The native Virginian. [volume] (Orange Court House, Va.) 1867-187?, 1869-04-16
COREY O'LANUS' EPIsTLE.

COREY O'LANUS' EPISTLE.
On the Clerical ErodtLS-A5ot the Church,
Opermtc CtoirS--Hoto hey do the Music
Sunday Schools and Sunday School Litcro
tHre.
mats the matter with the minis
ters! Why are they all running a
way? :
Bartlett, Hoffman, Thrall. and one n
TWO smaller guns, have accepted call
to other fields, and are leaving MS /,
: theological darkness.
This hegira seems TO have set in sine,
You commenced publishing your ppl.
pit sketches and Biographies of the
Brooklyn clergy.
The coincidence is striking.
This leads me to suggest that aftel
you have used up the clergy, you might
with advantage to the community ii,
the leading politicians ON both sides.
Your observations. and Bisbop Lit-
tlejohn's, ON tile necessity for free
churches, came home to my experience.
we want cheaper religion.
Ii is getting to be too much of lux
ury, altogether.
Mrs. OLanus must go to church. and
so must the children.
They go to fashionable church, be-
cause it is in our neighborhood.
we live in a vicinity Of very fash
ionable neighborhood,
Also, because it is fashionable
church.
Being fashionable the pews are very
expensive.
Of -
are heavy-the appointment being all
trst-class.
There is talented minister.
big organ.
An cperatic choir.
The minister is good, the organ i'm
mense-it cost two thousand dollars for
repairs the other day-and the choir is
absolutely stunning.
1t Maretzek ever went to our chursh
hewonld have that choir at any expense.
don know the name of the prima
donna, but she is Parepa, Kellogg and
La Grange, rolled into one.
She can carry her voice away to the
top OF the spire, and balance on the up-
per note like Bonfanti on one toe on a
polse, tor ever so long, the organ, and
the rest OF the choir, waiting till she
comes down again.
The tenor and contralto are good. but
the basso he is superb.
His voice goes down into his boots. |
and when he drops down to b flat in
the sub-celiar, it is awfully grand. like
a trombone with a bad cold.
The contrast of the voices is what !
strikes you, and the way the handle the
Psalms.
Ii you had become familiar with the
tunes, by hearing them sung in the old
fashioned manner, you would moi know
them again.
You have heard a violinist play yam
kee Doodle" with variations, but the va
riations of an operatic choir can't be
by mere fiddler.
In starting hymn, for instance, the
organist leads off with gymnastic
flourish, then the soprano opens the
ball.
She catches up the word glory and
you never heard word put through
such course of musical sprouts.
Clio o-o-o-ory orye-e-e-e-e till she pets
up to the extra superfine Il sharp. and
then let's herself down gracefully with
\ Nightingale trill.
Then the basso takes hold of solory,
md puts it through descending scale
n which the o-o-o-o-e's predom:nate.
md the e-e-e-'s get lost in a sort of me.
odious fog.
Then the tenor and contralto 90 at [
glory stretch it and roll it froni one /
md OF the scale to the other.
Then all four of them attack .olorv, ,
t once-finish it, ard 60 at the next '
vord. c
like it very much, it is the nextbest =
hing to Italian opera.
But then it is just about as expen-
i've. a
And every body can't afford it. v
W hat we ought to have is religion s
lain, at first cost, tor those who can't Ii
ford the modern improvements and IA
lusical luxuries of our elegant church, il
Then some people may prefer, as a
latter OF taste, to have their opera and ft
'eir religion ia separate performances. Il
1t is, no doubt, great encourage r,
ent to music. 81
Beside the regular performances of Ell
lnday, numerous other entertain
ents flow from the choir.
There is grand complimentary con- C;
ut to the soprano, who, on that occas- IL
n, sings nothing but operate selec- hi
Nns, and is assured by her friends, d.
az iSi CACSublOu VI InNOIa-
i" reminds them of Bosio. That all
e needs is proper cultivation to take W
e highest rank on the operate STAGE. az
d they advise her to 90 to Italy. pr
If they would all take this advice, we
ould get square with Italy for infiict- th
2 her organ grinders on us. ~ ~
Then the organist has a compliment fo f.,
ry concert, and the church organ is ~
t through an exhaustive course of
'ps, and the audience get an idea of VIZ
e capacity OF the instrument and the wi
capacity of the player.
Then there are concerts for the bene-
of the Library of the Sabbath School. o'(
to purchase banners for the eLittle da
nd of Budding Cherubs."
The misiocles was budding cherub ,hl
len he first joined the school, and un- 'hi
he grew too big for a chergh, aud