NATIONAL CONCERT

Evening Star, Issue 22247, 27 January 1936, Page 14

NATIONAL CONCERT

ROBERT BURNS ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS BY REV. H. GRAHAM Saturday was the 177th anniversary of the death of Scotland’s greatest bard, Eobert Burns, and the Dunedin Burns Club arranged a fitting concert to commemorate the occasion. It was a tribute to Burns that, so long after his death, be' should be remembered by ■o large a crowd as that which gathered to pay homage to his memory in His Majesty’s Theatre on Saturday evening, when the building was practically filled. The rear of the stage was appropriately draped with the royal mourning colours «f purple and black, and, before the commencement of the programme, Mr N. Stewart, president of the Dunedin Burns Club, referred to the death of His Majesty, King George V„, and the audience stood to attention while the Dunedin Highland Pipe Band played the lament, ‘ Flowers of the Forest.’ The majority of the selections offered were old Scottish favourites, and it was a tribute to the performers, that without exception, encores were demanded of every item presented. . In the course of the programme the Kev. Hugh Graham delivered a short address on Eobert Burns. f BUENS AND SCOTTISH SONG.’ “ On this day,” said Mr Graham, •** the minds' and hearts of Scottish people the world over are swept with a wave of feeling. We remember the lad that was born in Kyle and we are justly proud of his achievement—the achievement of one of Scotia’s sons of toil. We give a whole-hearted, ungrudging loyalty to the memory of Burns. Eobert Burns; in his life time, loved to call himself ‘ Eab the Banter,’ and. there is no doubt that our national hard, as a writer, was occasionally a ranter. But even his rant was inspired rant, and we hail him, without fear of contradiction, as the world’s greatest song, writer. It is through his songs that he has rooted hjmself most deeply in the hearts of his countrymen. So let us consider Burns and the magic realm of Scottish •ong. _ What a queer thing a song is! It is just a mood with wings to it. The moods of Burns were as changeable as the skies of his native Ayrshire—and »o you find the universal experiences of humanity reflected in his songs. Sometimes he is tender and caressing, sometimes rushing _ like a torrent. ' Pathos, remorse, gaiety, mirth, irony '—■ll found supreme utterance in the

' 1 auld Scotch sangs ’ of Eobert Burns. He has made Lowland Scotch a Doric dialect of fame. “ If the lyric gems of Scotland could be divided into three great volumes the titles of these three volumes would be: Volume 1, Songs of Scotland Prior to Burns; Volume 2,. The Songs of Burns and His Contemporaries; Volume 3, Songs of Scotland Since Burns. ■ Burns was the biggest tree in the forest, and in his hundreds of songs we have a body of song such as no writer, in any language, has beyueathed to his country. These immortal songs arose out of living experience, fie composed them as he drove his team in the furrow or laboured on the sheltered side of some tempest swinging wood. Soon all Scotland was singing them, proving that it is more important to make the songs of a nation than to frame its laws. Why? Because it is the familiar songs of the_ people that mould their thoughts, their manners, and their morals. _ The Earl of Eosebery was only stating the truth wfipn he said, speaking in Glasgow in 1896, that Burns had bequeathed to his country ‘ the most exquisite casket of songs in the world.’ Songs which are sung with eoual heartiness in all parts of the globe, and which his countrymen carry to the ends of the earth as a bird carries - seed! _ “ Many of the songs of Burns,” continued Mr Graham. “ were already in existence in the minds and the lips of the people. This should be remembered, and l also the significant fact that his songs are related to the old Scottish melodies to which they are sung —melodies which were singing in the poet’s ear during the process of composition. _ He had a genius for melody, and taking the ordinary subjects of svery-day life among the Scottish peasantry, and using the homely peasant speech, he turned out song if ter song of the very highest quality. Burns was' direct and truthful—simple md clear. He gave two great gifts m Scotland and to the world. He set forth, plainly, the dignity, of the Scot;ish tongue and elevated the tone of Scottish song to a purity which had seen sadly lacking before his time. To iee what he has done we have but to ;ompare his soup’s with the collection mblished in 1769 when he was a hoy if 10. It was his plan to take the old nines and fit new words to them. The >ld words were rough and coarse and (bscene. Burns takes them and with ;he touch of genius transmutes the iase metal into pure gold. We cannot ilassify them into two clearly separited groups original and renodelled—for no hard and fast ines can be drawn. This, however, s certain: these ancient airs and Scotish melodies, wedded to words which

no decent man could recite, would have perished had it not been for. the magic touch of Burns. We owe him both homage and gratitude for saving those lovely Scottish melodies from sinking into oblivion. It is not too much to say that Burns, by his songs, hallowed life and sweetened the breath of Scotland. They are the songs of humanity as well as the songs of Scotland. I am told that they have been translated into Japanese, and that the Japanese sing them ‘no sae bad!’ “ Our bard’s love for Scotland,” continued the speaker, “ burned like a flame, and it shone brightest in his songs. Take for example his song ‘ Scot’s Wha Hae ’—the greatest warode ever penned. In his love songs he is pre-eminent; they are the most genuinely popular songs in the whole world. There is hardly an emotion in all the rich variety of human experience that does not instantly call up a lino or a melody of Burns. There is rolljcking laughter, aching sorrow, manly pride, the love of a lad for a lass, the call of children, home and kindred, loneliness and compassion, and, above all, true friendship. Burns, by temperament, was a lover. His nature made it easy for him to fall in love. He loved mankind. He loved womankind. And we owe to this temperament those immortal love songs which will sweeten and gladden the life of humanity for all time. .They are as many-sided as life itself. 'Who can ever forget such songs as ‘ Of a’ the Airts the AVin’ Can Blaw,’ ‘ Ye Banks and Braes o’ Bonnie Doon,’ 1 Sweet Afton,’ ‘ The Lass o’ Ballochmyle,’ ‘ Ae Fond Kiss,’ and, last but by no means least, Burns’s immortal song of friendship, ‘ Auld Lang Syne ’ ? “ Burns does more than make us see,” concluded Mr Graham. ‘‘He makes us feel. He makes us think, fie makes us enjoy living. To hut few poets is it ever given to do more. The prophecy of the old gipsy woman who sat crooning by the ingle on the night of his birth was fulfilled to the letter.” THE CONCERT. Before the commencenlent of the first item on the programme, Mr Stewart briefly referred to the anniversary which was being commemorated that evening, saying that it was especially appropriate that it should bo celebrated by Scots overseas, since of the songs of Burns constituted one of the strongest links in the chain that bound them to the “ Old Land.” • The concert opened with a stirring selection by the Dunedin Pipe Band, after which Mr Arthur MacDonald fittingly sang ‘ The Star o’ Robbie Burns,’ and, in response to an encore, ‘ Scotland.’ Under the conductorship of Mr Alfred AValmsley, ■ the Choral Society’s Madrigal Choir

presented ‘ Bonny Wee Thing ’ and ‘ 0 Hush Thee, My Baby,’ both of these items having to be repeated. An effective setting which contributed to the success of the item was the use of coloured lights. The delicacy of the interpretation of the two items was a delight to the ear. Two numbers by Miss Betty Pocock, ‘ There was a Lad ’ and ‘ Angus MacDonald,’ each enjoyed a good reception. ‘ The Reel o’ Tullocli ’ was performed by four accomplished dancers—Misses Daphne Allen, Millie Baxter, Margaret M'Millan, and Rita Warren. Later in the programme these four dancers presented a National reel, both of the dances being very well received. A pleasing quartet, consisting of Miss Nettie Bauld, Mrs C. M. Barnett, Mr A. Walmsley, and Mr A. Finnic, sang ‘ Ye Banks and Braes ’ in which the voices blended pleasantly, while as an encore _ they presented ‘ Sweet and Low.’ An instrumental trio, consisting of Misses Sybil Baker, Thelma Lupp, and Mr J. Dick, presented ‘ The Auld Scotch Sangs,’ and, in response to prolonged applause, played a further selection of old Scotch airs. 1 The Green Hills of Tyrol ’ was effectively presented as a bagpipe quartet, being played by Pipe-major Walker, Lancecorporal H. Jarvie, Pipers A. M'Leod and J. Hill. Two excellent contralto solos were sung by Miss Alison Tyrie—--1 Gala Water ’ and ‘ We’d Better Bide a Wee.’ Pleasing duets were represented in ‘ 0 AVert Thou in the Cauld Blast,’ and the traditional Hebridean number, ‘ The Seamen,’ which were sung by Miss Betty Pocock and Mr A. Walmsley. Two encores wore demanded of Mr Walmsley after he had sung ‘ Afton Water,’ his songs being ‘ M‘Gregor’s Gathering ’ and ‘ Men of Argyle.’ Two selections of Scottish airs were _ presented as violin solos by Miss Mavis M'Cbrmack, while the concluding artist was Mr A. MacDonald, who sang in his usual vigorous fashion, and was enthusiastically recalled. His items were ‘ My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose,’ ‘ Road to the Isles,’ and ‘ Bonnie Dundee.’ Mr A. Pettitt was the accompanist for'the evening, and the programme concluded with the singing of ‘ Auld Lang Syne.’