St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-07-22

pastor IN cope, preceded by his two
assistants in dalmaticS. Then he nat |
urally expected to see the impressive
ceremonies of solemn vespers. Instead
of an organ prelude he heard the strains
of Lam billotte's Regina Cell" which
sounded rather strange to begin
with, as it usually comes after
the "Magnificat." But his surprise
was supreme when the priests, after
kneeling few moments at the altar,
merely took their seats. No Deus i'll
adjutorium-what did this meant Was
there to be no vespers after all? But
wait The "Laudate Pueri," Copocci's,
the famous Lateran leader and COM
poser. is sung. 1t is followed by the
''Magnlficat," arranged from Mozart's
Twelfth Mass. Here the cele-
brant and his assistants arise:
some remnant of yes pers is sud-
denly resurrected. They incense
the altar, and resume their places But
that is all. No collect, no Beuedca-
mus Domino with its two AlIeluas
gladden. the heart of the disappointed
listener. Next Gounod's well known
harmonies float from the choir loft. 1t
is the sanctus from his Third Mass. But
who ever heard of sanctus at vesper
service? What next?
Handlers "Hallelujah." AS this ter
inmates Easter services the onlooker
thinks to rise and depart. But the end
is not yet. The priests advance to the
| altar steps, the deacon aScends and
places the ostensorum high above the
| altar, and at last the service seems t o
be familiar. 1t is benedction. This
! cannot be different, thank heaven. The
"Oh, Salutaris" and "Tantum Ergo" are
sung by choir and congregation.
And then the services end by the sing
| ing of tbe"Laudate Dominum" in which
many of the laity did not join, because
erhaps they would not trust them
selves with the difficult psalm Of two
verses. The clergy and acolytes are
gone. he"Regina Celt' is repeated and
the congregation vanishes homew ard.
| The lonely onlooker. bewildered by the
extraordinary transposition of psalms,
antiphones, ETC.. wanders forth into the
night. asking himself, Where was l
| at?'
There Is one musical version of sacred
words which is the most tiresome aud
impairment in association with them.
and that Is Gounod's Ave Maria"
with its fiue.Spun, long-draWn-out in
PRODUCTION, and its weak investment of
| the theme thereafter. 1t is fayorite
in the concert room where ambitious
sopranos shrek it in thin heady tones,
straining and painting with labored eff
&c. Hn.l nf IN, Il Il
fddler's question
Don't you see my shoulders shaking?
Don't you see what pains I'm taking?"
So popular has the prayer become
that it is arranged by various compos-
ers, and is the piece de resistance with
many public singers at this time. The
tenor has his ford and apopletc
version of it. the baritone roars 1t out
until you pity him. and hope that he
may not come to grief through vocal
| stress. But, after all, 1t is the soprano
| of the f1eshly school of singing, to
| judge by the ample exposition at the
| neck and arms, who is the most unpar-
donable incongruity, smirking and
mounting the holy words in meaningless
intricacies Of music. 1t is devoutly to
| UO VIC may oGS uOE
hear any more of the school, now that
! an arch-offending prima donna has
married, and withdrawn from the stage.
Charles Wesley, rather than his older
brother John, was the hymnist Of the
Methodist movement in 1877. Still, just
before his death, he said: II have lived
and | die in the communion of the
Church of England, and will be buried
in the yard of my parish church." He
may not have had the stern, compunc.
tious rebound of Rouget de L'lsIe, but
he probably foresaw some of the mod.
ern abuses of hymnody. and was desir.
Gus toward the end OF stouter anch-
orage than hymn could give him, else
why did he put himself on record in
this way? We of this generation have
left compunctious vsitings far behind,
because no matter how vicious we may
be. we really must insist upon the
dreadful funeral irreleyance of Nearer,
My God, to Thee"