GROWTH OF MUSIC

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 49, 26 August 1938, Page 15

GROWTH OF MUSIC

GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT

How the superb musical compositions which are heard throughout- the world today began from very small and humble beginnings many hundreds of years ago, was recounted by Mr. Felix Swinstead, F.R.A.M., during thei course of a leciure-recital to members of the Wellington branch of the British Music Society last night. At one time in the history of the world, said Mr. Swinstead, there was no such thing as music. It was per-^ haps difficult for us to imagine this. When the people worked at their fishing, at their boats, and even rocking cradles, they became aware of rhythm, but for hundreds of years people hadj no musical pitch, and it was not until the scale was established that we had any hope of getting music. He had heard some of the Australian aborigines wailing on a scale of five to six notes, and they -would sing these notes and sometimes stop on one and sometimes on another iot no apparent reason whatever. Sometimes they would beat drums, but it had never occurred to them to combine the two. When, however, a scale was established, the most natural thing was for the people to sing some of the notes as they worked, and the work of development went on for hundreds of years in this way, people just making up little tunes as an accompaniment to their work. It was hundreds of years more before there was any notation. A system of notation was invented for the use of the church, but the clergy were afraid that secular music might spoil the devotional music and kept notation for many years from the outside composers. For hundreds of years, until after Elizabethan times, nearly all music was vocal. It was considered the thing to sing, and after dining music would be brought out and song would fill the air. j

It had, of course, been found that two or more sounds could be sung together, and harmony grew as well. The piano, although a familiar instrument for generations, was in reality quite a new-fangled machine, and it was made originally to reproduce what had previously been played on pipes and viols.

Mr. Swinstead referred to the developmental work of the leading classical composers and to the trend of modern music.

Mr. Swinstead's Sonata in A Major for violin and pianoforte was played by the composer at the piano, with Miss Ava Symons (violin). Mr. Swinstead also played several of his other composition!.