MUSIC.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 104, 25 January 1908, Page 13

MUSIC.

W: v^:.;!!'^^ [Br Teebh! Clef.] , > 1

Bach's Organ Music. ' 1 * > ■> Mr Mark Hambourg, who has been spealfr . ' mg lip • so: boldly• m defence ■ of : pianoforte ■ '■? transcriptionn ot Bach's organ .musics will • " incur thereby the wrath and. indignation ofl '-> ■■ '■ • many,, of the - elect,: says English "Truth";■ •■ 1 . but . it. does . not 'necessarily ■ follow. account; that lus : views are unworthy of'con-< ,■ iV; ■ ■ sidyration. To bo perfectly .candid; there is- - no, doubt that, a. vast amount of nonsense is written and tallifed oil this question of tran- ' scriptions and adaptations' by: superior l per- 1 ' • .t soiiSj. who ignore in thisfmatter-the practice, - ~ of somo of tho greatest masters themselves;; ;■ • ■ 1 orhaps Mr Hambourg goes too tar when ' he. that. music sounds ■ positively, better on tho r piano than when played on the instrument for which it was intended There aio, la point of fact, many passages m Bach's organ fugues' which can-* : J >- not, by any possibility,'bo perfectly repre-', sontcd, on. tho piano—passages dependent for their-, whole character and effect on tho fact?' " l that ..they, woro written for tlie organ and - designed to bo played on it But It does not follow that^in,default, of: organ ' « ' crime., is committed .m:- playing them' oil 1 ' the piano. I am not upholding wilful'de-, 1 1 partures frpm-tho composer's intentions,''nor' ' arn ", 1^ 1B P 03et l to. defend.: many ("arrange^-*.' ments which aro An real'tv travesties But I it is undoubtedly the fact that tho least . . squeamish in such matters have usually Ijeeuj 1 ' ! "10; groat composers, themselves.':' Bach's- own' v -i ■■ ' > p.ractjco. in tne .matter vtt'as- 'quite • at' vari- ' -' i ance, .with, that of his: latter-day defenders.' rlo,transferred, his works: from one medium' to another with tho ' greatest freedom. J* oz: \ r .t,:thought nothing, of,making additions- i'. ' " to the score of "Tho Messiah " Warner rei wrote the ending of one of Gluck's gioatesb- 1 ' operas.. Liszt, as we all, know,- made' ar- ■ 1 >•- ■ rangements.by tho dozen"including many-of' \\aguer, to which Wagnei himself v.as a! willing party. Brahms not onlv wroto a/ piano solo arrangement/of'the the left hand, only), but did that once which ' your latter-day purist would reckon barbar- 1 pus incited, namely* played a njovement o£ - v r .. a, Beethoven quartet as a. piano- solo at ar '' • • , .concertv, That was, certain!}!' not an oxamnls which one, would wish to see generaJlv fol*. - : ' ..P u t,. it illustrates, in a ': ; ' striking way the widely different viawf; ' > .which may ,be . held concerning the expedi .! endy 'of such'practiced ' . > ; -.. : y, . Melba's Rival. ' ■The opera-season has just closcd. (s3ys thf V' :! :• London musical critic of- tho "Sydney Mom- ; ing: Herald- amid'scenes.'of,:the wildest oil-'•'i-y/r.'i ~ thusiasm, isuch scenes, ■ indeed, ':as'i aro' with- " , out parallel in the annals of opera m Londoi " ' ~ —at. least, so say > tho critics, v>'ho aresupposed to know then- Covent (jarden. 1 I cou« - ■ - less, I - have ■ never witnessed' such:■ a riot-of 'enthusiasm in any theatre. ■ "La Tetrazzirii'V' : • , has triumphed gloriously.-ii Three weeks ag<( ' ■ the seasou was. languishing. On a certain • i Saturday. nighty "La; Traviata'.V'was: put' on." ; An unknown®singer was billed in; tho chief .' chaiac-ter. . The houso was.but half;full^ There was-only a languid-interest in.'earlyf' i .rl-.V Italian, and ".Tetrazzini". had never been' - ; heard of. On a Saturday night/! just -'.three; : ; . \yeeks' lateral .thousands of people were re-) fused?admission;;.' patrons of tho gallery gobJ in,after; waiting for entrance from 9 o'clock ■ . a.m.'until-7 at- night, and lit the end of. tho • ' performance a frenzied crowd, most of-whom ■ had paid • abnormal prices' ! for their 1 ' seats, . cheered the Same;' singer' to tho echo,'yelled, v--."-'' stamped, 'roared, and screamed,- and called her before the curtain seventeen times after " , tho "Mad Sceno"- ; from "Lucia." In my /■ ' : judgment; 'tho Jady is a great artist, and on» of the most exciting singers I h.ive heard. The voic® is- of tho' quality to. which one atn ■ taches the term "brilliant.!- \lt is of clear/■ ■ , ringing timbre, ; and ! its upper register, especially, is'wonderfully ■ effective, so that i" : tho\ staccato notes" ,"in'alt'*'often demanded-' . of soprani leggie'rri are attacked with-unusu-i ajly percus'Sivc!'effect, and'ring out'like iso - many silver bells: The> famous -"E 'm alt"- . which ends tho\"Mad Scono" is a glorious-' ' , note that issues-as. from some fnll-throatcd ■ ■' ' x bird.~- Her shakd ; is cquallyjhirdlike.j 'I hayo , not, forgottenMelba's exquisite "smoothrfess. of| production in I prefer the Aus- ; traliaii-siugef iu poinfc of fimsn of style,- and . of technique. There hs omv advantage, howovor, iiv favour 'of tho new. singer which must bo conceded. She has a ; warmth: of : temperament that enables her to breathe new life, into the old music. In tho spruii?' sho' : will 'como again. Tho point is, will Melba ii,lso conio? If so, she will: have tho rare oxperibhee, for her, of alternating her roles with a prima donna who has made one of tha ' most sensational successes on recordi and who will havo undoubtedly a great follow- - illg. ; " ' ; " ' -v;j Delegates and tlis Organ, i At the close of the Musicians' Conference 5 on Thursday Mr. Maughan Barnett delighted > the delegates from abroad, many of whom : • i w'ere church organists, with an improvisation on the Town Organ. During the sitting < of the Conference the'tuner was at work on, ! the instrument, and tho famt notes Of affurL r ■ chord' now and then, would ; permeate thsi , i concert chamber lybere tho delegates! wero ' assambled. Up would go musicianly beads, j arid'nods and pleased /smiles -would follow. : : -3j Then through the windows on tho opposito .' j sida of'the roomwould como cruel sound— spasms from the city trams, and. ! tho smila v/ould chango to expressions of artistic hor- ! I ror!' The chance in th 6 evening to enjoy the . i notes of tho famous organ free and without . 1 hindrance was the reward that c'onies with j such great pleasure after hard and honest; ■ j work. 'Mr. Barnett was cheered.' . V.. 'j Some Ccnfcrcnco Items. ! 1 ] A Dunediu delegate, at the Conference of- .-•{ Musicians' on. Thursday had a rather unex- " ! 'j pected reason for.a lack of vocal instruction : • ] among the young 'ill iDtago, Ho said that. ./I dciwn his way. they were 'mostly Scotch -'-' ..j (laughter),'-arid there was consequently <»:' ' ( loss demand for boys for church choirs than' i in such a place as Ohristc'uirch, for examplo.-i • The bo.vs looked upon singing as girlish, and 1 ] ! 1 thought their special prerogative was vte'-'-.v ;| bawl at all times—baivl as they'would on . ! : i the football field I Various, •. j other interesting anecdotes were told by! ' | -visiting delegates. One gentleman said thafe', ! ' ! out of G3 school pupils he had examined, nino 1 had absolutely no ear. They could not , !J sound tlm major scale, and then when thejC .-! •were asked to sound the, minor, well—(bore ■ < ror-stricken cries from writhing : ouc of whom, recovering rapidly, 1 Weaklyi sjiggosted it must' have heen like tho notes . of the niinah!) Tho delegate cojitinned that once no was asked why ho could'not'tcacli a person ; . with-.no "oar" mcchanical inflection i ui singing since ho cotild instruct similarly in .elocution ? (Laughter.) "I, of course, ex- > plained." ho said, "that there was a difference between an involuntary inflection of tha : voico and an arbitrary one." (Laughter aiii, 1 continued applause.) Other teachers of music in tho schools sometimes said thev wero ablo to instruct —thi;y had. learned) music "for a week,V or had attended classc? j for three months! "Onco," said tlie dclew gato, "I heard a growl comiiig from some i boys in a school chorus. :I. asked them why . .•! thev sang thus. They replied, 'please, sir.' 1 ' ' all the boys havo to sing an. octavo lower i than tho girls'." (Loud laughter.) "Tho-' ; only qualification the hoys have in regard to . vocal work in Otago," concludcil tho- delogate, "is to shout 'crock card for tho races,' or 'Star'." (Laughter.) .; Notes. ' It is stated that tho largest organ iu tho ; I world will shortly ho ercctcd in a concert hall in Brooklyn, Now York. It will have iivo manuals, 140 speaking stops—tho .Sydney organ has 128—and an expression', peilal,'which will allow tho performer to play passages written for tho foot with varied^ 1 force. Tho hall in which it is to be placed" will seat -1500 persons. Fifteen of tho loading organists of Europe havo beer, engaged to give opening -recitals. . Mr. Uric Caerlyon Bennett, of Christ;-' church, Now Zealand, who wont to England some two years ago, has (says "Tho British- | Australasian") been studying singing with' I'rofessor lsodoro de Solla and Dr. Hamilton ' llobiuson at tho Guildhall School of Music, and has also had somo stago oxperionc©. lit. • will loavo for Milan about- tho end of Jiinu. J aiy for further tuition iu singing omior ; nor Sahatini. Aftnv eight or nino mantlig in ! . > Italy ho will probably spend a fow mohtJii ' ' iu Gormany, and also stay » while in Francebefore returning to Nga; ) ;