DUNEDIN CHORAL SOCIETY

Evening Star, Issue 18048, 16 August 1922, Page 4

DUNEDIN CHORAL SOCIETY

‘HIAWATHA.’ Tire attendance at His Majesty’s Theatre last night seemed te bo about as numerous as usual. It was practically a full house. Subscribers noted that due respect paid'to the memory of Mr Sidney Wolf. The programme was heodedi with a. short but adequate expression of regret concerning “ tho passing away of our beloved conductor,” and members of the choir wore mourning—black rosettes for the ladies and black ties for the men. Tho tribute was in good taste, sufficient and not showy. Air Victor Galway held control, and Mr J. A. Wallace was tho loader of tho orchestra; Miss E. Hartley was tho pianist. The concert opened, as is customary, with Elgar’s arrangement of ‘God Save tho Kin".’ sung well, the instrumental part effectively put in after the sluggishness of the first few bars was thrown off. Madame Winnie Fraser gave a firm reading of the solo part, though having to call up her resources to do so.

Two songs by Madame Fraser followed —“The 'Willow.’ by A. Goring-Thomas, and ‘ Unfcaring,’ by Bnmo Hulin. Of each tho soprano presented _a musicianly study. They suit her voice andl her methods, and it- was very pleasant singing ; but some of .the older folk in the audience would have liked to hoar this accomplished lady in at least one song that they know. ” The' encore was, such as could not be declined, and Madame Fraser responded with a charming spring song, ‘April la in. Sight’ (by Molly Carew), given forth with delightful, freshness and buoyancy. Tho accompaniments to these songs were sympathetically supplied by Miss Hartley. Then came ‘Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast,’ which is the first part of ‘The 'Song of Hiawatha ’ as set to music by S. ColeridgeTaylor. Devout thanks aro duo to tho society for reviving this beautiful music and giving our people at large a further opportunity of exploring it. ColcridgeTaylor did not receive much encouragement when ho first launched this work. It is said that his immediate financial reward was quite paltry—a few guineas. But ‘Tho Song of Hiawatha’ has lived and will live. It is regarded affectionately by those who have studied it or sung inj it. It is an expression of Nature in music. In descriptive color it is unique. Its methods are absolutely free from artificiality. Its merit is continuous, and in this respect it is a masterpiece, much more satisfactory than music which operates in spasms linked by apologetic gropmgs. The Dunedin Choral Society always sings this work lovingly and earnestly. Such was the case again last night. Maybe there existed beforehand a certain amount of apprehension as to how ‘The Song’ would go with a new conductor and a reduced weight in the tenor and bass parts. But the choir set out to do its best, and the results achieved wore in most respects highly satisfactory, If somebody asserts that ‘The Wedding Feast’ was not so well sung aa ‘The Death of Minnehaha’ that, forms the second part, we will not argue the point. There were defects in ‘The Wedding Feast,’ The sopranos, usually so prompt, failed conspicuously to pick up the lead on page 13, and both sopranos and altos hesitated about the beginning of the four-part movement at tho foot of page 21. The orchestra, too, got disproportionately loud in several passages. These were' faults for which no excuse lies handy. We make no point of the insufficiency of the tenor and bass. That could not bo Helped. The men did their very best,, and, for their numbers, sang well, the leads picked up surelj’, the words always clean. On the whole there was much to lie thankful for. Much of the music came out delightfully. The 2-2 passage beginning on page 32, " Then they said to Chibiaboa,” was a grcafc > treat—the sort of singing that one could listen to by tho hour; and several other bits were almost as good. Attention was always paid to expression, and some of the efforts were quite thrilling, as; for example, the phrase “His immeasurable falsehoods,” on page 45. Air Galway, in his own quiet manner, did wonders in the way of balancing up vocal .shortcomings by pulling in reinforcements from his orchestra. Air Satterthwaite took the tenor solo, ‘ Onaway, Awake,’ and, though his voice is rather light for such music, and though ho had to chance quality to get strength in the upper A flat and B flat, bo earned much praise, his intelligent interpretation being very highly appreciated, Tho orchestra made, a decided hit with the entr'acte to ‘King Alanfrod,’ the strings getting a good soft tone, the parts unfailingly proportionate, and the expression most pleasing. It wa.s in tho second part of tho work, ‘Tho Death of Minnehaha,’ that the performers as a body reached their best form. The work of the choir deserved great praise, the solo singing by Madame Fraser and Air Desmoulins was scholarly and artistic. and tho orchestra preserved, vr cousinly relationship throughout. Madame Fraser was in great voice, and every shade of meaning in the baritone part was brought out by Mr Desmoulins. To deni with this part in detail would mean a succession of praises. Those persons who go this evening to the second performance are assured of a great treat, for tho performers arc thoroughly in character, and if they do as well as they did last night they will earn palms and crowns. Wo ask tho prospective audience to listen with special care to the ‘ Wahonomin’ episode for soloists and chorus. It would answer for a test before judges.