Musical.

Southern Cross, Volume 8, Issue 35, 22 December 1900, Page 12

Musical.

.—♦— “THE MESSIAH.” Someone has declared that “ not failure but low aim is crime.” The Musical Union of Invercargill has throughout its career aimed high, and the many delightful entertainments given under its auspices absolve it from the charge of failure. The rendition of “ The Messiah in the Theatre Royal, on Tuesday evening, when the.combined choirs of the town took part, afforded gratifying proof of the good work that is being done by the musical organisations of the town, and fully rewarded Mr C., Gray for the devotion which he brings to bis labours as conductor. That Mr Gray had spared neither himself nor his voices was apparent at the beginning of the first chorus — “ And the glory of the Lord.” Here the altos were very fine in their enunciation of the fugal subject, and must be complimented on their attack and tone. That the other sections of the choir were prepared to create a similarly good impression was very quickly shown, the result therefore was a very fine performance. The leads were taken up with confidence, and the tempo was precision itself. “ Oh thou that tellest ” was not quite so good an effort, the leads in some cases not being taken up properly. Although “ For Unto Us ” was rather well done, it lacked that steadiness of tempo which was so marked and enjoyable a feature in the initial chorus. In the last two bars, where Mr Gray makes a rallentando, the voices were well together, but one of the players in the brass section of the orchestra diversified his part by playing his quavers in the time of semiquavers, which rather upset what otherwise would have been a very effective ending. It was a pity the number could not finish when the voices ceased, as the orchestra treated us to a miserable finish. As space will not permit us entering into details respecting the treatment of each separate chorus, it will suffice if we say that the choir on the whole did very good work. That certain choruses were given with better effect than some others, is of course quite natural, and easily understodd. “ Glory to God ” was very well done, but the same cannot be said of “ Behold the Lamb,” wherein the tempo was choppy, and the quality of tone —by the tenors especially—was not always a pure one* and there was but little attempt at real expression. In “ Surely He hath borne,” the tenors were much out of tune several times ; in other respects, however, it was a fairly good rendition. “ All we like sheep ” was decidedly better, still, we want to know why the majority of the basses should go astray on the second beat of bar three on page 100 (Hovello’s edition.) There was no necessity to so strictly imitate the tenors’ part just there. The numbers “ He trusted in God,” and “ Lift up your heads,” were very good, the latter especially so. The “ Hallelujah Chorus ” was, perhaps, the choir’s most disappointing effort. Of noise —or perhaps we should be charitable and say “volume” —there was more than enough, yet there was a. something lacking, the effect being quite colourless, and not calculated to arouse the least little bit of awe or enthusiasm in the listener. The remaining choruses, however, were very much more satisfactory. The last two, “ Worthy is the Lamb,” and the “ Amen ” were exceptionally fine —the latter, indeed, splendidly effective. Of the orchestra’s work, perhaps the least said the better. Throughout the evening there was a wonderful uncertainty among the subordinate parts, and especially among the brass, with the exception of Mr Alex. Ferguson (euphonium) who, with Miss Findlay (pianiste), and Mr Wm. Ferguson (leader), did yeoman service. Mr Gray must have keenly felt the absence of such players as Mrs Wood (violin), Messrs Lillicrap

(clarionet), Lepetit (flute), Qainn (bass), Hichol (viola), and others. Just imagine the difference between a flute, and a pianoforte (however well played) tinkling away at flute and clarionet parts ! Mr Clark sang the tenor solos “ Comfort Ye,” “ Every Valley,” and “ All they that see Him,” very creditably. In his first recitative, “ Comfort ye,” he was really good, and sang with much expression, and with true intonation. Mr Cookson, who undertook the remaining tenor solos, possesses a voice which sadly lacks timbre. In bis opening recit. “ Thy rebuke hath broken His heart,” he began very flat, and right through the number his intonation was decidedly bad—for the most part flat. In the aria, “ Behold and see,” he was much better, and, in places, very expressive. He also sang “ But Thou didst not leave ” fairly well. Mr J. E. Taylor, to whom was allotted the bass solos, was evidently suffering from a slight cold, and in his opening number was not at his best. He improved very much, however, with every note he sang, and in his next solo, “ The people that walk in darkness,” he was apparently his old self again. Mr Taylor deserves special praise for his splendid intonation in this number. His remaining numbers, “ Why do the nations ” and “ The trumpet shall sound,” were rendered in his usual finished style. The difficult obligato to the latter number was played by Mr Glennie very creditably, notwithstanding he made a rather bad slip in sustaining a top 0 nearly a bar too long. Miss Royds, who has seldom been heard to better advantage, sang, “ Behold, a Virgin,” “ 0 Thou that tellest,” and “He was despised ” in very fine style. Her singing of the latter number was one of the best efforts of the evening, and she must be highly complimented on her clear enunciation, true intonation, and very expressive interpretation. Miss Hishon was highly successful in the solo, “He shall feed his Flock, ” her rendition giving much enjoyment to her audience. Miss Kirwan, who followed with the soprano solo, “ Come unto Him, ” has made a marked advance since last year. She sang in a very restful and sympathetic manner, but here and there her enunciation was just a trifle indistinct. The florid soprano solos were essayed by Miss S. Murray. It must certainly be admitted that these were rather too difficult for her. In her earlier recitatives there was a decidedly inartistic tendency to swoop up to her notes. In “ Rejoice greatly ” her enunciation was distinct enough, but her phrasing was incorrect. For instance, the first sentence does not admit of a breath after the third word ‘ How beautiful are.” Mrs D. Blue, to whom was entrusted that beautiful air, “I know that my Redeemer Liveth,” has much improved her voice since last year, and her pronounciction was also better; she still has a tendency, however, to short breaths. Apart from these occasional lapses in phrasing, she was very successful, and fully deserved the pronounced applause which was accorded her. There was a large attendance, and the number of ‘ scores ’ in use among the audience demonstrated the educational value of these annual expositions of the works of the masters.