THE COMPETITIONS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1270, 27 October 1911, Page 9

THE COMPETITIONS.

11l VOCAL, INSTRUMENTAL, AND ELOUUTIONARY. ill I u SECOND DAY'S RESULTS. j| in A lively interest is being manifested in llio New Zealand Competitions Society's carnival now in full .swing at llio Town Hall. There was a very fair at- y tendance at llio Concert Chamber yester- ]t day morning to hear the young ladies clip M into the elocutionary difficulties of A Shakespeare. The particular study set ]; was the famous letter speech "Macbeth," y and the soliloquy which follows—a speech |i in which the workings of a deep and sub- |j tlo mind must be conveyed to give full j] value to the trouble that it pre- \\ sages in (ho tragedy of which it is c the keynote. Some people have been ], heard to complain that those, responsible (, tor the svllahus have set studies alto- (< gefher too diiiicult for those likely to ij compete and refer to this speech and t'lio C soprano soli of Wcdno.sdav as instances. U As a matter of fact little would bo achiev- '1 ed in selling studies of a simplo order. It is the object of competitions to tono C up the music and literary taste of stu- Idents and not to bring them down to tho dead level of mediocrity. s Anoiher interesting competition yester- l< day was that for baritones, who were given tl Wolfram's romance, "0 Star of live," I! from Wagner's opera "Tannliauser"—a t; very good, if rather sombre, number, yet C one, embodying seopo for romantic and li dramatic tfeatmonl. The talent engaged i> in 1 his vocal, tilt was only fair in vocal 11 quality and there were sad lapses in j\ enunciation, pronunciation, and phrasing, « but in four or five instances the interpretation was quite good—in one notably so. 1; It is unfortunate, perhaps that a par- 2 ticular. translation was not nominated by ci those who drafted the syllabus. One was obviously so much better than the other n that it gave some of the singers a slight b advantage over the others. "In for a d Penny, in for a Pound" is evidently tho p motto of some of the competitors, as it F was noticed that one of the competitors ii in the baritone contest' figured as a comic ri singer the previous day. (i Other competitions which took place w yesterday were as follow:—l'iano solo li imider 12); violin solo (over 1C and under c 21), and the sacred solo for sopranos. c< The detailed results arc as follow:— v HE-CITATION (GIRLS UNDER 11). p Recitation (girls under 11)— Test Piece, p "The Unseen Playmate," from "A Child's Garden of Verses,'" 11. L. Stevenson. First prize, silver medal; second prize, bronze, medal; third prize, certificate.—Entrants— j Cynthia Eggers, Newtown; Jean Muir, Karaka Hay; lsobcl 11. Welch, Welling- J ton; Cecil Haines, Wellington; Hazel P. j, Jeffrey, Island Hay; Marion M. Samson, Island Day; .Moira Thompson, Opu- [. nake; Janet W. Samson, Island Bay; Hay \ Barnes, Ngaio; Linda Rowntreo, Wcl- „ lington; Pawo Una James, Wanganui; j Zita If. Chapman, Lower llutt; Margaret _.\ E Johnson, Wellington; Eileen Aitchcson. ) Wellington; Iris Pinkney, Masterton; \ Stella Cairns, Masterton; Miss Knola In- \ { nis, Wellington. ( Selected tor final tost—Cynthia Eggers, Hazel P. Jeffrey, Zita 11. Chapman, ami |, Stella Cairns. j! lit this section tho children wero really a bright lot, and their efforts wero very meritorious throughout. Final result—Zita Chapman, of tho o llutt, 1 (120 marks); Hazel Jeffrey, of Island Bay, 2 (121 marks); Cynthia s Eggers, of Wellington, and Stella Cairns, h tt (122 marks). d In this class Mr. Baeyortz said there ti wero many sad mispronunciations, chiefly ( mado by turning monosyllables into dis- a syllables (of which ho gave instances), s Tho winner had a very pretty voice, 1 spolto clearly, and was evident!}- a j: thoughtful child. Tho second prize- I: winner was very intelligent, and her t emphasis was quite good. The other littlo girls he had placed equal in the afternoon, and found no reason to alter that decision. PIANO SOLO (UNDER 12). Piano Solo (under 12)— Tost Piece, J "Sonata in C" (Mozart). First prize, silver medal; second prize, bronze medal; \ tiiird prize, certificate.—Entrants—Vera ' Purdue, Kaiwarra; Wilfrid Batten, Kel- l burne; George Mackay, Wellington; Myra ' . Cleg;', Wellington; Leslie Clarence- Win. ( ■ Henry Adams, Wanganui; Esmo Elaine } ■ Watson, Masterton; Bcmadetto Agnes ' • Fitzgerald, AVcllington; Ha Helen 3 Duncan, Wellington; AudTcy Mary Ber- ; tenshaw, Tail)ape; Doris Taylor, Tawa ; Flat; Ncllio Kendall, Masterton; Frances ' Stirling, Wellington; Helen Buick, Pori- < rua; Dorcs James, Tawa Flat. , Selected for final tcst-Georgo Mackay J , and Leslio Adams. ' i Final result-George- Mackay, 1 (120 » marks); Leslie Adams, 2 (12S marks); j • Ida 11. Duncan and Bernadetto. Pitz- f i gerald, equal (10S marks). , i In giving his decision, Mr. Harold t i Gregson said that a good performance was j i given by both boys, and if they continue • in tho way they are going more will bo j heard of them in coming years. The j j judge said ho would bo delighted to give 1 - competitors any advico in tho way of ( - going through the music with them this j i morning after the sight-reading test. , : (Applause.) j ■ SHAKESPEAREAN RECITAL ] t (LADIES). i I Shakespearean Recital (Ladies)— Test ( ' Piece, "Lady Macbeth." Reading letter I I and soliloquy. First prize, £2; second ] 1 prize, XI; third prize, eerhncate.-Ln- . trants-Ethcl E. Churchill, Dunedin; s ! Mabel St. C. Pole, Otaki; Una H.Owen, t - Dunedin; Adelaide Evans, Wellington; ; , Thelma Browne, Launccston, lasmama; 1 ■ Edith L. Meenkcn, Clareville, Wnira- i i rapa; Miss Knight, Auckland; Kathleen . Major, Auckland; Ethel Lissack, Wei- 1 t lington; Gwen D. Shepherd, Wellington; I • Miss Jameson, Kclburne; M. L. Pcarce, t Palmcrston North; C. L. Gilchrist, Pal- • t merston North; A. Griffiths, Dunedin; ■ 1 M. Bradlev, .Wellington; Lilian Pn- ■ 3 chard, Melbourne, Australia; Florence J. ; Pacey, Dunedin; Greta Orr, Gisborne; ', 3 Kathleen Bolton, Nelson; Flora M'Don- ] r aid, Wellington; A. M. Lewis, Welling--1 ton; Lucy Clater, Wellington; Marie lix, . t Wellington; Ircno B. 11. Pearson, Wei- ■ s lington; Svbil Rapley, Wellington; Lulu r Arnold, Wellington; Esther M. Dever--3 cnux, Christchtirch; Gertrude Wilson, s Dunedin; Miss Bartley, Auckland; Molhe v L. Flux, Wellington; Miss Aggie Samson, l Wellington; Amelia Cairns, Masterton; 3 Nellie Hogg, Masterton; Lily Chapman, t Dunedin; Laurie Darling, Dunedin; R. D'Ath, Otaki; Miss Lilian King, Duno- - din; Elsio .M'Pcak, Dunedin. Selected for final test—Lilian Prichard, e Florence J. Pacey, and Thelma Browne. 1 Hon. mention—Ethel E. Churchill, Una s 11. Owen, Lulu Arnold, and Lilian King. I Considering tho extreme difficulties that beset tho young student in this passage II from "Macbeth," the standard set was ' commemlably high. Most of tLc competi- '" tors showed keen intelligence, and read 0 with good emphasis and enunciatory a powers. The judge (Mr. C. N. Baeyertz) s recognised this, and gave no fewer than 1 four hohorablo mentions, over and above v tho three that wero recalled for tho 1 final test. c Final result—Lilian Prichard, of Mels bourne, 1 (US marks); Thelma Browne, .. of Launccston, 2 (128 marks); Florence h Pacey, of Dunedin, ,1 (120 marks). In giving his decisions in this class, Mr. C. N. TRaeyerlx said that he thought after the performances they had heard that evening there could bo no doubt as to tho good which accrued from com--1 petitions of this kind. Without paying ; any compliments, they would all agree {. that they had seen some very beautiful , work indeed. Many of the competitors s had displayed no feeling for the music • of Shakespeare—to some it was blank, blank, absolutely blank. The winner had 1 given a very lino performance; better, iuT deed, than some actresses of repute. In his opinion it was a very line piece j" of work, which almost realised his ideal , of tho character. The second prizoj winner (Miss Browne) had given a rc- ,'. mnrkable- performance for ono so young —remarkable in its intelligence, insight, '■'. and temperament. The third prize- ;_ winner (Miss Pacey) also gave an exccl- . lent performance. She made faults in i. emphasis—in emphasising tho wrong 1 word. Her enunciation was very good, but she showed a littlo lack of reserve jwwer. ! VIOLIN SOLO (OVER 10 AND UNDER J 21). h Violin Solo (over 10 and under 21)— r Test Piece, "liumorosque," Alfred Hill, h First prize, JE2; second prize, .£1; third >. prize, certificate—Entrants—Maud Rcmi- ington, Levin; Vincent Lewis, Wellington; Myrtle M.'Laughiin, Wellington.

Selected for final iest-Maud Remington and Vincent Lewis. ] Final result—Maud Kemingion, ] (135 ; marks); Vincent Lewis, 2 (128 marksL ; .Mr. liri-,'son remarked, in giving his decisions, that ho gave tho first prize ' to Miss I!emini!tou because- her performance wns altogether tho most artistic. | .Mr. Lewis had a bigger (one, but was r not in tune in places, and his playing i was rougher. ■ BARITONE SOLO. i Baritone Solo-Tot Piece. "Wolfram's i Romance," from "Tannluuisor" (Wagner). First prize, .£:!; second prize, .£1; third j iirizt', certificate.—Entrants—H. J. Young, .\la«l.i-rl<m; F. V. lilnndford, Wellington; •\. L. Scoullar, Wellington; W. CiodlVey, j Wellington; H. H. Dellov:, Auckland; [■'rank Chnrllon, Wellington South; R. S. .Malimoy, Cln-Nlcliiircli; W. Jl. Jlarvry, I'otoms I-'. Bull, Blenheim; A. Lucas, Hlenlieim; W. W. Cloudie Wellington; C. 11. Blundell. Wellington; L. C. Travels, Wcllinglon; T. -M. Charters, Chrislchurch; C. G. Chambers, Wanganui; J. A. Do- | herly, Wellington; W. II Church, New. 1 town; A. 11. Robins, No.ivtown; If. V. Burton, Auckland; R. Dishoji, Wellington; R. 11. Orr, Jxjwr llutt; F. J. Jl'Donald, Cliristchurc.h; D. V. Lillicrap, Wellington; O. E. Farrow, Auckland; A. G. Thompson, Nelson. I Selected for linal test—T. M. Charters, I i C'liTistchurcli; I{. H. Orr, llutt; and O. E. | • Farrow, Auckland. j in declaring Iho recalls, Mr. Baeyerlz said that quite a number of the competi- • tors were Ijasvcs and not baritones, and j . that being so ho had initialised them to 1 tho extent of 20 points for singing out of , their class, that being a fair handicap. ; Ono basso at least had sung well enough ! to ovorroiie the handicap, and another, i No. 2.'i (Mr. Lillicrap), gave an excellent | . interpretation of the. song. There would i therefore be ono basso and two baritones ! left in the contest. ! Final result—O. E. Farrow, of Auck- , land, 1 (110 marks); R. R. Orr, of Hurt, ! ■ 2 (104 marks); T. M. Charters, of Christ- ■ church, I! (102 marks). ; Tho judge (Mr. Baeyerlz) repeated his ■ remarks about competitors being penal- ; ised for singing out of their class, but . despite the penalty (20 points) the com- > petition had been won by a basso (Mr. • Farrow). His production was too open > in places, but it was by far the best 1 reading, and was an interesting conception of Wagner's idea. The second prizei winner's diction was faulty. His produc--1 lion was also too open—tliero were no ' closed tones, and little variation in colour. Mr. Charters had a goodish voice, but ho strained the muscles of his throat in places and the result was pinched tones. His enunciation was good, i pronunciation not exceptional. ■ SACRED SOPRANO SOLO. ' Sacred Sopisno Solo—Test Piece, "How ' Beautiful are the Feet," "Mi.-siah." Fii-st ' prize, X' 2; second prize, .t'l; third prize, ' certificate.—Entrants—F. Sutherland, Wa- ■ nganui; M. SiffMt, AVcllington; J. 11. Urqulip.rt, JSUv.ilic-im; G. B. Price, Wel- ' lington; R. Lyons, Auckland; N. Foster, ' Petono; P. Lewis, Wanganui , S. Sweetman, Hastings; S. Cnnavon, Blenheim; A. ; J). Lavor, Auckland; L Sill, Auckland; ' A. Dunn, Wellington; 51. A. Jlacfairlano, ■ llokitika; Vera C. Edwards, Mastorion; ! Daisy Grant, Christchurch; G. D. liar- ■ leer, "ChrJstchuTch; Gladys S. Palmer, Chiistchureh. I Selected for final test—Misses Suther--1 land, K. Lyons, Daisy Grant, and G. D. Barker. \ Final result—Daisy Grant, of Christchurch, 1 (12S marks); F. Sutherland, of Wanganui, 2 (120 marks); G. D. Barker, 5 of Cliristelmrch, 3 (1H marks). E Miss Lyon, tho judge explained, was i suffering from a severe cold, which put , her voice off the balance, and it was doubtful if she were wise to sing at all j under tho circumstances. The winner • (Miss Grant) had a good sense of rhythm, - and gave a good reading in the Hi'.ndelian . spirit. Miss Sutherland's diction wns a , littlo faulty and her tono inclined to bo i pinched. Miss Barker's rhythm was good, - but she occasionally ran ono word into r the other.

3 ■ - THE EVENING PERFORMANCE.

A "STAR" ELOCUTIONIST. . There was a large audienco present in , the Town Hull last evening to hear the ,' liiiiils of the competitions which had I 'J taken placu during tho (lay, and marked a interest was taken in tho efforts of tho |. competitors and in the judgment passed a on them. Perhaps the most interesting [ of these finals was tho Shakespearean o recital for ladies, remarkable, indeed, as , s it disclosed to an admiring audience a l) young lady who may with confidence l>o .. written down as a "star" elocutionist. a The lady is Miss Lilian Prichard, of . s Melbourne. Her work is bo outstandingly j. excellent that it is difficult to imagine. why there was in tho opinion .of tho y judge such a disparity in the marks accorded her and tho possible set in com- » petitions of this kind, If Mr. linoyertss takes the performance of tho letter scene ,' in "Macbeth" as one would expect to ; " find a Bernhardt or a Duso play it, that , disparity can bo condoned, but as an elocutionary contest in New Zealand is s hardly likely lo discover a heaven-born 0 genius such as either of the artists men--0 Honed, a reasonable "possible" should e be set. If that were done, Miss Prichard 1 would not be anything like- 54 marks off tho possible on the judge's own highly s laudatory criticism. Her performance " was not only beautiful—it was startling in the thrilling intensity and power which she threw into the character. Miss Prichard's elocution is well-nigh faultless, her voice carried to every it corner of the big hall, and her magnetic t touch, her vivid realisation of the d passion of ambition that enthralls tho i- Thane's wife, her perfect poise, and ; sweeping gestures, all built up a characi, terisation that would do credit to many ; a finished actress. Another visitor from .; tho Commonwealth, who did very e.v i- cellout work in tho samo class, was Mis.-s n Thehna Browne, of Lnnnceston, who is I- full of talent, and has the theatrical .; sense strongly developed. 3, Another interesting class was tho bari- -- tono solo, "0 Star of Eve," which was i; very rightly won by Mr. 0. H. Farrow, i- who sang the solo much better last evenr. ing than in tho afternoon. Littlo Miss •; Ziia Chapman recited 11. L. .Stevenson's i- poem, "Tho Unseen Playmate," charm- ;- ingly, and within limits Miss Remington, c, of levin, showed nico feeling in her 1- violin solo, "Humoresque" (Alfred Hill), u Tho concert concluded with tho drar- matic sketch, "Tho Actress," played not i, badly at all by Mr. Vivian Khind, Miss ie Lali Benbow, and Miss Stella Putnam, .1, all of Wellington. \[ TO-DAY'S PROGRAMME, o- At 0 a.m.—Shakespearean Recital (gentlemen), in Concert Chamber. Test ; '> Piece, the "Queen Mab" speech from °- "Romeo and Juliet." ia At 10 a.m.—Piano Solo—Sight reading "■ (under l(i). " At IUO a.m.—Musical Monologuo 5° (gentlemen). Own selection. V 5 At noon—Mandolin and guitar duet. '" Own selection. "' At 2 p.m.—.Mcrao Soprano Polo. Test ">' Piece, "Too Late" (Tschaikowsky). '■> At 3.15 p.m.—Vocal Solo. Sight read--111 ing (any age). 1-0 At J. 15 p.m.—Song (girls under la). 10 Test Piece, "New Year's Song" (Mallin'l- At' +.-I3 p.m.—Song (boys under 15). e, Test Piece, "Three For .lack" (Squire). :e —