The Press.
London, England, 1858-04-17 00:00:00

THE PRESS, APRIL 17, 1858.

tion to the keynote, and not according to its actual
pitch. This is not a new theory as regards vocal
music, nor are we disposed to object to it, but it has
nothing to do with instruments, for the reason just
mentioned. Therefore, it is said, the sign for a note
should express, not its actual pitch, but its relation
to the keynote. For simple vocal music this may do
very well, and save trouble; but what is to be done
in an elaborate composition where the keynote is
constantly changing ? The contrivances necessary
for eluding the difficulty make this new and
improved system infinitely more complicated
than the old ; while for the pianoforte and
the orchestra its very characteristic is an
absolute disadvantage. The notation may be thus
briefly explained : the eight notes of the diatonic
scale are named Doh, Ray, Me, Fah, Sob, Lab, Te,
Doh; and these syllables are shortened into d, r, m,
f, s, I, t, d'. The question of pitch is passed over
altogether, and every one of these notes is to be im-
pressed upon the mind by a certain character it is said
to possess. They are styled (l) "the strong note," (2)
" the hopeful note," (3) " the steady note," (4) " the
desolate note," " the grand note," (0) the weep-
ing note," (7) " the sensitive note." There is a certain
amount of truth in these descriptive terms, mixed
with a good deal of fancy ; bat the old names of
" tonic," " mediant," "dominant," and " leading note,"
are doubtless truer sad better. As for time and
rhythm, the old bars, crotchets, and quavers are dis
carded. Common time is called the " quarternary," or
" four-pulse measure." Each pulse is called an ali-
quot. The strong accent is marked by a long verti-
cal line (a bar in reality, though not called so) placed
before the letter which represents the note, the
weak accent by a colon similarly placed, and the
medium accent by a short line ; commas, dots, and
dashes placed after the letters supply the places of
crotches and quavers. These alterations are mere
matters of necessity ; obviously no improvements,
nor indeed put forward as such. Still, the plan is
tolerably simple, and as long as we do not meet with
any awkward modulations, we get on swimmingly
enough. But what is to be done then ? If the
change is only to the key of the dominant or sub-
dominant, Fah is to be sharpened into Fi, or Te flat•
tened into Tn, and the rest of the notes remain the
same. But if other flats and sharps are wanted, Foi
and Roi, Tow and Mow will do the business. Why,
what is this but abandoning the whole theory?
You say d and s and t have a distinct character,
and by this character you learn to sing them ;
but now that the key has changed you are calling a
note d which is not d, and what becomes of its cha-
racter then? So that the very essence of the system
is given up at sight of the first modulation, and all
this new machinery of colons and oommas' and dots
and dashes, and letters and strange words, is avail-
able only for the very simple music which is confined
to a single key. Truly, the mountains are in labour
with the old result. One of the " demonstrations "
of this society took place at Exeter-hall last Thurs-
day evening. Eight hundred pupils were collected
from various schools, and sang a number of glees and
part.songs from books printed, we suppose, in the
shorthand just described. Between the parts a
short statement was made by the Rev. J. Curwen, a
gentleman whose name has from the first been con-
nected with the movement. What the Society intended
to " demonstrate " by this gathering we are at a loss to
understand. It was not pretended that one single
piece in the programme was sung at sight ; it was
distinctly stated that three or four rehearsals of the
whole choir had been held, and that the music had
long been practised by the separate classes of which
it was composed. And yet a certain supposed
faculty of singing at sight is the only thing which
distinguishes this choir from hundreds of others
throughout the country. We know very well that a
certain power of reading music is acquired by every
one who devotes much attention to singing ; and we
know, also, that the power of reading music tho-
roughly is acquited by very few even of those who
study for this especial object. We do not
wish to undervalue the accomplishment, bat
reading at sight is not the sine qud non that
many people seem to imagine. Among a vocalist's
qualifications for public singing it is of little ac-
count ; good music requires such long and patient
study, that whether the acquisition of the mere
notes has occupied half an hour or two hours is a
matter of very little importance. Though a well-
educated singer should be able to read his music at
sight, be will never sing it perfectly till he knows it
by heart. Not being able to judge of the peculiar
pretensions of this society from the performance of
Thursday last, we can only speak of the members as
we should speak of ordinary mortals still under
bondage to staves and clefs. Mr. Curwen informed
us that they belonged principally to the middle and
lower classes of society ; and we can bear him wit-
ness that nothing so aristocratic as an H was to be
found among the whole eight hundred. They were
plain people singing to plain people ; and to say that
" the 'appy barley is 'singing down its 'sad " was
natural to the chorus so d intelligible to the audience •

371

it was the recognised dialect commonly employed by
both. Of course from a chorus so large in number and
formed of such materials no great refinement either
of voice or expression could be expected; and yet it
is in these that the charm of a glee consists. It
made one smile to bear Mr. Curwen gravely state
that the principal instructors employed by the
Society visit the classes regularly, and make it their
business to bring out the " delicate shades of
minutiae of expression " which may have been
overlooked by the subordinate teachers. The
two fairy songs, " Here in cool grot " and "Ye
spotted snakes," had a strangely grotesque effect in
such hands. It may be hard to embody Oberon and
Titania ; but no one would give the parts to Bottom
and his clowns. The music selected was for the
most pact of the simplest, character, and as long as
this was the case, the singing was, at least, steady ;
but all passages of a more difficult kind were
stumbled over rather than executed ; and of the
fate of Handel's Amen Chorus, which was most
injudiciously attempted, it will be charitable to
say nothing. But, after all, there is no occasion
to be peevish about all this. If there is a little
quackery about the society, at any rate it can do no
harm. If its members never get beyond psalm-
tunes and glees, they have done something—they
have found a never-failing source of pleasure, a
pursuit which brings them together in kindly union,
and serves to lessen the attractions of less healthy
recreations.

THE VOCAL Assocurion gave its second concert
on Friday evening at St. James's-hall. The pro-
gramme was not, as on the former occasion, selected
from the works of some one master, but entirely of
a miscellaneous character. There were the over-
tures to Egmont, Oberon, and Guillaume Tell, all
masterpieces, and all well played, the last so well as
to obtain an encore. A principal feature in the first
part was the music to Macbeth, with the entr'actes
composed by M. Benedict for the wedding perform-
ance at Her Majesty's Theatre. These entr'actes are
admirable in themselves, but sound strangely out of
character when placed in the midst of the simple old
English music so familiar to all. The allegro mar-
ziale is the best of the three, and was deservedly
applauded. There were also songs by Mme. Weiss
and Mr. Weiss, Miss Laacelles, Mr. Perren, and a
flute solo by Mr. Pratten. The concert was of a very
popular character and well attended.