The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-09-09
FOREIGN GOSSIP.


and one, too, whOseemS to be tho
Oughly inbued with the most .obsequ
Gus loyalty to the royal family-cof
tributes this sketch Of the Chapel Roy
al, st. James palace, london
The Court Journal, week by week
informs the ardently loyal and the mu
sically curiOas what authem regale
the ears Of the prince and princess @
Wales in the divine service they usual
ly attend in the Chapel Royal and
also particularizes the, solo signers an,
the organist honOred by being the ex
eclitants. / Icannot but think that il
published the forms and colors o
dresses worn by the court it woul,
command more general interest; TO
surely millinery has more wOrshiper
than music. Few care about the 10
ings of Master Treble or Messrs. Alt,
Tenor, and Bass, but very many like Il
learn the grades of charms the princes
present when in blue, or pink, or white
and the diminutive congregation no
tices not the notes of the rcd-cOatet
ehoristers or the pent-up tones of thu
huge-bearded chOirmen while her swee
form Is visible. Often have I seen th<
lips of her fellOw-wOrshipers movins
to words Of prayer and praise, while
their eyes were lost in admiration o.
her radiant face. 1 would venture te
assert, the shrine of no Catholic saint
has ever had more ardent observers
than the ugly-pewed loft in which the
most adOred of our royalty worships
Until her advent, the chapel at st
James. was but little visited by the
royal family /; for since the mad youth,
Oxford shot at our then youthful queen
on leaving the chapel, her majesty has
never attended there except upon such
state occasions as the marriage of the
princess royal.
There are fewer places of greater
historical interest to be found than this
communicating chapel. Through its
narrow stuffy portals have passed, like
q gorgeous panamOra, all the rulers OF
England for many centuries. Within
its walls-like into an abiding frame
we may place picture after picture OF
the courts of our sOvereigns of surpass-
ing interest. fs...,,....s-
!" Thackery has stretched bis canvas
there in sketching his Georges. He
cynically draws his Gentleman George
~. 'reeling into it to he married, and
there hiccupping out his vows of fideli-
ty. A more genial picture he give ol
good George ILL.,, who, fond of church
music, showed skill in ii, both rs a crit
ic and performer, and who would
beat time with his music-roll as they
sang the anthem in the Chapel Royal,
and il the page below was talkative
or inattentive, down would come the
music-rOll on young scapegrace's pow
dered head And what a soft, quiet
little peep he taxes of his German
George H., while that goddess old
king is yawning under his canopy in
his Chapel Royal, as the chaplain be-
fore him Is discOursing about what p
about Righteousness and Judgment.
While fine chaplain is preaching, the
king is chattering i'm German almost
as loud as the preacher .4
Would that the same graphic pen
had given us more such peeps of the
preceding gracious majesties at public
worship. How well he knew st.
James in the reign of Anne, and how
artistically could he have pictured
them at prayers. Our kings at
prayers would verify have been sub
ject worthy of his sham-deyouring
pen. ..r..-
"The leading and most honorable
post in the choir for centuries has been
that of composer to their majesties.' ,
Three centuries ago, Tails and his pu-
pill, Byrd, were appointed. They were
the first laymen that ever held that
honorable office. Since then we have
had perfect succession of composers,
in which almost every English musi-
clan Of eminence has been placed, in
Blow, the great Purcell, Croft,
and GOss, the last of the race, for with
him the office dies, and the race be-
come extinct.
When the prince of Wales formed
his establishment, the chapel, from its
state character and cOntiguity to NAL
borough house, became his place of
worship; and great alterations were
made, especially in the morning serv-
ice, which was found sadly too long
not that the prayers were objected to,
Oh! no; but the music was long
drawn out > chant succeeded chant,
and anthems followed services for some
two hours; till some such message was
sent as that to the musicians of Cyprus:
Masters, here's money for you; and
the general so like your L usic that he
desires you, for loves sake, to make no
more noise with it. If you have any
music that may nst be heard, tot again;
but as they say, to hear music the gem
eral does not greatly care.'
Thus it comes to pass that the
for. <,f
music has since been done so ::s not to
be heard, at least by the inmates of
house. The services is di-
vided into halves; the first part COM
at 10 O'Clock, the second at II
o'clock, fhe court of the prince usually
the latter.
A royal commission was appoint-
ed, consisting of the lord chamberlain,
the lord steward, and his lortiship the
dean, for the purpose of reconstructing
the choir, and for the improvement of
the music. The choir previously to
that time consisted of sixteen men,
eight of whom were supposed to be in
every alternate month.
There were also two composers and two
who unitedly represented
the commissioner to reduce the choir
to eight men, who should be in constant
attendance; to suppress the Office of
and to appoint one organist
only, who should be held responsible
for the services. Thes Improvements
were happily attended with economy
to the state. The practical sense of
the dean Bishop Tait) hit the prime
evil in the management of the music
by deposing the nOn-musical clergy
man from its government. With the
of the whole choir, Mr..
George Cooper was appointed choir
master, ard made responsible for all
matters musical, and the consequence
has been most beneficial; anthems are
now selected that are appropriate, and
signers named to perform them that
have the necessary specific talent for
used to fix the solo signers; and so for
many years man in full possession OF
his powers had to give place to one that
age had deprived of the gift of vOlcali.
zation, and to wait until his front teeth
were gone before he could demand to
he fully heard. The character of the
music selected is now i'm accordance
with the taste of the age. Anthems
and services by Smart, Mcfirren,
Sterldale, Bennett, Hopkins, and GOss
are INV heard in :air proportion with
the OH writers-in fact, the desire to
interes and please by the most legiti-
mate musical means has been the OBJ
ject, ali success has certainly followed
the conluct of the master. The choir
always possessed good vocalists. but
for mani years its singing was not
very 'd;inty dish to set before a king
Now it j led and accompanied by Mr..
George cooper, it certainly takes rank
with the best in the Kingdom. The