AUCKLAND SOCIETY OF ARTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7001, 25 April 1884, Page 6

AUCKLAND SOCIETY OF ARTS.

FOURTH ANNUAL EXHIBITION. Thx fourth annual exhibition of the Anokland Sooiety of Arts was opened-last night inthe Choral Hall by Hie Excellenoy.the Governor, under the most promising anspioea in point of attendance, and also in respect of the works of art on the walls. ' ■ ■

rflß PICTURES AND WORKS OF ART.

The first impression suggested upon entering the room is that, the-exhibits do not cover as much space as last year. But there ha*, in previous years, been much overcrowding by the intrusion of works of mediocrity or of <even worse claim to recognition. .Whether, in paspeatof number, the exhibition is as extensive as in former years, is not very material to the objects for which such exhibitions are held. 'One supreme excellence is worth a building full of mediocrities, and a moderate show of good work is ample compensation for the absence of : ambitious bad taste. There are considerations in the classification of the exhibits this year which afford a high degree of promise in the immediate, future. In matters of art, as in everything else, Aaokland was for a Jong period -locked in the contemplation of its own pro vinoialiem. . But Auckland was not- singular in this reapeot. It was the same with the other chief oities of the colony; That kind of narrowness is happily disappearing. The " Kentish man " is as good as the " man of Kent." One of the first things that strikes the spectator upon entering the hall is. the large number of really good pictures contributed by other parts of the colony/ The names of Gully, Gibb, Chapman, Payton ; Moultrey, MePhersoo, and J. C. Richmond are conspicuous in several parts of the building. We select these names, however, because they are each representative not so much of places ae of a particular style and manner. We may say here, lest we should forget to ■ay .it further on, . that. individuality in art—good art, of courses-is everything in g> picture fairly good, 'executive performance Deing insisted on as a .sine qua non. Gully has the "artistic power in this sort more than any other. Gibb's pictures are equally characteristic of inclination-to special topics. Some of Moultrey's pictures are new to colonial exhibitions. They are scenes in old cities and towns (High School Wynd, Old Edinburgh, for example) where the narrow recesses of old towns give access to new light*—a kind of art of which the Venetian school made so much, and whioh the Flemings endowed with so much- realism. Pay ton has fine executive power, but his scenery, although belonging to New Zealand in subject, have yet an English ■expression. Bnt the work is honest, faithful—in short, very good. - Mr. J. C. Richmond is a thoroughly faithful worker, hia. pictures are for the most part finished, so much so as to give the sense of much pains bestowed to the effect produced: Chapman is another rising artist. We have mentioned these first because, as strangers, they have the first claim upon hospitable welcome.

Aβ to our local artists, we notice an advance which is moat gratifying. Iα most cases their industry accounts for the great progress made. Perhaps the name moat •worthy of mention, for the reason that such excellent results have been achieved, is that of Mrs. J. McCosh Clark. All her pictures have specific merit, the reference to which -we mast leave to farther . notice. Mrs. Burcher at the head of »large number of pupils exhibits studies cf animal life which are well worth detailed criticism. Mrs. T. Morrin ie here with a portrait of Musket, well done. Messrs. Albin Martin, Drnmmond, -Ball, Charles Blomfield, Watkins, Stuart, Sharpe, Howard, Trevithick are all conspicuous by their works. Among the minor works by ladies. Miss Home has a large number of sketches from nature. These Btndiea embrace almost every kind of scene. She does not appear to have been judicious in the selection of the two-.sent in for competition. . Most of the others have greater breadth of subject, better tone, and have the quality of expressed motion .or repoee in" treatment. ' She certainly deserves some recognition if there is any recognition to be had for steady and successful prosecution of art. Miss Bleazard, Miss K.. Bidings, Miss K. Reynolds, Miss Stuart and Misa Agnes Holland contribute in a large measure to the exhibition. Of Messrs. Watkins and Sbarpe, it is not necessary to speak ia a preliminary notice like this.; Their merits enable them to wait. But we would be wanting in just appreciation, if we did not express a high estimate of the enormous industry and the good work (taken as a whole) of Messrs. Drnmmond, Blomfield, Ball, and .Trevithick. Leaving oar local school and referring to the." loan collection," it ii not too much to say that no such collection of pictures and drawings will be found in any other part of the colony, as that which is the gift of Mr. Mackelvie. Those who love art will find in. some of the least preter.tious of these exhibits art of the most exquisite character for truth, conscientious finish, ami almost perfect treatment. - Passing from this again to tbe flower painting, terra cotta painting, paael painting, painting on satin and other material, the needlework of every kind, the great' variety of artistic productions which are auxiliary to tke adornment of domestic and. social life, there will be _found in this exhibition a worthy successor of - all those which have'gone before —with the increase in'extent, and the improvement in-charac-ter and depth.of feeling, which alone proceed fiem conscientious labour practically and steadily applied. We will notice the pictures and *fork« of art in detail ic future issues. '• THE OPENING. ■'The doors were open shortly after seven o'clock) and: from that. ..time till eight a stream of people poured in, making a large and fashionable attendance. The large hall, and ' the room adjacent, ia which the pictures lent ' had been placing,' were crowded, to such an extent that it ..was almost impossible to view the pictures. That, , . , however, can-, be done oh . another occasion. Most of those present came to see tbe ceremonial of opening,' and to hear the "decision' of the musical competition, .which seemed to excite very great interest. -

His Excellency entered the room at about a quarter:pa*t eight, the company receiving him standing, and the band playing the National Anthem. His Excellency was accompanied by IMiss. A f Jervois, the Rev. W. H. H. Mr. tennefather (Private Secretary), aid' Major Eccles (Aide-de. Cfmp)i"Mr.J."-M. Clark (Presideht of the Auckland Society of .Arts) and several of the members of the' committee occupied .places on the platform.

His Excellency, who.oh rifling was received with eheers, said: Ladies and Gentlemen,—l first have to apologise for beibe somewhat; late, but the fact. . is I have just come down ■ the Kaipara River in '» steamer,"'and the draught of the ateaxaer was too. great for the conditions of the Raipara River, and we stuck in the mud. (Laughter.) Hence my late appearance, here, ... I can aasure you that I consider-it not only a pleasnre, ■ but a great privilege, to be present again at this meeting of the > Auckland Society of Arts. I hayeri:i»ot .bacl, as yet an opportunity of looking at the pictures, bat I understand from, .several people that they are decidedly. an advance, on the exhibition of last year, and I think upon that the society |b to be congratulated, r All thinga, even exhibitions of Societies of Art", and such institutions as. thie, must have a commencement. , And/:.i;;'think we shall do well.' to reflect - what ,■ a modest; commencement the• .Boyal .Academy . in. : •■ England ' had. When. you go back to its projecture, and:.see how modest its pretensions. were, and then go through the galleries of the exhibition at the present day r and when you still farther reflect that one of the great institutions of England is the annual dinner of the Royal Academy in. London, at which the greatest men'desire to have the privilege to be present, lam sure yoii will agree with me that the •ommencementthat you have made here in establishing '■■ a Society..of: Arts may attain great proportions. Having in my juvenile dayVmade some attempts at being an artist myself, I hive some little knowledge on the subject, (but; I'-confess that it is chiefly knowledge which serves to show how little I know about it. The whole question of instruction SB »rt has undergone quite a revolution eince' the- days when I learned drawing, S fiffjyear. ago. Afl«r the Exhibition oMBSI Unite a new era was introduced in Motion ia : «t * E°§ le ° d ' t £X ne ? borrowed « great deaU from the Probably lyou* know s that - in_ the French schools they insist ob soiae,:! think ( four, years' »ttention to drawing from models and and?, only with the pencil and theMebalkj; before they take to colours. buVnowl recollect very well - how, in the olden time,-we were hlHiiclined to rush into e olour before we bad a correct eye for draw*

' ing. Well, I believe the instruction which j takes place now in New Zealand—l can answer for it in Chriatchurch—is quite on the modern'principle, and I am sure that principle is. correct; for you ,can have no good pictures unless you have accurate drawing. ' (Cheers.) But I did not come here, I can assure you, to preach a sermon on art, but to see the pictures which are banging on the walls, and also to have the pleasure whilst 1 am here of distributing the medals' which--have'-been awarded. , to the successful competitors in art ;and I will now, with-. yonr.pernilEsioh,. prooeed to distribute those., medals a* they have been awarded. (Cheers;}:,v ■-~ -. :'.-. ■: < - ■'-: - .: His. Excellency then presented the medals and..prizes...to the successful competitors; The names of -the; winners have already been publiriiei, ■';■• 1 .. 'V •■'.''-'".-. '-"'•■ : '''- ■'■ "the*iiifei^ ; ; ; :

After this ceremony, the Governor called on Mr. J. M. Clark-(President of the Sooiety of Arts) to read the report of the judges in the.mnsical competition. Mr. Clakk said he might remark that the report .he was about to read was by Judge Fenton. His colleague. Professor Tyndall, of Christohuroh, not being present, could not join the report, hue he telegraphed to, the committee the composition which, in his mind, was the best, and that agreed with the written report which Judge Fenton had already sent into the committee. (Cheers.) Mr. Clark then read the .general report and awards of the judges. The following is the report:— \

In respome to the invitation of Hen Sohmitt there bare been sent in twelve musical compositions. Before remarking upon' them seriatim, I must express my great surprise at their general excellence. I should never have supposed that Aaokland could hare produced to much original good musio, nor can I imagine where it can all have' come from. There are grammatioal errors of more or leu gravity in most of them. In one or two cases the errors may be clerical, but I do aot feel myself permitted to treat them sa each. Errors are errors, and as such they must go for what they are worth. The general result of Herr Sohmitt a enterprise is so encouraging that I venture to hope that suoh a good example will be fullqwed, and that these oontests may be made annual. From this small beginning may possibly be evolved the soheme of which the Professor and I have been long talking, that is, the ■affiliation of the Choral Sooiety to the Auokland University College and the New Zealand Ur.iverslty, and the ultimate establishment of a Professor's Chair of Music in this city. No. lis a song, '.' Sweet Evening Hour," by " Enthusiast." It is a very excellent composition, written with great care, and containing only one error that I oan discover. I speak of the third bar of the symphony interlude, where the first A in the bass should have been B. The chord U the chord of the diminished 7th, or minor 9th, as it may be more properly called, and there cannot possibly be an A in it : nor can it be argued that the note is used as a pedal note, for: the bsus is moving. The last part of the bar is also weak. The progression from A minor,-to A. major and then into the minor 9th with "the omitted fundamental bass of F.sharp is a> liberty of which the effeot on the ear cannot be other than unpleasant. .Why the E is omitted in the til to in the bar whioh has the words " bring them horne "I cannot tell. 'It should have been-there,* for-it is , the proper progression from the F natural,' -which- is the flat 7th of the preceding chord. -The presence of. the 3 inthe bass does-not suffice , in .music of.this slow and tranquil oharaofer.? The first two bars are in Beethoven's Vesper, Hymn, but I think nothing of that., '.The "harmonies are natural, and might" occur" to. aayohe. ' I. cannot speak too highly of this work.: The writer.has clearly studied music in theory, and has produced a very delightful song, which is equal in all its parts, and is so carefully'written in all Us harmonies that it might be sung as'a quartette from US. as it now is. .Tke repetition of the refrain in the words " Sweet, evening hour " is eminently artistic, aad very grateful to the ear. The words are well chosen, and the music is admirably adapted to their sense. -No. 2 is a song with an allegorical frontispiece by " A Young Novice." It is a more ambitious enterprise than the one just mentioned, and I fear that " vaulting ambition has o'erloapad itself." The attempt to pourtray in musical sounds the gradual development of the passion of love in a maiden's heart i>, I am inclined to think, too weighty an effort for a "young novice" in the art. The introduction and the interlude show that the writer has some knowledge of the science of music, and these are the bast parto of th* work. There are no remarkable errors in this song, though the progression is not always harmonious, and in some cases, as for instance in the sixth and seventh bars is of a questionable character.'The "Dawn of Love" is in three time, with a waltz oharaoter accompaniment. I venture to tell the " young novice" that he-or she oquld not have ventured upon a more dangerous experiment than* the* Writing of a song in this time and style,"for tinless the music it. of a" Very high olass indeed, it is sura to be trivial. I must confess when I undertook the daty which lam endeavouring to discharge that I did not expect to have to consider work-: of a higher character than, this song, but there are sound compositions of unquestionably greater merit, so " Young Novice " mast not- be disappointed at hiving to give place to better productiom. - . '.'.'..

No. 3, a song, "lathe June Twilight," by " Auralia," is so carelessly copied that it is difficult, if not impossible, to discover the author's intention. Thus we have bar* with 6 crotshets, with 3, with 2, and with 2\. But even if correctly copied it could not have suoc*sded, for without noticing more than the four introductory bare, I find them all possessing wrong nausea. In the'third tho cadence has the tonic instead of-the.dominant for the basses ; and I fear Tmoit state,that the ovidence is very dear that " Aurelia " has not studied the theory of musio at all, or these first four bars conld not have been written.

No. 4 is a song by "Perseverance" called "I Wonld Delight." This is another song in waltz time, and with a waltz accompaniment. The melody is simple, and of coarse rhythmical, but does not rise above midioority. The song makes no Impression on the ear of a' marked cli.raocer. It does not displease, but it does not give delight. Tho harmonies are of the most ordinary character, consisting of tonio. and dominant of. the koy, with the exception of throe or four bare. Inversions are used with some skill, bat nothing could prevent the continual employment of . the harmonies from being'wearisome to tho ear. There are many places where the subdominant would have come in with effect, and would have relieved the monotony, but the opportunities have not been seised, though singularly enough the writer has resorted to the chord of the subdominant in the introduction. I wish that I could speak more highly of a production which has had bestowed upon it much care, and of which the mechanical part is most excellent. . . '

No. 5 is a iong called " Farewell by "Allele" It is the work, I feel pretty euro, of an accomplished musician. The melody ie graoeful and appropriate to the words, and the accompaniment U by a person who is accustomed to sing songs, and I'should say to accompany himself, or herself, for it is artistic with body notes or restß at the places where the singer would desire to take some liberty with the time. I confoiß that I think very highly of thie song. There is an absence of apparent effort about it that gives one the notion that the writer could do great things if he liked to take the trouble. There is one phrase in it whioh I think is unpsrdonably weak. I allude to the atfcompani: ment to the words "I am old and blind," all one chord and harmony. I eay " unpardonablj," because it would have been so easy to introduce a. graceful variation there. There is great merit in' this work, but " Allein "is too good a musician to regret that there are others which possess more. • . ~„,;,. „ No, 6is r Bong or soon* called " Excelsior," by " Spes." I should like to speak with great moderation of this production, beoause it belongs to a clue of modern origin, against which I confess to being prej ndiced. A song is a song, a ballad is a ballad,, but music, set to words consisting of a number of verses should not to my mind be of tho nature of a cantata, or a long in an oratorio where the words are prose, and consequently without rhythm. Rhythm is one of the most important elements of musio, and should not. be lightly sacrificed. Again, Longfellow's poem is of wonderful beauty, but the foundation of its beauty, and the idea whloh ' carries the mind spell-bound as it were to the end and final catastrophe ie the regular recurrence' of the word "Excelsior. , All the interest ezoited. by the various sctnes through whioh the youth who bore the banner passed on his upward and fatal, course, concentrates in the periodical'word whioh inspired him in hU efforts. This refrain, then, in music should have always been the same,. The eir is disappointedwhen the word on its recurring is uttered' forth in entirely' different mtuio, and 1 think that it Is not pardonable to sacrifice thu-poetic and-natural:idea to the exigencies of undulation or. the display of theoretioal, skill. These latter shonld have been made to suooumb, and however the ooopbser might have thought fit to treat the.varying subjeots bteaoh verse of the-poem, the close or refrain on the titular word exoelejor should have been continued without variation. The.ear expects the repetition, and is. disappointed when it perceives a different treatment. The aooompaniments of the song seem to me, very artistic and able, but [ I muet confess "that I am not struok 'with the melody. That the writer is amuslcUn .there oan be no doubt, but I think' that • greater ideas were half aisolosed to him which he was not able to thoroughly develop. There are some singular grammatical errors; for ir.atanoei at the second ■'.' excelsior 'at the top of page 2 the use of the A fiat gives the idea that the usual cadence for: the dominant has been u»edi but it is no snoh thing. ■ .The A flat is not A 8»t, but is G sharp, the chord in truth btineithe chord jt the minor,ninth with the trui; » base E natural, Moreover, the effect is h»r»b, • . i ...

and would bo more marked if the ohord of the diraiaiihed seventh were net of such an undecided character as almost to destroy all sequence of nmsioal idea. Why the third of the scale is omitted in the next ohord, which is a dominant one, and should always have It, I don't know, for there is no technical difficulty. The F natural in the words " awful avilanehe" near the bottom of the third page shonld, I take it, be F sharp. If. the F natural is intended it is, I think, wrong. I think, also, that th* use of the A fiat in the treble line after the descent of the bass to E flat is quite unlawful. The note should have been Q natural. If intended as a suspension the suspension sheuld at least have been resolved. As it i>, tho movement returns to the key of A flit by a cadence from nothing, though I think the dominant was intended, but not expressed. The repetition of the note an ootave lower shows that the error U not clerical. . ■ „ .. > , . ■ : No. 7 is a waltz, by " Bella Hutohinge." This looks like a real name, bnt I suppose it is not. There is not a fault to find with the waltz. .The motive is extremely good, and it Is worked out in an artistic manner. The undulations are unexceptionable ; and the management of the whole pieoe shows very olearly thai: the author ia not unaccustomed to musical composition. One cannot bat regret that so excellent a work shonld have to yield place to others only better in that they rank in a higher olaso of musical studies. This waltz should be played.

No. 8U a set of walwe» by " Cecilia;" light and pretty in some respects, but greatly marred by the .unvarying character of the harmony. Up to the fifth page there ia nothing but tonio and dominant, and the effeot on the ear is wearisome. I found the same fault in ono of the previous pieces. 1 respectfully suggest to Ceoilla that she should acquire more knowledge in thorough bass and theory of muaio, for I must oonfeis that the impression made on my mind by this work is that it oould have been written by any pianoforte player without theoretical knowledge, but simply by manipulating on the instrument. . I am not oertain that accompanying each piece of musio there ought not to have been ten or twenty lines written without the assistance of any mnsical instrument. There are in the "Sonvenier" waltzes several grammatical errors, one or two of them very bad. Thus, in the middle of the fifth psge, we have the tonio ohord terminating a phrase of the melody, with, the ohord of the dominant in the bass. A similar error occurs at the top ef page seven. . The base accompanying the melody in thirds at the bottom of page five is weak, especially in the absence of any other harmonies. Spite of all this, the Souvenir waltzes are sparkling, and will be listened to with pleasure. '

No. 9 is a sonata, or extract from a sonata, by "Omega. , " I have only to say about this work that it is a long way ahead of anything else produced. It is clearly the work of some one who h<ie not only studied musio, but studied with ardour, and as a labour of love.' It is admirable- facile princeps. Here is evidence of much study, and of considerable aatur.il gifts. If amateurs in Auokland write like this, what ought our professors to do! The trio is the best mavement in the production, though the treatment of the simple melody in the rondo would, perhaps, demand greater praise from cultivated minds. I will not presume to analyse this excellent work.

No. 10 is a triumphal march by "Delta." There is a strong resemblance in the character of the composition to the song "Excelsior," previously noticed; but, as the object is more easily dealt with, being untrammelled with words, or any idea to which, the musio should be subordinated, the composer (possibly the same person) has been more successful. The march is bold and musical, and corresponds with its name. Ido not find any grammatical error in it, and it deserves very great praise. The opening strain reminds one of a. passage in thi old glee " See the Chariot at Hand," and the second -subject has the motif of a. chorus in " Orphcd aux JBufers," but I think nothing of a chance resemblance. This piece should he played. It will be listened to with great satisfaction, for it is a fine, manly composition, and some of the undulatiens are very beautiful.

No. 11, a song by " Violet," called " I Know My Love Loves Me." It is in 4 time, and has some merit, but gives one the idea of being the work of a pianoforte player without theoretical knowledge. Grammatical errors abound, and there are consecutive fifths of a lamentable charaoter. The composition terminates with the thirth of the scale on a bass. A similar error occurs elsewhere. The technio&l defects are not compensated by any excellence in the melody. i

No. 12, by Ellen Ley, is a gone to Lord Byron's worda, " Farewell, if oar fsndeit prayer." It Iβ in 6-8 measure, with the Balfe or Arpeggio style of accompaniment. The melody is pleasing, and the simple but suffioiently displayed harmonies for the pianoforte are as good as they could be in that character of sauslc. Bat I maoh doubt whether a person poueising a critical knowledge of oompoiition would have descended from the subdominant to the tonic without the intermediate dominant in the final cadenoe. This oadence, called the " plagil oailenoe," is rarely oied except in sacred music, where we hare it in the " Amen" ordinarily used in the Auckland churohes. It is eminently unfittod tor works of the character of this song, and indeed almost obsolete in any bnt solemn prayers, or where a peculiar melancholy pffeot is desired to be produced. Eren if the author desired that effect here, the idea is unartistically carried oat, for the doubtful sound is much too prolonged. There ie another error of marked ill-effect at the bottom of the 4th page, in the words, " then rebel." I confess lam not certain what chord was intended. If it Is the chord of the minor 9th, with E Sat as the true bass, which it maoh resembles, or as it is sometimes called the diminished 7th (the Q flat being raised a semitone), the best resolution would have been with the B flit, but that would not havi suited the melody; and as Ois required in the bass, the harmony should hare been C major, not O minor as written. lihoald have been very well disposed towards this composition, which accomplishes well all that it pretends to do, had not the«e two transgressions rendered acceptance impassible.

In conclusion, I must place the compositions in the following order of merit:—l. The Sonata No. 9. 2. The song No. 1, "Sweet Evening Hour." 3. The March, No. 10.

I should like to add, I hops that in future competitions ausioal compositions will bo confined to one class. I have found it vory difficult to compare a sonata, with a Bong, or a song with a waits or march. One may be moro likely to give the greater pleasure to the greatest number of persons (*bioh I take to be the true and only end of music), while the other may be more praiseworthy as showing greater skill and knowledge of the art, though affording less delight. lam not certain that this is not the case here. It is very probable that Ellen Ley's song, if well viing, or the Triumphal March, will please more people than " Omega's" sonata; but " Omega" must have the prize, beoause he, or she (though I think it must be a he) could have written any of the other things, and I very muoh doubt whether any other of the competitors conld at all have approached his or her sonata. I congratulate ourselves on having suoh remarkable musical capacity existing among us, and I think that Herr Schmitt deserves many thaaks for having thought of bringing it forward to public notice. I hop* I have hurt no one's feelings. It is necessary that I should give reasons for my judgment, and I pray any competitor who may consider that I, have made mistakes or judged badly to believe that I have done my best, and I willingly admit that if I had known that the works to be submitted to my sorutihy would have been generally of so much merit I should not have undertaken the duty; . F. D. FBNTOK, ■ ; April 19,1884. V.P. Choral Society. read ing the report, Mr. Clark apologised for the absence of Judge Fenton. He might add that the hope which. Judge Fenton expressed that these competitions might be ..continued, was likt-ly to be realised, because Cavaliere Schmitt had promised during bis residence in Auokland to give an annual medal for musical composition. (Cheers.)

His Kxoellenoy the Govern on then said : Ladies and Gentlemen,—Before .presenting these prizes I think it only my dnty, as it is indeed also a great pleaeure, to say something about the doner of this prize, Herr Schmitt. lam sure that the pnblio of Auckland are greatly indebted to him for this encouragement that he has given to muaio here. It probably may not be known to you how eminent a man Herr Schmitt is—how eminent a musician you have amongst you. 1 asked my aide-de-camp, Major Ecoles, who is himself, as you know, an admirable musician—a flute player—to note down for me particulars with regard to Herr Schmitt'e career, and I will, if you will permit, just read them te you—(oheere)—'• Herr O»rl Sohmitt began hie musical sduoation at ths Conservatoire, Leipzig; and afterwards studied in Paris under Heotor. Berlioz, the great master of orchestration. At the age of 18, having , previously, received several prize medals for composition, he was appointed conductor of operas in "\Vurzburg, and two years afterwards conduoted the Royal Opera at Konigsberg; but on acoount of ill-health he was obliged to leave Europe, and has since devoted his time to the culture and advancement of music in' the colonies." The excellence of the. Auckland Choral Society and its orohtstra is, I am sure, a proof that Herr Sohmitt has not laboured in vain. (Applause;) The order of the Croce Bianca, or White Cross of Italy, was conferred upon him a short time ago by the King of Italy —a decoration, I may say, only bestowed upon scientific men and composers of considerable distinction. (Cheers.) I wish also to refer to the advantage that the public of Auokland hits derived from Judge Fenton having taken so great an itatefest in music here. (Cheers.) Through. evil report and through good report, he has for years laboured in

the cause of musio in Auckland, and 11 am snre everybody here who is a lover of mueic—or indeed, if not a lover of music — will agree with me that we are very greatly 'indebted to Judge Fenton for his hearty labours.: (Cheers.) And now, ladies and gentlemen, I .have the great pleasure of presenting to Mr. Wood this handsome gift of Herr Schmitt, he being the author of the sonata sent in under the name of "Omega," which has been awarded-firs t place ; by the judges. (Cheers.) '; -. . . '■■•":• :-' • I ; Mr. Thomas Wood, solioitor, on coming forward to receive the medal, was received with general applause. The medal is an exceedingly handsome one, in an elegant case,- both being manufactured by Mr. Teutenberg. His Exceixbnct then announced that the second place had been won by- Mr. -H. F. ! . Edgery Secretary of the orchestra of the . Choral Society; forthe song entitled " Sweet' Evening' Hour." ' The : camposer of the. "Triumphal March," sent under the rum" d* plume of "Delta," could not be ascer-' tained. •

Mr. Ralph Hood then came forward and' played the sonata, and the very sweet music _ of the composition seemed to be appreciated' by the audience. ■ Mrs. Judson (siater_ of Mr; Edaor), came forward 'on the invitation of His Excellency and sang " Sweet Evening Hour." Mr. Edger-accompanied the vocalist' on .the.harmoninm. The song-was loudly applauded. , ■ , , , . • . We understand that the author of the song ,*? Excelsior," .which ia criticised at considerable length by Mr. Fenton, is Mr. A. Wiser man. The author of No. 7 is Bella M.Bastings, The Oake, Napier. The song "Farewell" C'Allein") favourably noticedby Mr. Fenton, is Mrs. J. M. Clark, who, thus appears as ocoupying a high position as a musician, as her paintings on the walls bear testimony to her skill in another department.of art. • -~ : Shortly after the conclusion of the song, •". Sweet Evening Hour,"'His Exoollenoy and suite left the platform,.,and inspected tho pictures. ■.'■■: '-■!.,' We may fittingly oonolude this icoenrak of the opening of the exhibition by a word of praise to Mr. Josiah Martin, the Secretary, who has worked hard and with oxoelio-it judgment in making the neeessasy preparations for the exhibition.