RECORDED MUSIC

Evening Star, Issue 19658, 10 September 1927, Page 17

RECORDED MUSIC

THE TWELVE BEST [Written by Philip J. B. Makcuant, for tho ‘Evening Star,’] A reader lias asked for a list of wha t I consider tho best twelve records issued by His Master’s Voice and Columbia for the month, of September, and, although I have not-yet heard all the latest Columbia issues, tho following may be of some use to others who have not the time to study the monthly bulletins issued by tho various recording companies. Besides, some of the statements with reference to recording, interpretation, etc., of many of tho records found in tho lists are greatly exaggerated, to-put it mildly:— —His Master’s Voice.— Dance Music.—EA. 138, ‘ I Love tho Coliego Girls’ and ‘Where Do You Work-a. John?’ fox-trots, played by Wariug’s Pennsylvanians. Light Vocal.—EA. 147, ‘Mary Lou, by the Revellers, and ‘ The Little White House,’ by Raymond Dixon (tenor). Orchestral.—ED. ‘2, ‘Tho Blue Danube,’ waltz, and ‘Tales from tho Vienna Woods.’ waltz, played by the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra (Conductor Stokow'sky). On no account miss this number. The waltzes aro composed bv Strauss, and aro beautifully played. Soprano.—E. 450, ‘ 0 Whistle and I’ll Come To Aon, My Lad,’ and ‘ Caller Herrin’,’ sung by Evelyin Scotney. Oratorio; —D. 1,213, ‘Why do the Nations?’ (‘Tho Messiah’) and ‘Rolling in Foaming Billows’ (‘The Creation’), sung by Robert Radford fbassi, with orchestra. Violin.—D.B. 1,047, ‘Avo Maria ’ fSchubert) and ‘Rondo’ (Schubert), played by Heifetz. Baud.—C. 1,315, ‘Overture, Poet and Peasant.’ the Band of the Coldstream Guards. —Columbia.— Male Quartet. —D. 1.552, the Kedroff Quartet (record reviewed in this issue). Orchestral.—Overture. ‘ The Bohemian Girl’ (Balfe), the Wireless Orchestra (Conductor Percy Pitt). Columbia 9,1C0. 12in. Ballad* When the Sergeant-major s on Parade’ (Lingstaffc), ‘The Company Sergeant-major’ (Sanderson), sung by Harold Williams (baritone). Columbia 4,159, lOin. Light Humorous. —‘Billy Boy and ‘ Talking to the Moon,’ by Layton and Johnson, American duettists. I havo limited my Kelly to twelve, which, in my humble opinion, aro the “pick of the basket.” There are sev--oral missed out which may, in the reader’s opinion, ho better records than I have mentioned. Among these aro sure to be a fine recording of the everpopular ‘ Floral Dance ’ (Moss) and Allitsen’s dramatic ‘ Luto Player,’ sung bf Peter Dawson. Dawson never lets us down, and his name on tho record is usually good enough for most record buvers. Lovers of chamber music are sure to find the Catterall String Quartet interesting in two items on Columbia—‘Polka’ (Sokolov) and ‘.Berceuse,’ a variation of a Russian air by Sacken. The number of this is Columbia 9,156, and the Columbia Company is to be congratulated on its efforts to “popularise” chamber music by putting these discs within the reach of the man with moderate means. For those who may want to hear the Peter Davvson record mentioned above, the number is C 1,313. When purchasing records it is always a help to the dealer if the record number is quoted. Ail records aro numbered, and u tho purchaser has tho number of tho record he intends to hear a great deal of time will be saved. When the title only is given the dealer or his assistant has to look up catalogues, lists, etc. ; and buyers will'be doing the man behind the counter a great service if they give the record number when ordering. THE GRIEG PIANOFORTE CONCERTO. His Master’s Voice, D. 1,237, 8,9, D.' 1,240. Arthur De Greef and the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra. . Tho only previous version of this concerto with which 1 am acquainted is an old one on two records made by De Greef on His Master’s Voice. This is, of course, superseded by this new recording, which gives the work in its entirety, with all tho advantages of the electrical recording. In the.foreword which the ‘ Gramophone ’ prints with tho analysis at the beginning of tnc album Do Greef is described as a close friend” of tho composer. Under these circumstances one hesitates to criticise his rendering of the work or to censure one or two. very trilling divergences from tho printed score. Taken as a whole, the performance is certainly inn of interest, and even eloquence, the broad lines of his interpretation always carrying conviction. Tlio music is ■well recorded, with that full sonority that characterises tho modern His Master’s Voice recordings. If there is any fault it lies with the slight lack of delicacy. Those tripping passages for the piano in tho iirst movenlent hardly s< vnd “ inolto leggiero ” (tho composer’s direction), and tho massive, slightly brassy tone with which the strings open the adagio is just a shade too bo ivy, and cannot be Grief’s intention. There is also a slight suspicion of cloudiness when the orchestra is playing- loud passages, but perhaps that may be the fault of my gramopume, a farge M'Claggan instrument with “ Lifebelt ’ and Astra sound box. But, when all is said and done, wo get a fine spirited interpretation of the work, which is regarded as one of the great >st of pianofortte concertos, and if 1 find details which seem imperfect I must, in fairness, set against them tho successful work at the beginning of tho six Ji side and also tho place ca the seventn \ side, where wc arrive at the magical ! change of mood (the passage is marked | poco piu tranquillo). \ T o coneeito is I easy to record successfully, and the i His Master’s Voice Company is to be [ heartily congratulated on the successful manner in which the insrranients have been arranged around the microphone in order to get the best “ eltect. ’’ in reproduction. Any lever of th > work who refrains from purch i.> nr, the set because ho may feel that it falls short I of .his ideal is likely to wait a long I time before he gets anything better. I 1 played tho records over three times I and used different sound boxes, and needles each time, in order to arrive at the best method of reproducing the records. I found that the new His Master's Voice instrument, with a medium steel needle, came nearest to the “ real thing,” but the M'Claggan and the tuned “ Lifebelt,” with tho Astra sound box, used with the fibre needles came very near perfection. THE KEDROFF QUARTET. Columbia, D. 1,552. The Kedroff quartet. Two Russian folk dances—(a) ‘Allegretto’ (N. Kedroff), (b) . ‘Al-legro-allegro Molto ’ (Gretchaninoff) , sung in Russian. Valso (Vogel), in Russian. Just as tho famous Don Cossacks havo set a new standard of singing as i far as Russian concerted work is concerned, in tho same manner has this i gifted quartet set a new standard of vocal quartet work, which may nevei he surpassed. The first record I heard by this combination, ‘The Song of .the Volga Boatmen,’ was an old recording, but even then one could hear that here we had something out of the ordinary. , Now that the electrical recording has done full justice to the singers, giving us, as it were, the “ concert hall ” atmosphere in our own drawing room, the wise Gramophile .will do well to make a point of hearing every record by the Kedroff Quartet issued by Columbia. The lilting waltz number will, perhaps, be the most popular of the three songs recorded on tho one disc.

hut all are of a high standard of ex-cellence,-and aro too good to miss. It is wise to use a medium steel needle or else a fibre for this record, as tho tone is rather loud (but never harsh) for the average drawing room. OLD MELODIES. Columbia, 03502. Alfred O’Shea (tenor). ‘Molly Brannigan (old Irish melody) and ‘ Tho Low-backed Car ’ (Lover). 1 ‘Molly Brannigan’ is a delightful, old melody, and tho singer’s diction is a great point in his favor. The beautiful surface of the record (absolutely silent in playing) makes this a number which anyone can enjoy. For those who prefer a better singer, but a little more surface noise, I can commend a splendid version of Molly Braiiningan, sung by John M'Cormack, which I heard last week. This is H.M.V. DA.. 304, and the delicious Irish brogue is simply irresistible. John M'Cormack can certainly sing this class of song hotter than any other living singer, hut with tho Columbia record under review wo havo an Irishman singing also, while the recording-Tu’d surface almost put these two interpretations on an equal footing. However, hear them for yourself before deciding. ‘ The Low-backed Car’ is alsq sung by M'Corrnack on DA. 287, and this number is worth all the ‘ Cottages Small by .a Waterfall ’ about which this tenor has been warbling lately. RECORDED WORKS OF BEETHOVEN. ‘Symphony No. 3 (I’Eroica), in E. Flat, Opus 65). Played by the Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Albert Coates. Recorded in complete form by His Master’s Voice (D. 1,158 to D. 1,163). The idea of writing the great symphony in honor of Napoleon Bonaparte seems to have occurred to Beethoven about tho year 1798. Such an idea would havo appealed to him greatly, for his was a soul ever in sympathy with tho great struggle for freedom. At that time Napoleon was known to Beethoven only as a great patriot, a passionate enthusiast for the New Liberty, and th© saviour of his country. Beethoven may havo felt that tlio time was not yet ripe, and that it would bo wise to await tho time when his technique should, bo maturer and moro fitting as a vehicle for such a mighty purpose. It was not until 1803 that he commenced to work seriously upon the. symphony.. Tho work was completed in the spring of 180-1, and, wo aro told (by Reis in his ‘ Biographische Notizeu’), that. the. outside page bore th© words “Luigi van Beethoven.” The title, page preserved in Vienna, however, is. as follows: Sinfonia Grando Tntitulata Bonaparte, 1804 in August, del sur Louis van Beethoven, gcscgrichen auf Bonaparte.” . On May 2, 1804, however, the motion asking Napoleon to take the title of Emperor was passed by the Senate, and on May 18 Napoleon assumed tho title. Tho crumbling of his “ ideal man ” was a great blow to Beethoven, and one can imagine with what burst of fury he greeted the news. Seizing tho title page bearing tho dedicatory inscription, he tore it away and Hung it to the ground. The score later bore the revised inscription. This was in 1820: “Sinfonia Eroica, designed to celebrate tho memory of a great man, dedicated to his Sc/rene Highness, Prince Lobkowitz.” The symphony was purchased by tho Prince, and although the first actual public performance is not known for certain, one certainly did take place in the An-der-Wicn Theatre, in April, 1805. This great work may be regarded as tho milestone in Beethoven’s caVeer which marks the beginning of that wonderful second period of his style. There can he no definite demarcation to show just where tho composer forsook the old for the new, for ifxo process was a natural one. It is interesting to know what tlio public ui-mglit about tho work the first imo it was performed. Tho correspondent of tho ‘ Freyniutliigo ’ divided tho audience into three parts. “Some,” said he, “ Beethoven’s particular friends, assert that it is just this symphony which is his masterpiece, that this is the true style for high-class music; and that if it does not please now, it is because the' public is rot cultured enough artistically to grasp ils lofty beauties; after a thousand years bare passed it will not fail of its effect. Another faction denies that the work has any artistic value. Tho third party, a very small one, stands midway, between tho others. This party aomits that tho symphony contains many beauties, but concedes that the connection is often disrupted entirely, and that tho inordinate length, of this longest, and perhaps most difficult, of 1 symphonies wearies even tho cognosI cent!, and is unendurable to the mere I music lover. . . . The public thought the symphony too heavy, tro j long, and Beethoven himself too discourteous, because he did not nod his head in recognition of the applause which came from a portion of the audiThe work was published in October, 1806, with a note from tho composer to this effect: “As tho symphony is longer than an ordinary synipuony_.it should lie performed at the beginning rather than at the end of a conceit, either after an overture or an ana. As there is a beautiful and danble album given with this set, containing a full analysis of the .music, 1 sha.not give a description. .Cho .iiite rprciation is solid without being stodgy, end one can usually purchase records hearting the name of the symphony orchcs--1 tra when conducted by Albert Coates. I For the music lover of limited means | who cannot afford to buy the whole work (the set takes up six 12in black label records) the beautiful ' L'lnw’a! | March ’ will he found a good investment. This is on D. 1,159, D. 1,160,. i and D. 1,162. The scherzo, a wonderful movement, will bo found on the obverse of D. 1,1 C2.