AMUSEMENTS, MEETINGS, ETC

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXI, Issue 18784, 18 May 1923, Page 2

AMUSEMENTS, MEETINGS, ETC

WESTMINSTER GLEE SINGERS. AN EVENING OF DELIGHT. “I believe that song and music are going to do a lot for the world now,” declared Sir Harry Lauder at the welcome tendered to him on bis arrival in Wellington this week. The ■world-famed Scottish comedian acclaimed it to be his mission to bring a song to the people, and, he added, “if a song is going to make the world more friendly, then I am singing all the time.” Every word of this declaration of faith is equally applicable to the sweet-voiced glee singers who hail from historic Westminster and otjjer great cathedrals, and who opened their all-to-brief season at the Opera House last evening. Like Sir Harry Lauder, they, too, have come leagues across the water to glltdden the hearts of Overseas Britons with the melody of song, and right well are they qualified for their mission. Mr Edward Branscombe’s clever company required no commendation on this occasion, having on their first visit to Wanganui fully established their claim to popular favour. Hence it is not surprising that last night they sang to an audience which greeted them with enthusiasm, and which throughout the concert manifested unqualified appreciation of the beautiful s.nging of the boyg and men whose voices blended so delightfully in song and ballad. The programme submitted embraced a wide and versatile selection of some sixteon numbers, including choruses, part songs, ballads and solos—but it was by no means adequate to the demands of the "house,” practically every item being vociferously encored. ' Only those who have heard these singers can comprehend the pleasure afforded by their sinking, or the essentially popular or appealing character of the entertainment they provide. Ihe secret of their success is that they sing to all, and not merely to lovers of the classical. Masters of their art, they impart to the simplest and most familiar melodies the touch artistic, making them acceptable to the ears both of the fastidious conniseurs and the greater or less discriminating multitude that wants its music "with a tune in it.” Last night’s programme was a veritable feast of melodious harmony richly seasoned with sparkling humour, but the bill of fare provid- i cd for this evening's concluding con- , cert is, we are assured, the gem of > the company’s repertoire. Among i the concerted items there will be the < anthem, “God is a Spirit" (Sterndale 1 Bennett); Barcarolle from “The - Tales of Hoffman”; Valse from ' Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet”; choral 1

arrangement of “The Village Blacksmith”; American medley, “Way -Down in the Cornfields”; “The Bells o.f St. Michael’s Tower”; while the solos will include “The Lowland Sea”; Gounod's “Serenade”; "Come to the Fair” (by the boys); and "The Sands o’ Dee.” If last night’s enthusiasm is reflected in tonight’s house, which means, in other words, that if the patronage is worthy of the assured performance, there will not be a vacant seat in the Opera House.