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WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

77

(73). Right Honourable James Stuart Mackenzie.-A medallion, with

the insignia of office, and a flow of drapery, on which the inscription appears,
forms this memorial of private friendship:

vocal and instrumental, in London, was far greater than in any other city of Europe, that there was no
public periodical occasion for collecting and consolidating them into one band, by which means a
performance might be exhibited on such a grand scale as no other part of the world could equal.

The birth and death of Handel naturally occurred to three such enthusiastic admirers of that great
master; and it was immediately recollected, that the next year would be a proper time for the intro-
duction of a musical celebration, as it formed a complete century since his birth, and an exact quarter
of a century since his decease.

The plan was immediately communicated to the governors of the Musical Fund, who approved
it, and promised their assistance. It was next submitted to the directors of the Concert of Ancient
Music, who voluntarily undertook the trouble of managing and directing the celebrity. It was after-
wards honoured with his Majesty's sanction and patronage. Westminster Abbey, where the remains
of the great musician were deposited, was thought to b(; the most suitable place for the performance ;
and application having been made to the Bishop of Rochester, who was at that time the clean of
the church, liis lordship readily assented. It was also settled that the profits of the first day's per-
formance should be equally divided between the Musical Fund and the Westminster Infirmary, and
those of the subsequent days to be solely applied to the use of the former, which Handel himself so
long helped to sustain, whose funds he increased by the legacy of a thousand pounds, but towards
whose support every musician in the capital annually contributes his money, his performance, or both.

In describing the disposition, discipline, and effects of this most numerous and excellent band,
the merit of the architect, Mr. James Wyatt, who furnished the designs for the construction of the
vast orchestra, and the elegant fitting up of the abbey, must not be forgotten. The general idea was
to produce the effect of a royal musical chapel, with the orchestra terminating one end, and the
accommodations for his Majesty and the nryal famil3' the other.

It was the beneficent suggestion of his Majesty, that the celebrity should be extended to four days
instead of two, which he thought would not be sufficient for the display of Handel's powers, or the
fulfilling those charitable purposes to which it was intended to devote the profits.

Impressed with a reverence for the memory of Handel, no sooner was the projected undertaking
known, but most of the practical musicians in the kingdom eagerly manifested their zeal in forwarding
 
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