The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1913-12-11
BR|nSHARMy BANDS
Founding Of Schools Followed
Crimean War incident
students - conductors-What May
Dc ssen It kneller Hail., Where
bandtnastsrs and eandsrnen
Are Thoroughly Trained.

6~andsnastsrs and eandsmen
Are Thoroughly Trained.
New York.-"Doing London ID GER
tainly one Of the hardest Of hard
tasks. writes q correspondent OF the
New York Evening Post. After .
week or two Of diligent sightseeing.
| with eyes and brain in an attitude of
constant attention, the strenuous Wis
Ltor 10 a at candidate for a rest cure.
II he is wise he will interrupt his
program now and then by taking an
afternoon oh-for a lounge In the
parks, a trip up the river or a 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 adyer.
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 nc 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 it is
held in the evening", a concert of a
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 it is only a 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 oldacountry estate. up to q 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.
Elected in the waters of a miniature
lake.
The whole scene hasa delightfully."-
sylvan effect. Paying twopence for
the program which admits you to a
garden seat in the inclosure-there
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 a 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 q colored regiment Of
West Africa or the West Indies. His
instrument Is not the banjo, but the
solemn bassoon. Not far away is a
Scotchman in kits
An average program s,consists of
seven or eight items, with as many
different conductors, each of them a
student at the school. It Is a 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 smelo.
dies, Mozart's Jupiter. symphony,
Tchaikovsky's Casse-Noisette suite,
three dances from Germans Nell
Gwynne" and .valse ofsGungl's. What
strikes the average hearer-who can
make no claim to. be a musical expert
with v renewed establishment in
the exquisite delicacy of the effects
obtained by a band composed almost
entirely Of wood land brass. The
whisper that:Sone: usually associates
with a pianissimo on the strings is
produced on these instruments with
a skill that seems almost magical. "A
great favorite with Kneller Hall audi
nee Is a rather ad captandum de.
scriptive piece entitled THE. Mill in
the Black Forest" The first time o
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.
iy it dawns upon you that the imaagf-
nary birds are actually *bandsmen.
This is followed by equally realistic
limitations Of the swish of water over
q mill wheel and Of the clank of ma
chinery. The illusions are so perfect
that by and by. when a dog happens
to bark a little way of, 1t 1s with
some surprise that you discover that
the sound comes from a real dog and
Is not another tour de force of the
musicians. =, So.
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