THE BAND CONTEST.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXIV, Issue 4881, 5 February 1903, Page 7

THE BAND CONTEST.

yesteiidav’s proceedings. SOLO COil I* ETITIONS. (By Our Special I’epori.er.) MASTKUXON, February 4. Tho solo work proceeded another .stage to-day, when Uio B-flat buss 11-igoi burn and E-llat cornet cumputiuuti* wore decided. Gallup, of the Vv’oolslon .Band, won tho first prize lor the B-llat b;t-.s solo and by bis line bombardon tune and neat articulation greatly pleased tbo judge, wbo awarded Inin DO marks, out of a possible 10U. Gallop made an example of the rest of the players, for Ji. liolben, of Palmerston North, who finished second, could get to only <id points, or 32 behind tho winner’s score. Tin-re was some excellent work in the llngel horn competition, J- Fea, of tin: Kail: oral ilaiul, tho winner, fulling only 0 short of tho maximum number of marks by reason of a too liberal use ol tho vibrato in the slow movements. I In: vibrato, says Mr Ord ilume, belongs to a past school anil is not heard nowa. day*. Therefore ho advised Tea to abandon it. . Tin: cornet solo competition this afternoon was a great treat to those who liieard it. The winner, Archibald Sohuack. of (lie Kaiknrai Band, gave a beautiful exhibition of cornet-playing, bis expression and phrasing and bis full, sonorous lone marking him as a performer of I he front rank. J. .McGrath, of t he Southland Battalion Baud, was beaten by Sclnmck for iirst place by only 1 point though in tho opinion of some judges in tiio audience there wore at least live points difference between the men. Still, McGrath’s was a thoroughly .sound and safe performance. Mr Ord Iluino was surprised at tho excellence of tho cornet solos and said that tho total number of marks awarded by him for this compeition was higher than any ho had ever given. All the men who played, ho saiil—although all did not get prices—were worthy of being respected members of any hand. This high praise from tho judge was cordially approved by all who heard the competition. “I now begin,” said Mr Ord Hume. ‘To find some excellent material for brass baud playing in New Zealand. ’ b-flat bass solos. Tiio four ii-llat buss solo players formed the first lot to faeu the judge i his morning, and tho following was tno result: — *■ B-ilat Bass Solos; first prize gold modal, second silver modal; maximum points 100.— V. Gallop, Woolston, ou points, i; B. Holdbon. Palmerston North, 58 points, 2;. E- Albrecht, Itunhino Battalion, 54 points, 3. Thu only other competitor was if. Wellington, Masterton Municipal Band, 30 points. Fivo others nominated did not appear —O. Allomes, Wanganui Garrison; \v Pouno, Hauraki; S. Aston, Gisborne Rifles; T. Fitzzoll, North-oast Valley, anti A. Lot-key, Westport City. Tho test piec-o wasMocli’s arrangement of ‘‘Como Back to Itrin.” The judge, in his notes regarding the winner, praised him highly for his fine bombardon tone, and advised the other competitors to copy las stylo in this respect. A good bombardon tone, says Mr On! Hume, is the vorv foundation of a good brass band. Holbeu, of Palmerston North, was likewise praised for a good bombardon tone, but his variation playinn- was described as slow and lumpy ami bis work suffered from faulty reading. Albrecht’s work suffered from want of expression and tone, whilst his instrument, the judge* tated, required a new sot of corks. The playing of Wellington, of Masterton, was marked throughout by _ faulty intonation and want of expression. C. Gallop, who gained first prize, is a young fellow of twenty-three, a native of Woolston, Canterbury ._ His first band was tho Woolstoiv which ho joined live years ago, and ho is still a member of it. To-day was his second appearance as a soloist. His first was at the Christchurch Jubilee Exhibition contest, held milder tho auspices of tho South Island Bands’ Association. On that occasion. also, he appeared amongst the B-flat bass soloists, but finished about flfth ‘, FLTTGEL HORN SOLOS. Next in order came this competition. Tho result is as follows; — , Flimol Horn Solos; first prize gold medak second silver medal; maximum points, 100.-J. Fea, Kaikorai, 9-f points, 1; Drury. Wellington Garrison, 80 points, 2;E. Gould Wanganui Garrison, 78 points, 3. The unplaced men werc J. Morrison, Waihi, 35; Cooper, Douniston, SG; A. llobins, Masterton Municipal, nil. . . The test piece was Webers Fantaisie Concertantc,”' as arranged by Theodore Hoch. Foa, who was awarded first prize plavod with capital expression, and but for a tendency to employ the tremolo too, much would have scored tho maximum number of marks. Ho gave the theme with true feeling, and in tho variation played brilliantly, according to tho judge, and with faultless intonation. Mr Ord Hume was pleased with tho general performance of Drury, of the Wellington Garrison Band, and described him as & good player, but pointed out certain faults, such as tho want of fuller tone in tho theme. E. Gould, of Wangamn, wanted more expression, but otherwise proved himself an excellent player, especially in tho brilliant variations. The performance of A. llobins, of Masterton, suffered from want of power. The tone was weak, and many gf tho notes wore dead. In Cooper’s performance, also, tone was notably absent. This was Foa’s first attempt as a soloist at these contests, and his achievement in winning the first prize with tho excellent score of 94 is highly creditable. Moreover, Fea took up tbo flugel horn only this year. His instrument previously was tho cornet, and as a cornet player ho appeared as_a member of a quartette team at Now Plymouth. Foa was born in Oama.ru. He has been a member of tho Kaikorai Band for four years. Ho says that a largo share of tho credit for his win ia duo to the bandmaster, G. B. Laicllaw, of tho Kaikorai Band, who trained him for the contest. THE CORNET SOLOS. E-flat cornet solos; first prize gold modal, second silver medal; maximum points, 100—A. Sclmaek. Kaikorai Baud 97 points, 1; J. McGrath, Southland Battalion, 90 points, 2; J. McAra, North-east Valley, 90 points, 3. The other competitors were—W. Sneddon, Wellington Garrison, 80; J. TnissolL Wanganui Garrison, So; W. Francis, Palmerston North, 80; IV. Nicols, Taranaki Garrison, 70. Tho test piece was Hoch’s “Edelweiss” fantaisie. Mr Orel Hume was lavish in bis piraiso of tho work, and at the end of his comments concerning Sclmaek, wrote, “Bravo —splendid!” He considered Sohnaok’s solo beautifully played. It was splendidly opened out, the andante was expressive and neat, the recitative full and sure, the allegretto and cadenza capital. “A remarkably fine player; certainly a surprise to me this afternoon.” wrote Mr Ord Hume in his notes on Schnack’s performance. I

thought tho judge would have found fault with tin., winner on account or Ins lend breathing, e.-.pi-ei.-dly as he urupp- ci on a compel nor tor tins fault on Uie previous dny.bilt tbo whole of Schnac.-: s performance was so good otherwise that it seems Jiko cavilling to mention this flaw. The cornet is ;j> difficult an instrument With which to Secure colour of tone and expre-.sion that the exhibition this afternoon was quite a surprise to tim judge. The latter described McGrath as a confident player and an artist. All the movements in his solo were admirably played except that some grace notes were missed in tin: variation. Tho judge's verdict in this ease was: “A splendid performance, and as safe as a rock from beginning to end.” J. McAra, of North-cast Valley, gave what Mr (Jrd Tiiimo described a.s a “capital performance.” lie admired his method. Although the player was a shade nervous, and although in the variation McAra was nee always sure of Jiis notis; tiio judge passed over thcs“ one or two flaws in favour of his brilliant style of playing. Sneddon, of the Wellington Garrison Band, who snatched fourth place from J. Trnssell, of Wanganui, by one point, produced a guml tone, but displayed a Bull: tremolo, and played in rather a pointed instead of cantabilo style. However, Sneddon tiio judge considered to be another capable soloist who gave a good general performance. Trussell’s was also classed as a line performance, but it was marked by one or two extra blunders. Francis, of Palmerston North, surprised bis friends by tiio style and grasp of his playing. He, did excellent work in the slow andante movement, but did not give enough colour to tiio variation. He was handicapped by tiio fact that his instrument was not in time on tho K-flat notes, but Mr Ord Hume considered this in a certain sense the fault of tin: instrument, and advised that this note should be attacked by cornet-players with the second and third valves instead of with tho second valve only. Nicols, of Taranaki, stood higher in the estimation of tho judge after his solo than he did in tho estimation of many amongst the audience. Ho played too loudly, and with too little colour. A curious point was that tiio production of tho K-llat notes by tbo .second valve only was noticed in Schnack’s solo as in that of Francis, hut in Schnack’s ease the notes wore not out of tune. A. Sclmaek. tho winner of tho first prize, is a well-known performer in the youth Island. Ho has won a number of prizes fen-tiio soprano cornet solti, including first at tiio Christchurch Jubilee Exhibition, first at tbo Bluff in 1901, and .second at Clamant in 1896. He has also been a winner in several quartettes at various contests. Though born in Dunedin, ho was brought up in Oamaru, and was for some years a member of tho Oamaru Garrison Band. It was in tho ranks of this organisation that ho received his training. Ho became a member of tho Kaikorai Band at tho time of the Now Plymouth contest last year, gehnack conducted the Por,t Chalmers Band at the Mosgiol contest in October last, when tho hand won first prize. FIRST TEST SELECTION. The real interest of tho contest began to-night, when tho first of tho two test selections for the bands was taken. Tho Town Mall was crowded during the evening. The test piece is Swift’s “Lo Domino Noir,” and the following are tho fifteen competing bands in tiio order in which they are playing:— flaw era., North-cast Valley, Wellington. Garrison, Woolston, Gisborne City, Taranaki Garrison, Wanganui Garrison, Ruahiuo Battalion (Woodville), Masterton Municipal, Hauraki, Palmerston North, Southland Battalion, Waihi, Dcnuistou and Kaikorai. Tho test piece, occupying about sixteen minutes in performance, lias a vigorous opening, which leads to a short andante, in which there is some attractive work for tho solo instruments. Tho allegro which follows is a dainty tripping measure, and then, after a. powerful ensemble and presto, there is a lovely anclantino movement, with delightful solos for the E-flat cornet and tho euphonium. Tho first trombone also has some important work in an andante movement which precedes the vigorous allegro with which tho work concludes. It is probable that it will be about midnight when the band performances are concluded. Of those bands which have played up to tho present, Wellington Garrison, Wanganui Garrison ana North-east Valley are regarded as dangerous by tho Kaikorai Band, tho last to play tonight, and the Dcnuiston Band, which wiTl immediately precede it, is regarded hy many who have hoard tho practices'of the last few days as likely to upset calculations when the final result comes to bo announced. As tho quickstep competition 7s to bo held to-morrow afternoon in the agricultural showgrounds, the members of several of tho bands wore out' with the early bird this morning/, going through practice. Tho men of the Wellington Garrison Band, who fool confident of retaining tho championship, wero out at half-past six, and did capital practico before breakfast. I am informed by tho secretary of tho North Island Brass Bands’ Association that tho difficulty which arose last year regarding tho championship wilt not occur this year, and that tho hand which wins on tho two tost selections will bo tho champion band. Tho result of tho marching contest, ho_ states, will bo reckoned only to decide the right to tho Besson shield. 'The second test selection, Mr Ord Hume’s arrangement of “ TTn Ballo in Masohcra,” is to be played on Friday night, commencing at five o’clock, and will bo tho last event of tho contest. Later. So much expedition was shown with tho programme that tho fifteen bands completed their work by 11.10 p.ra. In addition'to those X have named as likely to win, tho Southland Battalion Band must bo ranked, on to-uight’s playing, as having a fair outside chance. Tho members of tho Kaikorai Band introduced a novelty by playing in their shirt sleeves, an innovation about which some mlo ought to bo laid down by tho executive of’ any future contests. Tiio judge’s notes and tho marks awarded wore banded to tho supervisor at tbo end of the night’s programme, and will bo placed under lock and key until Friday night, at tho conclusion of tho second tost piece, when tho aggregate points won will bo made known, and tho championship decided. In the meantime tho judge prefers to say nothing about tho performances of tho bands to-night.