HAMILTON CHORAL SOCIETY.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2683, 8 June 1889, Page 2

HAMILTON CHORAL SOCIETY.

[By Norma.]

Tim Hamilton Choral Society's concert on Wednesday evening drew a fairly good audience, but not so largo as was reasonably expected. Tho stage was tastefully .set off with flags and scarlet cloth. The following was the programme, which was gone through with smoothly and without a hitch :—Overture, " Marche Militaire, ' Misses Missau and Newell ; chorus, " Como, Old Comrade " (Opeta " Eaust "); solo, "Fairy Jane," Mr Meachem ; duet, "The Children's Home,'' Misses Cassidy ; a ilo, " Till the Breaking of the Day,' Miss Taylor; chorus, '"Blithesome and Gay'' (Opera " William Tell"); solo, "Love's Golden Dream," Miss Ohappell ; trio, "Break, Break," Mrs Connell, Miss Chappell, and Mr Meachem; solo, "Nancy Lee," Mr Slade ; quartette, " Lady of tin Lea " ; solo (selected), Mrs Sare ; chorus, "Echo" (Opera " lligoletto'); solo, " Sing, Birdie, Sing," Mrs Connell; duet, "The Guardian Angel," Mrs Connell and Mrs Jackson; solo, "Tne Scout-,' Mr Meachem; quartette, "Spring Sing." " The Wreck of the Hesperus," cintata by Tlios. Anderton, words by Longfellow ; chorus, "'Joy to tho Victors." Cod Save the (I men. The several musical items were well selected, but on the whole the performance was barely up to the standard. There was not siiliieient power in tho male voices to sustain the character of the choruses, the tenor parts being weak, and we missed the presence of instrumentalists, which always gives so much support to entertainments of this description. The best chorus in the whole budget was "Echo," from Rigoletto, which was given with the spine and elasticity desired by the composer, in this the voices flowed and ebbed very rytinnically, and both the performers and conductor deserve credit for the care and practice bestowed upon it. The cantata, " The Wreck of the Hesperus," was admirably given, considering the weakness of the choir, already mentioned. Had there been some string instruments, and greater compass in the tenor and alto parts, Mr Connell'ssitisfaction and the audience's pleasure would have been complete. Of tho individual portion of the programme, we are, of course, expected to say a few words, though we do not wish to be' over critical. The duet by the Misses Cassidy, who aie pupils of Mr Connell, exhibited a marked degree of progress ; there was, however, too much vigour in one voice, and too much ditfideuce in the other. These defects continued perseverance and confidence will remove, and ensure the young ladies greater success as public voca lists. Miss Taylor sang '" Till the Broking of the Day." She has a good contralto voice, but was rather disappointing on the present occasion, as she appeared over-conlident, an! her accentuation was too sharp. Miss ChappcU has often been before an audience. She has a rather superior voice, added to a pleasing appearance. Her song on this occasion was hardly suitable to her, and if she was to concentrate her thoughts entirely on the singing and enter into the spirit of the rendering, she would escape tlio danger irianv pretty singers fall into which lose them their position as favourites, and which in her case we would regret to see. The trio "Break, Break," by Miss Chappel, Mrs Connell and Mr Meachem, was very good, the voices keeping well together. Mr Meachein's solo, " Fairy Jane," substituted for a song by Dr. ICoiiny, who was absent, was given with that gentleman's usual style, his lino tenor voice being heard to advantage. In " Nancy Le,i," Mr Slade showed he possesses a true bass voice of considerable power, and though he showed faults in phrasing and failure in tho lower register, he would speedily overcome those faults with practice and cultivation, and wonld be an acquisition to musical circles. Mrs Sare sang a charming song, bit being her first appearance before a strange audience she was perceptibly nervous. Whilst she has the right material and knowledge of vocalisation, her powers did not do her justice on this occasion and her tones were h>w. Mrs Connell's " Sing. Birdie, Sing," was decidedly the gem of the evening, her clear, resonant sopranoand faultless rendering of this beautiful song bringing down a burst of genuine applause from tho audience, and .-ho had to comply with a demand for an encore, when she gave a charming ditty called " Mother, do not Guide Me." Mr Meachem gave the "Scout." and was followed by a duet "The Guardian Angel," by Mrs Connell and Mrs Jackson. In this, however, Mrs Connell's voice did not blend harmoniously with her companion's, who, on her side, pitched her voice—a very tine one and well-known —too high and seemed to assume too much independence of the score. Miss Newell presided at the organ, and Miss Missen at the pianoforte, wherein both performed their respective parts with great efficiency. We trust there will be further performances by the Society, as they will always be acceptable, but an effort should be made to givo it greater numerical strength, and improve its energy in the direction we have pointed out.