St. Joseph’s Cathedral Choir, Dunedin

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XLIX, Issue 40, 12 October 1922, Page 18

St. Joseph’s Cathedral Choir, Dunedin

In response to . a request for his Recollections of’ St. Joseph’s ; Cathedral Choir, Mr. W. T. Ward, of Christchurch, a former valued> member, very Kindly supplied, the. ! following interesting narrative: ! Your letter came duly to hand, and I thank you for remembering me in - connection with;, the forthcoming Jubilee, I ear. I may not be able to provide -, anything of out- • standing-interest, but I will do what I can. ,1;' ■ I arrived in Dunedin on transfer in the Department to which I belonged in December, 1885, and on the first Sunday thereafter at Vespers, I became aware that Father-, P. M. Lynch (now at the Philippines), who was the preacher, noticed my presence, and so I was not surprised when he intercepted me at the church door at the conclusion of Benediction. I had already met Father Lynch in Southland, where he was relieving various priests, and we bad some pleasant musical meetings. He at once whisked me around to the choir loft, ! introduced me to the ladies and gentlemen of the choir, and there and then made mo one of a body amongst the members of which I spent many happy yearscovering nearly a quarter - of a century. I still have : my ticket of membership, dated December 17, 1885, and bearing the sign manual of one who was loved by the generations through which he lived, and the-memory of , whom will 5 be revered while St. Joseph’s stands “*P. Moran.” - The choir loft was in a recess on the north side of the old St. Joseph's, and although members were limited in dumber, I recollect it was a tight squeeze when we were all there. I find it impossible to recall the names of all the members, : after a lapse of nearly 40 years. Labuntur Anni, and with them glide away into the recesses of the brain the recollections and impressions which at the time seemed unforgettable, but which will no more respond to my call than would the “spirits from the vasty deep” answer to the Welsh Wizard. Amongst the number were a few who became distinguished vocalists, not only in the choir, but in musical circles outside— L. Corrigan, Miss Walsh, Misses Walker and Carroll, and occasionally Miss Hesford, who afterwards, as Mrs. Angus, became a permanent member of the Cathedral Choir. Of the men I can only recall Mr. N. Smith and Mr, W. Cantwell. I believe the two firstnamed ladies are still singing. Mr. Cantwell died after a long and most useful career, both as a vocalist and as secretary and the holder of other official positions in the choir. The organist was Mr. Michael Ennis. Shortly after I joined, practice was commenced under the conductorship of Herr Benno Scherek for the music to be'used at the opening of the Cathedral, which was to take”" place (and did) at an early_date. The Mass, as you no doubt are aware, was Gounod’s “Messe Solennelle,” and for the evening Mendelssohn’s “Lauda Sion.” If I remember, rightly the number of vocalists 'was about 70, and I can recall the terrific, efforts, and accompanying sotto voce expletives (chiefly in German), of the distracted conductor, to knock the pronunciation of the Latin into his choir, the bulk of whom were outsiders, and as familiar with i Latin as a Red Indian. The soloists wore also, strange to say, outsiders, .. In these days of Masses liturgically arranged and so considerably shortened, I marvel at the patience of the priest's, sitting through those lengthy works of Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, and others, but : I remember we .were eventually brought- to _ our bearings by the late Father Murphy: he and the boys simply walked out of the sanctuary while we ere still going full tilt at the “Dona Nobis Pacem.” / / The Cathedral was opened shortly after I became a member ill the following February. I need not describe that - tremendous function, at which nearly the whole of the Hierarchy of Australia, including Cardinal Moran, was present. , choir, and a small but efficient orchestra, was ; under the conductorship of Herr Scherek, with Madame ' Scherek : at the organ. I sang amongst the basses in the Mass, ; but played : with the first violins in ; “Lauda Sion” in the evening.' While the procession was coming from . the Palace to the Cathedral .in the morning, the Salvation

Army came up . Rattray Street ; in , all . its glory of drum, flags, and vocal display., Most ; people thought . this bordered on rudeness, but my impression was - that they intended the intrusion as an honor. ; \ - After the opening of, the Cathedral, the numerical strength of the choir was greatly increased. - Mr. Ennis continued at the organ for some time, until Herr Scherek was appointed organist and choirmaster. The - choir increased in strength and experience, but : the want of a conductor to . give the necessary steadiness was manifest. The Bishop and Father Lynch wanted me to take it on, but the minnow did not feel equal to the duet with the Triton. During Herr Scherek’s term of office he organised a successful series of concerts to raise funds for adding two new stops to the organ. Several of those who are now'’ veterans in the choir joined about this time, and the results were on the whole very satisfactory. Herr Scherek’s professional engagements obliged him to resign after a not very long innings, and Miss D. Horan was appointed; organist, and I was persuaded into the position of conductor, to my great perturbation. However, we got on very well together. The members took .a great interest in the work, and the attendance was always very good. There were not the outside attractions or distractions in- those days that in these degenerate days are such a drawback to choirs and kindred societies. Mrs. Angus was now a member, and her magnificent contralto was a great attraction, St. Joseph’s was very popular amongst vocalists and instrumentalists outside the Church, and as the Bishop and Father Lynch approved of and were fond of such incidental music, it was '■often availed of iaP Offertory or evening devotions. Frequently Masses were sung • with full orchestral accompaniment; this was always the' case at Christmas and Easter, and no opera company was allowed to pass through Dunedin without being laid under a contribution. Mr. Percy Kehoe, of Williamson and Musgrove’s, was well known at St. Joseph’s. 1 I cannot recall the length of Miss Horan’s term as organist, but after a short interval she was succeeded by Mr. A. Vallis, who also took the position of choirmaster, and I still retained the position of conductor'. "We worked together for some years, and the choir reached a high degree of efficiency. Owing to'the nature of my official duties, I was obliged to resign on the 2-st November, 1898. During Mr. Wallis’s twelve months’ trip to England a few years later I took charge of the choir, Mr. F. Stokes (the present organist) taking the organ. - . In the period covered by my choir service, in addition to the stalwarts still in the choir, many have come and gone whose names will not easily bo forgotten. Who that knew and heard her will ever .forget Miss "Kate Murphy, who took her sweet voice to the Angelic Choir. And . besides those already mentioned, there were Mrs. Angus, the sisters Rose and Kitty Blaney, and Miss Woods—there were indeed giants in those days. ■ And amongst the men were Ford, Harris, . Ben Stevens, William and Joseph Cantwell, both of whom were, alas, carried off at the very full tide of their usefulness. All will remember Mr. 0. Fell, with his weird skull and crossbones tie-pin, and his uncanny, gift of reading one’s bumps, and his highlystrung musical enthusiasm. There , are, other - great ones, but of time has reduced them almost to phantoms, - I had the honor and pleasure of having some of the great singers of the age. under my baton,Vamongst them Mr. §antley, who sang the bass parts of Mozart’s Twelfth Mass on Christmas Day, 1889; Trebelli, or Dolores, as she is now named; Signor Foli, and many others. Amongst my proud possessions is a gold-mounted baton of honeysuckle wood, in a beautiful case, which was’ presented to me by Bishop Moran.. on Easter Sunday, 1889. Amongst other functions, I had the mournful honor of conducting, the choir at, the funeral obsequies of the late Bishop Moran, and I also wielded the baton , at the installation of his successor, the - late. Bishop Verdon. •• None who were members of'the choir while Father P. Lynch was connected with it could turn their minds towards choir matters without haying him in their thoughts. The- rev. gentleman’s musical enthusiasm and - energy were simply marvellous; he . was the friend; of- each and all of the members, and he; left nothing undone to-, promote the well-being .of the choir, and* the members, who, were.honored

with his friendship will hold him in ■ affectionate remembrance. ; { ' : * ■ The celebration- of these jubilees will be a great ' event in the history of the choir, and the meeting of, say, Mr. N. Smith, the last minstrel of the old choir, and the latest addition to the present one, will be profoundly -interesting. I regret most deeply that* the privilege of assisting at the function, and meeting choir associates, ranging from about . the present date back nearly 40 years, will not be mine, but I will be there, as far as one can be, in thought and; spirit.