GENIUS UNRECOGNISED

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 912, 4 March 1930, Page 16

GENIUS UNRECOGNISED

OUTSTANDING ABILITY OF CITY ORGANIST ADDRESS TO ROTARIANS “The citizens of Auckland do not recognise the outstanding ability of tho presiding genius at the Town * Hall organ,” said Mr. Alfred Eady in an address on “Music and Musical Instruments.” at the Auckland Rotary Club’s luncheon today. Mr. Eady had traced the growth of the tremendous modern pipe organ from its embryo, the rudimentary Chinese pipe organ. He considered Auckland’s civic organ to be a very fine example of the modern instrument. Mr. Eady followed the development of other type’s of musical instruments in a similar manner, and his address was embellished with lantern slides. “There is a striking resemblance between modern instruments and their ancient progenitors.” said Mr. Eady. He covered briefly the development of the four main classes, percussion, wind, mechanical, and those of tightlydrawn strings that are plucked. All had very remote beginnings, dating back to the empires of Assyria, Egypt, Rome, and to the times of Confucius, early Japanese, Hebrews and South African negroes. A typical instance was given in his statement that the castanets or “bones” of today were used as far back as 3000 B.C. in Egyptian religious ceremonies.