Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1871-09-25
NO. 227.
CONCERNING TWO ABOMIyATIONS.

Will Mr.. Murray hold my hat while
address few words of mild remonstrance
to the crowned heads of our church
choirs? 2? This is, undoubtedly, proper
designation of the chorister and organist,
who are really the monarchs of all they
survey from the choir loft, the gentleman
in black who stands in front of them being
only the Prime Minister, and not always
prime at that.
The matter about which wish to labor
with their Majesties is couple of nuisan-
ces, (you may print that in small capitals,
Mr.. Printer, thus: NUIsANcEs, and let
their Majesties ''take it up" if they wish
to- which are often allowed to character
ize the SO called service of song in the
House OF the Lord.
The first and worst of these is chargea-
BILE to his Majesty. the organist. It con-
sists of series of gratuitous charivari
performances known to the organist as
lnterludes, the supposed object of which
is to relieve the mOnotony of long hymn
and rest the lungs of the singers but the
usual effect of which is to draw the wor-
shippers attention altogether away from
the devotional lyric in which he Is en-
gagged, and inspire him instead:
l. With admiration for finger exercise
of the organist;
2. With perplexed curiosity as to
what in thunder the fellow is trying to
evolve from the key boards;
3. With sense of fatigue and ennui;
4. With unmitigated disgust and de-
sire to 60 home and
B. With any sentiment but that of the
hymn in which he had recently been en-
gagged and to which he is asked to return,
after the organist shall have scared like
kite, till the string of his imagination
breaks, and he futters down haphazard.
Think of returning to plain old Boylston.
after such madhouse medley as that
What does the worshipper care, in such
predicament as those measures leave him,
whether his days are as the grass" or
whether Yankee Doodle has come to town
a riding on a pony? The feather which
Yankee Doodle stuck in his hat" and call
ed it Maccaloni," is certainly more sug-
gestive of "grass" and morning flowers"
than this fellows charivari is Of the tune
which he was set to play.
The other nuisance is one, under an in
Fiction of which am freshly smarting. I
went to church yesterday for the pure pur-
pose OF carrying into action a sense of my
duty to my Creator; of joining, as well
as a sinner may, in the prayers and hymns
along very well. But when it came to the
latter, l was all at sea. The hymns were
simple and devotional, and both words
and music were before every member of
the congregation. Good singers seemed
to abound, too, and the pews were vocal
with praise. The organist was on milder
rampage than usual and the spirit Of
song had become refreshingly wrought up
when smash went the whole s'calm and
heavenly Frame" its timbers Gf may be
allowed the expression) falling about the
heads and ears Of the worshippers! For
the chorister had found a stanza in which
there were some words about ''love,' or
"death," or ''vale of tears" or kindred
idea; encountering which he caused his
trained choir" to drop to pianissimo on
the instant, and his organist to take the
softest stops of the choir manual. The
result was that fat lady with fine
soprano voice, who was singing, as she
should, in time, and not following the choir
at u beats distance, blurted out a word or
two in a meez0 forte tone, making a very
ridiculous sensation, similar to that which
the good deacon caused by his
''Trlnktum raddle, trinktum traddle"
in the story which you have been told.
OF course the people knew better than
to get caught twice by the same trick, and
they kept respectful distance after that.
| noticed that there was pianissimO
dodge introduced into every hymn, but
that there was no certain rule whereby
the congregation could tell where to sus-
pend worship and allow the ''trained choir
to 60 through their vocal gymnastics. Thus
supposing the hymn to be DR.. Watts's ex-
cellent lyric,
"How beautious are their feet
Who stand on ZiOn's hil-"
we all know that there would be a PLAN
issimo demonstration somewhere; but
whether the little joker would come in on
the 'beauteous feet" or the charming
voice" or the 'happy ears' or the "blessed
eyes," was more than any one outside the
choir railing could divine.-P. Green, in
the Song Messenger.