MASTERPIECES FOR THE MASSES

New Zealand Listener, Volume 2, Issue 52, 21 June 1940, Page 11

MASTERPIECES FOR THE MASSES

Interesting Experiment In Dunedin

(From

our Dunedin Correspondent

NIQUE in broadcasting entertainment in the Dominion is the session, " Masterpieces of Music," conducted every alternate Monday from 4YA by Dr. V. E. Galway, Dunedin city organist and professor of music at the University of Otago. The purpose of the session, Dr. Galway stated to The Listener, is the creating of a fuller appreciation of music on the part of the average listener, bringing to him an understanding of the basic principles of important musical compositions. Actually the session is regarded by Dr. Galway as an extension of a special class held every Wednesday night at the University, but it is less technical. Dr. Galway’s comments over the radio are simple and popular; there is nothing of the lecture about what he says. The session lasts 40 minutes, and in that time

seven sides must be played, these occupying 28 minutes. Only the remaining 12 minutes are devoted to discussion, so that the speaker must deal concisely with his subject. The session is intended to help the average man to appreciate masterpieces of: music and to know why. Music Doesn’t Just Happen "The classes at the University," Dr. Galway explains, "were formed to discuss the poetic background and structure of music. The purpose has been to show that listening to music is more than merely letting the music pour over one. So many just listen in and bathe in a sensuous wave of beautifying tone without in the least appreciating what it is all about. They believe that music just happens, but that is not by any means the case. Through the years music has been constructed on well-defined bases. There may have been slight changes from time to time, but generally speaking the foundation is unaltered. "Tt is important that any listener to music should know the main theme on which any composition is constructed. At the University we discuss backgrounds bar by bar, but over the air I cannot do that. "In the 4YA session I always play the theme of any piece I have selected, and do not merely talk about it. The theme may be confined to two or three bars, but the whole piece is constructed upon that. A fugue affords a good example of what I mean. In a fugue the thematic bars invariably start

at the beginning of the piece, and are not hidden under introductory bars as might be the case with sonatas, symphonies, etc. Stressing this theme makes it easy for listeners to pick up every successive entry as the fugue builds up to its climax. If he misses those thematic bars at the beginning the whole value and meaning of the piece are lost to him." Some Knowledge Essential Dr. Galway stated that a knowledge of the thematic bars was essential to a full understanding of descriptive music. Referring to Tchaikovski’s "Romeo and Juliet," he said there were distinct bars representing Romeo, Juliet, Friar Lawrence, the Montagues, the Capulets, and the many principal characters of Shakespeare’s play. When a_ listener

realised the significance of those bars the play in its musical form could be followed as easily as the dramatic version, but no one, without that necessary knowledge, could reasonably be expected to follow the orchestral rendering. The "Masterpieces of Music" sessions enable listeners to separate these themes from the general music. The session is now in its fourth year, and it is held throughout the year, with a break of about six weeks over Christmas and New Year. Dr. Galway has been conducting classes along these lines on Wednesday night at the University for 15 years, and the radio interpretation was the outcome of a casual conversation with officials of the National Broadcasting Service who expressed interest in the work he was doing. This year the University class has drawn the heaviest attendance since its inception, 106 persons paying to take part in the discussions. While the majority are University students many others turn up regularly each week.