MESSIAH CONCERT

Evening Star, Issue 19431, 14 December 1926, Page 2

MESSIAH CONCERT

CHORAL SOCIETY AT ITS BEST It tv as to a largo audience, attentive at first and gradually forced to gratefulness, that the Dunedin Choral Society presented the Christmas oratorio, ‘The Messiah,’ last night at His Majesty’s Theatre. Forty-three of the fifty-seven numbers _ were sung or played. To squeeze in so much of the oratorio the performance began at 7.45, and it took till 10.30. How would it be to give the whole work on some future occasion and make a two nights’ programme? The idea is worth thinking about. There are some numbers that we never hear, and always some that the people are fond of have to be omitted.

Mr James Coombs had under his control 41 sopranos, 31 altos, 39 men, and a strong orchestra, and the performance was in most respects highly satisfactory—one of the best. All the choruses were worthily delivered; sopranos bright and confident, altos invariably getting good tone and in unbroken alliance with the sopranos, the bass part solid and firmly road, the tenors numerically weak, but content to sing buoyantly and compactly, with quality, and let their voices tell as opportunity served—a method much more effective musically than trying to maintain a balance by mere shouting. AH paid attention to tiro conductor. The orchestra is to bo specifically praised for its obedience, which enabled Mr Coombs to bring the chorus singing and the accompaniments into a common design. “ And the glory ” was glorious right through, brisk, accurate, full of joyful spirit. In “0 thou that tellest ” the men’s parts fairly held their own without any concession- “Unto us” was noticeable for the fine style of the bass runs and the excellent tone from the whole body, hut critical hearers might have thought that in the final rallentando (which, by the way, one or two of the instrumentalists were not prepared for) the notes should have boon sung right out instead of being chopped. “ Glory to God ” went very well. “ Behold the Lamb ” sounded a little jaunty, wanting in breadth, but the ending was delightful. _“ Surely He hath borne” came out with excellent expression. “ All we like sheep ” was read accurately, but somewhat mechanically, until reaching the adagio, which stood out as n feature of the host chorus singing. “He trusted ” gave further evidence of profitable study. In “ Lift up your heads ” the fast tempo meant loss' of nobility. “ Hallelujah ” was brilliant and compact, and altogether a delight. Nos. 46, 47, 48, and 49 provided a test that the choir came through with groat credit. “ Worthy is the Lamb ” was noticeable for tone and compactness, and “ Amen ” found the voices as fresh and musical ns they were at the outset—indeed it was a perfect triumph, equal to that attained in “ And the glory.” The true co-operation of the orchestra in the choruses gave great satisfaction, and the players that Mr Wallace so ably led deserve credit also for their stylish treatment of the introduction and the pastoral symphony. In the symphony they gel. a. real pianissimo and much better tone , than is usually heard from muted strings. The accompaniments, too, were for the most part played well. The weight was nicely graded to the solo voices, with one exception. This desirable result was secured sometimes by silencing certain of the instruments—not. the best way to reduce weight, but the only way in the circumstances and productive of the end arrived at, namely, to let the soloists be heard without forcing their voices. High praise showered on the soloists was honestly deserved. Madame Winnie Fraser was in great form, singing with tone quality, richness, and fine expression. Her delivery of “Rejoice greatly,” though handicapped by a tendency to jazziness by the accompaniment, was quite stylish, particularly in the middle slower section. “Come unto Him” stood out as a masterpiece of purity and tone variety. “How beautiful” was rounded off into a charming ending. “1 know that my Redeemer ” was a lovely study an interpretation, the phrasing quite a specialty. Miss Mahelle Esquilant, if not quite in her best voice, sang the contralto solos in a manner worthy of her reputation as an accomplished artiste. It was in one of her solos, “ 0 Thon that tellest,” that the orchestra went amok. She sang it expressively; the accompaniment was noisy. It must have been annoying to Miss Esquilant. But she got better treatment afterwards, and her presentation of “ Ho shall feed His flock” and “He was despised” earned the grateful acknowledgments of the audience. Mr L. E. Dailey, the tenor of the evening, began a little nervously, but he gave a good rending of “ Comfort ye” and did even better in "Ev’ry valley,” taking the runs fluently and bestowing on this taxing air a degree of knowledge that one would hardly expect from a young singer. Later on Mr Dailey scored a triumphant success in “ Thou shalt break them,” this being one of the outstanding features of the concert. He is at his best in work of that nature, when the voice is fully called up. Mr L. A. North’s very heavy task as the bass soloist was discharged with faithfulness and ability. He evidently knows the music familiarly. Ho used the bonk only for reference. “Thus saith the Lord” was declaimed with fine force and meaning. “ Who may abide ” suffered somewhat from hurry, but the agitato sense was a great embellishment 6f the prestissimo, “For behold” was another musicianly effort, and “ The people that walked ” wanted nothing hut a touch of repose. Mr North rose to his very best in “Whv do the nations.” It was a marvellously good study, the runs perfect and taken without bredk, the expression masterly. Nobody could wish for a better treatment of this accepted test number. “The trumpet,” as usual, wont indifferently. The obbligato was well played by Mr T. M'Lean, and the solo was well sung, but voice and trumpet were not as one—they never arc—and the accompaniment seemed to have not been rehearsed.

The concert is to be repeated this evening. Those who attend will be pleased.