THE MUSICAL FESTIVALS.

APOLLO, like other fashionables, remains in London during the season ; but as the summer advances, he departs in order to hold his court in the provinces. Unlike other fashionables, he usually neglects Brighton and Bath and Cheltenham, and fixes his resi- dence at some old city or busy manufacturing town. Here he assembles around him the votaries of his art, and accords to the inhabitants of Yorkshire, Norfolk, Warwickshire, or Lancashire, those sublime demonstrations of it which he has hitherto denied to the crowds of the metropolis or the visitants of those resorts of fashion which we have named. His migrations this year are rather eccentric. His progress begins at Worcester, on the 14th Sep- tember; from thence he departs to hold his grand court at Nor- wich; and lastly, summons his votaries to meet him at Liverpool early in October. We shall briefly notice the chief features of these several celebrations, in the order of their dates.

The Worcester Festival is one of a series of music meetings which alternate in succession between that city, Gloucester, and Hereford. It is of very long standing, and is always a respect- able performance. The management of the musical department, which is confided to the Organist of the Cathedral, falls, this year, to Mr. CLARKE, who so respectably fills that situation at Wor- cester. The scheme marks the sound orthodox school in which he has been educated ; but it also betrays a want of that ac- quaintance with the present state and progress of music, which re- sults from constantly mixine-b with the professors of the metropolis. The organist of a cathedral looks to his own library, well stored, in all probability, with the works of HANDEL, PURCELL, BOYCE, &c., and thence derives materials for his sacred performances. And so far he does well ; but the advanced state of musical knowledge and execution demands something in addition to this. The Wor- cester scheme gives us only one piece of MOZART, and one of BEETHOVEN. This iS.not enough. We have "How excellent," from Saul, "Angels ever bright," "Pious Orgies," "Martin Lu- ther's Hymn," the first scene of Creation, and many other airs and choruses, excellent of their kind, but which, we presume, will be found in the records of every Worcester festival for the last thirty years. To us, the only novelty of the morning's selections is the portion of HA.YDN'S Second Mass, which will be performed on Thursday. If this contain the exquisite " Qui tolls peccata mundi," (we are not acquainted with the English version), it will be one of the. choicest morceaux of the festival. We anticipate no Small pleasure from the "Dettingen Te Deum," for no composi- tion of its immortal author contains such an unceasing succession of grand effects. Confusion to, all abridgers and curtailers of this splendid effort of genius, we s' with all our hearts 1—The principal singers are Madame MALIBTLAN, Miss CRAMER, MTS. KNYVETT, Messrs. BRAMAN, KNYVETT, VAUGHAN, E. TAYLOR, PHILLIPS, and Signor DE BEGNIS. The evening concerts contain the most .vopular songs and concerted pieces of the present day. F. CRAMER 13 the leader; and the band 'will contain about sixty instruments and-eighty voices. -The Norwich Festival, which is the next in succession, takes Place on the 21st of September, and following days We have diligently 'coked through this scheme, and have no hesitation in pronouncing it the most perfect selection, that ever fell under our notice. We will speak first of the morning performances ; and in these there is not a single piece we would wish to alter. To HANDEL is accorded his just supremacy, butjwe have also HAYDN, MOZART, BEETHOVEN, GRAUN, PAESIELLO; HUMMEL, and SPOHR. The grouping of all the pieces, too, is well managed. A selection of sacred music is usually a jumbling together of all schools and styles, at hazard. In this scheme they are given (as they ought to be given) separately and distinctly: one act is com- piled from the Samson of HANDEL, another from the Crucifixion of GRAUN, a third contains Seome's oratorio the Last Judgment, and so on. Of these pieces, the last-named will probably attract the most attention. It is not wholly unknown in this country, but no part of it has ever been performed. The present adapta- tion of it, as well as that of the Crucifixion, is stated to have been made by Mr. E. TAYLOR; and it is highly creditable to the Norwich Committee to have taken the lead in introducing this splendid composition to English hearers. But the whole scheme bears the marks of activity and research. These appear equally in the evening concerts as in those of the morning. We observe "The Calm of the Sea" and the unrivalled Finale to Fidelio by BEETHOVEN, with choruses from the operas Of MOZART and BISHOP forming part of the schemes. We copy the abstract of the band from the printed circular.

"Leaders of the Band—Mr. F. CRAMER, and Mr. MORI.

First Violins, Mr. ELLA and eighteen others. Second I 7olins, Mr. C. REEVE and nineteen others. Virst Mr. WACSTAFF and eight others.

Second Violas, Mr. W. PERSON and eight others.

First Violoncellos, Mr. LINDLEY and four others. Second Violoncellos, Mr. W. LINDLEY and four others.

Double Basses, Signor DRAGONETTI and nine others. Flutes„ . Messrs. NICHOLSON and GATTET and two others. Oboes, Messrs. G. COOKE, W. Mit.i.san and two others.

Clarinetts, -Messrs. WILLMAN and POWELL and four others. BaS8007tS, Messrs. MACKINTOSH and ToLLy and four others.

Horne Messrs. PLATT and RAE and four others.

Trumpets, Messrs. FlARPER and law-IN and four others. Trombones Messrs. SMITHERS and Howl.= and five others.

Serpents, MOWS. MACCUN and OSBORNE. Double Drums Messrs. CHIP? and E. CLARE.

Harp Mr. STOCKHAUSEN.

The Choral Band -will consist of sixty Trebles, forty-five Altos, fifty- five Tenors, and sixty Basses—total, two hundred and twenty. The entire Band will consist of upwards of three hundred and fifty performers.

Conductor—Sir GEORGE SMART."

. The principal singers are Madame MALIBRAN, Madame STOCK- HAUSEN, Master PHILLIPS, and MTS. KNYVETT; Mr. BRAMAN, Mr. VAUGHAN, MT. TERRAIL, MT. E. TAYLOR, and Signor DE BEGNIS.

This festival, therefore, combines every thing that can give per- fection to a musical performance,—musie, ancient and modern, sacred and secular, of the first class ; singers of the first emi- nence in their several departments ; a band comprising all the first talent of the 'metropolis, and at the same time of mighty and majestic strength. The Liverpool Festival takes place on the 5th, 6th, and 7th of October. The appointment of Sir GEORGE Selmer as Conductor, insures, as at Norwich, excellence of selection, and that judicious adaptation of means to the desired end, which distinguish the festivals over which he presides. We find the same great outlines marked on both these schemes. The morning performances at Liverpool contain a due admixture of the ancient and modern schools, and in both instances arranged with the same good taste. The principal features of these selections are the Israel in Egypt, Judas Maccabaus, and Samson, of HANDEL, the Creation of HAYDN, the Crucifixion of GRAUN, and the Last Judgment of- SPOHR. The strength of the orchestra is not announced, but we anticipate that it will be excellent. Lancashire is the soil in which chorus-singing has long flourished, and in which it still thrives and grows better than any other part of the kingdom. The an- nouncements of the Liverpool scheme imply the existence of a well-trained chorus, without which any attempt to move out of the beaten track would be hopeless. Nor are their resident in- strumentalists less efficient; Manchester can boast the best- appointed and best-conducted provincial concert in the kingdom. These advantages no one knows 'better how to improve than Sir GEORGE SMART; and the-Liverpool people may confidently look forward to a festival worthy the spirit and energy With which every public undertaking is there conducted. The proceedings of the three festivals will be detailed in our future numbers.