The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-26 00:00:00

Stratford-on-Avon Tercentenary Festival,

STRATFORD_ON-AVON, Monday Evening.
Dr. Wordsworth, the Bishop of St. Andrew's,
who preached the tercentenary sermon yesterday
afternoon, in the church of the Holy Trinity, took
his text from Psalms cslv., v. 10—" All Thy works
shall praise Thee, 0 Lord
; and Thy saints shall
bless Thee." Like the Archbishop's sermon in the
morning, it was a regular theological lecture on
Shakspere, studded with Shakaperian quotations.
Both discourses have given the greatest satisfac-
tion. Oa account of, the
ancient feud between
the Church and the Stage, some apprehended that
the Bishops would have shirked the express men-
tion of Shakspere, and
dwelt upon the resto-
ration of the chancel in general terms, But they
both fairly grappled with the subject which was
prominent in the minds of their congregations, and,
with a little wholesome warning against idolatry,
or, as Mr. Carlyle would term it, "hero-worship,"
have been as eulogistic with respect to the bard as
the most ardent Shaksperian could desire. If the
illustrious occupant of the tomb in the chancel could
have watched in spirit over the proceedings, how
astounded would he have been to have found him-
self the subject of two panegyrical sermons preached
by high dignitaries of the Church I
When the "Immortal Memory of Shakspere" was
proposed by Lard Carlisle at the banquet on Satur-
day it was drunk, as you have already seen, not in
solemn silence, but as the noble President suggested,
" with the reverential love arid the admiring fervour
due to the day and the mile—that is to say, with the
noisiest enthusiasm. This, I may observe, was an
innovation on former usage. The memory of
Shakspere, as of a person deceased, was drunk in
solemn silence at the festivals of 1827 and 1830,
but the change is, I think, judicious. When we
celebrate the 300th anniversary of a man's birthday
we are certainly reflecting rather on the immor-
tality of his fame than on the termination of his
mortal career.

Two telegrams have been received by the Mayor
of Stratford from Russia, showing how widely spread
is the interest taken in Shakspere's birthday. One
of these is from the Rector of the University of
Moscow, stating that, in consideration of the great
influence of Shakspere on the literature and stage
of Russia, the tercentenary of his birthday is duly
celebrated in the ancient capital of Muscovy, and
congratulating the Mayor on the arrival of the
auspicious day. The other, which was read at the
banquet, was from the " Society of the Amateurs
of Dramatic Art" at Moscow, and was to a similar
purport.
The eloquent speech of Professor Max Muller on
privately presenting the address at the Town-hall
has already been published. I may observe here that
on this occasion Jr. Muller was accompanied by
Dr. Leitner, professor of Arabic at King's College,
London, who read the translation of the address at
the banquet. Herr Heinrich Brockhaus, who ap-
peared as one of the German deputation, is the
celebrated publisher of Leipsic.
The great event of this morning was the perform.
ance of " The Messiah" in the Pavilion, by Mdme.
Parepa, Madame Laura Baxter, Mr. Sims Reeves,
Nix.. George Perren, Mr. Patey, and Mr. Santley,
and a band and chorus of 500 performers. The
chorus w as selected from the Festival Choral Society

and Amateur Harmonic Society, Birmingham ; the
Sacred Harmonic Society, London ; the Festival
Choral Society, Worcester; and Holy Trinity
Church, Stratford•on-Avon. The orchestra num-
bered 120 instrumentalists, Mr. Blagrove being the
leader and Mr. Harper playing the trumpet solo.
The Sacred Harmonic Society of London has be-
haved with great liberality, sending down, entirely
at its own expense, 50 picked members of its chorus.
Madame Laura Baxter might also be regarded as a
benefactress, for she undertook the music assigned
to her at a very short notice, on account of the in-
disposition of Madame Sainton-Dolby, of which
the committee did not receive intelligence until
the eleventh hour.

The " Messiah" went off admirably. A larger
assemblage of voices has often been heard, but
the magnificent choruses could scarcely have been
executed with greater vigour and precision. Mr.
Sims Reeves, recovered from his indisposition, was
in excellent voice, and sang to perfection, " Com-
fort ye my people," and " Thou shalt break them
with a rod of iron." The consummate execution
of Madlle. Parepa, the steady artistic singing of
Mr. Santley, the powerful organ of Madame Laura
Baxter were thoroughly appreciated by a most at-
tentive audience, and under the masterly conduct
of Mr. Alfred Mellon, the vast musical machine
moved on without hitch or impediment.
It might be objected that there is little appa-
rent connexion between Shakspere and Handel's
" Mesaiab," and that the performance of the latter
is, therefore, somewhat out of place at a Shak-
spereian festival. But it is always to be borne in
mind that among the literary admirers of Shak-
spere are many persons who, from various reasons,
would not choose to attend theatrical performanoes,
and that in an universal collection it is as well to
consult the greatest number of tastes. Besides, the
work which the English place at the head cf musi-
cal classics may be reasonably thought worthy of
with the chief classic of English literature. At the
Garrick Jubilee of 1769 the oratorio of "Judith"
was performed.

In all the arrangements hitherto made the eon.
venience of the public has been completely studied
and nothing like confusion, bustle, or misunder-
derstanding has yet occurred. Much is due in this
respect to Mr. Headland, who has been appointed
general manager to the festival.
This evening there will be a musical performance
more immediately connected with the object of the
festival—namely, a miscellaneous concert asso-
ciated with the works of Shakspere.