The history of the origin of the meetings of the three choirs of Worcester, Hereford, and Gloucester, does not belong to the nineteenth century. It will be sufficient here to say that the first took place in the year 1725 (when £48. 18s. was collected), and that they have gradually risen in importance, till, besides being the means of obtaining annually a very large sum for the support of the widows and orphans of the clergy, they have now taken a first place amongst the musical rÉunions of the kingdom, and have greatly aided in fostering the melodious science. It will be seen from the following brief notes of the festivals at Worcester, that the most celebrated singers have, from time to time, all taken a part in the performance here of the chief works of the great masters of music. In the seventeen meetings held here this century, upwards of £14,500 have been realised for the clergy’s widows and orphans.

1800—September 14—Seventy-seventh meeting of the three choirs. The festival this year occupied three days. The sermon was preached by Dr. James. The Messiah, Creation, Acis and Galatea, &c., performed. The principal novelty was the chorus in Handel’s Ode to St. Cecilia—“As from the Power.” Chief performers—Madame Mara and Miss Tennant; Messrs. Knyvett, Nield, and Bartleman. Amount collected for the charity, £468; and the receipts for tickets yielded a surplus of £250 in addition.

1803—September 27—Sermon by the Rev. H. Stillingfleet. Principal vocal performers—Mrs. Billington and Miss Fanny Ross; Messrs. Melville, Incledon, Bartleman, Nield, &c. The collections for the charity amounted to £501. 8s. The receipts were £2,630, and exceeded the expenses by £600.

1806—September 22—Sermon by the Rev. G. Turberville. The Messiah and Alexander’s Feast were the only entire works performed. The principal performers were Mrs. Billington, Mrs. Vaughan, Miss Melville; Messrs. Harrison, Knyvett, &c. The collections amounted to £714.

1809—September 26—Sermon by the Rev. Dr. Wingfield. The Messiah the only oratorio performed entire. Performers—Mrs. Billington and Mrs. Vaughan; Mr. Braham (his first engagement at these festivals), Messrs. Bartleman, Vaughan, and Goss. The sum collected for the charity was £800, the largest amount up to that time ever collected.

1812—September 9—Sermon by Rev. Dr. Onslow, Vicar of Kidderminster. Principal performers—Madame Catalani, Mrs. Salmon, Miss Melville; Messrs. Vaughan, Goss, Hawes, Denman, and Bellamy. The Messiah and Creation performed entire. Collections, £906.

1815—September 12—Sermon by Rev. J. Fleming St. John. Principal performers—Madame Marconi, Miss Stephens, Mrs. Vaughan; and Messrs. Bartleman, Vaughan, Knyvett, &c. The Messiah, Haydn’s Seasons, and various selections performed. Collections, £749. The tickets were printed in London, and some spurious ones got into circulation.

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 deal of expense was saved. The oratorios were conducted, not by the organist of the cathedral, Mr. Clarke, but by Mr. Surman of Exeter Hall, and the performances were held in the nave and not in the choir. The only previous occasion on which the festival had been held in the nave was at the visit of George III, sixty years before. The arrangement of orchestra and seats was that which has been ever since observed. The principal singers were—Miss Birch, Miss Marshall, Miss Dolby, Mrs. Loder, and Miss Davis, our own young townswoman; Mr. Phillips, Mr. Leffler, and Mr. Hobbs. The oratorios performed were—The Messiah, Judas Maccabeus, and Engedi. At the evening concerts Alexander’s Feast, Haydn’s Seasons, and Schiller’s Song of the Bell were performed entire. The chorus consisted of 218 singers, and there were 82 instruments in the orchestra. The organ was in the course of being renewed by Hill. The collections for the charity amounted to £1,059. 16s.

1845—Sermon by Canon Wood. Only three morning performances this year, which, for the first time, were under the conduct of Mr. Done. The Last Judgment and a collection of anthems were performed on the Wednesday morning, and The Messiah on the Thursday. In the evenings Acis and Galatea and Mendelssohn’s Walpurgis Nacht were performed entire. The principal vocalists were—the Misses Williams, Miss Rainforth, Miss Whitnall; Herr Staudigl, Mr. Pearsall, Mr. Hobbs, Mr. Machin, and Mr. Young. The amount collected for the charity was £850. 14s.

1848—Sermon by the Very Rev. the Dean of Worcester. Mdlle. Jenny Lind had promised to take a part at this festival, but Mr. Lumley compelled her to break her engagement, and she was actually singing at Birmingham on the first day of the Worcester meeting; notwithstanding this, the festival was one of the most successful, in point of attendance, which has ever been held at either of the three cities. On the first morning at least 1,500 people were present in the nave of the Cathedral, and at the last concert in the College Hall it is computed that 1,100 persons were crammed into the room. There were this year four morning performances; the oratorios performed entire being the Elijah and Messiah, with selections from Palestine, Creation, and Engedi. In the evenings parts of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Haydn’s Seasons, and Weber’s Oberon were performed, with miscellaneous selections. The principal vocalists were—Mdlle. Alboni, Madame Castellan, the Misses Williams, and Miss Dolby; Mr. Sims Reeves, Signor Lablache, Mr. Lockey, Mr. Robinson, and Mr. Machin. The amount collected for the charity was £960, and the receipts by sale of tickets reached £3,080; yet the expense attaching to the engagement of the “stars” was so great that the loss was very considerable.