WELLINGTON HARMONIC SOCIETY

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2837, 31 July 1916, Page 3

WELLINGTON HARMONIC SOCIETY

•• A CAPITAL CONCEILT. ' The Wellington Harmonic Society is developing along the best possible lines! Its merit as a purveyor of choral music . was seen at its first concert, when all close observers perceived that here at last was a choir to be reckoned with and a choral master to respect. Mr. Temple White, to whom all the credit is due, made his mark long ago as a conscientious and capable conductor with sound Ideas on interpretation and the gift of conveying those ideas to those owing allegiance to his baton.. Mr. White has complete control over his forces, and those forces constitute a body of fresh, rigorous voices, competent, confident as the result of a full measure of preparedness (blessed word). Before a crowded Concert Chamber they proved this on Saturday evening in the courso of a.delightful concert that was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone present. A pleasing feature of tho programme was the homage paid to English composers, arousing one to the realisation of the wealth of beauty in the music of our own, too often allowed to lie dormant, whilst, in many cases, music less melodious nfld meritorious is favoured; Tho sixteenth century produced some fine writers of part-songs, and two very good' examples of their work wore the madrigal, "Fire, Fire, My Heart," by 'Tlios. Morlny (a pupil of'Wm, Byrd'sj and who wrote the oridnal melody, "It was a Lover and His Lass," for Shakespeare's comedy "As Tou Like It"), and Wiu. Bird's part-song "Lullaby, -My Sweet Little Uaby." Both songs', are now as melodious and as delightfully fragrant of the times in which they, were written as ever. The delieato manner in which they were handled fully repaid this adventure into the past. Other English writers represented were Sullivan, in his very beautiful madrigal "When Love and Beauty"; H. S. Robertson's "An Eriskay Love Lilt"; Cyril Jenkins's tender realisation of Ella Wheeler Wilcox's poem "0 Little Snowfiake"; and, lastly, tho llambuoyant patriotic chorus "For Empirn and for King," by Percy Fletcher, which gives poetic expression to the thoughts of every loyal person. This uumber was assisted by jiiano, organ, and tympani, which helped to give tho chorus the required grandiose effect. The only part-song writer included on the programme who was not an Englishman was Pinsnti, represented ,by his "Parting Kiss," but even that composer had lived for the greater part of his life in London. In every item the choir showed itself equal to all demands, and the perfect tune of the sustained chord at the end of some of the verses struck gratefuly on the ear.

The-soclety was assisted by Miss Freda Walter and Mr. Eric Meier, who, for tho noiico eschewed solo for duet work (with Mr. White at the piano). With good tone and nice freedom they played Karoly's "Kunok Abrand," a bizarre bit of writing that requires the fiery Slav temperament to do it justice. 'As an encore they played very swoetly an "Adagio" by Schubert, In the second part they played the "Prize Song" from Wagner's "Mcistersiiigers." Whilst the effort was not displeasing, the setting tended to bliir the superb beauty ot this golden thread of melody spun by Wagner in a highly inspirational mooa. As a. formal duet the air seemed to lose a lot of its .luminous spontaneity, and there was no lift in the piano part. An uninteresting "Hondo" by Schubert was the encore. Mr. Hamilton Hodges, in u Hiibdued mood, was not at his best in either Debussy's.vague and sketchy "Eomance" or the tender little fragment of poetic song, "L'Heure Exquise" (Ifeynaldo Hahn), both sung in French, but his interpretative ability stood him m fine stead in Godard's ballade "le Voyngeur," also sung in French. Mr. Hodges sang a quaint little love song entitled "Mothin'," in which a. reiterative play is made upon the name-word, as an encore. It was also good to hear this singer in the two sougs from Somerville's song-cycle, written on a selection of terses from Tennyson's "Maud," which he sings with a groat deal of charm. His accompaniments were ad. mirably played by Mrs. Queree. In tho, patriotic number, Mrs. M. Siege! prcsid-' e;l at the piano, and Mr. ('. Kerry at the organ, and Mr. •!. W 7 . Jack at the tympani.'