RETROSPECT OF THE MUSICAL SEASON.

WITH the commencement of August, the public exhibitions of musi- cians, like those of the leading statesmen, terminate. Such of the former as know it are heard humming SPOFFORTH'S pretty glee, and filling up the hiatus Kith Brighton, Paris, Margate, or Dover, as the case may be : Let us leave the smoky town—

What is left 'a not worth your stay : Haste to —, haste away !"

The latter adopt the sentiment, if not the words and the tune. It is a fit time, then, to glance, according to our wont, at the musical events and symptoms of the past season.

The season, that is the period of musical toil, begins with the opening

of the Great Theatres, in the month of October. These close in June; but the Italian Opera, and a few straggling benefit concerts, prolong it to the end of July. We must begin, therefore, with Drury Lane and Covent Garden. The efforts of the rival managers of these houses were, during the late season, musically directed. Two years since, the opera had been rejected—it was now courted, by both. It was assumed that the favour of the town was thus to be propitiated, and the manager of each theatre shaped his course accordingly. Covent Garden, strong, as it was supposed, in the possession of Miss KEMBLE, Miss RAINPORTH, and afterwards Mrs. SHAW, brought out or revived a succession of translated Italian operas. Our opinion of these productions it is not necessary to repeat—it is now more to the purpose to record their effect

on the destiny of the theatre. They ended the career of one manager by Christmas, and brought that of his successor to a premature and un- satisfactory close. It is evident that London is not the market for this counterfeit commodity : the genuine article is on the spot, and the spu-

rious one finds no sufficient or profitable demand. The aid of music was also invoked by the Drury Lane manager, but in another direction, and with a more satisfactory result. The success of Acis and Galatea prompted a revival of another classical lyric drama, and King Arthur was produced. No " stars " appeared to give it the transient lustre of

their light ; it was played by the permanent operatic corps of the theatre, and played more than thirty successive times. It had to en- counter the disadvantage of being cut down to and performed as an after- piece, for which it is in no respect calculated; but it formed one of the chief attractions of a season of which the receipts were stated by the

manager to have been, on the whole, satisfactory. MACREADY, as well as CHARLES KEMBLE and Burtiq, tried the Anglo-Italian opera. Sappho was produced; and, with the anticipated attraction of Miss Novraxo and Mrs. SHAW, a very profitable result was predicted. It turned out, however, that the receipts of the house fell below the expenses every night but the first ; and after seven nights Sappho was heard no more.

From these facts it seems clear, that if the lyric drama is to occupy any prosperous station at the great English theatres, it must take a national form. This would appear to be the antecedent probability, and the history of the English stage confirms it. The endeavour to natu- ralize foreign operas is no new experiment : it is as old as the time of

CLAYTON, who, under pretence of "reviving an art which was running to ruin by the utmost barbarism," brought out what he called " the

elegant entertainment of Italian music grafted upon English poetry,"

[Spectator, Dec. 26, 1711] ; the " barbarisms " being PURCELL'S operas, and the elegant entertainment" Arsinoe, that hitherto unequalled

display of insipidity and dulness. Ever and anon the same effort has been made ; a fact for which we are compelled to search the dramatic chronicles of the times, for no other record of the existence of

such pieces remains. The race of CLAYTONS is not extinct, nor, we

suppose, ever will be, as long as ignorance and conceit aspire to the guidance of public taste : but upon managers the teachings of ex- perience should not be lost ; and they point to this conclusion, that while a series of attempts to anglicize the Italian opera, or even to be guided by its rules in the construction of English operas, have been a series of failures, there is not an instance upon record of a similar fate having attended a good English opera. In some cases, want of success has been, deservedly, caused by the mediocrity or positive worthlessness of the drama—in others, by the poverty of the music—not unfrequently by both : but where a drama worthy of being represented on the stage independently of its music has been placed in competent hands, the result has been uniformly such as we have stated. Let this union be

again accomplished—let the poet and the musician meet on equal terms, and with a mutual recognition of each other's claims and wants—and we

believe the same end would be achieved. If there is no want of musical talent among us, there is at least a want of discernment as to its fit employment. Nothing is more common than to hear our young com- posers justify the adoption of some wretched farce or melodrama on the plea of their inability to procure any thing better. They look at their music with parental, perhaps just partiality, and think it ought to succeed. The public will not so judge : they will not separate the music from the drama—they will judge of it as a whole ; and as an en- tire work it ought to be estimated. We wish our young composers to give themselves and their art fair play, because we wish them success.

With the production of new operas it would be well to attempt a judi- cious revival of old ones. This was the successful policy of GARRICK

with regard to tragedy and comedy ; and we have little doubt of its being successfully pursued, at the present day, in reference to opera. The means which he resorted to must now be adopted, and additions and alterations suited to the present state of our orchestras be made.

Nor need these impair the unity of style and design which every opera ought to possess. If it be alleged that these compositions are out of

date, we reply, that no work of genius becomes worthless by age ; old it may be, but not feeble or decrepid. But if it is meant that the relish for true melody is gone, we join issue upon the assertion and appeal to fact. The most successful pieces of the last two years have been the

production of HANDEL, PURCELL, and ARNE. The most successful entertainment of the season (WirtsoN's) has been one of which a suc-

cession of old songs formed the very staple; and, during the same time, the most popular songs of the best English singers have been the production of some of our old dramatic composers. Our conviction is that a national lyric drama is still, as it always has been, a public desideratum; but that it requires skill, judgment, and energy, to satisfy this want ; that it is not to be accomplished by mangling and murdering Italian operas—by " stars " at enormous salaries—by temporary excitement, or that sort of stimulus which is sure to be followed by lassitude—but, in short, by a series of efforts well considered, skilfully planned, and zealously carried out. If it be part of the new managers' policy to attempt the performance of operas, the requisite voices must be engaged, not by a random choice, but by such a selection as shall allot to every one a certain and definite position, and leave no room for squabbles about precedence. There should be

enough, and not too many. " A place for every thing, and every thing in its place," was one of JOSEPH LANCASTER'S school-aphorisms, and it may be advantageously applied by managers.

A word of advice to our young composers will conclude what we have to say in relation to this subject. They look with a jealous eye upon

all revivals ; regarding PURCELL, ARNE, SHIELD, and .STORAGE, as in-

discreetly thrust upon the ground which it is, as they think, their pecu- liar province to occupy. They are altogether mistaken. The rivalry is not between them and their predecessors, but between the Italian and the English school of dramatic composition. As auxiliaries their assist- ance may be welcomed, but not as principals. Let the public sympathy be inlisted in behalf of the national lyric drama, and the business is done. But in order to secure this, its best efforts, its proved and acknowledged powers, must be displayed. About all the petty struggles for precedence, and all the agitations of the musical world, the public cares nothing, and managers care as little. Their business is to follow the public taste to a certain extent, and to a certain extent to guide it. Let all parties interested in the support of the national lyric drama study in that cheap school of experience which others have paid for, and our conviction is that they will not fail of success. Our retrospect of the Italian Opera season has been already given, in the Spectator of the 22d July.

The Ancient Concerts, from their very constitution, admit of little progress : they are rather to be estimated and valued as they perpetuate the style and knowledge of the old masters. They are preserves, not hotbeds. As every Director is here the framer of his own concert- scheme, the preferences of each are apparent, as well as the range Of their musical knowledge. The latter, in most cases, is derived from former concert-books, as the only attainable or available source of infor- mation. Prince ALBERT is the only Director who habitually resorts to his own resources for materials ; and the result is that his concert is the most interesting one of the season.

With the termination of the season of the Philharmonic Concerts we gladly record an improvement upon the management of some preceding years. May we hail this as an omen of good—a progress towards returning prosperity—" a foretaste of better things to come "? We earnestly hope so. The extinction of the Philharmonic Society would be a " heavy blow and great discouragement " to music in England. There is no other musical machine of any power in the direction of competent hands. Take this away, and nothing remains. At all times, but especially at such a time, it behoves the members of the Society to examine soberly and seriously, but with a close and rigid scrutiny, the causes of its decline—to probe the wound and to apply the remedy. There is no good reason why these concerts should not regain their former prosperity and renown. They have no rival or competitor, but possess the absolute control and monopoly of the market. Their band is equal to the performance of any composition: they are unfettered by laws which impede the progress and circumscribe the range of other musi- cal societies ; and if any such were in existence, the power of reform resides with themselves. Neither have they to seek prosperity by lowering the standard of taste—by a conformity to the silly and shift- ing caprices of fashion. On the contrary, their very existence is staked upon and bound up with all that is most elevated, most classical, most excellent in the art. A " Strauss concert" would empty their room— and they know it.

Never was a society formed in a better spirit and with a more com- mendable aim than the Philharmonic. It began where it ought ; it was governed as it ought. There was no hunting after titled patrons or subscribers—no weak subserviency to mere rank. The most eminent members of the profession took the whole affair into their own hands, and entered upon their duties strong, and justly strong, in their own strength. They merged all claims of rank or precedence in one great object—the love of their art. Men of the highest musical rank were content to occupy subordinate stations in the orchestra. Every man put his shoulder to the wheel; and this very fact impressed the publio with a conviction that they were in earnest ; and those who had not the power to criticise what they heard, were yet struck with what they saw, and rightly concluded that such men could have only one motive for so employing themselves. This spirit has cooled ; the thing has been looked at as a mere affair of business, or a mode of obtaining celebrity, influence, or patronage : a corresponding coolness has crept over the public ; subscribers drop off, and want of earnestness and energy is felt throughout. Then, the curse of all musical (and we suppose other) societies has lighted upon it: members are let in or kept out by in- trigue or favouritism. At first, these comprised the most eminent men in every branch of the art—such as JOHN CRAMER and CLEMENT', CROTCH and HORSLEY, BISHOP and ATT WOOD, FRANIOIS CRAMER and SPAGNIOLETTI: BRAHAX, we believe, was the only representative of the vocal tribe, but he was a host. Now it would not be too much to say, that a larger number of musicians of station and ability are ex- cluded from membership than are admitted. The surest passport to ad- mission now is mediocrity. Acknowledged talent and unquestioned reputation are sure to excite jealousy, and consequent opposition ; and as this is well known, few persons who possess these qualities care to offer themselves as candidates. Some who had formerly been admitted have declined to take any active part in the concerns of the society, and others have left it altogether. There is no need to mention the names of the rejected and the retired—they are too well known. No society can flourish, or ought to flourish, under such influences. It may exist ; it may vegetate ; but the elements of vigour and of growth have left it. The Philharmonic Society does not keep pace with the progress of the art, and with the just expectations of those who support it. It is, to all outward appearance, just what it was twenty years ago. Its concert-schemes have not only the same form—they are not only cast in the same mould, but they are the same in substance. The Society lives upon its musical as well as its monied capital, and therefore is not in a thriving healthy state. It should at least "assume the virtue" of industry A priori we should expect, that an association of musicians, having at their command the powers of a numerous and well-appointed orchestra, with the means of commanding the best vocal talent—free to choose from the ample store of classical music of all ages and countries—would give to their concerts an exhaustless diversity of colour and attraction, instead of the uniformity which is their distin- guishing feature. Some attempts of this kind we gladly noticed in the course of the season ; but they seemed rather accidental than systematic. It is something, however, to have diverged, even for once, from the prescribed path. The precedent of innovation has been created—and the Society still exists ! We believe that the experiment has operated beneficially upon the pecuniary interests of the Society ; for if the public is not always alert in its response to zealous and well-directed labour, it will assuredly answer sloth by merited neglect.

As the Benefit Concerts of the season exert little if any influence on the art, they demand little notice : but a glance at the past season would be incomplete without a recurrence to the appearance in our hemisphere of three such players as SPOHR, &volt; and EaNsT—each gifted with powers of no ordinary kind ; the chief attribute of the first being the most refined expression, of the second the most ardent enthu- siasm, and of the third the most masculine vigour. SPOHR'S visit will be remembered with delight by all who came within the sphere of his influence—who heard his exquisite performance—who listened to the varied and magnificent creations of his genius—or who mingled in his society, enjoyed his conversation, and witnessed the unaffected sim- plicity and sincerity of his manners.