Punch (95.1888)

December 8, 1888.] PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

269

TWO OF THE WORLD'S CREATEST WOMEN.'

(JSFot hitherto included in any List.)

OUR SPECIAL MUSICAL CRITIC (?).

The great event of the week has, of course, been the production
of Dk. Steeling'smuch talked of Cantata, " The Old Home Farm,"
at the Northborough Festival. It was a happy idea on the part of
Dr. Steeling to secure the combined choirs of Northumberland and
Cumberland, but con-
sidering that the gifted
Doctor has always
conducted Northum-
berland, it was rather
surprising that Cum-
berland led. The
general arrangements
were not altogether
satisfactory. In the
first place, the New
Town Hall, like most
public buildings, has
been erected with a
total disregard to
acoustic properties; the
combined chorus was
indistinct; the town
band entirely drowned
the soli-, and I was not
supplied with a programme, nor could one be got for love or money.
I am, therefore, somewhat hampered in giving my analysis of
the work, especially as I am ;unaoquainted with the poem of
" The Old Home Farm;" in fact, I never heard of it. Fortu-
nately, I was seated next to a kind old gentleman who was well
up in the subject, and said he had heard all the music before. The
short overture, or rather prelude, to the
Cantata was very effective. Avoiding
the conventional crash "tutti," or the rt
double piano legato strings, Dr. yfc (»
Steeling opens with the first and '
second horns thus:—

At intervals this is repeated very effectively.7 "We are then intro-
duced to the leading motivo :—
Vivace.

Mrs. Harris. Mrs. Gamp.

This is repeated crescendo until a sudden burst'into the dominant
with slight variation of thejtheme:—

Prestissimo.

a A

I

There was a slight reminiscence of Czebny's celebrated Op. 101, but
the orchestral treatment was quite different. The opening chorus
which my next-door neighbour informed me was entitled, "Hail,
Melancholy Chanticleer, was simply remarkable for the occasional
Oboe obbligato:—

*7

But the charms of the farmyard were more vividly before us in the
following passage:—
Violini Pbimo.





i—^«

-H m 1-

*-1









■ 1

A duet, between Elsie, the milk-girl, and Squire Dunrobm, m
which, as far as I could tell, he was questioning her as to where she
was proceeding, and the amount of her fortune before offering her
marriage, was one of the most original compositions in the work, and
Dr. Steeling is much to be complimented. The great tour de
force, however, was the grand chase by the farmer's dame after

three small animals that had intruded' themselves, ^without invita-
tion^ upon the premises. The fact that the animals were totally
deprived of vision rendered the situation more poetic, and accordingly
more dramatic. In these soli and chorus the Doctor has surpassed
himself. It thus opens quietly on the strings:—
Anuunio con oyj.

1 & 2 Vio.

VlOlA.

Cell.&Babs.j^. 5 1 1 5 11 f _*l 1 ri

This is repeated three times, when the wood-wind follow thus :—
Flute.

Oboe. . -——





jF*? i \frrrf"

CliABINETTE.

3 =-.

— • • ■ •
* ? p 0 0_.

Added to these is a third phrase :-

And when all were played together, with the full strength of the
orchestra, the audience rose en masse, and, after expressing their
opinion, sat down again. The finale was also effective. There
were to be (so I understood) festivities by moonlight. The theme,
suggesting the rising of the moon, was quite characteristic of the
gifted composer :—

(The moon rises.) Grave. „

In fact,_the moon rose even higher, and nothing more suggestive
of the rise of the moon has been heard since the song of The Bed-
lamite (with counter subject on the volovong and shoe-horn) in
De. Steaws's Water Cantata, first performed at the Hanwell Festi-
val. I thought the grand festival dance at the end slightly
suggested an old tune—but I may be wrong; however the con-
cluding bar were certainly original:—

a

The Royal Society oe Paintees in "Watee Colours.—In these
dull December days we should be grateful to Sir John Gilbebt
and the clever Ladies and Gentlemen who give us glimpses of sun-
shine, of breezy country, of sea and forest, of foreign countries and
London streets, in their best aspect. All these you can enjoy
without the expense of travel, or the inconvenience of wet weather.

Just drop in at the pleasant
Gallery in Pali-Mall, and
you will be able to person-
ally conduct yourself—you
must conduct yourself, or
you will be reprimanded by
the Secretary—to all sorts of
delightful places, for one
shilling. TheGalleryisjust
the right size to prevent
weariness. Touwillgoaway
refreshed—though you are
not admitted by refresh-
ment - ticket — mstead of
suffering from that most
terrible of maladies, the
" Maxima debetur pueris." " exhibition headache."