p. 28 | THE HOLY OPERA

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 24, 1867

“THE HOLY OPERA.”

The following from the N. Y. Observer, shows how matters are progressing in the nominal churches of the present day. The reader may judge for himself whether such service can be acceptable to Him who requires all his worshipers to worship Him in spirit and in truth. If the prophetic description of the professed church in the last days is not about met, what shall we look for next? The Observer says:—

The newspapers, sacred and profane, the English and American, are just now giving their attention to the invasion of our churches by operatic singers. Even our sober-minded friends of the Philadelphia Presbyterian, under the significant head of “Shameful,” and on the authority of some other paper says:

A few Sundays ago, in one of the New York Presbyterian churches, the place of the regular prima donna was temporarily supplied, during her absence by another. The new voice was the subject of conversation, as some of the worshipers beguiled their homeward way, thus:—“Who was she?” “Who can she be?” The answer was, “She is a young, timid girl, quite unaccustomed to such a congregation. Did you notice how she trembled?” It came out the next day that the timid young girl was one of the performers in the “Black Crook.”

The “Black Crook” is something or other, we know not what, that is going on nightly in one of our minor theatres, and is said to be the most indecent of the spectacles, but suited to the present tastes of theatre-goers. They have their theatre in Brooklyn, over the water from us, called the Academy of Music, and one of the newspapers says:

Miss Florence A. Rice, the favorite cantatrice of Dr.——’s Presbyterian church, had a splendid benefit concert at the Academy on Monday night. She was assisted by Pattison, Thomas, Simpson and Mme. Martines. The audience was very large and proportionately enthusiastic.

The London Musical Standard has its attention arrested also by the progress of the Holy Opera in the United States, and says, under the head of American choirs:

Mr. Brock, the well known minister of a large denominational chapel in Bloomsbury, has lately visited the United States. In the course of some remarks upon American church music, he mentions visiting a church, the choir of which consisted of four persons, two ladies and two gentlemen. By this choir a hymn of Wesley’s was sung in the manner following: The first man sang the first line, the first lady sang the next, the other lady sang the third line, and the last man completed the verse. The effect may be imagined.

And the same progress in the high art of church music has been attained in some of the London churches. One of the papers says:

A visitor at the church of St. Catherine Cree was astonished a few Sundays ago, to hear the Litany prefaced by a long tenor solo, “rendered by a professional gentleman,” and followed by the performance of another solo by a young lady, standing upon a stool or hassock for the better elevation of her person. As the music took up much time, the clergyman announced that he had not time left to preach his sermon in full, but he would have it printed.

The regular opera is beginning to feel the effect of this church rivalry. Our Academy of Music was opened last Monday evening, after being closed a week or two on account of the strike in the chorus singers. On Monday a young gentleman called upon a lady friend, and asked if she would go with him to the opera that evening:

“O no,” said she, “I went twice yesterday.”

“Why you forgot,” he said, “yesterday was Sunday.”

“Yes I know,” she answered; “but I went to the holy opera.”