FISK JUBILEE SINGERS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 747, 21 February 1910, Page 6

FISK JUBILEE SINGERS.

; After a-lapse of years, the .Fisk Jubilee. Singers, now on their, farewell; tour,: made! their appearance before the Wellington public on';-Saturday evening, . when . the' firsticoncert of. their season .'here was given .in 'the. • Concert Chamber, Town: Hall, before a fairly large, and, without ' a ;doubt,-- most . enthusiastic 1 , audience.; Though the lapse of years has. somewhat: attenuated the,'ranks-of: this celebrated' company—there : are only nine; of them now—and, 'it ■ must frankly. be said,: dimmed !the/ lustre of ; their pristine ex-; cellence, "the Jubilee' Singers have Tap-, imrently' lost nothing of their popularity.; 'ijho homely'old'ilegro songs have a.charm' and..pathos peculiarly their own. There is ' ay something'about them, and about: the manner in which the Fisks sing them' —and there is no artistic pretentiousness 1 about tho rendition—which. strikes a Te- : sponsive chord., in . the - hearts • of- theaudience. ;The old ; negro chorus, "Nobody ICnows the Troublo. I've Seen," for' is infinitely pathetic, not so muclr;from the .actual words, nor from the wailing character of the tune, as from the association which , it . has with the memories of a hideous'past—the slave days—when a- beaten negro would ' seek his cabin and croon his-, tale-of suffering —"Nobody- knows the trouble I've seen." .Though the chorus singing, and, for that, matter, the solo singing, of the Fisk Company, could not,, be described as being artistically perfect, there were, nevertheless,- ; conspicuous instances of tho company s, ability to sing, in a manner which was distinctly.;; pleasing. This was especially noticeable ."in the softer strains of the -choruses, where the voices'blended perfectly, and-the'rich cadences fell most delightfully: upon the ear. ; A good deal Of the singing, however," was in forte, and here an .objectionable stridency of tone on the part of certain members of the company detracted from the general quality of the singing. The enunciation was. not entirely satisfactory. The soloists, of tho company were; Miss Alice Baptisto (soprano), Miss Belle F. Gibbons (a lady "baritone");-Miss Bertha Haynes-Miller (soprano), Miss .Florence Dixie (banjo player), and Mr. R. H. Collins (baritone). Miss Baptiste, whose ratlier agreeable voice might, with advantage, be better , disciplined, sang: "My .Old Kentucky Home" (with chorus),' one of tho most popular numbers on tho programme. Miss Gibbons, described as a .lady baritone, has ceptainly -an astonishing voice. AVith a fairly extensive range, sho ,ls _ able to give,; a -remarkably good imitation; of baritone singing, an J, also, though: rather: strident in tho upper register,' to. give' material assistance to tho treble -part in the chorus singing. She sang, "The. Castles" I Have - in Dreams." - Miss Haynes-Miller was very successful in her. item, ."Maggie, the Cows 'are. in tjie: Clover." : . Miss Dixie - proved herself to bo a capable banjoist, while Mr. Collins, who sang "Two Littlo Piccaninnies," :was: on the best of terms with his ■ audience.

The company will appear . again . this evening.. Tile management, desires to state that' public requests . for special items will be welcomed.