16 MARCH 1861, Page 17

The Vocal Association—well known as a valuable institution for the

cultivation of choral and part singing, carried on under the able direction of Mr. Benedict—had its first subscription concert of this season at St. James's Hall, on Tuesday evening. There was a choir of two hundred ladies and gentlemen—all amateurs, we believe— whose voices, accuracy, and style would have done honour to regu- larly trained professional singers. Miss Banks and Madame Laura Baxter sang several airs and duets very elegantly; and Miss Arabella Goddard showed her marvellous powers as a pianist, and her fami- liarity with various styles of music, by playing, with equal facility and perfection, a profound fugue of Old Bach, and a brilliant fan- tasia of Benedict.