NEWCASTLE'S MUSICAL HERITAGE AN INTRODUCTION By ...

example raise the standards and expectations of those who were fortunate
enough to hear them. One of the earliest and most interesting of the outsiders to
come to Newcastle was William Herschel (1738-1822). He was the son of a
military musician in Germany and when young became an oboist and violinist in
the regimental Hanoverian band and was posted to Durham with the band in
1755. He later returned to England and led an active life as a composer of
symphonies, concertos, chamber music, organ pieces and sacred works
including many anthems. His own writings show that he wanted to establish
himself in Newcastle, but for reasons that have not been recorded, it was not to
be. However, in 1761, whilst in the town he conducted a band of thirty musicians
to honour the King’s coronation day and also over a seven months period
between June 1760 to January 1761 he directed weekly orchestral concerts in ‘a
garden after the style of Vauxhall’ in Newcastle. This would probably have been
Spring Gardens, at the far end of Gallowgate, which at that time were a favourite
summer resort of the townspeople. He became a British citizen in 1802 and was
knighted in 1816. In addition to his many other talents he was a keen
astronomer, a member of the Royal Society, and in 1780 or thereabouts he
constructed the ‘Herschel’ telescope, which led to his discovery of the planet
Uranus.
18 th century Newcastle may have been a small compact town enclosed within
its walls but it had a thriving musical life. Today we might look upon Charles
Avison as a bit of a social climber and a cultural snob given his humble
beginnings and after all he did raise the subscription charge for his concerts
thereby consciously or otherwise excluding all but the wealthiest in the town from
attending. It is an unfortunate truth that some form of intellectual snobbery has
always attached itself to ‘classical music’ and has worked to its disadvantage and
against its acceptance by ordinary folk. It permeated concert life and in a similar
way was evident in leading theatres, where it took the form of social rather than
intellectual snobbery. This did not go unnoticed in the 1830s when the Theatre
Royal, Grey Street was built and the new building was suitably provided with
distinct box, pit and gallery entrances to isolate the ‘nobs’ from the ‘plebs’. But
going back to Avison’s subscription concerts we must keep in mind that they
were an innovative idea so far as Newcastle was concerned. There were no
public concerts as such and the greater public concert audience did not exist.
Concerts were usually informal gatherings and the music was often incidental or
something audiences could enjoy and take part in whilst they were eating and
drinking. No doubt the majority of ordinary folk were happy making their own
music elsewhere in boozy togetherness. I would image, however, that Avison’s
concerts were more formal affairs, where the music was taken seriously, but, if
as claimed, he was devoted to introducing his audiences’ (the public) to new
music then it would only have been the select few who stood to benefit from this.
Nevertheless, by the end of the 18 th century there seems to have been a
growing interest and awareness of music in Newcastle. There were dancing
schools, instrument makers and instrument dealers. By 1838 there were twenty-
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