Excerpt from The League Hymnal: A Collection of Sacred Heart Hymns Embracing All the Hymns in the "League Devotions" Arranged to Suitable Tunes, Original and Selected

Had the Church never spoken on this matter, it would still be repugnant to our Catholic people's sense of what is fit and proper in the holiest of places, that a priest should have to struggle through the prayers of the Holy Mass, because of such tunes as Alice, where art thou? The Vacant Chair, and others of more vulgar title, which, through the carelessness or bad judgment of organists, sometimes find their way into our choirs.

A second class of tunes, which can also be said with certainty to fall under the profane, are those which are written in the style of secular songs and which, if heard without the words, would be recognized only as such. In these, as a rule, the devotional gives way to the sentimental, cheerfulness to levity and oftentimes vulgarity, while not even an attempt is made to give a serious or dignified musical expression to the senti ments embodied in the words of the hymn. Not the least objectionable feature of some of these tunes is a j ingling piano accompaniment quite unsuited to the church organ.

If this worldly music is not a positive hindrance to reverence and piety, especially in youthful listeners (who generally paylittle or no attention to the words), it will certainly not help to foster these virtues in their young souls.

For many, both old and young, these two classes of tunes, where they are used, have the effect of making it a matter of no little difficulty to hear Mass or attend evening services with devotion.

As reparation for the irreverences committed against our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is the great work of the League, it is but right to expect that its Directors and its members will do all in their power to promote in our churches a reverent and devotional style of singing, and to discourage, when they can properly do so, any music of an irreverent or worldly character.

Acknowledgment is here made of the courtesy of Rev. J. B. Young, s.i., of Rev. Alfred Young, and of Messrs. Ben ziger Brothers, in granting the use of tunes of which they hold the copyright. Several tunes by living European composers have been made use of, -for which, although they are not copy righted, the editor would have asked permission, had he known where to address these gentlemen.

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