Mercyhurst College - Thesaurus Yearbook (Erie, PA)

Page 73 text:

CI-IGRAL VERSE Front Row: Janet Eichenlaub, Catherine Gill, Betty Harrington, Rosemary Haule, Mary Whitcomb, Rita Brennan, Jane Missimer, Margaret Reid, Eugenia Andrecovich, Ruth Mary McCarty, Marian Sullivan, Frances Malaney, Rita Lohse, Josephine Muff, Ida Moore, Mary Massello. Strand Row: Helen Barry, jane Franklin, Jeanne Nuber, Patricia Pusey, Betty Fallen, Annette Miller, Margaret Thompson, Madeline Wilbert, Mary A, Kuhn, Marie O'Malley, Anne Morin, Florence O'Neil, Irene Forquer, Adelaide Salisbury, Edith Regan, Martha Hutton, Mary Winston. In the Greek theater of the great dramatic period of Euripides and Aeschylus, choral verse formed an integral part of every entertainment. Hundreds of men dressed in long flowing robes took their places and, with all the solemnity of a true religious service, blended their voices, half song and half speech, with the tragic action of the drama. Roman youths in their togas carried on the same tradition. In the Christian dispensation we have glorious examples of musical verse. The chanting of the psalms on feast days, the chanting of the divine office in religious houses are all beautiful examples of choric work. In fact, the art of verse-speaking has persevered for centuries, never being entirely lost. About 15 years ago, Mr. and Mrs. john Maselield sponsored the first modern verse- speaking choir, the purpose of which was to move the audience, emotionally, pro- foundly. Always alert to new opportunities in the field of education, Mercyhurst first undertook the training of a verse-speaking choir in 19375 and under the direction of Beatrice A. Mulcahy, B. L. I., its progress has been swift. Members of the Mercyhurst choral group feel that it has helped them to speak more lucidly, to feel more strongly, to appreciate more profoundly. It has made the timid among them more confident, the aggressive, less domineering. Whoever speaks to me in the right voice, Him I shall follow. Page 69

Page 75 text:

-qv if . L ik E 5 ? f . f ., id, X M 1 4, I A , fl-.i