| Main Performers | Mdlle Titiens,
Madame Trebelli-Bettini,
Mr Sims Reeves,
Mr Rota - vocals |
| Orchestra or Band | Mr Barnby's Exhibition Band
First Life Guards,
Second Life Guards,
Royal Horse Guards,
Royal Artillery,
Royal Engineers,
Coldstream Guards,
Scots Fusilier Guards,
Rifle Brigade (1st Batallion),
Royal Marine Artillery,
Royal Marines (Chatham Division),
Genadier Guards - 300 male instrumentalists in total |
| Set List | Overture, 'Massaniello', Auber (Military Bands),
Romanza, 'Ah! Non Avea', Donizetti (Sims Reeves),
Chorus, 'Dal Tuo Stellato Soglio' (Mose in Egitto), Rossini,
Duet, 'Quis est Homo' from Stabat Mater, Rossini (Titiens and Trebelli-Bettini)
'When Other Lips', Balfe (Sims Reeves),
Bolero, 'C'est L'Espagne', J Offenbach (Trebelli-Bettini),
'Grand March' and 'Chorus' from Tannhauser, Wagner, Persian (Military Bands),
INTERVAL
Entrance of Royalty to the Queen's Box (HRH The Princess of Wales, Czarvena, Czarewitch),
Russian Hymn,
Organ Recital (Dr Stainer),
'March' from Eli, M Costa,
Trumpet Fanfare (Trumpeters of the Royal Horse Guards),
Entrance of the Shah of Persia to the dais,
'Ode, in Honour of His Imperial Majesty The Shah', J Barnby (Band, Mdlle. Titiens),
Organ Solo, 'Persian Airs' (W T Best),
'O Hush Thee, My Babie', A S Sullivan,
'March of Israelites', 'Eli', Sir M Costa,
Quarttett, 'Ecco Quel Fiero', Sir M Costa (Treblli, Trebelli-Bettini, Sims Reeves, Rota),
'Domine Salam Fac Reginam' from Festival Te Deum, A S Sullivan (conducted by the composer),
'God Save the Queen' (The National Anthem)
Display of Electric Lighting from the Gallery |
| Royal Presence | HRH The Prince of Wales,
HRH The Princess of Wales,
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh,
Shah of Persia,
Czarvena of Russia,
Czarewitch of Russia,
HRH Prince Arthur |
| Performance Notes | The Shah of Persia was invited to a concert, followed by a demonstration of electricity. The Hall was decorated with laurel wreaths and silk banners, including one with the Persian device of the Lion and Sun. The bands stood in a semicircle in front of the organ and on either side were members of the Royal Choral Society, the ladies dressed in pure white with pink and blue sashes. Dr Stainer wore Oxford Music Doctorate robes and Mr Barnby wore a Court suit. The electric lighting demonstration was the first ever use of electric lighting at the Hall, and was shown from five points in the gallery. The lighting was supplied by Messrs. Tisley and Spiller and used five lamps, each connected to a Grove's battery of 50 cells, placed on the Hall's roof, making altogether 250 cells.
"The very concert itself was in an exceedlingly spacious enclsoure with a roof in shape of a dome, very vast and very lofty. Around this dome were seven tiers of seats, all occupied by people, all filled with beauteous women magnificently apparelled, a great assembly, and all nobles and magnates. The pit, too, was full of women and men. Multitudes of gaslights were burning. We, likewise, went below, where, in the midst of all that assembly, they had arranged chairs. Together with the Heirs-Apparent of England and Russia, with the grandees of Persia, and with the ministers and magnates of England, we took our seats in due order. Inf ront of us was a very large organ of the size of a palace, with iron columns, and with tubes from whence issue the sounds of musical intruments. Outspreading like a plane-tree, it was fixed to one side of the wall of the building. Right and left of the organ eight hundred individuals, beautiful women and maidens, were seated in tiers, four hundred on the one side, four hundred on the other, all dressed in white, but four hundred wearing blue ribbons, four hundreed red. Above these women there were boys in handsome dresses, also to the number of eight hundred. These all sang in extremely sweet accord to the tunes of the orchestra and organ. This latter was played by one person, and its sound reached to a great distance. He played well; but wind was supplied to it by steam. Otherwise, how could one individual, with his feet, or with hishands, blow the needful blast? On the lower benches there were also a great many musicians. From no one did there arise a sound all quietly lent ear and looked on. It lasted more than an hour. When all was come to an end, we returned home and went to bed."
(The Diary of H.M. The Shah of Persia During His Tour Through Europe in A.D.1873', London 1874, Chapter 4, page 166-167)
"At the close of the 'Domine salvam fao Reginam' the Orchestra struck up the first bars of the National Anthem, and at the same instant six electric lights placed at equal distances round the Gallery were simultaneously displayed, and the brilliant flashes were thrown by reflectors on the splendid group of uniforms blazing with diamonds. Words must fail, as time necessarily does to convey the remotest idea of the beauty of the scene at this time, and the Shah was evidently quite as much delighted as any one else, while the Princess of Wales briefly indicated to his Majesty the nature of the light which made has and her jewels gleam again with tenfold brilliancy."
(The Western Daily Press, 25 June 1873)
"The Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Commissioners of the Exhibition of 1851 - all, it is scarcely necessary to say, wearing uniform or Court dress, received his Majesty and the Persian Princes at the entrance [of the 1873 International Exhibition], which was tastefully and elegantly decorated with the flowers which are peculiarly fitting to the place. Last night's floral decoration of the rooms and passages through which the Shah was conducted, as well as of the Albert Hall itself, was the work of Mr John Wills FRHS...
On the return northward to the Upper West Quadrant, and the conservatory entrance of the Royal Albert Hall, the Council of that institution met and joined the Royal procession leading the way by the west corridor to the Queen's room, where a light repast, accompanied by a profusion of choice fruit, was served. After this retardation of the progress towards the Royal box, the flourish of trumpets which had announced the arrival of the Shah at the entrance of the Exhibition gave the same signal of his approach to the brilliant gathering that awaited him.
CONCERT AT THE ALBERT HALL
The Albert Hall began to fill rapidly soon after eight o'clock, and by the time foxed for beginning the concert, it presented a spectacle not often equalled for imposing magnificence. Grand at any time, the wonderful interior, which seems to have been designed for State ceremonials, appeared more striking than ever, decorated as it was with wreaths of evergreens and flowers, with banners and flag-trophies, and broad belts of plants in luxuriant bloom. But the audience arrested attention, and called forth admiration, even more than the Hall. It was such an audience as comes together only on occassions destined to be memorable. "Fair women and brave men" thronged every part of the edifice, and each seemed to have acted fully up to the Shakespearean maxim, "Costly they habit, as thy purse can buy." Look where it would, the eye revelled in a wealth of colour, of flashing gems and radiant decorations, for not only did the ladies so their duty in respect of dress, but the sterner sex yielded with a good grace to the pressue of the regulations, and donned uniforms or Court suites in sufficient number to make the spectacle one of rare splendour. The coup d'oeil was fit for a King. It outdid with its verities the fictions of "The Arabian Nights." Nor was the appearance of the orchestra much less striking than that of the "auditorium." Th orchestra itself had been extended into the arena, and occupied an extra space corresponding in dimensions and form to that taken up at the other end by the dais, on which were ranged the gilded chairs set apart for Royalty. The area between the conductor's seat and the organ was taken yp by Mr Barnby's capital Exhibition band, reinforced by picked men from the bands of the Household Regiments, the Artillery, Engineers, Rifle Brigade, and Marines, the total number of instruments being over 300. Above this imposing force were ranged the ladies and gentlemen of the Albert Hall Choral Society; and higher still were the drummers of the Foot Guards, their long lines sweeping round the curve of the building. Dr Stainer presided at the organ, in the handsome robes ofs an Oxford Muc. Doc., and Mr Barnby, attired in a Court suit, occupied the conductor's seat, save when the baton was taken by one or other of the bandmasters, who directed the purely military music. The concert began with commendable punctuality, and withour waiting for any of the expected Royal visitors. There is no need to dwell upon the manner in which such familiar things as the overture to "Masaniello," Donizetti's "Ah! non avea" (Signor Rota), Rossini's "Dal tuo stellato," and "Quis est home" (Mddlle. Titiens and Mdme. Trebelli), Balfe's "When other lips" (Mr. Sim Reeves), and the march and chorus from "Tannhauser," were rendered. Enough that the general performance was worthy the occassion, and that the performers were duly honoured, Mr. Sims Reeves obtaining an encore. At the close of the first part the Royal party were expected to mae their appearance, but they came not, and much weary waiting was foreshadowed when the Princess of Wales, the Czarvena, and the Czarewitch entered the Queen's box. This was the signal for the military bands to pay the stately national hymn of the Russian empire, which being ended, another silence set in. Dr Stainer soon came to the rescue, however, with a characteristic meldoy arranged for the organ. But even Dr Stainer wearied, and still the Shah did not come. This the time passed, and not till the military bands had performed the March from Coasta's "Eli" did the emptying of the Queen's box and a slight stir at the entrance leading to the dais give warning that the Royal party were at hand. Hardly had the officers preceeding the Shah appeared at the top of the steps before the trumpeters of the Royal Horse Guards, stationed in front of the orchestra, gave the conventional "flourish," which was the signal for the vast crowd to rise with a wonderful upheaval, in itself a striking and remarkable effect. As the Shah led the Princess of Wales to her seat, followed by a brilliant procession of Royal and illustrious personages, the orchestra played a Persian march, and the audience cheered with a fair, if not overwhelming, amount of enthusiasm. His Majesty was dressed in the now familiar blue uniform, but wore fewer diamonds than usual. He returned the salute of the audience with considerable animation, and appeared much impressed - as well he might - with the scene before him. When all had taken their places on the dais - now a blaze of light and colour - the picture was complete. To the right of the Shah's central chair sat the Princess of Wales, the Czarewitch, the Duke of Edinburgh, and some of the Persian Princes; to the left were the Czarevna, the Prince of Wales, Prince Arthur, and more Eastern dignitaries; while the seats in the rear and the steps leading upard to the entrance were filled with the officers in attendance. Then came the special event of the evening - the performance of an Ode composed in honour of the Shah by Mr Barnby, who, of course, conducted its performance...By the time all was over and the Royal party retired, the hour was very late. few, however, could earlier tear themselves away from one of the most magnificent spectacles that eye ever rested on."
(The Daily Telegraph, 24 June 1873)
The Hall sold 3323 tickets. |
| Related Archival Material | Programme (RAHE/1/1873/1),
Illustration (RAHE/9/1873/1) (RAHE/9/1873/2) |