MUSIC.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 799, 23 April 1910, Page 9

MUSIC.

'; ~".-;■ (By ; Treble Clef.)

Japanese Vocal Music, . . . "Cynic" writes to the Sydney "Sunday Times": —"Iα the interesting article which was published by : you on March 27,'tc-o rnucu credit was given to the Japanese for their alleged great 1 advance in vocal music. The Japanese in tho United States had a chance ]ust.a year ago to show what they could do at the great Peace Concert, which wa*s held in New York. There was a Japanese chorus. This account was published in a leading New York paper:—'The most interesting feature of the concert was the singing of the Japanese. They sang in unison. There was a piano accompaniment, and they fell from a pitch notwithstanding tho accompaniment. Tho accompaniment of the piano had no effect upon their aural nerves. They still continued to ■ sing, off pitch, with utter and absolute indifference to the effect. Some of the voices of the women wore very powerful, of soprano quality, and ono of an excellent alto, and evidently some of them had been taking singing but their plaintivo 'chants, all sung monotonous—that is, to us monotonous—unison, had a peculiar effect, of course a repellant one, as would naturally bo the caso to tho. musical ear of the West—in fact, as far as music is concerned, it was. merely of;a primitive kind, and tho instruments that wero used subsequently for Uio solo; accompaniment'of one of ■the women were of a rudimentary type, not tuned —again to say according to our theory of music—and accompanied by an instrument of tho banjo order played with a plectrum. It was an interesting study of the latest development of Oriental musicj and we say latest development because there must have been- some' influence brought to bear on what Jliey were doing through their study of music with us. Some of the voices sang in strict unisotio tone, two , or three at a time, but the total effect was weird, and, from a music point of view, incomprehensible; probably as incomprehensible as our music must have boon to them. , "

The Kcv.'E H. Mosse, rector, and Mr. H. E. Wall, organist, of St.- Paul's, .Covent Garden, have started.a movement to celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of Dr. Thomas Arne, the composer, by placing a tabkt and coloured window in the church. Dr. Arne, whose stirring setting of "Rule Britannia" will last as long as the British Ernpixe, was born in King Street, London, on March 12, 1710, was baptised in St. Paul's Church, died in Bow Street, and was buried in the chilrchyard of St Paul's Church in 1778.

The Relinlng of Vaudeville. . • The admirablo artist who sang as Elsa in "Lohengrin," Senta in "The Flying Dnichman," and Elizabeth in ■ "Tannhauscr" with Mr. Geo. Murgrovo's Grand Opera Company at tlie Theatre Royal in 1901, is now appearing at the Coliseum, London. Madanio Ella Russell, in accepting a big music hall engagement, lias followed tho example of two other operatic singers who -ire well known in Australia—Madame Albani and Miss Alice Esty. Mario Tempest, Haydeii Coffin, and'the late Sims Reeves "wont over" to tho music hall before Madame Albani—Queen Victoria's favourite singer—yielded to the temptation of £200 a woek |