NOTABLE CONCERT

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25608, 24 September 1948, Page 9

NOTABLE CONCERT

—— RECITAL AT CANTERBURY COLLEGE

The last concert for the 1948 series, arranged by the Canterbury University College music department, was given last evening in the college hall, when May Allan and Ernest Jenner presented a joint recital of works infrequently performed, which makes for appreciation and enjoyment whenever they are offered. I Throughout many fine performances. we have come to associate the name of Ernest Jenner with all that is highest in the interpretative and executive art of pianoforte playing. His sincerity and artistry were discernible immediately with the passionate opening to the Sonata in F minor by the modern British composer. Howard Ferguson. This is a recent work in the nature of an elegy to the late Harold Samuel. Full of the outpouring of grief, this unusual sonata. receives structural coherence by means of the opening theme being reihtroduced in the midst of the liquid tonal beauties of the slow movement, and again at the conclusion of the work.

An early work of Scriabine, the sonata-fantaisie, vividly portrays the extraordinary technical virtuosity and ceaseless search after new effects and qualities, which characterise this composer, often described as the rightful successor to Chopin. The beauty of the andafite contrasted with the presto, whose nervous energy rose to feverish intensity, demanding considerable finger dexterity and rhythmic control.

Mr Jenner’s understanding of the subtleties of rhythm, and his equal understanding of the interpretation of modern keyboard technique, were most forcibly demonstrated in the’

“Fantasia Baetica,” by Manuel de Falla. In this work, the composer depicts the true and natural expression of the Spanish people—direct, forceful, wild, and barbaric, free from the artificialities found in popularised pseudoSpanish pieces. With consummate skill the pianist not only suggested the harmonic effects of the intricate Spanish guitar-playing, but also portrayed in sound the harsh, untrained voices of the Spanish street tenors. It is to be noted that. Mr Jenner’s programmes are never stereotyped. Their diversity shows the discriminating taste of a widely experienced musician.

To hear May Allan singing the group of Bach was to hear a singer who realises the inner beauties of the music with sensitive artistry. Her voice, pure and unaffected, was admirably suited to the melodic contour and emotional content of the four arias. Each was distinguished by clear articulation. “Comfort Sweet” was followed by a delicately wrought “How Sweetly Echo in My Hearing,” and the exquisite “In Faith I Quiet Wait.” “May We Complete This Year” showed the full range and richness of Miss Allan’s voice.

The cluster of Hugo Wolf’s songs were sung with superb atmospheric expression, “Silent Love” especially being treated with a lovely pianissimo. Wolf’s psychological penetration of the literary meaning of the poem involves piano and voice on equal terms, both forming one organic whole, and was noticeable in the well sustained “E’en Little Things,” with its whisper in the piano.

Throughout, Mr Jenner’s sympathetic accompanying was admirably . controlled. blending with the singer to make a finely balanced presentation, a fitting conclusion to a memorable series of concerts and recitals. —C.N.