MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14758, 30 August 1913, Page 5

MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

(By "Strap."!

In Wednesday's ''Preis'" a leading article, commenting on the Scknee and Art Bill now circulated i:i Parliament, says: —"We are g-ad xo sioo that tho Reform Government, while sca.ous ;ii fostering tho materia! p:ogrtvs of i:.o country, is payin<; aitc.-uicn to the cncou:a-e;:.e::t ef sc:eirc.ric icce. rc-r and artioKc ca.turc. ' I coraia.Jva;;VvO with tho s..TninK-nt l>v ti.e wriwr: ii c „ t j\ o rind that i i«. ii c o <_ t i <v "tie man ill | o i loC t c is under co i o l L i ~ i sec-m to v t v \ v c i i * cluclps. ;ij d ' i 1 nt t of music, \\ \ \ i , ii i \ i o Lt i recognised at all m Ne'.v '/., \\ lvii t'iu in ii oi (ii II i jo to warm toy i iJi. il b<. ij gain, then 1 t jii lii I o i uu I>i i' be raised t) ii i i i n i l•, p v j. tion in tk nn ioi n> i ments ha c< t ibl it cul i librnries to bi i v d " li a c i uio Ciiu i i vii i n it i ii i !„( t in and fht n*.) I I>\ (\ ( i \ i i i L L :>o:nmMuit\ nil Ii miis ji w- tt I oo!itin:iall\ lon s vi ii ii ii -.Kissing to guide and develop native talent under conditions lip-to-dalo and beyond the powers of individual teachers. Go\ernment aid alone, or the remote chance of private benevolence could establish and maintain such institutions upon an artistic U;v-i> I have proved before that they could not be Keif-supporting for yens to coiue. if commercial considerations were allowed to prevail. Such institutions, in the first place, are a National School or Music and a -National Orchestra, Musical circles in every centre should leave no stone unturned to t«;ain tho ear of the Ministry and of our legislative bodies in tho interests of unisicai an in New Zealand.

Not many years will pass- when, for thf oqui-rnent of every "school, a cinen.atcyraph will be deemed just as indispensable as now is the ■ blackboard, i and in many branches of education it* installation will be a boon inestimable. I n some parts of the world the gramophone* is already used tor teaching Foreign languages; a pure and correct \ pronunciation, it is said, is acquired by tho students irritating the "tinned" sjx-edi of mil Frenchmen or Germans. L:tt!o is yet hoard of its application for purposes of musical tuition, though teachers of the future will assuredly avail themselves of the advantages to be derived from model performances'by vocal and instrumental artists, as soon, as mechanical appliances' have been" perfected to the" "point of delivering absolutely true, clear reproductions, free from extraneous noises. There is already on the market a so far costly electro-pneumatic instrument, which reproduces with unerring fidelity down to tho most minute detail tho same pieces of music for piano or ogan played by a number of leading virtuosos. You can study and compare tho merits, the faults, and peculiarities of each performer, and incidentally your own. You may even have the same few bars repeated until the whole family is driven out of the house. There can be little doubt that by these or similar means, quicker and better results could bo obtained in the study of rnusio than hitherto by woixl of mouth only, or the unavoidably unpractised hands of busy teachers.

I totally disapprove of tho stylo of criticism that provoked tho claim for damages by Mr Fuller against the "Triad," and what the alleged meanness of the claimant has to do with a review of his vocal accomplishments 1 am still too dense to see. ■ But it is just as well to have the authority of a judge of tho Supremo Court in tho ruling that a-. critic is perfectly justified in expressing his views, ir unbiased by malice which has to bo pr6ved, in terms much less flattering than are ordinarily indulged in in the most plain-spoken or even aggressive criticisms of our Now Zealand papers. 1 favour no petty. fault-finding, and am rather too much addicted to erring in the direction.of'leniency, with many n superlative afterwards regretted, but the critic has a public duty to perform to the l>est of his ability, and the wrath and subsequent offensive attitude of only too many of our performers at the mildest word of censure is as childish as it is disgusting: "Be thankful, rather," remarked an English paper recently, "for where would you bo if we said all we could 1"

My good friend "Cyrano" desires my opinion on Mr Henry Arthur Jones's declaration that "the- instructive precision with which a powerful actor gave value arid full effect to a line —even a lino of ordinary prosd—was every wjiit as fine and delicate as the master-stroke of a violinist." I am an admirer of H.A.J.'s plays, but regret to cay that I consider the quoted sentence really too obscurely worded to be wrestled with. "Instructive, precision" is not really an outstanding merit in music by itself, and what is the master-stroke of tho violinist? There may bo sentences as powerful in their appeal as music is, I grant; they apply, however, to narrowly-defined emotions. Why, 1 have known the few syllables contained in the not uncommon remark i( I love you" to produce an effect unsurpassable, and even a hint infrequently conveyed by the single word "cheque , ," has raised mc to a state of bliss. So I am not likely to underrato the power and music of the spoken word, if well-chosen and applied.

There has been of late a prolonged controversy at Home regarding the abolition of the chants in the services of tho Church of England, and I quote some interesting remarks that have fallen from Sir Walter Parratt, the Master of the King's Musick, on. that subject, at the* recent meeting of the Royal College of Organists. He ea:d—"A Tory strong attempt is being mado to' get rid altogether of Anglican chants. 1 may tell you that at St. George's, Windsor, plain-song finds itp place every week, and I enjoy it thoroughly; but enjoy it every day I confess I could not. In the first place, I don't think plain song is suited at all to boys' voices; then again, for tho Psalms it is so monotonous. I do not intend to sacrifice all my heritage of beautiful Anglican chants which we have had for over 300 years. . I shall fight against that in the strongest way possible. We must not forsake our Church music, which has an extraordinarily fine record'; at the same time we must avail ourselves- of tho development of modern art."

A good story comes from Stuttgart, where considerable amusement wa? c.insed by a stupid blunder nearly perpetrated by the management of the Royal Opera Houso. They proposed tc give a gala performance in honour of the Prince-Recent of Bavaria, cxp.-ctpd to visit the Royal Court. Thfe Opera chosen was Adolpho Adam's "Si jet.-us Roi!" (If I were King!) Fortunately tho idiotic plan was frustrated by timely intervention.

As conlcl be foreseen, the new I.tws affecting performing rights are nivinp trouble in Germany, and the publisher; are on tho side of the public because the excessive charges for performances injure tho- sales. The German rmi=ic publishers charge tho Composers' "Union trith the rosponsibilitv for t!«csf exeseive charges, and publishere have already their membership, including the firms of Breitkopf and Haertel in Jjeipzig. and Bote and Bock in Berlin. The same thing is sure to happen else■where.

Madame Clara Butt, xrho is supposed to bo tho next celebrity' in music visiting these shores, is said to possess a gold pin marked ■with tho notes. d, t>, a, and a crotchet rest (why a crotchet), a present from her husband. This is the solution of the riddle— DEAREST.