Musical.

Southern Cross, Volume 2, Issue 15, 14 July 1894, Page 12

Musical.

THE CHORAL UNION. NEXT WEEK’S CONCERTS. The members of this organisation will be heard in the Theatre Royal on the evenings of the 17th and 18th insts., on which dates Mendelssohn’s “ Hymn of Praise ” and the pastoral cantata “ Acis and Galatea ” will be submitted. The musicians, under Mr C. Gray’s directorship, have been hard at work for some time, and it is expected that they will be able to give a good account of themselves on the eventful evenings, but even should any slight mistakes occur, the critically inclined will please bear in mind that several of the members of the Union live at a considerable distance from town, which renders it difficult for the conductor to always secure a full attendance at rehearsals. With reference to the cantata, it may be noted that it was composed by Handel about the year 1720, and adapted to the poetry in which Gay has embodied an old legend. Some of the principal solos, as “ Ruddier than the Cherry,” and “ Love sounds the Alarm ” are familiar to most people, but the complete work has not yet been rendered before an Invercargill audience, and it is to the beautiful orchestral accompaniment that special attention may be directed, The Sinfonia which leads into the opening chorus is appropriately light and sparkling, and forms a fitting introduction to the soprano solo “ Hush !” ascribed to the sea nymph Galatea. Further on, the contrast between the joyous music in the chorus “ Happy we,” and the lugubrious strains immediately succeeding in “Wretched Lovers ” is most characteristic, the “ roar ” which brings upon the scene the huge Cyclops Polyphemus being delightfully effective. The quaint dialogues between the shepherds Acis and Damon and the giant are followed by the beautiful trio “ The flocks shall leave the mountains,” suddenly interrupted by the “ Tarture ! Fury !” of the enraged monster as he hurls a “massy ruin” (presumably a fragment of rock, weighing a few tons) upon the unsuspecting Acis, and crushes him to an inglorious death. The mournful music in which the chorus of nymphs and the desolate Galatea lament his unhappy fate is followed by the exquisite “ mourning still,” as Galatea exerts her “ power divine,” and changes the lost youth into a flowing stream. Throughout the whole work the musical effect is extremely beautiful.