MENDELSSOHN CONCERT

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 585, 13 August 1909, Page 6

MENDELSSOHN CONCERT

BY THE WELLINGTON MUSICAL - . UNION.'

'' 1 ' A Mendelssohn concert was' givenby. the: Wellington' Musical Union at the Town Hall' last; evening to the ,great delight of ~thoso who love the- richness of' tliat. composer's placid harmonies / and delicately beautiful orchestration. The concert consisted in I the' main of excerpts from the composer's orchestral woirks and a liberal selection of songs. :Gf'the former.the overture "Heimkehr aus,der Fr crude" was a charming exemplification of . the less .familiar J ;nuuibera scored by Mendelssohn, a gently flowing river of tender melody, meandering peacefully to a final cadence of great .beauty and sweetness. Mr. lWbert Parker had his excellent band well, in hand, particularly' conscientious work being .done by the strings and wood winds. The G Minor Concerto (for piano and Orchestra) givos. the soloist .a fine opportunity for the display of digital' brilliance, and Mrs. E. D. Caehemaillo gave a' correct and interesting .reading, albeit without that oxhibition of - character that ono looks'-'for in one who aspires to concerto-playing. . Still it demands taieht of no ordinary degree, to. hold an audienco interested through so long and herculean,- a ;p'erformanbe,' and iuhai; Mrs. ' Caehemaillo certainly did, .receiving a hearty round -'of.-.merited' applause. : The concerto gives the orchestra some'.exhilarating work, which it was quite equal to.- The adagio movement from the A Minor Symphony' is another graceful composition' creditably interpreted. As a piece de resistance,'-without which' no festival would be'complete, the delicately fantastical overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream" 'was played. In this .work tho composer's fancy takes its : fullest flight, with a result altogether entrancing.' . Shakesp<a.re:hiniself, had hebeen given an opportunity, must have recognised, the brilliant reflection of his'eerie imagination in the fairy-liko sprightliness of ■ the principal motif,, replete with dainty action and melodic; cliarm. Then, following'/the Btately procession music and the grotesque dance, in which:one can easily conjure pictures of Nick Bottom," Peter Quince, and tie others'fooling so >cotnically in tho. wood, and .finally the "shell" music, which is the-closing motif, marred slightly' at the conclusion by raggedness in the wood-winds, 1 due'to a neglect of the beat., On the whole, the overture was, surprisingly well done, and- Mr. Parker and his orchestra deserve a full meed of praiso for this contribution to the programme. Tho-union's choir is an improving body, and -last evening sang .the'comparatively simple part-songs of Mendelssohn 'with engaging mellifluence. These consisted ■of " In the Woods," " The Yale of Rest," "An Old Romance" (in which the baton was assumed by Mr..F. V. Waters), '"Che Nightingale," arid the inspiriting "Hunting Song." Miss. Phoebe Parsons, the only vocalist, was hardly, in the. best of form, and that difficult number, " A Witch's. Song in May," which makes considerable .demands on its singer, found her wanting in vocal vivacity. -Sho was. much better suited in the bracketed songs—"Autumn; Song" and tho florid ."'Spribg'. Song," in which ; the anger displayed'a. proper: abandon.