MUSICAL PROSPECTS.
THE musical season is approaching, and the Winter Theatres having opened, it may be said to be begun. A rapid circumspective glance at the state and prospects of the art in London may not be amiss, now that we have time and breath to make it.
The operatic achievements of the Great Theatres we have noticed in their proper time and place ; and, to judge front the past, the musical prospects of English dramatic music are but dreary.
The Ancient Concerts are in a state of dislocation. KNITVETT re- signed his office of Conductor at the close of the season. Our opinion of his unfitness for this situation was given at the time of his appoint- ment, and the reasons we then stated have proved to be valid ones. KNYverr has some knowledge of ancient music, or to speak more cor- rectly, of that portion of ancient music which forms the yearly mate- rial of the Ancient Concerts ; but he has all his life been accustomed to obey—never to.command. Trained to subservience to title and rank, his will and his opinion is always that of the Lord in whose presence be stands. Old connexion with the Concerts, the personal regard of some of the noble Directors, and the absence of any competitor of equal
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pretension 4 with himself, (for &MAT Was, his only rival,) ;placed him in his late situation. Of the Ancient Concerts Lord BURGEIERSU is one of the Directors ; whose sole object is musical power, and his undivided aim—pursued by every device, scheme, and intrigue, in order to the possession of power—musical patronage : KNYVETT was soon found to be, though a subservient dependent, yet useless as a tool. He could
obey, he could do as he was bid, but he could do no more. He had influence, nfluence, and therefore he was to be got rid of. This was accom-
plished by apublic and brutal attack upon him : how brutal, may he easily conceiVed since it left KNYVETT no alternative but to sesials Thus far the facts are notorious ; we conjecture what followed an the result. Lord Bunonsanur, having carried his first point, no doubt proceeded to the next move in his game, the appointment of a useful fetch-and-carry tool, as well as a pliant slave. Here he was foiled, and here we think the Duke of WELLINGTON'S hand is visible. We can imagine the old soldier saying—" You have chosen to quarrel with our Conductor, and you have chosen also constantly to interfere with the arrangements of every concert. This must be put a stop to. Let every Director appoint his own Conductor, who shall be responsible to hint and hint alone : you may then quarrel with your own man, but War you against any interference with mine." Whether our conjecture be right or wrong, the result is as we have stated ; and every Director will for the future, have the nomination of his own Conductor. how thae scheme will work, remains to be seen.
The Philharmonic Directors are appointed ; and, as usual, have done nothing in the way of preparation. They lift up their eyes, and open their mouths, hoping that Providence will help them—that something lucky may turn up : but they do nothing. With "folded arms und fixed eyes," they sit during the whole of this leisure time ; and when February comes and the concerts begin,
" They bustle up with unexpected speed," and scramble together the materials fiir their concerts. Luckily for them, Spotlit has written two Sinfonias, one of which is in the engra- ver's hands : but this fact only popped out by accident at the Norwich Festival. With relation to the uniformly weak points of the Philhar-
monic Concerts, the Directors, as usual, have done te Some years since, several of the Associates offered their services to meet at this leisure time of year whenever summoned by the Directors, in order to try over any concerted vocal music, with a view to enable the latter to decide on the expediency of its performance. The offer was refused, and of course has not been repeated. After the singing we heard at the Norwich Festival, we must not be told of the want of English vocal talent. We heard SPOIIR'S emphatic decslaration—not a public complimentary address, but a private and individual communi- cation—that "lie had never heard the principal voice parts of his ora. torio so admirably sung before." Now be it remembered, that of the seven principal singers six were English. The reason of this testi- mony will be found not simply in the individual merits of the artists, but in the apportionment of each part to the respective powers and style of each, and the due and diligent preparation bestowed on their work ; two points which the Directors of the Philharmonic Concerts systematically disregard. They give Rossisa to buns and PRILL/PS, Scotia to Signora BALFE, MOZART to Madame DORUS GRAS, and then affect to wonder at the result.
On the other department of the art, little can be said either in the way of record or anticipation. Our church musk remains much in its
usual forlorn and miserable state. The busy Bishop of Loudon tells us that " money:must be had for church-building, at all hazards and by all means." The beggared and scanty choirs of our cathedrals are past further plunder, or plundered they would doubtless be, since "souls nsust be saved." SYDNEY SMITH and his stalled and chaptered brethren may shriek and wince ; but the choirs have nothing to lose—they may safely defy both Bishops and acts of Parliament. The stir in the Chapel Royal—the conference—the pretended reform—ended precisely as we predicted : the Queen (whenever she goes) is insulted by a perform- ance of the service usually as bad as it can be from first to last : trashy music, wretched playing, and often worse singing. Month after mon!it we look for the Composer's "new service or anthem," but we look in vain. The Court circular faithfully chronicles the advent of the different organists, andSthe music performed. "On the Composer's first Sunday in waiting, he is to produce a new anthem or a new service:" and 60 did BLOW, CROFT, TRAVERS, GREENE, BOYCE, DUPUIS, ATT. WOOD; but so does not Sir GEORGE SMART. Into a nice snug sinecure has he been allowed to convert the appointment hitherto filled by a suc- cession of eminent musicians. The real Composer to the Queen is Ms ELVEY of Windsor, an excellent organist and a very clever writer. As SAVAGE was " Volunteer Laureat,' ELVEY is "Volunteer Composer:" for which he receives the honour of being chronicled in the Court eir. cular, while the Irish Knight pockets the salary.
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