New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-05-20
IN THE CHURCH PORCH.
MUCH MUSIC AND LITTLE SERMON.

THE STORY OBJ TWO HYMNs-PHoNoGRAPHic
SERMONS.
couple OF Sunday evenings ago .strayed into
prominent church. not thousand miles from Mapha'-
tan Island. The reader must be satisfied 10 hho" no
more about Il than that 10 Is neither Roman Catholic
nor Episcopal Tho preacher is a man who IS always
listened with interest by tho goodly number OF peo
pie that attend his services But on this evening" and
for aught | know, other occasions, tho preacher
not allowed to enact the principal role, II NAY
DO pardoned tho Of such an unecclesiasticai cA
preston. The choir assumed that function and as
sumcd It with such air of rightul authority as to
convince everybody that where the choir sits is the
head OF the church Tho service lasted somewhat
more than an hour and q half OF that portion Oh
time tho pastor occupied at liberal estimate fifteen
minutes In prayer and Scripture readings, and hfteen
minutes in preachlng-half an hour say, devoted 10
worship and instruction. Tho choir monopolzed the
rest Of the tme-one solid hour; and IL only gave the
people a show twice, In singing the refrain to
very weak AMI varId hymn and once In the Doxology
The rest Of tho performance was sacred concert
We had bits of Roman Anglican and American church
music, intcrsperscd with selections, instrumental and
vocal that would have delighted the sensuous ear of
tho most blase wording Everything was beauti-
fully rendered. The most cultivated musician would
have been charmed with the manual skill Of the Or
gans and the artistic perfection OF the singers But
yet with IL all, tho soul Of worship was wanting
There unity of idea In the service: but Instead
q mosaic Of unrelated parts that neutrazed each
other
AS went out of the church after service, over
heard say to HIS friend: 81 tell you the singing
here lays over any sacred concert in town, and don't
you forget It." Eyes" replied his friend, and the
scrmonette obgato by the pastor wasn't so bad,
either" And no hit It right. In such dense and
varied array Of trlls roulades fugues and scmrell-
glous chansonettes, 1t seems the natural and proper
thing to regard the sermon, squeezed in at the end of
/ he If obli red An
pear at all by the courtesy Of the choir.
If Edison goes perfectng his photograph as he is
reported to be doing quite expect to hear OF It's being
used in many novel ways by churches and churchmen
The fact that the conversation tablets"-if in
| deed they tablets-can be sent by mall and made
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Church people who passing the whore there
| Is service Of their denomination, or whore the
service is rude and bUcolic please them will find
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| stand with the monograph where they could catch
everything worth hearing to the best possible adj
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of coughing. ETC., the part Of the congregation and
| imperfect phrasng the part Of tho choir, elIm
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] mr. nh IL nd toir
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To revert again to the question Of church music,
there well recognized type of ecclesiastical music
I'm this country The nearest approach to 1t was tho
old time hymnody and psalmody Of NewEngland.
! But that is now little more than memory. Later
came the of the catchy, jnglIng, ford music that
quarets greatly love, but the people arc getting
beyond that also. In the Roman Catholic Church
Is
which so many masses have been set In recent times.
But on the other hand all attempts to revive Gregg
ran music in its native crudity have been conspicuous
failures The American people will never take to
music I'm which there Is neither melody nor harmony.
In the Episcopal Church the renaissance of the old
English cathedral music has becn moderately sue
cessful 1t will be still so when some American
COMPOSERS arise who will modify this English music
so as to make IL little lighter and more 1orid with
out losing any Of its strength and religious tone.
When that is done will have American religious
music that all churches will love to sing. Mean
WHILE we have nucleus, few impershablc
gems. such as Rock of Ages and Jesus Lover OF
My soul'
Speaking of these two hymns the story told about
their origin may not be trc, but Is quite In Keeping
| with the character of the two authors Toplady and
! Charles Wesley They lived in the town, the
story relates and were friends. One day, how
ever, they quarreed and for some time did not even
speak, But such earnest Christians could not long
remain in this state. and so they began to think OF
a reconciliation. II so Happened that they Doth
spent the night in meditation and prayer over
this matter, and each came to the conclusion that
tho best way to bring about a reconciliation wonid
be to write a hymn to present to his friend. 10
ward morning white dove dashed against Topiaay' 8
window several times, and the words Of his immortal
hymn Rock of Ages" came to him. During the same
night Charles Wesley had also written hymn w"'on
Ia equally celebrated, Jesus Lover OF NY 'o"i
In the morning as they could not find messengers
IN carry their messages OF amty they set out to de-
liver them I'm person. And so they met on the street.
and the unhappy quarrel was healed. TINS story Is
perhaps too symmetrical and dramatic to DC en'lieiy
true but It IS one of those things that might DO rue'