THE COMPETITIONS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 16213, 25 August 1923, Page 6

THE COMPETITIONS.

1923 SEASON OPENED.

INTERESTING ADVICE BY JUDGES

The great popularity of the Gisborne competitions was evidenced last evening in the Opera House, when there was a very large attendance present on the occasion of the first of the evening sessions. The programme was arranged in such a manner as to be entertaining and instructive, and all concerned in the staging and management of the festival carried out their duties in a wholehearted and thorough manner. Particularly strenuous were the duties of the stage manager (Mr. J- Nicol) and the secretary (Mr. F. It. Ball), in view of, the large number of entries in all sec'tions of the competitions/ The festival was officially opened by the \ president of the Competitions Society (Mr. W. H. Irvine), whd expressed the society's gratification at the extent of public support accorded the competitions this year. He assured those present that the committee had worked very hard, and the support was therefore very gratifying. It showed that the committee's efforts had met with some reward. He wished to take the. ; opportunity of presenting the adjudicators, Dr. Galway (music), Mr. Culford Bell (elocution), and Mr. A. Sutherland (dancing). Dr. Galway, who was a well-known musician and judge, was making his first appearance in Gisborne, while Mr. Culford Bell was now here for the third time as judge of the Gisborne competitions./' At the last two festivals it had been found that the dancing section was growing so much that the society could not fairly call upon their amateur friends. Therefore the society had been obliged to seek outside assistance, and the services of Mr. A. Sutherland had been secured. Mr. Irvine also welcomed the accompanist© (Mrs. A. W. McAndrpw), statirifj that no Gisborne competitions festival would be complete without her. Dr. Galway expressed thanks for the wolcome accorded him, stating that this was the first timo ho had stayed in tho North Island. Ho then gave a brief outline of some of the points ho observed, in his adjudications in the musical sections. Ho pointed out that in singing, it was not the loud voice which necessarily won; nor was ' it necessarily, tho best voice which won. Besides tho voice there were also such matters as interpretation, breath control, phrasing, and all tho wonders of artistry which made the song a living thing. A persons with a very good Volco singing without artistry would not score against one with not so good ft voice but who sang more carefully. At competitions he had also found some competitors who did not realise that the beginning and ending of accompaniments were not trimmings, but actual parts of tho song. ' He had seen competitors at the finish of their song bow and walk off, even though there might be perhaps eight bars of the accompaniment still to be played. In addition to being wrong this, practico also showed want of stage manners. For the present he was not going to say much about the piano work, as he would' have opportunities for that later. How- ' ever, ho wished to make a few remarks on the question of mernorj', Thero were some peoplo who found it difficult to play from memory. Competitors would have to remember that in cases of equal merit | marks j would go to thoso who played from memory. A piece played badly from memory would not score against a pieco well played from the music. . Mr. Culford Bell stated that ho had pleasant recollections of his previous visits to Gisborne..- During the afternoon he had noticed some competitors who had perforated before him previously,' That was one of tho things a judge 1 liked, for in returning to a place he f was able to see whether previous com-. } petitors wero improving. What was j wanted in reciting and in the elocutionary soction generally was a little more ! naturalness and warmth of expression j than was generally shown. Competitors ' should always endeavor to strike the right note in whatever piece they were reciting. More attention should also be given to pausation. In addition to tho sections in whjch results wero announced, the evening programme included tho first portion of tho combined ballet class, ballets ar- 1 ranged by Mrs. P. Barry ("Gold and s Silver") and by Mrs. F. May ("Pony") iaking part. The first of the 15-minutes' c mtertainments was also presented. IV p .vas a clever and well-arranged scone, a presented by Miss Dower. 1' The following results wero announced v ast evening:— 1 RECITATION, J. G>ls |4 apd under 13. ' ("The French Peasant.") £ J. deaßarres (82 points) ... 1 ; V. Zncharinh (79 pis) ...... 2 Maureen Keaney (75 points) ... 3 j» Also competed: Maud Dunfoy, Alice h taumann, Lilian Wooller. Alicia Cavo, Nellie Millard,. Myrtle Bealo, No.elipe Jon-is. Hi Newton, and ft. Frerichs, In this section, said the judge, he fould like to highly recommend the perormancps of Nellie Millard, S. Newton, nd Q. Frerichs. The general quality f the performances was good and most g< f the competitors bad caught the sense n > f the French peasant sitting p

thinking—and they had mostly struck the right note for the thought. They had been very natural, "used good pausation and generally/ artistic work had been done. Miss Zachariah, voice, a good reciter and had given a vivid rendering. Miss Keaney lacked modulation and pausation, and : her voice had been pitched rather high during tho second half. i , . . EECITATION. Gentlemen, (own selection.) ' Mr. F. R. Ball ("Mario Antoinette") 80 points ... ... .1 Mr. A. T. Webb ("At the Ford") 77 points ... ... ... 2 Also competed; S. Vincent ("Going Home for Christmas"); L. H. Fenn ("Home, Sweet Home"); J. Edwards ("The Yukon"); S. Burnard ("Fuzzy JWuzzy"); Rev. Lambert ("If I were I King." Tho judgei,said that in some I cases competitors commenced their pieces before absolute silence prevailed. He would strongly advise them to wait until everyone was silent. Mr. Ball's" performance had lacked color in places and climax could have been used with greater effect in places, especially at the last. Tho next performer, Mr.. A. T. Webb, had pitched his voice too high in places, and had made an unfortunate selection. In choosing pieces competitors should bear in mind that a judge naturally prefers to hear pieces of a high literary standard. Tho piece rdlcrred to was hardly worth - the practice required'in its preparation. This performer had used too much unnecessary gesture, especially in tho evening performance. With regard to tho Rev. Lambert's performance, this had been well done. The characterisation was good and the gesture well thought out and neatly done, but he had a fault in careless articulation and some phrases wero badly Spoken. This piece had taken 9£ minutes, and he had no option but to disqualify the competitor. Also, for the guidance of competitors he would point out that properties are not allowed in ordinary recitation. They could give' the idea of a man using a 'stick, by means of gesture, but the use of the stick itself, as done by this competitor, was prohibited. THREE BEST HUMOROUS STORIES. Miss J. Kohn, Miss E. Hooper, Mrs A. C. Terry, and Rev, Lambert competed, but more* are yet to be beard, and the winner will be n'nnounccdlater, VOCAL AND INSTRUMENTAL. SOPRANO OF "MEZZO-SOPRANO SOLO. {Own Selection.) Miss Greenwood ("Sing Joyous Bird")-,, 79 points ... ... > ■ Miss Nancy Parker ("I KnowNot Why") ... 2 s Mrs L. A. Berry {"My Dear Soul"), 75 points 3 Also competed: Miss E. Dower ("Castilian Lament"); Mrs J: W. Holmes ("Rosebuds"); Miss B. Richard ("Butterfly Wings"); Miss D. Webb ("The Nightingale and the Rose"); Mrs M. M. Grahame ("Cherry Ripe"). A lack of proper breathing control was also evident, remarked the judge, in this section. Miss Parker had a nice voice and her rendering was quite artistic. Miss Greenwood's voice was rather weak, but her phrasing was good. Mi's Berry's voieo would,be, good but for an exaggerated tendency to be nasal. Her Chrasing and enunciation wero poor, ut these defects could easily bo overcome and she would then be an excellent singer. "•"'. ■ , i VIOLIN SOLO (TEST.) ("Rezinka," Op. 58, Drdla.) Frank Neill, (85 points) 1 < Frank Jeune (82 points) ..., ... 2 Dr. Galway paid a high tribute to the work of tho competitors in this section. Tho committee, ho said, had set an abnormally difficult pieco, and although thcro were only two competitors their work was far ahead of that of thoso ho I had heard recently at the Christchurch I' Competitions, where- a great number of I* t'iolinists took part. Tho piece was ex- ( .•ently played by both competitors. Both ' liowever, had displayed a tendency to A-cak intonation, particularly in tho 1 louble stopping passages, as thoy were 3 nclined to bo scratchy. Tho whining E leiformanco was very good indeed, } \ SONG. . Girls, 14 and under 18. , ("A Farewell.") \ Nancy Parker (79 points) ... 1 * Lottio Trow ell (73 points) ... 2 * Joyce Glanvillo (70 points) ... 3 I Also competed: Tui Hill, M. Allan, N'ancy Leslie, J. desßarros, 0. Cruickhank, and Vera Croon. The principal failing in the singing, ommented Dr. Galway, was a lack of iroper breath control. this had been n outstanding fault in all tho work he (' .ad heard.. proper control of breathing ••as an essential of sinking. It was v uile simple and it was. a great pity si bat there was so much poor breathing in v inging—a whole seritenco should, if n ossible, bo sung in one breath. All the w oices in tho section wero quite promts- t< lg. Tho competitor placed third had e < ood breath control, but her production j] as not all it might be. The winner f ad easily the best voice in the section, t, TENOR SOLO, « a! "Out of the Mist." (Sanderson). c< J. R. Nicholson (70 points) ... 1 R. Thompson (64 points) ... 2 ti Only competitors. (" The winner, said tho judge, liad a 3 jod voice, with nice control, while the (" sxt competitor spoilt his work by'N ausing. Both had poor phrasing, 8*

DUET IN CHARACTER. 5 i Under 16. .■.'', " ; , Vl, (Own Selection). ,; ' Misses Laurenson and Mario Law k ' i ("The Piccaninies")'7l pts ... 1 Nellie Millard and V. Zachariah i ("Snow White"), 70 pts. 2 \ P. Morris and T. Carroll ("In"' the Stocks!'), 53 points ... 3 ,\. In ,the section the judge remarked that tho most important, feature abbut a duet should be the balance of the vpices.. Unless the voices balanced it could 'riot be called a duet so much as a solo with ,/-, obligato: The competitors who did the pieco from "Snow. White" were Very, weak in this respect. This two "whose number was the "Piccaninies had good' * balance. 'Of the two boys; well" he did not think that ■; their effort could be called a song. If they were in character, he thought they could only be"bid characters." £ Apart from that, however, their enunciation was bad and he could not catch' more 1 than one word in twenty.':' ! ' : * v F* > '-V ; . DRDIL AND DANCING. (Highland Fling); . ■-, Under 9. ■ Rayna/Duncan ...... ... 1 Pat Gunn ... ..." t.'„ a Raey Edwards .j. .... ... 3 Also competed:' Flora Johnstone, Aileeti Bryan, * Phyllis McGio, Marie Shonev : , .- ' .■'••'■-':.-.;. >',.... •'•: The, judge'complimented the ryonng performers' 'upon: their work. ,For T children, ho said, they had Ngiveo - very) , ' pleasing performances.., The winning competitor was the,, only one who. had sustained her afternoon performance; They all had shown practically the sa-mo * ) fault, that of dancing too close and keeping their limbs too straight. , The' tdp scorer for the afternoon, had during the evening started out'of time and fori that-she had lost marks, which bronght her into second place. The competitor placed third,, had also lost marks on tho . evening performance. ' - ' DRILL. "-:)'; ijicnool Boys. ; Waerenga-a-liika College v . 1 • Gisborne School boys ... .7. 2>' Only competitors. ■, ; t The judge-complimente4 the winners '■■' ■. on an excellent perfonpfence. - \ , RESULTS; ' ' The Competitions] Society's festival was conthuied to-day, ia start "being made at 9 a.in.? , Commencing to-day, , there are to be thlee sessions daily, , morning afternoon, and evening, 'aod' interesting N programmes have been .ar- , ranged for each. The recalls ipex- to-daVs. i sections willi be heard Ho-night, and in. \ addition % there will be pbysleal drill : (school girls), contralto solo, actjqn song (boys and girls under 12), mstrtimental , trio, and the second section of %h& Combined ballet. ■'■/,',> ■'■ .■ .. : . ; ; '• ... The following) ahdi recall?' ;i were announced 'to-day t—- f •' Recitation, "Ambition" (boys under 10): Recalls—Edgar Ross, Ted Jones, and Jack Hayes. Highly comniended» Albert Saunders, & Smithy Colin' Me«

Gruther, A. Stubbings, and K. Seott. Also competed: Shearer, H.i Singer, F. JVauchdp," F. ; Wiggins, J. Cottingham, J. McGruther, It.. Gardiner, E, Gray, S. Poole, F. Phillips, L. Franks, ■■'■■] J. Harrison, O. Phillips, 6. Langtry, G^ i; ' Fisken, and F. Allen. ' PIANO SOLO. / Under V ;" "Asphodel" (Lerman). • '. Oriole Faram (73 pts.) ... ... 1 Marie Parker (70 pts.) ... .;.'' 3 Daphne Greave (6Q j)ts.) ... ... 3 In this section, said the judge, a number of the renderings were spoilt by • insufficient knowledge of the charaoter )f the piece. The technique in some : jases liad been poor and few of the :ompetitors seemed to thoroughly underitand the character of the piece. Irish Jig (under 12, "" own accomlaniste): Recalls—lna Jukes, Edm» ntswilliam Mavis Laurenon. Also competed: Blanche Fitt, ?amela Burke, and Bona,Fisken. Recitation, "The Bit)er (girls 2 and under 14) : Recalls —Minnie Mc- , )onald, Murphy, and Miriam iaw. Highly commended: Mamie Tatersfleld and Betty Dunbar. Also com*ted: Rimu, Holmes, Irene ; BroWn». )oreen Williams, and Moira Pirie. RECITATION. Gentlemen (Restricted). •< Chas Burnard, "My Frienda H {73 '')'-' • pts.) ... ... \.« ... 2 Also competed: H. B. Gardiner "The Quitter") Tho winner, said the judge, gave a ery fair effort, which was marred jmewhat by insufficient tenseness of oice. The climax was not very well orked up. The second performer's hole attention seemed to be directed ► sustaining Hia enunciation. He work--1 the endings of his verses well but .: le text was faulty in several places, he judge expressed regret that the enies in this section had not been larger, > it was a good one, and deserved enmragement. Scotch Song (Gentlemeni. own selee- * 3n): Recalls—A. T. Taylor, Napier Afton Waters"), W. Macdnre ( ,4 The undred Pipers), and C. Rishworth Annie Laurie") Also competed: F. eill, W. G. Bignell, and A. L, Grifb».' : ' • ...',.,