The Music o' the Day.

Otago Witness, Issue 2086, 15 February 1894, Page 21

The Music o' the Day.

Maister Editok, — I hae been heerin' frae a' quarters frae ma freens, speirin' if I was deid or incapable or what, and suggesting that I should drap a bit note tae the papers jist tae let them ken that I was still in the land o' the leevin'. In fac', Mr Editur, I hae certain qualms o' conscience mysel' (that eauts an' senna winna' shift) that I haena been a' that I should be, as ane o' yer correspondents, sac as sune as the whirr o' the reaper an' binder was heard nae mair, an' the coos had been attended tae, I — tae use oor young Jock's style — '• sat doon an' took up my pen " tae write ye, but gude kens what I can say. Wore I tae discoorse on the stellar bodies an 7 measure space by lichts I wad be reckoned a dry stick ; were I tae select as my theme " The Comin' War" I micht be thrown oot o' gear by bein' dubbed " a sour-milk eoger." The thistle nuisance I winna tackle, kenin' fu' weel that it's safe enoo in the hauns o' ma auld f reen Thistle Tarn, o' the Clutha. Noo, lend me yer lugs while I hae ma say on " The Music o' the Day." When aue gangs tae an entertainment nooadays, what, is't we hear ? Music ? Weel — aye ! But what aboot the sentiment ? Yell hae heard o' tho defeated loon in a law case roarin' oot in the hicht o' passion when ho heard the verdict, " That may bo law, but it's no justice ! " Tae which tho opposin' lawyer remarked, "If ye get law yo dinua want justice ! " Oor highclass (?) musicians noo appear tae hae a feelin' that if we got music we dinna need sentiment. Miss Maggie Stirling, trilling awa at something — gudeness what ! — is applauded tae tho echo, but her rendition o' " Caller herrin' " fa's ilafc as a p-.ncake. Losh keep |us !— gie us a' tho new music in the Cyclopaedia, but for ony sake sandwich ib wi' some articulate expressions in oor mither Longue thet'll gar thejjhords o' ~uuo heart vibrp,'e m~nuieon. "Music hath power to soothe tho savage breest ' says Shakespeare. I ask in plain braid Scotch, wad the elevatin' pooer o' music no hae an increased leverage wore the music an' sentij uiont tae gang thegither ? Wh*t quid cau music dae if it is alien tae oor ears an' no ane in a hunder can detect an error in its execution —in fac', that kin' o' music in whilk The tickled ears nae heartfelt raptures raisecompared wi' tho soul-stirrin' strains o' the I martial or the heart-touchin'. wail o' the pathetic. A gaid wheen o' them wha applaud sic treshtrie ken as muckle aboot it as a "soo kens aboot grammar," therefore a spirit o' hypocrisy is created an' fostered, an' the vanity o' the illiterate in musical matters is titilated tae sic a degree as tae mak' them actually think that they are connoisseurs in the art. The harp, rendered sacred to us through the psalmist Dauvit, in able hauns should be an instrument for quid among a rebellious an' stiff-necked peoplo sic as wo are, but I deny its pooer o' elevation unless it's primed wi' the magnetic grip o* auld an' familiar associations— unless a weel-balanced affinity hauds the reins atween us an' the player — unless we tint oorsels pro tcm. in the inspirin' strains o' the player. O£ coorso I ken I am rinrnn' counter tae the opeenion o' mony o' the craft wha try tae revere the auld maisters, an' are apt tae burst oot wi' " Great is Diana o' the Ephesians ! " when they heer this tirade ; but though I haena the musical ability tae see as they see, still I hae the heart tae appreciate onything that gars it dirl.— l am, &c, John Plod. Broseha', February 10.