The Washington times., 1926-04-05
TALK ON FOLK
SONGS PLUS
RY JESSIE NTacBRTDE

washington had the pleasure of
hearing John Tasker Howard, well
known as a composer, in a lecture
recital last week, given through
the courtesy OF the Homer L. Kilt
Piano Company, in their attractive
recital studio in the Kitt-knabe
store.
Mr.. Howard talked on the eFolk
Song in the Concert Hall" tracing
most interestingly the development
OF this simple and invariably beau
tiful melodies into music that
still holds a national touch and
that reveals so many interesting
things about the temperament OF
the peoples from which it comes.
This element Of music being
"close to the soil, he demonstrated
in q group OF Norwegian folk songs,
set by Grieg. The Cradle Song"
was all that its name implied, with
it's rocking motion, yet it held a.
distinct flavor. There was "a sort
of north-country .'calI" song, that
Mr.. Howard renamed Come
Hither.'I that was descriptive. and
4 Quaint Little Gray Man" that
was impish in its jumpiness. Then
he took US to q legend In Ola
Valley one OF those dear, poetic
works that unfolds so much In
sound. There were the distant
bells, all through the effect or bells
told OF a church country. a land
where life and religion weer closely
knit together.
He next took us into transcript
tions, made upon folk tunes, his
own transcription OF the Elrst
Nowell.,' q. tune that dates back
400 years. And in developing this,
Mr.. Howard pointed out how the
s.arranper'' could employ lace work
Of notes, delicate embroidery" to
lend variety to the theme, or else
he could make interesting changes
nv merely inyerting the theme,
turning it upside down. or he could
insert a counter melody and work
the one against the other.
All these things, of course, are
known to students Of harmony.
But it seems quite like a gay
game to the tyro in music's mys-
fevies. brings him much closer TO
just what is being done. how de1l,
uitely worked out is a theme and
variations when he hears 1t.
Brahms. as we know, used folk
music as a foundation in much or
his music. 1t is this element that
has made the Russian nationalists
in music so distinctive. Mr.. Howard
pointed out, in a Brahms Lullaby
on a Scotch theme, how sophisti'
Gated it was. how much the master
musician had contributed to the
original material
For instance, Listen to the inner
voices" he said. And there was
that definite quality that makes OF
the Brahms songs a thing so per-
sonal that one may know MS
cadence and also his individual syn
copations and harmonies dhe inner
voices) at once. Just as one may
know Ccrut canvas, or q lovely
smiling Madonna of Luini.
He disclosed one Interesting thing.
in demonstrating a totally different
one.
Giving a Mozart Sonata, with a
second piano arrangement made Dy
Grieg. Mr.. Howard did the unusual
feat of playing this two,piano work
with nimself''-by means of his
own reproduction Of one part given
bv the Ampico in the Knabe, while
he pIayed the other part himself.
Grieg had, conspicuousiy, added
much Of himself to the original Mo-
zart work. 1t was again tracing In
dividuals in music.
But what he hadn't meant to re-
veal cropped out in the finale. That
finale was essentially Granger
esdue. It was so very like many
things that Percy Granger has done
with the English folk tunes, in Its
development. Then, knowing how
stepped with Grieg that Granger
is. there we find one Of those uncon-
scious plagiarisms Gf one may use
the term in music) that grows out
of constant association with per
son or an art thought.
It behooves us, particularly the
young student. to choose well the
literary, or the musical, or the
theatrical company he would keep.
They all leave their impress. As
does so illuminating a music-talk as
that given by John Tasker Howard
last week, and for which we are in
debted to the Homer l.. Kit music
house.