EIGHT CROWDED YEARS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 18, Issue 453, 27 February 1948, Page 8

EIGHT CROWDED YEARS

Isobel Baillie Returns to N.Z.

IGHT years ago a famous British soprano was aloft over Cook Strait on her way from Wellington to Nelson. It was her first flight and fortunately she liked the experience — fortunate, for in the years that were to follow the singer was to travel many thousands of miles by plane, including in the last few days a round-the-world trip that was to bring her back to New Zealand. The soprano who had her introduction to air transport on the Cook Strait run was Isobel Baillie and the occasion was her visit here in 1940 to take part in the Centennial celebrations; now Miss Baillie is in the Dominion again, this time to appear as guest artist with the National Orchestra of the NZBS and to give public recitals and studio broad-

casts in the four main centres: and in Hastings, Napier and Invercargill. The years between Miss Baillie’s two New Zealand tours have been crowded ones. It may be recalled that following her Centennial engagements, which included her one and only appearance in opera-Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust -Miss Baillie spent a month, while waiting for a shipping passage, touring with a string quartet, during which she travelled 20,000 miles. Her journey to the United States was uneventful, but the voyage across the Atlantic had to be made, at a time when submarine warfare was at its height, in an unescorted ship, the Samaria, which placed its hopes of a safe crossing in its speed and the zig-zag course it ran taking it almost-to Iceland. On arrival at Liverpool an air raid was in progress and the Samaria had to hove to jn the Channel for five hours. The hardest part of this experience, Miss Baillie says, was not being able even to telephone friends or relatives. The next evening. Miss Baillie grrived in Manchester, but there also the bombs

were falling and she spent her first evening at home in an air raid shelter. It was a foretaste of what was to come. In London she was to experience many more raids, including V1’s and V2’s. ' Her narrowest escape occurred one evening when she was in her flat at St. John’s Wood. She disliked being in a darkened closed room when a raid was on and so had opened the curtains and as she lay on her bed waiting for the raid to end she saw a V1 sail past the window. She thought this would be the end but the bomb went a further 500 yards before exploding. During the war years Miss Baillie made regular appearances at the lunchhour concerts at the National Gallery and 'the Royal Exchange-performances usually of 50 minutes each, In addition she entertained at R.A.F. stations,

Navy Yards, hospitals and convalescent camps. Following the landing in Europe, a Continental tour was plan ned, but victory came sooner than wag expected and it was actually six weeks after VE Day that Miss Baillie landed in Paris, and from there went on to Brussels, Luneberg and Antwerp, giving recitals to the troops-ten concerts in eleven days. As a tribute to her Thibaud played a solo in the middle of her first programme in Paris. In the past eight years, Miss Baillie says, she has giveh mdre concerts than in all the rest of her life, and the fact that she had her first big concert success in 1923 and has been singing ever since gives some idea of what this means. But perhaps it can be better gauged from a glance at her diary for January prior to her leaving for New Zealand: January 1: BBC broadcast. January 3: Royal Choral Society at, Albert Hall. January 4: Liverpool Philharmonia (Messiah). (continued on next page)

(continued from previous page) January 8: Messiah at Newport January 10: Recital at Hereford. January 11; Recital at Stoke Newington. January 12: Broadcast to U.S.A, January 15: Church recital at Fal-, mouth. January 16: Creation at Truro, January 18: Messiah at Orpington. January 21: Recital at Bromley. January 22: Church Recital at Loughborough. January 23: Recital at Bristol. January 24: Recital at Highgate. In recent years a number of visiting conductors have appeared at concerts in London and Miss Baillie has had the experience of singing at Albert Hall under the baton of Bruno Walter and Victor de Sabata and of taking part in four Hallé concerts conducted by Barbirolli. It was for Sir Malcolm Sargent, however, that she reserved her warmest praise. She had performed at several concerts in the Albert Hall where he had conducted a huge combined choir of perhaps a thousand voices. "It’s marvellous what he can get out. of them," the visitor commented. "He’s somebody you really should try and get to come out here.’ This turn in the conversation reminded Miss Baillie of a concert that was given in 1943 called "Salute to Russia," which, in addition to the musical side of the programme, included the speaking of some verse by Sir Laurence Olivier. It was observed to Miss Baillie that New Zealand was

especially interested in the Oliviers as they were shortly coming to New Zealand and she mentioned that she was friendly with them and recollected their calling to see her after her performance in the Messiah on Good Friday two years ago at the Albert Hall. Miss Baillie said that in recent months she had made a number of new recordings, including Elijah, the solo, "The Sun Goeth Down" from Elgar’s Kingdom; and a scene from Dvorak’s Spectre’s Bride. When she returns to England she has engagements with the Hallé Orchestra for a performance of the Messiah, with the Liverpool Philharmonic Society, and with’ two choral societies-- Huddersfield and ‘Three Choirs. She is also singing at the Second Edinburgh Festival, probably with the Huddersfield*Choral Society in the B Minor Mass and Fauré’s Requiem. When "The Listener" went to Press the schedule for Miss Baillie’s tour was as follows: March 2 and 4, public appearance with the National Orchestra at Auckland; March 7, 14, and 16, studio broadcast from Wellington; March 18, public recital at Hastings; March 20, public recital at Napier; March 24, public performance of the "Messiah" with the Royal Wellington Choral Union; March 26 and 28, studio broadcasts from Christchurch; March 30, public solo recital at Christchurch; April 3 end 10, with National Orchestra at Dunedin; April 13, 15, 17, and 19, with National Orchestra at Invercargill; April 22 and 23, Bach "B Minor Mass" with National Orchestra in Christchurch.