COMMUNITY SINGING is mass singing by groups or crowds, or in a more advanced stage, singing by a community chorus meeting regularly for training and instruction in f our part chorus singing. Some of the best renditions of the oratorios and choral works come from these community choruses. For community singing in Great Britain see CHORAL SINGING.
The community chorus movement in the United States was launched in Rochester, N.Y., in 1912 by Harry Barnhart, a singer, musician, conductor and a pupil of Maestro Cortezze and Verdi, trained for the concert and operatic stage. For some time before 1912, Mr. Barnhart was filling engagements in vaudeville. A feature of his "act" had been to get the audience to join in the chorus of his songs. Discovering that everybody wanted to sing and could sing under proper encouragement and direction, he determined to develop the idea. While filling an engagement in Rochester, N.Y., he secured permission from the mayor to appear with the municipal band in Convention hall and have the people sing. The audience responded most enthusiastically and there was formed the first community chorus. The idea spread to other surrounding communities. In 1914 many of these choruses came together for a great festival in the Rochester Exposition buildings, forming a trained chorus of some 5,500 singers. They began with unison singing and evolved into well trained choral groups.
Arthur Farwell, American composer and exponent of American Indian lore, became deeply interested in the movement and in duced Mr. Barnhart to come to New York once each week to conduct a community chorus. During this time Claude Bragdon, architect and author, then resident in Rochester, saw the pos sibility of combining light and colour with the outdoor singing. Crowds up to 15,000 gathered in a public park led by the trained community singing group. This became known as "Song and Light." The New York city community chorus grew rapidly with Arthur Farwell as president and W. K. Brice as treasurer. Weekly public sings and rehearsals were held. Soon a great chorus was de veloped which culminated in giving Handel's "Messiah" in Madi son Square Garden and three annual "Song and Light Festivals" in Central Park with 100,000 people singing antiphonally across the lake in the night. At about this time community choruses started in many cities.
When the United States entered the World War Gen. Frank lin Bell, then in command of the eastern division, commandeered Mr. Barnhart to take charge of singing in the army. Singing was organized in every camp under the direction of competent song leaders. At the close of the war, there was a song leader in every community in the United States but the movement did not go forward as it should have because of a lack of competent con ductors. There were, however, in 1928, many fine community choruses throughout the country. (H. BT.)