Vocal and Instrumental Concert.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume VI, Issue 431, 15 August 1851, Page 3

Vocal and Instrumental Concert.

On "Wednesday Evening, there was a strong feeling of anxiety manifested, by our good-natured and liberally disposed public, to enjoy the promised concert of Mrs. John Bell : — the Hall of the Mechanics' Institute having been closely packed shortly after the opening of its portals. The programme was -well selected; but we were grieved to perqeive the Star of the Evening placed under the necessity of being the conductress t of her own festival, and, in so far, of impairing the effect of a first and particular appearance; still more so that that position should have ,been rendered imperative in consequence of the indisposition of the worthy President of the Auckland Harmonic Society. The very first touch of ishe instrument sufficed to convince the audience that the fair debutante 1 Vas an accomplished mistress of her art. There was brilliancy of execution, a firmness of tone in every movement, and a pleasing perfection in her power of accompaniment, not merely of great assistance to the singers, but of especial service in the effective blending of voice and instrument. "We have neither time nor space to dwell upon the imerits of the several efficient Amateurs ; but we must be pardoned if we allude somewhat more prominently to ,Miss Deboos, who only requires practice and a little more confidence to display her rich and sweet toned voice, not only to the advancement pf her own well deserved reputation, but 'to the enhanced gratification ,of ; her numerous admirers. Indeed a little

more confidence would be, of material consequence to almost every member of the Society, as it would, enable them to impart much more life" and energy to their melodious themes. The duet of the " Gipsy Countess" was well sung by Miss Healey and Mr. Stewart, and elicited a hearty and unanimous encore, — whilst the comic legend of " Cinderella" was given by Mr. Heiy with a felicity of voice and gesture which kept the audience in a roar. The pieces which Mrs Bell had expressly selected for the display of her proficiency were four in number: — viz., Moschelle's "Recollections of Ireland," Mendelssohn's "Wedding March," in the "Midsummer Night's Dream," Handel's " Harmonious Blacksmith," and Kalkbrenner's " Rule Britannia/ with variations.^ It would be a superfluous repetition to enlarge upon the style, ease, and skill of these several performances j they were indeed brilliantly cxc. cuted, proving to demonstration that as a pianiste Mrs. Bell far transcends any we have yet listened to in Auckland. We heartily wish her every success in , her arduous profession.

We cannot refrain from giving expression to the feelings of disapprobation with which we regard the pitiful method of indulging private malevolence, under the dastardly cover of anonymous advertisement, which the public will have perceived to have been adopted in the last two numbers of the ' New Zealander.' We abstained from, any notice of the first, because we were" willing to admit the probability of our contemporary's having overlooked the malice of the craven, under the presumption of a dove-like innocence of the witling who bad no further spleen to gratify than a harmless tilt at the expense of , the "Knight Templar." There can, however, be no pretext for such ignorance when the same offensive personalities, almost in the self-same words, and obviously from the same source,are poured, in double measure, from his next issue. There are always some individuals in a community who have gome private spite to gratify, and we can easily understand how such persons should catch at any underhand and sneaking means of indulging their re-< sentments ; but we never could have supposed » that a Journal laying claims to respectability; the organ moreover of a highly influential religious body, would have consented, for a few paltry shillings, to play Sir Pandarus to such a Troilus, and degrade its character to the level of the London ' Town' and ' Paul Pry;' or Sydney 'Satirist;' the notorious but congenial channels ~for this despicable species of calumny: It is quite unnecessary to point out how " easy as lying" it would be for a. malignantperson to set a whole community by tne ears, and sap the very foundations of social intercourse. It would certainly be the simplest thing in life, by such means, to crush every effort at public amusement, by scaring in disgust all Amateurs from their well-meant endeavours to present an occasional evening's entertainment, be it by lecture, music, or the A &rama. ' Fair atticism even, in such matters, requires to be meted out in a judicious and kindly spirit; for where Amateurs^ essay their utmost, even should they fall short of success, their recompense is surely little enough if their deservings be acknowledgedytheir defects overlooked. "Art," as our London contemporary, the ' Atlas/ affirms, "is difficult; criticism is easy" — and any masked assassin predetermined to find fault, might easily, by a scurrilous anonymous advertisement, deter the Amateurs of such an entertainment, as that which we have conscientiously lauded in our morning's issuC, from any further effort at public gratification. To conclude ; we regard the advertisements alluded to less as the miserable effusions of indignant spleen, than as a perilous introduction of a system which, even in mighty London, crept on in insidious baseness until it became a bane to be suppressed by the strong arm of the law ; and we have noticed its dawnings in our small sdciety j that our contemporary may neither plead ignorance of its aim, nor escape the odium he deserves should ho " for filthy lucre," continue to repeat it. !