CHORAL SOCIETY.

Auckland Star, Volume II, Issue 517, 6 September 1871, Page 2

CHORAL SOCIETY.

The new Choral Society's Hull was opened lust night, the piece selected being the oratorio of " St. Paul." The hall is a great improvement on the old one, being larger, belter fllted-up, and. in every respect better adapted for tlio purposes for which it is built. The delicate colors in which the walls are panelled give a lightness and elegance to the whole which is quito charming. The assemblage, which was a very fashionable one, was not bo numerous as we have seen on previous occasions, probably in consequence) of the inclemency of the weather. In fact, wo had expected to sco more considering that this was the first performance since the disastrous catastrophe to the old hall. The oratorio is one that lias many points of excellence, which would recommend ifc to the lover of music. It abounds with pleasing and1 melodious recitatives, interspersed with choruses iiiid chorales, in each of which the music aptly fits the words aild the word a the musicl. The Roprauo oik! contralto soloists were most aptly chosen tor the parts assigned to them, and in one or two instances the bass was simply grand. With one exception the choruses were well rendered—time, tune, and expression having been deeply studied. Inouropinion the principal morce'itvx l»st Might were the chorus, "Stone Him to Death;" the recitative (contralto), "And Ke journeyed with companions toward Damascus;" and the reeitatafcivo (soprano), " And all that eat in the Council." In the chorus above pointed out, the meaning of the author was finely carried out, the excitement of the pooplri being worked up with the words until it almost sounded liUo the wild shouts of a mob for the death of Stephen. The contralto lveitiitive, " And Ho journeyed toward Damascus," together with the arioso, "But the. Lord is mindful of His own," kept the audience spellbound. All tho soprano solos were exquisitely given, some of tho higher notes being given with a sweetness and clearness seldom surpassed in Auckland. Altogether, tho inuuguration or.aorio was a deoided success.