THE PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY'S FIRST CONCERT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume III, Issue 637, 18 May 1878, Page 2

THE PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY'S FIRST CONCERT.

. . I The members <>f the newly-constituted j ! Oaniaru Musical Society may, without ; flattery, be congratulated upm the excel--1 lence of their "iirst concert, and the sucI cess in a jiccutiiary sense wiiich has i aticnded the initiatory efforts of the \ Committee of tli.it Society. The audience j was quite as large as the must sanguine I nf success could have anticipated, espej ciallv in such threatening weather, and i was "composed partly of honorary inemI hers (■ f win..ll t!i< re arc : .Ready about 70) and i-artly of tlu. public, and, ahhough we feared that interruptions might oeeur during the performance of the more delicate compositions, wo were gratified to observe that mo.-r ••? [he occupants «>t"_ti:o | backseats, who are p; on,- on sooh occasions | to show inimistakeaarlc sig; s < f weariness, j were not one whit more i'd-behaved than were some aspirau's b> gciiidLy. some of whom made thems.lve.s ridiculous by vociferously applan line;, not out of compliment l</the. performers, hut in order to give vent to their peculiarities. Such behaviour may beadmissibie in tap-rooms, but it is most objectionable at a highclass entertainment, and in the presence of ladies. We mention tiie matter in the hope that the Cmnmmoe will endeavor to concert measures to wivvent a recurrence ' of siicli unruly conduct, and with the t object of shaming the delinquents, some ' of whom are well known, into behaving 1 themselves rcspaeiably should they again 1 honor tin: Society with their patronage. To return to the concert. Mr. J. G. _ : Finch conducted, and. as might bo ex- : pected. there was no lack of energy in '. the performance of his responsible duties. • He infused vigor into the choruses and •.dees without overstepping the mark, and the precision which characterised the exe- ] ctitiou of some of these items, was mainly t due to the care of the conductor. Mr. 1 George Jones w;is scarcely more than nominally leader, for, in the absence of f an orchestra, he merely helped the . I choruses by taking up -the cuea, and v I accompanied a number of the songs in . the sacred part. Sirs. Joseph Booth pre- ■ •■ ! sided at the piano during trie performance '■' of the first parr, some of the items in the - second part being ably accompanied by " Mrs. Brunton. Indeed, the accompaniments throughout were excellent, and - tended to promote the success which >; attended the concert, and which must ' have been apparent to everyone. There is musical talent in Oam.iru, which will " now be developed through the inst-rumen- '■ j tality of the Society, and in the develop- '" j ment of which the minds of others will '"'l receive musical instruction, and gradually j be added to the Society's nti Its. In com- ; I inciting on tiie performance, we will : ' I gruiip the choriiSL.s of the lirst part. " j because tiiey, with the exception of " Tiie „| Heavens are Telling,' 1 ,; The Marv'lous ~ I Work," and " Acoi-.-vul is the Gl rious .[ i Work," possessed the same characteristic. >. j and that was 1 dinu, sscr nee. The n.oin - j is partly to be blamed for ci.is defect, fi.ii 1 a j it is totally unsuitable for a stage full of i performers, sounds wince. : n a building ' : ! of suliicieiin si;:.', coi-sn-ncted on prop >r '' ! ac-uialic priueiph-s, would possess volume '!., subject every item on the prognuinii" "; to particular criticism would me ,cdy Le t j troubling our readers with a very leiigthy i. ! report, but would haw ido i-ii'eet of disL . ; eouraging some of U:e most p:-,>niisiir.-e j members of the Society. Wo shall, there- > fore, content ourselves by running Cnr- '• sorily over the programme- and selecting '} ; those eii'orts whiclT we de;r, worthy of ; - i special notice. Following tiie chorus v .| --All we like sh..-.-,-'' '-nie theivcit and \ ] air -" My arms a_".'.: • : -;..: Oeo;-;ias' ! .and ' i - : Sound an alarm. by _.tr. i'la.sor, a !".! first time liei'ore an t'lueuu audience. ~JHe had scarcely comin in:. d to sin" ;- t j before we ncogius-d in hh.i a pure tenor i-1 voice of wide ran ..re, nil of more llian .r ! ordinary cuhiva:i-.:>. ibid it not been •- i for a little uncertainty, which was ennreiy e! absent from 3lr. i"r.sei ,? s "..hearsahs of '- these pieci.s. his pe: ["■•rmauce would have " ranked as one of i)v most meritorious of jj the even):!:.'. Amongst r'.e. selections ,' from '"Tiie Chi a.tujn,' Mrs. Clowes' r _ ' : On mighty p r.s," and 2\li: Joserih ~ Booth's "In narive wortii " were tiie most, faithfully hr.ei pveti.-d. Ji woiihl be diiiicult to even imagine more finished ! vocalisation than that which was brought to bear in singing '-'On mighty pens." Intricate as it is. so easily and gracefully was every eir.belii hment treated. ') li.'.'tt one was a!iii'>sf. led t > I.e. beve that it contained no difiicuti.-s, and became r absorbed in the d--licio;;. ; -:iiess of one of e the most briiutifu! • f Haydn's compositions. The trio, •'■' On Thee each living soul awaits,'' which occurs between the e two choruses, entitled "Achieved is the '- glorious work," was not sung with cers tainty, and the treble was overpowered s by the bass and tenor parts. Miss Gilford's we'behosiei solo, "But the Lord is mindful of his own," was very - tastefully sung, although it was evident t that the singer was suffering from the f nervousness which attends first appearances. Mr. E. Booth'srecita|:id air from the "Elijah"—"Draw near," and "Lord God of Abraham"--di.splayed the effective- ' ness of one of the purest bass voices wo have ever listened to, and by the exercise of a little more verve this gentleman would develop into a vocalist of more than ordinary calibre. The chorus "Let all j the angels," was sung as though each t singer was relying upon the other to give . the cues ; but we were delighted with f "The Heavens arc telling," in which chorus the vocalists let their voices loose, and gave out a glorious volume of sound for so small a number. The second part was of a miscellaneous character, and was not celebrated for any particular vocal display, although there were two or three pieces*which would have been admirably sung had not the perturbation of the performers who were ladiesinterfered sadly with their performances, and caused them to sing sharp. ' Amongst the glees, the only one really worthy of praise was " Allegiance we Swear." But many of the imperfections ' of the Society's first concert will not be | likely to be repeated ct the second. Con- | tidence will be infused into the singers, many of whom seldom, if ever, sing in I

public, now that they have overcome the ordeal of making their debut. We hope that the Society will at once commence in earnest for the next concert, in time for which, it is understood, there is to be a baud organised.