SACRED CONCERT AT REMUERA.

Observer, Volume 1, Issue 14, 18 December 1880, Page 126

SACRED CONCERT AT REMUERA.

A Sacred Concert was given at St. Luke's Church, Remuera, on Tuesday evening, which, in spite of one or two defects, was a great success. One great drawback was the want of a good chairman. As there were no printed programmes the audience, which was a large and fashionable one, were entirely dependent on the chairman for the names of the various items on the programme, and of the ladies and gentlemen who rendered them. Mr. Munro, the clergyman of the church, acted as chairman, but the majority of those present could not tinderstand what he said, as he did not speak in English, but in a low vernacular which is, I believe, peculiar to some parts of Scotland. The concert was very good, especially the solos, and a duet sung by Sirs. Binks and Miss Lodder. It was worth while going much further than Renmera to hear Mrs. J. M. Clark sing, "Leave us not." I have heard it sung on several occasions, but never so well as Mrs. Clark sang it. I think Mrs. Clark has slightly altered the song, as she sang a verse which I have not heard before, and which, whether the charm lay in its novelty or in the feeling with which it was rendered, seemed to me a great improvement on the original. Of the gentlemen soloists, Messrs. Charles and Edwin Hesketh were facile x>rincej)s. They sang, "The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers," respectively. Both gentlemen have nice voices, which have been carefully trained, and, consequently, their songs were very effective. The duet, "Tired," sung by Mrs. Binks and Miss Lodder, was exquisitely rendered. The ladies must have practised together very often, as nothing could surpass the manner in which their voices blended. The singing of the choir reflected great credit on Mr. Charles Hesketh, who had trained ,them, though in some instances, the music was of rather too high a class for the majority of the chorus. With the exception of Miss Woolnough and Miss Law, a little mite apparently about seven years of age, the pianoforte soloists were not as good as the singers, and with the exception of Miss Woolnough, they were taken from the schoolroom or the nursery, where they should have been allowed to remain. I strongly deprecate the system of putting school-girls and children on a platform to play before a crictical audience, such as there was at St. Luke's on Tuesday evening. Little Miss Law certainly played very well, considering her extreme youth, but Miss Woolnough was the only pianoforte soloist who was sufficiently accomplished to play before such an audience. Just before the last piece was sung by the choir, Mr. Munro paid a well-merited compliment to Mr. Charles Hesketh for the way in which he had conducted the concert, and said that the lectures which had been given in the church, had not been so successful as the concerts. No one who had been at both lectures and concerts would disagree with him. Indeed, as a way of spending an evening, there could hardly be a greater contrast than between Mr. Munro's lecture on "Livingstone" and Tuesday evening's concert. " Curr ant Jelly."