ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT Choir To Show Festival Form

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30826, 11 August 1965, Page 8

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT Choir To Show Festival Form

Three works to be sung in the Commonwealth Arts Festival next month by the Christchurch Harmonic Society will be heard in the choir’s concert in the Civic Theatre on Thursday evening. The concert, the second of three before the festival choir of 150 voices goes on tour, will be with the Christchurch Civic Orchestra and conducted by William R. Hawkey. The programme consists of Purcell’s “Come Ye Sons of Art” and two works by Vaughan Williams, “A Sea Symphony” and “Serenade to Music.” The Purcell ode, written to celebrate Queen Mary’s birthday in 1964, will be sung by the choir in the opening concert of the Liverpool section of the festival. It has a famous duet, “Sound the Trumpet,” originally written for counter-tenors but now to be sung with contraltos.

The main part of the concert will be devoted to works by Vaughan Williams, who before his death was described by one authority as “the biggest name in contemporary English music.” IMPORTANCE

Harold C. Schonberg of the “New York Times” says Vaughan Williams might turn out to be the most important symphonist of the century. He composed nine symphonies in his 65-year creative span and “each is different, each is a thoroughly absorbing work. “Neither an academic nor an avant-gardist, Vaughan Williams wrote music that was emotionally uncluttered, that was set forth in old forms considerably modified for expressive ends. “The ‘Sea Symphony’ of 1910, a choral work set to Whitman (perhaps it was inspired by the Delius ‘Sea Drift’ of 1903), is a proud, personal, ebbulient score.”

The poems to which the composer addressed himself inevitably would have suggested a bracing windy quality and Vaughan Williams fell in line, treating the subject with complete naturalism. PROUD CRY

There is an opening blare of brass, a proud cry by the chorus, “Behold, the sea itself!” and what follows impresses with heaving bulk and genial breadth. “Big stuff,” Parry described it. And so it is, a big and lusty work in contour, scope and feeling. There are a touch or two of Wagner in the orchestral brass use and in the lastmovement duet, but most of the time Vaughan Williams goes his own way.

EVERYTHING IN “We are going to use the composer’s optional reduction for the orchestra,” said Mr Hawkey yesterday. “The full version is a fantastic affair—everything in but you’ve

just got to have the players available to put that on. “We’re leaving out the organ, the bass clarinet, third flute, second oboe, contrabassoon, second harp and E flat clarinet.

“And in spite of all that reduction, we’ve still got a full symphonic orchestra. “The harpist from the N.Z.B.C. Symphony. Mary Anderson, is coming from Wellington to play the harp parts they are very important.” The Scherzo will have to be missed as it is a difficult section, with many tricky entries, and there is not time for the rehearsal of choir and orchestra required to do it full justice.

“We can’t take too much of the orchestra’s rehearsal time,” said Mr Hawkey. “Don’t forget, they’ve got a pretty full opera season on their hands this month.” ALL GIVEN A TURN “Serenade to Music” is a

very different work, shorter and with more parts, but still a work of great beauty. Vaughan Williams wrote it in 1938 for Sir Henry Wood’s anniversary concert. There are 16 solo parts—each of the soloists associated with Sir Henry Woods was given a turn.

But it is rarely sung these days with so many soloists. The Harmonic choir will sing it with four soloists and, as allowed by the composer, the choir will sing the rest. There are sections where there will be 16 parts. The soloists for Thursday’s concert are Anita Ritchie (s). Rosamund Connal (s), Ruth Harman (c), Anthea Moller (c), Anson Austin (t), Winston Sharp (b), and Rodney Mccann (bs). Of these Winston Sharp and Anthea Moller are going] on tour. THEATRE LIMIT

More than just those going to Britain and the United States will be taking part in the concert—"as many of our active choir as we can get on the stage,” said Mr Hawkey. “With a big orchestra we have to cut the size of the choir back, This is a situation that will only be solved when we get the Town Hall. It is a situation which is making us consider closing admission to the choir and starting a waiting list.” The choir has a roll of 260 and about 240 members take part in the main weekly rehearsal. Because of the festival trip parts of the choir have three or four rehearsals each week.

Thursday’s concert will be broadcast from 3YC. The third concert before the festival will be given in the Cathedral on August 25.