ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY’S CONCERT.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 365, 13 August 1875, Page 3

ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY’S CONCERT.

We can sincerely congratulate the Orchestral Society upon the thorough and complete success of their concert on Thursday. From first to last every item was rendered excellently, and as regarded the instrumental part more particularly, with a precision and thorough appreciation of the master whose works they were interpreting, which deserves the highest praise. Every piece showed signs of careful and conscientious rehearsal, and painstaking labor, which had its reward in the really magnificent rendering which was given, and it is not saying too much when we assert that those who had the good fortune to be present last night had a musical treat of the very highest order, in listening to some of the very best and most classical music faithfully and artistically rendered. The programme opened with Cherubini s overture, |“ Lodoiska,” in two movements, nicely played by the orchestra, all the instruments going in unison, and with that careful attention to the forte and piano—the light and shade of music—which goes so far to render a performance successful. But this was only a foretaste of the good things to come, as the society had—somewhat ambitiously it must be admitted—selected for the piece de resistance of the concert Beethoven’s lovely symphony No 4, Of the performance of this work—for it is a work in itself—we can speak in terms of unqualified commendation. It is in four movements, and where all were so well played it is somewhat difficult to select any special movement for praise, but to our mind the second, an adagio in E flat, was one of the best. The opening passages, for wind and reed instruments with the strings in obligato, was rendered with much delicacy 'of tone, and was characterised by a faithful reproduction of the genius of the master, After these passages the wind instruments take up the obligato and the strings pursue the theme, which was also given most artistically. Wemust not omittonoticethefirstmovement, in which a sustained passage for the stringed instruments was taken very nicely indeed. The two allegro movements concluding the symphony, particularly the vivace movement were excellently played and altogether the performance of this difficult symphony was such as to reflect very great credit on those engaged in it. The larghetto from Mozart’s clarinette quintette, originally written, as its name imparts, for clarionets but arranged by Wilhelmj for first violin and orchestra accompanying, was an exceedingly pretty piece of instrumentation, Mr Bonnington sustaining the solo part excellently, and his efforts being ably seconded by the other members of the orchestra, The theme is a very beautiful one, and, as arranged, the orchestral effects are alike striking and charming, and the manner in which it was rendered deservedly drew forth loud plaudits. Mozart’s overture “ La Clemenza di Tito,” admirably played by the orchestra, concluded the instrumental contributions to the programme. In the vocal portion of the concert, a lady, well known to Christchurch-concert-goers, and who we are glad to be able to congratulate bn the marked improvement noticeable in her style of singing, gave a polacca from -“I Puritani” excellently, the very florid music of the piece, with its intricate runs, being well and carefully sung throughout. Her second song, “ When the quiet moon is beaming,”Jby Schondorff, was not so successful, there being a slight difference of tone between the vocalist and the piano, v The other vocal items were Spohr’s partsong, O’er Moor and Mountain;!’ a quaint . old canon by Eisenhofer, Kucken’s “ Good Night,” and Franz Abt’s beautiful part-song -“Evening." Allot these were very nicely rendered, especially the latter, and we are glad to welcome to the ranks of our partsong singers one or two gentlemen whose voices last night were heard to great advantage. Altogether, as we have said, the concert was a great success, and we hope we shall ere long have the’ pleasure of assisting at another.>, Mr A. Lean conducted most efficiently, Mr Bonnington leading, while Mr W. H. Simms accompanied the songs with his usual ability.