WORLD OF MUSIC

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 2 May 1925, Page 12

WORLD OF MUSIC

THE MUNICIPAL BAND

A distinct advance in the grade of band selections was made by the H.awcrn. Band, when at tlie Anzac Day service their conductor (Lieut. Fox), put on as the opening item the wonderfully beautiful funeral march ol Chopin. It was a march which, especially in its opening and concluding movements, that with the slow full sustained chorus, pianissimo, are such as to demand very careful playing. Again in the grand climax in progression of chords which precede the entry of the haunting beautiful melody that forms *the second movement, very great care is needed. Throughout the performance of the band there was evident results of capable and thorough training at rehearsal, while the effects secured were such as to make the selection most enjoyable and much appreciated bv all. It was reallv a very good intelligent interpretation ol a difficult work. The “Dead March m Saul also was a capital performance. The effects secured were very good indeed, and, though it has been played bv bands and heard by people all over the world countless times, it never fails to appeal. The performa nee in Ha we r a was a distinct credit to the band and the conductor, who should he and no doubt will be spurred on to' further good work by their success.

THE MALE OH OUR

The first concert of the season held last Wednesday gave the Male Choir an opportunity to show the progress made* since the beginning of the year and under their new, conductor, Mr. Clement Howe. They showed generally, a very nice appreciation of expression, their unison ensemble was very fine and full without any signs of. shouting, and their balance and blend were on the whole quite good. But the question of first, tenors is an ever present difficulty. That is where the choir -wants strengthening —more singers with the real tenor quality and range. All choirs have it, and if Hawera can do anything to strengthen that section much more can be done. Still the work pf the choir at the concert was very good, and they showed the evidence of careful training and thev watched the baton well.

THE ORCHESTRA

The revival of an orchestra —-and it was quite a good one—added interest to the performance. As they get more .practice together so will their work improve. They will be wanted when the choral selection js put in hand.

FRANZ VON SUPPE,

Franz von Suppe died over 100 years ago. Very few people are fully acquainted, “says a critic, with the great volume of delightful comic opera music that lie wrote. The “Poet and Peasant” overture is, of course, played “everywhere,” but this was only one of von Suppe’s very tuneful works. Of course, a great deal,.that he did seems trite now. in comparison with the works of . many of the more serious masters, Imt it is given to few men to turn out as many refreshingly original melodies as did von Suppe, Lecocq, Genee, Offenbach, Audrnn, Delibes, Sullivan, Lehar, Herbert, de Koven and others. The conception of the merry tunes that characterise these works is quite as much a matter of genius as the' making of a great symphony. In fact there are many symphonies with less melodic inspiration than can he found in one act of von Suppe’s “The Beautiful Galatea.”

ENGLAND’S GOLDEN AGE

INTERESTING FINDS

Last year was notable in the history of music in England for the greatest

revival of interest in English mijsic was seen that has taken place probably at i any time. Discoveries were made," as the result of research by enthusiasts) which out the music of England on a plane hardly realised before. Dealing with this subject, ‘slarcato” in one of the leading English' dailies has many interesting things to say. He writes: One of the most • retiring of men, Dr. E. H. Eeilowes, of Windsor, is this autumn figuring willy-nilly in the public eye. i For one thing, this edition of The English Madrigal School—a great collection of the secular music of the Elizabethans—has at last been completed by the . appearance of vols. 33 to 36 (Stainer and Bell). This is one ' of the great musical events of 1924—this and the first per-, formanees. after 300 years,, of Byrd’s “Great” Service, a pure discovery by Dr. Eeilowes. The' Madrigalists—A Surprise The last four of the Madrigal volumes contain some of the lesser masters —Alison, Vautor, Mundy, Jones, Cavendish, Greaves and Holborne. We cannot expect therein any such wonders as in the earlier volumes of Wee Ikes aiid Willbye, or even of Tomkins and Warct But one of the surprising things about the madrigalists is the high- level maintained even by the less inspired men. Really, looked at from the twentieth century, it seems to have been an age without bad music. A Noble Array. What a noble array these 36 volumes : malcp! They will, of course, not be for , every musician’s shelves, any more than the still more handsome Carnegie volumes of Tudor church music, now being published. They are not cheap. But every selflespecting public library should contain them, and . (as with the church music) the pieces can be had separately for piactical use at a few pence each. This way Willbye and Byrd should become names as familiar as Schubert and Schumann.

Byrd’s “Great” Service. This is the work —Byrd’s chief composition for the Church of England rite —which was completely ‘unknown until Dr. Fell owes came across a MS. (imperlect) in Durham Cathedral archives, when he was seeking out the church music of Orlando Gibbons for the Carnegie edition. Established Feature. Byrd, although a member of Elizabeth’s Chapel Royal, was a Roman Catholic, and wrote mostly for the Roman rite (three Masses and a quantity of splendid motets). His only long-known Anglican Service (the “Short” in D minor) has always maintained its place in English cathedral services, even through the times of deepest minunderstanding of the Elizabethans. The probability is that the new “Great” Service will become an established feature of English musical and religious festivals.