DUNEDIN CHORAL SOCIETY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20286, 20 December 1927, Page 5

DUNEDIN CHORAL SOCIETY.

THE ” MESSIAH.” His Majesty’s Theatre proved barely sufficient to hold the audience that assembled last evening to hear the second performanceo f Handel’s “ Messiah ” by the Dunedin Choral Society. The choir was strong numerically and vocally, and sang the choruses exceedingly well. It would be difficult to make any decided selection, but “ And the Glory of the Lord,” ” For Unto Us a Child Is Born,” ” Glory to God in the Highest,” and the " Hallelujah Chorus ” may be mentioned as excellent examples of choir work. On this occasion a change had been made in the soloists, and the audience renewed acquaintance with Mr Ernest M’Kinlay and Mr William Watters, who some years back were amongst the leading amateur vocalists of Dunedin. The two ladies were Miss Naomi Whalley and Miss Mabelle Esquilant, and the four made a very strong quartet. Mr MTvinlay’s voic e has developed very considerably, and Mr Watters has improved in his singing to a remarkable degree. Mr M’Kinlay, as might have been anticipated, gave a very pleasing rendering of ‘‘ Comfort Ye, My People. It is just the class of music in which he was heard at his best in years past, and he sang the recitative with fine effect. The air ” Every Valley,” which follows, was also a striking instance of good vocalisation. It was, however, in “ Thou Shalt Break Them " that Mr M’Kinlay gave the best possible proof of the strides he has made in voice cultivation. The air was given very well indeed. Mr Watters’s first recitative was sufficient to demonstrate that his voice had gained in volume. His ” But Who May Abide,” which terminates with the difficult ” For He la Like,” disclosed the fact that he had learnt how to conserve his breath for the lengthy and trying runs he had to sing, and also showed that he had acquired the declamatory style so essential to a successful rendering of certain classes of music. He sang all his music well, and quite impressed his audience with his interpretation of “ Why do the Nations Rage? ” It has, however, to be admitted that in this high test for any bass, the voice lost something in tone, but the air was exceedingly well sung nevertheless. Possibly, had Mr Watters reduced the exceptionally rapid time in which he took the solo, even though it might have been a liberty to do so, he would have improved on his interpretation of the stirring air. Mr Watters sang “ The Trumpet Shall Sound,” to which an obbligato was supplied by Mr J. M’Lean, with good effect; in fact, the bass solo part to the “ Messiah ” was well sung right through. Miss Whalley’s first solo was “ Rejoice Greatly,” and in her singing of this it was obvious that she possessed a soprano voice of sweet and clear quality, which naturally flexible had been rendered more so by training. What the voice lacked in power was amply compensated for in its very pleasing quality. Another obvious fact was that Miss 'Whalley was a cultivated singer. Her ” I Know That My Redeemer Liveth ” was probably the finest item she gave her audience. The outstanding feature of the performance was Miss Esquilant’s singing of “He Was Despised.” It would be difficult to conceive of anything finer in vocal music than Miss Esquilant’s interpretation of the well, known air. There was a depth of feeling imparted to the rendering that no one of musical taste could fail to be impressed by. The contralto opens the air “He Shall Feed His Flock,” and Miss Esquilant sang it exquisitely. Miss Whalle/, in her portion of this particular item, sang with beautiful subdued effect, and both ladies were made the recipients of some very handsome bouquets. Miss Esquilant also sang the air ” 0 Thou That Tellest with very fine effect. Indeed, it would be very difficult to detect any flaw in the lady’s singing throughout the oratorio. The orchestra, generally, played well, but once or twice some of the instrumentalists did not appear too sur e of their ground. The defect was, however, not by any means prominent. Mr James Coombs conducted, Mr J. A. Wallace led the orches. tra, and Miss E. Hartley presided at the piano. The advertised statement that a chorus of nearly 300 voices would take part in Saturday evening’s performance of the “ Messiah ” was defended yesterday by a representative of the Dunedin Choral Society, who stated that the figures were taken’from the combined strength of the various choirs, which had promised to take part. Nearly 500 choiristers were expected to be present, and the reduction of the total to 144 was due to the prevalence of influenza and heavy colds.