THE COMPETITIONS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17349, 14 May 1924, Page 8

THE COMPETITIONS.

TO-DAY’S EVENTS. TO -Nl<J HT S CO NOE RT. Aij attractive programme will be subiiutUul 10-uighi at the < ‘aled-mian llall when the finals of a number of classes will be contested. One of the muni interesting number* should be for the vocal trio, open class. Three trios have entered tv*o ladies’ trios and a men's trio, and each has made a different choice. Jhe song for girls, soprano solo, piano solo, mezzo solo, operatic solo 'men), and several elocutionary classes are also to be decided The day sessions will be held to-morrow in the Choral Hall and Caledonian Hall, and some Interesting events aio scheduled. Admission to the evening concerts is 3s (reserved), 2s and Is and are available 6d ] B»wm tickets

FIFTH DAY

The following are results: RECITATION. Recalls: Valerie Cater (Linwood). Joan Hughes (.Richmond). .Kathleen Read (St Albans). Denedette Hahn (Linwood). S HAKESPEAREAX RECITATION. Ladles—" Constance's Grief on the Loss of Arthur." Recalls: Miss Mary Cooley (Wellington). Miss Mavis Ritchie (Merivale). Miss avis Halliday (Wellington). SONG. Girls, fourteen and under sixteen "Song of Florian ” (Godard). Recalls: Doreen Steel (Christchurch). Kathleen Philpott (Riccarton). Eileen Grennell (Christchurch). Dorothy Manhire (Christchurch). PIANO SOLO. Bristol Scholarship. Test Selection—" In the Spinnery ” (Lind). The following competed:—Misses Maud Stout (St Albans), Beryl Kingan (Christchurch), Enid Jaklns (Chriat-c-htirch), Halmai Loughnan (Avonside), Boris, Staples (Ashburton), Lucv Kullwood (Christchurch), Alison Allsop (St Albans), Doris Palmer (Linwood), Irene Seymour (St Albans), Bertha Adkins (Sydenham), Ivy Evans (St Albans). x>.uth Feasey (Linwood), Mary Nolan (Christchurch), Mia Prestldge (Christchurch), Esme Ellis (Riccarton), Arthur Reid (Sydenham).

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS.

PIANO SOLO. Ten and under 12-—“ ArbutUß " (BUss). Beryl Roberts (Christchurch), 89 points 1 Mervyn Averis (Beckenham), 88 points 2 Alexandra Wheeler (Opawa), 87 points 3 RECITATION. Boys 9 and under 12 —“ Perseverance.” Xerwyn Staples (Riccarton), 86 poin.s . 1 Fred Stevens (Riccarton), 80 points 2 G. Buckling (Tai Tapn), 79 points . 3 VOCAL SOLO. Ladies—Own Selection (N.Z. Comp jser). Miss Dorothy Skinner (Dunedin), "Maori Slumber Song,” 88 points . 1 Miss Claire Moody (Christchurch), "Waiata Poi,” 88 points 2 Miss Barbara Hanna (Christchurch), Home, Little Maori Home," 82 points 3 DOMINION RECITATION. Ladies—Own Selection. Miss Mary Cooley (Wellington), “Ohe Doom of Stephanus,” 88 points . 1 Miss Enid English (Woolston), “ Lorraine, Loree,” 87 points .2 Miss Mavis Halliday (Wellington). * He Fell Among Thieves,” 89 points . 3 BARITONE SOLO. “ Oh, Soft was the Song." Robert Allison (Christchurch), 87 points 1 Robert Samson (Sydenham). 86 points . 2 David Bishop (St Albans), 83 points . 3 SOPRANO SOLO. “ Sing, Sing. . Blackbird " (Phillips). Miss Barbara Hanna (Christchurch), 88 points 1 Miss Rita Lucas (Christchurch), 86 points ....... 2 Mias Betty Scott (Beckenham), 75 points 3 SHAKESPEAREAN RECITATION. (Gentlemen —“ Cranmer's Speech ” (“Henry VIII.”). W. 11. Moses (St. Albans), 82 points . 3 Leslie Anderson (Wellington), 73 points 2 A. Johnson (St. Albans), 72 points 3 VOCAL »OLO. Lady or Gentleman; self-accompanied. Own Selection. Miss Stella Osborne (St. Albans), “Love Light.” 80 points 1 Miss Anna Audibert (Christcliurcb), " Philosophy," 77 points . .2 A. Johnson (St. Albans), "In Oid Madrid,” 75 points 3 RECITATION. Boys twelve and under sixteen—" Jcai u?.” Recalls: Richard Woodward (ttaitham). Ronald Foster (Woolston). Roy Campbell (Brighton). PIANO SOLO. Lady or Gemlemau—Own Selection. Recalls; Miss Bessie Pollard (Sydenham), " RJiapsodie No. 4 '* (Liszt). Miss Helena Keane (Christchurch), “ Concert. Study " (Liszt). *»• (Oaniaru), •• Bar. carolte,” Opus a, (Chopi.i). COMMENT BV THE WAV. it seems pretty obvious just, now that no competition at ail. Some v. ill stalk in, say his lines and collect Uk priz-tc money —mat is ji ln e intrigues tiic juuge suinoieutly. It is regrettable to think that otny mree compel. snip events; but" nevertheless* puurtiojA. The promising juniors of three or lour yearn ago have faued right away, fiiu seem to have no wian to enter the lists tn the first dusit of their mandhood. '.l hey may even have grown into superior pereons, and huu their appetites unwheiu,i ‘»y. juvenile successes. Whatever the cause is, the men's sections nave grow 1 steadily worse for the last four years, an.l now in 1924 there is hardly any competition. lne average male tolerates Binging, mil the practice of elocution in cold blood seeuis to entail some loss of caste. Nothing is more foolish than this notion, be cause elocution is the simpler and more elective of the vocal arts. W4iy it should he ignored is an absolute mystery. Even in the singing sections for men, the entries are not great, but they are more than 100 per cent better than the elocutionary. The Shakespearean recitation for men how low the standard for men was. Ihe piece chosen for this Dominion \ va “ Cranmer’s speech over the infant Elizabeth in " Henry VIII." it i 8 the speech of a flatterer, and some of the passages are almost an ecstatic hyperbole. Instead of putting life into the piece, the competitors were content to take it a a .1 dirge, and the judge was not far wrong ■wlieu he compared the interpretation of Fume of the competitors to a wet Sunday sermon. Three competitors started and each of them was full of faults that could easily have been avoided. The meaning and the rhythm were often lost, and there wag not one who kept his inflection un at all decently. The nearest approach to a satisfactory rendering was that of W. H. Moses, the winner. 1/eelie Anderson should do well, hut he will never do so if he keeps his voice so far back. When the tone is kept in the throat and chest, the reciter has the pleasant illusion of resonanco but it is quite an illusory resonance as r. the audience is concerned. Miss Barbara Hanna, a promising young I soprano, won the soprano test, " Sing, Ring. Blackbird," and was third in the vocal eolo (New Zealand oonjpoeer). Bhe ha? a good, flexible voice, with some fine tone and colouring. Her production gen erally is good, but, sometimes she is not quite true, and this just spoil? a very pretty effect. This was particularly noticeable in "Homo Little Maori, Home." Tn the test piece, she gave a brilliant renderwig of a sontr whieh suited her thoroughly. In this, her fluting notes were splendid, and she caught, the spirit, of the song well. Mis? Dorothv Skinner. with " Maori Slumber Bong.” won the ladies' vocal solo ! (New Zealand composer). Misa Skinner

gave a good interpretation of her number, but she did not have quite the right spirit. The general effect, somehow, was not as good as she could have got, but for all that, it was not quite perfect. Miss Elaine Moody chose " Waiata Poi " and gave a quite good rendering of it. Her enunciation is good, and so also is her production. The attack and release was fairly good, but there was not quite enough animation and contrast in her

Miss Mary Cooley, tho young Wellington competitor, who won the ladies’ Dominion recitation, gave a brilliant scene from " The Sign of the Croßs.” She has a good stage personality, an appreciation of word value and a smooth, sweet elocution. She has considerable histrionic ability, but that does not give her a stage sob license. Taken all round she is the essence of naturalness, and that is where she scores Miss Enid English recided the somewhat hackneyed "Lorraine Loree.” but she did it well, bhe seems to love words, and al was s gives them their full, rich quality. ♦ H *° b * r ,L A , ll i 9 ° n - who wo ” baritone resonaiit h voice th6 has a gave a really fine rendering of *the son® 6 which was a beautiful but difficult one ° Robert Samson also did verv well Ho has a good rich voice but Mr Allison was just a little better than be was. The winner of the self-accompanied vocal eolo (open) was Miss Stella Osborne a young who chose a verv sweet son /- ‘‘ Love-light." Her singinc- was good. ay » her acoompanijjaent ©ffecti\cl>. Miss Anna Audibert sang " PhiloPophv. ’ « light little souhrette’s numbe?. «-oa S i?r „ dld not l quife . ca *ch the soirit that •• a a nimate the skeleton. P . ,an ° sol ° ™ lk 'r twelve. SST tt « entr,cs - anii for the most Beryl ra'S ':l; ,T< ' r - ~ h ° "f tVXwto oateh the vivacity of the piece. M.rvyo Averis who came second, is a player of promise. He played with expression , n his tonal gradations were good ' taSn W for S bovi e ’' "' inner of the test recitelliffent recital rr” lVr.'eTafiTnoe *" the test, piec e. Hi, ultra sin tr «„ BO o<l. and Kcoerally his performance was a creditable