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ij ! g pofrere tfeatthe Planta ^ enets w ere forced surrender , and the Tudors never dreamt ; of seising , let tn-5 * tyrannical despot is still mourned over as an injured mark , an insulted ; sovereign , and a glorified- martyr . "Never since tire Norman Conquest Irad England been so degraded . " Londoners could not build -where they liked , " observes Mr . Howley , nor could tradesmen in the City nave shops where they liked . The king thought it a splendid sig ht , to-behold noive but goldsmiths' shops in Clxeapside , and as a few shops belonging , to other trades broke the row of glittering windows , the Privy Council , at the royal desire , asked the judge to certify what statutes and laws there were to compel the goldsmiths to locate themselves In Cheapside and Lonibaxd-streefc . Whatever the answer of tbe judges may laave been-, the Privy Council some years afterwards wrote letters to tkoe Lord ; Mayor and ; Aldermen of London , reprimanding
them for their remissnesa in bringing all the goldsmiths to Cheapside and Lombard-street , and removing all other trades from , those streets . The independent legislative poorer of the Crown -was especially hostile to free trade . Proclamations were issued against making starch from , -wheat , the importation of alum , and the exportation of corn , regulating- the sale of soap , gunpowder , and tobacco , and limiting the prices of pom try , rabbits , and butter . The nobility and gentry were commanded to leave London , and to repair to their mansions in . the country ; and evidence exists to show that the Court of Star Chamber fined many of them for disobedience . There "were many other proclamations , which must have irritated the
aristocracy . It was vexatious to be told not to nde a horse with a snaffle bit , nor shoot partridges -with the aid of "a setter , nor use a trawl net in fishing , nor wear a hat styled a demi-eastor . " We have happily escaped the petty nuisances of legislation , above all we have escaped regal independent legislation . A study of the " Petition of Rights , " the " Bill of Rights / ' and the " Act of Settlement , " which _ form separate chapters in this work , will give tlve reader -who is not familiar with Jlallam , an idea of the groundwork of the liberty he enjoys . It is , however , the general history of his country that tte student must consult to obtain a real knowledge of the manner in which those free institutions that form the fabric of the British Constitution have been built up and welded together .
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Tlie RoTAr , Italian Opera at the Lyceubi , opened with something less than no novelty ; for it gave theTuritani without Mario or Lablaciie ! Madame Gkisi is still the Elvira of other days , and even now has not her equal in those , characteristic qualities which are beyond the reach of time : Signor Gabboni ia a very pleasing singer , but on this occasion Ids voice was fatigued or affected with cold ; and Signor Graziani , who seems inseparable from Tl mio 2 ? oleo , was too hoarse to sing one half tlie music , and incapable of doing justice to the other : Signor Tacliafico is always satisfactory and effective , but somehow we always , miss Lablache in that fine old Puritan dress . The opening night was on the . whole not very lively , but the performance of IVorma on Thursday was infinitely superior . Gakdoni was in better voice , and Guisi is still nearer to perfection than any of the singers who now contend for her supremacy . Konconj appears this evening in Maria di Rohan , and the Trovatore is coming , with Mario , and Giusi as the Leonora . The truth remains , however , that at the I / xceum , the public is wanting , and without the public the Opera may be as select—it runs the risk of being also as dull— -as a drawing-room . Without the public , the Opera is an exotic deprived of warmth and air .
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THE HANDEL FESTIVAL : eRYSTAL PAtACE . We abstract from a very interesting article in the Times a report of the preparations for this great musical solemnity :- — This important undertaking gradually advances , arid promises a result which , if the festival of 1857 is to be simply a preliminary essay , to test tlie possibility of still greater things in 1859 ( tlie centenary anniversary of Jiandel ' s death ) , will lead to expectations with . respect to the latter by no means easy to realise . ¦ Daring tlie last few weeks material progress has been made . The metropolitan division of tlie chorus has terminated in the selection of 1100 picked voices . Each applicant for a . place in the chorus , before being admitted , has been tried at tlie pianoforte , the compass and quality of voices , or efficiency at sight-reading , and other essential gifts being registered , so
sis to guarantee the ultimate choice oi the moat efficient . Hie " 1100 * ' have already passed the ordeal of two rehearsals at Exeter Hall , under tlie superintendence of . Mr . Costa , in choiuses of Iwael in Egypt and The Messiah respectively ; and on Wednesday evening last the third oratorio , Judas Maccabceus , was submitted to a similar experiment . The provincial brandies of the chorus are forming in the principal cities and towns of Great Britain under the guidance of professors and amateurs of acknowledged ability . The numbers and distribution of tlie orchestra arc already determined on . There will bo 76 first violins , 74 second violins , 50 violas , 50 violoncellos , and 50 doublo-bassca ( in all 300 stringed instruments ); 9 flutes , 9 oboes , 9 clarionets , 9 bassoons , 12 honm , 12 trumpets and cornets , 9 trombones , 3 ophiclddes , 0 serpents and bass-horns , 3 drums , and 6 sidedrums ( 90 wind instruments)—a force hitherto unprecedented . ,
Ihe organ , constructed expressly for the occasion by Messrs . Gray and Davison , will bo one of great power and on an appropriately gigantic scale . The organ will occupy a platform in the Crystal Talace of 40 feet wide by 24 deep , which will not only nfiurd sufficient room fur tlie pipes to speak , but ample passage between each division , so that any department of the immense harmonious structure ciui be approached without difficulty and at an instant ' s notice . The erection of the organ at the Crystal Palace began on Wednesday morning . The orchestra , already completed , occupies a space of lf > 8 feet in width ( just 88 foot w ' uler than Exeter Hall ) , and 90 feet in depth . Tho seats for tlie performers are gradually raised , one above another , so . that every instrumentalist and vocalist can have a full view of flieir conductor . The band will bo in front , the chorus at tho back .
We shall continue to report progress as the preparations approach completion . For the present we remind our readers that the three days of tho Festival are to be Monday , Jane 15 , when the MessuJi wilL be given ; Wednesday , June 17 { Judas Muccabana ); and 1 ' riday , June 19 ( Israel in Jfyi / pfy . The total number of performers engaged in this colossul concert will be two thousand five hundred .
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THE COLOGNE CHOHAL ITNTON . We were alluding the other dny to the performances of the Cologne Choral Union and to their influence upon pure musical taste in this metropolis . We are now happily enabled to announce that this celebrated society , tlie most distinguished of tho innumerable vocal associations of Germany , will revisit this country in tho month of May next , under the felicitous auspices of Mr . MrrcuEr-L . Their stay , however , will be necessarily limited to a fe = \ v days only ; we trust our readers will not loae the opportunity . The first concert-will take place on Monday , the 25 th of May .
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Aprix , i 8 , 185 ? . } THE LEADER . 37 &
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¦ . ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ . ¦ ¦ " ¦ ¦; . ¦ ' . .. ¦ "¦" . '¦ ¦ ¦ THE OPERAS . Him The Old House in the Hayrnarket opened on Tuesday last , under the happiest and roost encouraging auspices ,, with a'brilliant and crowded audience , and a performance that amply fulfilled the highest expectations . The ne-vv tenor , SignoT GluGXiNi , may be emphatically and . distinctively pronounced a charming singer . On his appearance us a Novice in tlie first act , there was something in th e priestly cast of his head and features that lent a romantic interest to Fernando , who received the welcome of an assured success . And we may at once say that the anticipation was not destined to be disappointed . In the air " Una vtrgin , un angel" there was a perceptible and very excusable tremor in the voice which , in a slight degree , affected tlie freedom and certainty of its delivery , and which betrayed itself in a disposition to hurry the time , and in one passage perhaps to sacrifice the truth of the music to a doubtful ornament where perfect simplicity was desired t but this may be charged to the inevitable emotion of the singer bearing the feurden of a , thousand favourable rumours , and presenting himself before an audience inferior to none in Europe .
There was more than enough , however , in the first notes of the singer , to satisfy the most exacting critics that here was at least a clear , fresh , rich tenor Toice , full of youth and jromise , already well disciplined and not yet strained , having all the delicious reediness in the higher tones , and something of the bellliko vibration in the middle voice which constitute that exceptional organism , a pure tenor . The transition from the chest to the head voice was managed with perfect ease and without a break , and the sotto voce , tlie smorzando more especially , proved the accomplished method of the singer as well as the delicacy and beauty of his voice . In the great scene of the second act , where Fernando discovering his shame , and furious at the sneera of the Court and the dishonour heaped upon him by the King , dashes down the badges of his disgrace and bxealcs his sword across his knee— " Cor vous etes le roi !"—Signor Giuolini displayed an energy and spirit for which , we confess , his manner in the first aethad scarcely prepared us ; but it was in the concluding act , one of the most affecting situations in tlie
She has been very well received , and we doubt met will gain in favour as the season proceeds . Signor Vialettt , the new basso profondo , is a positive acquisition ; he had . not much to do ; in tlieFavorita , but wherever bis voice w as heard , id waa fbuarf to be ( leejv weighty , and . well-toned , and his acting was di gnified and impressive Sigaior Beneven-jano , whom we remember not very agreeably aa the heavy father in La Traviaia , has not got over his disposition to bellow—we are Batty we can find no other word to express the constant tendency to exaggeration ia hissingiug ; but on the whole , as Alfonso , he seemed to us certainly improved ; and if he will only moderate his prodigioiis force of lungs , and take the stage a little less superbly , lie may yet become an acceptable , as he certainly is- & useful , member of the company . The orchestra is unmistakably better than last year ; . it is more in hand , and plays with more discretion ; and delicacy , and with ; undiminished vigour : we will only whisper a , protest against the occasional excess of the brass . The chorus was , for the most part , steady and efficient .
If Madlle . Carolina PqcciriNr , the EsmeraHa of this season , cannot make us forget the dreamy , voluptuous grace and exquisite refinement of the incomparable Cariotta . Giusi , she is , at any rate , in complete command of all th& secrets and difficulties of the art . She dances with a degree of self-possession , of fearless freedom , of precision , of vigour , of neatness , of aplomb , only belonging to the very few ; and if she does not always charm , she never disappoints ^ The Favorita was repeated on Thursday , and will be given to-night . . Madlle . Piccolomihi will appeuT on Tuesday next in the Figlia del Reggimento , and on Thursday in the Traviata . Lucia di Lammermoor will be the first new part in which this bright young Star of Sienna will appear . Don Giovanni , with the extraordinary trio , Piccolosilni , Spezia , and Ohtola . ni , and Gujr glinj as Don Ottavio , will speedily follow , and last not least , Alboni is daily expected . The season promises to be quite a revival of the Golden Age of He a Majesty ' s Theatbe .
• whole range of the lyric drama , that the new Tenor may be fairly said to have * brought the house down . ' He was rapturously encored in that exquisitely touching romance , iSpirto gentil ( A 7 ige si 2 > ur ~ ) , and he sang it the second time even better than the first—with infinite grace of manner and purity of style . Tho chastened hut not conquered passion , the subdued despair , the secret tenderness , the supreme melancholy not untinged with bitterness , were all expressed by the finished ait of the singer , and the effect upon the audience waa audible in their silence not less than in their applause . In the concluding duo where Fernando , reconciled to Leonora , beseeches her to fly from the convent— Va dans une outre patrie !—Signor Giuglini sang with a warmth of expression and an abandonment to the emotion of the scene which were all the more remarkable since in the earlier scenes of the opera his demeanour , and even his voice ( clear as crystal as it is ) might have been accused of a certain coldness , more like the cloister than the stage .
That Signor Giccxini ia not yet a great dramatic artist , or a perfect singer , we are not disposed to deny ; ho seems a little inclined to sing from the throat rather than from the chest , his falsetto ( for which he has happily little use ) appears weak and wavexing ; and his action is occasionally embarrassed and constrained . But he has all the promise , and more than the promise , of a fine dramatic singer , who may one day take rank among tho illustrious names which Italy has contributed to the lyric stage . Let him only persevere in study , follow the best models , sing the best music , and before the best audiences , and his success will be aa lasting as it is already sure . Madlle . Sfkzia , who made h « r dibut in London as Leonora , we shall bo glad to hear again before we pronounce a more po 9 itivo opinion upon her merits . At present we may speak of her as a singer aot without charm and power , with a voice deeper than a soprano , a little worn perhaps , a little too much disposed to coo , buthWiug its fiuc moments , and in . a high sense serviceable and effeetivo ; while aa art actress Madlle . Spezia . is conspicuous for energy and intelligence .
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Ow Ihursday evening , Mr . G . W . Maiitin , who has distinguished himself for some years past as the writer of Prize Glees , gave a performance of his moat successful compositions at Exeter Hai , l . A corps of as many as two hundred mule and female voices was engaged for the occasion ; and the effect was highly creditable to the composer and to tho executants . Tho gratification of the audience was enhanced by a duet for two pianofortes , admirably played bv Mr . BiiNKDicT and Mr . Lindsay Sloveh .
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Leader (1850-1860), April 18, 1857, page 379, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2189/page/19/
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