praise to the Creator. The world itself is a vast harmony, how then shall we praise the Creator thereof through better means than music? for music is founded on natural harmonics.

There are a few simple rules, which, if accepted as fundamental principles, can hardly fail to be of assistance to the choir-trainer. Clearness of pronunciation is perhaps the greatest charm of vocal music; unfortunately this is too often overlooked or insufficiently cared for. I have known many an otherwise fine choir ruined for want of distinct pronunciation of each word. Let the Psalms and Canticles be read a thousand times rather than be sung, if the words are indistinct.

Economy of forces is too apt to be forgotten in Church singing, in other words, individuals shout and the whole body of sound is too strong. One of the beauties of a cathedral choir, such an one, for instance, as has the privilege of Dr. Monk's training, is the quiet smooth manner in which all is rendered; no shouting or preponderance of individual voices, but a constant wave of sweet harmony which ebbs and flows as the sacred song indicates. The individual must be forgotten in a choir, and not sing in order that his voice may be prominent. It should be borne in mind that a sense of reserve of power should be conveyed; it is not pleasant to hear a body of voices continually raised to their full extent, and excellence in choral singing will only be attained when a body of sound is produced, each voice mellowed by cultivation and reduced to perfect control, the whole capable of delicate soft phrases, moderate and easy singing, and swelling grandeur, as occasion may require.

Misconception sometimes arises as to the exact functions of an organist, and it cannot too clearly be stated that the instrument should accompany the voices, not the voices the instrument; the organ should not lead the voices, and the choir ought not to rely on any lead from the organ. So strongly would I insist on this as to assert that a choir should be able, on an emergency, to render the vocal portions of the service without the assistance of the organ. There is plenty of scope for an organist in variety of accompaniment and support of the voices, but so soon as the choir learn to rely on the organ for a lead, the player has stepped beyond his legitimate province. I am aware that this rule can only be applied where a choir has already arrived at some proficiency, and that in many cases it is a matter of necessity to urge on the voices by means of the organ. Some village choirs never

would reach the end of a hymn if not led by the instrument; nevertheless it is a wrong principle and cannot too early be corrected. In the Psalms it is exceedingly beautiful if the voices are accompanied in an artistic manner; have as great variety in the playing as you like, only do not drown the singing. Loud chords have a tendency to make a choir shout; then it is the economy of force is lost sight of, and the result is far from pleasing. On the other hand, with soft playing it is difficult to make the voices subdued without dragging; soft singing not dragged can only be taught after long, patient instruction.

It must be understood that these remarks are offered to choirs in which Anglican music is sung, not to the comparatively few villages where Gregorians are in use. Perhaps the best pointing for the use of choirs is that by Sir F. Ouseley and Dr. Monk, preferable alike for its simplicity and correctness of accent. This psalter is in use in many of our cathedrals and large churches; for the reasons above stated it is probably the best obtainable. In the matter of pointing there is a stumbling-block for choirs; an intelligent reading of the psalms must not be overlooked even when they may be sung. There is a tendency to look upon the divisional bar of the pointing as a stop, and a pause totally unnecessary is the result; this makes utter nonsense of many a verse of a Psalm. This is not noticeable when an accent is given, but in the cases when no pronounced stress is laid on any word in the reciting bar, this pause occurs, thus :—

The LORD said unto my | LORD: Sit Thou upon My right hand, until I make Thine | ene | mies Thy | footstool.

In the first reciting bar there is no accent given; thus choirs will dwell on the word "said," causing a break utterly inconsistent with a correct reading of the verse. In the latter half of the verse, it will be remarked an accent occurs on the word " make," therefore there is no inclination to pause as the voices leave the reciting note. A good rule for chanting the psalms is as follows: take plenty of time over the reciting bars, give the other notes their exact value only. Once let this rule be mastered, and the psalms will go well; they will be smooth and distinct as they should be. It is the divisional bar of the pointing, regarded as a stop, which is the root of the evil.

False accentuation is a serious fault in chanting, and its origin may be traced from two distinct causes; first from the divisional bar being regarded as a stop; and, secondly, it often arises through some

voices waiting for others in order to leave the reciting note together; certainly it is necessary to leave the reciting note simultaneously, but that portion of the verse should also be in accord; there should be no need to wait one for the other, or organ for voices. Get the pronunciation distinct, taking pains neither to hurry the verses nor to render them too slow, and efficiency must be arrived at. It is presumed the choir shall be divided into Decani and Cantoris; if this be the case, let the choir-trainer insist on the alternate verses being taken up quickly; it is not correct for pauses to be made between each verse, and it is a bad habit frequently to be traced to the choir waiting for the organ lead; this again is a common fault.

If the responses are sung it will probably be the music of Tallis which is used; in nine cases out of ten they are too heavily sung, the intention of the composer being wellnigh lost. As a remedy for this I would suggest the choir being unaccompanied by the organ; accustomed to rely on themselves, after being taught to sing the versicles lightly, I think this defect would soon disappear. From experience this has been proved; and, beyond a key-note occasionally given to keep up the pitch, no assistance was required from the organ, and our responses were not dragged out to twice their proper length.

One difficulty with a village choir is invariably met with; men and boys alike cannot be persuaded to pronounce the letter h. Fortunate indeed are the choir-trainers who can counteract this impediment. Numberless times have I listened to the distorted prayer, " incline our 'arts to keep this law," spoken with a distinctness entirely foreign to the rest of the service. In many places the Psalms and Hymns are well sung, but great carelessness is displayed in the monotone portions of the service; it is a thousand pities this should be so, for how the beautiful Litany, for instance, may be spoiled by a slovenly manner of reciting the responses. This always conveys the idea that it is only the singing which is worth the trouble of doing well. Again, the reverence of a service is sometimes destroyed through members of the choir whispering, arranging the music, &c., either during the reading of the lessons or elsewhere; this should be avoided, there is no necessity to be always finding places, looking over hymn tunes, or fluttering pieces of music. It has been found a good plan to make it the duty of the leading treble on either side to have books and music ready open for the choir; no excuse then remains for whispered conversations or the continual fluttering of leaves.

Regularity in attendance is requisite in all choirs, and should be strongly insisted upon. It is said that the Crystal Palace Symphony band, under the direction of Mr. Manns, is one of the finest in the world; the reason of this is that they play together every day in the year (Sundays excepted), consequently they have absolute reliance on their leader and on each other. This applies to the ordinary church choir, for by constant attendance each member learns to know thoroughly the mode of singing practised by the whole choir; a confidence is thus engendered which is of the greatest value to the trainer, also to the choir themselves. With regard to practices; I think most people will agree that one evening a week should be set aside for learning the succeeding Sunday's service. It is necessary that this practice be regularly attended by all members of the choir; beware of allowing any member to absent himself on the ground that he is sufficient musician to make practice needless in his case. This is a thoroughly bad principle; granted that the individual is proficient in music, all the more need then that he should attend the practice to render general assistance, and to improve others by his example. A bass voice sure of his own part is invaluable in leading the less accurate singers, and the same with all the other parts.

With the treble voices, it will be found of great improvement to the purity and quality of tone, if five minutes are given at the commencement of each practice to simple scales and exercises; the scale first, then holding each note of an octave for the full four beats, and finally giving a few exercises on thirds and fifths; this latter may be attempted first with the instrument, and then by the voices alone, the first note only being sounded. The boys being thus taught to judge of intervals will readily learn to read simple music. As a boy it was my good fortune to sing in one of the best London choirs, under a choir-trainer of great reputation. We invariably commenced our practices in this way, the good results being undeniable. It is indispensable that a choir-trainer should have authority over both men and boys. With the men, I think, it will always be found that if the teacher has sufficient musical knowledge to guide, possessing also the gift of being able to impart such knowledge, they will really take pains to learn and follow the directions of one they respect; it is in the of any one to make themselves respected or otherwise. Boys are not so easily managed, and considerable firmness is required in order to make them attentive to teaching. Once let them master you, and

power

there remains little hope of success, but if they perceive that the choirmaster intends to exercise authority, the battle is half won. Patience is needed with kindness; if the teacher cannot control his own temper, how can he hope to obtain influence over his pupils ? At a practice do not pass over mistakes; immediately an error is detected, in pointing or music, stop, and make the choir repeat the verse correctly; it will be found that this course will soon have its effect, correct reading will be the result. Choirs do not like to be pulled up short in the middle of a psalm; they will consequently strive to prevent mistakes when they find that each verse incorrectly rendered has to be repeated in its proper form.

music given to sing This is not right;

It is frequently the case that the men only have from; the boys are obliged to sing by ear alone. how can boys ever learn the value of notes, the art of expression-in short, music, if they never have a note before them? I have heard boys sing correctly enough by ear, but what is here so strongly urged is that they never learn anything of music from this manner of singing, it is all mechanical. Choir-boys should be made to behave reverently in church, and should be removed from the choir for a time if they offend in this respect. My experience is that in most villages boys look upon it as an honour and privilege to belong to the choir; they feel sensibly any suspension from their duties for a Sunday or two. I have seen a wilful lad reduced to abject submission after a fortnight's exile from his place in the choir.

The proper balance of voice is of great importance. With a set of eight or ten boys it is useful to train two of the number as altos, for among men no voice is so rare as an alto. With eight men there will probably be three tenors, three basses, and two nondescripts; fortunate indeed is the choir which possesses a real alto voice among the men. In different parts of the country different conditions will be found. A clergyman from Devonshire once told me all the men's voices in his parish were tenors, not a bass was to be found. Doubtless the reverse is often the case; but take the whole of England and I imagine the basses would predominate. It has often been remarked how the quality of voice varies in different parts of England; perhaps the Yorkshire voices are naturally the best in the country, those of Sussex and Hampshire being the worst. This is curious, but the fact remains. A Leeds oratorio chorus stands unrivalled for quality of tone, when such a body is unknown even in the southern counties. It