The Grange advance., 1873-10-22
MUSIC IN THE GRANGE

There is no more beautiful part of the exercises
designed for our oranges than that of music the
singing of songs full ofnoble sentiments and there
is no part Of the initiation ceremony that can be
made more pleasant and impressive than that of
singing our songs in the spirit thereof and with
| the understanding also. Music makes the grange
like the home circle, it elevates and purifes
the thought touches the fine emotions, awakens
the sympathies and social feelings. and makes us
feel in deed and truth like band OF brothers and
sisters of one family.
A great philosopher has said ''Woulds't thou
know If people be we'll governed, it its manners
be good or bad, examine the music it practices -
The Hindoos consider all other arts as the gifts of
their inferior deties, but say that lit Brahama
-the great God-who presented music to
mortals''
As Christians we are taught that in the begin
ming the morning stars sang together; music is
the language of Heaven. A writer in one Of our
leading monthly journals few years since hit on
very happy thought by which he brought out very
strikingly the sweet influence OF harmony and mu-
sical sounds. He represents himself as falling
asleep and being translated to the planet Venus
He awakens to find the planet inhabited by
race Of highly intelligent beings who float grace
fully on wings through soft and delicious
atmosphere and converse by variations of the mu-
sical sale. The author being musician, by tho
invention of the flute was enabled to hold sweet
converse with the strange inhabitants. 1t may be
that the author only obtained glimpse Of Heaven,
of human beings glorided, Of mortals made per-
feet in immortality with voices attuned to the mel
ody OF Heaven and blending in the harmony of love-
Even here spirit ual emotions, the divinity within
us, finds its highest expression in music. But
everything is not music and nothing is more graf
Ing to the soul than harsh discordant sounds
Neither is the art of music the art of making har.
mony either with the human voice or upon the in
strument something easily attained. Music is not
only an art but science, having it's foundation in
mathematics and the laws of sound, and having
so to speak grammar, rhetoric and logic of
its own. To thoroughly understand it takes close
study and attention for years. Yet it pays
evenat such cost. If children would be taught
correctly from the first, music would probably be.
come AS natural to them as to the BIRDS Music is
indeed everywhere in nature, and our songs are
full of the sentiments of this music, and we as
patrons ever brought into communion with nature
in our daily toll should listen to her sweet voice
heard ever ywhere.
Music is waited by the winds through the
leaves OF the forest, is heard in the gambols Of
the bounding brooks, in the song of birds, laughs
forth in the voices of childhood, bursts from the
lips OF the maid, gushes in through base up from
the soul of man. Old ocean thunde.s forth her
voice. and hill and plain and valley give back soft
ened notes. Music attends the spheres in their
rounds and the harmony Of the universe belongs
to her. She breathes through the leaves of ripen.
ing corn, and blows softly over the fields of wav-
ing grain. She is heard in the lowing of the
beasts, in the bleating of the hocks. in the loud
joyous cacklng Of the fowls, rattles inthe reaper
and buzzes in the thresher. 1t is we'll that the
cleaners and the harvesters, the brothers and sis
ters of the fields a. they gather in their happy
family circle with their souls full of all natures
melodies, should join in the glad anthem.