MUNICIPAL ORCHESTRA.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1129, 17 May 1911, Page 6

MUNICIPAL ORCHESTRA.

An encouragingly large audienco atlciid' cd tho Municipal Orchestra's concert at the Town Hall last evening, and listened with pleasure to the interesting programme, which was enriched by several organ soli played with musicianly skill and intuition by Mr. Maughan Baruett. On last evening's performance there was the same absence of breadth in the treatment of several numbers, which would' have been enhanced by a fuller tone, body and freedom from a certain restraint in interpretation. The "Andante Cantabilo" movement from Beethoven's First Symphony, written when tho great man, was yet under the influence of Haydn and Mozart, was acceptably played, but in tho "Pizzicato Arabesque" of Fanchctti (for strings only) the orchestra was kept down almost to tho vanishing point. _ The same fault was noticeable in the "Anilra's Dance" movement of the "Peer Gyut" suite, played with rare delicacy, but much too quietly. After all it is a daneo —a weird foreign dance witnessed by Peer Gvnt during his wanderings in foreign parts, and hardly calls for such pronounced pianissimo treatment. Tho cornets opened wcaklv in Berlioz's "Jlarcho Hongroisj" from'his "Damnation of.laust, but thereafter the rhythm was picked up. and a fairly spirited rendering ot this very line march was given. It is a mini-' ber that will be welcomed in future programmes. The "Peer Gynt" . suite of Grieg is alwavs popular with lovers of orchestral music. The music is clement, ally so bizarre, and yet is so faithiu in the tone pictures it paints ol tho odd experiences of that quaint Norwegian scamp rom whom (he suite takes its name. Through "The Death of Ase for example runs a strangely realistic shner o enart .■- life, and in the final movement? "n lh" kali of tho Mountain Kings," «'illi Us quaint theme given out initially by the bassoon, and the grn.lually quickening tempo, there is Uo savour of sorfo-comic grotesqueucss, nh'.cli n kes a strong appeal to the iniagmaho . Both- movements were well playo.l, and th- last one earned the recall it seldom fails to elicit. It was a rare treat lo hear, after several years, some of he incidental music written by the late . t Arthur Sullivan or "Henry VIII, ami u<-cd quite recently in London in Beerbohm Tree's production of Miakespoare a plav It was the march that was played last evening. Highly festal in character, and rich in fine swinging niclotlies, orchestrated with tho abounding skill and grace of Sullivan, the number was greatly appreciated, and it is, hoped that J . Bnrnelt will soo fit to incline i in tho programme of his next concert. lie ou'ilure "Abenceragcn" (Cherubim) ».w also included in the program inc. Mr Bnrnelt, as an organist, nlwaj* everts a s ugular charm. Last evening he nlavcd the slridcnUy , rmmphanl "ChSra Prelude in D Mine, of Bach; a verv beautiful movomcnt-AmlanW Elgnr's Organ Sonata the "Traunio" of Wagner; and the Las-orale-from Thii-a fsyinphany, a (lowing cadence of singular leu tj which might have been piped b} *>,c Slrcnluin straying in the field* of Auad> On Saturday evening .next sh. am t will give an organ,recital, at Imh e wMI plav Elgnr'H "Sonata in 1., for the organ, n composition oi comparatively •erenl dale. The next orchestra concert willbo given on M,y "'"»'■?, «'£ braleil lone I>"™> . ] V 1; , ' ,il - h f Ribeliu'. will ho pl«>-<"'- ~; U . » " i„g concert-on Jmie U-Mr. lloraeo Hunt vill plav Beethoven s (. minor Concert!for the pianoforte, with orchestral accompaniment.