HAWERA MALE CHOIR.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 20 October 1922, Page 4

HAWERA MALE CHOIR.

AN INTERESTING CONCERT! One wonders sometimes whether the public appreciate amy me ftue work \\ucn tne. local musical societies are domg ana tne Keen interest which members snow in tne preparation and D eriormance of their cocert items. With a limited number of voices to draw upon the Hawera Male Choir maintains a- very fan- standard of performance, and last evening's concert was. throughout full of interesting points tor music lovers. The choir has been improving steadily, aild the *£ «££; duced last evening was for the part rich and round. A shortag^S true tenors is noticeable, and thf use of falsetto has to be resorted to £ order to meet the demands of the composers This is a pity, for the ear immediately notes the alteration in quality once the tenor section passes G r and it is almost impossible for a falsetto voice to take the higher tenor notet m absolute tune if they are maK A?hS tITL loUl ei' thau H hen the top notes are sung softly the effect is upt displeasing, though the. : wave-length of falsetto must ahvSs ™! one which it is beyond the power ot the choir to correct until thehappy time arrives when a full line of t?Se tenors can be secured | The concert opened with the well--1 known Soldiers' Chorus from Faust (Gounod) which was sung with a martial spirit and a good full tone was secured throughout. A greater contrast in the rendering of the two last lines would perhaps have made a moreimpressive ending. The part song Mush' was of an entirely different-y?ie,i-a,nd the choir secured the tone and balance necessary to a good rendering. The voices were also together nicely, and the sibilants with which tne song abounds were not unduly pronounced. An amusing though diffi- , cult song, "Peace," was the next choir item, and was a good test of the members sense of time, which was very , well observed. A slurring by a few of the singers was noted in the wordsnews is true," the offenders singing them as "new-zi-strue." In "The Little Admiral" Mr. L. Grace, whotook the solo part, was hardly in as good voice as one has heard him on previous occasions. The choir revelled., m the rollicking chorus and had torespond to the well-deserved applause. They gave "The Chapel," the tone being exceptionally good. " In the second verse,a staccato passage was inclined to be ragged, but otherwise the numt ber was very well sung. "King Qlaf's. | Christmas" was perhaps the best testchoir number on the programme, and, their effort indicated that very careful preparation had been given' to the music and the interpretation. Both Messrs Lididngton and G. Harvey sang the respective solo parts with taste and expression, "Softly Falls the Shades of Evening" was on the whole well done, though there was a tendency to lose " pitch. "Sailing at Dawn"' was the choir's final number. Mr. Grace took the solo attractively. The choir seemed .to "cut" the notes slightly at the be- ' ginning, but the rest of the work was very good. The song is one open to various interpretations, and it is a matter of opinion whether the composer meant singers to regard it as modern in every respect or whether he intended to recall memories of a long naval past. One is inclined ~to favour the latter meaning, and if that view is correct the choir might have sung it rather more softly. It is a moot point, and one cannot always find out exactly what composers have in mind, though m this case it would be interesting toknow. | Mr. A. B. McDonald, of New Plyi mouth, possesses a rich bass voice, j which he has under splendid control I He smgs without effort and artistically, and was soon a favourite with the audi-- ( ence, who insisted on encores. "The j Lute Player" was Mr. McDonald's fi'- s t number, and suited him admirably his singing being rich and full of colour, -tie gave as an encore "The Stoker" His other items were "We Sway | Along" and "King Charles," and as an j encore he gave a fine rendering of ! Invictus," and had to respond yet , again. J. j Quartette singing- is always popular •and gives scope for- much good work, I but too often one finds that in listen- ! ing to quartettes only three, and in some cases only two, voices can be distinguished. Not so 'with the Melody V our—four very good singers whose voices blend well. Their work last evening was very enjoyable indeed, and one does not wonder that they have won a great reputation and have done so well m competitions. They sang many four-part songs, grave and gay, and all were most enjoyable. The audience was generously treated by the singers who gave five encore numbers, in addil tion to the two items scheduled In of Messrs L. S. Tarrant and W. Grinlinton,* Mr. Harold Aekroyd sang "Thou Art Passing Hence," and the choir rendered "The Long Day Closes." The programe for the concert was by no means an easy one, and the generally high standard of the choir's work says a great deal for the conductor (Mr. Aekroyd), whose painstaking and keenness are bringing good results. Mrs. Grace played the accompaniments capably for chorus and soloist, and was the recipient of a floral" 1 tribute.