E.A. BAND SUNDAY CONCERT.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1975, 4 February 1914, Page 10

E.A. BAND SUNDAY CONCERT.

" • ■ . y MAYOR & MB. ELLIOTT; fßj Tekfrrapli.—Pr«i« Ats.3clfl.tioc.! Auckland, February 3. Tlio Mayor of Wellington and the president of tin* Aucklanti Exhibition Executive continue to exchange telegrams with reference to Mio question of whether or not a charge should bo made for ncliijissio.u to a concert to bo gi.ve.fi ill Wellington on a Sandfly by the ltoyal Artillery Band. The Exliibi'tion ExecU- '• tivo say that permission was given by the Wellington City Council to make a eliargo for this concert, • and, acting thereon, considerable expense has been incurred in arranging the concert. The Wellington peopls how wish to abolish tlio eliargo oil the ground that such would bo a. violation of tiro principles of Sunday observance. . The Exhibition Executive argues that t-ho council cannot, in fairness, withdraw tli» permission already given, when suqh has been already acted upon. The Mayor of Wellington to-day aenfc a telegram as follows ■— • "The goodwill between Wellington and Auckland rests on the undying regard for mutual happiness ana prosperity. Tlio citizens of both cities think and net nationally. Your raising i.t is ridiculous,_ and , was not referred to in my wi.ro to tlio manager of tho band. As an expediency in assisting your jifoject you are using the esteemed visiting bandsmen, to violate our Sunday conditions. A largo number of citizens are aiding iiio to frustrate your intention." Tho Exhibit-vote president toplicd as follows:—"Tour action in endeavouring to repudiate and set aside a concession granted after duo consideration docs not- accord with the sentiments in your telegram, nor can <ine seo consistency in allowing baud performances on Sunslay provided tlio public is permitted to attend oil making a voluntary instead of .ft compulsory contribution. Sunday concerts by the bawl, with a fixed entrance charge, hayo been regularly hold in Auckland, and jiatroriised and appreciated by thousands of tho.general public. Personally I do not eai'o whether the band play on Sunday or not, but, if they do play, I decidedly think that the public shoiild pay for tho privilege j of bearing them, especially as tfie-wholo : proceeds will bo devoted to tlio improve-! nicnt of n public pari?." [On Sunday evening resolutions of protest against a charge being marie for admission to ytho concert were adopted ' by tho Taranaki Street, Webb Street, and Trinity Methodist Churches, and tlso Rev. W. Shirer, of St. James's Presbyterian Church, also spoko against tlio commercial proposal.] V

A now edition of the revised Lutheran. Biblo of 1802 has How been published (writes tho Berlin correspondent of the "Times"). It is the result of seven years' work, and was undertaken at tho suggestion of tho German Bible Societies, which held a conference at Halle in 1906. His difference between the new edition awl. tho revised version is in tho main' purely literary,-but a few alterations of sense have, been' madein unimportant, passages. After consultations between tho -Bible' Societies and the Evangelical Church Committee the principal work was done,-by nn expert eomimittec of six, including Professor K&wci-nn, the well-kmnvn Church' historian of Berlin; and tho German scholar Professor Bremer, of- Halle., which was appointed by the Church Committee in 1908, and worked under tho supervision of Dr. Aclcerwaini, the chief Court chaplain of Dresden. Ilio experts' task, as. prescribed -by the Eisenach Church .'Confcrenfco in : I9oß'/ was simply to i modernise., tho' spelling ...and putietuatioii,„ahd i 'l ; "eonf usuii* ■ archaisms." , Tho,revisers were recqnvmended, to- bo tender-in .their .treat--' meiit of archaisms, many of which, it was considered, "eould-'ifot be removed' without damage being done to the peculiar power and sanctity of Luther's Bible." Subsequently 'Hior'o ; 'systemati6 revision was 'suggusted, so ■ that' they considered it their task also to pay regard to rhythm and'-euphony, and in particular to tho.: distinction' between ■ plain narrative - style arid 'the olovated diction of poetry.-, 'Their work was finished in 1910, when it went to a-text cpmmitteo of three mmnbers jrliicli - #ft«in touch with''tho Bible. Societies,, a.nd it was' adopted by tho Evangelical Church Committco in March, 1912. ! Tho egotism of musicians is proverbial, but surely tho'limit was reached bv-a : pianist whom Sir Charles Halle, himself a great virtuoso, congratulated on iris reception. ■ "And no wonder," replied tho -.pianist, "fori played more liko a god than a man:"- A nioro recent case of '.'swelled head" is that of 'Josef (that's his way of-spelling" "Joseph") Holbrooke, the. "English composer, who remarks in speaking of tho aperft, "Ariadijo aaf Naxos" of,, Richard Strauss-, which was recently produced in, London: ; ."Surely sve .(or 1) -could not,, cannot,.; have written any s'ueh msnotonous opera as this. I ask in fear and trembling and I look fearfully around for an answer. We were never such dull dogs as this." Tho "we" in.this caso is presumably the other English composers. So. faras Mr. Holbrooke is concerned, it may bo' said at onco 'that. his. opera, "Tho Children of Bon," was said by most competent critics to he as dull and dfearyi as it' Well ooidd bo,