April 8, 11)00.
Easter
Tho arrival of Easter Is always marked
by special music and the glad strains of the
best composers are sung by choristers and
soloists who have been rehearsing for weeks
tnjo fitly celebrate the resurrection of the
Crucified One.
It Is ti good thing that Kastcr Is celebrated
magnificently, for It nttracts to the churches
many persons who make their annual visit
to tho teniplo of tho Lord of Hosts. Many
cf these annual church-goers, who pride
themselves on their regular church attend
ancethat Is, every Kastcr are attracted
by tho music. Tho church aim to make
tho day tho most memorable of tho year, and
why not7 In celebrating Christmas they
celebrate tho birth of Christ, but other men
wore born: In celebrntlng Good Friday they
commemorate tho suffering and death of
Christ, but others have surfered and died;
but on Easter comet the c lmax, tho cele
bration of tho restirroatlnn. fur wlm ..In..
died and was burled and rose again from
tho dead?
, Hooter calls forth tho most dignified, tho
i most sublime and the most exalted strains.
J In I'rotestant churches tho "Hallelujah"
; Chorus, from Hnndel's wonderful master
piece, "Tho Messiah," will bo sung. That
' thrilling chorus Is the real climax of tho
work and Handel says that while compos
ing It ho did think that ho "saw all heaven
before him and tho great Cod himself."
Tho great musical creed, tho most mar
velous confession of fnlth that ha3 been put
( In the mouth of a singer, "I Know That My
Redeemer Llveth," from tho samo oratorio,
U'l 1 1 lut lltl It if titn t i n ennin tin T tlm
Episcopal churches tho paschal chant will
bo sung, "Christ Our "Passover Is Sacrificed
for Us." Easter hymns and glad carols will
pour forth from tho willing lips of many
singers and the grand organs will bo heard
praising tho Ood of all Hnrmony, with lips
of wood and metal, with tho trumpet and
tho dlnpason, doing tho bidding of thu
J soul of n mnn.
...... i . . . ... ...
i Milium.
Tho processional and tho recessional will
bo filled with Joy and tho spirit of tho
church music will bo "Hallolujah." In tho
Catholic churches tho priest will repeat tho
"Haec dies," (This Is tho day that tho Lord
hath made), nfter tho socond collect, an 1
again nt tho post-communion, whllo In
some plnces It will bo sung at tho offertory.
Tho glad strains of tho "Reglna coell,
lnetnro" will be heard and tho "Vlda aqunm"
will, In most largo churches, be heard In
stead of the "Aspcrges." Tho "resurrexlt"
In tho Credo will be emphasized. In crn
nection with tho famous "Reglna coell" tho
following story Is told. It Is related that
In tho days of St. Gregory tho Great, Rome
-vvns visited by a serious plague. -Tho popo
ordered all the people to march In procifi
slon, carrying the picture of tho Blessed
Virgin, painted by St. Luke. As the crowds
went townnl St. Peter's and reached tho
bridge across the Tiber a multitude of nn
gels was seen nbovo tho picture, singing
tho first lines of tho anthem. Tho pontiff,
tradition nays, cried out, "Ora pro nobis
Ileum, alleluia," completing tho anthem,
and the nngel of tho plague was seen
sheathing his sword above Adrian's mauso
leum, which henceforth was known as tho
castle of Sant Angelo.
Tin? "Reglna coell" Is on anthem In honor
of tho messed Virgin, which begins with
these words, and after cash of the four
clauses therein contnlned como tho word
"alleluia." It Is said at tho end of tho
offices of tho nrovlary during the Eastor
season. Tho well-known modern composer,
Pletro Moscagnl, who has made himself
famous by his opera, "Cnvallerla Rustl
enna," uses part of this hymn for tho open
lug of his celebrated scene and prayer, fa
miliarly known as tho "Easter Chorus."
One of tho reasons for tho ecclesiastical im
portance of Eastor is that all tho movable
feasts aro reckoned from that day.
Tho origin of tho word Is nttrlbutcd to
tho Saxon goddess "Eastre," who Is again
met with In tho German "Ostrara," tho
divinity of dawn, and tho word has been
retnlned Just in tho samo way ns tho namo
of some of our week days, for Instanco,
"Thor's Day."
Maxtor llyiiuiN.
In tho scrlpturo lessons which aro read
on Easter day, as well as In tho hymns that
nro sung, there Is frequent allusion to the
Paschal Lamb and tho Passover. Tho word
"passover" is tho literal translation of the
Hebrew namo for tho feast. Tho "Pass
over," or "Pasch," was tho feast cele
brated on tho fourteenth day of Nlsan, and
was Instituted In commemoration of tho
wonderful dellvoranco God wrought for the
Jows on tho night when thoy made their
depnrturo from Egypt. Christ observed the
"Passover" on tho night previous to His
death, and so Ho has typified tho "Paschal
lamb." which was offered as a sacrifice. The
bread eaten on occasions of tho Passover
feast was to bo unleavened, nnd henco tho
nlluslon In tho "Christ, Our Passover." al
ready referred to, wherein tho words are
sung, "Not with tho old leaven of mnlico
and wickendoFs, but with the unleavened
bread of sincerity nnd truth."
It Is unfortunnto that tho
tiuu id vti iiuiB nun i ijiiLi iiiiiLiMi in i m n ivnrni
Inn nf n.!.Unt.n I. n m nl-H...I. 1 lfill. - 1.
to musical utcratiiro in tho way of hymns,
anthems or oratorios. Where In all modern
hymnology Is thero a poem oqunlllng tho
splendid majesty nnd tho nenrt throbbing
pathos of tho old "Stabat Mator Dolorosa?"
Thero Is a trend In tho direction of trashy
hymns nnd Insulting doggerel which Is sold
as praise of tho Almighty and which smacks
moro of tho music publisher than tho mu
sician. Tho country Is flooded with hymn
books which aro more compatible with tho
worship of Venus nnd Bacchus than tho
worship of tho Risen Lord. Theso hymn
books nro sold and ministers of tho gcspel
Music
hnvo been known to receive royalties for In
troducing them, and the trivial effusions of
hysterical song writers nro driving tho peo
ple to a rovulslcn of feeling such as was ex
perienced once before in tne opposite di
rection when tho church people were re
galed with such doleful stufT as this:
My thoughts on awful subjects roll,
Damnation and the Dead.
W hat horrors seize tho guilty soul
l pen n dying beil.
It Is not strange that hymns of this nature
would not appeal to men nnd women unless
they wero dyspeptics.
Milfoil' llllMll MllMll.
Milton had the right 1dm of prnlHing the
Creator of All Things, Judge of all Mini,
when he said:
Blest pair of Sirens, pledges of heaven's Joy,
.Sphere-born harmonious sisters, Voice and
crse,
Wed your divine sounds and mixed power
employ,
Dead things, with Inbreathed sense, able to
pierce,
And to our high-raised fantasy present
J lint undisturbed song of pure concent,
Aye sung before the sapphire-colored throne
'lo 1 1 i tn that sits thereon,
With saintly shout mid solemn Jubilee,
Where the bright Seraphim In burning row
I heir loud uplifted nngol-lriimpetH blow.
And tho cherubic horn in thousand choirs
tV.V',''l,..tllL,r.l,,1,norl1'1 harps of golden wiles
Itli those Just spirits that wear victorious
pnlnis,
Hymns devout nnd holy psalms,
blnglng everlastingly.
It was in this way that tho mediaeval
hymn-writers Impressed tho world. Then
sacred music was In reality a masterly and
superb union of tho arts of poetry and
music. It was In truth a wedding of voice
nnd verso. In tho quiet seclusion of n
cloister, in tho dim recess of n lonely monas
tery, In tho frugal plainness of an nscctlc's
ceil much of tho Immortal Mister inutile of
tho world was born.
With no allurements to hold them to this
earth tho pious monkH feasted their imag
inations nnd their souls on tho hopes of the
future stnte. They dreamed, thought anil
Hang of Paradise nnd no lover ever sang
with moto burning zeal of Mb beloved than
did they when singing of their future home
and tho glories thereof.
It was this feeling of Intense deslro nnd
longing for Paradise that Bernard of Cltiny,
tho ploiiH old saint, felt In his soul, which
Impelled him to write, nwny back In the
twelfth century, that glorious hymn so well
known to modern church-goers of every de
nomination: Jerusalem, the golden,
With milk and honey blest.
Beneath thy contemplation
hlnk heart and voice oppressed.
This Is part of an old poem written by
Iiernnrd, tho title of tho whole work being
"Do contemptu mundl." Tho earliest Easter
hymn of which wo have any definite knowl
edge Is thnt entitled "Hie est dlo verus Del"
(This Is the very day of God). It was writ
ten by St. AmbrcHius, bishop of Milan,
about the year 371 A. D. This Is tho same
distinguished ecclesiastical luminary to
whom is nttrlbutcd tho "To Ileum." Tho
latter is doubtful, however, but tho authen
ticity of the former is unquestioned.
Aiu-lout lOiiMti-r I'iM-niN.
Another ancient Enstor poem, whoso or
igin is traced to tho sixth century, is tho
one beginning "Ad coenam Agnl provldl."
This Is said to havo been a favorlto hymn
tn ho sung by tho newly baptized cate
chumens in tho early church, when for the
first time they, clad In white, partook of
tho blessed sacrament. A modern nnd
fairly literal translation of this hymn Is
found In many hymnals of tho preecnt day
and begins:
At the Lnmb's high feast we sing.
Tho next writer to whom wo aro attracted
by his beautiful work Is Vennntlos Eor
tunntas, who was born about tho yoar C30.
Ho wns a great scholar and being impressed
with tho solemnity of tho responsibilities
of llfo he connected himself with n mon
astery and ho has given to tho colloatlon
of church music three famous hymns. Tho
first is "Voxllla Regis prodeunt," which
Is Introduced into tho oratorio of "Tho
Redemption," by Charles Gounod and which
OMAHA ILLlSTHATEl) 11
THOMAS J. KELLY MUSICAL
Is well known by its translation, "Forth
tho Royal Banners Go."
Tho second Is the "Pango Lingua glo
rlosl" (Sing, my tongue, tho Savior's bat
tle), a translation found In tho Episcopal
hyinnnl of today. The third Is a well known
Eastor hymn. Its Latin tltlo is "Salve,
festa die," nnd tho English tltlo is "Wel
come, Happy Morning."
Ono of the most beautiful of tho early
Easter hymns Is thnt which begins "Pone
luctuin, Mngdnlcna." It is of uncertain
authorship and unfortunnto Is It indeed thnt
such is tho case. It has been happllv
translated by Rev. E. A. Wnshburn nnd a
verso of it will suggest tho beauty of Its
thought and construction:
Still thy sorrow, Mngdalcnn.
Wlpo tho tear drops from thine eyes
Not nt Simon's board thou kneolest,
Pouring thy repentant sighs,
All with thy glad bcart rejoices
All things sing with happy voices,
Hallelujah!
Old-Time KHNlfi' llurilH.
In the twelfth century thero stnnds out
conspicuously Dcrnard of Cliilrvnux, one of
whoso most comforting hymns Is a popular
favorlto today, In Its English form:
Jesu, the very thought of Theo
"With sweetness fills the breast.
Many persons do not know thnt tills Is an
Easter hymn, for the reason that hymnal
compilers hnvo for somo renson omitted two
of tho most beautiful stanzas:
With Mary to the tomb I'll hnste,
Before the dawiillig skies,
And nil nround, with longing cast
My soul's inquiring eyes.
Heslde thy grnvo I'll innke my moan,
And sob my henrt nwny,
Then nt thy feet sink trembling down,
And there ndoiing stay.
Before closing It must bo mentioned also
that tho beautiful hymn which stnnds nt
tho top of tho list of Enslor hymns of mod
ern days,
Tho strife Is o'er; tile battle done,
Is from one of the early and unknown writ
ers, but It is evidently from tho twelfth
ELECTRICITY BUILDIsJC
PAN AM ER I CA A1 EXPOSITION
CRCEN AA'I) WICKS AlJCIITSdWI f'AtflVV
EE,
CRITIC OK THE I1EE.
century. Tho tltlo is "Flnltn Jiwn sunt
praolln."
Would that tho mantle uf these old writ
ers might fall on sonio in this generation.
Tho Idea of life, however, Is so changed,
nnd there nro so many beautiful things In
this Ufa for which to exist, that there Is less
thought of the future Joys, and the nervous
hurry of events precludes tho Idea of con
templation. Let uh bo thankful for tho
works of tho past, at any rate, and uso them.
THOMAS J. KELLY.
Richest Church
In America
Old Trinity church, Now York City, has
attained to distinction In two widely di
vergent matters; In tho honor of Us terri
tory; In tho wealth of Its corjxirntlnn. What
Is written below concerns Its corp.- rate
wealth. As n matter of history, the original
ohujrch was opened Tor worship In l(i!)7.
Tlfn early church wns maintained by tho
Incomo from tho "church farm," ti royal
grant from Queen Anne. Out of this In
como Rev, William Vesey, first rector of
Trinity church, received a yenrly salary of
$.r,100. Today that samo "church farm" In
valued at from $9,000,000 to $10,000,000, and
Its possession makes Trinity the wealthiest
single church corporation In tho United
States. Out of Its annual Incomo of over
$.ri00,000 Rev. Morgan Dlx receives n salary
of $2.r.,000. This salary Is mrro than double
that of Bishop Potter of tho dloccwe or New
York, who recolves but $12,000. This largo
Incomo Is exhausted by many claims; the
expenses or tho church proper, tho support
or tho chapels, tho largo yenrly grnnls to
twenty-four parishes, the payment of taxes
nnd nssesfunents nnd tho maintenance of tho
parochial schools and other parish charities.
Tho rontnl of tho "church farm" property
constitutes tho mnln sourco of Trinity's In
como. Tho property Is scattered widely
throughout the city. Much of It, however,
I
Ilis In the near vicinity of the church It
Is rented for various puriumes -for public
bulldlngH, stores and tenements. The year
Iniok of Trinity parish states that tho parish
Ih "systematically eanviifsed, and all cases
where tho ministrations of the church are
needed nro reported Immediately to tho roe
tor."
Among the considerable draliiH on tho
Trinity Income nro the expenses of the
church proper nnd tho nupirt of tho clinH'ls
Twenty-live thousand dollars goes, im ah vo
stated, for the Hilary of Rev. Mr. Dlx. As
slstlng Mr. Dlx In tho work of the church
and Us chapels aro eight victim and Hlxteon
curates and they receive each one from
.i,000 to $10,(100. Tho sextons of the church
and (lie several chapels revolve $ir..noo ami
each iuo is furnished with a deputy nnd un
assistant.
Tho nuislo of tho cliuivh costs much
The many choir lMyH receive, each one
from $21 to $100 yearly. The oololsls, o'
which there aro eighteen, receive fiini $200
lo $100. For the church Itself there Is a
yearly musical appropriation of $10,000. for
each one of the seven cltnpcls, $7.MM), milk
lug a total of over $(10,000. That the main
teimnco of excellent music In churches In
right and admirable s conceded. The church
has ever held music to bo a softening In
lluenco on the hearts of tho sinful, solace
to all tho penitent. A good work Is enr
rled on by Trinity In the matter or lit.
schools. For tho maintenance of parochial
schools tho vestry yearly appropriates the
sum of $22,000; for tho maintenance of night
and Industrial schools, $.1,000.
Trinity hospital for tho sick nnd pour Is
maintained by tho corporation nt a yearly
expense of $0,000. Tho corporation nlso
mnlmi provision of $.1,000 for tho support i f
seven beds In ether hospitals. From the
corporation incomo n yearly contribution of
nlmn to tho poor of $0,000 Is made. The
wholo yearly coot of tho maintenance of
charities within tho parish, which nro sup
pertod out of the corporation Income, aver
ages $50,000; for charities without the parish
$.10,000-n total of $S0,000.
Ballad of the
Barren Kaster
Clinton Hcollnrd In Woman's Homo Com
imnlon. It wns tho barren Easter,
And o'er Paniello plain,
V here'er the sweeping eye might rove,
I' nun beeehen grovo to 1-eeelien grove.
ireened neither grass nor grain.
It was the barren !CMli.r;
II v vale anil windy bill.
Whom blossoms tossed on venter year
Now bourgeoned no nnrelssiis sjicnr.
And clowed no daffodil.
11 was tho barren Easter,
And toward tho grliidlng-iloor.
i,m!irVi,"r iw,"'"t w"h,M ",u'k,
Along the dreary niemlow-trnck
Went good Saint Isadore.
It was (he barren i&mtor.
10 where , a mighty vo-nak spread,
WT, Vf "'i'"" "tailings re '
Seemed erylnu' out bis inline.
11 was tho barren Easier.
Ami to 1ih em-H their cry.
Hang plaintively, "o Isadore
Crai.t h thy p,y. Wl. ,,' ;,.,,
iilvo uueenr, or wo die!"
It was the barren Easier,
WftflM Hhnro
It was tho barren liinter
And onward to the mill
'ii. ,K' th. ''rPary mendow-trnek.
I empty bagH within his mck
Tho good salnl plodded still. '
II was the barren Easier-
Mo Henivo know why he wont
tH., '"!', '"' ,,,,, "' ' ' roHn,
JNw all the grain wis spent.
It was the barren Easter
When nt tho miller's feet
fo east ti,,, fvl0kB , ,
h-'i1, ,",1n,v "",' "Pen I oro
Abrlm wllh golden wheat!
"oi!'"H tlln '"'oil Easter;
T,? P. nhn!LPr,rnro .'m,"'H w"r''
him who fed tho birds! J
The Kaster Window
Philadelphia Times.
I wns Hasten Ido and Easter Kowim
A proaehed tho window space W"S
U hero each was told ,,,".'." .,.,
lo occupy her place. "l,L"lH '""d
jM'hK
3;.Ai,,i;:e!';;,w,g;;Il-'
.r":!iy'l!;r-f;!j;-'
,,lVhe.l,,',Jl.'.ra(',, ,'""n Plac-o
fi,., vvl,"' " uaiiL'hty stride
"Jr1?" H",,,
A,M;,;f,,i;K'h,,!ieiir::!..,n,,Hl H,,n-
"At every ball enter flrsl,
At ilrawlng rooms uiul ( .
K.m, oir my train, voi. .1 , f A,HS,
Wiint country 'bumpkins these!"
U'Mh V.'"1 ,"10 I'l'rplo Velvet frowned
"ronkfiiHt flown turned g e
TLin 1)y ""' 1110 imssersby
looked in upon tho scene.