THINGS TO COME

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 89, 7 March 1941, Page 6

THINGS TO COME

A Run Through The Programmes

HATEVER you may think of this business of readings from books, with musical interludes, you must admit that the readers do dig out some old favourites that you’ had forgotten about years ago. Take the readings given by O. L. Simmance from 3YA for example. This Wednesday he brings to light a real old-time favourite in boys’ books, "Omoo," by Herman Melville, the author of "Moby Dick." A hundred years ago, Melville sailed round the Horn in a whaler, deserted in the Marquesas Islands, and got into some very nasty predicaments with cannibals, which he relates in his book "Typee." "Omoo" is a continuation of "Typee," and is all about tough whalers and very charming but only superficially-converted Polynesians; and before the days of aviation, westerns and detective thrillers, it was the sort of thing that kept the boys up after bedtime. Sporting Talk Do you follow "Who wrote that?" the informal discussion between three very literary-minded friends, given from 2YA on Sunday afternoons? Their ability to recognise and label any literary quotation made in the course of conversation is rather reminiscent of the cross-talk between Lord Peter Wimsey and the Detective Inspector in Dorothy Sayers’s novel "Busman’s Honeymoon." Next Sunday afternoon, March 9, our three friends are moving out into the open air and indulging in an orgy of literary sporting events, for racing, hunting and cricket have all contributed richly to our

everyday language. One doesn’t need to be a literary man to enjoy this feature, anyone can join in, and, judging by the argument that goes on at our place when they are finished, everyone does. We haven’t caught them out yet, though; they must have some awfully good books. Turning Back One of the most versatile personalities at Station 1ZB is Rod Talbot, who is best known for his "Diggers’ Session," but has also established a reputation as a sports authority, and has a large audience for his regular "Men and Motoring" session. Now he has branched out with an entirely new programme which he calls "Turning Back ‘the Pages,’ and which is a half-hour of tunes and recordings which have mostly been dead and forgotten for many years. The libraries of records maintained by broadcasting stations for everyday entertainment are, of course, as just as up-to-date as they can be kept, so Mr. Talbot has had to enlist the co-operation of listeners for material. The result is a session of records, many of them pre-electric, which must bring back pleasant memories to anyone who kept abreast of popular records in the good old days. "Turning Back the Pages" is heard at 10 p.m. every Tuesday.

Dog Stories Do dogs think? Members of Tailwaggers Clubs are sure of it, lovers of cats disdain to answer, the vast bulk of the public would like to think they do, but who knows? Tales of doggy sagacity are legion, and Mrs. Spence Clark knows many good stories, some of which she will probably relate

in her talk on " Dog Guides and Guards" from 3YA on Friday, March 14: That the dog has played his part in history none can doubt, from the mastiffs of the Knights of Rhodes who knew a Turk from a Christian by smell, to the spaniel who saved the Dutch Republic by waking William the Silent during the night attack on the camp before Mons. But whether these and other stories are examples of thinking or of instinct is still the bone of contention.

First Broadcast A musical programme of quite unusual interest will be presented from 2YA on March 16 and 18. These will be the first broadcasts in New Zealand of the famous choral work "The Requiem" of Brahms, for choir and orchestra. It will be performed under the conductorship of Andersen Tyrer, with the combined NBS String Orchestra and 2YA Orchestra, and with H, Temple White as chorus master, The

soloists are Phyllis Lawson (soprano), and the Rev. Lawrence A. North (baritone). The word requiem is generally used as meaning the Mass for the Dead, but in the case of this work, it is not a Requiem Mass but a setting of passagcs from the German Bible.

Meeow! When two young ladies announce a "catty" programme of songs and pianoforte music from the studio, they are liable to be misunderstood. In this case, Vivienne and Betty Blamires from 2YA on Thursday, March 13, are quite inno-cent-they don’t mean catty in the nasty catty sense, but only music about cats, and they have a wide field to work on, There are two cases among famous

composers of ideas in composition coming from the behaviour of cats. Chopin’s so-called Cat Valse. Op. 34, No. 3, recalls a legend that the composer’s cat jumped on the key-board as he was composing and, running up and down, suggested to him the appoggiatura passage in the fourth section. Another example is that of Scarlatti’s "Cat’s Fugue.’ Behind the nickname lies a story as to the origin of the fugue in notes played by the composer’s cat in walking over the keyboard of the harpsichord. We hope that nobody is catty enough to suggest that the Misses Blamires shouldn’t have been so misleading in their title.

Amusement Made Easy Like newspapers, radio stations are expected*to be encyclopaedias and directories as well, at the beck and call of any perplexed member of the public. A new departure by 3ZB in this direction is a Saturday morning session "What’ll I Do?" which is really a guide to week-end amusements and recreations around Christchurch. Christchurch provides generous measure in the way. of entertainment, and 3ZB lists it all. From cricket to cabarets, from hiking to indoor bowls, it’s all down on 3ZB’s little list. It certainly simplifies the strenuous business of amusing oneself. Icarus to Messerschmitt Although the very title "Winter Course Talks" is a slur on Auckland’s weather (for the talks, are due to begin on March 13, when even the far South should still be enjoying. fine sunny weather), the mew series: under the general "Winter Course" heading promises to be the most fascinating yet given. Talking of titles, we should like to have called this series, which appears humbly under the name of "This Age

of Flight," something dramatic like "From Icarus to Messerschmitt" because it does in fact cover the whole history of aviation. Professor T. D. J. Leech, the new Professor of Engineering at Auckland University College is a specialist in aviation, and all the small boys in the Auckland province will be joined by their betters when the Professor speaks on "The Aeroplane, How it Flies and How it is Made." Succeeding addresses will be on the aeroplane engine, electricity, and the aeroplane, and on aerial navigation, all by lecturers on engineering at Auckland University, with the final talk on "The Future of the Aeroplane," by Professor Leech again. These new "Winter Course" talks will begin at 7.30 or 7.35 p.m. each Thursday evening, and each will be limited to 20 minutes. The first series on aviation will be followed by one on " Changing Society."

Picking the Best One of the drawing-room games which our fathers played was picking the 10 books you would take with you on a desert island. Perhaps a modern equivalent is the way in which everyone has the ideal Cabinet just after each election. A recent excursion into the old game was when Mac, the sports announcer of 2YD, interviewed an oldtimer, and they had a lot of fun choosing a world cricket eleven. However oldfashioned the idea may be, this type of interview makes most interesting listening. Only a few people heard it from 2YD, so a record has been made, and will be presented from 4YA on Wednesday, March 12. Gunes