The second meeting was delayed a day because of the C.C.F. The talk was given by T. E. H. Sabben-Clare on Guitar Music and was illustrated by excerpts from the Guitar records in the School Library. The third meeting of the term was also delayed a day for the benefit of Cert. "A", Part II, candidates. At this meeting Field gave a talk on the Baroque Organ which was enhanced by two records of the same piece of Bach on two entirely different styles of organ, the Baroque and the Romantic. The final meeting of the term, on 27th March, was a talk by
B. G. Way on Strauss Tone-poems, which he illustrated by playing parts of Don Juan and Till Eulenspiegel by Richard Strauss. The term has been a successful one, marked by a fine School concert and, thus encouraged, we look forward to the continuation of the Society's present policy.
R.A.F. THE SCHOOL CONCERT "SAMSON" 6-30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 14th and 15th March, 1958, in Big Hall Milton and Handel make a strong combination : they also match each other in their assured stride, firm, and heroic. Invention never seems to tire in either, even if the style remains obtrusive. It was a pleasure therefore to hear the words as well as the music, for, in the soloists especially, enunciation was good. Rarely can the School have contained within its walls so many good soloists; indeed, such was the choice that two excellent tenors were rivals for the part of Samson : Mr. Oatley sang the part on Friday and Mr. Wall on Saturday. It was fascinating to compare their interpretation : Mr. Oatley lyrical, gentle and exquisitely modulated (it would be a pleasure to hear him sing to the accompaniment of a lute); Mr. Wall powerful, dramatic and thoroughly Samsonian—or perhaps Sam-sonic. It is a tribute to the music, as well as the singer, that Mr. Oatley's voice, less obviously suitable for Samson, was in fact the more moving in "Total Eclipse"—he conveyed the pathos compellingly : Mr. Wall's dramatic, even heroic, manner was brilliantly powerful, however, in the duet "Traitor to love". This duet, with the two trebles, P. Hunt and A. J. Neal, singing the part of Delilah, was one of the most satisfying things in the evening : the double part confused the ear at first and the pure treble quality when one expected lush soprano was a surprise, but these disadvantages were overcome by the singers' assurance and verve. The blend of treble and tenor in this exciting music was only equalled by the other duet, "Go, baffled coward, go", for bass and tenor voices. Here 35
