John McCormack tenor
Harold Holt International Celebrity Subscription Concert
Last Appearance prior to World Tour
Prices: 3/-; 3/6; 5/-; 7/6; 10/-.
John McCormack tenor
Ania Dorfman piano
Edwin Schneider accompanist
Series of Five Concerts Can still be Booked: 39/-; 28/-; 17/-; 15/-; 11/6.
Important Notice: Special Trains from Dundee to St Andrews after each Concert at 10.25pm. The 10.15pm train from Dundee to Perth and intermediate stations will be detained until 10.30pm. Also 10.15 Newort Boat will be delayed until 10.30pm for the convenience of Patrons.
Further Scottish dates to be confirmed.
Some of the items included in the programme
Haydn Canzonetta - She never told her love.
Elgar Is she not passing fair?
James P Dunn The Bitterness of Love.
Fauré Antonine.
Wolf Lord, what doth the soil here bear?
Hughes Irish Folksongs included The Forlorn Queen.
Encores Just for today.
The Rose of Tralee.
The Little Silver Ring, etc.
Tcherepnine Five Bagatelles.
Bach (arr Strimer) Marche.
Weber Rondo Brilliant.
Chopin Ballade in A flat.
A Review of the Dundee performance
Dundee Courier & Advertiser: Thursday, November 17, 1930 (p4)
M’Cormack Charms Dundee Audience - Big Ovation at Celebrity Concert
'John McCormack, still as great an artiste as ever, charmed a big audience at the Caird Hall, Dundee, last night and received a remarkable ovation.
'Opening the new series of Celebrity concerts under Mr Harold Holt's direction, McCormack sang more than a score of songs, and would hardly have satiated his hearers with as many more.
'His programme last night was, on the whole, more worth while than some in which he has been heard formerly, mainly because of the inclusion of songs of Haydn, Fauré, Hugo Wolf, and Herbert Hughes' splendid arrangements of Irish folk-songs. So none could cavil unduly, while many were ecstatic about his numerous ''popular,'' but by no means negligible encores.
'McCormack has surely had no peer as a singer of songs. He is happy in every mood of a long list of old English songs, the folk song and the more ingenuous ballad.
'The passage of time (he is now on his silver jubilee tour) has not dimmed the golden quality of his middle voice, in the register of which he achieves his most ravishing effects. From some non-apparent cause, he did not quite manage last night to communicate this quality to his higher register.
'His polished artistry, however, is a model. There is never the slightest doubt about the text which he is singing, and this adds immense point to his songs. The phrasing is always beautifully accurate.
'Haydn's serenely melodic ''She never told her love''; an Elgar revelation ''Is she not passing fair?''; and a marvellously poignant song, ''The Bitterness of Love'' (James P Dunn), were high lights of the programme. Possibly more welcome, and magnificently sung, were Fauré's ''Antonine'' and one of Hugo Wolf's curiously-compelling songs, ''Lord, what doth the soil here bear?''
'In a group of Hughes' Irish folk-songs, the native glamour of the text was matched by McCormack's enthralling warmth of tone in ''The Forlorn Queen.''
'He was in generous mood in making response to the warmth of his reception, and sang many songs which he has made famous through several mediums less personal than the concert platform. These included ''Just for to-day,'' ''The Rose of Trallee'', ''The Little Silver Ring,'' etc.
'Last night also we had a return visit of Ania Dorfmann, that delicately cultured pianist who plays Chopin so delightfully. If anything, Dorfmann has become more brilliant in the interim, but still retains that gossamer-like delicacy which is perhaps her chief charm at the keyboard.
'In two appearances she presented works principally by Weber and Chopin. But first she played brilliantly ''Five Bagatelles'' by Alexandre Tcherepnine - by no means bagatelles to handle - and Strimer's arrangement of a Bach ''Marche.''
'Weber's ''Rondo Brilliant'' conformed to title in its execution, but some passages were elusive. Chopin's Ballade in A flat major was entirely satisfactory, Dorfmann's innate delicacy lending a crystalline charm to it.
'Edwin Schneider, the accompanist, was always in perfect accord, and his song, ''Far apart,'' received a warm welcome when sung by McCormack.'
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