Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

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brie, ' has been tampered with until now we si.ould be ashamed to associate it with angels. The same is true of Liebestraum ( Love ' s i ' ream ). Both of these pieces once expressed tue love and struggle of the composers for iuvir art; but now imitators feel no compunc- i.on in sacrificing art to jazz . FRANCES L. SPERO, ' 27. THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN MUSIC The first music in America was played and sung by the Indians. They did not have stringed instruments or horns, their chief instruments being a large drum and tom-toms. Their singing, merely a jumble of songs and war-whoops, was usually done while dancing around a fire or a captive. All this was prac- ticed before a battle or after a victory, out of respect for the sun, moon, or stars on all fes- tive occasions, or in memory of a chief or of the tribe. When the white men came to America, they brought their songs from Europe. From Quebec to New Orleans, folk-songs floated down the Mississippi ; and in Salem and Bos- ton, the Puritans sang psalms; while the rough trappers and woodsmen sang ballads, such as Sally in Our Alley. With the W ar of Independence, our land was filled with the shrill voice of the fife and the tattoo of the snare-drum. When the Brit- ish troops marched into Lexington, they played tunes as accompaniment to songs jeering the patriots and the cause for which they stood. It was in this war that Yankee Doodle was introduced, and the birth of American Inde- pendence marked the beginning of the Ameri- can music that lives to the present day. New Orleans had opera as early as 1791, and The Beggar ' s Opera was given in New York in 1750. In 1848, some German musi- cians were driven out of tlie country; and as many of them came to America, they helped to develop music in this country. Stephen Collins Foster (1826-1864) was one of the first to create purely American folk- songs. David W. Guion gave us Turkey in the Straw and Sheep and Goat. We now have cowboy songs and songs of the Western Indians, idealized; as in Charles Wakefield Cadman ' s The Land of the Sky-Blue Waters, and other melodies of the same type. Arthur Farwell composed famous piano pieces, such as American Indian Melodies and Pawnee Horses. Masters of orchestral writing pt - sented the swing and glow of the negro dances of old New Orleans: Henry Gilbert has given us American Dances, Negro Rhap- sody, and The Dance in Place Congo ; Dvorak wrote the New World Symphony. The Puritan spirit of old New England is ex- pressed in Edgar Stillman Kelly ' s New England Symphony. John Powell, the com- poser of piano and violin music, wrote Sonata Virginiaesque and In the South, which give expression to the feeling of the South before the Civil War. Giving a musical soul to Longfellow ' s poem, Coleridge-Taylor and Frederick Burton composed noble Hiawatha. At the present time, the people seem to be divided into two groups in respect to modern music. There are those who do not care for jazz , claiming that it is a move back into the jungle and that the musical standard is being lowered considerably. Then there are those who approve of jazz and say that it is interesting, because it is the expression in music of the hurry and restlessness of Ameri- can city life. ROBERT MACDONALD, ' 27. SAN MALO Recently, at Symphony Hall, I had the op- portunity of hearing a new artist of the vio- lin. Alfredo San Malo, who is part Dutch, and part French, has a quiet, unaffected demeanor. He is deliberate and dignified, but, like most Hollanders, is not graceful. San Malo ' s playing seems to be of the Ysaye school. His technique is faultless and is even amazing. His tone is broad and has a warmth not often obtained by great technicians. His interpretation is logical and violinistic. He does not go to extremes; he does not attempt to improve upon compositions which are al- ready masterpieces. His interpretation is not impeded by amazing stunts or feats of violin acrobatics. At the conclusion of his program, an enthu- siastic audience recalled him to play five en- cores. It is unusual for a performer to be recalled five times at an evening concert in Symphony Hall. The writer missed his train, but he would have listened to San Malo all through the night and never have given a thought to the mere question of home-going. BOIT BRANNEN, ' 28. 11

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ON THE TRAIN How do you do, Mrs. Carpenter? It is so long since I have seen you! You haven ' t changed a bit, except that your face is a little thinner. Yes. I have gained, but I hope to lose next week. How are the children? And how are you? Tell me all about your- self, do! What a time I had in town today! I didn ' t intend to go, but I had to get a scarf for my husband, because he catches cold so easily. When I got up town I started across the street and a truck came along. I ran, and, you know, I fell down in all that mud! I got Mabel ' s lovely stockings that I was wear- ing all dirty and full of holes. I scraped my knee, too — wasn ' t that awful! I waited for somebody to pick me up, but nobody came, so I had to get up all by myself. Then I went in the store, and got a lovely scarf, but I ' ll never go there any more, because the clerk told me I was too fussy. Then I walked — Oh, gracious me, here is the conductor! What did I do with my tick- et? I just had it. Please excuse me, Mr. Conductor, I always was slow. You know, I didn ' t get my wisdom teeth ' til last year. Oh, here it is! Oh, dear me, no! That is my shopping discount ticket. Oh! here it is in my lap, just where I left it. Well, as I was saying — how are you get- ting along? Do tell me something about your family. You know, I went up to Nancy ' s the other night and I spilled some tea on my love- ly lace vest, and also broke the cup! Do you suppose she will ever speak to me again? Now, tell me about your family. Why are you so quiet? You have said hardly a word. Do you remember the minister we used to have, the one with red hair and long whiskers? You know, I used to tell Freddie about him when he cried. Of course, Freddie had never seen him. Well the other day lie came to call. When Freddie saw him, he just stared. After a while he said, ' Say! Mother used to tell me that your whiskers looked like a New England golden-rod field! ' I never was so embarrassed. Now, I will give you time to talk about yourself. Is Ella married yet? She was al- ways so pretty. Do you remember those black earrings she wore? Well, I got some like them, but John didn ' t like them, so I gave them to Mabel. I have simply got to hear about you. Have you been to, — Oh, wait a minute before you tell me! I have just got to tell you something! It is the funniest thing I ever heard! Oh! I thought I should die! I al- most laughed in her face. Oh, dear, it was when I met — Oh, gracious! here is my station and I must leave you. Next time I see you tell me all about yourself, and I ' ll tell you that funny story! Goodbye. CAEOLYN WOODMAN, ' 28. MINUET IN G All night at the old piano, The master liad tried in vain To catch a fleeting melody, ' Haunting his weary brain. And now, as the r ays of morning Ligliteiied the eastern skies. He leaned his head on the silent keys And closed -his tired eyes. Then in his dream he heard it. Celestial from afar ; The angels in heaven had gone to sleep And left the door ajar. RUTH PARKER, ' 28. A NEW TYPE OF PLAGIARISM Recently there has been noticed a new type of plagiarism practiced by men and women who, consciously or otherwise, borrow melodies from old music in order to make up a popular composition. The reason for the popularity of Yes, We Have No Bananas is very evident when one considers that it is taken from no less than four well-known old tunes: The Hallelujah Chorus supplies the first part; then follow excerpts from Bring Back My Bonnie to Me, Seeing Nellie Home, and an opera selection, I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls ; again we recognize the Hallelujah Chorus ; and, as an ending, there are further phrases from Bring Back My Bonnie to Me. Although Yes, We Have No Bananas was supposed to be a new song, yet there was not one original plirase in it. The ever-popular Humoresque by Dvorak, the piece that describes so vividly the emo- tions and impressions of the Polish composer and the suffering of his people during a great civil war, has been mercilessly transposed until we recognize its melody again in I ' d Climb the Highest Mountain. Even sacred church music has been reno- vated to suit the popular taste. A very old Andantino that is frequently played in churches, by the manipulation of some com- poser has produced Aloonlight and Roses. Kamennoi-Ostrow or The Angel ' s Eev- ID

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BEETHOVEN MENDELSSOHN Does it not seem strange that two persons who were brought up in so different an at- tnosphere as were Beethoven and Mendelssohn, should both follow the same line of work and become so famous? Beethoven was born in Germany, and from the first, life was hard for him. When he was scarcely more than four years old, his father, thinking the child might help him earn a living if he could teach, began giving him les- sons on the piano. He was made to practice manj ' hours every day, and when, in addition to the piano, he took up the violin, he prac- ticed almost all the time except when he was at school or asleep. It probably seems strange to some of us, but the more Beethoven prac- ticed, the more he liked it; and that, I think, is the secret of his success. Felix Mendelssohn, on the contrary, had a very happy childhood. His father was a banker, and they lived in a beautiful home, also in Germany. Although Felix started to study music when he was only three, he had plenty of time for enjoying childish pleas- ures. He showed indications of original genius earlier than Beethoven, and, when still a child, composed many beautiful pieces; in fact, many of them are famous now. When these young musicians grew up, al- though Mendelssohn lived a quarter of a cen- tury later than Beethoven, they both had much the same sort of experiences: they played for the great musicians of their time; played in the halls of royalty; played in pub- lic houses of the different towns they traveled in, and everywhere won recognition. Wlien Beethoven was about thirty, a great misfortune befell him; he realized that he was becoming deaf. He tried everything to cure this deafness, but in vain. As the years lengthened and his misfortune increased, he began to look forward solely to the writing of music; then he could hear the tones in his mind if not with his ears. As a result of this deafness, he became slack in his manner of dress, and the manuscript on which his compositions were written was often covered with blotches of ink. Fortu- nately, however, this did not do any harm to his playing and composing. Mendelssohn also had a great sorrow in his life — the death of his lieloved sister, Fanny, who, in his childhood, had heljied him master his lessons, and who, when he grew up, be- came liis constant companion. He was heart- broken over this loss, and it seems to me that he showed his appreciation of her kind- ness best by writing some of his most beauti- ful compositions while mourning for her. Both Beethoven and Mendelssohn died when they were still young. Although it was proph- esied many times during their lives that they would become great, no one knows so well as we, who live now, how great they really were. • JOSEPHINE SPEEO, ' 29. THE WAKEFIELD ROTARY CLUB BOYS ' BAND A while ago, following the example set by other Eotary Clubs, the Wakefield Rotary men started a fund to buy instruments and pro- vide a leader for boys interested in music and having some musical ability. The following instruments were bought to start with: one piccolo, ten clarinets, four saxophones, eight trumpets, five cornets, four altos, one bari- tone, five trombones, two basses, five snare drums, and a bass drum and cymbals. Mr. T. D. Perkins, a band master of forty years ' experience, was chosen as the leader of the brasses and drums. Mr. Perkins has coached tlie Framingham Rotary Club Boys ' Band, the Lawrence Rotary Clul) Boys ' Band, and others. He has also had much experience with high school bands, and he instructs eight or nine of these organizations each week. Mr. Perkins comes to Wakefield every Thurs- day. In the afternoon he gives the boys in- dividual instruction and in the evening they play ensemble. He has every piece so well in mind that he uses no music and thus can pay more attention to the boys. A visitor at re- hearsals is impressed with the fact that he can single out a boy who is playing wrong, and can take tlie instrument himself and plaj ' the selection properly. He keeps strict disci- pline among the players because he is liked so well by them. Mr. Sonderegga of Boston was engaged as Mr. Perkins ' assistant, to in- struct the boys playing the wood winds and gives similarly excellent training to that part of tlic band. On Decomlier 2, 1926, eighty-two boys en- rolled and on December 10, after careful ob- servation, twenty boys were finally selected and given instruments. Many other boj ' s pro- vide their own instruments and attend the rehearsals for the sake of the fine instruction, if a boy shows that he is not practising enough and is inattentive, his instrument is taken away and given to a more deserving boy. Those who own their instruments must also pay due attention or they are asked to 12