THE ROYAL WELSH MALE CHOIR.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3155, 5 April 1909, Page 5

THE ROYAL WELSH MALE CHOIR.

A MUSICAL TREAT. Saturday night has ever been a bad "show" night, so far as Masterton is concerned, and the opening concert by the Royal Welsh Male Choir proved no exception to the rule, the reputation this combination haa achieved throughout the Dominion notwithstanding. The attendance was fair, but those present were regaled with music of a!high order; indeed^it may confidently bt> asserted that nothing better in' choral work has been heard in Masterton. It behoves members of choirs, choral societies, members of bands, . all combinations ot a musical character and their respective conductors to make a point of being present this evening, and avail themselves of the, many object lessons to be obtained from the performance by this talented band of vocalists." The Warm musical tone, the beautiful phrasing, the clear enunciation, the precision, the ensemble, the attention paid to detail, and the delightful light and shade (not to run dway it. b ■'too' many musical terms) were outstanding features throughout the programme, and as has already been said, it was a huge musical treat, and one, too, which could not but appeal to all •classes of a community. The soloists were all good, displaying exceptional ability and appearing to be equally .at home in the singing of a peaceful ballad or the rollicking, jovial number. )

The items given were infinitely too numerous to allow of the treating of them all, but there were several outstanding numbers deserving of special mention. Of the full choir work one would give De Rille's "Destruction of Gaza" the place of honour. This was really splendid, displaying the wonderful allrtound capabilities of the choir as a body. As a marked contrast to this is the muaicianly rendering of "Lead, Kindly Light," the beautiful humming accompaniment to the duet "Excelsior,", and the heavenly interpretation of the unaccompanied part song "Peaceful Night." There was far too little unaccompanied work, as the audience would have liked a good deal more of it. The choristers also showed to advanage in several humourous encore numbers, notably "John, Tell Me How to Sing," while our Welsh friends were not forgotten, "Men of Harlech" being given in their mother tongue,, as also were two other Welsh airs, "The Mother and Her Babe" and "Hunting the Hare."

Of the soloists all did well. Mr. Trevor Lewis sang "Friend" (Mrs Davies) in a taking manner,"his-bari-tone voice being admirably suited to this dainty composition. As an encore he gave "Father O'Flyan," in which he was equally successful. The tenor, Mr Robert Jones, has a rich sweet voice, which was heard to advantage on several occasicns. "Mary" (Richardson) was indeed a beautiful number, while the duet "Tenor aid Baritone," in company with Mr D. Davies, offered scope for work which he took full advantage of. "Big Ben" and "Thora" were contributed by Messrs Davies and Edwards, the bassos of the Company, and each did full justice to the songs entrusted to them, the latter especially so. The conductor (Mr W. Thomas) has his vocalists under control to almost a remarkable degree, and the result of his training is evidenced in every item. A special word of praise is fjdue to the accompanist, Mr H. , Hughes, for the delicate manner in i which he played the various accompaniments. His efforts contributed no small share to the success of thei evening's entertainment. The Choir will appear again tonight at the Town Hall, when a change of programme is announced, and readers are urged to make a point ef being present.