Evening star., 1941-09-07
By Elena de Sayn.

Following the fashion of making
excursions into the interior of tn,
country to collect tunes as yet un'
/ contaminated by modernism. JOIN
| A. LomaX travelled some 100000 mile!
! through the Western States to gathe
his material. The album of five 10
! inch black seal discs. issued by Vic
tor, reflects the stalWart emotions o
the early settlers in the mountain
regions and shows how the Ameri-
| can troubadourS never gave way
! to sentiment even when the subject
| called for it. Whether a caSua
experience or a deep tragedy, We
find the same carefree tunes. sung
! to the accompaniment of a banjo
guitar or two, or a fiddle.
The collection consists of 10 selec-
/ tions which touch upon a variety
OF subjects. To those serious in
character belong "Darlin' Corey
a funeral song presented by Monroe
Brothers, ON a Cold Winter Night,
sung by Wade Manner from his
| family collection. and two numbers
belonging to the Carter family
entitled The East Virginia Blues
and Worried Man Blues" both
performed by A. P. Carter.
Five descriptive songs and Negro
tune, Gid Tanner and His Skillet
Lickers,' sung by the Negro bal
ladist Ida Tanner. complete the
collection. The mountaineers' songs
are: Down in the Willow" Wade
Mainer-Zeke Norris, Riding on
That Train Forty-Five" (Wade
Mainer-Zeke Morris-Steve Ledford)
Cumberland Mountain Deer Race
CUncle Dave Mason. The IntoXi-
Gated Rat Dixon Bros0. "Chittlin
/ Cookin' Time in Cheatam County
/ (Arthur Smith Trio.
Nothing could be more diSsimilar
/ by way of comparison, than another
/ album issued by Victor also anc
| entitled: American Works for SolC
! Wind Instruments and String Or.
/ chestra." Two 12-inch discs acquain'
us with four talented contemporary
| American composers. Bernard Rog.
ers. Wayne Barlow, Burrill Phillip:
and Homer Keller. In this, tinkling
/ oanjos. guitars and fiddles are super.
Seded by a firSt-claSS chamber or.
chestra. under Howard Hanson. anC
clumsy tunes of the pioneers pale
before a skillful handling of ma
terial.
OF the four. Mr.. Rogers is per-
haps best known for his output OF
larger symphonic works. His "Solilo-
guy" for flute solo to the accom-
paniment of the Eastman-Rochestel
Strings. shows a refreshing element
of sincerity. His harmonies have
beauty. combined with a logical de-
velopment of melodic strains car
ried by the solo instrument which is
in the capable hands of Joseph Mar
iano.
Mr.. Barlow's rhapsody. The Win
ter's Past" intended for oboe and
strings. leaves the oboe somewhat in
the lurch. While the varying mood
changes from nostalgia to gay
and back again, Robert Sprenkle
oboiSt, has not much of a part.
Not unlike Paul DukaS. who in his
"Sorcerers Apprentice" entrustS the
basSoon with a prima donna role
Mr.. Phillips uses this comedian"
of the orchestra in his American
Dance for baSSoon and strings
Vincent Pezzi. bassooniSt, shows that
melody, run or staccato notes flow
with equal facility under his agile
fingers. AS the title may suggest. it
is a dance, but fanciful one
mainly intended to reveal the pos
Sibilities of the solo instrument.
More often than not, the title
"Serenade" suggests a graceful flow
of music, yet Homer Keller's "Sere-
made" for clarinet and chamber
orchestra Is something of dra-
matte episode. The clarinet sets in
Immediately to the 'tremolo' of the
strings, and Rufus Arey, clarinetist
commands attention by the express
sive notes he draws from his instru-
ment. The Eastman-RocheSt SYM
phony, reduced in size and directed
by Howard Hanson. gives an etfec-
tive background to all the Selec-
tions in this album for which it Is
used as an accompanying medium.
Arcangelo Corelli, the father OF
the concerto crosse form and the
founder of the present standards Of
violin technique, has been given a
reverential interpreter in Joseph
Szigeti, violinist. Released by Co.
lumbia. Corelli's La Folia," Sara
bande like theme with variations,
will remain for another generation
at least, repertoire piece OF the
student violiniSt. Not exceeding the
third position, this set requires style,
tone and sorority, which constitute
the backbone of every delivery
Elaborated upon by a number OF
violinists, these variations have been
supplemented here by "Cadenza"
from Leonard's pen, the mastery OF
which calls for more advanced
technique than the entire compost
ton requires. The selection proves
an effective vehicle for Mr.. Szigetis
sensibilities. He is accompanied by
Andor Farkas at the piano.
Bach's "Bourree," from the &c
Minor Sonata" appears on the last