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

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.
BOOKS.

Historical Sketches of Statesmen who flourished in the Time
of George 111. Lord Brougham. Griffin and Co.
Report on the Laws and Ordonnances in force in France.
Iw. Walter Lewis. G. E. Eyre.
The Constitutional History of England. Henry Hallam,
LL.D., ikc. Murray.
The War in the East, from the Year 1.8453 tilt July, 1855.
General George lilapka. Chapman and Hall.
The Annotated Edition of the English Poets. Hobert Bell.
J. W. Parker and Son.
Crystals from Sydenham. Hope and Co.
Hagar and Ishmael, and other Poems. J. M. L., Author of
" Sandgate." Do.

pAxr HLETS.

Was Lord Cardigan a Hero at Balaklava ? Field and Co.
Infant Baptism and Confirmation. Rivingtons.
The Poor made Rich by Faith. Do.
Speech of Earl Grey on the 2:dh May. Ward and Co.
The War, and the War Ministry. Burton Lee. Hope
and Co.

Merkland. Parlour Library. Author of "Margaret
Maitland." Hodgson.
Blackwood's Magazine. Blackwoods.
My Novel. Vols. 1 and 2. Railway Library. Routledge,
Adrien. Author of " Zingara the Gipsy." Do.
J. W - Son.

Fraser's Magrzine. . ►►. Parker and S..
Bentley's Miscellany. Bentley.
Piclures of Travel. C. G. Leland.
Philadelphia: John Weik.
The Freemasons. Rontiedge

Colburn's New Monthly.
Martins of Cro' Martin
Dublin University Magazine.

VUSiC.

Chapman and
Do.
Orr and Co.

THE BIRMINGHAM FESTIVAL.

(From our own Correspondent.)

BrRMINOHAN, Friday.
A RECORD of the week's musical doings of the great
triennial gathering of 1855 can only be commenced
with the second morning's programme, for therein
was included the new oratorio by Costa, Eli. Such
a congress of celebrities as were collected within the
walls of the newly-decorated Town-hall has been
rarely witnessed. Amateurs and artists of almost
every country were assembled in force, independently
of the fashionable company filling the patrons' gal-
lery, and the masses supplied by the railway trains
from the surrounding counties. Could one of the
greatest conductors of any age really be a distin-
guished oratorio composer? This was the first
question to be solved. But there was a second one
mooted in many quarters—namely, could an Italian
enter the lists with the Germans in the writing of an
oratorio? When Costa took his place, amidst thun-
ders of applause from the choral and orchestral
forces, it seemed as if professional opinion had already
pronounced in his favour; but the public after all
had to decide, and the two questions, before the first
part of the work had been finished, were an-
swered in the affirmative. Costa is a distinguished
oratorio composer, and an Italian can wkite a sacred
work, replete with sublimity, worthy of the most
gifted Teutonic writers. And this unequivocal
triumph, for such it was, bas apparently the elements
of durability. It was impessible to mistake public
opinion : there was that indescribable movement in
the assemblage which ctnveyed the notion of a fixed
attention and a profound interest : the work appeared
to be followed step by step, piece by piece, with a
keen perception of its prominent be sties, and the

Presidential encores were ratified with a relish indi-
cative of the unanimity of the assemblage. Applause
was prohibited, but conventional regulations gave
way to irresistible spontaneity of feeling. A rapid
summary of the text and music will justify the
auditory.
The overture opens with an organ prelude in F.
The solemn subject strikes the senses at once. In
the unaccompanied quartet in the second part, the
theme of this prelude is repeated. When the organ
has ceased its symphonic announcement, the orchestra,
in a movement allegretto fugato in I) minor, shadows
forth the future development of the work by the psalm
in the subsequent chorale, " How mighty is Thy
name." The whole of this introduction is written with
a profound sentiment of the sanctity of the scriptural
events to be afterwards treated. A key is afforded
to the composer's intention. It is felt that he is in
eat nest. Eli is already before us in the overture,
which suggests the sequel. In the first recitative,
Eli, to celebrate the festival of the first-fruits, calls
in music's aid, and the people respond in joyful
phraseology. After the marked and emphatic solem-
nity of the opening, the voice of Eli is heard in an
air of praise in F, simple and flowing in the melody,
and the choral combination broad and simple. Eli
then takes a higher tone. He invokes a solemn
blessing on the people, who respond with the " Amen,"
sustained by the organ, in a majestic chant, the whole
being wound up with a grand chorus, and a masterly
fugue in B flat. Another portion of the Book of
Samuel is then entered upon. Hannah's prayer is
poured forth in an affecting air in G, " Turn Thee unto
me," in three-four time. The undulating movement
of the stringed instruments in the accompaniment
attracts notice. After Eli grants Hannah's petition,
a charmingly canonic chorus in C, " The Lord is
good," the vocal parts sustained by the harps, follows.
Elkanah's consolation of Hannah is then conveyed

in an admirably-voiced duet in A, in two-four time,
" Wherefore is thy soul cast down ?" In the next
piece, " Tile ungodly revel," in the Temple's precincts,
the composer's individuality is completely stamped.
Anything more quaint and graphic than the chorus,
"For everything there is a season," cannot be con-
ceived. It is in E minor, in two-four time, and is
scored with ingenious fancy and picturesque power.
The orchestral working to the succeeding air of Eli,
" If Thou shouldst mark," in E flat, is modelled in the
most elegant form. The people's homage to the Lord is
testified in a colossal chorale in C minor, " How
mighty is Thy name," the theme having been already
promulgated in the overture. The climax of gran-
deur is attained in the words, " Great is the Lord."
The effect is thrilling, wondrous in its devotional
feeling. A noble strain of dignified recitative from
the Man of God, " I am come to sacrifice," is com-
pleted by a chorus, remarkable for the expression of
scorn and derision with which the composer has in-

vested it. A battle solo and chorus, " Philistines,
hark !" is replete with warlike vigour. The utmost
resources of military ardour by the trumpets' sound
are developed. The contending elements are power•
fully contrasted. The passages "in vivid flashes "
remind the hearer of Mendelssohn's Walpurgis Night,
without any servile imitation being audible. The
tenor notes in this exciting air exact no ordinary
vigour. After the touching air of Eli, " Hear my
prayer," the denunciation of the Man of God as to
the death of Eli's sons introduces the duo for two
bassos, "L
-rd, cause Thy face," scored with surpass-
ing skill, and voiced with consummate ability. The
finale of the first part concludes with the dedication
of Samuel in the Temple. A chorale in A minor,
" 0 make a joyful noise," precedes an organ prelude,
and then Hannah, in a truly Handelian jubilant air
in B flat, thanks the Lord. At the presentation. of
the child the chorus, in an overwhelming outpouring
of glorification, sing " Hosanna in the highest."
The composer has wrought the choral display in a
fugue of elaborately contrapuntal contrivances,
heaping climax upon climax of the most solemn
and imposing character.
The second part begins with the morning prayer of
Samuel in the Temple at Shiloh, " Lord, from my
bed," a lovely melody in E flat, for a contralto, the
sanctity of the subject being equally as prominent as
the profound pathos. Next in rotation is the por-
traiture of parental counsels, presented through the
medium of a trio of extreme tenderness, canonic in
treatment, and lovely in its theme. The under-
current of exhortation is masterly, and the easy flow
of the vocal parts indescribably beautiful. Not less
extraordinary are the air of Eli and an unaccompanied
quartet in F for soprano, contralto, tenor, and bass,
the motif of which has been already heard in the
organ prelude of the overture. The " March " of
the Israelites, is C, has one of those ear-haunting
subjects which strike from their simple grandeur.
Then ensues a majestic chorus in G minor, " Huld
not thy peace," and an excited movement in B flat
minor, quite Mendelssohnian in its restless form and
instrumentation, which leads to the fowled .choral
march, full of character and elevation. After this
we have Samuel in the Temple again, at evening
I prayer, " This sight I lift my heart," an air in F, of

hiliihNlNlMillimm

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.