COMPETITIONS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1600, 18 November 1912, Page 5

COMPETITIONS.

FOURTH DAY'S RESULTS. "AS YOU; LIKE IT," AND ORATORIO. ' i HIGH CLASS SINGING. • On Saturday afternoon and evening ths audiences at the Competitions in the Town Hall wero large and enthusiastic, and the public was rewarded with some ] 6plendid work, particularly in the vocal j and humorous-sketch classes. J At 9 a.m. Sir. Wolf commenced the j day's work in the big Town Hall with ' an "advanced piano" class, the competi- > tors in which were asked to play. the 'J fairly difficult "Romance and Studv" of .: Hcnselt. The test was a good one, and ; ' j produced some very nice work from some- ( seven all of whom made a respectablo showing, and in three or four cases tlie playing was of a pleasurably ar- . 1 tistic standard. Misses M. Mitchell. JGreen, alid D. B. While'wero recalled by the judge. Very good performances were - ' ' also given by Miss Shearsbv and Miss ■ 1 Hanify, both of whom aro skilled execu- '' tants. The bass solo contest disclosed no con.spicuous talent—the class was, disappoint- j ing. Real "basso profundo" voices 'are very rare indeed, as rare as baritones ! are plentiful. Tho average bass voice— or what passes for such—is usually lieavy ■ baritone. One of the competitors (Mr. A.\ : : G.. Thompson) was not a bass at all, and'. • : therefore out of his class. Messrs. H; 1 Harre and D. V. Cymro are jfossessed ol ' j serviceable voices. .. ... < The most interesting olass lield during ' ,' the morning was the Shakespearean! re l '' ■' -I cital (for ladies). The fair contestants' wero invited to recite the familiar speech . of the Banished Duke, spoken in the leafy 'halls of the Forest of ■ Ardcii' -in -: "As' You Like It," and the saucy. epllogue from the same comedy. The show? ing all , round was a poor one. The one : / glea.nl of promise that illuminated th« . • performance was reflected by Miss Mari« : Fix, whose lively intelligence realised, to • some extent the delicate, humour and > subtlety of the epiloguo.. Mrs. Gilchrist . was perhaps the uest of ft poor company in tho Duke's speech. Others with tin ; germ of promise were Misses - Shopherd,:; Shearer, and Blanchard:. Nearly every competitor suffered through crude gesticu- : lation. Gesture is an art apurt. - j The vocal attratcion of the dlay was a , "double event"—an exoerpt from either .; oratorio or opera, and a modern song or ' ballad. The "modern . song" as an. al- i ternative to a ballad had to be introduce:l at tho. last moment, as Mr. .Wolf/.V i to the consternation of about 'half the' ' entrants, declared that the "ballads" I they had selected-were not ballads at,all,'but modern songs. So an emergency meet-. i ing of the committee was summoned, and tho "modern song" was introduced. The class proved to I>o a most interesting one,. ; and the competition disclosed a very.'good ' ' ; standard of vocalism. The best of theperformers were Miss G. C. Mac Donald, Mrs. Symes, Miss Cissie ; ,o'Keefe, Miss . - Barker, Miss Muriel Bennett (the two- '. last-named performers sang the ballai ] "Snowflakes' quite charmingly). . 'V THE RESULTS. .' ■ >1 The following are' the results of Satuy J '| day's competitions:— ' ' ■ j.'}, Piano Solo (Over-18). ;.-j Piano Solo (over 18)— - competitor iwin« , , ning twice in succession ■ borred for i three years. Test piece, ■"Romance ' j • and: Study" (Henselt). , First • .prize, .£3; second, jeij third, certificate.i Entrants—Miss A. H. Shearsby, Wanga- i nuij Miss M. Mitchell, Auckland; Miss J. 1 .-. ■ > Green, Palmerston ,North; Miss :A.'-M, . | Leary, Wellington; Miss H. Cuthbertson, Marlborough; Miss D.'B. White,,, Auckland; Miss P. P. Hanify, Wellington!;' ' Recalls—Misses Mitchell, J. Green, and ' D.B.White. • ' 1 Result—lj Miss D. B. White (187 marks); ' 2, Miss; Mitchell (133 marks); 3, Misa i Green (132 marks). . • . j Bass Solo. ') Bass Solo-^-Test v piece, :""The Erl King" ; 1 '(Schubert). ■ First prize, £2; second* . il; third,'certificate. ' ■ Entrants—Mr. H. Harre, Christchurchi Mr. A. G. Thompson, Nelson; Mr. J. H; Andrew, Manakau; Mr. E. Short, Wellington; Mr. A. M'Donald, Christchurchj Mr. W. J. Spratt, Christchurch; Mr. D., V. Cymro, Melbourne, Victoria; Mr. F. ' W. Laycock, Brooklyn. . Recalls—Messrs. Harre, M'Donald, and D. V. Cymro. * . ,' i Result—l, Messrs. Harre and MDonald ! (125 marks); 2, Mr. D. V. Cymro (119 , marks). • Shakespearean Recital. ■ 1 Shakespearean Recital (ladies)— I Test.pieci',.Vyi (a) Duke's Speech t .(b)'Epilogue, "Aa-. v : You Like It." : First prize, \£l, second, 10s.; third, certificate, . Entrants—Mrs, M. Herrick,. .Weraroaj-,' j Mrs. Cairns, Masterton; Miss Amy Ben- ■ ' der, Wellington; Miss D. Blanchard,. Wei-' : : lington; Miss M.".'Prentice,-■ Stratford| .» Miss E. M. M'Eldowuey, Wellington; Miss . f 'v | M. Sievwright, Gisborne;/ Miss- M.': A. '• '' Townsend, Masterton; Mrs. K. L.' Gilchrist; Palmerston, North; Miss F. Dix,. ■ Wellington; Miss A. M. Moller, Wellington; Miss G. D. Shepherd, Wellington) . ! •Miss I. Pearson, Island Bay; Miss Belle i Luke, Wellington, Miss' Marie Fix, Wellington; Miss I. Shearer, Wellington. • Recalls—Mrs. Gilchrist, Misses Shepherd i and Fix. Commended—Miss, Shearer. , Result—l, Miss Marie Fix (143 marks);l 2, Mrs. Gilchrist (132 marks); 3, Misa ; • Shepherd (130 marks). . • . ' -> Mr. Montague said-that, he thought he - ' j could.safely. say, that this was. the worst -j class he had'.'yet heard in the'competi-. : ,i;i tion. It had been extremely disappoint-' iflg to him.. There'had been a- great - .- number of faults of emphases in the Epi-, ; ;-J logue, apd nearly every performer had taken tlie Duke's speech too,solid!v, and i ■ gave the impression that- they had 'riot .' read the play. He recalled Jfrs. Gil- . 1 clirist, Misses.. Shepherd and Fix; Ho i would also like to commend.the last per--: ;; former, Miss I. Shearer. ', Her , gestures were incorrect, but her reading wns v€ry, ; j intelligent. . ,- *. Solo (Ladies). i Solo, ladies (competitors must sing an oratorio or operatic selection and-a - modern song or ballad). • First prize,. i' 3; second, £1; third certificate..-' ' ,'j ■Entrants—Miss .' Evelyn . M. Young . j ("Ombra Mai Fu" (ballad) "Four by the , Clock"), Wellington; Miss Ethel V. Carter ("My Heart is Weal-y" (Ballad) "If Thou Wert Blind"), -Auckland; Miss George C. Mac Donald ("Rest Thee Sad Heart" (bal- . lad) "But the Lord is Mindful of .His Own"), Auckland; Miss- Daisy. Isabel Grant ("Regnava Nel. Silenzio" (ballad) ; "Songs-My Mother.Taught Me"), Christ-: . church; Miss Alice 131andford ("TheMagic . v j of Your Voice" , arid "Scenes that aro i Brightest"), Petone'; Miss Lillie full ("With Verdure Clad" (ballad) "It Was a Dreani"), Auckland; Miss Alice' Goo- •'~ ' man ("0 Thou That Tellest" (ballad) "Sunshine and Earn"), Chrkstchurch; Miss E. Florence ("I Know My Redeemer, Liveth" and "On the Banks - of Allan Water")j Wellington; ..Mrs. Ivo. Symes ~ rWhon the Tide Comes In" (ballad) "Tlw '. i Faro"), Wanganui; Mrs. I'.Lewis (' WithVerdure Clad" (ballad) "Sogim"); Wa. nganui; Mrs. Sifleet ("I Dreamt I Dwelt" and "I Know Not Why','), Wellington [ ■: Miss C. O'Keefe ("Softly Awakes Mj, . v Heart'' • (ballad) "Beautiful Beatrice"), • Christchurch; Miss Georgine D. Barker -i ("Car6 Nome" (ballad) "Snowfiftkcs')i i Christchurch; Miss Muriel Bennett ("I Know that My Redeemer Livc-th" (I all'ad) , "Snowflakes"), Wellington; Miss Evelyn Baddeley ("Angels Ever Bright-and Fair" ; (billad) "Roses Softly'Bloomine"), Feild- 1 : ing; Miss Blanche Clark .("Che- Faro" (ballad) "Tho Better Land"), Bulls; Mis? ' V, I. Bamford ("Hear Ye, Israel" and; "Azra" (Rubinstein), Nelson. Recalls—Mrs. Ivo. Symes, Mrs-B. Lewis,. 1 rind Miss Vera Bamford. Result—l, Miss Bamford (142 marks); 2, Mrs. P. Lewis (141 marks); 3, Mrs. Syniea; (139 marks). i Boys' Recitation; Recitation (Boys under-11—"A Lament." Entrants—Master L.. A. Riddoll, Wellington; Jfaster A. Lancaster, Wellington. . Result—l, Master ,- Lancaster;.-,- (121 - ; marks); 2, Master Riddell (119 marks). . ■ -, : -j Humorous Dialogue. \ Dialogue, Hnriioror.s, own selection . in -! character. Time limit.- -20 : minutes. ! Costumes I 'and accessories . .•permitted. ! First prize, second, .S2: third, Certificate. , > Entrants—Mr. James Culford Bell and Miss Betty Purdom ("The Vanquished ' Villain"), .Wellington; Miss Ruliv Scott ' |

■ rand Mr. Norman Aitken' ("H® and She"), Wellington; Mr. James Culford Ball and 'Miss Lthol Lissack ("A Piece of, NOll- - Wellington. Result—l, "A Pieoe of Nonsense" (IG2 f:>. marks); 2, "The Vanquished Villain" (157 . marks); 8, "Ho and She" (148 marks). i ; . : Girl Scouts' First. Aid. : Girl .Peace Scouts' First Aid Competition r ; ■ First prize, trophy, value 10s.; seo- ! • ' ond, Certificate; third. Certificate. ,4 Entrants—Wellington Troop Seniors, 1 "A", Squad, Wellington; Wellington ; Troop, Juniors, Wellington. v Dr.-Anderson, tlio,judge, found the work y br.both squalls so even that he could not <.divido them, in whioh.case he bracketed y.'; /them' together.. Girl Scouts' Physical Culture. : Girl Peace Scouts' Physical Culture Com- - petition—First prize, trophy value 10s.; seoond, Certificate; third, Certificate. '' ' . Troop,Christchurch; Wellington Troop, "A '- Squad,. ' Wellington; /Wellington • Troop, "B" • :Squad, Wellington. , ;■ 'V-Mr.' Gallagher, who judged the section, > ■ • made \ no. comment on , the character ■ . '.of the work done. He placed the Wel- ;' "t' lington B Squad first, and the A Squad i'-H-;'second. " .The exercises were "free deep- ■ '- f 'breathing"—very excellent.of their kind ■ ' -'and; to. the performer and. j-'" spccfator. - ••" >. ' - Girl Scouts' Signalling. Girl' Peace Scouts' Signalling Competi-'tion-^First:prize,/trophy value 10s.; • second, Certificate; third, Certificate, i:'.- .'Entrants— : Wellington Troop, "A" ! J .Squad, Wellington;' Wellington. Troop, ■ "B": Squad, Wellington. ' • . Eesult-1. "A" Squad; ! 2, "B" Squad. ( ,'Sorgeant-Major Collins acted, ns judge.' I;' " ' Bugling Competition. . ! .-/' Bugling Competition—First' prize, books !/// . .to ..value 10s.; second, books .to value - :\ ; :-5's.V'third,'Certificate.'- /-"...' <-■/ Iv 1 .-' Entrants—James Garrett, Wellington; i i;Claude'O'Leary," Wellington. ( :■ : I O'Leary the winner. • Ser- t '/'■■ J>cant-Major Collins ;acted as judge.. ] Shelter.'Building. f; : . .-Shelter Building—Squads of four from ! each troop—First prize, £2; sccond, , I■' .'• ' JCI; third, Certificates. , ;' i '.■'■iZi-•Entrants—Eosenea'th Scouts, "B Squad, .. ■■".-Rpseneath; Eoseneath,. Scouts, "A" Squad, : 'Roseheath'; Island Bay 1 Troop, Island Bay; t ,--.■ City- Troop Boy Scouts, Napier; Thorndon j j. .Boy Scouts,' Wellington ;'-Kelburne Boy J '.•.-•v'.Scoiife.'KdDuriie;. Thorndon Boy, Scouts, j ;■ ' f 'B". Team, Wellington 1 .. : , /- ■■ ; • , f;i ;!•'■; E«sult—-1, Eoseneath.Scouts, .A Squad; j : 2- Eoseneath.Scouts, "B",Squad. Captain . ','M'Farlane and Lieutenant Davison acted rm judges. ] s; Boys' First Aid Competition. • £ i'MfHHrst Aid Competition—Squads of four t .••..from-each troop.. First pps»,.eilTer-. t ' i:i . ■ mounted Challenge Shield; 1 presented', i by the Dresden Piano Co. ; second, 'M; i :■ ?v third, Certificates. '' m , £ Entrants—Keiburne Junior Troop; Wei- •( '•■•■llngfon;, Island Bay Troop, Island'"Bay; KelbSriie Boy Scouts, "A" Team , KelT-' fciirne;-Northcbte Boy Scouts, Auckland; ji ; '-CitfcTroop Napier; Keiburne a Boy Sbouts,■; ■$" Team, Wefflfebm > fKose- t '.iieath,Scouts, Eoseneath..., ' J '/Result—l,, Keiburne..Bov Scouts,/, A. ,1 iteami 2, Keiburne Junior Troop. Colonel i ;/-/ j)elat<mr: acted 'as judge/ •; <■ ■ i 1 THE EVENING CONCERT. t t'. i: ■'A SPI-ENDID ENTERTAINMENT.. ■■■' . -Another : .'laTgo. audience favoured the : ... Competitions Society , on Saturday evbn- ;' . .'ing,"vwh«n ia'. very interesting programme !'. ; [Tvas. subiiiitted. : : It opened unusuallywithi ■'Va blast- ; of 'the • bugle; from • the winner, of j \the I .."afternoon''bugle, test (Boy, ScOuts);. & (jtaster/QfLeary. 1 .. Two tiny'boys then , con- a .;/ jtested "'in : 'ithe recitation.■. of a deliciously' j : ?3ium'b!rous^bit : of verse entitled "A La- a !«nent," : 'most^'oomicalb'.. recited-by both. T •j '. The "recalls" of the piano solo class of . / "the, morning,- '-.Misses Slitchell, - Green, 4 i■■:''/ and./.White: . / The .ifirst-mentioned : perFv.'.'former. tasteftlly-Jnterpretated the cool, j . V; delicate,atmosphere of Henselfs ! "Komance , • and Study.''l -'Miss'.White's'"reading was • also!.invested'with grace and refinement.; 0 /. ih ss. Green! .was a ■ facile executant, but [ .-'played . with ■ less ; feeling/ The Shake- , / .Bpeareaii-recital, the Banished- Duke's j . / : Speech; ;aiid the "Epilogue," from "As You f ; Like.:it,".. was disappointing. ' Miss Marie £ .^'hy/dyl,so .w-ell during the. after- , was-lipt nearly, so,, effectivo in j the , evening, 1 owing to her having developed a j BOre'throat which made a world of differ- , ':-r, to her infleetional powers. Miss ( pi; -Shepherd spoilt her : chances by careless { - ; gestures which conveyf«d nothing except' the performer's inabil- , H-./ity suit the action to the w'ord. Many . jtho/girl reciters .' are bothei'ed with a ..they, do not know what ..'•.(TO- do:with(. ,Why they cannot clasp their behind their, back,-, or even'in < /'■ ?/front,>tlio whole.time, is incomprehensible , . to- the .writer. Only the experienced re- ; 'citer - canVgesture /effectively, and, the ob'..'./server .will'note that even he'or she is 1 : V waring'in-movements'/of the arm. Miss .«.vf Gilchrist; spoke: her' lines with an intelli- ' :/ t gent gTajsp, of ;their meaning, but used v, .-wrong, inflections, occasionally, as. in the. v.. f /Plirasß in..'the Duke's Speech—"and good : '/iii .everything.". Nearly every competitor—Miss Shearer was, perhap's, the only ; exception—misread the final line of the «piloguer .; - ■: 'in The " la'dies'; singing ' was particu-. i 'Jaily good. All .three "recalls", for the oratorio' and ballad sangwith. a high de- . pree of, artistic finish. The wiiiner, Miss . .. ii am ford, could not be said to have near--7 "'^P-uiely- vocal powers of either Mesjdames.Symes, or Lewis, but she had a more /;.- precious gift—a compelling artistry allied f,/' more than a touch of magnetism, and r-a.liberal endowment of dramatic tempera- ,/. / 'menu. The audience rose at Miss Bamford ;./;;"r" an . < l 'he judge was with them. Mrs. i;j;-^'lewi3.-sang.;,."With. Verdure. Clad" very .'..'WautifnllyjMid :>eit''.carefnlly, aid Mrs'. ' ' ':was-'effective■ iii that' fine song, .- , When the Flowing Tide Comes In." in' /./., T,h^ ; "Che. Faro" number she'was inclined to be stodgy/in the recitative. There is ■ aio' escaping|the fulbround quality.of her -.- splendid contralto. . - Tlie comedy "hit" of the evening- was jtoado by Mr.® Alan MTSlwain (the stage j',4; Jjuanager), who tickled the. audience into ■-oars of laughter - by a satiTe on strike ; , -matters, entitled : "On Strike," which, ' ludicrous though it . was, was a recognis--ablo reflection of present day happenings.. /11 response to an he , presented ; "lTie country ;J.P.," a/laughable sketch, cle-veriy performed. : The sketches which / 3oncluded the programme were extremely '/■ ■amusing and capitally-acted. Once more Mr. J..C. Bell.showed his versatility by presenting "The-Vanquished Villain," a good burlesque'of the melodramatic villain. Ho was ably assisted by Miss Betty Purdom. Mr. Bell a.nd Miss Lissack were very'good, too, in "A Bit of Nonsense," in ■/•. • which the. comedy acting, was quite ad- . mirable., "He and She" (enxicted by Miss h Buby Scott and Mr. Norman Aitken) was I:-:- ireditably/done. THE OFFICIAL CRITIQUES. "AS YOU LIKE IT." : . Mr. J. F; Montague (judge of elocution) said that the boys' recitation, was a poor .class. . There were only two. entries,'and •" /. much; moro : could have been made out of the piece ("The Lament") than was done. .'/ -He missed several of words from both boys. The Shakespearean recital ("As You Like .. It',' speeches) was restricted to. those who - had never won a-'prize-previously.-. It. was j-//;.;,the worst work he had-seen in the.compe:, t / titfons. Many of the ladies had-done better in the much more/ • difficult "Potion Soene" (from "Borneo , and Ju'lieV). He v did not intend to delay the audience with 7 a recital of all their faults, but was puzzled to know why..two of the "recalls" -/ -imagined in. the Epilogue, that the gentlemen sat,on .one side of;,the audience and the ladies oh the other.' He was surprised " that their teachers did not instruct them tetter. A common fault'-in. enunciation' was "envious scourt" instead of "envioui court." ' There'wbre a'ereat many similar ' mistakes which he would like to speak 1 . to-the competitors about'personally. Miss : Fix, who was the' winner, was a good deal better in the morning—she gave the bet- .'/'. '.'t'er peTformance'all..round. Mrs.;Gilchrist had a thin voice, but spoke the lines m- ' telligently;'and her gestures were.good. •! -had appropriate. Miss Shepherd'gave'an • .'intelligent performance; voice rather ■ ;.;' weak, and she missed some of her words V?: 7 from where lie sat. Of "Romances." Mr. Wolf (judge of music) commenced ' his remarks by a Reference to the pianoforte solo class, prefacing his decisions T»X:«. A »»»

similar to a "nocturne,'- but with an added mystery and imaginative feeling. Some of the porformers had plaj-od it like an exercise. The popular idea of tho "Study" (in Hc-nselt's "Romance and Study ) which followed naturally on the "Romance," was that of a bird singing in: tho trees, only birds do"not sing at night (which implied that Mr. Wolf considered that "roraancca" were peculiar to the night). It was marked to be played "like a zephyr," meaning that it had to be played very eoftly indeed. 110 awarded the first prizo to Miss White, with 137 marks; Miss jMitichcU heiplaced second, with 133 marks. Both had been equal in tho morning. Miss Green's playing hardly represented tho mystery of tlio "romanop/' though, sho-was a fiuo cxccutaut. . ' Singer and Accompanist. "Tho Erl King," said Mr. Wolf, referring to tho bass solo contest, was onol of Schubert's, most popular songs, • aiiu the Liszt transcription, of it was a- very tine piece for the pianoforte. Ho (Mr. Wolf) had heard Rubinstein Y? s marked by the moaning of the wind, tho groaning terror of the child being depicted by discords rising higher and higher, and tho coaxing and threatening of the father. All this was brougjit in tlio accompaniment. As a rule, said Mr. Wolf, singers do not get good accompanists, but he must oompliment Mrs. Quereo 011 her accompaniments. He .would say no more —there was not much coaxing or threatening or anything in the performances given. Ho bracketed Messrs. H. Harre and A. M'Donald together with 125 marks. Mr. D. V. Cymro (119 marks) would liavo got the satiie number of marks had he sung from memory. - "The Finest Singing." In the vocal solos for ladies, the audience ought to feel proud to know that it produced the finest singing he had heard 111 competitions. He had never heard singing like it in Dunedin. Every competitor had a good voioe, and even where there •was no interpretive capacity, the material was splendid all tlie way through. He awarded the first prize to Miss Bamford. (Applause.) "It isn't often, we agree! said Mr. - Wolf' smiling. 'Hear Ye, Israel!" was written by Mendelssohn, and was one ;of the. most difficult of soprano solos, as the performer was called on to sing that most difficult note, F sharp, all the way through it. Mr. Wolf remarked' that ho had heard Jenny Lind sing it. He would not say that Miss Bamford sang it as well as Jenny Lind, but she sang it remarkably well, and hud felt every word she sang. Ho had noticed that some of the competitors when they came on to the stage commenced by. smiling and nodding to their friends in the audienoe, and then started to sing, plainly showing that their thoughts were not of. the song at all. If they were, they could not see anyone in front/ The second prize he gave to Mrs. Lewis, to whom he pointed out that "Sognai" was a man's song, and tho love sentiment of a man was very different to that of a woman.. He would be quite justified in disqualifying a singer for such a mistake. Every song had been sung most artistically, and any platform should be proud to! have, such 1 singers. (Applause.) . ' , To-day's Programme. Town. Ha11—9,a.m.,. clarinet solo; 9.50 a.m., song, lady or gentleman (own solgction> ; 2.15. ; ; p.m., baritone eolo, the Toreador's Song', from '"Carmen"; 3.15 ■p.m., ladies'' duet, "Still is the : Night i p.m:, musical monologue. Concert Chamber.—2 . p.m., . dramatic ■recital (gentlemen), "Lady Godiva"; 2.45 p.m., girls (under 11), recitation, "Going on an .Errand." -