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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN
ORCHESTRA
Complimentary Concert
To Mr. Harold Parsons
By DR. ALEX BURNARD
Saturday night's audience at the
Town Hall was a dual tribute to the
work of the South Australian Or-<*>
chestra and the popularity and value
of its conductor, Mr. Harold Parsons,
who will leave shortly on a musical
pilgrimage to England and the Conti
nent. Mr. Parsons, by his unremit
ting enthusiasm in the cause of or
chestral music here, has thoroughly
earned the loyalty of the musicians un
der hisbaton. and their gesture in this
complimentary concert must be en
dorsed by every Adelaide music-lover.
The orchestra itself chose the pro
gramme, which was of a popular type
and I think there caa be only one
cavil at its choice.
The Pilgrims' Chant, in the "Tan
hauser" overture, rose from intimate
beginnings to a massive ensemble.
There were excellent solo effects, wind
and string, and the reliability of the
string body was strongly borne home
to us, especially their imanimitv in
the final counter-subject to the" "Pil
grims." An olc. old favorite, with
more than the old thrill. Also peren
nially popular is Edward German's
group of three dances from "Nell
Gwyn." They were remarkably well
done. In addition to catching us up
and setting us down in a delighftul
and often festive rurality, they gave us,
as in the first aumbcr, some superb
Ehariings.
Then came what i ceaniiel? feel
was the weak selection—ihat, remark
able near-classic, Wallace's "Mari
tana" overture. Apart from its fu
gato, it seldom rises above the senti
mental slaverings of the mid-Victorian
drawing-room, or, alternatively, the
provincial cinema. The playing, in
cluding the solo ??pssori?s, was really
fine.
TUe big number was the ballet music
fsvs items) from Coleridge-Taylors
"Hiawatha," It is always very inte
resting and acceptable, but it length
ened the programme considerably. Per
haps it would have been as well to drop
6ome other items In its favor. I hasten,
to suggest, in retrospect, the Wallace.
There is a multiform variety about
these ballet pieces, in addition to
their unity and inspired scoring.
Against the yearning emotional har
monies, the calling and answering of
bird and mate, and maid in the
"Wooing," there are the resplendent
all-ins of the "Feast" end the "Re
union." With very rare exceptions,
there was a fine cohesion about it all,
and only an occasional shortcoming
in pitch—from the double-reeds. it
happened very seldom. Most of their
work was quite a treat. The final
numbers were Grainger's setting for
strings of fiie "Londonderry Air," a
pure unaffected readin?. and a selec
tion from "The Gondoliers," which,
despite a few ragged patches, had all
its wonted foot-wagging urge and
genuineness of appeal.
Mr. Parsons As Soloist
It was fitting that Mr. Parsons should
appear also in the capacity of soloist.
In the ever pregnant "Kol Nidrei' of
Max Bruch, he gave us the quintes
sence of artistry, a lovely intensity of
tone, and a richness of poetic meaning.
Mr. John Homer's conducting of this
numoer bore the stamp of authority,
uiair.tainine a beautiful balance. It was
not his fault that the orchestra was
not fully awake to his beat at the end.
The encore, also with orchestra, was
the slow movement from Saint-Saens's
'cello concerto, a haunting- affair in
the style of a minuet, with consider
able piquancy in the playing.
The farewell sceen from Moussorg
skay's ?"Boris" w&s, in the main, right
into Mr. Clifford Lathlean's hands.
The broad, chant-like liniv: vrere fer
vently declaimed, and the dying Tsar"6
final words were given with a telling
restraint and sympathy. In his encore,
Stanford's "Devon," word clarity was
joined to a ringing heartiness of voice.
The weak link in this singer's armor is
the production of his upper notes,
which in both numbers cost him a cer
tain effort.
Miss Jean Sinclair sang two songs
from Mrs. Kennedy-Fraser's collection
of Hebridean songs, "Fairy's Love
Song" and "KishmUTs Galley." She
realised the doleful spirit of the first
but I felt that she was too intense
each time the word "sigh" came. It
affected both the quality of the note
and the purity of the voweL This song
iad a very effective rubato. We love
Miss Sinclair's big, resonant tones,
organ-like in quality, but feel the need
of more color-contrast ever and anon,
and that one or two low notes are not
nearly of the sturdiness of the rest.
She sang another plaintive (Hebre
dean?) sang as encore.
Besides filling her usual valuable
role as leader of the orchestra, Miss
Sylvia Whitangton contributed a group
of violin 6Olos. She preserved the in
herent dignity of Sulzer's Sarabande,
and her artistic differences of coloring
were noticeable. A lively Serenade of
Pergament was followed by the Corelli-
Kreisler Theme and Variations, tech
nically and spiritually convincing. She
was all tenderness in her encore, Cyril
Scott's "Lullaby.? whose one false
note was manifestly an accident.
Mr. Homer's accompaniments
showed sensitiveness and a discrimina
tion of the various styles. At the con
clusion of the programme the large
audience gave Mr. Parsons a prolonged
ovation.
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