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Home , Benjamin Cooke, Edmund Hooper (organist), James Turle, Samuel Arnold (composer)

Westminster Abbey (Concluded) Author(s): Dotted Crotchet Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 48, No. 773 (Jul. 1, 1907), pp. 447-449 Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/904993 . Accessed: 23/12/2014 17:16

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This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Tue, 23 Dec 2014 17:16:02 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE MUSICAL TIMES.-JuLY I, 1907. 447

WESTMINSTER ABBEY. dwell upon the fame of this master-musician,nor (Concluded from Page 378.) to recountthe details of his all too-shortlife.* We THE ORGANISTS. may pass on to the Restoration,merely mentioning that John Day, Richard Portman and Thomas John Howe, Master Whitt, and John Taylor Warwick had in the meantime and are the threefirst recorded of (or Warrock) organists Westminsterin succession held the of In 166o held officebetween the post organist. Abbey; theysuccessively Dr. son of , and If are unknown to ChristopherGibbons, years 1549 I570. they was appointed. He had previouslybeen one of fame, not so is Robert White, Wight or Whytt, the children of the and from till who have been Chapel Royal organist organist 1570 1574, may of until about 1644, when he the Whittmentioned above, or some relativeof his. the At the Restorationhe little is known of his joined Royalist Army. Although biography,White obtained the dual of of is mentioned appointments organist by Thomas Morley,in his 'A plaine Westminster and the like his and easie Introduction to as Abbey Chapel Royal, practicall musicke,' father before him. In 1664 he was created a in rank to Orlando and being equal Lasso, Doctor of at Per Literas Regias, man of in a John Baldwine, 'singing Windsor,' on which occasion the Dean and Chapter made manuscriptwritten in 1591, says, in recountingthe principalcomposers of his age: I will begin withWhite, Shepperd, Tye, and Tallis, Parsons, Gyles, Mundie, th'oulde one of the Queen's pallis. i::s::::;;::.::::: White succeeded Christopher Tye in the organistshipof Ely Cathedral,and he may have marriedTye's daughter. He graduatedin Artsand Music at Cambridge,and entered upon his duties at Westminsterin 1570. He died, probably from the plague, at Westminsterbetween November 7 and 11, 1574, and was buried at St. Margaret's Church. He bequeathed to his father,Robert White 'the some of threepoundes . . . . and all such his household stufe and goodes wch he did bringe unto me at or before his cominge to me,' fromwhich it seems that his fatherlived withhim. Among the bequests is one to his daughter MargeryWhite of 'six syluerspones and a mazer wchwas her late graundmothers,'and he left 'to everyof my skollers to eche of them iiii"d' For a list of White's compositions and furtherdetails concerning this worthy musician, the reader is ::I:' : ?:._::::::::i:i;-::::? ::?-?:::::: referred to Grove's of Music and ?:???:??:?:-:-?:-:-::-:-?::?':::?:?::: :::::::::::::":' 'Dictionary :?,,??j::r:::::-?:::::::?:?i::::::: Musicians,' vol. iv., pp. 451 and 816. :::::: :~::::::::::::::: The first regularly-appointedorganist of the Abbey was Edmund Hooper, who became master of the choristersin 1588 and organist in I6o6. He was also a gentleman and organist of the Chapel Royal, and, to the according Abbey records, DR. COOKE he was occasionally employed in the BENJAMIN (1734-1793). 'mending ORGANIST OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY FROM 1762 TO 1793. organs' and 'pricking new song-books.' Hooper, (From an engraving in thke ossession of Mr. John S. Bumhus.) who was buried in the Abbey cloisters, was succeeded at a of by John Parsons, salary fI6 per him a present of He died October 20, as and for /?5. annum organist, f?36 I3s. 4d. 'teaching I676, and was buried in the Abbey cloisters. and the children.' He died in finding July,1623, Anthony Wood does not give him a very like his was buried in the a and, predecessor, Abbey good grand debauchee,' he says, cloisters. Camden's 'Remaines Britain' character--'A concerning 'He would often sleep at Morning Prayer when containsthe Master (1657) followingepitaph 'Upon he was to play the organ.' In 1666, Albertus at Westminster': Parsons, organist Bryan (Brian, or Byrne) having been burnt out, Death passingby and hearingParsons play, so to speak, at St. Paul's Cathedral,was appointed Stood muchamazed at his depthof skill, organistof the Abbey, an officehe held forthree And said 'This artistmust with me away,' a reference to in the For deathbereaves us of the betterstill; years only. (See Bryan But let thequire, while he keepstime, sing on, article on Dulwich College, p. 442 of the present For Parsonsrests, his servicebeing done. issue.) For two short years--1623 to 1625-the keys of In 1669 began the reigns of Dr. John Blow, the Abbey organ responded to the fingers of Henry Purcell, and Dr. Croft-a gloriousperiod- Orlando Gibbons, one of the most eminent A portrait of Orlando Gibbons formed one of the Supplements to organistsof the statelyfane. There is no need to THE MUSICAL TIMES of June, i9go6.

This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Tue, 23 Dec 2014 17:16:02 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 448 THE MUSICAL TIMES.-JULY I, 1907. fifty-eightyears, till 1727, which is known and read years successively held the organistship after of all men. As biographies and portraitsof this Dr. Arnold,were Robert Cooke, son ofDr. Benjamin illustrioustrio of English church musicians have Cooke, George Ebenezer Williams, and Thomas been alreadygiven in thisjournal, thereis no need Greatorex. There is no need to give the details to repeat the details of theirdistinguished careers.* of their somewhat uneventfullives; it should be John Robinson-of whom a portraitwas given in mentioned, however, that Benjamin and Robert our issue of April last-succeeded Dr. Croft in Cooke furnish the second instance of father 1727,and held officefor thirty-five years. According and son having been organists of Westminster to Dr. Boyce, JohnRobinson was 'a most excellent Abbey, Orlando and ChristopherGibbons having performeron the organ': to posterityhe is known set this unusual example. by his melodious double chant in E flat. He died By reason of his melodious chants and dignified April 30, 1762, and was buried in the north aisle hymn-tune 'Westminster,' the name of James of the Abbey, in the same grave as Dr. Croft. Turle is known in all the churches. Born at During Robinson's organistship the organ was Somerton,Somersetshire, March 5, 1802,he became removed fromthe north side of the choir to the a chorister of . At that time screen. (i81o) the nave of that beautifulbuilding appears Dr. , the son of a music-sellerto have been the recognized playground of the and publisherat the Golden Harp in New Street, choristers. There they were wont to indulge a , was appointed organist in I762, juvenile passion for throwingstones, and Master on the death of John Robinson. A pupil of Turle distinguishedhimself as 'a good shot' by Dr. Pepusch, Cooke, at the age of twelve,became sending a missile throughSt. Andrew's nose in a deputy-organistto Robinson at the Abbey, and he stained glass window! 'That was done by the was successivelymaster of the choristers(1757) and organistof WestminsterAbbey,' a sacristan long lay-vicar(1758). In 1782, while still holding the afterremarked when pointingout the damage. At Westminsterorganistship, he became organist of the age of eleven Turle was sent to , and St. Martin-in-the-Fields.Dr. Cooke is best known studied under J. J. Goss and G. E. Williams, by his Service in G-composed, as already stated organist of the Abbey. He held in succession (p. 372), for the re-openingof the Abbey organ the officeof organistof ChristChurch, Southwark, afterthe addition of pedals in i778-and his many and St. James's, Bermondsey. In 1831, on the beautifulglees, canons, &c. He made a large and death of Greatorex-whose deputyhe had been for important collection of manuscript music, now twelve years previously-Turle was appointed preservedin the Library of the Royal College of organistof WestminsterAbbey, an officehe held Music. Dr. Cooke, who was a Doctor of Music at with distinctionfor fifty-oneyears, though during the Universitiesof Cambridge and Oxford,died at the last seven years (from 1875) of that period its his house, Dorset Court,Cannon Row,Westminster, active duties were discharged by the permanent September 14, 1793. His remains were interred deputy-organist, Dr. (now Sir) J. Frederick in the west cloister. The mural tablet which Bridge. there records his worth contains a fine canon, As a cathedral organist, James Turle was a composed by him to be sung as an appendix to fine example of the old school-dignified and Bird's Non nobisDomine. reverent. Like his life-longfriend, , Dr. (1740-1802) succeeded he excelled in playing from the old figured- Dr. Cooke. He was connected with the Chapel bass scores. He had an enormous hand. On Royal, firstas one of the children and afterwardsone occasion, at the Prussian Embassy, he met as organist and composer. In 1793 he was the Chevalier Neukomm, who boasted that he appointed organist of the Abbey; but before could extend his hand on the keyboard over an enteringupon his churchcareer, with its attendant octave and threenotes. Turle quietlyapproached solemnities,Dr. Arnold was composer to Covent the pianoforte,and taking an octave and a half Garden Theatre and proprietor of Marylebone into his enormoushand, exclaimed ' One more for Gardens, and directorof the music at that place of luck.' No wonderthat a roar of laughtergreeted entertainment. Although he composed 'much the triumph of the English organist over the music, he is best known as an editor of Handel's German composer. Turle formallyretired from the 'Arnold edition' has been active at the on works-though duty Abbey September 26, I875, superseded by the German Handel Society's when his Service in D was sung. He enjoyed his publications-and his 'Cathedral Music' in well-earnedretirement for seven years, his death continuationof Boyce. Arnold was buried in the takingplace on June 28, 1882. His remainswere north aisle of the choir of the Abbey, 'the interred by the side of his wife in Norwood musicians' aisle,' where a tablet, erected to his Cemetery. A stained glass window to their memory, contains some lines written by his reveredmemory has been erected by one of their son, S. J. Arnold, the dramatic author, and for sons in the northaisle of the Abbey, of which his some time lessee of the English Opera House, fatherhad been organistfor fifty-one years. This subsequentlythe Lyceum Theatre. window,which nearlyfaces the Purcell monument, The three musicians who, during twenty-ninecontains portraitsof Mr. and Mrs. Turle. One of * their sons, Henry Frederic Turle, was editor of See THE MUSICAL TIMES, of February, 1902, for Dr. Blow; Notes and from to his November, 1895, for Henry Purcell; and September, igoo, for Queries I878 premature Dr. Croft. death in 1883.

This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Tue, 23 Dec 2014 17:16:02 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE MUSICAL TIMES.-JuLY I, 1907. 449

JamesTurle was the firsteditor of theWestminster As already stated,Dr. (now Sir) John Frederick Chant Book, published by Messrs. Novello more Bridge, from1869 to 1875 organistof Manchester than half a centuryago. The original preface of Cathedral, was appointed permanent deputy- this well-knowncollection stated that 'the object organist of WestminsterAbbey in I875. He of it is to combine sufficientchoice with order, succeeded to the full title of the organistshipon and, by publication of the arrangement,to enable the death of Mr. Turle in 1882, and has therefore the congregation to join in the Psalms.' Turle discharged the duties for nearly thirty-twoyears. was the chant composer par excellence,and no An illustratedbiography of Sir , better proof thereof could be furnishedthan by M.V.O., appeared in THE MUSICAL TIMES Of this Westminster collection. In the original August, 1897-the second in the series of eighty- edition of the book his splendid double chant in C two similararticles which since have been written (thereset in D), assignedto the fifthevening of the for this journal-to which the reader is referred month,is headed ' Purcell CommemorationChant,' for details concerning the career of the present an interestingfact which does not appear in the distinguishedholder of the time-honouredoffice of modern editions of the collection. His equally organistof WestminsterAbbey. DOTTED CROTCHET. The following slight corrections should be made in the June instalment of this article: p. 370, col. 2, line 2, for Edward, read Edmund; p. 378, col. 2, line 14, for Vanderman read Vandernan; p. 376, col. I, add that a third performanceof Bach's Passion music was given on April I, 1874, Barnby again conducting.

THE COMPETITION FESTIVAL MOVEMENT. By W. G. MCNAUGHT. The spread and progress of the competition festival movement shows no signs of abatement...... A great many festivalsof this type are held in the springtimemonths, because this period is the natural culmination of the winter's work. It is estimatedthat about 50,000 competitorshave been r. or will be concerned in the festivalsheld or to be held this year. The following lists show the geographicaldistribution of the chiefcentres : NORTH. Barrow. Liverpool. Blackpool. Lytham. Bramley(Yorkshire). Manchester(2). Bury(Lancashire). Morecambe(Lancashire). *Brigg(N. Lincolnshire). Morpeth(Northumberland). Carlisle. Newcastle. Dalton-in-Furness. New Brighton. Eskdale (Whitby). Pontefract. Hexham(Northumberland). Preston. Huddersfield(Mrs. Suther- Southport. Hull. [land's). *Spilsby(Lincolnshire). Ilkley. Swaledale (Yorkshire). *Kendal (Westmorland). Wensleydale(Yorkshire). Keswick. Workington(Cumberland). Leigh (Lancashire). York (2). MID-. Buxton. Malvern. Rutland. Doncaster. *Northampton. Shrewsbury. Keighley. Nottingham. Spilsby(S. Lincolnshire). JAMES TURLE. Leicester. Retford. Stourbridge(Worcester). ORGANIST OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY FROM 1831 TO 1882. SOUTH. (From a f~otograpk kindly lent by Dr. W. H. Cummings.) Berks,Bucks and Oxon. London (S. and S.E.). Bristol. London, CrystalPalace fine hymn-tune'Westminster '-now so worthily East Essex. (Tonic Sol-faAssociation, associated with Faber's hymn 'My God, how Farnham(Surrey). Church of England wonderful Thou art'-first appeared in 'The Hertsand NorthMiddlesex Sunday School Institute, Psalmist' edited Vincent (includesN.London suburbs). Londofh Sunday School (Part II., 1836), by Hunstanton. Choirs, Nonconformist Novello, as having been 'composed for this Ipswich. ChoirUnion, &c.). work by J. Turle,' and is named 'Birmingham,'for Kent. Malmesbury. what reason is not known. It is there set in the Leith Hill. Mid-Somerset. London Girls' Petersfield. key of D, which,of course, includes a high F sharp (Working the the Clubs). Stratford(London E.). in melody: lowered key (C) in which it is London (Kensington). Tonbridge. found in most modern hymnals has necessitateda London (St. Cecilia Clubs). Weybridge(Surrey). slightre-arrangement of the harmony,also the loss SCOTLAND, IRELAND, ETC. Dublin, Feis Ceoil. Isleof Man of the low bass notes in the last line of the tune; (Douglas). Paisley. Glasgow. * Londonderry. Sligo. these, however,can be supplied by the organ. Suspended this year.

This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Tue, 23 Dec 2014 17:16:02 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions