Thursday evening, in Jordan Hall, the choirs of Temple Israel, under Mr. Henry Gideon, gave a concert of religious and folk music. Always adventurous, he undertook an ambitious program, while they took pains with the impression on the eye as well as the ear.

The first part of their program, up to the Moussorgsky number, was very far from ideally sung. Granting all the difficulties of the concert hall, there seems no good reason why otherwise excellent singing should be marred by bad lapses from pure intonation, which reached their height in the mezzo solo, "What is Man?"

Moussorgsky's "Josua Navine", a spirited cantata, was sung altogether as well as anything all evening. Following it, a small group sang some charming Yiddish folk-songs which were as pleasing even to those who did not know the language as to those who did: Mrs. Gideon's expansive and magnetic personality, together with her unusually musical speaking voice, added much.

The choirs gave the first concert performance of an entire service for the synagogue by Mr. Arthur Foote, assisted by various instrumentalists, and Mrs. Bertha Cushing Child as reader. The service did not make a universal appeal, but one who knows it fairly well can vouch for the fact that it improves on better acquaintance. Musically, it was given an altogether excellent performance, to us it seemed that the reader's part was much overdone, and the whole thing a bit "stagey".

The costuming was very artistic, eminently suited as well to the music in hand as to the concert-hall. Throughout the concert Mr. Gideon's personality was felt, and his ability apparent. Whatever the faults of the evening, they were not his; while by courage, by brilliant singing of parts of the evening, by obvious sincerity, the choirs more than made up for their share of them.

Of the soloists, Mr. Lautner stood out for his clarity of diction, his care in phrasing, his pure intonation, and Miss Tingley for her warm, colorful voice, and its artistic use.