The World of Music

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19523, 24 June 1933, Page 12

The World of Music

Notes and Comments of General Interest

(By "Semitone”)

The Christchurch Musical Society performed Coleridge-Taylor’s “A Tale of Old Japan” this week.

Mr. John Bishop, the conductor of the Royal Wellington Choral Union, is going to Australia in August, and will be away for about eight weeks, adjudicating, conducting and playing, in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

An old choralist of Auckland, who, despite his being an octogenarian, still takes an active part in the musical life of that city, protests against the practice of applauding the assisting artists so often indulged in by members of the chorus at concerts. This, he maintains, is bad form, for, he says, if any applause is Sue it should come from the audience, and certainly not from the choir, which, by so doing, is practically praising its own performance.

Dssmcnd Casey, the Auckland boy soprano, has been receiving some very ■favourable reports from the Sydney critics, both for his concert appearances, and his recordings. Regarding the latter L. de Noskowski, the music critic of the “Sydney Morning Herald,” says: “This week’s special release of two records introduces a talented young New Zealand boy soprano, Desmond Casey, who possesses a very sweet voice of pleasing quality, as well as of remarkable purity and clearness. . . .

He finds no difficulty in reaching high notes.” (What makes this critic's favourable comments worth having is that he is not averse to pointing out blemishes when such exist; for instance, he does not hesitate to point out that, on some of his recordings, the Dunedin boy soprano, Lex Macdonald, sings off pitch.) In one Sydney paper Desmond Casey is referred to as “Songland's sweetest singer.”

Mr. John Tait, of Auckland, has just published four part-songs: “There is a Garden,” a setting of a poem by Richard Alison (1606), arranged for female voices (soprano and contralto); “Charming Chloe” (Bums), also for female voices; “The Shrewd Old Count,” a part-song arranged by Mr. Tait partly from the “Galdberg” variations, both for a male voice choir and mixed voices. The fourth part-song is a setting of Sylvia’s Lynd’s charming verse “Shutgate,” for the chorus. In all of these (says an Auckland reviewer) Mr. Tait displays a graceful ability to bring about happy wedding of words and music, and it is to be hoped that some of our choirs will include some of these charming examples of choral composition in their programmes. The Auckland Municipal Choir is to give, later in the year, a concert in which compositions by New Zealand composers will predominate. It would be a graceful compliment to a musician who has made this the country of his adoption if at least one of the above part-songs were included in the programme, and the compliment would be even greater if the composer were asked to conduct his own work, thus adding additional interest, to the performance.

During the week the newly-elected board constituted under the Music Teachers’ Registration Act, 1928, held its first meeting of the year, elections of members taking effect from every alternate April. Mr. Robert Parker, C.M.G., was re-elected chairman, and M. W. W. Bird, nominated by the Minister of Education, took his seat for the first time. Thirty applications for registration were dealt with, about half the number being approved, bringing the total number on the register tQ about 1300.

The Royal Wellington Choral Union for its next concert in August intends devoting the evening to excerpts from Grand Opera.

Mr. Harold Prescott produced Gounods’ “Faust” at Greymouth last Tuesday.

Miss Bathie Stuart, clever expeaent of Maori songs and dances, formerly of Auckland, recently met Alexander Raab, noted pianist-pedagogue, in Hollywood. Mr Raab was intensely interested in the Maori chants and after Miss Stuart had sung “Tangi” for him he went to the piano and played a few bars of Drdla’s “Souvenir.” “Do you see the resemblance?” he asked. “Certainly,” she replied. ‘SI am quite sure Drdla never heard ‘Tangi,’ so it goes to prove that after all composers thousands of miles apart produce similar melodies—music is really in the air for attuned ears to catch.” Mr Raab expressed a desire to visit New-Zealand and to go to the Dominion Museum to hear the dictaphone records of the old Maori chants of which Miss Stuart told him. “What a clever idea to preserve them, for while the medern Maori music is interesting, it is wonderful to be able to hear their music uninfluenced by modern composition,” said Mr Raab, who believes that composers will be forced to turn to past generations for inspiration due to depletion of rhythm and theme in the rapid development of modern music.

A remarkable illustration of the power of music to sway an audience, particularly an impressionable one, was afforded in a Dunedin school the other day, states the “Otago Daily Times.” For the purpose of endeavouring to instil into his class, composed of children from about nine to 12 years of age an appreciation of music, the teacher hgd decided to give a number of lessons based on gramophone records, and in this instance he had chosen a rendering of Schubert’s wellknown song, “The Erl King,” by a baritone singer. He explained the various points which are to be noted in the song, and after he had played the record over twice he was surprised to see one of his girl pupils rush from her seat sobbing, clutch him round the body, and implore him not to play it again. Notwithstanding this urgent request the teacher decided to play the record once more, and as it commenced another of the girls ran from her seat crying, also asking that the song should npt be heard again. By the time the record was finished more than half of the girls in the class were in tears. The action of the first two girls was spontaneous,, and although some of the others might have been influenced to some extent by the former, there was no doubt of the’tremendous power over the children of this fascinating song with its tragically dramatic climax. It was also evident on this occasion that the girls of the class were influenced by the music to a much greater extent than were the boys, although the latter might possibly have been restrained from such a display of emotion by motives of pride not uncommon to lads of their age.