WORLD of MUSIC

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 1 November 1924, Page 16

WORLD of MUSIC

NOTES AND COMMENTS. Local musical events include the fareneil performance at the Methodist Church by the choir on the eie of the departure of Mr Hutton, uuo has hten organist and choirmaster there for some time. Mr Hutton’s friends will wish him success in . fus new spinee Other interesting peripnrmrieos weie the two night season o! the pietty comic- opera “Florodora, ’ by tl-o amateurs from Stratford, they ade their name in “The Cingalee” some months ago as being able aj stage a iea'!y good show. This good reputation v. as increased by their performances this week. It is a fascinating opera and weil performed in every way. . SONG-WRITING. ADVANCES IN MODERN MUSIC. MR, R. FOSTER’S VIEWS. Mr. Roland Foster, of the State Conservatorium of Music, delivered a lecture recently on “Song 6 of to-day; the leading British composers and their work.’’. Several weeks ago he tleivered a lecture entitled, “Songs of Yesterday.” Developing his theme, Mr. Foster said the songs of a generation ago consisted largely of words with a definite rhythm, such as might he written by any versifier, and composers of that day confined themselves 'or the most part to these effusion. Their accompaniments often had no ro!ation whatever to the meaning of the words. -Uustrating this, he indicated a portion of one lyric coiiiposition by ringing the music as it. was written: “Oh,, promise me that you will take my hand, and let me sit beside you, in your eyes,” and so on. The singer •endering that song had to take liberties with the music to render an intelligible meaning of the words, and to' pause, after “beside you,” then to jo on with “in your eyes.” The emTihaisio of the written melody was mini table' for the Avords. Miss Charlotte Mills, at Mr. Foster’s request, played some' of the , accompaniments to several well-known •ongs of a bygone day. “You would never guess the words of the soug from' the accompaniment.'’ he said, >nd announced the name of the 6ongs. Parsing from that portion of his lacfcure, M*-. Foster mentioned some of •■•he ■ British composers of • the present ’av. with the general observation that the advance of the last 30 years or so was such that songs of a very difficult type were now being presented to students. British music had advanced during the present century so much tv" wm-o now getting, songs which gimt Icdtimatelv he called art songs, themes than their predecessors dared to do. ’ AN UNUSUAL INCIDENT. A . voiceless priina-. donna going through her part in dumb show, while the orchestra played the accompaniment to the beautiful music she should have been singing—-that was the spectacle, unique in. the history of grand opera in Australia, which a crowded audience at Her Majesty’s in Melbourne recently witnessed. 'Signorina Lina Scavizzi, who appears as Antonia in the third act oi “'/ales of Unitman,” was suffering from a relaxed throat. A note on the programme stated that she would appear, in order that there should not be a postponement of the opera, and the indulgence, of the audience was asked. Signorina Scavizzi went through her part in silence. She played the piano, but not a note of her fine voice was heard ; she answered the passionate appeals of Hoffman with little gestures, and wao mute while tlie doctor sang his part of what should have been the most beautiful duet of the opera. When the time came when she should have burst into beautiful song, she gave little hopeless shakes of the head, and threw out her arms appealingly, as if for sympathy. ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD. When the New- Zealand team at Camborne, Cornwall, was led out by Richardson, the vice-captain, the local band played “Land of Hope and Glory,” and the arrival on the field of the Cornish team was heralded by Trelawney. Then “God Save the King” was played, and subsequently the visitors gave their peculiar war cry as they were lined up in front of the pavilion. FOLK SONG AND DANCE. EXTENSION OF MOVEMENT IN THE WRIST. ■ The present generation is aware of a great awakening of the national consciousness in matters of culture to which many movements are contributing. As responsible for one of these movements, the English Folk-Dance Society is not content with rediscovering and recording its subject: It looks forward as well as back.

In promoting the objects of the Folk-Dance Society there is no desne to set the clock back or to revive an archaic or obsolete form of dance. Dancing has a-hvays been a natural ami spontaneous, form of recreation, and we have a heritage of a large number of •■•haraoteristie' and beautiful English dances—'more suitable to the national temperament than the imported Continental and other dances of recent years, and set to the most beautiful music in the world.

Modern ball-room dancing in its more restrained form is not to be despised, but it suffers from a. lack of v viety and its limited appeal to the more youthful .section of society. Its

’lei*) ie. foreign; its quality and range a’ ,r> p-or that there is constant need of imported novelties. Except in r-iro’eis where sophistication has r i i!i> too far for remedy, country dancing ha an n nreeahle and wholesome siihstitute. For old and young and r. ~11 aKsses tlmre dances are a most delightful recreation. They are the exposition of an art associated with communal life, especially rural life, in all shares of our national history. Mr. Cecil Sharp’s Work.

How nearly these dances were lost fn ns j..-i i-aidised by those who familiar with the interesting research nf Mr. Cecil Sharp. The storv of thei" rescue from the limbo which them is a- most romantic nnc Those who were present at the demonstration of Folk-Dancing given hv the headquarters staff last Easter, : u Exeter. when Mr. Sharp himself • r?ve a moct interesting and illuminat’ivr -i'>--.'intio[i of the dances perform/M'wi 1 ! understand the importance of i.j, vv-.*l<- The account he gave of tha rrrowth. decay, and re-discovery of these national and traditipnal dances

delighted a very large audience in the Civic Hall.

The death of Mr. Sharp in July last left a blank which it is impassible to fill. The Folk-Dance Society is, at the moment, grieving the loss of its founder and director, and making every effort that liis invaluable lifework shall be preserved and continued. The society is fortunate in having secured as director of music Dr. Vaughan Williams. The choice is a particularly happy one. His work in connection with folk music is a veryspecial qualification for the position, and those who have been fortunate enough to see his opera “Hush, the Drover,” which has its inspiration in our national folk music, will realise the distinction which the appointment cpnfers on the society'. The Work in Devon. _ Under the presidency of Lady Mary Iretusis, the musical directorship of Dr. Vaughan \Villiains, and the active and vigorous co-operation of all members of the society, and of' Mr. Cecil Sharp’s very iaige circle of friends, the English Folk-Dance Society sets itself the task of building up as a national monument the work ot its founder. A scheme tor a more concrete memorial is in. process oi formation ami will in time be made known.

The Devon branch of the society, formed in January last year, is an ini- ' portan.t unit in the county branch system adapted recently. By its means it is possible to send teachers into the more remote villages as well as to organise .classes in the towns. A grant of £SO a year hae been made from the Carnegie: Fund to the branch to help in sanding teachers to the villages.. In addition to .a branch teacher sent from the London headquarters, the county branch has the part-time services of several other certificated teachers, and it is hoped to reach all parts of the county in time. The district of North Devon: has recently been organised, and classes are' in process of formation at Barnstaple, ■Bideford. and other areas. It is proposed to.hold a festival and at least one competition during the coming year, and the adjudication will ibe in competent hands. The hpn. secretary of the Devon ‘ County branch. Mrs. James Leicester, j Luehana.', Teignmouth, will welcome enquiries and give information and <leI tails of organisation. UNIVERSITY CARILLON. (Sydney Morning Herald.) A Press message from London has j contained a statement- that Dr. Bradfield is calling for tenders in London j for the University carillon. Writing as one who has given this general sub” jeet some stpdy, I hope that in the | expenditure of a large sum of money in connection with what is a highly [ specialised craft, founded on carefulv I guarded experience, the greatest care i will be exercised in the selection of the bells. The history of hell-founding i is, unfortunately, fraught with numerous instances of failure to produce those essentials to a oarillon where, quite, apart from tuning, every tone must be truly associated with all other tones in the set. (There isl a sentiment about bells which fceerins with early infancy and endures through life. "Whether it is the deep-toned bell in some cathedral spire, or the measured tones of j>he watdh calling the midnight hour on the lonely ocean, there is probably .‘ no | musical sound which carries so much | sentiment as the sound of a bell. There | is, indeed, a strange mystic sympathybetween the sound of a bell and human emotions, so that even the most unimaginative are infhienced by it. One must not imagine that tbe tone of a bell depends upon one note: It is quite a work of art to produce a hell which is correct in tune and tone, for it must be borne in mind that the sound of the bell is derived from three: main distort notes and two secondary notes. There *are thus five distinct sounds in a p roper]v r ripv»d bell. As showing the progress which has taken place in recent years it may be mentioned that the bide” bells, and those ’’n some modern cart 1 Inns, are rarely in tune with one another in the broadest sense of the won], When their various tones are analysed the bells of olden times—and indeed, some made up to quite recent dates—are found to be hopelessly out of tune. The modern bell-founder has brought the making of bells to a scientific—but withal, secret —art, and special machinery is used to shave oil parts of the metal from the bell, in order to bring it into tune in all five of the notes essential for the proper sound. The 'main note of a bell is the “fundamental,” or tonic note, which will take some definite place in the mimical eoale. The’-e is h. '--eeond note, which is one octave higher, known as the nominal, and in modern bell tuning this nominal is the important note, especially for carillons of belle, on which a murical piece would be played. as it would be on a grand organ or any other instrument. The third important note is the “hum” note, which is one octave below the fundamental, eo that the nominal and the hum notes vary by two octaves in the chromatic scale. . It is owing largely to the hum note that the peculiar beauty of the bell sound becomes evident. There are. also two other notes, usually a third and a fifth above the fundamental, which are essential for the beauty of the tone. The bellfounder, therefore, has to know not only where he has do place his metal in the body of tbe casting, but where to put so much in order to have the hell tuned bv the machine process which must follow. It is great'v to the credit of the modern bell manufacturer that perfection of tone has made the beautiful music nnssib'" in carillons numbering anywhere from 40 to 80 bells. As is the case with the nano' and indeed most instruments, the hiehe' notes in the register are depended o 1 to give the air or the main theme of the musical composition, hence the necessity for the nominal note being correct. In ordinary change ringing on a peal of bells such as we are most familiar with the purity of the nominal note is not so essential.

MUSIC IN THE! SCHOOLS

s WHAT AMERICA IS DOING. } (Sunday Morning Herald.) One can go into public schools in | America, and hear the children playing classical music in their own orchestras. This indicates the extent to which the 'study of music is pursued in the United States. Sydney had, a few days ago, at the boys’ concert at the Town Hall, an excellent opportunity of ap- . praising the musical instruction of the 1 schools in this city. The choral singi '

ing by the boys was so admirable as to surprise many of those present, including the judgle of the afternoon’s competition. Mr. Walter Thorman, who declared that he had had no idea that the public schools were doing work of vso high a. standard. ” So much, then, for the teaching of singing. But there is a much wider field still unexploited here. The study of the orchestra, so important a branch of musical education nowaday*, is of only a fugitive character in the public schools of Australia. It is, on the other hand, a prominent feature of the instruction given in America. Not merely are American children taught to play in their orchestras. They are given systematic instruction in the music that is played. For instance, the teacher, selecting a movement from a Beethoven symphony, will analyse that movement in lectures to the children, explaining its motives in detail, and the principles of its construction. Again, it is the custom of any of the great orchestras, in its periodic visit to the town, to give, in addi-. tion to its evening concert for the general public, an afternoon conceit for children. The programme having been sent on many days ahead, the children are take* 'through the works of this programme in the manner just described, and the result is that when the day of the concert arrives they are ready to take their places in the hall as intelligent listeners, possessing a grasp of the inner meaning of the music they are to hear. More People to Listen.

In this way, America is sedulously trailing its future audiences. Music to-day, various authorities are persistently reminding us, needs not more artists who have been educated to play or sing, but more people who have been educated to listen. America has fully grasped the significance of that fact, and its importance in relation to the very maintenance of musical life When Frank Bridge, the English composer, visited New York last year, he was amazed at the comprehensiveness of the work now proceeding in the schools all over America. “You are wonderful here!” he exclaimed. “Music has no place like this in the schools in England.” He has not been alone among distinguished visitors in expressing this admiration.

L ln fact, music has been made a part of the curriculum in many of the prim-* ary schools of the United States. An army of music supervisors, trained men and women, is engaged in directing all this activity, and the records of the annual conferences held by these officers furnish full proof at once of their zeal and of" the extensive character of the enterprise The conductors of the leading orchestras have enthusiastically taken up this cause of education in music, realising, of course, the value of a scheme eo destined to rouse the interest and stimulate the perceptions of concert audiences. Hence ive find that orchestral concerts for children form part of their plans for every season. Work of the greatest value in this direction has been done for many years by Mr. Walter Damrosch and his New York Symphony Orchestra, by Mr. Leopold Stokowski and his Philharmonic Orchestra, and ‘several other orchestral leaderG. Any person who goes to one of these concerts retains a vivid impression of the young people, alert and eager-eyed, whether listening to a big symphony or following the conductor in his. preliminary explanation of the music. . Though such concerts have won greater recognition in America than anywhere else, they are not unknown in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, and other cities of the United Kingdom. The question which most intimately concerns us is, when will they become an established fact in. Australia? The University. Universitj 7 recognition of music as a •subject of . education is widespread in America; The University of Michigan, for instance, established courses in music as early as 1880, and has maintained a school .of music since Then there are similar schools at Yale, at Ooluambia. University in New York, at the University of South California, and in manv other kindred institutions. Probably the most important factor m the stimulus given to the study of music in the schools, however, is found in the influence exercised by the National Federation of Music Clubs, a great organisation of women. These women s clubs have been formed in practically all the cities and towns of the United States, and they work with unique and exemplary enthusiasm in promoting the cause they have made their own. Music in America undoubtedly owes a vast obligation to these loyal and eelf-sacriiiring women. They have mapped out an extensive policy, and no trouble seems too great for them, if only the} 7 can thereby accomplish their aims. One of their declared objects is to obtain due recognition for the achievements of the American composer. His place is somewhat uncertain at ■ present ;■ and, anyway, art is not restricted by territorial boundaries, for recognition of a work of genius should be full and complete, whether that work conies from New York or from Timbuctoo. But the activities of this great federation are certainly beneficial in keeping public interest alive, and its example of untiring zeal is a continual encouragement to other organisations in their daily round of duty. America has sought to grapple with the problem presented by the presence of the unqualified and incompetent teacher, but so far without success. In spite of all this enthusiasm about music—possibly because of it —there is as much inferior teaching in the hig cities of the United States as in the! big cities of any other country. However, the States take care that those entrusted with music-teaching in the schools possess due qualifications for their task, and the work now going on f there will doubtless come to its full re-j suits in the elevation of public ideals | in music when the school children of| to-day become the men and women of to-morrow.