NEWCASTLE'S MUSICAL HERITAGE AN INTRODUCTION By ...

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
PAST REGRETS – FUTURE HOPES
The history of music in the English provinces followed much the same pattern
in the bigger industrial towns, including Newcastle, although it was one of the
smaller ones. By the second half of the 19 th century these towns were responding
to an ever widening public interest in music. Modern symphony orchestras of
professional standing were coming into existence, concert halls were being built
for them to perform in and music schools were being established to train future
musicians to a high standard. Each town developed at its own pace but along
similar lines. There were, however, individual factors that gave some towns the
advantage over others. Playing an important part in this was the town’s
geographical location and its accessibility. The town’s responsiveness to cultural
change, determined by the origin and cultural backgrounds of those who flocked
to these towns in their period of rapid growth. There was also the towns desire to
create a cultural environment and, of course, the willingness of rich benefactors
to support it. Up until the latter part of the 19 th century Newcastle’s musical
culture seems to have survived without municipal help but its independence was
founded on shaky foundations. Notwithstanding this it seemed as though the
town had within its grip many of the essential requirement to become music
capital of the North East. Unfortunately this was not to be the case and it went
the other way. The musical life of the town, like the Castle Keep and the City
Walls, was allowed to gradually erode and crumble away over the course of the
next fifty years.
What Newcastle lacked, in musical terms, was a personality or personalities
forceful enough to argue the case for music as part of a wider campaign aimed at
raising cultural standards within the town. For example, Birmingham had an
number of strong minded individuals, the most notable of whom was Granville
Bantock, composer, versatile musician and Head of the Birmingham School of
Music. Manchester was fortunate in having Charles Halle and Bournemouth (the
exception) got more than it bargained for with Dan Godfrey, who not only singlehandedly
created a musical culture in this sleepy sea-side town but helped put it
on the map by giving life to symphony orchestra still playing today. It is, however,
only fair to add that all of these people had sympathetic allies within the town
council, which made their tasks easier. That is not to say they did not have to
fight to get what they wanted but their perseverance paid off. In Newcastle, I
assume, both William Rea and Edgar Bainton had similar intentions of
introducing and developing some form of musical culture within the town. William
Rea in particular probably shared Dan Godfrey’s visions that he might instil into
the inhabitants of Newcastle the love of good music, and like Godfrey he must
have been conscious of the fact that unlike the Continent, in England there was
not the same strong support for the arts at municipal level and that he had his
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