The New York herald., 1922-08-20
The Singers Of the Ozarks.

The Southwestern Missouri Song
Convention was in session last week
on the highest and greenest Of forest
covered foothills Of the Ozarks. The
name OF this organization is not
found in the musical annals of the
country but It has been in existence,
not by any means In its present
form, from the time when pioneers
went into the Missouri and Arkansas
hills, and it has grown up because
folks had to give expression to the
music in their souls.
Along the middle of this month
the gravel roads and scrub oak and
sassafras lined mountain trails were
filled with men, women and children
pouring over the Arkansas border or
out of the southern tier OF Missouri
counties and moving toward what
for some reason Is called Baptist
Hill. : On the top Of this hill is an
immense clapboard tabernacle built
as work Of love by the people them
selves and proudly styled the Me-
mortal Temple. 1t was here that the
convention was held.
OF music as the trained technical
musician knows 1t there was none.
II was the music of the hymn books
In the village and crossroad churches.
The only training which most OF the
singers had received was that OF the
district singing schools. Nor was
there any get program for the meet
ings. As the groups arrived In the
tabernacle they announced their
coming BY their favorite song.
Round Grove and Big Springs fol-
lowed Stotts City and Bound Brook,
and 90 on until the rural centers OF
Barry, Dsde, Taney, Jasper and
Isthers OF the highland counties OF
southwestern Missouri were all rep
resented.
They sang hymns of LUTHER, Bun
TAN, TIMOTHY DwIcHT, REGINALD
HEBER and JULIA WARD HowE Some
Of their music had the dignity Of
the compositions Of HAYDN, HANDEL
or MozARr and some the popular ap-
PEAL OF the revival tunes Of the later
days OF MospY and SANKBs or BILLY
SUNDAY. An outsider might have
thought that some OF the groups went
far in their departure from the sacred
music OF their forefathers when they
introduced tunes which had a sugges-
tion OF waltz time, even OF the fox
trot or one step. "A weak, spineless
tune IL a. cut Of place In the mouths
OF the rugged descendants Of the men
who subdued southern Missouri"
writes a stan correspondent Of the
Kansas City Star, "as a popcorn ma
chine would be in the aisle OF one Of
the white Osark churches"
But the meetings rose to their
greatest height when In the evening,
after the singers OF the day had all
arrived, the whole assemblage lifted
their voices in the famous hymns of
the churches. In the congregational
singing there were always at least
1000 voices. not infrequently double
that number. One can easily imag-
inc the inspiring effect Of the sing.
ing BY this body OF such hymns az
Holy, Holy, Holy" Rock of Ages"
and "0nward, Christian Soldiers az
they rolled In great volumes OF tone
from the hilltops down into the val
leys below. IL was traveller along
the mountain trails who was perhaps
the first beyond the pale Of the 0zarks
to hear this singing. He knew that
music fourished in Unusual places,
but he had no thought OF nndins II
here. Ever since that time the world
In increasing numbers has been 60
ing TO hear the 0saSk sinssrA
There would seem to be, az the