THE OAMARU PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY'S CONCERT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 847, 2 January 1879, Page 2

THE OAMARU PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY'S CONCERT.

Handel's sublime oratorio " The Messiah" was performed by the Oamaru Philharmonic Society on New Year's Eve. In several respects this, the fourth concert of the Society, excelled,' previous efforts, but in several points it was obviously defective. In the first place the effect given by the choruses was not sufficiently massive. This was owing to the omission of the trebles—which were fairly numerous—to use their voices to the best advantage, and the paucity of the altos and tenors. But these are faults of omission which will, we have reason to believe, be corrected in time, and whilst we have, in criticising, to complain on this score, we must do the Society the justice of stating that errors of commission were signally absent from ti.i performance. Amongst those errors were the indecisive and somewhat weak start made in the majority of the choruses that should commence with a crash. This is an old failing in musical societies, but one that does more to damage effect than any other to which societies are accustomed. The same indecision was in a less degree perceptible where rests occurred after curt notes. The notes were prolonged, and the rests were robbed of their fair duration, and a clumsy start made after them. Practice will correct these defects if ordinary care be exercised. But to our mind, no error is so grave as that of stifling vocal power, under the impresssion that you need not trouble yourself to sing in places about the correct rendering of which you have some doubt, because others who are always up to the mark, will bo sure to prevent your making an exhibition of yourself, by filling the hiatus. This is thoughtlessness of the worst description, and should be striven against by some members of the Oamaru Philharmonic Society. There is one thing of which we may fairly feel proud, and that is the excellence of our solo singers. It would be difficult to bring together such an array of solo singers in any other town or city in New Zealand. Mr. Fraser's " Comfort ye my people," " Every valley," " All they that see Him," " Thy rebuke," and " Behold and see," were admirably sung, and so was his part in the duet with Miss Gifford, " O Death ! where is thy sting 1 ? " He was not so successful in " Thou shalt break them," a start having been badly made. The Society has another acquisition in Mrs Kinnear. She is a finished singer, and deservedly an old favorite in Oamaru. Her " Thus saith the Lord," "But who may abide?" "Behold a Virgin," " O, Thou that tellest," and, above all, " He was despised," were truly enjoyable performances. But we think that the effect of the prestissimo movement, starting with the words '' For He is like a refiner's fire, was greatly impaired by substituting a contralto for the bass voice for which it was written. The orchestration was intended as an accompaniment to massive, powerful vocalisation, and was totally out character as an adjunct to the the soft tones of a contralto. For this reason Mrs. Kinnear's efforts, courageous though they were, were scarcely heard amidst the din of the orchestra. It is only fair to state that Mrs. Kinnear produced all her fine vocal effects while suffering from a severe

sore throat. Mr Daniel Booth sang " For behold darkness," "The people that walked in darkness," " Behold I tell you a mystery" and " The trumpet shall sound," as we have never heard him sing before. Some of these items were to have been sung by Mr. Joseph Booth, but a severe cold precluded the possibility of his singing them. Although it is somewhat disappointing and sometimes inconvenient to have to depart from original arrangements, it was fortunate that such a good substitute was available. We have now to comment upon the singing of a young lady—Miss Taylor—who sang before an Oamaru audience on this occasion for the first time. She has a pure rich soprano voice, and uses it in a manner that plainly indicates that she has made the art of singing a study. Her performances consisted of the recitatives " There were j shepherds," &c. We now come to what we consider the most meritorious performance of the evening—Miss Honour's singing of "Rejoice greatly." We only know of another lady in the Colony whose singing of this piece will compare with that of Miss Honour, and that is Mrs. Mitchell. The articulation and enunciation were so admirable that they would have been creditable to a professional, and there was not the slightest deviation from correct intonation which some-

times spoils the effectiveness of a good voice and style. Miss Gilford sang the recitative, "Then shall the eyes," and, with Mrs. Clowes, the lovely air, "He shall feed His flock." We need not say that Mrs. Clowes gave to the fullest every minute effect, and introduced into her singing pathos that is only possible to those who have learned how to control their voices. Miss Gifford also accomplished her part well, and the plaintiveness of her singing in this piece, and in " O ! death where is thy sting," demonstrated that she has greatly improved in her style since we heard her last. Mrs. Brunton took " He was cut off" and " But Thou did'st not leave," and, although it could be easily discerned that the ability to accord these pieces justice under ordinary circumstances was present, it was equally apparent that her late indisposition had not improved her voice. " How beautiful are the feet" was apportioned to Miss Hardy, and, as it is peculiarly suited to her voice, it was sung in a very pleasing manner. The song of songs, just as the " Hallelujah " is the chorus of choruses—"l know that my Redeemer

liveth"—was taken by Mrs. Murison, and had that lady teen in good health, we have no doubt that the result would have been a really good rendering of this song ; but she was indisposed, and so weighty a performance, therefore, proved too much for her. The orchestra was quite a feature in the concert. There were a piano, two violins, a viola, and a violoncello. Mr. Bilton presided at the piano, and did all that it was possible for one that is letter perfect to do to keep the performers together. Mr. Gooch, also from Timaru, was a great acquisition as second violinist; and Mr. Geo. Jones, sen. (viola), was a valuable addition. Mr. Waud, from Dunedin, played the violoncello as only one man can play it in New Zealand, and Mr. Geo. Jones played first violin. This compact little orchestra contributed much to the success of the performance, more especially of the solo portion of it. We need say little in praise of Mr. Finch (the conductor). His unassuming, yet firm, manner was effectual in keeping everything in its proper place ; and to him is mainly due the success of the most en- ■ joyable concert that has been given by the Society.