Prelude "Armonie della notre" Vittadini Suite "Masques et Bergamasques"
a +++-Bach-Casella While a strong, biting North wind howled across the dreary expanse of the Whangpoo River about 2 o'clock yesterday morning, hardy members of the Harbour Fire Brigade ended their ten-hour battle with a fire which had broken out on board the s. Mary Moller, 2,698-ton coastal freighter belonging to Messrs. Moller, Ltd., which was moored to buoys 23 and 24. The fire was brought under control after continuous fight for three hours by the firemen but the flames were not completely extinguished until ten hours had. elapsed.
Although later investigation revealed that the fire had broken out about 2 pin. on Sunday the blaze was not discovered by a Chinese officer until sometime between 3 and 330 p.m. when the Harbour Fire Brigade were called. The fire float Poochi responded immediately and arrived alongside the steamer to swing into action with her powerful fire-fighting jets and other equipment. When the fire brigade arrived on the scene, smoke was pouring out of three hatches in thick black clouds.
The stifling fumes of the smoke and the terrific heat in the hold prevented the fire fighters from forcing an entry into the hold to attack the fire Consequently the flames had to be fought from various parts of the ship, many streams of water being directed down through the ventilators.
After a battle of three hours in zero. weather with the water caking into ice on the deck and hanging in icicles from the rigging of the ship, the fire was finally located in No. 2 hold. By this time the ship had dé- veloped a bad list and this, combined with the slippery ice-caked deck, tended to make footing somewhat precarious for the firemen, At length the fire-fighters, working desperately in spite of numbed hands and chilled bodies, managed to break their way into the hold where they found a cargo of such highly inflammable materials as wax candles and bean oil blazing merrily. The blaze was deep-seated and stubborn but the firemen managed to get it under control shortly after entering the hold. This was about 6 p.m. but the flames were not extinguished until 11.10 p.m. on Sunday and the firemen did not leave the ship until 2 yesterday morning.
The cargo in the Mary Moller was seriously damaged by both fire and water but little damage was done to the steamer itself, The cause of the fire is unknown but is being investigated by the Chief of the Harbour Fire Brigade, Loading had been [completed on the Mary Moller at noon on Sunday and the vessel was to have sailed for a southern port yesterday with a cargo of bean-oil, wax; cotton and medicines. No one was injured at the fire.
On Sunday the orchestra, again led by Professor Foa, failed almost completely to reproduce the warmth and colour that made the last concert so enjoyable. One prepared for the symphony appropriately, banishing all ideas of listening into the music, eager only to hear it, and hearing, to luxuriate in melancholy. But this performance, except briefly in the Ist movement. was entirely unmoving. It could not have been the playing that was at fault for an orchestra would have to play very badly to make th "Pathetique" symphony ineffective. The conclusion must be that the necessary enthusiasm was lacking.
This was not noticeably the case with "Armonie della notre" which received a quite satisfactory performance. Vittadini shows here that he knows all the tricks that go to make a composition immediately "popular"; easy diatonic melodies, effective combinations of instruments, a profusion of little solos for clarinet, harp, violin principale and so on. He also displays, however, an obvious mastery of his means, giving the impression that his technique is equal to something of much more purpose than this pretty prelude. The work by Faure came as a welcome reminder that a composer's inspiration must not be judged from just one composition. For Faure has written far greater music than "Masques et Bergamasques" and so perhaps, has Vittadini than "Armonie della notre."
"Masques et Bergamasques," as its title suggests, harks back to older times. It has an overture, a gavotte, a minuet and a pastorale and speaks very pleasantly "of days when men wore wigs and danced such things as gavottes and minuets. Obviously it is much better stuff than the average court composer would have provided in the period it has to do with, but if one is looking forward to seeing Faure this suite is somewhat disappointing. There are glimpses of him in the Pestorale but that is all.
Conversely, the "Ciacona" has too much Bach in it, Recurrent throughout the playing of this transcription came the thought "How much better the original must be Tue first furrows were turned in Bush Park, near Hampton Court, as part of the Royal Parks' contribution to Britain's "plough-up" campaign, Probably the last time crops grew in the park was in the Napoleonic war, when, as now, Britain had to use her food-growing resources to the full, Mr. W., J, Hepburn, park superintendent at Bushe, said that most of the land would probably be sown with oats, although he hoped to grow some' wheat as well if weather conditions were favourable,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.