ROYAL CHORAL SOCIETY

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 124, 21 November 1914, Page 8

ROYAL CHORAL SOCIETY

AN ORIENTAL EVENING. The Royal Wellington Choral Society provided a, most enjoyable programme at the Town Hall last evening, when it submitted Liza Lehmann's "In a Persian Garden," and Coleridge Taylor's cantata, "A Tale of Old Japan.". The soloists were Madame Briggs; Wanganui (soprano), Mrs. Rosewarne, Napier (contralto), Mr. James Simpson, Dunedin (tenor), and Mr. James Jago, Dunedin (baritone). The "Persian Garden" moiety of the programme was sung by the soloists themselves, for in it the chorus and orchestra have nothing to do. The accompaniment is furnished by the piano. Mr. Charles W. Kerry was the accompanist, and he was handicapped to some extent by a tinkling instrument. The music of the "Garden" is decidedly more Eastern in character than is the "Tale." The former j|s practically a musical setting of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. It abounds in opportunities for good work on the part of the cultured accompanist, but it is a pity that re- ! liance has to be placed upon a piano (and a tinkly one at that) for this work, for the piano is an instrument as map- | propriate to Eastern music as a harmonium would be to a war dance of Cree Indians. Standing out in bold relief from the soloists was Mrs. Rosewarne. Her beautiful and well-trained, well-used voice, and her intelligent understanding of the right spirit of the work, proved her to be one of the best soloists, with the exception of Madame Kirkby Lunn, that the society has of late years introduced to its many friends. "You and I Behind the Veil," as she sang it in the "Garden," was well worth going to the Town Hall alone to hear. So, too, her work in 'the "Tale" was noteworthy for it's all-round excellence. Madame Briggs may be described as a perfectly "safe" soprano— at least she probably did and ought to have , created that impression laet evening. She had a thorough grip o( the spirit of both works, widely as they differ in character, conception and feeling. "I Sent my Soul through, the Invisible," as Madame Briggs sang 't, was a really fine musical expression of theee lines from the Rubaiyat. Madame Briggs's j voice is rich in quality and is never overtaxed. She -knows what effects she can get, and she gets them with no.apparent effort, but to the manifest delight of her hearers. Mr. Simpson showed himself to .be endowed with a particularly sweet voice, which, with, judicious use and more experience, must become of great value. Learning his part to the very not© and letter will in future give Mr. Simpson greater freedom in the exercise of his vocal faculties, for h.e will not then be j tied to his score, as he seemed to be last I evening. Mr. Jago was admirable all through, except for a little huskiness in his lowest j notes. These he did not render with that clearness the solos in both works required. He, too, gave the idea of bej ing book-bound and unfamiliar with, if not uncertain of,< his reading. If there was anything to find fault with in the choral work in Coleridge i Taylor's "Tale" it was an occasional hesitancy to attack, but, generally speaking, tlie chorus reflected the sound work bestowed upon it by the conductor, Mr. Herbert Bloy. The work in all divisions of voices, and particularly the men's voices, was conspicuous for the colour imparted to the various choruses, and the admirable light and shade. The character of the music of the "Tale of Old Japan" is perhaps eastern in intention, but it does not resemble anything else so much as a conceit of Coleridge Taylor— a wonderfully clever work of its genre. It gave the chorus something to think about last evening, the orchestra also; In the efforts of both forces, Mr. Bloy should have had tho satisfaction of knowing that his labours were fully rewarded and that a generally satisfactory performance of the Tale was the result. The performance was over precisely at ten, which, no doubt, explains why there were no premature gathering up of wraps and a procession, of bored-look-ing people down the aisles to the doors before the conclusion. The Society's next work is "The Messiah. " *