AMBITIOUS WORK PRESENTED IN WHAKATANE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 16, Issue 31, 11 December 1950, Page 5

AMBITIOUS WORK PRESENTED IN WHAKATANE

COMBINED CHOIRS GIVE CANTATA “BETHLEHEM”

In presenting a complete cantata the Whakatane combined choirs are developing their policy of giving the public each year works of a more ambitious nature than we are accustomed to hearing. For this their conductor Mr F. L. Watson and those enthusiasts who supported him in Thursday evening’s performance in Knox Church deserve all praise. This year’s offering was “Bethlehem,” a sacred cantata, the words by E. C. Nunn and the music by J. H. Maunder. Maunder’s music does not always rise to the dignity of its subject, and is sometimes imitative, containing echoes of composers as far apart in style as Hendel and Mendelssohn. But it is not without its attractive passages, and the composer has made effective use of repetition. The music has its technical difficulties, particularly in some of the solo passages. The cantata* is in three parts, each concluding with a hymn sung by choir and congregation. The first part, dealing with the appearance of the angel to the shepherds, opens with an atmospheric organ prelude in which flute and reed stops did suggest tHe shepherd’s pipe. Most of the solo work of this part was divided between a shepherd boy (soprano) and an old shepherd (tenor). The shepherd boy sang a difficult opening with effective restraint, and the old shepherd deserves praise for his handling of a long recitative passage. The male section of the choir attacked solidly and with considerable power, but it was not until the chorus “Rest

we secure from danger” near the ' end of the part that the choir as a whole appeared thoroughly at home with the music. Second Part The prelude to the second .part introduces Balthasar (baritone), resting with his train in the desert. It is on him that the solo work of the second part largely rests. He is supported by Gaspar (bass) and Melchoir (tenor). All the soloists showed a marked improvement in tonal quality as the part proceeded, The choruses too were becoming increasingly effective, and in the reiterated chorus “Across the desert we are come” the choir approached w its best.

The third part leads to the climax outside the inn in Bethlehem. Prominent here is a lullaby, effectively woven through the part by a soprano chorister. The finale “Here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord” gave the choir the opportunity to show its power on the grand scale. The opportunity was well taken, and gave a. glimpse of the possibilities which lie in the almost untouched field of choral music in Whakatane. The choir and its conductor battling as they have done through all the difficulties of rehearsal and production which beset amateur bodies here would, if they had achieved nothing but this final chorus, have done something worthy of all the time and energy they have expended. But they achieved much more. The whole performance was the performance of a team, co-ordinat-ed, self-effacing and encouraging. Much of the success was due to the sensitive musicianship of the accompanists, Dr E. T. Dawson (organ) and Mr R. Mollgaard (piano). Each part of the cantata was introduced by a short explanation by Rev R. T. Dodds. Two critcal points must be made which are not related to the singing. First, if the programme had been printed in a more straightforward manner it would have been unnecessary to announce the hymns, thus breaking the continuity before the climax to each part; secondly, why was the public not more fully advised of this performance?