1836—September 27—Sermon by the Rev. Prebendary Benson. Principal performers—Madame Caradori Allan, Miss Hawes, Mrs. Knyvett, and Miss Novello; Messrs. Braham, Phillips, Vaughan, Knyvett, &c. The scheme contained many novelties. The Messiah was performed on the first morning; Mozart’s Redemption, Bishop’s cantata, The Seventh Day, and a selection, the second morning; and The Last Judgment, with a selection, on the third. Acis and Galatea was sung at the first concert; the others were entirely miscellaneous. The receipts exhibited a sad falling off, being, for the charity, £828, and for admissions, £2,685. The stewards were about £1,000 out of pocket. An article of bijouterie was presented to Miss Clara Novello, by Colonel Clive and the committee, as an expression of their admiration at her singing, and of thanks for the kind manner in which she had fallen in with the wishes of the committee as to some alterations of the scheme.
1839—September 10—Sermon by the Rev. W. H. Woodgate, Rector of Bellbroughton. The Messiah, Creation, and Palestine performed in their entirety. The concerts were all made up of miscellanea. Principal performers—Miss Hawes, Miss Clara Novello, Madame Persiani, Miss Woodyatt, Miss Beale; Messrs. Phillips, Vaughan, Bennett, Machin, Edmunds, &c. The receipts for the charity this year were £932, and for admissions £2,820, which was an increase upon the sum realised at the previous meeting, though the prices of tickets were this year reduced to the sums at which they have ever since remained. The expenses, however, reached £4,089, so that there was a deficiency of £1,270.
1842—September 20—The sermon was preached by the Lord Bishop of the Diocese. This festival was marked by an entire change of system and the great success attending upon it. There were no foreign “stars” engaged in the vocal department, and, consequently, a great deal of expense was saved. The oratorios were conducted, not by the organist of the cathedral, Mr. Clarke, but by Mr. Surman of Exeter Hall, and the performances were held in the nave and not in the choir. The only previous occasion on which the festival had been held in the nave was at the visit of George III, sixty years before. The arrangement of orchestra and seats was that which has been ever since observed. The principal singers were—Miss Birch, Miss Marshall, Miss Dolby, Mrs. Loder, and Miss Davis, our own young townswoman; Mr. Phillips, Mr. Leffler, and Mr. Hobbs. The oratorios performed were—The Messiah, Judas Maccabeus, and Engedi. At the evening concerts Alexander’s Feast, Haydn’s Seasons, and Schiller’s Song of the Bell were performed entire. The chorus consisted of 218 singers, and there were 82 instruments in the orchestra. The organ was in the course of being renewed by Hill. The collections for the charity amounted to £1,059. 16s.
1845—Sermon by Canon Wood. Only three morning performances this year, which, for the first time, were under the conduct of Mr. Done. The Last Judgment and a collection of anthems were performed on the Wednesday morning, and The Messiah on the Thursday. In the evenings Acis and Galatea and Mendelssohn’s Walpurgis Nacht were performed entire. The principal vocalists were—the Misses Williams, Miss Rainforth, Miss Whitnall; Herr Staudigl, Mr. Pearsall, Mr. Hobbs, Mr. Machin, and Mr. Young. The amount collected for the charity was £850. 14s.
1848—Sermon by the Very Rev. the Dean of Worcester. Mdlle. Jenny Lind had promised to take a part at this festival, but Mr. Lumley compelled her to break her engagement, and she was actually singing at Birmingham on the first day of the Worcester meeting; notwithstanding this, the festival was one of the most successful, in point of attendance, which has ever been held at either of the three cities. On the first morning at least 1,500 people were present in the nave of the Cathedral, and at the last concert in the College Hall it is computed that 1,100 persons were crammed into the room. There were this year four morning performances; the oratorios performed entire being the Elijah and Messiah, with selections from Palestine, Creation, and Engedi. In the evenings parts of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Haydn’s Seasons, and Weber’s Oberon were performed, with miscellaneous selections. The principal vocalists were—Mdlle. Alboni, Madame Castellan, the Misses Williams, and Miss Dolby; Mr. Sims Reeves, Signor Lablache, Mr. Lockey, Mr. Robinson, and Mr. Machin. The amount collected for the charity was £960, and the receipts by sale of tickets reached £3,080; yet the expense attaching to the engagement of the “stars” was so great that the loss was very considerable.
NATURAL PHENOMENA.
It is altogether beyond the province of this work to enter into any detail of the scientific peculiarities of the county of Worcester; but it would have been very satisfactory to have been able to have recorded here—besides those isolated disturbances of nature’s more ordinary course, which arrest the attention of indifferent spectators—the results of observations made by competent persons which might have formed the basis of a county meteorology. But, in truth, none such exist; excepting in the daily memoranda of one or two gentlemen extending over only a very few years, there are no data for arriving at any conclusions on the subject. As the members of the medical profession and the scientific agriculturist become increasingly alive to the important part which atmosphere and electricity play in the conditions of animal and vegetable life, the want of such tables will be severely felt. The city of Worcester itself stands but thirty-six feet above the level of the sea; and, from its peculiar position, its temperature is generally higher than that of the surrounding country or of the kingdom generally. Though Worcestershire may be considered as the central county of England, and consequently the most inland, yet we have our fair share of rain, and perhaps even more than an average quantity. Such observations as could be procured on this point will be found in the Appendix. The principal part of our rain, and the greater number of storms that visit us, come from the S.W., and the prevailing wind is also from that quarter. In some parts of the year it may be matter for every day observation to notice the vapours, gathered apparently in the Bristol Channel, attracted by the Malvern range, and spreading out a fan-like nimbus towards the N.E., which distributes its fertilising showers over Worcester and the lands lying between Bredon Hill on the one hand and the upper Severn on the other—often over a much more limited tract of country—while the lands beyond seem to lie under a dry and cloudless sky. The following are memoranda of the more remarkable natural phenomena which have excited notice within the county during this century.
1802—January 20—A hurricane occurred, doing great damage to the houses in and round Worcester. The windmill at Kempsey was set on fire by the sails being whirled round with so great rapidity.
1804—January 20—Violent gale from S.W., doing great damage. A stack of chimneys falling through the roof of the house of Mr. E. Harris, attorney, in Edgar Street, Worcester, killed the nursemaid, who was in bed with two children, who were but little hurt.
1805—January 25—The London mail to Worcester stopped by a heavy fall of snow.