I offer no apology for introducing an academic subject to the attention of the Musical Association. Our Association is unique among Societies which employ the musical lecturer. Whereas all others that I know call on him either to instruct or amuse an audience (which may have to be cajoled into giving him its attention), the Musical Association allows its members to instruct or amuse themselves; to talk about their own interests in their own way. It is generally understood that there will be an audience of some sort, a few members and their guests, who will be sufficiently long-suffering to sit the lecturer out, in the hope that he will be equally complaisant towards them on some other occasion.