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Fragments from Dr. Gauntlett's Last Note-book

schools on the hill of Sion—'out of Sion hath God appeared in perfect beauty.' So long as this principle was recognised in musical academies, there were composers of the highest class; devoid of it, the highest order of compositions disappeared." "Power over music does not depend solely on the mere agreement of 'how to do it.' The student in song will never learn the perfection of beauty except from the preparation of the heart. To make a real musician, there must be a sense of the ever-presence of the Creator of all beauty. The boy-musician must begin his day with prayer, and end it with praise. This made Handel, Bach, Haydn, and Mozart. Music is neither dram nor sweetmeat, neither sensual nor intellectual. It is made so now; but in this order of music there is neither joy nor love, thankfulness nor reverence."

"So long as music was taught primarily for worship, and to proclaim the immortality of man by the inestimable gift of the Royal Ransomer, it culminated to wonders upon wonders." "Noble teachers yield noble teaching, and from such seed the reaping is noble music. To rear the musician with knightly, faithful, and pure feelings, he must believe in his mission and its reward. The law of his life must be the advancement of his art, or rather God's art, given for the honour of the Deity and the elevation of humanity." "The Apostle Paul tells us that we are to teach one another in music, and the greatest doctor in theology, the mightiest defender of the Faith, has been the giant Handel in his oratorio of The Messiah. We are told that 'the nineteenth century is weary of the religion of Christ,' and the bright smile of the English boy and the sweet face of the English girl are no longer to be gladdened by the teachings of the holy mystery. The Devil is the strongest opponent to music in its right intention."

I will close this Appendix with a remark once made to me by Dr. Gauntlett. I am sorry I forget where he said it occurred. "After I had been for some time organist, one of the congregation said to me, 'When you first came, the tunes on the organ were loud and clear; now, the voices of the congregation almost drown them.' I replied, 'That has been my aim —it should be so. When I began, the organ was needed to lead the voices: I have been gradually subduing it, that the voices of praise should be uppermost.'"F. J. H.

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Created by Dale Pond. Last Modification: Thursday April 8, 2021 04:27:11 MDT by Dale Pond.