MUSIC.
THE PURCELL COMMEMORATION.
Duailto a period of fluctuating opinion on Church Music, when a cer- tain enthusiastic party are making a strong and not wholly unsuccessful attempt to render the Gregorian tones, long the prevailing charac- teristic of the Romish service, a principal feature in that of the Reformed Church,—insisting on the great devotional influence of music while they at the same time reduce it almost wholly to chanting, and that of a monotonous and somewhat suspicious kind,—an act of homage to HENRY PURCELL, the great completer of the form and style of our English Ca- thedral Music, in the Abbey where he once presided and in which his dust now reposes, appears singularly well-timed. What our Protestant musical service requires for its improvement, and congregations for their edification and delight, is simply a more thorough cultivation of its admirable models, as they have descended to us in the works of this composer and his compeers, in BOYCE and other standard Cathedral books. And we are glad to know that this object is advancing ; that the Cathedral Choirs of London are attaining, though not all that might be wished, at least on Sundays, a higher state of efficiency ; that anthems, which before had been imper- fectly represented if not discontinued, are now well performed ; and that the chances of our entering that door which, as Bishop BLOMPIELD told us in his Charge, Dr. WISEMAN was opening to us, "graciously inviting us to enter," seem as remote as ever. The stated perform- ances of the Purcell Club will be good rallying-points and seasonable demonstrations in behalf of our excellent Cathedral style, the security of which long neglect had certainly endangered. But the benefit is not merely to be regarded in a sectarian point of view. It is matter of na- tional feeling and sentiment, that the great school of musical declama- tion and expression, unalterably associated with the glories of our old drama—the language of SHAKSPERE and JOHNSON—should be brought at certain periods before the public for the sake of public improvement ; and more than this—that the influence of PURCELL upon music, which has been decidedly European if fairly traced through the works of HANDEL, may at last be duly acknowledged.
The crowd which filled the Choir of Westminster Abbey on Thurs- day morning was of favourable augury even for the accomplishment of this object, remote as it may at present seem. Aisles, pews, and free seats, to the extreme verge of the communion-table, were crowded with listeners. In the choir, we saw organists, amateurs, volunteer cathedral- singers, &c. rendering hearty service to the good cause ; among the audience, artists, chorus-singers, music-teachers, and an immense body of amateur ladies, as devoutly attentive. The occasion was duly ho- noured on both sides—the musician-performers and the musician- listeners. Nor was the mere spectacle unimposing : the sun favoured the solemnity, and the exquisite gleams of light which fell through the windows of the Abbey attracted and charmed the eye.
It had been intended on this occasion to produce PURCELL'S extra- ordinary anthem, "Who hath believed our report "; but the indisposi- tion of Hoans rendered it necessary to substitute another. Had this work been given, it would have not only possessed the interest of its own intrinsic beauty and novelty, but that of exhibiting a great deal of the text of HANDEL'S Messiah, set in a totally new way. Our short- lived genius would thus have been brought into more immediate com- parison with "old HANDEL," and the conclusions which many of the more instructed have already made might have been extended. We heard, however, a fine chant in C minor for the Psalms ; the " Bene- dicite omnia opera," a composition seldom performed, and, though less rich in points and fugal writing than the " Te Deum " of the celebrated service in B flat, conspicuous for its varied effects and fine modulation ; the noble anthem, "0 God, thou hast cast us out " ; and at the close of the service, a second anthem, in D minor, "Hear me, 0 Lord, and that soon." In accompanying these works, Mr. TURLE displayed with great judgment and effect the most powerful varieties of his beautiful organ. This alone was a treat. Of the vocal performance it is but justice to say that it was highly creditable—the miscellaneous quality of the performers, the difficulty of the music, and the want of general practice and habit considered. The anthem best performed was the first ; the second would have been improved by a more thorough understanding on all hands. And after all, it is his pathetic verse-anthems which most tell in the cathedral ; for the amplitude of PURCELL'S choral genius seems rather to require a body of voices like the Exeter Hall Chorus to realize its weight and dignity. The largest choir, if it do not ab- solutely fail in this point of view, at least leaves much for the imagi- nation to fill up. The Purcell Club, instituted by Professor TAYLOR, has now obtained a "local habitation" at Gresham College, in which it bids fair to flourish. Appropriately to the patriotic design of the founder, the festival was concluded here, with a social meeting of the members,. together with a few friends of the Professor, assembled to enjoy a new phase of the composer's genius—his Dramatic Music, Odes Catches, Rounds, and Part Songs. This meeting, conducted some- what on the plan of the Madrigal Society's—save only that a grand pianoforte, at which MILLE presided, was in frequent requisition—gave unmixed pleasure ; and we must say that we have rarely spent such agreeably social, animated hours, as this opportunity afforded us in hearing and discussing the merits of PURCELL'S secular pen. Dido and 2Eneas, the first dramatic production of PuacELL—a boyish effort, in- tended to gratify the young gentlewomen at Mr. PRIEST'S boarding- school in Leicester Square—was performed throughout, probably, as Professor TAYLOR remarked, for the first time these hundred years ; and received with unmixed enthusiasm. Such an entire classical con- ception—such noble declamation—such truth, pathos, and fancy— the last especially exemplified in the incantation-music and witch- scenes—it were vain to seek elsewhere, many years subsequent to the death of the author. He seems to have anticipated in this work all the necessities of the dramatic art ; and we can hardly think otherwise of the poem than that TATE must have constructed it for music expressly under PURCELL'S direction. The most judiciously contrasted and varied scenes here subserve unity of interest in the drama, which progresses unceasingly to the lovely elegy on Dido. This is a work which would certainly succeed in public, if any manager would trust to it in its simplicity, restraining meretricious improvements, tableaux, and the like. A noble apostrophe to music, "Soul of the world," from an Ode on St. Cecilia's Day, which we among some others after- wards heard for the first time, was encored with an enthusiasm worthy of that noble effusion. It is a shame that such works should be buried in the dust of libraries. The age is ripe for PURCELL, and he must be more thoroughly brought out and understood. Catches, rounds, &e., of which Professor TsyLoa has prepared several in an expurgated form— free from the gross taste of CHARLES the Second's reign—concluded one of the most agreeable meetings we ever attended.
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