WORLD OF MUSIC

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 28 August 1926, Page 7

WORLD OF MUSIC

THE COMPETITIONS. . \ •' - !• V striking success lias been added to the list of competition festivals which, for several years have been conducted under the aegis of the Hawera Male Choir. The scope of the festival has been steadilv widened and enlarged so as to make as strong anti universal appeal as possible to all interested m art of every kind, and in this the executive lias been well advised and reaped the reward of their enterprise. The result is that the support of the public has been secured and iirmly maintained. It grows, if possible, stronger and steadier year by year. The presentation of tho shields to the school choir and Mr Dixon’s appropriate remarks in performing that ceremony, take the mind of those who have been in the district, a considerable time, to the wonderful work done for the Male Choir throughout many years by the late Leonard Tarrant, practieally the founder and long the mainstay of the tenor section of the choir, and also by Mrs Tarrant, in her long service as honorary accompaniste. It also recalls the fact that the big festival now held began in a very modest way in practically internal competitions in the choir, and then for schools, with a view to encouraging and fostering work in schools. It was the germ of a great idea and a vision. It is unfortunate and much to bo regretted that it has not been supported in anything like the way it should. There were prospects of a very ,big thing if it had been whole-heartedly taken up by all schools ■ff the district. But what has been done has made the effort worth while, and in particular to see the remarkable way in which tlic little Fraser Load ■School respond to the very striking methods of their master is an object lesson. Capital work, too, has been done by several of the schools. Choral work of all kinds is a feature that cannot be too strongly fostored, and this would bo the mind of that line enthusiast in music, and specially in all common-sense and perhaps unorthodox methods, of teaching, Mr Runnicles, the popular judge of the competitions music. For he was bewailing the lack of more choral singing and looking back with envy to the spacious times of Queen Elizabeth when, as he said, people were asked .out and expected to take a part in a glee or round or other part song instead of going out to bridge, euchre or some card game. And when one recalls the wonderful part taken by choral music in the history of the- - nation, and perhaps moro so in that of special parts of the people’s of Great Britain, one can realise how much should be made of that form of music at the Competitions designed to foster a love of all good music. Nothing actually would please the organisers of the festival than to have a strong liberal response to their lead. They put the classes on their schedule and offered good prizes. It is up to musical bodies and schools to' support them, and if this support is not forthcoming after trying out the classes for a year or two it is not to be wondered at that the execuive wonder whether it is worth while. They hare to see that the Competitions pay their way and cannot afford to go on indefinitely. So the appeal is made urgently and insistently to local musical organisations and to schools to take the matter up for next year, and to see that strong enries are made. Nothing would hearten the members of the society more than to see this response. The very keen interest created this - year by the presence of four choirs' and four or five schools is an indication of what it would be- if the number were doubled. The educative aspect of the festival must be stressed very strongly and insistently. There is a good and strong lead in the Welsh Eisteddfod, homo of competitions for hundreds of years. Nothing could be better than to followsuch a fine lead, and the people will always be behind such a policy. Tho community owes a distinct debt of gratitude to the men who, with a single eye to the advancement of the gentle arts —music and elocution—have year by year carried on the torch lighting the way to knowledge and improvement. The various executives and hon. secretaries—and it may be added that this year’s officers are no whit behind those of past years—are. deserving of much more recognition than is sometimes given. They have done and are doing a work-.the extent and influence of which it is hard to estimate. And a good deal of that work is done in the field where it is likely the more to bring forth fruit, in the minds and souls of the young people of this generation, who are to be the men and women of the next. No one could support a better work or one pregnant with possibilities for good ,to the whole of the f people.

PART SINGING

Speaking of the art of part singing at. the Competitions, Mr Runnicles said he wished most sincerely they could go back to the Elizabethan times when people met round a table and everyonetook a part, and if one could not do this one was not asked again. ENGLISH CHORAL MUSIC. A PRESENT DAY COMPOSER. The repute in which Granville Bantock is held for his choral nmsic is an acknowledged fact, and was stressed by the judge at the present competitions. This is of interest in view of the re cent performance by the Sydney Conservatorium choir and orchestra of one of the best of his works, the poem, "The Time Spirit," for chorus and orchestra. With it were Bach’s cantata " Sleepers Awake" and the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2, in B flat. The music* of Bach’s cantata, considered by many to be one of the finest he has written, was composed in 1731, to a text written by Philip Nicolai in 1599 at a time when the city was alarmed by the ravages of plague. "The Time Spirit," first performed at the Gloucester Festival in 1904, is Bantock’s setting of a poem by his wife, who describes the spirit as a mighty win'd sweeping through the forest of humanity, bending the great trees before it. OLD ORGANS IN AMERICA. The oldest organ on the American Continent is said to be in St. John’s Episcopal Church, Clyde, N.Y. Originfilly it was given by Queen Anne of

England to Trinity Church, New Torlc Citv. The Queen’s gift carried the condition that should the church install a larger instrument, the gift organ should not be sold but be given to some smaller church. Later Trinity Church sent the orgau to Trinitv Church, Utica, N.Y., which in turn passed it along to Trinity Church, Geneva, whence it came to Clyde in IS4<>. The old organ has but one manual, six stops, less than 100 pipes and no pedal tones.

A SONG TO SING

When wo have a song in our heaits all the world sings it to us, from the kettle on the hearth to the birds in the WO od. The waterfall rushes it over the rock lodges and swirls it down stream, The- wind soughs it through the treetops or turns the roadside, wires into an impromptu harp to hum it along our p;l th In the meadow the cricket gaily chirps it as he takes flying leaps over the summer grass; the red squirrel on the lower limb of a tree chatters it; the bee hums it unceasingly with a great swelling - crescendo ns he booms laden out of a flower cup; the rows of corn nod their vcllow heads and rustle it, wafting the song on over the field in ir e ntle swishes of sound. From the grass at our feet the lark suddenly springs aim carries it up to the blue in a very tremolo of joy. The sea sings it over and over as the waves send their song, shining rollers up over the shingle, though we, like little Paul Domboy, can never quite catch what they are laying. It is hoard in the voices of little children and it. echoes in the heartfelt tones of a. friend. The world ami we arc perpetually responding and inviting: “I have a song to sing O. Sing me your song O.”

THE EISTEDDFOD. "

WALES ’ NATIONAL INSTITUTION.

It will be of interest, especially just at this time when Hawcra ha-s been for some days in the throes of competitions and each year realises the value of the institution, to make reference to a wonderful and very old feature in the artistic life of Wales, the well-known and old-quoted Eisteddfod. At that annual function, which extends to a very large and wide scope of work, tho ideals set before* the people arc very hi«-h and therefore should inspire them to°act up to the highest standards in various branches of art.

ORIGIN OF THE EISTEDDFOD. The Welsh word “Eisteddfod” signifies n ‘ ‘ sitting of learned men, and first- mention of the ceremony under that name is recorded in the seventh century when King Gadwaladr is sa.nl to have presided, but the testival self can be traced still further back originating in triennial assemblies of bards and minstrels. The first complete official record of. an Eisteddfod is that of one held at Ystum Llwydiarth in 1517. It is also recorded that Lord Rhys held a great Competitive festival in Cardigan Castle. it was proclaimed a year in advance, anc thus was initiated the regulation in connection with the Eisteddfod which still continues. It was there also that the custom originated of the award of the bardic chair and other trophies, which exists to the present day as one of the characteristic features o± the Eisteddfod. When Wales was conquered and English laws prevailed, the Eisteddfod came under the jurisdiction of the English throne, and due royal authority* had to. bo obtained before the Eisteddfod festivals could be held. The last legal commission for tho opening of an Eisteddfod was granted by Queen, Elizabeth in 1568. By virtue of this deed, an Eisteddfod could be held at any time or place decided upon by the assembly of bards, and one was held at Caerwys in May of the following year, when numerous persons wore admitted to their respective degrees. There were four degrees in the poetical, and five in the musical faculty. Vocal performers were supposed to sing their own compositions, and the probationer Was styled ‘‘ y dysgybl isaf” or lowest disciple; and he, if a candidate for poetic honours, was obliged to show that he not only understood the construction of five species of poetry, but also that he was able to compose them extemporaneously in the presenco of an officer denominated ‘‘Pencerdd,” bard, and he had to conscientiously declare that he was possessed with, true poetic genius. The objects of the Eisteddfod are, the diffusion of useful knowledge, the dieting of native talent, and the cherishing of love of home and honourable fame by the cultivation of poetry, music, and art. It cultivates a patriotic spirit among the people by the encouragement of . Welsh bardism, music, and general literature, and it. also helps to maintain the language and customs of the country.