Talks on Music

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 437, 7 November 1947, Page 19

Talks on Music

[N the second talk of the series, The Revival of English Music, A, F. Manning, speaking about "The New Musical my ote continued the work begun by Miss Mary Martin in her preliminary talk, and reinforced her account of the pre-Handel period with a summary of musical trends from the MHandelian "dark ages" to the present day. Factors in the revival of music were the unbroken choral tradition, the gradual education of a large public by Sir Henry Wood and the "Proms," and the undoubted influence of the gramophone and the radio. Critics might question the value of these latter influences, said Mr. Manning, but proof of a great new audience interested in the best music was the difficulty of supplying sufficient records to satisfy a constantly growing demand, and such facts as the sale of 20,000 copies of a work like Britten’s Michaelangelo Sonnets, a work for the connoisseur which only a very small percentage of buyers would perform. Mr, Manning’s talk, as Miss Martin’s, was illustrated by a programme of modern British music from 4YO, in arranging which the difficulty must have been to restrict the programme to a mere hour. In contrast with the post-Handel times in England, a modern representative programme of the best music might well occupy a couple of days and still allow of an almost inexhaustible reservoir on ‘which to draw. These talks fill a gap which has been apparent for a long time; for until recently Dunedin stations have been\well .enough off for talks on almost any subject save those relating to music. But there is one criticism which I. would venture to make — neither speaker so far has delivered the material of these excellent talks with anything like the enthusiasm warranted by the subject!