BANDS IN CONTEST.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 46, 24 February 1927, Page 18

BANDS IN CONTEST.

FIRST TEST SELECTION.

QUEEN ALEXANDRA'S OWN WINS.

RORF.RTSOX. CORNET CHAMPION.

(By 1 olograph.—Own Correspondent.) W ELLINGTON", this dav.

riii' Wellington Town Hall was crow(le>l Just niL'iit. when tlie A grade band:- played tiie first te*t selection, "Lorizini!. ' Of the thirteen original

entries, four wit'-drew. By a strange coincidence, the \\ oolston Band, which drew Xo. I to play in the hymn contest, again drew the Xo. ] marble. The draw ior oi'.lei of play was as follows: —

Woolston. AN ellington Tramways, Queen Alexandras Own. St. Kilda Municipal, I'ort Nicholson Silver, Ist Canterbury Mounteds (A-hbnrt<>n >. Wnncranui Gar-

rison, Ureymouth Municipal and Kai korai.

The appearance or tiu> pre.-ent Xcw Zealand champions I Wool-ton) was the .-ignal for a great outburst of applause, and. indeed, none of the lunds sutlVred T>y the lack of applause. The night was one of sheer musical delight and enjoyment. Tlie selection "Lortzing'' is formed of excerpts from the operas of the popular old German composer of that name. He was born in ISO.'J. and led a fairly hard life. He was tlie son of an actor, and as a child played in the orchestra of a strolling band of players, and never received a real music lesson, so it is recorded, but what he lacked in education he made up in natural gifts. Lortzing s music is of the refined and romantic type, melodious and graceful. The cornet has some of the gems of Lortzing's creations to play in this selection, the love song of the armourer's daughter from the opera "Waffens Sehmied" (the armourer) being one of the most entrancing melodies one could wish to hear. Other operas drawn upon are 'T ndine"'—a mythical subject concerning a shipwrecked count and a lovely woman he meets on a lonely island, a worthy theme to form a romance—-''Czar and Zimmerman." the story of Peter the Great and his time, '"Der Wildschutz" (The Poacher), and "Biden Schulzen (The Two Sharpshooters).

. "Lortzing" was the test work for the contests at Ballarat (Victoria) and Timaru in 1903.

How the Bands Played.

Following are brief comments on the performances of the bandsmen:—

Woolston (conductor, Mr. R.J. Estall): A massive and dignified opening, solid, and intonation excellent considering the difficulties of the movements. The choruses and ensemble portions were all of splendid volume, and rich musical tone, and the playing was steady and confident. All the solos were well played. The solo cornet was pretty in the beautiful love melody, and the trombone and euphonium were excellent in their solos. The soprano was a feature. A line performance.

Wellington Tramway's Band (conductor, Mr H. Berry): Opened with good tone, but faster than Woolston. A little sliakiness was observable, a,nd the volume was not so big or'the tone so compact as Woolston. The rendering in lighter vein was very good, and the action was generally smart. Soprano a little uncertain in a few difficult obligato ellects. All tlie solos were finely played, the cornet, trombone and euphonium excelling. A sterling performance.

Alexandra's Own. Wanganui (conductor. Mr. 0. Buckley): This band opened in excellent accord, with fine tonal quality, level intonation, unanimity ot action and marked precision. The cornet, trombone and euphonium solos were all artistically interpreted, and the obligato parts were effective. In the big ensembles, there was a ground body of rich toiiL A really good allround rendering, except for minor lip lapses, and a certain momentary unsteadiness in a few intricate passages.

Sr. Hilda Municipal (conductor, Mr. tl. Dixon): A smart opening, a shade 1 a-tcr than \\ oo'.ston. The tone of lighter type, but chaste. A few lip lapses were noted in the early part of the playing. The band was always bright, with tempos on the moving side. Kuphonium was a little faulty at times. The cornet was artistic. The tempos were all faster than those of the preceding bands. A pretty tripping effect was forthcoming in the dance movement, and the finale was of the dashing order.

Port Nicholson Silver Band (conductor, Mr. Johnston): Opened in similar style to St. Kilda, with ringing tone and good workmanship. The intonation not quite clear on occasions, but the general playing was artistic, especially the cornet. The solo player in this band is a singing soloist indeed. There was splendid volume in the ensemble portions, and facility was marked in the execution of passages. The dance was tripping and very neat. A nice operatic style. Generally, an excellent performance.

Ist Canterbury Mounted Rifles, Asliburton (conductor, W. H. Osborne): A musical opening, in which there were some flaws, principally of intonation, as the intricate liarinonv parts were beiiif negotiated. The tonal quality was good., and generally big in ensembles, but not well balanced. The euphonhim cadenza preceding the beautiful cornet movement was faulty, but the cornet solo was nicely interpreted. This band ga\e a generally good account of itself, anil played the 'ending movements splendidly.

Wanganui Garrison (conductor, Mr Watson): Except that the intonation wavered m the intricacies of the tim movement, the playing of this band was well up to standard. The cornet solo work was wonderfully line, and the cadenza a little gem. The dance movement was dainty in character. The trombone and euphonium played effectively. and the general rendering was very satisfactory. The closing "movements were played with fine volume, and not overdone in speed.

Greymoutli Battalion (conductor. Mr. McMasters): The winners of the hymn contest opened in good style, with a line round tone. The intonation was taxed in the early part (hardly a band escaped here.) The euphonium and trombone gave line interpretations of their solos, while the cornet's solo work was quite amongst the best of the evening. The soprano was effective, and all parts went well. A vigorous close < ompleted a most pleasing performance.

, Kaikorai (conductor. Mr. Franklin). A splendid opening movement, with unfortunately one pronounced false note. T.w; and v llne - very fine - euphonium solo lnc ' ine< i to lose tone occasionally. Solo cornet a gem. Harmony

parte in sotto voce very pretty and dance movement dainty. All concluding movements well played. A reallv good performance. The Result. Queen Alexandra's Own (Wanganui) (£40.) ' j Kaikorai (Dunedin) (£2O) 2 •ireyinouth Municipal (£10) .!!!""[ s Woolston and St. Kilda (£s)— Equal". 4 l'ort Nicholson j Ist Cantprbury Mounted and' Wanjranui Harrison—Equal 6 Wellington Tramways '.!'.!!! 7 Mr. Halliwell said the playing was generally good, and, in the case of the leading band, very good. The selection was a musical one, and contained pitlulls in tuning; some had fallen into and others had just scraped through. The playing was close, and lie had to have the shorthand notes read over to him before he could decide which of the two leaders lie would place iirst. 1 he winner had won by consistently good work. Its treatment had been judicious, and _ tin- accompaniments were sympathetic. That was not quite the case with thbands lower down the list.

Ilie victory of Queen Alexandra's Own wa<s well received, the conductor, .Mr. l>uc;dey, having been associated with band contests for many vears.

Solo Competitions,

lhe principal solo competition, the B flat cornet championship, was decided to-day by Mr. Halliwell. Xo fewer than •'!<; drew for places, but two did not play. Eighteen took part at the morning session, and the remainder at the afternoon session. The test number was "The Farewell," a solo which taxed the players severely, having plenty of variety in the way of range" of lip tests in staccato, and the length of movements requiring expressive treatment, and others requiring brilliancv, and the putting forward of the player's best technical equipment. Of the' morniii" competitors, it was generally recognised that the outstanding performances were given by J. Robertson (a Greymouthtrained cornetist, playing in the 'nomination of Wanganui Garrison Band), F. Bowes (Queen Alexandra's Own), 'and J. E. Wills (Invercargill Civic), and this was conhrnied when Mr. Halliwell announced his decisions at the afternoon session. Of the afternoon performances, those of T. Goodall (Port Xieholson)' W. Bowman (Wellington Tramways) and H. Berry (Wellington Tramways) were undoubtedly the best. ihere was a large gathering to hear Air. HalliwelFs decision. Before announcing it, he stated that the playino was similar to that at all contests, of a mixed nature. There were excellent players, and good, bad, and so forth. (Laughter.) Mi - . Halliwell gave interesting and informative advice as to technique and methods in triple tonguin (r . He reminded the competitors that°good breathing did not necessarily mean good phrasing, as some thought. Phrasing was the elocution of music, and he advised bandsmen to cultivate it. Of the players, two had stood out a little. One, the winner, was more expressive and accurate. The other was inclined to be a shade loose on occasions, and was not so artistic as his successful inal. -Ml'. Halliwell said that personally he had enjoyed the competition and the playing. The neW champion won the boys' competition at Cliristchurch in 1924, and again last year at the Dunedin Exhibition contest, when he was still under 18 j ears of age. He also competed in last year's championship, and finished second to W. Stevenson, several times comet champion, who did not compete this year.

Goodall, placed second, is also an ex-champion, both of New Zealand and Australia.

Bowman, third, won the Dominion cornet championship at the Auckland Exhibition contest in 1914.

J. E. Y\ ills, fourth, is a member of the renowned Wills family of instrumentalists in Invercargill. Bowes, next in order, won the boys' championship at tlie Auckland contest of 1D25, W„ H. Osborne, sixth in order of merit, is also an ex-champion.

ihe baritone and ilugel horn solos were won after a keen competition bv K. Smith (Jupp's Silver Band), and H Henderson (Wanganui Garrison) respectively. It was Henderson's first contest and considering that he gained 96 marks out of 100, he must be accounted a fortunate as well as a gifted young soloist.

B !• hit Cornet Championship ("The Farewell"). —J. Robertson (Wanganui Garrison), 90 points, 1? T. Goodall (Port Nicholson), 89 points, 2. Baritone ("Impromptu," Schubert). K. Smith (Jupp's Silver Band), 93 points, 1; W. Xelson (Kaikorai), 92 points, 2.

Flugel Horn ("Pilgrim of Love"). —H. E nderson (Wanganui Garrison), 90 points, 1; G. Lowery (Kaikorai), 95 points, 2.

A Grade Test, first ( << Lortzin° r ").— Queen Alexandra's Own Band, I,° £40 prize; Kaikorai Band, 2, £20; Greymoutli Municipal Band, 3, £10; Woolston and St. Kilda, equal, 4, £5.