The San Francisco call., 1895-05-22
D ART At THE WOrlAN'S CONGRESS.


7 the work
have admitted that goodly portion of the
blame for the insufficient result of music study
in this country is to be attributed to the teach
ers l will say, in partial defense, that the
teachers work is more difficult in this country
than in Europe, because there are so few out
side influences to assist him. But for that
very reason his work should not be SO shallow
as it has often been. say shallow instead or
narrow, for much of the teaching has been
broad enough-touching here and there upon
many things-but just as shallow stream may
so does much musical work OF the day prove
the actual musical experience, be- beneath tn
within few years of study to delve for him
self among the jewels of musical literature,
thoughts of tone poetry and to work lnde-
pendently. For, after all is said and done,
II is the pupil who must work out his own
salvation. If the general principles OF work
are wise and II Il they the cSe Ie not am peb by to
give real appreciation OF true muslcal
Thought, the problem of how to achieve re-
Rome in view, aud faithful guidepost, the
eager student will not fail to keep the way;
In emphasis of the fact that 1t is lnalviduaI
work which achieves results l should like to
tell story.
students making walking tour through
Eastern Switzerland. Late one afternoon we
came upon q wee little village nestIed up
against the mountains rs II to guard user
from sliding down into the lake of Wallenstadt.
We stopped at a sim pie inn for refreshments ana
| the peasant woman who served us began an
animated 9Pon 'qas sbs
| said: "My man is musician, 700; DE rs up
| on the mountain with the haying"-and tax
| ing down q photograph from the wall, she
continued, "Can ye pick out my man ma trom this
| group?" Her pride in her "Mann was SO evil
| dent that we could not do less t1an PICK out
| the handsomest from group OF men, evil
| dently members of the village band. Fortune
was kind! We had guessed correctly, and the
woman cried, "How could you tell, now, that
| that was INV mann?" She told US then in de-
tail that her husband was the leader of the
"Blaserbund," a band OF players OF wind in
| tice that very evening in the room where we
sat She gave us a most cordial invitation TO
remain, but we thought it best to push on to
| assembled the path, we saw man approaching
us with a heavy net OF hay on his
"Mann'' OF our peasant hostess. One of our
! party addressed him by name, whereat he
! seemed surprised and almost resentful; but
| quainted with him through mis- wife's praises
| and the photograph, he welcomed us heartily
and begged us to return, to accept quarters for
the night and hear his men play. We liked
| the appearance OF the man, and thinking that
| it would, after all, be new experience to hear
the doubtful music OF peasant band, we ac-
| higher point for view of the lake, the noun
| tains beyond and the valley of the Upper
|
greeted by our new friends. When the men,
| bers of the Blaserbund began to assemble they
| proved to be manly fellows, every one OF whom
had worked since early morning, raking, baling
| and bringing home hay from the higher levels.
We settled ourselves as comfortably possible
in the wide window seats, prepared to endure
rather than to enjoy the playing, but though we
| had all listened to the finest military and
| civic bands of the Old World capitals, we all
| finger in the memory of each one of us as the
| most wonderful horn-playing we ever heard .
| Such rare beauty of tone, such gradations,
| such depths and such lightness can scarcely be
| imagined. 1t was as though the beauty OF the
| whole Alps, with their soft colorngs, their
graceful contours, their awe-inspiring heights,
were concentrated and translated for the mo-
| ment into tone medium.
How came it that these men, whose leader
aad 1ny s5oTS to be
achieved such results? AS we discussed this
| question, on resuming our tramp the next day,
character simplicity of thought and an appre-
citation of what is beautiful in nature, one win
inevitably come to a proper understanding of
what is highest in art, provided one plunges
fearlessly into the midst of it and makes it an
intimate and familiar thing-a part of ones
real life.
Not to dwell too long upon these jdeas the
summary of it all is Parents should create a
better home life-a merrier, more comfortable
etmosphere-snould make the children feel
that there must be reciprocal interest in the
work and enjoyments of the whole family,
should cause the children to study such in
struments as will combine in ensemble work
and result in general "musiciren." making
OF good music, when the winter evenings or
free afternoons come, then with the co-opera-
ton of thoughtful and deepening work on the
part of teachers, there will, in the course of
time, spring up h SO general me kn9wledge that
for musicians, its National opera in each great
city, minister of education and fine arts at
Washington, and perhaps resident at the
White House who can distinguish Yankee
Doodle" from "God Save the Queen"
Mrs. Foley of Stockton, Mrs. Charlotte
| Perkins Stetson and Mrs. Alice McComas
of Los Angeles made brief comment on the
paper, the discussion being ended by Mrs.
| Sarah Pratt Carr, who advocated the aid
| ing of local bands in small communities as
means of spreading musical taste. Upon
the suggestion of Mrs. Stetson, she mem
| toned the case of one woman in Tulare,
said to be the most musical city in Cali
fornia, in the cultivation of musical taste.
That woman loved music and art and in
stilled her knowledge readily unto the
minds of many pupils.
| Mrs. Charlotte Perkins Stetson was
called upon to read a paper, sSimplicity
in Decoration" Her appearance was
GREETED with prolonged handclappings,
| and it was some moments before she could
proceed. She talked for fully twenty
minutes, and her remarks were so full of
meat and her satire so pointed that the
| audience was in a roar of laughter almost
from the beginning. She said:
have no paper at all. What asked MRS
Carr to tell you is really the keynote of the
you have to do it. 1t is not simple. You have
TO get at 1t to get the real spirit of it, and it is
not enough, 1t never will be enough, to give il
for the sake of making your living You have
to love it and give it because you love it and
that is what that little woman has done.
Ny own subject, am not going to stick to. I
want to talk around il and under it. Do you
know the root of the word decoration? Do you
know the kind of word it is? 1 have only
known 1T myself short time, so 1 have not
much TO boast of. / went and looked it up and
found that it is from the same root as the words
decorous and decorum and that it means essen
TALLY, "that which belongs" Decoration
must belong to the thing 1t IS of or
it is not decoration. You know the