S.O.S.—AND ALL THAT

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 104, 29 October 1931, Page 12

S.O.S.—AND ALL THAT

(To tht Editor.) Sir,—Tho absolute impartiality and bencyolont neutrality of the "Evening Post!' in reguL'd to the views of its controversial correspondents were never more in evidence than during the recent long and somewhat acrimonious exchange of ideas regarding Culture with a large C. And I opine, Sir, that only your desire to maintain this well-deserved reputation for scrupulous fairness to till parties prompted you to print in full the astonishing medley of olla. podrida appearing in to-night's issuo over the signature "5.0.5."

Xo doubt other, and abler, pens will change their courses and rush to answer this signal of distress from a correspondent so obviously foundering in waters beyond his depth: therefore I will con line myself—since "5.0.5." specifically identifies me us v person of musical proclivities—to setting right his confused notions of harmonic latitude and longitude, co that he may get his correct bearings on a. subject concerning -which he is clearly very much at sen. How much of "S.O.S's" appeal i« a genuine cry from the wilderness of ignorance, or merely a feebly satirical gibe at matters undreamt of in his limited philosophy, is best known to himself. The present age is notoriously one of dependence on others; it is, in fact, the S.O.S. age, and your correspondent, Sir, must forgive me if I liken his product to another kind of sausage—they are both compact of anonymity. Usually I am inclined to suspect the bona*fidet of opinions such as his • backed by a nom-de* plume, but as the ludicrous attempts at humour put forth by "5.0.5." at the expense of musical art will inevitably find favour among a certain class of scoffers, it will bo as well to answer his eccentric statements, 1 puss over his "impressions" of.a composer's intention*—impressions .which transparently are those of a very immature "mental age"—to hit peculiar and decidedly original diagnosis of harmony. "5.0.5." tells us that, on inquiry, he finds there are, in harmony, "no fixed rules." It would be most interesting to Icarn -whence he derived this fantastic idea. Music, besides being' an art, is a very exact science; and )* founded upon a basis as precise and definite as the law of gravtatiom Until "5.0.5." is able to gracp this1 elementary fact, he, should carefully eschew all reference to musical form and structure. Ignorance of the subject does not necessarily imply general intellectual vacuity; I have. known, lad do' know, many quite eetimable persons who, in cot loquial parlance, could not tell "B from a bull's foot." Despite Shakespcare'i sweeping1 dictum, a man may be unmutical, and yet have his good points as a travelling companion—only I should prefer the journey to be short. In brief, it requires talent to listen, intelligently to music, and thus it ia that classical Aiusic must ever remain "caviare to tho general." And here I cannot refrain from lamenting the seeming futility of modern educative 'methods as illustrated by the average so-called educated person's attitude towards' music, or, indeed, towards culture in any form. It shows a very poor mental level to sneer at what one cannot comprehend:—l am, _, L.D. AUSTIN.