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1914 – Musickings around the Great War
Before the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, Charles Woodhouse played with me in an increasing number of works which had been inspired by Folk Songs, many of which had been recently collected by young English composers, – Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, George Butterworth, and the Australian Percy Grainger. It was interesting to…
Variations on a Theme – God or Superman?
Whenever I am involved in performances of Edward Elgar’s ‘Dream of Gerontius’ or Frederick Delius’s ‘Mass of Life’ I cannot avoid the question of God. If ever there is a ‘place’ where Music and Theology meet – this is it! And what a maelstrom of musical theology was swirling around Europe in the years before…
1900 onwards – A new century and conflicting rumours
With Charles Woodhouse’s ownership, my life took on yet another dimension. I now enjoyed the experience of being played in The Queen’s Hall Orchestra, in the newly instigated London Promenade Concerts under ‘Old Timber’, Henry Wood, and sharing in the excitement of Charles being a founder-member of the London Symphony Orchestra. (‘Old Timber’ – Henry…
1899 onwards – into the new century and a change of hands yet again
The next ‘port of call’ for our Barnum & Bailey’s travelling circus was Paris, France, and I know that Haldan Jebe was very excited about this – mainly because of the friendships he wanted to renew there, but also because of its exciting new musical life. I soon found I was being introduced to a…
1899 – Another Intermezzo with Theme & Variations
Just before setting off for Paris on the Circus’s European Tour, Halfdan received an invitation from Fritz Delius, who was planning a concert of his compositions at St James’s Hall, Piccadilly, West London. ‘Would you like to lead the orchestra?’, he asked. Delius, now living in France near Fontainebleau, was wanting to introduce his music…
1897 – Halfdan Jebe and ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’
Our story now leaps ahead 10 years to January 1897, when Fritz Delius returned to America from Europe to settle some outstanding matters at his orange plantation in Florida. Annabelle was delighted to see him again, but surprised to discover he was accompanied by Halfdan Jebe, whose first words were: ‘Well, so you’re the lovely…
1880s – American Adventures begin
Early in 1880, Annabelle had been approached by the conductor Julius Benedict after one of his concerts at the Crystal Palace, and asked if she might be interested in going to America to teach violin in New York. The famous entrepreneur Theodore Thomas was looking for someone to teach young people (mainly young women) who…
1872-1880 – Welsh ‘Hwyl’ and other Accents
A remarkable event took place at the Crystal Palace on 7 July 1872. This was a contest for Choirs from across England and Wales, arranged by August Manns. For me, the most outstanding Choir came from South Wales, mainly because their unique sound, their ‘hywl’ (as they call it), resonated within me richly. The large…
‘Am I in Tune?’ – A spiritual Intermezzo
At all events, August Manns did a great service by consistently pressing for the standard pitch of 440 cycles per second, and consequently my pegs, as well as my strings, were glad not to be fiddled with so often! However, I believe there is a profound and spiritual aspect to the whole matter of pitch…
1863 onwards – the Crystal Palace Years
The Fair at Wroxham drew large crowds every year, and 1863 was no exception. Consequently, I felt ‘used’ again! I was handled, picked up, and fiddled with, by a vast array of people, including an eleven-year-old Frank Schuster, a boy of German Jewish ancestry, who with his mother Mary Schuster was visiting his grandmother in…