The Week's Music...

New Zealand Listener, Volume 37, Issue 952, 8 November 1957, Page 26

The Week's Music...

by

SEBASTIAN

i EAL humour in wordless music, as I have suggested before, is a rarity; parodies we have, witty trifles and several risible scherzi since Haydn, the master humorist. Otherwise, there is little-L’Apprenti Sorcier being a notable éxception-till recent times. Composers took their art very seriously, and those who sought mirth were the hoi polloi, to be disregarded. Now their influence is felt again, mainly in America, but also in other countries (as in the Hoffnung Festival, which still leaned heavily on parody). We heard recently (YC link) the National Orchestra performing Alfred Hill’s "Overture of Welcome," which employs Haydn’s farewell device in reverse, but requires vision for its full effect. A purely aural humour, however, pervades Don Gillis’s Symphony No. 512, which they played in another programme; here the symphonic style is invaded by the idioms of the honky-tonk, and the wail of full muted brass is heard in sonata form. Again there is parody-did you notice Dvorak peeping shyly through the Spiritual?and of course todo much noise; but the Scherzo(frenia) was artistic as well as funny, and there were deft touches that would benefit a more serious-minded piece. The Orchestra played it with zest, and the spirit of fun for which the Symphony is named was served well.

Glenda Raymond, on a return visit, has sung several times with the Orchestra (YC link), notably in Gliére’s Concerto for voice and orchestra. Once more we were treated to a fantastic display of vocal aerobatics: and again I was impressed by the lack of worth and warmth in it all. There is the glitter, the tinsel trappings of a troupe of gymnasts; but the music that is written around such voices seems to lack feeling, being maintained on a _ lightly euphoric plane, summoning gasps but not tears, joy or contentment. There were many good things in the rest of the Orchestra’s tour: the Cog d’Or Suite, dazzling and barbaric, brought some excellent wind playing: and the Nights in the Gardens of Spain, with pianist Janetta McStay, was a rhythmic pleasure. Yet their best effort of the week was a recorded concert (NZBS), the most enjoyable item being Mozart’s Piano Concerto in G, with Olive Bloom as_ soloist. The piano sparkled, the players practically vamped, the variations were beautifully rounded, and the whole had a good-tempered security. In all, this was a series of concerts I would have been sorry to miss, and they showed fully how much James Robertson has done during his stay here.