Now All Together

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 72, 16 June 1927, Page 15

Now All Together

THE JOY-GERM AT LARGE COMMUNITY SINGING STARTS “Now all together.” “There’s a silver lining Through the dark clouds shining.” The community tackled dt with rather a diffident vim which gradually wore off as diffidence does wear off at community sings. They began to see the dark clouds turning inside out. The Rev. Jasper Calder showed the old joy germ round as conductor of the sing-song. “Now if anyone’s got a particular fav'ourite ” “Bye, Bye Blackbird” (shouts and acclamations). “No, we’re not jazzy yet, let’s have ‘The Old Folks At Home.’ Now do your best. Unless its sung well its pretty umptidoo, just quietly.” So the citizenry put their weight behind it and watched the beat, producing the old song’s expressive nuances. One by one the folk hitched shy voices into the songs and gained assurance as their diffidence dropped away. “Now here’s a kick coming,” cautioned Mr. Calder. “Now look out for a real knock-down. There are men coming round with a little jangly box. Now all together, “Funiculi, Funicla”—and the community stepped on it.” For the photographers’ benefit Mr. Calder called for volunteers to light one match each in the middle of the bottom of the theatre and at the middle of the top gallery. Silence.

No matches blazed. “Now, come on, girls. You have a gasper occasionally, don’t you? I said a gasper, not a Jasper.” And so the -waggish missioner continued. “Now we’ll have ‘Annie Laurie’.”