MUSIC.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19066, 11 January 1924, Page 3

MUSIC.

NEWS AND NOTES. The Gresham Singers, in a recent concert in the kEolian Hall, London, introduced, we read, a beautiful and practically unknown work by a French composer. The date of its origin is about 1670, and it has an cld-world charm which should render it a popular addition to the programmes of the quartet of singers who have taken the place, one might say, of the Meister Glee Singers, who were such favourites 20 years ago. After three months’ deliberation the Board of Customs and Excise at Home has decided to refund the entertainment tax paid on the charity performance of "Tristan and Isolde,"’given by the British National Ope.ra Company at Covent Garden early in July in aid of Frau Wagner, the composer's widow. The amount to be refunded is £9B, and will bring the total to be handed over to Frau Wagner to £554 17s 7d. "Frau Wagner, who is living in Bayreuth in ill-health and almost destitute owing to the collapse of the mark, will he asked how she wishes the money to be tent to her,” said an official of the British National Opera Company. “We have been advised not to remit it in a lump sum, because it might be confiscated in Germany. Probably it will be sent to her in instalments, but we shall abide by her wishes.” □no of the most interesting and instructive of my musical experiences abroad this time (writes G. De Cairos-Rego in the Sydney Daily Telegraph) has been the investigation of “The British Federation of Musical Competition Festivals.” It is undoubtedly a movement that should have the earnest attention of the numerous eisteddfod committees in Australia; in Great Britain it has become a strong influence for good, and might even be said to be the finest in the musical life of the people. The competition festivals in England are the practical equivalent (though on a higher musical plane) of the average Australian eisteddfod. They were first organised 40 years ago at Stratford by Mr Spencer Curwen. By 1906 the number of centres, exclusive of Wales, was over 60; by 1914 they had nearly reached 100. This notable musical revival, both of interest and organisation, embraces about 150 centres, including some festivals outside of Great Britain, such as the festivals in Canada affiliated to the Federation. Of the latter there may be instanced the Manitoba musical competition festival, which this year brought over from England Granville Bantock and Plunkett Greene, as adjudicators. There were 63 sections in the competitions, and well over 6000 competitors.

Before the advent of the British Federation of Musical Competitions the festivals (competitions) wore separate and isolated, and without the means of establishing a common method or a common standard. Gradually, however, the need was felt of a more united plan, subject to the essential condition that each centre should retain its autonomy. What was needed was facility of intercommunication so that difficulties could be discussed, experiences compared, and questions of general policy debated. Accordingly in 1904- an association was formed, and readily joined by the smaller centres, especially those in the country districts, where community of purpose tould be most useful. The larger centres for a time held aloof; their conditions were different. The success of the association, however, was such that the movement grew into national, even Imperial, importance, and this eventually brought the larger festivals into a co-operative frame of mind. After the big Birmingham Festival of 1920 an all-embracing scheme was adopted, whereby “the British Federation of Musical Competition Festivals succeeded the earlier association. The Carnegie Trust has given the Federation generous and timely assistance —£1000 for grants of assistance to the smaller festivals, and £IOOO for general expenditure. These amounts are assured to the Federation for some time to come in order to securely establish the movement, which is expected to become self-supporting. The scratch problem touches every gramophone user. Mention to any one of them that you have just heard of a device for eliminating scratch altogether and you will have a keenly interested audience at once. For enlightenment on the general situation, let us turn to Mr F. F. Lucas, who, in the Scientific American Monthly, spreads much wisdom, examines causes and suggests cures. The scratchy noises, be says, are caused by the needle passing over hard particles in the material of the record. In one case they were traced to particles of grindstone used to prepare the sawdust flour that formed part of the plastic material of the record. Mr Lucas believes that with farther study and care scratchy records may become only an unpleasant memory. To quote and summarise his article;

“Recently a laboratory study of the standard gramophone records was undertaken with the object of comparing the different record surfaces so that the structural elements producing surface noise might be made tangible and perhaps, thereby, facilitate the application of corrective measures. “Surface noise of ‘scratching’ of phonograph records is one of the peculiar characteristics of phonographic reproduction, which, no doubt, every one would like to see done away with. It results from contact of stylus and record and has several contributing causes, one of which is the character of the record surface.

“To the unaided eye the surface of a record appears exceptionally smooth and highly polished, but when played all records produce surface noise. If one were analytically inclined, he probably would conclude that even though the record surface does appear smooth and polished it must have miniature hills and dales and be more or less granular. Even with the aid of a microscope and using methods which are usually applied when examining opaque objects, the results arc not satisfactory. “After much laboratory work and innumerable failures, a delicate mode of procedure was developed whereby a section of the surface, measuring approximately one centimeter square and only a few thousandths of a millimetre in thickness, could be removed from the record. These sections were then mounted on glass slides, after which it was possible by means of the microscope to look through the record and see the nature and condition of the material forming the bottom of the record grooves. Even to one experienced in technical microscopy tlie results were startling, and they seemed sufficiently convincing to warrant the speculation that the development of the phonograph record has not as yet reached its zenith.

“Gramophone records are made from that class of materials known as hot-moulded oornnosition. They consist of a binder intimately mixed with suitable mineral and vegetable fillers and a small proportibn of colouring matter. Under suitable conditions of temperature and pressure the mixture assumes a plastic condition and may be moulded. The binder may bo either a natural or synthetic gum or resin, or a combination of botii. The commonly used natural resins or gums include shellac and resin. The synthetic resins have the property of resisting deformation under moderately elevated temperatures, and, too, they produce a very hard surface which resists abrasion. Consequently records made with these resins do not scratch and mar easily during handling. The natural resinous materials are often affected by heat and records made with them are apt to deform unless properly stored. Also the surface of such a record is somewhat soft and apt to be damaged by careless handling. The mineral fibres, such as rotlenstone, chalk, etc., are used to impart hardness and strength. The vegetable fillers are usually cotton or wood fibres, and their function is to help hold the mass tenaciously together and to counteract brittleness. “In addition to the usual scratching sound, occasional ‘snaps and cracks’ are often heard and these seem to have their origin in a different source. In one record examined certain imperfections in the record surface are to bo seen, and it seems probable that when the stylus strikes such obstructions as these the reproducer must register some sort of a violent protest. These moulding imperfections were found to bo more pronounced in this particular record, but they were by no means absent in the other records. “In some records the scratching assumed very disagreeable proportions and detracted greatly from the musical value of tbo record. ' The grooves were found to consist of small and large mineral particles and splintery bundles of wood-fibre. The largo mineral particles were present in abundance, as will be tinted, and their origin was a mystery until treated by a method of microscopic analysis. Since a large proportion of the record consisted of wood-flour it was decided to examine some representative samples cf this material. The results showed that the wood-flour carried large inclusions of mineral particles similar to those found in the record surface. Following the wood-flour to its origin, it was found to consist of sawdust ground to fineness in a stone-mili. Apparently in this way particles of, the grindstones were being conveyed to the record surface. The wisdom of using material of this kind would seem open to serious consideration, especially in anew of the fact that chemically separated ■wood fibre free from foreign inclusions may readily be obtained. From a considera-

tion of the data obtained it would seem that future improvements in surface conditions appear most hopeful along lines which will result in a finer and a more homogeneous structure.”