Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1901-10-24
MUSIC OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
In that Respect England Fairly Leads
the World

| 81.
Georges church, who has just re-
turned from visit to London and
some of the provincial centers of
England. comes back with a firmer
conviction than he has ever enter.
tain ID before that England still un-
questionably leads the world in the
matter of church music. Not only is
the musical standard of the great
metropolitan churches and the famous
and historic catEedrals higher than il
ever was, but even in the remote vii
lagos and scattered country parishes
the musical portions of the church
services are rendered with fine
artistic feeling and great beauty of
expression. 1t has heritage in part
from the old English composers, who
leave to the church repertory con-
tTapuntal compositions of high
quality, which ought to be far more
assiGuously studied by choirmasters
on this side of the Atlantic than is
generally the case. Every school-boy
knows something of the Elizabethan
poets. but few are aware that the
Elizabeshan period was the most
glorious period of English musical
composition. Indeed, if one were to
the musical epoch of the end of the
sixteenth and the end of the seven
teenth centuries might fairly balance
the poetic, and the names of Farrant,
Morley, Orlando, Gibbons, Dowland,
Ravenscroft. Bull. Willbye. Forde,
Tails, Tye and Bird form a good
: counterpoise to the roll that contains
Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher, Bacon
Marlowe, Sidney, Spenser and Mas
singer.
And if England has not similar
roll of great names in music to offer
nowadays, she is still the model in
the matter of execution of the great
/ anthems and motets. Every cathe-
dral in the kingdom has become a
: school of sacred singing in a manner
: that finds no counterpart in America.
| The habit which is for too common
t on ell parts of the American CONT
r nent, even in the cultured cities of
!. New York and Boston of having a
t musician play the roll of concert
/ singing for six days of the week and
l then transform himself into a church
} tenor on the seventh never gives the
best results. Some enthusiasts pro
+ claim that if Canada or the United
} States could only go beyond England
in this matter and train mixed choil
tc church work as she trains her male
4 cathedral singers il would achieve
wonders in the field of ecclesiastical
music. But here one touches a con
troyersial question.
- In the effective employment of boys
i voices in the church choir much can be
/ learned from the mother country
). AS rule it is the Episcopal church
e alone that makes use of this beautiful
+ adjunct in the service, and in this city
0 the organist of st. Georges has set an
e example that may well be emulated
! But why creed or ritual should re-
4 strict the employment of music is q
mystery yet it is undeniable that the
5 boy chorus is seldom heard outside
; the church of England and the or
. chestra is confined to the Roman
/ Catholic church. From the very be-
ginning the Christian church made
] music its handmade. Those who are
f familiar with the literature of this
subject well know that the ancient
+ Hebrew and the Christian churches
| were the chief factors in giving music
] prominent position in divine wor-
ship, the latter following the former
' IN the matter. Ancient Egypt was
extremely sparing of music in her &C.
clesiastical ceremonies. and the re-
ligious rites of imperial Rome were
: notable rather for the playing of vari.
} GUS wind instruments than for ad-
l vanced combinations with good must
: cal effects. In their gatherings In
Rome, even as far back as the first
century of our era, the Christian con-
verts employed music, similar some
what to that in evidence at the an
Client Athenian banquets; but they
often borrowed from the pagan
Romans the tunes to which they set
: their enthusiastic poems. These
agapae, as they were called, were
similar to the "love-feasts" of the
Methodist church of to-day. The free
but expressive school of singing came
to an end with the establishment OF a
liturgy. Congregational singing took
the part of solo work, and the earliest
ritual of the church dwelt more upon
the efforts Of the chorus than upon the
work of the choir. Thus does st. John
Chrysostom describe the chorus work:
THE psalms which we sing unite all
the voices in one, and the canticles
arise tremendously in unison. Young
and old, rich and poor, women and
men, slaves and citizens, all of us have
formed one melody together"
AS Europe was emerging from the
darkness Of the middle ages the folk
song reasserted its rights in sacred
music. and Luther employed it in its
purest and most fitting fashion. II is
a rnicfal-o hOxuavar 20