Alma record., 1913-12-04
BRITISH ARMY BANDS
Founding of Schools Followed
Crimean War Incident
Students az Conductors-What May
Be Soon at kneIler Hall, Where
6andmasters and Bandsmen
Are Thoroughly Teamed

tatnly one or the hardest OF naru
tasks, writes q correspondent OF the
New York Evening Post After a
week or two of diligent sightseeing.
with eyes and brain In an attitude OF
constant attention, the strenuous Wis
itor Is a At candidate for a rest cure.
II he is wise he will interrupt his
program now and then by taking an
afternoon off-for a lounge In the
parks, a trip up the river or quiet
drive through Burnham Beeches.
One Of the pleasantest OF these avail
able breaks seems to be almost un-
known to visitors. whether from the
country or abroad. 1t is not adver-
tised In the papers or mentioned In
the guide books. To ninety-nine Wis
itors out of a hundred who are famil-
lar with the main attractions OF Lon
don the name Of Kneller Hall sug-
gests no ideas.
In the grounds of this institution,
which is the training school for Eng
lish military bands, there Is given
every Wednesday afternoon from May
to September Except on the last
Wednesday in the month. when II Is
held In the evening", concert OF
unique type. A very brief railway
journey from the city brings you
either to Hounslow or Twickenham,
with its associations of Alexander
Pope and Horace Walpole. From
either station 1t is only short walk
to Kneller Hall Entering through
lodge gates marked with the govern
ment broad arrow" you pass
through charming grounds, like those
OF an old country estate, up to fine
house occupying the site OF the dwell
ing place of Sir Godfrey Kneller, who
came here in 1909 that he might be
near Hampton Court. If you are at
tending one of the evening concerts
you will find the paths Illuminated
with hundreds of fairy lights and
Chinese lanterns, many of them re-
flected in the waters Of miniature
lake.
The whole scene has a delightfully."-
sylvan effect. Paying twopence for
the program which admits you to a
bCdL III LILO llSlOoOlO NhOAN
is a charge of threepence extra for
the evening concert-you find your
self face to face not with the conven-
tional bandstand, but with rising
platform erected in the gap between
two lofty elms. On this platform are
ranged the 100 performers with a re-
markable variety of uniforms, differ
ing according to the regiments they
represent Among them Is a turbaned
negro from a colored regiment of
West Africa or the West Indies. His
instrument is not the banjo, but the
solemn bassoon Not far away is
Scotchman In kits.
An average program consists of
seven or eight items, with as many
differe.t conductors, each of them a
student at the school. 1t is fine op-
portunity for watching the possible
varieties in conductors mannerisms
The first piece is always a march
composed by the student who con-
ducts it, The character of the rest
may be judged from a typical pro-
gram; overture to THE Flying Dutch
man." a selection OF Brahms melo-
dies, Mozart's Jupiter symphony,
Tchaikovsky's CasseNoisette suite
three dances from Germans Nell
Gwynne" and a valse Of Gungl's. What
strikes the average hearer-who can
make no claim to be a musical expert
with ever renewed astonishment In
the exquisite delicacy of the effects
obtained by a band composed almost
entirely of wood and brass The
whisper that one usually associates
produced on these instruments with
a skill that seems almost magical. A
great favorite with Kneller Hall audi
ences Is a rather ad captandum de-
scriptive piece entitled "The Mill In
the Black Forest" The first time you
hear it you wonder why the band is
so long In beginning, although the
conductor is already welding his
baton. There are some birds twitter-
ing in the trees just above, but all
the instruments are silent Present
ly It dawns upon you that the imagi-
nary birds are actually bandsmen.
This is followed by equally realistic
limitations Of the swish of water over
mill wheel and Of the clank of ma
chinery. The illusions are so perfect
that by and by. when dog happens
to bark little way off. 1t is with
some surprise that you discover that
the sound comes from a real dog and
is not another tour de force of the
musicians.