“MUSIC AND POETRY”

Waikato Independent, Volume XXXIV, Issue 3166, 12 June 1934, Page 5

“MUSIC AND POETRY”

LITERARY AND DRAMATIC SOCIETY MRS S. N. ZIMAN’S EVENING “The best definition I can find for poetry is c music in words.’ A great poem must have exactly the right ivords in the right place to make it sing, and the song must be the right one for the theme.” These words formed the keynote of Mrs S. N. Ziman’s most interesting evening at the Parish Hall last night, when about ninety members of the Cambridge Literary and Dramatic Society listened to one of the most entertaining programmes ever put before them. In seeking for her definition Mrs Ziman traced the relationship of poetry and music, and quoted various examples of verse which, although they had the form, were not true poetry. As an example of great poetry with a poor theme, Mrs Paul read Col eridge’s “Kubla Khan.” It was, however, Robert Louis Stevenson who gave the real clue as to what true poetry meant, said Mrs Ziman, and she went on to quote from his poem “Romance,” including the lines: “And this shall be for music when no-one else is near, The fine song for singing, the rare song to hear.” Two short poems on the one theme, one of Elizabeth Browning’s “Sonnets from the Portugese,” and an anonymous Elizabethan madrigal were read by Miss Roma Drake. Then followed a most interesting talk on Wagner by Miss Marshall, who illustrated how the great composer made poetry in music. She played two gramophone records from his operas. Going a stage, further, a poem in music that has no words at all, Schumann’s 1 ‘ Devotion” was played bj- Mr A. G. Boyce. English Poetry Reviewed In order to test her theory that great poetry is music in words, Mrs Ziman ran briefly through the history of English poetry testing it out with the quotations from the Elizabethans, the 18th century poets, the Victorian school, and the lyric writers of to-day. Shelley’s beautiful- “Invocation to Night” was read by Miss Joan Hardy. Mr Gib. James sang Handel’s “Where’ere You Walk,” and “The Vagabond,” by Robert Louis Stevenson; Mis- Zona Rodgers, Shakespeare’s “Where the Bee Sucks”; and Mr Lane “'The Banks o’ Doon” by Burns, and ‘‘There is a Green Hill,” the lattci to illustrate the poetry of the Bible. The accompaniments in each case were played by Mr A. G. Bovec. Two extracts from Browning were read by Mrs McDowell. Modern Lyric Writers Turning to the moderns, Mrs Ziman said: “I would like to prophesy that future generations will look back on this age as a particularly fine period of musical poetry.” In support of this she went on to discuss, and quote from, John Masefield, Robert Bridges, Walter de la Mare, W. B. Yeats, and James Elroy Flecker. “The War Song of the Saracens,” from Flecker’s “Hassan” was read by Miss Hardy. Records of two of A. A. Milne’s children’s poems, which have been set to music, were also played. Mrs F. R. Wooldridge sang “Song for June,” the words of which were written by W. G. Tinckom-Fcrnandez, and music by William Spencer Johnson. Every item was enthusiastically received, but the length of the programme would not permit of encoies. In conclusion Mrs Ziman thanked -all those who had helped her to make the evening such a success.