ANDERSON BAY GLEE CLUB

Evening Star, Issue 16824, 28 August 1918, Page 7

ANDERSON BAY GLEE CLUB

For their 12th concert, given last night, ! the club shifted to the old Presbyteri.ii: I Church, and thus got rid of the serious handicap of singing in an unsuitable build- ■ ing. The improvement in the singing was ! amazing. But for the evidence of the ■ eves, one would not have believed it was tho same choir. There is now buoyancy in the voices, and they got tone, and can keep the pitch without effort, and the reverberations are no longer an annoyance. A concert in the new quarters must be much easier for the singers. Attributing very much of the 'success of last night's concert to the changed environment, we do not know exactly to what extent the choir have advanced in knowledge and in singing ability since they appeared last year. But, leaving this to be settled between Mr 11. B. Austing (the conductor) and his fellow-members, we may safely compliment them on the intrinsic merits of their work. The soprano part is bright and sure, and it stood the strain well, except momentarily under the severest pressure, such as the ending of ' The Men of Harlech.' Tho contraltos get very nice body and tone. Tenors may be a little thin, but that is the fate of the part in every other choir. The bass is wonderfully improved. Led by a splendidly eS'eetivo voice of the welding order, most judiciously employed, this part did effective work throughout, the reading being quite safe and the beat accurately obeyed. It is a groat help when, as in this case, the bass is reliable, and they have a deal to do with maintaining the pitch and keeping a choir in tune. The ' Viking Song' (Coleridge-Taylor) was given with fine dramatic effect, and Smart's ' Hunting Song' was a joy, full of light and nice expression. Another distinct success was ' Tho Bells of Aberdovey' in the Welsh fantasia by Fletcher, and there was some pretty singing in Elgar's ' Lullaby,' though here one or two of the voices were a trifle too eager. The unaccompanied part songs also brought the choir much credit. We liked tho simplicity with which ' The Ashgrove' was presented, and ' 0 Gladsome Light' revealed so many points of merit that one could, if called on, write quite a long piece about it. It must, however, suffice to remark that, though Mr Austing too'k this appreciably faster than is the custom, the work was all got in' and the cveseendos and diminuendos nicely graded. The quickening of the tempo is, we think, right. The common practice is to make this chorus doleful, and that is dead against the meaning of the words. Mr Sidney Gilchrist, being in excellent voice, sang with stirring effect in both parts, and made a brilliant success of ' The Two Grenadiers,' displaying a thorough knowledge of the song, and singing it with fine spirit. If ho will restudy it for phrasing he will be able to perfect an interpretation which, even as it stands, is remarkable. One great point about Mr Gilchrist's singing is his unimpeachable intonation. His notes are as true as those of a 'cello. Another of his merits is the even quality of his voice. He has only to keep up his study in order to climb high. Miss Meda Paine, the other vocal- soloist, gave us-a delightful interpretation of German's waltz song from ' Merrie England,' but unluckily could not appear in the second part, since, owing to some misunderstanding, she had left her other music in town. Mr J. H. Page contributed a (Clarinet solo, and he and Mr A. Dickison

(flute) played a duet, their accompaniments being supplied by Mr Abating. Both pieces were justifiably encored. Miss Evelyn Jeffery did all the rest of the piano work during the evening—a somewhat heavy task, but gone through with credit. . . •

The concert is to be repeated to-morrow evening. /