21. Menuet in G Major (spur: c by Georg B÷hm)

This document, untitled, anonymous and in shaky English, is fleshed out with numerous letters between Quesada and his artists as well as many interesting photographs. It was once downloadable as a PDF, but only a week later the link was dead. Also he recommended that Columbia Concerts handle the publicity and details covering her debut and, if successful, they agreed to sign a contract for tours of the United States and Canada. Maryla Jonas was touring Latin America and [wrote] on Quesada, I just arrived in Mexico. I await your news advising me on the date of my debut, in order to prepare myself for this outstanding event of my life!

Very cordial regards and please give me the date of my debut. Handwritten letter signed Maryla. My reading of this is that Quesada funded the Carnegie Hall booking itself, but Jonas had to pay transport, accommodation and any other expenses. According to Taubman, the Carnegie hall was practically empty on February 25 th Nobody had actually bought a ticket. Precious few even of the complimentary ticket-holders turned up. Friends and family apart, the frumpy-looking figure was heard only by the ushers and a small group of critics sent to do their bounden duty.

One of these was J. As agreed with Quesada, F. The fugue that follows and ends the piece supplied completely contrasting effects, in the bold announcement of the subject, the clearness, and energy, and power of its development. Unsurprisingly, he was particularly impressed by her Chopin. Never exaggerating, she proved that she has the secret, not shared by many, of Chopin's "rubato.

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And Miss Jonas understands Chopin's use of the pedal … The shimmer of the harmonies, the haunting song that they half revealed and half concealed, was something to remember. The three Mazurkas, op. He did make one proviso: W hat Miss Jonas does with the greater Chopin of Ballades, Polonaises, Scherzi, Sonatas, Barcarolle and other pieces, is not known to this commentator. But when she plays them he will go with high anticipation to hear her and he does not expect to be disappointed New York Times, 31 st March Nevertheless, Columbia Artists were soon able to announce that she was booked for recitals in Philadelphia, Chicago, Cincinnati and Dallas.

Furthermore, Artur Rodzinski had booked her as first soloist of the New York Philharmonic season, on October 10, 11 and 13, while her next Carnegie Hall recital would be on December 7. The performance on October 13 was broadcast, so there is a sporting chance it survives somewhere, though it has not emerged from the vaults as yet. And when she plays the high Romantics, like Schubert and Chopin, her rubato, at the height of its freedom and fancy, never lets one forget for a moment that rhythmic freedom is a comment on measure, not a violation of it. Only first-class musicians ever work in this way Virgil Thomson: Meanwhile, she had garnered more high praise in Philadelphia.

Reports from New York about the amazing qualities of this pupil of Paderewski were in no way exaggerated. As soon as Mme Jonas had played the opening Handel "Passacaglia," one realized that here was a musician of no mean order. Jonas' first encore, the Schubert "Waltzes," it became immediately evident that here was a great interpreter of the romantic school. Nor were we, with this in mind, in any way disappointed with the superb playing of the various Chopin pieces. Jonas was a distinctive artist; indeed she is an individualist.

In an era when rigidity and adherence to what is on the printed page have been carried to extremes, this woman dares, and dares as a great and assured artist, to be herself, to indulge in a rubato which is the acme of artistic expression, to employ a pianissimo, the like of whose clarity and carrying power would be hard to duplicate Max de Schauensee, Philadelphia Enquirer 17 October To be fair, Schauensee thought her Beethoven op.

We might take heed, in passing, of a certain capriciousness Jonas was inclined to show with respect to the printed programme.

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Firstly, she was able to bring her surviving brother, George Jonas, to the United States. He had spent five years in a concentration camp. She also did much, Taubman tells us, to help other fellow Poles who had emerged from the war in battered circumstances to find haven across the Atlantic. Abraham, a distinguished endocrinologist. He proposed to her soon after, and by the end of the year they were married. Before moving on to the next phase, three other articles help to flesh out a portrait of Jonas, not by providing further biographical details, but by offering some useful personal glimpses.

Interpretation, technic, everything is solved, finished. If there were any question, I would not play. Another article on this site is a newspaper cutting without date or provenance. It refers to a New Orleans engagement and since my third article, from the Courier-Journal, Louisville of October 14 , also refers to a New Orleans engagement, I am making the assumption that the first article was published around the same time.

The exceptional self-confidence expressed to Mary Craig has been somewhat modified during the intervening year. And they will accept nothing but what they expect. This sense of eternal responsibility is a terrible feeling. Assuming the two New Orleans articles are contemporaneous, the other, in which she is interviewed by Jean Howerton, finds her in effervescent, free-wheeling mood. Perhaps she gives a hint of the problem here: If an audience does not like us, then we leave without hope, without enthusiasm, and never want to come back. Jonas wanted to be free to choose on the spur of the moment.

Miss Jonas … enjoys receptions and parties which are given after her concerts. She has a passion for cooking and says simply, "I am not only a good cook, I am a master cook! I love cooking, I love the house, I love everything like that. Yesterday she was as excited as a child over her plans for the day.

In the morning she shopped and bought the earrings she is wearing in the picture. Tomorrow, the day of my concert, I will not do anything because I will be half crazy. Eyebrows of train porters, taxi drivers and concert hall directors are raised because for every concert she carries along her straight-back, plain wooden kitchen chair. It suits her height and shape; its familiarity gives her confidence at strange pianos.

A less charitable journalist, W. I play from the legs up. So I look fat. But what has my shape to do with how I play Chopin? Gollin paints it black. Scheduled appearances were abruptly cancelled; she missed the entire season because of illness; the critics, Downes included, changed their minds; bookings dropped. In , after she fainted onstage at a concert, Jonas played in public only once or twice more. The cancellations set in early, it must be said. But this is life, and people do sometimes fall ill.

Nettheim shows the announcement for another Ann Arbor recital, on 17 February , in which Jonas substituted an indisposed Myra Hess — and Hess was as tough as they come. The claim that she missed the entire season does not really stand up, even if we suppose Gollin means the season. Still, he was clearly concerned that her repertoire remained so circumscribed.

His next paragraph carries all the restrained but barbed disapproval of a headmaster writing a report on a gifted student who is refusing to grow up: But without big works as well as little ones the artist is likely to court sameness of effect. Within these limitations, Miss Jonas moves very skillfully.

Her playing is calculated to an extraordinary degree; it always seems to come off precisely as planned and it is all so neatly packaged that it taxes the consumer hardly at all … But if there is nothing very profound about her musical approach, it is playing that is almost invariably charming, even when, in some instances, it borders on the kittenish. Bach, but found more to admire in her Beethoven and Schumann. Both Kendall and Goldberg agreed in not finding her Chopin group the high point of the evening. The lighter Chopin pieces … were all of the salon type and were played precisely in that style, charming but trivial.

The sole entry of the heroic Chopin was the F Sharp Minor Polonaise, and though Miss Jonas gave the piano a good drubbing, it mainly proved that her principal talent is for music that is small, tinkly and pretty. The Beethoven Sonata [op. Garrott also rebutted her supposed limitations. It does suggest, however, an increasing number of relatively provincial venues. One problem could have been her small repertoire.

Concert managers who wished to book her again for the next season may have baulked when it appeared that she had virtually played her entire repertoire the first time. Better miss a season or two, then. We have already seen that her repertoire in Latin America was small — but she did eke it out with several brief character pieces by local composers.

In , Jonas was ill, but still hopeful of fully resuming her career. She attempted to do this in and in that year, more ambitiously, Cohn wrote his Second Sonata for her. Illness and death seem to have intervened before she could play any of these works. Nevertheless, Cohn was a devoted friend of both Jonas and her husband. Most leading piano teachers stress the necessity for young pianists to have a large repertoire under their fingers before they launch upon a career.

The time available for a pianist to study new repertoire while taking the existing repertoire on tour is limited. This problem seems to have dogged Jonas from her Latin American period if not before. The impression is that she never really managed to renew her child prodigy repertoire. Her entire recorded repertoire stretches to just under three-and-a-quarter hours.

The fainting incident took place on January 27 , and was reported by R. Persons familiar with the Schumann work [Carnaval] sensed that something was wrong when some passages were skipped. They were puzzled when the pianist got up after a gentle number about two thirds of the way through. She walked unsteadily to the left side of the stage and just beyond the edge of the dusty-rose curtain she fell. Franz Groezel, and her husband, Dr. Ernest Abraham, both were in the auditorium.

They went back-stage to attend her and ten minutes later John Totten, manager of the hall, emerged from the stage door to say she would continue the program. The pianist returned to the stage looking white and shaky, but once she was seated she seemed all right. She played the Nocturne, the Waltz, the Berceuse and two of the four Mazurkas she had scheduled. She also managed two encores, though the last one was given with the house lights on as a hint to the audience not to expect a third.

In view of her obvious indisposition it would not be fair to criticize the pianist's playing, but it should be said that, despite the illness which made some of her playing erratic, she, nevertheless, achieved many beautiful passages that had a haunting delicacy of effect. Leading colonial administrators, ambassadors, Indian Princes [17] and Premiers of the Dominions were also on the guest list.

The abbey's doors were closed to guests at 8. The official record of the ceremonial, published in the London Gazette , describes the seating plan: Before the coronation ceremony begins, there is traditionally a lengthy procession to the abbey. The first to take part in the procession were lesser members and relatives of the Royal Family and the representatives of foreign royalty and heads of state; they departed Buckingham Palace by car between The first to arrive in procession were the royals and foreign representatives; they arrived ten minutes after departing the palace.

The royal members were led in by two officers of arms—the Bluemantle Pursuivant R.

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Graham-Vivian and the Portcullis Pursuivant A. Wagner —followed by two gentlemen ushers Captain Humphrey Lloyd and Colonel Vivian Gabriel , and were led to their seats in the royal gallery. The foreign representatives followed in at roughly Kerr and the Rouge Dragon Pursuivant E. Geijer ; they were escorted to their seats in the choir. Following tradition dating back to the reign of King Charles II , the regalia were brought to the Deanery of Westminster the night before the coronation. Staff started working at 4 am, while guests began arriving two hours later. It also featured designs patriotic to the British Empire.

The ermine-lined velvet robe had a floral pattern with a gold outline. The Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Office then handed the regalia to the Lord High Constable , who in turn handed them to the Lord Great Chamberlain ; the items were then handed over to individual peers, who are listed below. Their procession took a different form to that of other members.

The York and Windsor Heralds led, followed by G. Then, Queen Mary's Lord Chamberlain the Marquess of Anglesey led Queen Mary, whose train was borne by four pages the Earl of Dalkeith, the Marquess of Lansdowne, Gerald Lascelles, and Viscount Errington and who was attended by the Mistress of the Robes the Duchess of Devonshire , two ladies of the bedchamber in waiting, her private secretary, comptroller, and three equerries two ordinary and one extra. A guard of honour had formed at the vestibule and at the entrance, and the King and Queen arrived at On their entry, they were greeted by the Great Officers of State, the Archbishops, and the peers bearing the regalia.

They then formed their procession, which was led by the King's Chaplain and the Chapter at Westminster, who were followed by representatives of the Free Churches and the Church of Scotland. They were followed by twelve members of the Yeoman of the Guard and six of its officials. The King and Queen walked surrounded by their regalia, borne by the designated peers; King George wore his great robes of state, which had to be carried by nine pages.

They walked past the choir, in which sat the foreign representatives and delegates, before passing through the screen; after this, they sat or stood in their designated area and the King and Queen took their seats in the Chairs of State in front of the royal box. The coronation service itself began once the procession into the abbey was over and the King and Queen were seated. Beginning with the recognition, the King then took an oath and was anointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, before being crowned king. As a remnant of the coronation ceremony's feudal origins, the King then received homage from the peers and peeresses of the realm in attendance.

There were few departures from the services conducted at previous coronations. Efforts were made to shorten the lengthy proceedings: The first part of the service was the recognition, where the Archbishop of Canterbury called for those present to proclaim their recognition of the sovereign as their rightful king. The king then sat in the Chair of State and the regalia, except the swords, were laid on the altar.

This marked the beginning of the anointing of the monarch, when the Archbishop of Canterbury marks the monarch's head with oil to symbolise the introduction of the Holy Spirit. The Archbishop then anointed him with oil from the Ampulla , which had been poured onto the Anointing Spoon. In preparation for his crowning, the King, still on St Edward's Chair, was invested with the two coronation robes, the Colobium Sindonis and the Supertunica by the Dean of Westminster.

Next, he was invested with the regalia, each of which symbolised his progress to kingship. Seated again, the Lord Great Chamberlain fastened the armills and the Dean invested the King with the Royal Robe; the Archbishop passed him the Orb, put the Ring on his fourth finger and handed to him the two sceptres—with the cross for Royal power and with the dove for "mercy and equity".

Once adorned with his regalia and seated in St Edward's Chair, King George was crowned with St Edward's Crown by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the people in the abbey proclaimed loudly "God save the King"; the peers and peeresses wore their coronets the only time that this happens and the guns in the Royal Parks were fired to mark the crowning.

In the text of the service, this part of the ceremony was described using the archaic term "inthronization". The Archbishop of Canterbury presented the Bible to the King and the King returned it to him, who gave it to the Dean, who placed it on the Altar. The Benediction followed and then the King moved over to the other throne, accompanied by the Bishops of Bath and Wells and of Durham, the Great Officers of State, the Lords carrying the swords and the Lords who had carried the regalia.

The Archbishop knelt and paid homage to the King; the Archbishop of York did so next, followed by each of the Bishops. The Queen was crowned and anointed in a much smaller and simpler ceremony. This began immediately after the homage to the King finished, when the Queen knelt in prayer before the altar. She then went to the Faldstool , which had been placed before the altar, where she knelt under a canopy, which was held by the Duchesses of Norfolk, Rutland, Buccleuch and Roxburghe.

The Archbishop anointed her, placed on her fourth finger on her right hand the Queen's ring and then crowned her, at which point the Princesses and Peeresses donned their coronets. She was then handed her Sceptre with the Cross and the Ivory Rod with the Dove, before walking over to her own throne beside the King, where she sat. The Offertory followed, in which the King and Queen offered their regalia on the Altar.

They then received Holy Communion from the Archbishop and were passed their crowns before returning to their thrones where they were also given their sceptres back. Te Deum was sung by the choir. There, the King delivered the Sceptre with the Dove to the Archbishop who laid it on the altar. While the King and Queen were in the chapel, the Officers of Arms arranged the procession out of the abbey, which was similar in form to the procession into the abbey.

The King and Queen then joined the procession, with the King carrying the Sceptre with the Cross in his right hand and the Orb in his left, while the Queen carried her Sceptre with the Cross in her right hand and the Ivory Rod with the Dove in her left.

Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth

As in the and events, the coronation was followed by a procession through London's streets from Westminster Abbey to the Royal residence, allowing the public to view the new king and queen. In , this return route was extended significantly. The progression included a large number of military personnel from across the Empire. There were representative detachments from all the elements of the British armed forces and the reserve forces , the British Indian Army and Royal Indian Navy , contingents from the British Dominions and a contingent representing the defence forces of the Colonial Empire.

Contingents taking part represented the following sections of the Empire: A number of ventilators, of a peculiar kind, are fixed in different parts of Westminster abbey, in order for a regular succession of fresh air, and to keep the whole in a due temperature of heat, as well in consideration of the health of the Royal, noble, and other visitors, as that there may be no undue obstruction to the tone of the instruments and vocal performers, it having been long since found by experience, that a clammy heat obstructs and deadens the powers of the best voices and instruments.

The following arrangement has been made by the Directors of the Jubilee, to prevent as much as possible the confusion that necessarily must attend the admission at different doors of so much company as is expected at the Abbey to-morrow. There were a great many of the nobility who paid half a guinea each for admission, but there being no rehearsal received tickets of admission for this day. The Messiah will be rehearsed on Friday in the Abb[e]y, when a considerable sum is expected to be received, as none are to be admitted but upon payment of half a guinea.

The Directors were obliged to make this regulation as well for the advantages of the charity, as to prevent the interruption occasioned by admitting people at discretion. In consequence of this, an application was made to Mr. Bates, whose assistance was highly necessary towards the accomplishment of their wishes. Bates not only expressed his readiness in forwarding the business, but has since proved himself, by the most laborious attention, to have been of infinite service.

In the autumn, Mr. Bates sent for Mr. Ashley, of Pimlico, whom he knew to have a general knowledge of the musical people, and enquired how many performers he thought could be collected in the celebration of the intended Jubilee? Ashley, after a few days were elapsed, produced a list of performers, who had promised their assistance.

This circumstance induced Mr. The publick may rely on the authenticity of this information. The many pitiful attempts that are daily made, by interested or ambitious men, to secure to themselves that merit, which is due of others, can only meet the ineffable contempt of a discerning publick. The rehearsal at the Pantheon yesterday morning, cannot be spoken of in terms of exaggeration; the execution, not only of the vocal but instrumental performers, was far superior to any thing of the kind the harmonious region of Italy can boast.

To enter into a detail of the individual excellence of each performer, is more than can be expected, and more than we confess ourselves equal to; that task we leave to the musical critic, who shall lay his sentiments before the public on Friday; he will certainly have the advantage of the emulation and ardent desire to please, that ever stimulates candidates for fame, when displaying their talents before a brilliant, numerous, and judicious auditory.

We most cordially congratulate the public on the approaching prospect of sitting down to a musical feast, such as never could have been produced in the most refined and luxuriant ages of antiquity. Yesterday there was a rehearsal of the music intended for that part of the festival which is to be celebrated at the Pantheon. The preparations being compleat, the arrangements were yesterday made of the band, and the Directors manifested their discernment and taste in the regulations which were settled.

The band is so ordered that they may all have a full view of the general leader as well as of the secondaries. The company was numerous and brilliant, the entertainment in the most exalted stile; but as the festival begins this day, we do not think it right to enter into the particular merits of the particular performers. The preparations are now finished, and this is the day to which the musical world has so long bent their view with anxiety and enthusiasm. Such entertainments as the ensuing musical feasts in commemoration of Handel do the highest honour to the nation where they are encouraged, and give superior dignity to the Monarch who patronizes them, as well as those of the nobility and gentry who follow so laudable an example.

How much better is the money so spent employed than that which is laid out in debauchery, dissipation, and luxury! The latter practice tends to enervate the mind, to enfeeble the constitution, and to waste the fortune; while the former exalts the soul, improves the judgment, and delights the ear of taste.

Let reason and prudence make their choice. His Lordship, with a soul of gratitude and harmony, communicated his wishes to Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, for the establishment of a festival, who, animated with the same generous feelings, promised his most sanguine support. Ashley, of Pimlic[o], whom he knew to have a general knowledge of the musical people, and enquired how many performers he thought could be collected in the celebration of the intended Jubilee? The following arrangement has been made by the Directors of the Jubilee, to prevent as much as possible the confusion that necessarily must attend the admission at different doors of so much company as is expected at the Abbey this day.

Entrons nous donc en Matiere— [ ]. Stanley has said, as plainly as a civil man can speak, in one of his Letters to me w[hi] ch I communicated to you, that he did not chuse to set these Oratorios: If this letter is not destroyed, I wish you w[ oul] d send it to your Friend.

And I own that my expectations of a more satisfactory answer from Stanley are very small. If there is any other adventurer in Compositions of this sort: I have the honour to be, with great regard, dear Sir,. Cha[ rle] s Burney [78]. She has been at the Abbey today, much charmed, begs best love to you. The D[owage ] r D[uche]ss is pretty well, but did not go to-day. Yesterday the grand festival in commemoration of the immortal Handel began. We cannot in any adequate terms describe the grandeur of the spectacle.

Habituated as we are to public exhibitions, and having had the opportunity of beholding whatever has engaged the notice of the metropolis for many years, we may be allowed to speak from comparison;—on experience therefore we say, that so grand and beautiful a spectacle, with at the same time a feast so rich and perfect, has not been presented to the public eye within our memory. On the trial of the Duchess of Kingston there was a heavy grandeur—the robes and the etiquette of rank, aided by the gloom of the Hall, prevented us from enjoying the beauties of variety.

The Ladies were without diamonds, feathers, or flowers, and thus, in our mind, their charms were embellished. We have already given some account of the picture of the Abbey. The arrangement of the whole was admirable, and did infinite credit to the talents of Mr. His orchestra [platform] he constructed so well, that the whole mountain of performers had a full view of the leader, and were as regular as the most compact band. The great aisle under the orchestra, and the galleries on each hand, were so contrived, by the gradual elevation, that from every point of view the whole was seen, and the grand box for their Majesties and the Royal Family terminated the prospect.

The company began to assemble at a very early hour. Before ten in the morning the appearance was numerous, and about half after eleven, the immense space was crowded to overflowing; the number was not short of , the greatest part of which were ladies. By the natural coolness of the Abbey, and the contrivance of the Directors, the place was not so intolerable for heat as might be imagined from the season.

The King came first into his box, and on viewing the brilliant spectacle, he started and stood for some moments seemingly in an extasy of astonishment, an extasy which could only be exceeded by the bounding transports of our amiable Queen. The festival then began, and the Coronation Anthem was the first piece, which was selected as a Salutation, and in its performance displayed the amazing powers of the Band.

It would be presumptive in us to enter into a detail of the performance. It was in so grand, so superior, and so exalted a stile, that it must not be subjected to the rules of pettyfogging criticism. Our readers may imagine better than we can describe, the fulness of a band of more than instruments[. Will they not believe that.

The present is in reality an aera in the music of Britain; and as, while the soul and the genius of music has existence, it will be our pride that Handel composed his works in England, it will not be forgotten that his works have been so greatly commemorated. His is the muse for the English character.

He writes to the masculine genius of a free people, and it was only by such an execution that the true majesty of his composition could be demonstrated. It has been attributed to music that it enervates the mind. How far this may be true of the refinements of the Italian school, or even of simple melodies, we do not think ourselves competent to determine; but surely if any thing can more than ordinarily invigorate the mind; if any thing can arouse the faculties and coagitate the masculine passions of the soul, it is the music of Handel, performed by such a band as are now engaged in his commemoration.

Joah Bates, Esq; who was the conductor of the band, and to whose efforts so much of the general character and excellence of the entertainment was owing, appeared to be so agitated and inflamed by the subject during the performance—his mind was so involved, and his powers so roused, that his instrument, though immense in its tones, could hardly give utterance to his sentiments. Driven along the torrent so powerfully, he was at times too rapid in the movement, but his judgment quickly corrected his feelings; and a band more easily directed, more distinct in its impressions, or more perfect in its harmony, we never saw.

Such was the first Exhibition in this national feast; we rejoice that there are yet two more to come. Wednesday , 26 [May]. The grand festival in commemoration of the immortal Handel began this day. Habituated as we are to public exhibitions, and having had the opportunity of beholding whatever has engaged the notice of the metropolis for many years, we may be allowed to speak from comparison;—on experience, therefore, we say, that so grand and beautiful a spectacle, with at the same time a feast so rich and perfect, has not been presented to the public eye within our memory.

On the trial of the Duchess of Kingston there was a heavy grandeur—the robes and the etiquette of rank, aided by the gloom of the hall, prevented us from enjoying the beauties of variety. The ladies were without diamonds, feathers, or flowers, and thus, in our mind, their charms were embellished. The arrangement of the buildings in the Abbey was admirable, and did infinite credit to the talents of Mr.

His orchestra he constructed so well, that the whole mountain of performers had a full view of the leader, and were as regular as the most compact band. The great aisle under the orchestra, and the galleries on each hand, were so contrived, by the gradual elevation, that from [ ] every point of view the whole was seen, and the grand box for their Majesties and the Royal Family terminated the prospect.

Before ten in the morning the appearance was numerous, and about half after eleven the immense space was crowned to overflowing; the number was not short of , the greatest part of which were ladies. By the natural coolness of the abbey, and the contrivance of the directors, the place was not so intolerable for heat as might be imagined from the season.

The festival then began, and the Coronation Anthem was the first piece, which was selected as a salutation, and in its performance displayed the amazing powers of the band. It was in so grand, so superior, and so exalted a style, that it must not be subjected to the rules of pettifogging criticism. Our readers may imagine better than we can describe, the fullness of a band of more than instruments— They may conceive what must be produced by a combination of all the executive powers in the country, inflamed and actuated by the Muse of Handel.

Will they not belive [ sic ] that. The present is in reality an aera in the music of Britain; and as, while the soul and the genius of music has existence, it will be our pride that Handel composed his works in England; it will not be forgotten that his works have been so greatly commemorated. His is the Muse for the English character. It has been attributed to music, that it enervates the mind. How fast this may be true of the refinements of the Italian school, or even of simple melodies, we do not think ourselves competent to determine; but surely, if any thing can more than ordinary invigorate the mind; if any thing can arouse the faculties and coagitate the masculine passions of the soul, it is the music of Handel, performed by such a band as are now engaged in his commemoration.

Joah Bate, Esq; who was the co[n]ductor of the band, and to whose efforts so much of the general character and excellence of the entertainment was owing, appeared to be so agitated and inflamed by the subject during the performance—his mind was so involved, and his powers so roused, that his instrument, though immense in its tones, could hardly give utterance to his sentiments.

Driven along the torrent so powerfully, he was at times too rapid in the movement, but his judgement quickly corrected his feelings; and a band more easily directed, more distinct in its impressions, or more perfect in its harmony, we never saw. Such was the first exhibition in this exquisite national feast. In about an hour and a half, the aisle and galleries were filled with company. Such an assemblage of fine women could never be brought together in any country in the world. Neatness and simplicity of dress, added charms to natural beauty.

There were present about persons, two-thirds at least Ladies. The accommodations were well adapted to the occasion. The upper apartments, on the right hand of the throne, were appropriated to [ ] the Gentlemen of the Household in waiting; beneath whom sat, in purple robes, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishops of Winchester, Salisbury, Ely, St. On the left of the throne, in the upper apartments, were the Maids of Honour. The box under the Prebends contained a Bevy of Beauties; in the front of which were seated the Duchesses of Portland and Devonshire, Lady Duncannon, Lady Salisbury, and a numerous company of the Noblesse.

The pit was allotted to subscribers, but not sufficient to contain, by many hundreds, the number of persons to whom tickets had been issued. In the galleries, which may be stiled the boxes of the House, the parties were agreeably blended. The Stewards and their friends occupied the center-box, under the throne. His Majesty was dressed in light blue, trimmed with silver, and a primrose-coloured silk waist-coat; her majesty in a straw-coloured silk saque, with laylock bows, and head-dress in neat moderate stile; the Princess Royal in olive-coloured silk; Princess Elizabeth in puis coloured; and the Princess Augusta in Pomona ; Prince Edward in light blue silk, wearing the order of St.

The second part, of the Overture and dead March in Saul. And the third part, of an Anthem, and a Chorus, from Israel in Egypt. The band was led by Mr. The voices of the choral band were arranged by Dr. The vocal performers acquitted themselves with much credit, particularly Reinhold, Norris, Harrison, and the Rev. Further particulars of a celebrity so near the period of the month, we are under the necessity of postponing. With respect to the subsequent performance at the Pantheon on Thursday, and at the Abbey on Saturday, it is obviously absurd to anticipate events, for the gratification of temporary curiosity, in a publication intended as a record of past transactions; an attempt moreover, which would hardly fail of subjecting us to incorrectness and inconsistency.

On so hot a day, and at such a season of the year, no persons who regarded the health of their fellow creatures would have planned so palpably destructive a scheme to the lives of individuals; and the truth of this observation will be verified in the event of yesterday.

Above one hundred persons overcome by the calcuttean heat which naturally arose from the effluvia of so many close packed bodies, fainted away, and were with the greatest difficulty and the most imminent danger carried out. Some recovered by being brought into the air, and others were [ ] taken home with very little hopes of recovery. The idea of the black hole in India can only convey to the public what the visitors to this lucrative jubilee, suffered.

By the time that the place was nearly full, the rosy cheeks of many a beautiful woman displayed a channel on the natural skin, down which the warm moisture run in such plenteous streams as caused visible distinction between the real and artificial colour of the face. The roots of the hair became from the same cause unpowdered, nor could even the strong perfume of Olympian dew or Lavender water, prevent the vapour from overcoming every delicate constitution in the Abbey. Even the gentlemen in the Orchestra felt it, and one of them was so much affected, Mr. Claget that he was taken out, and carried home quite senseless.

Two young ladies from Buckinghamshire, who came to town on purpose to be present at this Jubilee, and who were hitherto accustomed to the sweet air of the country, are likely to forfeit their lives. One of them in particular has totally lost her senses, and the other is in a most dangerous fever. There certainly has never been in this country a meeting from which so much injury to the health has and will arise, and which in future must bring down so many curses on its authors from parents for the loss of children, and from children for the loss of parents.

It seems to be a too great fondness for the immediate profits that induced the Directors not to defer this entertainment to winter, when it might have been performed without endangering the lives of so many people. We may therefore with the more justice state this matter in the manner we have done to the public, and warn them how they croud to such places at so very hot a season as this is.

Westminster Abbey, from the nature of its situation in a hollow, from the numerous bodies that are interred both within the aisle, and round the building, and from its continued damp beneath, must cause the most unwholesome air that can be breathed. Many hitherto have been the fatal colds caught by only sauntering there to view the tombs. What then must be the effects arising to an [ ] assemblage suffocating there for want of air during six or seven hours. Our duty to the public, however highly we may respect the performance, obliges us to speak the truth, and in doing so to be of as much service as we can on such an occasion to the community.

Indeed we speak the sense of almost every person present; for the general expression when the concert ended, was: The popular Rage indeed for this extraordinary Novelty was such, that all the Tickets which were issued were bought up with an Avidity beyond all Expectation; so that the Day before the Performance not a single Ticket was to be got through the whole Town; and Yesterday Morning, long before the Time appointed for the Opening of the Doors, Crowds of well dressed People were assembled at the Doors: And the Struggle, though short, was for the Time as violent as any we ever met with at a Theatre.

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The Building, when filled, which it was most compleatly, was one of the most beautiful Spectacles that a large Assembly ever furnished forth! The Music , no doubt aided by the Enthusiasm of the Scene, and the collateral Considerations connected with the Commemoration, as well as by the unexampled Selection of the Performers, was far more than ordinarily impressing!

For the greater Part they played with as much Neatness, with as much Precision as if they had been a common Band of two Dozen, that had been practising together for twice Twelve Months. Hay was the Leader. Cramer was unemployed but as a Hearer. Pacchierotti, Tasca, Bartolini, did not sing[. The Building, though materiem superabat opus, was still the Building of Wyatt! The Dispositions of the Throne, the Orchestra, the Ornaments all so exactly harmonising with the Tone of the Cathedral, were imagined in a Taste at once both curious and correct—Yet still our Mind could not help a vain Wish, that the Object had been less fleeting.

Wyatt should build in Adamant! The Directors acquitted themselves with uncommon Satisfaction and Success! All their Measures were so well taken, that the whole Day went off with uninterrupted Eclat: There were none of those Embarassments to which all Entertainments of Magnitude must in their Turn be liable; the only objectionable Point was the Want of Punctuality—The Doors were not opened till nearer Ten than Nine; and the Music was also a little behind Hand in the Beginning.

The Clocks which were in the same Story gave, we suppose, the Lead to this Error. The King and Queen we have said were there, so were the Princesses, two or three we did not see, they looked Complacency itself, a Virtue they have by Inheritance! Prince Edward made his first Appearance in Public. The Prince of Wales was not there. Their Majesties, we understand, have been so much delighted with the Performance in the Abbey on Wednesday, that a message was sent by the Lord Chamberlain to the Directors, desiring a fourth day, and pointing out the pieces to be performed.

In I was happy to be one of the subscribers to the first Commemoration of Handel at the Abbey, and went myself to that most sublime treat. I recollect giving Dr. Arnold very tolerable trouble: Though a passionate lover of music, the immense burst of sound really frightened me, and I rose to leave the place; but how to get out through titles, magnificence, elegance, and beauty, all listening in [ 96 ] rapturous silence! From the length of the entertainment, I was overcome by langour; however, I patiently suffered to the end of one chorus and another song; at length courage or weakness compelled me to rise, and make to the door, though I blundered exceedingly in my progress, for the large windows, admitting the broad sun-beams on the variety of gay figures round me, made it all one glare.

I seemed in a huge lantern: The fresh air at the door revived me, and the conscious certainty of getting out when I wished, quite restored my spirits. I walked about gently, heard an air or song as I pleased, and quitted [ 97 ] the Abbey with a determination never again to be thrust into a great assembly, unless with some intimate acquaintance at my elbow. Being in full dress, I went and came in a sedan-chair. This evening the grand festival in commemoration of Handel was renewed at the Pantheon which presented a brilliant appearance. The lofty dome was illuminated with lamps, in compartments, and terminating at the top of the cupola in a beautiful figure.

There were between two and three thousand persons present; the general anxiety was such, and the fear of not being present at this solemnity made the company so eager, that the press at the doors was as great, and the entrance as vehemently contended for, as it is at the pit of the galleries of the theatre on a night of unusual invitation. Stars and Duchesses disdained not to set their shoulders to the crowd[s] and jostle for admission to this triumph of the art. The performance was not over till past twelve. We enter not into the detail of the concert, which differed from the entertainments of the first day in every thing but its excellence.

The music in the Abbey was the sublime , this the beautiful of Handel. The one part was full of the grandeur and majesty of the art—the other of the taste and elegance.



In this, however, they were alike, that they both called up the great passions of [ ] the soul, and stirred both the turbulent and the [t]ender feelings. The select[i]on of the pieces did infinite credit to the taste of the directors; and the execution came up to their warmest expectations. Bate played the organ with the same touch as he had in the Abbey, the new invention of the ingenious Mr. The band was led by Crame[r], and the harmony in all its parts was compleat. As the Commemoration of Handel has given rise to one of the most splendid exhibitions which has been seen in this kingdom, we think it our duty to communicate to our readers the particular circumstances which first led to its being adopted.

The death of Handel naturally presented itself to three such e[n]thusiastic admirers of that great master, and it immediately occurred that the next i. The plan was soon afterwards communicated to the Managers of the Musical Fund, who approved it, and promised their assistance. It was next submitted to the Directors of the Concert of Ancient Music, viz. The design a[t] last coming to the knowledge of the King, it received the sanction of his patronage.

The profits of the other days are intended to be applied solely to the Musical Fund. As the tickets delivered out on the above occasion are peculiarly excellent, we shall subjoin the following description of them: This ticket was designed by Sig. Rebecca, and engraved by Mr. The ticket for the Pantheon represents Handel playing on the organ, and a figure of Fame crowning him with laurel, designed by Cipriani, and engraved by Bartolozzi. The other ticket, which is for the second performance in the Abbey, represents the figure of Britannia pointing towards a pyramid, on which the name of Handel is engraved; at the foot of Britannia is a Genius offering the first-fruits of a sacrifice, by the command of Britannia, to the memory of Handel; and in the back ground appears a perspective view, at a distance, of Westminster-Abbey.

This ticket was designed by Mr. Smirk, and engraved by Mr. The band at the Pantheon yesterday evening consisted of about half the number of performers assembled at the Abbey the day before. However, there were as many a[s] the orchestra of the place could be made to contain, and indeed as many as any ear could possibly wish, for the complete covering of all the parts.

LAST night the festival in memory of Handel was renewed. The Pantheon presented a most brilliant appearance. The lofty dome was illuminated with lamps, in compartments, and terminating at [t] he top of the cupola in a beautiful figure. We have already described the scite [ sic ], fashion and furniture of the grand box, erected by Wyatt, for the accommodation of the Royal family.

There were between two and persons present; the general anxiety was such, and the fear of not being present at this solemnity m[a]de the company so eager, that the press at the doors was as great, and the entrance as vehemently contended for, as it is at the pit and galleries of the theatre on a night of unusual invitation. Stars and Duchesses disdained not to set their shoulders to the crowd, and jostle for admission to this triumph of the art.

At this late hour, for the performance was not over till past twelve, we cannot enter into the detail of the Concert. It differed from the entertainments of the first day in every thing but its excellence. In this, however, they were alike, that they both called up the great passions of the soul, and stirred both the turbulent and the tender feelings. The selection of the pieces did infinite credit to the taste of the directors; and the execution came up to their warmest expectations. Bates played the organ with the same touch as he had in the Abbey, the new invention of the ingenious Mr. The band was led by Cramer, and the harmony in all its parts was compleat.

Last night the festival in memory of Handel was renewed. The lofty dome was illuminated with seven thousand lamps, in compartments, and terminating at the top of the cupola in a beautiful figure. There were between two and three thousand persons present; the general anxiety was such, and the fear of not being present at this solemnity made the company so eager, that the press at the doors was as great, and the entrance as vehemently contended for, as it is at the pit and galleries of the theatre on a night of unusual invitation.

The Concert was not over till past twelve. The King has commanded a fourth day, Thursday next, and the pieces are. Reading , May 26, [! Reading, May 28, The following lines relate to a circumstance which happened at the Pantheon during the concert in memory of Handel: If you think proper to rescue them from oblivion, by inserting them in your Magazine, they are at your service. Be gibbetted on paper. Arnold, the conductor of the whole, near the door, that, should I be oppressed by the heat, I might the sooner get away.

The King has commanded a fourth day, Thur[s]day next, and the pieces are. Gird on thy sword. Veniente die , et decedente. THE Rehearsal yesterday brought together a great crowd; but being by experience admonished to what lengths the Desperation of Insolvency would carry the Blue and Buff , we took more than usual care of our pockets, and, of course, passed through the Opposition , and yet had a half guinea to pay for admission into the Abbey.

There could not be less than near persons present. The floor was full, and the two front rows of the galleries [too]. The Band acquitted themselves to a miracle of precision and impassioned expression; and though it was the first Rehearsal, at least the first that was general, there were not above two or three obstructions to a progress strait forward. The effect of the Chorusses was most sublime! We thought we were without doubt as to the impression they were capable of producing—but this performance went far beyond the high point we had an idea of. The Opera House and Pantheon only are licenced by the Lord Chamberlain to have Masquerades; and the managers or proprietors of other public places presuming to have any without a licence from his Lordship, are liable to very severe penalties, which no doubt would be inflicted on them for acting contrary to law.

The late George Frederick Handel, the celebrated musician, died on the 14th of April, , at the age of 75 years; he and Quin the player were reckoned the two great voluptuaries of the age.



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It has been said of Mr. Handel that he composed his best pieces of music when half intoxicated [had that been true, Britain would have long been the first musical nation in Europe! ON Saturday the exhibition in the Abbey was as grand as on the first day of this glorious festival. The Oratorio of the Messiah was then performed. Of the merits of this piece it would be impertinent in us to speak, since every one who has any knowledge of music, or who is like ourselves, an amateur of the science, is intimate with every movement and passage of the immortal work.

Never was the Messiah so superbly, so wonderfully executed. The solos may have had equal justice in former representations, because individual performers of equal merits may and have been employed in their execution; but the chorusses were in a stile of magnitude and grandeur unprecedented, and we fear inimitable.

Let our readers imagine the result of such a combination of professional men; for the wonder and brilliancy of this part arises, not from the circumstance of five or six hundred persons being in the band, but that the band, thus numerous, is composed of scientific men, almost every one of them a master in the science, and so executive at their several instruments, that there required but one general rehearsal to compass the undertaking. Upon no occasion even in the land of music, in Italy itself, was such an orchestra put in motion; the only festival in Italy which approaches to the present was the crowning of Petrarch, and then the band, which consisted only of wind instruments, did not amount to more than three hundred in number.

Is it not, therefore, a subject of national triumph, that, on so worthy an occasion, as the memory of Handel, and for so benevolent a purpose as public charity, we have fixed the greatest atchievement [ sic ] of the art in Britain? Monday, May 31 The performance of sacred music in the Abbey was again attended by his Majesty, the royal family, and a splendid audience; who were entertained in the most agreeable manner that can be well conceived. The Performance of the Messiah on Saturday, being the second of the Acts of Commemoration of Handel in the Abbey, was indeed a glorious instance of the grand and sublime in execution, as the Musick of the Oratorio is confessedly a proof of the grand and sublime in composition.

Champness, who for many years together afforded the lovers of musical expression, in the boldest stile of vocal energy, the highest satisfaction, fell a little short of himself in one of the songs. The chorusses were all admirably given, particularly the Hallelujah at the end of the second act. The peculiar regularity and correctness of the above performance, was scarcely less the subject of astonishment than its extraordinarily noble effect, and afforded a corroborating proof of the claim the Sub-Directors, who conduct the executive part of this striking example of national taste, and national mastership in the arts musical, have upon the publick for their warmest approbation and gratitude.

Their Majesties, four of the Princesses, and above auditors, came away in raptures from the Abbey, which had been the scene of their extacy for three hours successively. Clergy and Establishment for the Blind. Besides irradiating the country with the lustre of patronizing the arts, the Commemoration of Handel may be estimated as producing other consequences, nationally cognizable—as the encrease of money thrown into new circulations, additional influx of foreigners, some little aid to the Revenue, by incidental travelling, dress destroyed, carriages, and other benefits to trade.

The band which the publick have lately heard in the Abbey, is the most numerous, as well as the most perfect, ever known to have been collected in Europe. At Vienna, it is recorded, that there was once a band of above musicians—but never another instance of more, or indeed so many.

The profits resulting from the different performances in Commemoration of Handel, will make a wonderful total. The first and second Abbey performances each had near persons present; the Pantheon ; the Rehearsal at the Pantheon near ; the Rehearsal at the Abbey above persons paid; the third and fourth Abbey meetings, yet to come, may be expected to produce as much as the preceding—of course, in all, the receipts will be above 18,l. The disbursements, we understand, cannot be above l. AFTER having made our Readers acquainted with the Band and Singers brought together on this Occasion, they will imagine, rather better than we can describe, the Excellence and Grandeur of the Performance.

Not that it was free from reprehensible and inexcusable Faults. The sickly Melody of Pacchierrotti, unnatural as the Tones are in which it is expressed, is wonderfully captivating; and Madame Mara is the genuine Child of Nature and Genius. They were too sparingly introduced; and the inferiour Singers had Parts assigned them to which their particular Talents were not suited.

But all Murmurs were silenced by the commanding, perhaps terrifick, Manner in which the Chorusses were performed. Agitated and affected as we were by them, we could not keep out of our Minds Ideas of Regret and sometimes of Disgust, arising from the Nature, Character, and Views of the Assembly, and the aweful Subject of the Entertainment. It has been the diligent Study of Men in Power in this Country for twenty Years, to discredit every Principle that can render Man useful or respectable.

The Assent given to the Excellence of the Performance; and the Resistance made to the terrifick Truth of the sublime Sentence, formed a mingled Expression more unpleasing and hateful than can be well imagined. This Circumstance has long induced us to avoid Oratorios; as they are performed exactly in the Manner of Parodies, to ridicule and insult the moral and religious Sentiments they were meant to promote; and it will make us deem the Commemoration of Handel a signal Proof of the musical Proficiency, and the abandoned Profligacy of the present Period.

Though the Condition of publick and private Affairs be the most desperate which can well be imagined, yet London has not at any Period exhibited such numerous Instances of the most expensive Entertainments as have engaged our Attention in the last Month. Last Night the Engagement to the Pantheon was not sufficient.

Miss Vanneck, Lady Basset, and we believe some others, vied with the Managers in the Splendour of their Entertainments.