Page:Rolland - A musical tour through the land of the past.djvu/50

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It is not surprising that under these circumstances music seems, to Pepys, the least costly of pleasures. Nor is it surprising that musicians should die of starvation in this England, where all declare themselves to be passionate lovers of music. They are in the position of those itinerant players who give their performance before a country crowd. The yokels look on and laugh—and turn away when the collection is made.

This is enough already to enlighten us as to the superficiality of the English passion for music. We shall be still further enlightened when we have done our best to understand Pepys' musical judgments and to ascertain the limits of his taste. How narrow the man is!

Pepys does not care for the old style of singing. Nor does he care for part-singing: