FIFTH CONCERT OF THE PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY.
ACT I.
Sinfonia letter R.. . Haydn. Recit. and Air, " Now heaven in fullest,"Signor Zuchelli (Creation) Haydn.
Concerto Pianoforte, Mr. Schlesinger ..... ..... Hummel. Duetto, Madame Camporese and Signor Curioni, " Ricciardi) ! the
veggo ?" . (Ricciardo e Zoraida) ...... •....... ..... . Mozart.
Overture, Zauberfkite
ACT II.
Sinfonia in Beethoven.
Aria, Madame Camporese. " Bel raggio" (Semiromide) Rossini. Concerndalledye, Violin and Violoncello obligato, Messrs. Weichsel and L
Lindley. Terzetto, " Cruda sorte !" Madame Camporese, Signor Curioni, and
Signor Zuchelli...... (Ricciardo e Zoraida)
Overture, Fiddle Beethoven. Leader, Mr. Loder—Conductor, Dr. Crotch.
THE instrumental bilb of fare on Monday evening was admirable. HAYDN, MOZART, BEETHOVEN—at present we can go no further— there is nothing in the way of instrumental composition which can equal the writings of these men. They stand upon an eminence to which none else have hitherto climbed. It is good policy as well as good taste to let us have this variety of excellence every night. HAYDN'S Sinfonias, especially; are an inexhaustible mine of wealth : they are " ever new and ever young." The letter R Sinfonia was de- lightfully played. The spirit, the style, the character of SALOMON'S leading, were to be found in JOHN LODER. While we were joining in the well-merited encore of the last movement, we could not help lOok- ing back with some degree of triumph on the progress which instru- mental music had made since those days of dulness when not even the first. allegro of this Sinfonia would have been listened to with patience. —HummEL's Pianoforte Concerto (almost Concertante) was very well played by ScuLEsIxoER. It is a composition worthy the school of MOZART. The Overture to the Zauberfliite was encored, and no wonder. In the course of the evening the oboes were at fault, and some displeasure was expressed by the audience. In truth, this irorument has been in abeyance since GRIESBACH'S death. LING, though a good second oboe, is not equal to the first : as a player he must rank several degrees below his brother reeds, WIL- LMAN and MACKINTOSH.
We regret to say, that with the instrumental music our commen- dation of this concert must end. With the vocal we have a good deg of fault to find. The selection was slovenly. " Ricciardo, che
" Bel raggio," and " Cruda sorte," cannot have been heard, in those rooms only, much less than fifty times last season. It would be wise, it would be decorous, to give both them and their hearers a little re- spite. The Directors of the Philharmonic know how to appreciate the instrumental music of HAYDN and MOZART; why is their vocal music neglected or forgotten ? It would be creditable to their taste to revive the beautiful canzonets of the former; some of which, for true pathos and felicitous expression, have never been excelled. And as, either from want of taste, want of band, or want of singers, MOZART'S Operas are banished the King's Theatre, they might be allowed, in part, to . take refuge at the Philharmonic. But the selection was injudicious in another respect. When we have an end to attain, we usually employ the best means in our power : because ZUCHELLI happened to be born in England, and to recollect just enough of the language to enable him to converse in English, the Directors give him a song with English words to sing—contrary to his opinion, contrary to his wish. Delightful singer as he is, from not adapting the means to the end—in other words, from giving him that to attempt which he could not perform—the result was failure ; not comparative, but positive, absolute failure. It was hardly more than an outline of the song. It is really surprising how managers of con- certs contrive to render useless good materials, by an injudicious em- ployment of them. Last week, in the very same room, PHILLIPS was singing a buffo Italian duet, and now ZUCHELLI an English song. To be sure; we can stir the fire with an umbrella, or fry soles in a warm- ing-pan; but we usually prefer a poker and a frying-pan. And for the same reason, we venture to think that a purely English singer had better sino. English music, and an Italian confine himself to Italian. e, Another equally absurd arrangement was the allotting to ZUCHELLI the second soprano in " Cruda. sorte." Was this hacknied terzetto such a desideratum, that it must be performed at any rate ? Was there none to be found for soprano, tenor, and bass ? Really, such an exhi- bition is disgraceful to the managers ; and nothing but respect for the talents of the singers saved it from the marked disapprobation of the audience ;—it was not hissed. The duet " Ricciardo " was not well sung: CURIONI was under the pitch of the band throughout.
Instrumental music is the great feature of the Philharmonic Concerts; we wish it to remain so, but the other branch of the art ought to have its due attention : if vocal music be allowed to form any part of the scheme, it ought to be well selected and well performed. To ac- complish this, with the materials which are within the reach of the Society, is no difficult task.
Previous page
