Prolonged Ovation At Festival Concert

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30682, 23 February 1965, Page 1

Prolonged Ovation At Festival Concert

A prolonged ovation was given to the world-famous conductor, Sir Malcolm Sargent, the Victorian State Symphony Orchestra and to the festival choir last evening after the first concert of the Pan Pacific Arts Festival in Christchurch. The festival choir was formed from the Royal Christchurch Musical Society, the Christchurch Harmonic Society, the Christchurch Liederkranzchen, the Christchurch Lieder tafcl. and the University of Canterbury Madrigal Singers.

The visiting orches- 1 tra will give three j more concerts. C.F.B. writes: “Before the concert began there was excited expectancy in the King Edward Barracks (now tastefully and skilfully transformed into the Festival Hall). The huge choir, so well known here for its excellent performances individually and in combination, was a thrilling sight in itself against a dark red background at the end of the hall. The Victorian State Orchestra—our guests for this festival—made an equally exciting spectacle as it assembled in its large numbers and made the heartening cacophony of tuning up. The huge audience itself generated its own atmosphere of pleasure and fulfilment as long awaited hopes were about to be realised.” .Magnificent Aura “All this created a magnificent aura for Sir Malcolm Sargent's entry. He wasted none of it; and, with the National Anthem ended, the ■ inaugural concert was; launched with Brahms’s Aca- i demic Festival Overture. First j impressions of the orchestra’s i playing were of expectations!

icome to life- Most pleasant (sounds, smooth and mellow I with warmly-enfolding tone, and then bright, vivacious, and richly-sonorous effect in climaxes with plenty of bite and eclat all showed that the Victorian State Symphony Orchestra cannot fail to make many friends here through its playing. “It was also a pleasure to find that the acoustic qualities of the hall were going to be satisfactory. With precision, balance, and excellent expres- ! sive response the orchestra ; followed the overture’s wellknown track until the moment ; —not hitherto known here—- • when the choir burst forth into ‘Gaudeamus Igitur' as set , by Sir Malcolm Sargent for voices to cap it all. And so it did.

“Haydn’s lovely Symphony No. 86 in D was played with grace and elegance in response to Sir Malcolm Sar | gent’s imaginative and exceedingly well-knit direction. I With tempi chosen expertly ! for imparting its prevailing ■ ( good cheer with sterling clar- ( ity, he brought from the | music and gave to his audi- . ence Haydn's happy sense of | confident well-being and I warm-hearted enjoyment. I This symphony will be re-

repeated at this evening’s concert. High Wassail “Then the choir joined with the orchestra in creating high wassail in Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances from ‘Prince Igor.’ Both caught, with full understanding, the voluptuous and the frenziedlybarbaric natures of this music, and, in technique, achieved an excellent and highly effective balance. While the words did not come through, this did not matter for the music is fully explanatory through its textures. It all ended with the explosive force of a satisfactory number of megatons. “The programme (designedly of a “proms” character) continued with a spirited performance of Britten’s ‘Variatians and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell,’ a work which, through the medium of an excellent little film starring Sir Malcolm Sargent, has done invaluable service in our schools by introducing the orchestral families to’ many children. Sir Malcolm Sargent’s suavely-expert gestures to his players gave a splendid object lesson in what can be full of meaning, inspiring, and yet economical and free from fussiness. Pastel Delicacy “In ‘The Walk to the Paradise Gardens’ there was a wealth of pastel delicacy of sound coming in smoothly immaculate phrasing. This was the most stirringly moving music of the evening and faded charmingly away into silence. “As on previous occasions the combined choirs were heard in thrilling magnificence of tonal grandeur in the rich texture of Parry’s ‘Blest Pair of Sirens.’ The great waves of sound rolled forth without any need of over-stretching for effect. Sir Malcolm Sargent kept a vital tempo which allowed for beautiful rounding of phrasing leading inevitably to a blazing and stupendous climax in this magnificent and memorable performance. “There will be an orchestral iconcert this evening.”