MR PATRICK O’HAGAN Concert In Civic Theatre

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28531, 10 March 1958, Page 7

MR PATRICK O’HAGAN Concert In Civic Theatre

Mr Patrick O’Hagan entertained a very large audience in the Civic Theatre on Saturday evening, and was warmly received.

He sang a light programme and did it well, for his words were clear and there was a well-marked rhythmic quality in his singing There is no doubt that he has a most pleasing tenor voice; but it was not possible to know very much about it, because everything he sang came through loudspeakers. These were adequate —though quite unnecessary in i this building—for speech, but caused considerable distortion when used for song. They upset the necessary balance between the voice and the accompaniment. Certain vowels and timbres came with too much resonance, and had a piercing quality which would probably not have been apparent in the singer’s natural voice. Natural shades of expression were not possible because of the high level at which these mechanical monstrosities were set. It was all very tiresome and disappointing. The impression gained was that Mr O’Hagan has a voice of pleasing tone, without much variety in tonal qualities.

However, it was a great night for the Irish, provided that they were not well versed in traditional Irish music and had no strong memories of the great Irish singers of the past—before the days of loud-speakers. Traditional songs such as “The Meeting of the Waters,” “The Minstrel Boy,” “Trotting to the Fair,” and a few others were delightfully sung. Unfortunately quite a number of others promised on the programme, failed to appear and several songs of an ersatz-Irish type were substituted. Not all songs which have words about Ireland—and they are usually very far indeed frc... expressing anything of the authentic nature and spirit of the country—can be truly considered as Irish music, any more than maudlin nonsense set to quasi-religious words becomes church music. There is a well-established tradition in these matters.

However, Mr O’Hagan, who is “a broth of a boy,” carried his audience with him and gave them a pleasant evening’s entertainment. Mr Oswald Cheesman was an adequate accompanist. —C.F.B.