CHURCH MUSIC

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 25, Issue 10, 1 October 1935, Page 1

CHURCH MUSIC

(A Paper read before^ the H.B.C. Association, by C. B. Spinney.) (The interest evoked by the Paper on Church Music by Rev. W. T. Drake has been widespread. The Church News of Tasmania has published his article m full, and the following Paper by Mr. C. B. Spinney, organist of St. Matthews Church, Hastings, is another excellent contribution to this important subject. — Ed.) Gentlemen, — I would like first of all to thank you for the honour you have conferred upon me by asking me to address you. The Vicar asked me to read Mr. Drake's Paper, and either carry it a step further or advance other views. I can only congratulate Mr. Drake ou the very excellent way m which he has touched m a simple and straightforward manner the difficult question of Church music and our attitude towards it. In the 15 minutes at my disposal, it will be only possible for me to touch on the bare outline of Church Music m its several branches, so I have divided the talk into three parts: (1) A standard to aim at m our choice of Church music. (2) Congregational music and our attitude towards it. (3) The S.E.C.M. (School of English Church Music) and what it stands for. Church Music is distinctly an offering dedicated to God. It therefore requires to be purer and deeper than music offered by man for the entertainment of his fellow-men. So it must be suitable; befitting the resources, the occasion and the purpose. Good music ranges over many degrees of difficulty, it should be chosen with due regard to the capacities of the singers — one kind for the Cathedral, another for the Parish Church, and another for the Village congregation. A great deal of harm is done by ambitious choirmasters who set untrained voices to tasks which they are unable to perform; it is far better to recognise their limitations and hold them to the finest work which is within their reach. Again, the service should be an act of worship and praise by the whole

congregation, therefore the music will fail of its effect if it baffles and bewilders the congregation by excess of variety. Almost all our collections of anthems and hymns are too large, and I think it would be all for the good if we selected a small number of enduring merit and allowed them to become familiar. And because the service is. corporate its music should express m the main" those broad common emotions which the worshippers can truly and sincerely share. Then again the music must be dignified. Whatever the emotion that it expresses — of jubilation or prayer, or penitence — it must always purify and ennoble. There is often a danger lest we allow our religious emotions to be over-humanised, and m this danger music, with its vivid appeal to sense and feeling may bear no inconsiderable part. Many popular hymn tunes of the present day are full of softness and luxury — more like sentimental part songs, than illustrations of a sacred theme. The music of the Church should be marked by a stateliness of rhythm, not tripping or gesticulating, but hearing itself as befits a ceremonial. But it is not enough that the music should be dignified, it must be reverent. A great deal of Church music is merely negative, arid while not actually offensive, is yet devoid of all devotion or reverance, and should be discarded, not because it does ill, but because it does nothing. Far different is the reverence which is animated by love and inspired by genius, which is the true sense of the term "devout." Its music is not gloomy or monotonous, it can glow with colour like an East window or sing aloud like one of the Psalms of praise, and whether m gladness or m sorrow is always conscious of the Divine presence. Now, the tune that offends one hearer may be acceptable to another, and there must be many such tunes at the frontier4ine, but I venture to say that a little way back will be found plenty left for all our needs if we only use a little careful thought. Mission tunes, or rather I should say some Mission; tunes, ,tp me, are .especially distressing with their ; Jtum- t fce-tum rhythms and catch sequences, and, m

my opinion, would be much better left unused m our Church, as they only seem to attract a class of people who like these jingling tum-te-tum catch tunes, together with our Church buildings and organs, but who will have none of us, and are no more seen once we revert back to our more usual ritual. CONGREGATIONAL SINGING. Broadly speaking, congregational singing is of two kinds: Active and silent (not passive). By active I mean singing by all whether musically minded or trained, m tune or not, pleasant to listen to, or otherwise. By silent I mean following the service with the mind, and joining m the singing mentally. Of those who go to make up these groups the unmusical by far predominate m the former class, while the musical and musicians form the latter class. The home or cradle of active singing is the Village Church, where usually there is no choir, and the singing, although untrained, is yet hearty and full. The home of silent singing, or singing m the heart, is the Cathedral, and, here, we have the artistic and meditative type of music. In between these two extremes comes the Parish Church with its mixed service. What is a reasonable attitude to adopt towards the Parish Church congregational singing? The hymn should be congregational, and should be chosen with this end m view. We cannot blame the congregation for weak singing or indifference if they arrive m Church Sunday after Sunday only to find that the hymns are either new, or m reality hymn anthems, or that they do not even possess a copy of the words. The canticles when sung to chants or well-known settings can and should also be regarded as congregational, but I venture to suggest that the psalms arid anthems should be followed by the congregation mentally, and, m this way, the special points of beauty and teaching will.be more readily seen and appreciated. Another point bearing on this question, to my mind, is: Are we right m presuming that the people Who are not. audibly singing are ©assiy.e?, A; point m th£ favour of . these folk is that when we have an old

favourite the volume of sound does usually swell very considerably. SCHOOL OF ENGLISH CHURCH MUSIC The School of English Church Music at first sight appears of no use to us m this country, but such is not the case~bn a closer examination. The aims and objects of the founders are to combat the very evils that all interested m the development and improvement of Church music deplore. It is possible for the remote Church to render their services equally well as the best Cathedral choir if they will approach the ma> + er in the right spirit. All they need is 1 a gramophone, a set of records issued by the S.E.C.M., dealing with the whole service. — Responses, Venite, Te Deum, Benedictus, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, a few psalms, and a record containing a speech by Dr. Nicholson on psalm pointing and speech rhythm. A set of parish psalters issued by the S.E.C.M. With these m their possession, a willingness to learn new ways, and perserverance, the desired results are within the reach of all. That such a reform is overdue was only too patent last Christmas, when we had a combined Bible Class service, the choir being augmented by members from other choirs. The> psalms and canticles were sung with many renderings. The trouble with the existing psalters is that the choir members and sometimes choirmasters missread the signs. For instance, it is a common belief that the signs placed over words m the psalms indicate accent and extra length. Again, m the responses, members read the long notes as meaning the notes to be held the full value. This belief has taken such a strong hold that I find the only way is to discard the present books and start afresh. When I came to Hastings I did away with all accent m psalm- singing, also waiting for two beats on one-syllable words, the result being the chanting is more or less as Sir John Stainer wanted it to be. Dr. Nicholson has dealt with the psalms from a congregational point of view, making the music secondary to the words, regrouping verses, doing away with pauses if the meaning of the verse is improved thereby.

You have the idea when you read his instructions. He says: "Read the psalm first, and then sing as you read it." The S.E.C.M. issue every year a choir book, containing a selection of canticles, Communion service, anthems, hymns and chants at a very low cost. This book is divided into two parts for the convenience of choirs. Part I. contains responses, psalms, hymns, and an easy setting of the canticles, while Part 11. contains the more difficult evening service,, the Communion service and seven anthems. The whole of the music is issued m one volume, or the two parts can be obtained separately. Part I. is especially intended to meet the needs of small choirs or for local gatherings of affiliated choirs, supplemented by some anthem, while Part 11. is an excellent way of building up a library of good music. A quarterly magazine is sent gratis to affiliated choirs and individual members, containing instructional articles and notes on suitable Church music carefully graded. It also helps to keep members m touch with presentday news from Home. The Corporation of St. Nicolas College does not depend on canvassing for the growth of the membership, but rather on the enthusiasm and work of the affilliated choirs spreading the movement to the surrounding choirs. Dr. Nicholson said, on his return to England: Numbers are attractive, and we want to enrol all the choirs that we can get. But there is something more important still. The affiliated choirs must show by their own work m their own churches that affiliation means something more than a subscription, a card, and a badge. The success of the movement can only properly be judged by its concrete results, and each affiliated choir has a definite responsibility, individual as well as corporate, and increasing as the movement grows. It is much easier to stir up enthusiasm than to keep it alive, and it is to definite results that our choirs and those who come to study at our college must turn their thoughts. The value of our work is to be looked for, not m statistics, but m results shown m the actual weekly services of upwards of 1100 choirs, now scattered all over the world.

In the Waiapu Diocese there are now five affiliated choirs, and we hope before lon% others will see their way to join up. Mrs. Spinney is the Waiapu representative, and she will be only too happy to supply information about the activities of the S.E.C.M. to anyone interested.