"THE MESSIAH.”

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4915, 22 December 1876, Page 2

"THE MESSIAH.”

The fifth annual performance of Handel’s oratorio, “The Messiah,”.took place last night at the Wesleyan Church, Manners-street with remarkable success. Long before the doors were opened the approaches to the church were thronged with people, fully 300 being in waiting. When the doors were unclosed a rush was made, completely overpowering the doorkeepers. We regret to learn that several persons were mean and dishonorable enough to pass old cards of various kinds as tickets. We hope they may be detected and exposed. At a quarter to eight the church was densely packed in every corner, even standing room not being obtainable, and the crush was very severe. Among those present was his Excellency the Governor, who was attended by his suite. Considerably over a 1000 persons were inside the building, exclusive of the performers, who numbered nearly 140, including twentytwo , instrumentalists. The performance commenced a few minutes after eight. The overture was played with admirable precision, Mr. Edwards at once showing that he had the band thoroughly under control. The introductory tenor recitative and air, “Comfort ye” and “Every valley,” were taken by a singer with a voice of very pleasing quality, only lacking in power. He sang with much taste and care, and very correctly, although the trying nature of the music caused him to fall a little flat towards the end of each movement. The numerous runs in “ Every valley” were given very fairly. The chorus, “ And the glory of the Lord,” went with great force and steadiness. The bass recitative and air, “ Thus saith the Lord” and “ But who may abide,” were finely sung by a rich and powerful baritone voice, the passage, “I'll shake the heavens,” especially being splendidly declaimed, while the striking contrasts in the aria were admirably brought out ; in fact, this was one of the greatest treats of the evening. The difficult chorus, “And He shall purify,” given, we believe, for the first time here, went extremely well. The bass recitative and air, “For behold” and “The people that walked in darkness,” were taken by the same singer who has sung them for several years, -and as usual were capitally given. Then came another of the great hits of the night, the chorus, “ For unto us a child is born,” which was rendered with a magnificent power and vigor quite unapproached on any former occasion, the “ Wonderful ! Counsellor” telling out with a glorious volume of sound and ’ a degree of precision rarely indeed heard from amateurs, and showing how well Mr. Edwards has drilled his forces. The soprano recitatives beginning “ There were shepherds" were beautifully sung by the same young lady who produced such an effect with them last year, especially in the marked contrast offered to any previous rendering of these exquisite passages. Her declamation was excellent and her voice delightful in its sweetness and purity. The chorus, “ Glory to God,” was delivered with due spirit, and the “ Pastoral symphony” received complete justice from the band, who indeed from beginning to end played in a style which left nothing to be desired, the accompaniments being particularly good. The soprano song, “Rejoicegreatly,” wasnot.asuccess, lacking spirit and vivacity, while the runswere deficient in clearness and flexibility.

Apparently, however, this particular song’was not suited to the style of the singer, who later in the evening gave another air with excellent effect. Another soprano voice >of charming quality sang “ He shall feed His flock” exceedingly well and tastefully, the latter part being especially effective, although we did not admire the departure from the text at the conclusion. The qhorus, “ His yoke is easy,” was grandly rendered, and should have brought the first part of the concert to a close, as it does the first part of the oratorio. This would have made the interval come in at 9.25, whereas by going on to the end of “ Lift up your heads,” no pause occurred until 10 o’clock. The sublime chorus, “Behold the Lamb,” was sung with truly solemn and impressive effect. Then followed the lovely contralto air, “He was despised,” sung with exquisite pathos by the same lady to whose delicious voice this song has been allotted every successive year, and she never sang it more beautifully than last night. We inadvertently omitted to mention that this lady previously gave the air, “ O Thou that tellest,” in excellent style, and the chorus into which it leads was irreproachably done. Of the three connected choruses, “ Surely he hath borne our griefs,” “And with His stripes,” and “ All we like sheep,” it may be remarked that the first and last were capitally sung, and the second very fairly; while “He trusted in God” has never been so well done here before. The tenor recitatives, “ All they that see Him” and “Thy rebuke,” and the air, “Behold and see,” brought another voice of much merit to the front. They were sung with much taste and appropriate expression, while the difficult intervals were taken in good time. ■ The recitative, “ He was cut off,” and the air, “ But thou did’st not leave,” were delightfully sung by the same soprano who took “There were shepherds,” already mentioned. The splendid chorus, “ Lift up your heads,” as splendidly sung, terminated the first part of the concert at 10 o’clock exactly. Half-an-hour’s interval followed, and then the performance was resumed by the air “ How beautiful are the feet” being fairly sung by a fourth soprano vocalist, who acquitted herself well until just at the close, when she sang slightly flat. The fine bass air, “ Why do the nations,” was delivered with much spirit by the singer who always has taken it, although on this occasion he was evidently suffering from indisposition. The choruses, “ Their sound is gone out ” and “ Let us break,” went excellently. The air, “ Thou shaft break them,” was very creditably sung by a third tenor singer,, who grappled with its difficulties very fairly, but unfortunately was obliged to take the high notes in falsetto, thus spoiling the climax; nevertheless, he deserves much praise for his rendering of so exacting a song. The “ Hallelujah ” chorus was simply sublime, and produced a profound impression upon the audience, who rose at the commencement and remained standing to the close. The glorious soprano air, “ I know that my Redeemer liveth,” was very well sung by a fine soprano voice, the only fault being the indistinctness of the articulation. The baritone air, “The trumpet shall sound,” was splendidly delivered, the trumpet accompaniment being excellently played by Mr. Cemino. The choras, “ Worthy is the Lamb ” and the famous “ Amen” chorus, both magnificently given, brought to a conclusion what certainly must be described as the grandest performance yet given in Wellington. Mr. Edwards conducted with admirable tact and judgment, Mr. Raymond presided at the organ with his accustomed ability, and Mr. Herrmann led the orchestra with consummate skill. All the arrangements were excellent, and too much praise cannot possibly be given to the indefatigable secretary, Mr. Garrard, who has worked hard and well for the Choral Society, and deserves the utmost credit for his able management. The oratorio ended at 11 o’clock precisely.