BENEFIT CONCERT

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2129, 22 April 1914, Page 8

BENEFIT CONCERT

BY ROYAL CHORAL SOCIETY

That there., was. only n good dowSi* stairs house at tho Town Hal) Jjst cvcli-' jug is somewhat difficult to iitiiltfrsiaiKjj- ■ as the concert' givcu ' by tlio Koyal Chora! Society was an exceptionally iilia •0110, and tk ciius.o—tlio Il'U.'tt Disastfll Fund-is one that should make a wi(k appeal, Among those present Was Hif Graeo Archbishop Itedwood, The society's chorus was in fairly : stroan numbers, and did ample justice ■to the four numbers allocated them, i 'ihtso were tlio cliora'c "Oast Thy Bur* | deli -Upon tho Lord," from "Elijah" i'Mendelssohn), "Tho- 'Glory of f'w Lard," fmnj "Tho Messijili" (Handel).! the operatic chorus "Tho Angelas, , irem "Maritana"' (Vincent Wallace), a number, by tli<> way, tjist was most.artistically treated, and fi.ual l y tho "ml-1 leJujflli Chorus," froiii "Tho Messiah-' : lit these numbers Sir. Christian Helieinamt presided at the- grand organ, which gave weight and dignity to' the ■ciise.mbl.o) particularly tbo Hsndman' numbers. Mr. Frank Amsden held tha batou, Ho marked tlio tempo with a definite and expsnsivo bcr.t, but gave little assistance, where tbo lead's would ire indicated in tbo ftiguo passages in "And tho Glory." Coming .to tlio soloists. it Was with tafc delight that 0110 ■ listened to the fini'sliod Voc.a.lisui .of Mini. Caldow. Sbe produces a Ml" bodied contralto, ablaze with musical e'eiouv, in the freest maimer, her enunoiatio.n is impeccable, and she is blessed with that rare interpretive spirit- winch gives each ■ song its own aura. _ Miss Oa Mow's choice of songs was m ilm best of taste. "Jean" .(Burleigh) finds tho poet ami composer perfectly wedded, and "The Little Damo/.cl" (Novello), a little gleam of lively sentiment in song, was delightful. Then came, : as nji encore. the much hackneyed "My •«®' a ' ary,'-' which the singer lifted out of tlm c/unmonplacc by tho emotional fervour with which she- endowed it. Tho sustained note, sung diminuendo _ at tlie end of' each phrase, was effective, and quite in 1 beeping with tho spirit of the ! lyrics, Miss Caldow ivas , strong I rind impressive, too, in tli® Saint-Saeus' recitative afla ana, "0 Love from Thy Power." _ iroin "Samson 'and Delilah. ' Ibis is tho impassioned appeal of Delilah _to a niK'.'itt deity to aid her in -subduing tlio mighty Samson, and the. singer -was fully equal to tho draniatio weight of tlrothetttO as tell as to its not :mcoiis H era bio vo£a.l demand. As An e uc-ore Mfes Caidow sang "It" (Xovello), ;i baited of some distincuon-'-iiot the tu» considerate trifle which tho title «mgi costs. Tito society produced a new tmior of considerable promise in Mr. Waldcwat Jvibv, wlm, in qualify, appxoxanates a light baritone, but lias a nood range, Slid .makes good Use of aa effective mezzo. Though .not; by any means .a fmislied singer, Mr. Eiby Ims plenty of. voice, whMi, however, on occasions, is not tonally secure. Ho ■Banc: tlio rather colourless song of that proline- German writer, Meyer-Helmund, "Thine toy Thoughts Are, Margarita, tli® lilies', of -which do not _ translate well; "Take n Pair of Sparkling T.ycs> (from "Tbo Gondoliers"), "I Seek tot Thee in Every Flower," and "Mary 01 Areyle." All interesting item was a new song bv Mi. Helleinann, entitled "Tho Hero's Death," written s.pesMity for the occasion. It is a WUsicianly composition, which reflected the tneiiio rather ingeniously. It. wa* \eiy well sung by Mr H.vniHfc# IMfiBS, wrtlj the composer at the. pianoforte. An eueoro produced "Absent, which «ni» tastefully interprctoEl , ,' a , -tß?j-iV-half Mr. Hodges .sane, Mr. Alfred Hill s gripping dirge, "Ttttvgv m .f; ? { tV c liiirrorod its mood ui.ost fAithinllv, .)ild was fliioe liioro favoured W.itli aii encofo. Mr. E, 11. Glciit Mohr.ist, played with rnro aympaihy Spohf'B "Hose Softlv Bioanife" Sa-iiit-baens s U Cycne," and, tor nn encore, Drdla s dainty "Souvemr. ijr. V,. H, Bohnian played "Tlio Lost. Chord" as a cora°Dnr°ing tbo interval, and before and after tio ■concert a number of .pretty jjt tlo girls .sold sweets ainong tbo audienco iii aid of the fund.