The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1884-10-28 00:00:00

THI RSV. W. AL_BARNL9 ON MUSICAL

P

It may be remembered °meliorable difficulty was
experienced at the recent dloooma festival owing to
the noueezistoom of a univerml staodnrd of musicel
Writing on the subject, the Rev. W. M.
of Monition, says :
" Those poem. who are latereeted in the advance of
the modes] art will be gist to learn that them le at length
some prospect of • nniversal standard of plats being
adopted. That Eogligh musicians should have quietly
submitted for ao long • Cm, to • chianti° sod exasperating
variety of *fah speaks well for their lons earring and
their pelisse& It has, however, lailicted great injury
as art. It has delayed the advance of musical education,
and restricted the use of the orchestra. cke an fasten°,
of the inooneenienee ceased by variety of pitch, In Min
lad the Salisbury Dlooesen Choral Adaptation held a
festival in Salisbury C ethedraL The singer. were 3.000
in number. and • military band wee engaged to sestet the
organ in the aecompaaimente. The mode wheeled for
the feetteal incinded • oftectlon from the Ifftftele, which
was effentively scored for full burl and organ, but the
organ was at Society of Arta Pitch sal the bea at Phil-
harmonic, and on trying the reeds at Vie former pitch it
was found tied some of them Geoid not reeds it, sod of
the others the registers were ail uneven: not a ecale wag
tree The reedg had, therefore, to be discarded. and
the socompsaineent re-scored for br on and arose, but
In crooking down the brags it .11. fount that the vale.
of the beguile at least were untrue. I nedentand
a similar thing occurred at • mitten festival In
St. Paul's Cathedral, the service' for which were
derma, written foe band and 0111111. bet from the
game caw* the organ part had to be omitted. If the
evil were whine I to the employment of reed and hems
band and organ together it would too a matter of Utile
import lona, for snob • combination, effective though it be,
can only be used with • eery large bon of staters ; but
Ito 'glans differeae Ns of pitch provost the employment
of ate .reheeteel band wish Me organ in our cathedrals
and chorchee, and hinder the employmeet of the orchestra
in our secular reuses! societies. If the true were aware
to what eLtent they are the I,Mbeel by the present state of
thing, sh,,, woad Nyme among tb111011•1•164 t, remedy IS,
to say nothing of the wide UN which, if the pitch were
lowered, would be made of the oectftetra in ours otheelrals
and churches, of which Profgeoor Monk, at the Church
0 heroes in DWI. slide *0 imnitiee of lugs area and great
height ere so *colleen favourable t the sleets of the
orchereVa that, a... rue ouragement of religious thought
and feeling in church, there is probably no musical
agency within our control at all comparable to it.' If
the pitch were lowered, how extended would be the
sale of orchestral instrumento in the country. A.
@Gun as the young men in Our country towns and
villages find they een bring their clariensto ant wind
instruments tithe wheel harmonium and be certain that
the pitch will accord, so that the harmonies which the
instruments don't supply cm be filled op, we shall be
able to persuide them to teke up the practice of °rebel-
tral instruments, and afford themselves much innocent
pleagare through the long winter erecting, sad delight
their friends at the village concerto ; but Intl this Ls
possible It au scarcely be wondered at that uneducated
ears should prefer the berhuous ant sonsic-courdsring
harmonies of the German concertina to the naked melody
of a reed echo's. instrument Probably no law would be
seminary in England, it in Germany, to efirwt the
cheap. The real delittquante are the couslost advisers
to the War Offlos and the makers of military bend instru-
ments If the War Offl re will lower the pitch for military
binds, the pitch of most country orctseettes. which are
greatly dependent°. the reeds of military bands, will be
towered instantly,sad the crew, piano& and harm 'alums
would follow. Variety of pitch keg arisen from the feet
that the voice are not able without much strain to sing
at Philharmonic pitch sad the makers of inetrumente
need in vocal secompaniment having no recognised
1°"" Ot"edeedi ado* the pitch which &ppm. moat
suitable to themselves. If • iOl.lll. standari suited
to rood nootomPeninteat eere ertsbliebed, the makers
of these huftrumeats would And it to their interest to
adopt it