34 January 4, 19 2 3 professional singer, lias been chosen as the concert attraction rather than some outside artist who would have no personal interest in the plan. Miss Allabach s voice has long been considered one of the most phenomenal to come out of Toledo. Her former appearances here have been enthusiastically received and in the East and wherever she lias sung she has been heralded as the young Galli-Curci and has received the most extravagant encomiums.. She has been in constant tutelage with Signor Florio, a foreign voice master of distinction, and it is expected that her work, when she appears January 10, will show a finish and an added luster since her last concert here more than a year ago. She will be assisted bv Gerald McLaughlin, violinist, and E. E. Richards, flutist. Mrs. Percy Gillam will be her accompanist and Elmer Gartz will play for Mr. McLaughlin. MUSICAL COURIER THE SECRET OF SINGING HIGH TONES By Frederic Freemantel Part IV Copyrighted, 1923, by The Musical Courier Company. Roland Hayes Returning After European T riumphs Roland Hayes, the admirable Negro tenor, has returned to the United States after several years of extraordinary success in London and Paris. Mr. Hayes excited the ad- go in the building of a house, but the real builder of the house has built the house in his mind long before he has used the bricks and mortar. So it is with the singer—the sound, or the right quality of the voice must be understood, in spite of the fact that he or she may be an expert in the sciences of physiology or anatomy and able to describe in technical detail the proper adjustment of the vocal apparatus and its action when rightly functioning; they must primarily have this mental conception of the right tone quality of the individual voice, or their technical information will prove a stumbling block. Let us for a moment return to our toy balloon 1 You have one in your room. You let it go and it floats up to the ceiling. But, the “thread” is hanging down and it is quite easy to reach this thread and pull the balloon down whenever you wish. Now, that “thread” is the means by which you- reach the balloon. The head tones have also a “thread of tone” that reaches down into the middle voice, and when we find this thread, the rest is easy sailing. In tenor voices it is revealed somewhere between F (first space) and E flat. Soprano voices find it from A to about E; altos, basses and baritones usually find it manifesting itself somewhere between C and G. There is no exact pitch for any two voices where it can be recognized. The ear alone must .be the guide, and when once you have had it pointed out to you, you will never lose the sound from your mind. And the “principle of preparation” for all head tones is the finding and recognizing this correct sound in the lower part of your voice. In my next article, I will show you how you, yourself, can learn to hear this right sound, whether you be tenor, soprano, alto, bass or baritone, providing you have in vour mind the right tonal conception as to the correct quality of your own voice. {To be continued.) The recognition of the correct tone quality, or the recognition of the correct “sound,” is the first step that will reveal the quality or characteristic sound of the Head Voice to each individual singer. This quality will invariably be first and most easily found in the middle tones or the upper middle tones of the voice. It will reveal itself as a very small tone at first and in all singers it gives the feeling as if it were floating out and wanted to “float upward.” If you will call to mind the toy balloon which we buy for the children, it is usually filled, or inflated, with hydrogen gas, so that if we let. go of the Ihread to which it is attached, it will immediately float upward. It takes a very little effort to hold it down and no effort at all to “let it go up.” It is with just this same ease that the Head Tones go up, “if we let go” after we are acquainted with their correct sound. The explanation of the physiological action necessary for their production is essential to experienced singers, but to the inexperienced the “mental conception” of the correct tone quality is of paramount importance. And -of all the different sounds a voice can make, there' is just one sound, and one sound alone that will lead you into upper tones. The most detrimental barrier to the 'development of these upper tones is that the singer wants big tones right away, and these head tones first reveal themselves as being quite small. The singer must first hear and recognize these tones and then have faith, and in two or three months’ persistent work these tones will come out with great brilliancy and fullness. Either in the teacher or in the singer, the mental conception of how these tones should sound is vitally important Even with all the physiological action fully described it will not bring forth the correct tones unless the singer or teacher knows how they ought to sound. One may be thoroughly familiar with all the constituent elements that Chicago on January 12, and Omaha on January 17. Mme. Onegin’s programs will consist of lieder, old French songs and songs in English. ROLAND HAYES miration of the critics and the public in both cities, where he appeared in recital and as soloist with symphony orchestras. In London he gave no less than six recitals to very large audiences, and sang especially for King George in Buckingham Palace. He also gave concerts in Plymouth, Halifax, Croydon, Llandudno, and other cities, and subsequently in Paris, where he sang with the Colonne Orchestra under M. Pierne. Mr. Hayes’ first concert in this country will be given Sunday evening, January 7, in Symphony Hall, Boston. After his “farewell” recital in London last month the reviewer for the Times commented on the event as follows: It was not surprising to see a number of young singers at the Aeolian Hall on Friday night before his American tour, for they can surely learn much from him, especially those to whom folk-song interpretation appeals. Yet perhaps the quality which really distinguishes Mr. Hayes’ singing of negro melodies is the very thing which cannot be learned, for the obvious art of his method is purely vocal. That he can manage his voice adroitly enough was clearly shown in Schubert’s Du bist die Ruh and Drink to Me Only—the rest of the effect is not art as much as nature. It is given to few to be at once simple without affectation, solemn without conscious ef-fort, or gay with just that touch of easy nonchalance to create an ,Tresist,l>le sympathy. This is folk-music singing at its very b^st. Mr. Lawrence Brown accompanied beautifully. Rachel Allabach to Sing at Toledo Benefit RacheV Allabach, the Toledo coloratura soprano, made her appearance this season at several concerts in the Middle West and scored much success. Miss Allabach received fine receptions everywhere, for music lovers responded to the lovely bell-like quality of her voice and the charm of her personality, manner and appearance. On January 10, Critical Praise for La Forge Artist. Cora Cook, an artist pupil of Frank La Forge, appeared in recital at Aeolian Hall, New York, on the afternoon of December 5. According to the critic of the Herald, “She has a good voice, warm sympathy with the poetic content of such songs as Schumann’s, and considerable skill in communicating her conceptions to an audience. Her pronunciation was delightfully clear, her distribution of shades and accents intelligent and her tone at times well suited to the sentiment.” “In her range, Miss Cook is quite worth hearing,” was the verdict of The World, while the Times stated that “Her low notes are remarkable.” It is the opinion of the critic of the Sun that “Miss Cook is an intensely musical person, dignified in demeanor, intelligent m purpose and showing individual taste in the choice of her songs.” This young artist is a mezzo contralto. NYIRECYHAZI (Pronounced N EAR - ECH ־ H AHZ1) “A master of the piano. Combines all the qualities of head, hand and heart. —Ohn Downes, Boston Post. Management: R. E. JOHNSTON Associates: L. G. BREID and PAUL LONGONE 1451 Broadway, New York City KNABE PIANO USED AMPICO RECORDS Mme. Meluis Returns from Western Tour Tf/Tuij?e*^ue^a ^״e^u*s ^as just returned from a tour of the Middle West where she sang to crowded houses and delighted audiences who demanded that she promise to return for other concerts. At La Crosse, Wis., where Mme. Meluis appeared at the La Crosse Theater under the auspices of the Music Study Club, the Tribune wrote as follows: a most attentiv,e and responsive house, Luella Meluis coloratura soprano, gave last night a beautiful concert under the ausptce5 of the Music Study Club. The voice of Mme. Meluis is flawless, her trills are perfect, and each note is absolutely true to P.TA• .S“e “a? great personal charm and beauty, and from the standpoint of interpretation as well, she is a great artist She tS״eheerd rinJv0y thie^al thrills with which the audience responded It hTb of jhe Wind and was compelled to repeat it. I he Bell Song, from Lakme, her last number on the program, was received with prolonged applause so that after renewed clappirg she came back and the house was only stilled with the opening measures of The Last Rose of Summer. We believe we express the wish ot music-loving La Crosse when we say “Come again next season. The Dixon (111.) Telegram was even more specific in demanding that Mme. Meluis give a return concert: One of the most enjoyable and meritorious concerts ever held in this city was that given last evening in the Dixon Theater by if“?• L,ueVa M