The Sun.
London, England, 1835-06-12 00:00:00

LIST OF THE MINORITY

-
Of 18 (Tellers included), who voted that the Window Tax should
be taken off.
Lewis, W
Richards, J.
Rundell, John
Scholefield, J.
Turner, W.
Wakley, Thomas

Brabazon, Sir W. J.
Bulwer, rt. L.
Fielden, J.
Fleming, Admiral
Halse, J.
Holborn, Lord
Humphery, J.

Walker, R.
Whalley, Sir S.
Williams, W.

TELLERS.
Attwood, T.
Fector, John Minet

PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY.

EIGHTH CONCERT.

The last Concert for the present season of this celebrated
Society took place on Monday evening at the King's Concert
Rooms, Hanover-square. In the programme on this occasion
the instrumental compositions were the Sinfonia Eroica (No.
6) of Beethoven, a double quartette by Spohr, the overture to
Les Deux Journees and Die Zauberflote, the respective com-
positions of Cherubini and Mozart ; to which must be added a
MS S. Sinfonia, by Mr. Potter, the conductor for the even-
i ag, and a new concerto (also M S S.) for the pianoforte in
D minor, by Henri Herz. The vocal part of the scheme con-
sisted of the highly elaborated and scientific scena in D minor,
from the opera of Fidelio, sung by Lablache ; and a dull and
profitleis selection from the theatrical absurdities of those choice
worthies (musicians they are not) Bellini and Donizetti. Of
the Eroica Sinfonia we surely need say little. If after hearing
it almost annually for twenty years the auditors of last night
are yet deaf to its glorious fugues, melodious and yet simple
phrases, profound and enharmonic transitions; and, lastly, al-
though not least, its immortal Marcia Funebre, of course, no-
thing we can write will avail either them or the composer.
The gentlemen who form the orchestra of the Philharmcinic
Concert go through the performance of Beethoven's Sinfonias
-in a manner which we conscientiously believe not to be equal-
led by any band on the face of the earth. Beethoven, how-
ever, in writing specially for this band has proved too much for
its strength and capabilities. The Sinfonia in D minor (No.
9) is the most extraordinary and wonderful specimen of the
mighty genius of the composer, and was entrusted to the Phil-
harmonic band for its production to the public. It dropped
from their hands a lifeless corpse, and has since undergone the
vilest and most rancorous abuse from the heads of the profes-
sion. We truly believe that there are not three individuals
connected with the Institution who have the slightest idea that
this composition stands amongst the high efforts of musical
genius in Germany, as the Paradise Lost does amongst the
poetical literature of our own country. The pure and beauti-
ful, high and exalted, spirit of the poet and metaphysician (for
Beethoven united both these characters in an extraordinary de-
gree) breaks forth in every page of this truly inspired produc-
tion, and although there are a host of passages utterly incom,.
prehensible to the million, we trust there are yet those in this
country who can enter into the joy of its author, his deep, hid-
den, and holy thoughts, his lovely and perfect images of bles-
sedness. To such as these its study is one intense feeling ;or
as Goethe strangely, but expressively, calls it, the terror of
delight. No band but the Philharmonic could do justice to
this composition ; no band is at this time more profoundly ig-
norant of its merits, or less prepared to execute it properly.
Mr. Potter's MSS. Sinfonia deserves but little commenda-
tion—the melodies are deficient in originality, and although
there is much noise in the instrumentation, there is but little
real weight or volume of sound. Added to this, there is an
absence of feeling, and a perpetual restlessness and uneasiness
of feature which in our opinion is destructive to effect. Henri
Herz is a most extraordinary mechanist upon the pianoforte,
but his pretensions to the character of a composer are of the
most slender description. To us this gentleman's performance
of his MSS. Concert was a truly melancholy exhibition, And
we were grieved to see so much great talent in execution
thrown away upon such utter poverty and worthlessness of
thought and invention. The Coda upon the dominant of the
relative major of the tonic (to speak technically,) which oc-
curs in the first part of the opening movement, appeared the
best writing in the piece—the working up of both hands con-
trary ways, and a judicious employment of the flat ninth, ren
dered it very effective. The Pastorale movement, founded
upon a semi-Swiss, semi-Irish melody, pleased us but little;
and the blossom of a fugue upon the old church subject was
but school-boy writing. We recommend this gentleman to
study Beethoven ; and in the later works of his contemporary,
Czerny (of Vienna), he may perceive the important and bene-
ficial results of such a determination. Owing to this, Czerny,
from the mere " Punch and Judy" exhibition of his instru-
ment, has placed himself high in the list of the classical com-
posers of the age. Auber and Donizetti appear to be the
French models of the day, and they are miserable substitutes
for Spohr and Beethoven. In the several performances of
Cramer, Moscheles, and Herz, at these concerts during this
season, it is not a little curious to observe the results of the
mode of education each have received, and bow immeasurably
in all the stern sublimity of epic writing the pupil of Albrechtz-
berger and Beethoven surpasses his contemporaries.* Spohr's
new quartette for eight stringed instruments is not the best
specimen of his learning or genius. Many of the sequences
have become thread-bare in his hands, and his mannerisms
were perpetually occurring. The movement in E major is the
most to be commended. Mr. Mori fiddled his part as if he
was performing a composition of his own—instead of recollect-
ing that his part formed only one of eight real and distinct me-
lodies, and that the audience had a right to hear them all
equally well, in order to judge correctly of the author's work.
The unmeaning trash and nonsense sang by the Italian gentry
reflects disgrace upon the Directors of the Institution. Surely
it is not necessary to the existence and comfort of Mademoiselle
Grisi that she should exhibit herself and her endowments at
the expense of the credit of the Society ; perhaps Mr. T.
Cooke might be induced to write her such an exercise as
would not be offensive to the ears of the amateurs who fre-
quent its performances. Mr. Cooke and a score of other
gentlemen we might mention, would readily supply her with a
much better specimen of vocalization than that wretched po-
lacca which the Italian Maestro has, to his own discredit, and
the annihilation of his fair fame and reputation, placed in her
hands. Gallantry towards the lady forbade that expression
of feeling which was very spiritedly exhibited towards Rubini at
the close of his execution of another miserable tissue of unmean-
ing passages, the work of Donizetti. Lablache's fine scena
from the Fidelio of Beethoven was a complete failure, owing
to the performance of the accompaniment ; another instance
of the advantage of a public rehearsal.
In reviewing the performances of the season, there is not
much upon which to congratulate the Directors., The princi-
pal features of the season have been the new Sinfonias of
Maurer and Spohr. With the exception of the overture by
Moscheles, the home manufacture has not equalled in talent
many of the youthful specimens brought forward by the So-
ciety of British musicians. We cannot refrain from expressing
our astonishment that the Directors should imagine the inte-
rests or the credit of this association should require the conti-
nued performance of such things as the operatic movements
from the Norma, and I Puritani of Bellini, and the Anna Bo
lena and Marino Faliero of Donizetti. La Donna del Lago,
Otello, and Semirarnide are severally nuisances in a concert-
room, but the Directors have departed still more widely from
good taste, in preferring the bad imitations of Rossini to the
works of this Maestro himself.