The Birmingham Festival, always the g reatest of the provincial music
meetings, is to be held on the 27th, 28th, 29th, and 30th of August, and, as usual, there will be a morning and an evening per- formance each day; but, what is unusual, two of the evening per- formances, all of which have hitherto consisted of miscellaneous secular music, will be devoted to oratorios—The Creation on one evening, and Judas Maccabeus on another. The oratorios to be given in the mornings are Elijah, The Messiah, Samson, and Israel in Egypt, together with Beethoven's Grand Mass in D. The reason, we snp- pe, of this unwonted preponderance in sacred music is, that the favourite stars of the opera stage, Mademoiselle Titiens and Made- moiselle Patti, whose presence will be a chief attraction of the festival, are (what is unusual with such singers) competent to take part in the Oratorio performances, and will do so. The other singers engaged arc Madame Rndersdorff, Madame Sherrington, Madame Dolby, Miss Palmer, Mr. Sims Reeves, Mr. Santley, Mr. M. Smith, Signor Giuglini, and Signor Belletti—a host of vocal talent. Costa will continue to hold his place of conductor. One thing will be at once remarked : not a single new work of any kind, sacred or secular, is announced; a circumstance which, when we consider the research and activity uniformly shown at Birmingham in the discovery and production of novelty, affords a striking illustration of the present state of musical composition throughout the world.
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