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Leader (1850-1860), 16th April 1859, Edition 1 of 2, Page 501, Untitled Article

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      When we add that hi the prestissimo Tarantella of the third movement the orchestra showed a clue to the storm of intricate bizarreries , where the . least deviation from truth would have involved audience and themselves in hopeless entanglement , we award the highest praise in our power , and we tlunfi h iustly deserved . Another fine performance 01 a superb work was that of the Beethoven pianoforte coneerto in C minor , played by Mr . Charles Halle , with orchestral accompaniment . The two first movements are dreams of melody , tlie last a mechanical marvel both in plajnng and composition , lne soloist and the band so aoly assisted each other that the warmest applause of the evening was awarded to their exertions . Signor Belletti ' s solo was cut out in consequence of the inordinate length of the works audience retained enthusiasm

      iust named , but the enough to enjoy his fine voice in Rossini s duet , " Bell' Immago , " from " Seniiramide ; " and we of the back rows wondered that the Signor was figuring on no playbill . Then followed Wieniawski again : for the cars of the fashionables want some tickling at 11 p . m ., with the prospect " before them of a chorus from Spohr and Beethoven ' s overture to " Prometheus . " And if such were the end , it was doubtless answered : for in his " Preghiera " . he produced the most awfully doleful sounds ever , extracted from a violin , and in the antithetical Polonaise which followed seemed literally bent on whipping his fiddlestrings into a froth . The elegantly-dressed society began to disperse after the latter curiosity , and none , we apprehend , but the most ardent stayed through the ¦ " Jessonda " ehorus and the " Prometheans " too .

      MONDAY POPULAR CONCERTS . It is a fact worth noting that the classical series of these entertainments is a success beyond the fondest anticipations of its projectors . Thanks to the excellence of the entertainment provided , the spirited manner in which the directors have given publicity to their doings , and the cordiality shown , by the press in . enlightening the music-loving public upon the . true merit of the undertaking , they are now as truly popular as those of our well-beloved Mons . Julien , though their elientelle is of a mightily different description . In the programme of the seventh concert appeared the following announcement : —

      "In answer to a great number of inquiries , the Directors , of the Monday Popular Concerts beg to say that a selection from the vocal and instrumental compositions of Louis Spohr—a selection from the ancient and modern music ( vocal and instrumental ) of Italy—and a selection from the compositions of living English composers , will be included in the forthcoming arrangements . The directors have also the honour of stating that , in consequence of the success which lias attended them , the concerts on the new plan will , be continued every Monday until further notice . "

      But so thick and fast do throng the admirers of Mozart , Beethoven , and Mendelssohn to the selections from those composers , that we may yet , -we foresee , have to wait awhile for the Spohr , Palestrina , llos-Sini , Sterndale Bennett , and Macfarren " evenings . " But so thereis no fallingoif , we will not quarrel with the directors , because their public are not yet satiated with the , delicacies already presented . " They have now no choice , " as our contemporary , The Musical World , has it , " and probably no wish but to proceed . They are helping to . refine and elevate the public taste , while they put money in their pockets , and , at the same time , win for St . James ' s Hall the honour and consideration due to a classic temple of art . " On Monday next , at tlio ninth concort of the new series , thero will bo given an entirely new selection from tho works of Mendelssohn .

      • ST . JAMES ' S \ l \ tl ,, —ClIHISTY ' S MINSTREIhB . Wiuid Dr . Wylde and the sons of harmony were rovelling in tho {( lories of Gliick , Beethoven , Spohr , and Rossini in tho upper chamber of this temple of tho muses , those children of night , or sable harmonists , the Christy ' s Minstrels , of whom , by a witty way of being in perfect keeping , their employers call themselves " proprietors , " wore enjoying the welcome of tho fanatics who have missed them now some months from London . Time has neither thinned their woolly hair , blanched their ebony cheeks , taken mollowness from their banjos , nor robbed thair repertory of its mild and pleasing mixture of pathos and bathos . Tho programme of tine evening included a number of tho pieces that have delighted hosts of provincials in England , and oven tho stata circle , at tho Tullories } and , ( is usual , was productive of intense delight to the inuny disciples oi'tho sehpol who wore present .

      CUl'STAk I > AI . AC 13 . Tho revival of tho wisely-abridged version of the Antigona of SapliucUn . tp which Mendelssohn applied some of his happiest hit-pirations , calls for a special report . To begin then s- — Tho entertainment directors , whoever they u < ay bo , of tho Crystal l ' alaoe , deserve considerable thanks from their season

      subscribers , and indeed from all Saturday visitors , for having recognised the absurdity of uniyocal dramatic readings . Mr . Nicholls , a gentleman of ability and cultivated taste , made a great impression , it is true , a while ago , by his reading of the ¦' " CEdipus , " but for all that , the allotment of the female characters to an actress , instead of' an actort seems , to our mind , a change for the better . Its popularity was at once attested by the large concourse of amateurs -that overflowed the concert-room on Saturday , and hailed the performance with loud , repeated and genuine applause . With Mr . Nicholls , whose reading of his parts was characterised by the qualities we have associated Miss Edith Heraud

      attributed to him , was , a young tragedian of great and now admitted talent ; and we never witnessed more genuine sensation than she created by her fine voice arid beautifully impassioned delivery . Mendelssohn ' s nobly simple choruses , expressing the emotions of the citizens , were impressively given by well-drilled vocalists , and most ably accompanied by the Company ' s band . A degree of gratification was expressed by all persons of " taste who were present , which cannot fail to be cheering 1 to the members of the direction , who as they are always abundantly censured for their , shortcomings , certainly deserve public recognition of their successful efforts to amuse and instruct .

      We are glad to learn that the issue of tickets for the Handel Festival goes , on merrily . The subscription list for the commemoration of 1857 amounted , on the 17 th of June in that year to . £ 12 , 000 ; whereas on the 7 th of the present month , the sum received for admission to this ^ year ' s fete had reached the large sum of £ 1 , 300 . There is clearly , then , no time to be lost by those who would have seats in anything like an eligible position . ..

      OLYMPIC THEATRE ! . O-NEinore has been added to the list ofrealpropertv " dramas by the complete success , on Monday evening , of Mr . Tom Ta 3 'lor ' s " Nine Points of the Ihiw , " a new and original comedietta , written with all the well-known polish of that accomplished author . The main incident is the subjugation and ultimate marriage by one Mrs . Snujlie ( Mrs . Stirling ) , a widow , whom the opening of the piece finds "in possession" cfa nice little property , of a capitalist , Mr . Ironside ( Mr . Addison ) , who sets up a claim to it , in virtue of the . usual codicil . To the personation of the interesting heroine of this simple plot Mrs . Stirling brings all the talent and grace for Avhich she is renowned ; By the humility of her submission to the blow , she first touches the

      manufacturer , who , with a stern exterior , has a tender . heart , and is no man of the world . After a few rounds of female artillery , Mr . Addison , whose Ironside will long be remembered in connexion with his name , yields not only his heart , but his estate . Mr . II . Wigan makes an admirable hwrgcau of Mr . Cuniiingame ( Ironside ' s attorney ) , who abandons his legal colours before the vivacious sallies of the fair defendant , and exposes the weak parts of his client ' s attack . Miss Cottrell , as Kate Mupleson , the widow ' s niece , heightens the aspect of an unimportant part by her pretty face and singing ; and Mr . George Vining throws himself with such unnecessary ardour into the character of liollini / stona , a Returned colonial adventurer , that instead ' of adding to the ensemble , he somewhat dislocates it .

      LYCEUM TirRATJIE . A histrionic commonwealth , if wo are rightly informed , has beon conducting tho management of this house during the last l ' uw < l « . ys , and to judge from appearances in front , get on butter behind the curtain than might be imagined . Tlioy have played , to the . full approbations of good houses , The King's Gardener , " a now nnd amusing pecca da circonstance , called ? ' Household Words all tho Year Round , " in which Mr . diaries Young and Mr . Vnndenhoff take tlio leading parts with cfFeot ; Mrs . Planchc- ' s musical farco of the " Welsh . Girl , " the fiirco of " Fortune's JTrolie , " nnd , lastly , a two act drama by Mr . Blancliard Jerrold , entitled" Beau Brummel ; or , the King of Calais , " being an adaptation of $ ornc passages in tho well-known memoirs of that fmn . ous indiviuuliJ . Tho period chosen for

      illustration is the deolino and fall of the Beau . The scene is laid at Calais , during the passage of George IV . ' when they wore not on speaking terms j" and at Caen , . wore the curtain fell upon tho miserable wreck of fashion and form . As 13 mmniel Mr . Emery displayed to the best advantage that talent for " make up , " and tho delicate appreciation of refined touches of character , for which he is sometimes so remarkable ; and was no loss warmly encouraged in tho first , or comic act , than during the strongly serious pussagos af tho second . Mr . EUorton played Inidore , tho ?« gentleman's gontlernuri , " with quiet taste and judgment . Messrs . G . Murray and IfiUjamoa were gantlomunllkeall that their parts demanded , Mr . Hogors was rather comic and anaelironleally dressed , as Smalls , a May fair valet , whom lie made look more like an attache to a modern racing stable , than an inheritor

      and imitator of his lordly master's elegancies . The ladies , of course , contribute their quota to aid the success of the piece , and swell the triumph of tho principal performer , whose clever resuscitation of the poor Beau deserves more than a . transient season of popularity , and will probably enjoy one .

      Untitled Article

      The New Peers and Baroxets . —( From the Gazette . ) The Queen , has been pleased to direct letters patent to be passei under tho Great Seal , granting the dignity of a baron of the United * Kingdom of Great : Britain and Ireland unto the undermentioned gentlemen , and the respective heirs male of their bodies lawfully begotten : ' Colonel George Wyndham , of Petworth , in the county or Sussex , by . the title of Baron Leconfield , of Lecorifield , in the county of York ; William Tatton Egerton , Esq ., by the title of Baron Egerton , of Tatton , in the county of Chester ; Sir Charles Morgan Robinson Morgan , Bart ., by the title of Baron Tredegar , of Tredegar , in the county of Monmouth . The Queen has also been pleased to direct ; Great Seal

      letters patent to be passed under the , granting the dignity of a baronet of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland unto theundermentioned gentlemen and tlie respective heirs male of their bodies lawfully begotten , viz . : — William Miles , of Leigh Court , in the county of Somerset , Esq . ; Edward Grogan , of Moy vore , in the county of Westrneath , Esq ., ; John Neeld , of Gri . fctle . ton , in the county of Wilts , Esq . ; John Henry Greville Smith , of Ashton Court , in the county of-Somerset , Esq . ; George Stucley Stucley * of Affbton Castle and Hartlaud Abbey , in the county of Devon , Esq . ; Philip Duncombe Patmcefort Duncombe , of Great Brickhili Manor , in the county of * Bucks , Esq .

      The Sahibs axd the People . —The Times correspondent says : — "With all our good intentions , with the best purposes , and the noblest aims , we have been continually offending the prejudices of the races of India by honest though absurd attempts to rule them as if they were freeholders of Kent or yeomen of Lincoln . We h-ave . public works which they do not appreciate , while we let their monuments , their tanks , their fountains , and their temples fall into decay . Our schools are regarded with susp icio n , railways are yet unintelligible except within ii few miles of Bombay , Calcutta , and Cawnpore . Wo have seized upon a halt-educated , superstitious , haughty , ami sensual Norman of the 12 th century , and have insisted on dressing him in the clothes of the 19 th . We have stopped Front

      de-Bain f from roasting his Jew ; wo have sent him toschool , taken away his armour , pulled down Jus castle , put an Albert coaf , Wellington boots , and Dalhousie waistcoat on him , and then have wondered that the •* ungrateful' monster has sought to tear his garments , to bent his schoolmaster , ana to kill his generous benefactor . He , in fact , docs nofi believe we mean him well , because ho has observed that while we were saying it was all for his goodthat we were just and equitable—that his castle was merely removed as a nuisance , and that his armour was taken because it hurt him , certain understrappers of ours wura making faces at him , calling him na ' nios ,. stealing his jewels , searching his wardrobes , ami plundering his Jew . Strangest of all , tho perls of Front do Boouf whom wo have emancipated do > not tliank us , aud side with him whenever they can

      Gkaves at CAwuroitB . - ^ I visited once more tho scene of the terrible massacre which will over render the name of this city infamous . Of the house not a vestige remains , except tho lines of the foundation walls . Tho well is surrounded by a rude strong paliiig of wood , tho top being covered in with masonry . The simple , graceful , and affecting memorial raised by Rome men of Her Majesty ' s 32 oT near the spot where tho women and children ot tho rogimunt were murdered is enclosed , in the same way . The only addition to the mute records of the croat crimo which was perpetrated horo is a very

      handsome monumental slab of red stone , wnioli boars the following inscription : — " Sacred to ( lip memory of tho women and children of the late iijfatud 1 st Company , Gth Battalion Bengal Artillery , who were slaughtered near this spot by thu mutineers on the lGtli of July , 1857 . ' 1 'Iub mo"U"W « t « erected by a iion-cymmlseioncil officer w , ho <™»/ belonged to tho 1 st Company , oth Battalion- ' Spare thy people , &c-Joel II ., 17 . ' " The ° * ° « W *»«» *»« design are most creditable to the excellent * oWv * whoovor he may be , who has thus marked tho TOBhitf . place of So wives nud children of his hapless comridoa Tho grave of BIr William Feel lies far aw y K ' thl spot , in the little cemetery where hi * JomnliM 1 trust , flnd but a temporary i ^ stniB-p iace , JfSio Jouutry would do honour to tself ^ for never did brlver sVllor tread uoclc , never did bolder soldier Jftvv swoi-tl , never did loftier spirit llvo for honour , duty , and England , thau tyllUcvm PcqI . " —¦ TiiHOS ,

      Untitled Article

      No . 473 , April 16 , 1859 1 THE tEADEB 501

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), April 16, 1859, page 501, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2290/page/21/