, 1877-02-04

or violent movement, and he sings iu the satn
way: the pleasure you experience from hi
iull, even, well-nlodu}ated tones is lcsscncd b
thy anxiety lest the well husbanded voice shoul
I fail at critical moment. Yet on great OCCASION
hc comes out tincly and shows an excclIeu
method and something OF what his voice l,a
been. Five times ont OF ten occasions In Ahie
he Is Advertised to sing, he Is announced as Ia
on lis entrance be Is enthusiastically welcomed
! "a tribute which he receives like some acknowl
| edged beauty, conscious Of charms. II an audi
ence attempts to obtain an encore he remains /,
bis scat, fro'FnlnE o!ninously; and II the ap
plause is continued, he filings his score on til,
ers. Nine. Antoinctte Sterling sang the ''Fa,
! Ut ,portcm with that singularly sat
t!tyiHg tone and fine expression
for which she is remarkable. Their.
is IN individuality about her which is to me cnt
| OF singers greatest attractions. Something
! OF the same is true Of Foil, whom some Ameri
cans will recognize as Mr. Foley, of Hartford
| Conn His bass Is By far the best hare heard
IN London-ccrtainly the best in oratorio.
seeing him and Antoinette Sterling singing
side hy side, set me off upon some musings as
to what VIC rail- race There was Madame
Sinico, placid and indifferent, standing in a
gracefully languid way; Lloyd, planted SQUARE
and solid on both feet, picture Of English self
satisfaction; Reeves With the attitude of dis
dain1ul beauty; aud then came Madame ster-
ling, I! deep earnestness difTused all over
hcr serious face, half rising, it seemed. from
the floor In the intensity OF her effort
md absorption; and Foil, leaning forward like
4 Tine raccr, all his body seeming elastic and
Lord!'' rs my English ncighbor exclaimed to
lis companion, ''what fools people do make Of
themselves when thev get On the subject Of
nattonallties!" The finest effect Oh this occa-
sion was the singing Of the 'Innammatus," by
Madame Sinico and the chorus. heard notl-
ing 50 good till the performance OF the "Ates-
s!ah" the week before Christmas, at Exeter
Hall, With Madame Nouvcr aud Miss Enrioucz
as SOPRANO m aud contralto; md ut Albert Hall,
.;t WIN Iietlens and ID Trebelli-Bettini in
I am not fond Of oratorios. 1 have
endured agontes untold during long and dreary
rcnderings Of the "Crcation,' y with only little
bit of pabuiunl here and there, as 'sWith
Ferdnre Clad" to nibblc upon. And have
anathcmatized the traditional American gal
1antry when compelled to sit three mortal hours
" tue side OF SOME young Bostonian with u
leaning to azure hose aud spectacies, while the
Handel and Haydn lntoued the severe rccitatiyes
OF "Eli]ah." But these two performances OF
with au oratorio Us such. Mile. Tictjcas has
sung In America, und it is unnecessary to
say that she sang well, but something was
lacking III her Il know that my Re-
4ecmer livetl." That 'something'' was
tisn t. feeas fsss0F the magae ofs sqe en-
beautifully given. But the singing of Nine
Trebclli-Bettini was simply delicious; the word
Is not inappropriate, since the ear seemed to bor
row the functions Of the palate, aud taste the
perfection OF hcr notes. 80 Thou that teflest
good tidlngs to Llon,n and He shall feed His
lock like shepherd" Us sung by her, left moth
ing to bo desired. It came us near to the music
OF the spheres Us one is likely to reach >shcrc
below" Hearing the two Societies give the
same oratorio on successive evenings naturally
led to those comparisons to which Mrs. Mala.
prop objected 50 strongly. The s.Pastoral
Synphony'' produced O finer effect at Albert
Hall, the great spaces lending It a surt Of
perspective, grudations OF expression. which
it missed ut Exeter. But the orcles-
trn is less perfect, aud tho brasses
too prominent, So that they sometimes cclinse
the soloist. &c. while the choruses were Al
m:rable in both Societies, those at Exeter Hail
were little iiuer At Albert Hall Suns Reeves
sang Ill the tenor solos except the ti1st, uuu
gained immense applause by Ills bfoh A. an
which he broke his hcathcu aid dashef, thcm IN
pieces like pottcr,s ycsse..n A. Fyetnr Hail
one of the 1fnest tbinps was the air t.The
Trumpet Shall Sound, y with trumpet solo br
Mr, Harper. who has u great local lame. RI,
bass, Air. George Fox, who took tile air. il trne
and faithful but not remarkable singrr. hut tho
solo contirncd me in INV ron
yictiou Of the great effectiveness 81 fhc
trumnct. which hus heen 81 nnrh
utilized bv Wupncr. Rut { rcturn oua;n
and aoaiu 10 the Choruscs. which were moTpiH-
rcnt No dcscrintion could I, i1sfi<c r. tha
continued sweetnrss. melody. and orn,,deur ~