NEWCASTLE'S MUSICAL HERITAGE AN INTRODUCTION By ...

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in ‘good’ music a means of saving the lower classes from the temptations of alcohol and the error of their ways. 28
CHAPTER FIVE THE GR<strong>AN</strong>D MUSIC FESTIVALS One of the prominent features of musical life across the country during 18 th and 19 th centuries was the Grand Music Festival. The occasional event when the big choral works of Handel were presented by augmented choirs with orchestra in the church and lighter instrumental and vocal entertainments were laid on in the evenings with perhaps a ball or some other social event to round off the festival. The most famous of these festivals was the ‘Three Choirs’ at Worcester, Gloucester and Hereford in turn from around 1715. Birmingham started their festivals in 1768, Norwich in 1770 and Sheffield in 1786. Newcastle’s first Music Festival took place in 1778 and they continued at irregular intervals until 1842. After a lapse of thirty-five years, following the 1842 Festival, an article appeared in the local press which began as follows; - ‘It has been a surprise to some who are in the habit of lamenting the inferiority of Newcastle to such towns as Leeds and Birmingham in the matter of triennial Musical Festivals, to find that more than a century ago the capital of Tyneside set the example to many towns that have since wrested the palm of musical preeminence from her. It may be interesting, in view of the proposed resumption of our local Musical Festivals, to recount, so far as existing chronicles permit, the cardinal incidents in regard to those great occasions when, according to current criticisms, “an immense concourse” of the nobility and gentry came together from the “neighbouring counties” and “a crowd of beauty and fashion thronged the streets”: when special steam-packets were run on the river, and inns and lodging-houses were so hard pushed to provide accommodation that a single night’s rest could not be obtained for less than four guineas.’ To some extent the above introduction to the 1877 newspaper article captures the essence of what these festivals were all about. Grand music spectacles, laid on to impress; employing large forces of mainly imported talent at great expense and attended by the upper crust of local society. Initially, they appear to have been largely self sponsored by those organizing and performing in the festival, but later it was thought that local businesses and tradesmen, who together with local landlords had welcomed the influx of people into the town for obvious reasons, should contribute part of the profits they made from the festival to the cost of the festival. Some of these Grand Music Festivals held in Newcastle made a profit and where they did part of it went to charitable causes. Why the Grand Music Festivals ceased to be held in Newcastle is not recorded (the festival referred to in the above newspaper article would have been a lower key 29
Page 1 and 2: NEWCASTLE’S MUSICAL HERITAGE AN I
Page 3 and 4: A History of Music in Newcastle upo
Page 5 and 6: my project with a professional man,
Page 7 and 8: then even in the villages for music
Page 9 and 10: CHAPTER TWO CHARLES AVISON Charles
Page 11 and 12: given in Newcastle. They were held
Page 13 and 14: easoned defences and the citation o
Page 15 and 16: that he is saddened at the transito
Page 17 and 18: men sought Royal Patronage, popular
Page 19 and 20: Avison and began playing the violin
Page 21 and 22: musical dramatist, his arias are st
Page 23 and 24: features, Hawdon’s compositions i
Page 25 and 26: two music academies listed in the D
Page 27: An ootlandish chap seun appeared on
Page 31 and 32: to Handel Oratorios and I suspect t
Page 33 and 34: CHAPTER SIX THE HARMONIC SOCIETY In
Page 35 and 36: would also have been audience parti
Page 37 and 38: 1826. According to Mackenzie’s 18
Page 39 and 40: successful, such as (once again!) H
Page 41 and 42: CHAPTER SEVEN DR WILLIAM REA I had
Page 43 and 44: exclusive civilised affairs, with t
Page 45 and 46: although I can find no evidence tha
Page 47 and 48: In a cemetery now largely overgrown
Page 49 and 50: direction. That is until 1888 when
Page 51 and 52: acceptable standards and he got out
Page 53 and 54: century at least the divide between
Page 55 and 56: the Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind
Page 57 and 58: Musical Comedy as we came to know i
Page 59 and 60: In 1887 Augustus Harris took over t
Page 61 and 62: eat, drink or smoke whilst the ente
Page 63 and 64: disposal a substantial orchestra un
Page 65 and 66: only the finest artists. The printe
Page 67 and 68: Cesar Franck. One novel feature int
Page 69 and 70: especially for these bands and they
Page 71 and 72: playing, coupled with the means of
Page 73 and 74: that continued until 1914. One of t
Page 75 and 76: thought of performing with a bunch
Page 77 and 78: She danced a full programme of well
Page 79 and 80:
The appearance in Newcastle of Enri
Page 81 and 82:
Renaissance. His teaching staff wer
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Music at 125 Northumberland Street,
Page 85 and 86:
There is surely no need to insist -
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alone limited attendance at these c
Page 89 and 90:
1936: 17 th June. There had been a
Page 91 and 92:
CHAPTER FOURTEEN END OF A GOLDEN AG
Page 93 and 94:
the fact that the town did not have
Page 95 and 96:
iography, Hess’ biographer, who c
Page 97 and 98:
CHAPTER FIFTEEN CULTURE AT A PRICE
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London Symphony and the Halle Orche
Page 101 and 102:
high at this period and the audienc
Page 103 and 104:
audience (who had already paid for
Page 105 and 106:
deterioration into a musical backwa
Page 107 and 108:
work cut out convincing the local c
Page 109 and 110:
country. Amers died in 1936 and God
Page 111 and 112:
Author’s Note Since completing th
Page 113 and 114:
Select Bibliography Anderton, H.O.,
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