PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY'S CONCERT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 236, 17 October 1901, Page 2

PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY'S CONCERT.

In spite of the gloomy and threatening weather, there was a large attendance at the Theatre Royal on Tuesday evening, when the New Plymou'h Philharmonic Society gave its fourth concert. The first pars of the prog amme was devoted to a selection of miscellaneous sings, preceded by an ove* ture by the New Plymouth O-ches'ral Society, who al>o assisted in the Cantata which formed the second part of the entertainment. The Orchestra was conducted by Mr H. Cottier, who had as chief violinist Mr A. L. Cooke, and for once in a way a bassoon was h-ard in a local orchestra, owing to the fortunate chance of a player of some considerable ability ( Mr John Graham), who was pass • ing through here and placed his service" at the disposal of the conductor. The piece chosen for opening the programme was the popular overture " Maritana." The merits of the individual members are such that their united efforts were somewhat disappointing, probably due to want of sufficient rehearsal. The tone of the orchestra was undeniably good, and it was a pity that at times there was ' such marked raggedness and irre- ' gularity of attack. However, in accomplishing their task they now and again gave evidence of their power?, i and as was noticeable later in the evening when they got more into line; they are capable of rendering. good music in an" intelligent and artes'ic manner. . The songs in Fart I all gave much pleasure to the audienoe, who applauded most liberally. Mr E. J. Hill sang " Only a Year Ago " very tellingly, i his tenor voice, though not fresh, is > pure in tone, except on the top notes which are somewhat strained. To an ' encore he gave " The Shamrock." Miss : Skeet, in spite of evident nervousness, sang remarkably well, and was I loudly and deservedly encored. [ Mr. Trebilco's song was " Fions," and his clear enunciation in conjunction with his fine bass voice gave the great- ' est pleasure and the singer wag accorded hearty applause, to whioh he rapponded with &■ other tong. Miss Tansley, already very favourably known. here, scored a great success in hfr rendering of" Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep," a song which exactly sui f s her fine contralto voice and allows scope for considerable artistic effect. Her singing was an object lesson to the many amateurs present and evoked tremendous applause, the spontaneity of which must have been very flattering to the singer, who not only gave an encore but thrice bowed her acknowledgements. The second part of the programme was occupied by Oaul's Cantata " The Holy City," the soloists being Miss Murphy, soprano, Miss Tansley, contralto, Mr. Hill, tenor, Mr. Trehilco, bass, the chorus being composed of members of the Society, while the Orchestral Society gave great assistance. Mr. Fletcher conducted the performance with his usual ability and skill, Mis' Oldfield presiding at the piano, The instrumental introduction was oq the whole fairly well played, the finale being particularly good. The tenor solo which followed the opening number was very good and the succeeding quartette (unaccompanied) was v<iry creditably given. The opening chorus wfls attacked with energy and precision, though the latter was not maintained quite so well at the finish. Then came the beautiful contralto solo " My Sou 1 is a Thirst," which Mifs Tansley sang very sweetly, but without much ex p-essioo, the dramatic exclamation " Where is My God " being very tame. The unaccompanied trio which followed was anything but enjoyable from start to finish. Then came the beautiful chorus, in quick time, " They that sow in Tears," Th}s W' ailed a great strain! on all the voices, but until nearly the close of the number it was excellently rendered and showed the effect of good work done in the practices—the finish was somewhat marred by the male voices, especially the tenors. In tho air " Bye hath not seen,''' M'ss Tansley, singing most correctly, failed to do adequate justice to the tbeme, and by dropping the aspirate in "Him " oaused a jar on suseoptible ears. Her finish, however, was particularly good. In the chorus " For thee 0, dear, dear country," the sopranos were heard at their best in the full chorus, especially in the final bars. The concluding chorus of part I, " Thine is the K'ngdom," went with a good swing and power, though not quite so well at the finish, Thi® lack of good work towards the end of a numbey is ape. of the faults that should disappear with increased practice. The orchestral introduction to Part II was a most creiitable performance, and afforded evidence of the artiVie material of which ths owhestra was composed, Mr Tiebilco at,tanked the bn'ss solo « jV New Heaven and a New Earth," with his usual precision, though with a tendency to hurry. The effect would have been more pleasing and arhietic had as much value been imparted to the words aa to the music. The effect of the distant ohorus when , singing « Holy, Holy," was very striking, and in the subdued hush which pervaded the building, one could ltfive heard the proverbial pin drop. One of the best pieces of orchestral playing ( was the introduction to the double " chorus " Let the heavens rejoioe," lap

the duet for soprano and contrviko " They shall hunger no more," Misses Murphy and Tansley scored their chief success, and the spontaneous and prolonged outburst of applause which followed testified to the appreciation of the audience of the excellent and artistic rendering of the duet. The remaining numbers were all most creditably rendered, and the society is to be i congratulated in having advanced considerably on its road to proficiency, while to Mr Fletcher we offer warm | congratulations on the result of his praiseworthy efforts to improve musical culture in New Plymouth. A noticeab'e improvement was the way in which the chorus was ai ranged on the s'age.