MUSICAL RECORDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20378, 5 October 1929, Page 12 (Supplement)

MUSICAL RECORDS.

" Honey" promises to bo on# of tho season's outstanding numbers and is coupled on a ,now Columbia record, with "My Sin" by Ben Selvin and his Orchestra. Paul Whitoman also offers two excollent numbers, " Louiso" and " N.01a," both fox • trots of particular merit, tho formor being from " Innocents of Paris." ____. Victor Lalo's celebrated " Norwegian Rlmspsody" was written during the latter part of the nineteenth contury, and contains all the elements of colourful folk tunes, combined with great strength, belonging to tho Viking country. The famous composer's richness and skill of orchestration is vividly represented in tho supremely fine rendering, for Columbia, by tho Orchestre Symphonique of Paris, while the recording is notable for its clarity and faithfulness.

A most satisfying selection from Leslio Stuart's songs, music hall favourites of a generation ago, has been niado for a new His Master s Voice rocord by tho band of His Majesty's Coldstream Guards There is u long rango of gay tunes, culminating in tho ever-popular " Lily of Laguna," and the gallant strains of "Soldiers of tho Queen." lho older people, who stick out manfully against tho invasion, of jazz will welcomo this disc with a sigh of pleasurable relief. Johann Strauss wrote nearly five hundred waltzes, polkas and quadrilles, of which " Wiener Blut" is assuredly ono of tho finest. It has that irrcsistibily guy. liltincr. melodious rhythm so characteristii ot the close of the Veinneso nineteenth century. Bruno Walter is tho ideal conductor of this waltz, being an acknowledged authority on tho Viennese tradition. His broad handling of the wonderful Berlin State Orchestra results in a Columbia record of sparkle and infectious vitality.

.Nothing' can dim tho popularity of Saint-Saen's " Lo Cygne," and it should oven be enhanced by tho rendering on a now His Master's \\>ice by the popular violinist, De Groot, assisted by lJavid Hor, pianoforte, and H M. Calve, 'cello. There is some really beautiful playing in this record and the violinist's tone is immaculate. On the reverse side the three instrumentalists givo another popular selection, V Londonderry Air," and their performance is delightfully smooth and even. It is a genuine pleasuro to he;:r yet another of Liszt's Hungarian Rh.Uifodies recorded foi His Master's Voice, by the brilliant Mark Hanibourg. The latest of the -series is the Fourteenth and its strong rhythm, varied tempo and melody with more than a hint of the barbaric allows the great pianist to make of it a record perfectly satisfactory from both the technical and artistic viewpoints. The recording is excellent and the disc will be welcomed by any who have bad. the good sense to obtain its predecessors. Another .contribution to gramophone histoiy i 3 made by a Columbia recording of two great " Faust" choruses in the Paris Opera. House—a record as unique as it is successful.. Gounod's immortal " Faust" is known and loved tho whole world over, and particularly popular are the " Soldiers' Chorus" and "La Kermesse," the numbers given this month. The artists responsible for this really amazing gramophone production are tho distinguished Chorus and Orchestra of the Theatre National de l'Opera, Paris.

For the recording of the lilting gaiety of tho Viennese waltz, there is no one 1 to touch Marek Weber. With his .or- , chestra, he gives a delightful intarpretai tion of Waldteufel's "My Darling Waltz " on a new llis Master's Voice record. Therhythm is perfect and tliero is fire and sparkle in tho smoothly flowing melody. On the reverse side is Sinding's " Rustle of Spring," which is given a good, conventional rendering, but which cannot approach the captivating beauty of tho waltz tune. Cosar Franck's only string quartette was not written until he was over sixty years old, its first performance being when he was nearly seventy. But it was then acclaimed a masterpiece—a verdict that has never been challenged since. It is certainly a wonderful work, alike in its inspiration, its lovely melodies and that serene mysticism so characteristic of tho Belgian master's later music. The fine performance of tho London String Quartette on a new Columbia record, is superb in its understanding and poetry. Liszt's arrangements for tho pianoforto of somo of Bach's organ pieces aro generally calculated to test tho capabilities of any pianist. Levitzki demonstrates his great capabilities in no uncertain manner by making of tho Organ Prelude and Fugue in A Minor a remarkable record for lfis Master's Voice, ilo sweeps through - tho manifold technical difficulties as if they simply did not exist, and achieves ,a smashing effect of majestic tone. This is a pianoforte recording, which should bo assured of a warm welcome. Tho His Master's Voico Company has added another triumphant success to its list of oporatic recordings, with a disc, which gives tho love duet from " Lohengrin," sung by Aureliano Fertile and Jirsilla Fanelli, with -members of La Hcala orchestra, Milan. Horn is a noble work, one of the finest things in tho whole range of Wagnerian opera, given fittingly noble treatment. Fertile is revealed as a groat artist, and ho sings tho lyric pas'sages with just that amount of restraint necessary to make Ihein most convincing. This is certainly tho finest record in tho Octobor list. Thero is a cortain indefinable quality about. Peter Dawson's voice, which makes c,vnry number ho sings acceptable and which'has established him as one of tho foremost recording artists of the ,day. His latest rocord for His Master's Voice, gives a lino rendering of "The.Curtain Falls," a cong of quiet and impressivo beauty, coupled with a cheerful modern ballad, Jlinton,l)inton and More,'' which is something like one of the old-timo favourites in a now sotting. Dawson attacks them both with vigour nnd, as has alway3 been the case with this singer's records, evory word is beautifully articulated. Excellent pianoforto accompaniments nro provided by Gerald Moore.

Francis Russell has already secured a following by his previous Columbia records, which have revealed a gloriously rich voice of rare charm, and ho further employs it in the interpretation of two excerpts from " The Flying Dutchman," sung in English. On the first side is " Erik's Song." Devotees of this opera will recall the dramatic situation in which Erik, former lover of Senta, returns home to find her preparing for her wedding to the I<lying Dutchman, his anguished appeal to win back her love, and this last ftesperato censure of her unfaithfulness, in happier strain is the " Steersman's Son. It occurs in Act 11, and is poignantly melodious in character, reminding one of the lovely " Sonta's Ballad" elsewhero in tho opera,