THE CRIMSON PLAYGOER --- REVIEWS --- CLUB CONCERTS

At its concert on December 15 in Symphony Hall the Glee Club justified the hopes of its most ardent supporters. Last spring Mr. Davison proved that, given sufficient wealth of material, he could produce within a year a chorus of the first rank. Wednesday evening he showed that he could whip his new material into shape in less than three months. Last spring the Glee Club had established a standard never before attained by a college musical organization; this year they have proved they can maintain that standard as long as they are dominated by Dr. Davison's personality.

In Symphony Hall the University singers successfully ran the gauntlet of organized music from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, not only reproducing the notes and words of the music with admirable effect, but in every case grasping the spirit of the writer with a thoroughness and an intelligence truly great. Enunciation was uniformly good, every beginning and ending crisp and precise, ascents and descents of tone were excellently graduated. The men interpreted equally well the gentle philosophy of Praetorious, the resounding energy of Buck's "At Sea," Mendelssohn's smooth and flowing "Huntor's Farewell," and in Morley's enchanting "Now is the Month of Maying," following carefully the feeling of that light, delicate fragment of Shakespearean England, while into the final "Hallelujah, Amen," they put all the sonorous vigor for which Handel is famous.

Of course, there were certain defects, as was to be expected early in the season. The men seemed nervous in the beginning, and Bach's chorus, which demanded a powerful tone, was overdone. The violin obligate added little to Schumann's "Gypsy Life." Then, the program seemed rather long. Two hours and a half is quite a while to sit through any concert of this kind, especially when the program lacks some of the swinging numbers such as were sung last year. At the previous concert in Symphony Hall it was evident that the public came largely to hear Mr. Kreisler, and his large allotment of time was most fitting. by Wednesday last the Glee Club had become the central attraction; it had won its public; henceforth the "assisting artist" might well receive less time.

Mr. Spalding played throughout with his customary excellence of technique. He was always at ease, and exhibited a smoothness, a finish, and a reserve which gave him complete command over whatever he attempted. His treatment of the flowing Corell sonata well deserved the praise it received.

But to Dr. Davison must be given the credit of having transformed a little known glee club with a highly collegiate program into a musical organization of national importance.