THE MUSICAL WORLD

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 133, 29 February 1936, Page 21

THE MUSICAL WORLD

(By

C.J.M.)

Several inquiries have reached “C.J.M.” concerning the existence and whereabouts of the "Wellington Gramophone Club,” a contributed report of whose first meeting appeared in these notes recently. Oddly enough nobody seems to know anything about it. Gramophone dealers have also had inquiries, and made inquiries, with the •same result. Will the honorary secretary, or some responsible member of the circle, be kind enough to send in particulars to “C.J.M.,” as to membership, address, and so on, for the benefit of those who would like to join?

Music in the Home. Music societies in all parts of Great Britain are planning their programmes for the coming season with more confidence than for many years past, in the expectation that they will benefit under the terms of the £30,000 grant for the development of music in the home, announced by the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust a year ago. The grant, which came into force in December, is “to encourage choirs and groups of instrumentalists to persevere in their efforts to make music for themselves and their friends, instead of being content to listen to tl)e admirably produced music which scientists have rendered possible through the gramophone and the wireless.”

The £30,000 will be administered by a joint committee representing the trustees of a newly-registered National Federation of Music Societies. Approximately £20,000 will be used for giving financial guarantees to music societies which are. not yet on a selfsupporting basis, and £5OOO will be expended on inaugurating courses at musical academies for the education of conductors. The remaining £5OOO will be needed for administering purposes. It also is intended to encourage amalgamations of societies where they seem to be called for.

A Unique Combination. Mr. Hugo Larsen, impressario, who brought Mark Harbourg and Peter Dawson to New Zealand, has several interests on the other side of the world. One rather unique combination is Ekaterina Zarina, a dramatic soprano with a grand opera repertoire, and Bruce Wendell, the gifted coloured (West Indian) pianist. Mr. Wendell plays the classical repertoire brilliantly, and supplies original programme notes. This combination was touring the West Indies and the Guianas last month.

Royal Wellington Choral Union. The Royal Wellington Choral Union will hold its first rehearsal foi\ the coming season on Tuesday next at St John’s Church Hall at 7.45 p.m. This year’s programmes will be exceptionally interesting, both from the point of view of the choir and the audiences. The first concert will be given for the Radio Broadcasting Board early in July, when the choir will present Alfred Hill’s popular cantata, “Hinemoa,” as the first part of the programme. The principal'soloist will be Madame Florence Austral, the famous soprano, who will be in New Zealand at the time. The second part of the programme will consist of a miscellaneous number, featuring Madame Austral and other soloists. The choir will sing “It Comes From the Misty Ages” by Elgar, and unaccompanied shorter numbers. . • Later in the season the Choral Union will sing for the first time in this part of the world a programme of Russian music, including the Choral Dance from “Prince Igor” (Borodine), and “Joshua,” by Moussorgsky. The conductor. Mr. Stanley Oliver, is now receiving applications from singers to fill the few vacancies in the choir. With further increases in the subscribing membership, it will . soon be possible for the Choral Union to present a number of newer works Whose first performances in the southern hemisphere have been long overdue. .. ■ More Sanctions. The Italian Government has ordered the cancellation of proposed performances of operas by composers of “Sanctionist” nationalities and the substitution of Italian operas. The cancelled productions are the following: “.Mignon” and Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Kitezh,” at the Milan Scala; “Werther,” at the Turin Regio; “Manon” and “Mignon,” at the Royal Opera. Rome; and “Prince Igor.” at the Trieste Verdi Theatre. Handel’s Orchestration for “The Messiah” The original orchestration of Handel’s “The Messiah” has been the subject of much research of late. Something like finality in this research has finally eventuated. In line with these discoveries the orchestra at the forthcoming performance of “The Messiah”, by the Royal Choral Union on December 12 will consist of a large body of strings, led by Miss Ava* Symons, with two trumpets, drums and the grand organ played by Mr. Lawrence Haggitt. The part called the “continue,” which was often played by Handel on the harpsichord, is best transferred to the organ when a harpsichord is not available. This was the custom followed by Mendelssohn in his notable performances of Handel’s “Israel in Egypt.” The soloists at the coming performance will be Miss Chrissie Talbot. Miss Dorothy Clark, Mr. Harold Prescott and Mr. Russell Laurenson. The chorus and orchestra will number 300 performers, conducted by Mr. Stanley Oliver. Music and Mirth. “Unrestrained mirth greeted the playing by the New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, under Sir Thomas Beecham, of William Walton’s suite from ‘Facade’ on Wednesday. The concert formed part of a series devoted by Slr. Thomns mainly to British music” (writes the New York correspondent of tiio “London Daily Telegraph”). Y ' “The audience and even members of (be orchestra laughed freely, obviously enjoying (lie. humour of (he niiisie hugely, and Sir Thomas was given lift ovation at tire conclusion. Olin Downes in the ‘New York Times’ on Thursday said of it : ' ’ ',. "■ .’

“ ‘The pleasure of the music lies in its impudent faeetiousness, its lack of pomp or pretence, and its satirical orchestration. The score laughs with the poetry, the.listeners laughed with the composer, apd"Sir Thomas laughed in his own way with his back" and shoulders and twists of his head, his body floating to the rhythms of waltz, tango, jota and what not wafted from Walton’s score. That, too, of its kind and in its way. was superb musicmaking.’ “The ‘New York Herald-Tribune’ says that ‘Facade’ ‘would have been heard before at orchestral concerts if. New York if our conductors had Str Thomas Beecham's appreciation of the inestimable value of first-rate musical fooling. It reminded us again that music in the hands of a creative humorist sufficiently equipped with comic genius can bo infinitely funnier than words? ”