Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1874-12-19
ORR NEW YORK LETTER.
Sacred Musfe-Other Musie-SUnday-
BuudingIn New York aud Real Es-
tafe-Amusements and Luxuries-
TfIton-Beeeher-Bu
SINGING INFHB CHURCHES.


Observation-Disclosures.
SINGING N THE CHURCHES.
In our boyhoof days when we went TO
singing school, partly to learn psalmody,
but priucipallyto gaze on the pretty face
of Mary Jane and go home with her alter
the exercises were over, we were content
to furnish vocalism TO the churches for
nothing, and even esteem it an honor ana
privilege TO be invited TO make one oi 'he
choir.
In New York, sacred music is quite an
other thing. Singing in choirs is as mucn
of a proCessiou as singing in operas-ln
fact the singers who delight the public in
onera weekday nights. furnish the sa-
cred music for the churches, Sunday
and q very pretty sum it costs church
TO get such music as it wants. The or
ganis.. for instance, in a reasonably plain
church, gets 81 900 per annum, the leader
or manager, gets as much more, the So
prano gets from $500 to $500, the alto as
much. and the tenor and basso about the
same, or generally little less. This
makes quartette. Then comes chorus
of perhaps twenty voices, who are paid
from 800 to $500 each, according to po-
sition, quality and capacity.
These singers are almost without ex-
ception professionals, who sing praises to
the Almighty without feeling, caring ol
knowing what they sing-their business
being purely mercenary. This scale o.
prices applies only to the moderately op-
pulent churches-the great ones double
and treble these figures. In Trinity for
instance, the music is quite as excellent
in character as that of the operate stage
and # attracts thousands of people, who
90 for that alone.
In many of the churches, choIrs ol
bows are employed. 1t is all well. / see
no reason why the Evil One should mo.
nopoIlze all the good things of life. Why
should not sacred music be rendered ar
tistically, and why should not the bes
musical talent be employed in the service
of the temple? 1t attracts people tc
places of worship, and impresses then
when they get there. At least, SO say th'
clergymen. and who should know If they
don't? Beecher's church has a supert
ist-Zundel-and choir who sim
ply lead the multitude, and Talmsge doe:
without choir. The organ and a corne
player lead the people. When 5000 peo
pie in that immense audience-room raist
their voices together, the effect is inde
scribably grand. And speaking of
MUSIC,
the theatres of the city have for some
months been giving what In the bill are
called SACRED Concerts" Sunday nights
The value of the Sacred Concerts" may
be inferred by the following programme
BOTH SACRED CoNCERT-BowERY THEA
The concert this evening will com.
mence with the romantic drama entitled
The French Spy,
with Miss Louise Sylvester as the Arat
Boy. To be followed by the drama, in
three acts, entitled
Jonathan Bradford,
or the
Murder in the Roadside Inn.
To conclude with
Jack Sheppard.
In all the minor theatres dramatic per.
formances, the same as on week day
nights have been given Sunday nights
under the name of sacred concerts, and
the opera troupes have been quite as un.
blushing in the evasion of the law.
Finally. the managers of the better
class of theatres entered their protest
against it in conjunction with the leading
citizens, and raid on the places was in
augurated. Last Sunday night number
of them were closed, but the majority OF
them went through with their perform
ances
THF SUNDAY QUESTION
is very difficult one to manage here
There IS an enormous German and French
population, who will not yield one iota of
their notions on this subject. They regard
Sunday as day not only of rest, but re-
creation, and crowd into it all the amuse-
ments of the week. They want all their
gardens in the summer, and halls in the
winter, and in the evening their theatres
and concerts. They cannot understand
why, in "free" country, they should be
debarred from doing as they please on
any day in the week, so that they do not
interfere with others. They want to OBJ
serve the day in this country as they OBJ
served it in the land they came from, and
they make vigorous fight for it. It goes
into politics, and has its effect upon all
the elections The German of New York
knows of no question of public policy
that is so important 10 him, and his vote
is influenced more by this question than
by any other. He does not believe in re-
ligious obserVances on Sunday, he has no
sympathy with the Puritan idea-in
short, he is in antagonism with it all.
And to him it is vital matter, and he
fights it in every possible way 1t counts
on election days, and from this time out
it will count more.
BUILDING AND REAL ESTATE.
The real estate people are disturbed.
Under The stimulus of the war, and war
Imitation, real estate went up fearfully.
Building lots in the vicinity of the Park
were a few years ago counted fairly cheap
at $4,000, and $95!OOO was not an unusu.
al price. They are not so high now in.
deed they couldn't be solo TO-DAY for the
halfthat was paid for them. Tbev Law
dead property. There is no use,in build
ing on them, for there are thousand or
more empty houses above Add street, and
three times that number below, not going
lower down than 18th. 1 mentioned last
week the fact that there are thousand o
empty stores and offices. This condition
of things is easily accounted for. New
York has built houses and stores without
providing the business to fill them. She
has permitted Baltimore to take one part
OF her trade, and Boston another part
ohe has allowed the dangerous classes to