The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-02-10
Our Church Music.


Editors lntCllgenCr;
1t has been said in reference to our late
remarks on Refinement in Music" that
the introduction Of Handel into our
choirs was impracticAble, on account OF
the length OF his solos, duets, &C., and of
the difficulty OF his choruses. Some Of
the latter, indeed, require severe and
prolractpd practice, and choirs having
but little time and only small number
oil singers can not make up their minds
TO undertake the task. 1t is different,
however with the solos, duets, &c. Very
lew OF them present much difficulty, and
can be used with the most decided profit,
The same Is true oil Bach, Haydn, Men.
delsohn, Sphor and other writer's Of ora.
torios.
But why should they replace our little
tit.bits OF all kinds OF adoptions, from
"When the Swallows Homownrd Fly"
and "Oh, Ye Tears" down to "Flow'rets
Blooming, Winds PeriumingY These are
so familiar, so pretty, and we know them
already, and we need not have that hor.
rid practice, and the people like them 80
much, and they are so fashionable and 30
sweet, &C., &c. But those who have
higher purpose at heart are sor.
rowfully compelled TO ignore all these
objections, thinking that II II il right,
good and desirable 10 cultivate sacred
classical music, 1t can certainly be done
as well in this country as in England,
France and Germany. No one there ever
dreams Of adopting sacred text to opera
or ballad music. 1t il not to be thought
oil either in Protestant England and Ger
many, nor in Catholic France and Ger
many. 1t is thing to be reserved for us
Americans to do.
We would, indeed, love to see Handel
cultivated, not only by choirs, but also by
Wiesel Institute, and by choral socie.
ties yet unborn. We would love parts Of
the Messiah" TO be introduced into our
churches. Where can you find finer
display for good bass voice than in the
air-"Bnt who may abide" or for an
alto in "Oh, Thou that telest good It'd
ingS?' or fora soprano in ale shall feed
Ills Hook like II ShepherdY or "And 10
the angel OF the Lord came upon them ?"
Let us turn TO Handel II we would cult
vate pure classical taste in sacred mu-
sic.
"What?' says somebody who signs
himself "a Flat" "introduce Handel into
our churches? Handel, who wrote drink
ing songs? or Mendelsohn? or Weber? or |
Beethoven? all Of whom did not think It
beneath their dignity" to dilate on the
pleasures OF Bacchus and kindred irreg-
ular themes.
We think it needless here to discuss
the moral bearings Of this matter. All
the time these great men wrote some
drinking songs they thought it all right.
Most OF them were operate writer's.
Some OF their operate characters were
oil the drinking sort. OF course, they
must sing drlnkingsongs. Some OF them
wrote for the market at fixed prices, fur
nishlng such songs as 4 commodity.
Some OF the hottest drinking songs were
VIGOROUSLY written under the influence
OF glass OF water; very few under
that OF the drunken bliss" OF which our
rcplicist talks. Handel was considerable
Of an operate writer, though it would
have been Infinitely better for him il he
had never meddled with operas. 1t in
voIved him into endless difficulties, kept
him at logger.heads with his beat friends,
and, before all, robbedhim OF that seren.
ity OF mind so essential to the produc-
ton OF great works. Who, at the present
time, cares for lIande's operas? To all
purposes they might just as well never
have been written at all. Yet he spent
the best part Of his life, his younger
years, ut them, while they have contributed
nothing to his universal fame. Ofcourse,
IT ia needless to add that we do not assert
that writing operas will consign COM
poser TO inglorious oblivion. We say no
such thing. We simply speak here of
iiandePs particular case, maintaining
that his undying fame is based upon very
different things from drinking songs and
operas. 1t is based upon the claims and
Ionginss Of the higher moral and
religious nature Of the human
hearts so noJIy responded to in the
"Messiah." Let poet but re.echo these
divine instincts truly and genuinely and
Immortality of fame will naturally fol.
low by u "simple.law divine"
Carlyle says come place that all genius
il naturally divine and intrinsically no.
bic, no matter how it may be lowered at
times. The instinct Of the truly beauti-
fnl is never wholly eradicated in great
minds, and they readily respond with
atlectionale rcverberation to the divine
chord struck by the angelic hand
OF kindred spirit. Hence it is
that our most cherished composers
Mozart, Mendelssohn, Beethoven and
others bowed down in humble reverence
and iilal piety before the great master
who had sung it, Messiah" Mozart,
who, with all his operas, had no success
whatever in Germany, kept his eyes fix
ed on Handel, and contemplating the
beautieS Of the Messiah, was almost ire
sistibly drawn toward England, where
such production had found its due re-
ward. We judge that it was not Han
della drinking songs that produced Mo.
2arts enthusiasm, or that moved Haydn,
the author Of the "Creation"so profound.
ly. 1t was the Messiah" to which could
never listen without tears oil joy and de-
votion, or was it those same drinking
songs that made Beethoven wish devout.
ly TO visit England and Westminster
Abbey TO kneel down at Handel's tomb
We rather think it was the divine instinct
that reverberated in both minds alike,
and the echoes Of which were simply
awakened in Beethoven's heart by the
immortal hand that swept over the Harp
of the Messiah. MAUD.
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