WORLD OF MUSIC

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 23 June 1928, Page 4

WORLD OF MUSIC

THE COMPETITIONS.

A partio-i.a.ily, interesting Schedule ■las oeen ai'J-un>&pd lor tne competition .estival at Hawera Dus year, wiuonvii! no field on August 20 to 24 in tbe Opera douse. The vamous section® have- boon caretn: ly revised by the e-mni l ltie, Atessis F. W. Horner, J. W. Yelvm, ii. E Cressey. A. E. Morris, J. C. Fmdiater and Ralph Sag© (lion, secreiaivv), and the result will be the best .yet i.-ekl by the .society. There i# no doubt a, really excellent community service was done’ bv tlie Male Choir whim years ago taio committee —it was -a small all’air in those da vs. —sowed the seed of the institution ' that has grown *o large and showu such a rciiia.-kabi© dew op me lit,. It is now a hrmly-establishpd part oi lho musical life of Hawera. Additions have been made this year to the phi no solo section class by adding a younger. clasw, under 10 year?, and Ijie under 21 years has been cii?.eted. ' Hie vocal music .section is about tlie same, exixipt, that a. dramatic solo lias been added, and the chains conte-ving will e-hoove a. liynm or part song. The male voice quartette test selection wll. be “King’s Messenger” (G'anvil Ic- Bantock). Recital with musical accompaniment, numorous and noil-humorous, has made the addition ior the. e, ijut.on C l.ii°tho dancing a- Highland reel and ballet- have- been inserted in place ot ■tho i-r sh jig and poi dance and liaka. All the Cert .selections are- good numbers that w-ij[l try cut tlio comesyuius and p.aside interesting p irtb-i'inaiices son judges and audience. Tiitv voca', and elocutionary judges are ni.eu of standing in the world <1 art, and w ill sot a standard in periorm i no qy their awards . , . . Mr John Bishop, the. musical judge, is a recent arrival front Home, where he was well known a® an- artist and conductor of high standing. Ho studied at. the Royal College of Music, London, and hh» intimately associated with the "Teat competitions fc-y rival movement in an gland much of ins time being .given to ‘coaching competitors. He was a e-cnceit pianist much in demand and took also a, keen interest in the work of marie in schools, oiten giving lecture -o.<- tans. He came to ’Wellington «me months' ago to take up the position ot conductor of the Royal Choral Society, and has made a capital impression on •rifle® bv hi® good work. Mir Farquhar Young, the elocutionary judge, is a well-known and popuar teacher of elocution in Christchurch. Both, at* an elocutionist and. a. judge, Mr Young has made his mark and the festival. committee in Hawera. have chosen well. ' , The interest already evinced m the festival and the demand for schedules have been pronounced and indicate o’ea.nlv that the 1928 competitions ;1 - re going to be probably the -bert in tae iiisterv of the society.

NOTES AND NEWS

In 'the oou.rse cf his tour ill tile Ea*st, Mr J. E. Campbell met a professor from the famous Conservatorium of Milan. When flier reached Sydney, ho introduced liun to Air Frank HufcheiiS' at ■ he Conservatoriuin in that city, un-tL to Air Harold AATiittle, of Wellington, who was in the city. The victor from Italy decided! to continue the trip to Wellinoton and was warmly welcomed l>v the official* of tho Wellington Com•ob tons. . . The Christchurch Operatic .Society ast week perloj med “flic Arcadians-, which was so popular at- Hawera. The producer wan Airs Eva Hulme. .'v high, tribute to New Zealand music and its appeal to the people of other nations was made by Mr W illiani Honglian during the co-aree of his. concert in the Napier Municipal Theatre (s-avs- tne •V. rah:.”) Air Heoghan had received* a number of calls for the old Devonshire favourite “Wield icoin.be Fair.' but announced his intention of singing Alt red Hills “Waiat-a- Poi, ■statinc that ho had sung that- fine native melody in ail parts of the world, and. joist .as in New Zealand, they always call for thci old English and Scottish favourites, if when .in other cou.n-t.-ici lie had sun “AA'aiata- Poi.’ in any city and returned to that city, even after a lapse, perhaps, of two or three yea.s. he -a-lwayw knew that it would' be amongst his requests. T)o*?cr : bN)!2 wlrat lie coiisndcrs his niost sensational' -stage, experience-. Air .John Brownlee, a young Australian baritone now with the* Grand Opera- Company in 'vdnev. ,«ays that during a presentation o c Strauss’ “Salome” in Pans suddenly the lights fused, and twice da-rkne-ssi descended upon the Opera Horn “It wa-s ft- most impressive moment for this to happen, and, inci--.lmtai.lv added to- the-. effect. The audiennv was watting with .it« irsual tenseness for the head of John the Ba-p----ti-st to be brought u-n on its dha-r.geir I‘ro-m the depths of the well. A sudden d-nrknes-s fell, anti lasted 1 for almost three minutes, with the orenesu-a- playing its ominous music. The silence of the audience could he alnic-s-t iclt.. Trulv an oecsi-sion (hat 1 shall never for--q It a.l’: -seemed to he sc: l Seni’pl-u.rai. and s : gni(ican 1.” . *‘AVh- n n AY. K: Gilbert wroh’ I he Yeomen of the Guard, ho naimed the opera. “The- Beefeater/' “It is a good sturdy, solid name” wrote (lilhein* to S'l’liva.n-. “conauring up piclurc-sque associations and cVarlv tellinc it* own tale at- cnee. The Tower AVnrd-en is "'d 'ling: no one knows, hut. the tew that Beefeaters arc called' Tower Wardvis.” Afterwards, however. Gilbert wa s nermaded I hat very few pcon'e were- familiar with the fact that '‘he < „ „r the Tower of London were. I “lwefeatws.’ Gill'p-rt therelVi-e changed the title- finally to- “The- Yeomen of the Guard ” One of the most extraordmarv sensations that has touched America m late

yi2ar.s- is the guitar playing of Andre Segovia. Before Segovia arrived; it was net supposed that the guitar could !>a made a eonceac instrument. Mr Segovia himself sa.ys that even in liter own country, Spain, where as ail know, the guitar is one of tire most favoured instruments, it is used chiefly tor the i rp :se of playing accompaniments for ringers, and the music played on it is confined, generally to only a. few chords. The guitar differs from the lute only fn shape. It i.s one of the oldest instruments and dates back at least as far as 400f> 8.C., perhaps farther. It was proba.blv introduced into Greece seme time after the Trojan War and was no doubt used by the rlvapsodists. Frequent mention is made of the cithara. this being the Greek name for the gtiil-M'. or some instrument, very sianit‘> 't. was introduced into .Spain b.v the Moot*, and fts popularity gradually '••’vead throughout Europe. The Span>b nw'tbnd of tuning' has. been adopted universally.