The Washington herald., 1914-07-30
The Voice Of the Singer.
px HMORY >. HAYNEs.

Where now Is her voice? It viii be heard no more
on earth. The soul of the singer is among the i'm
mortals 50 we believe who hold eternal life as the
destiny of the human soul One fayorite argument
runs that il is unthnkable that suddenly by death
of the body those superb mental qualities should cease
wholly to be- Mckinley. the patriot and statesman
was worthy the Mckinley mind. That mind was
never more perfectly working, and for. the nation
than on the day of his bodily wound. Up to the last
moment the mind showed the same. We refuse TO
believe that the mind so fine creation fell into the
annihiation that claimed the body. :.
But the singers voice is not mind 1t is sound
It is the vibration of two cords muscles in the
throat These vocal cords are familiar facts to US
all. Many of Us have seen them through the sur
geons apparatus of mirrors. They are strung across
the throat like the letter v. The edges thin and
hardened almost like steel When perfect by health
these vibrant edges have no hicks, thickening in
places They are capable of the most extensive vol
untary movements perhaps of all the muscles of the
body And all their almost infinite motions vol
untary.
The vocal cords, with adunctive throat arrange
ment and the breath easily constitute the finest musi-
cal instrument, far surprising any musical mech
anism ever made by man. Il is the universal verdict
of mankind that vocal music has no equal
The singer is gone forever. Here is where she
is buried. But we refer only TO her ashes. She is
among the immortal minds. Where is the voiee7
stood at the grave of Daniel Webster and asked
the question Men tell that his voice for oratory
was wonder. Many have written that no adequate
idea of the majesty of his power is conveyed by the
printed words 1t is always true of the orator. Where
these voices that mastered thousands, that
swsyed Senates and made history as marching
armies ever did? Our theories and faiths preserve
the minds But the sound of the voice that is STILL
has it perished utterly? It product of the
throat.
Yet think again. What was the power which
moved the harp strings in the throat of the singer?
What was that tone which knew from thousand
other voices when my child calledf / used to pause
and listen when many children were speaking. Only
in my dreams do hear it now. Is not the voice the
soul? Is not at least the to the soul that
ever sautes our senses? What mind the great orator
reveals in the voice that carries his ideas At least
the vase is the holder of the flowers How have we
felt the affections the hopes, the fears the high
solves of the mind thrill through and vtalize some
great artists song Perhaps the voice is necessary
to the soul And so, departing this life, the song
stress took her voice with her
When a man builds a state, as Washington did.
we point to it as monument. We say, Being dead,
he yet speaketh." But the voice of father mother:
is it not always speaking if We listen? Is anything
about these loved ones so distinct? Instantly when
ever we will We can hear the very voice. Faces
these quite different faces-father
young father old. But the voice did net change
The voice is the most injured by wicked deed
and evil ways 1t is we'll fitted to wear long as the
of goodness and love. Hate and all ma
leyolence injure the voice. Surely for they injurs
the soul And we are questioning. to repeat, whether
the voice is not really essential part of the soul
Nearly all children are born with good voices.
The gift is certainly nearly universal than any
other bodily power Few parents are careful of the
child's voice. Manners are taught the whole body,
but good of tone, infection and the use of
the voice itself often quite neglected 1t has been
said that nearly all children have good singing voices
and that few incapable Of the cultivation that
such wonderful function deserves. The occasionally
gifted by nature" voice is undoubtedly simply
voice which the child has unconsciously developed BY
its fondness for music. Certainly all children should
be taught to sing There is hardly impossbility
amid thousands
The singing voice is not however, the highest
type The voice hat without the help of the octave
tune, is yet overmaserng by its almost infinite adap
tation to thought and emotion, that is it. In conver
sation the homeliest themes it is charm In the
daily interchange of home life it furnishes house
as other fittings can To hear that voice at even
ing the workman endures the roughest toll. To get
once more its welcome the children return. How
ever humble the abode, the grace of aFectionate
voices makes it beautiful In the market there is
voice that wins. In the court the voice is winner
not alone when pleads but always when questions
the witness The talking voice that really can talk
is the grandest physical gift of man.