Individual and Institution in the Musical Life of Leeds 1900-1914
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Individual and Institution in the Musical Life of Leeds 1900-1914 Robert Demaine Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of York Department of Music July 2000 Abstract In the years immediately before the First World War the city of Leeds enjoyed a rich and diverse musical life which has remained largely unchronicled thanks in part to an emphasis on London in much English musical history. This thesis attempts to redress the balance by charting the development of local institutions in the fields of choral, orchestral and chamber music which were created by the industry and dedication of a small number of outstanding individuals, now long-forgotten, whose efforts in the cause of Leeds music are placed within their social and historical context. The influence of the Leeds Triennial Festival, that cornerstone of the city's musical reputation in the latter half of the nineteenth century, is considered along with the work of the two leading choral societies which dominated so much of Leeds musical life at the time. Pioneering enterprises, such as those to establish a permanent municipal orchestra in the city and a regular series for the performance of contemporary chamber music, are examined in detail against the backdrop of a society undergoing fundamental change. It is often assumed that the First World War brought a violent and sudden end to what might be viewed as a golden age in English music. This thesis will show how the forces of change were already being experienced within local musical institutions which were attempting to come to terms with them even as the apocalyptic events of 1914 were approaching. 2 Contents Page Acknowledgements 8 Abbreviations 9 Map of central Leeds 10 Introduction 12 Chapter 1: 'Dull and Dirty Leeds' - Musical Life before 1900 22 The Music Hall, Albion Street 23 Pious orgies: early Leeds Festivals 24 Three famous visitors 26 Samuel Sebastian Wesley 28 Early chamber concerts 32 A noble municipal palace 34 Robert Senior Burton 37 The Leeds Musical Festivals 38 A remarkable enthusiast 42 Musical exclusivity 44 The rise of Leeds choralism 45 The Leeds Popular Concerts 48 The Leeds String Quartet 52 The Leeds Permanent Orchestra 53 Taking stock 54 Chapter 2: 'A Pleasing Fiction' - The Leeds Triennial Festivals 56 Festivals and philanthropy 59 The great and the good 63 The 'eternal rut' 65 'The rice pudding of music' 67 The Edwardian appetite 70 'A wholly provincial matter' 73 3 The Leeds chorus 74 The chorus master 77 In search of novelty 79 The impact of the Festival on local music 85 Festival ticket prices 87 Festival audiences 89 The Honorary Secretary 92 A pleasing fiction 96 Chapter 3: 'Apostles of Beauty' - The Leeds Choral Societies 97 The Leeds Philharmonic Society 97 The Leeds Subscription Concerts 98 The LPS and the Festival Chorus 99 Musical ambassadors 100 John H Green 103 The LPS Committee 106 Herbert Fricker 107 Orchestral forces 109 The Leeds Choral Union 111 Fons et origo — Henry Cawood Embleton 112 Beginnings 115 Alfred Benton 116 The eagle in the dovecote 118 The finest hour 122 The repertoire of the choral societies 124 Choralism and social class 125 The lot of the chorus singer 126 Decline in popularity of choral music 128 Financial difficulties 129 Unfulfilled merger plans 130 Other pioneers 131 In search of an orchestra 132 4 Chapter 4: The Quest for a Leeds Orchestra 134 Early experiments 136 The case for a municipal orchestra 141 The unbeaten path 143 The Leeds Municipal Concerts 145 Orchestral standards 147 'In the clutches of the Corporation' 149 The Leeds Symphony Orchestra 152 Cessation of the Municipal Concerts, 1911 154 The organization of the Leeds Saturday Orchestral Concerts 160 A brief resurrection 161 'The Devil and the deep sea' 164 The orchestral repertoire 165 The achievement of Herbert Fricker 169 Chapter 5: Music with Tobacco Obbligato - Chamber Music in Leeds 171 The Leeds Bohemian Chamber Concerts 171 The most musical audience in Yorkshire 175 The Venues (1): The Hotel Metropole 177 The Venues (2): The Bull and Mouth Hotel 178 The Venues (3): Powolny's Rooms 179 The Players (1): Edward Elliott 180 The Players (2): Alfred Giessing 181 The Players (3): Alexander Cohen 182 The Players (4): 1899-1914 184 The Bohemian programmes 186 Chamber music in the Town Hall 193 The Rawdon Briggs Quartet 194 The Rasch Quartet 195 The Alice Simpkin Quartet 197 Some other notable chamber concerts 199 Chamber music and the working classes 200 Chamber music in the home 202 Intimate voices: the Bohemian experiment in context 204 5 Chapter 6: 'Dead Leaves and Faded Gold' 207 The noble tradition 207 The Triennial Festival 209 Reputations 211 A forum for new British music 214 The 1913 Festival 217 The musical boa-constrictor 218 The choral societies 220 The Leeds Philharmonic "Special Appeal" of 1914 222 Leeds choral tradition 223 Orchestral music 226 The Leeds musical season 229 Changing tastes, changing times 231 Herbert Thompson 236 The record of achievement 237 Appendix 1: First Performances at the Leeds Musical Festival 1889-1913 239 Appendix 2: Finances of the Leeds Festival 1901-1913 242 Appendix 3: Biographical sketches of some Leeds Festival Committee members 245 Appendix 4: Leeds Philharmonic Society programmes, 1900-1914 250 Appendix 5: Finances of the Leeds Municipal Concerts 266 Appendix 6: Leeds orchestral personnel 272 Appendix 7: Chronology of Leeds musical institutions 1858-1914 274 Bibliography 277 6 Tables Page Table 1: Membership of Leeds choral societies for season 1908-09 127 Table 2: Receipts and Expenditure, Leeds Festival 1901-1913 242 Table 3: Income from ticket sales, Leeds Festival 1901-1913 242 Table 4: Sales of single tickets by performance, Leeds Festival 1910 243 Table 5: Sales of single tickets by performance, Leeds Festival 1913 244 Table 6: Costings for proposed Municipal Concert series, October 1899 266 Table 7: Accounts for Leeds Municipal Concerts, Financial Year to 25th March 1904 267 Table 8: Accounts for Leeds Municipal Concerts, Financial Year to 25th March 1905 268 Table 9: Accounts for Leeds Municipal Concerts, Financial Year to 31st March 1906 269 Table 10: Accounts for Leeds Municipal Concerts and other activities, Financial Year to 31st March 1908 270 Table 11: Accounts for Leeds Municipal Concerts and other activities, Financial Year to 31st March 1909 270 7 Acknowledgements I should like to express my sincere gratitude to the staff of the following institutions: the Leeds Local History Library; the Special Collections department of the Brotherton Library, University of Leeds; the West Yorkshire Archive Service at Sheepscar, Leeds; the Henry Watson Music Library, Manchester; and the J B Morrell Library, University of York. For permission to quote from the Elgar correspondence held at the Hereford and Worcester Record Office I wish to thank the Elgar Birthplace Trust. I am also grateful to a number of individuals for granting me access to privately-held archival material: Mrs Barbara Errington, the late H Edwin Farnell, Mr Stephen Maude, and Mr John Reynolds. Special thanks are due to my supervisors Dr David Kershaw and Dr Nicky Losseff for their advice and encouragement, and to Dr David Griffiths and Edwina Smith for their constructive criticisms during the various drafts of the work. Thanks also to my colleague John Robinson for his invaluable help with the formatting and presentation of this thesis. I am indebted to the many people, too numerous to list, who have generously given of their time to answer my enquiries and requests for information. To all of them, my thanks. Finally, I must record the unfailing support of my wife Elizabeth, who first suggested the project. 8 Abbreviations LCU Leeds Choral Union LE Leeds Express LI Leeds Intelligencer LM Leeds Mercury LNCS Leeds New Choral Society LPS Leeds Philharmonic Society LSSO Leeds Symphony Society Orchestra LYM Leeds & Yorkshire Mercury MT Musical Times YDO Yorkshire Daily Observer YEN Yorkshire Evening News YEP Yorkshire Evening Post YG Yorkshire Gazette YO Yorkshire Observer YP Yorkshire Post YWP Yorkshire Weekly Post 9 Map of central Leeds The map of central Leeds reproduced overleaf is based on a copy from the author's collection of the map published by McCorquodale and Co Ltd in 1890. 1 While this date is slightly before the period under study the McCorquodale map is more suitable in terms of the balance between coverage and detail than later publications. Key The musical venues identified are: 1 Music Hall, Albion Street 2 Walton's Music Saloon, South Parade 3 Leeds Parish Church 4 Leeds Town Hall 5 Bull and Mouth Hotel, Briggate 6 Philosophical Hall, Park Row 7 Lees Hall, off Vicar Lane 8 Leeds Church Institute, Albion Place 9 Albert Hall, Cookridge Street 10 Grand Theatre, New Briggate 11 Coliseum, Cookridge Street 12 Hotel Metropole, King Street 13 Powolny's Rooms, Great George Street I Map of the Borough of Leeds corrected from Ordnance and Leeds Corporation Surveys up to date. (Leeds 1890). Further information maybe found in the comprehensive study by Bonser and Nichols of Leeds cartography. See Kenneth J Bonser and Harold Nichols, Printed Maps and Plans of Leeds, 1711-1900 (Leeds 1960), 101-102. 10 Map of central Leeds Introduction ...for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs. George Eliot, Middlemarch (1874), Finale. Provincial music has perhaps not always been well served by its chroniclers. In a review of his book on music in Birmingham, J Sutcliffe Smith was taken to task for his lack of judgement in glorifying 'a collection of local nonentities'.