CITY ORGAN RECITALS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 35, 9 February 1917, Page 2

CITY ORGAN RECITALS.

THE STANDARD OP MUSIC. PROPOSALS FOR THIS WINTER. By invitation of the Mayor, the City organist, Mr. Maughan Barnett, yesterday evening made a statement to the City Council in reply to criticisms that had recently been made of the value of the public organ recitals given regularly at the Town Hall, and of the class of music rendered, the criticism having been to the effect that the recitals were not "popular" because the standard of the music was too high. At the outset, Mr. Barnett stated that during the four years during which he had been city organist conditions had been most unfavourable for working up an interest in music. An epidemic had been succeeded by the strike, and then came the Exhibition, providing excitements which overshadowed in the public mind the organ recitals; and then, after a comparatively brief interval, came the outbreak of war. Vet he was not prepared to accept the verdict that the recitals had not been successful, for the total attendances during the past twelve months had exceeded the attendances of the first year of the recitals by about 500, and had the usual Christmas recitals been held that increase would probably have been doubled. He believed that the average attendance at the recitals would compare very favourably with the attendance at similar functions in any other part of the British Empire, and he could only view the results as very encouraging. Interest in music was not general, like interest in, say, picture shows, and the work of promoting such interest was naturally slow. There were only two forms of lhusieal entertainment that drew fuil houses—that of the highest visiting artists who were known ay name to ever3'body through advertisement, and who were only rare visitors; and that of musical societies, who had large bodies of subscribers, whose attendance did not necessarily denote a keen interest in, and appreciation of, music. Adults, he said, generally had their minds made up respecting their favourite recreation, and it was to the rising generation the Council had to look for hope in promoting interest in organ music. Consequently he emphasised the importance of children's recitals, and proposed to have these regularly month between March and October. He believed that the employment of a vocalist or an artist on some interest other than the organ might add interest to the recitals, and proposed to take advantage of the Council's permission in that direction. The primary schools hi.d taken an encouraging interest in the recitals already, but the support from the secondary schools had not been so satisiactory, while he was surprised to see the recitals so rarely attended by bodies of pupils from the private girls' Bchools about the city. As to the class of music included in the programme, Mr. Barnett remarked that those who icclared the music to be "severely classi■nl" were apparently ignorant of the acts. One or two standard works were ncluded in each programme, and the rest of the programme was devoted to lighter music which would appeal to the average .ntelligence. The editor of the London 'Musical Times," in commenting on the programmes given, had stated that in these Saturday night recitals "there was necessarily a good proportion of light music," and that waa the opinion of a recognised critic. As to the suggestion that operatic music should be played, he would remind people that the organ wae not an orchestra or an operatic company. lie felt that if he acceded further to the request for lighter music he would have the same critics who complained that -.he present programmes were severely lasaical turning round and saying he vas degrading a noble instrument. On the point of the proposed abolishment of the recital, he stated that in the chief centres of England people were striving to establish regular city organists and recitals, recognising that interest In nusic could only be made wider by continuity of effort. "You have one of the nost artistic instruments in the world here," he continued. "To be kept in order it requires constant use. I think it is too valuable an instrument to be allowed to get out of order, and it can only be kept up by an official regularly in •harge of it." After Mr. Barnett had replied to a number of questions by councillors, the Mayor intimated that the organist had agreed to put a 'written report on the -übject before the Council at an early date, when the whole matter could be fully discussed.