A PROFESSIONAL WHISTLER.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 479, 11 June 1890, Page 4

A PROFESSIONAL WHISTLER.

INTERVIEW WITH A. H. BRYANT. an arm and leg lost by a railway ACCIDENT. CULTIVATION THE GIFT.

Auckland, June 7. Aucklanders have by this time become familiar with the appearance of a young man who is frequently to be met in the principal thoroughfares, whistling for money. The young man is quite an artist in his particular line, and by the exercise of his peculiar gift invariably commands the congregation of a large crowd, of spectators whenever he performs in public. Ho is also interesting as being a man with a history, and the story of an accident by which he lost an arm and a leg has an important bearing upon his cultivation of whistling as a means of livelihood. In the course of a chat with one of our reporters he said : , “ My name is A. H. Bryant, and my age is a little over 21 years. Nearly five years ago I was run over by a railway train in Sydney, while attempting to save the life of a child that bad got upon the lines. I tailed in this effort, and was myself.run over by the engine, which cut oft my right arm above the olbow and my right leg above the knee. I was laid up for about three months, and at the end of that time went to live with my friends. I became ashamed of living upon them, while I was unable to do anything in return for thenkindness ; and as I had always had a gift in whistling, I determined to cultivate that gift with the view of earning a livelihood. My sister, who possesses a similar gift, is at present in America, touring the States as a professional whistler, and is doing well. My sister and I used to whistle together when going to and from school in Melbourne, and I remember the schoolmaster being so struck with our performances that lie tried to form a class for the cultivation of the art. Tho class, however, proved a failure. Well, I cultivated this gift until I obtained proficiency, then adopted whistling as my profession.” “ How does it pay ?” “Oh, I cannot grumble ; 1 have done very well so far.” “ It’s nob true that you have made a fortune, then ?” “ It is not true, and the publication of a statement to that effect has injured me considerably.” “ Well, how did you cultivate your whistle ?” *‘Ju3b in the same way as one would cultivate the voice ; but I had whistled professionally before I knew a note of music.” . “ Have you since studied music ? “Yes; I can whistle almost anything from music.” “Do you sing accompanied by the piano ?” “ Yes. Either with an accompaniment or without; bub the accompaniment makes mv whistling much more effective, just as it does in vocal music. ’ “ Did you not iind it difficult at first in whistling with the pianoforte accompaniment?” “I did find a difficulty in that way at first, on account of the range, and even now I have some of my accompaniments transpssed.” “ What is about the compass of your whistling powers?” “ About two octaves and three-quarters. I can go clown to C in the bass, and up to E flat in the treble, which is rather more than the compass of an ordinary voice.” “ What kind of music do you whistle ?” “ 01), almost anything that I take fancy to. Operatic selections lam particularly fond of,” and here the young man launched out into a selection from “Dorothy,” full of intricate passages, and whistled for some minutes with splendid effect. The tone was ouro and very powerful, and yet capable of much expression in the softer passages. The execution was perfect, runs, trills, and cadenzas being taken with the greatest of ease and excellent effect.” . “ I also give imitations of birds and instruments when performing in public, and I can whistle an obligato for a singer as it would be played by a flute.” “Where have you been since you adopted whistling as a profession ?” “ I whistled in the streets and in music balls in Sydney and Melbourne, and did very well indeed at the Melbourne Exhibition. Then I went to Dunedin and whistled at the Exhibition there, at first on my own account and afterwards under an engagement. I have been in Auckland for about three weeks, and have done fairly well so far by whistling in the streets.. My object is to get to America to join my sister, and return to the colonies with a whistling band, which, I chink, might take very well here.” This concluded the interview, aud Bryant adjourned to the shop of the London and Berlin Plano Company for practice of some of his favourite airs, which were admirably rendered with a pianoforte accompaniment.