The Express.
London, England, 1867-01-14 00:00:00

Aluott.

HER MAJkWTY'S THEATRE.

A series of orchestral popular concerts was com-
menced at this theatre on Saturday night, to be continued
on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays for the neat few
weeks. The band is composed of many of the principal
instrumentalists of the Royal Italian Opera and Her Ma-
jesty's Theatre, under the direction of Signor Arditi, the
conductor of the opera at the latter establishment ; and
the performances are similar in character and equal in
merit to those of any former concerts of the kind.
There is the usual mixture of the classical
and popular styles, the customary jumble of
high and low art—but this has always been a characteristic
of concerts at which the majority of the visitors are pro-
mestaders ; and it is too much to expect yet an exclusive
devotion on the part of the populace to the music of the
best masters. The programme of Saturday included, be-
sides various pieces of dance meek, three overtures(Zampa,
(Xenon, said Fra Diaroio), and (for the first time in this
country) a fantasia for the orchestra, " Souvenir dune
unit d'ete J Madrid," by Clink& This composer, who died
about ten years since, has been called " the founder
of Russian national opera." The foundation, how-
ever, is not a very deep or solid one; and, as
yet, no superstructure seems to have been raised
on it. In much of Glinka's music there is a certain
character of melancholy, with occasional touches of power
and constructive skill, which place him above mere com-
moniplece imitators, but he appears to want that continu-
ous force and mark° I originality without which no school
of art, properly socalled, can be founded. Of his several
operas, the best and most successful is his Life fur the
Czar—but it is doubtful whether this would now
attract audiences, accustomed to the best works of the best
Italian, French, and. German composers. Glinka also
wrote two fantudes for the orchestra—" Caprice sur la Jots
Amiens's.," mid "Souvenir d'une unit d'ete. it Madrid"—
the latter, as already said, given for the first time here on
Saturday. The puce is scarcely worthy of the composer's
reputation, being merely a aeries of Spanish dance tunes,
strung together with a few elaborations and added details,
instrumented with considerable knowledge of orchestral
effect, but hardly to be ranked es a composition.
Probably the " l'a•mice " previously mentioned is superior
to it, since that serum to have been a favourite with
Liszt, who caused it to be frequently performed during his
residence at Weimar. Beyond two or three elegant
little songs by Mink*, which have been given
at the Monday Popular Concerts, so little is
kr own here of this so-called " founder of Russian Na-
tional Opera," that it would be well to give some sufficient
specimen of his more important works—the overtures and
a few vocal pieces from his best operas would be features
of novelty and interest in any concert. With's° excellent
an orchestra al that which is now assembled at Her Ma.
jesty's Theatre, the instrumental performances can scarcely
fail to be attractive during an interval when there
is nothing else of the kind to be heard in
London. Another feature of interest at the con-
cert of Saturday was the pianoforte playing of Mies
Madeline Schiller. This young lady (a pupil of Mr.
Machetes at the Leipzig Conservatoire) has been known
here for several seasons us a brilliant and accomplished
pianists ; and she has now gained so much in power and
certainty as to eiptit'e her to take a very high rank among
the great solo players of the day. Her execution is
finished and certain, and posseenes the rare combination of
force and delicacy, energy and refinement. Her touch is
elastic, her octave playing vigorous and rapid, and her
command of the keyboard complete. Miss Schil-
ler's solo on this occasion was Moschelles' "Re-
collections of Ireland," originally written with
orchestral accampauiracnta, but altered and elabo-
rated by the composer specially for his pupil's per-
formance unar.coupputied, as on this occasion. Miss
Schiller's admirable playing called forth the loudest ap-
plause and an encore, to which she responded by playing a
" raise "by Mattoi. Another successful solo performance
was Mr. Thomas Harper's "The soldier tired " on that
difficult instrument the trumpet, which, however, might
be put to better use, especially in the hands of so meow-
plished an artist, than in perpetuating the effete,
old - fashioned mannerisms of Arne's obsolete air.
In addition to the instrumental performances of Satur-
day, there was some excellent singing by Mdlle.
Agliatti, Mane. Liebhart, and Signor Foli —the
first-named lady a dentlanle with a voice sympathetic and
agreeable in quality rather than brilliant, and therefore
more successful in " Una vote" than in the Jewel song
from Gouno,la Faust. Signor Foli's enunciation of English
might serve as an example to many singers, to whom the
language is native, and the same artist should not bestow
his capital singing on such • trashy song as that of Signor
Arditi's " They ask me why I love her," while the latter
gentleman would do well to confine his exertions to his
aloe of conductor, for which he is far better qualified than
for that of composer. As truthful chroniclers, however;
we are bound to record that this song won an encore, and
was received with a far greater amount of applause than that
bestowed on the preceding piece—Weber's splendid over-
ture to (kenos, admirably played by an excellent orchestra.
When desirous of concocting a quadrille it were to be
wished that ei:gnor Anliti would keep his hands off such
a work as Itossini's masterpiece, Guillaume Tell. It is true
that it is chiefly the ballet music that he has tampered
with, but even this is not justifiable when time, rhythm,
and accent are ruthlessly altered ; and passages originally
assigned to certain instruments are transferred to others,
with utter irreverence for the master's score. The exquisite
ballet music from Guillaume Tell would always be wel-
come, even in a soncert-room, detached from its original
stage purpose—but to alter its instrumentation, torture its
rhythms, cut it to pieces, and fit itinto the requirements of
the figures of a quadrille, is • feat reserved for Signor
Arditi, and one which we trust will find no imitators.
There is plenty of original dance music so good as to be
acceptable even to the moat classical musician while attrac-
tive also to tire uninformed promenade lounger ; and very
slight power, of research on the part of Signor Arditi
would produce better results and he far more satisfactory
than all hie labours as an arranger and (sui-disant) com-
pees►.

EXPLOSIoN AT THE SOUTH YORKSHIRE OIL
WoRKs.--1)n Saturday morning, about a quarter to
1 'o'clock, the inhabitants of Wombwell, Wath, Rawmanb,
Rotherham, and other places within a radius of five or six
miles, were startled by a loud and terrific explosion at the
above works. which are the property of Mr. C. Stanley. The
works, w hilt are of an eaten. lye character, are situate on the
west side of the Midland and South Yorkshire Railway, and
are used for extr.icting oils and manure out of woollen
waste, a busir.ow of no long standing. About :10 men aro
employed in the works during the day, and eight have the
charge of th- manufactory during the night shift. All
went on well until the hour named, when a terribleexplo-
sion took pdace, which blew the whole of the buildings to
pieces. The force of the explosion blew a large quantity of
bricks, kc., some hundreds of yards from the works
into the adjoining fields. Fortunatelythere were only three
men in the building at the time of the explosion. Two of
these managed to maka good their escape with severe burns,
but a third. I I:kic,l :+l..llinson, won caught by the falling
dearia, mid killed on the spot. The whole of the building
in which the explosion occurred is a complete wreck, and
although tile proprietors are unable to state the amount of
damage, we may say it is very considerable. The place is
insured.

SNOWRATA ING ON 'CHANGE AT LIVERPOOL.—
On Saturday morning a heavy fall of snow again visited
Livetwol, the win! at the time blowing at intervals from
the south on,! then from the north. Some of the junior
member. on 'Clonier began snowballing, and a number of
idlers soon joined theta. The police, however, promptly
appeared, and hipline their remonstrances disregarded,
seized 1•i of the most energetic throwers and conveyed them
to With:owe.. In the course of the morning they were
brought up :t the police•cnurt before Mr. Raffles, who
fined then, each 2110. and costs, and said if another batch
were brought h,fore him on the Rome charge he should
make the tine 4415. The snowballing put a complete atop
for an hour or two to the business of the cotton market,
and had a denied induenee upon the day's sales.
SuPeusgro Suorg or AN EARTHQUAKE IN THE
'Veer nr Exo.o.,itroo.—On Friday, between 11 and 12
o'clock in the forei,onn, the inhabitants of Knowle and
Totterdown were tlarnied by what appeared to be the
shock, or rather a succession of shooks, of an earthquake.
The windows rattled, and a general shaking or tremor
was perceptible thronghont the houses from kitchen to
attic, though more manifest in the upper appartments.
There was scarcely any wind prevailing at the time, so
that it could not poesibly be attributed to that. It is de-
scribed to um as being a succession of three or more shocks,
following each other in rapid succession, but still separated
from each other by clear and well defined intervals. Each
shock was accompAnied by a great rattling of the doors and
windows, and an unmistakable shaking or trembling, as it
were, of the house. It caused consider►ble alarm, and we
have heard of a who!,, household making a general rush for
the door, thinkin.r the house was going to fall. Whatever
was this cause, it is a moat remarkable phenomenon. The
inhibitants generally (*Deluded that it must hare been
produced by an earthquake ; if so, it will have been felt in
other parts as well. Some two or three years since there
was a shock felt over a great portion of England. At that
time the inhabitants of Knowls and Totterdown had very
silstimert manifestations of it.— Woolen' Daily Press.