“THE MESSIAH”

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25365, 12 December 1947, Page 9

“THE MESSIAH”

FINE PERFORMANCE BY COMBINED CHOIRS

Faced, in the case of Handel’s “The Messiah,” with the phenomenon of an oratorio which retains the full strength of its popularity when so many works of the same type have long been forgotten, critics have advanced various reasons to account for it; but in the minds of most men there are -these three in chief: the subject with which the oratorio deals is still of supreme importance to millions; the music is one of the world’s greatest masterpieces; and subject and music alike may be comprehended by .the common roan. Sung as it was last evening by the combined choirs. of the Royal Christchurch Musical Society and the Christchurch Male Voice Choir, the work gripped the. audience from start to finish. This massed choir, splendidly balanced, sang the great choruses with fine effect. The magnificent outbursts <n .“For unto us a Child is born,” the splendid polyphony pf the “Amen,” and the elemental strength of the “Hallelujah”i Chorus called forth Singing which lifted the spirits of both choir and audience. It is true that in one Or - ’two of the other choruses the tempo was just too quick to permit the cohesion and the clear detail which are among the essentials for excellence! The tone had a crude vigour not unsuited to the urgency of the music; but one of the choir’s finest achievements was an admirable clarity in the polyphonic texture. Efficiently led by Miss Lesley Anderson, the string section of the 3YA Orchestra provided an accompaniment which was generally good in the choruses, but uncertain in the recitatives and arias. Nevertheless, the accompaniments to “He Shall Feed His Flock,” “How Beautiful are the Feet,” and “Why do the Nations so Furiously Rage” were well done. The work of the organist, Mr J. V. Peters, merits very high praise. He secured an excellent balance of tone between organ, choir and orchestra. and his registration was consistently effective. Miss Victoria Butler’s piano accompaniments were most useful to the chorus on the stage. The soprano. Miss Sybil Phillipps, has a very attractive voice. Her singing was notable for the pure quality and smooth emission of tone, the clarity of every word, and really good phrasing. Some of her best work wag heard in “Come Unto Him,” and “I Know that my Redeemer Liveth.” Miss Kitty Galbraith (contralto) sang beautifully in “He Shall Feed His Flock” and “He was Despised.” At its best, her voice has lovely quality. In the recitatives there were occasional slight faults in intonation; but the arias were hot thus affected, and her phrasing was always good. Every word was well formed and clearly heard. # Singing with restraint and musical Reeling, Mr Thomas E. West (tenor) was specially pleasing in “Comfort Ye” and “Every Valley,” although in the latter he was -inconvenienced by lack of cohesion in the orchestra. Mr Len Barnes (bass) was heard to best advantage in “The People that Walked in Darkness” and “Why do the Nations so Furiously Rage.” Both items were pleasing, too, in that the orchestra was efficient in its accompaniments.

The measure of Mr C. Foster Browne’s success in conducting the work is that of the very high standard reached in the choruses especially. The choirs knew the music thoroughly. The singers were alert to meet every demand Altogether, this was a memorable performance and one which merits congratulations to the conductor and to all who co-oper-ated with him. v a.