THE MUSICAL WORLD

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 98, 19 January 1935, Page 19

THE MUSICAL WORLD

(By

“C.J.M.”)

Stray Notes. Sir Granville Bantock, one of the most eminent composers now living in England, and chairman of the Trinity College Board, is to visit Australia this year. At this side of the world he is known chiefly by his vocal music, but the peak of Bantock’s achievement is to be found in the two choral symphonies and tlie Hebridean Symphony for orchestra.

With the patriotic and laudable object of encouraging the performance of American music, the Birmingham Civic Symphony Orchestra at Alabama U.S.A., is to include at least one selection by a native composer at each of its concerts this season.

Free concerts are given once a month in the German town of Heidelberg to rhe poor people of tlie district. They are given by the Municipal Orchestra. The programmes are strictly “classical.” Each work is played twice and in between the two performances a short lecture on the work is delivered.

A song writer has recently been telling a newspaper feature-writer (says “Musical Opinion”) that he netted £16,000 for a war-time song, or say £lOOO a line; and that the tenor who sang it picked up £lO,OOO in gramophone royalties. Hugo Wolf did not receive more than £l6 for all the songs he wrote and similarly poor Schubert who was starved by his countrymen while living, and in death they tear him limb for limb to provide a feast for those who do not know and care less whence the music comes.

While on a visit to England a wellknown Auckland pianist met several ex-New Zealanders who are meeting with varying degrees of success in the world of music there. Miss Oriole Faram, the clever young Gisborne, pianist, who is now an L.R.A.M., has been awarded an extension of her scholarship for another year. Mr. Warwick Braithwaite, late of Dunedin, is one of the 8.8.C.’s permanent conductors. Mr. Birrel O’Malley, the Auckland tenor, is getting a number of engagements. Mr. and Mrs. Johann Wielaert were in London with their son Tristan. Mr. Wielaert has a keen regard for this part of the world and expressed a wish to take up musical work again in the Dominion. Among the players well-known in New Zealand, performing at concerts in London were Wilhelm Backhaus, Joseph Szigeti and Mark Hambourg.

Mr. Hubert Carter, the New Zealand tenor, has already begun to be busy professionally in England. During November he appeared with the Municipal Orchestra at the municipal concerts at Eastbourne, and he sang at the Literary Association’s annual concert at Wanstead. This month he will be singing at the Palladium under the auspices of the National Sunday League. On February 2, he will take part in an Empire broadcast to Australia and in March he will sing in “The Creation,” with the Torquay Philharmonic Society. Mr. Carter’s New Zealand accompanist, Stanley Morgan, is playing for him at his engagements.

Owing to the fact that the drums were soaked through by rain, the British Grenadier Guards Band was unable to play the “1812 Overture.” which had been advertised for an open-air performance at Dunedin. Arrangements have been completed for the band to make its final New Zealand appearance at Auckland on January 17. It will sail for London by the Rangitata on January 18.

Madame Elsa Stralia, the coloratura soprano, who was brought to New Zealand recently by tlie Broadcasting Commission appeared at tlie Regent Theatre in Hamilton this week. She has just concluded a successful season at Auckland, where she received much praise for her singing. Among her most successful nunfliers were the beautiful air “Softly Awakes My Heart,” from “Samson and Delilah” (Saint-Saens), and the popular “Londonderry Air.”

Madame Viceroy Goosseus, who is on a broadcasting tour of New Zealand, is very insistent upon the urgency for continued practice by students. She practises every day herself. “Tell the young students to keep up their practice,” she said. “One quarter of an hour at a time is sufficient for practice in the technique of singing, but it can be repeated often —two, three, four times a day. If they don’t keep up practice the voice degenerates quickly. Correct breathing control is most important. If the breathing isn’t correct even the best voice in the world will get you nowhere. And see Jhat your enunciation is clear. If the audience can’t catch your words —well, it would be better to let the I ronibone play,” finished Madame with emphasis.

A Glimpse of Berlioz. Lovers of a composer's work would suffer no liberties to be taken witli his score in the 1830’s, according to one of mnuy amusing anecdotes told in W. J. Turner's recently published biography of Hector Berlioz, “The Great RomanI ic.” Berlioz mid his friends were great admirers of Gluck and used to attend in n body all performances of Gluck’s operas, if a member of the audience (Hiked during the overture near them, one would s:iv aloud this pre-ai-i-anged phrase: "Honven blast these musicians who prevent me from hearing this gentleiniin.'' ' They were on the look-out for any Wilful alterations in tlie score, mid Berlioz did not wait to protest in writing, hid would accuse the performers in a hind mid indignant voice in face of the public. Once, having noticed in a perfofinmieo of (lie Scythian Dance from “ipliigmU.-i in Tmiris” that cymbals bad been lidded, whereas Gluck used only firings, ho cried out. in a short pause with all tbo power of bis lungs: “There are ho cymbals here; who has dared to improve Gluck?" A later mutilation was tilss.i ■simllm'ly noticed. The astonisliiiioid of (lio public was nothing to the rmie of (bo orchestra mid the conductor. vet at inter performances everything was put right. Mr, I’liiner. who is nothing if not iivdout in Ids support of Berlioz, adds In his how biography, referring to a pri'piiHod production of Berlioz's opera "I, us Tro.’.i'iis"; “I hope that if there Is miy iiHenipt to present a mutilated version m Uovent Garden (here will be young artists in Hie auditorium who will lorn- the house to pieces in their H|iihii(ineoiis mid righteous rage.”

"I'ledorintius" in Sydney. The production of the Viennese light opera "tile Fledermaus,” is exciting considerable criticism in Sydney as the producer for the Fuller Grand Opera, Mr, Charles Moore, lias created a precedent by presenting this opera in modern dress. All the other operas are costumed according to their period. Miss Jocelyn Dixon (“Jocelyn Yeo”), the well-known Auckland dancer, who lias boon appointed ballet-mistress Io the company, lias received line Press appreciation for her work. The Sydney Morning Herald’s critic wrote:

“An exceedingly enjoyable feature of the performance was the ‘Blue Danube’ ballet, arranged and danced by Miss Jocelyn Yeo with a company of girls. Miss Yeo is a product of the Ceechetti School of Dance, in London. She proved herself in ‘Die Fledermaus,’ as in ‘Aida,’ a graceful and expressive solo dancer, as well as an interesting ehoregrapher. The ballet delighted the audience witli its gracious swirling figures.” ■ The Fuller Grand Operas will, later on. be seen in New Zealand and it is to be hoped that Miss Jocelyn Yeo will come over as solo dancer. She is remembered by many as a clever young dancer in Miss Cecil Hall’s recitals before she left for London, where she trained with Idzikowski and other great Russian exponents of the Ceechetti Method of Dancing. New Zealand would be more than interested to see one of their own dancers who was so successful in Loridon. MS. of Handel’s “Messiah.”

The 256th anniversary of the birth of Handel, to be celebrated next year, is expected to draw attention to the large number of Handel manuscripts in English collections. The most important Handel manuscripts in existence are those originally presented to George 111. by John Christopher Smith (son of Handel’s amanuensis), forming then the foundation of the Royal Music Library which the King, in 1911, deposited on permanent loan in the British Museum. Among these is one of the most discussed of all musical manuscripts—the autograph of the Messiah. The Messiah was written in twentyfour days in the year 1741. Handel was at this time in disfavour with the London public. Ilis theatre had failed, he was on the point of being thrown into a debtors’ prison, and bands of urchins were organised to tear down notices of his concerts. An invitation to conduct several concerts in Dublin came from the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and, “ in order to offer this generous and polite nation something new,” the Messiah was hastily noted down. The score taken to Ireland for the first performance, however, was not the one now in the British Museum. It j was the practice of Handel to have | fair copies of his works made by Smith, I senior, and in the case of the Messiah a number of such copies were made at I different times, each differing in some ! respects from the others. Which of I these is to be regarded as the author!- I tative version is a moot point

It is known that Handel altered several numbers after the first performance and that he conducted subsequent performances from different scores, from which we may suppose that there is no one authoritative version but several. Moreover, the complete score not having been published until eight years after his death, it is impossible to say which version Handel himself would have wished to preserve. But there is one respect in which the Royal Library manuscript is specially interesting. It is orchestrated as Handel originally conceived it. Students have said that this scoring, lestrieted to strings, with an occasional indication of trumpets and drums is only a skeleton of what Handel intended. And hi modern times, since the vogue hasbeen to produce the Messiah on a very large scale, edtiors have adapted the orchestration in this belief.

But Handel, as we know, wrote the Messiah to be performed at Neal’s Mu-sic-hall in Dublin, a “charming room” in which tlie music “sounds delightfully.” music, that is to say. sparsely scored in the manner of the Royal Library manuscripts. (The Dublin and tlie Royal Library scores are identical in orchestration). There is some significance in tlie fact that an early performance under Handel’s direction at Covent Garden was a complete failure. For this and for performances at the Foundling Hospital he may have added orchestral parts, but these were neither numerous nor important.

Elgar. Many years must pass before it i> possible to place the great figure of Sir Edward Elgar in true historical perspective, lint even now. in Hie moment of our bereavement, certain of its aspects stand out so clearly that n-a future historical revaluation seems likely to affect them. It was he, more than any. one man, who made the first practical breach in the wall of aminational prejudice of which the foundations had been laid in the eighteenth century and a parapet added in the nineteenth. After the successes of “Gerontius” and tlie “Variations," a change came over the English musical ’arena. A new precedent had been created. It had been proved that music might bear an English signature and yet be worthy of the epithet “great.” It was therefore no longer safe to maintain the old attitude of apathetic con’descension. What had happened once might happen again. One never knew. From that time the anti-national prejudice began to wane. Only the seniors among British composers to-day can realise the immensity of the service which Elgar’s success represented to English music. Their juniors have no conception of the opposition, sometimes active, but more baneful in tlie form of vis inertia, which Elgar’s music had to overcome. There is no English musipian to-day who does not owe the great man who has left us a tribute. nc‘: merely of pious remembrance, but of personal gratitude. Tlie struggle against prejudice, apathy, musical officialdom, and all the other ills English music was heir to, was one the outcome of which affected the whole situation of musical England and inspired it with new hopes, new ambitions. Tiiat aspect of Elgar’s historical importance cannot be subjected to revision The facts are too patent. What tlie verdict of posterity will be on Hie objective merit of his own creative work cannot bo foretold. Just as,, nationally, he represents the opening of a new chapter, rich in hope and alrendv not lacking fulfilment, internationally lie represents rather the closing pages of a chapter, tlie sunset of a glorious tradition. He is more truly representative of it than, for instance, Hielmrd Strauss, in whose music the signs of tlie times are already apparent.—From a prefatory note to an Elgar Memorial Concert in London