The Express.
London, England, 1846-11-05 00:00:00

KENT.

THE MENICIPAL Etecv;;;;in Canterbury have resulted
in a gain of two to the Conservatives. The position of parties
is now—Conservatives, 11; Liberals, 13.

f!!lusit.

SACRED iiARRONIC SOCIETY.—The first of this
society's performances, for the winter season took place last
evening in Exeter-hall. It consisted of a miscellaneous col-
lection, followed by Spohr's oratorio, "The Last Judgment."
After Handers overture to the occasional oratorio, a 'Ye Drum
and Jubilate, composed by Hi, Royal Highness Prince Al-
bert, were performed, and did much honour to the talent of
the royal dilettante. In a work of this kind, unless from a
composer of the most original genius, little novelty can be
expected. The subject, as part of our eitthedral service, has
been treated so very often, that every porement has fallen
into a certain prescribed form, to wli iepVmost every succeed.
ing composer is constrained to adh •-• ,and is thus nearly
precluded from the exercise of t inventive faculty.
I'rince Albert's composition, how°, ' regularly con-
structed, pure in style, and possesses erable grandeur
and solemnity. In thei solo parts the yis smooth ; the
choral harmonics are full end solid, wit some fine antique
progression; and the instrumentation (though, according to
the fashion of the day, somewhat bruyant) is skilful and
effective. The Prince's name makes a remarkable addition
to the list of royal and noble artistes whom his country has
produced.—Hummel's graduale, " Quod, quod in orhe," is a
tine composition, but did not receive justice in the perform-
ance, the time having been unsteadily given by the con-
ductor. Handel's air from " Susannah, " Clouds o'ertako
the brightest day," was sung by Miss Dolby with great beauty
and simplicity. Mozart's motctt, " Splendente to Deus,"
which has been known at all our music meetings for
these thirty years, in its English version of " 0 God, when
thou appearest," was sung with the original Latin words.
It is one of those combinations of exqui,,itely rounded melody,
with sublime choral effects, for which Mozart's sacred music
is pre-eminently distinguished, and by means of which it acts
so powerfully on every class oflisteners It was well executed;
and Miss Birch's clear and beautiful voice was beard to great
advantage in the solo passages. The ancient Italian hymn,
" Alla Trinity beata " (the authorship of which, we believe,
is unknown, though it hes been ascribed to Palestrina) was
sung as • ouartet by Miss Birch, Miss Dolby, Mr. Hobbs, and
Mr. Phillips, with a purity and truth which we have rarely
heard surpassed; and this piece of quiet, delicate, and highly
refined music, evidently gave more pleasure to the immense
audience than any other performance of the evening.
The miscellaneous selection concluded with the double chorus
"Dealt Dominus," of Leonardo Leo; but this great old
master's music was spoiled by the addition of a load of brass,
of which, in his day, there was no conception. The re-
mainder of the evening was occupied with Spohr's " Last
Judgment." This, which is the first (and in our opinion the
best) of Spobr's oratorios, was first performed in England at
the Norwich Festival of 1830 ; and it was next performed by
the Philharmonic Society in the following season. It was
performed once or twice by the Sacred Harmonic Society,
four or five years ago. The sacred works of this great com-
poser are rarely attempted, in consequence of their difficulty
—a difficulty whisk, from their profound and elaborate
character, is felt by the auditors as well as the performers. In
"The Last Judgment," however, there is certainly a more easy
and neutral flow of melody, more freedom from chromatm
intricacies, and greater breadth and simplicity of effect, than
are found in the " Crucifixion," or the " Fall of Batlike i"
and it is =Ore likely to become pop.-Jar u e 4
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knowledge of this species of music increases) than either of
those works. Its performance last night, though far from
w very creditable to the society.—The instrumental
perfect
Land, asas
well as the chorus, were correct and steady ; but
they are not taeght by their conductor to attend to the
MlO*COP—the innumerable delicate shades of forte and piano
(often extending only to a single note), on which a:pre:Aim
and effect so much depend. The time of movements
was often erroneously taken, and the .1 -
ror was always on the
side of slowness, thus gisie-
-oan air of heaviness .S-Nne of
the finest- Palle oratorio. This was particularly the
the chorus, " Destroyed is Babylon the mighty,"
the terrible impetuosity of which was lost by the very deli-
berate way it was uttered; and the lovely quartet g
em
m
of the work), " Blest are the departed," by losing
its rhythmical flow, lost half its beauty. But, not-
withstanding these defects, the performance was grand
and striking. The principal singers, Miss Birch, Miss
Dolby, Mr. Hobbs, and Mr. Phillips, acquitted themselves
admirably. The sweet and pathetic passages, especially,
near the end of the first part, were given with the utmost
delicacy and feeling ; and some of the choral effects, particu-
larly in the fugue, • Blessing, honour, glory, and power,"
were magnificent. The hall, as usual, was crowded ; and
the audience, as usual, were seriously attentive, and disori-
minating, as well as enthusiastic, in the applause they
bestowed. No musical institution deserves public gratitude
in a higher degree than the Sacred Harmonic Society. Its
management might, in some resptcts, be improved ; but it
has had the merit of spreading the knowledge and love of
sacred music, not: only in the metropolis but throughout
the kingdom, to an extent of which, little more than a dosen
years ago, there was not even a prospect.
tr be Balm&
nuNcEss's.—Masainger's play, " A New Way to
Pay Old Debts," was performed here last night, foe the pur-
pose of introducing to the London public Mr. J. R. Scott, an
American tragedian of some transatlantic reputation. It
demands no inconsiderable amount of histrionic power to
depict witk consistency the fiendish malignity, griping
avarice, and rill the intensely evil qualities which Messinger
has embodied in the character of Sir Giles Overreach—a
character, we would fain believe, scarcely ever met with in
real life, but which the genius of the dramatist, especially
when his conceptions are realised by the actor, forces us to
accept as a startling reality. To impart vraisegablance, there-
fore, to a creation which our experience almost prompts us to
tura from as an exaggeration, and to invite criticism in
a part which cannot fail to remind the play-going public of
the genius of Edmund Kell], is an arduous undertaking for
a new aspirant to theatrical honours. If, however, Mr.
Scott did not realise our highest anticipation', neither did he
altogether disappoint us. During the first three acts, he but
imperfectly shadowed forth "the craft and underbearing"
with which that "bold bad man" sneaks through his
" dark and crooked ways." Mr. Scott represented rather a
peevish, impulsive, and wayward man, than one whose firm-
ness and marked decision of purpose are almost respectable,
spite of his malignity. In the fourth act there was an im-
provement ; and, in the last, where he throws off all disguise,
there was evidence of considerable dramatic power, with an
occasional tendency, however, to rant. We doubt if Mr.
Scott has chosen wisely in selecting for his ekhut, a part in
which so few actors have been eminently successful. Even
John Keruble, if we mistake not, was but an indifferent Sir
Giles, and none since Kean have been able to make any
great impression in it. We shall be glad to see Mr. Scott in
some other character, affording more salient points for the
exhibition of his powers, which are evidently rather suited
to melodrama than to classical tragedy. The play was other-
wise but indifferently cast, with the exceptions of Mrs. Stir-
ling's Margaret, anal Mr. Compton's Marra)—the latter a
most excellent performance, a perfect filling up of the
author's outline.
After the play, a new farce was produced, of the slightest
and most improbable construction. It was called " Keeping
a Place," but we fear will scarcely verify its own title. Mr.
Compton, as a gardener, with an infinitesimally small know-
ledge of horticulture, has just received his discharge for
professional incapacity, when his mistress, a sentimental
lady with a talent for poetry, fancies that he is a lover in
disguise, and that all his gaucheries are so many evidences
of his clever assumption of the part he is supposed to be
playing. The whole burden of the piece rested on Mr.
Compton, whose inimitable personation of the stolid, igno-
rant, countryman, secured a certain amount of success, which, 11
however, can scarcely be lasting. 1