The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-02-18
.INTONLNG-


here at the South. The negroes are not
at all satisfied, as a,general thing, with a
prayer offered up in natural tone of
voice and with natural gestures The
prayer of genuine old-fashioned Vir-
ginia negro preacher is something which
1T were idle to attempt to describe 1t
IS sort of wild lament which is sung
rather than spoken, and often the effect
As indescribably ludicrous. The tone is
made as mournful as possible, and some
times the utterances become exceedingly
rapid, like the galloping of horse; and
the pitch rises and falls in the-most pro
nounced and emphatic manner, though
mostly it shoots up like a rocket. We
have no doubt that the intelligent and
educated colored ministers, who are now
to be found in our cities and towns, con
duct their services in a very different
manner
The "intoning of the service" which
we understand may be witnessed in some
OF our fashionable ritualistic churches, we
have never had the pleasure of meeting
up with. We have been told that in
some of these churches every part of the
service is sung in this manner, with the
exception of the sermon and the lessons.
Our attention was called to the subject
the other day by the following letter
which we saw in the ~ Y Churchna1, :.
TO the Editor Of The Churchman:
The "intoned service is met by prejudice
and opposition on every hand. have been my
sell one OF Its most strenuous opposers. 1 have
seen reasons lately, however. to believe that the
prevalent dislike to the intoned service" was
que more to lmperfection in its execution than
10 intoning itself Whoever has heard the Bisb
op OF Maine intone the service has hardly been
conscious that the service was sung instead of
Delng read The deep-chest tones, the rich,
musical voice the round, full harmony of utter
sahce leave very pleasing as we'll as solemn
impression upon the ear, and awal1ens the con
Vlctlon that one has seldom heard the service so
well rendered. am satisfied that the prevalent
objection to the cathedral style of rendering the
service is largely due to an imperfect ear. an
nnmuslcal voice, and want of musical education
on the part of those who attempt to intone the
service. There are readers of the service who
outrage common sense every time they offciate
1t should not surprise us, then, if some who in
tone the service seem fit subjects for the lunatic
asylum They speak through their nose, their
voice Is nat, their utterance is ragged, and they
DO such violence to all sense of harmony that
apparently they, are but seeking to render the
service ridiculous. If there were a canon of
the Church prohibiting an intoned service ex-
cept by those enjoying rich, musical and cult
Vated voices, we believe such rendering of SER
wee vac would become generally acceptable. The
old-fashloned Methodist twang,h or "pious
tone, universal in their prayers formerly. I am
convinced was but traditionary imitation of
the lntoned prayers of the Church of England
confess, however, that it was poor imitation
though not widely different from some have
heard IN our Church. But imagine a man APP
Pearlng before the public to sing SOLO given in
a voice continually huttering and without re-
gard to time or tune, and you have no more ri
dlculous figure than priest presents when
IN FIAT, ragged, and uncultivated voice, he at
tempts to lntone our services Persons with Gull
tivated, sensitive ears have felt like springing
out OF the windows. Does the fact that man
IS pious and has a reverend to his name iusti-
~ nun for visiting such an infection upon his
people! lis 1T policy for us to put the reverence
OF our people TO such strain as TO compel them
70 listen while we sing solos with a fat, discor-
dant voices? A poor reader we will endure we
must; bat is it not stretch of TYRANNY to com
pei us to listen TO The singing of our prayers by
priest with the voice of nutmeg crater, with
nasal accomplishments?
VIM ALLEN F1sKE, LII. D.
This is one of the most curious psy
Geological puzzles that has ever come
under our notice. From the way in
which the writer writes his name-WM,
ALLEN FIsKE, LII Dive infer that he
IS person of some consequence both in
the beau monde and in the world of let
tiers. The communication appears, with
out any expression of dissent on the part
Of the editor, in one Of the ablest and
most influential Of our religious journals.
We may fairly infer that both Mr. Fiske
and the editor Of the Cbamchnaan APP
prove of informing the service if it is done
well-as, for example, by the Bishop of
Maine. But the introduction of this
name leads us a step further and we make
the discovery that the Bishop Of Maine
not only approves Of intoning the service,
but actually worships God in that way
himself and sets the example of this fan
fastic style Of approach to the Mercy
Seat
As we have iutimated To ne tb;s ;s