The Hawaiian gazette., 1869-08-25

on their stems, moved and swayed BY a
gentle breeze. As California landscape,
decked out with the wild flowers of spring,
presents scene of bewildering beauty, and
an unbroken expanse of rich coloring, so
appears the vast area Of the Coliseum. 1t
requires the aid of reason TO correct the de-
lusiou Of the eyes, that We are really gazing
upon human beings
The hour for commencing has passed; the
audience is mostly in place; Mr. Zerrahn
mounts the conductors stand; the Chorus
and Orchestra are ready; but the guest Of
the day has not come in: he is still in the
reception room. There is movement and
murmur at the main entrance, and a few
plainly dressed gentlemen, arm in arm, are
seen entering. The leader turns to the cho-
rus, and waves his baton the grand organ
opens, in full song, its thousand pipes; the
chorus and the orchestra burst into song;
and the electric cannon without give empha-
sis TO the accented notes. The music is,
% Hail to the Chief,'' The audience clap
their hands and shout; handkerehiefs wave
like rippling sea; and thousands rise to
catch glimpse of the President of the
United States.
He is accompanied by Admirals Fsrragut
and Thatcher, and other distinguished per-
sons. They are soon seated in the places
prepared for the honored guests, and the
concert commences with Luther's Choral
Hymn, "A strong Castle is our Lord" The
programme embraces two choruses from
"Messiah;r two from "Creatiou one
from "Elijah;" and one from Judas Mac
cabeus." Miss Adelaide Phillips and Ma
dame Parepa Rosa, each have an aria, and the
orchestra give the symphony lin c. Major),
of Schubert. The performance occupies
nearly three hourse-the great audience man.
ifesting its approval with applause that rolls
through the parquette and along the galleries,
like the summer thunder, and swells and dies
away like the noise of the ocean surf along
sandy shore. 1t is prolonged rumble, full of
power and strength, like the rumble of an
earthquake shock. Many believed that the
music would be noise, and nothing more;
that the parts would get mixed, confused,
and diseordant, so that all harmony would
disappear; but such was not the case. The
chorus moved steadily along, taking up the
various parts OF the .JttgUes with admirable
precision, and rendering the harmouies of
the great masters with a majesty that was
marvellous. Yet when all were in full song
instruments and singers-even in the forte
passages, mere loudness of sound was not
apparent: in fact, it seemed not above few
hundred singers, in a smaller apartment. The
Philharmonic Society concerts, in the Acad-
emy of Music, in New York, produce quite
as great crash and thunder, as the Jubilee
singers The hangings about the building,
the murmur of the audience, the trampling
of those standing up, as well as the size of
the Coliseum, contributed TO soften down,
and muffie the musical sounds. In the dis
tant portions of the galleries, some of the
pianissimo passages were scarcely audible,
while the full chorus only relieved the ear
from q strained attention.
This fact produced some curious effects at
the furihest end of the building, when the
piano passages OF the symphony by the over
ture were inaudible- The music ceases sud
denly, and the natural cause is looked for
the end Of the piece-bnt no. A glance
reveals that the violinists are all a-going-
working away as hard as ever. At wave of
the baton, 500 fiddle-bows show their ends
above the heads of the musicians; anon,
they disappear; now they all twiddle vigor-
Onsly in short strokes, then drive along
short strokes, long strokes, up and down
flying in obedience to the magic baton. A hun
dred hands, too, are sliding up and down
the fnger-boards of the bass viols-the
whole orchestra are busy, but not a sound is
heard. 1t is all pantomime. The fiddIers
are there, but their hddles do not speak:
they are going through the motions-nothing
more,
The chorus, for its very multitude, pre-
sents an interesting scene. The Conductor
from his stand, with his back to the audience,
looks upon the large orchestra, ranged on
either side and in front Of him. The chorus
seats rise in tiers from the orchestra plat
form. On the right are the Sopranos; on
the left, the Altos; at the further end, the
Bases and Tenors; while beyond them is
the organ-its pipes without a casing, and
the organist seated facing the audience, at
keyboard twenty feet in front of the instru-
ment. Ali can watch the movements OF the
baton, though not third of the chorus can
hear word addressed to them from the Con-
ductor's stand speaking-tubes convey his
directions to the various sections of the cho-
rus, and to the organist; an oblong case,
near his stand, contains the knobs Of the
electric wires, which the player of the can
non presses down, as he marks the signal
calling for the boom of the guns. There is
an appreciabIe moment between the wave Of
the baton and the answering sound of the
large pipes of the organ answer slower to
the touch than the small ones, and so answer
the notes called for by the baton. Its wave
is seen, and you feel the sound coming. 1t
rolls along, as it were, full, mighty and So
norous At the tap Of the baton, the tuneful
ten thousand are all attention; at another
signal, they rise to their feet 1t Is sudden
growth Of humanity, or, as one irrever-
emily phrased it, it Is like a Jaek-in-
the-box expansion, when the lid is sprung.
The music commences, aud now the
baton, wild with excitement, is cali
ing, here and there, to the musical host
1t calls to the orchestra, and the instruments
wheel into the measure; it waves to the