DUNEDIN CHORAL SOCIETY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23334, 28 October 1937, Page 16

DUNEDIN CHORAL SOCIETY

RECITAL IN TOWN HALL BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE OF NEW WORKS A programme of exceptional interest, embodying no fewer than four major works, two of which were entirely new to Dunedin audiences, was presented before a large audience in the Town Hall last night by the Dunedin Choral Society, the occasion being a special concert which was organised to assist the Plunket Society' building fund Prior to the commencement of the current season, the society decided to em bark upon a programme which had as its aim the addition of a large number of new compositions to its repertoire, and to this decision Dunedin music-lovers must be grateful for the opportunity given them last night of hearing such impressive works as Temple Bevan's setting of A. E. Housman's "Hell Gate," and Vaughan Williams's " Sea Symphony," two compositions which provide opportunities for magnificent choral work. The task set the choir last night was an unusually heavy one, every item calling for a high degree of interpretative and executive competence, and it was a tribute to the musicianly qualifications of the conductor (Mr Alfred Walmsley), and the zeal and enthusiasm of the singers themselves, that the recital was marked by such pronounced success. Tone control, cohesion, balance. • and spirit were the predominating features of the choir's performance, while its implicit and instant obedience to the conductor's directions and its intelligent interpretation of his readings indicated a preparation that left no loophole for uncertainty. In its entirety the concert was one of the most impressive presentations given by the society for a considerable time.

Temple Bevan's setting of Housman's poem, " Hell Gate," which was performed for the first time in. public, was a composition which made fairly heavy demands 'upon the singers but they attacked their work with unbounded. confidence and gave a masterly rendering of a highly interesting piece. The dramatic atmosphere which pervades this composition was admirably reconstructed, and the flexibility of the choir was demonstrated in the magnificent crescendos and the sudden contrasts which occur at intervals, the fortissimo passages being remarkable for their power and resonance, while the diminuendos were perfectly controlled. The performance as a whole bore the unmistakable stamp of authoritative interpretation, the changing moods being cleanly and effectively outlined, while vocally the presentation displayed no apparent weakness. A particularly exacting task faced the singers in their performance of Vaughan Williams's "Sea Symphony," for soprano and baritone soloists, choir, and orchestra. Written to words by Walt Whitman, this massive composition reaches an inspiring pinnacle of graphic artistry, each of the four movements of the symphony embodying a distinctive mood which is developed in the most impressive fashion. Tremendous climaxes, in which the choir achieved great body of power and tone, exquisite passages in which the singers and the orchestra were united in harmonies that fired the contrasts that were as effectively controlled as they were melodically appealing, and throughout all a ceaseless rhythm of movement and life, made this performance a memorable musical event, and one that, it is to be hoped, will be repeated in the near future. Despite the great demands made upon their resources the singers attacked their work with unflagging spirit, and. supported bv an orchestra which was the embodiment of musicianly competence, achieved a presentation that roused the audience to a high pitch of enthusiastic appreciation. The solo parts were artistically sung by Miss Betty Pocock ana Mr John Pringle, both of whom invested their interpretations with appropriate expressional shading and fine vocal skill, while the ladies of the Dunedin Training College Choir, conducted by Mr G. E. Wilkinson, provided an effective contribution to the latter nortion of the symphony from behind the stage. The Coronation scene from "Boris Godounov," by Moussorgsky, with which the concert was opened, was sung with fine spirit and insight, the triumphal atmosphere of the composition being skilfully handled Dy the choir, while Mr Pringle, in the solo part, sang with admirable restraint and insight, his resonant baritone voice being always under perfect control. Johannes Brahm's "A Song of Destiny" was a work of considerable magnitude, and here again the choir displayed the excellent flexibility and tone control at its command. Embodying the most delightful melodies, this composition opened in a restrained yet virile mood and proceeded to a turbulent climax which received vigorous and full-toned treatment, the choir achieving a high degree of executive and interpretative competence. Two unaccompanied numbers which provided attractive exhibitions of oartsinging were Rachmaninoff's 'To Thee. O Lord. Do I Lift My Soul," which was sung with good restraint, and "Bless the Lord, O My Soul," by Ippolitoff-Ivanof, in which the choir produced rich, organ-like tone. Beethoven's Choral Fantasia, for solo, piano, choir, and orchestra, was an excellent performance, the pianoforte part being played with fine musicianly skill and interpretative shading by Miss Mavis Macdonald, while the choir gave a sprightly and warmly-coloured performance, rising to a powerful climax at the conclusion of the work. Two Bach chorales, "Zion Hears Her Watchmen's Voices," which was capably sung by the male section of the choir, and "In Thine Arm I Rest Me," which was sung by the whole choir, unaccompanied, with appealing restraint, completed the programme The work of the society's orchestra, which was led by Miss Ethel Wallace, cannot be praised too highly. Throughout a particularly arduous evening the instrumentalists maintained a masterly standard of musicianly competence, every section of the ensemble playing its part in a manner which resulted in a perfection of tonal balance and cohesion that, contributed very largely to the success of the recital. In such compositions as the Choral Fantasia, the "Sea Symphony" and "Hell Gate,' the orchestra acquit' d itself with the utmost distinction, perfect precision, rich, fluent tone, and admirable balance being the oustanding features of its work.