The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-12-25

DIR. Warren. formerly of Troy, N. Y,
has written a long aud entertaing article
on "Church Music" for which we shall
find room in the BANNER soon. Tht
SUNDAY Herald prints it as a leading
feature of their issue of the 2lst In II
DIR. Warren mentions the gentleman,
whose name we give above, and another
who is also well known to many OF ouT
people. We give the excerpt in the
Doctors words, as follows;
"Probably the need of sheet music fol-
my choir, which caused me to devote my
compositions to sacred subjects, changed
the whole tenor of my life and made me
an organist and church writer instead OF
a general musician. Among my friends
in Albany were George II. Boughton,
the world renowned painter who recently
paid visit to this city from his adopted
home in England, and Henry Squires,
the great tenor, who now lives Ill Paris.
Boughton was a struggling artist, and
Squires and | were ambitious young
musicians. Squires sang in my choir,
Boughton wanted to 60 abroad and so
did S1nires and made up my mind to
join the tenor and spend five years IN
Europe studying music and lifting myself
to become a composer of secular as well
as Sacred music. | had already composed
piece for the piano, Tam o. Shanter,
for which Boughton designed the title
page-a design, by the way, that, en-
iarged and developed, makes one of his
most famous paintings now in the Seney
collection. This was published by Pond,
and contrary to my expectations made
an instant success. Over six hundred
thousand copies of it had been sold three
years ago.
While my friends were making their
preparations | listened to advice, and
concluded to stop at home and pursue
the course l had mapped out. Squire'
had some singular experiences in Italy,
one of which will probably interest those
older musicians who knew the tenor In
his younger days. 1t was in Florence, J
believe, and we'll known professor OF
vocal music was the chief actor in the
scene.
Squires had splendid voice and was
gifted beyord most singers, but he was
not rich. He was handsome Yankee
boy from Bennington, Vermont, and
shrewd as most boys are from that part
of the world. After studying for some
time he proposed debnt to the pro-
fessor.
"'Under what name?' suggested the
professor. ....
"'Henry SQuires,' replied my friend.
"'Not Enrico Squeera? Oh, no; not
Squeerar expostulated the professor.
You surlee would not go on &c stage wiz
Eat name%
"'Why not?"
CHOW 1 will tell you vat to do con.
| tinued the Italian. Gees is vat you call
re bargain. Vor ten years l hat been
working on name-on a name. Eat
name is Signor Martini. Vor ten years
Won rascally paper in Naples has been
abusing Eat man wherever he has sung
1t has told lies about him wiz constant
venom. On re other hand | hat two
faithful papers in Rome Eat hat defended
zis man against re attacks of maleece
Now. ven re people of Rome read OF u
signor he is singing in Naples or Flor
ence, and ven re people of Naples read
it is in Rome Eat re singer is. Seei
Eat man exist only in my brain. He Ii
my creation, and zell you Eat name fol
1000. Ten years of my life for II ,OOC
cheap
But Squires was too poor to buy the
professors mythical, ready made famt
and was forced to sing as Squeera, anC
am glad to say that he made a grea
success