Daily camera., 1897-08-06
BOY CHOIRS.
Thet etTrainil g Of Lads to Sing In
Churches.
Difficulties That Are Met with in the
Work and the Rewards for Eff
cfent Seryices-The Best
ChOirs.

introduced into New York the scientific
method of training boy choirs. The
method was brought from Italy, and
goes back no one knows how many
centuries in the history of the Catholic
church. That church, however, strange
ly enough, has not in New York made
the training of boy choirs by this meth
od an important adjunct to its music.
st. Patrck's cathedral has, indeed, a
large boy choir recruited from the
neighboring Catholic orphanage, but
the best boy choirs of the city are found
in Episcopal churches.
Old ST. Johns no longer has its former
handsome appropriation for the main
tenance of a choir, so that the Prece-
dence in this matter has passed to other
churches. Perhaps the best boy choir
is at ST. Agnes chapel of Trinity par
ish, in Ninety third street, whose choir
master, Mr.. Stubbs, is brother-in-law
of the choirmaster at old st. Johns;
Half a dozen other churches have nota
BILE boy choirs, and rectors insist more
and more upon having this kind OF
music; but the Italian method in its
extreme development attracted little
attention in New York until within
the past five or six years. There are
few notable boy choirs in suburban
churches. Chicago, with her determina-
ton to have the biggest of everything,
has a church with a boy choir OF so
members, not too well trained, though
the great cathedral of ST. Paufs, Lon
don, has but 80 boys in its choir Most
American choirmasters are content to
train their boys by some other method
than the Italian. 1t is little used in
Boston, and almost not at all in north
ern and western cities.
~ Few boy choirs have more than 90
Trembers, and that number is sufficient
for all ordinary purposes. The labor of
fitting these boys for their work is
enormous, and few boys are at their
best for choir work during more than
three or four years of their lives. The
choir schools of London take promising
boys of eight or nine from all over Eng
land, provide them with all the ma
terial needs of life, give them an ad-
mirabe education in vocal music, and
employ them in public church singing
for about five years. Boys in this coun-
try are seldom taken as pupils in choi"
singing before they are ten years OF
age, and it usually requires two years of
hard work to fit an apt pupil for public
singing. Most boys have to give up the
profession at the age of Is, when the
change of voice units them for further
soprano singing. few, after a rest of
a few years. go on and develop into eX-
cellent men singers, but most of the
Youngsters retire forever from the pro-
fession.
Every choirmaster has class of pro-
bationers from among whom he makes
promotions to his choir as vacancies
occur The probationer is first taught
to lay aside utterly his ordinary speak
ing voice and to sing in pure vocal
tone Only the true lover of music is
admitted to the class of prObatiOners.
After year or two of simple music
the probationer may be promoted to
a humble place in the choir. He IS then,
perhaps, IL years old, and the object of
the choirmaster is to make him Tor the
next three years as nearly,a a perfect
choir singer as he can be made. Some
Of the boys serve without pay, but many
are paid, a few pretty we'll The ordl-
nary inconspicuous choir singer may
earn from two to ten dollars q month.
The best of the boys, who are able to
sing "a solo with excellent effect, re-
ceive from $500 to 5000 a year. y boy
singer in New York seldom earns more
than the larger sum. All of the boys,
however, receive presents and pleasant
little attentions. They must not catch
cold in winter, so, if poor, they receive
MS gifts comfortable fannels, SOUND
shoes and warm overcoats. If paid i'll,
they go with their choirmasters on lit
tie excursions, perhaps to hear good
music, perhaps on a summer camping
trip.
The boys give in return for all this,
not only such time as is required of
them at the regular church service, but
also from three to five laborious re-
hearsals a week, with special extra re-
hearsals for special services. Their
time during Lent is greatly occupied
between service and rehearSalS.
There is much enthusiasm among
choir boys for their profession, anc
many are ambitious to continue it in
some form after the approach of man
hood has untitled them for the partic-
ular work for which they have been
trained. Choirmasters find that Ger
man and English boys make good choir
singers, and that native American boys
of native parentage are usually insult
ed for the profession. The American
boy is untitled for the work, not only
because he is often unmusical, but as
we'll because he is not docile, as are boys
of foreign birth or ~parentage. The
problem of discipfning and managing
a boy choir increases with each new ma
tive boy ADMITTEDLY. Y. Sun.
Why Two Ears Are Neces"ary.