MR SIDNEY WOLF’S CONCERT.

Evening Star, Issue 12875, 26 July 1906, Page 6

MR SIDNEY WOLF’S CONCERT.

T he music-loving public of Dunedin know that Mr Sidney Wolf faithfully fulfils bis promises—that his judgment is to be relied on in the selection of compositions, that whatever is undertaken will be thoroughly prepared, and that he so manages the details of u&henng and seating, etc., as to give patrons all possible comfort; and he always has his reward in a good attendance at Lis periodical concerts. Last night, the sixth of the series, was given at the Garrison Hall, and the number present seemed to be slightly in excess of the average. It was a full bouse. His Excellency the Governor, who had bestowed his patronage, was provided with a furnished box over the clock. Captain Bingham attended Lord Plunket, and the party included the Mayor of the Oily (Mr G. Lawrence), Mr John Roberts, C.M.G., Mrs Roberts, and Miss Roberts. The National Anthem as specially given at this concert was something more than the formal playing of a few bars. Sir Edward Elgar’s arrangement of the hymn for chorus and orchestra was used, and it constituted an important item of the programme.. Considered as such, a word of criticism is allowable, and w© may remark, without any apology therefor, that at the outset the sopranos hardly sang at their best, the lead( being not so firm as usual, and some of the voices indulging, for the first time at these concerts, in the upward slur. This fault, however, disappeared by the time the second verse was reached, and thereafter {he audience thoroughly enjoyed the capable singing heard from every part, noting with special satisfaction that the words were not only distinct but properly pronounced. The orchestra work was also bold and sure, the brass parts peculiarly so. Sir Arthur Sullivan’s noble ‘ To Deum ’ came next. It was remembered with pleasure as a result of the introduction to Dunedin by Mr Wolf in 1903, and enjoyed to an even greater degree than* when first heard, a closer acquaintance with the stately composition revealing points of merit that were previously overlooked. With such a work a repetition is always safe when the performers can be relied upon, and Mr Wolf had his singers and players fully prepared for the performance last night. The soprano lead was simply delightful, strong enough, to stand out firmly against the whole weight of the orchestra, and being marked by excellent tone quality, such as is only possible when all the ’singers have been taught on one method. The other voice parts sounded a little light by comparison, but they came out effectively in tlie unaccompanied passages. The audience could not fail to be pleased, too, with the thoughtful aid of the orchestra, led by Mr E. Parker. An austere critic might urge, and with truth, that some passages of tins composition went better than others ; • he would probably point to the thinness of the upper tenor notes, to a little dragging by the brass at the phrase “ Make them to be numbered,” to the sharpness of the trebles when they were making up the double forte at “ ever world without raid,” But it says a great deal for the general excellence of the rendering that a faultfinder would have to rely on such transitory defects. In point of fact they were as the dust of the balance. Tb© performance was such as to make one feel proud of the choir and orchestra and grateful to tb© conductor, for it suitably expressed the character of the work, and in regard to technical correctness it might be praised in a much larger city than Dunedin. Miss Florence Maclean, a young singer, one' of Mr Wolfs pupils, pleased thd audience with two pretty songs— ‘ Allah, bo with us,’ , by Amy Woodforde-Finden, and ‘ Sealed orders,’ by Charles Willeby. The debutante possesses a mezzo-soprano voice of agreeable quSHly, she has been carefully trained, and, wisely keeping to a ample and unaffected style, her singing was really enjoyed. The recall was more than a mere compliment; it represented genuine thank-' fulness. Mr K. Parker next appeared to give a) violin solo. Ho chose a piece by E. His entitled ’ Sehnsucht nach der Schweiz,’ consisting of an air with variations, and made a feature of the lengthy double-stopping passages. The demand for more proving irresistible, MI - Parker at length consented to play again, and, as it turned out, his encore piece was even more satisfactory, very clever bow and finger work being displayed in the treatment of a mazurka de concert by our old friend Ovide Musin. The pianoforte concerto in G minor by Mendelssohn was by common consent one of the most attractive features of the concert. Miss Ina Gow played the solo part wonderfully well. If our memory is reliable this task was upon the last previous occasion in Dunedin undertaken by the late Mr A, J. Barth, and prior to that the great French piaolist Henri Kowalski played the solo here in 1892. It says a great deal for Miss Gow, and also for her tutor, Mr W. E. Taylor—whose methods have moulded Miss Cow’s style—that this young player got through the exacting solo, with great success. Towards the end bliss Gow tired a Kttle, but she never lost her tone, and we consider her performance one of the soundest and best ever heard from a girl in Dunedin. The orchestral part was also a treat. Mr .Wolf had the players perfectly under control- The second Ipart of the concert opened with Mr E. Y. Priest’s singing of •‘0 star of eve,’ from "&rmhaaser,’ to orchestral accompaniment, Mr Priest has a remarkably pure voice and a true ear, he sings with , singular ease, and in most respects his. rendering was satisfactory, though he might with-advantage import a little more color and animation into his singing. As regards the accompaniment, a word of praise is due to the leading ’cello for nice tone. By way of a ■vyind up Mr Wolf presented Sir Edward Elgar’s choral ballad ‘The Banner of St. George,’ for chorus and orchestra. This is an important and striking descriptive work, well suited to such a body as that over which Mr Wolf presides, but not to be thoughtlessly undertaken by a Iwlf-trahied corps, for the voice tjorts .need Jo b& firmlyJjslcLaod Jhe

orchestral score calls for knowledge antf taste. It would be absurd, and a poor compliment to the gifted composer, to say that ‘ The Banner of St. George ’ was fully understood hr those of- the audience who were hearing it for the first time. What we may lawfully say is that it was correctly read — as could he found by following with the score—that singers and players were uniformly in concord, that by' both sections the exposition was bright and- crisp to the very end, and that if Mr Wolf And his choir and orchestra can see -their way to grant a repetition of the work it will be most acceptable to all who heard it last night. It would be a thousand pities that such a fine composition should go on the shelf after one performance. During the interval Mr Wolf was presented to the Governor, who expressed his appreciation, of the concert and bestowed his thanks.