On Hearing Joan Hammond Sing...

New Zealand Listener, Volume 15, Issue 384, 1 November 1946, Page 6

On Hearing Joan Hammond Sing...

tralian lyric soprano, who is known to us through her gramophone records as a fine singer in the broad cantabile style, began her first concert in New Zealand (given in Wellington and _ broadcast by 2YA) with an air from an opera by Gluck, and at the end of her programme she sang two well-known Puccini arias. In between were lieder, ballads, Russian and English songs, and two other operatic excerpts. Her five operatic items stood out far and away from the remainder of her programme, exhibiting her wonderful voice at its very best..It is a clear and charming voice; the kind of voice that seems, like the notes of a bellbird, to create its own sounding chamber. One could believe that it would have that same liquid quality anywhere. J ei HAMMOND, the AusF * HE beautiful Gluck aria "O del mio doce ardor" was just right for the exciting moment of hearing Miss Hammond sing for the first time. Falconieri’s villanella "Non piu d’amore" was a contrast to the Gluck, and it may be that a song of this kind requires a more agile voice for its quick, pointed rhythms. It was followed by what appeared to be an arrangement of a wellknown movement from a string quartet by Haydn-the piece often played separately as "Serenade." In Miss Hammond’s programme, this was described as "Canzonetta de Concert." It had been given words, in Italian, about "mio tesoro," and some additional vocal ornaments. Miss Hammond sang it very charmingly. we en eee

From this light trifle she made the transition to Dido’s Lament (from Purcell's Dido and Aeneas) and gave a moving performance of one of the most tragic things in operatic music. One was suddenly reminded of her stage skill when she sang her last "but ah, forget my fate," and was able to prevent the audience from applauding before the _ pianist finished the postlude. She has fine stage manners, without one mannerism, and an easy dignity that gives place readily to winsome charm when the music calls for it. The group of four Brahms lieder brought out all the warmth of Miss Hammond’s generous art. When she must leave the operatic repertoire, these are songs that suit her well. Bo uk 7 FTER the interval, Miss Hammond sang "Oh never sing to me again the songs of Georgia,’ by Rachmaninoff (named in the programme as "Oh never sing to me again," which is not quite the same thing). This was followed by Rubinstein’s "The Dew it Shines." Both were beautifully sung. "Don’t come in, sir, please," a setting by Cyril Scott, which contrived to make a_ whimsical’ poem sound sentimental, and Quilter’s "Love’s Philosophy" completed this group, and led the way to "The Waters of Minnetonka," which was greeted with the stamping of feet. Miss Hammond’s last group included songs by Cowen, Parry, and Hageman, and an arrangement by Liza Lehmann of "Have you seen but a whyte lily grow." With the two Puccini arias which she sang as encores to the last group, Miss

Hammond stepped back into her own ideal metier. The quality of her voice, the training it has been given, and her temperament and inclination all seem to define her as a lyric soprano‘to be heard best in music that has all the breadth of the operatic field, but with less effect in drawing-room music of restricted emotional range. Es a % LL this implies that Miss Hammond lacks the "versatility" we hear so much about these days, but this is to her credit. There were great singers long before such a mixture of music was available for singing. When the Gluck aria which Miss Hammond sang so beautifully was composed, it was not even possible to obtain such a diverse collection of songs. Music had not been turned to so many uses in Europe. Yet this was no limitation upon artists. In our own times the formula for a recital programme, while purporting to exhibit an artist’s "range," seems only to restrict a singer like Joan Hammond and prevent her from giving us the full force of her art in music that will accommodate it. If only she would sing more Gluck, some Handel, some more Purcell, and something of Monteverdi, she would have her audience stamping their feet for such music; instead she has to sing "By the Waters of Minnetonka" to get anything like an expression of opinion from them. Raymond Lambert not only did a firstrate job as a well-matched accompanist for Miss Hammond, but. played some effective piano music that established his status of "associate artist."

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