MALE CHOIR CONCERT

Evening Star, Issue 25344, 28 November 1944, Page 7

MALE CHOIR CONCERT

END OF SEASON ,

The fifty-ninth season of the Royal Dunedin Male Choir euded on a good note with a pleasing recital in the Concert Chamber last night, giving grounds for reasonable expectations that the diamond jubilee year might prove even more successful. For the celebration of the occasion the choir might .elect to undertake some major works for which it,would expect good support. Only limited scope exists for the class of music usually selected,, and it is difficult tc avoid | a certaiu monotony in the programme. On recent performances the choir has-shown considerable capability under tho direction of Mr C. W. Francis and when younger men are available to swell its ranks it should maintain its prominence among local . musical organisations. Among the items included in last night's programme was a new arrangement of Alfred Hill's ' Waiata Maori ' by the choir's pianist, Mr A. H, Pettitt. It proved popular with the audience, and was repeated, being sung with rousing spirit in the hakii section and with sweetness in the.nostalgic love song. A reminder of the approach of Christmas was the inclusion of the carols ' To Bethlehem,' in which the soloist was Mr W. E. Mills, and ' 'Twas in the Moon of Winter Time.'- Other choral, items were the ' Viking Song ' (Coleridge-Taylor), 'Song of liinisfail,' r Qucen of the Night' (Smart), the nautical ' Arcthusar!' (Jephson), an attractive bracket, :'ln" the Vale'of Llangollen ' and ' Land of My Fathers ' (James);' a humorous number, ' The Rats' and the festival carol > ' Ring Out, Wild Bells' (Fletcher),. Soloist* from the choir were Mr R'oy Williams (tenor), who sang 'Silent Nocn ■■' (Vaughan Williams) and Mr W. B. Lambert (bass), who sang ' Arise Ye Subterranean Winds ' (Purcel) and ' Hybreas the Cretan.' Mr R. A. Mitchell (tenor) and Mr J. D. McKeclinie (bass), with obbligato by Mrs Dorothy WalUcc ('cello) and Mr R. L. Pettitt (violin), sang Fame's 'Crucifix.' Mr A. H. Pettitt. was as usual at the piano for the greater part of tho concerts and ably supported the singers. The assisting vocal solois't was Miss Annie SpCncer, soprano, whose sweet voice with high range was exploited to good effect in a series of songs which were tastefully interpreted. She sang 'Soft as the Zephyr ' (Liszt), the waltz song from 'Tom Jones,' 'Where the Bee Sucks,' 'The Girls of Cadiz' (Delibes), 'lnvitation to the Waltz' (Weber), and 'The Doll's Song' (Offenbach). Mrs A. F. Manning' played the accompaniments. Mr R. L. Pettitt was violin soloist for the evening, and contributed some pleasing items which included ' Rondo 'by Beriot, Schubert's ' Ave Maria,' Sarasate's ' Gipsy Airs,' and ' Liebeslied ' (Krejsler). .