ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY'S CONCERT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2842, 2 September 1908, Page 69

ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY'S CONCERT.

The Garrison Hall on Wednesday, evening contained, if not the largest, one of the largest audiences the Dunedin Orchestral Society has ever had at its concerts, and it spoke well for the performance, that, in spite of the weather being very cold, there eeemedveryi little disposition on the part of anyone to retire before the programme was practicallycompleted. There are unmistakable indi^ cations that the orchestra, under the guidance of Mr Jas. Coombs, is making steadjy advancement in its playing, and its contributions to the musical performances given* in the city are consequently every year ' becoming of greater value. For this, creditt must be given to Mr Coombs, who ia fortunate in having such excellent material! to work upon. It is easily conceivable that : with a different olass oi instrumentalists under his baton the concerts given by the* society would, fall far below what patronat are. accustomed to no matter how energetically rehearsal might be carried on. TWprogramme presented was a good and.--varied one," arid . fche performance of tho orchestra throughout-the evening was more than usually even. It opened with the overture- "to Weber's "Preeiosa," wbichi - abounds in of a bright and lively) " description, and belongs to the popular*' order. The overture was one of thet successes of the evening, for the good endf sufficient reason that the members of thet i orchestra had evidently familiarised them-, selves with the parts they had to play, and consequently attacked the work with* confidence. The first violins have by no; means an easy task . in several instances, but negotiated ;uoh difficulties as there are with considerable skill. The other* instrumentalists were but rarely at fauhy and the performance of the overture wasi decidedly to be commended. Haydn's NO.l 5 Symphony was also well treated, though? perhaps the same degree of excellence wasi not- met with. Four movements werey given, making the selection a lengthy one* and of the four the adagio was the most* pleasing. Some of the " Carmen " musio wa* a real treat to listen to, but that cannot? be said of the whole of the selection. Ther 1 orchestra seemed to become a trifle dis-e ordered in the duet between Micaela and Don( Jose, and a want of emoothneee resulted ; but! the Toredora's Song was given with very--fine effect, the euphonium solo being one 08 the good things of the concert. Moszko weld's* I Spanish Tanze, Nos. 2 and 5, were both} ; enjoyable items, the latter being the bettetl played of the. two. A march by Wagner.,; 1 entitled "Kaiser," proved a ponderous com?. j position, with frequent massive chords. lit I is truly Wagnerian in its style, and migha have been expected to fall upon" unsymps-* thetio ears, yet euoh was not the case, • the audience being quite enthusiastic over it.' A pretty Gavotte by Asoh completed i the work of the orchestra, and concluded the concert. Mrs R. A. Power contributed to the enjoyment of the concert by singing Beethoven's "In questa tomba oscuro" arcs Aylward's "Beloved, it is morn," and' waaj preferable in the latter, which she sangj with considerable taste. Mr Noel Smith,", a youthful baritone, made his first appearance before a Dunedin audience.. He 16 tv son of the late Mr Harry Smith, once ai prominent vocalist here; and inherits much/ of his father's musical talent. Those/ among the audience who remember Mr! Harry Smith's singing would be reminded! of it in listening to his son. Mr Noel Smith sang " The Trumpeter " really welf. but in " Maid of Athens " there was a noticeable tendency to make the music dis* connected and jerky by abrupt stoppage* of the voice every few bars. He has a voice of nice quality and with a mor« intimate acquaintance with music will make a most . welcome addition to the mala vocalists of Dunedin. Miss Paton supplied the pianoforte accompaniments to tho eongs. PRINCESS THEATBE. The Wide-world Picture Company pr«6ented a complete change of programme to its numerous patrons at the- Princess Theatre on the 27th. The pictures shown! were humorous, fantastic, sensational,- instructive, classical, and clever. Where all the series were g*ood, it is difficult to select any particular set for special mention, but without detriment to others the classic representation of the "Goddess and the Spinner" may be mentioned as an excellent presentation of a story o£ medieval days. " A Fool and His Money," " Drill at Reedham Boys' School," andi " A Customs Officer's Revenge" constitute an instructive and entertaining series, and a "Duet with Dynamite" is sufficiently fantastic and sensational to satisfy any admirer of the inexplicable.