Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-01-23


which was to prevail throughout the+
concert. She succeeded at once In
establishing contact with her
listeners and easing the tension
usually associated with debuts. Her
performance of Bach's familiar "Air
on the G String" heard only last
Sunday at Constitution Hall in its
original orchestral version, and her
brilliant execution Of Mozart-Kreis-
ler's "Rondo," placed her imme-
diately in the category of cultured
artists who by the very discrimina-
ton in the choice of their program,
pay silent tribute to the intelli-
gence of their audience.
In her performance yesterday Miss
Pernel combined the classics with
one modernist, Turina, whose effec-
tive "Poema de una Sanluquena" in
three parts-"Before the Mirror"
THE Song of the Beauty Spot" and
'Hallucinations"-gave her an OPP
portunity for a many-sided display
of her imagination and virtuosity.
Miss Pernels playing Is character
lied by warm, round tone, good
bowling and an analytic mind, with
the aid of which she makes her
readings interesting. She was
recipient of a well-earned and pro-
fuse applause after each of her
groups, which could have easily led
to an encore. She was excellently
supported at the piano by Brooks
Smith, whose playing was distin-
guished by fullness and a perfect
ensemble.
Miss Tennysons attractive per-
Sonality and appearance immedi-
ately predisposed the audience in
her favor She shared an equal
measure of success with the other
artists on the program, retaining the
sway over her hearers to the end.
Miss Tennyson's voice, of a lyric
character in the middle register,
has pleasing timbre, and songs
which lie within a range of about
an octave and half are best suited
for it. To these belonged Koechlin's
La Lune" and Guarnieri's caro-,
Caro- ell Mic Bambin," which she
sang with pleasing effect. When
ever the music called for mixed
registers, as in the aria, "Alieu Notre
Petite Table" by Massenet, differ
ent quality disturbed the eveness of
the range and created an impression
OF two voices very dissimilar in tex
ture. The upper register was forced
and difficult to reach and not always
on pitch. Unstable breath and in
distinct enunciation had its effect
in unsteady tones noticeably par
ticularly against the pure and lux
urious background of the strings in
Massenet's "Elegie," where the
singer was assisted by Miss Pernel
and Mr.. Salmond. Miss Tennyson
had the artistic support Of Arpad
Sander, who contributed in a large
measure to her success.
Mr.. Salmond of the Curtis In
stitute in Philadelphia has acquired
a number Of admirers through his
repeated visits. His chief asset is
beautiful cantilena which he
draws from an equally beautiful
instrument with a great deal of
finish and care. His tone is not I'M
like a human voice, and having
concentrated within recent years
on vibrato of a finer quality, Mr..
Salmond has mastered all prin-
cipals of an expert tone production
which was at its best in the
'Melodie" by Frank Bridge, dedi-
Gated to Mr.. Salmond. In this
particular work, the piano part was
not assigned such an important
role as to overshadow the cello.
In Rachmaninoff's "Andante From
Sonata in G Minor" and in the
"Intermezzo From Concerto in D.
by Lalo, it was the piano which did
the most, with the cello playing an
obbligato. Ralph Berkowitz, who
acted as Mr.. Salmonds partner,
deserves a great deal of credit for
the virtuosity displayed. While
his piano tone was somewhat hard
and did not blend with that of
the cello, it was he who bore the
brunt of the performance. 1t is
pity that in his many visits to
Washington Mr.. Salmond never as
yet has given program in keeping
with his reputation.
| The Nth musical morning of