COMPETITIONS.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19940, 29 May 1930, Page 8

COMPETITIONS.

REVIEW BY JUDGES.

STANDARD GENERALLY GOOD.

General satisfaction with the work they had seen and heard at the Christchurch Competitions, which concluded last night, was expressed by the three judges to a Press reporter last evening.

"The standard of work in my sections has been above the average," said Mr Sydney Brash, of Sydney, judge of tho vocal and instrumental sections.

"Usually in competitions one usually finds outstanding sections, but in Christchurch thero seems to be a good general level of efficiency. For example in tho vocal work the splendid enunciation, especially of vowels, is evident. This points to care on the part of the teachers. Voice production seems to bo along the right lines. Good Piano Work. "Another thing which has struck me is the excellent choice of the competitors' own selections; hardly once durine the session have I noticed anything 0 'trashy' or inappropriate in them. , • 1 ~K"Tho pjauo work is as good as obtains in similar circles in England and in Australia. Some of tho senior students displayed technique and interpretative powers of a high order. "In tho choral work I would have liked to liavo seen some of tho bigger choirs competing. In the New South Wales and Queensland Competitions festivals tho choral sections are something well worth hearing. AVhen I was in Brisbane, two years ago, I judged five choirs, each with eighty voices, tbo test being Tannhauser's 'Choral Fantasie,' arranged by Percy Fletcher. . Afterwards I conducted the massed choir and tho effect of a body of four hundred highly trainod singers wa.s e!cc"mV Brash added that the drawing up of the svllabus and tho grading of tho pieces showed that those responsible for it were fully alive to the difficulty of the task. As for organisation he had not yet met with more courtesy or efficiency in the executive committee of anv Competitions He mentioned that his wife, who came to New Zealand on a concert tour in 1027, would have come over again this year but for tho difficulty of organising a tour just at present. If he came to New Zealand next year she would probably make a concert tour then. Her stage name as a vocalist is Alice Prowse. At the conclusion of last night s session Mr Brash thanked U». committee for askinp him to act tA judge. He paid tributes to tho work of the secretary, Mr J. F. Hall, and of the stage manager, Mr H Sweney.

Value of Competitions. "Although competitions do not always attain tho highest standard, m art, thero is no other way in which young people can train themselves for a public appearance," commented Mr Clement May, of : Wellington, judge m tho elocution soctions. "Thus it would be a pity if they lapsed for want of public support. . . "I do not disparage the training which loads to the degrees of A.T.C.L. and L.T.C.L., but these degrees are not meant to be taken and cannot be taken as a criterion of art. This training enables them to gain a good knowledge of tho poets and o good general knowledge of English, but they could learn this from any good schoolmaster. . Knowledge of a subject and the expression of it are two very different things.

■•"•' Good Intonation. "As to the present competitions, the moßt pleasing feature of the work in my section is the intonation. There is almost a complete absence of the so-called nasal accent and it speaks well for the teaching. The speaking is the best I have heard so far in New Zealand. The weakness is in imagination, and in tho general conception and characterisation of the story. This