MUSIC.
NORWICH MUSICAL FESTIVAL.
THE Festival just terminated is not marked with those features of novelty which have distinguished several of its precursors, particularly those of 1839 and 1842. At the former of these, Spohr in person directed the performance of his Des Heilands letze Stunden; then performed, in an Eng- lish version and under its English title of Calvary, for the first time in this country. At the latter, The Fall of Babylon, the poem of which was writ- ten for the composer by Professor Taylor, was performed for the first time in any country. Such things cannot often occur. The appearances of great oratorios, like great tragedies, must necessarily be few and far between; in general, all that can be done is to make the best possible choice of preexisting works: and this, we think, has been accomplished with considerable success on the present occasion.
The magnitude of the choral and instrumental band, its materials, and the distribution of its several parts, are very nearly the same as before. There were about 400 performers-272 choral voices, (besides the princi- pals,) and 112 instruments. The instrumental orchestra was drawn chiefly from London; but the great body of choristers were of Norwich and its neighbourhood, and consisted chiefly of the members of the Norwich Choral Society. When we add, what was unquestionably the case, that the chorus-singing at Norwich was not merely excellent, but superior to any- thing we have heard elsewhere in this country, not excepting the Metro- polis, these things speak volumes for the state of the noblest branch of the art among the people of that district. The conductorship of this Festival, Professor Taylor having given up the active exercise of his profession, was intrusted to Mr. Benedict; who has approved himself fully competent to the arduous task. The organ, as heretofore, was committed to the able hands of Mr. Turle. The principal singers were, Madame Grisi, Madame Cara- dmi Allan, Miss Dolby, Miss Poole, Messrs Mario, F. Lablache, Staudigl, Hobbs, Hawkins, Machin, and Bradbury.
There were, as usual, three morning and three evening performances. On the first morning, the pieces were a Hymn or Sacred Cantata by Weber; a portion of Rossini's Stabat Mater; and Haydn's Seasons, given entire. Weber's Hymn is a noble production; but, from his adherence to the con- ventional forms of this species of composition, it is not very original: the concluding fugue, in particular, contains reminiscences both of Handel and Haydn. The movements from the Stabat Mater were finely sung, and very effective. The performance of The Seasons was admirable; and the delightful images which it raised of rural peace, innocence, and happiness, (images, alas! for which we must now travel to the regions of poetry and fiction,) made us oblivious for a time of the sadder realities of the work-a- day world. The solo parts were very nicely given; and the choruses— that, especially, which paints the festivities at the close of the vintage— were marvellous.
The second morning performance consisted of Purcell's Jubilate, the larger portion of Mozart's Requiem, and Spohr's oratorio of Calvary. The Jubilate was composed in 1692, for the celebration of St. Cecilia's Day. Written when Purcell was in the very prime of his short life, it exhibits his genius in its full strength and vigour. We are as much struck with the beautiful flow and expression of its melody as with the boldness and sublimity of its harmonies, which the lapse of a century and a half has not rendered in the least familiar or commonplace. Its instrumental score, from the state of the art in Purcell's time, is exceedingly simple--call it meagre, if you will; it contains little more than the quartet of stringed in- struments: but it has not a note without a meaning, and, as was said of Gluck's accompaniments, " every note draws blood." The solo parts were well sung by Miss Dolby, Mr. Hawkins, and Mr. Hobbs; and the effect of the grand choral " Amen " fugue was stupendous. The selection from the Requiem comprised the gems of that work, and employed to the utmost Advantage the powers of the Italian singers; by whom the Quartets, the " Recordare," and the " Benedictus," were exquisitely sung. Of Spohr's Calvary, as performed under his own direction, we gave an ample account at the time. It again attracted an immense audience; on whose feelings it evidently acted as powerfully as before. Many of the performers had been formerly instructed by the author himself; and the effect of his instructions was still perceptible. This was especially the case with Mr. Hobbs; who, in the part of John, exhibited force, energy, and dramatic power, not ordinarily to be found in the efforts of a singer who is chiefly remarkable for purity, sweetness, and delicacy. Madame Caradori did not fully supply the place of Madame Stockhausen: she was not so finished either in style or exe- cution, and her voice is becoming uncertain in its intonation. Staudigl, on the other hand, was an immense accession of strength. Even in the smallest piece of recitative, the beauty and truth of his musical declamation were remarkable. His " Tears of sorrow " were literally accompanied by the tears of many of the audience. The choruses, notwithstanding their ex- cessive difficulty, were sung with the utmost apparent ease, and with a beautiful body of tone, free from the uncouth noises which so generally de- form English chorus-singing. The subjects of fugue and other points of the harmony were attacked with a promptness and precision which showed that all the singers knew well what they were about. The women
especially excelled: if there was a fault, it lay in the basses, who had hardly strength enough to contend with so magnificent a volume of treble. The instrumental band frequently played too violently—so as absolutely to drown the voices of the singers.
The last morning's performance—yesterday—consisted of The Messiah; a work respecting which the language of description, praise, or criticism, would be equally superfluous.
The evening concerts at Norwich have always been of an order superior to those of any other festival; and on this occasion they have not lost their classical character. The three concerts embraced .Handel's Alex- ander's Feast, Mendelssohn's music in the Midsummer Night's Dream, an ample selection from Don Giovanni, two Symphonies of Beethoven, and one of Mozart. Among the detached vocal pieces, many were of the highest order: such were Beethoven's "Adelaide "—sung by Mario; Schubert's " Wanderer "—Staudigl's masterpiece of German ballad-singing; and others of similar merit. They were mingled, however, with much trash in the shape of popular and fashionable songs. Even in trying to improve the taste, some conciliation is necessary: people must be led to good taste, not driven. If you give a mixed, especially a provincial audience, a severely classical concert, the only effect will be that they will not come to a second. But this will not justify the admission of many vulgarities which found their way into the programmes, merely to gratify the laziness or bad taste of the performers.
The performances have been attended by very numerous audiences; and the pecuniary result of the Festival will be satisfactory to those who, re versing our order of appreciation, place the contribution to the charities of Norwich, which each triennial Festival provides, above the advancement of music.
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