MUSIC IN THE HOME

Taranaki Daily News, 2 August 1930, Page 11 (Supplement)

MUSIC IN THE HOME

GRAMOPHONE RECORDINGS.

. I’OPULAR BASS SONG. e (I) “Im Kulilen Keller” (In Cellar Cool); (2) “Per Svinaherde” (Swineherd’s Song). Sung by Ivar Andresen, bass'. (Columbia 043/0). Although basses and baritones without number have given us the famous song “In Cellar Cool,” such a version of this new one by Ivar Andresen is more than welcome. It is a remarkable lesson to singers who those abysmal notes should sound, and how its wide leaps should; be stridden. His companion piece, . sung in Swedish, id ‘‘A Swinei Song”-—a gem of Swedish folk music—in which he again plumbs the depths'. / His phrasing is broad and his tone!; has an attractive dark quality which he usco with great effect. . i; TWO DUETS. (I) ‘'Love’s Old. Sweet Song”; (2) “Moon Enchanted.” Duets by Dora Labbette and Hubert Eisdell. (Columbia 05027). Dora Labbette,. soprano, and Hubert Eisdell,. tenor, have proved in many a record their individual excellences. Now they show, how. well, they .can combine. J In two.'fbtehing and tuneful songs they . show -delightful understanding of their parts and blend .to perfection. The ’ famous J. H. Squire Celeste Octet pro- ] video 'a beautifully played accompaniment.

THE “PRAGUE” SYMPHONY. Erich Kleiber and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra have united to record in six parts the “Prague” Symphony (D Major) of Mozart. The stately arpeggios for the basses in the middle portions of the introduction have bcchi played with astonishing clearness. In a somewhat similar passage in the final Presto the effect -is again amazing. The whole of this Presto comes out delightfully clean, and the performance has all the proper grace and sparkle. The strings are bright, and in tho staccato quavers that make the I lovely counterpoint to the main theme I I of the first movement the tone is very I fine. The entire performance ie very ■ crisp. This is a fine recording, and itj is something to be.grateful for to have this lovely, symphony ’go well done. (I-LM.V., CIGBG-88.) TRIBUTES TO DELIUS. Among the recent. records are several which help in. the tribute to Delhie as a composer. In listening to “In a Summer Garden.” played by the London Symphony Orchestra,- conducted' by Geoffrey Toye;:one hears the quiet musing of the composer reffecting his sur,'roundings. And, as in all hrs work, Delius creates inusic that ia atmospheric, a quality?-that is equally apparent in “A Song Before Sunrise”--played by the New Symphony Orchcs- : tra, conducted by Barbirolli —a work that is reminiscent of his “On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring.” Both are sensitively done and well recorded. Another Delius work on the list is his Sonata No. 1 for violin and piano, played by May Harrison and Arnold Bax. In this Delius, lets himself go with more vehemence of emotion than ho usually does, and he is fortunate In having two players who enter into tho spirit of the music with abandon and evident enjoyment. It is not easy to , play,, but both players overcome technical difficulties’without making us awaro of them, and the record retains the personal feeling in a glowing performance. (H.M.V.) ° NEW FRIEDMAN RECORD. Polonaise in B Flat (Chopin), Pianoforte solo by Ignaz Friedman. (Columbia 04374). It may be objected' that Friedman’s tone is 'in parts too massive for the romantic sentiment of Chopin, but- it-' serves to contrast- the exquisite lightness of the delicate phrases. The'music has’ a stately, processional quality, re- ' •minding one of its origin in the parade J of the nobles before tlie T tike of Anjou on his election as King of Poland in

1585. Friedman astounds one with his knowledge of keyboard- technique, and when one allies this with hie poetic insight into Chopin, it ie realised that his records rank very high among piano diecs. TWO ARIAS FROM MOZART. (1) “Batti, Batti”; (2) “Mi Tradi Quell'alma Ingrata.” From “Don Giovanni” (Mozart). Sung by Mirian Licette, soprano. (Columbia 05070). With her traditional, properly classical voice and style, Mirian Licctte singe Mozart gratefully. Mozart, in the aristocracy of musical thought, requires purity above all, and Miss Lieette brings it to him. In the very lovely recitaI tivo and aria, “Mi tradi,” she achieves that gracious, effortless “art which conceals art,” which always was Mozart’s chief aim. SEIDEL—BRILLIANT VIOLINIST. (1) “Ave Maria” (Schubert); '(2) “Hebrew Melody” (Achron). Violin solos by Toscha Seidel. (Columbia 05015). - Toeeha Seidel, the brilliant violinist, who was touring New Zealand about four years ago, continues to win fresh laurels wherever he appears. Latest reports from America say that he is now playing in a specially extended season at the Chicago Opera House. He is, like Bratza, Zimbalist and Szigeti, a pupil of Leopold Auer, the greatest teacher of the day, and one can notice his master’s methods in the broad, lofty phrasing, tho clear tone production, and the touch of fire that breathes life into all his work. His treatment of the familiar “Ave Maria” is intensely individual, while the sad Hebrew Melody becomes something manly, strong and finely resonant.

-j WALTER WiDDOP’S FINE SINGING. The British tenor, Walter Widdop, I who some time ago figured.prominently. ! in the scriee of Wagnerian recordings I and who gave a wonderful interpretaI tion of the "Every Valley” from ’ “Messiah,” is heard in the iong air | “Lend Ale Your Aid,” from Gounod’s I “Queen of Sheba.” Here is some ex- | quisitc recording, and there is a warm i resonance of vocal and instrumental | tone. Widdop, whose diction is exemplary, receives staunch support fronr an orchestra conducted by Dr. Malcolm Sargent. It is one of Wid dop’s best reproductions. (H.M.V.. D 1742). REALISTIC TONE. A record to which that much overworked adjective “magnificent” must be applied is that made by Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra of Rimsky-Korsakoff’s brilliant and picturesque “Russian Easter Festival Overture.” Rarely does one hear such entirely convincing reproduction of the orchestral brass, especially in the lower pitches. Trombones and tubas are really magnificent, and it is a record that should not be missed. (H.M.V., DI67G-77). EXCERPTS FROM FRENCH STAGE. An Album 'of -unique interest is ;hat by Sacha Guitry, the grtuA French actor, and Yvonne Printcmps, in passages from several plays. The son of ■ a famous French actor, Guitry is now I the foremost actor of France, besides i being a dramatic author of note. Ten I years ago he married Mlle. Yvonne Printeinps, who has been acting with him ever since. The four records embrace excerpts from Guitry’s play, “Debureau”; from “Mozart'’ (based on the composer's visit to Paris at the age of 20); “L’Amour Masque” and “Marlette.” The latter tells of the meeting of Napoleon 111. with a young soubrette, who later became his mistress. The dialogue, the infection of the voices, and the astounding clearness oi the recording, make the set a particularly valuable one to anyone interested in the French language. In herself to be an accomplished soprano “Mariotte” Mlle. Printcmps proves herself to be an accomplished soprano with a voice of very pleasing quality, (H.M.V., D1705-G-7. E 542-3).