CHRISTCHURCH MUSICAL UNION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7231, 18 October 1901, Page 4

CHRISTCHURCH MUSICAL UNION.

" PSYCHE." The third subscription concert of •tihie season of the Christclnirch Musical Union wa? given lasb right in the Exhibition Hall, to ihe usual representative attendance. Neils W. G-ad*'s caiutflta "Psyche "'■was the work chosen for production, and an excellent conceit resulted. The music of "Psyche'' carries many of the s-ame quuintnesses of delicate phrasing and of expressed poetry its appertain to Gade's better-known work " The Crusaders," and these found a move than meritorious interpretation last nigh'b afc the hands of the Musical Union. The. solo ■vvork falls principally upon the soprano and bai-itone, there being but little for the contralto and practically none for the tenor. This obliterated the inevitable tenor diffi-culty.and'-was nt once an accident of incidence which made for success. The soprano solo work was taken by Mrs Burn 5 ;, whose singing wa-*, as u. e ua}, clean and bright, her intonation perfect, and her production and finish admirable. Her enunciation was -a little slurry, and perhaps .she was never very feeling — afc leasb her voice seemed to lackthe dramatic colouring necessary for a perfect rendering of the part, which is moreover a somewhat trying one technically. Nevertheless the Burden amd heat of the cantata werd generally excellently borne by Mrs Burn*. Mr H. M. Reeves Rang the baritone part, aavd sang it exceedingly well. Both enunciation and intonation were perfect, and he sang -with appropriate fervour.and a tine appreciation of the dramatic niceties of the character. The music was sob occasionally a trifle high for his voice, bub even with the disability of tbe remains of a cold he was responsible for a performance which was beyond all praise. Miss Alice Gray had but- little solo work, but the little she had to sing was sweetly and feelingly sung. Two trios for contralto (Mis-s Alice Gray), soprano (Miss Clara Tompkins and tenor (Mr Reginald Vincent) were nicely sung. They lacked weight somewhat, but they were otherwise expressively and delicately rendered, more especially the dainty "The Birds, in Playful Throng." The choruses were nicely balanced, and the shading was splendid, every little nuance being noted and. studied. The quiet intensity of the introduction was equally effective with tho strong broad volume of the final choros, and in between lay a wealth of splendid work. The orchestra, too, is deserving of all praise for its work. Its weight was never oppressive, and on the few occasions when opportunity ott'ereu the chance for a little starring on its own — as in the pretty scherzo opening the second part — it evidenced that musically it was capable upon the slightest provocation of turning itself into the, feature of the performance. The canita'ta is just long enough to make a good evening's programme, and just short enough • to be nob quite long enough. The excellence of its production was in a great nfeasure due to Mr F. M. Wallace, the untiring conductor, under whose baton 'the Union operates, and the audience last night were not slow to realise and express practically this opinion.