THINGS TO COME

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 434, 17 October 1947, Page 4

THINGS TO COME

A Run Through The Programmes

Exuberant Berlioz BERLIOZ, whom a recent biographer, J. H. Elliot, called "the most baffling phenomenon in musical history" tended to offset his undoubtedly brilliant orchestration with occasional lapses into vulgarity and bad taste, uncontrolled emotionalism, or technical crudeness which make his name anathema to many of those who prefer in music the clean lines of classic purity. Percy Scholes, in describing Berlioz as a giant orchestrator, defines the composer’s ideal orchestra as consisting of 240 string instruments, 30 grand ‘pianos, 30 harps, and wind and percussion to scale. The recording of the Symphonie Fantastique which 1YX listeners will hear at 9.2 p.m. this Sunday, October 19, was not made on that extravagant scale, but the music itself is a good example of the romantic exuberance chafacteristic of the composer. Nelson’s Day CTOBER is becoming a good month for battle anniversaries. The fifth anniversary of E] Alamein (which many regard as the turning-point of the last war) falls on October 24, but it is with a battle which turnéd the tide of a more distant conflict that we are concerned at the moment. It was just 142 years ago on October 21 that the naval might of Napoleon was finally destroyed by Nelson’s fleet, and every year since then England and the 'Empire have commemorated this day which marks both a memorable victory and the death of a great leader. As Britons we have always been proud of our sea-faring heritage, and in the programme "Trafalgar Day" to be heard from 4YA at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 21, tribute is paid once more to the importance of that heritage in our history. Royal, Show HE clinging odour of popcorn and candy-floss (or their 1947 equivalents), and the competitive bellowing of the barkers in side-show alley, are among the first sensory impressions of an agricultural and pastoral show. And a show in New Zealand is what its name implies-an exhibition of the country’s farming (and industrial) progress. A show, too, is one of the most democratic of our public institutions, for at the, turnstiles the hoopla-man rubs shoulders with the station-holder, and the prize beast in the cattle section joins in the grand parade with the champion sow, the hacks, and the hunters. There are the luscious vegetables, the sparkling home-made wines, the jams and jellies, and* the crisp cakes and scones in the produce tents, all making up a display of what brain and hand can accomplish on the farm and in the home. The first post-war New Zealand Royal Show will be held sat Tomoana this month, and an observer from Station 2YH will give first-hand glimpses of the scene at intervals throughout the day from 9.0 am. on Wednesday, October 22, and 9.5 a.m. on Thursday, October 23. ‘avel Masterpiece AVEL’S most popular composition and his most artistic were both written on commission for ballets:

_- Bolero (his most popular) for Mlle. Rubinstein, and Daphnis and Chloe (his artistic masterpiece) for Serge Diaghilef. The latter work, which is in the form of two orchestral suites, will be heard from 4YZ at 2.15 p.m. on Thursday, October 23. It was first produced with Diaghilef’s Russian Ballet at Paris in 1912, and has since been one of the most frequently performed works in the modern symphonic repertoire. Only last

year the American critic Gilbert Chase said of it, "This score represents the culmination of Ravel’s inspiration: the harmonic texture is complex and’ elaborate without abandoning the basic principle of tonality; the instrumentation evokes a shimmering array of tonetints, yet remains always an integral part of the musical fabric; the melodic lines are pure and graceful, the form is organic and perfect." Songs at the Fair "HE large iron-roofed building in Christchurch’s Hereford Street, known as the King Edward Barracks, has been the scene of some widely-varied occasions. Tens of thousands of soldiers have marched up and down its tancovered floor; the State Conservatorium Orchestra, New South Wales, played there in 1920 under Henri Verbrugghen; a famous evangelist, supported by a white-robed choir of local women, swayed huge congregetions there some years ago. And in between times it has been a recruiting office and departure point for service overseas’ At 8.0 p.m. on Friday, October 24, the Barracks will see the official opening of the 1947 New Zealand Industries Fair. On the following evening, at 730, the Southernaires Instrumental Sextet and the Three Voices in Harmony will be heard from a model studio at the fair, and songs in dialect wiil be sung at 8.30 p.m. by the baritone, A. G. Thompson, these programmes being broadcast through 3YA. Bach Triptych "THE ramifications of the Bach family are almost as numerous and as complicated as ‘those of Johann Sebastian’s Art of Fugue; the known history of the tribe extends over seven generations, and members of it still flourish, though the direct male line of the composer died out in the 19th Century. The stock was pure German of the sturdiest physical and mental type; and a surprisingly large proportion of it was musically gifted." These are the prefatory remarks of Ernest Newman, 2 recent biographer of J. S. Bach, and he goes on to say that of Johann Sebastian’s numerous sons, four are considered to have carried on with genius

or talent the musical traditions of this amazing family. From 1YX at 9.0 p.m. on Saturday, October 25, a programme entitled "The Sons of Bach" will feature vocal, piano and orchestral works by three of his sons, Carl Philippe Emmanuel, Wilhelm Friedemann, and Johann Christian. Simon Pure | MAGINE that you once did a good turn to a rich woman who later died and left all her wordly possessions to you and you alone, but that for some Teason or other the lawyer administering this woman’s estate could not find you to tell you of your good fortune. Well, that is just about what happened to Simon Curle, the hero of ’the latest NZBS production The Saga of Simon Curle, written by the English playwright Charles Hatton. Although Simon was just an ordinary chap, he had one unusual .trait-he was one of those disinterested idealists who try to help other people without any thought of personal gain. A young girl wanted to be a poet, but her literary efforts met with no success until she was fortunate enough to meet Simon; a motor mechanic wanted to set up a factory and manufacture his own cars, but it needed thestimulus of Simon’s encouragement to make his dream into a reality. There were others, too-the lawyer meets them all and hears their tales-but they don’t know what has happened to their elusive benefactor. In the: end, however, he is found-where? Well, we don’t want to spoil the ending for you. It will all be explained if you listen in to 2YA at 9.32 p.m. on Sunday, October 26,