Although Vienna may justly boast of excellence in musical performances at all times, all parties nevertheless concur in opinion, that these performances excelled all previous ones, and that a composer may consider himself fortunate, if his works are seized with such deep feeling, and executed with such zeal, and a union of such masterly skill. The two movements from Beethoven’s last Mass, hitherto unknown to the public, appeared somewhat strange in their effect. The violin solo in this Mass, played by Mayseder with a rich bell-like tone, yet unembellished, raised expectations which were not realized: no one ventured an expression of censure, all was silent. This indeed was the most prudent course; and a critical judge observed very properly, ‘We hear all that this immortal master produced in the latest period of his active career, without being able to understand and relish his novel conceptions, because we have not yet arrived at the point of view from which the work is to be surveyed and judged of. We hear it for a second time, and individual passages begin to become luminous and clear; we hear it frequently, and then only we are struck with admiration and astonishment. Beethoven has made giant strides in advance of all of us: he will be better understood by a succeeding generation.’
The Concerts Spirituels were also of first-rate excellence. It would be superfluous to notice the numerous classic compositions of Mozart, Cherubini, Beethoven, C. M. von Weber, Vogler, and other great masters, which constituted the rich bills of fare; but a new Te Deum laudamus, by Tomascheck, must not be passed over in silence, although its merit can only be critically judged of when it shall have been published; it is grand and original, like every thing else produced by this great master.—Our Dance-Orpheus, Strauss, has lately launched a new set of waltzes, for the christening of which the whole of the Vienna public were invited to stand godfathers and godmothers. These waltzes were to be produced for the first time for his own benefit. Every visitor, on paying for his admission, had the privilege of giving in any title which he might like best. At the awful hour of midnight lots were drawn for the title to be adopted, and chance decreed it to be Tausend Sapperments Walzer[90], under which name the new-born child has already begun its terrestrial career.
BERLIN.
THE month of May, which was here unusually warm, presented many interesting musical occurrences. The first of these was the performance of Haydn’s ever beautiful oratorio ‘The Seasons,’ produced by our general director of music, Spontini, on the boards of the Royal Opera Theatre, with the assistance of the whole of the solo and chorus singers of that establishment, and of the whole Royal Chapel, for the benefit of the charitable musical institution bearing his name. The performance was grand and effective in the extreme, though here and there some of the Tempi were rather hurried; a crowded audience expressed their delight at the masterly manner in which this classical composition was executed.
The Royal Opera distinguished itself by the excellent performance of Ferdinand Cortez, Castle Candra, The Vestal Virgin, Alcidor, and a new opera entitled Hans Heiling; the text by Edward Devrient, the singer, and the music by Henry Marschner, Kapell Meister, who attended in person. The success of this opera was not brilliant, but certainly honourable to the composer: its value, however, stands higher in our estimation than in that of the generality of the public; the reason is, it requires in many parts a serious, deep power of conception on the part of the audience; it takes for granted a sense, and a degree of cultivation for what is noble, which the major part of the theatrical public does not possess, which expects, for the most part, to be amused with senseless vulgarity, or, as is the case with Spontini’s newest operas, to be excited by tasteless splendour and noise. Marschner’s opera is calculated for a more civilized audience, and, by the few that belong to that class, its merit is fully acknowledged.
The music is varied in point of invention, highly intellectual in faithfully expressing the import of the poetry, and admirably instrumentalised. The poem contains many situations eminently susceptible of musical expression, some borrowed from the awful realms of the romantic, others taken from the more cheerful domain of pleasure and joviality; and in both respects, the composer has satisfied the expectation of the judicious critic.
In the Vestale, Mademoiselle Stephan, whose vocal talent develops itself more and more, and who, in the short space of six months, has made a very marked progress in scientific cultivation, sang very successfully the part of Julia, in which she had the advantage of Spontini’s own instruction; although, in a dramatic point of view, greater freedom of action might have been desirable. This defect, however, will no doubt be removed by further practice and experience. The whole representation of this excellent opera was masterly, and had the most powerful effect on the audience. Mlle. Lehman, as High-priestess, Messrs. Bader and Devrient, as Licinius and Cinna, as also the choruses, ballet, and orchestra, under the spirited conduct of the composer, contributed essentially to this result.
Concerts we also had in abundance. In one of these, given for the benefit of the Friederich Stift, (Frederick’s Institution,) the two singers, Demlles. Carl and Hoffman, appeared for the first time in public since their return to their native country. Demlle. Carl, whose fame had more particularly reached us from Turin and Madrid, evinced great progress in the cultivation of a good Italian vocal method. Her sonorous voice is flexible, and particularly pleasing in the mezza voce of the higher notes, which she intonates with the greatest precision and purity. Her style of execution is particularly calculated for the compositions of Nicolini, Rossini, and Pacini, but would gain considerably by a more intense degree of feeling and expression. Demlle. Hoffman had less opportunity of displaying to advantage her mezzo soprano voice in a duetto buffo than in an aria of Donizetti: upon the whole, however, it seemed as if this vocalist, who in her style and action has adopted the lively character of the southern inhabitants of Europe, had paid leas attention to the display of her beautiful lower notes, and, on the other hand, had devoted more care and study to the developement of her higher scale. A decisive judgment, however, upon the merits of these two singers can probably only be formed after we shall have seen them on the boards in their respective dramatic walks.
On the 15th May, the anniversary of Zelter’s death, forty members of the Singing Academy, which he directed for so many years with unexampled zeal and success, sang over his grave, at six o’clock in the morning, two sacred hymns, Wen hab ich sonst, als dich allein, (Whom have I else but thee alone,) and Wie herrlich ist die neue Welt, (How beautiful is the new world,) by way of testifying their respect for his memory; on which occasion the pillars of the iron railing around his tomb were tastefully decorated with garlands of fresh flowers.
Madame Caradori Allan gave a concert in the saloon of the playhouse. ‘This singer’ (a Berlin critic states) ‘does not possess a very strong voice, but it is uncommonly clear, vibrating, and silvery, if we may use the expression, and has received a high degree of cultivation. Madame Caradori’s style is that of the purest modern school, exempt from its faults: she executed all passages gracefully, and with taste; and in individual perfections, such as trills, divisions, &c. she has attained a degree of excellence which few singers before her could boast of. These qualifications, united to a graceful exterior, totally free from the coquettrie précieuse of most female singers of repute, gained this artist the applause of the public in an extraordinary degree.’