Music and Musical Literature [excerpt]

(From McKinley Memorial Association.)
The Triumph of Faith. Text by Marian E. Kelly.
Music by Lynn B. Dana.

ON the occasion of the anniversary of the birthday of William McKinley, October 5, 1917, at his birthplace and home, Niles, Ohio, the citizens of the Mahoning Valley erected to his memory the McKinley Memorial Hall, enclosing a beautiful statue of William McKinley. The musical committee invited Marion E. Kelly, poet and Lynn B. Dana, musician and composer, to arrange for an appropriate musical setting, and these two artists wrote “The Triumph of Faith.”
     The Triumph of Faith is an oratorio of the character of a symphony. The musical score as well as the text is designed to unfold epochs in the life of William McKinley and its aspect in the country’s history.
     The musical setting includes the orchestra score, choruses and soli. As is most appropriate, dignity and seriousness permeate the composition throughout.
     The composer conducted the performance, and the Dana Musical Institute Orchestra, of which he is conductor, was present in a body.
     The oratoria [sic] had been in conception for something over a year. It is worthy of note that the chorus “The Call to Arms” portray- [486][487] ing the early crisis in the life of the boy soldier, was written on the morning of April 6, 1917, the day of our declaration of war with Germany.