Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1880-02-22
THE MUSIC OF WORSHIP.
BY AN 0RGANIST.

Music Is a very nice thing In its way,
and that 1t is very important and
valuable part of divine service IL un.
questioned aud unquestionable. That
1t can be made to help or hinder the
true purposes OF worship, be blessing
or curse, IL self-evident. There 10 a
music suited to this purpose, and there
is sueh totally unsuited; there Is q
music truly aud really church music,
devotional and sacred In the full sense
of the term; and there 10 q music
which ought no more to be heard In
connection with the services Of God q
house than that the average novel
should be made the text book OF Sun
day,school instruction.
There Is no sense whatever Ia using
the wrong, poor and injurious article
when the right, good and true Is at
hand in plentiful abundance and OBJ.
tainabie at as little or less cost or
trouble than the former. And even If
the better article should cost more
money, toll and trouble, 1t is worth all
1t costs, ifit costs anything-at least In
this case. There Is no excuse for any
sensible and decent person who will
persist in breathing foul aud disease
laden air, while Heavens pure and
ife.giving breezes are sweeping the
earth In the most lavish abundance,
and he Is at all able to walk abroad
or let the air come to him. There
is Just as little excuse for the
presence of unchurchly music in the
plant ON this subject, Is also undenia-
BILE. True, the complaint Is far from
being as universal and as loud as it
should be; nor Is 1t listened to as 1t
deserves to be. The average Christian
public is too careless and lazy to both
er itself about any such subject
as the character of music; most
people are too Ignorant to know
what that means and unable
to tell the right from the wrong
when it is presented to them; the Or
ganists, even, where they are competent
and well educated musiciaus--Which
they are none too often-are too
busy getting the ch0irs TO decently sing
what music they have; they generally
are persons OF depraved musical taste
themselves and often v,ry ungodly at
heart besides; all Of which, though
be bs a good musician, makes a poor
church organist. But, the ministers
Well, the minister either knows moth
iug at all about II, or is TOO busy with
the so called purely spiritual work; or,
IL he does see aud understand tn
trouble, thinks the periodical rumpus
occurring with alarming regularity 10
most choirs already too many ard
breads the prospect OF causing another,
which ia almost absolutely certain to
occur IL the miuis er should venture
to dictate concerning the music,
no matter how mildly and gently he
breach the subject. SO the evil con,
tinues land gets worss instead OF
better. Here and there that thing
gets SO bad that all hands unite In an
effort at reformation; bat partly be-
cause OF the poor preparation for q
change,-because people see better
what they do not than what they do
want-and because of the crudity and
haste attending all such changes, the
vitiated taste created by the former
evil largely determines the character
OF the substitute, and the result Is that
q very high order OF critical acumen
and a most plant Christian charity
are necessary to discover the good
q aimed TO be- accomplished.
Am example of this fact 10
furnished by q movement, only few