Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-05-03

COuNpiuLlOns aS Wneu IN pYfo-
technic display you think
piece IN exhausted 1t breaks out in wheels,
rockets, blue lights and serpentne de-
monstratlons. some would have the or
gaa played in almost inaudiOle sweet
ness, and others would have 10 iull az
staccato passages that make the audience
jump with great eyes and hair on end as
though by vision OF the witch of Eudar;
aud he who tries 20 please all Will sue
coed IN nothing. Nevertheless. you are 20
admit the fact that this contest which is
going on, in hundreds 81 the churches Of
the United States to-day. IS a mighty hin.
dranee to the advancement OF this art. In
this way scores and scores OF churches
are entirely crippled as to all influence
and the music is a damage rather than
praise.
Another obstacle In the advancement of
this art bias been the erroneous notion that
this part of the service could be conducted
by delegation. Churches have said:
son, "a hat an easy time we shall have,
The minister will do the preaching and
the choir will do the sin ging, and we Will
have nothing to do" And YOU know as
well as that there are a great multitude
of churches all through this land where
the people are not expected 10 sing The
whole work Is done by adeleeatlOn of four
or SIX or ten parsons, aud the audience
are silent. In such a church in SYRIA
cuse, an old elder persisted In
singing and so the choir appointed a conf
mIttee to go and ask the squire if he
would not stop. You know that in
great multitude of churches the choir are
expected and do all the singing, and the
great mass OF the people are expected to
be sient, and If you utter your voice you
are interfering. There they stand. the
four, with opera-glass dangling at their
side. singing, Rock of Ages, cleft for
me-" with the same spirit that the night
before, on the stage they took their part
in the "Grand Duchess" or "Don Gio-
vanni."
My Christian friends, have we a right
to delegate to others the discharge of this
duty which GOO demands Of us? Sup
pose that four wood thrushes propose to
do all the singing some bright day when
the woods are ringing with bird voices.
1t is decided that tour wood thrushes
shall do Sill the singing of the forest. Let
all other voices keep silent. How beauti-
fully the four warbel Tt is really fine
music. But how long will you keep the
forest still? Why, Christ would come
into that forest and look no as he looked
through the olives, and he would
wave his hand and say: "Let every
thing that hath breath praise the
anu hCCRiuS bllHE WIN tlC CAiOhE
of innumerabie wings, there would be
5000 bird voices leaping into the harmony.
Suppose this delegation of musical per-
formers were tried in heaven; suppose
that four choice spirits should try TO do
the singing of the upper temple. Hush
now, thrones and dominiOns and princi-
palities. David, be still, though YOU were
the "sweet singer of Israel" Paul, keep
quiet, though you have come to that crown
Df.huA
though this is the "Saints' Everlasting
Rest" Four spirits now do all the sing
ing. But how long would heaven be
quietS How long? "Hallelujah" would
cry some gioritied Methodist from under
the altar. "Praise the LordW
would sing the martyrs from
among the thrones. "Thanks be
unto God VITO giveth us the victory" a
great multitude of redeemed spirits would
cry-myriads of voices coming into the
harmony and the one hundred and forty
and four thousand breaking forth into one
reclamation. Stop that loud singinql
Stopl Oh, no; they cannot hear me. You
mi ght as we'll try to drown the thunder
OF the sky or beat back the roar of the
sea, for every soul in heaven has resolved
to do it's own singing. Alas that we
should have tried on earth that which
they cannot do in heaven, and instead of
joining all our voices in the praise of the
Most High God, delegalng perhaps to I'M
consecrated men and women this most
solemn and most delightful servicei
Now, in this church we have resolved
upon the plan of conducting the music
by precentor. We do it for two rea sons;
one is that by throwing the whole re-
sponsibility upon the mass Of the people,
making the great multitude the choir, we
might arouse more heartlness. The con-
gregat1On coming on the Sabbath day feel
that they cannot delegate this part of the
great service TO any one else, and so they
themselves assume it. We have glorious
congregational singing here. People have
come many miles to hear it. TBey are
not sure about the preaching, but they
can always depend on tue singing. We
have heard the sound coming up like "the
voice of many waters" but it will be done
at a better rate after awhile. when we
shall realize the height and the depth and
the immensely of this privilege.
Another reason why we adopted this
pan. We do not want any choir quar-.
rels. You know very we'll that in scores
Of the churches there has been perpetual
contention in that direction. The only
church fight that ever occurred under my
ministry was over melodeon in my first
settlement. Have you never been in
cburcn on the sabbath day and heard the
choir sing and YOU said THAT is splen-
did music" The next Sa bbatn you were
in the church and there was no choir at
all. Whyf The leader was mad or
his assistants were mad or
they were all mad together
Some OF the choirs are made up of our
best Christian people! Some Of the warm
est friends have ever mad have stood up
in them, Sabbath after Sabbath, con-
scientiOusly and successfully leading the
praises OF God. But the majority OF the
choirs throughout the land are not made
up OF Christian people, and three-fourtns
OF the church lights originate IN the organ
lott. / take that back and say niue
tenths. Many of our churches are dying
of choIrs.
Let us as church give still more at
tentiOn to the music, IL "A man with voice
enough to sing keep silent during this
exercise. he com mits a crime against God
and insults the Almighty.
Music ought to rush rom the audience
like the water from "A rOck--clear. bright,
sparkling. II all the other part OF the
church service is duh do not have the
music dull. With so many thrilling
things TO sing about, away with all
drawing and stupidity There Is nothing
that makes me 30 nervous as to sit ia
pulpit and look of ON an audience with
their eyes three-iOurths closed and their
lips almost shut, mumbling the praises Of
God. During my recent absence 1
preached TO "A large audience, aud all the
music they made together did not