MUSIC.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 621, 25 September 1909, Page 11

MUSIC.

(Br Treble Chzr.) ' !Vi.\;.', - .'■; '.j A Now, Conductor.|- :';/■>';:; ' ,'' \ Tho old system luhder ' which a'',musical! } conductor ,as tho late . Leon. Caron. presided: < over tho .Royal; Comic .Opera. Company: 1 for! ( twenty^.years has lojig since been abolished by < the'J. OvWilliamson management;-.: Under, tho ': new. method there |is a rapid succession of ■ I clever ■ youiig .musicians from. England,, .who are supposed'to'bring over the, latest ideas.in - tho. direction^'of two- or three ot thi latest pieces. Tho'piost recent arrival is Mr.. Fritz : | Hart, who inspires, pio.musical sido of,'."The , King "of''Caledonia,"; how playing in." Sydney' -, The'newcomer beganl his career, at tho ago of seven 'in, tho choir Westminster Abbey, one ' of the bass-singers in which at that timo.was Mr. Frederick; Bevanli tho now on the taechihg'staff' of 'tho J3lder- Conserva j torium, Adelaide. Young Hart cang' at, the grave- ; side' of tho poet Browning',,and -of the .poet ' and divine Dr. Trench,' Anglican •; Archbisnop of Dublin, and also at tho' memorial service, ; for General Gordon.' (During his stay in tho ■; choir, young Hart. studied' music under ' tho ■ Abbey . organist,, Sir, Frederick.! Bridge, ami •; .during. hisVpupil ■ ago, kt tho/JRqynl' .College(.of!.. r Mjisici;nearly?'tcja;.y,oar4^Mteriyho" l f6:uridVhim'sclf,.: \ .'iin'd6rJfh6 , vsatad:-rtas'f6Was''Wcll.. ! as'Sir7:Hubert ; iParry-'anii Sir. Cliarics'.i'Villers Stanford. Ho. : joined'the R.C.M. one tprm before Clara Butt left, and had as felloft-studfipts- Miss Agnes Jficholls, England's forfcmost flratorio'soprano of the present day s .nskwcll as the contralto Muriel Foster, vho'.'.rojjontly (retired on. her marriage, and the!'.composer',Coleridge Taylor. This ..now famous musician,,, whoso setting of "Hiawatha" ■is fnmiliarrtov mimical nmntcurs on this side, is a coloured man, Sand' very dark: at that, thou*h his-fathpr was whito. On;Oiie occasion I 'when ho. inadvertently ; flcscribod him-' self to a group,of'RoyaftCollo&' students •a.s. "black--in tho was a;, heartv, laugh, in.whicli.iho himself- cordially, ' joined!. After leaving? thb colleg'c.l.Mr. i successfully took up : .wp'rlci as a jconductor.-ini ;. London and' the provinces,;-and fonlten years'he. , has directed companies,; ißelongink \. to -Mrs.i ' D'Ovley Carte, and-also .'to-Mr. jpepr'ge VEdi, ' warilcs. Recently, whilst- conducting ■: Merry-Widow"-on-tour.' tho. robust tenor;'of. : tho company ; was~Mr.::Haigh Jackson, lately, hero as a' baritone, who; has 6ucceeuod;hy, great care" in "training up'/his voice,.".) Tho •; erst-: • while'baritone was very cnthusiasticrabqut; ( Australia, and 'his reproseritations;llargely in-., duced;Mr. Hart to.' coine: here. Last Septetn- , bcr. tlio Tiowcomor'lia'd',an original*,"Fantasia Overture" performe'd: iindor" his ' own baton at Queen's Hall,. by,'; the' London Orchestra,■'.'the'theme's -iof which wero, fromJ Devonshire folk-songs,' and he has .with:;bin); ballet'*'.'suites,• and other compositions,..wliich;'. , may-possibly secrthe.iligtt during his stay at,:■ the antipodes.jV-._ ~......,-J.', ,; ;s--'i.t j-' ■ .■'■',' An'"Empire 4 M.usio' l l .""Bom^ptluon.'..'*.y.'-'', . i *<ii : Dr.' Ciiarics Harriot is ; aft] energetic*; mail,. who,;-js neverjjhqppjvunlosshe ' : i9:push"i,ng i porno .musicaUsbhemo which r.hall.bind together 1 ' t ■the Molher l Cou'ntry''aii'dAer, , lusty'')sci9ns,-',those;, vigoi-ous jtheSpatfht ttisi; which ili'avi).;Spread:*.into; : "of. the,.; globe: /•HisT.pploiia inclnde. theXestablishment of a'ninnualiEuipirb Day concert'ht the Epyal ;: ■Albert .HalU'v "He has,- now -ovolyed i a'j new sohenio, -witli'the bbject'of (jhc inovb; ment ■■for'.jflint. he '.oallsj "i'eciprocity ? i,n between '.various --parts. of ; the ' Empire. ,- Heoffers,, says': 'JUusioal, News,";; three: prizes of AiO, £20- respectively■; for. settings ,f chorus;,OL' : bno fbrMiiore'solo voice's and ;choru's,.' and'orclies'tra, of poems expressing tho;lmperial. idea, tha'-miisio-'to bo suitable for performance? by, a choir; -of '.from, ,3000; to ,5000, voices, which-means.-.that, 1 , the composer must ainf','at brood tffeetS'.by. l simplo! meaus;'nrid no .work. 'is. to! occupy, mbfo than. ten, minutes, in, performance.!. It; is slated that tho,'judges |will. give',.preferenca :!.to '■ poems' cohtnining,' reference; to" the', power of music .to' help in the\uhification„ and; solidarity of tho British Empire. .Competitors;, who-must bo British-born subjects,, aro ntiliberty to' select words from!old or new.'sources;, and anys fee duo to. the owner by tho: copy-,, righti of such word's must bo paid by thd..composer. •" )'• ', ■■■'.!.'..''". '■ ,'..' ' The copyright in the winning' compositions will- be vested in. tho fund which, has. been endowed by Dr. Harriss for tho furtherance of musical reciprocity throughout the Empire; and the successful composers must .'execute such assignments .of the music! and the text as may be .necessary for tho carrying out of this object. : ' All addressed "Empire Chorus Competition," must reach Messrs. Novello and Co., 160. Wardbur Street, London, W., beforo January 1, 1910. .Th'o successful works will be performed at tho next Empiro Day.concert ih London organised by Dr.' Ear -: rifs. The composer-must supply a full orchestral score, as well-ns'a-'piauofoi'te arrangement of the orchestral score. The authorship of each 'composition must-' be indicated only by a 1 motto;,or nom de plume, written'at tho top of ; the manuscript'; such motto, or nom do plume, to be-also written outside a scaled envelope, accompanying'■ the composition, and containing the name and address of t'uo .composer. Tho i names of the'judges will bo announced shortly.

Opera' Under Difficulties!" ' ' Baron d'Erlanger,. whose.opera "Toss," was produced ,at Covoiit Garden u; few weeks ago, will not readily forget'the..first, performance, which .took jplaeojn tho San Carlo Theatre, Maples, some time, ago. Vesuvius was in eruption, at" the time,'..and tho thontro .contained comparatively. few 'spectators, - who wero half, panic-stricken. During, the performance- tho roofs of some buildings near ,tho theatre fell in,, and uhe lava dust, .which .got,.into the: theatre, nearly. choked. both' listeners -and performers. ' Kex't dn).-tho theatre was closed by, order of the uumcipality. The Baron has been, a' musician all his life. At five-ho.was able to improvise on', the piano,-and, when qui to a young'mnn lie wrote o." great numbo'r of songs. Ho'-is an activo partner in orio'-" of'.'tho great: banking houses of London, ,and, t although he is a naturalised Englishman,, his family his-_: tory'is' somewhat, curious. . Ho was born in' Paris, his ah American and his. father a German,''whilo .his. maternal grand-, mother' was French. •' ,:,.

Notes. lladame .Arditi, '.widow of ,: Signor ■ Luigi Arditi, the famous composer and conductor, died recently at'Hove'(Ens.)- • il. Jean de: Eeszlco will give a series of recitals in Britain and America next year, under tbo direction of Colonel Mapleson. Opera is, with - tlie exception of ballet, the most unreal and conventional of all fonnsof uft .(says' tho Loudon',"llaily News"). - Tho great encniy of '-rhythmical fingering in piano-playing is tho thumb;: and this notwithstanding that it very frequently is tho best member of the band for tho commencement of a, position.—"Musical Standard."' ',- If'a titho'of tho money' which has been' spent upon tho musical alien bad bqon devoted to tho furtherance of Dritish mnsical. edncA-' tioh, • wo should by. this timo hayo advanced very far towards a high standard of. composi-' tion and-productioii.—'-'Gontlcwoman." "Sylvius" acknowledges'''receipt-; of >' a, song entitled-"Youth' and a'Day,"- from- Messrs Pilling'and. Co:,; of Sydney. This is a very pretty, and ; artistic setting of, Robert. Louis Stevenson's .lines,'"Over the 6ea-to Skyo," by. "Te Eangi I'ai" (nee Miss Porter, of Gisbofno). The soug, written in'four : sharps, has. a range from C sharp to top F sharp,, which is easily; within tho reach of the average soprano; meszo soprano, or tenor, and the song is worth sing, ing byany of tho three. It'is not tho first timo tho haunting lines of Stovonson havo.inspired the song writer. I know'another, setting—solo arid duct—by W. Augustus Barrett, in which tho lyrics are 'dealt, with more-..fully than is tho caso in "Youth and a Day." I prefer tho imolbtly-anti treatment of '.ToltaugT Pai" to tho >olttor. gottun.