, 1874-10-31
CHORAL SINGING IN THE SANTA CRUZ
CHURCHES.
To the Editor of the est. Croiz Avis

Having had opportunities of hearing all the
choirs of this island sing, [ beg permission to say
q few words about choral singing, q subject
which to me appears very important. l shall in
the first place state my opinion of the singing in
the different Churches respectively, and shall
write according to the impression that has been
made upon my mind and should chance to sacri-
fee delicacy at the shrine of truth, | shall cast
myself upon the clemency of the ladies and gen.
tlemen who will read this, and hope they won't be
hard upon me.
Now then let me begin with Basin that being
headquarters, | dare say some Difference must
be shewn it Some time ago / attended English
service in the Lutheran church, and whilst listen
ing to the singing, | was particularly struck with
the boisterous manner in which the choir sang.
There is, among young choristers, a certain vani-
ty of shelving off, each one trying to oat-do the
other, at the sacrifice, very often, of all that is
beautiful and attracting in singing. This vanity
appears to be regulated by the amount of must
cal knowledge possessed. Now, in the case of the
choir in question the musical knowledge appears
either small, OF much limited, hence the iarring
manner in which they sang and which could not
fail to be detected by any well regulated ear.
Nor was this the only defect noticed in their sing
ing; the sharp and abrupt manner in which the
words were uttered, is another source Of COM
plant to say nothing OF the fearful amount OF in
distinctness accompanying 1t. AS in oratory,
clear and distinct utterance is tho beauty of
speecb, so also it is one of the distinctive features
Of GOOD singing although this point appears to
receive little attention from West Indian choir
trainers generally.
There was also much indistinctness in the play
ing, which had a tendency to mislead the sing
ers, owing to q predominance of the Bass. In
leading singing, care must be taken that the sing
ers hear distinctly the treble notes hence many
good organists strike them first, and then allow
the other parts to come in afterwards. When
once there is any indistinctness about the pitch of
-. l. s.~nr u;I1 oooorol1u ho fOunH haInm
the instrument at the end of the line and then,
it demand g great amount of skill to bring them
again into the proper key.
/ shall pass on to notice next the singing in the
Roman Catholic church However we'll the Roman
Catholics ofother countries may sing, some excep
ton must be made when we speak of the Roman
Catholics of st. Croix. [ remember, that once when,
passing by q Roman Catholic church in one of the
English islands, | was so much enraptured by the
singing of the choir, that, l dare say, l felt as Tele-
machus did when listening to the chantings of the
Nymphs of the goddess Calypso. The singing ofthe
ST. Croix Roman Catholics has no such attractions
Like the Lutheran chOristers, they seem to pay
little or no attention to sweet and harmonious
singing, but each one endeavours to be heard.
The Singing in Saint Johns church is just now
very low. Although, unlike most of the others,
this choir appears to be composed principally of
parties who possess more or less musical knowledge,
yet in spite of this great advantage, their singing
Is lust now almost a mere ldIcG III you dSK Tor
the reason -? Let me see if l can furnish you with
an answer.
In the first place the choir is too small. The
size Of choir must always be in proportion to that
of he congregation. A t present the choir consists
of about Ia members, and of these sometimes more
than 6 are not present at the public services, nay, |
have seen as few as 2. Nor is the non-attendauce at
church the only thing to be deplored; | understand
that the attendance at the practising is not less
unsatisfactory. Let me say that the possession of
musical knowledge does not remove the necessity
of going to practise, since we find professors, before
coming inte'public with their performances, always
meeting for practising together. | have never read
or heard of any number of singers, going into public
to sing before coming together for previous practice.
If therefore practise is necess airy with professors,
much more so must it be with those whose knowledge
can at the most be small and limited. But | fear |
have said too much upon this point allow me
then to pass on to my next reason, which is the
want of an organ. l don't know of any other church
of that size, which has only a. harmonium to accom-
pahy the singing. don't believe, as some seem to
do, that the presence of an organ in. the church,
without any other aids, will remove all the defects at
present existing in the singing. Until the choir has
been enlarged and better trained, an organ will be
able to effect little. Of what use then, you will ask