The Washington times., 1927-12-14

trial spin along the sound wave
lengths last night and distributed
good, clear broadcast programs
In great volume to all the loud
speakers In sight. There was 3
bit Of noise in the atmosphere
and the usual interference found
when the timing is good and all
stations are rushing programs
toward receiving sets. Fading
also was rather pronounced.
This isvmore or less Of an acknowl-
! edgement of three kilograms re-
ceived by us yesterday from Frank
A.. Seiberling-a very courteous and
expensive thing for him to do, be-
cause we've never met Mr.. Seiberling
and we are sure he also sent as many
kilograms to radio and music editors
of all the % cities to which the
broadcast of the new program by the
Seiberling Singers was dispatched.
He suggested that we listen to the
program and tell him frankly what
we thought of it--Mr. Seiberling be
ing in the rubber business and pro-
viding music for the multitude being
just sideline. So
We've seldom heard better male
chorus, better orchestra. better an
nouncing or better music in radio
Concert-and rarely better arrange.
ment Of a program. Likewise the
organ playing was of a high stand
ard, figuring largely as interludes
between numbers-connecting links
for the varied chorals and orchestral
displays. The director of the chorus,
Matthew or Marshall Bartholomew
we have both names-has performed
great bit of work in the training
OF his men and the blending OF his
voices.
But-we've seldom heard a more
conventional and, therefore, 1ifeless
performance of great music. Please
understand us with regard to the
word lifeless as used here. Musi-
cal scientists-the average type of
highly skilled choral and orchestral
directors, regard 1t a crime to play
or sing anything but a perfect ar
rangement of the notes as the
composer wrote them Developing
the idea underlying the music or
using it to reach out for the emo |
tions of the audience is not to be
thought fby them. Music to
them, is a serious intellectual ex-
ercise and not a highly sensitized
form of expressing varied emotions.
RADIO AUDIENCE
PREFERS GOOD MUSIC
The radio audierAe, we honestly
believe. would muCh prefer Had
ley. Cesare Franck. Horatio Par
ker. Berioz to tin pan alley. But
the living, vital spark that tin pan
alley only approximates and smears
all over in its tinambulations,
which is the quality these compos-
ers have In its purest manifesto
ton, plus. when interpreted rather
than just played or sung, is rarely
present when a pedagogic director
takes charge. Henry Hadley has
directed his own music for radio
in a way that gave US all the thrill
1t contained-and then some. So
we're spoiled unless we get it Just
that way. We liked Mr.. Seiber-
ling's chorus and his orchestra and
his organist and his announcer
and we hope after they all become
well accustomed to the microphone
and the requirements of the enter
talnment business they will sing
and play something for us that
will thrill us.
1t is because of these things that
we had so much pleasure in listen
ing to Cotton and Morpheus and
the air weavers who came after
the Sieberling endeavor. Likewise
why we laughed so uproarously at
the jokes of Irwin S. Cobb, serving
his second term as Eveready mas
ter of ceremonies and using manv
of the same jokes he used the first
time. We agree with Cobb a Joke
is better when mellow with age
at least we never grow tired of
his way of telling his pet Jokes.
Had Mr.. Seiberling been listen.
ing to Dorothy Sherman Pierson
sing from WMAL, he would have
an example of just what we mean
when We speak of laying bare the
heart OF song rather than merely
singing its words ana notes. we
heard but part OF this satisfying
sopranos program-but what we
heard went deep down into our
listening and hungry souls and
thrilled them through and through,
The remainder of the evening en-.
tertainment was just this and thar
and that and the other-n1ostly |
worth listening to for at least a |
moment before going on to the |
next station.