218 BIRMINGHAM MUSICAL FESTIVAL. 



and " lighten their darkness" by observation, before they thus ven- 

 ture to expose their ignorance. Were the performances annual^ it 

 would not only be allowable, but proper, to admit the works of se- 

 cond and third-rate composers. Cherubini, Schneider, Ries, and 

 Neukomm would then meet with a verdict far more proportioned to 

 their merits than can be the case whilst they are occupying the 

 time which ought to be devoted to Bach, Handel, Mozart, and 

 Beethoven. Thirdly, It would enable those of moderate fortune to 

 cultivate the sense of the sublime and the beautiful without incur- 

 ring an expense inadequate to their means. Lastly, The community 

 would become more conversant with the higher walks of music, 

 would form far juster conclusions of what art really ought to be, 

 would estimate the petty accomplishment which now passes for 

 Music at its proper value. The wretched songs, waltzes, and varia- 

 tions, now the staple commodity of music-shops, would be discarded 

 with disgrace, from a conviction that the pleasure they yield is 

 derived from inferior faculties only. Men would look back on the 

 fashionable favourites of the present day with the same contempt 

 with which they now regard the toys and the recreations of their 

 childhood. When the true meaning of a work of art begins to 

 dawn on their minds, they will bestow their admiration on the geni- 

 us of the composer, instead of gazing in stupid astonishment at the 

 harliquinades of the performer. 



In criticising' the late Birmingham festival, the first point upon 

 which we shall animadvert, is the disproportion between the vocal 

 and instrumental talent and the music which they were assembled 

 to perform. No expense was spared to render the band and chorus 

 as complete as possible ; the principal singers were among the first 

 which the world can produce ; in short, as far as regards the mate- 

 rial arrangements, we have but little fault to find.* But where 

 were the great works, the poetical creations, the mind, whose ex- 

 pression might worthily employ this great multitude ? With the 



* We cannot, however, allow the non-engagement of Braham to pass 

 without a few words of comment. It has been rumoured that the terms 

 demanded by this unrivalled master of sacred song were exorbitantly high. 

 That the amount might be large we can easilj' conceive ; but we are at the 

 same time convinced that his services would have outweighed those of Grisi, 

 Albertazzi, and Tamburini; and surely he would have been satisfied with a 

 recompense more moderate than the united salaries of these three distin- 

 guished singers. In an oratorio, the latter are, from their training, compa- 

 ratively inefficient ; they contribute but little to the artist-like production of 

 a great work : Braham, on the contrary, is unrivalled in bringing out the 

 mind of the master. 



