'ST. PAUL.'

Evening Star, Issue 16822, 26 August 1918, Page 6

'ST. PAUL.'

BY DUXEDIN CHOKAL SOCIETY. Mendelssohn's orutoria ' >St. Paul,' with a f'oiv unimportant 'cuts," was given by thi: Dunediii Choral Society in Bis Majes- } ty"s Theatre on SaUnday jTight-, and drew a large audience. It is a debateahlo point v/hcther the standard of performance was quite up to the stamford which Mr Sidney t Wolf lias tet himself and the society have accustomed the public. Possibly the construction of the work itself tended to raise this doubt. There, w much choral work in 'St Paul.' aill of it good, but not, a threat deil of it rising to the sublimest heights of oratorio. Tlks solo work is pltnliful enough but it is nearly all recitative connecting up the successive choruses. This declamatory work needs great power in tho soloists and imposes considerable strain on the ordinary voice, and as very little "fat" in the form of I arias is allotted to them tho principals had rather- ungrateful parts. For this concert they were drawn from the ranks of tho choir Miss Jetsie Christie, in the coprano rc>ia, sang tile music correctly, ani is evidently a «oocl musician. Her voioe is pure, hut rather .Uaht for such a to.sk, and, as she did not spare herself, huskiness towards t-lv end was inevitable. Her rendering of the air ' Jerusalem, Thou That Kiliest/ was conceived in the right v«7i, and was much appreciated Miss Kathleen ■ Oar tor had a less onerous.burden to carry in tho contralto part, and her dißtinotive voio.<> and general treatment of 'But the Lord is Mindful' pleased so well that she had to repeat it. Tho same coinpHmeut was paid to Mr C. 0. Scott for a verv fine rendering- of 'Bo Thou Faithful unto Death,' his only real aria for the evening, and the outstanding solo number of the concert. In tho recitatives, too, he was the only one able to declaim with power and invisivenesa, and he also treated them with great intelligence. Mr WThomson, the bass soloist, has many times pjoved himself a, thorough musician, but the veteran was rather overweighted in the name part, purely from physical reasons, and there was a suspicion of faltering in his rendering of tho aria '0 God, Have Movev.' His duet with Mr Scott, 'Now Are We Ambassadors,' went excellently, and that with Mr Atwill, 'We Heard Him Blaspheme,' not quite so well. Tho chorus work was well worth going to hear. It was not ii aw kiss—on one occasion a whole soprano lead went Vy the board, and there was hesitancy lor a moment before the contraltos rot into their stride in leading off that beautiful number 'How Lovely Are the Messengers.' But these were mere incidents in an evening's meritorious work. Particularly striking for their numbers wero the efforts of the tenors. They numbered otdy a round dozen, and many important leads are allotted to them, but they stood up to the collar splendidly to the end, and did their utmost to "weigh heavy for their sizo" and keep the balance even. The consequence was a fine ensemble, and there was a fine impressive tone about the numerous chorales, of .which 'Sleepers, Awake,' was the best example. In quite another vein was ' 0 Be Gracious,' which was sun# with quit* a winsome seductiveness, and contrasted well with tho heavier numbers. Apart from one slip, 'Rise Up, Arise,' was a splendid, vigorous piece of work, but in our opinion tho chorus with which tho first part concludes, 'O Great is _ the Depth,' was the apex of the choir's achievement, far surpassing the finale to the whole work, 'iNot Only Unto Him,' which, compared with the former, was something of an anti-climax. The orchestra's work throughout the evening was good, and always a help to - sok»stos tavi- choir.