Good music, well-rehearsed musicians, and Mr. William Perry combined to make the Adams House Musical Society's closing concert a triumphant one. Presenting English and French works of the Eighteenth Century, the Harvard Glee Club, Radcliffe Choral Society, and instrumentalists from the greater Boston area accomplished the difficult feat of pleasing an audience with music most of them had never heard before.

The evening opened quietly with a quaint orchestral suite from a Gretry opera, a subdued piece which contrasted well with the more bombastic music that came later on. It is not difficult to understand why Andre Gretry's once-popular operas have been neglected for years. Although the music has a certain old-fashioned charm, neither the themes nor their development show any signs of genius and are of historical importance only.

Barbara Sorenson and Russell Ames then played another period piece, Leclair's Violin-Harpsichord Sonata, marred by poor balance between the instruments, Miss Sorenson's technique is excellent, but her very rich tone was not at all suited to the delicate quality of the music.

But there was nothing delicate about the two French Revolution songs which closed the first half of the program. The Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus and soloists sang lustily (and well) and the orchestra was loud in Francois Gossee's rowdy arrangement of "La Marscillaise." The original score called for a cannon blast near end, but the pistol used in this performance was sufficiently starting.

The best part of the program by far was the Quintet and Final Chorus from Handel's Oratorio, "Jeptha." The Chorus, which seemed to improve as the evening were on, sang with precision and expression and each voice part came through clearly. The voices of soloists Joyce Young and Martha Hopkins were notable for their fine tonal quality and good enunciation, and they blended well together.

Thomas Arne's perenuial "Rule Britannia" brought the evening to an exciting, crowd-pleasing conclusion.

The concert was more than a success for the Adams House group-it was a personal triumph for Bill Perry. He conducted, arranged some of the music, played the harpsichord, wrote the program notes, copied the manuscripts, and probably cleaned up the theater afterwards. Although a bit flamboyant as a conductor, Perry obviously knows his music thoroughly. As president of the Adams House Society he has made it the most active musical group at Harvard, and the position he vacates this June will be a difficult one to fill. lower case