Evening Star Newspaper, January 12, 1942, Page 25

B—6 Enthusiastic Throng Thrills To Lily Pons’ Frank La Forge’s Accompaniments Praised; Frank Versaci, Flutist, Also Assists By ALICE EVERSMAN. The usual large crowd of en- thusiastic admirers of Lily Pons gathered yesterday in Constitution Hall to welcome her at her annual recital. With the nicely modulated accompaniments of Frank La Forge, whose songs are always included in Miss Pons’ repertoire, she sang a program that varied between songs of lyric character and numbers thet showed her dazzling technique to the greatest advantage. In several of the latter she had the assistance of Frank Versaci, flutist, whose bril- liant obligatos won him a personal success 8s an artist of his instru- ment. Presenting her customary charm- ing appearance, Miss Pons opened her program with arias from Mo- zart’s operas, the “Oh, che gioja” from “Il Seraglio” and “Ah, lo so” from “The Magic Flute.” concluding this group with Mr. La Forge's ar rangement for v and flute of Mozart’s “Piano Variations.” Miss Pons' artistry both as a musician and as a coloratura of extraordinary sureness and brilliance of execution, were amply demonstrated in these three works. No one but a well- schooled musician, with an impec- ceble ear could even essay the diffi- culties, for a singer, of the “Varia- tions.” They were sung by Miss Pons with great purity and speed | and with that certain flair that has | impressed her art on the public more than any other coloratura has been able to do. Range Extraordinary. For Miss Pons is by no means an example of perfect singing. Her yoice is extraordinary for its range | &nd flexibility and she is able to| do brilliant and astonishing things with it. But she has never master- ed a placement that would give the impression of greater size to her tones or that can adequately por- tray sentiments when singing songs that have no fireworks in them. She has made great progress within the last few years in poise, breath control and fine phrasing, but the | ability to use her voice as a painter | does his palette has never been | attained. She was not in the best of voice yesterday at the beginning of her program, but by the time she had| sung Bischop's “Lo, Hear the Gentle Lark.” it had gained freshness and | greater purity. The succeeding group | of French songs, which included Faure's “Les Roses d'Ispahan,” Hue's “A des Oiseaux,” Debus dans mon coeur” and “ | that follows both inward feeling many years. | Freud's “Civilization and Its Dis- | content.” | High School. Artistry with Liszt's “Comment disaient-ils,” were beautifully done with an ele- gance that matched the restrained emotional writing of * the great French composers, Loudly Applauded. Miss Pons' art is not~for such numbers as the old English songs that formed one group. Warmth and a more resonant quality of tone is needed to surround these | lovely works with a proper aura of sentiment. Arne's “Where the Bee Sucks,” Bavly’s “I'd Be a Butterfly,” Carey's “Pastoral” and the two anonymous songs, “O Willow, Wil- low” and “Have You Seen but & ‘Whyte Lille Grow,” have none of the delicate indications of sentiment of the French songs, but a delicacy all their own made up of tenderness and yearning. While the frame- work of Miss Pons’ singing of such songs as these is artistically con- structed, the picture which it in- closes has no lights and shades. In show pieces like the aria “Una voce poco fa,” from Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” and the encores, Liadov’s “Music Box” and La Foege's “The Bird Song,” Miss Pons stands supreme. The “white” quality that was present often in other numbers was absent in these and with the added roundness came greater car- | rying power both in sustained parts | and in the flash of her speedy runs and staccatos. Her virtuosity brought storms of applause and & bouquet of rich, red roses that formed a striking contrast to the artist's pale blue brocade dress. The answer was several encores, all old favorites.that have been identified with Miss Pons’ concert giving for | Dr. Mulhern to Speak The Rev. Dr. Philip Mulhern, O. | P., professor of history at the Do- | minican House of Studies, will pre- sent the second of three lectures at 8:30 o'clock tonight in the Wil- lard Hotel. under auspices of the Laymen's Forum of Washington. Dr. Mulhern will discuss Sigmund | Hopedale Church Supper | ‘The ladies of the Hopedale Emory Methodist Church, Sandy Spring, Md., will sponsor a supper from 5 to | 8 pm. Thursday at the Sherwood | Mrs. J. Powell is chairman. Queen Golden Popcorn By LILLIAN COX ATHEY. There is no limit today to the range of research in foods and food crops, and popcorn is no exception. Specialists of the United States De-: partment of Agriculture and Pur- | due University already have made substantial progress in developing popcorn with a higher ratio of ex- | pansion. | The new popcorns are hybrids. | They go places unless you clamp the lid down on them. Ordinary popcorn, we are told, expands from 7o 18 to 24 times when popped. The | new ones expand as much as 30 times. Tastiness and tenderness of the finished product increases with the popping ratio. | This is good news to young people, | of course, and to the popcorn man | on your corner. He will pay the{ same price per bushel and yet get| more bags of the finished product | from the new hybrid. Corn is said to be a freak in the | plant world, because it simply will not grow as a wild plant and must be given able assistance by man. | The “heads” of most of our grains and grasses scatter their seed chil- dren to the winds so that they may find a new home and opportunity. Not so the “ear” of corn. It must| be plucked from the stalk, shelled | and the kernels given a chance to reproduce. Not only this, the young | corn plant must be given much attention during its infancy or no | corn will be produced. Popcorn—Zea everta—is charac- terized by the excessive proportion ! of the corneous endosperm and the small size of the kernel and ear. In other words, the kernel when subjected to heat is too large for | {ts jacket. The corn in this species has extended its range throughout North and South America and has the right to claim it has been known | since prehistoric days. 1 Although popcorn seems in such a | great hurry when it meets extreme | heat, it is a slow grower and must be planted earlier than field corn. | However, it matures earlier than | field corn. | Odebolt, Towa, has the distinction | of being the popcorn center of the | world. More of it is grown in Iowa | Prescribed by thousands upon thousands of Doctors! m;g t%rtutredlby ‘slu]ch a t‘r,nf’lunx , Pertussin hel ring glorious QUICK R.l'fxsm? often with the first spoonfuls! It must be good when s0o many Physi- cians have prescribed it thruout the years. | than in any other part of the globe. | The harvested corn must be| | thoroughly dry before it is stored. | It is ready for use as soon as it is | dry, and you may buy your supply of | popcorn on the cob. It is greater | fun to pass your guest an ear of corn and his popper than to give | him a small bag of the kernels when you have a popcorn party. Popcorn is considered a very| profitable crop and less likely to | fail than field corn. A good return | to the acre is from 20 to 25 bushels, averaging about $30 to the acre. | Unemployed land may be put to ex- | cellent use in this way. | N “SALE Dr. Scholl’s Shoes Scientific Foot Comfort 8.35 & 0.35 —A real opportunity to save on comfort footwear! Our newest and smartest models in kid or suede are included. Black, white, brown or blue. Every pair carefully fitted by a Dr. Scholl’s trained expert! D! Scholl’s Foot Comfort Dept. Fourth Floor prepared to work internally. It relieves your coughing spell, improves ciliary action, an LOOSENS STICKY PHLEGM 80 that it is more easily raised. Take Pertussin often as needed because it's entirely free from dope, chloroform and coal tar lucts. 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