Library of the best American literature: Containing the lives of our authors in story form, their portraits, their homes, and their personal traits, how they worked and what they wrote; choice selections from eminent writers, embracing great American poets and novelists, foremost women in American letters, distinguished critics and essayists, our national humorists, noted journalists and magazine contributors, popular writers for young people, great orators and public lecturers
General
Library of the best American literature: Containing the lives of our authors in story form, their portraits, their homes, and their personal traits, how they worked and what they wrote; choice selections from eminent writers, embracing great American poets and novelists, foremost women in American letters, distinguished critics and essayists, our national humorists, noted journalists and magazine contributors, popular writers for young people, great orators and public lecturers
American literature
The card bore the date “September 12, 2000,” and contained the longest
programme of music I had ever seen. It was as various as it was long,
including a most extraordinary range of vocal and instrumental solos,
duets, quartettes, and various orchestral combinations. I remained
bewildered by the prodigious list until Edith’s pink finger-tip
indicated a peculiar section of it, where several selections were
bracketed, with the words “5 P. M.” against them; then I observed that
this prodigious programme was an all-day one, divided into twenty-four
sections answering to the hours. There were but a few pieces of
music in the “5 P. M.” section, and I indicated an organ piece as my
preference.
“I am so glad you like the organ,” said she.
“I think there is scarcely any music that suits my mood oftener.”
She made me sit down comfortably, and, crossing the room, so far as I
could see, merely touched one or two screws, and at once the room was
filled with the music of a grand organ anthem; filled, not flooded,
for, by some means, the volume of melody had been perfectly graduated
to the size of the department. I listened, scarcely breathing, to the
close. Such music, so perfectly rendered, I had never expected to hear.
“Grand!” I cried, as the last great wave of the sound broke and ebbed
away into silence. “Bach must be at the keys of that organ; but where
is the organ?”
“Wait a moment, please,” said Edith; “I want to have you listen to
this waltz before you ask any questions. I think it is perfectly
charming;” and as she spoke the sound of violins filled the room
with the witchery of a summer night. When this also ceased, she said:
“There is nothing in the least mysterious about the music, as you
seem to imagine. It is not made by fairies or genii, but by good,
honest, and exceedingly clever good hands. We have simply carried
the idea of labor-saving by co-operation into our musical service as
into everything else. There are a number of music rooms in the city,
perfectly adapted acoustically to the different sorts of music. These
halls are connected by telephone with all the houses of the city
whose people care to pay the small fee, and there are none, you may be
sure, who do not. The corps of musicians attached to each hall is so
large that, although no individual performer, or group of performers,
has more than a brief part, each day’s programme lasts through the
twenty-four hours. There are on that card for to-day, as you will see
if you observe closely, distinct programmes of four of these concerts,
each of a different order of music from the others, being now
simultaneously performed, and any one of the four pieces now going
on that you prefer, you can hear by merely pressing the button which
will connect your house-wire with the hall where it is being rendered.
The programmes are so co-ordinated that the pieces at any one time
simultaneously proceeding in the different halls usually offer a
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account