Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1891-09-25

Another obstacle has been an inordinate
fear of criticism The vast majority of
people singing in church never want any
body else 10 hear them sing Everybody IS
Whiting for somebody else to do his duty.
IF we rll sang. then the inaccuracies that
sre evident when only n few sing would
not be heard at all they would be drowned
ont. God only asks You to do MS well as
you can, and then if you get the wrong
pitch or keep wrong time, he will forgive
/ any deficiency of the car and impcricction
of the voice Angels will not laugh if you
should lose your place in the musical
scale or come in at the close bar behind
There are three schools Of singing, am
told the German school. the Italian school
and the French school of singing. Now, |
would like to ada IL fourth school, and that
is the school OF Christ. The voice of a con
trte, broken heart, although it may not be
able to stand human criticism. makes bet
ter music to Gods ear than the most ar
ti.tic performance when the heart Ia want
ing. ! know it IL cHsier to preach on this
than it is to practice; but | sing for two
rcasons--ilrst, because ! like it. and next,
because want to encourage those who do
not know how. have but very little
faculty in that direction yet am resolved
to sing God has commanded it and dare
not he silent. lie calls on the beasts, on
/ the cattle. on the dragons to praise him,
and We ought not to be behind the cattle
and the dragons.
Another obstacle that has been In the
way of the advancement Of this holy art
has been the fact that there has been 50
much angry discussion on the subject Of
music. There are those who would have
this exercise conducted by musical instru-
i. Al.
those who do not like musical instru.
mentS, and so it is organ and no organ, and
there is fight. In another church it is a
question whether the music shall be con
ducted by percentor or by drilled choir.
Some want a drilled choir and some want
a percentor, and there is fight Then
there are those who would like in the
church to have the organ played in a dull,
lfeless, droning way, while there are 9th
t ers who would have it wreathed into fan
TASTES, branching out in jets and spangles
| of sound, rolling and tossing in marvellous
convolutions as when, in pyrotechnic dis
, play, after you think piece is exhausted
, it breaks out in wheels rockets, blue lights
, and serpentiue demonstrations Some
would have the organ played in almost in
, audible sweetness, and others would have
it full of staccato passages that make the
; audience jump, with great eyes and hail
. on end, as though by vision of the Witch
Of Endor and he who tries to please all
will fail in everything. Nevertheless, YOU
are to admit the fact that this contest
which is going on, not in hundreds but in
thousands of the churches of the Unit &c
, States today, is mighty hindrance to tn,
advancement of this art. In this way
1 scores and scores of churches are entirely
,rip 1cI ., ind nd ha /,
, is damage rather than praise.
CAN YOU PRAISE GOD BY PROxy'
' Another obstacle in the advancement o
4 this art has been the erroneous notion thai
r this part Of the service could be conducted
} by delegation. Churches have said; "Oh
: what an easy time VS. shall have Th
G minister will do the preaching, the choi
will do the singing and we will have moth
D ing to do" And you know well as
. that there are great multitude o
Y churches all through this land where til,
c people are not expected to sing the Who'll,
I work is done by delegation of four or sill
t or ten persons, and the audience is silent
c In such "A church in Syracuse an old eide
n persisted in singing, and so the choir ap
:, pointed a committee to 20 and ask tn
. squire if he would not stop. You know
D that in great multitude of churches tn
4 choir are expected to do all the singing
e and the great mass Of the people are ex
| pected to be silent, and If you utter you
voice you are interfering There the,
stand the four, with opera glass dangliu.
4 at their side, singing Rock of Eges, clei
Q for me-" with the same spirit that tn
t night before on the stage they took thei
: part in the "Grand Duchess" or do
u Giovanni"
4 L., -, .l,@
4 delegate to others the discharge of thi
e duty which God demands OF us? Suppos
il that four wood thrushes should propose T.
: do all the singing some bright day whei
|. the woods are ringing with bird voices. |
Il is decid-d that four wood thrushes shall d
Il all the singing of the forest. Let all Othe
O voices keep silent How beautifully tn
Il four MARBLE. 1t is really fine music. Blu
e how long will you keep the forest still
l. Why Christ would come into that fOres
# and look up as he looked through the Olives
g and he would wave his hand and say, lie
II everything that hath breath praise tn
k Lord" and keeping time with the strok
il of innumerable wings, there would be liv
thousand bird voices lcapng into the han
z mOny. suppose TINS delegation of musica
n performers were tried in heaven; suppOa
r that four choice spirits should try to do tn
If singing OF the upper temple. liush, now
t, thrones ana domiuions and principalitie'
n David! be STILL though you were "the swee
st singer Of Israel" Paul! keep quiet, thong
t you have come to that crown of rejoicing
y Richard BaN~Il keep still, though this
le the Saints Everlasting Rest" Four spirit
IF now do all the singing. But how Ion
is would heaven be quiet? How long? "Ha
20 lcuiah' would cry some gloriiied Meth'
10 dist from under the altar. praise tt
If Lord'' would sing The martyrs from anon
V. the thrones Thanks be unto God viii
st givcth us the victory" great nulttut
G, of redeemed spirits would cry. Myriads
ls voices coming into the harmony and Il
re one hundred and forty and four thousnn
breaking forth into one acclamation. Ste
b. that loud snGiHgl stop! Oh, no, The
Of cannot hear me. Nou might as well try
it drown the thunder Of the SKY or beat baC
of the roar OF the sea, for every soul in hea
at en- has resolved to do its own singing. Ala
e that we should have tried on earth TIN
rs which they cannot do in heaven, and i
" stead Of joining all our voices in the prai
al of the Most High God, deegatiug perhal
to sad and . Ia