the society is proud of its increased list of women composers. Scarcely a concert is given without the appearance of some women composers, and this fact speaks well for the development of musical composition in a direction hitherto not encouraged or suspected.

As may be seen by the prospectus quoted below the public concerts, now numbering four yearly, are still given by the courtesy of Messrs. Chickering & Sons in their hall; while the six monthly private meetings will hereafter be held in the attractive hall of the new Mendelssohn Club building. Three of the public concerts are given with orchestra, and one is a chamber music concert. From among its list of members the society can now choose as conductors Anton Seidl, Walter Damrosch, Emil Paur, Theodore Thomas, Rheinhold Herrman, and others.

In the early days of the society it was possible for each composer to conduct his own work. While this was often of value to the composer as an object lesson it was also of occasional value to the audience as entertainment. The vision of a well-known composer rushing into Chickering Hall on a stormy [evening, with upturned trousers, and suddenly grasping the baton before a fashionable audience was almost enough to bring smiles in spite of the dramatic beauty of his orchestral work. Nor was it less a cause for surprise and merriment when another famous composer, forgetting it was his turn to conduct, left the audience waiting a quarter of an hour while he went out to compose a new symphony. If these early days were full of pleasant associations and incidents they were not, however, devoid of unceasing labor and care on the part of those who were interested in the growth and welfare of the society. Many has been the time when failure seemed imminent; many has been the time when money had to be advanced; but through it all there shone forth the unquestioned value and future dignity of an organization which now rests secure upon its own foundations.

The critics were kindly at first, but as several seasons went by and there was not apparent the desired improvement in musical development, they criticised only actual facts, and forgot to lend encouragement to ideals. Finally they forgot to criticise at all, which was the strongest proof of their condemnation. Still the society continued to exist.

Until the Manuscript Society began its missionary work of making it possible for a prophet to receive honor in his own country, it was the great exception when an American work could be heard in public. The American composer lived in a German atmosphere, instructive to be sure, necessary, I think, but the atmosphere of the school-room, the doors of which had some day to be thrown open and the scholars given an opportunity to meet and greet the great world outside. Many of these scholars have in their turn become teachers. They now say, Let us build an institution where we may express our thoughts publicly and in our own language. This institution is the Manuscript Society. Alfred Bruneau, a composer of the younger school of French musi

cians

cians headed by César Franck, says that the American composers are at the beginning of their career, and that the school now having left its cradle must tend toward the search for national talent, local color, and characteristic ideal.

Another French critic says that American music is not yet born, but is "seeking itself." Writers in the German papers have praised the schooling and elegant thought of the American composers, but denied originality.

In ending this article I cannot do better than to quote the closing sentences from an essay by Mr. Henry E. Krehbiel:

"So far as the future is concerned, the American composer, who is following the example of his brethren of Great Britain, France, Italy, and Russia in studying German ideals, will stand an equal chance with them in the struggle for recognition; as soon as he is put upon their level in respect of encouragement at home and abroad. These things are necessary for the development of that vigorous forward man,' who, as Bagehot has contended in his discussion of the origin of literary schools, will strike out the rough notion of the style which the American people will find congenial, and which, for that reason, will find imitation. The characteristic mode of expression which will be stamped upon the music of the future American composer will be the joint creation of the American's freedom from conventional methods, and his inherited predilections and capacities. The reflective German, the mercurial Frenchman, the stolid Englishman, the warm-hearted Irishman, the impulsive Italian, the daring Russian will each contribute his factor to the sum of national taste. The folk-melodies of all nations will yield up their individual charms and disclose to the composer a hundred avenues of emotional expression which have not yet been explored. The American composer will be the truest representative of a universal art, because he will be the truest type of a citizen of the world." GERRIT SMITH.

WILLIAM C. CARL.

MR. CARL, the organist of the First Presbyterian Church, has returned from an extended tour through the West.

He did not intend this trip to be anything but a pleasure journey, and was as much surprised as any one could be when it became an artistic tournée. His farthest boundary was the Pacific Ocean; but if his New York engagements had not interfered he would have gone beyond it to Australia.

A representative of that country used his best endeavors to persuade Mr. Carl to this course, and perhaps another season will find him in the land of the gold-fields and the kangaroos.

In looking over the notices that appeared in some Western papers, commenting on his recitals, I was astonished to note the discernment and intelligence that characterized them. The most frequent observation was the mention of Mr. Carl's magnetic personality, something appreciated, but not defined.

The instant and complete silence that followed his appearance at the organ was noted as unusual, and also as a certain proof of the immediate sympathy that was established between the young organist and his eager listeners.

Such a silence fell upon the great audience when I heard Paderew. ski for the first time. I can never forget it, for it seemed to me that great and small were alike overpowered in the presence of that great genius.

In several small towns the idea of an organ recital was as novel as a bull-fight would be in New York.

To the cruder Western mind the organ filled a part of the Sunday service; but that it might be made a pleasure at any other time was not thought of, and its possibilities unknown.

Curiosity incited investigation, investigation created enthusiasm, and as a result Mr. Carl has booked many engagements for the future in these very towns, which fact tells its own story of the pleasure given and the popularity gained. In the larger towns, where the musical experience of the community was greater, the principal comment was in regard to Mr. Carl's technique. His exact phrasing was a revelation to many, and his marvellous registration received fine appreciation from those of the audience who were familiar with the organ and its almost unlimited capabilities. He was recalled again and again, and repeated many times the new sonata in C minor by

Guilmant,