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rapidly itinerant musician in another fortnight at Southampton, giving two Concerts, with the aid of her old friends, Mr. and Mrs. Bedford, with whom she last year traversed the north and west, Mr. Loder, with Mr. Bishop at the pianoforte. Here in addition to Non più andrui, Rode's air with variations, Rule Britannia, and the National Anthem (a new piece of titular affectation), Sweet Home was added to the list of Madame Catalani's wonders. Having descended to the simple English ballad, style has no more variety for her. These Concerts did not take so well as the others. The first produced only 971. Her next appearance will be at Newcastle, where, in truth, there will be a most extraordinary list of principal singers. There are Madame Catalani, Mrs. Salmon, Miss Stephens, Mrs. Bedford, and Madame Ronzi de Beguis, Messrs. Braham, Terrail, Bedford, Phillips, Sapio, and Signor de Begnis. The heavy charge thus incurred will lay a tremendous expense upon the festival, of which "several of the charitable institutions of Northumberland, Durham, and Newcastle," are said to be the objects. Sir George Smart conducts, and he is to have a chorus and a band of about fifty performers under his orders. There will be six concerts and a ball.

The Worcester meeting, the first of a second century, since the three choirs of Gloucester, Hereford, and Worcester first established this annual junction of their forces, commenced on the 15th of September. Competition and example have, it seems, inspirited the managers to enlarge their plan; for this year double the usual number of instrumentalists were engaged, and the vocal strength included not only Mrs. Salmon, Miss Stephens, and Miss Travis, Mr. Knyvett, Mr. Vaughan, and Mr. Bellamy, but also Signor and Madame Ronzi de Begnis, and Mr. Braham. Every one is aware that there are a certain number of standard compositions, in sacred performances especially, which must be given for the simple reason that their intrinsic dignity and excellence cannot be replaced by any others. Thus it is that Handel occupies so vast a portion of the bills of fare. There are jo songs of simple majesty and pure

expression like his. There are no chorusses that even approach the magnificence of his combinations. The Messiah is held in such respect, that the very religion of the country as it were dictates its performance at every festival. Hence there will of necessity be a certain sameness in the selections. This sameness has of late been varied by the introduction of Italian music, and we must do the Italians the justice to say, that they were anxious to increase their stock by as many additions as the genius of their countrymen will enable them to make: our modern musicians, conductors and singers, composers and instrumentalists, are all ready enough to complain of the increasing influence of foreigners; but when we look at the bills of their festivals, it almost ceases to be a matter of wonder. Here we have on the first night as concerted English pieces, There is a bloom that never fades (so it should seem), Peace to the souls of the heroes, and 'Tis the last rose of summer. Among the single songs is Mr. Vaughan's never dying Alexis. This worthy gentleman has not sung more than half a dozen songs in Concerts (we exceed the number) for the last twenty years, and yet he probably wonders that he is likely to be superseded! The music of the Tempest, -very good-but just as antique as Purcell, and almost as threadbare as poor Vaughan's Alexis. Nor are we vastly struck with the good taste of his competitor, Mr. Braham, who repeats Kelvin Grove, Smile again my bonnie lassie, and such trash ad nauseam. We are not at all surprised that singers should be anxious to introduce what they know they sing well, what has pleased, and therefore what may please again, besides it spares them the labour of thought and prac tice. But we marvel exceedingly at committees and conductors, who ought to have some feeling in the matter, as they surely have some character at stake. But the taste of the inhabitants of Worcester is, it is to be presumed, for variety; and they must have no slight personal powers; for after a morning and evening performance of no less than seventy pieces, tossing all the recitatives into the bargain, there was a ball. Pretty strong appetites for pleasure they must have, to say nothing of the

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Report of Music.

"thews and sinews" of the males, or the nerves of the ladies: we recommend the conductor to open his next festival with the appropriate chorus of Philistines in Samson " To song and dance we give the day," and if he can introduce "the night" also, it will make the description the more complete. There is little to be said about the execution of these concerts. They are much alike in all places, allowing something for the more practised skill of a metropolitan conductor. The meeting of the choirs, however, has been eclipsed by the superior magnitude and splendour of Birmingham, Liverpool, and York; and this year, by Norwich, where the attempt being new with the proportionate energy that was made usually attends novel enterprises. Wakefield, Newcastle, and Edinburgh, are yet to come with such little interludes as Madame Catalani thinks right to introduce at every town which presents a chance of tolerable remuneration. Thus the diffusion of music will this year be astonishing, and when we regard the magnitude and excellence of the preparations,at the great meetings especially, we can hardly believe that England, unmusical as the foreigners repute her, can be the patron of such numerous and such vast enterprises in the art. Be it owing to example, be it owing to fashion, be it increasing opulence, or be it what it may, the experiment of propagation is now in the most energetic progression, and the question is, will it make the country more or less musical? In so far as money is concerned, these festivals will have an extraordinary effect. An expenditure of at least thirty thousand pounds may be taken as a fair estimate in any town where they are held; and in some cases, York, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Norwich, for example, even much more money will change hands. The London professors will earn much more than in any other preceding year of their lives, for nearly the same names are to be found in every band according to its proportionate strength.

The record of these transactions in the provinces occupies so much of our space, that we have not now room to write upon the various speculations afloat, relative to the music Ост. 1824.

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of the metropolis in the ensuing seasuspension of the Oratorios, and the son, at any length. The absolute total embarrassment of the affairs of the King's Theatre, would leave it yet very uncertain whether the public will be gratified with the one very cheap and the other most costly entertainment. But we look upon the absolute cessation of the opera to be impossible. The world of fashion could not get on without such an insures and intrigues that depend altostrument to promote the various pleagether upon this place of elegant resort, to say nothing of the interests which are involved in the opening of the house. An Oratorio may proof one or other of the great houses, bably be taken up by the proprietor But this depends upon circumstances.

notice one scheme, which has for In the meanwhile we cannot fail to some little time been before the town, and which promises immense things, and is, we are told, though fact, to be tried with some modificawe scarcely know how to credit the tions. The scheme is for " Sunday sacred music assemblies," and the outline of it is as follows:

very great, are to be defrayed by the "The expenses, which will be subscription tickets, and limited to four hundred in number; and to ensure the SELECTNESS of the company,' the admission tickets are to be transferable to such as are domestically one family, and not generally. Å house is to be taken for the express purpose. Signor de Begnis is lection of Oratorios and other sacred to procure from Italy a classical colmusic, at present totally unknown in this country. Mr. Braham, Signor de Begnis, and Sir G. Smart, aré engaged, and every fourth Sunday an Oratorio entire will be performed." Three fancy balls are to be given during the season, the first on the third Thursday in March, the second third on the last Thursday in May. on the last Thursday in April, and the The terms of subscription for the seamen, 30 guineas each; married persons son are,-Tickets for single gentlethe daughters of a family, where more taking two tickets, 25 guineas; for than two tickets are taken, 20 guineas. The Assemblies will commence next, terminate on the last Sunday in on the second Sunday in February

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June, and be continued annually.. The performances will begin precisely at 10 o'clock, and a suite of apartments on the ground floor will be appropriated for refreshment rooms. No less than 30 principal singers are enumerated, and the list indeed includes every name of eminence, both foreign and English. Sir George Smart is to have the direction, and to preside at the pianoforte..

It is to be questioned whether an academy upon so extensive a scale will find supporters; but perhaps this very circumstance, and the novelty of a Sunday evening performance, may. give a new stimulus to our already over-stimulated aristocracy. "To close with an innocent and moral as well as delightful entertainment the day set apart for religious exercises (says Mr. Robinson, the projector) is the chief object," and he moreover avows that "the project has received the highest eulogiums of many individuals, as deservedly esteemed for their private virtues, as they are eminently distinguished by their elevated rank in life!" Nous verrons. We foolishly thought that nothing more extravagant could well be contrived than these enterprises, which have ruined their conductors, but Mr. Robinson has shown us our mistake.

Mr. Cramer is, perhaps, most successful in this species of composition, and in this instance he has been more than usually fortunate. The title brings his Midsummer Day to our recollection, and when we say it will bear a comparison with that elegant lesson, we can hardly give it a better recommendation. We have seldom seen a more beautiful subject than the theme of the second movement, and the rest of the piece has almost equal claim to our admiration. If graceful melody, united to smooth and elegant passages, be the right attributes of the divertimento (and surely we may translate this word diversion), then has Mr. Cramer fulfilled the promise of amusement his title page holds out.

air, with variations for the harp, by NaderLe Départ du Grenadier, a favourite man, is recommended by its spirit and vivacity. It is well adapted to the instrument, while the observance of regular harp passages is by no means strict: it is too limited as to difficulty.

Nos. 5 and 6 of Les Petits Amusements, by Calkin, evince the same judgment as the preceding numbers.

Mr. Bruguier is continuing his publications, the Dramatic Divertimentos, and the Popular Melodies, the former containing Crudele Sospetto, and Oh Quanto Laairs of Storace, Shield, Reeve, &c. grime; and the latter, the most favourite

to Der Freischütz, arranged as a duet, by The arrangements are Weber's overture Latour; and also the airs for the pianoforte and flute; a selection from Ricciardo e Zoraide, for the harp and pianoforte, with Un Jour de l'Automne, a divertimento for accompaniments, and the same for the harp the pianoforte, by J. B. Cramer. and flute.

NEW MUSIC.

SKETCH OF FOREIGN LITERATURE.

FRANCE.

History, Memoirs, and Biography A work lately published is said to give some curious information, relative to the families of the Greek princes. It is an Essay on the Phanariots, with some reflections on the present state of Greece, by M. P. Zallony; but we have not been able to see it.-M. Barante's third and fourth volumes of the History of the Dukes of Burgundy have now appeared. The success of the work appears to increase; but the critics in the journals are divided in their opinions on its merit; the greater number are in raptures with the author's style, and say he has the same kind of talent as Sir Walter Scott,

and that his book has all the charm of a romance; but others pretend that this style is not suited to history. The Memoirs of the notorious Fouche, Duke of Otranto, in one volume, 8vo.. have given rise to some controversy, the family of the author disclaiming them, and declaring that he never wrote any memoirs. The publisher, however, positively affirms that they are authentic, though the family, for very intelligible reasons, disavows. them; the public, in general, are inclined to give him credit. The me moirs are certainly very curious and interesting. They end with the marriage of Napoleon: the second part, to 1815, is not to be published till a later period.-The Biographie des

Contemporains has reached the 15th volume. The 14th contains the article Napoleon, by M. Norvins, who has treated his subject with ability, and with as much impartiality perhaps, as can yet be expected in speaking of this remarkable man.The different editions of M. Michaud's History of the Crusades being out of print, the author has spent two years in rendering the work still more worthy of the favour of the public. Though M. Michaud has spent fifteen years of his life on this work, he was fully sensible that it was susceptible of great improvement; he was not deterred by the difficulty of the task; the second volume, which contains the History of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the crusades of Louis VII. and Conrad, that of Richard Cœur de Lion and Philip Augustus, is entirely re-written; and the first volume, unfolding the grand drama to the Crusade of Godefroy, has been enriched with important additions; the same care will be bestowed by the author on the remaining volumes. Besides the six volumes of the history, M. Michaud has undertaken to compose a Library of the Crusades, consisting of extracts from the contemporary Latin and French chronicles, the diplomatic documents, the Greek, Arab, and other historians. This new work, consisting of two very large volumes (900 pages each), may be had detached from the history. These volumes, and the first two volumes of the history, will be published in January, and the remaining volumes in two livraisons, at intervals of three months.

Some liberal writers have lately taken upon themselves to write miniature histories of various countries, such as the history of the United States, by C. O. Barberoux; of England by Felix Bodin; and of Portugal by Alphonse Rabbe. The object of these writers seems to be, to advocate per fas et nefas the principles of their party. The collection is to make 40 or 50 little volumes, under the general title of Resumé de l'Histoire de tous les Peuples, anciens et modernes, par une Société de Publicistes Litterateurs. Among these authors we find, besides the above-mentioned, Cauchois-Lemaire, Chatelain, and other wellknown names. -The first volume of the History of the Mongols, from

Gingis Khan to Tamerlane, has been published, and the second and last is to appear shortly. The materials for this work are chiefly taken from Arabic and Persian manuscripts in the King's Library.-A M. Fabre d'Olivet has written what he pleases to call a Philosophical History of the Human Race. This philosophical history certainly never existed but in the ravings of the author's imagination. It is a rhapsody, equally at variance with common sense and revelation. Thus, according to him, Orpheus, Moses, and Fo, were all equally inspired; and the various religions they preached, however different from each other, were perfectly adapted by Providence to the several nations to which they were given. As M. F. d'Olivet is a man of learning who has published many books, we have judged it worth while to notice this new production, which however is not likely to do any harm, as very few people will have courage even to read more than a few pages; and those who do will be bewildered by its absurdity, or disgusted by its blasphemy.-Of the historical collections which we formerly noticed, that of the Memoirs (of the Revolution) has reached the 17th livraison, containing those of Rivarol, and the Political and Military Memoirs of Carnot: the Memoirs relative to the History of France, the 10th volume, and the works of Froissart, the 7th volume. The success of the numerous collections already commenced has induced the eminent bookseller, Panckoucke, to undertake a new one of still greater extent, viz. Translations of all the Greek, Latin, Italian, English, Spanish, German, &c. Classics.

Voyages and Travels.-Some numbers of the Natural History belonging to Freycinet's Voyage round the World have been published, but no part of the Narrative of the Expedition.

Fine Arts.-M. Duchesne, sen. is going to publish an Essay on the Nielles, or engravings of the Goldsmiths of Florence in the fifteenth century. The author came to England last year for the purpose of seeing the unique specimens in the collections of the late Sir M. Sykes, of the Duke of Buckingham, and other amateurs. His work will form a volume in 8vo. of 300 pages. M.

Hittorff, the King's Architect, who has made a considerable stay in Sicily, has been uncommonly successful in his researches into antiquities, and made a great number of valuable drawings; he is expected to publish the contents of his rich portfolio.

Novels.-La Mère Frivole, four vols. 12mo. by Madame Dejoüye Desroches, is spoken of by all the journals in the highest terms; the first edition was sold in ten days. The second volume of the Hermits at Liberty, by Messrs. Jouy and Jay, is published; though this is a work of fiction, it should properly be placed under the head of Politics, being written entirely with a political view. In truth, but for the kind of reputation which M. Jouy has acquired, we should hardly have noticed this publication at all. It seems to us that the adversaries of M. Jouy and his principles may be well pleased if they are never assailed by more powerful arms. The extravagant encomiums on the prosperity and liberty enjoyed under Buonaparte, and the lamentations on the tyranny of the present government, are ridiculous. "This youth of 20 years of age recollects that, when he was a child, he heard only of victories, patriotism, national greatness, acquired knowledge, philosophical virtues; but he looks round him, and the objects he beholds offer only images of defeat, corruption, fanaticism, and ignorance. What a contrast. Voltaire and the Abbé de La Mennais ! Ships of the line, and the Auxerre coach! Pretty women and the Jesuits! Light and darkness! Philosophy and superstition! Liberty and the Gendarmes!" Was the French marine then so flourishing under Buonaparte, that the sea was covered with ships of the line, and is it now so wretched as to be comparable only to the Auxerre Diligence? Was there liberty under Buonaparte and no Gendarmes; and under Louis XVIII. nothing but Gendarmes and no liberty? There may be more Jesuits than formerly, but surely there are not fewer pretty women? From M. Jouy the transition to Politics is natural; but we might have almost spared ourselves the introduction of this article, did we not think it necessary to

mention a small pamphlet by Viscount Chateaubriant on the death of the King. Though only what the French call a Pièce de Circonstance, it is deserving of some notice, both as coming from the pen of so eminent a writer, and as speaking the sentiments of a large party. An anonymous writer has published "Reflections on the present State of South America, and on the Arrival of M. Hurtado, the Agent of Colombia, at Paris." The author is decidedly hostile to any recognition of the independence of the Spanish colonies. The question is of such great importance, that all parties interested will find it worth their while to listen to the arguments of those whose opinions are different from their own.

Divinity." A friendly Discussion on the Anglican Church, and in general on the Reformation, dedicated to the Clergy of all the Protestant communions, drawn up in the form of letters, 2 vols. 8vo. by the Bishop of Aire," was printed in London, when the writer, with thousands of his brethren, were enjoying in England an asylum from persecution. We do not understand whether a new edition has been published in France, but it appears to be now first noticed by the French journals, and for that reason we mention it here. The object of the author is to show that the Reformation was not necessary, that it did not remedy the abuses and corruptions which were the alleged motives for it, and that the re-union of the churches is not only desirable, but would be possible.

GERMANY.

Our German correspondence affords us hardly any thing worth notice this month. The third and fourth volumes of Raumer's History of the House of Hohenstaufen are published, and the remaining two promised by the end of the year. The second volume of the Travels in Brazil, by Drs. Spix and Martius, is, we fear, delayed, as we see no adver→ tisement respecting it. The authors seem to be much occupied with the publication of the Natural History of Brazil, and this is probably the reason of the delay of the narrative. We do not mean to say that the German press is idle. Numerous botanical works, new editions of the Latin and

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