Easy Criticism by Editor

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Aug 31, 1882

Easy Criticism.

By Editor

THIS term best expresses our idea of a criticism in a recent number of the Sunday-school Times of the Sunday-school music books recently published. The writer of the article tries his ability at playing Esau, for his hand is against every man. Fifteen books are noticed, and scarcely any good thing is found in any of them. This we call easy work in criticism, for it takes no talent at all to denounce everything. And who will agree with it that there has been no good Sabbath-school or Temperance music published of late years?

Of Sunday-school music books no other has had a run so long and successful as "Pure Gold," by Lowry and Doane. It was a book of real merit. But the authors made a great mistake by following it with "Better Than Gold," which was published on their reputation rather than on its merits. From its first issue we predicted its failure, and we have not been disappointed in the result. But several authors have done well since that time. If some pieces in a book fall below the correct standard, no true critic will make that a reason for such an indiscriminate slaughter as the S. S. Times attempts. There are some good song writers in the United States, and no pretended critic will add to his laurels by depreciating them all.

In our love for pure church music we are not willing to yield to anyone. We have sometimes thought the public taste is undergoing a change in regard to church music which is not for the better. The system of paid church choirs is probably largely responsible for it. The music must be "artistic" whether it be devotional or not; and artistic has come largely to mean operatic. There used to be a difference, greater, we think, than there is recognized now, between "sacred" and "secular" styles of music. Lowell Mason was America's true representative of sacred music.

But another want has been felt, and had to be supplied. Within a generation there has been a wondrous increase in Sunday-school work. To enlist the attention and interest of children, they must take part in the singing; and in order to do this we must depart from the solidity and strength of the old sacred style. We all know that we should utterly fail if we should try to interest promiscuous classes of untrained children with the old German chorals and Gregorian chants. For a large congregation of adult worshipers we would ask for no better tunes than such as Dundee, Migdol, Old Hundred, Windham, Bridgewater, and Rothwell. But an ordinary Sabbath-school cannot really render them. Why not, then, give the children music which they can render?

To meet this want another style of music has been introduced. It is, of necessity, removed from the old standard of sacred style, but much of it is good music, and well adapted to the purpose for which it is written. Geo. F. Root and W. B. Bradbury stood prominent among those who introduced this style. Mr. Bradbury, however, gave us some choice church tunes, such as "Woodworth," L. M., and "Lottie," S. M., known also in our books as "Dove." Of late years Lowry and Doane have occupied a high position as producers of music of this style. Though their last venture was, in our opinion, a failure, it does not destroy the fact that they can do well, for they have done well. Though prominent, they are by no means alone in furnishing good music in this style.

The slur of the S. S. Times—we cannot consistently call it anything else—upon "Temperance and Gospel Songs," is very unjust. It points to a grammatical error in a song (an error of number by the insertion of an s where it should not be), an oversight which might happen anywhere. We have seen the same song, with the same typographical error, in a literary paper of extensive circulation. Is this a sufficient reason to denounce the entire contents of that paper? And just one more fault is found: with a song written by Mr. Carswell, the well-known Canadian temperance lecturer. We have heard Mr. Carswell lecture when we should have chosen to have him give a more serious turn to his discourse. But he is a lecturer well calculated to reach all classes, and whose usefulness as such is beyond dispute. While we justly admit of variety in temperance lectures, we think it equally well to admit some variety in temperance songs. But in saying this we do not yield much to the censorious remarks of the Times, as there is very little of this caste in the book. Some of the original pieces are especially solemn and impressive. And with such contributors as Dr. W. O. Perkins, W. F. Sherwin, D. S. Hakes, W. A. Ogden, J. A. Butterfield, H. S. Perkins, and others who might be named, we really think the music needs no defense against the slight it receives from the Times. It has been well received by temperance workers and in temperance societies, which is, perhaps, the best recommendation it could ask.

In like manner we think the S. S. Times does marked injustice in its wholesale denunciations of a very recent publication—"Pearly Portals"—published by Geo. D. Russell of Boston. It sets down the music as uniformly bad or worthless. But we may ask, Who that is acquainted with writers of this class of music, will assent to its verdict, when they know who are contributors to the book? Among the pieces which are sure to be acceptable to schools we may name the following: Work and Wait, by J. H. Tenny; Beautiful City, by James R. Murray; Gather Them In, by W. Irving Hartshorn; Give up All for Jesus, by Wm. F. Sherwin; Only the Blood of Jesus, by Rev. E. A. Hoffman; Star of Beauty, by A. T. Gorham; Turn to God, by R. B. Mahoffey; Glad New Year, by W. J. Bostwick. And many others we might mention of equal merit. Of those by the author, Mr. D. S. Hakes, we cannot specify a few and do justice to his work. But we will name Paradise, Pearly Portals, When We Anchor, Sowing in Tears, as specimens, and only specimens of his numerous excellent compositions. A few typographical errors in the first edition will not lower its reputation in the judgment of people of discrimination. And the *S. S.

Times* really pays it a compliment, though it is unintentional. It says:—

"A string of notes, even when not violating the laws of musical composition, does not necessarily make a tune."

There does not seem to be much originality of thought in that remark. Any of the authors to whom we have referred above, and even those much less instructed in musical matters than any of them, could have given the Times the same information. But its remark is an admission on its part that the music in "Pearly Portals" does not violate the laws of musical composition; and this is no small merit. The author of the book, Mr. Hakes, has an excellent reputation among his fellow composers for accuracy in his work. Whether he and his contributors have succeeded in making any "tunes" is not left to the sole judgment of the S. S. Times. We know of many who are expressing an opinion strongly the reverse of that expressed by the Times.

Though the "Pearly Portals" is published in Boston, we count it a California production, Mr. Hakes being our fellow-citizen of Oakland. As such we take an interest in it. It is the second of its style got up on this coast. The first—"Song Anchor"—was received with much favor, and really achieved good success, considering that its publisher was not then a regular music publisher, and lacked many of the facilities necessary to give it an extensive circulation. Mr. Hakes was the author of many of its best pieces, and he is now so well known as a correct composer that we are not surprised that his book is coming into favor very fast. We know of several Sunday-schools that have adopted it, after thorough examination and trial. And we have heard and read the opinions of not a few, in whose judgment in such matters we have more confidence than in our own, that it is a book of decided merit, which cannot fail to retain its place among lovers of good Sabbath-school music. Its words also, mostly new, are highly commended by those who have examined the book.