THE D. M. L. C. MESSENGER
to look fOl' ~![AT,ERIAL. On the careful selection of songs rests the greatest percentage of success. Material is divided as sacred and secular. Under sacred music we place most high our Lutheran choral. What ll! treasure have we in it! The choral has had centuries of development. Through the origin in the Gregorian Choral, the . old hymns .and sequences, the Latin songs of .folksong nature, the German sacred folksong, and. the tunes of such men as Luther, Grueger, Walther, and' others, our choral has grown and developed in the church and from the church. The fact that it is based upon divine truth and simplicity, that the poetry and song 'burst from the hearts of men with earnest and enthusiastic convictions, places our Lutheran choral on a pedestal where it cannot be surmounted by any hymn in . dignity, loftiness, and simple devotional earnestness.' It is lamentable toot so many English songbooks which are termed as Lutheran Hymnals, and I include our own, contain such a vast number of gospel hymns, none of which have their origin in the Lutheran church, but in the sectarian church. I am convinced that editors of such books gave their atten-: tion more to simple, appealing, and to some extent sentimental, melodies, rather than to conviction and deep religious feeling. We have a treasure in our choral. Great musicians and people of other denominations realize it. Let us esteem it highly and cherish it. If our choral is the 'backbone of our church music; then it must have its proper place and care in the school. Here we must say, first our choral, then other material of value. Ohoral singing in the school should not terminate with the singing of a choral in the morning devotion or the singing of one after another in the regular singing lesson, f'or the 'purpose of filling in time. ,Such a process is monotonous and a waste of time. Gres t stress must be placed upon the exactness in melody, time, rhythm, enunciation and pronunciation. Melody is the element which is "preserved in most cases. This may also be said of time, although some chorals are sung too slow; others, too fast. Lack of rhythm is usually the "lbugbear." It is the life in music. Choral rhythm must be exact, marked and vigorous. In it lies conviction and solidity. Fermatas should be, elimiinated, with a few exceptions, espacially where a long .phrase cannot be sung with one breath. in the school-room more time than heretofore should be spent upon drill andIndividual work of the choral. To the second group of sacred music fall the English hymns, songs of God,and heaven, of the church year, of praise and 'Prayer. Here the teacher must exert care that the song chosen expresses the doctrine of our church; that it is interesting and 'befit.ting to the grade in which 'it is taught. In secular music we find grave dangers for the school.