GLEE CLUB WINS INTERCOLLEGIATE CONTEST

The first and second Intercollegiate Glee Club Contest held in 1914 and 1915 were won by Harvard and Dartmouth respectively. On these occasions only four clubs competed, singing different selections so that the competitive feature was largely lacking. Since 1916 a "prize song" has been used, sung by each club and forming a competitive basis for judgment. In the contests of 1916, won by Princeton, and 1917, 1921, and 1922, the three latter won by Harvard, from seven to ten clubs competed. This contest was so broad that the winning club might easily claim the championship of the East. In February, 1923, a Western championship was held for the first time in Chicago, including" twelve clubs. In this, the University of Wisconsin was the winner and was invited to compete in the New York contest on March 3. At this time the same "prize song" was used as in Chicago the preceding month. Thus the victory won by the Dartmouth Glee Club in 1923 conferred what might be called a national championship in a broader sense than was possible in any preceding case. The "prize song" was "The Hunter's Farewell" by Mendelssohn. The Dartmouth Club also sang "Ma Little Banjo" by Dichmont, and"Men of Dartmouth" by Wellman. In the competition twenty-eight men comprised the Dartmouth contingent under the leadership of John D. Booth '23 with Donald E. Cobleigh '23 as accompanist and Sherman M. Clough '23 as manager. Much of the credit for the victory, belongs to Professor Leonard B. McWhood, the director, who gave unsparingly of his time and energy in the training of the club.

During the visit to New York twelve selected members of the club made phonograph records of "Men of Dartmouth", "The Dartmouth Song", "The Dartmouth Medley", and "Eleazar Wheelock". The proceeds from the sale of these records will be applied to the Morrill Allan Gallagher Fund.

The contest was held in Carnegie Hall in New York, the judges being Walter Damrosch, Madam Marcella Sembrich, and Henry E. Krehbiel. The second place was awarded to Princeton and the third to Yale.

The following review of the concert by Mr. F. D. Perkins, appearing in the New YorkTribune of March 4 will be of especial interest :

Dartmouth won the seventh Intercollegiate Glee Club contest held yesterday evening at Carnegie Hall, with Princeton a close second and Yale almost an equally close third. The Harvard Glee Club, last year's winner, had no place among the leaders in what proved to be an exciting competition, though the closeness of the race was not known to the audience at large.

The judges, Mme. Marcella Sembrich, H. E. Krehbiel, musical critic of the Tribune, and Walter Damrosch, conductor of the New York Symphony Orchestra, working with their eyes shut to the identity of the contestants, but their ears open, awarded Dartmouth 269 points, Princeton 265 and Yale 260, the system of points taking into consideration the various qualities making for excellence of choral singing, tone, ensemble, diction, interpretation, etc. This showed more evenness than last year, when Harvard had a considerable lead over the second, Yale. The general level of performance showed a high standard, while one of the notable points in Dartmouth's performance was its consistency. Its tone was good, likewise its diction, its ensemble unified and its interpretation of the Prize, Song commendable from the standpoint of tempo and phrasing.

There were ten colleges in the competition this time. Eleven had been the number originally entered, increased by the winner of last month's Middle Western contest in Chicago, the University of Wisconsin. But an influenza epidemic kept Cornell out, while New York University retired on account of the death of their musical leader, Professor W. L. Wright, leaving Dartmouth, Yale, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State, Columbia, Harvard, Amherst, Wesleyan and the University of Wisconsin. Each glee club entered the stage from the left and, when their turn was over, marched off to line up along the right wall of the auditorium, under the flag-bedecked boxes, until the aisle was filled with young men sporting insignia of various colors across their shirt fronts. To remount the stage the various clubs completed the circle and re-entered the stage from the left, the contest, with this wheel-like motion, being conducted with perfect smoothness. At least, there was no visible hitch. Meanwhile college colors adorned the horseshoe of the boxes while the hall was filled with an eager audience of friends and relatives — it was not the Carnegie Hall atmosphere of a Philharmonic concert, for instance. There were cheers for everybody, more of course, for those colleges with most supporters, such as Columbia, Harvard, Yale and Princeton, with a special burst for the men from Wisconsin — while the approval of Dartmouth's victory was loud and long.

Each club appeared three times. The first group was "light songs," individually chosen, of many types, gay, lively or sentimental, mostly of present-day composition, though Harvard went back to the old English, with Morley's "Fire, Fire My Heart". Then came the prize song, Mendelssohn's "Hunter's Farewell", a number with plenty of chances for effects and contrasts of tone and expression. Ten performances of one number might be monotonous, but there was a copious variety of tempo, of expression, and methods of performance. Some used a piano, others sang unaccompanied, some had a conductor standing in front and leading in the usual way, while others were content with one of their number nodding his head. Dartmouth had a wellconceived Mendelssohnian spirit, with a tempo not too fast. Columbia, Harvard and Pennsylvania also adopted a slower tempo, while others were inclined to hit up the pace. There was also a variety of pronunciation, especially between "forrest" and "fawrest". The Harvard Glee Club, it seemed, had a rich, smooth tone, but marred by a certain thickness of utterance and alteration of some vowels—"well" seemed almost turned into "wall".

College songs followed, some of the "alma mater" type, and others reminiscent of the football field. Then, while the judges deliberated, the University Glee Club sang two numbers, with J. B. Wells, tenor, as soloist. Then Mr. Pickernell, the president of the Intercollegiate Musical Corporation and organizer of the contests, expressed regret for the absentees, and pointed out the spread of the idea to which the receipts of this contest were devoted.

Then Mr. Damrosch rose and paid tribute to his colleagues, and one to himself as a conductor than whom no better could be found — on the Pennsylvania Railroad. He commented while praising the generally high standard of performance in all regards; on various features — the apparent shortage of tenors, which might be explained by the fact that college men had brains, and the tendency to hurry the lingering Mendelssohn farewell to the forest—as if they were glad to get out of it. He also suggested regularity of methods in use of pianos and conducting, and finally broke the suspense, awarded the palm to Dartmouth, to the apparent delight of most present. Then all the clubs joined the University Glee Club in the old Dutch "Prayer" of Thanksgiving, (and at least Dartmouth was thankful) and "The StarSpangled Banner" an impressive mass of sound.

The final standing of the ten universities were announced as follows:

1. Dartmouth ........................... 269 2. Princeton ........................... 265 3. Yale ................................ 260 4. University of Pennsylvania .......... 248 5. Wesleyan ............................ 246 6. Wisconsin ........................... 244 7. Amherst ............................. 243 8. Columbia ............................ 240 9. Harvard ............................. 239 10. Penn State ......................... 231

Winners in the Intercollegiate Glee Club Contest