MUSICAL FESTIVALS

Greymouth Evening Star, 8 September 1934, Page 10

MUSICAL FESTIVALS

NON-COMPETITIVE TYPE. (Contributed). In England, in recent years, a good deal of progress has been made in the development of a non-competi-tive type of musical festival, which is unknown in New Zealand, and a few notes and explanations of this festival movement may be of interest. It is not suggested that such a type of festival could displace the competitive festivals conducted in many centres in New Zealand, but such festivals have suffered a good deal in recent years from a. falling-off in public patronage, and it js interesting to note the enthusiasm of large audiences at the non-competitive type of festival at Home.

The festival movement began by being competitive, hut recent years have seen the establishment of a type of festival, in which the competitive element is almost negligible, while there have also appeared, festivals entirely non-competitive. These latter are confined almost wholly to schools. To those who know their England it can be mentioned that probably the best known of these comparatively new festivals of the slightly competitive type are held at Winchester, Lewes, Andover, Chipping Norton, and Petersfield, and are confined almost exclusively to the South.' The explanation that has been given is that the folk in the South are more casual and easy-going than those in the North, this easy-going nature being due partly to the more congenial climate "and partly because for generations life has been less sternly competitive in the South. Many who have had experience of' these non-competitive festivals have formed the opinion that the new idea will develop,’ but the experiment—for it is still really in the experimental stage—is confined to so few places that it is difficult to estimate its potentialities. Certain it is that in some Northern strongholds of the competitive festival, audiences are becoming progressively smaller, and the non-competitive festival may be introduced there in an endeavour to revive flagging public interest. The explanation of the lack of support is probably two-fold, that the novelty has worn off, and now that so much first rate playing and singing is available through broadcasting, only those personally interested in the competitors are likely to be attracted to an event consisting largely of repetition, and in which a large proportion of the competitors are likely to be mediocre.

In contrast with the lack of support given the competitive festival ,in England, is the-fact, that in several of the towns where the new type has become established large and enthusiastic audiences are the rule at the festivals where competition is a mere preliminary to the combined performance of the choirs, in the form of a concert. What is considered an excellent feature of these festival concerts is that they bring about cooperation between local choralists and professional soloists, and that they also provide an annual objective for the aniatchr players in .the district. Arguments in favour of the purely competitive festival have usually been based on the fact that competition is a. necessary element in almost

every department of human activity; and games have been used freely as an analogy. Such an analogy does not work, for games cannot exist except as a form of competition. A purely academic game of cricket would soon ’pall.

CRICKET PARALLELS. Moreover, the result can be shown as a statement of facts and figures, when people compete at games, but such a method of assessment cannot be applied to a musical contest without considerable strain. In the game of cricket, when a ball reaches the boundary, there is only one possible award, but how many people will agree as to some good stroke in a musical performance being worth a fixed number of points? Again, when a batsman gets his leg in front of a “straight one,” there is no question as to the penalty, but who can lay down a law that a choir which sings out of tune or misses a lead shall lose a definite number of marks? The fact is there is a world of difference between the score-book and the mark sheet, and in the musical competition there is the. inevitable tendency to overlook this difference —inevitable because when a number of competitors are pretty level, or a class produces only a string of mediocre per'formances, faults rather than merits may become the deciding-,factors. Few adjudicators at competitions can deny having, during a close final, lain in wait for a slip that would enable them to arrive at an unquestionable decision between two competitors, whose performances were of such an equal standard, that they would be separable only by the proverbial split hair. It is well known that some of the finest interpretative points in' a performance are apt to escape any but the specially trained ear, whereas most faults are obvious. The audience will give a gasp when a choir comes to grief, and, for them, the issue is settled, but how many in that audience noticed a subtle bit of shading, and a fine example of phrasing a difficult movement, that the choir achieved a few moments before the mishap? When a judge gives that choir top marks, on the ground that the bad slip might happen to any choir, but that the fine shading and phrasing could be achieved only by well-trained singers, the decision is of considerable educational value — as long as the judge is allowed to explain to his audience the grounds on which it was .made. But most adjudicators have, on occasion, been placed in the position of having to give the decision, without the grounds on account of overstrained timetables, and so incurring odium with and criticism from the choirs who did not actually come to grief, but who did little or nothing on the credit side. The tendency of the audience to look for faults, rather than virtues will be greater the more competitive the festival is.

The non-competitive festival’s two main merits are: (a) The participation by all the choirs in a large scale work, that otherwise they would hardly even hear, let alone perform; and (b) The setting before the performers of a high standard .of. performance. The advantages in the first case are many, and obvious, and there is no doubt that the non-com-petitive festival, taken in the right

spirit, is of tremendous value to the musical life of the performers, and assists considerably in their development. It is no unusual thing that at such a- festival hundreds of amateurs obtain a sound inside knowledge of a big work —one of the best ways of becoming a good intelligent listener. And the enjoyment of the choristers is boundless. This latter is the natural result of the conditions under which they sing, of course; die singers are not competing, and so are free from the constraint that hampers all choirs in a contest; there is the enthusiasm always associated with communal activity, and then there is the stimulus of an orchestral accompaniment and professional soloists, the leadership of a first-class conductor, and the mutual understanding ensured by some hours of rehearsal. It is thus not difficult to understand that the singers are a bit above themselves, and are able to perform exacting choral works with a degree of excellence that, according to men. who have had practical experience of such festivals, is nothing less than astounding. Such a combined performance sends the singers home with a. standard of performance amateurs could obtain in no other way. At a. purely competitive festival the highest standard is that of the winning choir, and it would not be unfair or unreasonable to state that, at many festivals, a choir maywin a. prize, not because it gives a great performance, but because it is the least bad. In the opinion of music authorities, this kind of festival leaves the competitive type out of the hunt as a factor in developing the country’s musical life.

Commenting on the support accorded these, festivals in parts of England where they are well established, a writer in an English music journal says that the Hampshire festival, now in its thirtieth year, has a balance of about £9O according to a recent financial statement. At Petersfield, where there were 38 choirs, the money taken at the door on the four days was £286, an average of more than £7O an evening. Subscriptions and donations amounted to £230. He continues: “Now if all this can be carried on year by year in a country town of less than 5,000 inhabitants with the choral interest kept alive with no more than a hint of a contest, why can’t it be done all oven the country? And if Petersfield and other festivals of the same kind can keep choirs up to the scratch with so lit'le use of the marking sheet, should they not go even farther, and drop what little competing there is? Let the choirs sing individually as ,at present, receiving at the close, criticism and advice from the choral expert, who would otherwise be a judge? Competition is good, but co(operation is infinitely better for the music, as well as for the musician.” There are over 200 Festivals affiliated to the Federation, but the Petersfield is the oldest, and probably the best organised. The movement seems to be peculiarly England’s own, as there is nothing similar to it abroad, or in the "smaller members of the British Commonwealth. All the above refers to choir work only, and takes no account of the solo competitions that form so important a part of so many gatherings. The strong argument in favour ’ of these solo competitions is that, well! conducted, they do for the taste and'

technique of the soloist, what choral classes have done for the choralist. )lf has been suggested, in England, ■ti...o if the organisers of some of the non-coippetitive festivals cpuld be induced to forget their'' taboo of solo classes, and if the other class of festivals could be persuaded to bar all juvenile solo contests (for the public platform, especially in the evening,, is not. the ideal' place for youngsters who are eimer' nervously strung up, or —even worse—precocious' and" cocksure.) a great deal will ho accomplished for music and general culture.