MUSIC LEGENDS

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 17 January 1935, Page 7

MUSIC LEGENDS

influence of the wind reed pipe instruments summer school address The influence of the wind and the making of music by means of reed-pipe instruments was the basis of a lecture to the teachers’ summer school at New Plymouth yesterday, by Mr Ernest Jenner, A.R.S.M. The boisterous effect of the wind upon the sea was an early allusion and the “Sea Reivers Song.” from the Songs of flie Hebrides by Margaret Kennedy-Fraser was sung by Mr R. Short. The effect of the wind on the seas played an important part in the lives of the Hebridean fisher folk and the story of Kishmul’-s Galley, one of the popular Hebridean songs, was given to the audience by the lecturer in the words of Kenneth McLeod.

The composer, Harry Farjeon, had written a piano pices called “The North Wind,” which was descriptive of such a wind as tried to wreck Kishniul’s galley, and Mr Jennev played this composition. In classical mythology, said Mr .leaner, the god Aeolus had charge of the winds. He then proceeded to relate some legends dealing with the in\ention of musical instruments. One was that accounting for the making of the Eastern violin. An .Indian holy man resting, during a pilgrimage beneath the shade of a tree, awakened to hear strains of beautiful music. Casting about to discover the source he saw the dried remains of a dead monkey among the branches of a tree and upon the entrails stretched from branch to branch the wind was playing with musical effect, lie took the remains of the dead monkey and stretched them upon a skin and made a musical instrument called the surrangi and to this day the Indian violin is covered with skin instead of wood. The lecturer then addressed himself to legends relating to wind instruments and told how Minerva discovered that by blowing through hollow reed pipes ltivsical notes could be made. Discovering also, however, that the blowing of the pipes was not conducive to the beauty of her lips and cheeks she flung the pipe away with a curse upon it and upon whoever should find it. Marcius, a shepherd, found the pipe and discovered its musical capabilities and from his use of it the reed pipe became the musical instrument of the shepherd. Ari interesting oboe solo was played per medium of the gramophone as a strikiilustration of reed-pipe music.

It was but a short stop from this stage to the description of the Pipes of Pan, who discovered that varying tones could be produced by pipes of varying length and size. An illustration of this music was given by the placing by Air Jenner of a piano arrangement of Bach’s “Pan’s DancingSong. 5 from the cantata “Phoebus and Pan. 5 ’ This was followed by a reference to the music of the fawns and in illustration a. picture piece of orchestral music was played on the gramophone, clearly depicting the approach and receding of the little fawns in which the rapid lioof-beats could be distinguished and every now' and again there was heard a sharp shrill fournote figure on the pipes, obviouslj based on some old barbaric scale.

Proceeding, tlifi lecturer said tlic effect of 'wind as a maker of music was illustrated ia Wagner music, notably in bis “Hide of the Valkyries,” and this was illustrated by further pianoforte music arranged by Liszt, entitled “Wind of the Trees.” In conclusion the speaker said it was not generally recognised that Bach was a composer of descriptive music but he played another pianoforte arrangement by Pummel of a selection from one of the Bach cantatas, entitled “The Bushing of the Raw Winds,” and with this he concluded the lecture.