SPEECHES & WRITINGS FILE "The Concerts Recently Conducted in Washington by the Anglo-African Composer, Samuel Coleridge- Taylor," [1905] [1905] The Concerts Recently conducted in Washington by the Anglo-African Composer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. An event unique in thr history of the world, so far as the records show and certainly unprecedented in the annals of this country occurred in Washington D.C. a few days ago. In Convention Hall, the largest auditoriun in the National Capital, a concery was given which attracted the attention of musicians not only in the United States, but wherever music is sung and enjoyed. The reason why this concert was of international rather than national interest is not difficult to understand. In the first place the cantata which was sung and which [by the way] is considered by the highest authorities a genuine classic of modern times waw written by a young English man who would be classified as a Negro in the United States. The chorus of 200 and the 3 soloists who sang were all colored. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, the composer, had come from his Enlish home expressly to conduct his work which he was. to hear for the furst time sung by people to whom belong the with which he was allied by blood. In The orchestra of the Marine Band, were 52 [whose members are] musicians all of whom white which accompanied the chorus and was lead Its safe to ascent that never before in the history of this country was the [of course by] the browm musician from across the sea. Marine Band lead by a colored man In one of the boxes sat the President of the United States and his family In the boxes were members of the Cabinet In the boxes were members of the Cabinet Near him were the British Ambassador, his daughter and his wife. Among the distinguished people who were present were representatives of the Diplomatic Corps, members of the Cabinet, the Secretary to the President of the US Numerous noted authors of national repute In addition to the distinguished people already mentioned were many other well-known in the official and social life of [in] the United States. [of] An audience of 3000 filled the hall to the doors. As the hour drew near fo the concert to begin, the eyes of [every ody] all were turned toward that part of the hall in which the famous composer would first appear. Finally someone spied him and began to cheer. The the vast audience caught [a] sight [glimpse] of him and broke forth into such rapturous and prolonged applause that the [hall] building fairly shook. A greated ovation than the one [which] given to Samuel- Coleridge-Taylor [received from] by black and white alike all classes colors and conditions of men, the high and the 2 low, when he made his first bow to [an] the American public [audience has rarely been [given any] few artists [anywhere in the world.] have received. Ane the recipient of so much homage richly deserves [it] to. Staid and conservative Englishmen are declaring that Samuel Coleridge Taylor is one of the greatest , if not the greatest composer whom Great Britain has ever produced. Although he is not yet thirty years old, he stands on a pinnacle of fame which few can ever hope to reach. The son of a full-blooded African, who was an eminent surgeon, and an English woman this genius was born in London [i]n the month of August, 1875. Like all other prodigies he gave unmistakable evidence of his great gift when he was a small child. As he himself says, he could read notes and play on the violin before he knew his alphabet. Having won a sholarship in the Royal College of Music in London he was able to pursue his course there and after a most brilliant career of four years [in that instituti on] he graduated with honor. He had not been studying long, before he wrote a composition for stringed instruments which was awarded a prize. Before he was 23, he had written Hiawatha's Wedding Feast, the first part of th4 trilogy which has won him fame and which was produced with such marvellous effect in Washington a few days ago. The following year in 1899 Minnehaha's Death, the second part of the Hiawatha trilogy [?] founded on Longfellow's poem, was rendered at the North Staffordshire festival. In March 1900 th Hiwatha's Departure, the last canto, was sung in London by the Royal Choral Society [in London] in Albert Hall. It is interesting to note in passing that Hiawatha has been produced six consecutive times in the Royal Albert Hall by England's Premier Society, which establishes a record in this regard. The work of no other living composer certainly has ever been rendered [cou?] by this great musical organization so many times. number of times heard in Eng. No one who heard [this great work] Hiawatha in Washington a few days could be surprised at the popularity in Eng. which [Hiawatha] it has achieved. The chorus and the soloists by whom rendered on that occasion seemed inspired. The effect was thrilling from beginning to end. Altho the cantata of H was completed only 4 yrs ago it has already been sung in Eng more than 200 times. [There is scarcely a choral namely] It has also been rendered by some of the best choral societies in the U.S. notably in St. Louis, [D?] Cleveland, [B?], Hartford Conn and elsewhere perhaps. About one year ago the Royal Choral Society which is the premier musical organization in Eng and one of the finest in the world produced & is under the most brilliant circumstances [?] with the King as patron the cantata was [by] sung by a 1000 voices accompanied by almost 1000 [[*?*] [check?] and an [on?]] and the cantata was sung by 1000 accompanied by the R C S of England probably the most noted here an orchestral organization in which in the world there were 150 instruments at least. *Next Jan. Hiawatha will be rendered again by the great society for the 6th time, [course?] which [?] 3 Such a volume of sound as the chorus poured forth in the fortissimo passages has been rarely heard. The peculiarly plaintive quality of tone usually heard in the singing voice of colored people was never used more affectively than in the rendition of the passages describing the suffering of the Indians by famine and the anguish of Hiawatha at Minnehaha's death. It is openly admitted by the leading white musicians of Washington that such excellent chorus singing has never been heard in the National Capital before. One authority on the subject declared with great enthusiasm that the tone, shading, phrasing, precision and response to every movement of the composer's baton displayed by the colored chorus which rendered Hiawatha was a lesson in choral singing which it would [be extremely difficult] not be easy for many musical organizations to learn. Although the solos were very difficult, they were well rendered by the so artists who sang them. Mr. Mr. Srthur F. Freeman, the tenor, is a teacher of music in the St. Louis Public Schools for children. Mr. Harry Burleigh as a concert singer and the barytone has already won an enviable reputation not only in New York City where he lives but throughout the East and West. For [many] several years he has been [singing] engaged as a soloist in St. George's Cgurch, in New York City of which the distinguished Dr. Rainsford is pastor. [*In The baritone solos which occur in the course of the cantata [Mr. Burlei] were sung by Mr. B with such fervour, accuracy and charm of will that the audience was transported with delight and expressed their approval in loud and prolonged applause.*] 5 was organized three years ago and was soon incorporated. Under the leader ship of Mr. J. T. Layton, a music teacher in the Colored schools of Washington, it has kept together well and has manifested its interest in the best music by studying it earnestly and seriously. It is loyally supported by the Colored citizens of Washington and liberally patronized by the whites Last year at the Heresford Festival in England Mr. Taylor's, "Atonement", a sacred cantata was produced for the first time. [In treating the impressive subject] The spirit of devotion which characterizes[d] the work, the reverence with which the Savior's character was drawn, the strength both in the choral writing and in the orchestration, the dramatic style of the composition and the good taste governing the production as a whole has received the highest praise throughout the musical world. After hearing the Gethsemane scene in Mr. Taylor's latest work, those who had been convinced by the numbers in "Minnehaha's Death that the young composer is capable of illustrating intensity of feeling with picturesqueness as well as sincerity were still more deeply confirmed in this view. In commenting upon this work one of the best musical critics in England declared: "My own judgment is that the Atonement is not only a remarkable composition, but the most dramatic work ever written by an English musician. It is laid out and wrought with skill. Every technical device is employed in its structure and nearly every orchestral instrument is brought into requisition in adding colour to the glowing tonal picture." In addition to Hiawatha and the Atonement about fifty productions represent the stanchion on which Mr. Coleridge Taylor's fame rests. Among them may be mention his Blind Girl of Castel-Cuille, Meg Blane, the music for Herod which was produced at there Majesty's theatre in London, a Coronation March, the musical setting for many poems, among them four sonnets written by Mrs. Browning, and several Albums of Songs, which include a set entitled African Romances, the words of which are by Paul Laurence Dunbar, America's Colored poet. Mr. Taylor's next work will be light music, he says. It will be a long Transcribed and reviewed by contributors participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.