CHORAL UNION

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 303, 18 September 1919, Page 6

CHORAL UNION

"HYMN OF PRAISE" AND "THE SPIRIT OF'ENGLAND".

p A'more appropriate programme could I not porliaps have been arranged for the J iivst concert af te: , tho signing of 'the Peace ; Treaty than that presented by tho Weill lington Choral Union to a large aiidienee at the Town Hall Jaet evening. It oonsisted of Mendelssohn'? "Hymn of Praise". * and Sir Edward Elgar's choral suite ; "Tho Spirit of England," which had as i a lyric basis Laurence Binyon's three poems "The Fourth' of August," "To J Women," and "For the Fallen." The " years have tolled on since the Meiidels- [ Rohn work was last sung in Wellington ; by the now defunct Wellington Musical I Union under Mr. Eobert Parker, but the passing of many seasons has not obliterated our memory of that performance, a fact that reinforced our. enjoyment of the "Hymn" last evening. It was gratifying, • too," to hear tho manifold beauties of the " long- Overture to the work, an overture ' that lnsts twenty minutes, and one that '* makes considerable demands on all con- ' cerned. In the first half of this notab'o composition, the composer's rigid sym ; metry of phrasing: and his reiterative style tends- a- Tittle : to monotony, but his gift for puro melody and his skill in weaving it dexterously into many harmonic patterns always come to his aid to guide ono into new avenues of nd- ' miration for the masterly musicianship behind it oil. The orchestra could p«r- ---! haps have been improved upon in the direction of giving a more spirited and picturesque interpretation, but on the whole they ptayed the overture creditably, and no one co.ulij fail to memorise tho impressive leit motif which recurs throughout the work, even to tho ennoblement of the final chorus. , The choir, which good heart. snug tho opening. chorus, "All Men, All Thiiißs" with fine zest, and the succeeding chorus (with solo) was also declaimed in fine stylo. The chorale ''Let All Men Praise the Lord," Hie first tiro stanzas of which are eung -unaccompanied, wae well expressed, showing tho choir in better vqjal balance than for pome time past, whilst the final chorus, ■"Yβ Nations, Offer to the Lord," touched" a note of exaltation that was quite inspiriting. The 6o!oists were Miss Teresa M'Enroe. Mra. Frank Tunley, nnd Mr. Martin Duff. Miss M'Enroe sang the high-pitched soprano music fluently, and with admirable expression. The duet, "I Waited for the Lord," was well sung by Miss M'Enroe and. Mrs. Tunley, the voices blending perfectly. Mr. Martin Duff smoothly and surely sang the tenor music. His light tenor voice is even in tone, and its texture knows no variation, but ho has (TO moments, no high lights, 60 to spt't % and did not perhaps make the the one dramatic number, "We Calj.od Through tho Darkness," which is J.i. stinct with declamatory possibilities. Otherwise Mr. Duff sang well. \ The second part of the programme w'-j Elgar's "The Spirit of England," .-■ splendid and dkuified lament, vibraiiw with that highest of the human, ■• sions, love of country and glory _{■■< tho deeds that have- made skt great. Sir Edward Elgar, with a fine imagination attuned to the tim. , when the fate of the British Kmpir hung in tho balance, has painted' tlircu noble tono poems iu colours that will live. His "Fourth of August" is au exnlted trumpet call. Each line of Binyon's verses is given poignant expression to, and every sentiment is musically illuminative. The "spirit" is typified by tho soprano voice (Hiss M'Bnroe) "going nrdent-eycd before us," and tho role was sang with considerable elovation of soul by tho singer. "To Women" changes the scene from the blood-mi' scarlet pf patriotic endeavour and achievement to the grey of sorrowing Enghmd-the brave women of Englaw , uiuuriiiiig their dead yot holdiug on. Very louder-and pathetic is tho tone of. thin' beautifully-expressed passage. Fiually "For the Fallen" is a ;spleiulid lament, rythmically marked by the beating of a muffled drum, with the side drums tapping briskly as "they went with songs to the'battle." Following comes the tribute: •' They shall riw not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At tho going down of the sun and ■in the morning We shall remember then). These lines are wonderfully harmonised, and few that were present could resist the emotion which Elgar has expresed in the last line. Truly "Tho Spirit of England" is a notable • work, surely the most notablo produced by an English composer during tho war period. It is, as is all Elgar's music, tar removed from the banal and commonplace in music, and the public is indebted to the union, and to Miss M'Enroe, who sang the solo music with such fine feeling, for tho opportunity of hearing tho work. To Mr. 11. Temple White is due _a meed of praise for the.able manner in which he conducted both works.