THE NEW ZEALAND COMPETITION.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVI, Issue 19, 8 November 1911, Page 16

THE NEW ZEALAND COMPETITION.

SECOND WEEK. IFrom <hir Wellington Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, November 4. TILE success which has attended the first festival of the New Zealand Competitions Society has certainly surpassed the expectations of the promoters. The contests themselves have been excellent, but what is equally important at this stage, is the financial side, and the Town Hall has been remarkably well attended during the past ten days or so, and the public interest will be even greater next week. There is every reason to expect that the festival will pay its way very well. Everything has gone off well; there have been good entries for very nearly all the sections, and the judging has, on the whole, given satisfaction. There are, of course, some growls from friends of competitors who have been turned down; but the great bulk of the contestants, and I am sure, most of the public, have very little fault to find with the decisions of Mr Baeyertz arid Mr Gregson. The criticisms passed by Mr Baeyertz have been particularly worthy of study by competitors and all those interested in music and elocution. Each day has seen a very entertaining programme, and even though the audience had often to sit out a score or more singers of the one song, hundreds of people sat there each day and appeared to enjoy it all. The varying qualities of the voices, from pretty good to very bad, made a study which repaid them, perhaps, for the monotony of the selection. After hearing eighteen men of various sizes and ages sing "Watchman, What of the Night?” one pitied the judges, I must say; for the audience was free to escape when it pleased, but the judges must stay to the bitter end.

Of prize-winners during the past week perhaps the most notable is Mr. Baxter Buckley, who carried off the 80-guinea Bechstein piano for his pianoforte playing. Miss Kone Queree was awarded second prize, contrary to the expectations of many, who had looked to, see this clever young pianist come out on top. But Mr. Buckley, who comes from Gore, in the Far South, is a mature artist, and he has a high reputation as a pianist all through the South Island. Of the singers, Mr. W. Aspinall, Mr. R. H. Bellow, and Mr. 0. E. Farrow, all of Auckland, have particularly distinguished themselves, and have secured numerous prizes. Mr. Farrow won the bass solo (Gounod’s ‘"Vulcan Song") : his vonee was described by Mr. Baeyertz as “ a fine bass”; ‘"his reading was rich in colourvery dramatic.” Mrs. LOwis, of Wanganui, who has a remarkably good voice, won the Scottish song contest, her selection was the familiar “ Robin Adair” — which pathetic old ballad, by the way, is really not of Scottish, but Irish origin; the air is that of the old Irish song, “Eileen Aroon.” Miss Pacey', of Dunedin, secured first award in the Irish song competition on Friday afternoon for her singing of “Molly Bawn”; Mt. Chambers. of Wanganui second, and Mr. Aspinall third. Mr. Baeyertz declared this section the most difficult to judge in the whole competition. The competitors, fifteen of them, were all very close to one another. “ Very good work indeed was done all through. The winner gave a very beautiful reading, one full of colour, and managed her voice very cleverly. Her enunciation was almost perfect.”

On the elocutionary side the ladies who have distinguished themselves most are Miss Prichard, of Melbourne, M. s Thelma Browh, of Launceston (Ta-..), Miss Maisie Carte, of Wellington, an.l Miss G. Helen Gardiner, of Dune lin. Miss Brown particularly impresses one as a very clever young girl—she is only seventeen—with a big career before her as a public performer. Mr. G. 11. Osborn, of Dunedin, who is a veteran elo 11tionist and amateur actor, has also clone very good work in the dramatic re i’al sections. Long before the last of the twentyone vocalists, of various sorts, sizes and qualities, had sung “It is Enough," from “Elijah,in the Town Hall on Thursday afternoon, most of the hearers to say nothing of the chief hearer, Air. I^aeyertz—(piust have felt incline.! io repeat the title words with heartfel vour. Some were certainly singers—one or two very good—but !■ r ruck were, well, just the ruck. song was a difficult one. and some at the competitors should not h tackled it. A Wellington amateur- ■ Mr. J. A. Doherty—was adjudged th' winner; Mr., C.' J. Chambers, or Wanganui, second; and Mr. R. 11. C >, of Lower Hutt, third. Of the w.nr y Mr. Baeyertz said he gave a very ; 1 reading indeed, in spite of sundry fects, such as the slight tremolo in voice, and the superfluous “er” lie tacked on to “Lord.” It strikes one as rather curious . - v a young lady .should have carried the first prize for humorous song • character at these competitions. i> < amateur young person in frocks doo . t shine, as a rule, as a humorous p former. The competitor who won M'. Baeyertz’s approval was Miss Helen Gardner, from Dunedin. I-'-song was ‘’Tire Curate and the Maid The judge said her performance was very dainty one. Mr. James McN ; of Wellington, came next: he essay an imitation of Harry Lauder, a. . sang “My Little Highland Lassie, wu t a good Scot’s accent, eked.out by good Harry Lauder make-up. T third was Rowland F. Digby, of No., town. About these songs, Mr. Bieyei repeated what he had said the preview, week, that the competitors seemr ' generally to misunderstand the definition of “humorous song.” This was par trcularly the case in the “own avcom paniment” section, where the songs were of such poor quality that he li ‘ I to leave them out, and consider on Z the performances.