BAND COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2804, 11 December 1907, Page 66

BAND COLUMN.

Notes bi Cobnet.

Secretaries of bands are 'invited to send in interesting paragraphs, also brief reports of parades and other functions in which their bands take part.

▲11 communications should be addressed to " Cornet," Otago Witness office.

I Arrangements in connection with the aub- ; sidised band concerts ase now practically completed. It was left to the Mayor of Dunedin (Mr Loudon) and the tramways manager (Mr Alexander) to arrange the season's programme, and also the order in which the five bands will play. Contrary i to expectations, no concerts on the St. Kilda band stand are included in the syllabus. Although, as remarked by Cr Cole, the sum of £25 was donated to the fund, the council has no intention of taking over the control of the rotunda at St. Kilda, that borough not being included in Greater Dunedin. * On "off" days, however, ; the 'bands will occupy the stand there, giving concerts of their own. Weather per- , mitting, concerts will be given principally ion Sundays and "Wednesdays, arid for "extras" the bands will receive due notice. About 13 performances per band will be the extent of the playing. The council has reserved the right to name one dajr on which the five bands will be asked to give c com- , bined concert in aid" of certain charities which at present are not in receipt of municipal or Government aid. The subsidy is £30 per band— £lso in all. The Tramways Committee was in hopes that its decision as to equal subdivision of the money would be favourably received by the parties chiefly interested— the bands. Not so,, Tiowever, as Kaikorai think that they are entitled to some consideration, seeing that the band has for many years worthily upheld the honour of Dunedin, and this at no small expense, together with plenty of hard work and self-sacrifice on the part , of the members. ». I Whether Cr Cole's remark that those I who object to take £30 will not get «ny- • thing will bring Kaikorai into line still re- . mains to be seen. Seeing that this is a start and that the council is in earnest over the business, and perhaps not so conversant with the requirements of .bands as the bands themselves, a little forbearance on the part of Dunedin's premier band would be appreciated, and perhaps bring future financial aid from the City Council. Mr T. P. (Tommy) Williamson, 6010 trombonist, returned on Friday from his six weeks' holiday in Melbourne and Sydney. Apart from the sights and sounds of a big city, bands ttnd orchestras were naturally i the chief attractions for him, he being aryxi- [ ous to make comparisons between New Zea- ' land and AustraHan -bands. ' In a previous I number ,1 expressed a hope that any comparisons made would result in our favour. ! Regarding bands, according to Mr Williamj eon, the hope has been more than realised, I as he considers the band playing generally 1 very poor. Also, there seemed a great lack of discipline, amongst civilian bands especially. When a band appears on "the lawn at Flemington Racecourse on Cup Day, some wearing straw hats, some caps, some in half and others in full uniform, one may be excused for taking that band as a criterion of .the remaining bands of . the Commonwealth. The professional element is predominant, a good player being found playing with several bands, his cup- . port to any one band being measured iin money. This accounts for so many players ! appearing at engagements in mufti. Two most pleasurable incidents in the trip were renewing acquaintance with* Lieutenant Bentley, of Sydney, and hearing a concert . given by St. "Augustine's Orphanage Band , in honour of its talented young conductor, Percy Jones, prior to his departure for the Continent. Mr Bentlev was in charge of the Vice-regal State Military Band,, ard was indeed pleased to again meet Mr Wil- j liamson and hear the news about ou' bands. If successful for the position of judge at the New Plymouth content, the lieutenant will be pleased to meet his many bandsmen friends of the Exhibition contest. The playing of St. August imp's Band was the exception to the poor playing of other bands, its concert programme in the Melbourne Town Hall being marked by muc-i- ! cianly renderings of good "stuff." The conducting of Mr Jones wa-s greatly ad- j mired. Included in the programme was one of his own compositions — an arrange- j ment for the full band. He' himself played a cornet solo. "La Reve d' Amour" (Dream of Love), and although suffering from nervousness gave a pleasing interpretation. Mr Williamson, unfortunately, missed one of Marshall-Hall's orchestral concerts, compensation for which was not obtained by attendance at even one of Clara Butt's concerts. Being much benefited by the trip, "Tommy" is right after bus>ines«, and is anxious to have a "blow" again, a* he finds during his absence that his trombone has filled with cobwebs. For the next three months "Gems of •

Schumann" and "William Tell" will be «flf permost in contest talk. Competing bands will now be dissecting these two test pieces for New Plymouth. Our local championed Kaikorai and Mornington, have both ha<* a practice at the selections. Tho "Schu» mann" selection, says Mr Lakllaw, \po vides no real technical difficulties, and at real musicianly interpretation will find favour with the judge. Regarding Che "Tell" selection, the playing, he aayt, w much more difficult.' The fact of the wel& known "Soldiers' March" being the finale of the selection emphasises Mr Laidlaw'* remark. A look through the conductor* full score gives one the impression that "Oema ofi Schumann" i 6 not class enough for a tesft for firet-class bands, but would be a food piece for B grade. The fact of Wmgate'r Temperance winning with it at- the Orystafr Palace and other crack bands* plajrß»-it «: no criterion of its worth as. a» *■•* »p our. JN ew Zealand bands. The oureumstanOTS »u*^ rounding contesting in New Zealand are tap tally different from those in England. Black: Dike, Besses, Wingate's, and doiens of other • North of England bands could play "Schumann" or any other selection of equal merit; with one or' two rehearsals in a way tha* we, even with the allotted three months? 1 practice, • could not hope to approach. The fact of those bands being always up to concert pitch enables them to have an enormous -repertoire of good music, practical!}! speaking, "at their fingers' ends." The name of William Short, L.R.A.M., conductor to the London Oounty Council, ap« pended as arranger of the- selection is ample guarantee of the quality of the-piece,-and any attempt to belittle "Gems of Schumann" as a musical composition would be utter presumption. The point I wish to emphasise, however, is that a test selection of individual and collective excellence is what is required by our system of three months' practising beforehand. To get the best lasting result there must he individual incentive, otherwise interest in the piece and rehearsals flag long before the contest* time arrives. Given a selection, however, where each player has plenty to do, the . rehearsals become a pleasure, and through the individual advancement the combination unconsciously makes more rapid and lasting progress. Contesting with selections like "Wagnen" "Feroic " "T*nn; hauser," "Jessonda," "Romeo mnd Juliet tells it 3 own tale, and where bands are graded an easy selection makes a difficult "test" and accomplishes nothing. A prevailing but erroneous idea existent amongst bandsmen is that tho "test" selections are specially written for contests. Tha various music journals include in. theie annual parcel of music three or four selections of varying degrees of merit, and contest committees aro supplied with a piece from the catalogue. The only specially written pieces are the Godfrey selections; for Belle Vue contests. Mr J. Ord Hume, editor of Band Journal, has arranged the "William. Tell" selection in his well-known robust The arrangement of the march was again left to .Mr Truasell (New Zealand match: king), and in the composing of the " N.1.F.8JL," dedicated to the North Island Association, Mr Trussell *i*3 gone one better than either of those splendid marches "Rimutaka" and "Mount Egmont. The proudest man in Invexcargill ** a. given hour last week was Mr J. Glenme. After all the nice things said by the inayoi' and leading citizens, Jack would be excused if he felt inclined to dance a " haka." By the way, Mr Glennie mode a splendid Maori chief in the "hakas 1 given by the New Zealand Band in England, and if there happens to be any of the reel thing at Waihi he should complete htt education. Bandsmen all over New Zealand will endorse the mayor's eulogy of Mr I Glennie as. a oitiien. of Inveroargill. From) i boyhood up he has been connected witti the bands of the town, and he leaves for Waihi with the hest wishes of the people of Invercargill anek Southland. According to "Alfred Jingle' in the Australian Bandsman, things have been very quiet in tha way of band music in Hobart this year; in feet, there has not been such a bad year since a band sprung up in the city. Competition is a desideratum when it has the effect of raising the standard of efficiency, but when there appears to be no other object but the exploitation of musio and the decrying of men who try to give the public something worth listening to, then competition becomes an evil which cannot but have a bad ewest' on all concerned. However, these "newspaper bands" never continue long to irritate. The public may put up with the infliction for a time, but in the long run merit tells. Of course, there is always the danger that the musical taste of the people 'will get so degraded that they will stand anything; I was at a Sunday night concert given by the Derwent Infantry Band recently, and one of the items was Moz.art s Glori *« rendered in what I think fine style, and as the last note died away there was but one solitary attempt at applause, and that was drowned by the shouts of the dear children (who are always prominent at -our open-air concerts nowadays), plajrtng "Tiggy touchwood," or some other * Sabbath pastime, which must be in great favour with the police, for they never seem to interfere, although to the person who goes to hear the music such amusements aro rather annoying. ~" Boomerang," of Sydney, writes: One very noticeable improvement in the manage? ment of these park concert* h*» been, effected t>y the council, in the way ot police. supervision and park rangers. In the past the bands were annoyed by numerous children racing round and youths nmsoonduct* in« themselves to such an extent that lfe became unpleasant for lovers of music who were present. The outlying parks at present have no bandstands or railings around", ai.d, of course, the old trouble still prevails. At Argyle Park th« other evening a rather amusing incident took place. A no-lioensa gentleman of the audience was so pleased with the performance that he shook hands with the conductor and wanted to kiss ham* New Zealand "shickers" ha^te the same cunning little pleasing way when a band is playing. At the same park last year the ladies shoved their appreciation by sticking: hatpins into tho fiolokta' pants. If thg bandsmen were inclined to be a Kttle flat that, treatment would certainly .sharpen them up, especially those who showed common sense by appearing in pants."

A well-known tobacco manufacturer estimates that at least a thousand pound** worth of tobacco is daily thrown awajr "» uncc-nsumed cigars and cigarettes.