COMPETITIONS FESTIVAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 20 August 1925, Page 10

COMPETITIONS FESTIVAL.

YESTERDAY’S WORK. SOME GOOD ITEMS. The popularity attaching' to the musical competitions was again manifested yesterday, when there were good audiences at hoth the afternoon and evening sessions. JUDGES’ REMARKS. Mr Runniclcs said that in the piano solo competition he was frankly disappointed. Most of the competitors quite failed to realise what was demanded of them. He said; that if asked to discriminate between an oil painting or landscape and a delicate pastel, most people would be able to say at once. The competitors seemed to think that sound, and as much of it

as possible, was what was required and what mattered. But. he added, the solo was really a delicate picture, and its effect depended almost solely on delicate tone. The piano was an instrument to be stroked, not pounded, and the more a player stroked the more he got out of it. It was a dear, long suffering instrument. If competitors would remember that they could get the tiniest sounds, the big sounds would always be there. He said that compositions of the French schools were generally of the light type, a marked contrast to the German, and in a lesser degree to the Italian. In regard to the boys’ solo, he had only one remark to make, 'and* that was that competitors should' choose the song that suited their temperament, just as an actor would be chosen for a special part. Choosing a wrong type of song tended to bring out the worst instead of the best.

He also commented on the action song class. None of the songs chosen for the class had been altogether suitable for the children, and had not lent themeslves to action songs, he said. There were a large number of fine action songs obtainable, and teachers and parents would be wise to obtain suitable songs. Mr Stanley Warwick a Iso gave his comments on the elocutionary items held during the afternoon. In connection with the reading at sight. Mr Warwick said that it was important that the competitors should improve their work. The first thing, he said, was the position in which the hook was held. One of the girls had held her book low down, and had bent her head downwards, with the result that the sound was lost and the judge had been hardly able to hear;a word spoken. To read at sight it was not necessary to look at the book all the time; in fact, it was not desirable to do so. Until a person learnt how to pause he would never read at bight, for it was during the pauses that he would look at the hook and take a mental photograph of the passage until the next pause, when he would' look at it again. A competitor should keep his eyes on the audience, or he would lose control. It could be readily appreeiated that if the competitor read into the hook the tone would be lost unless his voice was resonant. Vowel production was another matter discussed by Air Warwick, who gave examples of words falsely pronounced through lack of training in vowel production. The character work produced was not up to a standard 1 of quality; in fact, it could scarcely he termed character work. A competitor should assume a definite character and not, as one competitor had done, attempt to interpret several characters. The musical monologues chosen by competitors had not l>een very suitable for the class, being in the majority of eases merely songs with the words spoken. He stressed the necessity of a great deal of rehearsal of hoth performer and accompanist, in order that the item should be thoroughly known to both in order that various difficulties consequent with the production of musical monologues might he eliminated as far as possible. The judge said the work of some of the competitors in the contralto solo, piano solo, and violin 6010 events was very good, and one or two were outstanding. He was especially pleased with the singing of Miss 0. Grind rod. and the playing of Miss L. Haughton (piano) and Miss M. Good (violin). AFTERNOON SESSION. Action song (under 14): own selection.—S. Horsbrough. EVENING SESSION.

The se:ond day of the Hawera Competitions was successfully completed last night, when there was a !arge audience at the evening session. The standard set by the competitors was on the whole very good. The principal item on the programme was the adult choir class. There were four entries — St. Mary’s Church, the Methodist Church, the Operatic Society and the Presbyterian Church choirs. The test included Gounod’s anthem “Send Out Thy Light” and another part song of the choir’s own selection. There was little between any of the choirs, being all within 10 marks between first and last. The Operatic Society received the first prize of £5 ss. and St. Mary’s choir tvon the second of £2 2s. Later on in the evening Mr Runnicles conducted the massed choirs in the singing of the test anthem. The singing was excellent, and Mr Runnicles had the 80 voice* under perfect control. Mr Warwick was so pleased with the nliK'k of an eight-vear-old girl, Joyce Goodwin, who entered for the under 15 years girls’ recitation class, that he awarded her n special prize, which was presented by Mr Horner. Joyce Goodwin did exceedingly well in her class, but the variation in age told against her. Detailed results were as follows: Soprano or mezzo-soprano solo; own selection.—Miss l'\ Boage.v 1, Misses J. Bissett and E. Murdoch 2. 1 Violin solo (under 18); “Melody in F” (Rubinstein). —Albert Riley 1. Gentlemen’s humorous recitation; own selection.—J .H. Forrester 1, C. J. McFadyen 2. Bovs’ song (under 16 years); own selection.—Spencer Anderson i, Malcolm Walker 2. Girls’ recitation (under 15 years); “They Say.”—Valerie Healey 1, Patricia Ekdahl 2. . Piano solo (under 18 years); “Arabesque in G Major.”—Miss Leah Haughton 1. Miss Jean Sheild 2. Choir contest: (a) Anthem, “Send Out Thy Light” (Gounod); (b) part sailer, own selection. —Operatic Society Choir L St. Mary’s Choir 2. ' Reading at sight (under 15 years).— Nannie Forrester 1. Valerie Healey 2. Humorous recitation in cha-acter (under 18 years).—Joan Tonics 1, Mavis Taoo 2. Violin coin; “Cavatina.”—Miss MGood 1, Miss E. Hulbert 2. Humorous musical monologue.—H. L. vSnratt 1, Miss M. Walker 2. JUDGE’S COMMENTS. After the completion of the pro gramme, Mr Stanley Warwick gave a few very interesting comments and also some excellent advice to competi- ’

tors anti teachers. He said he had enjoved exceedingly the girls’ recitation class ‘‘They Say.” The whole poem had been interpreted without the affectation heard in some of the larger centres, but had been quite natural. He was extremely disappointed that someone had coached' one of the recalls since her morning appearance, and she had developed several absurd actions which spoilt the effect she had made during the day. Her evening Performance had been marred. Mr AVarwick snoke against meddling with pupils between their appearances, foi a child was unable to change her style in such a short space of time. With regard to the musical monologues, he said he awarded the first place to a competitor who had produced a dialect monologue. He did not object to dialect work for adults, but children should not he allowed to learn anything in which the English language was mutilated. After all. the children were not providing vaudeville turns. He urged that parents should not allow their children to be forced, as the result would be that the brain would be developed at the expense of the bodv. THIS MORNING. To-dav there was a very interesting series of contests. The morning was devoted to oiano solo (under 14 years), for whiHi 11 were entered, and girls’ song funder 14 years), in which 1? competed. The’ afternoon included several interesting numbers; —girl’s song (under 15 years), recitation, humorous (ladies), musical monologue (lady or gentleman), baritone and bass solo (‘‘The Lute Player”). This evening will be also especially interesting —mixed and male’' voice quarte+te. Shakspen’ari recitation (own selection). two humorous stories and impromptu speech. Tn addition there will he the recalls from the day’s work. TTTT.S MORNING’S WORK. The session this morning was conlined to children’s piano work and songs. They were good classes and were much enjoyed by a fairly large audience. Results: Piano solo (under 14): Recalls, Vera Sheild and Thelma .Tones. Highly commended: Mabel Gliy, Billy Dakcrs, Gwen Chadwick. Girls’ song (under 14); own selection: Recalls. Olga Hancock, Marcia Sunderland, Patricia Goodson.