MUSIC

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1748, 6 September 1905, Page 28

MUSIC

NOTEB BY “6” STRING.

Jessie Maclachlan, described as “a bonnie lassie a’ the way frae Scotland” will give two concerts in. the Wellington Town Hall on the 4th and sth October. As a singer of Scots .songs her reputation has preceded her. Her recent appearances in Australia has aroused keen enthusiasm among all Scots residents. Hearty greetings, presentations, and receptions have been universal. At Charters Towers recently the local paper reported her welcome there in broad Scots, giving Jessie’s response thuswise: —“ Tfa gran’ to be welcomed sae hertily by ane’s ain countrymen. It just stirs up ane’s blood, ye ken. It mak’s us prood o’ oor country. _ We try to mak’ ilka Scotsman glaia he is a Scotsman, so that in the morn after the concert he can tak’ aff his bonnet an’ say “Thank God I’m a Scotsman.” ’ Oor Jessie laughed versa merrily when she said this, and then added Ane guid Scotsman an’ ane guid Scotswoman are no’ to be computed by the ordinary rules o’ arithmetic, ye ken, they coont up mair nor twa ony time.’ ‘Scotsmen are to be fand everywhaur,’ remarked anither Hielander. ‘They are the grandest pioneers in a’ the world,’ remarked oor Jessie. Then another Mac said, T believe you wad find ane at the North Pole.’ Ay,’ said Jessie, ‘an’ wi’ his kilts on to.’ ” Mr Shipman, who will manage Miss Jessie Maclachlan’s New Zealand tour, has arrived in Auckland to arrange for a two months? tour of the colony by the talented! Scots vocalist.

Miss Maud Dalrymple sang recently to Mr Booeey in London, with the result of being engaged for appearances at the Promenade and Chappell concerts. The Sydney contralto, says the Sydney “Mailj” is studying hard, and lives at a flat near Hyde Park with Mr and Mrs Percy Bates and Miss Annie Perry (who will shortly return to ©ydney). ©he has made a few small appearances in ccraicert, amongst others with Mdrne. ©pada and Mr Philip Newbury in “The Massiah,” and sang at an “at home” at the Duchess of Newcastle’s. Miss Alice Hollander, another ©ydney contralto, is appearing nightly at the Empire Theatre, singing, "The Lost! Chord,” and the song, “Never Mind the Weather,” written for her by Mdme. Liza Lehmann when the young Australian was recently appearing in that composer’s “Sergeant Brae.” Miss Hollander has no wish to return to the concert platform, and is in love with London.

Herr Kubelik, who has now returned to his home in Austria, says a London paper, signed, before leaving Etmgland, a contract to appear at a hundred concerts in various towns in America, the tour to he commenced in New York on Ist December next. His appearances in the United 'States are to be followed by a series of forty more concerts to be given in the Australian colonies. The concerts will he given under the auspices of a syndicate with M> Hugo Gorlitz as manager, assisted by Herr Kubelik’s private Secretary, Herr Karl Junkermann. At the concert annually given by Mr Wilhelm Ganz. in London, recently, Parkina, who is one of the members of the Royal Opera, Gov on t Garden, gave "a bright and fluent delivery” of the Mad Scene, from Donizetti’s "Lucia di Lammormoor.” Miss Parkina made her debut at one of the Ganz concerts two years ago. An effective new scena "The Lament of (Shall Jehan.” by Mr Laudon Ronald, was recently introduced at a concert given by Madame Albanii, with the support of Madame Clara Butt and the London Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Dr Frederic Cowen. The scena ig scored for baritone solo (Mr Kennerley Rumford), orchestra anid organ. Jessie Maclachlan, the Scots singer,who shortly tours New Zealand, unlike Madame Melba, does not entirely depend for success upon the beauty or the brilliance of her voice. Nor does she set up a claim to recognition as a spendid example of the science of singing without the soul of song. If she has a secret, two words should describe it—sympathy u-nd sincerity. She is earnest and straightforward in everything she does.

There has been considerable comment at Covent Garden (says the “Diaily Chronicle,”) regarding the foolish custom of altering an artist’s nationality—on the programme—to suit the language in which the opera is to he snng. Sometimes the male singers have had the prefix Herr, sometimes Signor, and occasionally Monsieur. The same applies to the lady vocalists. It would be a good idea, and would avoid all criticism, if the management adopted the systerA prevalent at Continental opera houses, and gave the artists their Christian names, without any honourable "handle.” We commend this matter to Messrs Forsyth and Ref idle, the managers of the autumn season.

The death took place on the 24th July, at Bickley, England, of Mr Charles Boosey, the head of the well-known firm of music publishers.

No fewer than 17,515 pianofortes wer# imported into England from Germany last year. Operas which have been seen at Cove nil Garden during the recent season and th» number of times they have heen performed are as follows: —■'‘Faust, seven times; “La Boheme” and “Rigoletto,” six times each; “Romeo et Juliette,'” five times; “TJn Hallo in Masehera,” “Lohengrin,” “Madams, Butterfly,” and “Grfeo,” four times each; 'Aida,” “L’Oracolo,” “Don Giovanni,” “Les Huguenots,” “Die Meistersinger,” '‘II Barbiere de Siviglia,” and “Tannhaueer,” three time* each; “Carmen,” “Don Pasquale,” “Gotterdammerung,” “Das Bheingold,” “Siegfried,” “Tristan und Isolde,” and “Die Walkure,” twice each; and “La Tmviata” once.

The Cbvent Garden Opera season came to a close on the 25th July, with the performance of Puccini’s “La Boheme” with Madame Melba, and Signor Caruso in the leading roles. The Queen was in the royal box, and with Her Majesty came the Duchess of Sparta and Princess Charles of Hesse, with Lady Alice Stanley and Colonel Frederick in attendance. In spite of the competition with cheaperpriced Italian opera at the Waldorf, (says the “Daily Mail”) the present season at the older house has been singularly successful, and the syndicate has every reason to congratulate itself upon the result. Year by year London audiences are becoming more critical, and it is not, after all, a matter for so. much surprise that some critics of long standing have though fit, during the present year, to compare the artists unfavourably with certain singers who have appeared in the past. This sort of thing is inevitable, and we can quite understand that longer memories can call to mind more representative performances than that, for instance, of “Don Giovanni,” and even that of Gluck’s “Orfeo.” Still, few will be inclined to dispute the excellence of the two “Ring” cycles with which the season opened, nor the well-considered presentations of the other Wagnerian operas. In "Madama Butterfly” we were shown Puccini one step further on the road of his genius, and this work will rank a 3 by far the most important of the season. Signor Caruso, Signor ©cotti, M. Maurel, M. Marcriux, M. Dalraores, Mohe. Melba, Mile. Selina K/urz, Frau Wittich, Mile. Donalda, Miss Agnes Nicholls, and Mme. Kirkby- Lunn have been among the most prominent artists engage*!, and the “gala” performance and 'Mile. Bauermeister’s farewell matinee were notable landmarks.

Mies Madeline Royle, a pianist from Herr Ivretsohmann’s classes, whose farewell concert in Sydney (says the “Herald,”) was in November, 1902, has been studying in London for nearly two years under Mr Franklin Taylor. For most of the time the young pianist has herself to Bach and other pieces of the severe school, but she is now preparing a concert repertoire, after which, under the advice of Mr Graham Moore, she will spend some time abroad. Miss Ada CroSsley hears Miss Royle from time to time, and encourages her in her work. When she left ©(ydney Miss Royle gave indications of developing into an artiste of the classic school. Miss Royle is the daughter of Mr Bert Royle, the popular New Zealand representative of Mr J. C. Williamson.

Are women as capable as men in the art of musical composition ? This is a question very often debated; and. to seek a solution the proprietors of a London newspaper have decided to offer a prize for an orchestral work composed by a British woman. It is to be for an ordinary concert orchestra, may be of any length, and must not have been performed in public. Only women born in Great Britain or the colonies, or British naturalised women, may compete. The organisers of the competition declare that they will try to bring the successful work to a public hearing in London. Miss Freda 'BraPdon, the ciornetisfc, who recently toured New Zealand under the Fuller banner, is now a member of Mr Harry Rickarde’s Sydney combination.”

The London season was (says the Sydney "Morning Herald”) practically ended when the last mail left, and it brings with it what may be termed "clearing-up news” from two Sydney contraltos, Miss Alice Hollander and Miss' Kate Rooney. Miaa Hollander had been at Folkestone for a week, and on July 22 sailed for fifteen days’ holiday in Norway. Her season of nine weeks at the Tivoli was the longest that ballad singer has ever achieved at that theatre, where she was to reappear on August 7, remaining in continuous work there, and at the other halls of the syndicate, until the middle of rlext year. Before leaving for her holiday Miss Hollander gave a classic matinee concert, at which she was assisted by Messrs Ernest Pike (tenor), Wm. Pitt Chatham (baritone), Arturo Tibaldi (violinist), and Reginald Somerville and Charles Bethune (pianists and composers). The review of the London "Daily Telegraph,” which is uniformly favourable, ia too long to he quoted in full, but the following extracts will be read with interest on this side: —"A concert was given at Steinway Hall yestertlay afternoon. by Miss Alice Hollander, whose friends, gathering in considerable strength, tendered; her a cordial greeting. The artist in question has a genuine contralto voice, ample in volume, and containing some remarkably rich tones, particularly in the lower register. Possessing these natural advantages, Mies Hollander has added to her equipment a measure of good, taste and styie rhat materially aids her in pleasl-ig inti Higent listeners . . . Afterwards Miss Hollander brought forward some new but only moderately interesting songs by Mr Charles Bethune. who assisted the singer by playing the pianoforte accompaniments. The most attractive of these was, perhaps, that styled f I I ove You Dearly/ but elsewhere the composer had little to say of a stimulating character, his preference for melancholy lyrics being yery noticeable. Miss Hollander took pains over her rendering of the five songs from this source, and concluded her concert by singing in tasteful fashion Goring Thomas’s *Le Baiser. ’