GRAMOPHONES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 866, 9 January 1930, Page 14

GRAMOPHONES

DAWSON AND “BOOTS” KIPLING’S POEM PUT TO MUSIC JANUARY RECORDS Mozart’s German Dances, “Carmen” music by the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, and Kipling’s "Boots” put to music and sung by Peter Dawson, are three very attractive records included In a parcel of January releases just received from the H.M.V. Company. The Mozart dances immediately attract attention. Arranged by Steiubach, they are exquisitely played by the Berlin State Orchestra conducted by Dr. Leo Blech. Music of delightful grace and delicacy, it represents the immortal Mozart in his most delightful moods. This is a record that should surely find a place in the libraries of all music lovers. (H.M.V., D 1624.) There is a fine splash of colour in the "Carmen” record by the Philadelphia Orchestra. In the brief but brilliant prelude to Act I„ Bizet almost tells the story of “Carmen.” There is the abandoned strains of the dance that heralds the opening street scene, distant music from the bullring. and through it all the sinister motif that presages the wanton’s tragic end. Stokowski handles it with his usual verve and brilliancy, as also the Entr’acte Act 4, on the reverse side. (E 531.) Admirers of Peter Dawson will listen with considerable interest to “The Smuggler’s Song” and "Boots,” and there should be fairly universal agreement that Kipling and Dawson provide a good combination. The music for “Boots” was composed by Dawson himself, and it makes a magnificent marching song. He has caught the spirit of the thing well and through its march rhythm the monotonous rise and fall of boots “slog, slog, slogging through Africa,” comes insistently to the mind. On the reverse side, also sung with appropriate character, is “The “Smuggler’s Song.” Songs of this type Dawson makes his very own. (B 3072.) Shades of the “Count of Luxembourg” and the “Merry Widow” rise entertainingly before one when playmg “Lehariana.” This is an arrangement by Greiger of Franz Lehar’s melodies. The lilt and haunting rhythm of these typically Viennese numbers is decidedly infectious. This is e very attractive record which will be in favour for some time. (C 1679.)

Ebe Stignani, an accomplished contralto, who has deservedly won a high reputation in Italy, is there considered to be the best Azucena of the day. It is more than probable that the verdict is a just one, if we may judge by the singing of the gipsy’s great air, "Condotta Ell’era in Ceppi” (“In Galling Fetters They Bound Her”). By dividing it into two parts she has gained the necessary time and space for a highly dramatic and fullblooded performance. Especially pleasing are her notes in the lower register, which she produces with flawless ease and with all the purity that the Italian school insists on. (Columbia 03633). One of the prettiest piano records we have heard for some time is one by Gil Dech, which gives Leybach’s Fifth Nocturne and "The Dying Poet,” by Gottschalk. Gil Dech, of course, is none other than Gilbert Declielettes. who conducts his own orchestra in light music and dance pieces. For a “popular” player he shows considerable artistic insight into these two fragments, which have a sort of melancholy charm and wistfulness. His touch is very sure and brilliant, and though he rightly eschews any deep feeling where none exists, he makes both pieces quite moving and convincing. He gives us moments of very tender touch, and has the advantage of recording well. (Columbia 01716). *= * =* While New Zealanders are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Wellington’s War Memorial Carillon it is good to know that an excellent record has been made of it in Gillett and Johnston’s Croydon Foundry. The Carillon bids fair to prove itself the finest in the world, and the record certainly proves that it has a gloriously clear tone and rich volume. The soloist, Mr. Clifford Ball, has chosen two very familiar tunes to demonstrate the beauty of the peal. His numbers are "In An Old Fashioned Town” and “Somewhere a Voice is Calling,” and he plays them with an intimate knowledge of the subleties of this most difficult art. This record serves to whet our appetites for the real thing, and it is sure that many people outside Wellington will want to treasure this lovely reproduction as a souvenir. Columbia is to be congratulated on its enterprise, and on its skill in producing so satisfactory a rendering of the bells. (Columbia 01714). * * * One of the most popular tenors the Southern Hemisphere has yet produced is Alfred O’Shea, whose Irish ballads are eagerly welcomed by all connoisseurs of good singing. O’Shea has paid three or four visits to New Zealand, where he has quite a large enthusiastic following. One of his best records, now made available at a cheaper price in Columbia’s Standard Section, is a pairing of “She Is Far From the Land” with “Snowy Breasted Pearl,” both ballads with which he delighted us on his tours here. His voice is nicely shaded, shows a powerful reserve, and is charged with feeling and sincerity. (Columbia 02897).