T MICHIGAN DAILY -J 'U VA MAY 19, 20, 21, 22,19 FOUR DAYS - - SIX CONCERTS of the Festival. FRDERICK STOCK, Condctor of the Chicago Symphonly Orchestra. MAY FESTIVAL AVDIENCE CONCERTS THE MAY FESTIVAL ?iihg, May 19, S P. 1. ete Ober, Contralto ralto, Metropolitan Company. Whitehill, tone, Metropolitan Company ty Choral Union 'mphony Orchestra y, Frederick Stock, luctors Ring, May 20, 8 P. 1W. e"-Wolf-Ferrari >prano, Metro- ompany Soprano larrison. e WhoI Choral Union stia 3r 2 .3 s, Contralto. onductor Xy 21, 8 P. 31. mncert nack, Tenor a Continents" y Orchestra onductor May 22, 2:30 The May Festival has come to be as inevitable an accompaniment -of that lovely month as the old-fashioned mu- sical conventions and religious reviv-' als in New England seventy-five years ago, and the analogies do not differ when we remember that the conven- tions are looked upon as a sort of mu- sical town meeting, although the Fes- tival is a gathering of rather mam- moth proportions. An article in the "Outlook" two years ago, referring to the May Fes- tival that year, was rather facetious in referring to the fact that the farm- ers hitched up their lumber wagons, drawn either by horses or oxen, and came to the Festival in much the same way that they used to go to the Circus. It is necessary to say that the article was contributed by a very effete East- erner, whose outlook must have been rather limited, for, as a matter of fact, the audience is metropolitan both in size and character. On coming out from one of the Evening Concerts, one could very well fancy himself in a large city, judging from the number! of autos and street cars in w iting, Naturally, when we realize that this is the twenty-second year of the Fes- tival, the question arises as to the rea- son for its continued success, when it is known that of all the festivals in existence at the time of Ann Arbor's first festival, all but two have perished by the way. Judging from the sale of tickets and the enthusiasm aroused there is 'no indication of Ann Arbor's festival dying from inanition. The policy of the Festival Manage- ment has always been to present' works of great musical interest and significance, and in the performance to spare neither pains nor expense to give such works adequate presenta tion. That involves not alone the preparation of the chorus for this arduous function, but also the engage- ment of an absolutely first-class con- cert orchestra and soloists of emin- ence. A comparison of the programs offered and the artists iircluded in our list for past years will prove conclu- sively that no festival in the country affords greater attractions. This should be a matter of pride for the University, for it is known all over the country, and in other countries, as the Festival of the University of Michigan, and whatever credit accrues, becomes an asset of that institution. As the Uni- versity of Michigan is a state affair, so this festival is an affair in which the state is interested. The audience' is composed not alone of students and residents of Ann Arbor, but of groups of various cities and towns of the state, and from many surrounding states, and although the ox team and horse-power lumber wagon have not yet been in attendance, it is also fair to state that rural communities offer their full quota of attentive liseners.' This whole Fesival is an affair of which the student body should be proud, .for not only do the students compose nearly the whole chorus, but it has also been the policy of the Uni- versity Musical Society to furnish mu- sical entertainments of a metropolitan order at country prices. A glance at Hilt Auditorlium Michigan's ti reatest Musical [vent Two of the greatest Choral Work's by the Choral Union and Supplementary Children's Choral. Music by one of America's greatest Orchestras ARTISTS-A galay of musical stars such as have never before appeared at any one festival.- "THE NEW LIFE" Among the important choral works produced during the last decade, "La Vita Nuovo", which will be given at the Thursday evening Festival con- cert, ranks with the very best. It is in many respects unique, for an ordinary setting could not do justice to Dante's immortal poem. It contains many un- 3 usual vocal effects and in the orches- tra we meet many innovations, such as the use of the pianoforte as an or- chestral instrument and the employ- ment of seven kettle drums to rein- force the pizzicato of the contra- basses, not as noise producers. The soprano part really represents' Beatrice, but is secondary to the won- derful part of baritone (Dante). This year Mr. Theodore Harrison will do these difficult solos. He is particularly qualified for this roe from the fact that his vocal art is so thoroughly illus- trative of the Bel Canto that he can not only cope with the enormous tech- nical difficulties of the part, but can give the hard melodic phrases with the proper interpretation. It is evi- dent that all who listen to his per- formance will realize that in him the concert possesses an artist second to none. The part:borne by a large chorus of boys is a most interesting feature of the work and will win the hearts of all. Part II of this evening's program will be given over to miscellaneous numbers by Frieda Hempel, the dis- tinguished coloratura soprano of the Metropolitan Opera Company, who, through a combination of circum- stances fortunate for Ann Arbor, has been added to the list of artists since the publication of the Official Pros- pectus. tra is eloquent and in its delineation of the strongly contrasting situation is superb. The solo parts are fortunately assigned. Miss Leonora Allen, a m'ag- nificent young a.rtist, and Miss Olive Kline, one of the foremost American concert singers, take the parts of Allys and Alain respectively. Mr. Lambert Murphy, whose wonderful work in "Caractacus," will be remembered is the Narrator. Mr. Clarence Whitehill, the greatest operatic baritone America has yet produced, sings the parts of "A Sailor" and "The Voice on High". up-risings and down-sittings caused sometimes through lack of local in- terest or the inability to secure a suit- able orchestra for the occasion. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under its matchless leader, Frederick Stock, may be termed the King of Or- chestras, and its annual itinerary changes little. It has eliminated from its list the festivals of smaller propor- tions and least stability, and each year now it starts out from Chicago with .what is known as its "festival con- tingent" of fifty men and covers the territory as regularly as spring comes round. Its itinerary this year is given below, from which it will be seen that most of these festivals, which by the way rank among the greatest, provide for two or three concerts, and in only a few cases is this number exceeded. Up to the Ann Arbor engagement but fifty men are used as stated above, but here, since the Festival has been transferred to hill Auditorium, the orchestra is augmented by twenty ad- ditional men who come down from Chicago for this particular festival. It will be noted thmat none of the festivals provide for more than five concerts and the itinerary shows but. this number for Ann Arbor, but it will. be remembered that Hill Auditorium contains what is found in none of the buildings where the other festivals are held, namely, one of the world's great- est organs, and the sixth concert here is devoted largely to an organ pro- gram, making the only festival on the list with this number of concerts and' also the only one with the exception. of the North Shore Festival, which employs an orchestra of more than fifty men. April 26, evening, Omaha, Neb. April 27, afternoon and evening. Omaha, Neb. April 28, afternoon and evening, Sioux City, Iowa. April 29, -afternoon and evening, Boone, Iowa. April 30, evening, Mt. Vernon, Iowa. May 1,-afternoon and evening, Mt. Ver- non, Iowa. May 3, evening, Aurora, Ill. May 4, afternoon and evening, Co- lumbus, Ohio. May 5, afternoon and evening, Co- lumbus, Ohio. May 6, evening, Ithaca, N. Y. May 7, evening, Ithaca, N. Y. May 8, afternoon and evening, Ithaca, N. Y. May 10, evening, Syracuse, N. Y. May 11, afternoon and evening, Syra- cuse, N. Y. May 12, afternoon and evening, Syra- cuse, N. Y. May 13, evening, Buffalo, N. Y. May 14, evening, Buffalo, N. Y. May 15, evening, Buffalo, N. Y. May 17, evening, Oberlin, Ohio. May 18, afternoon and evening, Oberlin, Ohio. May 19, evening, Ann Arbor, Mich. May 20, evening, Ann Arbor, Mich. May 21, afternoon and evening, Ann Arbor, Mich. May 22, evening, Ann Arbor, Mich. May 24, evening, Evanston, Ill. May 25,evening, Evanston, Ill. May 27, evening, Evanston, Ill May 29, afternoon and evening, Ev- anston, Ill. COURSE 'TICKETS Four Days-Six Concerts MAIN FLOOR - $5.00 and $6.00 FIRST BALCONY - $5.00 and $6.00 SECOND BALCONY - $4.00 and $5.00 SINGLE CONCERTS On Sale Al MAIN FLOOR FIRST BALCONY - SECOND BALCONY teir May 10 - - $2.00 " - $1.50 - - $1.00 Organ Concert Margaret Keyes, Contralto Festival Favorite ore Harrison, Baritone Master of Lieder" rn L. Renwick, Organist Splendid Organist" ty Evening, May 22, 8 P.M. ildren's Crusade"-Pierne Leonora Allen, Soprano Lished American Soprano race Johnson, Soprano Ann Arbor Favorite ive Kline, Soprano t-Class Festival Artist tbert Murphy, Tenor olitan Opera Company ence Whitehill, Bass olitan Opera Company niversity Choral Union al Children's Chorus ago Symphony Orchestra A. Stanley, Conductor- gram announcements are uch minor changes as may the prices charged by other fesivals will enforce the fact that the claim put forth by the University of Michi- gan that students are educated here at, much less cost than at any other in- stitution, applies to musical offerings, as well. "THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE" In a very interesting work, "The Sunny Side of a Diplomat's Life," men- tion is made of the young composers in Rome' who were under the shadow of Liszt's artistic wing. Among them special mention is made of one Gabriel Pierne, who was so very infantile in appearance and naive in character that he was called "The Baby." He had progressed at that time sufficiently to win the Grand Prix de Rome, which accounted for his presence in the "City by the Tiber." In spite of continued progress in creative times he first at- tracted the attention of the world by his "Children's Crusade" which has become the most popular work of the last decade, and which will be given at the closing Festival concert Satur- day evening. .Naturally the children's choruses of which there are three, are prominent in a setting of such a story, and this accounts very largely for its vogue. The melodies assigned them are cast in old church modes and thereby ac- quire a characteristic flavor, quite in keeping with the period in which the story occurs (13th century). But the children have more difficult tasks as- signed them than the singing of the main melodies, for much of their music is difficult. The mixed choruses are full of grandeur and are also very dif- ficult. But the real difficulties lie in the male choruses which are in some places all but impossible. The principal solo parts are a Nar- rator (Tenor), who relates the prog- ress of events, at least of such as are not taken by other soloists or the chorus. Allys and Alain (Sopranos) are two youths, Alain is blind and depends on Allys for her guidance. The work is divided into four parts: "The Foresetting", "The Highway", "The Sea", and "The Saviour in the Storm". In the third division we hear the voice from on High (Baritone), who comforts and hushes up the children, some of whom are fearful. The orches- AMERICAN FESTIVALS In recent years it has become quite the vogue for communities which felt that they were musical, to establish music festivals. This tendency has been rather encouraged also by many, struggling young orchestras in enter- prising communities as well as by the few really great orchestras, and owing to this reason and other attendant conditions, great emphasis has been given to music throughout America, and many isolated cities especially in the West now hear,. at least once a year, a certain amount of what might be termed good music. Naturally many of these enterprises have had their ORCHESTRA MAY FESTIVAL CHILDRENS' CHO