Wednesday 10th May 1911
Details from the programme:
Warminster Musical Society
Programme
Grand Annual Concert
at the
Athenaeum, Warminster,
Wednesday, May 10th, 1911
Spohr’s ‘Last Judgment’
and
Handel’s ‘Acids and Galatea.’
Soprano:
Miss Madeleine Applegate
(of the Bath Pump Room and Chief Provincial Concerts).
Contralto:
Miss Annie Springbett.
Tenor:
Mr. R. Hoare Byers
(of the Chief Provincial Concerts).
Bass:
Mr. Lyell Johnston
(of the Queen’s Hall, Crystal Palace Concerts, &c.)
Full Band and Chorus of 100 Performers.
Conductor: Mr. Percy H. Bishop.
Reserved Seats (numbered) 3/-;
Second Seats 2/-;
Admission 1/-.
Plan of the Hall may be seen and Tickets secured at
Coates’ Library, Market Place, Warminster.
Mr. R. Lewis Osmond, Hon. Sec.
Programme printed by Price, Printers, Warminster.
_____
Programme
Part 1 ‘Last Judgment’
Louis Spohr, born April 5th, 1784, at Brunswick, was one of the greatest composers of the second class, which includes Weber, Schubert, and Schumann. He was great as a composer in all kinds of music, vocal and instrumental. As a performer he was a virtuoso on the violin of the first rank, and in his day had no equal. All his work, whether creative or executive, was produced under a sense of the deepest responsibility, nothing slovenly ever proceeded from him, although 200 works, at least, were his compositions. In both melody and harmony his genius is conspicuous. As an illustration of the former I venture to quote the Duet “Forsake me not in this dread hour” (No.15 of this work), and of the latter, “Destroyed is Babylon” (No.18). Probably the climax of the Last Judgment is in the soli and chorus “Blest are the departed,” a fine piece of vocal writing possibly of its kind unsurpassed , although this gem cannot escape the criticism, so generally applied to Spohr’s music, of relying too much on sentimentality rather than on depth and vigour.
The question arises, “What name correctly describes the nature of this work?” Is it ‘The Last Judgment,” or “The Last Things” (Die letzten Dinge, the name given by Spohr himself), or some other name not yet discovered? I am inclined to think the last; at any rate the scope of the whole work seems to bring before us the realization of the terrible Signs and Portents to be sent hereafter as the forerunner of ‘The Last Of Things.’ And the English name, ‘The Last Judgment’ cannot be upheld as, apart from the mistranslation, no last judgment is described. But whatever the appropriate title may be, the work still stands (in spite of Wagner, Debussy, Strauss and company) as a monument of the genius of a mighty musician, all of whose works, morally and aesthetically point and lead upwards, a mead of praise which cannot be awarded to all his successors.
I venture to add one word as to a (perhaps the) peculiar character of Spohr’s music. It is distinctly chromatic and enharmonic in its counterpoint, i.e., in its motion. In one bar, by these means, he will convey you musical miles from the previous harmony, and return you in the same short space. No one, at any time, has employed these devices so generally or with such pleasing effect as Spohr, devices or manner therefore termed Spohrish.
Spohr died at Cassel on October 22nd , 1859, one hundred years after Handel.
– C.A.
Overture
Chorus . . . . “Praise His awful Name”
Air . . . . “Come up hither” . . . . Bass.
Air & Chorus . . . . “Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts” . . . . Tenor & Chorus.
Recitative . . . . “Behold the Lamb that was slain” . . . . Soprano.
Air . . . . “Weep no more” . . . . Tenor.
Recitative . . . . “And the Elders fell down” . . . . Soprano.
Air & Chorus . . . . All Glory to the Lamb” . . . . Soprano & Chorus.
Recitative . . . . “And every Creature” . . . . Tenor.
Air & Chorus . . . . “Blessing, honour, glory and power” . . . . Tenor & Chorus.
Recitative . . . . “And lo! a mighty host” . . . . Tenor.
Quartet with Chorus . . . . “Lord God of heaven and earth”
Symphony
Air . . . . “Thus with the Lord” . . . . Bass.
Duet . . . . Forsake me not in this dread hour” . . . . Soprano & Tenor.
Chorus . . . . “If with your whole hearts”
Air . . . . “Jehovah now cometh to judgment” . . . . Tenor.
Chorus . . . . “Destroyed in Babylon”
Quartet with Chorus . . . . “Blest are the departed”
Recitative . . . . “I saw a new heaven” . . . . Soprano.
Air . . . . “Behold, He soon shall come”. . . . Tenor.
Chorus . . . . “Great and wonderful are all Thy works”
________
Part 2 ‘Acis and Galatea.’
The great and greatest oratorio composer was born at Halle, Saxony, February 23rd, 1685, died in his house in Brook Street, London, April 14th, 1759, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. How Handel became the composer of oratorios cannot be understood, unless we thoroughly appreciate the fact he was a composer of Italian opera many years before he composed an oratorio. Of the former he wrote 39, and of the latter 21 – two in Italian. The form of opera and oratorio is essentially the same; indeed, the only difference, from a musical point of view, being that opera has for its subject a secular theme; oratorio, a sacred. Distinct marks of this kinship exist in Acia and Galatea. This classical love story, written by Gay, with additions by Pope and others, was composed by Handel probably in 1720, certainly at Cannons, the residence of the Duke of Chandos, who had the honour of employing Handel as his Master of the Music. This Pastoral Opera furnishes us with evidence of the marked influence on Handel of his sojourn in Italy, and the study of its melodious and vocalized music. His Acis and Galatea had an existence before he went to Italy, but on his return it was transformed by the introduction of increased melody and vocalization, the marked features of Italian song; so that the pre-Italian Acis is a far less important and perfect work than the post-Italian Acis. This will be manifest if the two editions thus characterized are compared.
Every one knows that Handel “borrowed” from great and small. An instance of the former occurs in the wonderful chorus, “Wretched Lovers,” whose opening phrase is taken from one of Bach’s Fugues, and appears throughout until the thundering Polyphemus stalks on the scene. But into what greatness does the master turn the few notes!
The audience will not fail to notice the pure, pastoral joy of the first part; the change in the second part to portray the fact that “fate has past this sad decree, no joy shall last”; the magnificent and thrilling, though simple part-writing of “Mourn all ye Muses”; and the altruistic happiness of Galatea embodied in the final chorus, after the goddess has proclaimed the apotheosis of Acis – “Be thou immortal tho’ thou art not mine,” and the pearling stream, as it sparkles along its course, a joy to all, has become personified as the newly created god “murmuring still his gentle love.”
It may be mentioned that Acis and Galatea was re-scored by Mozart (whose accompaniments are used at this concert), and staged at Drury Lane by Macraedy, February 5th, 1842.
– C.A.
Chorus . . . . “O the pleasure of the plains”
Recitative . . . . “Ye verdant plains” . . . . Soprano.
Air . . . . “Hush, ye pretty warbling choir” . . . . Soprano.
Recitative . . . . “Lo! here my love” . . . . Tenor.
Air . . . . “Love in her eyes sits playing” . . . . Tenor.
Recitative . . . . “O didst thou know” . . . . Soprano.
Air . . . . “As when the dove laments her love” . . . . Soprano.
Duet . . . . “Happy we” . . . . Soprano & Tenor.
Chorus . . . . “Happy we”
Chorus . . . . “Wretched Lovers”
Recitative . . . . “I rage, I melt, I burn” . . . . Bass.
Air . . . . “O ruddier than the cherry” . . . . Bass.
Recitative . . . . “Whither, fairest, art thou running” . . . . Bass & Soprano.
Recitative . . . . “His hideous love” . . . . Tenor.
Air . . . . “Love sounds the alarm” . . . . Tenor.
Recitative . . . . “Cease, O Cease” . . . . Soprano.
Trio . . . . “The flocks shall leave the mountains” . . . . Soprano, Tenor & Bass.
Recitative . . . . “Help, Galatea” . . . . Tenor.
Chorus . . . . “Mourn, all ye Muses”
Air & Chorus . . . . “Must I my Acis still bemoan” . . . . Soprano & Chorus.
Recitative . . . . “Tis done” . . . . Soprano.
Chorus . . . . “Galatea, dry thy tears”
_________
Warminster Musical Society
Patroness:
The Most Honourable The Marchioness Of Bath.
President:
Blanche Lady Pelly.
Vice Presidents:
The Hon. Geoffrey Howard, M.P.
Sir John Fuller, Esq.
Mr. H. Theodore Cookson.
Dr. Charles Alcock.
Hon. Members:
Mr. F.E. Beale.
Mr. E.S. Beaven.
Mr. E.J. Bradfield.
Rev. J.W.R. Brocklebank.
Mrs. Lindsay Bury.
Mrs. Percy Case.
Miss Chapman.
Mrs. Colvin.
Rev. H.L. Dixon.
Mr. M. Hiles.
Rev. E.A. Jullyan.
Mr. Ll. Palmer.
Mr. T. :Ponting.
Mr. H.J. Wakeman.
Mr.R.L. Willcox.
Mr. H.L. Willcox.
Mr. C.H. Willmore.
Rev. H.R. Whytehead.
Subscribers:
The Hon. Mrs. Alexander.
Colonel Burton.
Miss Bayfield Clark.
Mr. T.F. Cox.
Mrs. Flower.
Rev. C.D. Job.
Mr. E.A. Lewis.
Mr. J.W. Stent.
Rev. J.R. Stuart.
Mr. Vincent.
Mr. D.H. Waddington.
Rev. J.C. Wippell.
Chorus
Soprano:
Miss Beale.
Mrs. Box.
Miss Button.
Miss Craven.
Mrs. Day.
Miss Dolman.
Miss Down.
Miss Everett.
Miss Greenland.
Miss Hill.
Miss Hill.
Miss Lander.
Miss Mann.
Miss Moody.
Miss Randall.
Miss Scott.
Miss Siminson.
Mrs. Simper.
Miss Strong.
Miss Shepherd.
Miss Sweetland.
Miss Tanswell.
Miss Taylor.
Miss Timms.
Mrs. Willoughby.
Contralto:
Mrs. Beale.
Mrs. Bradfield.
Miss Bradfield.
Miss Curtis.
Miss Goodland.
Mrs. Greenland.
Miss Gregory.
Miss Lander.
Miss Moody.
Mrs. Osmond.
Miss Scammell.
Miss Springbett.
Tenor:
Mr. Joyce.
Mr. Moody.
Mr. Price.
Mr. Price.
Mr. Price.
Mr. Taylor.
Mr. Willoughby.
Mr. Wyer.
Bass:
Mr. Applegate.
Mr. Button.
Mr. Dent.
Mr. Osmond.
Mr. Stace.
Mr. Turner.
Mr. Willmore.
Mr. Younghusband.
Orchestra
1st Violins:
Mrs. Hoare (principal).
Miss Dowding.
Mr. Penruddocke.
Miss Dolman.
Miss Wickham.
Mrs. Hall.
2nd Violins:
Mr. Holton.
Miss Fisher.
Miss Montague.
Miss Gunstone.
Mr. Taylor.
Miss Hillman.
Mr. Beak.
Mr. Stewart.
Violas:
Mr. Siminson.
Mr. Holton.
‘Cellos:
Mrs. Titt.
Rev. J. Alcock.
Mr. Fisher.
Mr. Desprez.
D. Bass:
Rev. W.H. Weekes.
Mr. Bartlett.
Flute:
Mr. Papps.
Oboe:
Mr. Brand.
Clarionets:
Mr. Hatton.
Mr. Dodge.
Bassoon:
Mr. Bayman.
Horn:
Mr. Semprini.
Trombones:
Mr. Hardy.
Mr. Grant.
Drums:
Mr. Head.
Pianist:
Mr. F. Siminson.
Conductor:
Mr. Percy H. Bishop.