Church Parade of Scottish Company Takes Place at Union. Church Tomorrow The fifteenth Annual Scottish Fes-rival Service, with which will be incorporated the fourteenth Annual Church Parade of the "Shanghai Scottish" Company, S.V.C., will take place at Union Church, Soochow goad, tomorrow at 10.45 am.
The service is to be conducted by che Rev, James A. Williamson, M.A., C.F. (Church of Scotland), and the organist will be Mr. Donald Mac-Donald, who was responsible for sounding these special services as far back as 1924.
Order of Service An excellent "order of service" has been arranged. The first. musica: item will be two verses of the Na-tonal Anthem, to be followed by four verses of Metrical Psalm 24, to the famous tune of "St. George's, Edinburgh," composed by the Rev. Dr. AM. Thomson, munster of that church, about the year 1824. It is of interest to record that at the opening of the Empire Exhibition in Glasgow by King George VI in May last, the proceedings were inaugurated by the singing of this psalm and tune by a large number of massed choirs, accompanied by several military bands, which is said to have been most impressive. The second musical item will be Metrical Psalm 124 (2nd version), to be sung to the fine old tune of "Old 124th" which first appeared in the Geneva Psalter of 1551. In this connection, the following extract from a chapter dealing with the Metrical Psalters of Scotland, contained in "The Story of the Church's Song" by the Rev. Millar Patrick, D. D., Edinburgh, makes interesting reading:—i "Story of Church Song"
"Measures were taken to encourage and foster congregational singing. Poor though the country was, a sufficient aumoer of Psalters was provided in the churches, and sang-schules" were established, so that all might learn, the tunes. The leader was styled "the Uptaker of the Psalme," and "the moister of the sang-schule and his bairns" constituted the choir. How well these schools did their work may be judged from the fact that when John Durie, a redoubtable exiled minister, returned from banishment, as he and those with him through the Netherbow Port (in Edinburgh) on their way to St, Giles, Fa grait concours of the haul town met them and took up the "lath. Psalm, "Now Israel may say," and sang in such a pleasant tune in four parts, known to tne most part of the people, coming up the street all bare-headed till they entered in the Kirk, with such a great sound and majestic, that it moved both themselves and all the huge multitude of beholders with admiration and astonishment. This is a striking fact, that a promiscuous Scottish crowd, so' long ago, could join sassily and freely in singing from memory.a whole psalm in counterpoint of four parts."
The third item will be a fine setting of the "Te Deum," composed by Win. Jackson, organist of Exeter Cathedral, in the early part of last. century. This will be followed by a solo, "The Lord is my Shepherd" (Liddle), to be rendered by Mr. David McGavin. The hymn before the sermon will be of a national character—"Lord, while of evidence against the accused com-for all mankind we pray"—to the old Scottish tune of "St. Lawrence." The service will conclude with the singing of the 63rd, Paraphrase—"Behold the amazing gift of lov to the tune "St. Stephen." Prior to the commencement of the service, Mr. MacDonald will play a number of Scottish airs on the organ, The Scripture lessons will be read by Mr. W. J. Keswick, President of St. Andrew's Society, and Capt. C. B. Blaikie, Officer Commanding, The Shanghai Scottish, S.V.C. One-half of the Offertory will be allocated to the Charity Fund of St. Andrew's Society,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.