AUCKLAND'S MUSIC FESTIVAL

New Zealand Listener, Volume 2, Issue 49, 31 May 1940, Page 11

AUCKLAND'S MUSIC FESTIVAL

Impressive Choral Programmes Arranged

UTSTANDING choral programmes and no fewer than four complete presentations of Gounod’s "Faust" will highlight Auckland’s Centennial Music Festival which opens on Friday, June 7, and in a spirit of friendly rivalry no effort is being spared to surpass, if possible, the impressive scale on which Dunedin and Christchurch staged their festivals. The overseas artists and important visitors for the festival will be welcomed at a luncheon given by the Auckland Society of Musicians-a body some 200 strong-on Thursday, June 6, at Auckland University College, and the visitors will also be entertained at morning tea by the Auckland Travel Club the following day. The celebrations proper, from the point of view of the general public, will begin with the first performance of "Faust" on Friday evening, June 7. It will be a momentous start, for the preparations for the opera have been on a scale unprecedented in Auckland. In addition to the overseas singets in the main roles, assisted by local artists, there will be a full chorus and ballet, with appropriately impressive settings. The Auckland singers who will have solo parts are Ruth Martin (contralto), who will take the part of Martha, and Martin Liddle (baritone),

who will have the role of Wagner. The stage manager will be Rex Sayers. "Finest Ever Heard" Both chorus and ballet have been in intensive rehearsal for a long period and have attained a high level of proficiency. Indeed, Professor H. Hollinrake, the Auckland representative on the National Committee, is confident that "Faust" will be a revelation to the audiences and to the listening public. "The performance of ‘Faust’," he said, "promises to be the finest ever heard in New Zealand." Choral Works The major choral presentation will be Sir Edward Elgar’s oratorio setting of "The Dream of Gerontius," written by Cardinal Newman. This mystic and majestic work will be sung in the Auckland Town Hall on Saturday, June 8, the soloists being Gladys Ripley (contralto), Heddle Nash (tenor), and Raymond Beattie (bass-baritone). They will be assisted by the Auckland Choral Society, the Royal Auckland Male Choir and the National Orchestra. Newman’s poem is a moving narrative, telling how Gerontius, on his deathbed, sees the mysteries of the unknown, how, after death, his soul is escorted sy the Guardian Angel to the throne of God. Elgar’s music follows the Wagnerian form, giving in the prelude an epitome of the leading themes of the work. In succession follow themes representing Judgment, Fear and Prayer, with others suggestive of Despair and Death. The work is scored for contralto, tenor and baritone. Gerontius is the tenor, the Guardian Angel the contralto, and the baritone is the Angel of the Agony.

Souvenir Programme In keeping with the quality of the entertainment provided, the Auckland organising committee has printed a 48-page souvenir programme which will be an admirable permanent record of the season. The booklet has been fully illustrated throughout and it contains, in addition to details of the programmes, the complete libretto of all the choral works to be presented during the festival, as well as articles dealing with the history of the Auckland Choral Society, of orchestral music in Auckland and the part played in the musical life of the city by the University College. There are also many annotations, dealing with practically all the musical compositions which will be heard.