THE CONCERT PLATFORM.

New Zealand Tablet, 4 September 1913, Page 43

THE CONCERT PLATFORM.

TO THE. EDITOR. Sir, —Your correspondent, Mr. Oakley, has missed the point in my letter. All Englishmen thoroughly enjoy listening to an Italian song if sung by an Italian, but what I protest against is our young colonials not singing, but making vocal sounds that convey no meaning to ; either themselves or their audience. Any one who pretends to understand the ' Colonial-Hytalian' is either a fool or a perverter of the truth. Since writing my first letter I was invited to a concert to hear one of our budding vocalists, and this young lady's items consisted of four —-No. 1 French, No. 2 German, No. 3 Italian,. No. 4 English. The young lady performer is a colonial born and bred, and I personally know that she is ignorant of either French, German, or Italian. By chance I was accompanied,to the concert by a friend (French) and, strange to say, seated in front of us ; was an elderly German. I am quite ignorant of either French, German, or Italian, but I had the opportunity of enjoying the comments of my foreign friends on the absurdity of this .display of the confusion.of tongues (I can assure you it was a confusion). There were also two other colonial performers—a young gentleman and lady who treated us to-two Anglo-Hytalian items; honestly, the programme was a display of ignorance, and I made a solemn vow on leaving the hall that never again would I enter a concert room, unless the programme guaranteed no colonial ' Anglo-Hytalian,' only the genuine article, which the ordinary i wood-and-water Joey understands and appreciates. am, etc., :""-; A. C. Nottingham. Halswell, August 26.