On the subject of concerts in general, it is not necessary to dwell at length. If London is in advance of the provinces in respect of her orchestras, the north and midlands are immensely in advance of the metropolis as regards their choirs, there being none in the south to compare with the Festival-choirs of Leeds, Birmingham,
Sheffield or Bradford. It is to the great English Festivals that we must look for stability in the position of oratorio, for it must be admitted, there have been obvious signs, at least in the south, of fading interest; the popularity of concert arrangements of popular operas, as evidenced by their continual use at the concerts of our choral societies, being, perhaps, the most significant sign.
The stimulus afforded by the periodical great provincial music Festivals—the excitement provided by the prolonged preparations that are necessary, being a healthy accessory—goes to keep the interest alive in this noble form of art, not only in the immediate vicinity, but far and wide of the cities in which they take place.
The appearance of "The Dream of Gerontius," and the hold it took on the imagination of the people (the picturesque combination of genius in the persons of Cardinal Newman and Sir Edward Elgar, being a feature of striking interest) went to arrest what was, unquestionably, a disquieting tendency.
A tribute to the splendid work of Sir Frederick Bridge and the Royal Choral Society at the Albert Hall is, however, due, not only on account of the merit of the performances, but to the consistently high standard that is maintained in the selection of works for representation. Oratorio, and oratorio in its noblest embodiment being the ever-present consideration.
The concerts that make the most direct, simple, and probably most successful appeal
to the masses, are those devoted to ballads. They are universal throughout the country, and from the Royal Albert Hall, to the concert-room on the pier of the smallest sea-side resort, are always in evidence.
Although series of them on an elaborate scale are given in every important town in the kingdom, perhaps those at the Albert Hall and Queen's Hall, in London, under the respective directions of the renowned firms of Boosey & Co., and Chappell & Co. (Mr. William Boosey, director) are the most universally known, and they may be justly regarded as typical of such entertainment at their best. There is not the slightest doubt that, as regards the standard of artistic taste, this class of concert has in recent years made great progress. It is not long ago that songs without the slightest pretence to any musical value attained to immense popularity, and when a scream at the end of one of them, on a note known as high F, would draw volumes of applause on the panting and highly gratified singer.
Happily those days are either numbered, or in the quick course of becoming so.