Fisk Jubilee Singers.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XX, Issue 2024, 31 January 1887, Page 3

Fisk Jubilee Singers.

The story of the Fisk Jubilee Singers as told in a book which is to be circulated at their concerts, is a remarkable one. We gather from it that the musical teacher of the first company, the son of a village black* smith—the “ harmonious ” one ? never had any musical instruction, but inherited a strong love for music from his father. He made no pretensions as a vocalist himself, and yet when he became a school teacher his classes were, locally, renowned for their good singing. It seems that, as a matter of fact, Mr George L. White, that was his name, founded a new school of vocal music, limited in range, but comprehensive in expression, keeping well within the soft and the lower notes, and consequently well within the range of good voices, so that no false notes are hazarded. Perhaps it is not correct to say that White “ founded” the school, as such singing was common on the plantations, but he crystallised it by forming classes, to formally study and practice it Our vocal music runs too much to screeching, expression is too much neglected. To collar a high note successfully is to capture applause, whether the note has any particular relation to the rest of the composition or not The violin is the “ king of instruments,” because it permits of the fullest expression. The singer who neglects expression in favor of " singing the notes”—the common case—as a singer, is only comparable to the “ fiddler,” who is not a violinist.