BIRTHS.

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22889, 9 December 1939, Page 1

BIRTHS.

BAILEY —On December 8, at Geraldine, to Mr and Mrs G. F. Bailey, . Pleasant Valley—a. daughter. Both Well.

BENNETT—On. December 8, at Rangiora Maternity Hospital, to Alma, wife

of Ron Bennett, Eyreton—a daughter, BEpRY—On December 7, at “St.

Helens.” to Mr and Mrs C. A. Berry (nee Myrtle Cex) —a daughter, CftMPTON—On December 7. 1939. at “Lyndhufst,” to Kathleen, wife of R.

G. Compton (nee Hbbbsj— a daugh-

December 8, at “Lyndhurst.” to Elizabeth, wife of F. W. G. White—a daughter.

Handel’s “Messiah” was given a right setting when it was presented last night in the. Christchurch Cathedral by the Royal Christchurch Musical Society, and in consequence the significance of the work was more fully realised .than when one hears it presented in a concert hall. The soloists for this performance were Master R. Dodgson (soprano), Miss Nellie Lowe (contralto), Mr Ernest Rogers (tenor), and Mr Charles Clarkson (bass), their work and that of the choir being accompanied by the players of 3YA orchestra, with Mr Foster Browne at the organ, the whole under the baton of Mr Frederick Bullock. The planning and the musical preparation had obviously been' very thoroughly "undertaken, for everything was well controlled and the whole work reverently treated. In spite of this there was frequently a dullness in the interpretations, for many of the items were fettered by a too rigid adherence to an over-slow pulsation, which resulted not only in an absence of rhythmic sentence-making, but even at times in an absence of lilt. Allied to this, and perhaps as a result of it, there was some slight flattening in the tenor line of the chorus. Of course, the surroundings would be unfamiliar to a choir accustomed to singing on a stage, and both hearing and seeing would present difficulties, and it might easily have been such that prevented their careful work from having that vitality which helps to turn performance into real interpretation. Outstanding items of the evening were the choruses “Glory to God,” and “Lift Up Your Heads,” and the solos “But didst thou not leave his soul,” “Why Do The Nations,” “Thou Shalt Break Them,” “The Trumpet Shall Sound,” “O Thou That Tellest,” “He Shall Feed His Flock,” and “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth.” As is frequently done, the order of Handel’s items was slightly changed towards the latter part of the work, in order to bring about the singing of the “Hallelujah” chorus as the final number, and this fine chorus received broad treatment by choir and orchestra. * (E.J.) ' 1 ,7