MADAME DULCKEN AND MR. BENEDICT'S CONCERTS.
WE regret to have to record the failure of any well-intentioned effort for the advancement of good music, even when it is not judiciously carried out. Mr. BENEDICT is one of our most accomplished resident musicians—in the very first rank as a player—well read in his art, and ardent in the love of it. His design, in conjunction with Madame DULCKEN, was to give a series of concerts which should, in some degree, fill up the gap made by the extinction of the Vocal Concerts, and into which the best compositions, and the best only, of different schools, should find admission. This was the design ; and the first of two expe- rimental concerts was given at the Hanover Square Rooms on Wed- nesday night. We anticipated its character when we saw the names of most of the singers, and it fate when we saw the scheme. Mr. BEEN- Dicr had encumbered himself with a number of incompetents, whose services, though unpaid, were yet most dearly purchased. Madame SANTA, Mr. and Mrs. F. LABLACHE, Mr. BRIZZI, and Mr. BENNETT, are not precisely the singers to carry through a classical concert. Where their names begin the line in a bill, DeixtzETTI, CopEor.s, MER- CADANTE, are pretty sure to end it. It is here " like unto like" as all the world over ; and trashy music sung by inferior singers is a com- pound which only the most vulgar appetites can swallow. Hours of precious time were consumed on %Vednesday night in listening to "songs a-piece" from these ladies and gentlemen. Half the scheme was made up of such materials, which was thus spun out to such au intokrable length that the concert scarcely finished by twelve o'clock. The scheme exhibited the most ludicrous piece of patchwork that we remember to have seen ; and (without knowing the fact) we will venture to assert that it bore no resemblance to Mr. BENE- DICT'S original draft. Cool and bad alternated like the squares upon a chess-board : thus—BEF.THOVEN, Donizetti—WILBIE, Facial- SPORR, Labarre—MOZART, eadante—J. S. BACH, Copeola. We were going to say it is obvious that such an admixture as this could be acceptable to no audience ; but perhaps Mr. BENEDICT fell into the error of supposing that the public favour was to be conciliated by such an offering to its vulgarest taste. This is altogether a mistake. There is no musical public in London, one and indivisible. In no place in the world is it broken up into such a number of sects—bigoted, ignorant, and exclusive. The tolerance which seeks and finds musical enjoyment from excellence of every age and school is rare indeed. A certain style of music and certain composers are recognized as worthy of all accepta- tion ; to them is sole and undivided allegiance given : all others are ab- jured as " damnable and heretical." Hence, 4 ou see one audience at the Philharmonic, another at the Ancient Concerts, a third at Exeter Hall, a fourth at the Opera-house, a fifth at the Glee Club, a sixth at Quartet Concerts. Every sect has its votaries ; and the appeal may be made, with a certain assurance of support, to any—but not to all. The language of the old prophet may be addressed to every speculator in London concerts—" Choose ye, this day, whom ye will serve." The attempt to conciliate musical parties in London, is, at present, as hopeless as it is to reconcile religious sects. Increased knowledge may, in time, assimilate all, but for increased knowledge we must wait. The enjoyable parts of Monday night's concert were chiefly those in which Madame DULCKEN and Mr. BENEDICT took part. The former played a delightful (and to us new) concerto of WEBER; the latter, BEETHOVEN'S Choral Fantasia. The finale to the second act of /do- meneo was a rich treat ; and Mr. H. WOLF played a part of one of DE BERIOT'S Concertos with admirable skill. The vocal music, when good, was for the most committed to incompetent performers, and CARADORI found no author more worthy her talents than DoErzEprt. The other pieces, worthless in themselves, were also indifferently sung.
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