Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1906-02-22

source of illustration. In those days,
as in these, they had the mere musi.
clan, who prided himself on his ear
and lost the poetry and the meaning
of the art. ',The musicians" one of
the characters says bitterly, 'sput their
ears in the place of their minds"
"Yes," replied Glaucon, ''I like to see
them laying their ears alongside Of
their neighbors' faces, some saying,
That's new note others declaring
that the two notes are the same" But
for Plato music had a deeper signifi-
cance and In one single sentence he
brings out its connection with morals.
simplicity in music" he says, twas
the parent of temperance in the SOUL"
truth which we need to remember
to-day as never before.
But to the Hebrews the art was sa.
cred. Miriam with her timbals and
her dances accompanied her song Of
victory. The majestic rhythm Of the
Psalms were blended, no doubt, with
an eQua1ly majestic music. when the
people were carried away into captiv:,
ity their conquerors wanted to heat
them sing their beautiful nationS1 airs
But the young voices refused 10 an
swer. 'How can we sing the Lord's g
songs in a strange landw Browning
has dramatized the scene, but the peo-
pie must have been naturally musical
when the shepherd lad could come with
his harp and drive away the worst
melancholy from the heart Of the trou-
bled monarch.
l doubt not that our Lord loved the
music of the Temple and that one
happy moment in Holy Week was
when the children of the Temple, pre-
sumably the boys who sang this daily
service, cried out in homage to their
prophet, Hosanna to the Son of David!
The history Of early church service
is obscure, but at the beginning Of the
seventh century Gregory the Great, the
Bishop Of Rome, created new era
and probably a reform in the art by
Introducing what was known as the
Gregorian tones or modes. I have not
technical knowledge enough to assert
whether this was original with him OF
whether he revived an older method,
but certain it is that the Gregorian
style, if I may use such term, has
become the model of all the-best and
strongest ecclesiastical music, whether
Roman or Anglican.
But during the Middle Ages corrup-
ion had set in of so serious a nature
hat we find the Scottish Puritans and
he Popes of Rome alike condemning
music. The Puritans abolished all
musical instruments from their
churches and adopted the natural tone
# voice for the services and prayers
nd the plainest of psalm tunes, which,
however. had all the grandeur of Gre
yorian chants. But it is not as we'll
known that the Council Of Trent CEN
s1red for centuries the prevalent style
IF church music with extra ordinary Sc
rerity and was on the eve of forbidding
any kind of music in the church, when
1t was saved from this extreme action
almost by miracle.
Now why, in such different quarters.
40 we find such violent and virulent
anita gonsm to church music? Let us
first answer that question. and then
see what it was that softened that
anita gonisln. The reason why music
was condemned was because it had
become a traitor in the camp. During
the Middle Ages the trolihadours had
invented many beautiful melodies.
some of them soft and pathetic. some
warlike and some gay. This kind OF
music has developed along with the
sacred. and the church COMPOSERS and
precentors have adopted the secular
tunes and incorporated them into the
masses so that the people even sang
the profane words instead OF those OF
the Latin liturgy. 1t is as It to-day
we should have the airs OF "Annie
Laurie or ''W7ay Down on the Suwa-
nee River used as a theme for the
communion Office Or played on the
,rgan at the time of partakinG Of the
Bread and Wine Of the Body and Blood
of our Lord This abuse Of music be-
came q scandal in the chancel. ADrar-
emily choirs and organists had not
! learned that obedience to the clergy
while on trust has now been acquired,
| and the only way which seemed pos
sible to stop the profanity was to 81
lence the voice of organ and choir
alike. You may rest assured that while
there is some obscurity as to the real
state of affairs, yet the desecration
| must have been very great when Scotch