Playing By Children A Joy To Hear

Press, Volume C, Issue 29634, 3 October 1961, Page 17

Playing By Children A Joy To Hear

Last night’s concert, the fourth in the Christchurch Schools’ Music - Association festival, gave an excellent opportunity to size up the very real progress being made in music-making in our schools. Emphasising instrumental work, the programme showed both the progress that has been made over the last few years and the development of a child’s musical life. Four school instrumental groups were heard—the Christchurch South Intermediate orchestra, who played’some nursery phymes and “Three Times" by Turk; ' the Clarkville School Pipe i and Drum Band, who set an < example in appearance, de- 1 portment and precise play- : ing; the Linwood Avenue i School plastoflute group, who included interludes of singing; and the colourful group from Redcliffs School. Choral work of the traditional kind was well represented by Spreydon School, for the free open tone and neat phrasing were admirably controlled. The second half of the con- 1 cert showed the work done i on Saturday mornings by the School of Instrumental Music. First of all there were four groups of items from recorders, 45 clarinets, 35 ’cellos and basses and 30 flutes.

Next there were the four orchestras, in order, starting with the beginners’ number four orchestra, who played “Rosemary,” by Woodhouse. The number three orchestra showed ability to rise to a climax and to play even pizzicato passages precisely The number two orchestra caught Purcell’s style very well, and the number one, or Christchurch Youth Orchestra, gave an extremely refined performance of Bizet’s “L’Arlesienne” suite No. 1. Mr Perks knows what he wants, and these young players give it. He achieved much subtlety, and, with an orchestra in which nearly all orchestral instruments are represented, including a sound string section, excellent balance. Although the essentials of fugal playing were well grasped, Bach’s organ Prelude and Fugue in E minor, played by orchestras numbers one and two, was a little unwieldy at times. These last items especially, including some in which all of 400 instrumentalists had parts, provided not children’s playing in which to take a polite interest, but music to be enjoyed. The players’ sheer verve and bravado was a joy to hear. —D.I.M,