The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-09-05 00:00:00

CHORAL MUSIC AT THE INVENTIONS

EXHIBITION:

In pursuance of the original scheme that allied
music to inventions, the Council of the International
Exhibition set apart four days of the first week in
September to choral competitions, the first of which
was held on Tuesday afternoon in the Royal Albert
Hall. Without taking into account the concerts and
performances provided specially for the entertain-
ment of the public, the directors have not been
unmindful of the more educational services expected
at their hands. Had they presented only the loan
collection of instruments, books, and manuscripts that
still attracts connoisseurs and students to the upper
gallery of the Albert Hall, they would, perhaps, have
done in that case enough to justify the position that
rendered them, upon their own showing, responsible
for a faithful and thorough exposition of the art.
But from time to time performances have been given
in illustration of the history of music. Performers
expert in playing upon obsolete instruments
were brought from Brussels to place before
us the strains our fore-fathers delighted
in ; singers from Amsterdam revealed the
characteristics of the ancient Flemish school of
composition; members of the Round, Catch, and
Canon Club exhibited a kind of art once held in
honour by Englishmen; the Bristol Madrigal Society
sustained the noble character of the Elizabetbian
period; and a select choir, under the direction of Mr.
Rockstro, gave some admirable specimens of the poly-
phonic school of Italy as represented by Palestrina
and Allegri. Although those events were highly in-
teresting and very instructive, yet it might fairly be
said that the choral competitions will be far wider in
their effects, for they supply a stimulus to -choral
practice that must prove beneficial throughout the
provinces. From many parts of the country were
sent picked choristers to represent musical associa-
tions, each of which is busy within its district in the
practice and dissemination of music of a high order.
At the competition on Tuesday the societies of Dover,
Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Liver-
pool, Burslem, and Manchester were engaged in the
contest, while the Metropolitan boroughs were
championed by the Chelsea Philharmonic Society.
A feeling of regret is called forth at the little interest
the chief London choirs apparently manifested in the
I matter. For some reason or other competitive. dis-
plays do not fall in with the humour of our amateurs.
Whilst natives of the Principality are quickened to
the soul by those public trials of choral skill which
now form the chief element of the much-cherished
Eisteddfod, Londoners, on the contrary, seem gene-
rally disposed to decline such honourable contentions.
Possibly it might be held that the monetary rewards
offered by the Council—first prize, £lOO, second £6O,
third £3o—were rather impediments than induce-
meats; still the credit of their order, if not the
pleasure of the contest, should have led our amateurs
to mix in the affray. The Dover Harmonic Society
(conductor, Mr. How ells), was the first to attack the
pieces selected by the Council for the trial viz., "Why
rage fiercely the ?" (Mendelssohn), and " Fire,
Fire !" (Morley). Possibly the vastness of the hall
impressed the singers with the necessity of applying
their utmost force to the forte passages in the Psalm,
causing them to lose thereby the bold their natu-
rally sweet voices had gained at first upon the
auditors. Apparently conscious of this error of
judgment, they kept, in the madrigal, well within
their means, and left the platform, after singing
Leslie's "Lullaby " in a 'ender manner, with the good
wishes of the audience. A larger body of performers
—the Birmingham Musical Association (conductor,
Mr. Stevens)—next took possession of the orchestra.
Relying upon the resonant quality of the female
voices, the basses apparently imagined their want of
power would escape notice. The ladies, on the other
hand, suffered no opportunity in the Psalm to pass
without turning their vocal abilities to good account.
Probably the madrigal was taken a trifle too fast,
hence the hurry and bustle which accompanied it;
but the piece of their own selection, Leslie's " Resur-
gam," displayed the merits of the executants to the
utmost advantage. The Leicester Choral Society
(conductor, Mr. Hancock) appealed to the judges
and the public by gentle means. Their voices,
always sweet and musical, were sufficient in
volume to give the contrasts Mendelssohn's music
demand. While the crescendos in the madrigal
sounded a little forced, the several phrases being
linked so well together an artistic result was secured.
Tke Nottingham Philharmonic Society (conductor,
Mr. Addeock) started in no apologetic mood. With
a metallic ringing sound, and a never faltering
rhythm, the strains were carried from first to last
with a certain ring of victory. Assuredly the
mechanism was free from defect as from any sense of
labour, and the spirit that actuated the vocalists was
cheerful and confident. Powerful in basses, the
Sheffield Choral Union (conductor, Mr. Hadfield)
strove by weight of voice to make amends for
paucity of numbers in the lighter registers. With
the Burslem Tonic Sol-Fa Choir (conductor,
Mr. Docksay) there was no need for one section.
to exert itself at the expense of another.
Each part was admirably balanced, and the bar-.
monies- were throughout firmly sustained. A spirit
far too eager, militated against the success of
the Liverpool Cambrian Choral Society (conductor,
Mr. Parry). On the other hand, the Manchester
Philharmonic Choral Society (conductor, Mr. Lane)
relied mainly upon the steadiness with which the
members approached the subjects. The parity of the
voices in the inner parts lowered the pitch a little,
I and imparted thereby a certain ponderousness to the
performance. In provoking contrast came the Borough
of Chelsea Philarmonic Society (conductor, Mr.
Evans), with a full complement of light, cheerful
voices in the upper register, but a deficiency of power
in the tenors and basses. Although the last of a
series of performances wherein monotony is inevitable,
' still the patience, nay, the interest, of the public was
not abated. On Wednesday and Thursday choirs of
mixed voices, numbering not less than 50 or more
than 100, were engaged upon the selected pieces,
"Judge me, 0 God" (Mendelssolm), and the madrigal,
"When all alone," by Converso.