be tolerated? The first part of the chorus, Their sound is gone out, was sung by four voices, and although the voices were perfect, yet the chorus was very much injured by the change. Here again Handel has made all the provisions for soft and loud required, and the chorus is vastly better when sung according to his intention. Signor Belletti sang, Why do the nations, and notwithstanding the great superiority of Herr Formes' voice, we think Belletti's performance the better of the two; his vocalization is perfect, like a good touch upon the Piano Forte; there is none better. Mr. Sims Reeves sang, Thou shalt break them, vastly better than Signor Tamberlik, yet we were not satisfied with its performance. We have heard this air, which Braham has made so famous, much injured by a mighty effort on the word "dash." Mr. Reeves made no violent attack upon this word; his effort rather was to give a proper character to the whole song, and not to depend so much upon the utterance of a single word. This was certainly in good taste. And now came the Hallelujah-the time could not have been better; Mr. Benedict's time in Handel is always without fault. The alto was again harsh on the passage by treble and alto in unison on, A King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but the chorus told admirably.

Madame Viardot Garcia sang, "I know that my Redeemer liveth;" it was transposed to accommodate her voice, but this was abundantly atoned for by the deep, appropriate emotion with which it was sung. Madame Viardot would excel in a song of this general character were it a Mezzo Soprano, or adapted to her voice; for she sings with a pathos and tenderness of feeling unheard, unfelt elsewhere. But "I know that my Redeemer liveth," as it stands, is beyond her reach. We have never yet heard justice done to this song. It requires a great voice, a great heart, and a finished singer.

We need not

particularize other pieces. The whole oratorio was sung, without

omission, and although we think it may be better to abridge ordinarily, it was not now too long.

The closing “Amen” chorus, was given in slower time than we have usually heard it, and of course, as it was perfectly sustained throughout, carried with it great dignity and grandeur; it was like the rush of mighty waters, and towards the close, where the most remarkable contrapuntal passages occur, it was like the meeting of many seas. What an astonishing chorus is this! We must not omit to speak of the first violin passage in this chorus, leading off the principal subject in simple unison. It was a most beautiful thought of Handel, and on this occasion the passage was performed by twenty-two violins, all blending so as to form a perfect chorus, and given with a stability, compactness, solidity, and determination which cannot be expressed in words, and can only be imagined by those who have heard like effects. Great is Handel's oratorio of the Messiah! Great in its wonderful and soul-stirring themes! Great in musical inspiration! Great in its moral power! Ye choirs who seek for music of a high order in the oratorio form, purchase Handel's Messiah! There is nothing on earth like it! Be not satisfied with anything short of this! Study the sublime choruses; take the easier first, as, And the glory of the Lord, The Lord gave the Word, and For unto us a child is born. Then the Hallelujah, Worthy is the Lamb, and Amen, will soon follow; and also those which are still more difficult, as, And he shall purify, Surely he hath borne our griefs, Behold the Lamb of God, and others. The music is indeed difficult, it cannot be performed without labor, but the labor bestowed will be productive of rich reward. Instruments, too, are essential; but when or chestral instruments cannot be obtained, even a quartet of strings will help along very much. Or a piano forte (if it be a piano forte) may furnish a satisfactory accompaniment, but it

must be in tune, and there must be some one to play it. Such practice as Handel's choruses will promote a healthy musical growth, general improvement, and good taste. It will render insipid much other music, contained in the tune-books, but it will lead to discrimination, and a psalm-tune which is at once based on true philosophy, and is yet so simple in its structure as to meet the wants of the people, will never suffer by being brought into close connection with Handel or Mendelssohn. The Old Hundredth, York, and Dundee, will live as long as anything that Handel has ever written; and although an acquaintance with Handel will certainly occasion a very large part of modern psalmody to appear insipid, foolish, or disgusting, tunes of the character of those above mentioned will stand firm and unmoved, and will be taken up after an hour with music of a higher scientific character, with new relish and increased delight.

LETTER XLVII.

The Tabernacle, Moorfields, Finsbury-Wickliffe Chapel, Commercial Road, East→ Rev. Dr. Reed.

LONDON, October, 1852.

WE attended the Tabernacle, Moorfields, in the morning. It is a large building, something like the Tabernacle in NewYork, though incapable of seating so many persons. Whitefield formerly preached here, and it was here that Mr. Finney, of Oberlin, preached to multitudes of people about two years since. It is not always easy to obtain a seat in these houses of worship, so I went in and inquired of the sexton if he knew Rev. Mr. Finney from America. "Oh yes!" was the reply. "Well then," I said, "I wish you to give me a seat on his ac

count, for I am an American, and know him well." Of course he took me into one of the high places, if, indeed, there are any such places there. Rev. Mr. Campbell, well known by his va rious publications, and especially by his Hymn Book, was unwell, and did not officiate. He was present, however, and took his seat in front of the pulpit, in the seat usually occupied by the Precentor. A young man occupied the pulpit, and almost, as a matter of course, we had a doctrinal sermon. Dr. Camp

bell added a few words at the close. The singing was led from the gallery back of the preacher by a Precentor, who seemed to have around him a few men-singers and women-singers whom he called, perhaps, a choir; but there was no choir-effect, nor was the Congregational singing as good as it is in most churches. The lines of the hymns were read two by two, previous to singing, as is the custom in many of the churches. The tunes were bad. For example, a hymn beginning,

"As the dew from heaven distilling,
Gently on the grass descends," &c.,

was sung to Haydn's "God save the Emperor," or rather that tune was attempted, for it is not proper to say that it was sung.

In the evening we went to the Wickliffe Chapel, Commercial Road, East, Rev. Andrew Reed, D.D., pastor. Dr. Reed was in America several years since, in company with Mr. Matheson, now no more. In the singing exercises, the hymn was lined out. The choir (so called) consisted of several men who occupied a square pew in front of the pulpit. The first tune was Dr. Arnold's Wareham, abridged; the second was French (Dundee), and the third I knew not, but it was unfit for Congregational use, as it went up to G and dwelt there considerably. No small effort was made by good people around me to

reach the lofty eminence, but in vain; most voices fell short of the pitch, and vibrations inharmonious followed. The hymn was that beginning,

"No more, my God, I boast no more,

Of all the duties I have done."

The tune Hamburg, in the key of E flat, would have suited it exactly.

The text was, "But now ye have no cloak for your sins." It was most faithful, and seemed to flow out of a heart filled with love. No abstract, scientific, theological discussion, as in the morning, but it was the language of an affectionate parent, entreating his children, and urging them to the paths of truth and virtue.

We have no cloak for our sins, first, because we live under so gracious a dispensation of mercy.

Second, because of the land of liberty and of privileges in which we dwell. "Is there," said the preacher, "under the sun a land where the gospel is so freely and so fully preached? Indeed, we are highly distinguished above all others. Religious privileges are nowhere so abundant and accessible to all as here. Who may not enjoy them? The exertions in the cause of Christian benevolence are greater here than anywhere else. Schools, from the infant school upward, are also more abundant." "You are a Briton," said Dr. Reed, "and you glory in your name; be sure that you always associate this with the religious advantages which your country affords." "Sabbaths are better observed, and religious knowledge abounds. Is it nothing to live in such a land as this? Is it nothing to enjoy these Sabbaths? Is it nothing that we enjoy these houses of worship? these songs of praise? these rehearsals by which we may be prepared for the music of