Evening star., 1939-11-19

Tor ndugnC unless the determination
of the people of this country is
strong enough to preserve them,
come what may.
AS We look back over the years
since the last World War we cannot
help but notice how meager have
been the musical results that the
times have brought. The bitter ex-
periences, the many political up
heavals and the disturbed way of
life have all been reflected in the
one art that should spring from the
finer emotions of mankind. That the
essence of music is unquenchable has
been proven time and time again
through the history of the world
with its many black pages of war.
Yet there is ever a period when the
deeper thoughts of the mind are not
kindly or tuned to beauty, and it
takes years before a change can be
effected.
In this country, more than in any
other, concerted effort has been
made in the last 20 years to hold on
to. and bring closer to the daily lives
of the citizens, the spiritual force
and uplift that music gives. When
the financial debacle of few years
back swept over the country there
was noticeable turning to music
for help, for an occupation in forced
leisure in many cases, but in reality
q reaching out for something fine
and true to hold on to when every
thing else had revealed its shallow
substance.
Music for Sanity.
For the first time. legislators and
those of influence among the people
began to think of music as means
of preserving the sanity of the Ma
ton. The initial thought was to
provide occupation and a means of
livelihood, but it was soon apparent,
to those who had lightly thought of
music in the past, that here was
something not exclusively the prop
erty of few gifted ones, but the
one unique appeal to all people
whether educated or not. When the
elders discovered this power of mu-
sic, experiencing it themselves for
the first time, perhaps, they thought
of their children and determined to
give them something that the chaos
of the world could not destroy. The
result has been astonishing in the
growth of schools and music events
and the opportunities that have been
opened for those of talent to take
advantage of.
Right now, We are in danger of
having all those ideals, and the at
tending hard work to bring them
to fruition, put in the background
while the world busies itself with
aggrandizement and the cultivation
of hatred. The names of the great
German composers, just so recently
become familiar to many, will be
linked with the present generation
of that race which is alien in all
that it in reality stands for. The
same is true of the beloved musicians
of other countries that today have
dedicated themselves to materialistic
ends. How will it be possible to re-
member the beauty that has been
given us by these nations musical
great when the ugly side of life pre-
dominates today?
The musically fruitful countries
have felt the curse of materialistic
ideals in their musical output these
last years. Minds that should turn
inward to the beauty of the soul
have been warped and, in their mar
nf yici fhnJ1uht fn
harness music to the expression of
their aims and their coldly calculat-
ing mentality. Great music cannot
find sustenance in such soil nor
ring any message through the ages
that the hearts of people will wish to
accept. The barrenness, the ugli-
ness and the distorted objectives
that have crept into music these last
years are the outcome Of the feel
ings aroused by war.
Although what has been added to
the musical literature in recent
years can compare in no way with
what had its conception in the quiet,
simple and homely surroundings of
the great masters. it was an effort,
at least, to hold to what represents
the best in human nature. But not
in all these 20 years has a voice
arisen to sing song of sublime
1oveliness that will flood the heart
with divine emotion. Yet even this
meager attempt to capture again
the substance of beauty is about to
experience another blotting out,
another death for the want of sus-
tenance.
Surely while suspicion and hatred
are rampant in the world, the oppo-
site virtues should stand out in bold
relief. Against the darkening,
crushing effect of unworthy senti-
ments. those that give lightness and
Joy of spirit must seem inexpres-
sively dear and worth cherishing
1t must be borne in upon us that
life, in its final reckoning, is the
cultivation of beauty and spiritual
ity, the only things that each can
call his own and a storage battery
+ for a vital living that never fails.
Should Cling to 1t.
Should we not be determined,
therefore, with the wisdom we have
gained from the troubled times of
the past, not to allow this source of
right living to be taken away from
us. The light has been put into the
custody of the people of this coun-
try and we must keep it trim and
bright so that those now wandering
on the darkened seas of their own
false beliefs may find it beckoning
when they are ready to return to its
haven.
The great composers and the
great artists of every nation belong
to the world They are not allied to
the political policies of their coun-
try or to any narrow viewpoint
They speak language understood
by all, a language that transcends
the commonness of everyday life
and touches on the larger horizons