MUSIC

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2842, 5 August 1916, Page 6

MUSIC

(By "Treble-Clef.") Professional Orchestra. For its concert to-morrow evening l the Wellington Professional Orchestra haa prepared a capital. programme that should interest all taates. It includes the almost-forgotten overture to Weber's "Der Freischutzr," Luigini's "Egyptian Ballet" (four movements), a capital fantasia from "Cavalleria ltusticana,"'two, sketches—"To the Spring" (Greig), and' "Serenade" (Drdla)—and Liszt's "Hungarian Ithapsody'" (No. 2). , State Music. •. Mr. John Fuller, jun,, sends me tho programme 1 of a concert ho attended iu Sydney, which he 6ays was a sheer do light. A glance at tho programme is enough to convinco anyone that Sir. Fuller's judgment did not err. It is a COll-. servatorium concert, given under the' baton of Henri Verbrugghen. Thero werfe only four numbers—bat what numbers! 'l'he programme opened with Schubert's. "Unfinished Symphony" (two movements), and closed with Beethoven's "feecond Symphony." Theso two works wero separated by a Mozart aria, sung by 11. Albert Goosssns, and a 'cello 6010 (with orchestra), "Variations, on a Theme Bococo" (Tschaikovsky), by Mr. J. Mesiseas. Mr. Fuller remarks that.all tho first violins stand up during the playing of a number. ■ Whether the seconds, violas, brass, and wood-wind stand too he does not say. Possibly M. Verbrugghen may hold that the bowing- of a student is affected by remaining seated whilst playing. This is tho orchestra Mr. Fuller suggested once should bo'brought to New Zealand, iii order to give tho public an insight into orchestra miisi'c adequately played. Elgar's Music to "Carillon." Whether the incidental music played to the recital of Henri Cammaertz's Belgian patriotic poem "Carillon" ("Sing, Belgians, Sing!"), is the entire scoro written by Sir Edward Elgar, I am unable to. say, but the music shows tho great English composer as one who can "hit tho spirit of tho moment" in his music. His capacity for writing music with that grandiose, royal touch waA long ago shown in his march of "Pomp and Circumstance," from which was evolved the song "Land of Hope and Glory," whilst his mystical "Dream of Gei'ontius" was found to be too'complex and less directly melodious for immediate appreciation. In the "Carillon," which is presented- so effectively by the Tivoli Follies, Elgar returns to direct appeal, and fine strains of inspirational melody may be detected veining the clamour of the strife, so well depicted by fanfares of the brass, tho rolling of drums, and the big drum "explosions." It is music that one would wish to hear two or three times to appreciate to tho full, but even, on its first performance hers it arrested the attention of tho audience throughout, and was most enthusiastically applauded. If there is an English composer 1 likely to produce something great in this time of national strife it is Si,r Edward Elgar. -