MUSIC SOCIETY NOTES At the beginning of term there was no lack of ideas for the term's meetings, and, although only four meetings were eventually held, the surplus of ideas will be used next term. The first meeting was held on Saturday, 24th February in the Lecture Theatre. This was an open meeting at which the film "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" with music by Benjamin Britten and spoken commentary by Sir Malcolm Sargent, was shown. It was encouraging, although the subject and medium are perhaps of •the more popular, to see a large attendance, especially of curious non-members, willing to give the Society a try. After the film Mr. Waine kindly answered questions and he spoke to us about the development of the full orchestra. He gave us a lively and stimulating talk. He showed the •Society how the history of the orchestra was a tale of "the survival of the fittest". He illustrated his points with the help of some members who had brought their instruments with them—violin, flute, bassoon, horn and trombone. On 1st March J. L. Linsley gave a talk on the development of Jazz; how it originated, the social conditions which influenced it, and he played examples from the masters of the twenties and thirties on gramophone records. He concentrated particularly on the style of "boogie-woogie", his own speciality, the patterns of which developed in imitation of the sounds of the locomotives. It was not his aim, he said, to describe the technicalities of the music, complex and difficult as they were, but to convey the spirit of the art form. He certainly did; as Howat, in thanking him, said, the talk aroused the interest even of those members of the audience whose tastes were, to put it politely, square. The other two meetings—the visit of the Huddersfield College of Technology Orchestra and a rehearsal preview of St. Nicolas are given full coverage elsewhere in the magazine. T.M.D.
VISIT OF THE HUDDERSFIELD COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY ORCHESTRA Overture to "The Merry Wives of Windsor" Symphony No. 5 in B flat INTERVAL Violin Concerto in G minor Suite : "Hary Janos"
Nicolai Schubert Bruch Kodaly
This made a well balanced programme : there was in it something to please everyone. As a "curtain-raiser" the Nicolai gave an opportunity for the orchestra to show off its powers, both of control at the quiet beginning, and volume later on, in a light and attractive overture. For the Schubert the orchestra was diminished by some of the more massive brass 42
