NEWCASTLE'S MUSICAL HERITAGE AN INTRODUCTION By ...

men sought Royal Patronage, popular appeal and financial gain by composing
for the stage.
There were possibly as many as one hundred and fifty native composers
active in London in the second half of the 18 th century, many of whom would
have been forgotten today but for one thing and that is they were given the royal
blessing. It was obviously as important then as it is today to be in the right place
at the right time and know the right people if you wanted to ‘get on’, and
musicians were no exception. A snapshot of English musicians from the 16 th
century through to the early 18th century shows that those who achieved a
modicum of success in their day and are remembered still, either sought Royal
Patronage and/or composed in the popular style of the times and gave
themselves and their work maximum exposure in theatres and popular venues
where society gathered. To become a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal or a
Master of the Kings Music seems to have been a sine qua non for lasting
recognition. To be appointed to the Chapel was a great honour and looked upon
as a sign of unusual musical talent. The great days of the Chapel Royal may
have been over by the 1730s but a line of organists continued and the name of
almost every one is well known to the student of English music history today. The
list of composers who have been members is almost a roll of honour of English
music. But for musicians in the provinces life took on a different meaning.
Provincial music making tended to be a specialised concern. Perhaps only two
English musician/composers of the 18 th century managed to remain associated
with one particular locality and make a name for themselves and Charles Avison
was one of them. The other was Avison’s contemporary, Chilcot of Bath, but as
Bath was a Georgian city par excellence, which Queen Anne by her presence did
much to enhance, it makes Avison’s achievement that much more remarkable.
In the 18 th century, Newcastle was still a walled town and it is said that the
town was contained within the walls. They stretched from the riverside to
Gallowgate in the north and from New Bridge Street in the east to Westgate in
the opposite direction and even within this confined space there were generous
areas of parkland. In the early part of the century the town walls were still being
further fortified, its defences did not lose their importance until after the battle of
Culloden in 1746 when a period of comparative peace was established. In spite
of its fortress appearance Newcastle had already established itself as an
important industrial town and was well connected to the rest of the country by
land and better connected by sea than many other sea ports. It was the
discovery of coal in the area that had led to Newcastle’s growth as a town of
industrial importance. This points to Newcastle being, if not one of the biggest,
certainly one of the richest towns in England and well connected with the capital,
yet culturally it remained isolated. Within the confines of its walls the town’s
musical culture was largely contained within and around the leading churches of
St Nicholas, St John and St Andrew, but to mention three of them. Most
provincial musicians/composers were no more than minor church worthies and
those in Newcastle were no exception, which is yet another reason why Avison
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