Beyond the intrinsic musical value of the B Minor Mass, the performance of Bach's choral masterpiece tomorrow will have another significance. Sung by the combined choruses of Harvard and Radcliffe, the presentation of the Mass marks the complete emancipation of the college glee club from its traditional limitations. Following the escape from the realm of the football song and the English balled, college organizations have gradually attempted the singing of works of ever increasing magnitude, and now they have attained the level of the B. Minor Mass, perhaps the greatest choral music ever written. And it is owing to the presence of Doctor Davison and Mr. Woodworth that Harvard has been able to take the lead in this field.
No justification of the undertaking is necessary, for the six months of preparation have given those participating an appreciation and enjoyment of music which no university course could hope to equal. Furthermore, the development of a technique sufficiently good to justify the giving of the Mass, involves intensive training and absolute discipline. These qualities, of great benefit in themselves, are particularly valuable today as they are rarely to be found in the life of the modern university.
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