DUNEDIN COMPETITIONS SOCIETY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12800, 22 October 1903, Page 10

DUNEDIN COMPETITIONS SOCIETY.

SECOND ANNUAL FESTIVAL. Fourth Day. The competitions in music and elocution were continued yesterday, and a considerable measure of interest was manifested in them. Tho prepared reading had brought forth a largo number of competitors, the winner eventually proving to bo Miss Vivian. Thero was much interest manifested in hearing tho prepared speech as to the educational value of the Competition Society's work, the speeches were decidedly interesting, and a good case was certainly made out for the society. Mr ]?. L. Hadficld's speech won him the first prize. In musical competitions Miss Earl (of Oamaru) was placed first in the "Andanto and rondo," and Miss Millio lies was the winner in tho "Poiacca." section, with Miss Earl second. Both sections wc-ro open. Mrs Robb was placed first in tho humorous recitation.

lii tho evening the attendance at His Majesty's Thcatro filled tho downstairs portion and a largo proportion o[ (ho upstairs part of tho building. .Mr. T. W. Whitson presided, and expressed the pleasure tho committee felt at finding that, on the. fourth day of the competitions, publio interest was still increasing. He thought it would be admitted that this year the qualify of tho work was far in advance of that of last year. At all events, the contests were much moro scvero. The committco was very pleased, ho said, with tho consideration properly shown by tho audience to the varioiM competitors as they came forward. A lengthy, varied, and, on tho whole, very enjoyable programme was then gono through. The contralto solos waro pleasing, and the same remark applies to tJie haw solos, the second section in each of these competition? being heard. Tho first section of tho tenor soloi was taken, and it must bo admitted there was excuso for tho merriment into which more than ono of tho soloists throw tl» audience. / Tho programme, concluded with two kmios from " Romeo and Juliot," tho produotion being ono of unusual excellence for amateurs, and the dressing very pretty.

In giving tho decision on ono of the competitions, Mr Bacy&rtz announced that Mr Clark hod promised next ovening to pas 3 in royiew tho various performances in tho elocutionary section. Ho might say thai he had himself boon very'much interested that afternoon in tho prepared speeches, and in ono speech in particular (that of Mr Every), in which he suggested that it would ba agood idea if the judges would let the various eomnciitors know wherein the-y had failed. The elocutionary Midges had decided to meet competitors and other.-, on liriday afternoon at 2 o'clock in the beard room. They had copious notes, and would bo pleased to give "competitors tho benefit of them. The speech 'competition that afternoon was tho best they had judged so far.

The following aro additional results:— ELOOUTIOX.

RECITATION. Humorous (open). Any selection. Prizes, £1 Is and 10s Gil.

Mrs J. G. Eobb, Dur.cdin, " A Fsir terror" 1 Mr W. 1). Sl'Lcan, Pert Chalmers, " The Bishop and the Caterpillar" .... 2 -Miss _ Nellie Poison, forth-East Vallev, "Little. Ornhnat Anm'o" .. '.. .. '.. 3 The judges also specially mentioned Mr John B. Rcid, Wellington ("How Jl'Doucal looped the Scctc ") and Mr Oswald H. Pir.el, Duncdin (" The Quack Doctor"). Tho other competitors wero F. V. Blamlfcrd. Eva Holland, Inn Whitson, Laurie Darling, Edith N. Vivian, C. Doig, Mrs Lily E. Hndficld, Duncan Robertson Gertrndo Dunstan, Frcu. C. Evsry, ami E. A. M. Rowland.

Mr Bacyertz. in announcing the result?, said:—Mr Clark and myself have taken into consideration the intrinsic humciu- cf tho compositions themselves. Seme of. the competitors recited pieces which, porlrip? owing to a^ defect in my own comnositiou, J. am unable to see any humour in at all. However well such a piece may bo done, it is hardly a humorous recitation. Some competitors also chose long, tedious, and uninteresting tilings. One such niece- was very well done, but'the point was viniblo for four or fivo miles before it arrived, and the interest was taken awar. Last night a young lady recited "The broken bowl"— a sketch which was evidently very woli done. What, little bits we heard were very weM dons, and no doubt if the composition had been recited hero instead cf in tho theatre wc should have, heard it von,' much bettor, and she wouid probably have been among the prize-winners. Tho first nrizo goes to Mr.? Robb, whoso accent wa.i ii-reproach-

PREPARED SPEECH (open), "The Educa. Fiona! Value of the Work of the,-Competi-tions Society. Prizes, si Is and 10s Gd. Mr F. 1... HiKlfield, Musselburgh .. 1 Mr P. Carolin, Dunedin, .. o Mr Fred. C. Every, Mornington .'.' 2 Mr Arthur D. Aitken, fiimcdin .. ,1 The other competitors were Mr W CanMiss Helen M'Kcnzic, and Mr C. E. Tomlineon.

This proved a very interesting competition and a fairly even one. Tho spenkc-'s had evidently written their spccrf.es and memorised them-a perfectly legitimate thing to do,-and while in hardly a single instance the matter was poor, there was some disparity in the delivery of tho respective competitors. Tho comnctition was judged by Mr Q. Fonwick, with whom was associated the elocutionary judges. Mr Fenwick. in announcing the decision, said that tho points as allotted •separately by (ho judges all came out exceedingly close, lio would liko to say that the judges had derived a great deal of pleasure from listening to the speeches, and, he hoped, also a good deal of instruction. He had derived instruction himself, and he thought tho remarks of tho last speaker as. to tho competitors being told wherein lay their defects wore admirable and appropriate. It was quite right and proper that* there should bo frco criticism on the part of tho judges; at the, same time it was right that there should bo no carping criticism—(" Hear, hear"),— and ho did not think there had been any carping criticism—(Applause.) Ho had been present at a. number of the competitions, and ho had read the reports closely, and ho did not think anything had bcon said by an of tho judges that would do anything but good. It was useless to gloss over dofocts in pronunciation, et,c., whethor in tho elocutionary or vocal competitions, and it was far bettor that those who had not succeeded should know their defects from the judges themselves. So far, ho thought the critioisms had not been so harsh or so carping as to deter any unsuccessful competitor from ooming forward again naxt year. He bad every confidence that those, competitors who had not taken any prizes and who had had to submit to a littlo unpleasant criticism would tako it in good part.—(Applause.)

PREPARED READING (open), selection from " Tho Four Gcor[>C3 " (Thackeray). Prizes, £1 Is and 10s 6il. Miss Edith Vivian, 135 marks .. .. 1 Mr S. J. MaUicson, 115 marks .. 2 Mr F. 1. Hadficld, 113' marks .. 3 Jfet in •order of merit wcro Mr James Braid, Miss Laurie Darling, 'Miss Dorothy Gard'ner, Mr D. Leslie, and -Miss Cissy M'Ghie. Tho other competitors were Messrs J. Gordon, E. W. Watts, C. W. Callaway, F. C. Every, J. B. Rcid, 1. J. Pemborton, J. Hill, T. M. Wright, D. Bohortson, T. Gallagher, A. Wilkins, and Misses 11. M'Konzie, A. He-ley, J. Fraer, L. Green, J. Cunningham, E. M. South, W. M. Mitchell, J. Knowles, M, Gerdon, and E. Oswin.

Mr Baoyertz, in announcing tho rosult, said the ohiof fault of most of tho competitors was their failure to appreciate the delicious subtlety of the sa-t-iro. Tho readings for tho most part wero bald and unconvincing. Tho eyos of nearly all tho competitors wore glued to tho hook. Of course it was not intended tha,t they should recite, but occasionally a competitor might look at his audienco and • take them to a certain extent into bis confidence. Then there was a lack of finer expression, so valuable an adjunct to reading as well as to recitation. Inflection and modulation wero neglected, and most of tho competitors almost entirely disregarded dramatio pauses. Mr Gallagher, it should bo eaid, eauio second in his conception of this reading, but failed iu.techjiitflie, pronunciation,.in eaujioLaMo)}, and

in other respects. The judges would suggest he should study elocution, as they were suro he would do something in it. THE MUSICAL COMPETITIONS. VIOLIN SOLO (under 15 years), Gautier's "Grace Darling Gavotte/' Prizes, £1 Is and 10s 6d. Kiss Helen K. Walker (Dmiedin), 3S points 1 Master Charles M'Pcake (Duncdin), 34 points 2 Master Alfred Maithnd (Duncdin), 32 points 3 Next in order ol merit were placed Miss Honor F. Morrison and Miss Lily It. Crawley with 30 points each. Also competed: Misses Fidclis Stubbs and Jeannic Macdonakl and Muster E. C. Smith. Dr Bradshaw, in announcing his decision, said that one of the chief requisites for a good interpretation of this pieco lay in good staccato bowing and in neat phrasing, and herein lay a difficulty not very easily overcome by young violinist?. The double stopping was a very great difficulty for such young performers. Taking this into consideration the standard reached had been a fairly high one. The winner scored 8 points for technical correctness, notes, time, and pace; 8 for tone quality and intonation; 8 for bowing and phrasing; and 14 for expression and general effect. The second prize-winner scored 8, 7, 6, and 13 points under these, respective headings, and tho competitor placed third, 7, 7, 6, and 12 points. VIOLIN SOLO (open), Raff's "Cavatina,'' Prizes, £2 2s and 10s Gd. Mr Thomas Wadie (Dmiedm), 30 points .. 1 Miss Maud Sandilamls (Musselburgh), 34 points 2

Mr Harry Xorris (Waikiwi), 32 points .. 3 A'cxt on the list in order of merit came Miss Margaret Nordin with 23 points. Also competed : Misses Caroline Shearer, K. B. Bridgcr, Uavinu JL'lntyre, and Messrs A. F. Scott, W. H. Wilson, and W. H. Jlunn. The winner (Jfr Wadic3 scored 7 points for technical correctness, 8 for tone quality and intonation, 7 for bowing and phrasing, and 14 far expression and general effect, Miss Sandilandii secured 6, 7, 9, and 12 points under tho-o respective headings, and ilr Norris 6, 8, 0, and 12 pointo. The judge slid that depth and sonority of tone without harshness and unduo force wore -the- great necessity in a rendering of this composition. At the same time the leading themo required a delicate and sympathetic treatment, which called for much technical ability and a musical soul. As he quite exported would be the case, iho very difficult double stopping towards the end of the. composition was in almost every case most unsatisfactory, the. intonation being very faulty, and in many cases the tono very lmeven and harsh. But a much more surprising fault was the absence of good phrasing. The winner of the second prize was tb'o only competitor who paid proper attention to the bowing marks inserted by the composer. She would, in doubt, have obtained firsi- prize had her intonation been a little less faulty.

SACKED SOLO (gentlemen), "Tho Holy Temple" (GouUod). Prizes, £2 2s and 10s Gd. Mr \". WilhelmsoD, 41 points i Mr AV. G. Riddell, 43 points 2 Mr W. 1\ M'Kcnzic and Mr Ernest F. I*a\vu, 42 points 3 Next in order of merit came Messrs j. A. Haggitt, D. lioss, and G. E. Applcgorth each with U. points. Also competed: Messrs A. G. C'coko, A. Brume, J. G. Butler, W. Ci.. RobertSO2, E. Uavics, D. h. Corrigan, A. liacdouaM, P. C. ,'jtokcs, J. H. Oliver, and R. Shrimptou. Tho winner ' secured 7 points out of 10 for technical correctness, 9 for tone quality and intonation, 7 for distinctness of words, cmincir.'ijon, and pronunciation, 5 for attack and phrasing, and 16 for expression and general effect. The maximum of marks allotted wai 60, each section receiving 10 except tho last, for which 20 was givan. Mr Riddell scored 8; 3, 6, 6, ami 15 points in each ot tho above subdivisions.

This competition proved much tho most meritorious and enjoyable of the vocal sections yet heard. A'ot ono ot tho items was rcaily inferior, and the best of them wcio up to an excellent standard. Of no competitor could it bo said that he had no voice. In giving his decision tho judge said tho composition in its varied character was a very suitable ono for testing the capabilities of the performers. The recitative with which tho solo opened required a certain declamatory power, noticeable in the majority of the renderings by its absence. A very weak point in a'lmoit all the performances was the poor emmciwion-in faot, throughout the piece this had been a noticeable defect. Vowel sounds were run tcgetner, final consonants were either vry indistinct or altogether missing, and in a few cases consonants were made to •We ns initial eomonanis bogiimiiig the vowel .-Guild. Many of the competitors lest marks by bad phrasing, mK |.- s 0 f expression and stops being entirely Jost sight of tins in many cases proving disastrous to the sense of the words. The winner's performance was marked by better enunciation and more attention to expression than tho maiomy of tho performances.

PIAXOFOCTK SOLO (open), "Andante and Hondo' (Mendelssohn). Prises, £2 o £ al , d lus Cu. Miss Bydyn Ear! (Oainaru), « points ~ i Abas ilinme Paton, JO points n Miss Millie Il £3 and Hiss ilnbal' Wright', " 33 KCiiits • ° ' 3 Also competed: Misses Edith Williamson, klla Cowie, Lilian D'Oylv, Gertrude Pitts, Clinsiimi Ba-r, Catherine Clapperton, Ivy Edwards, \ aleria Lello, and ilary Stcuhouse. The winner scored 9 point.: for technical corrccim,-,s, 3 for touch and tone quality. 7 for attack r.nd ,phrc>?:ng, mid 19 for expression ami gcnc-ritl effort. Miss Paid scored 7, V, 8, and 18 points under those different hcadjigv. 'fiie jud£o .said thii competition had proved one of the most interesting heard so far, a few of the performers reaching a high i;'an:iard of excellence. T'.e winning p?rforr.'.anei; was insvbcd by grtatcr a Hen" tion to expression than soine cf tho other renderings, which were good otherwise. Tho second lTize-wfivinor also gave a very good rendering. She played from memory with mucli technical excellence, but wc.; rather lacking in warmth of expression. The reading given by Miss lies was in many rispecls good, but vs.? impaired to some extent by rather heavy touch and misus:- of the pedal. Miss Wright'.'! p'.ayiug was rather lacking in contrast, and she played the finielc movement rather slowly. Otherwise iter performance was good. PIAXOFORTE SOLO (oncn), " Polaeca- in E" (Weber). Prizes, £2 2s and Ms Gil. Miss Millie lies. 1!G points 1 Miss Eve".vn Earl. 34 points 2 Miss Gertrude Pitts, 3!i points 3 2\cxt in order nt merit wore Hiss Juanita Ross and Miss Clara Hughes, equal with 32 points each. Also competed: Misse.i Valeria. Lello, Christina Ban, Eva- Ormoml, Lilian D'Oyly, Nellie Er.lhtr, Ettie Tilbury, Helen A. Bryce, Muriel Adams, Elsie Ford, Catherine Clapperton, Mrs C. AV. Hannah, and Mr 11. Jamicson.

The winner scored 8 .-points for technical corrcetiieK, 8 for touch and tone quality, 6 for attack, phrasing, and use of pedal, and M for expression' and 'general effect. Miss l'lifl scored 6, 8, 7. anid 13 points, and Miss Pitt; 8, 7, 6, and 12 -points under these respective heading-. l)r Bradshaw raid the standard reached in this competition had not been so good as in tho Mondolffiolm number. The chief requisite for a satisfactory interpretation of the piece was. of course, the pe.aesF.ion of good •technique and brilliant execution. Many of tho competitor!-) were unequal to tho demands of the piece, and the result was consequently in. many cases unsatisfactory. The one .passage in the composition— the short song-like- episode—that calkd for, emotional power was also ou tho whole very unsatisfactory, the camtabilo part being played with little or no real musical expression, and the quaver and semiquaver part being much too prominent. Mhs Elsie Ford, who played from memory, mada a very promising start, and would in all probability have been well placed but for an unfortunate slip of memory.

COMEDIETTA (second section). Two scenes from "Romeo ami Juliet" were presented in a way to thoroughly hold the attention of tho audience. The parte were iaken as follows:—Mia C. M. Gard'ner, I.idy Canulet; Miss D. M. Gard'ner, Juliet; 1 Miss Vox. the iuirso; Mr T. C 4. Aimers, Romeo: Mr T. J. I'emberton. Capulet; Mr A. R. Gardner, Tj-telt; and Mr M. Gard'ner, Mcrcutio. Those taking part liad evidently rchearwd the scer.es very carefully and to advantage A speciaj word of praiso h clue to Miss Dorothy Gard'ner, who took the part of Juliet in a dainty and graceful manner and spoke her lines well, while Mr Aimers was also heard to advantage as Romeo. A feature of the presentation was -the- introduction of a very

! pretty dance by eight ladies and gentlemen. The decision on the comedietta section has yet to be given. TEN'OR SOLO, '■ Where roses gleam." ■I'ivo competitors were heard in tho first section of this competition. CONTRALTO SOLO, "There is a green hill far away." • Five competitors were heard in the first section of this competition. BASS SOLO, "The storm fiend." Five competitors were heard in tho second ■ section of this competition. LITERARY SECTION. ORIGINAL STORY (open). Any subject. Prizes, ■£! 2s and 10s Gd. Miss Annis Jl'Lood (Canterbury) 1 Miss Isa M. E. Mac Donald (Clyde) .... 2 Mrs W. H. Trimble (Duncclin) -3 There were 21 entries in this competition, which was judged by Mr G. Bell. The judge submitted the following report: — Of the 21 compositions submitted to me, the types are very varied. Fifteen are stories properly so called; the rest might better be classed as sketches. As might be expected, the talent displayed in them is far from uniform, and tho obstnclcs to its development seem to have bscn equally diverse. Having been requested to offer some critical remarks on the competitors' work, I complynot without reluctance, since I am compelled to mention certain things on which I fear that authors will differ from me, and on which perhaps many of their friends will sympathise with them rather than with the judge. I can only ask them all to believe that I do " nothing extenuate, nor might set down in malice"; and that to preserve the purity of our noble English tongue, as well as to foster the cultivation of imagination, analysis, and description, are the sole objects of the committee's request and o[ ray obedience thereto. The first thing that struck me after reading the JISS. and considering them as a whole was their excellence of moral tone. Assuming—as we are fairly entitled to assume—that the writers represent the average sense of the community, this fact is both most important and most gratifying, and upon its prominence I beg permission to congratulate the writers and the eociely. ' The second -characteristic that forced itself upon my notice was the high value set upon the domestic and social virtues. Considering the intense martial enthusiasm for which New Zealand won lcnov.-.n during the Boer war; considering how protracted was that struggle; considering how numerous were the persons whose friends and relatives wore engaged in the conflict, and considering how fertile was tho combat in situations and in revelations of character that lend themselves with ease to the requirements of fiction, the total absence from the stories of any trace of its fierceness is not a little astonishing. A parallel remark applies to the brilliant ceremony un which every British monarch is the central figuro once iu his reign, and in which he is distinguished as unique among tho Sovereigns of Western Europe. The Coronation, throughout oil the 21 talcs, is. no! even alluded to. Neither do great political questions seem to have attracted attention from those who wicicK- the pen in this competition. Two, however ("Autolyous" and "AJrim"), have made use of (he 'opportunity, and have done so with considerable skill, to ridiculo certain political fetishes vary much venerated just now by some people. lii the writing of a. story the prime essential is that thorc should be a definite thought to be presented. This may be the development of a character, the limning of a trail, or the working out of. an incident. If the writer desire to enforce a moral, it must be done by means of one. or the other of these method;, or bya combination of them. Here description of scenery or other surroundingj, even the record of conversations or events unconnected with the thread of the tale, does not properly constitute a story of itself, nor does it so even though human interest exist, if it be overshadowed by these, which ought to be adjuncts, and adjuncts- only. The nest requisite, is that the material presented must be "either I new in itself, or, if used before, be moulded into new shapes and arranged in new combinations. Failing this the outcome is a mere copy, unworthy of the effort expended upon its production or perusal. Both these conditions make demands upon the imagination to construct, and upon the critical faculty to test, the framework, without which no story cr.n stand up and face the public. I note with regret (hit character, incident, imagination, and critical faculty are totally absent from a few, and present themselves in but very limited degree in others, of (he tales sent in. Quite apart from other considerations. I beg attention to this fact as a very remarkable phenomenon, because the community is supplied with abundance (I had almost said superfluity) of good fiction, whose mere unconscious influence, without deliberate study of its architecture, might reasonably be expected to jiave trained every render, much more every author, in the recognition of character study and the construction o; a plot. The daily newspapers (not to speak of other sources) publish excellent models of novel writing in an endless procession, as different in types as the flowers of the field. I am g'.ad, however, to say that this criticism is not by any means of universal' application, and that the mention of three | writers (" Cyril," " Autolycus," and " Minho") docs not exhaust the list of thos? who, beside the three I place at the top, exhibit more or less of the essentials 1 have set forth. Un-

happily the influence of the very weakest class of talc, especially of American sentimentalism, is, in a few cases, painfully apparent. Next in importance to the matter of a story, yet equally vital to its success, is its style. And here the competitions are doing invaluable service to the pnMic in bringing to light the real character of the education given to the children in our public schools, [or I take it for granted that these 21 arc above the average in attainment of pupils who have lately passed through tno-c institutions. It is plain that many of these young people have not had the mental training which parents desire them to receive, which schools exist to impart, and which the scholars have a right to get. The authorities have discarded the classic languages from the school curricihim because our splendid English literature was thought better v/osthy of attention, It is a sad fact that of what constitutes " literature " a considerable number of the pupils leaving school appear to havo iio idea at ail. In most- o£ tho stories—i cm icaHy grieved to sr.y it, but I imist!-> grave errors in grammar or orthography exist; in somo they abound, while-clumsy constructions, not a few' of them irresistibly comic in their unintentional meaning, are frequent. Other elements of style, though moro difficult to define, are quite as important as erammar and spelling. Lucidity and order in presenting the components of a thought or a sentence, the choico of illustrations, the use of allusion, the balance cf periods, and r specially the music of spoken words, demand attention and mental labour at every stroke of the pen. A few of the competitors appear to ho strangely wanting in perception of these nicotic?. The somo word occurs twice or oftcuer in a couple of lines, the metal ear having apparently caught the echo, retained it, and reproduced it, quite inseniWn to the irritation of tautology. Probably this is not because the writer's stock of words was scanty, t or became ho was too lazy to select a, synonym, but merely because lie has not been taught in childhood to disc-era llw beauties of a varied dietiou, or to avoid the faults of the literary sloven. As for the rmi;io of a rhythmical sentence it seems to ha wholly inaudible to not .1 few, -and several times the reader had to e::ercise most vigorous self-discipline against temptation to mark the MS with remonstrance or correction. An author who loses a good opportunity, who mars a pretty sentiment by an awkward phrase, or turns a fine harmony into a cackle through-missing by a hair's-breadth the right arrangement o! his words, rouses in the reader a feeling compounded of anger and pity in equal parts. • Here, again, the school must be impeached for neglect, and has a serious indictment to answer. In making my award I have selected those IISS which combine development of character or incident with the nearest approach to literary form, excellence of slvle, and freedom from grammatical and orthographical faults. I recommend that the first prize be given to " Sinna Cromly" (Hiss Annjs M'Lcod, Canterbury) for the tale entitled " In Summer Days"; the second prize to " Penolopo " (Hiss Ida 11. E. Macdomild, Invcrcargilt) for "A Question of Honour"; and honourable mention to "Omen" (Mrs \V. H. Trimble, Bunedin) for "Twenty-four, Trafalgar Street." ART SECTION. CARVING IK BELIEF (amateur). Prizes, £1 Is and 10s Gd. Dr Ogston, judge. M.iss E. Morris j Mr R. Brownlie ",, ; j j Mrs Vi. J. Moore .. ~ " " ), _" 3 There were eight competitors. CARVING IX RELIEF (open). Prizes, £1 Is and 10s C-d. Miss Fynmore 1 Mr R. Brownlie .. ~ \\ \\ " '• [' g _ Before tho evening's proceedings closed, tne Chairman drew particular attention to tho grand juvcnilo demonstration the committee intends holding in Hie theatre on Saturday afternoon, when tho Mayoress will distribute prizes and nn attractive pro-, gramme bo gone through by tho prizewinners.

-There are some gold-fish in Washing, ton which have belonged to tho sarao family for tho last 50 years, and they seem mo bigger and v.o less vivacious to-day than they did when they fir?t came into tho owner's possession. A few of tho fish in the Imperial Aquarium at St. Petersburg are known to be 150 years old, and the ago of sacred fish in some of the ponds attached to the Buddhist temples in China is to be counted Iry centurios, if we arc to beliove tho priests.

( Thk Fireman is in great danger from falling bricks or timbers, as well as from the flames. No' fire department is properlyequipped without a supply of Chamberlain's Pain Balm. This liniment is unexcelled for burns and bruises. One application gjves rjslief, Try it. A!}' dca.lgrs m\\ it.