e one who
planned the event. A program composed of two symphonies and an
overture or two, or of two or three Beethoven sonatas, is not a
suitable meal for the conglomerate crowd comprising the "average
audience"; indeed it is doubtful whether in general it is the best
kind of diet for any group of listeners. Here again we cannot give
specific directions, since conditions vary greatly, and we must
content ourselves once more with having opened up the problem for
thought and discussion.

[Sidenote: EFFECTIVE ARRANGEMENT]

Having selected musical material that is varied in content and yet
appropriate for performance upon the same program; having taken into
consideration what kind of music is adapted to our audience and how
much of it they will probably be able to listen to without becoming
weary; our final problem will now be so to arrange the numbers that
each one will be presented at the point in the program where it will
be likely to be most favorably received, and will make the most
lasting impression upon the auditors.

In general, of course, the heavier part of the program should usually
come in the first half and the lighter part in the second, for the
simple reason that it is at the beginning that our minds and bodies
are fresh and unwearied, and since we are able to give closer
attention at that time we should accordingly be supplied with the more
strenuous music when we are best able to digest it. But although this
is doubtless true in most cases, we have often noticed that audiences
are restless during the first part of the concert, and frequently do
not get "warmed up" to the point of giving close attention to the
performance until ten or fifteen minutes after the program begins, and
sometimes not until the second half has been reached. For this reason,
and also to cover the distraction arising from the entrance of the
ubiquitous late-comer, it seems best to us that some shorter and
lighter work be placed at the very beginning of the program--possibly
an overture, in the case of a symphony concert. The phenomenon here
alluded to has an exact parallel in the church service. When we enter
the church, we are thinking about all sorts of things connected with
our daily life, and it takes us some little time to forget these
extraneous matters and adjust ourselves to the spirit of a church
service, and particularly to get into the appropriate mood for
listening to a sermon. The organ prelude and other preliminary