MUSIC.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19688, 15 January 1926, Page 5

MUSIC.

3TOTES AND RECORDS. More tb*n a qnartes' of a century ago (■writes Richard Cap ell, in the Daily Mail), Edward Elgar’s Orchestral Variations, the ■’Enigma,” proved him to be one of the foremost musicians of the age, and the best composer England had had for many and many a generation. Now Mr Edward’s eminence is acknowledged by the presentation of the gold medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society. This curiously delayed honour might have been put down to an oversight if it were not of a piece with our general treatment of the creators in art. It is a tradition that the cakes and ale are the due of the performers of music, and that the creators should content them?elves with their own inspiration. Thus, since the “Enigma” Variations were composed, the Philharmonic gold medal has been awarded to many queens of song and instrumental “stars” —while Elgar waited ! True, he has a title and the Order of Merit But he is. among our composers, quite exceptional in that. Official honours seem generally to pass by the men who are essentially creators of music. One has only to mention the unadorned names of Vaughan W illiams. Delius, Bantock, Holst, and Bax. Is, then, the origination of music of minor importance? The reproducers got not only most of the credit but also nearly all the cash. The writing of serious musio is unremunerative enough! There are excellent composers who would bo pleased with as much in a year os same virtuosos can earn in a single afternoon at the Albert HalL Our economic scheme of things, in fact, makes no allowance for the composer nure and simple. To live, oar composers must teach or conduct or adjudicate. And still we have composers—and such as wo might well take more pride in than we do. Where lies their reward? Well, the genuine creative artist no doubt does not choose his course—he is impelled into it. And perhaps it is a consolation that, after he is dost, he may be remembered and beloved when all the queens of song and virtuosos are forgotten.^ Pachmann, the great pianist, notified Sir Dan Godfrey, director of the Winter Gardens, Bournemouth, that he could not accede to the latter’s request to play Chopin’s Funeral March at the Gardens in memory of Queen Alexandra. When the request was made to him Pachmann replied that after the death of King Edward he made a vow never to plav the march again. “It is, I am sure, chiefly for reasons of sentiment that Pachmann declines to comply with Sir Dan Godfrey’s request,” Mr Holt told a Daily Chronicle representative.' “Ho played the march last at the Winter Gardens, Bournemouth, just after the death of King Edward, and, so moved and overcome was he that ho tells me, ho made up his mind that he would never play it again. At the same time, Pachmann is afraid that his action will be misinterpreted, and he hopes that fit will not seem disloyal or disrespectful to the memory of _ a gracious Queen when he says that he simply cannot bring himself to play rt’.” Mr Sheridan RusseQ, the young cellist, a nephew of Sir Landon Ronald, has returned to England after travelling over 6000 miles to give one private performance in New York. “While playing in London,” he told a Daily Chronicle representative, “the suggestion was made, half in jest, that I might like to plav at the house of Mrs J. B. Thomas, in New York. I replied that it was merely a question of expense. “To my great surprise I was booked on the spot. I don’t want to divulge what my fee was, but it was round about 1000 dollars (£200), in addition to which my expenses —about £lso—were paid. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s description of himself, the other day, as the least musical of men suggests (observes a writer in the Daily Chronicle) the curious fact that most recent Archbishops of Canterbury have been in the same predicament King Edward called upon Archbishop Tait to speak at the inauguration of the Royal College of Mnsio. “Your Royal Highness,” said Tait, “has spoken of certain unfortunate people who are deaf to music; I am afraid I must class myself somewhat among that number.” Archbishop Temple’s excruciating efforts to sing produced several anecdotes.

Frederick 'Weatherly, who lectured recently for the Empire Poetry League, has probably written a greater number of “Songs We All Know” than has any other man. It mast bo about half a century, if not longer, _ since “Nancy Lee’’ and “The Midsmpmito” were written, for Mr Weatherley recently kept his 77th birthday, and he seems to have been writing songs all his life. Some of his songs have bocome such institutions that they are frequently referred to as “old English ballads’’ by' people who can remember their nurses singing “Darby and Jc&n” and “The Old Maids of Lee.’’ The latter is one of the Weatherley songs which have a West Country atmosphere, for the veteran song writer was born at Portiahead and has practised law at Bristol. According to the London review notes by the last mail, several good things are on the way. “Parsifal” lovers will welcome the album just issued by His Majesty’s Voice people, for the eight discs it contains give us rather more than an hour of Wagner’s music; the notes on the inside of the cover, moreover, will add greatly to the enjoyment of the music even by those who know something of the opera. We get famous excerpts familiar to the concert room, such as the Prelude and the Good Friday Spell; the latter, however, is in its concert-room dress. In the vocal selections Robert Radford is the Guxnemanz, Walter Widdop the Parsifal, and Percy Heming the Amforfas; the conductor is Albert Coates. The Grail Scene of the first act is well represented, and a chorus does as well as may be with the hazardous choral writing here. A disc is devoted to the music of the Flower Maidens, but the flower maidens do not sing. The Herzeleide solo for Kundry is sung by Gota Ljungberg in German. An 11.M.V. recording by Sir Landon Ronald and the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra of the Nocturne from Mendelssohn’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” music is of the highest class, and far and away superior to a recent issue of the same music.

For H.M.Y. Paul Robeson has recorded two Negro Spirituals; one—“ Were You Thera When They Crucified My Lord?” is the most deeply moving of them aIL Opera—and oratorio—is well represen'ed in coming records. An H.M.Y. “Carmen” disc introduces a new singer in Jeanne Gordon, who sings in French the “Card” song of the “Seguidillas.” We do not get in the former anything approaching the true values of it sorchestral accompaniment—at any rate, on the every-day machine—but Miss Gordon sings with a finely dark passionate note befitting the music, and Biret hereabouts is a composer of genius Superb in every way is another U-M.Y. disc which gives us Florence Austral in “Hear Ye, Israel.” and Handel's “From Mighty Kings.” Miss Austral’s, for sure, is the voice of a generation. The H.M.Y. people are the main contributors to recent recordings of "occasional music.” There is “English as she is not spoken,” _ by the Stanton Brothers, and that teasing thing, “I miss my Swiss, ’ oy the Happiness Boys. John Henry is Joe Murgatroyd for the nonce, and we get to know what “Joe Murgatroyd says”; on the reverse John Henry gets paid ont bv a “Curtain Lecture” from “Blossom,” quite in the Mrs Caudle manner. Jim Miller and Charlie Farrell in the very reminiscent “Hay, Hay, Farmer Gray,” jingle attractively, and are at times funny. The Co-optimists are responsible for three discs —“responsible in this connection does not imply blame—and the idiosyncrasies of Melvfl’o Gideon come through very well—perhaps best of all in “You forget to remember.”

Amongst the new dance records the Tango is strongly _in evidence, and with its rhythmic elasticity wiihin the basic measured rhythm is far more musical in eflect than the Fox-trot. The latter is not altogether dead, however, for more examples are forthcoming, but the people who write fox-trots seem to have exhausted its possibilities. The dance-room will probably find it put on mainly to oblige the elderly dancer, and a few years hence the old folk may bo found lamenting the good old foxtrot of the early twenties. One of the more musically attractive of the Tangos comes from H.M.V.—‘''El Panned to,” by De Dios Filiberto, and played by the Varaldi Band. There is more character in this music than in the others, though a good word is doe to “Julian” by E. Donato, played by the sam< band. The other companies do not appear to have discovered the Tango as yet, but there seems no doubt about being in for a spell of it. The waltz keeps within the picture, but it is difficult to care for the waltz on the dance orchestra r* to-day. There are en route some interesting light, records, among which is a very good ixampio of the axt of Mr Melville Gideon, of “Tha 00-Optimists,” who shows great skill in a rendering on one record of two of his own songs, “Funny Little Tune” and “The Longest Day.” Mr Cyril Newton provides another record on which he has recorded, with plenty of feeling, “Sunny Havana” and “Babetto,” two songs of ro very great distinction. A different typo of song is provided by Mr Wendell Hall, who. first with the help of a ukelele and then of a guitar, rings “We’re Gonna Have Weather" and “It Stnvck My Funny-bone," two broad pieces which contain a good deal f\i fjpljMrtn in m gr»t