“HIAWATHA”

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23973, 14 June 1943, Page 3

“HIAWATHA”

ROYAL CHRISTCHURCH MUSICAL SOCIETY A good performance of a large part of Coleridge-Taylor’s “Hiawatha” was given by the Royal Musical Society, in the Civic Theatre, on Saturday evening. A small string orchestra, from 3YA, was secured, a platform to accommodate the players at a good level was made available, and, with these two modest requirements, frequently insisted on in these columns, the performance made a good impression. The care and consideration displayed by the strings, and by the society's accompanist, Miss Victoria Butler, certainly added to one’s appreciation of the evening’s music. In “Hiawatha,” a popular work had been chosen, one that lies well within the society’s scope. The conductor, Mr C. Fostor Bmwne, can get from his choir, in a'steady, smooth passage, an agreeable tone and flow of sound. The first half of the programme, in this respect,,.was .better than'the second.' ‘ Soloists were Miss Shirley Buchanan, Mr Ernest Rogers, and Mr Gordon Griffiths. Miss Buchanan sang charmingly, her first sojo particularly. “Spring Had Come With all its Splen-dour.”-She had. already sung herself in, as it were, with two Puccini arias. Mr Ernest Rogers sang remarkably well, with good feeling and style, “Oneway. Awake Beloved!” How refreshing to hear some singing with plenty of “go.” Mr Griffiths’s intonation was not sure. Miss Blanche Atkinson accompanied Miss Buchanan. ' . , It is good news that one of Bach’s cantatas? and a concert version of Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” will be given at the next concert. Two points: first, could not the string orchestra include two or three extra violins? There are several good players in the city who should be playing there; second, w,hy does one see so few of our best-known singers in the ranks of our larger choral societies? FJP