HERE AND THERE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18453, 2 May 1928, Page 8

HERE AND THERE.

AN EYE FOR EVERYTHING. The Basis of Modem Music.

The strange-sounding music of to-day as it is written by ' advanced’’ composers owes much of its strangeness to its tonality,—its key relationship, that is— which governs the melodics, chords, modulations, etc., in a musical composition. In the early centuries of music’s history tonality was little, understood because there was little “harmony” as we understand that term. A long period of fixed tonality followed, rules of harmony having been firmly established and keys and key-re-lationship stabilised. In the nineteenth century a breakaway occurred when Wagner, especially, began to writ© music, the swiftly shifting tonality of which was quite different from the orthodox tonality system of the classical masters. That breakaway has been widening ever since, so that composers now write a music that has no definite key at all, but proceeds in a series of unrelated sounds, which to ears trained in £he music of Mozart, Beethoven, and the whole array of great composers, appear to be nothing but a succession of discords. In reality it is “the new harmony” thev aie hearing. x x » First of Flowers. Country folk say that it is unlucky to carry into a house the first snowdrop of the year. The reason is given by an old Sussex woman: “It looks for all the world like a corpse in its shroud.” The legend of the snowdrop is that it was the first of all flowers. After the fall of man snow fell in Eden. The snow frightened Eve, but she felt sure of better days in store when out of the snowflakes there sprang beautiful snowdrops. Being pendent, the flow, er gains advantages in rough weather. It can push its way upwards through snow without harm to the delicate organs within the bells. Then rain is shed easily by the backs of the petals, so that the pollen-dust' of the stamens is not washed away, and the flowers perfect their seeds in security. Tin pendent flower is attached with such delicacy to the stalk that it yields ta the least breeze, and dances out th« rudest blasts, swaying and bending, but not breaking, as would a heavier flow er on a stouter stem. The snowdrop haf long been the emblem of maidenhood If lovers understand “the language o| flowers," any bashful maid, shy of I lover’s attentions, has but to send hin a snow’drop to make him see that hil suit is hopeless.—“ Pearson’s Weekly. 1 x x When Knockers were FaTiion&ble. Knockers were, at one time, very im portant affairs, and there was actual!] an etiquette of door-knocking. A lady when calling, had certain distinctivi knocks, according to the social statu, of the person she visited. London stil re.tains some fine specimens of ancien door-knockers. There is an antiqui knocker representing the head ant bust of Diana in Pompeian brona adorning the door of a house in Pori man Street. On a house in Park Lant there is a beautiful knocker of Italiai work, dating back to the sixteenth cen tury and showing the Milanese Arm( Another antique knocker, showing Nej tune blowing a shell, can be seen on . door at Cadogan Square. A lion s hea has always been much in favour as de-ign for knockers. Many quaint an beautiful knockers can be seen in ol curio shops in London and in some c the old towns of the Home Countiei Some of them represent the heads c well-known men of the period in whir' they were made. In the olden day householders who possessed valuabl knockers were obliged to unscrew ther at night to prevent them from bein stolen.