Part 22

1818—SEPTEMBER 15—Sermon by the Rev. William Digby. Principal performers—Miss Stephens, Mrs. Salmon, Miss Symonds; Messrs. Braham, Kynvett, Bellamy, and Hawes. _The Messiah_ was the only oratorio performed entire. The contributions to the charity amounted to £936—the largest amount collected up to that time.

1821—OCTOBER 3—Sermon by the Dean, Dr. Jenkinson. Principal performers—Miss Stephens, Madame Camporesi, and Miss Travis; Messrs. Bellamy, Vaughan, Knyvett, Hawes, Master Smith, &c. _The Messiah_ was the only oratorio performed entire. A selection from _The Seasons_ one evening. Sum collected for the charity, £877.

1824—SEPTEMBER 15—One hundred and first meeting of the three choirs. Sermon preached by the Hon. and Rev. Edward Rice, D.D. Principal performers—Mesdames Salmon, Stephens, Travis, and Ronzi de Beguis; Messrs. Braham, Bellamy, Kynvett, Signor de Begnis, &c. _The Messiah_ was the only oratorio performed entire. Receipts for the charity, £828; and for tickets, £2,957.

1827—SEPTEMBER 11—Sermon preached by the Rev. W. F. Hook, M.A., perpetual curate of Moseley. Principal performers—Madame Pasta, Madame Caradori Allan, Miss Stephens, Mrs. W. Knyvett; Messrs. Braham, Phillips, Knyvett, Vaughan, and Signor Zuchelli. _The Messiah_ and _Palestine_ performed. Receipts for the charity, £1,083; for admission, £3,997. This was one of the most successful meetings ever held. The Duchess of St. Albans held one of the plates the first morning.

1830—SEPTEMBER 14—Sermon by the Very Rev. the Dean, Lord Bishop of Rochester. _The Messiah_ was the only oratorio performed. On the first morning the service was opened by a funeral anthem, in commemoration of his late Majesty King George IV. Principal performers—Madame Malibran, Mrs. Knyvett, and Miss Cramer; Messrs. Braham, Phillips, Vaughan, Knyvett, &c. Balls were held every evening at the Town Hall; and a banquet was given by the Bishop of Rochester and Lady Sarah Murray, in the Chapter House, after each morning’s performance. The Duchess of Kent and the Princess Victoria were among the company. The receipts for the charity were £1,005, and for admissions, £3,314; being considerably less than the amount realised in 1827.

1833—SEPTEMBER 24—Sermon by the Bishop of Worcester. Every pains had been taken to make this festival successful; the performances occupying four mornings instead of three, and the orchestra being much enlarged. About 170 performers were engaged, the principal vocalists being—Madame Malibran, Miss Clara Novello, and Mrs. Knyvett; Messrs. Braham, Phillips, Vaughan, and E. Taylor. De Beriot, the violinist, was also a feature of this festival. _The Messiah_ was performed entire; and selections from _The Creation_, _Palestine_, _The Last Judgment_, _The Deluge_ (Schneider), and _Mount Sinai_ (Neukomm)—the last proving a decided failure. Malibran was all in all at this meeting. The receipts for the charity were £981, and for admissions, £3,496. The ball at the College Hall was a most brilliant finale, the company numbering upwards of 700. The expenses were no less than £4,300; so that the stewards were £800 out of pocket.

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 de