MUSIC

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXXI, Issue LXXXI, 15 May 1920, Page 8

MUSIC

SOME SUGGESTIONS

* (By J. Higham.) ■ . Tlie great musical event — vne> visit of the N.fS.W.r Orchestra—has been and gone. Is it to be .like the passing of a | vision 0r.., phantom, which excites the 1 mind for the time being, but gradually dies away and becomes buried and for- i gottsn in the past, or is its spirit, the Spirit of Music, to remain with us and become something tangible and practical in our immediate locality ? The suggestion has been made to have a State Orchestra in New Zealand, h Hawera was * the centr© of the Stti i and the whole of the Dominion co-oper-ated to establish' such an institution in. our little city, it would be a grand thing for us. But Hawera is not the centre, and if such an institution is established it will be located down yon (to use a sporting phrase) miles from Hawera. It is up to us and every centre j to benefit by the true examples ana suggestions of the N.S.W. Orchestraand have our own institutions. Mr Frank Hutchens mad-e use of the saying that music was a necessary part of education, and I have read of nurses 6njin<!; that music was very conducive to the recovery of sick patients. So, according to that, music is also as necessary for health as physic or doctors. It- strikes me we might go on a new tack, that of music cure, and give tho doctors tke eack. It would be a lot less expensive. I once read an article, some time before the war, comparing Germany, France and Britain as musical nations. The author, who was an English professor of music, stated that 50 per cent, of the Germans were musicians (it was an important part of education in the schools of that country), the French 15 per cent, but poor old Britain has only 2£ per cent, to its credit. I am very much inclined '. to think that the calculation is not far ! out. Let us take our British, communj ity of Hawera. Will anyone venture to say that all the capable musicians it lis possible to muster will exceed 2£ per ■ cent of population ? I would not like to j Jay a wager on it, because 1 am afraid I they do not. We have much to learn and do-before we can claim an equality , with the musical nations of the world. 1 don't mean to be unpatriotic and cry down Britain or Britons. Tak e them all in all they are the greatest and grandest race in the world, and what musicians they have produced are like diamonds of the first water. Richard Wagner, the great music, compose;-, will. eiidor.se" .my., last- statement. When " ""Wagner first introduced his operas in London he took, with him twenty instrumentalists to form his orchestra. These were picked artists from the Continent of Europe. He was under the impression that the" English were not at all advanced in music, if anything, .rather dull. But in one of his letters tb, ; a friend in Germany he stated: "I brought with me twenty artists io ' form my orchestrji, but I need not have done so; I find to my surprise artists here (in England) who far- exceed my own. So it will be seen that what the British lack in ; numbers they make up in quality— ' every time. But we want both, numbers and quality. How is this to be brought about? I answer—by establishing musical institutions. And I say to ; Hawera—the lnost prosperous and • i wealthiest district in the Dominion: \ Wake up and be determined that your i .musical institutions shall be as ad- • , vanced as in other respects. No town ;or city is complete without its musical ! institutions. The three prime musical institutions necessary for a perfect city or town are its band, choral society and j - orchestra. From these prime institu- [ tions come many offslioots. Hawera in " years gone by has had good bands, very, creditable choral societies and or- » chestras,: but unfortunately its institutions have been short-lived. How j comes i his? These institutions, whe- ! ther band, • choral society or .orchestra, 1 start off in great blood, and do well 3 for a time. The people of the colonial - towns are a floating population, con- - stantly on the move, and the iiistitu--3 tions suffer very much from this cause. . 1 have experienced, with the old fc band, half the members to move f away to other parts within six i months. This kind of tiling necessi--1 tates the training of recruits to fill up h the ranks. The same can be said of 7 choral societies and orchestras. This s j damps the enthusiasm of the remaining s > members, and is very discouraging to t the conductors. The conductors have r never been sufficiently remunerated, - and have had to apply themselves and , their talent* to providing for their exs istence. They could not possibly give y sufficient time to the training of new y material to keep the society up to its s complement of strength. Consequently s the institutions have 'begun to waver f and gradually disappear. I would sug- : gest that the town institute a school 1 of music, and let the prime musical s viz., the band, choral society r and orchestra, be pooled and a capable 3 musician who understands the brass s orchestration, vocal music and mixed - orchestras be engaged.to take charge . of the whole, his duties being to con- - duct and also have. classes of the ris- - ing generation constantly, training for t the three divisions in order to keep the _ ranks full and have a good reserve. It would be necessary that such an officer should receive a fair salary, a sall ary equal to any other profession. The . amount at first glance might be a bit 1 of a "stunner," but surely the preceeds "_ raised by the industry of the various x divisions would go a long way if work--2 ed pn proper practical lines to meet liabilities. And such a system could [ cater for the district, taking in a big t -radius. Much could also be raised by v means of regular competitions in prac- . tical and theoretical musical composit tions. M. Verbrugghen gave the New South Wales Government a shock when ? he suggested a State Orchestra, the j cost of which would be £11,500 per j year,' but he showed and guaranteed r what such an institution could earn. It was decided to risk a trial. What j is the result ? The orchestra's earnings . ■ have not only met the whole of the. orchestra's expenses, but there is a " good fat. surplus of £2000 or £3000. j Surely Hawera and district sliould be j capable of raising £400 or £500 per fc annum, which should 'be ample to make .it a sxire success. j

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