Evening star., 1905-10-22

astronomical or other scientific theme,
which shall be given by an expert, or a
scholar whose knowledge can be trusted,
and whose name is guarantee for ac-
curacy. Such a lecture should be illus
trated by stereopticon views. Another
should take up country island or couti-
nent. on which public attention has been
fastened. Lectures on the far east will be
timely and ought to be popular in the COM
ing season. We have to reconstruct n
great many of our notions are most or
us rather ignorant about the underlying
conditions which have brought Russia 10
its present crisis, and pushed Japan to the
front as the champion of the east. and as
we have not time to read exhaustively for
ourselves. we need the lecturer who can
supply with facts carefully collated, ana
with Information in a concrete form.
historical subject. or one purely literary.
one that takes up the social life OF ancient
Rome or of mediaevsl Germany, or OF Eng
land under Queen Anne, VIII find n host
of captiyated listeners. \ lecture Is sup
posed to embody and epltOmize the sub
stance of many books. II 1t Is worth hear
ing at all 1t must be I'm the nature of
picture. and If not eloquent. must at least
be agreeable and have no duh passages.
-
A lecturer who reads his manuscript
closely. or who has a squeaky. ineffective
voice. need never hope to enthrall his audi
ence. The audience. so to speak. at a
lecture have seats In the parlor car, ana
they are not expected to undergo any dis
comfort that can be saved them. The
lecturer who cannot be heard with ease
in every corner of the room need not eN-
pect a second engageemnt-
II is incumbent, however, on the COM
mittee to provide a hall for lectures IN
which the acoustic properties are good; |
shall not soon forget an experience had
one evening in Canada, where for an hour
l listened to a brilliant and distinguished
lecturer and heard a mocking echo repeat
word by word, cadence by cadence, lhe
whole effort until / was almost distracted.
| learned later that there was always this
mocking echo in that building, but that the
lecturer himself and the people who sat
little further back than L had were not
disturbed by It.
We know so much more about music than
we once did We are so much more critical
and our facilities for hearing good music
have so increased, that only the best per
formers can hope to please US now. ASK
your grandfather IL he remembers the
merry times he had in those gallant days
when he tucked your pretty young grand
mother under his arm. and carried her
forth to hear the Peak Sisters or the Hutch
inson family the Swiss bell ringers give
one of their performances. We are by way
of being more eXacting and more fastidious
In these times, and We demand the best that
modern culture in music can afford for our
pleasure.
The fault of our programs is that they
are almost invariably much too long, SO
that to the artists ii must appear that we
are determined to get more than the worth
of our money. while. not contented with
this the average audience proceeds to en-
core every number from start to finish.
x
/ have an affection for concert singers
who have never aspired TO grand opera, but
who warble for us in pure, sweet. simple
strains, songs that simple folk can under
stand No concert for me, and for many
just like me. IS satisfying as one where
the repertoire includes old ballads. Scot
tish songs that bewitch the heart, and pos
sibly some of the patriotic tunes that stir
the blood until Ii thrills with ardor I'm the
veins. For a winter evening once in a way
try the pleasure you can get from simple.
old-fashioned music that has in II the power
to touch the heart.
The real time to devote to lectures ana
similar entertainments is when the days
are short and the evenings long and few
outside Invitations beckon families apart
In those months parents and children,
neighbors and friends. may together make
use of opportunities which Will yield a long
enrichment