THE ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY'S CONCERT.

Press, Volume XIX, Issue 2808, 2 May 1872, Page 2

THE ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY'S CONCERT.

The concert of the Orchestral Society last evening at the; Oddfellows* JBall marks an erain -the history of music in Canterbury -which' deserves more than passing notice Totally independent of any particular society, tbough numbering in its ranks representa*' tivesTrohTall, we look upon the formation of this society as the first step towards what to our mind ,ia thoroughly essential for the solid progress of good music amongst us, and the forming and elevation of the taste of the people, vis., the amalgamation in one strong society of air^he-available'Tiinlical' f talent' in the city, so as to combine their efforts to give the. work's of the old masters in a manner which will give to the listeners an idea of the conception of the composer. For the first time in : Canterbury we have bad the whole.of the; available instrumental talent of Christchurch on the platform, and the result was a complete success, for certainly all present will admit that the way in which the various pieces were given was a credit, to us here in Canterbury. The programme comprised selections from the works of Haydn, Mozart, Cherubini and Carl Maria Yon Weber. It opened with the allegro con spirito movement of Hadyn's symphony, No. 17, which was really a splendid piece" of instrumentation, all the various instruments blending exquisitely. If there was a fault with this and the following moveMnentsit.tvasthat there; was scarcely enough volume of sound, the- basses being hardly istrong enough to compete with.the array of violins; but perhaps this is somewhat hypercritical, as the piece was, with this slight

exception, rendered in excellent style v• A. S. Taylor sang the pretty little' Vwn ? " My-«OWSBrJbids mc bind my hair " ero"*?■ J.gly V?ell, The fiimplc ballad music S ■her perfectly. Mr W. H. Simm 9 , panicd on the pianoforte. toln ' The three concluding movements of h, symphony,the audante, minuctto c trio .!. allegro vivace, went well throu-Cnt especially the minuetto, which «. played perfectly. The aria "Voi che saner?" from-"Don Giovanni" by Mrs Long, a fiorrL acapital opportunity for the display of thu lady's'really line contralto voice,'her JS tones being heard to great advantage Sh was accompanied by a quintette of string instruments, which were, in Jour opinion a thought too loud, drowning the more piano passages. The manner in which the florid music of the aria was rcudered was deserving of all praise, and thoroughly deserved the warm plaudits with which it was greeted The overture to " Don Giovanni," capitally played, brought the first part to a conclusion The second part opeued with two move-' ments of Mozart's Symphony No. 3 minuetto c trio aud the allegro assai, ' Both pieces were splendidly executed, the latter if anything taking the palm for brilliancy of instrumentation. Pinsuti's song*'R 08 *Z Mazurka," by Miss A. S. Taylor, was certainly a most fiuished rendering of a difficult piece of music, although it was not giTen with that vivacity which we remember on a former occasion, but still the manner in which it was sung ' proved • Misa Taylor to be a thorough lover of -.the--ait and an accomplished musician,:.--Itwas encored, and responded by 'a repetition of the last verse.; Tlm-qvertjar-'j to " Lodoiska," bj Cherubini,"which followed was to our mind the gem:of the evening, f it. "was really a most exquisite treat—oae which we have never before' heard equalled in Christcburchl • The whole' went as orieth. strument, and ; the manner in which the parts blended showed careful; training siduous study. Mrs Long then gave a so_f» which we have , np£ ; heard here, befor?' entitled ,; Leah," in which her' full, rich tones were again heard with great success Her rendering of this song fully deserved the warm encore which greeted her. The success of the march from 'Oboron" with which this exceedingly good concert concluded was somewhat marred by. the inability of the cornet to get the higher notes jn the solo allotted to him ; but as a whole it went well. Taken throughout, the concert must be regarded as 'one' of the most successful ; musically speakingpwe have had~in- Christ- ---■ church, and we regret that there was, not a better attendance. Mr .A.. Lean wielded the conductor's Mr Simms accompanied the. vocal items on the pianoforte.;, ,[•: ..y -.■ ;* ~« ~ .