Music
A SPANISH GUITAR RECITAL.
THE first appearance in London of Senor Andres Segovia, the Spanish guitarist, provided quite a little oasis for the critics on their journey through the desert of the concert-world. This recital enabled them to revive all that was once sensitive in themselves, and with one accord they voted the guitar as an instrument to be talked about. This was as it should have been, save that in many cases their zeal led them to make odious comparisons. One critic discovered that the guitar was reminiscent of the clavichord, another that it could be likened at times to a muted trumpet and at others to a flute; and one went so far as to breathe the unholy name of ukelele. That was the unkindest cut of all, for whatever else may be said, the guitar is essentially a " white " instrument.
I have referred to these comparisons because I am con- vinced they are based upon a wrong conception of the guitar and its ways. Senor Segovia, through the extreme beauty of his technique and the delicacy of his musicianship, made it abundantly clear that his instrument existed by the divine right of its own inherent qualities. The fact that its various tones and tiinbres suggested those of other instruments only goes to emphasize its own aristocratic descent and the bas- tardy of some of its derivatives. The most complete evidence of this was given through the playing of a group of Bach pieces written for the lute. These represented the perfect accord of medium and idea, and served to drive home one more nail into the lid of the downright grand piano.
BASIL MAINE.
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