The Press. — London, England, 1856-02-23 00:00:00

Mgw -- FEBRUARY 23, 1856. score " fugato," a distinction which the big wigs have ignored in their pronunciamentoe—are not suffi ciently scientific. True, " the subjects are bold and str iking, and all are melodious and thoroughly vocal," but his devices are not elaborated enough ; his second subject (of the fugue) comes too late; and Alhrechts berger's anathema would assuredly fall on Costa, for presuming "to modulate into the dominant for the introduction of the answer by bridging over (what an arch composer!) a space which never should have been left between the subjects with notes charac teristic of the new scale." This is frightful enough ; but, worm than this, Costa has given too many suc cessions of " thirds and sixeis " in his fugues, and he has shown himself to be at sixes and sevens by not employing more largely the resources of " aug mentatiou, domination, abbreviation, syncope," and other kinds of imitation. All this is very appalling, and those " terribly stale progressions on the organ points" no doubt provoked the virtuous indignation of some of our profound theorists. We must, how ever, be permitted to abandon these technical flights, the effects of which are to deny immortality to Costa for his first oratorio. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. En attendant, unless the com poser be as insane as his detractors, he will be no doubt satisfied with his decided triumphs at the Bir mingham Festival on the 29th of August, 1855, and at Exeter-hall on Friday, Feb. 15th, 1856. The pro phetic critics must have been in a state of "syn cope" at the result of the London verdict, for anything more unequivocal than the opinions of royalty, rank, and . fashion, and of the literary and artistic celebrities, not to mention the miscellaneous public, cannot be imagined; and these opinions were openly and enthusiastically ex pressed, despite of the ordinary restraint observed by amateur audiences, and of those which the respect to Majesty calls forth. Prince Albert followed the execution of the work with the score before him. It was the Queen who commanded the encores ; and when the composer and conductor was alone at the end of the first part, and after the departure of the Royal amateurs, at the end of the oratorio, ovations such as are rarely heard in this country were freely bestowed, the orchestra and chorus being particu larly demonstrative—a grateful acknowledgment on their part, no doubt, for Costa's invariable champion ship of their interests, but also evidently excited by their appreciation of the fine work which they had so admirably interpreted. The oratorio will be heard in Norwich, Liverpool, Dublin, Bradford, and other great towns in due course, and its " immortality " during Costa's career is, at all events, beyond a doubt. Alter repeated hearings, we arrive at the same conclusion as that in the notice in THE PRESS of Sept. 1, 1855. Eli is a grand and beautiful work in its entirety, it is open to criticism in its details, and its weakest parts will he probably felt in the concluding portion. The construction of the book is not good, but Mr. Bartholomew had a most cult task to accomplish. The two culminating points of interest are the dedication of Samuel in the Temple and the death of Eli, and between these two great important events the adaptor made the mistake originally of having two battle subjects. This defect, so far as regards the last part, has been . amended in the Exeter-hall version—the day el battle being very properly excised. Other judicious cuts have been made, and the composer, if we mis take not, has retouched the score in some places. Still the incident; are not skilfully developed—the chain of events is broken too suddenly, giving to the hook a patchy and fragmentary characters. The mix ture of Mr. Bartholomew's lyrics with the scriptural text has not been effected with the dignity which the sa creel subjectexacted. Againstithese mistakes and short comings must he placed the clever contrast between the childlike simplicity of Samuel and the venerable dignity of Eli ; and it is in the observance of this contrast that Costa has been so happily inspired. The lovely melodies assigned to the contralto voice, and the elevated character of the airs allotted to Eli, show how carefully the composer has studied his themes. In Eli lie has never lost sight of his ex • treme age, and therefore never makes him sing in Ilona passages. The coherency and consistency throughout the entire work will alone be a reason for its permanent popularity. The working has been most carefully considered; and if the notation reaches not at times the scriptural sublimity of the words, the composer has never committed himself. He is never compromised by a failure. With remarkable discretion, for instance, is the death of Eli treated. Granted that the situation is suggestive of a sublime movement for the composer, but, like many such situations, it becomes indescribable in music. Handel could not realise the word-painting of the terrible handwriting on the wall, and Mendelssohn does not satisfy the imagination iu the ascent of Elijah. The two airs of Hannah, the one so pathetic and devo tional, the other so varied and jubilant, will be wel come to the sopranos of the first force; whilst tenors, in the tranquil music of Elkanah and warlike appeal of Saph, will have their intellectual and physical powers equally taxed to do justice to the music. THE PRESS. The canonic chorus, " The Lord is good," the revel ling chorus, " The viol, the tabret," the lovely chorus for sopranos and altos, "No evil shall befal thee," the two fugues, ending the first and second parts, will enlist the sympathies of the choralists. The vision of Samuel will strike the ear of the uneducated amateurs as strongly as it commands the admiration of professors. The stately grandeur of the War March, with its pictu resque orchestration in the first instance, and its masterly choral combination subsequently, would make cowards fight. This march is so striking in its individuality that it is sure to be everywhere heard. The ingenious instrumentation and beautiful voicing displayed throughout Eli are admitted on all hands. On the whole, when it is taken into consi deration that no plagiarisms have been discovered in the oratorio, even by the most, erudite commenta tors—that there are no servile imitations of the great masters—that there are the qualities of smoothness and evenness in the most minute details—that there are many points on which indi%iduality of style can be indicated—that the musical interest rarely flags—and that the situations ara often soul-stirring, there is no danger in asserting that the musical audiences of Birmingham and London have been quite accu rate in their verdict in favour of Eli. The contra. puntists must be content to accept the decision. At Exeter .hall there are changes in some of the chief singers. Mme. Riidersdorff replaces Mme. Castellan; Miss Dolby instead of Viardot sings the music of Samuel ; and Weiss has the music of Eli. Mr. ➢lontem Smith, a new tenor, replaces Herr Reichardt; and Mr. Thomas, a very promising new basso, sings the music assigned to Weiss at Bir mingliani. Mr. Sims Reeves alone retains his original music, and magnificently does he sing it. All the artists we have cited merit especial eulogium for the care and attention they have bestowed in studying their parts. Eli' was repeated last night. The hall was crowded to excess, and the enthusiasm was unabated. There were four encores :—The battle song of Sims Reeves; the bravura air, " I will extol thee," admirably sung by Mme. Rudersdorff; the unaccompanied quartet, " Hear the Lord," given with perfect intonation by Mme. Rudersdorlf, Miss Dolby, Sims Reeves, and Weiss ; and the lovely air, "This night I lift my heart to thee," delivered by Miss Dolby with such intense feeling, that the breathless silence, and the tears of many of her auditory, were higher compliments than the rede mand. Weiss deserves great praise ; he has raised himself in public estimation by his singing of Eli. In the air, " Although my house be not with God," he has one of the gems of the oratorio, the orchestra undercurrent being most remarkable for its pictu. resqueness. The wailing notes of the oboe in 6US taming the resigned tones of Eli, and the novel and ingenious employment of the stringed instruments in an undulating figure, would alone insure the com poser a place in the first rank of oratorio writers. The Choral March created a great sensation, as did the graphic choruses, " Hold not thy peace," and "Save us, 0 God of our salvation." Every hearing of the work, in short, must satisfy the amateurs of the masterly handling of bis subject by the com poser—of its evident purpose, and varied yet digni fied treatment. The very naturalness of the music will be the permanent passport to all places where musicians most do congregate. What a relief to be freed from German grimness, from French frippery, from Italian imitation, and from British plagiarism! How refreshing to be enabled to carry away the ear haunting themes, and to be abled to sing them. This is the secret of Costa's triumph ; he has eschewed distortions and mysticisms, and given us genuine tonality, both in his orchestration and voicing. MADAME JENNY LIND GOLDSCHMIDT'S CONCERT. THE concert of this lady at the Hanover-square Rooms, on Monday, was not less attractive than those which have been previously given, nor less brilliantly attended. The band, under the direction of Mr Benedict, was well organised, and performed some instrumental pieces with excellent effect. Mr. Swift, whose voice is better than his style and execu tion, sang twice, as did Miss Dolby, and Otto Gold schmidt performed with faultless taste a pianoforte concerto by Mendelssohn, and Thalberg's Taran tella." But these contributions were mere make weights—or time-gaps rather—to the great attrac tion of the concert. Madame Jenny sang five pieces, and so completely bore off all the honours of the morning, that the other executants were neglected. Miss Dolby was correct and pleasing, as she always is, but seemed tamer than usual in contrast with the overwhelming energy of Madame Jenny. The fair Scandinavian was in great force, and on two or three occasions electrified her audience—not new to her powers—with an unlooked•for display of her peculiar genius. We have heard singers with more perfect taste, with higher cultivation, with more certain and accurate expression ; but combining her qualities in these respects [with the exquisite tone 187 and quality of her organ, with her irrepressible an# almost ecstatic bursts of energy, an d with her splen did capability of dramatic effect, she stands unrivalled among modern vocalists. Not Malibran herself had more genius and enthusiasm. Her first piece on Monday was the " Non mi dir" from Don Giovanni, somewhat coldly rendered, but the "Quaint() Lasciai " from Robert le Diable was given in her most effective manner. It was the capital piece of the concert, the feeling of the vocalist imparting new alums of sentiment and expression to the inspiration of the composer. She sang with Frederick Lublache the well•known duet from ltossini's Turco in Italia, and with Miss Dolby Meyerbeer's duet "La lfere Grande," displaying in both pieces her accustomed vivacity. Mr. Benedict's song of "My heart," we did not think peculiarly suited to her, nor very remark able in itself. But the Delectulian melody, which closed her part of the performance, was one of her most brilliant triumphs. It took her audience by storm. Accompanying herself on the piano, she seemed for the time the impersonation ot the most animated, joyous, dashing, reckless, melody ot her native land. The acting was exquisite. No greater effect was ever produced on the stage, with all its appliances, than Madame Jenny achieved in the orchestra by her performance of this exhilarating slang glarlitt ad Citg 42atiligentt. FRIDAY EVENING. THE return of the Bank of England for the week ending Feb. 10, shows the following changes com pared with that for the week preceding : Decrease in Circulation £100,875 Increase in Public Deposits Decrease in Other Deposita Increase in Government Securities Decrease in Other Securities Decrease in Bullion Increase of Rest Increase in Reserve 2,120 Bullion iu Both Departments Circulation, including Bk. Post Bills 19,494,531 This comparison shows some rather considerable changes. The Government deposits, owing to pay ments on revenue account are gradually increasing, though still much below the usual average amount at the end of February. The addition to the Govern ment Securities is partially owing to temporary advances. The diminution in the Private Deposita denotes an active employment of money out of doors; while the Private Securities, owing to the moving off of acceptances, show a considerable falling off. The decrease in the stock of Bullion is rather large when taken in connection with the falling off in the pre vious return. The loan required by the Chancellor of the Ex chequer is only 5, 1 ,00,000/., but it is to be accompr nied by the funding, of outstanding Exchequer Bills to the amount of 3,000,0001. Both these sums, when announced at the Treasury on Monday morning, occasbned general surprise, which is scarcely yet dissipated, as it is certain that the necessities of the Government must, shortly after the close of the cur rent financial year, in April next, compel them again to appear in the market as borrowers, whilst it is a question whether the country will derive any real advantage from the operation having been divided. The present loan will be absorbed, or nearly so, by the deficit upon the present quarter, which was es timated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer last night at 4,000,0001.; and, with regard to the expel. diture for the coming year, it is difficult to see how it can be much less than 93,000,0001., even in the event of peace. Assuming the existing taxation to remain, there will be a balance against the country of 19,000,0001., upon the lowest estimate. With out entering into the details upon which this prospec tive deficit is estimated, there is only one of two way a of reducing it,—either by a second loan to a large amount, or by increasing the income tax to ten per cent. Indeed some ominous signs have already a; - peared in certain quarters, showing that the latttr alternative may possibly be attempted, if the Govern ment perceive any chance of support in the House of Commons. The loan is to be in Three per Cent. Consolidated Annuities, and the days of payment, and the propo:- tions of the contributions, are to be as follows : Tuesday, Feb. 20, deposit of 10 per cent. Monday, Mar. 3, do. 10 PO Tuesday, „ 13, payment of 25 Saturday, „ 29, 25 Thursday, Apr.lo, 15 :1 Thursday, „ 24, 100 The proportions of the deposit and instalments stated in the proposal for funding 3,000,0)01. Exchequer Bills are :