Dr. Garrett, organist of St. John's College, Cambridge, writes:—
"5, Park Side, Cambridge, Dec. 12, 1890.
"Dear Mr. Curwen,—I have had boy altos only in my choir for some years. I introduced them of necessity in the first instance. The stipend of a lay clerk was too small to attract any other than a local candidate, and no suitable man was to be found. If I could have really first-class adult altos in my choir I should not think of using boys' voices. At the same time there are some advantages on the side of boys' voices.
"I. Unless the adult alto voice is really pure and good, and its possessor a skilled singer, it is too often unbearable.
"II. Under the most favourable conditions it is very rare, according to my experience, to find an alto voice retaining its best qualities after middle age.
"III. The alto voice is undoubtedly becoming rare.
"On the other side you have to consider:—
"I. The limitation of choice in music, as there is a good deal of 'cathedral music' in which the alto part is beyond the range of any boy's voice.
"II. A certain lack of brightness in the upper part of such trios as those in 'By the waters of Babylon' (Boyce) 'The wilderness' (Goss), and many like movements.
"As regards the break question, the advantage, in my experience, is wholly on the boys' side. A well-trained boy will sing such a solo as 'O thou that tellest,' or such a passage as the following without letting his break be felt at all: