Here and There

Radio Record, Volume VI, Issue 29, 27 January 1933, Page 5

Here and There

Selections from this week's Programmes

By

TRIPLE

GRID

"Jigdal." An interesting specimen of modern Jewish music will be heard from 1¥A, Auckland, on Sunday, February 5, when a record of Lewandowsky’s arrangement of ‘Jigdal’ will be included in the programme. "Jigdal’ is a thirteenth century poem, consisting of 13 lines, each one of which sets forth one of the Thirteen Principles of the Faith, which had been formulated a short time previously by a famous Jewish scholar. "Jigdal’ is regularly chanted in synagogues, being a portion of the Jewish Prayer Book service. The solo portion of Lewandowsky’s arrangement of "Jigdal’ is beautifully sung by a _ gifted tenor, Obercantor Herman Fleischman, who is sypported by a magnificent synagogue , oir and orchestra. There is no mistaking the genuine fervour and sincerity of

the rendering which, although modern in treatment, is worthy of the highest traditions of the finest old Hebrew devotional music. . Purcell’s Noble Music. Included in Mr. A. E. Wilson’s programme of organ numbers from 1YA on Friday, February 3, will be Purcell’s "Trumpet Tune and ‘Air," which is one of the noblest themes in all music. Thought to be by some the greatest composer England has produced, Purcell was born in 1658 or 1659 in London, and died there in 1685. It is thanks to the industry and enthusiasm of the Purcell Society that we possess a great store of his music, grave and gay, for almost every known combination of voices and instruments, ranging from opera to quite small pieces. The great wealth of beauty and, above all, the utter sincerity of all that he wrote, are steady reaching wider popularity, and it is quite safe to prophesy that his place of honour in English music is for all time assured. Mr. Wilson’s item is, of course, strictly an organ solo, but the arrangement of this piece, which is familiar to many listeners, is the one by Sir Henry Wood, played by trumpet soloist, organ, and the famous Halle Orchestra. "The Three-cornered Hat" From station 1YA, Auckland, on Friday, February 3, there will be heard the "Dance of the Neighbours" and the "Miller’s Dance," played by the Madrid Symphony Orchestra. To the ballet we owe a considerable quantity of brilliant music, in fact, speaking generally, all music derives from either song or dance. The suite of three dances from de Falla’s brilliant ballet, "The Three-Cornered Hat," has often. been broadcast. The action is founded on a story by Alcaron. wherein a pompous Corregidor-it is his official hat which gives the tale its name-seeks to seducé a miller’s virtuous wife, only to meet defeat and ridicule at the hands of the lady and her watchful spRuse. The scene is the approach to their mill, , in the opening dances the miller and his ay are busy about their garden and its grape vine, They are clearly a devoted couple. A voice is heard, near the beginning, singing an Andalusian song; it is a summer afternoon. The pompous and ungainly Corregidor, with his suite, passes by, and is so smitten by the charms of the miller’s wife that he soon returns to pay his addresses to her. She dances a Fandango for him, fooling him so successfully as to leave him ridiculously discomfited. In the second part it is evening of the same daySt. John’s. Festival. The miller’s friends drink and make merry with him and his wife, and then the miller dances for them-a vigorous and rhythmic measure. Hardly has he ended when the Corrégidor’s minions appear and arrest him, refusing any reason for their warrant. When his wife has put out the lights and shut the mill, the Corregidor appears furtively, fired by wicked hopes, but again is discomfited, falling, in the darkness, into the mill stream, The husband escapes his captors and returns. After various complications the ballet ends in the happy reunion of the faithful

pair, with their neighbours hurrying in to toss the wicked Corregidor in a blanket. Sunny Italy. ‘The forthcoming gramophone lec-ture-recital, "A. Musica] Holiday in Sunny Italy," to be given by Mr. Karl Atkinsou at 2YA, should prove interesting. With almost all the recorded musical resources of that musical cow stry at his command, the recitalist should be able to. stage an attractive performance of church. operatic, folk song, and modern classical excerpts. No country has enjoyed such unique advantages for the spread of musical culture. The timehonoured prestige of the church, the unfolding, of a grand opera school of composers, the rich treasury of folk song, and the splendid efforts of such menu as Casella, Respighi, Malipiero, Pizzetti and others working under the direct encouragement of Mussolini, give Italy a truly unique position. In that laid of sunshine people sing because they fain must. and some echo of this spontaneous love of melody may be looked for on Sunday evening, February 5. from 2YA,

The Xylophone, Sonehow or other the xylophone, the instru~ ment which will be played at 2YA on Saturday next, has earned the reputation for being very modern and up to the minute, Nothing of the sort, however; it is one of the oldest instruments in the world, and was in common use among the nneient Russians and Tartars. It has of course, grown almost out of recogni« tiou since those duys. Then if was. @ clumsy-locking instrument consisting of & "ange of flat pieces of wood or steel which were tuned to the scale. ‘The "keys" were arranged on belts of plaited straw, and the sound was produced by striking the keys with two smal! hammers. A moderna xylophone is built on the same general plan, but it looks more imposing, and pro~ bably sounds better. than the old instru-

ment, Cesar Franck Quintet, This quintet is ‘one of the noblest and most poetic of Cesar Franck’s chamber musie works. Written in 1879, it is one of the earliest of his "big" compositions, and contains many passages that are of great spiritual significance, The first movement, which is to be heard from 3YA, Christchurch, on Thursday, February 2, is a slow section in which a strong. impressive theme on the strings is answered by a quick melody on the piano~forte. This movement is in a very characteristie self-questioning spirit, and at the hands of Alfred Cortot, pianist, and the famous International String Quartet (Mangeot, Vecker, Howard an Withers) should be a noteworthy item. mo Progress in Furniture. |! shull be anxious to bear what will be said from 8YA on Monday next, when the talk on this subject will be broadcast. In our lifetime there have been great advances in the design of furniture, In our younger days, the furniture was the bete noire of our existence. It was part and parcel of the not-to-be-touched part of the household-except when it had to be dusted. And the heavy plush seats that used to worry us, too. We just didn’t possess feet as far as the furniture was concerned, and to stand on a plush upholstered chair to reach 2 book off the book-case was a sin that might possibly lead to an afternoon in the woodshed chopping firewood. Nowadays the younger generation are quite different about it all. ‘There are no longer cracks to become full of dust, nor heavy plush seats to hold a cloud of dust. They skylark on the settee, pull out the chairs from the sitting room to add to those in the dining room when their friends come to tea, and, what is more, they live in the living room, ‘Terrible! Rex Harrison. ‘fhe opening number in the first of two recitals to be presented ; py this well-known baritone from 3YA next Wednesday, February 1, is "The Sands of Dee." This song is descriptive of the English coast and is somewhat sad. ‘The next two songs, "Go from My Window, Go" and "Waves," are two different moods showing the different tone colouring required. by the vocalist. "Lorraine, Lorraine Loree," which follows, is a highly dramatic song in which the singer is called upon to interpret with understanding the situations arising in the song if it ig to be effective. "Bianca," in the second recital, commencing at 9.388.p.m., is an Italian love song requiring much fervour on the part of the singer. "Japanese Death Song" is typical of the Japanese merital outlook in the presence of death. "The Gentle Maiden" is an expression of a more tender and earessing mood. "Slow, Horses, Slow," is one of Mallinson’s descriptive types, and the fine aria "Lend Me Your Aid" is a passionate and dramatic number. and is, in fact, one of Charles Gounod’s best works. It is a difficnlt piece, requiring a wealth of effective singing, both for cantabile and dramatic work.

High Lights in the Programmes CLEMENT MAY--1YA, Monday. THE MELODIANS-4YA, Tuesday. "THE SPLENDID HOUR’’-1YA, Thursday. "HUMOUR IN SONG AND STORY’’--3YA, Saturday. "A MUSICAL HOLIDAY IN SUNNY ITALY’ -2YA, Sunday. The Talks "ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS’ -, 4YA, Monday. _ "THE VALE OF KASHMIR"’-3YA, Thursday. "ON AN ISLAND SCHOONER"-2YA, Friday. "LIES FROM A SKIPPER’S LOG"1YA, Saturday.