MUSICAL FESTIVALS.
The Hereford Musical Festival—or the annual meeting of the Three Choirs of Worcester, Hereford, and Gloucester—has been held this week. These meetings are of venerable antiquity, the present being the 132d anniversary. They are for the benefit of the widows and orphans of the clergy of the three dioceses, and have this peculiarity that something must always be realized for the fund. The sale of tickets seldom meets the expenditure; but there are also contributions received at the doors after the morning performances, which are applied without deduction to the purposes of the charity ; any deficiency from the sale of tickets being made up from the pockets of the stewards. The performances are on a small scale compared to those of Birmingham and Norwich, and no activity is ever shown in the production of novelty. On this occasion the sacred performances have been—on Wednesday, Mendelssohn's " Elijah" ; on Thursday, his "Hymn of Praise," Spobr's "Christian's Prayer," and Mozart's Twelfth Mass, or Ser- vice as it is called ; on Friday, "The Messiah." The evening concerts have been of the usual commonplace kind. Grin, Clara Novell°, Miss Dolby, Mrs. Weiss, Mario, Sims Reeves, and Weiss, have been the principal singers. As the performances have been well attewled, it is expected that the charity will derive considerable benefit. That the clergy of this district stand much in need of aid, may be learned from the fact, that within the three dioceses of Worcester, Hereford, and Gloucester, there are 147 livings with incomes of less than 100/. a year ! The Birmingham Festival takes place next week. We have already noticed its general arrangements, and we may now add that the demand for tickets is already such that a success as great as that of 1852—when a clear profit of between four and five thousand pounds was realized for the Birmingham Hospital—may be anticipated. The novel feature of this festival is Costa's new oratorio, Ell, which is to be produced on Wednes- day morning.
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