THE MUSICAL FESTIVALS.
Three musical festivals have been held during three successive -weeks of the present month, at Worcester, Norwich, and Liverpool. The Nor- wich festival has been held triennially for these thirty years; the Wor- cester festival, though triennial in as far as that city is concerned, IS in fact annual, belonging to the series of meetings of the three Choirs of Worcester, Gloucester, and Hereford, regularly held during more than a century. The Liverpool festival was held on an extraordinary occasion, the opening of the newly-finished St. George's Hall; a magnificent building, of which the Liverpool people are naturally proud.
These music-meetings have furnished most of the morning papers of London with the usual number of columns full of lengthy details and elaborate criticisms. But both criticisms and details have in truth been a repetition of stale circumstances and stale remarks—the writers having had no materials for anything else. Though the festivals at Worcester Norwich, and Liverpool have been got up and conducted by different parties, they have been so entirely similar that the same description applies to them all. At all of them the same oratorios have been performed ; the Messiah, the Creation, lTsjah, and, except at Norwich, the Last Judgment,—an exception somewhat remarkable, as this work, its author's masterpiece, was written for and first produced at Norwich. The principal singers at all the three were Madame Clara Novelle, Madame Castellan, Miss Dolby, Sims Reeves, Weiss, Gardoni, and Belletti ; Madame Viardot, Lockey, and Formes, were at Worcester and Liverpool ; Madame Bosio, Lablache, and Reichardt, were only at Norwich; and Mrs. Lockey was only at Worcester. These differences gave no material diversity to the perform- ances at the various festivals; for in the oratorios the chief parts were sustained by the same singers, and the evening concerts were made up of the commonplaces of the London season.
In looking over all the programmes, we find only one novelty at all worthy of being noticed—a new composition of Meyerbeer, performed at Norwich. It is the Ninety-first Psalm ; a double chorus in eight vocal parts, without instrumental accompaniment. This work, which has lately been published M London, is certainly a remarkable composition, in a bold and original style' but so complicated, and so full of ultra-ker- manisms, that it will hardly be generally relished till saurkraut shall be- come a popular dish. in England Though the voices were assisted, con- trary to the expressed intention of the author, by an accompaniment on the organ, yet it was lamely executed; and proved quite ineffec- tive. Such was the only .piece which the able and active Mr. Benedict was able to produce in order to give a little freshness to his fes- tival: at the others, nothing of the kind was even attempted. Absence of novelty, indeed, has always characterized the meeting of the "Three Choirs" as long as we can remember ;. but as some attempt, at least, might have been expected from Sir Henry Bishop, who had the manage- ment at Liverpool, it is proper to mention that the festival there was got up almost extempore. The inauguration of St. George's Hall, at which the presence of the Queen had once been expected, was to have been similar to that of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham' and it was not till it was found that her Majesty was not to attend, that the idea of a regular musical festival was adopted. Sir Henry Bishop had only a month to provide all the performers and to make every arrangement; and the names of his principal singers, with the magnitude and quality of his chorus and instrumental orchestra, showed the zeal and energy with which be accomplished his tie& In regard to the pecuniary results of these festivals, it appears that the meeting of the Three Choirs has been as sucoessful as it has been for many years ; while at Norwich the surplus beyond the expenses, which nrsome former years has amounted to 20001., will, it is said, scarcely ex- ceed 1001. The surplus .at Liverpool is estimated at about 600/. The meeting of tIie Three Choirs has never been of much note as a musical festival; but being for the benefit pf the poorer clergy of an extensive district, it lass always been sterporte4, independently of the proceeds of tbe,performances, by large eontributions from the surrounding nobility and gentry. At tiverpool the .restilt must have depended on extraneous causes : so that Norwich may be taken as the only criterion of the pre- sent state and prospects of musical festivals. The want of success there has been ascribed to the inordinate sums paid to the principal singers: but this, though it may account for a poor surplus, cannot account for a poor attendance. Something is said, too, of the dread of cholera baring frightened people away. But we suspect that the true cause is to ho found in the decaying interest and attraction of provincial music-meetings. When the Norwich festival was in its glory, it was there that we enjoyed the first-fruits of the genius of Spohr ; it was there that we first heard /'he _Last Judgment, The Crumfirion, and The Fall Of Babylon : and it was at Birmingham that the great works of Mendelasohn, the St. Paul, the Lobgesang, and the Ekah, were first made known to us. All this is at an end ; and people will not- now flock in crowds to a provincial town to hear repetitions of works which have be- come familiar to everybody, and lingers -Who (thanks to railway travelling) are as well known in the provinces as in London. It is certainly true that the expenses of these festivals are enormous; but this is nothing To have the great foreign favourites on terms as high as now, has , ;the custom both at Birmingham and Norwich for many years,—a engem so established, that to attempt a festival without them would be to`coint a &Here. The evil lies in failing receipts, arising from failing 4jtetion.. 'Lew to eer.,ipi the attraction,is the question ; and this ques- an the preseit'illitt'eg nit4e1 Wetind it imposeible to answer.
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