The Hazel Green herald. [volume] (Hazel Green, Wolfe County, Ky.) 1885-19??, 1891-10-23

F-JN Wv wi optEht out ok MN.
Spanish king was melancholy. Tn,
windows were all closed Tie sat Il
darkness. Nothing could bring hin
forth until Faraneli came and dis
coursed music for three or four DAYS "a
him. On the fourth day he looked mp
and wept and rejoiced. and the win
dows were thrown open. and that which
oil the splendors of the court could mol
do, the power of song accomplished
III You have anxieties and worriments
try this heavenly charm upon them
DO not sit down on the bank OF the
hymn, but plunge in, that the devil OF
care may be brought out of you.
lt also arouses to action. A singing
church is always triumphant church!
II congregation is silent during the
exercise, or partially silent, IL Is the
silence of death. If. when the hymn
is given out, you hear the great hum OF
here and there father and mother in
Israel while the vast majority Is silent,
that minister of Christ who is prcsid-
ing needs To have very strong consti-
tuition IL he does not get the chills. He
needs not only the grace of God, hut
nerves like whalebone. II is amazing
how some people who have voice
enough to discharge all their duties in
the world, when they come into the
house of God have no voice to discharge
this duty. really believe that IL the
Church of Christ could rise up and sing,
that where we have hundred souls
brought into the kingdom of Christ
there would be thousand
But / must now speak of some OBJ
stacles in the way of the advancement
of this sacred music; and the first is
that it has been impressed into the
service of superstition. / am far from
believing that music ought always to
be positively religious Refined art has
opened places where music has been
secularized, and lawfully so. The
drawing room, the musical club. the
orchestra, the concert, by the gratifica-
ton of pure taste, and the production
of harmless amusement and the inn
provement of talent, have become great
forces in the advancement of our civili-
cation. Music has as much right to
laugh in Surrey Gardens as it has to
pray in St Paul In the kingdom of
nature, we have the glad fling of the
wind as well as the long meter psalm of
the thunder.
But while all this is so, every observ-
er will notice that this art which God
intended for the improvement of the
ear, and the voice, and the head, and
the heart, has often been impressed into
the service of false religions. False re-
ligions have depended more upon the
hymning of their congregations than
upon the pulpit proclamation of their
dogmas Tartini, the musical compos-
or, dreamed. one night that Satan
from his hand an instrument
and played upon it something very
sweet-a dream that has often been full
filed in our day, the voice and the in
strument that ought TO have been de-
voted to Christ, captured from the
church and applied to purposes of SUI
pcrstition.
Another obstacle has been an inor-
Innate fear of criticism. The vast ma |
iority of people, singing in the church,
never want any body else TO hear them |
sing. Everybody is waiting for some |
body else to do his duty. If we all sang, |
hen the inaccuracies that are evident |
when only n few sing would not be
heard at all; they would be drowned
nut, God only asks you to do as well as
you can, and then, II you get the wrong
bitch, or keep wrong time, He will for
rive any deficiency of the ear and i'm
perfection of the voice. Angels will
lot laugh IL you should lose your place
n the musical scale, or come in at the
lose bar behind. There are three
chools of singing, | am told-the Ger
nan school, the Italian school and the
french school OF singing.
Now. l would like TO add n fourth
chool, and that is the school of Christ.
The voice of contrite, broken heart,
Though IL may not be able to stand
uman criticism, makes better music To
iods ear than the most artistic per-
when the heart is wanting
know IL is easier to preach on this
han it is to practice, but sing for two
casons-first, because / like it, and
ext because ! want to encourage
hose who do not know how | have
mt very little faculty in that direction,
ct am resolved to sing. God has
il, and dare not be silent
lie calls on the beasts, on the cattle on
ne dragons To praise Him, and We
ught not to be behind the cattle and
ne dragons.
Another obstacle that has been in the !
'ay of the advancement of this holy !
IT. has been the fact that there has
cen SO much angry discussion on the
ibject of music. There are those who I
ould have this exercise conducted by F.