THE HARMONIC SOCIETY'S APPROACHING CONCERT.-"ACTS AND GALATEA."

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXIV, Issue 196, 20 August 1890, Page 2

THE HARMONIC SOCIETY'S APPROACHING CONCERT.-"ACTS AND GALATEA."

Considerable in! crest is being felt in the approaching performance of tlrii work by the Harmonic Society, and we have no doubt that few who ein avoid it will lose the opportunity of hearing one of the great master's most charming creations. Those who only know Handel through the almost inspired strains of the "Messiah," or the giant choruses of "Israel in Egypt" cm have no idea of the tenderness and passion which he could iufu-e into a love story But ho wrote operas before ho wrote ora« torios, and " Acis nod Galatea " is more akiu to hia operatic period. It describes a kind o£ Arcadia pervaded by love and bli^s, which is rudely interrupted by the intrusion of a | jealous monster.. Acis is a shepherd, and 1 Galatea a sea nymph. The baok-grouud is occupied by a chorus of nymphs and shepherds, who celebtato their own happiness and the happiness of the lovers, A change comes over the spirit of their dream with the advent of the giant on the scene. Poly phemus is an amorous monster; he is partly a reproduction of the Cyclops of that name, familiar to classical students — huge, walking by the aid of a pine tree, eating- children, &■"•. Ho makes love to Galatea in a lubberly kind of way, iiud she rejects h's advauces with horror. In. a lit of jealous frenzy at the sight oi' the bliss of the lovers, ho hurls au enormous rock at Acis, which crushes him. The chorus lament Acis, but afterwards console Galatea by urging her to exert her power and deify her dead lover. This she does, and an outburst of joy brings the work to a close. There are few choruses, but one of them, in which the shepherds and nymphs warn the lovers of their fate, and anuouueo the approach of the giant, is of almost matchless skill and interest, and, we must add, of very groat difficulty. The love songs of Acis and his nymph are full of passionate tenderness. The Polyphemus music is iv Handel's linest bravura style, softened down in the well known " O ruddier than the Cherry," bat bursting out again in the defiant " Cease to beauty to be suing," There is a very dramatic trio, in which the lovers plight their mutual vows of constancy iv tender strains, while the mad jealousy of the giant expresses itself in a sort of rushing- accompaniment. Of course all these solo pnrts are associated with the names of great artists, that of Polyphemus especially calling up Sautley. They will on this occasion be taken by amateur members of the Society, and if they do their work honestly and well, invidious comparison must be deprecated.