MUSICAL JOTTINGS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 20168, 9 June 1928, Page 5 (Supplement)

MUSICAL JOTTINGS

/ (By **C. Sharp \ .£vans-Ganga uoo <•■•> «*re * Jrec.' delight to i-' ,: r*he ‘ t. r : t.™» irivilege of a»»ciid:sig them, it is eomnonly supposed that singing is the Dost popular form of music from the >oint of view of the general public—tossibly because the words of songs five the ’hearer something to follow nore closely than is the case with intrumcntal music. One would expect, o find a larger audience for two such •opular singers as our recent visitors, han for an instrumental recitalist, but he audiences were not worthy, numereally of the splendid programmes prodded. Miss Amy Evans gave vocal Indents a splendid example of true •hrasing and breathing, and a wonderul “head” pianissimo. Mr Fraser range is an interpretative artist of igh rank, who gets right inside his ongs, and presents wonderfully vivid •ictures of their subjects. A promin-' nt local musician remarked at the lose of 11 Two Grenadiers” that he ad never heard the song sung better, a udgment with which I heartily agreed, f one might be permitted to criticise he programme, it would be in the election of some of the encores. Such I ongs as “Until” and “1 Wonder if I *ove is a Dream” are not the most ac-1 eptable to the class of listener who atronises such concerts. The supposiion that it is necessary to cater for all asteg pre supposes that the audience is ery “mixed.” whereas patrons of uch concerts are generally those who □ng for something not so hackneyed or onventional as the numbers 1 have lentioned. Miss Enid Conley, who roved very popular as a soloist, was a upil of Mr Frank Hutchens, and cerain characteristics in her playing r. linded one of V'*r teacher. The party rere immensely popular personally dur-1 ng their stay in Wanganui, their unas timing manner and sincere musical in crest ensuring for them a warm appreiation in the hearts of those privileged o meet them. To the music, students j .nd teachers Mr Gauge gave a most’ lelpful and instructive address, and the larty would be heartily welcomed it* hey could see their way to pay us a eturn visit. « « « « The present system of concert tours n this country is so,expensive that we niss many artists who might othervise pay us a visit. Hail rents of £2O, ' ighting. attendants, posters, newspaper ! idvertising. circulars, etc., frequently □ring up a total of £5O or £6O, before u single penny is available for the salpies or travelling expenses of the artMts. This £5O or £6O (frequently more) s a “first charge” upon the receipts, ind with the limited number of musicovers in our midst—generally reckoned it 400 in Wanganui—and the possibilty of adverse weather or “picture” jompetition. the risk is too great ?ven at ruling prices of admission, □ccasionally, uf course, an artist —frequently past his or her prime—secures i big audience out of curiosity or ‘fashion” owing to a big name. People will go to bear the “world’s greatest soprano’’ for the same reason ihat they will go to see the “world’s fattest woman”—simply to say that .hey have seen or heard such a person. An audience of four hundred people at four shillings would produce £-S<>, and the hall rent and advertising and incidentals should not total more than from El 5 to £2O, leaving £6O or £65 for the artist or artists. Many of our concerts do not return this sum to their givers. The advent of pictures has put 1 fictitious value upon theatre premises and even those buildings which are supposed to belong to the people are expected to return handsome profits, instead of being regarded as a means for the education and entertainment of the people. This unwieldy concert system necessitates such charges for admission that audiences are considerably lessened and the musical life of the •ommunity suffers accordingly. On the other hand, those to whom music is life have to pay more than they can afford. A “concert goers association” with five hundred member?, in each of

twenty New Zealand towns could provide its members—and such of the general public who might come —with concerts by the best artists at half the present rates, and make New Zealand a profitable proposition for many artists who at present fail to come to our shores. • • • • The h undreds of gramophone enthusiasts in Wanganui who have enjoyed, per record, the singing of Master Lough and the Temple Choir in Mendelssohn's “Hear My Prayer,” will be interested to hear that a local choir contemplate.- fieri - this notable work shortly. Ti;«- . nrk was p r oduced by Trinity Metho :• t < ’it-. ,- <t»me years ago, the soln part ; f.ken* by Madame A - ■ Bo •rater. !?. ii«*w it! by Masirr War* a the rendering of ?I-j n -r\ ••Bethlehem” in St. Paul’s • h .-.h just prior to last Christmas, one lo.d;> forward to hearing him in the famous motet. In addition to his engagemen’s as judge for the musical sections of the Oamarn and Ashburton Competitions Mr Will Hutchens has b en to Cambridge also. The latter festival will take place early in October. In reply to the contention that opera is not a natural musical expression of the British race, Thorold Waters, writing in the Australian Musical News, says.—One <it the things musicians of a high-fainting kind would like-to forget is that music began as an ebullition of the human vo ce, end that to this day the human voire is an insupplan table force as a means of expression. A reason for opera, were no others to be found, is that the voire always has found its greatest means to expression through the operatic form. which brooks no hal f-hrartedness, no subterfuges, or namby pambyism. or stolidity. As Francis Tore remarks, “Were opera e< well established in England as in other countries 1 have little doubt that the English, the natural excellence □f whose voices is only surpassed by the technical badness of their singing, would lose fifty per cent, of the throaty baritones and scooping contraltos who now use what might have been, or even Vas, first-rate material. ’’

* * * A hint as to how some of the musical

comedies and other shows get their music is obtained from a paragraph in the Daily Mirror, in which “The Rambler” advises Sir Alfred Butt: 'Assuming that he can get a. libretto de.-ised to see that ih z -. bulk of the ffirsi? in wfi*’?!* # rpe’ mu sic? an e.n-> not by type <•? < o.nposer who picks out a tune at odd moments, and hands it over to a hack to orchestrate. Drury Lane needs a score, not scraps.”