DUNEDIN COMPETITIONS.

Evening Star, Issue 14999, 5 October 1912, Page 12

DUNEDIN COMPETITIONS.

s£■{, L\-iJ WrirtH Day.—Fridat. - More, a largo attendance in the wfS©?** Mr .Solomon, K.C., took the Mithaayatid opened the proceedings at 7.30, expected that tho programme 'ptfdf take rather longer than'usual to get mmgh; but three of the impromptu. K&ch. candidates failed to appear, and as saving and tho early start g|* enabled tho business to bo disposed of in |||fgood-time. SfV' ' - MUSIC. JMPIANO DUET, 11 years and under 14. Mg; -'Echoes des Montagnes.' op. 61 (Von &C-' .Q*el)- Prizes, £2 2s and 10s 6d. &',: Misses Madge ■ Reekie and Mildred Ar- |;> mitage, 98 ... ... 1 Geddes and D.'Garland, 95 2 s>."!.' .Alto recalled: 'Misses Monica Christie b and* Evelyn Duke • (92), and Master Basil |j "Wilson s Alfred Levi (92). %r ,' '-The other competitors were: Misses AlI .fcetta Vallis and Adonia Aitken 90, Masters jjL-jsfch> and John M'lndoe 90, Misses Una |<\ Tonkin and Nellie M'Dowell 86, Misses W Marjorie Railton and May Devlin 82, pi 'iMiß6es Olive Railton and Queenie Petersen | 81, Masters "Walter Millex and Thos. sj* Veitch 81, Mi6ses Lilv Gilmour and Irene Bmndell 77, Misses Violet Dunn and Florjgj enoe Mullenger 75, Misses Nina and Nora &r Wilkinson 75, Misses Nellie Veitch and £ >L.'.Mohk 74, Mies Puhi Taiaroa and Master £" Norman Parata 74, Misses Marjorie Stone- ? ham. and Jean Wagner 74, Misses Annie '<-• 'Houston and Isabel Crime 71. v Professor Helleman said that the piece .was~ marked allegretto, and,6omo of the y r competitors bad played it presto, thereby ," destroying on© of the features of the comt> 'position, tho little echoing effects. The ■»." reason why he had recalled some of those . <: -who played too quickly was that there was ;\KJme point in their preliminary interpreta--t .tions, but as presented in the evening there &" „yra& not point enough in these interpreta- | "toons to bring them near the level of one pair of competitors, who got everything in 'i r and kept the proper time. Misses Geddes I ', and. Garland got in a little echoing effect, I; but, Misses Reekie and Armitage kept to and got all the effects in. \\ ' 'This decision was on© that the audience J'-;-were surely prepared for. The performg".,ance of Misses Reekie and'Armitage'was as V, a pretty; picture, harmonious, artistic, beau- ;'- tifully in balance. /. CONTRALTO SOLO. 'Life's Gifts' (Q £ Clutsam). Prizes, £2 2s and 10s 6d. f Mrs Lawford Reeves (Christchurch), 90 1 <■ Miss Nellie Densem (St. Kilda.). 88 ... 2 Also Tecalled : .Miss Lucy Janies 87. Other competitors : Miss Mary Harvey 33; Miss Maud Stringer 82, Miss Ethel Pridham 79, Miss Mary Dillon 75, and Miss Jessie M'Gregor 68. Professor Helleman remarked that this song'was not too easy. It showed off the true contralto voice. The deep notes ot , the contralto register were in the opening, and they also, ended the song a.ud left the impression. In the afternoon he heard some contralto voices that were like a lot of'the-heavy basses—unwieldy, the singers not trying ,to control them; and some there '- were who sang too heavily, forcing their voices and making the singing foggy and • not at,all distinct. In the middle part oi .the song there ;was a. chance for the upper 'register. This section was fairly executed »y, aH>. but he must take into consideration the contralto effects in a contraLto compe- , tition. Not one pleased him in the general execution towards the end, marked largomento. Where the accompaniment • was in triplets against even notes not one divided the bars properly in the singing, . and the phrasing was very weak at times. Miss- Densem sang the lower notes well, but there wa6 not the fullness that Mrs had. Miss James sang well, but her voice did not appear to be contralto. Mrs Reeves got refined contralto quality. ■ To this may be added that A,he song is by George Clutsam, Fred Clutsam's elder . brother, and that in the opening and finishing sections it takes a low range with, A for the bottom note. The long • alternating stretches of each register cou- - stitute a trial in voice production. Mrs Reeve© got through, this difficulty all right, keeping fairly well to one quality and singing smoothly. Her weakness was indistinct enunciation. Miss James also man- -• aged to avoid the thinning of tho voice l in the stave. It is an open question whether Miss Densem has the contralto quality at all, but she certainly gave a , consistent study of the song. A curious . fact is that Miss James, now ruled to be \ not a' contralto, won in the contralto con- • test last year. ,Our reporter said plainly ■' on. that occasion that there was not a true contralto in the whole • party. The truth is that for some time'past Dunedin has been hard up for real contralto voices. Whatever side issues - Have thus arisen, there is no doubt that Mrs Reeves 6olved tho problem for this years judge, giving him a voice that is contralto -and nothing else, also a voice that is used agreeably. .VOCAL SOLO, gentleman, accompanied -.,,«-» by lady or gentleman; marks for joint effort. Prizes, £3 3s and £1 Is. Mr. W. Gemmell, Wyndham (Miss Forsyth, accompanist), 'Crossing tho Bar,' 95 . . j . Mr A. T. Russell (Miss L. M'Laren' accompanist), ' 0 Star of Eve,' 94 . 2 ■ Mr Ernest Drake (Mr C. A. Martin, • accompanist), Schubert's ' Serenade,' - 93 ... \ w 3 , Mr G. Blackie (Miss F. Pacey, accompanist). 'l'll Sing Thee Songs of .Araby,' 92 °. ... 4 Other competitors: Mr J. Jacobs 90, Mr T. W. Dobbie 88, Mr F. H. Taylor &> Jff W. H. Penrose 84, Mr R. Robson 82, Mr W. H. Ashcroft 81, Mr D. Robertson 80, Mr A. W. Romeril 85, and Mr John Liddell 69. .The judge said that both song and accompaniment had to be judged Mr Blackic's choice, ' I'll Sing Thee Songs'of Araby, was a popular song, but popular •ongs were not always the best. The execution was satisfactory, but so far as the accompaniment was concerned the song did not ► give much scope from the dual aspect. Mr Russell sang ' 0 Star of Eve' . m German. This song gave more scope, 1 hat.it should be remembered that the accompaniment was a transcription from the orchestral score, and therefore gave opportunities for amplifying and filling in. In Schnbert's * S«renade,' sung by Mr Drake, the accompaniment was not important, with the exception of the echo effects and a little interlude. In Mr GemmeH's son" 'Crossing the Bar,' there was an atmosphere to be created by the accompanist. . There had been several good performances bat he must give pride of place to Mr Gemmell. In awarding the second prize - lie took into consideration the taste exhibited in choosing a beautiful song which had been well sung, and this prize hoi awarded to Mr Russell. The third prize' would go to Mr Drake, and he would place Mr Blackie, ' Another indubitable win was thus tooorded. Mr Gemmell sang really well ■with feeling and breadth. Mr Russell also gave a good display, but we think his Eingrng was a little too restrained. Mr Drakes performance was inspiring and I wanting, by turn. He will be a champion hj Sr- 6 ?. 6 vo,ce matures. Mr • Blackie had a touch of the " flu," and had teff a^e * n en " ort to keep in tune. Hi ELOCUTION. IIfIWROMPTU SPEECH (second section) Judges, Mr J. Loudon and Mr F. H - ' Campbell. Prizes, £3 3s and £2 2s. The subject announced by Mr Solomon was ' Uneasy Lies the Head that Wears a Crown.' Eight had entered, bnt only five came forward. Miss Goodwin, of Christchurch, drew , No. 1 ticket, and led the way. The subject seemed to be rather a puzzle to her, and she merely uttered a series of epigrammatic comments, such as that she would not mind taking the risks and having a crown herself, just to see how it felt. The audience gave this candidate plenty of chances to build together her thoughts, but she could not use the opportunities, and stopped for want of matter. Mr R. MTherson started off with the thought that it. was no wonder that kings were uneasy when they had to think for millions of people. He worked this idea as long as he could, then branched off into, generalities, and merely kept going to fill in time. . Mr W, Dixon said that we all have crowns, and if a man was a straight out- -. anil-outer he would, when he laid downhis

crown, get a better one. This candidate adopted a jaunty style, and by the aids of speech fluency and a glass of water he kept the audience amused with frank nonsense. Mr J. M. Henderson extracted from the subject a text: "Be content with the position in which you find yourself." That, he .said, -was the meaning of the poet's line, and he proceeded to prove the statement (as well as lie could), asserting that those who occupied prominent positions would not be so much envied if people generally realised what it cost to got to the top. Mr G. H. Gibb seemed rather shy with his subject, avoiding it, then venturing near, and again retracing. But if he did not say much to the point, he managed, apparently without trouble, to string together a lob of resounding eentences stocked with fine fruity words, and all that he said (or nearly all) was in its way I interesting. | Mr Loudon announced the judgment. He said the judges considered that the subject did not lend itself very well to humorous treatment, and the " speeches were on the whole net so good as they expected. The award was as follows: Mr G. H. Gibb (Dunedin) ... 1 Mr R. M'Pherson (Dunedin) 2 The special prize for the most humorous speech was awarded to Mr W. Dixon (Musselburgh). The judges did not consider the humor of a very high order—it was more of a burlesque—but it amused the audience. RECITATION' (amateurs), ladies, 15 and under 21 years. ' Song of the Peasant Wife' (Hon. Mrs Norton). Prizes, £2 2s and 10s 6d. ' This competition was heard yesterday afternoon, and the recalls for "Tuesday night are Miss V. M'Culloch, Miss Ethel Churchill, Miss Rene Aslin, Miss Elsie M'Pcak. The other competitors were : Miss Lilian Foster, Mi?s Annie Henderson, Miss E. Wynn, Miss La Marshall, Miss Iris Ramsay, Miss Dorothy Blackie, Miss Bertha Brookes, Miss Lizzie Adams, Mies Iris Munro, Miss Alice Austin. COMEDIETTA. By way of wind-up last night Miss Lilian King and Mr Crawford played the comedy ' Spring Onions,' and with it produced a deal of amusement. JUDGING THE SINGING. "Baritone" sends a letter in which he says that Professor llelleman gave a valuable lesson by playing the pianoforte sightreading test after the competitors had finished, and the writer suggests that in future years the committee should procure as the judge in singing a man who is a singer, and could if necessary give the vocalists a practical demonstration. Theso are not the precise words of the letter, but so fax as we understand they convey the writer's meaning in somewhat polite form.