Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-16
NJ u SIC
DY HELEN FETTER.

! Union Building Tuesday evening,
July 9, at 8 o'clock.
1t will be interesting to hear
what the members of the band
may have to tell of their adven-
lures in Spain.
! A T last, some one has thought
"A of a new name for Jazz. An
/ ton Rovinsky, the concert pianist,
/ calls it robot music" He says:
"One who has listened to jazz
/ for an hour on end must realize
! the deadening effect of its trip
| hammer regularity. 1t is robot
music, or, at least, the adumbra-
ton of what perfect robot music
would be. 1t is not the pulse Of
living body, but the throhbing
of machine"
This is quite logical comment
on the music which depends upon
saxophoneS and drums for It's
basic qualifications to attain pop
ularity. The saxophone has the
blaring brass quality that is me-
tallic and irnpersonal. The drum
always has been used since the
days of Savagery for regulating
human actions into a persistent,
nonotonous. nachinelike ensem-
| BILE. It is the musical herald of
mass production" Whether it
| calls to war or festive celebration,
the drum is the instrument for
crowds. Jazz is the music of the
masses in this day of restless,
perpetual motion. With nnechan-
ical entertainment of all sorts,
from scenic railways to synchro-
r1iZed photoplays; with increas-
ingly numerous, but always me-
chanical, modes of transporta-
ton, is it any wonder that this
robot music" retains its appeal
for people whose lives are built
on mechanical lines and using
mechanical instruments from the
moment they fold up their day
beds into wardrobes in the morn
ing until they turn on the park
ing lights on their automobiles at
night?
TT is perhaps worthy of passing
l. notice to mention the numer-
Gus different fashions employed
by London music critics in allud-
ing to Rosa PonSelle, American
singer, at the time of her recent
remarkably triumphant debut at
Covent Garden. There were few
who spoke of her as Miss Pon-
selle." Other appellations used
were: Madame Mademoiselle and
even Signora-the last mentioned
doubtless suggested by her fam
ily's ancestry, for Rosa Ponselle
is the daughter of italian irnnni-
grants who settled in Connect
cut.
However, they all agreed that
she came, she sang and she con-
quered. Leading comments from
different apapers said, according
to clippings recently received.
London Daily Telegraph--"Miss
Ponselle would have been almost
fully justified in quoting apropos
old Catalini's nasty remark when
she said, $50 years ago, that an
English festival consisted of
Moi, ct cinq gu six poupees.
For Miss Ponselle, on this, actual
ly her first, appearance in the
most hallowed opera house ir1atlIe
world, bore the whole weight of
=, the performance upon her Shout
ders on an evening when quite
reasonably she might have been
a little nervous. Hers is truly
glorious voice, and her use of 1t,
a trifle hammered on occasion, if
you like, Is no less glorious"
The Evening Standard-"Sig-
nora Ponselle is not only a mag
nificent singer-such power, COM
bined with purity, has not been
heard in Covent Garden for years
but a good actress of the stat.
uesque order. She did her utmost
to make a lot of Druidical non,
sense dramatically effective"
The Evening Channel-"Rosa
Ponselle came to Covent Garden
last night and conquered London
as she has already conquered
America. She has a voice that 1t
is sheer delight to hear, a voice
of enormous range and a delicate
sweetness that intensifies as it
rises in the scale"
The Daily Nine.
Ponselle's Norma, in fact, proved
her to be a great artist, alike in
singing and acting. To these
gifts she adds a striking stage
presence. One has never,
in fact, heard curses in colora-
tura so dramatically delivered as
IN
she discovers the treachery of her
lover, Pollione."
The Star-"It took her three
minutes to conquer London. She
had scarcely cut the mystic mis-
tletoe with the sacred scythe and
sung a few bars of recitative
when we realized that we had
here not only voice, but lady
who knew how to manage 1t with
supreme skill-and not only that,
but musical and dramatic skill of
no mean order"
The Morning Post-"Tt may be
said at once that Rosa Ponselle
conquered London in five min
utes. Whether the audi
ence knew it or not, in listening
to PonSelle they were listening, 80
per cent Of them, probably for
the first time to early nineteenth
century italian opera as it used
to be sung. Indeed, as regards
pure vocal expressiveness, I have
no hesitation~in saying that Rosa
Ponselle Is the best singer
have heard at Covent Garden
since Caruso. She pos
sessed, apart from an exquisite
voice of enormous range, with
every register perfectly balanced.
the greatest virtue that singer