The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-09-04

broxius, Augustine, Gregory the Great,
Charlemagne, gave Il their mighty In
fuenQl, and in our day the best musical
geniAs is throwing itself on the affairs Of
God. Handel and Mozart and Bach
and Durante and Wolf and scores Of
other men and women have given the
best part of their genius to church mu-
sic. A truth In words il not half SO
mighty as a truth In song. Luther's
sermons have been forgotten. but the
Judgment Hymn" he composed Is re-
sounding yet all through Christendom.
Appropriate Church Music.
congratulate the world and the church
on the advancement made in this art
the Edinburgh societies for the improve
ment of music, the Swiss singing 80
cieties, the Exeter hall concerts, the
triennial musical convocation at Dussel-
dorf, Germany, and Birmingham, Eng
land, the controversies of music at
Munich and Leipsic, the Handel and
Haydn and Harmonic and Mozart So
cieties of this country, the academies Of
music in New York, Brooklyn, Boston,
Charleston, New Orleans, Chicago and
every city which has any enterprise.
Now, my friends, how are we to decide
what is appropriate, especially for church
music? There may be great many dif-
ferences of opinion. In some Of the
churches they prefer trained choir; in
others they prefer the melodeon, the harp,
the cornet, the organ; in other places
they think these things are the inven-
ton Of the devil. Some would have
musical instrument played 80 loud you
cannot stand it, and others would have
it played SO soft you cannot hear it. Some
think musical instrument ought to be
played only in the interstices of worship,
and then with Understandable softness,
while others are not satisfied unless there
be startling contrasts and staccato pas
sages that make the audience jump, with
great eyes and hair on end, as from a
vision of the witch Of Endor. But, while
there may be gNat varieties Of opinion
in regard to music, 1t seems to me that
the general spirit Of the word Of God
indicates what ought to be the great
Of church music.
And I remark, in the first place, a
prominent characteristic ought to be
to devotion. Music that
may be appropriate for a concert hall,
Or the opera house. or the drawing room,
may be inappropriate in church. Glees,
ballads, may be as innocent
rs psalms in their places. But church
music has only one design, and that Is
devotion, and that which comes with the
toss, the swing and the display of an
opera house is hindrance to the wor-
ship. From such performances we go
AWAY saying: "What splendid execution!
Did you ever hear such a soprano?
Which of those solos did you like the
better?' When, if we had been rightly
wrought upon, We would have gone away
saying: och, how my soul was lifted up
in the presence of God while they were
singing that first hymn! l never had
such rapturous views of Jesus Christ as
NY Saviour as when they were singing
that last doxology."
Music as a Help to Devotion.
My friends. there is an everlasting dis
Linction between music as an art and
music as help to devotion. Though
Schumann composed it, though Mozart
played 1t, though n Sontag sang it, away
with 1t IL it does not make the heart bet
er and honor Christ. Why should we
Job the programmes of worldly gayety
when we have SO many appropriate songs
md tunes composed in our own day, as
we'll as that magnificent inheritance of
,hurch psalmody which has come down
fragrant with the devotions of other
genera tions-tunes no more worn our
han they were when our great grandfn'
hers climbed up on them from the
hurch pew to glory? Dear old souls,
low they used to sing! When they were
heerful, our graudfathcrs and grand
Mothers used to sing Colchester" When
hey were very meditatiye, then the
boarded meeting house rang with South
Street" and st. Edmund's." Were they
truck through with great tenderness,
hey sang Woodstock" Were they
wrapped in visions of the glory of the
hurch, they sang "Zion," Were they
verborne with the love and glory Of
1hrist, they sang ariel" And in those
ays there were certain tunes married to
ertain hymns, and they have lived in
eace great while, these two old peo-
lie, and we have no right to divorce
hem. "What God hath joined together
ct no man put asunder." Born AS we
ave been, amid this great wealth of |
hurch music, augmented by the compo-
itions of artists in our day, we ought |
ot to be tempted out Of the sphere of
Ihristian harmony and try to seek I'M
onsecrated sounds. 1t Is absurd for Il
Millionaire to steal.
| remark also that correctness ought to !
e characteristic of church music.
While we all ought to take part in this
er,ice, with perhaps few exceptions,
,e ought at the same time to cultivate
urselves In this sacred art. God loves
armony, and we ought to love it. There
no devotion in howl or yelp. In this
ny, when there IRE SO many opportuni-
les Of high culture in this sacred art, l
eclare that those parents are guilty Of
eylect who let their sons and daughters
row up knowing nothing about music.
a some Of the European cathedrals the
loir assemblies every morning and ev-
~ afternoon of every day the whole
ear to perfect themselves in this art,
nd shall we begrudge the half hour we
pend Friday nights In the rehearsal Of
acred song for the Sabbath?
No Dull Music Wanted.
Another characteristic must be spirit
nd life. Music ought to rush from tho
udience like the water from rock
ear, bright, sparkling. If all the other
art of the church service is dull, do not
ave the music dull. With SO many
lrilling things to sing about, away with
! drawing and stupidity. There is moth
& that makes me- so nervous as to sit in
pulpit and look off on an audience with
Ieir eyes three-fourths closed, and their
pa almost shut, mumbling the praises of
cd. During one Of my journeys l
cached to IN audience of 1000 or 5000
,ople, and all the music they made to-
sther did not equal one skylark People
} not sleep at coronation; do not let
, sleep when we come to a Saviours
owning.
In order to proper discharge Of this
lty, let us stand up, save as age or
eakness or fatigue excuses us. Seated
an easy pew we cannot do this duty
.lf so well Us when upright we throw
If whole body into it. Let our song be
re an reclamation of victory. You have
right to ang-do not surrender your
'erogativs. If in the performance of
FUR duty, or the attempt at it, you
Iould lose your place in the musical
ale and be one G below when you
ght to be one G above or you should
Inc in half bar behind, we will ex-
Sc youi Still II Ia better tn do ma PAM |