THE "MAY QUEEN."

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3215, 2 June 1871, Page 2

THE " MAY QUEEN."

The attendance at the Odd Fellowa' Hall was corroborative of the opinion we had all along entertained, that the laudable efforts of the ladies and gentlemen who compose our musical society would be rewarded by a not very numerous but highly appreciative audience. The weather during the day was most unfavorable, an incessant downpour, with hardly a single intermission, having prevailed j indeed thefatesweresounpromising that serious doubts were entertained by mapy as to whether there would bo any performance at all. Ho wever, at the appointed hour, those who had the temerity to brave the effects of the relentless eleaaent began to arrive, the ladies being attired in all imaginable fabrics, having the reputation of being impervious to water. The hall and stage were neatly decorated with evergreens, and presented an appearance unusual on the occasion of eonc&rt3. We now proceod to speak of the performance itself. The " May Queen" is not, as the title would suggest to those unacquainted with the composition, a musical rendering of the beautiful and more familiar piece of the same name written by the poot laureate. The " May Queen" of Sterndale Bennett is a pastoral, written to resuscitate, or rather to perpetuato and revivify the lime-honored custom of tho Romans of celebrating at the beginning of the month of May their Flordlia, or offering to the goddess from whom this period of festivity takes its name. The festival was not then, as in later years, a time of rustic orgies merely ; its character partook of a higher order — the form of devotion — a joyful expression of thanksgiving fox* the revival of vegetation with tho coming of tho spring time of each returning year. The custom of " maying" still obtains in many of the counties in England, where, ou the Ist of May, the rustics of the whole district are up and stirring long before it is time to " help Hyperion to his horse," and mail is levied on gardens and hedgerows indiscriminately to supply the materiel for garland and wreath, for dressings for the bowers, and, supremo consideration for tho securing of tho richost gems in profusion which the neighborhood can produce to deck fair Flora's shrine-^the maypole, lithely tripping it to the " rebeck's jocund sound," would be seen— " Many a youth and many a maid, Dancing in tho chequered shade ; And young and old come forth to play On a sunshine holyday." While those who stood proof against the enchanting strains of the tabor and tho pipe are lounging about on the sward, indulging in the convivialities appropriate to the season. It is the occasion of one of these annual celebrations (fit subject for the easel of a Teniers) the author of the composition before us ha 3 selected for his paßtoral. As a tentative presentation, the society was discreet in selecting such a piece for performance so soon after its reorganisation, tho aolo voices required being few, and the volume in the chorus not very great. In a small city like Wellington a musical society has insuperable difficulties to contend with.' Firstly must bo taken into consideration the degree of musical culture to which the community has attained, and we may be acquitted of austerity when we say that Wellington, as a city, does not occupy a very high grade in the scale. This want of interest is manifest by tho limited numbers in the chorus and the orchestra, and as a corollary the choice of soloists and leading instrumentalists is narrowed dowu. Under these conditions we are fortunate in possessing tho leading voices we ham but it must be admitted on all sides that at&hoice in that direction is desirable and beneficial, and we hope the first result of this concert will be a great accession to tho society's list of members. With its present numbers, modest performances of some of tho numerous cantatas is more commendable, and likely to be far more successful than the presentation of the works of the master minds would be, where so much power and skill of the highest order are required. Then again, from the same cause, tho orchestra is necessarily weak, and this is a vulnerability tho most to be regretted because, as every musician knows, it is tho most inexorable condition in producing music of this class that tho orchestra shall bo strong in string and reed instruments. It is a pity the orchestra waß so weak, tho thinness being painfully perceptible j that.is to say, there was not body enough to overpower the pianoforte, always a "jarring lyre" in an orchestra properly organised for the representation of high class music, the resonance of the rood instrument being the only reminder of orchestral effect. As a composition the " May Queen" is unpretentious ; there is nothing of genius about it. The overture is nicely arranged, and well calculated to convey an idea of the burden of tho work, but the absence of the instruments required to do justice to it was probably the cause of its omission. Tho omisaion is to be regretted and to bo commended : to be regretted because it is the key to the theme, introducing the audience to, and familiarising them with, tho subject; to bo commended, because it was wise to omit a piece which could not possibly have been rendered in any way adequate to the author's conception. The recitatives are easy, and not of a high order, the two of greatest interest being the chiding scene between the May Queen and tho Lover, leading into the pretty duet " Can I not find," and the one in which tho Lover and Robin Hood, rival claimants to the favor of the May Queen, meet in mutual defiance. The style and harmony of the choruses is bold and free, having none of that close and delicate harmony with which the workß of the great masters abound, and consequently they do not require that cultivated precision in execution so necessary in those works ; another advantage to a young society being that very little fugue is introduced. On the opening of the performance |we could not help feoling surprised at tho heterodox proceeding of discarding what is considered an indispensable appointment in the proper conduct of orchestral or choral music— the assumption of the baton by a conductor. The chorus, " Wake with a Smile," welcoming the coming of Bpring, was taken a little nervously at first, but tho parts soon began to feel each other, the light and shade being carefully attended to, and tho chorus Bang well before they had proceeded far. The recitative and air, " 0 Meadow Clad," was very well sung, but sufficient regard was not paid to sostenendo singing. Undoubtedly the piece of resistance of the evouing was tho chorus, " 0 Melancholy Plight." A finer piece of singing no connoisseur could havo desired. Tho beautiful minor opening was taken with confidence and expression, the parts feeling each other beautifully, and the harmony comiug out oleanly. This piece of itself was sufficient to redeem any other shortcomings which might have becomo apparent during the evening, and evinced a degree of working up highly creditable to Mr Flood, and to those who took

part in it. The succeeding, ohorns, " With a Laugh a 8 we go Bound," was well taken up by all the voices, in a frolicsome, mirthful spirit. The solo voice was a little flurried is the time at the beginning, but soon recovered, the cadenza finish being capitally done. The recitative to the duet, "Can! not Find," was well rendered, the intervals in the principal part, the tenor, being taken firmly by a highly cultivated tonor voice of good quality. The duet was a .charming piece of singing although there was" a slight ten. dency on the part of the soprano to outbalance the other voice in power, there being also a tendency by the female voice to drag in the first change of time. The bass aria " £is Jolly to Hunt" seemed to be rather too hurried "t>y the accompaniment. Although the ; timget possesses a good voice there was no spirit or expression— no light and shade. This should have been one of the finest thingß in the book,but it was too even all through. The soprano solo in the introduction to the trio, "The Hawthorn in the Glade," wad a piece of singing evincing high cultivation. The trio was a gem, and was capitally sung throughout, though the tenor was overpowered at times by the other voices. Standing second for excellence in the choruses waa the well-executed piece of reproachful declamation, " 111 Fated Boy Begone," the enunciation -and expression all through being clear and well defined. Our space for this issue is too limited to allow us to notice the performance at greater length, but there is one thing we must not omit, the contralto voice in the recitative " What Mean those Angry Words." The lady, in addition to posßeasing a very fine voice, gave the emphasis and expression proper to convey the fiery anger implied by the words- she uses. This was decidedly the fiaeßt piece of recitative during the performance. The second part, consisting of glees, duets, and a song, was as successful as tho first, the performers appearing to be quite at home. By the remarks we have made it will be seen that our object is, by fair criticism, to help the Society to become a strong and a permanent institution among us. We already have the nucleus in possessing a small but well {^trained chorue, " and solo voices that it would be difficult to surpass among the citizen ranks of any colonial city. But before the society can hope to achieve anything great its number must be extended to at. least double what it is at present. To those gentlemen who had the condact of the concert great credit is due for accomplishing so muoh with the material, and to Mr Flood in particular in working the society up to such accuracy in time, tune, and expression.