The main object was to make the girls familiar with the best
compositions and cultivate their musical taste.
"Constant listening is the only way to learn appreciation," said Miss
Mitchell. "You form a taste for literature by reading the best authors,
not by trying to write poetry yourself! Learning an instrument is a good
training, but certainly only a part of music--to understand it and
criticise it is quite another matter."
So all the school, including even the little girls, met to listen to the
masterpieces of Beethoven, Chopin, or Schubert, and were encouraged to
note particular points and to discuss them intelligently.
"At the end of the term," said Miss Mitchell, "we'll have a concert, just
among ourselves, and then I hope some of you will surprise me. You must
all practise hard, because it will be a great honour to be asked to play
on that particular afternoon."
In revising the curriculum of 'The Moorings' upon these very modern
lines, Miss Mitchell did not neglect the athletic side.
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