From The Musical Times Oct 1 1887, p587

Norwich Festival

On the 11th of this month the capital city of East Anglia will begin the twenty-second celebration of her Triennial Musical Festival. It will do so under the customary "distinguished patronage." The Queen's name stands at the head of the list with that of the Princess of Wales, and the Prince of Wales figures as President, while all the aristocracy of the district are associated with him in second rank. Then there is a general committee, headed by Lord Suffield, and comprising a host of local magnates, with a sub-committee, presided over by Mr. F. H. Gurney, to do the work. Properly constituted minds rejoice to see the local leaders of society thus freely giving their names to the cause of art and charity, but on not a few previous occasions we have had reason to suspect that the names are given and no more. Maybe the distinguished ladies and gentlemen of Norfolk will turn over a new leaf this time, and enable the "patrons' seats" at the performances to put on a more satisfactory appearance than heretofore.

What may be called the personnel of the Festival is not likely to excite much special remark. Mr. Randegger fills the post of Conductor as on two previous occasions, and may be relied upon to do his duty with energy and skill. In other respects no change presents itself; Dr. Bunnett once more acting as organist and Dr. Hill as trainer of a chorus chiefly drawn, we presume, from the amateurs of the locality. The orchestra consists, for the most part, of eminent London artists, and is sure to prove efficient. About the chorus we cannot feel so confident. The Norwich singers have never been able to claim a place in the front rank of festival bodies; but for this we may not blame the authorities, whose field of choice is somewhat restricted. It is fairly on the cards, however, that we shall have to note an improvement this time. With regard to the principal vocalists, the names of three sopranos-- Madame Albani, Miss Liza Lehmann, and Miss Annie Marriott--command unhesitating acceptance. From the contraltos we again note the absence of Madame Patey, who seems, for some occult reason or other, to have dropped out of East Anglian memory. The leading contralto's place is filled by Miss Hilda Wilson--a very good substitute--who has Miss Lena Little for associate. In choosing tenors Mr. Lloyd and Mr. McGuckin, with Mr. Charles Wade, the committee did the best possible, while Mr. Santley, Mr. Alec Marsh, Mr. Brockbank, and Mr. Barrington Foote answer for the baritones and basses.

The programme may be noticed in the order of performance. :Elijah" does not this time open the Festival, nor will Mendelssohn's oratorio be given at all. Consideration on the matter is entirely for those who know the feeling of locality. "Elijah" has long held its place at the head of Festival schemes, not because of any prescriptive or traditional right, but because the people would have it so. Norwich may desire a change, in which case the fact is an ample justification of the present arrangement, and no more need be said. In place of "Elijah," the commitee offer Mackenzie's Jubilee Ode, Saint-Sa‘ns's Psalm xix, "The heavens declare the glory of God," and Mendelssohn's "Hymn of Praise"--a varied selection which may, on account of its variety, run the drawing power of "Elijah" hard. On Wednesday morning will be presented "The Garden of Olivet," a devotional Oratorio, the text written and compiled from Holy Scripture by Joseph Bennett, the music composed by G. Bottesini. In this work the story of Gethsemane is told in narrative form, the governing idea being that a reader meditates upon the solemn episode in our Lord's life. Certain passages are drammatically treated, but mainly the work is constructed upon the lines just pointed out. The term "devotional" seems to be used not only as opposed to "dramatic," but also because justified by the character of the meditation, for which special verses, expressive of adoration and live, have been written. Regarding Mr. Bottesini's music, it will be more satisfactory to speak after hearing, but ever so slight a glance at the pianoforte score makes a favourable impression, because one cannot help seeing there a purely religious spirit expressed in beautiful melody and rich harmony. The new Oratorio will be followed by Dvor‡k's "Stabat Mater," but it is open to question whether two works of an intensely solemn nature should have place in the same programme. On the evening...