Gestalt

Author(s): Hans Keller

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Music & Letters, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Oct., 1951), p. 401
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/729102 .
Accessed: 27/12/2012 14:32

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 CORRESPONDENCE 40I

DR. LEY'S HYMN-TUNE

Sir,
The hymn-tune quoted by Mr. Godfrey Sceats on p. 239 of the July
issue of Music & LETTERS is by Dr. Henry Ley and can be found in the
Clarendon Hymn Book (O.U.P.), No. 176, where it is called Rushford,
and in the new edition of the Public Schools Hymn Book (Novello),
No. 378, this time called Savile. It is a unison tune and is in D[b in each
case.
Wrekin College, Wellington. A. V. BUTCHER.

GESTALT
Sir,
Mosco Carner's juxtaposition-in Music & LETTERS, April I95I--
of the psychological concept of ' Gestalt' and Schenker's notion of the
'Urlinie' or 'Urgestalt' is of unusual interest; but while he is of
course right in suggesting that Gestalt is not an easy term to translate
he might have mentioned the actual English term for this concept,
instead of writing about what he calls " the pattern theory" as if
this (in my opinion, misleading) label were generally accepted.
The German word Gestalt is often used by English psychologists, and
the word "shape" was originally tried; but nowadays the academi-
cally accepted translation of Gestalt is " configuration "; the doctrine
is called configurationism and its adherents are known as configura-
tionists. While not the most beautiful, these technical terms are the
most exact.
London, S.E. 24. HANS KELLER.
References: FLUGEL, J. C., ' A Hundred Years of Psychology, 1945 '
(Part IV, Chapter IV: ' Configurationism' (Gestalt)); HAMMOND,M.
'Gestalttheorie: Its Significance for Teaching', in 'Brit. J. Edu.
Psychol.', 1932, II, p. I59; K6HLER, W., 'Gestalt Psychology,' I930;
SPEARMAN, C., 'The New Psychology of "Shape" , in 'Brit. J.
Psychol., 1925 ', XV, p. 2 I1.

A LOST FRIEND
Miss A. E. Keeton regrets that she is no longer continuing her
subscription to Music & LETTERS. This is not because she finds the
value of the journal decreasing under present editorship. But it has
more and more got away from its original purpose when founded by
Fox Strangways of being absolutely non-commercial. Fox Strangways-
we all know-devoted the whole of a big fortune to running it on non-
commercial lines when it accepted no paid advertisements or paid
contributions but stood out as simply devoting itself to music-not as
a business but as an art.
i Brownlow Road, Reading.
[Music & LETTERScan ill afford the loss of a friend, but is happy in enjoying
the support, in times more then ever difficult, of some-of many-who are less
exacting than our Reading correspondent. We confess to finding something
flattering in her impression that our magazine has become " commercial ", if that
means financially prosperous and profit-making. What is sweeter than to be
credited with merits and attainments that are precisely those of which one cannot
honestly boast a glimmering or shadow?

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