The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-02-21

good accompanied on hand, and he will
find the sublime gems" Of that otatorio
as easy as they are beautiful. The Difficult.
ties in the choruSSes, IL has been remark.
ed, are not 80 great as not TO lie with.
In the capacity Of our average choir. We
differ. We call upon that average choir
to come forward and try their hand at
a good round chorus from "Elijah," or a
fuga. The difficulties may lie within
the capacity Of that choir, but they lie
there asleep. Just see what they will
amount TO II Weakened up They will
look rather big then, and will seem to
wrestle with one another. There will be
groans and means and discords and con.
trary waves Of time tumbling over one
another, and the tenor will seem to be
fighting the bass, and the soprano max.
ing faces at the alto, and there will be
general musical row in that average
Ghoir" pleasant to behold; and yet, out
Of that delightful chaos, order may grad.
ually develop itself, II they perseyere,
and try again, and try in the right man.
ner; II they don't grudge time and effort;
II they are content mote to see and en-.
Joy results "at once" but have patience;
only let them approach these choruses
and lngas with due respect and not with
the lighthearted ease Of "little school
girl"
One Of the difficulties, indeed, is the al.
most universal thinness Of choirs. But
has a big church any business to have
choir? We think not; not even II good
quartette il paid, which is to form, so to
speak, the nucleus Of the vocal forces, or,
to use another illustration, the royal
guards behind whom the reserves are
rolling up their numbers.
We do not hold Handel up as the only
pattern Of sacred classical music. It
would be very narrow.minded. But he
is one Of them sure.
With regard to adopting sacred text
10 opera or ballad music, Il is mentioned
that some OF Handel's sacred music was
fashioned after some Of his secular mu-
sic and that RoSsini made up one Of his
masses from one OF his operas. This
adoption was in some manner natural
one, They adopted their own children.
They chose and modified melodies Of
their own creation and fitted them for
that purpose. They had a right to do 40.
They alone were TO be judges. But does
that give enterprising music publishers
in this country right to take schn.
berts "Voice Pinstant supremes" and fit
it to sacred text2
That the Neapolitona should be de-
lighted at the fusion Of mass and opera
is perhaps natural for the Neapolitans
who live in Italy. But fusion OF opera
and sacred music would scarcely be
found so natural among the Presbyteri.
ans, Methodists, etc. Not even Roman
Catholics would tolerate it in this coun.
try. There is deep, sound, good sense
prevailing among our church.gOing peo-
pie which seems irrepressible, and al.
ways comes back after every effort to
suppress 1t. In accordance with the same
indistructable good sense Of our people,
We, too, cry out for good, noble, earnest
Christian style Of church music.
Says Cramer,in the preface to his Stu.
dio,with regard to England: at is not un.
reasonable to suppose that our heredi.
tary acquaintance with, and the frequent
performances Of Handels works, have,
in this country, offered an effectual re.
sistance to the evil influence Of ford and
vitiated style of the modern Italian
school, which has been so unfortunately
and perniciously difIused over the whole
continent, for nowhere are HANDLES
works so we'll understood and so we'll
performed as in England, MAUD.