At THE WAKE OF THE WEEK'S BROADCASTS

Radio Record, 17 July 1936, Page 14

At THE WAKE OF THE

WEEK'S BROADCASTS

No Stranger. BROWN ING MUMMERY is no . stranger'to: New Zealand listeners... He has*been heard frequently: enough in recordings for those who listen to’ become. well: acquainted with his pure tenor. Last Wednesday night, however, when he opened his New Zealand season of broadcasts from 2YA there was an additional interest in his performance, for through only a single stage of reproduction he treated listeners to a performance which was a real vocal joy-for all the perfections of modern recording. Landon Ronald’s "Cycle of Life" gave Browning Mummery an © excellent chance ‘of showing what he. could do in the way of extraordinary clarity of

both voice and diction, and his modulation brought out the feeling and colour of the well-known song cycle. Operatic arias) may come and go; they may be sung with due drama and meaning by the worst or the best tenors on earth, but there remain thousands who have a large corner of their musical hearts ready to welcome such lovely music as Ronald’s songs when they are givén by such a capable

and understanding singer as this Australian tenor. Mrs. Mummery, by the way, plays her husband’s accompaniments, and they’re both already enchanted with the scenic drives within easy reach of Wellington. Of both, more anon. Conscientious. BEING a slave to duty and the clock, one doesn’t have much opportunity of listening-in to the educational broadeasts for primary schools from the national stations. But one noticed with interest the programme for 8YA on Wednesday afternoon last week, when Ernest Jenner, L.R.A.M., told his young listeners "all about ‘God Save the King." It recalled an occasion some years ago when a visiting world-famous pianist at the end of his performance in the Auckland Town Hall played the National Anthem so wonderfully that his audience could not forbear to applaud. In passing: Toscanini on a visit to London for performances, rehearsed his orchestra through those few hymnal lines 67 times before he was satisfied they were doing justice to the anthem of the nation whose guests they were! Of course, his audience heard it played as never before, and probably never since. What a colossal conscientiousness the great conductor must have had! The sort of thing to make a monarch weep. The Fun Starts. ~~ ; FIRST dig in the Music Lovers’ Competition was. enjoyed-maybe-by 4YA listeners on.Wednesday night last week. . What biting of fingernails and scratching of polls. the ten numbers inspired can be better imagined.. Since the first announcement of this competition a few weeks ag Zo there have probably been hundreds besides those one knows for certain who suddenly developed a listening conscience. Usually the tendency is to have the receiving set tuned in and be content to hear what is coming over the air with an almost complete disregard for the announcer’s words or for printed programmes, item by item.. But. with a £10 competition in prospect there. are plenty* whose ears have. ‘been vricked

to catch titles from the announcer and associate them with the respective compositions. There is nothing but- allround musical memory to take the cake in a contest of this sort, for there is in each station’s 60 selections (spread over six weeks) a‘ portion of every sort of musical dish. If you have a powerful set and the inclination, you can cover the competitions of the respective main stations. Worth While. AST Thursday’s programme from 1YA of works composed in New Zealand reminds one that the GraingerN.Z.B.B. competition for New Zealand eomposers closes at the end of this month, What entries have been received, or are likely to be, it is yet impossible to say, but it’s the Reserve Bank to a split ha’penny that if Perey Grainger had imposed fewer limita-tions-some of them difficult to under-stand-he would have done a greater service to musical creation in this country. The type of composition demanded by the conditions of the competition would not be of such value to musical New" Zealand as a more straightforward chamber music group, a symphony or concerto, The latter classes, too, would certainly, to judge by New Zealatid compositions already heard, have produced a reasonably competitive response. But it doesn’t need a telescopic vision to see that the response to this competition by the closing date is likely to disappoint. Tantalus. [vs not very nice of Mr. Quentin Pope, of Wellington, to entitle his present series of talks, "How to Make a. Million." . He gave the first talk from: 2YA last Friday night, and it’s quite likely that plenty of people who usually "switch over" at talk-time just left the tuning dial alone. But this is most tantalising, being told how somebody started with one dime and half a. shirt and finished up on Long Island with such a hefty bank-roll that it hurt. Stephen Leacock: tried it~ started off from the. country, if you remember, with the right idea in hig head and ten cents in his pocket, the iniention being to model his life on those of all the best millionaires. -He had only to enter the "big city’ afoot in this state of penury, and the millions would simply roll in. But the sveather-so often accurst in U.S.A.-foiled his plan. It was a roasting day, and a few miles before the wayfarer reached the portals of the Big City, the few cents were spent in cooling refreshment. Otherwise S.L, would now have been one of the blest and yenerated, Seems as though we, with all deference to Mr. Pope's kindly thought, are more likely to finish up in the shadow of three gilded balls than in the posses-. sion of the tiree golden appies.