HARMONIC CHORALE CAREFULLY TRAINED

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31627, 13 March 1968, Page 14

HARMONIC CHORALE CAREFULLY TRAINED

The Harmonic Chorale, a i small group of singers chosen 1 from members of the Harmonic Society, gave a lunchhour concert in the Cathedral yesterday as part of the Pan Pacific Arts Festival programme. Mr William Hawkey conducted, giving stylish and well-knit performances which showed how carefully he has trained this group and how sensitive he is to the stylistic requirements of the music.

"The programme began with Gibbons's famous madrigal, “The Silver Swan,” sung with great care for tone production. balance, and expression. Its serene and plaintive atmosphere was thoroughly charming. Palestrina’s “Stabat Mater,” one of his superb motets, suited the season of the church’s year and the building in which it was performed. The work has a heart-

rending loveliness and a coherence of music and text which would be hard to equal: and the performance was of high technical and interpretative standard. Two English Folk Songs, arranged for women’s voices bv Mr Hawkey, had a delighting freshness. The first, “0 Waly Waly,” is surely one of the loveliest of folk melodies. Four part-songs by Alexander Goehr were sung with precision and with interesting vocal timbres throughout the various parts which combined with beautiful effects. The second song, for womens voices, flowed freshly, and the last had lovely mellow sounds from the full choir. “Whitsuntide” and The Voice of Jesus,” by Kodaly. were sung by the women s choir with telling expression and flexible control of all aspects of technique. They were

charming works meriting another hearing. The first is long with widely varied treatments, ranging between grave and gay, and was sung with brilliant creations of atmospheres. Three “Verses” by Richard Rodney Bennett also were intriguing to hear, and the composer was served well by the performers. The first, canonic in structure, had an astringent and stark atmosphere that was tellingly effective. The programme ended with the motet “Exultate Deo,” by Alessandro Scarlatti, sung with lovely rounded tone and with invigorating rhythm and phrasing. The whole recital was splendidly performed, reflecting great credit upon the conductor and the singers, and giving much pleasure to the large audience. —C.F.B.