MUSIC IN THE HOME

Taranaki Daily News, 11 February 1928, Page 10

MUSIC IN THE HOME

GRAMOPHONE NOTES. TWO LOVELY AUBADES.' (1) “Aubade in G Minor,” t2) “Aubade in D Minor” (Lalo). Sir Henry Wood conducting the Queen’s Hall Orchestra. Columbia L 1531. Edouard Lalo was born in 1823, took the Prix de Rome in 1847, produced a number of musical works, devoted his latter energies to the composing of operas, was covered with honours and hailed by his age as the greatest genius, etc., and then died in 1892 and was forgotten. At least, we have forgotten the bulk of his work, but a few fragments serve to remind us of a composer extraordinarily rich in thematic invention and a master of orchestration. These Aubades surely suggest that here is a composer who deserves a better fate. That in G Minor is deliciously fragrant and sweet, and the D. Minor, after a somewhat abrupt opening, mellows into a captivating tune. An Aubade is, of course, a morning song, as opposed to the Serenade, air evening song.

A MIGHTY RUSSIAN BASS. (1) “The Song of the Flea” (Moussorgski). (2) “Drinking” (Traditional). Sung by Capiton Zaporojetz, bass. Columbia 04028. Nothing more emphatically sets the seal on the reputation of a living artist than to . appear ■ in the International Celebrity Subscription Concerts that are held in the more important centres of Great Britain. None but the very greatest artists are thus honoured, and this season sees a new addition to their ranks in Capiton Zaporojetz, a Russian bass with a great European reputation. On his first Columbia records he sings two familiar numbers, “Drinking” and “The Song of the Flea.” Notice the extraordinary sonority of the low notes in “Drinking,” and the ease with which the singer drops down to them. That Zaporojetz is not only a singer but a true character actor is shown by his rendering of Moussorgski’s fantastic and highly effective “Song of the Flea.” The unholy chuckles are quite satanie, and though the language is Russian, he conveys the spirit of the words in unmistakable fashion. It is a mighty record of tremendous power, and every note comes through with a richness of depth that betokens Zaporojetz for a master among the basses of the world. MARIA GENTILE. (1) “Sextette from Lucia Di Lammermoor” (Donizetti), (2) “La Sonnambula —D’un pensiero” (Bellini). Sung by Maria Gentile, Dino Borgioli, etc. and La Scala Chorus of Milan. Columbia 04025. The facilities created by the new electrical process continue to enrich the Columbia catalogue with surprisingly clear and sonorous records of the big operatic ensembles, obtained for the most part at La Scala, Milan. This record re-introduces us to Donizetti and Bellini, two of the most celebrated Italian opera composers of the last century, in their most characteristic and effective moments. The 'sextet from ; “Lucia” is full of contrast and refinement. The famous D’un pensiero, however, embodying the situation in the second act of Sonnambula, which Sullivan so cleverly parodies musically in “Trial by Jury,” is even better balanced. Maria Gentile’s glorious soprano is much more in command, and her E flat in alt at the end is remarkably good. She reigns supreme in virtue alike of her music and her voice. SIR HA' 'ILTON HARTY. Romeo and Juliet “Queen Mali’" Scherzo, in two parts (Berlioz). Sir Hamilton Harty conducting the Halle Orchestra. Columbia 04027. This is one of the best tests we could have of the new string tone. The result surpasses niy hopes. It is extremely difficult, in any performance, to get the delicacy and elfishness, without making the music sound weak and thin. Ido not think any recorded performance could give us better tone-value at present. Those Halle strings, which I think the best string body now recording, are true and. keen, without making harsh sounds or getting brittle. There is here no room , for the harsh criticism of a Parisian writer, when the piece was first heard —that it was “a little noise like a badly-oiled squirt.” Another spoke of “an orchestra of grasshoppers.”