by Paul R. Spitzzeri
The oratorio is a classical music composition usually comprising an orchestra, chorus and solo voices and typically involving sacred themes drawn from the Bible and among the most popular of the pieces are the two Passion ones of Johann Sebastian Bach, those “according to St. John” and “according to St. Matthew” from the 1720s and of Georg Fredrich Handel, whose The Messiah is probably the best-known of all these works.
Also quite popular in the history of oratorio performance is Elijah, which was composed by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), perhaps best known for his Wedding March. The German-born master premiered Elijah at Birmingham, England in late August 1846 with the subject being, of course, the Old Testament prophet who prophesied a terrible drought in Israel that was God’s punishment for the worship of Baal, a false God.
Among those who bowed down to Baal was Queen Jezebel and, after the dry period hit as predicted, Elijah called for the abandonment of that workshop and rain returned. Jezebel, however, secured the prophet’s exile and, as he wandered in the desert suffering from repeated trials, he was visited by angels and God and carried to heaven in a flaming chariot and the work ends with a celebration of Elijah’s return and the glory of God.
This post, a combination of the “Take It On Faith” dealing with religious subjects and “Striking a Chord” regarding regional music, features a program from the Los Angeles Oratorio Society for the performance of Elijah at the Philharmonic Auditorium on 5 February 1928. The first edition of the Society was established in 1893 when the Apollo Club, one of a handful of amateur musical organizations in the Angel City that sprung up during the Boom of the 1880s, which transformed the region in so many ways, decided to rename as the Los Angeles Oratorio Society. The first performance by the group, conducted by Frederick A. Bacon and held at the Los Angeles Theatre, was Franz Josef Haydn’s Creation and there appeared to have been at least two seasons conducted.
More performances were offered as the 19th century came to a close, under the leadership of Bacon, with one rendering of The Messiah given at Simpson Auditorium. It looks as if there were sporadic activities of the first Society before it disbanded, but, in mid-October 1914, the Los Angeles Times reported that “the name of the People’s Chorus has been changed to that of the Los Angeles Oratorio Society,” with the conductor being Frederick Brueschweiler.
Not surprisingly, the inaugural presentation at the Auditorium (also known as the Temple Auditorium and Philharmonic Auditorium in the Temple Baptist Church Building at Olive and Fifth streets across from Central Park, soon renamed Pershing Square) was of The Messiah with 250 singers from the Society joined by 50 musicians from the Lebegott Orchestra.
A major change in the operation of the Society came in spring 1918 when John Smallman (1886-1937), a native of the United Kingdom who was working professionally as a baritone vocalist in Boston before, due to the poor health of a son, he migrated to Los Angeles. He became the conductor of the Oratorio Society and formed his own a capella group, as well. With respect to the performance of Elijah that is the focus on this post, the Los Angeles Times of 1 February 1928 reported that,
With a chorus of 350 trained voices, including representatives from musical organizations and individual singers from twenty-eight cities . . . this is the second major performance of the sixteenth year in which the society has been presenting recognized musical productions, and the offering of “Elijah” is to be on the most elaborate scale yet attempted.
The soprano soloist was Alice Gentle (1878-1958), whose operatic career began when she was 30 and included work with the Manhattan Opera Company, Philadelphia Opera Company and the Metropolitan Opera as well as performances in such storied venues as Milan’s La Scala and in two Broadway productions. In the early 1930s, she appeared in a few movies and her last public singing performance was in 1940 with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera.
The contralto was Maude Darling Weaver, while the tenor was Harold Procter and the bass was Herbert Gould and the paper added that “music lovers are looking forward to the appearance” of Gould, who was widely known for his work in the title role of Elijah and “who also has achieved eminence by his work with the Chicago Vivic [Civic] and Cincinnati opera companies, and with symphony orchestras in the Middle West.” Aside from Smallman’s conducting, highlighted were Ceil Marshall as assistant conductor, organist Dr. Ray Hastings and pianist Lorna Gregg.
The Venice Vanguard of the 2nd noted that a junior oratorio society and the oratorio group within the Glendale Musical Association were among those working with the large ensemble and it remarked that Elijah “has an especial appeal for oratorio lovers everywhere and it is expected that this sumptuous presentation will mark the peak of achievement for the Los Angeles society.” Melodically, dynamically and harmonically, it was felt that the work would “offer perfect avenues for sound, yet thrilling performances.”
In a brief piece in its edition of the 4th, the Los Angeles Express commented that “under the direction of John Smallman, productive rehearsals have been held for several months so that an excellent presentation may be expected.” The following day’s Times, in addition to mentioning that the performance would mark Gould’s debut in the Angel City and that “Alice Gentle needs no introduction” and that this was her first time in Los Angeles after completing a successful season with the New Orleans Civic Opera Company, observed that musicians from the Los Angeles Philharmonic under concertmaster Julius Bierlich would provide accompaniment. It also commented,
Commencing in a small way sixteen years ago, the [second version of the] Los Angeles Oratorio Society has grown to be one of the largest organizations of its kind in the United States and has attracted the attention of music lovers throughout the nation for the quality of its concerts and largeness of its choruses.
Promotion also included photographs of Gentle, Gould and Weaver, while Smallman was featured in an advertisement from the Fitzgerald Music Company, which noted that “For the Advancement of Music” it supplied Knabe pianos, these being Smallman’s choice as he called the brand “a perfect product of American art.” The ad added “music lovers are looking forward to this brilliant event, under the able direction of Smallman, a conductor of national reputation.” A photo of him is the same reproduced on the cover of the program.
As for the program, it includes a page showing the officers, committee chairs and superintendents, and members of the advisory board, guarantors committee, associate membership committee, and student fund committee. Among the officers were vice-presidents Louis M. Cole, a packing company owner and prominent member of the Jewish community of Los Angeles; attorney and civic leader Joseph Scott, and Harry M. Haldeman, who owned a pipe and supply business and whose grandson, H.R., was President Richard Nixon’s chief of staff and who served time in prison for his role in the Watergate scandal.
Advisory Board members included the wife of University of Southern California President Rufus B. von KleinSmid; Mrs. Leland Atherton Irish, who was prominent in Angel City musical circles; the music and theater impresario Lynden E. Behymer; and Rabbi Edgar I. Magnin of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple. Among those on the Guarantors Committee were Mrs. Irish, banker and lawyer Orra E. Monnette, and Hollywood banker and developer Gilbert H. Beesemyer.
A foreword discusses Mendelssohn, the work and the lead performers, with it asserted that “Elijah is probably the most admired” of the composer’s efforts and that it was a success as it sought “to portray the very human qualities of these people in their distress, anger, supplication and rejoicing.” Gentle was referred to as a “world-famed prima donna, who is famous both in opera and concert;” Gould said to possess “a voice of rich texture, satisfying resonance and powerful timbre;” Weaver praised for “having a beautiful voice which is used in a most artistic manner;” and Procter called “one of the most dependable and satisfactory tenors in the country, with purity of tone and remarkably clear enunciation.”
A page with credits for Smallman and his assistants, Bierlich and the Philharmonic contingent, and the soloists, and also includes “Elijah in Words,” with recitatives, the overture, airs, and choruses presented. At the back are pages with the members of the Oratorio Society and its junior society, the Glendale oratorio society representatives, and the associate, patron and sustaining members of the Oratorio Society.
Also of note are advertisements, including for the Stendahl Art Galleries at the Ambassador Hotel with a featured painting of Point Lobos by Guy Rose, son of San Gabriel Valley rancher, Leonard J. Rose; the season of the Chicago Civic Opera; the upcoming Oratorio Society presentation of Bach’s “Passion of Our Lord According to St. Matthew;” the Southern California Music Company; the Frank Meline real estate company; and more.
Reviews of the performance included the “Music and Musicians” column of the Express on the 6th, which deemed it impressive under the “musical and interpretively strong leadership of John Smallman.” While solos garnered most attention, the paper feted the chorus, which sang “with splendid emphasis of mood, finely precise yet always flexible and good tone color.” Gentle was highlighted as receiving “first solo honor” as providing the requisite emotion “without depriving [her part] of dignity,” and Procter was also praised, though Weaver “was not always at ease” and Gould “did not come up to expectations vocally.”
The Times of the same day found the presentation to be “highly creditable” and added that there were “four excellent singers taking the solo parts,” who, along with the chorus, “drew a large and appreciative audience.” As with its contemporary, the paper paid special attention to the chorus, observing that it “is to be particularly congratulated,” though if more rehearsal time had been available “the result would have been even better.”
In this ensemble, the sopranos were “bright and sure,” though there were not enough of the “reliable” altos “to balance the rest,” and the tenors were “a shade too eager,” while there were also too few basses. That said, the Times felt that “the members all sing with an evident enjoyment which is contagious.” As for the orchestra, it “showed too much raggedness and hampered the solo work especially” and Gould was cited as having “a fine voice of wide range but hardly of the required dramatic power” when it came to working with the orchestra.
Gentle, however, “sang brilliantly and won the audience without reserve;” Weaver “made a great success;” and Procter “was quite in his element.” As for the conductor, Smallman “deserves so much encouragement and commendation for his achievements” and “invariably has his huge choruses under perfect control.” There were some issues with tempo, it was asserted, but “when he feels the society ready for more rapidity he will direct it so.”
Almost a decade later, just before Christmas in 1937, Smallman, who was minister of music at the First Congregational Church, was in his 19th season of presenting The Messiah and, as a soprano solo concluded and the conductor lifted his baton to lead the chorus at the end of the first half of the piece, he suddenly collapsed before a stunned audience of 3,500. Smallman was carried back to an office and died, while the rest of the performance was concluded and the audience then informed of the tragedy.
This program is a notable item in the Museum’s collection related to the world of Los Angeles music, specifically the oratorio, nearly a century ago as part of the “Striking a Chord” series of posts and serves the dual purpose of working with this blog’s “Take It On Faith” series dealing with religious subjects, as well. Agnes Temple, whose family had just finished La Casa Nueva at the Homestead at that time, was a music major at Dominican College near San Francisco and, while she was away at school during the presentation, we can assume that, had she been in the area, she might well have been interested in attending.