Big Audience For Australian Choir

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31450, 17 August 1967, Page 14

Big Audience For Australian Choir

The Avondale Choir, consisting of about 50 students from Avondale College of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, arrived yesterday from Australia to begin a short tour of New Zealand and sang their first concert in the Civic Theatre last evening. There was a large audience, and it was merited, for the choir gives a pleasant evening's entertainment and has a high standard of vocal technique.

The part singing is well balanced, the words are quite clear, and in rhythm, attack, and release the standard of work is indeed high. Mr Alan Thrift, the conductor, has worked most painstakingly to give his forces such a strong measure of unanimity in expression, phrasing and precision; the choir members are to be congratulated upon absorbing his directions so faithfully. The pianissimo singing is very beautiful and the heavy work has an arresting brightness. Between these levels there is a wide variety of colours which are carefully and aptly applied with telling effect in very quick responses to Mr Thrift’s expansive demands. The standard of work shows that each member has been taught to listen intently to what is going on and also—and this is perhaps more rare—to hear mentally exactly what is about to happen.

Springing from this there is well-tuned intonation and subtle choice of balanced levels. Grading of expression is kept carefully balanced and all possibility of harshness of timbre is removed.

Although there is plenty of variety there is also more than a possibility of some monotony in that what the ehoir will do can soon be predicted. Perhaps the programme itself has its effect in this, for while it is far from being a bad programme it could be a more consistently good one. It could cloy and pall. Baler Deposed.—Several

hundred supporters of the National Liberation Front have forced the ruler of the South Arabian state of Dathina to abdicate, according to reports reaching Aden yesterday. They also stormed the prison at Mudia, capital of Dathina, and freed prisoners.—Aden, August 16.

Mr Douglas Gibbs, the guest artist for the tour, is a young man with a baritone voice of magnificent promise. The timbre of his voice is beautiful and he has a resonance which carries easily and without seeming effort. Much can be hoped for his future. Already he has a poised artistry and a strong command of technique. ' Miss Beverley Bell was an accomplished pianist for the choir giving full support and appropriate tonal values to all the accompanied works, and her playing of solos showed refined sensibility and gave a needed variety to the programme. -C.F.B.