The Art Of Managing Choir Boys
To some choirmasters the management of their boys is a perfectly easy
matter; to others it is a constant source of trouble. Everything depends
upon knack. Max O'Rell has some wise maxims on the subject which it may
be well to quote. "Face the boys," he says, "or you will be nowhere.
Always be lively. Never show your temper: to let the boys see that they
can ruffle you is to give them a victory. Allow no chatting. Never
over-praise clever boys; never snub dull ones. Never expect any thanks.
If a boy laughs at a mistake made by another boy, ask him for the answer
immediately, and he will be dumb. If you do not love boys, never become
a choir [school] master."
Discipline is preserved by giving the boys seats in the same relative
position at rehearsal and in church. There should be a double row of
desks in the practice room, provided with a shelf for books, just as in
the stalls. If the boys have to hold the books and music in their hands
they stoop, and the singing suffers. Each boy should have a copy of the
music, and it should bear his number, so that he is personally
responsible for its good keeping. Punctuality at rehearsal is important.
Let the choirmaster call for order at the exact time, and let the roll
be gone over at once. To be unpunctual, or not to register early
attendance, is to encourage laxity.
There is no doubt that the long services in many churches are trying to
the choir boys. In some churches the morning service lasts two hours and
a quarter. It is very hard even for an adult to keep his thoughts from
wandering, and his eyes from glancing over the congregation during all
this time. How much more hard is it, then, for a boy who is by nature a
fidget, and if healthy, brimming over with activity? Nevertheless boys
can be trained, if not to control their thoughts, at least to an outward
reverence and quietude in harmony with the service. Reproof, if it is
needed, is best administered in private. Boys should be paid, if only a
small sum; this gives the choirmaster a hold upon them, and enables him
to impose fines, if necessary. Payment can be increased for those who
take Tonic Sol-fa or other sight-singing certificates, which of course
increase their value as choristers. Let it be noted that the voices will
carry further if the boys hold up their heads. This caution is
especially needed when they are singing in the kneeling posture.
All that can be done to interest the boys in their work by encouraging
the social feeling, will be to the advantage of the choir. Their hearts
are easily won. An excursion, an evening party once a year are great
attractions. Mr. H. B. Roney, of Chicago, advocates a choir guild, and
in the choir-room he would have a library, games, puzzles, footballs,
bats and balls, Indian clubs, and dumb-bells. He would open and warm the
choir-room an hour before each service and rehearsal. To some extent he
would let the youngsters govern themselves, and says that the gravity
with which they will appoint a judge, a jury, sheriff, prisoner, and
witnesses to try a case of infraction of the choir rules, would bring a
smile to the face of a graven image. Prizes at Christmas are part of his
scheme; these should be awarded for such points as punctuality, progress
in music, reverential demeanour, and general excellence.
According to Mr. Sergison, organist of St. Peter's, Eaton Square,
London, the choirmaster will have power if he make himself beloved. He
should enter into the boys' way of looking at things, and remember that
they have deep feelings. The boys should be arranged in classes, each
higher class having higher pay, with sundry little privileges. Mr.
Sergison says that by putting the boys upon their honour, and treating
them well, he has always maintained strict discipline, and has never
yet had to resort to corporal punishment. The Rev. E. Husband, of
Folkestone, who is an enthusiastic choir-trainer, is strongly of opinion
that for vocal purposes working-class boys are better than the sons of
gentlemen. He finds that boys of a lower class have richer and fuller
voices than those above them in the social scale. I was myself present,
not long since, at a concert at Eton College, and although I was greatly
struck with the purity of the tone, its volume was thin and somewhat
shallow. One reason why working-class boys excel, probably, is that
plain food and outdoor life keep the body in the best condition, so that
the children of the poor, so long as they are well-nourished, are
healthier than the children of the rich. But the working-class boys have
also this advantage, that they begin life at four years of age in an
Infant School, where they sing every day, and receive systematic Tonic
Sol-fa teaching which is continued when they pass into the boys'
department. Boys who are trained under governesses and at private
preparatory schools often learn no singing at all. It is to be hoped
that the diffusion of musical knowledge will make these
class-comparisons, from a musical point of view, unnecessary. The
choir-boys of Christ Church, Oxford, are all the sons of professional
men, but then the choice is a wide one, as they come from all parts of
the country.
The precentor of a cathedral writes to me on an important branch of our
subject. I sincerely hope that his picture is not one that is generally
true:--
"My own experience would suggest that in connection with the training of
cathedral choristers the attention of cathedral organists might be very
advantageously drawn to the very great importance of efficiency in the
art of teaching--of imparting knowledge. The instruction given may be as
good as could well be desired, but the manner of imparting it just as
bad--such as would be condemned in any well-conducted Public Elementary
School. Uncontrolled temper, the cane, boxing of the ears, are matters
which go far to prove a teacher very seriously incompetent as a teacher.
A cathedral organist is specially exposed to the temptation to
hastiness and harshness, owing to the power he possesses. A parent
values the position of a chorister for his son, and the organist is
tempted soon to take advantage of the parent's unwillingness to withdraw
his son. In a parish choir, either voluntary or paid at a very low rate,
the exhibition of bad temper or discourtesy in manner is quickly
followed, in all probability, by the loss of the offended chorister.
Offensive manners on the part of the trainer quickly endanger the
existence of the choir. Not so in cathedrals, and the cathedral organist
knows this. 'I cannot think why that boy does not sing in tune; I have
boxed his ears;' said a cathedral organist once to me quite seriously.
This proves, I think, how blind even a highly-trained musician may be to
the need for any art in the mode of imparting instruction. I fear there
is a vulgar notion (only half defined, most probably) that irascibility
in the musical trainer is a mark of genius. I write from experience,
having been upwards of a quarter of a century in cathedrals, and a
considerable portion of that time precentor."
In conclusion, the custom of throwing a halo of sentiment round
choir-boys, and petting them, is much to be deprecated. It has become
the custom to write tales and songs about them, in which they are made
out to be little angels in disguise. All this is very foolish and
harmful. Choir-boys, as a rule, are no better and no worse than other
boys. They respond well to wise treatment, but need to be governed by
common sense, and to be taught their places. I am myself somewhat to
blame for illustrating this book with two pictures of choir boys. It is
really inconsistent.