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Author(s): W. F. H. Blandford
Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 80, No. 1160 (Oct., 1939), pp. 697-699
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/921745
Accessed: 08-10-2018 05:45 UTC
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THE MUSICAL TIMES
AND SINGING-CLASS CIRCULAR
OCTOBER 1939
CONTENTS
Page Page
Handel's Horn and Trombone Parts. By W. F. H. Blandford ... 697 Church and Organ Music-continued:
The Happy Pianist. By Alec Robertson .... ... ... 699 Miscellaneous ... ... ... ... .... 721
Of This and That. By W. R. Anderson ... ...... ... 701 Recitals ... .... ... ... ... .. ... ... 722
Music in the Home Circle .... .... .... ... ..... ... 702 Letters to the Editor ......... ...... .. 722
Music in the Foreign Press. By M.-D. Calvocoressi ... ... 703 Notes and News ........... ....... ... 727
The Musician's Bookshelf .. .. ....... .. 705 Amateurs' Exchange ....... ... ... .. 729
New Music ............. ... .. ... . ... 707 Academy and College Notes . ........... ... 729
Gramophone Notes. By W. McNaught ... ...... .. 710 Music in Public Schools .............. .. 730
A Wireless Note. By W. R. Anderson .......... . 712 Musical Notes from Abroad ....... ... ... ... 731
Ad Libitum. By ' Feste ' .... ..... .... ... ... 712
Teachers' Department : MUSIC :
Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music :'Break
Notes on the
Thou the Bread of Life.' Introit. By Harold Hall ... 717
Music for the Piano Examinations. By E. Markham Lee ... 715
Answers to Correspondents . ... ... ...... .. 716 THE FOLLOWING EXTRA SUPPLEMENT IS ALSO GIVEN WITH THIS
Church and Organ Music : NUMBER :
Royal College of Organists ......... ... ... 720
The Choir School of St. Thomas Church, New York 'Ere we leave Thy House, O Father.' Vesper Hymn for use in time
City.
By T. Tertius Noble ......... ..... ....... 720 of war. By Ernest Harrison.
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698 THE MUSICAL TIMES October 1939
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October 1939 THE MUSICAL TIMES 699
A word, first of all, about public performance. What, then, is the pianist to play ? I will say
No one has a right to ask a pianist to cast nothinghis here of the reasonable proportion of
pearls-even if modestly assessed as only Wool- familiar works which he should make his own,
worth-before swine ; but experience shows that except once again to beg that these should be
time and again even persons usually discerning well within his powers.
ask their musical guests to perform before hope- My list begins, more or less, at the point where
lessly mixed gatherings. Yet the presence of the even repertoire chosen from well-known sources
one unsympathetic listener is able to produce leaves
a off. No music is easy to play, however
sort of paralysis in the sensitive performer, easy the the notes may be, and so the performer
result being a perfunctory and, possibly, an should not scorn some simple pieces in the
inaccurate performance. following list. To play them really well will test
If such listeners are known to be present, it is his ability as an artist more than will the per-
right to refuse to play ; using tact, of course, and formance of difficult and showy pieces. More-
even the excuse of a sudden attack of neuritis, if over, it is well to begin with something techni-
the request is too pressing ! On the other hand, cally simple if one is nervous-as one should be-
the performer must learn to gauge the musical and the piano is unfamiliar.
capacity of his audience. This is a truism, but it The collection of ' Ayres and Dances ' edited
is often ignored. People may be genuinely by Frederick Moore (Paterson), 'Old English
musical, but limited, like a cheap radio set, in Masters for the Harpsichord' edited by A. M.
their receiving range. We must play to them on Henderson (Bayley & Ferguson) contain lovely
a wave-length they can get. pieces by such composers as Farnaby, Byrd,
Gibbons and Purcell which meet the case well
As the pianist's audience will seldom be com-and deserve to be better known. Each book costs
posed of more than a few people, one or two 2s. 6d. For a discerning audience (and pianist!)
leading questions should settle the matter. And
there are many interesting pieces by sixteenth-
if two or three listeners show a great diversity of
and seventeenth-century Italian, German, French,
taste the pianist will have a chance to show nicely-
English and Spanish composers in the first ten
balanced judgment in his choice of pieces!
volumes of the great Tagliapetra collection
The interpretation of a piece of music is a
(Ricordi, about 7s. 6d. a volume), and an abund-
responsible task not lightly to be entered upon, ance of good sight-reading material.*
and in justice to the composer nothing should be
A collection of ' Gigues and Toccatas' by
played that has not been thoroughly studied. French, Italian and German composers, edited by
One other word of advice. Having so often
Frederick Moore (Paterson, 2s. 6d.), will act as an
observed the opposite, I beg the pianist not to sitexcellent corrective to too much music in slow
down at the piano and dash straight away into
time-a not unusual fault in repertoire-making--
his piece. He should compose himself com- and a lot of charming material of this kind will
fortably, get his music ready to be turned over,be found in the series 'I Classici della Musica
announce what he is going to play, perhaps com-
ment upon it a little, and not play a note beforeto*Schumann
There are some excellent small collections ranging from Bach
(and many interesting modern works) to be found in
there is silence. the piano catalogue of Novello's Foreign Music Department.
B2
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