THINGS TO COME

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 92, 28 March 1941, Page 6

THINGS TO COME

A Run Through The Programmes

EGINNING at 5.30 p.m., and with a break for a meal, the Schola Cantorum of Wellington will present the full St. Matthew’s Passion on Saturday, April 5, but only Part IL, beginning at 8 p.m., will be broadcast (from 2YC). This fine choir, under the conductorship of Stanley Oliver, and assisted by the NBS ‘String Orchestra, will sing in the lofty hall of the Dominion Museum. According to a leading authority, "the S¢. Matthew’s Passion is, by general consent, technically, emotionally, and de‘votionally the greatest work of its kind ever written .. . The narrator is a tenor. When he comes to the words of eny of the characters these are taken up by singers representing the charac‘ters, except that, the words of Jesus have an invariable accompaniment of strings only. The chorus sometimes repTesents the crowd and sometimes the whole body of Christendom in reflective mood. Music has never been so worthily employed in the service of religion as it is in this work." For Easter Brides : Most people know why so many people choose to get married at Easter, but even the brides themselves don’t always know what to wear and where to buy it. With this in mind, Station 3ZB already has an "Easter Bride" session in full swing, and if you, dear Christchurch reader, intend being an Easter bride, which we sincerely hope you do, you had better tune in to

3ZB every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 3.30 p.m. And if you’re not a complete Easter Bride after that, we give you up. Wallow-time "A riotous German dance of modern invention" was Dr. Burney’s description of the waltz in 1805. He goes on, " The _verb waltzen whence this word is derived implies to roll or wallow. in the dirt or mire." After this it is perhaps small wonder that Victorian mothers were uneasy about their daughters when the waltz was introduced to England. But the programme of waltz tunes to be broadcast at 7.45 from 2YA on Saturday evenings has the familiarity that breeds content rather than contempt. And no mother need have misgivings about the daughters in our picture, who are obviously in the Austen tradition and are being asked to stand up with a nice young man. Mother can of course supervise from behind the aspidistra, reviving Carnet de Bal memories and clicking her needles to the rhythm of the Blue Dan-

ube or the Merry Widow or even Waltzing Matilda (if she’s a. very quick knitter and if Matilda gets into the programme by mistake). Infant Prodigy "Who is your favourite among the great composers?" Rossini was once asked. He replied, "I take Beethoven twice a week, Haydn four times, and Mozart every day." Such is the fame and affection Wolfgang Mozart has always enjoyed among his fellow composers. He was, of course, the extreme example of infant precocity. He showed promise of his genius at the age of three, and early notes kept by his father contain such surprising remarks as "Wolfgang learnt this minuet when he was four,’ and "this minuet and trio was learnt by Wolfgang in half an hour at half past nine at night on January 26, 1761, one day before his fifth year." Mozart’s work is discussed in the "Celebrity Session" from station 2ZB on Saturday, April 5, at 7.0 p.m. Among the artists heard will be Wilhelm Backhaus playing the "Don Juan Serenade," and Richard Crooks singing "Il Mio Tesoro" from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. Soaring Soprano The thrill of flight, of soaring out into the free air, and the clammy sinking feeling of fear, are experiences which can never be imagined or told by any-

one who has never flown. In a talk from 2YA on Wednesday, April 2, entitled "Why I Learnt to Fly," Evelyn Gardiner, the Gilbert and Sullivan soprano, will describe her feelings, and her report rings true. She was afraid to fly, and frightened when she was in the air.

She had never before let anything get the better of her, and was so ashamed that she felt she had to do something about it. One day she did, and she tells how she nearly killed herself and her instructor until the moment came when, in her own dramatic words, " you know you have really got control of your own destiny-you are master of your fate. The earth and its petty squabbles appear as nothing, only the sun and the air and the blue space above so clean, so rare, so pure, make earth beneath you appear a mere nothing. You are one with the universe." At that moment, one might well imagine, she burst into song. What a Polichean Likes You should be able to judge for yourselves whether or not a policeman’s life is a happy one when you hear what type of music is chosen by the policeman in the new 2YA feature next Friday night. The NBS people have sought out workers in various walks. of life, and persuaded them to appear in a new "I Know What I Like" session, which follows the lines of a similar session a year or two ago. On that occasion, if we remember aright, the policeman made no bones about including the famous old Gilbert and Sullivan tune, which was thoroughly in keeping with the cheerful nature of the music chosen by the others-chemist, salesman, doctor, typist, and so on. With the exception of the doctor, whose taste was highbrow, the fancy of all the others ran to popular melodies, and it will be interesting to see if musical appreciation has increased in the years between. Jean Macfarlane Returns An Australian radio paper started its biography of Jean Macfarlane with the guileless statement that she is " pleasantly plump and proud of it." Now The Listener wouldn’t say things like that about people in our programmes-we prefer to say something about their singing, though here also we can turn again to Australia; they call Jean Macfarlane there "The New Zealand Clara Butt." Jean is a Scots lassie who came to New Zealand as a girl, and was heard in a choir by Roland Foster, of the Sydney Conservatorium, who per-

suaded her to take up singing professionally. After several recitals at the Conservatorium, she made two tours through New Zealand for the NBS two or three years ago. She has also been doing radio work in Australia and is now scheduled to sing from all the main national stations beginning with three recitals from 2YA next week. She loves Scottish songs, which are particularly suitable to her attractive accent, but she has also given special attention to the songs of Brahms, Schubert, and Schumann, and in recent years has added to her repertoire a number of operatic arias. Sea and Stars The "Who Wrote That?" boys will be at it again next Sunday from 2YA when they move down to the seashore to hear what the wild waves are saying. It is fortunate for them that they belong to a maritime people like the British, for our literature is full of references to the sea, the sea, the open sea, to exploration, storms, winds, and far distant places. British composers also have frequently been inspired by the sea, and it is to be hoped that the usual "musical interludes" include some sea shanties. On the following Sunday, April 6, our three friends will give the sixth and last session of the ‘ Who Wrote That?" feature. This should be the easiest of the lot of them, for they will be referring to the Stars in their Courses and there has probably been more poetry written about the’ stars than about any other subject. —