TRAINING COLLEGE STUDENTS

Evening Star, Issue 22464, 8 October 1936, Page 13

TRAINING COLLEGE STUDENTS

ATTRACTIVE ANNUAL CONCERT Decidedly meritorious from every aspect was the annual concert presented by the Training College Choral and Dramatic Societies last night at the Little Theatre. It is evident, if this performance can be taken as a criterion, that the valuable additions of music and drama to the students’ cultural equipment are being carefully studied. The two major productions of the even-ing—-both couldi be counted somewhat ambitious—demanded unusual executive talent, and each quite pleasantly fulfilled that obligation. 1 How He Lied to Her Husband,’ the Shavian interpretation of the husband-wife-lover situation, embodying the dramatist's tilt at the staleness of this already threadbare plot, was neatly delineated by the trio of players. The performance of Miss J. Messent was clever,, her acting' being natural and not flavoured with the somewhat artificial restraint of Messrs J. S. Allan and T. C. Potts. The former too sharply contrasted the moods of the piece. Mr Potts lost the point of Shaw’s intentions as the husband, and consequently was unconvincing. Nevertheless, there was a certain balance about their concerted efforts that lent an attractive individuality to this subtle playlet. The first local performance of a cantata, ‘Tubal Cain’ (by Dunhill), lent special interest to its rendition by the College Choral Society. This choir contains some distinctly promising material. There were definite weaknesses, specially in balance, but they were fully offset by the sincerity of the singing and the development of tonal requirements. In point of fact, the robust tone of the choir mostly enabled it to achieve a measure of success of a tuneful cantata, the last verse of which was repeated. The control exercised by Mr G. E. Wilkinson, the conductor, both in this work and also in a group of other songs, was always firm, and the singers dutifully responded. The soloists, drawn from the ranks of the choir, were Miss D. Gibb, Mr K. H. S. Allen, Mr S. M. Mackay, and Mr W. J. L. Young. Perhaps the best item was sung by Misses E. M. Sproule and J. Grieve, who collaborated in Mendelssohn’s lovely ‘ I Would That My Love.’ It was a presentation chastefully sympathetic. To hear a well-trained children’s choir is always a pleasurable experience, and an ensemble representative of Standards 111. and IV. of the Normal School was no exception to the general rule. This strong combination of youthful voices sang sweetly and with beautiful diction. Their readings were surprisingly intelligent, the rendition of _ a Mozart lullaby being a case in point. Margaret O’Connell and Arthur Aitken presented individual items. The accompanists for the concert were Miss M. M'Lachlan and Miss M. King, while a string orchestra drawn from the Orchestral Society maintained a fine tonal background tn'the cantata.