Music and Some Highly Musical PeopleTrotter, James M.
History
Music and Some Highly Musical People
Trotter, James M.
African American musicians -- Biography; African Americans -- Music
"On Monday, Parodi in all her splendor, sustained by Patti
and Strakosch, sang at Corinthian Hall to half a house. Last
night Miss Greenfield sang at the same place to a crowded
house of the respectable, cultivated, and fashionable people
of the city. Jenny Lind has never drawn a better house, as
to character, than that which listened with evident
satisfaction to this unheralded and almost unknown African
nightingale. Curiosity did something for her, but not all.
She has merit, very great merit; and with cultivation
(instruction) she will rank among the very first vocalists
of the age. She has a voice of great sweetness and power,
with a wider range from the lowest to the highest notes than
we have ever listened to: flexibility is not wanting, and
her control of it is beyond example for a new and untaught
vocalist. Her performance was received with marked
approbation and applause from those who knew what to
applaud."
Another city paper says,--
"Much has been said and written of this personage since she
was introduced to the public as a musical prodigy. All sorts
of surmises and conjectures have been indulged in respecting
the claim put forth of her merit; and generally the
impression seemed to prevail, that the novelty of 'color'
and idle curiosity accounted more for the excitement raised
than her musical powers. Well, she has visited our place,
and given our citizens an opportunity of judging for
themselves. We are ignorant of music, and unqualified to
criticise. But a large audience was in attendance at
Ringueberg Hall last evening: among those present were our
musical amateurs; and we heard but one expression in regard
to the new vocalist, and that was wonder and astonishment at
the extraordinary power and compass of her voice; and the
ease with which she passed from the highest to the lowest
notes seemed without an effort. Her first notes of 'Where
are now the hopes?' startled the whole audience; and the
interchange of glances, succeeded by thunders of applause at
the end of the first verse, showed that her success was
complete. She was loudly encored, and in response sang the
baritone, 'When stars are in the quiet sky,' which took down
the whole house.
"We have neither time nor space to follow her through her
different pieces. Suffice it to say, that there never was a
concert given in this town which appeared to give more
general satisfaction; and every person we met on leaving
the hall expressed their entire approbation of her
performance. No higher compliment could be paid to the
'Swan' than the enthusiastic applause which successfully
greeted her appearance, and the encore which followed her
several pieces.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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