31inotr.
Mr. Hullah continues to give his concerts at St. Martin's Hall with the success which is due to his most valuable exertions for the improve- ment of choral music in this country. The performance of Judas Mac- cabeus, on Wednesday, was worthy of his previous efforts. This oratorio, though, owing to the weakness of the poem, it is deficient in strong and sustained interest, contains some of the noblest specimens of Handel's genius, especially in the choruses. Nothing can be more pathetic than the opening strain, "Mourn, ye afflicted children," which expresses so beau- tifully, in its soft and subdued tones, the grief of a whole people ; nor can anything be more sublime than the choral song of the Jews, " Fallen is the foe," in which rejoicing for their victory is blended with deep so- lemnity and awe. In the airs, too, there are many beauties ; as in the soprano song, " From mighty kings he took the spoil," and the inspiring war-cry, " Sound an alarm" : but the intrinsic beauty of the melodies is in too many instances injured by the antiquated divisions and formal closes which in Handel's time had not gone out of fashion. We have never heard finer choral singing than on this occasion. The body of voices was strong enough to produce the grandest effects, while, when necessary, they were subdued and delicate ; and the closeness with which they went together rendered the harmonies uniformly clear and trans- parent. The harmonies, too, were vocal-not drowned and overwhelmed by a host of brazen instruments which suffer nothing to be beard but themselves. The solo parts were creditable, but not quite satisfactory. Mrs. Endersohn lacks energy ; Miss Dolby had very little to do; and the other two female singers were novices. Mr. Augustus Braham promises to be a great singer, but is not yet. He has a good deal of his father's voice, and not a little of his clear and forcible elocution : but he still lacks grace and polish-has not acquired enough of the Italian style. By dint of voice, however, and power of delivery, he made a great impression in " Sound an alarm" ; which was encored with acclamations from all parts of the hall.
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