SIR CHARLES SANTLEY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 9 October 1922, Page 6

SIR CHARLES SANTLEY.

Many of the very pleasantest recollections crowd up at the news of the death of the great baritone, Sir Charles Santley, for many years, until he retired, England's foremost and unapproachable exponent of oratorio. He once came to New Zealand, a good fewyears back, and, much to the disgust

', of older enthusiasts, secured comparajtively small houses, although a really I world-wide artist. Curiously enough I has tastes as a very young man ran to | dramatic work, and possibly this leaning was responsible to some extent at least for his wonderful success as a singer. His first appearance as a singer was with Jenny Lind, the Swedish nightingale, in 1849. As a youth Santley learnt the violin (says a critic), and half his time he played in the orchestra and the other half was in the chorus. At that time he was

influenced most by Madame Viardot Garcia, Standigl, and Mario (with whom he later had the pleasure of singing). Of his first public appearance as Adam in "The Creation," Santley's book tells us little, but as that work has just been preformed in Wellington, and "Elijah" is .in rehearsal by the Royal .. ellingtondhoral Union, it might be interesting to quote what he says of the oratorio, the leading role in which subsequently became ' peculiarly his own as far. as England was concerned.

"I essayed the part of Elijah (he wrote) for the first time for the sacred Harmonic Society at Exeter Hall early in March (1858). I had only twice heard the oratorio, and I had not contemplated the difficulties of the part. Musically I had little to fear, but as I proceeded with the study of it, its histrionic exigencies (if that expression may be allowed in speaking of a drama represented without action) overwhelmed me. The three episodes in the first part—the resuscitation of the widow's dead son, the . confounding of the priests of Baal, and the calling down of the rain which ends the part —demand the greatest possible amount of force, not physical, so much as mental, by far the most trying. The mind must be absorbed in the scenes repre- j sented, or the performance, however good as a vocal display, cannot be a J portrayal of the character of Elijah; [ consequently to those who are al)le to \ discriminate it will be totally uninter- j esting. I grant there are but few who care to discriminate, or are cap-' able of doing so, but it is to those few j a true artist will address himself. The ] second part contains an episode not j less exacting than the three already quoted, and of a totally different nature, in the picture 'of Elijah's despair of fiulfilling his mission, his declaration of his unworthiness, and his longing to die. Here the vocalist is prone to forget the intense dramatic interest in the execution of one of the finest examples of vocal writing. And it must never be forgotten that the, recitative which opens the oratorio, like the first line Hamlet speaks: 'A little more than kin, and less than kind,' is the keystone of the whole character. • My first essay was a failure, but the performance was repeated a week later, when I recovered my lost TaureTs/ As I came off the platform Charles Lucas patted me on the back, and said: 'You are Elijah to-night;, last week you were nothing like him!'" It is interesting to know that Mr. John Prouse, who is to sing the role with the Choral Union, was a personal friend of the late Sir Charles Santley, and studied the role of Elijah under him.