Modular Infotech Pvt. Ltd. - DSpace

MUSIC AT ETON Ul
poorest resources, and never betrayed the faintest sensitiveness
though a score of wrong notes were bawled into
his ear at once, there was very little teaehing and only
a wretched proportion of the boy voce.lists joined. There
was, of course, some delightful solo singing, though the
recurrence of ditties about curly-headed choristers singing
aloft on the golden floor reminded us in unmistakable
tones of the Dykes and Barnby hymn-tunes.
I cannot refrain from recording one almost undimmed
Joyful experience. About six weeks before the end of the
summer half of 1888 Barnby was unwell and was ordered
to rest from his work ; so he asked me if I would get up
an extra concert, to give the boys, especially those leaving,
something to occupy their attention till the end of the
half-a precaution by no means superfluous in those
times. This meant visiting every house-except where
I could trust the captain-in order to select ten or twelve
voices from each. Many of these had never dreamt of
belonging to the Society and could not read a note ; but
in spite of woeful neglect could sing lustily and with a good
courage, Seventy trebles, about fifty altos, forty-five
tenors, and about seventy basses-baritones, of coursewere
the chorus, and the difficulty was to find time for
practising the separate voices in their parts, as no one
could read o.t sight and very few knew that such a thing
was ever done. After their fashion they began to treat
"the whole effort as a "rag," but a threat of expulsion
from the chorus and an appeal to make the effort a real
success checked all turbulence and " things began to hum."
In those days there was half an hour " after two" before
Absence, which I seized for separate voices, and meantime
some good orchestral stuff was worked up by an admirable
musician and forceful, stimulating personality, Miss •
G. Liddell, who lived in the house next to South Meadow,
now a boarding-house. The time soon came when the
chorus could sing such noble music as Handel's "Haste
thee, nymph," hardly looking at the music but attending
to every movement of the baton. The effect was grand ;
'
•