CHORAL SOCITY’S CONCERT

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2735, 22 November 1871, Page 2

CHORAL SOCITY’S CONCERT

We hardly know whether to call the concert of last evening a success or a failure, for it purtook of both. It was a success so far as the accuracy of the vocalisation of the Hist part was concerned—but, as we anticipated, it as an attempt to do an impossibility, for the “ May Queen” cannot be given effectively without proper instrumental accompaniments : and these were absent. This is the more to be regretted, as the choruses were well sung, and the solo parts had evidently been got up with care. The precision with which the different choruses were rendered, and the manner in which the fatiguing solos were sustained, are proofs of what might have been done had a more judicious selection of a subject been made. With such vocalistic advantages, we think justice was not done to the Society by its committee or its conductor in spending so much time upon a composition, that for its effect depends equally upon instrumentation as upon the voice. The “May Queen” is an operetta: a ; story of love, jealousy, qnajrrel, and dominion. ; It abounds with beautiful passages, but they require their appropriate expression. Both choristers and soloisis, to do it justice, require a higher musical training than most would be willing to submit to ; and the surprise is that the vocal part was executed so well, especially as the Society appeared not to have mustered in its full force. But the “May Queen” requires a full orchestral accompaniment—and this ig the weak point of the Society. A trumpetcall, although the notes may be played on the piano, is not a trumpet-call: the notes of the bassoon canpot be given on a violin. Through an earnest desire that the Society may succeed, we recommend them in future not to attempt what is musically impossible. It is unjust to the Society, aud to the public who look to them for a standard of musical taste. (l We cah say'- little for the second part. It appeared to have been hurriedly got up, and bore evidence of incomplete rehearsal. The ladies and gentlemen who came forward acquitted themselves on the whole well, and tw r o young ladies, sisters, in “Uh ye tears,” received the only encore during the evening. . Unwilling as we arc to comment upon the arrangements of a conductor, we must say that last evening their faultincss was forced upon attention. The hand, although including some excellent instrumentalists, was weak, and rendered still less effective through d.visiou-the stringed instruments being placed back and in the centre of the orchestra, aud the piano on one side, in front, at a great musical distance from them. The consequence was that instead of supporting each other, they served to illustrate the tu eagre ness of each when not blending with the other. The conductor, no doubt, had precedent in his mind, and was following the usual order of arrangement at English concerts, but he does not appear to have considered that the piano, with sucli a weak force as he had at command, was needed to give fullness to the harmony, and should Have been one of the baud instead of being away from it. Mr Towsey played well, and so did Mr Little, but they were too far apart for acting together properly. The string band sounded too thin, and the piano too full owing to this. In fact, good material was frittered away. This fault of position was specially observable in the Andante movement by Mozart, which, in spite of the efforts of Mr Towsey and Mr Little, sounded very much as if each individual performer was indulging in a freak of his own, instead of forming one of a united whole. Just in the same way the solo and quartett singers stpod away from the piano, as if they were frightened of it; so, instead of receiving support from it, any little defect was rendered more apparent through the car being able completely to analyse the two sounds. Mr West, deserves credit for the evident attention given to training the choruses. What the society wants is an efficient band. In the vocal department they have good material to work with—the conductor seems more at home there th n with the instruments, With an efficient instrumental orchestra, it was evident from the performance of last night, that Dunedin could give as effective concerts as any town in the Colonies. We should be guilty of injustice were we to omit that the flute obligato passages in the “May Queen” were very pleasingly given by Mr Arthur West.