Songs and Music of the Saints

Songs and Music of the Latter-day Saints

BY EVAN STEPHENS, DIRECTOR OF THE SALT LAKE TABERNACLE

CHOIR

The songs and music of the Latter-day Saints are in perfect

accord with the spirit of the newly revealed gospel of Jesus

Christ, as restored in modern times through the medium of the

Prophet, Joseph Smith.

In contrast to that generally used by the churches of the day

in which this Church was set up anew upon the earth, they are

as light to darkness, or brightness to gloom. Expressions of

fear and sorrow, the terrible confessions of and lamentations over

sin, the constant dwelling upon the sufferings of our crucified

Savior, and the eternal tortures in store for sinners, give place in

the songs of the Latter-day Saints to expressions of hope, joy and

the sense of sins forgiven. More emphasis is placed upon the love

and the glorious conquest of our Redeemer than upon his earthly

sufferings more, on the final redemption of all erring humanity

;

than upon a never-ending torment of. souls. When the heart-

strings and the fount of tears are to be specially touched at all,

it is with tenderness, sympathy and joy, rather than with terror

and sorrow. This is equally true of the keynote of text and mu-

sic, when the songs are really characteristic of the prevailing

spirit of "Mormonism." That much of the opposite is brought in

and used, by some of the leaders of singing in our midst, does not

alter this fact and while too often such songs are in a spirit of

;

charity and deference to the artistic notions of the musicians, al-

lowed and passed by without censure, even the congregations,

without fully catching the texts, feel there is a lack of harmony

between such music and the prevailing spirit of the meetings at

which they are rendered.

A young professor of music recently put to me the question,

"What would you term the 'Mormonistic' in music?" I replied,

"That which breathes optimism and not pessimism music in;

which the sombre must not predominate, but be used only as a

means of contrast to heighten the effects of the bright." I would

add, in which the minor is used only to make more effective the

major, if I adhered to the prevailing idea that the minor is

mournful and the major joyful, which I do not, believing that the

effect of each or either in the main depends upon how they hap-

pen to be used. A musician may express not only merriment

in minor modes, but absolute levity, and the reverse to the most

solemnly sublime expressions in the major modes.

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THE TAin-.RNACLE CHOIR

This famous body of singers (known generally as the "Mormon"

Tabernacle Choir) was organized by President Brigham Young, in

the early da-i^s of the state. The original conductors of the choir, in

order of their service, have been as follows: John Parry, Stephen

Goddard, James Smithies, Prof, Charles J. Thomas, William Sands,

Prof. George Careless, Prof. E. Beesley, and Prof. Evan Stephens,

the present incumbent. The choir was enlarged to about one hundred

singers at the time it was transferred to the large Tabernacle under

Prof. Careless' direction, and with his wife, Mrs. Lavinia Careless, as

leading soprano it achieved almost national reputation.

The present mammoth organization of 500 enrolled singers (the

largest regular church choir in the world) dates back to 1890, when

the present conductor and manager, Professor Evan Stephens, took

charge. The choir was then organized on a broader basis than before

and divided into eight vocal parts, viz., first anu second soprano, alto,

tenor and bass.

Free training classes have been held for the benefit of the mem-

bers in sight reading, voice culture, harmony and composition. The

choir is self-supporting, financially, and the members give their ser-

vices freely to this phase of church work. A portion of this organ-

ization numbering from 150 to 250 members, has visited other States

on concert tours, notably Chicago (where it secured a prize of $1000

in choral singing), and Denver, California, New York and Eastern

States. From Utah, its People, Resources, Attractions and Institutions.

Published by the Bureau of Information, Salt Lake City.

THE GREAT TABERNACLE ORGAN

In the west end of the Tabernacle is the Great Organ. It has

been conceded by visiting musicians that this is the finest instrument

in America, if not in the world. It was constructed over forty years

ago, entirely by Utah artisans, and mostly from native materials.

It was built under the direction of Joseph Ridges, and later re-con-

structed by Niels Johnson, assisted by Shure Olsen, Henry Taylor,

and others. In later years many rapid strides have been made in

organ construction and effects. The Church authorities decided to have

this instrument at least abreast of the times, and called in the ser-

vices of the W. W. Kimball Co., of Chicago, who placed entirely new

mechanism in the instrument, using such of the old material as was

good for years to come, in the way of pipes, and revoiced the instru-

ment according to modern schools. The work was completed some

years ago, and since that time the organ has been regarded as the ne

plus ultra in organ building. Such is the verdict of so eminent a

critic as the late Dr. George W. Walter, organist of the Temple,

Washington, D. C, who paid a special visit to Salt Lake City in

April, 1901, for the purpose of studying the organ. His statements

have been echoed by numerous prominerrt organists who have since

visited the Great Organ.

The front towers have an altitude of 48 feet, and the dimensions

of the organ are 30 by 33 feet; it has 110 stops and accessories, and

contains a total of over 5,000 pipes, ranging in length from one-

fourth inch to thirtv-two feet. It comprises five complete organs

Solo, Swell, Great, Choir and Pedal: in other words, four keyboards

in addition to the pedals. Tt is capable of thousands upon thousands

of tonal varieties. The different varieties of tone embodied in this

noble instrument represent the instruments of an orchestra, military

band and choir, as well as the deep and sonorous stops for which the

organ is famed. There is no color, shade or tint of tone that cannot

be produced upon it. The action is the Kimball Duplex Pneumatic.

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SONGS AND MUSIC 763

The organ is blown by a 10-horse power electric motor, and two

gangs of feeders furnish 5,000 cubic feet of air a minute when it is

being played full. The organist is seated twenty feet from the instru-

ment which places him well among the choir. Undoubtedly the

organ owes much to the marvelous acoustics of the tabernacle, but

even with this allowance made, it is still the most perfect instrument

of its kind in existence. The total cost of the organ to date is about

$125,000. Free public recitals are given under direction of the First

Presidency by Professors John J. McClellan, the Tabernacle organ-

ist, and Edward P. Kimball and Tracy Y. Cannon, assistant organ-

ists. The Bureau of Information will cheerfully give tourists the

hours of these functions. From Utah, its People, Resources, Attrac-

ticiis Gild Institutions.. Published by the Bureau of Information.

THE GREAT TABERNACLE ORGAN

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764 IMPROVEMENT ERA

The first hymn in the Latter-day Saints hymn book strikes the

key true, and is characteristic of what should be the nature of our

songs and music. The apostle Parley P. Pratt was the singer,

and in my judgment he had but one peer in the Church as a

writer of Latter-day Saints songs or hymns, the beloved Eliza R. —

Snow. Note its dignified, exalted brightness, in the first stanza:

"The morning breaks! the shadows flee;

Lo! Zion's standard is unfurled.

The dawning of a brighter day

Majestic rises on the world."

Needless to say that any haphazard tune, fitting ever such a

good, long-metered hymn, could never express that every word ;

and sentence needs its own peculiar fitting tone and pulse to tell

it in music.

Again, listen to him in a more calm, meditative mood com- —

muning with Nature:

"Hark! listen to the gentle breeze

O'er hill and valley, plain or grove,

It whispers in the ears of man

The voice of freedom, peace and love."

Then hear the feminine, gentler harp of our Eliza R. Snow,

and mark the prevailing note of optimism and joy in it

"O awake, my slumbering minstrel,

Let my harp forget its spell;

Say, O say, in sweetest accents,

Zion prospers, all is well.

"Strike a chord unknown to sadness,

Strike, and let its numbers tell,

In celestialtones of gladness,

Zion prospers, all is well."

And again

"Though deep'ning trials throng your way,

Press on, press on, ye Saints of God!

Ere long the resurrection day

Will spread its life and truth abroad."

Others have in lesser numbers given us songs of perhaps

equal merit. Note the kindly gentleness of that sermon in song

written by President Charles W. Penrose:

"School thy feelings, O my brother,

Train thy warm, impulsive soul;

Do not its emotions smother,

But let wisdom's voice control."

Or, John Jaques, in his partner-hymn to Parley P. Pratt's

"The Morning Breaks":

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SONGS AND MUSIC 765

"Softly beams the sacred dawning

Of the great Millennial morn,

And to Saints gives welcome warning

That the day is hasting on."

The music composed for some of these, by Professor George

Careless and others, fit so perfectly the character of the texts as

to seem inseparable from them, and one cannot but think how

much the words must have suffered in expression before this

complementary music was used in their singing.

Let it be understood that we lay no claim to exclusive in-

spiration in the matters of songs or music; we not only believe

that to a most eminent degree great poets and composers of all

time and place have been inspired, but from their inspirational

writings we freely cull the material most suitable and expressive

of our religious thoughts and emotions, and use them in their

full spirit and meaning. The splendid, devout songs of Watts,

Wesley and others, we both use and revere. They were great

prophetic heralds of the coming dawn. We

hold in similar rev-

erence, love and admiration, the master works of the classic com-

posers, particularly those of Protestant faith, writers of oratorios

from Handel to Mendelssohn.

The texts of the Catholic mass, being more ritualistic in

character, make this magnificent music, written for this special

form of worship, less adaptable and quite generally unsuited for

our use, for the very reasons mentioned in the early part of this

article. An "Ave Maria," for instance, is doctrinally opposed to our

belief, as we do not believe that prayers should be addressed to

the Virgin, Mary, and so as to many other points, even the gen-

eral character of much of the music so expressive to the Catholic

form of worship is wholly unsuited to ours because of its gloomy

solemnity.

But much of the texts of the great oratorios, especially of

Handel and Mendelssohn, fit our modes of thought, expression,

and even the experience, trials, and historic incidents of our

Church, so generally that one might think they were specially

written for our use.

A note of home love, runs through many of our most beloved

songs, too, that is very characteristic of our feelings and a real

part of our religion. As the ancient singers of Israel sang of

their beloved Jerusalem, Judea and Canaan, so the Latter-day

Saints love to sing of their mountain home, their Zion and its as-

sociations :

"Oh ye mountains high, where the clear blue sky

Arches over the vales of the free.

Where the pure breezes blow, and the clear streamlets flow.

How I've longed to your bosom to flee.

O Zion! dear Zion! land of the free.

Now my own moimtain home, unto thee I have come

All my fond hopes are centered in thee."

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766 IMPROVEMENT ERA

And:

"Ye valleys fair, and snow capp'd mountains,

Ye peaceful hamlets 'neath the trees.

Ye murm'ring streams and crystal fountains,

Fanned by the cool, soft, balmy breeze,

Words cannot tell how well I love you,

Or speak my longing when I roam;

My heart alone can cry to heaven,

God bless our own dear mountain home."

These are expressions inseparable from the religiotis

thoughts and feelings of the Latter-day Saints, just as are such

heroic strains as the youth loves to sing:

"True to the faith that our parents have cherished.

True to the truth for which martyrs have perished.

To God's command, soul, heart and hand,

Faithful and true we will ever stand."

It isn't words or music to dream over it is that pulsating

;

with the life and action of today. If mystery is an element of

sublimity, as I believe it is claimed, and rightly in literature,

our songs are wanting in that element, but they make up for it

in practical clearness, devotion and fervor.

Yesterday was the dreamer's day. Today belongs to the

active, wide-awake worker, and our religion is pre-eminently in

harmony with today, and its unparalleled activity. Our songs

and music, to a degree at least, are here again in harmony with

our religion, as they should be and, true to its active, optimistic

;

character, our young people sing

"We will work out our salvation,

We will cleave unto the truth.

We will watch and pray and labor.

With the earnest zeal of youth," etc.

While anthems and choruses are considerably selected from

the standard works of masters, German, Italian, French, English,

Scandinavian, Welsh, Scotch and American, the texts of the

same being generally from the Holy Scriptures, we have music

of this class by our composers which, during the past twenty-five

or thirty years, have come into constant use, and truth it is that

it does not suffer in effectiveness by the side of the classics. And

the same can be said of concert pieces, though the great operas

of every nationality lend their most attractive numbers to make

our best concerts musical events which visiting artists of highest

rank speak about with enthusiasm. True it is that pretty,

"taking" things, by popular writers, appeal to the masses, but

it is equally true that in our larger towns, and especially in the

great Tabernacle of Salt Lake City, programs of this light type

would not be tolerated by either conductor or audience. Of

course, we have, in the class of entertainment —

houses devoted to

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SONGS AND MUSIC Idl

the frivolous, all the trashy music heard elsewhere in such places,

and it is enjoyed by the audiences not yet risen above that stand-

ard in their taste, but such is in no sense a characteristic of the

song's and music of the Latter-day Saints.

The songs of the Sabbath schools, while light, liright, and

unpretentious, musically are earnest, clean and natural, in tone

and expression, and effective for young voices. Perhaps we have

here been a little too much impressed by the rythmic swing of so-

called "gospel hymns," out of which error I trust we will grad-

ually emerge, as we realize more and more that youth, while na-

turally in harmony with a rhythmic flow that is expressive of the

exuberance and life of youth, still can be touched and reached

by a more ennobling quality of devotional expression and earnest-

ness, and of deeper things musically.

A beginning has been made through the M. I. A. organiza-

tions in the use of choruses written for male voices, and for

female voices, separately, and we are aiming at the best styles

of writings in this class. While our psalmody is in its present

form adapted specially for choirs, as it is by the choir that our

music at the services of the Saints is chiefly rendered, our congre-

gational singing has made much progress, and a number of our

hymns are now quite generally sung by the congregation led by

choir and organ, and especially at our great conferences, this

form of worship is soul-inspiring. We

should labor to con-

tinue the advancement of this living up to the Psalmist's injunc-

tion, "Let-3ill the people praise him," until the congregations sing

in harmony like a choir. Part singing, practiced by the children,

will result in this ability to sing parts in the congregational sing-

ing. We are on the right path. All we must do is to forge ahead,

and see that the leaders among us shall guard our progress from

swerving to the right or left after musical fads that might lead

us astrav.

Friendship

Ask of me something today, old friend,

School me in ways to do,

Let me be richer for something to send,

Something to sacrifice, something to spend

Jnst to be friend of you.

Test of my bounty today, dear one,

Ask of me what you will.

In my coffers the rich gems come,

Only in sharing them, one by one,

Help me their meed to fill.

Let me be all that a friend can be.

Ready for every need.

Not only solace of thine to be.

But fuller to live and for strength for me

Let me be friend indeed!

MESA, ARIZONA BeRTHA A. KlEINMAN