SOUSA'S BAND.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 204, 28 August 1911, Page 7

SOUSA'S BAND.

To hear Sousa's famous band is both an education and a. revelation, and each new programme seems better than the one which preceded it. Saturday afternoon's audience was manifestly delighted, and the enthusiasm was at times almost beyond 'bounds. Every item was a musical gem—so simple that the patron not knowing an oboe from a bassoon could yet listen enraptured; so exquisite that the critic could but marvel and applaud. Surely nothing more superb oxf Its kind could toe imagined than fcousa's symphonic poem, "The Chariot Bide." Almost without a printed synopsis could the audience have understood the story of Ben liur's great race. The clarion call, the trampling of horses, the wild huzzas of the people, and then the mad excitement of the race—all were told by Sousa's wonderful band as plainly almost as if human voices had been the agency employed in relating the inspiring story. Perhaps what appealed to Saturday afternoon's audience most of all were two delightful little compositions, "Baby's Sweetheart" and "The Whistlers." Both were given as encore numbers, and pleased the audience greatly; the piccolo passages in the latter selection being exceptionally fine. Sousa's irresistible marches were naturally a feature of the programme. The solo items were also exquisitely rendered. There was a splendid attendance for the evening -performance, and many wellknown pieces were given. In Sousa's "The Last Days of Pompeii" a masterful interpretation was given of a difficult piece. The crash of the earthquake, followed by the awe-inspiring roar of the frightened multitude, was given in a novel manner, followed by the haunting theme of Nydia's death. The prologue to Sullivan's "Golden Days" wae another piece, an which the band showed wonderful control. Mr. Herbert L. ClaTke gave a good cornet solo rendering of Clarke's "Rride of the Waves, - ' followed with an encore of "The Rosary." The soprano solo, "Will You Love When the Lilies are Dead?" was beautifully sung'by Miss Virginia Root, who responded to the applause by giving as an encore, "All Through the Night." Sousa's band was I particularly good in marches, of which "Liberty Bell," "Stars and Stripes," "King Cotton," and "Hands Across the Sea" were given. The programme concluded with scenes from "Carmen." Thai afternoon and evening new pro- . grammes -will be given .