The chorus work, if not continuously good, was with very few exceptions, of quite an excellent order.
The Male Choir, which seemed as if it had gathered strength in the shape of recruits, opened the concert with a very finely rendered part song - ''The Boy in Blue'', by Lovell.
Nothing suits the male choir better than vigorous, stirring music.
In it they excel, and the part song under notice belongs to the class referred to.
There was plenty of life and assertiveness about the way the choir enunciated the freedom of those on the sea, and the general rendering of the part song was well worthy of unstinted praise.
Edward German's ''O Peaceful Night'', differing, as it did from the preceding item, was a well considered, and well carried out piece of work.
Where necessary some beautifully soft effects were obtained without losing a grip of the melody; a consummation not too often met with.
Fairly frequently where either vocalists, or instrumentalists, have to plunge into music of a more delicate character, they get into trouble.
So long as there is a full vigorous swing on they seem to gain confidence, but when there is an absence of this, and the theme calls for a light touch, their assurance disappears.
They become diffident, uncertain, and weak.
That happily, was not the case with ''O Peaceful Night''.
The early part of de Rille's ''The Traveller's Farewell'' did not go so smoothly as might have been desired.
No special fault could be found with it, yet, in the first verse, there was a feeling created that the choir was not entirely comfortable, and results were not as good as they might have been.
In the next verse there was a decided improvement, which was further increased as the part song proceeded, until the choir finished up in a highly creditable manner.
• The Awarua Five Rivers Syndicate is apparently quite alive to the signs of the times. It is understood (says the Mossburn correspondent to the Southland Times) that it is breaking up from 1000 to 1200 acres, and it is quite like old times on Five Rivers to see the various contractors' camps, and the numerous teams of five-furrow ploughs. The syndicate is evidently in the happy position of having a big lot of chaff, and thrashing stuff on hand; also ample seed wheat for itself and some to dispose of. It has also let a block of 140 acres of turnip land on cropping terms, which should be advantageous to the cropper.
• The destruction of shags is a matter for which the Otago acclimatisation Society might hold out greater inducements (says the Cromwell Argus).
The usual winter conditions are now in evidence on the Clutha River, where flocks of from 25 to 30 shags can regularly be seen working the river in a face, and they must devour an alarming number of fish.
Five from one of these flocks were watched operating in the vicinity of a dredge last week, and were seen to devour 12 fish of from 10 inches to a foot long in half an hour.
• The Government has set aside 1000 acres of land at Templeton for a large main prison.
Part of the land is in the old bed of the Waimakariri and part of it has been used as farms.
Yesterday 12 prisoners were transferred from Lyttelton to the new quarters, and it is intended to set them to carry out farming operations.
The erection of the buildings has not been started yet. - ODT, 15.7.1915
• COPIES OF PICTURE AVAILABLE FROM ODT FRONT OFFICE, LOWER STUART ST, OR WWW.OTAGOIMAGES.CO.NZ
