The Music Society

The dark room was used by many members throughout the term, and it is hoped that members will give strong support to the Annual Exhibition at the end of the year.

P.G.B.

Secretary: J. N. T. HOWAT.

Librarians: P. L. BARDGETT AND E. TURNER.

Musical events during the term have been the normal series of Friday lunch-time recitals, two Saturday evening meetings, a lecture recital given by 'Margaret Haig and Gertrude Trede, and the School Concert.

FRIDAY RECITALS

All the recitals this term were of recorded music but we had the opportunity of hearing Long Playing records for the first time and we were very grateful to E. M. 'Gray for loaning us his L.P. record of the 3rd Rachmaninov Concerto and the apparatus with which to reproduce it.

Date Subject Presented by

23rd January

30th January 6th February 13th February 20th February 27th February 6th March 13th March Music for School

Concert "Pizzicato" Bach Mozart's operas Sibelius Beethoven Rachmaninov Miscellaneous J. N. T. Howat

C. G. Howat M. J. Quarmby P. G. Taylor M. A. Butterworth R M. Kirkus E. M. Gray J. C. M. Herring

TWO-PIANO RECITAL

Saturday, 7th February

After the rather austere fare of last term's concert by the music staff, it was pleasant to find a sunny programme, carefully planned to display all facets of the two-piano idiom.

The recital began and ended with a signature tune, Rae Robertson's spirited arrangement of the Strauss "Moto perpetuo". This put everybody in excellent spirits and made a fair-sized audience ready for the main part of the programme. In the Duettino

Concertante by Feruccio'Busoni, a delightful pastiche in the style of Mozart. we felt we were listening to music more Mozartian than the true Mozart of the 'March in D (K 249) (arranged for two pianos by James Brown) which followed. These two pieces led up to the first major work of the programme, Brahms' Variations on a Theme of Haydn. This brilliant and happy work exists in two versions, one for full orchestra and the one we heard in this recital for two pianos. We found the interpretation of Mr. Waine and Mr. Wicks completely satisfying.

After this big work something less exacting for audience and pianists was required, and we were delighted when Mrs. Procter played on the cello Saint Saens' ever-popular "Le Cygne"—on this occasion with the rarely heard original accompaniment on two pianos —followed by one of W. H. Squire's brilliant pieces for the instrument he understood so well.

After this charming interlude we returned to the two pianos with the delightfully sentimental and nostalgic sounds of "May Mell—The Pleasant Plain" by 'Arnold Bax. For a composer who is so strikingly a master of the orchestra, Bax has, in this original piece, achieved some suprisingly pianistic effects. After two more light and charming pieces on the cello, we came to the last group, starting with Debussy's compelling Nocturne "Fetes" with its exotic and barbaric rhythms and melodies, and ending with the three dances, contrasting with each other, the acid Polka of Lennox Berkeley, the ever-green "Blue Danube" (brilliantly arranged by Wilhelm Grosz) and—the signature tune.

We thank Mrs. Procter for so kindly coming once again to play for us, and Mr. Waine and 'Mr. Wicks for a most enjoyable evening's music.

LECTURE RECITAL ON FRENCH MUSIC

Saturday, 28th February

'Oldroyd's lecture recital was given to a rather small audience in the Lecture Theatre. His programme consisted of records of French music and some apt and original remarks on the subject of his own personal tastes—as well as some caustic remarks on the subject of the tastes of others.

He began his programme with a carefully worded discourse on the uselessness of convention, and then proceeded to put this into practice by playing Cha'brier's lively piece of nonsense, "Espafia", and leaving the Overture until later ! "Esparta" is a happy piece of music, not without crudities and inconsistencies. Might not the overture to "Orpheus in the Underworld" have been just as lively a beginning as well as satisfying convention?

From Chabrier's light-heartedness, Oldroyd brought us to Debussy's warmness and sincerity, to "Poissons d'or" in fact, though how one can picture embroidered fish on a screen from music so full of grace, poise and movement is beyond the writer's conception. From "Poissons d'or" he moved to "La Cathedrale engloutie", the weird tale of the engulfed cathedral, and then on to "Claire de Lune", a truly excellent choice and, as 'Oldroyd confessed, his favourite piece of piano music. I often wonder why "Claire de Lune", so soft, so gentle, never seems to receive the interpretation it requires. Perhaps it is my own imagination, but I always feel that it is played far too loud.

Oldroyd next chose Berlioz, and of Berlioz the striking "Carnaval Romain", which succeeded in shaking everyone out of the peaceful reverie induced by "Claire de Lune". This stirring music tells the story of feasting and Bacchanalian orgies in ancient Rome and it aptly describes what it sets out to say ! Another alarming piece of Berlioz followed this, the Trojan March, actually the prelude to the third act of his opera, "Les Troyens".

Oldroyd continued with a violent and not always reasonable attack on the Concerto, a form now well established for some 200 years. The main grounds for his adverse criticism were length (due to recapitulation) and "fa-la-de-da" sections (by which, presumably, he meant Cadenzas and the virtuoso element generally). It may be argued, in language which may appeal to Oldroyd's mathematical mind, how infinitely dull is a straight line parallel to the axis, compared with a simple cubic equation having one maximum and one minimum value. Applying this to a Concerto, we find that by cutting out the bridge • passages and the florid work generally we should have a long string of melodies, the musical equivalent of a straight line. Could anything be more boring? After provoking us with this argument, Oldroyd cooled us down with Saint Saens' magnificent 'Cello Concerto in A minor. Although it is written in one movement, it contains everything one looks for in a concerto. It is written in the typical brilliant and popular style which we associate with Saint Saens' genius. Oldroyd followed this with the "Grand March of the Lion" from Saint Saens' huge zoological garden party, "The Carnival of the Animals". This magnificent king of beasts is mocked rather rudely (through the bars of his cage) as he pads restlessly around inside, stopping occasionally to roar at the onlookers.

The evening was completed by part of Cesar Franck's great work the Symphonic Variations for piano and orchestra. This was an excellent choice as it left us in the hands of a really great composer.

In spite of Oldroyd's plausible arguments, we remained convinced that in a musical programme convention does not necessarily mean dullness or boredom and though the dates of a composer may not mean very much to everyone they often do mean quite a lot to some. We thank Oldroyd for a most stimulating and interesting lecture.

LECTURE RECITAL Margaret Haig and Gertrude Trede

Most lovers of "classical" music have their taste formed by the great composers of the 119th century. This taste stretches back through Haydn and Mozart to the 18th century and the chief works of Handel and 'Bach. Music written earlier than that, with rare exceptions, sounds to most people antiquated and dull. It was the purpose of Miss Haig and Miss Trede in their lecture recital on Shrove Tuesday evening (17th February) to show that, in its way, music of still earlier times, in fact as far back as the '14th century, may be enjoyed for its own sake. Their method was to help the members of their audience to penetrate the "iron curtain" of taste that comes at the beginning of the '18th century by trying to make them hear with the ears of contemporaries of the music. This they did, not unsuccessfully, by wearing the eloquent costumes of the various centuries, by describing the life led by people of culture in those days, and by reading contemporary poetry, singing unaccompanied songs and playing pieces on contemporary instruments. The sounds made by the ancient instruments were beautiful, especially the big lute or theorbo, but as Miss Trede said, it was very difficult to tune them, and it might be added, still more difficult to keep them in tune. We would like to thank Miss Haig and Miss Trede for their entertaining lecture.

F.W.

SCHOOL CONCERT

The end of term concert took the form of a programme of British music, and was held in Big Hall on Wednesday, '25th March, at 6-15 p.m. Its remarkable success was a tribute to Mr. Waine and the music staff. From the first notes of Handel's great Coronation Anthem, "Zadok the Priest", the audience's attention was held by the feast of music offered in this very varied programme, so ably performed by all who took part in it. Indeed, the general standard was so high that on such an occasion criticism would appear churlish. The many instrumental soloists who delighted us each offered some quite distinctive and separate contribution to the well-balanced whole. As the appended programme shows, three pianoforte solos were performed, by P. S. Roe, A. Bloomfield, and R. Shepherd, all of them pleasing, and displaying the different potentialities of the instrument, and J. Ford showed talent in varying moods on the flute. E. H. N. Turner entertained us with a charming piece for violin by Robert Valentine. A sonata for violin and pianoforte was most sensitively performed by R. Atkinson, whose string tone was really beautiful, and he was accompanied at the piano in a very competent manner by J. A. Sutton. The mellow tones of the viola were heard to advantage in the Sussex Lullaby of Alan Richardson, and W. B. Hawkins gave us a thoughtful interpretation of this piece. He then relaxed a little in a cheery lilting Irish jig.

A stirring and noble performance of the Trumpet Voluntary of Jeremiah Clarke by M. C. Martin must have impressed people passing down Clifton, and certainly uplifted the hearts of those for whom it was intended. The authorship of this work was ascribed in the programme to PurcelPWood, as Mr. Waine explained, because Sir Henry was desirous of popularizing it, and felt that a famous name such as Purcell's would attract attention more than one which is all too enshrouded in obscurity.

The Choral Society performed with a simple charm a madrigal from Ruddigore, but it was in "Zadok the Priest"— a happy thought for Coronation Year—and particularly the Rio Grande, that we heard them to the best advantage. This work, based on South American dance rhythms, is apt to shock those who hear it for the first time, though it has great beauty. So closely is the music wedded to the words that this picture of the great river is made far more coherent and expressive by the union. It is a work of some complexity, to which professional choirs and orchestras have sometimes failed to do justice. It reflects credit on the venturesome spirit of the Society, therefore, that it was attempted at all, but that it was such a thrilling and triumphant performance is highly gratifying. The Choir rose to the occasion magnificently, and were superb in the great climaxes, while they brought a solemn beauty to the quieter passages. The orchestra, theoretically very small for such a work, gave the impression, under the baton of Mr. Waine, of being much more fully equipped, and the kitchen department thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and amused the audience. We are grateful to Miss Mary Davies for assisting us so capably with the contralto solo part. The large and technically difficult part for solo piano was performed with distinction by R. B. Atkinson. The whole presentation was a complete triumph for the music of the School.

The end of the concert came all too soon, but with a rousing rendering of Sir Malcolm Sargent's arrangement of "Rule Britannia", in which the whole assembly participated. Somewhat surprisingly, both orchestral and eardrums were intact at the close.

C.E.F.

The following was the programme :—

1. Chorus and Orchestra Coronation Anthem "Zadok the Priest" 2. Solo No. XII for Flute Adagio-Poco Allegro-Gigg J. FORD

3. Solo Pianoforte Intermezzo

P. S. ROE

4. Solo Violin Sarabanda & Gavotta E. H. N. TURNER

5. Orchestra Trumpet Voluntary

Handel

John Stanley

George Dyson

Robert Valentine

Purcell-Wood