DUNEDIN COMPETITIONS

Hokitika Guardian, 26 September 1929, Page 6

DUNEDIN COMPETITIONS

IRISH FOLK SONG, amateurs, ladles —Own selection, by Irish composer. Miss . Mary Bald (Hokitika), 88

points Miss Evelyn Shephard (Dunedin)

84 points ••• a Miss Ethel Docherty (Sawyers’ Bay), 83 points ... ../ 3 Also recalled: Miss Ajleen Young (Maori Hill) S2. Highly commended: Miss Mary Somerville (Koslyn) 81.

Also competed: Miss E. B. Ritchie (Dunedin) 79, Miss L. Boyd (Maori Hill) 79, Miss Netta Wilkie (NorthEast Valley) 79, Miss Noni Davidson (Dunedin) 78, Miss lna M. Blackwood (Roslyn) 78, Miss Annie Throp (Sawyers’ Bay) 77, Miss Dorothy Ramsay (Burkes) 76, Miss Ava Cameron (Musselburgh) 76, Miss Marcia E. Morris (Dunedin), 76, Mrs D. M. Bochel (Sawyers’ “Bay) 73. Dr Jarman stated that this was a good section. ■ Folk songs should be sung generally with, simplicity of style and care for phrasing. Miss Bald’s choice was a beautiful one. Her enunciation was very clear, and her nhrasing most artistic. Miss Shephard should watch her phrasing. She . deployed charming simplicity of style in the simple story sung, hut there was an occasional forcing of tone. Miss Docherty made a nice selection but her tempo was too slow. She should be cardful of the phrasing so as not to break the melodic contour. She gave a nice interpretation, but her rendering dragged somewhat. Miss Young was nice and simple in style but her enunciation was not always clean and occasionally over-pressure of breath affected the tone. THE IMPORTANCE OF PHRASINt?. , The importance of phrasing was emphasised by Dr C. A. Jarman, the judge of the music sections at the Competitions’ Society’s festival, when he was making some comments. “I have spoken several times on the importance of phrasing in musical performances,” said Dr Jarfnan, “ and I would again strongly emphasise the necessity for earnest effort on the part of the performers, be they vocalists, choralists, or instrumentalists, to realise the beauty # of design in the mind of the composer and exemplified in the phrasing. There are few things more impressive than a noble Gothic cathedral, and in its classic design, beauty of line, and the artistic symmetry of its arches i it may well be compared to a well-foi ; med musical masterpiece. Indeed a beautiful cathedral has been described‘as !,fragen music’ —a ./symphony in stone. One should,' then) look for this symmetry of design and beauty of melodic line in a musical composition, and the performers’ aim must be to preserve that grace of contour. One of the most perfect melodies yet written is the beautiful old Irish melody, the 1 Londonderry Air,’ which some of the competitors gave us to-day in the Irish folk song section. Note the regularity of its melodic sections, the grace of its design, and the sheer beauty of its line, and how symmetrically it rises and falls; then think of the same effect of beautifully-construc-ted Gothic arches. In choral music note the rise 'and fall of cresendo and diminuendo, from the melodic whisper of pianissimo to the crashing intensity of fortissimo, the graceful flowing nature ..of its cadences as it interprets the literary text. This, then, may give you some idea of what I mean and expect from you in phrasing.” Dr Jarman illustrated his remarks by playing in various ways on the piano the “ Londonderry Air,” which was much appreciated by the audience.