DUNEDIN MALE CHOIR

Evening Star, Issue 16236, 4 October 1916, Page 1

DUNEDIN MALE CHOIR

The 115 th concert by the Dunedin Mala Choir, given in Burns Hall last night, was largely attended, nearly all the seats bein'’ occupied. Mr Jesse Timsou conducted, as usual, and ilr \v. Paget Gale once more idled Mr 0. A. Martin’s place as accompanist.

Sullivan’s ‘ The Beleaguered.’ the opening part song, was well sung, with good’ body and plenty of vivacity—the basses rather stronger than the tenors, but it was such glorious bass that one could not wish it reduced. The pitch being well maintained, Mr Gale let the accompaniment become purely subordinate, and this was an aid to tho results. The only fault was a certain amount of indistinctness in the words. The three-part song ‘ Peace, to the Souls of the Heroes, by Calcott, was much appreciated, the audience being impressed with the soliditv of the composition and fairly well satisfied with the singing, though once or twice the second basses flattened a little. In ' The Roman Vvar Song,’ by Lovatt, the choir did not make all the possible points. Basses lorithe pitch in the opening, the tenors were, struggling all through, and the words did not come out clearly from either section. It seemed as if the interpretation was planned on a, scale too heavy for the voices to maintain. Ffill compensation for all shortcomings was supplied in ‘ The Tattoo.’ de Rihe—a part song that \v© have not ncard for a long time. The tenors sang delightfully, as with one voice; tho crescendo was web graded, tho diminuendo hj 7'U i C! '* -•}'■ nruTcei- i.-i the second bass part at'the. beginning of the last verso, the 'rendering was flawless. The audience insisted on nn encore. nnd_ the part song was sung right through again, with the result—-a rare experience that it went oven bettor than the first, time, the bassos being smoother. Mauudev’s sotting of ‘ The "Border Ballad’ wa.s made the tost piece of the evening. We, say “was made,’’ because it can'be got through in a way without strain, but .Air Timsou wanted the full effects, and he set his choir at top strength to got them, and they came through tho ordeal triumphantly. In some items the balance seemed to be sustained with difficulty, the basses having a job to let the tenors get a fair hearing. In this ballad basses and tenors were all going strenuously, and the top line came out with splendid resonance and effect. Once more n repetition was asked for, and, though, some present regarded it as flying in tno face of Providence to attempt 'such a taxing work a second time, Afr Timson evidently believed that the voices would stand the exertion, and his judgment was sustained, there being only one little sign of weariness, at the end of the first verse. 1 Reveries.’ by Storeh, formed a charming contrast to the heavy part songs. It was very skilfully sung, the expression most accordant and tasteful, everything fitting in nicely, the reading beautifully accented, the whole, work a very clever study, except as to the last two c-r three bars, m which the second basses got a bit coaise. Some splendid work was heard in Acton’s ‘ For Home and Liberty.’ Nothing better could be desired in the way of dramatic effect than the singing of the first and second verses. Tho other portions of this composition seem to require a little, more working up.

Two acceptable relieving items by members of the choir found places on this programme. Their introduction was in a, way an experiment. The results were so satisfactory as to warrant, further exploration in the same direction. The first of these was ‘ The Lord is a Man of War.’ sung by Mr J, H. Oliver and Mr T. S. Searle. The famous old duet was firmly rend, and delivered with the vigor that is required. We have heard it sung in a. more polished style without, petting the meaning as Mr Oliver and Mr Searle got it last night. Then came the ‘ Thuringia n Volkslied ’ (Abt), by Messrs A. Moore, J. M. Alexander, W. Gemmell, and Walter Jbbotson. This was one of the features of the concert. The voices blended well, they got the expression most accordantly, putting in every possible effect and yet not overloading the simple music, and* in addition the story was nicely told. It was a faultless example of unaccompanied quartet singing. An encore being demanded, the singers responded with ‘ Every Rustling Tree ’ (Kuhlau), and unduly elaborated it, thus missing the mark. Severn! solos were also given. Most important of those was Mr Gale’s pianoforte solo, a bolero by Chopin, played with much clarity and a nice sense of motion. Mr Gale is a busy teacher, and it is wonderful how he keeps in playing form. His sureness in fast fingering constituted a lesson to the students present. The listeners were much pleased, and asked Mr Gale to play again, and he responded with a new composition entitled ‘ A Vision,’ just sent to him by the composer, Ernest Austin. Mrs Johnston Tonlis sang in expressive manner ‘Softly Awakes My Heart' and 1 Jcunesse ’ (Barry). Miss Kathleen Carter, the possessor of a contralto voice of nice quality, pleased the audience wiih ‘ Mv Heart is Weary,’ and followed with a charming interpretation of Lambert’s ‘ She Is Far From the Land.’ Mr A. E. Bath, one of the first tenors, gave ’ A Spirit Flower.’ and Mr D, C. Stark sang ' The Last Call.’ The honors were carried off by the two ladies, both being promising singers.