CHAPTER 05. (Part 2) BJL: ESTABLISHED MUSICAL FORCE: 1891-1901. SC(G) WC. TOPICS: APOLLO TWENTY-THIRD SEASON, 1893-1894-LANG AS HANDEL AND HAYDN CONDUCTOR. (P2)

The club’s 140th. concert was given on January 17, 1894 with the singer Miss Marguerite Hall, taking the place of Miss Currie Duke, the violinist who was ill. Mr. Bassett was the pianist and Mr. A. J. Fairbanks the organist. Among the choral pieces the To My Turtle Dove by Henschel “won a hearty encore, and is in the clever composer’s best vein.” (Advertiser, Louis C. Elson, undated review) “Dudley Buck’s King Olaf’s Christmas was the most ambitious work of the evening. The accompaniment of piano and cabinet organ was very effective, and the uniting of these two instruments should be more frequently made by composers in America; it is a familiar combination in France.” (Ibid) The Transcript found the Buck not “successful, but it [the choir] cannot be blamed for not putting into the composition what the composer could not supply-dramatic force and color…The audience was large and appreciative, and evidently had a sweet tooth in matters musical.” (Transcript, unsigned and undated review). Among the choral pieces the To My Turtle Dove by Henschel “won a hearty encore, and is in the clever composer’s best vein.” (Advertiser, Louis C. Elson, undated review) “Dudley Buck’s King Olaf’s Christmas was the most ambitious work of the evening. The accompaniment of piano and cabinet organ was very effective, and the uniting of these two instruments should be more frequently made by composers in America; it is a familiar combination in France.” (Ibid) The Transcript found the Buck not “successful, but it [the choir] cannot be blamed for not putting into the composition what the composer could not supply-dramatic force and color…The audience was large and appreciative, and evidently had a sweet tooth in matters musical.” (Transcript, unsigned and undated review) The encore, and is in the clever composer’s best vein.” (Advertiser, Louis C. Elson, undated review) “Dudley Buck’s King Olaf’s Christmas was the most ambitious work of the evening. The accompaniment of piano and cabinet organ was very effective, and the uniting of these two instruments should be more frequently made by composers in America; it is a familiar combination in France.” (Ibid) The Transcript found the Buck not “successful, but it [the choir] cannot be blamed for not putting into the composition what the composer could not supply-dramatic force and color…The audience was large and appreciative, and evidently had a sweet tooth in matters musical.” (Transcript, unsigned and undated review) Hale was complimentary about five of the choir’s pieces, but he had a number of negative comments concerning Buck’s King Olaf’s Christmas. These comments included balance problems between the piano and organ, poor attacks, “and in the 10th. verse the true pitch seemed an unknown quantity.” (Ibid) Photo from Wikipedia, accessed February 15, 2019.

Isabella Stewart Gardner by John Singer Sargent, 1888.

This portrait was first displayed at the St. Botolph Club, but her husband, John Gardner found it so offensive that it had it removed. It now hangs in Fenway Court, but she did not allow it to be shown to the public until after her death. From this painting it is obvious that Mrs. Gardner was the “possessor of a slender, curvy body,” and while the Boston women in the mid-1860s were still wearing hoops, she was wearing the latest fashions from Paris. When one gentleman remarked, “Pray, who undressed you?” she was able to drop the name of a most famous Paris designer of the day with her reply: “Worth, didn’t he do it well.?” (Vigderman, 37 and 38) AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS. Lang was one of the founding members of the American Guild of Organists whose first President was Gerrit Smith; his wife had organized in New York City a recital of Margaret’s songs. Other prominent Boston AGO members were Arthur Foote, John K. Paine. Horatio Parker, George Whiting and Dudley Buck who was named Honorary President during the period 1896-99. (Orr, 85) HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY: LANG AS CONDUCTOR. “Best concert in its history.” After having been the organist for the Handel and Haydn Society for thirty-five seasons, Lang succeeded Carl Zerrahn as conductor for the two years 1895-1897, but this was a period when the group was at a low ebb and torn with dissensions. However, he conducted the “best concert in its history” with the Elijah performance. (Secretary notes)[February 1897] During the season before he became conductor, Lang had the chance to conduct the Feb. 3, 1895 concert of Handel’s Israel In Egypt as Zerrahn had had an accident. With no rehearsal, Lang conducted a brilliant performance. President Browne’s annual address included these words of praise: ”Mr. Lang conducted. He had no time for rehearsal with the chorus, but he held them so firmly and conducted with so much coolness and intelligence that it was a notably good performance.”(History-Vol. II, 47) Secretary Stone wrote: “Under such circumstances, Mr. Lang was the center of interest, and covered himself with glory. He held command of the situation throughout. His depiction of ‘There was not one feeble person’ was sublime: an amazing revelation of the possibilities of the passage. The chorus worked hard. Its performance was somewhat uneven, but always powerful and vital. The reserve power which was flung into the final chorus carried it out with a sweep and rush that was new in the story of the Society…It was voted that the cordial thanks of the Society should be extended to Mr. Lang for his invaluable services, generously rendered without charge, in conducting the performance of Israel in Egypt.” (History-1911, 46 and 47) The critical response was very favorable: the Globe critic was very complimentary. Secretary Stone noted: “A most interesting event of the evening was the appearance of Myron W. Whitney, father and son. Mr. Whitney senior seemed restored to his old greatness, and the son showed himself a youth of noble promise.” (History-1911, 47) Louis Elson wrote: “Probably no audience has ever before heard ‘The Lord is a man of war’ given by father and son, and the result was something that both might be proud of.” (Ibid) Lang had also conducted the Society almost twenty years before. At its April 12, 1876 concert at the Music Hall he had conducted Mendelssohn’s Hymn of Praise (their 12th. performance of the work) and the Rossini Stabat Mater (their 20th. performance). J. K. Paine had been the organist. (BPL Lang Prog., Vol. 2) Perhaps Zerrahn needed a rest or had an engagement with another group, as he had conducted the Society in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion on Palm Sunday, April 9, 1876, just four days before!

                                                                                                                                                       Handel and Haydn Scrapbook. BPL.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         At the June 25, 1895 meeting of the Board, President Browne read a letter from Carl Zerrahn saying ”that I will withdraw at any time from the candidacy of the conductorship.”(History, Vol II, 54) The year before: ”The opposition was so great that Mr. Zerrahn was not as usual elected at the early meetings of the board of 1894 and not until Sept. 10, 1894, when he was elected conducted at a salary of $1,000 and Mr. Lang organist at a salary of $300.” (History-Vol. II, 55) Therefore it probably was not a surprise when the June 25, 1895 meeting decided to accept Zerrahn’s withdrawal as a candidate for conductor. At the same meeting, B. J. Lang was elected as conductor at a salary of $1,000 by a vote of nine yeas and three nays. The Anti-Lang Board Members were really more Pro-Zerrahn in that they felt that he “had not gone out altogether of his own will, and the unwillingness of the directors to say anything about it did not tend to settle the trouble.” (Advertiser (June 9, 1896): 1, News Arc)  The Board Members were not alone; 100 people attended the meeting. “Mr. Copeland led the attack.” He wanted to know details about the content of the letter. President Browne replied that members should trust the actions of the Board. Reporters were then asked to leave the room and President Browne told the story of the origin of “the letter.” Zerrahn had written it ten years before and given it to Browne with the instruction to use it when appropriate. After about 5 years, Browne began to notice that Zerrahn was gradually losing his hearing. Browne had been told this by a physician, and Browne “tried to tell him that it would be best if he retired now, but the words would not come…The remembrance of 40 years of service in the society arose and he had not the heart to speak.” (Advertiser (June 6, 1896): 1, News Arc) Browne had thought that Zerrahn would retire at the end of his 40th. year with the choir, but he did not. That was when Browne finally summoned up courage to make this suggestion and the letter was written.” Zerrahn wrote: “I tender my resignation now or at any time in the future that you care to accept it.” (Ibid) Browne read all the correspondence involved, and then Vice-President Hagar “rehearsed the whole matter.” Secretary Stone “spoke to the same effect.” The six Anti-Lang members, headed by Boynton had visited Zerrahn and told him that the Directors’ action was not supported by much of the membership. He gave them the impression that he hadn’t actually resigned. President Browne’s reply was that “Dr. Zerrahn’s letters were on file.” Then two new directors were elected and the meeting ended. But “not, however without assurance from both sides that the warfare is over. But of that there is reasonable doubt.” (Ibid)

President Browne later wrote that ”With his (Zerrahn’s) retirement came, for the first time in forty years, the necessity of choosing a conductor, but hardly a question as to who it should be. The excellent musician who has been our organist for thirty-six years, and had, as conductor of the Cecilia and Apollo clubs during a quarter of a century, abundantly shown his high capacity in that regard, was, of course, the choice of the board…It might have been expected that a feeling of unfamiliarity because of the change in conductorship would operate to the disadvantage of the chorus singing, but nothing of the kind was shown. There was no falling off in attendance or interest at rehearsals or concerts, Mr. Lang’s devotion to his work has been above praise, as have his skill and success in instruction, so that in some very important respects the chorus improved during the year.” (History-Vol. II, 63) Thus after the success of his conducting debut with this group and his long connection as organist, Lang began leading the major choral group of Boston. Tara described Lang’s era: “Lang nursed back to health a Handel and Haydn Society that was almost moribund.” (Tara, Foote, 41)

The repertoire for Lang’s first season included two performances of Messiah in December (the 92nd. and 93rd. time the group had sung this work). One writer said of the first concert: ”As Conductor Lang walked up to the platform warmly applauded by the immense audience that completely filled Music Hall, one could not feel that it was a case of ‘Le Roi est mort; Vive le Roi”; for there in the foremost row sat Carl Zerrahn in the audience. As he watched the every motion of the man who now conducts his beloved Society, many an eye grew moist at the deep suggestion of the picture.” (Bradbury, History-Vol. II, 57) It is ironic that he would have to begin his conductorship with this work as ”Mr. Lang regarded the singing of Messiah by the Handel and Haydn on Christmas week so many consecutive years as having really no fitness for that season. He viewed as the most fitting music for that season the Christmas Oratorio by John [sic] Sebastian Bach. Bach, he considered the greatest name in Protestant church music.” (Transcript, April 5, 1909)                                                                                                                                       The Herald noticed “many innovations in regard to the time in which the choruses were taken…for a more rapid pace was adopted.” This worked well in some cases but the “more flowery passages could not be sung clearly and steadily by so large a body of singers, and the effect was confused and muddy.” However, one of the most difficult, “‘For Unto Us a Child Is Born,’ was finely sung, with strong emphasis, admirable color and impressive spirit,” and nothing said about the roulades! “Mr. Lang was evidently suffering from nervousness, for he did not always hold his forces together, and there were many moments when he was at odds with both the singers and orchestra.” (Herald (December 23, 1895): 5, GB)                                       Philip Hale in the Journal also noted the faster tempi: “Certain choruses were taken at a faster pace than has been the custom, and the majority of these choruses gained thereby.” However, those with roulades “were for the most part indistinct and without accent.” To Hale, the choir didn’t sound any different than it had under Zerrahn. The orchestra played poorly, and Hale wrote: “This was not the fault of the orchestra; it was the fault of Mr. Lang, who is apt to bury his head in the score, forgetting that even the most experienced player is often anxious for a cue.” (Journal (December 23, 1895): 5, GB)  The Post review of the Sunday performance called Lang a “sterling conductor” who was well established [in] his ability to conduct so large a body of singers, “and the end result was that “it was a long time since so spirited and intense a performance of  The Messiah has been given.” (Post (December 23, 2895): 8, News Archive). The choir was well balanced and each section was praised. Two choruses were highlighted-“Surely he hath borne our griefs” and the “Hallelujah”  were “rendered in grand style, being sung with much strength and precision and in tune.” (Ibid)  The Globe review included comments on both Sunday and Monday performances calling the Monday concert “a great deal more satisfactory,” but the reviewer found the general lack of volume of such a large chorus “decidedly disappointing.” (Globe (December 24, 24, 1895): 3, News Archive) The choir did seem to be more alert on Monday. “For unto us a child is born” was sung “in a manner to arouse deserved enthusiasm.” It was a high point of the night. “The attack was good, exclamations were splendidly given, and there was a spontaneity in the work of the chorus throughout.” “Glory to God,” “Sure he hath borne our griefs” and the “Hallelujah” chorus “won deserved recognition.”(Ibid)  No mention was made of the conductor.                                                                                                                            Charles W. Stone, the Secretary of the Society would enter into the Minutes his own comments of each performance. Of this first Messiah he wrote: “The chorus work was more uneven than usual. It showed far greater merits and also some demerits. There was immense improvement in delicacy and in expression, but the great choruses were given with less power than usual. ‘For Unto Us a Child is Born’ was the especial success of the evening. Mr. Lang modified the tempo somewhat in several numbers. In the ‘Pastoral Symphony’ in particular, the local traditions were disregarded, the tempo was much quickened and the wood was kept playing throughout.” Stone then reviewed the soloists giving the two women only passing marks, but the tenor Mr. Johnson sang “with glorious voice, fine expression and musicianly style. He won golden opinions even from the Boston critics…The orchestra played a little better than usual.” (Bradbury, Ibid) A was a total of 368 singers and an orchestra of 54. There was a loss for Sunday night of $27.22 and a profit for Monday night of $575.15. Even though this was Lang’s first appearance with the group, sales were poor and every singer was given a ticket free in order to help paper the house. Some of the critics said that that was a full house on Sunday night. Bradbury wondered: “Were these critics there?” The Verdi Requiem was performed on Feb. 2, 1896 (for the fifth time) to mixed criticism. On Good Friday, April 3, 1896 Bach’ St. Matthew Passion was presented (for the thirteenth time), also to mixed critical response and a very poor house which led the Society’s Secretary Charles W. Stone to predict the ”doom” of this work as an annual feature in the Society’s programming. Only two days later, on Easter Sunday, Haydn’s Creation was given (the sixty-sixth time since 1819) to a full house that produced a profit of $1,282.80. The soloists were well received, the chorus performed well, and Lang was lauded by the critics. The choir numbered 381 and the orchestra 69. (Bradbury, History, Vol. 2, 58) On Good Friday, April 3, 1896 the choir sang its 13th. performance of Bach’s “Passion Music with a chorus of 323, an orchestra of 61 and the usual boy choir.” (Bradbury, History, Vol. 2, 60) Ticket sales were very poor, and although the Society’s Secretary wrote that the “choral performance was superb, finer than ever before in the work,” (Bradbury, 60) this marked the last performance of the work. A week later [!] the Society gave their 66th. performance of Haydn’s Creation. “The chorus numbered 354 and the orchestra 55. The house at this concert was full [ as opposed to the Bach performance] and not papered, for the receipts were $3,762.42 and the direct profit of $1,282.80. (Bradbury, 61) One of the soloists canceled at just a few hours’ notice, but Mrs. Henschel stepped in, singing, as Secretary Stone reported, “very well, evading the high notes and hard places in the highest style of the art.” (Ibid) “In almost every number the chorus executed its task in a manner to do credit to itself and to the training of Mr. B. J. Lang (Louis C. Elson), and “the chorus sang splendidly with vim, accuracy, sharpness of attack, and all due shading (Transcript-probably Apthorp).” (Ibid) The profit from this concert helped to reduce the loss for the year of $1,416.15. (Bradbury, 66) The Annual Meeting held on May 25, 1896 was described as ”stormy.” It was demanded that the correspondence between President Browne and Carl Zerrahn be read to the full meeting. The Journal had multiple headlines for its story: “A CONTEST OVER B. J. LANG; Handel and Haydn Society Have a Contest; What the Conductor Has to Say on the Subject; Secretary Stone talks Freely of the Affair”. Lang was asked by the Journal reporter what he knew about this situation, and Lang replied that he was just the conductor and not a member of the society. He did not attend meetings and so knew nothing of the affairs of the choir. The reporter brought up the deficit of c. $1,000 for Lang’s first season, but Secretary Stone replied: “There have been very few seasons for 12 or 15 years when we have paid expenses out of the season’s receipts.” concerning the Annual meeting Lang mentioned: “What happened, by the way, doesn’t concern me particularly. In the course of the day I have met perhaps 40 or 50 friends and pupils. Not one of them said anything to me about the incidents of last night’s meeting.” (Journal (May 27, 1896): 7, GB) Philip Hale of the Journal did some investigative journalism. First he went to Lang’s teaching studio on Tremont Street for reaction to “the attempt to oust him from the conductorship of the Handel and Haydn Society at its annual Meeting.” (Journal (May 27, 1896): 7, News Arc) Lang read the article and replied: “This news to me.” As an employee he had not been invited to the meeting. He also said that he knew nothing of the finances. “I was engaged to conduct the society’s series of concerts last season. I did what I was engaged to do-nothing more.” Next Hale went to the home of the Secretary C. W. Stone on Chestnut Street and asked if the Society was concerned about the deficit of $1,200 for Lang’s first season. Stone’s reply was: “That is the normal state of things. There have been very few seasons for 13 or 15 years when we paid expenses out of the season’s receipts.” (Ibid)  Stone reminded everyone that the Society elects the Board and the Board makes the decisions-there had been some talk of “Why doesn’t the Society [singers] select the conductor.” The meeting was continued until June 8. Two days later the Worcester Daily Spy reported: “The war in the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston is nominally ended, and Mr. Lang will continue as conductor. Two more directors favorable to him were elected by the Society, Monday night, so that the board stands 9 to 2 in his favor…There are hints, however, that the suspension of hostilities against Mr. Lang is merely a truce and not an established peace.” (Worcester Daily Spy (June 10, 1896): 4, GB) The actual vote was Nine in favor, Four against. At a final meeting on July 1, Lang was elected conductor for the next season. The program was to be Messiah in December, Elijah in February, and Horatio Parker’s Hora Novissima in April. Philip Hale announced to his Journal readers: “Gentlemen of the Handel and Haydn, now lay aside all strife and unseemly bickering and consecrate yourselves to the arduous labors of nest season. It is rumored-and we see no reason for disbelieving the report-that you will produce on or about Christmas a new work, which has excited considerable attention in Europe. We believe the oratorio is entitled The Messiah. Gird up your loins and buckle yourselves bravely to the taste. Look your conductor straight in the face, and sing “Wonderful! Counselor!” (Journal (June 10, 1896): 10, News Arc.) For the December 20 and 21, 1896 concerts Lang was unable to conduct because of pneumonia. “From an attack of congestion of the lungs, he was confined to his home by the imperative order of his physician.” (Herald (December 21, 1896): 5, GB) Without rehearsal, George W. Chadwick conducted the Messiahs. “It may be said, however, that there were no serious hitches, and that, all things considered, he acquitted himself with much credit.” (Ibid) “It will suffice to say of the chorus work that it was steady and generally praiseworthy. To criticize it more closely would not be kindly.” (Ibid) For the Sunday performance, there was a chorus of 346 and an orchestra of 54; for Monday’s concert, the numbers were 304 and 54. (Bradbury, History, Vol. 2, 68) The February 7, 1897 Elijah performance was the 50th. for the Society and every seat in the hall was filled. The Society first sang the work on February 13, 1848, just nine months after its premiere in England. “So great was its success that it was performed on the next eight Sunday nights.” (Bradbury, Op. cit., 69) This 50th. performance was called a “triumph” for Lang, and even Philip Hale said ”It is only just to say that the performance as a whole deserves hearty praise.” (Ibid) The Globe gave more details. The second paragraph began: “The only notable novelty about the performance was the appearance of the distinguished boy soprano, Henry Donlan, in the part of the youth.” (Globe (February 8, 1897): 5) Before this date, this part had always been sung by a soprano. The ease with which he sang the high A at the end of his section was noted. However, another critic noted that he “lapsed from correct intonation,” and that instead of singing in “a simple childish manner,” he had been coached to produce a ” maturity of feeling quite out of keeping with his age, and that deprived his efforts of anything resembling sincerity.” (Herald (February 8, 1897): 4, GB) However, “Master Donlan received an ovation such is seldom seen anywhere. At intermission, when he left the stage, the audience arose and shouted for him.” (Worcester Daily Spy (February 8, 1897): 3. GB) Another highlight of the performance was the singing of the Welshman Ffrangeon Davies, in the part of Elijah. He received “most generous applause” for his main aria, but also he was applauded for his recitatives, “the entire performance coming to a pause, while conductor Lang, resting his arm upon his music stand, waited for quiet to be restored.” (Ibid) Of the choir: “Mr. Lang has made distinct improvements in his handling of the chorus. He has better control and leads with more confidence. The work of the great body of singers was unusually good. There was precision of attack and exact unanimity of action without which the effect of the work of a chorus is sadly marred. The balance was fairly good, though a little more volume of sound from the alto section would not have been amiss. The shading of tone volume was beautifully done, the chorus responding as accurately and surely to the conductor’s command as an organ does to the drawing of its stops.” (Ibid) The Worcester paper reported that this concert had been “one of the best in the history of the Handel and Haydn Society.” Lang had brought about “excellent dynamic effects of light and shade in both chorus and orchestra, good attacks and improved pronunciation” was evident, “while the orchestra was held well in hand and made more than usually effective in the solo accompaniments.” The young boy soloist “Master Donlan received an ovation such is seldom seen anywhere. At the intermission, when he left the stage, the audience arose and shouted for him.” (Worcester Spy (February 8, 1897): 3, GB) The Society’s Secretary wrote: “This was pronounced by the friends of the society the best concert of its history. It was a day of triumph for Mr. Lang…The chorus sang with amazing ease, grace, flexibility, responsiveness and power. its work was a revelation. [!] Immense enthusiasm attended the performance, and even the hostile critics [see Hale above] had not the temerity to deny it.” (Secretary notes, 261) But yet he was not hired for the next season! The choir numbered 334 and the orchestra 55. (Bradbury, History, Vol. 2, 69) The Bach Passion was not presented this season. The Easter Sunday, April 18th. performance included Lang leading Mendelssohn’s Overture to St. Paul and Hear My Prayer together with J. C. D. Parker conducting his own Redemption Hymn and Horatio Parker conducting his own Hora Novissima. The high point of the performance was to have been the first Boston appearance of the English soprano, Miss Ella Russell, but “her rendering of the solos in Hear My Prayer was heavy and lacking ” in style, color, freedom and warmth of sentiment while the speed was so slow that “grace of phrasing were quite out of the question.” (Herald (April 19, 1897): 8, GB) Her major solo in Hora Novissima, “O Bona Patria” was marred by “the unimpassioned manner in which she interpreted it.” (Ibid).  The Redemption Hymn was “again listened to with pleasure and interest.” (Ibid) End of comment. The work of the chorus was “praiseworthy in every way…It has done nothing better than its firm and solid rendering of the difficult a capella chorus.” [In Hora Novissima] (Ibid) The orchestra played well, especially under Horatio Parker, and “the concert may be confidently pronounced the most commendable of the society’s season.” (Ibid) The choir numbered 329 and the orchestra 59. (Bradbury, History, Vol. 2, 70) At the Annual Meeting of the Handel and Haydn Society on May 24, 1897 nine of the thirteen board members elected were seen as ”Anti-Lang men”. This board then elected Zerrahn conductor again, and, disregarding precedent, created an executive committee that did not include the Vice-President and Secretary. It also removed from the President the duties of appointing the voice committee and superintendents. The result was that the four major officers of the Society resigned. In a story dated June 23, 1897 in the Boston Record the various officers were quoted. Ledbetter summarizes the story-  “The four principal officers of the Society were older men, while new members of the board in 1897 were younger. Nonetheless, these younger fellows preferred Zerrahn to Lang, feeling that his personal magnetism and familiar ways of conducting were more healthful than the stricter discipline immediately imposed by Lang. Lang was at a disadvantage with the orchestra and had difficulty in holding all forces together in concerts. The younger men felt that the older Zerrahn had not outlived his usefulness and wanted him back again.” (Johnson,  Hallelujah Amen, 167, 168) The four officers were: President: Eugene Hagar, Vice-President: Gen. F. Daniel and Secretary: Charles W. Stone with Treasurer M. Grant Daniel resigning later. (Journal (June 23, 1897): no page number, GB) These men “had long been valued officers of the society.” (Ibid) When Lang was questioned about this, he pointed out that he was not at this business meeting: “I am a musician. I have nothing to do with the business of the society…I understand that some gentlemen who are termed ‘anti-Lang’ were put into power…But I don’t know. Mr. Stone [Secretary of the Society] knows, I daresay. He lives on Mt. Vernon Street.” (Journal (May 25, 1897: 6. GB) The Journal was Boston’s more sensational paper of its time, and so Lang’s comments generated this headline: “MR. LANG AT SEA. He Doesn’t Know What Happened at the Handel and Haydn Society Meeting or What It Means.” (Ibid) “This unfortunate situation explains why Elson refers to Lang as a musical ”admirable Crichton,” after the sixteenth-century Scottish scholar who was attacked one night by a party of armed and masked men. Crichton recognized one of them as his pupil and offered him his sword, and this young prince of Gonzaga immediately ran him through with it. Lang must have felt acutely the betrayal of the young Boston musicians.” (Fox, Papers,  11) “The conflict rocked the town, and the Press gave the Society its most complete coverage to date. The Record showed a large drawing of the decrepit Zerrahn leading an orchestra of bald-headed men while disgruntled officers with large portfolios headed toward the Exit sign, above which, in a coffin, rested B. J. Lang on the shelf. The title was Why Do the Heathen Rage? Letters of a most confidential nature were gleefully printed in full in the Journal, and officers, behaving like primadonnas were interviewed… There was even hidden treasure! A rumor ran widespread that a wealthy man in another city intended to contribute about $150,000 to an organization that would use it effectively and that he had communicated with B. J. Lang. Mr. Lang talked it over with the President and Secretary of the Society, Mr. Hagar and Mr. Stone, giving the implication that the long-desired building might become a reality. This had the air of being a bid for the conductorship of Mr. Lang…Charges and countercharges upset the musical boat as the newspapers used the words ”row,” ”fight,” ”factions,” ”strife,” ”clash,” in protesting that both sides held Mr. Zerrahn in affection but that the dissenters felt that he had lost his ”vital fluid,” and they preferred Lang in perfect health at sixty years of age… The final meeting of September 29, 1897 proved to be quite tame, for the Lang forces withdrew, Zerrahn was ‘vindicated,’ and an unconvincing attempt made to gloss things over.” (Johnson, Hallelujah, 169 and 170) Zerrahn’s “Loss of vital fluid” some felt was due to having lost his wife the previous year, “and [he] naturally showed less vigor and strength for a time thereafter.” (Advertiser (May 26, 1897): 8, GB)  

Herald (September 17, 1897): 1, GB). On the front page!

This September meeting elected officers for the coming year, but no one would stand for the post of President. E. P. Boynton, [lower left] “who has been all along the leader of the Zerrahn contingent” was elected Vice President…It has been freely hinted outside the meetings that those who are running the society at present would like to get for the new president such a man as either Col. H. L. Higginson or Richard H. Dana, and the failure to elect last night is construed as giving a semblance of probability to the story.” (Globe (September 30, 1897): 8) At the previous Annual Meeting on May 24, 1897, the four primary officers were reelected but the eight Directors and the Librarian were all “Anti-Lang Men.” As soon as they were elected, they passed a number of rule changes so that “the President was to be merely a figure-head, and the Vice-President not even as much as this…In consequence of this action Messrs. Hagar [President], Daniels [Vice-President], Stone [Secretary], and Daniell [Treasurer] resigned.” (History II, 78) In an interview of June 23, the Vice-President, Mr. G. F. Daniels said: “Mr. lang has brought the work of the society to a degree of excellence which it never before attained and this is solely due to the superiority of his methods. The very thoroness [sic] of these methods, however, made them more difficult for the members of the society, and consequently, they turn for relief to the easier and more magnetic methods of Mr. Zerrahn.”  (Op. cit., 79) At the September 16, 1897 “Special Meeting” the four letters of resignation were read out and Mr. Simmons moved for acceptance. But before this, the long-time former President of the choir, Mr. A. Parker Browne, moved that this new board resign. The vote was Yeas 56 and Nays 57. By just one vote history was changed. After the vote, “Mr. Browne, followed by a large number of the Lang faction, left their seats in the hall.” (Op. cit., 92) Between the May 24th. and September 29th. meetings various other candidates for conductor were mentioned. One longtime member suggested, “young Mr. Chadwick ” who had conducted a few times last year and was considered “first-rate…I think he would do more to bring up the society than any other man.” (Advertiser, Op. cit.) Other suggestions were Emil Mollenhauer and Horatio Parker. Mollenhauer was trained as a violinist and he began his career in New York City at the age of 9. He moved to Boston and joined the BSO in 1884. In 1889 he resigned and became the concertmaster of the newly formed Boston Festival Orchestra, and after three years, he then became the conductor for the following 22 years; c. 1892-c. 1914. After Lang’s two years with the Handel and Haydn Society and a following one final year with Zerrahn, Mollenhauer became the Society’s conductor “which he reorganized and revitalized after a period of musical decline. He took over the directorship of the Apollo Club after Lang’s retirement in 1901, and [much like Zerrahn] also led choral societies in Brookline, Lynn, Salem and Newburyport.” (Ledbetter entry in Vol. 3. The New Grove Dictionary of American Music, 255-256) The Herald wrote on September 19, 1897 an article based on many articles published previously. “The published reports of the meeting in Bumstead Hall one evening last week indicated an intensity of feeling on the part of the vanquished [Lang’s men] that fell little short of indiscretion, to say nothing of oblivion to the dictates of becoming dignity. Nothing lasts forever, even the supreme control of an organization by a faction or a clique.” (Herald (September 19, 1897): 29, GB) The article then wished that all the energy generated by bickering had been instead directed to discussing how the choir could be returned to a place of major influence in the musical life of Boston, as it had ” ceased to be a prominent factor in musical progress here.” (Ibid) The ending sentence hoped that the incoming faction would be “inspired by like zeal for the welfare of the society.” (Ibid) Philip Hale made his position known in the first issue of the Musical Record. “What is to be said about the Handel and Haydn row?-for row it is; row is the proper word…It is a pitiable sight, this spectacle of members of the venerable society squabbling, calling each other names, sulking, eager to fall into the hands of interviewers. Much might be forgiven if either Mr. Zerrahn or Mr. Lang were admirably qualified for the position. There are younger and far better-equipped men living in Boston, whose claims are not now considered. (Musical Record, October 1897, 2) Hale had made the point of how old both men were. Zerrahn’s return lasted only one year, and after a May 2, 1898 “testimonial concert of Elijah-the work he had first led for the Handel and Haydn on December 3, 1854-combining these three choruses [H and H, Worcester Chorus, and the Salem Chorus] with similar groups from Lynn, Lowell, New Bedford, Hyde Park, Chelsea, Quincey, Waltham, a vast throng of 1700 voices with soloists headed by Johanna Gadski, the great Wagnerian prima donna” Zerrahn retired to Germany. However he spent only five years there, and then “returned to Milton, Massachusetts, where he enjoyed eleven years (1909) of comfortable retirement at the home of his son.” (Ibid, 171) Thus Zerrahn and Lang died in the same year. While Lang was the conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society he had greater prestige among Boston Social Circles. The “Social Life” section of the Herald reported on the list of those who had already signed up as subscribers or patrons of the Castle Square Theatre, “that beautiful playhouse with the best people.” (Herald (September 27, 1896): 27, GB) He was the first on the list: “Mr. B. J. Lang, director of the Handel and Haydn and Cecilia Societies.”  Others listed were Mrs. W. B. Sewall of Commonwealth Avenue, Mrs. Skinner of Marlboro Street, Mrs. E. J. Andrews of Beacon Street, etc. The Langs now moved in very elevated circles. >>> Part: 1   2   3  4