The Washington times., 1937-11-19
LAYMEN LEARN
OF MUSIC FROM
MISS JOHNSON
Barker Hall Filled For
Interesting Course
BY WILLIAM NEWMAN

BY WILLIAM NEWMAN
Have you ever seen q photo
graph Of a tone? Do you know why
a listener should know his scales
and why they are as important
to him as to the performer, though
in more limited way? Do you
know that music is a language
with its own parts Of speech and
its own grammar? Do you know
how you hear, and whether with
the ear or the mind? Why does a
flute not sound like a violin and
vice versa? What Is tone-quality
and why
These and other interesting
things were discussed by Miss
Harriet johnson at the first
Thursday night session Of the Lay.
mans Music Course and Barker
Hal Twas filled with an audience
that had good time learning how
to listen. They learned before
Miss johnson had finished that it
was not information alone which
she wished to impart. She let
them discover for themselves that
even the listener must be an artist
and set about showing them how
to acquire an active, intelligent ex-
perience to replace a casual con-
tact with pleasant, or unpleasant
meaningless sounds.
FOUNDATION OF COURSE
She showed them a photograph
OF the seXtet from Lucia" that
looked like New York's skyline.
Then she showed photographs of
Its componentS, separated s d the
voices of Tetrazzini and Caruso, to
demonstrate why the voice Of the
famous coloratura was called pure
and that of the tenor impure.
She introduced them to "over-
tones" and 'partials," made them
sing the major scale, brought them
to recognition of the nature and
value Of intervals and generally
laid the foundation for a course
that Is to carry them from these
fundamentals Of the art to such
important and involved patterns
as fugue and symphony.
She promised those who worked
their stipulated Is minutes a day
that by December 10 they would
be ready to listen as artists to the
performance Of Beethoven's ninth
symphony by DR.. Kinder and the
National Symphony.
REHEARSALS READY
For this event the management
Of the orchestra announces that
the combined choruseS Of the
Washington Choral Society and
the George washington Glee
Clubs will be ready to begin re-
hearsalS under DR.. Kindler's baton
next week. The last of the Bee
thoven symphonies, with its diff.
ficult choral finals, will be the clos
ing number Of a Beethoven F'eS-
tival, scheduled to begin Decem-
ber IL with the performance of
the violin concerto by Ruggiero
Ricci, youthful American virtuoso
and to continue December IA with
the participation Of Josef Hof.
mann, playing the G major or
piano concerto.
Harry L. Hopkins, administrator
Of the Works Progress Administra.
ton, makes some interesting an.
nouncementS about the Federal
music project and its SO symphony
orchestraS, two Of ..yhich, now
functioning separately in Virginia
and North Carolina, at Richmond
and Asheville, are about to be
combined as a new unit and Sta
toned at WinSton-Sale State
wide tours are to be arranged for
the new unit.
The report states further that
during the year which ended Octo-
ber 81, a total of 116,302 musical
events Of every kind-band,
chorus, symphony chamber.music,
opera, oratorio and solo-were
held in which 10000 musicians
(nine out Of ten under relief GER
tification) have participated. The
aggregate audience reaches the
staggering number Of 85,418,31I.