The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-08-20 00:00:00

JENNY LIND AT THE PHILHARMONIC HALL

The long expected treat, secured to the lovers of music
in Liverpool and its neighbourhood by the engagement
made by the committee of the Philharmonic Society with
Jenny Lind, to appear at two evening performances, prior
to her departure to the United States, took place on Fri-
day and yesterday evenings, on which occasions the
splendid hall in Hope-street was filled with the elite of
the fashion and taste of the town and district. Such, in-
deed, was the excitement occasioned by the first an-
nouncement of her consent having been gained to the
arrangement, that the entire space which could be
aff)rded to the public was very early taken up, and in
very many cases large premiums were given for the most
eligible seats. But for this promptitude a large number
of our fellow townsmen and townswomen would, no
doubt, have been disappointed of the pleasure of being
present on the occasion, and their places been filled by
the strangers whom the assizes and the season have
brought to the locality. In addition to the great attrac-
tion, Miss Lind herself, the committee had secured the
services of Miss Williams, deservedly a favourite with the
musical public of Liverpool ; Miss Andrews, whom we
heard for the first time; Signor Belletti, a bass of great
power and finish ; and Monsieur Vivier, the celebrated
French horn player. Mr. Benedict led on the occasion,
as on that of previous visits of the Swedish Queen of
Song. The orchestra was composed nearly altogether of
native talent, with a few of the band of the 52nd regiment
giving very effective assistance.
The reception given to Miss Lind on her first entrance
was most enthusiastic, and could not bat have assured
her of the strong hold which she possesses upon the ad-
miration and affection of the people of Liverpool—feelings
elicited not only by her great gifts and talents, but as well
by her personal virtues. Gratitude, indeed, might also
be said to have had a share in producing the enthusiasm
manifested; for not only do we remember the noble pre-
sent made of her services in aid of a charity which has
since been instrumental in assuaging the pangs of many a
poor sufferer, but we feel the compliment she has just
paid uslin selecting Liverpool as the first and only place
in which she has met an audience in this country since
her temporary retirement from the public exercise of her
profession, and the last place in which she has displayed
her rare talents previously to leaving Europe for that new
world for which she is about to embark.

The first part Df the concert commenced with the
" Overture from Zauberflote," which was very effectively
given, as was ?the Chorus by Mozart, " All hail our
Queen Victoria !" Rossini's beautiful Duet from Semi-
ramide, " E dunque vero ?" followed, and was excellently
sung by Miss M. Williams and Signor Beiletti. Jenny
Lind made her appearance for the first time in the Aria
from I Puritani, " Qui la voce," which she gave with an
expression and force which at once assured her audience
that not only were her marvellous powers undiminished,
but they had even increased since she last appeared before
the public of Liverpool. We were delighted, at the same
time, to observe the evident improvement in her health
which her native air had brought about, and the absence
of all appearance of physical effort whilst executing pas-
sages which, in other vocalists, would have seemed the
result of a painful taxing of their powers. The clear glow
of spirits to be seen in every feature of her speaking coun-
tenance was reflected, if we may use the term, in the rich
and silvery tones of her voice, and at the close of her exe-
cution of one of the sweetest of Bellini's compositions, to
which her gen'us imparted much more feeling and beauty
than the composer had given to his music, fine as it is,
she was rewarded with a storm of applause. By the way,
we may remark here upon the very great consideration
evinced by the audience throughout, with respect to the
exaction of encores. Not a song was sung by her which
the audience would not have been glad to hear repeated,
vet on every occasion, except one or two, they were satis-
fied with her reappearance on the stage to curtsey her
acknowledgements. Signor Belletti next sung the Bar-
carol's " Sulla poppa" with great spirit and effect, and
won amazingly upon the audience. He possesses a good
voice, excellently cultivated, and an ease of manner most
desirable in a singer. Miss Andrews made her first ap-
pearance in a pleasing ballad by Benedict, " The Gipsey's
Warning." which she sung with much feeling. Her or-
gan is of very good quality—a rich soprano—and, with a
little more cultivation of it, she will make a very pleasing
concert singer. A Duetto from Il Turco in Italia, by
Jenny Lind and Signor Belletti, followed, which was

charmingly sung

The next nieee was a Solo on the Horn by Monsieur
Vivier, in which, besides giving some of the finest tones
capable of being produced on the instrument, the player
presented us with some very novel effects, the most sin-

gular of which was the introduction of a second or a bass
accompaniment, in apparently the same breath as the
original air. How this was managed—whether Monsieur
Vivier ventriloquized his accompaniment, or it was the
work of double-tongueing, passes our comprehension.
Sufficient it is that was very wonderful and very beau-
tiful. His bass noes were especially excellent. In an-
other piece, entitled " The Chase,' a light and very
pleasing composition of his own, he was most successful,

and elicited a unanimous encore

The concluding piece of the first part was a cavatina
from " Der Frieschutz," " Und ob die wolke," or better
known by the English version, " Though clouds by tern-
pests may be driven," was sung by Jenny Lind as no
other vocalist can sing it. We may, indeed, instance this
piece as one of her triumphs.
After Spohr's overture of " Jessonda," and a two-part
song by Miss Andrews and Miss M. Williams, very nicely
given, Miss Lind sung a ballad, " Take thou this lute,"
composed expressly for her by Benedict, so beautifully,
that, for the first time, an encore was insisted upon. It
was a splendid performance ; and we are inclined to think
that the composer and conductor, Benedict, ought to have
been included in the applause given. A very pretty four-
part song was next sung by the choir, and encored amidst
merited applause. Rossini's Tarantella, from "La
Danza," followed, in which Signor Belletti displayed
buffo powers of a very high order, and was heartily en-
cored. The next piece, an aria from Mozart, "11 Flauto
Majico," by Miss Lind, was one of the gems of the
evening's performance ; and, much as she must have
taxed her powers in its execution, it was encored. We
may remark here that no singer we ever heard submits so
cheerfully to an encore as this accomplished lady. After
a very pretty ballad, by Miss M. Williams, and a madri-
gal by the choir, the concert was concluded by Jenny
Lind singing two of her exquisite Swedish melodies. The
first, which, although unacquainted with the language,
we may term a sort of farm-call to the milking or to rest,
many of our readers may have heard before. The echo
introduced is especially beautiful ; and the entire compo-
sition recals scenes most grateful to the memory of those
who have been brought up amidst rural life. The
second, given as an encore, is an arch and lively song,
and was so delightfully sung as to cause an unan►mous
rising of the audience to greet its accomplished singer on
her retirement from the stage. As usual, she accompa-
nied herself during the performance of these melodies.
Between the first and second parts, an American pro-
fessor introduced a new and beautiful piano-forte, manu-
factured by Messrs. Boardman and Gray, of New York,
which, we believe, is intended to be put on board the
Atlantic steamer for the use of Jenny Lind, on her pas-
sage to New York. The instrument used by Mons.
Benedict was a very fine Broadwood, supplied from the
establishment of Mr. T. Edgar, Great George-street.
We may mention, now that our criticism on the per-
formances is completed, that the number present, includ-
ing the orchestra, was 2771. Persons were there from all
quarters of Great Britain, and it is stated that one gentle-
man purposely made a trip from Vienna to be present at
the concert. A party from Knowsley occupied two boxes,
one on each side the hall, and appropriated to Lord Sef-
ton and Mr. Southern. Amongst others noticed were
Lord Ward, Lord Ingestre, Ladies Bentinck, the Baro-
ness French, Sir John Bayley, Sir George Gibbs, Mr.
Justice Cresswell, Mr. Justice Wightman, John Royds,
Esq., the high sheriff, Thos. Littledale, Esq., and several
officers of the 52d regiment, in full uniform. The Rev.
George Copway, Ka-Ge-Ga-Go-Bowh, attired in his na-
tive costume, that of an Indian chief, was also present,
and attracted much attention. We should state that, pre-
vious to the commencement of the concert, Mr. J. H.
Turner, on behalf of the committee of the Liverpool Phil-
harmonic Society, presented Maddle. Lind with a beauti-
ful boquetle, which had arrived the same evening from Mr.
Harding's celebrated establishment, in Clifford-street,
London ; and it was brought on by the prima donna when
she sang the Swedish melodies towards the close of the

performance.
On Saturday the beautiful cluster of grapes alluded to
in our last was presented to Jenny Lind, and in the even-
ing she attended the rehearsal of the performance which
took place last night. During the rehearsal an address
from the Philharmonic Society was presented to Mr. Be-
nedict, expressive of the " lively satisfaction and pleasure
with which on several occasions they had been united
with him in one common cause," The address, enclosed
in a morocco case, was handed to Mr. Benedict, amidst
great applause. He was sensibly affected in returning
thanks, and after three cheers for Jenny Lind, the music
ticketsl other
a fo r
head,t
was resumed. The address was beautifully written on
vellum by Mr. Joseph Watts, of this town.
On Sunday morning Mad'lle. Lind attended at St.
Nicholas's Church, in company with Mr. Bald, of Aig-
burth, and family. Mr. I'. B. Brancker placed his pew at
her disposal. Few people were aware of her presence;
but St. George's Church, where she was expected, was
crowded to suffocation. The Rev. Rector Campbell
preached, and Mr. W. Sudlow presided at the organ.
The Atlantic steam-ship sails at ten o'clock to-morrow
morning, and Mdlle. Lind is to go on board at nine. She
will carry with her from these shores the affectionate
wishes and grateful admiration of the people of this and
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Mane. Lind was escorted by J. B. Yates,
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nobly a short time since—the concert which she attended
at the Amphitheatre producing the splendid sum of £l2OO.
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tal, for the enlargement of which she
She expressed herself much gratified with the arrange-
ments of the institution. To-day, we believe, the silver
tea-kettle, which has been made for some time, will be
presented to this noble-hearted lady.
Last night Mad'lle Lind sang before an equally fashion-
able, and, if possible, still more numerous audience. The
greatest curiosity prevailed about this performance, as
Madlle Lip-id had never before-sung in any oratorio of
-Handel since her arrival in this country. La!t- night
proved, what might have been expected, that this gifted
lady was equally successful in the Messiah as in the Crea-
tion and Elijah-. The audience were enraptured,..b?t we
cannot to-day give any lengthened notice of the inimitable
performance. The Liverpool public owe much to the
Philharmonic Society for these rich treats.
The belief is that of the number of nights for which