TEE CONCERT AT GUILDHALL.
Tut: oratorio of the )I,,siat was performed at Guildhall, for thc 1 .t. of' the London National Schools, on Friday morning, under the patronage and iii the presence of several eminent dignitaries of fits: Church, and with as flume a vocal and insti turfman' biind as London can priduce ; and yet it failed to draw a numerous audience. The fact is, the has 10: t inuch of its attractive po\ver: constant repetition has taken off the edge of the public appetite ; at tul, unless under pecu- liar circumstances, it is now usually performed to a scanty audience. Conductors and singers ulways preach a different doctrine,—for the performance of the .3/e-ssioh gives them no trouble; and Corporation Committees, who know no better, believe there is no oratorio to equal (many suppose (lime is nu other oratorio besides) the Messiah, and are iodured to announce its performance, on the supposition that, it must congregate a crowd and fill the treasury of the charity it is in- tended to benefit. They are beginning to find their mistake. We have spoken in deserved praise of' the band, for two hundred better per- formers could not be 'Oland : among them (we suppose it was the ghost of) C Allt.t.t; A miser appeared, seated as he sat fifty years ago, behind Iris Violoncello ! The principal singers were STOCK 11.tritEN, CAltApola, Miss Woouvarr, and Miss Novi:so) ; Messrs. BII■111.131, HAWKINS, lloneeasro:, Porr.r.tes, and E. T.syLon. The oratorio went with tlw exactness of a machine ; arid the best quality of every voice and instru- ment was brought out in this noble room—certainly the best in London for such a purpose. We regret the failure of the undertaking, as we feel confident that, if sonic less haekilitt oratorio bad been performed, the result would have been very different. We looked in vain for any of the musical amateurs of the Metropolis; hundreds of whom might have been attracted to the Hall had the proper means been used.
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