The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-11-07
A Little More Singing.

SALT LAKE CITY. November 8, 1886.
To the Editor Of TIE HERALD.
The idea OF singing in the Sunday
meetings some Of the old tunes that are
dear to the hearts OF many religious
people is acceptable. Choirs generally
are fond of singing something more
snowy, which is all very well in its way,
and probably suits the younger people
better than hearing the plain old tunes.
But congregational singing is liked by
many and should be encouraged,
to some extent anyway, by the
choice Of simple music. In some
meeting hou ses, Surgeons Tabernacle
in London for instance, congregational
singing is considered the thing. But
variety is good and likely 70 please more
people than is one line OF singing Of any
kind. In one OF the meetIng-houses in
the eastern part of the city, 1t was re-
Gently announced that singing would
constitute more marked featzre of the
services than heretofore. This is COM
mendable. Indeed, Why not? The
Catholics make much of music in their
church services, and other religious
people might mu ltiply their music and
their devotio nal songs in their Sunday
services with pleasure and profit. A
hymn or anthem, q prayer, another
hymn or anthem, long ser
mon, or two or three discourses,
another hymn or anthem and a benedic-
ton make q long service, and to the
youthful is dry and tedious serv ice
A little more music would enliven mat
tiers considerably. If there were two
or more speakers, il would be pleas
I a. ~ 4 a N n
after each speaker.
l recollect a Methodist preacher,
named Brooks, who, wheu he felt the
thread of his discourse running rather
dry, would ask the congregation TO sing
a verse or two. They would start oil
with something like this:
The opening heavens around me shine
With beams of sacred bliss, etc.
This gave the preacher time TO rest
and recruit, and he would start Oh
again after the singing with new spirit,
and yet would not preach longer than
others do without halt. Mr.. Brooks
was a lively, energetic man, a converted
fox hunter and general sportsman, a
country squire and a good reyivalist.
But he did not think long preach was
everything. He had discovered that 8
little more singing by way of variety
was great relief, helping both speaker
and nearer.
When Moody and Sankey were here,
they gave a musical melange Of about
half an hour before the preaching began,
and the idea was good and pleasing.
The plain old tunes should not be
sung too slowly, or they would drag.
Nor should they be sung too quickly, or
the effect is marred still worse, As in
the case of the negro congregation who
sang the Old Hundredth in a style as
lively as if it were dance music.
In Shakespeare's Stratford-on-Avon
many years ago, recollect hearing a
brass band play the Old Hundred
very well on the street. A religious
(Methodist) woman standing by re-
marked that it was better than any
thing else the band played, grander and
more soulful to her
also recollect one preacher, who had
no music in his soul. He did not know
one tune from another, and he consid-
cred singing at all only q concession TO
other peoples fsncies, inexplicable TO
him. A good long talk was what he de-
lighted in. But with most people IL is
different; also with SALT LAKER.