The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1879-05-03
PINAFORE AND THE CHURCH
CHOIRS.

tltl feature Ill I'LL puDilc worship ol lllc
Almighty. no intelligent man will deny.
whatever may be his individual opinion
as to the relative Importance that should
be assigned il in the church ceremony.
Indeed the service of song is the natural
expression of mans gratitude to. and
recognition Of. Supreme Being. Be
side>. of all Instruments of melody the
human voice is at once the most pleasing
and the best interpreter of the soul and
sentiment of devotional song. Danish
the melody OF the human voice from our
churches. and you rob religion of one of
its most potent auxiliaries. 1t must not
be forgotten. however. that the essential
feature of church singing is its devotional
character. Robbed of this, it becomes Il
mere ceremonial. an idle. soulleSS service.
an entertainment. attractive it may he to
the ear, fascinating and pleasing to the
senses but in no essential respect devo-
tional worship.
80 long. then. rs vocal music remains a
part Of the public or ceremonial service
Of God. as celebrated in the churches.
and retains its place as a service. in which
devotional worshiperS can individually
participate. it preserves its distinctive
character. and can he properly dcnomi-
nated-a worship. But no longer. The
very moment the service of song is dele
gated to another. when the choir uSllrps
the vocal function of the congregation of
worShipers, then singing ceases to he a
part of public worship, and de9enerates
into an entertainments. And this aSser-
ton is borne out by the history Of mod
ern church choirs. The competitive rivalry
of fashionable churches in our large cities
and towns. to secure the most artistic
to the musical tastes of the patrons of the
churches, and i'll no sense inspired by the
underlying issiiS Sao OF all w0 ifssllliifr@the de
sire 10 praise God acceptably. Without
being censorious. how far is the idea of
worshiping God paramount III the minds
of those who sustain the expensive choir
organizations of our leading churches?
The congregation of worShipers of the
Almighty may he fairly bursting with
emotions of praise and gratitude, but they
have surrendered to some ambitious priH,a
or to some artistic t6H0T the vocal expires
sion of their religious inspirations. In
deed 50 entirely have modern congrcga-
tions surrendered their privilege in so
important q service of the church to the
irreligiol,s element. shat has so generally
usurpcd the province of chanting in the
churches the grateful responses of God $
children. that the church and the theatre
for the display of the highest vocal cult
walton and achievement The idea of wor-
ship is as foreign 10 the singer in the
church as i'll the theatre The same voices
that interpret six days III the week the I'M
biushing indecencieS of the opera boutfe.
and which. if read III plain English. would
bring the blush of shame upon the cheek
of any lady of ordinary modesty. enchant
the ears Of Gods supposed Wnr=hipers in
his sanctuary on the seventh day. called
Sunday.
Sullivan'S opera of Pinaforc is cX-
hausting to-day nearly every city church
choir to furnish 10 order 4 jolly lose
phine, a bury Buttercup," an cecen-
tric . Sir Joseph, and y daredevil Dick
Dead Eye The popularity of this opera
ity of every theatrical manager. that the
lyric stage has proved unequal to the I'M
prceedeptrd demand for singers. The
churches have lad TO stand the draft.
The furore over the opera has So seized
the popular mind. that the indignity east
upon the church. in this crusade upon its
vocal talent. has been overlooked. The
thing has beeumc i'm intolarable nuisance.
Turn where you Will. the parade OF the
posters of some church choir ''doing
Pinaforc must offend your eyes as well
as your IDEAS. of church proprletleS.-
This game Of PiEaf"re hattledorc and
shuttlecock. between the church and
theatre. ought to work a reformation in
the whole chrrch-choir system. The
mania II nov nj its height, and if the
true religions seHSe "f oar ely churches
be awakened to real appreciation of
the insuperahe contempt iuta which the
church-choir business is being brought,
by their prostitution to the Pinafore level,
then Gilbert AID Sullivan fulfilled higher
mission than they ever dreamed of, when
they gave to the world their unprecedent-
edly popular, but imcomparably trashy
masterpiece His Malesty's ship tina
fore"