THE K I NG ' S BUS I NE S S would have a spiritual value and keep their minds and attention concentrated on Gospel Song. The message of the Gospel in Song needs to be emphasized more and more, and if Christian parents throughout the country would only realize the need of more Gospel Song in the home they would be rendering a service to the young people— the spiritual benefits of which are beyond calculation.
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Gospel Song
| Accompaniment |
By ROBERT HARKNESS | IIIIIIIlltllllllllilllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllHIIIIIIIII»1! " » » 1» 1'11"
ECENTL.Y I received a letter from a Christian mother in Illinois, regarding her daugh ter’s musical education. She
pointed out that her daughter had a grèat desire to become proficient in Gospel Song Accompaniment. Her teacher— being a Christian Scientist— -discouraged this ambition to such an extent as to cause the girl to lose inter est in Gospel Song. The mother, anxious to safeguard the spiritual welfare of her daughter, asked for advice. Naturally, I advised her to change the girl’s music teacher at once.' The dilemma of this Christian woman is typical of a condition prevailing all over the country at the present time. Special care is taken in the home life to see that the right kind of books and magazines are allowed in the home; special care is taken to safe guard the companionships of the young people in our Christian homes. But, when it comes to the musical education of the children, strangely enough, little care is exercised. Nowadays, the musical profession is honey-combed with representatives of every imaginable “ ism” and, naturally, these people lose no opportunity to dis seminate the pernicious and erroneous doctrines of every cult and creed. In wiiting to the Illinois mother, I drew her attention to the possibility of securing a complete musical education along Gospel Song lines, by taking ad vantage of a special Correspondence Course along that line. For many years I have realized the need of making pos sible a musical education for Christian young people—which not only would give them musical training but also In the year 1902, a new method of Gospel Song Piano Accompaniment was evolved. It came with startling sud denness. Its genesis was simple, its suc cess immediate, its development rapid. It only needed to be demonstrated to be approved and adopted.. It was born in a revival. Dr. R. A. Torrey and the late Charles M. Alexander were con ducting their great Australian cam paigns. They visited Bendigo, my na tive town, for a week’s meeting. Six accompanists were invited to accompany at the piano, each taking a night. As an organist, I was invited to play for one meeting. Fearing that the spiritual tide might quickly rise, and having at th-e time no spiritual interest in the meeting, I arranged to play on the open ing night. I thought it wise to get through with my part before there could be any chance of being converted. The old skating rink was crowded, and hundreds were turned away. A small grand piano was provided and a choir of several hundred voices stood ready for action. Mr. Alexander mounted J;he rostrum and announced Hymn No. 7. I picked up the small red hymnal and to my disigust found No. 7 to be “ The Old- Time Religion.” Being unacquainted with the melody, I read it over carefully before playing it. The simple nature of the song made no appeal to me, so I dropped the book on the floor. The sim plicity of the song suggested the need of an improvised accompaniment. Without the least intention of creating Is YOU k Money Helping to Undermine the Faith o f Young People? iffcSSSf! SiS SSfef, ••SSSt!®!6s; 8 ISI§li8 I MSS
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