CLASSICAL OR POPULAR?

The correspondent whose communication is published in an adjacent column of this morning's CRIMSON is not alone in his decrial of the new policy of the Harvard Glee Club. When Dr. Davison and his followers decided last autumn that "Australia" and "Gridiron King" had outworn their welcome as constant features on the concert programs, the instant accusation was raised. "Yes, the Glee Club has turned high-brow. They won't sing anything but classical stuff." Graduates became worried about the fate of a chorus from Cambridge that did not sing Fair Harvard upon every possible occasion, and that had fallen in with the spirit of the times in excerpting from their repertoire "Here's to Johnny Harvard, Fill him up a full glass!" The prospects for a successful season were not too bright.

Affairs turned out well enough to disappoint all the birds of ill omen. Not only did the Glee Club attain unusual success in their winter series of concerts about Cambridge, but also reached in their concert in conjunction with Fritz Kreisler the height of a phenomenal season. Those who heard the University singers on that occasion came away astonished that a group of amateurs could in so short a time have been trained to such a point of perfection. Their rendering of early church music, their presentation of classical pieces met with the universal acclaim of critics and public alike. Dr. Davison received much high praise for his work, all of it well deserved.

There is another side to the question, however. Not that we would accuse the club of being falsely "high-brow." Not that we would for a moment go back to the old policy of barren repetition. Far from it. And yet it is not altogether unfitting that the chorus should occasionally unbend and give a few of the threadbare tunes still dear to the hearts of Harvard men everywhere. It does not smack unduly of small-town collegiate spirit to enjoy hearing the football songs and "Fair Harvard." The protests raised by the alumni in several western cities during the spring trip of the society show that the old songs are in demand. They should not be forgotten in the zeal for a better Glee Club.