PHILHARMONIC CONCERT.

Southland Times, Issue 693, 8 July 1867, Page 2

PHILHARMONIC CONCERT.

The seconcL^^cert of the season was held at the TM^^^yal on last Thurs-^ dav eveninsJßHMwhst. The, house was almost; inconveniently crowded. The dress circle, the side boxes, the stalls, and pit were filled to overflowing., Indeed there must have been over 500 people assembled, amongst which might be.oh- ! served nearly" "every leading citizen in town, * as well as- numerous country visitors. The event must have been most gratifying to the members '/"of 7: the Society, because during the interval since the last concert was held, various.-difficul-ties — incidental to a young S6'pie^',, ; whose chief; feature is a cultivated taste and an appreciation of the most beautiful science in existence— had to be overcome. However, a brilliant success rewarded the efforts those most , active in carrying out the aims' of the Society. It is not our custom to bestow unmerited praise, but it will Teadily be believed that we are but performing a simple act of, duty in mentioning the. names of . Messrs .Kingsland, Bolfe,* Marten, and Dickenson, prominent amongst other gentlemen, who exerted their best energies to -smooth difficuties, and avoid 'the occurrence of anything like . a ", hitch." The chorus was numerous and effective, but the band, although most efficient, did. not muster as strong as we could have wished. A little after eight o'clock, the overture — Mendlessohn's " Athalie " i —was rendered with precision and effect. Perhaps this was one of .the best selections that could be. made, bringing as it did into prominence nearly every instrument. By a little practice occasionally the band would become a leading feature in future entertainments. The flute contributed to render some of the points of this piece most effective — indeed, we cannot individualise, where' all are deserving of eulogy. The chorus " Awake JEolian Lyre," followed next, and elicited warm applause: " The song of the Wolf," by :Mr Deane, was so well and truly rendered — the voice so rich and full, that at its conclusion, the audience would only be satisfied by an encore, in which Mr. Deane accompanied himself, .'. and sung " Man the Life Boat," in a very pleasing manner, but not so well as the preceding piece. . The duet "Sainted Mother," from the opera of Maritana, and the quartette "Lutzow," showed the high degree of cultivation of the respective voices. The young lady"* who : sang the pretty little gem " Expectation," appeared somewhat timid, but possessed a /sweet and a most agreeable voice: "Here in Cool Grot" gave full play to the chorus, and the voices also seemed to blend with greater force. " You'll Eemember Me" and the " Dashing White Sergeant" in each case commanded an encore. The young ladies,, in the duet of the " Elower Gatherers" brought out some of this, most beautiful parts of Glover's composition, in a most pleasing way, delighting the audience by their general proficiency. The duet between Messrs Hume and Hare dn the cornet-a-piston, is always a ; treat-^-the selection was from Giover's " What are the Wild Waves Saying ?" The first part of the entertainment concluded with Weber's " Fairies' Chorus." It is to be regretted that there was so many encores demanded- — this practice prolongs the entertainment until too late an hour, and causes some of the interest to be lost. After an interval of a few minutes, the instrumentalists executed the " Wedding March," (from "Midsummer Nights Dream,") by Mendelsohn • the peculiar beauties of which were brought out most truthfully by the playersy particularly in the more subdued and softer cadences. Bishop's chorus i( The Chough and Crow " followed and was exquisitely well rendered, the young lady who sang the opening solo displaying a remarkably correct taste and precision. The bass j solo, by Mr. Deane, was also a treat of a ! different kind, being apparently better adapted to the singer's compass of voice, than either of'his two previous efforts. The duet which followed, " I've Wandered in Dreams " was very creditably given by Mr. Marten and a young lady, who, we believe, made her debut on this occasion. |The audience applauded most warmly, and insisted on an encore at the conclusion, of. t^e piece, A flwtette

"Banish O Maiden" followed, in which the various, parts 7/were ..] sustained by Messrs. Barnard, Kingsland, Marten, and Deane; the audience highly appreciated this quartette which was, given as nearly perfect as possible.- A ! song, "My Own, my G-uiding Star ""'waff the next on the programme, and was very correctly rendered by. Mr., Marten. We . think, however, that he threw just too little -feeling into fe ; it was nevertheless well received, as n^erited, b/y'the audience, who insisted on tfilS^Kntleman again stepping^o,t^e~frbnt. . A duet from Verdi's " I'll Trovatqre "brought another of the ; ladies 1 into ; /prominence, who, in company; rveith :. the 'conductor, .rendered most expressively .the author's sweet conception, " Home to our Mountains," the .--audience^ insisting .'on haying at least one .verse repeated. ¥c also observed several handsome bouquets thrown to .the lady at the conclusion of, the piece.. - The chorus, "The Carnovale':'- : followed, and furuied a marked feature of the evening, partaking as it does, of a great deal of the fantasticness :of Bossini's composition. It was admirably sung, and elicited warm applause. " Scenes that 'are Brightest," one of Wallace's sweet gems (from Maritana) again to the . young lady (already alhided to as taking part in the duet "I've "Wandered in Dreaihs,") before the audience, this time as a soloist, and it ia but justice to'say that she' acquitted herself to admiration— displaying a voice of great sweetness and power. A little more .practice.wiU render this Jady one of the most efficient members of the Society. At the conclusion of the song the applause was so hearty and persistent that an encore had to be granted. A violin" duet came next, in which'both gentlemen fairly earned the applause bestowed on them at its conclusion ; the piece selected was Ejeutzer's overture " Lodoiska," and we must say the way in which it was performed-gave-a favorable /impression of -the, .performers ability as musicians. We scarcelyjexpected that anyone, save professionals, could display such correctness in timing a rather difficult composition," or such delicacy "in giving expression. The audience seemed iqf the same opinion, as they insisted in having -it played a second time. The chorus, by Bishop, " Hail to the Chief," always a favorite, was, perhaps, one of the best given during the evening ; it went off charmingly, and was warmly applaudeci. The Concert "was brought to a close by the singing of the : National Anthem, the audience joining. A verse was sung alternately; by four ladies, as a solo, and was then repeated by the full choir. On every hand we heard expressions of delight and' pleased surprise ; and. we can most heartily endorse what seems to be the general opinion, viz., that this has been the most successful concert, in every respect, yet given in Invercargill.