electrical in the rush of violins at the end
of the chorus "Thanks be to God" in the "Elijah," in Beethoven's
"Leonora" overture, and in the last movement of the overture to "William
Tell." The effect of the violins--between fifty and sixty in number--was
something magical in the works just named. To put the matter in brief
detail, under Costa's conductorship the string band numbered 108
players, when Richter took the orchestra in hand, it was reduced to
eighty-six. I will not discuss the expediency of the change. Suffice it
to say that the Festival band is now as good, perhaps better, than it
ever was, save in the matter of numbers.

To sum up very briefly the Festivals since 1885--the year that Richter
succeeded Costa--the meeting of 1888 was remarkable for nothing that
made any permanent notch in the record of the Festivals. Parry's
oratorio "Judith" was the chief novelty, but, in spite of its masterly
merit as a work of musical art, it was hardly received with the favour
it deserved.

The Festival of 1891 saw the production of two important new works,
namely, Stanford's dramatic oratorio "Eden" and Dvorak's "Requiem Mass."
With respect to these compositions, they have scarcely been heard, I
think, since their initial performances. Stanford's "Eden" contains some
fine writing, but there was, perhaps, too much of it. Dvorak's "Requiem"
was something of a disappointment, and its first rendering anything but
satisfactory; indeed, some of the numbers, I remember, narrowly escaped
coming to utter grief.

In 1894 three new productions were heard. These were Parry's "King
Saul"--a very recondite, musicianly composition--but too long; "The
Swan and the Skylark," a fanciful little cantata by Goring Thomas; and a
"Stabat Mater" by G. Henschel.

Nothing at the Festival of 1897 made any mark. There was a new "Requiem"
by Stanford, but like many other Requiems, it rather celebrated its own
death. A new work by Arthur Somervell was heard, and, though favourably
received at first, like some other Festival compositions it seems now to
have vanished into the _ewigkeit_.

With regard to the Festival of 1900--just closed as these lines are
being written--I will say little. It has been financially successful,
and perhaps that is the best that can be said of it. The programme,
speaking generally, was a somewhat heavy and dull one, and the special
new work, namely, Elgar's "Dream of Gerontius," was disappointing, in
spite of its sk