MADAME ADA CROSSLEY.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10041, 8 January 1909, Page 4

MADAME ADA CROSSLEY.

We have had " many best musical combinations that ever toured New Zealand, but to- Madame Ada Crosaley must be conceded the credit of having placed all pre- • viooa records in the shade, for in th 3 concert company prgamsed by her are iaohided it three musicians who rank &gfit it tfia top of ..their profession at Home, and who visit ffiT While a£ the height of their fame. Of Madame Crossfey herself tih'is will 'be immediately conceded; her reputation is world-wide. Mr John Harrisea haa been retained for years to sing at the famous festivals of Uie Old Country, arid, in addition to this preeminence in oratoliia, he is orie of Lnglamtfi's iiiost popular singers 01 Chamber musk, We heard Mr Percy Grainger before oii the occasion of Sfaaamie Qrossley e last visit to us, andl he Svori for himself a. wsfm place in Our musical hearts,- but since fitS visit to' New Zealand, he. has gained fame in a wide* sphere; aria on the occasion of the Greig festival itt Norway the seal was placed on has talent by hia being asked to act as solo pianist. The baritone of the party is Mr Jay Ryan, and though both in method and. in, quality of voice toe is not on the same plane as his great associates, his style of singing was attractive, and itt the second pari, he sang three Irish songs which (Suited Wb voice and pleased his audience. In his opening Lord is my Light" -(Frances Allitsen) and My Fairest Child"—he appeared to be striving for an effect which he never attained. Mr Grainger's solos were Chopins Polonaise in A flat, and the heavy No. U Rhapsody (Liszt),- which is not a particularly musical composition and with which the artist worked wonders considering the limitations of his subject. His most pleasing contribution, however, was the Greig Bridal. Procession, played as only ft stiid.ent of the great Norwegian, could- play it. Mr Grainger aiso' Ist lis hear a composition of his own, an elaboration of an Irish air, very cleverly worked out. Madame Crossley first sang "Oanbra "mai fu," more popularly known as Handel's Largo. The arrangement provides for a violin and piano obligate, which was played by M. Sametini and, Mr 11. Whittle, and so appropriately were the parts filled that the item was without doubt the most beautiful contribution to the programme. The air is one suited! perfectly to the sweet, deep, resonant voice of the diva, who not merely sang the notes but was also in perfect sympathy with her theme. That is the secret of Madame Crossley's charm; a magnificent vocal organ such as hers would in itself -gain for its possessor a place among the xySridte finest .vocalists, but Madame Orossjey haii something more than a peri feet throat; ehe is imbued with the desire ' to sing and her first thought would appear to be a wish to please. Then she possesses a further asset, very valuable and all too uncommon; she has a most ingratiating manner, and even before it has heard her glorious voice the audience is en rapport. Madame Crossley is gracious and generous, and despite the strain inseparable from a long tour such as she has undertaken, she granted encores almost "prodigally. Besides the items already mentioned she sang "Through Love to Ltght" (Cuthbert Wynne—better known as CEaries Wiiieby) and the encores "Banks of Allan.Water," a New Years song, and "Oh; that we two were Maying," and each one was a gem. Mr John Harrison, as we have said, ranks with the best singers of the time at Home, and who can wonder at it? We must admit a certain amount of disappointment after the first item ("O Vision Entrancing"), but the origin of this feeling was perhaps rather the character of Goring Thomas music than its interpretation by the vocalist, for .in his other solos Mr Harrison's singing was beautiful. "To Mary," "Myrra," and "Love's Mastery" were sung perfectly. Mr Harrison is not a cold, ampassive singing machine, but a temperamental artist, a man who feels what he sings. He wrapped up much more feeling into the last line- of "To Mary" than most vocalists exhibit in a whole "programme; it was a beautiful inspiration. In. M. Leon Sametini, Madame Crossley selected the type of violinist most likely to be popular in the Dominion. He is a player with whom quality of tone is evidently the first consideration, and since the time of Musin we have not heard a violinist so successful in his quest of quality. But M. Sametini does not allow this to interfere with his executive ability, as was evidenced in. his playing of Mendelssohn's "Moto Perpetuo ' and Wieniawski's Polonaise. The music most suited to him was Saxasate's arrangement of the Chopin Nocturne. This i 6 full of technical difficulties, which he made to appear easy, his staccato bowing particularly being a feature of the performance. Mozart's Minuet andl a waltz, which followed, served as a proof of the value of the best musical training. No one save a perfectly taught musician could have dealt with that minuet as M. Sametini did. Not the least important member of the company is Mr Harold Whittle, who as an accompanist is in the first flight, and who last night assisted materially in the success of the most beautiful' musical pro•gramme yet submitted to an Oamaru audience.