Words are wanting, wrote Faulklable performance of "The Me in Dublin in 1742 amid great enthusiasm, to express the exquisite delight it afforded to the admiring audience. Some such sentiment, too, must have inspired the mighty] gathering at the Crystal Palace quite recently upon the occasion of the Handel Festival which,—since 1859, has been held once every three years. It is an occasion, this, when mighty forces are the order of the day, Orchestra, choir, organ and audience are all proportioned on! Gargantuan lines—the first with 500 instrumentalists the second of 3,000 voices, the combined effect of which is surely calculated to delight even the artistic soul of Berlioz!" How far removed from the modest requirements of Handel's day when 23 players and. 23 singers suifieed! Gigantic performances these! Special instruments, by the way, were made for these performances of "The! Messiah"—for we find mention of a double bassoon, a special contrabass. some bass trumpets, drums tuned octave lower, ete.
'Three Weeks' Work Handel wrote "The Messiah" between August 22, and September 14, 1741. 'The Lord' Lieutenant of Ireland' had invited him to Dublin to direct some concerts and in to offer this generous order pol ied nation—somet!
Handel composed the oratorio, so it is said, on a poem by his friend Jen-were the only foreigners present but no one paid attention to us; we came and went just as freely and, apparently, unnoticed as though we had been in a cinema in London, Home by midnight. Thoroughly tired after our experiences and the evening and the morning we another day.
The Irish were very enthusiastic lover his works and the several conleerts ho gave there were attended with considerable success. What a different story London had to. tell! Pious people here tried to prevent the performance of "The Messiah" and although they were not entirely successful they were, at least, able to force the composer to describe his work, not as he had entitled it, but as "A Sacred Oratorio." It was only. towards the close of 1850 that tha, victory of Handel's great work was complete. He conducted it once a year for the Foundling Hospital and even when his sight had gone, he remained faithful to this noble prac-
Sydenham Festival is a very, impressive and soul-stirring "one: To compress it into the tiny grooves of phone dise and to record faithful manner so that neither the wondrous effect of that huge musical lanny nor the theatrical atmosphere of the great: transept are one whit fast" is a stupendous achievement indeed. But. the Columbia Ca., with the aid of electrical. recording methods, and with the ce-operation jof the' conductor, Sir Henry Wood, have accomplished it with amazing success. 'There are three records altogether and they represent the most recent of wonderful gram-aphonic possibilities. For here is no make-believe, no closing, one' eyes te obvious. shortcomings deavour to tual per formance. Here is actual perform: ance photographed to a size ce mensurate with the needs of one' drawing room, The numbers recorded are "And "Behold the "lo trusted in God," "Let us break their bonds" and "Lift up your Heads." In these records one hears for the first. time vid the gramophone, all the remark able effects of light and of ferashing fortissimos, the indescribfable delight of massed tone, of which an organization Is capable. All ig naturally reproduced with the added realistic touch of the audience's applause. In exchange for certain pieces-of-eight one may acquire these records (a word applicable in more senses than one), of a great and historic occasion. For those who do not measure their riches in gold, the dises are worth untold wealth, They are an artistic and musical treasure, one T shall cherish for many a tong day!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.