THE BISHOP AND RADIO.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18889, 3 January 1927, Page 8

THE BISHOP AND RADIO.

«—.—. ITS INFLUENCE ON CHURCH MUSIC. Bishop West-Watson, preaching at the North Canterbury Choral Festival, made an interesting allusion to the possible influence of the broadcasting of high-class music on the standards of musical taste in parish churches. There aro thousands of wireless receiving sets in operation in England, and broadcasting stations all over the country, states the "Church News." In New Zealand similar conditions aro rapidly coming to exist, and it is possible to hear good conoerts from Australia and New Zealand almost every night in the week. "Wireless broadcasting of the best music," said the Bishop, "is likely to raise the general standard of musical appreciation, and this will certainly lead to a demand for the best music in church services." In England thousands of people were able to listen-in nightly to the best Of music from the great concert halls, and ultimately the effect of this education of their taste will be to make churchgoers more critical of what is offered in church. There was a strong movement in England amongst Church musicians towards raising the standard of devotional imjsic, and the bias of that movement was towards simplicity and intelligibility. He was glad to find that in the Diocese the leading Church musicians were in accord with that movement. He was taking steps to set up the Commission on Music as re* quested by Synod, and the Cathedral precentor (the Rev. F. It. Itawle) and Mr O'Donel Davis were at present preparing the ground. The Commission would no doubt produce a report helpf(il to choirs and directors of music throughout the diocese. For himself, he would never forget the delfghfc and the thankfulness he felt when he held his first evensong in the Cathedral, rendered by a choir to surpass which one would have to travel far even in England. Parish choirs would not perhaps be able to adopt the Cathedral standard, nor might it be always desirable, but he urged choristers when visiting Christchurcli to hear the service sung in the Cathedral on the first four days of each week, so that they would know what a beautiful thing evensong could be made. To achieve beauty in church singing it was not necessary to attempt to do all that was done in the Cathedral. The possibilities of hymn singing had not been, he believed, fully enough explored, nor yet of unison singjng.