Gustave Bret, which, since 1905, has
devoted itself to the performance of the great works of Bach. It is not
one of the least merits of the _Schola_ that it has helped to form good
amateur choirs of the same type as the choral societies of Germany.]
And all this shows such a marvellous activity and gives evidence of such
whole-hearted enthusiasm that I cannot bring myself to join issue with
the critics who have lately attacked the _Schola_, though their attacks
have been in some degree merited. Pettiness is to be found even in great
artists, and imperfection in every human work; and defects reveal
themselves most clearly after a victory has been won. The _Schola_ has
not escaped the critical periods that accompany growth, through which
every work must pass if it is to triumph and endure. Without doubt, the
sudden illness and premature retirement of the founder of the work, M.
Charles Bordes, deprived the _Schola_ of one of its most active
forces--a force that was perhaps necessary for the school's successful
development. For this man had been the school's life and soul, and
retired, worn out by the heavy labours which he had borne alone during
ten years.
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