In connection with the Children's Coronation Fête at the Crystal
Palace, Professor Albert Visetti makes an excellent suggestion in Monday's Times. Such a gathering, he notes, " offers a musical possibility beyond the wildest dreams of the most imaginative composer—namely, the opportunity of hear- ing a massed choir of a hundred thousand voices." One recalls Haydn's entry in his diary after hearing the Charity Children singing in St. Paul's in 1792: " I was more touched by this innocent and reverent music than by any I ever heard in my life." He accordingly suggests that one of our most distinguished composers should "give us a simple unison song, to be rehearsed beforehand by the children in sections and sung at the Crystal Palace on the day of the festival in honour of their royal host and hostess." The idea is most attractive; but if a new song must be written, it seems hard to avoid a competition, and the appointment of judges might rule out highly desirable competitors. There ought to be in existence some song or hymn suitable for the purpose.
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