DOLORES.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVIII, Issue 90, 18 April 1914, Page 5

DOLORES.

LAST NIGHT'S SONG RECITAL

j Just three years ago last month J Mile. Dolores visited Blenheim, and | t she then left happy, memories of-her. | kind-hearted and homely nature. It , j is in (this particular that she succeeds ! in reaching the hearts of her auditors,! » and this human feeling is imbued in all her songs. The artist's voice has, if anything, improved with the years, both in charm and in richness, and her audience last night were der. lighted -both with the singer and with T •the choice of songs. It was a, song recital, and .Mile. .Dolores set herself a heav.y task to sustain the burden of some nineteen items, which meant that the programme was -amplified by the incessant demand -for encores. It " speaks volumes for the care which; the singer has taken of her voice *that 1 the concluding song was sung without the slightest trace of weariness or • *wear, for physically the task was one to strain one of even Mile. Dolores' robust constitution. But (there it is': She is strong in everything that pertains to her beloved art, and she' puts forth all Tier great resources to \ please— at :the same ;time to interpret to the comparatively untutored ear ! the beauties of high-class musical i compositions, which, rendered by a | less gifted songster, would fall on j deaf ears, " or, rather, unawakened i senses. Dolores and artists of her [ i calibre waken and improve the taste ! for an appreciation of good music, even though it is sung in the original tongue. Perhaps the poetry and charm would be to a large exsbent lacking in the cold language of Britain; but—well, one would much prefer to know the theme of a song as enhancing its perfect understanding. 33iis, of course, is a matter of taste, and Mile. Doleres must be considered as the sole arbiter of taste, insofar as the arrangement of her programmes is concerned. Her ; audiences are grateful for the oppor- [ tunity of hearing her, sing she in | French, Italian, or German, or even [in the good old English .tongue. Last ! night Dolores was received with eni thusiasm, and at the conclusion of, the I final '■ number there "wasr I quite a'furore of applause, the;singer 1 after' repeatedly, bowing her acknowledgments singing "Cohiiti\ thro* the I Rye." Even then she was not al- ! lowed to retire, and when the pianist. ! played the opening bars of "Home-, Sweet Home" the applause broke out afresh, ceasing as the singer commenced the time-honored English • song, and absolute silence reigned i throughout-the hall until the last i note sounded. The items which ; pleased most were" the "Gipsy's ; Song," "The Lassvwith the Delicate' : Air," '<Come unto Him" and "I know that my Redeemer Liveth" I from the "Messiah," the "Mignon" j recitative and air "Je Suis Titania," i and "Oh tell me, Nightingale." The [ gems of ithe programme, to the writer's idea,.were the freak.composition by Dubussy "Mandoline" (this being quaint .and peculiar and reminding one of some of Sousa's harmonised discords), and "The Angelus" with the sustained final organ notes.

Miss Iris de Cairos-Rego is. also an individualist, in pianoforte music, and she showed remarkable taste and executant ability in her playing. Especially was this so in the Chopin music, m which the theme was clearly but delicately brought out. Her accompaniments were Sympathetically played, and she refrained from hurrying the overtures or interludes,, as so many .accompanists do Jtier most popular items were the Chopin bracket and a beautiful waltz by Schut/t. ' •■. ■ ■-.■■■■■ < ■ .. ■■■■

the conclusion of the concert Mile. Dolores held a levee, when she received the congratulations of a host or admiring friends.