The Messiah.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XIX, Issue 6128, 19 December 1894, Page 1

The Messiah.

cert t iLnn ,? sendancc5 endancc and tho con'as adding anothortoif''f\"lt' y f° ro ? ardGd > by the SocJy in the Far from' 1 "T"* Without il blcmi «l'which eXliv 1 ' 0 T° iUUIO3 ferent but fhn ,n 3 , Weillc ilnd »>o«i£<&"STY l ! the concert the „ ~ . lor i ounssiou of tho overture "'"issiou in view of the fact that " nir orchestra of tho "*'!•' '" vl l, y (he unavoidnbla < IIQJ - "'liors. The reecl " 'Mid in this hrst violu. ... "uviHy did admirabi. .'-j guised that Iho : , , weak. But wo u convey unqualified bbuiK, jJ only necessary to point to . fill and expressive playing oi: Pastoral Symnhony to show that tho - orchestra had its excellences as well as its defects. As regards the vocal solos wo can say at once, without hesitation, that tliey were good all round, and, at, times, something more than good. Mr F. L. Jones (Dunedin) was in good voice and at once ingratiated himself in the audience's favor by his opening number, '"Comfort ye": and he ;vas equally successful in tenor solos in the .'ocrrid part. Mr Waymouth also was in splendid voice, his best number, being '•The trumpet shall sound" (the obbligato being splendidly played by Mr F. M'Leod), his opening air " But who may abide " suffering in the accompaniment at the hands of the violins. Miss Gilford's recitative and air " Behold, a virgin," and " Oh, tliou that tellest " wero admirably sung, although the orchestra was persistently too heavy, despite Mr Rose's frantic efforts to subdue them. Her second number, "Ho was despised," was beautifully sung, as Miss Gifl'ord can sing this pieco; in fact;, the air bids fair to become locally associated with Miss Clifford's namo. Mr Rose, the popular conductor, was welcomed 011 his descent from the rostrum fee tho platform, and gave a capital account of himself in the recit and air "For behold darkness" and "Tho people that walked." His second air, " Why do tho nations," was an even better performance. Mrs Oliver was entrusted with tho series of recitatives leading into the "Glory to God " chorus, and acquitted herself quito up to the expectations formed of her, though, as a matter of fact, wo liavo heard her in better voice. Mrs Watson, sang the intricate " Rejoice greatly ' with much feeling and technique ana Mi:w Ferens and Miss Grenfell both scored marked successes 111 " He Khali feud bin flock" and "Comeunto Him" respectively, both numbers being very sweetly and expressively sung. Miss A. Lemon, too, who made her debut in oratorio in " llow beautiful are the feet " gave evidence o£ the possession of a good voico and sang her air with much taste and expression, Mr Towsey draws the solo list to a close, and he gave a characteristic rendering of the recit. and air "lie that dwelleth" and " Thou shalt break them." As regards the chorus—well, the chorus was marked by careful and tuneful singing, but it lacked that certain finish necessary to convey it over the borderland between " good " and " excellent." The choruses were, almost without exception, well sung, and sung with spirit, but tlio attack in some cases was weak, and at) times even wobbly; as a result, they were generally warmed up to and reached their "highest point of merit just when, they left off. We do not moan to infer that the chorus singing was weak ; aomu of the choruses, indeed, were finely sung, perhaps the best being "Glory t: " All we, like sheep " (the altos here - go astray) and "Worthy is the Lainb. The chorus, it may lie remarked, was fairly well balcnced, but it was noticeable as a curious fact that the tenors, though numerically far the weakest, wero vocaily almost too strong for tho remainder of the chorus, and suggested tho possibility that the chorus are not all singing members, though no doubt tho possession of a strong tcnorc robuslo element among the tenors is also a factor in their pre-eminence. Tho conducting, in Mr Rose's hands, was 110 doubt responsible for much of the success of tho concert. Ho has his forces well under control, and the Society owes much to him in his capacity both as conductor and as a singing member. Mrs Coolco was back at "her old place at the piano, and acquitted herself of her arduous duties with her usual untiring ability.