The Sun.
London, England, 1862-06-23 00:00:00

7HE HANDEL FESTIVAL.

Although the commencement of this great musical fes-
tival js BA for to-day, the performances on Saturday must
be considered to be the actual beginning, for assuredly a
more magnificent " rehearsal" never took place, the more
so as upwards of 20,000 persons were present. In a musi-
cal point of view, the term rehearsal cannot be applied to
the performances of Saturday. A rehearsal is a private
preparation for a public performance, not the public per-
formance itself. The chorus and the instrumental
orchestra, the individual singers and players—are mus-
tered under the standard •of their chief, are arranged in
their proper places, go through privately what they
are afterwards to go through publicly, every error
being vigilantly observed and corrected by careful repeti-
tion, till the requisite precision is obtained. But this is a
thing which cannot be done in presence of a crowd of audi-
tors and spectators. Let there be ever so many mistakes,
.they must, unless they are so great as to amount to a posi-
tive standstill, be quietly passed over, and the so-called
rehearsal becomes nothing more than an imperfect perfor-
mance. Nobody knows this better than the able conductor,
Mr. Costa, who, it is well known, makes a point of his
rehearsals being private in every case in which he is con-
cerned, save only the Handel Festival. To have a rehearsal,
with 4,000 performers, at the Crystal Palace, was perhaps
impossible, or at any rate would have involved a heavy
expense, while a nominal rehearsal would produce a large
amount of profit; v hile it so happened that many of the
pieces performed on Saturday, particularly the choruses in
" Tho Messiah," were so familiar to the performers that
they stood little in need of rehearsal. One advantage cer-
tainly was gained by the rehearsal of Saturday. The
various bodies were " brigaded together," taught to know
their places and their neighbours, and formed into an or-
ganised whole. _ _

- This musical host was such a one as never was assembled
before. Not to go back to the " great commemorations of
Handel" in the last century, which, though matters of
wonder at the time, have now become insignificant, the
growth of these armies, in our day, has been enor-
mous. So recently as 1857 the musical strength at the
Crystal Palace was about 2,500; in 1359, about 3,000;
in 1862, about four thousand ; and, at the same
rate, we may prospectively estimate the assembled host,
three years hence, at 5,000, or perhaps a still greater num-
ber. Whether this accumulation of numbers is a real in-
crease of strength, is a question into which we shall not
now enter.

The number just mentioned, of 4,009, includes the chorus
only. There is besides an instrumental orchestra nearly
300 strong, in addition to the great organ. The choral
voices are drawn, not from London alone, but from all
parts of the kingdom; Birmingham, Norwich, Gloucester,
Worcester, Hereford, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Brad-
ford, York, Halifax, Huddersfield, and many other places
contribute their quotas, and before this day those detached
masses have only been twice brought together, at Exeter-
hall on Friday evening, and on Saturday morning at the
Crystal Palace. The readiness with which they seemed to
coalesce, and the smoothness with which, on the latter oc-
casion, they moved together, was really surprising, and
gave a striking proof of the high condition which chorus-
singing has reached in England.
We may note for the curious in these matters, that while
at the Westminster Abbey Handel Commemoration in 1784,
48 first violins were supported by 21 violoncellos and 15
double basses; and in 1834, at the same place, 40 first vio-
lins were backed by 18 violoncellos and 18 double basses—
an improvement certainly—on Saturday, 98 violins had 75
violoncellos and 75 double basses to give roundness and
depth; while the improvements in bass wind instruments,
and their greater relative number, put all comparison as to
instrumental effects out of the question. The drums, too,
deserve a word, The three large kettle-drums in the centre,
under the manipulation of Mr. Chipp, and the immense
tambour of Distin, would have delighted the tympanum of
the giant composer, could he have obtained them in his
time. That Handel wss anxious for resonant drums
in his own performances of his oratorios, is shown by a curi-
ous fact lately brought to light—namely, documents, signed
by his own hand, acknowledging the loan from the then
Master-General of the Ordnance, of the " Tower Drums,"
and entering into engagements for their safe return. These
very drums are now preserved at Woolwich. They were
' taken by the Duke of Marlborough at the battle of Mal-
plaquet, in 1709, and long after Handel's death were in
frequent request at festivals and State ceremonials. They
were, however, outstripped in size by the "Double Kettle
Drums" provided for the Handel Commemoration Festival
at Westminster Abbey in 1784, a full description of which
is given by Dr. Burney, in his account of the Commemora-
tion. The dimensions of these are again vastly exceeded by
the splendid drums in the present orchestra, by far the
largest ever made.
The selection on Saturday consisted of the following
pieces, beginning and ending with the National Anthem.
Chorus : For unto us a child is born, " Messiah ;" chorus,
Hallelujah, " Messiah ;" air and chorus, He shall feed his
flock—solos by Madame Sainton Dolby ; Let the bright
seraphim, "Samson," Mdlle. Tietjens, with trumpet obligate
by Mr. T. Harper, encored. The Dead March from "Saul;"
the concluding passages from Dryden's Ode to St. Cecilia's
Day—Mdlle. Tietjens and chorus; the passage from Dry-
den's Alexander feast, beginning, Revenge I revenge,
'1 imotheus cries—Signor Belletti. The noble and patriotic
chorus, Tyrants now no more shall stand, from " Her..
cubes. Hush, ye pretty warbling choir, " Acis and Ga-
latea," Madame Lemmens Sherrington, admirably ac-
companied by M. de Folly on the piccolo. This was fol-
lowed by Mr. Sims Reeves singing Loves in her eyes,
from the same serenata. Then, altar a pause, in which
there seemed to be some slight hitch in the arrangements,
came the chorus from " Solomon," May no Rash Intruder
followed by the chorus from " Acis and Galatea," Wretched
Lovers. The first part ended with the air and chorus from
Milton's " L'Allegro," Haste thee, nymph, in which Mr.
Weiss led the chorus of laughers in the repeats of the last
line.
The second part of the Rehearsal contained ten pieces.
The chorus from " Deborah," Immortal Lord ; the lerae-
itish woman's air, So shall the lute, capitally sung by
Madame Lemmens-Sherrington. The solo and chorus from
" Solomon," Music, spread thy voice around, by Madame
Sainton-Dolby and the choir ; with the sequent choruses
and airs from the same oratorio, Now a different measure
try, through the well-known descriptive
jmosuhsuicel that
composition. composition. Oh, had I Jubal's lyre ret
(~
was
then splendidly sung by Mdlle. Tietjens, who was hailed
at her entrance with prolonged plaudits, and honoured
trio
with another burst of enthusiasm before retiring.
from " Joshua," introduced in " Judas Maeneal; Themus,' See
'
the conquering hero comes, was next sung by
Tietjens, Madame Lemmens-Sberrinblon, and Madame
double
Sainton- Dolby. The single and chorus took
three
up the jubilant strain, and allparts
hwereen b
the
again.
T
demanded by acclamation, and sung
chorus executed,
_sublimely, the wondrous chain of ,

choruses from "Israel in LEgypt," which recount the
hailstones, darkness, and plagues sent upon the Egyp•
tians. Tho duet, The Lord is a man of war, by
Signor Belletti and Mr. Weiss, ended the rehearsed selec-
tion. A t its close the immense auditory stood up uncovered,
once again God save the Queen was impressively performed,
and the vast assemblage• rapidly broke up to disperse them-
selves amid the sparkling fountains and gay parterres.
The rehearsal inspired unanimous confidence in the mu-
sical success of the Festival, which, there can be little
doubt, will far and in every respect excel its predecessor of
1857 and 1859. On Wednesday the miscellaneous perform-
ance will take place ; and on Friday the Festival winds up
with the incomparable oratorio of " Israel in Egypt "—the
oratorio of the plagues and miracles, the delivery, the Ex.
onus, and the thanksgivings.