MUSIC.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20222, 7 October 1927, Page 5

MUSIC.

NOTES AND RECORDS. One of the most famous records was made by Carus 0 and Fiances Alda, who has now returned on a concert tour of her native New Zealand, after many years as prima donna of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York (says Thorold Waters in the Australian Musical Nows). To mark the occasion of her return, this record —the “Miserere” from “ II Trovatoro ” has been reissued. In passing, the fine balance and firm attack and release of the choral portions may be referred to with admiration. Alda’s voice is here heard to bo fully responsive to the mingled dramatic and florid demands made upon poor Leonora, besides possessing the brightness so characteristic of those from this side of the world. It mates fittingly with the unapproachable Caruso’s. The other side of this disc is occupied by Caruso and Schumann-Hcink in the duet “Ai Nostri Monti,” from tho same opera. A number of other records display Madame Alda's art in various phases. She sings tho captivating air of Madame Butterfly as he climbs the terraces to the presence of Pinkerton in the first act of Puccini’s opera. Her voice carries through with great purity and sunniness, and a more than ordinarily Eosed legato style, ending with a ringing igh D flat of perfect intonation. This aria, “ Ancora un Basso or Via ” is companioned by another bit of Puccini, “ 0 Mio Babbino,” from his short opera, “ Gianni Scbicchi,” which is forecast as one of the novelties of next year’s opera season. Ald a sings lightsomely, and with fine vocal purity, “O Murmuring Breezes” with its ripling accompaniment in arpeggios In this disc also is her romantic rendering of Rabey’s song, “ Tes Yeux,” which is enhanced by a very beautilul obbligato by Mischa Elman. That Alda docs not limit her choice is shown in two other records, —of Irving Berlin’s “ What’ll I Do?” and Victor Schcrtzingcr’s “ Love Has a Way.” Frances Alda, to whom reference was made in tho preceding paragraph, was born at Christchurch. She was trained under Madame Marches!, and made her debut at the Opera Comique, in Paris, in 1904. Since then she has appeared with marked success at the leading opera houses of tho Old and New Worlds, and has taken many of the principal roles in the great operas. Apart from her operatic triumphs. Madame Alda’s success on the concert platform has been a very great one. Hero are some of her records: —“Madame Butterfly”— “ Ancora un possa or via ” (Puccini), and “ Gianni Scbicchi ” —“ O mio babbino care” (Puccini); “Mighty Lak a Rose" (Navin), and “Somewhere a Voice is Calling” (Tate); “Murmuring Breezes,” Op. 21, No. 4 (with piano) (Jenson), and “ Tcs ysux ” (with piano, violin, by Elman (Rabey); “Coming Home” (Eardloy-Wil-raot-WiJlcby), and “Memory’s Garden” (Dcnni); “Je dis que ricn ne m’epouvante” from “ Carmen ” (Bizet), and “ Si, mi cbiamauo Minii ” from “La Bohemo ” (Puccini); “Un bol di yedremo,” duet with Braslau, “ Tutti i flor ” from “ Madam Butterfly ” (Puccini) The new process records tond_ to place composition in a hard, brilliant light; they servo tho orchestral colourists more faithfully than they serve the solid thinkers of music. Rimsky-Korsakov’s keen-edgod instrumentation in “ Scheherazade ” (writes an enthusiastic English critic) is reproduced to the life on two records. The Covent Garden Orchestra, conducted by Gossens, apparently has no Cattcrall to make the music of the solo violin magical in its arabesque allurements, but the tonal texture on the whole is superb, vibrant with rhythm and Rirnsky-Korsakov’s own astringent hues. Colour with this composer exploited towards the end of Oriental suggestiveness, never became rank. Here is genuine “ Orientalism,” possessing the sharp logic of the arabesque. Chromatic melody by Rimsky-Korsakov rarely provokes ‘.he sense of a weakened, over-ripe music; his chromaticism seems tho outcome of a logical and penerating musical faculty which finds in half-tones not mystery but sharper definition. Arabesque is always impersonal in expression, and the fantasy of “ Scheherazade ” asked for an impersonal, or at any rate objective style of composition. A break of authentic emotion would, seem vulgar in tho world of Arabian Nights romance, which, of course, is wholly decorative. The past 12 months have been rich in improvements in gramophones. These improvements have been twofold. There has been mechanical advance in plenty, but there has also been extraordinary improvement in public taste. I know (says a Londoner) of several representative cases where the taste of the entire household has turned deliberately from jazz to music. A chorus girl friend with dancing rhythm in her blood, has a gramophone (on the instalment system), and many shillings out of her weekly 70s go to the reccrd shop, but I notice that she plavs the “ Twilight of the Gods ” far oftener than “Who.” Her gramophone is a joy to her because she can through it hear the deep, solemn music for which she craves. And there are many like her. The 19-year-old son of a gardener near me has won some money as a prize, and he has treated himself to two large records out of it. One is Handel’s “ Largo ” and the other the “ Song of the Volga Boatmen.” Among several organ recordings issued in recent months, two are of outstanding interest. In any list of the greatest works written for the instrument, Bach’s “ D minor Toccata and Fugue ” avonld inevitably find a place; even the pianists have annexed it for their keyboard. Mr C. D. Cunningham has recorded it. He ie the Birmingham city, organist. The “ Toccata ” has the clarity of the touchpiece its name implies it to be. The French organist Dupre is heard in a “ Dialogue ” by Clerambault, a Parisian organist of the early eighteenth century, and a “Noel” by Daquin, a French harpsichordist of a generation later, who was an organist also. Goss-Custard plays the Londonderry Air and “ Chelsea Fayre,” a piece of his own; Arthur Meale relies on himself entirely, contributing a Marche Festive and a Twilight Melody. Of Beethoven’s wonderful Fifth Symphony, Berlioz wrote that “ it appears to emanate directly and solely from the genius of Beethoven. It is his own intimate thought which is there developed, and his secret sorrows, his pent-up rage, his dreams so full of melancholy oppression, his nocturnal visions, and his 1 rsts of enthusiasm furnish its entire subject; while the melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, and orchestral forms are there delineated with an essential novelty and individuality, endowing them also with considerable power and nobleness.” In the new process re-recorded edition these points are given emphasis, and particularly successful is the kettledrum passage. It is' a fine performance of the symphony. A' welcome disc is that of Elizabeth Schumann, who has sung “ O Come, do not Delay,” from Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro,” and “ I Will Love Him and he True,” from Mozart’s “ II Re Pastore.” She is known best, perhaps, for her renderings of Schubert, Strauss, and Mozart —ar.d is particularly happy with the last mentioned. For her record she has chosen two of the most popular airs in the whole Mozartian repertoire. There is a violin obbligato, which continues into the elaborate cadenza at the end of the second of the airs mentioned. The series of “Peer Gynt” is well known —“ Morning,” “ Death of Ase,” “Anitra’s Dance,” and “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” The Royal Opera House orchestra, conducted by Eugene Goosens, has recorded it. “ Morning ” is bright and dear, with the mournful death music on tho reverse of the disc. “ Anitra’s Dance ” is full of colour and life, and the reverse side depicts the unreal court life of <ho Troll King. There is a slight suggestion of harshness in some of the high notes. Gramophone recitals have become established features in the Clainea Parish Church, Worcestershire (writes the Musical Times). The programmes of the most recent have included records of Elgar’s Second Sympho y and a minor “Pomp and Circumstance ’’ march. Strauss’s “ Death and Transfiguration,” Schubert’s Trio in flat, organ solos, and extracts from the B minor Mass. This strikes us as being an excellent feature, and well I worth noting by those who wish to help forward the cause of good music in villages. The Rev. A. H. S. Pattrick, vicar of Washington, Sussex, has intimated that noAV that the gramophone reproduces vocal and instrumental music very nearly perfectly, and there are beautiful records of sacred music, he proposes to make use of some of these in the place provided for the anthem in the Prayer Book. The uplifting power of beautiful music, wedded to sacred words, and adequately rendered, is now brought within reach of every congregation.