MUSICAL UNION.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 208, 7 October 1914, Page 9

MUSICAL UNION.

LAST NIGHT'S CONCERT. The concert given by the Musical Union in the Choral Hall last night was largely attended, and the audience found a good deal to enjoy in the programme which was presented. There was a very fair amount of variety, and the society performed a useful mission in introducing members to some new performers. The concert opened with a selection from "Stabat Mater." It was unfortunate that Mr Leonard Barnes, who was to have sung the baritone solo, was prevented by indisposition from attending. The society, perforce, had to do without the baritone solo, and the performance suffered? to some extent in interest. The chorus work was good, but the society has done better previously under Mr Thorley. The sopranos were somewhat thin and strained in the higher passages, and probably the introduction of some fresh young voiees would effect an improvement. There also seemed to be a deficiency in male voices, but the performers put their hearts as well as their voices into their work, and the balance, on the whole, was satisfactory. Miss Maud Stringer sang the contralto solo, which she invested with the proper devotional atmosphere, and treated very artistically . and capably. The presentation of the - motett, < 'Hear my Prayer *' (Mendelssohn) was an interesting event. It gave one an opportunity of hearing Miss Daisy Parsons in some exacting solo work, as well as the chorus in restrained meod. Miss Parsons is a popular performer, and there is a pleasing personality introduced into her performances. Her voice is fairly flexible and facile, but is deficient in sympathetic quality. Her performance last evening was very fair;, There was a tendency to go out of tune at one time, but the singer overcame that, and thereafter kept on the correct notes. She sang the beautiful concluding air, "O for the Wings of a Dove," very nicely. Miss Maud Stringer again appeared as a soloist in "Softly Awakes My Heart,''' from '' Samson and Delilah' * (Saint Saens). Miss Stringer has a delightful voice and a keen artistic perception, and her singing of this song was a very pleasant treat to the audience. It was open to the criticism that the interpretation was not dramatic enough, but one could forgive that for its melodiousness. A "Quartet in E Flat" (Schumann), for piano, violin, viola, and 'cello, was presented by Miss vera A'Court, Mr John Wood, Mr Thorley, and Mrs J. Guthrie. Compositions of this sort are not popular concert items, and the four movements made rather a tax on one's capacity for assimilation and appreciation. One virtue the performance owned is that it introduced Mr Thorley as a. pianist. After his very delightful performance one could only wish to hear him as a soloist. Miss Vera A'Court, who played the violin part, showed some promise, and no doubt the future will see her development as a violin soloist of some parts. Another promising young violinist is Miss Irene Edmonds, who played "Valse Triste" (Sibelius). She produced a fine warm tone, and showed some skill in execution. Her encore number,. '•' Serenade,'' was delightfully played. The further contributions by the chorus comprised *' Ave Verum, ' ' an unaccompanied chorus, composed by Mr Thorley j and a patriotic tribute in the form of "The Marseillaise," "The Eussian Hymn," "Eule Britannia," and "God Save the King." The work of the chorus in these items was most enjoyable. Mrs Eussell, as usual, made an efficient accompanist. Mr Arthur Lilly, at the organ, and Mrs Eussell, at the piano, supplied the instrumental accompaniment to 4 ' Stabat Mater."