BANDS CONTEST.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 5213, 1 March 1904, Page 4

BANDS CONTEST.

TTIEI OPENING COMPETITIONS. (From Our Special Reporter.) PALMERSTON, Monday. The seventh eon tost held under th« auspices of the North. Inland Band's* As* sociation opened this afternoon. So far* the following bands have arrived, tW names of the conductors being given in parentheses:—Hawera (T. B. McConnell), Auckland Garrison (Lieutenant A,. R Hunter), Auckland No. 1 Infantry (A. Williams), Ruahine Battalion (A. E. Laurence). Newtown (1L Cummins), Master'ton (F. W. G. McLeod), Kaikorai (G. B, Laidlaw), Taranaki Garrison (J. Gordon! and Hastings (S. H. Knight). These with the Palmerston Bund (Lieutenant Herd) and the local “Municipal Band (A* J. C-lai*ebul) complete the list of competitors. ■* ' In tho absence of Mr Maurice Cohen* president of the association, who is away at the Hot Lakes district, the judge of. tint contest, Mr E. T. Code, will conduct iha massed bands at the garden party Ix> btf held on the showgrounds to-morrow afternoon, BARITONE SOLOS. The B flat baritone solos were first at the Theatre Royal this afternoon. Tho piece selected for competition ‘ wa* the time-wom "Carnival do. Venice. 17 Eight competitors faced the judge, and displayed somewhat indifferent ability The judge’s award is as follows: —J, P. Dixon. Mas tort on. Municipal!, 109 points* gold modal; J. Cosgrove, Ruahine Battcu. lion, 107 points, silver medal. Other competitors were: —o*. Doig, .Kai< korai, 103; E. Erwin. llawcra Borough* 102; O; Baber, Auckland Garrison. 101; \Y. White, Hastings. 100; F. Grubb. Pal* merston North, and J. Collie, Taranaki Garrison, 99. The maximum points werfl HO.

The -judge in his remarks said he was disappointed' with’ the solo work as a whole. He had heard better baritontf playing in New Zealand—in fact, sou?.o ot the best he had listened to in his life. In the latter case it was probably dim to competitors having the right to choose their own selection. The composition selected was a very poor scale of playing, and not suited to bring out tho beautlet of the instrument. He added that the whole of : the soloists failed to take full advantage of the cadeima. EUPHONIUMS. Of Urn twelve entries for. tho^enpbo;tnnrf competition only six appeared on the platform. Tho selected comijosition wa<f a fantasia founded on the old song. <r The Gipsy’s Warming/* )

.The jurlco had little difficulty in selecting J. O’Brien, Roikorai, for th© toH medal. O'Brien gave a fine clean renderingl, and'was the only player who showed a correct interpretation of the last move'meat, tempo di polacca. TJie judge ©tat* od that he had considerable difficulty ill separating the remaining players, and re* viewed his notes before making a final selection. They could not, he considered, have given much attention to the wards. In these competitions it was essential that, as.near as possible, the instrument should ba made to "sing” the selection. Fof second honours (silver medal) he cliosa E. Whittle. Auckland No. ]. Infantry Batta* lion, with 105 points, with. W. IMinn, Hawera Borough, follpvdng, a point b» hind. Other competitors ware—A. W. Russell, Masterlon Municipal. 10fi; J. O, Lawrenca), Iluahine Battalion, 102; B. May, Hastings, SO. The -latter player lost points—the maximum of which was 140—through not observing repeat marks. THE TEST PIECES. Tho two test pieces •'.Dinorah” (Meyer* beer) and a selection from the earlier of (he Wagner operas, to be played on Wednesday and Friday evenings respectively, afford a distinctive ineiphtinto thecharao. (eristics of both composers. Th© former opera was written five years before the rf'eath or Meyerbeer, which, took place in 1861. .It abounds with extravagant ornamcn'aiidns. The rejections taken front “Dinorah" are arrangi-d bj r J. Ord Hum©, and conclude with the famous ‘‘Shadow 'Song." in the Wagner number the selection Is confined to the earlier operas, including < *Tannhauser't‘ and 'TiOliensrrin/* Tho music of Wagner, who has been, oe* scribed as tbe greatest dramatic composer of the nineteenth cenh,r.y, is in character wejl kndwo. The selection to bo played on Friday night, including asit does delightful passages from some of Wagner** best known operas, concludes with a fine transcription of tho well-known "Pilgrim** Chorus" from “Tannhauser/* Public opinion as to the chances of th© competing bands strongly favours Kai-. korai for first place, with Mastorton and Palmerston for second honours. To-morrow morning the Jl-flat bass and G trombone solos will be taken, and there will be a garden party at tbe ishow grounds in the afternoon, and instrumea tal quartettes and trios in the evening-