h proceeds from the idea that, in the
exaltation of prayer, the soul, having reached the last limit obtainable
by mere words, demands an extended expression, and finds it in song. The
earliest form of music, the plain chant or Gregorian, is sung in unison,
for it was intended to be sung by the whole congregation, but as only a
few in every congregation are musicians, the idea of a choir could not
fail to suggest itself; and, once the idea of a choir accepted, part
writing followed, and the vocal masses of the sixteenth century were the
result. Then the art of religious music had gone as far as it could, and
the next step, the introduction of an accompanying instrument, was
decadence.

The "Missa Brevis" is one of the most exquisite of the master's minor
works. It is written for four voices, and with the large choir at his
command, Mr. Innes was able to put eight to ten voices on a part; and
hearing voices darting, voices soaring, voices floating, weaving an
audible embroidery, Evelyn felt the vanity of accompaniment instruments.
Upon the ancient chant the new harmonies blossomed like roses on an old
gnarled stem, and when on the ninth bar of the "Kyrie" the tenors softly
separated from the sustained chord of the other parts, the effect was as
of magic. Evelyn lifted her eyes and saw her dear father conducting with
calm skill.

She had heard the Mass in Rome, and remembered the beautiful phrase
which opens the "Kyrie" and which is the essence of the first part of
that movement. But the altos had not the true alto quality; they were
trebles singing in the lower register of their voices. Leaning towards
her, Ulick whispered, "The altos are not quite in tune." She had heard
nothing wrong, but, seeing that he was convinced, she resolved to submit
the matter to her father's decision. She had every confidence in the
accuracy of her ear; but last night her father had said that the modern
musical ear was not nearly so fine as the ancient, trained to the exact
intervals of the monochord, instead of the coarse approximation of the
keyboard.

She remembered that when she had heard the Mass in Rome there was a
moment when she had longed for the sweet concord of a pure third. Now,
when it came at the end of the first note of the basses, Ulick said, "It
is as sharp as that of an ordinary piano." It had not seemed so to her,
and she wondered if her ear had deteriorated, if the corrupting
influence of modern chromatic music had been