The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-03
orn wUsroAL DEoExERACT.
jerome uophins Complains that tho Music
Now Taught In Pubic Schools hs =
N.rs sham. ana Suggests Remedies.

~ THE isbli'N ~ -" 20
RossInl once said that there were only two
kinds OF music. the good and tho bad, but |
think we may say that there are nj least three
kinds of musicians. the good, the bad, ana the
hermaphrOdite; or, In other words, those That
grew, those that have been stuffed, ana those
that grew first and were stuffed and
the stuffed ones always overshadow thos5 that
merely grew. Thus II is that the pedagogy or
mar presumes to tinker the sacred handiwork
OF God, trying to reduce to one level ana 10
shape In one fashion the countless varieties OF
poetic fancy, ethereal imaginings. and infinite
degrees of artistic receptivity Of American
children. and to force them to conform to the
microscopic rule OF thumb laid down by School
boards. | have studied this question, not a. n
diletante, but as an expert, In nearly 400
towns and cities in America and in - in
Europe, and have Cone to the conclusion that
nowhere to-day have the greatest musical pro-
fessors tho faintcst idea of the amazing
capacity OF musical children for finished and
artistic work in the declamatory school OF
vocal technics.
1t Is II notable fact, nevertheless, that in no
other art can artistic work he turned out by
nj ere children. The world never vet knew uf a
child's painting, poem. or statue being artistic.
Such attempts by children Crvcn the most tai
entedi have been always inchoate, rudimental,
AID immature. But music is quite nm excep-
ton. for Mozart ut ! not only played. but coin
posed like II mature artist. Adelinn Patti was a
primn donna at s. Meycrbccr, at o years Of age,
was called the finest pianist in Berlin, and
Mendelssohn astonished the world ms composer
and pianist at the age Of 16. Now. what do you
or / know about equal talents playing in our
streets. screaming and serving apprenticeships
for jails and the Enllows As for the average
children OF our own race, day, and generations,
lot me say that when n tive-aCt opera can be
put on the stage with street children III the
spncc Of ten days excepting only a part Tor one
adult and so perfectly rendered that in Liver
pool the critics called it the trick of a Yankee
who had picked his troupe cut Of the Convent
Garden pantomime as was my. experienced 1
ask whether | have not reason FOR my faith in
musical children I
| may point to the curious fact of the invarin-
BILE loss, sustained by the greatest productions
of the finest music III this country, even III our
btggest cities, az a proof that our Young people
| are not taught to love music for its own sake.
as they are taught to love literature. have
visited four EPISCOPAL churches in. Boston
whore there were boy Cholrs. and only in one OF
them could ! hear an alto voice. That was in
the Church Of the Advent, where the music was
II real bath Of harmony" to use Berl,o@'- ex-
preston in n letter to me years ago.. In philR-
delphia. the once noble Harmonic Society and
The Ihndel and Haydn Socicty have both
comtcal" tlnsco. The old and s]lurgjsh Musical
teurish, and not one cent is ,expendcd Tor music
in the public schools. Think Of it! That is the
' tlltAlltI CITY y NllIt''pn W IIt Hl VI NTlS
az a c%iviiiIrr! And S?%,oOo,oOo are spent on a
City Hal! In fost0n the once eulogi2rd Boyl-
s,%P Slnb an" .ohcp lnrv"ra M MSi s"S r"a}jS
81 sfTis s.. " S1 Gigssi ona Ii. oc,d ]5sci,sls; n Hayo
along with such, spnsmodic novelties as
H%anders. Messiah and Bach's Passion
$. Matthew. OF course. Boston has her great
liisginson "Syinphony Orchestra as We, all
KNOW, but 50 have several OF the ifO their
yachts, race horses. and diamond tiaras. and
At bridgeport. ntt bridgeport never yet Dragged
Of maintaining the greatest show en- earth.
BOstOn's once ihinOuS BlCiVhtS journal or
Music has long since expired, and no musical
periodical takes its place rs an authority. Hos-
Perktns's gift Of the Beethoven statue has been
Hall stage. doubtless to give more room to the
~sluggers to whose manly exhibitions that once
seems 10 be no one to protest. and no ono
to weep. Could they not at least place poor
beethoven in a glass case. and honor him ms much
of Revolutionary days so carefully protected At
the old State House and in the old old South
Church, | wonderf Who can deny the musical
degeneration OF the Hub? But the hub is the
slowest part Of a wheel. In southampton. Eng
land, "A woman rushed into the theatre where |
was Teheassing and HISTORICALLY pulled her
daughter ont Of the chorus, saying that u friend
had just told her that singing would bring on
In Bath. England. the wife of Vicar Wilmot
s sIIorY for or house tnss s 81 enIi." oh II r"Sidn 10 a. All 'e .hs
could to aid the cause, but as for music! bah!
who cares forit?
In Brighton. England, the Rev. DR.. Wagner.
who has paid Tor erecting five churches from
his own private means, remarked TO mo when |
standard of musicaI instruction among English
chi'aTrn,, moh VIE, mn,t:rs il whrihr. tIry
great Ruskin, who demands that peasants shall
he Taught to siing.,
to join my chorus. but she could not tel! a SEQ
ond from n third in the gainut. Aston!shed Mt
tended school. ard she replied even wears.
Now. why Is # that The graduates from our
public schools do know how to read English.
but they 90 not know how to read music as IA
rule? The proof Of the pudding T. said To be in
the eating. and travelling from town to town
performing strange music with strtugc singers
prepared in u limited number uf rehear-a's, IA
have been doing on both IiGrs Of me ]\tl'nttc
where musical .incauarity.
Handel Is said to have grown very angry in
mem n1Cn' and ON w on" pr WrSe snch h' SaT re-, de- dtr- G Of mnsi %'
and took the agent WHO had furnished the voices
severely 10, task for their in"omtct"ncy. said
these people could read NJ sight = "Dch. Yea.
your Honor: NTH nnd did. but niy"r 'oult 80
who come to me can seldom read nj any sight.
am constantly m,' by teacher. ard school
committeeman who deny tbs. but 80 far | lave
not had the pleasure Of meeting one Of those
gentlemen who w"Uli himself submit to an rX-
nmtnh'!Un AH COMPOSER, CONDUCTOR, historian OF
the nrt. imprcsariu. 'errriciau. or ihin~u. urr
twitl the p]uslr!y" pitC!p in other words. enc
who hnd intellectual vIrtuus.ty en"u%h 30 be
called u critic"
Now, my cornllary from this is that there l. n
screw loose somewhere. The who" sy~tem Of
American and Erllish public schunl music Is n
fraud on the taE paycrS, II Is Il gross n'SUrliiy
10 herd child rem together nnh sutud public
money upOn their mU>iCal development when
,ioi Almighty has denied 10 IL large numbcr the
very first conditions OF II singer, namely, ear ard
voice. We might ns well iry 10 max" n ulVri
pudding out OF cohhlc slOnc-. II /. cruelty to the
children who are not musical: II j. u drRwhack
to those who are: ii il a wicked waste Of public
money. aud q torture To the teachers.
My view OF this question is that no children
SHOULD he punished with music If they don't
Ike IL in or outside Of our schools, anu they, as
well as their parents. shGU.! be- made clearly 10
understand that such n deprivation would work
no hardship. Carpenters and hru-e PAINTERS
must have good materials ar they can't turn out
good work, Yet hero are our school committees
All over both England md America forcing
teachers to Try to make singers out OF dundpr-
heads and Musicians out Of puddiugleadS and
when experienced and unprecedented musicians
complain of the failures, the Indignant otllcla!s
turn upon them in nigh dudgeon, contradict
them, and trumpet through the newspapers that
~ ra - mt failnrng - 1 nLk .I,.. 80 - thou,