A SUPERB ARTIST.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1616, 6 December 1912, Page 6

A SUPERB ARTIST.

• <* MADAME KIRKBY LUNN'S SECOND CONCERT. As was quite. anticipated, a vast audience assembled last night at' the Town Hall eager to do homage to that superb artist, Madame Kirkby Lunn, the eminent English contralto. The fine enthusiasm the ' gifted singer unquestionably created'on Tuesday evening only ""served to stimulate the interest in her second concert, one reason being that .Madame ■ -Lunn's art is so comprehensive that, each new song discloses new beauties in her wonderful voice, and, to the student more particularly fresh fields of discovery -in the world of interpretation.- It is .rarely that we get an artist capable of thoroughly satisfying the critical, and when, as in the case of the visitor, one is heard, a ..sense of unalloyed and deep-seated pleasure is created. The great contralto's second, appearance only served sise the. opinion formed on her advent' here, ■ and the audience was quick, to recognise the fact. Madame's opening number last evening was the very beautiful aria"Softly Awakes My Heart" (from Saint-Saeri's opera "Samson and Delilah") in which; Delilah exercises her arts in the cajoling of the mighty Samson at the behest of" the High Priest. The voluptuous melody of the flowing number displayed to ' a nicety the singular evenness in quality of.-the voice through-; out its' registers, faultless plrrasing, and a .mentality which gave full play to the sensuous character of the scene in which the aria Ms sung.- Since the ban. lias been lifted- from Saint-Saens' opera, the number has become popular with contraltos, and has been hoard more than once in Wellington, but never before has it been sung with such vocal witchery as last evening. A storm of applause followed as a matter of . course, and Madame,., genially '.responded with Gounod's setting 'of There is a Green Hill Far Away," sung with exalted Teverence and deep sincerity. The song ■ exhibited to perfection the wonderful 'beauty of those reedy notes below tho stave which are so valued a part of the singer's equipment. As an encore came Sullivan's drear "Willow Song" of a maiden all forlorn who sat crying, by a sycamore tree. To the delight of the musical elect a group of Brahm's songs was included. It consisted of "Das Madchen Spricht," and "Nachtigall," two widely different songlets, which formed an admirable medium for the exercise of Madame's gift in tone-colouring. Then came the Sapphic Ode in which a gem of the purest poesy is given the finest savour of romance by its. perfect interpretation; Little wonder that this-song of Brahm's is in constant demand. As sung by. Madame. Kirkby. Lunn it. is the perfect song. Still another bright little song was.added in "Marienwurmschin" (Schumann), sung .with verve and .delicacy. Finally, Madame Lunn sang two pretty Pings by Lohr 'entitled "Unmindful of the Roses," and. "It .is Not Because Your Heart is Mine." The resultant "bis" produced the "Three Fishers," magnificently intoned,'! and a pretty reading of Alicia Nepdha'm's song, "Hushsen." . Mr."William Murdoch sustained'the reputation he mado locally on Tuesday. He is a cultured "nervy" player, with abundant temperament, who infuses feeling into.his work. He played Cesar France's portential "Prelude," a Gliick-Brahm's "Gavotte," a eroup of Chopin, including tho spark! iiig "Valse in G Flat." and (as an encore) the Nocturne in E Flat. , His accompanying of Madame Lunn was a feature. M. Andre do Ribaupierrc, who is a young violinist of fine promise, was not heaTd to- such advantage in" the Grieg "Sonata". .(in F . Major) as ho . was in his incursion into the classics at the 'first concert. A certain lack of sympathv .between' the violinist, and the pianist. (Herr Johan. Wielaert) marred the realisation of. the true Grieg spirit—that mystic eeriiiess which drares that interesting composer's works. ■ Ho played the Vieuxtemps "Polonaise" with plenty of spirit, and showed pc-me delightfully fine work in Gorski's "Intermezzo" muted a.nd unaccompanied), his double and treble-stopping being vsry clean and free from slur. A Grieg "Berceuse" was nicely played, as was also Wieniawski's "Mazurka."' Mr. Andrew Shanks, the baritone, found some little difficulty in acquiring true pitch last evening. He 6ang "The Two Grenadiers" (Schumann) forcefully, and introduced AValter Damrosch's fine song, "Danny Deever" (set to Kipling's lines), effectively enough, but he hardly achieved the touching tenderness that lies in-William Wallace's "Son o' Mine."' He was perhaps at his best in "King Charles," a song which suits bia buffo style to a nicety. At the final concert to be given .tomorrow evening Madame Kirkby Lunn will sing "The Fnro" (Orfeo), Gluck, "Im Herbst" (Franez), . "Vergiblisches Standchen" (Brahms), "0 Lovely Night" .(Thomas), "Poppies for Forgetting" (R. C. Clarke), "Morning and You" (F. Aj-1-ward), "Sapphische Ode" (Brahms), and "Three Fishers" (Hutlah).