THE IRISH CONCERT.

Evening Star, Issue 15136, 18 March 1913, Page 8

THE IRISH CONCERT.

The entertainment in the Garrison Hall ° n j t j night has come to. be regarden as au indispensable celebration, and the 1913 gathering will go fa.r towards gmng it permanence. It was an exceptionally well-managed, concert, thanks to the energy and wisdom of Mr.E. W. Spain and his fellow-committeemen.. The details on the .business side were carried out to the entire satisfaction of the 'performers and the patrons. The iarge crowd were comfortably seated, this being properly looked after by a competent band of polite young men who undertook the ushering duty, the decorations of the hall were neat and appropriate. Good taste governed everything. The Irish character" of the entertainment was- just nicely prominent, without offence to anybody else. From the musical point of view, also, the concert maintained its traditional high standard. Competent performers had been engaged, and lor the most part thev were in good form. This .remark applies with peculiar force to Mrs R. A. Power, >who was in splendid voice, and sang in, her very best style. The songs she chose' 'were ‘ The Kerry Dance ’ and ‘ Kathleen Mavourneen,’ and encores resulted in her adding ‘ She is Far from the Land-’ and ‘Home, Sweet Home.’ Mrs Power got plenty of rich and full tone, and her enunciation was so good that cverv word could be distinctly heard at the back of the hall. Her ‘Kathleen Mavourneen‘ was a special treat, the song being glorified by' fervor and expression.' Miss Daisy Hail also pleased the people. Her pure soprano voice was used to great advantage in ‘Home of My Heart - and ‘Has Sorrow Thy Young Days Shaded,’ and the audience, more particularly the elderly folk, were perfectly delighted with the songs in the old Irish that were given in answer to the encores. Mr Philip Xewbury's piesence gave the concert the right'to a place amongst the world's celebrations of the national anniversary. He would he welcomed at such a concert in London ruin Dublin. Unluckily, he was not in his best form, having just recovered ‘from ptomaine poisoning, but his perfect method of voice production enabled him to conquer the weakness that ho must have felt, and it may ire supposed that some present did not guess that there was anything more serious amiss with him than a touch of a cold. ‘ Erin is My Own Kami ’ was his first .song; then, replying to the furious encore, he sang ‘Oft in the Stilly Xisrhf with rate feeling and taste, using ' the mezzo voce with the most beautiful clearness. In the second part Mr Yew bury gave a vigorous interpretation of ‘The Y earing of the Green,’ and then supplemented his favors by singing ‘Eileen, Alannah.’ He is a great singer and a igieat artist. Mr J. M'Grnth also appeared in both parts, and though he has not b-'en very_we!l of late ho managed to infuse the required force and sincerity into his singing of songs that ring of Ireland’s cause. His selections were ‘Countrymen, Awake’ and ‘lhe West's Asleep,’ and as encores ho gave ‘For the Green' and a verv stirring setting of ‘God Save Ireland' to the tune of ‘Tramp, Tramp.’ The other soloist, Mr T. J. Hussey (who, by the way. first made his mark ,i'« a singer at the Irish concert 15 years ago), was heard to advantage in -Off to Philadelphia.' and, being forced to reappeal, he pleasantly revived that good old song ‘ The Lowbacked Cor.’ It was noticed with nleasnro during the evening that none of the'singers used that counterfeit form of speech that is passed off as Irish by persons who are Irish for the occasion only. When we heard the Irish tongue it was in its native richness, and with a purpose, as in the case of .Mr M'Grath's songs, which are the songs of the peasantry. Another matter for congratulation in respect to the songs was the excellent accompaniment playing of Mr A. Vallis. whose work at, the piano deserves everybody's thanks. In the first part a double male quartet from the senior members of the Christian Brothers' Choir (Messis F., D.. and J. Fogarty,. >T. ’larletnn, J. Stapleton, T. Hughes, F. Yale, and P. Kelighor) sang ‘ Come Back to Erin.’ using a very nice arrangement and singing in a manner that reveals cons’derable possibilities if the members continue iheir practice under Mr Keligher. By way of wind-up the Christian Brothers’ Choir sang ‘The Minstrel Boy’ and ‘The Dear Little Shamrock ’ to accompaniments by, Miss C Hughes. The parts were nicely held, and it was quite a pleasure to hear the little boys’ voices. The Kaikorai Band, conducted by .Mr Laid law, played at the opening of each part, and acquitted themselves creditable. 'Their first piece was Godfrey’s ‘Reminiscences of Ireland, - aijd they afterwards gave ‘‘Hie Skylark’, (a cornet, solo by Mr E. Ken-) and the twostep ‘Redwing’ with vocal obligato.