SUCCESSFUL CONCERT

Taranaki Daily News, 21 August 1930, Page 3

SUCCESSFUL CONCERT

NEW PLYMOUTH MUSIC WEEK VARIED ITEMS WELL RECEIVED. OPERATIC WORKS FEATURED. The concert party swung the audience at the fourth New Plymouth music week entertainment last night into good humour with Mr. Frances Cornwall’s “Carnival" chorus and the quality of the succeeding items did not permit that enthusiasm to wane. The audience —the Empire Theatre was not full —was not as large as the concert merited. Madam* Veta Cornwall is a favourite of New Plymouth concert-goers; her performance last night, following her solo work in The Messiah, on Sunday, established that popularity on a firm basis.’ Miss Constance Leatham provided the gems of the programme, pianoforte soli that earned the tribute the audience paid in its silence before the applause. The Grand-Old Man of music, Giuseppe Verdi, had a large share of a programme that featured operatic works. “Miserere" from II Trovatore was sung well by Madame Veta Cornwall and Mr. J, Quin. Though it ’ has not the grandeur of the operas Verdi produced in his old age II Trovatore is undoubtedly popular still and the duo last night did not dull its reputation among New Plymouth people. Mr. Quin’s singing was indeed a welcome surprise. ■ •

“Lo! Hear the Gentle Lark" (Bishop), which Madame Veta sang with Mr. L. Bosworth playing the flute obbligato, was popular, but her encore number enhanced her reputation. The audience would have welcomed yet more of her beautifully modulated soprano. The difficult’ duet from Verdi’s tragic Lo Forza All Destino, “Soenne in. Quest Ora,” was remarkably well sung by Mr. F. Cornwall (bass) and Mr. B. Stewart (tenor). Mr. Stewart was not in his best form last night but the’pair held the audience with the dramatic song. : • It was perhaps unfortunate that ’ Mrs. Kircher’s clever humour should have followed the tragedy. It was rather a jar and only Mrs. Kircher’s art soothed the audience into laughter., Mrs. Kircher’s encore choice was rather unwisely a poem of. the '‘stagey" style at which she had just been poking fun. Miss Leatham assured the success of the concert with her pianoforte work. The Verdi-Liszt Rigoletto paraphrase showed she was complete mistress of the instrument, but her best item was Schumann’s sensuous Second Romance. She deserved every bit of the applause the audience gave her. Mr. Quin showed that the training of his voice has been well worth while. He was good with Madame Cornwall in “Miserere" but excelled expectations in the well-known “On with the Motley" (Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci), Mr. J. B. Macpherson’s singing of the favourite bass solo, “Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind," made one want to hear more of him.

Five Irish lassies with Miss B. King featuring a jig delighted the audience.. The girls made a pretty little quintette and the dancing was good. In the second part of the programme Miss King danced in the Spanish style. It would probably_ have been better without the accompaniment. An instrumental trio, Messrs. F. Syme (violin), L. Blanchett (violincello) and H. Morey (piano), played a peasant dance by Hartmann to conclude the first part of the programme in happy vein and left the audience eager for “When the Foeman bares his Steel," the lively chorus from “The Pirates of Penzance,” which opened the second part, The performers did not dis /jint their listeners and paved the way for the other artists to crown the success of the concert.' The trio finished the programme with ■ three varied items of which Herbert’s lovely Serenade was the best. Mr. Blanchett’s beautiful instrument was the soul of the trio.

A sweet soprano allowed Miss B. Turnbull to make the best of “One Fine* Day” from La Boheme. Her voice is scarcely large enough for a concert hall but so good is the , enunciation that the softness only enhances the sweetness. Mr. F. Syme was recalled for his -violin solo, “Le Songe" (Drdla). Mr. N. Buckley subdued his saxophone for his first solo but his recall number was not so pleasing. The last vocal item was “Yes, Let me like a Soldier Fall" (Maritan.a) by Mr. Stewart. Mr. Harold Morey played tb.e accompaniments, some of them rather too loudly.