CHRISTCHURCH LIEDERTAFEL

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 28001, 22 June 1956, Page 9

CHRISTCHURCH LIEDERTAFEL

Under Mr Keith Newson’s able direction, the Christchurch Liedertafel sang in the Caledonian Hall last evening. The various sections of the choir now sing with matching tone, and the blend and balance is much better. This was a smoke concert, and the large audience of men obviously enjoyed the singing and had cause to do so. The members of the choir sang as though they also were having an enjoyable evening, and this helped towards freedom and vitality in their singing. It was a well-disciplined freedom, however, and the response to Mr Newson’s requirements in expression and general precision in performance was most creditably efficient. Consonants were usually clearly enunciated, but some members of the choir could improve their work by giving more careful attention to exactness of vowel sounds. Both Schubert’s “Night” and the “Lullaby” by Brahms were "sung with excellent tone and attractive expression. More robust items such as “The Song of the Jolly Roger” by Candish, and “Three Sailor Songs” arranged by Woodgate, gave the choir full opportunity for producing ringing tones of very good quality. The words of shanties must be bowdlerised, but in these sailor songs practically all the salt has been washed away. Cowen’s “Border Ballad” has earned a long rest, but if it must be sung, then considerably more attention needs to be paid to the word “march.” Both “marsh” and “mutch” were heard as variants.

The Irish melodies, arranged by Cecil Forsyth, were sung with atmosphere. Thanks must be given to the Liedertafel for giving us repeat performances of that excellent “Dirge” by Constant Lambert and “Serenity” by Dr. James Lyon. Both were sung with distinction. In the former, the soloists—Messrs John Forrest and Grahaeme Johnson —sang with full understanding and, by skilful use of expression and apt tonal colouring, they created just the right atmosphere. Mr Malcolm Haines, who has a wellcontrolled and even tenor voice of attractive quality, sang the solo part in Pergolesi’s “Nina.” As the key in which it was set did not suit him, he very quickly brought it down to a more comfortable level, and the choir followed him. This was possible because the work was unaccompanied. One would not condemn this as loss of pitch, because the slight variation in key actually suited the song, and the voices, better.

Other soloists were Messrs Ray Hunt, Frank Shields, Claude Burrows, Robert Allison, and Peter Law. Mr Robert N. Hughes, accompanied by Mr George Martin, played trumpet and cornet solos, and showed that he had good command over these instruments. Mr Oswald Houison, the society’s accompanist, gave adequate support on an instrument that would suit Winifred Atwell as her “other piano.” —C.F.B.