THE CHORAL SOCIETY.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume I, Issue 72, 26 November 1887, Page 2

THE CHORAL SOCIETY.

“ MAY DAY” AND THB THE MERRIE MEN OF SHEBWOOD

FOBBST.” Ton Choral Society gave tbs second contort of the season on Thursday evening when two short Works w.are produced; tha first on the programme, Macfarrsn's “ May Day,''' onfibf the earliest, and certainly one -ot the most charming of his works, is so well known that a description of it is qlmost unnecessary, For the benefit of those of our readers who do not know it we may state that tha wprk opens with a chorus “ The choosing of the Queen," interspersed with solo Alto and Tenor, who each give their idea as to who shall be Queen. The effect ot this chorus is charming, and the freshness ot the music must impress al! who hear it. Considering the difficulty of it, excepting a slip here and there, it was well rendered, and merited the hearty applause it gained. The quartette which followed was very creditably sung b» Miasea Hoiroyd Arid Shelton, ind Mearid Dalrymple and Laing. Number 8, ** The Queen’s Greeting,” aptly termed a recitative and song with a burden, was undertaken by Miss Hoiroyd, whose well-trained voice and cultured style is an oasis in the deeer| (Gisborne). The striking effect of the chorus entering on the voice part was appreciated by the audience, and no dohbt, under tM auspices of the Society, Gisborne may M entitled in time to call itself a musical place; The work concludes with “ The Bevels, *’ a long, and, without full accompaniment, difficult chorus. We certainly think, however, that “ May Day ” is a little beyond the power ot the Society, The audience had then to .prepare them; selves for lighter fare in the shape of *' The Merrie Men of Sherwbod Forest ’’—a pastortl operetta or bahthta; Which to be in anj W«y effective should be staged; the music itself is light and pretty. For this work the voices were augmented by an orchestra comprising four violins, a ’cello (doable bass), clarionet, two cornets and a horn- This supplemented by the pianoforte and harmonium, made quiU an imposing appearance. Opening with A short and effective introduction by all thejinstruments in unison, we then have a ball from the horns and wood wind in the ragdlat sylvan hunting style leading up to the chora* and solo “ Hark !..Hark! Away,”—this im. mediately gives the index to the whole work—a light and pretty movement in 6/8 time, which was very effectively rendered, the*solo part being taken-by Mr East, who throughout the evening acquitted himself admirably; although evidently suffering from a cold. A recitative and song “Sweet pretty bird” sung by Miss Bees; is one Of the most pleasing numbers in the work, and the audience recognized it as such, applauding the young lady heartily. The solo and chorus, “ Hark to the sound of the foresters bold ” was marred to a certain extent by the gallant Captain not singing strictly In trine although his fine voice told well in the hall. The next item, a Madrigal, “ Sweet Echo,” sung with, out accompaniment, showed the careful training of the conductor, the voices being well up to pitch at the fiuish, a matter most difficult for all choirs. Then followed a recitative and song by Mr Laing in which ha showed, as usual, to great effect. The Wedding Maroa next, played by the Orchestra; Showed that with time and training thijt branch of the Society should get on well. The “Ave Maria without gained well-earned applause, and the next item, song and duett, Miss Beesand Mr East certainly gained an encore if the principals had wished. Mr Laing sung next a Bari chanalian song, followed by the Morrito Dance and chorus “ We’ll dance, we'll sing? 1 , “ A call to arms ” by Mr Bast brought ufl the chorus “ Haste to the rescue,” which Wai worked up very well by both Bind and chorus' Jdr Laing then sang a recitative and long “ Misere Domine,” from a musical standpoint the gem of the work—his rendition of it needless to say, by no means detracted fromt r its worth. A Dead March by ths orchestra followed, an effective piece of writing which was applauded genuinely; then a short chord* with the same motive as “ Haste to tHs rescue,*’ led to the Rounf, which seemed to please the public more than any other piece in the work, so much so, that the Conductor appeared in a state of uncertainty as to repeating it. Tnis, however, he was oom. pelted to do in the next and last item— a Gallopade—which being pretty and light apart from going briskly and with great’ spirit, gained in both performances a big round of applause. ’

We certainly commend the Committee la one way—the concert was over a few minutto after ten. With more preparation the wdti would have gone better, but evidently both chorus and orchestra did their best. The latter for the short time they were engaged in preparing the work certainly did wondore and we shall expect at no distant date to sea.an efficient orcheatrain the town. The brass was particularly good. Mr Harvy is to bo complimented on the manner in which he “ coached” them in the short time. Mr Shelton is to be congratulated on the result of his labours, as also is Mr South, the energetic Secretary. In conclueion a Society snob as this in Gisborne does not require criticism. We foretell a future for it if they can only follow that best of all mottoes “ Work and Wait.” As a purely amateur affair they are deserving of great credit, and while sparing them a harsh criticism we would beg them < to lay the above motto well to heart.