RECORDED MUSIC

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18617, 12 July 1930, Page 10

RECORDED MUSIC

Many an old Londoner will hail with delight a record by dear old Florrie Forde, of the music hall days. She sings some of the real die-hards—here are some of the: “Has Anybody here seen Kelly”; “Down at the old Bull and Bush”; “Oh, Oh, Antonio”; “She's a Lassie from Lancashire”; and six or seven others equally famous. Florrie was the first to sing mest of them, and still has the knack of sweeping an audience along with her, whether it’s the old Tivoli packed to the “gods” or three or four of the lads listening to this record on the “gram.” Great stuff!

News that Ignaz Friedman Is extending his American tour is reported in English papers. It will be remembered that on his last visit to this country, about three years ago, critics openly declared that he was foolhardy in following so closely on the heels of his great compatriot, Paderewski. Nevertheless, the brilliant success which met his efforts definitely established him as one of the great pianists of the world, and since then he has gone from strength to strength. In his rendering of Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata he shows his profound mastery of technique. In the collaboration with an orchestra conducted by Philippe Gaubert, he gives what is virtually the most thrilling record of the Grieg Concerto yet made. Purists may cavil at some phases of Friedman’s interpretation, but in spite of all, Friedman’s magnificent vigorous playing of this wonderful work is something that is not easily forgotten. If there are any who have not yet heard these records of the A Minor Concerto, they should, the first time they get the opportunity, ask to hear the first record of the set played over. If the first side does not convince them that this work is one to thrill even the man in the street at first hearing, then nothing will ever secure conviction in such matters. Friedman has, in addition, recorded a number of much smaller pieces of music, and the same artistry that characterises all his playing is inate in each single-sided morsel of his miscellaneous records.

A gramophone record of the historic speech made by the King in the Royal Gallery of the House of Lords at the opening of the Five-Power Naval Conference is now on sale. One cannot conceive of a better reproduction*. His Majesty’s voice is heard with a clearness and a faithfulness that might suggest I;im actually speaking in the room in which the disc is running. His enunciation and characterisation could not be better. For this record a special decorative label in royal purple, gold, and scarlet has been prepared, with the Royal Arms of the King at the top. At the suggestion of His Majesty, the proceeds are to be devoted to the “Wireless for the Blind Fund.”

(1) “In an Old-fashioned Town”; (2) “Somewhere a Voice is Calling.” Played by Clifford E. Ball on the Wellington War Memorial Carillon. With considerable enterprise Columbia have secured two very fine solos on the Wellington Carillon while it was at Gillett and Johnston’s Croydon Bell Foundry. This, as most people know, is the most famous foundry in the world, and the makers proudly claim to have excelled themselves on the Wellington War Memorial. Bellringing is an art of its own, with very few masters of the art; so Columbia are very fortunate in having secured such a recognised authority as Clifford Ball. He has made a wonderful record, which we in this country will especially treasure. The two simple tunes peal out with a sweetness that will astonish anyone who knows how difficult it is to avoid “jangling” on a peal of such colossal proportions. The tone is rich, vivid and clean, and records with remarkable recision and detail.

The great Liszt pianoforte concerto in E flat major with Mischa Levitski as the soloist and the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Landon Ronald, to support him, provides a rare musical experience. After listening to the recording one can understand why Liszt held such a dominating position

in the artistic world. Brilliance of technique is an essential, of course, for such a work, and Levitski takes the many rapid passages with a facility that is amazing. The pianist Is lucky to have such an experienced conductor as Sir Landon Ronald for his first recorded concerto. The result is a beautiful balance between the piano and orchestra, and a perfect performance of what is not only great music, but very lovable music. The concerto is a work of courtly charm and melodious £race, and it will always reflect the good nature and generosity of the man who wrote it. As one listens to these records one can easily imagine the effect such music must have had on the multitude with the romantic composer at the keyboard..

After a season at Covent Garden, Kipnis, the great German basso, has been singing at Berlin and Munich Summer Festivals. He is now singing in America, and the news is that his early triumphs there have already caused his tour to be considerably extended. Kipnis is known throughout the Continent as a foremost Wagner exponent, and the readers will doubtless remember the excellent work he did in the Columbia Wagner Bayreuth Festival recordings. He has produced a series of magnificent Schubert records, instinct with deep feeling. Possibly his finest is a pairing of “Der Wegweiser” (The Signpost)' with “Der Doppelganger” (The Phantom Double). The first has one of the loveliest of Schubert’s many exquisite tunes, while the second reveals the intense dramatic gifts of Kipnis. A new record of two Brahms’ lieder prompts us to hope that this is the first of a long series. Brahms, who ranks second only to Schubert as a song-writer, is too meagrely represented on records in this respect. The enchanting number referred to is “Sappische Ode” and “Auf dem Kirche.”

The gramophone could scarcely be put to severer test in the reproduction of operatic music than in the imposing “Te Deum” scene at the end of the first act of “La Tosca.” HM.V. have issued an exceedingly fine record of this excerpt with Giovanni Inghilleri (baritone!) as the chief soloist. Inghilleri’s splendid voice is clearly heard above the tremendous accompaniment of chorus, organ, orchestra, and church bells. Inghilleri sings equally well bn the other side of the record in “Lo povera mia cena” from Act 11. of the same opera. Few more successful operatic records have appeared recently than this.

(1) “Nymphs and Shepherds” (Purcell) ; (2) “Should He Upbraid?” (Shakespeare and Bishop). Sung by John Bonner, boy soprano. These delightful songs go back to the only days v/hen England was really a force to be reckoned with in the musical world. Purchell was perhaps our greatest composer, and his fame rests largely on a mulitude of songs of which “Nymphs and Shepherds” is one of the more famous. Slight though it may be, it is as a whole flawless as a jewel. Sir Henry Bishop sets Shakespeare’s exquisite lyric “Should He Upbraid?” to music as fragment, and both songs form an admirable vehicle for the sweet purity of young John Bonner’s

Debussy was entirely original, and had an incalculable influence on modern music. He altered profoundly the style and aesthetics of his art, much as the Impressionists did in painting and the Symbolists in poetry. His numerous innovations in rhythm, harmony, and orchestration which at first startled, as all new things do, are now accepted without question. To come to know him means a sudden enlargement of one’s musical understanding. The “Prelude a 1’ Apres Midi d’un Faune,” played by the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, conducted with his usual inimitable verve by Leopold Stokowski, is a characteristic work. All its tonal subtleties and evanescent colourings, its vague haunting atmosphere which makes it one of the most lovely things in musical impressionism, are wonderfully reproduced in the recording. The “Prelude” was inspired by Mallarme's poem of the same

name; both poem and composition are landmarks in the history of their art. Debussy was a regular visitor at Mallarme’s Tuesdays at the Rue de Rome, where the new ideas of art were threshed out by young and enthusiastic devottes. Mallarme, in civil life a teacher of English, was an inspired talker. At his house art as a trade was unknown; the price of a book was never mentioned, nor was there ever a reference to royalties, contracts, or editions. Mallarme’s great principle was that “to name is to destroy, to suggest is fb create.” Debussy carried this principle into his music, and that must be kept in mind if we are to un-. derstand him. He never “namqs” anything; he always merely “suggests.”

Elijah —Hear ye Israel. Sung by Isobel Baillie, soprano. The famous aria from Elijah fits comfortably on to both sides of a 10inch disc, and will be welcomed b? anyone with a taste for this sort of music. One may go further; it should make a host of converts, for Isobel Baillie has a soprano of surprising richness and power, and gives to the inspired lines a life and a glowing energy which they seem to lack in the hands of most soloists. It is curious how the average singer of oratorios seems to believe that his or her voice should sound as if it were coming out of a morgue. Miss Baillie does not make that dreadful mistake. She takes as personal an interest in the music as if it were a spontaneous love song. How well she records.

A number of beautiful melodies have been grouped together by Leslie James for a splendid Wurlitzer Organ recording. Excerpts from such eternal favourites as “Poet and Peasant” overture (Suppe), “Leobestraume” (Liszt), “Moment Musicale” (Schubert), “Melody in F” (Rubenstein, ‘Hungarian Rhapsody” (Liszt), “La Paloma” (Yradier), “Minuet” (Bocherini). “Hungarian Dance” (Brahms), and “Blue Danube Waltz” (Strauss) make up this amazing organ “switch,” and James uses a wide range of tone solours with extremely artistic effect.

The production by “His Master’s Voice” of a set of recordings devoted to four one-act plays performed recently in London and Paris by the celebrated French actor, Sacha Guitry, in collaboration with his wife, Yvonne Printemps, is an event of great significance in the development of gramophone history. With the exception of some educational lectures, the gramophone has appeared up to the present mainly as a vehicle for musical expression, but in these recordings its functions are extended to embrace the art of-the theatre. The Guitry plays provide a particularly happy introduction to recorded drama, inasmuch as they combine in a unique manner the twin arts of speech and song. As a master of perfect diction, Sacha Guitry is probably unrivalled, and even to listeners imperfectly acquainted with the French language the dialogue in these original plays, “Mozart,” “L’Amour Masque,” “Marietta,” and “Deburau,” provides the most complete antidote imaginable to the crudities of speech familiarised by the “talkies.” To the French scholar it is an inspiration. The incidental songs composed for each play by Reynaldo Hahn, Oscar Strauss, and Andre Messager are sung with consummate artistry by Yvonne Printemps. The air, “Depuis trois ans passes,” from “Marietta,” is an exquisite experience. The recordings are isued to music-lovers in the form of a “special release.”

Willem Mengelberg is a wizard. With his wand he can bring music from his Concertgebouw Orchestra that is almost magical in his combination of unified precision and interpretative feeling. This recording of Wagner’s “Tannhauser” Overture is splendid work for this world-famous Dutch orchestra. Gramofans will be pleased to see that Columbia are continuing their policy of great music for a greater public. This brilliant recording is amongst a host of other “celebrity” works recently released on dark blue labels. This means, of course, that the finest music is now obtainable at the price of jazz records. To all those in search of a really adequate recording of “Tannhauser” this version of Wagner’s most popular overture is warmly commended.