MADAME PATEY'S CONCERTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8580, 30 May 1891, Page 5

MADAME PATEY'S CONCERTS.

Another thronged audience greeted Madame Patey's company at the City Hall last night, . when the third concert of the series was given, and was aa enjoyable as any of those which had preceded it. The concert opened with i' The Hawthorn of the Glade," a trio from > the pen of i Sir William : Sterndalo Bennett, the v mostV remarkable English composer since Purcell, and one who distinguished himself at an early age, for when 13 years old he performed his own / Concerto in D minor" at the prize concert of the Royal Academy of Music, London/ and was honoured by the presence of Mendelssohn, who came to listen to it. Sterndalo Bennett was one of the few who saw Mendelssohn, as he was amongst a very limited, number of friends who brought their compositions to the master for correction, and to ask his advice. " He : has written much pianoforte music, and many songs, etc. " The : Hawthorn, in the Glade" was sung with good effect by Miss Rossow and Messrs. Jones and Patey. /Mr/ Jones* sang "My Pretty Jane," one of the bestknown of the songs of Sir Henry Bishop, and one which is well suited to his style. This, song and a number of others were written by Bishop, when he was musical director at Vauxhall, a position to which he was appointed in , 1830. It was about five years previous to that that he entered the lists against Weber. That composer had been engaged to write his well-known opera " Oberon" for Covenb Garden, and the rival management at Drury Lane thereupon set Bishop ito work ; upon an opera which ; : should oppose • it. He -was so impressed with the importance of = his task that ::, he '' occupied ' more; than a : y6ar in a very careful composition of "Aladdin," which, however, was a failure, for the libretto supplied to , him was even worse than that of " Oberon." The crand soena, >*' Ah ! Fors- e Lui," from Verdi's opera "La Traviata," gave Miss Rossow an excellent opportunity to display the brillijjncy of lier vocalisation. This is a favourite piece with concert artistes. In the first act of the opera there is a drinking song, " Libiama, Libiamo," in waltz time, sung first by Alfred and then by Violetta, the chorus echoing each couplet, and after a long dialogue between the two, this scena occurs. It begins with an andante movement, "Ah! tors e lui," in which Violetta expresses her suddenly-awakened lovo for' Alfred, and after a refrain, it suddenly develops into a brisk and Sparkling allegro, " Sempre libera," when Violetta resolves to cast aside this feeling of; love. The andante movement is Very expressive, and is a great contrast to the allegro, which is full of the most florid .'ornamentation. Miss Rossow J sang most effectively, especially in the brilliant finale, when the rapid runs and sweeps were given with astonishing force and accuracy. In her pianoforte solo, "La Campanella," an arrangement by Liszt of. a work from the pen of tho mysterious and marvellous Paganini, Miss Wood played excellently. The runs were smooth and delicate, the tono exquisite, and the rapid skips for the right hand, with the melody sustained by the left, showed a high degree of technical skill. Miss Wood was encored. A sublime song by Beethoven," Creation's Hymn," was sung by Madame Patey with rare effect. The melody is powerful and vigorous, in the chant style, while the accompaniment comprises broad and full chords, and tho piece was sung in a most impressive way. Of course Madame Patey was recalled. Miss Rossow sang the "Ave Maria" of Schubert, the beautiful hymn which he composed in 1825, when he was 28 years of age, and which is published as f one of the pieces of his opus No. 58. The year 1825 was one of the happiest of Schubert's lifo. In March of that year he travelled on a walking tour in Upper Austria with his friend Vogl, the distinguished opera singer, and one of the principal interpreter of Schubert's songs. On this journey Schubert and Vogl sang like a couple of ;■. wandering minstrels at the : monasteries and private houses at which they rested. The prayer to the Blessed Virgin, "Ave Maria," attracted attention ', every where, the composer himself J remarking, in adotter, that the people were greatly astonished at the devotion he had thrown intofthe sublime hymn. A lovely duet in Mozart's opera, "Don Giovanni," "La ci Dai dm, la- Mano,"*itt"' the third scene, * between Zerlina and Don Giovanni, was given by Miss Rossow and Mr. Patey. The story of the overture of this opera is an unusual one, v and well illustrates \% the power of Mozart's great mind, and his gift of composition. Ke was writing " Don Giovanni" i for performance at Prague, and had spared ! no pains that it should be a work of special i merit, especially as " The Marriage ot Figaro" had ' been produced . only a little while before, and proved a brilliant success. On the evening before the first performance of " Don Giovanni." the overture was still wanting, though Mozart arranged that the copyist should call for the score at seven o'clock the next morning. Already fatigued, he sat down to compose it, and worked at it far into the night, whilst his wife kept him supplied with punch, and told him fairy storios to keap him awake. Sleep overcame him, however, so that he wad obliged to rest for a few hours, resuming his task early in the morning, and completing it before the arrival of the copyist, who received the score at seven o'clock, as had been promised, and it was played at sight in the evening. J The duet' "LaciDarem" was sung with great taste, and deserved the encore which it received. In Wallace's song, " Sweet' and Low," Madame Patey achieved another success, singing with the most ardent expression. Tho encore piece, .-.." The; Soldier's Tear," was also * admirable. Mr. W. H. Poole, who has a good bass voice, though it wants practice, sang a humorous ballad, "As I'd Nothing Else To Do," and was encored. A galop of Kowalski, previously heard?at these concerts, was repeated by Miss Wood, who, as a finished i player, might choose with advantage coni cert-pieces of a more classical school, from the works of Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, or Clemenfci. Miss Wood had to give an encore piece."The Death of Nelson,"composed by the English tenor John Braham, is too powerful for Mr. Jones' voice, though he showed intelligence in his reading of the song, and had the command of some ringing notes in tho upper register. With study Mr. Jones will no doubt become a very capable tenor singer. Miss Rossow was encored for " Why Must Wo Say Goodbye," and she then sang " Scones that are Brightest," which, however, was not impressive, and did not appear to suit her voice so well as a more florid song. One of the features of the concert was Madame Patey's rendering* of,,tho plaintive Scotch ballad " Auld ; Robin Gray." As she sang it, it could not have been surpassed in its pathetic beauty and true expression. Every pftraso, every word, had its full meaning, and her voice was full of ineffable tenderness and sorrow as she related the story. The greatest enthusiasm followed, Madame Patey replying to an encore with another Scotch song, "My Heart is Sair for Somebody." A duet, " Lovo and War," by Messrs. Jones and Patey, concluded the concert. Mr. Hermann Morris, who is tho conductor of tho concerts, plays the accompaniments very ably. ; ? The fourth concert is to be given to night, at the Choral Hall. A programme of unusual excellence has been prepared, and Madame Patey is to sing "O Rest in the Lord." The box plan will remain open at Mr. Wildman's, Victoria Arcade, until four p.m. to-day.