THE ARTS AND GRACES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 11 June 1924, Page 18 (Supplement)

THE ARTS AND GRACES.

FIRST CHORAL SOCIETY.

ITS INITIAL. CONCERT.

The arts and graces were not wholly neglected in the old days, through opportunities for practising and enjoying them were limited. At intervals we read of a dramatic or other recital being given, and theatrical and other visitors did not entirely pass the district by. Local societies for amusement and mental improvement were also formed from time to time. The Timaru Choral first concert was reported in the “Herald* of September 18th, 1867. It will be noticed that no names of performers are given in the report which we reproduce below. The practice of omitting names was followed also in the case of reports of later concerts, which received much more praise than fault-finding from the critic. Apparently people rather shrank from, publicity in those days. “Timaru Choral Society:—This Society gave their first concert on Friday last, at the Masonic Hall. The room was filled with a large and attentive audience, which seemed fully to appreciate the programme furnished for their amusement. The Society have been in existence but a very short time, and not only that, but having many disadvantages to contend against, it was all the more to their credit that their first public performance was so creditably gone through with; at the same time, however, it behoves us as well-wishers of the Society, and in our public capacity as critics to point out the defects noticeable on Friday night. We do so purely in an amicable spirit, to the end that they may be remedied; as a recurrence of the fault will not be so venial in future. We allude to the fact that some of the first sopranos seemed to labour under the impression that if they sang at the full pitch of their voices they did all that was required of them, whereas had they been content to modulate them properly, the harmony would have been maintained and the general effect enhanced thereby. Another defect was there being but one alto voice in the chorus, ‘And the Glory.’ This, however, is not the fault of the Society, as there was but one available. The only manner in which this can be effectually remedied is by the members of the public possessing alto voices to come forward and enrol themselves as members. We refrain from mentioning names as we might by some be considered invidious, but we will merely go through the programme seriatim, and express our opinion thereon. The concert commenced with the singing by a gentleman of ‘Comfort Ye,’ which was sung with good effect, but the performer was evidently suffering from huskiness, consequent, we presume, upon the too assiduous application to the practice of his parts. This was followed by the chorus, ‘And the Glory,’ which was given with great precision, but, as we before remarked, the first sopranos did more than their share of the work, so that the general effect was not so good as it otherwise might have been. ‘Angels ever Bright and Fair,’ by a lady performer, whom we must congratulate upon the decided improvement since last we heard her, as evincing greeJ care in the training of her voice during that interval. ‘Give to us Peace’ was brilliantly sung by the whole of the performers. ‘The Battle Prayer,’ by a gentleman, was sung with taste and feeling, but we must remind the gentleman who sang it that ‘forte’ when mistaken for ‘a tempo,’ is not calculated to improve his singing. ‘Let not Dull Sluggish Sleep,’ a double quartette by three ladies and four gentlemen. This was well sung, but wc think the bass singers deserve special commendation, they having given the ‘basso profundo’ notes with peculiar clearness and distinctness. ‘lnNative Worth,’ sung by the gentleman previously alluded to as being husky, and who had not, we regret to say, recovered from his attack; yet we must do him the justice to say that although he had a most unusual accompaniment in the shape of a loud hammering at one of the windows, he, with indomitable perseverance proceeded, and finished his song successfully. After an interval of ten minutes had elapsed the performers re-appeared, and sang the ‘Hardy Norseman,’ without any piano accompaniment. This was the first song of the seeu-

lar part of the programme, the former having been entirely devoted to sacred pieces. The absence of any accompaniment would have made any defectSi show the more glaringly, but we are happy to say that we perceived none. ‘Autumn Winds,’ with voice accompaniment, was well sung by a gentleman, but the winds as imitated by the other performers more resembled the fierce blasts of winter than the. soft sighing of the ‘autumn winds,’ because the sopranos and treble voices seemed afraid to exert themselves, so that the bass predominated to the detriment of the song. ‘Breathe Soft Ye Winds/ a glee by six gentlemen, is worthy of praise for the good style in which it was given. ‘She Sang Among the Flowers,’ by a lady, was unmistakably the gem of the evening; so good,

indeed, was it that it was the only song during the entertainment that met with a hearty encore, which she responded to by re-singing a verse of the same. ‘Hark, the Lark/ by the whole of the performers, was not so good as it might have been, but for reasons previously given we refrain from expressing ourselves further upon the subject than to say that some of the sopranos again overworked themselves. A piano duet from ‘Norma,’ by two ladies, was marked by great precision and played with feeling, which showed that no small amount of time must have been spent in practising to render it in the style given. ‘I Dare Thee Forget,’ by a gentleman, still husky, was given in the true spirit of the song, namely, a most nonchalant air and expression, the only fault we find is that the piano parts'were played pianissimo. ‘Y here Art Thou, Beam of Light/ sung by the whole performers, was well sung, but we would recommend the tenors to put on a little more vigour the next time they sing it. ‘The Appeal,’ by a gentleman, was not given with the same effect as his previous song, but being a more difficult song, we overlook the error before mentioned; it was, however, well received. ‘The Night is Advancing,’ a chorus by the whole of the performers, was the best chorus in this section of the programme, as “O Lord, Our Governor’ was in the former. It seemed as though they were determined to finish with a chef d’ouvre in each instance. The playing of ‘God Save the Queen’ brought the performance to a close at about 10 o’clock. This was one of the most commendable features of the whole affair, which other amateurs on similar occasions would do well to follow.”