WORLD OF MUSIC

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 12 January 1929, Page 16

WORLD OF MUSIC

COMPETITIONS. Hawera apparently possesses one of the comparatively few competitions societies which, has clone any good irom ! tne financial point o.f view. They. ail I appear to attract- large entries so that j from an artistic point of view they ( are quite satisfactory, but. that, will * not carry a society along, although it is an esential factor with success of any such, institution. It is the factor that decides growth and develop merit and, ii wisely used, as the Hawera executive may nonestly claim it has been used, the result is a widening of its scope and influence and an increased patronage. The mainstay of t.he whole scheme is the support of the public. ! What it is exactly that decides the ! extent of this patronage is somewhat I difficult to say. Apparently the society at Hawera has managed to enlist it. Its programmes are certainly good, but one might assume that the standard performance in the larger centres would be- as good as in the smaller towns and with the greater population to work upon, should really be better. Perhaps it may be that the audiences in the smaller centres are •not quite so critical, because, in the main, they do not get the oportuuity to see and hear so much that is good in the arts and are, may be, easier satisfied. Whatever may be the reason, there is no doubt the societies such as Hawera draw the crowded houses. It is remarkable to see at the opening of the morning session a house which, while holding some hundreds, has scarcely a vacant seat and which demands in the early part of the day, the opening of the whole seating accommodation. The society is on a sound financial basis, and each year gives its scholarships to promising candidates. This’ feature is one of the most praiseworthy in the whole scheme. The Cambridge Society showed a profit of £24 —and has assets totalling £135. In Wellington the society has had a rocky road to traverse. It made a loss on the last festival and has resolved to shorten sessions. NOTES. An eminent physician, lecturing before the Academy qf Medicine in Paris, declares that a bass voice requires more energy than any other, says a musical journal. Investigating the work of singers and orators he finds that, in order to produce the same impression upon the ears of an audience in a hall a bass voice requires about eighteen times more work than a baritone or tenor. It was found, also, that men are always more fatigued than women and children by an equal effort of v-oice, and men with bass ■ oices suffer the most fatigue. Lieutenant-Commander John Phillip Sousa, who is no-w on his fifteenth anniversary tour of America, was made an honorary citizen qf Milwaukee when he visited that city last month. Sousa’s tour this season is liis fiftieth as a conductor, -and also the thirty-sixth annual tour of his own band. Although he is in his _ seventy-fifth year 1 the present tour, which begun in July, ] has taken him from coast to coast, and is one of the most strenous he nas ever undertaken. WHEN SOLO 1 SINGING WAS 1 ANATHEMA. Mr. E. J. Hill was for many years Wellington’s leading tenor and older residents- recall his singing with great pleasure. He tells a good story or the days when he was the conductor or a Methodist church choir in Nelson. He was reminded of that time recently, when two elderly ladies called upon him at his place of business to cliat over the distant past. It. appeared that these ladies were members of the choir l at that time; and on one occasion lie gave one of them the solo to sing, “Will You Meet Me at the Fountain C That he should have the temerity to introduce solo singing into the enure i was considered a heinous offence, and on that account he ,was asked to hand in his resignation as conductor. WONDERFUL BOY ORGANIST. A fifteen years’ old boy, named Gordon Thorne, of Soutlifields. who- only learnt to play the organ three years ago, played the whole service m —tMargarets’s Church, Westminster, on a recent Sunday. This promising youngster began to- play the piano when he was five, his mother acting as his teacher until he was ten. He then- became a choir boy in the Chapels Royal, and while he wa-s- singiug at Windsor he came into contact w:tli Mr. Daws-on, the organist of.S.t. Margaret’s. The latter taught him, and the young pupil established a world record" by passing the L.R.A.M. (piano) examination when he had just turned the age of fifteen. After the service on Sunday he played a voluntary which was- his "own improvisation He intends making music his career. Ins greatest ambition being to become organist of a great eaphe irai. The ©ay may yet arrive when he will hold suchj a position at the great Abbey Church in whose grounds St. Margaret s stands. CHORAL FIND. WORK OF 13th-CENTURIY MONK, s The former convent of San Domenico, at Gubbia, during the Middle Ages was celebrated for the artistic works ot its monks and frians. An important discovery of eleven old choral volumes has been made during a careful inspection by Superintendent of Fine Aits, Professor Castelfranco. These chorales were found under a heap of dust in an old closet, with shelves that had not been ■'opened for many years, and was. supposed not to contain anything valuable. The books are artistically worked and bound, and contain beautiful miniatures ol saints, Bible scenes, and allegorical figures. They are supposed t ; o_ have been executed in the thirteenth century by some artistic monk of Gnbbio. it is suggested that they might even have been the work of the well-known religious artist Oderisi of Gnbbio, who is mentioned by Dante in his “Purga-t-orio.” The miniatures were all executed by the same hand, and are stat-l cd to be probably the best complete j series in all Umbra due to a single artist. The value of these miniatures isi said to he very great. RECORDED MUSIC. Two Strauss Waltzes. —(1) “Artists Life” (Waltz); (2) “Tales from the Vienna Woods.’ ’ Johann Strauss and Symphony Orchestra. Columbia 02577. The works of a famous composer interpreted by his famous son. Johann Strauss- has secured the true Vienese spirit in the rich tones of his Orchestra in these two renderings of his father’s works. As might be expected, the Conductor has the full sense or understanding, and has- created a realness of atmosphere that makes these two items a- sheer delight. For Organ Lovers. —“Light Cavalry Overture” (Suppe) Organ Solo by Quentin M. Maclean. In two- parts.

Columbia 01007. One of the most brilliant performances of this celebrated organist of Shepherd's Pavilion, London. Effective registration is shown in this organ solo, particularly in the opening, whilst the closing portions are exhilarating in the extreme. This record is one of t.he most perfect of organ recording that I have listened toand its appeal is very wide to organ lovers.

Lovely Russian Part _ Singing.— Chauve-Souris- “A Russian Barcarolle,” Mmes Birse and Ershova, Mm. Dedovitch and Shevtchenko; (2) “Round the Hay Wain,” Chauve Souris Company with the Vaudeville Theatre Orchestra. Columbia-' 02525. Two Russian recordings of truly welcome voices—the “Barcarolle”, marks the singers as fine artists; the tone of their voices in the deeper notes and the purity of the higher notes are real pleasure. The recordings were made in the Vaudeville Theatre, London, the conductor of the Orchestra being Mr. Sko-gan. For Organ Lovers. “Light Cavalrv Overture” (Suppe). Organ solo by Quentin M. Maclean. In "two parts." Columbia 01007. One of the most brilliant performances of this celebrated- organist of S-heplierd’s Pavilion, London. Effective registration is 'shown in this organ solo, narticularly in the opening, whilst the closing portions are exhilarating in the extreme. This record is one of the most perfect of organ recording that I have listened to, and its appeal is very wide to organ lovers.