CORKONIANS' ENTERTAINMENT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 379, 11 July 1877, Page 2

CORKONIANS' ENTERTAINMENT.

♦ Such an audience as that which congregated last night to listen to the carrying out of the entertaining programme winch had been provided for them by the Calcined Corkonians, has seldom met at the Masonic Hall. The room was as full as possible, compatible with anything like comfort, and when it is remembered that charges were fixed at a goodly rate in order that the funds of the Hospital might have every chance of being handsomely supplemented, the result of the appeal to the public not only evidenced their charitableness, but was a very graceful compliment to the Calcined Corkonians. Oamaru is greatly indebted to these j r oung men, who have banded themselves together under this title in order that they may be enabled, by the exercise of their talents, to help those who are sorely in need of it. We were agreeably surprised at the appearance of these Nigritieated musicians, who extended along the full breadth of the stage, and we were not disappointed at the manner in which they acquitted themselves musically. Of course no one would patronise an entertainment such as that of last night in the expectation of hearing a repetition of the finished performances of the " Original Christy's," but we speak from book when we assert that it has seldom been our pleasure to listen to the melodious " minstrel " songs, with their, choice rich harmonies more advantageously wrought out than they were last night. Who is there that did not experience the vibration of a chord of sympathy within them when the strains of "The Vacant Chair," as sung by Mr. Corliss (who made his debut last evening as a soloist), fell upon their ears, and who was not eminently gratified when the chorus, with its replete harmonies, was sung by the company—now forte, and then pianissimo. Really the whole even-

ing's entertainment was so meritorious that we scarcely know upon which to bestow especial praise. The most successful chorus, however, was " Down the River." This had evidently been sub-

jeeted to careful study and ample rehearsal, and the result was that every member of the troupe gave out his part with a gusto and correctness so desirable to the efficienc}'' of such a composition. We cannot say the same for the "Anvil Chorus," the effect of which, we are given to understand, was marred from the occurrence of difficulties in its preparation which invariably attach themselves to entertainments, and which could not be avoided. Mr. Mitchell has a soft, melodious, unpretentious style, and a voice whose only fault is its lack of a little

[ more force ; but his singing of " Come, darling, rest your little head," was invested with interest, not only on account of the domestic character of the song, but because of the nicety with which it was performed. In the singing of " Molly Darling," Mr. C. Jonts is fairly entitled to the same honours. The next piece on the programme, "The Hen Convention," or "Poultry Duel," formed a judicious contrast to the two preceding songs, and Mr. Carncross made a happy hit in the choice of this piece. He is brimful of comicality, and as amateur "corner man," to our mind, has not had his equal in these parts, and, with a little practice, he would shoot far ahead of the professional rubbish with which we are sometimes "treated." Then came another gem of natural melody, " I'm waiting, my darling, for thee," by Mr. E. Booth. We are not addicted to the unfair and stupid practice of bestowing fulsome praise, and when we assert that Mr.

Booth's singing of this and the song he gave in the second part, "Though fortune darkly o'er me frowns," were of bright musical lustre, we are not indulging in any exaggeration. It is refreshing to see the ease with which every telling effect is obtained. With Mr. Walls we must deal as witli one who has only commenced to ascend the ladder of musical fame. He is, however, by no means on the bottom "rung," and we shall, if we mistake not, have occasion to write at no distant date of Mr. Walls as one of the vocal lights of this community. His singing in the choruses told well, and, as nature has gifted him with a voice far superior to the voices of many of those who excel him as interpreters of melody, we have reason to believe that rehearsal and experience are only necessary to enable him to overtake them. His songs were " 1 want to kiss papa," and " When the swallows." " The girl with the blue dress on" provoked considerable mirth, and deservedly so. It was sung by Mr. Oakes, Mr. Uarncross' vis-a-'vis. Then followed Mr. G. Booth's song, " Silver moonlight winds are blowimr," which was sung in a pretty, flowing style, by one of the sweetest of tenor voices. "Goodbye, Liza Jane," by Mr. Carnevoss, formed another break in the sentimentality of the programme. Mr. Smith's "Good-bye, old home" was sung with a care that evidenced a knowledge of how to sing, acquired by study, assisted by a more than ordinarily good voice. The "Anvil Chorus" terminated the first part. After Mr. E. Booth's song, as before mentioned, Mr. Carncross made a stumpspeech and succeeded in eliciting continuous bursts of vociferous applause. It was far superior to most stump-speeches, and bristled with local jokes, in which were introduced the names of some of our public characters. To our mind, that quartette of Bishop, " Where art thou, beam of light," was a delightful musical treat. The composer of this piece knew how to compose popular music, and the four gentlemen who sang it were not far out in their ideas of how it should be sung. Mr. Jones' violin solo could scarcely have been more successful, if applause be any evidence of success. Twice was ho recalled, and twice did he respond to the request of the audience for a little additional fiddling. His first piece was " The harp that once through Tara's hall," with florid variations ; the second, " Home, sweet home," worked up into musical fireworks by the arranger ; and the third was simple " Auld Robin Gray." Our only wonder is that the strings suffered so much torture without giving way, for what with double-stopping, feather-bow-ing, and tremolo, their strength was pretty fairly tested. We hope that Mr. Jones will not object to favour us on some future occasion. " The death of Nelson," by Mr. G. Booth, came next, and, so far as adherence to the text is concerned, the performance could not have been more admirable. A little additional verve would have been an improvement. The Mulligan gentlemen are not

to be congratulated on their portion of the performance. The make-up of each was all that could be desired, and funny enough to draw a smile from an Egyptian mummy ; but lo ! the commander either forgot, or never knew, his words, and made a clever effort to throw the. blame on the shoulders of the author. The first appearance of the Guards was, indeed, worthy of every praise, and there is no doubt that the members in the ranks were fully capable of carrying through the heavy responsibilities of their respective military positions for the time being. We venture to hope that Friday night's performance will bring with it an effective performance of this piece should it again form an item on the programme. Last, and by no means least, comes Mr. Finch. Good as was everything else connected with the entertainment, all would have been flat and unprofitable, indeed, but for the position which he occupied with so much energy and painstaking. As an accompanist he is so efficient that hitches were glossed over before they were within the ken of tiie auditory, and in his accompaniments to the violin solos, every little effect on the part of the soloist was cleverly and consideratly reciprocated. Nor must we omit to mention tiie very valuable assistance rendered by Messrs. Earle and Phelan, both of whom kindly volunteered to lend their aid. Mr. Longford, as we have before notified, very generously gave the use of the hall free of cost, and has offered to extend his liberality to Friday evening next, when another performance will be given for

the Siinio charitable purpose. We

must not omit to mention, and be it said to the credit of Oamam, that, although the gallery was crowded, no unseemly behaviour was indulged in, nor were any remarks made calculated to interrupt the harmony of the performance. At the conclusion of the entertainment, his Worship the Mayor, on behalf of the Hospital Committee, from the platform, thanked the audience for their liberal attendance, and said that lie thought he might venture, in the name of the public, as well as the Dfficers and Committee of the institution for the benefit of which the entertainmenthad been given, to thank the Corkonians and other gentlemen who had come forward and so ably assisted their funds, and at the same tim-3 provide! so excellent an entertainment. He said

that Mr. Jones' violin performances were alone worth going miles to hear. His Worship, in concluding his remarks, announced that arrangements had been completed for giving a second concert on Friday evening next for the same object, on which occasion would tepioclucel a varied programme, and that the charges for admission would be reduced to 35., 25., and Is. He said that he hoped there would be another full house, and that local institutions and local talent deserved the support of the public*