The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-12-24
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE.
Utah the Peer, Musically, of any
Other Place.
THE SALT LAKE CHORAL.
The Tabernacle Choir of Five Hundred
and Fifty.
Thirty Thousand Children and Adults
Take Part in sabbath School Music
Every sunday-our Bands
and Orchestras-
THE SALT LAKE CHORAL.

Boston, New York, Cincinnati and Chi
cage hold their heads high when music in
America is mentioned, and doubtless
would greet any claims OF rivalry from
the great american desert'' (?) with
smile OF ridicule.
Honored friends, we bid you smile, then;
read and ponder over the following facts:
Utah's treasure laoen mountains re-
sound every Sabbath with the song offer
ing of over five hundred church choirs,
ranging all the way from ten voices to $50
each; we viii say thirty voices to be low
estimate of the average. This would make
Is 600 choristers out of a population of
go, coo.
Where else in our broad land can a COM
paratiye number of the masses be found
taking part in chorus work?
THE TABERNACLE CHOIR
in Salt Lake city, numerically, leads the
world as a church choir with its 800 mem
bers. with an average attendance of over
three hundred people. The music it rem
ders is of the best, representing all
''schools, - ancient and modern. Such
honored names as Bach, Handel, Haydn,
Mozart, Spohr, Gounod, Rossini, Verdi,
Buck, and other great masters of the past
and present time are found mingled with
works which, while making no claim to
greatness, do not SOUND out of place in
such splendid company.
One OF the most noted organs in Amer
ica accompanies this choir, which, though
built when iron rails were not to be found
within LOCO miles of 'Zion," and con-
Structed chiefly by home mechanics and
OF home materials, is still declared by
eminent authority to be in some respects
unequalled by the greatest instruments
in the country. About six Years ago we
personally heard the late DR.. Eber Tour
gee, founder and then director of 1.-THE
New England Conservatory OF NIusc''
declare it to be more effective than ever
the great Boston music hall organs had
been. Much OF this, however, he thought
was due to the wonderful acoustic prop
critics OF the building wherein our magni-
ficant organ towers. Add to this a con-
gregation of from 1900 to 10000 people
Joining in some old congregational tune,
led by the choir and organ, and where, on
ordinary occasions, will you find its
equal?
This does not begin to exhaust Salt
Lakes choral strength.
THE CHORAL.
Another rival (but friendly organiza-
ton, numbering $50 voices, bearing the
name of the Salt Lake Choral society, will
this Christmas night, 1892, be rendering
the latest and we believe honestly the
greatest American musical work ''The
Light of Asia,' by Dudley Buck, in the
famous building, accompanied by the
great organ and q select orchestra. Dur
ing the following four months they viii
master Haydn's Creation - while the
choir are working on 'sThe Last Judg-
ment, by Spohr, and the double mottette,
81 Wrestle and Pray by Bach.
We mention these to show the intelligent
reader that it is not Sunday school can
tattas we are boasting about, though
when we come to that we are to the front
again. The Sunday school jubilees in
Salt Lake city have found 5000 children
in the chorus, and on Columbus Day
u, 900 people were TANNED iuto that great
egg-shaped building listening to the pa
triotic songs sung by c, 200 public school
children in unison and joining in cheers
to the best flag under the sun.
The genuine music-lover from the east,
taking the advice, ego west, young
man." finds to his delightful surprise
that he is not by any means isolated from
the pleasures of home life. The dear,
grand, familiar strains of the master
works greet him like old friends and
kindly bridge over the chasm between
the old associates and the new.
OTHER PARTS OF UTAH.
Our neighbors to the south, in Utah
county, boast of another choral society
numbering 800 voices, while the north
prlCes itself on its Logan choir (sixtv
voices), and the Sage Brush Male GIee
club, and Ogden its tabernacle choir and
Choral society, all making it an easy
matter to bring together /, 800 voices for
any occasion.
IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
For the past three years our children
have had music systematically taught IN
our public schools, and a juvenile choir
OF ! Goo voices Is q branch OF the taber-
nacle choir, which will keep that organ
ization supplied with singers for the next
fifteen years. Last June we heard at the
tabernacle at least four male choruses in
competition, none of which numbered
less than fifty nor more than 100. There
are, to my knowledge, two ladies' Choir
uses that represent that branch of vocal
music. Thirty thousand children and
adults take part IN Sabbath school music
every Sunday.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC.
Instrumental music is well represented
in our fair territory also. Almost every
hamlet contains either cabinet organ or
q piano, while the guitars and mandolins
are innumerable.
Brass bands abound and violins are
sufficiently numerous, atleast, to furnish
every little settlement with music to sup
ply the young peoples dances, while
drums-hush-don't mention them.
Politics OF late has set SO many of them
beating that they have become a pest. !
An exception to this, however, may be
found in the flute and drum band of the
juvenile choir, about fifty little fellows
who play in parts on their flutes in re-
markable style with a very few drums to
mark the time.
We have many teachers OF ability on
piano, organ, violin, etc., besides class
teachers and conductors for vocal music.
Our orchestras, while including a num-
Der of really excellent executants and
good readers, are very far behind our
VocaT forces for want of better and more