A NEW ZEALAND CONTRALTO.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 299, 11 September 1908, Page 8

A NEW ZEALAND CONTRALTO.

. . MISS 1 IRENE*AINSLE?. Tlie assemblage which greeted Miss Irenf Ainsley • when she, made ;hor bow to tho Wellington public at the Town. Hall last evening was' not "largo, though;.", the weather was propitious, the programme attractive, and ithe 'performers of acknowledged ability. The audionce, .however, was a most appreciative one, and gave the performers a very, cordial ; welcome. ; The concert-, was an exceptionally good> ono; the-prpgramme was most admirably arranged, and the selected items wore within. the: comprehension of tho audience. Miss Irene Ainsley was assisted'by Mrs. E. H. Queroo (pianist), Mr. Alfred F. 'Hill (violinist), and Mr. M. Hamilton Hodges (baritone). Naturally enough, the' Merest of tho audience centred mainly upon "-tho' young contralto', who, as a protegee-OfitMelba, has made a successful debut'in London, and taken a high place among the'younger generation of con-cert-'singers- who', have" won recognition in England;-'.-Miss Kinsley's l reputation, as a oontralto of high ability, had preceded her to New Zealand—by..the..:,way, ■ it must 'not be forgotten' subject of .this notice 'is 'a"''Now' r Zealan^der—arid tho audience expected to 'hear' • abovo the ar.wigfc; they,,, .-lvore M ",,ndt ' disappointed. ■ Miss Ainsley'has'really'a remarkable voice —a full;-rich contralto'-of great power'and beauty. .;It'is'.-of„\ver.v,t,ovcn quality; in excenent,,,cpriirnß),id; suited to tho class,pf by, her.solec_ted items. 1 ' Heir, singuig'inethod is very good indoed; n "the' eliunciatiori and'phrasing, in fact/ could-hardly: be'better.- The upper and intermediate - notes: are ' singularly beautiful jn quality,".but in ,the lower notes' tho quality ,of .the; tono. conveys a," suggestion of flat-ness—that'-is to say,-'without -impugning the ability of" tho singer to maintain,-with no difficulty a"t'-'al|,"-perfect; pitch-,.- her manner of; p'rodiidlrig '(Jek't'ai'n'Tof'li'er lower notes flat-teiis'tjie-qualitv■ of the'tono. - Miss Ainsley is a-finished.'and artistic singer, but she does not' sing"With oHVotionJ'with, depth of feeling, arid' iiv'this"characte'ristic ! she reminds ono of her-illustrious Melba, who n-ith-, all-iher:-mar,v k elloiis singing, wa's unemotional, 'and -her: public, though its members prostrated'■•themsdlves in admiration of her< i wonderfuU technique,i was i never really touched.', • Miss.Ainsley \saing,: altogether, ten songs. She-opened with" SaintSaens's favourite air I'Mon Coeur s'ouvre a lai-jVoix" (from I'Samson','and .Delilah-")', sung with great power, and as.iari'encore numbeK.the old Scottish air "Annie- 1 Laurie.-"- "Dopo" arid the encorO"-''Absent''".'(Metoalfe) were perhaps riiore:' than;!,.the previous items. She sang "Abserit", very :well indeed. -Later on-came:oa- group•• ofyfour—"Still Wie do Nacht'-' ; -(Bohm), - "The vLittle Silver Ring" (Chaminado), "When -Jie , Comes Home" (Leoni),, arid-Katharine,Barry's "Invitation." The first;- two' word most''attractively sung, while all four • received -hearty applause. Her concluding numbers were ; Dolby's .fine song "Out on tho Rocks," and, as an encore, Katharine Barry'f ;i','To-morrow." Undoubtedly Miss Ainsley ..is a. success, arid' no doubt, this.ierening's concert .will be very much bettor . attended ;f it certainly ought to be. '. . '.' ,'. V l ' ' .', .. - - " Mr; - Alfred Hill, , who .. .needs no introduction to, ' the} gublic, contributed his own "Scotch 1 ' 'sonata in F-Minor, and Wieniawski's'charming "Legend.'"' The, sonata was most successfully played, the, andante and rondo .moveirients 'bcing very enjoyable. In the'rondo.-thefe;' : are'.-some really fine-varia-tions' pn/tlie-well-known Scotch airs, "Charlio is My Darling" arid .'"Robin Adair." Mrs. E. H.' Querpe -is a very capable pianist-ji-'v her ■ contribution, Rubinstein's "Etudo" in C Minor, was played most expressively, ' and"with" appropriate animation, is. an v encorO' she'iddea,;Jensen's "Murmurng Zephyrs.";- . , Mr/' Hamilton' Hodges was in ' excellent iroiee', although there ,'is 'apparent a perceptible depreciation in" the/quality of his tone, tt was 'not noticeable'in;;Mallinson's "Wind )f the Western Seaj" :: "-Tho Inquirer," and HerTortrait J ' ..'(Scliubeft), and but ilightly perceptible' in' Handel's "Love That's Drue." In Schubert's "Erl King" and 'Lydia" "(Margaret Lang), however, the cresiendo passages tended to degenerate to a 'shouting" quality of tone, in contrast to ;he full'ahd, resonant tones of his former perormarices." He 1 also sang "Forget-me-not" [Hinocks), "and'- f 'Blbssoriis Cover Hill and Dale !'"(Von Kielitz). Mr. Hodges is always' irtistic in''his treatment "and interpretation if his numbers. . , The accompaniments: were played by Mrs. Jueree. ' ' ; Tho programme for to-night's '. concert s,'.^adyei^sed,,',;Mr.' 'Alfred Jill •• "will* 'i '-.iipon !tan' excellent old doliri.-.iriado/.'byi.the• '.hand, of jacobus >tainer,.in..lGl6,^. l at. ivhipji, time this old naster-,was, about, 25 years of age. The old nstniinent, .-'after,-boing- very, skilfully- re-mired-in .London _by-.Bela, is physically as trong ..as,,new,' T\:itlii ,a' ,i;ound and very full rgnn tone. The violin has been lent for the iccasionvby-a,,local 'amateur, its value-being stweeii £300 and £400. •