THE MASTERTON COMPETITIONS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10286, 14 July 1911, Page 5

THE MASTERTON COMPETITIONS.

CONCLUDING DAY.

OFFICERS.—Patron, His Excellency the Governor; President, His Worship the Mayor; Vice-Presid-ents, Dr Cook and Mr G. R. Sykes; Treasurer, Mr James Pryor; Judges, Dr Bradshaw (Ghristchurch), and Mr C. N. Baeyertz (Wellington), Accompaniste, Mrs F. Montague; Committee, Messrs G-. C. Branson, H. S. Claughton, J. C. Cooper, Alex. Donald, D. Hebenton, Rev. A. Hodge, J. T. M. Hornsby, F. Huun, Geo. Hutchinson, H. C. L. Robinson, R. W. Robson, 0. Pragnell, M. R. Varniham, A. H. Vile, Rev. H. Watson, E. R. Wilson, Purcell Webb, and R» J. Young; Secretary, Mr William Gillespie.

The Masterton Competitions Society'® first annual festival, which has been an unqualified success throughout, was concluded yesterday. The, audiences were, larger than on the two previous days, and ladt evening the- Hall was crowded. For to-night's wind-up concert, every available seat in the dress circle 1 has been reserved, and in addition to these a large number of seats in the orchestral stalls have been, booked. The public have displayed a keen interest in the competitions. In fact, there are some who have made a, point of hearing nearly everything on the programme. The final results are as follow: MUSICAL. BUGLE CALLS.- "General Salute," "Assembly," "Reveille." First prize value 15s, second prize value 7s 6d.— EricPryor (17) 1 Eric Candy (14) ". 2 Three competitors. B-Flat SLIDE TROMBONE.—Own selection. First prize gold medal—second prize silver medal.— G. W. Hutchinson, Masterton (41) 1 H. G. Hill, Wellington (34) 2 Three competitors. ACTION of 24 primary school children. Own selection. First prize 24 silver medals, second prize 24 bronze medals.— Lansdowne School "B." 1 Lansdowne School "A." 2 Two squads from the Masterton School also competed. EUPHONIUM.— (Own selection). First prize gold medal, second prize silver medal.— Horace Woodley, Carterton (38) ... 1 C. E. Keen, Masterton (35) ......... 2 Three competitors. VOCAL SOLO.—Boys under IG. Own selection. First prize value £l, second prize value 10s.— George Purvis, Mangarama (3S) ... 1 Stephen Bishop, Masterton (So) ... 2 Five competitors. The judge said that Masters Len Shearer (Wellington) and Harr\ Wilson (Wellington) {rave correct renderings, but their performance* were spoiled by the chest voice being forced beyond its proper limit. CHURCH CHOIR CONTEST.— Test pieces: (a) "The Sun Shall be no more" (Woodward), (b) Hymn. "Lead Kindly Light." Tune, Lux Benigna. First .prize value £lO, second prize value £s. Methodist Choir, Masterton (43) ... 1 St. T.fatthew's Choir, Masterton (42) 2 Knox Choir (Masterton), arid Berhampore Baptist Choir- (Wellington) also competed. The prize winning ohoir gave the most tuneful rendering, but the breathing was hard, and some of the words were indistinct. The. judge added that this choir's performance ;was undoubtedly the most tuneful.

No. 2:— There was a persistent tremolo" in the soprano section, which affected the whole choir. The bass was rather heavy. Very careful attention was paid to expression. Berhampore Baptist Gnoir (Wellington) gave a very carefully prepared rendering, but it '.was ruined iby coarse, harsh tone. There had been no attempt at training tie higher register. The attention to expression, was good. Knox Choir (Masterton) alßo showed signs of careful training, but the tun© at times was not good. IRISH SONG (Lady or Gent). Own selection. First prize value £1 10b, second prize value 10s.— Edward L. Lees (50) 1 Mrs David Ogilvy (and Miss Jessie McGregor (tie) 2 Thirteen competitors. VOOAL DUET (Mixed voices), "Sunset" (Goring Thomas), Cramer. First prize gold medal each, second iprize silver medal each.— Miss Vera Edward® and H. F. Green 1 'Missi E. Pinches and E. L. Lees ... 2 Five entries. MEZZO SOPRANO SOLO, "She*, pherd'e Cradle Song" (key G), Somervell) —■ Mrs Wilkes (Carterton) 43 1 Miss Jessie McGregor, 42 2 Three competitors. CONTRALTO SOLO— Test piece, "Looking Back" (key D), Sullivan. First prize value £1 10s, second prize value 10a—iMiss Jessie McGregor (48) 1 Mrs David Ogilvy (46) 2 Three competitors. ELOCUTIONARY. RECITATION (Boys 11 and under). Leslie Pryor 107 1 Clifford Miles, Masterton (105) ...... 2 Major Eton, Masterton (102) 3 There were ten competitors. The judge said that this was a most unsuitable piece for (children, and it was. very difficult for small boys to differentiate the different voices. The verse should not be printed as if it were prose. The boys. were too young to appreciate the satire. RECITATION.—(GirIs under 15.) "Among the Buds."—Final: Margaret Williams 1 Dorothy Vfle 2 Stella Cairns 3 There w«re twenty-two eompeti-

tors. Mr Baeyertz remarEed:— x+io cuief lioiocio wcro a w;"..:t of naturalness, dropping the voice at commas> and monoltbny. No one would ever speak to a child as many of the competitors spoke. I am glad to say that there were very few mispronounoiations in this, as in the other junior sections. The school teachers in' this district are evidently battling valiantly to preserve the purity of our great heritage— the English tongue.

Margaret Williams.— Keenly intelligent; splendid enunciation and pronunciation; conveyed the idea excellently well. Dorothy Vile. Very intelligent; more natural than most competitors; realised that the piece is colloquial. Some mispronunciations. Stella Cairns.— Rather inclined to rush the piece; good natural voice. Honourable mention—Marie Lightfoot (Carterton,), Keitha Pikett, and Margaret Donald. PREPARED SPEECH (Lady or Gentleman) —"The Future of New Zealand.' First prize value £1 10s, second prize value 10s.— William Kemp (100) 1 L. W. Hanlon (93) 2 Six competitors.

No. I.—English needs correcting. Has brains 1 and fluency. Competitor's statement: "Crowding £IOO worth of education into threepence worth of brains," was very good. Has something to say and says it. Said more in the -time than anyone else. Gets good grip of his subject. Evidently reads widely. Lacks elegance and grace, but a lot of natural ability.

No. 2. Inflexions not. always correct. False emphases. Arguments not very cogent. Fairly coherent. Pronunciation faulty. Sentences not badly constructed Lacks technique at present, but very promising. The following remarks were made concerning David Hebentton:—Weak argument from geographical position of New Zealand. Weak argument from the training of our workmen. Not very fluent at times. Rather lacking in imagination. Arguments not very cogent. Subject fairly well arranged. ' RECITATION.— (Gentlemen, any age). "The Midnight Charge" (Clement Scot*). First prize value £1 10s, second prize value 10s.— Edmund R. Wilson (113) 1 J. P. Delahunty, Petone (106) ... 2 Nine competitors. Most competitors recited too slowly.- ,A cavalry charge is usually somewhat rapid, and this should be suggested in the pace at which the piece is recited.

SHAKESPEARIAN DIALOGUE, (Lady and Gntlemaji). Test, "Romeo and Juliet," Act 2, seen© 2. First prize two gold medals, second prize two silver medals.— David Hebenton and Miss N. Hogg 1 Claud Smith and Miss N. Hogg ... 2 Four competitors. As usual, competitors in this section fail entirely to appreciate the music of Shakes'peare'si blank verse. It is most deplorable that the word® of this piece were printed as if they .<mv probe. SHAKESPEARIAN RECITATION (Ladies), — ■ Third part of Henry VI., act 5, scene 3, "Queen Margaret's Speech at Tewksbury." First prize value £1 10s, second prize value 10s —. Miss Pauline Brown (Otaki), 115... 1 Miss Margaret M. Williams (110)... 2 Nino competitors. No. I. Very fine voice, and enunciation. Lack of feeling for the music. Too slow at times, and slightly overdone. Some false emphases ox ser.so, and inclined to drop voice at «n.d of lines, but :v very bright and intelligent performance. No. 2. Must get voice trained and developed. Recites as if it were flat prose. Very correct- emphases as a rule, distinct enunciation and. good inflexions, but lack of modulation IMPROMPTU DEBATE.—"She " 1 Women-Smoke?" First prize t._o gold medals, second prize two silver medals.— W. Kemp (affirm.) and A. Rippon (neg.) 1 J. Pryor (affirm.) and S. R. Edwards (neg.) .: B Four competitors.

-Of course the negative had the best end of the stick in this debate, but.the prizes were given to , the best performances in the aggregate.. Strange to say, the affirmatives in every case were more effective than the negatives. One of the competitors wanted a heavier subject. Well, as a rule, the so-called impromptu speech is not impromptu at all. I alwavs try to think of a subject that shall be really impromptu.