The Sun.
London, England, 1846-09-11 00:00:00

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HEREFORD MCSICA:te Pts,VINAL.
HEREFORD, THURSDAY.—ThdaWi evelthe three
choirs "of Hereford, Gloucester; -if
.*-com-
inenced yesterday, under the esplk of her
a
Most Gracious Majesty the Queen. ittliE9lrefan be
judged from present appearances, the meeting promises
to be a very successful one. The object of these gathcr-
ings (of which the present is the 123 d anniversary) is
the affording pecuniary assistance to widows and
orphans of clergymen in the three diocescs mentioned
above ; and, aided by the diocesan clerical charities, the
proceeds of the festivals have of late years averaged to
each widow 201., and to each orphan 15/.
On the first morning of these festivals there is always
a full service at the Cathedral, in which the band and
vocalists engaged take part. The Cathedral was
well filled at an early hour by a most fashionable
congregation, and the divine service was preceded
by Spohr's sublime overture to the " Last Judg-
ment."- The pieces, responses, and litany selected, were
Tallis's, the Te Deum, Handel's (the Dettingen),
and the Jubilate, Purcell's. There were also three
anthems sung in the course of the morning service, viz.,
Dr. Croft's "God- is gone up," Dr. Boyce's " Oh, where
shall wisdom be found?" and Dr. Hayes's "0, worship
the Lord." It would be out of place to criticise this
morning's musical performance ; suffice it, therefore, to
say, that the solo parts were entrusted.to the principal
singers, and that the band and chorus were generally
effiaient. The principal singer's broualit down here are
Miss Birch, the Miss's Williams, Miss Dolby, Mr. 1101,13,
Mr. Locker, Mr. Machin, Mr. 11. Phillips, and Mr. Hat-
ton. Mr. Townsend Smith (organist of Hereford cathe-
dral) is the conductor of the festival, Mr. Arnott (of
Gloucester cathedral) presiding at the organ, and Mr.
Done, (of Worcester cathedral) at the pianoforte. The
band is a most efficient one, being selected principally
from the Philharmonic Society, and the chorus from the
Ancient and Philharmonic Concerts, and the chorus of
the cathedrals of Gloucester, Worcester, Windsor, Bris-
tol, Lichfield, Cambridge, Armagh, Bac. Among the
band are the well-known faces of T. Cooke, Blagrove,
Willy, Gratton Cooke, Baumann, It. Lindley, Harpers
Platt, Loder, Cramer, Moralt, Hill, Calkin,
Howell, Flower, M. Prospere, Card, and Chipp.
The evening concert was held at the Shire-hall, which
was fitted up for the occasion. The concert commenced
at eight o'clock, with Weber's overture to Der Fries-
chutz, which was admirably rendered, the band being
well prepared for this favourite overture. Mendelssohn's
" First Walpurgisnacht" followed, and of course
formed the chief attraction of the evening, from its
novelty in these parts—distant from any railway 30
miles. One of Beethoven's quintetts made up the first
part of the concert ; and part 2 consisted of the follow-
ing miscellaneous selection, including Overture (Guil-
liaume Tell)—Rossini ; Madrigal, " Merrily wake mu-
sic's measure" (Fair Rosamond)—J. Barnett ; two Ger-
man songs, Miss Dolby-1, " The Chapel ;" 2, Shep-
herd's Winter song--Hatton ; Song, Mr. Hobbs, " 0,
tuneful voice"—Haydn ; Fantasia, violoncello, Mr.
Lindley—Lindley ; Song, Miss Birch, " The Syren's
invitation"—Hatton. As usual the attendance at this,
the first evening's concert, was scanty, and this circum-
stance seemed to give a flatness to the entertainment.
This was observable in the singing of many of the solo
parts entrusted to Miss Birch, bliss Dolby, Phillips
and Lockey ; but the instrumentalists were perf'ect
in their execution of the duties assigned to them.
The band, under the leadership of Mr. Willy, was per-
fect in their interpretation of the overture, which is
beautifully and graphically descriptive of a storm, and of
the approach of spring. Notwithstanding the small at-
tendance at the concert, the whole of the programme
was well got through, though the instrumental portion
of it afforded the greatest treat. Beethoven's quintetto
was executed by Messrs. Hatton, Williams, Grattan
Cooke, Platt, and Baumann, in a style which drew forth
the admiration of all the critics, as also was the case
with the overture of William Tell. The concert was
concluded early. There will be a ball after this evening
and to-morrow's concerts. Today the county families
are flocking into the city, to hear Mozart's Requiem and
Fall of Babylon, which will be given this morning. This
evening's concert consists of a selection from Oberon,
and a miscellany from the works of various composers.
An excellent beginning, as respects the charity, was
made yesterday. The collection' at the doors of the
cathedral amounted to 31. or 4/. short of 300/, being
upwards of 1001. beyond the amount received for the
charity on the first day of the last Hereford Musical
Festival.