A QUEEN OF SONG.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 112, 26 April 1911, Page 11

A QUEEN OF SONG.

RECITAL BY MDLLE. DOLORES AT HASTINGS ON MONDAY.

It is gratifying to be able to record a really good audience at the Princess Theatre. Hastings, on Monday, in spite of the inclemency of the weather, which must have kept many away. However, there was a large number present who had come a long distance. Havelock as usual being well represented. and e also noticed some Waipawa " residents among those present. Dolores was in splendid voice, and presented a programme worthy of the artiste she"is. It is somewhat difficult to discriminate when every numbei is a gem. The first group consisted of three masterpieces by the giant Bach. These were no doubt quite new to most of the audience (except, perhaps, the second one-. The first, “ Komm Susser To l ” (■■ Come. Kindly Death ) wa- -i severely trying piece to open a recital with, especially on such a night, but Mdlle. soon proved herself equal to the task, and after a few bars was evidently quite at home, her wonderfully even middle register being heard to fine advantage in this beautiful but solemn number, while the varv ing senti-

meuts of despair and hope were admirably pourtrayed. The second ("Mein Glaubiges Herze”) ("My Heart ever Faithful ”) suited her splendidly, and was undoubtedly more pleasing to the great majority of the audience. Here, again, Dolores surrounded the song with the t rue atmosphere ; it just seemed an outburst of joy and exultation. The third was a dainty lyric which few would associate with the name of Bach, “ \V illst du Dein Herz” ("if Thou Thy Heart”). This was sung with exquisite (•harm and refinement. Jn response to a hearty recall, Mdlle. gave a delightful rendering of C. E. Horn's dainty song, “ Fve been Roaming.” In the grand aria from "Norma. ’ "Casta Diva, Dolores proved that she had lost none, of her brilliant technique, her scale passages being faultless and her trill beautifully managed. Another encore was demanded, and Dolores responded with an exquisite inorceau. ” Star V ivino. ’ by Salvator loe*ain. which her incomparably beautiful mezzo voce was heard to perfection. The group of old English ><>nus were a great treat, and it seems a great pity that these charming compositions are so much neglected nowadays. Dolores sings them with true appreciation of the light and shade and variety of tone colour, and in this respect we must also not omit a word of praise to the accompanist, especially in the second number

of this group. The numbers were “ I attempt from Love’s Sickness to Fly” (Purcell), “Oh, listen to the Voice of Love ” (Hook), and “Pastoral” (Carey). As an encore Dolores treated us to an exquisite i jewel by that sweet songster of the ( Northland, Hafdan Kjerulf. “Oh, to remember'.” This beautiful, song, which the vocalist commences j without accompaniment, was one of i the gems of the evening. This com-, poser’s works do not receive the. attention nowadays which they so, justly merit. The “ Tarantelle ” by Zizet was also eminently suited to Mdlle., and her truly delightful rendering fairly carried her hearers jby storm ; she showed wonderful I control in this number, which con--1 tains some very trying skips for i the voice from high to low notes, and vice versa. An overwhelming encore followed, and Mdlle. responded with “ Robin Adaii, | which was sung rather slower than we usually hear it, but in our opinion it brought out the pathos of this little ballad more than we have ever heard before. The final group of the programme was, in the opi-j nion of many, the best; however, i that is a matter of taste. Certainly j they were four gems, and Dolores' was heard at her best in each of | them. The first was a piquant i French song, “ Tes Yeux Bleus ” i

("Thy Blue Eyes”), by Eierne, which was charmingly rendered. Then followed a magnificent tone picture, “Crepuscule” (“Twilight”) by Massenet. Here, again, Mdlle.’s perfectly controlled mezzo voce was heard to the greatest advantage, and backed up by the beautifullyshaded dissonances in the accompaniment gave a delightful picture of departing day. “Winds in the Trees,” by Thomas, was another number which greatly pleased the audience. The final number was

one of Robert Schuman’s beautiful songs, “ Within a Rose.” What a wealth of colour was here! Why is it that these beautiful songs are neglected in favour of the wishywashy trash served up to us by the majority of singers nowadays? As a last response Mdlle. sang, by special request, the ever-popular Laughing Song. This must have been written for Dolort's. Certainly we cannot imagine anyone else but her singing.it. Her laughter is genuine and infectious, without being the least overdone. Dolores always was, and ever will be, an artiste. She justly deserves her title as the sweetest singer of her time, and has won her way into the hearts of the New Zealand people as no other singer has ever done. May she be long spared to shed the benign influence of her wonderful genius among those who have learned to know and love her. Mr. Selwyn Shrimplin did splendid work at the piano, his accompaniments being most artistic

OUR SCHOOLS. HOUSEHOLDERS MEETINGS. CLIVE. At the annual meeting of Clive householders last night, the report and balance-sheet of the last year’s working was read and adopted and the following committee elected : — Messrs. H. Neagle (chairman), G. Merritt, C. Cleaver, H. Lawton, M. Taylor, R. Mcllroy, and Hollyman. PETANE. The Petane householders’ meeting, after adopting the report balance-sheet, re-elected the outgoing committee. Mr. G. Tait was re-elected as chairman, Mr. J. Milne secretary and Mr. D. Milne secretary and treasurer of the school prize fund. TE POHUE.

Mr. H. Bodley presided over the meeting of householders at the above place, which elected the following committee : —Messrs. J. Nicholl, A. J. Crawford, H. Bodley, A. Gallien and T. Palmer. Dissatisfaction was expressed over the distribution of ballot-papers, they being refused to some. Mr. Crawford was elected chairman and secretary.

tnrougnout, while his smus were also greatly enjoyed by all. His programme numbers were :—Nocturne op. 55 and Waltz op. .64 (Chopin), and Impromptu (Rheingold). We preferred the Waltz of the first two numbers, which was played with great charm and delicacy, and elicited a well-deserved encore, when “ Anitras Dance” (Greig), which suited him admirably and thoroughly delighted the audience. The Rheingold number was entirely new to us, but contains some very nice work indeed. As an encore to this number, Mr. Shrimplin played a. charming Caprice by Eduard Schutt, in which he was again well suited.

Taken as a whole, the recital far surpasses anything of the kind we have had for years, and will live in the memory of the Hastings public as one of the most delightful musical treats they have ever been privileged to enjoy.