HARMONIC SOCIETY AGAIN

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12616, 29 November 1926, Page 8

HARMONIC SOCIETY AGAIN

A SUCCESSFUL CONCERT. Again on Saturday evening the Harmonic Society gave proof of its taste. The programme for the society’s third subscription concert for the present year bristled with great names, the music was of fine quality. And there is no room lor dpubt that the singing is of higher standard than it was a couple of years ago. Tile long period of work together is telling, the society is becoming a musical instrument very sensitive to the will of its conductor. Alistakes are fewer than of old and tone and control obviously better. But the body always possessed a solid foundation of musical ability; it is in tho finer points of interpretation, the tone-col-our of harmony, that the change is to be seen. The fact that the personnel of the choir seems to have changed but little has something to do with it, the inspiration which it gets from its conductor has more. Wellington may be proud of its Harmonic Society. Saturday’s programme included much modern music, particularly two numbers hy Rutland Boughton, “Early Alorn” and the choral dance “Spring,” the first of which had to be repeated at the public’s demand. The second is as beautiful as anything written in the last twenty years. Villiers Stanford was represented by his charming “Diaphenia,” Granville Bantock by the merry “Jack and Joan” from our old friend Thomas Campion, the Gray’s Inn medico. “In the Alerry Spring” (Ravenscroft) had to be sung a second time, and there were also Rootham’s little chorus “The Golden Time,” “a carol for all the seasons,” Elgar’e most lovely “Evening Scene,” a setting of a lyric by Coventry Patmore which did not find the appreciation it deserved, “Ay Waukin O,” once again,the “Banks o’ Doon” (Roberton) and Dvorak’s tiny gem, “Blossoms, born of teeming Springtime.” This time the individual singers were all from the ranks of the society. Most notable was the appearance of Airs A. E. Burge, the owner of a very sweet, clear soprano who sang with great charm and quite captivated her listeners. She gave Beethoven’s “Adelaide.” Air E. W. Robbins sang Michael Head’s setting of “The Sea Gypsy” and “Because” splendidly. Mr and Airs R. R. Orr sang Edmund Yates’s “I Arise from Dreams of Thee,” combining well, and “Lovely Night” and “Tommy Went a-Fish-ing,” were given by a capable quartette consisting of Alessrs V. R. Bennett, E. W. Robbins, A. Stark and B. O. Stokes. Air Harold Whittle deserves a bouquet for his accompaniments, and Air Temple White conducted.