GLEE OR CHORAL?

The vacation trip of the Glee Club through the middle West was without doubt an unqualified success. The singing ability of its members coupled with excellent training, has given to this organization a reputation of high standing. The invitation to make a tour through France this coming summer is indisputable proof of the fact.

But amid the paean of congratulations a discordant note has been sounded a note which, though perhaps uncalled for, deserves consideration nevertheless. The criticism that has arisen concerns, not the singing--that is beyond criticism--but the type of the songs. It would seem that there has been a misunderstanding in several quarters, due to the name of the organization. Glee Clubs, it is argued, should confine themselves to a collegiate, or rather so-called collegiate type of entertainment, rather than deviate into more classical channels. People who, unfamiliar with the repertoire of the Harvard Glee Club, look forward to an evening of reminiscent joviality, are apt to be disappointed; if so, they are in no mood to appreciate the beauty of the program offered.

Plainly there is something amiss when a society lays itself open to the charge of disappointing its audiences, and misleading, them through their ignorance of its policy. A suggested remedy for this situation is a change in the name of that society, so as to eliminate all possibilities of further criticism. The Glee Club under its present system is rather more inclined toward the choral and the stately anthem than it is toward the rollicking-student song. Were the club to alter its name to that of "The Harvard Chora Society," not only could there be no more doubt as to its character, but it would also be more appropriately named in the eyes of those who are its friends.