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In this particular era, the Lindsborg Messiah at Bethany was noted as "no other like it in the country!“ - Lindquist's Bethany in Kansas
"There is only one Lindsborg and I wish to have a part in this!" -- Austrian Empire born opera singer Ernestine Schumann-Heink
"There is only one Lindsborg and I wish to have a part in this!" -- Austrian Empire born opera singer Ernestine Schumann-Heink
"Messiah" Performers, Venues & Audiences, Press and Broadcasts
--19th & 20th centuries--
--19th & 20th centuries--
Messiah Auditorium
1895 - 1946
On the Bethany College Campus
Messiah Auditorium is also referred to a Ling Auditorium and Ling Gymnasium
1895 - 1946
On the Bethany College Campus
Messiah Auditorium is also referred to a Ling Auditorium and Ling Gymnasium
World Renown National & International Performers at Lindsborg's Bethany College
"in their day"
~ a sampling ~
Source: Emory Lindquist's 1975 Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college
"in their day"
~ a sampling ~
Source: Emory Lindquist's 1975 Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college
Italian Eloise Vitti in 1899 from Milan first performed in the Messiah at Bethany College. This marked the beginning of international professional opera singers and instrumentalist performing at Bethany's Messiah Auditorium in the early years and later at the College's Presser Hall.
Names of these performers are organized according to their birth year with a link to their Wikipedia information:
Names of these performers are organized according to their birth year with a link to their Wikipedia information:
Lillian Nordica (December 12, 1857 – May 10, 1914)
American born opera singer, on the major stage in Europe and the US, one of the foremost dramatic sopranos of the late 19th century and early 20th century
Marcella Sembrich (February 15, 1858 – January 11, 1935)
the stage name of Prakseda Marcelina Kochańska, a Polish coloratura, having an important international singing career, chiefly at the New York Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London
Eugène Ysaÿe (July 16, 1858 – May 12, 1931)
Belgian violinist, "The King of the Violin,"composer and conductor
Ernestine Schumann-Heink (June 15, 1861 – November 17, 1936)
a German Bohemian American, operatic contralto
Stated with one of her visits, “There is only one Lindsborg and I wish to have a part in this."
Olive Fremstad (Anna Olivia Rundquist) (March 14, 1871 - April 21, 1951)
Swedish American opera diva in both ranges of mezzo-soprano and soprano
Pau Casals i Defilló (December 29, 1876 – October 22, 1973)
a Spanish, cellist and conductor
Julia Claussen (June 11, 1879 – May 1, 1941)
a Swedish mezzo-soprano made her New York City Metropolitan Opera debut in 1917
Amelita Galli-Curci (November 18, 1882 – November 26, 1963)
an Italian coloratura soprano, one of the most popular operatic singers of the early 20th century
Efrem Zimbalist, Sr. (April 21 [O.S. April 9] 1889 or 1890 – February 22, 1985)
Russian Jew, a renown American concert violinist, composer, teacher, conductor
Joseph Szigeti (September 5, 1892 – February 19, 1973)
Hungarian violinist performed regularly around the world
Maria Augusta von Trapp (January 26,1905 – March 28 1987)
the mother of the Von Trapp Family which were all singers. Their story became the Broadway musical The Sound of Music (1959) and then the 1965 film
Blanch Thebom (September 19, 1915 – March 23, 2010)
an American operatic mezzo-soprano, voice teacher, opera director; part of the first wave of American opera singers in highly successful international careers
Birgit Nilsson (May 17, 1918 – December 25, 2005)
a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano
Issac Stern (July 21,1920 – September 22, 2001)
Jewish, born in Russian, a renown American violinist and conductor
American born opera singer, on the major stage in Europe and the US, one of the foremost dramatic sopranos of the late 19th century and early 20th century
Marcella Sembrich (February 15, 1858 – January 11, 1935)
the stage name of Prakseda Marcelina Kochańska, a Polish coloratura, having an important international singing career, chiefly at the New York Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London
Eugène Ysaÿe (July 16, 1858 – May 12, 1931)
Belgian violinist, "The King of the Violin,"composer and conductor
Ernestine Schumann-Heink (June 15, 1861 – November 17, 1936)
a German Bohemian American, operatic contralto
Stated with one of her visits, “There is only one Lindsborg and I wish to have a part in this."
Olive Fremstad (Anna Olivia Rundquist) (March 14, 1871 - April 21, 1951)
Swedish American opera diva in both ranges of mezzo-soprano and soprano
Pau Casals i Defilló (December 29, 1876 – October 22, 1973)
a Spanish, cellist and conductor
Julia Claussen (June 11, 1879 – May 1, 1941)
a Swedish mezzo-soprano made her New York City Metropolitan Opera debut in 1917
Amelita Galli-Curci (November 18, 1882 – November 26, 1963)
an Italian coloratura soprano, one of the most popular operatic singers of the early 20th century
Efrem Zimbalist, Sr. (April 21 [O.S. April 9] 1889 or 1890 – February 22, 1985)
Russian Jew, a renown American concert violinist, composer, teacher, conductor
Joseph Szigeti (September 5, 1892 – February 19, 1973)
Hungarian violinist performed regularly around the world
Maria Augusta von Trapp (January 26,1905 – March 28 1987)
the mother of the Von Trapp Family which were all singers. Their story became the Broadway musical The Sound of Music (1959) and then the 1965 film
Blanch Thebom (September 19, 1915 – March 23, 2010)
an American operatic mezzo-soprano, voice teacher, opera director; part of the first wave of American opera singers in highly successful international careers
Birgit Nilsson (May 17, 1918 – December 25, 2005)
a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano
Issac Stern (July 21,1920 – September 22, 2001)
Jewish, born in Russian, a renown American violinist and conductor
Messiah Performance Venues & Audiences
"in their day"
~ a sampling ~
Source: A. John Pearson Bethany College Publications Editor, former Bethany College archivist, Lindsborg News Record: "Renditions of Handel’s Messiah outside Lindsborg"
"in their day"
~ a sampling ~
Source: A. John Pearson Bethany College Publications Editor, former Bethany College archivist, Lindsborg News Record: "Renditions of Handel’s Messiah outside Lindsborg"
May 13, 1918 -- Conductor Hagbard Brase
Camp Funston (west of Junction City, KS), 4,000 seats in the All Kansas Building for soldiers of the 89th Division. Bethany Oratorio Chorus traveled by Union Pacific Railroad filling 11 coaches
Camp Funston (west of Junction City, KS), 4,000 seats in the All Kansas Building for soldiers of the 89th Division. Bethany Oratorio Chorus traveled by Union Pacific Railroad filling 11 coaches
Camp Funston
Fort Riley, Kansas
Source: Emory Lindquist's 1975 Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college, pages 167-169
Fort Riley, Kansas
Source: Emory Lindquist's 1975 Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college, pages 167-169
"World War I was a grim reality, but "Messiah" concerts on May 13, 1918, provided an emotional uplift for soldiers of the 89th Division and others who both heard and performed that day at Camp Funston."
PHOTO and TEXT from Lindquist's book, page 160
PHOTO and TEXT from Lindquist's book, page 160
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Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
February 8-9, 1922 -- Conductor Hagbard Brase
Oklahoma City Coliseum to an audience of 15,000
The program referred to this as “the greatest Musical Event in the History of Oklahoma.”
Sponsored by Oklahoma State Teachers Association
Oklahoma City Coliseum to an audience of 15,000
The program referred to this as “the greatest Musical Event in the History of Oklahoma.”
Sponsored by Oklahoma State Teachers Association
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Kansas City, Missouri
Source: Emory Lindquist's 1975 Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college, pages 167-169
Kansas City, Missouri
Source: Emory Lindquist's 1975 Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college, pages 167-169
"The Messiah was presented by the Bethany Oratorio Society in Kansas City, Missouri, as shown here for December 13 and 14, 1930."
PHOTO and TEXT from Lindquist's book, page 161
PHOTO and TEXT from Lindquist's book, page 161
November 18-19, 1922 -- Conductor Hagbard Brase
Kansas City, Missouri for the opening of the new American Royal Building for the American Royal Stock
Welcomed by the governors of Kansas and Missouri
14 Pullmans transported the Bethany Oratorio chorus of 600 and the orchestra of 70 there
December 14-15, 1929 -- Conductor Hagbard Brase
Kansas City, Missouri
Two concerts in Convention Hall sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce Attractions Committee, with profits going to Presser Hall, the new home of the “Messiah Chorus."
Saturday night’s attendance was 4,747, Sunday, 9,036, the largest crowd ever to hear the Bethany Oratorio Society
December 13-14, 1930 -- Conductor Hagbard Brase
Kansas City Missouri more than 9,000 attend, with $5,000 received going to the Presser Hall Fund,
Sponsored by the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce
November Sunday, 1945 -- Conductor Hagbard Brase
Kansas City Missouri
The Bethany Oratorio Society joined the Kansas City Philharmonic Orchestra in the Municipal Auditorium observing the Salvation Army’s 80th anniversary with an audience of 12,000.
The program also included General Evangeline Booth, daughter of Army’s founder, General Geroge C. Marshall. A message from President Harry Truman was read, parts of program were broadcasted by WDAF radio.
A special 10 coach train took the chorus to Kansas City on Sunday morning while en route 6 pastors conducted church services
Kansas City, Missouri
Source: Emory Lindquist's 1975 Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college, pages 167-169
"In 1945 the Oratorio Society returned to Kansas City to perform at a Salvation Army anniversary program."
PHOTO and TEXT from Lindquist's book, page 161:
Source: Emory Lindquist's 1975 Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college, pages 167-169
"In 1945 the Oratorio Society returned to Kansas City to perform at a Salvation Army anniversary program."
PHOTO and TEXT from Lindquist's book, page 161:
-
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Special Performances
- Dr. Elmer Copley, Conductor -
Lindsborg, Kansas
April 17, 1976
for
HM Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden
April 19, 1981
for
Bethany College Centenial Celebration
* * *
Special Performances
- Dr. Elmer Copley, Conductor -
Lindsborg, Kansas
April 17, 1976
for
HM Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden
April 19, 1981
for
Bethany College Centenial Celebration
Kansas City, Missouri
April 17, 1988
Sponsored by the Metropolitan Lutheran Ministry of Kansas City, a consortium unit of Lutheran Social Service
for the Oratorio Society of 400-voice chorus and 65-member orchestra to perform
at the 12,000 capacity Municipal Auditorium
April 17, 1988
Sponsored by the Metropolitan Lutheran Ministry of Kansas City, a consortium unit of Lutheran Social Service
for the Oratorio Society of 400-voice chorus and 65-member orchestra to perform
at the 12,000 capacity Municipal Auditorium
* * *
Special Performance
- Dr. Joel Panciera, Conductor -
New York, New York
April 7, 1997
Carnegie Hall
This performance would be a "new first" performance, yet if would be "the last" performance of such importance
of the 20th Century
Special Performance
- Dr. Joel Panciera, Conductor -
New York, New York
April 7, 1997
Carnegie Hall
This performance would be a "new first" performance, yet if would be "the last" performance of such importance
of the 20th Century
Source: Bethany Magazine, Spring 1997: Dr. Panciera with Messiah Chorus and Orchestra taken in 1996
Bethany College Presser Hall Holy Week performance
- photographs of Carnegie Hall below from Bing.org, years unknown -
salina_journal_-__sunday_april_13_1997.pdf
Download File
Download File
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Lindsborg, Kansas
21st Century
-- Live Streaming --
a new and wonderful chapter for the "Messiah" performances has begun with the
October 18, 2020 debut
conductor
Mark Lucas
presiding
Lindsborg, Kansas
21st Century
-- Live Streaming --
a new and wonderful chapter for the "Messiah" performances has begun with the
October 18, 2020 debut
conductor
Mark Lucas
presiding
With severe modifications due to the Covid-19 pandemic,
Conductor Mark Lucas and Bethany College "Messiah" performers did a marvelous job
~ The Lindsborg Bethany College Oratorio Society has yet to missed a year of performing the Messiah ~
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Press
"in their day"
~ a sampling ~
Source: Emory Lindquist's 1975 Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college, pages 167-169
The Press
"in their day"
~ a sampling ~
Source: Emory Lindquist's 1975 Bethany in Kansas, the history of a college, pages 167-169
Ladies Home Journal (the "first time" the Messiah Festival received national news media attention)
The April 1900 issue, page 15, by Charles M. Harger
- from Lindquist's book, page 167
Because of its surroundings, and uplifting by its earnest methods and teaching, the Easter performance of “The Messiah” by the Swedish colony at Lindsborg, in Central Kansas, is each spring one of the interesting events of the West. A musical festival that out on the comparatively sparsely settled prairies can bring together ten thousand people during Holy Week, many of them coming two hundred miles, must be excellent indeed. The growth of the audiences in this instance, year after year, indicates a thorough appreciation of a worthier rendering of Handel’s great oratorio.
The Swedes are a singing people, and the religious sentiment is strong in their hearts. The one cherished day for this colony of perhaps three thousand (3,000) families is Easter, and the chief glory thereof is “The Messiah.” The Lindsborg settlement dates back to 1869, when the Rev. Olof Olson led from Sweden the first comers and founded the colony on the unbroken prairies. The settlers toiled, and prospered, and saved. They were homesick for the scenes of childhood, but learned to love their new home. Amid the struggle against drought and storm they sang their folksongs of cheer.
… The concert engages the very best of the talent of the college, but it is not the event for which the auditors long.
That comes in the evening. The crisp, frosty air outside and the early darkness make the octagonal auditorium ablaze with the light, most alluring, and its four thousand seats are quickly filled. Over the gathering broods a tenderness appropriate to the memories of the occasion, its influence being manifest in hushed tones, as if this were indeed a service of the heart. Easter is not here, but its forerunner has shed abroad a spirit of consecration.
Before the audience is the chorus—tier on tier of men and maidens, nearly four hundred of them. Bunting and banners transform the stern outlines of the great stage. The men are in black; the maids in pink and white, the costumes making vivid contrast. Whole sections are in a flutter of light; others are somber and still. The central figure of all, occupying the place of honor, is the powerful organ, and supporting it the orchestra of forty (40) pieces. When the time arrives for the opening Doctor Swensson steps forward and in a few words tells the story of the first Easter—the prelude of the music that is to come.
A tremor passes over the ranks of the singers; they are rising to their feet. The orchestra breaks the stillness.
Washington Star, April 5, 1953
- from Lindquist's book, page 168
A musical saga, that has no equal in this or any other country, reaches its annual climax Easter Sunday in the performance of Handel’s Messiah. In the small Midwestern town of Lindsborg, Kansas, Handel’s great oratorio will be given today for the 197th time. For nearly three-quarters of a century it has been the inspiration of the daily life of the inhabitants. The story is one of the most thrilling in American history and in the annals of music. For the performance of the Messiah not only testifies to the cultural ideals of this community, but records the preservation until the present, of qualities of mind and spirit that inflamed the pioneers whose contribution to the greatness of this country was directed by God.
Reader’s Digest
- from Lindquist's book, page 168
in a feature article, “Oberammergau of the Plains,” in April, 1944, pointed out that the “Messiah” festival is called by critics ”the finest of its kind in the world.”
New York Times
- from Lindquist's book, page 168
Howard W. Turtle, in 1939 wrote: “When Brase begins his stern beat for one of the great choruses of the Messiah, he draws from the chorus a body of tone that is truly magnificent in its splendor. It is an expression in song from voices schooled to near perfection through years of training. But it is more than that. In Lindsborg, the Messiah is religion—as much a part of the Swedish peoples worship as the church services which they attend every Sunday. It is an outpouring of the story they believe—the voice of John the Baptist crying in the wilderness, the birth of Jesus, His ministry, His crucifixion, and the triumphant resurrection with its resounding ‘Hallelujah.’”
Chicago Tribune
- from Lindquist's book, page 167
In 1913 the music critic described the Lindsborg “Messiah” tradition in an article that was often quoted:
“It is not surprising, therefore, that this chorus attains a tone of surprising unity, and that in all matters of rhythmical and intervallic precision it is unsurpassed. The quality of the tone is beautiful. In all massive efforts it is of overwhelming sonority. Sopranos are remarkable for the purity, the flexibility, and smoothness of the tone produced and the confident ease with which they approach trying altitudes of pitch. The contraltos share the delicious sympathy of tone quality common to most American choruses. Tenors achieve brightness and aggressiveness, and the basses are splendidly sonorous...
The Messiah has been sung by many persons the world over, but it is doubtful if the choruses were ever better sung than when these trained voices, rehearsed for a year, burst forth in divine harmony. They sing it with the scriptural works in their hearts. It is a praise anthem to the God who had prospered them and kept them together.”
Salina Journal, Salina, Kansas
"Messiah Chorus WOWS New York"
April 13, 1997
Read PDF File for story
| salina_journal_-__sunday_april_13_1997.pdf |
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The Radio Broadcasts
"in their day"
~ a sampling ~
Sources: A.John Pearson Bethany College Publications Editor and Messiah Bethany College Oratorio conductor professor Dr. Elmer Copley writings
The Radio Broadcasts
"in their day"
~ a sampling ~
Sources: A.John Pearson Bethany College Publications Editor and Messiah Bethany College Oratorio conductor professor Dr. Elmer Copley writings
1939: National Broadcasting Company (NBC) broadcast Messiah performance selections throughout the nations
1945: The Office of War Information broadcast the Messiah to troops overseas
1949: Voice of America broadcast the Messiah abroad
1945: The Office of War Information broadcast the Messiah to troops overseas
1949: Voice of America broadcast the Messiah abroad
- Through the years National Radio continued these broadcasts as well as NBC periodically.
- Today, at times, the Messiah have been shown on television. It is always broadcast by radio.
- Presser Hall -
since March 29, 1929 for the
Messiah Performances
Source: In Memoriam**Dr. Ernst F. Pihlblad, 1943
- Prince Wilhelm of Sweden and President Ernst Pihlblad at groundbreaking ceremony for Presser Hall in 1927 -
Source: In Memoriam**Dr. Ernst F. Pihlblad, 1943
For "Messiah" Auditorium go HERE.
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~ restoring lost local histories ~
reconnecting past to present
* * *
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