MUSICAL JOTTINGS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19208, 10 January 1925, Page 2

MUSICAL JOTTINGS

(By “C SHARP.”) I understand that the Hawera Municipal Band, which has been reconstructed, has secured Lieut. Fox as conductor. Some years ago, under that veteran conductor, Mr. T. B. McConnell, the Hawera Band rose to a high level of excellence, winning many first prizes in contests for second-class bands, and also doing creditably in first-class contests. It is to be hoped that the band will once more reach a worthy place amongst the bands of the Dominion. Bpbin H. Legge, the Daily Telegraph’s musical writer, thus refers 1o i Frieda Hempel’s “Jenny Lind” con- | eerts, under the heading', “An Act of IHomage”:—To-morrow week that fine artist Frienda Hempel is to give a recital in the Albert Hall, when her 1 programme will bo divided into two separate and distinct parts, the one entitled “Frieda Hempel To-day.” the other “Frieda Hempel us Jenny Lind.” Now this Jenny Lind business apparently has caused some difference of opinion in some minds, but, as I see it. the cause is merely a misunderstanding. The fact, is, Miss Hempel’s performance is an act of homage from a devoted daughter to one of the glorious Mothers of Song. We have not the slightest idea here of the American devotion to the memory of that great woman, Jenny Lind. She is probably the strongest musical tradition, in a sense, of the U.S.A., .and folk of to-day metaphorically raise their hats in memory of this tradition because their fathers and grandfathers had heard Jenny Lind in the flesh, ami passed to their children and their children’s children the glory of the singer and her songs. There is not an atom <,f snobbery in the matter, merely an net of devotion. In October next year, the Jonny Lind Association of New York intend to unveil a stature of Jenny Lind in Battery Park. The city has itself granted the site, and the statue is “to commemorate and for all time to remind posterity of the conquest of their people through love of the great artist and greater woman, who came to those shores a stranger and left a well beloved friend.” I understand that / Frieda Hempel will sing her songs in a costumet of the period—the affair, costume of the period —the affair, person. ♦ • ♦ * Arthift- Alexander. the Dunedin pianist, who has spent practically "he whole of lhe last twenty years in England, where he has attained an enviable position, is announced in the Home papers to appear with the Crimson Quartet at the King Cole Chamber Music Club. This club has given 270 concerts, the latest being preceded by a dinner at which Sir Johnston ForbesRobertson was elected president for the season. Dominion music-lovers, who hear an orchestra—l mean a professional symphony orchestra—would doubtless like to have attended the Eastbourne Musical Festival, which was announced for November 21-29. Announcing a brilliant array of conductors ami soloists, a London paj<er says;—“Presumably most of the conductors will direct works of their own composition. They include Elgar, Sir Dan Godfrey. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Sir Landon Ronald, Sir Henry Wood, Granville Bantock. Frank Bridge, Adam Carse. Edward German, Armstrong Gibbs, John Troland. J. P. i McEwen, Norman O’Neill. A Brenti Smith, Vaughan Williams, and Dame ■ Ethel Smyth—most of whom are betl/’r I known as composers Ihnn as couI ductors. The instrumentalists could i hardly be a more brilliant set, for :n- -| eluded are Jelly d’Aranyi, Harriet Cohen, Beatrice Harrison, Myra Hoss, and Casals-•-instrumentalists - and John Goss, A. Jordan, Frank Phillips, Clara Serena, the English singers, and Carrie Tubb. Victor Watson will apI pear as a double-bass soloist. “The ! Dream of Jubal,” not heard for many I a long year, will be revived by the festival chorus. • * • • Protests are being made in the. musical columns of Home papers against the British Broadcasting Company’s habit of breaking into a serious musical programme with“ cheap stuff.” A correspondent writes that he feels himself outraged by the fact that the. i other night from 7.30 to 9.30 a programme of “Old ’l’imes” tunes, etc., I was permitted, while he cannot enjoy | one direct hour of serious chamber music. The musical editor of the journal to whom the letter was addressed agrees that, it is useless to give these chopped-up chamber concerts, because the atmosphere cannot be maintained. “Far better,” he says, “to keep to that which the 8.8. C. fondly imagines its 100.000 listeners prefer.” Another 1 correspondent asks the etditor to “ dejmand” that the announcers shall announce foreign names correctly. The editor asks “From whom am 1 to demand this? ” ♦ ♦ * 4» The quarter-tone piano is the sub jeer of an article by Mr. George Wood- | house in the London Daily Telegraph, i The writer quotes the late Sir Walter I Parratt a.s remarking that musical dt- ■ velopment was in danger of being seriously retarded by reason of the fixe:! tones of keyed instruments. Mr. Woodhouse goes on to say—“ The welltempered elavin has suffered and survived many a harsh criticism. It has been called a utilitarian makeshift, a. soulless mechanism devised to record notes of music, while quite recently it has lost its last pretensions to being regarded as a musical instrument. Its scale is wrong, thanks largely to J. A. Bach, and its substitute of a tempered scaling/(tampered should be the real i word) is blamed for the distorted sense of pitch which the suffering publie has acquired.” The writer continues:—“The spirit of Busoni and the law of evolution are taking audible effect, for the quarter-tone j iano is now an accomplished fact. It is reported Io have been seen and heard in many cities in Ce.ntral Europe, indeed, one composer, Alois Haba, has already written special works for the new instrument.” Mr. Woodhouse asks. “Arc we at the threshold of a new era in music?” Desjite appearances, the

spirit of harmony still resides even in modern composers. No one will doubt this who recalls life in Salzburg when the exciting contests for the discovery of tonal sensations were over, and shared in the reactions and amenities of the social life in cafn and restaurant. It is conceivably as easy to add tones to the scale as letters to the alphabet, but until letters form and words have meanings, progress cannot be made. The scales, chord:,, and progressions familiar to the twentieth century European ear derive their power and significance from agelong traditions. The third and quartertone scales may ultimately extend the range of music, but it cannot add on? variant to the moral law. After all the quarter-tone scale has been exploited for centuries in the East, and apparently (we speak without definite knowledge) the East has not yet produced one great composer. Is this due to some essential difference between European and Asiatic races? Both share in the creation of literature and the arts of painting, seulture, and poetry, but greet music has hitherto been a product of Europe alone. Could the genius of a Bach or a Beethoven conceivably express itself in the curwhich imported jazz has accustomed us rent inodes of Eastern music? When we contemplate the whining effects (to our ears) of the sliding scales to tends to approximate the question raises a doubt. It may not be without significance that th only Indian composer known to us. Sorabji, has found his musical expression in our medium. ♦ • * * Commenting on the above mentioned article a local violin teacher tells me that the quarter-lone scale, and other “fractional-tone scales,” may be heard in the city any day. Ho says that one. has only to listen to the average violin pupil practising to got. a good idea of :t. How unkind, but, I am afraid, how true! « > • « Writing to friends in Taranaki Mr. Walter Fennell, the. Hawera baritone, appears to be enjoying his period of study at the Royal Academy, London. Like most musical students, he finds London a very fine pla.ee, * * • * The Dominion of a few days back announced the arrival in Wellington of Mr Frank Hutchens, the pianist, from Sydney. The visit is announced to be a holiday one, but I should not be surprised if Mr. Hutchens gives one or two recitals before returning to Australia. A catchy novelty fox-trot, song called “The Grass is Always Greener” and a swinging waltz, song “Sweet Hawaiian Girl of Mine” are two new numbers now obtainable at Messrs E. Ellerv Gilbert and Co’s. Music Stores.

RECORDED MUSIC.

THE WEEK’S NEW RECORDS. A London critic refers to Mme. Jeritza's lovely singing of “Divinites du Stvx.” It'thc :ays), 1 admired her before. 1 admire her much more profoundly now, because she thrills me even in “Suiciclio” (the bracketed number). A mervellous voice! Special prominence is due (says a reviewer), to Elsie Suddaby’s record of two exquisite airs' of Purcell, “I have never hoard ‘When I am laid in Earth’ sung so rightly before. I hope that this record will bo the first of a long series. Another record which must not be missed, is Carmen Hill’s record of ‘Phillis was a faire maide’ and ‘The Lover’s Curse.’ Scarcely any singer has a diction like Carmen Hill's’'—(l agree.) The recording of “Madame Bulterflv” in English by H.M.V., on 14 records in an album, is a triumph (says a London reviewer). “I was thoroughly prejudiced before 1 began to play them through—a task of two hours and ten minutes that became a genuine delight. The. recording is magnificent. I have never heard an operatic orchestra better handled than this by Eugene Gcossens. Pvosina Buckman sings cnchantingly as Butterfly. Tudor Davies is, of course, always Tudor Davies, and never for one moment Lieut. Pinkerton. T wonder if any operatic singer that ever lived was a worse actor. I doubt it. He is best in the great love-duet. The splendid diction of Frederick Ranalow is invaluable, for Sharpless. 1 hone that we shall get some, more of those complete renderings in English.” • •» ♦ ♦ “Doping” fibre needles in gum Arabic gives very satisfactory results. The tone is better anil the needles stand up to shrieks that previously took the point off without fail. A tip of even more value than doping is "perfect pointing.” This is only to be obtained by the use of a proper cutter. These affairs on the clipper principle soon get blunt, the screw is always working loose, and it is a matted of chance whether you get a decent point or not. My 'advice is to get one in which the cutting is done with the needle in the sound-box, which holds it steady, and tho blade is a circular razoredge giving uniformly good results. With this eutter a doped needle will play firmly through any record which is worth playing at all. McCormack has just given tho word a 10in. record of two popular and tuneful songs—-‘Mareheta” and "Indiana Moon” marvellously sung, of course. 1 (N.B. —I don’t, think this record is here yet. You may inquire, but be tentative rather than persistent or the dealers will be after me again—C.J.M.). For the highest pleasure i’i "coloratura” I remain faithful to GalliCurci. And I prefer Selma Kurz, whose record “Der Vogel im Waldo” (with flute obligato by Amadio(, and Handel's “Il Pensieroso,” is a really remarkable display of thrills. —The | editor of The Gramophone.” i I have long had a great admiration for the recording achievements of the famous Coldstream Guards

Band, concerning which I camo across this little appreciation in a recent issue of The Gramophone: —The general impression one gets from a study of their records is one of disciplined efficiency. The Mackenzie Rogan tradition speaks for itself. Over a wide range of music, grave and gay, the effect is uniform. The band of the Coldstream Guards, consisting of professiona' soldiers, acts with a unity and a combination in effort which make up for much of what a military band'must suffer in comparison with an orchestra. You find little trace of raggedness in these renderings. The great "Chaconne” of Eash (two dises), magnificently played on the vio-lin by Isolde Menges without accompaniment, goes straight into the best dozen records (says a critic). Not content with this triumph, Miss Menges gets into that dozen again, in the company of Mr. William Primrose, in a lovely record of Purcell’s "Golden Sonata” for two violins. I am tempted to call the “Golden Sonata” one of the chief glories of English music. I wish that Shakespeare could have heard it. It. was worthy of his ears. I cannot say more. You will find in it five melodies of such exquisite gaiety and tenderness as you will not find on any other single disc, though you should search the world to find them.’ ’ • • « • The average quality of the dance records for the London Christmas season was high, and the solution of the best no easy matter (says a reviewer). From the dancer’s point of view the best fox-trot is "Somebody Loves Me” and “I Can’t Get the on c I Want.” Both are by Paul Whiteman and his orchestra, . who play these two intricate numbers without the slightest effort, while their orchestration and time are perfect. After these the best dozen, all of which are safe records to buy, arc Worried,” by Phyllip Spitalney and his orchestra. This very famous American dance orchestra is here recorded for the first time f° r this country, and makes a very promising debut. The banjo "stunting” is exceedingly clever and will appeal to everybody whose taste runs in that direction. This is coupled with "Jealous,” a very good number by the International Novelty Orchestra “Oh, Eva” and "The Rat Step,” by the Romaine Orchestra. The latter composed by Ivor Novello, is very reminiscent of “La Java,” which was more popular, perhaps, on the continent than here, but it is a pleasant memory of the cabaret scene in "The Rat.” A tip from a correspondent: "1 have found a lot of dust even on the most carefuly kept records, and therefore have a little flat-shaped brush for them, and also a pad, but better than all is a double-sided duster made of good velveteen. Fold this to make an edge, and having placed th e record on the turntable and set it running, let the velvet edge rest on the record. The result will, I am sure, surprise many. I have been told the chief reason steel needles wear records is that the particles of steel left behind in, the grooves are rubbed in on the next playing and fray these. It may be all wrong, but it sounds sensible. And similarly, other dust particles must, have an injurious effect on the playing and the record. The announcement that a further substantial reduction in the prices of “His Master’s Voice” Gramophones will be rather unexpected news to our readers. Messrs E. Ellerv Gilbert aud Co., the local agents, advise that all models are down approximately 15 per cent. WRINKLES banished In one week. Coman method—not massage. Send stamped and addressed envelope for particulars. Mrs. Hullen, Belcher’s .Buildings, near King's Theatre, Wellington. Also at Auckland. Smiling floors reflect smiling faces when “TAN-OL” liquid polish is used. Cuts cost—lightens labour.