The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1916-06-08
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MUSIC I'M THE HOME.
Arthur selwyn Garbett, In the Philads,.
phia North American.

Arthur selwyn Garbett. In the Philads
phia North American.
What's in a name? Surely piec.
OF music. like the rose, would be an
sweet IL called by another name. But
II Is a fact that the title has a great
deal to do with the popularity Of a
piece OF music. Music in itself is 40
impalpable; 1t demands so much Of tina
imagination. A real musician, dream
ing music all day long, may be Wen
enough able to float comfortably on an
ocean Of sound and still keep his bear.
ings. but the ordinary mortal wants A
water. This he usually finds in tina
title or the :. ~rds Of a song. John Nc.
Cormack, who knows better than most
what kind of music people want, says
that he sings no song to miscellane.
Gus audience that does not tell story.
and the most popular Of his record,
are those which are strongly imbued
with the tale bearing element The Sc.
cret OF the success OF II Hear Yor
Calli-g Me" is not due to its intrinsic
r.lsical merits, for there Is nothing
about the melody to distinguish 1t from
hundreds of other sentimental British
ballads. It Is the suggestion that lies
In the words and the plaintive quality
Of McCormack's voice that stir us. Few
of us are so stolid that we never sea
visions or hear voices calling, lurins
US on to the romance that always lies
just over the hilltop. The visionary
Joan of Arc is sister to US all, and Il
needs only a Mccormack and a story.
song to set our imaginations going
The power Of suggestion which lie,
in title Is amply set forth in tina
numerous descriptive" records which
occupy 80 much space in the catalogS
Through the Panama Canal" for in.
stance, is classed under this head IN
the Columbia cataIog. 1t consists Of
q march, militant series Of trumpet
calls, dance OF the tango type with
castanets to suggest a Spanish Amer.
the Red, White and Blue" patriots
songs Of all nations to illustrate In.
cosmopolitan freedom of the canal, and
closes with the Star Spangled Ban.
ner." Quite a lot for your money!
Nevertheless, considered in cold blood |
1t will be found that the suggestion q
the Panama canal lies not in the mu.
sic itself. but In the title. The sams
music would do equally well for a
Day at Ellis Island" under which titls
it would call into mind q wholly dif.
ferent train Of circumstances. Music
Is so amazingly plastic that 1t adapa
itself to almost any train Of thought /
This Is why so much that Is being said (
these days about the effect of ragtmA +
on the morals is such a waste Of
words. The most innocent tune can Be.
come atrociously immoral IL ASSOCIATED Il
with unwholesome words. On tia
other hand, 'T'Homme Arme," a RI. /
bald song OF the middle ages. was for
years used by innumerable church
composers Of Pedestrians time as
"cantius firmus," or groundwork, for +
religious music, and, as such, doubt.
less inspired thousands OF good souls to +
walk closer to God. aa.
But while music owes much to tits
Il sometimes happens that title owa
its existence to the nature OF the mu.
sic. Such Is the case, for instance. with
Mendelssohn's Spring Song" which
never was so called by Mendelssohn
though. to be sure, IL actually was
composed on a mild spring day befOs
an open window looking out on to az
English garden.