The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-28
ST. JOHNS VESTED CHOIR.
1t VIII BE Heard for the First Time
! Nov. 10.

St. Johns church has for some time
been making elaborate preparations for
its musical services during the coming
winter, and the large choir Of boys and
men win be heard for the first time,
accompanied by the new organ, Sunday,
Nov. 10.
The boys In the choir have been under
special training by Prof. Spencer NJ. White
since last June. They have had regular
practices twice each week at the parish
building, and have besides had special
voice training at Prof. Whites home.
There are thirty-two boys in the choir,
their ages ranging all the way from TO
IA years. They are Harry Lucas, Eugene
Cole, Harold Moynelo. Howard Dwella
Charlie Dwelle, King Purse. Finley Wal
ton, Walter Elton, John Elton, Charlie
Tarver, Elwood Mcclure, Gustave Rob
ertson, George Cornwell, Horace Everett,
Raymond White, George Launey, Otto
Schroeder. John Harms. John Steinberg.
Percy Huger, John Dyer, Sam Belsinger
Lambert Coburn, Frank Robertson, Hal
Mcleod, John ONeill, Gordon Haines
John Keiffer Martin Wilkins. Robert r.
vim, Leo Smith and Warren Geffcken.
Three of the boys have been in church
choirs before. Finley Walton was in the
Irwin in St Lukes, Atlanta, and John
O'Neill in Christ church. Nashville. The
boys have proceeded far enough with
their training to begin their work at once.
The new organ will be ready for next
Sundays service but owing to the fact
that the ladies have not been able to get
all of the vestments for the choir ready
the first service will not take place until
Sunday week.
The principal thing in training a boy
choir, Prof. White says, IS to get the
tone. The training is conducted in the
reverse manner from that employed in
training the voice Of an adult. With the
boys the work is begun on the high notes
generally with high +, and they are drilled
downward, in order to secure the pure
treble tone. The idea is TO secure the
thin register or head tones instead of the
thick register of chest tones, which in
boys is not so pleasant.
Besides the thirty-twO regular choir
boys there will be ten probationers who
Will receive the regular training. and
from among whom selections will be
made from time to time TO I'LL vacancies
in the regular choir. There will also be
twelve men singers in the regular choir,
six bassos and six tenors. They are
Messrs. Blois, Meyer, Hanson, WalwOrth,
Hall and Mcmillan, bassos; and Messrs.
Reaves, Fearon Wood, Daffin, Shivers
and Hops, tenors This gives the church
a choir of forty-four voices for the reg
ular services
After two months work the choir will
begin to sing antiphonaily, that is it
will be divided on the two sides of the
chancel and the singing will be respon-
slVe. There will be no ladies in the reg
ular choir. but at the Christmas and
Easter festival services there will be
chorus of ladies' thus giving the church
for those occasions double chorus that
of the boys and men and that of the la
dies.
Rev. C. II. Strong will preach an ap-
propriate sermon on the day the new
choir is heard for the first time. His sub
iect viii be GOy Choirs," and he will
no doubt, give some interesting points
with regard to the history of them. Some
people have been Of the opinion that the
boy choirs were an indication of high
church. This, however, Prof. White
says, is not the case. He mentioned the
fact that st. Matthew's Methodist church
of Reading Pa, has a vested choir, and
when they are found in Methodist
churches, they can hardly be considered
an indication of high church. They are
found in high churches, but they are
choir
about Thursday. Mr.. Bents, the tuner
for Hook q Hastings of Boston, will be
here to-day and the pipes will be put
in place and the instrument tuned as rap
idly as possible. There are just l. $50
pipes in the organ, SO it will be seen
that il is not an easy matter to put it
up up and get everything in the right place.
The instrument is the largest size two
manual organ that is, the largest, with
two keyboards, it being much larger than
the old organ. which has three keyboards.
1t has three pedal stops, and unlike .he
old instrument, has no cut stops, every
stop running entirely through its set Of
pipes. 1t has four composition pedals,
with a reversible pedal coupler, which
works automatically. One special feature
is a large swell organ, large enough to
accompany a choir and a congregation
at the same time.
The old organ, which stands in the gal
lery in front of the church, is probably
one of the Oldest instruments of its size
and kind in the south. 1t was built by G..
House of Buffalo. n. Y, and though its
exact age could not be ascertained, it is
known to have been there from thirty
to forty years. 1t is three-manual or
gan, built in the old style, with the choir
organ above the other two, instead of
! below them. Ii has many sweet tones in
it, which have been admired by many,
some of them strangers, who have re-
marked upon it after hearing 1t the first
time. 1t has done remarkably good serv-
ice. The church was made an offer for it,
but has decided not to sell it, having
/ come to the conclusion that it win be
/ cheaper and more convenient to leave it
/ in the alcOve as it stands than it would
/ to go to the expense of fixing the alcove
/ after it was removed. Then, too, there
/ is resentment about such an old instru-
( ment that makes the officers and con-
! gregation desire to see it retained