Show MUSIC IN AMERICA Vhat I7IrJosppn Bennett Haste Say jon i j-on the Mnsic of Salt Lake City II I I The following IB from the IhtsicalThnes I I in that of London England and appeared journal April 1st 1885 We insert that I part of Mr Bennetts correspondence i and musical mat which refers to music I ters in our own city j II Farther West still if the reader pleases this time to the wonderful city winch stands at the foot of its encompassing I mountains a monument of Mormon Gentile belief and energy and faith I firm footing in the 1 practices have now a riham Young and the Sion founded by Brigbam dauntless band who started with him from Nauvoo into the then unknown wilds of Northern Mexico Probably the Mormons would not have it so if they could help themselves but Salt Lake City is under Federal authority and on aslope a-slope of the adjacent mountains stands Fort Douglas armed with highly persuasive per-suasive Federal cannon All the world is therefore free to come and go within the Territory where Mormonism remains and promises to remain the dominant faith There are several Gentile churches in Salt Lake City Episcopalians Episco-palians Roman Catholics Presbyterians Methodists Congregationalists and Baptists Bap-tists having one or more within the shadow of Brigham Youngs great Tabernacle The adherents in each case however are comparatively few and I apprehend that the enterprise of these sects is regarded as bearing a missionary character AVe were a small band in one of the Episcopalian Episco-palian churches on Christmas morning last Pious hands had decorated the pretty little Gothic building with festoons of fir and many a scriptual text but this could not have been done for the admiration admira-tion of a crowd Perhaps twenty people all told had gathered when a choir of three young women and two young men seated round an American organ near the chancel rose and sang Hark the herald angels to Mendelssohns well known strain With such humble means only humble things were attempted the musical service being limited to responses re-sponses chants and hymns All these were rendered with spirit and even with some t effect AVhat if the young lady organist or-ganist occasionally showed inexperience in dealing with extemporized harmonies The entire proceedings were so hearty simple and appropriate to circumstances that I could only regard them as successful success-ful I did this none the less readily because be-cause everything served to remind me of an English village church wherein life reigns rather than the somnolency that is first cousin to death My experience of Gentile church I music began and ended as described above I shall perhaps be expected tcq dwell longer upon that of tllC Latter day Saints of whose artistic doings do-ings it was my privilege to make close observations thanks to the friendly attentions of Mr Calder the chief musicseller in the place and himself him-self not only a Mormon but the son of one who held high and honored rank in his church Considering all things especially espe-cially the work that devolve upon a people peo-ple engaged in the rougher operations of founding a State the Mormons make very praiseworthy efforts to secure for themselves the sweetness and light of art They support an organization known as I the Careless Orchestra a suggestive name but meaning no more than that a I Mr Careless is its leader Regarding the composition and capacity capa-city of the Careless Orchestra I cannot speak but perhaps some of its members were those I heard discoursing solemn music in the streets of the city during the small hours of Christmas morning A theatre is also one of the appendages of the Mormon Church Here the young people who have formed themselves into dramatic associations make public appearances ap-pearances among the performers being some called by names conspicuous in the j I short and stormy record of those who followed the Prophet of Nauvoo The most important musical society is that which forms the choir of the Tabernacle Taber-nacle It numbers about 150 voices and has been fairly well trained for work making but a moderate demand upon executive I ex-ecutive power I attended the Tabernacle Taber-nacle service on one occasion and had then an opportunity of estimating its I capacity under the favorable conditions afforded by a building which through chance or otherwise has solved the problem prob-lem of acoustics in a large place The Tabernacle has room for near upon 10000 people and is elliptical in form with low walls from which springs a roof unsupported j unsup-ported by pillars and somewhat resembling resem-bling the inside of the longitudinal section I sec-tion of an egg shell At one of the curving ends rising from the level of the I floor to a considerable hight is a capacious capa-cious platform for the officers of the church behind whom and on either side are the singers the huge organ lifting its vast mass in rear of and above all Round the building save L just described runs a deep gallery and seats cover the ample area I is a literal fact thatt when the building is empty a person standing at one end can hear a pin drop at the other This was demonstrated demon-strated to me again and again the impact im-pact of the little bit of metal against the floor being distinctly audible I follows that a preacher need not speak above n conversational pitch in order to be heard all over the place even the feeble voice of the aged President John Taylor travels to ever ear From this it is easy to imagine im-agine the effect of the treat onran and the resonant tones of fsingers whose vocal powers are kept in strength and vigor by bracing mountain air The Mormon service is musically speaking and otherwise of the plainest character resembling that of an English dissenting chapel A curious feature is the almost absolute dumbness of the congregation They do not sing the whole duty of vocal praise being delegated to the choir and they make no responses to the extemporaneous extem-poraneous prayers only when some eloquent elo-quent orator and there are many among the Mormons dwells passionately upon their persecutions and fortells an ultimate triumph a loud Amen rings through the building The hymns are sung to tunes of an oldfashioned type such as may be found in Rippons English collec tion of sixty or seventy years ago and in almost every popular American collection of the present day Even tunes which necessitate repeated lines and those con taining passages of imitation are not discarded carded from Mormon use their spirited and sometimes rather rollicking strains be m < j delivered with every appearance of real enjoyment The choir as a rule goes right through the hymn whatever the number of its yerses vhile the huge congregation con-gregation turning a sea of faces full upon the performers sit and quietly listen Sometimes a on the occasion of mv visit music of a more complex character is attempted The anthem I heard for example contained a short solo very well delivered by a young Scandinavian professional to the accompaniment of a small orchestra as well a the organ By tins rime the Mormons have amongst them asain a young musician i son of the late Brigham Young this shouldbe a son of the late Jos YounO I Sr M trained at our Royal Academy 5f I Music and will doubtless make a con spicuous feature in the Tabernacle te ser Taberace sr i vices But quite apart from him and the Scandinavian aforesaid there seems to be < sems no lack of musical talent m the Mormon I I ranks I was especially struck with the I of whose tone and I the quality soprano qualy suggested the of whose style the fervor feror Welsh element considerable existence ment tho of more a readily because Wales number of con sends to Utah a large verts It is clear that the Latterday Saints devote a proper amount of atten as an element in tion to music regarded public worship The fine Tabernacle publc affords in itself a of sixty stops afords Hel organ proof of this It was built entirely by Utah mechanics under the superintend ance of Mr Joseph Ridges all the material ma-terial not available on the spot being brought in wagons from the railway terminus then many hundred miles away on the other side of the great plains The instiument which has three manuals and a powerful pedal organ is of noble proportions and contains many excellent proportons stops I is now for repair and extension in the hands of Mr Johnson a Scandinavian immigrant who has himself him-self built a fine twomanual organ in the Mormon Assembly Hall I am indebted to Mr Johnson for an opportunity of trying try-ing both these instruments am I regard the diffi both as instances of victory over culties presented by a remote and isolated culies that of spot where no skilled labor save the builder himseH could be obtained In the present work of enlarging the enlargng Tabernacle instrument found Mr Johnson John-son assisted by nobody save a young man son of President Taylor My space is now exhasuted if not my theme Going from details tp deductions I arrive ar-rive at no other conclusion than that America notwithstanding a bad start in Church music and various present drawbacks draw-backs is on the right path and making progress |