‘The knights of St. George, of Bavaria, returning from the Crusades, are bringing back to the castle of Wallersee the remains of the count, its former possessor, and the grand master of their order, accompanied by Everhart of Schœnfeld, the banneret knight and nephew of the count, and the betrothed of his daughter Iolanda, who is supposed to have perished when the castle was laid in ruins by the usurper, Rodolph of Trento. The overture opens with a funeral march of the knights, followed by the triumphal song of the apotheosis. It then returns to the march, and afterwards to the song of triumph. The dead march is repeated; and as the knights recount the deeds of the hero, the voices of departed spirits are supposed to be heard welcoming him to heaven. The knights separate; Everhart remains alone; he approaches the chapel, and while there, lost in meditation, is suddenly startled by the bell announcing the midnight hour; the voices of the nuns blending with the organ in the anthem for the dead—“Dona pacem, sancte Deus clemens: audi preces nostras; Pater, miserere!” Thunder is heard. He distinguishes among the voices one of a female repeating his name. She approaches, and he recognizes his lost Iolanda, who had here sought refuge from the usurper’s tyranny.’

It must immediately be evident that not one half, not one sixth of this, admits of description in musical sounds. The funeral march, the little bell on which the hour was actually struck, and the motet,—sung by four persons concealed from view,—were all understood well enough; but the connexion of these with the story must have remained an enigma which would have defied Œdipus himself, but for the printed plot insinuated into the room. The overture, however, is a clever work, and shows a great deal of imagination, as well as knowledge of orchestral effects. The descriptive parts are as successful in exciting images as the means employed would admit, and some very good, indeed new harmonies, are dispersed throughout the composition. The author undertook a work which most living composers would have rendered perfectly ridiculous; he has produced what some admired, many approved, and very few condemned, and has steered clear of any gross absurdity: he therefore is entitled to our thanks for the boldness of his enterprise, and to our applause for the manner in which he has carried into execution so hazardous an attempt.

The Overture to Prometheus, too good for a finale, delighted all who stayed to hear it.

Mr. Nicholson’s Fantasia was, we hardly need say, beautifully played; but is an air with variations fit for such a concert? The directors, however, we conclude, must sometimes give way, and, like other great men, be governed by existing circumstances. The Quartet—the 5th, in A, the andante of which is the foundation of Carafa’s air ‘Aure felici,’—was most delicately executed.

Mr. Phillips sang young Callcott’s fine Scene in a most impressive manner. Miss C. Novello did all that is to be done with Mozart’s Aria, a composition from his Operngesaenge (opera songs, a collection of detached pieces), and is which, we can easily believe, the author did not take much pride. It is one of those written for a temporary occasion, and is unnoticed in his own catalogue. Mrs. Knyvett’s ‘With verdure clad’ was admired for its purity, though all wished that a less hackneyed air had been chosen. The same feeling was excited by the Terzetto, which, beautiful as it is, ought now to be laid by for a while. Moreover, it was not performed in the best possible manner.

FOURTH CONCERT, Monday, April 15, 1833.

ACT I.

Sinfonia in C minor BEETHOVEN.
Aria, Mr. Bennett, ‘Il mio tesoro.’ (Il Don Giovanni) MOZART.
Grand Septetto, MS. composed expressly for these Concerts, and fist time of performance, Piano-Forte, Violin, Viola, Clarinet, Horn, Violoncello, and Contra Basso, Messrs. Moscheles, Mori, Moralt, Willman, Platt, Lindley, and Dragonetti MOSCHELES.
Scena, Mrs. R. H. Bishop, ‘Ah! non so’ MOZART.
Overture, Preciosa C. M. VON WEBER.

ACT II.

Sinfonia, No. 2 HAYDN.
Aria, Miss Shirreff, ‘Deh! se piace mi vuoi.’ (Tito) MOZART.
Concertante, four Violins principal, Messrs. Mori, Seymour, Patey, and Griesbach MAURER.
Terzetto, Mrs. H. R. Bishop, Miss Shirreff, and Mr. Bennett, ‘O dolce e caro istante.’ (Gli Orazi) CIMAROSA.
Overture, La Clemenza di Tito MOZART.

Leader, Mr. Mori.—Conductor, Mr. Moscheles.