Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-05-06
ey N. LINDSAY NoRDEN

CHORAL singing is an important factor
~ in the musical development of the couh-
try, and it should have more financial and
moral support than it usually gets from the
people at large If 1t is to fulfill the possi-
bilities of which 1t is capable. according to
N. Lindsay Norden, director of the Mendels-
sohn Club and of the Second Presbyterian
Church Choir.
Notwithstanding the fact that there are
thousands of choral. organizations In the
country" said Mr.. Norden, there are very
their ensemble with the comparatively small
number Of fine symphony orchestras: 1t IS
true, too, that, as rule, the larger the city
the poorer proportionately IS ITS chorai
music. Thus, choral music, which IS MAIN
tanned with difficulty in Philadelphia, IS In
a far worse plight in New York. and IN that
city the matter has resolved itself into pay
ing q certain number of members OF tne
large choruses in order to insure regular nj.
tendance at rehearsals.
Best Choirs in Smaller Cities
"At the. present time the finest choral Or
ganizations are found in the smaller Cities
and this is probably due to the fact that the
smaller the city the less musical and other
distractions there are, and more genuine IN
terest there is taken in the rehearsals.
1.-THE whole matter of choral music lies
in n sufficient number of concentrated re.
hearsals, and for this reason the rural
choral bodies are superior to the metropon-
material, and In many cases 1t Is not so good
in the smaller towns as In the cities, but
the conductor, II enthusiastic and efhclent,
has the opportunity In the little community
to develop the material he has to point OF
efficiency impossible in a large city. An i'm.
pOrtant adjunct to the position of conductor
in big city would be Il truant officer.
"a number of the choral organizations
which have visited us this year have been
rehearsed two and three times week, but
such plan In any large city would be an
impossibility as a regular thing. Given an
ambitious conductor with normal conditions,
and the attainment of results such as we
have heard several times this season resolves
itself simply into matter of rehearsals.
Two Choral Possibilities
'There are only two possibilities in
choral music, one the presentation of
cappella works, that Is, compositions with
out accompaniment, and the other, choral
accompanied singing Is the severest test of
nil choral music, and it means many patient
hours of serious rehearsal to be able to sing
eight or ten part compositions in perfect
pitch and with careful and intelligent in
terpretation from cover to cover.
"Out of tune unaccompanied singing is,
of course, horrible to hear, just as is out
of-tune playing In the case of string
quartet. and If the ideal of perfect pitch is
to be maintained in chOruses, it means
hard and serious work on the part of all
concerned.
"Perfect pitch can be acquired by any
group of conscientious singers, without very
great difficulty, If they will devote sufficient
time to the preparation of their music. But
in order to sing IN perfect pitch, every
singer must be sure of his or her notes,
and furthermore, must avoid any faulty
tone production. Sometimes short phrase
in the middle Of a composition will require
hours OF painstaking rehearsal, and again,
there are certain vowel sounds in the low
DOsitions or enharmOnic changes which are
very difficult to cappea work. On the
other hand, when artistic results are OBJ
tanned, there Is q satisfaction which comes
to all the participants, in the euphonous
5lcnding of all the parts that certainly IL
never dbtdined In accompanied choral work.
Singing With Orchestra
"In the matter Of singing with orchestral
accompaniment, there are numerous diff
cultics. Unfortunately for the progress of
choral music, the interest of those who could
afford to support 1t financially Is mainly
centered In the backing of the great Ameri
can orchestras., These Orchestras are doing
work of immeasurable value In the artistic
development of the country, but does not
excuse the lack of support of choral music.
S"There are many masterpieces of choral
music with orchestra which are never heard
because Of these conditions. In the first
place, no such masterpiece can be adc.
auately performed with chorus and or.
chestra) without at least two rehea rsnls
with the orchestra and there really should
be more, No matter how good chorus
may be the members are not accustomed to
the sustained tone of an orchestra, and this
must be learned and the members of the