WORLD OF MUSIC

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 23 April 1927, Page 18

WORLD OF MUSIC

OPERATIC WORK. The most interesting item of neAvs in the musical AAorld of HaAvera this AA-eek is tile opening renearsal of the operatic society lor the performance or trie selected opera, ‘ - Tlie Arcadians,” which will be produced in tne course of the season, rt is certain that members will be very glad to be once more in active operation. A lot of the joy of the opera for members of the chorus is experienced at rehearsal, and it Avilt help the committee materially if members resolve to attend Avitii real regularity. Tne members promise to be very enthusiastic. and Aclien the conductor has got- tnem into form, tne producer will nave a lot of good material on which to work. Tile choice of tne executive ,or tne season fell on Mr Theo. Tresize, whom most of the society Avill knoiv well. He has a great record of successes. The public will be interested to see the mushed performance of “Tne Arcadians” under his charge.

NOTES. Writing of the late Edward Lloyd, a critic recalls with interest the fact that “in his Abbey days, his ciiums irom St. t-aui’s Cathedral and tiie Chapel Royal included three boys avuo afterwards gained celebrity—Arthur Sullivan, Joan Stainer, and Alfred Collier. Lloyd uas the oniy one of the four wi.o retained iiis voice.” A neAv organ for Melbourne Town Hall is being built at Holloway, England. It win cost £28,51)0, and, it is said, will be the world's largest organ. Much regret has been caused by the announcement ti«it Sir Henry Wood has received a letter informing him of tne decision of Messrs Chapped and Co. not to continue the concerts of the -vew Queen’s Hail Orchestra after the present season. Tnis means that the symphony concert of March lb, which ended the present- series, Avill be the last of its hind, and that the Parsifal concert announced for Goo.d Friday Avould be the last appearance of Sir Henry Wood and the nevv Queen’s Hall Orchestra under the present management. As far as the proprietors, Messrs Chappeli and Co., are concerned, the orchestra ceases to exist from that date. They retain their rights in the name as a formal precaution, but they propose to give no more symphony concerts and (ivhat is even more serious) no more promenade conceits in the summer. The future of Queen's Hall itself remains undetermined. The decision as to the concerts follows quickly on the death of Mr. Robert- Neuman, who, Avith Sir FLenry Wood, created the promenade and symphony concerts over 30 years ago. Sir Henry Wood and his orchestra. are still at the public service; Queen's Hall is still available for concert giving. It remains to be seen whether others are ready to shoulder the responsibilities Avhich Messrs Chapped and Co. noAV lay doAvn,. When speaking at the Welsh national banquet, promoted by the Welsh Cymmrodorion, Mr. Baldwin, Prime Minister, recalled a very interesting incident of 500 years ago in Welsh history. He said: “You have gWen me an opportunity of paying a. return call. It is 500 years since you last visited Worcestershire, undVrr Owen GlendoAver. You burned a portion of our Cathedral, and Oavcil GlendoAver, just before the last invasion by Wales, came on a hill overlooking my garden, and, looking down the Severn Valley, sang a. song AA'ith his men, which has been handed down in tradition. It goes ;

Mountain sheep are sweeter, But Valley sheep are fatter, And we therefore deem it meeter To carry off the latter.

“A gathering of that kind showed how their lives, however modern they might think themselves, were in reality. rooted in the past.” ‘‘As it is more than likely that a good many people have felt some disappointment at the small amount of sound produced by the school children who sang to welcome Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of York in Wellington, a word or two may not be amiss concerning the effect of sound under various conditions,” writes a prominent musical authority to the ‘Post.’ “Sound tends to spread like the ripples made by casting a stone into the water, and weakens rapidly as it spreads. When a. sound is made within a room, it is reflected from the walls and ceiling; but when made in the open air it escapes in every direction except downwards, unless something in the nature of a reflector throws it back. Thus sounds made in the open appear relatively much weaker than those made indoors, and are heard best from an elevated position (say from an aeroplane) as thrown up from the earth surface. For this reason a soloist, a choir, or an orchestra in the open air is usually disappointing, and we get our best effects from the powerful tones of the brass hand —tones which would rapidly become oppressive indoors.”