THE WORLD OF MUSIC.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 224, 21 September 1935, Page 7 (Supplement)

THE WORLD OF MUSIC.

NOTES OF THE DAY.

FROM FAR AND NEAR.

(By ORPHEUS.)

According to advices received from Australia, the American tenor Richard Crooks is to open an Australian tour in May, 1936.

Bernard Shaw, in those days when he was a music critic, was walking along Regent Street to the Queen's Hall. An organ grinder touched hie cap to him. "Press!" said G.B.S.

A concert given by choirs drawn from the principal secondary schools will be given in the Town Hall 011 Wednesday evening next, September 25. Under the direction of Professor Hollinrake, the young people will present a most interesting programme of combined choral singing. These concerts, which have now been held annually for several years past, are of the greatest importance in the musical life of the community, for they are giving the rising generation an opportunity to perform good music and thereby learn to appreciate one of the finest things in life. In addition to tha massed choral items, several of the individual schools will give items under their own conductors.

' The August number of "Music in New Zealand" contains the usual number of interesting articles. Mary Martin writes about "Sibelius and the Symphonic Forms"; Nina Langley, in an article, "On Self Expression in Music," contends that the highest praise that can be given to a player is to say that the work was given as the composer would have played it. C. R. Allen writes about "Lyrics for Songs," and there is a well-timed editorial dealing with the tactics of concert agents. Reviews of new music and news in brief about musical doings In various parts of the Dominion are also dealt with.

In an address to Hawera Rotarians Mr. Stanley Oliver, tho conductor of the Royal Wellington Choral Union, who was musical judge at the competitions held in Hawera recently, made a strong appeal for greater encouragement of New Zealand talent by New Zealand. "You have plenty of talent in this country—some beautiful voices—and there is no need to go overseas to secure your radio artists," he said. Mr. Oliver went on to say that a Wellington lady, who could not get a radio engagement in New Zealand, had gone to England about a year ago, and, after singing for the 8.8.C., had been invited to accept the post of radio instructress in either singing or speech culture.

The "Daily Express," dated May 21. riys: "A man to whom England and the world owe a great debt gave a 94th birthday party at his Hainpstead flat yesterday." The reference is to Mr. Edward Hodson Bavley, J.P. The "Express" points out that Mr. Bayley invented fire escapes, water carts and other utilities used in London. But the debt to which the writer refers is due to the substantial support given by Mr. Bayley to the original production of well known operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. It is added: "The man who helped to give the world the most famous light operas of all time is proud of the fact that he was singing in the choir when the Albert Hall was opened in 1871, and is still singing to-day. When I arrived yesterday he was warbling with gusto a duet of 'Night of Stars, Night of Love,' with his daughter, accompanied by his wife." His sons and grandsons, some of whom were present to congratulate him, scatter the Empire in Canada, Burma, India, East Africa. Victor Bayley, who built the Hliyber Pass railway, which Kipling said could not be done, is one of his sons. Another is Commander Bayley. who became famous when he rescued Mrs. Pawley from bandits in China."

A writer in "John o' London's Weekly" for June 15 remarks that "a final *c ! is a useful maker of artificial distinctions,' and gives as an example "artist" and "artiste." He says: "We all know what an artist is, though in modern English the word is much narrowed in significance. It once meant what we should now call an 'artificer,' an 'inventor.' But 'artiste' is the term used in musical circles and. on the stage. Unfortunately, the very 'e' that makes the convenient distinction is apt to lead us astray. 'Artiste' looks so like a French feminine that we are tempted to use it for ladies only. But it holds equally equality (or 'should it be equity?) between the sexe3. The artiste may run the whole gamut from deep bass to high soprano; the artist neither sings nor acts, but confines his activities for the most part to palette and easel." A correspondent joins issue with this contention in a letter appearing in the issue of June 29, thus: "Professional musicians and actors will disagree profoundly with your contributor ... in the distinction he insists upon between 'artist' and 'artiste.' One cannot contemplate referring to. (say) Eva Turner or Sir Thomas Beecliam as 'artistes'! They and their peers are artists in the highest sense of the word. The term 'artiste' is applied in the profession only to vaudeville performers, acrobats, trick- cyclists, and the like, and it is often used in reference to hairdressers, cooks, etc." It would be interesting to see some comment upon the use of such words as "accompaniste," "elocutioniste," "pianiste." One feels that those who use that last word on programmes would call a table napkin a "serviette"!

Labels are sometimes applied by composers to their music to explain what the opus is intended to express. For instance, ifl a waltz is entitled "Moonlight 011 the Mudflat," you may be able to smell, mentally, of course, the odours peculiar Jo such a locality—provided you have sufficient imagination. An American journal recently had a good anecdote regarding this class of "pro-o-ramme" music. A distinguished Italian composer is quoted as having said: "One day, at a friend's house, I saw his little daughter (whom we all called 'Jolly Teresa'), running and dancing round the garden in pursuit of a butterfly. This suggested to me the notion of composing a piano piece, which I '.arried out the same day. I decided that, before publishing it, I would play it to the other witnesses of the scene without telling them anything as to the source of my inspiration. When I asked them what the piece had suggested to them, the replies were: (a) A sunset over the sea; (b) Count Ugolino's death from starvation (in Dante); (c) Negroes dancing in fetish; (e) the scene of the bathing girls in Tasso's 'Jerusalem Liberated.'" I remember hearing many years ago the celebrated organist, W. T. Best, play a descriptive piece on the Christcliurch Cathedral organ. The programme explained at length what it was all about. I did, my best to follow, but got left well behind, for what I took to be "the clods falling on the coffin lid" turned out to be the filial "chorus of angels in Heaven!"