RETURNED SOLDIERS’ CHOIR

Evening Star, Issue 22192, 21 November 1935, Page 8

RETURNED SOLDIERS’ CHOIR

FINAL CONCERT OF SEASON A BALANCED AND POLISHED PERFORMANCE If its previous performance lacked spontaneity, the Dunediji Returned Soldiers’ Choir quite retrieved itself at its final concert of the season last night. The singing held more decision anti tonal fluency, and that confident sincerity which was certainly absent from its last programme. There were lapses, notably in songs that strenuously tested cohesive balance, but in all it was a fully satisfying concert, and one that obviously pleased the choir’s army of followers who comfortably filled His Majesty’s Theatre. The choir was valuably assisted in its performance by outside vocal and orchestral artists. Of these, Miss Chrissie Talbot scored the solo success of the evening. Miss Talbot was making her debut before a Dunedin audience, and the reputation that preceded her from Wellington, where she created a most favourable impression at the Dominion aria contest, was not a whit exaggerated. Her soprano singing was a sheer delight. She has a voice of surprising dimension, her vocal equipment including that rare quality of absolutely true registration. The choir opened promisingly with Balfe’s triumphantly-dominating part song, ‘ Excelsior,’ in which it was associated with Messrs J. Keenan and G. Crawford. The concerted humming accompaniment was carefully controlled under Mr J. _T. Leech’s direction, the soloists, particularly Mr Keenan, providing the dramatic foreground- and guiding the story to a rousing climax. That slumbrous nocturne, ‘ A Stream of Silver Moonshine ’ (Adam Geibel) was nicely restrained, but spoilt by loss of pitch. The choir, with Miss Nom Davidson as soloist, was at the pinnacle of its form in Hugh Robertson’s restful Irish cradle song, ‘ Maureen,’ which was first introduced to the Dunedin concert platform by the Christchurch Philharmonic Society. It was a reading of tender charm, and was deservedly repeated. Mr Leech led his choristers with all skill in the more lively .‘The Curfew’ (Attewood), to provide Mr Alex. More with the accepted opportunity of creating a vivid story. Here, the balance among the sections was admirable. Assisted by Sir Walter Scott’s fiery libretto and Mr R, Duerdon’s resonant baritone singing, the choir made a strong tone picture of ‘ The Song of Harold Harfager ’ (John Pointer), and like the rallying Norsemen swept -on to quite a notable victory. It was only Mr L. B. Borrow’® sound solo work that established- the dismal ‘ Tears of Anguish,’ a canzon■etta by' Reichardt, as a partial success, the responses of the choir being very cloudy. _ Brahms’s whimsical humour was displayed in ‘ The Blacksmith,’ and the choir delineated its gaiety with piquant buoyancy. This lilting little study was popularly encored. Another more sober fragment was Franz’s ‘Dedication.’ The evergreen Gilbert and Sullivan music found representation in J When Our Gallant Norman Foes.’ Miss Ruth D. Sell was a competent soloist, and the choir assisted her in consolidating approval for its repetition. The final concerted vocal presentation was a cheerful rendition of ‘ He, Ho, Diddle Dum,’ from ‘ The Rebel Maid,’ by Phillips, in which Messrs P. S. Anderson and L. B. Borrowed the solo roles. Both choir and soloists made the most of its mood.

Miss Talbot opened with a group of modern songs. The first, ‘ Shepherd, Thy Demeanour Vary ’ (Lane Wilson), was charmingly sung. ‘ Home Thoughts ’ (Granville Bantock) was another finely interpreted song poem, and of the sweet and dulcet ‘ Song of the Open ’ (Frank la Forgo) she gave an expressive reading. It was in the aria. ‘ Indian Bell Song,’ from Delibes’s ‘Lakme,’ that she scored her artistic solo triumph. This coloratura song is sung by the unwilling maiden as a means of betraying her lover to her fanatical father. The imaginative insight with which Miss Talbot rendered it lent added charm to its beauty. She sang with serene art, her flexible registration being delightful. Her recall numbers were ‘ Since the Day,’ from ‘Louise,’ and ‘The Piper.’ The other soloist was Miss Noni Davidson, who substituted for Mr W. N. Satterthwaite, and charmingly sang ‘ The Poet’s Life.’ The ' collaboration of Mrs H. C. Campbell (piano). Miss Ethel Wallace (violin), Miss Lillian Rattigan (viola), and Miss Elvira Wycherley (’cello) in two of the modern Arensky’s compositions —‘ Variations ’ and ‘ Scherzo ’ — was productive of an exciting performance, the Russian > motif being cleverly captured. The piano work was of a grand order,, and the strings produced a rich tone that, however, lost some of its fluency in the scherzo. The orchestra, which assisted the choir and soloists, made a pleasant study of the sadly tranquil ‘ Solvcig’s Song,’ from Grieg’s ‘ Peer Gynt.’ Miss Sybil Baker played the accompaniments with her usual facility.