The Press. — London, England, 1855-09-01 00:00:00

130 i. 1, 1855. exalted sentiment., and treated by the composer with becoming dignity. The heart must be hard indeed who can listen unmoved to this sublime scene—the fervid devotion of Samuel as he sinks down, and his voice, although his senses are overwhelmed with sleep, still cries in faint tones, gradually diminishing, " Bless the Lord." The orchestral imagery of this fine air is most impressive. But the manifestation of the composer's genius ceases not here. A chorus of soprano and alto, in A flat, supported by instru mental devices, in which the harps are again em ployed, sing, " No evil shall befall thee," the angelic intervention being thus conveyed. The action of the oratorio progresses by the avowed defeat of the Israelities, and their prayers to be saved. After a chorus in C minor, the departure of Eli's sons for the scene of strife is intermingled by the episode of the call of Samuel. A very felicitous use is herein made of the oboe, suggested, probably, by the em• ployment of a similar instrument in the miracle of the rain in Mendelssohn's Elijah. There is much to notice in this remarkable scene. The semi chorus, " Bless ye the Lord," is crowded with picturesque parts. The Loi d's will in respect to Eli is com municated by Samuel in recitative, Eli responding in a strain of resignation in a noble air, " Although my house." The day of battle, "Let God arise," in a succession of choruses, has some powerfully marked contrasts, but the tenor portion is not in keeping with the previous elevation of style main tained by the composer. A chorus in F minor, " Lament and howl," is a striking composition, and the death of Eli has been treated with excellent discretion, in recitative, leaving the chorus, in a touching strain in A minor, to lament the taking of the Ark. Here the oratorio arrived at a difficult situation for the composer. Was he to terminate with a wail for the death of Eli and the seizure of the Ark, or was he to finish with a thanksgiving ? A right conclusion has been come to. Samuel announces a fast of humiliation and mourning, and the people respond in a choral outbreak in B, bless ing the name of the Lord, and singing " Hallelujah ! Amen." With a massive fugue, then, the composer winds up the chapters from the Book of Samuel recording Eli's life and death. How far the adapter has supplied the musician with a coherent book, it is scarcely possible to decide, with such early im pressions. At present it seems as if the incidents were too episodical, and not sufficiently connected. The words in some respect require amendment. However provocative of conflicting criticism Mr. Bartholomew's poem may be, the composer's music, at all events, will admit but of little controversy. Costa has come through this trying ordeal with a decided victory at Birmingham. The execution was magni ficent. The choral singing and orchestral playing are beyond all praise. There were no less than six encores. First, the chorus "The Lord is good ;" next in turn was Sims Reeves for his glorious de livery of the war solo, his upper chest notes coming out with astonishing power. Mme. Castellan received the third complimentary redemand for her clever delivery of the divisions in the bravura. In the second part Mme. Viardot's pathetic reading of the " Morning Prayer " elicited the first encore. Her singing was so full of pathos that " a pin might have been heard to drop." The quartet was sung by Viardot, Castellan, Sims Reeves, and Formes with such perfect intonation and firmness that the repe pion became inevitable, the ball resounding with acclamations. Finally, the sixth encore was the pro perty of the exquisitely-toned sopranos and altos in the semi chorus (Angels), "No evil shall befall thee." In making this enumeration of the encores, commanded by Lord Willoughby do Broke, the noble President, it is no imputation on his taste to state that there were other pieces equally worthy of dis tinction ; but then nearly the whole oratorio would have been asked for again. The duo between Mme. Castellan and Mr. Sims Reeves, " Wherefore is thy soul;" the duet between the two bassos, Weiss and Formes, " Lord, cause Thy face ;" the trio between Castellan, Viardot, and Reeves, "Thou shalt love the Lord ;" the airs sung by Former, " Hear my prayer," and " Although my house ;" and, above all, the most touching vocalisation of Viardot in the " Evening Prayer," were severally pieces enlisting powerful sympathy. As the concluding portions of an oratorio are invariably the most difficult to sustain in interest, the reaction from over-excitement being then felt, so, perhaps, will it be found that it is towards the close of Costa's work the weak parts may be pointed out, but the fugued finale is thoroughly .allying in its nervous energy and massive treatment. The most devoted Handelians, Spohrites, and Men delssohnians admitted that Costa has treated the biblical themes with dignity and elevation. The style may be considered to be thoroughly Italian, and yet it is essentially non-operatic. Palestrina, Pergolesi, Marcella Zingarelli, and Cherubini have been the models, but with this important difference, that the orchestral undercurrent is of the German school. In restlessness and continuity of instru mental working Costa is as remarkable as Mendels sohn. The music is throughout singable. Extreme keys are avoided. Chromatic crudities and harsh THE PRES phraseology are eschewed for clear and intelligible notation. Rehearings of Eli will doubtless discover many new beauties, and there is little probability that the fiat of the public in the Town-hall last Wednesday will be reversed. At the close of the oratorio the ovation to Costa was overwhelming. The committee of management of the festival deserve the most unqualified praise for their courage, and it required no small degree of resclution against con tending factions in producing this work. It is again an advance towards that universality of art which ought to reign, and English composers above all ought to rejoice at the success of an Italian—if a residence of a quarter of a century in the country justifies an alien appellation to a naturalised English man. It was for England Handel wrote his master pieces; it was for England that Mendelssohn com posed Elijah; and it is for England that Eli is likely to prove a permanent production of the sacred school. Of Tuesday's performance of Mendelssohn's Elijah, of Thursday's Messiah (morning), of Friday's execution of Beethoven's Mount of Olives, Mozart's Requiem, and of the glorious gleanings from Handel's Israel in Egypt, what can be written to come within the space of a weekly journal? How is it possible t i condense within reasonable limits the vivid impres sions conveyed by an unexampled execution in point of perfection? How do justice to these choral masses of the north, who seem to be singers of the "sunny south," thoroughly Italian in sentiment, and yet undeniably accurate in executive attain tnent? In what language can the intellectual appreciation and the fiery energy of the instru mentalists be described so as to convey to readers who have not heard with their ears believe that exaggeration is not embodied in the reports of " Our own Correspondent"? And yet if the individuality of the writer who records the details so imperfectly of this meeting will be for a moment tolerated, he would state soberly that, after having listened to festivals in many countries for a longer period than he likes to specify, nothing has ever approached in perfection of readings and interpretations this actual Binning ham meeting. The three "miscellaneous" concerts of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, were not without their interesting attractions. Mendelssohn's Meer Stille and Isles of Fingal overtures, his Italian Symphony in A, his Lorely finale, and Athalia march ; Auber's MasanieUo overture ; Weber's Der Freischfitz and Ruler of the Spirits ; Rossini's William Tell; Beethoven's Pastorale Symphony, and Leonora overture, with such an orchestra, were marked features. Such excited encores as were be towed on the William Tell and Masaniello were never before heard. To the English composers the compliment was paid of having Maciarten's cantata Leonora, and Howard Glover's quaint descriptive cantata Tam o' Shanter. To metropolitan amateurs the pieces just enumerated are well known, but here the advantage was presented of a very superior exe cution. A choral part-song "Philomela," the music by Mrs. Mounsey Bartholomew, well merited the hearty encore bestowed upon it, as an unaffected, graceful, and well•harmonised composition. Grisi, Mario, Gardoni, and Lablache, were heard at the evening concerts. The prima donna was out of voice ; the great tenor was careless and indifferent, Gardoni decidedly taking the lead; and the profound basso was painstaking and artistic, as ho always is. Mme. Bosio was absent from illness, but Mme. Cas tellan took her place in most of the announced pieces—a careful and conscientious artiste, always ready for her own work, and that of others at a moment's notice. Selections were liberally made from Meyerbeer's Prophite and Etoile du Nord, in anticipation of the great composer's presence, but he sent a letter of apology to Mr. Mason, stating he had been hindered by indisposition from visiting Birmingham. The financial results have not yet been ascertained. As regards numbers, the attend ance was larger than has been ever known, and in respect to receipts, the totals have been larger than last meeting; but the donations at the doors have materially decreased, and the receipts in the high priced places are not so marked. On the whole, the hospital will be materially benefited. Considering the war, the wonderment here is that such brilliant sums have been forthcoming. The National Anthem opened and ended this memorable festival. ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA.—A series of performances have been given at this house during this and the preceding week, at reduced prices. The Trovatore, Don Giovanni, and the Barbiere have been per formed, and on Monday night Mme. Gassier, of Drury Lane celebrity, performed the part of Rosina, and made her debut upon the stage of the Royal Italian Opera. Her acting and singing at Drury Lane impressed us with a high opinion of her powers, and on Wednesday evening she surpassed herself in her character of Rosina, and confirmed the reputa tion she has acquired by her late performances at Drury Lane and in Dublin ; and we have no doubt that next season we shall hear her at the Italian Opera, to which house she would be justly an acqui sition. As Rosina she is almost unequalled; her execu►ion is highly finished, and her acting perfect for that arch finesu which Sontag so charmingly threw into the character. M. Gassier was Figaro, and performed the character with admirable spirit and humour, giving the" Largo al factotum," with great force and breadth. Tagliafico, as Basilio, was as inimitable as he always is in that amusing character, while Polonini was a respectable Bartel°, and Bertha was unhappily represented by a lady evi dently unaccustomed to the stage. After the Bar bare, one act of Masaniello was performed with great éclat. The house has been very well attended throughout, and the orchestra is exceedingly well filled. The performances, we believe, closed last evening with Don Giovanni. ADELPBI.-A more absurdly laughable than witty farce hai been brought out at this theatre. Wright as a barber, desirous of forming a matrimonial con nection with a young lady who has been left 7001. by a deceased uncle, and being greatly puzzled to find out which young lady of two is the heiress, makes an offer to both, and gets himself into an inextricable mess by their mutually discovering his treachery, whereupon he is seized, shaved, and powder•puffed almost to death by the enraged fair ones, which scene is, of course, the acme of the piece ; for no sooner does the barber recover his sight and his senses than he finds the prettiest girl of the two and the 7001. going off with a friend ! In the love scenes, when Wright makes the offers, and instead of popping the question, asks, by way of a feeler, How's your Uncle? he was, of course, irresistibly comic, while Miss Wyndham and Miss Mary Keeley kept up the spirit of the thing, and in the shaving scene brought down roars of laughter. The piece is very slight, and turns, of course, upon the action, which is ex tremely ludicrous throughout. ftlontg ftlarkel ani) ctit Itttiligtittt. FRIDAY EYININO. DULLNESS still continues to predominate in the English Consol Market, and the quotations, in the absence of any determining impetus in the way, show a marked tendency to depression. Speculation is inactive, as for this long while past, so that the fluctuations remain limited to a comparatively narrow range. The prices for immediate transfer also vary but by a shade or two from those marked for the account of the oth inst. Next week the books close for every description of home Stocks, excepting Consols, a circumstance which has bad some in fluence in restricting operations. It is expected that the Bank of England will offer advances of cash against dividend-day, at the customary rate of three per cent. In other quarters money has been rather tighter for the past few days, although not sufficiently so to cause any inconvenience in mercantile or specu lative circles. The daily quotations of Consols have been— Saturday, 91 1 1; Monday, 91 11; Tuesday, 91 1, " sellers " ; Wednesday, 91 ; Thursday, 91 1. This afternoon Consols were dealt in at 91 and 91 Reduced at 911 92. New Three per Cents., 921 921. New Two-and-a-Half per Cents., 75. Bank Stock was dealt in up to 2161. Long Annuities, expiring in 1885, sold at 161 17. Exchequer Bills of the March issue firmer at 13s 17s prem. ; June ditto, 12s 15s. Exchequer Bonds, 100 f 100 i. . The specie arrivals reported this week amount to 283,0001. including 15,000 oz. of gold and 30,0001. in sovereigns, by the Ocean Chief, from Sydney ; 825,179 dols. by the Asia, from New York; and 2,000 oz. of gold by the Candace, from Africa The demand for gold for exportation has been slight, and it is expected that the bulk of these arrivals will be presented for purchase at the Bank. SHARES. To-day the fortnightly settlement in Shares bar taken place, and the differences have been adjusted without difficulty. The account has proved " bearish," and consequently the market is depressed to some extent. The quotations of the Great Western, Midland, and South-Eastern lines have principally suffered. Foreign Railways are firmer. There is much doing in the new Bank shares. City Bank shares hive been dealt in at 7 to 9 pm.; and Bank of Dindun, 3 to 4 pm. Crystal Paiaoe command 24 to 4. The Bank of Bengal has declared its 33r I divide a at the rate of 141 per cent. per annum, beini t • largest dividend but one yet made by that inbti tution.