Denaby Orchestral Society – Season Successfully Started

November 1906

Mexborough and Swinton Times November 17, 1906

Denaby Orchestral Society
Season Successfully Started

“The best village orchestral society in Great Britain” – a comment that was once passed to the writer with regard to the Denaby orchestral society, and the musical enthusiast who pronounced it, might very easily have included hundreds of towns as well for certain is that the Denaby society now takes a high musical reputation, not merely in the Don Valley, where it leads away in its own particular sphere of “musics laughter” but throughout South Yorkshire, many of whose communities sigh in vain for the possession of such a society capable of the consistently good work, done year after year, by Denaby.

The example and splendid success of Denaby, it is pleasing to note, is being followed by the springing into existence of kindred societies in the immediate neighbourhood and no doubt, the glory of Denaby, in the near future, will be reflected upon them, although in somewhat lesser degree.

“Rome was not built in a day,” and neither is a musical reputation. To boast an unproved superiority is bad taste, and more so musically and other societies who claim to be “second to none,” and goodness knows what, might very well take a leaf out of Denaby’s book, and give the public opportunities of judging for themselves. Music you know speaks louder than words.

The Denaby society has been in uninterrupted existence for 16 years, and each winter improvement has been made, until now, the poor little original quartet of merely four instrumentalists has grown to a membership of 40, every one of whom is an artist in the truest musical sense of the word.

The concert, with which the local season was opened on Thursday night, proved a delightful musical treat to an audience which would have been considerably larger, but for the adverse weather that prevailed. Those who braved the elements, however, were well rewarded. From the rain and dirt outside, to the interior of the large hall, Denaby Main was a change particularly pleasing to the senses.

The programme was an excellent one, the orchestra contributing selections from the repertoire of Mendelson, Webber, Fukic, and Thompson, their workforce embracing an enchanting and varied range. In every instance a wonderful versatility of the society works exhibited. The spirit of adaptability was not wanting, and spontaneous sympathy rippled and ran through every line of the wealth of chords. The orchestration throughout was well perfect, and one had to listen in vain to detect a false note. Beautifully balanced, true to the conductors baton, the “light and shade” found ready and expressive interpretation. To put it briefly the society again scored an undoubted success, and their continuation to use superior to all the difficulties of technique that marked the music of say Webber, for instance, reflects credit on the members and conductor alike.

Indeed, the conductor, Mr Moses Soar, is to be specially congratulated. He it is who has guided and developed the society from the humble quartetre, afore mentioned, who lovingly started practising 16 years ago, to the efficient combination of today. The popularity of Mr Soar is richly deserved, he possesses the rare gift of bringing absolutely the best out of the instrumentalists at his command.

It would be difficult to particularise as to which were the society’s best efforts, but the rendering of the overture, with its wonderfully weird passages, “ Der Freischutz,” struck one as being a masterpiece of orchestration. Then, too, the Morecambe test piece, by the same author, “ Euryanthe,” found the society rising to the great demands of the piece, the string work being beautifully produced, whilst the attack in this as in all their numbers, savoured of actual brilliancy.

The society had the assistance of two rising and well-known vocalists, Miss Mary Parker, of Sheffield, and Mr. H. Halstead, of Leeds. Both had to respond to enthusiastic recalls. Miss Parker is a trained soprano of elastic range and sweet timber. In all her numbers artistic voice production was a marked characteristic. Mr Halsted, too, exhibited a fine round voice, and gave every satisfaction.

Programme:

March of triumph, Entry of gladiators ( fucik);

song, “the Trumpeter” (J. Airlie Dix), Mr: Halstead;

overture, “Der freischutz” (Webber);

recit and cavatine, “Far greater in his lonely state; (Gounod)

Miss Parker encore, “a life’s epitome” (Kenneth Rae ); song, “asleep in the deep” (Petra),

Mr Halstead (encore), “the village blacksmith); overture, “Raymond”, (Thomas); Erin idyll (Ellen Berg);

song (a) “Song of Florian) Goddard; (b) “birthday song” (Cowen),

Miss Parker, overture, (Euranthe) (Weber); song, “comrades to arms” (G. Thisveaco),

Mr Halstead; song. “What does little birdie say” (Parsons).

Miss Parker; selection, “songs without words,” (Mendelson)