Evening star., 1940-01-09

houses OF the world brings. they are
also remarkable singers of songs and
it was as such that they appeared
yesterday.
Not many opportunities are to be
had these days to hear the fine songs
that certain composers have given
so richly to the world and which
have forever raised the standard of
concert singing. In yesterdays pro-
gram, German lieder predomiHated
but Mr.. Melchior introduced a
group by Scandinavian composers
ard both artists sang two English
songs apiece. The fine diction Of
Mr.. Melchior and Nine. Lehmanr in
English and their penetrating feel
ing for the sentiment of the songs
in that language made it seem a
pity that a group at least was not
given over to songs by composers of
this country.
Both Nine. Lehmann and Mr..
Melchior were in splendid voice and
spirits, thoroughly carried away
themselves with the words and music
they were giving out to others. This
superb gift of submerging them
selves completely in the mood oi a
song seemed to grow as the program
progressed, SO that there was a
pleasant tension throughout that
never relaxed. At the same time
there was naturalness about their
presentation, an utter lack of af-
fection or bid for acclaim, that
allowed the listener full enjoyment
of their artistry and the fine pro-
gram.
Selecting the most outstanding
numbers from an interpretive point,
the choice would be. among MI. Mel
chior's songs, "Serenade," by the
Danish composer. P HeiSe; Brahms
'Botschaft," Hageman's Christ
Went Up Into the Hills" and, for
Nine. Lehman, Schumann's "Auft-
rage" Schubert's "Liebesbotschaft, "
the old English, MY Lovely Celia;
Hageman's "At the Well" Wolf S
'Verborgenheit" and Strauss "Ruhe,
meine Seele." In the latter two
CSpcCldlly, Nlilc. bCllIlldllll lOUCltU
great emotional depths.
Mr.. Melchior sang the effective
death aria of Otello which closes
Verdi's opera eXquisitely, coloring
his light, free tenor voice with deep
feeling In this particular point,
Mr.. Melchior is more adept than
Nine Lehman, as he illustrated in
nearly every number of his pro-
gram. Nine. Lehman. whose rich
tones were easily and purely pro-
duced, achieved greater dramatic
effects with the fire and intensity
of her singing. Schubert's Der
Erlkoenig," however, just missed
that special thrilling note as Nine
Lehman sang it, perhaps because
the tempo was somewhat too meas
ured throughout.
Three duets by Schumann, Itch
denke dein," "Er und Sic" and
"Unter'm Fenster," brought the two
artists as partners in again pre-
sentlng songs that are rarely heard.
"Unter'm Fenster," sung with
charming humourous intent, had to
be repeated. The program con-
cluded with the Spring Song" and
the remainder of Act I of Die
Walkuere." Here the artists ex-
panded to their operatic style, sirg-
ing the lovely scene with beauty of
tone and noble effect.
Assisting the artists throughout
the program and the several encores
were the two accompanies, Paul
Ulanowski, playing for Nine Leh-
mann, and Ignace Strasfogel for Mr.
Melchior.
1t is worth noting that the pro-
gram seemed to carry a special ap-
peal to this Monday morning audi
ence There was even a general i'm
patience manifested when Mr.. Mel
chior, after his second number, had
to wait some time for late comers
to be seated. There was no desire
on the part of the audience to break
into conversation, as happened at
another concert some time ago, but
itself tried to hush the noise and, by
clapping, hasten the continuance Of
the program. With the acclaim
given favorite numbers and the en-
thusiastic reception of the others,
which the artistry of the singers
made known, the concert proved to
be rare one where the bond Of
communion is firmly established be-
tween artists and audience