DUNEDIN ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18199, 21 March 1921, Page 2

DUNEDIN ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY.

OPENING CONCERT OF YEAR. Mr James Coombs and the members of the Dunedin Orchestral Society had something very good to give on Saturday night to an audience that filled every part of_ His Majesty’s Theatre. One matter might, however, be attended to by the Committee of Management. There were on Saturday, night an unusual number of late-coiners, who kept straggling in after the National Anthem had been played. Good taste should certainly dictate that, when those who attend are delayed until after the National Anthem they should wait until the next item is finished. Instructions to the doorkeepers would, it is certain, be complied with rigorously, and those who got to the theatre in time for the commencement would not be disturbed. The orchestra opened with tho overture to “Ruy Bias” (Mendolsshonl.'in which the introductory movement is mainly in the hands of the brasses, and the effect produced is_ that of barbaric impressiveness! In an agitato passage the main theme is" entrusted to the flutes and violins, but here and there other instruments take it up, - and. in Mendelssohn’s hands, good harmony and melody are assured. The coda is a brilliant working up of the main and subsidiary themes in various forms, attaining to an effective and brilliant climax. “Melancholia,” a Lenten waltz, by Filippucci, might have been named more happily, for, though it opens with a largo—indeed that movement prevails for the most part throughout, it speedily breaks into languorous waltz time. In the midst ot the more joyous passages, howevet, the opening theme ever and anon, breaks in, rrfakmg a charming contrast alike in rhythm and in melody and volume. At one stage of the composition the horns are used most effectively, and then the turn of the ’cellos and double basses comes. Desperate efforts are made by the original theme to break through, but the waltz movement holds it own and comes to a delightful finish, in which the clarinets and horns develop the melody. Beethoven’s No. 2 symphony, a larghetto, is one written in the best style of that master of orchestration. Opening with a delightfully graceful and airy introduction, the principal theme, is introduced first by the strings and then by the wind instruments, and thereafter Beethoven rings the on every instrument in the orchestra that is capable of taking a solo part. The second theme is introduced by the second violins and ’cellos. 'lt is after this that the composer fairly revels in his work, handing over the themes, with embellishments in keeping with the motif, to the various instruments in turn and producing almost a riot of harmony. It is a piece that will bear repetition. “Joseph and His Brethren,” a suite by A. Schmid, was heard on Saturday night for the first time in Dunedin, and it is believed to have been the initial performance in New Zealand. There is a rich openipg in a religious strain, in which the oboes play a prominent part. The theme is broken at first, but after a few bars it swells out into the main movement. It is a delightful musical evolution, swelling into a maestoso passage, full of grandeur, but most effectively dying away on a well marked diminuendo to pp. The second item of the suite is a caravan dance, in which the wood-wind instruments are most m evidence, with a pizzicato accompaniment, mainly by first and second violins. In the third item (a bacchanalian dance) the opening is in the nature of a tour de force. The orchestra will get more out of this composition yet, because in two or three brief passages some of the performers were too busy reading their_ music to pay attention to Mr Coombs’s indications for softer playing. But, after all, this was a very trifling flaw in a performance that was full of merit, alike in execution and in tasteful interpretation. Meyerbeer’s “L’Etoile du Nord” is an orchestrated selection from that composer’s opera .of the name. Meyerbeer is, perhaps, better in massed orchestration than In subdivided work, though some of the latter is very appealing. He is much given to solo work, and in this composition clarinet, euphonium, cornet, horns, piccolo, and flutes all had their opportunities*. In fact, the selection for the most part was left to be developed by the solo instruments named, a tuneful and effective accompaniment being supplied by the other instruments The programme was brought to a close by Zillmann’s march, “ Bravour,” a spirited composition which has been played to advantage by the orchestra on other occasions. Mr Coombs had his forces well under control, and his interpretation of the several compositions was brought out most conscientiously. light and shade were very tastefully marked, pp passages being on several occasions played with considerable delicacy. The vocalists at the concert were Miss Mabelle Esquilant and Mr W. E. Crewes. Miss Esquilant. who_ is the possessor of a flexible contralto voice of pleasing timbre and good range, sang Aylward’s ’’ Beloved, It Is Morn,” with considerable force and expression. She was twice encored, and in response sang “The Way Homo” and “When Song is Sweet.” In the second half of the programme she sang, also very expressively, “0 Mio Fernando,” and in response to recalls “Birth of Morn” and “Down the Shallow River.” Mr Crewes, who has established himself as a firm |avourite with Dunedin audiences, opened with Easthorpe Martin’s “The Tune of Open Country,” a most effective composition, in which his voice wa« heard to advantage. His encore numbers were: “The Garden Where My Soul Was Bom” and “The Wayfarer’s Night Song.’’ In the second portion of the concert his programmed .item was Malcolm Dana’s “ The Diver,” and he had to respond to a double encore with “ Amber and Amethyst ” and “Crown of the Year’’ (by special request). Mrs Woods accompanied the singers in a most tasteful manner.