DEDICATED TO N.Z. CHILDREN

New Zealand Listener, Volume 18, Issue 456, 19 March 1948, Page 32

DEDICATED TO N.Z. CHILDREN

New Song Arrangements by Alec Rowley

O-DAY about 14,000 schools in Great Britain use the BBC’s school radio service. Every teacher is free to take any or none of the. broadcasts; and it is much the same in New Zealand where about 1,700 schools take full advaritage of the free service provided by the NZBS. But, like the BBC, the NZBS does far more than broadcast educational sessions for children, for every year it supplements the radio lessons on music, travel, literature, and so on with booklets, also issued free to all schools who want them. $ome time ago the Broadcasts to Schools Department of the NZBS found difficulty in securing suitable songs for use in its sessions, so it wrote to Alec Rowley, the English composer and’ teacher, for advice. Mr. Rowley replied that the copyright laws of Britain were severe, and publishers were extremely reluctant to part with copyrights, He suggested that instead of selecting songs from various publishers, he should provide a complete booklet, at a nominal

fee, for school broadcasting. His generous offer was accepted gladly and 5,000 copies of the booklet, which Rowley has dedicated to the children of New Zealand, have now been printed in New Zealand for teachers who use the radio lessons. Rowley’s compositions for adult audiences are rarely heard in New Zealand, for they are written for exclusive ensembles. But his music for the young is very widely known in British educational. circles. He has written chamber music, orchestral and vocal compositions. Two pianoforte concertos (one with military ‘band accompaniment) were broadcast for the first time in 1938. A vocal suite (sung but without words) was presented by the Fleet Street Choir in 1938, and performed: during the choir’s European tour. Music and Soccer Rowley’s chamber music compositions include two trios for flute, oboe and piano, and a string quartet (broadcast by the' Chelsea String Quartet in 1937) and among his orchestral works are a thapsody for viola and orchestra, and a

+ concerto for oboe and orchestra which was played by Leon Goossens in the U.S. As a pianist, Rowley is best known by his broadcasts of -pianoforte duets with Edgar Moy, a Trinity College examiner who visited New Zealand about two years ago. When not engaged with music Rowley is an enthusiastic follower of Association football. The NZBS$ music booklet is expected to form a link with the work which has bgen done for many years in English schools. In a foreword to it, T. J. Young, lecturer in music at the Wellington Teachers’ Training College (who cons ducts studio singing lessons from 2YA every Thursday throughout the year, with the help of children from the Kel-« burn School), says that all concerned will be grateful for the interest Rowley has shown in the musical education of the Dominion. It will not be possible to do more than introduce each song over the air, but this, it is hoped, will provide a starting-point for a subsequent week’s work in the classroom. The only way to get any real benefit from the

songs and to make definite progress igs for the teacher to assist with each broadcast, directing the class when necessary, conducting, encouraging soft, tuneful singing, and helping individual pupils to follow instructions. Training Eye and Ear It is important that notation work should not be neglected. Sight-reading is not an end in itself, but its primary function should be to train the eye and ear of the pupil so that he may grow into ah intelligent listener, capable of reaching the minds of those composers whose ‘music has something really worth-while to say. A weekly music lesson over the air is of little value withcut the whole-hearted active co-opera= tion and participation of the teacher in the lesson itself, and meticulously careful attention to instructions and suggestions for follow-up lessons and daily voice exercises. With this follow-up, the entirely untrained but appreciative and enthusiastic teacher can work wonders. Without it the result is inevitable disappointment and failure both for the teacher and children. "There is one person who holds the key to success in all radio lessons, and that is the teacher in the classroom," says Mr. Young. "He is by far the most important factor in the whole educational process. His influence is much greater than that of the broadcaster and his attitude and enthusiasm are directly reflected in the response of his class." Well-Varied Selection In the bocklet are three songs with words by Doris Rowley and music by Alec Rowley-The Frog’s Holiday, Morning and Evening Hymns, and Last Praise. A two-part canon Elves’ Song, is by Rowley, who has also written the arrangement of a Basque melody, Born This Day. Included in the booklet are Scots and Irish airs, nursery rhymes, folk songs, humorous songs, and rounds, while T. A. Arne, Sterndale Bennett, and

Johannes Brahms figure among the composers. One page is given up to an explanation of timenames and five pages to graded_ sight -. reading tunes. In addition to Alec Rowley’s booklet, two others are being produced and _ distributed free this year by the NZBS. The general booklet covers Music Appreciation, by Ernest Jenner; New Zealand in the Making, by Tom Tyndall, Dr. R. A. Falla, Roger Duff and C. R. Straubel; Rhythmic Movement and Music Appreciation, by Jean Hay, K. Newson and W. Trussell; Story-time, by Rachel Wheeler; Journey from England, by Celia Manson; Nature Study for Standards 1, 2, and 3, by John Glen; and Literature Studies for Standards 3 and 4, by Patricia Hattaway and Patricia Dennehy. This book also contains draw-

ings of various musical instruments, a diagram showing the disposition of a symphony orches-

tra, and aé_e series of drawings to illustrate the coming of man to New Zealand. Wall charts show representations of birds, flowers, fish and animals. Another booklet of 16 pages deals

with the session "Tales That Are Told," by Joan Taylor, and this is available to schools in the ratio of one to every two children.