GRAMOPHONES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 814, 7 November 1929, Page 14

GRAMOPHONES

NOVEMBER RECORDS FINE OPERATIC RECORDINGS Opera is strongly represented in a package of H.M.V. November records just received. Probably the most interesting at the present moment is Joseph Hislop’s recording of “Farewell, Dear Mother,” from “Cavalleria Rusticana” and “Your Tiny Hand is Frozen” from “La Boheme.” The former number will be particularly interesting to members of the Auckland Choral Society which is singing Mascagni’s opera at the Town Hall tonight. Following his recent visit to New Zealand, Joseph Hislop has become increasingly popular as a recorder for the discs. This bracket is an excellent index to his art. “Your Tiny Hand” one is apt to become weary of, but Hislop sings it with appealing freshness. He carefully avoids the Caruso tricks and gives instead a real poet’s song. The touching farewell scene between Twiddus and his mother is beautifully sung. (D. 8., 1230.)

Very brightly played by the Philadelphia Orchestra is the “Changing of the Guard,” from “Carmen.” The martial trumpeting of the military is delightfully countered by the piquant piping «£> f . the ragamuffins following in the wake of the soldiers. Stokowski, as usual, gets the utmost out of both the music and the musicians. On the other side is another “Carmen” number, “March of the Smugglers.” The suggestion of the eerie whistling of the wind in the high mountain passes is excellent. (D., 1618.) A selection from that little heard opera “Norma” is also included. It is the big duet between Norma (soprano) and Adalgisa (contralto), sung by Rosa Ponselle and Marion Telva. Adalgisa’s plea and Norma’s renunciation is well portrayed. (D. 8., 1276.)

Peter Dawson’s contribution this month is “Rolling Down to Rio” (German). It is spoiled somewhat by having “Till the Sands of thet Desert Grow Cold” on the other side, which, however, he sings very well. His “Rolling Down to Rio” is a nice piece of work, strongly marked with the Dawson whimsicality. (B„ 3023.) Galli Cure! In “Piangi, fanciulla” (Weep, My Child), from “Rigoletto,” Amelita Gain Curci is heard at her best. This

particular number in which the stricken Gilda cries out her sorrow on her father's breast is well suited to Galli Curci’s col-( oratura soprano. Certainly it is one of the best Galli Curci records issued for

some time. On the other side is the duet from act 2, “Ah Veglia O Donna” (Safely Guard this Tender Blossom), which is also well sung. Guiseppe De Luca’s baritone fits In very smoothly. (D.A., 1028.) Tertis has so long been recognised as the leading viola player now recording, that many gramophonists buy his records as a matter of course. His recent coupling of “Slavonic Dance Theme No. 1” (Dvorak), and “Melodrame” (Guirad) is one of his best. The playing is energetic and dashing, and the phrasing built into the sense of the music. The two fine tunes deserve to be widely known, and we can think of no finer way than through the medium of Tertis’s tasteful art. (Columbia 04064). When sung by the negro basso, Paul Robeson, the negro spiritual becomes a genuinely moving form of self-ex-pression. He sings with patient honesty and conviction. This month he sings a duet, “Witness,” with Lawrence Brown, a tenor. The fascinating rhythm of this number is not the least of its attractions. The voices blend admirably. On the other side Robeson sings “I Got a Home in Dat Rock.” It is impossible not to be moved by the simplicity and sincerity of the music and the richness of the voice. (H.M.V., 82727.) Cantor Sirota, whose” superb singing of “Kol Nidrei” we already know, now gives us some further records of anthems from the Jewish Liturgy. His treatment is broad and wonderfully expressive, and his singing has a soulful quality quite unusual and very impressive. The anthems he has chosen are well-known to his co-religionists. They are “Meditation” (Psalm 55) and “Havdallah’ (Columbia 02887) and “Adonoi, Adonoi” and “Vechol Hachaiyim” (Columbia 02888). There is a fine orchestral and choral accompaniment, giving the reproduction a surprising richness.

There are few more inspiring band performances than that of the “Marseillaise,” by La Garde Republicaine, which is the most famous military band in all France. One feels that the musicians are stirred by their own playing, and one catches the real spirt of this great national song. The record is worth while, for the “Marseillaise” alone, but there is also a splendid rendering of the fine “Marche Lorraine” on the other side. Here again the French temperament is evident. (H.M.V. 82907.)

Typical "second period” Beethoven is the dramatic “Leonore No. 3” overture, which is in point of fact the first of the three versions which he wrote. The work has great power and a wide range of expression, and the overture form allows Beethoven to introduce a variety of fine melodic writing. Sir Henry Wood makes a splendid job of it, his playing being full of spirit, and the tone being exceptionally rich and well built-up. (Columbia L 1978-79.) * * * Sir Henry J. Wood is well to the fore again in his full-blooded interpretation of "Finlandia,” issued on the 12-inch Dark Blue series of Columbia. Both he and the famous New Queen’s Hall Orchestra have given us

I interpretation of Sibelius’s great work, based on national melodies, and known in every corner of the globe. The fact that the record was made in a concert haH adds atmosphere to the subject.

• Jean Sibelius Sir Henry Wood was horn in Finland in 1865, and with the exception of “Valse Triste,” the evergreen “Finlandia” will always remain his most popular work in this country. It will live always in the mind of the music-lover for its rugged beauty, its vivid flashes of passion and its fervently devotional theme, best described as a lost, brave soul seeking the light. Certain it is that no finer performance than this has been done before —the brilliance of the recording is vivid to a high degree. (Columbia No. 02889.)

Dvorak’s Carneval Overture When Dvorak wrote the “Carneval Overture,” he meant it to be no more than a musical picture of a Hungarian fair. The dancing, the lights, the jolly crowd, and the spirit of revelry are his subject matter. But he has treated his subject matter in so broad and so wholesome a manner that the music has become the quintessence of happiness. The first essential of happiness, beauty, is caught herein. Sir Hamilton makes a typical reading. His wood-wind is a sheer delight, and his strings have an opulent smoothness and rotundity. A brilliant playing of a brilliant work, and sheer joy from beginning to end. (Columbia 04073.) # * * Layton and Johnstone still enjoy a never-ending vogue, and rank among the few permanent best sellers. Their latest is a pairing of “Old Man Sunshine” and “I’m Crazy Over You,” in their usual brilliant fashion, with all their daring duet effects and brilliant playing. (Columbia 01486.)