The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-10-24
SINGING CLASSIC MUSIC.
Thoughts Prompted by the Organ
izatiOn of Sacred Musical
Society.
To the Editor of TIE HERALD


music, will rejoice at once more find
inga dawning prospect of hearing, or
parIaking otherwise, of the refined and
intense enjoyment of studying classic
music. To some, the very name might
only suggest that music which is unln-
ttlhgible, complex, high toned" etc
to b enjoyed only by profess onals,
beautiful only in its technical pro
fundits. But such is a mistaken idea;
truly classic music is not alone admir-
able for its artistic construction, q
technical sense, but for the truthful
ness and force of its expression OF
human feelings and emotions. 1t is
these last mentioned traits that nave
given lifs-almost eternal-to the
lie glorious work of a Bach, Handel,
Hayden, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendels-
hn and other great musical
writer's. Many equally learned men
in the art have written as (techul
callyJ profound works, which have
long since been consigned to oblivion,
because they labked that kernel OF lie
meaning, clear, impressive thought and
expression in every phrase. The heart
did not feel when they wrote, IL was
uIIy the brain, hence the heart was not
moved when the cold formal result of
urain calculation was presented for its
.pI roval, and the result was both the
work and the author were soon for
gotten. Not so with real classic works
and authors. They have madeuse Of
tleir perfect mastery over forms OF art
TO express in unmlSJakable accents
every emotion of heart ard SOUL. They
felt most deeply every sentiment theV
portray in. their music, and when these
are properly interpreted and laid before
US, We feel with them their pangs OF
GROW, their outburstS of Joy. Their
grand elevated strains lift US up with
them into the realms Of fancy until
the scene appears almost real,
and in hsteninc to or singing Halle
| luiah, for the Lord God Omnipotent
R5igneth," as portrayed by the 6 eat
Handel CIT. anks be to God, by Men
IdeIltsohn, if We do not feel 3 if we we're
| in the presence (or in the midst( of the
hosts uttering these glorious words,
with heart OVERLOOKING with JOY and
enthusiasm. then the rendering of 1t is
no more the rendering OF what Handel
or MenndellsSohn wrote than q mean
| ingIess recital of Hamlet'5 soliloquy on
| death given by frightened scboolbl "
would be a rendering of the deep
! thoughts set forth therein by Shakes
peare, or the listener has failed TO give
| that attention to the rendeTings, or has
not attempted to place his thoughts in
! sympathy with the text or subject IN
| der considerations condition neces-
ssry to the enjoyment OF anything.
/ u l. . saNr nj
ize anything other than feeling of re-
! lief. or, perhaps, a little satisfaction to
| know that the singers got through the
| difficult piece without breaking down"
or, in other words, merely feel that
they have performed quite feat in rem
dering the composition technically cor
rect. This failure, say. is undoubtedly
caused, as a rule, by the labored man
ner, devoid of truthful expression, in
which the piece is rendered, and this
defect is often caused by the mex
! peTience of the performers, as the
rule has been for a society 10 be organ
lied with view of rendering certain
work, and the performance o. this IS so
| FASTENED with either a view Of raising
means or satisfying the eagerne of all
/ to appear in public, that they are
scarcely able to sing the music at all,
forgetting luaI IL l. ~ CeT Lt6 pteCc Is
/ technically learned that the EXPIRE ssion
and real meaning begin to make them
! selves plain TO the singers, and the real
artistic work of the conductor and
! singers then begins. ] he performance of
a work has in many instances been the.
death knell of the society who have had
all the worse part Of the work, and but
| little of the pleasure or real benefit
! that should be derived from It.
! Let US hope that the society shortly
| to be formed, will be organized on such
a sure foundation that its existence
will neither be dependent on perform
ances, nor upon the presence or
interest of any one, or one hundred
individuals. That in fact, it shall
! be an institution for the advancement
OF the community in musical matters,
;. atched over by those most interested
! in the welfare of the community, and
| patroniZed, in every sense, by the peo-
pie in whose interest it is to be founded.
| Let 1t be no gathering OF only few
well-knOWn always at-work musicians,
| but rather an assemblage of young
music lovers who have good voices, en-
couraged and led by the older, and
more experienced. Every ward should
be searched and its best voices brought
/ into use. There are scores of excellent
voices IN our city never heard in pub
lie gathering of any sort. They are
only to be heard in the kitchen or like
places where they suppose they are not
| being listened to. do not mean by
this that everybody, voice or no voice,
should be admitted. out that some
| energetic plan should be adopted TO
get those having good voices together,
whether they be well known or other
wise. as the work of training the
musical in the performance, appre-
ciating and understanding of the
most inspired strains yet written
(for such are the works of classic
writer's in music, is a good one, let it
be as extensive as possible, and let it be
lasting, built upon the slow, thorough
and sure plan, looking rather to the
results ten years hence than that of
this or next winter. Then when thor
oughlY started let every cause tending
to kill il be zealously guarded against,
as every dead society is an annoying
scarcass in the way OF another wishing
to progress. We believe wise selec-
ton has been made in its Ito bel con-
ductor. And while all lovers Of
divine art should be friends and
1a