The Press.
London, England, 1853-12-17 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

" Deism,- and that he knew it ; but, if he wore
at all obnoxious to the charge of Atheism:.
a certain William Warburton, who delighted
in lacerating the literary ancestors of Mr
James Urant., would never have published au
elaborate commentary on the Essay on Mau."
We do not ourselves approve the theology of
Pope, but for reasons not hinted at by our
author. But we must now proceed to con-
clude with an original and practical sugges-
tion which Mr. Grant gives to all travellers on
the Continent. After recording that hi. travels
cost him rather less than a guinea each day,
he winds up his volumes with the following
passage :
There is no item in the bill of au Englishman whirl
startles him more thau that which he nods annexed to the
word " boogie," which is the Freneli for wax candle. A
&nue is the charge for n " boogie,- although the party
may not have used its light for tome than ten or fifteen
minutes. This is a monstrous extortion, and I never
email undendand why it is made in countries where every.
thing else is chant's' nt so moderate a rate. nut of one
of these " boogies " hotelkeepmw will sometimes make
five or six shillings, each rally using it nut hating, nu an
average, burnt it more than twenty mottoes. In order to
escape so glaring on overcharge, moue ',cisme: do not ask
fiir any " boogie " alleles-Ith to light them to lied. I
knew one professional gentleman. from Southampton,
with whom we travelled a considerable part of our journey,
who resolutely refused to pay for any " bliarca" at
Ile enentetieally insisted that the item shoo ,t tai struck
out of his bill. And by threatening to expose the extol.•
fitment demand in the English newspapers he invariably
succeeded. And here I may mention, by way of parenthe-
sis, that all the lending continental llntelkeepern stand ju
KIVU( awe of the English grew, bemuse they know that were
they, 1114 the Speaker I.l.the House tit Conitutios would hay,
"maned" in a [moduli journal, in eiranection with an)-
thing unfavourable, their establishments would sutler
greatly trout the circumstance.
Itllt 11/4 sonic of my readers would nut, if !training 1.11
the. Continent, like the ides of going totted without a light.
and )ci, would nut have the COlirligt.ho CUllitelit OW its-au in
their Lille, as my Soullauuptiin companion (hit, 1 will
throw out a suggestion fur their benefit. I would advise
them to take half a dozen or a dozen wax candles with
them, according to the length of • they mean to lie
away. I shall suppose two pcnaras
in it six weeks' journey the sum they would have to pay rot
" boogies," at the rate of a franc each per night, would be
shout four po Is. Now, unless when they Pitt op late, a
dozen candles, costing them a few shillings. would last
them during the whole of their journey. A tin sir wooden
ease WOlllll friable' tiallifita to catty a fcw wax otialks with
them with t difficulty. Every we feels it necessary to
take Reap with them: why net candles also ?

It was right to finish there the "Records of
a nun." Who emtld go further than this? Mr.
tirant has omitted, however, to tell us whether
we should carry our candlesticks and snuffers.
But possibly he reserves that information for
his " second edition " of a work which will in
nowise detract from the character gained by
its •" thirty " predecessors.

Convereatioms ott the Choral Serrii.e. Being an
Examination of Popular Prejudices against
Church Music. London : T. Harrison.

Sinyk and Donlde (lariat?. Composed for the
1'•Ko of the Choral Service of Westminster
Abbey. fly James Turk, Organist, and
Master of the Choristers. London► : .1. A.
Nor•clln.

Tin: author tells us that the object of
these conversations is to eonfront the current
prejudices against church music, with the
arguments for it. We very much doubt
whether at the present moment any such
prejudices exist : certainly for st time. 1% hen
the vagaries of ultra High Church clergymen
were the continual subject of public discus-
sion, objections to the choral mode of cele-
brating divine service were frequently taken
and intemperately urged ; but, now that at-
tempts to force unwilling congregations are
comparatively rare. persons of observation
will agree with us that in places of worship
where choral music is decently performed
it is popular with all classes, and that
there is no small significance in the nu-
merous and increasing congregations which
are to be found attending not only the
Sunday but even the daily services in cathe-
dral and collegiate churches throughout the
country. This work emanating from •"the
Parish Choir," we must not be surprised to
find it tinged with the views that periodical
was wont to advocate. Strange as it may
appear, ultra High Churchmen. to whom
choral service ought to look fur protection, are,

785

in fact, its greatest enemies. The published
opinions of the Ecelesiologieal Society ipassing
over the ravings of its " honorary secretary in
Waist Cal show the same 11111OUUt of
pedantry, ignorance, And folly upon the sub.
Ject of church music as with reference to tho
sister arts of arehitecture, painting, and sculp-
ture : in eommon with the followers of the
late Mr. Pugin, they advocate oyez', species
of medievalism : the close imitation of Burnish
ceremonies. and the restoration of the prac-
fives that prevailed in the period of their idola-
try, is apparently their object ; and they would
gladly sacrifice the noble English choral ser-
vice, the groundwork of which was laid by Tanis.
and the superstructure raised by the Ninth of
those ablts English church WillsichtllN Who have
never been wanting from the tune oldie WWr.
matiois to 11w ill'esCht. fOr the sake of gl'u
tCtoille 11111104 which have neither nevoid,
melody, nor meaning, and prefaces, hymns,
and responses which resemble more the at•
tempts of a drunken Mall to snagitprohlllo
melody than musie dedicated to the highest
and holiest. purposes. Though our author
evidently leans to medievalism. there is melt
in his work which we highly approve. The
general arguments in fav,,ur of choral service
in cathedrals aro well put, find w e agree w ith
him that at the coronation of queen
Victoria the whole devotional effect of the
litany was destroyed by being read instead of
Lein; rhouttni by two bishops. Not satiatied,
however, with proving that ehoral men ire is
proper in eatheilrals and eollegiate churches,
the author goes on to say :--

We flint in cxistetive t moil,. or erkbentilig thn
English must ill most parish churches ; thu
other Cathedi iota collegian, elottelo a. 111 Ike Una
the rem ice is rend in the common colloquial tons or Tuico
111114 in common life ; in the oilier it is Hing. . .....
I hold that the choral is the legiiinudc aunt peetvet haste
of celebrating (brine merrier ; Mnd that the other is hitt PI
014.111. in throligh CiIiVIOAI4II•I4K,
INiVOrty, oY loss of correct principles.

•
We beg to exprcsn our unqualified dissent
from thin proposition. Choral nervii e dorm
not possess nowt! ardent A4lialivers or more will-
ling advocates than ourselves ; but to hold
that the ordinary Anglican paroellial service
him crept in through poverty, carelesmneas,
and lone of correct prineiples, in an absurd tin
it 18 untrue. No religious denomination is
without it n unmusical service (e. g., the low
mass and the read mass atuongst the litanntt-
ibtsl ; tad 101'01101.1y so, beetnike, in all coins
tries. the proportion of persona to whom musie
is not all incentive to devotion is very greet.
In thin country, too, the muss of ilie people
prefer to have the Pollee read : and who can
say that they are wrong l'herc Are timer
when It e munt have KII felt that music in out
of plaee in 41111. devotion, RIM that the unas-
sisted human voice best expresses the cum •
Lions of our beaks. Again, whatever our
medieval friends nifty say to the contrary, it fl
affirm thnt no clergyman eon chant evil and
devotionally unless lie has had a good musical
eiltteation, or is born with all ittlitillially eniTeet.
ear. Bail reading (of wide)) there is miltappily
no lack in these days) is deplorable enough,
but bad chanting is intolerable. (hie reason
why the chanting of lloniinh priests in 50 re.
lotlsive iv beeatise every one in holy loillt.r6,
whether eompetent or not, is eempello4l to
Omni Would our congregation" like to havo
the nasal twang of Popery transferred to the
Anglienn ritual ? We think not.

We differ from the author's view that it is
p_OFthible IA) !MVO eilOrtil 11141.1Viei. in all eliiirelies.
He Nays :

There net4lbe uo diiii ttlty wltateviu• in the thing. What
is wanted for R service whirl; is meant to nnite the voices
Of the whole population is ronsie whieh shall too sot alusplo
that every person who has any ear and any mire at all ran
sing it ; wed whitit la. the 1•1111111 t 111 % rbuirls, ao
that, let a Mall go to chinch %allure he ma). In wort
With the *mine tioi.ie, joi.t as Ile (1, e, snit ilio• same
liturgy. 'I his is just the tonsie which was provided at the
Reformat' in l'rittitner'a litany and in the Eefuruit r Mar.
brek's " 'onitnott l'rajer Noted," anal which bast bet n
cheaply published iu " The Parish &lair." '1 hose simple
and most touching musical phrases fur the respon.es and
litany, the noble old elituldi t 4.111.11 the 'Marna, and a
spore*imply nietriral psalm nut hymn nines. smnlll
unfbee. They might 1w honrnt by ear, and Nona loy the
whole population all over the land. I would nutlet take to
tewelt the whole of it m floret days to any tsunibet of
eliddren, an any pansh iu

Two objeCtiotim kill hutli,•e to explutle this
theory. First, the author applies Itis obserru•

tions to those persons who have any ear and
any mire. We should like to know what
is to become of those who have no ear
and no voice. Secondly, this plan involves
the adoption of the old nomish canto
frrnso and Gregorian tones, Jimmie so Mt-
meaning and unintelligible that even the most
aneemplished 1111Uhleill1114 are unable to master
its difficulties : how, then, can it be performed
by the unedueated poor? We will cite two
other passages to show what gentlemen in
their senses will sometimes write :
The enrolee of our parish tells DIV that the CI Mgr...
gatitmal singing lu e‘ter heard iu his lit was ill a elitireh
in Normandy, at %espeno, where the proesauts rimmed
their psalms, resisonosem, WIN, in a way thist. oe,be
nicked him, and would astounds our dumb Anglo•Sasoon
elongreptio

1 never unroll( loam Nn gINNI 1'0140V:41d if Mill Singing 11%
in the .hutch of St ..I aviine‘ at I nip... Both at 1114,0414 W
e.sperts all till• 411111111 W Col,gn•ostlutl, nowt of fiselll !HMV,
i Handing 14111111a111111.0 of ii/41INI linen and isvie.ants in their
fantastic coattail's., sang out untllt glorion,ly. They hang
rerponose, by , entitiele, anthem, and (Tees], 1.1'1.1') •
thing its roust ; in tines• tool tome, and out ut thaw nod tone,
through noose and throng!' tla ; they sang ids seronr
isanieneut and without ; even w leant the organ was play i lug
a t•ulunta►?•, swine of thew helped with, minging. I nowt
heartily wr.lsed that our people would Isle II 1110.4)11,

We trust that our people may never take
such a lesson, or that appalling discords and
hideous nasal sounds may be deemed good
congregatismal singing. To any of our readers
yvho have ever heard two/m.(4.m0 in France,
accompanied with an opheeleide or a
double bass, comment would be superfluous :
those who have not may gather the result
from the author's account of the tansies'
powers of the fishwives of Dieppe. In our
opinion eongregne 1 singing ought to leave
an agreeable impression on the nand
should quit the church really believing that
we and those around us have been actually
ociuyiity the praises of (ital. The music, there-
to e, should be simple, intelligible, full of
nu•aning and expression, so that it can lie
easily caught and retained by the ear. It
follows, therefore, that the Gregiitiout tones
which are so much advocated by the ultra
High Church party are most oluectionable.
Not to speak of their want of melody and mu-
sical eadenee. their metre is so irregular and
ditlieult that it is literally impossible to use
them for the psalms without utter annihilation
of sense and aceent. Mr. Winton., it would
seem, iM aware of this, fir in his" Psalter Noted "
Ire has in the most unscrupulous manner al
temd the melody of the tones whenever it
suited his purpose. His system, then, call
neither be termed 1 iregorian, • lob opted
unless every person in the church is provided
with a marked book. In spite, too, of all this
patching. the " Psalter Noted " is full of hope-
less diffieultieS, and violates sense. metre,
emphasis. and all the fundamental rules
of music as much as its most ardent opponent
could desire. The truth is, that the Gregorian
tunes ought to be conveyed to oblivion with
other defunct practices of Popery. Tullis,
Tarrant, and all the abler early church musi-
cians felt this, and themforti established a
new system of chanting which has survived to
its. and which may speedily be acquired by
any person of the most ordinary musical caps
city. The double chant, too, like the anti-
phonal cathedral services, is the offspring of
the Anglican ritual, and ought always to
be preferred in eliturches which possess 11
double choir. The discussion upon m•hich we
entered meals to our recollection Ntr. Turiic'h
little volume. The chants it contains are, ill
our opinion. and me may add in that of many
of the most eminent church 11111bielitlIS of the
day, the best that have emanated from the pen
of any individual
ill Modern times. The
author is well known as the able organist
of Westminster Abbey, 111111 in the compo-
sition of theme chants he hits shown so
much originality that it is a matter of regret
he does not oftener employ himself ill writing
for the service of the Church. In this collec-
tion we find chants of every style, some suited
only to cathedral or collegiate choirs. others
within the reach of country congregations.
Perhaps the best chant is No. I a chant always
used at the annual commemoration of Pur-
cell in Westminster Abbey. No. 10. It. and
19 are perfect models of the grave elturch style.
No. 19, as a specimen of a ehangeable chant.
and No. lt4, as one of a more modern style, are