A SPLENDID CONCERT

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 164, 29 March 1923, Page 3

A SPLENDID CONCERT

FAREWELL TO MABELLE ESQUILANT

As far as Wellington is cpt’cerncd it appears to be a case .'of song-birds ou tlie wing to greet the English spring. Miss Mabelle Esquilaut, probaolv the finest contralto in New Zealand’ at the present time, is the third of our leading platform artists to leave for England within a month. It was hardly possible to allow a vocalist of her calibre to depart without some fitting recognition, so the representatives of the musical societies formed a little committee, the result of whose efforts culminated in the very fine concert given in the Town Hall last evening before a large and enthusiastic audience. Miss Esquilaut s entrance was the signal for quite an unusually demonstrative reception, one that was quite unexpected by the abashed singer. She-sang that very fine paen of an anguished soul, “The Lament of Isis” (Bantock), with a dignity and expressiveness that fathomed tlie full meaning of the lyrics. The conclusion of the lament had its echo in the lament of the singer’s friends, who sent up a whole garden of flowers, several boxes of sweets, and a good-luck black cat, which was promptly given a perch on a musicstand by the accompanist (Mr. Harold Whittle). As an encore Miss Esqmlant sang “Whene’er a Snowflake Leaves the Sky” (Liza Lehmann) and “Life and Death” (Coleridge Taylor). The latter number gave the contralto full scope for the exhibition of. her glorious full-powered upper register In the second half, Miss Esquilant san» the fine aria, “Alla Stella Confidento” /Ribandi), a noble number, which gained in simple majesty by the violin, ’cello, and organ obbligato, played by Messrs. Leon de Mauny, Claude Tanner, and H. Temple White. The encores (again there were two) were “Oh, Western Wind,” and the old negro spirituelle “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” Miss Violet Reith, a sino-er too seldom heard, gave nice shades of expression to the melodious aria, “Know’st Thou the Land” (from Thomas’s opera “Mignon”), and “Sing, Blackbird” (Montague Phillips). “Caro Nome,” the ana from Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” beloved of all sopranos, was nicely sung by Winnie Fraser-Morrish-, who had to mont it with “Down in the Forest (Landon Ronald). Miss Eileen Driscoll, who is also going to London, achieved marked success by her dainty interpretations of “My Bed is Like a Little Boat” and “The Shadow March,” lyrics from Robert '“Louis Stevenson’s' “Children’s Pictures, .•harmiimly set to music by Teresa del Rieo-o Miss Driscoll had to respond to th* “bis” with “Mere,” a rhythmical Maori song, by Miss Walsh of Auckland, and “Canterbury Bells (Besley). Mr. Leon de Mauny, a recent arrival from London, showed fine quality as a violinist in two widelycontrasted numbers. The Meditation” from Massenet’s “Thais calls for tonal quality in what is purely legato music, which call was answered with charming fidelity. The quaint “Chinese Tambourin’’ (Kreisler) is grotesque and lively, and again the player conveyed the proper mood, lhe enboro was the “Traumaria of Schumann. Evelyn de Mauny showed marked facility in the familiar “Rhapsodic” (No. 12) of Liszt. Mr. Howard Foster, in admirable voice, sang “I Would I Were King.” and added the cavalier ballad, “King Charles as an encore. Tlie tenor of the evening was Mr. Herbert F. Wood, who, although suffering from a severe <x>ld, sang the aria, “Thy Tiny Hand is Frozen” (from “La Boheme ), and the ballad. "Playmates.” The Lyne Quartet (Messrs. H. Phipps, F A. Campbell, W. Goudie, and W. BBrown) sang with good diction and balance, “Lovely Night” (Chwatel). “Lucky Jim,” “Drink to Me Only, and- a’ new version of “Th° Teacher and tho Tack.” whilst tho Commercial Travellers’ Male Choir (of winch Miss Esquilant is the only lady member) sang very well indeed the part-song “In Absence,” the jolly chorus “Alexander,” and finally Elgar’s “Land ot Hope and Glory” under the baton of Mr. H. Temple White. Mr Harold Whittle was a distinct strength at the 1 During the interval, at the back of tho stage Mr. Hugh Wright on • b(> half of the Commercial Travellers Choir, presented Miss Esquilant with a serviceable travelling-rug .He said they felt confident that an Miss Esquilant thev were sending Home one destined to become a great singer, ot ’whom they would be genuinely proud. Miss Esquilant was too affected to speak, and Mr. Temple White, in a few words, voiced the thanks and gratitude of the singer for the honour the choir had done her. It should be mentioned that the Bristol Co. supplied the -piano free of charge, and the Town Hall staff gave its services for nothing. - T j Miss Esquilant will leave for London by the Corinthic on Wednesday next.