GREYMOUTH ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 May 1914, Page 7

GREYMOUTH ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY

THIRTY-SEVENTH-CONCERT.

The Greymouth Orchestral Society gave their" first subscribers'> T ,«>na<:rt for the. 1914 season last night in tWOpora Housj to a large audience. .Tl}is...js the thirteenth year of the Society, a"d that it has held well together diU'ian that period and at the same time given three concerts in each year speaks Well"";/cfr~ its succer.s and popularity,;, as weU» as ;-for; the hiffh standard of excellence wii~-has been able to maintain. This is.-ajl the more, creditable when it is remembered that its members, like all other - combinations of instrumentalists, are ev?£ vjemisg all coing, and .last night's performance was noticeable in this inspect when compared with the instrumentation of Inst year; thus it is that a conductor, is continually being faced with the additional work of training'new members in'their respective parts. The Society in question is to be congratulated on having a' conductor not only possessed of high musical attainments, but also in being-' ..under ~otho direction of one who Iras such splendid organising ability. .'The *■ enthusiasm which Mr Moss puts into his work is in a very great measure accountable for the existence and repeated- successes of the Greymouth. Orchestral"•; Society. Last night's. programme was well up to the standard, and was highly'appreciated bv those present. The selections were of varied and pleasing nature-and well calculated to test' the versfijt.ility and •"inters nretetive gifts of" : tlw "j;est".of musicians. On the whole, the Orchestra acquitted itself .most creditably. The first item on the programme was that.,. evergreen and popular, overture, "Zampa" (HeroldV n difficult piece, but, iir capable hands, a most excellent composition,, In the opening bars the attack : wa»3 r.atlie'r poor and a number of the instrumentalists lost the beat of the conductor's baton. A crescendo in the first few bars, however, was nicely worked up, and the ensemble better together and the orchestra better settled down to its work. Passages bv thq claxionette and euphonium were well taken, the runs on the violins being played-evenly and with crispness, and the passages calling for delicacy of treatment nicely marked. The overture was followed bv a waltz, composed by R A. Horn", of Christehureh, and entitled "Debonnair." After a few introductory bars, the waltz opens up with a good fcwing,. with hlenty hf melody throughout rather than an overburdensome amount of technique and catchy passages. It is a sweet and inspiriting piece of dance music, in which the beat is never uncertain. A pleasing vanat.i'-''' in the composition is that the middle parts take up the strain for two or thr»e bars and are in turn emphasised by the leading stringed instruments, which gives the music plenty of swinging motion, and the orchestra did the piece psfcice The Norwegian scenes. (11 prelude'. "View of the Mountains'": (2) intermezzo "Peasant's D-uice" ; and (3) scherzo. "Sleigh Ride." were indeed a pretty combination, and this piece was heartily ".njoyetl by the audience; The prelude •vas'a sombre vet bright opening the notes being well sustained, the 'cello solo Ving well played in the sostenuto passage, the strings afterwitl'ds taking up the thema with pleasing effect. The second piece opened a la muted strings, and had quite a diverting effect from the ipening, featuring v. country dance. which'was very daintily played, (he 'cello again standing ""out prominently, •The "jSleigh Ride," too,_ was a splendid -ffort, and was as'descriptive as it was veil worked up". This'"ifc'm was a. gem. \nothcr similar piece'.in diversified ran,ie. !,nd one calculated to test the merits •,|' the best of orchestras, was the Italian livertisement, ';A Day in' Rome" (Geo. ff. Byng). This piece' opened softK vith all parts going smoothly and well balanced. The dainty, .opening passages ire followed by more 'lively movements, •intil the closing bars, which are given

,-ith extra vigor. The cornet was pro itiM'iit ainotijr the solpfsf-s" in this \»c<■>:

"hidi afforded plenty, of scope for color slid variation, and the orchestraaccom-

plished thsir task in strict time and artistic' interpretation. An idylle, "Devotion Rustique" (A E. Matt) was another splendid effort; and in striking contrast i/O pfcevious pieces in way of style of mu■nc; it was an elegant pioce and exquisitely played. The "Grand Duchess" 'Offenbach) vra-s a selection of the more .iifncult and pretentious kind. It had plenty of "go" in it throughout, cornet and euphonium- being called upon for some very pretty- pasisages, and altogether this was a much appreciated number. The overture, "Eclipse" (-W. Williams) was a piece with plenty of buoyancy in it, in which the brass instruments again had their, share of the solo work. This was very consistently given and showed careful attention to detail. Altogether, the orchestral items were thoroughly enjoyable, and the" music-loving people of G-reymouth are indeed indebted to the Society for the very excellpnt concerts they from time to time provide at regular intervals.

Messrs R. Harrison and C*. I.ochhead Rave vocal items during the evening. These two gentlemen weie in good voice in the duet, 'The Battle Eve" (Theo. Bonheur), displaying a good blending of voices, good tune, and the item was Lordly applauded. As an encore they c;avo "Tenor and Baritone" with equal success, "For tenors are always true" a-d "It is a privilege to be a mighty baritone." Later in the evfening Mr Harrison scored a great success in giving .r miniature cycle of three short love s.tori<s: (a) "Sing, Happy Bird," (b) "A Pear! for Every. Tear," and' (c) "The Way Home." These were sung with a delightful ease, nice expression, splendid enunciation, and pleasing finish, and, in response to a well-merited encore, *fr Harrison, sang "Do you remember long a*ro. Kathleen?" A cornet solo, • "My Rosary" (E. Ne'yin), with orchestral accompaniment, was played by Mr T. McCain, the accompaniment. being very pretty and nicely snbdpcd, 'whilst the soloist produced-, a very fine tone and quite in keeping, with the .plaintiveness of the music- This was-a very fine item, and the audience showed its appreciation in no uncertain, way, the solo having to he repsated. Miss C. Hopkins nh'.yed the accompaniments to the Vocal numbers in a slyle that merited high commendation.

During...ife&feven-hiK Mr G; W. Moss (conductor.) the audience for the hearty manner' in which they had.received the several' items on the programme, and felt especially; gratified as seeing"so ■largo' an attendance there on a cold, night and with coughs-and colds so'prevalent in the district. Mr Mews also referred to the fact that an old and valued "member of the Society, Mr E. Apted, was pre-. as ,a 'listener that evening. Since the inception of. the. Society Mr Apted had been the life of the orchestra, and had taken initiatory steps in regard' to its formation. Unfortunately for the Society, the gentleman referred to was living QUt of town and was not able to give them his practical assistance.