Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1895-03-29
THE CHURCH SOPRANO.


a warmer room leannot pay my board
that's all there is to it."
So complained se'f-supportine
young soprano to the writer as the,
met in the neighborhood Of hall-reg.
lister one chilly morning.
81 have had cold for a week. tho
grnmbler wen, on, sand if / am no,
better by Friday evening ! cannot at.
tend rehearsal, and then there will be
the very Notwithstanding to pay. After
girl signs contract with the musical
committee of church, they seem to
think 1t awfully dishonestin her ever
to have cold or sore throat, and SO
try to earn my Sc, no matter what
condition my voice is in, though it is
very Notifying to have to croak for
people when one is expected to yell.
s'Just now should make a good
basso, though as you know, i am q
sopraso by profession. What do you
think sewiIg-gir' said to me yester-
day? That had an awfully easy
time, as earned enough on Sunday to
pay my board, an | had nothing to do
but eat and sleep! / told her ] worked
as hard as she did through the week,
as had to practice my singing every
day and study three languages besides.
What do | want with languages Why,
j shall have to sing French and Italian
and German ballards when come out
as regular concert-singer, which |
expect to do as soon as my voice is
strong enough to fill large public
hall. Then ] shall begin to grow rich,
as of course / should never sing for
less than S25 an evening. No, don't
expect ever to be paid Sl.75 a note, as
Patti is in Lucia, but there is no rea-
son why my voice shouldn't in time
bring me comfortable support.
"When / first began to sing / hadn't
voice enough to fill parlor and my
listeners had to draw up close around
the piano, but now it will fill an ordin-
airy sized church, and if it goes on
growing may one day make myself
heard in the Academy of Music or St.
Patrick's Cathedral. Profession crowd
ed? / should say SO! When l was
chosen for my present place, fifty
sopranos were left, though the church
l sing in is in such an out-of-the-way
part of the city that it is comparatively
unknown. Some had better voices
than mine, but ] could beat them all in
reading the notes. 1t is no more
trouble for me to sing a hymn or an
anthem at sight than to read a book at
sight. Some sopranos, too, haven't
religious voices. Their voices are
sweet and flexible and have great carry
ing power, but they are better fit for
operate than for church music, and a
singer may trill like bird in arias and
such things, and yet fail in music that
isn't half SO difficult to execute.
On good terms with the other MEM
bers of the choir? We'll, yes. like
the contralto well enough for all the
use / have for her. She is dear
friend of soprano who applied for
my place and didn't get it, and the
first Sunday | sang after my contract
was signed q had just sItch cold that
day as have now, l overheard her
say that my singing reminded her of
sthe VOLTS long howl from Ounalas-
ka's shore However, / have for
given her for that, and we hardly ever
have words nowadays, though she still
yawns when I sing my solos. They
sometimes make me sing the contralo
solos, and naturally she doesn't like
that. The tenor is lady-like sort of
a man, and like the basso, though his
manner is as gruff as his voice.
81 am good friends with the pastor
of my present church, but where last
sang the pastor couldn't bear me and
let me know it. He admits that as
far as tune goes, he cannot distinguish
between odd Hundred and sRing the
Bells Of Heaven but all the same, he
took offence because | was selected as
soprano, without his being consulted.
Do / love to sing? Yes, except at
funerals. On such occasions, no mat
ter who is in the coffin, it comes
natural to me to cry my eyes out, and
that interferes with my business, es-
pecially if l have to sing solo.
ssDear me! why doesn't the lunch
bell ring? The other day gentleman,
who wished to be complimentary, said
to me that he supposed we angelic
singers lived on angel cake. l told
him he was the most mistaken man
alive. /, for one, couldn't sing at all
if / didn't eat meat three times a
day, and it must be butchers meat at
that. In my last boarding house they
expected me to sing on chicken OF tur-
key every Sunday, but 1 told them that
wouldn't do; they must give me a pri-
vate dish of cold beef. Yes, as / said
just now, love to sing, but | have
given up singing for love. At one
time some of our rich church-members
used to invite me very regularly to
their receptions, but when / found /
was wanted only to sing for the other
guests, l began respectfully to decline
their invitations. One of them-Ill
call her Mrs. Shoddy, for that's what
ner name ought to be-said to me when
] excused myself to her:
q Il suppose you don't care to come
because you cannot dress like the
young ladies you would meet
''That doesn't trouble me in the
least, Madam / answered; sthey
can outdress me, but / can outsing
them
~ pay my board and car-fare and
such things out of my Sunday earn
ings, but dress OH what | make by
drawing-room concerts. Ihaye sever
al friends who lend me their drawing
rooms and help me sell my tickets, and
in this way after an ordinarily success
fu1 c0ncart T can huy a nice draec and