The Washington times., 1927-04-25
QUARTET STARS
IN THE AIR

Less interference than usual, q
BIT Of noise and some pronounced
fading in spots, distinguished a
weekend during which most Sec
lions of the continent were avail
able for dial tWisters. with clear
brOadeasts of good volume. While
the Southwest and Pacific coast
did not respond as readily as FRI
day evening, other sections Of the
country were quite as easy to
tune, both Saturday and Sunday,
and almost any program was at
the command of the careful dial.
ing finger tips.
Being dissatisfied with the results
obtained from WIZ, New York, we
twisted the dials q bit and tuned
XIV, Chicago, and, being peeved at
the code signals that interferred, we
chased across the dials to KDKA,
Pittsburgh, where we listened. To
what? Why--to a baritone song:
.'In days Of old,
"When knights were bold,
"And barons held their sway"
II you'll play that on your imagi-
nation for a few minutes you may
get the same sort of kick out of
1t we did when the words Of the
song and what we'd been doing TO
get 1t clearly hit us rather suddenly.
Anyway-that's radio-particularly
the way radio programs were avail
able over the weekend. 1t turned
out to be a weekend in which lis
teners heard former prime minis
ter of Russia tell about his country,
q cardinal of the Catholic Church
make a plea for greater charity, the
daughter of former prime minister
of the British Empire substitute as
q. speaker for her father, and among
odds and ends of music, about the
best male quartet that has been
heard on the ether.
To our way of thinking, aside from
its variety, the Saturday night. plo-
gram was distinguished only by
Hazel Arth, contralto, who sang with
the Burlington. concert from WRC,
and the very evident joy of life that
was prevalent during the intercol-
iegiate celebration by the Edison Club
of Schenectady, N. Y, which WGY
distributed. We heard only part of
Miss Arth's program and couldn't
therefore, tell much about 1t save
that she sang as she usually does
with consummate intelligence and a
rare contralto voice.
IVES FAMILY
HAS TWO STARS
Katherine Ives, pianiste and the
National Cavaliers Quartet lent con-
siderable distinction to the program
WEAF was broadcasting after 1880,
part of which came to WRC after
8 o'clock. BY curious coincidence
the Ives family also contributed
much the best of the Shakespearean
program of WRC, when Ann, of
that name, appeared with Will
Hutchins in several fragments from
the bard's plays, with musical as
sistance that made them neither
more or less interesting.
The exhibition, Of an almost per-
feet tenor voice in a program of
songs to which he gave nothing at
all but voice, distinguished the
substitution Of Richard Crooks for
Paul Althouse- as soloist of the
Atwater Kent hour from WEAF
and WRC last. evening. Crooks
fully justified the Introduction given
him as being one of the best tenors
on the concert stage today. He has
a voice of the finest lyric quality
and uses it with flawless method.
When he RECEIVERS from the effects
Of having so good a vocal instru-
ment and learns to sing songs in
stead of meticulously vocalizing
tones, he will have a greater appeal
for the radio audience.
Quite different, as to the singing
Of songs, was the performance of
the quartet that assisted the At
water Kent star. These four sing
ers provided listeners with about
the most expert bit of ensemble
singing that has been heard by
radio or any other way-singing
that reached into the furthest
depths of each song, and gave every
shading of it's idea and every bit
Of its heart appeal to the listening
audience. Rarely is such singing
heard anywhere. 1t is the kind of
music that stirs the soul of every
person hearing it-no matter what
their race color or previous condi-
ton of servitude.
The artists who composed this
group are heard frequently by radio
listeners as soloists, and it is a
must unusual thing that soloists
as good as these are, ever perform
so well as parts of a musical team.
But this outfit is exceptional. The
quartet included Charles Harrison,
first tenor; Redfern Holiinshead,
second tenor; Vernon Archibald,
baritone. and Frank Croxton, basso.