Smith Comes to Sanders

The troublesome characteristic of rarely heard works of famous composers is that there is often a good reason for their obscurity. On Friday night the combined Glee Clubs of Smith and Harvard, assisted by the Bach Society Orchestra, gave Mozart's Vesperae de Dominica its first performance in this country. Unfortunately, it is not one of Mozart's more inspired works, only reaching greatness in a movement interpolated from a later Vespers.

The two Glee Clubs, led by Smith conductor Iva Dee Hiatt, hardly gave the music a chance, singing for the most part at a steady forte that ignored whatever nuances the music possessed. Again the exception was the interpolated movement, Laudate Dominum, which was sung with some feeling. The interpolation also featured a golden-haired, golden-voiced soprano named Sue Glenn. Although her low notes were a little breathy, her attacks were clean, her high notes under control, and she was the only soloist of the evening who did not force her tone. The Bach Society Orchestra provided a uniformly capable accompaniment.

The other works sung by the combined Glee Clubs needed much more rehearsal. The men's voices tended to drown out the sopranos and altos, and conductor G. Wallace Woodworth was forced to add a piano accompaniment to the lovely Weelkes madrigal As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending.

Separately, the two Glee Clubs were much better. The Smith chorus sang an expert performance of Monteverdi's Scherzi Musicale for three-voice chorus, two instruments and continue. The unusual stylistic combination of a trio sonata and a madrigal was handled by Monteverdi with great care, and the two pieces Smith sang were delightful.

The contemporary works on the program provided an interesting contrast. Three movements of a Mass for Three Men's Voices by Leo Preger, receiving their first performance anywhere, showed that Preger's style is stark, powerful, and extremely difficult. The Harvard Glee Club's performance was excellent, bringing out the drama of the music without sacrificing good tone in the process. The Smith chorus gave an equally fine performance of Richard Winslow's Huswifery. This piece was more singable and less dissonant than the Preger, but was still a forceful work, with a wonderful melismatic climax on the words "Thee Glorify."

Poulenc's Petites Voix, also sung by Smith, was on the other end of the scale, being witty, whimsical, and sweet. The work is not idiomatic for women's chorus, having been written for the pure tone and peculiar focus of children's voices. With this reservation, the Smith girls' performance was enjoyably light-hearted. With adequate rehearsals, the two Glee Clubs could no doubt sing as well together as they did by themselves.