FEAST OF MUSIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 881, 27 January 1930, Page 15

FEAST OF MUSIC

CIVIC’S FIFTH AND BEST UNIT PROGRAMME _ 1 “MARRIED IN HOLLYWOOD” Musical entertainment, which looked at though it had declined with the advent of talkies, had a brilliant “come back” at the Civic Theatre on Saturday. The new programme was chock-a-block with music and was a distinct success. One© again the Civic management has fulfilled the demand of the moment. The thousands assembled beneath the arching blue of the ceiling on Saturday were treted to a rare musical feast—old songs jostling with the new—and their response indicated the popularity of the programme selected. One of the features of the evening was the rich variety of the items. They' swung all the way from sentimental ballads to Beethoven; from burlesque to the lilting, gay music of Oscar Straus, the Waltz King. The first item, for example, was a humorous little overture in which Mr. Fred Scholl, at the organ, vied wih Mr. Henkel’s orchestra. To the tune of “ Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Sheen ” they carried on an argument about their respective merits, capped when Fred Scholl played Beethoven’s exquisite “Minuet in G”; answered by the orchestra with “ Just a Memory.’* Then together they presented the last part of the spirited “Light Cavairy” overture. There followed a most interesting sound gazette with news of the world, and a film dealing with the songs of the Southern States of America. This was accompanied by the Civic Orchestra with such old favourites as “Dixieland,” “Old Kentucky Home,” Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” and “Poor Old Joe.” Unit 4 brought back Fred Scholl at the organ. He played “Hail to the Bride,” a sonorous march by Rosey, which is dedicated to the film, “Married in Hollywood,” also a series of old-time tunes woven into a sketch entitled “When Honey Sings An Old-Time Song.” “Just a Song at Twilight” was followed by “Annie Laurie,’.' “My Old Pal,” “Genivieve,” and many more. “JAZZ TOWN” ON THE STAGE. Not the least remarkable thing about Ted Henkel’s stage band entertainment this week was its extraordinary freshness—not one of his items has previously been presented-—which indicates that he and his staff are far from exhausted in ideas. Perhaps the cleverest conception was the dance “Me and the Boy Friend” by the Civic Ballet, each member of which entered waltzing with a life-size dummy. The once-trim stage band appeared as a motley crew of pirtes, toreadors, and nondescript soldiers. Their playing of “Yes, we Have no Bananas” was the prize joke of the evening. This “fruity” melody was played as a jazz selection, as by a Boy Scouts' Band, as by the bagpipes, the Salvation Army, a Spanish serenader. Then there was an eccentric dance by Alfred Lyttlejohn, an hilarious trombone and cornet duo, and more dances by the ballet, culminating in the “Jazz Town Shimmies,” when the whole stage architecture joined in the fun. Each item had the virtue of brevity. It was introduced smartly and whirled away when the effect had reached its maximum height. GAY SONG ROMANCE. Last, but by no means least, the film, “Married in Hollywood” is a wonderfully tuneful production, with merry humour, faultless acting, and an entrancing story. But it is the singing that appeals for the songs have strayed right out of the brilliantly-gay Vienna of before the war. They have the genuine Viennese bouquet and sparkle. The story is based on an operetta by Oscar Straus (which speaks volumes In itself) and is a glamorous tale of a Prince and a cnorus girl. In Vienna their romance flamed to the forgetfulness of everything. Nightly they met. Suddenly it came to an end—the Prince had to return to his own country in the throes of revolution, and the girl found fame and wealth in Hollywood. But her .heart was heavy until they met again behind the scenes of studioiand.

The delightful music includes not only the theme song “Dance Away the Night,” but “Peasant Love Song.’’ “Deep in Love,” “A Man—a Maid, ” ‘The Black Hussars” and other charming numbers.

He Sart explains that, during the filming of “Sweetie,” a musical comedy romance of college life, it was discovered that the use of several microphones produced a phase of difference in recording the high notes cf musical ensembles. The orchestra was regrouped and one "mike" employed. with the result that the recording of high frequencies was blended in correct proportion without phase difference.