The Press. — London, England, 1858-04-10 00:00:00

`x USxx. THE VOCAL ABEOCLATION has commenced a series of six concerts to be given at St. James's-hall daring the I resent season, the first of which took place last Wednesday evening. The programme was drawn entirely from the works of Mendelssohn, and a similar plan, we understand, will be adopted in the succeeding concerts ; a selection from the works of some one composer being presented on each occasion. The scheme has certain advantages : it enables us, no doubt, to form a better acquaintance with each author, and to gain a more intimate knowledge of his peculiar style than can be derived from any number of miscellaneous concerts ; but the pro grammes must be drawn up with no little care ; the choice of pieces requires considerable tact ; it is not easy to avoid monotony. There must be a certain amount of sameness in the productions of every author, even the most versatile; and in listening to a succession of unconnected pieces, we miss the unity of a longer work, the interest which carries us with out fatigue or loss of attention through an opera or an oratorio. Little fault can be found with Mr. 13enedices selection from Mendelssohn. The first part contained the Symphony in A major, the violin concerto, and the finale to the unfinished opera of Lorely ; the second part included the overture entitled " The calm and prosperous voyage," and the First Walpurgis Night. These elaborate works were relieved by the insertion of some six or seven of the part songs, the scena " Infelice," and the " Capriccio Thillante " for pianoforte and orchestra. Here was variety enough, but the concert was rather too long, and the Walpurgis Night (perhaps the finest thing of the evening), being placed at the end of the second part, was honoured by the departure of a large portion of the audience—a vexatious disturbance to those who remained. We might ask, too, why symphonies and concertos should be per formed by the Vocal Association ; hut the orchestra was a good one, and Mendelssohn enjoys nearly equal fame in both branches of music, so the selection from his works was more complete, and we need not stay to quarrel about words. Indeed, like most German composers, he was more thoroughly a master when employed for the orchestra than when writing for the voice. No one but a musician would venture to find fault with his instrumental works, but the defect of his vocal compositions is evident to every one. It requires no knowledge of music to be able to say " I can't hear the words ; " a child is capable of such criticism, and no learning can devise an answer to it. We refer, of course, only to some of Mendelssobn's more elaborate choruses, but in spite of all that may be said in excuse, the defect is a very grave one. Surely if a composer undertakes to set a poem to music, we may fairly complain if the poem is hidden ; it cannot excuse him to say that the music expresses that which the words express ; lie may have written good music, but he has not done what he undertook to do. We were promised a double pleasure, poetry and music combined, and he has, given us short measure—he has cheated us of half our enjoyment. The words may be there, but they are useless to us, or worse than useless, for there is no more neutrality in music than in anything else ; whatever is not doing good must be doing harm. If words are set so that they cannot be heard, we may be pretty sure they are set so that they cannot be sung ; and if we can not make out what the chorus-singers are doing, they are probably engaged in something little better than a general scramble. It will not do to write for voices as if they were instruments ; consonants and vowels must be taken into account ; a word, whether spoken or sung, is not the same thing as the note of a violin—the compass of male and female voices is not all that a composer need know who would write vocal music. The education of the voice is an art in itself, but an art little understood in Germany either by singers or writers ; Handel and Mozart, indeed, are two notable exceptions, but they both acquired their knowledge in Italy. Everything in the programme is well known ; in spite of all pro phecies to the contrary, Mimdelssolsn is still the reigning favourite in London. He was too original to be lii'ed by all, and some people shrink from everything new,but he is getting older every day, and we shall be all of one mind before long. The per formance on the whole was good. Miss Stabbach is always successful in declamatory music, anddelivei ed the recitatives in Lorely with considerable effect. Mine. Casteilan, Miss Huddart, Mr. Montem Smith, and Mr. Winn, were the other vocalists; the two ladies were encored in the duet " I would that my love." The orchestra, as we have said, was excellent, and the chorus did their best, but the part-songs should not be sung by so many voices—they require delicacy of expression and purity of tone, which in these large bodies cannot be attained. M. Sainton has frequently played the violin concerto, and is well ittrilified for the task ; be wants the refinement of Ernst, but his style is bold and masculine; be wab a THE PRESS, APRIL 10, 1858. little unsteady at first, but soon recovered himself, and gave the beautiful cantabile with more than usual finish. Miss Goddard's execution of the " Capriccio Brillante " was as pure and perfect as a Greek statue—almost as calm and cold. MR. LESLIE'S CHOlR.—Never has chorus-singing occupied so much attention in this country as at present. The number of societies formed for its cul tivation is increasing every year. The success of each, and the degree of excellence attained, varies of course according to the talent and energy of those intrusted with the management, and in proportion to the advantages of the locality in which it may be situated, but there is a good deal of uniformity in their way of going to work. In general, a certain number of amateurs enter into a subscription for the purchase of music, and engage a professional musi• clan to act as director. In the choice of this director, they are liabie to two errors; he may be too good as well as too bad. They may make the mistake of choosing an incompetent man, but they may also select a man of too much celebrity ; a man who has his hands too full of business, whose reputation is too secure, and who cannot spare the necessary time and trouble. He comes to rehearsals tired with his day's work, and the hard task of drilling a crowd of rough, un cultivated voices almost nauseates him. The sin gular excellence which has been reached by Mr. Leslie's choir is probably owing to its advantage in this respect. Here is a company of amateurs under the direction of an amateur. He is one of them selves. They are as proud of him as he or them. They labour together not for reward, not as a duty, but from a love of the art ; they strive for the first place among choral societies, and they spare no pains. Though one of the youngest of the London associa tions, their progress has been so rapid that even now, in many respects, they are far in advance of any other. While experiments are being made else where with larger bodies of singers than were ever before assembled, while the public taste is running after anything monstrous, this choir of scarcely one hundred voices has been occupied with less noisy and exciting matters. It has been cultivating a pure tone, exact time, true intonation, well-balanced rhythm, clear execution, and refined expression— very commonplace matters, no doubt, but very ne glected matters. They do not busy themselves as yet with the more elaborate compositions of the great masters ; they are content •to learn to walk before they begin to run. When the time comes, if they go on as they have begun, we shall hear what we have never heard yet. In the meantime, they sing the part-songs of Mendelssohn, and the glees and madrigals of the old English composers, with a steadiness, purity, and refinement which no other society in London can match. Their forte is not a shout, their piano is not a husky whisper ; we do not shrink from a unison passage, and try to drive away recollections of dissenting chapels. The programme of the seventh concert, which took place last Thurs day, included Mendelssohn's noble chorale, " The Triumph of Literature." Here occurs a magnificent phrase in unison, one of those passages in which Mendelssohn delighted, and the tone WAS fine, absolutely fine. Is there another choir in London of which we can say as much ? We have got in some sort accustomed to those three hundred and five hundred voices, and we are to be hardened to twelve hundred and two thou sand; but listen attentively—is it singing? Is it not shrieking, muttering, shouting, growling ? Is it not anything but singing ? The reaction, of which Mr. Leslie's choir is a most welcome sign, ought to be hailed by every lover of music. The concert of Thursday was an excellent one • besides the admi rable singing of the choir, there was Beethoven's sonata for pianoforte and N iolin, by Miss Goddard and Mr. Blagrove; Thalberg's arrangement of " Home, sweet home," by the former ; and a fan tasia on airs from Verdi's Vepres Sic Menne', by the latter. The room was crowded, and no wonder. THE SACRED HARMONIC SOCIETY gave a perform ance of Mendelssohn's Hymn of Praise and Mozart's Requiem yesterday evening, being the second this season. The Hymn of Praise, it will be remem bered, was also a principal feature in the programme of the first concert at St. James's.hall, so that this one work of Alendelssohn's has been performed three times to crowded audiences in little more than a fortnight. The solo singing was of course heard to better advantage in the smaller hall, and the smaller orchestra was better adapted to the very in tricate and difficult movements of the introductory symphony. The chorus•singetc at Exeter-hall, on the other hand, were more thoroughly acquainted with the music, and Mr. Costa puts a spirit into everything he conducts which no one else can equal. Mme. Castellan, Miss Ranks, and Mr. Sims Reeves were the principal vocalists in the Hymn of Praise., and tho solo parts of the Requiem were assigned to the same artists, assisted by Miss Dolby and Mr. Thomas. Handel's Israel is Egypt is sanouneed for Friciisy, the 23rd last, tint 3 rts 347 THE SOCIETY OF FEMALE ARTISTS.—It 18 a deli cate thing to criticise ladies ; but as this society has just opened its second exhibition, and seems deter- 1.T.11 mined to proceed, we suppose theta is nothing for us but to get hard ened to the work. We meet with ladies in other exhibitions ; there are always a few, but we are not bound to meddle with them. If we cannot compliment, we may be silent and pass on ; or, if we think ourselves now and then bound to speak, it is a momentary pang and soon forgotten. But to go into a gallery of ladies, make a minute inspection, and then sit down and dissect them de liberately, one by one, is a very different matter—a barbarous duty to be laid upon any man. But how can we escape? The ladies form themselves into a society, take rooms at the Egyptian-hall, print catalogues, and elect their lady-secretary and lady keeper, and then send us cards of invitation. The ladies request us to come and make remarks upon them; can we refuse a lady's request? The exhibition contains about one hundred and fifty oil paintings, rather more than two hundred and fifty drawings in chalks and water-colours, and some twenty pieces of sculpture. There are also nearly one hundred copies from the old masters in various styles. Landscapes, flowers, and fruit are the favourite subjects; a few rustic figures and domestic sketches are contri buted ; but portraits are few, and historical paint ings fewer still. " The Bath," No. 47, is one of Mrs. Ward's pretty nursery sketches, well-drawn and brightly coloured, the expression true, if not very forcible. Miss Fox sends a portrait in oils of the late M.P. for Oldham, and another in chalks of Miss Dorah Roberts, both boldly drawn and full of cha racter. "My Rustic Admirer," by the same lady, is a very clever little sketch ; the attitude of the boy as he leans sheepishly against the doorway, and stam mers out, " I've brought you some flowers, Minus," is happily caught. Mrs. Robbinson's " Othello and Desdemona" is commonplace, but carefully painted; and " The Morning Star of Memory," by Mrs. Back house, is a graceful drawing of a lady in Greek cos tume with a star on her forehead. We do not pro fess to be able to explain the exact meaning of the composition, and the stanza inserted in the cata logue, we are ashamed to say, has not enlightened us ; nevertheless it is a pretty picture. Mrs. Car penter gives ns a bold, rough portrait of Dr. Arnett, and a clever, though rather slovenly, water.colcrar drawing of " A Contrabandista." The Spanish and Italian peasants by Mrs. Murray are some of the best figure-pieces in the room. The saucy, handsome girl in the "Shopdoor in Rome," and the careless, ruffianly-looking fellow who is sitting on the corner of the table, are both full of national character ; but the attitude of the " Spanish Girl at Prayer" is hardly a possible one—the figure could not be bent so far forward without support. " The Peak of Teneriffe;' by the same artist, is a very singular landscape, full of strangely bright colours : it bears some marks of truth about it, but the hardness of the clouds and the sharpness of the distant hills are not much like nature. The " Poacher in Embryo," by Miss Adelaide Burgess, is a boy with a bird's nest in his cap and a whole string of eggshells in his hand. He has a pretty faoe, and must be a very ex pert climber not to have torn his clothes in the least or scratched his bands at all. Miss Stoddart's four landscapes will attract the attention of most people on entering the room. They are painted with eem siderable confidence, and show a practised head ; but the colouring is so nearly alike in all, the character of the rocks and trees and the play of light and shade so nearly the same, that on a closer in• spection we rather doubt their truth. The endless variety there is in nature must show itself in the works of all who paint what they see. The " Gypsies' Haunt," by Miss Sarah Linnell, is quite in the family style. The colours and forms of the trees are well contrasted; but it is rather roughly painted, and will not bear too near an examination : it was well worth a little more labour. Miss Sewell has two views of Edinburgh, somewhat in the manner of Callow; and Miss Isabella Jones has made a very free and picturesque drawing of some Old Houses in Rouen." Flower and fruit pieces are very numerous; Mrs. Rimer's "Rhododendrons " and Mrs. Bartholomew's " Autumn Fruit " are among the best. Miss Lance has something of her father's skill in grouping; but colour and finish are necessary to make this class of pictures attractive, and these she has yet to acquire. We must not omit to men tion Mrs. Withers' beautifal study of " Winter Berries," and Miss Charlotte James's "Chrysan themums from the Temple Gardens," which, as well as her " Autumn Gatherings," is composed with the most exquisite taste. In the sculpture Mrs. Thorny croft, el course, holds the first place, but a atatne of Robin Hood, by Miss Ihlnint. bs considorsl4 &Wit. ;. ti ~..