EMPIRE ENCOMPASSING FESTIVALS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9684, 7 January 1910, Page 5

EMPIRE ENCOMPASSING FESTIVALS.

DR HARRISS' MUSICAL RECIPROCITY SCHEME.

Mr Hugo Gorlitz, travelling representative for Dr Charles Harriss' Festivals of the British Empire in connection with the visit of the Sheffield (England) Choir to Australasia was in Masterton yesterday to feel his way as to the formation of a committee for the purpose of organising a big excursion of Masterton residents to visit Wellington for one or more of the festivals to be given there in the winter of 1911. Mr Gorlitz will pay us another visit at a future date to read a paper on the purpose of these festivals, and Dr Harriss' achievements up till now in the field of music. We copy the following interesting interview with Dr Harriss, who left for his home in Canada two weeks ago, from the "Otago Daily Times." Dr Harriss said:—The objects of ray visit are to make myself conversant with musical conditions throughout New Zealand, to pay my pre'spects to Lord Plunket and Sir Joseph Ward, to whom I bear important letters, and generally to clear the way to put in the final link to my scheme for the preparation of music festivals that will eventually encompass the whole of the British Empire. I have already visited England, South Africa, Canada, and Australia, and have now come to your Dominion in the hope of finding the same unanimity and co-operation in my work that I have found in all other parts of the Empire that I have visited. Musical reciprocity—that is my mission. It is introduced by me for the purpose of making known in the heart of the Empire, through the medium of music, what the oversea Dominions are. The members of the Sheffield Choir, 200 of whom I shall bring to New Zealand m the winter of 1911, are not only the greatest exponents of choral music known in the world, they are also first-class business men. Some of them employ hundreds of hands in their factories; others are educationalists, who have to do with the great public schools of England; there are in the ranks commercial captains such as the ex-president of the Liverpool cutton exchange; there are Oxford men, and Cambridge men, and representatives of all the professions. These are the sort of singers we have in the active ranks of the Sheffield Choir. "Why have they taken to singing?" queried the reporter. Because, replied Dr Harriss, these Yorkshire people sing to live and ilve to sing. Music is their main amusement—their one delight. Some of them have been in his choir for thirty-aeven years, and it is part of their lives. In answer to other questions, Dr Harriss said that the full choir of the Musical Union numbered about 800 but the strength of the choir when they performed "The Dream of Gereontius" in London and made their reputation was 200, and that was the number he proposed to bring to Australasia. When he left England there were 537 applications for the 200 places, so there would be an abundance of material to choose from.

The soloists, continued Dr Harris, are separate I shall bring a double quartet. As to orchestra, players are easier obtainable at Home than in Canada or in Australasia. The difficulty here is that you have not orchestral players, but they have to perform in theatres and teach and do one thing and another to get a living, and that makes it awkward. Uut my desire in coming to New Zealand, as in my visits elsewhere, is to employ as far as possible the musical element in these countries, and thus derive iny orchestras. "What works, do you propose to produce?" was the next question, Dr Harriss replied: The works that are suggested, and which we can do and are prepared to do, include the Bach 'B Minor Mass,' the Bach motet 'Singye,' Elgar's 'Dream of Geroutins,' The Apostles,' 'The Damnation of Faust,' by Berlioz, Verdi's 'Requiem,' Sullivan's' Golden Legend,' Stanford's '.Revenge,' Cliff's 'Ode to the Nor'-east Wind,' my symphonic chorai idyll 'Pan,' 'The Messiah,' 'Elijah,' and innumerable part songs, glees and madriga Is. Out of this repertoire every work of which all the members of the choir can sing without a note of music before them —mark that!—we have enough and to spare to suit all tasies j in Dunedin for the three perfoi'mance | (one in the afternoon) which we propose to give.