PHILHARMONIC CONCERT.

Southland Times, Issue 698, 19 July 1867, Page 5

PHILHARMONIC CONCERT.

i The- seed-ad- concert -of "tie 'season was I held at the Theatre-Royal on Thursj day. eyening.^the r 4th inst. The , house ; was almostf incqnVenieiiiily crowded. The ; dress" circle, : '"tfi& 's^'de, . boxes, the stalls, | and pit "were li: Med x to~ overflowing. Indeed there must have'been over 500 people assembled, ampngst which might 5 - be^obj served nearly every leading citizen in itown, as well as numerous country j visitors.- ;rThe event must have been most gratifying to . jfche^, members of the Society, because during. the interval since jthe4ast concept ' was' held,' Various atfneulit'ies — incidental to a young Society, whose chief feature asa cultivated taste and an ■appreciationiof the most beautiful 'science jin- existence— -ha^d to. be.overcome. • Howjever, a .brilliant .success rewarded .the 'efforts l 6f " those 'most active in carrying lout the aims' ! bf the Society. It is not jour custom to bestow -unmerited praise, jbut it will readily , be. believed that we jare but performing a' simple act of duty jin mentioning' the " names of Messrs ;Kingsland y i2£olfej -Marten; -and Dicken|son, prominent, amongst other gentle|men, who exerted their' %esb energies to smooth diflicuties, and avoid the occurrence of anything like a "hitch." J |The chorus was numerous and effective, but : the band, although most" efficient, jdid 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 ffute.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 "WoTf,"' ByMr 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:' Deahe . accompanied himself, and sung " Manthe liife Boat," in a very pleasing mannerj but 1 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, ancl the voices also seemed to blend with greater .', force. " You'll Remember Me" and the " Dashing White Sergeant'" "in each case commanded an encore. The young ladies, inthe duet of the "Mower Gatherers" brought out some- of the most beautiful 'parts of Glover's; composition, in a most pleasing w^y, . : - .^e^gfitiing thQ. a- audien.ee. - : by Ijkeip geseiealpofiQi^aQy, :a^ii9 $m% bs« 'j

j tweeu^MessrsHHume ! and^Hare on the i £ornet-a-piston, - ds->- always T a treat— thejj selection "■: was from ; Glover's-. ' "What !j are the WM : Waves°Saying ?" ri part, of, the ep.t^rtaiiiment. cpnqliided jijith regretted that' the'set .was so: many encores .demanded-:— this prolongs-^the •enteiftaiiii&ent^un^ Wu^ea^stte^bj^-tß^ fflt^sf^|6.: ! be'.^i After %u' mfer^ .^of a J f e w 'rminiites, infch c instriime^itaj^fst'-, executed the:..,V Wed- j ding . Marich," (from >„,• " Midsummer j Rights , ; J>ream,' ? );by Mendelssohn ;■ the i peculiar beauties- bf which' were brought j outmost truthfully by the players, par-' ticularly in the more subdued and softer cadences. ' Bishop's chorus " The Chough ancf Crow " folio wed. .and was exquisitely well rendered, the young lady who sang the opening solo displaying a remarkably correct- taste and: precision. The bass 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 Sir. Marten and a young lady, who, we believe, made her debut on this occasion. The" audience - applauded most warmly, and insisted on on encore at the conclusion of t the piece. A quartette "Banish O Maiden " followed, in which the' various" parts were sustained , by Messrs.,. Barnard, Kingsland, Marten, and lieane; the audience highly ap-preciated-this quartette which was given as nearly" perfect as possible. A song, "My Own, my ' Guiding Star" was the next oh the programme, and was very correctly rendered by Mr. Marten. "We think, •• however, that he threw just too little feeling into it ; it was nevertheless well received, as it merited, by the audience, who insisted on this gentleman again stepping to the -front. A duet from Verdi's ." I'll Trovatore " brought another of the ladies into prominence, who, in company with the conductor, rendered ; most expressively the author's sweet conception, "Home to our Mountains," the audience: insisting on having at least one verse repeated. We : also observed several handsome bouquets thrown to the lady .'at the con-. . elusion, of • the .piece. The chorus, " The i Carnovale ? ' followed, - and formed a I marked featured the evening, partaking las it does, of a great deal of the fantasticr ! ness" of '" Eossini's composition. , It was. ; admirably sung,-, and elicited i warm ap- . Iplaiise,: "Scenes that are - Brightest^'joiie of /Wallace's sweet gems; (from Mari^ ;tana) ; .again brought the yojing lady: ' (already alluded': to as taking part in , the. , duet "I've Wandered in be- ; fore the audience, this time as a soloist, arid■it is but justice to say that' she acquitted' herself to admiration— displaying a voice ' of great sweetness and power. A littlemore practice will render this lady 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 Kreutzer'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 scarcely expected that anyone, save professionals, could display such correctness in timing a rather difficult composition, or such delicacy in giw.; ing expression. The audience seemed of 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 applauded. 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 etery respect, yet given in Invercargill. ■ •-' ; ••' ♦ • - ■ v ' - ;