The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-15 00:00:00

NEW PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY.
The second concert took place last evening, st
Exeter. hail, the following being the programme)7-
PART I.

• 11'‘r 4\
Overture (Anacreon)
Aria "I\Tur einen Wunsch," Herr Reichar: Gluck.
Le Chant des Cherubins Bortnian
Concerto in F minor, Pianoforte, M. Billet H. Wyld..
Liebeslied, "Mein Herz das ist," Herr
lleichart ...........................
Symphony in C minor Beethoven.
PART .
Overture (II Flauto Magico) II
Mozart.
The Island of Calypso, an Operatic Masque E. J. Lodes:
'Excellent as was the band on the first evening of per-
formance, its execution last night was, if possible,
more polished and vigorous still. Both of the over-
tures were magnificently given. In that to Anacreon
the rapid passage of the violins, bursting into a grand
crescendo, was quite a blt.zD of brilliancy, and wound
up the movement with electrical effect. The piano-
forte concerto by Doctor Wylde was executed by M.
Alexandre Billet with much finish and brilliancy,
which commanded great applause. The great sym-
phony was given with magnificent effect, and the
overture to Zauberfiote was another orchestral
triumph, Herr Reichert was warrnly'applanded in
his songs, the second of which, a German ballad,
with a curious low choral accompaniment, re-
ceived an encoie. Mr. Edward Loder's
masque, The bland of Calypso, WAS composed
originGily for the National Concerts, but in conse-
quence of their went of success the work was not
performed. Mr. Loder has long been known as one
of our most accomplished musicians, and its produc-
tion is therefore an undertaking quite within the
province of the New Philharmonic Society, which
professes to afford genius the hearing which is denied
it elsewhere. Like The Sleeper Awakened of
Macfarren, it had been prepared with an eye to the
stage. The airs, duetts, and concerted pieces are
connected together by recitatives, in order to give
it the proper continuity when it may be required
for a dramatic purpose. The Island of Calypso
is a truly elegant and artistic production.
It contains a series of exquisite songs. Calypso
has two, one "Hymen chasing love one day," a co-
quettish piece of pleasantry, temptingly arch and
piquant ; and the other, a romance, " From menz'ry'a
spell I cannot flo," of a more scenic and passionate
character. The tenor airs alloted to Telemachus con-
sist of an invocation to the genii of sensuality, and
sentimental strain, "Must I say farewell for ever ?"
eminently love-lorn and pathetic. The soprano song
belongs to Eucharie,
" Ob, beautiful as the morn," a
soliloquy breathing the sighs of tenderness of devotion.
In the bass songs of Mentor, " Take heed, take heed,
a serpent lies," and " When youth in pleasure's lap is
sleeping," there is a flippancy hardly consonant with
the dignity of incarnate Wisdom. The concerted
pieces consist of a trio for soprano, contralto, tenor,
delicately playful and insouciant, and a variety of
short choruses sung by the nymphs and fauns of the
island—fifteen pieces in all, the last three constituting
a masterlyfina/c—remarkable for freshness, melodic
beauty, nervous choral writing, and ingenious orches-
tral treatment. The subject is taken trom the Tile-
maque (the dramatis personce being Calypso, Eucbaris,
Telemachus, and Mentor), and the libretto of Mr. G.
Soane details the extrication of Telemachus from the

wiles of Calypso by Mentor. Mr. Loder's masque,
produced last night, must be pronounced an unques.
tionably first-rate work. The principal singers were
Mrs. Sims Reeves, Miss Dolby, Messrs. Sims Reeves
and Weiss, who all did their very best. The hall WU
completely crowded.