MUSICAL SOCIETY.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7187, 24 October 1888, Page 6

MUSICAL SOCIETY.

On Thursday evening next the Christchurch. Musical Society will produce Gade's cantata, or rather dramatic poem, " Psyche." The story, as set to music by the composer, may be briefly told as follows :—Psyche, a daughter of a king in Hellas, has excited the wrath of Venus by refusing to join in the rites of that goddess, and is borne to a lofty height, where she is condemned to be the bride of a demon. She falls asleep, and whilst in this state is borne away oy a Zephyr and some Genii to a place of safety. Here, on her awakening, she is told that a god will espouse her, but she is warned, on pain of death, never to ask who he is. Disregarding the warning, she demands from the chorus the name of her husband, and they announce to her that she has incurred the doom of her curiosity. Subsequently Eros, or the god of love, appears, and tells her that he has no power to alter the doom which the vindictiveness of Venus has pronounced upon her, and that she must die. He, however, announces that he will appeal to Zeus or Jupiter for a reversal of the sentence. Psyche dies, and in the third part of;the Cantata the scene is laid in Hades. Here she is advised, by taking of the waters of Lethe, to drown all recollection of her love for Eros, but she refuses, and supplicates Proserpine, the queen of Hades, to allow her to re-visit earth in order to obtain from Eros the forgiveness of her curiosity. She is allowed to do so, and meets with Eros, who forgives her, and transports her to the abodes of the gods, where she receives from Zeus the gift of immortal youth. The cantata is full of beautiful music, the composer having been most successful in wedding to the romantic story the charms of melody. The final rehearsal took place last night, and went excellently.