TARANAKI BANDS

Taranaki Daily News, 23 March 1935, Page 23 (Supplement)

TARANAKI BANDS

COMMENTS OF JUDGES FAULTY INTONATION CRITICISED. BRASS AND PIPE BAND PLAYING. His pleasure at the standard of music he had heard at the Taranaki band contest at Stratford on Thursday was expressed by Mr. J. J. Drew, Wellington, judge of the brass band section, at the completion Of the contest on Thursday night. OlicO again Mr. Drew stressed the importance of intonation and the extent to which faulty intonation had been noticeable throughout the contest. He advised all conductors to pay much more attention to it, and suggested that to effect an improvement each band should before every practice play a few hymns. It was good for both tone and tune, he said. “A very good performance,” Was Mr. Drew’s comment oti the Wihnihg B grade band, Taranaki Regimental and New Plymouth Municipal, Which played “Gems of Wagner Nd. 2.” The opening was good, he said, though he preferred it a little quicker. The chords were g&od. The moderate opened well, though the tempo was again dragging slightly. The cornet showed good tone and style, The tone Of the band Was good, and the basses were responsible for fine effects. The euphonium sold in the allegro ma non troppo movement showed good tone, and the horns and baritones Were good. Tn the andante the flugal solo was a shade too hard in tone. The band was a little out of tune but closed the movement well. The last movement contained attractive dynamic effects, the rhythm was good, and the piece closed very well. , ITS Hawferfe Municipal, which chose Bayreuth,” a difficult selection, opened with good chords, he said. The second movement was marked, by good work on the part of the sOprafto, who was coming through well. At the first moderate the band was not together and was a little ufttuneful. The euphonium was a little uncertain in the recitative in the maestoso. Untunefulftess and poor releases in the basses were noticed at the second moderato, though the soprano was still doing good work. In some of the succeeding movements the band did not do so well, going badly out of tune, and in the vivace it became wild. The basses were doing good work in the andante, but the movement was a little laboured. The soprano again earned praise. An improvement was shown in the march, and the finish was fair. * “Verdi” was the selection chosen by Stratford, of whose play the judge said: “A very good performance, especially as regards tempo.” The opening was clean fend precise and the retard very well done. The allegro vivace had a good chord and tempo but the andante was a little short The trebles made a bad slip in allegro maestro, playing the quavers too short. In places the cornet ana euphonium were not together, and the trombone cadenza was too broken, after which the band went a little out of tune. The grandiose would have been better had the euphonium been more closely tuned and the cornet not been overblown. Although playing well, the bans Slipped on the last chord, which was badly out of tune. It was a good performance and was appreciated. The selection “Verdi,” chosen by the Maiiaia Municipal Band, was probably a little beyend its capabilities, commented Mr Drew. The band, started badly, feftu throughout the showed an inclination to go out of tune on occasions. In the andante movement the accompaniment was Well subdued. The soloists fell appeared to be nervous. C GRADE SELECTIONS. Playing the selection “Mirella” Eltham was a little thin in tone and made a slip in the opening bars. The tempo was good but the band was a little out of tune, the moderato a little sluggish and the cornets were missing in the soprano part. The horn had a fair tone, but the movement could have been made brighter In the euphonium recitative tone was bad in the allegro and' the tempo of the movement could have been quicker. The cfedenza was good with accompaniments Well Subdued, but he did ndt like the style of the cornet, which could have been played with a little more freedom. The tempo of the allegretto could have been quicker and more could have been made of the cornet cadenza. The band was very light in tone and gave a fair performance. The Patea band rendered Song Echoes” as its selection. The judge remarked on it as a fair performance with irregular the chiof fciult. The band opened fairly well in the allegro moderato but was a little out of tune and the basses were a little heavy for good balance. The euphonium had a fair tone but made a'bad slip four bars befote the moderate. In the moderate the tempo should have gone with more freedom and on the last chord the band was badly out of tune. In the andante, too, the tempo was too slow and the movement dragged. Tire allegro was fihe but the cornet was slurring, though it had a good tone. The basses were out of tune. The short tempo made the whole moyemen. monotonous. Tire band was a little out of tune, but the comet and the euphonium sounded well. The band combmed well for a good finish. Inglewood was the other competing band and its choice Was the selection “Faust.” A fair performance was given, said the judge, who considered the band made a good opening, though he did nolike the bass. The tempo of the allegro pastorale was too slow, while the band was a little heavy. When the tempo de valse was reached the band was more in time with a good crescendo and diminuendo movement. The euphonium was good but the comet was a little heavy. The sold horn missed a note at the opening of the adagio and the soprano was uncertain. In the tempo de marche the band combined well fofe a good finishing movement. HAWERA PIPERS OUTSTANDING. The Hawera band put up a very creditable performance to win, said the judge, Mr S Clothier, Hamilton. The break into the strathspey could be improved upon but the break into the reel was very good. He complimented the band on its instruments: the tone of the band was excellent. Stratford’s was a fair P er formanee, but the pipers did not keep together as well as they might have done The breaks were only fair, and> that feature required further practice. In finishing’ the selection several on to the last note too long. The sid drians were very good, exceptin reel. The bass drummer waS good. Th New Plymouth ban made a bad start, he pipes were poorly tuned and weie not to harmony. The playing was inclined to be a bit ragged, and the finish was weak.