ENJOYABLE CONCERT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 200, 23 August 1940, Page 10

ENJOYABLE CONCERT.

ROYAL AUCKLAND CHOIR.

i ARTISTIC PART SINGING. The- Royal Auckland Choir's second ] concert ot tlie season, given to a full house in the Town Hall concert chamber , last evening, was one of the most enjoy- • : able the society haa presented in recent ■ years. Under the musicianly direction of ite honorary conductor, Mr. Harry Woolley, this long-established body of sing£re is showing an improvement at each succeeding concert, more especially in the direction of "restraint." The singing of last night's well-c.hosen , programme was marked, for the greater part, by crisp attack and release, clearcut diction, an artistic regard for nuance, ranging from full-voiced fortes to delicately expressed pianissinioe, and good , tonal quality. The most appreciated items given by the , choir were, perhaps, those quiet numbers in the singing ot which this combination of male singers excels, such as Storch's delightful "Reveries," the charming \ '"'Pirate Dreams" of Huerter, in which Mr. Lee. O'Leary sang most sympathetically the solo part to a choral "bouche , fermee' accompaniment, the plantation song, "Who's Dat A-Calling?" (soloist, Mr. O'Leary), and those old favourites, « PSnsuiti'e "In This Hour of Softened Splendour," and Bohni's "Calm as the Night." In thie latter category also wae Sullivan's "The Long Day Closes." This wae included as the choir's tribute to the memory of two veteran members of the choir, W. Coltman and W. H. George, " who recently passed on. Sung with deep and tender feeling*, whilst the audience stood reverently, thie beautiful part eong was most appropriate and made an impressive ending to an outstanding concert. In brighter vein were: "Who Sails With Drake?" (Candish), which made an effective opening number, a well-phrased presentation of Mendelesohn'e "The Merry Wayfarer" and "A Vintage Song," this latter having to be repeated; Gernshein'e "Salamis" and Bullard'a "Sword of Ferrara," both delivered with considerable vigour. To these were added several recall number in response to much appreciative applause. Assisting the society were Miss Phyllis Gribbin, contralto, Mr.. James Leighton, bass, and Mr. Pat Toweey, pianist. Mies Gribbin, who was in excellent voice, sang at her first appearance Elgar's "Like to the Damask Rose." In this she displayed artistic control and most pleasing tonal quality. Miss Gribbin was again heard to great advantage in AlKtsen'e , eong. "There's a Land," and wae recalled to sing extra numbers. It wae a rare treat to hear a singer whose words could be heard distinctly without ear strain. Mr. Ledghton opened his contributions to the programme with Handel's "Droop Not Young Lover," and later sang Mallineon'e "We Sway Along." For his virile ' singing of these he wae recalled to give additional numbers. A greaitly appreciated feature of the concert was the playing by Mr. Pat Towsey of two pianoforte numbers, Schumann's "Romance" in F Sharp, in which he displayed a fine singing tone, and the more showy "Caprice" (Paganini-Liszt). which served to demonstrate his considerable technical ability. Hie performances gave such satisfaction that he was twice recalled, playing, in response, two Chopin compositions. Mr. Alan Pow was a most efficient accompanist. , An innovation at these concerts was the installation of a sounding board, the curved surface of which, extending from | the rear of the etage overhead to the front, greatly improved the acoustic* of ' the auditorium. [ I