The Sun.
London, England, 1834-10-09 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, MI

BIRMINGHAM GRAND MUSICAL FESTIVAL.

TUESDAY MORNING'S PERFORMANCE.
(From a Morning Paper.)

The selection of to-day's performance was made, on the
whole, with judgment and taste.
From this observation, however, I must except the piece
with which the performance began ; Handel's coronation
anthem, " Zadok the priest." To begin by a coronation
anthem, or some other expression of loyalty, in the pre-
sence of the Sovereign, as at Westminster Abbey, is a be-
coming piece of courtesy ; but there was no occasion for
it here ; nor was there any occasion for choos-
ing the poorest composition of the kind that Handel
has written. Many things become hackneyed in conse-
quence of their' excellence, but " Zadok the priest" is hack-
neyed because it is made level to the meanest capacity.
Any set of performers may bellow and saw through it, and
any kind of audience may discover all its beauties. Besides,
even were it better than it is, it was ill chosen on this oc-
casion, when the opportunity should have been taken of
electrifying the audience with the full power of this magni-
ficent band of voices and instruments bursting upon their
ears in one tremendous chord. This was lost, to make way
for the piece of insignificant tweedledum fiddling with which
this chorus is introduced.

This great and popular chorus, remarkable only for being
alternately feeble and clamorous, was followed, with an ex-
quisitely soothing effect, by Novello's song, or rather hymn,
" The Infant's Prayer," sung by his daughter. The music
is sweet, tender, and devout, and Miss Novello's singing
was truly in the spirit of the composition. Next came
Croft's fine anthem, " Sing unto God ;" the chorus of
which was performed with the full orchestral parts of Grea-
torex. The first part is a quartett, sung by Mrs. Knyvett,
Messrs. Hawkins, Horncastle, and Phillips, and accompa-
nied only by the organ. In this movement the voice parts
(which were admirably sung) are exceedingly melodious, and
so interwoven as to produce a succession of beautiful imita-
tions and points. The chorus is remarkable for the finely
wrought fugue upon the words, " Great is the Holy One
of Israel ;" and the forcible enunciation and emphatic re-
petition of the word " great." This .s as the first piece
which fully developed the powers of:44.vocal and instru-
mental band, the qualities of the org;iii, 'and the adaptation
of the room for the conveyance of musical sound.

Most of your musical readers have again and again heard
Braham deliver the heart-rending soliloquy in the oratorio
of " Sampson." Often as I have heard it, I never listened
to it with more pleasure and emotion than I did to-day.
This transcendant singer was in full and perfect voice ; and
his depth of expression was hardly inferiot, to that which he
displays in the inimitable " Deeper and d&per still." Even
in the first two lines of the air— " -
" Total eclipse ; no sun, no moon !"
Braham's conception belongs to the highest genius. Wisc..
at first, the murmur of deep despondency ; then die in-
quiring exclamations " no sun—no moon ?" as if he doubted
the extent of his calamity ; and his full conviction of the
reality—

" All dark amidst the blaze of noon"—

is expressed in the piercing accents of agonized despair.
liraham, as a singer, has stood alone in the world forty
years ; and he stands as much alone in it as he ever did.

The recitative and air in the " Creation," descriptive of
the creation of the animals, are (as well as Mr. Phillips's
performance of them) too familiar to the musical part of
the public to require much remark. Everybody admits the
ingenuity and pleasing effect of this celebrated passage ;
but many have questioned its propriety, as forming a part
of a great sacred composition. Each sentence of the reci-
tative announcing the existence of a new animal, is prefaced
by a short musical -phrase, descriptive of something in its
appearance or habits. The roaring lion is announced by a
roar from the brazen • throats in the orchestra ; the " sud-
den leaps" of the tiger are described by sudden leaps from
the bottom to the top of the scale ; the steed flies in a suc-
cession of cantering triplets, and so on. Now this, if de-
scription, is the sort of description resorted to by children
or uneducated persons ; or, in other words, it is mimicry ;
and mimicry is surely unsuitable to a serious, still less a
religious, composition. I confess I like to hear this recita-
tive, and feel amused by these musical imitations ; but it is
because they amuse me that I am disposed to doubt their
propriety.
We then had a mass of Haydn's, very beautiful, but
possessing no very striking features. It was followed by a
chorus by- Beethoven, belonging to a mass, and introduced
by Mr. Gardiner in his pasticcio oratorio of Judah. It is
a noble composition, remarkable for the energy of its vocal
phrases, and the simplicity of the means by which the
author (as usual) produces great effects. Towards the
conclusion there is a fugue upon the words, " I will exalt
his name," upon a well marked subject, but slightly treated.
Beethoven did not excel in fugue writing, on which, indeed,
he does not seem to have bestowed much attention. The
transition from this to the Italian style of Amarosa was
somewhat violent ; but Madame Caradori's beautiful per-
formance of the fine scena, "Chi per pieta me dice," from
" Il sacrifizio d'Abramo," made every one feel that, in .re-
spect at all events- to melody and expression, music has
gained nothing since the days of that great master.
A selection from Neukomm's " Mount Sinai" concluded
the first part of the performance. It consisted of only a
small part of the beginning of the oratorio, but comprised
some of its greatest beauties. Among these was the semi-
chorus, " He loveth his flock," the sweet and pastoral effect
of which is quite charming. I thought, however, it should
have been sung in a manner somewhat more subdued. The
recitative, sung by Mr. Braham, descriptive of the tremen-
dous manifestations of the divine power and majesty when
the law was delivered upon Mount Sinai, was in the highest
degree sublime. The thunders and lightnings—the thick
cloud upon the mount—and the voice of the trumpet, which
sounded long, and waxed louder and louder—were all
brought before the imagination of the listener by the sounds
that proceeded from the orchestra, while the voice of the
speaker described the tremendous scene. An awful voice
is then heard, delivering the first commandment ; and here
the composer's genius shines with the greatest lustre.
The voice which utters the divine command is composed
of the whole united powers of the chorus and the instru-
ments ; and the music is a fragment of canto fer»zo, in
one of the ancient ecclesiastical modes. The effect pro-
duced is that of a single voice of tremendous power, the
accents of which are heard amidst thunders and lightnings
and the war of the elements. This specimen of the sublime
is succeeded by a specimen of the beautiful, consisting of a
recitative and air expressive of the feelings of the strongest
devotion. The air is one of the most captivating melodies
I have ever heard. It was beautifully sung .by Mrs.
Knyvett ; and its conclusion was followed by a murmur of
pleasure throughout the audience. The chorus which fol-
lowed, " Make a joyful noise to the Lord," was admirable.
It terminates with a magnificent fugue, which is wrought
up to a pitch of grandeur hardly surpassed even by Handel.
I may observe, that throughout these pieces from ". Mount
Sinai, the ophiclbida displayed its prodigious powers.
The second part of the performance began with a selec-
tion from Spohr's " Last Judgment," which (like that from
" Mount Sinai") comprised some of the finest parts of the
work. It comprised, in particular, the air " Jehovah now
cometh to judgment," sung by Mr. Braham with astonish-
ing energy ; and the Chorus, " Destroyed is Babylon the
mighty !" a composition to which it is impossible to listen
without being positively appalled. It comprised also the
divine quartett and chorus, " Blessed are the departed ;"
and finished with the grand chorus, " Thine is the king-
dom," which concludes the work. It was admirably per-
formed throughout ; better, indeed, than I bad ever heard
it before.
The rest of the performance was made up of a few mis-
cellaneous pieces, one of the most beautiful of which was
a movement from one of Mozart's masses, " Laudate
Dominum," sung by Madame Stockhausen, with an organ
obligate accompanied by Mr. Novello ; and it is hardly
necessary to say, that it received ample justice. It was
followed by Handel's air, " 0 Liberty !" with Lindley's
famous violencello accompaniment, written in the manner
of the old Italian cantatas of the time of Scarlatti. It
is an admirable accompaniment, and would be admirably
played, but for one circumstance—that Lindley makes
his part the principal, leaving it to the singer to accom-
pany him the best way he can. This, indeed, is the be-
setting sin of our great violincellist. He loves his own
beautiful tones as much as the public do, and loses no op-
portunity of letting them be fully heard. In a great or-
chestra, where he has to contend with a whole band, he
is wholly unrivalled ; but in an obligate accompaniment to
a song, he uniformly forgets the relative position in which
he stands to the singer. This is the case, not only in the
song in question, but in many others—such as, " Alexis"
" Gentle Airs," &c., and, worse than all, in Mozart's charm-
ing " Batti, batti," in which he reduces the actress who
sings it to a state of ,insignificance. In the ordinary case,
it belongs to the singer of a song to make the cadenzas ;
but in this song, Mr. Lindley takes the cadenza out of the
singer's mouth, and keeps running up and down the strings
of his bass for a couple of minutes, leaving the unfortunate
singer standing and looking all the while like a fool. But
it is no wonder that our favourite performers commit such
barbarisms, when they find that these are the very things
for which they are most outrageously applauded.
The whole concluded with Braham's recitative, from
" The Creation," " In splendour bright is rising now the
sun," followed by the chorus, " The Heavens are telling."
On pieces so well known it is unnecessary to make any re-
mark further than to say, that I never heard Braham de-
liver the recitative with more energy and power of voice.

The erect of the chorus was admirable, and it was a fitting
conclusion to a magnificent performance.

TUESDAY'S EVENING PERFORMANCE:
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.

The doors of the new hall were opened at seven o'clock,
but long before the hour arrived they were besieged by the
company, and, when opened, the vast area and large galleries
of this spacious building were rapidly occupied and so com-
pletely filled, that numbers were compelled to stand during
the whole of the performance. When' the hall is lighted
up, and the company seated, the scene is grand beyond de-
scription, and one which has never been surpassed at any
provincial town. The sale of the morning tickets produced
upwards of 1,7001., but from the crowed state of the
room, we should imagine the receipts of the evening could
riot be less than 2,0001. The performance commenced with
that lovely gem of Beethoven, " The Pastoral Symphony,"
which was admirably executed. The symphonies of Beet-
hoven require that each performer should not only be well
acquainted with his own part, but also with the general ten-
dency of their structure, and the effects intended to be
developed. To be heard in perfection, one must go to the
Philharmonic, where they are produced in a manner ad-
mitting of no rivalry. We never heard the symphony per
formed out of London in such a spirited, correct, and effec-
tive manner. The second movement, " The Scene by a
brook," was beautifully done ; the subdued accompaniment
of the strings indicating the murmuring of the waters ; the
constant appearance of the motiVo from the different wind
instruments, followed by the warbling of the birds, proclaim
the master mind of that great magician, and places him
foremost in the rank of orchestral writers. Nicholson,
Willman, and Cooke, each played as if their feelings were
with the composers ; nor can we forget Lindley and
Dragonetti. The rising of the storm,—the rush of
the whirlwind,—the war of the eleMents,—followed by
the wail of distress, and concluding tith the prayer,
is the perfection of the poetry of :music. The stortna.
scene was led with great fire and energy The sytnphony
excited a tumultuous burst 'of applause. This composition
was followed by the " Forget me Not" of Mozart, sung by
Mr. Vaughan. Mr. Kearns, who added the instrumental
accompaniments, has produced a happy specimen of the
Mozart school of instrumentation. The imitation of the
voice part, at the close, by the flute, is very effective, which
was exquisitely played by Nicholson. The best of Madri-
gals, " Sweet honey sucking bees," by Wilbye, wanted re-
hearsal, and had it been more correctly executed, would
`have gained the attention of the audience. The great charm
„attending the performance of the madrigals in the metropolis
.. arises from all the principal vocalists assisting, and joining the
chorusses. We must beg to hint to Mr. Knyvett, we think
the omission of this practice an oversight, and had this ar-
rangement been adopted, we should have been spared this
reflection upon a chorus which we confidently assert has
never, in our recollection, been equalled. " Illi tradi," " the
unthankful song," from " Don Juan," was sung by Miss
Clara Novello, as it should be. The musician-like manner
in which this interesting young lady goes through her per-
faryeance demands our warmest approbation, and we have
~thank her for her undeviating and persevering conduct in
`thank
bringing before the public such choice specimens of the great
composers. A Fantasia followed by Moschelles, who may
be 'justly styled the English Beethoven, which was played
with a smoothness, brilliancy, and strength of hand that
elicited unbounded applause. " The Recollections of Ire-
, land "is no novelty, but there is, in this composition, that to
' which it will be ever grateful to listen. The cadence ascending
from the Dominant, with the double shake,is a favourite posi-
tion of this energetic performer ; and with him the impossibili-
ties of others is mere child's play. The bringing together of
the apparent incongruous airs of " The last rose of sum-
mer," " Garry Owen," and " St. Patrick's Day," proclaim e
the mind of the musician, and requires a master's hand to
perform. We were promised a bright jewel from Spohr's
romantic opera of the " Mountain Spirit," which he com-
posed to celebrate the nuptials of the daughter of the
Elector of Hesse Cassel with the Duke of Saxe Meinen-
gen. From some difficulty as to copies, the duet was
changed to the more lively duet, " Dunque io son," from
Rosini's " Il Barbiere," which was sung by Carodori and
Phillips with much spirit. Mrs. Knyvett sung Purcel's
grand scena " Mad Bess," with much truth of expression.
Mr. Braham, by his excellent singing, obtained the encore
of a song by Neukomm, in the composition of which both
poet and musician &splay no talent, and for which the
world has no occasion. We have no desire for more repe-
titions of Spontini's noise and Auber's vulgarity. If the
Chevalier will be content to write such songs as " Napo-
leon's Midnight Dream," and " Oft on a steep," he will
have our thanks, and the approbation of all classes of mu-
sicians ; but we are sure no reputation can stand up against
the production of such compositions as " A Soldier I am."
Mori's Fantasia upon "Robin Adair," and the Barcarole
from Masaniello was a novelty in Birmingham, and he
astonished the audience by his innumerable cadenzas, of
which the performance chiefly consisted. " When forced
from dear Hebe to part," that exquisite song, joined to an
equally exquisite melody, was charmingly sung by Phillips,
and obtained a rapturous encore. This singer has arrived
at the perfection of the ballad style, and his efforts appeared
as delightful to himself as they were to his auditors.
We would not willingly pass over the organ performance
of the Chevalier Neukomm, representing the Lake scene
and thunder-storm, lest our silence might be construed
into appiobation, and our lenity into applause. We have
ligfled t-itlegitsp en't e d—respi ration to Sarn Wesley;anto-
nished by the intellect and learning displayed in his su-
blime extempore performances. We have been also de-
lighted with the fairy-like touch of Adams ; the elegance
with which he dresses up his motivos, the fire and energy
of his fugues. We have been equally pleased with the per-
formance of the younger 'Wesley, of Hereford. The per-
fect keeping of his style, his unlimited command over the
mysteries of enharmonic change : the dexterity with which
he pedals the most difficult passages, the whole executed per-
fectly independent of his left hand„ and above all, the happy
distribution of his harmonies over the instrument, in which
respect he stands alone. We have heard those masters,
and seen them grapple with the embarrassing difficulties of
a large organ. And not finding either at Birmingham, our
expectations were much raised at hearing the announce-
ment of Neukomm's " Scena on the Lake ;" we hope no
other auditor was in our situation in allowing his imagina-
tion such free exercise ; if so, we can sympathise with him
in the feelings of contempt and disgust with which we sat
through the performance. He commenced with some un-
meaning and rather vulgar phrases, we suppose belonging
to the " Lake School" of music, which was followed by the
air from " Judas Maccabeus," " See the Conquering
Hero comes," upon which he built some variations,
which were neither elegant in design, nor supported
by decent harmonies, and but slovenly executed. This was
interrupted by the escape of the wind from the wind chest
of the organ ; to imitate the sound of rain, and the learned
gentleman then laid his hands and arms on the keys, and

putting down three or four paddles together, elaborated the
most exquisite thunder, which was wound up by the clatter-
ing of falling boards and we know not what. The audience
waited very patiently, lost in doubt and apprehensions, but
at last applauded vociforously, which, we presume, was in-
tended for the ingenious mechanic who managed the clatter
business on the top of the organ, and who happened to put
his head over just at the time, little aware of the honour
awaiting him. Has Neukomm heard Knyvett play the
" Dead march in Saul ?" If not we can tell him Kny-
vett will give him a more ingenious and amus-
ing mode for the manufacture of thunder. He need be
under no apprehensions, like Dennis, that any one will steal it.
This learned Chevalier concluded with " Rule Britannia,"
upon which he attempted to build a fugue, but utterly
failed. Does Neukomn think it decent to degrade the
most noble of all instruments to the purpose of such a
mountebank exhibition as this? Does he know that in the
orchestra and chorusses there were provincial organists who
blushed for him ? If Neukomn wrote " Mount Sinai" (a
supposition which we have some difficulty in believing after
this performance), we cannot account for his conduct.
Such poverty of invention, scarcity of harmony, and utter
absence of all proper and musician-like division of his chords,
were never before witnessed. No formation and wearing to.
gether of three or four melodies, and the introduction of worn-
out and common-placed pedal passages, nothing more than
the double of the left hand, superseded the legitimate use
of the pedals. We now quit the Chevalier Neukomm ,
we heard him " without pleasure, and leave him without
regret ;" the most immoderate self-love would never embalm
his performance. It has been our duty to dissect it. We
now consign it to the tomb of all the Capulets, and trust
it will for the future find a refuge in the last sanctuary of
human failings—the grave—which we trust no one will ever
violate. We need not tell him that the organ is the best
test of a musician's attainments, and the first five minutes'
performance is sufficient to proclaim the calibre of the per-
former's intellect, the strength of his resources, and the ex-
tent of his reading.

WEDNESDAY MORNING'S PERFORMANCE.
The interest attending the celebration of this festival has
so much increased, that the tickets for this morning's per-
formance were at a high premium—four and five guineas
having been asked and refused for those at half-a-guinea.
There were about 4,000 issued, and the entrances to the
Hall (of which there are 16) were crowded by parties
hour
of eight in the
filled, and not even
amorning.nxious fo r
nadiemirtotoamncewaast
completely
standing room left at the commencement of the Oratorio.
The performance of the day was the new Oratoria by
Neukomm, compcsed, as the bills inform us, expressly for
this Festival. We have only room to give a general ac-
count of the Oratorio, and will reserve a more particular
analysis of the work for our next. The poetry is by a Mr.
ai The music is re-
ity. The orchestral
re-
spectable, lear,lbduotf
hhaustninodiefflaehnrentto
oqrjuagilinty
accompaniments are, with a few exceptions, worthy of con-

siderable commendation. Of the chorusses, the one at the
close of the first act, the fugue to the " Coronation An-
them," and the last chorus, are the best. The songs are
vulgar and common-place. We must except the one sung
by Madame Stockhausen, with, violincello accompaniments,
with which Lindley did great things. Machin and Braham
sang the duet with great spirit. The opening of the " Ter-
zetto" is rather elegant, but the whole of it wants originality.
The " Lament of the Israelites" is a specimen of the art of
sinking in music, and was so far from securing the sympathy
of the audience as to obtain their smiles. There is at times
much punning upon words ; to express the slaughter and
death of the Giant by David, the violins have a sky-rocket
passage, to announce the flight of the stone from the sling,
and the fall of Goliah is announced by a tremendous blow
upon the drum. The
i Chevalier has not added to his repu-
tation by this work ; indeed, " Mount Sinai" is a composi-
tion of greater merit, with more originality. It was per-
formed with care, and band and singers did it the greatest
justice.