Excellent Programme At University Concert

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30093, 29 March 1963, Page 13

Excellent Programme At University Concert

The concert given yesterday afternoon in the University Hall was particularly interesting and enjoyable. It was well suited to its setting, for the programme gave variety in its excellent fare, and that touch of the unusual which might not be good box-office but was well worth hearing and advanced its hearers’ experience. The concert began with Bach’s cantata, “Jesu Meine Freude,” which was sung by a quintet—Heather Taylor and Anita Ritchie, sopranos; Carlene Shapcott, contralto; Anson Austin, tenor; and Robert Erwin, bass. Dr. Michael Toovey directed the work from the harpsichord. Thanks must be given to him for the opportunity to hear this lovely work and for the skill with which he prepared and directed it This cantata contains no solo work, and the accompaniment is not essential. The five, four and three-part choruses contain wonderful contrapuntal music of deeply moving spiritual insight It was interpreted with skill and sincerity, and its message certainly came across to the audience which filled ’the hall. Precision, rhythm, and —to a fair degree—clarity of words were all most commendable. Some of the voices had rather too much vibrato for this type of music, and this slightly detracted from line and colour. At times it gave the impression at a Schubertian rather than a Bach style of singing. However, it was a very fine performance indeed, and one that should be repeated. The second half of the programme was as far removed from the first as could be imagined, but the programme held together admirably. Janet Kenny, soprano, with Trevor Hutton, flautist, Michael Shorter, clarinettist, and Dr. Toovey directing from the harpsichord, gave a per-

formance (the first in New Zealand) of ‘‘Four Fragments from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales,” a work by Lester Trimble, a contemporary American composer.

This was a most exciting and interesting work, and was performed with the necessary eclat and excellent technical finish. It sounds very difficult, and Mrs Kenny is to be congratulated upon her clever choice of tonal colouring, and for making the Chaucerian pronunciation sound authentic, alive, and charming. The vocal part, while having its own individuality, is treated instrumentally and blended well into the high jinks which came from the players. The opening to the first section— The Prologue—was surprising at first and sounded as though it could have been atmospheric music for a trip through Chinatown. However, it quickly established its atmosphere within the spirit of the text and created a sense of excitement and of expectation for the journey. The countryside and the new vistas seem to be suggested by the lively flute work, and the rhythm of the horses and mules is there throughout the whole work. The clarinet often suggested a bray from the animals.

Strange as it all undoubtedly was at a first hearing, nevertheless there was a most convincing unity running through the four movements—the Prologue, the Knight, the Young Squire, and the Wife of Bata. Each part was marked by subtleties of character and painted its own convincing portrait. And through it all ran good

companionship and the delights and interests of the pitaimage. AH performers | are to be congratulated on their aitHfl and thanked for the hard work put into such a worth-while performance. -CFB.