LOCAL AFFAIRS

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXII, Issue 45, 22 April 1927, Page 6

LOCAL AFFAIRS

PLEASING RECITAL.

VOCAL AND PIANOFORTE.

An unfortunate combination of circumstances —the fact that the Municipal Theatre had been for the two previous nights well filled with patrons, being one, and the unfavourable wdather another —contributed to the smallness of the audience that assembled for the vocal and pianoforte recital arranged by Mr and Mrs H-. W, Swain of Wellington, with the assistance of Mr E. C. Jamieson of Napier, for Wednesday The artistic' merit of the performances of the respective participants in the programme was of such a high standard that unstinted applause was a marked feature of the occasion and it is to bo regretted that so many of the people who have an appreciation of classical music were conspicuous by their absence. A delightful evening was spent by the audience in the enjoyment of the sympathetically interpreted masterpieces.

At the piano Mr Jamieson was eon-, spicuously successful, his selection including 11 Moonlight Sonata” ■ (Beethoven), “To the Spring” (Grieg), “Valse Caprice” (Rubinstein),, the latter two being especially pleasing, and in response to an encore ” Minuet in G” (Paderewski) was played. John Ireland’s “Island Spell” and “Valse Op. 42” (Chopin) were other fine contributions, the former being repeated as an encore number. Mrs Swain is the possessor of a rich contralto voice and won the hearts of her audience by her rendering of “Wait” (D’Hardlot), ‘Heart of Gold’ (Manners), and “Cradle Me Low” (Brahe), the latter being perhaps the most captivating of the.trio. “Vale” was given as a recall number. In the subsequent contribution “Sappic Ode,” a Brahms gem, also. “Tommy Lad,” a very sympathetically interpreted Mayeston composition, and the expressive “Smilin Thru”’ Mrs Swain created an additionally highly complimentary impression. Mr Swain is a tenor enjoying a voice of undoubted excellence of tone, and he scored a notable success with “d esta la Guibba” from the opera “I Pagliacci,” by Leoncavallo, “Harlequin” (Saunderson) which vivacious number was followed by the expressively quiet “Dolorosa” (Phillips). “Onaway,. Awake, Beloved,” “Here’s to Love” and “Castillean Lament.” —the latter being especially appealing —were numbers from the works of Bowan, Rubens, and Riego, respectively and fully appreciated. The duets rqvealed the voices of Mr and Mrs Swain as harmonising in producing a result that was captrv at ingly delightful. ‘ ‘ Caro Mio Ben ’ ’ (Geordani) and Testi’s “Venetian Song” were an excellent selection, the latter being warm-heartedly encored.

A number of very beautiful floral tributes were handed to Mrs Swain amidst rounds of hearty applause —a further indication of the sympathy as well as the appreciativeness of the audience.