In order to meet his employer's views of economy, and at the same time produce an edifice in accordance with classical art, Inigo had recourse to that order which properly admits of no ornamentation-viz., the Tuscan-adapting for the structure the plan and proportions of ancient Grecian and Roman temples (omitting, however, in the erection the Peristyle, with which these famous structures were usually surrounded) as described by Vitruvius, for neither in Greece or Italy is there any standing examples remaining of these ancient works.

The proper rank in the scale of excellence to which this building belongs as a work of constructive art has been a subject of much controversy, the conflicting criticisms by men of talent are not a little extraordinary. For instance, Ralph the architect, in his "Critical Review of Public Buildings," thus praises it: "The church here is without a rival, it is one of the most perfect pieces of architecture that the art of man can produce; nothing can possibly be imagined more simple, and yet magnificence itself can hardly give greater pleasure. This is a strong proof of the force of harmony and proportion; and at the same time a demonstration that it is taste and not expense which is the parent of beauty." Walpole, on the contrary, in his "Anecdotes of Art," thus speaks of the Church and the Piazza. "Of these structures I want taste to see the beauties. The barn-roof over the portico of the church strikes my eyes with as little idea of dignity or beauty, as it could do if it covered nothing but a barn." And he further adds, "but in justice to Inigo, it must be owned the defect is not in the architect, but in the order;" and corroborates his own judgement by repeating an anecdote which was related to him by the Speaker Onslow-namely, "When the Earl of Bedford sent for Inigo, he told him that he wanted a Chapel for the tenants of Covent Garden, but added, he would not go to any great expense; in short, says he, I would not have it much better than a Barn." "Well then," replied Jones, "you shall have the handsomest Barn in England."

Mr. Papworth (an architectural critic of later day), in allusion to this church and Inigo Jones, says: "Having accomplished in this work all that he intended, combining with economy, suitableness, stability, force of effect, and the beauty that results from propriety and just proportions, and as it exists an unique and chaste example of an ancient and neglected order, the building is surely entitled to the suffrages of the public, particularly as it has increased in reputation as the works of the Greeks have become better known to the connoisseur, and he has improved in architectural acumen; and perhaps it will not be valued the less as being an interesting subject of curiosity to enlightened foreigners, and certainly possessing their approbation."

Papworth's criticism would seem a sort of medium between Walpole's severe censure and Ralph's unqualified praise- and perhaps the happy medium. In reference to the latter, few will say that the edifice is particularly taking, either out or in. Nor, on the other hand, would more accord entirely in Walpole's views. Yet it will generally be conceded that the portico and overhanging roof of the east end are picturesque in effect, and that the whole edifice is impressive from its vastness and apparent stability, and agreeable from its excellent proportions and the simple rusticity of the order. Nor is the interior less remarkable. If the extreme plainness here shows economy to have been the primary consideration of the founder, suitableness to its application is not a less striking characteristic. The absence of columns and arches, and secondary walls of any kind, contribute to render the edifice, in an auditorium point of view, convenient and useful, yielding as it does some fifteen or sixteen hundred sittings, with the advantage that the occupant of every sitting is enabled to distinctly see and hear the preacher. The circumstances of utility and adaptation to purpose here adverted to would seem to have been appreciated at their value up to the end of the first quarter of the present century; for we see the Church Building Commissioners of that day select this particular church as the model for arrangement for several of that familiar batch of a score or so of new metropolitan churches that were then erected under their direction: thus see more particularly St. John's, Waterloo Road, St. Peter's, Eaton Square, St. Pancras, New Road, St. Barnabas, King's Square, and others. But the revival of the Gothic style, which set in some twenty years later at the instance of the High Church party, has now taken such firm possession of the public taste, for our modern Church Building, as to render the advantages just adverted to, all-important as they are, of no consideration as set against the associations attaching to Gothic columns and pointed arches, high-pitched roofs, "fine-drawn aisles," transepts, chancels, and chapels.

The ground plan of the church is a parallelogram, with two wings attached at the west end. The eastern front is formed of a deeplyrecessed portico, composed of two massy Tuscan columns and square piers at the angles, surmounted by an architrave and cantiliver cornice of immense projection, and crowned with a pediment of like projection, and which latter, in the pure style of the ancient temples, really finishes the roof.* Within the triangle of this pediment is a bold clock-dial, illuminated at night, remarkably convenient for the adjacent market. Underneath the portico are apparently three entrances; but those of the sides only are doorways, the altar-piece being placed against the interior wall of the central compartment. The western front is similar to the eastern, but without the portico; and here the centre doorway being used, the side doors are blank. The flanks of the church have four lofty arched windows, the elevation being finished with the cantiliver cornice continued from the front and the eaves of the roof. The southern wing is a porch, and contains a staircase to the gallery of that side: the northern one is a vestry. On the top of the roof at the western end is a square turret with cupola top, of remarkable insignificant appearance. There are two bells; the larger a fine one. The interior of the church is an unbroken oblong square of 105 feet by 55, without arches or columns, other than the small ones that carry the galleries, which latter occupy the sides of the edifice. The ceiling is horizontal, and rests on a block cornice which forms a finish to the side walls it is panelled into circles and other figures. In a large circle in the centre is the name of the Deity, in Hebrew character, in a glory and clouds.

The altar-screen is formed of pannelling and pilasters of the Corinthian order, surmounted by an entablature and pediment. On the apex of the pediment is an urn and pedestal, and an angel in a reclining posture on each side. These figures were from the classic chisel of Mr. T. Banks, the Royal Academician. Above the Tables of the Law, the Belief, and the Lord's Prayer, are two circular frames containing the texts: "The Law came by Moses," and "Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ;" and on a label in the pediment: "Glory to God in the Highest!" This composition occupies the whole of the central east wall, there being no altar window.

According to Walpole, the church was repaired and beautified at

It may here be remarked, in reference to the very striking portico of this church, that it is quite certain Inigo Jones's original design for Covent Garden embraced a piazza entirely surrounding the market place; and a part of the plan was that the portico of the church should range with and form part of the piazza of the west side. But the breaking out of the Civil Wars stopped the progress of the work; and when, at the Restoration, building operations were resumed, circumstances had intervened frustrating the completion of the intent; the original design being carried out only to the extent of about one third of the square as now

seen.

the private charge of the tasteful Earl of Burlington. Done out of veneration of Vitruvius, at whose shrine the noble amateur was so enthusiastic a worshipper, as well as out of respect to the church as a work of Inigo Jones, the first exemplifier in this country of true classic architecture. This was in the year 1727.

In 1788, the entire building was repaired at the expense of the parishioners, when the outer walls, which originally were merely brick covered with plaster, were cased with Portland stone, and the interior was re-embellished, at an expense to the parishioners of about 11,000l. And, at the same time, the rustic gateways on either side the eastern end, which Jones had imitated in brickwork from Palladio, were rebuilt This church was then esteemed one of the handsomest, most costly, and most beautiful of the metropolitan churches. The ceiling was a grand painting, the work of E. Pierce, sen., a pupil of Van Dyck.

in stone.

In 1795, this grand edifice was destroyed by fire. Unfortunately for the parish, an insurance for 10,000l. in the Westminster Fire Office had been allowed to lapse twelve months previous to the fire, by neglect of renewal, hence the entire loss by the calamity fell on the parish. The re-instation was effected under the direction of Mr. Hardwick, architect. The exterior was given its former appearance, the old walls, having withstood the flames, remained. The interior is also considered to have been strictly a re-instation, minus, of course, the Earl of Burlington's tasteful decoration: indeed, economy in the work of restoration seems to have so far prevailed, that the remarkable plainness gives to the interior a quaker-like appearance, and produces, therefore, disappointment, when contrasted with the simple grandeur of the outside. The edifice is well maintained. It had a thorough repair in 1851.

The organ has always occupied the west gallery. The old instrument was of the GG "long octaves" class, having three rows of keys, ten stops on the great organ, six on the choir, and six on a "Fiddle G" swell, with a set of pedals and pipes. It was built by Gray, at a cost of 550 guineas, and a gift to the parish by the Duke of Bedford, at the time of the re-instation of the church after the fire. The organ always ranked as a very inferior one, and besides this, it has been badly cared for. Nothing in the way of renewals or improvement-with the excep. tion of a set of pedals, and unison pipes for them, which were put in a few years ago-appears to have been done for the instrument, from the time it was set up in 1798 to the time it was taken down in 1862. On the breaking-down, last year, of this organ, His Grace the Duke of Bedford the patron of the living, and owner of the freehold of the parish and the market dues. consented, at the intercession of the Rev. Mr. Hutton, the Rector, to bear the expense of a new one. And a new instrument has just been built for the church by the Messrs. Bevington, under the immediate direction of Mr. Willing, organist of the Foundling Hospital Chapel; and as it is fair to infer that this organ, in its constructional arrangement, is the perfection of a church organ of its price, according to that distinguished artist's views, a synopsis of its constituent parts may be instructive to the curious in such matters.

GREAT ORGAN.

CC TO A IN ALTISSIMO.

1. Bourdon, 16 feet tone..

2. Open Diapason.

3. Gamba (Tenor C).

4. Stopped Diapason (Clarabella Treble).

5. Principal.

6. Fifteenth.

7. Twelfth.

8. Mixture.

9. Trumpet.

CHOIR ORGAN.

CC TO A IN ALTISSIMO.

1. Dulciana.

2. Stopped Diapason (Metal).

3. Suabe Flute.

4. Clear Flute.

5. Principal.

6. Clarionet.

SWELL.

TENOR C TO A IN ALTISSIMO.

1. Bourdon.

2. Open Diapason.

3. Stopped Diapason.

4. Dulciana.

The draw-stops are arranged in two irregular rows on either side of the manuals - the swell-pedal and coupler handles being placed to the left, the great and choir on the right. The movement is smoothed by the draw-rods being made circular, and the perforations of the case being felted round. The composition-pedals work from left to right. A double-action pedal shifts the great to pedal coupler. The swell to great, and swell to choir-couplers fix by a notch, and recede with a spring. The metal pipeage throughout is said to be of the best spotted metal. The instrument is tuned upon the equal temperament principle. The cost was 650l., i.e. 575l. in money, and the inside of the old organ,

the latter valued at 751. The old mahogany case remains, having been enlarged in the profile to take in the new works. Its front is a poor copy of the design usually adopted in Father Smith's organs.

When the setting-up of the organ in the church was completed, the parishioners were invited to hear its powers tested at the hands of Mr. Willing; and the event having also been well advertised, brought together a large auditory, in which was a pretty good sprinkling of organists and organ amateurs. In the course of the interpretation upon it of some ten or a dozen pieces of music of more or less fullness of part, Mr. Willing displayed the most striking of the effects the instrument is capable of. However, no sounds or effects were discernible throughout the performance

masterly as the same was — that could be said to be attributable to any constructive speciality in the instrument, or other than such as are commonly produced upon large modern church organs generally. Nevertheless the organ is a fine one, and the parishioners of this snug little parish may congratulate themselves on the acquisition, and without cost to themselves, as it is. But the organ connoisseur would say, here was a chance lost of doing something very fine to the promotion generally of the art of the facteur of the king of instruments." With so magnificent a patron something grand might have been achieved. Had the worthy Rector been bold enough to have opened his mouth at 1000 guineas, instead of the 500 he went in for, subsequent circumstances would seem to justify a conclusion that the larger amount would have been at once forthcoming; or failing this, the parishioners of this well-to-do little parish might readily, by subscription, have afterwards eked out the Duke's contribution to the requisite fund. Not that the discriminating musician would have desired to see here a reproduction of the huge inflated work recently set up in a neighbouring church, but say an instrument of about thirty-five registers, distributed on three manuals of uniform compass and pedal, appropriating to the latter some seven or eight of these, thus giving to the pedal the distinctive character of a strictly independent organ, a principle of construction which all enlightened English authority concurs in pronouncing the correct thing.

But the extra cost, and the additional space requisite for this deep tone work, seem to set a bar to the adoption of the principle in this country, and thereby the make-shift-the pedal-coupler--is perpetuated. Such an institution, however, as is above sketched might have been set up here, in the old case, for the sum adverted to, and we should then have had in London at least one model church organ. 55 Regent Street.

THE LONDON MUSIC HALLS.

(From The Observer.)

F. C.

THE London music halls, after having rapidly risen to be considered one of the institutions of the metropolis, are as rapidly degenerating into a great public "social evil," arising not more from their increasing numbers than from the manner in which they are generally conducted. This may be thought at first reading a harsh and undeserved condemnation, but its truth will become apparent upon examination.

masses.

When Mr. Morton, the present proprietor of The Oxford, and the originator of these music halls, first opened the Canterbury Hall, in the Upper Marsh, Lambeth, some dozen years since, the public were taken by surprise at the vast improvement he had effected over the old "free and easies" and "cock and hen clubs," until then patronised by the working classes; and the press spoke unanimously and deservedly in favourable terms of the undertaking. Mr. Morton, though he doubtless opened the Canterbury as a commercial speculation, at the same time combined with it a sincere desire to improve the musical tastes of the With this view he surrounded himself with a staff of male and female vocalists, who, if not pre-eminent in their profession, were all possessed of respectable talent; were good musicians, with good voices; and were capable ef rendering the glees and catches of Bishop, or the songs and ballads of Dibdin, Russell, Balfe, &c, which formed the staple of the entertainment, in a pleasing and effective manner. The lighter or comic business was confided to a gentleman of experience and education, possessed of a large fund of genuine comic humour, who had earned considerable popularity as a low comedian on the legitimate stage, and who fully sustained his reputation at the "Canterbury." In this satisfactory manner Mr. Morton for two or three years carried on his establishment, ever on the alert to place before his patrons musical novelties of a character suited to it. Under this good management the Canterbury soon gained a name; its fame spread far and wide, and it became the nightly resort of those who, at the end of their day's labour, wished to pass a pleasant hour of recreation in listening to some healthy songs tolerably well sung. The success of this establishment called up a host of competitors amongst

the proprietors of public houses and amongst scheming speculators; but, unfortunately, in their case, competition did not improve the quality of the article. Money was the main object with the new competitors, and the elevation of the taste of the people was either entirely overlooked, or thought of only as a secondary consideration. The love of art was in fact unknown to, or unthought of by, them. The result was not surprising. Instead of producing an entertainment by which the tastes of their visitors might be improved, they lowered the standard of the entertainment to suit the previous habits of their patrons; and as the "halls" increased in number, the proprietors, to retain their patrons and "draw" an audience, vied with one another in producing "sensation novelties," no matter how absurd or out of place in a "music hall" so long as it brought "grist to the mill" or "money to the till." Even the "Canterbury" itself was compelled to succumb to the rage thus created for "sensations," and its proprietor was constrained either to close his establishment, or follow in this "sensation movement," although it has never descended so low as some of the so-called "music halls," where the chief attractions are acrobats, "gorillas," juggling, "tub running,' bad nigger singing, "the Cure sung by a man standing on his head," and a class of songs and style of singing that would not have been tolerated in the old "free and easy" parlour of the public-house, but is hailed with delight in the well-lighted, gaudily-decorated and spacious

"music hall."

66

That these "halls" have become a great "social evil" must be patent to all who have taken a glance at their interiors; and there is no exception from the aristocratic hall of the West End to the sailor's delight in the East. The class of entertainments provided in them, and the nature of the scenes nightly enacted in the drinking bars and saloons with which these “halls” are now supplied, are identical. As regards the entertainments, there is generally, to keep up appearances, one really good selection of music sung from some popular opera, with more or less talent; but the rest is made up of hackneyed songs by halfintoxicated vocalists, "comic" singing by men and women destitute of one spark of genuine humour, for which deficiency they make up by slang, obscenity, and buffoonery; nigger melodies by minstrels who have sung themselves hoarse by their exertions in the streets during the day, and by the "sensation" feast of the acrobat and trapezist — the latter clever enough in their way, but suited only to open-air amusements, or gardens, such as Cremorne or Highbury, and totally out of place in a "music hall." One, however, of the most objectionable features in these entertainments, and which has done more to deteriorate them than anything else, has been the introduction of "female comic singing." None of these halls now consider their company complete without one or more "comic" or "serio-comic"- the new name for fast and slangy dialogues — ladies. These "comic ladies" are mostly devoid of any real talent or humour, and are generally third and fourth-rate actresses, who have failed on the regular stage as 'singing ❤hambermaids," and whose only attraction seems to consist in their fine dress, a liberal display of legs, suggestive attitudes, the utterance of double entendres, slang, and sentiments unwomanly and unnatural, and a boisterous vulgarity and brazen impudence, which, though may excite the laughter and admiration of the fast clerk or the dissipated mechanic, causes the reflecting and judicious listener to grieve to see women placed in so equivocal a position for a few shillings per night. Another objectionable feature is the senseless encore system now pursued in these halls, and encouraged by the proprietors, as, by compelling the singers to appear two or three times in succession, they save expense by keeping the number of their company at the minimum. Formerly an encore was only given as a mark of satisfaction by the audience at the extra exertion or talent of the person so honoured, and was accepted by him as a just recognition of his services; but now it is the invariable custom to encore every song, save only the good musical selections: no matter how rubbishing the song, or wretched the style or the singer, the encore follows as a matter of course; and the sonorous voice of the conductor may be heard exclaiming, “Mr.—will oblige again." In the case of comic singers, this system is carried so far that three encores is the rule. This absurd practice takes away all stimulus from the singer, and disgusts the great majority of the audience, being indulged in chiefly by boys and youths "out for a lark," and who by their noise and clamour drown the remonstrant hiss of the more rational listeners. So much for the entertainments; in themselves quite a sufficient condemnation of the claim put forward by the proprietors of these "halls" to be considered instrumental in "improving the musical tastes of the masses."

It is, however, in the disgraceful scenes enacted in the drinking bars and saloons attached to these "halls" that the greatest evil exists evils which cannot fail of exercising a fatal influence upon the frequenters of these places, of both sexes, who, in the first instance, "go to hear a song," but become initiated in vice and immorality, rendered

more easy and dangerous by the seductive influences with which they are surrounded. The more "respectable" the "hall" the more prominent is this feature. These saloons are filled by "men about town of all ages and conditions, with and without characters: there may be seen the young and inexperienced clerk and the heartless skittle sharp and blackleg, the patrician roué and the plebeian "fancy man ;" and there also may be seen, and heard too, the real "social evil," the members of the "frail sisterhood," some decked out in gaudy trappings and finery, others in plain garb, "assuming a virtue if they have it not," but all intent on one thing the taking in of any young man from the country" who may fall in their way. This mixed crowd of folly and vice keep up a continued chattering composed of obscene jests and vulgar repartees, to the great annoyance of the decent tradesman or working man, who, accompanied by his wife or sweetheart, may have visited the "hall" in the delusive hope of hearing some good singing, but whose cars are thus polluted with vulgarity and slang. It is this sort of thing that has driven, and is still driving, the respectable portion of society from these "halls," and it is to provide attraction for the more "spicy" patrons that "comic ladies" and other "sensation performances have been introduced. In these saloons the scenes that used to be enacted in the lobbies and saloons of the theatres are reproduced even in a worse and more offensive form.

The police and the parish authorities are now occupied in a very proper crusade against vice and immorality in the Haymarket and its neighbourhood; but what is the difference between the saloons and bars of these music halls and the saloons at " Kate Hamilton's" in Leicester Square or at "Godered's "in Piccadilly, except in the hour of the night at which they are open? The class of frequenters and the proceedings are the same. The music halls close at twelve, the Haymarket saloons open about that hour. As no police or magisterial interference takes place with the music halls, it would appear that what is vicious, and obscene, and immoral in the Haymarket saloons between twelve and four in the morning is harmless and innocent between nine and twelve at night in the saloon of the "music hall."

The above remarks are written only with the object of drawing the attention of the more respectable among the proprietors of these halls to the evils existing, in the hope that they will devise a remedy, and thus prevent their establishment being placed under such police regulations as, while it would protect public morality, would not fail, at the same time, of being personally annoying and inconvenient. Let the system with which the "Canterbury was inaugurated be acted upon, with all necessary and desirable improvements, and nothing more could will be required. Let the present system continue and "music halls become a public nuisance, equally with " penny gaffs, to be treated accordingly.

"

STUTTGART (From a Correspondent).— From the annual report of the season of 1861-62 at the Theatre Royal, we learn that on eighty-six evenings that the theatre was opened for opera, forty-two works of twenty-three different composers were performed; thirty-nine works, by twenty-two composers, constituting the entire entertainments on eightyone evenings, and three operettas, by three composers, forming, on the five remaining evenings, only a portion of the programme, which was completed by a short farce, play, or ballet divertissement. Of Auber, five operas were performed on eleven evenings; of Mozart, four operas on seven evenings; of Meyerbeer, three operas on seven evenings; of Flotow, two operas on six evenings; of Lortzing, two operas on six evenings; of Verdi, three operas on six evenings; of Gounod, one opera (Faust) on six evenings; of Rossini, three operas on five eve nings; of Abert, two operas (König Enzio, three times, and Anna von Landskron, once) on four evenings; of Méhul, two operas on four evenings; of Offenbach, two operas on three evenings; of Donizetti, two operas on three evenings; of Halévy, one opera (La Juive) on three evenings; of Benedict, one opera (Die Kreuzpahrer) on three evenings; of Beethoven, one opera on two evenings; of Boieldieu, one opera on two evenings; of Marschner, one opera (Hans Heiling) on one evening; of Kreutzer, one opera on one evening; of Bellini, one opera on one evening; of Gläser, one opera on one evening; of Pressel, one opera on one evening; and of Grisar, one opera on one evening. Of the above thirty-nine operas, the following were new; Gounod's Faust; Verdi's Ballo in Maschera; Abert's König Enzio; Auber's Gustave, and Maçon; and Benedict's Kreutzfahrer. Of the operettas, the following was new: Offenbach's Lied des Fortunio, and revived, at least after the lapse of a generation, Méhul's Schatzgräber. With reference to dramatic productions, works by the following authors were performed-namely: Shakespeare, eleven times; Mad. Barch-Pfeiffer, eight times; Benedix, eight times; Feldmann, seven times; Scribe, six times; Gutzkow, five times; Raupach, three times; Göthe, four times, and Schiller, four times.

efficient as that of the Trovatore, the Nozze di Figaro, the Ballo in Maschera, or the Bohemian Girl.

That Mlle. Titiens has been the special mainstay of the theatre during the season everybody will acknowledge. The popular artist, indeed, this year more than ever, vindicated her claims to the title of one of the greatest dramatic singers of modern times. Moreover, by her performance in oratorio she advanced herself considerably in the estimation of the public; and half her fame this year has been won out of the theatre. Perhaps Mlle. Titiens was never rated more highly as a vocalist than after singing the music of Alice in Robert le Diable, unless when she sang the part of the Countess in the Nozze di Figaro. Signor Giuglini, only inferior to Mlle. Titiens as a public favourite, was indisposed at the beginning of the season, and had to take his congé for a few weeks, to recruit his health. His place was but indifferently supplied by Signor Armandi-a tenor, however, of unusual energy, if not extraordinary accomplishment, who maintained the character of Roberto in Robert le Diable throughout the season. The production of Meyerbeer's masterpiece was creditable to the management - although the cast was susceptible of improvement - as was also Mozart's Nozze di Figaro-although the piece might have been better acted. The other novelties or revivals do not call for particular comment. Signor Giuglini's return to the theatre, with renovated powers, brought back the Trovatore, the Huguenots, and Lucrezia Borgia, to the manifest delight of the admirers of the modern repertory. Signor Giuglini, on his return, sang with all his old charm, and with the cooperation of Mlle. Titiens, Mlle. Trebelli, and Miss Louisa Pyne, the season went on swimmingly towards the conclusion. Nor should we omit the eminent service rendered to the performances by M. Gassier, who proved himself not only one of the most versatile, but one of the most excellent of artists, sustaining with equal effect Assur in Semiramide, Figaro in the Barbiere and the Nozze di Figaro, Enrico in Lucia, and the first conspirator in the Ballo in Maschera. The engagement of Sig. Zucchini was useful in an important point. A good buffo had long been wanting at the Opera, and the want has been in a great measure supplied. If Sig. Zucchini be not a first-rate singer, he is an experienced and conscientious artist, and has a good deal of natural humour. He should be welcomed with honours. Among the basses, above all, we would particularly mention Mr. Santley, now, perhaps, as regards vocal powers and singing, the most accomplished barytone before the public. Mr. Santley is young as an actor, but experience comes speedily, and to so shrewd and clever an observer time is never thrown away. He is fast winning fame on the Italian stage.

The other artists who figured more than respectably in the performances were Mlle. Louise Michal, Mad. Lemaire, Signors Bettini, Naudin, Vialetti, and others. But of these we shall have something especial to say when we come to our RESUMÉ OF THE SEASON.

the passion breathing through each melodic phrase, the variety and interest of its contrivances, make it a worthy rival of the grand allegros of Beethoven. The scherzo is of an order which, excepting in the works of the triumvirate of instrumental music, surpasses in originality all that has been written in the style." Presuming the "triumvirate" to mean Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, it would be difficult to find where Haydn has matched this scherzo—or indeed Mozart considering that neither of them wrote what is commonly termed scherzi.*

Elsewhere, in the same rhapsody (Beethoven et ses Trois Styles), Herr Lenz devotes a chapter apart to Mendelssohn, and says a sufficient number of things to prove that he was as incapable of appreciating the composer of Elijah as Oulibischeff-the panegyrist of Mozart, quand même-of estimating Beethoven. In one place our "critic" pronounces Mendelssohn incontestably the fourth great master of the Quartet; while in another he says" Mendelssohn is the only author whose quartets can be played with effect after Beethoven's;" and in a third, we are apprised that "the quartets of Mendelssohn have, generally speaking, a more symphonic character than those of Beethoven." It is difficult to reconcile these anomalous statements; still more to understand what the Muscovite dilettante and antiOulibischeffist writes about the scherzo of the celebrated Ottet for stringed instruments. After pronouncing the first allegro a composition of the highest order, he descends into speculations about the scherzo as mystical as anything to be met with in the wildest effusions of Herr Richard Wagner's "Art-work of the Future," or " Oper und Dram." Here is an example, in which Herr Wagner's paradox about the influence of Judaism on music is transcended:

46

The Hebraic turn of the scherzo appears new; but it will never be a truth in music, inasmuch as this element of the thought of Mendelssohn is neither a necessity nor an exception justified by sufficient motive, but the reflection of an individuality too exclusive to have the right of imposing itself upon the world. We are reminded of a leaf from the Talmud serving as title-page for a book which treats of wholly different matters" (!).

Of the scherzo of the quartet in E minor the same ingenious critic says: "Freed from the Hebraictics' of the author, its value is enhanced "besides more of the same kind of rhodomontade. Such paradox, happily, will not be accepted for criticism by impartial judges, more especially when applied to genial, exquisite, and thoroughly original music, like that of Mendelssohn in general, and his scherzi in particular, of which the one in the Ottet (afterwards abbreviated, scored for the orchestra, and substituted for another in his first orchestral symphony†) is among the earliest and raciest examples.

N directing attention to the subscription now being raised for the purpose of presenting a testimonial to Mr. Charles Lewis Gruneisen, we are performing a most pleasurable task, and one in which we feel sure of finding many sympathisers. The substantial character of the Conservative Land Society has this year been most thoroughly proved; and, thanks to the ability and untiring zeal with which the

* What can be expected, from an aesthetico-critical point of view, of occupation most frequently understand nothing at all about the mission a man who says "Those who make Bach and Handel a constant preof those great men, which was to create for their art a style rigorously didactic. Handel "rigorously didactic!"

For the Philharmonic Society, at whose concerts the Symphony in C minor was first played in London, under the direction of the composer himself.