MUSIC OF THE BEST.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 15159, 1 October 1913, Page 7

MUSIC OF THE BEST.

PtJEPIiB SEAS AND BLUE ~ ' KIMONOS. » BY TIMARU, CHORAL (SOCIETY, v Last night the Timaru Choral -a'ad. | Orchestral Society held their j .eecpnd • ■ subscription concert far this season in the Theatre Royal. , / There was a good attendance of stibsoriberß of the Society and the genera" l '• public. The, manifestations of approval were not. too pronounced, but then the work to which the major portion of the programme was devoted is conducive to restful calm and summer dreams Under Japanese plum trees rather, than to the enthusiasm • which is aroused by spark. - cas cacleß of , living music that vivify the imagination. CJoleridgo Tacylor's "A Tale of Old Japan," was. the wo!rk, this being the 1 .third time it' has been heard in New Zealand. The v<T?®tto was sketched in .yesterday's Herald," and the dainty story ,of Japanese l{we, juggled by the o$ ' fate,- givesf full scope to the composer ) > Y£ rk -. peculiarities of the musio of the land—according to the novelists and playwrights—of balmy skies, pinning maidens, strongly -contrasting col- ■ ours, dnd ever-bloomrng cherry trees. Of the beauty and refined delicacy of' •fx S S 0r ® tlsere 0331 no question. The gilted composer of "Hiawatha's Wedding i 1 east' must have made a close study of the musio of the East to have caught and appliedi so much of its spirit, i-he movement of the sampan, the dainty tnppjng of small featured kimonorobed almondjeyed beauty across the '' green sward or under "the willow or 5 plum tree, all were painted in the softly 1 , moving accompaniments. The upward '■' chromatic runs with their abrupt descents, and_ the neat connections /be:;, tween the soli and chorus, all tended to produce in the listener a sensation of' . unusual, and were, responsible for tna,t very unresponsiveness on the part r of the pleased audience, that was in itself a valuable compliment. The chor- ' uses, were sweet and well balanced, the ■ c ™ rm ™S in its dreaminess'being , Binoe the thought was in his head' ' the melody seeming to follow the work-' mg °f .the little god, suggesting the thought of settling down to the uaxnat* 1 ?d swam. The soprano and alto parts - very sweet in the duo "Peonies,'" , brothel' 111 " Kimij the child of his\ , Madame Alibe Gower-Burns was en- ' - trusted with the soprano soli,' and sane, >. them with the feeling and (appreciation • of one who has seen that favoured land/ Jler well controlled and artistically /; used voice took full l advantage of sum- ;; ' i erous opportunities afforded in the work. She "He could paint her > tree and flow'r, 1 iq. a flowing manner, the peculiar movement beiftjz - 7*™ brought out. The descending run' > 1 in _He could not understand 1 ' wfas a " ' treat to hear, and the acoelerated "So m her blue kimono,(' that followed, appropnate_by way of contrast.. Mad, Burns later in the evening rendsr- J ! Rossini's "Terrible Destiny pursues' me, v from "Moses, in Egypt," her ' strong declaniative powers, her great ' and the_ artistic thoroughness . that she (puts into (everything undarr ,' taken, arousing the audience to an ur- '■lf gent repeat call. Floral tributes yrere • - haTOedj_and she had to respond. Mr? H. Hall took the contralto soli, and acquitted herself well. Her voic<£' '' naa much nmpiwed since last heard. t^l!f, OSe heard her 'lasfc night in Small and sadly beseeching," or in • the more exacting "Sweet, I come the , ' Golden Way," were unstinted in their'" expressions of approval, and uti the end - of one of her soli a handsome bououet was presented. , , i Mr Ale<x Moore sang the tenor soli, ' ana used his sweet lyncal voice tol the '' ' best advantage. His "Pootp little v taco cast backward" was a fine number, and his quartette work was also" excellent. nw M r , George H. Andrews, baritone' soloist, was in splendid i voice. H 3» opening in "Yoichi Tenko, the Paint-' er, was the first vocal indication, of tJiQ style of tihe decided impression. '"Child of the old pearl fisher" was one of his beet' numbers, the t£mal\ peculiarities being " strongly evident, and the tempered ear- «■ pression on the words "Wrinkled' and grey and old" easily visualising the old gentleman named Tenko. His declamation "Wed some other Maid" waa also well given. * ' ! The orchestral score" was very pretty ••• • iasd -receivbd a capable rendition. The ' ■ wood wind was good, and the principal, Mr J. H. CJoombs, was, a tower or strength. To have pbtaiiied tlie grasp of the somewhat exacting accompani- » ment and the various connections reflected the greatest credit in the hon. •• conductor, Mr H. N evill-Smith, and ' . on the hon. pianist©, Mrs N. ■D, Man- ■ gos, who boaides presiding at the pianoforts for the canitfeta, also ficoomried the sinsjers in the other part the programme, her work- dwing Madame Bulrns's great sob,, from .'-Mosea in Egypt" being of the kind that has given her the honourable position. she holds in musical cii-cles here> The orchestra' in the second part of the programme g{|ve an orchestral ' suite "A Day in "V#mce" ana also Brahm's' "Hungarian Danoe No. - 6.' r They were well received. Messrs _ ' J. W. Holdgato, J. M. Ireland,- J. Moyes, and A. Wotherspoon sang the quartettes "The Young Musicaans" , > (KucJcen), 4nd "A Mighty King is ' Wine" (Raff). In •£ne first there wer 3 slight blemishes in regard to tune, but. the second number, given with good will, was sldghtly better. Two. glee.s were also sung by the choir-I—"' 1 —"' ,' "A Spanish Serenade" (Elgar), given' with a certain loving ana caressing graco, and the other "As Torrents in Summer,'' by the same composer, also an acceptable number, captivating by ' - its sweet 'harmonies. > : The concert was most enjoyable and few, if any, who left the warm and ; comfortable building at ten o'clock to face the' unexpectedly rain-swept ' ' streets. <-ould say that they had not , ,'\ profited by the evenong, both as re-' j gards musical instruction and enter- w tainment. > 1 i ' ' ' '