THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CONCERT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 947, 6 May 1882, Page 3

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CONCERT.

Bhe sacred concert given bj the Presbyterian Church Choir last Thursday evening in the Volunteer Hall was a musical treat which has never been surpassed nor, perhaps equalled, in|thi* town before. Sacred concerts as a rule are not over popular, but as regards the one to which we refer, we believe that we only express the unanimous verdict of every one present when we say that a pleasanter or a more edifying entertainment could not be wished for, The first part, which consisted of a pianoforte overture, airs and duets, was looked forward to with some interest, and as the singers were well-known it was thought this would be the best of the concert. But the service of song had not proceeded far, when the audience found that they had made a mistake, and were agreeably surprised at the excellence of the second part. The concert was opened by an overture on the piano played by Miss Paterson in a very artistic manner. Mr Edmonds sang ‘ Arm, arm, ye brave’ very effectively, Miss Thompson and Mrs Edmonds the duet ‘ Too lata’ in a very feeling manner, and the air * Now Heaven in fullest glory shone’ was sung by Mr Rutland with his usual ability, but it is one of those things that cannot be appre. ciated except by musically trained persons. The gem of that portion of the entertainment was ‘ The Lord is a man of war,’ a duet sung by Messrs Rutland and Edmonds. It is a most difficult piece, and certainly both singers did it full justice, in fact we do not think it could be done better by amateurs. The next best was ‘ O Rest in the Lord’ sung by Mrs Edmonds, During the first part Mr Dickinson, of the Bank of New Zealand, accompanied the singing on the piano, and certainly acquitted himself creditably, The second part consisted of a service of song entitled ‘ Moses,’ with connective readings by the Rey Mr Gordon, who introduced it in a few pleasant and appropriate words. It commenced with the finding of Mose* in the bullrushes, and an account was given of all his works until he, with the Israelites, crossed the Red Sea. ‘ Moses’ is the pleasantest service of long we have heard, and there can be no difference of opinion as to the way in which it was rendered. It is unnecessary to praise the Rev Mr Gordon’s reading, as his capability in that respect is well known, but we certainly must express the extreme pleasure the musical part of the entertainment gave us, and give credit to Mr Edmond* for the way in which his choir was trained. There are several sparkling light chorusses in it, as well as some partaking of the solemnity of sacred music, and each kind was appropriately rendered. There was no hitch —nothing wanting, all was precision and exactness as regards time, and the voices blended splendidly together. We think the same entertainment would bear repetition, and we strongly recommend the choir to repeat it if they want to raise money for the purchase of books, as the Rev Mr Gordon informed his , hearers. At the close the Rev Mr Gordon paid a well-merited compliment to Mr Edmonds for the training he had given his choir, and moved a vote of thanks ta hirm which was carried by acclamation. We should not"omit that Miss Blyth presided at the harmonium during the service of song, and accompanied the singing capitally.