The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1855-05-29
THr SUBLIME IN CHURCH Music Unfor.

THH SUBLIME IN CHURCH MCsrc.TUnfur-
tunately we Americans know very little OF the
truly sublime in church music. This is partly
due to the fact that spirit Of refined selfish.
ness is making it fashionable to praise God by
proxy. Let the people praise Thee, . God;
yea, let all the people praise Thee, is read
from the pulpit in solemn and impreage tones,
and veiled chorus of four respd " Yea,
let all the people praise Thee," whf6 all the
people" are comfortably seated below, qsite
satisfied with themselves if their paid repre-
sentatives in the gallery perform this duty for
them in a strict artistic manner. The result
is, that. We are left in ignorance Of the grand
and devotional effects produced by the union
cf several hundred voices upon plain church
choral. We listen to the brilliant and beauti.
ful performances of Lind or Sontag, and
unwilling in the exhuberance of our delight, to
leave any epithet of approval unappied, We
call them grand" sublime" and all that i;
when the truth is, for sublimity of effect they
are no more to be compared with hundred,
v0iced choral, than shower-bath is with
Niagara. We admire the one style of vocal.
zaton as we would the coruscations of the
aurora boreals; but the other is Gothic tenn.
pie, whose massive walls and grand; proper.
tions bid defiance to the shock Of ages, and we
bow our heads with awe as we walk in the
shadow of its strength. Those who have heard
seven hundredsing, as with one grand voice.
the melody of such tunes as Windsor" !"
Dundee" &c. Will readily understand what
we mean, aud will not regard US insane when
We say that there is for US more solid satisiac.
tion in joining such choral performance than
there is in listening to the greatest solo artist
we have ever heard.
These thoughts are suggested by some
church music we heard Sabbath evening Or
two since at Rev. DR.. Alexander's church in
this city, under the direction Of Mr.. Lowell
Mason. The anthem, Whsrewithal shall a
young man cleanse his 0ay2 written by Ma
son for male voices, was sung by about thirty
gentlemen, many of whom came from different
choirs. The parts were we'll balanced and
the voices cultivated and powertul--soIne of
the basses being ponderous on + below the
staff, and some of the tenors ringing and strong
upon A above; so that the effect was solid
and remarkably satisfying. In the course Of
the evenings exercise, two plain tunes Oz.
bridge and ST. Stephens, were sung with the
aid Of nearly as many more female voices in
the choir, and a large part Of tie congregation.
The Doxology was sung to St. Stephens by
all the voices taking the melody. The effect
was truly stupendous.
One of the gentlemen who took part, and
who, with three others, does the singing for an
up town fashionable church remarked as he
came out, Quartetsinging for purposes"of de-
votion is 4 hun,6ug9 We eagreed wieehim, as
we have no doubt you would have oiesfeader,
if you had been there. These choir. con.
gregational effects in church music are begin
ming to be appreciated in other churches, we
are glad to know, and when there are as many
singers in the U. S. as there are readers Ito
secure which music must be systematically y
taught in our Schools then may We hope for
realization of the sublime in church music.
NJ. Y. Musical Rqiew.