CHORAL SOCIETY'S CONCERT. "THE MESSIAH."

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXV, Issue 3851, 24 December 1869, Page 4

CHORAL SOCIETY'S CONCERT. "THE MESSIAH."

TiixCmistmaspn u>imancc of "Tho ~Slc ,m?li ' by the niemboi -, of the Choial Society -was gnoii last evening, m ibo liall, Symontl— stieet ; it hitting hecn Titian ihe la-t -week lesolved to substitute last creimig for Chnst111 as Eve. Tho hall va» i hoi oughly Idled — home extui &eats linn.ig to be plated in the aisle^ The pcfoimauce "ttas, as .1 whole, a very satisf actoi y one. The membci j niustei od in great strength, especially tho^,o of the < hoa. Taking first the tei>oi lecitatrs es and solos, we may say that "Comfoilye, ' and " Every valley, " were fairly sung, but, nithe accomij iniment to the latter, fchoi o \\ as once a little iituiy on the paifc of the stunts. The subsequent portions aoSigned to the tenor voice Mere much better '■oiiv,, and some of them m ere excellent. ThoioAwis nioie foi go and feelmo, and a good mastei y of v hat one may call Ilanclelian expression ' All they that see Him," '' Thy lcbnke,"' and the iuv. "lialthou didst not leave," moy h'j ~p cii'llv i!iL n '.ioned. "We v. eie glad to imd Hie xn gr to the tenor It is one of the h turiib to old custom •ulnch is an advpntagc , foi we thnk the solo tells much bettci when ,o smic; ta°n a\lic i it is gi\un by a soprano. In the lout iti\e. ' Thy lebuko, '' therov. a>, howc\ci, nn liiAiiicc of false sc<,entuation oi \ a^> vci \ maikcd -fn the phn.e, "lie lo v .V ' tl foi <-oi.io to have pity on lli.ii, but iJi^ie wci, no man," the \ oice should cci {.andy .e c 't noon "no," and HOt lip 'Ul ' 311 111 ' The 1 Cut itl 1 U, "Hl that dvieHclh, ' ain l th^ m, "TJiou vhalL hieik 1110111," Meie mmticO, and we tliink iL istu regretted that the\' \\ Jio Tlio lady who King "Tilde v,oic shepli il,,i 1 ,, ' <'nd'"And the angol ' 'iid iinto them, Ii i* •■ iLihouc, but .she fuiiig smiip'i.hal i!eivoiu-l\ Tiie an, " Come unto him," v.a-3 Kmly oil .it v, the geneial e\pie«sion Ixnig " 1 know that my Ivedecmei Ji\cth, ' vaj peilnp-^ the gem of the e^einn^-— coitainlv, li. ■>\,ii fie best of the s^prmo bnlo, Tiio ]ad\ \i lio <ja\e it has a clear, him. and bull'jufc \ojce , and »hebang\vithtruofu3hng. Wcm oiild,hon over, suggest thpt, if the tune had Ijeon taken a tntie faster, the cflcot ■would ha%o ]>een muck bcttei than it was. The only contialto solo M r as, "Heshrll feed llw ilouk." The finger's \oice, though light, scorned \eiy good, ,11 id so did her style ; and the jolo mas ,1 success. We .should have pi efeired to heir the .same lady sing, "Ho vras despised." That solo was, however, given to an alto ; and that class of voice we think — perli.ips it is a io^>ulfc of accu-atomednoss — is not suited for the tiue cxpiediion of this beautiful solo. It wants atone of the deepest pathos and of chastened indignation; and we have the inipi e-.sion that no \ oice is 1 so capable of lmpoiLin^ that tune as a i lch contralto. We should piefer almojt anj contialto to almost any Mio f.)i the solo. The gentleman to whom the task was assigned has much of mellowness in paits of tlu langc of his voice; and he gave "Behold a Virgin,"' pud " Oh ! thou that tullcst," a\ ith very good effect. The gentleman who bang the bas^ solos has, we believe, bat leeently tuiivcd in Auckland ; and i^e nndei -aland that he consented to sing -y\ ithout having liad the opportunity of practising. This explanation is not given as an apology, foi leally none is needed The gentleman's voice is light, flexible, and well under command. He was better, speaking generally, in the recitatives than he w,i-> in the aiis. He was hardly able to catch that ponderousness of expression which h needed for "But who may abide ;" but vn the recitatives, "Tims fe.xith the Lord," and "For, behold, darkness shall cover tho earth," and especially in the latter, ho left little to be desired. The very tiying solos, "Why do tho nations," and " The trumpet shall sound," were well got through ; but the trumpet obligate to the latter mas once or twice somewhat uncertain. Tho chorus was occasionally unsteady ; the most marked instance being in the commencement of "Surely, He hath borne our grief." u And the gloiw of the Loid," " For untouV "Behold the Lamb of God," and "The Lord gave tho word," were all effectively sung. The "Hallelujah " was, while good, not so good as "Lift up your heads," which went finely throughout. " Worthy is the Lamb," and the concluding "Amen," were marred in their effect, by so many persons rising and leaving the hall during its progress Surely, they could not have been member* of the Society who thus acted. Do those who thus disturb a coucei t ever think of the slight which they put upon the sine-era, or of the annoyance they cause to the great majority of the audience ? The band is to be complimented on its general efficiency. The Pastoral Symplioirjf was very charmingly given ; and as a rule the brilliant instrumentation of tLia oratorio had full justice done to it, considering the number of the band, and the fact that there is no organ in the Hall. Who was responsible for the odd point at which the interval way taken ? There is such a close connection between •'Surely, He hath borne our griefs," and •'AH we, like sheep," thatamore inappropriate point at which to break the performance could scarcely have been chosen. And, really, nothing — or nothing apparent — was gained by tha change. We shall venture upon a few words more. If we are not misinformed, those who have the interests of the Society most deeply at lieavt have striven often to check tho chatting which visitors during the rehearsals have carried on. Those gentlemen would, we are sure, have been grieved had they seen last evening a minister of religion driven out

of his seat by the chattering of a few who sat near him, which chattering he vainly tried to stop. Those who can giggle while "He waa despised " is being sung, or flirt through such an air as "Come unto Him," have no business to be present at the performance of an oratorio. It may be pleasant to some to affect the " loud "or the " fast " style } but few even of those who can so find pleasure would think it a joke so to drive any one from his seat at an oratorio, as we saw a clergyman driven last evening.