‘LET THE PEOPLE SING!’: ASPECTS OF CHOIR CULTURE FROM TYNE TO TWEED, 1852-1989 WILLIAM ROY LARGE Submitted to the University of Newcastle for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy International Centre for Music Studies February 2020 Abstract This study traces the history of choral singing in Newcastle and its environs from 1852 to 1989. Following the Music Festival of 1842 there was a lull in the musical life of Newcastle until the arrival of William Rea, appointed as organist to the town corporation. Galvanizing musical activity, Rea was at the centre of a vigorous, if sometimes turbulent, choral scene in the last decades of the century. In the 20th century Armstrong College, then part of Durham University, afforded the scholarly environment for the establishment of the Newcastle Bach Choir, espousing the music of Bach and contemporary British composers. Traditional ‘oratorio’ choirs also flourished until waning interest in their basic repertory saw their demise in the 1970s and 1980s. The two World Wars had meanwhile caused some choirs to cease their activities, either temporarily or permanently, while others strengthened their presence, ensuring the continuity of choral music performance. The second half of the century saw the founding of new choirs, including the Cappella Novocastriensis, strongly linked to the University, and two choirs formed to support orchestras wishing to perform choral works. Alongside this mainstream choral activity, male-voice choirs developed, a number rooted in their works communities or nonconformist and temperance environments. Their repertory, aims and organisation contrasted strongly with the established mixed-voice choirs. The choral life of Northumberland centred on one or two regional ‘clusters’; the comparative isolation of Berwick upon Tweed, the most northerly Northumbrian town, encouraged strong indigenous musical activity. A survey of the venues used for concerts and rehearsals underlines the want of suitable halls in the area, while an account of the orchestras used shows the challenges imposed by the lack of an accommodating local professional orchestra and the increasing use of period instruments for performances of baroque music. ii Acknowledgments Thanks are particularly owed to the author’s supervisors, Professor Eric Cross and Professor Magnus Williamson for their guidance, support and advice throughout the preparation of this thesis. Grateful thanks are also extended to the staff of the following institutions: Newcastle University Philip Robinson Library and Special Collections, in particular to Lucy Keating, Dr Terry Charlton and Ian Johnson; Edinburgh University Centre for Research Collections; Tyne and Wear Archives Service; Newcastle City Library Local Studies Department, in particular to Steven Lister; Gateshead Central Library; The Library of Birmingham Wolfson Centre for Archival Research; Bradford Central Library Reference and Study Department; Leeds Central Library Local Studies Section; The Victoria and Albert Museum Archives; the Royal College of Music. For specific assistance, thanks are offered to Barry Attoe, Search Room Manager, The Postal Museum, London; Jeff Walden, Archivist, BBC Written Archives Centre; Andrew McCrae of the Royal College of Organists; Kate Sussams, Director of Operations, St Nicholas’s Cathedral, Newcastle; Dr Michelle Miller, Student Digital Skills Officer, Newcastle University; Gordon Shaw and Dennis Beecroft for information about Morpeth Masonic Hall; Peter J. Williams for information about the [London] Free Church Choir Union; Mary Robson, Eva Laverick, Cilla Chatfield, Margaret Stephenson and Gordon Grant for information about local choirs; Mark Edwards, conductor of the Felling Male Voice Choir and Northern Praeclassica; Mark Anyan, conductor of the Newcastle Choral Society; Peter Coulson, conductor of the Tynemouth Choral Society and, pro tem, of the Cappella Novocastriensis; Ernest Young, former conductor of the Newcastle and Gateshead Choral Union; John Treherne, secretary of the North of England Musical Tournament iii Trust and Grace McCombie, Judge Maurice Large, Ian Good and staff of the Newcastle Building Society for assistance in identifying the Central Hall, Hood Street. For personal help, support and encouragement thanks are due to the following: the Revd Dr Alan Munden, Dr Enid Pearson, the Revd Professor Pauline Pearson, Frederick and Barbara Peacock, Dr Alison Shiel, Dr Roz Southey, Oliver Dempsey, the Revd Stuart Lewis and Daniel Mulligan. Special acknowledgment is owed for generous help offered by the following who have sadly died during the course of this research: Lt Col Richard Cross, Miss Sybil Durno, Dr Philip Owen and Dr Peter Willis. Plates 1, 17, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27 and 28 are reproduced by kind permission of Newcastle City Library, Local Studies and Family History Centre. Plate 3 is reproduced from the Illustrated London News of 25 September 1858. Plate 4 is reproduced with the kind permission of the Library of Birmingham (Town Hall 52). Plate 5 is reproduced from the Musical Times of April 1903 (44/722 (1903), 238). Plate 6 is reproduced by permission of the Dean and Chapter of St Nicholas’s Cathedral, Newcastle. Plate 7 is by J. Bacon & Sons, reproduced from the Form of Service to be used at the Dedication of the Re-constructed and Enlarged Organ in the Cathedral Church of S. Nicholas Newcastle-upon-Tyne, November 1911. Plate 8 is taken from a copy of Mendelssohn’s Elijah in the possession of the author. Plate 10 is reproduced courtesy of the Library of the University of Edinburgh. iv Plate 11 is reproduced with the kind permission of the National Portrait Gallery, London. Plate 12 is reproduced with the kind permission of the Evening Chronicle. Plate 13 is reproduced with the kind permission of Jonathan Lovell. Plate 17 is reproduced with the kind permission of David Goldwater. Plates 9, 14, 16 and 18 are reproduced with the kind permission of Professor Eric Cross. Plates 20 and 21 are reproduced with the kind permission of Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums. Plate 26 is by James Bacon & Sons, reproduced from Visit of His Majesty King Edward VII and Her Majesty Queen Alexandra to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 11th July, 1906. Plate 29 is reproduced with the kind permission of Morpeth Antiquarian Society. It has not been possible to trace the copyright owners of Plates 2, 15, 19 and 23, though it is believed they are in the public domain. v CONTENTS Abstract ii Acknowledgments iii List of Tables ix List of Maps ix List of Plates x List of Timelines xi Abbreviations xii Preface xiv Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Newcastle: Setting the Scene 14 1.1 Introduction 14 1.2 Newcastle in the early 19th century 14 1.3 Newcastle and the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 15 1.4 The cultural environment 16 1.5 Choirs and concerts of the early 19th century 17 1.6 The new Town Hall 21 1.7 The Concert Hall 26 1.8 The inaugural music festival 31 1.9 The Concert Hall organ 34 1.10 The appointment of William Rea as organist 38 1.11 William Rea and the organ 41 1.12 Conclusion 43 Chapter 2 Turbulence and Development 44 2.1 Introduction 44 2.2 The fortunes of the Newcastle upon Tyne Sacred Harmonic and Choral Society 1852-1861 44 2.3 The dominance of William Rea 54 2.4 New Directions 65 2.5 Conclusion 70 Chapter 3 Town and Gown: from Town Hall to Armstrong College 71 3.1 Introduction 71 3.2 Into the 20th century 71 3.3 The Newcastle and Gateshead Choral Union 73 3.4 The Newcastle Postal Telegraph Choral Society; the Newcastle Harmonic Society 1895 79 vi 3.5 Armstrong College Choral Society 85 3.6 The emergence of British music 87 3.7 Repertory 89 3.7.1 The Newcastle Amateur Vocal Society 89 3.7.2 The Newcastle and Gateshead Choral Union 92 3.7.3 The Newcastle Postal Telegraph Choral Society; Newcastle Harmonic Society 1895 96 3.7.4 Armstrong College Choral Society 100 3.8 The founding of the Newcastle upon Tyne Bach Choir 102 3.9 Conclusion 105 Chapter 4 The two World Wars: Challenge and Opportunity 106 4.1 Introduction 106 4.2 Two world wars: the broader impact 106 4.3 The impact of the wars on choirs and choral concerts in Newcastle 115 4.3.1 World War I: ‘Bach and British’ 115 4.3.2 World War II: Concerts for the people 123 4.4 Victory and Peace 136 4.5 Conclusion 138 Chapter 5 Decline and New Growth 140 5.1 Introduction 140 5.2 Choral life after World War II 140 5.3 The Free Church Choir Union and The Newcastle and Gateshead Choral Union 142 5.4 The YMCA Choral Society: a case study of success to failure 145 5.5 The Bach Choir: the middle years 162 5.6 A changing choral scene: Newcastle Choral Society, the Newcastle Festival/City Chorus and the Sinfonia Chorus 169 5.7 Cappella Novocastriensis 172 5.8 Conclusion 183 Chapter 6 Aspects of Choral Life beyond the City 185 6.1 Introduction 185 6.2 The growth of choirs in Northumberland 185 6.3 The influence of the churches 187 6.4 Organists 190 6.5 Competitive festivals 191 vii 6.6 Geographical location 194 6.7 Tynemouth and its neighbours 194 6.8 The choirs of Berwick-upon-Tweed 199 6.9 Male-voice choirs 210 6.10 Conclusion 222 Chapter 7 Halls and Orchestras 224 7.1 Introduction 224 7.2 Newcastle: halls, churches and other venues 224 7.3 Northumberland: halls, churches and other venues 244 7.4 Orchestras, organists and other instrumentalists 247 7.5 Instrumental forces c.1850-c.1900 248 7.6 Into the 20th century 256 7.7 The Newcastle and Gateshead Choral Union 256 7.8 The Newcastle Bach Choir 261 7.9 Cappella Novocastriensis 265 7.10 Conclusion 267 Chapter 8 Conclusion 270 Biographies 288 Appendices