Sixty Years of California Song Part 10

Full chorus of 1,200. Organ. Grand orchestra of 150. Full military band, drum corps of the city militia, 50 anvils, 100 firemen, city fire bells and cannon to be fired from the stand of the leader by use of electricity.

General Conductor, Mr. R. Herold. Organist, Gustav A. Scott.

These concerts were among the grandest achievements of our time. The music of the musicians and singers was par excellence and should never be forgotten as long as history can keep it alive. How vividly is the scene before me--the magnificent chorus, the pealing of the organ tones, the excellent performance of the orchestra and the beautiful playing of Camilla Urso and the enwrapt listeners that crowded the old pavilion to overflowing. Those were days of music for Californians who knew how to make it and we should always have the greatest pride in recounting these magnificent efforts.

In the year 1874, when Madam Anna Bishop was making her American tour, she included San Francisco, and with her troupe came also Alfred Wilkie, tenor, and Frank Gilder of New York, an organist and pianist of high repute. He was a genius in a cla.s.s of his own. As the Salt Lake papers said of him, "Frank Gilder, who can s.n.a.t.c.h more music out of a piano than Beethoven could write in a week, is with the Lingard Company and will play a number of solos tonight. He is an entire orchestra, a sort of a condensed bra.s.s band, and those who don't hear him will never know what pianos were invented for." This was a unique "ad.", but was just about right. I was employed by him when he inaugurated his popular twenty-five-cent concerts. He gave thirty-six in the course and I sang twenty-five times for him. I sang one evening at one of Madam Bishop's concerts, and after he heard me sing Gatty's Fair Dove (my ghost song, as he called it) he planned out these concerts--something out of the ordinary. Each artist received ten dollars, no matter how high he stood in his calling, or the prices he received from other managers. That was the order of things and each one who sang must take that or not sing. We began in the hall of the Y.M.C.A. on Sutter street. The following artists appeared: Mrs. M.R.

Blake, contralto; M.A. Anderson, tenor; Sig. C. Orlandini, baritone; Frank Gilder, pianist.

The morning Chronicle had this to say in regard to the first concert:

"FRANK GILDER'S POPULAR CONCERTS

"The first of the series was given in the presence of a large and fashionable audience. The music was first-cla.s.s in every respect and nearly every piece was encored. Gilder's Galop de Concert and Orlandini's Largo al Factotum most emphatically so. Mrs. Blake distinguished herself as an accomplished vocalist in Millard's song, When the Tide Comes In, and in the favorite old Scotch ballad, John Anderson, My Joe. It was supposed from the low price that these concerts would be beneath the notice of the high toned dilettanti of the city, but the performance last evening has completely disabused not only the nicely-critical, but the public generally of this idea.

The series is to be continued. The second in the course will be given on Tuesday eve of next week."

[Ill.u.s.tration: Mme. Anna Bishop, beloved instructor of Mrs.

Blake-Alverson and with whom she sang in many concerts.]

The second concert on Tuesday was given with Madam Anna Bishop, Mrs.

M.R. Blake; Cornelius Makin, ba.s.s; Prof. von der Mehden, baritone; Frank Gilder, solo cornetist. With the sixth concert in the Y.M.C.A.

hall we found the hall too small for our audiences, and then went to Platt's Hall. Not two-thirds of the people could get in. We tried Pacific Hall, and that did for several times, and then there were enough people on the outside to fill an ordinary hall. The theaters were too expensive, so we went on the road. We gave two concerts in Stockton theater to packed houses; two in Santa Cruz in the pavilion, with great success; two nights in Vallejo, when every seat was taken, the gallery packed and faces peeping in at the windows. A laughable act not on the programme occurred that evening which, I think, Walter Campbell and myself will never forget. We had a duet in which we always claimed the house, and this evening when our number came Mr.

Gilder began his quaint Quaker march and Reuben was to come from one side of the stage and Rachel, on the other, and meet in the center of the stage like two prim Quakers. I took the steps with Mr. Gilder's tom tom of quaint chords and I arrived in the front of the stage and no Walter. I was in dismay and the people began to laugh, especially a portly individual sitting directly in front of the orchestra. He thought it was all in the bill; Madam Bishop, in the wings, feared the performance was ruined. I tried with all my might to keep from laughing at Mr. Gilder, who was keeping up the incessant march. At last I turned and saw Walter Campbell standing beside me with a face like a marble statue, still and pious as the most devout Quaker, waiting for me to begin, rising and falling on his toes. I began my song, "Reuben, I have long been thinking, etc." and the song went on, and between each stanza the applause was deafening and continued until the last too-ral-loo had died away. We received five recalls. The paper came out with glowing accounts of the success Walter and I had won and we were lionized the rest of the season. When we were allowed to retire, Walter, in his quaint way, said to me, "Susan Jane, you almost made me laugh. I never went through such an ordeal in all my singing days. It seemed I was destined to stand there forever before you began." I think we have laughed over that concert time and time again. It is one of our best jokes between us when we recount the enjoyment of our successful concerts given in California, Oregon and British Columbia.

[Ill.u.s.tration:

Hugo Mansfeldt J.H. Dohrmann Sir Henry Heyman Alfred Wilkie

a.s.sOCIATED MUSICIANS, 1860-1913]

After returning from these smaller towns Mr. Gilder resumed the popular concerts in Pacific Hall until the close of the thirty-sixth concert. It was while we sang in Pacific Hall that King Kalakua was the honored guest. Sam Booth composed a welcome song to His Majesty and great was the reception given him. These concerts made quite a stir among the older musicians, who thought it strange that a twenty-five-cent entertainment should receive such acknowledgment. The halls of the dollar concerts were deserted and the twenty-five-cent concert hall was overflowing with music lovers. The older musicians challenged Gilder to play the music of the old masters. He consented, but the trial never came to anything but words. After he had gone back to New York these disgruntled musicians tried to do the same as Mr.

Gilder had done, but it was a complete failure. One of the thirty-six concerts was given in the Tent Amphitheater back of the Palace Hotel, July 4, 1874. The artists were Mme. Anna Bishop, soprano; Mrs. M.R.

Blake, contralto; Alfred Wilkie, tenor; Cornelius Makin, ba.s.s. The Silver Cornet band was under the direction of Professor Henry von der Mehden and Frank Gilder, pianist. There was an audience of 12,000 people and the programme was one to be remembered for its musical value and splendid singers who received the plaudits of the people in their great enthusiasm at the successful and artistic performance of each number.

PROGRAMME FOR JULY 4TH, 1874

1. Overture--Poet and Peasant Suppe

2. Song. The Sword of Bunker Hill Covert Mr. C. Makin

3. Scotch Ballad. Within a Mile of Edinborough Town.

(encore) Annie Laurie.

Mrs. M.R. Blake

4. Piano solo. America, with variations Gilder Frank Gilder

5. Grand Aria. Let the Bright Seraphim Handel Mme. Anna Bishop; Prof. Mehden, cornet obbligato

6. Song. The Anchor's Weighed Braham Mr. Alfred Wilkie

7. Grand operatic pot-pourri Von der Mehden

SECOND PART

1. Duet. The Moon Has Raised Her Lamp Above Messrs. Alfred Wilkie and C. Makin

2. Ballad. Old Folks at Home (by request) Foster Mme. Anna Bishop

3. Quartette for horns. Call Me Thine Own Halevy Band

4. Song. Vive l'America Millard (Encore) Uncle Sam's Farm Mrs. M.R. Blake

5. Ballad. Will o' the Wisp Mr. C. Makin

6. Song. The Star Spangled Banner Madam Anna Bishop and the other artists

7. Grand finale, National Melodies of different nations Von der Mehden Silver Cornet Band

In speaking of these concerts it is interesting to note the number of fine singers that we had in California in 1874 and how easy it was for a manager to select the best out of these for any occasion.

Women's Voices: Madam Bishop, Mrs. M.R. Blake, Mrs. A.

Thiesen, Miss Marian Singer, Mlle. Franzini, Mlle. Anna Elzer, Miss Susan Galton, Madam Babc.o.c.k, Signora Bianchi, Mrs. Eliza Boston, Miss Rowley.

Men's Voices: Signor C. Orlandini, Charles Metti, M.A.

Anderson, C. Makin, Henry Baker (tenor of the opera troupe), Sig. Luigi Contini, Ben. Clark, W. Finkeldey, Carmini Morley, Alfred Kelleher, Sig. Fulvio Rigo, Sig. E. Bianchi, Alfred Wilkie, Sig. G. Marra, W.C. Campbell, Mons.

Davidowitz (Russian opera tenor), Geo. Carltos, Sam Booth, Amos Durant, F.L. Phelps.

Musicians: F. Gilder, Prof. Hartman, Prof. H. von der Mehden, Ernest Schlott, Mulder Fabbri, Prof. M. Schultz, C.J.J. Smith (flutist), Louis Boedecker (pianist), Stephen Marsh (harpist), George L. Blake (cornetist), Bender, Shepherd, Emerson, Wilson (horn quartet), Miss Rotier (pianist), Prof. G. Cellarius (violinist), A. Kessels (pianist), Miss E.M. Burkhardt (Chicago pianist), H.F. Todd (cornet).

These men and women singers and musicians took part in these series of concerts given by Frank Gilder in 1874 and were available at any time when needed. They were only a number of the many fine singers then in San Francisco. I doubt if you could be so successful today, for these were genuine tried singers, ready to go at any time and fill the place, either with sacred, secular or operatic music. There were also the members of the Loring Club, all good singers, picked and tried, who sang in choirs, concerts and also in prominent musical undertakings of the period. I have tried to leave no name out of the list of singers. Professional jealousy does not exist in any of my musical life. It never did, and if people will use their good, common sense and judgment and see a singer in her true light they will find out very quickly that there exists no grounds for such a feeling with true artists. In the first place no two people look alike, neither are they made alike. I have had the strange experience of teaching five pairs of twins. They were so much alike that it was with difficulty we could distinguish them apart. Especially the Faull twins, who were obliged to wear a gold bar pin with "Rose" and "Sophia" engraved upon them to distinguish them, and yet they were unlike in every respect. The figures were different; their voices, one a contralto, the other soprano; one delicate, the other robust. Rose is living and the other pa.s.sed out of life. It is so in everything in life. The petty jealousy of singers and players is a laughable farce. Even our grandest singers have shown this weakness because a rival was billed with lettering a quarter of an inch larger. This lowers the singer in the eyes of the public. No two singers can sing alike, even if they sing the same song. The interpretation belongs to the individual singer. It will remain hers forever in the remembrance of the listeners and no amount of jealousy will remove the fact. When once a singer has climbed to a place of recognition and can be cla.s.sed as a true artist and acknowledged by the public as such, she is ent.i.tled to recognition. "Give honor to those to whom honor is due," is the safest way.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF THE LORING CLUB

SAN FRANCISCO, 1873

Geo. Fletcher Wm. E. Blake Nathaniel Page Geo. Story

FRENCH HORN QUARTETTE OF THE SAN FRANCISCO PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY

Season of 1895]

I will continue my narrative of special engagements. I had eighteen years' experience in singing for the Welsh colony of men and women who formed a society known as the Cambrian Mutual Aid Society. It had been in existence four years before I was engaged as vocalist. The society was prosperous and about 300 strong at that time. Professor Price, Mr.

Jehu, Samuel Williams, Gomer Evans, H.J. Owens (Obedog), E. Meredith (tenor) and J.R. Jones (ba.s.s) were the prominent persons connected with the society. March 1st was the day for celebrating the yearly singing tryout. The Welsh miners and their families came yearly from Mt. Diablo mines for a holiday of sociability and song. The day was called St. David's Day. My first engagement with this society occurred on the 2d day of March, 1874, the first having come on Sunday. We were obliged to sing the Welsh airs. This was a new departure for me, but, nothing daunted, I began the study of the Welsh music, and when the night came for the yearly banquet and evening of song I was well prepared to give them their desire. I had as other artists, on this evening programme, Mrs. Howels, a Welsh soprano who sang like a bird, so beautifully; Mrs. Von der Mehden, soprano; Mrs. M.R. Blake, contralto; C. Makin, ba.s.s; John Hughes, ba.s.s; Joseph Maguire, tenor; Vernon Lincoln, tenor, and the Mt. Diablo singers, about fifty fine voices. The initial concert was a p.r.o.nounced success, about 600 being present. In 1878, at the annual concert, I met for the first time Mr.

D.P. Hughes, tenor, who sang a Welsh song, Cwymp Lewelyn, also in a male quartette, (oh, what full delight), Hughes, Roberts, Jones and Hannis. This was Mr. Hughes' first bow to the society of singers in San Francisco. I was the first American singer he had met in San Francisco thirty-four years ago. Later he became director of the Orpheus Society, leader of church choirs, teacher of voice, and still teaches and directs a women's singing club in Oakland, Cal.

In September, 1877, the town of San Rafael was in need of a fire engine, and to begin the collection for the fund a series of concerts was inaugurated. The first was held in the district courtroom, September 8th. The following well-known artists took part: Theodore Herzog, violinist; J. Lewis, ba.s.s; Mrs. H.M. Bosworth, soprano; Ben Clark, tenor; Walter C. Campbell, ba.s.s, and Mrs. M.R. Blake, contralto. The room was full to overflowing and the singers were given a splendid welcome. The women of the city decorated the hall most lavishly and our reception was notable. The treasury received a splendid amount of funds to carry on the good work so auspiciously begun. This was the second city wherein I a.s.sisted in the beginning of a fund for a fire engine. The other was Santa Cruz.

In 1877, old folks' concerts were often given with great success. The quaint hymns of Father Kemp's collection seemed to be an attraction to the people, and seldom a month pa.s.sed without concerts of this kind.

The societies and churches reaped a goodly sum from them. The different singing clubs concluded to give two concerts for the old folks. They were to be on a grand scale, and the Grand Opera House was secured. My programme does not give the promoters' names or the object of this great gathering of singers. I remember only that I was engaged for the two nights with Walter Campbell to sing those songs we were accustomed to sing together on such occasions. The concerts were held June 28 and 29, 1877. These were memorable evenings for us and we did our best with Reuben and Rachel, Ten O'Clock and the Old Saxon, etc., which we were obliged to repeat to satisfy the great audiences which greeted us. The chorus of 500, composed of singers in all walks of life, people of leisure who had good voices which they had been taught how to use, often take pleasure in giving the public a treat if a pretext can be found for doing so. In this case it was thought that an imitation of the manners, dress and costume of a past age would attract an audience when a simple concert might not. This proved to be true, especially of the Easter Anthem, which was magnificently sung, and an encore was demanded by the delighted listeners. Each night the stage was completely filled with this splendid chorus, and the effect was tremendous when the voices rose with such magnificent volume, unaccompanied. The leader gave the pitch from an old-fashioned tuning fork, which was the only thing that was used at that time, to start the music. The leader would cry out in a nasal tone, "All please sound," when the pitch would be taken by the four parts led by the timist to the successful finish.