DUNEDIN CHORAL SOCIETY.

Evening Star, Issue 3971, 16 November 1875, Page 2

DUNEDIN CHORAL SOCIETY.

This society gave its second concert of the season last evening at the University Hall, which was crowded to excess. The instrumentalists numbered about a dozen, and the vocalists nearly forty, and Mr A. Towsey was conductor. The programme had been selected with the view of making the occasion a Mendelssohn night, the first portion being the “ Hymn of Praise,” and the second consisting of miscellaneous works of .the same composer. The opening symphony was faithfully given through all its movements, the oboe (played by Herr Schott) assisting greatly towards th effect. After the chorus “ All things that live and breathe ” came the solo, “ Praise, oh my soul,” sung by Miss Marshall, but that lady was not nearly so successful as usual. To Mr Thomson were allotted the tenor recita iye and air “ Sing ye praise,” but they were done anything but justice to by him. The duet “ I tarried tor the Lord,” by Miss Mollison and Miss Webb, was the first really satisfactory piece of vocalisation in the rendering of the “ Hymn,” and it was received with a considerable amount of applause. Miss Dick gave the air “ The sorr ws of death” and the plaintive recitative “ Watchman, will the night soon pass,” with proper feeling and expression, but a seeming want of confidence detracted a little from a perfect success. The chorale “To God, the Lord of all” was, particularly in (he third and fourth verses, capitally given ; and the grand final chorus “Ye People” was most effectively rendered, being characterised by great precision. Taken as a whole, the performance ef the “ Hymn of Praise ” was tame and unsatisfactory, and very little genuine applause was drawn from the audience. .he cause of this is partly the fact that some of the vocalists who were mainly relied on were not in good voice; but there is also no doubt that others who took a prominent part were overweighted. After a short interval the miscellaneous portion of the programme was commenced by the orchestra playing the “ March ot the Priests,’ from “ Athalie,” the spirit of which was only marred by one of the instrumentalists occasionally lagging. The part songs “In a Wood” and “The Nightingale” were proofs of the capabilities of the society, and of the careful training the members have received, both time and expression being admirably observed. The smallest success of the evening was achieved by the lady who sang “ The Young Savoyard,” which was too ambitious an effort on her part, Herr Schott’s concerto on the oboe was a pleasing novelty, and as that gentleman is a master of the instrument, his skill and taste were greatly appreciated Mr Towsey played a selection of “ Lieder ohne Worte Mr Lewis sang “ The Last Man ” rather unevenly ; and the whole performance concluded with the “ Wedding March ” by the ful' band.