The Express.
London, England, 1857-06-20 00:00:00

not to be tampered with on any ground.

not even

a rase of real improvement could be made out. We cannot help
thinking, however, though it nay not 1 e heresy to hint at molt
an opinioa, that it might perhaps have keen as well it Handel
himself had oonstructei hie work somewhat differently. With.
out lemming its msaiive grandeur, ho might perhaps
. .

.
have infused a little more of the element* of bendy
sad variety, by the introduction of Rome of those " mead/

and sweat airs rinch giro delight and hurt not," of which

his genius was en ever•gnehing fountain, and for which
ample scope was given by his subject. Be that, however, as
it may, we have the work as formed by Its author, and let ita
form be religiously preserved.
The little piece of recitative which Ice l. to the first charm
wu distinctly uttered by Mr. Sims Recycle; but as its cha-
racter did not admit of any effort of yoke, it must have been

unheard by a large portion of the audience. The &omit;
"And the children of Israel sighed," one of the most
pathetic of Handel's choral ompositions, sus bean&
fully sung, and it, long, mournful notes taken up by
one part after another bad a moot inipreasive effect.
The next chorus, descriptive of the first plague, when the
. . _

waters were turned into blood, is a fugue on a aubjset

strange and harsh in its intervals that it creates something
like a feeling of horror. The treatment of this unearthly
theme is a piece of consummate oontrriptmtal skill. The air
which follows, "Their land brought forth frogs," Is trivia
in its melody, and remarkable for a palsage in the seceeeme
nimenta, constantly repeated, by way cf imitating the skips
ping of frogs—a pier of practical mimicry which has been
classed among those puerilities into which great artists fell
in early pyrieds of art, but has found defender. among
Handel's thorough-going eulogists. Hiss 'Dolby sung Awe%
but could not give it any cfroct. In the next chorus, descrip.
Live of the plague of diem and lice, there is more of the
rate kind of imitation, the swarms of thee being deecribed
by the rapidly-iterated high notes of the violins. Beyond
this, the chorus has nothing remarkable. The next, "He
gave them hailstones for rein," I. of a very different the-
cuter, and is one of Handel's moat wonderful achievement!,

in legitimate description, calling up the moot vivid images by
the simplest means. We almost see the " fire, mingled with
hail, running along the ground." We bear the cries of the
multitude, and the shrieks of terrilied females, mingling
with the storm. The artist's design is apparent to
every one; and there probably nowhere exists a more
truthful and forcible piece of mend-painting. It
was sung most admirably, and thunders of applause from
every corner called for end obtained its repetition. It is re-
markable that some ideas in this chorus, are taken from s
serenate of the celebrated Straddle. Ronde), indeed, has
borrowed freely in this oratorio; but on whatever he tors
rowed he bestowed a new value, ell his own. Another eels•
bested specimen of Handers power of calling up images by
means of weeds is, " Ho sent a thick darkness over ell the
land." It is a piece of choral recitative, in which the words
are snag, or rather spoken, in unison, by all the voices at
each part, se if they formed the single voice of some mighty
individual; white there proceed from the instruments Armlet
of harmony as smothered, undefined, end gloomy,
that the idea of something dark and appalling tr•
resistibly minute itself. This chorus ia of excenive difficulty I
and Its execution did the highest honour to the choir. The
chores, " He rebuked the Red Sea," wee one of the greet
features of the performance; especially the concluding per-
den, which describes the destruction of the host of Pharaoh,
overwhelmed by the waters, litre, win, G sound-painting
of the most marvellous kind. The howling of the storm, the

raging of the billows, the sounds of terror and despair are all
pictured by the tremeneous harmonic' of the musician. We
know of nothing in music to which this chorus can be com-
pared, save perhaps the storm which terminates the first part
of NW' ; bat even Idendelerohn follows Handel at a vast
&fano'. The thanksgiving of the Irraelites for their deli-
verance concludes the fret part of the oratorio, in whirls
there ere twelve contecutive choruses without the Ware*.
dos of a single air.