Short Musical Notes by Editor

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Mar 26, 1885

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 13.

Short Musical Notes.

By Editor

By this title we do not speak of the lang syne “demisemiquavers,” but of editorial notes on the subject of music. A title more expressive might, perhaps, have been found, but this serves our purpose well, and we adopt it.

Our Hymn Book says: “The music introduced into this book will greatly promote uniformity and correctness in singing.”—Preface, page iv. But music will no more promote uniformity and correctness in singing, unless the singers learn the music and conform to its requirements, than spectacles will insure correctness in reading, in those who cannot read without them. We have long and deeply regretted that our people who use our hymn book, “Spiritual Songs,” pay so little respect to the music which it contains. We do not speak of those who never learned music, and cannot read the notes; but of those who can read them, but do not make proper use of the knowledge they possess.

We often hear much said of the deficiencies of the book. Well, the book is not large, but it contains much good music; and, we are forced to say, more than is used. In common metres we shall always miss Ortonville, and some of that stamp; but in our attendance of meetings of Seventh-day Adventists we have never heard Howard sung by them, and Litchfield (we think) but once. The former is a splendid piece for a large class of hymns; and the latter is one of Lowell Mason’s sweetest church tunes. Why they are so neglected we do not know. (The want of a sharp in the upper treble staff, and of a tie in the lower ditto, of Litchfield, will be so readily detected that they will present no difficulty to the singer.) Denfield is quite as good as many others which are frequently used; yet it is almost utterly neglected. Dundee is a beautiful Scottish melody, but seldom used. For a certain class of tunes Patmos is much more appropriate as a chanting piece than Harvey’s Chant, yet who uses it? And for social meetings, or on any occasion where a heavier tune would be out of place, Woodland is worthy of more attention than it receives.

We could name a score of excellent “C. M.” tunes which we would much like to find there; but while so many good tunes lie on its pages unused, there should be no complaints of a scarcity. True some of these are old; but they are good for long service yet. And old as they are, they are so new to some of our congregations that when we have requested them to sing them, they frankly said they could not! Yet the same congregations would sing almost every piece in “Pure Gold,” and many other books of that class. Of long and short metres there is not so great neglect, yet we could point out some errors in regard to these.

Now we ask all our friends who can “read notes,” to read this one and think of it till we give them “the second.”