The Sacred Harmonic Society have revived Mendelssohn's St. Paul, after
having for a long time laid it aside. Their neglect of this Oratorio, in comparison with its successor, Elijah, has not been altogether without reason; for it has been founded on the different reception which the two works have had from the English public. Since St. Paul was first pro- duced at Birmingham in 1837, its performances, confined almost entirely to London, have been few and far between ; while Elijah, which first became known to us in 1846, has been given, times innumerable, wherever there were the means to give it, and has become a household word among us, second only to The Messiah. Thus St. Paul has been unduly undervalued; for there is no doubt that it possesses beauties of the very highest order, and that several of its choruses and airs rise, in grandeur and pathos, even above anything in Elijah. But St. Paul is faulty as a whole. Mendelssolm, in imitation of Bach in the Passions- Munk, made his poem a narrative of the life of the Apostle, related in recitative, and intermixed with airs and choruses descriptive of the prin- cipal scenes and incidents. This led to the introduction of a long series of recitatives which, unless they are delivered with a force and beauty of elocution of which few English singers are capable, become necessarily dry and tedious. We know that Mendelssohn himself felt this, and carefully guarded against it in the construction of Elijah. St. Paul has probably never been better performed than at Exeter Hall on Friday last week. The part of the narrator was assigned to Mr. Sims Reeves, who delivered the recitatives, with much better declama- tory effect than is usual among English singers. Belletti, too, trained in the Italian dramatic school, is a great master of this branch of his art ; and he has acquired a surprising command of the English accent and pronunciation. Madame ,Rudersdorff acquitted herself like a thorough artist, and Miss Dolby's lovely contralto tones had their usual charm. It was evident that the choruses had been carefully rehearsed, for they were sung with great correctness, and often with immense power. But no amount of training, we conceive, can ever subdue such an army of
voices to the smoothness and delicacy which a perfect performance de- mands.
The Creation was performed, under the direction of Mr. Hullah, at St. Martin's Hall on Wednesday evening. The assemblage was immense, multitudes being turned from the doors, unable to obtain admission. The performance was probably one of the best, and certainly one of the most successful, that Mr. Hullah has ever given; and so charmed were the audience with the ever fresh and delicious music of Haydn, that throw- ing off the customary restraint on such occasions, they applauded with the utmost vehemence, and actually encored Mr. Reeves in his principal air. And why, after all, should they not? The soprano part was divided between Mille Banks and Miss Martin; the former a deservedly favourite singer at Mr. Hullah's Concerts, the latter a young debutante of extra- ordinary promise : and the bass was divided between Mr. Thomas and Mr. Santley—excellent artists, both of whom were first brought into notice by Mr. Hullah. The excellent performance of the choruses did great honour to that gentleman's singing school, in which all of them have been trained.
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