SOLO SINGING CONTEST.

Southern Cross, Volume 5, Issue 22, 4 September 1897, Page 5

SOLO SINGING CONTEST.

The following is Mr J. J. Zimmer’s criticism and award or the Solo Singing Contest, held in Ashley’s Hall on August 25th, 1897: — "When accepting the honour you conferred by asking me to act as judge of the singing contest held in Ashley’s Hall on August 2oth, you will remember the diffidence I expressed owing to the difficulty there would be in arriving at a fair estimate of the relative merits of the singers, by reason of the great dissimilarity and inequality of the songs selected. When pointed out, this will no doubt be obvious to the lady singers, as it was to yourself; for instance, suppose I had ha d to judge between two pianoforte performers, one of whom had selected the soft adagio of Beethoven’s Op 27, No. 2, in C sharp minor, with its soft, deep, plaintive tones, such as arise from a troubled and oppressed heart; and the other the andante movement from Haydn’s grand symphony, No. 3, with its almost playful mood. Would it not he difficult to make a rigidly accurate estimate ? However, in the case be:ore me I adopted a plan which seems to me to have fairly overcome the difficulty. In the first place, I formulated a series of subjects under the general heading of ‘ Vocal Style,’ which I proceed to enumerate at length in ordinal numbers, each with its assigned number of marks, so that to save space, such numbers can be referred to when 1 give the analysis of each singer’s production. No. I—Breath. Steadiness of phonalion and phrasing, 20 marks. No. 2 —Production and articulation, 20 marks. No. 3—Rhythm (cadential, regular and irregular accents). Time. modification of time. Agogic accents (feminine endings), 20 marks. No. 4 —Legato, portamento, and staccato, 10 marks. No. s—Employment of piano and forte in giving light and shade, 10 marks, giving a maximum total of 80 marks. In the second place, I decided to award supplementary murks for special attainments above the mean or average voice, namely ; No. 6—Timbre or quality and sympathy. This may truly be said to be the most winning attribute of the human voice ; it may co-exist with some huskiness of tone, but a voice on which sympathetic quality has once been engrafted may, even when very much worn and ill-treated (as in the case of an old master of mine who was foolish enough to ■sing at some great concert on the Continent when suffering from a cold) may, I say retain, as he did, some share of the original endowment. This excellent attribute can be improved by right training and practice, or vitiated by the contrary; great care is needed. No. 7 —Volume, with power and intensity, is one of the distinctive attributes of the highest and most impressive forms of vocal art; but is too often misinterpreted as being produced by strenuous forcing so that it may become in non-sonorous organs howling, shouting, screaming, shrieking, and so forth, according to the timbre of the voice. Tellingness.—By this is meant intense audibleness, dependent, to a great extent, on timbre. It is a rare vocal gift. Many ambitious singers imagining it to proceed from vociferation, degrade words and music

alike, whereas, if they only knew that quiet, distinct enunciation is morb forcible and audible than mere loudness, they would do themselves more justice and give pleasure to listeners. Who has not smarted under the strain and pain of listening to unintelligible words, the utterance of which is often a positive disgrace to civilization ? The following is a list of the songs,with my relative adjudication (A) ‘ Gates of the West.’ No. 1, 20 marks. No. 2, 16 marks. In the last two bars of page one the ‘d’ in ‘and’ was dropped between * quaint and rare.’ Page 2, bars one and two of line three, ‘On the Heavenly Shore,’ break occurred between the last two words. Page 3, line S, bars 1 and 2, ‘ Bound Efim.’ Artistically, when the august name of God (and its cognates Lord, He, His, etc.), occurs in a song, there should be a delicate break in the continuity of the previous tone (but a fresh breath must not be taken) in order to give utterance to it with due reverence and solemnity. ■ Besides this fault, the greater stress was placed on the previous, the first, note of the sentence, which duly belongs, in a musical sense, to the second, the evennumbered, bar. Page 4, line 1, bar 2, ‘ Paled and past,’ the final consonants of these words were unduly sinned over. No. 3, 17 marks. Page 4, line 4, bars 1 and 2, ‘ for G-od,’ not expressed as aforesaid. Page 6, line 2, bar 1, the A flat on beat three should have been well accented Page 7. The resolution of the final cadence extending oyer 5 bars was unduly shortened. No. 4, 10 marks. No. 5, 10 marks. • Total, 73. I consider the present quality of this voice fairly good, for which I would have awarded 4 marks, but had unfortunately to deduct 2, as it was seemingly affected by slight cold or some other cause. This, therefore, raises the grand total to 75. Awarded 3rd prize. (B) ‘ Dear Heart.’ No. 1, page 4, bars 2 and 3, ‘ Dear Heart,’and page 6, llth and 12th bars ‘Dear Heart,’ C to E unsteadiness of phonation. It is possible that a vibrato may here have been intended, but if so, it was excessive. 18 marks. No. 2, the upper A in the ante-penultimate bar not well produced, being seemingly too high for the voice. I would recommend the singer, and all others, to work well within their compass, to the extent of a tone and a half and not to experiment, as is usually done, with the * ductility of the voice, playing with it as though it were a piece of indiarubber. 19 marks.

No. 3, page 2, last bar ‘ seems to me,’ the F sharp, the first note of the bar, being an accented passing note, should have been strongly emphasised with a gentle lingering of time. The singer, it seems to me, was not happy .in the choice of her song, as owing to her having failed to master its technicalities, she did not do herself justice; hence, a iow range of marks. Before the thought escapes me, I would like to offer a few words of general advice, in the hope that they will be serviceable. By all means be ambitious, but not overweening, and until you have acquired judgment and powers of flight, let your teachers help you in the selection of your songs ; for, if they have experience and discernment, they will be able to tell you what is best suited for you. It is a noteworthy fact that some singers sharpen in some keys and flatten in others. Why this is so remains so far inexplicable. If you have a good voice, and wish to excel in the glorious art, practice patience; and, charm your teachers never so wisely, do not be tempted into taking up songs until your organs have at least been moderately trained. Those of you who understand something of music would not ignorantly put Liszt’s or Chopin’s studies, etc., into the hands of a novice incapable of elementary technique, would you ? And is the voice less or more important ? Page 3, line 2, bar 1, ‘ Then I stood.’ The first and last notes of this bar being discords, should have been more strongly emphasised : the same fault applies to page 6, first and last notes of bar 1. Page 7, line 1, bar 1, ‘ stentato 5 phrasing was not rightly interpreted : it is somewhat the same as • ritenuto,’ but with the accessory meaning ‘ pesante.’ Time uncertain. 14 marks. No. 4, page 3, line 2, bar 1 and line 3, Ist and 4th notes of 2nd bar, page 6, line 1, bar 1, and line 2, Ist and 4th notes of bar 1, all too legato : should haye been mezzo staccato. 8 marks. No. 5, defective expression in p and f. 8 marks. Grand total, 67(C.) ‘ The Blind Boy’s been at Play, Mother ’ I was favourably impressed not only with the present condition of this voice but with its potentialities, which, if developed, should become a valuable endowment No. I.—Her phonation was remarkably steady, but she lost two marks in phrasing, viz.—page 2. bars 1 and 2, ‘ at play, mother,’ run into each other instead of a slight break between the last two words. Page 5, bar 2, on the last half beat the G of the double appogiatura was inaudible. 18 marks. No. 2, page 3, line 1, bar 2 and line 4, bar 3, ‘ and heaved,’ articulation somewhat faulty. 19 marks. I must congratulate the singer on her distinct and prettily trilled ‘ r’s.’ No. 3 —Time too strict and lacking aesthetic modification. 19 marks. No. 4—lo marks. No. s.—lack of colouring in' piano and forte. 8 marks. Total, 74 marks. No. 6—4 marks- No. 7 2 marks. No. B—l mark. A mark was lost nere through want of pathos in the expression of those tear-stained words, 1 Ah, me !’ on page 4, lines 2 and 3, last and first bars. Grand total, 81. First prize. (D) ‘ Home they brought her warrior dead.’ Owing to the, for the most part, pale, colourless, monotonous, quasi-recita-tive character of this song, with little scope ,

( for various points of artistic expression, I consider it was the stumbling block of the contest, and in order to arrive at a fair degree of parity I had to makO a comparative analysis of all the songs and deduct five points from No. 3. So far as the singer herself is concerned, I consider that the odd-and-even numbered partials in her voice are well balanced, and give it a. round, smooth, melodious quality; albeit tinged with rather a gloomy shade ; —still, it would be much improved if she would be careful to alter occasionally her vocalisation in such a manner as to develop those upper partials which impart brightness and power on the one hand, and volume on the other. It is wonderful how much a voice-trainer (I do not mean a person who can merely teach another to sing less or more in tune and time) —can do in increasing or diminishing certain characteristic attributes when reconstructing a voice on scientific principles. No. 1, page 2, last bar but one : this, and kindred passages, should have been more ‘ parlante.’ Page 4, break occurred between ‘ tempests ’ and ‘ came,’ instead of being continuous. 18 marks. No. 2, page 3, line 3, bars 1 and 2, in the articulation of ‘ nor wept,’ the ‘ r ’ was completely and the two words joined as one. 19 marks. No. 3—15 marks. No. 4—lo marks. No. 5, page 5, line 3, bar 1, the first two notes on * live ’ not sufficiently accented. 9 marks. Total, 71 marks. No. 6 —2 marks. Grand total, 73.

(E) “ Eternal Rest.” 1, page 2, line 1. bar 3, “ a blind man stands within the door,” break between ‘man’ and ‘stands,’ line 3, bars 2 and 3, ‘ thou shalt place me, child, etc.’ there should have been a gentle break between ‘me ’ and ‘child.’ Page 3, line 2, ‘ Eternal Rest O ! Grant us,’ the whole of this sentence was enunciated connectedly, whereas a slight break should occur between ‘ Rest ’ and ‘ O !’; pages 4 and 5, the last and first lines and bars respectively, ‘On his purple robes reclining,’ here a break occurred between ‘robes’ and ‘reclining.’ Line 2, * The light from the old man’s face hath gone.’ A sensitive break between ‘ light’ and ‘from.’ Lines 2 and 3, ‘ While the way-worn child is wrapped in sleep.’ Here .again the subject was separated from the verb. Pages 6, lines 1 and 2, bars 3 and 1, respectively, ‘Eor Heaven had opened to his eyes,’ here the •same fault occurred as in the previous sentence. Lines 2 and 3, bars 3 and 1, respectively, ‘ The Eternal Light of Paradise,’ again a break between ‘ light ’ and ‘ of.’ 12 Marks. Before adverting to the unfortunate series of faults under this heading, I would like to express my general appreciation of the singer’s voice and her performance. The song was rendered with verve and passion, which makes the pity all the greater that so many marks should have been lost through a defect coming from imperfect management of the breath. This serious defect should be closely watched and carefully guarded against, for it involves riot only a dismemberment of the phrasing but also of verbal sentences.

No. 2, page 3, last two lines, last and first bars respectively, ‘Give us, Lord here a delicate break in the continuity o£ the tone should occur before ‘ Lord ’ for the reason explained in song A, No. 2. I must compliment the singer on th<? laryngeal manipulation of her tones, and the clear and delicately trilled ‘ r’s ’ so often stifled by English singers. 19 marks. No. 3, Page 3, tar I—here the G sharp should have been well accentuated instead of being feeble. Page 4, line 1, bar 1, the C sharp on the 3rd pulse should bear an agogic accent, which was omitted. Page 5, line 1, bar 3, here the initial note B being an accented passing note should have been strongly accented. 17 marks. No. 4—lo marks. No. s—lo marks. Total, 68. For the reason expressed in No 1, 1 awarded the singer 4 marks for the quality enumerated under No. 6 ; 4 under No. 7, and 2 under No. 8. Grand total, 78. Second. (P) ‘ The Last Muster.’ No. 1, line 2, bars 1, and 2, ‘The chapel bell of the soldier’s home, etc.,’ a break between ‘ bell ’ and ‘ of.’ Line 3, last bar, ‘ God’s will be done,’ a break between ‘ will ’ and ‘ be.’ Page 5, bar 2, ‘ His sleep was all too deep,’ a break between ‘ was ’ and ‘ all ’ Line 3, bars 1 and 2, ‘ how faint his breath,’ this sentence was unduly broken. 16 marks. No. 2, page 3, line 3, bars 2 and 4, ‘ Now said ’ ‘ God’s will be done! ’ break between ‘ will ’ and ‘ be.’ 19 marks. No. 3, page 3, bars 4 and 5, 1 These men of many scars and climes,’ the strong accent on the G sharp of beat 3 omitted ; line 3, bars 3 and 4, strong accent on the A flat omitted ; page 4, last bar but 3, strong accent on the A flat omitted. Page 5, bar 1, the G sharp on beat 4 should have been somewhat strongly accented. Page 4, bars 3 and 4, ‘ Lit up, etc.,’ the quaver E was lengthened into a crotchet. Page 2, bar 3, ‘ Holy Book,’, the dotted E should bear an agogic accent, omitted : the same fault occurs in the A and G of line 2, bar 2, and similarly on the same notes of the last line, bar 1. Page 4, line 3, the discord C of beat 4 should also have been strongly accented. 11 marks No. 4,10 marks. No. 5. 10 marks. Total, 66. This is a quiet, unpretending voice, that may nevertheless, if cultivated, be capable of giving pleasure to auditors. Finally, I would like to say a few words on the subject of accompaniments. So important is this that the success of a solo, vocal or instrumental, depends to a great extent thereon—more so than most people believe. In the first place, the soloist must have no misgiving whatever about the accompanist, if he, or she, docs, the consequent anxiety and feeling of insecurity checks the free, out-pouring of the soul and renders the execution more or less faulty. In the next, the accompanist must

feel his own responsibility—which is a great one. Mo,st persons wrongly imagine that he must so completely subordinate his playing to the soloist aa toTje tameand’alinost inaudible. It must be enforced, however, that, although, the music which does not bear the melody must be subordinate to the chief part (which in song is that of the words) song and accompaniment are to be regarded as complementary to each other, for the complete beauty of a melody rests on the part which unfolds its I possible harmonies ; both are organic, the one 1 being the life and beauty of soul, the other that of body ; the two forming unity of spirit and body. The accompanist, besides, must be skilful not only to enhance and accentuate the virtues of a soloist, but, in a measure anticipate his weaknesses and clothe them with charity. Recognising, then, that all true art is didactic and firmly grounded on the immovable rock of truth and impartiality, I feel assured that the persons, one and all, engaged in the present contest, will give me credit for not intending to wound the feelings of anyone even by a breath that would so much as ruffle the petals of a wild rose. Qualifying, then, my judgment by such interrupted hearing as I could’ give to these accompaniments, it seemed to me that the singer of 1 Eternal Rest 5 was the most f ortu nate in this respect, and had the other singers been placed on an equality there is no present means of estimating how much additional lustre would have brightened their performances. While complimenting the fair leader and her next two companions I would say a few words of encouragement to the others less successful: —‘ Gird up your loins,’ take your pilgrim’s staves in hand, prepare yourselves for further art-journeyings, and like birds, as happily, sing unweariedly in the clear heaven of joy where sits enthroned the God of Song surrounded by the glorious Nine. To one and all: —Do not, young ladies, ever strive to show off your voices, but seek rather, in humility, to influence the minds and feelings of your auditors ; a noble and delightful task this, and productive of far-reaching good, as I could prove to you on some other occasion. And pray, do not forget the Duchess Alice in ‘ Wonderland ' parodying an old proverb— ‘ Take care of the sense and the sounds will take care of themselves.’ Remember, farther, that when singing you are brought face to face with the poet and musician, and unless you can catch the fires from their hearts and take colour from their flames you will never excel. You may think it easy to understand poetry, lyrical and dramatic ; I will not doubt it. But I do think you have a good deal yet to learn about the higher lights of music. There is very much to know of this ; so much, indeed, as to enable you to put colouring where the composer has, perhaps carelessly or ignorantly, left it out. With regard to the former, I could point out instances to you where even great musicians have barred their work wrongly. If this is so, how could you, unless you are well versed in the art, rightly interpret motives and bar points of stress, etc, Y That you are deficient in this sense is shown by the faults pointed out. More might be said on production, peculiarities and transition of registers ; but I must bring this already too long report to a close. John J. Zimmeb, Don street/ August 31st, 1897.