The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-09-17

s. B. Gil was so fortunate as TO
hear the great French organist. Alex
andre Guilmant, of Paris. on the oc-
casion of his organ concert given last
| spring in the First Methodist Epis-
copal church, Wilkes-Barre. l shall
be greatly obliged If you will state
whero he plays in Paris. also some
| thing as to the character of the
church service.
| Answer-Since The Tribune compos-
| ing room is fitted up with special ref
erence to the English language, and not
| to the French, IL will be impossible to
| exactly indicate the name of the church
where the great organist plays in Paris.
| In English 1t Is the Church of the
| Trinity" which stands in a large
| square not far from the Grande Boue-
ward. The church is one of the largest
and most important of the Roman
Catholic churches of Paris. 1t con-
tains two organs; the principal, or
| grand orgue," is situated at the en-
trance end of the church, high up in
an imposing gallery. At the opposite
end of the church, also in a stone gal
lery. and at the right of the altar, is
a smaller organ used in accompanying
the choir. This plan of having two
organs is customary in all the Partisan
| churches. Guilmant, of course pre-
sides at the large organ, and until COM
paratively recently, Salome, an excel
lent composer for the organ, now de-
ceased, was organist for the choir. 1t
Is Sunday morning, and we will attend
| morning service at the Church of the
Trinity" Provided with our cards of
admission to the organ gallery, we en-
tnr hn oh nd tf,,I IT,. 49, ln
side chapels, an old woman, to whom
we show our cards She mods her head.
and with polite "oui, messeurs," she
leads us back to the vestibule and un-
locks a door leading to stone stair
way. After putting a few sous in the
old woman's hand, we ascend the wind
ing stairs, up, up to the gallery con-
tanning the large organ. We at once
pay our respects to Mons. Guilmant,
whom we find seated at the key desk.
or console, which is reversed and faces
the altar. On looking about us we
find the gallery contains a company of
| persons, principally students of the
great master, since it is not easv for
others to obtain the coveted admit
tance. We are far above the floor of
the church and can converse in low
tones without disturbing the Worship
ers below. Above, and back of u.s.
towers the splendid organ which was
built by the great organ builder Of
Paris, Cavaille Coll, one of the fam
Gus organ builders of the world. But
listen, the music has begun. The
choir is chanting to music written
in one of the ancient Gregorian scales,
known in English as "plain song" ac-
companied by the weird harmonies ap-
proprate to it played by the choir
organist. To accompany plain song
properly is the greatest difficulty with
which the French organist has to con-
tend, for in no country in Christendom
is so much care taken to preserve the
traditions of plain song as in France.
The melody of plain song is written on
a staff of four lines, and this melody is
all the organist has before him. The
scales in which these melodies are
written We're derived from the ancient
Greek scales or modes by St. Ambrose.
A. D., 800, and added to by Gregory
scales are radically different from our
major and minor scales, an entirely
different method of harmonization must
be used. The organist must. therefore,
be able to improvise the proper har-
monies to any of these scales, an abil-
ty which comes only after long study
and practice. And now the choir has
ceased and the great masters turn has
come at our end of the church. Crash!
goes the great organ and Guilmant,
with every stop drawn, is playing one
of his marvellous interludes, also har-
monized according to the laws of plain
song. This interlude is of some length,
and, in musical parlance, is true to the
principles of musical form, symmetri-
cal and rounded-not one of the four
measure pardon -I-intrude kind
The instant the interlude is finished
the choir begins again and thus the
two ends of the church answer each
other antiphonally, Gulmant's inter-
ludes being each time radically differ
ent; now soft and sweet, now majestic
and grand. In addition to these inter-
ludes, Mons. Guimant plays the offer
tory, the communion and the postlude
The time for the latter has come and
the students come fiocking around the
key-desk. What will it be? A fugut
by Bach, as is most generally the case
or one Of the masters improvisations!
He will improvise a fugue today. AnC
now follows a performance which is
nothing short of marvellous-a per
| 1OfmanCe WHICH, COiIlDlllHS dS IL uOts
musicianship of the rarest kind with al
the contrapuntal devices known to mu
steal composition, cannot be equalleC
by any other living organist. And now
the whole is brought to an end will
a grand climax. The great man mod
estly receives our enthusiastic praise
and bidding him a hearty "au revoir, >
with our minds full of what we have
Just heard, we descend the stairs anC
pass out upon the throbbing streets o
Paris.
Student.-Is there any one book con-
tanning, more or less complete, the
lives of the famous composers?
Answer.-A book compiled by Ma
than II. Dole, and published by Grow
ell g. Co., New York, entitled "A Scor'
of Famous Composers" is the bes
book published, giving a short epitom
of the lives of the composers. 1t ma!
be found in the Albright public ii
brary. Famous Composers and The
Works" a much larger and more com
prehensive work published by the ]
II MiIIett cOmnany Boston Is of prea