Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1891-10-01

qualification OF pure taste, and the produc
ton Of harmless amusement and the i'm
provement OF talent have become great
forces in the advancement Of our civiliZa
ton. Music has as much right TO laugh in
Surrey gardens as II has to pray In ST
Paul'R 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 observer has no
ticed that this art, which God intended Tor
I the improvement OF the ear, and the voice.
and the head, and the heart, has often been
impressed into the service Of false relig
ions. False religions have depended more
upon the hymning OF their congregations
than upon the pulpit proclamation OF their
dogmas. Tartini, the musical composer.
dreamed one night that satan snatchPd
from his hand an instrument and played
upon it something very sweet-a dream
that has often been fulfilled in our day
the voice ant the instruments that ought 70
have been devoted to Christ, captured from
the church and applied to purposes Of su.
perstition.
DIscoRD AMONG MUSICIANS
! Another obstacle has been an inordinate
fear of criticism The vast majority Of
people singing In church never want any
body else to hear them sing Everybody is
waiting for somebody else to do his duty
II we all sang, then the inaccuracies that
are evident when only few sing would
not be heard at all, they would be drowned
out God only asks you to do as well as
| you can, and then If you get the wrong
pitch or keep wrong time. he will forgive
any deficiency OF the ear and imperfection
Of the voice. Angels will not laugh if you
should lose your place in the musical
scale or come In at the close a 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 add fourth school, and that
is the school of Christ. The voice of a con
trite, broken heart, although it may not be
! able to stand human criticism, makes bet
! ter music to Gods ear than the most ar
tistic performance when the heart is want
| ing | know il is easier to preach on this
than it is to practice; but | sing for two
reasons-frst, because like 1t, 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 be silent, He 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 so
much angry discussion on the subject of
music. There are those who would have
this exercise conducted by musical instru
ments. In the same church there are
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
Quoted by percentor or by drilled choir
Some want a drilled choir and some want
percentor, and there is a fight. Then
there are those who would like in the
church to have the organ played in dull
lifeless, droning way, while there are 9th
ers who would have it wreathed into fan
tastics, branching out in jets and spangleI
of sound, rolling and tossing in marvellous
convoluGions as when, in pyrotechnic dis
play, after you think piece is exhausted
1t breaks out III wheels, rockets, blue lights
and serpeutine demonstrations. Some
would have the organ played in almost in
audible sweetness, and Others would have
1t full of staccato passages that make the
audience jump with great eyes and hair
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 United
States today, is a mighty hindrance 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 damage rather than praise.
CAN You PRAISE GOD BY PROXY?
Another obstacle in the advancement OF
this art has been the erroneous notion that
this part of the service could be conducted
by delegation. Churches have said; "Oh
what an easy time we shall have. This
minister will do the preaching, the choir
will do the singing and we will have moth
ing to do" And you know as well AS /
that there are great multitude of
churches all through this land where the
people are not expected to sing, the whole
| work is done by delegation of four or six
or ten persons, and the audience is silent.
In such church in Syracuse an old elder
persisted in singing, and so the choir ap
| pointed a committee to go and ask the
squire if he would not stop. You know
that in a great multitude of churches the
choir are expected to do all the singing,
and the great mass of the people are ex-
pected to be silent, 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
iph hafo ha gfo bai
part in the Grand Duchess" or Don
| Giovanni"
| My Christian friends, have we right to
delegate to others the discharge of this
duty which God demands of usP Suppose
that four wood thrushes should propose to
do all the singing some bright day when
the woods are ringing with bird voices. 1t
is decided that four wood thrushes shall do
all the singing of the forest. Let all other
voices keep silent. How beautifully the
four warble. 1t is really fine music. But
how long will you keep the forest still?
Why, Christ would come into that fores.
and look up as he looked through the Olives,
and he would wave his hand and say, LET
everything that hath breath praise the
Lord" and keeping time with the stroke
of innumerable wings, there would be five
thousand bird voices leaping into the har
mony, Suppose this delegation of musical
performers 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 principalities.
Davidl be still, though you were "the sweet
singer of Israel" PAUL. keep quiet, though
you have come to that crown of rejoicing
Richard Baxter keep still, though this is
the Saints Everlasting Rest" Four spirits
now do all the singing. But how long
would heaven be quietp How longi "Hal
lelujah" would cry some glorifed Metho