The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-13 00:00:00

711. E TVANDE_RING MINSTRELS.

•
The concert in aid of the Brompton Hos pita
took place on Tuesday night, and more than came
up to what had been anticipated. The audience
one of the most brilliant ever assembled in St.
James's-hall, was also one of the most indulgent—
liberal of applause where the effort to please was
manifest, and ultra-liberal where, as more than
once occurred, earnest endeavour was rewarded by
success. In short, the performances were enjoyed
from first to last, and in frequent instances appre-
ciated with such downright heartiness as must have
greatly flattered the amateur singers and players
who were induced to make a public exhibition of
their talents on behalf of a very useful and com-
mendable charity. When this concert was originally
projected it was intended that the proceeds should
be handed over to the fund for the relief of the
families of those who suffered in the Hartley Col-
account for a conspicuous feature
iCol-
liery—which rtyh—e
wphroicgli mramatTne, viz., an ode upon that lament-
able calamity, written by Mr. Shirley Brooks, and
set to music by the Hon. Seymour Egerton. The
music is divided into five parts, respectively fitted
to each change of rhythm adopted by the poet—a
recitative, accompanied (Mr. Underdown) ; a part
song for five voices (chorus); a recitative for tenor
(Herr Kumpel) ; a ballad, for tenor ; and a final
chorus. The striking numbers are the five-part song
(" When the laurel wreath is woven"), and—not-
withstanding the close resemblance of one particular
passage to a prominent theme in Weber's overture,
" The Ruler of the Spirits"—the final chorus. The
execution was, for the most part, highly creditable ;
and the audience not only encored the part-song,
but unanimously recalled the composer at the ter-
mination of his work. The ode was preceded by
Beethoven's overture to " Egmont ;'' the first tenor
air and a chorus (" Yet doth the Lord see it not")
from "Elijah" (solo singer Herr Ktimpel); and the
Barcarole from Professor Sterndale Bennett's fourth
pianoforte concerto—a beautiful composition, as all
amateurs are aware, and played to perfection, as all
amateurs will believe, when it is stated that Millie.
Angelina Goetz was the player. The second part
of the concert began with the overture to " Guil-
laume Tell (encored) and ended with the overture
to "Oberon"—both orchestral masterpieces offering
difficulties to players of long professional experience,
and therefore doubly trying to amateurs, with whom
the practice of music is an occasional means of re-
laxation. The " Guillaume Tell" overture, more-
over, was immediately followed by the elaborate in-
troduction to that magnificent opera, for chorus and
solo voices (solos by Mr. Tom Hohler, Dr. Lavies,
Mr. Frank Skey, and Mr. Underdown—two tenors
and two basses), which together with the adagio
from Mendelssohn's Symphony in A minor
(" Scotch"), also introduced in the second part of the
programme, gave further proofs that in some in-
stances ambition slightly outweighed discretion.
Horsley's glee "By Celia's Arbour ; Mr. J. L. Hal-
ton's arrangement of " My love is like the red red
rose" as a part-song for chorus (extremely well
given), a cleverly-written solo for cornet-a-pistons
(with accompaniments for the orchestra), the com-
position of Mr. Frederick Clay, performed by Mr.
A. B. Mitford ; and two vocal solos—an aria from
Donizetti's " Dom Sebastiano" and Gordigiani's
" Un Ricordo"—both sung with remarkable taste,
the first (encored) by Mr. Tom Hohler, the last
(and, though not encored, the best) by a gentleman
whose name we could not learn, completed the pro-
gramme. The orchestra, consisting of upwards of
70 performers (30 from the ranks of the " Wander-
ing Minstrels") was conducted, with the nerve and
decision of an old practitioner, by the Hon. Seymour
Egerton. The chorus numbered something short
of 200, and in each department—soprano, alto,
tenor, and bass—voices of rare strength and fresh-
ness were detected. Singers and players were ex-
clusively amateurs.