MUSICAL TREAT

Grey River Argus, 1 May 1944, Page 3

MUSICAL TREAT

Town Hall Concert VISITING ARTISTS’ RECITAL. The Greymouth public will not soon forget the singing of Mr. Robert Wilson, the young Australian tenor, who with Mr. Henri Penn, .pianist, gave a concert in the Town Hall on Saturday night. That, at any rate, seems a' fair inference to draw from the- warm applause with which his every appearance was greeted by the large audience which, in spite of the cold, wet conditions, crowded to hear him. And to say so much in praise of Mr. Wilson’s singing is not be belittle the playing of Mr. Penn; for his work is already well enough known to New Zealand audiences for its merit to be taken, in a large measure, for granted.

In a great variety of songs Mr. Wilson displayed many good qualities: it would not be easy to name the best. Most impressive, perhaps, was his combination (paradoxical as it may sound.) of a fine freedom and vigour with perfect but unobtrusive control. This was well illustrated in his rendering of “Donna e Mobile,” certainly one of his most completely, successful numbers. But he had gentleness, too, as he showed in such more popular items as “I Hear You Calling Me” and “Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair,” and the sweetest of falsettoes, used sparingly and always effectively. These qualities alone in Mr. Wilson’s rich tenor voice would be enough, I but he .had, in addition, clarity of enunciation and a pleasing good humour. It is to be regretted, perhaps, that he did not always sing songs that allowed the best qualities of his voice full play. Perhaps he will do that next time. This must be said: the audience loved its favourites. But it is safe to say that those songs which were unfamiliar, or known only through recordings, will be doubly welcome next time because of the realisation that a song is only half a song without the presence of the singer. Mr. Henri Penn did not disappoint either as soloist or accompanist, and his good humoured nursing of a not altogether satisfactory piano through a hard night’s work won the sympathy of his audience. His first two numbers, “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’’ and Mozart’s “Alla Turca” were probably his best, though the “Warsaw Concerto” and his interpretations of Brahm’s “Lullaby,” Liszt’s “Liebestraum” and a Chopin selection won warm approval. Fie played with ease and mastery and technical brilliance whether his subject was a gentle or a hearty one; and he was a sympathetic accompanist. It is to be hoped that Mr. Nathan Scheinwald and the Australasian Greater Artists’ Society will be persuaded, in suite of the unsatisfactory hall they had to use on Saturday and the violence of the weather, to include Greymouth in their next Dominion tour. The weather could not be helped; and perhaps the promise of more frequent visits from artists of the calibre of Mr. Wilson and Mr. Penn would be sufficient reason for seeing that something is done, even in war-time to provide a suitable place for their concerts.

Saturday’s programme included The following: Mr. Wilson: “Dedication” (F’ranz), “The Linden Tree” (Schubert), “Donna e Mobile” (Verdi), “Questa o Quello,” “I Did Not Know,” (Trotere), “The Four-Leafed Clover,” “Where’er You Walk” (Handel), “I Know .of Two Bright Eyes” (Clutsam), “When Song is Sweet” (SansS'ouci), “Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair” (Foster), “Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes” (Quilter), “I Hear You Calling Me” (Marshall), “The Lord’s Prayer” (Malotte), and “For England” (Murray). Mr. Penn: “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” (Bach), “A,lla Tunea”'. (Mozart), ‘''Warsaw Concerto” (Addinsell), “Rustle of Spring,” (Sinding), “Little Music Box” (Rebikoff), “Dedication” (Clifton Cook), “Prelude in C Sharp Minor” (Rachmaninoff), “Lullaby.” (Brahms), “Liebestratim” (Liszt), a .Tchaikovsky concerto, and a prelude, a study, and a waltz by Chopin. AN INFORMAL APPEARANCE. ARTISTS VISIT ORPHANS’ CLUB. After Saturday night’s concert Mr. Robert Wilson and Mr. Henri Penn, with their manager, Mr. Nathan Scheinwald, were visitors at the Greymouth Ohphans’ Club, which was holding its opening night. Mr. Wilson sang “I Hear You Calling Me” and “For England,” with Mr. Penn as accompanist. The artists were warmly applauded. The Past President (Mr. J. ,M. Macauley), welcomed the visitors and later Extended thanks to them, expressing regret that the club’s function had clashed with their concert. CONCERT AT REEFTON. Residents of Reefton are not likely to miss the opportunity of hearing Mr. Robert Wilson, the young Australian tenor, and Mr. Henri Penn, pianist, when they give a concert in the Princess Theatre to-morrow night, under the direction .of Mr. Nathan S’cheinwald. A firm favourite in Auctralia Mr. Wilson is rapidly becoming equally popular on this side of the Tasman, while Mr. Penn is already well-known for his work with Oscar Natzske, Peter Dawson, and others, as well as in his own right.