The Express.
London, England, 1853-12-13 00:00:00

FINE ARTS.

-4, -

Mn. RALPR M'oawuM's LECTURES AT MAIZI.Eo-
ROUGII-110UAE.—Last night Mr. Wornum continued
his weekly lectures nn the History of Ornamental
Art. These lectures draw crowded audiences, and
have to be repeated in the afternoons of the days fol-
lowing, in order to enable all the students who are
desirous of attending them to he present. Last
night Mr. Wort am's lecture embraced the period of
Roman degeneracy from Greek art. The lecturer
showed that what is commonly understood by Roman
was nothing more than the florid development and
decay of Greek art, carried on in Rome by Greek
artists. This decay was chiefly distinguish( dby the
importance attached to the material, the extensive
and barbarous U3C of gold, t xtreme attention to ac-
cessories to the neglect of principal features, and
the loss of that clear distinction of parts which
characterised good Greek as it characterises all good
art. Mr. Woraum showed by extracts of Pliny, Vi-
truvius, and °tilers, that the critics of the
time were fully aware of the baseness of their
art, and spoke of it, as Ruskin and Carlyle
speak of much of ours, namely, as being no more
nor less than so much insanity. The lecturer gave
a sketch of the house arrangement and decoration
of the time of decadence, and impressed upon
his auditors that Pompeii, from which the balk of our
knowledge on this subject is derived, was mere:y a
poor village, compared with the great cities of the
empire, and that its frescoes are no more to be held
as examples of the most splendid work of the time
than three-halfpenny wall-papers are to be looked to
as instances of our decorative art, instead of the
frescoes of I)yce and the other decorators of the
Houses of Parliament.

MUSIC.

-

HARMONIC UNION.
The pieces performed at Exeter Hall last evening
were two secular cantatas ; Macfarren's Lenora and
Handel's Alerarder's Feast. Respecting Mr. Mucfarren's
work we have little to add to what we have already said.
Our musical readers are aware that the poem is Bt e.;er's
celebrated ballad of " Lenore," translated by Mr. John
Oxenford. We are still of opinion that this ballad
is not a happy subject for musical treatment,.
in the form, a: least, adopted by Mr. Macfarren.
The poem is an imitation of the old legendary ba".ds;
long narrative ditties, in sude and homely metre, which
used to be chanted to some tune so brief and simple, that
any number of verses might be sung, or recited, to it.
When modern poets wrote imitations of these ancient lays,
u that fashion of singing was gone by, of course they were
meant to be merely read, or recited in plain speech. Take
any of the modern ballads written in the antique style, such
as Walter Scott's Border Ballads, Macaulay's Lays cf
Ancient Rome, Re., and it is plain that their simple ballad
form, and their metrical rhythm, are essential features
of their beauty. Just such • ballad is Bur-
ger's " Lenore ;" and it seems a perversion of its
design and a destruction of its character, to turn it into a
regular cantata, with all the pomp and circumstance of
choruses, recitatives, airs, duets, and orchestral sympho-
pies ; the ballad being a simple sanative of a wild 1. -.tend
supposed to be related by some bard or minstrel to a group
of eager listeners. if you clothe such a thing with compli-
cated, elaborate music, the simplicity of the ballad form is
lost; and what is worse, the rapid movement of the
story (an essential feature) is destroyed. This incon-
gruity between the subject and its musical treatment, which
struck us when we first heard Mr. Macfarren's cantata,
struck us with equal force last night ; and we regret that
Mr. Macfarren should have chosen a ec t which, not-
withstanding the great merit of his work in many rcti sets,
will prevent it from ever gaining popularity. Last night it
was carefully sad well performed. The solo singers, Miss
Dolby, Madame Weisa, and Mr. Weis; exerted themselves
ably ; and the choruses (some of wls:;h are very ditEcult)
were sung with precision and effect. The orchestra, how..
ever, was by far too loud; the hurricane of drums,
trumpets, trombones, and other noisy instrument., often
totally drowned the voins of the singers. The Nees was
warmly applauded at ita close; and the composer appeared
in the orchestra to Low his acknowledgments to the
audience.

The performonce of Alezrutd,r's Feast was not very suc-
cessful. It is a charming work ; and its most besutiLd
effects are produced by the clearness and simplicity of its
style, and the absence of that dr pth and elaiioratimo
whereby Handel gives power and grandeur to his oratorios.
But on this very account it is difficult to perform it well.
Last night the chorales were too poudi rous—too grave and
solid—too much in the oratorio style. Tae airs, too, which
are exceedingly ardaous, and demand most highly-finished
singing, were intrusted to very incompetent Lands—young
singers of some merit and considerable promise, but quite
nnflt for the task impost:l upon them.

Between the path, necalilssohn's magnificent violin con-
certo was phiyed by ht. Swinton in a style of consum-
mate excellence. which 'afforded the highest debgl.: to the
amateurs.