FORM AND STYLE IN MUSIC

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24431, 17 October 1940, Page 10

FORM AND STYLE IN MUSIC

ADDRESS TO WOMEN MUSICIANS At the monthly meeting of the Society of Women Musicians on Monday evening, Miss Mary Martin, who had arranged the programme, dealt as a preliminary with the general principles of form, with reference to the sonata in particular. No discussion of style, structure or balance, said Miss Martin, could explain just how a masterpiece affected us. but perfection of form was one of the hall-marks of genius. There could be no perfection of expression without control of technique: and although genius required inspired ideas to work with, there could be great work without perfect handling of those ideas. In combination of idea and technique spontaneous, easy, and controlled, the musicians who, perhaps, most excelled were Bach and Mozart. Form, Miss Martin continued, was the most important factor in abstract beauty. A work, to have such quality, had to 'be genuine in feeling: the feeling had to be worth expression; and the. result had to be not only the expression of an idea but its idealisation. There were certain laws of form which had survived 500 years and more; such laws could not. be artificial, but one of music's basic needs. Confoi’mity to pattern did not restrict, for, the greatest masters could write within narrow limits, as-witness the greatness of fugue form in the hands of Bach. All freedom was fulfilled within limitations. ■ ■- Miss Martin went on to give thematic illustrations of such principles, of form as exemplify economy of material and relief of key and theme, and then explained the evolution of sonata form through reference to other forms, such as binary, ternary and rondo. A programme of music to illustrate Miss Martin’s talk was given, and a vote of thanks was proposed by Mrs Beaumont. . „ T The programme was as follows: — l Attempt From Love’s Sickness to Fly ’’ (Purcell)—Meda Paine, accompanied by Mary Martin; Minuets (Bach), Bourree from Sonata (Bach). Air and Hornpipe (Purcell)—Dorothy Smaill, flautist, accompanied by Mary Martin; Violin Sonata (Handel)—Bessie Paine, violin and Thelma Gemmell, piano; First Movement, D minor Sonata (Beethoven)—Noela Borrow; First Movement, Quintet (written originally for two pianos, by Brahms)—Mary Fraser and Doris Ramsay (on _ two pianos); Variations Symphoniques (Cesar Franck)—Olive Campbell and Mary Fraser (two pianos).