Words by Masefield
SUPPOSE few poets have lent themselves to music so readily as Masefield; the rhythm and swing of his lines ery out for musical setting. But his is a jangerously tempting rhythm, so regular that the amateur composer, in attempting to translate him into music, must resist the lure of over-emphasis of the obvious. Possibly that is why few composers have really succeeded with Masefield, and why most settings of such s as "Cargoes," "Sea Fever," "Trade Winds" and so on have a flavour
of the popular ballad about them, even when the composer has gone out of his way to avoid this by making his harmonies intricate and by breaking up the march of his rhythm. Station 4YO’s programme of settings of Masefield
poems included mostly sea poems, and had about it a fresh and vigorous salty tang. The only song I didn’t like was "Mother Carey," in which Nelson Eddy does an unfortunate imitation of the style of John Charles Thomas.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19470424.2.20.3
Bibliographic details
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 16, Issue 409, 24 April 1947, Page 10
Word count
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165Words by Masefield New Zealand Listener, Volume 16, Issue 409, 24 April 1947, Page 10
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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