (was  it  that  the  music  was 
ungrateful?).  Mr.  Whitney  was  in  all  his  glor}^  in  the  air,  '*  Wave 
from  wave,  congealed  with  wonder."  Mr.  Ludwig  was  less  success- 
ful in  "  He  layeth  the  beams"  ;  for  he  was  not  in  his  dramatic  ele- 
ment. In  the  duet  of  basses,  ''  The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war,"  the  two 
voices  did  not  blend  in  timbre^  and  Mr.  Ludwig  was  not  always 
heard.  Yet  there  was  great  applause,  which  fortunately  for  once 
failed  to  enforce  a  repetition.  The  orchestra  of  sixty-seven  instru- 
ments, from  the  Boston  Symphony  concerts,  led  by  Mr.  Kneisel,  did 
well  what  was  given  it  to  do.  But  the  accompaniments  were  in  a 
ver}^  imperfect  state.  It  was  ''  putting  one's  faith  to  a  prett}'  severe 
test  to  tr}'  to  argue  that  that  faint,  pastoral  squeaking  of  two  oboes  and  a 
bassoon  in  many  parts  of  'The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war '  w^ould  have 
satisfied  Handel.  Nothing  could  be  more  out  of  keeping  with  the 
massive  and  brilliant  character  of  this  mighty  duet  for  two  basses 
than  this  small  piping  on  three  reed  instruments  ;  it  is  simply  comi- 
cal." Here  again  a  Robert  Franz  was  wanting  to  "  make  whole  " 
the  composition,  before  its  full  power  could  tell  upon  an  audience. 

The  receipts  of  this  fourth  and  last  concert  of  the  Festival  were 
$4,338.42;  expenses,  83,080.72  ;  profit,  $1,257.70. 

In  the  intermission  between  the  two  parts  of  the  oratorio  occurred 
a  pleasant  episode  or  intermezzo.  Mr.  Carl  Zerrahu,  the  conductor, 
was  presented,  by  the  men  of  the  chorus,  with  a  superb  edition  of 
''  Musical  Instruments  :  Historic,  Rare  and  Unique,"  published  by 
A.  &  C.  Black,  Edinburgh,  costing  S50.  Only  ten  hundred  and  forty 
copies  were  printed.  It  was  an  elegant  volume  in  folio,  having  fifty 
plates,  artists'  proofs,  colored.  The  collection  includes  old  English 
instruments,  among  which  is  a  curious  old  harp  ;  Chinese,  Japanese, 
Siamese,  and  other  instruments.  There  are  old  carved  violins, 
spinets,  a  guitar  of  tortoise-shell,  with  the  colors  richly  shown ; 
instruments  with  inlaid  work  of  ivory  or  mother-of-pearl,  all  finely 
reproduced  ;  and  representatives  of  all  the  families  of  instruments. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  515 

Each  instrument  has  one  or  roore  pages  of  letter-press,  describing  it, 
and  giving  its  history  and  ownership.  Afterwards,  the  ladies  of  the 
chorus  presented  Mr.  Zerrahn  with  a  large  and  elegant  basket  of 
flowers. 

Soon  after  the  Festival  {May  16)  the  Board  of  Directors  met; 
instructed  the  treasurer  to  pay  over  to  the  trustees  of  the  Pcn-manent 
Fund  the  legacy  of  $1,000,  received  during  the  current  season  under 
the  will  of  Oliver  Ditson,  besides  S2,000  out  of  funds  in  the  treasury 
exclusive  of  said  legacy ;  made  -provision  for  the  preparation  of  a 
fifth  number,  completing  Vol  I.,  of  the  History  of  the  Society, 
bringing  it  down  to  the  end  of  the  seventy-fifth  season  (May,  1890)  ; 
and  voted  to  pay  Mr.  J.  C.  D.  Parker  an  honorarium,  with  the  thanks 
of  the  Society,  for  composing  the  cantata  St.  John  for  the  Festival. 
The  Committee  on  Examination  of  Voices  reported  that,  from  a  total 
of  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  voices  exa«mined,  they  had  accepted 
one  hundred  and  sixty-four,  namely,  sixty-three  sopranos  (of  whom 
sixty  joined  the  chorus),  forty-five  altos  (of  whom  forty-four  joined), 
twenty  tenors  (of  whom  fourteen  joined) ,  and  thirty-six  basses  (of 
whom  thirty  joined) . 

May  26.  Annual  meeting,  A.  Parker  Browne,  president,  in  the 
chair.  Reports  were  presented  by  the  treasurer  and  by  the  trustees 
of  the  Permanent  Fund ;  a  clear  summary  of  both  will  be  found  in 
the  annual  address  of  the  president  below.  On  motion  of  Mr.  L.  B. 
Barnes,  thanks  were  presented  to  the  retiring  secretary,  Eugene  B. 
Hagar,  Esq.,  "  for  his  able,  arduous,  and  impartial  services  for  the 
past  seven  years  ;  and  that  our  best  wishes  go  with  him  for  his  future 
prosperity  and  happiness";  to  which  resolution  Mr.  Hagar  made 
grateful  response. 

The  Society  then  proceeded  to  the  election  of  officers  for  the 
ensuing  year,  as  follows  :  — 

President. — A.  Parker  Broavne   (unanimously). 

Vice-President.  —  John  H.  Stickney. 

Secretary. — Charles  Wellington  Stone. 

Treasurer. — Moses  Grant  Daniell  (unanimously). 

Librarian. — Pichard  S.   Whitney. 

Directors. — John  D.  Andreavs,  Herbert  H.  Bates,  Sanford  C. 
Chase,  Horace  B.  Fisher,  Eugene  B.  Hagar,  Isaac  F.  Kingsbury, 
Frederick  E.  Long,  and  Henry  S.  Pray. 

From  President  Browne's  address,  which  was  read  by  him,  accepted, 
and  ordered  to  be  printed  in  pamphlet  form  for  distribution,  the  fol- 
lowing copious  extracts  contain  all  that  is  needed  to  complete  the 
record  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society  for  the  first  three  quarters 


516 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


of  a  century  of  its  existfence.  After  a  glowing  but  judicial  estimate 
of  the  success  of  the  Festival,  with  due  credit  warmly  given  to  Con- 
ductor Zerrahn,  to  the  chorus,  orchestra,  and  solo  artists,  the  address 
proceeds  :  — 

"  Financially  our  Festival  was  a  success,  and  it  left  a  surplus  of  about 
$1,500  to  be  added  to  our  Permanent  Fund.  This  was  very  gratifying;  for 
we  had  laid  our  plans  so  liberally  that  full  houses  all  the  time  were  produc- 
tive of  a  profit  of  only  ten  per  cent  on  the  expenditure,  and  we  asked  for  no 
guarantee  fund.  If  any  music  festival  approaching  ours  in  artistic  impor- 
tance has  been  given  anywhere  outside  of  Boston  without  such  a  fund,  the 
fact  has  escaped  my  notice.  I  give  here,  in  a  very  condensed  form,  the- 
prominent  items  in  the  treasurer's  report  for  the  year :  — 

On  hand  May  26,  1889 
Receipts  from  five  concerts 
Oliver  Ditson  bequest 
Admission  fees  . 
Sale  of  History 
Loan  of  music    . 
Interest 


Cost  of  concerts 
Cost  of  rehearsals     . 
Printing  History  (No.  4) 
Insurance  of  library 
New  music . 
Miscellaneous  expenses 
Paid  to  Permanent  Fund 


Left  in  hands  of  treasurer 
Value  of  Permanent  Fund 


$1,759  69 

19,714  11 

1,000  00 

225  00 

71  25 

35  95 

40  28 

$22,846  28 

$14,540  37 

.  2,934 

00 

.   301 

90 

81 

00 

.   536 

03 

279 

66 

.  3,000  00 

21,672  96 

. 

$1,173  32 

. 

, 

31,047  37 

"You  observe  here  that  the  welcome  bequest  of  the  late  Oliver  Ditson, 
referred  to  in  my  last  report,  has  since  been  received,  and  added  to  the  Per- 
manent  Fund.  In  each  of  the  years  1886  and  1887  the  fund  was  increased 
by  the  gift  of  $1,000  from  an  anonymous  friend.  The  only  condition  ac- 
companying those  gifts  was,  that  while  the  donor  lived  her  name  should  be 
kept  secret.  By  the  death  of  Miss  Rebecca  Goddard,  which  occurred  during 
the  year  1889,  that  injunction  was  removed.  It  was  not  alone  in  these  gen- 
erous contributions  that  Miss  Goddard's  interest  in  our  work  was  shown. 
She  was  a  great  lover  of  oratorio  music,  and  for  many  years  a  constant 
attendant  at  our  concerts,  where  her  evidently  keen  enjoyment  was  a 
source  of  great  interest  and  pleasure  to  those  subscribers  who  sat  in  her 
vicinity. 

"  The  chorus  during  the  season  numbered  five  hundred  and  sixty-five,  and 
at  the  time  of  the  Festival  had  been  reduced,  by  dismissals  and  resignations^ta 


HISTORY    OF   THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY.  517 

four  hundred  and  eighty-six,  comprising  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  sopranos, 
one  hundred  and  thirty-six  altos,  eight3^-four  tenors,  and  one  hundred  and 
ten  basses.  There  had  been  admitted  during  the  year  sixty-three  sopranos, 
forty-five  altos,  fourteen  tenors,  and  twenty-nine  basses,  a  total  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-one.  The  average  attendance  at  thirty-eight  rehearsals  was 
three  hundred  and  forty-three,  and  at  five  concerts  four  hundred  and  thirty- 
seven.  The  maximum  attendance  was  four  hundred  and  fifty-nine  at  one  of 
the  Festival  concerts,  and  the  minimum  one  hundred  and  seventy-one  on  one 
of  the  very  few  stormy  rehearsal  evenings. 

"  The  necrology  of  the  Society  is  as  follows  :  John  S.  Farlow  joined  Nov. 
17,  1839,  died  March  24,  1890.  He  was  a  director  for  several  seasons,  and 
president  in  1855.  John  B.  Pewtress  joined  Nov.  26,'  1853,  died  Aug.  25,  1889. 
Martin  Draper,  Jr.,  joined  Nov.  1,  1865,  died  Aug.  27,  1889.  Ralph  H.  Sawyer 
joined  May  5,  1883,  died  April  16, 1890.  He  was  the  son  of  Capt.  J.  S.  Sawyer, 
who  was  for  several  years  a  director  of  the  Society ;  and  was  a  young  man  of 
fine  character  and  promise,  and  universally  esteemed.  He  took  part  in  the 
performance  of  Israel  in  Egypt  April  13,  and  was  killed  by  a  fall  from  his 
horse  three  days  later.  George  William  Given  joined  April  11,  1889,  died 
June  30,  1889.  William  Staunton,  D.  D.,  elected  honorary  member  Aug.  17, 
1826,  died,  in  New  York,  Sept.  29,  1889.  He  was  at  the  time  of  his  death  the 
oldest  honorary  member. 

"  The  determined  refusal  of  our  devoted  and  efficient  secretary,  Eugene  B. 
Hagar,  to  be  a  candidate  for  re-election,  must  be  regretted  by  every  member 
of  the  Society.  He  has  held  the  office  seven  years,  during  all  of  which  time 
he  has  been  your  most  prominent  and  active  officer.  I  have  been  associated 
with  him  during  nearl}''  all  that  time,  and,  having  a  pretty  intimate  acquain- 
tance with  the  duties  of  the  secretaryship,  I  am  able  to  give  a  tolerably  intel- 
ligent opinion  as  to  his  discharge  of  those  duties.  There  can  be  no  question 
that  he  has  been  one  of  the  most  efficient  officers  the  Society  has  ever  had ; 
and  I  take  pleasure  in  making  record  here  of  my  great  esteem  for  him  as  a 
man,  my  appreciation  of  his  conduct  as  your  secretary,  and  my  sincere  regret 
for  his  retirement,  though  that  regret  is  tempered  by  the  knowledge  that  his 
experience  is  still  to  be  at  your  service,  though  he  will  be  in  a  less  active 
position." 


Near  its  conclusion  the  address  saves  the  present  historian  con- 
siderable labor  by  casting  the  following  convenient  and  compre- 
hensive bird's-eye  view  over  the  whole  work  of  the  Society,  from  its 
beginning,  in  1815,  to  the  end  of  its  seventy-fifth  year :  — 

"The  Society  has  given  six  hundred  and  seventy-five  concerts;  never 
less  than  one,  and  as  many  as  twenty-two,  in  one  year.  It  has  held  nine 
Festivals  in  Boston,  and  taken  part  in  three  in  New  York,  in  two  peace 
jubilees  in  Boston,  and  assisted  at  a  great  many  public  occasions,  such  as 
the  World's  Fair  in  New  York,  the  dedication  of  Music  Hall,  in  1852, 
and  the  funeral  memorial  services  in  honor  of  John  Adams  and  Thomas 
Jefferson,  John  Quincy  Adams,  Daniel  Webster,  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  John 
A.  Andrew. 


518  HISTORY    OF   THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Total. 

It  has  performed  The  Messiah  eighty-two  times ;   Samson,  thirty-three ; 

Judas  MaccMhoius,  seventeen;  Israel  in  Egypt,  eight;  other  works  of 

Handel,  thirteen .153 

Haydn's  T/ie  Creai/on,  sixty-three ;  The  Seasons  five ;  others,  nineteen,  87 
Mendelssohn's  Elijah,  forty-seven ;  A  Hijmn  of  Praise,  nineteen ;  St. 

Paul,  fourteen ;  other  works,  ten 90 

Bach's  Passion  Music,  eight;  Christmas  Oratorio,  three;  B  Minor  Mass 

(in  part),  one;  A  Stronghold  Sure,  one 13 

Beethoven's  Mount  of  Olives,  thirteen;  Ninth  Symphony,  seven;  Choral 

Fantasie,  one 21 

Mozart's  Requiem  Mass,  three;  Twelfth  Mass,  one         ....  4 

Spohr's  Last  Judgment,  nme-,  God,  Thou  Art  Great,  one         .        .         .  10 

Rossini's  Stabat  Mater,  twenty-seven ;  Moses  in  Egypt,  forty -five  .        .  72 

Neukomm's  David 57 

Verdi's  Requiem  Mass 5 

Gounod's  TJie  Eedemption 5 

The  following  important  works  once  or  twice  each  :  — 

Bennett's  The  Woman  of  Samaria. 

Berlioz's  Te  Deum  and  The  Flight  into  Egypt. 

Buck's  Forty-sixth  Psalm. 

Bruch's  Arminius. 

Costa's  Eli  and  Naaman. 

Graun's  The  Death  of  Jesus. 

Gounod's  Mors  et  Vita. 

Hiller's  A  Song  of  Victory. 

Cherubini's  Mass  in  D  minor. 

Rubinstein's  The  Tower  of  Babel. 

Paine's  St.  Peter  and  The  Nativity. 

Parker's  Eedemption  Hymn  and  St.  John. 

Saint-Saens's  Noel  and  The  Deluge. 

Sullivan's  2he  Prodigal  Son." 

"  Surely  this  record  is  most  honorable,"  adds  the  president,  and 
who  will  not  say  Amen !  And  again  heartily  to  his  declaration  of 
belief  "  that  our  fund  will  increase  to  such  figures  that  we  need  never 
have  to  think  of  a  work  proposed  for  performance,  '  Will  it*  pay 
expenses?'  but  only,  '  Is  it  the  right  thing  to  do?'  " 

Here  ends  this  first  volume  of  the  "  History  of  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society."  Its  members  "  have  now  to  make  matter  for  use 
l^y  the  gentleman  or  lady  of  the  future  who  shall  write  Volume  II., 
which  few  if  any  of  us  will  read." 


CONCERTS 

GIVEN   BY  THE 

HANDEL  AND   HAYDN   SOCIETY 

PROX   ITS 

FIRST  THROUGH  ITS  SEVENTY-FIFTH  SEASON. 


FIRST  SEASON. 
From  March  30,  1815  to  Sept.  2,  1816. 
1815,  Dec.    25.     Selections Stone  Chapel. 


1816,  Jan. 
May 


18. 
30. 


1817,  April  1. 

April  3. 

April  4. 

April  8. 

July  5. 


SECOND  .SEASON. 
From  Sept.  2,  1816  to  Sept.  1,  1817. 

1st  Part  of  Messiah  :  Selections  : 

1st  Part  of  Creation 

2nd  Part  of  Messiah :  Selections  : 

2ncl  Part  of  Creation 

3rcl  Part  of  Messiah :  Selections  : 

3rd  Part  of  Creation 

Selections       .... 


Stone  Chapel. 


First  Church 


THIRD   SEASON. 
From  Sept.  1,  1817  to  Sept.  7.  1818. 


9.  1818,  Mar.    20. 

10.  April    2. 

n.  April  28. 

12.  May      1. 

13.  June      2. 

14.  July       1. 


Selections Boylston  Hall. 


FOiniTH  SEASON. 
From  Sept,  7,  1818  to  Sept.  6,  1819. 

Hall. 


15. 

1818,  Nov. 

24. 

Selections       .        .        .        .        . 

.    Boylst 

16. 

Dec. 

3. 

(( 

17. 

Dec 

25. 

Messiah  (first  time  complete) 

18. 

1819,  Feb. 

16. 

Creation  ''first  time  complete) 

19. 

Feb. 

23. 

<( 

20. 

Mar. 

2. 

(< 

21. 

April 

1. 

Dettingen  Te  Deum :  Selections     . 

22. 

June 

22. 

Selections 

a) 

CONCERTS    GIVEN    BY    THE 


FIFTH  SEASON. 
Fbom  Sept.  6,  1619  to  Sept.  4,  1820. 


23. 

1819,  Dec. 

21. 

Selections 

24. 

1820,  Feb. 

3. 

ii 

25. 

Feb. 

22. 

'» 

26. 

Mar. 

31. 

Messiah 

27. 

May 

2. 

Selections 

Boylston  Hall. 


SIXTH  SEASON. 
From  Sept.  4,  1820  to  Sept.  3,  1821. 

28.  1820,  Nov.    14.     Selections       .... 

29.  Dec.    19.  ♦♦  .... 

30.  1821,  Jan.     16.  ♦'  .... 
31. 
32. 
33. 
34. 


Feb.      6.  Selections:  King's  Intercession 

Mar.    15.  King's  Intercession:  Selections 

April    5.  Part  of  Messiah  :  Selections 

May    13.  Selections       .... 


Boylston  Hall 


SEVENTH  SEASON. 
From  Sept.  3,  1821  to  Sept.  2,  1822. 


35.     1821,  Oct.     30.     Selections 


36. 

Dec. 

11. 

37. 

Dec. 

25. 

38. 

1822,  Jan. 

8. 

39. 

Jan. 

15. 

40. 

Feb. 

19. 

4i. 

Mar. 

12. 

42. 

Mar. 

25. 

43. 

May 

31. 

Bovlston  Hall 


EIGHTH  SEASON. 
From  Sept.  2,  1822  to  Sept.  1,  1823. 


44. 

1822,  Nov. 

12. 

Selections 

45. 

Dec. 

10. 

(( 

46. 

1823,  Jan. 

28. 

Creation 

47. 

Feb. 

11. 

" 

48. 

Mar. 

25. 

Selections 

49. 

May 

27. 

it 

Boylston  HalL 


NINTH  SEASON. 
From  Sept.  1,  1823  to  Sept.  6,  1824. 

50.  1823,  Nov.    11.     Selections       .... 

51.  1824,  Jan.    20.    King's  Intercession :  Selections 

52.  Feb.  24.  Selections  .... 

53.  Mar.  16.  Creation  .... 

54.  Mar.  23.  "  .... 

55.  May  25.  Selections  .... 

Cii) 


Boylston  Hall 


56. 

1824,  Dec. 

21. 

57. 

1825,  Jan. 

25. 

58. 

Feb. 

27. 

69. 

Mar. 

22. 

60. 

May 

3. 

61. 

1826,  Jan.     31. 

62. 

April  23. 

63. 

June     4. 

Aug.     2. 

HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETT. 


TENTH  SEASON. 
From  Sept.  6,  1824  to  Sept.  5,  1825. 

Creation Boylston  Hall. 

King's  Intercession :  Selections    .        .  *' 

Dettingen  Te  Deum :  Selections    .        .  ♦' 

Selections ♦' 

Creation *♦ 

ELEVENTH  SEASON. 
From  Sept.  5,  1825  to  Sept.  4,  1826. 

Selections Boylston  Hall. 

Selections  from  Messiah  and  Creation.  " 

Selections •' 

Society  assists  in  services,  in  Faneuil 
Hall,  commemorating  death  of 
Adams  and  Jefferson. 

TWELFTH  SEASON. 
From  Sept.  4,  1826  to  Sept.  3,  1827. 

64.  1826,  Nov.    12.     Selections Boylston  HaD 

65.  Dec.    10.  "  

66.  1827,  Jan.      2.  "  " 

67.  Mar.    25.     Creation ♦' 

68.  May    13.     Selections ♦' 

THIRTEENTH  SEASON. 
Fkom  Sept.  3,  1827  to  Sept.  1,  1828. 

69.  1827,  Dec.    23.     Creation Boylston  HalL 

70.  1828,  Feb.    10.     Selections  from  Messiah       ...  " 

71.  Mar.     9.     Selections " 

72.  April  13.  "  

73.  May    25.     Selections  from  Creation       ...  " 

FOURTEENTH  SEASON. 
From  Sept.  1,  1828  to  Sept.  8,  1829. 

74.  1829,  Jan.     18.     Selections Boylston  Hall 

75.  Jan.     25.     Selections :  Haydn  Mass  in  B-Flat        .  ♦' 

76.  Mar.      1.     Selections ♦♦ 

77.  April  12.     Selections :  Mozart  Mass  in  C       . 

FIFTEENTH  SEASON. 
From  Sept.  8,  1829  to  Aug.  2,  1830. 
Biihler  Mass 


78. 

1829,  Dec. 

13. 

Selections 

79. 

1830,  Jan. 

24. 

Selections 

80. 

Feb. 

21. 

(( 

81. 

Mar. 

21. 

" 

82. 

April 

4. 

Creation 

83. 

June 

20. 

Selections 

Boylston  Hail. 


CONCERTS    GIVEN    BY    THE 


1830,  Sept.   17. 


84. 

Nov. 

21. 

85. 

Dec. 

26. 

86. 

1831,  Mar. 

16. 

87. 

Mar. 

27. 

88. 

June 

5. 

89. 

1831,  Oct. 

2. 

90. 

Nov. 

27. 

91. 

1832,  Jan. 

15. 

92. 

Feb. 

26. 

93. 

May 

20. 

SIXTEENTH  SEASON. 
From  Aug.  2,  1830  to  Aug.  1,  1831. 

Society  assists  in  celebration,  in  Old 
South  Church,  of  200th  anniversary 
of  first  settlement  of  Boston. 
Selections Boylston  Hah. 

((  (( 

Selections :  Biihler  Mass      ...  '* 

Selections ♦• 

SEVENTEENTH  SEASON. 
From  Aug.  1,  1831  to  Aug.  6,  1832. 

Creation Boylston  Hall. 

Selections :  Haydn  Mass      ...  *' 

Selections " 

Selections  :  Horn' s  Ode  to  Washington ,  *  * 

Selections *• 


EIGHTEENTH   SEASON. 
From  Aug.  6,  1882  to  Aug.  5,  1833. 


94. 

1832 

,  Nov. 

4. 

Selections 

95. 

Nov. 

18. 

(( 

96. 

Dec. 

2. 

" 

97. 

Dec. 

9. 

(( 

98. 

Dec. 

30. 

Messiah 

99. 

1833 

,  Jan. 

6. 

(( 

100. 

Jan. 

27. 

Creation 

101. 

Feb. 

3. 

(( 

102. 

Feb. 

10. 

(( 

103. 

Feb. 

24. 

Messiah 

104. 

Mar. 

24. 

Selections 

105. 

Mar. 

31. 

" 

106. 

April  29. 

Selections 

107. 

May 

12. 

Benefit  of 

108. 

June 

23. 

Selections 

Boylston  Hall. 


[rs.  Ostinelli.    Selections 
in    aid   of    completion  of 
Bunker  Hill  Monument 


109. 

1833,  Oct. 

27. 

110. 

Dec. 

1. 

111. 

Dec. 

8. 

112. 

Dec. 

22. 

NINETEENTH    SEASON. 
From  Aug.  5,  1833  to  Aug.  4,  18.34. 

Selections Boylston  Hall 

Creation '* 

Selections    from    Mount    of   Olnves : 
Haydn  Mass " 

(iv^ 


HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 


113. 

1834,  Jan. 

12. 

lU. 

Jan. 

19. 

115. 

Feb. 

2. 

116. 

Feb. 

9. 

il7. 

Feb. 

23. 

118. 

Mar. 

2. 

119. 

Mar. 

23. 

120. 

April 

20. 

121. 

May- 

11. 

122. 

May 

18. 

123. 

June 

1. 

Selections  from  Messiah 


Selections    from 

Haydn  Mass 
Selections 


Mount    of    Olives 


Boylston  Hali. 


124. 

1834 

,  Oct. 

5. 

125. 

Oct. 

12. 

126. 

Oct. 

26. 

127. 

Nov. 

2. 

128. 

Nov. 

23. 

129. 

Dec. 

28. 

130. 

1835 

,  Jan. 

4. 

131. 

Jan. 

18. 

132. 

Jan. 

25. 

133. 

Feb. 

22. 

134. 

Mar. 

8. 

135. 

Mar. 

22. 

136. 

Mar. 

29. 

137. 
138. 

April 
May 

12. 

17. 

TWENTIETH  SEASON. 
From  Aug.  4,  1834  to  Aug.  3,  1835. 

Creation Boylston  Hall. 

Selections •' 

Haydn  Mass :  Selections  from  Mount 

of  Olives " 

Messiah " 

Creation " 

Horn's    Ode   to  Washington:    Selec- 
tions    •' 

Selections ' 

"...  " 

Selections  from  Creation  and  David  .  " 


149. 
150. 


TWENTY-FIRST   SEASON. 
From  Aug.  3,  1835  to  Aug.  1,  1836. 


139.  1835,  Oct.     11.     Creation 

140.  Oct.     18. 

141.  Nov.    15.    Haydn  Mass 

of  Olives 

142.  Dec.    27.     Messiah 

143.  1836,  Jan.     lO. 


144. 

Feb. 

28. 

David 

145. 

Mar. 

6. 

(( 

146. 

Mar. 

13. 

" 

147. 

Mar. 

20. 

C( 

148. 

Mar. 

27. 

<( 

April    3. 
April  10. 


Selections  from  Mount 


Boylston  Hall, 


(r) 


CX)XCERTS    GIVEN    BY   THE 


151. 
152. 

153. 
154. 
155. 
156. 
157. 
158. 
159. 
160. 
161. 
162. 
163. 
16*. 
165. 
166. 
167. 


TWENTY-SECOND  SEASON. 
From  Ado.  1,  1836  to  Aug.  7,  1837. 

1836,  Oct.      2.     Horn's  Remission  of  Sin     . 
Oct.      9.     Creation 

Oct.  30.     David 
Nov.      6.        ♦♦ 
Dec.      4. 

Dec.  11. 

Dec.  18. 

Dec.  25.     Messiah 


1837,  Jan. 
Jan. 


1. 

8.     Selections 


Jan.  29. 

Feb.  5. 

Feb.  12.     David    . 

Feb.  26. 

Mar.  19.     Haydn  Mass 

April  9.    David     . 

May  28. 


Horn's  Remission  of  Sin 


Boyl6ton  Hall 


TWENTF-THIRD   SEASON. 
From  Aug.  7,  1837  to  Mat  28,  1838. 


168. 

1837,  Oct. 

1. 

Neukomm's 

Hymn    of    the    Night: 

Selections 

Boylston  Hall 

169. 

Oct. 

15. 

Selections:  Neukomm' 
Xiglit 

s  Hymn  of  the 

170. 

Dec. 

3. 

David    . 

171. 

Dec. 

10. 

" 

172. 

Dec. 

17. 

" 

173. 

Dec. 

31. 

Messiali 

174. 

1838,  Jan. 

7. 

" 

175. 

Feb. 

18. 

Creation 

176. 

Feb. 

25. 

" 

177. 

Mar. 

11. 

Selections 

178. 

April 

1. 

Selections:  I 

lymi] 

L  of  1 

.heN 

ight 

179. 

1838 

Oct. 

7. 

180. 

Oct. 

14. 

181. 

Nov. 

4. 

182. 

Nov. 

11. 

183. 

Dec. 

2. 

184. 

Dec. 

30. 

185. 

1839 

Feb. 

24. 

186. 

Mar. 

3. 

187. 

Mar. 

10. 

TWENTY-FOURTH  SEASON. 
From  Mat  23,  1838  to  Mat  27,  1839. 
Creation Boylston  Hall 

Romberg's  Power  of  Song :  Selections*. 

Selections " 

Messiah " 

David 


ivi) 


HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


188. 

1839,  Mar.    17. 

189. 

Mar.    24. 

190. 

Mar.    31. 

191. 

April     7. 

192. 

April  14. 

193. 

April  21. 

194. 

April  28. 

195. 

May      5. 

David 


Boylston  HalL 


TWENTY-FIFTH  SEASON". 
From  Mat  27.  1839  to  Mat  27,  184«. 


196. 

1839 

,  Sept. 

29. 

Selections 

197. 

Oct. 

6. 

" 

198. 

Oct. 

20. 

David    . 

199. 

Oct. 

27. 

44 

200. 

Nov. 

3. 

4C 

201. 

Dec. 

29. 

Messiah 

202. 

1840 

,  Jan. 

5. 

4( 

203. 

Jan. 

19. 

Creation 

204. 

Jan. 

26. 

44 

205. 

Feb. 

2. 

44 

206. 

Feb. 

16. 

David   . 

207. 

Feb. 

23. 

44 

208. 

Mar. 

1. 

" 

209. 

Mar. 

29. 

Selections 

210. 

April 

5. 

'^ 

Boylston  HalL 


Melodeon. 


TWENTY-SIXTH  SEASON'. 
Fbom  May  27,  1S40  to  Mat  31,  1841. 


211. 

1840,  Oct. 

4. 

Mt.  Sinai 

212. 

Oct. 

11. 

" 

213. 

Oct. 

18. 

41 

214. 

Oct. 

25. 

44 

215. 

Nov. 

1. 

.      44 

216. 

Nov. 

20. 

Selections 

217. 

Nov. 

22. 

" 

218. 

Nov. 

24. 

<( 

219. 

Nov. 

26. 

" 

220. 

Dec. 

27. 

Selections 

221. 

1841,  Jan. 

3. 

4( 

222. 

Jan. 

17. 

David   . 

223. 

Jan. 

24. 

" 

224. 

Jan. 

31. 

Selections 

225. 

Feb. 

7. 

" 

226. 

Feb. 

14. 

Mt.  Sinai 

227. 

Mar. 

28. 

Creation 

228. 

May 

2. 

David    . 

Melodeon. 


Cvii) 


CONCERTS    GIVEN    BY    THE 


229. 

1841,  Aug.    21. 

230. 

Aug.    22. 

231. 

Aug.    25. 

232. 

Aug.    27. 

233. 

Nov.    14. 

234. 

Dec.    12. 

235. 

Dec.    19. 

236. 

Dec.    26. 

287. 

1842,  Feb.      6. 

238. 

Eeb.     13. 

239. 

Mar.    20. 

240. 

Mar.    27. 

241. 

April    3. 

242. 

April  10. 

243. 

April  17. 

244. 

April  24. 

246. 

May       1. 

TWENTY-SEVENTH  SEASON. 
Froti  Mat  31,  1841  to  May  30,  1842. 

Mt.  Sinai 

Messiah 

Selections 

Spohr's  cantata,  God,  Thou  art  Great : 

Romberg's  Transient  and  Eternal    . 

Selections 

Messiah 

Selections 

Spohr's  Last  Judgment 


Melodeon. 


David 


TWENTY-EIGHTH  SEASON. 
From  Mat  30,  1842  to  Mat  29,  1843. 


246. 

1842,  Oct. 

16. 

David    . 

Melodeon 

247. 

Oct. 

23. 

11 

(( 

248. 

Nov. 

6. 

(C 

" 

249. 

Nov. 

13. 

11 

n 

250. 

Dec. 

11. 

Selections 

(( 

251. 

Dec. 

25. 

Messiah 

t< 

252. 

1843,  Jan. 

1. 

(( 

t( 

253. 

Jan. 

22. 

St.  Paul 

t» 

254. 

Jan. 

29. 

(( 

it 

255. 

Feb. 

12. 

" 

i( 

256. 

Feb. 

26. 

Stabat  Mater 

(( 

257. 

Mar. 

5. 

" 

(( 

258. 

Mar. 

12. 

(( 

«t 

259. 

April 

2. 

(( 

(( 

260. 

April 

23. 

Neukomm's  Hymn  of  the  Night :  Rom 
berg's  Transient  and  Eternal   . 

tt 

261. 

May 

7. 

Transient  and  Eternal :  Selections 

<< 

262. 

May 

14. 

t( 

(( 

(( 

«f 

263.  1843,  June  18. 

264.  Sept.  24. 

265.  Oct.  29. 

266.  Dec.  3. 


TWENTY-NINTH   SEASON. 
From  Mat  29.  1843  to  May  27,  1844. 

Selections Melodeon. 

Stabat  Mater :  Selections     ...  •' 

Creation " 

((  (( 

(viii) 


HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 


267. 

1843,  Dec.     10. 

Creation 

Melo'.'eon 

268. 

Dec.     25. 

Messiah 

269. 

Dec.    31. 

(( 

270. 

1844,  Jan.     21. 

David    . 

271. 

Jan.     28. 

" 

272. 

Feb.       4. 

" 

273. 

Feb.     11. 

it 

274. 

Mar.      3. 

Last  Judgment 

275. 

Mar.    10. 

" 

276. 

Mar.    17. 

(( 

277. 

April     7. 

Stahat  Mater :  Selections 

278. 

April  14. 

(C                                         (( 

279. 

April  21. 

((                         ( 

( 

THIRTIETH  SEASON. 
From  May  27,  1844  to  May  26,  1845. 


280. 

1844,  Sept. 

29. 

Creation 

281. 

Oct. 

20. 

Selections 

282. 

Oct. 

27. 

Creation 

283. 

Nov. 

3. 

(( 

284. 

Nov. 

10. 

Messiah 

285. 

Nov. 

17. 

Selections 

286. 

Dec. 

8. 

" 

287. 

Dec. 

15. 

a 

288. 

1845,  Jan. 

26. 

Samson 

289. 

Feb. 

2. 

" 

290. 

Feb. 

9. 

(( 

291. 

Feb. 

16. 

(( 

292. 

Feb. 

23. 

(( 

293. 

Mar. 

2. 

i( 

294. 

Mar. 

9. 

(( 

295. 

Mar. 

16. 

(C 

296. 

Mar. 

23. 

(( 

297. 

Mar. 

30. 

{( 

298. 

April 

6. 

(( 

299. 

April 

13. 

David    . 

300. 

April 

19. 

Samson 

301. 

April  20. 

(( 

Melode«in. 


THIRTY-FIRST  SEASON. 
From  May  26,  1845  to  May  25,  1846. 


302. 

1845,  Oct. 

12. 

Samson 

Melodeon 

303. 

Oct. 

19. 

«' 

" 

304. 

Oct. 

26. 

♦' 

<( 

305. 

Dec. 

21. 

Moses  in  Egypt 

" 

306. 

Dec. 

25. 

Messiah 

' 

307. 
308. 
309. 

Dec. 

1846,  Jan. 

Jan. 

28. 

4. 

11. 

Moses  in  Egypt 

•( 

(ix^ 


CX)NCERTS    GIVEN    BY   THE 


310. 

1846,  Jan. 

18. 

311. 

Jan. 

25. 

312. 

Feb. 

1. 

313. 

Feb. 

8. 

314. 

Feb. 

22. 

315. 

Mar. 

1. 

316. 

Mar. 

8. 

317. 

Mar. 

22. 

318. 

Mar. 

29. 

319. 

April 

4. 

320. 

AprU 

5. 

321. 

AprU 

12. 

Moses  in  Egypt 


Samson 


Moses  in  Egypt 


Melodeoii 


THIRTY-SECOXD    SEASON. 
From  May  25,  1846  to  Mat  31,  1847. 


322. 

1846 

Oct. 

11. 

Creation 

323. 

Oct. 

18. 

" 

324. 

Oct. 

25. 

" 

325. 

Nov. 

8. 

David    . 

326. 

Nov. 

15. 

" 

327. 

Dec. 

6. 

Moses  in  Egypt 

328. 

Dec. 

13. 

" 

329. 

Dec. 

20. 

" 

330. 

Dec. 

27. 

" 

331. 

1847 

Jan. 

3. 

(( 

332. 

Jan. 

10. 

" 

333. 

Jan. 

24. 

Samson 

334. 

Jan. 

31. 

" 

335. 

Feb. 

14. 

" 

336. 

Feb. 

28. 

i( 

337. 

Mar. 

14. 

Moses  in  Egypt 

338. 

Mar. 

21. 

(( 

339. 

April 

4. 

11 

340. 

April 

18. 

" 

Melodeou^ 


341. 

1847 

Dec. 

5.     Juc 

342. 

Dec. 

12. 

343. 

Dec. 

19. 

344. 

Dec. 

26. 

345. 

1848 

Jan. 

2. 

346. 

Feb. 

13.     Elii 

347. 

Feb. 

20. 

348. 

Feb. 

27. 

349. 

Mar. 

5. 

350. 

Mar. 

12. 

351. 

Mar. 

19. 

THIRTY-THIRD    SEASON. 
From  May  31,  1847  to  May  29,  1848. 

Judas  Maccabseus 


Melodeon. 


(X) 


HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 


352. 

1848,  Mar.    26. 

Elijah    .... 

.    Melodeon 

353. 

April     2. 

"        .        .         .         . 

" 

354. 

April     9. 

"        .         .         .        . 

<( 

355. 

May      7. 

Stahat  Mater 

cc 

356. 

May     14. 

" 

4t 

THIRTY-FOURTH  SEASON. 
From  Mat  29,  1848  to  Mat  28,  1849. 


357. 

1848,  Oct. 

29. 

Moses  in  Egypt 

358. 

Nov. 

12. 

(( 

359. 

Nov. 

19. 

(( 

360. 

Nov. 

26. 

(( 

361. 

Dec. 

3. 

(( 

362. 

Dec. 

24. 

Messiah 

363. 

Dec. 

31. 

" 

364. 

1849,  Jan. 

7. 

Selections     . 

365. 

Jan. 

14. 

" 

366. 

Jan. 

28. 

Stahat  Mater 

367. 

Feb. 

11. 

Elijah    . 

368. 

Feb. 

18. 

Stahat  Mater 

369. 

Feb. 

25. 

Elijah    . 

370. 

Mar. 

18. 

Selections     . 

Melodeon. 


THIRTY-FIFTH  SEASON. 
FROM  Mat  28,  1849  to  Mat  27,  1850. 


371. 

1849,  Dec.    16. 

The  Martyrs 

. 

Melodeon 

372. 

Dec.    23. 

(( 

373. 

Dec.    30. 

(( 

374. 

1850,  Jan.       6. 

(( 

375. 

Jan.     13. 

(( 

376. 

Jan.     20. 

(( 

377. 

Jan.     27. 

(( 

378. 

April     7. 

Stahat  Mater 

379. 

April  21. 

(( 

THIRTY-SIXTH  SEASON. 

Fbom  Mat  27,  1850  to  Mat  26,  1851. 

380. 

1850,  Dec     22. 

Creation Melodeon 

381. 

Dec.    29. 

(( 

382. 

1851,  Jan.      5. 

(( 

383. 

Mar.      2. 

Elijah    . 

384. 

Mar.      9. 

(( 

385. 

Mar.    16. 

i« 

386. 

Mar.    23. 

n 

387. 

April     6. 

Creation 

388. 

April  27. 

♦♦ 

«f 

(xi) 


CONCERTS    GIVEX    BY    THE 


TinRTY-SE^T:XTH   SEASON. 
From  May  26,  ISol  to  May  31,  1S52 


389. 

1851 

Oct. 

26. 

Selections 

390. 

Dec. 

U. 

David    . 

391. 

Dec. 

21. 

" 

392. 

Dec. 

28. 

" 

393. 

1852 

Feb. 

8. 

Samson  . 

39-t. 

Feb. 

15. 

" 

395. 

Feb. 

22. 

i( 

396.  Mar.  28.     Selections 

397.  April  4. 


^lelodeon. 


1852 

Xov.   20. 

398. 
399. 

Nov.  21. 
Xov.    30 

Dec.    19. 

400. 

Dec.    26. 

401. 

1853 

Jan.      2. 

402. 

Feb.      6. 

403. 
404. 

Feb.  13. 
Feb.    20. 

405. 

Feb.    27. 

406. 

Mar.     6. 

407. 

'April  2. 

408. 

April  3. 

409. 

May     1. 

THIRTY-EIGHTH  SEASON". 
From  May  31, 1S52  to  May  30,  1S53. 

Society  assists  in  dedication  of  Bos 
ton  Music  Hall  .... 

Selections  :  Stabat  Mater     . 

Society  assists  in  services,  in  Faneuil 
Hall,  commemorating  deatli  of  Web 
ster. 

Judas  Maccabaeus . 


Selections .  Engredi 


Judas  Maccabaeus  . 

Xiuth  SjTiipliony    . 

Creation 

Selections :  Stabat  Mater 


A^usic  Hall 


THIRTY-XIXTH  SEASON. 
From  May  30,  1853  to  May  29,  1854. 


410. 

1853 

Nov. 

27. 

Samson 

411. 

Dec. 

4. 

Selections 

412. 

Dec. 

11. 

Creation 

413. 

1854 

Jan. 

1. 

Samson 

414. 

Jan. 

8. 

'• 

415. 

Jan. 

29. 

Moses  in  I 

416. 

Feb. 

5. 

" 

417. 

Feb. 

12. 

((       i(. 

418. 

Feb. 

19. 

"       " 

419. 

Mar. 

5. 

((            a 

^Music  Hall. 


(xu) 


HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


420.  1854,  Mar.   12. 

421.  Mar.    19. 

422.  April    6. 


Moses  in  Egypt 


Music  Hall. 


FORTIETH   SEASON. 
From  May  29,  1854  to  May  28,  1855. 


423. 

1854,  Dec. 

3. 

Elijah     . 

424. 

Dec. 

10. 

" 

4-5. 

Dec. 

17. 

" 

426. 

Dec. 

24. 

Messiah 

427. 

1855,  Jan. 

7. 

Selections 

428. 

Jan. 

14. 

" 

429. 

Feb. 

11. 

Stahat  Mater . 

430. 

Feb 

18. 

Moses  in  Egypt 

431. 

Feb. 

25. 

a            a           n 

432. 

Mar. 

4. 

"            "           " 

Music  Hall. 


FORTY-FIRST    SEASON. 
From  May  28,  1855  to  May  26,  1856. 


433. 

1855,  Nov.    18. 

Solomon 

Music  Hall 

434. 

Nov.    25. 

" 

(( 

435. 

Dec.     2. 

a 

'' 

436. 

Dec.     9. 

a 

(( 

437. 

Dec.    23. 

Messiah 

" 

438. 

Dec.   30. 

" 

(( 

439. 

1856,  Feb.    10. 

Creation 

(( 

440. 

Feb.    17. 

Selections  from  Stabat  Mater  and  Moses 

in  Egypt     . 

" 

441. 

Mar.  30. 

Moses  in  Egypt 

(« 

442. 

April    6. 

U            <■(.              ii 

<( 

443. 

April  10. 

il       ((        (( 

(( 

444. 

1856 

Dec. 

28. 

445. 

1857 

,  Jan. 

18. 

446. 

Feb. 

15. 

447. 

Feb. 

22. 

448. 

Mar. 

29. 

449. 

:\ray 

21. 

450. 

May 

21. 

451. 

May 

22. 

452. 

May 

22. 

453. 

May 

23. 

454. 

May 

23. 

FORTY-SECOND   SEASON. 
From  May  26,  1856  to  Juxe  3,  1857 

Messiah         .... 


Mozart  Requiem 
Eli 


Selections 


Mozart  Requiem :  Selections 


FESTIVAL. 


Creation 
Selections 
Elijah    . 
Selections 

Messiah 


Music  Hall. 


Music  Hall. 


(xiii) 


CONXERTS    GIVEX    BY    THE 


1857,  June    17. 


455. 

Dec.    26. 

456. 

1858,  .Jan.    23. 

457. 

Jan.    24. 

458. 

April    3. 

459. 

April    4. 

460. 

April  10. 

461. 

April  11. 

FORTY-THIRD   SEASON". 
From  -Jcxe  3,  lS-57  to  Mat  31, 1S.38. 

Society  assists  in  ceremonies  of  in- 
auffurating  statue  of  Gen.  Joseph 
Warren  on  Bunker  Hill. 

Messiah  .... 

Elijah 

Creation         .... 

Elijah 

Messiah  .... 

Selections  r  Hymn  of  Praise 

Creation 


Music  Hall. 


462. 

1858,  Oct.     10. 

463. 

Dec.    19. 

464. 

Dec.   26. 

465. 

18.59,  Feb.    13. 

Feb.    22. 

466. 

April    3. 

467. 

April  10. 

468. 


FORTY-FOURTH  SEASON". 
From  May  31, 18.58  to  May  30, 18.59. 

Selections :  Stahat  JIater 

Selections 

Messiah 

Israel  in  Egypt 

Society,  under  auspices  of  Mercantile 
Library  Association,  assists  in  cel- 
ebration of  birth  of  "Washington    . 

David 


May    14.     HjTiin  of  Praise  :  Selection; 


Music  Hall. 

Boston  Theatre 
Music  Hall. 


FORTY-FIFTH   SEASON. 
From  May  .30,  18.59  to  May  28, 1860. 

469.  1859,  Xov.    27.     Samson 

470.  Dec.    11.  "  

471.  Dec.   25.     Messiah 

1860,  Jan.  17.  Society  assists  in  anniversary  celebra- 
tion of  Franklin  Typographical  As- 
sociation. 


Music  Hall. 


FORTY-SIXTH  SEASON". 
From  May  28,  1860  to  May  27,  1861. 


472.  1860,  Dec.    30.     Messiah 

473.  1861,  Feb.    10.     Selections 

474.  Mar.    17. 

475.  Mar.    31. 

476.  April  27. 


Selections :  Stahat  Mater 
Messiah 

In  aid  of  the  Government, 
(xiv) 


[Music  Hall. 

Boston  Tlieatre 
Music  Hall. 


Selections 


HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


477. 

1801, 

Dec.    29. 

478. 

1862, 

Jan.      1 . 

479. 

Mar.      1 

480. 

April  20. 

481.     18G2,  Oct.     25. 


482. 
483. 
484. 


Dec.    28. 

1863,  Mar.    15. 

Mar.    22. 


FORTY-SEVEXTH  SEASOX. 
From  May  27, 1S61  to  May  26, 1862. 

Messiah 

For  benefit  of   Sanitary  Commission 

Messiah 

Dettinfjen  Te  Deum  :  H.vmn  of  Praise 
Creation 

FORTY-EIG-HTII  SEASON". 
From  May  26,  1862  to  May  25, 1^63. 
For  l)enefit  of  Forty-First  Regiment 

Selections 

Messiah          ..... 
Elijah 

FORTY-XIXTH  SEASOX. 
From  May  25, 1863  to  May  30, 1864. 


Music  Hall. 


Music  Hall. 


485. 

1863 

Nov. 

28. 

Inauguration  of  great  organ  in  Music 
Hall.      Ode  on   St.  Cecilia's   Day: 
Hymn  of  Praise        .... 

Music  Hall 

486. 

Dec. 

6. 

Ode   on   St.  Cecilia's  Day:   Hymn   of 
Praise 

(C 

487. 

Dec. 

27. 

Messiah 

u 

488. 

1864 

Feb. 

21. 

Eli 

{( 

489. 

Mar. 

27. 

]\ressiah 

(( 

490. 

May 

8. 

Elijah 

FIFTIETH   SEASOX. 
From  May  30,  1864  to  Juxe  16,  1865. 

(( 

491. 

1864 

Nov. 

27. 

Eli 

Music  Hall. 

492. 

Dec. 

24. 

Messiah 

" 

493. 

Dec. 

25. 

fiftieth  anniversary  festival. 

" 

494. 

1865 

]\Iay 

23. 

Hymn  of  Praise 

Music  Hall 

495. 

May 

23. 

Creation 

" 

496. 

^lay 

24. 

Selections 

(( 

497. 

M:iy 

25. 



'• 

498. 

May 

25. 

Selections  from  Israel  in  Egypt :  Hymn 
of  Praise 

jt 

499. 

May 

26. 

Selections 

" 

500. 

ISIay 

27. 

Organ  concert 

(( 

501. 

May 

27. 

Selections       ...... 

" 

502. 

May 

27. 

Elijah 

(C 

503. 

May 

28. 

Messiah 

(( 

June     1. 


Society,  under  auspices  of  city  of  Bos 
ton,  assists  in  memorial  services  in 
honor  of  Abraham  Lincoln 

(XV) 


CONCERTS    GIVEX    BY    THE 


FIFTY-FIRST   SEASON, 


From  June  16,  1865  to  Mat  28,  1866. 


504. 

1865,  Oct.     15. 

Creation 

Music  Hall 

505. 

Nov.   19. 

Judas  Maccabeus 

506. 

Dec.   23. 

"                

507. 

Dec.   24. 

^Messiah 

508. 

Dec.   31. 

Elijah 

509. 

1866,  April    1. 

St.  Paul 

510. 

May    13. 

[Mendelssohn's  Forty-Second   Psalm  and 

Hymn  of  Praise 


FIFTY-SECOND   SEASON. 
From  May  28,  1866  to  Mat  27,  1867. 

511.  1866,  Nov.   25.     St.  Paul 

512.  Dec.    23.     Messiah 

513.  1867,  Feb.    17.     Jephtha 

514.  Feb.    24.     Creation 

515.  April  20.     Stabat  Mater :  Hymn  of  TvRise 

516.  April  21.     Elijah 


Music  Hall. 


FIFTY-THIRD   SEASON. 
From  Mat  27,  1867  to  June  3, 


517.  1867,  Nov.   23.     Selections:  Mendelssohn's  Forty-Second 

Psalm [Music  Hall. 

518.  Nov.   24.     Samson 

Nov.   26.     Society  assists   in  memorial  services   in 

honor  of  John  Albion  Andrew 

519.  Dec.   21.     Messiah 

520.  Dec.    22.  " 

521.  1868,  Feb.    29.     Moses  in  Egypt 

522.  Mar.     1.     Elijah 


523.     1868,  May     5. 


524. 
525. 
526. 
527. 

528. 
529. 
530. 
531. 
532. 


May 
May 
May 
May 
May 
:May 
May 
May 
May 


FIRST   TRIENNIAL    FESTIVAL. 

Mendelssohn's    Ninety-Fifth    Psalm    and 

Hymn  of  Praise 

Samson 

Selections 

St.  Paul 

Selections  :  Ninth  Symphony    . 

Organ  concert 

Selections 

Creation 

Messiah 

(xvi) 


[Music  Hall. 


533. 

1868,  Nov.  28. 

534. 

Nov.  29. 

535. 

Dec.   26. 

536. 

Dec.  27. 

537. 

1869,  Mar.  27. 

538. 

Mar.  28. 

539. 

May    20. 

May    21. 

HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

FIFTY-FOURTH  SEASOX. 
From  June  3,  1868  to  May  31,  1869. 

Judas  Maccabaiiis Music  Hall. 

Elijah 

Messiah 
Elijah 
Naaman 
St.  Paul      . 

Selections  :  llymn  of  Praise 
Society  assists  in  concert  complimentary 
to  Adelaide  Phillipps.     Stahat  Mater    .  " 

FIFTY-FIFTH  SEASON. 
From  May  31,  1869  to  May  30,  1870. 

1869,  June  15-19.  Society  assists  in  National  Peace  Jubi- 
lee ;  and,  on  June  20  and  29,  in  concerts 
supplemental  thereto      ....        Coliseum. 

Messiah Music  Hall. 

Naaman .  " 

Society  assists  in  celebration  of  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  Mercantile  Library  Asso- 
ciation      <' 

Creation " 

Elijah " 

FIFTY-SIXTH  SEASON. 
From  May  30,  1870  to  May  29,  1871. 

1870,  June   16.     Society  assists  in  concert  in  Beethoven 

Centennial.       First    part     o^     Elijah : 

Selections New  York. 

i4:4.               Dec.    19.     Celebration   of    one  hundredth  anniver- 
sary  of  birth  of  Beethoven.      Selec- 
tions :  Ninth  Symphony         .         .         .     Music  Hall. 
Messiah *' 


Creation     . " 

SECOND   TRIENNIAL  FESTIVAL. 

Selections :  Hymn  of  Praise     .         .        .     Music  Hall. 

Selections " 

Elijah " 

Selections " 

Israel  in  Egypt " 

Selections  :  Ninth  Symphony   ...  " 

Organ  concert " 

Selections *■• 

Selections  from  Bach  St.  ]Matthe\v  Pas- 
sion Music :  Woman  of  Samaria .         .  " 

558.               May    14.     :Messiah " 

(xviij 


540. 

Dec.   25. 

541. 

Dec.  2&. 

1870,  Mar.  11. 

542. 

April  16. 

543. 

April  17. 

545. 

Dec.   24. 

546. 

Dec.   25. 

547. 

1871,  April    1. 

548. 

April    2. 

549. 

May      9. 

550. 

]\ray    10. 

551. 

May    10. 

552. 

May    11. 

553. 

May    11. 

554. 

May    12. 

555. 

May    13. 

556. 

May    13. 

557. 

May    13. 

CONCERTS    GHEX    ]iY    THE 


1871 

Oct. 

20. 

559. 

Nov. 

25. 

560. 

Nov. 

26. 

Dec. 

10. 

561. 

Dec. 

24. 

562. 

Dec. 

25. 

563. 

1872 

Jan. 

13. 

5Gi. 

Jan. 

14. 

FIFTY-SEVEXTII  SEASOX. 
From  May  29,  1871  to  May  27,  1872. 

Societ}'^  assists  in  concert  in  aid  of 
Chicago  snfterers 

Elijah 

Jndas  Maccabaeus 

Society  assists  in  concert  in  honor  of 
Grand  Duke  Alexis  of  Knssia 

St.  Paul 

Messiah 

Stahat  Mater :  Selections 

Elijah 


Music  Hall. 


FIFTY-EIGHTH   SEASON. 

Fro>i  May  27,  1872  to  June  2,  1873. 

1872,  June  16.     Societ}'  assists  in  anniversary  services  of 

American  Peace  Society  .  .  .  Music  Hall. 
June  17-July  4.  Society  assists  in  World's  Peace 
Jubilee  and  International  Musical  Fes- 
tival; and  particularly,  on  June  24,  in 
performance  of  Israel  in  Egypt,  Handel 
and  Haydn  Society' forming  first  chorus, 
and  Salem,  Lynn,  and  West  Roxbury 
Societies  united  forming  second  chorus        Coliseum. 

Messiah Music  Hall. 

Elijah " 

Judas  Maccabaeus " 

Elijah         ....     Steinway  Hall,  New  York. 

Selections   from  Israel  in 

Egypt:  Hymn  of  Praise  "  " 

Elijah  .         .         .         Acadeni}^  of  Music,  Brooklyn. 

Society  assists  in  Theodore 
Thomas  Sympliony  con- 
cert. Selections  :  Ninth 
Symphony      .         .        .     Steinway  Hall,  New  York. 


565. 

Dec.   22. 

566. 

1873,  Feb.     8. 

667. 

Feb.     9. 

568. 

April  22. 

569. 

April  23. 

570. 

April  24. 

April  26. 

FIFTY-NINTH  SEASON. 
From  June  2,  1873  to  May  25,  1874. 


571.  1873,  Dec.    21.     Messiah 

572.  1874,  April    5.     Elijah 


Music  Hall. 


573. 
574. 
575. 


THIRD   TRIENNIAL.   FESTIVAL. 

May      5.     Judas  Maccabanis 

Ma}''      6.     Selections 

May      6.     First  Part  of  The  Seasons  :    Ninth  Sym- 
phony      

(xviii) 


Music  Hall. 


HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY, 


576. 

1874,  May 

7. 

577. 

May 

8. 

578. 

May 

8. 

579. 

May 

9. 

580. 

^lay 

9. 

581. 

May 

9. 

582.* 

]\ray 

10. 

THIRD  TRIENNIAL  FESTIVAL — Concluded. 

Selections,  iiicludiug  Mendelssohn's  Hear 
my  Prayer  and  Christus,  and  Buck's 
Forty-Sixth  Psalm 

Selections 

St.  ]Matthew  Passion  Music 

Organ  concert  . 

Selections  .... 

St.  Peter   .... 


Music  Hall. 


583.  May    11.     Elijah '« 

SIXTIETH    SEASOX. 
From  May  2-5,  1874  to  May  31,  1875. 

584.  1874,  Dec.  26.     Messiah Music  Hall. 

585.  Dec.   27.     St.  Paul 

586.  1875,  Feb.     6.     To  associate   members.      Selections,   in- 

cluding Buck's  Fort3^-Sixtli  Psalm  and 
Mendelssohn's  Hear  my  Prayer  and 
Hymn  of  Praise " 

587.  Mar.  28.     Creation 

588.  April  28.     The  Seasons " 

SIXTY-FIRST   SEASON. 
From  May  31,  1875  to  May  29,  1876. 

589.  1875,  Nov.     8.     Elijah         .         .      ^ Music  Hall. 

590.  Dec.    25.     :\ressiah "■ 

591.  Dec.    26.     Creation " 

592.  1876,  April    9.     St.  Matthew  Passion  Music      ...  " 

593.  April  12.     Hjmin  of  Praise :  Stabat  Mater         .         .  *' 

594.  April  16.     Joshua " 

SIXTY-SECOND  SEASON. 
From  Mat  29,  1876  to  May  28,  187T. 

595.  1876,  Dec.   24.     Messiah,  with  additional  accompaniments 

written  for  Society  by  Robert  Franz    .     Music  Hall. 

596.  1877,  April    1.     Joshua " 

fourth  triennial  festival. 

597.  May   16.     Elijah Music  HalL 

598.  May   17.     Selections,  including  Noel         ...  " 

599.  ]\Iay   17.     First  two  parts  of  Bach's  Christmas  Ora- 

torio :     Redemption   Hymn :    Song   of 

Victory " 

600.  May  18.     Samson " 

601.  May  19.     Selections " 

602.  May  20.     Israel  m  Egypt " 

(xix^ 


CONCERTS    GIVEN    BY    THE 


603. 

1877,  June 

5. 

604. 

June 

20. 

605. 

Oct. 

10. 

606. 

Oct. 

28. 

607. 


Dec.     23. 


608. 

Dec.     25. 

609. 

1878,  Mar.      6. 

610. 

April    21. 

611. 

May       5. 

SIXTY-THIRD   SEASON. 
From  Mat  28,  1877  to  Mat  27,  1878. 

Elijah 

Messiah 

Elijah 

Selections,  including  Hear  My  Prayer  : 

Stahat  Mater 

First   two   parts  of  Bach's  Christmas 

Oratorio  :    Redemption  Hymn  :   Noel, 

Messiah 

St.  Paul 

Creation 

Verdi  Requiem 


Tabernacle 


Music  HalL 


SIXTY-FOURTH  SEASON. 
From  Mat  27,  1878  to  Mat  26, 1879. 

612.  1878,  Nov.    24.     Verdi  Requiem 

613.  Dec.     22.     Messiah    .        .        .        .         . 

614.  1879,  Feb.      9.     Selections,  including  Redemption  Hymn 

and  Berlioz's  The  Flight  into  Egypt : 
Hymn  of  Praise 

April  11.  St.  Matthew  Passion  Music  (entire,  in 
two  concerts) 

April    13.     Judas  Maccabaeus 

May  2.  Complimentary  to  Carl  Zerrahn  at  close 
of  his  twenty-fifth  season  as  con- 
ductor.    Elijah 


615. 

616. 
617. 


Music  Hall. 


SIXTY-FIFTH   SEASON. 
From  Mat  26,  1879  to  Mat  31,  1880. 
618.     1879,  Nov.     23.     Selections,    including   The  Flight    into 


619. 


Dec. 


Egypt:  The  Prodigal  Son 
28.     Messiah     .... 


620.     1880,  Mar.    28.     Israel  in  Egypt 


Music  Hall. 


621. 

1880,  May 

4. 

622. 

May 

5. 

623. 

May 

6. 

624. 

May 

6. 

625. 

May 

7. 

626. 

May 

8. 

627. 

May 

9. 

FIFTH    TRIENNIAL    FESTIVAL. 

St.  Paul 

The  Last  Judgment :  Stahat  3Iater 
Selections,      including      Mendelssohn's 

Forty-Third  Psalm  :  Ninth  Symphony. 

Verdi  Requiem 

First  two  parts  of  The   Seasons :  The 

Deluge 

Selections,  including  JJtrecht  Jubilate    . 
Solomon  .        , 

(XX) 


Music  Hall. 


HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


628. 

1880,  Oct. 

11. 

G29. 

Oct. 

13. 

630. 

Dec. 

26. 

631. 

1881,  Jan. 

30. 

632. 

April 

15. 

633. 

April 

17. 

SIXTY-SIXTH  SEASON. 
From  May  31,  1880  to  May  30, 1881. 

Dedication   of    Tremont    Temple. 

Messiah Tremont  Temple. 

Dedication    of     Tremont    Temple. 

Elijah " 

Messiah Music  Hall. 

Mozart  Requiem :  Mount  of  Olives        .  " 

April    15.     St.  Matthew  Passion  Music  (not  entire).  " 

St  Paul 


634.  1881,  Dec. 

635.  1882,  Feb. 


636. 


637. 


Mar. 

April 

April 
May 


SIXTY-SEVENTH  SEASON. 
From  May  30,  1881  to  May  29,  1882. 

25.     Messiah Music  Hall. 

5.  Graun's  The  Death  of  Jesus  :  Hymn  of 
Praise 

27.  Society  assists  in  concert  in  aid  of  op- 
pressed Jews  fleeing  from  Russia.     Mechanics  Hall. 

7.     St.  Matthew  Passion  Music  (entire,  in 

two  concerts) Music  Hall. 

9.     Creation  ....  .        .  " 

5.  Society  assists  in  performance  of  Israel 
in  Egypt  with  societies  from  New 
York,  Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  and 
Baltimore,  under  Theodore   Thomas. 

7th  Regiment  Armor}',  New  York. 


SIXTY-EIGHTH   SEASON. 


From  May  29,  1882  to 


May  28,  1863. 


638.  1882,  Nov.  13.  Creation    . 

639.  Dec.  24.  Messiah     . 

CiiO.  1883,  Jan.  29.  The  Redemption 

641.  Mar.  23. 

642.  Mar.  25.  Elijah 


Mechanics  Hall. 
.     Music  Hall. 


643.     1883,  May 


644. 


May 


645. 

Mav 

646. 

May 

647. 

May 

648. 

May 

649. 

May 

SIXTH   TRIENNIAL   FESTIVAL. 

1.  Ode   on    St.    Cecilia's   Day :    Tower  of 

Babel 

2.  The    Nativity:    Cherubini   Mass    in    D 

minor     ...... 

3.  Selections,  including  Choral  Fantasia 

3.  The  Redemption       .... 

4.  Arminius 

5.  Selections 

6.  Messiah 

(xxi) 


Music  Hall. 


651. 

Dec.     25. 

652. 

1884,  Feb.     26. 

653. 

April   11. 

654. 

April   13. 

CONCERTS    GIVEN    BY    THE 


SIXTY-NINTH   SEASON. 

From  Mat  28,  1S83  to  Mat  26,  1884. 

650.  1883,  Ncv.  11.  Celebration  of  four  hundredth  anniver- 
ssLTy  of  birth  of  Martin  Luther. 
Bach's  A  Stronghold  Sure :  Hymn  of 
Praise Music  Hall 

Messiah " 

The  Redemption       ....      Mechanics  Hall. 

St.  Matthew  Passion  Music  (not  entire).     Music  Hall. 

St.  Paul 

SEVENTIETH   SEASON. 

From  Mat  26,  1884  to  Mat  25, 1885. 

Sea80)i  devoted  to  icorks  of  Handel,  in  observmice  of  bi-centenary  of  his  birth,  Feb.  23,  1685. 

65c.     1884,  Dec.     21.     Messiah Music  Hall. 

656.  1885,  Feb.     22.     Handel  Selections 

657.  April     5.     Israel  in  Egypt " 

SEVENTY-FIRST  SEASON. 
From  Mat  25,  1885  to  Mat  31,  1886. 

658.  1885,  Dec.     27.     Messiah  (Franz  edition)  .         .         .     Music  Hall. 

659.  1886,  Jan.      24.     Mors  et  Vita  (entire,  in  two  concerts).  " 

660.  April  25.     Elijah " 

SEVENTY-SECOND   SEASON. 
From  Mat  31,  1886  to  Mat  30, 1887. 

661.  1886,  Dec.     26.     Messiah Music  Hall. 

662      1887,  Feb.     27.     Selections  from  Bach  Mass  in  B  minor  : 

Song  of  Victory " 

663.  April  10.     Creation " 

SEVENTY-THIRD   SEASON. 
From  Mat  30,  1887  to  Mat  28, 1888. 

664.  1887,  Dec.     25.     Messiah Music  Hall. 

665.  1888,  Jan.     29.     Berlioz's  Te  Deum :   The  Nativity  .         .  " 

666.  Mar.      4.     St.  Matthew  Passion  Music  (not  entire).  ** 

667.  April     1.     Judas  Maccabaeus *' 

SEVENTY-FOURTH   SEASON. 
From  Mat  28,  1888  to  Mat  27, 1889. 

668.  1888,  Dec.     23.     Messiah Music  Hall. 

669.  1889,  Feb.     24.     Verdi  Requiem  :  Mendelssohn's  Hear  My 


Prayer 
G70.  April  21.     St.  Paul 


(xxii) 


HANDEL  AXD  HAYDX  SOCIETY. 

SEVENTY-FIFTH   SEASON". 
From  Mat  27,  1S89  to  Mat  26, 1890. 

671.  1889,  Dec.     22.     Messiah Mnsic  Hall. 

SEVENTT-FIFTH   ANNIVERSART   FESTIVAL. 

672.  1890,  April     6.     Elijah Music  Hall. 

673.  April     8.     First   tAvo   parts   of    Bach's  Christmas 

Oratorio :     Selections :     Parker's    St. 
John 

674.  April   10.     The  Redemption «' 

675.  April   13.     Israel  in  Egypt «' 


(xxiii) 


CHARTER 


Commonbcaltb   of  ^assacbusctts. 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixteen. 
AN  ACT  TO  IXCORPORATE  THE    HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Sec.  1.  Be  it  enacted  hy  the  Senate  and  House  of  Eepresentatives, 
in  General  Court  assembled,  and  hy  the  authority  of  the  same.  That 
Thomas  Smith  Webb,  Amasa  Winchester,  Xathaniel  Tucker,  and 
Matthew  Stanley  Parker,  together  with  such  as  may  become  associated 
with  them,  and  their  successors,  be,  and  they  hereby  are,  incorporated 
and  made  a  body  politic  and  Corporation,  for  the  purpose  of  extending 
the  knowledge  and  improving  the  style  of  performance  of  Church 
music,  by  the  name  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society;  and  by  that 
name  they  may  sue  and  be  sued,  have  a  common  seal,  and  the  same 
at  pleasure  alter,  and  be  entitled  to  all  the  powers  and  privileges 
incident  to  aggregate  Corporations. 

Sec.  2.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  Corporation  shall  at 
their  first  or  some  subsequent  meeting  choose  a  President,  Treasurer, 
and  such  other  oflScers  as  they  may  deem  necessary  or  convenient  for 
the  government  and  regulation  of  said  Corporation  and  its  property. 
They  shall  have  the  power  to  make  standing  rules  or  by-laws  for  pre- 
scribing the  terms  of  olhce  and  duties  of  their  officers,  for  regulating 
the  terms  on  which  persons  may  be  admitted  and  continue  members 
of  the  Corporation,  and  generally  for  the  regulation  of  their  affairs. 

Sec.  3.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  Corporation  shall  be 
-capable  of  taking  and  holding  real  estate  not  exceeding  the  value  of 
fift}'  thousand  dollars,  and  personal  estate  not  exceeding  the  value  of 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  which  estate  shall  never  be  divided  among  the 
members  of  the  Corporation,  but  shall  descend  to  their  successors, 
subject  only  to  the  payment  of  the  just  debts  to  be  incurred  by  said 
Corporation. 

Sec.  4.  Be  it  further  enacted.  That  Thomas  Smith  Webb  shall  have 
power  to  call  the  first  meeting  of  said  Corporation,  by  appointing  a 
time  and  place  therefor,  and  giving  notice  thereof  to  the  other 
persons  named  and  incorporated  by  this  act. 


In  the  House  of  Eepresentatives,  February  7,  1816.     This  bill  having 
had  three  several  readings  passed  to  be  enacted. 

TIMOTHY  BIGELOW,  Sj^eakcr. 

In  Senate,  February  9,  1816.     This  bill  having  had  two  several  read- 
ings passed  to  be  enacted. 

JOHX  PHILLIPS,  President. 
February  [ith,  1816. 

Approved.  CALEB  STROXG. 

(1) 


BY-LA\VS,    1890 


AKTICLE   I. 

The  Government  of  the  Society  shall  consist  of  a  President,  Vice- 
President,  Secretary,  Treasurer,  Librarian,  and  eight  Directors,  who 
shall  together  constitute  a  Board  of  Management,  to  be  denominated 
"  The  Board  of  Government  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society." 

AKTICLE  IL 

There  shall  be  an  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Society  for  the  choice  of 
officers  and  for  the  transaction  of  business,  on  the  fourth  Monday  in 
May;  notice  of  such  meeting,  or  any  adjournment  thereof,  being  given 
by  publication  in  two  or  more  daily  papers  published  in  Boston,  and 
also  by  personal  notification  of  members  where  deemed  advisable. 

The  election  shall  be  by  ballot,  and  all  the  Directors  may  be  voted 
for  on  one  ticket.  No  person  shall  serve  as  a  Director  for  more  than 
three  years  in  succession.  In  case  the  Society  should  fail  to  choose 
any  of  its  officers  on  the  aforesaid  day,  the  meeting  may  be  adjourned 
from  time  to  time,  until  such  election  is  completed,  provided,  how- 
ever, that  no  more  than  two  weeks  shall  intervene  from  one  adjourn- 
ment to  another. 

Any  vacancy  occurring  in  the  Board  of  Government  may  be  filled 
by  the  Society  at  any  business  meeting,  notice  that  such  vacancy  is  to 
be  filled  being  advertised  in  the  same  manner  as  herein  provided  for 
calling  annual  or  special  meetings. 

AETICLE   III. 

Twenty  members  shall  constitute  a  quorum  of  the  Society  for  the 
transaction  of  business;  but  a  less  number  shall  be  competent  to  ad- 
journ for  business  to  a  day  certain. 

ARTICLE   IV. 

The  President  shall  preside  at  'Al  meetings  of  the  Society  and  of 
the  Board  of  Government.  At  all  meetings  for  the  performance 
of  music,  the  President  may  conduct  the  same,  or  a  suitable  Musical 
Director  may  be  appointed  at  the  discretion  of  the  Board. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President,  or  of  the   Secretary  if  the 

(2) 


BY-LAWS,    1890. 

President  shall  so  direct,  to  make  a  report  in  writing,  at  the  Annual 
Meeting,  of  the  operations  of  the  Society  for  the  preceding  year,  with 
such  suggestions  and  comments  as  the  best  interests  of  the  Society 
may  seem  to  require. 

ARTICLE    V. 

In  case  of  the  death,  resignation,  disability,  or  absence  of  the  Presi- 
dent, the  Yice-President  shall  perform  his  duties;  in  case  of  the  death, 
resignation,  disability,  or  absence  of  both  these  officers,  the  senior 
Director  shall  succeed  to  the  same  duties  ;  and,  in  the  absence  of  both 
President  and  Vice-President  at  any  meeting  of  the  Society  or  of  the 
Board  of  Government,  the  senior  Director  present  shall  preside. 
Senior,  as  here  used,  shall  mean  earliest  in  office  in  point  of  time; 
and,  if  at  any  time  this  definition  shall  apply  equally  to  two  or  more 
Directors,  then  as  among  such  Directors  seniority  in  age  shall  sfovern. 


ARTICLE   VL 

The  Board  of  Government  shall  superintend  the  prudential  affairs 
of  the  Society;  they  shall  have  power  to  judge  of  the  qualifications  of 
candidates  ;  to  select  music  for  performances  ;  to  provide  suitable 
accommodations  for  the  Society  ;  to  remit  arrearages  due  from  mem- 
bers, when,  in  their  opinion,  the  circumstances  of  such  members  re- 
quire it,  or  the  best  interests  of  the  Society  will  be  promoted  thereby; 
they  shall,  for  the  purposes  of  the  agreement  between  the  Handel  and 
Haydn  Society  of  the  one  part,  and  J.  Baxter  Upham,  .John  P.  Put- 
nam, and  !N"athaniel  Harris  of  the  other  part,  dated  May  28, 1866,  and 
creating  a  Permanent  Eund,  constitute  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the 
Corporation,  and  shall  have  power  to  transfer  such  surplus  moneys  of 
the  Society  as  may  not  be  needed  for  current  expenses  to  the  Trustees 
of  said  Permanent  Eund,  to  be  by  them  held  and  disposed  of  in 
accordance  with  the  terras  of  said  agreement  ;  and  shall  generally 
transact,  manage,  and  direct  ever3lhing  which  the  interests  of  the 
Society  may  in  their  judgment  demand,  which  is  not  specially  pro- 
vided for  in  these  articles.  It  shall  be  their  duty  to  assemble  together 
as  often  as  occasion  may  require,  and  the  necessary  expenses  incurred 
at  such  meetings  shall  be  defrayed  from  the  funds  of  the  Society. 


ARTICLE   VII. 

The  Secretary  shall  keep  a  record  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Society 
and  of  the  Board  of  Government,  give  all  necessary  notices  of  meet- 
ings, receive  all  moneys,  and  pay  the  same  over  to  the  Treasurer, 
taking  his  receipt  therefor,  and,  when  required  by  the  Board  of  Gov- 
ernment, shall  report  the  amount  of  such  payments. 

(3) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDX    SOCIETY. 


ARTICLE    VIII. 

The  Treasurer  shall  take  charge  of  the  Society's  funds,  and  when- 
ever required  shall  render  an  account  to  the  Board  of  Government  of 
all  moneys  received,  and  of  the  state  of  the  treasury.  He  shall,  at 
the  Annual  Meeting,  make  a  report  of  his  receipts  and  disbursements 
as  Treasurer,  which  report,  duly  audited,  shall  be  placed  on  the  files 
of  the  Society. 

ARTICLE    IX. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Librarian  to  keep  a  catalogue  of  the 
music  and  musical  instruments  belonging  to  the  Society,  and  to  have 
the  general  care  and  superintendence  of  the  library.  He  shall,  at  the 
Annual  Meeting  of  the  Society,  make  a  report  of  the  condition  of  the 
•property  under  his  care. 

ARTICLE   X. 

The  right  to  assess  or  tax  members  of  the  Society  for  any  purpose 
whatever  shall  rest  exclusively  with  the  Society,  and  the  Board  of 
Government  shall  in  no  case  exercise  this  power,  unless  authorized  so 
lo  do  by  a  special  resolution  of  the  Society. 


ARTICLE   XL 

Public  performances  of  sacred  music  may   be  given  whenever  the 
Board  of  Government  shall  determine. 


ARTICLE   XII. 

Meetings  of  the  Society  for  business  shall  be  holden  whenever  it  is 
deemed  expedient  by  the  President,  or  a  majority  of  the  Board  of 
Government,  or  whenever  twenty"  or  more  members  shall  make  a 
request  in  writing  to  the  President  therefor  ;  notice  of  such  business 
or  special  meeting  to  be  given  as  provided  in  Article  II.  There  shall 
be  weeklv  meetings  for  the  practice  of  music  ;  but  one  or  more  of 
them  may  be  omitted,  or  additional  ones  appointed,  whenever  th.- 
Board  of  Government  shall  so  order.  Rehearsal  may  be  suspended 
during  the  months  of  May,  June,  July,  August,  and  September,  at 
the  discretion  of  the  Board. 


ARTICLE    XIII. 

Ko  debate  or  discussion  of  any   question  shall  be  allowed  at  any 
meeting  held  for  the  practice  of  music. 


BY-LAWS,    1890. 


ARTICLE   XIV. 

Xo  person  shall  be  admitted  a  member  of  the  Society,  unless  he  be 
approved  by  the  Board  of  Government,  and  receive  at  least  three 
fourths  of  the  votes  of  all  the  members  present  and  voting  at  the 
time  he  is  balloted  for  ;  and  no  person  shall  be  entitled  to  any  of  the 
privileges  of  the  Society  until  he  shall  have  signed  the  by-laws  and 
paid  an  admission  fee  of  five  dollars  ;  and,  if  he  shall,  without  satis- 
factory excuse,  neglect  so  to  qualify  for  thirty  days  from  the  time  of 
his  election,  he  shall  be  considered  as  having  declined  to  become  a 
member. 

ARTICLE   XY. 

Two  thirds  of  the  members  present  at  any  business  meeting  shall  be 
competent  to  expel  any  member  who  shall  be  guilty  of  a  breach  of 
the  by-laws  of  the  Society,  or  of  any  misconduct  or  disorderly 
behavior. 

ARTICLE  XVI. 

Any  member  desirous  of  withdrawing  from  the  Society  shall  make 
known  his  desire,  in  writing,  to  the  Board  of  Government,  and  they 
shall  grant  his  request,  provided  he  shall  first  discharge  and  pay  all 
debts  that  may  be  due  from  him  to  the  Society. 


ARTICLE   XYII. 

Any  member  refusing  or  neglecting  for  the  space  of  three  months 
to  pay  money  due  from  him  to  the  Society,  shall,  at  the  discretion  of 
the  Board  of  Government,  forfeit  his  membership,  but  shall,  never- 
theless, be  liable  to  pay  all  such  arrears. 


ARTICLE  XYIII. 

Xo  member  of  the  Society,  except  an  officer,  or  member  of  twenty 
years'  standing,  or  member  retired  from  the  chorus  by  the  Board  of 
Government  under  Article  XIX,  when  present  at  any  public  perform- 
ance or  rehearsal,  shall  absent  himself  from  his  seat  in  the  choir,  on 
penalty  of  forfeiture  of  his  membership. 


ARTICLE  XIX. 

Any  member,  except  one  of  twenty  years'  standing,  or  one  retired 
from  the  chorus  by  the  Board  of  Government  as  hereinafter  provided, 
who  shall  absent  himself  from  the  meetings  of  the  Society  for  two 
successive  regular  rehearsals,  and  who  fails  to  give  to  the  Board  of 

(5) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HATDN    SOCIETY. 

Government,  through  the  Secretary,  or  the  Superintendent  of  his 
part  of  the  chorus,  a  satisfactory  excuse  for  his  absence,  may  be  sus- 
pended from  his  rights  and  privileges  by  a  vote  of  the  Board  of  Gov- 
ernment. 

The  Secretary  shall,  if  practicable,  notify  such  member  of  his 
suspension  ;  and  the  member  so  suspended  may,  upon  application  to 
the  Board  of  Government,  be  reinstated,  if  his  reasons  for  absence 
are  deemed  sufficient.  If  they  are  deemed  insufficient,  the  Board 
may  give  such  applicant  a  final  discharge,  either  honorable  or  dis- 
honorable, as  the  circumstances  of  the  case  may  warrant. 

The  Board  of  Government  may,  previous  to  any  concert  in  which 
the  Society  is  advertised  to  take  part,  suspend  from  participation  in 
such  concert  such  members  as  are,  in  their  opinion,  incompetent  to 
sing  the  music  to  be  performed. 

The  Board  of  Government  ma}^  permanently  retire  from  the  chorus 
any  members  that  are  not,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Board,  qualified  to 
sing  in  the  chorus.  No  member  shall  be  so  retired  until  he  has  been 
examined  or  had  an  opportunity  to  be  examined  in  such  manner  as 
the  Board  shall  determine. 

ARTICLE   XX. 

No  forfeiture  of  membership  shall  take  place  under  the  XVIIth, 
XVIIIth,  or  XlXth  Articles,  without  the  concurrence  of  a  majority 
of  the  whole  Board  of  Government;  and  in  each  case  of  forfeiture, 
the  member  shall  be  notified  thereof  by  the  Secretary  in  writing. 

ARTICLE   XXI. 

Any  member  of  the  Board  of  Government  who  shall  be  absent  from 
three  successive  meetings  of  the  Board,  without  giving  a  satisfactory 
excuse,  may  be  reported  to  the  Society  at  any  regular  meeting,  and 
the  Society  may  declare  his  seat  at  the  Board  vacant. 


ARTICLE   XXII. 

Any  member  who  has  belonged  to  the  Society  for  twenty  successive 
years,  or  who  has  been  retired  from  the  chorus  by  the  Board  of 
Government  under  Article  XIX,  shall  be  entitled  to  an  honorary 
ticket  instead  of  an  active  chorus  ticket.  An  honorary  ticket  shall 
admit  the  holder  to  all  rehearsals  and  concerts  of  the  Society,  but  not 
to  a  seat  in  the  chorus  at  concerts;  and  no  attendance  shall  be  required 
of  him.  A  twenty  years'  member,  though  having  previously  taken 
an  honorary  ticket,  may  at  any  time  exchange  it  for  a  chorus  ticket, 
unless  he  has  been  retired  from  the  chorus  by  the  Board  of  Govern- 
ment under  Article  XIX.     Except  as  otherwise  provided  herein  and 

(6) 


BY-LAAVS,    1890. 

in  Articles  XVIII  and  XIX,  a  twenty  years'  member  or  a  retired 
member  shall  retain  all  his  former  rights  and  privileges,  and  be  sub- 
ject to  all  other  liabilities  of  membership. 


ARTICLE  XXIII. 

The  Board  of  Government  may  admit  as  honorary  members  of  the 
Society  ^ch  persons  as  are  distinguished  for  their  love  of  music,  or 
their  zeal  for  the  promotion  of  the  objects  of  this  institution;  which 
honorary  members  shall  be  entitled  to  attend  all  the  Society's  re- 
hearsals and  public  performances,  but  shall  have  no  other  rights  or 
privileges  of  membership. 


ARTICLE   XXIV. 

These  articles  may  be  altered  or  amended  by  a  two  thirds  vote  of 
the  members  present  and  voting  thereon  at  any  legal  meeting  of  the 
Society;  the  proposed  amendments  or  alterations  having  been  read  at 
a  previous  meeting,  and  notice  of  the  same  having  been  given  in  the 
call  for  the  meeting. 


(7) 


DEED   OF   TRUST 

CREATING     A      PERMANENT      FUND 


This  agreement,  made  this  28th  day  of  May  A.  D.  1866,  by  and 
between  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  a  Corporation  created  by 
and  existing  under  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts, 
of  the  one  part,  and  J.  Baxter  Upham  and  John  P.  Putnam,  of  Boston 
in  the  County  of  Suffolk,  and  Xath'l  Harris,  of  Brookline  in  the 
County  of  Xorfolk,  in  said  Commonwealth,  of  the  second  part,  wit- 
nesseth:  — 

That,  whereas  the  said  Corporation  is  desirous  of  creating  for  its 
benefit  a  "  Permanent  Fund,"  the  foundation  of  which  shall  be  the 
net  proceeds  from  the  Great  Festival  of  May,  1865,  to  be  increased 
from  the  profits  of  future  concerts  and  festivals  and  from  the  dona- 
tions and  legacies  of  their  friends  and  patrons,  or  otherwise; 

And  whereas  the  parties  of  the  second  part  have  agreed  to  hold  the 
said  Fund,  with  its  future  income  and  increase,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
said  Corporation,  in  the  manner  hereinafter  specified: 

Xow,  therefore,  the  said  Corporation  do  hereby  give  and  transfer 
to  the  said  Upham,  Putnam,  and  Harris  the  sum  of  two  thousand  dol- 
lars, being  the  net  proceeds,  to  the  Society,  of  said  Festival,  and  its 
increase  up  to  this  present  time,  to  be  held  by  them,  the  said  Upham, 
Putnam,  and  Harris  and  their  successors,  in  trust,  for  the  following- 
uses  and  purposes,  to  wit:  — 

1st.  They  shall  invest  and  at  their  discretion  sell  and  re-invest  the 
said  sum  of  two  thousand  dollars  in  such  manner  and  at  such  times 
as  they  shall  deem  judicious.    » 

2nd.  They  shall  pay  over  the  annual  income  from  said  Fund  to  the 
said  Corporation,  if  the  said  Corporation  shall  notify  them  in  writing, 
ten  days  at  least  before  the  date  of  their  annual  meeting  in  each  year, 
of  their  wish  so  to  receive  it,  and  a  majority  of  the  Trustees  shall 
assent  thereto;  otherwise  they  shall  add  such  income  from  year  to 
year  to  the  "  Permanent  Fund,"  and  shall  invest  it  and  re-invest  it 
in  the  same  manner  as  is  above  provided  in  reference  to  the  principal. 

3rd.  They  shall  in  the  same  manner  invest  and  re-invest  and  dis- 
pose of  the  income  of  any  future  contributions  to  the  said  "  Perma- 
nent Fund  "  which  shallbe  made  from  time  to  time,  by  the  said  So- 
ciety, by  donations  from  its  friends  and  patrons,  by  legacies,  or  other- 
wise. 

4th.  They  shall  make  a  written  report  to  the  said  Corporation,  at 
its  annual  meeting,  of  the  condition  of  said  Fund,  with  such  details 
as  to  its  management  as  the  said  Corporation  shall  direct.  They  shall, 
if  required  by  the  said  Corporation,  give  satisfactory  bonds  for  the 
faithful  discharge  of  their  trust. 

5th.  The  President  of  the  said  Corporation,  for  the  time  being,  shall 
at  all  times  be  one  of  the  said  Trustees,  and  the  said  J.  Baxter  Upham, 

(S) 


DEED    OF    TRUST. 

the  now  President  of  the  Corporation,  shall  continue  one  of  said 
Trustees  so  long  as  he  shall  continue  to  be  such  President,  and  when- 
evei-  he  shall  cease  to  be  such  President,  his  duties  and  obligations  as 
one  of  the  said  Trustees  shall  cease,  and  whoever  shall  be  chosen  in 
his  place  as  President  of  the  said  Corporation,  shall  be  his  successor 
in  said  Trust,  and  shall  continue  such  until  another  shall  be  chosen 
such  President,  —  and  so  on,  so  long  as  this  Trust  shall  exist. 

The  other  two  Trustees  shall  continue  such  until  the  decease  or 
resignation  of  either  of  them,  and  in  case  of  such  decease  or  resigna- 
tionthe  vacancy  shall  be  filled  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  said  Cor- 
poration ;  —  provided  that  no  person  shall  be  elected  to  till  such  vacancy 
who  is  a  member  of  the  Corporation  other  than  the  President  afore- 
said. 

6th.  During  the  time  that  any  vacancy  exists  in  the  Board  of 
Trustees  the  remaining  Trustee  or  Trustees  shall  have  the  same 
power  as  though  the  Bolird  was  full. 

7th.  This  Trust  shall  continue  until  such  time  as  the  said  Corpora- 
tion, by  the  unanimous  vote  of  its  Board  of  Trustees  for  the  time  be- 
ing, and  a  majority  of  the  Trustees  of  the  '•  Permanent  Pund  "  shall 
revoke  it:  —  and,  in  such  event,  the  said  Trustees  shall  transfer  and 
convey  to  the  said  Corporation  all  the  property,  of  every  kind,  held  by 
them  in  trust,  —  the  same  to  be  thereafter  held  by  the  said  Corpora- 
tion absolutely,  for  its  own  use  and  benefit,  free  and  discharged  from 
all  trusts,  —  provided,  that  in  no  case  shall  this  Fund  ever  be  divided 
among  the  members  of  said  Corporation;  —  and  by  such  action  the 
said  Trustees,  and  each  of  them,  shall  be  released  and  discharged  from 
all  further  duties  or  liabilities  in  the  premises. 

8th.  And  the  said  Trustees,  parties  of  the  second  part,  hereb}-  sig- 
nify their  acceptance  of  said  Trust  and  hereby  agree  with  the  said 
Corporation  to  discharge  all  their  duties  and  obligations  herein  con- 
tained, to  the  best  of  their  judgment  and  discretion,  being  responsible 
only,  each  one,  for  his  own  wilful  neglect,  and  not  for  the  default  or 
neglect  of  either  of  his  associates. 

In  Testimony  of  all  which,  the  said  parties  have  hereto  set  their 
hands  and  seals  the  day  and  year  first  above  written,  the  said  Corpo- 
ration acting  herein  by  Loring  B.  Barnes,  its  Secretary,  thereto  duly- 
authorized  by  a  vote  of  the  Corporation. 

fxT    /r^°/'^'  .  1         HAXDEL  AND    HAYDX   SOCIETY, 

I    Handel  and  Haydn  ' 

L        Society.  J  By  LoRiNG  B.  Barxes,  Secty . 

[SEAL]  .J.    BAXTEE   UPHAM    J 

[SEAL]  J.    p.    PUTXAM  (     Trustees. 

[SEAL]  XATH'L  HAERIS  \ 


SUBSEQUENT  TRUSTEES. 

May  16,   1881.     Henry    P.    Kidder,   vice  Nathaniel  Harris,  de- 
ceased. 

Sept.  11,  1882.     Henry    L     Higginson,   vice  John  P.   Putnam, 
deceased. 

April  15,  1886.     Oliver    W.    Peabody,  vice  Henry  P.    Kidder, 
deceased. 

(9) 


OFFICERS 


1815  (April) 
Pres.  Thomas  Smith  Webb.  i    Sec.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 

V.  Pres.  Amasa  Winchester.  Treas.  Nathaniel  Tucker. 

Trustees.  Elnathau  Duren,  Benjamin  Holt,  Joseph  Bailey,  Charles 
Nolen,  Ebenezer  Withington,  John  Dodd,  Jacob  Guild,  William  K.  Phipps, 
Samuel  H.  Parker. 


1815  (September) 


Pres.  Thomas  Smith  Webb. 
V.  Pres.  Amasa  Winchester. 


Sec.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 
Treas.  Nathaniel  Tucker. 


Trustees.  Elnathan  Duren,  Benjamin  Holt,  Joseph  Bailey,  Charles 
Nolen,  John  Dodd,  Ebenezer  Withington,  Jacob  Guild,  William  K.  Phipps, 
Jonathan  Huntington. 

1816 
Pres.  Thomas  Smith  Webb.  |   Sec.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 

V.  Pres.  Amasa  Winchester.  Treas.  Nathaniel  Tucker. 

Trustees.  Elnathan  Duren,  Benjamin  Holt,  Joseph  Bailey,  John  Dodd, 
Ebenezer  Withington,  Jacob  Guild,  Jonathan  Huntington,  William  Row- 
son,  Otis  Everett. 


1817 


Pres.  Benja^iin  Holt. 
V.  Pres.  Joseph  Bailey. 


Sec.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 
Treas.  Nathaniel  Tucker. 


Trustees.  Amasa  Winchester,  John  Dodd,  Jacob  Guild,  Jonathan 
Huntington,  William  Rowson,  Otis  Everett,  Ebenezer  Frothingham,  Luke 
Hemmenwav,  William  Coffin,  Jr. 


1818 


Pres.  Ben.jamin  Holt. 

V.  Pres.  Amasa  Winchester. 


Sec.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 
Treas.  Nathaniel  Tucker. 


Trustees.  Joseph  Bailey,  John  Dodd,  Jacob  Guild,  Jonathan  Hunting- 
ton, William  Rowson,  Otis  Everett,  Luke  Hemmenway,  William  Coffin, 
Jr.,  Ebenezer  Frothingham. 

1819 

Pres.  Amasa  Winchester.  j    Sec.  Joseph  Lewis. 

V.  Pres.  John  Dodd.  !    Treas.  Ebenezer  Frothingham. 

Trustees.  Benjamin  Holt,  Jacob  Guild,  Nathaniel  Tucker,  Matthew  S. 
Parker,  Jonathan  Huntington,  William  Rowson,  Otis  Everett,  William 
Coffin,  Jr.,  Robert  Rogerson. 

(10) 


OFFICERS. 

1820 

Prei<.  Amasa  Winchester.  Sec.  JosEPri  Lewis. 

V.  Fres.  John  Dodd.  Treas.  Ebknezek  Frothingham. 

Trustees.  Benjamin  Holt,  Jacob  Guild.  Nathaniel  Tucker,  Matthew  S. 
Parker,  Jonathan  Huntington,  William  Rowson,  Otis  Everett,  William 
Coffin,  Jr.,  Robert  Rogerson. 

1821 
Pres.  Amasa  Winchester.  j    Sec.  Joseph  Lewis. 

V.  Pres.  John  Dodd.  Treas.  Ebenezer  Frothingham. 

Trustees,  Benjamin  Holt,  Jacob  Guild,  Nathaniel  Tucker,  Matthew  S. 
Parker,  William  Rowson,  Otis  Everett,  AVilliam  Coffin,  Jr..  Hobert  Roger- 
son,  Allen  Whitman. 

1822 

Pres.  Amasa  Winchester.  |    Sec.  Joseph  Lewis. 

V.  Pres.  John  Dodd.  Treas.  Ebenezer  Frothingilim. 

Trustees.  Benjamin  Holt,  Jacob  Guild,  Matthew  S.  Parker,  William 
Rowson,  Otis  Everett,  William  Coffin,  Jr.,  Robert  Rogerson,  Allen  Whit- 
man, Nathaniel  Ford. 

1823 


Pres.  Robert  Rogerson. 
V.  Pres.  Joseph  Bailey. 


Sec.  Joseph  Lewis. 

Treas.  Willloi  Coffin.  Jr. 


Trustees.  Amasa  Winchester,  John  Dodd,  Benjamin  Holt,  Matthew  S. 
Parker,  William  Rowson,  Otis  Everett,  Allen  Whitman,  Nathaniel  Ford, 
Ebenezer  Frothingham. 

1824 

*Pres. .  j    Sec.  Joseph  Lewis. 

V.  Pres.  Joshua  Stone.  Treas.  William  Coffin,  Jr. 

Trustees.  Matthew  S.  Parker,  Otis  Everett,  William  Rowson,  Allen 
Whitman,  Nathaniel  Ford,  Ebenezer  Frothingham,  James  Sharp.  Joshua 
Vose,  Samuel  Sanger. 

1825 
Pres.  Amasa  Winchester.  1    Sec.  Joseph  Lewis. 

V.  Pres.  Joshua  Stone.  |    Treas.  William  Coffin.  Jr. 

Trustees.  Matthew  S.  Parker,  John  Dodd,  Otis  Everett,  Allen  Whit- 
man, Samuel  Sanger,  James  Sharp,  Joshua  Yose,  Nathaniel  Ford.  Bela 
Hunting. 

1826 

Pres.  Amasa  Winchester.  Sec.  Joseph  Lewis. 

F.  Pres.  John  Dodd.  |    Treas.  Willia:m  Coffin. 

Trustees.  Matthew  S.  Parker,  Otis  Everett,  Allen  Whitman,  Nathaniel 
Ford,  Samuel  Sanger,  James  Sharp,  Joshua  Vose,  Bela  Hunting,  Samuel 
Richardson. 

*  Ainaea  Winchester  was  elected,  but  he  decliued,  and  the  vacancy  was  not  filled. 

(11 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

1827 

Pres.  Lowell  Mason.  Sec.  Joseph  Lewis.       * 

V.  Pres.  John  Dodd.  Treas.  William  Coffin. 

Trustees.  Amasa  Winchester,  James  Sharp,  Sarauel  Richardson,  Mat- 
thew S.  Parker,  Beia  Hunting,  Allen  Whitman,  Joshua  Vose,  Samuel 
Topliff,  Samuel  Sanger. 

1828 

Pres.  Lowell  Mason.  I    Sec.  Joseph  Lewis. 

V.  Pres.  James  Sharp.  Treas.  William  Coffin. 

Trustees.  Matthew  S.  Parker,  Increase  S.  Withington,  Allen  Whitman, 
Bela  Hunting,  Christopher  Gore,  Samuel  H.  Jenks,  James  Clark,  John  H, 
Pray,  Jubal  Howe. 

1829 
Pres.  Lowell  Mason.  Sec.  Joseph  Lewis. 

V.  Pres.  Samuel  Richardson.  Treas.  William  Coffin. 

Trustees.  James  Sharp,  Matthew  S.  Parker,  Increase  S.  Withington, 
Samuel  H.  Jenks,  Bela  Hunting,  James  Clark,  John  H.  Pray,  Jubal  Howe, 
George  W.  Edmands. 

1830 
Pi-es.  Lowell  Mason.  I    Sec.  Joseph  Lewis. 

V.  Pres.  Sa:muel  Richardson.  |    Treas.  William  Coffin. 

Trustees.  James  Sharp,  Matthew  S.  Parker,  Increase  S.  Withington, 
Samuel  H.  Jenks,  James  Clark,  Bela  Hunting,  John  H.  Pray,  Jeremiah 
Washburn,  George  W.  Edmands. 


1831 


Pres.  Lowell  Mason. 

V.  Pres.  Increase  S.  Withington. 


Sec.  Joseph  Lewis. 
Treas.  Willl\m  Coffin. 


Trustees.  James  Sharp,  Jeremiah  Washburn,  George  W.  Edmands, 
John  G.  Brown,  John  G.  Roberts,  Jonas  Chickering,  George  Bacon,  Fran- 
cis C.  Whiston,  Lorenzo  S.  Cragin. 

1832 

Pres.  Samuel  Richardson.  Sec.  Joseph  Lewls. 

V.  Pres.  Charles  W.  Lovett.  i    Treas.  William  Coffin. 

Trustees.  Lowell  Mason,  Jeremiah  Washburn,  Jonas  Chickering,  John 
G.  Roberts,  George  Bacon,  Nathaniel  Clark,  John  G.  Brown,  Matthew  S. 
Parker,  Jonathan  Bowditch,  Jr. 


1833 


Pres.  Samuel  Richardson. 
V.  Pres.  Charles  W.  Lovett. 


Sec.  Joseph  Lewis. 
Treas.  William  Coffin. 


Trustees.  Jonas  Chickering,  John  G.  Roberts,  George  Bacon,  Nathaniel 
Clark,  John  G.  Brown,  Matthew  S.  Parker,  Jonathan  Bowditch,  Jr.,  George 
AV.  Edmands,  John  H.  Pray. 

(12) 


Officers. 

1834 


Fres.  Charles  W.  Lovett. 
V.  Pres.  Jonas  Chickering. 


Sec.  Joseph  Lewis. 
Treas.  William  Coffin. 


Trustees.  Matthew  S.  Parker,  Jonathan  Bowditch,  Jr.,  Nathaniel 
Clark,  Abner  Bourne,  James  Sharp,  James  Clark,  Martin  Wilder,  Calvin 
Bullard,  Jubal  Howe. 

1835 


Pres.  Charles  W.  Lovett. 
V.  Pres.  Jonas  Chickering. 


Sec.  Allen  Whitman. 
Treas.  William  Coffin. 


^Trustees.    James  Sharp,  James  Clark,  Calvin  Bullard,  Martin  Wilder, 
Silas  P.  Meriam,  William  Learnard,  Isaac  K.  Wise,  John  Bigelow. 


1836 


Pres.  Bartholomew  Brown. 
V.  Pres.  George  James  Webb. 


Sec.  J.  Hill  Belcher. 
Treas.  Abner  Bourne. 


Trustees.  John  Dodd,  William  Coffin,  Jeremiah  Washburn,  John  G. 
Roberts,  Silas  P.  Meriam,  Nathaniel  Claik,  Jonathan  Bowditch,  Jr.,  Calvin 
Bullard,  Isaac  K.  Wise. 

1837 


Pres.  George  James  Webb. 
V.  Pres.  Jonas  Chickering. 


Sec.  William  Learnard. 
2'reas.  Abner  Bourne. 


Trustees.  John  Dodd,  James  Clark,  William  Coffin,  Jeremiah  Wash- 
burn, George  W.  Edmands,  Silas  P.  Meriam,  Nathaniel  Clark,  John  G. 
Roberts,  Jubal  Howe. 

1838 


Pres.  Charles  Zeuner. 

V.  Pres.  Ephraim  L.  Frothingham. 


Sec.  William  Learnard. 
Tineas.  Abner  Bourne. 


Trustees.  John  Dodd,  Nathaniel  Clark,  Jeremiah  Washburn,  William 
Coffin,  Matthew  S.  Parker,  John  H.  Pray,  George  W.  Edmands,  George 
Hews,  John  G.  Roberts. 

1839 

Sec.  William  Learnard. 


Pres.  Increase  S.  Withington. 
V.  Pres.  George  Hews. 


Treas.  Abner  Bourne. 


Trustees.  Matthew  S.  Parker,  John  H.  Pray,  George  W.  Edmands,  John 
Bigelow,  Benjamin  C.  Harris,  David  Tillson,  Ezra  Weston,  Jr.,  Silas  P. 
Meriam,  Isaac  Gary. 

1840 

Sec.  William  Learnard. 


Pres.  George  James  Webb 
V.  Pres.  George  Hews. 


\  Treas.  Abner  Bourne. 


XTrustees.  Increase  S.  Withington,  Matthew  S.  Parker,  John  H.  Pray, 
John  Bigelow,  Benjamin  C.  Harris,  David  Tillson,  Ezra  Weston,  Jr.,  Silas 
P.  Meriam,  I>aac  Gary. 

*  Joseph  Clark  was  elected,  but  he  declined  acting,  and  never  met  with  the  board. 

t  July  21,  1840,  Matthew  8.  Parker  was  elected  in  place  of  Abner  Bourne,  (ieceased. 

I  July  21, 1840,  John  F.  Payson  was  elected  in  place  of  Matthew  S,  Parker,  elected  treasurer. 

(13) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


Pres.  George  James  Webb. 
V.  Pres.  Gkorge  Hews. 


1841 

Sec.  William  Learnard. 
Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 


Trustees.  Increase  S.  Withington,  David  Tillson,  Silas  P.  Merinm, 
Isaac  Cary,  John  F.  Payson,  Samuel  Topliff,  Eber  Taylor,  Dexter  W.  Wis- 
well,  Lorenzo  S.  Cragin. 

1842 


Pres.  James  Clark. 

V.  Pres.  George  Hews. 


Sec.  William  Learnard. 
Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 


Trustees.  Lorenzo  S.  Cragin,  John  F.  Payson,  Samuel  Toplift;  Eber 
Taylor,  Dexter  W.  Wiswell,  Abraham  O.  Bigelow,  George  W.  Lloya, 
George  AV.  Edmands,  Jonathan  E.  Hazelton. 


1843 


Pres.  Jonas  Chickerixg. 

V.  Pres.  Josiah  Q.  Wetherbee. 


Sec.  Abraham  O.  Bigelow. 
Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parkkr. 


Trustees.  Lorenzo  S.  Cragin,  Samuel  Topliff,  Eber  Taylor,  Dexter  W. 
Wiswell,  George  W.  Edmands,  Jonathan  E.  Hazelton,  N.  Gushing  Byiam, 
John  G.  Faxon,  Silas  P.  Meriam. 

1844 

Pres.  Jonas  Chickering.  Sec.  Abraham  0.  Bigelow. 

V.  Pres.  Benjamin  F.  Baker.  Treas.  Matthew  S.  Pa^rker. 

Trustees.  James  Clark,  Samuel  Richardson,  George  W.  Edmands,  Silas 
P.  Meriam,  John  H.  Pray,  Jonathan  E.  Hazelton,  N.  Gushing  By  ram, 
Marshall  Johnson,  Jr.,  John  G.  Faxon. 

1845 

Pres.  Jonas  Chickering.  Sec.  Abraham  O.  Bigelow. 

V.  Pres.  Bf:njamin'  F.  Baker.  i    Treas.  Matthew  S.  Pakker. 

Trustees.  James  Clark,  Samuel  Richardson,  John  H.  Pray,  Silas  P. 
Meriam,  Marshall  Johnson,  Jr.,  X.  Gushing  Byram,  John  Dodd,  James  L. 
Oliver,  Josiah  L.  Fairbanks. 

1846 


Pres.  Jonas  Chickering. 

V.  Pres.  Bknjamin  F.  Baker. 


Sec.  Abraham  O.  Bigelow. 
Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 


Trustees.  James  Clark,  Samuel  Richardson,  John  H.  Pray,  John  Dodd, 
Josiah  L.  Fairbanks,  Jonathan  E.  Hazelton,  James  S.  Sweet,  David  Carter, 
Alfred  H.  Pratt. 

1847 


Pres.  Jonas  Chickering. 
V.  Pres.  Benjamin  F.  Baker. 


Sec.  Joseph  G.  Oakes. 
Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parkkr . 


Trustees.  John  Dodd,  David  Carter,  Josiah  L.  Fairbanks,  Jonathan  E. 
Hazelton,  James  S.  Sweet,  Abraham  0.  Bigelow,  Silas  P.  Meriam,  George 
Hews,  Thomas  Ball. 

(14) 


OFFICERS. 
1848 


Pres.  Jonas  Chickering. 

V.  Pres.  Benjamin  F.  Baker. 


Sec.  Joseph  G.  Oakes. 
Treas.  Matthew  S.  Pakkkh. 


Trustees.  Jonathan  E.  Hazelton,  James  S.  Sweet,  Abraham  O.  Bigelow, 
Silas  P.  Meriam,  George  Hews,  Thomas  Ball,  Samuel  C.  Ware,  Harvey 
Jewell,  Dexter  W.  Wiswell. 

1849 


Pres.  Jonas  Chickering. 

V.  Pres.  Benjamin  F.   Baker. 


Sec.  Joseph  G.  Oakes. 
Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parkkr. 


Trustees.  Abraham  O.  Bigelow,  Silas  P.  Meriam,  George  Hews,  Dex- 
ter W.  Wiswell,  Harvey  Jewell,  Samuel  C.  Ware,  John  Dodd,  Josiah  L. 
Fairbanks,  N.  Gushing  Byram. 

1850 

Pres.  Charles  C  Perkins.  j    Sec.  Joseph  G.  Oakes. 

V.  Pres.  Abraham  O.  Bigelow.        1    Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 

Trustees.  John  Dodd,  John  S.  Farlow,  Isaac  Gary,  Josiah  L.  Fairbanks, 
Thomas  B.  Frothingham,  John  G.  Hovey,  Harvey  Jewell,  Dexter  W.  Wis- 
well, Samuel  C.  A\'are. 

1851 
Pres.  Abraham  O.  Bigelow.  Sec.  Joseph  G.  Oakes. 

V.  Pres.  John  S.  Farlow.  Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 

Trustees.  John  Dodd,  Josiah  L.  Fairbanks,  Thomas  B.  Frothingham, 
John  G.  Hovey,  Henry  Pierce,  Charles  P.  Adams,  Horace  L.  Hazelton, 
John  A.  Nowell,  Oren  J.  Faxon. 


1852 


Pres.  Silas  P.  Meriam. 
V.  Pres.  John  Dodd. 


Sec.  Josiah  L.  Fairbanks. 
Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 


Trustees.  Thomas  B.  Frothingham,  Oren  J.  Faxon,  Charles  P.  Adams, 
John  A.  Nowell,  Horace  L.  Hazelton,  John  F.  Payson,  John  H.  Pray, 
George  Hews,  J.  Haskell  Long. 

1853 

Pres.  Silas  P.  Meriam.  I   Sec.  Josiah  L.  Fairbanks. 

V.  Pres.  John  Dodd.  I    Treas.  Mattheav  S.  Parker. 

Trustees.  Oren  J.  Faxon,  Charles  P.  Adams,  John  A.  Nowell,  Horace 
L.  Hazelton,  John  F.  Payson,  John  H.  Pray,  George  Hews,  J.  Haskell 
Long,  Loring  B.  Barnes. 

1854 
Pres.  Josiah  L.  Fairbanks.  |    Sec.  Horace  L.  Hazelton. 

V.  Pres.  George  Hew^s.  |    Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 

Trustees.  John  H.  Pray,  John  F.  Payson,  J.  Haskell  Long,  Loring  B. 
Barnes,  John  Dodd,  Irving  I.  Harwood,  Joseph  H.  Ward,  Edward  Faxon, 
George  W.  Hunnewell. 

(15) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


1855 


Pres.  John  S.  Farlow. 
V.  Pres.  George  Hews. 


Sec.  Horace  L.  Hazeltox. 
Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 


Lihr'n.  Oren  J.  Faxon. 


Trustees.  Joseph  H.  Ward,  Loring  B.  Barnes,  George  W.  Hunnewell, 
Edward  Faxon,  Irving  I.Harwood,  Silas  P.  Meriam,  Abraham  O.  Bigelow, 
Dexter  W.  Wiswell. 


1856 


Pres.  C.  Francis  Chickering. 
V.  Pres.  George  Hews. 


Sec.  Loring  B.  Barnes. 
Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 


Libr'n.  Oren  J.  Faxon. 

Trustees.  Horace  L.  Hazelton,  John  S.  Farlow,  Joseph  H.  Ward, 
George  W.  Hunnewell,  Edward  Faxon,  Dexter  W.  Wiswell,  Abraham  O. 
Bigelow,  James  P.  Draper. 

1857 

Pres.  C.  Francis  Chickering.  \    Sec.  Loring  B.  Barnes. 

V.  Pres.  George  Hews.  \    Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 

Lihfn.  Edward  Faxon. 

Trustees.  John  S.  Farlow,  Horace  L.  Hazelton,  Abraham  O.  Bigelow, 
James  P.  Draper,  Dexter  W.  Wiswell,  Oren  J.  Faxon,  George  H.  Chicker- 
ing, Theron  J.  Dale. 

1858 


Pres.  Thomas  E.  Chickering. 
V.  Pres.  George  Hews. 


Sec.  Loring  B.  Barnes. 
Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 


Libr'n.  Edward  Faxon. 

Trustees.  John  S.  Farlow,  James  P.  Draper,  Theron  J.  Dale,  George 
H.  Chickering,  Oren  J.  Faxon,  John  A.  Nowell,  George  Fisher,  Horace  L. 
Hazelton. 


1859 


Pres.  Thomas  E.  Chickering 
V.  Pres.  Oren  J.  Faxon. 


Sec.  Loring  B.  Barnes. 
Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 

Libr'n.  George  H.  Chickering. 

Trustees.  Theron  J.  Dale,  John  A.  Nowell,  George  Fisher,  George  W. 
Hunnewell,  Thomas  D.  Morris,  Theophilus  Stover,  Joseph  W.  Foster, 
Ephraim  Wildes. 

1860 
Pres.  Thomas  E.  Chickering.  I    Sec.  Loring  B.  Barnes. 

V.  Pres.  Oren  J.  Faxon.  Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 

Libr'n.  George  II.  Chickering. 

Trustees.  George  Fisher,  John  A.  Nowell,  George  W.  Hunnewell, 
Thomas  D.  Morris,  Theophilus  Stover,  Ephraim  Wildes,  George  W. 
Palmer,  James  Rice. 

(16) 


OFFICERS. 

1861 
Pres.  J.  Baxter  Upham.  Sec.  Lorixg  B.  Barnes. 

V.  Pres.  Oren  J.  Faxon.  !    Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 

Lihr'n.  George  H.  Chickering. 

Trustees.  George  W.  Hunnewell.  Thomas  D.  Morris.  TheopMus 
Stover,  Ephraim  ^yildes,  George  W.  Palmer,  James  Rice,  William  Hawes, 
H.  Faruam  Smith. 

1862 

Pres.  J.  Baxter  Uph.oi.  Sec.  Lorixg  B.  Barxes. 

r.  Pres.  Orex  J.  Faxox.  Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 

Lihr'n.  George  H.  Chickering. 

Trustees.  George  W.  Palmer,  James  Rice,  William  Hawes,  H.  Farnam 
Smith,  George  P.  Carter,  Isaac  Woodward,  William  0.  Perkins,  S.Lothrop 
Thorudike. 

1863 
Pres.  J.  Baxter  Tpham.  Sec.  Lorixg  B.  Barxes. 

V.  Pres.  Orex  J.  Faxox.  Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 

Lihr'n.  George  H.  Chickerixg. 

Trustees.  William  Hawes,  H.  Farnam  Smith,  George  P.  Carter,  Isaac 
Woodward,  William  O.  Perkins,  S.  Lothrop  Thorndike,  Edward  Faxon, 
George  Fisher. 

1864 

Pres.  J.  Baxter  Upham.  Se^.  Lorixg  B.  Barxes. 

T^  Pres.  Orex  J.  Faxox.  Treas.  Matthew  S.  Parker. 

Libra.  George  H.  Chickering. 

Trustees.  George  P.  Carter,  Isaac  Woodward.  William  O.  Perkins, 
S.  Lothrop  Thorndike,  Edward  Faxon,  George  Fisher,  George  W.  Palmer, 
John  S.  Sawyer. 

1865 
Pres.  J.  Baxter  Upham.  Sec.  Lorixg  B.  Barxes. 

V.  Pres.  Orex  J.  Faxox.  Treas.  Matthkw  S.  Parker. 

Lihr'n.  George  H.  Chickerixg. 

Trustees.  Edward  Faxon,  George  Fisher,  George  W.  Palmer,  John  S. 
Sawyer,  Charles  H.  JohusoQ.  Frank  X.  Scott.  O.  Frank  Clark,  George 
Hews. 

1866 
Pres.  J.  Baxter  Upham.  j   Sec.  Lorixg  B.  Barxes. 

V.  Pres.  Orex  J.  Faxon.  Treas.  Peorge  W.  Palmer. 

Lihr'n.  George  II.  Chickerixg. 

Trustees.  .John  S.  Sawyer,  George  Hews,  Charles  H.  Johnson,  Frank 
X.  Scott.  O.  Frank  Clark,  S.  Lothrop  Thorndike,  Levi  W.  Johnson,  John 
A.  Nowell. 

(17) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


1867 


Pres.  J.  Baxter  Upham. 
V.  Pres.  Oren  J.  Faxon. 


S(^c.  LoRiNG  B.  Barnes. 
Treas.  George  W.  Palmer. 


Libfn.  George  H.  Chickering. 

Directors.  O.  Frank  Clark,  Theophilus  Stover,  Charles  H.  Webb,  D. 
Lyman  Laws,  Ellery  C  Daniell,  Robert  M.  Lowell,  Stephen  Somes,  Oliver 
B.  Lothrop. 

1868 
Pres.  J.  Baxter  Upham.  1   Sec.  Loring  B.  Barnes. 

V.  Pres.  Oren  J.  Faxon.  Treas.  George  W.  Palmer. 

Lihfn.  George  H.  Chickering. 

Directors.  Theophilus  Stover,  D.  Lyman  Laws,  Ellery  C.  Daniell, 
Robert  M.  Lowell,  Oliver  B.  Lothrop,  George  Fisher,  Samuel  Jennison, 
Levi  W.  Johnson. 

1869 
Pres.  J.  Baxter  Upham.  |   Sec.  Loring  B.  Barnes. 

F.  Pres.  Oren  J.  Faxon.  Treas.  George  W.  Palmer. 

Lihfn.  George  H.  Chickering. 

Directors.  D.  Lyman  Laws,  Ellery  C.  Daniell,  Robert  M.  Lowell, 
Oliver  B.  Lothrop,  George  Fisher,  Samuel  Jennison,  Levi  W.  Johnson, 
William  H.  Wadleigh. 

1870 


Pres.  J.  Baxter  Upham. 

V.  Pres.  S.  Lothrop  Thorndike. 


Sec.  Loring  B.  Barnes. 
Treas.  George  W.  Palmer. 


Libr'n.  George  H.  Chickering. 

Directors.  Samuel  Jennison,  George  Fisher,  Levi  W.  Johnson,  A. 
Parker  Browne,  Edward  Faxon,  T.  Frank  Reed,  Charles  H.  Johnson, 
William  O.  Perkins. 


1871 


Pres.  Loring  B.  Barnes. 

V.  Pres.  George  H.  Chickering 

Libr'n.  Charles  H.  Johnson. 


Sec.  A.  Parker  Browne. 
Treas.  George  W.  Palmer. 


Directors  Edward  Faxon,  T.  Frank  Reed,  William  O.Perkins,  Horace 
B.  Fisher,  W.  Dexter  Wiswell,  William  H.  Wadleigh,  William  F.  Brad- 
bury, Curtis  Brown. 

1872 
Pres.  Loring  B.  Barnes.  |   Sec.  A.  Parker  Browne. 

F.  Pres.  George  H.  Chickering.        Treas.  George  W.  Palmer. 

Libr'n.  Ch^vrles  H.  Johnson.  , 

Directors.  William  F.  Bradbury,  Curtis  Brown,  W.  Dexter  Wiswell 
Horace  B.  Fisher,  D.  Lyman  Laws,  John  H.  Stickney,  Edward  Faxon, 
George  W.  Warren. 

(18) 


OFFICERS. 

1873 

Pi-es.  LoRiNG  B.  Barnks.  I   Sec.  A.  Parkeii  Browne. 

V.  Pres.  George  H.  Chickering.        Treas.  George  W.  Palmer. 

Libr'n.  Charles  H.  Johnson. 


Directors.  John  H.  Stickney,  Horace  B.  Fisher,  William  F.  Bradbury, 
W.  Dexter  Wiswell,  D.  Lyman  Laws,  Curtis  Brown,  George  W.  Warren, 
William  O.  Perkins. 

1874 

Pres.  LoRiNG  B.  Barnes.  I    Sec.  A.  Parker  Buowxe. 

V.  Pres.  George  H.  Chickering.     !    Treas.  George  W.  Palmer. 

Lihfn.  William  F.  Bradbury. 

Directors.  John  H.  Stickney,  D.  Lyman  Laws,  William  O.  Perkins, 
George  W.  Warren,  M.  Grant  Daniell,  Richard  Beeching,  John  S.  Sawyer, 
Francis  H.  Jenks. 

1875 
Pres.  Charles  C.  Perkins.  i    Sec.  A.  Parker  Browne. 

V.  Pres.  George  H.  Chickering.     \    Treas.  George  W.  Palmer. 

Libr'n.  John  H.  Stickney. 

Directors.  William  O.  Perkins,  John  S.  Sawyer,  Richard  Beeching, 
Francis  H.  Jenks,  M.  Grant  Daniell,  Arthur  H.  Wilson,  William  F.  Brad- 
bury, George  T.  Brown. 

1876 

Pres.  Charles  C.  Perkins.  Sec.  A.  Parker  Browne. 

V.  Pres.  George  H.  Chickkring.        Treas.  George  W.  Palmer. 

Libr'n.  John  H.  Stickney. 

Directors.  John  S.  Sawyer,  Richard  Beeching,  Francis  H.  Jenks, 
William  F.  Bradbury,  M.  Grant  Daniell,  Arthur  H.  Wilson,  George  T. 
Brown,  John  D.  Andrews. 

1877 

Pres.  Charles  C.  Perkins.  :    Sec.  A.  Parker  Browne. 

V.  Pres.  George  H.  Chickering.        Treas.  George  W.  Palmer. 

Libr'n.  John  H.  Stickney. 

Directors.  George  T.  Brown,  John  D.  Andrews,  William  F.  Bradbury, 
Arthur  H.  Wilson,  Albert  K.  Hebard,  Henry  G.  Carey,  John  A.  Pray, 
Roger  S.  Rundlett. 


1878 


Pres.  Charles  C.  Perkins. 

V.  Pres.  Georgk  H.  Chickering. 


Sec.  A.  Parker  .Browne. 
Treas.  Georgk  W.  Palmer. 


Libr'n.  John  H.  Stickney. 

Directors.  John  D.  Andrews,  Henry  G.  Carey,  Albert  K.  Hebard, 
Roger  S.  Rundlett,  John  A.  Pray,  M.  Grant  Daniell,  Francis  H.  Jenks, 
George  F.  Milliken. 

(19) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

1879 

Pres.  Charles  C.  Perkins.  Sec.  A.  Pahkeu  Browne. 

V.  Pres.  George  H.  Chickehing,         Treas.  George  AV.  Palmer. 

Librn.  John  H.  Stickney. 

Directors.  M.  Grant  Daniell,  Henry  G.  Carey,  Albert  K.  Hebard, 
Roger  S.  Riindlett,  George  F.  Milliken,  Francis  H.  Jenks,  John  A.  Pray, 
Henry  M.  Brown. 

1880 
Pres.  Charles  C.  Perkins.  Sec.  A.  Parker  Browne. 

T".  Pres.  George  H.  Chickering.        Trerts.  George  W.  Palmer. 

Lihrn.  John  H.  Stickney. 

Directors.  Henry  ;M.  Brown,  M.  Grant  Daniell,  Francis  H.  Jenks, 
George  F.  Milliken,  George  T.  Brown,  Eugene  B.  Hagar,  William  S. 
Fenollosa,  Josiah  Wheelwright. 

1881 

Pi^es.  Charles  C.  Perkins.  I    Sec.  A.  Parker  Browne. 

V.  Pres.  George  H.  Chickering.     |    Treas.  George  W.  Palmer. 

Lihr'n.  John  H.  Stickney'. 

Directors.  George  T.  Brown,  Josiah  Wheelwright,  Henry  M.  Brown, 
Eugene  B.  Hagar,  William  S.  Fenollosa,  D.  Lyman  Laws,  John  D. 
Andrews,  Roger  S.  Rundlett. 

1882 

Pres.  Charles  C.  Perkins.  Sec.  A.  Parker  Browne. 

V.  Pres.  George  H.  Chickering.        Treas.  M.  Grant  Daniell. 

Lihfti.  John  H.  Stickney. 

Directors.  John  13.  Andrews,  William  F.  Bradbury,  George  T.  Brown, 
William  S.  Fenollosa,  Eugene  B.  Hagar,  D.  Lyman  Laws,  Roger  S.  Rund- 
lett. Josiah  Wheelwright. 

1883 
Pres.  Charles  C.  Perkins.  Sec.  Eugene  B.  Hagar. 

T^.  Pres.  George  H.  Chickering.         Treas.  M.  Grant  Daniell. 

Lihfn.  John  H.  Stickney. 

Directors.  Roger  S.  Rundlett.  D.  Lyman  Laws,  John  D.  Andrews, 
Henry  G.  Carey,  George  F.  Daniels,  A.  Parker  Browne,  Francis  H.  Jenks, 
Charles  W.  Stone. 

1884 

Pres.  Charles  C.  Perkins.  Sec.  Eugene  B.  Hagar. 

V.  Pres.  George  H.  Chickering.     |    Treas.  M.  Grant  Daniell. 
Libfn.  Francis  H.  Jenks. 

Directors.  Horace  P.  Blackman.  A.  Parker  BroAvne,  Henry  G.  Carey, 
John  S.  Sawyer,  Albert  K.  Hebard,  John  H.  Stickney,  George  F.  Daniels, 
Charles  W.  Stone. 

(20) 


OFFICERS . 
1885 


Pres.  Charles  C.  Pkrkins. 

F.  Pres.  George  II.  Chickeking. 

Libr'n.  Francis  H.  Jenks. 


Sec.  EUGENK  B.   Hagar. 
Treas.  M.  Grant  Danikll 


Directors.  Horace  P.  Blackraan,  A.  Parker  Browne,  Henrj^  G.  Carey, 
George  F.  Daniels,  Albert  K.  Hebard,  John  S.  Sawyer,  John  H.  Stickney, 
Charles  W.  Stone. 


1886 


Sec.  Eugene  B.  Hagar. 
Treas.  M.  Grant  Danikll 


Pi-es.  Charles  C.  Perkins. 

V.  Pres.  George  H.  Chickering. 

Lihfn.  Francis  H.  .Tenks. 

Directors.  David  A.  Alden,  John  D.  Andrews,  Horace  P.  Blackman, 
George  T.  Brown,  Albert  K.  Hebard,  Roger  S.  Rundlett,  John  S.  Sawyer, 
John  H.  Stickney. 

1887 

Pres.  George  H.  Chickering.  |   Sec.  Eugene  B.  JIagar. 

V.  Pres.  A.  Parker  Browne.  Treas.  M.  Grant  Daniell. 

Libfn.  Charles  W.  Stone. 

Directors.  David  A.  Alden,  John  D.  Andrews,  William  F.  Bradbury, 
George  T.  Brown,  Nathaniel  G.  Chapin,  George  F.  Daniels,  Thomas  VV. 
Proctor,  Richard  S.  Whitney. 


1888 


Pres.  A.  Parker  Browne. 
F.  Pres.  John  H.  Stickney. 


Sec.  Eugene  B.  Hagar. 
Treas.  M.  Grant  Daniell. 


Lihr'n.  Charles  W.  Stone. 

Directors.  David  A.  Alden,  John  D.  Andrews,  William  F.  Bradbury, 
George  T.  Brown,  Nathaniel  G.  Chapin,  George  F.  Daniels,  Thomas  W. 
Proctor,  Richard  S.  Whitney. 


1889 


Pres.  A.  Parker  Browne. 
F.  Pres.  John  H.  Stickney. 


Sec.  Eugene  B.  Hagar. 
Treas.  M.  Gran^  Daniell. 


Lihfn.  Charles  W.  Stone. 

Directors.  William  F.  Bradbury,  Nathaniel  G.  Chapin,  Sanford  C, 
Chase,  George  F.  Daniels,  Horace  B.  Fisher,  Henry  S.  Pray,  Thomas  W. 
Proctor,  Richard  S.  Whitney. 


(21) 


MEMBERS 

(MIRONOT.OGICALLY    ARKANGED 


The  first  114  names  according  to  membership  in  the  original  organization;  the  subsequent 
names  according  to  membership  in  the  corporation.  Compiled,  1-114  from  the  signatures 
in  the  first  book  of  records;  115-465  from  those  in  tlie  book  of  by-laws  of  1816;  466-1717 
from  those  in  the  book  of  by-laws  of  1843. 

*  indicates  that  membership  was  terminated  by  death;  r,  by  resignation;  d,  by  discharge. 


ORIGINAL  MEMBERS 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 


47 
48 
49 
50 
61 
52 


Thomas  Smith  Webb 
Amasa  Winchester 
Samuel  H.  Parker  . 
Elnathan  J)uren 
William  Rowson 
Nathaniel  Tucker    . 
Benjamin  Holt   .     . 
Charles  Nolen     .     . 
John  Dodd    .     .     . 
Joseph  Bailey     .     . 
George  Singleton    . 
Luke  Eastman    .     . 
Samuel  Richardson 
Matthew  S.  Parker 
Otis  Everett  .     .     . 
Charles  French  .     . 
Chester  Stebbins     . 
Jacob  Guild    .     .     . 
Gottlieb  Graupner  . 
Jonathan  Huntington 
Nathaniel  Meriam  . 
James  Clark .     .     . 
Christopher  Lincoln 


24 

Amos  Sumner 

d 

25 

Ebenezer  Frothingham    .     . 

# 

26 

E.  T.  F.  Richardson    .     .     . 

* 

27 

George  Gushing      .     .     .     . 

r 

28 

Ebenezer  Goodrich     .     .     . 

d 

29 

Peter  Osgood 

d 

30 

John  Mackay 

* 

31 

Abner  Bourne    .... 

sK 

32 

Thomas  Marshall    .     .     . 

* 

33 

William  Simmons  .     .     . 

* 

34 

Samuel  Floyd     .... 

* 

35 

Aaron  Peabody  .... 

d 

36 

Elisha  Baker 

* 

37 

Ebenezer  Withington 

* 

38 

Abel  Duren 

d 

39 

James  Pierce      .... 

* 

40 

Luke  Hemenway     .     .     . 

r 

41 

Isaac  Davis 

* 

42 

Stephen  Childs  .... 

* 

43 

Moody  Park 

.    d 

44 

William  K.  Phipps      .     . 

d 

45 

Joseph  Mulliken      .     .     . 

if: 

46 

Alexi  Enstaphieve  .     .     . 

* 

1815-10 


Christopher  Gore June     1,1815 

John  F.  Payson " 

Jonathan  Loring,  Jr " 

Melvin  Lord " 

Silas  Barrett 

Samuel  H.  Jenks " 

(22) 


MEMBERS. 

53  Joshua  Vose June     1,  1815 * 

54  Thomas  L.  Paine "              d 

55  William  Dillaway "                    r 

5';  William  T.  Eustis *               "               r 

57  Thomas  V.  Dillaway "               ,  r 

58  William  Jepson "              * 

59  Elijah  Thayer "               r 

60  Elijah  Mears "               * 

61  James  Coolidge "              * 

62  John  Hart "              d 

63  William  Coffin,  Jr July    6,1815 * 

64  Bela  Hunting "              r 

65  Samuel  Stockwell "              * 

G6  William  Wright "              * 

67  John  H.  Pray "              * 

68  Edward  Horsman "              * 

69  Levi  Meriam "              * 

70  Noah  Hill  .     .     .     : "              * 

71  Francis  W.  Waldo Aug.     3,  1815 * 

72  James  McAUaster "               r 

73  Edward  Jewett "               d 

74  Joseph  Adams "               r 

75  Gershom  Cobb "              * 

76  William  Learnard "              * 

77  George  Pollock Sept.    7,  1815 * 

78  Pliny  Hayes "              d 

79  George  Bawn "               r 

80  Nahum  Mitchell Oct.     5,1815 * 

81  Bartholomew  Brown " * 

82  Jerome  Nichols "       26     "        d 

83  Nathaniel  Clark "              * 

84  John  Bridge "              r 

85  George  Warren "              * 

86  Ebenezer  Hunt "              * 

87  Lewis  Wood Nov.     9,  1815 * 

88  Caleb  Andrews "               r 

89  Tristram  Vose "               * 

90  Francis  Jackson "               r 

91  J.  Smallidge "              * 

92  Frederick  Lincoln "      23     "       r 

93  Boardman  Williams "              * 

94  Thomas  Badger,  Jr "  ...'...* 

95  Joseph  Lewis "               * 

96  Benjamin  Pitman "              d 

97  Ebenezer  Newcomb     .....  "              d 

98  Lewis  Leland "      30     "       d 

99  Peter  Wainwright,  Jr Dec.     7,  1815 d 

100  Joseph  Clark        "              

(23) 


* 


HISTORY  or  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

101  Sidney  Merrill Dec.      7,  1815 * 

102  Daniel  Staniford "              * 

103  William  A.  Codman    .     .     .  ^  .     .  March  7,  1816 * 

104  Jonathan  FoTvle,  Jr "              d 

105  Joshua  Stone "               r 

106  Benjamin  P.  Williams     ....  "              d 

107  William  Denton "              r 

108  Ralph  Smith "               d 

109  Allen  AVhitmau "               d 

110  Hervey  Nolen "              d 

111  Samuel  Jewett "              d 

112  David  Reed "              d 

113  Jonathan  French "               d 

114  John  L.  Phillips "               r 

115  John  W.  Hyde Apr.    2,  1816 d 

116  Nathaniel  Munro "              d 

117  Nathaniel  B.  Homer "               r 

118  Elijah  Nevers " '            * 

119  Jonathan  Hagar "              d 

120  Benjamin  Barnes,  Jr "              d 

121  Neil  Pollock "              d 

122  Thomas  Mason "              d 

123  Nathan  Fiske "               r 

124  Caleb  Hartshorn "              d 

125  E.  Sha^Y,  3d May     2,  1816 * 

126  N.  Lovejoy "              d 

127  William  Fracker "              d 

128  Torrey  Hancock "              r 

129  Thomas  Park "              r 

130  Benjamin  B.  Davis "              * 

131  Asa  Warren "              r 

132  Charles  Beck "              d 

133  Ezra  Hawkes "              r 

134  Thomas  G.  Bangs "              d 

135  D.  Messinger,  Jr.  ..'...     .  "              r 

136  Calvin  Washburne Aug.     6,  1816 r 

137  Benjamin  Huntington     ....  "              * 

1816-17 

138  Henry  Pomroy Oct.      1,  1816 * 

139  Joshua  Cheever "              d 

140  Addison  Searle      "              d 

141  James  Sharp "      15     "        * 

142  Aaron  Holbrook "              d 

143  John  G.  Brown "              d 

144  Thaddeus  Baldwin Nov.  19,1816 r 

145  Richard  G.  Cole "              d 

146  Aaron  Rice "              r 

(24) 


MEMBERS. 

147  Ebenezer  B.Nichols Nov.  19,   1816 * 

148  Silas  Dodd Dec.      3,  1816 d 

149  John  Glynn Jan.     28,  1817 d 

1817-18 

150  Joseph  W.  Newell Oct.      7,  1817 * 

151  Thomas  G.  Farnsworth     ...  "  d 

152  Samnel  Topliff "  r 

153  William  Blake "  r 

15^  Benjamin  Rouse •'  r 

155  Isaac  S.  Tompkins '  d 

156  Jonathan  Bingham '  r 

157  Thomas  Whittemore "  d 

158  Henry  Davis "  d 

159  Horace  Fox "  d 

160  Thomas  H.  White "  ....'..  d 

161  Charles  Brintnall "  r 

162  Jacob  R.  White '•  d 

163  Zeba  Gushing "  d 

164  Jedediah  Barker "       14     "  d 

165  John  Chadwick "  * 

166  John  Ewell Nov.    18,  1817 * 

167  Isaac  Bird "  * 

168  John  Gushing '  "  d 

169  R.  Webster "  r 

170  Joseph  H.  Eayrs D'^c.     9,  1817 d 

171  Seth  B.  Gook "  d 

172  John  Leonard    ...          ...  '•  d 

173  Joseph  W.  Welch "  * 

174  George  W.  Welsh •'       30    "  d 

175  John  Fuller "  d 

176  Luther  Priest "  d 

177  Isaac  Kendall •'  d 

178  Marshal  Keith Feb.      3,1818 * 

179  Allan  Pollock Mar.    10,  1818 * 

180  Samuel  Smith "  d 

181  Hodges  Reed "  d 

182  Isaac  S.  Goffln "  d 

183  John  Ware "  d 

184  Abel  W.  Bruce June  16,  1818 d 

185  Thomas  V.  Dillaway     ....  "  r 

186  Theodore  D.  Parker "  d 

187  Benjamin  Pray "  r 

1818-19 

188  George  R.  M.  Withington  .     .     .  Sept.    1,    1818 d 

189  John  Holman "  * 

190  Jonas  Ghickering Oct.    4,     1818 * 

(25) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL  AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

191  John  Whitney Oct.     6,    1818 d 

192  John  T.  Brighara "                d 

193  Samuel  Sanger "                d 

194  Thomas  Vose Nov.  10,  1818 * 

195  Isaac  Adams "                r 

196  John  Cheever "                '  * 

197  Henry  Bo  wen "                d 

198  John  Spring "                 r 

199  N.  B.  Mountfort "                d 

200  Nathaniel  Hayden,  Jr "                d 

201  Robert  Rogerson        "      26       "        d 

202  Henry  Burnett "                d 

203  Ralph  B.  Holland Dec.    6,     1818 d 

204  Charles  Everett "      15       "        d 

205  Nathaniel  Griggs "                d 

206  Isaac  Learnerd,  Jr "                d 

207  Justus  Lincoln "                d 

208  Lemuel  Clark "                d 

209  Charles  H.  Carroll Feb.     9,    1819 d 

210  David  R.  Griggs •'                d 

211  James  Hooton Apr.    20,  1819     ......  d 

1819-20 

212  Stephen  Parker,  Jr Dec.    9,    1819 d 

213  Isaac  K.  Wise "                * 

214  Lewis  Pierce Jan.    14,  1820 * 

215  Nathaniel  Ford "                r 

216  Barney  Clap "                d 

217  N.  C.  Martin .  "                r 

218  Eliphalet  Thayer "                r 

219  Moses  Mandell "                d 

220  John  H.  Belcher Mar.    16,  1820 d 

1820-21 

221  Martin  Wilder Oct.      3,    1820 * 

222  David  Child "                d 

223  James  Averill "                d 

224  James  G.  Bacon "                r 

225  Peter  Hern "                . d 

226  John  Farrie,  Jr "                * 

227  George  Denny        "                 r 

228  Samuel  Moody "                * 

229  Ephraim  L.  Frothingham  ...  "                r 

230  Elijah  Cobb,  Jr "                r 

231  N.  D.  Gould .  "                r 

232  Joseph  Eustis,  Jr "31       '•        d 

233  Henry  Jones Nov.  10,  1820 * 

234  A.H.Haskell "                d 

(26) 


MEMBERS. 

235  Moses  W.  Copeland Jan.     2,    1821 d 

236  Josiah  Wheelwright "                r 

237  Increase  S.  Withingtou      ...  "                * 

238  Lorenzo  S.  Cragin "                * 

239  George  W.  Edmands      ....  "                d 

240  Elisha  Horton "                r 

241  Isaac  Chamberlin "                * 

242  Charles  Guild "                 d 

243  Charles  Bicknell "                d 

244  Abner  Ball Feb.     2,    1821 d 

245  Shepherd  Leach "                 * 

246  Jonathan  Bowditch,  Jr.      ...  Mar.    6,    1821 d 

247  Asa  Gowen "                d 

*248  Sidney  Mandell May     1,    1821 d 

249  Oliver  Chandler June    5,    1821 d 

250  Benjamin  C.  Harris •  "                * 

1821-22 

251  William  Gragg Oct.     2,    1821 d 

252  Lowell  Mason "17        "       * 

253  Jeremiah  P.  Smith Nov.  27,    1821 * 

254  Ephraim  Buck "                d 

255  Daniel  Gould,  Jr " * 

256  Jonathan  A.  Richards     ....  "                d 

257  Michael  Whittemore,  Jr.     ...  "  .......  d 

258  David  W.  Child.  Jr Dec.    4,    1821 * 

259  Samuel  S.  Reynolds Jan.     1,    1822 d 

260  John  M.  Robertson "                * 

261  Elbridge  Brown "                d 

262  Samuel  S.  Miles ♦*                d 

263  Joseph  Hay  ward "                d 

264  Samuel  Tidd "                * 

265  Edward  Haskell "                * 

266  Benjamin  G.  Hill Feb.     5,    1822 d 

267  William  H.  Richardson  .     ...  "                d 

268  James  Pierce,  Jr. "                d 

269  Aaron  Capen "       26      "        r 

270  Edward  H.  Fessenden    ....  May     7,    1822 r 

271  William  Stearns Aug.    6,    1822 

272  William  Nichols "                r 

273  Dexter  C.  Force "       17      "       r 

1822-23 

274  Francis  Jennison Sept.  17,    1822 * 

275  Jubal  Howe "                * 

276  Francis  C.  Whiston "                d 

277  Robert  French Dec.    3,    1822 d 

278  John  Roberts "                * 

(27) 


HISTORr    OF    THE    HANDEL  AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY. 

279  Amasa  G.  Smith Dec.    3,    1822 d 

280  William  Howe "                 d 

281  Nahum  Ball "                d 

282  Charles  Nolen,  Jr Jan.     7,    1823 * 

283  Calvin  Bullard Feb.     4,    1823 * 

284  Nathaniel  Brackett "                d 

285  Derastus  Clapp "                r 

286  David  J.  Badger Mar.  13,  1823 d 

287  George  H.  Holbrook "                d 

288  Elisha  Wood,  Jr Apr.     1,    1823 d 

1823-24 

289  Jeremiah  Washburn Nov.    i,    1823 * 

290  George  H.  Lane "                 * 

1824-25 

291  James  Fenno Sept.    7,    1S24 d 

292  Emery  Alexander "                d 

293  Ebenezer  Alexander,  Jr.      .     .     .  Dec.    7,    1824 * 

294  Charles  P.  Allen "                d 

295  Joseph  Leonard "                * 

296  Charles  L.  Force Apr.    5,    1825 * 

297  Rosea  Bartlett "                d 

298  Samuel  Davis,  Jr June    7,    1825 r 

299  Lyman  Biglow Aug.    2.    1825 d 

1825-26 

300  Ephraim  Willy Oct.     4,    1825 d 

301  Ziba  Cary "                * 

302  Charles  W.  Lovett "                

303  Nathaniel  H.  G.  Oliver  ....  -'8        "        ♦ 

304  Marcus  Coburn Dec.    6,    1825 d 

305  John  Bartlett "                 * 

306  Abraham  Bickford "20        •       d 

307  M.  B.  Hunting "                 r 

308  J.  M.  Dodd "  '             r 

309  William  B.  Oliver "                d 

310  Luther  B-  Wyman Jan.     3,    1826 r 

311  Thomas  B.  Hawkes Mar.     6,    1826 r 

1826-27 

312  Jonathan  E.  Hazelton    ....  Oct.    17,    1826 d 

313  Joseph  Dowe "                d 

314  WiUiam  Small "                r 

315  S.  S.  Rice '♦                d 

316  William  H.  Henderson  ....  Dec.    5,    1826 d 

317  Reuben  Gerry "                d 

(28) 


MEMBERS. 

318 

Warren  Fisher 

Feb. 

6,  1827 

319 

John  Stratton 

Feb. 

6,    182" 

1827-28 

320  Nathan  F.  Kingslev Nov.    6,    1827 

321  Eber  Taylor "                 * 

322  Edward  H.  Holbrook      ....  Dec.    4,    1827 d 

323  Isaac  Hall Jan.    1,    1828 * 

324  Samuel  H.  Jenks "                

325  James  J.  Fullerton "                r 

326  P.  P.  Pond Mar.    4,    1828 d 

1828-29 

327  Seth  J.  Thomas Jan.    11,  1829 d 

328  Erastns  F.  Brigham "                d 

329  Joseph  Brown "                d 

330  George  Merlam Aug.    4.    1829 * 

331  Silas  P.  Meriam •                * 

332  Charles  Harlow "                * 

1829-30 

333  Edward  R.  Adams Oct.    6,    1829 r 

334  Isaac  Gary          Nov.   15,  1829 * 

335  Josiah  E.  Challis "                r 

336  William  Johnson Mar.   9,    1830 * 

337  George  W.  Lewis "                * 

1830-31 

338  Edward  J.  Long Oct.    5,    1830 * 

339  George  James  Webb       ....  "                r 

340  George  Hews Dec. 

341  James  Harrod Feb. 

342  George  F.  Gwinn Mar.  20,   1831 d 

343  Thomas  Comer Aug.  14,  1831 d 

344  John  Bigelow         ^'                 =^ 

34.5  Joseph  N.  Pierce "                r 

1831-32 

346  E.  R.  Hansen Oct.    23,  1831 

347  Eben  F.  Gay Nov.    1,   1831 r 

348  Henry  Card '•                d 

349  J.  B.  Kimball Jan.  22,    1832 

350  Charles  Stedman "                r 

351  James  Hooton "                d 

352  Silas  Allen,  Jr Aug.    7,    1832 d 

353  Daniel  Wilder '•                 r 

(29) 


12, 

1830 

<N 

1831 

20, 

1831 

14, 

1831 

HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


1832-33 

354  Volney  Wilder Oct.  21,    1832 r 

355  J.  W.  Webster "28       "       * 

356  Dexter  W.  Wiswell Jan.     1,    1838 * 

357  S.  R.  Blaney "      13      "        d 

358  David  C.  Long       "20       " * 

359  Henry  F.  Alexander '*                 ♦ 

1833-34 

360  David  Tillson Feb.    4,    1834 * 

361  Lucius  D.  Alexander      ....                "                d 

362  G.  William  T.  Jones       ....                ''                p 

363  Theodore  A.  Gore "                d 

1834-35 

364  Timothy  Brown Sept.  28,  1834 d 

365  Lew^is  Wilder "                r 

366  James  R.  Aikin Nov.    4,  1834 

367  Edward  H.  Aiken "                d 

368  Marshall  Johnson,  Jr '< 

369  Charles  Henderson "        9       " * 


370  Alfred  H.  Pratt     .     . 

371  Gilbert  Cutting      .     . 

372  Solomon  B.  Gushing 

373  Theodore  Hach      .     . 

374  Abraham  O.  Bigelow 


1835-36 

Nov.    1,  1835 d 

Apr.  17,  1836 

"  * 

Aug.  16,  1836 r 


1836-37 

375  Anselm  Lothrop Sept.  24.  1836 d 

376  N.  Gushing  Byram Nov.  13,  1836 * 

377  William  R.  Bradford      ....                "  r 

378  Mark  Googin "  .......  d 

379  Allston  Allen Jan.    15,  1837 r 

380  George  W.  Lloyd "  d 

381  Leonard  Marshall Apr.   16,  1837 d 

382  Benjamin  F.  Baker '*  * 

383  Albert  G.  Barker "  r 

384  George  W.  Ellis May   21,  1837 * 

385  Jarvis  Lothrop "  * 

386  Isaiah  D.  Richards .   "  r 

387  Hiram  Swift /'  r 

1837-38 

388  Isaac  Spear        Sept.  17,  1837 d 

389  John  D.  Labree Oct.     3,  1837 * 

(30) 


MEMBERS. 


390  James  B.  Naspn Oct. 

391  Ephraim  Wildes 

392  Ezekiel  W.  Pike 

393  Sumner  Hill Feb. 

394  Alexander  S.  Lincoln      .... 


3,  1837 d 

'•                                  ,     .     .  * 

14       "       d 

4,  1838 d 

d 


1838-39 

395  Converse  Hill Oct.    21,  1838 

396  E.  Weston.  Jr.        

397  Thomas  Ball 

398  James  Dyer " 

399  Samuel  P.  Tuckerman     ....  " 

400  William  M.  Byrne'^    .     .     .     .     .  Jan.    20,   1839 

401  Charles  Young Feb.     3,  1839 

402  Horace  G.  Barrus "       17 


1839-40 


403  Philip  W.  Goodridge 

404  Peleg  Strong     . 
406  John  S.  Farlow 

406  Aaron  Butler     . 

407  Elijah  W.  Palmer 

408  James  Prideaux 

409  Edmund  Bates 

410  William  G.  Moody 

411  Henry  Schmidt 

412  David  F.  Felt    . 

413  George  B.  Jones 

414  J.  W.  Wright    . 

415  William  H.  Wellingt- 

416  Samuel  C.  Ware    . 

417  Josiah  Q.  Wetherbee 

418  Josiah  L.  Fairbanks 

419  O.  C.  B.  Carter      . 

420  W.  Treubeck     .     . 


Sept.  15,  1839 * 

d 

Kov.  17,  1839 * 

d 


Dec.    22,  1839 d 

"  r 

♦'      28     "        d 

Feb.    14,  1840 * 

Apr.    19,  1840 r 

d 

May    25,  1840 * 

June  28,  1840 * 


July     5,    1840 * 


421  L.  Lemaire  .... 

422  Tilden  H.  Keen      .     . 

423  William  H.  Jones 

424  Jonathan  E.  Hazeltoii 

425  James  Lloyd  Oliver    . 
425  Davis  Howard       .     . 

427  E.B.Dearborn      .     . 

428  H.  W.  Greatorex  .     . 


1840-41 
.     .     Nov. 


1840 


Dec.    20,  1840 


July   18,  1841 * 

Aug.    10,  1841 cl 


(31) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY. 


1841-42 


429  Oreii  J.  Faxon  .     . 

430  Otis  Clapp     .     .     . 

431  George  W.  Palmer 

432  Wymond  Bradbury 

433  George  Minot    . 

434  Joel  H.  Walker 

435  James  E.  Dodd 

436  David  Carter     . 

437  Osgood  Eaton  . 

438  Denison  Kimberly 

439  Joseph  Morrill,  Jr 

440  Edwin  Brown   . 

44  1  Joseph  J.  Whiting 

442  John  G.  Faxon 

443  Henry  Allen 

444  Lorenzo  P.  Leeds 


Sept.  12,  1841 
"      19     " 


9 
16 
23 


Oct.    24,  1841 

Jan.     2,    1842 d 


Mar.     6,  1842 * 

Apr.  10,   1842 * 


1842-43 

445  Joel  Clapp Sept.    6,   1842 

446  Charles  H.  Safford Oct.     4,  1842 

447  John  A,  Nowell '* 

448  Benjamin  T.  Roath " 

449  Edward  Denny " 

450  Leverett  A.  Lull Nov.     1,  1842 

451  Edwin  Tilden 

452  Aaron  P.  Richardson     ....  " 

453  David  A.  Granger '♦ 

454  Mark  Worthley Dec. 

455  Charles  P.  Adams '       " 

456  John  G.  Hovey " 

457  Joseph  H.  Ward 

458  George  P.  Carter " 

459  Reuben  Howard " 

460  William  D.  Clark 

461  James  T.  Bicknell 

462  Henry  Pierce Jan.     3,    1843 

463  John  T.  Lyon Feb.     7,    1843 

464  Robert  H.  Clouston 

465  James  W.  Patterson       ....  " 

465a     R.  S.  Denny Mar.    7,    1843 

465&     Barney  Cory " 

465r,     James  S.  Sweet Apr.    4,    1843 

465fZ    John  Dearborn May    2,    1843 


6,    1842 * 


466-    Horace  Leland  .     . 
467    James  J.  FuUertou 


1843-44 
.     .     Oct. 


(32) 


3,    1843 


MEMBERS. 

468  Leonard  Marshall Oct.    10,    1842 ♦ 

469  Henry  L.  Dean Nov.    t),    1843 d 

470  Augustus  K.  Gardner     ....  "11       "        r 

471  Daniel  Ruggles ♦'     13       "        

472  Martin  Wilder,  2d "  ..'.... 

473  John  F.  Fellows Dec.     8,    1843 r 

474  William  Parkman "       13       "        r 

475  James  G.  Swan "       20       "        d 

476  Warren  White "       25       "        d 

477  George  W.  Hunnewell    ....  Jan.     3,    1844 * 

478  James  Alexander "         6       "        d 

479  Theodore  T.  Barker "                d 

480  Frederic  Davis "       15       "        d 

481  Henr}^  M.  Aiken "                r- 

482  Henry  S.  Cutler Feb.   10,    1844 d 

483  David  Paine "                d 

484  •  George  P.  Cox "                d 

485  F.  F.  Farwell "       25       "        * 

486  Lewis  Hall Mar.     7,    1844 d 

487  Joseph  W.  Cox Apr.     6,    1844 d 

488  Albert  Eaton "       13       "        d 

489  Hiram  Fogg "       23  "        ....'..  d 

1844-45 

490  Thomas  B.  P^rothingham    .     .     .  Oct.     3,    1844 r 

491  Harvey  Jewell '•                r 

492  Bridge  Wheat "        4        "        * 

493  Joachim  Gervasio  (Jos.  G.  Oakes)  "                * 

494  John  E.Gould "        5        "        d 

495  Pliny  Jewell,  Jr "                r 

496  Caleb  T.  Curtis      .    • Nov.     7,    1844 ^ 

497  D.  T.  Haraden "                d 

498  E.  J.  Titcomb "                

499  Alfred  Whitney "       8  "        ......  d 

500  Joseph  P.  Moulton "                 

501  Ebenezer  Smith "       9        "        d 

502  L.  P.  Homer " d 

503  Benjamin  Butler '"         * d 

504  William  Daniels "       11        " 

605  J.  H.  Adams,  Jr "                 

506  I.  D.  Brewer "       16        " d 

507  Samuel  S.  Chase "17        " d 

508  George  S.  Parker "                

509  Osgood  Bradbury "                d 

510  Alexander  W.  Thayer     .     .     .     .  Jan.  10,    1845 

511  Joseph  S.  Eastman "      11        " * 

612  S.  P.  Brooks "      18        "       d 

513  L.S.Frost "24  "       ......  d 

514  J.  A.  Pray Feb.    3,    1845 

(33) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HAXDEL    AXD    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


515 

Edwin  Faxou    .... 

.     .     Feb.    4, 

184.-. 

516 

Samuel  H.  Millard     .     . 

.     . 

517 

Enoch  B.  Morse    .     .     . 

.     . 

518 

Daniel  B.  Xewhall     .     . 

.      .        ••         8 

519 

Charles  A.  Taft.s  .     .     . 

••17 

520 

Reuben  Kingsbury     .     . 

.      . 

521 

Luther  G.  Rice  .... 

.     .     May     8, 

184.-. 

522 

Charles  B.  Morton     .     . 

.     .     June    5, 

1845 

.    d 


1845-4G 


523 

Edward  Frothinshan 

I 

Dec. 

5, 

1845 

524 

Abner  C.  Kidder     

6 

'• 

525 

B.  W.  Field        Dec. 

6. 

1845 

526 

Edwin  Bruce 

•' 

527 

M.  S.  Johnson 

16 

'« 

528 

Thomas  Ball Apr. 

1S46-47 

3. 

1846 

529 

Joseph  A.  Kell.  r Oct. 

24 

1S4«; 

530 

Nathaniel  Reeves  . 

.     Nor. 

5. 

I84t; 

531 

Dexter  Bowker 

532 

James  Draper    .     . 

6 

'• 

533 

Georffe  F.  Havtcr  . 

" 

533a 

B.  E.  DeLand  .     . 

" 

7 

534 

Charles  W.  Smith 

•• 

5b5 

John  Butler       .     . 

9 

536 

Henrv  T.Lincoln  . 

'' 

13 

537 

Henrv  N.  Stone      . 

20 

538 

Samuel  H.  Barne.s 

.     Feb. 

4. 

1847 

539 

T.  H.  Emmons 

«• 

12 

540 

John  TV.  Odiorn- 

•• 

541 

Andrew  N.  Button 

'• 

542 

James  B.  Richards 

" 

18 

'• 

543 

R.  H.  Hooper     .     . 

•' 

20 

544 

George  Phippen 

Mar. 

L 

1847 

545 

John  H.  Titcomh    . 

.     Apr. 

19. 

1847 

546 

H.  L.  Hazelton  .*.... 

IS 

.     June 
47-48 

16, 

1847 

547 

George  TT.  Bird     .... 

.     Nov. 

2, 

1847 

548 

N.  A.  H.  Ball     .     .     . 

" 

549 

John  E.  Clark-    .     . 

Jan. 

5. 

184S 

550 

John  W.  Bartlett  . 

•' 

6 

'■ 

5.^1 

W.  K.  Bat  cock 

" 

11 

1  > 

55  i 

C.H.Webb    .     .     . 

" 

22 

li 

553 

Elton  R.  Smilic      .     . 

(( 

554 

I.  Louis  Brackrtt 

Mar. 

16, 

le4- 

5.*  5 

H.  W.  Fairbanks    .     . 

" 

(34) 


MEMBERS. 

1848-49 

Sept 

5, 

1848 

" 

16 

it. 

" 

26 

" 

" 

27 

" 

1      .     .     . 
n     .     .     . 

Dec. 

9, 
11 

14 

1848 

Jan. 

1, 

1849 

556  Henry  V.  Freeman 

557  William  Hawes 

558  Isaac  T.  Safford 

559  Gustavus  V,  Hall 

560  Peter  vS.  Oilman 

561  William  H,  VVadleigh 

562  Samuel  S.  Tuckerman 

563  Simeon  S.  Ames 

564  Joseph  A.  Leonard 

565  Henry  S.  Thomson 

1849-50 

566  William  B.  Bothamly      ....     Sept.  29,   1849 

567  Gilbert  Clark, Nov.    6,   1849 

568  Joseph  W.  Foster "       15        " 

569  John  H.  Proctor 

570  Charles  C.  Perkins May  27, 


1850 


1850-51 

571  Ebeu  H.  Frost Sept. 

572  Geor;;e  C.  Richards Nov. 


6,    1850 d 

3,    1850 d 


1851-52 


573  Lyman  B.  Meston       .     . 

574  George  Fisher  .... 

575  James  W.  Rollins  .     .     . 

576  Joel  F.  Larrabee     .     .     . 

577  Charles  C.  Wentworth    . 

578  J.  Haskell  Long     .     .     . 

579  Edward  Faxon       .     .     . 

580  Edward  Hamilton       .     . 

581  S.  B.  Ball 

582  Loring  B.  Barnes  .     .     . 

583  George  W.  C.  Washburn 

584  J.  H.  Low 

585  Irving  I.  Harwood      .     . 

586  S.  S.  Clement     .     .     .     . 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov 


12, 
20 
29 

23, 

24 

1, 


1851 


1851 


1851 


Dec.    11,  1851 * 


Jan 


18 
29 
6, 


1852 


1852-53 

587  Edward  L.  Balch Sept. 

588  Charles  T.  Sylvester        .... 

589  Charles  H.  Seavenis " 

590  Louis  N.  Tucker 

591  George  W.  Garland 

592  C.  Judson  Merrill Oct. 

593  Hiram  S.  Mathews 

594  C.  A.  Perry " 

595  William  Kurtz 

^'35; 


14,  1852 r 


18  " 

21  •' 

23  " 

1,  1852 

4  " 

5  '♦ 
7  " 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL  AND    H^YDN  SOCIETY. 

596  Stephen  Somes Oct.     9,  1852 ♦ 

596a  W.  F.  Tvvitchell "       11  "  d 

597  Samuel  H.  Gregory^ "       12  "  d 

598  John  C.  Woods "      25  " d 

599  Elisha  Turner        «♦       27  " 

600  Samuel  M.  Newhall "      30  '• d 

601  Charles  Butler Nov.    2,  1852 d 

602  William  Langley "         4  "  * 

603  Anselm  Lothrop "  • 

604  William  Dustin "         6  *'  d 

605  Charles  S.  Park     ....:.  «♦  ♦ 

606  D.  B.  Clements "       14  " d 

607  Robert  Kemp "       16  *' d 

608  John  Newell "  d 

609  George  E.  Gamage Dec.   15,  1852 d 

610  G.  William  Hill "  d 

611  John  J.  Dyer "       16  " d 

612  S.  Nolen ,         "  

613  Theophilus  Stover "       28  " * 

614  Tilou.  Robinson Jan.      6,  1853 • 

615  Edward  B.  Gurney "       15  " d 

616  J.  P.  Draper "  •  d 

617  J.  W.  Muuroe Feb.     1,  1853 

618  Henry  Stone "        9  " ♦ 

619  Robert  M.  Lowell      .....  "  

620  Edwin  Brown "  r 

621  Edward  C.  Guild "       11  " 

622  Samuel  S.  Chase "       14  " d 

623  Samuel  Carter       "       16  " 

624  A.  W.  Woodward "       24  " ♦ 

625  Daniel  M.  Adams "       25  " d 

626  Nathan  Sanborn "       26  " d 

627  George  H.  Coney Mar.    5,  1853 d 

628  Charles  H.  Chase       "        9  " d 

629  T.  A.  Upham "       22  " d 

630  Alvan  Kingman "       26  «* d 

631  Josiah  Hobart "  r 

632  John  B.  Edmands June  27,  1853 d 

633  E.  A.  Newman July     4,  1853 ♦ 

1853-64 

634  William  D.  Brewer         ....  Sept.  10,  1853 d 

635  William  L.  Elliot       "       16  " d 

636  Charles  E.  Hill "       22  " d 

637  John  A.  Peabody •♦  

638  Thomas  D.  Morris "  * 

639  C.  P.  Weeks Oct.     8,  1853 d 

640  J.  H.  L.  Slayton "22  " d 

641  Leonard  0.  Grorer Nov.  5,  1853 d 

(36) 


MEiVlBERS. 

€-42  Gardner  Gove         Nov.    5,    1853 d 

643  Levi  E.Day "                d 

644  John  N.  Dauforth "                d 

645  William  Garrett "'      17       " r 

646  David  Alden "       18       "       d 

647  Asa  Hull "       22  "       .../..  d 

648  George  P.  Cox "       26       " d 

649  John  B.  Pewtress "                 * 

650  Frank  N.  Scott Dec.    31,  1853 d 

651  S.  X.  Watson Jan.      7,   1854 r 

652  I.  Henry  K.  Downes       ....  "       10       " r 

6.53  George  B.  Melvin "       12       "       d 

654  George  E.  Hodge       "                d 

655  Jonathan  C.  Woodman  ....  "                d 

656  Henry  Leeds,  Jr "       14       "        d 

657  Nathan  Lincoln '*                

658  J.  J.  Perkins Mar.     6,  1854 d 

659  J.  H.  Shaw "                d 

1854-55 

660  Hubt-rt  Stone Oct.      6,  1854 

661  William  H.  Pray '•        7      "        d 

662  Alfred  Andrews "      10  "        ...*..  d 

663  H.  W.  Carstens "      12      "        d 

664  John  T.  Lyon "      17      "        d 

665  Alfred  N.  Proctor Nov.     4,  1854 

666  Joseph  W.  Boynton "                 d 

667  Joseph  M.  Shattuck "                d 

668  James  Williams "                

669  James  Rice "                

670  Ransom  F.  Evans "     17      "        

671  Franklin  J.  Brazier "                 * 

672  J.    C.  Page "                 

673  George  W.  Heywood      ....  "      25      "        d 

674  I.  B.  Benton "                d 

1855-56 

675  D.  Lyman  Laws Oct.      3,  1855 * 

676  S.  F.  Carter "        6      "        * 

677  George  Dimond "        7      "        d 

678  Charles  C.  Poole "  ...... 

679  William  H.  Gerrish "        8      "        d 

680  C.  R.  Hatch "        9      "        

681  George  Patten •'      11      "        

682  John  Appleton "      12      •'        d 

683  Marcus  Morton "      13      "       d 

684  J.  R.  Miller "      20      "        d 

685  D.  P.  Lincoln "      22      "        

686  0.  Frank  Clark a      97      ''       

(37) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


G87  C.  T.  Lano^ Nov 

688  Oliver  B.  Lothrop 

689  Horace  W.  Barry 

690  E.  G.  Shaw 

691  BeDJamin  C.  Vose 

692  R.  C.  Metcalf 

693  William  Anderson 

694  Charles  R.  Adams "  

695  L.  B.  Hanaford Dec.    U,  1856 d 

696  C.  Francis  Chickering   ....     May     26,  1856     ......* 

697  Henry  T.  Bryant June    16,  1856 d 


1,  1855 d 

10      "        

12      "        

14      "        d 

"               r 

d 

d 


1856-57 


698  Isaac  Woodward  . 

699  Ansel  Pendergrass 

700  Simeon  Fuller  .     . 

701  Charles  H.  Johnson 

702  A.  T.  Bennett  .     . 

703  James  D.  Kent 

704  H.  Farnara  Smith 

705  George  M.  Thacher 

706  Charles  P.  Emerson 

707  Frederick  A.  Searle 

708  Curtis  Brown   .     . 

709  Charles  W.  Simmons 

710  A.  B.  Brown      .     . 

711  Frank  Howard 

712  Theron  J.  Dale      . 

713  Hiram  Wilde     .     . 

714  E.  S.  Howe       .     . 

715  Arthur  Hall .     .     . 

716  William  H.  Johnson 

717  Edmund  T.  Eastman 

718  Thomas  Pritchett  (Chas 

719  Nelson  Mann     .     . 

720  William  B.  Merrill 
721'  James  M.  F.  Howard 

722  C.  E.  Whiting  .     . 

723  John  W.  Leatherbee 

724  H.  C.  Barnabee      . 

725  George  D-  Capen  . 

726  George  H.  Chickering 
7^7  Charles  F.  Browne 
728  Lyman  B.  Meston 


King) 


Sept.  25,  1856 * 

"      27      "        * 

Oct.    25,  1866 d 


"                ... 

.     .     .    d 

(( 

* 

... 

.    .    .    d 

(( 

* 

... 

.     .     .    d 

"              ... 

.     .     .    d 

•'              ... 

* 

(( 

.     .     .    d 

" 

.     .     .    d 

... 

.     .     .    d 

<4 

.     .     .     r 

4t 

.     .     .    d 

Dec.    22,  1856     .     .     . 

.     .     .    d 

a 

.     .     .    d 

"                        ... 

.     .     .    d 

n 

* 

(C 

.    .     .    d 

(( 

.     .     .     r 

"              .    .     . 

.          .    d 

a 

.     .     .    d 

Mar.    16,  1857     .     .     . 

.     .     .    d 

May      5,  1857     .     .     . 

.     .     .     r 

7      "        .     .     . 

.     .     .    d 

May    16,  1857     .     .     . 

June    3,  1857     .     .     . 

.     .     .    d 

"                .     .     . 

.     .     .    d 

729  Stillman  J.  Quimby 

730  George  W.  Garland 

731  Dexter  Reeves,  Jr. 


1857-58 


Dec.    16,  1857 Q 


(38) 


MEMBERS. 


732  Samuel  G.  Parsons     . 

733  George  W.  Ware 

734  William  M.  Goodridge 

735  Augustus  G.  Greenwood 

736  A.  W.  Brown    .     . 

737  W.  L.  Wakefield    . 

738  B.  L.  Gushing 

739  William  S.  Pelletier 

740  Sebastian  B.  Schlessinger 

741  W.  Frank  Mullin 

742  Frederic  Dame 

743  E.  W.  White     . 

744  L.  W.  Johnson 

745  O.  B.   Brown     . 

746  Reuben  Dimond 

747  Edward  L.  Balch 

748  S.  Lothrop  Thorndike 

749  Frederick  O.  Ellis 

750  George  W.  Hindes 

751  G.  B.  Pearson  .     . 

752  Charles  A.  Gai;e    . 

753  George  H.  Nason 

754  Chandler  Wright  . 
765  Alanson  Bigelow,  Jr 

756  W.  H.Daniels  .     . 

757  Charles  P.  Daniell 

758  F.  J.  Whittemore       .     .  (759) 
769  George  G.  Colraan     .     .  (758) 

760  William  C.  Eustis 

761  D.  E.  Washburn 

762  Isaac  Morehouse 

763  F.  K.  Simonds 

764  Oliver  Edwards 

765  Thomas  E.  Chickerin 


Dec.    16,  1857 


Mar.    19 


Apr. 
May 


24 


17 
31 


1858 
1858 


,  1858 r 

......  d 

d 

d 

d 


1858-59 

766  Alfred  W.  Bates Dec. 

767  Caleb  E.  Niebuhr 

768  A.  B.  Lincoln        

768a  Albert  N.  Daniels 

769  H.  Townsend 

770  Charles  W.  Smith 

771  Charles  C.  Ewer 

772  Gideon  T.  Mansfield        ....     Feb. 

773  George  S.  Cheney 

774  0.  L.  Fuller 

775  W.  S.  Ring        


7,   1858 r 


1859 


(39) 


HISTORY    OF   THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


776  J.  A.  Risinfr 

777  Barlow  Hall 

778  H.  A.  Cook 

779  John  G.  DuflV 

780  Henry  J.  Sweny 

781  Edwin  Holmes 

782  Royal  Keith 

783  John  G.  Tompson,  Jr 

784  John  D.  Long 

786  Joseph  Borrowscale 

786  William  H.  Blood 

787  George  H.  Bradford 

788  John  Haskins,  Jr. 

789  J.  C.  Wilson     .     . 

790  Francis  Y.  B.  Kern 

791  Clinton  V.  Mason 

792  Joseph  H.  Smalley 

793  Leonard  Denham 

794  George  W.  Lawrence 

795  John  W.  Kinnicutt 

796  S.  A.  Rowland      . 

797  C.  E.  Howland      . 

798  George  O.  Brigham 

799  A.  F.  Poole  .     .     . 

800  N.  R.  Andersen      . 

801  Daniel  Nowlan .     . 


1859-60 

Oct.  27,    1859 d 

d 

d 

d 

"      •  d 

d 

d 


Jan. 


1860 


Mar.     8,   1800 d 

July  23,    1860 d 


1860-61 


802  J.  T.  Croft   .     .     . 

803  Alfred  E.  An  serge 

804  W.  F.  Gale  .     . 

805  Alonzo  Leavitt 

806  W.  O.  Perkins  . 

807  H.  S.  Perkins    . 

808  Robert  G.  Perry 

809  S.  D.  Bassett    . 

810  John  S.  Sawyer 

811  N.  B.  Boutwell 

812  J.  Baxter  Upham 


(809) 
(805) 
(806) 
(807) 
(808) 


Oct.  23,    1860 
Nov.  23,  1860 


Dec.  29,    1860 


Apr.    6,    1861 d 

June    4,    1861 


1861-62 

818  Edwin  Clapp Nov.    7,    1861 

814  John  H.  Stickney '♦ 

815  Thomas  Atkinson,  Jr '* 

816  Edward  T.  Cowdrey      .... 

817  John  J.  Henry "       14 

818  D.  B.  Whittier Dec.     8,    1861 


(40) 


MEMBERS. 

1862-63 

819  Edwin  A.  Kimball Oct.    12,    1862 d 

820  S.  Frank  Crockett Feb.  18,    1863 r 

821  S.  M.  Downs "  .     .               .     .  d 

822  H.  H.  Beach •'  r 

823  G.  Francis  Topliflf "  d 

824  J.  Kenned}- "  d 

825  Nathaniel  Head "                          .     .     .     .  d 

826  S.  B.  Colburn "  d 

1863-64 

827  C.  H.  W.  Wood  ' Nov.    1,    1863 r 

828  William  H.  Randall "  r 

829  Samuel  P.  Prentiss    .     .^    .     .     .  "  d 

830  John  W.  Porter     ...*...  "  r 

831  William  P.  Butler "  r 

832  W^illiam  D.  Wiswell "  * 

833  M.  Grant  Danieli "  

834  W.Trask  Barry "  d 

835  William  J.  Hyde *'       8       "        

836  Ch:irles  T.  Plimpton "  d 

837  Albert  B.  Cole "  d 

838  George  P.  Lasselle "  d 

839  Alfred  H.  McKenney      ....  "  d 

840  Francis  T.  Irish "  d 

841  Arthur  Reed "  

842  Charles  E.  Hosmer "  d 

843  J.  F.  Goddard "  d 

844  W.  A.  Richards "  

845  George  W.  Jackson "  d 

846  H.  O.  Apthorp "  r 

847  J.  B.  Fiske ''  d 

848  John  B.  Goodrich "  d 

849  J.  G.  Smith "  d 

850  B.  F.  Bennett "  r 

851  Thomas  H.  Holland "  d 

852  S.  W.  Trowbridge "  d 

853  George  Ilsley "  d 

854  Joseph  Bird "  .....  r 

855  Horace  Bird "  d 

856  Jacob  Chany "  d 

1864-65 

857  James  J.  Putnam Nov.  10,  1864 d 

858  G.  W.Lindsey '*  

859  John  C.  Warren "  r 

860  George  C.  Wiswell "  

861  E.  D.  Faulkner "  


(41) 


HISTORY  OF  THP:  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 


862  George  W.  Spauldin^ 

863  L.  G.  Sylvester      . 

864  James  L.  Hunt 

865  William  F.  Bradbury 

866  T.  W.  Trowbridge 

867  Charles  A.  Burditt 

868  James  W.  Jones     . 

869  George  H.  Wentworth 

870  L.  H.  Gurney     . 

871  Charles  Howard 

872  s.  H.  O.  Hadley 

873  H.  E    Holt     .     . 

874  J.  R.  Hopkins    . 

875  H.  H.  Mansfield 

876  Charles  P.  Putnam 

877  George  N.  Spear     . 

878  Charles  E.  Hodgkins 

879  George  M.  Brown 

880  Harrison  Conkey    . 


Nov.    10,  1864     .     .     . 

.     .     .    d 

.     .     .    (1 

.     .     .    d 

.     .     .    d 

.     .     .     r 

.     .     .    d 

.     .     .    d 

.     .     .    d 

.     .     .    d 

.     .     .    d 

.     .     .    d 

March  2,   1865     .     .     . 

.     .     .    d 

.     .     .    d 

.     .     .    tl 

.     .         d 

.     .     .    d 

1865-66 

881  James  Perley Nov. 

882  Charles  Edwin  Fuller     .... 

883  J.  M.  Lincoln 

884  George  H.  S.  Driver 

885  H  E.  Valentine 

886  S.  H.  Spaulding 

887  T.  C.  Webb 

888  J.  Q.  Chace 

889  Samuel  A.  Aogier 

890  William  W.  Bemis 

891  J.  A.  Houston 

892  Francis  H.  Underwood  .... 

893  Ellery  C.  Daniell 

894  J.  R.  Winch 

895  C.  G.  Dana 

896  Martin  Draper,  Jr 

897  A.  J.  Hadley 

898  J.  H.  Badger 

899  H.  H.  Boardman 

900  J.  Haven  Hanson  ...... 

901  James  P.  Hice 

902  W.  N.  Lovering 

903  L.  W.  Mason 

904  J.  F.  Winch 

905  Reuben  Ring 

906  G.  H.  Wood 

907  Thomas  B.  Fitta 

908  S.  C.  Harris       


1,    1865 


(42) 


MEMBERS. 

909  M.  T.  Eayrs       Nov.     1,    1865 r 

910  H.  B.  Farley "  d 

911  John  D.Andrews "  

912  James  W.  Cheney "  d 

913  Francis  H.  Jenks "  

914  Porter  S.  Allen "  d 

915  Henry  A.  Coffin "       21       " * 

916  George  H.  Newell "  d 

917  John  A.  Tompson "  

918  D.  B.  Lyman     . "  d 

919  Edward  Y.  White        "  d 

920  R.  Bourne "  d 

921  Samuel  Jennison '  .  "  

922  John  Wilson' "  d 

923  C.  C.  Bourne "  d 

924  Regis  Chauvenet *'  d 

925  Lewis  B.  Monroe  ......  "  d 

926  F.  Henry  Chad  wick "  d 

927  G(  orge  P.  Raymond "  d 

928  A.  Parker  Browne *'  

929  F.  H.  Raymond ♦'  r 

930  G.  Gravenhorst "  r 

931  James  T.  Drown "  r 

932  William  H.Wilson "  d 

933  Charles  W.  Goddard "  d 

"534  E.  A.  Burbank Mar.  14,    1866 

935  M.  J.  Mandell "  

936  0.  F.  Wadsworth "  r 

937  J.  P.  Estabrook "  d 

938  Frank  H.  Lee "  .  ' d 

939  T.  Frank  Reed "  * 

940  Leonard  B.  Adams " x* 

941  Roger  S.  Rundlett "  

942  William  W.  Richards     ....  "  d 

943  William  N.  Eayrs "        15      "         d 

944  Henry  R.  Stone "  d 

945  Frank  A.  Carpenter *'  d 

946  Charles  F.  King "  * 

1866-67 

947  Henry  J.  Perkins Oct.    14,   1866 d 

948  F.  C.  Loring,  Jr Nov.    4,  1866 r 

949  H.  Loewe u       7      <.        ,^ 

950  George  W.  West "  d 

951  Edward  L.  Norris "  ......  d 

952  D wight  M.  Turner ♦'  d 

953  E.  G.  Gardner        "  d 

954  Henry  B.  Williams '!  d 

955  Joseph  E.  Keates        «'  

(43) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


956  John  Robertson  .     . 

957  Henry  F.  Wight  .     . 

958  Charles  H.  Danforth 

959  E.  S.  Metcalf  .     . 

960  Thomas G.  Ford  . 

961  John  N.Morse     . 

962  Samuel  F.  Williams 

963  F.  K.  Drake,  Jr.  . 

964  J.  E.  Perkins  .     . 

965  Sewall  A.  Faunce 

966  E.  F.  Lowe      .     . 

967  Frank  T.  Eustis  . 

968  James  P.  Lewis  . 

969  C.  A.  Mooar    .     . 

970  A.  W.  Edmands  . 

971  Charles  R.  Ahell  . 

972  Joseph  S.  Robinson 

973  Frederic  Dodge  . 

974  Rollin  B.  Fisher  . 

975  John  A.  Burrows 

976  W.  A.  Webber     . 

977  Albert  K.  Hebard 

978  George  H.  Meader 

979  Henry  D.  Putnam 


980  Richard  W.  Smith 

981  George  L.  Gardner 

982  J.  Q.  Henry     .     . 

983  William  Dodd      . 

984  J.  R.  Baldwin 

985  Edmund  S.  Clark 

986  Edward  Stan  wood 

987  Ozias  Goodwin     . 

988  N.  O.  Whitcomb 

989  Lebbeus  Leach,  Jr. 

990  William  A.  Packard 

991  Amos  M.  Leonard 

992  P.  A.  Butler     .     . 

993  Charles  M.  Bassett 

994  R.  P.  Wright.       . 

995  James  M.  Atwood 

996  B.  W.  Hayes  .     . 
997.  Francis  C.  Ropes 

998  George  C.  Mann  . 

999  Moses  Carpenter 

1000  H.  K.  White,  Jr. 

1001  Benjamin  F.  Dymond 

1002  George  W.  Warren 


Nov. 


Jan. 


1S66     .     .     . 

.     .     .    d 
.     .     .    d 

.     .     .    d 
.     .     .    d 
.     .     .    d 
.     .     .    d 
.     .     .    d 
♦ 

28, 

1867     .     .     . 

.     .     .     r 
.     .     .    d 
.     .     .    d 
.     .     .    d 
.     .     .    d 
.     .     .    d 
.     .     .     r 
.     .     .    d 
.     .     .     r 
.     .     .    r 

.     .     .    d 
.     .     .    d 

May    9,     1867 d 

7-68  y 

Nov.  13,  1867 


(1002) 
(1001) 


Mar.  26,  1 


June     3,  1868 


(44) 


ME3IBERS. 

1868-69 

1003  L.  P.  Williams Nov.  19,  1868 d 

1004  W.  H.  Freeman "  d 

1005  George  C.  Beckwith      ....  "  d 

1006  James  E.  R   Hill "  

1007  Jolm  E.  Hobbs "  

1008  A.  J.  Teuney '<  ^* 

1009  C.  B.  Bradbury "  r 

1010  A.  F.  Perkins "  

1011  Richard  S.  Whitney     ....  "  

1012  William  Lynch "  d 

1013  A.  T.  Tiittle "  d 

lOH  A.  M.  Davis "  r 

1015  George  T.  Brown "  

1016  E.  H.  Higley "  r 

1017  Edwin  L.  Haley "  d 

1018  Joseph  W.  Green,  Jr "  r 

1019  W.  I.  G.  Hayward "  d 

1020  Warren  H.  Gay "  d 

1021  Wilfrid  A.  Emery "  d 

1022  Jerome  C.  Hosmer "  r 

1023  H.  M.  Brown "  r 

1024  W.  B.  Rice "  d 

1025  Walter  Deane "  r 

1026  Charles  F.  Folsom *'  r 

1027  N.  S.  Shattuck    ......  "  d 

1028  Thomas  Hall "  

1029  Frederick  E.  Paine "  d 

1030  James  Hamblet,  Jr "  .......  d 

1031  Lewis  B.  Gnyer Feb.     8,    1869     ...*... 

1032  J.  C.  Bartlett "  d 

1033  E.  E.  Adams "  d 

1034:  William  Liddell "  d 

1035  William  R.  Tarbell "  d 

1036  Granville  J.  Hobbs "  d 

1037  Albert  M.  Barnes "  d 

1038  J.  W.  Webster "  d 

1039  A.  W.  Merriam "  r 

1040  J.  H.  Woods "  d 

1041  Charles  T.  Sylvester     ....  *'  

1869-70 

1042  Francis  A.  Kemp Nov.  24,   1869 r 

1043  George  H.  Muoroe "  

1044  Arthur  H.  Wilson "  d 

1045  William  S.  Weymouth      ...  "  d 

1046  Horace  B.  Fisher "  

1047  F.  A.  Leonard "  

1048  James  L.  Taylor "  d 

(453 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


1049  Laban  Sawyer Nov.   24,   18G9 

1050  Walter  Shepard 

1051  W.  W.  Spiuilding 

1052  Edward  F.Chapin 

1058  Otis  E.  Waitt 

1054  W.  E    Ilolden 

1055  Frank  W.  Lewis " 

1«56  C.  P.  Spaulding 

1057  W.  E.  Wood 

1058  A.  B.  Chandler 

1059  C.  P.  Metcalf 

1060  H.  C.  Andrews 

1061  Henry  T.  Mansfield       .... 

1062  D.  Gilbert  Dexter 

1063  R.  J.  Chute 

1064  Josiah  Wheelwright     .... 

1065  Charles  K.  Cutter " 

1066  E.  D.  Bradford 

1067  John  Rogers 

1068  George  A.  Denham       .... 

1069  Selim  Frost 

1070  Abbott  S.  Coffin 

1071  Henry  M.  Howe " 

1072  Thomas  Gurney 

1078  Fred  Senior 

1074  Francis  O.  Lyman Apr.      9,   1870 

1075  Eben  N.  Phinney " 

1076  Albert  J.  West 

1077  Joseph  E.  Ballon " 

1078  Natkan  K.  Bacon " 

1079  Thomas  Leslie 


1870-7^1 

1080  Charles  C.  Noyes Oct.      2,  1870 

1081  D.  W.  Noyes 

1082  H.  C.  Lyon 

1088  Henry  C.  KendaU Nov.    29,  1^70 

1084  S.  Walter  Wales 

1085  H.  P.  Blackraan  ...... 

1086  E.  H.  Aiken 

1087  Thomas  W.  Campbell  .... 

1088  W.  H.  M.  Austin 

1089  Edward  E.  Allen 

1090  Henry  S.  Pray 

1091  George  U.  Appleton     ....  " 

1092  George  S.  Wheelwright   ...  " 

1093  Arthur  T.  Cutler 

1094  Edwin  Merrick 

1095  Edwin  K.  Rand " 


(46) 


MEMBERS. 


1096 
1097 
1098 
1099 
1100 
1101 
1102 
1103 
1104 
1105 
110'; 
1107 
1108 
1109 
1110 
1111 
1112 
1113 
1114 
1115 
1116 
1117 
1118 
1119 
1120 
1121 
1122 
1123 
1124 
1125 
1126 
1127 
1128 
1129 
1130 
1131 
1132 
1133 
1134 
1135 
1136 
1137 
1138 
1139 
1140 
1141 
1142 
1143 
1144 


A.  F.  Koberts       .  . 

D.  S.  Brigham     .  . 
Justin  D.  LitchfieM 

William  Croswell  . 

W.  H.  Proud  foot  . 

F.  M.  French  .     .  . 

\V.  Bradford   .     .  . 
"W.  George  Alden 
Andrew  J.  Lloyd 

George  H.  Rugg  .  . 


am 


Branklin  G.  Fessenden 
Edward  '^.  Dodge     . 
Edward  H.  Jones 
James  A.  Wentworth 
Moses  P.  Home  .     . 
Harry  Benson      .     . 
Frank  B.  Wilder      . 

E.  F.  Ballon     .     .     . 

F.  G.  Reynolds    .     . 
Isaac  K.  Proctor  .     . 

G.  W.  Oakraan     .     . 
A.  B    Smalley       .     . 
Charles  S.  Stone 
Charles  B.  Codding 
George  B.  Frothingh: 
Gustavus  A.  Puffer 
Thomas  Grieves  . 
J   E.  Pardrill   .     . 
J.  B.  Shaw       .     . 
E.  P.  Miller     .     . 
Maurice  H.  Richardson 
Isaac  H.  Putnam 

H.  F.  Cary      .     .     . 
Frank  H.  Hathorne 
David  Dilley    .     .     . 
Benjamin  Conant     . 
T.  H.  B.  Witter  .     . 
C.  B.  Fillebrown      . 
A.  A.  McFarlane 
J.  Q.  A.  Brackett     . 
Eli  A.  Sawtelle    .     . 
C.  W.  Chase    .     .     . 
Benjamin  H.  Fabens 
Daniel  L.  Tower 
William  M.  Lawrence 
J.  W.  Foster  .     .     . 
Benjamin  F.  Gilbert 
I.  C.  Collins    .     .     . 
W.  W.  Davis  .     .     . 


Nov.  29,  1870 d 

d 

"  r 

d 

"  r 

"  r 

d 

r 

r 

r 

"  r 

d 

d 

d 

d 

d 

"  r 

d 

r 

d 

d 

d 

d 

"  * 

"  * 

d 

d 

......  d 

d 

r 

d 

d 

d 

d 

"  r 

r 

d 

"  r 

d 

d 

d 

d 

"  r 

Apr.    20,  1871 d 

d 

d 

d 


(47; 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

1871-72 

1145  Richard  H.  Soule Nov.  12,  1871 d 

1146  D.  A.  Alden "                 

1147  S.  S.  M(jrgan "                d 

1148  Clarence  E.  Hay "                r 

1149  John  R.  Lander "                r 

1150  Cnarles  O.  Brooks "                d 

1151  A.  F.  Belcher "                d 

1152  J.  C.  Inches "                r 

1153  Richard  Beeching "                

1154  William  H.  Bunton "  ....... 

1155  George  A.  Bunton "                r 

1156  Robert  W.  Willson "                 d 

1157  Atkins  N.  Cooke "                d 

1158  H.  C.  Hopkins "                d 

1159  Austin  C.  Wellington  ....  "                r 

1160  William  A.  Holmes      ....  "                

1161  C.  F.  Piper "                d 

1162  John  W.  Bird "                r 

1163  James  L.  Hillard "                 

1164  Theodore  Sutro "                d 

1165  E.  C.  Waterman "                d 

1166  W.  K.  Webb *'                r 

1167  J.  R.  Leeson "                r 

1168  Carlos  Nudd "                r 

1169  Frank  H.  Pierce "        19       " d 

1170  Monroe  W.  Hatch "                 d 

1171  Samuel  S.  Waterman  ....  "                d 

1172  Joseph  H.  Alden "                d 

1173 

1174  Louis  H.  Parkhurst     ....  Dec.     9,  1871 d 

1175  Charles  K.  Hinkley       ....  Feb.    25,  1872 d 

1176  Kimbal  J.  Fenno "  ......  r 

1177  J.  S.  Abbott " r 

1178  Seth  W.  Kelley Mar.     3,  1872 d 

1179  E.  O   Young "                 d 

1180  Charles  A.  Cox "                r 

1181  E.  R.  Morse '*        10       " d 

1182  R.  J.  Elder "  ...... 

1183  N.  E.  Saville "                d 

1184  William  H.  Elliott "       17       " r 

1185  W.  T.  Barker "                d 

1186  W.  H.  Lyon May      5,  1872 d 

1187  Frank  W.  Knowles " d 

1188  A.  L.  Bearse " r 

1189  George  E.  Henry "                

1190  A.  G.  Dow "                d 

1191  George  H.  Hull,  Jr "                r 

1192  A.  S.  Dabney "                d 

(48) 


MEMBERS. 

1193  G.W.Brett May     5,    1872 d 

1194  H.  J.  Hallgrien "                d 

1195  J.W.Webster "                 d 

1196  H.  S.  Foster "                d 

1197  G.  I.  Favor "                 d 

1198  Walter  S.  Swan "                d 

1199  T.  F.  Bigelow "                d 

1200  George  F.  Millikeii "                r 

1201  John  P.  Lyman,  Jr '♦                r 

1202  Lawrence  L.  Wagner  ....  "                d 

1203  George  D.  Emerson      ....  "        12       " r 

1204  Charles  E.  Clark "                 r 

1205  (reorge  H.  S.  Driver     ....  "       19       " d 

120G  Lucius  L.  Hubbard         ....  "^26       " d 

1207  William  W.  W inward    ....  "                ^1 

1208  William  H.  Hunt Jane    2,    1872 d 

1873-74 

1209  Henry  J.  Perkins Oct.    26,  1873 d 

1210  George  F.  Daniels Jan.    24,  1874 

1211  Charles  Harts       "       25       " r 

1212  Frank  T.  Ware '•                

1213  N.  F.  Lincoln        '^                

1214  John  Denton         "                 d 

1215  Eugene  B.  Hagar "                

121t;  A.  Metzger,  Jr "                d 

1217  Horace  Frail         "                d 

1218  Reginald  Austin        "                d 

1219  Henry  N.  Marr "                 r 

1220  Frederick  P.  Fish "                 r 

1221  Nathan  H.  Dole "                d 

1222  C.  H.  Newcomb "                 d 

1223  William  K.  Sawyer "                r 

1224  Charles  W.  Stone "                 

1225  Henry  K.  Adams Feb.    1,     1874 r 

1226  Henry  G.Carey "                r 

1227  John  Midgley        "                 r 

1228  George  H.  Wilson "                r 

1229  George  E.  Richardson       ...  "                d 

1230  T.  L.  Talbot "                 d 

1231  Lowell  M.  Cooke "                d 

1232  Charles  E.  Munroe "                r 

1233  L.  K.  Palmer '•        «  "       ......  d 

1234  John  A.  Lowell "       15       "       r 

1235  Seth  W.  Kelley "                d 

1874-75 

1236  F.  M.  Kilmer  , Dec.    12,  1874     ......  r 

1237  Andrew  D.  Ward "                d 

(49) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


Dec.    12,  1874 d 

"        13       " r 

"                r 

20       •• d 

d 

Jan.    3,    1875 d 

"                 r 

d 

Apr.    4,    1875 d 

r 

d 

11       " d 

"                r 

25       " d 

28       " d 

re 

Dec.    12,  1875 d 

d 

r 

"                r 

d 

18  " d 

19  " d 

d 

"                r 

"       29       " d 

Jan.     9,    1876     

d 

16       " r 

d 

Feb.     6,    1876 .  d 

27       "       ......  d 

Apr.    15,  1876 r 

20  " d 

May     9,    1876 * 

10       " 

"       11        " d 

1876-77 

1279  Thomas  A.  Davin Nov.   25,   1876     ......  r 

1280  VValter  C.  Harris Jan.      6,  1877 r 

1281  Horace  C.  Sherman       ....       "         7,      "       ......  d 


1238 

Frank  G.  Crandale   . 

. 

1239 

W.  J.  Windrara    .     . 

, 

1240 

William  S.  Fenollosa 

1241 

George  E.  Bogle  .     . 

. 

1242 

Albert  G.  Pike      .     . 

1243 

Thomas  H.  Hall    .     . 

. 

1244 

Herbert  Rice    .     .     . 

1245 

W.  D.  Brewer      .     . 

1246 

C.  R.  Fullertou     .     . 

. 

1247 

Philo  Peabodv      .     . 

. 

1248 

Fred  R.  Merritt    .     . 

. 

1249 

Charles  E.  Swett      . 

1250 

George  H.  Lowe 

1251 

J.  K.  Berrv      .     .     . 

1252 

A.  B.  Furlong      .     .     . 

1253 

1^'rank  S.  Thayer      . 

1875- 

1254 

8.  H.  Swain 

1255 

J.  H.  Chase     .     .     . 

1256 

Charles  H.  Cole  .     .     . 

1257 

Benjamin  L.  Knapp 

1258 

George  F.  Forbes     . 

1259 

Rufus  Pendleton 

1260 

S.  F.  Robinson    .     . 

1261 

John  P.  Putnam  .     .     . 

1262 

Franklin  H.  Newell 

1263 

H.  A.  Hall  .... 

1264 

Robert  D.  Andrews 

1265 

Arthur  F.  Burnett    . 

1266 

D.  L.  Rand      .     .     . 

1266a  Jerome  C.  Hosmer  .     . 

1267 

William  M.  Richardson 

. 

1268 

Ernest  F.  Fenollosa      . 

1269 

Charles  F.  Folsom  .     . 

1270 

Albert  J.  West     .     . 

1271 

F.  W.  Rollins       .     . 

1272 

Parke  W.  He  wins     . 

1273 

Ralph  W.  Ellis     .     . 

1274 

F.  B.  Keene     .     .     . 

1275 

C.  Daniels  .... 

1276 

Leopold  Lobsitz  .     . 

1277 

W   F.  Warren      .     . 

1278 

L.  J.  Fuller      .     .     . 

(.50) 


MEMBERS. 


1282  William  Datemple Jan.     7,    1877 

1283  W.  G.  McKown 

1284  F.  F.  Favor 

1285  F.  B.  Wilder 

1286  Charles  C.  Roby 

1287  Fred  A.  Carney " 

1288  Richard  H.  Kidder "       13 

1289  G.  H.  Hudson "       14 

1290  S.  T.  Wentworth 

1291  John  W.  Dalzell Feb.    18,1877 

1292  J.  K.  S.  Pearson Mar.  14,  1877 

1293  E.  H.  Smith "        18 

1294  W.  W.  Keays 

1295  Georj?e  W.  Blodgett     ....  «' 
129G  J.  E.  Smith 

1297  A.  C.  Patten 

1298  William  T.  Souther      ....       "       20 

1299  Alvah  Crocker 

1300  Philip  F.  Chace 


1301  Georoje  A.  Lord  . 

1302  F.  W.  Emerson    . 

1303  Walter  Jenney     . 

1304  ^  Harry  A.  Bolan    . 

1305  Georue  C.  Augell 

1306  W.  H.  PaysoQ      . 

1307  George  H.  Woods 

1308  Thomas  M.  Noyes 

1309  Fred.  M.  Smith    . 

1310  Henry  M.  Brown 

1311  H.  C.  Prentiss     . 

1312  John  D.- Billings 

1313  Preston  Wilcox  . 

1314  William  I.  Hoyt  . 

1315  V.R.Pierce    .     . 

1316  R.  E.  Newhall      . 

1317  JoelC.  Bolan  .     . 

1318  George  T.  Elliot . 

1319  Philo  Peabody     . 

1320  Rufus  Pendleton 

1321  Charles  W.  W.  Wellin 

1322  John  A.  Harris    . 

1323  George  H.  Sturtevant 

1324  CharlfS  A.  Clark 

1325  Frederick  E.  Long 

1326  Lewis  H.  Corliss 

1327  Charles  \V.  Smith 

1328  E.  P.  Fdunce  .     . 


ton 


1877-78 

Oct.      3,  1877 d 

Dec.     2,  1877 r 

r 

d 

r 


30 


15 

18 
20 
24 


Apr.    13,  1878 '  .     * 


(51) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


1329 
1330 
1331 
1332 
1333 
1334 
1335 

1336 
1337 
1338 
1339 
1340 
1341 
1342 
1343 
1344 
1345 
1340 
1347 
1348 
1349 
1350 
1351 
1352 
1353 
1354 
1355 
1356 
1357 
1358 
1359 
1360 
1361 
1362 
1363 
1364 
1365 
1366 
1367 
1368 
1369 
1370 
1371 
1372 
1373 
1374 
1375 
1376 


F.  O.  Leonard Apr. 

Arthur  C.  A'ose 

F.  F.  Preble 

W.  M.  Barrett May 

N.  J.  Hall " 

William  A.  Blake 

Herbert  E.  Greene June 


1878-79 


James  E.  Miller 
Rosea  S.  Ballou 
A.  D.  Coombs 
James  L.  Mills 
Charles  S.  Gooding 
Henry  E.  Cooper 
Edward  Stickney 
Arthur  C.  Buttrick 
Benjamin  J.  Bowen 
H.  F.  Eveleth 
Walter  S.  Frost 
Harry  G.  Wells 
W.  R.  Eaton   . 
W.  Worcester 
A.  T.  Marston 
A.  S.  Johnston 
A.  W.  Brigiis  . 
J.  B.  Scamman 
J.  D.  Buckingham 
Josiah  Wheelwright 
John  F.  Newton,  Jr 
W.  J.  Lowder 
A.  R.  Underwood 
L.  M.  Eldridge    . 
J.  B.  Dunnels 
W.  A.  Woodward 
W.  L.  Titus     .     . 
F.  C.  Shepard      . 
William  B.  Phelps 
J.  F.  Powers  .     . 
R.  J.  Huntley.     . 
R.  T.  Williams    . 


(1365) 
(1361) 
(1362) 
(1363) 
(1364) 


Henry  W.  Lamb  .  . 
George  H.  Webster,  Jr 
Charles  P.  Stimpson 
A.  N.  Howes  .  .  . 
N.  Wardner  Williams 
John  Roraback  .  . 
W.  L.  Whitney  .  . 
Henry  B.  Brown  .     . 


Dec. 


13,  1878 d 

d 

28      "  

1,    1878  .... 

2      "  .... 

11      "  .... 

3,  1878  .... 


Mar. 


Nov.    10,  1878 d 

"  ......     r 

d 


17 

(( 

22 

1, 


8 
11 
12 
14 
11, 

13 

14 
15 
19 
26 
31 


1878 


1879 


(52) 


MEMBERS. 


1879-80 


1377 
1378 
1379 
1380 
1381 
1382 
1383 
1384 
1385 
138G 
1387 
1388 
1389 
1390 
1391 
1392 
1393 
1394 
1395 
1396 
1397 
1398 
1399 
1400 
1401 
1402 
1403 
1404 
1405 
1406 
1407 
1408 
1409 


1410 
1411 
1412 
1413 
1414 
1416 
1416 
1417 
1418 
1419 
1420 
1421 
1422 


Samuel  M.Bedlington  ri384) 


(1379) 
(1380) 
(1388) 
(1390) 
(1382) 
(1389) 
(1392) 
(1381) 
(1383) 
(1378) 
(1387) 
(1393) 
(1386) 
(1394) 
(1391) 
(1385) 
(1377) 


Nov, 
Jan. 


Edwin  R.  Eaton  . 
Walter  A.  Adams 
Charles  L.  Marston 
Selah  Howell  .     . 
Albert  J.  Pratt     . 
L.  N.  Howe      .     . 
Tilden  G.  Abbott 
Thomas  Hooper,  Jr 
John  A.  Barri 
William  H.  Guild 
H.  A.  Davis,  Jr.  . 
S.  A.  Sargent  .     . 
John  W.  Estle       . 
Julius  H.  Waterbury 
William  H.  Harlow 
Chauncey  M.  Hatch 
Henry  L.  Marindin 
William  I.  Howell 
W.  H.  Pelton   .     . 
A.  Sydney  Acker  . 
Eben  H.  Chapin 
W.  A.  A.  Gardner 
C.  R.  Teele       .     . 
Charles  F.  P.  Burchmore 
Edw^ard  T.  Remick 
John  E.  Svvett 
Lewis  M.  Palmer 
T.  L.  Roberts 
H.  r.  Gage       .     . 
Sanford  C.  Chase 
C.  E.  Stephenson 
George  R.  Beyerle 

1880-81 

1).  B.Harding Dec. 

William  Fowler 

H.  N.  Redfern '' 

William  S.  Richardson      .     .     . 

J.  F.  Malette Jan. 

C.  D.  Stanford 

N.  G.  Brinsmade " 

Edward  Barnes *' 

Edward  T.  Cabot 

J.  R.  Baldwin 

C.  Winther 

M.  1'.  Denton May 

Alton  Faunce 


Sept. 
Oct. 


22, 

8, 

18 

18 
22 


1, 
10 
1, 

21 
28 
30 


May   27, 


23, 


24 


8 
11 
17 


30, 


1879 * 

1879 

r 

r 

r 

" r 

d 

d 

r 

r 

d 

d 

1879 d 

1880 d 

" d 

" r 

d 

d 

d 

d 

,d 

*d 

1880 

d 

r 

d 

♦ 

d 

d 

1880 d 

" d 

d 

1881 d 

r 

" d 

•' r 

.    .    .....  r 

r 

1881 r 


(53) 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

1423  F.  A.  Bayley May    30,  1881 r 

1424  Charles  H.  Curaings     ....  "                r 

1425  H.  V.  Hayes "                d 

1426  C.  P.  King "                d 

1881-82 

1427  Louis  F.  Brown Dec.    19,  1881 r 

1428  W.  H.  Coffey "                

1429  J.  Frank  Williams •'                ^ 

1430  W.  J.  Meadowy "                r 

1431  N.  W.  Treadwell "       22       " r 

1432  E.  E.  Gorham "       23       " d 

1433  E.  W.  Hatch "       24       " * 

1434  W.  E.  C.  Rich "       31        " 

1435  G.  W.  McKinnon Jan.      6,  1882 

1436  Jarvis  B.  Keen "       16       " r 

1437  Henry  H.  Turner "       21        " 

1438  H.  A.  Moore "                 d 

1439  C.  F.  Davis Apr.    22,  1882 d 

1440  Clarence  H.  Pike "       24       " 

1441  Charles  P.  Pond "                d 

1442  Robert  S.  Nodine,  Jr **       25       " d 

1443  Edwin  A.  Brooks "                r 

1444  Thomas  W.  Proctor     ....  "                r 

1445  Ira  G.  Stevens "                d 

1446  Thomas  A.  Lambert     ....  ♦'                

1447  William  S.  Randall ♦'                r 

1448  Francis  A.  Kemp "                d 

1449  Francis  P.  Trench "                r 

1450  H.  D.  Young  . '«                d 

1451  L.  C.  Hascall «•                

1452  H.  S.  Fletcher May    9,    1882 d 

1453  Isaac  W.  Risdon "                

1454  G.W.Whitney "        15     "         

1455  Willis  H.  Freeman "        17     "         

1456  H.  E.  Sanderson "                r 

1457  T.  F.  Davis "                d 

1458  Otis  F.  French "       18       "        r 

1459  E.  J.  Hersey "                

1460  Charles  R.  Draper "                

1461  George  Knight "       19      "         d 

1462  H.  A.  Hall "       24      "         d 

1463  J.  H.  Seaverns ♦'      26      "         r 

1464  W.  K.  Sawyer "       29      '«         

1465  Charles  H.  West June  21,    1882 d 

1466  Joseph  H.  Chadbourne     ...  •'                d 

1882-83 

1467  J.  C.  DeLaney Sept.    18,  1882 d 

1468  David  Lockhart "        26      "       d 

(54) 


MEMBERS. 


U69 

Clarence  W.  Ayer    . 

1470 

J.  Q.  A.  Brackett     . 

1471 

G.  W.  Walton     .     . 

1472 

P.  R.  Eaton     .     .     . 

1473 

C.  S.  Davis     .     .     . 

1474 

C.  A.  Harvey  .     .     . 

1475 

J.  W.  Batchelder     . 

1476 

F.  W.  Porter  .     .     . 

1477 

C.  L.  Gerrauld     .     . 

1478 

George  H.  Brown     . 

1479 

E.  A.  Leonard      .     . 

1480 

Ralph  H.  lawyer     . 

1481 

David  G  Eldridge,  Jr 

1482 

George  A.  Nesmith 

1483 

Charles  C.  Parkyn   . 

1484 

William  U.  Swan     . 

1485 

Oliver  E.  Simmons 

1486 

Hugo  Roeder  .     .     . 

1487 

Chandler  Wright     . 

1488 

L.  G.  Ripley    .     .     . 

1489 

L.  C.  Johonnot   .     . 

1490 

G.  N.  P.  Mead     .     . 

1491 

A.  S.  Joyner    .     .     . 

1492 

Clarence  A.  Marshall 

1493 

Ernest  S.  Jack    .     . 

1494 

Robert  L.  White      . 

1495 

C.  P.  Harkins      .     . 

1496 

Thomas  S.  Napier  . 

1497 

Harrv  Holden      .     . 

1498 

Charles  H.  Cumings 

1499 

Henry  C.  Hackett    . 

1500 

Albert  F.  Roberts    . 

1501 

Franklin  K.  Gifford 

1502 

Herbert  Harris    .     . 

1503 

Robert  Codman,  Jr. 

1504 

Charles  W.  Dimick 

1504a  Otis  Tufts       .     .     . 

1505 

Orion  S.  Taylor  .     . 

1506 

Joseph  R.  Worcester 

1507 

Warren  A.  E.  Fish  . 

1508 

Elijah  A.  Wood  .     . 

1509 

Albert  E.  Dobbs 

1510 

John  Marten  .     .     . 

1511 

Dexter  P.  Whittemore 

1512 

Andrew  W.  Turner 

1513 

Edgar  F.  Stevens     . 

1514 

George  M.  Cranitch 

1515 

Daniel  S.  Harkins  . 

Sept.  30,  1882 r 

Oct.   4,  1882 r 

d 

d 

d 

......  d 


May 


1883-84 

Oct. 
Dec, 


May 


4, 

5 

7 
10 


12 


15 


17 
22 
23 
24 

28 


1883 


11,  1883 r 

3,  1883 d 

4   " d 

Feb.  13,  1884 r 

"16   " r 

25.  " d 

Apr.  12,  1884 r 

Apr.  23,  1884 r 


3,  1884 r 

d 


6 
12 
15 


(55) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


1616  James  Ryan     . 

1517  George  J.  Ferreir.i 

1518  Henry  D.  Goodale 

1519  Samuel  L.  Hills   . 

1520  Walter  G.  Clark  . 


May    16,  1884 d 

20       " r 

28       " r 


June     7,  1884 r 


1521 

C.  Edwin  Jarvis 

1522 

William  L.  Brown   . 

1523 

Charles  H.  Dodge    . 

1524 

W.  H.  Briggs      .     . 

1525 

A.  H.  Morris  .     .     . 

1526 

George  E.  Baxter     . 

1527 

S.  H.  Cutting  .     .     . 

1528 

Joseph  O'Connor 

1529 

Walter  G.  Morey 

1530 

Henry  C.  Parker      . 

1531 

Walter  C.  Hobbs      . 

1532 

D.  L.  Billings       .     . 

1533 

Cecil  H.  Cummings . 

1534 

J.  M.  Gorrie   .     .     . 

1535 

I.  P.  Horton    .     .     . 

1536 

J.  M.  Campbell    .     . 

1537 

H.  W.  BuUard     .     . 

1538 

P.  D.  Houghton  .     . 

1539 

H.  Tracy  Balcora      . 

1540 

Charles  B.  Perkins  . 

1541 

William  H.  Snow     . 

1542 

Edward  P.  Bovnton 

1543 

Ernest  N.  Bagg  .     . 

1544 

Charles  P.  Worcester  . 

1545 

Charles  A.  Stowers  . 

1546 

Arthur  H.  Frost  .     .     . 

1547 

Frank  M.  Leavitt     . 

1548 

Arthur  W.  Sim    .     . 

1549 

Joseph  L.  Caverly    . 

1550 

William  C.  Greene   . 

1551 

James  Matheson  .     . 

1552 

Fred.  S.  Johnson 

1553 

W.  Frank  Grieves  . 

1554 

Sidney  F.  Smith  .     . 

1555 

George  F.  Dunham  . 

1556 

William  D.  Brewer,  Jr 

1557 

Nathaniel  G.  Chapin 

1558 

William  L.  Thompson 

1659 

Edward  A.  F.  Gore  . 

1660 

William  S.  Swett      . 

1884-85 

Sept.  21,  1884 d 

25  " 

26  " 

27  " 

Oct.      2,  1884 r 

4  " r 

12  " d 

d 

"  r 

18  " 

20  " 


25 


Nov. 

6, 
10 

1884 

Dec. 

1, 

1884 

Feb. 

7, 

1885 

May 

26. 

29 

1885 

June 

1, 

1885 

i( 

4 

(( 

a 

5 

(( 

<  c 

6 

" 

" 

15 

i( 

i( 

22 

" 

1885-86 

Sept.  21,  188". r 

23      "  r 

Oct.     5,    1885 

d 

12       " r 

Nov.   19,  1885 d 

Feb.   24,  1886 r 

May  31,  1886 

June     3,   1886 r 


(56) 


MEMBERS. 

ir.6i 

Charles  A.  Call     .     .     . 

.     .     .     June    8,   1886     .     . 

1562 

Herbert  Merriam       .     . 

.       "9        "       .     . 

1563 

John  G.  Russell    .     .     . 

"      21        "       .     . 

.     .     .     .     r 

1564 

Walter  C.  Martin      .     .     . 

"       22         "        .      . 

1565 

Henry  K.  Limbert    .     .     . 

.     . 

• 

1566 

Richard  C.  Rankin    .     .     . 

.     . 

1567 

Charles  C. Ryder      .     . 

.       "      23        "       .     . 

.     .     .     .     r 

1568 

David  Harrison    .... 

'^      24        "       .     . 

1569 

Frederick  W.  Kettelle  .     . 

-      28        "       .     . 

1670 

Robert  H.  Richards       .     . 

July    3,     1886     .     . 

1571 

Marcus  A.  Perkins    .     .     . 

9        "       .     . 

♦ 

1572 

Karl  A.  Rydinjjsviird     . 

"       12        "       .     . 

.     .     .     .    d 

1573 

George  P.  Kendrick       .     . 

"       20        "       .     . 

.     .     .     .    d 

1886-87 


1574  George  H.  Barney     . 

1575  George  W.  Egerton 

1576  William  W.  Burnham 

1577  Albert  H.  Larason     . 

1578  William  H.  Mitchell 

1579  Lewis  W.  Roe      . 

1580  Frank  H.  Sprague 

1581  Frank  E.  Uphara  . 

1582  Willis  P.  Howard 

1583  Henry  B.  Adams  . 

1584  Harry  W,  Johnson 

1585  AUiston  Greene    . 

1586  Owen  J.  Curley    . 
1687  David  L.  Rand     . 

1588  Wellington  Wells 

1589  C.  Frederick  With 

1590  Lewis  W.  Cutting 

1591  William  B.  Ropes 

1592  Osborne  N.  Sargent 

1593  Arthur  B.  Moorhouse 

1594  John  G.  Howard 

1595  Charles  E.  Alexander 
1696  Frank  W.  Patch  .     . 

1597  Blewett  H.  Lee     .     . 

1598  Herbert  G.  Aldrich  . 

1599  Charles  A.  Phinney 

1600  Frederick  Fox,  Jr.    . 

1601  Harold  B.  Warren    . 

1602  George  A.  Hanson  . 

1603  Charles  W.  Edwards 

1604  Leonard  J.  Manning 

1605  Edward  H.  Kidder  . 

1606  Samuel  A.  Davis      . 


Sept.  24,  1886 r 

Oct.      2,  1886 d 

May    30,  1887 d 


June     6,  188^ 


18 

20 
21 


22 


23 
25 
27 

28 


29 
30 


(57; 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


1607  Albert  N.  Page    .     . 

1608  Lyman  0.  Dennison 


1609  Sumner  Coolidge      . 

1610  Henry  M.  Esselen     . 

1611  Frank  M.  Copeland  . 

1612  Edward  N.  Ainsworth 

1613  Charles  E.  Fitz    .     . 

1614  William  H.  Henderson 

1615  William  N.  Eustis    . 

1616  Joseph  H.  McKenna 

1617  George  E.  Bonney    . 

1618  Glenn  R.  Gardner    . 

1619  Harry  H.  Smith  .     . 

1620  Howard  Frisbee  .     . 

1621  George  H.  Kattenhorn 

1622  Charles  O.  Bourne  . 

1623  Harlan  F.  Newton   . 

1624  William  P.  Chadwick 

1625  Joseph  W.  Belcher  . 

1626  Edward  A.  Smith     . 

1627  George  F.  Hulslander 

1628  Charles  H.  Fernald  . 

1629  William  F.  HoU  .     . 


July    12,  1887 r 

28       " r 


1887-88 


Oct.    17,  1887 r 

May    21,  1888 

23  " 

26  " * 


28 


June     1,   1888 r 


16 

" 

(( 

**        20 

" 

(( 

•'        22 

- 

July     9, 

1888 

12 


1888-89 


1630  Frank  J.  Hale      .     . 

1631  Arthur  W.  Chesterton 

1632  Adolph  Eberius  .     . 

1633  John  B.  Barton   .     . 

1634  Albert  M.  Phelps     . 

1635  Henry  D.  Young 

1636  Whittle  Poor  .     .     . 

1637  Henry  B.  Ashton      . 

1638  Frank  R.  Bodwell    . 

1639  Chester  W.  Purington 

1640  Alfred  E.  May  ell      . 

1641  Frank  M.  Tuttle      . 

1642  George  W.  M.  Given 

1643  Nathan  R.  George,  Jr. 

1644  Walter  P.  White      . 

1645  Walter  E.  Henderson 

1646  Edward  R.  Maxwell 

1647  Mercer  B.  Moody    . 

1648  George  H.  Rose  .     . 

1649  Arthur  H.  Whittemore 
1(550  John  Stalker  .... 
1651  Edward  L.   Cleveland,  Jr 


Oct. 

Nov. 
Apr. 


4,  1888 
5 

0,  1888 

1,  1889 


(58) 


MEMBERS. 


1652  William  J.  Luker Apr.    11, 

1653  John  A.  Fish  .     . 

1654  Wilton  H.  Despar 

1655  Clement  C.  Hyde 

1656  Wilbur  O.  Hi^jrins 

1657  Frederick  0.  Houghton    ..."       19 

1658  Mackintosh  Scott 

1659  Herbert  H.  Bates 

1660  John  C.  Ballou    . 

1661  James  H.  Kenney 

1662  Rowland  H.  Barnes 

1663  James  Durham    . 

1664  Harry  P.  Dyer     . 

1665  Willard  E.  Ryder 

1666  Howard  F.  Quick 

1667  Ralph  B.  Savage 

1668  John  H.  W.  Fraser 

1669  Herbert  E.  Kenney 

1670  Jesse  L.  Nelson  . 

1671  Wilson  R.  Butler 

1672  Francis  A.  Shove 

1673  Frank  P.  Gowing 

1674  Frank  D.  Swope 

1675  George  F.  Blake Apr. 

1676  Sidney  Taylor May 

1677  George  S.  Cheney 

1678  Charles  Teasdale 

1679  Almon  H-  Morris 

1680  Prentiss  A.  Allen 

1681  Lewis  P.  Everett 

1889-90 

1682  William  A.  Parks Oct. 

1683  A.  Hillis  Boyd 

1684  John  M.  Phipps Nov. 

1685  Arthur  Reddish May 

1686  Isaac  F.Kingsbury 

1687  Clinton  A.  Ricker 

1688  Justin  F.  Emery June 

1689  George  L.Ruffln 

1690  Oliver  H.  Clark,  Jr 

1691  Harry  N.  Redman 

1692  Charles  H.  Harmon      ....     June 

1693  Charles  A.  Gould      . 

1694  Frederick  P.  Kidder 

1695  Fritz  H.  Small     .     . 

1696  Louis  S.  Brigham    . 

1697  James  W,  Loveland 

1698  Charles  F.  Harper    . 


25, 
1, 


11 
16 
22 


3, 

8 
20, 
26, 


6, 


1889 

r 

r 

" d 

r 

d 

d 

r 

r 

r 

r 

r 

r 

r 

d 

1889 r 

1889 

1889 

r 

1889 

1890 r 

1890 r 

d 

1890 

" r 

" r 

r 


(59) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


1G99  Leonard  M.  Allen 

1700  John  H.  Child 

1701  H.  S.  Fletcher     . 

1702  James  C.  Reid     . 

1703  George  M.  Brooks 

1704  Hobart  E.  Cousens 

1705  Frank  P.  Ball  .     . 

1706  Frank  R.  Moore  . 

1707  Charles  S.  Havves 

1708  James  D.  Gordon 

1709  Lawrence  Whitcomb 

1710  Edward  P.  McKissick 

1711  Joseph  Westwood    . 

1712  Jesse  Johnson     .     . 

1713  Murdock  McNeil 

1714  Albert  N.  Page    .     . 

1715  Edmund  H.  Lansing 

1716  Harris  E.  Sawyer     . 

1717  Edwin  B.  Leavitt     . 


June  21,  1890 r 

23  " r 

d 

•*       24  " r 

"       25  " r 

"               r 

•'                r 

"                r 

26  " 

Oct.    23,  1890 

Nov.     2,  1890 * 

24  "       .  .  

29  '        r 

Jan.    29,  1891 

Feb.     7,  1891 r 


(60) 


MEMBERS 

ALPHABETICALLY    A  ]{  K  A  N  G  E  D 


*  indicates  that  membership  was  terminated  by  death; 

Abell,  Charles  R Jan. 

Abbott,  J.  S Feb. 

Abbott,  Tildeu  G Oct. 

Acker,  A.  Sydney Jan. 

Adams,  Charles  P Dec. 

Adams,  Charles  R Nov. 

Adams,  Daniel  M Feb. 

Adams,  E.  E Feb. 

Adams,  Edward  R Oct. 

Adams,  Henry  B June 

Adams,  Henry  K Feb. 

Adams,  Isaac Nov. 

Adams,  J.  H.  Jr Nov. 

Adams,  Joseph Aug. 

Adams,  Leonard  B Mar. 

Adams,  Walter  A Oct. 

Aiken,  E.  H Nov. 

Aiken,  Edward  H Nov. 

Aiken,  Henry  M Jan. 

Aikin,  James  R Nov. 

Ainsworth,  Edward  N May 

Alden,  D.  A Nov. 

Alden,  David Nov. 

Alden,  Joseph  H Nov. 

Alden,  W.  George Nov. 

Aldrich,  Herbert  G June 

Alexander,  Charles  E June 

Alexander,  Ebenezer,  Jr Dec. 

Alexander,  Emery Sept, 

Alexander,  Henry  F Jan. 

Alexander,  James Jan. 

Alexander,  Lucius  D Feb. 

Allen,  Allstou Jan. 

Allen,  Charles  P Dec. 

Allen,  Edward  E Nov. 

Allen,  Henry Apr. 

Allen,  Leonard  M June 

Allen,  Porter  S Nov. 

(61) 


r,  by  resignation;    d,  by  discharge. 


28,  1867  . 

r 

25,  1872  . 

r 

13,  1879  . 

d 

30,  1880  . 

d 

6,  1842  . 

r 

14,  185.0  . 

25,  1853 

d 

8,  1869 

d 

6,  1829  . 

r 

11,  1887 

1,  1874 

r 

10,  1818  . 

r 

11,  1844 

3,  1815  . 

r 

14,  1866  . 

r 

8,  1879  . 

r 

29,  1870  . 

r 

4,  1834 

d 

15,  1844 

r 

4,  1834 

26,  1888 

* 

12,  1871 

18, 1853 

d 

19,  1871 

d 

29,  1870 

r 

25,  1887 

d 

22, 1887  . 

r 

7,  1824 

* 

7,  1824 

d 

20,  1833 

. 

. 

* 

6,  1844 

.  d 

4,  1834 

d 

15,  1837  . 

r 

7,  1824 

d 

29,  1870 

d 

10,  1842 

* 

21,  1890 

V 

1,  1865 

.  d 

HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Allen,  Prentiss  A May   10,  1889 

Allen,  Silas,  Jr Aug.     7,  1882 

Ames,  Simeon  S Dec.  U,  1848 d 

Anderson,  N.  R Mar.     8,  1860 d 

Anderson,  William Nov.  14,  1855 d 

Andrews,  Alfred Oct.   10,  1854 d 

Andrews,  Caleb Nov.    9.  1815 r 

Andrews,  H.  C Nov.  24,  1869 d 

Andrews,  John  D.    * Nov.    1,  1865 

Andrews,  Robert  D Dec.    19,  1875 d 

Angell,  George  C Dec.     2,  1877 r 

Angier,  Samuel  A Nov.     1,  1865 d 

Ansorge,  Alfred  E Nov.  23,- 1860 d 

Appleton,  George  C Nov.  29,  1870 r 

Appleton,  John Oct.    12,  1855 d 

Apthorp,  II.  O Nov.    8.  1863 r 

Ashton,  Henry  B Apr.    11,  lft89 

Atkinson,  Thomas,  Jr Nov.    7,  lfc61 

Atwood,  James  M Nov.  13,  1867 d 

Austin,  Reginald Jan.    25,  1874 d 

Austin,  W.  H.  M Nov.  29,  1870 r 

Averill,  James Oct.     3,  1820 d 

Ayer,  Clarence  W Sept.  30,  1882 r 

Babcock,  W.  R Jan.    11,  1848 d 

Bacon,  James  G Oct.     3,  1820 r 

Bacon,  Nathan  K Apr.    9,  1870 * 

Badger,  David  J Mar.  13,  18i3 d 

Badger,  J.  H Nov.    1,  1865 r 

Badger,  Thomas,  Jr Nov.  23,  1815 * 

Bagg,  Ernest  N June    1,  1885 r 

Bailey,  Joseph Original  member * 

Baker,  Benjamin  F Apr.  16,  1837 * 

Baker,  Elisha Original  member * 

Balch,  Edward  L Sept.  14,  lf<52,  Dec.  !6,  1857    .  * 

Balcom,  H.  Tracy Feb.     7,  1885 d 

Baldwin,  J.  R Nov.  13,  1867,  Jan.  17,  1881     .  r 

Baldwin,  Thaddeus Nov.  19,  1816 r 

Ball,  Abper Feb.    2,  1821 d 

Ball,  Frank  P June  25,  1890 r 

Ball,  N.  A.  H Nov.    2,  1847 d 

Ball,  Nahum Dec.    3,  1822 d 

Ball,  S.  B Dec.  11,  1851 * 

Ball,  Thomas Oct.   21,  1838,  Apr.  3.  1846  .     .  * 

Ballou,  E.  F Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Ballon,  Hosea  S Nov.  10,  1878 r 

Ballou,  John  C Apr.   ID,  1889 d 

Ballou,  Joseph  E Apr.    9,  1870 d 


(62) 


MEMBERS. 

Bangs  Thomas  G May     2,  1816 d 

Barker,  Albert  G Apr.  16,  1837 r 

Barker,  Jedediah Oct.   U,  1817 d 

Barker,  Theodore  T Jan.     6,1841 d 

Barker,  W.  T Mar.  17,  1872 d 

Barnabee,  H.  C May    5,  1857 r 

Barnes,  Albert  M Feb.     8,  1869 d 

Barnes,  Benjamin,  Jr Apr.     2,  1816 d 

Barnes,  Edward Jan.    11,  1881 d 

Barnes,  Loring  B Dec.  11,  1851 * 

Barnes,  Rowland  H Apr.  19,  1889 r 

Barnes,  Samuel  H Feb.    4,  1847 d 

Barney,  George  H Sept.  24, 18H6 r 

Barrett,  Silas June    1,  1815 * 

Barrett,  W.  M May     1,  187s d 

Barri,  John  A Oct.   18,  1879 r 

Barrus  Horace  G Feb.  17,  1839 d. 

Barry,  Horace  W Nov.  12,  1855 

Barry,  W.  Trask Nov.    1,  1863 d 

Bartlett,  Hosea Apr.    5,    1825 d 

Bartlett,  John Dec.    6,  18i5 * 

Bartlett,  John  W Jan.     6,  1848 d 

Bartlett,  J.  C Feb.     8,  1869 d 

Barton,  John  B Apr.  11,  1889 

Bassett,  Charles  M Nov.  13,  1867 d 

Bassett,  S.  D Dec.  29, 1860 d 

Batchelder,  J.  W Oct.     4,  1»82 

Bates,  Alfred  W Dec.     7,  1858 r 

Bates  Edmund Dec.  22,  ltt39 d 

Bates  Herbert  H Apr.  19,  1889 

Bawn,  George Sept.    7,  1815 r 

Baxter,  George  E Oct.     4,1884 r 

Bayley,  F.  A May  30,  1881 r 

Beach,  H.  H Feb.  18,  1863 r 

Bearse,  A.  L May    5,  1872 r 

Beck,.  Charles May     2,  1816 d 

Beckwith,  George  C Nov.  19,  1868 d 

Bedlington,  Samuel  M Sept.  22,  1879 * 

Beeching,  Richard Nov.  12,  1871 

Belcher,  A.  F Nov.  IJ,  1871 d 

Belcher,  John  H Mar.  16,1820 d 

Belcher,  Joseph  W June  20,  1888 

Bemis,  William  W Nov.    1,1865 r 

Bennett,  A.  T Oct.  25,  1856 d 

Bennett,  B.  F Nov.    8,  1^63 r 

Benson,  Harry Nov.  29,  1870 

Benton,  I.  B Nov.  25,1854  ......  d 

Berry,  J.  K Apr.  11,  1875 r 

Beyerle,  George  R May  27,  1880 d. 

(63) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


Bickford,  Abraham Dec.  20,  1825 d 

Bicknell,  Charles Jan.     2,  1821 d 

Bicknell,  James  T Dec.     6,  1842 * 

Bigelow,  Abraham  O Aug.  1(5,  1836 * 

Bigelow,  Alanson,  Jr Mar.  19,  1858 r 

Bigelow,  John Aug.  14,  1831 * 

Biglow,  Lyman Aug.    2,  1825 d 

Bigelow,  T.  F May    5,  1872 d 

Billings,  D.  L Oct.  20,  1884 

Billings,  John  D Dec.    9.  1877 r 

Bingham,  Jonathan Oct.     7,  1817 r 

Bird,  George  W Nov.    2,  1847 * 

Bird,  Horace Nov.    8,  1863 d 

Bird,  Isaac Nov.  18,  1817 * 

Bird,  John  W Nov.  12,  1871 r 

Bird,  Joseph Nov.    8,  1863 r 

Blackman,  IL  P Nov.  29,  1870 

Blake,  George  F Apr.   25,  1889 r 

Blake,  William Oct.     7,  1817 r 

Blake.  William  A May  11,1878 d 

Blaney,  S.  K Jan.   13,  1833 d 

Blodgett,  George  W Mar.   18,  1877 

Blood,  William  H Oct.  27,  1^59 d 

Boardman.  H.  H Nov.    1,  1865 d 

Bodwell,  Frank  R Apr.  11,  1889 

Bogle,  George  E Dec.  13,  1874 

Bolau,  Harry  A Dec.    2,  1877 d 

Bolan,  Joel  C Dec.  30,  1877 d 

Bonney,  George  E May  28,  1888 r 

Borrowscale,  Joseph Oct.  27,  1859 d 

Boihamly,  William  B Sept.  29,  1849 d 

Bourne,  Abner Original  member * 

Bourne,  C.  C Nov.  21,  1865 d 

Bourne,  Charles  O June  16,  1888 r 

Bourne,  R Nov.  21,  1865 d 

Boutwell,  N.  B Apr.     6,  1861 d 

d 

,     .     .     .     .  r 
d 


Bowditch,  Jonathan,  Jr Mar.    6,  1821  .     .     .     . 

Bowen,  Benjamin  J Nov.  10,  1878  .... 

Bowen,  Henry Nov.  10.  1818  ...     . 

Bowker,  Dexter Nov.    5,  184  6  .     .     .     . 

Boyd,  A.  Hillis Oct.    8,  1889  .... 

Boynton,  Edward  P May  2'),  1885  .... 

Boynton,  Joseph  W Nov.    4,  1854  .... 

Hrackett,  I.  Louis Mar.  16,  1848  ...     . 

Brackett,  J.  Q.  A Nov.  29,  1870,  Oct.  4,  18S2 

Brackett.  Nathaniel Feb.     4,  1823  .... 

Bradbury,  C.  B Nov.  19,  1868  .... 

Bradbury,  Osgood Nov.  17,  1844  .... 

Bradbury,  William  F Nov.  10,  1864  .... 


(64) 


MEMBERS. 

Bradbury,  Wyraond Sept.  19,  1841 d 

Bradford,  E.  D Nov.  24,  1869 d 

Bradford,  George  H Oct.  27,  1859 d 

Bradford,  W Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Bradford,  William  R Nov.  13,  1836 r 

Brazier,  Franklin  J Nov.  17,  1854 * 

Brett,  G.  \V May     5,  1872 d 

Brewer,  I.  D Nov.  16,  1844 d 

Brewer,  W.  D Jan.     3,  1875 r 

Brewer,  William  D Sept.  10,  1853 d 

Brewer,  William  D.,  Jr Feb.  24,  1886 r 

Bridge,  John Oct.  26,  1815 r 

Briggs,  A.  W Nov.  10,  1878 d 

Briggs,  W.  H Sept.  27,  1884 

Brigham,D.  S Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Brigham,  Erastus  F Jan.  11,  1829 d 

Brigham,  George  O Jan.     7,  1860 d 

Brigham,  John  T Oct.     6,  1818 d 

Brigham,  Louis  S June  20,  1800 

Briusmade,  N.  G Jan.     8,  1881 

Brintnall,  Charles Oct.     7,  1817 r 

Brooks,  Charles  O Nov.  12,  1871 d 

Brooks,  Edwin  A Apr.  25,  1882 r 

Brooks,  George  M June  24,  1890 

Brooks,  S.  P Jan.    18,  1845 d 

Brown,  A.  B Oct.  25,1856 d 

Brown,  A.  W Dec.  16,  1857 * 

Brown,  Bartholomew Oct.     5,  1815 * 

Brown,  Curtis Oct.  25,  1856 * 

Brown,  Edwin ,  Jan.  23,  1842,  Feb.  9,  1853  .     .  r 

Brown,  Elbridge Jan.     1,1822 d 

Brown,  George  H May    4,  1883 d 

Brown,  George  M Mar.    2,  1865 d 

Brown,  George  T Nov.  19,  1868 

Brown,  H.  M Nov.  19,  1868 r 

Brown,  Henry  15 Mar.  31,  1879 d 

Brown,  Henry  M Dec.    4,  1877 r 

Brown,  John  G Oct.  15,  1816 d 

Brown,  Joseph Jan.  11,  1829 d 

Brown,  Louis  F Dec.  19,  1881 r 

Brown.  O.  B Dec.  16,  1857 r 

Brown,  Timothy Sept.  28,  1834 d 

Brown,  William  L Sept.  25,  1884 

Browne,  A.  Parker Nov.  21,  1865 

Browne,  Charles  F June    3,  1857 d 

Bruce,  Abel  W June  16,  1818 d 

Bruce,  Edwin Dec.     6,  1845 d 

Bryant,  Henry  T June  16,  1856 d 

Buck,  Ephraim Nov.  27,  1821 d 

(65) 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Bnckinghara,  J.  D Nov.  10,  1878 d 

Bullard,  Calvin Feb.     4,  1823 * 

Bullard,  H.  W Nov.  10,  1884 d 

Bunton,  George  A Nov.  12,  1871 r 

Bunton,  William  H Nov.  12,  1871 

BurbaDk,  E.  A Mar.  14,  1866 

Burchmore,  Charles  F.  P Jan.    30,  1880 d 

Bjirditt,  Charles  A Nov.  10,  1864 r 

Burnhara,  William  W May  30,  1887 d 

Burnett,  Arthur  F Dec.  19,  1875 r 

Burnett,  Henry Nov.  26,  1818 d 

Burrows  John  A Jan.    28,  1867 d 

Burton,  Andrew  N Feb.  12,  1847 

Butler,  Aaron Nov.  17,  1839 d 

Butler,  Benjamin Nov.    9,  1844 d 

Butler,  Charles Nov.    2,  1852 d 

Butler,  John Nov.    9,  1846 r 

Butler,  P.  A Nov.  13,  1867 d 

Butler,  William  P Nov.    1,  1863 r 

Butler,  Wilson  R Apr,  19,  1889 r 

Buttrick,  Arthur  C Nov.  10,  1878 d 

Byram,  N.  Cushing Nov.  13,  1836 * 

Byrnes,  William  M Jan.   20,  1839 * 

Cabot,  Edward  T Jan.   17,  1881 r 

Call,  Charles  A June    8,  1886 

Campbell,  J.  M Nov.    6,1884  ....'..  d 

Campbell,  Thomas  W Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Capen,  Aaron Feb.  26,  1822 r 

Capen,  George  D May    7,  1857 d 

Card,  Henry Nov.    1,  1831 d 

Carey,  Henry  G Feb.     1,  1874 r 

Carney,  Fred  A Jan.     7,  1877 d 

Carpenter,  Frank  A.       Mar.  15,  1866 d 

Carpenter,  Moses Mar.  26,  1868 d 

Carroll,  Charles  H Feb.    9,  1819 d 

Carstens,  H.  W Oct.   12,  1854 d 

Carter  David Jan.     2,  1842 * 

Carter,  George  P Dec.    6,  1842 * 

Carter,  O.  C.  B June  28,  1840 d 

Carter,  S.  F Oct.     6,  1855 * 

Carter,  Samuel Feb.   16,  1853 

Cary,  H.  F Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Gary,  Isaac        Nov.  15,  1829 * 

Cary,  Ziba Oct.     4,  1825 * 

Caverly,  Joseph  L June  22,  1885 d 

Chace,  J.-Q Nov.    1,  1865 * 

Chace,  Philip  F Mar.  20,  1877 * 

Chadbourne,  Joseph  H June  21,  1882 d 

(66) 


MEMBERS. 

Chadvvick,  F.  Henry Nov.  21,  1865 d 

Chadwick,  John Oct.  14,1817 ♦ 

Chadwick,  William  P June  20,  1888 r 

Challis,  Josiah  E Nov.  15,  1829 r 

Chamberlin  Isaac Jan.    2,  1821 ♦ 

Chandler,  A.  B Nov.  2-1,  1869 ♦ 

Chandler,  Oliver June    5,  1821 d 

Chany,  Jacob Nov.    8,  1863 d 

Chapin,  Edward  F Nov.  24,  1869 -r 

Chapin,  Eben  H Jan.    30,  1880 d 

Chapin,  Nathaniel  G May  31,  1886 

Chase,  C.  W Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Chase  Charles  H Mar.     9,  1853 d 

Chase,  J.  H Dec.  12,  1875 

Chase,  Samuel  S Nov.  17,  1844,  Feb.  14,  1853    .  d 

Chase,  Sauford  C May  27,  1880 * 

Chauvenet,  Regis Nov.  21,  1865 d 

Cheever,  John Nov.  10,  1818 * 

Cheever,  Joshua Oct.     1,  1816 d 

Cheney,  George  S Feb.     4,  1859 d 

Cheney,  George  S May     G,  1889 

Cheney,  James  W .  Nov.    1,  1865 d 

Chesterton,  Arthur  W Oct.  15,  1888 r 

Chickering,  C.  Francis May   26,  1856 * 

Chickering,  George  H May   16,  1857 

Chickertng,  Jonas Oct.     4,  1818 ♦ 

Chickering,  Thomas  E May  31,  1858 ♦ 

Child,  David Oct.     3,  1820 d 

Child,  David  W.,  Jr Dec.     4,  1821 * 

Child,  John  H June  23,  1890 r 

Childs,  Stephen Original  member * 

Chute,  R.  J Nov.  24,  1869 d 

Clap,  Barney Jan.   14,  1820 d 

Clapp,  Derastus Feb.     4,  1823 r 

Clapp,  Edwin Nov.    7,  1861 d 

Clapp,  Joel Sept.   6,  1842 d 

Clapp,  Otis Sept.  19, 1841 d 

Clark,  Charles  A Apr.  18,  1878 d 

Clark,  Charles  E .  May  12,  1872 r 

Clark,  Edmund  S. Nov.  13,  1867 r 

Clark,  Gilbert Nov.    6,  1849 d 

Clark  James Original  member * 

Clark,  John  E Jan.     5,  1848 

Clark,  Joseph Dec.     7,  1815 * 

Clark,  Lemuel Dec.  15,  1818 d 

Clark,  Nathaniel Oct.   26,1815 * 

Clark,  O.  Frank Oct.   27,  1855 

Clark,  Oliver  H.,  Jr June    7,  1890 

Clark,  Walter  G June    7,  1884 r 

(67J) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL  AND    HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Clark,  William  D Dec.    6,  1842 d 

Clement,  S.  S Jan.     6,  1852 * 

Clements,  D.  B Nov.  14,  1852 d 

Cleveland,  Edward  L.,  Jr Apr.  11,  1889 r 

Clouston,  Robert  H Feb.     7,  1843 * 

Cobb,  Elijah,  Jr Oct.     3,  1820 r 

Cobb,  Gershom .  Aug.    3,  1815 ♦ 

Coburn,  Marcus Dec.     6,  1825 d 

Codding,  Charles  B Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Codman,  Robert,  Jr Feb.  16,  1884 r 

Codman,  William  A Mar.    7,  1816 ♦ 

Coffey,   W.  H Dec.  19,  1881 

Coffin,  Abbott  S Nov.  24,  1869 d 

Coffin,  Henry  A Nov.  21,  1865 * 

Coffin,  Isaac  S Mar.  10,  1818 d 

Coffin,  William,  Jr July     6,  1815 * 

Colburn,  S.  B. Feb.   18,  1863 d 

Cole,  Albert  B Nov.    8,1863 d 

Cole,  Charles  H Dec.  12,  1875 d 

Cole,  Richard  G Nov.  19,  1816 d 

Collins,  I.  C Apr.  20,  1871 d 

Colman,  George  G Mar.  24,  1858 d 

Comer,  Thomas Aug.  14,  1831 d 

Conant,  Benjamin Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Coney,  George  H Mar.    5,  1853 d 

Conkey,  Harrison Mar.     2,  1865 d 

Cook,  H.  A Oct.    27,  1859 d 

Cook,  Seth  B Dec.    9,  1817 d 

Cooke,  Atkins  N Nov.  12,  1871 d 

Cooke,  Lowell  M Feb.     1,1874 d 

Coolidge,  James June    1,  1815 * 

Coolidge,  Sumner Oct.   17,  1887 r 

Coombs,  A.  D Nov.  10,  1878 d 

Cooper,  Henry  E Nov.  10,  1878 r 

Copeland,  Frank  M May  23,  1888 

Copeland,  Moses  W Jan.     2,  1821 d 

Corliss,  Lewis  H Apr.  24,  1878 r 

Cory  Barney Mar.    7,  1843 * 

Cousens,  Hobart  E June  24,  1890 

Cowdrey,  Edward  T Nov.    7,1861 d 

Cox,  Charles  A Mar.    3,  1872 r 

Cox,  George  P Feb.   10,  1844,  Nov.  26,  1853    .  d 

Cox,  Joseph  W Apr.     6,  1844  .......  d 

Cragin,  Lorenzo  S Jan.     2,  1821 * 

Crandale,  Frank  G Dec.  12,  1874 d 

Cranitch,  George  M May  15,  1884 d 

Crocker,  Alvah Mar.  20,  1877 d 

Crockett,  S.  Frank Feb.  18,  1863 r 

Croft,  J.  T Oct.  23,  1860 

(68) 


MEMBERS. 

CroswelL  William Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Cumings,  Charles  H :N[ay   30,  1881,  May  28,  1883     .  r 

Cummiiigs,  Cecil  H Oct.  25,  1884 r 

Curley,  Owen  J June  18.  1887 

Cnrtis.  Caleb  T Nov.    7.  1844 d 

Cushing,  B.  L Dec.   1<3,  1857 d 

Cashing,  George Original  member r 

Cashing,  John Nov.  IS,  1817 d 

Cashing,  Solomon  B Apr.  17,  1836 * 

Cashing.  Zeba Oct.     7,  1817 d 

Cutler.  Arthur  T Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Cutler,  Henry  S Feb.   10,  1844 d 

Cutter,  Charles  K Nov.  24,  1869 r 

Cutting,  Gilbert Apr.   17,  1836 

Cutting.  Lewis  W June  21,  1887 d 

Cutting  S.  H Oct.   12,  1884 d 

Dabney,  A.  S May    5,  1872 d 

Dale,  Theron  J Oct.   25,  1856 r 

Dalzell,  John.  W Feb.    18,  1777 

Dame,  Frederic Dec.  16,  1857 * 

Dana.  C.  G Nov.    1,  1865 d 

Danforth.  Charles  H Nov.    7,  1866 

Danforth,  John  X Nov.    5,  1853 d 

Daniell.  Charles  P Mar.   19,  1858 d 

Daniell,  Ellery  C Nov.    1,1865 d 

Daniell,  M.  Grant Nov.     1,  1863 

Daniels,  Albert  N Dec.     7,1858 

Daniels.  C Apr.  20,  1876 d 

Daniels.  George  F Jan.    24,  1874 

Daniels,  W.  H Mar.  19,  1858 d 

Daniels,  William Nov.  11,  1844 

Davin,  Thomas  A Nov.  25,  1876 r 

Davis,  A.  M Nov.  19,  1868 r 

Davis,  Benjamin  B May     2.  1816 * 

Davis,  C.  F Apr.  22,  1882 d 

Davis,  C.  S Oct.     4,  1882 d 

Davis,  Frederic Jan.  15,  1^44 d 

Davis,  H.  A.,  Jr Oct.    22.1879     .• d 

Davis,  Henry Oct.      7,  1817 d 

Davis.  Isaac Original  member * 

Davis.  Samuel,  Jr June     7,  1S25 r 

Davis  Samuel  A June  30    1887 d 

Davis,  T.  F May    17,  1882 d 

Davis,  W.  W Apr.    20",  1871 d 

Day,  Levi  E Nov.     5,  1853 d 

Dean,  Henry  L Nov.     9,  1843 d 

Deane.  Walter Nov.    19,  1868 r 

Dearborn,  E.  B July    18,  1841 * 

(69) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND   HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


Dearborn,  John     ...•../..  May      2 

DeLand,  B.  E Nov.     7 

DeLaney,  J.  C Sept.  18 

Denham,  George  A Nov.  24 

Denham,  Leonard Jan.      7 

Denny,  Edward Oct.      4 

Denny,  George Oct.      3 

Denny,  R.  S Mar.     7 

Dennison,  Lyman  O July    28 

Denton,  John Jan.    26 

Denton,  M.  P May    30 

Denton,  William Mar.     7 

Desper,  Wilton  H Apr.    11 

Dexter,  D.  Gilbert Nov.  24 

Dillaway,  Thomas  V June     1 

Dillaway,  William June     1 

Dilley,  David Nov.  29 

Dimick,  Charles  W Feb.    25 

Dimond,  George Oct.      7 

Dimond,  Reuben Dec.    16 

Dobbs,  Albert  E May      5 

Dodd,  J.  M Dec.  20 

Dodd,  James  E Jan.      2. 

Dodd,  John Original 

Dodd,  Silas Dec.     3 

Dodd,  William *  .     .  Nov.    13 

Dodge,  Charles  H Sept.  26 

Dodge,  Edward  S Nov.  29 

Dodge,  Frederic Jan.    28 

Dole,  Nathan  H Jan.    25 

Dow,  A.  G May      5 

Dowe,  Joseph Oct.    17 

Downes,  I.  Henry  K Jan.    10 

Downs,  S.  M Feb.    18 

Drake,  F.  K.,  Jr. Nov.     7 

Draper,  Charles  R May    18 

Draper,  J.  P Jan.    15 

Draper,  James Nov.     6 

Draper,  Martin,  Jr Nov.     1 

Driver,  George  H.  S Nov.     1 

Drown,  James  T Nov.  21 

Duffy,  John  G Oct.    27 

Dunham,  George  F. Nov.  19 

Dunnels,  J.  B Dec.      1 

Duren,  Abel Original 

Duren,  Elnathan, Original 

Durham,  James Apr.    19, 

Dustin,  William' Nov.  6, 

Dutemple,  William Jan.   7, 

(70) 


18A3 

1846 d 

1882 d 

1869 d 

1860 d 

1842 

1820 r 

1843 

1887  ......  r 

1874 d 

1881 r 

1816 r 

1889 r 

1869 d 

1815,  June  16,  1818  .  r 

1815 r 

1870 d 

1884 d 

1855 d 

1857 d 

1884 d 

1825 r 

1842 r 

Member * 

1816 d 

1867 d 

1884 

1870 d 

1867 r 

1874 d 

1872 d 

1826 d 

1854 r 

1863 d 

1866 d 

1882 

1853 d 

1846 d 

1865 * 

1865,  May  19,  1872  .  d 

1865 r 

1859 d 

1885 d 

1878 r 

Member d 

Member r 

1889 

1852 d 

1877 


MEMBERS. 

Dyer,  Harry  P Apr.    19,  1889 

Dyer,  James Oct.    21,  1838 * 

Dyer,  John  J Dec.    16,  1852 d 

Dyraond,  Benjamin  F Mar.  26,  1868 r 

Eastman,  Edmund  T Dec.  22,  1856 d 

Eastman,  Joseph  S Jan.    11,  1845 * 

Eastman,  Luke Original  Member r 

Eaton,  Albert Apr.    13,  1844 d 

Eaton,  Edwin  R Oct.      8,  1879 

Eaton,  Osgood Jan.      2,  1842 d 

Eaton,  P.  R Oct.      4,  1882 d 

Eaton,  W.  R Nov.    10,  1878 d 

Eayrs,  Joseph  H.  .     . Dec.     9,  1817 d 

Eayrs,  M.  T Nov.     1,  1865 d 

Eayrs,  William  N Mar.   15,  1866 d 

Eberius,  Adolph Nov.   10,  1888 d 

Edmands,  A.  W Jan.    28,  1867 d 

Edmands.  George  W Jan.      2,  1821 d 

Edmands,  John  B June  27,  1853 d 

Edwards,  Charles  W June   28,  1887 d 

Edwards,  Oliver May    17,  1858 r 

Egerton,  George  W Oct.      2,  1886 d 

Elder,  R.  J Mar.  10,  1872 

Eldridge,  David  G.,  Jr May      7,  1883 d 

Eldridge,  L.  M Dec.      1,  1878 d 

Elliot,  William  L.      . Sept.  16.  1853 d 

Elliot,  George  T Dec.    30,  1877 d 

Elliott,  William  H Mar.    17,  1872 r 

Ellis,  Frederick  0 Dec.    16,  1857 

Ellis,  George  W May    21,  1837 * 

Ellis,  Ralph  W Apr.    15,  1876 r 

Emerson,  Charles  P Oct.    25,  1856 d 

Emerson,  F.  W Dec.     2,  1877 r 

Emerson  George  D May    12,  1872 r 

Emery,  Justin  F June    6,  1890 r 

Emery,  Wilfrid  A Nov.  19,  1868 d 

Emmons,  T.  H Feb.    12,  1847 d 

Esselen,  Henry  M May    21,1888 

Estabrook,  J.  P Mar.   14,  1866 d 

Estle.  John  W Nov.     1,  1879 d 

Eustaphieve,  Alexi Original  Member * 

Eustis,  Frank  T Jan.    28,  1867 d 

Eustis,  Joseph,  Jr Oct.    31,1820 d 

Eustis,  William  C Apr.     3,  1858 

Eustis,  William  N May    28,  1888 

Eustis,  William  T June     1,  1815 r 

Evans,  Ransom  F Nov.  17,  1854 

Eveleth,  H.  F Nov.    10,  1878 d 

(71) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL  AND    HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Everett,  Charles Dec.    15,  1818 d 

Everett,  Lewis  P May    22,  1889 

Everett,  Otis Original  Member * 

Ewell,  John.     .     .    " Nov.   18,  1817 * 

Ewer,  Charles  C Dec.     7,  1858 d 

Fabens,  Benjamin  H.      ......  Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Fairbanks,  H.  W Mar.  16,  1848 d 

Fairbanks,  Josiah  L June  28,  1840 * 

Farley,  H.  B Nov.     1,  1865 d 

Farlow,  John  S Nov.    17,  1839 * 

Farnsworth,  Thomas  G Oct.      7,  1817 d 

Farrie,  John,  Jr Oct.      3,  1820 * 

Farwell,  F.  F Feb.    25,  1844 ♦ 

Faulkner,  E.  D Nov.    10,  1864 

Fauuce,  Alton May    30,  1881 

Faunce,  E.  P Apr.    24,  1878 r 

Faunce,  Sewall  A Jan.     28,  1867 r 

Favor,  F.  F Jan.       7,  1877 d 

Favor,  G.   I May      5,  1872 d 

Faxon,  Edward Nov.     1,  1851 * 

Faxon,  Edwin Feb.      4,  1845 

Faxon,  John  G Mar.     6,  1842 * 

Faxon,  Oren  J Sept.  12,  1841 

Fellows,  John  F Dec.     8,  1843 r 

Felt,  David  F Feb.    14,  1840  ..♦...* 

Fenno,  James Sept     7,  1824 d 

Fenno,  Kimbal  J Feb.    25,  1872 r 

Fenollosa,  Ernest  F Jan.      9,1876 

FenoUosa.  William  S Dec.    13,  1874 r 

Fernald,  Charles  H July    12,  1888 r 

Ferreira,  George  J May    20,  1884 r 

Fessenden,  Edward  H May      7,  1822 r 

Fessenden,  Franklin   G Nov.    29,  1870 r 

Field,  B.  W Dec.     6,  1845 d 

Fillebrown,  C.  B Nov.    29,  1870 r 

Fish,  Frederick  P Jan.    25,  1874 r 

Fish,  John  A Apr.    11,  1889 r 

Fish,  Warren  A.  E May      3,  1884 d 

Fisher,  George Sept.  20,  1851 

Fisher,  Horace  B Nov.   24,1869  .     ....     .     . 

Fisher,  Rollin  B Jan.     28,  1867 r 

Fisher,  Warren Feb.      6,  1827 * 

Fiske,  J.  B Nov.    8,  1«63 d 

Fiske,  Nathan Apr.      2,  1816 r 

Fitts,  Thomas  B. N©v.     1,  1865 d 

Fitz,  Charles  E May    26,  1888 

Fletcher,  H.    S May      9,  1882,  June  23,  1890    .  d 

Floyd,  Samuel Original  Member * 

(72) 


MEMBERS. 

Fogg,  Hiram, Apr.  23,  1844 d 

Folsom,  Charles  F Nov.  19,  1868,  Jan.  Ki,  1876     .  r 

Forbes,  George  F Dec.  12,  1875 r 

Force,  Charles  L Apr.  5,  1826 ♦ 

Force,  Dexter  C Aug.  17,1822 r 

Ford,  Nathaniel Jan.  14,  1820 r 

Ford,  Thomas  G Nov.  7,  1866 d 

Foster,  H.  S May  5,  1872 d 

Foster,  J.  W Apr.  20,  1871 d 

Foster,  Joseph  W Nov.  15,1849 d 

Fowle,  Jonathan,  Jr Mar.  7,  1816 d 

Fowler,  William, Dec.  23,  1880 

Fox,  Frederick,  Jr June  28,  1887  .     ...     .     . 

Fox,  Horace Oct.  7,  1817 d 

Fracker,  William May  2,  1816 d 

Frail,  Horace, Jan.  25,  1874 d 

Fraser,  John  H.  W Apr.  19,  18^<9 

Freeman,  Henry  C Sept.    a,  1848 

Freeman,  Willis  H Nov.  19,  1868,  May  17,  1882     . 

French,  Charles Original  Member d 

French,  F.  M Nov.  29,  1870 r 

French,  Jonathan  .     .* Mar.  7,  1816 d 

French,  Otis  F May  18,  1882  ......  r 

French,  Robert Dec.  3,  1822 d 

Frisbee,  Howard June  8,  1888 

Frost,  Arthur  H June  5,  1885 

Frost,  Eben  H Sept.    6,  1850 d 

Frost,  L.  S Jan.  24,  1845 d 

Frost,  Selim      .     .     .     .  ' Nov.  24,  1869 d 

Frost,  Walter  S Nov.  10.  1878 r 

Frothingham,  Ebenezer Original  member * 

Frothingham,  Edward Dec.  5,  1845 r 

Frothingham,  Ephraim  L Oct.  3,  1820 r 

Frothingham,  George  B Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Frothingham,  Thomas  B Oct.  3,  1844 r 

Fuller,  Charles  Edwin Nov.  1,1865. * 

Fuller,  John Dec.  30,  1817 d 

Fuller,  L.  J May  11,1876 d 

Fuller,  O.  L Feb.  4,  1859 d 

Fuller,  Simeon Oct.  25,  1856 d 

FuUerton,  C.  R Jan.  3,  1875 d 

Fullerton,  James  J Jan.  1,  1828,  Oct.  3,  1843  .     .  r 

Furlong,  A.  B Apr.  25,  1875 d 

Gage,  Charles  A Dec.  16,  1857 d 

Gage,  H.  F May  27,  1880 d 

Gale,  W.  F Nov.  23,  1860 d 

Gamage,  George  E Dec.  15,  1852 d 

Gardner,  Augustus  K Nov.  11,  1843 r 

(73) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL  AND    HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Gardner,  E.  G Nov.     7.  18«6 d 

Gardner,  George  L Nov.  13,  1867 d 

Gardner,  Glenn  R June     1,  1888 r 

Gardner,  W.  A.  A Jan.    30,  1880 d 

Garland,  George  W Sept.  23,  18/)2,  Dec.  16,  1857    . 

Garrett,  William Nov.  17,  1853 r 

Gay,  Eben  F Nov.     1,1831 r 

Gay,  Warren  H Nov.  19,  1868 d 

George,  Nathan  R.,  Jr Apr.   11,  1889 

Gerrauld,  C.  L Oct.      4,  1882 

Gerrish,  William  H Oct.      8,  1855 d 

Gerry,  Reuben Dec.     5,  1826 d 

Gervasio,  Joachim  (Joseph  G.  Oakes)  Oct.     4,  1844 * 

Gifford,  Franklin   K Dec.     4,  1883 d 

Gilbert,  Benjamin  F Apr.   20,  1871 d 

Gilman,  Peter  S. Sept.  27,  1848 * 

Given,  George  W.  M Apr.   11,  1889 * 

Glynn,  John Jan.    28,  1817 d 

Goddard,  Charles  W Nov.  21,  1865 d 

Goddard,  J.  F Nov.     8,  1863 d 

Goodale,  Henry  D May  28,  1884 r 

Gooding,  Charles  S Nov.  10,  1878 d 

Goodrich,  Ebenezer Original  member d 

Goodrich,  John  B Nov.     8,  1863 d 

Goodridge,  Philip  W Sept.  15,  1839 ♦ 

Goodridge,  William  M Dec.    16,  1857 d 

Goodwin,  Ozias Nov.  13,  1867 * 

Googin,  Mark        Nov.  13,  1836 d 

Gordon,  James  D June  25,  1890 r 

Gore,  Christopher June     1,  1815 • 

Gore,  Edward  A.  F June     3,1886  ...... 

Gore,  Theodore  A Feb.     4,  1834 d 

Gorham,  E.  E Dec.   23,  1881 d 

Gorrie,  J.  M Oct.    25,  1884 

Gould,  Charles  A June  16,  1890 r 

Gould,  Daniel,  Jr Nov.  27,  1821 * 

Gould,  John  E.      .*  .     * Oct.      5,  1844 d 

Gould,  N.  D Oct.      3,  1820 r 

Gove,  Gardner       ...» Nov.     5,  1853 d 

Gowen,  Asa Mar.     6,  1821 d 

Gowing,  Frank  P Apr.  19,  188!) r 

Gragg,  William Oct.     2,  1821 d 

Granger,  David  A Nov.     1,  1842 d 

Graupner,  Gottlieb Original  member * 

Gravenhorst,  G Nov.   21,  1865 r 

Greatorex,  H.  W Aug.  10,  1841 d 

Green,  Joseph  W.,  Jr Nov.  19,  1868 r 

Greene,  Alliston June  16,  1887 d 

Greene,  Herbert  E June     3,  1878 d 

(74) 


MEMBERS. 

Greene,  William  C Sept.  21,  1885 r 

Greenwood,  Augustus  G Dec.    16,  1857 d 

Gregory,  Samuel  H Oct.    12,  1852 d 

Grieves,  Thomas Nov.  29,  1870 ♦ 

Grieves,  W.  Frank Oct.      5,  1885 d 

Griggs,  David  R Feb.     9,  1819 d 

Griggs,  Nathaniel Dec.    15,  1818 d 

Grover,  Leonard  O Nov.     5,  1863 d 

Guild,  Charles Jan.      2,  1821 d 

Guild,  Edward  C Feb.    11,1853 

Guild,  Jacob Original  member d 

Guild,  William  H Oct.    22,  1879 r 

Gurney,  Edward  B Jan.    15,  1853 d 

Gurney,  L.  H Nov.  10,  1864 d 

Gurney,  Thomas Nov.  24,  1869 d 

Guyer,  Lewis  B Feb.     8,  1869 

Gwinn,  George  F Mar.  20,  1831 d 

Hach,  Theodore Aug.  16,  1830 •  r 

Hackett,  Henry  C Oct.    11,  1883 r 

Hadley,  A.  J Nov.     1,1865 * 

Hadley,  S.  H.  O Nov.   10,  1864 

Hagar,  Eugene  B Jan.  25,  1874 

Hagar,  Jonathan Apr.      2,  1816 d 

Hale,   Frank  J Oct.      4,  1888 r 

Haley,  Edwin  L Nov.  19,  1868 d 

Hall,    Arthur Dec.   22,  1856 d 

Hall,  Barlow Oct.    27,  1859 d 

Hall,  Gustavus  Y Sept.  27,  1848 d 

Hall,  H.  A Dec.   19,  1875 d 

Hall,  H.  A May    24,  1882 d 

Hall,  Isaac Jan.      1,  1828 * 

Hall,  Lewis Mar.     7,  1844 d 

Hall,  N.  J May      2,  1878 d 

Hall,  Thomas Nov.  19,  1868 

Hall,  Thomas  H Dec.  20,  1874 d 

Hallgrien,  H.  J May     5,  1872 d 

Hamblet,    James,   Jr Nov.  19,  1868 d 

Hamilton,  Edward Nov.     1,  1851 * 

Hanaford.  L.  B Dec.  14,  1855 d 

Hancock,  Torrey May      2,  1816 r 

Hanson,    E.    R Oct.    23,  1831 

Hansen,  George  A June  28,  1887 r 

Hanson,  J.  Haven Nov.     1,  1865 d 

Haraden,  D.  T Nov.     7,  1844 d 

Harding,  D.  B Dec.  23,  18S0 d 

Harkins,  C.  P May  22,  1883 r 

Harkins,  Daniel  S May   15,  1884 d 

Harlow,  Charles Aug.    4,    1829 * 

(75) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Harlow,  William  H Jan.  1,  1880 d 

Harmon,  Charles  H June  10,  1890 

Harper,  Charles  F '    .  June  21,  1890 r 

Harris,   Benjamin   C June  5,  1821 ♦ 

Harris,  Herbert Feb.  13,  1884  ......  r 

Harris  John  A Apr.  15,  1878 d 

Harris,   S.  C Nov.  1,  1865 

Harris,    Walter  C Jan.  6,  1877 r 

Harrison,  David June  24,  1886 

Harrod,    James Feb.  6,  1831 ♦ 

Hart,  John June  1,  1815 d 

Harts,  Charles Jan.  25,  1874 r 

Hartshorn,  Caleb Apr.  2,   1816 d 

Harwood,  Irving  I Jan.  6,  1852 

Harvey,  C.  A Oct.  4,  1882 d 

Hascall,  L.  C Apr.  25,  1882 

Haskell,  A.    H Nov.  10,  1820 d 

Haskell,  Edward Jan.  1,  1822 * 

Haskins,  John,  Jr Oct.  27,  1859 * 

Hatch,  C.  R Oct.  9,  1855 

Hatch,    Chaur.cey  M. Jan.  21,  1880  ......  d 

Hatch,  E.  W Dec.  24,  1881 * 

Hatch,  Monroe  W Nov.  19,  1871 d 

Hathorne,  Frank  H Nor.  29,  1870 d 

Hawes,  Charles  S June  25,  1890 

Hawes,  William Sept.  16,  1848 * 

Hawkes,  Ezra May  2,  1816 r 

Hawkes,   Thomas  B Mar.  6,  1826 r 

Hay,    Clarence  E Nov.  12,  1871 r 

Hayden,   Nathaniel,   Jr Nov.  10,  1818 d 

Hayes,  B.  W Nov.  13,  1867 d 

Hayes,  H.  V May  30,  1881 d 

Hayes,   Pliny Sept.     7,  1815 d 

Hayter,  George  F Nov.  6,  1846 * 

Hay  ward,     Joseph Jan.  1,  1822 d 

Hayward,  W.  I.  G Nov.  19,  1868 d 

Hazelton,  H.  L June  16,  1847 

Hazelton,  Jonathan  E Oct.  26,  1826,  Nov.  8,  1840     . 

Head,  Nathaniel    . Feb.  18,  1863 d 

Hebard,  Albert  K Jan.  28,  1867  ...... 

Hemenway,    Luke Original  member r 

Heuderson,  Charles Nov.  9,  1834 * 

Henderson,  W^ alter  E Apr.  11,  1889 

Henderson,  William    H Dec.  5,  1826 d 

Henderson,    William  H May  28,  1888 r 

Henry,  George   E May  5,  1872 

Henry,  J.  Q Nov.  13,  1867  ...'...  r 

Henry,   John  J Nov.  14,  1861 d 

Hern,  Peter Oct.  3,    1820 d 

(76) 


MEMBERS. 

Hersey,  E.  J May   18,  1882 

Hewins,  Parke  W Feb.  27,  1870 d 

Hews,  George Dec.  12,  1830 * 

Heywood,  George  W Nov.  25,  1854 d 

Higley,  E.  H Nov.  19,  1868 r 

Higgins,  Wilbur  O Apr.    11,1889 

Hill,  Benjamin  G Feb.    5,    1822 d 

Hill,  Charles  E Sept.  22,  1853 d 

Hill,  Converse Oct.  21,    1838 d 

9ill,  G.  William Dec.  15,  1852 d 

Hill,  James  E.  R Nov.  19,1868 

Hill,  Noah July    6,    1815 * 

Hill,  Sumner Feb.     4,  1838 d 

Hillard,  James   L Nov.  12,  1871 

Hills,  Samuel  L May  28,  1884 

Hindes,  George  W Dec.  16,  1857 d 

Hinkley,  Charles  K Feb.  25,  1872 d 

Hobart,    Josiah Mar.  26,  1853 r 

Hobbs,  Granville  J Feb.    8,    1869 d 

Hobbs,  John  E Nov.  19,  1868 

Hobbs,  Walter  C Oct.     20,  1884 

Hodge,  George  E Jan.    12,  1854 d 

Hodgkins,  Charles  E Mar.     2,  1865 d 

Holbrook,  Aaron Oct.    15,  1816 d 

Holbrook,  Edward  H Dec.     4,  1827 d 

Holbrook,  George  H Mar.  13,  1823 d 

Holden,  Harry May   24,  1883 r 

Holden,  W.  E .     .     .  Nov.  24,  1869 * 

HoU,  William  F July   12,  1888 r 

Holland,  Kalph  B Dec.     6,  1818 d 

Holland,  Thomas  H Nov.     8,  1863 d 

Holman,  John Sept.    1,  1818 * 

Holmes,  Edwin Oct.    27,  1859 d 

Holmes,  William  A Nov.    12,  1871 

Holt,  Benjamin Original  member * 

Holt,  H.  E Nov.  10,  1864 d 

Homer,  L.  P Nov.     9,  1844 d 

Homer,  Nathaniel  B Apr.     2,1816 r 

Hooper,  R.  H Feb.   20,  1847 

Hooper,  Thomas,  Jr Oct.    18,  1879 

Hooton,  James Apr.    20,  1819,  Jan.  22,  1832     .  d 

Hopkins,  H.  C Nov.  12,  1871 d 

Hopkins,  J.  R. Nov.    10,  1864 d 

Home,  Moses  P Nov.   29,  1870 d 

Horsman,  Edward July     6,  1815 * 

Horton,  Elisha Jan.      2,  1821 r 

Horton,  I.P Oct.    25,1884 d 

Hosmer,  Charles  K Nov.     8,  1863 d 

Hosmer,  Jerome  C Nov.  19,  1868,  Jan.  9,  1876  .     . 

(77) 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Houghton,  Frederick  O Apr.    19,  1«89 d 

Houehton,  P.  D Dec.      1,  1884 d 

Houston,  J.  A Nov.     1,  1865 r 

Hovey,  John  G Dec.     G,  1842 • 

Howard,  Charles Nov.  10,  1864 d 

Howard,  Davis Dec.  20,  1840 * 

Howard,  Frank Oct.    25,  1856 d 

Howard,  James  M.  F Dec.   22,  1856 d 

Howard,  John  G June  22,  1887 d 

Howard,  Reuben Dec.     6,  1842  ......* 

Howard,  Willis  P June     6,  1887 

Howe,  £.  S Oct.    25,  1856 d 

Howe,  Henry  M Nov.  24,  1869 d 

Howe,  Jubal Sept.  17,  1822 * 

Howe,  L.  N Oct.    18,  1879 d 

d 

r 


I 

I 


Howe,  William Dec.     3,  1822 

Howell,  Selah Oct.      8,  1879 

Howell,  William  I Jan.  30,  1880 

Howes,  A.  N Mar.  19,  1879 

Rowland,  C.  E.     .     . Jan.      7,  1860 

Howland,  S.  A Jan. 

Hoyt,  William  I Dec. 

Hubbard,  Lucius  L May 

Hudson,  G.  H Jan. 


7,  1860 d 

9,  1877 * 

20,  1872 d 

14,  1877 d 


Hull,  Asa 


Nov.  22,  1853 d 


5,  1872 r 

9,  1888 

3,  1844 * 

26. 1815  * 


Hull,  George  H.,  Jr May 

Hulslander,  George  F July 

Hunnewell,  George  W Jan. 

Hunt,  Ebenezer Oct. 

Hunt,  James  L Nov.  10,  1864 r 

Hunt,  William  H June     2,  1872 d 

Hunting,  Bela July      6,  1815 r 

Hunting,  M.  B Dec.   20,  1825 r 

Huntington,  Benjamin Aug.     6,  1816 * 

Huntington,  Jonathan Original  member * 

Huntley,  R.  J Mar.  11,  1879 d 

Hyde,  Clement  C Apr.    11,1889 

Hyde,  John  W Apr.     2,1816 d 

Hyde,  William  J Nov.    8,  1868 

Ilsley,  George Nov.     8,  1863 d 

Inches,  J.  C Nov.  12,  1871 r 

Irish,  Francis  T Nov.     8,  1863 d 

Jack,  Ernest  S May   15,  1883 d 

Jackson,  Francis Nov.     9,  1815 r 

Jackson,  George  W Nov.     8,  1863 d 

Jarvis,  C.  Edwin •     •     •  Sept.  21,  1884 d 

Jenks,  Francis  H Nov.     1,  1865 

Jenks,  Samuel  H June     1,  1815.  Jan.  1,  1828  .     .  * 


(78) 


MEMBERS. 

Jenney,  Walter Dec.  2,  1877 r 

Jennison,  Francis Sept.  17,  1822 * 

Jennison,  Samuel Nov.  21,  1865 

Jepson,  William June  1,  1815 * 

Jewell,  Harvey Oct.  3,  1844 r 

Jewell,  Pliny,  Jr Oct.  5,  1844 r 

Jewett,  Edward Aug.  3,  1815 d 

Jewett,  Samuel Mar.  7,  1816 d 

Johnson,  Charles  H Oct.  25,  1856 

Johnson,  Fred  S .  Oct.  5,  1885 

Johnson,  Harry  W June  16,  1887 d 

Johnson,  Jesse Oct.  23,1890 

Johnson,  L.  W Dec.  16,  1857 * 

Johnson,  M.  S Dec.  16,  1845 

Johnson,  Marshall,  Jr Nov.  4,  1834 

Johnson,  William Mar.  9,1830  ......* 

Johnson,  William  H Dec.  22,  1856 d 

Johnston,  A.  S Nov.  10,  1878 r 

Johonnot,  L.  C May  12,  1883 d 

Jones,  Edward  H Nov.  29,  1870 

Jones,  G.  William  T Feb.  4,  1834 r 

Jones,  George  B Apr.  19,  1840 r 

Jones,  Henry Nov.  10,  1820 * 

Jones,  James  W Nov.  10,  1864 

Jones,  William  H Nov.  8,  1840 

Joyner,  A.  S May  15,  1883 d 

Kattenhorn,  George  H June  16,  1888 r 

Keates,  Joseph  E Nov.  7,  1866 

Keays,  W.  W Mar.  18,  1877 

Keen,  Jarvis  B. Jan.  16,  1882 r 

Keen,  Tilden  H Nov.  8.  1840 d 

Keene,  F.  B Apr.  15,  1876 

Keith,  Marshal Feb.  3,  1818 * 

Keith,  Royal Oct.  27,  1859 d 

Keller,  Joseph  A Oct.  24,  1846 d 

Kelley,  Seth  W Mar.  3,  1872,  Feb.  15,  1874     .  d 

Kemp,  Francis  A Nov.  24,  1869,  Apr.  25,  1882     .  d 

Kemp,  Robert Nov.  16,  1852 d 

Kendall,  Henry  C Nov.  29,  1870 r 

Kendall,  Isaac Dec.  30,  1817 d 

Kendrick,  George  P July  20,  1886 d 

Kennedy,  J Feb.  18,  1863 d 

Kenney,  Herbert  E Apr.  19,  1889 r 

Kenney,  James  H.      .     • Apr.  19,  1889 d 

Kent.  James  D Oct.  25,  1856 * 

Kern,  Francis  V.  B Oct.  27,  1859 r 

Kettelle,  Frederick  W June  28,  1886 

Kidder,  Abner  C Dec.  6,  1845 * 

(79) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL  AND    HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Kidder,  Edward  H June    29,  1887 r 

Kidder,  Frederick  P June    18,  1890 

Kidder,  Hichard  H Jan.     13,  1877 

Kilmer,  F.  M Dec.   12,  1874 r 

Kimball,  Edwin  A Oct.    12,  1862 d 

Kimball.  J.  B Jan.    22,  1832 

Kiraberly,  Denison Jan.      9,  1842 r 

King,  C.  P May    30,  1881 d 

King,  Charles  F.  (Thomas  Pritchett)   .  Mar.   15,1866 * 

Kingman,  Alvan Mar.    26,  1853 d 

Kingsbury,  Isaac  F May    26,  1890 

Kingsbury,  Reuben Feb.    17,  1845 

Kingsley,  Nathan  F Nov.     6,  1827 

Kinnicutt,  John  W Jan.      7,  1860 r 

Knapp,  Benjamin  L Dec.    12,  1875 r 

Knight,  George May    19,  1882 d 

Knowles,  Frank  W May     5,  1872 d 

Kurtz,  William Oct.      7,  185^ ♦ 

Labree,  John  D ,.     .  Oct.      3,1837 * 

Lamb,  Henry  W.    . Mar.  13,  1879 r 

Lambert,  Henry  K June  22,  1886 * 

Lambert,  Thomas  A Apr.    25,  1882 

Lamson  Albert  H May    30,  1887 

Lander,  John  K Nov.   12,  1871 r 

Lane,  George  H Nov.     4,  1823 * 

Lang,  0.  T Nov.     1,  1855  ......  d 

Langley,  William Nov.     4,  1852 * 

Lansing,  Edmund  H Nov.  29,  1890 r 

Larrabee,  Joel  F Sept.  29,1851 d 

Lasselle,  George  P Nov.     8,  1863 d 

Lawrence,  George  W Jan.      7,  1860 

Lawrence,  William  M Nov.  29,  1870 r 

Laws,  D.  Lyman Oct.      3,  1855 * 

Leach,  Lebbeus,  Jr Nov.    13,  1867 

Leach,  Shepherd Feb.      2,  1821 * 

Learnard,  William Aug.     3,  1815 * 

Learnerd,  Isaac,  Jr Dec.    15,  1818 d 

Leatherbee,  John  W Mar.  16,  1857 d 

Leavitt,  Alonzo Nov.  23,  1860 d 

Leavitt,  Edwin  B Feb.      7,1891 

Leavitt,  Frank  M June     6,  1885 

Lee,  Blewett  H June  23,  1887 d 

Lee,  Frank  H Mar.   14,  1866 d 

Leeds,  Henry,  Jr Jan.  14,  1854 d 

Leeds,  Lorenzo  P Apr.  10,  1842 * 

Leeson,  J.  R Nov.  12,  1871 r 

Leland,  Horace Oct.      3,  1843 d 

Leland,  Lewis Nov.  30,  1816 d 

(80) 


MEMBERS. 

Lemaire,  L Nov.     8,  1840 

Leonard,  Amos  M Nov.  13,  1867 d 

Leonard,  E.  A May      5,  1883 

Leonard,  F.  A Nov.    24,  1869 

Leonard,  F.    O Apr.   24,  1878 d 

Leonard,  John Dec.     9,  1817 d 

Leonard,  Joseph Dec.      7,  1824 * 

Leonard,  Joseph  A Jan.      1,  1849 

Leslie,  Thomas Vpr.      9,  1870 d 

Lewis,  Frank  W Nov.  24,  1869 d 

Lewis,  George  ^Y Mar.     9,  1830 * 

Lewis,  James  P Jan.   28,  1867 d 

Lewis,  Joseph Nov.  23,  1815 * 

Liddell,  William Feb.     8,  1869 d 

Lincoln,  A.  B Dec.     7,  1858 r 

Lincoln,  Alexander  S Feb.      4,  1838 d 

Lincoln,  Christopher Original  Member d 

Lincoln,  D.    P Oct.     22,  1855 

Lincoln,  Frederick Nov.  23,  1815 r 

Lincoln,  Henry  T Nov.    13,  1846 

Lincoln,  J.  M Nov.     1,  1865 * 

Lincoln,  Justus Dec.    15,  1818 d 

Lincoln,  N.  F Jan.    24,  1874 

Lincoln,  Nathan Jan.     14,  1854 

Lindsey,  G.  W Nov.    10,  1864 

Litchfield,  Justin  D Nov.  29,  1870 r 

Lloyd,  Andrew  J Xov.  29,  1870 r 

Lloyd,  George  W Jan.    15,  1837 d 

Lobsitz,  Leopold May      9,  1876 * 

Lockhart,  David Sept.  26,  1882 d 

Loewe,  H Nov.     7,  1866 d 

Long,    David  C ' .     .  Jan.    20,  1833 * 

Long,  Edward  J Oct.     5,  1830 * 

Long,  Frederick  E Apr.    20,  1878 

Long,  J.  Haskell Oct.    24,1851 r 

Long,  John  D Oct.    27,  1859 d 

Lord,  George  A Oct.     3,1877 d 

Lord,  Melvin June     1,  1815 d 

Loring,  F.  C,  Jr Nov.     4,  1866 r 

Loring,  Jonathan,  Jr June     1,  1815 r 

Lothrop,  Anselm Sept.  24,  1836,  Nov.  4,  1852     .  * 

Lothrop,  Jarvis May    21,  1837 * 

Lothrop,  Oliver  B.     .     .' Nov.  10,  1855 

Lovejoy,  N May      2,  1816 d 

Loveland,  James  W June   21,  1890 r 

Lovering,  W.  N Nov.     I,  1865 

Lovett,  Charles  W Oct.     4,  1825 r 

Low,  J.  H Dec.  29,1851 

Lowe,  E.  F Jan.    28,  1867 d 

(81) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Lowe,  George  H Apr.    11,  1875 d 

Lowell,  John  A Feb.  15,  1874 r 

Lowell,  Robert  M Feb.     9,  1858 

Lowder,  W.  J Nov.  22,  1878 d 

Luker,  William  J.  ...  Apr.    11,  1889 

Lull,  Leverett  A.  .                      ...  Nov.     1,  1842 d 

Lyman,  D.  B Nov.  21,  1865 d 

Lyman,  Francis  O Apr.     9,  1870 r 

Lyman,  John  P.,  Jr May     5,1872 r 

Lynch,  William Nov.  19,  1868 d 

Lyon,  H.  C Oct.     2,  1870 r 

Lyon,  John  T Feb.     7,  1843,  Oct.  17,  1854     .  d 

Lyon,  W.  H May     5,  1872 d 

Mackay,  John Original  Memb(  •• 

Malette,  J.  F.    . Jan.     4,1881 d 

Maodell,  M.  J Mar.   14,  1866 

Mandell,  Moses Jan.    14,  1820 d 

Mandell,  Sidney May     1,  1821 d 

Mann,  George  C Mar.  26,  1868 r 

Mann,  Nelson Dec.  22,  1856 d 

Manning,  Leonard  J June  28,  1887 r 

Mansfield,  Gideon  T Feb.     4,  1859 d 

Mansfield,  H.  H Nov.  10,  1864 d 

Mansfield,  Henry  T Nov.  24,  1869 d 

Marindin,  Henry  L Jan.  28,  1880 r 

Marr,  Henry  N Jan.    25,  1874 r 

Marshall,  Clarance  A May   15,  1883 r 

Marshall,  Leonard Apr.   16,  1837,  Oct.  10,  184S     .  * 

Marshall,  Thomas Original  Member ^ 

Marston,  A.  T Nov.  10,  1878 d 

Marston,  Charles  L Oct.     8,  1879 r 

Martin,  John May     6,  1884 

Martin,  N.  C Jan.    14,  1820 r 

Martin,  Walter  C June  22,  1886 

Mason,  Clinton  V Oct.   27,  1859 d 

Mason,  L.  W Nov.    1,  1865 d 

Mason,  Lowell Oct.    17,  1821 * 

Mason,  Thomas Apr.     2,  1816 d 

Matheson,  James Sept.  23,  1885 r 

Mathews,  Hiram  S Oct.     4,  1852 d 

Maxwell,  Edward  \l Apr.    11,  1889 

Mayell,  Alfred  E Apr.    11,*  1889 

McAUaster,  James Aug.    3,  1815 r 

McFarlane,  A.  A Nov.  29,  1870 d 

McKeuna,  Joseph  R May  28,  1888 

McKenney,  Alfred  11 Nov.    8,1863 d 

McKinnon,  G.  W Jan.      6,  1882 

McKissick,  Edward  F June   25,  1890 

(82) 


MEMBERS. 

McKown,  W.  G Jan.     7,  1877 r 

McNeil,  Murdock Nov.     2,  1890 * 

McWiggin,  Frank  E Mar.  18,  1879 

Mead,  G.  N.  P May   15,  1883 r 

Header,  George  II Jan.    28,1867 

Meadowy,  W.  J Dec.  19,  1881 r 

Mears,  Elijah June     1,  1815 * 

Melvin,  George  B Jan.  12,  1854 d 

Meriara,  George Aug.     4,  1829 * 

Meriam,  Levi    .........  July     6,  1815 * 

Meriam,  Nailmniel Original  Member * 

Meriam,  Silas  P.  .......     .  Aug.    4,  1829 * 

Merriam,  A.  W Feb.     8,  1869 r 

Merriara,  Herbert June     9,  1886 

Merrick,  Edwin Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Merrill,  C.  Judson Oct.      1,  1852 * 

Merrill,  Sidney Dec.     7,  1815 * 

Merrill,  William  B Dec.  22,  1856 r 

Merritt,  Fred  R Apr.    4,  1875 r 

Messinger,  D.,  Jr May     2,  1816  .     .•   .     .     .     .  r 

Meston,  Lyman  B Sept.  12,  1851,  June  3,  1857      .  d 

Metcalf,  C.  P Nov.  21,  1869 r 

Metcalf,  E.  S Nov.    7,  1866 d 

Metcalf.  R.  C Nov.  14,  18o5 d 

Metzger,  A.,  Jr Jan.    25,  1874 d 

Midgley,  John Feb.     1,  1874 r 

Miles,  Samuel  S Jan.      1,  1822 d 

Millard,  Samuel  H Feb.     4,  184:. 

Miller,  E.  P.      .     .     .* Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Miller,  J.  E Oct.    20,  1855 d 

Miller,  James  E Nov.  10,  1878 d 

Mills,  James  L Nov.  10,  1878 

Milliken,  George  F May     5,  1872 r 

Minot,  George Oct.    24,  1841 

Mitchell,  Nahura Oct.     5,  1815 * 

Mitchell,  William  H May  30,  1887 r 

Monroe,  Lewis  B Nov.  21,  1865 d 

Mooar,  C.  A Jan.   28,  1867 d 

Moody,  Mercer  B Apr.  11,  188  » r 

Moody,  Samuel Oct.      3,  1820 * 

Moody,  William  G Dec.  22,  1839 r 

Moore,  Frank  R June  23,  1890 r 

Moore,  H.  A Jan.   21,  1882 d 

Moorhouse,  Arthur  B June  21,  1887 r 

Morehouse,  Isaac May     3,  1858 d 

Morey,  Walter  G Oct.    12,  1884 r 

Morgan,  S.  S _•     •     •  Nov.  12,  1871 d. 

Morrill,  Joseph,  Jr Jan.    16,  1842 

Morris,  Almon  H Oct.     2,  1884,  May  11,1889     . 

(83) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


Morris,  Thomas  D Sept.  22,  1853 * 


Morse,  E.  R Mar. 

Morse,  Enoch  B Feb. 

Morse.  John  X Xov. 

Morton,  Charles  B June 

Morton,  Marcus Oct. 

Moulton,  Joseph  P Nov. 

Mountfort,  X.  B Nov. 

Mulliken,  Joseph Original  member * 

Mulliu,  W.  Frank Dec.  16.  1857 r 

Munro,  Nathaniel Apr.     2,  181G d 

Munroe.  Charles  E Feb.     1,  1874 r 

Munroe.  George  H Nov.  24,  1869 

Munroe,  J.  W.  . Feb.     1,  1853 


10,  1872 d 

4,  1845 d 

7,  1866 d 

5,  1845 *• 

13,  1855 d 

8,  1844 

10,  1818 d 


Napier,  Thomas  S May 

Nason,  George  H Dec. 

Nason,  James  B Oct. 

Nelson,  Jesse  L Apr. 

Nesmith,  George  A May 

Nevers,  Elijah Apr. 

Newcomb,  C.  H Jan. 

Newcomb.  Ebenezer Nov. 

Newell,  Franklin  H Dec. 

Newell,  George  H Nov. 

Newell,  John Nov. 

Newell,  Joseph  W Oct. 

Newball.  Daniel  B Feb. 

Newhall,  R.  E Dec. 

Newhall,  Samuel  M Oct. 

Newman,  E.  A July 

Newton,  Harlan  F June 

Newton,  John  F.,  Jr Nov. 

Nichols,  Ebenezer  B Nov. 

Nichols,  Jerome Oct. 

Nicliols.  William Aug. 

Niebuhr,  Caleb  E Dec. 

Nodine,  Robert  S.,  Jr Apr. 

Nolen,  Charles Orig 

Nolen,  Charles,  Jr Jan. 

Nolen,  Hervey Mar. 

Nolen,  S Dec. 

Norris,  Edward  L Nov. 

Nowell,  John  A Oct. 

Nowlan,  Daniel July 

Noyes,  Charles  C Oct. 

Noyes,  D.  W Oct. 

Noyes,  Thomas  M Dec. 

Nudd,  Carlos Nov. 


23, 
16, 

3, 
19, 
10, 

2, 
25, 
23, 
18, 
21, 
16, 


1883 
1857 
1837 
1889 
1883 
1816 
1874 
1815 
1875 
1865 
1852 


9, 
30, 

4, 
20, 
17, 
19, 
26, 

I  , 

25, 

inal 


1S17  . 

1845  . 

1877  . 

1852  . 

1853  . 
1888  . 

1878  . 
1816  . 

1815  . 

1822  . 
1858  . 
1882  . 
member 

1823  . 

1816  . 
1852  . 
1866  . 
1842  . 
1860  . 
1870  . 

1870  . 
1877  . 

1871  . 


(84) 


MEMBERS. 

Oakes,  Joseph  G.  (J.  Gervasio)  .     .     .  Oct.     4,  ISU * 

Oakman,  G.  W Nov.  29.  1870 r 

O'Connor,  Joseph Oct.  12,  18S4 d 

Odiorne,  John  W Feb.  12,  1847 * 

Oliver,  James  Lloyd Dec.  20,  1840 d 

Oliver,  Nathaniel  H.  G Oct.     8,  1825 d 

Oliver,  William  B Dec.  20,  1825 d 

Osgood,  Peter Original  member d 

Packard,  William  A Nov.  13,  1867 d 

Page,  Albert  N July    12,  1887,  Nov.  24,  1890     . 

Page,  J.  C Nov.  17,  1854 

Paine,  David Feb.  10,  1844 d 

Paine,  Frederick  E Nov.  19,  1868 d 

Paine,  Thomas  L June    1,  ,181') d 

Palmer,  Elijah  W Nov.  17,  1839 * 

Palmer,  George  W Sept.  19,  1841 * 

Palmer,  L.  K Feb.     8,  1874 d 

Palmer,  Lewis  M May   27,1880 d 

Park,  Charles  S Nov.     6,  1852 * 

Park,  Moody Original  member d 

Park,  Thomas May     2,  1816 r 

Parker,  George  S Nov.  17,  1844 

Parker,  Henry  C Oct.    18,  1884 

Parker,  Matthew  S Original  member * 

Parker,  Samuel  H Original  member * 

Parker,  Stephen,  Jr Dec.     9,  1819 d 

Parker,  Theodore  D June  16,  1818 d 

Parkhurst,  Louis  H Dec.     9,  1871 d 

Parkman,  William Dec.  18,  1843 r 

Parks,  William  A Oct.     3,  1889 

Parkyn,  Charles  C May   10,  1883 r 

Parsons,  Samuel  G Dec.  16,  1857 d 

Patch,  Frank  W June  22,  1887 r 

Patten,  A.  C Mar.  18,  1877 d 

Patten,  George Oct.    11,  1855 

Patterson,  James  W Feb.     7,  1843 d 

Payson,JohnF June     1,  1815 * 

Payson,  W.  H ^     .     .     .  Dec.     2,  1877 

Peabody,  Aaron Original  member d 

Peabody,  John  A Sept.  22,  1853 

Peabody,  Philo Apr.     4,  1875,  Dec.  30,  1877     .  * 

Pearson,  G.  B Dec.   16.  1857 * 

Pearson,  J.  H.  S Mar.  14,  1877 r 

Peirce  V.  R Dec.     9,  1877 

Pelletier,  William  S Dec.  16,  1857     .  ' r 

Pelton,  W.  H Jan.   30,  1880 d 

Pendergrass,  Ansel Sept.  27,  1856 *■ 

Pendleton,  Rufus Dec.  12,  1875,  Dec.  30,  1877     . 

(85) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


i^erley,  James Nov.     I,  1865 d 

Perkins,  A.  F Nov.   19,  1868  .;.... 

Perkins,  Charles  B May  26,  1885 r 

Perkins,  Charles  C May   27,  1850 * 


29,  1860 d 

14,  1866,  Oct.  26,  1873     .  d 

7,  1866 * 

6,  1854 d 

9,  1886 * 

29,  1860  

5,  1852 r 

29,  1&60 d 

26,  1853 ♦ 

11,  1889 


Perkins,  H.  S Dec. 

Perkins,  Henry  J Oct. 

Perkins,  J.  E Nov. 

Perkins,  J.  J Mar. 

Perkins,  Marcus  A July 

Perkins.  W.  0 Dec. 

Perry,  C.  A Oct. 

Perry,  Robert  G Dec. 

Pewtress,  John  B.     ......     .  Nov. 

Phelps,  Albert  M Apr. 

Phelps,  William  B Dec.  12,  1878 d 

Phillips,  John  L Mar.     7,  1816 r 

Phinney,  Charles  A June  27,  1887 d 

Phinney,  Eben  N Apr.     9.  1870 d 

Phippen,  George Mar.     1,  1847 d 

Phipps,  John  M Nov.  20,  1889 

Phipps,  William  K Original  member d 

Pierce,  Frank  H Nov.  19,  1871 d 

Pierce,  Henry Jan.      3,  1843 

Pierce,  James Original  member * 

Pierce,  James,  Jr Feb.     5,  1822 d 

Pierce,  Joseph  N Aug.  14,  1831 r 

Pierce,  Lewis Jan.    14,  1820 * 

Pike,  Albert  G Dec.  20,  1874 d 

Pike,  Clarence  H. Apr.  24,  1882 

Pike,  Ezekiel  W Oct.    14,  1837 

Piper,  C.  F.  . Nov.   12.1871 

Pitman,  Benjamin Nov.  23,  1815 

Plimpton,  Charles  T Nov 

Poole,  A.  F Jan 

Poole,  Charles  C Oct.      7,  1855 

Poor,  Whittle Apr.   11,  1889 

Pollock,  Allan Mar.  10,  1818 

Pollock,  George Sept.    7,  1815 

Pollock,  Neil Apr.     2,  1816 

Pomroy,  Henry Oct.      1,  1816 

Pond,  Charles  P 


d 

d 

d 

8,  1863 d 

7,  1860 


d 


Apr.  24.  1882 d 


Pond,  P.  P Mar. 

Porter,  F.  W Oct. 

Porter,  John  W Nov. 


4,  1828 d 

4,  1882 d 

1,  1863 r 


Powers,  J.  F Dec.  14,  187^ 


13,  1879 r 

1,  1835 d 


Pratt,  Albert  J Oct. 

Pratt,  Alfred  H Nov. 

Pray,  Benjamin June  16,  1818 r 

Pray,  Henry  S Nov.  29,  1870 * 


(86) 


MEMBERS. 

Pray,  J.  A Feb.     3,1845 

Pray,  John  H '.     .     .     .  July     6,  1815  .    , * 

Pray,  William  H Oct.     7,  1854 d 

Preble,  F.  F Apr.    28,  1878 

Prentiss,  H.  C Dec.     8,  1877 

Prentiss,  Samuel  P Nov.     1,  1863 d 

Prideaux,  James Nov.  17,  1839 * 

Priest,  Luther Dec.  30,  1817 d 

Pritchett,  Thomas  (Charles  F.  King)  .  Dec.  22,  1856 * 

Proctor,  Alfred  N Nov.     4,  1854 

Proctor,  Tsaac  K Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Proctor,  John  H Nov.  15,  1849 * 

Proctor,  Thomas  W Apr.  25,  1882 r 

Proudfoot,  W.  H Nov.  29,  1870 r 

Puffer,  Gustavus  A Nov.  29,  1870 * 

Purington,  Chester  W Apr.    11,1889 

Putnam,  Charles  P Mar.     2,  1865 d 

Putnam,  Henry  D May     9,  1867 d 

Putnam,  Isaac  H Nov.  29,  1870 r 

Putnam,  James  J Nov.  10,  1864 d 

Putnam,  John  P Dec.  18,  1875 d 

Quick,  Howard  P Apr.  19,  1889 r 

Quimby,  Stillman  J Dec.  46,  1857 d 

Rand,  David  L Dec.  29,  1875,  June  18,  1887     .  d 

Rand,  Edwin  K Nov.  29,  1870  ...... 

Randall,  J.  E Nov.  29,  1870  ......  d 

Randall,  William  H Nov.    1,  1863 r 

Randall,  William  S Apr.  25,  1882 r 

Rankin,  Richard  C June  22,  1886 

Raymond,  F.  H Nov.  21,  1865 r 

Raymond,  George  P Nov.  21,  1865 d 

Reddish,  Arthur May  26,  1890 r 

Redfern,  H.  N Dec.  24,  1880 d 

Redman,  Harry  N Tune     7,  1890 d 

Reed,  Arthur Nov.    8,  1863 

Reed,  David -,     .  Mar.    7,   1816 d 

Reed,  T.  Frank Mar.  14,  1866 * 

Reed,  Hodges Mar.  10,1818  .......  d 

Reeves,  Dexter,  Jr Dec.   16,  1857 

Reeves,  Nathaniel Nov.     5,  1846 d 

Reid,  James  C June  24,  1890 r 

Remick,  Edward  T Jan.  30,  1880 d 

Reynolds,  F.  G Nov.  29,  1870 r 

Reynolds,  Samuel  S Jan.      1,  1822 d 

Rice,  Aaron Nov.  19,  1816 r 

Rice,  Herbert Jan.     3,  1875 d 

Rice,  James Nov.    4,  1854 

(87) 


IIISTOKY    OF    THE    HANDEL  AND    HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Rice,  James  P Nov.    1,  186" d 

Rice,  Luther  G May     8,  1845 d 

Rice,  S.  S Oct.    17,  182<; d 

Rice,  W.  B Nov.  19,  1868 d 

Rich,  W.  E.C Dec.  31,  1881 

Richards,  George  C Nov.    3,  1850 d 

Richards,  Isaiah  D May  21,  1837 r 

Richards,  James  B Feb.   18,  1847 d 

Richards,  Jonathan  A Nov.  27,  1821 d 

Richards,  Robert  H July    3,1886 

Richards,  W.  A Nov.    8,1863 

Richards,  William  W Mar.  14,  1866 d 

Richardson,  Aaron  P Nov.    1,  1842 * 

Richardson,  E.  T.  F Original  member * 

Richardson,  George  E Feb.     1,1874 d 

Richardson,  Maurice  H Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Richardson,  Samuel Original  member * 

Richardson,  William  H Feb.     5,  1822 d 

Richardson,  William  M Jan.     9,  1876 d 

Richardson,  William  S Dec.  24,  1880 d 

Ricker,  Clinton  A May   26,  1890 

Ring,  Reuben Nov.    1,  1865 d 

Ring,  W.  S Feb.     4,  1859 r 

Ripley,  L.  G May   12,  1883 d 

Risdon,  Isaac  W May    9,1882 

Rising,  J.  A Oct.   27,  1859 d 

Roath,  Benjamin  T Oct.     4,  1842 d 

Roberts,  Albert  F Nov.  29,  1870,  Dec.  3,  1883     .  d 

Roberts,  John Dec.     3,  1822 * 

Roberts.  T.  L May  27,  1880 r 

Robertson,  John Nov.    7,  186(1 d 

Robertson,  John  M Jan.      1,1822 ♦ 

Robinson,  Joseph  S Jan.   28,1867  ......  d 

Robinson,  S.  F Dec.  12,  1875 

Robinson,  Tilon Jan.     6,  1853 * 

Roby,  Charles  C Jan.     7,  1877 d 

Roe,  Lewis  W June    6,  1887 d 

Roeder,  Hugo May    10,  1883 r 

Rogers,  John Nov.  24,  1869 r 

Rogerson,  Robert Nov.  26,  1818 d 

Rollins,  F.  W Feb.     6,  1876 d 

Rollins,  James  W Sept.  29,  1851 d 

Ropes,  Francis  C Mar.  26,  1868 d 

Ropes,  William  B June  21,  1887 

Roraback,  John Mar.   31,  1879 d 

Rose.  George  H Apr.    11,  1889 

Rouse,  Benjamin Oct.      7,  1817 r 

Rowson,  William Original  member * 

Ruffin,  George  L June    7,  1890 

(88) 


MEMBERS. 

Rujrg,  George  H Nov.  29,  1870 r 

Ruggles,  Daniel Nov.  13,  1843 

Rundlett,  Roger  S Mar.  14,  1860 

RussiU,  JolmG June  21,  1880 r 

Ryan,  James May    16,  1884 d 

Ryder,  Charles  C June  23,  1886 r 

Ryder,  Willard  E Apr.   19,  1889 r 

Rydingsvard,  Karl  A July    12,1886 d 

Safford,  Charles  H Oct.     4,  1842 * 

Safford,  Isaac  T Sept.  26, 1848 

Sanborn,  Nathan Feb.  26,  1853 d 

Sanderson,  H.  K May   17,  1882 r 

Sanger,  Samuel Oct.      6,  1818 d 

Sargent,  Osborne  N June  21,  1887 r 

Sargent,  S.  A Oct.    22,1879 d 

Savage,  Ralph  B Apr.  19,  1889  ......  r 

Saville,  N.  E Mar.  10,  1872 d 

Sawtelle,  Eli  A Nov.  20,  1870 d 

Sawyer,  John  S Dec.  29,  1860 

Sawyer,  Harris  E Jan.  29,  1891 

Sawyer,  Laban Nov.  24,  1869 d 

Sawyer,  Ralph  H May     5,  1883 * 

Sawyer,  W.  K May  29,  1882 

Sawyer,  William  K Jan.    25,  1874 r 

Scamman,  J.  B Nov.  10,  1878 r 

Schlessinger,  Sebastian  \\ Dec.  16,  1857 d 

Schmidt,  Henry Dec.  28,  1839 d 

Scott,  Frank  N Dec.  31,  1853 d 

Scott,  Mackintosh Apr.  19,  1889 r 

Searle,  Addison Oct.     1,  1816 d 

Searle,  Frederick  A Oct.    25,  1856 d 

Seaverns,  Charles  H Sept.  18,  1852 d 

Seaverns,  J.  H May   26,  1882 r 

Senior,  Fred Nov.  24,  1869 d 

Sharp,  James Oct.    15,  1816 * 

Shattuck,  Joseph  M Nov.    4,  1854 d 

Shattuck,  N.  S Nov.  19,  1868 d 

Shaw,  E.,  3d May     2,  1816 * 

Shaw,  E.  G. Nov.  14,  1855 d 

Shaw,  J.  B Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Shaw,  J.  H Mar.     6,  1854 d 

Shepard,  F.  C Dec.  11,  1878 

Shepard,  Walter Nov.  24,  1869 r 

Sherman,  Horace  C Jan.     7,  1877 d 

Shove,  Francis  A Apr.   19,  1889 

Sim,  Arthur  W June  15,  1885 d 

Simmons,  Charles  W Oct.  25,  1856 d 

Simmons,  Oliver  E May   10,  1883 

(89) 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Simmons,  William Original  member * 

Simonds,  F.  K May     3,  1858 d 

Singleton,  George Original  member * 

Slayton,  J.  H.  L Oct.   22,  1853 d 

Small,  Fritz  H June  19,  1890 

Small,  William Oct.    17,  1826  .     .     .     .     .     .  r 

Smalley,  A.  B Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Smalley,  Joseph  H Jan.     7,  1860 d 

Smallidge,  J Nov.    9,  1815 * 

Smilie,  Elton  R Jan.    22.  1848 

Smith,  Amasa  G Dec.    3,  1822 d 

Smith,  Charles  W Nov.    7,  1846 r 

Smith,  Charles  W Dec.     7,  1858 r 

Smith,  Charles  W Apr.  24,1878 d 

Smith,  E.  H Mar.   18,  1877 

Smith,  Ebenezer Nov.    9,  1844 d 

Smith,  Edward  A lune  22,1888 

Smith,  Fred  M Dec.     2,  1877 

Smith,  H.  Farnam Oct.    25,  1856 d 

Smith,  Harry  H June    5,  1888 r 

Smith,  J.  E Mar.  18,  1877 d 

Smith,  J.  G Nov.    8,  1863 d 

Smith,  Jeremiah  P Nov.  27,  1821 * 

Smith,  Ralph Mar.     7,  1816 d 

Smith,  Richard  W Nov.  13,  1867 

Smith.  Samuel Mar.  10,  1818 d 

Sniith,  Sidney  F Oct.    12,  1885 r 

Snow,  William  H May   29,  1885 d 

Somes,  Stephen Oct.      9,  1852 

Soule,  Richard  H Nov.  12,  1871 a 

Souther,  William  T Mar.  20,  1877 d 

Spaulding,  C.  P Nov.  24,  1869 d 

Spaulding.  George  W.  .     .     .     k     .     .  Nov.  10,  1864 d 

Spaulding,  S.  H Nov.     1,  1865 d 

Spaulding,  W.  W Nov.  24,  1869 d 

Spear,  George  N. .Mar.     2,  1865 d 

Spear,  Isaac Sept.  17,  1837 d 

Sprague,  Frank  H Tune    6,  1887 r 

Spring,  John Nov.  10,  1818 r 

Stalker,  John Apr.    11,1889 

Stanford,  C.  D Jan.     4,1881 r 

Staniford,  Daniel Dec.     7,  1815 * 

Stanwood,  Edward Sox.  13,  1867 d 

Stearns,  William Aug.     6,  1822 

Stebbins,  Chester Original  member * 

Stedman,  Charles       Jan.  22,  1832 r 

Stephenson,  C.  E May  27,  1880 d 

Stevens,  Edgar  F May   15,  1884 d 

Stevens,  Ira  G. Apr.  25,  1882 d 

(90) 


MEMBERS. 

Stickney,  Edward Nov.  10,  1878 d 

Stickney,  John  H Xoa'.     7,  18fil * 

Stimpson,  Chtirles  P Mar.  15,  1879 r 

Stockwell,  Samuel July     6,  1815 * 

Stone,  Charles  S Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Stone,  Charles  W Jan.    25,1874 

Stone,  Heory Feb.     9,1853 * 

Stone,  Henry  N Nov.  20,1840 r 

Stone,  Henry  R Mar.  15,1866 <l 

Stone,  Hubert Oct.      6,  1854 

Stone,  Joshua Mar.     7,  1816 r 

tover,  Theophilus •     .  Dec.  28,  1852 * 

Stovvers,  Charles  A June     4,  1885 r 

Stratton,  John Feb.     6,  1827 d 

Strong,  Peleg Sept.  15,  1839 d 

Sturtevant,  George  H Apr.   15,  1878 

Sumner,  Amos Original  member d 

Sutro,  Theodore Nov.  12,  1871 d 

Swain,  S.  H .  Dec.    12,  1875 d 

Swan,  James  G Dec.  20,  1843 d 

Swan,  Walter  S May     5,  1872 d 

Swan,  William  U.      .......  May    16,  1883 

Sweet,  James  S. Apr.      4,  1843 * 

Sweny,  Henry  J Oct.    27,  1859 d 

Swett.  Charles  E Apr.     4,  1875 d 

Swett,  John  E May    27,  1880 

Swelt,  William  S June     3,  1886 r 

Swift,  Hiram May    21,1837 r 

Swope,  Frank  D Apr.  19,  1889 d 

Sylvester,  Charles  T Sept.  14,  1852,  Feb.  8,  1869      . 

Sylvester,  L.  G Nov.  10,  1864 d 

Talbot,  T.  L Feb.     1,  1874 d 

Tarbell,  William  R Feb.     8,  1869 d 

Taylor,  Eber Nov.    6,  1827 * 

Taylor,  James  L Nov.  24,  1869 d 

Taylor,  Orion  S Apr.  23,  1884 r 

Taylor,  Sidney May     1,  1889 

Teasdale,  Charles May     6,  1889 

Teele,  C.  R Jan.  30,  1880 

Tenney,  A.  J Nov.  19,  1868 * 

Thacher,  George  M Oct.  25,  1856 * 

Thayer,  Alexander  W Jan.  10,  1845 

Thayer,  Elijah June     1,  1815 r 

Thayer,  Eliphalet Jan.    14,  1820 r 

Thayer,  Frank  S Apr.  28,  1875 d 

Thomas,  Seth  J Jan.    11,  1829 d 

Thompson,  William  L June    3,  1886 r 

Thomson,  Heury  S Jan.      1,  1849 

(91) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL  AXD    HAYDN  SOCIETY. 

Thorndike,  S.  Lothrop Dec.    IC,  1857 r 

Ticld,  Samuel Jan.      1,  1822 * 

Tilden,  Edwin Nov.    1,  1842 d 

Tillson,  David Feb.     4,  1834 * 

Titcomb,  E.  J Npv.    7,  1844 

Titcomb,  John  H Apr.   19,  1847 d 

Titus,  W.  L Dec.    8,  1878 * 

Tompkins,  Isaac  S Oct.     7,  1817 d 

Tompson,  John  A Nov.  21,  1865 

Tompson,  John  G.,  Jr Oct.    27,  1859 

Topliff,  G.  Francis Feb.    18,  186:5 d 

Topliff,  Samuel Oct.      7,  1817 r 

Tower,  Daniel  L Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Townsend,  H Dec.     7,  1858 d 

Treadwell,  N.  W Dec.  22,  1881 r 

Trench,  Francis  P Apr.  25,  1882 r 

Treubeck,  W July     5,  1840 * 

Trowbridge,  S.  W .     .  Nov.    8,  1863 d 

Trowbridge,  T.  W Nov.  10,  1864 d 

Tucker,  Louis  N Sept.  21,  1852 d 

Tuckt  r,  Nathaniel Original  member * 

Tuckerman,  Samuel  1' Oct.   21,  1838 r 

Tuckerman,  Samuel  S Dec.  11,1848 d 

Tufts,  Charles  A Feb.    17,  1845 

Tufts,  Otis Apr.  12,  1884 r 

Turner,  Andrew  W May  15,  1884 

Turner,  D wight  M Nov.    7,  1866 d 

Turner,  Ellslia Oct.  27,  1852 

Turner,  Henry  H Jan.  21,  1882 

Tuttle,  A.  T Nov.  19,  1868 d 

Tuttle,  Frank  M Apr.  11,1889 

Twitchell,  W.  F Oct.    11,  1852 d 

Underwood,  A.  R Dec.     1,1878 

Underwood,  Francis  H.     .     .     .     .     .  Nov.     1,  1865 r 

Upham,  Frank  E June    6,  1887 * 

Upham,  J.  Baxter June    4,  1861 

Upham,  T.  A Mar.  22,  1853 d 


Valentine,  H.  E Nov.    1,  1865 d 

Vose,  Arthur  C Apr.  24,  1878 d 

Vose,  Benjamin  C Nov.  14,  1855 r 

Yose,  Joshua June     1,  1815 * 

Vose,  Thomas  .     .     .     • Nov.  10,  1818 * 

V^ose,  Tristram Nov.    9,1815  ....-.* 

Wadleigh,  William  H Dec.  9,  1848 

Wadsworth,  O.  F Mar.  14,  1866 r 

Wagner,  Lawrence  L May      5,  1872 d 

(92) 


MEMBEKS. 

Waimvright,  Peter,  Jr Dec.     7,  1815 d 

Waitt,  Otis  E Nov.  24,  18(59 d 

Wakefield.  W.  L Dec.  IG,  1857 d 

Waldo,  Francis  W Aug.    3,  1815 * 

Walker,  Joel  H Jan.      2,  18-12 d 

Wales,  S.  Walter .  Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Walton,  G.  W Oct.     4,  1882 d 

Ward,  Andrew  D Dec.  12,  1874 d 

Ward,  Joseph  H Dec.    6,  1842 d 

Ware,  Frank  T Jan.    25,  1874 

Ware,  George  W Dec.  16,  1857 d 

Ware,  John Mar.  10,1818 d 

Ware,  Samuel  C June  28,  1840 * 

Warren,  Asa May    2,  1816 r 

Warren,  George Oct.   26,  1815 * 

Warren,  George  W June    3,  1868 * 

Warren,  Harold  B June  28,  1887 r 

Warren,  John  C Nov.  10,  1864 r 

Warren.  W.  F May    10.  1876 

Washburn,  D.  E Apr.     5,  1858 d 

Washburn,  George  W.  C.  .   '  .     .     .     .  Dec.  18,  1851 

Washburn,  Jeremiah Nov.    4,  1823 * 

Washburne,  Calvin Aug.     6,  1816 r 

Waterbury,  Julius  H Nov.    10,  1879 

Waterman,  E.  C Nov.  12,  1871 d 

Waterman,  Samuel  S Nov.  19,  1871 d 

Watson,  S.  N Jan.      7,  1851 r 

Webb,  C.  H Jan.    22,  1848 

Webb,  George  James Oct.     5,  1830 r 

Webb,  T.  C Nov.     1,  1865 * 

Webb,  Thomas  Smith Original  member * 

Webb,  W.  K Nov.  12,  1871 r 

Webber,  W.  A Jan.    28,  1867 d 

Webster,  George  H.,  Jr Mar.  14,  1879 d 

Webster,  J.  W Oct.    28,  1832 * 

Webster,  J.  W Feb.     8,  1869,  May  5,  1872  .     .  d 

Webster,  R Nov.  18,  1817 r 

Weeks,  C.  P Oct.     8,  1853 d 

Welch,  Joseph  W Dec.     9,  1817 * 

Wellington,  Austin  C Nov.  12,  1871 r 

Wellington,  Charles  W.  W Apr.  13,  1878 * 

Wellington,  William  H May    25,  1840 * 

Wells,  Harry  G Nov.  10,  1878 r 

Wells,  Wellington ,.     .  June  20,  1887 r 

Welsh,  George  W Dec.  30,1817 d 

Wentworth,  Charles  C Oct.    23,  1851 d 

Wentworth,  George  H .  Nov.  10,  1864 d 

Wentworth,  James  A Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Wentworth,  S.  T Jan.    14,  1877 r 

(93) 


HISTOKY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDX    SOCIETY. 

West,  Albert  J April    9,  1870,  Jan.  16,  1876     .  d 

West,  Charles  H June  21,  1882 d 

West,  George  W Nov.     7,  1866 d 

Weston,  E.,  .Tr Oct.  21,  1838 r 

Westwood,  Joseph June  26,  18^0 

Wetherbee,  Josiah  Q June  28,  18-40 

Weymouth,  William  S Nov.  24,  1869 d 

Wheat,  Bridge Oct.      4,  1844 * 

Wheelwright,  George  8 Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Wheelwright,  Josiah Jan.     2,  1821 r 

Wheelwright,  Josiah Nov.   24,  1869,  Nov.  17,  1S78   . 

Whiston,  Francis  C Sept.  17,  1822 d 

Whitcomb,  Lawrence June  25,  1890 r 

Whitcomb,  N.  O Nov.    13,  1867 

White,  E.  W Dec.  16,  1857 d 

White,  Edward  Y Nov.  21,  1865 d 

White,  H.  K.,  Jr Mar.  26,  1868 d 

White,  Jacob  R Oct.      7,  1817 d 

White,  Robert  L May   17,  1883 d 

White,  Thomas  H Oct.      7,1817 d 

White,  Walter  P Apr.  11,  188'.t r 

White,  Warren Dec.  25,  1843 d 

Whiting,  C.  E Dec.  22,  1856 d 

Whiting,  Joseph  J Jan.    23,  1842 * 

Whitman,  Allen Mar.     7,  1816 d 

Whitney,  Alfred Nov.    8,  1844 d 

Whitney,  G.  W May   15,  1882 

Whitney,  John Oct.     6,  1818 d 

Whitney,  Richard  S Nov.  19,  1868 

Whitney,  W.  L •   .     .     .     .     Mar.  31,  1879 d 

Whittemore,  Arthur  H Apr.   11,  1889 r 

Whittemore,  Dexter  P May    12,  1884 d 

Whittemore,  F.  J Mar.    19,  1858 d 

Whittemore,  Michael.  Jr Nov.  27,  1821 d 

Whittemore,  Thomas Oct.      7,  1817 d 

Whittier,  D.  B Dec.     8,  1861 d 

Wight,  Henry  F Nov.     7,  1866 d 

Wilcox,  Preston Dec.     9,  1877 d 

Wilde,  Hiram Oct.   25,  1856 

Wilder,  Daniel Aug.     7,  1832 r 

Wilder,  F.  B Jan.     7,  1877 d 

Wilder,  Frank  h Nov.  29,  1870 d 

Wilder,  Lewis Sept.  28,  1884 r 

Wilder,  Martin Oct.      3,  1820 * 

Wilder,  Martin,  2d Nov.  13,  1843 

Wilder,  Volney Oct.    21,  1832 r 

Wildes,  Ephraim Oct.      3,  1837 * 

Willy,  Ephraim Oct.     4,  1825 d 

Williams,  Benjamin  P Mar.     7,1816 d 

(94) 


MEMBERS. 

Williams,  Boardraan Xov.  23,  1815 * 

Williams,  Henry  B Xov.     7,  1866 d 

Williams,  J.  Frank Dec.  19,  1881 d 

Williams,  Jame^ Nov.     4,  1854 

Williams,  L.  P Xov.  19,  1868 d 

Williams,  N.  Wardner Mar.  26,  1879 d 

Williams,  R.  T Mar.    11,  1879 

Williams.  Samuel  F Xov.     7,  1866 d 

Willson,  Robert  W Xov.  12,  1871 d 

Wilson,  Arthur  H Nov.  24:,  1869 d 

Wilson,  George  H Feb.     1,  1874 r 

Wilson,  J.  C Oct.    27,  1859 =*= 

Wilson,  John Nov.  21,  1865 d 

Wilson,  William  H Nov.  21,  1865 d 

Winch,  J.  F Nov.     1,  1865 r 

Winch.  J.  R Nov.     1,  1865 r 

Winchester,  Amasa Original  member * 

Windram,  W.  J Dec.    13,  1874 r 

Winther,  C Jan.    17,  1881 r 

Winward,  William  W May   26,  1872 d 

Wise,  Isaac  K Dec.     9,  1819 * 

Wiswell,  Dexter  \^ Jan.      1,  1833 * 

Wiswell,  George  C Nov.   10,  1864 

Wiswell,  William  D Nov.      1,  1863 * 

With,  C.  Frederick June  21,  1887 d 

Withington,  Ebenezer Original  member * 

Withington,  George  R.  M Sept.    1,  1818 d 

Withington,  Increase  S Jan.      2,  1821 * 

Witter,  T.  H.  B Nov.  29,  1870 r 

Wood,  C.  H.  W Nov.  •  1,  1863 r 

Wood,  Elisha.  .Jr Apr.    1,  1823 d 

Wood,  Elijah  A May    5,  1884 

Wood.  G.  H Nov.     1,  1865 d 

Wood,  Lewis Nov.    9,  1815 * 

Wood,  W.  E Nov.  24,  1869 r 

Woods,  George  H Dec.     2,  1877 r 

Woods,  J.  H Feb.     8,  1869 d 

Woods,  John  C Oct.  25,  1852 d 

Woodman,  Jonathan  C Jan.    12.  1854 d 

Woodward,  A.  W Feb.  24,  1853 * 

Woodward,  Isaac Sept.-25,  1856 * 

Woodward,  W.  A Dec.     1,  1878 d 

Worcester,  Charles  P June     4,  1885 r 

Worcester,  Joseph  R May      3,1884 i- 

Worcester,  W Nov.  10,  1878 d 

Worthley,  Mark Dec.    6,  1842 * 

Wright,  Chandler Dec.   16,  1857,  May  12,  1883     . 

Wright,  J.  W Apr.  19,  1840 d 

Wright,  R.  P Nov.   13,  1867 

(95) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AXD    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 

Wright,  William July     6,1815 " 

Wymau,  Luther  B Jan.      3,1826 r 

Young,  Charles Feb.    3,  1839 r 

Young,  E.  O Mar.    3,  1872 d 

Ycung,  H.  D Apr.  25,  1882 d 

Young,  Henry  D Apr.  11,1889  ...... 

Inote.  —  The  method  of  attaching  a  number  to  the  signature  of  each  new  member  should 
seem  to  have  been  adopted  with  the  openin«  of  the  present  book  of  By-Lawe  in  1S43.  As 
in  a  good  many  instances  men  have  discontinued  their  membership  in  the  Society,  and  then 
at  a  later  date  resumed  it,  ii  follows  that  the  numbers  indicate  a  record  not  of  the  members, 
but  of  the  memberships.^  This  record  of  memberships  constitutes  the  chronological  list  as 
edited  above.  The  significance  of  the  duplicate  memberships  was  evidently  not  perceixed  in 
lS4o.  The  numbers,  which  were  then  apparently  for  the  first  time  assigned  to  the  members  of 
that  date,  run  through  465,  representing  the  number  of  members.  Up  to  that  time  four  men 
had  been  in  the  cjociety  twice,  the  number  of  signatures  having  been  469.  As  the  system  then 
adopted  gave  from  thnt  time  forth  the  list  of  numbered  memberships,  the  same  method  has 
now  been  extended  backward  to  the  beginning  of  the  list,  the  four  extra  numbers  being  rep- 
resented by  465  a,  b,  c,  d.  These  469  numbers,  as  here  edited,  do  not  agree,  except  by  chance 
in  some  instances,  with  the  numbers  ascribed  to  the  old  members  in  1843.  The  discrepancies 
range  from  one  to  six,  and  are  owing  to  an  extraordinary  theory  of  chronological  succession 
invented  by  the  compiler  of  1843.  These  numbers  are  now  assigned  in  the  true  order  of  the 
original  signatures.  From  466  onward,  the  numbers  as  printed  agree  with  those  which 
accompany  the  signatures,  except  at  some  periods  of  temporary  confusion,  as,  for  instance, 
in  the  numbers  1377-1394.  In  such  cases  the  true  chronological  number  has  been  printed  in 
the  column,  and  the  number  as  written  in  the  record  list  has  been  printed  after  the  name. 

Number  of  memberships  by  printed  list    ....       1.717 
Add  Nos.  465  a,  6,  c,  d,  533  «,  596  a,  768  a,  1,266  a,  1,504  a.  9 


Subtract  Xo.  1,173,  unfilled 

Subtract  No.  946.  same  man  as  718     .... 

Subtract  duplicate  signatures 

Number  of  members,  chronological  list     ....       1,687 


1 

726 

1 

1 

725 

1 

1 

724 

.■'< 

Number  of  names,  alphabetical  list 1,689 

Subtract  for  C.  F.  King  and  J.  G,  Cakes,  changed  names  .  2 


Number  of  members,  alphabeticallist        ....       1,»;87 

The  lists  as  here  printed  are  somewhat  imperfect.  Doubtless  many  of  the  old  members 
who  here  appear  without  the  stars  have  long  since  been  gathered  unto  their  fathers.  Proba- 
ably  some  whose  membership  has  otherwise  been  closed,  still  appear  in  full  standing.  But 
it  is  hoped  that  the  chronological  statement  will  prove  a  fairly  complete  and  accurate 
transcript  of  the  facts  that  appear  on  the  recorded  lists  of  the  Society;  and  it^has  not 
seemed  desirable  to  postpone  the  publication  of  the  history  for  the  sake  of  making  investi- 
gations beyond  the  otHcial  record. 

ERRATA 

Page  (33),  No.  468,  for  1842  read  1843. 
Page  ^55),  No.  1492,  for  Clarence  read  Clarance. 
Page  (62),  for  Anderson,  N.  R.,  read  Andersen,  N.  R. 
Page  (75),  for  Hanson,  E.  R.,  read  Hansen,  E.  R. ;  for  Hansen,  George 
A.,  read  Hanson,  George  A. 

Page  (76),  after  Hazelton,  J.  E.,  for  Oct.  26,  read  Oct.  17. 

(96) 


LADIES    OF    THE    CHORUS, 

1865-1890 


There  are  substantially  no  existing  materials  from  which  to  make  a  list  of  ladies  before 
1865.  Therefore  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  construct  such  a  list.  Furthermore,  the  list 
here  given  of  ladies  after  1865  is  by  no  means  perfect.  The  names  of  the  chorus  singers  at 
the  festivals  of  1865,  1868,  and  1871  are  given  in  the  program  books  of  those  festivals 
respectively.  These  names  constitute  almost  the  only  obtainable  information  as  to  the 
ladies  who  were  in  the  chorus  during  the  period  beginning  with  the  festival  of  1865  and 
ending  with  the  festival  of  1871.  From  the  latter  date,  records  of  constantly  increasing 
accuracy  have  been  kept. 

The  list  here  given  purports  to  include  all  the  names  found  in  the  festival  books  above 
mentioned,  or  in  the  subsequent  records  of  the  Society,  or  ascertained  from  any  other  source. 


Abbot,  Mary,  Miss 
Abbott,  Ella  M.,  Mbs 
Abbott,  G.,  Miss 
Abell,  Edith,  Miss 
Aborn,  Helen  C,  Miss 
Acherly,  C.  L.,  Mrs. 
Ackerman,  S.  E.,  Miss 
Adams,  Abbie,  Miss 
Adams.  Emma  L.,  Miss 
Adams,  Frank  A.,  Mrs. 
Adams,  H.  C,  Miss 
Adams,  Mary,  Miss 
Adams,  S.  E.  G.,  Miss 
Adams,  Susan  S.,  Miss 
Aiken,  E.  H.,  Mrs. 
Aiken,  Emma  G.,  Miss 
Akerman,  George,  Mrs. 
Albee,  Lillian  C,  Miss 
Albright,  S.,  Miss 
Alden,  D.  A.,  Mrs. 
Alden,  Nellie  M.,  Mrs. 
Alden,  R.  B.,  Mrs. 
Aldrich,  A.M.,  Mrs. 
Aldrich,  Helen  J.,  Miss 
Aldrich,  J.  E.,  Miss 
Aldrich,  Mary  A.,  Miss 
Alexander,  A.  B.,  Miss 
Alexander,  Emma  D.,  IMiss 
Alexander,  Mary  H.,  Miss 


Alexander,  Zaida,  Mrs. 
Allen,  Emily  C-,  Miss 
Allen,  Grace,  Miss 
Allen,  Hannah,  Miss 
Allen,  Hattie  E.,  Miss 
Allen,  Ida,  Miss 
Allen,  Julia,  Miss 
Allen,  Lizzie  C,  Miss 
Allen,  Lizzie  E.,  Miss 
Allen,  Louise  G.,  Mrs. 
Allen,  Lucy  G.,  Miss 
Allen,  M.,  Miss 
Allen,  Maggie,  Miss 
Allen,  Nellie,  Miss 
Allen,  S.  C,  Miss 
Allen,  William  H.,  Mrs. 
Alley,  Lizzie  E.,  Miss 
Alsbury,  Marijaret,  Mrs. 
Amidon,  Fannie,  Miss 
Andrews,  Mrs. 
Andrews,  Aleena  R.,  Miss 
Andrews,  E.  R.,  Mrs. 
Andrews,  Ellen,  Miss 
Andrews,  Eva,  Miss 
Andrews,  J.  D.,  Mrs. 
Andrews,  L.  E.,  Miss 
Andrews,  Luella  W.,  Miss 
Andrews,  Minnie  C,  Miss 
Andrews,  R.  L.,  Mrs. 


(97) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


Appleton,  Florence  A.,  Miss 
Appleton,  S.  C,  Mrs. 
Arnands,  S.  R.,  Mrs. 
Arno,  E.  J.,  Mrs. 
Attwood,  E.,  Miss 
Attwood,  J.  H.,  Mrs. 
Atwater,  Sophie,  Miss 
Atwill,  A.  A.,  Miss 
Atwill,  L.  B.,  Miss 
Atwood,  C.  A.,  Mrs. 
Atwood,  Carrie,  Miss 
Atwood,  J.  W.,  Mrs. 
AiistiD,  E.  S.,  Mrs. 
Austin,  Edith,  Miss 
Austin,  Elizabeth,  Mrs. 
Austin,  Lillie,  Miss 
Avery,  E.  B.,"Mrs. 
Avery.  Ella  R.,  Mrs. 
Avery,  Mary  H.,  Miss 
Ayer,  Elorence  G.,  Miss 

Bachelder,  Nellie,  Miss 
Backus,  Ella  F.,  Miss 
Bacon,  Helen  E.,  Mrs. 
Badger,  Sophia,  Miss 
Bagley,  Clara  E.,  Miss 
Bagley,  Lizzie  M.,  Miss 
Bagnal,  B.  G.,  Miss 
Bagnal,  Thomas,  Mrs. 
Bailey,  A.  R.,  Mrs. 
Bailey,  E.  F.,  Miss 
Bailey,  Grace,  Mrs. 
Baker,  L.  V.,  Miss 
Baker,  Minnie  F.,  Miss 
Bakerman,  M.  M.,  Miss 
Balch,  Amy  C,  Miss 
Baldwin,  E.  L.,  Mrs. 
Baldwin,  E.  S.,  Miss 
Baldwin,  Lizzie  J.,  Miss 
Ballard,  Georgiana  A.,  Miss 
Ballou,  Cora,  Miss 
Ballou,  Emily  J.,  Miss 
Ballou,  Isabella  J.,  Miss 
Baraford,  Miss 
Bancroft,  C.  R.,  Mrs. 
Bancroft.  Eva  J.,  Miss 
Barbey,  Christina  D.,  Miss 
Barker,  Cora  B.,  Mrs. 
Barker,  L.  M.,  Mrs. 


Barnes,  Annie,  Miss 
Barnes,  Bertha,  Miss 
Barnes,  E.R.,  Miss 
Barnes,  Emma,  Miss 
Barnes,  Margaret,  Miss 
Barr,  H.  H.,  Mrs. 
Barrett,  Alice  M.,  Miss 
Barrett,  G.  J.,  Miss 
Barrows,  E.  K.,  Mrs. 
Barry,  May  F.,  Mrs. 
Barry,  ^Y.  T.,  Mrs. 
Bartlett,  Jennie  L.,  Miss 
Bartlett,  M.  F.,  Miss 
Barton,  Lucy  T.,  Mrs. 
Bassett,  C,  Miss 
Batchelder,  Frances,  Miss 
Bates,  Hattie  T.,  Mrs. 
Bates,  M.  C.  Miss 
Bates,  M.  T.,  Mrs. 
Bates,  Maud,  Miss 
Bath,  Carrie  A.,  Miss 
Battersby,  Winifred,  Miss 
Baxter,  C.  A.,  Mrs. 
Beal,  H.,  Mrs. 
Bearse,  A.  L.,  Mrs. 
Beattie,  Addle  A.,  Miss 
Beattie,  Marion  J.,  Miss 
Beck,  Frederick,  Mrs. 
Beck,  L.  A.,  Miss 
Beck,  L.  M.,  Miss 
Beede,  A.  F.  C,  Miss 
Beers,  J.  T.,  Mrs. 
Belding,  Laura,  Miss 
Bell,  C.  A.,  Miss 
Bennett,  Emma  J.,  Miss 
Bennett,  L.  F.,  Miss 
Bennison,  S.  M.,  Miss 
Benson,  A.  M.,  Miss 
Benson,  Thesia  C,  Miss 
Bent,  E.  M.,  Miss 
Benton,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Benton,  Maggie  B.,  Miss 
Bergstrom,  Mattie,  Miss 
Berk,  M.,  Miss 
Betton,  Mrs. 
Bickford,  Alta,  Miss 
Bickford,  Emma,  Miss 
Bicknell,  Alice,  Miss 
Bicknell,  Anna  T.,  Miss 


(98) 


LADIES    OF    THE    CHORUS,    1( 


-1890. 


Bicknell,  Carrie  L.,  Miss 
Bidwell,  Minda  C,  Miss 
Bigelow,  E.  J.,  Mrs. 
Bigelow,  Florence,  Miss 
Billings,  Ella  M.,  Mrs. 
Billings,  Mary  P.  C,  Mrs. 
Billings,  Nellie,  Miss 
Bingham,  H.  A.,  Mrs. 
Bingham,  H.  E.,  Miss 
Bingham,  Kittie  E.,  Miss 
Bingham,  Lucy  J.,  Mrs. 
Bingham,  S.  E.,  Miss 
Birch,  G.  W.,  Mrs. 
Bird,  C.  A.,  Miss 
Bird,  Carrie  E.,  Miss 
Bird,  Helen  M.,  Miss 
Bird,  Mary  C,  Miss 
Bishop,  P.,  Mrs. 
Bishop,  Marie,  Mrs. 
Bissell,  A.,  Miss 
Bittner,  Nettie  M.,  3Iiss 
Black,  Ella,  Miss 
Black,  Lucy,  Miss 
Blacker,  E.  F.,  Miss 
Blackman,  Mabelle  W.,  Miss 
Blaisdell,  Emma  A.,  Miss 
Blauchard,  Kate  E.,  Miss 
Blanchard,  Nettie  S.,  Miss 
Blanchard,  W.  E.,  Mrs. 
Blaney,  E.  A.,  Mrs. 
Blatchford,  Dora,  Miss 
Blethen,  J.  C.,Mrs. 
Blodgett,  Alice,  Miss 
Blodgett,  F.  A.,  Miss 
Blood,  Evlyn,  Miss 
Boardman,  E.  1.,  Miss 
Boardman,  F.  M.,  Miss 
Boardman,  Mabel,  Miss 
Bodges,  A.  L.,  Miss 
Boll,  Helena  H.,  Miss 
Bond,  Minnie  D.,  Mrs. 
Boos,  Josephine,  Miss 
Boos,  Therese,  Miss 
Boott,  E.,  jNIiss 
Bosley,  Mary  A. ,  Miss 
Bosworth,  Abbie  F.,  Miss 
Bothamly,  Edith,  Miss 
Bothamly,  Emma,  Miss 
Bothamly,  Fannie,  Miss 


Bowker,  Jennie,  Mrs. 
Bowser,  S.  S.,  Mrs. 
Boyd,  Margaret  A.,  Miss 
Boyden,  W.  R.,  Mrs. 
Boylston,  Belle  R.,  Mrs. 
Brackett,  Grace  W.,-  Miss 
Brackett.  Kate  H.,  Miss 
Brackett,  L.,  Mrs. 
Brackett,  L.  B.,  Miss 
Brackett,  Mary,  Miss 
Bradbury,  C.  B.,  Mrs. 
Bradbury,  E.  A.,  Mrs. 
Braddock,  W.  L.,  Mrs. 
Braden,  H.  S.,  Mrs. 
Bradford,' Lizzie  B.,  Miss 
Bradlee,  Annie  J.,  Miss 
Bragdon,  Florence  L.,  Miss 
Branch,  A.  E.,  Miss 
Branch,  M.,  Miss 
Brandyer,  Katherine,  Miss 
Branscomb,  E.  D.,  Mrs. 
Bray,  A.,  Miss 
Brehm,  Fannie  J.,  Miss 
Brice,  Mary,  Miss 
Bridges,  Georgianna,  Miss 
Briggs,  Annie  E,,  Miss 
Briggs,  Julia  E.,  Miss 
Briggs,  Lon,  Miss 
Brigham,  A.  E.,-  Miss 
Brigham,  Addie  R.,  Miss 
Brigham,  E.  J.,  Miss 
Brigham,  M.  C,  Mrs. 
Brittou,  M.  A.,  Mrs. 
Broad.  F.  W.,  Mrs. 
Brooks,  Alice,  Miss 
Brooks,  C.  E.,  Miss 
Brooks,  Stella,  Miss 
Broughton,  Caroline  V.,  Miss 
Brown,  A.  C,  Miss 
Brown,  Alice  G.,  Miss 
Brown,  C  M.,  Miss 
Brown,  Carrie  B.,  Miss 
Brown,  Christine,  Miss 
Brown,  Edna  E.,  Miss 
Brown,  Florence  C,  Miss 
Brown,  George  M,,  Mrs. 
Brown,  Hattie  A.,  Miss 
Brown,  Henry  B.,  Mrs. 
Brown,  M.  A.,  Mrs. 


(99) 


HISTORY    OF   THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


Brown,  M.  G.,  Miss 
Brown,  Mary  J.,  Mrs. 
Brown,  N.  M.,  Miss 
Brown,  Nellie,  Mrs. 
Brown,  S.  A.,  Miss 
Browne,  A.  Parker,  Mrs. 
Browning,  E.  F.,  Miss 
Browning,  J.  A.,  Mrs. 
Bruce,  Katharine  M.,  Miss 
Bruce,  M.  E.,  Mrs. 
Bruner,  Lettie,  Miss 
Bryant,  D.  C,  Mrs. 
Bryant,  Gertrude,  Miss 
Bryant,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Bryant,  Margaret,  Miss 
Bryden,  W.  R.,  Mrs. 
BufRngton,  Mary  P.,  Miss 
Bugbee,  E.  A.,  Miss 
Buitekan,  Eva,  Miss 
Bulkeley,  L.  E.,  Miss 
Bullard,  E.  C,  Mrs. 
Bullard,  E.  H.,  Mrs. 
Bullard,  Mary  L.,  Miss 
Bullen,  E.  S.,  Miss 
Bullen,  Mary  J..  Miss 
Bunten,  M.  T.,  Miss 
Bunton,  E.  J.,  Miss 
Bunton,  L.  A.,  Miss 
Bunton,  W.  H.,  Mrs. 
Burbeck,  H.  L.,  Miss 
Burgess,  E.  H.  C,  Miss 
Burgess,  H.  P.,  Miss 
Burgess,  J.  T.,  Mrs. 
Burkett,  Belle  P.,  Miss 
Burnham,  A.,  Miss 
Burnliam,  A.  L.,  Miss 
Burnham,  Clara,  Mrs. 
Burnham,  Ellen  E.,  Miss 
Burnham,  W.  W.,  Mrs. 
Burrill,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Burroughs,  Belle,  Miss 
Burroughs,  Eliza  A.,  Mrs. 
Burroughs,  Emma  A.,  Miss 
Burrows,  E.  A.,  Mrs. 
Burton,  C.  E,,  Miss 
Burton,  C.  I.,  Miss 
Burton,  Ida  M.,  Miss 
Burton,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Burton,  Maggie  B.,  Miss 


Burton,  Mary  E.,  Miss 
Butcher,  Martin,  Mrs. 
Butler,  S.,  Miss 
Butterfleld,  C.  P.,  Miss 
Butterfleld,  Grace,  Miss 
Butterfleld,  M.  S.,  Mis& 
Buttrick,  L.  A.,  Miss 
Butts,  Lizzie  M.,  Miss 
Buxton,  Lulu  L.,  Miss 
Byrne,  Addie  A.,  Mrs- 
Byrne,  S.  J.,  Mrs. 
Byrne,  S.  T.,  Mrs. 

Cabot,  Edith  R.,  Mis» 
Cabot,  Lilla,  Miss 
Cabot,  Sarah,  Miss 
Caine,  Ida  P.,  Miss 
Cairns,  Emma,  Miss 
Caldwell,  Mabel  V.,  Miss 
Calef,  Josephine,  Miss 
Cameron,  J.,  Mrs. 
Camp,  Kate,  Miss 
Campbell,  A.  A.,  Miss 
Campbell,  Alma,  Miss 
Campbell,  Cora,  Miss 
Campbell,  J.  J.,  Mrs. 
Campbell,  L.,  Mrs. 
.Campbell,  T.  W.,  Mrs. 
Cann,  Minnie,  Miss 
Capon,  Mrs. 
Card,  Lucy  G.  M.,  Miss 
Cardell,  P.  B.,  Mrs. 
Carleton,  C.  P.,  Mr&. 
Carleton,  I.  S.,  Miss 
Carleton,  J.  P.,  Mrs.^ 
Carleton,  J.  S.,  Miss 
Carnes,  E.  L.,  Miss 
Carnes,  P.,  Mrs. 
Carr,  B.,  Mrs. 
Carr,  II.,  Mrs. 
Carr,  H.  H.,  Mrs. 
Carr,  H.  V.,  Mrs. 
Carr,  J.  A.,  Mrs. 
Carr,  M.  G.,  Mrs. 
Carrier,  Ida,  Miss 
Carrington,  L.,  Miss 
Carter,  H.,  Mrs. 
Carter,  Mary,  Miss 
Carter,  Mary  L.,  Mis& 


(100) 


LADIES    OF    THE    CHORUS,    1865-1890. 


Cary,  J.  B.,  Miss 
Cary,  L.  P.,  Miss 
Gary,  S.,  Miss 
Case,  A.  C,  Mrs. 
Case,  H.  V.,  Miss 
Case,  I.  F.,  Miss 
Casey,  J.  F.,  Mrs. 
Cassidy,  Jennie,  Miss 
Caswell,  A.,  Miss 
Caswell,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Cazemay,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Ceiley,  Anna,  Miss 
Chadwick,  Amelia,  Miss 
Chadwick,  Anne,  Miss 
Chadwick,  H.  B.,  Mrs. 
Chadwick,  J.  C,  Mrs. 
Chaffin,  Mary  A.,  Miss 
Chamberlain,  S.  E.,  Miss 
Chandler,  Estelle  I.,  INIiss 
Chandler,  Mary,  Miss 
Chandler,  S.  R.,  :Mrs. 
Chapin,  M.  E.,  Mrs. 
Chapman,  E.  A.,  Mrs. 
Chase,  Abbie  A.,  Miss 
Chase,  Florence,  Miss 
Chase,  J.  H.,  Mrs. 
Chase,  Jennie  E.,  Mrs. 
Chase,  Linna  A.,  Miss 
Chase,  P.  F.,  Mrs. 
Chase,  W.  P.,  Mrs. 
Cheesman,  James,  Mrs. 
Cheney,  C.  A.,  Mrs. 
Cheney,  CM.,  Mrs. 
Cheney,  Ella,  Miss 
Cheney,  J.  E.,  Miss 
Chickering,  Addie  M.,  Miss 
Child,  Frances  L.,  Miss 
Child,  Harriet  M.,  Miss 
Chisam,  E.  B.,  Miss 
Chisholm,  E.,  Miss 
Chisholm,  L.  E.,  Miss 
Chisholm,  R.  C,  Miss 
Christie,  C,  Miss 
Christie,  Helen,  Miss 
Church,  Joseph,  Mrs. 
Chute,  C.  H.,  Mrs. 
Chute,  R.  J.,  Mrs. 
Cilley,  Clara  A.,  Miss 


Clapp,  Abbie  F.,  Miss 
Clark,  AbbyR.,  Miss 
Clark,  C.  H.,  Mrs. 
Clark,  C.  W.,  Miss 
Clark,  E.  F.,  Miss 
Clark,  Emma  W.,  Miss 
Clark,  J.  N.,Mrs. 
Clark,  Jennie  B.,  Miss 
Clark,  L.  W.,  Mrs. 
Clark,  M.  C,  Miss 
Clark,  M.  E.,  Mrs. 
Clark,  Minnie  A.,  Miss 
Clarke,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Clarke,  S.  A.,  Miss 
Cleaveland,  Ella,  Miss 
Close,  Fannie  M.,  Mrs. 
Clough,  Gertrude,  Miss 
Clough,  Lucy  A.,  INIiss 
Clouston,  A.  J.,  Miss 
Cloutman,  AdaG.,  Mrs. 
Cloutman,  Ella  D.,  Miss 
Cluer,  B.,Miss 
Coburn,  E.  S..  Miss 
Coburn,  Flora  M.,  Miss 
Coburn,  M.  P.,  Mrs. 
Cochran,  MaryE.,  Miss 
Cochran,  Susan,  Miss 
Cochrane,  S.  C. ,  Miss 
Coffey,  John  A.,  Mrs. 
Coffey,  William  H.,  Mrs. 
Coffin,  Josie  P.,  Miss 
Coffin,  M.  O.,  Miss 
Coffin,  Marietta,  Miss 
Cogswell,  W.  C,  Mrs. 
Colburn,  Mary  P.,  Mrs. 
Colby,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Cole,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Cole,  O.R.,  Miss 
Colgate,  H.  C,  Mrs. 
Collier,  Annie  E.,  Miss 
Collins,  Amelia,  Miss 
Collins,  E.  D.,  Mrs. 
Comey,  Georgo  H.,  Mrs. 
Conant,  Annabel  O.,  Mrs. 
Conant,  Benjamin,  Mrs. 
Conant,  Martha  T.,  Miss 
Conkey,  H.,  Mrs. 
Converse,  W.  H.,  Mrs. 
Cook,  C.  E.,  Mrs. 


(101) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND   HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


Cook,  E.  O.,  :Mrs. 
Cook,  H.  E.,  Mrs. 
Cook,  H.  J.,  Mrs. 
Cook,  J.  F.,  Mrs. 
Cook,  Lottie  A.,  Miss 
Cook,  Mary  T.  F.,  Miss 
Cooke,  A.  B.,  Mrs. 
Cooke,  C.  G.,Mrs. 
Coolidge,  Emma,  Miss 
Copeland,  M.  J.,  Mrs. 
Corey,  A.,  Mrs. 
Corliss,  Grace  S.,  Miss 
Cornwall,  Mary  A.,  Mrs. 
Corson,  C.  D.,  Mrs. 
Costello,  Abbie  May,  Miss 
Cotton,  Anna  L.,  Miss 
Covell,  Olive  M.,  Miss 
Cowclin,  G.  M.,  Mrs. 
Cox,  Mary  A.,  Miss 
Cox,  W.  N.,  Mrs. 
Crabtree,  Inez,  Miss 
Crafts,  A.  F.,  Mrs. 
Crafts,  H.  F.,  Miss 
Cragin,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Crandon,  S.  F..  Miss 
Crane,  A.  F.,  Miss 
Crane,  Carrie,  Miss 
Crane,  Emma  L.,  Miss 
Crane,  L.  L.,  Mrs. 
Crane,  Sarah  L.,  Miss 
Crawshaw,  Mary,  Miss 
Crego,  Miss 
Crocker,  M.  H.,  Miss 
Croft,  Ada  G.,  Miss 
Croft,  M.  F.,  Miss 
Crosby,  Alice  K.,  Miss 
Crosby,  Mary  C,  Miss 
Crosby,  S.  F.,  Miss 
Crosby,  S.  H.,  Miss 
Cross,  Viva,  Miss 
Crossette,  Minnie  A.,  Miss 
Grossman,  E.  J.,  Mrs. 
Crossman,  Jennie,  Mrs. 
Crovvell,  J.  A.,  Mrs. 
Crowell,  Nellie  H.,  Miss 
Cumings,  C.  H.,  Mrs. 
Cummings,  H.  A.,  Mrs. 
Cummings,  Lillian  S.,  Miss 
Cundy,  Ida,  Miss 


Cunningham,  E.,  Miss 
Cunningham,  S.  V..Miss 
Currier,  Abbie,  Mrs. 
Currier,  C.  E.,  Mrs. 
Curry,  Mrs. 
Curry,  Alfaretta,  Miss 
Curry,  Ida  F.,  Miss 
Curry,  Mary  M.,  Miss 
Curtis,  E.,  Miss 
Curtis,  L.  A.  B.,  Mrs. 
Curtis,  M.  G.,  Mrs. 
Cushing,  A.  G.,  Mrs. 
Cushing,  C,  Mrs. 
Cushing,  E.  F.,  Miss 
Cushing,  E.  S.,Miss 
Cushing,  George,  Mrs. 
Cushing,  Laura  J.,  Miss 
Cushing,  M..  Miss 
Cushing,  Mary  A.,  Mrs. 
Cushing,  Mary  E.,  Mrs. 
Cushing,  R.  D.,  Mrs. 
Cushman,  Hattie  E.,  Miss 
Cushman,  L.,  Miss 
Cushman,  Mary  L.,  Miss 
Cushnie,  Mary  J.,  Miss 
Cutler,  Mary  E.,  Miss 
Cutter,  C.  K.,  Mrs. 
Cutter,  C.  R.,'Miss 
Cutter,  Edith,  Miss 
Cutter,  Imo  L.,  Miss 
Cutting,  E.  G.,  Miss 
Cutting,  F.,  Miss 
Cutting,  Lizzie  S.,  Miss 

Dabney,  Ellen,  Miss 
Dabney,  F.,  Miss 
Dabney,  Julia  P.,  Miss 
Dabney,  S.,  Miss 
Dakin,  Bertha  M.,  Miss 
Dakin,  Lillian  J.,  Miss 
Dalton,  Grace  F.,  Miss 
Dalton,  L.  M.,  Mrs. 
Dame,  J.  W.,  Mrs. 
Damon,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Dana,  C,  Miss 
Dana,  E.  E.,  Miss 
Dana,  I.  H.,  Miss 
Dana,  J.  E.,  Miss 
Dana,  K.,  Miss 


i 


i 


(102) 


LADIES   OF   THE   CHORUS,    1865-1890. 


Dana,  L.,  Miss 
Dana,  R.  C,  Miss 
Dane,  Carrie,  Miss 
Danforth,  Adelaide,  Miss 
Danforth,  Delphis  S.,  Miss 
Daniels,  G.  F.,  Mrs. 
Daniels,  Grace,  Miss 
Daniels,  Isabel,  Miss 
Daniels,  J.  Scott,  Mrs. 
Daniels,  M.  W.,  Mrs. 
Daniels,  S.  I.,  Miss 
Daniels,  S.  M.,  Mrs. 
Darling,  M.,  Mrs. 
David,  LucyE.,  Miss 
Davidson,  Mrs. 
Davis,  A,  A.,  Miss 
Davis,  A.  F.,  Miss 
Davis,  A.  M.,  Mrs. 
Davis,  Anna  M.,  Miss 
Davis^  Annie  H.,  Miss 
Davis,  Belle,  Miss 
Davis,  Eleanor  P.,  Miss 
Davis,  Emily  I.,  Miss 
Davis,  Frank  L.,  Miss 
Davis,  J.  M.,  Mrs. 
Davis,  Josie  F.,  Miss 
Davis,  L.  C,  Miss 
Davis,  L.  E.,  Miss 
Davis,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Davis,  Mary  T.,  Miss 
Davis,  V.  G.,  Miss 
Davy,  M.  E.,  Mrs. 
Day,  H.  E.,Miss 
Dayton,  I.  M.,  Mrs. 
Dearing,  Lilla  A.,  Miss 
Dearing,  Marcia  A.,  Miss 
Decrow,  Gertrude,  Miss 
Deering,  Estelle  C,  Miss 
Delano,  Addie,  Miss 
Delano,  R.  K.,  Mrs. 
Dempster,  Mrs. 
Denley,  Mary,  Miss 
Dennett,  Mabel  F.,  Miss 
Dennis,  Mrs. 
Dennis,  A.,  Miss 
Derby,  Lizzie  M.,  Miss 
Derby,  M.  F.,  Miss 
De  Renfro,  Mlllicent,  Mrs. 
De  Ribas,  H.  R.  G.,  Miss 


Dewey,  Mary  E.,  Mrs. 
Dexter,  Cliarles  H.,  Mrs. 
Dexter,  Florence,  Miss 
Dexter,  Hattie  L.,  Miss 
De  Young,  Kate,  Miss 
Dickerman,  A.,  Miss 
Dickerman,  A.  L.,  Mrs. 
Dickinson,  Anna,  Miss 
Dickinson,  M.  S.,  Miss 
Dickinson,  Mary,  Miss 
Dimick,  C.  W.,  Mrs. 
Dietrick,  Louise  G.,  Miss 
Dodd,  John,  Mrs. 
Dodge,  Annie,  Miss 
Dodge,  Edna  S.,  Miss 
Dodge,  L.  B.,  Mrs. 
Dodge,  S.,  Miss 
Dolbeare,  F.  M.,  Miss 
Dole,  Kate,  Miss 
Dole,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Dollover,  Miss 
Dorr,  Daisy,  Miss 
Dow,  Alice  I.,  Miss 
Dowling,  E.  M.,  Miss 
Downer,  Ella,  Miss 
Downing,  Sarah  E.,Miss 
Drake,  Inez,  Miss 
Drake,  M.  Bessie,  Miss 
Drake,  M.  L.,  Mrs. 
Drake,  Sarah,  Mrs. 
Drake,  T.,  Mrs. 
Drew,  G.  H.,  Mrs. 
Drew,  Thomas,  Jr.,  Mrs. 
DuBois,  S.  M.,Mrs. 
Dudley,  E.  M.,  Miss 
Dudley,  M.  L.,  Miss 
Duganne,  S.,  Miss 
Dumas,  George  V.,  Mrs. 
Dunham,  E.  E.,  Miss 
Dunklee,  Nellie  M.,  Miss 
Dunlap,  G.  E.,  Mrs. 
Dunuells,  Jessie,  Miss 
Dunnels,  E.  W.,  Mrs. 
Dunnels,  Jennie  L.,  Miss 
Dunnels,  Mattie  D.,  Miss 
Dunning,  Clara  M.,  Miss 
Dunning,  R.  B.,  Mrs. 
Dupee,  C,  Mrs. 
Durand,  M.  L.,  Mrs. 


(103) 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 


Durgin,  E.  E.,Mrs. 
Dustin,  M.  E.,  Mrs. 
Dwyer,  Hannah,  Miss 
Dyer,  E.  Jessie,  Miss 

Earnest,  Hattie,  Miss 
Eastabrooks,  Emma,  Miss 
Eastman,  Mrs. 
Eastman,  Emma  J.,  Miss 
Eastman,  Mary  A.,  Miss 
Eaton,  H.  E.,Miss 
Eaton,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Eaton,  Lucy  H.,  Miss 
EajTs,  Maria,  Miss 
Eclieran,  D.  C,  Mrs. 
Eddy,  Mary,  Mrs. 
Edes,  M.  C,  Miss 
Edwards,  J.,  Mrs. 
Eldridge,  L.  M.,  Mrs. 
Eldridge,  M.,  Miss 
Eliot,  Catherine  A.,  Miss 
Elliott,  C.  A.,  Miss 
Elliott,  M.  L.,  Miss 
Ellis,  Emma  H.,  Mrs. 
Ellis,  F.  O.,  Mrs. 
Ellis,  Mary,  Miss 
Ellison,  J.  R.,  Mrs. 
Ellsworth,  G.  C.,Mrs. 
Ellwell,  A.  M.,  Miss 
Emerson,  C.  W.,  Mrs. 
Emerson,  R.  V.  C,  Mrs. 
Emerson,  Sara,  Mrs. 
Emery,  L.  M.,  Miss 
Emery,  M.  L.,  Miss 
Emery,  M.  T.,  Miss 
Emmons,  J.  M.,  Miss 
Esselen,  H.  M.,Mrs. 
Estabrooks,  H.  A.,  Miss 
Estes,  Lizzie  G.,  Miss 
Estle,  Mary  A.,  Miss 
Esty,  Annice  E.,  Miss 
Eustis,  Grace  F.,  Miss 
Evans,  E.,  Miss 
Evans,  E.  B.,  Mrs. 
Evans,  Ellen,  Miss 
Evans,  L.  A.,  Miss 
Evans,  M.  J.,  Miss 
Evans,  Marsraret,  Miss 


Ewer,  Pauline  C.  Miss 
Ewer,  Susan,  Miss 

Fabyan,  E.  C,  Miss 
Fairbanks,  Miss 
Fairbanks,  D.,  Mrs. 
Fairbanks,  E.,  Mrs. 
Fall,  Miss 
Fanor,  A.,  Miss 
Farmer,  H.  M.,  Miss 
Farmer,  M.  C,  Miss 
Farmer,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Farmer,  W.  C,  Miss 
Farrell,  Mary,  Mrs. 
Farrington,  A.,  Mrs. 
Farrington,  Alice  E.,  Miss 
Farrington,  H.,  Mrs. 
Farrington,  H.  E.,  Mrs. 
Farrington,  Julia  B.,  Miss 
Farrington,  Marietta  T.,  Miss 
Farrington,  Mary  E.,  Miss 
Faxon,  Edward,  Mrs. 
Fay,  Edward,  Mrs. 
Fay,  K.,  Miss 
Fell,  Sarah  A.,  Miss 
Fenno,  Ada  C  ,  Miss 
Fenno,  E.  A.,  Miss 
Feran,  E.  A.,  Miss 
Fernandez,  Emma,  Miss 
Ferrin,  Abby  N.,  Miss 
Ferris,  T.  L.,  Mrs. 
Fessenden,  William  H.,  Mrs. 
Field,  A.  L.,  Mrs. 
Field,  Emma  S.,  Miss 
Field,  Mary  W.,  Miss 
Fields,  Etta,  Miss 
Fininly,  Martha,  Miss 
Fisher,  G.  B.,  Miss 
Fisher,  Sarah  C,  Miss 
Fisher,  T.  W.,  Mrs. 
Fiske,  Emma  L.,  Miss 
Fitch,  S.  E.,  Mrs. 
Fitch,  W.  F.,  Mrs. 
Fitz,  Andrew.  Mrs. 
Fitz,  Hattie  G.,  Miss 
Flagg,  Luthera,  Miss 
Flagg,  Minnie  A.,  Miss 
Fletcher,  Esther,  Miss 


(104) 


LADIES   OF   THE    CHORUS,    1865-1890. 


Metcher,  G.  H.,  Mrs. 
Flinn,  A.,  Miss 
Plinn,  M.,  Miss 
Floyd,  M.  H.,  Miss 
Flynn,  Annette,  Miss 
Flynn,  Theresa  M.,  Miss 
FoUansbee,  E.  E.,  Miss 
Follett,  Dr.,  Mrs. 
Follett,  A.  L.,  Miss 
Follett,  A.  S.,  Miss 
Follette,  J.  A.,  Mrs. 
Folsom,  George  C,  Mrs. 
Folsom,  Hattie  S.,  Miss 
Ford,  Anna,  Miss 
Ford,  Emma  B.,  Mrs. 
Ford,  Mary  E.,  Miss 
Foskett,  Nettie  C,  Miss 
Foss,  Anna  F.,  Miss 
Foss,  Clara  T.,  Miss 
Foss,  Nellie  C,  Miss 
Foster,  Annie  L.,  Miss 
Foster,  Clyde,  Miss 
Foster,  Cordelia  A.,  Miss 
Foster,  E.  G.,  Mrs. 
Foster,  George  E.,  Mrs. 
Foster,  M.  F.,  Miss 
Foster,  M.  H.,  Miss 
Foster,  Susie,  Miss 
Fowles,  A.  L.,  Mrs. 
Fowles,  Carrie  L.,  Mrs. 
Fox,Effle  H.,  Miss 
Fox,  J.,  Mrs. 
Fox,  Lizzie  S.,  Miss 
Fox,. Lucy  M.,  Miss 
Fox,  N.  S.,  Miss 
Fox,  W.  S.,  Mrs. 
French,  Fannie  T.,  Miss 
French,  Mary  E.,  Miss 
French,  Mary  L.,  Miss 
Friend,  Fannie  C,  Miss 
Frisbee,  A.  B.,  Miss 
Frisbee,  G.  B.,  Miss 
Froh witter,  Ernie  J.,  Miss 
Frost,  Mrs. 
Frost,  E.  J.,  Mrs. 
Frost,  F.,  Miss 
Frost,  G.  E.,  Miss 
Frost,  S.  F.,  Miss 
Frye,  Georgia  M.,  Miss 


Frye,  Mary  P.,  Miss 
Frye,  Serena  J..  Miss 
Fuller,  Abbie  T.,  Miss 
Fuller,  E.  F.,  Miss 
Fuller,  Eloise  L.,  Miss 
Fuller,  Etta  0.,  Miss 
Fuller,  H.  M.,  Mrs. 
Fuller,  L.  J.,  Mrs. 
Fuller,  M.  A.,  Miss  . 
Fuller,  M.  A.  G.,  Mrs. 
Fuller,  Sarah  E.,  Mrs. 
Furlong,  A.  B.,  Mrs. 

Gaffney,  A.,  Miss 
Gaffney,  Anna  T.,  Miss 
Gaffney,  H.  E.,  Miss 
Gage,  A.  L.,  Miss 
Gage,  E.  A.,  Miss 
Gallagher,  Jessie  F.,  Miss 
Gallison,  L.  J.,  Mrs. 
Gamage,  A.,  Mrs. 
Gamage,  A.  M.,  Miss 
Garcelon,  Lillian  O.,  Miss 
Gardner,  Hattie,  Miss 
Garland,  H.  S.,  Miss 
Garland,  N.  L.,  Miss 
Garrette,  Lilian  M.,  Miss 
Garrette,  Lucy  L,  Miss 
Garrette,  Victoria  A.,  Miss 
Garrison,  Agnes,  Miss 
Gary,  Edward,  Mrs. 
Gates,  Alice,  Miss 
Gates,  Florence,  Miss 
George,  Mary  E.,  Mrs. 
Gerrish,  Hattie  N.,  Miss 
Gerry,  L.  .J.,  Miss 
Getchell,  Annie  A.,  Miss 
Gharky,  Marionette,  Miss 
Gibbs,  Kate  F.,  Miss 
Gifford,  W.  B.,  Mrs. 
Gilbert,  B.  F.,  Mrs. 
Gild,  G.  L.,  Miss 
Giles,  Lucy  A.,  Mrs. 
Giles,  N.  L.,  Miss 
Gilkey,  C,  Miss 
Gill,  Annie  C,  Miss 
Gilmore,  E.  G.,  Miss 
Gilmore,  Emma  M.,  Miss 
Gilson,  H.  A.,  Miss 


(105) 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 


Gilson,  S.  Anna,  Miss 
Ginn,  S.  M.,  Miss 
Glazier,  O.  E.,  Miss 
Glidden,  Jingie,  Miss 
Glover,  Jennie  A.,  Miss 
Goddard,  C.  F.,  Mrs. 
Goddard,  K.  T.,  Mrs. 
Goldthwait,  L.  B.,  Miss 
Gomez,  Anna,  Mrs. 
Goocli,  Caro,  Sliss 
Goodale,  E.  P.,  Miss 
Goodale,  G.  0.,  Miss 
Goodale,  Lizzie  N.,  Miss 
Goodnow,  H.  A.,  Mrs. 
Goodnow,  Luria,  Miss 
Goodnow,  Olive,  Miss 
Goodnow,  S.,  Miss 
Goodwillie,  Mrs. 
Goodwin,  A.,  Miss 
Goodwin,  D.  A.,  Mrs. 
Goodwin,  E.,  Miss 
Goodwin,  H.  E.,  Miss 
Googins,  S.  E.,  Miss 
Gorham,  Miss 
Gould,  B.  A.,  Jr.,  Mrs. 
Gould,  Jesse,  Mrs. 
Gould,  Minnie  M.,  Miss 
Gould,  S.  E.,  Miss 
Grampson,  Miss 
Granger,  Annie  M.,  Miss 
Granger,  M.  M.,  Miss 
Grant,  A.  R.,  Mrs. 
Grant,  Clara  E.,  Miss 
Grant,  M.  A.,  Mrs. 
Gran  wood,  C,  Miss 
Graves,  C.  E.,  Mrs. 
Graves,  G.  H.,  Mrs 
Gray,  Clara  E.,  Miss 
Gray,  H.  E.,  Mrs. 
Gray,  H.  M.,  Miss 
Gray,  M.,  Miss 
Gray,  M.  A.,  Mrs. 
Greeley,  Nellie,  Miss 
Green,  Maggie,  Miss 
Greene,  Ella,  Miss 
Greene,  Flora,  Miss 
Greene,  W.  C,  Mrs. 
Greeor,  Ella  R.,  Miss 
Greves,  Clara  E.,  Miss 


Grieves,  Maria,  Miss 
Griffin,  W.  F.,  Mrs. 
Giyffiths,  A.  W.,  Mrs. 
Griswold,  Sarah  A.,  Miss 
Guardenier,  M.,  Miss 
Guenter,  Anna,  Miss 
Guething,  Sarah  W.,  Miss 
Guild,  F.  Albertina,  Mrs. 
Guild,  G.  L.,  Miss 
Guild,  Gertrude  M.,  Miss 
Gulbranson,  Anna,  Miss 
Gunderson,  H.  M.,  Miss 
Gunn,  Grace  A.,  Miss 
Gurney,  E.  R.,  Mrs. 

Hackett,  Henry  C,  Mrs. 
Hadley,  E.  M.,  Miss 
Hadley,  M.  T.,  Mrs. 
Hadley,  Mary  E.,  Miss 
Hadley,  S.  Henry,  Mrs. 
Hadley,  S.  M.,  Miss 
Hafford,  Isabel,  Miss 
Haines,  A.  P.,  Miss 
Haines,  A.  R.,  Mrs. 
Haines,  Mary  C,  Miss 
Hains,  G.  M.,  Mrs. 
Hale,  E.  M.,  Miss 
Hale,  Florence,  Miss 
Hale,  Jennie  S.,  Miss 
Hall,  A.,  Miss 
Hall,  A.  B.,  Miss 
Hall,  B.,  Mrs. 
Hall,  Bertha  H.,  Miss 
Hall,  D.  C,  Mrs. 
Hall,  Dora  K.,  Miss 
Hall,  E.,  Miss 
Hall,  E.  M.,  Miss 
Hall,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Hall,  Mary  L.,  Mrs. 
Hall,  Millie  L.,  Miss 
Hall,  S.  H.,  Miss 
Hallenbeck,  Jessie  L.,  Miss 
Ham,  Cedilla  D.,  Miss 
Hamilton,  Bessie,  Miss 
Hamilton,  Julia,  Miss 
Hamilton,  M.  M.,  Miss 
Hamlin,  E.  A.,  Miss 
Hammett,  H.  M.,  Mrs. 
Hammond,  A.  S.,  Miss 


i 


(106) 


LADIES    OF    THE    CHORUS,    1865-1890. 


Hammond,  A.  W.,  Mrs. 
Hammond,  C.  D.,  Miss 
Hanson,  Clara,  Miss 
Hapgood,  H.  L.,  Miss 
Hapgood,  M.  L.,  Miss 
Haraden,  A.  W.,  Miss 
Haraden,  H.  A.,  Miss 
Harding,  C.  L.,  Miss 
Harding,  Ella.  Miss 
Hardy,  C.  A.,  Mrs. 
Hardy,  Dora  A.,  Miss 
Harlow,  A.  F.,  Mrs. 
Harmon,  Annie  L.,  Miss 
Harper,  H.  G.,  Mrs. 
Harrington,  C.  M.,  Miss 
Harrington,  E.  W.,  Miss 
Harris,  Annie  S.,  Miss 
Harris,  G.  M.,  Miss 
Harris,  W.  S.,  Mrs. 
Hartwell,  CoraB.,  Miss 
Harvey,  Alice  A.,  Miss 
Harwood,  Minnie  L.,  Miss 
Haslett,  A.  C,  Miss 
Haslitt,  M.  J.,  Miss 
Hastings,  C.  A.,  Miss 
Hastings,  E.  H.,  ]Miss 
Hastings,  F.  I.,  Miss 
Hatch,  A.  S.,  Miss 
Hatch,  Edith,  Miss 
Hatch,  Ida,  Miss 
Hatch,  Jessie  F.,  Miss 
Hatch,  John  M.,  Mrs. 
Hatch,  Stella,  Miss 
Hathaway,  Emma  F.,  Miss 
Haven,  Frank,  Mrs. 
Hawes,  C.  W.,  Miss 
Hawes,  M.  J.,  Mrs. 
Hawes,  William,  Mrs. 
Hawkes,  Ellen  E.,  Miss 
Hay,  M.  D.,  Mrs. 
Hayden,  Emma,  Miss 
Hay  den,  H.  C,  Miss 
Hayes,  B.  W.,  Mrs. 
Hayes,  Ella  K.,  Miss 
Haynes,  Effie  0.,  Miss 
Haynes,  H.  M.,  Miss 
Haynes,  S.  F.,  Miss 
Hays,  W.  T.,  Mrs. 
Hayter,  E.  V.,  Miss 


Hay  ward,  F.  S.,  Mrs. 
Hay  ward,  Lucy  B.,  Miss 
Haywood,  S.  F.,  Mrs. 
Hazen,  A.,  Mrs. 
Headley,  Carrie,  Miss 
Heath,  E.  M.,  Miss 
Heath,  Nettie  M.,  Mrs. 
Hebbard,  Laura,  Miss 
Hebbard,  Lena  E.,  Miss 
Hedge,  Lizzie  B.,  Miss 
Hellman,  Pauline  J.,  Miss 
Hemmenway,  A.,  Mrs. 
Henderson,  A.  E.,  Miss 
Henderson,  Amanda,  Miss 
Henderson,  Edith,  Miss 
Henderson,  O.  M.,  Miss 
Henry,  G.  E.,  Mrs. 
Henry,  Lizzie  N.,  Miss 
Herrick,  William  T.,  Mrs. 
Hersam,  A.  R.,  Mrs. 
Hersey,  Mrs. 
Hersey,  Xellie  P. ,  Miss 
Hervey,  A.  F.,  Mrs. 
Hervey,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Hewett,  Lizzie,  Mrs. 
Hews,  Mary  C,  Miss 
Heywood,  Miss 
Heywood,  L.  B.,  Miss 
Hibbard,  Annabel,  Miss 
Hicks,  S.  L.,  Miss 
Higgins,  F.  K.,  Miss 
Higgins,  J.  K.,  Mrs. 
Higgins,  P.,  Miss 
Higgins,  S.  M.,  Miss 
Higley,  E.  H.,  Mrs. 
Hill,  Abbie  E.,  Mrs. 
Hill,  H.,  Miss 
Hill,  H.  A.,  Miss 
Hill,  H.  M.,  Miss 
Hill,  L.  E.  R.,  Mrs. 
Hill,  Lulu  A.  L.,  Miss 
Hill,  M.,  Mrs. 
Hill,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Hill,  M.  G.,  Mrs. 
Hill,  M.  H.,  Mrs. 
Hillard,  J.  L.,  Mrs. 
Hillard,  L.  Alice,  Mrs. 
Hillman,  M.  G.,  Miss 
Hillman,  Susie,  Miss 


(107) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


Hilton,  Carrie,  Miss 
Hinds,  Ella  M.,  Miss 
Hinds,  Louisa  F.,  Miss 
Hinkley,  Cornelia,  Miss 
Hitsen,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Hobbs,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Hodgdon,  A.  M.,  Miss 
Hodges,  Etta  J.,  Miss 
Hodsdon,  A.  M.,  Mrs. 
Holbrook,  Anna  C,  Miss 
Holbrook,  E.  L.,  Miss 
Holbrook,  E.  W.,  Miss 
Holbrook,  L.,  Miss 
Holden,  M.  H.,  Mrs. 
Holder,  Carrie,  Miss 
Holder,  F.  A.,  Miss 
Holland,  Alice  D.,  Mrs. 
Holland,  B.  A.,  Miss 
Holland,  S.  N.,  Miss 
Hollings,  E.  L.,  Mrs. 
Holmes,  Carrie  I.,  Mrs. 
Holmes,  Edith,  Miss 
Holmes,  Florence,  Miss 
Holmes,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Holmes,  Theresa  C,  Miss 
Holt,  E.  M.,  Miss 
Holt,  Fanny  E.,  Miss 
Holt,  H.  E.,  Mrs. 
Holt,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Holt,  S.  L.,  Miss 
Homer,  Emma,  Miss 
Hood,  L.  Emma,  Miss 
Hood,  Mary  A.,  Miss 
Hooker,  Abby  B.,  Mrs. 
Hooker,  R.  M.,  Mrs. 
Hooper,  Louise  R.,  Mrs. 
Hopkins,  A.  J.,  Miss 
Hopkins,  Lizzie  M.,  Miss 
Hopkinson,  Grace  M.,  Miss 
Hosley,  H.  P.,  Mrs. 
Hosmer,  Anna  L.,  Miss 
Hosmer,  Cora  E.,  Miss 
Hosmer,  E.,  Miss 
Hosmer,  Jessie  M.,  Miss 
Hosmer,  Mary  A.,  Miss 
Hosmer,  Ora,  Miss 
Hosmer,  Susie,  Miss 
Hough,  Annie  H.,  Miss 
Houston,  Julia  E.,  Miss 


Hovey,  A.  L.,  Miss 
Hovey,  E.  F.,  Miss 
Howard,  C.  R.,  Mrs. 
Howard,  E.  M.,  Miss 
Howard,  J.  B.,  Mrs. 
Howard,  L.  Eva,  Miss 
Howard,  M.,  Miss 
Howard,  M.  E.,  Mrs. 
Howard,  Mattie  W.,  Mrs. 
Howe,  A.,  Miss 
Howe,  C.  M..  Mrs. 
Howe,  E.  L.,  Miss 
Howe,  Emma  S.,  Miss 
Howe,  Hattie  E.,  Mrs. 
Howe,  Julia  Ward,  Mrs. 
Howe,  Nellie,  Miss 
Howes,  M.,  Mrs. 
Hubbard,  C.  J.,  Mrs. 
Hubbard,  Caro,  Miss 
Hubbard,  Laura,  Miss 
Hudson,  M.  T.,  Mrs. 
Huff,  Carrie,  Miss 
Humphrey,  A.  E.,  Miss 
Humphrey,  L.  B.,  Miss 
Hunnewell,  E.  F.,  Miss 
Hunnewell,  E.  L.,  Miss 
Hunnewell,  Eloise,  Miss 
Hunt,  Mrs. 

Hunter,  Agnes  E.,  Miss 
Hunter,  Hattie  V.,  Miss 
Hunter,  L.  F.,  Miss 
Hunter,  L.  M.,  Mrs. 
Hunter,  Lizzie  M.,  Miss 
Huntley,  J.  R.,  Mrs. 
Huntress,  P.  B.,  Mrs. 
Hurll,  Mrs. 
Hussey,  A.  S.,  Mrs. 
Hussey,  Fannie,  Miss 
Hussey,  Flora  A.,  Miss 
Hutchins,  Miss 
Hutchinson,  A.  S.,  Miss 
Hutchinson,  B.  F.,  Mrs. 
Hutchinson,  E.  L.,  Mrs. 
Hutchinson,  F.  P.,  Miss 
Hutchinson,  Flora  A.,  Miss 
Hyde,  F.  L.,  Miss  . 

Irving,  Anna  M.,  Miss 
Ives,  C.  F.,  Mrs. 

(1083 


I 


LADIES    OF   THE    CHORUS,    1865-1890. 


Jackson,  C.  S.,  Miss 
Jackson,  G.  W.,  Mrs. 
Jackson,  L.  S.,  Miss 
Jackson,  Louisa,  Miss 
Jackson,  M.  C,  Miss 
Jackson,  Minnie  W.,  Miss 
Jacobs,  Hale,  Mrs. 
Jacques,  M.  A.,  Miss 
James,  Mary,  Mrs. 
Janes,  Gertrude  M.,  Miss 
Janes,  W.  S.,  Mrs. 
Jarvis,  Charles,  Mrs. 
Jarvis,  Julia  A.,  Miss 
Jarvis,  Mattie  C,  Miss 
Jcffers,  Miss 
Jenkins,  C.  E.,  Mrs. 
Jenney,  Walter,  Mrs. 
Jewell,  Annie  F.,  Miss 
Jewett,  Nellie,  Miss 
Johnson,  C.  F.,  Mrs. 
Johnson,  Charles  H..  Mrs. 
Johnson,  Etta  L..  Miss 
Johnson,  Hattie  L.,  Miss 
Johnson,  L.  F.,  Miss 
Johnson,  M.,  Miss 
Johnson,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Johnson,  Mabel,  Miss 
Johnson,  Maggie  A.,  Miss 
Johnson,  Myra  E.,  Miss 
Johnston,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Jones,  G.  S.,  Mrs. 
Jones,  J.  E.,  Mrs. 
Jones,  Jennie  F.,  Miss 
Jones,  L.  A.,  Miss 
Jones,  N.  D.,  Mrs. 
Jones,  Nan  L.,  Miss 
Jones,  Nellie  D.,  Miss 
Jones,  S.  H.,  Miss 
Jones,  Susie,  Miss 
Jose,  A.,  Miss 
Jose,  S.,  Miss 
Josselyn,  C.  E.,  Miss 
Josselyn,  F.,  Miss 
Josselyn,  R.  R.,  Miss 
Julio,  O.,  Mrs. 

Katon,  Mary  A.,  Miss 
Kean,  M.  V.  B.,  Mrs. 


Keays,  Lizzie  M.,  Miss 
Kelley,  A.  S.,  Mrs. 
Kelley,  G.  G.,  Miss 
Kelley,  Julia,  Miss 
Kemp,  Edith,  Miss 
Kendall,  Grace  M.,  Miss 
Kendrick,  E.  E.,  Miss 
Kenerson,  Louisa,  Miss 
Kennedy,  Kate,  Miss 
Kent,  A.  K.,  Mrs. 
Kent,  L.  A.,  Mrs. 
Kern,  M.  B.,  Mrs. 
Kern,  M.  E.,  Mrs. 
Keyes,  Emily  S..  Mrs. 
Keyes,  J.  M.,  Miss 
Keyes,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Keyes,  Martha,  Miss 
Kidder,  Miss 
Kidder,  H.  E.,  Miss 
Kidder,  Kate  B.,  Miss 
Kiernan,  T.  J.,  Mrs. 
Kilburn,  D.  W.,  Mrs. 
Killiam,  J.  M.,  Mrs. 
Kimball,  E.  F.,  Miss 
Kimball,  Ella,  Miss 
Kimball,  H.,  Miss 
Kimball,  J.  B.,  Mrs. 
Kimball,  J.  J.,  Mrs. 
Kimball,  M.  I.,  Miss 
King,  Miss 
King,  Amelia,  Miss 
King,  C.  F.,  Mrs. 
King,  Jenny  L.,  Mrs. 
Kingsbury,  H.  J.,  Miss 
Kingsbury,  P.  O.,  Miss 
Kingsbury,  Susan,  Miss 
Kinsman,  T.  J.,  Mrs. 
Kitson,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Knapp,  Almira  S.,  Miss 
Knapp,  Emma  W.,  Miss 
Knapp,  N.,  Miss 
Knight,  Martha  D.,  Miss 
Knowles,  H.  F.,  Mrs. 
Knowles,  M.  F.,  Miss 
Knowlton,  Emily,  Mrs. 
Knox,  S.  Carrie,  Miss 
Kramer,  E.,  Miss 
Kronberg,  Fannie,  Miss 


(109) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


Ladd,  M.  H.,  Miss 
Lambert,  E.  A..  Miss 
Lambert,  Eunice,  ^[iss 
Lamont,  S;irah,  Miss 
Lamprey,  Ada  G.,  Miss 
Lamson,  B.  F.,  Mrs. 
Lamson,  Helen,  Miss 
Lanagan,  Effie,  Miss 
Lane,  Mrs. 
Lane,  Mary,  Miss 
Langell,  Henrietta,  Miss 
Langford,  Mrs. 
Larkin,  Cora  F.,  Miss 
Laselle,  S.  E.,  Mrs. 
Laskey,  M.  A.,  Mrs. 
Latham,  Mary  J.,  Miss 
Lathe,  S.  Lizzie,  Miss 
Lathrop,  A.  F.,  Mrs. 
Lathrop,  A.  G.,  Miss 
Lathrop,  A.  S.,  Mrs. 
Lawrence,  Lilian,  Miss 
Lawrence,  ]\I  ,  Miss 
Lawrence,  M.  Carrie,  Miss 
Lawrence,  P.,  Miss 
Lawton,  Charles,  Mrs. 
Lawton,  Lillie  M.,  Miss 
Lazzaro,  Carrie,  Miss 
Leatherbee,  Miss 
Leavitt,  Nellie  W.,  Miss 
Le  Cam,  Mrs.^ 
Lee,  Lottie  E.,  ]\Irs. 
Le  Favor,  A.  S.,  Mrs. 
Lefavor,  Mabel  B.,  Miss 
Leighton,  A.  F.,  Mrs. 
Leland,  Anna  M..  Miss 
Lenfest,  G.  B.,  Mrs. 
Leon,  Rosalie  F.,  Miss 
Leonard,  C.  C,  Mrs. 
Leonard,  Cora  E.,  Miss 
Leonard,  Etta  A.,  Miss 
Leonard,  Jennie,  Mrs. 
Levick,  H.  W.,  Mrs. 
Lewis,  Edith,  Miss 
Lewis,  Estelle,  Miss 
Lewis,  Ida  L.,  Miss 
Lewis,  W.  T.,  Mrs. 
Lincoln,  AnnaL.,  Miss 
Lincoln,  Maria,  Miss 
Lincoln,  S.  S.,  Mrs. 


Lindsay,  Hattie  C,  Miss 
Lissner,  Sarah  S.,  Miss 
Little,  Addie,  Miss 
Little,  Emma  M.,  Miss 
Little,  M.,  Mrs. 
Lloyd,  Emma,  Miss 
Lloyd,  Mary  R.,  Mrs. 
Locke,  Anna  L.,  Miss 
Locke,  Carrie  A.,  Miss 
Locke,  Cora  S.,  Miss 
Locke,  Emma,  ^Nliss 
Locke,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Loheed,  L.  J.,  Mrs. 
Long,  Emma  A.,  Miss 
Long,  Frederick  E.,  Mrs. 
Long,  Sarah,  Mrs. 
Longfellow,  Xellie  J.,  Miss 
Lord,  E.  Grace,  Miss 
Lord,  M.  J.,  Mrs. 
Loring,  J.  L.,  Mrs. 
Lothrop,  A.  M.,  Miss 
Lothrop,  Alice  G.,  Miss 
Lothrop,  C  M.,  Miss 
Lothrop,  Sarah  J.,  Miss 
Loud,  S.  E.,  Miss 
Lovejoy,  M.  F.,  Miss 
Loveland,  Angle  P.,  Miss 
Lovell,  Clara  W.,  Mrs. 
Lovering,  Ella  ]\L,  Miss 
Lovering,  M.  F.,  Mrs. 
Lovering,  W.  H.,  Mrs. 
Low,  F.  C,  Mrs. 
Low,  J.  H.,  Mrs. 
Lowd,  S.,  Miss 
Lowell,  R.  M.,  Mrs. 
Ludlow,  Clara  S.,  Miss 
Lund,  C.  W.,  Mrs. 
Lunt,  Lizzie  P.,  Miss 

Mabie,  Mattie  M.,  Miss 
Mack,  Minnie  L.,  Miss 
Mackintosh,  Georgia  D.,  Miss 
MacNeil,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Macy,  E.  P.,  Mrs. 
Maguire,  Alice  A.,  Miss 
Maguire,  H.  A.,  Miss 
Maher,  Josephine,  Miss 
Mahoney,  G.  S.,  Mrs. 
Mann,  A.  W.,  Mrs. 


(iio; 


LADIES    OF    THE    CHORUS,    1865-1890. 


Manning,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Manning,  S.  C,  Miss 
Manning,  S.  E.  R.,  Miss 
Manny,  E.  B.,  Mrs. 
Manser,  Julia,  Miss 
Mansfield,  A.,  Mrs. 
Mansfield,  M.  M.,  Miss 
Manson,  Clara  E.,  Miss 
Manson,  Lillian  J.,  Miss 
Marble,  Anna  E.,  Miss 
March,  Caro,  Miss 
Marks,  Augusta  M.,  Miss 
Marsh,  Mrs. 

Marsh,  Hariette  H.,  Miss 
Marsh,  Jessie  A.,  Miss 
Marsh,  Luella  M.,  Miss 
Marshall,  Emma  J.,  Mrs. 
Marshall,  Nettie,  Mrs. 
Marsters,  Georgie  M.,  Miss 
Marston,  Dr.,  Mrs. 
Marston,  A.  T.,  Miss 
Martin,  J.  L.,  Mrs. 
Martin,  Leslie  A.,  Miss 
Mason,  Annie,  Miss 
Mason,  Fanny,  Miss 
Ma'son,  Flora  E.,  Miss 
Mason,  H.  W.,  Mrs. 
Mason,  Virginia  A.,  Miss 
Masten,  Helen  L.,  Miss 
Maxwell,  Mary  D.,  Miss 
May,  M.  S.,  Miss 
Mayhew,  Georgie  R.,  Miss 
Mayhew,  M.  A.,  Mrs. 
Maynard,  Alice  E.,  Miss 
Maynard,  F.,Miss 
Maynard,  H.  C,  Mrs. 
Mayo,  Dora  M.,  Miss 
McClure,  V.,  Miss 
McCrillis,  Andrew,  Mrs. 
McCrillis,  Isabel,  Miss 
McDonald,  Rosanna,  Miss 
McDonough,  Nellie  A.,  Miss 
McDougall,  Clara,  Miss 
McGill,  J.,  Mrs. 
McGowan,  W.  S.,  Mrs. 
Mcintosh,  H.  S.,  Mrs. 
McKay,  C.  C,  Mrs. 
McKay,  H.  A.,  Miss 
McKilllcan,  J.  M.,  Miss 


McKinnon,  G.  W.,  Mrs. 
McKnight,  Carrie  A.,  Miss 
McLaughlin,  M.  Marie,  Miss 
McManus,  Mary  J.,  Miss 
McVey,  Mary,  Miss 
INIead,  H.  M.,  Miss 
Mead,  M.  T.,  Miss 
Mead,  Mattie,  Miss 
Meader,  George  C  ,  Mrs. 
Meisel,  Carl,  Mrs. 
Mellen,  H.  L.,  Miss 
Mellen,  H.  M.,  Miss 
Mellen,  H.  S.,  Miss 
Mellen,  Maria  A.,  Miss 
Melvin,  Carrie,  Miss 
Merrill,  E.  W..Mrs. 
Merrill,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Merrill,  M.  W.,  Miss 
Merrill,  S.  M.,  Miss 
Merriman,  A.  E.,  Miss 
Merritt,  Emma  F.,  Miss 
Meston,  L.  B.,  Mrs. 
Metcalf,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Metcalf,  Mary  F.,  Miss 
Meyer,  H.  A.,  Mrs. 
Miles,  L.  H.,  Miss 
Milkins,  Florence,  Miss 
Miller,  A.  M.,  Miss 
Miller,  E.  H.,  Mrs. 
Miller,  E.  H.,Miss 
Miller,  Etta  B.,  Mrs. 
Miller,  G.  E.,  Miss 
Miller,  G.  F.,Mrs. 
Miller,  Mary  C,  Miss 
MiUett,  Eraily  M.,  Miss 
IMilliken,  Georgie,  Miss 
Milliken,  Josie  B.,  Miss 
Milliken,  M.  C.,Mrs. 
Milliken,  Mary,  Miss 
Milton,  M.  Viola,  Miss 
Minot,  Carrie  P.,  Miss 
Mirick,  A.  G.,  Mrs. 
Mirrick,  Carrie,  Miss 
Mitchell,  Ada  B.,  Miss 
Mitchell,  Lucia  H.,  Miss 
Mitchell,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Mitchpll,  N.  B.,Mrs. 
Monroe,  Laura,  Miss 
Moodv,  S.  E.,  Miss 


(111) 


HISTORY    OF   THE    HANDEL    AXD   HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


Mooney,  M.  J.,  Mrs. 
Moore,  Eva  J.,  Miss 
Moore,  Lucj-^  A.,  Miss 
Moore,  Mar}-  R.,  Miss 
Moors,  Mrs. 
Morgan,  Sarah  A.,  Mrs. 
Morrill,  C.  A.,  Miss 
Morrill,  Viola  E.,  Miss 
Morris,  Etta,  Miss 
Morris,  Lizzie  M.,  Miss 
Morris,  M.  A,,  Mrs. 
Morrison,  A.  P.,  Miss 
Morrison,  Eleanor  Le  F,,  Miss 
Morrison,  Rebecca,  Miss 
Morse,  Alice  A.,  Miss 
Morse,  C.  A.,  Mrs. 
Morse,  E.  Isabella,  Miss 
Morse,  E.  S.,  Miss 
Morse,  EUie  C,  Miss 
Morse,  Ethel,  Miss 
Morse,  Etta,  Miss 
Morse,  H.  J. ,  Miss 
Morse,  I.,  Miss 
Morse,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Morse,  S.  J.,  Mrs. 
Morton,  A.  E.,  Miss 
Morton,  F.  W.,  Mrs. 
Morton,  Mary  B.,  Miss 
Morton,  S.  R.,  Miss 
Moses,  Fannie,  Miss 
Moulton,  Annie  J.,  Miss 
Moulton,  E.  B.,  Mrs. 
MuUaly,  J.  C,  Mrs. 
Mullen,  A.  B,,  Mrs. 
Mullen,  J.  R.,  Mrs. 
Munroe,  Abby  M.,  Mrs. 
Munroe,  Alice,  Miss 
Munroe,  Charles,  Mrs. 
Munroe,  E.  T.,  Miss 
Munroe,  J.  W.,  Mrs. 
Munroe,  L.  B.,  Mrs. 
Munroe,  L.  C,  Mrs. 
Munroe,  L.  F.,  Miss 
Munroe,  Laura,  Miss 
Munroe,  Mary  E.,  Mrs. 
Munroe,  S.  E.  H.,Miss 
Murray,  Minnie  S.,  Miss 

Nash,  S.  A.,  Mrs. 


Nason,  CM.,  Mrs. 
Nason,  G.  H.,  Mrs. 
Nason,  G.  W.,  Mrs. 
Natale,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Naughton,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Neale,  E.,  Miss 
Neff,  E.  G.,  Miss 
Neilson,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Nellis,  Adaline,  Miss 
Nettleton,  Mrs. 
Newell,  F.  H.,  Mrs. 
Newhall,  Lute  M.,  Miss 
Newhall,  William,  Mrs. 
Newman,  Nellie  T.,  Mrs. 
Nice,  Abby  M.,  Miss 
Nichols,  C.  B.,  Miss 
Nichols,  E  A.,  Mrs. 
Nichols,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Nichols,  Mary,  Miss 
Nichols,  Mary  E.,  Mrs. 
Nichols,  S.  W.,  Mrs. 
Nicholson,  Abby  N.,  Miss 
Nickerson,  Abby  C,  Miss 
Nickerson,  Ella  L.,  Miss 
Nixon,  Georgia,  Miss 
Nixon,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Nolen,  Caroline,  Miss 
Norris,  E.  L.,  Mrs. 
Norwood,  Bertha,  Miss 
No  well,  Mrs. 
Nowell,  J.,  Miss 
Noyes,  C.  C,  Mrs. 
Noyes,  Jennie  M.  P. ,  Mrs. 
Noyes,  M.  G.,  Miss 
Noyes,  Mary  E.,  Miss 
Nutter,  Ida,  Miss 
Nye,  A.  S.,  Mrs. 
Nye,  J.  A.,  Mrs. 
Nye;  Sarah  A.,  Mrs. 

Oakes,  George  H.,  Mrs. 
O'Brien,  Nellie.  Miss 
Oldham,  Sarah  W.,  Mrs. 
Olive,  Douglas,  Mrs. 
Olive,  Grace,  Miss 
Olive,  M.  R.,  Mrs. 
Oliver,  Leslie,  Miss 
O'Neill,  E.  G.,  Mrs. 
Orcutt,  Isa  C,  Miss 


(112) 


LADIES    OF    THE    CHORUS,    1865-18  90. 


Orciitt,  Kate  W.,  Miss 
Orcutt,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Ordway,  E.  A.,  Mrs. 
Ordway,  O.,  Mrs. 
Osborn,  C.  H.,  Miss 
Osborne,  Alice  J.,  Mrs. 
Osgood,  Annie  M..  Miss 
Osgood,  C.  E.,  Miss 
Osgood,  H.  W.,Miss 
Osgood,  M.  A.,  Miss^ 
Otis,  Annie  E.,  Miss 
Oviatt,  Bertha  G.,  Miss 

Packard,  Carrie  B.,  Miss 
Packard,  E.  A.,  Miss 
Packard,  Emma  R.,  Miss 
Packard,  Helen  E.,  Miss 
Packard,  M.  I.,  Mrs. 
Pane,  J.  C,  Mrs. 
Page,  J.  E  ,  Mrs. 
Page,  Jennie  E.,  Miss 
Page,  Nellie,  Miss 
Paige,  C.  F.,  Mrs. 
Paine,  Alice  I.,  Miss 
Paine,  EannieE.,  Miss 
Paine,  Isabella  S.,  Miss 
Paine,  Jennie  F.,  Miss 
Paine,  Nellie  V.,  Miss 
Palfrey,  S.  H.,Miss 
Palmer,  G.,  Miss 
Palmer,  P.  F.,  Miss 
Pancoast,  Mary  A.,  Miss 
Papendiek,  Miss 
Parcher,  Eva  A.,  Miss  . 
Park,  Nellie  F.,  Miss 
Parker,  Alice  Q.,  Miss 
Parker,  Delia,  Miss 
Parker,  H.  A.,  Mrs. 
Parker,  H.  G.,  Mrs. 
Parker,  Mary  E.,  Miss 
Parker,  Nellie,  Miss 
Parker,  R.  S.,  Mrs. 
Parker,  W.  F.,  Mrs. 
Parker,  W.  T.,  Mrs. 
Parkes,  Rene  S.,  Miss 
Parks,  J.  A.,  Mrs. 
Parmelee,  Alice  E.,  Miss 
Parry,  Edith  F.,  Miss 
Parsons,  C.  L.,  Miss 


Parsons,  M.,  Miss 
Partelow,  Fanny,  Miss 
Partridge,  C.  C,  Mrs. 
Partridge,  Charles  G.,  Mrs. 
Patch,  E.  O.,  Miss 
Patchen,  Ida  E.,  Miss 
Patten,  Fannie  G.,  Miss 
Pay  son,  CD.,  Miss 
Pay  son,  C.  L.,  Miss 
Pay  son,  L.  R.,  Miss 
Peabody,  L.  M.,  Miss 
Peabody,  Sarah  S.,  Miss 
Pearson,  D  A.,  Miss 
Pearson,  M.  L.,  Miss 
Peck.  E.  A.,  Miss 
Peirce,  M.  F.,  Mrs. 
Peiver,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Pendleton,  Ellen  L.,  Miss 
Percival,  F.,  Miss 
Perkins,  Carrie  A.,  Miss 
Perkins,  E.  E.,  Mrs. 
Perkins,  E.  F.,  Miss 
Perkins,  H.  M.,Mrs. 
Perkins,  M.  P.,  Mrs. 
Perkins,  N.  M.,Mrs. 
Perkins,  R.  W.,  Mrs. 
Perkins,  S.,  Mrs. 
Perkins,  W.  M.,  Mrs. 
Perrin,  Julia,  Miss 
Perry,  F.,  Miss 
Peterson,  S.  L.,  Miss 
Pettqrson,  L.  E.,  Mrs. 
Pettingill,  M.  E..  Miss 
Pevear.  Abbie  F.,  Miss 
Pewtress,  C.  E.,  Miss 
Pewtress,  J.  B.,  Mrs. 
Pfordte,  Rosa,  Miss 
Phelps,  A.  D.,  Mrs. 
Phelps,  Lizzie  A.,  Miss 
PhUbrick,  G.,  Miss 
Philbrick,  H.  F.,  Miss 
Philbrook,  A.  E.,  Miss 
Philbrook,  G.  H.,  Mrs. 
Philbrook,  J.  H.,  Mrs. 
Phillipps,  E.  M.,  Miss 
Phillips,  Clara  B.,  Miss 
Phillips,  M.  T.,  Miss 
Phillips,  Olive  A.,  Miss 
Phillipson,  E.  F..  Miss 


(113) 


HISTORY  OF  THE  HANDEL  AND  HAYDN  SOCIETY. 


Phipps,  Alice  C,  Mrs. 
Pickernell,  Etta,  Miss 
Pierce,  A.  S.,  Miss 
Pierce,  Fanuy,  Miss 
Pierce,  L.  Y.,  Miss 
Pierce,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Pierce,  Mary,  Miss 
Pierce.  V.  R.,  Mrs. 
Pike,  E.,  Miss 
Pike,  J.  H,_Mrs. 
Pillsbury,  L.  A..  Miss 
Pinkham,  A.  P..  Mrs. 
Pitkin,  Belle  A.,  Mrs. 
Plimpton,  Bessie,  Miss 
Plimpton.  Hattie  H.,  Miss 
Plummer,  E..  Miss 
Plummer,  Grace  H.,  Miss 
Plummer,  William  H.,  Mrs. 
Poland,  Ellen  M.,  Miss 
Poland,  Mary  C,  Miss 
PoUey,  N.  M.,  Miss 
Pool,  S.  F.,  Miss 
Poole,  Clara  J..  Miss 
Poole,  Hattie  C,  Miss 
Poole,  Josie  C  ,  Miss 
Poole,  L.  B.,  Miss 
Poole,  Lucy  J.,  Mrs. 
Poole,  S.  A.,  Mrs. 
Poole,  S.  F.,  Miss 
Poor,  Georgietta,  Miss 
Poor,  Lina  S.,  Miss 
Pope,  A.  A.,  Mrs. 
Pope,  A.  S.,  Mrs. 
Pope,  Agnes,  Miss 
Pope,  L.  C,  Miss 
Pope,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Porter,  J.  E.,  Miss 
Porter.  L.  C,  Mrs. 
Potter,  B.  R.,  Miss 
Potter,  Fannie,  Miss 
Powell,  Charlotte  A..  Miss 
Powers,  Rosamund,  Miss 
Pratt,  A.  F.,  Miss 
Pratt,  C.  E.,  Mrs. 
Pratt,  E.  F.,  Mrs. 
Pratt,  Ellen,  Miss 
Pratt,  H.  M.,  Mrs. 
Pratt,  Isabella  B.,  Miss 
Prentiss,  S.  B.,  Mrs. 


Prescott,  Mrs. 
Prescott,  C,  Miss 
Prescott,  Flora  M.,  Miss 
Prescott,  Laura,  Miss 
Prescott,  O.  C,  Mrs. 
Preston,  Elizabeth,  Miss 
Preston.  P.  V.,  Mrs. 
Price.  Alma,  Miss 
Priest,  J.  E.,  Mrs. 
Prince,  C.  C  ,  Miss 
Proctor,  Mrs. 
Prout,  Anna  S.,  Miss 
Pushaw,  M.  A.,  Mrs. 
Putnam,  A.  C,  Miss 
Putnam,  H.,  Miss 
Putnam.  Helen  G.,  Miss 
Putnam.  .1.  S.,Mrs. 
Putnam,  ^^.  A.,  Miss 
Putnam,  Mary  A.,  Mrs. 
Putnam,  S.  S.,  Miss 
Putnam,  W.  H.,  Mrs. 

Quimby,  E.  F.,  Mrs. 
Quincy,  J.  P.,  Mrs. 
Quinlan,  E.  M.,  Miss 

Raddin,  Eda  B.,  Miss 
R:»metti,  Jessie,  Miss 
Rametti,  Joseph,  Mrs. 
Rametti,  Kate,  Miss 
Rametti.  Kate  H.,  Mrs. 
Rametti.  Winnie  B.,  Miss 
Ramsay,  F.  M..  ^[rs. 
Ramsdell,  Ella  M.,  Miss 
Ramsey,  Annie  L.,  Mrs. 
Randall,  A.  M.,  Miss 
Randall,  Edith,  Miss 
Rawson,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Raymond,  Alice  M.,  Miss 
Raymond.  Annie,  Mrs. 
Raynard,  Abby  T.,  Mrs. 
Rea,  C,  Miss 
Rea,  F.  L..  Miss 
Read,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Read.  Mary  M.,  Mrs. 
Redmond,  Kate,  Miss 
Reed,  Hannah  P.,  Miss 
Reed,  Jennie  E.,  Miss 
Reed,  W.  B..  Mrs. 
Regan,  M.  E.,  Miss 


(110 


LADIES    OF   THE    CHORUS,    1865-1890. 


Reid,  Mary  H.,  Miss 
Rein,  Selma,  Miss 
Reraick,  D.  K.,  Miss 
Remick,  Grace  M.,  Miss 
Resler,  Lydia  K.,  Miss 
Ribas,  H.,  Miss 
Rice,  Edwin,  Mrs. 
Rice,  F.  L.,  Miss 
Rice,  G.  M.,  Miss 
Rice,  H.,  Miss 
Rice,  Mary  F.,  Mrs. 
Rich,  Annie  E.,  Mrs. 
Richards,  H.  M.,  Miss 
Richards.  M.  F.,  Miss 
Richardson,  E.  G.,  Miss 
Richardson,  E.  V.,  Miss 
Richardson,  Ena,  Miss 
Richardson,  J.  A.,  Mrs. 
Rickards,  A.  A.,  Miss 
Ridgeway,  Graziella,  Miss 
Ridlon,  Hattie,  Miss 
Riker,  Isabel.  Miss 
Riley,  Bessie,  Miss 
Rimbach,  M.  B.,  Miss 
Ring,  Helen  M.,  Mrs. 
Ringot,  E.,  Miss 
Ripley,  D.  A.,  Miss 
Roaf,  H.  N.,  Mrs. 
Roaf,  R.  N.,  Mrs. 
Robbins,  A.,  Miss 
Robbins,  Fannie  F.,  Miss 
Robbins,  J.  A.,  Mrs. 
Robbins,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Robbins,  M.  H.,  Miss 
Robbins,  S,  M.,  Mrs. 
Roberts,  H.  E.,  Miss 
Roberts,  H.  G.,  Miss 
Roberts,  J.  W.,  Mrs. 
Roberts,  Josie  S.,  Miss 
Roberts,  0.  L.,  Mrs. 
Robertson,  Edith,  Mrs. 
Robertson,  Marie,  Miss 
Robinson,  A.  A.,  Miss 
Robinson,  E.  F.,  Mrs. 
Robinson,  E.  T.,  Miss 
Robinson,  Eva.  Mrs. 
Robinson,  Florence  N.,  Miss 
Robinson,  H.  A.,  Miss 
Robinson,  H.  L.,  Miss 


Robinson,  Howard,  Mrs. 
Robinson,  J.  E.,  Miss 
Robinson,  J.  T.,  Mrs. 
Robinson,  Jennie  E.,  Miss 
Robinson,  Lillian  A.,  Miss 
Robinson,  Orina,  Miss 
Kodenmayer.  C.  W..  Mrs. 
Roffe,  A.  H.,Mrs. 
Rogers,  A.  J.,  Mrs. 
Rogers,  M.  D.,  Miss 
Rogers,  S.  C,  Miss 
Rogers,  Sarah,  Miss 
Roome,  Mary,  Miss 
Rose,  Mary,  Miss 
Rosenberger,  Jane,  Miss 
Rosenblatt,  Stella,  Miss 
Ross,  Eliza,  Miss 
Ross,  Lillie  C,  Miss 
Rossiter,  Josie  L.,  Miss 
Rowe,  E.  F.,  Mrs. 
Rowe,  Lottie  E.,  Mrs. 
Rowe,  M.  E.,  Mrs. 
Rudd,  Kate  E.,  Miss 
Rugg,  A.,  Miss 
Ruggles,  Anna,  Miss 
Ruggles,  Julia,  Miss 
Rundlett,  L.  M.,  Mrs. 
Rundlett,  R.  S.,  Mrs. 
Runey,  E.  F.,  Miss 
Runey,  Etta,  Miss 
Russell,  Mrs. 
Russell,  Carrie  E.,  ^Nliss 
Russell,  Fannie  F.,  Miss 
Russell,  H.  A.,  Miss 
Russell,  Kate,  Miss 
Ryan,  Alice  C,  Miss 
Ryan,  Kellie,  Miss 
Ryder,  F.  W.,  Miss 
Ryder,  M.  T.  F.,  Mrs. 
Rydingsyiird,  Carl  von,  Mrs. 
Ryerson,  Mary  A.,  Mrs. 

Safford,  A.  E.,  Miss 
Safford,  A.  M.,  Miss 
Safford,  A.  N.,  Miss 
Safford,  Agnes,  Miss 
Safford,  Alida,  Miss 
Safford,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Sale,  Edith  M.,  Miss 


(115) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


Salisbury,  Eloise  E.,  Miss 
Salisbury,  Lutie,  Miss 
Sampson,  Mary  F.,  Miss 
Sampson,  Olivia  R.,  Miss 
Sanborn,  G.  T.,  Mrs. 
Sanderson,  L.,  Miss 
Sargent,  A.  J.,  Miss 
Sargent,  Louisa,  Mrs. 
Sargent,  R.  W.,  Mrs. 
Sautelle,  Fannie  E.,  Mrs. 
Sautelle,  Lilian  M.,  Miss 
Sawyer,  E.  E.,  Mrs. 
Sawyer,  Hattie,  Miss 
Saxton,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Scamman,  J.  B.,  Mrs. 
Schaefer,  Minnie  E.,  Miss 
Sclielling,  M.  P.,  Miss 
Schouler,  M.  C,  Miss 
Scott,  Mrs. 
Scribner,  Alice,  Miss 
Scribner,  Emma  N.,  Miss 
Scribner,  Ida  F.,  Miss 
Sears,  Fred.  S.,  Mrs. 
Seavey,  D.  F.,  Mrs. 
Seavey,  Edith  H.,  Miss 
Seavey,  J.  W.,  Mr>. 
Segee,  E.,  Miss 
Senna,  Ida  F.,  Mrs. 
Severance,  Ella,  Miss 
Shackford,  Miss 
Shackford,  May  K.,  Miss 
Shapleigh,  E.,  Miss 
Shapleigh,  E.  M.,  Mrs. 
Shapleigh,  H.  E.,  Mrs. 
Shapleigh,  W.  H.,  Mrs. 
Shapleigh,  W.  T.,  Mrs. 
Sharland,  J.  B.,  Mrs. 
Sharpe,  Hannah  H.,  Miss 
Shatswell,  Clara.  Mrs. 
Shattuck,  Anna,  Mrs. 
Shaw,  Helen  M.,  Miss 
Shaw,  J.  B.,  Mrs. 
Shedd,  Clara  L.,  Miss 
Sheldon,  M.  C,  Mrs. 
Shepley,  Charles  H.,  Mrs. 
Shepple,  Mrs. 
Sherman,  Harriet,  Mrs. 
Shiraff,  Annie,  Miss 
Sibley,  Etta,  Miss 


Sibley,  L.  W.,  Mrs. 
Sibley,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Silver,  Hattie  E.,  Mrs. 
Simmons,  Kate,  Miss 
Simonds,  Mabel,  Miss 
Singleton,  Emily  G.,  Miss 
Singleton,  Esther,  Miss 
Skoog,  Nana  P.,  Miss 
Slater,  A.  J.,  Mrs. 
Slayton,  Mary  L.,  Miss 
Small,  Beulah,  Miss 
Smalley,  Laura  A.,  Miss 
Smart,  Clara  E.,  Miss 
Smith,  A.,  Miss 
Smith,  A.  C,  Miss 
Smith,  A.  E.,  Miss 
Smith,  Abbie  A.,  Miss 
Smith,  Annie  E.,  Miss 
Smith,  C.  K.,  Miss 
Smith,  Corbett.  Mrs. 
Smith,  E.  T..  Miss 
Smith,  Edward,  MrL 
Smith,  Eliza  B.,  Miss 
Smith,  EUaE..  Miss 
Smith,  Emma  T.,  Miss 
Smith,  G.  M.,  Miss 
Smith,  H.  E.,  Mrs. 
Smith,  H.  J.,  Miss 
Smith,  H.  M.,  Mrs. 
Smith,  Harriet,  Miss 
Smith,  J.  A.,  ]\Iiss 
Smith,  Juliette,  Miss 
Smith,  L.  E.,  Miss 
Smith,  Lizzie  A.,  Miss 
Smith,  Louise,  Miss 
Smith,  M.  C,  Mrs. 
Smith,  M.E.,  Miss 
Smith,  Mary  M.,  Miss 
Smith,  Mary  T.  S.,  Miss 
Smith,  Mattie  H.,  Miss 
Smith,  S.  A.,  Mrs. 
Smith,  S.  S.,  Mrs. 
Smith,  W.  K.,  Mrs. 
Smythe,  A.  C,  Miss 
Smythe,  George  A.,  Mrs. 
Smythe,  S.  I.,  Mrs. 
Snelling,  Carrie,  Miss 
Snow,  Helen  M.,  Miss 
Snow,  W.  H.,  Mrs. 


(116) 


LADIES    OF    THE    CHORUS,    1865-1890. 


Snowman,  M.  W.,  Mrs. 
Sowers,  I.  F.,  Mrs. 
Spalding,  S.  M.  R.,  Mrs. 
Sparrow,  A.,  Miss 
Spaulding,  M.  R.,  Mrs. 
Spaulding,  W.  W.,  Mrs. 
Spear,  Isabel  F.,  Miss 
Spear,  S.  J.,  Miss 
Spencer,  A..  Miss 
Spencer,  C,  Miss 
Sperry,  Beda  S.,  Miss 
Spillam,  Maria  F..  Miss 
Spillane,  Josepliine,  Miss 
Spiller,  A.  W.,  Miss 
Spiller,  Lura  S.,  Miss 
Spokesfield,  C.  A.,  Miss 
Spokesfield,  E.  L.,  Miss 
Spokesfield,  H.,  Miss 
Sprague,  C.  A.,  Miss 
Spring,  Kate  L.,  Mi>s 
Spring,  Minnie  E.,  Miss 
Squire,  Mary,  Miss 
Squires,  J.  B.,  Mrs. 
Squyer,  J.  H.,  Miss 
Stackpole,  Carrie  B.,  Miss 
Stackpole,  E.  B.,  Miss 
Stackpole,  S.  E.,  Miss 
Standish,  S.  B.,  Mrs. 
Stanford,  C.  D.,  Mrs. 
Stanley,  A.,  Mrs. 
Stanley,  A.  F.,  Mrs. 
Stanley,  A.  S.,  Miss 
Stanley,  Nettie,  Miss 
Starbird,  Etta,  Miss 
Stark,  Eva  A.,  Miss 
Stark,  Grace  A.,  Miss 
Stearns,  E.  D.,  Miss 
Steele,  Carrie  L.,  Mrs. 
Steele,  E.  Alice,  Miss 
Steele,  Emma  A.,  Miss 
Steere,  Etta  A.,  Mrs. 
Steere,  H.  L.,  Mrs. 
Stephenson,  Belle,  Miss 
Stetson,  C.  W.,  Miss 
Stetson,  E.,  Miss 
Stetson,  E.  J.,  Miss 
Stetson,  H.  H.,  Mrs. 
Stetson,  J.  W.,  Mrs. 
Stevens,  A.  D.,  Mrs. 


Stevens,  A.  M.,  Miss 
Stevens,  A.  R.,  Miss 
Stevens,  E.  D.,  Miss 
Stevens,  E.  F.,  Miss 
Stevens,  E.  L.,  Miss 
Stevens,  Ida  C,  Miss 
Stevens,  M.  D.,  Miss 
Stevens,  MaryS.,  Miss 
Stevens,  N.  W.,  Miss 
Stevenson,  Annie  B.,  Miss 
Stevenson,  B.,  Miss 
Stewart,  R.  A.,  Mrs. 
Stickman,  L.,  Mrs. 
Stickney,  John  H.,  Mrs. 
Stickney,  R.  H.,  Mrs. 
Stickney,  S.  B.,  Miss 
Stiles,  Z.  A.,  Miss 
Stillings,  S.  E.  G.,  Mrs. 
Stockman,  L.,  Miss 
Stockman,  O.  P.,  Miss 
Stoddard,  H.  H.,  Miss 
Stoddard,  S.  S.,  Miss 
Stone,  Agnes,  Miss 
Stone,  Alice,  Miss 
Stone,  Anna,  Miss 
Stone,  Annie  L.,  Miss 
Stone,  Charles  W.,  Mrs. 
Stone,  E.  F.,  Miss 
Stone,  Ellen,  Miss 
Stone,  George  T.,  Mrs. 
Stone,  11.  L.,  Mrs. 
Stone,  J.  M.,  Miss 
Stone,  Julia,  Miss 
Stone,  L.  G.,  Mrs. 
Stone,  N.  J.,  Miss 
Store,  T.  G.,  Miss 
Stone,  W.  H.,  Mrs. 
Storer,  Agnes,  Miss 
Storer,  M.  W.,  Miss 
Stowers,  N.  M.,  Miss 
Strater,  P.  P.,  Mrs. 
Strickland,  Mary,  Miss 
Sturgiss,  M.  H.,  Miss 
Sturtevant,  A.  E.,  Miss 
Swain,  Amy,  Miss 
Swain,  Nellie  E.,  Miss 
Swan,  Ellen  M.,  Miss 
Sweeny,  Madelena,  Miss 
Sweeny,  S.  L.,  Miss 


(117) 


HISTORY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


Sweet,  E.  B.,  Mrs. 
Swett,  E.  E.,  Mrs. 
Swett,  M.,  Mrs. 
Swett,  Miriam  B.,  Miss 
Swett,  William  B.,  Mrs. 
Swett,  William  G.,  Mrs. 
S3'lvester,  C,  Mrs. 
Sylvester,  C.  T.,  Mrs. 
Sylvester,  E.,  Miss 
Sylvester,  E.  R.,  Miss 
Sylvester,  H.  E.,  Mrs. 
Sj'lvester,   J.  A.,  Mrs. 
Sylvester,  N.,  Mrs. 
Sj'lvester,  Nellie,  Miss 
Syraonds,  L.  H.,  Miss 

Taft,  Mrs. 
Talbot,  E.  F.,  Mrs. 
Talbot,  Jennie  M.,  Miss 
Talbot,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Tappan,  Eugene,  Mrs. 
Tarbell,  A.  A.,  Miss 
Tarleton,  Miss 
Tate,  H.  A.,  Mrs. 
Tate,  Helen,  Mrs. 
Tate,  S.  W.,  Mrs. 
Taylor,  A.,  Miss 
Taylor,  A.  B.,  Miss 
Taylor,  A.  J.,  Mrs. 
Taylor,  A.  S.,  Mrs. 
Taylor,  C.  A.,  Miss 
Taylor,  Ella  E.,  Mrs. 
Taylor,  Gertrude  H.,  Miss 
Taylor,  H.,  Miss 
Taylor,  H.  H.,Miss 
Taylor,  Jennie,  Miss 
Taylor,  Julia,  Miss 
Taylor,  L.  P.,  Miss 
Taylor,  M.  P.,  Miss 
Taylor,  N.,  Miss 
Tedford,  Laura  D.,  Miss 
Teele,  A.  E.,  Miss 
Temple,  Hattie,  Miss 
Tenney,  Mary,  Miss 
Tetlow,  Ella,  Mrs. 
Thayer,  F.  S.,  Mrs. 
Thayer,  J.  W.,  Mrs. 
Thomas,  Anna  L.,  Miss 
Thomas,  J.  B.,  Miss 


Thomas,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Thomas,  M.  E.,  Mrs. 
Thomas,  W.  J.,  Mrs. 
Thompson,  Mrs. 
Thompson,  Andrina  L.  T.,  Miss 
Thompson,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Thompson,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Tborndike,  Eva  M.,  Mrs. 
Thorndike,  Grace  M.,  Miss 
Thorndike,  Mary  V.,  Miss 
Tibbetts,  Louise,  Miss 
Tilden,  Clara,  Mrs. 
Tilden,  Helen,  Miss 
Tinkham,  E.  T.,  Miss 
Tinkham,  Emma,  Miss 
Tinkham,  Lucy  E.  T.,  Miss 
Tirrell,  Florence,  Miss 
Tirrell,  M.  A.  T.,  Miss 
Tirrell,  Miriam  A.,  Miss 
Tirrill,  Carrie,  Miss 
Titcomb,  J.  P.,  Miss 
Titus,  E.  E.,  Miss 
Titus,  Eliza  J.,  Miss 
Titus,  Minta  C,  Miss 
Todd,  Mabel  L.,  Mrs. 
Todd,  Mildred,  Miss 
Tobey,  Mary  E.,  Miss 
Toffey,  Kate,  Miss 
Tolles,  H.  F.,  Miss 
Tolman,  H.  M.,  Mrs. 
Tonett,  K.,  Mrs. 
Tower,  Carrie,  Mrs. 
Towle,  O.  A.,  Miss 
Towne,.M.  E.,  Miss 
Tozier,  S.  A.,  Miss 
Tozier,  Sarah,  Miss 
Travis,  Mrs. 
Tread  well,  A.  O.,  Mrs. 
Treadwell,  Clara  M.,  Mrs. 
Treadwell,  E.  C,  Miss 
Treadwell,  J.  B.,  Mrs. 
Treadwell,  M.,  Miss 
Treadwell,  Olive  A.,  Miss 
Treat,  Sarah,  Miss 
Trow,  M.,  Miss 
Truett,  H.,  Mrs. 
Trull,  O.  J.,  Mrs. 
Tucker,  Bertha  J.,  Miss 
Tucker,  Maud,  Miss 


(118) 


LADIES    OF    THE    CHORUS,    1865-1800. 


Tucker,  W.,  Mr?*. 
Tucker  man,  E.  M.,  Miss 
Tuckerman,  Mary  F.,  Miss 
Tuckerman,  Mildred  E.,  Miss 
Tuckerman,  S.,  Miss 
Tufts,  Cora  L.,  Miss 
Tufts,  Eleanor  Vauglian,  Mrs. 
Turner,  Ella  S.,  Mrs. 
Turner,  Mary  G.,  Miss 
Turrill,  M.  C,  Miss 
Twichell,  Ellen  M.,  Miss 
Tyler,  Jennie,  Miss 
Tyng,  A.,  Miss 

Underbill,  Emma,  Miss 
Upham,  Katherine  B.,  Miss 
Upliam,  M.  E.,  Miss 

Varney,  Grace  S.,  Miss 
Varney,  Sarah  E.,  Miss 
Vernon,  Annie,  Miss 
Verry,  Eliza,  Miss 
Very.  H.,  Mrs. 
Very,  Harriet  G.,  Mrs. 
Very,  T.  K.,  Mrs. 
Vinal,  Josephine,  Miss 
Vinal,  M.  A.,  Miss 
Vogel,  S.  C,  Mrs. 
Vogel,  S.  E.,  Miss 
Vogl,  Susie,  Mrs. 
Vose,  A.  M.,  Miss 

Wade,  C.  H.,  Mrs. 
Wadleigh,  Addle,  Miss 
Wadleigh,  W.  H.,  Mrs. 
Wadsworth,  Edna,  Miss 
Wadsworth,  Florence  L.,  Miss 
Waitt,  S.  W.,  Miss 
Wakefield,. Ella,  Miss 
Wakefield,  Grace,  Miss 
Walberg,  Anna,  Miss 
Waldmeyer,  M.  P.,  Miss 
Waldo,  E.  C,  Mrs. 
Walker,  A.  S.,  Miss 
Walker,  Almira,  Miss 
Wall^er,  Attie  M.,  Miss 
Walker,  J.  A.,  Mrs. 
Walker,  M.J.  E.,Mrs. 
Wallvcr,  Mary  E.,  Mrs. 


Wallace,  E.  L.,  Mrs. 
Wallace,  M.  E.,  Mrs. 
Walters,  Maggie,  Miss 
Walton,  E.  B.,  Miss 
Walton,  L.  A.,  Miss 
Walton,  M.  B,  Miss 
Ward,  H.  P..  Mrs. 
Ware,  H.,  Miss 
Ware,  L.  P.,  Miss 
Warman,  Effie  E.,  Miss 
Warner,  Ella  M.,  Miss 
Warner,  J.  C,  Mrs. 
Warren,  J.  F.,  Miss 
Washburn,  Emily  P.,  Miss 
Washburn,  Evelyn  F.,  Miss- 
Washbnrn,  Henry,  Mrs. 
Wa>hburn;  J.  P.,  Mrs. 
Washburn,  Jennie  P.,  Miss 
Wason,  Annie,  Miss 
Wasson,  A.  J.,  Miss 
Waterhouse,  R.  J.,  Mrs. 
Waterman,  H.  E.,  Miss 
Waterman,  L.  L.,  Miss 
Waterman,  S.  E.  V  ,  Mrs. 
Waterman,  S.  L.,  Miss 
Waters,  A.  F.,  Mrs. 
Waters,  G.  W.,  Mrs. 
Waters,  Irene  F.,  Miss 
Watjen,  Cora,  Miss 
Watson,  Elizabeth,  Miss 
Watson,  Emma,  Miss 
Watton,  E.  B.,  Miss 
Weale,  Emma  S.,  Miss 
Weale,  Marie  E.,  Miss 
Webb,  C.  E.,  Miss 
Webb,  E.  K.,  Miss 
Webb,  E.  R.,  Mrs. 
Webber,  Miss 
Webber,  Charles  F.,  Mrs. 
Wedger,  E.  S.,  Miss 
Weed,  H.  M.,  Miss 
Weeks,  Carrie  S.,  Mrs. 
Weeks,  Emma  M.,  Miss 
Weeks,  M.  M.,  Mrs. 
Weeks,  N.,  Miss 
Weld,  Lina  S.,  xMiss 
Wellington,  A.  C.  Mrs. 
Wellington,  A.  F.,  Miss 
Wellington,  Annie,  Miss 


(119) 


HISTOKY    OF    THE    HANDEL    AND    HAYDN    SOCIETY. 


Wellington,  Cora  L.,  Miss 
Wellington,  Edith,  Miss 
Wells,  Addie.  Miss 
Wells,  H.  G.,  Mrs. 
Wells,  Julia  A.,  Miss 
Wells,  M.  Frances,  Mrs. 
Wells,  Mary,  Miss 
Wells,  S.  A.,  Miss 
Wells,  Susan  E.,  Miss 
Wemyss,  C.  C,  Mrs. 
Wentworth,  L.  J.,  Mrs. 
Wessells,  E.  0.,  Mrs. 
West,  Fannie  K.,  Miss 
West,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Westcott,  Sara  H.,  Miss 
Weston,  Isa  G.,  Miss 
Weston,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Weston,  W.  E.,  Mrs. 
Wetherbee,  Cora  M.,  Miss 
Wetherbee,  Helen  F.,  Miss 
Wetherbee,  M.,  Miss 
Weymouth,  A.,  Miss 
Weymouth,  A.  J.,  Miss 
Weymouth,  C,  Miss 
Weymouth,  E.,  Miss 
Weymouth,  J.  W,,  Miss 
Wheaton,  Hattie  B.,  Miss 
Wheeler,  C.  J.,  Miss 
Wheeler,  Clara,  Miss 
Wheeler,  Dora,  Miss 
Wheeler,  E.  B.,  Mrs. 
Wheeler,  H.,  Mrs. 
Wheeler,  Lena  C,  Mrs. 
Wheeler,  Lizzie  A.,  Mrs. 
Wheeler,  Marie  S.,  Miss 
Wheeler,  Nellie  F.,  Miss 
Wheeler,  S.  M.,  Miss 
Wheeler,  Sarah  W.,  Mrs. 
Wheeler,  W.  H.,  Mrs. 
Wheelwright,  Josie,  Miss 
Whitcomb,  Anna  L.,  Miss 
Whitcomb,  Clarence  P.,  Mrs. 
Whitcomb,  H.  P.,  Mrs. 
Whitcomb,  N.  O.,  Mrs. 
White,  A.  S.,  Mrs. 
White,  A.  W.,  Miss 
White,  Abbie,  Miss 
White,  Ada  G.,  Mrs. 
White,  Agnes  A.,  Miss 


White,  Agnes  E.,  Mrs. 
White,  C.  A.,  Miss 
White,  E.  Y.,  Mrs. 
White,  ElvaG.,  Miss 
White.  Grace  F.,  Miss 
White,  L.  A.,  Miss 
White,  Lizzie  F.,  Miss 
White,  M.  Louisa,  Miss 
White,  Villa  W.,  Miss 
Whitehou«c,  E.  A.,  Mrs. 
WhitiDg,  C.  H.,Mrs. 
Whiting,  Henry,  Mrs. 
Whiting,  N.  M.,  Mrs. 
Whitman,  Mrs. 
Whitman,  J.  F..  Mi^s 
Whitmore,  Fanny  A.,  Miss 
Whitmore,  Helen  R.,  Miss 
Whitmore,  J.  C,  Mrs. 
Whitney,  F.  P.,  Mrs. 
Whitney,  Florence  S.,  Miss 
Whitney,  H.  J.,  Mrs. 
Whitney,  H.  M.,  Miss 
Whitney,  Hattie,  Miss 
Whitney,  L.,  Miss 
Whitney,  M.  E.,  Mrs. 
Whitney,  M.  W.,  Mrs. 
Whiton,  A.,  Miss 
Whittemore,  Alice,  Mrs. 
Whitten,  Lucy  H.,  Miss 
Whittier,  Charles  R.,  Mrs. 
Whittlesey,  Ellen,  Miss 
Whorf,  Abbie,  Miss 
Wiggin,  Lucy  P.,  Mrs. 
Wilbur,  Belle,  Miss 
Wilcox,  Ellen  L.,  Miss 
Wild,  H.,  Miss 
Wilde,  Hiram,  Mrs. 
Wilde,  Laurette  M. ,  ISIiss 
Wilde,  Millie,  Miss 
Wilder,  F.  A.,  Miss 
Wilder,  L.  L.,  Miss 
Wilder,  S.  L.,  Mrs. 
Wilkins,  H.,  Miss 
Wilkins,  M.  F.,  Mrs. 
Willard,  G.  F.,  Mrs. 
Willard,  Susannah,  Miss 
Willet,  Mary,  Miss 
Willey,  Cora  J.,  Miss 
Willey,  G.  H.,  Mrs. 


I 


(120X 


LADIES    OF   THE    CHORUS,    1865-1890. 


Williams,  Caio,  Miss 
Williams,  Carrie,  Miss 
Williams,  F.  M.,  Mrs. 
Williams,  J.  L.,  Mrs. 
Williams,  L.  M.,  Miss 
Williams,  Maud  K.,  Miss 
Williams,  S.  A.,  Mrs. 
Willis,  Miss 
Willis,  Ellen  S.,  Miss 
Willis,  Julia,  Miss 
Wilmarth,  M.  E.,  Miss 
Wilson,  A.  L.,  Mrs. 
Wilson,  Annie  A.,  Miss 
Wilson,  E.,  Miss 
Wilson,  Jennie,  Miss 
Wilson,  M.,  Miss 
Wilson,  W.  C,  Mrs. 
Wing,  J.  A.,  Mrs. 
Winnard,  Mary,  Miss 
Winslow,  Emma,  Miss 
Winslow,  M.  Q.,  Miss 
Winward,  A.  J.,  Miss 
Winward,  Lizzie,  Miss 
Wiswall,  George  C,  Mrs. 
Wood,  Abby  E.,  Miss 
Wood,  Alice  C.  S.,  Mrs. 
Wood,  Anna  E.  H.,  Miss 
Wood,  C.  H.,  Miss 
Wood,  F.  A.,  Miss 
Wood,  Katherine,  Miss 


Wood,  L.  Augusta,  Miss 
Wood,  M.  F.,  Miss 
Wood,  S.  A.  W.,  Miss 
Woodbury,  B.  F.,  Mrs. 
Woodbury,  Nellie  L.,  Miss 
Woodman,  R.  P.,  Mrs. 
Woodman,  S.,  Miss 
Woodman,  S.  A.,  Miss 
Woods,  Annie  L.,  Miss 
Woodward,  H.  M.,  Miss- 
Worcester,  J.  R.,  Mrs. 
Worth,  Mary  R.,  Miss 
Worthen,  Inez,  Miss 
Wright,  C,  Mrs. 
Wright,  C.  J.,  Mrs. 
Wright,  Chandler,  Mrs. 
Wyman,  Florence,  Miss 
Wymau,  Lizzie,  Miss 


Yeager,  Mary,  Miss 
Young,  D.  M.,  Mrs. 
Young,  Etta  R.,  Miss 
Young,  H.  O.,  Miss 
Young,  H.  T.,  Mrs. 
Young,  Ida  J.,  Miss 
Young,  J.  H.,  Mrs. 
Young,  Jessie  M.,  Miss 
Young,  Marion  F.,  Miss 
Young,  Mattie  C,  Miss 


(121) 


HONORARY  MEMBERS, 

1815-1890 


Nahum  MitcHell 

Bridgewater,  Mass. 

May 

21, 

1816 

Bartholomew  Brown 

((              (( 

(( 

(( 

(( 

Alexi  Eustaphieve 

Boston 

(( 

" 

" 

Thomas  Smith  Webb 

(( 

Sept. 

16, 

1817 

Oliver  Shaw 

Providence,  R.  I. 

Mar. 

13, 

1818 

Augustus  Peabody 

Boston 

(( 

21, 

(( 

John  R.  Parker 

a 

(( 

" 

" 

Moses  Noyes 

Providence,  R.  I. 

Nov. 

25, 

(( 

David  Lawrence  Brown 

Boston 

Dec. 

8, 

♦♦ 

Daniel  Staniford 

(' 

Jan. 

13, 

1819 

John  Pickering 

Salem,  Mass. 

Feb. 

19, 

" 

Samuel  P.  Taylor 

Boston 

Jan. 

10, 

1820 

Reuben  D.  Muzzy 

Hanover,  N.  H. 

Jan. 

21, 

1823 

J.  H.  Bingham 

Alstead,  N.  H. 

>( 

28, 

(( 

Thomas  Hastings 

Albany,  N.  Y. 

" 

" 

" 

A.  P.  Heinrich 

Kentucky 

Mar. 

4, 

'  li 

Amos  Albee 

Watertown,  Mass. 

July 

1, 

" 

Benjamin  Brierly 

Portsmouth,  N.  H. 

May 

4. 

1824- 

Joshua  Stone 

Boston 

Aug. 

17, 

1826 

William  Staunton,  Jr. 

" 

" 

it 

(( 

Prentiss  Mellen 

Portland,  Me. 

Jan. 

5, 

1827 

Edward  Howe 

<c 

(( 

" 

(( 

Henry  K.  Oliver 

Salem,  Mass. 

" 

12, 

" 

John  Meachum 

Albany,  N.  Y. 

Sept. 

13, 

" 

George  Oates           , 

Augusta,  Ga. 

(( 

<( 

" 

Samuel  Bigelow 

Charleston,  S.  C. 

" 

(( 

" 

John  Wills 

Boston 

It 

25, 

" 

George  W.  Lucas 

Northampton,  Mass. 

Sept. 

12, 

1828 

Solomon  Warriner 

Springfield,  Mass. 

(( 

■  li 

(( 

E.  Ives,  Jr. 

Berlin,  Conn. 

'♦ 

" 

(( 

A.  F.  Putnam 

Dartmouth,  N.  H. 

" 

" 

" 

George  Dutton 

Utica,  N.  Y. 

li 

" 

(( 

Amatus  Bobbins 

Troy,  N.  Y. 

(( 

" 

" 

H.  Sewall 

Augnsta,  Me. 

" 

(( 

(( 

John  Paddon 

Boston 

" 

" 

(( 

Abraham  G.  Tannatt 

Springfield,  Mass. 

u 

t( 

li 

Charles  E.  Horn 

London,  England 

Feb. 

17, 

1829 

i 


(122) 


HONORARY   MEMBERS,    1815-1890. 

Gottlieb  Graupner 

Boston 

Nov. 

2C 

),  1829 

Bryant  P.  Tilden 

" 

Jan. 

2G 

,  1830 

Charles  F.  Kupfer 

'' 

" 

' 

" 

*Abijah  M.  Ide  Berkley 

Attleborough 

June 

IC 

,  1831 

Adoniram  Crane 

Berkley 

a 

' 

" 

T.  Hopkins 

Boston 

Aug. 

li 

►,     " 

John  Pierpont 

" 

(( 

2i 

),     " 

Nathaniel  L.  Frothingham 

" 

Aug. 

6,  1832 

Charles  Zeuner 

" 

(' 

< 

" 

Jonathan  Huntingtdn 

'• 

Mar. 

2g 

,  1833 

Jonathan  M.  Wainwright 

(( 

Jan. 

2i 

»,  1834 

Samuel  H.  Jenks 

Nantucket,  Mass. 

Oct. 

10,     " 

Otis  Everett 

Boston 

" 

' 

" 

Benjamin  Holt 

Lancaster 

" 

' 

(< 

Allan  Pollock 

Boston 

" 

' 

" 

Joseph  Bailey 

New  York 

" 

' 

" 

John  W.  Webster 

Cambridge 

(( 

' 

" 

John  Mackay 

Boston 

(( 

' 

(( 

E.  R.  Hansen 

Providence,  R.  I. 

Nov. 

22 

,     " 

Amasa  Winchester 

Boston 

July 

U 

,  1836 

Thomas  Power 

(( 

June 

8 

,  1838 

Robert  C.  Winthrop 

li 

Sept. 

4 

4t 

Sigismond  Neukomm 

London,  England 

May 

25 

,  1839 

A.  U.  Hayter 

Boston 

Nov. 

12 

,     '* 

Samuel  H.  Parker 

'( 

Dec. 

S 

,     " 

George  Gushing 

(( 

Jan. 

2g 

,  1840 

Moses  Whitney,  Jr. 

(( 

May 

U 

>,     '■'■ 

Charles  W.  Lovett 

C( 

" 

2] 

John  Braham 

London,  England 

Nov. 

27 

r         a 

T.  B.  Hayward 

Boston 

July 

2i 

,  1841 

Peter  Wainwright 

Roxbury 

Sept. 

e 

,    " 

Louis  Ostinelli 

Italy 

Nov. 

2S 

5,  1843 

William  Brown 

Salem,  Mass. 

Mar. 

2c 

,  1845 

J.  L.  Hatton 

England 

Mar. 

11 

,  1850 

William  Learnard 

Dorchester,  Mass. 

Aug. 

C 

,     " 

Nathaniel  Harris 

Boston 

July 

24 

,  1850 

Carl  Zerrahn 

" 

Oct. 

2 

\  1867 

John  P.  Putnam 

(( 

" 

' 

(( 

J.  Baxter  Upham 

" 

Oct. 

27 

,  1871 

Robert  Franz 

Halle,  Saxony 

Dec. 

g 

,  1876 

B.  J.  Lang 

Boston 

Apr. 

29 

.  1887 

*The  record  distinctly  stateB  that  Abijah  M.  Ide  Berkley,  of  Attleboro'  (Bristol  County), 
was  elected  an  honorary  member.  Yet  the  whole  record  of  this  date  concerning  the  election 
of  honorary  members  is  confused  ;  and  an  inspection  of  the  whole  record  leaves  little  doubt 
that  the  recording  officer  erroneously  incorporated  into  the  name  of  Ide  the  residence  of 
Crane  (elected  at  the  same  meeting),  and  that  the  name  in  question  is  Abijah  M.  Ide. 


(123) 


APPENDIX. 


ERRATA   IN   AND   ADDENDA   TO    VOL.    I.,   NO.    1. 

Page  6,  note,  line  11.     For-Eiu  fester  Burg,"  read  '•  Ein  feste  Burg." 

Page  8,  note,  line  3.     For  "  sing  them  mth  icithoJ,"  read  ••  sing  them  icithal." 

Page  12,  note  2.  Concerning  the  Old  Hundredth  Psalm,  the  reader  may 
consult  History  of,  by  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Havergal.  1854.  Fr.  F.  Miiller  ascribes 
Old  Hundredth  to  Claude  Goudimel  (see  Musical.  Magazine.  Hach.  III.,  199). 
Raveuscroft's  Psalms,  of  which  Gov.  Endicott's  copj-  is  preserved  in  the 
Library  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  were  republished  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Havergal.  in  18*3.5. 

Page  13.  Many  secular  tunes,  turned  to  ecclesiastical  uses  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  are  given  in  Becker's  Mi^ik  in  DeutschJand.  1840. 

Page  15,  note  2.  For  •  Th.  Ravenscroft,"  etc.,  *•  published  in  1628,"  read 
•Th.  Ravenscroft  (b.  about  1582:  d.  about  1630  or  1635).  .  .  .  published  in 
1621." 

Page  25.  line  26.  For  -  nor  in  any  instance,"  read  ••  nor  destitute  in  many 
instances."  etc. 

Page  33,  line  27.  Strike  out  -father  of  [Mrs.  Ostinelli."  Mrs.  Ostinelli 
was  the  daughter  of  James  H.  Hewitt. 

Page  33.  note  7.     For    •  Mem.  Hist,  of  Boston,  L,  116,"  read  ''IV.,  416." 

Page  35.  note  3.     For    •  Columbia  Centinel,"  read  '•  Columbian  CentineL" 

Page  36.  line  6.     For  '•  source  of,"  read  -  service  of,"  etc. 

Page  36.  note  2.  3Iiss  Catherine,  sister  of  (Jottlieb  Graupner,  who  some- 
times played  the  organ  at  the  rehearsals  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society, 
married  a  Mr.  Cushing.  Miss  Han-iet  Graupner.  daughter  of  Gottlieb,  still 
survives.     His  adopted  daughter.  <Jli\'ia.  was  living  in  1871. 

Page  38,  line  22.     For    ■  Thomas  L.  Webb,"  read  ••  Thomas  S.  Webb." 

Page  42.  line  18.  For  •  George  I.  Webb,"  read  ••  Samuel  Webbe  (b.  1740; 
d.  May  26.  1816)."  The  anthem  for  five  voices  by  this  weU-known  English 
glee  ^^'rite^.  •'  When  winds  breathe  soft  along  the  silent  deep,"  here  referi'ed 
to.  is  printed  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Old  Colony  Collection,  page  53,  and  in 
VoL  in.,  page  83. 

Page  43.  Programme,  Part  II,  For  •  Chorus.  They  played  in  air.  etc.." 
read  "Anthem.  They  played,  in  air  the  trembling  music  floats."  Anthem 
composed  by  Sir  John  Stevenson.  Printed  in  first  volume  of  the  Handel 
find  Haydn  Collection,  page  98. 

Page  43.  note  1.  Mr.  Melvin  Lord,  who  was  a  member  of  the  chorus  in  1815, 
used  to  teU  the  story  referred  to.  He  described  viixh.  much  emphasis  the 
vexation  of  the  president  at  their  not  making  better  work  with  it. 

Page  44,  line  17.  For  •Transcript,'''  read  -'Advertiser,  Supplement,  Sat- 
urday, Dec.  23,  1871." 


IV  APPENDIX. 

Page  47,  line  21.  Mr.  Stockwell.  It  is  related  of  this  gentleman,  who 
Tvas  small  of  stature,  that  at  a  rehearsal,  after  the  intermission,  when 
all  were  ready,  he  alone  was  not  at  his  post.  Samuel  Eichardson.  a  large  and 
powerful  man,  volunteered  to  find  him,  and  going  round  behind  the  organ, 
where  the  members  resorted  for  a  glass  of  brand}-,  which  was  the  regular 
and  invariable  refreshment  between  the  parts,  soon  returned,  holding  tin- 
delinquent  by  the  collar  of  his  coat,  with  his  legs  dangling  helplessl}-  in  the 
air,  and  placed  him  at  the  organ. 

Page  48.  line  3.  "  Keconsidered  the  matter,  as  we  shall  see."  This  is  an 
error.  It  was  S.  P.  Taylor,  of  New  York  (see  Musical  Library .  page  27).  as 
mentioned  on  page  52,  who  officiated  as  organist  at  the  fom*  concerts  given  by 
the  society  on  the  1st,  4th,  Gth,  and  8th  of  April,  1817,  and  not  Dr.  Eayuer  Taylor, 
mentioned  on  page  47,  who.  according  to  a  writer  in  the  Euterpiad,  Vol.  II., 
page  162,  used  to  relate  that  when  he  was  a  choir  bo,y  at  the  King's  Chapel 
Royal  (1754-17G0),  he  attended  Handel's  funeral  (April  27,  1759).  and  that 
"  on  this  solemn  and  memorable  occasion  his  hat  accidentally  fell  into  the 
grave,  and  was  bm-ied  with  the  remains  of  that  wonderful  composer." 
"  Xever  mind,"  said  some  one  to  whom  he  told  the  story,  "  he  left  you  some 
of  his  brains  in  return."  After  Taylor  ceased  to  be  a  chorister,  he  found 
emplo^Tuent  as  composer,  vocalist,  organist,  and  harpsichord  player.  Having 
taught  for  several  years  at  Chelmsford,  he  became  director  of  music  at  the 
Sadlers  Wells  Theatre.  His  song.  "A  Sailor's  Life  at  Sea,"  and  his  comic 
trio,  "  Chiu-chat-quaw,"  written  at  this  time,  became  very  popular.  About 
1792,  Taylor  came  to  America  with  his  family,  and  found  employment  as 
organist  and  teacher  in  various  cities.  In  1821  he  was  still  living  at  Phila- 
delphia. "  The  Faded  Lily"  and  "  The  Beech  Tree's  Petition,"  songs,  which 
he  published  in  this  country,  were  much  admired.  The  wi'iter  in  the  Euterpiad 
speaks  of  him  as  a  master  of  the  best  style  of  organ  playing.  This  seems 
hardly  compatible  with  his  alleged  fondness  for  singing  Vauxhall  ballads  and 
caricatm-ing  Italian  operas  extemporaneously  at  the  piano. 

Page  48,  note  3.  For  "  1774,  choii*  boy,"  etc.,  read  "  1754."  In  explana- 
tion of  Dr.  Jackson's  refusal  ''to  have  an>jthing  to  do  icith  the  Society, '"  etc.. 
mentioned  line  15  of  page  48,  it  may  be  said,  that  being  conscious  of  very 
superior  knowledge,  he  felt  certain  that  if  he  were  brought  into  close  contact 
with  a  chorus  of  amateur  singers,  quarrels  would  inevitably  ensue.  "His 
only  safe  course,"  says  a  writer  on  this  matter,  "was  to  keep  at  a  distance 
from  what  they  would  call  his  pretensions,  and  save  them  from  liis  contempt 
for  what  he  would  knoio  to  be  their  ignorance." 

Page  50,  note  2,  line  5.  John  Mackay,  here  spoken  of,  was  lost  at  sea  on 
a  voyage  to  South  America. 

Page  52,  line  22.  S.  P.  Taylor  (misprinted  Tajlof),  b.  in  England.  177s. 
began  his  career  as  a  chorister,  and  played  the  organ  at  the  age  of  twelve.  In 
1806  he  came  to  America,  and  the  next  year  was  appointed  organist  at  Christ 
Church.  He  dii'ected  oratorios  (concerts?)  at  St.  Paul's,  and  first  introduced 
the  chant  in  New  York.  In  1863,  Mr.  Taylor,  then  eightv-five  years  old. 
played  Luther's  (so-called)  Judgment  Hpnn  at  the  dedication  of  a  new  organ 
Page  52.  line  24.     Last  word  "  or"  should  be  *'  of." 

Page  52,  note  1,  line  4.  After  first  "it"  insert  date  (1852).  Line  6. 
"music"  should  be  "Music."  HAd.  For  "p.  26,"  read  "p.  25."  Ihid. 
After  "cites"  insert  "(Note,  p.  26)." 


APPENDIX.  V 

Page  58,  line  20.  Oliver  Shaw,  a  native  of  Middleboro',  Mass.,  studied 
singing-  under  Dr.  Hinterliead  at  Newport,  and  afterwards  the  organ  and 
piano  under  Graupner.  He  taught  singing  schools,  presided  over  musical 
societies  in  Dedhani  and  Providence,  sang  often  in  public,  and  died  in  1848. 

Page  53,  line  25.     For  ••  listeued."  read  ''  Usteued.'' 

Page  53,  note  2.  The  concert  referred  to  in  this  note  was  given  at  the 
Chauncy  Street  Church. 

Page  53,  note  3.  line  2.  For  ••  honorably  having,"  read  "  honored  by  hav- 
ing," etc. 

Page  54.  Progrannne,  Part  I.,  No.  10.  For  "There  rest  the  sinful  Mary's 
tears,"  read,  — 

'•  AYere  not  the  sinful  Mary's  tears 
An  oftering  worthy  heaven, 
When  o'er  the  faults  of  former  years 
She  wept,  and  was  forgiven?  " 

Page  54,  note  2.  The  quotation  from  the  Centinel  ends  with  the  word 
"animated,"  fourth  line.  There  should  be  no  quotation-marks  after  the 
word  ••jealousy." 

Page  50,  line  30.  "  The  print."  The  Transcript  for  June  7,  1873,  contains 
S.  J.'s  correspondence  with  Mrs.  Jonathan  Preston  about  her  father's  por- 
trait The  "precipitous  and  most  unnatural  mountain,"  spoken  of  in  the 
thirty-third  line,  appears,  on  closer  inspection,  to  be  that  common  funereal 
emblem,  the  willow-tree. 

Page  57,  Historical  Synopsis,  second  line.  For  "Eleventh  annual  meet- 
ing," read  "  First  annual  meeting," 


i 


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