Society of Arts PitchPart I - A Meeting is convenedIntroductionIn our previous work on The Rise and Fall of English Pitch, we came across an unfamiliar term, Society of Arts Pitch, given as A448.4 in 1860. So who was this Society and what was their interest in pitch? The first question is easily answered, as the Society still exists (now as the Royal Society of Arts), and indeed you can find out all about them at their website. As you will see, they are not living in the past, but continue to promote thought and activity in matters challenging the arts and society at large. The second question is handled by their splendid archive service, through which I was able to recover the following article. It's a bit of a read, but offers us a wonderful and detailed insight into the battle of the pitches that raged in England at the time. Because it is a long article, and also to permit additional material to be included, I've broken the article into three parts:
In the article, any comments of mine will be [in square brackets]. I've also added paragraph headings to make it easier to find particular topics of interest. While we might be more used to seeing frequencies for the note C around 256Hz, these are presented below as the frequency of a C note an octave higher, eg 512Hz. Journal of the Society of Arts, June 8, 1860 UNIFORM MUSICAL PITCH
A meeting of the principal Musicians, Amateurs, and other interested in Music, was held at the Society’s House on Tuesday, the 5th inst., Sir Thomas Phillips, FGS, Chairman of the Council, in the chair. The subjoined Report of the Committee appointed by the Council in June, 1859, having been previously circulated, was taken as read. The Committee consisted of the following Gentlemen:
[Before we proceed on to the record of the meeting, let's try to work out who attended. We don't know entirely, but as you can see below we can make some good guesses!] Dr. Arnott, FRS : Neil Arnott, F.R.S., reformer, innovator and populariser of science, (1788-1874). Arnott gave lectures at the Philomathic Institution published as Elements of Physics (1827). He was one of the founders of the University of London, 1836. Within a few years he was made physician to the French and Spanish embassies, and in 1837 he became physician extraordinary to the Queen. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1838. He was a strong advocate of scientific, as opposed to purely classical, education; and he manifested interest in natural philosophy by the gift of £2,000 to each of the four universities of Scotland and to the University of London, to promote its study in the experimental and practical form Mr. Jules Benedict : Jules Benedict (1804-1885) German-born composer and conductor, resident in England for most of his career. He later became Sir Jules Benedict and was mentioned in The Musical Times, October 1850: The progresses of queens in their own right are nothing now-a-days to those of the "queens of song," in which there is absolutely wherewithal to make royalty jealous. The following sketch of Mlle. Lind on shipboard, with the struggle between Messrs. Collins and Barnum, is dramatic as well as picturesque. Sir Julius Benedict was also conductor and composer of the Victorian
hit opera, The Lily of Killarney, which contains the famous tune, Lily
Mavourneen and the duet The moon has rais'd her lamp above, as well a
variety of pieces to delight the canary-fancier such as La Capinera,
The Gypsy and the Bird; and the Variations on Il Carnevale di
Venezia, made famous by many coloratura sopanos. Note: Jules is sometime written 'Julius'. Professor Sterndale Bennett :
Sir William Sterndale Bennett (1816-1875), English musician. Bennett
was a friend of Mendelssohn and Schumann, both of whom influenced his
work. Besides composing, he was active as a pianist and conductor. He
founded the Bach Society and in 1854 gave the first public British
performance of the St. Matthew Passion. Bennett’s compositions include a
symphony, four piano concertos, and much solo piano music.
Mr. Bowley :
probably Robert Kanzow Bowley (1813–1870). Grove's A Dictionary of Music and Musicians Vol. 1 (1900) tells us: "His first knowledge of music was acquired by association with the choristers of Westminster Abbey. Ardent and enthusiastic, he pursued his studies vigorously. Whilst still a youth he joined a small society called 'The Benevolent Society of Musical Amateurs', of which he afterwards became conductor. In 1834 he was one of the committee who promoted and carried out the 'Amateur Musical Festival' at Exeter Hall. About the same time he became organist of the Independent Chapel in Orange Street, Leicester Square, and continued so for several years. In October 1834, he was admitted a member of the Sacred Harmonic Society, then in its infancy, and was soon afterwards elected a member of its committee. On the foundation of the society's now magnificent musical library in 1837, Mr. Bowley was appointed its librarian, an office which he held until 1854, when he was chosen treasurer, which post he occupied until his death. He laboured incessantly to promote its welfare and advance its reputation, and instigated most of the steps which have tended to place it in its present high position. The scheme of celebrating the centenary of the death of Handel by performances of his music on a scale of unprecedented magnitude, and which eventually led to the establishment of the Handel Festivals at the Crystal Palace, was originated by him. In 1858 he was appointed General manager at the Crystal Palace, in which post he proved himself to be undoubtedly 'the right man in the right place.'" Mr. W. Broadwood :
either Walter Stewart Broadwood (1819-1898) of the Broadwood family and piano-making firm, an amateur flautist and publisher who was associated with Rudall, Carte and was from 1843 a partner in the Broadwood firm (the German composer Wilhelm Bernhard Molique (1802-1869) was commissioned by Walter Stewart Broadwood to write his Quintet, Op. 35, for flute, violin, 2 violas and cello) or, more likely, Walter Fowler Broadwood (1811-1893) who had succeeded James Broadwood in 1834 as head of the Broadwood firm. In 1846 Walter Broadwood directed Alfred James Hipkins the head piano tuner at Broadwoods to instruct their tuners in the use of Equal Temperament. Mr. Hipkins used two tuning forks one for meantone and one for equal temperament (meantone) A433.5 (equal) A436.0. Meantone was the most common scale (temperament) used at that time. M. Bruzaud (Messrs. Erard) : either George John Bruzaud (b.1813/4) or Charles James Bruzaud (1817/8-1897). Sébastian Érard (1752-1831) enjoyed a successful career as a piano
manufacturer in Paris between 1768-1790, enjoying royal and aristocratic
patronage, and pioneering important improvements in the design and
manufacture of keyboard instruments. A known royalist, he left Paris in
around 1790-1791 for London, and in 1792 founded a business at 18 Great
Marlborough Street, concentrating on the manufacture of harps, which
previously had almost always been imported from France. He patented his
single action harp in 1794, the double action in 1810, and his nephew
Pierre Orphée Érard (1794-1855) patented the larger 'Gothic' harp in 1835.
The London business enjoyed great success, reflecting the rising
popularity of the harp among both professional and amateur musicians in
the early 19th century.
The Érard ledgers show that a large proportion of the 6,862 harps listed were purchased by royalty and the aristocracy in Great Britain and abroad, and they provide documentation of the musical activities of the families of George IV, the Duke of Wellington, Louis Philippe, Sir Walter Scott, Jane Austen and Sir Joseph Paxton, beside many other references that illuminate more obscure figures. They reveal details of stringing, materials, repairs, costs and models, the preferences of professional harpists such as Anne-Marie Krumpholtz, Sophia Dussek, the Vicomte de Marin, and Francois Joseph Dizi, and also show details of packing, agents, and transport of harps exported, including harps dispatched to the continent, Russia and America. The London business proved so successful that it was able to reimburse all debts incurred by the Érard's Parisian business which had been declared bankrupt in 1813. Sébastian returned to Paris to resume piano manufacture and invention and the London concern was controlled by Pierre from May 1814.
In 1855, according to its own publicity, Érards produced annually over 1,000 pianos and harps at its Kensington factory and employed some 300 workers (including the staff of its showrooms in Great Marlborough Street). Pierre Érard died in that year and the direction of the Paris business passed to his widow Camille Érard-Février (1813-1889) with the assistance of her brother-in-law M. Schaeffer of Strasbourg, while the English-born George John Bruzaud became director of the London branch. From the 1881 census and available birth and death certificates we know that George lived at 18 Holland Park Terrace with his wife Caroline Amelia (née Pearce) (b.c.1821, m.1848, d.1907), sons Sigismund Charles (b.c.1851) and Sebastian (c.1852-1890), and daughters Jane Helen (b.1853), Georgina Caroline (b.1855) and Esther (b.c.1862). By 1881 both sons were
working as clerks in the Érard business in Great Marlborough Street.
British History Online informs us that:
The factory was enlarged in 1859 when a further one and a half acres immediately to the south of the main site were added to its grounds. This land, which had originally been reserved for a continuation of the mews now called Logan Place, was leased directly by Lord Kensington for eighty-three years to George John and Charles James Bruzaud of Great Marlborough Street, harp and pianoforte manufacturers. George John Bruzaud was the head of the London branch of Érards, and his brother Charles James, who lived in the detached house at 37 Pembroke Road, was apparently the manager of its Kensington factory which lay between Cromwell Crescent and Warwick Road. In about 1866 the site of the former dairy in Warwick Road was also added, and at its greatest extent the factory occupied some four acres of land. In 1873 Amedee Blondel became Camille Érard-Février's co-director of the Paris branch of the business. At her death Albert-Louis Blonfel succeeded as head of the firm. In the face of declining business, the London factory was sold at auction on 9 Sep 1890, though a few harps continued to be made at the rear of the Great Marlborough Street premises until the late 1930s. In 1960 the French firm Érard merged with Gaveau, and both firms then combined with Pleyel a year later. Schimmel of Bremen bought the company in 1971. There is mention, in the literature, of a third Bruzaud, Edwin George Bruzaud, particularly in relation to patents pertaining to the pianoforte. These patents are dated 1862 at which time Edwin George is shown living at 'Pembroke Road, Kensington, in the employ of Messrs. Érard and Company, of 18 Great Marlborough Street, Harp and Piano-forte Manufacturers'. From the 1881 census and available birth and death certificates we know that Charles James lived at 37 Pembroke Road with his wife Helen (c.1817-1887), daughter Camilla Louisa (c.1855-1903) and son Arthur (1853-1905) who was by then working as a pianoforte maker.
We have found one further mention of Edwin George Bruzaud among the Bruzauds listed in the Monumental Inscriptions Index for Much Marcle, Herefordshire. Four members of the family appear: Charles James, Edwin George (b.c.1840, m.1870, d.1903), Elizabeth Hannah (née Davis) (b.c.1847, m.1870, d.1905) and Mrs. Helen Bruzaud. Edwin George Bruzaud must have been about 22 when he registered his 1862 patents, and Elizabeth Hannah Davis was his wife.
Mr. Harry Chester :
(Member of the Council of the Society of Arts)
Harry Chester (1806-1868) was born in Ipswich, the son of Sir Robert Chester, Master of Ceremonies to George III, George IV, William IV and Queen Victoria. He was Clerk to the Privy Council Office (1826-58), Assistant Secretary to the Committee of the Privy Council on Education (1840-58) and Vice-President of the Society of Arts at whose instigation in 1854 a special loan exhibition of English and foreign educational aids was held in London. He was the author of Schools for Children and Institutes for Adults (1860) and Advancement for the Working Classes (1863).
Mr. Collard :
Charles Lukey Collard (1807-1891), of Collard & Collard (nephew of Frederick William Collard, and father of John Clementi Collard) who became sole owner of the business in 1859. Frederick William Collard (1772-1860), pianoforte manufacturer, son of William and Thamosin Collard, was baptised at Wivelscombe, Somersetshire, on 21 June 1772, and coming to London at the age of fourteen, obtained a situation in the house of Longman, Lukey, & Broderip, music publishers and pianoforte makers at 26 Cheapside. In 1799 Longman & Co. fell into commercial difficulties, and a new company, consisting of John Longman, Muzio Clementi, Frederick Augustus Hyde, F. W. Collard, Josiah Banger, and David Davis, took over the business, but on 28 June 1800 Longman and Hyde retired, and the firm henceforth was known as Muzio Clementi & Co. After some time William Frederick Collard was admitted a partner, and on 24 June 1817 Banger went out. On 24 June 1831 the partnership between F. W. Collard, W. F. Collard, and Clementi expired, and the two brothers continued the business until 24 June 1842, when W. F. Collard retired, and F. W. Collard, then sole proprietor, took into partnership his two nephews, Frederick William Collard, jun., and Charles Lukey Collard. After 1832 the pianos which had long borne the name of Clementi began to be called Collard & Collard, and many patents were in course of time taken out for improvements both in the action and the frame of the instruments. The firm soon gave up the business of music publishing, and confined themselves to pianoforte making, except that they had also the contract for supplying bugles, fifes, and drims to the regiments of the East India Company until 1858, when the government of India was transferred to the queen. About this time a novelty was brought out, which was suggested by an article in Chambers's Journal, a piano of the cottage class styled pianoforte for the people, which was sold in considerable numbers. To the Great Exhibition of 1851 Collard sent a grand, for which the musical jury awarded the council medal, but this award was not confirmed, owing to some feeling of jealousy. The firm suffered twice from large fires; on 20 March 1807 the manufactory in Tottenham Court Road was burnt to the ground, and on 10 Dec. 1851 a new manufactory in Oval Road, Camden Town, was entirely destroyed. F. W. Collard died at 26 Cheapside on 31 Jan. 1860, aged 88, having always lived in the same house since his arrival in London in 1786. William Frederick Collard, the brother and partner of the above, was baptised at Wivelsicombe on 25 Aug. 1776, and, in addition to an inventive genius respecting improvements in pianos, also developed a taste for lyric poetry. He retired from business in 1842, and died at Folkestone on 11 Oct. 1866. Rev. B. Morgan Cowie :
Benjamin Morgan Cowie (1816-1900), ordained in 1841, Gresham Professor of Geometry 1854, Dean of Manchester (1872-1883), Dean of Exeter (1883-1900). Morgan Cowie is also cited with reference to the Royal Commission on Nature and Extent of Instruction by Institutions in Ireland for Elementary or Primary Education, and Working of System of National Education (1870).
Mr. F. Davison : Peter Freund, Publicist and Theatre Historian at Her Majesty's Theatre, Ballarat writes: "If one allows for a transcription error, and the 'F. Davison' referred to should actually be 'Mr J. Davison' - then a possible candidate would be J. W. Davison being an influential music critic, editor of the Musical World, and friend of Sterndale Bennett. That would certainly meet the criteria for attendance. There is a biography of him published some years ago called The Music Monster. Her Majesty's Theatre Archive, Ballarat, Victoria holds a collection of material relating to his wife, the pianist Arabella Goddard."
However an alternative candidate and, Dr. Blood suggests, the more likely is one bearing the correct name, Frederick Davison, who took over at the well-established organ builders Gray & Davison. The firm had enjoyed particular success since Davison took charge in 1849. Staff numbers were around seventy in 1861, new instruments totaled about 200 stops a year and Gilbert Scott had been commissioned to design a factory and exhibition hall on Easton Road. Rothwell thus stepped in to a very good position as Gray & Davison's principal voicer. Mrs Rothwell's diary logged his activities from 1882. Rothwell spent much time at the Crystal Palace, revoicing the organ to cope with the enormous choirs which were becoming fashionable, the pressures eventually ending up at six inches for the Great and Swell flue work and ten for the Solo. Nevertheless, by 1875, the house style of Gray & Davison was for fairly mild-toned flue work, modest power and smooth reeds, and this was to influence Rothwell for the rest of his career. However, all was not well at Gray & Davison in the 1880s. Davison was becoming elderly, his son had gone outside organ-building and his nephew Charles had taken over the management. The company was going downhill rapidly and Rothwell departed in 1889 after an exchange of splendidly acrimonious correspondence. In The Charities of London by Samuel Low, Jun., London: Sampson Low, Son, and Marston, Milton House, Floodgate Hill, (1861), Frederick Davison is shown as being the treasurer of the Organ-builders' Benevolent Institution, established 1842, for granting annuities to aged and infirm organ-builders, and their widows; also to raise a fund for the purpose of building a retreat for the aged. Mr. C. Wentworth Dilke : (Member of the Council of the Society of Arts) probably Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke (1810-1869) 1st Baronet, a
commissioner of the 1862 London Exhibition, father of Sir Charles Wentworth
Dilke: (1843-1911), British statesman who was a radical leader in
the Liberal party, helped pass the parliamentary Reform Acts of 1884-85 as
well as laws giving the municipal franchise to women, legalising labour
unions, and limiting working hours. Dilke jnr’s political career was
effectively ended in 1885, when he was named as correspondent in a
notorious divorce case.
Professor Donaldson :
As a young man John Donaldson (1792-1865) was an accomplished pianist
and composer, but he also took a keen interest in 'the elucidation of the
phenomena of sound, and the general theory of acoustics'. He was much
influenced by the innovative teaching methods of Johann Bernhard Logier,
and built up a successful practice as a 'professor of music' in Glasgow.
In the 1820s he turned to law, and in 1826 was called to the Scottish bar
as an advocate, but he did not give up his interest in the science of
music. On being appointed Reid Professor of Music at Edinburgh in 1845 he
set about equipping his classroom with experimental apparatus - much of it
imported from the firm of Deleuil in Paris - to illustrate his lectures.
He attached great importance to the teaching of acoustics, a branch of
study which he considered 'not only leads to greater excellence in the art
itself, but enlarges the understanding, and strengthens the intellectual
powers'. He wanted to see the subject being taught in an attractive and
practical way, with General Reid's endowment being used to provide 'such
philosophical apparatus as would make the results perceptible to the ear
and eye as well as to the understanding'.
Within a few months of his appointment, however, arguments began
within the University over Professor Donaldson's demands upon the Reid
Fund. These led to an epic legal battle between the Town Council (who as
Patrons of the University supported Donaldson) and the Principal and
Professors (who as Trustees of the Reid Fund opposed him). The question of
expenditure on 'musical apparatus' featured prominently in the case, which
was eventually settled in 1855 in Donaldson's favour.
The most obvious consequence of the settlement was the erection in 1858-9 of this building - the first substantial expansion of the University outwith the bounds of Old College - as a 'School of the Theory of Music'. What is now the concert hall was the `Music Class Room', which from 1861 housed a 4-manual organ constructed by William Hill & Sons to Donaldson's specifications (including a unique 14-rank mixture, justly tuned), while this gallery was a 'Museum of Instruments' where apparatus and musical instruments were kept and displayed. During the 1850s the professor continued to add to the array of acoustical equipment, much of which was specially manufactured to his own requirements. Though much of his collection of apparatus has been lost, some items are still in the University and a few others were transferred in 1972 to the Royal Scottish Museum (now the National Museums of Scotland). This Exhibition brings together the most important of them for the first time for nearly 70 years. Donaldson's lifetime coincided with the birth of modern acoustical
science, and he took a close interest in the work of Chladni, Biot,
Cagniard de la Tour, Savart, Wheatstone and others. Though he published
little himself, at least one Fellow of the Royal Society, Alexander John
Ellis, was influenced by his teaching. It is gratifying to learn that Sir
John Herschel urged the University of Cambridge to appoint to its vacant
Chair of Music in 1856 a professor able to give 'lectures in which the
principles of the physical science of sound shall be made (as at a
scientific university they ought to be) an integral feature - to do, in
short, for Cambridge what Donaldson is doing for Edinburgh.'
In an age of conspicuous advances in the design and manufacture of many musical instruments, part of the purpose of Donaldson's teaching was 'to discover the true principles on which musical instruments ought to be constructed, and which may lead, and have led, to the invention of new ones'. Some of the instruments that he acquired for the Music Classroom can be seen both in the Exhibition itself and in the surrounding display. Donaldson's Apparatus - Exhibition of Mid-19th Century Acoustical Equipment Rev. G. T. Driffield :
Rev. G. T. Driffield, Rector of Bow, writer of hymns including Ripening Love (words and music by Miss M. A. Browne and Rev. G. T. Driffield); also On wings of faith mount up, my soul, and rise composed by G. T. Driffield, which was published in The Bristol Tune Book: A Manual of Tunes and Chants (1881) published by Novello, Ewer and Co. edited by Alfred Stone. Ellis's appendix to Herman von Helmholtz's On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music mentions two historically important tuning forks in the possession of Rev. G. T. Driffield, one formerly owned by G. F. Handel (1685–1759) and the other made by the trumpeter John Shore (1662-1752), who invented the tuning fork in 1711.
Dr. Elvey : Sir George Job Elvey (1816-1893). Elvey was born in Canterbury on the
27 Mar. 1816. He was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral under
Highmore Skeats, the organist. Subsequently he became a pupil of his elder
brother, Stephen, and then studied at the Royal Academy of Music under
Cipriani Potter and Dr. Crotch. In 1834 he gained the Gresham prize medal
for his anthem, Bow Down Thine Ear, and in 1835 was appointed organist
of St. George's Chapel, Windsor, a post he filled for 47 years, retiring
in 1882. He took the degree of Mus B. at Oxford in 1838, and in 1840, that
of Mus D. Anthems of his were commissioned for the Three Choirs Festivals
of 1853 and 1857, and in 1871 he received the honour of knighthood. He
died at Windlesham in Surrey on the 9 Dec. 1893. His works, which
are nearly all for the Church, include two oratorios, a great number of
anthems and services, and some pieces for the organ. A memoir of him, by
his widow, was published in 1894.
Mr. Godfrey :
The most likely candidates are: Charles Godfrey I (1790-1863), who began the family's association with military music by playing bassoon in the Coldstream Guards Band in 1813. He became Bandmaster in 1825, retaining that position until his death, although he retired from the Army in 1834. In 1831 he had become a Musician in Ordinary to the King and from 1847 he edited Jullien's Military Journal, one of the earliest of military band publications. Daniel Godfrey I (1831-1903) son of Charles Godfrey I, who, after study at the Royal Academy of Music, became Bandmaster of the Grenadier Guards in 1856, holding that position for forty years. Adolphus Frederick Godfrey, known as "Fred" (1837-82). Like his other brothers he studied at the Royal Academy and he took over from his father (Charles Godfrey I (1790-1863)) as Bandmaster of the Coldstream Guards in 1863, holding the appointment until 1880. Charles Godfrey II (1839-1919), brother of Fred, studied at the RAM with George MacFarren and Lazarus and played the clarinet in Jullien's orchestra. At the age of twenty he became Bandmaster of the Scots Fusiliers, moving in 1868 to be Bandmaster of the Royal Horse Guards, where he remained until 1904, from 1899 as a commissioned officer. At various times he was Professor of Military Music at the RCM and the Guildhall School. He adjudicated at the British Open Brass Band Championships in Manchester for many years prior to the Great War (his brass band arrangements of Coleridge-Taylor's Hiawatha and Gems of Mendelssohn were the respective test pieces at the 1902 and 1904 National Championships). He edited the Army Military Band Journal and founded the Orpheus Band Journal. Mr. Otto Goldschmidt : Otto Moritz David Goldschmidt (1829-1907) was born in Hamburg and studied piano
and composition at the Leipzig Conservatorium under Bülow and Mendelssohn.
He accompanied and later in 1852 married the great Swedish soprano Jenny Lind before settling in
London in 1858.
A distinguished figure in Victorian music, Goldschmidt was Vice-Principal of the RAM under Sterndale Bennett and founded the Bach Choir in 1875. His Two Pieces for clarinet and piano were published in 1900 with a dedication to my friend Oscar W. Street. The first piece is in fact a straight transcription of a song published nearly fifty years earlier as the second of Goldschmidt's Sechs Lieder, Op. 9, a setting of a poem by Hölty entitled Gruss an den Abend. The quotation in the Rondo Caprice is presumably from another early song, as yet unidentified. Oscar Street (1869-1923) studied with George Clinton and combined a career as solicitor and Lloyds underwriter with solo and orchestral clarinet playing. He is joint dedicatee with Charles Draper of Stanford's Clarinet Sonata. He was also the founder and conductor of the London Bach Choir (1875-85). Professor Goodeve :
Professor Thomas Minchin Goodeve (1821–1902), author of Principles of Mechanics,
born 26 Nov 1820 in Privet, Alverstoke, Hants, England. He was married to
Geraldine Sophia Weigall on 16 Jun 1873 in Dieppe, France. He was
the first professor in the Department of Mathematics at Imperial College,
London (1869-1894). His mother's surname was Minchin, his father's
Goodeve. Goodeve was an enthusiastic photographer - a number of his pictures appear in the Society of Arts Exhibition of 1852. Photographs at the 1852 Exhibition of the Society of Arts Mr. J. Goss :
Sir John Goss (1800-1880) composer and organist.
On 27 March 1840 John Goss, organist of St. Paul's wrote to John Watts, Secretary of the Royal Society of Musicians, of which he was a member, from his home in Chelsea. The Festival he refers to is probably the one known as 'Sons of the Clergy' which took place annually and for which the Society provided the orchestra in return for £50 to be donated to the Society's funds:
The second letter is dated 'Chelsea April 4 / 40 :
It is an interesting point that whereas strings tend to flatten in
pitch in the warmth, organs tend to rise, and the whole system of tuning
at St. Paul's seems to have been rather slap-happy. I have not been able
to find out what is meant by the 'peculiar temperament' of the
instrument. Perhaps Goss is referring to its character, rather than its
tuning!
Mr. Henry Griesbach :
John Henry Griesbach (1798-1875), violinist, composer and author of
The Acoustical Laws of Harmony (1870) and Fundamental Elements of
Counterpoint.
Mr. Halle :
probably Charles Hallé (1819-1895). Sir Charles Hallé [originally Karl Halle] was born in Germany. He became a noted conductor and pianist. Hallé had started a set of chamber concerts with Jean Delphin Alard and Auguste Franchomme with great success, and had completed one series of them when the revolution of 1848 drove him from Paris, and he settled, with his wife and two children, in London.
Hallé's piano recitals, given at first from 1850 in his own house, and from 1861 in St James's Hall, Piccadilly, were an important feature of London musical life, and it was due in great measure to them that a knowledge of Beethoven's pianoforte sonatas became general in English society. At the 'Musical Union' founded by John Ella, and at the 'Popular Concerts' from their beginning, Hallé was a frequent performer, and from 1853 was director of the 'Gentlemen's Concerts' in Manchester, where, in 1857, he started a series of concerts of his own, raising the orchestra to a pitch of perfection quite unknown at that time in England. Mr. Harper : There were a number of brass-playing Harpers. Waterhouse mentions two in particular, Thomas Harper Sr. (1786-1853) and Thomas John Harper Jr. (1816-1898), who both received royalties from J. Köhler for the use of their innovations, and for the use of the "Harper" name on their instruments (Waterhouse 1993, 161). Although no patents can be traced to the Harpers, Thomas Harper, Sr. was responsible for improvements to the keyed bugle and the slide trumpet. "T. Harper Improved" instruments were made under license by Clementi & Co., Collard & Collard, and by J. Köhler. In c.1840, Thomas, Sr. invented the "Patent Walking Stick Trumpet." We can, however, discount him from membership of this committee. He died in 1853. His son, Thomas John Harper Jnr., was a virtuoso on the valve trumpet, professor at the Royal Academy of Music and would become trumpeter to the Queen Victoria between 1884 and 1898. He also improved the slide trumpet, devising the elastic cord model. Mr. W. Hawes : (Member of the Council of the Society of Arts) The New York Times published 5 Jan. 1860 gives a report of a paper given by Mr. W. Hawes on the SS Great Eastern steamship 'tracing the idea of the great ship from its conception in the brain of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859) to its realization in the yard of John Scott Russell (1808-1882)', an experienced Naval Architect and ship builder who Brunel had first met at the Great Exhibition of 1851. The paper and the comments arising from it made by those attendng the meeting organised by the London Society of Arts seemed particularly exercised by whether or not the ship could ever be a success as a commercial speculation. Events were to justify these concerns as the ship suffered a series of accidents and mishaps. By the time she was sold piecemeal at auction in 1888 she had become an embarrassment. William Hawes was the younger brother of Benjamin Hawes (1797-1862), both sons of a successful Lambeth soap-boiler. Benjamin married Brunel's elder sister Sophia Macnamara (d.1878) and Brunel supported Benjamin Hawes in his successful campaign for election to Parliament as the Liberal member for Lambeth. Benjamin Hawes was to become Brunel's principal executor. Mr. W. Hill :
most probably William Hill (1789-1870), the celebrated London organ builder It is inconceivable that if Willis, Davison and Walker were present that Hill would not have been. Hill was something of a scientist and engineer himself and kept in close contacts will continental developments. (information provided by: Bruce Buchanan, sometime Director and Archivist J W Walker & Sons Ltd, sometime Vice-President and Tonal Director, Austin Organs Inc, Hartford CT) Mr. Hobbs : possibly Alfred C. Hobbs (1812-1891), the American Boston-born inventor and locksmith who promoted Day and Newell locks by visiting nearly every US town of importance and picking those manufactured by his rivals. He came to England as Day & Newell's representative at the 1851 Great Exhibition during which he discovered how to pick a new Bramah lock, a task that took him 51 hours of work spread over sixteen days, and for which he was awarded a special medal and 200 guineas. He went on to startle England by picking every burglar-proof lock to which he was allowed access. The makers of locks that had guarded the vaults of the Bank of England were flabbergasted when Mr. Hobbs picked them in less than half an hour. This performance led the bank to order a set of locks from Hobbs's new company, Hobbs, Hart & Co. Ltd. His exploits made him a celebrity and guaranteed him wide publicity in the English newspapers of the day. At a meeting of the Society of Arts (in 1857), he presented an interesting view of the difference, as he saw it, between an English workman and an American: "... all the workmen in the (American) establishment would, if possible, lend a helping hand. If they saw an error, they would mention it, and in every possible way they would aid in carrying out the idea. But in England, it was quite the reverse. If the workman could do anything to make a machine go wrong they would do it..." Hobbs remained in England until 1865 (this date is given in a notice of his death in the Nov. 7 1891 issue of The New York Times; other sources suggest 1860) when he returned to America. Mr. Edward Hopkins :
Edward John Hopkins (1818-1901) was a chorister at the Chapel Royal from 1826 to
1833. He became organist of Mitcham Church, Surrey, in 1834 and
after other church posts he was elected organist at the Temple in 1843.
Here he soon acquired a notable reputation, not only as organist but even
more as choirmaster.
Hopkins was one of the founders of the College of Organists in 1869.
He was awarded the Lambeth Mus.D in 1882. A prolific composer, his anthems
and services were once in great demand and are worthy of resurrection.
Only one hymn tune Ellers (1869) remains in general use. His reputation
as a writer was made by his work on his excellent treatise The Organ; its
History and Construction.
On the occasion of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 1897 the Temple
choristers led the procession onto the steps of St. Paul's. Dr Hopkins at
79 was among the tenors. This proved to be one of his last engagements,
and his farewell services were sung on Sunday, 8th May 1898 when all the
music played and sung was of his own composition. David Lewer writes that
'a great crowd gathered in the porch and beyond to salute Dr Hopkins as he
proceeded from the church to the Inner Temple gate.'
On New Year's Day 1901, Dr Hopkins was taken ill, and he passed peacefully away on 4th February. Mr. Charles Horsley : possibly Charles Edward Horsley (1822-1876), son of William Horsley
(1774-1858). Charles Edward enjoyed a certain reputation as a musician. He studied in
Germany under Hauptmann and Mendelssohn, and on his return to England
composed several oratorios and other pieces, none of which had permanent
success. In 1868 he emigrated to Australia, and in 1872 went to America;
he died in New York.
Mr. John Hullah : John Pyke Hullah (1812-1884) was a composer and Professor of Vocal Music
at King's College from 1843 until 1874. He trained at the Royal Academy of
Music and achieved an early success co-writing a comic opera with Charles
Dickens entitled The Village Coquettes, which ran from 1836-1837. Hullah
composed numerous songs and operas but achieved lasting distinction as a
leading advocate of the reform of music teaching, in particular by
popularising Wilhem's method of teaching song in which the untutored and
groups could easily participate.
Hullah lectured on the method in Battersea, Manchester at several leading public schools including Winchester and Eton and was instrumental, in conjunction with other King's luminaries including Frederick Maurice, in the foundation of Queen's College in Harley Street in 1848, one of the earliest such educational institutions for women. He was organist at Charterhouse from 1858 and from 1872 was musical inspector of training schools for the Royal Academy of Music. Shortly after the death of Felix Mendelssohn, plans were laid to establish what would become the most valuable musical prize in the United Kingdom, The Mendelssohn Scholarship. Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians notes: " The first effort towards raising money was made in the shape of a performance of Elijah on a large scale, to which Mlle. Jenny Lind gave her willing and inestimable services. This took place 15 Dec. 1848, under the direction of Sir Julius (then Mr.) Benedict, with a full band and chorus, the 'Sacred Harmonic Society' and Mr. Hullah's 'Upper Schools' contributing to the efficiency of the latter force. A large profit was derived from the performance ; and this, with a few donations, was invested in the purchase of 1050, Bank 3 per cent annuities the nucleus of the present Scholarship Fund."
Mr. Henry Leslie : taken from St. Martin's Music Hall - The Builder, February 16th 1850: We must mention that the principle feature of the concert with which the new hall was opened was a festival anthem, composed by Mr. Henry Leslie, son of Mr. John Leslie, one of the late Commission of Sewers, and inventor of several improvements in lighting and ventilation. The anthem is a masterly composition, indicating the possession of powers of very high order, - and suffices, with other works previously submitted to public ordeal, to place Mr. Leslie in the foremost rank of those on whom the reputation which England has to achieve in musical science depends. Mr. H. C. Lunn :
Henry Charles Lunn, author of Remembrance, for the Pianoforte, who from 1863 to 1887 developed The Musical Times into
a periodical of considerable importance.
Mr. G. A. Macfarren :
Sir George Alexander Macfarren (1813-1887) one of the most
fascinating ‘lost masters’ of nineteenth-century British music. A cultured
musician in every sense, he brought formidable energies to bear upon
almost all aspects of mid-Victorian musical life, being at various stages
Principal of the Royal Academy of Music, Professor at Cambridge, conductor
at Covent Garden, programme-note writer for the 'Philharmonic Society' and
editor of Handel and Purcell. He was knighted in 1883. As a composer he
was technically superior to most of his British contemporaries and, in
view of the total blindness which struck him in 1860, extraordinarily
productive. An output which includes eighteen operas, thirteen oratorios
and cantatas, nine symphonies and one hundred and sixty-two songs might
well be thought impressive by any standards. These two obbligato songs
were commissioned by the great clarinetist Henry Lazarus and first
performed at a Monday Popular Concert at St. James’s Hall on 4 March 1867,
the singer being the Welsh soprano Edith Wynne and the pianist Julius
(later Sir Julius) Benedict. The Musical World’s review of this concert,
which also included the British première of Schubert’s Octet (led by
Joachim) described Pack Clouds Away as ‘a true inspiration’ it
earned an encore ‘as unanimous as it was hearty’ and reported that both
obbligati were ‘played in perfection by Mr. Lazarus.’
Mr. Alfred Mellon :
Alfred Mellon (1820-1867) English violinist, conductor and composer who founded of a society called 'The Orchestral Union', the name suggested by the noted flautist Robert Sidney Pratten. Prof. De Morgan :
Augustus De Morgan (1806-1871), known as a mathematician, English algebraist and logician, was born in southern India in June 1806. His father, a colonel in the Indian army, died when De Morgan was ten years old. De Morgan studied as a child in numerous private schools before
entering Trinity College in 1823. After his graduation, he continued
his education by studying law at the Inns of Court. He found that he
was not interested in a legal career and was appointed to be the chair of
mathematics at University College in London.
His main accomplishments were in the field of logic, although he
studied both probability and algebra. He wrote a series of textbooks
on arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, calculus, complex numbers,
probability, and logic. He is known for the development of De
Morgan’s Laws, which deal with the logic of relations.
He died in 1871 having created new ideas for other mathematicians to
examine and
ponder.
Mr. A. Nicholson :
possibly associated with organ builders Nicholson's. The Rev. Sir F. Gore Ouseley, Bart : Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley (1825-1889) was born into a family that
had social standing, wealth, and privilege. It was almost unthinkable that
an heir to a baronetcy would consider music a career; and yet that is the
path Sir Frederick followed. Following completion of a BA degree from
Oxford and ordination into the Church of England, Sir Frederick became
assistant curate of St. Barnabas' Church, Pimlico. There he began a
lifelong pattern of seemingly boundless generosity in the cause of church
music by presenting the church an organ and contributing towards the cost
of the choir. Unfortunately, St. Barnabas became embroiled in controversy.
The sensitive Ouseley was ill-equipped for such events and he left St.
Barnabas, but not without providing for the care and training of the boy
choristers of the disbanded choir school.
While away in Europe Ouseley began to consider just what he was going
to do with the rest of his life and what was to be done with the boy
choristers his associates were training. Through a series of letters Shaw
traces the germination of the idea to build his own church and college to
train the boy choristers to form a "model choir." Upon his return to
England, Ouseley bought land just outside of Tenbury and erected a parish
church and college buildings. St. Michael's College was consecrated 29
September 1856.
During his years as Warden of St. Michael's College and Vicar of St.
Michael's Parish Church continued his lifelong accumulation of antiquarian
music and books and thus amassed one of the most extraordinary collections
of Reformation and Tudor music. Some of these works found their way into
musical collections Ouseley edited. He also composed a large body of now
mostly forgotten anthems and canticle settings, some of which were
included in collections of contemporary works Ouseley edited. As Precentor
of Hereford Cathedral and Professor of Music at Oxford Sir Frederick's
influence was far-reaching.
Sir Thomas Phillips, FGS :
Chairman of the Council (Member of the Council of the Society of Arts). Phillips, a politician and writer on education, was born at Llanelli, Brecknockshire, the eldest son of Thomas Phillips and his wife, Ann, eldest daughter of Benjamin James of Llangattock, Crickhowell, Brecknockshire. He was articled to a solicitor in Newport, Thomas Prothero, becoming in 1824 a partner in the practice. Phillips and Prothero took a leading part in political life in Newport, and on 9 Nov. 1838 Phillips became its mayor. Towards the end of his tenure of the mayoralty, he had to deal with the Chartist insurrection of 1839 in Newport and in the attack on the Westgate Hotel on 4 Nov. during which Phillips was wounded, seriously in the arm and slightly in the hip. Following the defeat of the Chartists, he was invited by Queen Victoria to stay at Windsor Castle, where he was knighted on 9 December. The grateful citizens of Newport presented him with a testimonial for over £800, a service of plate, and his portrait. He was voted the freedom of the City of London on 26th February 1840. On 10 Jun. 1842, Phillips, having given up his practice as a solicitor in Jan. 1840, was called to the bar at the Inner Temple. His career as a barrister, specialising in chancery work, was distinguished and he was named a Queen’s Counsel on 17 Feb. 1865. He acquired considerable wealth from his legal work and he bought coalmines in South Wales. He took a leading role in educational endeavours: as a governor of King’s College, London, as a supporter of the National Society, and as a benefactor of Trinity College in Carmarthen, Howell’s School in Cardiff, and Christ College in Brecon. His deep commitment to the Church of England led him to serve as a member of the Church Institution, a governor of the Corporation of the Sons of the Clergy, and a tireless contributor to the Church Extension Society in the diocese of Llandaff. Professor Pole :
William Pole (1814-1900), English engineer, was a man of many accomplishments. Having spent his earlier years in various engineering occupations in England, he went out to India in 1844 as professor of engineering at Elphinstone College, Bombay,, where he had to first organise the course of instruction for native students, but his health obliged him to return to England in 1848. For the next ten years he worked in London under James Simpson and J. M. Rendel, and the high reputation he achieved as a scientific engineer gained his appointment in 1859 to the chair of civil engineering in University College, London. He obtained a considerable amount of official work from the government. He served on the committees which considered the application of armour to ships and fortifications (1861-1864), and the comparative advantages of Whitworth and Armstrong guns (1863-1865). He was secretary to the Royal Commission on Railways (1865-1867), the duke of Richmond's Commission on London Water (1867-1869), also taking part in the subsequent proceedings for establishing a constant supply, the Royal Commission on the Disposal of London Sewage (1882-1884), and the departmental committee on the science museums at South Kensington in 1885. In 1871 he was employed by the War Office to report on the Martini-Henry rifle, and in the same year was appointed consulting engineer in London to the Japanese government, a position through which he exercised considerable influence on the development of the Japanese railway system. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1861, in recognition of some investigations on colour-blindness. Music was also one of his chief interests. At the age of twenty-two he was appointed organist of St Mark's, North Audley Street, in open competition, the next selected candidate being Dr E. J. Hopkins (1818-1901), who subsequently was for fifty years organist of the Temple Church. He took the degree of Bachelor of Music at Oxford in 1860, proceeding to his doctor's degree in 1867, and in 1879 published his Philosophy of Music. He was largely concerned in the institution of musical degrees. by the University of London in 1877, and for many years acted as one of the examiners. His mathematical tastes found congenial occupation in the study of whist, and as an exponent of the scientific principles of that game he was even earlier in the field than " Cavendish." His literary work included treatises on the steam-engine and on iron construction, biographical studies of famous engineers, including Robert Stephenson and I. K. Brunel, Sir William Fairbairn and Sir W. Siemens, several books on musical subjects and on whist, and many papers for reviews and scientific periodicals. His son, William Pole became known as an actor and writer under the stage-name of William Poel, more especially for his studies in Shakespearian drama and. his work in connexion with the 'Elizabethan Stage Society'. Mr. Cipriani Potter :
Philip Cipriani Hambly Potter (1792-1871), Principal of Royal Academy of Music (1832-1859), pianist and eminent composer, as well as being the grandson of the famous flutemaker Richard Potter by virtue of being the son of the elder Potter's flutemaking son Richard Huddleston Potter. Rev. F. R. Sandford : possibly Sir Francis Richard John Sandford (1824-1893) (later 1st Baron Sandford), who was secretary to the Royal Commissioners for the International Exhibition of 1862, was one of the two figures involved in the dispute between the London Photographic Society (represented by Frederick Pollock) and The Society of Arts (represented by Sandford) in its role as the organiser of the 1862 International Exhibition. Photography, allegory and labor by Steve Edwards, Art Journal, Summer, 1996. Sandford became Secretary for the Education Department of England in 1870. If our identification is correct, there is no evidence that Francis Richard John Sandford was ordained, although his brother, the Rt. Rev. Daniel Fox Sandford, held the office of Bishop of Tasmania, and an uncle, the Venerable John Sandford, was Archdeacon of Coventry.
Sir George Smart :
Sir George Thomas Smart (1776-February 23, 1867) was an English
musician, who was born in London, his father being a music-seller. He was
a choir-boy at the Chapel Royal, and was educated in music, becoming an
expert violinist, organist, teacher of singing and conductor. In 1811 he
was knighted by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, having conducted a number
of successful concerts in Dublin.
Sir George Smart was, from that time onwards, one of the chief musical leaders and organisers in England, conducting at the Royal Philharmonic Society, Covent Garden, the provincial festivals, etc., and in 1838 being appointed composer to the Chapel Royal. He was a master of the Handelian traditions, was personally acquainted with Beethoven and a close friend of Weber, who died in his house. Some of his church music and glees became well-known. He died in London. Mr. Thomas Sopwith, FRS :
Thomas Sopwith FRS FGS (1803-1879) was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the son of a cabinetmaker. Originally following his father’s trade, he became involved in practical aspects of the geology of the Newcastle coalfield and the lead mines of the Northern Pennines. In terms of the geological structure these mining areas were relatively simple, but a thorough understanding of the geometry of the beds was essential when estimating coal reserves and the extent of coal seams or mineral lodes, which were affected by faulting. Miners often struggled to predict the structural geology in three-dimensions, but by 1833 Sopwith developed a method using isometric projections to aid this process. In 1838 he began working on a series of three-dimensional wooden models of geological structures, using his original skills as a cabinetmaker. In 1841 he issued a set of twelve models designed to help geologists, or engineers, understand geological structures they might encounter in mines. Sopwith re-issued the models as a set of six in 1875, and in both sets the individual layers of strata are depicted using different types and colours of wood. Mr. James Turle :
composer and organist of Westminster Abbey from 1831 to 1882. Turle (1802-1882) was a great organist in his day, and composed a good deal of church music which was well known. His son Henry Frederic Turle (1835-1883) was editor of Notes and Queries. James' daughter Sophia Adelaide (between Jul 1841 and Sep 1841 - 5th Oct 1923) although outwardly very quiet and retired, was governed by a dominant passion - the passion for helping women. From the first she was inwardly a rebel against the restrictions which then governed the lives of women, and all her sympathies were with the pioneers who began the work of breaking them down - with Mrs. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and the pioneers of medical education, and with the founders of Girton. Miss Turle gave a small donation from her dress allowance to Girton in very early days. Though not rich, she was generous and gave money unasked and without ostentation to women's causes. These causes included the London Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine for Women and the New Hospital for Women. From very early years she was interested in the Women's Suffrage movement and joined the London Society for Women's Suffrage in 1878. In 1910 she joined the Women's Social and Political Union. In 1914 she turned again to educational objects and founded a music scholarship of £80 a year at Girton. From 1914 her benefactions to Girton were many and generous including an unconditional gift of £500 in 1923. The College was a residuary legatee under her will and received among other things a grand piano. The money left by her was to be devoted to scholarships. Sophia Turle died in 1923. Mr. Tutton :
Between 1805 and its amalgamation in 1969, the Blues were to have just ten Bandmasters and Directors of Music. Herr Stowasser was followed by James Tutton, one of the founders of the Society of British Musicians. The records show that in the period 1848-1859 the bandmaster was James Rufus Tutton. Mr. Waddell :
In 1832 James Waddell was appointed Bandmaster of the 1st Life Guards. Under his direction, the Band soon became renowned for its high standard of musical efficiency, due partly to Waddell's prowess as a band trainer, and partly to the special arrangements he made of classical works. Waddell finally retired in 1863. Mr. Walker :
possibly Joseph William Walker of the organ builders J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd. Prof. Wheatstone, FRS : Sir Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875) was a British scientist and inventor of many scientific breakthroughs of the Victorian era, including the English concertina, the stereoscope (a device for displaying three-dimensional images), and the Playfair cipher (an encryption technique). However, Wheatstone is best known for his contributions in the development of the Wheatstone bridge, originally invented by Samuel Hunter Christie, which is used to measure an unknown electrical resistance, and as a major figure in the development of telegraphy. He was also involved for a time in the manufacture of transverse flutes. The Rev. Dr. Whewell, FRS :
The Rev. Dr. William Whewell, FRS (1794-1866) an English polymath, scientist, Anglican priest, philosopher, theologian, and historian of science. He would later become Master of Trinity College Cambridge and in 1841 was President of the British Association.
Professor Willis, FRS : Rev. Professor Robert Willis FRS (1800-1875), President of the British Association in 1862 - sometime Jacksonian Professor, Cambridge. Robert Willis: Papers
The Jacksonian Professorship of Natural Philosophy is one of the senior chairs in Natural and Experimental philosophy at Cambridge University, and was founded in 1782 by a bequest from the Reverend Richard Jackson. In 1782 the Reverend Richard Jackson of Torrington, Herefordshire, and a former fellow of Trinity College died, leaving a fifth of the income from his estate to the head gardener of the university's physic garden and the remainder to found the Professorship of Natural and Experimental Philosophy that now bears his name. His will specified the details of the professor with much precision, including that preference should be given to candidates from Trinity and men from Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire and Cheshire, and that any holder must search for a cure for gout! Mr. Henry Willis : possibly Henry Willis (1821-1901) English organ builder. Based in Liverpool since 1845, Henry Willis & Sons Ltd. is "one
of the oldest and most famous organ building companies in the world".
'Father' Henry Willis built some of the most well-known organs in the
United Kingdom, including those at St. George's Hall in Liverpool, the
Royal Albert Hall in London and St. Paul's Cathedral, also in London. He
was succeeded by his son, grandson and great-grandson, Henry Willis II,
Henry Willis III and Henry Willis IV (who retired in 1997). Now under new
ownership and management, the company continues to build and restore
organs, using the same high standards of craftsmanship. The web site
consists of a history of the company; company news; and organ
specifications.
Dr. Wylde :
Charles Dickens mentions concerts that were instituted by Mr. S.
Arthur Chappell, who continues to hold the direction. The New Philharmonic
Concerts were founded some five-and-twenty years ago by Dr. H. Wylde, in
imitation of the Old Philharmonic Concerts. Dr. H. Wylde is possibly the
English conductor, composer and music critic Henry Wylde (1822–1890).
Help Wanted!It would obviously be useful to know exactly who all these gentlemen were. If you happen to know any, or spot any errors, do let me know! |
AcknowledgementsSpecial thanks to Dr. Brian Blood, CEO, Dolmetsch Musical Instruments for the vast majority of the identifications above. Thanks also to Bob Christiansen for the additional note on Benedict, and Peter Freund, Publicist and Theatre Historian at Her Majesty's Theatre, Ballarat for the suggestion on Mr. F. Davison. And to Lyn Pigney (née Collard) for the suggested identification of Charles Lukey Collard.
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