AT THE RAGPICKERS' MASS

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXIX, Issue 9, 28 February 1901, Page 7

AT THE RAGPICKERS' MASS

SUNDAY morning at 11 o'clock, at St. Severin at the 'Mease des Chiff onniers " — the Ragpickers' Mass in Paris, all the Quartier Maubert is there, kneeling down, from the oldest ' mejottiers ' of the ' Maub ' to the youngest and shabbiest unfortunate of the Rue Galande, repentant for a day. And who are those, think you, up in the organ gallery, their forma and faces dimly silhouetted against the dim religious glow of the painted windows, making music for this queerest of congregations ? They are a few of the most famous musicians in Paris — in the world. And at the organ is Saint-Saens himself. Beside him is Taffanel, rippling out on hia flnte the purest, most bird-like fantasies. Thibault, with the hand of a magician, evokes for those poorest of listeners beneath him the wailing human soul which, as some fanciful French poet has said, lies buried in every ' little brown violin,' only to be made vocal by the hand of a master. And with these there are often women of the ' haute monde,' who sing to that wonderful accompaniment, though when this is bo, Paul Vidal generally replaces Saint-Saens at the organ. There is so much gloom in Paris, and so much more abrupt and terrible a sundering of class from class than even in London, that it iB pleasant to record how, once a week, a few gifted and generous souls are stretching forth kindly hands across the abyss. Moreover they are not doing it for self-glorification. They are too big to need it.