"Acisand Galatea" was first performed, Mozart's arrangement of it appearing in his own catalogue, in November, 1788; Caroline Pichler retained in her old age a lively recollection of the impression made on her by this performance.[9] It was followed by the "Messiah," in March, 1789.[10] Great expectations were excited by this oratorio, by reason of the magnificent performances of it which had been given at the London Handel festivals in 1784 and 1785,[11] at the cathedral {OFFICIAL AND OCCASIONAL WORKS.} (220) in Berlin, by Hiller, on May 19, 1786 (with Italian words),[12] at the University Church in Leipzig,[13] on November 3,1786, and May 11,1787, and at Breslau[14] on May 30,1788. Finally, in July, 1790, Mozart arranged the "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day" and the "Feast of Alexander." It was considered necessary, in order not to distract the attention of the public by the unusual effects of Handel's orchestra, to modify the instrumentation.[15] Even Hiller remarks (Nachricht, p. 14), "Many improvements may be made in Handel's compositions by the employment of the wind instruments, according to the fashion of the present day. In the whole of the 'Messiah,' Handel appears never to have thought of the oboes, flutes, or French horns, all of which are so often employed to heighten or strengthen the effect in our present orchestras. I need not remark that the alterations must be made with care and discretion." But he went far beyond these "innocent" views; he shortened and altered the composition itself, especially in the airs and recitatives, and wrote "an entirely new score, as far as may be what Handel would himself have written at the present day" (Betracht-ungen, p. 16). He was convinced that "only a pedantic lover of old fashions, or a pedantic contemner of what is good in the new ones" would find fault with this proceeding (Betracht-ungen, p. 18). The object with which Mozart undertook to rearrange the instrumentation of Handel's works was the strengthening and enriching of the orchestra to enable it to dispense with the organ or harpsichord, to which the working-out of the harmonies had originally been intrusted. This was principally effected by the introduction of wind {ARRANGEMENT OF HANDEL'S ORATORIOS.} (221)