The Sun.
London, England, 1851-03-20 00:00:00

ST. MARTIN'S HALL.

MR. HULLAH'S MONTHLY CONCERT.
Last evening, the fifth of Mr. Hullah's highly suc-
cessful series of monthly concerts of ancient and
modern music took place in the great room of St.
Martin's-hall, Long-acre. The attendance was not ,
near so overflooded as on the last occasion, when the
glorious Elijah gave rise to so much expectation,
which, however ardent, did not prevent the surprise,
beyond satisfaction, excited by the magnificent treat.
The hall was not quite so crowded as on the four
previous monthly nights, but still it was sufficiently
full to warrant, in any other concert-room of the
metropolis at this season, the description of a most
numerous and fashionable audience. The reserved
seats were all filled, and they occupy three-fourths of
the room. But in the back seats there were not
more than four hundred and fifty, or at the utmost
five hundred persons. The severity of the weather,
and the circumstances of the season, being now in
the middle of Lent, when many persons of the class
who frequent these refined entertainments at St. Mar-
tin's Hall, may object to the performance of secular,
especially of operatic music, of which the second part
of last night's concert entirely consisted.
The first part of the programme introduced the
Credo from the Mass in B Minor, by John Sebastian
Bach, for the production of which, as this period, the
musical world is much indebted to Mr. ilullah. This
great composer's excellence, as well as his very marked
peculiarities of doubtful merit, are but little known,
except by vague tradition, or the mysterious re-
port of the initiated and the exclusive. To
those who have fresh in their memory Han-
ders wonderful Credo (Mass in C) it was ex-
ceedingly gratifying to have this opportunity of com-
paring the treatment of the same sublime subject, by
two of the greatest of all musicians, who were con-
temporaries moreover, similarly educated, and bring-
ing forth their creations in the same sphere. The
treatment by Handel is incomparably more worthy
of the subject—more imaginative, more profound,
more religious, in a word, more nearly divine. On
the other, the prodigious mastery of counterpoint dis-
played by Sebastran, excites almost as much admira-
tion (if not delight) as the exalted fancy and devout
feeling of the master of sacred melody. Notwithstand-
ing the very rare difficulties of Sebastian Bach's work
it was delivered with admirable precision and accu-
racy by the numerous choir of Mr. Hullah's upper
class—and an upper class it is indeed. Miss Kearns
in the duet "Et in Unum Dominum," with Madlle.
Graumann, bad a most difficult, an awful task, to go
through, as a soprano. But she did get through it
and made it a triumph, though in some passages one
trembled for the young prima as she rose through
all the intricacies and difficulties, amidst which an
artist of such youth and less power would have ine-
vitably sunk. Madlle. Graumann, a contralto of
choice sweetness, flexibility, and power, had, as the
lower voice in the duet, somewhat less arduous work
to labour with, and her perfect mastery of her art
enabled her to make the difficulty still less. She
went through it with great ease. Both ladies were
rapturously applauded. Mrs. Endersohn also dis-
tinguished herself in another part of the entertain-
ment so admirably as to extort, what is in this
place a rare compliment, an encore in Edward
Fitewilliam's fine offertory, " 0 Salutaris hostia."
Signor Marchesi and Mr. Herberte were likewise
very warmly applauded, and escaped more than one
encore, through the deference of the audience to the
conductor's manifest repugnance to allow such a de-
parture from the programme. This deference, how-
ever, did not prevent an encore of the overture to
Weber's Oberon, a selection from which exquisite
production of musical magic closed the concert,
affording to the whole of the musical corps, as well
as the orchestra, noble opportunities of fresh laurels,
which they nobly won.
It should have been said that the second part com-
menced with the second act of Gliick's exquisitely
fanciful opera of Orfeo, in which it is difficult to de-
termine whether the poet, the musician, or the
favourite child of the Graces is most to be admired.
In this fine piece, Madlle. Graumann, as Orfeo, had
the solo part, which she sustained in charming
style. The whole performance may be considered as
giving the greatest proof yet afforded of the capabi-
ties of this institution.

M. CAERE.—FuII often have we indulged in a
hearty laugh when, in talking over old times with a chance
schoolfellow, we have recalled the eccentricities of our
French master. For a term of between four and five years
we received his almost daily instruction, and tormented him
with every variety of schoolboy tricks. His penurious habits
and his contempt of women, whom he used to designate " fly-
traps," are as vivid in our memory as if we had parted with
him but yesterday. We knew him to be rich—we had frequent
exemplifications of his parsimony. Often and often has he
boasted that in the fruit season his dinner was a pint of
damsons purchased for a penny. He once told us that
when he went to a well-off pupil's house to sup, he had " a
glorious tuck-out," and thus rendered breakfast unne-
cessary for the following morning. It was a tradition in
the school that he had but one shirt, and that he was
wont at stated times to wash it himself in the New River,
and walk about the fields with it on a stick until it was dry.
The last time we saw him, now above twenty years ago, he
was dressed in a new suit of black, wore a gold chain, looked
buckish, and said he was about to return to France, and live
comfortably on the handsome fortune he had amassed.
Gentility and ease probably did not suit him, for ho re-
turned to his occupation and his penury. It was impos-
sible, in reason, to anticipate for him a peaceful end, but
little did we dream that his dying hours would be disturbed
by ghostly importunity, and that the property he had made
himself miserable in collecting would be wrung from him at
last by that Church of which he was no more thanla nominal
member. That old French master was Mons. Mathuras
Carre, respecting whose property a law suit is now pending
between Mons. Metairie, a kinsman, we suppose, and Cardi-
nal Wiseman.—Nonconformist.