failed to
continue in octaves the entire ascending scale in one of his sonatas.
Had the piano in his day possessed its present compass, he would
undoubtedly have written the passage throughout in octaves, _i.e._, as
modern pianists play it. If a rigid adherence to the printed letter of
ancient music is to be strictly observed, without consideration of the
many causes that render this procedure undesirable, let consistency be
observed by pushing the argument to its logical conclusion, _viz._,
returning to the instruments used, and the composition of the
orchestra that obtained, when these works were written. Those who
accuse artists of introducing changes, of not performing the music as
the composer wrote it, should be quite sure as to what the composer
really did write, since many changes are made both before and after
the work is printed. They should also be certain that these changes
are not such as the composer may have, or would have, sanctioned,
seeing that by their use his meaning is more clearly expressed.

At the _Concerts Spirituels_, given at the Church of the Sorbonne,
Paris, may be heard very excellent performances of Oratorio by ancient
and modern composers, from Handel and Bach to Claude Debussy; though I
do not know whether or no _l'Enfant prodigue_ (The Prodigal Son), by
Debussy, is properly styled an oratorio, seeing that it was recently
given in London on the stage as an opera. These performances at the
Sorbonne are marked by a reverential attention to detail; the
soloists, chorus and orchestra being very competent, and the
conductor--M. Paul de Saunieres--a musician of ability and experience.
In spite of these great advantages, however, the works of several of
the old classic composers suffer somewhat, by certain authentic
traditions and conventions being either unknown or ignored. To cite
only one instance out of many: At the Sorbonne, the opening bars of
the second movement of the Recit. in _The Messiah_, "Comfort ye my
people," etc., are performed as printed:

[Music: The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness]

This music is written in the Italian "manner," consequently its
performance should be in conformity with the usages and conventions
which obtained when the work was composed. One of these, as I have
pointed out, was the substitution of one note for another in certain
places; another, that in declamatory recitative, or _recitativo
parlante_, the chord in the orchestra should come _af