The Jasper news., 1907-06-06

Inc uttie king OF spain, Wnen ne
first heard the expression royal road
to learning" said mournfully: "'P1ease
let us take some other way. for the
royal way seems always the hardest"
Unconsciously he spoke the truth
the royal way is the hardest, but 1t is
the only right way. And 1t saves us
the weary retracing of many steps
made along another path that for the
time had seemed pleasanter one.
The earlier that most important les
son of think for yourself" is learned
the earlier will you arrive at the des-
tination where you would be. Use your
own mind, do not rely on some one
else to supply you with thoughts. In
quire into what you are doing, know
the why and wherefore. That in it.
self does not Imply that you are to
question the correctness of views ad-
vanced by those of experience, but that
you should find out how they reach
such conclusions and their reasons for
doing so. To think for ourselves in
every direction and in every detail Of
our daily lives helps naturally, and
as we'll in the advancement Of our
art-for after all our art is the result
of everything that we have learned.
Genius is willing to lay the founda-
tion of her structure unobserved."
The being in a foreign country,
such as Italy, SO picturesque and full
of color, awakens the imagination
strongly Music is there an old sweet
story learned unconsciously through
hundreds of years, until 1t Is in
stinctlve rather than acquired. How
quickly the audiences in those little
opera houses will tell you whether you
have anything in you or not! They
are not infallible, Dut If they do not
receive young singer with some de-
gree of recognition it is time for that
singer to undergo rigorous self-ques-
tioning as to what the matter was.
and then set about rectifying 1t to tie
best of her ability.
In early life, when we would have
every season June, the months that
come before the wishedfor time seem
long ones, but without their passage
June would never be.
Every young prima donna longs
some day to sing Brunnhilde, but be-
fore she can do that she must have
sung her Violetta, her Leonore and the
lighter of the old Italian roles. When
that Is done the Aida, the Elsa and
the rest come in their order. Gradu-
ally, with the growth of strength.
physique, routine and experience, she
reaches height where Brunnhilde and
Isolde stand among the immortals.
Here again it is the same maxim:
make haste slowly"-to do each thing
that we undertake 30 well that 1t be-
comes a part of lis before we go on to
the next.
Nowadays, when an opera singer Is
called upon to sing in three or four
languages, the study Of those Ian
guages becomes of great Importance
and cannot be begun too early. 1t
proves source of surprise to those
whose opinion is asked by young sing
ers, that so many of them, even in the
delivery of familiar, time-worn aria,
do not know what 1t is about. With
out a full knowledge Of the meaning
of each word and of the situation in
which an aria is placed the singer
destroys its prime element. 1t is
impossible to make others feel that
which you do not feel yourself. How
can we feel that which is sealed to us
in meaning? 1t is out of the ques-
ton.
This leads again to an important
matter and a critical one-excess OF
feeling The moment that one loses
command of ones self, in that mo-
ment is lost also the command of ones
audience. Between genuine feeling
and the loss of self-control there 1,
as distinct difference as between sen
timent and sentimentality. painter
in depicting scene on canvas mus
work with enthusiasm, imagination
fervor and ample technique. The mo
ment, however, that he loses the quail
ity of self-command, he loses as wei
the control of his subject and blu
and tumble is the result. With tn,
singer conditions are Identical
By paradox, which is as we'll ar
unalterable law, the singer must be pc
culiarly responsive on the emotiona
side, which means a highly developed
nervous organization, and yet sh
must have her nerves under absolut
control.