The Sun.
London, England, 1834-10-30 00:00:00

~.*

OAK.

AMATEUR MUSICAL FESTIVAL.
Pailairhee eyefist'esrtdaP; n g
belv'ecrnehearsal or these performances
.took
at Exeter-hall, Strand. This testi-
-1). Is Peculiarly interesting to the musical public, from its
am" the first in which there is a union of professional and
the
Performers—a custom which, although prevailing
adopted
Continent, has not been in this country previously
on so large a .scale. The ball appears well calcu-
kofuir butb the effct would be increased were the
the b a more lofty construction. The orchestra extends
readth of the room, and is said to contain 700 per-
-liners. w
eient e present to the view of our readers a state-
,cne,„rot the comparative strength of the orchestra and those
stminster Abbey and Birmingham. At Exeter-hall
:418 re are 395 in the chorus, 161 stringed, 35 wood, and 22
instruments ; at the Abbey there were 357 chorus
it-"e4`,.krui-chorus, 152 stringed, 44 wood, and 28 brass
in-
wooendlents tat Birmingham, 214 chorus, 1100 stringed,
18
fporlils,e,rialnydestserdbaryasesvenince. instruments. The principal vocal per-
were Mesdames Knyvett, Bruce,
eefitians, and Clara Novello Sapio, Hawkins, A. Novello,
was Dr PYue, and Turner. Mr. F. Cramer led, with whom
ragonetti Lindley, and about a dozen other profes-
"al gentl • •
tkars. emelt ; the host remaining was formed of ama-
bie Alessrs. Hensbaw and Jones presided at the organ.
irokse‘ipings performance consisted of a selection from the
kt • Handel, Mozart, BeethoVen, and Pergolesi, and is
wiloavildence of the sound judgment and good taste of those
wereaye had the choice in this particular. The chorusses
pallykeisPae. well performed, although, from a
.want of
I°ll the time, unity of-tone, and due mixture of
fr ht and shade, the effect was not such as might be expected
jje42o„nuteerous a band. The chorusses from the "Te
were not so well executed as some that follovved.
its4eicow not with whom Mr. Harper had the honour to be
chor4,,at (1, but in the symphony for the two clarina in the
trop,6s' ‘‘
TO thee, Cherubim and Seraphim," the second
rif til.a had fallen into very incompetent hands. The close.
beal:,i'c'rus at the words " Heaven and earth are full," is
At tbi'll specimen of grand effects from simple causes.
Ikli4,,eiceulmencement of the fine corale, " 0 Father.
In'lmighty power," there was a little unsteadi-
'ollol. the time, but the brilliant fugue which
l'ee'''ed Was very effectively performed. " Fallen is the
tkinedis a great specimen of choral writing, and had. it ob-
the
r: %ere attention in the piano passages, the points at
kerePetition of the word " fallen" would have stood out
ht,,,tterticently, and the power of the orchestra been
P'aYed. The " Chorus" from " Jephtha," and the
Nat -aatioo Anthem," were much better done, and deserve
"4„ecrattiendation. The whole of the " Gloria," from
Vrt's 12th Mass," was performed, of which the
htlincere" is the best movement, and abounds with good
The
,very delightfully disposed for the orchestra..
kid is "e Is not equal to Mozart's usual style of writing,
ni.°4 rather a vulgar subject : there is, however, a good
farti?l•Laant'' Pedal point, which subsequent writers have made
to our ears. In the " Hallelujah," of Beethoven,
Performers appeared at ease, and it consequently was
the pia with much spirit ; and the strict attention paid to
ti ratios and fortes added much to the effect. We know
lhet°rotel aeon why Beethoven should not have introduced
440,41,00nes into the score, to draw out the unexpected
f re bop bones
by the sharp sixth upon the E, instead
''erving them for
°Win the less important point upon the D
'that, hut, in our opinion, the effect would be greatly
kr;elnY such a disposition of those instruments. _
~,..‘„aYvett, in the songs " From mighty Kings" and
111°.tIr Pa":," Ye limpid streams," and Mr. Phillips, in " Ho-
'artti.,; Arms," and " Lord have mercy," each sang
'rith -g`Y• The " Total Eclipse" of Mr. Sapio was sung
e
:ch feeling and expression, particularly the exquisite
m -Pea the natural, and its subsequent ascent to the
tk:rivaet,lie words " Sun, Moon, and Stars are dark to
edle de,.`:;ct not expect the usual' " Tweedledum and
in'theldoenncrzfar from
ssaomgosoodn,,a; musician as Miss C.
ppiaushowever, had the
effect, and Morm.Harperpand the lady divided the,,
e.hetween them—somewhat like " Old Timotheus
1,1144404:at, Cecilia" the' crown in ancient times, but on
peat or,eit.ner a similar occasion. The "Da Capo ' move-
Ny be me
song is much the better one of the two. It
:t.'trtt6hrli":ro:lorrievnetiL'iabercla:,ll,7,a literary curiosity, that a first sketch
01,rinia meat in the author's MSS. is found in " the
from which it would seem Handel
Vat sio,Y•oe'aatemplated to set the words to a chorus bearing
,L 4 as to the openingof the song. To Mr. Hawkins,,
sin,'ieltstred the difficult song, " Call forth thy powers,
INAated e ger executedu correctly, but the accompaniment
, rehearse
eliaN l, and was but indifferently performed. The
composition, "Angels. ever bright and
'l3c,tr;'sPois oiiitis4:xtrtehe
me simplicity, which should be met by a
from "%ill to chasteness in its performance ; which Miss
.1 'Midst of her appogiaturas and departures
i,.usanailitl,.ived text, overlooked. Her " Scena," from
,
to
%t • it is f- magnificent co m.position, but wants re-
`l aro till of orchestral situations for effect, and
ry ,
4cept repo an one who might undertake the task.
axis, au%
atof the seventh upon the E flat, at the words
Y fall," is one of the very fe; happy effects
git:to eceleot." hat is termed, " a musical p n n." P The last
waY sPoiled, and Handers score. was
_maede to
life re
tl Jones's organ accompaniment. W. beg
4, 113 gentleman, it is neither usual nortems uthsiecifaindl
hut -etn),auYing a song, to sustain the no
/44' either-Po'fay them staccato, which. he may. learn by
t 1), o tbis
°lir cathedrals during. the service. The
i'llode of 'organ accompaniment is to produce
ened on the present occasion, uncertainty
k,t,„4 atll Vie, nu perplexity to the singer. The same thing
tilt 'artier Tle Performance of " Luther's Hymn." Until
.40bat as the "tours de force" of B. raham, we know
11a4ther's "Ise lie may have for altering the melodyinßroo-f
h3Alth e'rale. We can hardly look over it
TO kid Nil it is done to exhibit the extraordinary coin-
P'Z'do„Pewer of
from
tits ' Lord
his voice. Bartleman's great sont,
Nit , to thee," fell into the hands of Miss
kith for quite misunderstood its character. Originally
t°s°4gh ioa., bass voice, it never gained by the change,
Neea tt!e bands of Catalini, and we have no desire
Po iVulitations of this singer without her voice or
. 4.ae
qto,Nitio„ , Trio," from Beethoven, is a highly dramatic
more1118%:"1"t why was it severed from the bfearuthtifnuol
fro
lth follows it ? The fine song, " Pour
kllPllltha„tn Jeph th a, was sang by Mr. Novello. The
ra-
kti 411)1i/C'q Deborah," of Handel, abound in beautiful
mo‘'ements, and we hope they will be the o
te are 4,18 co,ulPoser next brought before the public.
trao' alid-uttc:,,,delighted at the talentfditshpelaeyheodrainlihtho'nedoris-
Net general performance o
teb e. Ti; and what is most praiseworthy, they sing well
'stra" ,e committee should have formed the " small
N,'aato tuPletely of professionals ; had this been done
'114141j:1.d Piano parts of the chorusses would have
Pete 4pent'" ooint of effect. The organ is an indifferent
hide aini 'much out of tune, which we trust will be
;41,1 !,0 be onY the next performance. The pedal pipes were
4kphi' they tile keys, but cc heard very little of
11Y, cona„re in character with 7vliat we did h_ ear,mwoerea.re
ttth Profit'''atulating ourselves that we, heard no
pitaie sof this festival are to be applied tothe increase
HOS..
410118; of, the Westminster and Charing Cross
a..
tti2 "Pe theyrealize a handsome sun
;:d• tclern Was not so crowded as we should have
-
N AND GREAT WESTERN
RAILWAYS.

SUN.
4 %tk 7'4r) TITE EDITOR OF THE
the °
1/11-4111e111ve felt considerable surprise at te
from
rid,
..._ ex!.racted its your paper plielrursanlinog,
tittli'tiluiriaitil‘heayssubj?l,th odfotltireinoSouthampton and Great
o.t
there held
:114t 4,4 (llllPany. has beeen fortunatee enough (no matter
Railway,tahtater be-
°: :,tliti:4o4;)_ tiolnobtasain an Act for constructing a .
h to a
klt.,•aitl
ext:,o try confessedly ill-chosen, but
Cams
of ,tip
is in the direction towards an important'bie' city
t
i,',.lllth ,", 00 miles off ;that therefore
It
is
the bad
r that city must p
to Nit 4 line, and not choose a better for itself.
wag°ll silek'n conceive a proposition more unfair thanshtohnisld;
4,,the se" :1 Principle, it needs but that a Company a
rry
14,4 of nampton Railway Company
the land-
-10 e tlitway through country wholly unfitted for the
have done) c
L'iNer's 't uat whereoutheyahaZ the consent
'„gglit, i, 9 defeat
Ili first vq land-
this its P anY measure, however
application, be defeated
b thee cut up with
n landowners.well-digested,
c,ll!icie,,tinciple, the whole country would
the great
Jects e and ill-contrived measures,
wherebyand economy,
111c1‘ to be attained by railways, viz., speed
Manchester Rail
is ithe "efeated. The Liverpool and
4i -431%.11 to be a striking proo.f of the disadvantages.an de!
ersn!
4n ad line, to meet the wishes of particular 1
source
rnea
to4st'arltna the inclined planes on that 1 are
turd
th expert inclined Rnd inconvenience.
ON t ease put forth by the Morning
Railway,
still
Id
~, toe
Great Western and Southampton Railway,
by all
titi"`°l,'l,l,-.llFe'• The first measure is supported.
Herald, with
,i:ttivt.io
Iv. itliciotheeitey. seeks to have the best possible co.mrnu.n-
kir i,The lin
_, !tY of London, and has no other
th 4ule b . e which has been chosen for the purpoosbej
tile teriera3i
fa
.1,,,:e15,
towns, and
its approximation to large
~
eisetlivorL amities which it affords both for the execution, of
ad-
ore eli4 and it adapttuattic to thtepurposes of a main branch
:411, lit 11,11„el leading
The Soi.ith
of
England.
7'ketolailway. and the
bWoth
Railway from Basing:
4thted.orkti,th' 'are scoutedprbooth in Bath and Bristol, Porroe
th4elk thr,""e worst lines in the kingdom,
m on
, Or e times themes
eexcavation necessary itt4
„eat w__,er . amount o.involving
,i carried far pc:insider-
040.11!sta,,e'ostri
.1), Ilne, and after a.,
..‘,l, be ftiways
t 4 care distant
av__, melined planes, which 5h0..0
LArks'llo any work of this nature,
tile (4" of a large commercial traffic.
°tl4°ll "eat
'Western ltailwa is intended to join the
intended for
inid Birmingham itailwaYy four miles from London,

and will afford sources of communication with Oxford,
Cheltenham, Gloucester, and the mining districts of South
Wales. The London and Southampton Railway is to ter-
minate at a little wharf, measuring 30 yards by 80, and the
line chosen from Basingstoke to Bath, south of the High
Marlborough Downs, would utterly preclude the possibility
of connecting the main line with Gloucester, or any of the
midland districts.
The estimates of the Great Western Railway have been
deemed sufficient for the permanent execution of the work,
by all the most eminent engineers in the kingdom. Those
of the Southampton Railway have been held • absurd by
every engineer who has examined them, except the one in-
terested in supporting them. Shall it then be said by the
Legislature, that because Bristol has been defeated in its
first attempt to obtain a Railway, on that line best calcu-
lated for the permanent convenience of the public, and con-
sequently for the advantage of the country at large, that
therefore all their future efforts shall be made to succumb
to a rival, with no other pretension to public support than
a temporary success, obtained merely by truckling to a few
landowners, and at the sacrifice of every object of advan-
tage to the public ?
I cannot think so ill of our Legislature as to suppose
they would ever recognise a principle so unjust as this. It
is for the benefit of the public they are called on to legislate,
and I feel very well satisfied, that whichever scheme ap-
pears to them to afford the greatest prospect of public ad-
vantage, that scheme they will adopt. If this be the case,
the friends of the Great Western Railway need feel little
apprehension as to its success.
I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant,
Oct. 30. AN INHABITANT OF BRISTOL.