MUSIC OF THE WEEK

Radio Record, 29 July 1938, Page 24

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

There 72 no wrt withow fe, sma there is no life without growii, ja There is no growth without change, There ig no change without conitra-eersy.-Hrank Rutter

BY

SCHERZO

HE intention of Professor Shelley before he took control of the NBS to assist the cultural movement in New Zealand by means of radic has not, so far as I can discover, yet had pronounced effect on the height of the New Zealand forehead. Musically, at any rate, the progratnmes of the country’s National stations administer the castor oil of classicism in one minute and in the next shamelessly (though shrewdly) sugar the dose with swing, or hot rhythm or saccharine ballad. " Nevertheless, the discreet adoption of the type of programme that has been heard from 4YA on Thursday for some time must be having considerable benefit to "music-consciousness." I am indeed overdue in praising Dr. ¥. E. Galway, lecturer in music at Otago University, for his really excellent "Masterpieces of Music’ series. Last Thursday, for example, he presented two severely classical items, Mozart’s Piano Coneerto in A Major and Wagner’s Traume; but he did it with such disarming informality that only the most hard-headed non-classi-eist could fail to understand that here the secrets of music were being discovered, and discovered in a singularly pleasant way. ™s cd He De®. GALWAY’S method is simple. He talks *bout the composers and he plays the themes himself. He shows how the pattern of a masterpiece is created. And those o. his listeners---I believe there are many-who believe that tonie solfa is a new kind of diet can understand with little difficulty just what everything is about. I wish the NBS would develop the idea. Because once the bogey of misunderstanding of classical music is Jaid to rest a most notable advance in the general appreciation of music as a whole will take place. Musicians who are also radio listeners may hate the idea because it takes from their listening the intellectual pleasure of hearing the themes, the variations and so on of a major work developed, But [ think even musicians will admit how programmes of the kind ean assist a wider understanding. And I very much hope that something like the "Masterpieces" will be heard from other centres. I believe the feature is to lapse while Dr, Galway is on leave of absence abroad, but I weuld be sorry that the whole idea shoula lapse also. It is too good not to exploit-sa long as you have the right man,

ULTURE marked time again last Wednesday, when the Christchurch Orchestral Society’s concert, schedule for 8YA, was transferred to 3YL while Mr. Walter Nash talked of his millions. Consequently, my hopes Of listening to the concert were dashed, because ail I could get from 3Y¥L was noisé, much noise, and I’d hate to believe it was the sort of noise the Orchestral Society was making. I noticed, however, that Mr. Len Barnes was scheduled to sing the Prologue to Pagliacci. If ever @ society for the Protection of People against the Prologue to Pagliacci is formed, I'll he a foundation member.

"HE same night, Miss Olga Burton broadcast three songs from 2YC in a pleasantly fresh voice of some eharm. But £ would quarrel with her choice of Bemberg’s "Nymphs and Fawns" as suitable for her voice. Its diffieulties were by no means overcome by Miss Burton, whose tendency to squeeze the vowels in her enunciation had the effect -pronounced in the upper register-of squeezing hey notes as well. Consequently, her legato was not as rounded as it might have been. Moreover, her technique did not fully command the top notes of the song. More careful and more simple choice of songs would help her to bring out the freshness of her voice much more satisfactorily, ‘ FP 4 Fg He N Thursday, the Aeolian Choir, under Maxwell Fernie, presented 14 songs ranging from Elgar to Handel and including two glees and two maf-

Yigals. The programme was well chosen and the choir harmonised well though the sopranos and altos, particularly the sopranos were at times toe strong for the balance. Raggedness of attack was rare and sustaining invariably well done, particularly in one H)gar number, "ihe Dance," where the voices wavered below and back to the, accompaniment splendidly, 5 In spite of the tendency to echo, a : fault of the room, the choir sang well in songs requiring seriousness and possibly reverence. But I would have liked a little more spirit in the singing. and a rather livelier beat from Mr. Fernie in the glees and madrigals. It’s a fault common to most New Zealand. choirs, I believe, the fault of a determined concentration to hit the correct note squarely in the centre and be hanged to anything else. And it’s a fault, too, as I mentioned a week or two ago, developed from insnfficient acquaintance with the score and a necessarily close regard of it, a regard which prevents concentration on the conducting. I can only suggest say the Vienna Boys’ Choir as a model. hecause the boys galloped about the stage and enjoyed themselves hugely and yet contrived to sing like angels. Most New Zealand choirs, including the Aeolians, do not sufficiently identify themselves with the spirit of a work. as those hovs eustomarily did. m % ie t CANNOT say I was tremendously impressed by the use of a flautist for accompaniment to some of the songs, particularly to Elgar’s "Lullaby." The fiute necessarily had to be close to the microphone-at least I presume it was -and on some phrases the result was perilously close to a flute solo with voice obbligato, Az other times, the flute impressed me as being an insipid instrumenf. for accompaniment, even though Mr. J. Rodgers, the flautist. was skilful enongh, } * * ak [.NCIDENTALLY, three of the Pigar songs were translated from the Greek anthology according to the announcer. I do wish the station would be a little more informative. I must. confess my shameful ignorance. Anyhow, all that’s Greek is not gold, if Tf may judge from the Elgar setting of one of the translations,