The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1847-04-03

seal profession, ana consequently equal 10
the performance of any music that was ever
composed. The old fashioned psalm tunes
are therefore all banished from Snatcham
church, TO the great griefof the worthy rec
tor, whose own voice is almost put out of
tune by hearing Sternhold and Hopkins sung
to the tunes of "Lovely nymph, assuage my
anguish" and such like VauXhal and Sad
ler's Wells music. The members of the
choir, too, like other political bodies have not
much peace within, unless they have war
without. Ifany attack he made upon their
privileges they stick together like swarm
of bees; but mt OTHER times, they are almost
always at logger heads one with another.
Old Martin Grub yields precarious scep-
ire, for James Gripe is nightly tenacious of
his rights, and resists, tooth and nail, the in
PRODUCTION or too frequent use ofthose tunes
which superabound with bass solos. Grubb
and GRIPPE, by way of an attempt Mt compro-
missing the matter, have latterly been in the
habit Of taking it by turns to choose the tunes:
and their alternate choice puts one very much
| in mind of the fable of the fox and the stork,
who invited one another 10 dinner, the fox
preparing flat dish, of which the stork
could not avail HIMSELF and the stork in re-
turn serving up dinner in n long necked bot
tie, too narrow to admit the foX's head. When
James Gripe chooses the tune, he flourishes
away in tenor and treble solos, leaving the
! butcher MS mute as Il fish; but when the
choice deyolyes on Martin Grubb he pays
off old scores by selection ofthosc compo-
sitons which most abound in bass solos. And
in such cases it not uhfrequently happens
that Martin, in the delighted consciousness
ola triumph over his tenor, treble, and coun-
ter tenor rival, growls and roars with such
laundering eXultation, that the gallery quiv
ers beneath him, while his son saws away ut
his violoncello as though he would cut it in
I half from very ecstacy Cornelius Pike and
| GREGORY Plush also spend as much breath az
they can spare, and perhaps little more than
they can spare conveniently, in filling the
vast cavities oftheir respective serpent and
bassoon.
All this disturbs and distresscs the feeling
olthe worthy pastor, who thinks it possible.
and feels it desirable, that public devotion
should he conducted with little less noise.
1t appears, indeed, aad no doubt the choris-
ters, one and all, think so, that Snalcham
church and SJcrnhold and Hopkins's psalms
were all made 10 show forth the marvellous
talents of the Snatcham chursters, They
think that all the people who attend there,
come merely for the music and that the pray
ers and the sermon have no other use or OBJ
ject than Just to afford the singers and other
musicians time to take breath, and to give
them an opportunity of looking over and ar
ranging their books for the next outbreak Of
! musical noise.
But the climax the denominations of the
Sna:cham choristers have yet TO record, and
| | hope that by their folies other choirs, if
there be any so absurd, will take warning
1t has been already said, that this celebrated
Snatchnm choir made it great point to OBJ
mi tt,o,,.
nation &, abSurdities which they were accus-
tomed to inilict upon the parish, under the
gulse of music; but the arrogant importantly
other solicitation was such, that they SEEM
ed to bid defiance to refusal, so that their ask
ing leave was after the fashion of the beggar
in Gil Bias, who held his musiet in the direc-
ton of the donors head. At a large town in
the county in which Snatcham is situated,
! there had been musical festival, the direct
ors of which,in order TO give ecldt to their adj
refreshments had used all manner of means to
swell the number of performers. For this
purpose they had sought every hedge aud
ditch. and highway and byway in the county,
to pick no every individual who had the
slightest pletension whatever to musical tai
ent. In such a search, of course the Snatch
am choir could not by any possibility he o.
verlooked. Trey were accordingly retained
for the choruses, i'll consequence of which
they underwent much musical drilling;
nor were they a little pleased at the honor
thus thrust upon them. They of course dis
tingushed themselves, thought must say that
1.-The wsest thing chorus singers can do is not
to distinguish themselves; but the Snatchem
choir it is said, actually did distinguish them
selves, especially in the Halleluiah Chorus,
and so fascinated were they with that chorus,
and their own distinguished manner of sing
ing it, that they resolved unanimously to per-
form itat Snachem church. This was bad e.
nough: but this was not the worst, for nothing
would serve them but they would have it, of
all days in the year, on Good Friday!
On the evening ofthe day before, the whole
body of the choiristers. vocal and instrument
tai, went up TO the rectory, and demanded an
audience ottheir worthy pastor. The good
man trembled at their approach, and his heart
sank within him at tine announcement that
they had something very particular to say TO
him. He though ofharp, flute, psa'tery, dull
elmer, sackbut, and all kinds of music, and
his ears tingled with apprehension of some
new enormity about to be added TO the choir
in the shape of some heatlIenish instrument.
1t was a ludicrous sight, and enough to make
the pastor laugh, had he been at all disposed
to merriment, to see the whole choir seated
in his paror, and occupying, after fashion
every chair in the room; for il they were ney-
; er harmonious in any thing else, they were
, perfectly harmonious as to their mode ofsitt-
, ing; they were all precisely in the same atti-
, tude, and that attitude was-sitting on the
very outward edge ofthe chair,with their hats
carefully held between their knees, theil
mouths wide open, and theireys fixed on va
cancy. At the entrance of the clergyman
. they all rose, bowed with simultaneous po-
likeness, and looked towards Martin Grubt
: as their mouth-piece Martin Grubb, with