"Got Mixed in an Anthem"

This very humorous extract relating to a Knox Church Dunedin Choir recital is taken from a local newspaper report from around 1900. The unknown journalist relates proceedings in a most entertaining manner.  

"There was fun in Knox Church, Dunedin a couple of Sundays ago. The choir tackled the well-known anthem : 'I will lift up mine eyes to the hills'. They started all right and then things got mixed. The tenors and sopranos got one idea of the time, and the basses and altos got another. Neither crowd would give in, but sang their very loudest and tried to bring the other lot to their way of singing. The hair of the conductor stood up on end and with excitement and grief, but all his gesticulations were unavailing. Then the organist grew excited. He turned on the forty-foot pipe, and made the organ yell for all he was worth to try and bring the singers into line. The tenors and sopranos wavered a little. They began to surmise something was wrong, but the basses held on nobly; they would like to see the organ that could knock them off their perch, so they let go with a vim that did them credit, and nearly shook the ivy off the church.

The congregation were getting interested and were wondering which side of the choir would win. If it had not been Sunday one of the elders would have laid even money that the organ would beat the lot. And he was right. The choir got pumped out, but the organ beat the singers by several bars, and came in as fresh as paint with a crash and bellow that fairly smothered all the singers. The organist 'swat maist awfu' [sweat most awfully], the choirmaster nearly fainted, the elders were shocked, and the young folk said it was the best time they have had in church for a long time."