Historians say that after the Restoration, when it was very difficult to obtain choir-boys, adult men learned to sing alto, and even low treble parts, in falsetto, in order to make harmony possible.

Let us concede at once that for music of the old cathedral school this voice is in place. The churches are, however, getting more and more eclectic, and are singing music from oratorios, cantatas, and ma.s.ses that was composed for women altos, and is far too high in compa.s.s for men. We may admit that because the alto part lies so much upon the break into the thick or chest register of boys, it is very difficult to get them to sing it well. The dilemma is that in parish churches, especially in country places, the adult male alto is not to be had, and the choice is between boy altos, and no altos at all.

There is no doubt, moreover, that the trouble of voice-management in boy altos can be conquered by watchfulness and care. At the present time there are, as the information I have collected shows, a number of very good cathedral and church choirs in which the alto part is being sustained by boys.

The following is from Mr. James Taylor, organist and choirmaster of New College, Oxford:--

"New College, Oxford, _Dec._ 13, 1890.

"Dear Sir,--In reply to your letter, I can confidently recommend boy altos in parish or other choirs, provided they are carefully trained. We have introduced them into this choir for more than two years, and the experiment has fully come up to my expectations. We still retain two men altos in our choir, which now consists of the following:--Fourteen trebles, four boy altos, two men altos, four tenors, and four ba.s.ses. I find boy altos very effective in _modern_ church music, such as Mendelssohn's anthems, &c., where the alto part is written much higher than is the case in the old cathedral music.

"Yours very truly,

"JAMES TAYLOR."

Dr. Garrett, organist of St. John's College, Cambridge, writes:--

"5, Park Side, Cambridge, _Dec._ 12, 1890.

"Dear Mr. Curwen,--I have had boy altos only in my choir for some years.

I introduced them of necessity in the first instance. The stipend of a lay clerk was too small to attract any other than a local candidate, and no suitable man was to be found. If I could have really first-cla.s.s adult altos in my choir I should not think of using boys' voices. At the same time there are some advantages on the side of boys' voices.

"I. Unless the adult alto voice is really pure and good, and its possessor a skilled singer, it is too often unbearable.

"II. Under the most favourable conditions it is very rare, according to my experience, to find an alto voice retaining its best qualities after middle age.

"III. The alto voice is undoubtedly becoming rare.

"On the other side you have to consider:--

"I. The limitation of choice in music, as there is a good deal of 'cathedral music' in which the alto part is beyond the range of any boy's voice.

"II. A certain lack of _brightness_ in the upper part of such trios as those in 'By the waters of Babylon' (Boyce) 'The wilderness' (Goss), and many like movements.

"As regards the break question, the advantage, in my experience, is wholly on the boys' side. A well-trained boy will sing such a solo as 'O thou that tellest,' or such a pa.s.sage as the following without letting his break be felt at all:

[Ill.u.s.tration: For Thou hast been my hope, hast been my hope.]

This pa.s.sage,[B] which is from the anthem, 'Hear my crying,' by Weldon, I have heard sung by an adult alto, who broke badly between E flat and F. The effect was funny beyond description. In fact, if a boys' break is about C or D (3rd s.p.a.ce or 4th line), and he [Ill.u.s.tration: musical notation] is never allowed to practise above that, there will be no question of break arising. My alto boys can get a good round G, and five out of the six can go up without break to C. [Ill.u.s.tration: musical notation] The advantage of this in chanting the Psalms is obvious. What can an adult alto be expected to do in a case where the reciting note is close to his break? These are considerations which may fairly be taken into account even when the decision is to be made between _possible_ courses; when there _is_ a choice. In many cases there is none. It must be (as you say) boy alto, or no alto. I am quite sure that careful training is all that is needed to make boy altos most efficient members of a choir. Or rather, I ought to say that careful selection and training are both needed. To take a young boy as an alto because he happens to have three or four raucous notes from, say, B flat to E flat [Ill.u.s.tration: musical notation] while he has a bad break between E flat [Ill.u.s.tration: musical notation] and F is, of course, to court failure.

I prefer taking a boy whose break lies higher, and training his voice downwards. If, as a probationer, he can get a fairly good round B natural [Ill.u.s.tration: musical notation] or B flat; lower notes can certainly be produced as he grows older.]

"Yours very truly,

"GEORGE GARRETT."

[B] I have transposed the pa.s.sage from the alto clef.--J. S. C.

A remark may be interposed here that from a physiological point of view we must expect voices of different pitch in boys, just as in girls, women, and men. Boys differ in height, size, and in the pitch of the speaking voice, which is a sure guide to the pitch of the singing voice.

There is thus no physiological ground for supposing all boys to be trebles.

The following letter is from the Rev. W. E. d.i.c.kson, Precentor of Ely:--

"The College, Ely, _October 30th_, 1890.

"_Dear Sir_,--I have much pleasure in replying to your note. If I resolved to do so in a few words I should be obliged to say that seldom indeed do I hear boy altos sing with sweet voices and true intonation, either in my own country, or in those foreign countries in which I am in the habit of taking my holidays.

"But I should like to be allowed to explain that, in my opinion, the coa.r.s.eness (at any rate) of boy-altos in English choirs is due to mismanagement by the choirmaster. His usual plan is to turn over to the alto part boys who are losing their upper notes by the natural failure of their soprano voices. This saves trouble, for such boys probably read music well enough, and they are simply told to 'sing alto,' and are left to do so without further training, until they can croak out no more ugly noises. Surely this is quite a mistake. Am I not right in maintaining that a perfect choir should consist of

FIRST TREBLES TENORS

SECOND TREBLES Ba.s.sES

well balanced as to numbers, and all singing with pure natural quality?

If I am, then it follows that the second trebles should be precisely equal to the firsts in number and strength, and should include boys of various ages, as carefully selected and as a.s.siduously trained as the others. I cannot but think--and, indeed, I perfectly well know--that where this has been done by a skilful teacher, whose heart is in his work, boy altos have been made to sing with sweetness and accuracy.

"You will probably agree with me--though this is quite by the way--that secular music should be largely used by such a teacher. The part-songs of Mendelssohn, for instance, should be trolled out by the two sets of boys, who may even interchange their parts at practice with the best results. But of course this is said only in reference to choirs of a high cla.s.s.

"I do not deny that even the best teaching and the best management will not secure quite the same _timbre_ which you get in choirs with falsetti in the alto part. A certain silvery sweetness is obtained from these voices to which our English ears have become accustomed, and which we should miss if boys, however well-trained, took their places. In the Preces, Versicles, Litany, &c., of the English Choral Service, we should be conscious of a loss. In cathedrals, too, the complete shelving of some or even many compositions, favourites by long a.s.sociation, if not by intrinsic merit, would be inevitable. But I am unable to doubt for a moment that when the change had been made, and time had been given for the new order of things, under a thoroughly competent musician, we should not regret it.

"At Ely we have ten men in daily attendance; fourteen on Sundays. We keep twenty boys in training. If this vocal body were thus distributed:--

10 FIRST TREBLES 5 TENORS (6 on Sunday)

10 SECOND TREBLES 5 Ba.s.sES (8 on Sunday)

we should certainly be stronger and healthier in tone and quality than we are now, with a disproportionate number of trebles, thus:--

20 TREBLES 3 [4] TENORS

3 [4] ALTOS 4 [6] Ba.s.sES

As to rustic choirs in village churches, I fear the case is hopeless, and I myself should be glad to see editions of well-known hymn-tunes and chants in three parts only--treble, tenor, and ba.s.s. Handel wrote some truly grand choruses in three parts in his 'Chandos Anthems.' But his tenor part is not for every-day voices!

"Believe me, truly yours,

"W. E. d.i.c.kSON."

The following, from Dr. Haydn Keeton, organist of Peterborough Cathedral, is against boy altos:--

"Thorpe Road, Peterborough, _December 12th, 1890_.