NEW ZEALAND BANDS.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11504, 10 February 1903, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND BANDS.

THE LATE CONTEST.

INTERVIEW WITH THE JUDGE.

(iPXCIAL TO "THE FBES9.") ;; WELLINGTON", February 9. j * Mr J- Onl Hume did not return from Maeterton to Wellington, its he purposes going north and visiting Rotorua. A re- ' wwentativc of your journal, however, se- ! . OTed an interview with him at Masterton. "I think that what I have heard," said the judge, "is far better than I had expected to hear, and certainly a long way of the playing of the Australian jjjads. But you want saxophones and trumpet*. First of all you ought to introduce a quartet of eaxophonee—the loprano, tenor, alto, and baritone. Then «,u can double your α-to and tenor, and too, get a sextet, and later on you may guto it an octet, and then introduce your tjompeta. To do this you need not interfere much with the present brass inrtjujneuta in a band, except that you can take out wme of the cornets. I see no noon, however, why you could not have „ fcand of thirty eaeily. When I was at Maneilles not bo long since 1 saw a band (A sixty or seventy performer* playing in ' one of the parks at an ordinary onung, and if they can do that m Marseilles why cannot we do it too! Aβ $c ca*e to at omcnt. if you want to increase the fSSZt of your band, all that you do is to put in more of the instruments you already have, whereae if you introduce saxophone, and trumpets you can make a bana of thirty, and at. the came tame get that ! fee effect like the tone of a Cathedral or- ! «i. which you cannot get at P««"f----•lie performance, of the bands pleased tlie judge very much, especially_ in the eccond teat piece on Friday Bight. In Set, he says that if the Wellington Oarrfcon Band, which gained fimt prize m STconfest, or tb/wa™ Uamson Band, which won the second pme, were - i 6 Jo Home, it would compare favourably with any ot the ordinary PLtd»J the Old County %e> chief fault he found in the •010 playing during the contest was tne %£A&L TheVloiMe when they had tooome on to the «ta> to play without their beads seemed like orphans. Hut then solo playing » bad everywhere, saye Mt Humef 'In the United Kurgdom, a« w*ll oe in the colonies, it is difficult to get «od eoloiete for such competitions, which In some places are not included in the projjramnw.' The Braes Baiwfe' Association comes in for some knocks froto Mr Ord Hume on account, of certain of ita rulea. Aβ already stated, the objects strongly to the rule which tequirte that the result of the first teet piece should be kept secret until the Mound teet pieces hue been played. There ie" he says, "no" earthly reaeon for keeping tie marke eecret in thie way. The result should be published at once, directly Ihe leads have finished! playing on the first itiwas pointed out to'the judge, that the v probable reason for the rule in the fi»t ntaoe was that as the Association was taen Snly in ate infancy, with only a- email number of bande playing at its contests, it «v ' neoewary to keep the. first night's marks ■eoret in order that those bande which were at the bottom of the liet might still remain to the competition. If sucb bands were made aware that they were hopelessly out of the canteet tli*y might, it was feared, iritadraiw from performance of the second IM piece, and co fcwen the interest of the publfo in the second night'e performiMice. Tα tbi* Mr Ord Hume replied that thin reaaoa oonkl no longer iholdl good, inasmuch oe the .Association has now from fifteen to twenty beads attending ite oorrteste. Nei- - tber doe* he think that the bande would drop out w> icadtlj ac is feared, even if they found that they were hopelessly out \ of the competition. The chance* are, he / eayV that they itonld come on, and play I '".with the hope of getting some y Swtter marks oh the second night. The teat piecee chosen for the i eolo competitions this year have been quite unsuitable, in the opinion of Mr Ord Hume, who ridicules the employment of a cornet eoh> as the teet piece for the bom- -■ bardon eolo competition. ' "Fancy putting eoprano tolos down for the bombardone to play," he observed. t "How is it possible for me to judge under euoh conditions? The tolo for the competition" for each in--ttrument should be •ome eolo written for tb*t • instrument, and; it is not ac if the ttoaio was difficult to obtain. Why there we provincial firms in England, outeide of London altogether, who would willingly fopply the music for each instrument fcee of cWg*. The man who selects the mtvrio tor these competitione should be come man ; W undeietanda the inetrumentt. He ;? ehoold be a mueician in the first place." , i Mr Ord Hume also objected to the rule «f the Association requiring him to write • Wr decMons on certain paper which had ftpaees Tuled off for each band. "I. broke tbatirule," he cays- "ThU paper wae- no good to me, for I wanted a couple of eheete of paper for each bund, not a space of I hell an inch." Anether rule, requiring the judge to employ a eTjorUrand reporter, was * also vuived aside by Mr Hume. "This Aetociation," ixe, remarked, "eeems to want to Uaoa ihe judge exactly how he shall Hoi Ord Htune'e method of judging k oertebly wry expeditioue. Hβ takes Wβ notes in longhand as the competitor is playing hie eolo or the bond playing ite piece, and three or four minutes after the . Mt lote to played by the last competitor (he judge coma out upon the stage to read Us) notes, and announce the number of marks. The notes just as they are read are handed to the Press for publication. Mr Ord Home says that the presence of * reporter in the box with the judge would only tend to confuse matten, and that has system, by which the judge writes h» own notes., Ua. very much better one. He also believes in the single judge system.' "One man," says he, "concentrates his mind upon his work, but if you get two or three ! men in the box you wul have divided opinions, and they will probably chat or argue while judging is supposed to be going on. I say, have one man,, and let him be responsible for his own work." It is the opinion of Mr Ord Hume, also, that the competitors in solo competitions should be in full view of the judge. This is bow the solo work woe judged in Aus- , tralia, and in at the quickstep competition, the judge merely sat under an awning, with a full view of the whole proceedings. "If the contest authorities have not sufficient confidence in the integrity of the judge to allow him to see the soloists, then they ought to get another j judge," is his opinion. "How is it poseible for him to award marks to a competitor unless he sees him, and is able to know something of his manner in coining on to the stage? Would you award » pxae to a singer who sat down while he' sang? Yet, for , all that the judge might know, in this contest the aofoiete might have come on and walked off in any way they pleased." Hβ greatly admires the method of judging at the B&llarat con- i . • **?!? wllioa ie describes, as the most admimbly managed in the world, saying that it would pay the Xew Zealand Association to tend a couple of men over to study the (nethod -which is pursued there. What he joggeats in regard to the Xew Zealand !? »' ** c suggested concerning those. » Australia, is that there should be a grt-daas teacher to travel about and give them instruction once, a month or so. g Regarding the New Zealand Band. Mr vine considers that it will do well in aglsnd, but would do better if it were w*ter known. Musical people at Home P°w of the principal bands'in the colony, w» have never heard of a New Zealand •Bttd. He thinks, also, that a band such >. M this will have tome difficulty in getting law contest form at such short notice.