The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1867-02-03

n.
able to notice sooner the lecture OF Dr.
Clspham, at the Unitarian Church, on Frit
day evening, upon "Foreisn Lands and Fort
eien Msuic.n The attendance was good, buy
with room for moro. Az he attempted y
give but a modification of his lecture a. origi'
nally prepared, the musical illustrations
being marked feature Of the entertainment,
We presume the Doctor wouldn't claim for
the lecture evening before last, the thorough
ness, symmetry and entirety that would sahs|
fy an exacting criticism. 1t was butscafoldins
upon::which.to hang the many exquisite plece'
of music which he gave 70 the audience
during the evening. There may have beet
too many of these; this may have been morethf
fault Of the room than anything else; 1t vat
cold in many parts. That is an extinguisheF
upon appreciativeness. We apprehend the
sublimity of the Alps wouldn' greatly i'm
press frosted traveller, and the sublimist
Oratorios become stupidities, when cold
hands and benumbed feet avenge themselves
in the judgment pronounced.
The lecturer glanced at the past; at Apollo
and Pan, whom the Emusic in the soul OF
ancient Greeks, gave apotheosis and at Or
pheus, that dimly out lined minstrel OF re-
mote mythology, whose history gave express
sion TO the faith of the soul, rather than to any
conviction Of the mind. that Love and Music
could transform the real, subdue the harsh
ness Of nature, and penetrating Hades,
could, by virtue of their divinity, cause that
remorseless realm Of the unknown, TO give
back the loved and lost. He referred to the
Hebrews, ever lovers of music. Then cons
ing down to the present, he hastily sketched
and gave illustrations of the music and
national airs and melodies of modern peo-
plies. What he did wss well. He attempted
no analysis Of the characterictics Of
this different music. Probably it did
not enter into his mode of treating bis
subject. Still it must have occurred to the
nearer, especially while the speaker was up
on the matter of national airs, how ftly nigh,
have been given . rapid but apt and enter
| tanning summary Of national traits, IS embo>
died in the songs with which nation arouses
its patriotism or stimulates its valor. The
whole difference between the Frenchman and
the American, can be gathered from compar-
ing The Marsaillaise hymn with 50 Yankee
Doodle" and Rally Round the Flag.
For want Of such critical analysis, the pieces
introduced many times lost their full force as
fitting parts of +" the harmonious whole y OF
his lecture-they seemed like interpretations
beautiful in themselves, but submitted al
random. We do not offer this as q criticism
personal in this case; Dr. C. Ia shielded from
it by the fact that he gave his lecture but as
modification of an entire one. He
wished to entertain his audience, and in this
he succeeded. His selections were good and
his rendering of them, we presume, excellent;
but our opinion isn't worth cent on this
score, and we won't urge it. DR.. Clapham is
complished composer and performer of mus
sic. He did well TO select his theme. He
treads upon familiar ground, and can give
much, ministering to the publics entertain>
ment and instruction. II is rather the fort
of criticism to correct the little that may
need correction than to award praise to the
much that wins commentator. So we have
done herein. The numerous excellencies we
have left unnoted. We will adhere to this
course in concluding, and add .that we were
surprised to hear so accurate scholar as DR..
Chaplain use, in one place, very singular
verb after very plural nomnative, and in
another use "peroration !" when he just A.
clearly meant exordium.h