FEAST OF SONG

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 715, 15 July 1929, Page 15

FEAST OF SONG

WILLIAM HEUGHAN’S FINE RECITAL A very fine recital was given by Mr. William Heughan on Saturday evening in the Town Hall, when his beautiful bass voice was heard in a representative programme from his repertoire of Scottish songs, operatic excerpts and old county ballads. The singer, who gave many request items, proved himself once again to be a popular artist. His powers of facial expression and posture delighted an enthusiastic audience, which followed him raptly through every phase of the evening’s performance. A feature of the evening was Moussorgsky’s “Song of the Flea,” which brought into play the versatility of the singer. The faultless tones of his voice were much appreciated in Gounod’s “She Alone Charraeth My Sadness,” “Kirconnell Lea,” and “La Calunnia” (Rossini). Stirring songs like “The Yeomen of England,” "The Standard on the Braes o’ Mar,” and “McGregor’s Gathering,” and quaint rustic ballads such as “Because I Were Shy” and “Widdicombe Fair,” gave Mr. Heughan plenty of scope for his talent. The pretty “Floral Song of Cornwall” was well received. Very popular contributions to the evening’s performance were the items given by Miss Gladys Sayer, who accompanied Mr. Heughan, and the ’cello solos presented by the English ’cellist, Miss Maud Bell. The final recital of the season will be given in the Town Hall this evening.