MUSIC.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 69, 14 December 1907, Page 13

MUSIC.

(By Teedle Clef.)

Tho Auckland Dramatic Company produced "St. John's Eve" last week. Tho prices of admission for Melba's Melbourne concerts wero: £1 Is., 10s. 6d., and ss. • Miss Mario Narelle's health is quite restored, and sho is now on tour giving concerts in tho up-country towns of New South Wales. Mr. Watlaco Browntow, the popular Australian baritone, is playing a leading part in "Tho Duchess of Dantaic," at Daly's Theatre, Now York. Tho well-known coon song "Stay in your own Backyard," was sung at a week-night function in a Wellington church recently, with organ accompaniment. Dr. Hans Richter is to control the Wagnerian productions for Oscar Hanmoretein at New York this season. He is looked upon be the cult as the Grand Llama of Wagnerian conductors: Leonard Flemming,' who is a son of Madam Minna Fischer (Mrs. Herbert Flemming), has written a song called "Life's Gifts," to the music of Gcorgo Clutsam, for Miss Ada Crossley. Persistent littlo birds twitter that the I brilliant French soprano known amongst us. as Madame,Blanche Arral is really tho famous Carl Rosa opera "star" Lolie Do Luzzan. —Molbqurno "Table Talk." The business manager of tho Auckland syndicate formed "to produce operatic works by Australasian authors and composers has received from Sir Joseph Ward the latter's consent and that of Lady Ward to act as patrons. Madame Melba's two concerts at tho Sydnby Town Hall, on December 10 and 14,' are undor tho. management of Mr. John Lemniohe', the : well-known ; flautist, and Mr. H. N. Southwell, who was here recently with Mr. Andrew Black. Both Mr. Lemmone arid ,Mr. : Andrew Black will take part m the. concprts. ~ , t ■ ■ , ■ | . : "Tho Bulletin" offors an 'explanation of Madame Melba's prolonged stay in-Austra-lia. -It suggests that nothing is more likely than that the groat soprano will begin to' train shortly for Wagner parts. Hitherto she has sung m "light" opera, sustaining roles—Juliet, Mimi, Marguerite—which do-, itiand much singing in the high register. With increasing ago the top notes of cvon tho most perfectly-trained ' artists show a tendency to fray—not Marchosi: herself can. avert that. The time threatens when peoplo Won't crowd tho early doors to hear Mclba in the aria : from "lloracoand Juliet" • as ■they usqd. : '■'■.. ".''■■.

..Only two more Australian States remain to be visited by Madame Clara Butt.bofofei she leavos tho Commonwealth for her tour of tho .Dominion. Sho has finished in Adelaide, wliero her visit" resulted in tho usual artistic .and popular.triumph. fWo concorts in all will be given in Eastern Australia, and thon Tasmania will bo visited for a concert each in Hobart and! Launceston before Madame roturns to Sydney. There sho intends to spond. a few days quietly in her home at "Wooliihra"."'before*sh6 takes" ship for' New Zoaland, wheio slid has planned to arrive 'a fow days before her opening concert at Auckland, on January 14. Those days she will spend with her husbafld-and family, at Eotor.ua'."!,.'..' !..."','....; . '~*.' ".'...' ." ,*., ;

It'is a strange but well-authenticated fact that the \vild creatures of the woods dislike , the sound of that solemn hymn, tho" "Old Hundredth." Muir, the naturalist, proved , the truth of this by singing it in the woods , to the birds- and squirrels'," wkioh wero very tame from never having boon frightened by the report of a gun or other alarming sound.! Thoy would, come and sit near him'upon''tho ' branches of trees 1 and listen to ally lively , ,tuno ho might sing, blinking their' bright , eyes as though, they liked "it, but-at the fet;.sound of ; the ..they ; !yo)i}d 'boat a quick rctreat'te'their; nests and ncvor appear again .until he nbangod the tune. This experiment was made in different places on- various, occasions with exactly the same result.-- ' , '-'■

Schialiapine, tiio Russian basso, who is to bo heard in Now York this season, worked at his trade of shoemaker at the same time ■ , that Gorki worked as a baker in a shop opposite to that of tho future singer.' They met again when both lind changed their occupations, and were employed in tho railway 0f..-; the Ural. The third time Schialiapino saw Gorki on the Volga, at which 1 time he had already read and admired/his writings. Schialiapine was at first an amateur, and by turns actor, operetta singer, wandering pp.d- ,' dlar. Ho worked in the theatre at Tiflis, was a porter and chorus singer' at Kasim,. finally recommended by an artist to Professor ' Oussotof, of Tiflis, who gave' him' his first lessons, with sucli results t,liat ho was engaged in St. Petersburg. .:"' : ;,'. ...: A, petition., 6igned by ,2649 teachers of music jn Victoria against tho "excessivo increase in tho import duty on pianos and all materials for thoir repairs" was presented-to the Federal House of Representatives in Melbourne recontly. The petitioners stated that fully,.■'seven-eighths of the pianos used by the musical profession, teachers, and tho , general public of Victoria were imported ' from abroad, and tho proposod. increase would, therefore, bo a sovoro tax by increasing the price of pianos and would, tend, to , lessen the individuality,, taste, and liberal education in tho musical prefossibn by -so narrowly restricting, the choice of -i, instruments. It "is estimated that there wore 5000 teachers of music in Victoria, of whom over 2500 are registered under Act of Parliament. Allowing, at a very small estimate, that eac]i teacher has at least twelve pupils no fewer than 60,000 people are actively en- ' gaged in musical study. ■ Mr. Wood, the famous London conductor, has the norvous temperament common to all great artists, and woo bo to the audienco who put too groat a strain upon his sensitiveness.' lid has been known to'stop his orchestra in the middlo of a breath-taking passage ill order.'to havo a wailing baby ejected from the gnlloryi;, Three years ago, at a Mo!ba'concert in the Queen's Hall,"an obstinate ahdiunce proyokod him into making a very unusual protest. After waiting four or five- minutes for tho audience to settle'down',, he raised his baton preparatory to 'directing the performance- of Wagner's "Siegfried's. Idyll." A' good many people woro ton deeply engaged in conversation to. notice the ■'reproving glances that, tho conductor had .already bestowed upon them, so 'they-chatted on, meaning, no doubt, to;dc- ,- sist wheii the music began. With uplifted stick, Mr. W<""1 called Iris forces to'attention, but, as silence was apparently unobtainable, he at last removed the music from his and declined to proceed. -. Mr. Alfred Hill's "Moorish Ma id", seems/., to havo scored grcatfy l in Dimedin. :Tbe "Star" critic says:—-Many who lmd'-tbo 'privilege, of witnessing tho performance at His Majesty's Theatre last night wiU,bo proparod already to go beyond the rogion .of "I think,',' and;agree with us that oven on a first hearing the merits of -.'- -Mr. . Alfred Hill's works arc so clear as to warrant an out-and-out verdict that "A Moorish Maid" stands on a plane of its own above all the romantic cotnio operas that have bean previously produced in New Zealand, not excepting tho celebrated and familiar pieces of OfFcnbaoh, Andran, and 1/ecocn.. Wherons works likd "The Grand Ducliess." "lia Maseotto," and "Gi-rolle-Gii'ofla" depend very largoly upon words, situations, and scenery, tho ' great charm and the force'of "A Moorish Maid" come from the strength and Urn colour of the music itself, Mr. Hill's composition in this rosp'oct following the lead sot hy GoleridceTaylo'r, Elgar, and in a -minor degree other modern composers who hay? Inarnod from Wagnor and mado tho musio tho vorj life- , blood of their creations, thus talcing n stop much in adfranco of tho 'older ideas. We stneoroly and joyfully' compliment Mr. Hill. As before remarked in theso columns, ho has never published anything ptierild or unworthy, or anything that is likely to bo ophomeral; and now wo bavi> from his fnrtiln brain an oporn that will liyn nnd liWnit renown to himself and to Now Zealand if it gets its due by being given a fair 'hearing in tho capitals nf tho world. We take Ht that nothing befctm in the way of chores work has ever boon hoard in light opero hero than tho openine item of Uw seixsS ract. ;It is a~noble .GorapositißO-