OF CATCH-SINGING IN HIGH PLACES 101 



Regards to Leicester Square, which is undistin- 

 guishable save by three notes and a modulation 

 (I speak as one of the musically untutored) from 

 thirty other tunes of its class. And if they would 

 take the trouble to master this simple little French 

 air and attack it boldly one after the other they 

 would be amply rewarded. They would discover 

 that after a period of bawling, with ears shut as 

 far as possible to everybody else's efforts, their 

 own voice would be heard blending deliciously 

 with the voices of other people, and, what is more 

 remarkable, they would be able to maintain their 

 striking performance indefinitely. They would catch 

 themselves harmonising, and would step instantly 

 from the ranks of sheer noise into the ordered 

 realm of Art. And they would be purified and 

 give their regards to Leicester Square no more. 

 Therefore the People's Palace Musical Festival is 

 a thing to send guineas to, though I do not myself 

 do this. 



We did not attain our present degree of per- 

 fection in catch-singing without a good deal of toil. 

 Nothing really worth doing, except eating and 

 drinking and sleep, can be learned easily. You 

 will remember that I had to teach two of our 

 numbers to my wife. This was a terrible business. 

 It is one thing to sing a tune so that one 

 recognises it oneself; it is another to give it out 



