CONCERTS FOR THE ARMY

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2696, 16 February 1916, Page 6

CONCERTS FOR THE ARMY

MEN LONG FOR MUSIC

AND FOR CHEERFULNESS

(By Miss Lena Ashwell.) Mis Ashwell has arranged hundreds of concerts for the troops in France, and tells in this article how music lias a vocation in modern warfare. When the social history of the great war comes to be written the part played by non-combatants will form not the least interesting chapters. Never before has a war so involved and absorbed the wholo life of a great Empire. 11l other words when fighting was done by a small professional army* the nation behind waited patiently for tho result, and heard the news or a battio after it was over—probably somo weeks after it was over—instead of following every military movement day by day and oven hour by hour. Non-combatants could only wait patiently, and worry at intervals; nowadays tho non-combatant waits impatiently, and worries all tho time, but works; and finds that working makes waiting more bearable, and helping makes hoping easier.

And tho eagerness of the non-combat-ant to help is equalled by the gratitude with which the Army welcomes help— the help not only of munition makers, and of those who knit socks and comforters, but tho very tangiblo contribution of recreation and cheerfulness Through the agency of the Y.M.C.A., those elements of human happiness have reached the armies in the many baso camps in France and Egypt and the Dardanelles, where the inevitable dullness and discipline month atfer month are almost enough to depress tbo spirits of even the irrepressible Tommy Atkins—tha,t strange soul who mystifies both friends and enemies by charging machine guns shouting "Front row sixpence.''

It was in January 1915, that, at tlie [®V® s t °f the Ladies' Committee of the 1.M.C.A., I organised tho first concert party to tour the Y.M.C.A. huts at base camps in France. It was financed privately, and went forth as tin The experiment succeeded beyond_ all expectations; tho men were longing for music and cheerfulness, and for a breath of home, and when it was seen how eagerly the concerts were welcomed, not only by tho rank and file, but by C.O.'s, chaplains, and doctors on behalf of their charges, we undertook the work of organising a regular series of concert tours and a campaign to raise funds to cover tho expenses entailed.

There are two concert parties 'con. hnually at work. One stavs out in I'ranee for a month, and works be. tween six base camps; one stavs abont three weeks, and works a smaller district. In twenty-four days one concert Party gave 19 liospital and 43 camp conc er t S) p 2 ]n aU .. Each party consists of six artistes, a soprano, contra to, tenor, bass, violinist, entertainer and an accompanist, who remains in I'ranee to organise the tours. Our accompanist, Mr. Theodor Flint of the ed <M COr , b p ? rl J' Las P'ayof S?"S s and pieces, an average nn+oH l In iact » the tour entails hard and strenuous work on all but e thTdel?£ VC^' tryhlg «> ndi tiofls; , but tho delight and gratitude' of tho audicuces are a unique reward. There 'S w K h uuiienc -°? 26 « turn in t I F'-T Wa,tu,B for tbeir wards fuH J? rln °" ; the hospital warns lull of maimed and wounded forgetting the horror of pain battle' music'th Un l d ° atk a? tbC} ' liste ' n tll( > SS J' eso intensely I hen there are tho thousands of men who are too apt to bo forgotten, tho men doing the monotonous work be. Srs A^n- the trlUS P° rt bakers A.S.C.. men, motor repairers ets. the multitude of workers who feeci and supply the armies in the field, and whoso strenuous work is as dreary as it .is necessary. One lonely ' ft.A M C motor ambulance unit improvised a band nitb a cardboard trombone, a comb and a petrol tin for a drum. But sucl! ingenuity is merely the desire of tho moth for the star, for there is a genuine love ol good music in the armies. 1 his the quick appreciation of what is boautirol, the recognition of the best has been a pleasant'surprise to those responsible for arranging the concerts. Chorus songs are popular, as it is only natural they should be, but an audience'will learn and love tho charming old folk-songs that are new to them and sing them as oagerly as the modern, less poetical oifj&ions straight iiom the music hall 6. And everywhere the violin solo—Handel, Dvorak or Bach—is as popular an item of the pro. gramme as a humorous story. When the W ostminster Glee Singers were out with one of the ooncert parties in August tboy were surprised that among the most popular items of their repertoire were "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes, ''Would you Know Mv Celia's Charms' "In Bacio," "The Kevs of Heaven," and "Land of Hope and Glory.

Many of tho concerts during tho summer have been given in the open air, and! a very picturesque scene it is— the crowd of men in khaki and occasion, ally groups of French wounded, or nurses fropi an adjacent military hospital, 'all spread out on the grass just as far as they can hear, and the little band of performers on a raised platform, .''under the greenwood tree" rather liko strolling gipsias. Sometimes it rains, and efforts navo to be made to keep the piano dry.

It is impossible to compress into a short article tho varied impressions and experiences of those whoso privilege it has beon to join the concert parties, who lmve sung to brave -men on the evo of battle, and to maimed men at the gates of death in the hospital wards. But some of our most treasured possessions are the memories of many sad and happy scenes, and the letters of gratitude from some of the men who have been cheered and comforted by tho pleasure we have been able to given them. Many of us have received more elaborate compliments and more sophisticated criticism during the course of our careers, but I ■ think we would part with them all for the artless expressions of gratitude that reach us from our soldier audiences. Here is a typical letter: —

Dear Friend.—l will now .take my first opportunity of 'writing to ' you, and hope you won't be offended because so. Me and my friend took a great Hiring to your "singing. To tell you the truth, you were one of the : first to 'cheer the British Tommy up. and also your friends that were with you. . . All my friends send' their luck to you, and also to your friends.- We nil hooo that "every night from the Y.M.C.A. and wish all the friends as well a good voyage back to dear old England once again. . . ." An account of tho huge enjoyment given bv one of tho concert parties ends: "Last timo the party came hero tho press of men waiting on the verandah to go into the second nerformanco was so great that our brand-new verandah collapsed with tho sound of a bomb explosion! Lnckilv tho mass was so tightly packed that they fell through in a solid heap, and no one was hurt, and all were able to enjoy tho 'concerts." , At most of otir oonce.rts the enthusiasm ■ brine# down the house in a loss liiaiaX iaStinn thai. It diffi.

cult to say which is the most impressive, the tense, dead silence of those vast audiences listening to the irnisic, or tho thunderous applause at the end. Tho quieter concerts in tho hospitals p.re intensely pathetic, even .in their cheerfulness. 1 shall never forget, for instance, one bo.v on board of a hospital fillip. He was blinded in both eyes, and vol was singing away iii a chorus song as merrily as anyone. Tho British soldier is never too ill to want music, and tho beneficial effects of happiness and beautiful music on the shattered men straight from the din and horrors of a modern action are incalculable. One R.A.M.C. offlccf, who was watching at a concert the haggard faces of the men straight from the trenches, was delighted to sm i.'ho strained look they wore change under the influence of tho music into brightness and chceriness us they joined in a chorus song. Ho said:. "This concert is worth moro to the lads here than the efforts of half a dozen nerve specialists at home." In fact, valuable testimony _ to our work is borne by that professionally clinical paper, the "Hospital," which concludes nn article on our concerts thus: "Money for this purpose is just as usefully expended as if it wero spent on splints and bandages, for diversion and amusement are valuable aids to recovery froi* bodil.v ills, whether • they l>e fevers or bullet wounds. It would probably ho true to say that those concert parties linve actually saved lives. "Unquestionably, they liave brightened 'those of thousands of our soldiers just when they most needed diversion. And with that gentle hint I may conclude my article, too."

A Command Officer wrote: "Entertainments such as yours tend greatly to relieve the daily pressure of work at a base and reduce our imaginary troubles from mountains to molehills."

And now somcthiug is to bo clone for tile Australian and New Zealand troops wlio have fought so gallantly, and with such cruel losses. Their relatives will be glad to learn that their hoys are to have a well-deserved rest in Egypt, and, that being go, it was felt that a special effort should be made to send a concert party out to entertain these liravo soldiers. Tho Near East would have been included in our itinerary long a-go, but there wore obstacles. Our artists scorned tho submarine danger, but lack of funds hod, up to the present, mode it impossible to send a concert party to the Eastern Mediterranean. However, through the Kindness of good friends in England, that -difficulty has removed, and More this ar'icle readies the Antipodes the party will ha nearing Egypt. From what T. know .if the iieonlo of Australia and New Zealand, I feel snro that they will wish to asrist us to entertain their men in this way. Canadian people have provided a sum sufficient to pay all the expenses _ of a Canadian concert narty which is now touring the West front, and giving special concerts for the Canadian contingents. Hoping that tho T>eople who aro proud of their "Anzacs" mav wish to act in the same generous spirit, I have interviewed tho London manasrer of the Bank nF Australasia, and this bank has kindly con* sen tod to receive, at its principal colonial branches, contributions towards tho fund for the soldiers' concerts in E<rypt, Franco, and tho Balkans. Here, then, is another opportunity to help on tho war.