The Press. — London, England, 1857-05-02 00:00:00

MAY 2, 1857. Costa's Eli, and in Mendelssohn's Elijah. The band, which was in full force, as at Cuvent Garden before the tire, played the Masaniello overture with immense vigour under the bilton of Sainton, Mr. Costa having to conduct the Trovatore last evening at the Lyceum. Nevi Baraldi, the new tenor, sang the prayer from Donizetti's Maria di Bohan with a charm, as to insure its repetition ; and Gardoni sang with his wonted purity of style in the opening romanza from La Favorita. The middle portion of the monster organ is nearly erected, and the instru ment will speak, it is expected, in the course of next week. _ _ The preliminary trials of the amateur singers for the Handel Festival having been attended with such excellent results, it is determined to call only one further meeting in advance of the festival. The Mes siah, Judas Maccabeus, and Israel in Egypt will then once more be tried preparatory to the grand assembly, on the evening of Friday, June 12, when the whole choral force, provincial and metropolitan-2,000 strong—is to unite in the final practice at Exeter. hall. The effect of this gathering cannot fail to be striking and impressive. The singers alone, with the addition of a few wind instruments, will completely till the large hall—gallery, area, and platform,—so that there can be no room for visitors, and the com mittee of the Sacred Harmonic Society, however they might feel an inclination in that way, are debarred from making a public exhibition of the rehearsal. Although notice has repeatedly been given that the lists are quite full, applications to take part in the chorus continue to pour in from all quarters. It is believed that the committee, it' necessary, could obtain from 1,500 to 2,000 more voices trom the metropolis alone—a fact which says volumes for the knowledge and practice of choral music now existing in this country. The progress made of late years is immense ; and the example set by the Sacred Har monic Society, it will be generally admitted, has had some influence in bringing about so desirable a result. MISS P. HORTON'S VOCAL ILLUSTRATION'S. TILE above designation is not the one adopted by Mr. and Mrs. 'l'. German Reed in their new enter tainment, but it is the one which most properly describes the remarkable exhibitions of Mrs. Reed, who will always be known as Miss P. Horton. It is much to be desired that she would alone sustain the illustrations, and let her husbabd confine himself to the pianoforte as accompanyist. To state the truth, he is agreat bore—everybody feels that he is so as an "illustrator," for which he has no dramatic talent whatsoever. He is used, it is true, as a stop gap, to afford time to the lady to change her costumes, but she is infinitely more capable than Woodin or Albert Smith to stand alone ; and the dressing difficulty could be easily get over by presenting half-lengths instead of full-length pictures. The fact is Miss P. Horton (for we must call her so) is a very great artiste, musically or dramatically. She might have been made a first rate prima donna. Her voice is of great compass and sympathetic in tone, but she has little style and refinement. As an actress she is astonishingly versatile ; her comicalities are tho roughly infectious, and her serious sketches evince no ordinary tragic power and feeling. " Poor Tommy of the Turnpike" is a fine embodiment of a rustic who is a natural poet, with a strong perception of the beautiful and a mortal antipathy to reptiles ; the passion for the wildflowers and the horror of the toad are presented wit;► antagonistic acuteness by Miss P. Burton. " The Little Old Lady of the 1, illage "is a charming picture. The rhapsodical poet-lover and the mischievous Miss Gruntley, the bird that will not sing, are capital presentations. A Scotch fisherwoman and Irish servant are also spirited delineations. " The Unfinished Opera " is a repetition of the old idea. This might have been surely varied; but it enabled her to sing in Italian, German, and English with characteristic felicity. The Sonnambula scene in the second act, with the pulling off of the " tail;' was exceedingly ludicrous. CONCERTS OF THE WEEK. THE fine performance of Mozart's pianoforte concerto in C ,minor was the principal feature of Dr. Wyld's second "flew Philharmonic Concerts." There is high praise due to this truly gifted pianiste in thus presenting in succession all the noblest works of the classic composers.—lt is to be hoped that the con cert at Exeter-hall last Wednesday night, for the benefit of the family of the late Mr. Leffler, will have answered its purpose. Itis a pleasure to enumerate the names of M m e. Clara Novello, Mine. Rudersdorff, Mme. Lemmens Sherrington, Miss M. Keeley, Miss Palmer, Mr. and Mrs. Sims Reeves, Mr. A. Irving, Sloper, Blagrave, H. Rohrer, A. Pandegger, Lemmens, and Mr. Henry Leslie's choir, as having afforded their aid.—There was also a concert on Tuesday in the Hanoversquare Rooms, in aid of the funds of St. Mary's Hospital, conducted by Benedict. THE PRESS. THE ROYAL ACADEMY. Tnr: exhibition this year is not above or below the average. There are a few pictures of a high order, and many of certain merit; while portraits are more numerous than ever. The names of Holman Hunt, Noel Paton, Burton, Webster, and Ward, are all absent from the list. But Millais, Sir Edwin Land seer, Stanfield, Creswick, Danhy, Maclise, and Roberts contribute pictures which will excite cri ticism and admiration for the season. Stanfield's great sea piece is the wreck of two of the Spanish Armada ships off the Giant's Cause way, on the coast of :Antrim, Ireland. It is a mag nificent work. There is one trifling fault—he has painted a Spanish soldier standing firmly upright, and quite at ease, in a boat floating in the trough of a rolling breaker. But the effect of the whole is sublime. Another picture, "Calais Fishermen," is a fine breezy bit of seacoast life. Maclise has but one picture—Peter the Great when working in Deptford Dockyard visited by King William. Brilliant in colour, elabo rate in detail, it is as hard—as the piece of wood Peter is sawing. Millais' finest picture is " The Escape of the Heretic." The girl's expression appears fatuous and unmeaning, but the determina tion of the lover is well given. That wonderful picture of the knight in the golden armour and on the black horse we reserve. Landseer's "Deer" and " Dogs" are both fine pictures. Roberts' " Interior of the Duomo of Milan" is a triumph of atmospheric effect and architectural detail. Mr. Solomons' " Waiting the Verdict" is one of the finest pictures in the Exhibition. Mr. Philips has two fine Spanish pictures ; Mr. Danby gives us a rosy sunrise or two ; Mr. Andsell the results of his travels in Spain, in two cattle-pieces ; Mr. O'Neill a picture of consi derable merit, " The Last Day of Sale;" and Mr. T. Faed one of his charming bits of home life in " The First Break in the Family." Among the portraits Grant is of course pre-eminent. WOOLNER'S BUST OF TENNYSON. Mn. WootsEn's bust of the Poet Laureate, now being exhibited at Messrs. Dickinson's, New Bond street, deserves the highest praise that can be given to a work of that character. It is at once a perfect like ness and a perfect work of art. The face and head, though of a peculiar cast, bear evidently the stamp of lite ; there is no attempt to make away with the peculiarities that strike orthodox phrenologists as objectionable, or to idealise a stubborn trait into a classical mould. The sculptor has not been afraid of following Nature. Many who have attempted like nesses of great men have been unwilling to represent foreheads of a lower or narrower appearance than the most majestic typical brow, forgetting that their object was to show what Nature had actually given, and not what they thought she ought to have pro• duced. Thus Dannecker invested Sohiller with a much more imposing presence than that he might rightly claim, as tnough the science of phrenology was a fact, and the man only a conjecture. We could easily multiply modern instances, and it is clear what credit is due to Mr. Woolner for having resisted a strong temptation peculiar to sculptors. Now that we - haveshown what is Mr. Woolner's merit in giving a likeness, we must endeavour to show how he has succeeded in producing a work of art. Mr. Tennyson's magnificent features might puzzle many sculptors of no small power to render on marble as they are in the flesh. They require bold ness to grapple with their stern cast, and skill to transfer their exact expression to the stone. So faithfully has this been effected, that we may say to the poet in Juvenal's words : Nano quippe alio rincis discrimine, gum quod llli marmoreum caput est, tua vivit imago. But this compliment to the sculptor implies a still greater to the poet, for if the marble head be so magnificent, what must be the living ? It may be objected that a little more grandeur is added to the stone by the increased size, but this serves merely to compensate for the absecce of life, and they who are conversant with busts of a life size will not regret the addition. The grandeur of the features, the impress of majesty on the brow, and the profound expression of intellect, stamp this bust as one of the finest works produced by the chisel of the modern sculptor. The bust has been produced as much in veneration of the poet as from love of art. Such a work should not be lost in a private gallery. A committee was lately formed to purchase the works of a deceased artist for presenta tion to the national collection : why should not the bust of the living poet Ly a living sculptor be presented to a national institution ? THE ROYAL PANGPTICON, Leicester•square, has been sold to Mr. E. T. Smith, of Drury•lane, for 11,000/. Mr. Smith, it is said, intends to turn the scientific exhibition into a Cirque Francaise. 439 OF PRIZES THE ART-UNION ANNUAL took place on Tuesday last at the Haymarket Theatre. The subscription of the present year amounts to the sum of 13,2841. Os. Each subscriber is entitled to, and many have already received, two engravings—one of "The Piper." by Mr. Frederick Goodall, A.R.A., and one of " The Clemency of Cu - Air-de-Lion," by Mr. Cross. For next year a painting, by Turner, of " Bellini's pictures conveyed to the Church of the Redentore, in Venice," has been engraved by Mr. J. T. Willmore, A E.R.A., and the prints will be ready for delivery in the spring. THE EXHIBITION OF DESIGNS for the new Government offices which have been sent in by com petitors from all nations will be thrown open for public inspection in Westminster-hall on Monday, May 3. There was a private view for members of the Houses of Lords and Commons yesterday. Most of the designs provide for the erection of Westminster-bridge considerably eastward of its present site. The names of the judges with whom the final selection will rest have not yet been announced. THE OLD AND NEW WATER-COLOUR EXHIBITIONS are now open. Both exhibitions may be Lirly considered beyond the average. gloneg gtarl►et an 4 Citg (gnttiligcna. FRIDAY EVENING. THE return of the Bank of England for the week ending the 25th ult., shows the following changes compared with that for the week preceding : Increase in Circulation Increase in Public Deposits Decrease in Other Deposits Decrease in Private Securities Decrease in Bullion Increase in Rest Decrease in Reserve Bullion in Both Departments .... 9,555,23 b Circulation, including Bank Post 8i11520,513,710 The most favourable feature in this comparison is de diminution in the Private Securities, but, on the other hlind, the stringency of money in the general market has led to a large reduction in the private deposits. This item now amounts to only 9,450,4941. The Bullion is barely above 9,500,0001., while the Reserve has gone down to the extent of 104,0001. The return as a whole is calm lated to keep alive the sensibilities of the Money Market, though it need not excite any fears, as we may be certain that the Bank Directors will not, unless urgent necessity arises, impose Waller restrictions on the market. During the week the Money Market has been in a highly sensitive state and a good deal oppressed by appre hensions that as the Bank has resumed its temporary policy of refusing to make advances on stock for longer periods than seven days the rate of discount would be in creased to seven per cent. These fears were partly caused by the fact that a heavy demand for money has been prevailing in Paris, and, inde-d, upon the Continent gene rally ; while some of the parties who are commissioned to buy gold in this market on account of the Bank of France have been borrowers. A heavy demand has also prevailed for domestic purposes. The approach of the 4th has elicited more than ordinary commercial demands, white the invitation to subscribe to the Russian railway scheme, and the railway settlement in the Stock Exchange, with that which is at hand in Consols, have each contributed, more ur less, to the pressure. The most powerful influ ence, however, has been the apprehension of the Bank policy; and though these fears partially disappeared when the Directors separated yesterday without making any change, they are still operative, and are likely so to remain until there is more ease in Paris. Under these circum stances those who towards the latter part of last week ex pected a better condition of things have found their anticipations disappointed, and their opinions for the time are silenced. But, with ease in Paris, and the passing over of the temporary and local disturbance of the settle ments and of the 4th, we see no reason to doubt why the market should not mend, or at least become leas stringent. A large amount of Australian gold may arrive any moment, enough to supply fur a time the wants of the Continent and to add to our own reserves, and the American exchanges are now nearly at a point which will make it profitable for the New York merchants to make their payments here in gold. We may, therefore, calculate upon receiving some of the Californian supplies which have so long been accumulating there. At the same time the India and Chinese mails bring accounts of so improved %character that the nest shipment of silver for those markets will not be much more than one-half the amounts of those which have lately been common. The silver market here therefore is already heavy—it has sensibly declined; and the purchasing orders twon the Continent have in some cases been counter manded. Whilst silver is depressed from these causes, the Royal Mail steamer Magdalena has to-lay brought 527,4::fi1. most of which is in silver. Even, there fore, if the demand for silver revives, which we do not expect at present, the stocks in this country will be ample to meet it, for a time, without transmitting gold to the Continent to buy up five-franc pieces. Under all these circumstances we can scarcely avoid thinking that the apprehensions as to the future prevailing for the last four days have been unduly exaggerated. At all events there are substantial reasons for expecting their influence to be speedily neutralised. Gold to a small amount, prot ably :10. 11 00/., has been withdrawn from the Bank. About 6:2,000/. has arrived