ouble of voice-management in boy
altos can be conquered by watchfulness and care. At the present time
there are, as the information I have collected shows, a number of very
good cathedral and church choirs in which the alto part is being
sustained by boys.

* * * * *

The following is from Mr. James Taylor, organist and choirmaster of New
College, Oxford:--

"New College, Oxford, _Dec._ 13, 1890.

"Dear Sir,--In reply to your letter, I can confidently recommend boy
altos in parish or other choirs, provided they are carefully trained. We
have introduced them into this choir for more than two years, and the
experiment has fully come up to my expectations. We still retain two men
altos in our choir, which now consists of the following:--Fourteen
trebles, four boy altos, two men altos, four tenors, and four basses. I
find boy altos very effective in _modern_ church music, such as
Mendelssohn's anthems, &c., where the alto part is written much higher
than is the case in the old cathedral music.

"Yours very truly,

"JAMES TAYLOR."

Dr. Garrett, organist of St. John's College, Cambridge, writes:--

"5, Park Side, Cambridge, _Dec._ 12, 1890.

"Dear Mr. Curwen,--I have had boy altos only in my choir for some years.
I introduced them of necessity in the first instance. The stipend of a
lay clerk was too small to attract any other than a local candidate, and
no suitable man was to be found. If I could have really first-class
adult altos in my choir I should not think of using boys' voices. At the
same time there are some advantages on the side of boys' voices.

"I. Unless the adult alto voice is really pure and good, and its
possessor a skilled singer, it is too often unbearable.

"II. Under the most favourable conditions it is very rare, according to
my experience, to find an alto voice retaining its best qualities after
middle age.

"III. The alto voice is undoubtedly becoming rare.

"On the other side you have to consider:--

"I. The limitation of choice in music, as there is a good deal of
'cathedral music' in which the alto part is beyond the range of any
boy's voice.

"II. A certain lack of _brightness_ in the upper part of such trios as
those in 'By the waters of Babylon' (Boyce) 'The wilderness' (Goss), and
many like movements.

"As regards the break question, the advantage, in my experience, is
wholly on the boys' side. A well-trained boy will sing such a solo as 'O
th