8 FEBRUARY 1851, Page 12

The report of the affairs and proceedings of the Sacred

Harmonic Society for the Past year, laid before the late annual meeting, has been pub: lished, and we extract from it a few particulars of the most general inr terest The Society had seventeen performances during the year : The Messiah, four times ; Elijah, four times ; St. Paul, thrice ; Israel in Egypt, twice; The Creation, twice ; Saul, once ; and The Last Judgment, along with Haydn's Third Mass, and Mendelssohn's _Lauda Sion once. This enumeration shows the remarkable progress of Mendelssohn's works in Eng. lish estimation. Elijah, especially, has made a deeper impression in this country than any oratorio since The Messiah ; and, wherever it is per-/ formed, it is now as sure to attract an overflowing audience as The lfessera itself. Does not this arise, partly at least, from the fact that EliYah is a purely original work ?—tho first oratorio, since The Messiah, in whiel, the composer has cast away the scholastic forms and conventional raels which in some degree fettered the genius of Haydn, of Spobr, an till Elijah, of Mendelssohn also ? One of the performances of St. Paif in June last, was in aid of the building and endowment fund of Kinti College Hospital, and realized nearly 9001. The Society's finances are in a flourishing condition. Its income lit year, derived from subscriptions, proceeds of concerts, and dividendsn stock, was 4928/. 10s. 9d. ; its expenditure, 47251. 4s. 9d. ; leaving a irplus of 2031. 68. But, as part of the expenditure has been applied inncreasing the library, and making other purchases of property, to thextent of 2461. 19s. 3d., the profit realized during the year really ampte to 4501. 58. 3d. : an amount which greatly exceeds that of any prePuS year since the Society has been in existence. The institution isiow possessed of property, including money in the Funds, library, musi instruments, &c. to the extent of 2250/. The great benefit of this Society to the musical profession may testimated from the fact that, during the last year, the payments to V mu= sicians employed in the concerts amounted to no less than 28901 The good which it has done' in the eighteen years of its existence, x promoting the progress of the musical art, is not to be measured by *my.