THE PASSION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 989, 2 December 1910, Page 7

THE PASSION.

■•;.■,.,,-;.:..., fSx. Mattkew.l ....'.'■ :'■:■. t ; '\a MAGNIFICENT WORK. '.-' ; ; ;■ iWiiELtNGTON MUSICAL UNION. The Wellington Musical Union, Tinder ; Ike leadership" of Mr. Robert Parker, gave ii performance of the St. Matthew "Pastiion"; (Bach), at the Town Hall last i evening,';- before.a very large attendance tif/.the public. The commanding genius iiisd influence, of Bach is somewhat apt .to,'lie loiit sight of in the greater popularity of such composers as Handel and Mendelssohn. Hβ was the master of them :lUl,,:iinft the magnificent scone of -his ijonihs 13 nowhere better displayed than :inhis St. Matthew 'Tassion," the grcat■Bst' choral work that has ever been written: Itbolongs to- a class of. oratorio— of:which.Luther was , the earliest inspirajtion—which, had grown into extensive use 'in North Germany prior to the period of Bach. The St.; Matthew Passion is a .narrative of the incidents in a portion of 'St. ! Matthew's -Gospel, interspersed with 'reflective passages—some taken from the chorales of common use in the Lutheran "and'Calvinistic Churches, and some set in-the form of airs, duets, and choruses ■to verses written for the occasion. It will be . .readily understood that the production of- • such - an • elaborate pad difficult -work makes extra'orSinary.. demands-, upon the performers.; The alternate' exclamations of' the voices eonietiines rise to an. almost impassioned . f.eryour, of religious devotion.-.. Its pro- . duction in the Town Hall last evening . iwas.. the first in No'w -Zealand, if one ex"cepts the performance of selected nuni:l>ers. during Passion Week, and .the. pub■■jlie'.ie indebted to Mr. Parker and his society for the opportunity of hearing the ; peat work as a whole, in the abridged '■ form specially edited for its annual pre■sentatioh at St. Paul's, London. Having jregard ;to the nature Of. the task which the : union had itself ■- to accomplish, one. is not inclined to cavil at occasional J blemishes in the performance. That.it ' succeeded in presenting the work in such ':«■.■manner as to reveal, to the, audience "the s impressive beauty of the splendid chorales, the rich and generous.colouring pf, the/orchestration, and the fervid emo;iion;of the dramatic recitatives and;arias, ■js;an achievement which has contributed something of value to the artistic educa;:tidn of. those who listened to the performance, and in that respect the union jis.to'be congratulated. The unaocomJpanied. chorales,.- of■ which there, were .many, were excellently rendered, if there be iexcepted one of the final numbers, where Borne uncertainty as to tune hadratlier a ■disastrous effect. The full choruses, "with organ and orchestral accompaniment, were. impressive ;numb_ers, performed with appropriate animation and dramatic force. . . . ■ . .;'■ Of the worfc of the principals, it is less easy to be enthusiastic, though here v again the tremendous difficulties imposed :%. the great master should .be taken into account. . The burden of the work fell to Dr. Fyffe, who, as principal tenor, tad allotted to him the exacting role '••of'the Narrator. . During -the. two hours '■which were occupie'd in the performance, . l)r.:oFy.ffe was almost constantly on his feet, and gave a , correct and tasteful interpretation of the narrativei His.de- : lic'ate tenor voice-was not equal to the ■ task of giving the dramatic recitations that fiery declamation which affords com-- . plete satisfaction to the listener. ■ Never-theless,-his,,was a finished performance, acomplished under no inconsiderable physical strain. Miss Gladys Watkins, as '. principal soprano, ■ showed that she pos- ,; sesses.- the faculty of singing oratorio : music as it should, .so far as expression 'and.'feeling goes, bo sung, but her voice ■!is ! .somewhat delicate for the exacting '■Tole of principal soprano, and her enumeration at times rather indistinct. Her "phrasing is good. Miss May Driscoll, : !jfincipal contralto,' sang her numbers : : with anpropriate' feeling, and carefully and, correctly. Mr. C. Clarkson was the . principal baritone." In certain of hia Tecitatiyes he reached a very high plane.That he can sirifr oratorio .•with fine dramatic feeling'was" quite -evident, but he did not, throughout, use ■:.nis powers'consistently. At all : , times, lioTreTOr^his^^v-ork^was., finished, in"..ch_ar- : , 1 ,acter. : .■ Hβ has a.'full, rich voice; which' '; he has Sunder excellent command! .Minor responsibilities'in the baritono soli fell /to Messrs. ¥. Y. Waters and F. "W. Lay■cock,. each, of .whom performed his task ' camnlly and Correctly. .•'.. . . ■"■: Mr. A. Wv V. Vine, F.E.C.O. Gate or- '. ganist at the Tewkesbury Abbey,. Engr land), presided at the grand organ, and contributed in no small. degree to the \ success of the performance. Mrs. E..D. ■■'~ Cachemaillo played thd pianoforte ac- : cdinpanimerits. .■'■"" ■ . '..' ~ .