R. H. Haweis says:
I have known the oratorio of the Messiah draw the lowest
dregs of Whitechapel into a church to hear it, and during
the performance sobs have broken forth from the silent and
attentive throng. Will any one say that for these people
to have their feelings for once put through such a noble
and long-sustained exercise as that could be otherwise than
beneficial? If such performances of both sacred and secular
music were more frequent, we should have less drunkenness, less
wife-beating, less spending of summer gains, less pauperism in
the winter.
(2131)
=Music from Pain=--See SUFFERING TRANSFORMED.