CATHEDRAL CHOIR

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29855, 22 June 1962, Page 13

CATHEDRAL CHOIR

Concert At University

A large audience at the lunch-time concert yesterday in the University Hall heard the boys of the Christchurch Cathedral Choir, conducted by Mr C. Faster Browne, in a programme which showed that they have made a remarkable advance. Musical intelligence of a high order was shown in their unaccompanied part-singing especially- , The most interesting work, both as a composition and in its manner of performance, was Mb Browne’s “Tenebrae Factae Sunt.” Here, as in his arrangements of “Were You There?,” “Song of Farewell” (a German folk song), and the jolly "Ha Girometta” (Sibella), the tone, in its quality, its blend, and its balance, was most attractive. Everything was memorised; all the parts were sung with confidence and with impeccable intonation; tonal effects and contrasts were most pleasing; and each singer responded alertly to the conductor’s expert and unobtrusive direction which achieved, in addition to all else, a vitalising, onwardmoving rhythm, and a close interpretation of each song’s changing moods. It was a pleasure to hear the pure quality of the vowel sounds and to note the clear definition of the words. One of the most revealing items was Handel’s “Where’er You Walk” which, taken at a slower tempo than usual, showed the singers' well-trained command of breath control and phrasing Dr. Michael Toovey's accompaniments set an enviable standard. In a Buxtehude item. Greene’s “O Praise The Lord,” and Mozart's "Alleluia,” the singers were associated with the harpsichord to excellent effect; and similarly with the pianoforte in two attractive songs, “The Fairy Tree” (O’Brien) and “The Road to Bethlehem” (Head).

In New Zealand, Christchurch has the unique advantage of a Cathedral choral foundation of the English sort. Its boy singers are privileged indeed: they are receiving the kind of musical training which, for centuries oast, has produced some of Britain’s and Europe’s finest musicians.