THE MUSIC WORLD.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14916, 14 March 1914, Page 8

THE MUSIC WORLD.

(By "Strad.")

For some years past I have pleaded in this column for the erection of a Town Hall worthy of, and indispensable for, our city, and now, when many eyes see with mine and the project has almost arrived at the stage of competitive planning, 1 feel impelled to laiso my voice again in regard to matters of purely musical concern, affecting any probable scheme. Twice were quoted the official returns of the sums earned in Wellington and Auckland by the letting of their halls in proof that the revenue obtainable from that source is substantial enough to cover the interest on a large portion of the prospective capital cost. It is, therefore, reasonable to .study also the musical interests. The choice of a site affects the musical requirement only so far as that it should l>e easy of access from tlie principal tram routes, and escape as much as feasible the noises unavoidable along main arteries of the town. In that respect Victoria square, lying between two busy streets and tramlines, is by no means an ideal haven for music. Even if the big hall were placed in the centre of the buildings, the smaller one would still b? exposed to great disturbances. Along Victoria street, particularly, travels almost incessantly—in addition to tram and other tratlic —a stream of motors, with their ingeniously hideous clangs and -whistles, that is not likely to diminish in times to come. Having raised this point, I would then suggest the most careful consideration to be extended ta the construction of the two halls. Although in respect to the sizo of tlie laigo one we may presumably desire to keep pace with the other centres, it depends much upon the internal scheme whether the ultimate result will, musically speaking, be satisfying. Fioiii all accounts, neither in Wellington nor in Auckland has this vital result been achieved, and unless architects make a special study of acoustics, and learn tho principles upon which tho best concert halls of recent origin have been built at Home, failure is almost a foregone conclusion. As might bo expected, so able and conscientious an aiehiteetural authority as tho adjudicator on tho Town Hall plans for Dunedin has pointed out the importance attaching to tho problem, and it is significant to gather from his report that ''the competitors do not seem to Tiave grasped what he meant in asking that tho hallk should be designed in harmonic proportions, though he had explained that all halls celebrated for their good acoustic properties, have their dimensions in a simple numerical relationship. None of tho designs prove an acceptance of this principle.'' The danger that similar blunders may bo perpetrated in Christchurch lives, therefore, not only in my own imagination. But it is not merely a question of dimensions alone. Its internal shape, tho materials to be used for the walls, tho construction of the stage, tho erection of one or moro galleries (if any) ventilation and heating, all are great factors demanding, as Mr John Lyman Faxon, of .boston, the designer. I bolieve, of the finest American concert hall, expresses it ".something more from tho arcliitect than a superficial knowledge of acoustic laws." 1 remember how, for many years, in Leipfcig, the old "Gewandhaus," an utterly inadequate and incommodious structure, was retained for tho famous concerts. 6imply on account of its acoustic perfection, and the fear that a new erection might prove inferior in that respect. At last, some twenty-five years ago, yielding to the pressure of a quickly-growing population, the building of a concert hall, meeting modern requirement*, was reluctantly sanctioned, as it happened, with * brilliant success, thanks to architects who were masters of every scientific method in applied acoustics. The present hall has served, I believe, as a model for many other similar erections. Tho wisest course to tako would be, in my humble opinion, to send Home an eminently qualified-architect with a view to studying on the spot the best halls for sound in tho Old, and perhaps, tho .New World. Tho next hest, to obtain, in any caso, the plans of these, beforo the buildings in Christchurch are to be commenced. As any good scheme will commend itself to the citizens, that does not materially increase the burdens of tbe ratepayer, 1 may mention that among other savings possible, when a town hall is available, figures also a -c et something like £250 a year for the use of Hi 3 Majesty's Theatre for organ recitals.

Tho London papers commenting on the first performance of "Parsifal" on February 2nd, at Covent Garden, where it was apparently staged with a magnificence surpassing any previous operatic production on its boards, are all unanimous in describing it as one of the greatest musical events erer witnessed there. In concert form it was familiar to many, even in the great provincial centres, but as the "Morning Post" says:—"Those who have heard the music only in concert form must be prepared to change entirely tho impression of its effect; wheni heard in its proper surroundings we find its meaning and appeal completely altered. It falls on the ear as a perfect, inseparable part of the action." But whereas the samo journal proceeds with the declaration "that it is no futile effort of a worn-out brain, that in fact Wagner in his 'Parsifal' music is more highly inspired than in anything else he wrote, with moments reaching tho sublime," the "Times" contends that in many respects "one is reminded of the fact that 'Parsifal' is the work of his old age. His strength was ebbing, but tho sincerity of his purpose sufficed to produce a work which has created a deeper reverence for opera than any of his earlier masterpieces could achieve. Even if we do not feel 'Parsifal' to be Wagner's greatest work, its unique beauty and loftiness are incontestable." And the "Daily Telegraph"' puts tho case still more strongly:—"The steady rising to a climax of Wagner's creative faculty stopped short of 'Parsifal' —there, bluntly, is the meaning. 'Parsifal,' with all its wealth of beauty of music, with all its magnificence of stagecraft, with all its tremendous emotionalism, and its appeal to man in the 'religious' sense, is not the climax of Wagner's creative faculty, although he rarely sustained so a level nf wondrous beauty as in the last act."

The details of the staging and the actual performance aro of minor interest to us, and the story of "Parsifal" has appeared in this column a few weeks ago. Tho "Daily Telegraph" describes vividly its effect upon the vast audience. ''From floor to ceiling, from the front row of orchestral stalls to the tonmost bench in the far-off gallery was never an empty seat. And what an effect. "The tense silence was in itself unduly impressive, quite unlike that on other occasions. It was the silence of nwe partly, and the speaking silence induced by the excitement due t£ -the fulfilment of a long-pent-up desire. It was eloquent. Seme attempts at applause even at the end of the act 6 were instantly suppressed by determined hissing."

Rarely has a cast of singers been so uniformly eulogised as the German artists entrusted with tho principal roles. "Madame P]va yon dor Osten as Kundry," says '"The Times," "is the possessor of one of the most beautiful mezzo-soprano voices of modern times; in the men were secured the finest singers possible." The other papers cbimJß in in much the same tone of admiration. It is interesting to note that (Miss Rosina Buckman was one of the chorus of '.'Flower Maidens," and

another New Zealander, Mr Frank Foster, represented the fourth Esquire of the Holy Grail. Needless to say, the great English world graced tho memorable event by their presence, foremost of all Queen Alexandra in the Royal box. Incidentally,. "Parsifal" may prove in the long run a costly luxury for Covent Garden, which, 'as the "Daily Telegraph" reasons, "has set itself a standard in singing from which there can be no falling away. No more can one tolerate the casual casting of an opera of real importance, or the incongruities of stage management, that often in the past have had to be faced. Henceforth one will have every right to expect in London opera a magnificence of presentation that shall satisfy the most exacting critic." And thus "Parsifal"' may exert a farreaching influence upon the future of opera in London and convince even the most sceptical that it need not be quite the weak compound that is just fit to be dished up for the delectation of foreigners and such-like.