General expodsUntil our scientists have invented a ‘sound shield’ or ‘sound beaming’,
we shall have to defend ourselves as best we may against this flood of
sordid music which assails our ears even at mealtimes, even at moments
of rest and meditation. I would venture to advise educators to protect,
as far as possible, the ears of those entrusted to their care, bearing in
mind that the capacities of the memory are not inexhaustible. An
insipid air, a trite refrain, a commonplace or displeasing melody may
be implanted in a young child‘s memory and monopolize the place
that might have been occupied by a pure, divine melody of Bach.
I am well aware that the public is fickle in its taste. An opera which
was once considered dull and second-rate may suddenly come back into
fashion, like the Louis-Philippe style or any other that was previously
out of favour. The glorious, holy music of the masters also suffers
eclipse from time to time. Bach, of whom I have just spoken, remained
in oblivion for a hundred years before the sun of full glory shone upon
his works. This is yet another reason for distrusting the variations of
taste and for shielding young minds and hearts from things which may
spoil their freshness and possibly tarnish them for ever.
I have still to say a few words-not to exhaust my subject, but to keep
within the bounds assigned me-about what are called natural apti-
tudes. There is no doubt that some children show no love of music and
indeed no obvious aptitude for it. They sing out of tune and, from the
outset, react against initiation into the mysteries of what is presented
to them simply as an ‘accomplishment’.
I should like to point out that, where reading, writing, and arith-
metic are concerned, education overrides the capricious inclinations
of schoolchildren. No pupil, unless he is ill or mentally defective, is
ever dispensed from learning how to read, write and count. I very much
hope that instruction in music will be made compulsory and that
proper tests in music will be introduced, so that it may be given weight
in the final assessment of our future citizens. Music, I repeat in con-
clusion, should in no case be regarded as an optional subject, which a
child may or may not study. It is one of the most powerful forces at
the teacher’s disposal for the training of the character. I would add
that the popularization of mechanized music, recorded or broadcast,
tends to reduce the number of amateur performers. ‘Why should I take
trouble to produce mediocre music when I only have to put on a
record or turn the knob of the wireless set?’ That is the way most
people’s minds work nowadays. But in this connexion I must repeat
what I have said elsewhere : professional musicians are recruited from