THE PART SONG

New Zealand Times, Volume LII, Issue 12286, 4 November 1925, Page 4

THE PART SONG

HARMONIC SOCIETY’S CONCERT EXCELLENT. SINGING. The Harmonic. s>ooietv'« Saturday night programme was of pood standard, and the singing excellent in some of the beautiful given. On© of the loveliest things of the evening was the madrigal, “Matona. Lovely Maiden/' by Orlando Lassus (1520-1594), with its delicate words and fine harmony. With it , must be classed the Brahms part song, "In .Autumn/' in a rather; ordinary translation. Other good things were the Dorsetshire ballad. "King Arthur" (Robertson), Cole-ridge-Tnylor's characteristic 1 "Summer Gone/' the leap of Elgar's choral song, "D»ath on the Hills/' rather weak at the ending, but otherwise splendidly given, and a mew setting bv liobertnii of the traditional "Border. Ballad" under 'the title "Blue Bonnet* over the Border/' The most interesting song of the evening was Balfour Gardmcj'fi setting of Masefield's "News from Whydnli*/ ■ a .splendid piece of work, but not given in a manner calculated to make the most of its possibilities. This, was the one disappointment. however, tho general level or performance being very satisfying, crrpecially in tho "Matona, Lovely Maiden" mid the Elgnr number, which wag repeated. The other part songs o! tho evening were "O'er the Meadows" fpQyJon Smith) and Percy, Pitt's "Love Symphony," a tender little thing by a well-known conductor. The best of the assisting artists was Miss Mary Shaw, whose light flexible voice was well suited to "Jhitfci Balti/’ from Mozart's "Don Giovanni." Miss Shaw is well schooled, her platform manner is very agreeable, and her voice well produced and pure. Mozart'e music

dwells well with her. She can eing ballads, too, as she showed in her encore number, "The Second Minuet/* a sentimental littte piece, "Listening" by Maurice Besley,* and that gem of Ledgey's "See where my Love/.'. Mrs Eric Meier, a solidily competent violinist, S'ayed the Andante from Max Bruch's G inor Concirto capably, and was satisfying in Beethoven s lively "Rondino," Another number by her was the Dvorak "Indian Lament," which Kreisler arranged for the violin, but this was not so well played. The Harmonic Quartette sang a number of songs, the best of > which was "The Egg/' a most entertaining little medley arranged by one of the society, Mr w. Vine. The quartette is not very strong, .and is be*t in suoh humorous numbers. In sang Hatton's "Summer Eve," and also a rather dull attempt to present a Chinese round. * Mr Temple White conducted the society ably, and Mr Harold Whittle played accompaniments.