S IR W S TER N DALE B E N N ETT

LVI AE I
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T
.

F R RT R I TR
OM AN E NG I
A V NG BY . O L D HA M B A

I I
R RT
LO W, A R A

M L LA S , B A
. .

OF A PO A BY S IR JOHN E. .
, P R. A .
 T H E L I FE

W I LL I A M ST ER N D A L E B EN N ETT

BY HIS SO N

J . R . STE R N DALE B E N N ET T
MA . . ST J O HN’
S CO LLEG E A M RI DG
, C B E

F ELL OW OF K IN G LLEG E L ND N
’
S CO ,
O O

C A M B RI D GE
PR INT
ED BY HN LAY
JO C , M A
. .

AT T H E U NIV I Y
ERS T PRES S.

1 8 19 6 3

8 6 3 57 1 ~
E L I Z A B E T H D O N N CAS E
D AU G HTER O F

W ILLIA M S TERN DALE B ENNETT

 P R E FA C E

N 1 8 8 1 the seventh year after my father s death I

,
’

began to collect the materials with which his biog raphy ,

i f thereafter required might be constructed H e had died, .

in his sot h year Many who had known him i n youth lon g
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survived him and were at the time to which I refer readily

, , ,

accessible H is aunt M rs Glasscock his senior by only

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, ,

thi rt een years was still livin g and could tell me of his child
,

hood H is early friends D avison and M a c fa rre n the one

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orally the other in writing reco u nted with loving i nterest

, , , ,

their reminiscences of his student days The extent of .

their aid and of the aid g iven by others who have long
,

since passed away will I hope manifest itself i n the fol

, , ,

lowing pa g es wherein I believe the sources of these old

, , ,

memories are i n almost all cases clearly shown

, ,
.

For much other valuable help rendered at various

times and in a variety of ways I take this chance of ,

recording my g reat obligations to M r W Crowther Alwyn . ,

M r J C B eaz ley M r P V M Benecke S i r Frederick

. .
, . . .
,

B rid g e M r J S B umpus M iss H M B urningham

, . .
, . .
,

M rs Robert Burrows M r H E ntwisle Bury M r Georg e C ase

, .
, ,

M r W S Case M r A D Coleridge M r C H C o u ld ery

. .
, . .
, . .
,

M iss Frances Cox D r E aton Fanin g M r J A Fuller

, , . .

M aitland D r Gensel H err Gustav J ansen M r S B Kemp

, , , . .
,

M iss J ulia K ennedy Rev W T K ingsley Rev Canon , . . .

, .
vi i i P re fa c e
K ynaston D D Rev J R Lu x m o or e M r A rthur O Lea ry
,
. .
, . . .
,
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M r Oliver N o t c u t t M rs Rupert Owen M r Lo u is N Parker

, , .
,

M r R Peyton M r D W R oot ha m M r W Shakespeare

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, . .
, .
,

M r C E Sparrow M r F red R Spark M r W Barclay

. .
, . .
, .

Squire S ir C harles V Stanford M r W C Stockley

, .
, . .
,

D r H ans Voigt and M iss Wageman .

By the perm ission and with the sympathetic assistance

of the M endelssohn Bartholdy famil y the letters which ,

passed between my father and his ill u strious friend became

available The late M rs Benecke herself translated those
.

of her father s letters which he wro t e in German For

’
.

similarly valued permissions I have to thank M iss Rose G .

K in g sley F raulein M arie Schumann Lord Tennyson H err

, , ,

F A B rockhaus and M r Pa ul David I have gratefully

. . .

re c eived the sanction ( I ) of M essrs Macmillan and Co .

to quote from M iss B ettina Walker s My M u s i ca l E x ’

p er i en ces
( )
2 of M essrs,K egan Paul Trench T r u b n e r ,

and Co to quo t e from the L gfe of D r W/zewel l b y M rs

’

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,

Stair Dou glas (3 ) of M r Wm Reeves to u se F R Ritter s

,
. . .
’

translations of Schumann s cri t icisms and (4 ) of M essrs ’

K eene of Derby to reproduce their versions of old pictures

which face pp 2 9 1 5 8 2 0 9 M r T J Wri g ht of West
.
, ,
. . .
,

m inster most kindly contributed a photograph which after

, ,

long patien c e he secured of my father s g rave i n a dark ,

’

corner of the Abbey .

M r W T F reemantle without regard to the interests

. .
,

of his own literary proj ects unreservedly p laced at my ,

disposal not only his unique knowledge of Sheffield i n the

,

past but also his valuable collec t ion of musical treasures

,

relatin g to the period in which my father lived .

 fa c e
P re ix

To consult the M inute -books of the Royal Academy

of M usic and to use a few extracts therefrom I obtained
, ,

the authority of Sir George M a c fa rren when he was Chair

man of the C ommittee of M anagement M r K ellow J Pye . .
,

Chairman at an earlier time of the same Committee

, , ,

placed interes t in g correspondence in my hands Some of .

my references to the Royal Academy of M usic and the

Philharmonic Society of London are drawn from H istories
of those I nstitutions written respectively by Cazalet and
H ogarth .

When time was given me to write this s e then also ,

came the privilege of discussin g it chapter by chapter , ,

with my revered friend the late Otto Goldschmidt H is ,

.

persistent yet g entle pressure never failed to direct my

faltering steps While revising my manuscript for publica
.

tion I gained great advantag e from the criticisms and

,

suggestions of the President of Corpus C hristi C ollege ,

Oxford .

J . R . s . B .

TH E A THENAEU M ,

P ALL M ALL ,
N ovember 190 7 .
 C O NT E N T S

P A RT I
C H I LD HO O D E D U C AT I O N
,
AN D V ISI T S TO GE R MAN Y
1 8 16 —3 9

C HA P. A
P GE

I PARENTA G E AN D C HILD H OOD To 8 6 ,

1 2

II S C H OO L DA Y S 8 6 3 3
-
, 1 2 —

I II ADVANC ED STU D ENTS HI P 8 3 3 3 6 , 1 —

IV LEI PZ I G 8 36 37
, 1 —

V LO N DO N A N D A G AIN LEI Z I G
,
8 3 7 39
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PA RT I I
A YO U N G M U S I C IA N IN LO N D O N

18 3 9 47
—

P O RTLAN D C HA MB ER S 8 39 4 ,
1 — 1

C O M O S ITI O N IN P O RTLAN D C HA MB ER S
P 8 39 4 , 1 — 1

H ESS E C A SS EL LEI Z I G BERLIN 8 4

-
,
P , ,
1 2

T H E PHILHAR M O NI C S OC IET Y TH M US I CAL SEASO N . E

1 8 42

CO RRESPO N D ENC E W ITH M END ELS S O HN 8 4 , 1 2 — 43

M ARRIA G E C O RRE S O ND EN C E CO NTINUED

. P ,
1 8 44 -46
 Com en 15
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PA RT I I I
A H AR S H RE B UFF Q UIE T SP HE R E S OF
AR I S I U S EFU E SS
.

T T C LN

1 8 48 - 55

CH A P P AG E

R U TURE WITH
P TA D THE PHILHAR M O NI C S O C IETY
COS AN .

O CC U ATI O N S As A T EA C HER
P 8 48 , 1

TH EBA C H S O C IETY C HA MB ER CO N C ERTS 8 49 55.

, 1 -

C O RRE S O N D EN C E W ITH THE S C HU M ANN S

P GREAT Ex
R EVIVAL O THE PHILHAR M ONI C
.

H OI B I TI
O 85 N F 1 1. F

TR O U B LE C ON DU CTO RS HI O GE WAN DHAU S C O

. P F N

C ERT S PRODU C TI O N O BAC H S PA SSI O NS M U S I K

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’ ‘ -
,
’

I SS0 — 55

PA RT I V
C A EDLL TO THE FR O NT

1 8 55— 6 6

PU B LI C A PPO INT M ENTS 8 55 56 , 1 —

TH EC A MB RI D G E PR O F E SSO R S HI P

D I FF EREN C E W ITH THE PHILHAR M O NI C D IRE CT O R S BA C H

S OC IETY T H E E ARL O W E ST M O RLAN D A D THE
.

. F N

R A . M U S I C 8 56 58
. OF ,
1 —

LEE DS F ES TIVAL M AY QUEEN ‘ ’

TH . 8 58 E , 1

TH EC H O RALE B OO K FO E N G LAN D 8 59 6 R ,
1 2

H S P OS ITI O N AT THE PHILHAR M O NI C A S URED

I W ITH S

THE S OC IETY S O R CHES TRA 8 59 6

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D AWA
’
R O L F , 1 — 1

T H E I NTERNATI O NA L E X HI B ITI O N O 86 86 6 F 1 2, 1 1— 2

A YEAR O C NTRA STIN G IM PO RT S

F O I NSTALLATI O N OF

THE C HAN C ELLO R AT CA MB RI DG E J U ILEE o THE

.

B r

PHILHARM O NI C S OC IETY DO M ES TI C BEREAV M ENT

.

. E ,

18 6 2

HE FA E
C S S YM H O N Y IN G M IN OR V I S IT
SoR Row A P

LEI Z I G
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PR F ESSO R S HI O M US I C AT
.

TO TH P E O P F

E DIN B URG H H RES I G N S THE PHILHAR M O NI C C

.

. E ON

D U CT OR S H I P, 1 8 6 2 —6 6 3 29
 Con t en t s x iii

PA RT V
R P AY M E
E NT OF A D E BT TO A MA MA R
L TE

1 8 6 6 —7 5

PAG E

R YAL A A E MY M U I
TH E O C D OF S C . BENNETT IS A P PO INTE D
PRIN I AL C P ,
1 8 6 6 —6 7
XX I CA MB RI G E PR F E R HI
V D O S SO S P .
‘
T HE W M ANO OF SA M ARIA ,
’

18 67
A C RI S I S AT THE R A O F M US I C 8 6 7 —6 8 . .
,
1

C A MB RI D G E LOC AL E x A M ADD ITI N S o TH ‘

ON s I N AT I O T E

W O M AN O SA M ARIA A SS O C IATI O N S W ITH GER M AN Y

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U IN G HA M S C H OOL 8 6 8
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PP ,
1

XXIX G OVERN M ENT GRANT RE STO RE D o THE R A O M US I C T F

M U S I C A D THE S O C IETY O AR I S
. . .

TH R A O E F N F
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,

18 6 8 —6 9
XXX CO M ITI O N S S O M E C IR C U M STAN CE S O H S PRIVATE
PO S F I

LI F E
.

869 7 1 — 0
,

BENNETT W ITH T H A CAD E MY STUD ENT 8 66 7 4 E S, 1 —

H ON OURS A D R EW AR D 8 7 7 N S, 1 0 - 2

C O M OS ITI O N S
P TH R A O M U S I C A D THE A L B ERT
. E . . F N

H ALL 8 7 7 3 , 1 2—

S O M E PERS ONAL C HARA CTERI STI CS

LA S T D A Y S 873 75 , 1 -

APPE N DI X
A NO TE S
( 1) A
l of t h B h So i t y
nna s e ac c e

( ) B 2 t t pl d mo g t h ppo t of C hopi
en n e ace a n e O n en s n

( 3 ) O t h ord r i whi h S h m r i w d om of B t t ’
n e e n c c u a nn ev e e s e en n e s

work s

(4) T h prod t io i 8 56 of S h m P r di ’ ‘
e uc d Th
n, n 1 , c u ann s a a se a n e

P ri b y Th Philh rmo i So i t y
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’
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B LI S T O PU B LI S HE D A D M S S W O S ordi g t d t of m
F N RR acc n o a e co

p g wh r t h y m t io d
.
,

po i t io wi t h r f r
s n— t th e e en c es o e a es e e e a re en ne

i t hi
n b ok s o

LI S T O PU B LI HED W O R K S
F ordi g t t h ir O p N mb r
S ,
acc n o e us u e s

T A B LE C M O ITI O N S
OF howi g t h mo t prod d t
O P S ,
s n e a un uc e a s uc

i p riod of h i lif
c es s ve e s s e

I N D Ex
 PA R T I

CH I LD H OOD , E D U C AT I O N A N D V I S I T S
,

T O G E RM A N Y
 C H A PT E R I .

P A RE N T A G E AN D C HI LD H OO D .

W I LL IA M S T ER N DA L E B E N N E TT was born at She ffield on

E as t er E ve April 1 3 1 8 1 6 H e came of a m u sical family
, , . .

H is father Robert B ennett was an organist ; his grand

, ,

fa t her J ohn B ennett was a singer and a hautboy -pla y er ;

, ,

moreo v er his forefathers for some generations back dwel t

, , ,

i n a district no t ed for song .

Their home was at Ashford i n the water a V illag e situate - - -

,
‘
in t he sweetest and mos t sylvan part of the Peak of
Derbyshire The nei g hbo u rhood re v erberated with music
.
’

and that not only of a local or traditional kind ; for i n the

larger churches such as those of Bakewell and Tideswell
, ,

the Services and An t hems of E ngland s ch u rch -composers ’

and the Choruses of H andel were i n the latter part of the ,

ei g hteenth cent u r y well known and sung with enthusiasm

, .

S in g ers and choir-leaders of exceptional ability were held

i n high repute as is shown on the gravestones in many a
,

churchyard I t is related that on a day when the beau tiful

.

Duchess of Devonshire was at Co u rt and was extolling ,

t he Derbyshire S ingin g Georg e I I I seemed a little sceptical

, ,

and hinted at the proverbial partiality which the lady had

for the county in which she resided Thereupon H er .
,

Grace sent off to Tideswell and one Samuel Slack was ,

brou g ht up to S ing before the K ing The first sounds of .

his vo i ce electrified the Royal g roup and as the performance ,

wen t on the Duchess radiant at the effect produced and at

, ,

t he success of her experiment triumphantly waved her ,

1— 2
 P a r em czg
’

e a nd Ch zl d/zooo
‘ ’
4 [ CH .

handkerchief at the K in g from across the room I n 1 7 9 1 .

,

t his same Slack competed for a lay clerkship at Cambrid g e -

i n the one choir which served for t he chapels of the three ‘

colleges K ing s St J ohn s and Trinity At the tri al the

,
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,
’
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,

j ud g es when t hey heard him sin g said tha t it wou ld be

, ,

waste of time to call up the other candidates H e was .

elected but i n less than a year had resi g ned and another
, ,

singer of The Peak in the person of J ohn B ennett

‘
,
’

( Sterndale Bennett s grandfather ) who was also the pos ’

s es s o r of an excep t ionally fine bass voice had been chosen ,

t o succeed him .

J ohn Bennett left Derbyshire and entered upon his new ,

duties at Cambridge early in 1 7 9 2 H e was then thirty ,

.

seven years old but he remained on the active list for ,

another thirty seven years retirin g at the age of seventy

-
, ,

four wi t h a pension from each of t he three colleg es Three

, .

of his sons had died in infancy ; but he brou g ht up five

others four dau g h t ers and afterwards three orphan grand
, , , ,

children The removal to Cambrid g e g ave good oppo n

.

t u n i t y for t he sons of a poor man to make the first S tart

on a musical career H is eldest son William had already .
, ,

shown aptitude as a performer on all kinds of instruments ,

and worked on till he became a military bandmaster H is .

S ixth and third survivin g son Robert baptized at Bakewell

( , ,

Feb 8 . was placed at eight years of ag e in the choir

,

of K ing s College ; another son Thomas (afterwards lay

’ ’
,

clerk and master of the choristers school at Ely ) starting ’

life in the same way Both brothers became solo -sin g ers .

i n the Chapel and on leaving received the sums of , , ,

£5 d and as box -money to help them ’

1 2
. s 6 £5 . o s .
, . .

on t heir way these amounts bein g in excess of t hat g iven

,

to mos t of the choristers At t he age of 1 6 Robert .

,

( Sterndale Bennett s father) was placed under Dr Clarke

’

W hi t feld at that time organist of St J ohn s and Trinity

,
’

Colleges and afterwards Professor of M usic in the

,

U niversity With that eminen t musician he remained for

.

seven years ; first as an articled pupil ; and later as a , , ,

student of composition and assistant at the Trinity organ .

!
m Th e sa e l y a -c l er ks s a n
g at t he t hr oll g ; b t Ki g h d
ee c t of
’

whil S t J oh
e es u n s a a se
chor t r d is e s an an org a n i s t o f it s own , d T ri i t y h r d
’

o d org i
e n s an n S a e
b tw th m
e een e a s ec n a n st a n d a s e c o d t of hori t r
n se c s e s .
I ] S nefi eta
’
. Hi s F a t ne/ s Ma r r ia g e 5

At the end of the sixth year under Dr C larke Whit feld he ,

competed in 1 8 1 0 for the important post of organist at

, ,

Sheffield parish church The j udges speci al ly commended .

his performance but preferred ano t her candidate The

, .

latter resi g ned within a twelvemonth and the post was then ,

offered to Robert without further trial his election takin g ,

place on J une 1 0 1 8 1 1 , .

A young man of energy and activity — words used by ,

nearly all who i n after ye a rs were asked to describe him

, , ,

he was not long i n securing full occupation Withi n a .

year he was able to take a wife and on M ay 2 8 1 8 1 2 , , ,

married E lizabeth Donn of Cambrid g e H er father J ame s .

,

Donn had been a pupil of William Au l t o n the K in g s

, ,
’

gardener at K ew from which place he Donn had gone to

, , ,

C ambridge as Curator of the Botanic Gardens The issue .

of printed lea fl ets giving lists of plants which he wished

,

members of the U niversity to bri ng him from differe nt

parts of the country led him by degrees to the publication
, , ,

of an elaborate book which under the title of H or t n s , ,

Ca n t a or ig i en s i s went through six editions in his life time

,
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,

and seven more under various editors durin g the thirty

, ,

seven years after his death H e was elected a member of .

t he Linn aean Society and he made a name for himself as , ,

a botanist which is not entirely forg otten a little space

, ,

having been found for him in the D i c t i on a ry of N a t i on a l

B i og r ap/i y F rom his maternal grandfather S terndale
.
,

Bennett inherited much of his personal appearance perhaps ,

also that love of order which distinguished them both alike ,

and certainly a sum of money the usefulness of which will

presently appear .

Robert Bennett on his marriag e with J ames Donn s,

’

dau ghter took a house in H oward Street S he ffield and i n

, , ,

t hat house his three eldest children were born H is ability .

and his genial disposition brou g ht him into g reat favour .

As organist of the parish church he discharged the duties ,

‘

of his o ffice in a manner hi ghly satisfactory to the con

re a t i o n
g g and
,
creditable to he successfully
cultivated a style of playin g remarkably chaste and grace ,

ful admirably adapted to the sanctity of the temple and

, ,

the solemnity of the service H e uniform ly displayed .

a considerable degree of taste but i n pathetically plaintive

 Cni ta li ooa
’ ’ ’
6 P a r en t a g e a na [CH .

music there were few who could surpass H e was

not only an organist but also a busy pianoforte teacher , ,

and his wife wrote to Cambrid g e t hat his work left him
‘
scarcely any time for his meals A lady at whose father s .
’

,
’

house he dined every week on one of his country rounds , ,

wrote that he had the first course of teaching wi t h priva t e

pupils and at the boarding-schools throughout the Sheffield ’

district H e also taught at Bakewell whither he rode on

.
,

horseback across the moors from She ffield Then ag ain .

, ,

he was to the front in all the music of the town whether i n ,

private society or in t he concer t room H e was one of a .

set of good musicians then resident in She ffield who com ,

b i n e d for the general good Wageman a Dutch port rai t .

,

pain t er has left a highly finished pencil ske t ch of the four

,
-

S heffield organists and three or four of t he best amateurs

, ,

in the enj oyment of a musical meeting I n M adri gal and .

Glee Socie t ies Robert found his place as a trained S inger

, ,

with a beau tiful tenor v oice H is solo -singing refined in .

,

style and full of intense feeling was the S pecial g ift which ,

remai ned longest i n the memory of his friends as the writer ,

has been t old by their descendants H e was appointed one .

of t he musical Directors of the Yorkshire Choral Concerts ,

which were held at York She ffield and other important , ,

places i n the county The programmes of these concerts .

are difficult to obtain but if the announcement of a sin gle ,

one a t which Alexander s Feas t was to be sung and

— ‘ ’ ’

the instrumental pieces were to be chosen from the works

of H aydn M ozart and Beethoven — may be taken as a
, ,

type it would seem tha t Yorkshire i n i t s taste not only

, ,

for vocal but also for orchestral music was sound and ,

abreast of the times As regards Bee t hoven there is a .

,

tradi t ion in Sheffield musical families that one of his

Symphonies was played at these Yorkshire concerts for the
first time i n E ngland Robert al so gave annual concerts .

of his own for the first of which the famous singer M rs

, ,

Salmon was enga g ed Another i ncident i n his life was

, .

t h e directin g of a festival performance of The M essiah ‘ ’

in Bakewell church for which occasion his father J ohn , , ,

came from Cambrid g e to sing the bass solos .

n
F rom obi t ry o t i i Tl S i fi l t I i
M o t g om ry t h
an

r d po t
e
ua

e sa c e
p p r di t d by J m
n ce n zc ze e c r s, a a e e e a es
, e .
 P a r en t a g e a nd Chil dh ood

the first day came he cried to go home to his mother as he

called his nurse in order to see W hat he would do he was ,

dressed in his little coat and cap and he would have gone .

out in the dark to find his m ot her whom he loved so much .

This happened when he was t wo years and seven months

old and showed the lovin g disposition which characterized
,

him throu g h life .

’

Robert had now been at She ffield for seven years .

About this time he seized a chance of bettering his position

by adopting the novel method of piano teachin g which -

Logier had lately in t roduced This method had two striking

.

features : the one an apparatus called c hi ropla s t designed

,
‘ ’

by Log ier and patented by him i n 1 8 1 4 ; the other a plan ,

laid down for systematic class -teachin g I f twelve or more .

children could as was asserted be taught conj ointly not

, ,

only as well but better than separately then the pupil the , ,

parent and the professor mi g ht all have a S hare in the

,

benefit Robert visited London and M anchester in order

.

to learn the method and Logier must have been favourably

,

impressed by him or he would not have entrusted him with

,

the education of his son H enry who came to S heffield as ,

an articled pupil A move was now made from N orfolk

.

Street to Eyre S treet where a house was found with a room

,

in it of sufficient dimensions to hold the pianos on which

the pupils simultaneously performed and also to admit of ,

frequent exhibitions a subsidiary but no insignificant feature

-

of the system — before admirin g parents The Log i er i a n s .

,

and Robert among them learnt from their chief the a rt of

,

compilin g very allurin g prospectuses .

Within a year of his first wife s death Robert married ’

M iss Harriet Blake of She ffield William Sterndale now .

,

t hree y ears old had returned home and was giving the
, ,

first S igns of a musical bent by the interest which he took

in the Log i er i a n proceedin g s readily assimilating the tunes
,

which he heard and probably if one may jud g e from some

, ,

thing that occurred later g ainin g a lit t le acquaintance with

,

the key -board of a pianoforte H e was not however .

, ,

destined to be trai ned by a mechanical process or t o run ,

t he risk of exhibition as an infant prodigy An otherwise .

sad fatality saved him A few months after his second

.

marriage Robert s health broke down Forced to leave

,
’

.
I ] Dea t h of h i s F a t h er . Ca m b r idg e 9

his work in the hands of his partner Ro g ers he retired , ,

in t o the country and after an illness only lon g enou g h to

, ,

exhaust his resources died of consumption N ov 3 1 8 1 9 , , . , ,

in the t hirty -second year of his ag e H e was buried at .

E cclesall by the side of his first wife H is possessions .

were dispersed H is musical manuscripts may have passed

.

i nto the hands of his partner and were perhaps in course , ,

of time not deemed worth preserving Yet his published

, .

songs though they may not have marked individuality

, ,

S ho w grace and refinement while the accompaniments are ,

conceived with fancy and are the work of a well -trained

musician H e sang the son g s himself to the g reat deli g ht
.

of his hearers but the title pag es of a second edition record

,
-

tha t they were sung by more eminent vocalists H is father ‘

.

possessed a fine portrait of him painted in oils by Wag eman , ,

which still remains i n the fam ily .

O n his death the orphan children were recei ved into

,

the house of his friends the H owards who treated them , ,

wi t h the most considerate kindness ; but their g randfather ,

when communicated with at once offered them a permanent ,

home They arrived at Cambrid g e i n December 1 8 1 9

.
, ,

durin g a severe snow-storm T heir step mother who had .

-
,

accompanied them returned to her own friends and did

, ,

not see them again .

J ohn Bennett now sixty -fiv e years old had lost by the
, , ,

death of Robert the one son out of many who had made a
,

distinct step forward in the world H e had loved him for .

the amiability and g aiety of disposition which had endeared

him to many friends both i n Cambrid g e and S heffield H e .

had been justified in hoping that Robert would become a

C athedral org anist which would have satisfied his highest
,

ambition a s a parent O f musical distinction i n the family

. ,

where could the hope be now ? But for the personal loss
some solace was at hand From the first instant that J ohn .

set eyes on his grandson he was observed to be taki n g a ,

fresh interest i n life I t was not much that the little boy
.

could do but his aunt Sarah i n her old a g e would recall

°

, ,

the even i n g on which he arrived with his two S isters and “

would t ry to imitate the child as he moved about the room ,

P bli p rform
1 of t h m b tr d p t 8 5 wh M J oh e ace u I o, en rs n

W ood g t h mb r o rt g i b y E r t d H llé i M h t r
u c e a n c es e can o .

sa n on e a a c a e c nce ven ns an a n anc es e .

 P a r en t a g e a nd Chil dh ood
pointing eagerly at the unfamiliar ornaments and pictures ,

and making friends with his relations .

T ha t he prattled for some little t ime about his father ,

and sang around the house the tunes he had heard in the
Log i e r i a n schoolroom puttin g his own childish words to,

them is all that is known of him until a day in his fifth

, ,

year when his g randfather took him to K ing s College

,
’

Chapel There he heard H andel s H alleluj ah Chorus for

.
’
‘ ’

the first time and on his return home startled his rela t ions
,

by repeating portions of it on the piano with accuracy and

precision J ohn Bennett went off next day to consult
.

Gifford who kept the chief music -shop in Cambrid g e with

, ,

the result t hat the boy took his first lessons from M iss
Gifford the music seller s dau ghter H e made prog ress
,
-
’
.
,

and was later placed under William N mm but from the ,

first he shrank from the notice which his attainments

occasioned givin g early signs of a certain reluctance which
, ,

never left him to unfold himself as a musician At a

, .

j uvenile party while still a child he was placed at the piano

, ,

t o play A li t tle girl older t han himself who was present

.
, , ,

always remembered the piteous appeal which he made as ,

he turned round on the revolving music -stool to be let off , ,

and t o be allowed to play puss -i n -the -corner with the ‘ ’

other children At another house as he grew a little O lder

.
, ,

he would sometimes play The Battle of Prague and other ‘ ’

pieces but notwithstandin g the prospect of the half-crown

, ,

with which his kind hostess i nvariably rewarded such per

fo r m a n c es he could n o t always face the ordeal
, .

I n his eighth year he was admitted on F eb 1 7 1 8 2 4, , .

, ,

to the choir of K in g s C ollege and he remained in it two

’

years J ohn Pratt the organist was not impressed by

.
,

him and accordin g to a tradition I n Cambrid g e considered

, , ,

him a dull boy Another o fficer of the colle g e formed a

.

different opinion This was the Vice -Provos t the Rev

.
, .

S B Vince who i n earlier days had admitted Rober t

. .
,

Bennett t o his intimate friendship and who after the , ,

Sheffield appointment would seldom pass J ohn Ben nett s ,

’

door wi t hout stopping to enquire aft er his friend or to have

a look at Wa g em a n s speaking portrait of him When the
’
.

orphans came to Cambrid g e he extended his interest to

them and as time passed watched the developmen t of
, , ,
I] F r om Ca m br idg e to L on don 11

William S t er n d a le s ability I n t he spring of 1 8 2 6 the

’
.
,

Rev Frederick H amilton who had recen t ly been appointed

.
,

resident Superintendent of the Royal Academy of M usic ,

was on a visit to his friends i n Cambridge There he .

heard of little Bennett s talents from M r Vince who even

’

went so far as to call him a prodi gy The boy was sum

‘
.
’

m o n e d to the Vice -Provost s rooms and M r H amilton then

’

advised his bein g examined a t the Royal Academy of

M u sic H e was accordingly sent up to London consigned
.
,

to the care of his g randfather s friend M rs Taylor by whom

’

, ,

he was taken on M ar ch 7 1 8 2 6 to the Academy house

, , ,

i n Tenterden S treet Thus on the point of completing

.
,

his tenth year William Sterndale Bennett wa s launched on

,

his career i n London .

 C H A PT E R II .

SC H OO L-D A YS .

TH E Royal Academy of M usic instituted in 1 8 2 2 began , ,

its work on the evening of F eb 10 1 8 2 3 at N o 4 Ten .

, , .

t erd e n Street H anover Square formerly the town mansion

, ,

of the E arl of Carnarvon Lord B u g r h e r s h -afterwards . ,

E arl of Wes t morland — the founder of the I nstitution had

, ,

recently gone to Florence as B ritish E nvoy and was there , ,

fore unable t o see the fi rs t fru i t s of his labours ; but his

collea gues corresponded with him and no detail of what ,

happened in his absence was too trivial to interest him O n .

the evening in question the whole of the rooms on the ,

‘

two floors were li g hted up and the place was thorou g hly ,

warm cheerful and comfortable

, , A Committee of .
’

Directors were presidin g over an examination of candidates

for admission on the foundation T he eleven professional .

examiners amongst whom were Sir Georg e Smart D r

, ,

Crotch ( Principal of the Academy ) Greatorex H orsley

1
, , ,

J B C ramer and Shield entered into their work with

‘
. .
, ,

the g reatest good humour patience attention and kindness , , ,

to the children who of course were in general extremely

,

alarmed After three such evenings the exami ners made

.
’

their report and the subscribers who as such were members

, , , ,

of the Corporation gav e their votes Eleven boys and ten

, .

g irls were elected on the foundation They were promised .

residence in the house and a musical education under the ,

first Professors of the day at the small cost of twenty ,

guineas and in some cases fifteen guineas a year The .

D C ro t h w
1
rb t t h fi t
c i g of t h
as a mi t io
s en on e rs even n e exa na n.
C H 11
.
] R oya l A ca demy of M nsi c 13

name of W H H olmes a Derbyshire boy appeared first

. .
, ,

on the list as nominee of the K ing but most votes were

, ,

given to H A M C ooke (afterwards known as Grattan

. . .

Cooke ) who may have been less alarmed at the e xa m i

,

nation than the rest of the party S on of the eminent .

Tom Cooke he himself in due course reached fame as the

, , ,

chief Oboist but also as the i rrepressible wag of the

, ,

London orchestras These two boys H olmes and C ooke .

, ,

will be mentioned later T he unsuccessful candidates were .

t erribly disappointed and room was shortly found for ,

fifteen of them who were glad to pay a hi g her fee of

,

thirty ei g ht guineas for advantages hitherto u na t tainable in

-

this country on such terms The house was then full but .

applications for possible vacancies became so numerous ,

t hat in a year s time when the first contract with parents

’
, ,

expired the D irectors raised the fees all round to forty

,

pounds observing that i f any of the first foundationers

,

obj ec t ed they might withdraw since others were waitin g to ,

fill their places .

M ost tho u ghtfu l provision was made for the g eneral

t raining of these young boarders The Directors held the .

opinion that there existed no profession whose members

were more exposed to every species of temptation than
the one for which the pupils of the Academy were to be
prepared ; so that in selecti n g a H eadmaster or Lady ,

Superior they fel t it an imperious duty t o scrutinize the

,
‘ ’

character and abilities of those whose mind and manners ‘

,

precepts and example must have a material e ffect upon the ,

future welfare of the children ent rusted to their care .

’

The Rev J ohn M iles Lecturer of S t M ichael s Cornhill ;

.
,
’

the Rev Frederick H amilton who had held a commission

.
,

i n the army and had fought at Waterloo before takin g ,

Orders and becoming Chaplain to t he Earl of M elbourne

the widow of Colonel Wade a lady personally well known ,

to some of the Direc t ors ; these were the o fficials appointed

to reside in the house and to take charge of the youn g
scholars H ours none too many— were apportioned to
.
—

lessons other than musical ; but the paramount idea was ,

that the children should be brought up under religious and

refined influences The Direc t ors and their Ladies for
.
,

some years made a point of visiting the house and takin g

,
 Sc hool-days
notice of their protégés N or was it forgotten that child
.

hood should a s far as possible be passed amids t bright

surroundings Lord C a rn a rv o n s mansion was described
.
’

at the time as situate i n the outski rts of the metropolis

‘
.
’

I ts interior was renovated thro u ghout An annex of the .

building served as a separate residence for the girls and ,

the gardens at the back shaded by high trees which ,

ensured privacy were divided i nto two playgrounds Some

, .

forty years later B ennett told a musical C ommittee of the

,

Society of Arts that the Academy had been in his young ,

days really a very pretty place

,
‘
.
’

But t he maintenance with the musical and the moral ,

training of the thirty -six boarders proved very expensive

, ,

and fees even when raised covered but a small part of the
, ,

cost Contributions and subscriptions did not meet expect

.

a t i o n s and notwithstanding the concerts balls and public

, , ,

dinners which the Directors as leaders of Society were

, , ,

able to organize the early balance -S heets spelt speedy ruin

, .

I n 1 8 2 5 it was announced that day -students would be

taken Some of t he D irectors in view of the career
.
,
‘

beset with dangers shrank from the responsibility of

,
’

dealing wi t h pupils over whom t hey could not have entire

control ; but Lord B u rg hers h who wished to see the ,

benefits of the I nstitution more widely enjoyed was ,

supported by a maj ority and early in the year 1 8 2 6 , ,

upwards of sixty out -door students were receiving i n s t r uc

tion for which they paid £ 3 0 per ann um T he g ross .

i ncome was increased b u t so still more were the expenses

, .

An extra house was taken more Professors were en g ag ed , ,

and dangerous encroachments were made upon a small

i nvested endowment .

B ennett arrived on M arch 7 1 8 2 6 A s the funds of , .

the A cademy were low while the number of applicants ,

willing to pay fees was increasing it appears certain that ,

his musical gifts impressed his examiners ; for it was

promptly decided to accept him as a boarder free of any ,

expense — the only known case of such a favour bein g

,

granted in the early days of the Academy H is relations .

,

expec t ing t ha t he would return to them before anythin g

was finally settled had only provided him with his night
,

things and a few frills packed i n a lit t le dressin g -case b u t

,
 Sc hool -days
lad of fourteen whose own master C ipriani Potter would
, , ,

perhaps supervise this pupil teaching S ixty years later .

H olmes wrote of B ennett H e was my first pupil ,

‘
,

I always had the O pinion of him as from a child that he

could look music thro and thro ; ’
X
I remember when ’ ”‘

I first gave him lessons I thought what a delightful thin g _

it was to teach when you could g et any one to do anything

,

i f 3“ x
with so little trouble ; H e could always do much = <

more t han I could tell him .

’

Two years and more passed and then some of the land ,

marks In a boy s life appeared H is first prize Goldsmith 5

’

. ,
’

H i s t ory of R om e was g i ven him in the summer of 1 8 2 8

, , ,

by the C ountess S t Antonio for prog ress i n H armony ; ,

he made his deb ut when twelve -and -a -half years old i n

, ,

D us s e k s Pft e Concerto i n Bl) at a students concert ; and

’ ’
.
,

then made his first essay i n composition as he neared his ,

t hirteenth year when he competed thou g h unsuccessfully

, , ,

with older boys for the gold pencil-case which S ir Andrew

Barnard offered for the best settin g of a Fairy C horus with
orchestral accompaniment But thou g h his d a y as a com .

poser had not yet come he was being g rad u ally prepared
,

for it by the exercises for Lucas with which as far as , ,

writing was concerned he now contented himself for two

,

or t hree years longer H is violin playin g no doubt also

.
-
, ,

helped him much I t had already brought him under the

.

i nfluence of Cipriani Potter who during Dr Crotch s Prin , ,

’

c i pa l s hi p
, conducted the pupils orchestra A feature of ’

t he Academy training and one that dis t ing u ished it from

,

the courses of education which musical students had gene

rally followed i n this country was the constant practice of ,

t he instrumental works of such mas t ers as H aydn M o zart , ,

and B eethoven and the exposition of the forms they

,
‘ ’

used Potter took an excep t ional place among the B ritish

.

composers of his day by devoting himself chiefly t o i n s t r u

,

mental composition and by basing his works on such

,

forms ; and he was certainly the first who had the oppo r
t u n i t y through his connection with the Academy of settin g ,

any appreciable number of E nglish students on the same

track. Concerted instrumental music whether for the ,

orchestra or the chamber became the daily study of many ,

Academy boys Re s idence in the house as Bennett would

.
,
 ]
11 Or c h es t r a l P r a c t ic es 17

aft erwards say made it easy to arrange meetin g s There

, .

were at the Academy several clever boys destined to take ,

before long leadin g places as orchestral players i n London ;

,

Professors assisted them at their more important rehearsals ;

but Potter did not make proficiency a necessary q u a l i fic a
tion for his student -band O n the contrary i nto it he .
,

thrust the boys as soon as they had learnt to hold their

,

i nstruments and could follow their parts if only in their

,

mind ; and he would make his practices the occasions for

explainin g to these you n g beginners the pl a n — the word he
himself used o f the master-works played and the devices
—
,

of orchestration Thus could a boy like Bennett with

.
,

quick perception and a retentive memory begin at an early , ,

age to store his mind with fine music and with models for
,

future work of his own .

I n the S pring of 1 8 2 9 the Academy was carefully i n ,

s pec t e d by F é t i s the distin g uished m u sical savant and at

, ,

the time Professor of Counterpoint and Fugue at the Paris

,

Conservatoire H e was able to send a most favourable

.

account to Paris of the E n glish I nstit u tion I n referrin g .

to the students as composers he wrote These youn g ,

— ‘

persons enj oy the i nestimable advantag e of having their

composi t ions performed by a complete orchestra on the
Tuesday and Saturday of every week This practical i n .

struction seems to me to be the best that is received in the

Academy . The practices are directed by
M r Potter who resided for a lon g time i n Vienna and
, ,

received instruction from Beethoven whose style he imitates ,

i n his compositions M r Potter is an excellent musician .

,

and i n every respect qualified for the o ffice which he fills .

These practices were very interestin g I was present at .

several of them and was always satisfied with wha t I,

heard .
’

I n the summer of 1 8 2 9 at the close of his third ,

academical year Bennett g ained a bronze medal for ,

g eneral progress and so far all had g one well ; but i n

,

the following December he had so serious an illness that ,

he was unable to go home for the holidays H is only .

companion i n the deserted house was S c i pi on e B ri zz i a '

youn g I talian who by a curious reversal of usual pro

, ,

c e d u re had come to E n gland to study sin g ing I n the .

 Sc h ool - a d ys
n i g ht of Christmas E ve B ennett was taken so much worse , ,

that B rizzi became seriously alarmed and not darin g to , ,

l eave the invalid i n order to fetch serv ants from a remo t e

,

par t of the house he nursed him in his arms till morning

, ,

brought the help of o t hers Dr Granville the eminen t .

,

physician who gave his services free to the Academy was ,

so impressed with the circumstance that he reminded ,

Bennett of it when they met again towards t he close of

,

their lives at the Athen aeum Club When B ennett lay

,
.

dyin g in 1 8 7 5 Brizzi called at the house and said at t he

, ,

d oor : I think he will get better but I wish I could nurse

‘
,

him for I saved his life once before Whether this illness
, .
’

was the result or t he cause of a failure of stren g th it

, , ,

certainly came at a time when a check to his progress i s

noticeable Prizes compositions solo -play ing a t concerts
.
, , ,

are not heard of for some time H e seems to have lacked .

the power or perhaps the desire t o keep himself to the

,

front Still he remained in the midst of music and was

.
, ,

gathering experience H e had a beautiful alto voice T his . .

happil y bro u ght him to the notice of Attwood who often ,

sent for him to sing in the choir of St Paul s With ’

.

another boy Lovell Phillips he was in constant request

, ,

to j oin in the glee -sin g ing at public entertainments H e .

played the violin i n the orchestra at the series of Operas

given by the Academy students at the K in g s Theatre and ’

at the end of 1 8 3 1 took the part of Cherubino in F iga r o ,

a n event which he liked to speak of i n after-life Sir .

George M a c fa rr en who played the trombone in the orches

,

tra on the occasion remembered Bennett s rendering of ,

’

t he part as interesting and effective t hough it is true that ,

the critic of The H a r m on i c on took a different V ie w at the

time .

On the piano unobserved except by his teacher he

, ,

was still advancin g O ne day probably in the winter of .

,

1 8 30 3
—
1 H olmes
, said to his private p u pil J W Davison , . .
,
‘
Come I mus t take you to hear my Academy boy who
, ,

plays better than I do and from that day Davison who , , ,

a fterwards became the leading m u sical critic i n this country ,

began to watch Bennett with keen in t eres t H e has written .

,

as a recollection of the t ime that the boy at the o u tset of , ,

his Academy life wa s apparently somewha t apathetic if

,
‘
 H i s Gr a n df a t h er A n x iety
’

]
11 s 19

n ot to say idle The m u sic

.
-book in which Bennett entered
’

and dated his approved exercises shows that he was now

‘ ’

studying Canon and Fu g ue with Lucas ; and Davison r e

membered that a Canon on the subj ec t of La ci darem ’

was made to do duty on more than one occasion when ,

work was called up for examiners inspection Bunny ’

.
‘
,
’

as his school fellows named him was so far best known to

-
,

them as a merry hearted boy i n the play g rou nd as the

‘
-

c ollector of a museum of doubtful antiquities which he kept ,

and exhibited in his bed room ; as a promoter of concerts

"

of humorous classical music for which he would copy the ,

orchestra] parts on g i g ant i c p i eces of paper or as a S pirited ,

actor in B omba s t es F u r i os o and other plays .

When he was j ust fifteen years old his grandfather ,

wrote to him on M ay 1 7 1 8 3 1 :
, ,

MV D EAR
WI LL IA M ,_

I write to let you see that I am still alive and ,

be t ter than ever I expected to be but I am far from being ,

myself again but thank God I am no worse

,
if
.

if X
= = 3? if ll
= <

N ow I must change the subj ect Volti ! -I wish to .

know what prog ress you are making in music Do you .

practise much on the V iolin and do y improve

o u ? I s the
piano you r favorite instrument still H armony must not .

be n eglected and above all your duty to God I frequently

,
.

see or hear of your Academ ical concerts but never see or ,

hear of any of your performances therefore conclude you ,

a re lazy or negligen t and must or will remai n as a cypher

,

o r even a blank amon g st them The M or n i ng Ch r on i c l e .

spoke last week of your [ concert] and mentioned many

names b u t alas ! yours was not there
,
3“
.

H ave you any idea when we may expect to see you

again P Let me particularly [ hear] ho w you are proceeding
.

i n your different studies by whom y ou are tau g ht and , ,

whose and what music you are practis i ng Persevere and .

be diligent ; mediocrity stands but a poor chance in the

science of music in these days I t must be E minence or .

nothing Write to me soon and satisfy my anxiety or

.

2 -2
 Sc hool -days
curiosi t y whatever you please to call it I hope you are in
,
.

g ood health and not i n want of anything I f you are let .

m e kno w .

I remain ,

Your affectionate grandfather ,

J O H N B E N N E TT .

T he boy had now been five years at the Academy and ,

his grandfather would surely before this have asked him i n ,

holiday time for the details of his work ; b u t B ennett like

, ,

other school boys would avoid such a subj ect and his rela
-
, ,

tions could not get much out of him At Cambridge he .

,

was often asked out to S ing or play O n his return he .

would never satisfy the family curiosity Well what did .

‘
,

they say ? would be asked ’

What s hou l d they say ? .
‘ ’

was the only form of reply H is aunt Sarah when relatin g .

,

this added We S hould have kept the letters he wrote

, ,
‘

from the Academy if we had had any presentiment that he

,

would become an eminent man but he never gave us any ,

chance to expect it H e was however on most a ffec

.
’

, ,

t i o n a t e terms with his grandparents H is g randfather .

would laugh at his drolleries till the tears rolled down his
face and would at last burst out with the exclamation as
, ,

if it were a term of endearment Thou fool thou fool ! ,

‘
,
’

Early in life the boy learnt to realize the obli gation he was
under as an orphan to these second parents H e would
, , .

often i n after-life speak of his ra n d fa t her s distress in ’

bein g obliged to ask him when h

, ,

e had been some little ,

time at the Academy not to write home so often as they , ,

could not a fford to pay for the letters on their arrival H e .

preserved two of hi s grandfather s letters ; the one given ’

above because it contained the words H armony m ust

, ,
‘

not be neglected and above all your duty to God and

,

another because it ended with the words From my littl e ,

kitchen I write farewell ; and these two phrases he would

,
’

often quote as if they still t ouched him i n a tender place

, .

I f he S poke of his grandmother it was g enerally to refer to ,

the first night of the holidays when the old lady with a , ,

certain amount of ceremony would open a cupboard a n d ,

reveal a special fruit -pie which she always made to cele ,

11] A Ch a n g e o f St u dies 21

brate the oc casion At the end of the holidays he would

.
,

e scape to the coach without the farewells that he dared not

,

face .

By the Academy examiners i n the s u mmer of 1 8 3 1 he , ,

was rebuked for his d i ffid en c e with respect t o composition .

O ther pupils in Lu c a s s class George M a c fa r ren for one ’

, ,

were already writin g elaborate works Bennett alone held .

back H ere is a boy said one of the Professors who

.
‘
,
’

,
‘

c ould do somethin g if he chose To this branch of work ’

.
,

however it seems to have been as futi l e t o press hi m then

, ,

as it invariably proved later A promotion which now .

,

t ook place to Dr C rotch s class certainly gave no i mpetus ;

’

, ,

for in lieu of the F u g ues written for Lucas his music-book

, ,

c ontains a series of single and double C hants a form of ,

exercise on which D r C rotch is said to have set great

value .

Tha t Benne t t after the summer of 1 8 3 1 entered upo n

, ,

a course of u n fl a g g i n g industry had at the outset nothing , , ,

to do with composition O n the violin he had reached .

,

the stage of playin g the C oncertos of Rode and Viotti but ,

the instrument was not his favourite one H is g rand .

father s letter had g iven him the oppor t unity of say i n g so

’

and of gettin g permission to abandon i t as his principal

st u dy A change was made and to use his own words
.
, , ,

he took to the pianoforte con amore I nstead of playin g ‘

.
’

about the house he once said to the writer I began to

,
’

,
‘

practise incessantly But great proficiency on what had

.
’

s o far been his second i nstrument was already acquired ,

though without attractin g notice I n December he made .

his first important appearance playing i n the Academy ,

room H ummel s C oncerto in A flat a work which H ummel

’

had himself i ntroduced to this country earlier i n the year .

Bennett s performance took everybody by surprise H e

’
.

would say i n his latter days that he had heard no more

beautiful pianoforte -playing than that of H ummel H e may .

have heard him play this same C oncerto and assimilated ,

somethin g ; for S ir George M a c fa rre n has written of silly ‘

praisers who after this Academy concert at once styled

,
’

, ,

h i m T he E nglish H ummel whe rea s i n Sir Georg e s O pinion

’ ’
‘
, , ,

he h a d done qu ite well enou g h to deserve the use of his own

n ame J ohn F ield who had j ust arrived i n E n gland after
.
, ,
 Sc hool -days
thirty years absence was present at the concert and on
’

leavin g the room said of Bennett to one of the Professors ,

That l i t t l e fellow knows what he s about ’

.
’

While writing the Chants for D r C rotch he composed ,

his first extended work a string Quartet in G minor As

,
.

he did not intend to show it to his master he did not ,

trouble to make a score but wrote strai ght off the separate
,

parts to try the music W ith his school fellows Fifty years
- .

afterwards his devoted pupil Thomas Win g ham found

, , ,

these parts dated October 1 8 3 1 in the possession of

, , ,

a former Academy student and purchased them H e then ,

.

arran g ed for one or two performances of the work in

London and asked M r J oseph Bennett the eminent musical
, ,

critic to write an analytical pamphlet This was printed

, .

and i n it the following passage occurs

I n hearing the Quartet i t is impossible to overlook
‘

the composer s youth This is sufficiently asserted by the

’
.

i ntrinsic character of the music as well as by comparison ,

with more mature productions E qually clear is the fact .

,

that Bennett s mas t er for composition had trained him in

’

the school of Mozart whose orderly method grace and

, , ,

clearness of expression are here emulated as far as a student s ’

unripe powers allowed .

’

I t is to the last sentence of this extract rather than to ,

the Quartet itself or to its discovery that attention is pai d ,

here Bennett had not written this work nor as yet any
.
,

such work under the eye of a livin g teacher Who then

, .

had trained him i n the school of M ozart ? I t was no other

than M ozart himsel f M usic i n variety su fficient to draw
. ,

his attention in many directions had now for some years ,

been before his receptive and discriminating mind ; but he

had al ready determined to turn a deaf ear to vanities to ,

study exclusively i n a school of Great M asters and even ,

to find still further securi t y by selecting one g reat musician

,

as the centre of his thou ghts and the first moulder of his
taste There can be no doubt that the p lacing of himsel f
.

at the feet of M ozart was a deliberate act of his own This .

was clearly S hown if not literally said by himself later in

, , ,

life on an occasion when though he made no positive

, ,

personal reference he was nevertheless obviously recallin g

,

his own young day s with their hours of perplexity a n d

, ,
 Sc hool —d ay s
a non -resident student that it was his habit t o take M ozart s
,
’

scores to bed with him and to read them in the early ,

summer mornings T hus did the seemingly childish or

.

indolent boy work on and when his first efforts at com

,

position came under t he criticism of those around him ,

a certain finish was noticed in them which caused

‘ ’

surprise because he seemed to have got over the first

,

stag e of a j ourney without assistance and without lettin g ,

any one know that he had started S ir George Ma c fa rr en .

remembered his boyish love for M ozart and how he ‘

,
’ ‘

proved it once to the delight of a few bys t anders by

playing many pieces from the score of Don Giovanni ,

which he so vitalized by distin g uishing the characters of

different instruments and contrastin g t hem with the voc al
,

effects as to fix and t o fill t he attention of his listeners

, ,

tho u gh other boys were practisin g o t her music on other

pianofortes in the same school -room Davison whose .
’

personal acquaintance with him and whose interest i n ,

eve ry detail of his work dated from the very outset of ,

his career as a composer has drawn attention to his early,

and continued adherence to M ozart After B ennett s death .

’
,

he analyz ed for a concert programm e a Pianoforte Concerto

, ,

in C minor composed in 1 8 3 4 the third of six su ch works

°

, ,

and wrote
‘
I n none of his Concertos does B ennett dispense with
the old classical t u t t i althou g h he had the examples set by
,

Beethoven in his G and E flat and by M endelssohn i n his ,

G minor which had j ust burst fresh upon the world of art
, ,

to encourage and support him ; but no the youn g E n glish ,

musician was heart and soul with M ozart ; and in that faith
he remained unswe r vingly till the close of his career .
’

H ow far Bennett succeeded in modelling his music on

that of Mozart is a question which the music itself can best
,

answer The orderly method and the clearness of ex

.
‘ ’ ‘

pression found in his early efforts and always noticed with

’

commendation i n his later works were probably qualities ,

inhe rent i n him ; but their development certainly connects

him with his chosen g uide H e d id not hope to be .

ano t her Mozart Such an ideal was only to be reached

.

throu g h avenues along some of which he could not walk

far ; nor did he t hink that many had walked the whol e
11 ] Moza r t as a Model 25

way Thus he wrote of M ozart as a M aster of B r oa d

.
,
‘

R hy t hm which so few could manage ; and again as the

’

, , ,

wri t er of the real Adagio of which no composer with

‘
,

the exception perhaps of B ee t hoven had left such speci , , ,

mens H is reverence for M ozart is also shown i n the

.
’

fact that the existence of tha t M aster s Operas fu rnished

,
’

one reason for his not attemp t ing to write such a work
himself But apart from M ozar t s to him inimitable power
.
’

, , ,

there were other traits both in M ozart s music and i n his ,

’

character as an artist which sooner or later were observed ,

by Bennett which strongly appealed to his own nature and

, ,

which helped to confirm the pri nciples that g uided his musical
li fe When upholdin g M ozart as an example t o others
.
,

he extolled the ser i ous earnestness a n d deep thought‘

,
’

and the conscience as he called it which pervaded all that

‘
,
’

composer s works ; the control which the consummate

’ ‘ ’ ‘

master exercised over his genius ; the modesty and

’
‘ ’ ‘

veneration with which he observed the canons of hi s

’
‘

art and tempered his great power To Bennett s mind

,
’ ‘
.
’ ’

M ozart was the musician who never seemed to make ‘

a mistake unless perhaps he at times erred t hrough over

,
’

, ,

seriousness Of t he man himself Bennett had as a boy

.
, , ,

learnt somethin g not from biographies for there were none , ,

at hand but from many interesting conversations with his

,
‘ ’

‘
V ery dear old friend Thomas Attwood about his master , ,

M ozart and i n that way he no doubt inherited the warmth

o f tone which was m ingled with the reverence of every
,

word he afterwards used in speakin g of the g reat musician .

Thus early i n life he would be told as he aft er wards liked ,

to tell others of M oza rt s disre gard for popularity and of

,
’

his fl at refusal to lower the standard of his work t o g ain

money even if starvation must come as the al ternative
, .

M uch that Bennett said of M ozart might if only the , ,

words could be modified to satisfy the sense of proport ion ,

be said of Bennett himself Serious earnestness conscience .

, ,

the control of mastery over impulse modesty and venera ,

tion disregard of popularity and resista nce of the money

, ,

tempter are to be seen as clearly in the disciple as in the

,

M aster With M ozart as the centre of his t houghts

.
.

Bennett extended his studies backwards and forwards alon g

t he le g itimate line of the musical dynasty When he .
 Sc h oo — l da ys
reached manhood he became intimately associated with
,

grea t musicians of his own time ; but they were such as

had learnt the same lessons as himself and cou ld welcome ,

him as one who had worn the same school colours as them -

selves H owever much he came to be influenced at times

.

of his life by new impressions his early love for M ozart ,

n ever left him ; and indeed his later works breathe more , ,

and more the pure M ozartian spirit The youn g E nglish .

‘

musician — to repeat Davison s words was heart and soul ’

— ‘

with M ozart and in that faith he remained unswervingly

,

to the close of his career .

’

To return to the Academy Though Dr C rotch had .

had no hand in the little Quartet he m a y have heard of it , ,

for B ennett was now al lowed to take a sudden leap from

Chants to Symphonies the first of which in the key of , ,

E flat was finished on April 6 1 8 3 2 a week before the

, , ,

composer s six t eenth birthday This work is not quite

’
.

dead yet for the openin g subj ect was used much la t er for
,

an eight -part M otet I n Thee O Lord do I put my ,

‘
, ,

trust a posthumous publication often heard at the presen t

,
’

day in Westminster Abbey and other Ca t hedral churches .

T he Symphony was played at t he Academy concert i n the

following J une and the same day B ennett took part i n
, ,

M ozart s H orn Quintet playing the viola the s t ringed

’

, ,

instrument which he had now adopted instead of the violin .

The prize day occurred ten days later and he then set out
-
,

for Cambridge carrying a printed document that would at

,

length allay anxiety and satisfy curiosity

‘
H is grand ,
’ ‘
.
’

father could now read i n the Report of the Commi t tee :

that B ennett had composed a Symphony performed at
‘
,

the last concert which had done him the greatest credit
,

that Bennett and Dorrell had made the greatest progress

‘

on the pianoforte ; again tha t Bennett had been one of

’

seven most regular and attentive to their orches t ral

‘

duties ; and finally that the Commi t t ee had adj udged to

’

, ,

B E N N E TT a silver medal for his great proficiency i n the

‘
,

pas t year in composition and the Pianoforte and for his ,

undeviating good conduct Thackeray s Royal Prince .

’ ’

did not take home from the U niversity of Bosforo a more

, ,

glowing record of a year s work '

D r C rotch now r esigned his connection with the

 ]
11 H is Ma s t er s f or Compos i t i on 2 7

Academy As he had given concerts in London i n his

.

sixth year and had reached his sixtieth he had passed

, ,

throu g h a long career of professional work An active .

man he used to walk from his house In the neighbourhood

,

of Campden H ill to T enterden Street enteri ng his class ,

room with his pockets distended by paint -boxes and sketch

books and allowing his pupils to their great delight to
, , ,

examine any additions he had made on his walk through

K ensington Gardens A musical treat often enj oyed by .
,

his class was his playing from memory a series of the

,

C horuses of H andel which he could select with endless ,

variety A short connection with D r C rotch as his pupil

. ,

i n composition for one year was su fficient to make a ,

g reat i mpression on Benne t t s mind of the extent of his ’

master s erudition and accomplishments I t was to Taunton

’
. ,

where D r Crotch lived in retirement to an advanced ag e ,

that B ennett would write i n after years if he required , ,

information abou t music of an earlier period When .

M endelssohn wished to make H andelian researches i n

E n g land B ennett told him that notwithstanding other
, ,

repu t ed authorities D r Crotch was the only man i n this ,

country who really knew much about H andel s music

,
’
.

B en nett however had a special cause for satisfaction at

, ,

the prospec t of studyin g composition under Cipriani Potter ,

who now succeeded to the Principalship H is thoughts .

were centred on his favourite instrument A little while .

before he had said to his friend Dorrell I want to write

, ,
‘

a Pianoforte C oncerto but it is no u s e doin g it for D r ,

Crotch B efore the summer holidays ( 1 8 3 2 ) were over

.
’

he must have heard of Potter s appointment ; for he set ’

di l i g ently to work at C ambridge on the first movement of , ,

a Concerto in D minor After the i ntroduction of the .

second subj ect in the t u t t i he had a difficulty in con ,

tin n ing the music to his liking and his aged grandfather , ,

hearing him from time to time play up to a certain point

and then stop would tease him and cry out Ah you can t
, , ,
’

1
i i k o wl d g of t h m i i t l f H w
ha d e xt en s ve t t th t im e us c se e as no a e e
r fri gt p f m
e. n e e .

A t t h p rform of t h b t -k o w O r t orio e ance e es n n a s,

h r o g iz d Sir G org Sm rt hi g h t hori t y d wo ld y t h t Sm rt

e e r n o er or a n ce. s o e
au an u sa a a

i h ri t d t hro gh h i f t h r t h t r H d li t mpi
e ec n e In e e a a ,

l im d t h s a e e ue an e an
‘
e
’

Som of t h whi h Sir G org p d t B t t di ff r d m h fro m

c a e o a ve n e e , u ,
.

a s se on o en n e e e uc

dopt d d ri g t h lo g eg i m of Sir M i h l C o t
e es e, c e e ,

t ho se a e u n e n r e c ae s a.
 Sc hool -days
get over that ! H e did however complete the openin g
’

, ,

t u t t i for his first lesson with Potter ; and the pat on the
shou lder and the kind Well done my boy were e n
,
‘
, ,
’

c o u ra e m e n t s which he never forgot T he Concerto was

g .

finished in October ; a second Symphony in D minor , ,

immediately followed ; and three days of the Ch ristmas

holiday at C ambrid g e were spent in writin g an Overture
to The Tempes t .

S ir George M a c fa rren has thus referred to the produc

tion of the Concerto in D minor z
‘
The first trial with the band at one of the weekly
Academy rehearsal s excited the boundless admiration of
us other boys who had always loved and now be gan fully
to prize him M any and meritorious had been the com
.

posi t ions o f Academy studen t s that had been tried at t hese

periodical practices not a few of which had been displayed
,

at the public concerts of the i nstitution but this Concerto

seemed to step out of the ran g e of pupil work and S how
something of the maturity of mastership A shout of .

enthusiasm went up from us all each one proud to acknow ,

led g e the rare merit of his school -mate and it was not the ,

students alone who perceived this merit but professors were ,

as ready to applaud it .
’

Bennett played the C oncerto at an orchestral concert ,

which with the aid of his Academy friends he g ave at

, ,

Cambridge on N ov 2 8 1 8 3 2 ; and then for the first time

, .
, ,

i n London at an Academy concert i n the H anover Square

,

Rooms M arch 3 0 1 8 3 3 A few days later he was sum

, , .
,

m o u ed to Windsor and his visit furnished news which

, , ,

thou g h about himself was of too special a kind to be with

,

held from his relations The followin g le t ter was thou g ht .

worth preservin g I t bears the date of his seventeenth

.

birth day .

R OYAL A CAD E MY O M US I C F ,

Apr i l 13, 18 3 3

EAR A U
.

MY D N T,

I wro t e to you last but not having heard from ,

you I write again to acquaint [ you] that I have been

spending my E aster holidays at Wi n ds or whither I have ,

been to play on the Pianoforte bef or e t hei r M ajes t i es .

I received a command to attend from S ir Andrew Barnard

 WILLIAM S T N AL B ER D E E N N ET T
A
A ET C IRC X VI

R T T T
.

I
IN T HE

T HE
U N FO

R M J AC K E OF A S

OY A L A C A D E M Y O F M U S C
UDE N

I
OF

F r om a wa t er -c ol ou r d r a w i ng
3 0 Sc hool -da ys [CH . 11

ment of his Concerto the Cou n t being short of stature

, ,

s t ood up sayin g I want to have a good look at him

, ,
‘
.

Later he asked to be made acquainted with the boy and ,

was accordingly taken by Lord B u rg he rs h to the green

room T hus was B ennett introduced to M endelssohn the
. ,

lad of seventeen to the yo u ng man of twenty -four .

M endelssohn forthwith invited him to Germany If I .

‘

come said B ennett may I com e to be y our pupil ?

,
’

,
‘ ’

‘
N o no was the reply you must come to be my
, ,
’

,
‘

friend .
’
 C H A PT E R III .

A DV A N C E D S T U DE N T S HI P .

B E N N E TT met M endelssohn again at this time for he ,

has writ t en of an evening when he took part in Attwood s ’

Glee The Curfew and then heard M endelssohn e x t e m

,
‘
,
’

o r i z e on the subj ect of the music in the presence and to

p , ,

t he g reat delight of its composer ,

T his is but a single .

g limpse of Attwood M endelssohn,

and Bennett i n one and ,

the same place nor could the t hree have often met together
, ,

s ince the chances of thei r doin g so were confined within a few

days o f the year 1 8 3 3 and a few days In the autumn of ,

18 3 7 . Yet Attwood with a strong tie of affec t ion binding

,

him to each had no little to do with brin g i ng his young

,

friends together Of the E n glish musicians with whom

.

M endelssohn became acquainted during his early visits to

this co u nt ry Attwood was one t hat he certainly loved ;
,

and B ennett when writing of his very dear old friend

,
‘
,
’

expressed himself certain that no more genial musician ‘

ever lived Attwood who could look back to four years

.
’

spent i n his youth as a student on the continent was ,

immediately interested In the prop osal t hat B ennett should

sooner or later go to Germany and continued to keep him ,

i n mind as one who would deserve the advantage of forei g n

in t ercourse when the days of pupilag e in E ngland were
,

o ve n

Aft er the summer holidays of 1 8 3 3 Bennett returned ,

to Tenterden Street which was to remain his home for ,

another three years H e was now nearly seven t een -and -a

.
 A dva n c ed S t ud en t s h ifi .

half years old H e had won his boyish laurels and it may
.
,

be said that his school -days were over I t was indeed .

, ,

only in the early days of the Academy that the maj ority ,

of t he boarders were young enough to make the term

‘
school -life applicable George M a c fa rre n three years
’
.
,

older t han B ennett worked on by his side under Potter ,

until they at t he same time completed a course of advanced

, ,

studentship I n the summer of 1 8 3 3 B ennett had prepared

.
,

at Cambridge as i n t he previous year the firs t movement of

, .
,

a Pianofor t e C oncerto Pot t er s encourag ement now took a .

’

different form H e did not again pat his pupil on the back
.
,

but spurred him instead to increased endeavour by advising ,

him to r e write the whole movement This Concerto

- .
,

N o I I in E flat when finished and played a fe w weeks

.
,

later raised B ennett a step higher in the estimation of the

,

Academy circle not only as a composer but also as a

, ,

pianist I t was a moot point in which capacity the work

.
,

showed him to greater advantage A knot of students .

gathered round Lucas when he had finished conductin g the ,

rehearsal and asked him what he t hou g ht about the

,

Concerto Ah he replied but what about the pl ay i ng ?

.
‘
,
’

,
‘ ’

A nd now when after more than seven years under H olmes

, ,

a chan g e of pianoforte -master was made the elder students ,

asked each other What does he want with lessons ? ,

‘

What is the use of his g oing under Potter ? ’

What Bennett as a pianist gained from one teacher or , ,

another cannot be determined ; but speakin g g enerally he , ,

was taught his instrument in a place where g rand traditions

were withi n reach of those who had the sense to accept
them F e tis when he inspected the Academy in 1 8 2 9
.
, ,

noticed how fortunate the I ns t i t ution was i n its pianoforte

teachers Great names can be mentioned i n connection
.

wi t h this E ngland had been the chosen residence of many

.

eminent forei g n pianists The very instrument itself owed .

much of its develop ment to this country When the .

Academy opened t eachers of rare distinction were at hand

, ,

whilst o t hers claimed direct descent from illustrious men .

Clementi was a cons t ant V isi t or in Tenterden S treet .

J .B C ramer
. taught t here Potter who gave the firs t .
,

pianoforte lesson In t he house had studied in London for ,

five years under the Celebrated Woel fl the pupil of Leopold ,

 ]
111 P ot t er as a P ia n o for t e Tea c h er 33

M ozart Bennett has written that he made acquaintance

.

a t the Academy wi t h an i ntimate friend of C P E manuel . .

Bach N 0 one who followed such guides could go astray

. .

N ever t heless Bennett learnt the piano at a time of some

,

perplexit y Durin g the years of his apprenticeship a new

.

school of playing with new music to correspond with it

, ,

came into vogue on the continent and a dazzlin g brilliancy ,

of performance was or seemed to be the one obj ect which

, ,

the maj ori t y of rising pianis t s had in view The taste .

of this country was thereby rapidly affected A cademy .

s t udents who desired to devote themselves to the music

of t he Great M asters and their le g i t imate followers found
s u fficient encourag ement but even in Tenterden Street,

there wa s a d i ve rg e n c e of i nterests Davison fo u nd Bennett .

,

towards the end of his Academy l ife exer t ing an active ,

influence and leadin g a small party of studen t s who were

,

pledged to what t hey considered the classical side of ‘ ’

pianoforte music .

Pot t er from one source or another had inherited a key

, ,

without which much of t he music of certain masters cannot

be fully displayed ; and here a debt whi c h h i s pupil may
’

have owed him can be imagined ; for Bennett certainly

played the harpsichord Lessons of H andel or the R F , .

Concertos of M ozart in a way tha t revealed to many

hearers unimagined beauties H e would t ell a story that .

gives a clue to another direction i n which Potter guided

his studies The mas t er wished to introduce his pupil to
.

a certain composition by Bee t hoven now very generally ,

known as Opus 1 0 6 The purchase of any Sonata 1n those

.

days was beset wi t h difficulty Academy boys had to .

exercise patience until t he longes t ladder in the S hop could

,

be found and until an avalanche of dust and cobwebs had

,

fallen from the topmost shelf O n this occasion Bennet t .

,

s t ar t ed with little faith in t he success of his errand ; for

Po t ter s sole direc t ion had been Go and ask for the
’

,
‘

Sonata that nobody play s That description however

.
’

, ,

proved su fficient for t he music seller and he brou g ht down -

,

t he work S ir George Grove has suggested that the

.

appreciat ion of Beethoven s la t er works by so conserva ’ ‘

ti v e a musician as Bennett mi g ht have been due to hi s ’

association with M endelssohn I t was not so I f per . .

S . B .
3
34 A dva n c ed St uden t s hip [ CH .

suasion towards Beethoven was needed which is very ,

improbable one can look for it nearer home The pupils

, .

of Potter saw in their own master a direct link with

Beethoven They were indeed very proud of this and
.
, , ,

would not require anyone else to explai n t he great

composer to them B ennet t had gone very far in his .

understandin g of Bee t hoven lon g before he left t he

Academy When he first went to Leipzi g his playing of
.
,

that master s works was regarded as one of his best cre

’

d e n t i a ls
. M endelssohn s friend Dr Klengel would years ’

, , ,

afterwards make special reference to it when Bennett s

, ,
’

name was mentioned i n his hearing .

While wri t ing Concertos wi t h orchestral accompaniment ,

Bennett also made progress during his first two years as a ,

composer in dealing with the orchestra alone Davison

, .
,

in after life said tha t the first movement of a fourth Sym

,

phony i n A maj or written in t he winter of 1 8 3 3 3 4 co u ld

, ,
—
,

take i t s place beside later works Dav ison retained a .

warm in t eres t in these early effort s O ne evenin g about .

,

the year 1 8 7 0 when di ning with Benne t t in Bayswater he

, ,

found t he score of this S y mphony in a book case and on -

,

leaving t he house walked off with it William Dorrell who

, .
,

was with him found g reat di fficulty in ge t ting him back

,

to to wn because he would stop at every lamp post i n t he

,

Bayswater Road to read a page or t wo of the manuscrip t .

Davison once took the wri ter up to his bed room and ,

S howed him a collection of Bennett s unpublished scores

’

carefull y kept amongs t his linen i n a small chest of drawers .

H e said that he often read them and could not bear to part
with them i n his life t ime Accordi ng to his direc t ion t hey .
,

were sent after his death to Bennett s famil y

, ,
’
.

As i n after years so even as a st udent Bennett was , ,

not an incessant composer H e wrote at this time on an .

, ,

avera g e t hree works i n each year taking in something

, ,

like regular rotation the Symphony t he P F Concer t o , , . .

,

and the Overt ure Dates on the scores S how tha t a

.

composition once begun was quickly finished ; but a long

t ime would often elapse before another was u ndertaken .

The summer and win t er holidays at Cambridge i nvariably

furnished him wi t h some fresh idea and la t e in life he t old ,

an Academy student who was one of his pupils for compo ,

111 ] A n ex c it ing E l ec t ion 35

that he thought in his own case the best of his

s i t io n , , ,

work had been done in the holidays .

There were now many calls upon his time i n London

his prescribed studies the duty of hearing and takin g part
i n much music ; honorary work as a sub -professor ; and
outside engagements to furnish him with a little money ;
for though he still enj oyed free residence at the Academy ,

he was no longer a boy and increased personal expense had ,

to be met by his own exertions Towards the end of 1 8 3 3 .

,

he be gg ed the Committee to grant him some relief from

the strict rules of leave out I have kept them he
‘
- .
’ ‘
,
’

wrote for upwards of s even years but am now going out

,
‘
,

i nto the world and wish to enlarge my connections

, .
’

I n the sprin g of 1 8 3 4 he stood for the post of organist ,

at S t Ann s then a chapel o f ease to Wandswor t h Parish

’

,
- —

church There was a keen contest When the electors

. .

met the show of hands was n o t i n hi s favour H is sup

, .

porters demanded a poll and issued a printed circ u lar , ,

which set fort h his merits and was backed by man y signa ,

tures On April 3 rd The public o ffices of Wandsworth

.
,
‘ ’

were open from 7 a m to 7 p m for the votin g with the

‘
. . .
’

result that Bennett headed the poll with 1 7 4 votes and a ,

maj ority of 6 7 H is opponents then challenged the legality

.

of the proceedin g s the Vestry took Counsel s opinion ; the ’

election was ruled i n order ; and the successful candidate ,

on his ei g hteenth birthday secured an i ncome of thirt y ,

guineas per annum H e held the appointment for one

.

year ; he diligently practised t he organ in the hours b e

tween the Sunday services ; and towards the end of the ,

time the verg er condescended to inform him that he had

,

noticed great improvement i n his playing H e would amuse .

himself i n after -life by quotin g the flatterin g opi nion of

, ,

this dignitary and would at the same time speak of his

,

slender means at the time he first took the situation which

, ,

often obli g ed him to leave his gloves in lieu of toll as he , ,

crossed the bridge on his wa y to church H is next engag e .

men t was at a proprietary Chapel i n the neighbourhood of

S t J ames s Park and therefore more easily wi t hin his reach
’
.
,

H e practised the organ m u ch later in life going to the ,

H anover Square Rooms when he co u ld find a S pare hour ,

and probably hoping to take part in organ performances

 A dva n c ed S t u d en t s h ifi

g iven in connection wi t h t he Bach Society I n his last .

days he startled the writer by the facility with which he

,
“

played and pedalled difficult passag es from Bach s organ ’

works on a pedal -piano which happened to be in his house

a short time for a student s practice As he got off the ’
.

stool he seemed to no t ice his listener s look of surprise for

,
’

he indul g ed in a merry laugh and said You didn t know , ,

‘ ’

I could do t hat .
’

Besides Su nday work he found pupils though as yet , ,

only at low fees H e was employed at a ladies school at

.
’

E dmonton H e also tau g ht at H endon for when the old

.

Greyhound I nn of that village was demolished some years

’

ago and a sketch of its traditions appeared in a newspaper

, ,

mention was made of Sterndale Bennett having as a very ,

youn g man t aken frugal meals t here on his lesson days

, .

To The Greyhound at H endon he would sometimes

‘ ’

repair with his family i n the busy years of aft er-life for a , ,

holiday stolen from the toil O f teachin g in the early days

, ,

of summer .

H is ni ne t een t h year (April 1 8 3 4 April during —

which he held his appointment at Wandsworth was i n all ,

directions well -employed Composition though no great .

,

amount of time was spent upon it showed an increase of ,

power I n M ay he wrote a charmin g Overture to The

.

M er ry Wi ves of PVi n ds or for a concert g iven by Gesualdo ,

di Lanza a t eacher of singing But a much more impo r

, .

tant composition followed The first movemen t of a R F . .

Concerto N o I I I in C minor was completed at C ambridge

, .
, ,

in Augus t and the other movemen t s were added in October

, .

T his work afterwards served as his musical passport to

Germany and greatly conduced to his early repu t ation as a
,

composer A Son g Gentle Z ephyr (long aft er included

.
,
‘ ’

i n a set of six ) and a Canzonet I n radiant loveliness sung

, ,
’

with orchestral accompaniment by M iss Birch also belon g , ,

to this year They were the firs t and for some years
.
,

remained the only vocal compositions which he issued At .

the same time he wrote his first solo pieces for the piano :
a study i n F minor and a Capriccio i n D m inor dedicated ,

to Po t ter The Capriccio was much liked by his friends

.

Davison and M a c fa rr e n The latter knew it by h eart and .

,

played it a g reat deal at home to the distraction of M r ,

 A dva n c ed S t u d en t s h ifi

fulfilling tasks amon g his fellows I well remember his .

rapt u rous reception .

’

T he seal of approval set upon his playin g by the Phil

harmonic audience and the composition of t he C minor
,

C oncerto in the previous y ear placed him on a le v el where ,

fu rther ins t ru ction seemed superfluous ; but he lingered on

at the Academy a quasi student as he was aft erwards
,
‘
-
,
’

d escribed by one who was much wi t h him at t he time .

When Bennett was examined before a Committee of t h e

S ociety of Arts in 1 8 6 5 he answered ques t ions put t o him
,

on t his subj ect by Sir H enry C ole

.
Q Was not t en years an unusually lon g time t o remai n
at the Academy
A . Yes very few remained so long though some r e
, ,

mained for eight or nine years .

.
Q Were t here any special circums t ances which induced
you t o stay so long
A . I did not wish to leave and they very kindly kept ,

me there .

Q At you r own expense or t hat of the Academy

.
,

A . A t the expense of the Academy .

Q . I n respect to both living and tuition ?

A . I n both respects .

Towards t he end of his residence he was allowed the ,

unique privilege of a private sitting room H is work had .

previously been done In the school room where the practice -

,

pianos were kept and used S imul t aneously Order was

, .

maintained by an ex Serg ean t of the Guards whose favouri t e ,

sentry -post was a t t he back of B ennett s cottage piano where ’

-
,

he would s t and mo t ionless hour aft er hour looking o v er at

the boy s fingers The study now speciall y assigned to
’
.

Benne t t long lingered in the memory of his friends S ir .

George M a c fa rre n addressin g t he Academy st u dents i n

,

1 8 7 9 direc t ed their attention to a window nex t t he bu t t ress

,

of t he concert-room i n which they were assembled I can — ‘

poin t you he said t o t he window of t he room where Si r

,
’

,
‘

S t erndale Bennett wro t e some of the Concer t os and S t udies

which you play and in which y ou are heard to grea t es t
,

effect The room i t self is n ot t here now that the d i m e n

.
,

sions of the bu ilding have been expanded 3“

but f
111 ] H is r oo m a t t he A ca demy 39

I feel that his influence rests there that his spirit hovers ,

over us and t hat we should try to do what he accomplished

, ,

and in that t rial we shal l at any ra t e do our best and gain

what success we may .
’

Davison t hou g h n o t a student of the Academy was a

, ,

constant visitor I t was his deli g ht to search old book .

stalls for P F Sonatas which cou ld not be found elsewhere

. . .

Such treas u res he would take straight off to Tenterden

Street ; for t hough he was himself a pianist he liked to
, ,

get his first impression of a piece through the medi u m of

B ennett s remarkable si g ht -readin g remarkable tha t is
’
—
, ,

for what seemed to his companions a prima—facie grasp of a

composer s meaning Davison has written i n The M u s i c a l
’
.

Wor l d of a day when he had unearthed a Sonata of Du s s ek ,

and had then found Bennett in his comfort able S t udy at ‘

the Academy cheerfull y li g hted warmed wi t h a blazing

, ,

fire and wi t h a splendid new B roadwood Grand j u st

,
“ ”

presented t o him on the part of that m u n i fic e n t firm In .

’

this room i n 1 8 3 5 were writ t en : a fifth Symphony i n G

, , ,

minor ; a S es t et for pianoforte and stri nged i nstruments ;

some P F S tu dies ; and a Concer t o for two pianofortes in
. .

which M a c fa rre n and he combined contribu t ing alternate ,

po rtions The P F Studies were played one by one

. . .
,

as t hey were written to M a c fa r re n and t o him they were , ,

dedicated Amongst them is one i n E maj or which was a

.

favourite piece of its composer H e liked it as he after .

,

wards wrote because he had composed it in his room at

,

the Academy wi t hout getting up from the table Wh en ‘

.
’

M endelssohn firs t heard this study at D ii s s eld or f he said ,

t o Davison in reference to its concluding passages : The ‘

,

man who can develope like that ought to be happy The .

’

Sestet was firs t played at a musical party i n the rooms of

Charles Coventry the publisher of B enne t t s early works ,
’
.

J. B C ramer
. was present and after hearing the work and
the composer s interpretation of it remarked : We have
’

,
‘

had no one l ike him since poor young Pi nto .

’

Then a g ain abou t this time Davison was the firs t to

, , ,

hear Bennett play three new pieces The Lake T he M ill ,

‘
,
’ ‘

s t ream and T he Fountain ; and when asked by the com

’ ‘ ’

poser if they might be called M usical Sonnets he advised

’
‘
,

the title M u sical S ketches Davison told the writer that .

’
 A dva n c ed St u d en t s h ip
this private performance gave him the only opportunity he
could remember of hearing Bennett strike a wrong note ;
nor did the pianist let the S lip pass without comment for ,

as he got u p from t he instrument he said : You must n o t ‘

tell them t hat I can t play my own music The T hree ’

.
’ ‘

M usical Sketches always ranked among the most effective ’

of his minor works You sho u ld have heard him play .

‘

them himself became a very common sayin g i n aft er

,
’

years Schumann wrote that his playing of The Fountain

.
‘

created an effect almost magical When Bennett later ‘

.
’
,

i n life was walking with a friend throu g h the villag e of

,

Grantchester near Cambrid g e he showed the mill -stream ,

which as he then said had suggested t he s ec o n d of these

, ,
'

p i eces .

I n the N ew Year 1 8 3 6 he sketched a D ramatic Over , ,

1 ‘

ture a t Cambridg e and this was followed by a P F Concerto

’

, . .

i n F minor (an unpublished work ) the last movement of ,

which he was finishing on his twentieth birthday April 1 3 th ,

.

I n the same mo nth he appeared at the Philharmonic for ,

the second time playin g his Concerto in C minor , .

And now under happy auspices it was arran g ed that he

, ,

should pay his first visit to Germany The Lower Rhine .

M usical Festival was to be held at D u sseldorf at Whitsun

t ide M endelssohn was to conduct it and his O ratorio
.
, ,

‘
St Paul was t o be produced H err Carl K l i n g em a n n
,
’
. ,

of the H anoverian Le gation in London M endelssohn s ,

’

intimate friend was goin g over to hear the new work , .

These proj ec t s were the s u bj ect of conversa t ion at an

evening party in London There M r H enry B roadwood .

overheard Attwood expressing a wish that it were possible

for Bennett to accompany K l i n g ema n n and at once said , ,

that if the di ffi culty was one of expense he wo u ld mos t ,

gladly furnish the means for the journey K l i n g e m a n n .

also took charg e of Davison whose parents fell i n wi t h ,

his desire to be Bennett s fellow t raveller They reached ’

-
.

Dusseldorf in time to attend all the fu ll rehearsals of the

Festival music .

M endelssohn received the two young stran g ers most

kindly H e would call early at their hotel to rouse the
.
‘

Th1
k t h i t A t ly -wri t t V ioli p r t H did t fill i t h
e s e c
’
ex s s . n ea en n- a . e no n e
S orc e.
 ]
111 D us s el dorf F es t iva l 4 1

lazy E nglishmen and to chat with them as they dressed

,
’

, ,

before his duties for the da y began When the Festival .

w a s over he made music or played billiards with them

, , .

H e t aunted them for not going farther when they had

come thus far ; so acting on his suggestion they did not
, ,

return with K l i n g e m a n n but before leaving took a short , , ,

trip up the Rhine O n this excursion Bennett conceived

.

the idea for his Over t ure The N a i a d s and when he g ot ‘

,
’

back to D usseldorf he wrote the openin g bars on a sheet

of music paper which Davison preserved as a souvenir of
-

the happy time Bennett had taken with him from E ngland
.

specimens of his work i n the hope that M endelssohn might,

approve of them and receive him as a pupil When

,
.

M endelssohn had examined these compositions he spoke ,

to Davison in no doubtfu l tones assurin g him that he ,

knew of no young composer in Germany of Bennett s age ,

’

with equal gifts ; and this which Davison told the wri t er , ,

is confirmed by two letters written by M endelssohn to

E n glish friends the first addressed to A t twood and dated
, , ,

Dusseldorf M ay 2 8 t h ,

‘
I av ail myself of M r Bennett s departure for London ’

to send you t hese lines and to tell you how grateful I am ,

to you for having procured me his acquaintance I know .

it is owin g to your advice that he went to V isi t the fes t ival , ,

and therefore i t is to you t hat I ought to address my t hanks

for all the pleasure he gave me by his compositions and his
playin g I think him the most promising y o u ng m u sician
.

I know not only in your country but also here and I am

, ,

convinced if he does not become a very great musician it ,

is not God s will b u t his own H is Concerto and Sym

’

, .
l

phony are so well written the t houghts so well developed

2
,

and so natural that I was highly grat ified when I looked

,

over them yesterday but when he played this mornin g his

,

six st u dies and the sketches I was quite deli g hted and so , ,

were all m y musical friends who heard him H e told me .

that you wanted him to stay some t ime on the continent

and with me I really do t hink i t impossible to give him
.

( advanced as he is i n his art ) any advice which he was not

able to give himself as well and I am sure i f he goes on ,

3 i C mi
1
N o. n .

5 i G mi
3
N o. n .
 A dva n c ed St u den t s hip
the same way as he did till now wi t hout losin g his modes t y ,

and zeal he will always be perfec t ly right and develope

,

his talents as his friends and all the friends of music may
desire ; if however he should like t o live on t he continent
for a while and if he sho u ld stay at Leipzig I need not say
, ,

that I should feel most happy to spend some time with such
a musician as he is and tha t at all even t s I shall alway s
,

consider It as my d u ty t o do everything In my power to ass i st

him In his musical proj ects and i n t he course of his career , ,

which promises to be a happy and blissful one H ave .

once more my t hanks for t he t rea t which I owe t o you r

urgin g him to visi t this coun t ry and I only hope it may have ,

gi v en him also some pleasure t o assis t at the festival here .

M endelssohn wrote a little later to K l i n g e ma n n

‘
I have told him [ Bennet t ] that abou t t eachers t here
is i n his case nothing more to be said by any one N ever
, , .

t h el es s he still wishes to come and you can ima g ine what

, ,

a pleasure i t will be to me to become acqu ainted with him

more closely and for a longer t ime B u t I cannot take .
,

an y money from him without being a M usic -J udas M ore .

o v er I am certain t o gain as much pleas u re and profit from

,

his socie t y as he from mine ,

.
’

O n his return t o London Bennett made his last a p ,

a ra n c e as an Academy s t uden t at the pupils concert ’

p e

i n J uly playing the Concer t o in F minor which he had

,

finished before goin g to D usseldor f A t the rehearsal he .

,

found that the slow mo v ement failed to arouse interest .

B rooding over this throu g hout the day a fresh musical ,

idea suddenly came to him H e accordingly b u rn t the .

midnigh t oil and the las t work done in his Academy study
,

had happy result N ext morning he brought down a new

.
,

slow movement wi t h band-part s copied out and collec t ed ,

the house orchestra to try it t hro u gh with him This move

-
.

ment which he called Barcarolle became one of the mos t

,
’

admired of his compositions The C oncer t o i n which i t .

was firs t placed was never prin t ed b u t t he Barcarolle ,

‘ ’

was subsequently p u blished as t he slow movemen t of

another Concer t o also in F minor a work which will be
, ,

referred t o later .

O ig i l l t t r i i G rm1
r na e e s n e a n.
 ]
111 M r H a mil t on
’

s a dvic e 43

And now in the hour of leave -taking he did not omit

, ,

some expression of gratitude t o M r H amilton who had ,

been the first ag ent in brin g ing him to the Academy and ,

had S ince watched over him for more than ten years with , ,

parental care H e received the followi ng reply

.

MY D EAR B OY ,
I appreciate most sincerely your kind feelin g s
conveyed to me i n your letter just recei v ed .

B e assured I feel the most lively interest in your Welfare

and Success whether Professionally or otherwise ; and in
whatever way it were possible for me to evince my A ffec
tion and Regard you know me well enough to be assured
that you have only to point it out to ensure my warmest
exertions I f in very early l ife I was of any service to you
.
,

be ass u red my dear Boy you have amply repaid me by the

, ,

great (tho u gh t o me n o t unexpec t ed ) success which has

hi t herto distinguished your youthful Career Go on and .

prosper and above all never forget the Gi ver of a ll g ood

,

Thi ng s I f you have been blessed with s u perior Talents

.
,

if you have had the means of cultivatin g t hose Talents ,

and still have kind Friends raised up to enable you to

bring them to M aturity ; Remember the g reat Debt of
Gratitude you owe to H i m who has not only given you
those Talen t s but has raised up those kind Friends for you
, ,

and who a l on e has enabled you and will I fervently pray , ,

lon g continue to enable you to be an ornament to your

Co u n t ry and an obj ect of Pride and grateful Recollection
,

to your very S incere

and attached Friend ,

F RE D ERI C K H A M I LTO N .

R oy l A d my of M i
a ca e us c ,

7 j u ly 18 36 .

To W S terndale B en nett
.
,

Student of the R A M usic . . .

 C H A PT E R IV .

LE IPZ I G .

Oct ob re 18 3 6 - J un e 18 37 .

&t . 20 . 2 I.

S O M E weeks of the summer of 1 8 3 6 were passed by

Bennett at Grantches t er near Cambridge H e invited .

Alfred C J ohnson who had been his pupil at the Academy

.
,

for the last three years and whose parents had shown him
,

much hospitality in London to stay with him in his country

,

lodgings M r J ohnson wrote i n 1 8 8 2 the following r e

.
, ,

mi n is c en c e : Grantchester was a favourite spot of his

-‘
,

and I spent t wo happy summer vacations with him there .

I remember being struck as a youth by his peculiarity of

, ,

repeatedly asking me to come out in t o the fields at the

back of the cottage when he would go off into a rhapsody
,

as to the beau t y and stillness of the scene wi t h the beauti ,

ful old village church close by and in the distance K ing s ,

’

College Chapel rising above the surrounding foliage After .

wards he would lie down on t he g rass fall i n t o a reverie , ,

and say what I would not a word could I g et out of him .

Suddenly when little expected and I was interested in ,

a book which from experience of his peculiarity I had taken

, ,

care to provide myself wi t h he would j u mp up saying , , ,

“
Come let us go in and no sooner in doors he would set
, ,
”

to work a t his scores and at the piano tryin g some of the ,

ideas he had worked out in the fields .

’

I n this way while J ohnson read his book Bennett com

, ,

l d his Overture The N and he wro t e from Cam ’

p e t e a i a d s ,

brid g e to Davison on Sept 1 5 I f you go to Coventry s

.
’

t o-mor r ow you will find my Overture which I have sent

one or two corrections on the first pag e ; he would turn
over and when half-way down the second page his face
, ,

would assume a fixed expression his head would begin to ,

sway a little as if he were again at work upon the music

itself ; and when he came t o the end he would lay the ,

piece down havin g en t irely forg ot t en the objec t for which

,

he had taken it up When M os c heles recei v ed a copy of

.

B ennett s C aprice i n E maj or he returned it to the com

’

poser and wrote : The pleasure I felt in reading this very

,

S pirited and interesting composi t ion was only dist u rbed by

findin g on almost every page about half-a -dozen errors of

the en g raver I have marked them down and send you
.

the adj oining copy that you may derive the advantage from
it of having t hem corrected and I S hall hope t o be favoured
,

with another copy i n due t ime .

’

O n leaving Cambridge Bennet t said his last farewell

,

to his g randfather The old man died early in the next

.

year — his grandson being then in Germany struck down —

by an epidemic of influenza which was said at the t ime

to be the most terrible V isitation t o t his country since the
Great Pl a gue The mat ernal grandfather J ames Donn
.
, ,

who had died lon g before had left money and Bennett now
, ,

looked forward on coming of age i n six months time to

, ,

a sum of four or five hundred pounds as his share of the

property It was this prospect that helped him to make
.

arrangements for goin g to Germany and the money fur ,

n i s he d his chief means of suppor t for the next two or three

years .

Correspondence with M endelssohn now began

N N
LO DO , Oc t ober 3 r d , 18 36 .

MY D EAR S I R,

I presume you are by this t ime at Leipzi g and ,

I have taken the liber t y of wri ting t o you to say tha t I ,

in t end to leave London in abou t a for t nigh t t o spend the

winter in t he same town with you I should hav e wished .

t o have been a t Leipzig a t t h e beginning of Sep t ember ,

b u t I feared you might not have returned from the H ague ,

and indeed I am now not cer t ain t hat this le t t er will find
you I can but hope t hat it will I have been quite uneasy
,
.

since I left Dusseldorf as I have fel t such an anxiety to

,
Iv ] A l et t er t o Men del s s oh n 47

profit by your g ood advice to me i n my professional

pursuits and now no t hing will stop me from bein g with
,

you as soon as possible I shall wait only to know from .

you that you are residin g i n Leipzi g and whether I may ,

presume upon the kindness with which you expressed y our

self towards me when I last saw you I am very sorry .

that I am unable to go to Liverpool to hear your Oratorio ;

although it will suffer materially from the loss of M alibran ,

I have no doubt t ha t every possible j ustice will be done to

it The Choruses went off mag n ifi cen t ly at M anchester
.

and most likely the same C horus Singers are engaged for
Liverpool I will bring you a correct account of its per
.

fo rm a n c e which I shall obtain from some friends who are

,

goin g You cannot form an idea of the g reat sensation

.

t he death of M alibran has exci t ed i n E ngland She was .

buried on Saturday at M anchester The people in E ngland .

are very much enraged with De B e ri o t for leaving her 2

directly she died and not being present at her funeral .

You will much obli g e me by writing to me immediately ,

as I wish to lose no more t ime and also to know positively ,

that you are at Leipzig I f I can execu t e any commissions .

for you her e pray let me know and I shall be most happy
,

to do so London looks at this time most miserable we

.
,

have had nothing but rain during the last month As for .

M usic t here is none to be heard for L ove or f or M on ey .

Attwood has been out of to wn for three months but I ,

believe he returned yesterday Since I left D ii s s el d or f .

I am sorry to say I have been idle b u t I must make up “

,

my lost time when I g et over to Leipzi g I have written .

my address on the o t her side of the letter and shall be

‘
,

most happy to hear from you as soo n as possible .

M y dear S ir ,

Yours very truly ,

W S B EN N E TT . . .

1 hor
i . e.of o t h r O r t orio
t he c St P l w u ses t p rform d t e a s.
‘
au
’
as no e e a
M h t r
an c es e .

M dm M l br
1
o dh b d
e a i
’
a n s s ec n us an .

H 3
d t h e n ee id t hi B id t h w low mo m t for h i
no a ve sa s es es e ne s ve en
d 3 I mpromp t
.
s
Co rt o h h d wri t t t h O rt r Th N i d for ‘ ’
n ce , e a en e ve u e e a a s, an us
th Pi ofort
e an e.
H w 1
t yi g wi t h t h p bli h r C o
e as s a t ry t 7 Dn S t r t Soho e u s e ven , a 1 ea n ee , .
 L EI Z I G
P , 10 t h Oc t ober , 1 8 3 6 .

MY D EAR S IR,

I receive yo u r let t er of the 3 rd this moment ,

and hasten to write to you in re t urn as you wish to have an ,

immediate answer I have come back to t his place about

.

three weeks since and shall stay here durin g the whole
,

winter till April of next year H ow happy I shall be to see .

you here I need not repea t because you cert ainly know the
, ,

esteem I have for you and the pleasure it will g ive me to

become more acquainted with you and your talent and I ,

can only repeat in this respect t he same t hin g s which I said

t o you at D i i s s el d o r f M r Lipinsky told me some days ago
.

he was sure you would come over b u t I did n o t believe it , ,

as I had not heard from you for so lon g I was t he more .

glad when I received your let t er and so are many of my ,

friends and of the musical people here who long to see and ,

hear you The musical season has be g un pretty well here

.
,

the orchestra perform the Symphonies in very g ood style

and with the greates t zeal and I hope you will have some
,

pleasure of your residence here I t is a t least now one of .

the best and mos t animated musical places of t his country ,

and I trus t I shall ha v e some of your orchestral music per

formed as i t ought to be Pray brin g your Symphony and
.

the Concertos if possible with the ins t rumental parts with

, ,

you ; if you do not we shall be obliged to have t hem sent

,

after you Will you have the kindness before you leave
.

London to enquire at M r N o v ello s whe t her he ha s answered ’

m y last letter and if not whe t her he will g ive you t he

,

answer to t he many ques t ions I put to him You would .

also oblige me if you would ask M r K l i n g em a n n if he has

a letter or something else for me Excuse t he trouble and .

let me hope to see you soon here and to see you i n good ,

spirits and healthy and happy as I always shall wish you to ,

be .

I f y ou see M r Attwood pray remember me very kindl y

,

t o him and also my best complimen t s t o M r Davison

,

(has he received my Psalm which I gave to M r N ovello ,

for him
Yours very t ruly ,

F E L I X M E N D E LS S O H N B AR T H O LDY .
IV ] H is A r r va i l 49

Four days aft er receivin g this letter Bennett started ,

from London sailed with favouring winds to H amburg i n

,

sixty -fi ve hours and thence proceeded by coach via Berlin

, , ,

t o Leipzig at the average rate of five E n g lish miles an hour

,
.

N o wonder that when a few weeks later a s t eam -carriag e ‘

arrived from E ngland for the first German railway he shared ,

the curiosity of the Leipzi g ers and paid his fo u r g roschen ,

wi t h the rest to stare at t he i nterestin g novelty .

O n Saturday October 2 9 about mid -day he found

, , ,

himself at the H otel Russie Leipzi g feelin g very lonel y , ,

and friendless but a note sent i n the afternoon to announce ,

his arrival was immediately answered i n person by

,

M endelssohn who took him off to his own lod g in g s and

, ,

did not leave him a gain till he had seen him thoroughly
comfortable The same evenin g he was taken to the H otel
. ,

de Bavi e re t hen a favourite resort of the musical circle

,
.

Before Sunday was past he had made friends with ,

Ferdinand David the violinist and leader (C oncert -M eister)

,

of the Gewandhaus orchestra ; with S t a m a t y a young ,

French pianist ; wi t h E d u ard Franck of B reslau ; and with

a Scotchman named M o n i c ke a professor of languages , ,

who at M endelssohn s request took him under his win g

,
’

, ,

ac t ing as his guide and interpreter and his instructor ,

i n the German language Of another acquaintance he .

,

wrote home to Da vi s o n z— I have found a new friend ‘

,

a man who would be j us t after your own heart H ow I wish .

you could know him H is name is Robert Schumann

. .
’

After a few days he took lod g ings in the house of D r

,

H asper K a t heri n en Strasse 3 6 4 and became a subscriber a t

,
1
,

the H otel de Bavi e re where M endelssohn with Schuman n

, ,

by his side dined re g ularly durin g t his winter The landlord

, .

of the house was t he g enial J ulius K istner who some years ,

later succeeded his brother Friedrich as manag er of the

music publishin g firm which still bears their name .

Durin g his visits to Germany Bennett kept j ou rnals , .

The entries are short and sim ple A few extracts will give .
,

in his own words his impress i ons of his new surroundin g s

, .

Where art is concerned he is temperate i n the expression

of opinion and always independen t H e does not meekly
, .

acquiesce i n everythin g t hat a land of music puts before him .

I 8 8 t h ho w 1 N n 51 1 e u se as o. 1 .
 [ J ourna l ] Oct
3 1 s t I have dined a g ain with . .

M endelssohn to day and also met M r M o n i c ke who —

, ,

afte rwards took me to his chambers for coffee and cigars .

H e showed me my way to t he theatre which I entered at ,

half-pas t five The Opera be g an at six The price of

. .

admission to the boxes or the stalls 1s sixteen g roschen (two

shilli n g s ) The Opera was one of M a rs c hn er s enti t led
.
’

H ans H eilin g I cannot say that I think it was in any

.
’

way well performed but I like some of the music and I ,

admire also some points of the orchestra which altogether

is r a t her more musician -like than our orchestras in En gland ,

though it is far inferior In f or ce and spi r i t

N ov 4 t h . M endelssohn g ave me a ticket for the con
.

cert last night The Symphony [ Mozart in E flat ] was .

performed really well The band IS rather small but quite .

,

perfect and possesses g reat animat ion M endelssohn played .

Beethoven s C oncerto [ in G ] very splendidly and his two

’

cadences were magnificent The people were enthusiastic . .

[ The overture to ] Oberon was not so well played as I have ’

heard it in London I mean as regards the style of playin g .

i t I have this afternoon been to the rehearsal of I srael

.
‘

i n E gyp t in the Church '

Upon consideration I do not .
,

think that they understand the manner and style of playin g

this O ratorio but I will sa y nothin g until I hear it performed
,

on M onday I have made my bow to M iss Clara Wieck

.
‘
,

a very c l ever g irl and plays capitally She played me a Con .

certo which she had composed Altog ether it wants weed i ng .

,

but I wish all girls were like her So much for Clara Wieck . .

N ov 5t h . I have been ag ain to the Church to hear

.

‘
I srael in E gypt and still have the same opinion with ’

re gard to its performance .

N ov 8 t h . I was too late to get a good place in the

.

Pauline t -K irche last ni g ht although I went at half past five ,

-
,

and as the Germans are very rude 1n pushing y ou about in

a ll directions I con t ented myself by s t anding under the
,

orchestra Altogether it might be t ermed a successful per

.

fo rm a n c e The singers for the soli parts were anything but

,

g ood the orches t ra wanted point and the organist was

, ,

1
Th e work s whi h h ll d
to c e a u es a re id t ifi d by pro g r mm
en e a es gi ven in t he

1
Aft rw rd
e a s M d m S h m
a a e c u an n .
Iv ] H is j ou r n a l 5 1

continually laggin g H owever the people seemed pleased .

, ,

and that IS everythin g The H orse and his Rider was the .
‘ ’

best performed of the C horuses £ 1 50 was taken and each .

person paid two shillings .

N ov 9 t h I was dressed by ni ne o clock this mornin g

. .
’

pretty well for me After dinin g at the hotel I went with

.
,

David Schumann and M endelssohn to play billiards at some

, ,

g ardens a little way out of the to wn — where afterwards

heard some waltzes played by M r S t ra us s s band T hey ’
.

tell me that the master of the gardens M r Qu ei s s e r is the , ,

finest trombone player in E urope .

N ov 1 2 t h Yesterday and to -day M r and M rs Paul

. .

M endelssohn were of our party to dinner S t a ma t y and .

Schumann came to -day and I played to them The .

weather is not so cold as when I first came here though ,

the Germans wonder I don t wear a cloak which in truth I ’

w ou ld but that they laugh at my little cloak so much

, .

N ov 1 3 t h The Q uartetts of last ni g ht were played

. .

capitally with the except i on of the Bass That of H aydn .

[ in G ] I did not
, much like ; it must have been written
when he was either childish i n youth or i n a g e The last .

movement has some beau tiful points i n it I don t remem .

’

ber havin g hear d it before The beautiful Q uartett of .

M ozart ,

came like wine after water The slow movement was ve ry .

much out of time But the Quartett of Beethoven [ i n E mi

. .
,

R a s o u m o ffs ky] laid hold of you by the ears I should think .

that the Scherzo was one of the most beautiful thin g s ever
w rit t en

t i In g .
The Trio IS certainly a l i t t l e t oo much of a g ood
N ov z 2 u d
.

Now then for my first appearance at a

. .

German private dinner D inner at one Very wet day ; . .

impossible to keep clean boots ; howe v er by the utmost ,

c are , I managed to walk to Dr H a e rt el s without gettin g ’

ver y dirty Left my hat outside the room David says

. . ,
‘
N o you must take it i n the room with you
, This is .
’

s omethin g new Our party consisted of my friend M o n i c ke

.
,

—
4 2
 L eipz g i

P rofessor Fa l kma n n M r B rockhaus (the larg e bookseller )

, ,

M r David Dr H aertel and his brother and M rs H aertel

, ,
.

At any rate a dinner here Is a very different thin g from a

dinner i n E ngland ; no askin g people t o take w i ne ; the
dinner wine is on the table and you must help yourself or
you know the consequence I was placed b y M rs H aertel .

who speaks E nglish very well and indeed there was more ,

E nglish than German spoken during the meal I had the .

felicity of taking from each dish first which was not a very ,

enviable situation as from their being quite stran g e to me

, ,

I did not know whether to take much or lit t le and I had no ,

example set me H owever I made no very great mistake

.
, ,

as I could see from those that came after me The only .

accident which occurred to me was that the footman handed

me a pie with a kind of fis h slice which I be gan very dexter
-

ou s l y to use on the dish but M rs H aertel stopped me and ,

said I beg your pardon sir use the spoon the man is quite
, , , ,

wron g — so after all it was not my mistake After eating

,
’
, .

for an hour we removed into a room and drank coffee ,

chatted for a few minutes and left Dr and M rs H aertel ,

to enjoy domestic quietude The house is the mos t .

S plendid I have seen for a long time I t is called a Palace .

and is worthy of the name I like M rs H aertel very much .

i n deed .

N ov Went with Schumann this morning to be

. 2 3 r d.

introduced to one M r K istner a music -publisher here and , ,

afterwards to a M adame Voig t who was dining at half-past ,

twelve .

N ov 2 8 t h Called [ yesterday] on M endelssohn who

. .

introduced me to M adame von Goethe daughter-i n law of the ,

Poet who was with her son (a student of the U niversi t y

,

here ) at his house .

K ind attentions followed i ntroductions H err Friedrich .

K is t ner came round in a few days to Bennet t s lodgin g s

, ,
’

bringin g a s a s u rpr i s e proofs of S ketches and I mpromp t us

, ,
‘ ’ ‘ ’

engrav ed from E nglish C opies ; and the first sight of his

music i n a fore ig n edition coming unexpectedly gave great , ,

pleasure to a young composer Walther von Goethe the .

,

g randson as he was often s t yled did his duty under d i fli

’

,
‘

c ul t i e s and paid a fo rm a l call H e speaks E n glish writes ’

, .
,
acqu ain t ance writing t o his home in Z wickau There is a
,

yo u ng E nglishman here whom we mee t every day — William ,

Bennet t — a t horough E n glishman a glorio u s artis t and a , ,

beautiful poetic soul Schumann with a respec t for .

’

E ngland engendered by a study of i t s literat ure was pre ,

disposed to welcome a m u sician coming from a land of poets .

F ull of fancy he found pretty ways of showing his interest

,

in Benne t t s nationality The word William had perhaps

’
.

no over-familiar look or sound to German senses and ,

Schumann wrote about t he coincidence which had given

Benne t t the same Christian name as Shakespeare To this .

little piece of extravagance he clung often writing William ,

‘

B ennet t t o the exclusion of t he name Sterndale which

,
’

others u sed When Bennet t first s t epped on to t he

‘
.

platform of t he Leipzi g concert room Schumann had j ust -

,

overheard t he remark E i n englische C o m po n i s t — kein ,

‘

C om po n i s t At the concl u sion of the P F Concerto he

.
’
. .
,

turned to his prej udiced but now converted nei g hbour wi t h

the query E in englischer C o mpo n i s t ,
‘
and received t he
reply U nd wahrhaftig ein en glischer To this application
, .
’

of the old play on the words A ng l i i and A ng el i he also

clun g calling Bennett in correspondence an angel
,
‘

musician B u t Schumann s fancies were prompted by

.
’ ’

realities H e readily held out his hand to an E nglishman

.
,

but especially to one whose character as an ar t ist was

con g enial t o him As editor of a musical j ournal he was .
,

crusadin g against t he s u perfi c i a li t y which n o t the least i n ,

wha t concerned t he pianoforte characterized the prevailing ,

music of the period Anxiously looking to the fu t ure he .

,

was insisting that the works of the Great M asters m u s t be

taken as the source from which new beauties could alone
spring To combat t he la t est phase of t he arch -foes of
.
‘

art which was t he resul t of a mere cul t ivation of executive

,
’ ‘

technique was one of the obj ec t s for which Schumann had

,
’

taken up his pen I n the youn g E nglishman he saw a firm .

adheren t to his own principles That performance should .

be subsidiary to music was no axiom at the time ; but

1 i orr po d
e in en c e a n d pr ot i T hi w poi t d t t t h n e ou e
J
. . c es n es s n c es. s as o
wri t r by H rr G
e e u st a v en s en , who how r i h i d ,
of S h m eve , n s e 1t i o n c u ann s
’

l t t r d ri t i i m h
e e s an c c s s as s om t im e ppli d wh t h ll d B t t R f
es su e a e ca e en n e
’
s u

m S t r d l wh r h d b om t t d by S h m
’
na e, e n a e, e e it a een i e c u a nn .
Iv] Sc h u m a n n s ’

F irs t Tr i bu t e 55

Bennet t has written that he held that view and Schumann , ,

in a cri t ique has given him credit for acting on the c o n v i c

,

tion A S a s t udent of the older masters Bennett would

.
,

be found by Schumann already far advanced and in this , ,

respect the ed u cation he had received in his own country

, ,

mi g h t well take a German by s u rprise Schumann after .

,

knowin g Bennett for t wo months took him as a subj ect for ,

his editorial article i n the N e w-Year number of t he N eu e

Z ei t sc hr if t f ur M a s i h writing appreciatively of his early
'

compositions and of his general musical acquirements

, ,

and in a tone suggesting personal re g ard H e wrote i n .

conclusion
M uch else I might tell y o u — how he knows

H andel by heart— how he pla y s all M ozart s Operas on the ’

piano so that you can see them actually i n front of y o u

but it is himself t ha t I can no longer hold at bay H e .

keeps lookin g ov er my shoulder and has already twice asked : ,

N ow wha t are you writin g there ? I can only add Dear ’

friend if y ou but knew

, .
’

The diary d u ly records Christmas festivities with the ,

Christmas -tree and other German customs t o which

, ,

B ennett is in t roduced by the hospitable Voi gts T he .

N e w-Year 1 8 3 7 arrives in severely seasonable garb ; the

, ,

excitement of sled g ing excursions is enj oyed ; and then he

finds himself face to face wit h the horrors of public per
fo rm a n c e in a stran g e land .

[ J ourna l ] j a n 1 4 t h Received a visit

. from . M r K istner
in the name of the C oncert Directors to ask me to pl ay at
t he concert next Thursday Of c ou r se c on s en t ed. .

j an 1 5t h
. Feel v ery uncomfortable at the thought of
.

playing next Thursday .

f an 1 8 th
. Rehearsal
. in Gewandhaus and I played my ,

Concerto i n C minor pretty well .

j an l g th
. Good God
. ! To -day I m u st play i n the
Gewandhaus H orrible thought ! H owever I must
. .

I t was the custom of the Leipzi g public to receive a

new -comer i n dead silence I t was not an uncommon .

occurrence for a performer to leave the concert -room

without t hat silence having been broken O n exceptional .

occasions posi t ive marks of disapproval were forthcomin g

, .

B ennet t had already been witness to the fact that j udgment

i n the Gewandhaus was not tempered with mercy H e .
,

however successfully passed the ordeal M endelssohn

, .

as was remembered by H err E duard Franck— pronounced

the performance meisterlich and he wrote of t he g eneral
‘
,
’

feeling about i t to his sister : Bennett played his C minor

C oncerto amidst the triumphant applau se of the Leipzi g ers ,

whom he seems to have made his friends and admirers a t one

stroke ; indeed he is the sole topic of conversation here now
, .
’

Schumann described the Concerto and the effect produced ,

but without special reference to t he playing probably con ,

s i d eri n
g that in the case of a pianist -composer the idea of

the music and its rendering was indivisible H e wrote .

‘
A fter the first movement a purely lyrical piece full of , ,

fine human feeling such as we meet wi t h only in the best

,

master-works it became clear to all that they had here to do

, ,

with an artist of the most refined nature Still he was not .

,

rewarded with that general thunder of applause such ,

as only hold virtuosos excite E xpecta t ion was visibly .

awakened more was demanded people wished to make the

, ,

E nglishman understand that he was in the land of m usic .

Then began the romance in G minor s o simple that the —

notes can almost be counted in it E ven if I had not learned .

from the fou ntain -head that the idea of a fair somnambulist
,

had floated before our poet while composing yet all that is ,

to u ching in such a fancy affects the heart at this moment .

The audience sat breathless as tho u gh fearing to awaken,

the dreamer on the lofty palace roof ; and if sympathy at

moments became almost painful the loveliness of the vision ,

soon transformed that feeling into a pure artistic enj oyment .

And here he struck that wonderful chord where he imagines ,

the wanderer safe from danger again resting on her co u ch

, , ,

over which the moon li ght streams This happy trait set at
- .

rest all doubt respec t ing our ar t ist and in the las t move ,

ment the public gave itself wholly up to t he delight we

are accustomed to receive from a mas t er whether he leads ,

u s on t o ba t t le or to peace

Benne t t himself dismissed the occasion i n few words

Las t night I played in the concert at the Gewandhaus and ,

according to all accounts made a satisfactory d ebut I did .

not play so well as I can do when I am thoroughly com

‘

Tr
1 l t d from t h G rm by F R R i t t r
ans a e ,
e e an , . . e .
Iv ] Men del s s oh n 57

fo r t a b le I had a bad c l a vier not st r ong enou g h H owever

.
, .
,

I was perfectly satisfied with the whole affair To ni ght I .

-

go to the masquerade in the Theatre With a wei ght off .

’

his mind he could enjoy himself for a few hours in the guise
,

of A Spanish I nquisitor
‘
.
’

I n t he diary of this fi rst visit to Leipzig there is one ,

name not so con t inually mentioned as might be expected .

Bennett met Mendelssohn i n general society ; dined most

days a t the same table with him and at t ended the concerts
cond u cted by him ; but of close personal association there
is not much trace for some time H e noticed the quiet .

deference shown by Schumann and others to the leader of

t he musical circle and was himself impressed with the
,

distinction of M endelssohn s personality I cannot describe

’
.

what I mean he would afterwards say but M endelssohn s

,
’

,
’

entrance into a room caused a check and everything seemed ,

different So Bennett at first modestly kept at a little

.
’

, ,

distance H e would na t urally be unwilling to encroach

.

upon the private time of a great man busily occupied Then .

,

again i n t hese mon t hs the thoughts of M endelssohn s S pare

, ,
’

moments were not so free as to be given exclusively to his

Leipzig entourage The rehearsing and performing at the
.

Gewandhaus under M endelssohn s direction and the suc ’

c e s s fu l result would help to dissipate B enne t t s shyness so ’

between the parts of the next concert he went into t he

orchestra t o have a chat with the conductor and the few ,

minu t es thus spen t prepared the way to more i n t imate

friendship M iss J ea n re n a n d to whom M endelssohn was
.
,

soon to be married had j ust arrived in t he t own on a visit

,

to some friends and was seated in the concert -room S he

,
.

was now pointed o u t to Bennett who after expressing , ,

his own admiration for the young lady began to teaze ,

her betrothed about the impending sacrifice of liberty .

M endelssohn who was (according to t he diar y ) mad wi t h

,
‘

happiness broke out in singing the words H a ng the

’
,
‘

liberty ; and this phrase thenceforward became a friendly

’

watchword which passed between himself and Bennett when

they m e t or corresponded .

Bennett being now a centre of i nterest the compliment ,

was paid him of placing his new Over t ure as an at t raction , ,

on the programme of the extra concert given annually for ‘

the poor .
’
 [ J ourna l ] F eb 1 3th Yesterday
. they rehearsed my
.

O ver t ure ( N a i a d es ) i n the Gewandhaus I t did not please .

me too much noise so to -day at the second rehearsal I

—
,

dispensed with the trombones and like it all t he better .

To -night I shall direct it myself as M endelssohn wishes

me to do so .

F eb 1 4 t h
. M y Over t ure was received with good
.

applause las t night I directed it myself and did not

.
,

know what t o do with my left hand I rat her liked it .

myself but I do not think t he people understood it with

, ,

all the compliments which were paid me I n t he second .

act of the concert was recited part of the F aust by Goethe ,

with music by a Pr ussian Prince named Radziwill On this .

account Schumann and Goethe (t he grandson ) Arms t rong

, , , ,

and Franck with myself adj ourned to D r Faust s cellar

, ,
’
,

o t herwise Auerbachs K eller where the Devil and D r Faust ,

are said to have had their meetin g s T here a re some .

curious old pictures of the Doctor and the Devil and the ,

place seems very s u lphu r i s h .

A little Canon now in the library of the Gesellschaft

,
‘

der M usik -Freunde at Vienna was written by B ennett on

’

the day The N a i a d s was first played and probably in

‘ ’
,

Auerbachs Keller as he would scarcely have been in the

,

fit humour for it while the verdict on his Overture was i n

,

suspense .

H rr S h m
e c u ann i st ei n gu t er M an n, Er

J a hr mit

r a uc ht Ta bk
a a ls N i m dk
e an ann, Ein Ma n n i ll i h t
v e e c von
IV ] E nd f
o t he C on c er t - Sea s on 59

( F eb . I 3 t h,

hr m i t k N d k J- H r
a ur ze as
’
un ur ze aa .

Another relic of playful hours is the beginnin g of

a German play dedicated to S chumann and Walther von ,

Goe t he which B ennett wrote amidst t he exercises for

,

M r M o n i c ke and i n which the U niversity student (von

,

Goethe ) the Editor (Schumann ) and the E nglishman (him

, ,

self ) figure i n the lis t of Dramatis Person a e

, .

The concert season closed on M arch 1 3 th with a per

for m a n c e of the Choral Symphon y which i n Bennett s
’

opinion did n o t go well Then he spent a few happy

‘
.
’

‘
breakfast -mornings with M endelssohn playin g a good ’

,
‘

deal t o him and receiving as a parting gift the au t ograph

,
’

, ,

score of t he H ebrides Over t ure M endelssohn whose

‘ ’
.
,

marriag e was imminent now left Leipzig I n the past , .

twenty weeks Bennett had spent little t i me in composi t i on

, .

The diary tells of a Symphony havin g been started on

some rascally German music -paper but there is no further
‘
,
’

trace of the music The statement sometimes made that .

, ,

he did regular work under the g u idance of M endelssohn ,

is false As an exceptional circumstance a pair of rather

.
,

formal notes passed t o arran g e an i ntervie w for the con ,

d u c t o r s perusal of the Parisina Overture before its

’ ’
‘
,

performance at the Gewandhaus ; and either at the inter

view or after the work had been played M endelssohn
, ,

suggested that it should be leng t hened Bennett on his .

,

return to E n gland acted on this advice but with no success

, ,

ful result H is London friends on hearing the new edition

.
, ,

were of one mind that he had spoil t the work and he then ,

restored it to its original shape The fact is that Bennett .

,

did not g et or did not t ake at this time the chance of

, , ,

spendin g wi t h M endelssohn musical hours such as he

later enj oyed ; and it was only towards the end of the
twenty weeks which they had been spending i n t he same
town that the lost opportunity was realized E ither M en
, .

d el s s o hn was too busy to seek out Benne t t or Bennett too ,

 timid to approach M endelssohn The latter conscious .
,

that Bennett held aloof reproached him for it sayi ng at , ,

last You are a l way s with Schumann This remark which

,
‘
.
’

Bennett repeated more than once in hearin g of the present

writer would only refer t o personal in t imacy There was
,
.

no professional rivalry between M endelssohn and Schumann ;

no dream that t heir names would come t o be placed i n oppo
s i t i o n b y p a rtisans ; and indeed little foresight at this par , , ,

t i c u l a r time that Schumann wo u ld become a celebrated

,

musician .

After M endelssohn s departure B ennett stayed on in ’

Leipzig for another three months and set to work on some ,

pianoforte compositions O n M endelssohn s wedding day .

’

M arch 2 8 t h he was finishing the last movement of a Sona t a

,

in F minor to be dedica t ed t o the bridegroom whose health

, ,

was no doubt drunk by Schumann and himself at a lit t le

dinner they took to g ether that day in a country v illage .

A fortnight later Bennett was holding festival on his own

,

account .

[ J ourna l ] p A r i l 1 3 th Twent y -one to -day Can hardly . .

fancy myself a man but I ll be hanged if I am not at least ,

’

according to law Thank God for all things I look back

. .

i n my life and wish I had done much more but never ,

t he l es s I have not been a reg u lar scamp and won t now i f

’

I can help it G ot up earl y t his morning and found my

.

room ornamented with green and a wreath of flowers from ,

J ulius K is t ner I can t help wishing myself in E ngland

.
’

perhaps an ungrateful wish .

A B i r t hday B r ea hf a s t .

At half-p a st eleven my V isitors began t o arrive M o n i c ke .

,

F K istner Franck von Goethe Dr H asper S c hrey

.
, , , , ,

C a y a r d Schumann and afterwards Benecke E ating began

, , .

at twel v e and drinkin g aft erwards A cold breakfast out .

of the H otel de Bavi e re as I could n o t get a ho t one , .

Schumann gave me a le t t er of M artin L u t her M rs Voigt ,

one of Weber v o n Goe t he gave me his Grandfa t her s works

,
’

M rs C a y a rd sent me a silver cigar-case and las t ly M r Kistner ,

presented me something in a basket wi t h a laurel wrea t h ,

which looked like a Tea -Ca d dy b u t turned out to be a box ,

rejoice over her noble K nights I t was an in g enious .
‘

way wri t es one of Schumann s biographers of paying

,
’ ’

,
‘

homage to his beloved E nglish

The diary brings this chapter to an end .

M ay 2 8 t h M y poor J ournal ! So many days and even

.

weeks have elapsed and you have never once been opened ,
.

And wha t have I been doing all this t ime ? Visiting

Princesses (Victoire and J ulie of Sch onberg ) and Counts ,

re S coring my N aiades packin g up my mus i c for London

-
,
.

B een to breakfast two or three t i mes with Count Reuss

.

and smoked Turkey tobacco Forgo t ten to mention that .

I have paid a visit to M adame Schumann a t Z wickau fifty 2

,

miles from here I went with Robert Schumann and .

von Goethe I t rained the whole time H ave been in a

. .

regular S u n day humour to da y ; quite happy and quiet .

Well I m O H on M onday Beginnin g to

j
’
u ne 10 th .
,
.

pay my visits p p c C ount Reuss Is gone away to K reutz

. . . .

Called yesterday on M adame von Goethe dined with ,

B enecke and played at Cricket with some E nglishmen

, ,

which made the Germans stare very much as they never ,

saw the game before we had E nglish bats and balls — .

’
8 o c l oc h even i ng Schumann has been to spend an hour
.

wi t h me and drink a bot t le of Porter I am so sorry to part ,

from him for I think he IS one of the finest hearted fellows

I ever k iI ew— M y heart springs up when I think that I
,

leave Leipzig on M onday but yet I don t know W hether ,

’

it is with sorrow at leavin g this place or j oy at seeing my

E ngland again I could never believe before that one was
.

so fond of his own country especially mine A S Sir Walter —

.

Scott says M erry E ngland which is the envy of all other

,
‘

countries and the pride of all who can call themselves

her natives — Amen sa y I , .

Leipzi g
Adieu
auf wiedersehen
1
Ar i l
t c e
‘
Sh m c
’
in Gro ’
ve s D i c t i on a ry f M usi c
R ob r
u ann o .

2
e t Sh mc u
’
a n n s s s e -ni t ri l aw .
 C H APTE R V .

LO N DON A N D, A G A IN , L E I PZ I G .

J u ly 18 3 7 — Ma rh
c 1 8 39 .

a t . 2 1, 2 2 .

B E N N E TT spent a month over his return j ourney H e .

stopped a day or two in F rankfort to see the M endelssohns ,

and was delayed for a fortnight at M ainz by the non -arrival

of pro o fs hee t s which K istner wished him to correct before
leavin g Germany H e occupied his time in making a four
.

handed arrangement of The N a Ia d s but got a little cross

‘

as the days went by The unforeseen expense taxed his

.

travellin g money and he was forced to pass ten dreary

,

days at Rotterdam before he could get a further remittance

from E n g land I t was not till t he m iddle of J uly that he
.

found himself under C oventry s hospitable roof in Dean ’

Street and was writin g to his Aunt : I cannot tell you

,
‘

how glad I shall be to get quietly t o C ambridge where I ,

rather hope to spend s ome mon t hs with you that is until the ,

musical season be g ins agai n in London From C ambrid g e .

’

he wro t e to Schumann on Au g ust 2 6 t h

l
’

MY D EAR F RIE N D,

You really were most kind to send me such a

c ha r m In
g let t er You S how yourself my dear fellow i n so
.
, ,

happy a mood and I trust that your j oy springs from the

,

heart Yes ! a s you say your style is no longer that of an

.
,

E d i t or but of a maiden of ei g hteen years

, I have so often .

had you in my thou g h t s wishin g at the same time that you

,

1
Th e ori g i l i
na s in G rme an .
 L on don a nd, ag a in L eipzig
,

were with me here Ah ! E ngland ! dear land of Wh ig .

and Tory I n London I only spent three weeks and then

.
,

came on to this place which as the weather continues to , ,

be fine s t ill looks quite heavenly Do come and stop with

, .

me for six months Say y es and I will fetch you .

,
.

C oventry and H ollier will gladly print your E t u des .

I have been playing them a g reat deal and with much

enjoyment .

H ere assuredly is a bar of very great beauty I play it at

, , .

least a hundred times a day .

To morrow I am going to London for a day or two

-
,

and shall so meet M endelssohn for I know he is now ,

there I shall be travellin g farther on S ep t ember 1 4t h

.

to B irmingham— and then I will wri t e again to tell you

about the Festival .

Thalberg is now the god of E n glishmen For a lesson .

of fort y minu t es he gets t wo g u i n ea s no trifling sum —

.

Rosenhain of Frankfort remains in London having doubt , ,

less discovered the fine colour of E nglish g old You are

,
.

sure to have heard of t he concert for Beethoven s monu ’

ment M o s c hel es played the Concerto in C major very

.

finely The Choral Symphony was also given

. .

Greet the Voi gts for me also my dear friend Walther ,

von Goethe to whom I wi l l send a manuscript I s S t a m a t y .

i n Leipzig ? I have had no news of him H ow too is .

, ,

Anger ? An d now dear Schuman n before you quit this , ,

world do visit E ngland I very oft en think of Z wickau

,
.
,

of your brother and of his wife I must soon come and see .

you all again so when I ca n t hen I wi l l

, Forg ive the .

errors i n this letter I t is my pen not my heart that .

, ,

1 I t hi q o t t io
n B t t h omi t t d
s u a or t wnid t l d th
en n e as e on e o acc en a s , a n e
b
a ss not of t h fir t t w hord
es e s o c s.
v] Wl m d e co e a t t he A ca demy 65

makes them Write again very soon and believe that

.

I shall never forget you .

A dieu Schumann ,

Always and ever your friend ,

W S B E N N E TT . . .

PS I am hoping for a copy of your E t u des and for

.

one of the Ca r n i va l Give my best remembrances t o .

M o n i c ke to J ulius and F ritz Kistner T el l David that

, .

he must come to E ngland next year .

T he autumn was a poor time for a youn g musician to

start professional life i n London For all that could be .

found to do Bennett might almost as well have passed the

,

months at C ambrid g e But he was persuaded to make an .

at t empt ; and he found a little work as well as a very ,

pleasin g reception waiting for him at the Academy O n,

.

September 1 5 he wrote to his Aunt i n explanation of a

, ,

broken appointment
This morning I gave a lesson at the Academy at n In e
o clock and was de t ai ned there on business all the morning
’
.

At 2 o clock there was a g reat meetin g of a l l t he S t u den t s

’

to present me with a pi ec e of P la t e which I knew nothing

of till then I t was presented with a long speech from the
.

Principal M r Po t ter Of course I am very delighted

, . .

I will come to -morrow .

’

A few days later he s t arted for B irmingham ; but the

, ,

coach losing four hours on the road he reached the Town ,

H all j ust as the performance of St Paul was concludin g ‘ ’

.

Two special attractions of the F estival S till remained .

M endelssohn was to introd uce his n ew P F Concerto I n . .

D minor and to give a solo performance on the organ

, .

To those who heard such org an -playin g for the fi rst time ,

as Bennett probably did on this occasion the revelation ,

was astonishin g M endelssohn played on the last day of

.

the F estival and when he had finished hurried a way t o

, , ,

catch the coach for London Bennett went to see him o ff .

,

and unable to res t rain his curiosity asked H ow ever did , ,

‘

you come to play like that I t was an old story ; there

had been no royal road ; and M endelssohn replied rather
sharply By working like a horse
, .
’

S D B .
 L on don a nd, ag a in , oz i g
L ezj

LO DO N N , Oc t ober 1 4, 18 37 .

MY D EAR M R M E N D E LS S O H N ,

We cannot let M iss N ovello go to Leipzig

without sendin g you a few lines just to ask how you arrived ,

in Germany I sincerely hope that you found your wife

.

and all friends perfectly well I could see when you were .

i n the coach at B irmin g ham how delighted y ou were at the ,

thou g ht of goin g back and wished many times to go with

,

you I think you must have been perfectly satisfied with

.

your reception in E ngland which is said t o have been the ,

g reatest since Weber produced his Oberon— they talk of

you very much and with the greatest enthusiasm and I am ,

very very glad because my C ou n t ry is g ettin g musical

, , I .

am sorry to tell you that our O rganist Samuel Wesley died

two days since very suddenly I believe you were with him ,

at Christ Church where you played the organ I have no .

more news to tell you but I hope you will be so kind to

,

write sometimes and tell me what is going on in Leipzig .

I think I should like to send you something for the Con

certs i f you would do it but I will write a gain about it
, , .

Un d n u n n oc/i ei n e B i t t e
, Will you accept the
little gold p en c i l -c a se from me which is very simple but I , ,

hope you will like it Your name is en g raved on the top

.

G ood -bye Give my best respects to M rs M endels s ohn

—

and the S c hu n c k family and believe me ,

Yours very tr u ly ,

W S TER N DALE B E N N E TT . .

PS I rather believe B l ag r ove (an E nglish Violin

.

Player) will pas s t hrough Leipzig and give a Concert ,

when if you could show him any at t ention you would much
oblige me H e would like to know D a vi d Will you give
. .

my remembrances to Schleinitz and David — Good bye ,

Go od Bye .

[ M endelssohn to Bennett 1 ]
D EAR B E N N E TT ,

A t ho u sand thanks for your most kind present ,

and for the great pleasure you have g iven me by it .

Especi a lly too for your kind thoug ht of me and your

, ,

O ri g i l i i G rm d t d t d
1
na s n e an — a e a en .
v] A l et t er fr om Men d el ss oli n 67

friendl y letter— i n fact for everything The pencil is so , .

graceful and elegant and the monogram on it so pretty ,

‘
quite E nglish as they say here when they want to
’

describe the essence of elegance and usefulness I am .

deli g hted that you think of me i n this way yes even a , ,

little ashamed by your kindness i n making me a present

when I should be gratefu l to be simply remembered by
you Please do think of me often and let me see a sign of
.
,

it now and then by a letter which is sure to procure me a ,

few happy hours I hope that the new compositions which

.

you mention will be a reason for your first letter ; for I

must beg you to send them a s s oon a s fi oss i él e You know .

what pleasure you give to all musicians here by your works ,

and that you may rely on our performin g them with the
most lovin g care Send them soon very soon Of y our
.
, .

earlier Overt ures I have already p u t down The N a i a d s ‘ ’

for one of our concerts and should like to know soon what ,

new things I could place on the programmes E verything .

is g oing on here in the old way which you know and which ,

has its good and bad sides Your friends here are all well . .

I often meet Schleinitz David the S c hu n c ks who all return , , ,

your greetings many times over and often speak of you ,

with friendly interest S chumann I now see very seldom .

,

for it was at the hotel that I always used to meet him and ,

I have quite g iven up g oin g there now But how nice my .

home now is what charm m y wife ( han g the

,
‘

has brought into my whole existence what deli g ht into my ,

life you should come and see that for yourself and I only
, ,

wish that you wou ld do so soon if 36

This winter is .

again quite madly full of music and musicians j ust like last ,

year if not worse Clara N ovello is creatin g a tremendous

.

furore The public is quite beside itself when she sings

.

w ith such perfect intonation such ease and such reliable ,

musicianship H alf Leipzig is in love with her The

. .

people clap her wildly and the other night they even
shouted Da Capo until she had to come and sing again
‘ ’
.

This IS quite an excep t ion with us Leipzig folks ! N ext

Thursday we are goin g to do the M essiah i n St Paul s ’

C hurch to day a s i nger M dlle Schlegel IS givin g a con

,
-
, ,

cert the day after t o morrow the violinist V i eu x t em ps will

,
-

give one a few days ag o K ummer the violoncellis t gave

,
one with the clarinettist Kotte from Dresden next week ,

the pianis t Taubert from Berlin then H err T a eg l i c hs b ec k ,

from H e c hi n g he n H err S c hu n c ke H err E ichler &c &c

, , , . .

&c &c &c — m y head quite buzzes from i t all I have not
. . . .

yet be en able to begin composin g and yet am very anxious ,

to do so Let t his be my excuse for an incoheren t letter ;

.

I find it di fficult to write even t hat much but I have been ,

wishing for a long time to thank you for your pretty present
and your kind letter C ontinue your kind friendship and .

wr1t e a g a 1n soon to
Your friend ,

F E L I X M E N D E LS S O H N B AR T H O LD Y .

LEI PZ I G N v 8 37
, 11 o .
, 1 .

B y the end of the year Bennett wa s occupyin g rooms ,

on the fi rs t fl o o r front of Portland Ch a mbers 7 5 Great ’

- 1
,

Ti t c hfield Street his friend Davison bein g settled i n the

,

back rooms on the same floor Davison s brother told the .

’

writer that B ennett kept his chambers in very nice order ,

and showed himself (as was al ways the case later) careful
and proud of his possessions When his companions a d .

mired the contents of his sitting room he would lau g h with

-
,

pleasure and say Yes and it s al l my own you know

, ,
‘
,
’

, .
’

I n M arch 1 8 3 8 he wrote to M endelssohn — I wish you

,
‘

could see me at this moment in E n gland and know how

well I find myself in my l ittle rooms near Great Port land St .

where you used to live Your picture han g s over my fire .

place with the canon which you wrote o n it at D us seldorf .

Davison is now in my rooms we very often talk of you ,

together and wish our happy Ger ma n day s on the Rhine to

come again .

H e was taking a hopeful view of life with little idea of ,

the di fficulty he would later find i n making his way Private .

pupils he mi g ht hope to get in greater numbers as time ,

went on ; at present he was teachin g two then a third ,

came but no more H e was s t ill i n request at T he

, .
‘

Socie t y of Bri t ish M usicians his name appearin g either ,

’

as composer pianist or conductor on the pro g rammes of

, , ,

their four concerts in the early months of 1 8 3 8 H e played .

1
T h ho t ill b
e ri g t h m t i t l i w ( 9 7 ) mb r d 9 3
u s e, s ea n e sa e e, s no 1 0 nu e e .
 L on don a nd, ag a in ,
L eioz zg

month later for his appearance at the Philharmonic which ,

henceforth became an annual event So also except in one .

,

or t wo seasons he continued to give his orchestral concert

,

for the next ten years .

I n an attempted sketch of his own life abandoned when ,

he reached the third page of a small note -book he wro t e ,

of having t ried at this time but of having failed t o settle , ,

down in London H e wished once more to go to German y

.
,

and especially as he put it to gain closer companionship

, ,

with M endelssohn H is Leipzig friends were pleased at

.

the prospec t of hav ing him wi t h them aga 1n and the Di rec ,

tors o f t he Gewandhaus concerts hearing that he was likely ,

t o come despatched a very cordial invitation

,
O n J u ly 2 7 .
,

he wro t e
MV D EAR M R M E N D E LS S O H N ,

I n reply to your very kind and handsome letter

I beg t o say to you t hat not hing short of D eath or severe
accident shall prevent me from shakin g hands with you at
Leipzig about the middle of Oc t ober I have read over .

your let ter several times and assure [ you] t hat I have a heart
to appreciate all yo u r kindness and generous feelings and if
I have not the power to express all to you that I feel you ,

must g ive me credit for having it in me I go to .

Cambridge this da y and shall remain until the end of

September .
as
I am abou t finishing a new C oncer t o
expressly for y our Concerts and which is therefore n ot the
same Concerto which I played at the Philharmonic b u t i n
the same ke y and I will also bring my Caprice and a new
, ,

Overture (if possible ) and some little fis hes a n d s o n o

— —
,

m or e

I n the cottage a t Grantchester again with A C J ohnson , . .

as his companion he completed his new Concerto in F minor ;

,

the slow mo v ement A Stroll t hrough t he M eadows being

,
‘
,
’

dated S ep t 2 6 1 8 3 8 O n his wa y t hro u gh London he

,

. .
, ,

tried the Concert o wi t h the Academy orches t ra before

a small audience on Oc t ober 5 he s t arted for Leipzig
with two yo u ng m u sicians Gledhill and Pickering ; and on ,

October 1 5 he found himself at the H otel de Bavi e re whi t her ,

his many friends hurried to see him .

V ] Coun t R eus s . Mus ic mit ti [ li en d el s s o/zn 7 1

This second visit to Leipzig lasting twenty -one weeks , ,

was a close facsimile of the former one S imilar concerts .

,

the same amusements and nearly t h e same associates ,

appear again There was however no Schumann this

.
, ,

t i me for he had gone to Vienna ; Wal t her von Goethe had

,

left the U niversi t y and had returned home to Weimar ; but

B ennett now became very intima t e with C ount Reuss ,

whose acquaintance he had made t o wards t he end of his first

v isit . The Count who after wards became H is H ighness
, ,

H enry I I Prince of Reuss K o es t r i t z had passed some

,
-
,
’

years of his early life at a school in Yorkshire and ,

seemed to Benne t t quite an E nglishman H e oft en came .

to Bennett s rooms his approach bein g heral ded by a

’

ser vant bearing his long pipe and other materials for
smoking H e took Bennet t to show him his future Princi
.

p a l i t y and,to introduce him to his family and as a N e w ,

Year s present in 1 8 3 9 gave him a handsome album which

’

even t ually became full of interesting au t ographs and sketches ,

and proved one of its owner s choicest treasures Bennett ’

.
,

after seeing Count Reuss upon a certain occasion of great

solemnity and sorrow wrote of him What a noble fellow
,

he looked and I am sure he is a noble fellow

, .
’

Three days after his arrival i n Leipzi g B ennett wrote ,

‘
Yesterday wi t h Gledhill and Pickerin g I dined at Felix
M endelssohn s — the first time since he had become a house
’

keeper H ow very happy he seems in his new sta tion and

.

how much he deserves to be happy M endelssohn when .

’

urging B ennett to come over again had written We would ,

have more music together than the first time and this ,
’

promise was now fulfilled The weekly music -parties which .

,

M endelssohn had i nstituted at his house i n Lu r g en s t ei n s

Garten gave regular opportunity ; but pleasanter still to
,

Bennett were the Friday mornings when the Gewandhaus ,

concert having taken place the night before the conductor ,

had breathing-time and would invite him to breakfast and

,

to spend a few ho u rs playing or discussin g music Some .

days that music would be their own just at t his time .

M endelssohn had many fi ne works to show and amon g , ,

them Bennett writes of hearin g him play the new and

,
:
‘

beautiful 4 2 n d Psalm the really glorious E flat Quartet ; ’

the very compact and charmin g M ilitary Overture ; and

‘ ’
 L on don a nd, ag a n , i L eipzi g
the new Rondo in D maj or The meetings were not always .
’

at Lu rg en s t e i n s Gart en for M endelssohn was beginning ,

to treat his young friend seven years his j unior on an , ,

equality now and liked to pass a lit t le time i n B ennett s

,
’

lodgin g s at Lawyer K lein s in the Tuch -H alle T he Rondo ’

.

i n D maj or was there played to the accompaniment of ,

‘
C heshire cheese and bottled porter .
’

On Bennett s side the year 1 8 3 8 was not an u n pr o

’

d uc t i ve one H e had brou g ht to Leipzig his new Caprice

.

and Concerto The Overture The Wood -nymphs was

.
‘ ’

written at Leipzig in N ovember ; a P F solo Allegro . .

‘

Grazioso on December 1 6 and 1 7 ; and on C hristmas

’

mornin g he played with M endelssohn his new lit t le Duets ’

( Three Diversions Op 1 7 ) which he had

, composed . in the ‘

last few days I t was when reviewing these Duets that

.
’

Schumann wrote F oreign lands give us so little j ust at

present I taly only sweeps over to us her butterfly dust and ,

the knotted outgrowths of the wondrous Berlioz frighten us

all But this E nglishman among them all comes nearest
.
, ,

to German sympathies ; he is a born artist such a one as ,

Germany herself possesses few to boast of .

’

Whilst enjoying himself at Leipzi g Bennett had not ,

forg otten his absent friends Schumann and W von Goethe , . .

To the former he wrote

N ov . 1 1 11
2, 1 8 3 8 .

D EAR S C H U M A N N ,

U nless I begin by writi n g to you you may ,

not wri t e to me at all and I want to hear as soon as ,

possible how you are in heal t h how you l ike Vienna and , ,

how your whole life goes on I t hink you know that I .

came here a month a g o and I have hoped day after day

to hear news of you I am lodging in the Tuch Halle and
.
-
,

Pickering an E n g lishman is at M adame Devr ie n t s Why

, ,
’ ‘
.

are you not with us ? I have here seen for the first time
your Fan t aisie -St ucke and the y grea t ly deli g ht me M adame .

Voig t plays your music very industrio u sly but to my mind ,

with too great li a r d n ess I have a new Concerto and .

1
Sh m
c u ann s
’
form r lod gi
e n g s, whi h
c ,
on l ea v n i g for V i en n a , he ha d
r r d for B
es e ve en n et t .
v] Wa l t her von C a et li e 73

Caprice with orchestra and am now writing an Overture , .

I do not expect to play i n public till after Christmas .

N ow dear Schumann do write a few lines at once

, , ,

so that I may know you are well and happy .

Your friend ,

W S T ER N DA LE B E N N E TT . .

Bennett wrote to Schuman n probably also to W von , .

Goethe in German The latter as if to return the com

, .
,

pl i m e nt replied
, i n E n g lish which is here g iven without ,

emendation .

W EI M AR D ec 1ot /
z, 18 3 8

EAR F RIE
. .
,

MY D N D,

You cannot imag ine how much pleasure your

charmin g letter g ave to my ; i ndeed I am very happy that
you do not forg et your old German friends and the nic e
time we spent to g ether I have composed a g reat deal but
.

till now nothin g is printed H ow do you like Schumann s .

’

D a vid s b ii n d le r Tanze Some of them pleased me very

much but some
, Oh no l ! I should be very g rea dfu l
,

if you would send me the titles of your new compo

s i t ion s
. At Weimar I am banished in a musical S y b eria n .

M rs S haw turned all the heads in Weimar The Gran .

Duke danced from pleasure on his hands and the E rb ,

Prinz on his head ; you see the whole Weimar is upset .

Will you not come to Weimar and spend the C hristmas

heare my mother j oins me in this wish and can offer you
,

a room pray come we should be really rej oiced God

, , .

bless you me dear friend Write to me soon and tell me

, .

i f y o u know anythin g of Florestan and E usebius ‘

.

the flo ohs h
VVA LT H ER .

PS . To write this letter I wanted three hours and ,

a half . 0

Bennett did not go to Weimar H e was full of engag e .

ments at Leipzi g Christm a s E ve with its C hristmas tree

. , ,

1
M i
ea n n g S chu ma n n , who , as a wri t r e , a s su m d th
e es e n a m es .
74 L on don a nd, ag a n , i L eipzi g [c n .

was spent as before with the Voigts Frau H enriette Voigt .

did n o t live to see anot her Christmas I n her short a c .

quaintance with B ennett she became sincerely attached to

him During the s u mmer of 1 8 3 7 she paid a round of
.
,

visits wi t h her husband to friends i n variou s German towns .

Before startin g she commissioned Fra ulein B ohm to paint

,

a mi n iature portrait of Bennett who was t hen in Leipzig , .

She wanted to show his likeness t o her friends when she

played his m u sic to them The miniature serv ed its purpose .
,

and F ra ule i n B ohm accordi n g to a letter of her friend H err

, ,

H o fr a t h Rochlitz smiled quite prettily when she heard ‘ ’

that her B ennett had g iven pleasure i n Cassel Ah yes

’
.
“ ‘
,
’

she said whe n a person has somethin g i n him t hen there

,
‘

is something to paint and others observe i t — that is qui t e ,

natural I n this way Frau Voigt brought Bennett to t he

.
’

notice of Spohr in Cassel and t hen wro t e t o Fraulei n J asper

‘
This Arch -priest of t rue art is especially noble i n
his reco g nition of others Thus he takes a true deli g h t in .

our little Bennett s c o mpo s mo n s which I have had to repeat

’

very often The dear lit t le fellow [ Bennett] ha s writt en

.

me a German letter which I have j ust answered Rochlitz , .

’

then the do y en of German musical critics wrote to Frau ,

Voigt when she was at Weimar and after tellin g her of ,

F ra ii lei n Bohm s pleasure at the success of her miniatu re

’

added : Sho u ld t he Princess i nvite you

‘ 3“
I urg e you ‘

very much to put forward B e n n et t i a n a and especially do ,

it in this case because the Princess from early childhood has

,

cherished a fixed predilection for eminent E nglish g enius .

’

These extracts from letters (kindly supplied by H err

Gustav J ansen of Verden ) point to a warmth of a ppr ec i a
tion and encourag ement which a young E nglishman found
i n Germany but of which he would know little in his own
,

country Bennett afterwards wrote of Frau Voi g t : She

.
‘

was an excellent pianoforte player with whom I was very -

,

intimate and who played my music much better than I

,

could play i t myself I n later life he would often talk t o .

’

his children of t he Christmas Eve of 1 8 3 8 and of the good ,

hearted friends with whom he spent it and he would point ,

to some lit t le book -shelves hangin g in the dinin g-room o f ,

M ri P low l t r Gr d D h of W im r mo t h r of E mpr
1
au na,

Ag
a a a e an uc es s e a , e es s
u usta .
v] A Ch r is t m a s D in n er 75

his London house whi ch had been their present to him o n

,

the occasion .

On Christmas Day a dinner after the E nglish manner

, , ,

was given at the H otel de Ba v i e re the preparation of which ,

was a source of amusement coupled wi t h anxiety to those

who arran g ed it Doubt as to the arri v al of a cod -fi s h
.
,

( a luxury a t one t ime specially associated with C hristmas

Day in many E n glish families ) which had been ordered ,

fr om H amburg caused g reat uneasiness The C ommit t ee

, .
,

i n their efforts to explain red currant j elly, at least i m -

pressed the cook with the importance o f the subj ect and ,

a magnificent mould of transparent gelatine accompanied

the hare Few mistakes however were made ; all passed
.
, ,

off well ; and H err B rockhaus has described the entertain

ment i n his diary
‘
Our late meal to da y was the result of an invitation
-

from t he E nglish circle to a Ch r i s t ma s -d i n n er signed by ,

M o n i c ke as President and Sterndale B en nett as Vice ,

president The latter brought with him one of his pupils

.
,

and by degrees has been b u ilding up quite a n En glish

ci rcle Besides the seven hos t s there were Clauss Voigt
.
, ,

S c hu n c k M endelssohn Preusser David and myself

, ,
The , , .

society was very lively and to this excellent eatin g and , ,

drinking almost too splendid for an E nglish dinner no

, ,

little contributed First came the taking of wine with

.

each other quite accordin g to E nglish fashion and aft er

, ,

m ovi ng t he c l ot h we got to the speeches M o n i c k e and

- —
,

Bennett respondin g for the hosts M endelssohn and S c hu n c k ,

for the g uests I was also obliged to return thanks for the
.

t oas t of The Town of Leipzig but I got myself well out ”

of the difficulty (tho I was not t he worst speaker of E nglish

’

i n the company ) by beginning Gentlemen then playfu lly ,

“
,
”

passin g on to German and wi t h a M erry old E ngland for

ever finishing amidst great applause
” ’
.

I n the first days of the N ew Year 1 8 3 9 Bennett was , ,

preparing for an appearance (his second ) at t he Gewand

haus concerts H e showed his new Concerto to M endels
.

sohn I n t he previous summer whilst at Grantchester he

.
, ,

had revised the slow movemen t — headed A stroll thro u gh ‘

t he meadows — which had failed t o please when rehearsed

at the Academy in 1 8 3 6 as part of the earlier Concerto in
 L on don a nd, ag a in ,
L eif z zg

the same key of F minor This piec e in its revised form .

, ,

he was now intendin g to place in his new work but while ,

discussing it with M endelssohn he also played the Bar ,

‘

carolle the movement which had proved s u ccessful when

,
’

substituted for the other i n t he earlier Concerto When .

M endelssohn heard the Barcarolle he said O h Bennet t ,

’

, ,

t ha t is what you must play and in consequence A stroll ’ ‘

, , ,

throu g h the meadows was agai n rejected and the Bar

’

,
‘

carolle then remained a fixture in the later Concerto

’
.

Bennett played the new work at the Gewandhau s on

J an 1 7 upon a fine piano expressly sent over by M essrs
.
,

B roadwood which piano was then retained by the firm of

,

B reitkopf and H aertel as a model to be followed i n the

,

manufacture O f their own instruments H e wrote to his .

friends of t he result of his performance and the reception

of his music
L EI PZ I G , j a n u a fy 2 3r d , 18 3 9 .

D EAR G O OD S C H U M A N N ,

I have been wishin g very oft en to write to

you again but have waited till I had made my appearance
,

i n public so that I could tell you all about it At last

, .

week s concert I played my new Concerto in F minor I t

’
.

was very well received and I myself was kindly and ,

heartily greeted I am on the whole quite content The

.
, ,
.

Concerto is to be printed at once and I will see that a copy ,

is forwarded t o you in due course A new Overture (which .

is called Waldnymphe ) will be played at the Gewandhaus

‘ ’

t o ni g ht
-
I think it is t he best thin g I have so far written .

I am now contemplatin g a Symphony for the

Philharmonic Society of London .

The onl y thin g I miss here dear Sch u mann is your , ,

presence I n about a month s t ime I shall set out with

.
’

D a vi d for London
, That makes it impossible for me to
.

come t o Vienna ; but how deligh t ful it would have been

for me to be always able to pass an hour wi t h you talking ,

over music and m u sicians and t hen sometimes abou t our ,

e v eryday concerns But y ou really mus t come to E ngland

. .

We would make you very welcome .

Of your newer com positions I always place the Davids ,

 L on don a nd, ag a in L eipzi g,

my return to E n gland on the first of M arch and hope to , ,

find y o u and all my friends q u ite well and jolly I have .

written three duets on purpose for you and L to play .

together David is comin g with me t o E n gland and I

.
,

am sure he will do great things if

I hO pe my chambers .

are warming for me I long to have my feet on my own .

fender For God s sake show this letter to nobody What

.
’
.

I have told you about myself must go to no one else I .

long to see you agai n Adieu my dear fellow .

, ,

Believe me ,

Yours very sincerely ,

W I LLIA M S T ER N DAL E B E N N E TT .

Bennett s O pinion given in the above letter on the

’

, ,

relation between composition and performance was echoed ,

by Schumann in a critique written on the same Concerto

after its publication I n referrin g to its principal M ove.

ments Schumann wrote

,

‘
They O ffer nothing new i n form or t o speak more , ,

correctly they seek no v elty not in any startling e ffect but

,

rather in the absence of all pretension T hus at the con .

e lusion of the Soli where i n other concertos t h e cadences

,

succeed one another In quick succession Bennett interrupts ,

the cadence and allows it to die away as if he himself wanted ,

to prevent all clappin g of hands I n the entire concerto .

he never aims at brav u ra and applause I t is understood .

that the composition alone shall be the principal thin g and ,

that virtuosity of execution is of secondary

I f Bennett i n this or other works did an y thing to limit
the distinction of the Soloist he did not spare him m u ch ,

i n the direction of di fficulty H is pianoforte music has .

generally been considered even by pianists of t he highest ,

rank to make its own special exactions Schumann noted

, .

the difficulties of the F minor Concerto but judged them ,

to be of an intellectual ra t her t han mechanical kind and to

particularly require the fac u lt y of welding the Solo i n s t ru
ment wi t h the orchestra Ferdinand H iller in a brief but . ,

beautiful obi t uary no t ice of Bennett which b e contributed ,

t rill Sh m word i t i ll
I ’ ’
O r s
’

l t d by J V B ridg m for Th M i l W l d J
. c u ann s s r en .

2
Tr ans a e . . 8 56 e an , e u s ca or , u n e, 1 .
v] H om ewa r d bou n d 79

to the K ol n i s c he Z ei t u ng recalled this p a rticular performance

‘

at the Gewandhaus and wrote O n his vis i t t o Leipzi g i n , ,

the winter of 1 8 3 8 3 9 his playing excited the g reatest —

astonishment I t is a satisfaction to insert this side by

.

side with Schumann s remarks and to know that such ’

a result could be produced without any resort to extra

vag ant tours -de force ‘
H iller summarized the playin g
- .
’

as perfect in mechanism and while remarkable for an

‘
, ,

extraordinary delicacy of nuance full of soul and fire , .

’

The pizzicato i n the first moveme n t which B ennett

‘ ’

told Davison had found favour occurs in some passages ,

where he used (as he did i n some other concerted works )

melodic phrases of sin gle notes for the piano havin g ,
‘

evidently conceived the idea as one critic remarks of ,

’

,
‘

giv i ng a cantabile effect to the percussion sounds of the

piano by opposin g them to the still shorter and sharper
sounds of the pizz i cato [ on the strin g ed instruments] ? H e
had introduced this at greater length i n the rej ected move
ment A stroll throu g h the meadows i n which much of
,
‘
,
’

the solo part representing the stroller employs only one

,
‘
,
’

note of the piano at a time I t is as if he felt that his .

favourite instrument could vie in a succession of sin gle ,

sounds with t he tone and expression of any other or even

, ,

of the voice Whether there was or was not any ori g inality
.

i n using the piano i n -this way there is no doubt that even ‘

,

in the few bars where he did so in the openin g movement

of this C oncerto his remarkable le gato -playin g and an ,

unsurpassable richness of tone were shown to great a d

v antag e and even with s t riki ng novelty of effect
, An .

eminent Leipzi g pianoforte teacher came to him at the

time and begged to be initiated into the secret Bennett
, .

was pleased at this but had no explanation to offer , .

With Ferdinand David for his t ravelling companion he ,

started for home on M arch 2 n d H is twenty -third birthday .

was at hand The two years and nine months which he

.
,

had passed since leaving the Academy had been a time of ,

comparative freedom from which he had derived lasting ,

benefit H eal th which accordi n g to Davison had often

.
, , ,

l
Ar i l
B t c e en n et t Gro Di t
’
in y f ve 5
’ '

c zon a r o M u s zc
3
Sir G org e e M f wri t i g of t h C o
a c a rr en n e nc e rt o , in 1 8 7 1, c o id r d
ns e e th si
p rt i l r fi t
a cu a e
’

ec
‘
i di id l t i f li i t o
as n v ua as i s e c u s.
’
80 L on don a nd, i
ag a n , L eipzi g
caused anxiety to his friends now seemed established H e
, .

had enjoyed the advant a g e during the many months spent

,

at Leipzi g of makin g several valuable friendships and of

, ,

mix i n g in a hi g hly cultivated general society to which a

youn g musician of his day had easier access in Germany
than In E ngland But the means which had contributed to
.

this were now exhausted and he was face to face wi t h the

,

stern necessit y of makin g his own living .

 C H A PT E R V I .

PO RT L A N D C HA M BER S .

IN the romance of Cha r l es A u ches t er Sterndale ,

B ennett is introduced under the name of Starwood B urney ,

and the authoress writes of the youn g musician on his ,

return from Germany as bringin g the whole force of music

,

to his feet pupils flockin g to him i n larg e numbers and

,

deeming themselves lucky if they could obtain twenty

minutes of his valuable time The real tale as told by the
.
,

figures of account-books is a different one Fact was less

, .

ready than F iction to bestow its favours and many years ,

were now to pass before Sternd a le could stand in S t a rwo od s ’

shoes.

Amon g those watching Bennett at this time no one ,

showed deeper interest than M r Thomas H oldsworth a ,

solicitor by profession a g reat lover of music an early

, ,

patron of the Academy and a warm -hearted friend to many

,

of its s t udents For the past year or two M r H oldsworth

.
,

had been mana g ing Bennett s little b u siness matters had

’

corresponded with him during his visits to Germany and ,

had lately written to Leipzi g : I do believe most truly

‘
,

that I rank high amon g your friendships b u t I should be ,

unworthy of that if I were not to act t he part of a true

,

friend I know your mental resources and riches are great

.
 P or t l a n d Ch a m ber s
l ife and on your return you will be imperatively called upon
,

to work the work of drud g ery viz Tuition — as the real , .

resources of the day and week When Bennett read this .

’

he had just been composing and performing at Leipzi g so ,

that he could demur to the word i d l e M r H oldsworth .

offered the convention a l explanation ; he had not used the

epithet in its ordi nary sense ; but he continued his friendly
‘ ’

exhortations H e was aware that Bennett had so far paid

.
, ,

scant attention to money matters and he doubted whether ,

there would be found i n combina t ion with an artistic ,

temperament a capaci t y for routine work ,

That such .

capacity could be aroused by necessity was soon shown

b u t M r H oldsworth was not the only person who was
mistrus t ing Bennett s power of se t tling down to business
’

duties The young musician probably had no innate dis

.

position towards t hem and it may be imagined that the ,

harness which i n after-life became so heavy and y et was

worn so patiently chafed rather sorely when it was new .

Bennett did not argue with M r H oldsworth about the

particular way i n which a living ought t o be made There .

was no suggestion on either side that the B ritish music

, ,

market coul d support him as a p i a n i s t or composer I t was .

assumed that in his case teaching could alone give security

, , ,

and t hat other art-work should be pursued without reference

to money I n the numerous m u sical es t ablishments of
.

Germany well accredited musicians could q u ite early i n

-
, ,

life find places as C apellmeisters and thereby ensure not

, ,

o n ly subsistence but also lives of con t inuous artistic activity

, .

Without expatriation an al t ernative which had been already

,

sugg ested and rej ected there was no such opening for ,

B ennet t .

Ferdinand David wrote t o M endelssohn from London

on Bennett s twenty -third birthday Ap 1 3 th 1 8 3 9
’
Of , .
,

Bennett I see a great deal While travelling with him I .

came to realize t he fu ll charm of his personali t y H e .

is a man from whom I should like never t o be parted .

I cannot imagi ne the woman who would not wish t o marry

him H is compositions are i t appears but little known
.
, ,

here They still see in him nothing beyond the A c a demy

.

s t u den t H eaven knows how he with his unassuming

.
,

manner will make his way forward i n this place T here

, .
 P or t l a n d Ch a m ber s
us reserve our j udgment they seemed to say We ,
’
.
‘

want a great representative E nglish musician When this .

promising young man can become that it will be time ,

enough for us to acknowledge him .

William Ay rt o n a musician by profession but also

, ,

a man whose general c u ltivation admitted him to the

best literary circles in London was at this time regarded ,

as the fore m ost writer of musical criticism in E ngland .

With regard to Bennett he went to two extremes treating , ,

his Overtures with contempt and derision b u t warmly ,

praising his Concertos and the playing of them A fter .

hearing the new Overture The Wood -n y mphs perhaps —

,

howe v er coarsely performed a t the Philharmonic A y r t o n

,
—
,

described it as a discharge of musical ar t illery in t he shape

of drums seconded by blas t s of t r om bon es and
,

t hat seemed to realise all that we have heard of a t ropical

tornado Then after ridic u ling the title he added
.
’

, ,
:

S eriously we regret that the Directors should have been

,

so blind to the interest of the composer as to bring the

work before such an audience So very clever and promisi ng .

a yo u ng man ought to meet with every kind of reasonable

encouragemen t b u t j udicious and true friends would have
,

hin t ed to him that his presen t production i s the dry result

of labour t hat it evi nces not a particle of tha t genius which
,

appears in one or t wo of his o t her works and t hat i n ,

prudence he oug ht to have laid it by not for so lon g a time ,

as H orace recommends in a somewhat analogous case but ,

for a cou ple of years at least .

’

In curious contrast to this E nglish opinion Schumann ,

wrote of the same work :

‘
The overture is charming ; indeed save Spohr and ,

M endelssohn what other li v ing composer is so completely

,

master of his pencil or bestows with it such t enderness and

,

grace of colour as Bennett ? I n the completeness of the

,

whole we forgive and forg et all that he has overheard of

,

those masters t ones and I think he never before gave us

’

so m u ch of himself as i n this work E ssay measure after .

measure ; wha t a firm yet delicate web it is from beginning

,

to end ! H o w closely ho w nearly everythin g is u nited ,

here while in the produc t ions of most men we are a c

,

customed to find gap i ng holes as wide as one 5 hand ! Yet ’

v1] Sc h u m a n n r ev e i ws The W d- ymphoo n s
’
87

this overture has been blamed for too g reat len gth of treat
ment but this reproach strikes all B ennett s compositions ’

mor e or less ; it is his manner ; he must finish everything ,

even to the smallest detail H e also repeats often and .

,

note for note after the conclusion of the middle period

, .

But let any one try to alter his works without inj uring
them ; it will not do ; he is no pupil to be improved by ,

touchin g up ; what he has thou g ht out stands firmly and

may not be displaced .

‘
I t is contrary to Bennett s simple minded inwardly ’
-
,

poetic character and to his corresponding inclination to

, ,

set great levers and weights i n motion ; the splendour of

decoration is foreign to him ; he loves best to linger in
fancy on t he lonely shores of the lake or i n the g reen , ,

mysterious wood : he does not g rasp at drums and trom

bones with which to sketch his quiet yet lonely happiness
, .

H e must then be taken as he is and not mistaken for what

, , ,

he is not -namely the creator of a new epoch i n art a

, , ,

hero whom it is impossible to fetter — but a genuine deeply , ,

feelin g poet who passes on his peaceful way all untroubled

, ,

because a few hats more or less are raised and waved , ,

i n his honour ; but whose progress tho u gh no triumphal ,

chariots may await it shall be at the ve ry least embellished ,

by the wreath of violets that Eusebius here offers

I n j ud g in g some of Bennett s earlier works Schumann ’

duly noticed simil a rities to the music of certain other com

posers I n no instance however did he do this except by
.
, , ,

way of preface to i nsistin g on an individuality which clearly

asserted itself notwithstandin g any such simil a rities T his .

individuality he observed not al one in most of the materials

of the music but also i n the method of workmanship H e
, .

has expressed this concisely in a second notice of T he

Wood -nymphs where he compares the O verture to a
,
’ ‘

bouquet to which Spohr had given some flowers Weber

, ,

and M endelssohn others but to which B ennett had himself ,

g iven the most while the delicate hand which had desi g ned
,

and arranged them as a whole was his and his alone .

’

M endel ssohn like Schumann recognized this individuality

, ,
.

M r J S Bowley who was in Bennett s room at Leipzi g

. .
,
’

when this same Overture was first played on the piano ,

1
T r a n s a te l d from , t he G rme an, by F R Ri r
. . t te .
 P or t l a n d Ch a m bers
remembered how M endelssohn called out continually as the ‘

m u sic went on : Ah ! that s B ennett Bennett a l l Bennett

’ ’
.
, ,

S ome years later M endelssohn wrote from Leipzi g : We

,
‘

play you r Waldnymphe on Thursday next I have jus t ”

corrected the Prog ramme where they would spell your ,

name with one t and I would have waited till after the
,

performance to tell you of it but that I know beforehand ,

wha t it will be The piece is and always will be a favourite

.

of the Public and the Orchestra they will do their best to ,

do it j ustice and we shall all be happy with it and only

,

wish for yo u r being present That is it what I would write .

on Friday and what I can do to -day as well .

’

‘
The N aiads and The Wood -nymphs from the
’ ‘
,
’

dates of their first performance long retained a place on ,

the Leipzig programmes being played alternately season , ,

by season for more than twenty years They were much

, .

used in other parts of Germany I n E ngland they had to .

wai t When they were ten years old there came a sudden
.
,

g rowth of orchestral concerts in London and thenceforward ,

they were constantly played but t hey did not help their ,

composer much in these earlier days when more publicity

to his name might have been an encouragement .

As to Bennett s merits as a p i a n i s t there had never

’

been any doubt in H anover Square When comparisons .

were made his name from first to last was placed in juxta
,

posi t ion with pianist -composers of the highest rank alone .

A fortnight after The Wood -nymphs had been heard he

‘ ’

played his new Concerto in F minor at the Philharmonic .

A y r t o n found it an exceedingly clever composition r e

‘
,

fl ec t i n g much credit on the Anglo -German school T hen he ’

.

added : The author performed it in a most skilful feeling

‘
,

manner his touch brin g ing to our recollection that of

,

Cramer Let him continue to imitate that g reat master

.

of the pianoforte and he will never want the s u fi ra g es of

‘

all admirers of eloq u en t m u s i c '

.
’

So now i n 1 8 3 9 he had gai ned as a public pe rformer

, , , ,

a place from which he might look for pupils willin g to pay

a g ood price for his lessons and this was for the time , ,

being the pressin g m atter Portland C hambers were not

, .

besieg ed but when London was fu ll and the musical world

,

awake with fifteen hours teachin g a week — though tha t

,
’

included poorly paid work at the Academy — he mad e a

-
,
 P or t l a n d Cha m ber s
MY D EAR YO U N G S IR ,

H a v mg
been told that you once were heard to
express a doubt of ever saving a guinea I assume the ,

privileg e of better and longer experience to assure you

there Is nothing impossible to the firm resolve You are .

now blessed with youth health and extraordinary talent

, , ,

but consider — health uncertain the world full of change

, , ,

and the Public a many headed monster ! T hen reflect how ,

swee t is independence when supplied by your own industry

,

and careful managemen t I wou ld n o t have you a miser

. ,

nor yet a spend t hrift T here is ever a middle course to be

.

pursued in every transaction throu g h life s troubled round ’

which if followed will ensure you the approval of your heart ,

and the admiration of those whose good opinions are worth

the cul t ivating for the rest c a r e n ot
—
.

For yo u r steady friendship to my dear J ames of which ,

he ever makes grateful m ention accept his mother s thanks ,

’
.

I understand this is your natal d a y M ay you live i n the .

cheerful enj oyment of many such I have to request your .

acceptance of the accompanying pocket tri fle to be used as a ,

kind of savings bank as old ladies say— to provide for a

—

rainy day You will keep i t for my sake and when the hands
.

t hat worked it for that purpose are under the grass green
turf and the hear t which once beat i n t he warm t h of tru t h
, ,

and friendship is still and cold ; y ou will perhaps think of

,

me and at the moment you do so leave a little deposit as a

, ,

tribute to my memory and a tacit acknowled g ment that y o u

neglect not my advice .

With every good wish for many returns of Good Friday

to you and your best affections
I remain dear M r Bennett , ,

Yours very truly ,

M ARIA R D AV I S O N . .

Thou g h Bennett had at this time no g uineas to deposit

in a satin savings -bank he had at least the faculty of saving
,

wi t h the most affectionate care anything tha t was g iven to

him as a keepsake M rs Davison whose handiwork still
.
,

lies where he placed it in his dressing case lived to be an -

,

old lady and to see her young friend making his way
, .
vi ] Th e P ia n o for t e F a n t a s ia 9 1

But the subj ect of bread -winnin g may be left awhile ;

for Bennett co u ld see i n his call to teachi ng a hi g her ,

purpose than his own maintenance Schumann i n special .

,

reference to the pianoforte music of the day had already ,

written Were there many artists who worked with the

same intention as B ennett then no one would need to be
,

anxious any longer about the fu ture of our art N ow .

’

certainly in E n g land the condition of pianoforte music at

t his t ime gave cause for anxie t y in so m e minds and there ,

was pressin g need of men ready to j oi n a minority in

O pposition to a predominant party C elebrated pianists .

had lately done much towards popularizin g the pianoforte

among that class who could afford to attend expensive
entert ainments Thalberg and o t her exponents of the
.

modern Fantasia had cast a spell over hundreds i n this

country who would not u nder less seductive i n fl uences have
stopped their chat t er to listen to pianoforte-playing To .

t hese remarkable players must be g iven the credit of estab

l i s h i n g the pianoforte as an instrument that could be played
by itself i n E nglish concert -rooms ; nor can they be blamed
for entirely absorbing as they did that increase of i nterest
, ,

i n pianoforte performance which they had themselves a c

cumulated For years and years the Fantasia held its
.

s u premacy while the solo masterpieces of the great com

,

posers were struggling to obtain a hearing i n the concert

room M eanwhile the duty of preserving and disseminating
.

t he clas sics of the pianoforte remained chiefly with teachers ,

b u t only with a faithful few who maintained that pianoforte

music could and must be taught to whatsoever pupil with , ,

serious i ntent T here was lit t le music -teachi ng which was

.

not going with the stream of fashion The essential of a .

teaching piece as of a concert -piece was the parade of

-
,

the performer C ompilers of potpourris modelled on the

.

favourite form abounded and even composers of high merit

,

consented to assist i n stocking the young ladies portfolios ’

with glittering tinsel .

Bennett tried i n 1 8 3 9 t o write an a rticle on the state

, ,

of affairs in the pianoforte -world H e noted the important .

part which pianoforte -playin g was takin g in E n gland as a

branch of the musical art and the powerful i nfluence which
,

t he fashionable players and composers of pianoforte music

 P or t l a n d Ch a m ber s
were exercising H e looked back with regret to days of
.

yore when the pianoforte had been subservient to music ,

and deplored the present subserviency of music to the

pianoforte H e admi t ted that astonishing feats must be
.

accomplished by the pianists who desired the applause of

the multitude but he contended t hat the Great Masters had
not been afflicted wi t h such blindness to the capabilities of
the ins t rument as was now being imputed t o them by
the admirers of this modern school of playing H e was .

exasperated at hearin g M ozart and Bee t hoven being freely

spoken of as pedants .

H e was able however before layi n g down his pen t o

, , ,

find consolation in an encouraging omen Certain pub .

l i s he rs were now showing themsel v es willing to t r y t he

experimen t of placing wi t hin easy reach of t each ers and
students good music which had for many years been difficult
to obtain Thus one firm had been printing Beethoven s
.
’

pianofor t e music with M o s c heles as editor and was n ow ,

advertising Czer ny s edition of Bach s 4 8 Prel u des and

’ ’

Fugues with E nglish fingering a t t he price of a guinea

, ,

and a half three pounds havi ng hi t herto been thou g ht a

- -
,

fair sum to ask for an old copy of them Lonsdale announced .

ano t her E nglish edi t ion of the same Fugues and ro u ndly ,

asserted his i ntention of printing all the instrumental works

of Bach I n fact the Leipzig Cantor was for the moment
.
,

quite prom inent on the advertisement sheets beside the ,

composers of Quadrilles and M orceaux de salon Coventry .

’

possibly at t he i nstigat ion of B ennet t with whom he was very ,

intimate appealed to Mendelssohn to be his editor of Bach

, ,

and engaged Potter to prepare the P F works of M ozart . . .

The need of such a movement as this was clearl y expressed

by Davison when b e welcomed the edition of M ozart with
the words I t will no longer be necessary to wait for
,
‘

auction -sales to obtain such music Davison wrote fur .

’

ther of the general ignorance of M ozart s pianoforte music ’

amongst amate u rs and praised Co v entry for filling up a

,
‘

lamentable chasm in t he musical literature of this country .

’

T he previous difficulty of finding music i n E ngland may be

illustrated by insta nces of the pleas u re which attended the
discovery of buried treasures Davison at the end of a .
,

lon g life would t alk of t he happy day on which he had

,
 P or t l a n d Cha m ber s [c n vi

di fficulty or abstruseness Thus to this class he imme .

d i a t e l y t aught the works of Bach including the Concertos , .

B u t there was a greater demand on the coura g e of his

opinions when he decided to force on young amateurs music
which was at the time regarded as severe and not adapted for
use i n society H e was not taking the shortes t road t owards
.

making a living H e certainly i nsisted on what he con

.

s i d e r e d classical music bein g the founda t ion of work for all

pupils The new edi t ions of such music came opportunely

.

to his assistance but when the S onatas had been prescribed

,

there was no profusion of s u bsidiary at t ractions Compo .

s i t i o n s of Weber and H ummel seem t o have been easily

obtainable and he used a few of the early pieces of M endels

,

sohn H e did not as yet en t irely wi t hhold modern F a n t a s i a s ;

.

he may have recogni zed their val u e for t he development of

technical skill but even if in using t hem he deviated from
,

his principles he gave way very seldom H e had known

, .

many of these Fantasias by heart and had played t hem wi t h ,

as much brilliancy i n Davison s opinion as the composers

,
’

themselves ; b u t this was a reminiscence of early student

days ; he never played t hem in public and t aught them so ,

lit t le t hat he may easi ly have forgotten t ha t he had t au gh t

,

t hem at all To the s i xteen young ladies who took lessons

.

during twenty -one months from M arch 1 8 3 9 to December

1 8 40
,
he distributed sixty fi ve pieces Fift y -three of these
-
.

were by H aydn M ozart C lementi Du s s ek Bee t hoven

, , , , ,

Weber H ummel Cramer and M endelssohn E i g ht more

, , , .

were Studies and Rondos by Aloys Schmitt H erz D ob ler , , ,

Czerny and H unten ; two were Fan t asias by H erz and

Kalkbrenner ; and two were composi t ions of his own H e .

was only on the threshold of thirty -fiv e years work as a ’

teacher A n opportunity may occur later in t hese pag es of

.

showin g how he extended his course of instruc t ion For .

the present as has already been said his pupils were n o t

, ,

numerous ; his work with them cannot have occupied much

of his time ; a sin gle lesson g iven a t the distance of E as t
Sheen might t ake up the best part of a day and unsettle
his mind for the rest of it but for many mon t hs of t he year
he had much freedom What else was he doing ? What .
,

especially was he doing as a composer

,
?
 A
PO R T L ND A
C H M B ERS
Gr ea t t c /zfi el d S t r eet
9 6 Com pos it ion i n P or t l a n d Ch a m bers [c n .

H is thoughts were not much in theatres H is friends con .

s i d e re d him illiberal in his attitude towards operatic music .

Davison dragged him off one night from Por t land Chambers
t o hear a French Opera and was much annoyed because
,

no expression of O pinion could be g o t out of him as they

walked home You might say something one way or
.
‘

another was Davison s last appeal but t here was no

,
’ ’

response J ohn E lla remarked that his own appreciation

.

of the lighter wares of the French and I talian schools

‘ ’

was not shared by Bennett and wrote : Our countryman ,

‘

is too rigid in his O pinions on art to sui t our views entirely .

’

Though there was some want of sympathy with par

t i c u la r schools of music Bennett was not really illiberal
,
.

When he chose The Opera as the subject of a course of ’

lectures delivered later in life he showed himself ready to,

pay just tribute to I talian and French composers ; speakin g

of Rossini as one of the greatest g eniuses that the musical
world had ever known ; and of Boieldieu H erold and ,

Auber as those three splendid men under whose in fl uence

‘

a School had arisen as new as it was beautiful expressin g ,

French feeling and temperament to the very letter But .

’

any real interest i n a theatre which he had allowed himself

t o take in his earlier years seemed aft erwards to explain
,

itself as springin g from his love for M ozart and for M ozart s ,
’

Operas he certainly did retain not only a musical but a

t heatrical re g ard liking to recall his memories of them as
,

seen on the stage H e would for instance picture to him

.
, ,

self the opening scene i n [ l S er ag l i o would hum the refrai n ,

of the Air which Osmino sings i n t he fr u it -tree and would ,

then burst into laugh t er at M ozart s idea of making his own ’

lovely phrase t he obj ect of B elmo nte s mockery When he ’

talked o f such thin gs he wo u ld speak of his friends the ,

Seguins b y whom at one time of his Academy life he had

, , ,

been t aken a good deal to the Opera I t was at their .

house t hat he became acquainted wi t h M ichael Costa who , ,

like t he rest of the S eguin circle admired the boy s render ,

’

ing of t he Operas on t he piano About t he year 1 8 7 0 .

,

M a pl es o n t he manager of H er M aj esty s Theatre g ave

’

, ,

Bennett a pressing invitation to wri t e an Opera H e was .

flattered and pleased quoted t he remark made by Sebas t ian

,

Bach under similar c ircumstances but did not appear to ,

vn ] A t t h e Th ea t r e 97

treat the mat t er i n a serious light H e would oft en play .

some at t ractive s t rai ns of melody and harmony and then ,

say as if in sport That s the openin g of my Opera but

, ,
‘ ’

he had lon g learn t to take a lofty V iew of what was n ec es

sary for the larger forms of a r t and the last remark he ,

made upon t he subj ect was I f I had been M ozart I would , ,

have written an Opera .

’

One fact about him may have escaped the notice of his
opera-loving friends Apart altogether from music and
.
, ,

perhaps for no clearly defined reasons he found the theatre

, ,

i t sel f uncon g enial with his feelin g s O n his German tours .

,

he heard for the fi rs time and recorded in his d iaries the

t -
,

pleasure which he of course fel t i n listening to the music

, ,

of such Operas as Alcestis Il Seraglio and Oberon

‘
,
’ ‘ ’ ‘
.
’

Yet it was from Germany and i n reference to attending ,

the Opera-houses there t hat he wrote home i n 1 8 4 2 : I ,

‘

cannot bear theat res S ir Arthur S ulli v an when a boy

.
’

, ,

often took supper at Bennett s house aft er a music -lesson ’

and noticed with s u rprise that if he himself mentioned any

t hin g i n connection with a thea t re his master s manner at
’

once checked t he s u bject I n aft er years Bennett would .

,

occasionally go as if in d u t y bound to hear a new Opera ;

, ,

but during the performance he would sit taciturn and moody ,

and would be quite unlike himself So also if he co u ld be .

persuaded to g o to the play house to see a popular comedy

-
,

t hose who hoped for his being amused would be d i s a p

pointed O nce inside the theatre he would relapse i nto
.
,

silence could not enter i nto what was goin g on or make

, ,

himself companionable H e had perhaps i n some degree

.
, , ,

that puritanical obj ection to the sta g e which was still in ,

his own g enera t ion wide -spread i n t his country ; but he

,

did not himself give any cl u e to the cau se of his dislike .

A correspondence i n 1 8 3 9 — 40 about H andel kept him in ,

touch with M endelssohn who was t hen hoping t o bring o u t ,

an edition of that master s Oratorios with an added organ ’

part in order to facilitate their performance in Germany

,
.

Benne t t was asked to help by examining the manuscripts

i n the Library of Buckingham Palace and by undertaking ,

the not easy task of procurin g copies of E ngl ish editions .

Walsh s edition was out of print and the plates were

’

scattered all over London The let t ers which passed on .

S . B .
9 8 Com pos it ion i n P or t l a n d Ch a m ber s [ en .

t his subj ec t touched also a lit t le on matters personal to the

writers Bennett however was none too communicative
.
, ,

about himself I n October 1 8 3 9 M endelssohn when .

, ,

announcing the birth of a daughter wrote I cannot begin ,

the letter immediately with Sampson and H andel but rather l

,

with my wife and chi ld r en k if if

I know that you do .
”

not only partake of my musical pleasures and sorrows but ,

also of t he domestic ones of which life and happiness de

pends .
if
I wish you could be with us and spend
some quiet evenin g s or breakfast mornings with me and -

have a chat about everything Somethin g at least you .

ought to wri te me about yourself your life and works i n ,

your next le t ter ; you are so very e i n s y l b ig about all this ”

i n the last The H andelian researches in which Bennett

.
’

was pro u d to take part may ha v e prompted him towards ,

sacred composition of his own and early in the N ew Year , ,

1 8 40 he wedged into a long letter about Samson a li t t le

, ,
’

sentence about himself And now my dear friend I am , ,

writing an Oratorio and already have done a great deal ,

which I should like to show you particularly a little Chorus ,

which I have this morning writ t en I assure you I want .

some of your enco u ragement to make me prosper i n such

an undertakin g .
’

The contemplated Oratorio was begun with no over

weening confidence God give me strength and health he .
‘
,
’

wrote t o K istner and i d ea s to finish it H e aft erwards

,
‘
.
’

referred to his studies at this time of the choral works of , ,

t h e Great M asters and in such occupation as also i n writ , ,

ing sacred music himself hours were profitably spen t to ,

future advantage ; but the Oratorio never saw the li g ht .

This episode i n his life is a little disappoin t ing I f he could .

have finished such a work in t he fifteen months he first

assigned for it and if the merit of the whole had been equal
,

t o tha t of the part he did write then may b e he would , ,

-
,

have gained early i n life wide repu t e i n an O ratorio lovin g

, ,
-

cou ntry But to this particular project there was a draw

.

back H e started o n an insec u re basis without a fixed

.
,

libretto Having chosen a s y mbolical subject with the t itle

.

of Z ion he filled pag es of a note book with texts from the

,
’
-

M d l oh i hi l t t r h lik d o
1 en e ss io lly t r t i t h p lli g of
n, n s e s, as e c ca s na o e a n e s e
H d l t im
e n
’
an e s e.
10 0 Compos i t i on i n P or t l a n d Ch a m bers [ ca

the postage is now pu t at a lower rat e i n E ngland I shall ,

send you innumerous letters t ill I receive the promised

manuscrits — depend upon
K istner s entreaties were persisten t but for the time
’

, ,

being unavailing With the exception of a N o t t u rn o for

, .
‘ ’

the piano aft erwards called Genevieve the au t ograph of

,
‘
,
’

which was reproduced i n f a c s i m i l e i n the A l lg emei n e

M u s i ha l i s ches Z ei t u ng Bennett parted wi t h no music to a
,

publisher between his twenty -third and t wenty-sixth birth

days This lon g silence set his German friends wondering
.
,

and he had to attempt explanations H e could write of .

works contemplated ; but K istner wanted to meet an i mmed i

ate demand and feared that the interest so far shown could
,

not be maintained withou t fresh material Then Bennett .

had to make excuses To descriptions of festi v als and .

concerts in Germany he replied Oh that I were there

, ,
‘
, ,
’

and then went on to hint as he could only do to a foreigner , ,

that his surroundin g s were n o t i nspiritin g You know .

‘
,
’

he wrote ( Feb 1 2 . what a dreadful place E ngland

,
‘

is for music ; and i n London I have nobody whom I can

talk to abo u t good things all t he people here are mad wi t h
Thalberg and Strauss and I have not heard a single ,

symphony or overture in a Concert since last J une .

’

O u t of harmony with prevailing musical tastes ; entirely

absenting himself for i nstance from the I talian Opera ;
, ,

thinking it necessary as he t old K is t ner for his own pro

, ,

g ress in t he ri g ht direction as a composer to be very careful ,

what music he listened to and even avoiding conversation

and arguments on musical subj ects wi t h his more eclectic
companions Bennet t was drawn much within himself and
, ,

found a solitary but safe refu g e i n his piano and his music
books I n public life even i n b y ways he was as yet little
.
,
-
,

wanted Between his annual performances at the Philha r

.

monic in 1 8 3 9 and 1 8 40 eleven months passed duri ng which ,

he only took part i n seven concerts H e conduc t ed four .

,

with a smal l orchestra at the Marylebone Li t erary and

Scientific I nstitution and played at three two of which
, ,

were at Clapham and Stepney: To the paucity of such

engagements he does not refer I n his correspondence H e .

would not himself notice it There was nothing differen t .

t o expect .Still t he fac t remains t hat ex c e pt i n his own

, ,
V II ] Mu s ic in L o ndon 10 1

study or while en gaged with his few pupils he was livin g

, ,

i n a musical atmosphere which if not positively depressing

to him certainly cannot have been exhilarating
, .

M usic had no natural place in London When the .

coterie of wealthy persons who patronized it in the season

had dispersed and the continental artists had gone away
,

with well -filled purses music vanished too or what wa s left , ,

of it was too scattered to be noticeable Then till spring .

,

returned the few musical maga zines that were pri nted
, ,

having nothing of passin g i nterest to report filled their ,

columns with essays biographies and chit chat from the , ,

‘

continent Music was for one section of society and did

.

not enter into the re gular life of the Londoner I t might .

cross hi s path occasionally ; at the dance a t the public di nner ,

or o ther convivial meeting ; not much i n church for the ,

con g regations of most London churches were vocally dumb ,

and allowed fo u r ladies and gentlemen i n the organ -gallery

to act as thei r proxies J ackson s Te Deum i n F sung .
’ ‘ ’

week after week by the hired quartet represented to many ,

a Londoner the E n glish School of C hurch music There .

were C athedral S ervices ; but E cclesiastics timid of the ,

in fl u ence of music withheld the means for its full support

, .

When later the choi r at Westminster was strengthened

, , ,

Sydney S mith as a Canon of S t Paul s sh rank from the

,
’

example Cathedrals he wrote are not to consider

.
‘
,
’

,
‘

themselves as rival opera -houses ; we shall come by and

bye to act Anthems I
I t is a matter of perfect
.
” “

indifference to me whether Westminster bawls louder than

St
When Bennett fi rst went to Germany he must have ,

been prepared to find music more widely cultivated there

than in E ngland but room was left for surprise at the
,

extent of the difference I n letters home he noted the .

,

contrast between the two nations in t he amount of respect

shown to the art by intellectual people and he also observed ,

that in Germany a love for i t in i t s more advanced forms ,

was to be found i n all classes O n the evening when he .

made his debut at Leipzi g he espied the man who blacked ,

the boots at his lodgings sit t ing i n the g allery of the ,

1
From l t t r — i po io of J S B mp E q — d t d A g
e e 8 44 t us , s a e 2 1, 1 o
W H w
, n s s es s n . . u . u .
,

. a M t r of t h hori t r t h 8 o ly
es , as e mb re c s e s en n in nu e .
I0 2 Compos i t i on i n P or t l a n d Ch a m ber s [CH .

Gewandhaus and in conversation next mornin g discovered

,

that this humble individual looked forward t o a Symphony

concert as an occasional treat Such revelations were .

heart warmin g thou g h they brought jealousy as well to an

-
, ,

E nglish musician I n this country anyone holding such views

.
,

as Bennett did moved amon gs t his fellow -creatures both

, ,

at this time and for many years to come painfully conscio u s ,

that the art he venerated was for the maj ority non -existent ,

and was by many even by those of the highest culture

, ,

trea t ed wi t h brusqueness as the mere adj unct to cere

mony or despised as a frivolous pastime
,
I n the best .

li t erature of the day if music was noticed at all such notice

, ,

was seldom to its advantage .

That a dull artistic environment could tend to crush a

musical spirit is a theory which claims passing notice for
, ,

tho u gh it is t oo va gue to be much pressed here Bennet t ,

ad vanced it again later and did so at a time when he was ,

not excusin g himself to a publisher H e was however no .

, ,

g reat grumbler I f in aft er life as for instance i n lectures

.
, , ,

he said anything abou t his own country it was always rather ,

to defend it as a musical nation and to speak of prog ress ,

witnessed in his own time or if i n con v ersation he became

more critical it would at any rate only be of the existin g
, , ,

state of music that he wo u ld talk and not of ho w that ,

affected the musician or himself .

Of London as a place of residence he was a t rue lover

, , .

H e could enjoy the bustle of its busy streets and the beauty ,

of its out -lyin g districts When he could take K istner to .

Richmond or M arschner to The Spaniards at H ampstead

,
‘ ’

then he was t he proud Londoner I n his older age he went .

,

so far as to say that he thou ght he could compose better in

London than elsewhere I n the count r y he added com .
,
’

,
‘

position g enerally ends in takin g a walk .

’

The excuses sent t o K istner from Portland C hambers

came to an end and he said at last : I can hardly tell you
,

the reason why you have not received anythin g from me t o

publish altho u g h I still say that I have plenty on hand for
,

you The question which he thus g ave up tryin g to answer

.
’

thenceforward became a crux to others t han himself ; for

no t wi t hs t anding the great facility for composition which the
friends of his youth thought he had shown at t he Academy ,
10 4 Compos i t i on i n P or t l a n d Ch a m ber s [ on

Bennet t as an artist never succumbed to the temptation

, ,

of money ; nor did any wish for populari t y or publicity

prompt him to s werve from the narrow path which seemed
to him t o lead to the ideal .

H e became very cautious That can be noticed in him .

as soon as he returned from Germany after his first visit , ,

when he may have realized that the Germans set a hig her
value upon him than he had hitherto placed upon himself
, .

O n his way home i n 1 8 3 7 he was detained at M ainz and, ,

wrote thence to K istner t hat he was spending t he time i n

,

reading German poetry and would send him some son g s

,

soon after he got back to E n gland A t the end of the year .

he wrote t hat he had composed twelve and would send them ,

over at t he first opportunity H e always afterwards said that .

,

what with finding words with which he thought he could deal ,

and then finding appropriate music which had at the same

time some independent interest of its own son g-writing ,

had been to him more difficult than any other form of

composition From the day that he first wrote to K istner
.

on t he subj ect of songs though he kept alluding to it i n

,

further letters as being still in his mind it took him j ust five ,

years before he could after much consideration selection

, , ,

and rejection hand his first set of six songs to his publisher
, .

I t wa s perhaps a wiser mode of proceeding than if he had

, ,

issued sixty and left i t to the public to make its own selection .

Some may see i n t his a d i ffid e n c e or a delay and therewi t h

find fault but others may see a constraint which they
,

can commend A t all e v ents t h e songs themselves when

.
, ,

t he y did appear were t hought very sa t isfactory

, .

H e wrote a Pianoforte Trio in I 8 3 9 which was fated to be ,

a good deal played in the futu re and to find man y admirers ,

.

By its simplicity and comparative brevity i t ill u strates as ,

some of his later works also do his desire to keep in what ,

b e deemed his proper place and to avoid entering the lists ,

with t he g reatest masters Of this work he wrote t o.

K i s t n er z —
It is rather small and only fit for K a m me r
‘
,

M us i h ,
if if if
one movement I hope you will like
be t ter than any t hing I have done Then the d i ffi d e n c e .
’

or the caution appears again H e played the Trio in public

, .

the year after it was written and promised to send it to ,

Leipzig for publication but he could not make up his mind

, .
vn ] Wor hs is s u ed spa r ing ly 10 5

You are keepi ng what you do K istner then wrote a secret ,

’

,
‘

between yourself and your London friends Le t ters show .

’

that the manuscri pt was cons t antly on the point of startin g ,

b u t it did not set out for six years .

Davison when he became a musical critic oft en found

, ,

fault with what he called B ennet t s want of productivity ’ ‘

.
’

We have no patience with it he once wrote whatever the ,

’

,
‘

cause may be but with the cau se he did not deal though he ,

had been in as good a position as anyone to fathom it H e .

ended by sayin g that the matter ha d always been a puzzle

to him for which he could find no solution When Bennett .
,

i n course of years became busily occupied i n other dirc e

,

tions it was generally assumed t hat there was not enou g h

,

time left for composing and he would sometimes himself

,

say so D r J ohn H u lla h for one thought that the curse

.
, ,
‘

of E nglish music pianoforte -teaching must be held res po n

,
’

sible But B ennett s heavy work did not fall t o his lot till
.
’

his t hirtieth year was passed and this slow prod u c t ion was ,

noticed lon g before that time There is no period of his life .

at which i t comes clearer to view than in t hese early days at

Portland Chambers when for two -t hirds of each year he was
,

not g iving on t he averag e more than six lessons a week

, ,

and yet his compositions came no more q u ickly then than ,

t hey did later when he was i n fu ll work as a teacher and

, ,

was also dischargin g the duties of public appoi ntments .

I f one may now anticipate and take his life as a whole ,

t here was a rate at which he issued his works which though , ,

slow as compared with that of other composers was so ,

nearly uniform as to suggest t hat it was regulated by some

natural law within himself and that it was not i n the long , ,

run much i n fl uenced by outside circumstances Through

, .

out life in his career as a composer and as if in fulfilment

, ,

of Schumann s prediction a g enuine and deeply-feelin g

’

,
‘

poet he pursued his peaceful way H is progress was not

’
.
’

always visible but it was not a case of the slumbering hare

,

sure steps were being taken towards a goal ; a n d in the

end for Bennett endured to t he end he left behind him
, ,

a set of works representative of many departments of com

position the catalogue of which is as neatly moulded i n
,

form as are the items themselves which it includes F o r t y

, .

two works many of t hem in small dimensions written i n

, ,
10 6 Com pos it io n i n P or t l a n d Ch m ber s
a [c n .

forty-two years were not enough to keep him during his

, ,

life -time in that continual evidence which o t hers desired ;

,

but looking back through the vista there are no prominent ,

gaps in the sequence of production and the total amount ,

of work left may be taken as characteristic of a man always

tryin g to assess his gift s at their true val u e and to use ,

them in some due proportion t o their nature and extent .

S urel y if not among musicians then among poets some

, , ,

parallel case to Bennett s can be found I t has been ’

.

su ggested to the writer that B ennett was the Gray of ‘

mu 5 1c .
’

H e had a kind of unwillingness to commi t his ideas t o

paper H e explained this by saying that when once written
.

down they became stereotyped in his mind and t hat then ,

revision proved to him a matter of great difficulty R e .

vision i n his case had to be done before t h e pen was

, ,

to u ched U p to his t hirtieth year he did make new

.
,

editions of some of his manuscripts but where comparison ,

with t he older ones is possible the alterations seen are i n ,

points of orchestration rather than in t he music itself .

Later works he did not alter and even in the course of , ,

first writin g them he made few erasures or chan g es of i n

,

te n t ion such as may be seen i n the manuscrip t s of other

,

composers of his time H e once saw a student workin g .

at a harmony -exercise with a pencil and india rubber and -

,

he objected saying N o you must use ink and g et the

,
‘
, ,

habit of making up your mind before y o u write anythin g ,

down .
’
H e himself often spent a grea t de al of time in
makin g up his mind before he wrote an y thin g down and ,

t h e hours he gave to composition or to attemp t s at compo ,

s i t i on
, cannot be measured by the amoun t of music -paper
he filled I n his later life those who had the O pportunity
.
,

of bein g much near him of sitting by his side in his ,

carriag e as he went long distances to his pupils of taking ,

silent walks with him and of spendin g countr y holidays i n

,

his company cannot but re t ain the opinion that fe w con

,

s ec u t i v e hours passed without his brain being hard at

,

work on its musical imaginings and t his no doubt had ,

alwa y s been the case .

M rs M eredi t h the housekeeper at Portland C hambers

, ,

afterwards kept a lodgin g house of her own and B ennett -

,
10 8 Comfi os i t i on i n P or t l a n d Cha m ber s [C H .

he t ook no credit for the principal ideas or subj ects A .

remark he made more than once was that they came at ‘

su ch strange times ; and then he would go on to say that

’

i t had always been a little bit of a mystery where they

came from and why they should come to hi m T he du t y .

of choosing from them was felt to be his own and he took ,

it seri ously I n his very last days whe n he was sittin g i n

.
,

his g arden at S t J ohn s Wood he said not i n conversation

’

, , ,

but as if the result of a t rain of t hought had without his ,

knowing it escaped his lips,

My l ife has been spent i n
rej ectin g musical ideas H e said this very gravely i n no
.
’

tone that could be taken to impl y regret but rath er r e ,

si g nation and as if he were preparin g for the day when he

,

wo u ld be called upon to answer for the use of his talents .

T his brief summary of his own life as given by himsel f , ,

and t o himself i n t he hour of self examination seems t o

,
-
,

show him regarding composi t ion or the preparation for ,

composition as havin g been one of his most engrossin g

,

occupations The narrative of his active life will not of

.
,

itself give sufficient evidence of this M uch else he did

, .
,

as t he sequel will certainly show for t he sake of music ,

other than his own E ven as a composer he did much .

,

b esides rej ectin g ideas But t he reader will now have .

,

i n advance some explanation and that partly from his

, ,

own words why i n many pages of this story his work

,

as a composer will be lost to view .

When K istner co u ld not g et what he wanted from

Portland Chambers he ventured in one letter to ask his
, , ,

young friend I s idleness the cause ? H ere one may

,
‘ ’

borrow from M r H oldsworth and repl y t hat there was no

idleness at the Chambers i n t he ordinary sense of the ‘

word . Bennett besides being a composer and a teacher

’

was also a pianist and that demanded a grea t deal H is

, .

friends have vouched for his industry ; they even com

plained of it at the time because it was the cause of their ,

seeing so little of him An o u ter baize covered door pro .

-

t e c t ed his room and no amount of knocking would unearth

,

him H e was known to be within because the piano was

.
,

in incessant use H e was described by his friend J oh n J ay

.
,

one of those who had reason to remember Bennett s ‘ ’

knocker as havin g been a slave to the pianoforte Yet

,
’
‘
.
’
V II ] Bi mi g h m r n a a nd H u ll I09
there was little outside encouragement t o such devotion ,

three years passing while only four invitations to play at

important concerts arrived .

Summer mon t hs of 1 8 40 found him in constant a t

tendance a t the sick -bed of an old school -fello w George ,

Richards a poor young violinist befriended b y Coventr y

,

who was al ways ready to turn his house i n Dean S treet

into a hospital T hree years before this Bennett had
.
,

dedicated Three I mpromptus as a tribute of affection to

‘ ’

W P B eale an esteemed pianist then being nursed by

. .
, ,

C oventry i n an ill ness which like that of Richards proved , , ,

fatal When it is seen later that B ennett s busi ness rela

.
’

tions with C oventry as a publisher turned out unsatisfactory ,

it will be understood why he was ready to sacrifice a ood

deal out of gratitude for the kindness which he like o t ers , ,

had met with from the warm -hearted lit t le man of Dean ‘

Stree t .
’

I n the autum n of 1 8 40 Ben nett went to Birmin g ham ,

to hear the Lobgesan g and on September 3 o t h had the

‘
,
’

pleasure of welcomin g the composer to Portland Chambers ,

M endelssohn i nscribin g the address and date on a set of

his o wn Overtures A few days later Bennett was writin g .

to C arl Voigt — I have had a very happy time at B i r m i n g

‘

ham with M endelssohn and his Lobgesang What a “

.
”

wonderful thin g ! if if if
I hope to come t o Leipzig nex t
year and be happy once more
, .
’

I n October 1 8 4 9 Si r Georg e Smart introd uced the ,

Overture The Wood nymphs at the H ull Festival

,
‘
-
,
’

urging the band at the rehearsal to particular effort as ,

‘
it was seldom that a native work found place on the
programmes of similar musical gatherin g s As to the .
’

result Sir George wro t e to Bennett that the audience

,
‘

evinced their good taste by s i l en c e durin g the performance ,

and by loud and deserved applause after it The mention .

’

of s i l en c e by one with such experience of musical perform

ance towards the close of a lon g career as a Conduc t or is
, ,

i nteresting The notion that instrumental music was placed

.

on miscellaneous programmes for the sake of resting the

si n ers and of relaxi ng the prolonged attention of the
a u gi e n c e
,

was very prevalent in E ngland S ir Georg e

, .

S mart was probably noting the advent of a novel interest .

1 10 Com pos it ion i n P or t l a n d Ch a m bers [ on

One day Davison found on a book -stall a dilapidated

,

piece of music shorn of its title page and without trace of

,
-
,

i t s author s name H e took it home called a council and

’

.
, ,

was much i nterested to hear Bennett s reasons for dis ’

missing one after another sugg ested composers I t was

, , .

at last admitted that there must be some remarkable

writer of pianoforte music who was unknown to Portland
Chambers On reference elsewhere the piece was recog
.
,

n i z e d as a Sonata by the lamented young Pinto This .

was the musician to whom thirty y ears after his death , ,

J .B .Cramer found in B enne t t the first young E nglishman

worthy to be a successor The tattered Sonata was soon ‘
.

reprinted in the C lassical Practice series and it headed ‘ ’

,

the programme of a u nique concert which Bennett assisted ,

by other pianists gave in 1 8 4 1 i n Coventry s rooms ,

’

,
‘
hoisting the banner of classical sona t as — as an enthusiastic ,
’

correspondent of The M u s i ca l Wor l d put i t and entering ,

upon a crusade against all manufacturers of fanta sias etc , .

’

Pl y d by a e

S t A m Op 3
on a a , W S B tt
a ., en n e
E fl t L Adi
. . .

R B r tt
a es eu x
’
a ne

W S B tt
.
,

B m i Op 4 .
,
. 0 . . en n e
A mi C ipri i P o t t r an e
G m Op 3 5 W D rr ll
.

a ., o e
W S B tt
. .

C1: mi O p 7 .
,
. 2 . . en n e

I f solo Sonatas were ever meant for public performance ,

the occasions on which they had been so used i n this

coun t ry must have been very rare for many years previous
to the date of this little manifesto At any rate it is not .
,

eas y to find them on prog rammes given in musical journals .

When recallin g these bachelor days Bennett s friends one ,

’

and all remembered his useless and aggravating h n oc her .

They would then g o on to give a reminiscence of a con t rary

kind O n his birthdays four of which were passed i n
.
,

Port land Chambers the baize door was thrown wide open ,
-
,

Davison s rooms were annexed and in imitation of the

’

happy day on which he had come of age a t Leipzig he held ,

high festival William Dorrell in his O l d age s t ill talked

.
, ,

of this E verybody he would say remembered April

.
‘
,
’

,
‘

i 3th . We all went wrote Grattan Cooke whe t her we

’ ‘
,
’

,
‘

S 1
p 3 9 C r m r r m rk w h d d dow by D i o
ee . . a e
’
s e a as an e n av s n.
1 12 Com pos it ion i n P or t l a n d Ch a m ber s ( on .

seasons and at ano t her time training to execute pretty

—
,

cadenzas a young parrot which i n due course became

, , ,

attached t o Bennett learnt to echo his laugh in a sweet ,

s ot t o voc e and i n the end pi ned rapidly away refu sin g all
, , , ,

food after its master s death ’

A no t her comrade a ver y serious musician but also an ,

amateur entertainer was Rober t Barnet t who b y a com

‘
, ,

bination of drollery nervo u sness and beautiful pianism had

, ,

the characteristics of a J ohn Parry But J ohn Parry him .

self ma y have been of the part y for he was an old Academy ,

student knew and appreciated Bennet t and assigned him

, ,

a place of hono u r i n a comic song by the side of Thalberg ,

and Lisz t as one of those composers with whose music the

,

over-taxed young lady of the boardin g-school would have

to struggle before she could pass out as finished .
’

‘
The bir t hday enter t ainment according to Sir George ,
’

M a c fa r ren beginning with a breakfas t party and l a sting

,
‘

all day was most convivial he ( Bennet t ) hav ing that excel
, ,

lent quality in a host of setting each of his guests to say

or do something which wo u ld show him t o bes t advantage .
’

Benne t t had his own little sho w of conj uring tricks with ‘ ’

accompanying narrative and character-ske t ches wi t h which , ,

he could bring down the house at the Leipzig par t ies and ,

which he enj oyed exhibiting occasionally in domes t ic circles , ,

throu g hou t his life An effec t ive sp u r to the merriment of

.

o t hers was his own laughter H ave you seen Benne t t .

‘

laugh was a ques t ion p u t by Signor Ferrari in la t er years , ,

to M iss Frances Cox when she had r e c e n t ly b ec o m e Bennett s

,
’

p u pil The sound of his lau gh gleefu l and childlike as

.
‘
,
’

M iss Bettina Walker has described it had grea t musical ,

charm ; b u t the eye was also at tracted n ot alone t o his ,

face which g listened wi t h gaie t y and some t imes bore a

pret t y sly look but also to his figure which the laugh, ,

permeated his whole frame vibrating though witho u t con

, ,

t o r t i o n whilst as if t o c o n t r ol himself he would pass his

, , ,

arm rapidl y to and fro across his back then press one hand
,

firml y to his forehead and finally interlocking t he two ,

hands would rub them toge t her lengthways with g reat

v ivacity till the fun seemed to escape throu g h his wide
,

fi n g e r t ips At all times of his life he could when i n the

-
.
,

vein keep a small company of intimate friends a t a high

,
V II ] Suspen s e 1 13

pitch of mirth for hours together and without effort I t , .

was not always at the end that anything he had said could
, ,

be remembered to accoun t for this ; b u t the fact was that ,

with all his seriousness he never lost the naivet e of child ,

hood and therein lay the secret of the fascination which

,

held those and they were many who deli g hted to be the
, ,

companions of his play -hours .

The S pring of 1 8 4 1 brou g ht F erdinand David again to

London I n the summer Count Reuss came over and
.

spent some time with Bennett Then the latter became .

drawn again to Leipzig and determ ined to set out i n ,

October to spend the winter there and to g et as he wrote , ,

a new spirit and enthusiasm n ot t o be f ou n d i n E ng l a n d , .

Where he could look for the means to do this unless ,

pe rhaps throu g h the offer of some generous friend cannot

, ,

be conjectured T here was not much winter work to leave

.

behind and b e arran g ed that a brother professor should

,

take his pri vate pupils durin g his absence .

N ow however came another i nterest which could

‘

, ,

compete even with Leipzig H is journe y was postponed .

,

and he continued to take his class at the A cademy till

Christmas H e had found a new tie to his old home i n
.

Tenterden Street in the person of M iss Mary Wood who ,

was residing there to st u dy u nder M rs Anderson and who ,

was a very bri g ht and charmin g girl i n her seventeenth

year I t was a t one of the subscription B alls which Lord
.

B u rg her s h used to arran g e for the financial benefit of the

A cademy that soft eyes looked love to eyes that spake
,
‘

a gain but Bennett could only be sure of his own feelin g

and courtship was at the time impossible O ne or two .

Academy concerts g ave opportunity for presence in the

same room and for exchanging a few words about musical
,

s t udies ; but t hat was all and B ennett wrote afterwards of ,

‘
a miserable half year of suspense while waiting till the
-
’

Christmas holidays would give him the chance of taking

a bold step with doubtful hope and of learnin g his fate
, , .

H e had not miscalculated Lady Thompson (then M iss .

Kate Loder ) who had invited M iss Wood to spend part

,

of the sa me holidays in Bath remembered the pride and ,

pl easure with which her youn g friend and fellow -student

confided to her that she was the obj ect of Bennett s choice ’
.

8
1 14 Com pos it ion i n P or t l a n d Ch a m bers [ ca vn

Thus accepted ; havin g obtained the consent of M iss

Wood s mother to a correspondence ; armed with manu
’

scripts for the encounter with H err K istner as the year

1 8 4 1 closed B enne t t in the hi g hest of spirits was on his
, , ,

way to Germany directin g his first steps to Cassel i n order

, ,

to introduce himself to Louis Spohr at that time the ,

acknowledged doyen of German composers

‘ ’
.
1 16 H es se-Ca s s el ,
L eipzi g Ber l in , [ cu .

the Elephant and Castle where I to my astonishment , ,

found my faithful friend D or r ell again H e had taken .

a cab and got there before we did You can t tell how .
’

that pleased me ! T he t h r ee then rode with me a long

way further and we had a lon g farewell while the coach
,

was bein g properly packed H owever I was obliged to .

,

say Good -bye at last and took my place inside the coach .

We were thirteen hours getting to Dover

The j ourney from London to Cassel which by way of , ,

Calais was a lit t le over 6 0 0 m iles had still to be taken for

, , ,

the greater part of the way u nder old fashioned circum ,

-

stances A third o f the distance could now be traversed

.

by train this was new to Benne t t from Ostend to Li eg e

,
—
,
—
,

and again from Aix to Cologne at a speed of nearly fourteen ,

miles an hour B ut coach boat and dili g ences over the

.
, ,

other 4 0 0 miles reduced the average rate whilst actually ,

on the move to 7 miles an hour Then again t he journey

, .

co u ld not be continuous and though Bennett at each stage ,

took the next available conveyance he spent fi v e-and-a -half

days i n reaching Cassel There were exciting moments on .

the way A night ride between Li e ge and Aix in a horrid

.
-
,
‘

dili g ence at fo u r miles an hour kept the trav ellers i n ,

’

a constant state of alarm I t was mid -winter ; the roads .

were covered with frozen sno w ; many steep hills lay in the
track ; the vehicle wa s top heavy wi t h lu ggag e Accident -
.

seemed at every turn inevitable The crisis came when

, , .
,

on a narro w bridge the coach-wheels stuck fast i n a rut , .

T he passen g ers expecting to be hurled into the depths

,

below clamoured t o be let out The conductor insisted

, .

on t heir keeping their seats while t he diligence was being

j erked into position There was no catastrophe but Bennett
.
,

on arriving at Colog ne wrote : I assure you we (the pas ‘

g
s e n e rs
) considered ourselves very luck y to get over this
par t of our journey A final ride of thir t y five ho u rs .
’

covered the dis t ance v i a Frankfort between Cologne and , ,

Cassel .

[ J ourna l ] R o m i s c he r Kaiser H esse C assel 3 o cl ock

‘
, ,
’

M ittwoch f a n 5 1 8 4 2 ,
X
. O n my arrival here [ at
, .
”‘

a
. im mediately sent my cards to Spohr H auptmann , ,

M adame de M a l zb u rg and Frank M ori I received

, .

messag es from all if

S ince dinner have paid my visit
.
V III ] hVi t /i Spoh r 1I 7

to Spohr who has always been represented to me as a c ol a

,
’
,

h a ug hty person b u t whom I am proud to say I found quite

, , ,

the reverse H e has a very pretty li t tle house a l l t o

.

hi ms elfi i n a little g arden and as soon as I entered I heard ,

the violin goin g but found that it was a pupil playin g ;

,

he received me very kindly ; talked with him about his

new Symphony which we are to have at t h e Philharmonic
this next Season and other matters , To morrow .
-

evening I shall hear under his direction The Templar “

and the J ewess of M arschner thoug h as he told me he , , ,

wished me to hear F idelio which was to have been

g iven but i n consequence of the illness of one of the
,

S in g ers [ was ] po stponed ; he received the message to t his

effect whilst I was with him and t he coolness with which ,

these Germans take these matters pe r fectly astonishes an

E nglishman at least it does me N ow I only want to see
, .

Cher u bi n i and I shall know the only t hree great men left in
,

our Ar t viz Spohr M en d el ss ohn and Cher u bi n i

, .
,
if
.

Wednesday nigh t 1 1 o clock H ave been to t he concert

,
’
.

g iven by Fran k M ori this evening and m e t Spohr there , ,

who introduced me to his wife with whom and himself I sat

the whole evening 3“ as X
Talked a great deal with Spohr
.
” “

abou t musical matters about his Symphony i n D minor ,

( which I like better than anythin g of his and

) l“ l“ which he told
me he wro t e twenty years ag o in London .

j
‘
an 7 t h 3“ 3“
. Went last
. eveni n g t o the theatre ,

which is a very nice buildin g but like all German Theatres

very badly lighted i“ if
I was i n the stalls behind the
.

O rchestra and between the acts Spo hr came and talked to

,

me about the M usic and situations of the performers i n the

Orches t ra The Strin g ed i nstruments a re all on one side
.

and the Wind instruments on the other ; t he B asses in the

centre I only wish our Wind i nstruments in E ngland
.

would play as well in tune as they do here The singing .

was not g ood I wonder our E nglish singers do not lear n

.

German and travel I am sure t hey would have g reat ,

s u ccess .
’

O n J anuary 8 he wrote to M iss Wood , There is

here a M adame de M a lzb u rg one of the aristocracy of ,

H ess e -C as sel who is a g reat friend of mine and plays my

, ,

Sketches by memory and other things 3“

and last ,
 H es s e-Ca ss el , L eipzig Ber l in ,

evening I made my first appearance i n Cassel at a larg e

party i n her house ; Spohr was there and got up one of
his double Q u a rtetts for me to hear he also played one ,

of his single Quartetts I never heard such playing i n my .

life H e is n o w nearly sixty years old but has the greatest

.
,

energy I promised him in the mornin g that I would play

.

and I found the par t s of my Caprice i n m y portmanteau so ,

I took that and t rusted to my memory for the Pianoforte

part You would have pitied me if you had seen the
.

curious Pianoforte I had to play on and I had not touched ,

one since I left London H owever I knew it was no time .

to make apologies and off I started with everybody round ,

the instrument Something made me vei j d et er m i n ed and

.
/
,

I got thro u g h with capital success They would not let .

me get up from the Pianoforte and I must now play Der , ,

See Der M t i hl ba c h und die Q u elle which is in E nglish

,
’

, , ,

The Lake The M illstream and t he Foun t ain

,
The .

youn g ladies play these little sketches here and so Spohr ,

said to me They all play them differently and now y o u

,
“
,

must settle t he point ; and then after I had played them ,

t here was a g r ea t upr oa r After supper once more the .

,

ladies begged Spohr to ask me to pla y again I played ,

them my Allegro Grazioso and one of M rs A nderson s

“ ’

pieces 11‘
.
1“”
Altogether it was perhaps the mo s t g
ing time I ever spent i n my life and I only looked round ,

the room for my M a ry Wood to make my happiness

complete .
’

j
‘
an 9 t h .
[ letter continued ]
1“ if if
I have been re .

c e i v e d here by the musical people like a Prince ; when I go

to the theatre Spohr leans over the Orchestra and talks

to me as if I were his son H e paid me yesterday his visit .

at my H otel but I was unfortuna t ely not at home ; he sent

me however a note inviting me to tea at his house and
, , ,

aft erwards he took me to a Society or kind of Club of , ,

which he 15 a member where I found many people smokin g ,

pipes and playin g cards (i n the German fashion ) I was .

obli g ed also (only ima g ine ) to play t h r ee g a mes

with him and had the pleasure of bein g very well beaten
,

by him although I managed to win one g ame I after wards

,
.

1 M A d r o h d p t d t h d di t io of hi S i t d Pi
rs n e s n a a cce e e e ca n s
‘
u e e ec es,
’
a
work r t ly wri t t
ec en en .
 H ess e Ca ss el L eipzi g Ber l i ,
n

possessed it to allow of any uncertainty i n rec og ms m g It .

H e strongly resented any discussion upon the rel ative

eminence of the g reat men who had i n their turn helped
to raise the edifice of M usic ; so t hat all there is to say
with certainty about his estimate of Spohr is that he placed
him in a first class that class being one within which in
. ,

his opinion n o order of merit was fea sible H e wrote

, .
,

however in reference to the great musicians — I do not

,
‘

confound g enius with mastery and he may possibly have

valued Spohr for what he called mastery rat her than for ‘ ’

what he called g enius H e certainly thought him a great

‘
.
’

master of orchestration espe cially admirin g him as one ,

who could when he chose to use his means fru gally lay
, ,

them out to the best advantage I n a lecture a t Cambrid g e .

,

in 1 8 7 1 after quoting M ozart s G minor Symphony as an

,
’

example of marvellous power and pathos displayed with

spari ng use of instruments he next pu t forward the score ,

of Spo hr s Scena C antan t e as a study of modesty with

’ ‘ ’

grandeur H is mention of these two composers i n such

.

close sequence though it only refers to a single trait which

,

he recognised in bo th is of itself sufficient to give some

,

notion of his respect for Spohr s mas t ery But he was no ’

.

blind hero worship per H e did not consider a Great M aster

- .

outside the pale of reverent criticism nor did he think that ,

a M aster had his genius perpetually wi t hin call One day .

he had been studyin g a newly -arrived instalment of the

Leipzi g edition of Bach s works and as he gently placed ’

the volume In his book -case he sighed and said Very dis ,
‘

appoin t ing Such a man was not likely to be afflicted with

.
’

musical manias and the violent mania ragin g at one time

,

i n t his country for S pohr s choral music and more especially ’

for that which he wrote in his declining years only a ffected ,

Benne t t in so far that he thoug ht i t had done Spohr harm .

When the reaction came he would say angrily that the ,

E n glish people had got tired of Spohr because they had ,

only admired his defects I t was n o t however the populace .

, ,

alone who were fickle to Spohr Bennett lived to notice .

with pain some apostasy among musicians who in earlier

days had been t he composer s adherents and he did not ’

understand turncoats I n one of his letters to Mendelssoh n

.
,

b e asserted of himself that he was never liable to hasty i m

vm ] Fi del ity to Spoh r 12 1

pressions but that he could not forget anythin g that had

,

once g one to his heart H e was not then referring to .

music but his consta ncy as a musician was ve ry marked

, ,

a n d a particular instance of i t may be seen in his attachment

to Spohr s D minor Symphony the work to which he g ave

’

a preference i n his Cassel diary H e seized oppor t uni t ies .

of reviving it at his own orchestral concerts i n London .

As soon as he became one of the Philharmonic Directors ,

the Symphony aft er long neglect immediately reappeared on

the Society s pro g rammes T he same thing happened many
’
.
,

years later when he was appointed the Societ y s conductor

,
’
.

M r Paul David who during t he las t ten years of Bennett s

, ,
’

life was in t imately acquainted wi t h him has written of the

, ,

same Symphony I t was a favourite work of Sterndale

Bennett who was never tired of hummin g its spirited and
,

melodious S ir George Grove when recallin g the ,

last oc casion on which he had met Bennett said H e talked , ,

‘

to me of S pohr s Symphony i n D minor ’

.
’

I n his work as a pianist and pianoforte -teacher Bennett ,

could not offer the same liege service to Spohr as to other

great musicians I t was probably this disabili t y which led
.

him to take every chance of expressing his respect by word

of mouth Chary as he was of conversation on musical
.

subjects whenever Spohr s name was mentioned i n his

,
’

presence he would always O pen his lips and give some ,

token of his fidelity H e certa inly kept the promise which

.

he made to himself In Cassel not to forget ha s t i ly Spohr s ,

’

personal kindness to him .

H e left Cas sel at a m on J an 1 1 A fter a cold . . .

‘

l a n g wei li c he Reise he reached Leipzig at 2 p m next day

’
.
,

and took up his quarters at the H otel de B aviere Within .

an hour of his arrival K istner David Verhulst M o n i c k e , , , , ,

and Schumann had been t o see him Two Cambridge .

underg raduates H H Pearson and N ov el li whom he

, . .
,

already knew arrived from Dresden the same afternoon

, .

M dlle M e er t i the singer engaged for the winter season

,

at the Gewandhaus was stayin g i n the H otel and sent, ,

down a note to solicit his help at a concert which the

Directors were to give for her benefit on the followin g
M onday . Poor g irl he wrote she had been refused ,
’

,
‘

S c A rt i l Spohr i Gro D i t io ry of M i d M i i
1 ’ ’ ‘ ’
e c e n ve s c na us c a n us c a n s.
 H es s e Ca s s el L eipzi g B r l in ,
e [ C 11

by everybody and wa s waitin g for me to come the refore ,

I am very glad to be of any service although I had wished ,

to have t urned myself round fi rs t O n J an 1 3 he wrote .

’
.

to M iss Wood : To -night (Thursday ) I am goi n g to one

‘

of t he grand concerts to hear Spohr s new Symphony which ’ ll

will be given for the first time and which afterwards I put ,

i n my portmanteau and bring to London for the Phi lha r

monic [ J ournal ] f a n 1 st h Dined yesterday ( F riday )
.
’
. .
‘

with Voigt where I met Schumann and his wife We after

,
.

wards sledged it to Connewitz a little villa g e two miles ,

from Leipzig H ow interestin g it is for me to renew the

.

acquaintance of Schumann whom I have not seen for

nearly five years I nvitations to dinner at noon and to
.
’

Thee u n d B u t t er b ro d came pourin g i n fas t O n S atur ’ ‘

.
’

day he dined wi t h the Davids ; on Sunday with the

Schumanns on M onday he played his Caprice in E maj or
wi t h orchestra at the Gewandhaus and accompanied M dlle
M eer t i i n her son g s ; on Tuesday he went to the Bu c hha n d le r
B orse to hear a few bars of an Overture of his own which
he thou g ht was being very well played and then hurried ,

off to a large music -party at M dme H a e r t el s which brou g ht ’

a gay week to a close D r H aertel pleased him very much .

by offering to send to his rooms one of the new grand

pianofortes recently made by the firm of B reitkopf and
H aertel These instruments had speci a l i nterest for an
.

E nglishman because they were after an E n glish model

, ,

and he wrote O n my former visit to this town I ordered

for them a B roadwood Pianoforte from London and they ,

have made Pianofortes exactly like them which are very ,

successful .
’

H e now set out to find M endelssohn who was residing

i n Berlin .

[ J ourna l ] j an 2 1s t Berlin‘ 1“
Left
. Leipzi g at , .

six O clock yesterday morning and arrived here at two

’
.

1“ i f 3“
Called on M endelssohn at 5 o clock— not at home ’
.

Went then to the theatre [ Gluck s A l c est i s ] and before two ’

,

acts were over he came and found me out H e took me

, .

aft erwards to the S inging Academy where I heard part of ,

a M ass of C he ru bi n i s which I did not like very much ’

, .

S a w Spon t ini there Capital Society about 2 0 0 i n the

.
,

(O p ) for Or h t r 1
. 12 1 2 c es a s.
 H es s e Ca s s el ,
L eipzig Ber l in ,

When M endelssohn was leaving his mo t her s house in ’

the aft ernoon after dinner he said N ow B ennett you , ,

‘
, ,

mus t come and let me play t he Symphony once more y ou ,

do see through music so quickly Bennett would himself .

’

relate this wi t h modest pride and he could confidentially , , ,

show places i n the Scotch Symphony where the composer ,

who liked him to criticize had adopted his suggestions ,

.

The same evenin g t here was a long talk abou t t he Phil

,

harmonic This opened the question of M endelssohn going

.

to E ngland to take part i n the Society s concerts of 1 8 4 2 ’

.

For the past year or two the Directors had been trying ,

but wi t hout success to sec ure his services Accordin g ly

, . ,

B ennett had now been asked to use his personal influence ,

and a few weeks later he was able to say that he had

‘
persuaded M endelssohn and that he thought the Phil
’

harmonic ought to be very much obli g ed to him ‘ ’

.

Another i nvi t ation which B ennett gave at this time ,

and which he did not hesitate to g ive on his own responsi

bi l i t y has g reat interes t
, H e wrote to M iss Wood from
.

Leipzig on J an 1 8 : Clara S chu ma n n who is married

.
,

here to a friend of mine is one of the finest players I have

,

ever heard and is altogether an extraordinary person you

,

may perhaps have heard of h e r as Clara Wieck I wan t .

her to come to E ngland and I have answered t hat she shall

play at the Philharmonic but I fear I shall n o t be able t o ,

persuade her N or did he and the reason of his failure is

.
’

easy to find A classical pianist like M adame Schumann

.
, ,

would not at that particular time secure enough engage

, ,

ments i n London to meet the expenses of her t our Later .

i n his life B ennett negotiat ed for six years before he

succeeded in brin g ing M adame Schumann t o this country
for t he first time .

Aft er a few days in Berlin he re t urned to Leipzig , .

[ J ourna l ] Lei pzig f an 2 st h Arrived , from Berlin

. last .

night about seven o clock dined and dressed and managed

’

to hear t he third part of V e rhuls t s c o n c ert 3“ 1“ 1“

Schumann
supped here t his e vening C apital fellow ! M rs Shaw .

arrived from Berlin and paid me a visit i n my rooms .

C ount Reuss also here to night T hen three weeks passed .

i n which he had social engagements every day H e worked .

in the early hours of the morning but towards mid -day his ,
vm ] A Q u a r t et by Men del s s ohn 12 5

rooms were fu ll of people so that he was prevented from

‘
,
’

completin g a new P F Concerto which he had begun In

. .

London in view of playin g it at Leipzig H e was a great .

deal with Count Reuss with M rs Shaw and her husband and
, ,

wi t h the Schumanns There was of course music H e

.
, , .

heard performances of his N a i a d s and Wood -n y mphs ‘ ’ ‘ ’

and was invited to play at t wo of the Chamber Concerts

which the Gewandhaus Directors had lately added to their
scheme I n reference to one of these concerts he wrote
.
,
‘
M endelssohn s Quartett I r ea l ly d o l ihe ; on ly per haps n ot
’

s o m u c h the last mo v ement I had a very bad head

if
.

ache and came home to the H otel between the Acts and
so missed my everlasting favourite M ozart s Quintett [ in ,
’

G mi ] I returned however soon enough to hear

.

The pro g ramme of the concert shows that the Quartet of

M endelssohn was the one in D maj or The ori g inal manu .

script o f the work g iven to him at this ti me by the com

,

poser al ways remained one of B ennett s most valued

,
’

possessions I n after life as an exceptional mark of favour

.
-
,

to one or other of his pupils he would take it down from ,

his book -case and show it together with the autog raph ,

score of The H ebrides the Album in which he kept his

‘
,
’

let t ers from Mendelssohn and the other Album g iven hi m , ,

by Coun t Reuss which contained a water colour drawing by

,
-

M endelssohn of the Thomas -Schule at Leipzi g .

O n his former visits to Leipzi g a warm attachment ,

had sprun g up between Bennett and the members of the

S c hu n c k family with whom M endelssohn also was on terms
,

of close i ntimacy Their family circle had lately gained

.

a charming addition through the marriag e of H err J ulius

S c hu n c k to M dlle J ea e
n r n a n d M endelssohn s sister -i n law
,
’
.

Bennett described his first meetings with this lady In a letter

to M iss Wood H ere he shows himself in the O pposite
.

moods of seriousness or perhaps shyness and of ga i e t y , .

A youn g lady who rrio v e d i n this same set has given her
,

, ,

remembrance of him under these two aspects i n a letter

, ,

which will be quoted presently To M iss Wood h .

 H ess e Ca s s el ,
L eipzig Ber l in
,

I went out the other day to a dinner-part y and met for the
first time a M rs S c hu n c k (the sister of M rs M endelssohn ) ,

who had married a friend of mine M r J ulius S c hu n c k since , ,

I was here I suppose she expected me t o be j umpin g

.

over all the tables and chairs i n the room for I heard aft er ,

wards that she was disappointed i n findin g such a se ri ous “

person but a few days aft erwards I spent the evening at

,

her house and made noise enou g h for t e n people and she ,

seemed quite delighted and begged me t o vis i t them very

often as she found me very merry so I have set my “
,
’

character to rights there A few days later he wrote of .

’

her in his j ournal H ow I do like M rs S c hu n c k

, .
’

Trains were now running from Leipzig to Dresden i n

four hours so Bennett went over with Carl Voigt to spend
,

three days amid pictures and porcelain H e also anticipated .

a rare musical treat M endelssohn had given him a letter

.

of introduction to Sc hneider tellin g him that he would hear ,

the Organ F ugues of Bach played better than by anybody

in the world The great organist however was too
.
’

, ,

unwell to trust himself i n a cold church so Bennett came ,

away disappointed H e found himself not alto g ether a

.

stranger i n Dresden and wrote : I had a curious scene in,

‘

a music -shop here I went to order somethin g and kept

.

walking about the room and at last came and leant over
the counter and looked at the music -seller and he started ,

back as if I were a g host and exclaimed IS it is it is it , , , ,

M r Ben B en B ennett ? I made my bow and said that

was my name and had a hearty shake of the hand and
, ,

I asked where we had had the pleasure of meetin g one

another I then found out that he had only seen my
.

L eipz ig p or t r a i t which proved to me that it must at any

,

rate be something like .

’

H e went fo r a s ec o n d time t o B erlin [ J ournal ] F eb 1 6 t h .

‘
. .

H ave been S pending the evenin g with M rs M endelssohn

where I met the whole M endelssohn family M rs H ensel .

played some of her new compositions and played them

charmingly Of another evenin g ( Feb 2 1 ) he wrote to
.
’
.

M iss Wood — I went t o a small music -party at M endels

‘

sohn s where I met all his family and some other musical
’

people H e played three pieces and then insisted on my

.

playin g I n ever wa s s o a l a r med bef or e ; not at him for

.
,
12 8 H es s e Ca s sel ,
L eipzi g Ber l i , [ C H .

evening After t he concert he at t ended a larg e supper

.

party at M adame Frege s M endelssohn also bein g a g uest ’

,
.

H e wrote in his j ournal at midnight : M iserable all day

always am the day I am going to play Concert very .

brillian t t o-night M endelssohn s Symphony was the great .

’

at t raction and I liked it excessively N ever played with

, .

more comfort to myself ; Barcarolle immensely applauded ,

very happy this evening H e also wrote to M iss Wood .

’

‘
M endelssohn told me that I played better than he had
ever heard me Are you pleased ? .
’

T he same evenin g is incidentally mentioned i n a letter

written for t y years later to B ennett s friend and pupil ’
,

M r Ar t hur O Lea ry by a lady with whose family M endels

’

sohn was closely connec t ed and who was present both at ,

the concert and at the supper-party after it The letter .

,

however goes further picturing B ennett amongst his Leipzig

, ,

friends and especially by M endelssohn s side

,
’
.

Sterndale Bennett this lady wrote was a frequent

‘
,
’

,
‘

and welcome guest at our house and I often met him and ,

M endelssohn together Their relations to each other were .

those of surpassing friendliness E ach loved and respected .

the other and M endelssohn felt the hi g hest pleasure not

,

only in the eminent gifts but also in t he characteristic and ,

amiable na t ure of the young artist O ne can say that .

M endelssohn like an elder brother shared i n his stri vings

, ,

and successes and always supported him readily with his

,

counsel in the most loving way Their intercourse was most .

cordial and intimate They were bo t h given to pleasant ry .

and Benne t t in partic u lar was as a rule in the mood for a ll

manner of fun The German language still unfamiliar to .
,

him though he s t udied it industrio u sly German life and ,

c u stoms all gave rise to laughable mis t akes and witty

remarks Within the circle of his more intimate friends
.
,

Bennett s childlike merriment was irrepressible H e was

’
.

fond of performing divers conj uring t ricks and his a n ec , fi

dotes and comical stories were received with roars of

lau gh t er I n large assemblies he was reserved and retiring
.
,

but very popular all considering themselves fortunate in ,

coun t in g him amon g t heir guests H is fi rs t appearance .

1

N t h i fi t pp r
1 o b t p rh p t h fir t o
s rs aio whi h t hi l dy
ea a n c e, u e a s e s c c as n on c s a
h rd him
ea .
vm ] A r t is t ic Afi n i ty to Men del ssoh n
. 129

at the Gewandhaus was a decided success The refined .

gr ace with which he gave the second movement of his

Concerto— enti t led Barcarolle if I mista ke not— inspired ,
”

the audience with enthusiasm M endelssohn rallied hi m .

on this occasion about a nervousness which had made him

accelerate the time thoug h he was g reatly pleased at his
,

triumph .
’

T he relationship of an elder to a younger brother ,

which this lady s memory has g iven to M endelssohn and

’

Bennett at the ag es of 3 3 and 2 6 res pectively— brin g ing

to one s mind a like happy association half-a -century before
’

between M o zart and S t orace with the same difference in

their ages seems also traceable i n Schumann s mind w hen
—
’

he wrote of them as contemporary musicians S harin g a

common inheritance and not as master and disciple ,
N0 .
‘

one he wrote des ires to call Bennet t a great genius but

,
’

,
‘
,

he has a g rea t deal of one kind of genius ; and cert ainly ’

i n Schumann s opinion Bennett was worth speaking of i n

’

the same breath with M endelssohn T his is to be seen .

in the first as well as in one of the las t of his criticisms on

B ennett Thus in 1 8 3 7 he wrote :
.
,
‘
The first thin g that strikes every one in the character
of his compositions is their remarkable family resemblance l

to those of M endelssohn T he same beauty of form poetic .

,

dep t h yet c learness and ideal purity the same outwardly satis
, ,

fy i n g impression —but with a difference , This difference .

is still more observable in their playin g than i n their com

pos itions The E n glishman s playin g is perhaps more
.
’

tender more careful in detai l ; that of M endelsso hn is

,

broader more energ etic The former bestows fine shadin g

, .

on the lightest thin g the latter pours a novel force i n t o,

the most po werful passa ges ; one overpowers us with the

t ra n s fig u red expression of a single form the other showers ,

forth hundreds of an gelic heads as in a heaven of Raphael , .

Somethin g of the same kind occurs in their compositions ) “

N ow five yea rs later

, Schum an n reviewed at
g reat len g th the Suite de Pieces a set of elaborate Pi an o ,
’

forte Solos which Bennett had completed i n London

before startin g for Germany :
1
word t h ori gi l
T he B ru d er a h n l i c h k ei t
’

F R Ri
In e na 15 .

1
r l t d from t h G r m
T ans a e e e an by . . t te r .
13 0 H e e Ca s s el ,
s s - L eif z ig ,
B lier (c a .

The resemblance of his compositions to those of

‘

M endelssohn has often been remarked ; but those who

think they have sufficiently desi g nated B ennett s character ’

by such a remark do him great injustice and betra y their

, ,

own want ofj ud g ment Resemblances are common between .

differen t masters of the same epoch I n Bach and H andel .

,

i n H aydn M ozart and Beethoven i n his earlier period we

, , ,

find a similar aim like a bond of union between them and

, ,

which often outwardly expresses itsel f as though one were ,

calling unto the other But t his inclination of one noble .

mind to another should never be misnamed imitation and ,

Bennett s likeness to M endelssohn is involuntary Yet

’
.

B ennett s works have contin ued to increase in originality ;

’

and in the one that lies before us we are merely reminded ,

of the artis t ic S triving t hat inspires him i n common with

M endelssohn We think more frequently of older masters
.
,

into whose nat ure the E nglish compos er seems to have

penetrated The study of Bach and of Domenico Scarlatti
.
,

whom B ennett prefers amon g pianoforte composers has ‘

,

not been without influence on his development And he .

is righ t to study them ; for he who desires to be a master

can only learn this from masters X
.
”‘

S chumann here observes increase in originality and ‘ ’

fresh influence of older masters so one may think that ‘

,
’

Benne t t had done himself no harm by abstainin g for two

or three years from writin g pianoforte -music and then as , ,

it were starting on a new track Davison in his review

,
.
,

of these pieces thus noticed the change , I n this work

M r B ennett has alto g e t her abandoned the accompanied
song style which characterises the maj ority of his previous
compositions for piano solo We are not sorry for t his .
,

since i n addition to its rescuing him from the accusation

,

of monotony we find i n the S u i t e de p i ec es a strength and

,

energy which are not compatible wi t h the style we have

alluded to 1“ 1“
The fifth [ piece] reminds us we know
.
,

not why of some of the quaint lessons of Domenico

,

1“ 1‘ 1"
Scarlatti . Bennett had certainly tried i n Portland
Chambers t o extend his knowledge of S carlat t i s music ’

1
mor li t r l t r l t io of S h m
A e e a wo ld b
ans a n c u
’
a n n s s en t en c e u e
‘
Th e s t u dy of
B h d of t h l i r wo rk of D S rl t i for whi h B
ac ,
an e c av e - s . ca a t c en n et t h a s a pa r
ti l fo d
cu ar h
n t b
n es s wi t ho t i fl
as nohi d lopm een u n u en c e o n s eve
’
en t .
vm ] A St or e of R emin is c en c es 13 1

H e had searched for it K nowin g that Lord Fitzwilliam s

'

.
’

librar y bequeathed to the U niversity of Cambridge in 1 8 1 6

, ,

contained works of the composer he made enquiries i n ,

1 8 40 but recei v ed the disappointing reply that the music

,

library was s t ored away pending the completion of the

F i t zwi ll i a m M useum .

Bennett now saw the last of Germany for many a lon g

year This visit especially furnished many treasured re
.
, ,

collections H is reception by Spohr ; his introduction to

.

the M endelssohn family to Madame H ensel and her ,

husband the painter and to M endelssohn s other brother ,

’

i n -la w the mathematician Dirichlet ; his meetin g with

Spontini M eyerbeer Taubert Schneider and other
, , , ,

musicians in Berlin and D resden ; his joyous day s j ourney ’

with Mendelssohn from Berlin to Leipzig ; all such things

were often to be thou g ht of and recounted The evenin g .

on which the Scotch Symphony was first heard and on ,

which he played his own C oncerto was never forgotten by ,

him and he was justified in recalling it with some pride

, .

On the one hand M endelssohn had come from Berlin to,

preside over a single concert on the spot which he had ,

made peculiarly his own H e conducted his new work at .

a desk wreathed with laurels and was received with all ,

the honour due to a g reat master givin g to the world a

glorious masterpiece O n the other hand Bennett played .
,

his Concerto amidst universal applause and the lady who ,

wrote of the evening forty years afterwards had not

forgotten M endelssohn s pleasure at his youn g friend s ’ ’

‘
triumph Opportunities of distinction came rarely to an
.
’

E nglish pianist of the time and Bennett would i n later , ,

days speak of his connection with this concert as one of

,

the chief events of his life .

H e remained in Leipzig a few days longer took part ,

i n all the social festivities held for welcoming M endelssohn ,

heard the new Antigone music at the theatre and then

‘ ’
,

travelled straight through to E ngland to be presen t i n his , ,

place as one of the Directors at the first Philharmonic ,

concert on M arch 1 4 .
 C H A PT E R IX .

TH E P H ILHA R M O N I C S OC I ETY .

THE M U SI C A L S E A S ON O F 8 4 1 2.

Marc h to J u ly , 1 8 42 .

set . 2 5, 2 6 .

THE Philharmonic Society of London an institution ,

with which Bennett was closely connected durin g the greater

part of his life wa s founded in 1 8 1 3 i e three years before
, , . .

his birth and thirteen years before he began his studies

,

at the Academy The movemen t which ori g inated the

.

Society g ave a new direction to the musical taste of this

,

country and prepared the way by the introduction of fresh

, ,

models for that extension of musical education of which he

,

was one of the first to reap the benefit The Philharmonic .

a ccepted him while still a youth

, as one reared under the ,

s ame influences as itself and thenceforward to the end of

,

his life regarded him as the E n g lish musician who came

n earest to its own ideal H e in turn for the best part of
.
, ,

forty years followed with the deepest interest the Society s

’

work ; grateful no doubt as time went on for success

, , ,

gained under its auspices and tied to it by the mem ory ,

of happy associations ; but beyond any such se f concern

l -
,

a l ways very j eal ous fo r i ts reputation a s the chief home

i n this country of a sch oo l of music which he piously
ve n er at ed .

The Society had been the outcome of a strong desire

on t he part of certai n eminent musicians to see concerted
instrumenta l music and especially orches t ral music of the
,

then modern type takin g up a fixed abode in E ngland .

The last decade of the eighteenth century was marked by

13 4 Th e P hil h a r m on ic S c iety
o [ on

to concern itself with the present as well as the past and ,

with the security of accruin g fu nds entered into negotiations

with celebrated livin g composers engag ing them to write ,

new works and invitin g their presence at concerts Thu s .

between 1 8 1 7 and 1 8 2 9 all the world being t hen at peace , ,

Cherubini S pohr Weber and the you t hful M endelssohn

, , , ,

were i n turn welcomed t o the Philharmonic pla t form The .

advent of Spohr in 1 8 2 0 led to a repeal of the law for

biddin g Concert os with a soloist and thenceforward many ,

E uropean artists of renown performed at the concer t s the ,

first introduc t ion of a modern pianofor t e Concerto by

M o sc he l es in 1 8 2 1 creating a remarkabl e sensation
, ,
Of .

paramount interest however was the c o -operation of

, ,

Beethov en as a composer c u lminating i n his dedication ,

t o the Philharmonic of his Choral S y mphony Fort u nate .

,

t o o was t he Society who could find means to contribute

,

to the comforts and necessities of B ee t ho v en i n his last

‘ ’

illness and who could place on its records the grateful

,

messag e he sent back ei g ht days before his death t o the

, ,
‘

noble E n glish Thus when the Philharmonic came of

.
’

ag e in 1 8 3 3 (an event which it celebrated by commissioning

the composition of seven new works ) it had made history
and acquired presti g e Forei g ners eyed with favour an
.

institution which took delight in honouring t hem whilst ,

E nglish musicians regarded election as M ember or Associate

i n the light of a professional diploma granted wi t h authori t y ,

and scarcely obtainable at the time in any o t her way .

Bennet t s adoption by the Society came early and his

’

promotions followed quickly Performances of hi s works .

,

after his deb ut i n 1 8 3 5 were given annually H e was , .

elected an Associate in 1 8 3 8 a t the age of t wen t y -two , ,

and being in Leipzig when he heard t he news b e i m ,

mediately ran off t o M endelssohn to tell him of his good ‘

luck . H e was raised to t he rank of M ember i n 18 40 and

’

at the end of 1 8 4 1 was appointed one of the seven Directors ,

as also one of the seven Conductors of concer t s for the ,

next year s season T he conductorship though it only

’
.
,

entailed presiding at a single concert was an honourable ,

post for him seeing that in the firs t y ear he held i t when
, ,

he was twenty -six years old he was t he colleague of Sir ,

George Smart S ir H enry Bishop Potter Lucas M os c hel es

, , , , ,
I X] Th e D ir ec t or s of t he Soc i ty e 13 5

and M endelssohn I n his other office as Director to which

.
,

he was ann u ally r e-elec t ed until such time as he declined to

serve further he was able to make himself useful H is
, .

views were not always in accord with those of the maj ority
of his colleagues as his correspondence will show ; t hou g h
,

why he disagreed with t hem he does not definitely state .

One cause of variance however can be made plain When , ,

.

he first j oined the Board the S ociety which was e n terin g

, ,

on its thirtieth year was passin g through a time of de

,

pression I t no longer had t he monopoly of ins t rumental

.

performance i n London ; the material prosperity of earlier

years could not be maintained ; and for some time past
accumulated savin g s had been drawn upon to cover deficits .

Business had to be t hought of as well as a r t I t had come .

to pass that t he Directors were not necessarily selected

because they were the most learned of the M embers in
that branch of music which was t he speciality of the Society .

C ertainly in framin g their pro g rammes whe t her i t was that

, ,

they thought to please and attract a larger public or whe t her ,

they only listened to the dictates of thei r own t astes they ,

often admitted musical works and performances which were

out of keeping with Philharmonic traditions There were .

items on their pro g rammes of which a man as S trict as

Bennett could not possibly approve I t was however an .
, ,

awkward duty for one who himself fi gured as a pianist and

,

composer at the concerts to g ive O pinions on the merits ,

of others H e therefore set to work quietly though he

.
,

was by no means i nactive H is connec t ion with Germany .

was the first source of his practical usefulness t o the

Society and from that same connection he derived the
,

most pleasure in his new position ; for with no further ,

prospect of travelling himself he could still keep i n touch ,

with his German friends Philharmonic b u siness led to .

much correspondence between M endelssohn and himself .

That correspondence supplies some of the best material

available for following his professional and also his private
life during the next few years I t will be used as t he .

groundwork of this narrati v e which will now be resumed ,

i n M arch 1 8 4 2 , .

Bennet t after his return from Germany moved from

, ,

Portland Chambers to 4 2 U pper Charlot t e St Fitzroy ,

13 6 Th e P hil h a r mon ic Soc iety [CH .

Sq uare where his friend M rs J ohnson was residing with

, , ,

her two sons one of whom Alfred Croshaw J ohnson has

, , ,

be en already mentioned as his pupil and his visitor at Grant

chester M rs J ohnson had lately been left a widow ; her
.

house was beyond her requirements ; and some friends of

hers who also knew Bennett s u ggested t hat she should ,

a d m It him as a member of her family The proposed .

arrangement promised well for him ; it would increase his

expenditure ; but he would be in a be t ter position to
receive pupils and In the handsome roo ms assigned to him
,

he would be able to g ive l i t t le c o n c e rt s or music-parties '

All t his he explained in letters to his aunt at Cambrid g e ,

writing : I hope to see a few c a r r i ag es before my door i n

‘

the course of the season and again It seems more of a , ,

home than I have been latterly used t o ; no more Chamber

life for me At the same t ime another hom e was ready to
.

welcome him at Southampton where his future mother 1n -

law dwelt Thither he now went to spend an E aster holiday

. .

M iss Wood had only j ust completed her seventeenth year ,

so there was no tal k of an immediate marriage nor would

his present means have allowed of it H er father a Com .
,

mander in the Royal N avy was abroad and was not , ,

expected home for two years M eanwhile Bennett must .

,

work and have somethin g satisfactory to say to Captain

Woo d on his return From Southamp t on he wrote to
.

M endelssohn usin g note -paper with a view of Netley

,

Abbey upon it M endelssohn had been delighted to hear

.

that Bennett was engaged and had never ceased to sin g ,

H ang the libert y when they were together i n Berlin

’
.

S O UTHAM PT O N Apr i l 2, 1 8 42

EAR F RIE
, .

MY D N D,

I hope you will be so good to notice well the

i c t u r e on this sheet of paper and if you remark the name
p
of t he town I have written underneath you will be able
to tell where I am now and what the object of my v isit to
this part of the world is I am j ust going back to London
.

but I t hough t I should very much like to write to you from

this place and after this little introd u ction I must begin to
,

1
N w ( 9 7) 91 0C h rlo t t S t
2 O th t id t h 4t h ho o t h of e ea s s e, e
H owl d St
o a e . n use s u

an .
13 8 Th e P hil h a r m on ic Soc iety [CH .

your kindness to me when I was at B erlin and many

other t hin g s which I m u st say to you when I see y ou
i n London Amongst t hes e ot her t hi ng s I most especially
.

wished to ask the favour of your playing over Six pieces

( which K istner is now en g raving ) and to see that they do
not publish a l l the wrong notes which I am afraid in the
hurry of writin g them out I made And will you also be .

so good as to mark any P i a or F or which you may think

'

. .

necessary for I know I have not marked them sufficiently

,

and I fear I shall not be able to correct the proofs and

send them back in t ime to be pri nted Do pray excuse .

this most i n hu ma n request 1“

.

M endelssohn wrote from B erlin on April ,

15

MY D EAR
B E N N E TT ,

M r K i stner writes me yesterday (dated

1 2 th April ) that he sent your box l a s t wec h via
H amb u rg h to you I hope accordin gly that it will reach or,

has reached you safely I have made all those alterations i n .

my Symphony which I intended (two principal ones i n the

I s t movement and some other t r i fl e s in all four but I need
)
not make any remarks about them or give new directions , ,

it g oes all by itself I hope you will keep your ki nd .

promise and superintend the rehearsal as paternally as

possible 1“
.
1“
Thanks also for your very welcome
letter from M ay ence ; you know what pleasure it will
always g ive me to know your new things earlier than other
people and although I am usually but very indifferent a
1
,

corrector I will on this occasion screw up my capacities to

an extraordinary pitch and hope to drive K istner mad with
wanting flats and sharps which I shall find out But till .

now I have not g ot them ; he writes in his letter from

y esterday that he will send the proofs n ac h s t e n s I am ‘
.
’

very anxious to get them and play them over again and
agai n — You see i n this letter that I am in a dreadful bustle
and have thousand unmusical t hings in my head (f or y ou
a c e and therefore
u s e t o hn ow i t when ever u l ooh a t m
yf
2
y o ,

1 It m t r g t h t B t t ho ld t h pl y d or how hi S i t
s ee s s an e a en n e s u no a ve a e s n s u e
d Pi M d l oh whil t h w i G rm y
’
e t ec es o en e ss n s e as n e an .

2
y
‘
i
ou y u s e,wo t M d l oh h mploy d t hi ob ol t
’
. e .
‘
o u a re n .
’
en e ss n as e e s s e e
pr t t
es en i o t h r orr po d
en s e n e c es n en c e.
1x] Cor r es pon den c e wit h Men del sso hn 13 9

I believe it will be t he same with my le t ters ) businesses ,

and Concerts and Quartetts and everything

,
1“ 1“
.

And now enough We are all qui t e well Cecile sends her
.

bes t compliments anticipates much pleas u re from her

,

in t ended visit to yo u r country and has E nglish lessons ,

and reads E nglish books M arriage in high life &c , , .

,

with a ven g eance R emember me h i n d /y ; wri t e the days

.
‘

of the Philharmonic farewell and excuse the st u pidity of

, ,

this letter and of its author

Yours always ,

F E LI X M E N D E LS S O H N B AR T H O LD Y .

B en n et t t o M en del ss ohn .

Apr i l 2 5, 1 8 4 2
U
.

42 PP ER C HARLO TTE STREET

F ITZ ROY S QUARE ,

EAR F RIE
.

MY D N D,

Your kind letter of the 1 5th inst I received .

on Saturday last and as to -morrow is foreign post -day I

herewith send you the dates of the remainin g Philharmonic
Concerts .
1“ 1“
You will see by this that you will
have plenty o f time to do as you like at D ii s s eld o rf and
still be with us at the s ix t h Con c er t or if this does not ,

a g ree with your plans then you can in any case be with us
,

for t he two last and help us t hrough with your aid to finish
the season well I cannot tell you how glad I am that your
.

coming to my country amoun t s now to a c er t a i n ty and you ,

know how happy the musicians here will be to welcome you

and none more than mysel f T he box has n o t arrived but.

I hOpe to hear of it every day and immediately I g e t your

Symphony we will have a g ood and serious rehearsal We
, .

played your M idsummer—n i g ht at the last concert (which

M r Potter directed ) and I never heard it better played i n
E n g land They play ed it dreadfully slow at the rehearsal
.
,

but I hinted to M r Potter as t o the Leipzig time and he

adopted my su gges t ions M o l iq u e pla y ed at the last
.

concert and has also brought a new Symphony which is to

be played at the 5t h concert They have also asked me .

to play but I wish very much n o t to play u ntil you come

and the night you give your Symphony I should like t o
i t Mi W ood1
. e. o ss .
 Th e P hil h a r m on ic Soc iety
be f o B
t he pa r ty , a s a tut will you
L eipz ig let
. me know
whether y ou will play first or whether you will have the
Symphony and then play at t he succeedin g concert ?

E verything shall be as you wish at least I am s u re t he ,

Directors will arran g e all to your satisfaction I regret .

much that our Direct ors are at variance with M o s c he le s

and I will tell you the whole affair when I see you We .

are n o t able at present to give S pohr s new Symphony ’

i n consequence E n t r e n ou s I a m not at all sa t isfied with

.

my colleag ues and fear you will not find us very much
improved in spirit and enterprize I have kept very quiet .

because I could find no good opportuni t y of gi v ing my

O pinion of their general arrangements which are far from

being g ood but all this when I see you I am much

, .

obliged t o you for your kindness in consen t ing to correct

my proofs and hope you will not have too much trouble
although my f ea r outbalances my hope Then in three or .

fou r weeks I shall see you and you know how happy I shal l
be Many thanks for all things I t hink you will find me
. .

making love to a va s t ext en t I know you will wish me to

.

prosper i n all such happy affai rs and althou g h I shall retain

my liberty some time longer I begi n to feel that I could
,

give it up without m uc h hesita tion With best compliments .

to M rs M endelssohn and your family ,

Believe me ever a n d a d ay , ,

Yours very tru ly ,

W I LL IA M S T ER N DA L E B E N N E TT .

I n one of the lette rs which he had recently wri tten to

M iss Wood from Germany Benne t t mentioned that he had
,

j ust been buying a good deal of music for his library H e .

had perhaps received from K istner a little money for his

compositions which he could invest in that way One day .

in Berlin he walked i nto a music -shop and ordered straight

off all the works of Bach ; but when he related this
,
‘ ’

inciden t i n after-life i t was not with reference to a well ~

,

filled purse but t o t he scarcity a t the time of p u blished

,

works by that composer When he was leaving for

.

E n gland he placed his new purchases in a box which ,

he asked K is t ner to se nd after him as soon as the orchestral

 Th e P hil h a r m on ic Soc iety
ducting William Dorrell remembered that as the conductor
.

was leavin g the artists room to enter the concert room

’
-

M endelssohn ran after him sayin g H ere Bennett I , ,

‘
, ,

have forg otten somethin g and that he then took a little ,

’

case from his pocket and presented in the name of ,

the Gewandhaus Direc t ors a valuable diamond pin , .

M endelssohn wrote to K istner on J une 5 — I gave ‘

B ennett his pin during a concert he stuck it in thereupon , ,

immediately conducted an overture of mine was vas t ly ,

delighted and all t he performers were mi g htily impressed

,

by your beautiful gift They said they too would like to

.
,

come to Leipzig .
’

M endelssohn had brought his wife to see E ngland and

to v isit relations and friends ; his social engagements were
innumerable ; but he was ubiquitous and A C J ohnson , . .

remembered him as often runnin g into Charlotte S treet to

find Bennett Thalberg would also some t imes be there and
.
, ,

when playing to M endelssohn and Benne t t would not mind ,

their rallying him about certain fea t ures of his music or

performance ; but would himself jest back and enj o y what ,

they said l n the most g ood humoured way The Phi lha r .

monic season with M endelssohn s assistance at the last two

,
’

concerts ended brillian t ly on J une 2 7 A finishin g touch

, .
,

however was still wanting I t appears that there had been

, .

a hope that the musical circles of London would combine

to celebrate M endelssohn s presence in their midst by some
’

public festivity ; but there was a lack of unity and the ,

failure to carry out such a scheme when once it had been ,

proposed had a sorry look

, The Philharmonic Socie t y .
,

anxious to perform their own duty of hospitality at the last ,

moment hurriedly arranged a whitebai t dinner at Green

wich M endelssohn on receivin g their invitation came t o
.
, ,

Charlo t te Street on Wednesday J uly 6 and wrote on a , ,

sheet of B ennett s music -paper : ’

A t t he en d o
f t h e Lon don s t ay in 1 8 42 .

j u ly 6 t h .

D EAR B E N N E TT I am so very sorry not to find you at

—

home ! We leave E ngland on Sa t u rday or Sunday and I

must beg y ou to excuse my not coming t o Greenwich on
Friday with the Directors as it is so near to our depar t u re
,

and the principal reaso n is that t hey asked me to pla y the

1x ] To Speed t h e P a rt ing G u es t 1 43

Org an i n E xeter H al l for the distressed manufacturers on

Friday also and I declined it because I was going and ,

therefore I think i t wou l d n o t do to accept of any other

'

engagement So pray make my apolog y and give my best

.

thanks to the Directors and may heal t h and happiness be

,

always with you and with all whom you love and vi c e-ver sa .

( There is also some selfishness i n this wish you see ) And .

so good -bye auf gutes Wiedersehen

, .

Always yours ,

F E L I X M E N D E LSS O H N B AR T H O LD Y .

I like the red room

Bennett on readin g the above must have rushed off to
, ,

consult his colleag ues and to g et the impossible F riday

altered to Saturday on the chance of M endelssohn s ’

postponing his depa rture A fresh i nvitation must have

.

been immediately sent and M endelssohn wrote next

,

day :
D EAR B E N N E TT ,

Our j ourney i s postponed and so I will certai nly

come and dine with you at Greenwich B ut tell me where .

and when we meet on Saturday .

Always yours in dreadful haste ,

F E LI X M E N D E LSS O H N B AR T H OLDY .

Thus the Philharmonic saved its character for hospitality ,

and at the dinner on the 9 t M endelssohn according to

h —
,

The M u s i ca l Wor l d — assured his hosts that he would do

all in his power to promote the i nterests of their Society .

This was not a mere post -prandial sentiment but a real ‘

,
’

promise afte rwards fulfilled Then on their way home .

from Greenwich M endelssohn and Bennett made another

a ppointment .M iss Wood was still cloistered in Tenterden
Street for her last term and there had been no opportunity
,

for introducing M endelssohn to her A concert or .

rehearsal at the Academy on the coming M onday would

give such a chance and this explains the followin g
,

affectionate letter ’
.

T h ori g i
1 l i i G rm
e na s n e an.
1 44 Th e P hil h a r mon ic Soc iety [ CH . 1x

N N
LO DO , ? u ly 1 1 t h, 1 8 4 2 .

MY V ER Y DEAR B E E NN TT ,

I had hope d till the last moment to be able to

come to the Academy and now it is late at night and I
,

have not be en ! I am terribly sorry please do not be angry

,

with me .

I enclose cards my wife s and my own for M iss Wood

,
’

,
.

I f she thinks as I do she will not care for them i n the least
, ,

but I trust she will ca re somewhat for our warm good wishes
for her happiness and prosperity and these will be her
,

faithful companions now and always — o f that I hope that

she feels no doubt .

These wishes are also at the same time wishes for you ,

dear B ennett Your two persons are united and wishes for
.
,

you may be united t oo Good -bye my E n lish visit is at

.
,

an end once more— i t was a happy one oo d -bye may

.
,

we continue as close friends as ever and meet again soon

, .

E ver yours ,

F E L I X M E N D E LS S O H N B AR T H OLDY .
I 46 Cor r es pon den c e wit h Men del s s oh n [ OH .

I have still my l i ber ty and shall keep i t s t ill some time but ,

I do begin t o agree with you and could now heart ily sing
with you Hang t he liberty‘
I wonder when I S hall see .
’

you again and whether I shall be m y sel f or not I oft en wish .

to transport myself to the Thom a s -M uh le and run up yo u r ’

staircase but I hope all this will come agai n some day I
,
.

am writin g t o -day to K istner to tell him that I canno t agree

with M iss B irch as she wishes to remain in London during
,

the months of J anuary Febr u a ry and March I have only , .

j ust received her answer and I am not very well pleased at

the indifference she displayed after the tro u ble I had given
myself to ask your Direc t ors to make her an offer What .

think you of M iss Dolb y if she wo u ld come and I think ,

she would “
. I remain i n London t his winter and
1

am determined to work and send y ou over some new things ,

amongst o t hers an Overture which must be for the

Gewandhaus and which I hope to send you before the
year is out I am doing much to my Oratorio and have
.

wri t ten just now a long Chorus which I am rather satisfied ,

with M y lit t le P F Trio in A maj or I mus t also p u blish

. . .
,

and I have a little P F Rondo in E major the proofs of which

. .

are ready and I am wan t ing to send i t t o K istner which ,

I hope you will like not a very grand fellow nor a very ,

merry one but has something abou t it which I thi nk wo u ld

, ,

please you I will send you the E nglish copy of my Suite

.

de Pieces whenever I have an opportunit y and thank you

’

once more for correcting t he German edition Spohr s new .

’

Oratorio T he Fall of Babylon according to the news

‘ ’

papers has made a sensation in E n gland I have nei t her .

heard nor seen a note of it nor heard any opinion which I ,

could have faith In or value Edward Taylor 18 now at the .

head of M usic in E ngland and so you know what our

hopes must be I cannot give you any Philharmonic news
.
,

but I think we shall make some important changes next

season at any rate we shall have our eight concerts as
,

usual I suppose this letter will find you at Leipzig

.

althoug h I have heard nothing a s t o your plans 1“

.

DO wr i t e to me when you have time ; you know m y dear

friend what pleasure it always gives me to hear from you
and what you are doing and what is the musical sta t e of ,

Leipzig if hea l t hy a s ever

, Shall we have you next yea r .
x] Ch a m ber -Mus ic 1 47

for the Birmingham Fes t ival I hope you will t ell me what ?

new t hings you have done and f or my s a he send us some

thing for t he Philharmonic next year Pra y give mine and .

M iss Wood s bes t compliments t o M rs M endelssohn and

’

kiss your children for me Le t me hear tha t you are re al ly

.

well and happy remember me to t he S c hu n c ks Davids

, , ,

Schleini t z &c &c and hOp i n g t o hear from you very soon
, .
, .
, ,

believe me my dear Friend

, ,

Yours most sincerely ,

W I LL IA M S T ER N DA LE B E N N E TT .

Verg essen Sie nicht die noten von Bach fii r mich .

I n N ovember B ennett announced a scheme of Classical

,
‘

Chamber Concerts a ti t le which he lat er changed to

,
’

Performances of Classical Pianoforte M usic as being a ,

’

closer descrip t ion of t heir speciali ty H e was abou t to .

ex t end his work and to do his d u ty as a pianist in a

, , ,

direction lit t le t ried so far by others in E ngland Chamber .

m u sic i n which the pianoforte takes par t had not y et found

much place in concer t -rooms The Philharmonic Society .

had from the firs t incl u ded it i n t heir programmes but ,

generally in the form of a S eptet or Sestet Similar works .

for a smaller combination of instrumen t s such as P F Trios . .

,

and Sonatas for pianofort e and violin had been seldom play ed
i n public The V iolinist Dando and others follo wing his
.
,

example had for a few years pas t given concert s of s t ring

,

Q uar t ets A P F Trio was a usual item on their schemes

. . .
,

so that just a few of such works had la t ely been brought to

a hearing ; but a vast number of masterpieces were q u ite
unknown except to professors and a few highly cultivated -

ama t eurs . A grea t pianist could gain at the t ime lit t le

dis t inction and cer t ainly no money by taking part i n ,

concert ed chamber-music at a concert ; and y et if such

music was ever to g ain the appreciation i t deserved ,

pianists of high order were wan t ed to illus t ra t e its beauty ;

men who would be pa t ient i n looking for even an educa
t i o n a l res u lt without t ho u ght of material advan t age and
, ,

who were willing to lend t heir powers to the furt herance of

M usic in her serious aspec t foregoing the applause g i ven t o ,

a d c a t a n d u m fea t s of vi rtuosity Bennet t was such a

p .

I O— Z
1 48 Cor r es pon den c e wit h Men del s s oh n [ CH .

pianist and there were none too many like him in his
,

earlier days .

Of solo -performance on the pianoforte only two forms ,

were at this time recognized by the concer t -audiences of

E ngland Pianists were heard i n Concertos with orches t ra
.
,

or if t hey played without accompaniment were expec t ed ,

to exhibit themselves in as t onishing t ou r s de f or c e The - -

.

Recitals by M o s c hel es in 1 8 3 7 and 1 8 3 8 may be

’

quo t ed as striki n g exceptions su fficiently rare to pro v e

the general rule I n B ennett s case from the day in 1 8 3 1
.
’

when he had first a t tracted notice at a s t u dents concert ’

he was for about eleven years heard in Concertos with

orchestra ; and up to his t wenty -sixth year the only solo
pieces played by him before a London audience were t he
above -mentioned Sonatas given in Co v entry s rooms and a ’

selec t ion from the Lieder ohne Worte at a concert of ‘

,
’

T P Cooke s The modern Fantasia was the only sure

. .
’
.
‘ ’

passpor t t o the pla t form or to the aristocratic salon , .

From Leipzig in 1 8 4 2 he had written home about the

Chamber-concerts lately added by the Gewandhaus
Directors to their syllab u s E ven there he found a .
‘

small audience but he noticed wi t h satisfaction the great

,
’

attention paid to such music and was delighted because one ,

of t he movements from t he Violin Sona t a in B Dof M ozart , , ,

which he played with David set all the old ladies nodding ,
‘

their heads Then too for the first time though nearly
.
’

, , ,

twenty six years old he was invi t ed t o play Solos of his own
-
,

composition H e wro t e of this fresh experience to M iss

.

Wood : I t is some t hing qui t e new for me to play in this

‘

manner for I do n ot very much like to play witho u t t he

,

orchestra Yet he was pleased wi t h t he result

.
’
I stepped .

up [ at the end of t he concert] and played firs t one of my

n ew i ec es in E minor and aft erwards my Sketches which
p
the people applauded very much Thus encouraged abroad .
’

aft er his return to his own country he gave his first series ,

of three concer t s at the beginning of the N ew Year 1 8 4 3 , ,

i n his drawing rooms at Charlot t e Stree t before an

-
,

audience of about 1 0 0 persons ; i n t rod u cing Trios Violin ,

and Violoncello Sonatas play ing Preludes and F u g u es , ,

Sona t as and new compositions of his own On March 3

, .

he wrote to M endelssohn I n the mon t h of J anuary I gave

1 50 Cor r es po den c e wit h Men d lss oh
n e n [ CH .

The Philharmonic season of 1 8 43 was now approaching .

The Direc t ors had hoped tha t M endelssohn would agai n

assist and had sent him a formal invita t ion but in writing
,

t o Bennett on t h e s u bj ect he referred t o t he recent loss of ,

his mother as the cause of abandoning all idea of coming

,

to E ngland this year T he Society s prospects were now .

’

very gloomy and the best t hat Bennet t could wri t e abo u t
,

the disappearing capital was We s t ill have a little to lose ,

‘
.
’

H e has been credi t ed with s u ggesting to his colleagues a t ,

this j unc t ure that the y sho u ld apply to Spohr and t he

, ,

application was successful Spohr consen t ing to come over ,

towards the end of t he season Bennett himself took .

part in two concerts H e conducted the fifth at which the .

,

Lobgesang was given and at t he sixth he played a new

’

Concerto in A minor (u npublished ) on which he had been ,

engaged for eighteen months I t was the S ixth and last .

Concerto he wrote H is firs t idea was to limi t t he work to

.

two movements and he named i t not Concerto b u t Concert

, ,

S t ii c k. After playing i t at the Sa t urday rehearsal he

changed his mind and composed a slow movement for the ,

M onda y concer t with an orchestral accompaniment s u ffi

,

c i e n t ly simple to be played wi t ho u t rehearsal The .

M u s i c a l Wor l d described the Allegro as fu ll of passion ‘

and grandeur and the Finale as a rondo pres t o of

,
’
‘

untameable spiri t and untiring energy Spohr arrived i n .

’

London j u st i n time to grace with his presence a Soirée ‘

d a r t i s t es which Bennett gave in Charlotte S t ree t and

’ ’

, ,

which according to Davison attracted a brilliant galaxy

, ,
‘

of celebri t ies I t was certainly an i n t eres t ing evening

.
’
.

Spohr was a grand lion who had not been seen in ‘ ’

London for t wen t y years Dre y s c hoc k whom Bennett .

,

had m e t a t Leipzig and whom he tho u ght a very wonder ,

‘

ful player as far as difficulty was concerned was in the ,

’

company ; but there was also a pianist of very different

character t he boy Charles P iltsch who was spending i n
, , ,

London t wo months of his shor t life and though only , ,

thirteen years of age was i nfluencing musical t aste for he ,

was the first to make the m u sic of his master Chopin , ,

properly u nderstood by some of t he musicians i n this

country Charles H allé who was t o give his first concert
.
,

i n London a few days later was another gues t ; and ,

x] Spoh r in L on don 15 1

M o s c heles brou g ht with him E rnst the violinist who had , ,

arrived the day before on his first visit to E n gland and at ,

this gathering in C harlotte Street made his entrée into

E nglish musical society A third grea t violinist was asked .

and he accepted but named a fee of fifty guineas so that

, ,

poor Bennet t whose annual income at t he time scarcely

,

exceeded four times that amount was placed in the ,

awkward position of havin g to withdraw his i nvitation .

O n J uly 3 Spohr played and conducted some of his

,

works at the Philharmonic and on the i 3 t h the Society ,

g ave an extra concert by royal command the Queen ,

attending and Spohr directing the whole performance The .

Directors could congratula t e themselves on another success

ful close of a year s work but t here was still cause for ’

anxie t y A stroke of good for t une which would have some

.
,

lasting effect was sorely needed

, .

I n Augus t Benne t t was i n country lodgin gs near

,

S outhampton composing very hard ; finishing an Overture

‘ ’

which he christened M arie d u Bois in all u sion it may be ‘

,
’

ass u med to the name of his future wife H e was also

,
.

making some revision of his new Concerto which he ,

allowed Coventry to advertise as i n t he p r ess H e wrote .

to K istner i n the aut u mn : I have ready for the engrav er ‘

my new Concerto which I performed last season at the ,

Philharmonic Society and which I have since al t ered .

’

The Overture M arie d u Bois (aft erwards used for The

‘ ’ ‘

M ay Queen ) and the Concerto (or Concert -St uck ) i n A

-
’

m inor were two works which he conti nued to like him

self and he made second editions of both ; but though
, ,

K istner still pressed for music B ennett held back kept the , ,

Overture i n manuscrip t for fifteen y ears and never published ,

the Concerto though he was thinkin g of doing so up t o the

,

time of his death .

I n October he found himself at Portsmo u th climbin g ,

the side of H M S Tor t oi s e replying t o the chal len g e

. . .
,

of a sentry and being conducted t o the cabi n of Captai n

,

Wood who had j us t returned from N ew Z ealand

,
It .
‘

was rat her a n er vou s appea r a n c e for me to make he wrote ,

’

to M endelssohn b u t it is all happily over and there is

,
‘
,

anoth e r step t o our marriage I n the same letter— dated .

’

N ovember 6 t h— he unfolded to M endelssohn a scheme

1 52 Cor respon den c e wit h Men del s soh n [c H .

which he had proposed to his Philharmonic colleagues

‘
N ow t hen f or bu s i n ess and I hope to explain myself
,

distinctly for I have an important subj ect to write upon .

I write in strict confidence The Directors of the .

Philharm onic have privately charged me to write to you

on the subj ect of their concerts n ext year They feel the .

great and lastin g advantage the Society derived from your

presence at their season in 1 8 4 2 and they further wish to
express this by again securin g your appearance amon gst us
n ext season We much wish if possible to have on e
.

Con d u c t or and it would be a l l a n d every t hi ng to us for

y ou t o be that Conduc t or I do not know
. how your
arrangements and plans are ordered at B erlin b u t could ,

you be with us as Conductor of our en t i r e season I will?

at once answer that every arrangemen t shall be framed to

m eet your V iews . Our first concert will be on the
2 st h M arch and the last on the 8 t h J uly We will .

endeavour to make your soj ourn in E ngland as comfortable

and happy as possible Let me know your opi nion upon
.

the s u bj ect as soon as possible but I do not wish you by ,

any means to say Yes or N 0 immediately but let us

“ ” ”

know what hopes t here are .

’

M endelssohn unable to foretell how his d u ties at the

,

Prussian Cour t migh t shape themsel v es could not at once ,

write the words Yes I come as he wished to do ; for he

, ,
’

chose to reg ard the invitation as a great hono u r The .

Philharmonic Directors were quite content to wait four

months for a definite reply hoping to sec u re his services
,

for at least par t of their season Let us have as much of .

M endelssohn as we can g et of him was t he message ,

’

they sent him t hrough Bennett .

I n a further le t t er of December 9 Bennett submitted ,

to M endelssohn in delicately chosen phrases the business

, ,

details of the Philharmonic appoin t men t H e then broached .

another subject N ow my dear friend I mus t take

, ,

ad v antage of this opportunity t o t ell y ou that I have pro

claimed myself a candidate for the M usical Professorship
at Edinb u rgh which S ir H enry B ishop has j ust resigned ,

and I should be so glad and obliged if y o u could give me

a t estimonial which I might send to the Au t horities at the
U niversity.
’
1 54 Cor r es pon den ce wit h Men del ss oh n [ CH . x
listening to while the musicians feel never tired in per
,

forming your C ompositions and since they took root in ,

the minds of the t rue amateurs my C ountrymen became

aware that music is the same in E n gland as in Germany
as everywhere and so by your successes here you destroyed
,

that prej udice which nobody could ever have destroyed but
a true Genius This is a service you have done to E n glish
.

a s well as German musicians and I am sure that your ,

C ountrymen will not acknowled ge it less readily than mine

have al ready done .

Shall I still add that the Science i n your works is as

great as their thoughts are ele gant and fanciful ? that we
,

consider your performance on t h e Piano as masterly as

your C onducting of an O rchestra ? That all this is the l

general j udgement of the best musicians here as well as ,

my own personal sincere opinion ? Let me only add that

I wish you success from my whole heart and that I shall
be truly happy to hear that you have met with it .

Always yours sincerely and truly

F E L I X M E N D E LSS O H N B AR T H O LDY .

O ne may be sure that so delightful a document reachin g ,

B ennett on Dec 2 3 would make the last days of 1 8 4 3

.
,

happy ones for him .

1 M d l oh h d o io lly k d B t t t o d na as o c uc t t he or h t r a 1n
g wh h him lf w t pl
en e ss n a cca s e en n e n c es
t he G w dh
e an a us on e ven i n s en e se as o ay t he pi ofort
an e
.

Th e c ri t i D i o i ft r y r oft q o t d t hi f t
c av s n, n a e ea s , en u e s ac as an i t
n s a nc eof
M en d l oh
e ss o fid
’
n s i cB ttn en c e n en n e .
 C H A PT E R XI .

MA RR I A G E .

CO RRE SP O N D E N C E W IT H M E N DE LSS O H N .

1 8 44 1 8 46 .

aet . 2 7 — 30 .

THE year 1 8 44 opened with exci t in g prospects for

Benne t t . H is marriag e was now imminent ; he had a
chance of election to the E dinburgh professorship ; and
he could look forward to a musical season which would
probably be bri g htened by the presence of M endelssohn .

O n J an 8 he resumed his concerts in Charlotte Street and

.
,

on the 1 0 t h he was at C rosby H all i n the City where he ,

had been en g aged to direct durin g the winter monthly

, ,

performances of chamber -m u sic O n t he 1 3 th he set out

.

for E dinburgh anxious t o ob t ain i n view of marriag e an

, , ,

honourable post wi t h a fixed stipend and likely to bring ,

i n its train more employment than he could as y et fi nd i n

London I n addi t ion to his testimonials he had obtained
.

good personal introductions M endelssohn thou g h this

.
—
,

Bennett himself may ne v er have known had written —

on his behalf t o i nfluential Scotch friends H e was wel .

comed by a sec t ion of the electors as the best -equipped

musician in t he field Of the other candidates one alone
.

was a formidable opponent T his was J ohn Donaldson

.
,

who though he had abandoned t he profession of music

,

for that of the law was well known in Edinburgh where

, ,

he resided as a man of considerable ability and as one

, ,

who had studied the physical side of musical science A .

few of the electors regarding Donaldson as too li t tle

, ,

and Bennett as too much of the practical musician were

, ,
1 56 Ma r r ia g e [ CH

rel u ctant to support either and t he question was how this

,

third party if prevailed upon to vo t e would turn the scale

, ,
.

Bennett remained in Sco t land a for t ni ght ; he paid a flying

visit to his young friend A C J ohnson who had j ust . .
,

set t led in Glasgow as a teacher of music ; and he re t u rned

to London wi t h t he impression that t he votes for t he
Professorship as far as they were promised were equally
, ,

divided between Donaldson and himself The election .

was not to take place till t he end of M arch .

On March 3 M endelssohn found himself able to accept

, ,

in part the Philharmonic conduc t orship H e wro t e next

, .

day t o Bennett — Since y esterday I have the certainty of

‘

being able to come over t o y ou and this morning I receive

M r Watts official let t er There is superstition for you and
’
.

for me I have written to him with how great a pleasure

.

and how thankfu lly I accep t the honor the Philharmonic

Society will do me and tha t I shall come if possible in
,
—

time for the 2 9 t h April— if not cert ainly for the last ,

5 Concerts and that

,
I an t icipate s u ch a trea t such a happy ,

time from m y stay in E ngland ! T he same I must write t o

o u and thank you ! And do tha t from my heart !
y ,

‘
N ow let me ask a favour ; it is to correspond very
regularl y wi t h me durin g t he 6 or 7 weeks of my s t ay here ,

as there are many many things which I sho u ld set right

,

before my departure and which depend on y our answer and

le t t ers So pray write me a l way s at leas t 2 or 3 days after
.

you receive m y letter ; I will do the same and I hope that ,

you will be kind enough to grant me t hat favour and ,

perhaps we may th u s do some good to your S ociety .

’

Long le t ters accordingly passed abo u t programmes and

the chance of introducing unknown works M endelssohn .
,

having fi rst asked what E nglish music wou ld be available ,

undertook t o find German novel t ies Timely news reached .

him that fourteen M S S pieces by Beethoven music t o .

—

‘
The Ruins of A t hens and K in g Stephen — had jus t ’ ‘

been found a t Vienna H e at once procured for t he

.

Philharmonic an offer of t he copyright of this music with

the righ t of first performance in E ngland for the modest
sum of £ 1 5 H e su ggested the t wo earliest O ver t u res to
.

‘
Leonora and a M S Fin al e from the same ; a S u ite by
’
.

Bach Schubert s Symphony in C a Symphony by Gade

’
1 58 Ma r r ia g e [C H .

O n M arch 3 0 the E dinburg h electors found themselves

,

unable to decide on the choice of a Professor Bennett .

,

havin g already postponed his wedding to await t heir de ,

c i s i o n did so no longer
,
Easter placed a few da y s at his
.

disposal H e was teaching in London t he day before Go od

.

F riday and was married at All Saints Church Southampton

, , ,

on E aster Tuesday April 9 being within a few da y s of his

,

twenty -eighth birthday while his bride was just nine t een
, .

They were driven wi t h pos t ilions on t he first stage of t heir ,

j ourney according to the usag e of those days and t hey t hen

, ,

took train from Winches t er en r ou t e for the City of London

, ,

where Benne t t had a concert engag ement in Crosby H all

next day H e was i n no position to pu t off any work and
.
,

at once returned to M rs J ohnson s house where his first ’

year of married life was spent O n M ay 2 M endels .

,

sohn wrote I S hall leave Frankfort for London on

— ‘

M onday next and hope t o arrive on board the Antwerp

steamer on Thursday mornin g Thank you for all t he .

pleasure I antic i pate from this visit ; B ennett married and ,

plenty of music and spring-time H urrah ! Auf Wieder

,
—

sehen ! ’

At the Philharmonic Concert on M ay 1 3 which was ,

the first of five that M endelssohn conducted Bennett played ,

his own C minor C oncer t o and Th e M u s i ca l E x a m i n er

,

wrote — The superb Concerto of S t erndal e Bennett perhaps

‘
,

the masterpiece of i t s composer was enthusiastically r e ,

c e i ve d . B ennett never play ed better his t one sounded at ,

t he further end of the room as full and clear as if we had

been sea t ed at his side ; in this par t icular— i n what an
eminent pianist who was present happily termed a dignified
composure in executing passages of any extent of difficul t y
and last n o t least in a noble fervid and unaffected style
, ,

of expression this g reat E n glish pianist has no s u perior

and but few rivals : we were deli g hted to hear him achieve
so g reat a success in the presence of his warm friend and
admirer M endelsso hn who conducted the C oncerto with
, ,

evident interest and u n fl a g g i n g at t ention .

’

Bennett had married on a small income and he would ,

afterwards refer to t he economy which it was necessary to

practise in Charlotte Street H is youn g wife refu sed to .

attend the i nteresting concerts now going on ; for though

M RS W . S T ER N D A LE B EN N ET T

F rom a wa t er -
c ob u r d r a w i ng
16 0 Ma r r ia g e
 x 1] Th e Dec is ion a t E din b u rg h 16 1

M endelssohn and B ennett must have had some j oke

between them about the formalities of E nglish committee
meetings A letter of M endelssohn s drawn up in form of
.
’

a Resolution will be g iven later T he ne g otiations which .

B ennett in the name of the Philharmonic Direc t ors con

, ,

ducted with M endelssohn were confirmed by the official ,

circulars of M r Watts S ecretary of the Society H ence ,

.

the allusion in Bennett s postscript ’

.

The elec t ion at E dinburgh had come to a dead -lock but a ,

fresh candidate now came forward This wa s H H Pearson . . .

(a friend of a yo u n g g raduate of C ambrid g e ,

son of the Dean of Salisbury a student of medicine as well ,

as of music and destined under the name of Pierson to

,

become a composer of mark both i n E n gland and Germany .

H e was acceptable to those who would vote for neither

Donaldson nor Bennet t and in the eyes of B ennett s sup ,
’

porters was as a musician preferable to Donaldson Some

, , ,
.

one must obviously now give way and Bennett was asked ,

to do so M rs B ennett wrote to her husband s aunt on

.
’

J u ne 3 : — I am sure you will be anxious to hear who is

‘

the successful candidate for the Professorship at E dinburgh .

M y dear husband resigned his claims on Thursday last ,

throu g h the advice of his excellent friend and warm sup

porter Professor J ameson who feared that his i nterest had
, ,

been much divided by the new candidate M r Pearson , ,

who has from S t e rn d a le s resigna t ion g ained the vacant ’

chair M y dear husband I am happy to say bears ] the

.

disappointment much better than I expected and begged me ,

to tell you he is perfectly contented to remain i n London ,

where he is sure better things are waitin g for him .

’

O n t he same day that this was written j ust ei g ht weeks ,

after her marriage M rs Bennett met with a terrible accident , .

‘
H er husband — s o writes A C J ohnson was out a t . .
— ‘

a concert and she had gone to a press i n her bedroom with

,

a candle and in some way set fire to her clothes S he

, .

came screaming down the stairs when fortunately my ,

mother and brother who were i n t he dining-room rushed

to her assistance put t ing out the flames that were sur ,

roundin g her She was very much burnt and confined to .

H tr
1
l t d U hl d M i T h (M y-D w) for B t t wh t h
e ans a e an
’
s
‘
a en - au
’
a e en n e en e
l tt r t m i t i
a e se us c o t .

S o B 0
16 2 Ma r r ia g e [ on

bed for a month I t was of course a great shock to her .

husband on his re t urn from the concer t H er recovery .

’

i f recovery it could be called was S low B ennett was , .

ass u red at the time that he need not fear any ultimate ‘

injury to her constitution ; b u t he later i n life belie v ed ’

, ,

she had suffered such inju ry for S h e never agai n enj oyed ,

the same health as before I n relating the accident to his .

Aunt he wrote : You may be ass u red that with all this
,
‘
,

E dinb u rgh has cost me very l ittle tho u ght H is pleasure .

’

i n the musical season was checked H e cancelled what .

en gag ements he could to sit as he told his aunt wi t h his , , ,

‘
dear i nvalid but he was necessarily in attendance at
,
’

certain concerts At the Philharmonic on J une 1 0 his .

, ,

O verture The N a i a d s was played and he was presented

, ,
’

for t h e first time to Prince Albert H e gave his annual .

morning concert on J une 2 5 M endelssohn contribu t ed .

a novel t y to the programme i n the S hape of an extended

version of his Variations i n B !) (Op 8 3 ) r e-arranged as .

a Duet which he played with Bennett from the manuscript

’
, .

M endelssohn had undertaken to conduct the whole concert .

A contretemps which occurred was for him no t hin g but , ,

a chance seized to show further kindness When the .

audience arrived there was no band C osta had detained .

the players over-time a t an Opera -rehearsal M endels .

soh n saved the situation by starting Bennett s concert with ’

the vocal music and himself accompanied on the pianoforte

, ,

from the full score several pieces which should have been ,

sung wi t h t he orchestra .

The Philharmonic was now enjoying its stroke of good

fortune and taking a new lease of life
, The M u s i c a l .

Wor l d wrote It was a lucky thing that Sterndale

— ‘

Bennett was chosen a director H e saw that only great .

efforts could rescue the Society from annihilation H e .

i nfused new spirit into its endeavours H e brought over .

M endelssohn in 1 8 4 2 H e brought over Spohr i n 1 8 4 3 . .

1

H e has persuaded M endelssohn to come again in 1 8 44 ,

and these wise proceedings have saved the Philharmonic .

1T h e D u et wa s p bli h d po t h mo l y O p 8 3 T h followi g o t a. e n e
E gli h di t io O ri gi lly ompo d for p rform r
u s e s u us as . n

pp r d on t h e
‘
se e
d p rform d by t h A t hor
a ea e n s e n. na c on e e ,

b t b q t ly
su se u en t e-c ompo d for t w d e e e an

M W S B
u se o, an u
r .tt . en n e a t th o rt of t h l t t r i
e c nce e a e n
16 4 Ma r r ia g e CH .

ability for a concert -piece ; told M endelssohn that he could

n ot bring himself to like it ( i e as a Concert -Overt u re for . .

the Gewandhaus ) ; wrote of it to K istner as being a theatre

work ; and therefore no doubt thought he had found the , ,

right place for it when he used it as he aft erwards did for

, , ,

his C antata The M ay Queen Towards the end of the

‘
.
’

Overture he has written on the score 6 t h 1 8 44 ,

The Tower Guns firing for the birth of a Prince or Princess

— Tuesday morning one o clock just at these Later
(
’

i n life he became known to the musical Prince H R H , . . .

the Duke of E dinburgh whose birth at Windsor is thus ,

recorded on the pag es of The M ay Queen To convey ‘

.
’

such intelligence to London the electric tele g raph was ,

used that night for the first time .

T here is nothing else to notice in the first year of

Benne t t s married life except that as i t passed on the
’

, ,

amount of his teaching began by very small de g rees to , ,

increase Then with some assistance from his wife s

.
,
’

parents he furnished a house in Russell Place F itzroy

,
1
,

Square and moved to it in March 1 8 4 5 H e was close

, , .

upon twenty nine years of age Account -books continue

-
.

to tell the tale of very narrow circums t ances .

The Philharmonic S ociety keeping to their new arrange ,

ment of havin g a single Conductor appoin t ed Sir H en ry ,

Bishop for t he season of 1 8 4 5 Somethin g it may be .

,

assumed went wron g and he retired after the third concert

, , .

Bennett s pupil W S R oc ks t ro was s t arting for Leipzig

’

, . .
, ,

as a student and In a letter i ntroducing him t o M endels

,

sohn Bennett wrote on M ay 9 :

,
1“ 1“
I want sadly t o ”

hear from you it is a long time since I saw your hand

,

writing M os c hel es has been elected to conduct the five

.

rema i ning concerts of the Philharmonic this season Sir ,

H enry Bishop having resigned I am very glad that it has .

been so se t tled for the concerts have been very bad hitherto .

1“ 1“
I send by R o c ks t ro to Leipzig a Sestett for P F . .

and stringed instr u men t s I wish you would find some .

O pportuni t y to try it when it is printed and tell me h o w

1
Rt t llt Plt
us se w ll d F i t zroy S t r t i
a c e, n o o t i t io or t hw rd of
ca e ee ,
s a c n n ua n n a s
C h rlo
a Sr e B t t ho t h N 5 b t w N 9 i whi h h
ee . en n e
’
s u s e, en o . 1 u no o . 1 ,
n c e
li d for 4 y r
ve 1 h w t id
ea d t h t hird ho
s , i s on t eo t h of Lo do
es s e, a n Is e use s u n n
S t r t D i l M l i t h p i t r li d t door i t h
ee . an e ac s e, eo d ho from
a n e , ve n ex n e s ec n us e
Lo do
n Str t
n ee .
F R OM THE O V T
ER U R E To
‘
TH E MAY Q U EE N ’
16 6 Ma r r ia g e [
CH .

throu g hout the year I f he spared a few days for a

.

holiday at C ambridge or Southamp t on he would come up to ,

town in the course of it to give a single lesson rather than

disappoint or offend any one pupil H e was now com ing .

i nto greater request as a pianis t and was playing at many

,

important concerts H e ceased for two years to give

.

Chamber concerts in his own name probably could not ,

afford to give them ; but he was en g aged to direct lon g

series of the same at Greenwich in a Lecture H all which ,

was under the manag ement of M r (afterwards S ir ) J ohn

B ennett H e continued to murmur to Mendelssohn about
.

the Philharmonic writing on J uly 2 4 — We had the

,
‘

annual meetin the other day and chose new Directors for
next year .
g I am not at all glad to have anythin g
to do with them but at any rate I was not able to decline .

I am sure next year there will be a g reat uproar about who

is to conduct Then a gain he wrote in N ovember
.
’

‘
The Philharmonic D irectors have engag ed Cos t a to conduct
their concerts with which I am n ot very wel l pl ea s ed ,

but I could not persuade them to the contrary and am ,

tired of quarrelling with them They are a worse set .

this year than we have ever had .

’

B ennett had promised to send his Overture M arie d u ‘

B ois for performance at Leipzi g and in April 1 8 46 he

’

, , ,

wrote to M endelssohn from Southampton :

1“ 1“
I should have written to you and sent you my
overture accordin g to promise but I really could not make
,

up my mind to like the overture and think it good enou g h

for the Leipzig Public who have always been so kind t o
me and are certainly entitled to the best I can do whatever
that is ; and I do not despair of renewing my friendship
with them if I have heal t h and strength and more time
to devote to composition than I have j ust now but you ,

know what E ngland is and how we must work to keep up

,

our houses and livin g even on the most economical scale

, .

1“ 1“ 1“
And now about the Philharmonic I dare say you ,

h a v e s e e n all the flaming accounts i n the newspaper about

C osta and our grand doings but if you were here and able
,

to j udge for yourself you would not say that he was the
,

g reatest C onductor in the w orld I am quite alone in my .

opinion upon these matters in the Direc t ion and am sick

X 1 ] W a nte d a t L eipzig I6 7

to death with the Public who pretend to be so clever But .

I want you to come to E ngland and let me get some g ood

spirits by talking to you and then I want to try to come to
Leipzig next year 1“ 1“ 1“
And now may I not talk to you .
‘

about my l i t t le boy now nearly four months old and a dear 1

fellow 1 1“
.I was g oin g to write to you soon after he
‘

was born but I found out that you knew all about it and I
was disappointed that I could not tell you first myself .

N ow then g ood dear friend — Good -bye The sea is roarin g

, .

at my windows Write soon to me 1“ 1“

. .
”

M en del ss ohn t o B en n et t
1

I played the above last night sayin g to myself at the ,

same time I must write to him at once and tell him :

,

The principal thing in your welcome letter and for which ,

I t hank you most is and remains that you mean to come to ,

Germany next win t er and t o come here That is the very .

best thing that could happen to us and I think that for ,

yourself and your dear wife also it will be good and ,

pleasant o must she stop at home with the baby

— r ?

And j ust n ex t win t er not a bit later your coming and , , ,

your playing and your conducting would be exactly what

,

is wanted Therefore come come — that is the main obj ect

.
, ,

of this letter .

I f anythin g can be done to make your stay either here ,

or i n Germany generally easier or pleasanter and if it is i n , ,

my power to contribute anything towards that end I hope ,

that I need not tell you how glad I should be to do i t .

1H i fir t hild C h rl St r d l B tt A o d bor i 8 47 1
d gh t r i 8 48 ompl t d h i f mily
s s c , a es e n a e en n e . s ec n s on n n ,

an d a au n 1
ori g i l l t r i i G rm op i g of t h
e , c e e s a .

1
Th e Th m i i th
et e a n. e us c s e en n e
B r ro ll from B t t 4t h Co rt o t h M S of whi h i h d d R owi g
na s n e
’
a ca e en n e s nce ,
e . c s ea e n
T im ’
e.
16 8 Ma r r ia g e [CH . x1

Think over this for you know this country almost as well
,

as your own and we often say with pride that you are half
,

a t home with us I f all is well I hope to see and talk to

.
,

you in E ngland i n August but it will only be for a short ,

time for my wife cannot come wi t h me she wants to stay

, ,

with the children and I do not like to leave her and them
,

for lon g 1“ 1“ 1“
.I hope also to have my new Oratorio ready
to bring with me how glad I S hould be if it pleased y ou
—
.

But do come to Leipzig a g ain next winter That is the .

principal thin g as C ato of old would say , .

You need not write to me any more about the Phil

harmonic The few words i n your letter were more than
.

su fficient for me and I had always thou g ht that it must be

,

so . Bad enough and it makes me feel sorry for your ,

countrymen .

H ang the liberty how is the little boy ? H as he got ’

a tooth ? I s he like you or like his mother or like both ? , ,

Does he cry enough ?

( I consider that a very important
point according to my experiences ) I s he already obli g ed .

to do conjuring -tricks ( I hope not !) What are his 1

C hristian names ? I 5 he fair or dark Blue or black -eyed

I ought to be able to tell my wife all these particulars .

But come here next winter says Cato ,

’
.

Your friends here are well : David Schleinitz the , ,

Pr eus s e rs J ulius K istner &c

,
When they hear W S t . . .

Bennett mentioned their hearts seem to enlarge ; they are

one and all your loyal and attached friends Fancy what it .

would be if I could say to them : H e is comin g here next

winter !
Therefore do come ! A nd give a thousand kind messag es
to your dear wife and the little boy and keep your friendly ,

feelin g for

F E L I X M E N D E LSS O H N B AR T H O LD Y .

1
d l oh wo ld h i h i mi d B t t w o j ri g t ri k
M en e ss n u a ve n s n en n e
’
s o n c n u n - c s.
C t o by t h p r i t t
2
a of hi f mo di t m D l d t C rt h g o c u
’

k p t prim d t y b for t h R om
, e e s s en u se s a us e en a es a a
e a e M d l oh imi t t t hi b y i t t mg en e ss a es
of h i l t t r i t h t B t t m t om t L ip i g
u e e e a n s. n s re era
t h m m id
e a ea s e e ,
v z. a en n e us c e o e z .
17 0 Th e Uf
n or es een St r ohe [CH .

conduct at the Philharmonic This was the ground on .

which Bennett opposed his election E arlier personal inter .

course between Costa and himself had been of a friendly

kind though there could be little artis t ic sympathy between
the one who did not admire Beethoven and t he other who ,

seldom entered the I talian Opera H o u se C osta would be .

sure to hear of t he single vote given against him at t h e

Philharmonic As the concerts under his direction wen t
.

on Bennett did not j oin i n the chorus of unqualified

,

approval H e said so i n the last quoted letter to M endels

.

sohn Any words of criticism which may have passed his

.

lips would not lose force when they were passed on from
the tongues of the mischief-makers of whom there were ,

plenty about to the ears of the conductor T hen again

, . , ,

B ennett himself was thou g ht by some t o be the man who

ou g ht to have been chosen M usical papers had pressed .

his claims . M o s c hel es when he heard of S i r H en ry

,

B ishop s appointment i n 1 8 4 5 wrote in his diary

’
H ow ,

is it possible to prefer him to Bennett who is so i mme a s u r ,

ably his superior I t may be imag ined that C osta might

re gard Bennett though his j un i or by eight years as a
, ,

possible rival H e might suspect since r e election of

. ,
-

a conductor took pla c e annually that some opposing party ,

would attempt a change O ne here conjectures the seeds .

of that hatred which C osta u ltimately fel t towards Bennett ,

the virule n ce of which is scarcely to be accounted for by

the spark that as will presently be seen caused the ex
, ,

plosion Bennett however had never expected the office

.
, ,

for himself H e mentioned no such hope in his letters to

.

M endelssohn but named Lucas who was like Costa eight

, , , ,

years older than himself as one likely to be appointed , .

From the E nglish point of v iew Benne t t however well , ,

u a l i fi e d in other respects was too youn g to expect a public

q ,

position of importance i n the musical world H e must .

,

wi t h patience wait his turn As a well timed enco urage

, .
-

ment however he now received a valuable testimony to

, ,

his qualifications I n the first year of Costa s conductor

.
’

ship a t the Philharmonic when the I talian seemed t o be ,

carrying all before him M o s c heles was on the point of

,

leaving E n g land aft er a residence of t wenty -three years .

H e i nvi ted Bennett to conduct his Farewell concert ‘ ’

.
xi 1] Bi mi g h m
r n a F es t iva l I 7 I

The direction of important Benefit concerts when an ,

orchestra was employed had al ways been regarded as one ,

of the rights of the leading conductor of the period so that ,

M o s c heles by departing from custom on this occasion was

, ,

thought to be paying B ennett a significant compliment .

Davison described the concert as a leave -taking which ‘ ’

brought with it many cheers and many tears ; and he ‘ ’

wrote of B ennett s association with M o s c hel es on this day

’

as somethin g to be remembered with pride by every

‘

E nglishman .
’

O n Au gust 2 3 B ennett wrote to his aunt : M endels ,

‘

sohn was with us yesterday and I am going on Tuesday if , ,

all be well to Birmingham to hear hi s new oratorio

, I t was .
’

no common occurrence for Bennett to attend a provincial

F estival H e was only present at five or si x of them i n his
.

life and then (except in the case of a Festival that he con

,

ducted himself) only for the sake of attendin g one or two of

the performances When young he could not easily afford
.

such excursions Later he disliked probably had never

.
,

liked the excitement incident to large ga t herings H e did .

not however miss the crowning event of the century i n

, ,

the annals of o u r musical F estivals H e was not off duty .

this A u g ust but aft er teachin g five hours on the Tuesday

,

he wen t to B irmin g ham with his pupil William Rea , ,

and heard the Elijah on Wednesday H e met the

‘ ’
.

composer S ir C harles S tanford has heard the tale of a

.

happy supper-party at the Woolpack hotel where his ‘ ’

father M r J ohn Stanford and J oseph Robinson of Dublin

, , , ,

merrily entertained M endelssohn and Bennett ; Rea did

not forget an early walk taken with his master and
Mendelssohn o n T hu rs d a y ; and B ennett s then prompt
,
’

return to work is recorded in his teaching books -

.

Bennett s German friends were still h Op i n g that he

’

might fulfil his proj ect of spending with his wife the
com i n g winter at Leipzig So when M endelssohn returned .

to Germany he wrote once more With charmin g delicacy .

he here resorts to a j oke i n order to veil the generosity of '

his intention Desirous of removin g any di fficulty which

.

ways and means mi g ht present to the B ennetts he offers ,

them the hospitality of his own house during the wh ole

time of their vis i t .
17 2 Th e Uf n or es een St r ohe [ CH .

LEI Z I G P 28 S ept . 1 8 46 .

EAR B E E
,

MY D NN T T,

I have come home very happily and found my

wife and children in perfect health and everythin g lookin g ,

as well as I mi g ht have wished and now as I am comfort ,

ably settled aga i n since the last few days I called a meeting ,

consistin g of C ecile and myself and we passed the following ,

Resolution :
Resolved
That M r and M rs B ennett are most earnestly sincerely , ,

and heartily requested by M r and M rs F M endelssohn .

Bartholdy to accept of a very small room at the K oni g s

Strasse N 0 for their residence from D ecember t o April
.

next (if possible ) in order to afford the aforesaid M endels

sohn Bartholdys the opportunity of seein g as much as
possibl e of the aforesaid Bennetts during the aforesaid
residence ; and that as this small room has an entrance of
,

its own and no communication with the remainder of the

,

lod g ing the said Bennetts will be quite at liberty to go

,

out when they like and to come in a g ai n when they like

, ,

and to see whom they like without g iv i n g trouble to or , ,

experiencin g trouble from the other i nhabitants ; and that ,

it would be considered by M r and M rs M a very g reat .

pleasure t o come if M r and M rs B would say yes and .

,

come and stay with them as lon g as they can stay i n

Germany .

The favour of an Answer is requested .

I see I have not been able to make out the true Style
of an E nglish Resolution and the end is very much like ,

the i nvi t ation a la danse

‘
But never mind ; you under .
’

stand what I mean by the stupid j est and that I should ,

be so very happy (i n good and best earnest ) if you and

M rs Bennett would accept of our i nvitation and spend
some time with us and that C ecile j oins most sincerely
,

in this invitation ! N ow try what you can do ! I mi ght

have sent a round Robi n if I had allowed M o n i c ke and ,

the S c h u n c k s and the whole Concert -Direction and the

, ,

Voigts and I do not know whom not to subscribe them

,

M d l oh
1
en ho i g r ll y g i
e ss
’
n s N 3 P rh p t h o ff d
u se s en e a ven as o. . e a s e er e
r om w i
o as dj t ho
n an a a c en u se.
174 Th e Uf n or es een St r ohe [ CH .

me that no trifling reasons keep me from that happy ro of

in the K onigs Strasse M y business at this time is much
.

increas i n g and requires my constant attention and as I am

.

becoming a family man I dare not longer rely upon chance ,

and I fear that were I absent at the beginning of t he new

year I mi g ht lose much ; but all t his appears to me as
, ,

I am now writing it s o d r ea dfu l ly wor l d ly and so ungenial

, ,

to all I ever feel u pon these matters that I will not write ,

another word about it save from my hear t to thank you,

again and again for the proof of your valued friendship

which y o u have given me— which if I live to be an old
man I will even t hen think of as vividly as I do now
and so God bless you A nd now are you coming to us .
,

in April and will David come ? Alas poor Alsager has

?
,

suddenly left this world and will take no more interest i n

the Beethoven Quartett Society for which amongst o t her
thin gs I understand David was coming 1“ 1“ 1“
But why .

do I write such a miserable letter for indeed I ou g ht to ,

be happy and thankful for all I enj oy Remember me .

to all my kind friends i n Leipzi g

and ever believe m e
Yours sincerely
W I LLIA M S T ER N DAL E B E N N E TT .

Bennett s business as he called it which had been

’ ‘
,
’

sli g htly but perceptibly increasing each half year since his -

marriage had in t he autumn of this year taken a sudden

,

leap T he departure of M o s c heles from London might

.

well account for this The problem of bread winning had

.
-

demanded Bennett s patient attention for seven years I ts

’

solution was at hand H is obvious duty at this juncture

.
, ,

was to remain at his post and to secure the new connection

of pupils placed within his reach H e could not close his .

regretful le t ter to M endelssohn without some expression

of thankfulness for material benefits H is prospects w ere .

bright and he could at least hope to see Germany again

i n t he near future and thereby gain stimulus to his artistic
,

pursuits But it was not to be M endelssohn s words

. .
’

,
‘
J ust n ex t winter not a moment later proved only too true
, .

I n April 1 8 4 7 M endelssohn again came to E n gland

, ,
x 11] Dea t h of Men del s s oh n 17 5

for performances of E l ah Returning from one of these .

’

at B irmingham Davison was his travellin g -companion to

,

London Their conversation i n the railway -carriage was

.

m u ch abou t Bennett and his position as a composer in

E n gland A h said M endelssohn he ou g ht to come out
.
‘
,
’

,
‘

with some larg e work and say H ere I am I am , ,

“
,

then aft er singin g the second subj ect of the last movement
of the S u ite de Pieces he added For he is s o gifted
‘
,
’

, .
’

This was the more impressed on Davison s memory because ’

M endelssohn being at the time careworn and depressed

, ,

was talkin g in so serious a tone Schumann in his criticism .

of the same Suite de P ieces had urg ed Bennett to similar

‘ ’

effort but the latter did not put the same val u e on his
,

own powers and having at length placed his unfinished

,

O ratorio on the shelf for the future took t he view that ,

works of colossal proportions should be left to the g reatest

masters of t he art M oreover t wo even t s were approach .
,

in
g to cast shadows for a time both on his private and his
, ,

art i stic li fe The one event brought g rief the other I nj ury
.
,
.

H e was to lose a friend and find a foe , .

A quiet ho u r on S u nday afternoon M ay 2 which

‘ ’

, ,

M endelssohn appointed to spend at Bennet t s house was ’

the last that they are known to have passed to g ether S ix .

months later the intelligence of M endelssohn s death came

,
’

with the full severity of suddenness to his E nglish friends , .

Benne t t s pathetic le t ters wri t ten at the time to Ferdinand

’

David and K istner contain passages which cannot be re

handled here T he beautiful reply in which David de
.

scribed M endelssohn s last hours has already been published ’

.

Among those who had lived i n artistic and personal

sympathy with M endelssohn there were some —Ferdinand ,

David was certainly one and Bennett another— who could ,

not in after life bring themselves to talk freely about him

, , .

Time never dimmed their mental picture of a great person

ality The same chan g e noted with curiosity by Bennett
.
, ,

which used t o pass over his companions and himself when

the living Mendelssohn came i nto their m idst was still ,

to be observed when after his death he entered their , ,

minds N othin g could more powerfully reflect M endels

.

sohn s g r ea t n es s as it had appeared to men who were

’

themselves not without distinction than their restraint of ,

17 6 Th e Uf
n or es een St r ohe [CH .

manner and speech at the mention of a name which was i n

use by others as a household word M endelssohn s nature .
’

repudiated that open obeisance which has not proved

displeasing to some remarkable musicians H e was very .

strict abou t t he observance of such forms of courtesy as are

d u e from one man to another b u t in his intercourse with
,

his brother—artists he liked to be treated on terms of musical

equality and he allowed no reference to be made to intel
,

lectual superiority N ever t heless the deference wh ich is

.
,

compelled by and is a proof of superlative greatness of

,

mind and character was paid to M endelssohn quite as surely

as if it had been expressed by outward acts of homage .

B ennett would say that Schumann was one who i n his ,

quiet way u niformly showed reverence to M endelssohn

, .

I n this i nnermost circle t here was no parade of adulation .

The ranters and sentimentalists who after M endelssohn s ’

death swelled the crowd of his worshippers i n E ngland

were not of the true M endelssohnian pat t ern They would .

have felt Quelled i n the presence of M endelssohn s real ’

friends .

B ennett outlived M endelssohn twenty -seven years So .

long a time did not pass without his writing somethin g

about him as a musician or without his occasionally i ntro
,

d u c i n g an anecdote about him I n conversat i on wi t h favourite

pupils or at his own fireside H e referred to him in lectures
.
,

thou g h more briefly than to some other musicians H e had .

to curb feelin g s some of them inj ured ones when speakin g

, ,

i n a public place M endelssohn s death had opened t he

.
’

door to virulent attacks upon his repu t ation by cer t ain

leaders of musical thou ght in Germany and this had given ,

g reat pain t o t hose who were mournin g the loss of a j ust ‘

man made perfec t B enne t t had by some means acquired

.
’

the notion t hat t he Germans had n o t treated M endelssohn

in any too generous a manner during his life time H e - .

was however not t o be drawn i nto controvers y ; so that

, , ,

thoug h bold i n asserting M endelssohn s absolute merit he ’

did not go the length of illus t ratin g that merit by naming

contemporary mus i cians and making comparisons Writing .

some ten years after M endelssohn s dea t h he dismissed ’

Germany with the single remark I do not scruple to ,

‘

assert that M endelssohn was more thoroughly appreciated

178 Th e Uf n or es een St r ohe [ CH .

the origin of that wide appreciation which g radual ly came

for the similar works of his great predecessors and contem
o ra r i e s
p .

Bennett also spoke of the gain to E n glish art b y the ‘

never-too often repeated visits of this g reat man and of

-
,
’

the l ove which to his own knowledge M endelssoh n had

, ,

entertained for E n g land ; a love that so distin g uished him

( as Bennett well knew though this he did not publicly
, say )
from many other foreign visi t ors who showed their aversion
to everything pertainin g to this country except its money .

Prince Albert who was well -placed to observe and well

, ,

q u a l i fi e d to comment on existin g musical conditions called ,

M endelssohn in 1 8 4 7 a second Elijah

,
1“ 1“ 1“
encompassed
,
‘

by idolaters of Baal N o wonder that the few musicians

.
’

i n E n gland on the classical side valued the actual presence

in their midst of this great prophet of their own creed .

T here are full records of his B irmingham and Philharmonic

triumphs ; he has himself described his g racious reception
by Queen Victoria and her Consort ; but it must also be
remembered that this m uch -fe ted man in what he called ,

a ‘ time -eatin g country spent hours i n humbler places ,

’

g iv i ng a helpin g hand to musicians who were striv i n g to

o

do good thou g h little noticed work Dando the violinist

, , .
, ,

treasured to a ripe old ag e the memory of this noble yet

lowly minis t er of M usic having played for him at his little
Quartet -concerts in the ci t y ; and a study of M endelssohn s ’

doin g s durin g the nine weeks he spent here i n 1 8 44 reveals

other like acts of encouragin g support many more of which , ,

done priva t ely have passed into oblivion Bennett could

, .

not S peak at length on such matters while thinkin g of his ,

own connection with them H e drew his pen through the .

words ever ready to cheer and encourag e the young artist

,
‘
,
’

and wrote instead H ad I not known him so in t imately

,
‘
,

I mi g h t have trusted myself to t alk more of his vast claims

upon our affections .
’

I n course of time he saw with disapproval that the

E nglish idea of M endelssohn was bein g corrupted by
sen t imentality and romance and he wrote in 1 8 5 8 One , ,
‘

would g rea t ly welcome a faithful biography of M endels

sohn S hortly after his own death in 1 8 7 5 a lady gave
.
’

the followin g reminiscence H e ( Bennett ) was n o t an .

‘
X II ] H i s R em em b r a n c es f
o Men del s s oh n 17 9

enthusiastic man I n speakin g not long ago to the writer

.

of these pages of his friend M endelssohn and all that had

1

been written of him he said I knew and loved the man , ,

“

himself too well to like to see him so absurdly

Some of Bennett s little stories about M endelssohn seemed
’

to be told with the express obj ect of reducing him to a

reality Two of them though he told them as against
. ,

himself he often repeated because he admired the sharp

, ,

decisive manner in which M endelssohn answered questions

which he deemed needless O n first going to Leipzi g .
,

being under the impression (which was probably in general , ,

a correct one ) that H andel was less familiar to the Germans

than to t he E nglish he asked M endelssohn whether he ,

knew a g reat deal of his music and M endelssohn snapped ,

at him with the reply E v ery note So too when relating ,

‘
.
’

, ,

how his s u rprise at M endelssohn s organ -pla y ing had led ’

him to enquire by wha t means i t had been attained B ennett ,

would always give the answer By worki n g like a horse ,

‘
,
’

in the tone of a tart rebuke Then he would talk of .

M endelssohn s manly vi gour as e g of his streng t h as

’

a swimmer withou t men t i oning the more femi nine graces

,

which rhapsodists had a t tributed t o their ideal musician .

H e said again that he had often been struck with M en

, ,
’
d el s s o hn s practical business qualities which he could not ,

understand his possessing H e would sometimes qualify .

h is statements in the one direction or the other 1n order

, ,

to give t he real M endelssohn Of this M r W C rowther . .

Alwyn who in Bennett s later days studied composition

, ,
’

under him at the A cademy records the followin g ,

instances O n discussin g one mornin g during the ,

Composition class an imprompt u characterization of M en

,

d e l s s o hn s pianoforte -playing with which he was i n pro

’

found disag reement he said speaking very earnestly and , ,

with deep feeling : I t was not playing that c ou ld be “

criticized At times it seemed to send a thrill t hrough every

.

fibre of my body but he did not always play alike for aft er
—
, ,

all he was human

,
A gain he said t hat M endelssohn s
.
”
,
’

personal appearance was often i nsignificant not s u ch as ,

would at t ract passers -b y i n the street but that at other —

,

times he had the appearance of an a ng el

, .
’

F M g i J ly 8 7 5 1
r a ser s
’
a a z n e, u 1 .

12— 2
18 0 The Uf n or es een St r ohe [ C H x 11
.

Al t hough Bennett s musical tastes and pri nciples as

’

an ar t ist were determined quite early i n life and were ,

causes rather than effects of his congenial association

with M endelssohn yet it is certain tha t he was much
,

strengthened a t the outset of a career which his con

,

science made a hard one by the fellow-feeling and appro ,

ba rion of this elder brother W hen he wanted counsel . ,

M endelssohn who was not onl y older but who had been sur
,

rounded from his yo u th up with a greater variety of educa

t i o n a l and social advantages was able and ready to gi v e it
, .

B ennett acknowledged his debt when he wrote in 1 8 4 4 ,

H ow much all my profession al life has been influenced

by your friendship ; but the friendship as their letters
’

have shown was no mere professional alliance They

, .

shared as M endelssohn wrote not only musical pleasures

, ,
‘

a n d sorrows but also the domestic ones on which life and

,

happiness depend B ennett would sometimes q u ote adages

.
’

and maxims which M endelssohn had received from his

father for t he guidance of life and which the son had ,

recommended to the use of another ; and when doing this

he would reproduce the pious reverence of tone in which
the son had uttered his father s say ings This gave the ’

impression to his hearers that his conversations with

M endelssohn must oft en have taken a very serio u s turn ,

and that music was not perhaps the g reatest thing that
, ,

bound them together When B ennett aft er hearing of

.
,

M endelssohn s death wrote to David and K istner he

’

, ,

expressed himsel f mindfu l of the many valued friendships ,

including t heir own which still remained to him ; but

, ,

without fear of being misunderstood or of hurting feelings

which were sure to ag ree with his own he co u ld write of ,

M endelssohn I have lost the dearest and kindest friend

‘

I ever had In my life .

’
 C H A PT E R XIII .

RU PT URE WI T H C OST A AN D T H E PHI LHA R M ON I C .

O CC U P A TI ONS AS A T E A C H ER .

M E N D E LSS O H N after writing Ehja h for E n gland was

,
‘ ’
,

accepted here without further hesitation as a g reat master

, ,

of Oratorio H e had g iven music i n this case not to a

.

musical sect or confraternity of con noisseurs but straight ,

off to the heart of a whole nation whose musical sentiment ,

i n its widest and most genuine form of expression b e ,

thorou g hly understood Wherever H andel was known he

. ,

was now admitted and if not before his death then at least
, ,

very soon after it his name attained a celebrity in E ngland

,

more far-reachin g tha n that of any other modern composer .

So great and secure a fame won by a culminating master

,

piece g radually drew more attention to his other achieve

,

ments and the ultimate appreciation of his work on its

, ,

many sides balanced if it did not outweigh the vulgar

,

prej udice permeatin g E nglish society agains t music de

scribed and oftener than not jeer i rg ly described as classical
,
‘
.
’

But the war between real and inane music lasted for many
lon g years I t wa s not during M endelssohn s life time that
.
’
-

his i nstrumental chamber-music made any great way here .

H is pianoforte Solos were not much tau ght and they were
v ery little played i n public Statistics of Bennet t s career ’
.

as a pianist help t o prove that F rom the time of his

'
.

settlin g down in Portland Chambers in 1 8 3 9 to the time

of M endelssohn s death in 1 8 4 7 he played at ei g hty -three
’

,
18 4 R u t urep wit h Cos t a [c a

concerts i n London and the suburbs Twenty -five of these .

were orchestral fift y -eight of them chamber concerts Of

, .

the latter S ixteen were not of sufficient importance for

,

musical papers to record them or for the prog rammes to be ,

preserved ; they are only noted in his engagement -books .

But the remaining forty-two gave him as much oppo rtunity

of introducin g g ood music as was afforded to any other
classical pianist and he would be as much disposed as any
,

one when he himself chose the music for his own per
,

fo r m a n c e to pay a fair share of attention to M endelssohn

,
.

What was the result ? I n the nine years but chiefly within ,

the last four of them he took part i n M endelssohn s concerted

,
’

chamber-music ten times and he played Solos or grou ps , ,

of Solos of his composition on eleven occasions This was .

all that the circumstances of the time permitted hi m to do

for M endelssohn i n that particular direction and it is not ,

to be discovered that others did nearly so much Shortly .

before M endelssohn s death Davison when referrin g to a

’

, ,

performance of his music by Bennett wrote I n the ,

absence of M endelssohn himself our young countryman is ,

his fit t ing representative and indeed the influence he has ,

had In diffusin g a knowled g e of and creatin g a love for the

works of the g reatest of modern composers is only calculable
by those who like ourselves have watched his career from
, ,

earliest boyhood up to the present epoch Davison would .

’

here refer not only to influence as a public performer but ,

also to Bennett s private exertions in student -days and

’

later among pupils to win adherents to classical music

, .

Old companions who got some of their earliest I mpressions

,

of the works of great masters throu g h the ag ency of his

playing might well retai n a special remembrance of his
,

introducing M endelssohn s music to them as it arrived ’

.

C ertainly they retained the wish to get from him such first
impressions M r J S Bowley has written of interestin g
. . .

evenings spent in Berners Street with G A M a c fa rre n . .

who i n bachelor days would g et Bennett to his lodgin gs

, ,

when any new works of M endelssohn s reached E ngland ’

so that the old set might know them through his playing
-his s i n u l a r l beautiful playin g as Sir Georg e M a c fa r re n
’

g y ,

himself summed up his memory of Bennett s pianism when ’

he wrote or spoke about it in after life .

18 6 p
R u t ure w it h Cos t a [CH .

defined while critics wrote of the exceptional ease with

,

which they listened to him from the back of a concert -room .

T hen too his tone and attack were quite per s e surprising
, , ,

those who heard him for the first t ime Ad v anced students .

of composition who worked under him i n later days found

their attention arrested and compelled when he wen t to‘
,
’

t h e pianoforte to g ive S hort illus t rations in the course of

his teaching About this one of them now writes :
.
,
‘
An indelible impression was left upon my mind by the
playing of a few bars of a Sonata of M ozart on a single
occasion A clergyman who as an underg raduate had
.
’

, ,

heard him play i n Cambridge spoke in later life of never

havin g heard a piano s ou n d like i t and the surprise of
‘
,
’

this anonymous critic was also felt by M r R S Burton . . ,

the well known organist and chorus director of Leeds who ,

i ndependently used the very same words I had never heard ,

‘

a piano s ou n d like it when he was recallin g the moment ,

’

at which he was seized by the sound of the O pening of the

‘
Duetto from M endelssohn s Lieder K ellow Pye remem
’ ’
.
’

bered the tone of his touch as marvellous H C Banister .

’
. .
,

a man of acute sense and fine musical intelligence when ,

describin g to the present writer his fi rst meeting with

Bennett said : I was sta nding near him in a window and
, , ,

while thinking of something he had said did not notice ,

that he had left my side Suddenly I wa s start led and .

could not I assure you realize what had happened H e had

, , .

g one to the pianoforte and touched the keys I had not .

the least idea on the first impression what the instrumen t

, ,

was I t mi ght for all I knew have been an organ or any

.
, ,

thin g else T he sound produced was quite new to my

.

experience .
’

To retu rn now to H u l la h s memorial concert i n E xe t er ’ ‘ ’

H all O n a bench some distance behind that which

.
,

M rs Bennett and her friends were occupying on t he occa

sion sat a burly countryman whose enthusiasm for the vocal
,

music was unrestrained and whose comments were made in a ,

stentorian voice p r o bon opu bl i c o When Bennett s turn came .

’

this loquacious gentleman let every one know that he had not
come there to see a fellow twiddling his fin gers on a piano .
’

M rs B en nett s party were of course anxious as to what

’

, ,

mi g ht happen next ; but they were soon rel ieved When .

X III ] Pia no for t e P l aying - 18 7

B ennett touched the instrument there was immediate

silence Then by degrees came li t tle g runts of sa t isfaction
.

from the bench behind which continued to increase in i n

,

tensity till the end of the performance came and the lusty
, ,

lungs of a new convert to the pianoforte led the cheers

which acclaimed M endelssohn s music as interpreted by ’

Bennett .

O n M ay 1 5 1 8 4 8 B ennett played at the Philharmonic

, ,

concerts for the thirteenth and unluckily for the last time , , .

N o harbinger of ill -fortune appeared that night to warn him

that his career as a Concerto -player was virtually at an end .

H e was at the height of his powers and achieved a success

as marked as on any previous occasion H e chose M ozart s .
’

D m inor Concerto contributin g his own C adences and

,

adding the necessary embellishments with rare taste and

discre t ion H is performance wrote Ay r t o n was in true
.
,
’

,
‘

keepin g with so noble and di g nified a composition H is .

feelin g taste so opposed to the prevailin g S tyle of most of

,

the p i anists of the present day reminds us of a g reat retired ,

performer That t he mantle of J B Cramer has fallen

. . .

upon o u r countryman is the g eneral opinion M ay he long .

continue to wear and deserve it .

’

Ay r t o n had been predictin g for some years that this

mantle would fall on Benne t t By clothin g him with it .

this evening he probably paid the very highest compliment

,

he cou ld imagine and paid it t o a man wi t h whom he had

,

little personal acquaintance and of whose musical efforts u n

, ,

less they concerned the pianoforte he had written with a pen ,

always cold and sometimes cruel F rom Cramer B ennett .

,

may have inherited with other things his legato -p layin g

, ,
.

I n a notice of one of his Chamber-concerts written some ,

years later than this Davison said Surely no such legato

,

playin g ha s been heard si nce the days of D u s s ek and

C ramer But there was another quality on which Davison
.
’

always laid g reat stress in reviewing B ennett s performances ’

.

Amon g the numerous critiques upon t hem which he has left ,

there i s scarcely one to be found which does not contain ,

one of the words energy fire animation or a combi

‘
,
’ ‘
,
’ ‘
,
’

nation of two or all of them Ferdinand H i ller s rec ollec .

’

tion that his playin g was full of soul and fire has already
,
‘
,
’

be en given but may be repeated here to support Davison

, .
18 8 p
R u t u re w it h Cos t a [C H .

A month or two before Ay rt o n gave B ennett the mantle

of Cramer Davison had written i n reference to his playing
, ,

Fugues by Bach and M endelssohn The l eg a t o which is

so eminent a feature i n his style was employed to advantag e
in t he Bach and the fi r e which makes him as unlike J ohn
,

C ramer (the model to whom critics will insist upon com

paring him ) as one pianist can be unlike another was mar ,

v el lo u s l y well bestowed upon the M endelssohn Davison ’

.
,

however when thus disagreeing with Ay rt o n does not seem

, ,

to do more than insist upon addin g something to his view ,

and one cannot afford to put out of count an equality with

so g reat a pianist as C ramer when the suggestion of that ,

equality comes from a cri t ic who must have heard that

master i n his prime which Davison can scarcely have ,

done .

O n M ay 1 4 the day before the Philharmonic per ,

fo r m a n c e M r Otto Goldschmidt called at Russell Place

,

wi t h a letter o f introduction from Bennett s old school ’

fellow C A Se y mour of M anchester

_

, . . Bennett g ave .

M r Goldschmidt a ticket for the concert A few years .

after B ennett s death his friend and former pupil M r Arthur

’

, ,

O Lea ry read a Review of his master s life before The

’ ’

M usical Association M r Goldschmidt contributed a r e .

m i n i s c e n c e which M r O Le a ry related as follows z— A n

’ ‘
,

eminent musician now resident i n London who happened , ,

to arrive here a day or two before he [ Bennett] played

M ozart s D minor Concerto at the Philharmonic in 1 8 4 8
’

, ,

was recently speakin g to me of t his performance Passin g .

thro u gh Paris he had j ust heard with deli g ht and e n t hu ,

s ia s m Chopin at the last famous concert given by t hat

, ,

composer on the eve of the February revolution This .

notwithstandin g the finish of t he E nglish pianist his , ,

exquisite tone and touch combined wi t h masterful con ,

c ep t i o n s of the composer s intentions was for him a new

’

revealment the memo ry of which is still fresh in his mind

, .
’

H ere Bennett s name occurs by the side of another great

’

master of the pianoforte not exactly by way of comparison , ,

but at any rate as worthy to be u sed in the same sentence .

M r Otto Goldschmidt often confirmed this remembrance ,

in conversation with the present writer and a few weeks ,

before his death cordially sanc t ioned its bein g recorded

19 0 p
R u t ure wit h Cos t a
’

[ c 11
.

variety of its other sister The Wood -nymphs but it is a ,

“
,

composition of graver st y le and deeper thought .

’

N ine years had passed since the O v er t ure had been

played at the Philharmonic and it was therefore on a fresh ,

trial as a comparatively unknown work I f by its graver .

,

character it was less likely t han his o t her compositions to

,

gai n q u ick appreciation a carefu l and sympa t hetic rendering

,

was a necess i ty to its success so Benne t t s uneasiness was ,

’

natural ; but the rehearsal was over and i t was late to devise ,

any means of infl u encing the performance of the music .

So Sunday passed O n the M onday aft ernoon he was

.

busy with a long spell of lessons at the Academy H e .

may have been in t ending t o go to t he concert b u t if so , , ,

certainly n o t i n t ime for its commencement As evening .

drew on his anxie t y increasing it occurred to him that he

, ,

mi g ht ask Charles Lucas who lived close by and who as a , , ,

member of t he Philharmonic orchestra was sure t o be at ,

the H anover Square Rooms i n good time to make a ,

sugg estion to Cos t a about the t empo of the Overture ‘ ’

.

L u cas was a Director of the Society and it was cer t ainly ,

not without precedent that t he interpretation of the music

should form an occasional subj ect of friendl y con v ersation
between the Direc t ors and their Cond u c t or Lucas es pec i .
,

ally on account of his wide knowledge of orchestral music

, ,

and because he was one of C os t a s most valued colleagu es at ’

the Opera was an authorit y from whom Cos t a took advice

,

as to the interpretation of any instr u mental works with

which he was unfamiliar Bennett accordingly wrote to .

Lucas a note somewha t hastil y worded but clearly written

, ,

in pencil on a double sheet of note -paper and nea t ly folded ,

i n three -cornered shape H e did not despatch it in hot .

haste When his work at the Academy was over he took

.
,

t he note home M rs Benne t t then took it to Lu c a s s house ’

.

and placed it in his hands as he was putting up his violon

cello i n its case and was o n the point of S t arting for the
,

concert .

This note which caused endless mischief wa s afterwards

, ,

kep t t hough presumably mislaid by Anderson Aft er his

, , .

dea t h in 1 8 7 6 it was found M eanwhile spurious versions .

,

injurious to Bennet t had appeared in public j o u rnals I t

, .

therefore seems expedient to reproduce the ori gin a l .

m m] Th e n ot e r ea c h es Cos t a 19 1

Lucas actin g for Bennett in the simplest way that

,

suggested i tself showed this note to Costa The M u s i c a l

,
1
.

Wor l d when reviewin g a few years later the occurrences

, , ,

of the evening attacked Lucas severely for takin g this

,

course The letter the writer of the article insisted was

.
,
’

,
‘

not mean t to be shown to M r C os t a and never should ,

have been shown The contents however read by them

.
’

, ,

selves wi t hout knowledge o f collateral circumstances seem

, ,

so innocuous while time for consideration must have been

,

so short that there is somethin g to be said for Lucas

, .

H is action however proved unfortunate A verbal hint

, , .
,

based on his own previous k n owled g e of the music mi g ht ,

have been accepted ; or even a sugg estion made in the

form of a mess ag e from B ennett — whose absence from or ,

delayed arrival at the concert would have accounted for ,

the i ntervention of a third party— mi g ht have been listened

to but when a letter was handed to Costa at a busy time , ,

on rather a delicate subj ect concerning his own profession al

work and he found it addressed for no motive that he
, ,

could be expected to grasp at a moment s notice to a ’

person ot her than himself some feelin g of annoyance seems ,

not altog ether unnatural .

N ow when Bennett wrote and Lucas showed the

, ,

letter they w ere unaware that C osta was already in a state

,

of irritation about the Overture The conductor when .

accepting office had stipulated with the D irectors (of whom

Bennett was one ) that all music should be sent to him for
study at some stated time before it was to be performed .

The story goes that the score of Bennett s Overture did ’

not reach Costa s house till the evenin g before the rehearsal
’
.

I f sent by Bennett a note would no doubt accompany it ,

explainin g or apolog isin g for the delay These orches t ra l .

works were as yet i n manuscript ; when lent for perform

ance they were not always returned ; and when wanted
again it was not always easy to find them The Phil .

harmonic librarian may have been the person at fault .

S till the fact remains that Costa s condition was not fulfilled ’

i n this case I t was said that he saw the score for the first
.

time when it was handed to him with his other music

,

1
The ori g i l o t
na n e is n ow i n t he p
io of Ch rl
o s ses s n a es Luc a s
’
s r pre o
s en t a t 1ve s wh k dl y l
o in en t it for r prod t io h r
e uc n e e.
19 2 R u t urep w it h Cos t a [ CH .

through the window of his carriag e as he was startin g from

his house to the rehearsal .

Thus predisposed to imagine disrespec t Costa was in ,

no mood to place any but the worst construction on the

i nciden t of t he letter Tales have been t old of the effect
.

produced upon him at the sigh t of i t how he burst ,

out into a frenzy of rag e how he raved and stamped , ,

and g round the poor little missive to dust beneath his

feet. This however was not a l l true
, The note at
, .
,

all even t s is still intact B u t t here is no doubt that he

, .

was terribly an g ry H e was greatl y incensed with the

.

words all fast written above the music which he mistook

,
’

for some insultin g expression H e used strong lan g uag e .

with regard to Bennett ; seized upon t he ambiguous phrase ,

but you have oft en done it (by which Bennett meant that ’

Lucas had often made s u gg estions to Costa ) and settled ,

the matter by sayin g to Lucas I f you have often done it ,

‘
,

you shall do it n o w H e refused to conduct the O verture

.
’

and Lucas was obli g ed to take his place .

O n M ay 3 0 the day after the concert B ennett wrote

, ,

to Lucas I scarcely know how to act

— ‘
I f I move at all .

it will certainly be to c ompl a i n and t ha t I am unwillin g to ,

do if it can be preven t ed M y conscience tells me that I .

have nothing to answer for but I cannot quietly submit to ,

any such inconsiderate conduct as I at present think

M r C osta has evinced not only to me but the Society at
large I f it can be shown me that I am in any way at
.

fault it will be my only satisfaction to offer the most ample

,

apology and on the other hand it appears to me that some

,

explanation should be offered on the part of M r Costa I .

will not be too precipitate in the cou rse I take and I ,

should be glad if possible t hat M r Costa and myself

, ,

should meet throu gh the intercession of yourself or some

other mutual friend Otherwise i t would perhaps be better
.

for my colleag ues to meet upon the subject wi t hout either ,

t h e presence of M r C osta or myself and fully consider the ,

matter The simple circumstances which g ave rise to the

.

unpleasant affair are as well known to you as to m y self and ,

you will much oblige me by considering all the details and

g iving me your advice .
’

O n receipt of this letter Lucas wrote to Anderson , ,

19 4 p
R u t ure w it h Cos t a [CH .

his relations with it meant not only a withdrawal as a

pianis t and composer from the arena where high distinction
could i n his case most readily be gained but also a sever
, , ,

ance of ties of t he strongest kind and the loss of such ,

musical associations as he most hi g hly prized There is no .

doubt that he was deeply hurt very little doubt that he did ,

not emerge from the trial if it was sent him as a trial , ,

without showin g something of a rebellious spirit I n re .

viewing his career as a composer the blow seems to have ,

fallen at a critical time With his worldly position fairly .

secure he had again been turning his thoughts to com

,

position which he could not or did not pay much attention

, , ,

to for the two or three years during which his teachin g

connection had been so largely increasing E arly i n .

1 8 4 8 he made a fresh start wrote Sacred Duets r e-con , ,

structed and r e-scored his 6 t h Pianoforte Concerto for h is

annual concert and about t he same time asked H F
, . .

Chorley to write him the libretto not of an Opera or ,

Oratorio but of a secular C antata of moderate proportions

,

for the concert -room .

B u t now a smart stroke havin g laid him low the critics

, ,

hit him when he was down I n a fit of despondency he .

,

tore the score of Parisina into frag ments thus destroying ’

his final edition of the work N ow too it may have been .

, ,

that he registered a vow that he would compose no more ;

for later i n life he hinted that he had come to s u ch deter
mination addin g the words - I gave t hem nothing for
,
‘

ten years N early ten years did pass aft er Chorley wrote
.
’

the libre t to of The M ay Queen before Bennett produced ,

’

the music I t is not however literally true that he wrote

.
, ,

nothin g for so many years ; thou gh as a composer he did , ,

retire into a quasi -private life With the exception of a .

Violoncello Sonata for Piatti he wrote nothing specially ,

for public performance ; but he quietl y issued a series of

pianoforte and voca l pieces which though they did not , ,

appear so often as to attrac t attention at the time to what

he was doing i n the aggregate ultimately formed a material
,

addition to the catalogue of his works When speaking .

,

many years afterwards of some of the pieces which he had ,

wri t ten a t this time he said he thought they were about the
,

best t hin g s he had done and that he was satisfied with ,

X III ] Dejec t ion 19 5

the m because they did not seem to want any of their notes
,

altered .

At t he end of the London season of 1 8 4 8 he went ,

with his wife not as usual to stay with her parents at

,

Sou t hampton but for the sake of greater retirement to

, , ,

the sea -side village o f Littlehampton There he com

.
.

p l e t e l y broke down The death of M endelssohn

. to him ,

the cause of deep and silent sorrow was still an open ,

wound At the time of the Philharmonic tro u ble he had

.
,

j ust lost the best friend i n whom he could have confided ,

whose advice sympathy and encouragement would have

,

been so affectionately tendered and would have been so ,

helpfu l M rs Bennett was seriously alarmed at the

.

apparen t ly utter collapse of his strength and spirits H e .

was j ust of the age at which his father had almost suddenly
succumbed to illness and though he soon ret u rned to his
,

work he was so slow in becoming his usual self that his

, ,

wife s anxiety was of long duration But if not robust he at

’
.
,

least possessed a sound cons t itution Doubt might be felt .

whether the amount of his stren g th would prove c o mm en

surate with the amount of his work yet from t his time forth ,

for about twenty fi v e years illness only prevented his fu l

-
,

filling his engagements for a few single days occurrin g at

long intervals When speakin g of an arrangement he had
.

made of his Songs as pianoforte Solos he said I did them ,

one day when I stopped at home for my annual cold but

by the t ime he made this remark even the annual cold was ,

only a treat of b y-g one days .

Since t he completion of his thirtieth year his employ

ments had assumed both i n nature and extent the form
, ,

from which i n fu ture t hey little varied O ne year serves .

as the pattern of many t hat followed I n the first six .

months of 1 8 4 8 he t aught the piano for 9 50 hours ; gave

four concerts of his own ; played or conducted at eleven
others ‘

H e t ook part in the organization of the new

.

Queen s College i n H arley S t reet There he delivered an

’
.

I ntroductory Lecture on H armony i n t he spring before ‘ ’

,

taking classes twice a week in t hat subj ect Continuing to .

teach i n J uly i n August also except for the fortnight s

, ,
’

illness a t Lit t lehampton he had by the end o f December

, , .
,

brought up the total hours of teachin g to 1 6 3 2 without ,

13— 2
19 6 p
R u t ure wi t h Cos t a [ CH .

counting his classes at Q ueen s College These figures ’

.
,

however do not at all represent the time entailed Towns

,
.

such as M aids t one I pswich B righton in al l of which he , , ,

ta u ght i n turn were not i n those days easily accessible ;

,

while the villages in t he neighbourhood of London could

n o t yet be called suburban ; b u t Bennet t still had to take

his work where v er he could find it .

O n the B righton day a policeman on his beat ran g , , ,

the door-be ll at 4 a m and continued his peal till B ennett . .

,

from his bed room window answered the S ignal - Then .

there was a lon g drive to London Bridge to catch the

6 o clock t rain E ight or nine hours lessons were g iven
’ ’
.

at one school i n B righton and home was reached about ,

11 p m .This was done for very many years and he ne v er

.
,

forgo t t o bring back from a B righ t on confec t ioner the cakes

and sweetmeats for the weekly supply of his family On .

ordi nary days he left home at and returned at 9 or 1 0

i n the evening I n the London season days had to be
.

len g thened Charles S t eg g a ll who was his pupil for the

.
,

pianoforte harmony counterpoint and composition for

, , ,

four years ( 1 8 4 7 t ook many lessons from him i n

Tenterden S t reet during summer months at 7 a m S t eg g a ll . ,

on seein g whi t her his master next repaired used to wonder ,

how any inhabi t ant of Por t land Place co u ld be ready to

take a lesson as early as 8 Benne t t would oft en aft erwards .

tell i n praise of t he young lady who did so that before

, ,

receivin g him she had already at t ended to the breakfast of

,

her bro t her a future Lord Chance llor who went very early
, ,

to his Chambers .

Though hours were long and his life laborious hard ,

work as long as it was free from worry by habit became

, ,

congenial I have not he wrote to Charles Salaman

.
‘
,
’

towards the end of the year 1 8 4 8 ten minutes in the week ,

for my own amusement N evertheless he was patient .

’

and content H e seldom left home without saying or

.

doing somethin g of a playful kind which started the day ,

cheerfully for t hose around him and he would run out of ,

the ho u se in the highest of spiri t s whene v er it was only ,

teaching that he had to think of Again M r William .

,

D orrell often told the wri t er how much he had been struck
by finding Bennett after returning from a lon g day s work ,
’

,
19 8 R u t urep w it h C os t a [CH .

and to -morrow will be M onday and till next Sunday I ,

shall be the property of the world at large so Good ,

“

N
O ne morning he unexpectedly found a hired brougham
at his door which his wife had taken the responsibility of
,

ordering and on the future use of which she i nsisted H e

, .

demurred sayin g that it could not possibly be afforded ; but

,

he had to give way and i n the little carriage which he soo n

, ,

aft er boug ht for himself he spent a great part of his l ife

, .

I n the long drives to his work it served for his reading ,

room full of newspapers and some t imes books I n i t he

, .

studied counterpoint tried to learn Latin ; prepared lec ,

tures ; and mental ly practised the pianoforte that bein g

—

the only method as he afterwards said which circumstances

, ,

allowed him for perfec t ing some of the most difficult music
to be played at his Chamber-concerts I n this carriag e .

he composed or sift ed his musical ideas probably as

much if not more than in any other place I t served
, ,
.

him too for a dressin g-room and even for a dining

, ,

room Foot -warmers hot plates and a bull s -eye lantern

.
, ,
’

were constant accompaniments The lantern was often .

wanted on his retur n j ourney from M iss Lowe s school at ’

South g ate which j ourney i n the foggy season he took on

, , ,

foot by the side of his horse At least half his week was .

spent in rural places and this added to the brightness and

,

healthfulness of his life I n the sprin g and summer he came .

home with his carriage full of flowers and the country ,

schools vied with each other to be the first to present him

with his favourite lilac -blooms .

And the pianoforte -teaching itself to which in those ,

days so many applied no other word t han dru dgery was ‘

,
’

by him considered a high calling H ow mean t he occupa .

s

tion was i n the eyes of the world must at times have forced
itself to his notice ; but Bennett s work lay much at the ’

Academy at colle g es and schools and among professional

, ,

pupils H e was never a fashionable music master H is

.
- .

other private pupils were as a rule real music-lovers who , , ,

en g aged him be cause they wished to work seriously at the

best music ; who knew something of his value as a musician ,

so that they looked up to him and treated him with courtesy

and respect H e spent his days not only in the society of
.
xm ] P ia n o for t e Tea c hing 19 9

the countless number of pupils whom he influenced but also ,

in continuous association through the medium of the music ,

he taught with the g reat masters of his art H e tau g ht

, .

school girls who were almost beginners but as far as could

-
,

be seen he took the same interest in them as he did i n

,

advanced students whom he was preparing for the concert

room When he was selectin g teachin g -music from its
.

S pecial bookcase before startin g on his rounds he would ,

often speak of the beauty of some small and simple work of

one of the great masters as he put it in his portfolio for one of
these youn g er pupils I n a school where he tau ght for many
.

years and for many consecutive hours at a sitting it was

, ,

found impossible to g ather from his manner which was the

‘

most or the least clever pupil so thorou ghly did he interest ,

himself in each i ndividual O ne who worked with him for 1 ’

.

some time has written From the zest with which he

went into every special beauty of the composition which
was bei ng studied it would have been difficult to realize
,

that he was not j ust enteri ng a new and enchantin g region

instead of (as was the case ) walkin g over well -trodden old
familiar ground
H is patience a quality which even the youn g est scholar
,

can appraise was proverbial amongst his pupils O ne and

, .
,

she not the least distinguished of them lookin g back on her ,

own career of twenty -five years as a teacher said I n hours ,

‘

of irritation I used to think of B ennett and so possessed

, ,

my soul i n patience H e was found strict at times even

.
’

severe Personally he was thou g ht by many to be rather

.

di fficult to approach T here is lit t le recorded of any definite

.

systems of instruc t ion M usic rather than the playin g of .

,

it seems to dwell in the memory of his pupils

, H e tau g ht .

me to like Beethoven has been said or written by many ’

.

N ot a few have gone much further and sinking music alto

g ether have preferred to speak of the strong influence for
g ood that their music-master had u po n their lives .

I n 1 8 4 8 the Rev F D M aurice drew up the syllabus

, . . .

of studies for the new Queen s C ollege H arley S treet ’

, ,

introducing subj ects which had so far found no place in a

woman s education Bennett had no need to urg e the claims
’
.

1
V id e My M us i ca l E xper i en c es , b y B i W lk r
et t n a a e .
20 0 p
R u t ure w it h Cos t a [ CH .

of music in g eneral Professor M aur ice had a stron g

.

conviction that however desirable the new departure

,

might be it ou ght not to be taken at the expense of

,

A rt and M usic Bennett however wa s anxious as he

.
, , ,

al ways had been that instrumental music should have

,

some recognition in this country analogous to what was

given to vocal music I n V iew of writing to Professor
.

M aurice and pressing this point he set down in a pocket ,

book some memoranda which admit of being arran g ed as

,

follows. I t may be explained that such j otting i n a

pocket book or on the backs of letters was one of the
-

occupations of his carriag e life -

.

The Pianoforte master has his S hare in educatin g the

mind of his pupil The disposition of a pupi l cannot be
.

concealed even in a Pianoforte lesson I f y o u describe .

pianoforte playing as an ex t r a study in your prospectus you

-
,

will give the impression that it does not take its place i n the
general course because it is a l ight study which it is not , .

I t is not ri g ht that it should suffer in esteem with other

subj ects of education S imply because it is necessary to teach
,

it indi v idually and not in classes The Pianoforte does not .

yield to the voice in its power of expression and it is fully ,

as capable of exciting g reat and noble feelings when l eg i t i

mately u sed The instrument has been chosen by the
.

g reatest masters as the sole exponent of many of their

greatest works I f I had the time to undertake the duties
.
,

I should consider the post of Professor of the Pianoforte In

your C ollege of equal honour to that I hold for H armony
,

and Composition .
’

At the outset of B ennett s career it was assumed by his ’

advisers and by himself that there was no other way ope n

to him for making his bread than as a teacher In ‘

the end he was said to have sacrificed himself too much .

Some blamed him for this but not all The Rev H R , . . . .

H a we i s wrote I n M emoriam of him in 1 8 7 5 I n these

‘ ’
.
,

days our youn g men complain of drudgery They are .

poets and have t o keep accoun t s ; they are men of g enius

and sensibility and pass their t ime i n turnin g over o t her
people s money Remember then that Sterndale B ennett
’
.

passed the g reater part of forty years in incessant drudgery .

H e the master— the w orthy friend and brother-i n -art of

 C H A PT E R X IV .

THE B A C H S O C I E TY . C HA M BER CO N C ERTS .

1 8 49 — 18
55 .

38 h —
33 39 .

T H OUGH B ennett s works were heard no longer at the

’

Philharmonic they now g ained a footin g elsewhere N ew

, .

orchestral societies were being established a n d his Overtures

came into great request T he N a i a d s was played at the
.
‘

Gloucester Festival i n 1 8 4 7 ; was repeated at Worcester

and H ereford i n the next two years ; and in 1 8 4 8 was
placed on a programme at Windsor Castle a complimen t ,

rarely paid to B ritish music I n 1 8 4 9 he was summoned .

to Court where he had not been seen S ince boyhood and

, ,

he played by Prince Alber t s wish two movements from

,
’

his F minor C oncerto and his Three M usical Sketches

,
‘
.
’

I n the course of the next few years other pianists began to

play his pianoforte music Special mention may be made .

of Alexandre B illet who g ave a prominent place to Bennett

,

on his prog rammes and brou g ht to li g ht some of the earlier

works which the composer himself had never played in
public So now B ennet t whether by express in t ention or
.
,

not left his interests as a composer i n the keeping of others

, ,

while he lent his services almost exclusively to the music of

the Great M asters H e abandoned the old -fashioned plan
.

of g ivin g an annual orchestral concert H e g ave the last .

in 1 8 49 Securin g g reater patron a g e than usual he handed

.
,

the profit of £ 8 0 to T he Governesses Benevolent I nsti

‘ ’

tution that being a n institution i n whose work both he and

,
’

his wife were deeply interested The tal es of distress .

heard within its walls prompted the desire to equip youn g

CH . x 1v] A W t hy
or A m b it ion 20 3

women more completely for a callin g which often came to

them as a necessity and found them ill -prepared This .

movement for the higher education of women was started

by the foundation in which Bennett took part of the , ,

Queen s Colleg e H arley Street

’

, .

O n Thursday evenin g O ctober 1 8 1 8 49 as B ennett , , ,

was leavin g the Academy he asked his pupil Charles ,

S t eg g a ll to j oin him in his walk home

, As they walked .
,

he unfolded a project which he said had been i n his mind

for some time H e pointed out that while the Org an and
.

C lavier works of Sebastian Bach were well known to many

E nglish musicians few knew few seemed even aware that
, ,

there existed the g reat works for chorus and orchestra

left by that master H e went on to speak of the Grosse
.
‘

Passions -M usik and other works possessin g the character

’

and proportions of Oratorios and expressed his conviction ,

that such works would surely find acceptance i n E ngland if

once they could be made known I t was his ambition he .
,

said to initiate some movement which would arouse interest

,

i n this unknown music As a first s t ep he asked his pupil .

,

to undertake the duties of an honorary secretary A few .

days later he saw S t eg g a ll ag ain and asked him to invite

,

certain musicians whom he named to a meetin g at which his

, ,

proj ect might be discussed O n October 2 9 E J H opkins .

, . .
,

Robert B arnett Oliver M ay and F R Cox met B ennett

, . .

and S t eg g a ll i n Russell Place when the followin g resolu ,

tions were passed

That a Society be formed to be c al led The Bach
‘ “

Society havin g for its primary obj ects :

”

The collection of the works of J ohn S ebastian

Bach including as far as practicable all the various extant
,

editions also copies of a ll authentic M S S and all bio

, .
,

g raphical works relating to him and his family with a view ,

of forming a library of reference for the use of members .

( )
2 The furtherance and promotion of an acquaintance
with his works amongst musical students and the general
public by such leg i t imate means as may from time to time
present themselves .
’

T he subject of musical performance was thus kept

i n reserve but some more definite promise was after
,
20 4 B h S i ty
ac oc e . Ch a m ber Con c er t s [ CH .

wards deemed necessary to attract members When the .

prospectus appeared in print mention was made of pe r ,

‘

fo rm a n c es the frequency and extent of which must be

,

governed by the means at the Society s disposal The ’

.
’

promise of these performances proved very di fficult to keep .

I n forming his C ommittee B ennett looked to his Academy ,

colleagu es ; also to organists who were so far the chief ,

exponents of B ach in E n gland B esides those present at .

the preliminary meeting W H H olmes W Dorrell , . .

,
. ,

J ohn Goss Georg e C ooper H J Lincoln H enry Smart

, , . .
, ,

C E H orsley J ohn H ulla h and the violinist Dando

. .
, ,

j oi ned i n the movement Sir George Smart and C ipriani .

Potter as representatives of seniori t y were asked to set

, ,

their stamp of approval by accepting office as H onorary

Auditors By the close of the year re gulations had been
.
,

drawn up and a room attached to the H anover Squ a re

,

Rooms had been taken i n which to hold meetin g s and store

a library Then the prospectus was issued and applications
.

for membership were invited There was no rush of a p .

p l i ca nts The name. of Bach at the time under notice was , ,

not one to conjure with I ndeed it was very little known.

,

as was soon shown by the varieties of pronunciation which

E nglish ton gues gave it Bake B ack Batch Bash Ba i t c h
.
, , , , ,

and Bort c h were only a few of the first attempts M r Punch .

did not g et it quite ri g ht when he honoured the S ociety , ,

soon after its institution with a speci men of his amiable ,

raillery .

K -H A N D ER A BA C .

I n this country there is a strong tendency i n things to

start up the more you put them down and in fact if a thing ,

is really good there is no quizzing it out of its vitali t y We .

have occasionally indulged i n a good humoured joke at the -

expense of our ru sty fusty friend B AC H the g reat composer ,

of innumerable Ops and w hose sundry S c hezzi in A B or

, , ,

C are anythin g but A B C work to those who conscientiously

,

try to render them“

Such however is the tenacity with
.

which the vi r t u os i keep i n what may be called the B AC H

g round of the musical world that a EAC H Society has ,
“

S prun g or rather toddled into existence

, This Society we , .

believe invites an audience and has such a thorough -g oin g ,

 20 6 B h S i ty ac oc e . Ch a m ber Con c er t s [C H .

did not as yet realize the difficulties in front of them To .

obtain performers or to find music to perform for any , ,

concert on a large scale proved hopeless S o as M r Punch .

,

said t he Ba c hi t es had to be content to toddle into

,
‘

existence B u t they kept the bir t hday

.
’
Chappell lent .

them a room i n Bond S treet where on the evenin g of , ,

M arch 2 1 the y had their first t rial of music H enry

,
‘ ’
.

Smart conducted The M otet D r S t eg g a ll told the‘

.
’

writer that this M otet had been edited by A ngel of E xe t er

under the title H onour Glory and Blessin g and that it, , ,
’

was the only vocal work of Bach with E nglish words which
could be found i n print at the ti me D o u bt has since been .

expressed whether Sebastian Bach ever wrote the M otet

which represented him at this opening ceremony The .

Society with no fixed abode save t h e Bach -attic for its

, ,
‘ ’

library wandered round from Chappell s to Co v entry s

,
’
-
’

thence to The H anover Square Rooms and on to St Martin s ,

’

H all thus continuing its work throughout the musical season

, .

T here were thirty fiv e members when the practices be gan -

of ladies there were only four ; but the assistance of Academy

,

students was ob t ained and before long the Rev Thomas , , ,

.

H elmore gave willing and acti v e aid bringing with him ,

the children of the Chapel Royal who lived under his ,

charge Two more M ote t s were arranged wi t h E nglish

.

words Their rehearsal gave g reat trouble H enry Smart

. .

conducted while Bennet t s u pported the Chorus by r e pro

,
-

d uc i n g the scores on the pianoforte with a completeness

and facility which surprised t he musicians around him
The conductor however was at times in despair at the , ,

frequent break downs of h is forces O n one occasion .

,

having laid the blame i n t u rn on each sect ion of the eight , ,

part chorus he at length threw do wn his bat on and crying

, ,

out B ennett I do believe its you r

,
‘
piano provoked
, ,
’

a roar of laughter and restored good humour ,

.

The cen t enary of Bach s death fell on J uly 2 8 of this ’

year T he day of the week was S u nday so the Society

.
,

solemnized the occasion on t h e next evening They gave .

a private concert at S t M artin s H all with the following ’

programme which does not enter very closely i nto par

,

t i c ula rs .
x 1v] S ix Mot et s 20 7
Part I .

Choral God my K in g
,
‘
.
’

Duet Violin and Pianofo rte

, .

M otet ( E mi ) N o 5 , . .

Part I I .

Choral Farewell thou orb of sp lendour

,
‘
, .
’

C oncerto Two Pianofortes, .

Due t E t in unum M ass i n B minor

,
‘
,
’
.

Chaconne Violin and Pianoforte

, .

M otet ( B flat) N o 1 , . .

At this concert the performers whether enrolled as ,

members of the Bach Society or not gave their assistance ,

as amateurs T hei r names do not appear on the pro g ramme

. .

M ol i q u e was the solo violinist B ennett and Dorrell were ,

the pianists H enry Smart conducted and strin g ed i n s t ru

, ,

ment players came forward to accompany the C oncerto .

There wa s no sale of tickets O n the evenin g before .

( Sunday , ) the Germans i n Leipzig had marked the cen

t en a ry b y foundin g another B ach Society which had for its ,

object the gi g antic task of publishin g all the M aster s works ’

The London Society now took one step in the same direction .

They negotiated with M essrs E wer for a publication of the

S ix M otets The issue of these under the editorship of
.

D r S t eg g a l l with E n glish text by Bartholomew gave g reat

, ,

impetus to the practices E minent musicians who had n o t

.
,

sun g since boyhood j oined t he ranks , T he volume of .

M otets was issued in J une 1 8 5 1 ; monthly tri als were ,

‘ ’

then appointed and were re g ularly continued durin g winter

, ,

and spring for many year s The untirin g exertions of the

, .

youthful M iss J ohnston ensured no further lack of material

for study She framed the course of her life i n view of this
.

special work d ili g ently learnt German at the new Queen s ’

College ; persevered with her study of musical t heory under

B ennett and Ste g a ll ; learnt the organ ; and perfected
herself in the a r t 0 ?lithography She g radually produced .
,

consultin g Bennett at every stag e of her pro g ress an ,

E n g lish version of the St M atthew Passions -M usik She ‘

.
’

set up a litho g raphic press in her house at S t J ohn s Wood ’

,
20 8 B h S i ty
ac oc e . Ch a m ber Con c er t s [ C H .

and prepared with her own hands all the parts necessary for
the practice and at l a st for the performance of t he great work .

T he size and wei g ht of the Bach portfolio which S he had

herself constructed with many a cunning device for the ,

better storing of her treasures and with which the en ,

t hu s i a s t i c girl was constantly trudging between S t J ohn s

’

Wood and Russell Place stood for measures of her labori ,

o u s n e s s and endurance At the practices whether as leader .

,

of any voice part withi n her compass or as stag e librarian , ,

she was indefatigable and ubiqui t ous Rather eccentric i n .

appearance with eyes beamin g through large spectacles

, ,

and with her own ideas of dress her youth was somewhat ,

disg uised A violinist unversed in musical chronology

.
, ,

attendin g the rehearsals for t he first time and astonished

-
,

at the enth u siasm she displayed seriously enquired of his ,

neighbour IS i t M r s Bach ? A t one time later i n life

,
’

she was summoned to I ndia to fetch home her father a ,

Commander i n the Royal N avy who had been attacked ,

with serious illness S he took her portfolio with her and .

g ot u p a branch B ach Society among the sailors That .

Bach should g o i nto competi t ion wi t h Di bd i n tickled

Bennett s sense of humour ’
Probably however a few 1
.
, ,

Choral es were all that M iss J ohnston would u se i n her

appeal to the N avy ; and it was part of B ennett s own ’

creed that Bach s music was not for the cultiva t ed musician
’

alone When he had been holdin g rehearsals of the B minor

.

M ass in St M artin s H all he told his friend the Rev ’

, , .

W T K in gsley tha t it had been a g reat satisfaction to

. .
,

him to hear the street boys in Long Acre whistling the

melody of the Sanctus B ut the Bach S ociety must now .
’

be left for a while gi vin g their occasional concerts on a ,

still small scale celebrating their master s birthdays collec t

,
’

in g through the g enerosity of others and by their own

,

expenditure a valuable library and strugglin g with the

, ,

difficul t ies of the St M atthew Passions -M usik Bennett ‘

.
’

afterwards wrote of this music - I ts i ntroduction was ‘

effected bi t by bi t one portion rehearsed over and over ,

again until performers and listeners beg an to find their

,

way i n it and then some other portion ventured on

, .
’

o di r p t t D i bd i w
1 N s es impli d B t t oft i t ns a nce d th
r m rk bl r o g i t io of t h
ec o n as e . en n e en e
b t ow l of P io po D i bd i
es a a en s ri
e s e v c es
r d r d b y o g wri t r t hi o
n u n n as a e a a e ec n n
en e e a s n - e o s c un t ry.
W LLIAM
I AL B
ST E R N D E T
EN N E T

I A
A ET. C RC xxx v
x 1v] Suc c es s of Con c er t s 2 09
B ennett s Chamber Concerts had now for some time
’

been recognized as a feature of London music Such .

concerts were not at first fashionable enough to find a

place during the London season H e gave three in the .

early part of t he year and after abandoning in 1 8 4 9 his , , ,

annual orchestral concerts he ventured on a fourth Chamber ,

Concert i n the month of J une I t is evidence of progress .

,

that as the y ears passed the dates changed and he ended

by givin g the series of three i n the hei g ht of the season .

The H anover Square Rooms did not require a very large

audience to fill them For smaller concerts a screen was .
,

dropped over the orchestra for acoustical reasons and a ,

platform was placed at the centre of t h e north wall on to ,

which the performers stepped from George the T hird s ’

tea -room With these arrangements one fou nd oneself

.

i n the drawin g -room or music -room of some princely

mansion such a place as H aydn or M ozart must often have
,

appeared in t o play their Trios or S onatas I t was a .

custom of the time for a concert g iver to send out invitations

to brother-artists I f they accepted and came in large .

numbers it was taken as a S i g n that the concert was i m

,

port ant and ec l a t was righ t ly thou g ht to be added to the

,
‘

proceedings By conforming to t his custom and by s ec u r

.

in
g about 1 50 subscribers Bennett always had a sufficient ,

audience H e en gaged t he best artists both vocal and

.

inst rumen t al and did not expect t o gain anything for

,

himself At first he i ncurred a slight loss b u t as time

.
, ,

went on interest g rew and additional tickets were sold

, .

Of a concer t i n 1 8 5 2 The M u s i ca l Wor l d wrote ,

°

The H anover Square Rooms were densely packed

‘

with such an audience of connoisseurs and professors as ,

perhaps Sterndale B ennett alone is able to collec t toge t her

, .

S uccess was never more thoroughl y merited Sterndale .

B ennett was the originator (i n of these performances

of classical C hamber-music by the great composers for the ,

pianoforte t o which the art and its professors are so much

,

indebted and which of late years have been so greatly i n

, , ,

vogue The best pianist and t he bes t composer for the

.
,

pianoforte t hat this co u ntry has probably known no one ,

1
Th h m w d rt i d i 8 4 b t t h fir t C o rt w g i i
e sc e e as a ve se n 1 2 u e s nce as ven n

Jan . 1 8 43 .

S . B.
 2 IO B h S i ty
ac oc e . Ch a m ber Con c er t s [c u

could be more fitted to set the example and if works once

confined to the student s library al t hough acknowled g ed
’

superior to anything else belongi ng to this special and i m

portant branch of the a r t are now widely di ffused and ,

popular it is certai nly due to Sternd al e Bennett who was

, ,

n o t only the first t o venture on producing them in public ,

b u t now that t e n years have passed remains wi t hout a

, ,

superior among the foreign and E n glish pianists who have

followed i n his steps .
’

Wi t h a slight reservation t he above tribute may be a c

c e t ed
p . M os c h e l e s and Charles N ea t e had both given one

or two series of somewha t similar concerts i n advance of

Benne t t They did not continue to give them Bennett
. .

took the work u p again and persevered with it There , .

i s no hesitation in claiming for him t hat within a cer t ain

period ( 1 8 4 3 1 8 56 ) he was able to accomplish more than
—

any predecessor or immediate contemporary in awakening , ,

by the beauty of his playin g and his interpretative power ,

an apprecia t ion in t his country for the masterpieces of

concerted Chamber-music in which the pianoforte takes
part H e was no self-assertive pianist A point admired
. .

by Schumann in his C oncerto -writing and often noticed by ,

Davison i n his Concerto playing was his rare power of -

,

uniting t he pianoforte to the orches t ra with due regard t o

the claims of each I n his playing of Chamber-music the
.

same attitude was constantly referred to as something ex

c e t io n a l
p The
. faculty of combination was one i n which
the pianist -composer had the advantage over the mere
virtuo so and over those who i n days when performances
, ,

of C oncertos and Chamber -m u sic were far rarer events

than t hey became later had little chance of gaining such
,

faculty by experience .

T he V iolinists who helped him most frequently at these

concerts were B la g ro ve M o l iq u e Sainton and E rnst , , .

V i e u x t e m ps and J oachim also appeared Dando took the .

viola when that instrument was wanted Piatti who joined .

,

him In 1 8 49 remained from that time his constant colleague

, ,

and during a period of seven years there was no musician

with whom Benne t t seemed to have closer ar t istic sympathy .

With such help he produced the Violin Sonat as of Bach

, ,

playin g them much with the fine musician M ol i q u e Of .

2 12 B h S i ty
ac oc e . Ch a m ber Con c er t s [ CH .

that I have always found him the same good kind and ,

congenial companion and friend 1“ 1“ 1“

H e did me the .

honour of wri t ing a Sonata expressl y for me and I can t ,

’

forget the hearty lau gh he gave when on the evening of ,

the concert that it was to be performed on my going to ,

rehearse it he informed me that it was not quite finished

, .

T hat was about two hours before the concert H is piano .

was already gone to the concert at least I t hink so because , ,

he invited me to go downstairs i n the H ousekeeper s room ’

where there was a lit t le cottage pianoforte and there he set -

,

at work to finish it and I to learn it We co u ld not rehearse .

it being now the time to g o to the concert H owever it

,
.
,

wen t off very well and it pleased the Public very much .

O n this part icular occasion he reminded me more than ever

of the fine crisp diamond -like touch of M endelssohn and
, , ,

he never played better nor the Sonata go so well as that

,

night .
’

The hearty lau g h with which B ennett greeted Piatti

‘ ’

can only have been a cloak to underlying anxiety One of .

the audience said fifty years later that he happened to pass

, ,

the composer a few moments before he stepped u p to play

the Sonata and thou ght his appearance was t hat of a pain
fully nervous man H e passed him again half-a n -hour later
.
,

and saw his face sparkling with gaiety The marked con .

trast had fixed the evening i n the observ er s memory ’

.

B ennett often alluded to this occasion in remembrance of ,

Pi a t t i s masterful readiness in musical performance and of

’

his mat t er-o f-fact way of acceptin g a situation i n which he

cou ld help a brother-artist out of a di fficulty Piatti played .

his part in t he Sonata from the manuscrip t while the com ,

poser trusted to his memory .

A t these concerts as also elsewhere Bennett liked to

, ,

introd u ce music for fo u r hands on the pianoforte or duets ,

for t wo pianofortes H is friend Dorrell used to imitate the

.

plaintive tone i n which he had once said : Ah Dorrell ‘

, ,

how I wish I could do some t hin g for M ozar t When the .

’

p u blic performance of i nstrumen t al music began to spread

i n this co u n t r y an d when the m u sic of two or three genera
,

tions was presented simultaneously for a first hearin g the ,

works of Beethoven of Spohr or of M endelssohn seemed

, ,

to appeal more readily t o the pop u lar ear than those of

X IV ] D u et -P l aying 2 13

M ozart I n the case of C hamber-music and S olos for the

.

pianoforte this was particularly noticeable I n the duet .

playing however B ennett found a special and most fasci

, ,

nating aspect in which to p resent his own model musician .

H e understood that M ozart had himself i nvented the duet

playing on one pianofor t e T he D u et in F minor one of .
,

the two said to have been written for a musical clock ,

Bennett described i n a l ecture at Cambrid g e as the essence

, ,
‘

of music H e placed it on many pro g rammes of concerts

.
’

and lectures i n the course of his life T he Sonata i n .

D maj or for two pianofortes g ave a S plendid opportunity of

illustrating M ozart s genius not only in H anover Square
’

but to less instructed audiences in Finsbury or Greenwich .

M endelssohn s A ndante con Variazioni (Op 8 3 a ) was

’
.

another favourite item rec al ling to his mind his own con
,

cert in 1 8 44 when the composer had contributed the piece

as a novelty and had played it wi t h him Schumann s
, .
’

Andante with Variations (Op 4 6 ) was produced and perhaps .

,

heard for the first time i n London at one of his latest concerts .

I n this duet -playing he was associated with other eminent

artis t s I t enabled him to invite M o s c heles Cipriani Potter
.
, ,

Stephen H eller and M adame Schumann to assist him ; also

Robert Barne t t a pianist whose style was considered almost
,

a facsimile of B ennett s but whose nervousness prevented

’
,

him from g aining eminence B ennett in after life would .

, ,

often S peak of the painful nervousness that had in his own ,

case attacked him bef or e public performance but he said

, ,

that it left him altogether when he seated himself at the

pianoforte and with such a suddenness that he seemed to
,

f e el it go as if it were
,
lifted by an unseen hand .

The music for his own solo -playing at the Chamber

Concerts was not selected with a view of exhibitin g his
technical skill to its full extent ; though the choice was no
doubt sufficiently comprehensive to show what S ir J ohn Goss
term ed his extraordinary power of illus t rating the various
‘

styles of the Great M asters on the pianoforte I n analysin g .

a list of the Solos he played it i s found that Bach and ,

H andel were the composers whose works he played the

oft enest M ozart and B eethoven were so well represen t ed
.

on his programmes by concerted music that he did not

select largely from their Solos O f B eethoven s Sonatas .
’
2 14 B h S i ty
ac oc e . Ch a m b er Con c er t s [ CH .

he limited himself to five Of M ozart he played Sonatas .

in F ma and A mi a Romance in A fl a t and a Tema e

. .
, ,

Variazioni i n F ’
O f M endelssohn the Preludes and
.
,

F ugues were his great pieces M endelssohn played them .

to him i n Leipzi g a day or two before he sent t hem to a

publisher and i n the same week wrote about them to
,

F erdinand H iller and expressed a doubt whe t her they

wou ld be much played One may imag ine that he would .

make t he same remark to B ennett and that the latter ,

wo u ld determine that it should be no fault of his if they

were not well known The Prelude and Fugue i n E minor .

became a favourite c heva l d e ba t a i ll e The boldness of the .

acceleration with which he worked up t he Fu g ue was enough

to alarm some of his lis t eners William Rea and D r S t eg g a ll .

in t he course of one such performance turned to each other

and said simultaneously H e ll never do it Late i n life ,
’
.
’

and when he had for many years entirely abandoned piano

for t e -practice he took it into his head one day to sit down
,

i n his A cademy class -room and try his old favourite for the ,

sake of a student who was goin g to play it the same evening .

M r William Sh a kespeare who heard him do this so ,

‘

magnificently g ained thereby the impression that as a

,
’

,
‘

p i an i st he must have been of the greatest and noticed that ,

’

he still possessed a remarkable firmness of touch splendid

‘
,

accent wonderfully clear technique and a style of phrasin g

, ,

as pure and fastidious as his own music .

’

H is playin g of the Lieder ohne Worte seems to have ’

been regarded as an almost necessary sequence to his

appearance at a concert H is obj ect when he first adopted .
,

them for public performance has already been explained , .

H e either played one of the books complete or else t hree ,

or four numbers which he would allow his friends i n t he

artists room to select before he went on the platform H e
’
.

was generally obliged to play three or four more and was ,

seldom allowed to escape till the Duetto had been ‘ ’

heard.

O f other composers Scarlatti Paradies H aydn Clementi , , , , ,

C ramer Pot t er M os c heles F anny H ensel and Schuman n

, , ,

were drawn upo n but to no larg e ex t ent For himself he

,
.

did not do much B y an audience numbering many pupils

.

and friends he was of course expected to contribute some

2 16 B h S i ty
ac oc e . Ch a m ber Con c er t s [CH .

through some of the other m u sical centres in Germany but ,

tho u gh M endelssohn and the publisher K istner encouraged

the scheme he did n o t carry it out ; while to a definite offer
that he should g o to Paris as an artist he at once turned a
deaf ear H owever even if he had wished to travel few
.
, ,

were the places that would have welcomed or defrayed the

expenses of an i nstrumental performer who was not ready
to concede something i n his choice of music t o pre v ailin g
, ,

fashion and to consider the interests at least in some

, ,

degree of the sight -seeing section of a concert audience

,
- .

That fact can be seen in black and white on the programmes ,

of t he period to which he as a player belonged N or is

, , .

it certain that his playing by t he nature of its sentiment

, ,

would hav e appealed successfully to the temperaments of

vario u s nationalities H is very personality was not perhaps
.
, ,

of that order which commands the vast and parti -coloured

assemblag e The simplicity and unaffectedness of bearing
.

which added charm i n E n g lish eyes to the performances

, ,

of his boyish days remained with him to the end or only ,

g ave place as years went on to a grave di g nity which

, ,

b e fi t t e d manhood But such characteristics would not

.

have helped him far in his wa y throu gh E urope or the

N ew World I t is better to think of him as stationed
.

j ust where and j ust when men of his stamp were scarce
and sorely needed but also just where and when t he ways
,

of greatest usefulness could not all lead to high distinction .

S till whatever can or can not be said abou t his worldly

,

fame ample testimony remains of which perhaps enou g h

, ,

has been recorded i n t hese pag es that he was a remarkable ,

master of the pianoforte H is playing had for many that

.

same ma g netic attraction which had drawn the old Serg eant
of the Guards to watch over his practice at t he Academy .

H e possessed a m arvellous faculty for revealing the grandeur

or the grace of music to the uncultured and for converting
the thoughtless to a belief in what he himself revered N 0 .

child could fail to realize the majesty of some ancient Chorale ,

as t he broad impressive tones rose from his instrument and

s e t the whole atmosphere of his house i n vibration But far .

away on the other hand he was no less able to captivate

, ,

the sympathetic interest of some of the most illustrious

musicians of his time Schumann writing to Simonin de
.
,
x 1v] pu t e
Re as a P i a n is t 2 17

S ire in 1 8 3 9 extolled M endelssohn as the foremost of then

,

living musicians H e made a special reference to his playin g

.

and then added N ext to him comes Bennett And i n .

what a way do they both play the pianoforte like an gels ,

and with no more assumption than child ren .

’
 C H A PT E R X V .

CORRE SP ON DE N C E WI T H T H E S C H U M A NNS .

G RE A T EX HI B I T I ON OF 8 5 1 1.

REV IV AL O F T H E P HI LHA R MON I C T R OUB LE .

CO N D U CT O R S HI P O F G E WA N D HA U S C O N C ERT S .

P R O DU C T I O N O F B A C H S P A SS I O N S-M U S I K
’ ‘ ’
.

FORthe three years succeedin g M endelssohn s death ’

no letters of which this wri t er is aware passed between

, ,

Bennett and his German friends except one carefully , ,

preserved written to him by M adame M endelssohn There

, .

was however no lack of O pportunity for exchan g ing news

, ,

between London and Leipzig J ulius Kistner and M o n i c k e

.

visited him in Russell Place ; M rs Bennett corresponded

with M iss A nnette Preusser ; and there was now a con
sta nt passage of musical students between this country and
the Leipzi g C onservatorium Bennett when he at last .
,

took up his pen did so with a very i nteresting object H e

, .

wrote t o D usseldor f
5 R U S S ELL PLA C E
.

LO ND O N 1

F ITZR OY S QUARE
, ,

D ec 1 5, 18 50
L IE B ER S C H U M AN N
. .

K ennen S ie meine H andschrift ? Are you

really so near to old E n gland ? and will this letter find
you in D il s s eld o rf I want to know how all goes with
you and to make some plan to bring you and your good
,

wife i nto our Land Will you not come to our g rand
.

1T hi h p t r d t h for goi g
s c a e an ppl m t h o th r b t h
on e su e en ea c e o
r i g rly t h m p riod of t im
e e n ,

tr
a ve s n n ea e sa e e e.
220 [ 850 — 1 8 55 R et r a c ed [ CH .

S c hu ma n n t o B en n et t 1
.

D uSSELD O R E, j a n ua ry t he z u d , 1 8 5 1
D EAR B E N N E TT
.

Your letter of Dec 1 st h only reached me .

the day before yesterday as a good ending to the year , .

What pleasure it gave me to recognize your hand -writin g ; ,

for often and always have I thought of you and of the ,

many delightful hours I have passed with you We have .

the greatest desire to V isit E ngland and we shall probably ,

come B u t first one t hing : A musical Festival will be

.

celebrated here on J une 8 t h and as it is t he turn for ,

D usseldorf this time the direction will be i n my hands ,

.

N ow t his fits quite well with the dates given by you the ,

1 4 th and 2 8 t h of M ay We would arrive in London in the .

beginning of M ay and could be back again by the I s t of

,

J une so that I sho u ld still be i n time to direct at l east

,

the full rehearsals The question now is could we in so

.
,

short a time earn enough to cover the cost of j ourney and

l ivin g which we estimate at £ 1 0 0 at least
,
? I f you think
so we should wish for nothing further
, .

Another thin g I should like to mention You will .

think it natural and you also touch upon it i n your letter ,

that I should not like to remain idle at my wife s S ide but ’

,

should also like to show myself as a musician namely as ,

a Conductor which is m y g reatest desire N ow could you

, .

negotiate this as for i nstance with the Philharmonic

,

Society so t hat there mi g ht be some chance of bringing it

,

about ? I have many works which I believe might find ,

favour i n E ngland : Paradise and the Peri an Overture ‘

,
’

and inciden t al music to Byron s M anfred a new Symphony ’

la t ely completed and much besides which to you above all

, ,

I S ho u ld have such gr eat pleas u re i n showing .

Would it perhaps be possible for you to fix the days

of your concerts eight days ea r l i er upon the 7 t h and 2 I s t ,

of M ay so that in the time between the 2 2 n d of M ay

,

and the I s t of J une we could still undertake some t hin g ,

my wife perhaps play at a Philharmonic concert or obtai n ,

other engagemen t s .

N ow will you turn this over i n your mind dear Bennett ? ,

We have as I say the greatest desire to come and will

, , ,

O ri g i l l t t r i i G rm
1
na e e s n e an.
x v] E x hi bit ion of 1 85 1 22 1

do so if only there is a reasonable prospect of

, ou r n ot

bei ng l os er s by i t .

And still a few questions : Are the concerts which you ,

g ive wi t h Or c hes t r a ? H ow many times would my wife

,

have to play at each of them ? O n which days are the

Philharmonic concerts fixed ? Do you think I could brin g
about a performance of the P er i if not in M ay perhaps , ,

later on if M dlle Lind would sin g i n it ?

,
.

A tho u sand such things I should like to ask and others ,

too of a more ideal kind and also how you fare yourself , ,

and whether you are as happy i n your life as I should

wish you t o be and of myself I should have much to tell
,

you of my home happiness and of my fi ve children and of

, , ,

my j oyous impulses t owards composition which are ever

and ever promptin g me T hat must be spared for another .

let t er ! T he g reetin g s which you send us from your wife

we heartily reciprocate as I myself do yours .

Your old friend ,

R S C H U M AN N . .

T he continuation of this correspondence cannot be

found B ennett onl y g ave his usual Chamber Concerts
.

i n 1 8 5 1 H e may have been advised that the year of the

.

Great E xhibition would be unfavourable to musical enter

pri ze as did prove to be the case I t is known t hat the
,
‘ .

arrangement with the Schumanns was postponed till the

following year but again failed of accomplishment F inally
, .
,

ill -heal t h prevented Schumann from fulfilling his desire

to visit E n gland As will be seen Bennet t was able later
.
,

to take part i n carrying out some of the wishes expressed

in Schumann s letter ’

The Great E xhibi t ion of 1 8 5 1 was opened with a

ceremony i n which music found some place S ir George .

Smart in V i rtue of his o ffice as Organist and Composer

,

to the Chapel Royal directed the musical proceedings , ,

conduc t ing the N ational Anthem himself but gracefully ,

resigning t he b aton to S ir H enry B ishop for the H alle ‘

lujah Chorus The performances on the exhibited organs

’
.
,

which afforded con t inuous music as the Queen s procession ’

passed round the building were announced to be under ,

‘

the superintendence of M r W Sterndale B ennett Any . .

’
222 1 850 — 1 8 55 R et r a c e d [CH .

recognition on a g reat public occasion was of value to a

m a n whose name was as y e t little known outside musical
, ,

circles M usicians fo u nd fur t her work assigned to them

.

by the scheme of the E xhibition They hailed with pleasu re .

an opportunity which seldom came their way of appearin g

, ,

as useful c i tizens side by side wi t h the representatives of

other arts and sciences As jud g es of musical exhibits
.

they entered upon thei r work with zeal B ennett who .

,

had been appointed a J uro r was constantly across H yde

,

Park and at the doors of the Exhibition by 6 a m the . .

,

earliest hour at which he could gain admittance Com .

m i t t ee -meetings and t he draftin g of reports heavily taxed

the time of his colleagues and himself The satisfaction .

of j oining in public service promised a suffi cient recompense ,

but in the end they thought their labours had been ill
requi t ed Their recommendations for the award of medals
.

were not accepted in some important cases b y a superior

Commit t ee of non -musical men who were perhaps u n ,

prepared to consider improvements i n the manufacture of

pianofortes as of much I mportance to the pro g ress of nations .

Then came a long correspondence between Sir George

Smar t Sir H enry B ishop Cipriani Potter the C hevalier
, , ,

N e u ko m m and Bennett and a protest was sent to the

,

Commissioners S igned by six out of the ten musical J urors .

The question at issue appears to have been how far any

thin g connected with a musical instru ment could claim a
high award as an inventio n The protestin g m usical J urors
.
,

whether they had j ust cause or not were offended at being ,

considered incompetent to decide that point Added to .

this came another grievance .

For the ceremony at the closing of the Exhibition the ,

services of the Sacred H armonic Society were accepted ,

but the Commissioners neglected to engage a Conductor .

At the last moment Costa was applied to H e was out .

of town and wrote that even had it been possible for him
, ,

to come he would not have in t erfered with the prerogative

,

of S ir Georg e Smart Lit t le care seems to have been

.

taken at the time i n the treatment of musicians The .

Commissioners accepted the services of a volunteer who

put himself forward and the feelings of those who had
,

taken part in the Opening proceedings were not worth a

’
2 24 1 85 0 — 1 8 55 R et r a c e d [ CH .

dedicated Several of the Lessons are very short and

.
‘ ’

Davison was qui t e angry about t his saying to M rs Bennett ,

that the book was a murder of valuable ideas N ever ‘ ’

.

t h el e s s the little pieces are q u ite perfect as they stand ;

,

they were very welcome to many amateurs of t he day ;

and B ennett himself used to play selections from them
with telling effect .

The season of 1 8 53 revived the Philharmonic trouble .

S ince 1 8 4 8 the year of its occurrence one work of B ennett s

, ,
’

had been played under exceptional circumstances at a , ,

concert of the Society M iss Kate Loder ( Lady Thompson ) .

selected for her performance in 1 8 50 his C aprice in E maj or .

Costa at the entreaty of M r and M rs Anderson whose

, ,

niece M iss Loder was ag reed to conduct it and did so , , .

Towards the end of 1 8 5 2 the Society elected B ennett as ,

one of the D irectors for t he 1 8 5 3 season Anderson ex .

pressed himse l f confident that after a lapse of nearly five ,

years the misunderstanding with Costa could be removed ;

,

so with this assurance and with the knowledge that he ,

had been elected a Director by an unusually large number

of votes B ennett consented to serve Bu t he soon found
, .

himself i n the wron g place Costa far from fulfillin g .

,

A nderson s expecta t ions refused to renew his engagement

’

, ,

unless a clause was inserted giving him liberty to decline

conduc t ing any work to which he might take exception .

This condition was granted E arly i n t he season ( 1 8 5 .

M iss Arabella Goddard was invited to make her deb ut ,

and she selected Bennett s Concerto in C minor Cos t a ’

.

refused to have anything to do with it The Directors .

t hen asked M iss Goddard to choose a work by one of the

great masters H er first invi t a t ion had laid no restriction
.

on her choice of music ; as the change might seem to imply

a slight on B ennett s reputation she refused to make it ’

, ,

with the result that her engagement was cancelled This .

incident which caused much remark and the old quarrel to

, ,

which it was the sequel were thus referred to in P u n ch ,

“

S t r d l B t t w I di g t wi t h C o t
‘

F or t pl yi g B t t ompo i t io f t r ;
e n a e en n e as n nan s a
’

C o t fl w i t o Ex i t m t wi h L
no a n en n e s c s n as e
t u c a s,
F or howi g him B t t O rd r or U k
s a e n c e en
’
s n en n e s e a s e,

1 Mr P h ’
omm t m i l t om of whi h
us ca even s , s q ot d in
g
un c s c en s o n e c a re u e
t hi
s book w r , e e en e ar lly t t rib t d t Shirl y Brook
a u e o e s.
X V ] Miss Go dda r d a s Ben n et t s Ch a mpion ’
225

H gh ily R i g d
au t S t whi h h t es ne t he ea c e sa on ,
A d C o t mp t o ly t old L
n n e him lf t T k t h b at o
u us uc a s se o a e e n,
M or o r S ip l d t hi y r wi t h t h D ir t or
e ve t u ate s ea e ec s
T h t N obody w t r d him y mor L t r
A l o h m d i t C o di t io S t ri t
a a s o ea an e ec u es
s , e a e a n n c ,

H w O ly t o d t wh t Pi of M i h l ik d ’
e as n o c n uc a ec es us c e ,

W h r by t hi y r C o t do t h Pr
e e s t ea s a even
A y p rform of M i by S t r d l B t ’

l di g t h yo g d g ift d Mi Godd rd
n e an c e us c e n a e en n :

Lik wi
Whom W t h A dmir t io ll t h C ri t i l Sq d h rd
e s e e xc u n e un an e ss a
e ca
d wi t ho t mor A m l g m t io
i a n a ua ea

A l l t b D plor d e a

H i t h rt o D r dl y H i gh Rp
o e e e , an u a a n

T h Philh rmo i will T r i h i t io ’

e a n c a n s s e es e ve e ut a t n.

M iss Goddard S trai g htway went off and played the

C minor C oncert o under the b aton of Li n d pa i n t n er at , ,
‘
The N ew Philharmonic a recently formed institution ,
’

which was biddin g fair to become a formidable rival to

the older Society I n J une B ennett was asked to play .
,

a work of his own at another rival establishment T he ,

‘

Orchestral U nion H e had not been heard of a s a .

’

Concerto-player for some years and this exceptional a p ,

e a ra n c e proved his last i n that capacity Th e M us i ca l

p .

Wor l d records a mag nificent performance of his C oncerto ’

in F minor and a reception by an audience fillin g the

,
‘
,

H anover S quare Rooms to overflow which was a si g ,

n ifi c a n t expression of public opinion about a recent event

which has made much noise i n the musical world .

’

But Bennett now followed his quiet way without bein g ,

much exposed to the j ars of public life H e was happy .

with his Bach Society his Chamber Concerts and in the , ,

composition of his pianoforte pieces H e enj oy ed the work .

with his pupils and his personal association with the host,

of old and youn g friends who clustered round him H is .

domestic life was delightful Tho u gh he was much away .

from home his wife managed to keep him in touch with the
,

many who desired access to him Weeks of comparative .

leisure came sometimes when if he could not leave London , , ,

he could pay a little attention to the duties and pleasures

of society A formal dinner party would be g iven at least
-
.

once a year but there were also occasional evenin g parties

in Russell Place when yo u ng people were gathered and
at which his Academy pupils were made very welcome .

O n such occasions he took his full share i n the entertainin g .

I mpromptu dances would be proposed very much for the ,

S. B .
 1 8 5 os — l 8 55 R et r a c ed ( CH .

Th e P u r e D r a m a R es l or ed l l

q tt pQfl
M t o q nou m
Rm .
t. M
Bm E N
pm
N ET T
m m md mnd s d w fi q i nd h h g h p'fi
u led
pm npon

T H E O I L I B R L T I D

FO R O N E N I G H T O N LY
Au bc abon
'
nn u n g md n ep i d lm of n -
- “ 0 11 1
8 1 by no oa rl ol
'

m fl m d m ws n
gk
‘
of l m m ng u Ad lom f n o fl vdw kh m y

mnmsnn
TH E SC OTT I S H ACTR ES S ,

MISS 111111311 h m wm w h m lf
yn ho wd l ‘
km -
m ch q of T HE ,

fl ur ry B ro wn M r J AM ES T H OM SO N
. .

D a r vi ll e Mr W I LSON . .

Da wson 9
( 0 B ut l er ) Mr C US I NS . .

S i m mons Mr S H A R P E . .

Ade le M in A U G U S T A T H O M S O N
Princ i pa l Pos t man Mes s rs B EN N ETT a n d B AR N ETT
-
. .

“ M o m m
1
”
M a da me. FE R R AR I a nd B E N N ETT .

W
T HEill
O R C HES T R A
m sll y cma n m k . mach i nd ia i ng to tho w w d it h to bo bopd vuh
bo on u un .

TI ES LI S T W ID E OP " I !
0 11l S US PEN DE D I I

“
M
l a p
W
o0 m
, M M M W M b W “ n -
g h out wm
228 [ 85 0 — 1 8 55 R et r a c e d [ CH .

LEI P ZI G ,
2 9 th 7 u ly ,
18 53
1

The Con cer t -D i r ec t i on of L eipz ig

to M r Wi l l i a m S t er n da l e B en n et t , S ou t ha mpt on .

The undersigned Concert -direction still remembers with

pleasure the time of your lon g residences i n Leipzig and the
active service you rendered as well as the kind feelin g you
showed to the Gewandhaus Concert s .

For these concerts the direction of which has up to

,

this time been taken by C apellmeis t er Rietz and C oncert

meister David and Capellmeister N W Gade of Copen . .

hagen we are now anxious to obtain for the next wi nter s

, ,
’

season an able conductor The considerable fame which

, .

you Dear S ir enjoy in t he musical world and the abidin g

, , ,

favour always accorded to you by the public here make us ,

wish and herewith to express the hope that it may be ,

a g reeable to you to underta ke i n the comin g winter the

direction of our twenty subscription concerts and of two ,

extra ones the first of which as you will probably still ,

remember is g iven by us for the benefit of the poor and the

, ,

second for the Pension fund fou n ded for distressed musicians .

As honorarium we offer you the sum of thalers .

Althou gh we cannot but see t hat the grantin g of our ,

request would entail many sacrifices on your part amon g ,

which the chan g e of domicile for so many months would

not be the least nevertheless we hope that the friendly
, ,

remembrance of the time you pas sed here and the fact , ,

that in our concert s we still have as before the furtherance , ,

of true art as our obj ect may possibly lead you to lend an
,

ear to our prOpo s a l .

Shou ld o u r hope be realised we should then count upon ,

seein g you at the head of our orchestra from the middle of

September of this year until the end of M arch or beg innin g ,

of April 1 8 54 ,
.

We shall hope as soon as possible for the news of your

consent and pl ease may we ask another favour whether you ,

can recommend an E nglish sin g er whom we might be able

to secure for our next season or for part of i t We should
especially like to hear from you whether M iss Louisa Pyne ,

whom we have before invited would be able to come and ,

O ri g i l i i G rm
1 . na s n e an .
x v] A Tem t ingp Of er 2 29

allow us to hear her and do you think she woul d obtain

,

favour here ?
Accept the assurance of our very g reat esteem and
attachment with which we remai n
,

I n the name and by the order of the Concert -Direction ,

D R W E N D L ER .

B en net t t o D r Wen d l er .

1 3 H AN O VER B UIL D IN GS
S OUTHA M T O N
,

P ,

A ug us t 8 t h, 18 53
D EAR
.

SIR ,

Bein g from home on a j ourney I did not re ,

c e i v e your kind and flatterin g letter of the 2 9 t h of J uly until

yesterday I t is diffi cult for me even i n my own lan guag e to

.
, ,

thank the C oncert -Direction of Leipzi g for the ve r y high

compliment they have paid me i n i nv i t in g me to cond uct
their Concerts of next Season Would my arran g ements .

allow me to accept this invitation I feel that such a circum ,

stance would give me a new existence and independently ,

of the oppo rtunity a fforded me of mixin g myself more with

the poetry of my art it would again enable me to enjoy the
,

satisfaction of renewin g those friendships which I had the

ood fortune to enj oy in former times I have always
gooked back upon Leipzi g as a second home and indeed
.

how could it be otherwise when I found such kind friends , ,

and amon g st all enj oyed the protection of the illustrious

man whose removal from the world we all alike deplore .

Your invitation must however remain unanswered for , ,

two or three days I will write again on Wednesday next

.
,

and if I am obliged to decline the g reatest wish of my heart ,

be assured that I shall regret it all my life in many respects .

I will not forget to g ive you my best advice about a

S in ger I shall g o up to London on Wednesday and make
.

enqu i ries .

Believe me ,

Dear S ir ,

Yours very truly ,

W I LLIA M S T ER N DALE B E N N E TT
D W dl r
.

r en e ,

Co rt D ir t io-

L ipzi g
nce ec n,
e .
230 [ 85 0 — 1 8 55 R et r a c e d (c a .

13 H AN VER BUILD IN GS
O
S O UTHA M TO N
,

P ,

A ug ust 1 1, 1 8 53
D EAR
.

S IR ,

Accordin g to my promise I write a gain to you

upon the subject which has so entirely engrossed my thou g hts
since the receipt of your letter U nfortunately however .
, ,

I must now write contrary to my sincerest desire and wi t h ,

t he u t mos t r eg r et decline the very kind and generous i n

v i t a t i o n of the C oncert -Direction of Leipzig to conduct thei r

C oncerts next Season .

Since my last communication I have been in London ,

to look into my affairs and find it impo ssible to release ,

myself from en ga gements already made ; indeed ma n y

parties with whom I had so engag ed myself are now absent
from the country and therefore cannot be made aware of
the position i n which your kindness has placed me .

I wish I could fully express how much I appreciate this

new act of kindness on the part of my Leipzi g friends and ,

how sorrowful i t makes me to be compelled to decide so

thoroug hly ag ainst my inclinations I do not despair how .

ever o f being able to pay Leipzig a S hort friendly visit

durin g the Season and suppo rted by this hope I must
,

conclude with a thousand thanks to the g entlemen of the

Direction and hearty wishes for the conti nued prosperity
,

of the Gewandhaus Concerts .

Allow me Sir at the same time to thank you personally

, ,

for the handsome terms i n which your communication was

couche d .

Believe me ,

Dear S ir ,

Yours faithfully and obli g ed ,

W I LLIA M S T ER N DA L E B E N N E TT .

D W dl r
r en e ,

Co
nce rt D ir t io
- ec n,

L ipzi g
e .

PS I shall see M iss Louisa Pyne on Tuesday next

.
,

and will then write to y o u on t ha t subj ect .

23 2 [ 850 — 1 8 55 R et r a c e d [c a

been balanced by the prestige which such a connection

w ould have g iven him on his return But probably all was .

ordered for the best M usical thou g ht in Germany was

.

already takin g new directions and it is difficult to conceive ,

that Bennett could have adapted himself to or felt happy

u nder the chan g ed circumstances A short visit paid to .

Leipzi g twelve yea rs later su fficed to convince him that the

same unanimi t y of feelin g on musical questions which had
existed in the Leipzig of his youn g days had disappeared .

O n that visit he was most cordially received by the public ;

his old friends seemed scarcely to know how to make
enough of him Conrad Schleinitz said to him i n the
.
,

D irectors box at the Gewandhaus with serious earnest

’

ness Ah Bennett you were the one we wanted you ought

, , , ,

to have come to us When he was leaving delighted with

.
’

the main circumstances of his visit a crowd of well -wishers ,

assembled at the station and then it seemed so curious that

, ,

as the train moved out of their sight his fi rst words should ,

be Thank God I never went there

, , .
’

I f it may be said that Bennett was wanted in Germany ,

it can also be said thou g h this may not have been apparent
,

at the time— that he was wanted at home The winter .

which he might have spent i n Germany mixing as he had ,

’

written with the poetry of his art b u t also perhaps as he

, ,
’

afterwards t hou g ht entanglin g himself in its party strifes

, ,

was marked by artistic work i n London of much interest

and of abiding value .

The members of the Bach Society aft er keeping the com ,

poser s birthday in 1 8 5 2 by a public concert of M otets and

’

Concertos de v oted themselves entirely to the preparation

,

of the S t Matthew Passion ‘

I n the win t er of 1 8 5 2 — 5 3
.
’

progress i n t he choral music was made ; in April 1 8 5 3 a , ,

s e t of solo -S ingers accepted an invitation to take part in the

practices ; and in the autumn Bennett settled down i n a

determined way to get the work ready for performance in
the sprin g of 1 8 54 M eetings which had so far been called
.

‘
trials were now st y led rehearsals and were held con
’ ‘
,
’

sta n tl
y for S i x months A volunteer orchestra was enrolled
.

and studied assid u ously with the chorus and soloists I n .

s t r u m e n t a l i s t s fo u nd no less difficulty than vocalists and ,

accidentals flew about in all directions B ennett s friend .

’

,
x v] B h S c i ty
ac o e 233

M r Charles Sparrow who represented the amateur element

,

i n the violin -department looks back to the time with the ,

words H ow we d i d work ! T he chorus of over 1 0 0 voices

,
‘ ’

( considered a lar g e one for the H anover Square Rooms ) as ,

well as the orchestra consisted almost entirely of busily

,

c u p i e d professional musicians and s t u dents The amateurs .

had never taken kindly to the M otets and few had remained
faithful Bennett wrote of eminent Professors who viewed
.

the reception of such music in E n gland as hopeless Davison .

looked on with g reat sympathy but with no confidence , .

H e wrote as follows in The M u si c a l Wor ld :

, ,

‘
A body of men artists and amateurs commingled , ,

banded tog ether i n pursuit of some beloved study which , ,

i n its very nature postpones well ni g h indefinitely all

, , ,

prospect of reward or public fame — yieldin g u n fl i n c hi n g l y

time labour and talent solely to a conviction of ri g ht
, , ,

doin g In the cause of art is ever a g ratifyin g subj ect of ,

contemplation We may criticise its efforts as inadequate

.

to their purpose we may consider its measures ill -chosen

, ,

we may even think its obj ect chimerical ; but we must

always admit the sinceri t y of its devotion and respect in ,

it that u nquestionable element of the artist character— u n

fortunately yet but slow of development i n this country
,

the abstract love of what ever is deemed great apart from ,

all question of its popularity and profit I n t his favourable .

light does the Bach Society present itself to notice The .

task that it has chosen is almost H erculean its fulfilment ,

l ies far off in the future and its reward we fear is anythin g, , ,

but secure .
’

M iss Stainer brought a little brother with her to sin g at

these rehearsals and at the performance Thirty years later .
,

S ir J ohn S tainer— as the boy in after life was known ,

referred a t a meeti n g of T he M usical Association to the

, ,

important work which Bennett had done i n layin g the

foundation of the study of Bach s music H e said AS a
’
. .

small boy I had the honour of being admitted as a member

of the first [ Bach ] Society and I can assure you that I ,

have a most vivid recollection of the very great pains that

Bennett used to take at rehearsals I fancy as far as my .
,

memory serves me we used to meet at Tenterden S treet

,
2 34 [ 850 — 1 8 55 R et r a ce d [ on

for the r ehears al of Bach s Passion and sometimes in the

’

,
’

music -room in Store S treet I remember the immense

.

trouble and pains he too k about it and knowing how very ,

often the day had been passed in very fati guing work this ,

shows his great self-s a c r i fic e to the cause of music thus to ,

have devoted his evenings to such laborious practice I n .

those days he had all the labour and anxiety of a pioneer .

’

The undertaking was beset with financial as well as

musical difficulties The Bach Society had by this time
. ,

on paper a list of 1 50 enrolled members

, The maj ority of .

t hes e ha d paid an entrance fee of t wo g uineas i n return for ,

which t hey had been promised life -membership This fee .

was fixed at t he time when the prime obj ects of the S ociety
,

were the formation of a library and meetings of members ,

for private study of music T he capital t hus collected had

.

been g radually spent on these obj ects Annual subscriptions .

from other members had dwindled A library could be no .

attrac t ion to those who had retired in despair from the

M otets At the beginning of 1 8 54 the Treasurer reported
.
, ,

that t he Society s little capital was exhausted and that h e

’

had heard nothi ng of any subscriptions Thus the per .

fo r m a n c e of the Passions -M usik on April 6 had to be

‘ ’

, ,

self supporting
- Doubt must have been felt as to how
.

many people would pay five shillin gs to hear it ; the strictest

economy was necessary i n m akin g the arran gements ; no
additional help could be called in at the las t moment to
supply defects in the orchestra and chorus The performance .

reached no high standard of excellence ; but the feat of

getting throu g h the work continuously was at least a c c o m
l i s he d ; and had the effort not been made the Society
p ,

could have held together no longer As it was interest .

,

was aroused Even at the first hearing much of the music

.

was greeted wi t h loud bursts of applause and encores out

‘
,
’

of place perhaps but at any rate encouraging

, , Benne tt .

had obtained a copy of the book of words as used by

M endelssohn for the centenary performance at Berlin i n
18 2 9
. This he followed except t hat b e replaced a few of
,

t h e omi t ted Chorales and the two Contralto Airs Ah ‘

, , ,

Golgo t ha and See the Saviour s outstretched arm T he

,
’ ’
.
’

difficulty of finding Contralto sin g ers in Germany may

account for M endelssohn having omitted these Airs As .
236 [ 85 0 — 1 8 55 R et r a c e d [ CH .

A year now passed ( N ov 1 8 54— N ov 1 8 5 5) leaving no . .

events to record out of the usual course in Bennett s life

, ,
’
.

There is however one letter of his preserved by M adame

, , ,

Schumann which belongs to the time and cannot be over

,

looked When he wrote to the Schumanns i n 1 8 50 he

. ,

invited them to concerts of his own I t mi ght therefore .

, ,

be hinted that he had some business interest in the matter '

T he followin g letter is inserted because it can bear no such

construction and because there seems somethin g to admire
,

i n the fact of one pianist pressing another to come and 1

enter his own preserves while he merely asks for himself ,

the privile ge of preparing her way .

LO DON N I 5 RUSS ELL PLAC E

F ITZ ROY S QUARE
, ,

N ovember i st , 18 54
EAR
M A DA M E S C H U M A N N
.

MY D ,

I am flattered to think that a letter from me

might be acceptable to you and that you would not refuse ,

to listen t o my persuasions that you would soon pay E n gland

a visit and g ive the E nglish people the benefit of your
acquaintance and your eminent talent I can tell you with .

the very greatest confidence that you would be received

with en t husiasm and I think you would i n every way be
satisfied that you had at last paid a visit to London For .

my own part it would be a great pleasure to me to be of

the least assistance to y o u in your previous arrangements and ,

to make your stay in E ngland as comfortable as possible

and if you will excuse me also saying one word upon bus i n ess ,

I think you would make a very profi t able journey I sho u ld .

be glad if you would tell m e when y ou would come and how

lon g you would sta y and if you would give me leave to
,

accept engagements for you and how m u ch for each C oncert ,

e t cetera — then I wo u ld take care to ha v e a good business

prepared for you Pray write to me this very soon — and if

.

you will come first to o u r house until we can g e t you a nice ,

Lodging it will give us very great pleasure to see you

, .

And now I hope you will be able to tell me that my

,

dear friend Rob Schumann is recovering from his dis

, .
,

tressing illness I have never ce a sed to think of t his sad

.

trouble and to make every enquiry and latterly I was ,

1
B en n et t wa s i ll
st pl yia n gi n p bli
u c a t t he t im e
.
x v] Ma da m e Sc h u m a n n 237

deli g hted to receive better news of him I t will give me .

so much satisfaction if y ou will not fail to tell me all you

,

can upon this subj ect— and now my dear Madam with the , ,

kind re gards of my Wife and myself believe me ,

E ver yours sincerely ,

W I LL IA M S T ER N D A L E B E N N E TT .

M adame Schumann gave favourable consideration to

the proposal ; but as to the result The M u s i ca l Wor l d of
, ,

M arch 1 0 1 8 55 wrote t hus

, ,

C LARA W IE C K -S C H U M AN N A letter has been received

.

by M r Sterndale B ennett wi t h whom this eminent pianist

,

was to have stayed as a g uest during her proposed residence

i n E ngland stating that i n consequence of the precarious
, ,

state of her husband s health she has decided i n obedience

’

, ,

to the advice of his medical counsellors upon not visiting ,

London this season .

’

M adame Schumann s first appearance i n E n gland was

’

destined to be more conspicuously associated with Bennett ,

than it would have been if it had occurred i n 1 8 55 The .

circumstances of his life now underwent a change and at ,

last i n his fortieth year he was called forward to hold

, ,

public positions of importance .

 C H A PT E R X VI .

P UBLI C A PP OI NTM E NTS .

C O S TA aft er having held the conductorship of the Phil

,

harmonic for nine years resigned it at the end of 1 8 54

, .

H is reasons were not published but thenceforth he was ,

completely estranged from those who governed the Society .

H is position in the musical world had become so high and ,

his following amongst amateurs so larg e and i nfluential ,

that a diminished subscription list seemed a certa i n sequel ,

unless some very distin guished musician could be found

to succeed him T he Directors s earched the C ontinent
.

and after several disappointments Anderson travelled

, ,

to Z urich and secured the services of Richard Wagner .

Sainton has been credited with suggestin g this Wa g ner .

came over entered upon his work with great zeal acknow
, ,

ledged the esp r i t de c orps among t he E nglish players and ,

admired the wonderful tone of the stringed i nstruments .

I t was found however that neither his name nor his

, , ,

conductin g nor as yet his works were attractive to the

, ,

E nglish public H e had no c hance in the S hort hours

.
,

allotted to rehearsals of changing to the extent he wished

, ,

to do the sty le of the orchestra ! playing The band did

, .

not resp o nd to him while t h e Directors arg ued with him

,

about his readin g s of the Symphonies Georg e H ogarth .

,

who as Secretary of the Society was behind the scenes

, , ,

wrot e some years later that the Philharmonic season of

1 8 55 was on the whole neither pleasant nor satisfactory
‘
,
’

and that at i ts close M r Wagner hastened to take his

‘

departure from E ngl a nd .

’
 2 42 P u l ic A b ppoin t men t s [ CH .

The Soc iety was now in serious difficulties The mem .

bers met altered laws reduced the number of annual concerts

, ,

from eight t o six and relieved the Directors of the power

,

or of the responsibility of nominating a Conductor At a .

general meetin g of members held on N ovember 1 9 1 8 55 , ,

Bennett was elected to the vacant office H e accepted it .

,

t hough not witho u t hesitation Past grievances might be

.

forg otten but he was bein g asked to take the helm of what
,

many people thought a sinkin g ship Davison wrote : .

‘
I f M r S terndale Bennett makes a failure as conductor of the
Philharmonic concerts he does neither more nor less than
,

peril his status as the most eminent Professor of music i n

this country 1“
.
X
The question is c a n he succeed and i n
”“

such an arena ? We are inclined to think he c a n n ot and ,

therefore regret that he should have consented t o accept

the post .
1“ 1“
I t is i ndisputable that the members of the
orchestra wi ll n ot (we don t say c a n not ) pay t he requisite
’

attention t o any other conductor than M r Costa 1“

This .

was painfu lly felt by H err Wagner las t season since who ,

in his senses can deny the shameful inattention of the

band u nder his direc t ion
Th e A t hen wu m and o t her j ournals added thei r com
ments on the disorganized state in t o which the band had
drift ed as also on the secession of some of the leadi n g
,

V iolinists owing to a dispute with t he Directors over the

,

positions assi g ned to them in the orchestra and considered

t hat Bennet t was takin g office at a most inauspicious t ime .

Wagner had been rej ected and the shout of C osta aut ,
‘

nullus grew t he lo u der

’
.

N otwi t hstanding t hese dismal prognostications the ,

1 8 56 season eventually proved ve ry i nteresting from an

artistic point of V iew and successful from a financial one
, .

Bennett immedia t ely aft er his election was admi t ted to the
, ,

confidence of t he Direc t ors and he eagerly entered into the

plans of a new campaign H is interest in the Society was
.

by no means limited t o the special duty for which he was

en g aged .

T he re -appearance in E ngland of M adame J enny Lind

Goldschmidt towards the end of 1 8 5 5 after an absence of ,

more than five years and the announcemen t of a series of

,

O ratorio and miscellaneous concerts which were to be

2 44 P u l ic A b ppoin t men t s [ CH .

N N
LO DO R U ELL PLA
15 SS C E
F ITZ R Y S QUARE
, ,

O .

? a n u a ry 2 1 , 18 56 .

MY D EAR M ADA M E S C H U M A N N ,

You will receive by this post a l etter from the

D irectors of the Philharmonic Society to ask if you have
the i ntention to visit E n gland this summer I am now .

the M usic -Director of these Concerts and I am s o v ery ,

anxious that you should perform at them .

Also I am very anxious to give the Paradise and the

Peri if M adame J enny Lind will sing i n it and the
’

D irectors will invite her Al together it will be a very

.

happy thin g to see you i n London and I think you will ,

be very satisfi ed with your visit Would you also write a .

letter to M adame Lind to use your influence with her t o

S in g in The Peri Pray let me know your plans as soon
‘ ’
.

as possible and believe me

, ,

Yours very sincerely ,

W I LL IA M S TER N DA LE B E N N ETT .

I do not forget to think of my friend Robert Do let .

me know if there is any improvement What a beautiful .

work is The Peri

‘
.
’

A gain a week later he wrote to M adame S chumann :

, ,

You mus t write and tell m e when you can come it would ,

be very good that you should make your d ebut i n E ngland

at the first concert on April 1 4 1“
We have a Conf er en z .
”

at the Philharmonic Socie t y next Saturday and I wish ,

to say t hat y ou wi l l c ome Write me all your ide a s and

.

questions and I will be sure to answer them but be sure to ,

come to E ngland i n April and make your first appearan ce

,

at the Philharmonic .
’

Bennett conducted his first rehearsal on Saturday ,

April 1 2 and the first concert on April 1 4 his fortieth

, ,

bi rthday occurri ng on the intervening Sunday .

x v 1] A n p
O en g N i gh t
in - 2 45

UNDER TH E A AG I MM IA ED TE P TRON E OF

B IS RO
w
as N a h u .
YAL IG I A R H HNES S PR NCE
m
LB E T.
HER RO YA HIG D HL KEN HNES S THE UC ESS OF T .

PHI LHAR MONI C SOC I ETY .

I
F RST CONCER T , MONDAY APR L 14 , I , 18 5 6 .

P ART l.

S i n foni n i n C mi n or ( d edi cat ed t o t he Phil harm on i c Soc i et y ) Mendelssohn

M
.

R ec i t .
“
E S u sa n n a n on v en e i
"
a da me Cu m NOVELDO ( Le N am di
An a Fi p ro )
Co n cer t o i n E fl a t , Pi a nofort e.
E n g la nd
M a da me CLARA Sa n c t u m: ( her first
a
ppea ran ce i n )
Overt ure ( Don Carlos )

P ART l I .

S infon i a i n A, N o 7 Beet hoven

M
. .

R SI, morir a da me CLARA N oVE LLo ( Com o ng lese, I

ec i t .

3M G
“

Ari a a 1111
i eat re ml is ta n t i Mr N IC H OLSO N ) II i ura men t o

Sol o, Pia n ofort e ( I 7 V aria t i ons Séri en m ) Mada me SCHUMANN M endel ss ohn .

O vert u re. 1‘ Prec i ous Weber .

To cm m Doon H a y-
pa st 8 a m;
' '
ncc a t E ig ht o cloc k. ! all be open at o cloc k prec i sel y .

THE SECOND CONCERT WILL T m PLACE ON THE INS T.

‘
The new conductor — wrote The M or n i ng H er a l d
‘
was received both by orchestra and visitors with warm
and cordial reco g nition from which i t may be i n ferred that ,

the appointment has been a g reeable to the patrons of t he

Society The o ffice upon which M r Bennett enters is one
.

of respo nsibility and onerousness but he is already well ,

versed i n i t s functions although he has not of late been ,

called upon to discharge them I t is time however that .

, ,

E n glish interests should prevail and that the foreign re ,

ro a c he s that we have no conductor worthy of the name

p ,

should be gai nsaid by proof 1“ 1“

M r Bennett who was .
,

probably somewhat nervous nevertheless acquitted him ,

self well and the r eading of the music was everythin g

,
2 46 b
P u l ic A pfi oi n t m en i s [ err

that could be desired The players seemed anxious to .

second the indications of the conductor by every possible

’
a t t e n t 1on .

M adame Schumann had arrived a few days before

the concert and had taken up a temporary residence at
,

the B ennet t s house in Russell Place where she found a

’

sympathetic welcome awaitin g her The illness of her .

husband and her anxiet y on his account were distressin g

, ,

accompanimen t s to a sojourn in a stran g e country Within .

an hour or two of en t ering the house she betook herself to ,

Bennett s pianoforte and played many pieces to M rs B ennett

’

and her family The front dining-room with a grand

.
,

pianofor t e from Br o a d wo o d s was reserved for her own ’

use . Old servants living in the house at the time , ,

remember how t hey were asked by the B ennetts to pay

special atten t ion to a distinguished lady who was coming
to stay with them and who was in great trouble One , .

of them remembers being sent all over London by her

mistress to procure some lilies -o f-the -valley which proved ,

to be the last bi rthday souvenir sent to Ro b ert Schumann

by his wife M rs Bennett was able to give g reat assis t ance
.

to M adame Schumann i n get t ing up her first pianoforte

recitals and i n securing a g ood audience such being work ,

that she had always done 1n connection wi t h Bennett s own ’

concerts Thi rty three years la t er when M adame Schumann

.
,

addressed a letter on the subj ect of Benne t t s musician

,
’

ship to the present writer she added a remembrance of

‘
, ,

M rs Bennett in the words : Besides this I never shall ‘

,

forg et how kind yo u r parents both were to me when I first

came to E ngland .
’

B ennett s prediction of the favour with which M adame

’

Schumann would be recei v ed in E ngland wa s well fulfilled .

The au t hor of the article on M adame Schumann in the ,

first edition of Grove s D i ct i on a ry of M u s i c a n d M u s i c i a ns

’

had been misinformed when he wro t e H er reception

in this conservative country was hardly such as to en
courage her to repeat her visit and many years passed ,

before she returned As a matter of fact she came the .

’

very nex t year as also in 1 8 59 M oreover from the first

, .
,

1
Th l t t r o t i t h word
e e e M y h b d pok
c n a ns oft of him
e s :
‘
us an s e so en

[B tt] of t h Pi i t h mo t dmir d ’
en n e as on e e an s s e s a e .
2 48 b
P u l ic A fifi oi n zi n en i
‘ ‘
s [c m

Goddard by playin g his C oncerto in C minor carried the

, ,

point on which she had i nsisted three years before when ,

Costa s condition to conduct no work that he obj ected to

’

, ,

had led to the cancelling of her engagement .

The series of concerts closed with the performance of

the Paradise and the Peri on june 2 3 The work had ’
.

been already performed on February 1 0 and M arch 8 ,

1 8 54 under the direction of William Glover in Dublin

, , .

I t was now given for the first time in London The .

German version of the poem to which Schumann had ,

s e t his music had be en retranslated for this occasion by

,

W Bartholomew M oore s words being used by him as far

.
,
’

as po ssible M adame Schumann who san g in the chorus

.
,

at the concert had actively assisted Bennett during the

,

long and laborious reh earsals upon which both he and all ,

concerned had bestowed great pains The better to rivet .

the attention of the audience he had arran g ed a thematic ,

programme This may at the time have been thought an

.
, ,

eccentricity for it was not then printed

,
1
.

The singing of M adame Lind -Goldschmidt was by

itself sufficient to attract one of the larg est and most ‘

brilliant assemblages t hat George H ogar t h had ever seen ’

in the H anover Square Rooms T he Queen and Prince .

‘

Albert with the Prince of Wales the Princess Royal and

, , ,

the Princess Alice were present together with the Prince ,

of Prussia Prince Oscar of Sweden and a numerous and

, ,

splendid c or t eg e of E nglish and forei g n nobility and gentry

'

M ost of the musical celebrities now i n London were among

the a udience T he performance was praised by the critics ;
.
’

but three hours of music i n a style as y et unfamiliar to

E nglish ears failed t o hold the audience and the work ,

was very coldly received With ma n y be auties wrote .

‘
,
’

H ogarth — that kindest and most cautio u s of j ud g es i t

was on the whole laboured and
Bennett has been credited on the authority of many ,

O f his musical acquaintances with a limited appreciation of ,

1
wri t r h t h M S wi t h t h m of M d m Li d -Gold hmid t d
Th e a a e n sc an
ot h r i g r who t ook p rt i t h 8 56 p rform
e as e . e na es
pp d d t t h pi o e ec es

g It w pri t d d ir l t d wi t h t h pro gr mm t l t r
e s n e s a n e 1 e ance a en e
th y
e sa n . as n e an c cu a e e a es a a a e

p rform
e whi h B tt o d t d i 8 6 6
a nce 1
i A pp di A
c en n e c n uc e n .

2
S N ot
ee e, th o di t io
n d r whi h t hi p rform
en x , on e c n n s un e c s e a nce
t ook pl a c e.
xvx] A V a c a n cy of Ca m br idg e 2 49

Schumann as a composer To this point some reference .

may be made later M eanwhile it is a pleasure to record

.

the care and interest he took in an early effort to introduce

to this country the noble -heart ed musician whom he always
so lovin gly spoke of as my own dear personal friend ‘
.
’

The members of the Philharmonic Society at their ,

next general meetin g passed a unanimous v ote of thanks ,

to their C onductor for his zealous and able services ‘

.
’

The Directors addressed him the followin g encouragin g

letter .

H AN OVER S QUARE R OO M S ,

j u nc 28 , 18 56
D EAR
.

S IR ,

We the undersi g ned D irectors of the Philharmonic

S ociety at the close of a hi g hly gratifying seas on be g
, ,

to congratulate you on the very g reat success which has

attended your labours and to thank you most cordially ,

for your great and able exertions which have been of such
essential benefit to t he Society .

We are with much esteem , ,

Your si ncere friends ,

G F A N D ER SO N . .
,

&c &c .
, .

A few weeks after Bennett s appointment to the Phil ’

harmonic conductorship and before he had entered upon ,

its duties the chance occurred of trying for another i m

,

portant post By the death of T homa s Attwood W a l m i s ley

.

i n january 1 8 56 the Professorship of M usic in C ambrid g e

, ,

U niversi t y fell vacant I n past times this office had usually

.

"
been bestowed by an uno pposed Grace o f the Senate
, ,

upo n some eminent music i an already connected with the

U niversity Wa l m is ley 5 death created a void which could
.
’

not be filled up so readily During t he latter part of his .

life he had discharg ed all the chief musical duties i n the

U niversity playi n g on the Sunday at as many as ei g ht
,

serv i ces in the chapels of the three principal C olleg es and

at the U niversity C hurch C ambrid g e had therefore now ‘
.

1
A i t h d t y of t h d y b r g l rl y o d t d p rform of r d e u a c uc e a a nce sa c e
o l m i i t h H ll of T ri i t y Coll g
s a n n u e a , e n e

v ca us c n e a n e e .
2 50 P u l ic A fib oi n l mc n l s ( cu .

lost its sole musical represen t a t ive and there was no one at ,

hand who could be regarded as his natural successor in the

Professorship I t was therefore announced t hat the choice
.

would on this occasion be made by open poll of the Senate ,

and an O pportunity was thus given for free competition .

Such a chance had previously occurred but once during at

leas t a hundred years N o less than forty candidates made .

preliminary enquiries D r Whewell the Vice -Chancellor .

, ,

wro t e on january 2 5 I am perfectly overwhelmed with ,

‘

applications for the Professorship of M usic and for the ,

organist s place
’
.
’

Ben nett took counsel with his valued mentor S ir ,

George S mar t but got no encourag ement from him

,
.

Charles E dward H orsley was already i n the field and ,

Sir Georg e held that the influence which would s u pport the
member of so distinguished a family must prove irresistible .

Bennett nevertheless decided to take his chance

, He, .

corresponded with H orsley and a friendly rival ry was ,

agreed on Whatever may be the result of this election

.
‘
,
’

wrote H orsley I am quite sure that it will make no

,
‘

difference in our friendly feeli n g towards each other but ,

rather cause us to rej oice that either should have succeeded

i n obtaining any position he desired .
’

B ennet t was of course not unknown i n C ambridge

, , .

A man with so tender a regard for old associations was not

likely to lose touch with the home of his early youth I t .

had remained one of the few places out of London where

he had from time to time appeared as a pianist This was .

mainly due to his friendship with Thomas Wood a well ,

known music -seller in the town and organizer of loc al ,

concerts Abo ut the year 1 8 50 Wood had i ntroduced

.
,

pe rformances of classical C hamber-music i n The Alder ‘

men s Parlour at the Guildhall and Bennett from that

’ ’

time had g one up once or twice a year to support his friend

i n the scheme takin g with him the artists with whom he
,

usually played in London The audience —writes the .

‘

Rev W T K in gsley was small but appreciative and

. . .
,

the concerts were without exception the most enj oyable, ,

I ever attended Bennet t s playin g and especially the

.
’ ’
,

interpretation of Beethoven s Trios with Mo l i qu e and ’

Piatti are remembered both by M r K in gsley and M r A D

, . .
2 52 b
P u l ic A pfi oi n l i n en l s [c u

dramatic and musical performances a t Downing Lodge .

‘
I remember you he wrote as a happy merry bo y m a
,
’

,
‘

ro u nd blue j acke t i“
H ow well I remember your
.

sin g ing U na voce poco fa

“
There can be no doubt .

M rs Frere s appreciat i on of B ennett dated from those early

days .

H is friends found it no easy task to explain their

candidate to the Cambrid g e dons A s the seq u el showed .
,

some interest was excited but no g reat number of resident ,

electors went to the poll A large maj ority un v ersed in .

,

musical matters wo u ld if it were merely a case of choosin g

, ,

the best musician leave the decision to those who had

,

special knowledge ; but t here were other claims than mere

musicianship which if advanced might lead to a more , ,

g eneral expression of opinion .

Sir J ohn H erschel wrote : I hear great thin g s of ‘

M r S Bennett as a composer who will not be led o u t of

.

harmony and melody by fidd le-de -dee and moreover that ,

he is i n ve ry high esteem a s a master of composition a very ,

different thing from a music -mas t er O n t hese g rounds

“
.

he is sure of a certain support at C ambridge bu t on these ,

a l on e I should h a rdly feel qui t e clear that I o u ght to meddle

wi t h his election as Professor Of M usic a t Cambrid g e .

‘
But if he is really disposed to raise t hat very low
nonentity the M usical Professorship in t o a worthy and
efficient position — b y giving lec t ures in which the principles
of the physical science of sound shall be made (as at a
s c i en t fi c U niversity they ought to be an i ntegral feat u re
i )
( t hough of course a sub o rdinate one ) to illustrate t hese ,

lectures by experiments bo t h physical and ar t is t ic (so far ,

as a reasonable consideration of expense will enable him ) ,

to do in short for Cambrid g e what Donaldson is doing for

, ,

E dinburgh ; then i n that case all I c a n do to forward his

election I will , .
’

Sir J ohn H erschel s ideal candidate able to do what ’

,

Professor Donal dson had done and at the same time to ,

show himself a masterly composer could scarcely have been ,

found in E ngland But if a scientific man with some

.

knowledge of music had come forward there mi g ht have

M Fr r 1
o t d M Siddo mo g t h fri d
rs e e c un e rs ns a n s er en s .
xvr] Ca n va ss ing 2 53

been , at E dinburgh twelve years before a warm con

as ,

t ro vers y in Cambridge Another question did arise which.

gave trouble to Bennett s supporters A certain candidate ’

.

came forward as the champion of religious music He .

issued a florid address advocating in E nglish c hu rCh , ,

music a reformation which the authorit y of a U niversity

,

Professor could do much t o promote ; disparaging secular

music as a worldly amusement and sensual enj oyment ; and
descendi n g to an electioneer in g artifice by men t ioning a ‘

kind of patchwork church service selected from M ozart s ’

M asses which he had heard and which he understood was ,

called Bennett and M ozart in Eb H ere was a party

1
.
‘

cry which might appeal to clerical tutors the grea t majority

’

of whom when ou t side a colle ge chapel had no notion of

,
‘

music other t han that of a siren lu ri n g undergraduates to

their destruction Wa l m i s ley s old friends who happened
.
’

to know some t hing of the extent of the candidate s musical ’

acquirements viewed with some alarm the prog ress he was

,

makin g H e had a plausible policy O n the other hand

. .
,

Bennett the sec ular composer the pianist the music

, , ,
‘

master could not be said to have the usual qualifications

,
’

which precedent associated with the Professorship He .

was not known as a church composer H e had not even .

concocted the medley church serv ice the Bennett and ,

‘

M ozart i n Eb for which his religious rival wished the

,
’

electors to credit him I n due course however it proved . , ,

possible to convince many that the candidate was not

sufficiently versed i n his profession to champion or ‘ ’

‘
reform any branch of M usic and when W a lm i s ley s
’

,
’

friends succeeded in provin g this he retired , .

The electors included non -resident members of the

Sena t e M any of these were reached through B ennett s
.
’

p a st and present pupils H ere M rs Bennett left no stone .

unturned to help her husband spending a month over ,

continuous correspondence To pre s s his claims Bennett .

,

himself did not do much H e issued a short address and .

,

circulated the testimonials without additions which he had , ,

used twelve years before at Edinburg h As the election .

drew near he was persuaded to go up to C ambridge to do

,

a little personal canvassing and was supplied with a large ,

N t St r d l B
1
tt b t
o ry lik ly t b mi t k for him
e n a e en n e , u ve e o e s a en .
2 54 P u l ic Ab ppoin t men t s [ on

num b er of electioneering cards with which to introduce

himsel f H e endured two or t hree interviews
. At the .

las t of them the lady of the house expressed her desire for
‘
a more classical musician H e then lost heart and went .
’

home .

I n the end the choice was known to lie between ,

H orsley B ennett and Dr Elvey O rganist of S t George s

, , ,
’

C hapel Windso r ,
I t was impossible owing to the u n .
,

certainty o f the non resident vote t o gau g e the chances

-
, ,

and the result was looked forward to with some curiosity .

Bennet t and his wife understood that the H orsley party

were very sanguin e of s u ccess Dr Whewell wrote from .

T ri nity L od g e on February 2 4 : We are here growin g ‘

more and more eager about t he election of a Professor of

M usic I have fixed Tuesday the 4 t h for the election
.
, , .

M rs Frere is very zealous for M r Sterndale B ennett ; and ,

by way of falling in with her humour I have asked her to ,

come and stay with me here and canvas s the C olleg e and ‘
,

the U niversi t y to her heart s con t ent I think too Lord ’

.

M onteagle will come and vote t hou gh I hardly know for ,

whom I t is wonderful what a stir this election makes i n

.

London .
’

Benne t t went up to Cambrid g e to be present at the

election leaving his wife in a state of great anxiet y
,
.

March 4 in Russell Place was spent in dead silence until

, ,

M rs B ennett s tension was relie v ed by the receipt of a

’

telegram from her husband s friend Wood Professorship ’

of M usic M arch 4 t h 3 p m — Close of the poll B ennet t

, , . . .

one h u ndred and seventy -four ; Elvey twenty -four ; H orsley 2

twenty one -
.
’

Bennett s friends had come from all parts of the co u n t ry

’
.

M embers of the Goold family had crossed from I reland .

M rs F rere m ade one of her las t appearances in U niversi t y

precincts Surrounded by a grou p of friends she stood
.
,

leanin g on her crook -stick and wat ching with keen interest
the progress of the vo t in g i n the Arts School When she ’
.

subsequently spoke a few kind words by way of consolat ion , ,

1
M rs Fr r
li d f w mil
e e t of C mbrid g
ve a e es o u a e.
2 Th e id t i l mb r of ot whi h h h d
en ca nu e v es c e a s ec u e r d wh h o
en e nce b for
e e
w en t to th p ll ( p N w p p r how e s, eve r r port d hi
e e s o
v t es at

m b rid g
e o s ee . e s a ,

Ca e as 17 3 .
 C H A PT E R XV I I .

TH E C A M BR I DGE P R O FE SS O RS H I P .

A F T ER Bennett s election at C ambridge was announced

’

i n the newspapers few hours elapsed before he was readin g

,

letters in which the writers mingled their congratulations on

his success with their hopes of bein g the first to satisfy his
requirements for a de g ree i n music and i n the course of the
,

next month or two he found himself besie g ed with enquiries

as to the conditions on which such degrees were granted .

I n a book kept for copies of Cambrid g e correspondence ,

no drafts of replies to these earliest applications are entered .

H e was not as yet prepared to do more t han acknowledge

their receipt Authorized informa t ion on the Proceedin g s
.

i n Music as given in Tb e Ca mbr i dg e Ca l en da r and a few

’

other books was scant and vag ue I t would be necessary

.

for him t o submit doubtful points to the consideration of

U niversity authorities and to draw precedents if possible
, , ,

from t he r u lings of his predecessors .

M eanwhile i t was thought advisable that he should

take a degree himself and on ju ne 1 6 Dr Whewell wrote
,

On yo u r composin g an Anthem for Commencement

Sunday to be performed i n S t M ary s Church I have reason
’

to believe t hat the U niversity will grant you the degree of

Doctor of M usic I shall be most happy to forward the
.

proceeding as far as it depends upon me The next day .

’

Bennett was i n Cambridge makin g the needful arran g e

ments for the performance of the as yet unwri t ten music .

During t he same week occurred lon g rehearsals of Schu

mann s Paradise and t he Peri i n London I n the next
’ ’
.

week on M onday J une 2 3 he gave seven hours lessons

, , ,
’

also took his classes at Queen s Colleg e and conducted t he

’

,
C H xvn ]
. A n A u f/
de w and a Deg r ee 2 57

‘
Paradise and the Pen at the Philharmonic i n the evening .

Tuesday he spent wi t h his p u pils at Bri ghton Then the .

Anthem for the following S unday had to be considered .

Limiting his teachin g on Wednesday and Thursday to

thirteen ho u rs be t ween the two days he g ave the rest of ,

his t ime t o composi t ion M iss J ohnston being at hand to ,

superintend the Copying O n Friday he only gave one .

lesson and on Saturday afternoon the Anthem in several

,

movements with parts copied for a larg e double choir

’
, ,

wa s rehearsed in Trinity Colle g e C hapel under his own

direction .

The Ca m br i dg e Cb r on i c l e thus referred to the music

after it had been sun g on C ommencement Sunday in the ‘ ’

U niversity Church An anthem composed by Professor

W S B ennett as an exercise for the degree of Doctor of
. .
,

M usic was performed M r H opkins organist of the U ni .

,

versity Church and of Trinity Colle g e presided at the ,

O rgan The subj ect of the A nthem was taken from the
.

1 5 th Psalm Lord who shall dwell i n thy t abernacle ?

“
,

The conception of the composition is original and effective ,

the question Lord who shall dwell &c preceding each

“
, ,
.
”

of the verses in recitat ive answered by a double choir I n .

one of the move m ents is introd u ced the E nglish chorale

“
St Mary s the U niversity C hurch bearing that name
’

,
”
.

The placid character of the chorale is strongly contras ted

by a declaration of the choir to another subj ect i n stron g
unison This is followed by an elegant movement of a
.

pastoral character which breaks into a massive original

,

chorale at t he conclusion to the words of the Gloria “

The Anthem thou g h not musically elaborate was

, ,

designed on a scale showing due respect to the i m

portance of t he occasion and it may be said on the , ,

authority of the Rev J R Lunn that it made a favour . . .

,

able impression o u those who were j udging B ennett as ,

a writer of sacred music for t he first time O n the next day ,

.

the Senate passed a Grace au t horizing the Senior Proctor

to present Professor W S Bennett for the de g ree of Doctor . .

of M usic .

As an explanation of the fact that in those days the , ,

Th A t h m i p bli h d b t i
1
e bbr i t d form
n e s u s e , u n an a ev a e .
2 58 Tb e Ca m br idg e P r of es s or s b ip [ cn .

conferment of a degree was reported twice over on succes

sive dates i n Un i ver s i ty I n t el l ig en c e Benne t t made the ,

memorandum — I took my degree of M u s D on M onday ‘

. .

J une 3 o t h in the aft ernoon and was created the next ,

“ ”

morning at half-past ten O clock The latter is a form ’

.

seldom gone through by musical graduates D r Whewell .

’

wrote on J uly 1 — To day if

and have been to the
‘ -

Senate H ouse together to see the g reat show of the Com ,

me n c e m e n t when the prize poems are recited and all the

, ,

ladies collect The Senate H ouse wa s full withou t bein g

.

too full and the g entlemen had the grace to let the ladies
,

have the seats so the house looked prettier than I ever

,

saw it look before Among the new Doctors we had .

M r Sterndale Bennett but he did not appear in the ,

beautiful singin g-robes as M ilton calls t he poet s official

“
,
’

dress which poor Professor W a l m i s ley used to wear

, .
’

The fine specimen of a Doctor of M usic s gown which ’

had belon g ed to Professor W a l m i s ley and before him to ,

Professor Clarke Wh i t feld was later purchased by B ennett , ,

and occasionally worn by him in t he Senate H ouse or ,

when conduc t ing exercises for musical degrees O n t his .

occasion however he wore the congregation -robe of a

, ,
‘ ’

Doctor of Laws I n so doing as well as by suggestin g .

, ,

which he himself did that he sho u ld be presented by the ,

Senior Proctor he was observing old tradi t ions This was

,
‘
.

of a piece with t he care he took in other ways while tryin g ,

to reg ulate the Proceedings in M usic to avoid t aking ,

’

liber t ies with t he few enactments he could discover .

The latest and fu llest information about musical degrees ,

and abou t the Professor s connec t ion with them was con ’

t a i n e d in the followin g paragraph which is taken from a

Report (published 1 8 52 ) of the U niversity Commissioners .

I t was probably contribu ted by W a lm i s ley for his name ,

appears in the Report in connec t ion with other information

therein g iven .

The U niversity confers the de g rees of Bachelor and

‘

Gr d t i M i w r t m mb r of t h S t
1 d h d e an a no

C o g r g t io ro b i g d t t h m Wh
a u a es n us c e e no e e s en a e
n- d i th S
’
t Ho u s e,

Gr h d t b p d g fir t t dmi t t h m d o dl y t llow t h m t
n e a es a ss en r e u 1r e n e en a e
q ne o e .

a ace e o
w r t h ro b of o t h r F l t y A old t ori g i t i g prob bly
a o e a s se , s , o a e ,
an s ec n o a
ea e e antm e a cu . n en a c en ,
na n a

from t h r i t y of Gr d t
e sc a c M i pro id d t h t wh a D o t or of M i
u a es 1n us c , v e a en n o c us c
w t h
as a d t h S ior Pro t or ho ld m k t h pr t t io
an e en c s u a e e es en a n.
260 Th e Ca m br idg e P ro fes s or s hip [ cu .

respect to the Doctor s de g ree he was acting arbitrarily

’

, ,

and exceeding the conditions hitherto imposed he wrote ,

I t is n ot doubtful t hat the Professor can adopt any test that

he may think desirable to assure himself of the requisite
,

attainments of candidates for degrees in music at Cam

brid g e I do not dispute for one moment that your impres
.

sions consequent upon your interview and conversation with

my predecessor Dr Wa lm i s ley are as you state them s t ill
, , ,

I must t ell you t hat his r u l e (which I cannot wish to relax

but would rather tighten ) was to require from t hose wishing
to become Doctor i n M usic that they should write an i m ,

portant exercise for eight voices with an accompaniment for ,

a full orchestra I have these directions in his own hand

.

writing added to t he testimony of the last D octor made a ,

pupil of my own I n my opinion a degree i n music i n a

.

U niversity should be gai ned with great effort and be the ,

result of a series of successful works the candidate exhibiting ,

great research in the theory and g reat facility in the ,

’
ra c t l c e
p .

I n the same letter B ennett announced his intention of

advisin g candidates to apply for the deg ree of Bachelor
before that of Doctor No regulation connected the two
.

de g rees The Ca mbr i dg e Ca l en da r reprinted from year to

.

y ear an old statement : A Mu s D is g en er a l ly ‘

. .

but even this had ceased to be true The possibili t y .

of proceeding at once to the higher deg ree had in co u rse of

time lowered any value attaching to the other and when ,

Benne t t became Professor the Bachelor s degree had not ’

been taken for fourteen years H e determined to i ncrease .

its importance persevered and succeeded i n doing so

, , .

Apart from the traditional form of the E xercise it rested ,

’

entirely wi t h himself to determine the standard of musical

merit and this from the first he made su fficientl y hi g h
, , ,

for young men to feel content if they could satisfy him

for the B achelor s degree H e never disguised t he fact
’
.
,

but clearly set it down in his syllabus of information that

the senior degree co u ld be taken alone N evertheless when .
,

it became common knowledge t hat he was a difficult man

to approach t he way in which he wished to be approached
,

seemed also g enerally understood and as it turned out no , , ,

one durin g the nineteen years of B ennett s Professorship

,
’

,
xvn ] P r oc ee ding s in Mu s ic 26 1

took the Doctor s de g ree who had not previously taken

’

the other .

O n two other doubtful points he first consulted the Rev .

J oseph Romill y the U niversit y Registrar y who had v ry

, ,
e

cour t eously offered to place at Bennet t s disposal the kno w ’

led g e he possessed of U niversity proced u re .

N N
LO D O , Oc t ober 5, 18 56 .

D EAR S IR ,

You gave me permission to trouble you upon

any points connected wi t h my Professorship if
Wi t h .

out referrin g to what has been customary I wish to ask ,

your O pinion upon the following matters :

( )
1 Ought I not to examine the candida t es themsel v es

as well as t heir exercises or at any rate exami ne their

,

exercises i n their presence ?

( )
2 Could I n o t fix a day for my examina t ion at Ca m

br i dg e and should not the candidate have previously entered

,

a Colle g e ?
To this the Re g istrary cautiously replied I think you
may demand of the candidates that they submit to a
personal viva-voce examination over and above the
“ ”

exercise as a test that they are really the composers of

,

it I t seems t o me that the examination should be subject

.

to your approval of the exercise I think you should .

arrange with each indi v idual approved candidate to call on

you i n London or Cambridge according to the circum
, ,

stances o f his case .

I do n o t approve of your idea that a candidate should

be a member of some C ollege S u ch a regulation can only .

be made by t he Un i ver s i ty and I doubt extremely the ,

U niversit y being willing to make such an enactment .

’

But B ennett again wrote

The U niversit y of Oxford has lately passed a S tatute
‘

respecting degrees 1n M usic a cop y of which I will procure

,

and t ransmit to you I am anx i ous that our degrees in

.

M usic at Cambrid g e should be equal 1n reputation to those

of the sister U niversity .

I really cannot think it j ust that candidates should he

‘
,
26 2 Th e Ca m br idg e P ro fess or s hip [ ca

entitled to examination without havin g paid any fees to the

U niversi t y (this is not the case in any other faculty as far as
I am aware ) Were they first obli g ed to enter a College I
. ,

believe they would reflect much more upon the chances of

failure and make themselves much safer As it i s I am
, .
,

receiving s o called exercises from mere beginners who try ,

their strength with the chance of a ver y small penalty ,

viz a confidential let t er from me advisin g them to g et

.
,

instruction 1n the rudiments of the art and there ends the ,

matter ; not however without m u ch loss of time to me and

, , ,

which time I cannot even have the satisfaction of feeling is

spent i n the service of the U niversity From Gunnin g s .
’

“
Ceremonies (I do not know how far this book is an
”

authority ) it would appear that the firs t step is to enter

a College .
’

The Registrary— whose letters cannot be quoted at

enoug h leng th to show the great courtesy and considera
tion with which he treated the Professor of M usic — still
maintained that membership of a Colle g e was only meces
sary on the eve of taking a de g ree i e aft er the candidate , . .

had been approved by the Professor Bennett therefore .

, ,

waited for some fresh O pportunity of pressing his point .

H e was in the meantime glad t o get approval of his

, ,

ex a m i n a t i on ; but he was determined that this should be

held i n Cambrid g e and that London should be no alterna

,

tive place as su ggested by the Re g istrary .

I n the musical profession U niversi t y degrees had for ,

some time been regarded as of no great value by some even ,

as things to be avoided Scurrilous suggestions had often

.

been admitted into musical papers and those who mixed in ,

musical circles often heard doubts expressed i n conversation

as to the methods by which such distinctions had been
O btained The whole subj ect had become somewhat u n
.

canny Goss the organist of S t Paul s when asked at

.
’

,
’

this time by a lady -pupil why he was not a Doctor of M usic ,

replied Because I would rather not be one .

’

I t was therefore obviously desirable that the Professor s ’

negotiations with candidates should be conducted with a

cert ain amount of public formality The U niversity was .

evidently not prepared to lay down any scheme for musical

procedure so definite as that which had j ust appeared at
264 Th e Ca m br idg e P r of es s or s h zj
b [c a

Mr B u n n e t t s exercise I suppose
’
that prior t o such per
.

fo rm a n c e he should enter his name at a College .

‘
This leads me to offer as a point for your consideration
whe t her I sho u ld not in future be justified in declining to
examine any candidate before receivin g a certifica t e of his
having en t ered a Colle g e I cannot think t hat the a u t ho r i .

ties would req u ire me to examine any but t hose who had i n
some way connected themselves with the U niversi t y and I ,

shall be very grateful to you for your opinion on this subj ect ,

or if you sho u ld think fit would y ou be kind enough to ,

bring t he mat t er before the Co u ncil ? ’

T he Vice Chancellor at once replied

- I have no d i ffi
culty i n answering the question you propose The Pro .

fe s s o r of M usic cannot be called upon to examine any

person who is not a member of the U niversity and thou g h ,

i n some cases from kind feelin g the late Professor may

, ,

have examined the exercises of persons who were not

members of the U niversity the proceedin g is irregular and ,

ou g ht not to be drawn into a precedent .

’

Th u s before the end of the year Bennett had a plan of

, ,

action sufficient for his purpose H e then compiled a cir .

c u la r containing all needful information abou t entrance in t o

a Colle g e m u sical exercises and t heir performance and the

, ,

expenses of the degrees S ir H en ry B ishop as Professor at .

,

Oxford had suffered from the quantity of let t ers he was

,

obliged to write to enquirers from whom he heard nothin g‘ ’

further Bennett s circular pro v ed a safeguard not only to

.
’

his time but to his feelin g of proper pride in his office

, .

When however a man as a member of the U niversity

, , , ,

becam e a bon d fi d e candidate Benne t t spared no trouble

-
, ,

acting in all respec t s as if he were a College tutor advising , ,

if needs be on the direc t ion further studies should take to

,

ensure success and even at times giving somethin g like

,

actual instruction Any such work for Cambridge he did.

most cheerfully A t a later period when the publication of

.
,

disting u ished musicians letters was coming into vogue i n ’

this country he would laugh and say that the letters he had
,

received from one candidate alone durin g a series of years , ,

would supply two good -sized vol u mes .

There was no stipend a t tached to the Professorship

during the first twelve or thirteen years he held it but ,
xvn ] E m ol u m en t s 26 5

before his time fees were paid by the graduate to t he

Professor in consideration of t he latter having to conduct
the performance of the E xercise At one t ime the .
’

Bachelor had paid fi ve shillings and the Doctor twenty

fi v e shillings but these fees had afterwards been raised and
,

in W alm i s l ey 3 days they s t ood at five and ten guineas s u ms

’

more i n accordance with t hose received for similar services

b y Professors of other faculties Bennett may have a c .

c ept e d these payments from the first two g rad u ates of his

time but it is certain that he returned them to the t hird and

, ,

then to all that followed or destroyed their cheques for t he

,

custom was so far established that though it was not men ,

t i o n e d in his circular the fees were generally sent to him

, .

H is reason for this course cannot be given with certainty .

I f the writer s memory is correct Bennett was unable t o

’

find an y enactment by which the fees were authorized but

apart from that at a time when persons could still write of
,

musical degrees as obtainable by purchase he may have ,

tho u ght it well tha t a t least the candidates themselves should

know t hat he t ook no pec u niary i nteres t i n the matter To .

them it had the advantage of reducing a rather heavy

expenditure .

The Professor of M usic mi g ht be called upon to furnish

the music for an Ode when a new Chancellor was i nstalled ,

an event which did not happen on the average oftener than

once i n twen t y years O therwise his only prescribed d u ty
.
,

was i n connection with de g rees and the discharge of it ,

gave no g reat prominence t o music or to himself wi t hin , ,

the precincts of the U niversity M uch of it lay with .

unsuccessful candidates and was therefore i nvisible But .

even those who became graduates unless they were Colle g e ,

organists were practically aliens Their degrees gave them

, .

no place in the Senate At the C olleges where t hey en t ered

.

their names but never resided they were unknown T here

, , .

was a little flutter of i nterest when their Exercises were

performed but after receivin g their titles as a mark of pro
fi c i e n c y they departed and were seldom seen a g ain A non
, .

resident Professor who attended to their wants alone mi g ht

, ,

remain almos t as great a stranger as themselves .

B ennett wished if possible to be identified with music

, ,

i n C ambridge itself hopin g— as he had written i n his

,
266 Th e Ca m b r idg e P ro fess or s hip [c a

address to the electors to be found active and useful — ‘

,

not regardin g his office as merely nomi n al but remember ,

in g t hat the i nterests of a great art had been entrusted

to his care T he time was favourable to his purpose for
.
’

music during the past two or three years had been making
distinct prog ress in the U niversi t y and his place was well ,

prepared for him I n D ecember 1 8 50 W a lm i s ley had

.
, ,

repor t ed to the U niversity Commissioners M usic is not

cultivated t o any g reat extent by members of the U ni
versity but I believe a taste for the art is rapidly increasing
,

amongst us At the time this was wri t ten there is little

.
’

doubt some chan g e had begun to take place throu g hout

the country in the attitude of educated men towards m usic .

Among many general and individual influences to which

this chan g e might be attributed one may be selected which ,

would be very likely i n time to reach a U niversi t y Years

, , .

of hard work spent by such men as J ohn H u l la h his sup ,

por t ers and followers in pressing upon the clergy and ,

schoolmasters the importance of music as a branch of educa

tion may have already taken effect upon the rising g enera
,

tion of studen t s I n 1 8 5 3 the members of the U niversity

.

M usical S ociety were turnin g their atten t ion to more i m

portant music than that which had so far g enerally appeared
upon their prog rammes and under the conductorship of ,

M r W Amps an underg raduate of Peterhouse and a former

.
, ,

pupil of Wa l mi s l ey s were practising g reat choral and i n

’

s t r u m e n t a l works When Bennett became Professor three

.
,

years la t er there were in Cambridge especially among the

, ,

j unior fellows of Colle g es and the undergraduates a goodly ,

number of men with serious intention i n their musical pur

suits who were capable o f taking their measure of a
,

musician who were ready to appreciate B ennett and to

, ,

welcome his presence amon g them .

It being the custom for resident members of the U ni

versity including the students reading for honours to stay
, ,

up for two months of the Long Vacation Bennett i n the , ,

first year of his Professorship took advantag e of this , ,

engaged a furnished house in A d d en b ro oke Place and ,

spent his summer holidays in Cambrid ge Thes e holidays .

,

for the past two years had become much longer than ,

before owing to a chan g e of arran g ements at the schools

,
26 8 Th e Ca m b r idg e P ro fes s or s hip [c a

his skill in more elaborate form he began an ei g ht part ,

-

M otet to t he words I n Thee O Lord d o I pu t my t rus t

,
‘
, , ,
’

borrowing for it t he openin g bars of t he first Symphony

which he had writ t en for Dr Crotch in his boyhood at The
Royal A cademy of M usic I t was probably while he was .

wea v ing in his mind t his intricate texture that he woke up ,

one day from a reverie to find himself seated in a room the

,

surroundings of which were unfamiliar to him The three .

houses in A d d e n b r ook e Place were of the same pattern and ,

in a fit of abstrac t ion he had entered and se t tled himself

down in the wrong one .

The minute-book of the U niversi t y M usical Socie t y

records a conditional promise on his par t that he would
annually conduct one of the concerts The organists who .

had recently arrived to supply W a lm i s l ey s places were ’

yo u n g men who had as yet no vested interests which Bennett

could inj ure while M r W Amps t he appointed conductor
, .
,

of the Society a musical enthusiast whom Bennett at one

,

time often spoke of as his probable successor i n t he

Professorship was so modes t and retiring that he perhaps
, ,

more than any one else i n C ambridge was from the first ,

only too glad to have the Professor s support B ennett ’

.

for some time continued to conduct the more impor t ant

concerts and to take some part in o t hers La t er unless he .
,

received some very special invi t ation he preferred to leave ,

such work in the hands of the resident musicians .

To en g age in performances when t he amateur element

so strongly preponderated was a new experience for him .

The band and choru s of the U niversi t y Musical Society

presented at the t ime rather a mo t ley crew College choirs
, , .

were at hand to assist ; good solo -singers were generally

attainable ; among t he members were men of in t ellectual
ability to whom the study and practice of music seemed t o
,

present little difficul t y ; the north of E ngland from which ,

C ambridge draws so many of her students contributed ,

its due share of musical fervour General culture and .

enthusi a sm were however far i n advance of actual per

, ,

fo rm a n c e which was and remained for many years ro u g h

, , ,

and imperfect M usic was a disturbance to the established

.

routine of College life Tutors and readin g men could ill

-
.

afford time taken from the evenin g hours of teaching and

xv11] A m ong t he A m a t eu r s 269

of study Rehearsals were irregularly attended The con

. .

sta ntl
y changing personnel of
‘
a U niversi t y prevented any’

steady improvement from year to year Periods of .

prosperity and depression came i n t u rn according to the ,

zeal and musical ability of the men of each period .

I t often seemed strange that a man so sensi t i v e so ,

noted for perfection of detail in his own performances ,

could find it tolerable to assist in such haphazard music

makings .Poor Sterndale Bennett the Rev H R
‘
,
’
. . .

H a w e i s called him when he wrote his reminiscences of

,

these early concerts ; and as time went on there were , ,

others who felt i ncongruity in so refined a musician takin g

part with t hem in their badly-balanced and imperfectly
p repared exhibitions H e was not i n complete sympathy
.

with the amateurs of the day in their public performances .

H e did not approve of the reckless way in which they

attacked music far beyond their executive powers When .

he congratulated his y oung friend A r m field on bein g , ,

elected President of the U niversity M usical Society he ,

wrote : H urrah ! now we will have H aydn

‘
for the
C ambrid g e orchestra preferred to lay bare its shortcomings
i n the Symphonies of B eethoven to experiment on S chu ,

mann and to give even Wagner his chance But in such

, .

matters B ennett did not really interfere H e smiled but .

,

only with great good humour when he spoke of them ; and ,

indeed he watched with keen delight the awakening of a

,

love of music i n a rising generation of E nglishmen H is .

nature disliked any exuberance of expression but he could ,

make allowance for it i n others when the feelin g which

prompted it was g enuine Late i n life he paid a little .

tribute to enthusiasts in the words : When I hear the ‘

young men t alk I begin to wonder whether I myself was

,

ever fond of music at all But whatever he felt or thou g ht

.
’
,

when he was taking part in these concerts he certainly

threw his whole energ y into what he was doin and he
proved himself a most capable leader of i r reg ugar forces
,

After the first concert which he conducted an old guest ,

‘

of the M usical Society wrote to the newspaper : I t was

’ ‘

truly deli g htful to see the talented Professor of M usic

presiding over the band ; his forces seemed animated with
somethin g of his own vi g our for rarely if ever have , , ,
2 70 Th e Ca m b r idg e P ro fes s or s hip [ cn .

they more distin guished themselves than on the present

’
oc c a s 1o n .

There was a seriousness of manner bordering upon ,

severity inseparable from Bennett when practising his art

,

in public Upon amateurs who found t hemselves for the

.

first time under the i nfluence of his musical personality the

impression was very forcible The presence of a master .

was felt E asy -going enj oyment ultra -expression of indi

.
,

vidual sent i ment so dear to the heart of the half-trained

amateur performer vanished at t he first stroke of his b aton
, ,

and the sight of his rigidly set face Davison once wrote .

of him aft er he had been playing a Concerto with a very

,

unsteady orches t ral accompaniment : The devil himself ‘

could not dis t urb the equanimity of our young countryman

when he has once set out upon his path I t was this .
’

equanimity coupled with a determined insistence which

, ,

g ave confidence to uncertain performers A part icul a r .

example of the wonderful control he had over himself was

g iven by these concerts When other m usicians were .

occasionally invited to Cambridge to conduct their own

works their looks of an g uish when they heard the o r
,

c h es t ra strike up were involuntary and natural but very ,

alarmin g to the poor performers B enne t t s face stern as .

’

it was never betrayed t he least sign of displeasure or o f

, ,

his having taken any particular notice of failures and i m

perfections past remedy No individual performer was .

ever disconcerted by any special reco g nition of what he

was doing .

When the m u sic was over he appeared in another

aspect . H e had the faculty strengthened no doubt by ,

long experience with pupils of finding a few expressive ,

words of t emperate approval or encouragement These .

never approached t o flattery seldom to unqualified praise , .

They were oft en humorous or seasoned wi t h a sprinklin g ,

of raillery They were never twice alike but adroitl y

. ,

adapted to the i ndividual case while t hey had a ring of ,

truth about them that drove them home fixin g them as ,

li t tle treasures i n the memory of t hose to whom t hey were

addressed H e had no conventional epithets ready for use
. .

H e would probably have found himself quite unable to offer

satisfac t ory congratulations to a g reat prima donna a cele
2 72 Th e Ca m b r idg e Pro f s sor s hip
e [c a xvn

and there were times of the year when he could pay

additional visits of which no entry i n those books was
necessary H e at least gave up on the average four of
.
, ,

his regular working days i n each term to Cambridge I n .

the earlier years t he amount of time spent on the j ourney

wou ld not in these days be credited I f he went for a .

single day an early start and a retu rn by the night -mail were
,

generally necessary The hours he spent i n Cambridge

.

enabled hi m t o do every thin g required beyond what he ,

could do by correspondence i n connection with musical

,

degrees ; to assist or be present at concerts ; to appear at

U niversity functions or at such social gatherings a s he was
invi t ed to i n the Colle g es H e certainly became as familiar
.

a fi g ure i n Cambridge as any o t her non -resident o fficer .

As years went on he became well known far beyond the -

limits of any musical circle Strikin g changes or rapid

.
,

developmen t s i n the musical life of t he U niversity did not

perhaps occur under his r eg i me ; but the degrees came to
be re garded as desirable honours difficult to obtain ; and ,

again at a time when respect for music itself amon g the

,

members of a learned societ y was onl y advancing by slow

degrees no man could be better qualified than he even
, ,

withou t any apparent effort of his own to disarm prej udice ,

and win converts H e moved in C ambridge with modesty

.
,

dignity and grace an attractive impersonation of the art he

,

professed .
 C H A PT E R XV I I I .

D IF F R E CE WI H
E N
B A C H S OC I Y
T P H I LHAR M O N I C D I R E CT O R S
T HE
ET ; T H E E AR L O F W E S T M O R LA N D
AN D R A O F M U S I C . . .

THE year 1 8 56 bringing to B ennett the appointments

,

at the Philharmonic and at C ambrid g e dates a distinct ,

epoch in his career Seventeen years had g one by since

.

he had se t tled down to regular work in London and during ,

that time which proved i n the end to represent nearly half

,

his professional life he had not found it easy to keep

,

himself before the musical world What he had done for .

the advancement of music beyond the wide and wholesom e ,

influence as a teacher had been chiefly the outcome of ,

private enterprise and had been limited by the slender

pecuniary resources at his command Of the causes .

and extent of t h e discouragement which he felt as he

approached and passed thro ug h middle life little can be
said ; for thou g h he himself aft erwards alluded to such
feelings he gave no sufficient explanation of their ori g in
, .

There had certainly not been much at hand to brigh t en

and stim u late the life of an E nglishman holding the views
he did H e had walked i n a narrow path with few
.

companions .

N ow however at the age of for t y he found himself as

, , ,

well placed in his profession as he could desire to be and ,

he may be deemed fortunate seein g how few were the ,

appointmen t s except for organists which this country had

, ,

to offer to its musicians to have obtained promotion with , ,

S . B .
2 74 1 856 — 1 858 [c u .

the attendant encoura g emen t at t he time he did I n one , .

way however his new appointments made little difference

, ,

to him T he fees received for the conductorship did not

.

quite balance the expenses incident upon performing his

honorary duties at C ambrid g e For his livelihood t here .
,

fore he had still t o depend entirely upon teaching

, .

I n the year 1 8 56 he g ave his usual series of Chamber

C oncerts At the second on M ay 6 M adame Schumann
.
, ,

played with him her husband s Duet for t wo pianofortes ’

and four numbers of the Opus 8 5 At t he t hird on .

,

J une 3 he made his last appearance as a pianist i n London

, .

E arly in 1 8 5 7 M rs Bennett wrote to one of his pupils that

, ,

it would be very difficult for him to manag e concerts of his

own concurrently with those of the Philharmonic As he .

was by this time quite willing to give up playi ng in public

altogether he took that step and later in life never seemed
, ,

to regret havin g done so .

I n anticipation of his second season at the Philharmonic ,

he was as anxious as he had been during the first for

additions to be made to the Society s repertoire When ’
.
,

i n earlier years he served on the Directora t e himsel f he had

, ,

always urged this upon his colleagues T h u s The M u s i ca l .

Wor l d wrote in 1 8 44 : As a Director of the Philharmonic

‘
,

M r Bennett s influence has for the last three years acted

’

most beneficially on the politics of t hat prominent musical

body We have observed immense improvements i n the
.

general charac t er of the programmes B ennet t however .

’

, ,

was now Conductor not a D irector and his efforts to infuse

, ,

some new spiri t in t o the Society s doings met wi t h a check

’ ’

by means of some indiscree t tale -bearer .

Some time before the 1 8 5 7 season began he had ,

written suggesting B ee t hoven s music to Egmont and some ’ ‘ ’

other works as suitable for the Directors consideration ’

.

A report then reached him that his le t ter had been received
with strong marks of ill -favour When he made inquiries .

as to wha t had really happened M r M c M u rdi e one of the , ,

D irec t ors wrote ,

‘
When your letter was read i t was agreed u na voc e ,

that we mus t not establish a precedent for taking our

Prog ramme from the Conduc t or whils t at the same time , ,

we should be most ready t o act on his sugges t ions and ,

 6 1 856 — 1 858 [
2 7 ca

Society nothin g further occurred to disturb the harmonious

relations between the Directors and himsel f H e did not .

try a gain to influence the choice of music b u t the orthodox ,

Philharmonic prog rammes of t h e day were al most entirely

made up of the works of those composers with whom
he was most i n sympathy There were certain operatic .

Overtures occasionally i ntroduced which he did not like for

performance at the Philha rmonic but he made no further ,

appeal on the s u bject The orches t ra which he cond u cted

.

had received far t he greater part of its training a t the

I talian Opera Bennett would say When they dash into
.
,
‘

one of their favourite Overtures i n their operatic style at ,

the end of my rehearsal any effect I have been trying to ,

make on them throu g h the morning is scattered to the

winds .
’
I t was n o t altog ether that he demurred to the
compositions There were Overtures of M ozart which he
.

disliked conductin g with his I talian Opera players almost

as much as Masaniello or Z ampa
‘ ’ ‘
.
’

I n the midst of g rowing public responsibili t ies he did ,

not forget old pledges and thou g h the demands upon his
,

time were rapidly i ncreasin g he could still discover ho u rs ,

i n which to work as a volun t eer in the service of music .

The Bach Socie t y since the production of the S t M atthew

,

Passion i n 1 8 54 had continued its winter practices b u t

’

had gi ven no public performance The interest of non .

performing members had vanished The Society welcomed .

the c o -operation of students and choristers from whom , ,

howe ver no contributions to its funds could be expected

, .

Towards t h e end of 1 8 5 7 the Treasurer reported a debt

of 75 and
, an income for the current year of A; 4
1 1

collected from 1 50 nominal subscribers Benne t t was .

already preparing for a reproduc t ion of The Passion on ‘ ’

a larger scale than before ; but the Committee consider ,

ing their financial prospects hopeless called a general ,

meeting i n December to raise the question of immediate

dissolution This crisis was happily averted and early in
.
,

1 8 58 D r S t e a ll the honorary secretary issued a circular

gg , ,

announcing that Professor Bennett has undertaken the

‘

performance of the Passions -Musik on the 2 3 rd of M arch

“

en t i r el
y p
u on h i s own r e¢on s i bi l i ty and has decided to ,

present to the Society any surplus as an acknowledgment

xv111] H e fi es l s a L et t er 2 77

of the promised c o -operation of a great maj ority of the

members .
’

M any fresh recruits enlisted The chorus according .

,

to The I l l u s t r a t ed N ews was 3 0 0 s t rong At the final , .

rehearsals a q u ite remarkable en t h u siasm was displayed as

t he beauty of the still unfamiliar music shone t hrough the
mist of di fficulty The chorus had n ow the ad vantage of
.

singing from printed parts which M essrs Leader and Cock ,

had published at B ennett s reques t S t M arti n s H all which ’

.
’

J ohn H u l la h u sed for his sin g ing -school and also for ,

concerts intended to popularise good mu s i c wa s the l oca l e , ‘

chosen for the Bach performance I t was tho u ght and as .

, ,

it proved righ t ly t hought that the Passions -M usik was

, ,
‘ ’

more likely to find immediate favour with a non critical -

and unprej udiced p u blic The prices of seats were fixed at .

five shillings half-a crown and one shilling M rs B ennet t

,
-
,
.

took control of the b u siness arrangements and was able t o ,

dispose of half the number of seats by her own exertions .

Though no attempt was made to attract a fashionable

audience a happy idea struck Bennett about a week before
, ,

the concert that t here was one amateur of high rank who
,

would surely be interested i n the production of a German

masterpiece M embers of the Royal Famil y did not often
.

attend concer t s An annual visit to t he Philharmonic was

.

all that was c u stomary Bennet t summoned up courag e .

to wri t e to t he Prince Consort H e had a good case t o .

present and no doubt pleaded well but as he co u ld n o t be

sanguine of t he result he t old no one what he had done ,
.

I n referri ng to the matter la t er he would say I went o u t , ,

‘

and posted the letter myself A few hours brought the .

’

reply : M aj or -General Grey presents his compliments t o

‘

Professor B ennett and is commanded to inform hi m tha t

H R H the Prince Consort will have much pleasure i n
. . .

attending the performance of Bach s Grosse Passions -M usik ’

at S t Mar t in s H all on Tuesday evening next

’
.

B ki gh m P l
‘
uc n M rh 7
a a a c e, a c 1 ,

Bach s bir t hday M arch 2 1 fell t his year on a Sunday

’

, ,
.

The 2 3 rd was therefore chosen instead and The M u s i c a l ,

Wor l d relates that on t ha t evening an immense concours e ‘

flocked to S t M art in s H all numbers bein g unable to ’

,
2 78 1 85 6— 1 858 [ CH .

obtain admission and again that a crowd gathered from ,

‘
,

all ranks of society were rushing to the H all with as much

,

zeal as is evinced by a holiday -mob on a boxing -night .

’

These circumstances were noticed because they caused

surprise where Bach s music was concerned ’
.

B ennett had been to Buckin g ham Palace in the after

noon and had been instruc t ed that the Prince would come
,

for the commencement of the concer t H is Royal H ighness .

d u ly arrived accompanied by the Duchess of Sutherland

, ,

and Bennet t was quite touched by a gracefu l apology which

he made between the parts for hav ing been fi ve m i n u t es
late ! The Prince followed the music with close attention
from a fu ll score probably len t him by t he Earl of Cawdor
, ,

a patron of the Bach Society who sat beside him When , .

ever he lift ed his eyes from the book his face revealed so ,

fascinating so individual an expression Of interest and

,

enjoyment that no one who watched him from the chorus

,

that night would ever cease to regard him as t he ideal

amateur of music Both the Pri nce and Lord Cawdor
.

afterwards gave solid proof of their apprecia t ion The .

E arl had v al u able scores of B ach s works in his library ’

and after the concert he sent some of them to Benne t t as a

present The Prince a year later re t urned the i nvitation
.
, , ,

and the Bach Society gave t h e S t M atthew Passion at ‘ ’

Windsor Castle .

I n t he preface to the E nglish edi t ion of the work

( published in B en nett refers t o this performance in
1 8 5 8 as being the first gi v en i n E ngland and t here seems ,

to have been at t he t ime an understanding between the

critics and himself t hat t he t wo earlier performances in
1 8 54 were to be remembered as mere preliminary trials .

The rendering i n 1 8 58 was at leas t s u fficien t ly accurate

and effecti v e t o satisfy the critics I t was recorded as if .
,

specially notewor t hy that t he at t en t ion of a vast audience

,

was completely held and tha t no one left the room till the
,

las t bar had been heard .

N ext day Bennett s pupils fou nd him i n a grateful

,
’

mood and t here was reason for it Comparison be t ween

, .

wha t was wri t ten i n 1 8 54 and again i n 1 8 58 shows that

, ,

t his memorable evening of t he latter year saw a great

change of O pinion as to the possibili t y — and tha t had been
28 0 1 85 6 — 1 858 [ c 11 .

receive an engag ement for the Festival and one for his ,

daughter and I hope you will give one to B illy P

,

and one to B illy W T enor singer Billy P is a .

Bass singer I have found them usefu l at many times

.
,

anybod y knows them P has had a copy of Rossini s .

’

S tater M ater a long t ime I canno t give y ou an y reference .

to m y sel f I sing Tenor when I cannot g e t a j ob for t he

.

fiddle E xcuse an old s t ager

. .

Yours ,

H M . .

N B — If you will give us a j ob I will have them up

. .
,

to the mark .
’

The preference shown by the Leeds C ommittee to a

fellow country man was counterbalanced by something which
-

occurred i n London at the same time and which seemed ,

to cast a sligh t on B ritish musicians in the very Academy

where their feelings ou g ht to have been least liable to
inj ury . Bennett was quite the patriot but i n musical ,

i nternational politics he favo u red free trade The reader - .

will have seen t hat far from grumbling as man y o t hers did
, , ,

at the incursion of foreign ar t ists he used what infl u ence ,

he had to encoura ge their coming when he t hought it

wo u ld lead to the expansion of our musical knowled g e i n
the ri g ht directions The visits of illustrio u s musicians to
.
‘

E ngland was the subj ect of one of his lectures delivered

’

at t he London I nstit u tion and elsewhere and it is remem ,

bered what interest he t ook in dilating u pon t his theme ,

‘
re fl ec t i n
g as he wrote, wi
’
t h pride and pleasure on ,
‘

our country s reception and apprecia t ion of these great

’

men Among the m u sicians of foreign bir t h who made

.
’

E ngland their home or who visited i t during his life -time , , ,

he numbered many of his best valued artistic associates -

,

many of his most intimate friends H e was however now .

, ,

i n the front of the E nglish musical profession and when ,

necessi t y arose which happily it did b u t rarely he could

, ,

fight t o guard his own posi t ion and champion the i n t eres t s ,

of those he represented .

The Earl of Westmorland when he founded the Royal ,

Academy of M usic in 1 8 2 2 saw the disadvantages which ,

‘

the E n glish laboured under in t heir professional career t he ,

xvm ] A Ch a r ity Con c er t 28 1

many drawbacks they had to contend against and the

struggles which checked their progress Thirt y -six years .
’

had not entirely removed the drawbacks and disadvantages .

Any enco u ragemen t which co u ld be given to E n glish

musicians would still ha v e been welcome I t is t herefore .

all the more strange that the founder of the Academy

should have cast the following sligh t u pon his own fo u n d a
tion I n the season of 1 8 58 Lord Westmorland planned
.
,

a concert as a means of raising funds for the Academ y

, ,

to be given in the new S t J ames s H all Queen Victoria ’

.

promised to honour it with her presence so that there ,

wa s every prospect of a wide patronage and of the prime ,

object being realized H ere then might be seen a rare

.

opportuni t y of displayin g before the Cour t and an influen t ial

public the fruits of so many years work at the Academy ’
.

I f past and present students had been allowed to combine

i n a spiri t ed movement material co u ld certainly have been
,

found for an in t eresting concert T here happened for .

,

instance t o be l y in g a t the moment in Tenterden Street

,

a M S Overture just sent over from Germany by a recent

.

st u dent of the Academy a work i n which Da v ison found

,

‘
an independent way of thinkin g which i n one so youn g
looked well I f Arthur Sullivan could have been granted
.
’

a hearin g on this occasion some credit would surely have ,

accr u ed t o t he I nstitution in which he had so lately been

studyin g B u t Lord Wes t morland when arranging his
.
,

concer t started by entirely 1g n o ri n g the Academy except

, , ,

of course as the recipient of charity H e placed a Mass

, .

of his own composition as the chief item of the programme .

To this no obj ection would or could have been raised had ,

he not apparently in order to g ive ec l a t to the production

,
‘

of his M ass secu red the services of the s t aff of t he Royal

,

I talian Opera with Costa as cond u ctor of the orches t ra .

B ennett cordially hated the domina t ing influence of t he

I talian Opera as checking the progress of music i n o t her
directions and of course the in t roduction of C osta who
, , , ,

had nothing t o do with t he Academy was to him i n ,

tolerable It was n o t enough for him that Lucas the

.
,

regular conductor of Academy concerts had acquiesced i n ,

the arrangemen t H e felt obliged to protest against the

.

reflection which he saw cast on the Academy Professors

as a body H e wrote to C ipriani Potter the Principal
.
, ,
282 1 85 6 — 1 85 8 [c m

explained his views in a letter which Potter considered

very pithy and asked him to convey to Lord Westmorland
,
’

his resignation as a teacher and what was more serious , , ,

a request that his name sho u ld be erased from the list of

Associat es of the Academy Then Lord Westmorland .
,

who appears to have concl u ded that B ennett had expected

to cond u ct the concert himself sent him t wo messages : ,

one thro u gh Lucas asking him to name a work of his own

, ,

to be placed on the programme— a proposal which came

too late to be regarded as anything but an afterthought ;
and the second through Pot t er who had been ordered to
wri t e ver ba t i m what Lord Westmorland had said to him
i n con v ersa t ion This messag e was to the effect that the
.

resignat ion could not be accep t ed ; but when it con t ained

such expressions as Surely he cannot have the pretension ,
‘
,
’

and again a t a concer t composed of the first foreign

,
‘

art ists it onl y gave emphasis to Benne t t s exact obj ec t ions

,
’ ’
.

H e stood firm The press took the same view that he

.

did The Ti m es and other newspapers commented severely

.

upon Lord W es t m o rla n d s concert scheme and considered ’

-
,

Bennet t s resignation as the proper and necessary sequel

’

H e co u ld ill be spared at the Academy Everyone felt .

tha t . H is name if only as a pianofor t e t eacher stood

,
-
,

ver y high Potter had for many years assi g ned him the
.
, ,

best pupils on the male side B u t the Principal also valued .

his old pupil s personal influence and l iked to have him

’

by his side I n 1 8 5 3 Potter had g ot Lord Westmorland

.

to make a post for B enne t t as I nspector of M u sical ‘

D iscipline and when i n 1 8 5 7 Bennett had fo u nd himself

,
’

too busy t o sit an y longer on a Board of Professors ,

’

Potter had written I n my opinion t he char m of our ,

‘
,

Board has vanished Potter now wrote You may well.

’

imag ine how much I am grieved wi t h your decision since ,

it must be the forerunner of other important events as ,

well as lead to changes which can never be congenial to

my feelings 1“ 1“ 1“
I am persuaded that my Lord s act was
.
’

more t o gratify his own vanity than wi t h any inten t ion of

insulting the Professors of t he I nstitution I perfectly .

s y mpathise wi t h your feelings on the subj ect of The “

Grand Concert and hope no t hing will ever destroy the

,

mutual good feelings b e t ween us .

’

Again Po t ter wrote — I wish I could persuade you to ‘

28 1 85 6 — 1 858 [CH xvm
4 .

awa y eighteen months later B ennett was invited to re t urn

, ,

to the Academy H e did not however consider that Lord

.
, ,

Wes t m orl a n d s death g ave a timely opportunity or a sufficien t

’

reas on for wi t hdrawing his protest Sir George M a c fa r re n

.

has written that B ennett s old friends at t he Academy

’

repeatedly urged him as time went on to rej oin the staff

, ,

of Professors ; but that they could neither persuade him to

,

listen to their solicitations nor elici t from him any reason

,

for his continuing to hold aloof H is connection with the

.

Academy was severed for eight years .

 C H A PTE R XIX .

L EE DS FE S TIV A L .
‘
THE M AY Q UEE N .
’

FOR the approachin g Leeds F estival B ennett had been

asked to furnish a new composition Up to this time of his .

life he had received no commission to write a F estival work .

The libretto of a P a s t or a l entitled M ay Da y written by ,

’

H F Chorley had lon g been in his hands H e now

. .
, .

proposed to make use of it for Leeds I n reopenin g the .

subj ect with the librettist to whom some explanation of the

,

delay was obviously necessary he appears to have referred,

to discouragement which he had met with as a composer ,

for C horley in his reply wrote : I t amuses me that

, ,
‘

you should use the word disheartenin g to me O nly I .

suppose that musicians imagine that those who furnish

them with ideas for works come into the world to be
disheartened H owever this
. M ay Day business
solicited from m e n i n e y ea r s ag o when I was i n no humour
to attempt creation is perhaps as royal a case of neglect
,

and want of consideration as could be cited .

’

Bennett had not neglected the libretto on first receipt

of it The discoloured music -sheets on which one of the
.

earlier numbers in the score is written show that the

number was penned man y years before the rest of the
work while a musical phrase in this movement proves that
,

he had fixed when writing it on an already composed

, ,

Overture as a Prelude to the P a s t or a l and as a source from

which he would gather musical material for it M oreover .
,

his marg i nal notes on the original libretto show that he had
approached the work as a whole by determinin g in advance , ,

the tonality of the several movements H is failure to .

continue may have been due to dilatoriness or possibly he ,

286 L eeds F es t iva l . Th e M a y Q u een
’

[ ca

did not care very much for the libretto ; but his plea of
discourag ement may also be taken into account I f any .

one person more than another had contributed to such

feeling t hat person was Chorley himself I t may be .

imagined that the neglect of his libretto had somethin g to

do with the adverse tone wh i c h that critic had long adop t ed
i n The A t hen a u m when wr1t 1n g of Bennett as a com
'

poser o r in any other capacity O n the other hand such .

constant at t acks made against the musician s character as ’

an artist might well have damped any fu rt her interest i n

setting Chorley s text Fortunately their renewed n eg ot i a
’
.

tions lastin g un t il the P a s t or a l was published and well

,

start ed on i t s career were conducted in a conciliatory spirit

, .

Chorley pointed out one difficul t y which delay had created .

M a c fa rr e n with t h e libret t ist O xenford had lately produced

, ,

a Canta t a with the same title M a y Day The two , .

’

librettists however had treated the subj ect ve ry differently

, ,
-

and when C horley had altered his title to The M ay Queen ‘

,

the t wo works were no longer likely to be confused .

Bennet t at this time expressed a doubt to his wife of his

ability to wri t e an ex t ended composition I t is so lon g .
‘
,
’

he said since I did anythin g of the kind

,
‘
M rs Bennett .
’

insisted on an e a rly close to t he summer -term s work H ere ’

.

a little incident occurring at the t ime interrupts for a moment

the story of The M ay Queen ‘
On Saturday J uly 3 .
’
, ,

Bennet t was in Cambridge with J oachim as his guest at

‘
The Bull t he hotel at which he always stayed t hroughout
,
’

the years of his Professorship I t happened to be the .

‘
Commencement week t he town was full of visitors and
’

, ,

he suddenl y conceived t he idea of giving an impromptu

concert with t he aid of his fr i e n d who had not been i n ,
.

E ngland for some years and was almost a stranger in ,

Cambridge At 5 o clock he set printers t o work and

.
’

circulated an announcemen t the same evening On M onday .

afternoon the concert of music for violin and pianoforte took

place 1 0 5 tickets were sold and g 2 1 1 os was handed to
, , ,
. .

A d d e n b r oo ke s H ospital Thus did the great violinist

’
.

generously render his firs t service t o the U niversity which

i n lat er years has been proud t o count him as a member .

On J uly 1 5 t he Benne t ts repaired to Eastbourne quartering ,

themselves at The Gilbert Arms an old -fashioned hostel ry

‘
,
’
 T H E G 1L B E R T A R MS, EA ST B O U R N E

F r om a w a t er -
c ol o u r d r a w i n g by W . C ha l m er s M a s t er s
x 1x] [ n a B ow Wi d w n o 28 7

where they had already spent a short summer holiday t he

year before I n a remote corner of t he rambling building
.

there was a secluded room and i n a bow -window over ,

looking a larg e walled -i n garden Bennett placed his t able ,

and set to work Direc t from the house there were four
.

ways i n which he could start on the short walks which he

liked constantly to t ake while composing : a path across
the fields t o M ill -Gap on the way to Willingdon ; t he
‘
,
’

two shady avenues towards Old Eastbourne and South

bourne ; and the road then bordered by wheat and clover ,

fields leading to the sea

,
Opposite the house was the .

small railway -station with a telegraph office to which he ,

kept running across to transact Leeds Festival business .

I n due course he had written all his music except a Chorus

with Soprano solo to the not very inspiring words Wi t h
, ,
‘

a lau g h as we go round As this movement concerned the .

’

chief character i n t he piece it was important b u t B ennett ,

failed for some time to g e t any idea for i t that s u ited him .

One day at his invitation his wife prepared herself to take

, ,

a walk with him and was surprised after t hey had gone a
, ,

few yards from the house by his suddenl y turning ro u nd ,

and sayin g We can go back now the M ay Queen 15

,
‘
,

finished .
’

At the end of August he went to the B irmi ngham

F estival to hear some of the music which he was himself to
conduct the following week and on September 5 he was ,

i n Leeds at the hou se of Walker J oy one of the chief ,

promoters of the Festival with whom he now had the ,

pleasure of star t ing a mos t con g enial friendship The new .

Town H all was opened by H er M ajes t y on the 7 t h and the ,

F es t ival commenced next day wi t h a fine performance of

‘
Elijah which in the opinion of The Ti mes followed
,
’

, ,

M endelssohn s own readings more closely than any that

’

had been given i n E ngland since his death A selection .

from Bach s S t M at t hew Passion was another fea t ure of

’ ‘ ’

the Festival The M ay Queen was produced at the first

.
’

evening concert The solos were sung b y M adame Clara

.

N ovello M iss Palmer Sims Reeves and Weiss Davison

,
‘
, .

wro t e that the general execution of the work was by no

means faultless this probably because the composer would , ,

not like to apportion much of the rehearsal -time to his own

b of M i D olby who m pp r t h pro g r mm
1
I th
n e a s en c e ss se n a e a ea s on e a e.
28 8 L eeds F es t iva l .
‘
The M a y Q u een
’

[c a

music . I n referring to the occasion many years later ,

B enne t t said T he M ay Q u een went off very well a t

,
‘

Leeds but t here was nothing out of the way abou t its
,

reception .
’

The Leeds Festival was reckoned a great success .

The acoustic properties of the new H all and the m a g n i fi

cent chorus were subj ects o f g eneral congratu lation ; but the
E nglish cond u ctor also won some laurels I t was t he first .

important occasion on which he had appeared as an O ratorio

conductor and of course he had to s u bmi t to comparison
,

wi t h C osta The historians of The Leeds Festivals

.
’

remember that in such comparison t here was a divergence ‘

of O pinion There were many at Leeds as at the Phil

.
’

harmonic who gave the palm to B ennett for his readings

,

whether of Oratorio or of Symphony O n the other hand . ,

as a chef d o rc hes t re Costa with his vast experience and

’

,
’
,

consummat e mas t ery held a well -nigh impregnable position .

I t is then no lit t le evidence of Bennett s remarkable natural ’

capacity that limited as his chances were of displayin g i t

, , ,

he should have been found comparable to Costa at al l .

Dando the violinist who was closel y associated both with

, ,

Costa and wi t h Bennett i n almost all their musical under

t akings and who had great respect for bo t h when talking
, ,

of them as conductors without of course referring to the —

, ,

I t alian Opera — u sed to say M y ideal would be reached if , ,

the y co u ld be c o m b i n ed C o s t a beating the time and B ennett

'

, ,

telling him how to do it .

’

B ennett was duly appointed Conductor when another ,

Leeds Festi v al was expected in 1 8 6 1 and he was invited ,

to s u pply a new sacred work for the occasion H e was .

summoned t o Leeds early in t hat year to confer with the

Commit t ee and the scheme of t h e Fes t ival was well
,

ad v anced when differences arose between the local Choral

,

Societies which proved impossible to adj ust and which ,

prevented the organization of a chorus The meeting .

,

therefore had to be abandoned to the great disappointmen t

, ,

of B ennett The Festivals were not resumed till 1 8 7 4

. .

B y t ha t t ime he had long retired from conducting and was ,

within a few months of his death b u t he had always looked

back to his connection with Leeds as a happy one nor has ,

that connection been forgotten in the place itself where ,

room for his works ha s been found from time to time on , ,

29 0 L eeds F es t iva l . Th e M a y Q u een
’

[c a x1x

ability to g ain t he ear of a larg er class of music -lovers than

that to which his previous composi t ions had appealed A .

livelihood by writing perhaps e v en weal t h were thought , ,

by his advisers to lie wi t hin his reach But t he induce .

ments such as Chorley for one with good intent put

, , , ,

before him did n o t attract him, The y had indeed a .

contrary e ffect ; for either by natural i nst i nct or by some ,

simple principles which he had adopted early 1n life for the

guidance of his career he put a very restricted value on ,

worldly fame or po pularity ; and aga i n t hough his refusal , ,

to consider composit i on as a possible source of i ncome may

have been due to a certain timidity which he showed i n
dealing wi t h worldly concerns yet apart from that there , , ,

was a positive shrinking from coupling art with money i n

his thoug hts S ome years aft er this Davison brought him
.
,

a message from one of the great music publishers Well - .

acquainted no doubt with Ben nett s views he delivered it

, ,
’

with some hesitation but the gist of it was that B ennett ,

might name his own terms if he would wholly devote him

self to composition Davison did not seem surprised when
.

Bennett at once changed the subj ect N ext mornin g when . ,

one of his family who had been present the nigh t before
, ,

referred to the matter he said apparen t ly with some effort , , ,

N o t hing shall induce me to place myself in the hands of

men of business As to writing works in succession to
.
’

‘
The M ay Queen repeti t ion in the same g roove is not
,
’

always successful and except in the cas e of the greatest

, ,

men does not always add to thou g h i t oft en detracts from

an already gained repu t ation H i s own publishers planned
, ,

.
,

as best they could a me t hod of so u nding him on the subj ect

,

of another Canta t a They engaged one of t he mos t eminent

.

l ibrettists of the day to prepare a new libret t o It was .

written Lamborn Cock took it down to E astbourne in the

.

s ummer of 1 8 5 9 and showed it to Benne t t in the lit t le room

where The M ay Queen had been composed t he year

‘ ’

before There were others looking on with some anxie t y

.

t o see whether it might interes t him H e took i t up .

,

glanced for a few moments at the first page and wi t hout a ,

word or without any look which could betray what was

,

passing i n his mind gen t ly laid it down on the table and

,

q uietly walked out of the room .

 C H A PT E R XX .

TH E C H O R A LE B O O K FO R E N GL A N D .

G REAT i nterest had been aroused in this country by the

appearance in 1 8 55 and 1 8 5 8 of two volumes entitled
, , ,

Ly r a Ger ma n i ca They contained translat ions by M iss

.
,

Catherine W i n k wo r t h of German hymns I n February

,
.
,

1 8 59
,
M essrs Lo n g m a n s announced tha t a musical edition
of this work containing some of the fine old German
,
‘

Chorales would shortly be completed un d er the s u pe ri n t e n

, ,

dence of Professor Sternd al e Bennett I t may be said that .

’

B ennet t had already taken one step in this direction by ,

editin g in short score for t he pianoforte the Chorales from

the S t M atthew Passion By the end of the summer of
‘
.
’

1 8 59
,
his share in the work proposed by M essrs Lo n g m a n s ,

as far as he had seen his way to deal with it was ready ,

for publication H e had confined himself to t he u s e of

.

J. Sebastian Bach s versions of t h e Choral es

’
M iss Wink .

worth i n her translations of the hymns had very frequently

, ,

departed from the ori g inal metres ; but B ennett had been
able to select about fifty examples in which words and
music could be blended with strict regard to historic
association The collection would no doubt have pro v ed
.

interes t in g and by its means another step would hav e been

,

taken on the road of in t rod u cing B ach to this country ,

i n which as has been seen B ennett was profoundly

, ,

interested .

The unsatisfactory state i nto which the music of the

Lutheran C hurch had b ee n a llo we d to fall i n Germany had
i n recent years necessi t ated a reformation A conference .

had been held at E isenach in 1 8 5 3 and with the obj ect of , ,

19 — 2
29 2 Th e Chor a l e B ooh f or E ng l a n d [ C PL

establishin g uniformity a new musical service -book had ,

been ordered and had been printed in 1 8 5 5 The subj ect

, .

of Church music had therefore been brought prominently to

the minds of German musicians M r Ot t o Goldschmidt .
,

who took up his residence i n En g land in 1 8 58 had con ,

c e i v ed t he idea which seemed j ustified by the deep

,

impression caused by the Ly r a Ger ma n i c a that German ,

hymnolo gy mi g ht be widely accep t able for congre gational

use i n the Church of E n gland M r Goldschmidt havin g .
,

set his heart on devotin g himself to this cause was ,

disappointed to find that another was before him Bennett . ,

his senior by several years was one whose position in the ,

musical world he had i n his own student days at Leipzi g

, ,

learn t to re gard with the highest respect N ow therefore .

, ,

he neither saw his way to carrying out his project i n

dependently nor to approachin g Bennett with a view of
,

combinin g H owever a third party who sympathised with

.
, ,

M r Goldschmid t took an opportunity of soundin g B ennett

,

privately when he found him only t oo glad that the work

,

he had been doin g should assume a larger form with a

wider obj ect and that he should g ain the help of one
,

willing and able to devote more t ime than he could himself

spare The task for its thorough performance demanded
.
, ,

g reat research and research which apart from the question

, ,

of time lay more naturally within reach of a musician of

,

Ger man nationality .

The par t nership between M r Goldschmidt and Bennett

over t his work dated from an interview at M essrs Lon g m a n s
in N ovember 1 8 59 ; their own meetin g s began in the first
,

days of the N ew Year 1 8 6 0 ; and exactly three years elapsed

,

before t he publica t ion of The Chor a l e B ooh f or E ng l a n d .

The first eighteen mo n ths were spent in seekin g the sources

of t he melodies and obtaining them in their purest and most
,

original form M r Goldschmidt went to Germany to consult

.

au t horities collected a large library of reference made the

, ,

work for t he time being his chief occupation and prepared

, , ,

everythi ng for discussion with his colleague Bennett gave .

up so much of his time and passed so many hours in the ,

midst of his o t her en gag ements in M r Goldschmidt s study ,

’

at Wimbledon a study which he would tell his pupils was

—
, ,

carpeted wi t h Chorale books open for reference - that to

 C H A PT E R XXI .

H IS P O S I T I ON AT T H E P H I LH ARM ON I C A SS URE D .

WIT H DR AWA L OF T H E S O C I E TY S O R C H E S T R A
’
.

INthe course of these years when pianoforte -teachin g ,

and public enga g ements ever continued to make full de

mands upon Bennett s ener gy whilst hymnolo g y filled up
’

the crevices of his time there was no lack of exceptional ,

incidents to vary the theme of his ordinary life Before .

passin g to those i ncidents it may be mentioned that in the , ,

autumn of 1 8 59 he left Russell Place which had been his

, ,

home for fourteen years and mi g rated to Bayswater where , ,

he remained though not always i n the same house for an

, ,

equal period H e first bou g ht one of the smaller houses in

.

I nverness Terrace the purchase -money representin g his

‘
,

savings up to the time .

H e had now been conducting at the Philharmonic for

four years ( 1 8 56 The members of the band had ,

from the very be g inning made it clear that his appointment

,

pleased them and that they meant to support him H e had

, .

not allowed himself to count upon their favour as a certainty .

I n earlier life when as one of the Directors of the Society

, ,

he had been behind the scenes he had observed conductors ,

failing to obtain the g ood -will of the players C onfidential .

references to this appear in his letters to M endelssohn .

C ertain musicians i n the Philharmonic orchestra stood hi gh

i n their profession by vi rtue of other qualifications than that
of orchestral playin g They were amon g the most promi
.

nent membe rs not only of the orchestra but also of the

, ,

1 Th en 5 w
n o. 47
0 O t h w t id t h 4t h ho ort hw rd a s
from I r
, no n o. . n e es s e, e use n
Pl
n ve n es s ace .
cu . xx 1] Th e Soc iety s ’

A Ab r ova l 29 5

Socie t y U ntil such time as a restrictive law was passed

.
,

they were favourites for t he o ffice of Directors in which ,

capacit y t hey rose s u perior to the conductor,taking part in

his election and choosin g the music that he had to conduct .

They had a voice too in en gagin g their colleagues in the

, ,

orches t ra I t followed that they were leaders of m u sical

.

opinion within the ranks and tha t a conductor whose ,

musicianship and personality were not acceptable to such

authori t ies would have a poor chance of success I t will .

now be understood why Bennett on the occasion of his first ,

rehearsal in 1 8 56 set less store on a loud ovation than he

,

did on some generous and assurin g words spoken to him

by a few individ u als one at le a s t of whom mi g ht reasonably
,

have expected the conductorship for himself As a result . ,

he went home able to tell his wife that doubts which he

had previously confided t o her were already dispelled N or .

did he lat er ever find occasion to speak in any but the

, ,

most g rateful terms of the orchestra s attitude towards him ’

.

The Socie t y s approval a n d the continuance of that

’

approval were shown in a direct way The M embers

, .

reserved to themselves for some little time the ri ght of

expressin g their opinion and for four years he successfully
,

stood the tes t of an election at their general meeting H e .

had set at rest the fears formerly felt by some that no one
save Cos t a could surmount the difficulties of the situation ,

and the M embers as if acknowled g ing that the q u estion of the

,

conductorship was permanently settled now replaced in the ,

hands of the seven Directors the duty of nomination which , ,

prior to Bennet t s appointment had rested with them T he

’

, .

sufficiently prosperous condition of the Society at this tim e

was in more ways t han one due t o B ennett s presence N o ’
.

musician i n this country had more absolutely devoted him

self to the cause of classical music or had secured a larg er ,

following among those amateurs who belonged t o t he sam e

party in musical politics S uch a following might not have
.

crowded any large arena but it certainly made som e ,

accountable addition to the Philharmonic audience H i s .

past and present pupils were always well represente d

wherever he appeared i n public and the S ociety s concert ,
’

room during his r eg i me presented one feature of exceptional

interest from an educa t ional point of view M any benche s .
29 6 Th e P hil h a r m on ic Or c h es t r a [C H

were reserved for the long rows of young girls who were
brought there to supplemen t t he ins t ru ction which he gave
them at their schools .

A t t he time of his appointment in 1 8 5 6 the Society , ,

bein g in straitened circumstances had reduced the n u mber ,

of concerts given each year from eigh t to six t h u s es ,

caping a pec u niary loss which invariably attended the t wo

concerts g iven before the commencement of t he London
season This retrenchment had not been made wi t hout
.

some sacrifice o f pride nor without foreseeing that i t would

,

open the wa y for hostile comments on the Society s decl ine ’

.

A few successfu l years now made it possible to remove t his

outstanding reproach and at the end of 1 8 6 0 when Bennett
, ,

had conduc t ed for five seasons i t was resol v ed t o announce,

the fu ll number of concerts for the year 1 8 6 1 H e under .

lined the news i n a le t ter writ t en to one of his children i n

N ovember : We are t o have E ight P h i l ha r mon i c Con cer t s
‘

nex t year so my prospec t s are busy what with Leeds and

, ,

other things Li t tle time however was allowed for exult

.
’

, ,

in g over this happy restoration S erious trouble was at .

hand ; t h e well -being of the Philharmonic was not desired

by e v erybod y ; and the mon t h of December revealed a
transaction which s t irred up grave suspicions The Society s .
’

concerts were given on M onday evenings Abou t t wo .

thirds of the orchestra for t y t wo o u t of a total of sixty -six

,
-
,

also played at the Royal I t alian Opera When the D irectors .

sent o u t the u sual letters to en ga g e t heir orchestra for 1 8 6 1 ,

these forty t wo play ers replied that the y were unable to

-

accept because the y had found i n their Opera engagements

,
-

a new clause which bound them t o a t tend at t he theatre if

, ,

required on an addi t ional night viz M onday

, N ow of , . .
,

course it would hav e been absurd to expect a great i n s t i t u

,

tion like the Royal I talian Opera wi t h such enormous ,

stakes at risk to forego out of consideration for others or

, ,

from sentimental regard to tradi t ion any real chance of ,

promotin g its own interes t s B ut M onday had never been

.

an Opera night and i t was not believed in H anover Square

,

that the M anagers had any bon d fid e in t ention of making i t

one whereas the use of t he band on t hat evening had lon g
,

been regarded as a prescriptive right of the Philharmonic .

T he Directors and B ennett wi t h them felt convinced that

, ,
29 8 Th e P hil h a r m on ic O rc h es t r a [ en .

would no doubt tell i n favour of rival Societies The N ew

,
.

Philharmonic and The M usical Society of London who ,

g ave their concerts later in the week would still have at ,

their command the old ha n d with its un rivalled prestige .

B ut the interference with their night by those who as they ,

bel ieved did not want it for themselves was the main
, ,

g rievance of the Philharmonic authori t ies and to alter it ,

would be an admission of defeat The Directors therefore .

, ,

decided to keep their cherished M onday to engage a new ,

band and to make themselves once for all i ndependent of

, , ,

Covent Garden .

The difficulty of supplying the places of those players

who much against their will were obli g ed to submit to the
, ,

new conditions laid down at the Opera was not insuperable ,

.

A t a no ve r y remote time it would have been said that ,

there was only one available orchestra in London I n the .

days when Benne t t gave concerts for which he wished to

employ a band he like others only knew of one place to
, , ,

find it I ts headquarters durin g the season were at the

.

Opera H o use and its enga g ement occasioned trouble and

-
,

uncertainty which some concert -g ivers would doubtless

,

have spared themselves if there had be en any alternat ive .

The exi g encies of Opera-rehearsals the doubt as to the ,

time they would last gave the players little freedom to ,

promise their services for the aft ernoon C osta s favour .

’

could alone make the fulfilment of such promise a certain t y .

H e did not readily extend that favour to concerts conducted

by others than himself though he had the power to stretch ,

a point when he had the wish I t has already been seen .

how a concert of Bennet t s which M endelssohn conducted ’

i n 1 8 4 4 was nearly wrecked by the late arrival of the band

, .

O n the o t her hand Will iam Dorrell would often relate ho w

,

he had called upon C osta in 1 8 4 2 with the obj ect of pre

ferring two requests H e was about to g ive a M ornin g .

concert H e had invite d his friend Bennett to conduct it

.

but in doing this he had left the beaten track ; for though
,

Bennett had just appeared as one of the Philharmonic

conductors he was youn g according to the notion of the
, ,

time for such a position and the conductin g of orchestral

, ,

concerts had so far been a privile ge of seniors Dorrell .

now asked Costa whether he would permit him t o en gage

xx 1] A Mon opoly 299

the band The situation was awkward ; for why to begi n

.
,

with sho u ld Cos t a go out of his way to accept for his band
,

an invitation from which he was himself excluded ? The

refusal Dorrell met with was so prompt and decisive that ,

he was quite disconcerted and he could not venture for ,

some little time to put his second question At length he .

told Costa that he was wishing to secure the services of his

brother Raphael Costa as a singer at the concert N ow
, ,
.

Costa bein g very fond of his younger brother and desirous

, ,

of his advancement did not conceal the pleasure this ,

proposal g ave him for his face at once relaxed from its,

previous sternness H e then chatted on very pleasan t ly

.

with his visitor and as the latter was leaving the room
,

without having mus t ered up courag e to revert to the chief

obj ect of his visit Costa held his hand sayin g : Good -bye
, ,
‘
,

M r Dorrell —a n d — I will see that you have the orchestra .

’

This story is not told as ag ainst Costa On the contrary .

,

it is a pleasure to present him in the character of a good

brother I t was told by Dorrell simply as an illustration of
.

the difficulty in obtainin g the on e band .

The time however came when this single orchestra

, ,

could no longer supply every need Then it was suddenly .

discovered that London or London with a little help from ,

the Continent was equal to the emergency The secession

, .

of great sin g ers from H er M ajes t y s Theatre i n 1 8 4 7 and ’

the establishment of a rival Opera at C ovent Garden for ,

which Cos t a and the hitherto sole orchestra were secured ,

necessitated the formation of a new band for the old H ouse .

This second force on its appearance caused considerable

, ,

surprise ; first by the mere fact of its existence and

, , ,

secondly by the e fficiency which under Balfe s direction it

, ,
’

soon displayed J u lli e n s monster concerts gave i n their

.
’

turn further proof of the increasin g number of clever

,

executants native a n d foreign who were residing i n

, ,

London N evertheless as the years went on nothin g

.
, ,

occurred outside the confines of the theatrical world to

disturb the general impression that the famous old orchestra
stood by itself I t continued to be seen and heard at all
.

the sacred and secular performances of prime importance

throu g hout the country A s far as regarded the class of .

music presented at the Philharmonic it was the only ,

3 0 0 Th e P hil h a r mon ic O r c h es t r a [c n .

organization which possessed through lon g experience the , ,

already acq u ired knowled g e so indispensable 1n the days of

long concerts and comparat ively short rehearsals Thus .
,

when the Society was ber eft of its assis t ance any new ,

combination ho wever abundan t the materials from which

,

its elements mi g ht be selected must for the special purpose , ,

intended be an entirely untried one The Direc t ors t ook

, .

infinite pains in filling the vacancies and in this business ,

they certainly allowed Bennet t who was full of anxiet y as ,

to the result to take an active part I t was afterwards

,
.

assumed on a rou g h estimate t hat the new orchestra at

, ,

the Philharmonic was identical with tha t of H er M ajes t y s ’

Theatre b u t the Direc t ors were not satisfied to follow so

,

simple a course They took a wide survey of possibilities

. .

E ven t wo Opera -H ouses no longer accounted for all the good

stringed-instrument players in London A t hree -months .
’

engagement at the theatre with protracted rehearsals and ,

very late hours dis t urbed any plan for continuous work
,

throu ghout the year i n other direc t io ns Some preferred .

to emancipate themselves and to follow the regular life of

,

a professor of music teachin g the pianoforte playing the

, ,

organ and of course g ivin g lessons to or leading quartets

, ,

for the few amateur stringed instrument players of the da y

,
-
.

These men were open to concert engagements and could -

,

n o t be left out of coun t i n the formation of an orchestra .

Then agai n there were a few whose prominence as soloists

, ,

had absolved them from orchestral -playing but who it was , ,

tho u gh t might be willing to make an exception i n favour

,

of the Philharmonic I f the D irec t ors could have had free

.

choice of the talent to be found at H er M aj esty s Theatre ’

and elsewhere their pa t h would have been a smooth one ;

,

but there 13 such a thing as a Table of Precedence m an

orchestra and they accordingly found themselves ba u lked
,

a t every turn by conflicting claims Of the former orchestra .

,

twenty -four members remained representin g the contingent ,

which had always been drawn from H er M aj esty s private ’

band These naturally looked for promot i on under a fresh

.

arrangement The negotiations spread over many weeks

.
,

and demanded delicate diplomacy I t 13 well remembered .

how much time was spent over findin g the best possible
successors to Lucas and H owell who as leaders of the , ,
3 0 2 Th e P hil h a r m on ic Or c h es t r a [ cn . xx1

This new band worked with Bennett most loyally for

six years Critics other than H ogarth did not allow
.
, ,

t ha t i t was equal to the old one Davison who wa s never

.
,

quite i n accord with the Philharmonic and who did n o t g o

,

far ou t of his way in order t o write anythin g in its favour ,

sometimes disappointed Bennett very much by little thin g s

he wro t e or did not write about the orchestra On one .

occasion however he paid the conduc t or a pretty and well

, ,

appreciated compliment by saying : I can t make out ‘

’

Bennett why it is that though t he other Societies have the

, ,

best band the Symphonies always g o best a t the Phi lha r

,

monic .
’
 C H A PT E R XXI I .

THE I NT ER N A T I ON A L EX H I B I T I O N OF 18 62 .

1 8 6 1 - 18 6 2

B E N N ETT was still engaged on the Chorale Book when ,

certain forthcomi n g events demanded his services as a

composer B y a stran g e coi ncidence a Chorale of his own
.
,

was the first thing asked for .

I NTERNATI O NAL E X HI B ITI O N , 18 6 2 .

j u ly 1 7 t h, 1 8 6 1.

I am directed by H er M aj esty s Commissioners for ’

the E xhibition of 1 8 6 2 to inform you that at the opening of,

the Exhibition on the I s t of M ay it is their wish to have

,

four new musical compositions each by a different composer

, ,

representing France Germany I t aly and E ngland

, , .

H er M aj esty s Commissioners havin g re g ard to the

’

position which your name occupies in connection with the

music of this country desire me to enquire whether you
,

would kindly represent her on this occasion .

T he Commissioners do not wish to have the copyright

of the M usic but only the permission to have i t performed
,

on the occasion of the O pening ; and t hey are of course pre

pared to pay the expenses of copying the music .

T he Class of M usic contemplated is

( )
I An Anthem of,about the same len g th as H andel s ’

Coronation Anthem .

A Chorale— for voices only .

A Triumphal M arch .

A M arch for Wind I nstru ments only .

3 0 4 Th e I n t er n a t ion a l E x hi b it ion of 1 8 62 [c u

The Comm issioners would ask y o u to undertake the

composition of the A ir for t he Chorale t he words of which ,

they hope will be fu rnished by the Poet Laureate All .

means of adequate execution will be provided to the best

of their resources ; and they will feel obliged by an early
answer t o this le t ter .

The Commissioners in working o u t this part of their

plans have applied to M ons M eyerbeer t o represent .

Germany M ons Auber to represen t France and S ignor

, . ,

Verdi to represent I taly .

I have the honour to be ,

Sir ,

Your obedien t servant ,

F R S AN DF O R D (S ec r et a ry )
. . .

W Sterndale Bennett Esq

.
, .

There was an air of novelty about this scheme At .

a g rand international festival music was to be introduced , ,

not as a mere handmaid to ceremon y but for its own sake , ,

and wi t h a prominen t place assigned t o it beside other arts

which i t was an obj ect of the Exhibition to display H ere .

migh t be imagined a sign that respec t for music was i n c r ea s

ing in this coun t ry among those who were not necessarily
concerned in c u ltivating it themselves The plan was far .

in advance of anything t hat had been thou g ht of at the time

of the 1 8 5 1 Exhibition and i t g ave great satisfaction to all
,

those who had the in t erests of music at heart B ennett was .

eviden t ly pleased t o receive the invitation tho u g h he felt ,

the responsibili t y of the task I thought Balfe would be .

‘

asked he quietly said ; and aft er tha t he scarcely spoke

,
’

, ,

about the subj ec t except as will be seen in reference t o

, , ,

Costa who had been appoin t ed to conduc t t he music

, .

When la t er on any pleasure he fel t was spoil t by attendant

, ,

circumstances and when a universal excitement was aroused

,

on his behalf he showed remarkable restraint and allowed

, ,

few words t o escape his lips .

I n N ovember 1 8 6 1 Tennyson sent him a message t o

, ,

the effect that he had written some t hing tha t he fel t ,

nervous abo u t it and would like to t alk i t over with him

, .
3 0 6 Th e I n t er n a t ion a l E x hi b it ion of 1 8 62 [c u

( none of my ins t i g ating ) t ha t Lord Granville showed them

to H M and S he wished them to be included
. . .

P ray come if you can you start by 1 1 o clock train from ,

’

Waterloo and take your ticket for Lymin g ton — then in half
a n hour the boat crosses
- .

Yours always ,

A T E N NYS O N . .

The additional lines t he first of which is now so well ,

known throu g h its constant quotation i n references to the

Prince Consort were : ,

0 il t F t h r of
‘
Ki g t b
gold ho r of j bil
s en a e ou r n s o e,
M d i t hi
’
s
F or t hi for ll w w p t h k t Th
o u rn n en u u e e,
s, a , e ee o ur an s o ee

together with another new line

T h world omp lli g pl
‘
e w T hi c e n an as ne
’

wi t h which t o open the next section of the poem .

The first messag e from Ten nyson which had taken ,

B ennett to the Temple and the above letter which resulted , ,

i n a short visit to Fa rri n g fo rd S how the poet anxious to ,

confer with the musician ; but for what purpose beyond ,

t hat of conveying to him his own emphasis of the words by

recitin g them in his presence is not clear B ennet t men , .

t i o n e d in one of his letters to the Commissioners that there

were still many thin g s on which he must consult M r
Tennyson before parting with the M S of his m usic . .

Tennyson perhaps invited him to sugg est difficulties which

, ,

particular words might present Bennett did make some .

suggestions of that kind because he afterwards said that ,

he had found Tennyson very inflexible about changes .

O ne change a t least was made I n the original M S which . .

,

lies i n B enne t t s album t he Ode opens with the line U p

’

, ,

lift a hundred voices full and sweet and it was at Bennett s ,

’ ’

request that Tennyson substit u ted the word thousand for ’

‘
hundred Certai nly his association at this time with the
.
’

Poet Laureate ending as it did with a charming letter

, , ,

from M rs Tennyson when the music was p u blished r e ,

mained as one of his few pleasing recollections of this

E xhibition In the following year 1 8 6 3 when Tenn y son
.
, ,

wrote his Ode of Welcome t o the Princess Alexandra (now

xx n ] Cos t a s hows I n t er es t 3 0 7

H er M ajesty) Bennett hoped to renew such a connection

, .

H e at once asked and obtained the poet s permission to set ’

the Ode to music U nfort u nately however another com

.
, ,

poser withou t wai t ing to obtain t he same permission hastily

, ,

set the words in the form of a popular song and t his u pset ,

Bennett s proj ect

’
.

I n the third week of J anuary 1 8 6 2 the composer had , ,

the complete poem for t he E xhibition in his hands and it ,

was about this t ime t hat he was overheard to strike up on

the pianofor t e with that decision and finished effect which
,

made such a deligh t ful impression on those privileged to hear

his music for the first t ime the unaccompanied Chorale with
,

which the Ode was to open M rs Bennett who was one of .

,

the li steners outside his room and who failed at the moment
,

to recognize the evident connection between his s t rains and

the words of the Ode would not believe that he had made
,

so early a s t art with the work ; but this was so and as it ,

still wanted fifteen weeks to the first of M ay no anxiety ,

was felt at home about his being ready i n time Five weeks .

later however a needless and irritatin g pressure was put

, ,

upon him to prod u ce his score This was quite unfair .

,

because it mus t have been very well known that the poet
had taken his full S hare of the period available for the j oint
work .

B ennett had assumed that the time had now come for
bygones to be bygones between Costa and himself H e .

took for granted and expressed himself pleased to think

, ,

that Costa was goin g to conduct his work The letters .

which next arrived did nothing to disturb that impression .

They could only tend to confirm it Thus the S ecretary to .

,

the Commissioners wrote on February 2 0 :

Costa called here to -day and was anxious to know
whether I had received your contribution to the musical
par t of the opening Ceremony I told him that I was .

expecting to hear from you very s oon The Secretary .

’

wrote again on M arch 3

,
I have j ust had Costa here
— ‘
,

very uneas y as to the M usic for the openin g When may .

I hope to have your part of the work Bennett replied on

M arch 5 — You need not be uneasy with respec t to my
‘

contribu t ion which I shall soon have the pleasure to hand

,

over to you You are perhaps aware that the Ode is on

.

20 — 2
30 8 Th e I n t ern a t ion a l E x hi b it ion of 18 62 [c m

a much larger s cale than was first su ggested to me as to be

illustrated by a Chorale and the composition has give n me ,

much thought— added to which M r Tennyson has si nce the

death of the P rince Consort put i n some extra lines in t he
middle of his work which much as I admire them has , ,

caused a reconstruction of much of the music I will not .

be later than ten days or a fortnight and I should be glad ,

to wait upon M r Costa in the m eantime if he wishes to see ,

me— bein g very glad that he has undertaken the care of my

humble work .
’

The last paragraph i n this let t er appears to have caused

a little delay The Commissioners now discovered perhaps
.
,

throu g h forwarding B ennett s message to Costa that there ’

was a flaw i n their preliminary arran g ements B ennett .

heard nothing further for ten days Then the Secretary .

wrote When you are r ea dy as I hope you will be s oon , ,

will you kindly communicate with M r Bowley of the Sacred ,

H armonic Society 1n whose hands all the working arrange

,

ments of the musical part of the opening ceremony are

placed H e will be able to settle as to the rehearsals for
.

which you may wish the arran g ement bein g as I believe, ,

you are aware that you should conduct your own composi
,

t ron .
’

Bennet t replied
M a r ch 19 a, 18 6 2

EAR
.

MY D S IR ,

I have already learnt from M r Bowley the probable

arrangement for rehearsals &c and will take care to be , .
,

quite ready althou gh it is still necessary for me to consult

M r Tennyson upon several points before parting with
my M S .

Allow me to say that I have never had the idea that

I was expected to conduct my work at the openin g cere
monial this you will readily see from my letter of the ot h
ins t wherein I expressed my sa t isfaction that M r Costa
.

would take charg e of my work I also offered in that same .

letter to wait upon M r C osta and talk the work over with
him I t disappoints me then to find no reply to this
.

intended courtes y on my part I certainly S hould consider .

that my position should entitl e me to have direct communi

cation wi t h the chief D irector of the music and feel assured ,
3 10 Th e I n t er n a t ion a l E x hi b it ion of 18 62 [ cm

the openin g of the E xhibition nor do I feel it at all withi n ,

my province to name any ge n tleman to supply the place

of M r Costa in that which he declines to u ndertake Of .

course I cannot help feelin g disappointed that it should be

proposed to present my work i n a different manner to the
works of other C omposers invited to write for the occasion .

I remain Dear S ir , ,

Yours very faithfully ,

W I LL IA M S T ER N DA L E B E N N E TT .

F R Sandford E sq
. .
, .

A few days passed and then only three weeks remained

,

before the Opening ceremony Bennett s music was finished .

’

and he understood that it was bein g printed O n April 10 .

,

the Secretary wrote

am directed by H er M aj esty s Commissioners to say
‘
I
’

that they cannot take the responsibility of namin g a con

ductor for your music They must therefore request you to
.

name one as you refuse to conduct it yourself I t will

, .

otherwise be impossible for the music to be performed ,

M r Costa havin g as you are aware declined T he C om .

missioners are prepared to invite any one you name .

’

This letter caused some consternation in B ennett s ’

household H e himself showed no S ign of bein g disturbed

.

by it and he wrote t he followin g reply

,

Ap r i l 1 1 , 1 86 2

EAR
.

MY D S IR ,

I cannot on any consideration u ndertake to name

a conductor of my music in the place of M r Costa and as ,

your letter of yesterday leads me to infer what the decision

of H er M aj esty s C ommissioners will be in that case I have
’

only to say that I shall bow to their decision with the u t most
respect .

B elieve me M y dear S ir , ,

F a i t h fu lly yours ,

W I LL IA M ST ER N DALE B E N N E TT .
x x 11 ] Th e Od e i n j p dy
eo a r 3 11

Before the Commissioners thus threatened a withdrawal

of t he work it wo u ld appear that t heir musical advisers or
,

agents had already been scheming in that direction O n .

M arch 1 5 Benne t t had been asked to communicat e as soon

, ,

as his work was complete wi t h the Secretary of the Sacred

,

H armonic Society This was i n view of arrangin g

.

rehearsals and of sending t he vocal parts for preliminary

, ,

practice into the provinces whence 1 40 0 of the chorus

, ,

S ingers were to be drafted When Lamborn Cock Ben nett s ’

.
,

publisher towards the end of M arch was starti ng to engrave

, ,

the parts the Secretary of the Sacred H armonic Society

,

called upon him and urged that the said Society should be
entrusted with the engraving as they had at their command ,

resources which would ensure a maximum of speed Lam .

born Cock naturally liked to manage Bennett s affairs ’

himself H e therefore dem u rred but he was pressed to

.
,

gi ve way and at length though with much reluctance

, , ,

parted with the manuscript A fortnight passed Then . .

,

within t hree or four days of the music being actually

required the score was returned to Lamborn Cock without
, ,

explanati o n and without a si ngle note of it having been

,

stamped When a protest was made the Secretary of the

.
,

Sacred H armonic Society said t hat he had received i n s t r u c

tions not t o print the work as it was n o t goin g to be ,

performed I t then proved exceedin g ly di ffic u lt to get it

.

ready for rehearsals b u t this was done by Lamborn Cock s

,
’

strenuous exer t ions so tha t there S hould be no excuse for

,

its non -performance on the g round of its n o t being ready i n

t 1me .

When it became generally known that the Ode was i n

j eopardy the Press took the matter up with great vehe
,

mence A storm was brewing The Commissioners a t

. .
,

last had the thin g shown to them in a new li g h t and they

, ,

approached Bennett again The S ecretary wrote o n .

April 1 5
‘
I am desired by H M Commissioners to say i n . .
,

answer to your letter of the 1 2 th i nst th at though they are .

,

at a loss to understand why you will neither conduct you r

own work or name any person except M r C osta to act fo r
you they are so unwillin g that i t should not be performed
,
3 12 The I n t er n a t ion a l E x hi b it ion of 18 62 [ cu .

that they have decided on suggesting two names to you and

asking you to selec t one M Sainton and M r M ellon
—
. .
’

Bennett consistently declined to take part i n such

selection and the matter was finally settled by the C om
,

m issioners themselves appoin t ing a conductor T he .

Secretary wrote on April 2 3 — I have the pleasure by ‘

,

desire of H M Commissioners to forward you copy of

. .
,

a letter just recei v ed from M r Sainton whom they have ,

asked to conduct your Cantata .

’

F rom the rehearsal on April 2 9 at Exeter H all , ,

Bennett absented himself Feeling was running very high

.
,

and he disliked anything like a demonstration At this .

very rehearsal when Costa observed a few members of the

,

chorus l ea vin g the H all and called out i n a brusque tone

, ,

Turn those women back he wa s vigorously hissed by those

,
’

who habi t ually submitted to his rule without a murmur .

Davison came to Bennett s house the same evenin g ’

upbraided him for not being present to support Sai nton i n

a rather tryin g po sition and ob t ained from hi m a promise
,

of attendance at the final rehearsal 1n the Exhibi t ion Build

ing next mornin g Bennett accordingly went and any
.
,

soreness of feeling that remained was g rea t ly soothed by the

marked courtesy which Lord Granville the President of the ,

Commissioners showed him on t he occasion H is recep

, .

tion by the performers who numbered 2 40 0 was so, ,

ex t raordinary that M eyerbeer who must have been well

, ,

versed in such proceedings was quite astonished and turned

,

to Davison for an explanation The i ncident was thus .

report ed i n The Ti mes After the Ode had been g one

through once a general cry for Bennett was raised and
,
”
,

the Professor at length making his appearance was led into

,

the orchestra by M Sainton The gree t ing he received

. .

was such as he will possibly never forget We remember .

nothing more hearty nothin g more S pontaneous There

, .

was one universal burst of cheering accompanied by wavin g ,

o f hats and handkerchi e fs the t housa nd ladies of the chorus

,

bein g conspicuous in their manifestations of enthusiasm .

About t he extraordinary popularity of Professor Bennett if ,

there had ever be en a doubt this would have dispelled it , .

’

N ext day the E xhibition opened T he Prince C onsort s .

’
3 14 Th e I n t er n a t ion a l E x hi b it io n f
o 1 8 62 [ c ri .

I nauguration Costa sometimes does n o t even know how to

.

conduct himself B esides he perhaps wanted to S how by

.
,

making the exception that he was not an omn ibu s conductor,

-i n spite of what might have been inferred from his ,

manners touching this matter .

’

The D a i ly Tel eg r ap h chose the circums t ances as the

subj ect of a leading article this probably bein g an earl y if ,

not the firs t ins t ance of a musical matter finding such place
in an E n glish newspaper After referrin g to t he position .

which Costa enj oyed in this country and the genero u s treat
ment that he had always met with at the hands of England
and the E nglish people the wri t er of t he article added ,
1

‘
Suddenly he [ Costa] t urns round upon us and won t ’

play Professor Bennett s music or wave the bé ton to a note ’

of his cantata F e ted and feasted for years and years on

.

E n glish soil he has interposed his contemptible private

,

bickerin g s on this solemn occasion The spoiled child of .

the easy E nglish public he slaps its sensibili t ies in the face ,

upon this exi g ency The man whom we have made some
.

thin g from nothin g famous from obscure selects the , ,

moment when we S how him our greatest favour to S how us ,

his g reatest arrogance M C osta it is ill done of you ! it is . .

,

un g ratefully done ! it is done unlike an artis t and the in t er

preter of art ! I t is enough to cure us of the mania for
foreign music so profitable to you and to your fellows I t .

is almost enou g h thou g h the idea will be a s horrible to you

,

as a discord to make us ask henceforward whether E n gland

,

can do without M Costa since M Costa can so easily .

, .

affront E ngland
This was hard -hitting but it was no more than an ,

expression of the g eneral feeling at the tim e The day after .

the article appeared Costa wrote a letter to the Commis,

s i o n e r s takin g for his text the first word suddenly of the ’

, ,

passage quoted above H e was j ustified according to the .

strict letter of the law in throwin g the responsibility of what

had happened on those who had engag ed him H owever .

discreditable the public might consider the condition that he

had made with re gard to their compatriot s music after all ’

, ,

the discredit really rested with those who had accepted that
condition The Commissioners however now made their
.
, ,

1
Pr m d t t h t i me t b C mpb ll (a ft rw rd Sir C mpb ll ) Cl rk
es u e , a e , o e a e e a s a e a e
.
x x 11] Cos t a
’
s p
E x l a n a t ion 3 15

pos i tion far worse by introducing Bennett i nto their reply to

Costa thereby trying again as they had all alon g tried to
, , ,

make him the scapegoat for their own mistakes Costa .

published his correspondence wit h them i n the news

papers :
59 E CCL E S T O N S Q UARE Ap i l 6 86 , r 2 , 1 2.

D EAR S I R — M y attention has been called to several

S tatements in the public newspapers reflecting u on me as
p ,

to the performance of D r B ennett 5 music at the openin g of ’

the E xhibition ; and as it appears to be the obj ect of the

writers to induce the belief that I have throu g h caprice or
some other unworthy motive created embarrassment by ,

‘
s uddenly declinin g to conduct D r B ennett s composition
’ ’

and virtually violated an engag ement previously made

between me and H er M aj esty s C ommissioners I must ’

request that you will favour me by recalling to the r ec ollec

tion of the Commissioners that at the very outset when , ,

I was first consulted on the subj ect of the musical arrange

ments early In J uly last I made it a distinct condition of
, ,

my serv i ces being available that I should not be expected to

,

conduct any work of D r B ennett if he should be invited to ,

furnish one for performance on the occasion of the opening ,

as I must for reasons which were explained to the Com

,

missioners positively decline with their complete assent t o

, , ,

do 5 0 .

U nder these circumstances I shall esteem it as a favour ,

i f the Commissioners will relieve me from the imputation

now cast upon me by admittin g the facts to be as I have
,

stated abov e — Believe me dear S ir &c &c , , .

, .

M C O S TA . .

F R Sandford E sq &c &c

. .
, .
, .
, .

E X HI B ITI
N BUI LD IN GS Ap i l 8 8 6 O , r 2 , 1 2 .

D EAR S I R — In reply to your letter of Saturday H er ,

M aj es t y s Commissioners desire me to express their re g ret

’

that you should have experienced any annoyance from the

unfounded reports to which you refer and to state that ,

your letter g ives a perfectly correct account of the condition

which you laid down with respect to any work by D r
B ennett at the openin g of the E xhibition when you kindly ,
3 16 Th e I n t er n a t ion a l E x hi b it ion of 18 62 [ cu

undertook to direct the musical arran gements for that

occasion .

I am to add that D r Benne t t when applied to by H er ,

M aj esty s Commissioners declined either to conduct his own

’

chorale or to name any one whom he would wish to do so

, ,

or finally to state whether he would prefer that his work

should be entrusted to M r Alfred M ellon or to M S ainton .
,

when t he Commissioners offered to invite ei t her of these

gentlemen to fill his place in the orchestra .

U nder t hese circumstances the Commissioners knowin g , ,

the confidence that you place in M r Sainton and the posi ,

tion which he fills in your staff invited him to conduct Dr ,

Bennett s work ; and they have much satisfaction i n think

’

in g that it is now i n the hands of one so well qualified to do

u s t 1c e to I t s mer 1ts
j .

I am dear Sir &c &c , , .

, .
,

F R S AN DFO RD . . .

M ichael Costa E s q &c &c , , .

, .

The D a i ly N ews
thus commented on the above letters
1“ 1“
M r Costa certainly shows that there has been no
ambi gui t y or vacillation on his part As early as last J uly .

he announced his intention not to conduct any music of D r

Bennett s and he has consisten t ly adhered to it This as
’

, .
,

we read his letter is all the meri t he claims

, .

M r Sandford on behalf of t he Commissioners accepts

, ,

and confirms M r Costa s representations and adds an ’

explanation which does not seem to be called for by any

thing i n M r C osta s note but is apparently put in for the
’

benefi t of the Commissioners t hemselves The C ommis .

s i o n ers are anxious to make it known that having made

a secret arran g ement to the prejudice of D r Bennett they ,

subsequently t ried to make him a party to the arrangement .

I t cannot we think surprise any one that Dr Bennett

, ,

declined their invitation to name a conductor and left the

respo nsibility on the ri g ht shoulders .
’

When the C ommissioners letter to C osta appeared in ’

print on April 2 9 Bennett immediately went off to see thei r

,

S ecretary H e t oo had now some questions to ask A few

.
, , .

days later he was request ed to send his questions in wri t in g

, .

This he did addin g — I put these questions in a formal

,
‘
 C H A PT E R XX I I I .

A YE AR R A S T I N G I M P O RT S
O F C O NT .

I N ST A LLA T I ON OF T H E C HA N C E LLO R AT C A M BR I D GE .

J UB I LEE O F T H E P HI L HA R M O N I C S OC I ET Y .

D O M E S T I C BERE A V E M E N T .

THE year 1 8 6 2 was very interestin g to those who desired

Bennett s advance towards a still wider recognition U p to
’
.

t his time — h
e was in his 4 7 t h year— he had only received

one commission to write music for an important public

occasion viz for the Leeds Festival i n 1 8 58 I t was con
, . .

t ra ry to his nature to canvass for opportunities of publicity

as a composer and he had not been drawn o u t by the
,

invita t ion of others t o prepare works wanted a t fixed times

, .

B u t the calls which now came to him and the readiness ,

with which he responded to them led his friends to hope ,

tha t such calls migh t for the future reach him more fre
quentl y so that the act of composition might be less at his
,

own discre t ion than i n the pas t T his hope however was .
, ,

not realized H e only received in la t er years one other such

.

invitation Therefore the time now passing remai ned in

.
,

this respect exceptional I t had another feature which

,
.
,

marks it as a serious period of his life The season of 1 8 6 2 .

provided him wi t h a very closely knit series of engagements -

.

From M arch 3 the date of the first Philharmonic rehearsal

, ,

until the beginning Of Au gust his time was measured by ,

min u tes rather t han by hours This was a dispensa t ion by

.

which his mind was relieved from t he full press u re of a more

painful burden A cloud of sorrow was gatherin g above his
.

hearth and as he worked he was all t he while conscious that

, ,
CH . xx 111] W a rh a t H ig h P r es s u r e 3 19

the year before its close must prove the saddest he had
, ,

known .

While finishing his music for the E xhibition he was ,

constantly superi ntending rehearsals of the S t M atthew

‘
Passion for a performance on M ay 2 4 That perform
’
.

ance as compared with those previously given gained much

, ,

t hrough the masterful rendering of the Tenor part by S ims

Reeves The sin g er found here an opport u ni t y of displaying
.

his g enius and his hi g hly cultivated musicia n ship to an extent

which surprised many who thou g ht themselves already well
acquainted with his powers I n view of the same occasion .
,

Bennett saw throu g h the press and wrote a Preface for his ,

E nglish edition of Bach s work Proofs of The Chorale

’ ‘
.
‘

Book for E n g land were at the same time passing to and

’

fro between M r Otto Goldschmidt and himself H e con .

ducted the eight ordinar y concerts at the Philharmonic ,

t h an extra one given to celebrate the Society s J ubilee

’
.

H e also conducted t he annual performance for t he benefit

of the Royal Society of M usicians a concer t for the Society ,

of Female M usicians and t he Grand M atinée given by ,

:

M rs Anderson on her retirement H is old pupils valued .

his assistance at their concerts and he liked to g ive it ; so ,

this year he conducted his E xhibition Ode for W G Cusins . .

,

and played with J oachim Bach s Sonata in E maj or for

, ,
’

H arold Thomas I n the course of the same season

.
,

business called him to Cambridge on nine days The .

musical arrangements for t he I nstallation of a new Chan

c e ll o r of the U niversity which included a performance in
,

the Senate H ouse and a concert in t he Guildhall were ,

entirely i n his hands and i t is well -remembered that t he

,

engag ement of eminent sin g ers and of an efficient orchestra

for two days in Cambrid g e during the heigh t of the ,

London season gave him much personal trouble and

, ,

i nvolved late visi t s to t he Opera H ouse aft er his day s ’

work was done As a j udge of musical instru ments a t the

.

E xhibition he attended many meetings H e gave much .

considera t ion to composi t io n An Ode for the I nstallation .

a t Cambridge followed closely upon that which he wrote for

the E xhibition The J u bilee of the Philharmonic Society

.

claimed another work from his pen Thoug h with all this .

F or l t r pro di g of B h So i t y N o t A pp di A
1
a e c ee n s ac c e , s ee e, en x .
3 2 0 Th e Yea r 18 62 c on t n u e i d [c u

his usual time table was no lit t le disturbed he managed i n , ,

t h e t wenty weeks between the da t es named above to teach ,

the pianofor t e for exactly 6 0 0 hours The reader 15 asked .

to excuse the de t ails They may help to upset a tradition ,

.

the resul t of false report that Sterndale B ennet t was s u ch

,
‘

a lazy man .
’

The Duke of Devonshire was elected to succeed the

Prince C onsort as Chancellor of t he U niversity of Cam
bridge . T he preparations for his I ns t alla t ion brough t
B enne t t in t o a close and deligh t ful association with Charles
K ingsley whose acquaintance he had first made In 1 8 4 8 at
,

Queen s C ollege H arley Stree t and whom S ince 1 8 56 he

’

, , , ,

had occasionall y met in Cambridge I t was now B ennett s .

’

prov i nce to set music to the Ode which Professor K ingsley ,

at the request of the U niversity had under t aken t o write ,

for the ceremony of I nstallation The obligation of furnish .

ing music for poetr y which a composer does not choose

himself and which he must accept without demur is no
, ,

ligh t one That Bennett on the one or two occasions

. ,

when he had to face this duty S hould feel some anxiety is ,

not t o be wondered at But it might cause surprise and it.

,

came as a surprise to himself t ha t a distinguished poet of ,

that t ime should look rou nd the question and t ry to consider ,

it from t he musician s point of view as well as from his own

’

Extrac t s from Charles K ingsley s letters to B ennett will ’

S how his careful considera t ion for the composer his u m ,

conventional idea that the work S hould as far as prac t icable , ,

be t he work of two minds acting conj oin t ly and concurrently ,

and his generous wish to bend his thoughts in any direction

sugges t ed by his fellow -worker Bennett was soon relieved .

of any preliminary fear as to t he form or charac t er which

t he Ode mi g ht t ake H e was not asked to find pompous
.

S trains .Charles K ingsley shrank from what he called t he

"
‘
hi g h felu t i n panegyrics of earlier Odes Poetry and .

M usic had no need to remind the members of the U ni

versi t y on the day t hey welcomed their C hancellor of the
, ,

almost unparalleled Academic distinctions which he as ,

M r Cavendish had gained at Cambridge Bennett found

, .

the ideas t h e metres and the words of his colleag u e quite

, ,

1
R gie us Prof or of M od r H i t ory
es s e n s .

2
T hi s ex pr io
ess i t fir t i t d t
n , on s s n ro u c 1on , wa s va n ou s l y s p lt
e .
3 2 2 Th e Yea r 18 62 i
c on t n ue d [c m

to London a day or two later much refreshed by the

excursion When trying to relate to his family the i n
.

c id e n t s of a walk through the villag e the look of wonder ,

on his face told more clearly than words how deeply he ,

had been impressed while observin g the cordial relations

that existed and while listenin g to the i nterestin g con
,

v ers a t i o n s that passed between the parishioners of E versley

,

and their Rector H e probably promised to send on his

.
,

return home some su ggestions for the Ode , .

O n M ay 1 4 Charles K ingsley wro t e , Are you still

alive ? H ave you had a fit after the brilliant success of
your M ay -day Ode ; or has Costa pistolled you in despair
of harming you by any less direct means ? I f not dont you ,

think you can s u b v en i re misero and tell me what I am to ,

do for you about the Ode ? Did you receive that first
scene and the letter I sent with it ? Pray give me the
,

order for so many yards of bad verse and you shall have ,

t hem : but g ive it soon for I am goin g fishin g and

i“ if i‘
, ,

can easily finish the Ode when the trout wont rise .
’

Bennett did make at leas t one suggestion for his own

sake Water-music wa s a favourite theme with him and
.
,

he asked if the river mi g ht be introduced on the scene .

Charles K in g sley adopted this idea extended it by carryin g ,

on the river to the sea and thereby wrote one of the most ,

striking sections of the Ode O n M ay 1 6 he wrote to .

B enne t t — Your welcome letter passed mine on the road

‘
,

and here i s the first result .

Will this make a water-son g ? I have put it into

‘

quatrains ; and made it end with the words with which it

be gan to make it complete I f it wont send it back and
, .
,

I ll do something else Of course leave out the 4 last

’
.

lines of 3 or anything else you like ; for— Any t hing for

,
“

a quiet life is my motto at this momen t I am writin g a

”
.

fairy tale your ode a sermon seein g aft er the parish and
, , ,

goin g a fishin g all a t o n c e— s o where the quiet life is to

'

come I dont quite see .

’

T he I nstallation was fixed for J une 1 0 O n M ay 2 6 .

,

B ennett left his pupils went to B righton and returned , ,

home on the 3 o t h wi t h the music written for the opening

,

C horus O n the same day he received the last instalment

.
xx m ] A I n s t a ll a t ion Od e
n 3 23

of the words C harles K ingsley wrote

. I may alter the —‘

last six lines but not in met r e only i n words So that .

your music will do for it quite as well The last six lines .
’

referred to ran thus l

w fi E
—Lfi
fi / a
g w m M
The composer however could not as yet echo the poet s
, ,
’

j oyous tone I n the next week (J une 1

. when the
Philharmonic concert on M onday evening was over B enne t t ,

gave nearly all his time to composition The Ode com .

prised five Choral numbers two Airs and four long , ,

Recitatives H e voluntarily i nterpolated an orchestral

.

movement O n the mornin g of M onday June 9 he went

.
, ,

up to Cambridge as the guest of the M aster of S t J ohn s ’

.

O n arrivin g at the M aster s Lod g e he at once retired to ’

his room wrote a T enor Song— a lament for the Prince

,
“

Consor t — and engaged a copy i st to prepare the band parts .

T he Ode was t hen complete and ready for the rehearsal ,

i n the afternoon I n t he evening he conducted a g rand

.

concert in the Guild H all with the London orchestra and

the singers enga g ed for the I nstallation .

N ext mornin g when he appeared in the Senate H ouse

i n his fig u red -silk robes and took his place in t he gallery to
,

conduct the orchestra he received an embarrassin g ovation

,
.

T he u nderg rad u ates were quite i n t heir element when

expressing their opinion on the Costa and Bennett con
t r o v e rs y
. They hailed their Professor of M usic with an
uproar of S houting and applause of so lon g a duration that ,

Bennett who hated being conspicuous became very dis

, ,
~

T hi f
1
imil r d s th iz of t h h dwri t i g
acs e e u c es e s e e an n .

2 1— 2
3 4
2 Th e Yea r 18 62 c on t n ue i d [ CH .

concerted M dlle T i t i e n s who sat by his side observin g

.
, ,

this but not unders t anding U niversity etiquette asked him

, ,

why he did not t u rn round and bow and have done wi t h

‘

it At len g th Groans for Costa having been called for

.
’ ‘ ’

and given with keen relish the Chancellor s procession ,

’

en t ered to the strains of the M arch from Athalie The ‘

.
’

m u sic to the Ode was full of melody and B ennett was ,

warmly congratulated by the Cambridge connoisseurs .

The poet fully S hared the hono u rs though to the great , ,

disappointment of all he modes t ly absented himself , .

Bennett wrote to him wi t hou t delay t o tell him of the

‘
Three rin g ing cheers for Professor K ingsley .
’

Bennett in t ended to publish the music H e reserved a .

n u mbered place for it in the catalogue of his compositions ,

and he corresponded for some little time wi t h Charles

K ingsley on the subj ect A M inuet sugg ested by the lines .
,

Al m M t r " ‘
a a e
a 1“

n e a r e r- ar e

ik t t ly m t ro g y L e s a e a n a

Gl dly l d t h d dow a ea s e an ce a n,
’

was issued as a pianoforte Duet and a Part -Song for male ,

voices H eal t h to courag e firm and high reached the

,
‘
,
’

stage of being engraved ; but he took no furt her steps .

The M in u et with a Trio added to it was later placed in

, ,

his Symphony in G minor .

A few days after his return from Cambridge his wife had ,

an alarming attack of illness A physician had been con .

s u l t e d early in the year and had then said that she was ,

suffering from heart -disease at an advanced sta ge H er .

husband s anxiety on her account had been intense and t his

’

more acute seizure now occ u rring caused a dela y in his, ,

se t ting to work on another composition which he had been

asked to write The Philharmonic Society was to celebrate
.

its J ubilee by a grand extra concert a t S t J ames s H all on ’

J ul y 1 4 On this ni g ht t he subscribers were to come as

.

invited guests M dlle Titi c u s S a n t le y J oachim and Piatti

.
, ,

promised their assistance The veteran pianist M rs .

,

Anderson was to make it the occasion of her last appear

,

ance i n public Madame J enny Lind -Goldschmidt as

.
,

a personal tribute to Bennett postponed an in t ended ,

j ourney to Stockholm in order to take part i n the concert ,

.
3 26 Th e Yea r 18 62 c on t n u e i d [c u

been j u stified i n expecting t hou gh he never mentioned the ,

subj ect that the Commissioners of the Exhibition mi g ht

,

find time to append their signatures to some document

acknowledgin g what he had done for them They did .
,

however direct their Secretary to act for them and he

, ,

accordin gly wrote a short and polite note of eight lines .

Bennett remained in London till the middle of August

to make up arrears of lessons Then as his wife seemed .
,

a little be t ter he was advised to take her to E as t bourne

, .

T hence she wrote on August 1 8 Dear S t ern d a l e s .

’

holiday is a dull one but he will not allow this and says he
, ,

enjoys the rest and being able to nurse me I n the middle .

’

of S eptember it became doubtful whether she could ever

,

re t u rn home but an i nvalid carriage was obtained and

, ,

a very anxious j ourney accomplished At the end of the .

mon t h Bennett wrote to his A u nt

We are very much obli g ed to you for your kind letter
‘
.

M y poor Wife is indeed in a very bad state but we are safe ,

at home agai n which is a very great comfort M y wife s .

’

mother is with us which allows me to follow my usual life

, ,

feelin g I hav e some one responsible at home when I a m

obliged to leave the house N evertheless my life is one .
,

of great anxie t y I nurse till nearl y five o clock i n the

.
1 ’

mornin g and leave home before half-past ei g ht and am

, ,

obliged to remain out many hours I f you could fix a day .

to come up and see us my wife would be delighted to see ,

y ou as S h e often t alks of you

, We have the best advice .
,

and I sincerely trust things may be alleviated but you will ,

see a great invalid when y ou see my poor wife i “ 3“

H ow .

many will miss her when she is taken

M rs Bennett died on October 1 7 in her thirty -eighth ,

year For more t han eighteen years of married life S he

.
,

had without neglecting any family or domestic d u ty

, ,

assid u ously yet very unobtr usively done all in her power to
help her husband forward i n his professional career I t was .

her habit t o spend hour after hour every day during his ,

prolonged absences from home in arrang i ng and s u pple

.

m e n t i n g what he himself did She conducted a large .

T hi w
1
t ls r i g ; t h p t i t r q iri g t b r f lly pport d
a s a c ua nu s n e a en e u n o e ca e u su e
i ord r t ob t i
n e y o ti
o o l p a n an c n nu u s s ee .
xx 111] Dea t h of hi s mf e 327

correspondence and interviewed the ever increasin g stream

,

of former pupils and other visitors who came for his advice
or assistance She so completely identified herself with his
.

concerns the charm of her personali t y so clearly reflected

,

his own her disposition was so generous and helpfu l that

, ,

few failed t o accept her i n place of her husband or to take ,

from her the counsel that t hey could not g et from him She .

attracted the confidence of influential persons whose path

she crossed when mana g ing her husband s affairs and ’

thereby her own influence was strengthened S he worked .

z ealously for charitable obj ects She also did much to .

aid youn g people musical or otherwise on their first start in

, ,

life establishin g what Bennett used to call her agency

,
‘
.
’

She had correspondents amon gst her husband s friends i n ’

Germany who looked for her help and returned their help to
,

her in such neg otiations Full of sympathy full of anxiety

, .
,

for others when failing health long before her death clearly
, , ,

asserted itself no persuasion of others could induce her to put

,

on one side while any strength remained even the sli g htest
, ,

of those d u ties which S he had always with so great ,

a thoroughness discharged The words H ow many wil l

,
.
,

miss her when she is taken ! which B en nett wrote to his

Aunt and ag ain the words M any knew and loved her
,
’

which he placed on her tombstone were used with concise , ,

expression but comprehensive meanin g and were used by ,

a man who at a time of g reat grief could think of others as

, ,

well as of himself But i t may be added that though loved .

for her own sake her well -known devotion to her h u sband, ,

and her par t nership i n his laborious pursuits gave an inde

pendent ca u se for the wide respect she gai ned A letter of .

condolence from the Philharmonic Society will illustrate the

general feelin g of Bennett s professional brethren about her ’

and about t he loss they well knew he would sustain by her

death .

N N
LO D O ,
N ov . 1 st h , 18 6 2.

D EAR P R O FE S S O R B E N N E T T ,

We the Directors of the Philharmonic Society

for the last and t he present year desire to j oin as your S incere ,

and affectionate friends i n expressin g our deep sympathy ,

3 28 Th e Yea r 18 62 i
c on t n u e d [ ca x x 111

wi t h you i n the g rea t calamity with which you have been

a fflicted the loss of your excellent wife We all know how
, .

lon g and happy your union has been and how m u ch your ,

happiness was the frui t of her amiable character go o d ,

sense and beautiful performance of every duty and we can

, ,

therefore understand how strongly you must feel so sad a

bereavement .

But we also know that you will bear it like a man and
a Christian that you will not mourn like those who are
,

without hope and that you will (if possible ) redo u ble your
,

exertions for the sake of those dear pledges whom she has
left t o your care and protection .

Trusting that you will not regard th is expression of our

feelin g s as an intrusion on the sacredness of your sorrow ,

We are with every respect and esteem ,

Your most sincere friends ,

G F A N D ER S O N . . .

&c &c ] .
, .

B ennett s Aunt at Cambridge thou g h proud of her

’

nephew on his own account said with emphasis i n her ,

old age and lon g after he had pass ed away :

, I t was his ‘

m a r r i ag e that was the making of him H e himself would ’

.

have made no reservation either by word or by t hou ght

, ,

to that opinion After his wife s death he s c a led up as a

.
’

sacred symbol of his i ndebtedness the teachin g -book in ,

‘ ’

which her last entries were made and then wrote on the ,

first page of a new one M ay I never forget all t he help

,
‘

and affection I have ever received from the best and dearest
of wives .
’
33 0 18 62 —
18 66 [ CH .

many his intimate friends vied one with another in showin g

,

him attention M adame Lind -Goldschmidt in a letter i n

.
,

v i t i n g himself and his children to spend a quiet Christmas at

Wimbledon i n 1 8 6 2 wrote — I have all since your g reat ,
‘ 1

sorrow came upon you had a great desire to see you and
shake hands with you but — as I have not been able to be ,

out for these last s even weeks — I have not had my desire
fulfilled But I have often and warmly thought of you ! it
.

is but n a t u r a l that I S hould so feel towards you for more

than one reason for a nature like yours has a deep a t t ra c
,

tion for me ; add now to this the kind delicacy wi t h which

you have treated my husband these three years — your c o
operation with him in a work that so profoundly touches t he
most religiou s and musical chords of my soul and you will ,

find the key to the whole of my sincere re g ard and friend

ship for you Therefore I ask if you would not let me
. ,

have this lon g ed -for shake of hands on X mas eve or on

X mas day .
’

T he writer possesses a memento touching by its sim ,

p l i c it
y
, of the friendship between M adame Lind -Gold

schmidt and his fa t her When B ennett was at Ashford .

i n Derbyshire i n 1 8 6 0 he entered the village S hop and

, , , ,

before speaking about his own forefathers to the old man

who kept t he shop made a purchase of a bundle of rather
,

larg e lead -pencils These proved to be of ve ry good

.

quality and he afterwards used them for teaching purpo ses

, ,

making each pencil last out a year At the end of the year .

he would present the remaining stump to one of his family ,

or t o some i n t ima t e friend as a kind of humorous keepsake .

O ne of the first mus t have been given t o M adame Gold

schmid t She ma y perhaps have asked for the funn y lit t le
.
, ,

souvenir and so have g iven him the idea of presenting the

,

same t o others in la t er years After her death the pencil .

was fo u nd amongst her things wrapped in paper on which

she had writ t en i n Swedish Dr B ennett s pencil which ,
‘ ’

he used when at work on The Ch or a l e B ooh .

’

O n removing to I nverness Terrace i n 1 8 59 B ennett ,

made the acquaintance of a neighbour M r Robert Case , ,

a member of the London Stock Exchan g e M r Case had .

spent the greater part of his life in Liverpool where as an , ,

amateur of music he had mixed wi t h some of the first

,

i ; word m y h b omi t t d
1 s
c a a a ve een e .
xx xv] Th e A t h en ceu m Cl u b 33 1

artists of the day H e understood Bennett s position as a .

’

musician and was already an admirer of his music The

, .

kindness S hown by M r and M rs C ase durin g M rs Bennett s ’

illness was unremitting and B ennett now found in their ,

friendship great present comfort and the beginnin g of much

future happiness Of older family friends the Ferraris also.
,

lived near and never ceased to show their affection while

, ,

his schoolfellow William Dorrell and his publisher Lam, , ,

born Cock spent their Sundays with him and often aecom
,

a n i e d him on the weekly visit to his wife s grave

’

p .

I n February 1 8 6 3 the At he n ze u m under their well

, ,
‘
,
’

known Rule I I paid honour to music and to B ennett by’

,

electin g him a member This was a reco g nition which a .

musician could value l n the interests of his art as well as on ,

his own account and Bennett had good reason to be proud

,

of it M r Georg e Richmond R A who proposed Bennett s

.
, . .
,
’

name to the Com mittee wrote to him after the election ,

‘
I t was very near my heart t hat our C lub should be e n
riched by a musician and it was fortunate that I was able ,

to point to one whose reputation none can doubt for it is ,

more t han probable that among the t wenty -four members of

the Committee not one would be fully capable of estimating
,

the claims of a g reat musician I frankly disclaimed that .

power myself so that you are indebted for your election by

,

the Commi t tee simply to your g reat reputation as an Artist ,

and if I may be permitted to say so much to your hi g h ,

character as a gentleman .
’

The year 1 8 6 3 passed withou t any incident tha t could

disturb B en nett in a time of sadness ! T he season brou g ht
its usual round of d u ties but none of an excep t ional kind .

The death of the Prince Consort and the necessarily retired ,

life of H er Maj esty shed for some time a certai n sombre ,

ness on all p u blic proceedin g s The Philharmonic Society . ,

however welcomed a new Patroness in the Princess of

,

Wales who with t he Prince attended two consecutive

, , ,

concerts A second v isit in one season was unusual but

.
,

it was u nders t ood at the t ime tha t the Royal party paid it
expressly to hear B eethoven s music to Eg mon t This ’
.

was the work which had been the cause of disa g reement
between the Directors and B ennett some years before T he .

U d r R l I I t h C ommi t t of t h C l b
1
n e u e , lly i i t i m of
e ee e u a n n ua nv e n ne en
di t i t io t b om m mb r wi t ho t t h
s nc n o ec l B llo t
e e e s u e usua a .
332 18 62 — 18 66 [c u

present production was due to the influence of the late

Prince Consort who before his dea t h had named it as a
, , ,

work he should desire to hear at t he next concert of t he

Society which he mi g ht attend The words By Special .
,
‘

Desire heading the prog ramme had therefore on this

,
’

, , ,

occasion something beyond t heir conventional meaning

,
.

I n noticin g the concerts of this season The Ti mes made ,

several references to the pro g ress of the new orchestra ,

giving the Conductor the credit of havin g created it ‘ ’

The following passag e concisely expresses the difficulty

which the Philharmonic had enco u ntered when their old
orchestra was withdrawn Professor Sterndale B ennett
deserves infinite credit for the manner i n which he has dis
c i l i n e d what two years a g o was for the major part lit t le
p , , , ,

be t ter than an army of raw recruits O n M ay 2 5 Bennett .

’
,

took the orchestra to C ambridge and conducted a U niver

s i t y Subscrip t ion Concert The success of the concert ’
.

given the year before at the time of the I nstallation had

raised a hope that a S imilar one might become an annual
occurrence It was found however that the time was not
.
, ,

ripe and no subscription adequa t e for such a purpose was

,

forthcoming in the U niversi t y and t own The fail u re of .

t he exper i men t was a g reat disappoin t ment to Benne t t as ,

also t o his friend and ever staunch supporter the Rev , .

T P H udson Fellow and Tutor of Trinity College who

. .
‘
, ,

was for many years j ustly re garded as the chief r epr es e n

t a t i ve of M usic amon g the resident members of the
U niversity .

The summer found Bennett on the Rhine revivin g old ,

memories and with his thou g hts reverting to Leipzig A

, .

visit there would involve writ i ng new music H e cou ld not .

go empty handed Soon aft er his return from the holiday

- .

on the Rhine he began to play on the pianoforte the open

,

i ng section of an orchestral movemen t i n G minor the first ,

phrase of which he called the waves of life This became ‘

.
’

t he principal movemen t of a Symphony which he soon after

wards comple t ed The tone o f the movement reflects the
.

seriousness of t he days i n which he first conceived it Some .

of his sacred Anthems belong to the same period .

I n the early months of 1 8 6 4 he wrote and delivered a ,

1
Af te rw rd
a s, t hro g h h
u c an g e of na m e, Ca n o P mb rt o
n e e n.
 1 8 62 — 18 66 [ CH
~

334 .

listening to the m usic but he said that a rustic fair was in

,

his mind and that some pathetic bars i n which the oboe is
, ,

prominent portra y ed a disconsolate maid who had lost her

,

lover i n the crowd For a middle movement he made use of

.

a M inuet from t he Cambridge I ns t allation Ode to which he ,

now added a T rio for the brass instruments I n the days of .

small concert -rooms these instruments when used in com ,

bination with others were played in very subdued tones

,
.

When B ennett was considering the effect of his new T rio he ,

said in advance : I t will s u rprise t he audience to find that

there is a fu ll brass band in the orchestra H e connec t ed .
’

his three movements t ogether by short I ntermezzi and i n ,

’

that form t he work was played at th e Philharmonic H e .

had not intended to call it a Symphony and had written to ,

Davison begg in g him not to describe it as such i n any pre

liminary announcement i n The M u s ic a l Wor l d H e added .
,
‘
I t is little more than a lon g Overture on a Symphony
plan After the rehearsal Georg e H ogarth strongly urged
’
.

that it should bear the more import ant ti t le on the concert

programme I t is a Symphony he said and a very fi ne
.
,
’

one too .
’
B ennett did not seem to care to argue the poin t ,

and gave way The concert a t which i t was played was a

.

brilliant one The Prince of Wales was present and warmly

.

congratulated the Conductor on his composition The .

Princess of Wales witnessed t h e highly successful deb ut i n

London of her youn g compatriot M r Fritz H a r t vi g s o n , .

J oachim produced a new Violin Concerto of his own com

posi t ion B ennett naturally treasured t he following letter
.

it lies i n his album — from his old master .

3 C RAVEN H ILL H Y D E PAR K , ,

7 un e 29 , 1 8 6 4.

D EAR B E N N E TT ,

I must cong ratulate you on your transcendent

success last M onday not m ore t han you deserv ed I was
, .

perfectly charmed with your Symphony for the beauty of ,

Compos i t i on as well as the truly happy i n s t r um en t a t i on I .

t ho u g ht it went admirably ; no doub t we shall hear it a g ain

early next season with another movement .

I remain ,

E ver yours sincerely ,

C I P RIA N I P O TT ER .
xx 1v] A G ra t e ful Soc iety 335

The Directors of the Philharmonic wrote their thanks

for his beautiful Symphony and for his liberal and
’

,
‘

g enerous conduct with regard to it They perpetuated their .

’

appreciations by engraving them on a silver claret ju g At

- .

their first meet i ng i n the following autum n they resolved to

ask him to compose another work of the same kind T his .

he declined to do probably feelin g that his name had

,

already su fficiently ap peared on the prog rammes of concerts

which he himself conducted What he wrote on the subj ect
.

may be g athered from the Secretary s reply ’

.

D ec . 1 4t h , 1 8 6 4.

MY D EAR S IR ,

Your letter of the 8 t h inst was duly laid .

before the Directors of the Philharmonic Society who have ,

desired me to express their satisfaction at your acceptance

of the office of conductor for the ensuin g season and their ,

deep sense of yo u r generous devotion to t he Society 1n t e

fusin g remuneration for the two usually unprofitable con
certs before E aster The D irec t ors full y apprec i ate the
.

delicacy of the motive which unfortunately for art has , ,

actuated you in declinin g to bring out a new Symphony of

your own during the season and cannot but consent how , ,

ever reluctantly to abandon for the present the idea of

,

i nducing you to enrich the world of m u sic with another

contribution from your pen They feel however that .
, ,

they are not j ustified in the interests of the Society which

,

they represent i n acceding to your request that no work of

,

yours S hall be performed during the season and i ndeed i t , , ,

i s out of their power to g i ve any pledge to that effect .

I remain ,

&c &c .
, .
,

C A MPB E LL C LAR K E (Secretary ) .

Professor Sterndale Bennett .

Bennett was now planning his intended visit to

Germany and was i n correspondence with his old friend
, ,

Ferdinand D avid the Concert -M eister at Leip z i g

, .
33 6 18 62— 18 66 [ CH
N N
LO D O 50
, I NVERNE SS T ERRAC E ,

N ovember 2 2 n d, 1 8 6 4.

L IE B ER D AV I D ,

Do not think me un g rateful that I have not writte n

sooner i n answer to your most kind letter I have been .

confused in my plans M y music -publishers have dissolved

.

t heir firm and I have been v ery anxious to know how

I could get my S ymphony (Orchester s t immen ) ready for
.
-

Leipzi g and also I have some work at C ambridge which

,

will keep me in E ngland u ntil the end of the year .

Aber ! I want t o see you very m u ch and all my Leipzig

friends and I could come ( I hope and believe ) the second
,

week i n J anuary and in the holidays will make the little

,

corrections in the symphony which I wish to make and ,

send you the Partitur and Orchester s t immen before then - .

I dream always about seein g dear old Leipzi g again .

I hope it may be I dream t t he other night that I had

.

arrived in the middle of one of your rehearsals b u t I could ,

not find you before the dream was over You will find me .

an ol d man but t r u e to you and all my dear friends in

,

Saxony I f I cannot come will you still play my S y mphony ?

. ,

I t is a very small work but it would be a grea t happiness to

,

me to hear it played by your orchestra .

And now let me thank you vom H er zen for your kind
E i nladung Tell M adame David how much it will
.
’

delight me to come and abide at y o u r house I hope you .

will forgive me for not havin g written before I hope the .

D irectors will be so kind as to g ive my S y mphony af t er

Christmas I will write again soon Please say everythin g
. .

kind to M adame David for me and hoping to see you in ,

J anuary ,

I am dear David , ,

E ver your friend ,

W I LL IA M S T ER N DA L E B E N N E TT .

E verythin g g ood to
Schleinitz K istner &c
, , .

Bennett started from London on J anuary 6 1 8 6 5 and , ,

reached Leipzig on the 1 0 t h M any of his friends there .

had not seen him for twenty -three years Their reception .
33 8 1 8 6 2 —
18 66 [ cn .

H e passed six days fu ll of interes t at the Davids delight ’

ful house i n Q u er-Strasse H e attended a B a ll given by .

Madame B rockhau s ; played Sonatas wi t h David to J ulius

K istner then a confirmed in v alid ; made the acquaintance
,

of Capellmeis t er Reinecke (who three years later spent

a mon t h with him in Bayswater ) and paid a flying visit to
Dresden where he found J ulius Rietz The Students of
, .

the C onservatorium had prepared a concert for him wi t h

a programme selected from his own works O n the last .

day H err C arl Voigt who had so often entertained him i n

, ,

earlier times i nvited a large party to meet him at mid -day

,

dinner I n t he afternoon M o s c heles contributed to the

. ,

amusemen t by his g rotesque tricks on the pianoforte and ,

then the whole company followed Bennett to the railway

sta t ion where a crowd of o t her well -wishers had assembled
,

with the obj ect of giving him a good send -off H e stopped .

at Colog ne passed a few hours with t he genial Ferdinand

,

H iller and heard a performance of J oshua The playin g

,
‘
.
’

and singin g was rather spiritless and Bennett said in ,

explanation Ah yes but they don t understand H andel

,
‘
, ,
’

here . T he Directors of the Gewandhaus in grateful ,

‘

remembrance of his presence in Leipzig sent him the com ,

’

l e t e edition of Beethoven s works which had j ust been

’

p
issued by M essrs B reitkopf and H aertel I n the inscrip t ion .

which the donors placed in the books they paid a well ,

conceived tribute to the E nglishman by styling him the ‘

zealous fosterer of German music .

’

I n the autumn of 1 8 6 5 the house in I nverness Terrace , ,

i n which he had lived very comfortably for six years was , ,

perforce taken from him by t he M e t ropolita n Railway

,

Company H ouses i n Bayswater were diffic u lt to find at

.

the time and he had no choice but to buy one larger than
,

he required in Queensborou g h Terrace The removal .

caused a good deal of trouble and expense I f this had not .

happened he m ight have considered a fresh scheme of life

,

which was s u ggested to him a few weeks after he had

se t t led down i n his new home I t IS some evidence of his .

success as Professor at Cambridge or at least of the respect ,

in which his name was held there that he should now be ,

approached by ano t her U niversi t y at the su ggestion of

a dis t inguished Cambrid g e mathemat ician Professor .
x x 1v] Th e Ch a ir f
o Mu s ic a t E din b u rg h 339

Donaldson after holding the chair of music at Edinburg h

,

for twenty years had j ust died The Professorship was of

‘
, .

greater value than any similar musical post in E ngland and ,

was now sou g ht for by many eminent musicians Professor .

Tait a C ambrid g e man who held a chair of M athematics in

,

E dinburgh sounded B ennett on the subj ec t and then Sir

, ,

David Brewster Principal of the U niversity wrote :

, ,

U NIVER ITY S or E IN B URG H

D ,

Oc t ober 6 t h , 18 6 5 .

I was about to take the l iberty of writin g to you

to ask your opinion of some of the leadin g candidates for
the chair of music in Edinburgh — c on fid en t i a lly of course , ,

and for t he guidance of myself and other patrons when ,

I received a letter from Professor Tait stat i n g that you

would deli g ht l n the honour of bein g Professor of M usic In
‘

E dinburg h .
’

Professor Tait will no doubt write to you a g ain on the

subject but in the meantime you would oblige me by lettin g
,

me know if you would accept the chair if offered to you .

I am S ir , ,

E ver yours most truly ,

D B RE W S T ER . .

LO DON N , Oc t ober 1g i k, 1 8 6 5 .

Allow me to say that I feel highly gratified that

you should have taken the trouble to write to me i n re gard
to the vacant chair at E dinburgh .

I certainly did write to my friend Professor Tait that

I should delight i n the honour of bein g Professor of M usic
in the U niversity of E dinburg h but I added at the same ,

time a broad reason for my not coming forward as a candi

date t hat I feared the risk o f failure
, .

N ot believing for a moment that the chair could be

ob t ained otherwise than by open competition I failed to ,

think of many smaller impediments to any change of my

professional life Si nce the receipt of your ki nd no t e
.
,

1 H H Pi r o who ob t i d t h Ch ir wh D o ld o d B t t
e s a ne e
8 44 r i g d i t h fol l owi g y r
. . n, a en na s n an en n e
st ood for i t i n 1 , es d D o ld o
ne n dde n ea an na s n s u c c ee e
him .

2 2— 2
34 0 18 6 2 — 18 66 [ on

I have tried to come to some decision on the matter and ,

with great reluctance say that even S hould the U niversity

,

pa y me the high compliment of offering me the chair ,

I shou ld from many private and professional reasons which ,

I cannot a t present control be obli g ed to decline it

, .

A ny service which I can offer to you according to the ,

commencement of your note is most heartily given I have

, .

the consolation of thinking that in losing the chance of

,

becom ing Professor of Music in E dinburgh I am not inter ,

fe r i n g with the hopes of many among the candidates for

w hom I have the warmest esteem .

I am Sir
, ,

M ost truly yours ,

W I LL IA M S T ER N DA LE B E N N E TT .

S ir David B rewster ,

Principal of the U niversity of Edinburgh .

U NIVER ITY
S or E IN B UR GH
D .

Professor Tait and I much re g ret your decision ,

though we are not s u rprised at it .

You would obli g e us greatly if you could g ive us an

O pinion which of course will be confidential of the principal
, ,

x
candidates for our chair .
==

I am S ir , ,

E ver most truly yours ,

D B RE WST ER . .

W Sterndale Bennett Esq

.
, .

A move from London to E dinburg h would have been

a bold stroke on B ennett s part The idea of it was a t t ra c
’
.

tive because he was at this time desirin g to escape from

,

that side of his work which entailed appearance on concert

platforms but at the same time t o remain on active service
, ,

in any other direc t ion t hat presented itself H e had long .

ago fixed a time -limit to his duty as a conductor H e would .

oft en say t hat he did not intend t o resign his place at the
Philharmonic till he had held it longer than any of his pre
34 2 1 8 62 —
1 8 66 [ CH .

lute sincerity M endelssohn was one of those who recog

.

n i s e d this and val u ed not alone his appreciations but also

his occasional reser v ations When therefore B ennett in .

,

his letters to S chumann wrote that he had been playing the,

"
E tudes Symphoniqu es a great deal and with much enj oy
ment ; when he quoted the bar of very great beaut y ‘ ’

which he was repeating a hundred times a day when he

wrote from Leipzig I have seen here for the first time
,
‘

your Fantaisie St ucke and they greatly delight me when

he found the Da v id s b ii n dler very charming and when ‘
,

many years later he wrote to M adame Schumann What

, ,
‘

a beau t iful work is t he Peri he meant each word he said .

H is t on g u e or pen might at times refuse to express his

feelin gs but they ne v er expressed anythi ng he did not feel
, ,

and the above words need no discount because they were

addressed to the composer himself or to his wife After all .

then even if he were unable probably on some technic a l

, ,

g rounds to assign to Schumann a place among the greatest

,

masters of music the recent discovery of these letters brings

,

something to set against the idea that B ennett could feel no

love for Schumann s music As for the silence of his later
’
.

life there was one circumstance which i n rel ation to

, ,

Schumann specially tied his tongue I n the years when

, .

he was expected to speak there were few persons who ,

could keep M endelssohn s name out of any conversation ’

about Schumann Bennett as the intimate friend of both

.
, ,

recoiled from disputants who could say little i n favour of

the one save at the expense of the other This fact of .
,

itself goes far to explain why B ennett s precise estimate of

,
’

Schumann as a composer was and must remain a sealed

letter .

When occasion arose Bennett took his part i n the ,

performance of Schumann s music wi t h all the affectionate ’

i nterest that might be expected After the first year of his .

Philharmonic conductorship b e abandoned for a reason , ,

already given any attempt to influence the Directors i n

,

their choice of music Therefore while he co u ld claim no

.

further credit for t he i ntroduction of new or unknown works ,

he had on the other hand nothing to do with their exclu

, ,

sion The cold reception of the Paradise and the Peri in

.
‘ ’

1 8 56 may have deterred the Directors from attemptin g

x x 1v] R es i g ns t he Con d u c t or s h ifi 3 43

other works by the same composer though in this respect ,

Schumann did not stand alone T he scant time for r e .

he a rs a l was a s t rong bar to the satisfactory introduction

of new m u sic and especially of music i n an unfamiliar
,

style From 1 8 56 Schumann s name was seldom if ever

.
’

, ,

seen on Philharmonic programmes until in 1 8 6 4 his ,

Symphony in C major was brought forward The Ti mes .

then wrote : Professor Bennett took infinite pains with the

Symphony it was magnificently played and favourably
, ,

received by a larg e number of the audience I n 18 6 5 .

’

M adame Schumann revisited E ngland after some years ,

’

absence and play ed her husband s C oncerto i n A mi nor at

,
’

the Philharmonic H er visit gave great impetus to the

.

appreciation of Schumann s music and The Ti m es when ’

, ,

reviewing the musical events of the next year ( 1 8 6 6 )

remarked that Robert Schumann had been the sensation ‘

composer of that year wi t h the directors of concerts The .

Philharmonic t ook a prominent part i n this movement .

The Paradise and the Peri was again produced under

‘ ’

B ennett s direction and at the las t concert of the season

’

Alfred J a e ll played the A minor Concerto so deligh t fully ,

that t he audience was moved to an exceptional display of

approval This was the last Concerto that Benne t t con
.

ducted The Ti mes in a critique on the concert wro t e

.
, ,
‘
Professor B ennett received a loud and unanimous c a ll at
the end and his reappearance provoked an enthusiastic
,

demonstration t h e feeling of which was in a g reat measure

,

derived from the announcement that the learned and pOpu

lar Professor is abou t to retire from the conductorship of
the Society .
’

The record of Bennett s career as a conductor needs no ’

peroration T radition gives him no position on t his side

.

of his work comparable to that which it gives him as a

pianist H e was not called to the regular exercise of a
.

conductor s d u ties t i ll he was forty years of age and the

’

S i x or eight Philharmonic concerts which he then annually

conducted for eleven years could not nearly represent the

amount of work associated with the notion of a great c hef
”
a or c hes t r e N evertheless he went to the Philharmonic
.
,

wi t h a knowledge of and a feeling for the music wi t h which

he had to deal of an order hi g her than could be claimed
,
3 44 [ 8 6 2 —
18 66 [CH . x x 1v
for other conductors who were doing similar work else
where i n London at exactly the same time This a d .

vantage may have lost its full effect because a musician ,

of high ideals who aimed for the nicer subtleties of i nter

p ret a t io n had i n
, those days a limited chance of riveting
his refinements upon an orchestra which he only met once
a fortnight for a few mon t hs of each year at rehearsals
, ,

which were not much longer than t he correspondin g

concerts I n any case however few denied B ennett very
.
, ,

high rank while many assigned him the foremost place

,

among contemporary conductors of classical m u sic i n t his

coun t ry .

The following passage is taken from an obituary notice

of Benne t t in The D a i ly Tel eg r aph
H ow far his rei g n [at the Philharmonic ] was a success ,

and i n what de g ree he brought to the discharge of his

duties the mingled strength and delicacy of a perfect
c he or c hes t r e are questions which if propounded would
f
’
d , , ,

receive a variety of answers True it is assuredly that in .

, ,

nice perception of a composer s meaning and in s y mpathetic ’

appreciation of the methods by which it was conveyed few ,

conductors could equal S t erndale Bennett H e m a y have .

lacked nay he d id lack— the firmness energ y and power

—
, , ,

of command that enable a c hef d or c hes t r e to anima t e every ’

subordina t e with his own spirit ; but assuming that these ,

merits could not be found united he at least possessed the ,

more essential .
’

What t h e Philharmonic Society itself thought of him ,

after his work of ele ven years is th u s recorded on thei r ,

minutes The Directors met in N ovember 1 8 6 6 when

.
, ,

they draft ed a long resolution containing a proposal that if ,

he would remai n t hey would appoin t an assistant -conduc t or

,

to relieve him from any part of the work that he would

name and a request that he wou ld allow them to announce
,

that at the earnes t solicitations of the D irectors Professor

‘

B enne t t had under t aken to conduct the concerts of t he

ensuing season But Bennett did not revoke his decision
.
’
.

I ndeed before he conducted his last concert i n 1 8 6 6 he had

, ,

accepted another appointment which substituted new work

for old .
 C H A PT E R X X V .

T HE R O Y A L A CA D EM Y OF M USIC .

B E N N ET T S A PP O I
I N TE D P RI C I P A L
N .

IN his last years B ennett became so closely associated

,

with the Royal Academy of M usic and the connection so ,

materially affected the circumstances of his life that no ,

account of him can be complete which does not borrow freely

from the history of the A cademy itself I t fell to his lot to .

save the place from annihilation to guard and to g uide it

, ,

with much discretion during a critical period of It s existence

, ,

and by a devotion and self-s a c r i fic e the extent of which no

one at the time can have realized to repay fully the debt ,

he owed to the home of his earl y life A lon g effort which .

,

severely taxed his powers of mind and body was at last ,

crowned with a success for which he alone paid the penal t y .

N o t hing in his life better deserves record than the self

denying way i n which he ended it .

I t was i n December 1 8 6 4 t hat the question was first

, ,

broached of his returning to the Academy as its Principal .

C harles Lucas who had succeeded Potter in 1 8 59 was by

, , ,

reason of failing health meditatin g retirement Bennett s

, .
’

replies t o one of the Directors who approached him on the

s u bj ect show that he was not then eager for the appointment .

H e wrote : I have yet sufficient in t eres t in the R A M

‘
. . .

to be of any service I can and at any rate to entertai n any

,

proposal you t hink fit to make me al tho I say this without,

’

committin g mysel f to a promise H e wrote again I could

.
’

not answer y our letter without much more thou g ht i“

.
3 48 R oya l A ca demy of Mus ic [ CH .

You had better not consider me i n your plans but let me ,

help you as far as possible when I have time to think , .

’

T he fortunes of the Academy were at a low ebb .

The interest which Lord Westmorland had been able to

excite forty years before had now all but vanished and ,

with it most of the subscriptions on which so much had

depended Poverty had affected the educational results of
.

the I nstitu t ion a fact which was openly admitted by its own
,

members Lists of pupils and the subsequent achieve

.
,

ments of many prove that at no period were t here wan t in g

,

some students of excep t ional promise ; but as the funds

from which assistance could be gi v en when needed dimin
i s hed such students became fewer whilst others had to
, ,

be admitted for the sake of thei r fees without regard to

’

their ability M any were withdrawn who could not afford

.

to complete their course and could not therefore bring , , ,

credit on their teachers The numbers had decreased

. .

Forei g n Con s er va t oi r es were attracting and rival schools ,

had been started i n London I t would have ta ken a bold .

man to believe that in the offi ce of Principal where he ,

would be allowed no voice i n the general management of

the I nsti t ution he could do much towards i t s revival
, .

O n the other hand the Academy had recently met with

,

one stroke of good fortune This par t icular circumstance .

was destined to affect B ennett very considerably I n 1 8 6 3 .

,

a B oard of Professors on which Lucas and G A M a c fa rr e n

, . .

were the most prominent members drew up a petition for ,

State aid and submitted it to the Directors The Professors

, .

had no t hing whatever to do with matters outside their class

rooms and such a proceeding under Lord Wes t m orla n d s
, ,
’

ru le would have been regarded as an in t olerable liberty

, .

The present Directors however approved of this petition, , ,

and it was forwarded t o M r Glads t one then Chancellor ,

of the Exchequer with the result that a Grant of £ 50 0

,

was placed on t he estimates for 1 8 6 4 The understanding .

was that this money should be spen t on the rent of the

Academy house Government support of music was a
.

star t ling novelty ; the Academy s success in obtaining it ’

attracted notice and those who had been long wishin g to

establish a national school of music on another S ite thought
the time had come to bestir themselves .
3 50 R oya l A ca demy of Mus ic [CH .

for one should not be disposed to take any part adverse to

the Royal Academy of M u sic .
’

B efore the end of the year ( 1 8 6 5 ) M r Cole was in

correspondence with S ir George Clerk the Chairman of ,

the Academy Commi t tee abou t a removal of the I nstitution

,

to South K ensington The proposal was to g ive tempora ry

.

accommodation at the South Kensington Museum for three

years during which time subscrip t ions might be raised for
,

a special buildin g or the promise obtained of a permanent

,

home in the proj ect ed Albe rt H all of Arts and Sciences .

The reception of the Academy at Kensin g ton required the

sanction of t he C ommissioners of the 1 8 5 1 E xhibition as ,

a l s o of t h e Lords of the Committee of t h e Privy Council

of E d u cation O n February 7 1 8 6 6 M r Cole obtained

.
, ,

Lord Granville s consent and on February 2 4 the Academy

’

made formal application for the accommodation I t was .

agreed tha t some chan g es were to be made in t he working

of the I nstitution and Sir George C lerk promised that any
,

changes suggested S ho u ld be made as far as the limited ,

means at the disposal of the Direc t ors would allow .

M uch was said during the S ociety of Ar t s enquiry ’

about the appointment of a M usical Director for the new

or enlarged school and about the necessary q u alifications
,

of such an official I n February 1 8 6 6 M r Cole obtained

.
, ,

Sir Georg e Clerk s authority to offer the Principalship

’

to C osta . This S hows that M r C ole was at t he time , ,

regarding the removal of the Academy to Kensington as

a foregone conclusion ; for otherwise he would scarcely, ,

have concerned himself with t he choice of its o ffi cials .

Costa accepted t h e post naming £ 1 2 0 0 a y ear and a

,

residence as his terms This negotiation appears to hav e

.

been q u ite confidential between t hose who cond u cted it .

The poverty of the Academy can be taken as sufficient

reason for its failure The D irectors then approached
.

M r Otto Goldschmidt who had for nearly three years been

,

working for them as a Professor of the pianoforte but he ,

i nstead of considering the Principalship for himself urged ,

its being offered to Benne t t The latter after withdrawin g

.
,

from the Academy i n 1 8 58 had listened to none of the ,

requests sent him to rej oin t he s t aff and the overtures ,

made to him in 1 8 6 4 wi t h regard to the Principalship had

xx v] Th e Ofi ce o f pa l
P r in c i 351

come to nothin g The Directors were now in no mood

.

to apply to him a gain but M r Goldschmidt pressed his ,

point urged t hem t o allow him to interview Bennett on the

,

subject and at last obtained their consent to his doin g so

, .

For a man in Bennett s position the Principalship could ’

scarcely be regarded as a p r ef er men t N o immediate .

honour or substantial emolument cou ld attach to it B ut .

the invitation was not such an appeal a d m i ser i c or d i a m as

that which had reached him fifteen months before The .

removal to South Kensington was now counted on as a

certainty T he development of the Academy i nto a more
.

important I nstitution mi g ht follow so that there was some ,

prospect of the o ffice now offered becoming in due time a

desirable one Meanwhile the duties as at present pro
.
,

posed did not threaten the disturbance of other important

work or of the private teaching on which the security of his
livelihood depended The Academy could not afford to .

ask for much of his time H e was to set aside for regular .
,

attendance S i x hours a week to be spent in supervising

,

musical arran g ements and in g ivin g some instruction H is .

presence at concerts and examinations would also be

necessary A fixed salary of £ 1 50 a year i n addition to
.
,

fees for class -teaching was all that could be offered to him
,

at the outset The scheme as re gards hours would have

.
, ,

been imperfect had not the Directors supplemented it by

,

introducing a Vice-Principalship This office M r Otto .

Goldschmidt consented to fill The Vice Principal in the .

-

absence of the Principal would act as his representative ,

and one or other of them would be on the spot at stated

times every day The arran g ement promised to be feasible
.
,

and Bennett in acceptin g the appointment saw no reason

, ,

either for g rave consideration or on the other hand for , ,

any con g ratulatory excitement H e expected t hat his work .

would be of a quiet kind while a public position which ,

involved no concer t -room appearances struck him as bein g

a g ood substitu t e for the Philharmonic conductorship I t .

would have been unwise at the time of life which he had

reached his fiftie t h birthday occurred in the week during
—

which he was considerin g the Academy s offer— and after ’

years of continuous toil to accept an additional duty if it ,

promised excessive strain H e foresaw nothi ng of the .

35 2 R oya l A ca demy of Mus ic [ CH .

kind O n the contrary he had already begun to talk of a

.
,

time soon comin g when if he could not be i ndependent

, , ,

he might at least red u ce his work and have more freedom ,

in the choice of his occupations For three or fo u r years

.» .

he must still go on at high pressure but chiefly for the ,

s ake of his family as a letter written j u st then t o South

,

ampton will explain

T H E A THEN U M F b 51h 8 66 E e 1 1

EAR
. .
, ,

MY D S IR ,

Accept my best thanks for your kind invitation

to visit you i n E aster week .

H ow much I should like to see your house and your

pictures and the many other attractions which you offer
me ; but alas ! I am in harness ever M y two boys one .
,

at Oxford the other at Cambrid g e come and meet me in ,

London at the only breathing-time allowed in my incessant

work I t was very kind of you to send me your H artley
.

I nstitute lecture which I have read throu g h with g reat

,

i nterest and have forwarded to m y brother-i n law a youn g

, ,

clergyman who takes immense i nterest i n the subj ect .

What a labour it must have been to you .

Dear old Southampton I was married there -to one of ,

the best creatures God ever made— I am getting old now ,

lookin g forward with earnest hope to seeing her again .

I f you ever come to London come and find me out at

my new abode 3 8 Q ueensborou g h Terrace K ensington
Gardens B ayswater
E ver y truly obliged ‘

W I LL IA M S T ER N DA L E B E N N ETT .

I n M ay the Lords of the C ommittee of the Privy

,

C ouncil on E ducation gave their consent t o the reception

of the Academy at Kensington on condition that the con ,

t empla t ed changes i n the working of the I nstitution S hould

be satisfactory to the Lord President when explained to
him The same Lords had named two special conditions :
.

first that they themselves were to have no financial

,

responsibility ; and secondly that the Academy was to ,

offer scholarships of such amount as would correspond to

the rental value of the premises assigned to it I ndirectly .
,
xx v] P re pa r a t ion s f or R em ova l 3 53

therefore rent was to be paid and this was a hard bargain

, , ,

be cause t he Lords of the Council had ascertained that the ,

Lords of the Treasury saw no obj ection to t he removal ,

but would if it t ook place withdraw the £ 50 0 per annum

, ,

which had been g ran t ed as a p r ovi s i on f or r en t I f how .

,

ever the Academy was ever to find itself included in the

,

grand schemes float ing i n the air this was no time for ,

hesitation ; so the Directors on the chance of indefinite ,

future advanta g e passed a resolution on M ay 3 1 ,

‘
that the offer of accommodation at Sou t h K ensington be
accepted .
’

Room could be found at the K ensington M useu m for

ei gh t - ou r students M r K ellow Pye a Director of the
yf .
,

Academy now drafted a scheme in which it was promised

1
,

that t wel ve of these students should be ed u cat ed as free

scholars I t was decided that the present thi rty -seven Pro
.

fe s s ors an unwieldy body in relation to the proposed number

,

of studen t s should all receive notice that their services mi g ht

, .

no lon ger be required Su ggestions which had been made .

by M r C ole and others before the S ociety of Arts were

adopted Local examinations were to be held i n the
.

provinces to secure a wide choice of candidates for scholar

ships A three -years course of instruction was to be the
.
’

shortest on which a certificate could be gran t ed S ome pro .

vision was to be made for the training of Church musicians

and military bandmasters The musical executive was to .

include a Principal Vice Principal and Chief Professors of ,

-
,

the most important branches of study and small salaries ,

beyond tuition fees were to be assi g ned to these Chief

Professors The Academy was making itself responsible
.

for as much as it dared and for quite as much as could ,

have been expected by the K ensin g ton au t hori t ies who of ,

course knew that the institution was n o t endowed while ,

their own condi t ion with regard to free scholars would limit
the number of paying students t o s even ty -t wo .

O n J une 8 L u cas resigned the office of Principal giving

, ,

as his reason that precarious health u n fi t t ed him for carry

1 The E
rl of Wil t o t h Pr id en t ,Sir G org C l rk B rt C h irm of
ommi t t of M g m t d
a n, e es e e e ,
a .
, a an

th e C M Py w r lmo t h o ly m mb r st

Go r i g Body who how d

ee ana e en ,
an r e e e a e n e e s
of the ve n n s e acti i t r t t t hi t im i t h fl i
ve n e es a s e n e a
’

a rs

of t h e A d my ca e .

S . B .
3 54 R oya l A ca demy of Mu s ic [ CH .

ing out the new meas ures i ncident on the removal to

K ensington .

At a Directors meeting on J une 2 2 it was moved by

’

Lord Wrottesley and seconded by M r K J Pye that Dr

, . .
,

Sterndale Bennett be appointed Principal and M r Otto ,

Goldschmidt Vice -Principal M adame J enny Lind -Gold .

schmidt when announcing her husband s appointment to

,
’

a friend wrote — I could only bear t o see him under

,
‘

Bennett and B is certainly the only man i n E ngland who

, .
‘

ought t o raise that insti t ution from its presen t decay .

’

Twenty years later Sir George M a c fa rre n said to the,

Academy students With the renown that B ennett had

gained as a student and with the interest that g athered
round him as Principal his holdin g the highest position at ,

the Academy proved to be the most propitious event for its

welfare that has ever occurred .
’

The new o fficers were en gag ed to enter upon their

duties i n S eptember b u t preliminaries demanded t heir ,

immediate attention They had to draw up a report to be

.
,

submitted to the Privy Cou ncil of their new scheme of ,

work and in connec t ion with this they had before them
, , ,

th e delicate task of reconstructin g the Staff of Professors .

All went well for a month and an appointment was made ,

for J uly 2 5 when the Principal and Vice -Principal were to

,

go with some of t he Directors to inspect the accommodation

at the South K ensington M useum .

Then the first blow fell

j u ly 2 4, 1 8 66

EAR B E E
.

MY D NN TT ,

The appointment for to -morrow for South K en

sin g ton is put off by M r Cole .

Yours ever ,

K J PY E . . .

The appointment was cancelled only in so far as

B ennett and M r Goldschmidt were concerned M r C ole .

on the day named did receive Lord Wilton and Sir George
C lerk who once more expressed themselves willing to make
,

any change in t he working of the Academy which the Duke

of Buckin g ham as Presiden t of the C ouncil might desire
, , .

T he D u ke received the Directors on J uly 3 1 when the ,

356 R oya l A ca demy of M us ic
.
[CH .

to M r Cole s plan of receiving the Academy at K ensin gton

’

but had only done so on the condition that Costa was to be

appointed Principal ; and therefore it can be assumed that
the appointment of B ennett had much to do with if i t did ,

not entirely accoun t for the apparent c ha ng e of front which

,

S ir George C lerk did not understand I f this was so it also .

,

follows that it would not be easy to explai n the circum

s tances to B ennett and they never came to his knowled g e
, .

T hat his appointment did not meet the views of the pro
m o t e rs of a new institution is confirmed by a broad hint
,

g iven by the Society of Arts who in forwardin g to the , ,

Academy Directors a month after B ennett had been made

,

P rincipal the Report of their enqui ry solicited speci al

, ,

a ttention to Paragraph I 2 which paragraph urg ed the ’

n ecessity of appo intin g a musical director of proved ‘

administrative abili t y .
’

Be n nett was afterwards accused of obstructing schemes

for placing the Academy at K ensin gton I n the beginning .
,

at any rate this was not the case O n the con t rary the
, .
,

removal being now uncertain the prospects which had ,

i nduced him to accept o ffice were al tered and both he and ,

M r Goldschmidt drew back The Directors however .

, ,

believing at first that the removal was only postponed ,

arranged with their landlord for a quarterly tenancy and at ,

lengt h prevailin g on the new Principal and Vice -Principal

to stand by them decided to re-open at Tenterden S treet
,

i n September The Directors continued their meetings

.

and correspondence throu g hout August Bennett almost .

entirely missed his summer holiday H e remained in town .

till the m iddle of August while for the rest of the month
,

accordin g to a memorandum of his own — he was only off ‘

and on at Eastbourne M r O tto Goldschmidt remembered

.
’

long days spent this summer a t the Academy with Kellow

Pye and Benne t t and how di fficult i t was to get t he
,

Pri ncipal to attend to anything I n the shape of lunch One .

"
evening as they were lea v ing the posters were j ust ,

announcin g the formation of a new Conserva t ive M inistry .

The fresh list of the A cademy Professors was not quite

complete at the time and Bennett as he shook hands with
’

, ,

M r Goldschmidt laughed and said : Well Good -bye we

,
‘
, ,
xx v] A U it d
n e H ous e 3 57

will g o on formin g ou r ministry to -morrow H e could not .

’

foretell that the change of Government would prove no

lau g hing matter to the Academy or to himsel f .

The new prospectus when drawn up contained the , ,

names of many eminent native and foreign musicians I t .

ought surely to ha v e commanded the confidence of those

who continued to talk from time to time of adopting the , ,

Academy While new names were introduced old assoc i a

.
,

tions were duly regarded L u cas the retiring Principal .

, ,

accepted an invitation to remain as a teacher Bennett .

happily i nvented an office for his old mas t er Cipriani ,

Potter prevailing upon him to regard himself as the

,
‘
H onorary Visitor of the I nstitu t ion I n accordance with
’
.

this idea Potter for the last six years of his life regu larly
, , ,

attended the st u dents concerts sitting at B ennet t s S ide

’

,
’

while as the wri t er has bee n told t he young people in the

— —

orchestra wo u ld whisper to each other that t hey were i n the

presence of a friend of Bee t hoven .

At t he Academy itself Bennet t s appointment whatever ,

’

may have been thought of i t elsewhere was unanimously '

approved All rallied ro u nd him as Potter had predicted

.
,

i n a letter already q u oted H e would himself t ell a tale of .

the confidence placed i n him by one of the humbler officials ,

an eccentric care t aker whose oddi t ies of speech and

manner did n o t escape B ennet t s ready powers of mimicry ’
.

B enjamin Bad m an had i n earlier years ingratiated himself , ,

with B ennet t by bringin g him cups of tea duri ng aft ernoon

lessons and had gone so far as to entrus t him and him
, ,

alone with the secret of his s u rname N ot lon g after

, .

Bennett s elec t ion to the Principalship and at a time when

’

the Directors had decided to close t h e Academy he met ,

the old retainer in the vestibule and said to him Well ,

‘
,

Benjamin we re all going to be r u ined

,
’
B u t Be njamin .
’

replied N o 110 M r Bennett if you ll S t ick by us we l l pull

, , , ,
’

,
’

it t hrough .
’

The opening of the winter session under the new

arrangements in September 1 8 6 6 found the Directors or
, , , , ,

to speak more precisely t h r ee of them busily continuing ,

their efforts to g ain external aid as extracts from their ,

correspondence will show B ennett as Pri ncipal had no .

, ,

actual par t in this nor did he for some little time to come , ,
3 58 R oya l A ca demy of M s ic u [CH .

allow himself to take much interest i n schemes of doubtful

issue After the first check i n the K ensington ne gotiations
.
,

his feelin g was that the Academy had been sli g hted his ,

confidence in its ever be ing adopted was shaken and he ,

t rusted to efficiency within the walls of the I nstitution as

g iving surer promise of future prosperity than indefini t e
r O o s a ls of outside help I t was no time for day -dreams
p p . .

There was plenty at hand to do work which could be done ,

with certainty of thereby improvin g the existing sta t e of

things H ere is an illustration of the simple course he set
.

himself to pursue Soon after his election the Directors .

summoned him to one of their meetin g s They were rather .

i n the clouds at the time with a panorama before their eyes ,

of glittering castles In which they hoped they mi g ht reside .

B ennett startled them by beggin g them to vote that the ,

‘

Committee -Room be cleaned the ceilin g whitewashed and 1

,

an estimate obtained for a cheap paperin g of the walls .

’

There was a freshness i n the idea The Academy had not .

for years paid attention to such details The Directors .

laughed but ag reed , .

Removal to other premises was however now their , ,

chief thought T he followin g is an epitome of t heir corre

.

s po n d e n c e .

Oc t . 1, 18S ir Georg e Clerk is anxious for the Academy

66 .

to be established in the basement of Burlington

H ouse .

Oc t 3 . S ir G C has been l ed by M r Cole to believe that

. . .

the Commissioners of the Grea t Exhibition would

give assistance .

Oc t 2 4. Sir G C t hinks that M r Cole should make some

. . .

distinct proposition and should be told that he had ,

caused an increased expenditure at the Academy by

holding out hopes of external aid .

N ov 2 9 . Lord Wilton thinks that the Academy has been

.

placed i n an unmerited position .

D ec 3 S ir G C thinks that the idea of Burli ngton H ouse

. . . .

must be given up the philosophers dreading t he ,

1
T h room i whi h p r t
e d o t h r i i t or w r r
n c i d M r Ott o
a en s an e v s s e e ec e ve .

Gold hmid t t old t h wri t r t h t t h ho h d b

sc e llow d t drift i t o
e a e us e a een a e o n a
mo t di r p t bl t t
s s e u a e s a e.
360 R oya l A ca demy of Mus ic [ CH . xx v
worked together but also of the enthusiasm of the other
Professors and their pupils The Directors at the end of
.
,

the s u mmer term went out of their way to address to t he

,

S t aff a g rateful ackno wledgment of their services and ,

specially referred to the Principal and Vice -Princip a l havin g

consented to retain thei r offices notwi t hstanding t he failure
of the K ensing t on scheme M r Goldschmidt as one of his
.
,

duties had taken control of the st u dents orchestral and

,
’

choral practices O n J u ly 2 4 he cond u c t ed a very interest

.

ing Prize concert at which the pupils bo t h as composers

,

and executants showed to good effec t A special feat u re of

.

this concert was a re v i v al of H andel s Ode for St Cecilia s

’ ‘ ’

Day which M r Goldschmidt had lately in tr od u ced into

’

Germany at t he Lower Rhine Festival M usically speak .

ing the house i n Tenterden Stree t was already brightening

, ,

and the doin g s of t he Academy for the first t ime for many
,

years received favourable notice from the Press

, .

O n J uly 2 6 Benne t t was at E astbourne lookin g pale and

, ,

worn H e had enjoyed no proper holiday for two years ;

.

nor could he take one now for he had to complete a sacred

,

work which was t o be performed at the approaching B ir

m i n g ha m Festival .
 C H A PT E R X XV I .

C A M BR I DG E P R O FE SS OR S HI P .

T H E W O M A N O F S A M A R IA
‘ ’
.

THE year 1 8 6 7 brought from Cambridge gratifyin g

recognition of Bennett s services H e had held his Pro
’

fe s s o r s hip for ele v en y ears Among the amateurs who had

.

gathered round him a t the time of his election some had ,

now risen to high positions i n the U niversity and wished ,

to use t heir i nfluence in placing the proceedings of the

musical facult y on a more set t led footing and also i n doin g ,

something for the Professor himself As t he first result of

.

this movement the following letter came from the Vice

,

Chancellor
C HRI ST S C O LLE G E C A MB RI D G E
’
.
,

M ay 1 1, 18 6 7 .

MY D EAR P R FE
S R
O S O ,

I t has been pointed out to me some little time

ago to my grea t s u rprise that no fee or pecuniary con
, ,

sideration was assigned by the U niversity to the Professor

of M usic .

As the Professor has duties to perform of a laborious

kind in regard to degrees i n M usic I think such an anomaly
,

should be rectified and I would wish wi t h yo u r permission

, , ,

to s u bmit a proposition to t he U niversity on the subj ect ,

not that I wish to mix you up in any wa y with the proposi

tion for I think it is an act of j ustice which ou g ht on
,

general grounds to be done .

Very truly yours ,

J A M E S C ART M E LL .
3 6 2 18 67 [CH .

M usical de g rees were in more than usual evidence

during the M ay -term in which the above was written Two .

of t he chief resident musicians J L H opkins org anist of , . .

,

Trinity and G M Garrett org anis t of S t J ohn s were

,
. .
,
’

both proceeding to the degree of Doctor which had so ,

far been gran t ed only once durin g B ennett s Professorship ’

.

The performances of the importan t exercises required for

the senior degree aroused a great d eal of interest and the ,

C olle g e chapels on both occasions were densel y crowded .

I t was Bennett s duty to conduct the composi t ions in the

’

presence of the Vice -Chancellor and other U niversi t y

o fficials .

Pendin g the decision as to the emoluments of the Pro

fe s s o rs hi p a rare distinction was conferred upon him by
,

the U niversity The holdin g of a Professorship did not

.

g ive complete membership of the U niversity and it was ,

now proposed to grant him the status of a member of the

S enate and accordingly the Vice -Chancellor wrote to offer
,

him the M A degree This was conferrin g so to speak the

. . .
, ,

freedom of the U niversity A large party of his Londo n .

musical friends includin g Cipriani Potter were present in

, ,

the S enate -H ouse when he took the degree Bennett .

greatly appreciated the spirit of this friendly act on the

part of the U niversi t y When others congratulated hi m .

upon it as an hon ou r he would at once correct that idea

sa ying N o it was not an hon or a ry but a c ompl et e deg ree
,
‘
,
I
,

by which he meant that the membership of the Senate was

the main point The Public Orator in his Latin speech on
.

the occasion made graceful references to B ennett s musician ’

ship b u t he g ave the real explanation of the award in this

,

partic u lar case when he spoke of the Professor s diligent ‘

’ ‘

and effectual performance of his honorary du t ies .

’

A Syndicate was appointed to report on the Proceed ‘

in g s in M usic This appears to have been the first time

.
’

that the U niversity gave any serious consideration to the

subj ect The Report when issued at the end of a year
.
, ,

did not go very far beyond confirming the course which

Bennett had hitherto pursued but the personal examination ,

of candidates was now established by authority aft er much ‘

deliberation it was found desirable to dispense with the

,
’

rf or ma n c e of t he Bachelors Exercises ; and i t was ruled

’

p e
 6
3 4 1 867 [ CH .

Composition on a larger scale was now occupyin g his

thoughts I n October 1 8 6 4 he had been asked t o pre
.
, ,

pare a sacred or secular work for the Birmingham Fes t ival

of 1 8 6 7 H is first reply begged time for consideration A
. .

work for B irmingham of all places could not be easily

, ,

promised Since t he time of M endelssohn few composers

.
,

had entered t he lists I n 1 8 5 1 an a t tempt was made and

.
, ,

was later renewed to i n duce M eyerbeer to come forward

,
.

H e entertained the proposal wrote about t he difficult y of ,

finding a subj ect and decided tha t if he did compose a

,

work it should be a short one to take up onl y one part of a

,

programme This i nten t ion though M eyerbeer did not

.
,

carry it o u t might hav e been quoted as a precedent when

, ,

Bennet t was lat er blamed for not contributing an O ratorio

of the standard len g th .

To satisfy the requiremen t s of a grand occasion and at ,

the same time to tread modestly in the domain of the g reat

masters of sacred music would present a great di fficulty to
,

B ennett I t was therefore no dilatoriness b u t rather a

.
,

j ustifiable hesitation that caused six t een mon t hs to pass

,

before he accepted the i nvita t ion I n February 1 8 6 6 he .

, ,

wrote to Colonel Oliver M ason the S ecretar y of t he ,

F estivals I f blessed with heal t h t he only condi t ion I ,

make wi t h your Commi t tee it will give me g reat pleas u re,

t o produce a new work at your next Festi v al I have found .

it impossible to resis t the invita t ion which has t hro u gh your

self been g iven so kindly and though t fully upon all points .
’

The original invi t a t ion altho u gh it made no direct reference

,

to Cos t a as conductor of the Festival was so worded as to ,

anticipate an y difficul t y that Benne t t migh t feel on that

gro u nd The prod u ction of the work was t o be entirely
.

under his own direction and con t rol and he was begged to ,

give careful considera t ion t o a req u es t which was made ‘

with all sincerity .

Before acceptin g he had found in the Scriptural episode

,

of The Woman of Samaria a subj ect which he tho u ght ’

suitabl e for his musical treatment I f he wished to write .

a reflective and devotional rather than a dramatic work his ,

choice was surel y a good one There was one powerful .

attraction in i t Sustained conversa t ions i n which our Lord

.

takes part are so rarely recorded i n the N ew Testament ,

x xvr] Th e Wm o an o f Sa m a r ia 36 5

that few musical works except the g reat Passion oratorios ‘ ’

have been written i n which H is presence and teaching ,

form the great feature Before Bennett began his composi .

tion he said to a former p u pil I have had the subj ect in

, ,
‘

my mind for a long t ime and think I can manage it for it , ,

will not require grand Choruses I f the solem n utterances .

’

of our Lord could be set the most serious part of the com ,

poser s work would be accomplished B ennett s contem

’
.
’

p o r a r i es in the,
result acknowledged his power of ,
treating
the sacred text with impressive reverence ‘
.

A year before the Festival his publishers engaged an ,

eminent writer to prepare the book of words The librettist .

had interviews and correspondence with the composer but ,

gave little practical assistance A fter some delay when .

,

he found t hat Bennett had himself made three successive

editions of a libretto he expressed his approval of the ,

result and retired N o offence was g iven or taken by

, .

either party but Bennett was disappointed for he had

, ,

relied upon obtainin g some help I t was fortunate how .

,

ever that he had not entirely done so When the Academy

, .

closed i n t he summer of 1 8 6 7 and he se t tled down at ,

E astbourne on J uly 2 6 twenty -ei g ht days of hard work lay ,

before him Some of the most important numbers of the

.

score were already written the subj ect was well i n his mind , ,

and by the time of the London rehearsal on Aug u st 1 6 all ,

the music for orchestra and chorus except a final Fugue , ,

was engraved The rest of his time was ample for com
.

pl et in
g the other portions of his work A manifest anxiety .

which burdened him during t he first few days at E ast

bourne quickly disappeared as the music be g an to engross
,

him H e showed no signs of haste spent much time i n

.
,

the open air retired early to rest and in the first hours of
, ,

the summer mornin g s would work recu mben t ly though ,

always up and about i n good time O ne morning when . ,

called he was wide awake and seemed i n very good spirits

, ,

but begg ed for a little respi t e sayin g I am g ettin g on , ,

‘

with my Fugu e .
’

The B irmin g ham C ommittee had appointed C usi ns to

conduct the work This arran g ement was most ag reeable .

1 V id p i lly W S R k t
e, s ec a rt i l , O r t orio i t h fir t di t io of
. . oc s ro s a
’
c e on
‘
a
’
n e s e n

Gro D i t i y f M i d M i i
ve s
’
c on a r o us c a n us c a n s.
3 6 6 18 67 [C H .

to Bennett Cusins had been one of his most favourite

.

pupils and was ve r y deligh t ed as he told the present wri t er ,

at t he time to have the opportunity of rendering this par

,

t i c u la r service Cusins went t o E astbourne to g o throu g h

.

the music and Ben ne t t did not t hink it necessary to attend

,

the London rehearsals but he went to B irmingham in time ,

for the final rehearsal on August 2 6 All care seemed to .

have been taken for his reception When Costa had .

finished his S hare in the morning s work he called for ’

Cusins and leaving the orches t ra re t ired to the President s ’

g allery from which he listened to Bennett s music with

,
’

earnest atten t ion I suppose you remember writes

.
‘
,
’

M r S t ockley t he B irmingham Chorus -master that your

, ,
‘

father a t the rehearsal was heartily summoned to the

orchestra b y band and choru s although with characteristic ,

modesty he wished to remain i n the bod y of the hall .

’

The performance of T he Woman of Samaria took ‘ ’

place on the morning of August 2 8 The deep impression .

it made on the audience co u ld be observed and was duly ,

noticed by the press Withou t the power or may -b e with .

,

ou t the desire o f excitin g listeners to a high pitch of

,

enth u siasm B ennett could cast a spell and rivet attention

, ,

and on this day his hold was complete The sea of faces .

upturned towards the President E arl Bea u champ at the , ,

end of almost e v ery number made it no eas y task for him to

decide what should be repeated The soloists were Mdlle .

T iti c u s M adame Sainton —Dolby W H C ummings and

, , . .
,

S a n t le y M adame Sainton caused a great sensation by her

.

singin g of the contralto Air O Lord Thou hast searched ,

‘
,

me out B ennett had composed this son g on his journey from

.
’

E astbo u rne to London on the previo u s Sat u rday morning .

O n his arri v al in B irmingham nex t da y he at once took it

t o M adame Sain t on She received him rather coldly as S he
.
,

had naturally wished t o see the music sooner When how .

,

ever she had sun g the son g to his accompaniment she was
, ,

so affected by it that she could not help embracing him

, .

Both he and C usins re t urned to The Stork H o t el m u ch ‘ ’

touched by her display of sympathy At the performance .

,

this number as also the tenor A ir H is salva t ion is nigh

, ,

them tha t fear H i m s u ng by M r W H Cummings and ,

’
. .
,

a six -part Chorus Therefore they shall come and sing

,
‘
,
’
36 8 1 867 [ CH . xxv1

used to think he wrote very pretty music H e certainly did

.
’

not allow those who lived with him to inherit from hi ms elf
any animosity a gainst his foe Whether C osta s hos t ility
.
’

to Bennett was based entirely on the incident of Parisina ’

i n 1 8 4 8 is open to some doubt Weist H ill the first

, .
,

D irector of the Guildhall School of M usic but previously

,

a leadin g member of Costa s orchestra told one of Bennett s

’

,
’

former pupils that he hn ew the mali g n influences which had

,

been at work to keep C osta and Bennett apart .

 C H A PT E R X XV I I .

A C R I SI S AT T H E R OY A L A C A D E M Y OF M USIC .

A F ER
T the B irmingham Fes t i val Bennett was able to ,

indul g e i n a fortni g ht s holiday This he much enjoyed ’

.
,

spending the time with his dau g hter at E astbourne and

B righton M r W C Stockle y the B irmingham Chorus
. . .
,

master came across him in E astbourne and found him

, ,

very grateful for the fine performance of The Woman ‘

of Samaria This holiday t hou g h none too long was

.
’

, ,

opportune I t was a breathing -space between the fu lfil

.

ment of a d u ty as a composer and the arrival of trouble

from another source .

When the Academy re -opened in September 1 8 6 7 the , ,

Directors were expecting an answer to their petition for

increased aid from the Government I n a circular sent .

by them to the Professors during the vacation they stated ,

that while t hey had feared the necessity of closing the i n

s t i t u t i o n a depu t ation to the Chancellor of the E xchequer
,

had met with a reception so favourable as to lead them to

expect the larger Grant Their hope howev er was not .
, ,

realized I n October the news came that the present

.

allowance of £ 50 0 instead of being increased would be

, ,

withdrawn The Lords of the Treasury wrote in explana

.

tion that they were about to consider what steps should

be taken to es t ablish a cheap s y stem of musical instruction
‘

u nder some department of the Governmen t S ince ad v ice

‘ ’
.

on a musical question would probably reach M r Gladstone

and M r Disraeli from di fferent sources it is conj ectured ,

S. B .
3 7 0 A C r is is a t t he A ca d mye

that the chan g e of M inistry had turned the scale in favour

of t hose who regarded t he Academy as a stumbling-block
i n t he way of new schemes The Academy authorities .

only saw one issue as re g arded themselves of M r Disraeli s

, ,
’

decision Lord Wilton considered it the death blow to the

.
-

Academy S ir George Clerk wrote The Academy must

.
’

,
‘

be closed without delay The Directors met on N ov 2 0 .

’
.
,

and thou g h too few of them were present to form a

,

q u orum res o lved that i n conseq u ence of the Treasury

, ,
‘

letter the Academy wo u ld be closed i n M arch

,

and that a letter sho u ld be addressed to t h e Q ueen placi ng

the Char t er at H er M ajesty s disposal A few days later ’
.
’

Lord Wilton wrote to a fellow -Director : I f anythi ng ‘

co u ld be more anno y ing than under the present greatly ,

improved position of the Royal Academy of Music to be ,

obliged to close the insti t ution it is the circumstance of ,

the want of interest or necessary absence of the Directors

at such an important crisis i n its affairs renderin g it i n
cumbent upon those few who were present to take the
responsibility of action i n the matter .
’

At this ex t remi t y Bennett came to the rescue H e

, .

had been i nvited to at t end the Directors meeting A few ’

.

days after that meeting he wrote ,

:

38 QUEEN S BO R O U G H T ERRAC E .

N ov ember 2 4, 18 6 7 .

MY D EAR PY E ,

As a very old friend I cannot disguise from

you that I feel myself to have been in the wrong position
at th e D irec t ors meeting on Wednesday When I was
’

i nvited to mee t the Direc t ors according to the Secretary s ,

’

note of some three weeks since I certainly t hou ght it ,

probable that I should be asked to take part i n the dis

c u s s i o n whether the Academy S hould close or not I nstead .

of t hat I was called into the C ommi t tee -room when the
,

deliberations were over to have the bare fact announce d ,

that the Academ y was to be given up I am still of .

opinion though I stood alone at the meeting that the

, ,

Academy could be kept going on un t il J uly so as to give ,

further time for reflection I t is a consolation to me that .

even the smallest opportunity occurred to allow me to

3 7 2 A Cr is is a t t he A ca d mye [ OH .

of the Academy s Governing Body It s management had ’

.

lapsed into the hands of a few indi v iduals who have so far , ,

been mentioned by name or called Directors B ut the , .

a ctual management of the Academy was vested in a Com

m i t t ee a Committee which might or mi g ht not be selected

,

from the Directors but which as a mat t er of fact had been

, , ,

almost invariably so selected The Committee was i n fact .

, ,

though perhaps not intended to be so b y the Charter a ,

s u b committee of the Directors

-
I n the Charter the office .
,

o f Chairman of the Committee had been reserved to Lord

Westmorland for his life and it was as Chairman that he ,

f ound t he power of ruling the I nstit u t ion with an almost

absol u te swa y The Presidency of the Directors which he
.
,

did not hold had more the nature of a titular dis t inction
, .

When he died i n 1 8 59 S ir Georg e C lerk Ba rt who had

, , , ,

been connected with the Academy since its earliest days ,

and who had acted as dep u ty during Lord Wes t morla n d s ’

lon g absences as Ambassador succeeded him as Chairman , .

Tradi t ion gives Lord Westmorland t he credi t of ha v ing

managed the Academy with a personal interest so keen ,

as to discourag e others when he was on the spot from , ,

rendering him any assistance At any rate whatever .

,

the reason may have been the Committee had gradually ,

dwindled away and at t he time to which this story relates

,

was scarcely existent S ir George Clerk died j ust before .

this meeting in Feb 1 8 6 8 Two active officials remained . . .

Lord Wilton was al ready President of the D irectors and ,

M r K ellow Pye naturally took the vacant Chairmanship .

A Committee was wanted but where was it to be found ? ,

S ir George Clerk had tried his hardest but had admitted ,

his inability to obtain fresh members At t his meeting

, .
,

the Principal Vice -Principal and two other Professors to

, ,

be nominated by them were placed on the Commit t ee

of M anag ement The introd u ction of the professional ele
.

ment was a new departure but for the time being seemed ’
, , ,

imperati ve .

The intention to close the Academy still held good .

The dissolution was merely pos tpon ed from M arch to J uly .

The Directors had sent away the Charter Benne t t was .

1
Mr K llow
e Py e , pr io ly m io d
ev us en t ne in t hi book
s as a m u s i c i a n , ha d ,
ea rly in lif l f
e, e t t he m i l prof io
us ca es s n.
xxvn ] Meet ing of Su bs c r i bi ng —Mem ber s 373

able to get privately from a high legal au thority an opinion

u pon t he right of t he Directors t o surrender the Charter .

The opinion wa s tha t according t o the terms of the Charter ,

itself t he Subscribing-members cons t ituted the Corpora

,
‘ ’

tion and that t h e Academ y could not be dissolved if any

,

one member dissented B u t the Charter was re t u rned to .

the Directors for ano t her reason I t co u ld only be ann u lled .

by A c t of Parliament This would involve cost and t he .

,

Academy had laid nothin g by to pay its own funeral

expenses Sir H enr y C ole (as appears in his B iography )
.

described t his as an unsuccessful attempt on the part of

the Di rectors to clear the way for n ew ac t ion
‘
But the .
’

D irectors as their correspondence shows thought them

, ,

selves f or c ed to close t he Academy T he y did not sur .

render to oblige opponents The a t t emp t at a clearance .

must be credited to M r Disraeli s advisers ’

.

T he Directors made use of the further t ime which the ,

postponement gave them to appeal again to the Chancellor ,

of t he E xcheq u er An unfavourable reply reached them.

i n April and they then called a general mee t ing of the

,

S u bscribing-members They too had taken cou nsel s .

, ,
’

opinion and had found that t hey could not a c t by them

selves Sir J ohn Pa ki n g t o n (afterwards Lord H ampton )
.
,

as one of the Directors of the Academy presided at this ,

meeting on M ay 2 H e then said ; I n this report the .

‘

Directors have placed i n a few words the whole situation .

T he insufficiency of funds for its support leaves us no

al t ernative but to close the Royal Academy of M u sic .
’

S ir J ohn Pa ki n g t o n who was at the ti me a Cabinet ,

M inister had probably been able to convince the D irectors

,

that there was no hope of a renewal of the Grant by the

present Government When he left the chair a supple .
,

mentary meetin g was held Benne t t smarting u nder a .

,

sense of injury and imagining that the M inis t ry were really

,

about to propose a system of c heap musical education threw ,

aside all reserve made a long and t ellin g speech referred

, ,

to the treatment of the Academy at t he time of his electio n

as a deception ridiculed the idea of settin g up a gigan t ic
‘
,
’ ‘

school of music in H yde Park with M r Cole as the national ‘

music master and prophesied a sure future for the Academy

-
,
’

if his hearers would but ag ree that it shou l d exist H e .

3 74 A C r is is a t t he A ca demy [C H .

carried the meeting with him M r George Wood moved .

the appointment of a special committee to consider t he

means for continuing the Academ y and to communicate ,

the result t o the Directors S everal sums of £ 50 were .

subscribed in the room .

The various reasons for withdrawing the Grant which ,

were given by the Lords of the Treas u ry in correspondence

with the Directors as well as in answer t o questions put
,

i n the H ouse of Commons were never twice alike The ,

.

impossibility of ge t ting any satisfac t ory explana t ion or of ,

finding what i nfluence hostile t o the Academy was at work ,

severely tried Bennett s patience H e had no experience of

:
’
.

the intricacies of diplomacy and s t atecraft E ven a small .

argument was not to his taste O n one occasion when .

asked to explain an admired modula t ion i n a compos i tion of

his own he is said to have avoided discussion by taking
,

down a box from a shelf and saying Try one of these ,

‘

cigars .
’
M eetings speech -making letter-writing on impor
, ,

tant s u bjects were not to his liking and it would t ake

, ,

a great deal to rouse him to controversy ; but he now

en t ered u pon a campaign from which thou gh it worried him ,

terribl y he did not flinch He wrote at great length to

, .

The Ti m es ; he sent letter after let t er to the Treas u ry ; he

demanded but very respectfully an explanation from the
, ,

Prime M inister of his s t atement i n the H ouse that aft er ,

‘

ex a m i n a t i on the Academy had been fo u nd in an u n s a t i s

factory condi t ion and pressed for a withdrawal which aft er

’

m u ch persistence he obtained of what he considered a ,

gro u ndless imputation on the Professors of the Academy .

This was but the beginning of a kind of work which came

to him q u ite u nexpec t edly when he was well on in life wi t h
,

out having acquired any habi t ual facili t y for i t There was .

a g reat deal more of it in s t ore for him H e did i t con .

s c i e n t i o us l
y and it
, lay within his powers to do it very well ,

but not witho u t a great expenditure of time and thou ght .

Exceeding caution re gulated its performance and kept him ,

always on his g uard H aving once taken u p the Academy

.

he gave his heart and soul to it I ts grievances and troubles .

became his own personal grievances and troubles and they ,

g rea t l y affected so sensitive a man .

The special Committee appointed at the meeting of

 C H A PT E R X XV I I I .

A M BR I DGE LO C A L EX A M I N A T I ON S
C .

A DD I T I ON S T O T H E WO M A N O F S A M A RI A ‘
.
’

A SS O CI AT I ON S WI T H G ERM A N Y U PP I N G HA M S C H OOL . .

W H E N the Cambrid g e Local E xaminations were i nsti

t u t e d in 1 8 5 8 the Grammar of M usic was introduced as ’

an optional subject Any fresh sign of music bein g .

respected as a serious study by educational authorities was

g ratifying to an E nglish musician Whether school -boys .

would be found wil ling to take up such a subj ect must at

first have seemed uncertain B ennett was interested i n t he .

experiment H e was asked to examine and did so for six

.
,

teen years .

Ten years earlier i n 1 8 4 8 when Queen s Colle g e , ,

’

H arley Street was founded he had started H armony -classes

, ,

there bein g possibly the first person to teach the subj ect in
,

this country to classes of youn g ladies not intendin g to

become professional musicians H e wrote at this t i me .
, ,

portions of a Text-book on H armony ; also and with more ,

completeness A C ompanion to the H armony Book

,
‘
In .
’

the latter with the view of impressing on the mind of

,

studen t s the individuality of each chord and of each i nver

sion he culled from the works of g reat musicians examples
, , ,

of their use which to quote some of his own words he ,

‘

thought bold beautiful happy telling

‘
,
’
charming
‘
,
’ ‘
,
’ ‘
,
’ ‘
,
’

‘
fresh or independent master-strokes Though he did
,
’ ‘ ’ ‘
.
’

not complete these books he may have used t hem i n ,

manuscript for teaching ; and at any rate he carried them to

cu . xxv111] L oc a l E x a min a t ion s 377

a further point than the pupils of the College are likely to

have reached The young ladies did not absorb much
.

H armony A fter some years when he passed on this work

.
,

to others he admitted that the resul t s had been most dis

,

c o u ra i n
g g Di fficulty i n realizing
. the sound of written
notes ma y at first have come to him as a surprise I n other .

ladies schools with which he was connected he would urge

’

and sometimes induce the Principals to engage a teacher of

H armony so t hat his own pianoforte pupils might be i n
,

structed in the Theory When their exercises were brought .

for his occasional inspection he would say I t looks very , ,

‘

nice on paper but I hope they have got it in their heads

, .
’

The boys papers on their first arrival at Cambri dg e

’

were as might be expected very poorly done ; and this

, ,

remained the case for a few years B ennett however paid .

, ,

great attention t o them without stint of time As years , .

passed and improvement gradually came he was much

, ,

pleased The arrival at length of a paper perfect i n every

.
, ,

detail was an event which so delighted him that he often

, ,

referred to it and still had it on his mind when he a gain

,

crossed the path of the successful boy some years later 1

.

H e would look forward to the week at Christmas time which

he gave to this examination I t was a chang e for him and .
,

he would mention it in letters as one of the events of an ,

approaching holiday H e would linger over a harmony .

exercise o f a few bars and become so absorbed in it that ,

when ten or fift een minutes had passed it would be n ec es ,

sary to disturb him and to tell him that he must get on .

Then he would say Yes yes g ive him his marks for he , , ,

liked some one by his side to re g ister the results not him ,

self caring for arithmetical details H e was however .

, ,

always anxious to hear the total of the addition and very ,

sympathetic if it nearly but not quite reached the prescribed ,

m 1n 1m u m .

The week thus spent and a few days at B righton ,

represented i n these y ears t he us u al extent of his Christ

, ,

mas holidays I n J anuary 1 8 6 8 the B ri g hton days were

.
, ,

occupied i n beginning an additional C horus Therefore ,

‘

with joy shall ye draw water for The Woman of Samaria ,

’
.
’

1R i h rd P dl b y ft rw rd S ior Wr gl r d F llo w of S t J oh
c a en e ur a e a s en an e an e n s
’

C oll g C mbrid g
, ,

e e, a e.
37 8 18 68 [ CH .

This C horus he finished on his return to London Lamborn .

C o ck who was now publishin g the work was also a rra n g

, ,

ing for two performances of it at St J ames s H al l i n ’

Febru ary and M arch in order to introduce it to a London

,

audience For the firs t of these Bennett had the new

.
,

Chorus ready O n the eve of the rehearsal he wrote the

.

unaccompanied Quartet God is a Spirit Dr W H ,

‘
.
’
. .

Cummin g s who took part in the Quartet has said that when
, ,

the copied parts were handed to the singers on the platform ,

the ink was not yet d ry .

A lady who just at this time was takin g lessons from

,

Bennett asked him if his surroundings influenced him when

,

composing I do not know he replied but I get an idea

.
,
’

sometimes while sta ring at a brick wall A small sitting .

’

room at t he back of his house in Queensborough Terrace ,

had its window facing the side wall of the next house and ,

the table stood i n front of the window H e ne v er had any .

room of his own which he styled a study and when com ,

’

posin g he was so absorbed that others could sit near him or

go quietly in and out without his minding When he was .

wri t ing God is a Spirit one of his family on opening the ,

’

door t o enter t he room was struck with his appearance , .

H e was not at the time facing the brick wall H is head .

used t o t urn round with a very g radual movement when

, ,

music was i n it as if he were listenin g for a distant sound

,

and at this moment had rea ched the full extent of its swing ,

and he was lookin g with a very beautifu l expression on his

,

face direc t ly towards the door H is larg e eyes were there

, .
,

fore fu ll on the intruder who was onl y a few feet from

, ,

him and feared that interrup t ion had been caused But
, .

this was not so H e was not conscious of any one s

.
’

presence and when his head had finished its S hor t period
,

of rest i t gen t ly took its backward swing and the hand

, ,

be gan to move on t he music-paper .

To set the seal of approval on a sacred work wri t ten for

a Fes t ival a performance of i t by the Sacred H armonic
,

S ocie t y was in those days generally looked for ; but that

Society being one of Costa s stron g holds was not likely to
,
’

favour Benne t t The Woman of Samaria had to be con

.
’

t ent with the two performances mentioned above another ,

by the N ational Choral Society under G W M artin and a . .

,
3 8 0 18 68 [ CH .

Retrospect became the chief feature in B ennett s love for ’

Germany H is house in his later years was no rendezvous

.
, ,

for musicians coming with musical purposes After he .

resi g ned the Philharmonic conductorship he had no longer ,

any fixed opport u nities of comin g into contact with foreign

ar t ists of a yo u nger generation who visited this country .

Those however who had known him earlier still regarded

, , ,

him as the chief worker amongst E nglish musicians i n the , ,

ca u se of German art ; and he was never happier than when

a letter of i ntrod u ction from Germany brought to his doors
some young foreigner to whom he could render se rvice ,
.

Of his own contemporaries Ferdinand H iller with whom , ,

he had in earlier life only a S light acquaintance came t o

, , ,

E ngland more frequently in these later years and lost no ,

chance of cultivating his friendship H iller after wards .

w rote : As a man B ennett was extremely simple n u

‘
, ,

affected open honourable good tempered cheerful and

, , ,
-
,

sociable German musicians found in him a truly heart -felt

.

welcome Bennett when young expressed i n writin g his

.
’

, , , ,

con t empt for those E nglish ar t ists who after a tour on the ,

con t inen t aped foreign man ners and even pretended to

, ,

forget the pronunciation of their own lan g uag e But from .

,

old associations he retained a love for the sound of the

,

German ton g ue thoroughly enj oyed to speak with it him

,

self and when i n the societ y of Germans to show himself

, ,

as far as possible the German H e would amuse them and

, .

himself by comparing the customs of their country and his

own wo u ld take care that some attemp t should be made to
,

introduce German dishes on his dinner-t able or would order ,

such E nglish ones as would give his foreign visitors a new

experience M any a laugh wou ld go round at his loyal
.

effort to S how a keen relish for S a u er -hr a u t and he would ,

watch with lively interes t the faces of those who suspiciously

tasted m i n t -s a u ce for the first time .

Before his departure for Leipzig i n 1 8 6 5 the Rev , .

E dward Thrin g H eadmaster of U ppin gham commissioned

, ,

him to find some one to take charge of the music at that

school B enne t t referred this matter to Ferdinand David
.
,

who mentioned his own son M r Paul David accepted the .

appointment and from that time became a frequent visitor

, ,

durin g the school holidays at Bennett s house i n London ,

’
.
xxvm ] G er m a n V is it or s 8
3 1

I n the summer of 1 8 6 8 Ferdinand David was expec t ed ,

i n E n gland on a visit to his son and it was arranged ,

t hat he should spend part of the time in Queensborough

Terrace .

A THENAEU M ,

j u ly 5 18 6 8
EAR D A I
, .

MY D V D,

I am lookin g forward with great pleasure to

your visit to us I also hope it is certain you will bring
.

your t wo dau g hters with you We have plenty of z i mm er . .

Let me know when y ou come Cannot you persuade .

Schleinitz to come with you H e must bring the score of

t he M e e r es t i lle with him that will keep him well if he
’
‘
, ,

leaves out the middle movement I have plenty of room ‘

.

for him Wri t e soon

. .

E ver yo u r friend ,

W I LL IA M S T ER N DA LE B E N N E TT .

Bennett postponed his E astbo u rne holiday and remained

at home in the be g inning of Au g ust to receive David his ,

daughter and M r and M rs Pau l David of Uppingham

, .

T his was a rare treat for him I t was no u nusual thing for .

him to have intimate friends staying in his ho u se but as a ,

rule he could himself see little of them H e now said that .

he could not remember ever spending a whole week i n his

own house entirely free from work and u nder circumstances
of g reater enj oyment H e always asked German visitors
.

to go with him to Cambridge taking much pride in S howing ,

them an E nglish U niversity H e had occasionally been .

vexed when his persuasion had failed and when he had ,

been unable to convince one or other of such visitors t hat

they wo u ld find something different from the many U niver
si t ies they had seen i n their own country David s a ppre .
’

c ia t ion of Cambridge entirely satisfied him H e would .

aft erwards relate how upon entering K ing s College ’

Chapel David was so taken aback by the beauty of t he

,

i nterior that he seated himself and after a few m inutes

, ,

silence said with grea t seriousness B ennett you must let

, ,

1 S hl i i t z prob bly po
c e n d th a s s e s se e ori g ina l sc or of M d l oh
e en e ss
’
n s O ve t u r r e
whi h wo ld o t for t h r f r
c u a cc un e e e e n c e.
3 8 2 18 68 [CH .

me stay here I must see nothing aft er t h i s

,
Bennett s .
’ ’

own lo v e for the Chapel was so intense that his companion

could not have touched a more responsive chord This .

was his last remi niscence of Ferdinand David who was on ,

the point of leavin g Cambridge for U ppingham They .

never met again T he following affectionate le t ter illus

.

trates the warm place which Bennett had retained in the

heart s of his German friends .

E I S ENAC H A g 4 8 6 8 ,
u . 2 , 1 .

M Y D EAR B E N N E T T ,

I got back here happil y eight days ago and ,

must now no longer delay to thank you a thousand times

for all the love and goodness which you have shown to
myself and my dau ghter N ever shall I forget it and
.
,

happy shall I be if any opportunity arises to S how my

gratitude .

B u t you will be tired with my German feelings and I ,

will try to say the rest in my bad E nglish H ere i n .

E isenach I found my wife pretty well She is quite g er ii hrt.

ti ber I hre Gute fii r mich u nd meine Tochter I al ways .

t hink with the greatest pleasure of my s t ay with yo u i n

E ngland I understand the country and everythin g m u ch
.

bet t er than before and I am returned a g reat admirer of

your co u ntry your cou ntrymen your institutions and of
, ,

everything That day in Cambridge was one of the most

.

i n t eres t ing to me and very often I read in that book which

,

you were kind enou g h to leave for me .

Good-bye dear Bennet t

,
God bless you i n every
.

respect.

Believe me for ever , ,

Your friend ,

F ER D I N A N D D AV I D .

M y wife sends her

her zlichste Gr u sse dem g uten Bennett .

B ennett took great interest in M r Paul David s work at ’

U ppingham H e went down twice every year to examine

.

the music of the school A S time went on he was special ly

.

pleased at the progress made i n instrumental music which ,

 C H A PT E R XXI X .

G O ER
V NME NT G R A N T REST O RE D T O T H E R A OF M U S I C . . .

THE R A O F M U S I C AN D T H E S O C I E T Y O F A R T S
. .

IN September 1 8 6 8 when Benne t t entered upon t he

, ,

third year of his Principalship at the Academy with t he ,

duties of Chairman of the C ommittee of Management now

added the new Commit t ee reported that the Professors
,
‘ ’

sacrifice of their fees durin g the summer term had cleared

the institution from debt that the Pri ncipal had altogether
,

resigned his salary and t hat new donations and s u b s c r i p

,

tions had been received O n the other hand the D irectors

.
’

,
’

determination to close the institution in the previous sum

mer had made it difficult to admit new pupils i n the earlier
,

part of the year and the number of students which had

, ,

risen in 1 8 6 7 had ag ain decreased N o one at this time

, .
, ,

who watched from outside had any belief that the i n s t i t u

,

tion would survive the crisis .

The year 1 8 6 9 opened with a graceful display of good

feeling towards B enne t t in his native town At a meeting .

held in Sheffield d u ring the previous autumn it was resolved ,

to in v i t e him to S pend a few days amongst his friends and

former pupils resident in the town The i nvi t at ion bore .

m any S ignatures ; he accepted i t ; and went down for five

days in J anuary as the guest of William H oward his ,

father s friend whose house had sheltered him as an orphan

’

fift y years before As an episode of the visit a compli

.
,

m entary concert was carefully prepared The programme .

,

drawn from his own music incl u ded The Woman of ,

‘
CH . XX I X] Th e Ti de Tu r n s 8
3 5

Samaria and the P F Concerto in F minor played by his

,
’
. .

pupil M iss M H Parkes The conductor Walter I bbotson

, . . .
, ,

and the organis t Percival Phillips had bo t h been his pupils

, ,

at the Academy The orches t ra led by H J F re em a n t l e

.
, . .
,

included several members of H alle s M anchester band ’

T he Concert H all was specially decorated for the occasion ,

and when the guest of the evenin g accompanied by M r ,

H oward entered the audience rose en ma ss e and g ave their

, ,

fellow-townsman a Yorkshire ovation This was not t he .

last occasion on which his connection with S heffield received

reco g nition When he was kni g hted his friends and a d
. ,

m i r e rs i n t he town sent him a handsome address of con

gratulation After his death they subscribed liberally for a
.

marble bust the work of M M alempr e which they presen t ed

, .
,

to the Cutlers H all and which was unveiled by Stirlin g

’

H oward son of William H oward in December 1 8 7 5

, , , .

N ow in 1 8 6 9 came a t u rn of the tide in t he fortunes

, ,

of the Royal Academy of M usic T he policy of waiting .

‘ ’

and of defying discouragement proved sound The fall of .

the C onserva t ive Government in December 1 8 6 8 gave an , ,

O pportunity of t e -openin g the question of the Grant and ,

B ennett appealed to the new Prime M inister M r Gladstone , ,

who had as Chancellor of the Exchequer first bestowed

, ,

the Grant five years before .

C ARLT O N H O U S E T ERRA CE 11 ,

M a r ch 5, 18 69 .

I have not ne g lected the subj ect of your letter

which reached me some time back and a further enquiry ,

shall be made in t o the circumstances by the C hancellor of

the E xchequer .

I have the honour to be ,

Your obedient servant ,

W E G LAD S TON E . . .

D r Sterndale Bennett .

T he Chancellor of the E xchequer had apparently no , ,

di fficulty i n j ud g in g the circumstances which had prompted

the withdrawal of the Grant The above letter was imme .

d i a t el y followed by ano t her announcin g that the £ 50 0 as ,

an allowance for rent would be replaced on the estimates , .

3 8 6 R oya l A ca demy of Mus ic [CH .

The g oo d news when received at the Academy gave occa

, ,

sion not so much for open rej oicing as for solemn thanks
giving T he stigma which the withdrawal o f the Grant
.
,

had cast upon the I nstitution was at length removed and , ,

the machinations of unknown foes had been overturned .

T he £ 50 0 came back with a greatly increased value N 0 .

event connected with Bennet t s later life was more satisfy ’

i n g to him than the restoration of this Grant AS Chairman .

of the Committee he himself received the order annually

, ,

sent for the money T he last time it reached him was a

, .

few days before his death I t was one of the last thin g s he .

handled and he showed a somewhat painful reluc t ance to

,

relax his grasp of the paper A custom of the A cademy .

was to ask some lady to distribute the prizes to the students

at their summer concert F rom the time the Grant was .

restored Bennett always asked M rs Gladstone to preside

,

on these occasions and S he very kindly consented for some

,

years in succession This gave her an opportunity of hear

.

in g the pupils performances as also the Principal s Report

’

,
’

and the announcement which he was now annually able to

make of a continuous increase i n the n u mber of students .

M rs Gladstone s constant appearance on these days was

’

much appreciated S he showed lively interest and took

.
,

her part i n the ceremony wi t h charming grace M oreover . ,

there was a general feeling that her presence symbolized

a link between the Academy and the statesman who had
befriended it .

H istory now repeated itself The A cademy was again .

enj oyin g the patronage of the Government and the pro ,

m o t e rs of a new scheme thereupon renewed their overtures .

T he musical Committee of the S ociety of Arts had j ust

recommenced its S ittin g s and M r Cole still found the desire
,

remaining in influential quarters that a new I nstitution

should be a development of the old one The S ociety of .

Arts now proposed that the Academy should join them m

a petition for state-aid towards a music school on a larg e
scale The Academy having so recently secured what it
.
,

wanted from Government wisely shrank from asking for ,

anything further The experience of eighteen mon t hs ago

.

was dead against such a course One of M r Disraeli s .

’

various explanations for havin g withdrawn the Grant ,

38 8 R oya l A ca demy of Mus ic [ CH . x x 1x

of the Academy so opposed to union with t he Society

,

of Arts t hat the prospects of any successful issue grew

smaller and smaller They were certainly opposed to
. ,

and in the end declined union over this particular vent u re

,
.

To S ign t he petition draft ed b y the Socie t y of Arts which

, ,

exhibited the present I nstitution as failin g to satisfy the

requirements of a national school of music was i n their ,

opinion decidedly impoli t ic T hey could not again place .

i n j eopardy the recovered support of the Government .

H ow could they count on its continuance if they appended ,

their names to a petition which prayed for a Grant towards

a pr oper Academy ? ’

When the Society of Arts sent in their petition to the

Government it was backed by another one emanatin g from
,

a private I nstitution entitled The London Academy of ‘

M usic This second appeal urg ed the foundation of a

.
’

Government School of M usic and National Opera The .

’

suggestion of the Opera ensured the signatures of many

leadin g operatic art i sts so that the document was likely to
,

carry weight The foundation of a Government School

.

would scarcely be nefit The London Academy of M usic

‘
,
’

but the downfall of The Royal Academy of M usic might ’

do so and therefore the prime obj ect of this petition

,

seemed to disclose itself i n a paragraph which advised the

Government that any further help to the Ro y al Academy
of M usic would prove equal ly discredita ble to the country
‘
,

and wasteful of its funds .

’

I t was well for t he Academy that it did not participate

in these movements T hey were unsuccessful and the old
.
,

I nstitution did not risk the loss of the only assistance which
the Treasury was prepared to give to higher musical educa
tion With a Royal Charter Ro y al Patronage prestige
.
, ,

attachin g to Government reco g n i t i on now also with an ,

increasing number of students to brin g fresh spirit to its

work and to help its finances the Academy was in a fairly ,

stron g position .The I nstitution was not too proud to

hope for fu rther assistance from outside but could wait ,

u n t il such time as that assis t ance mi g ht come in a more

definite shape than had yet been the case T he m ain du t y .

of the Academy wa s i n Bennett s opinion to concern itself

,
’

with the present .

 C H A PT E R XXX .

C O M O S IT O NP I S .

SOM E CI R CU M ST A N CES OF H IS P R IV ATE LI FE .

IN M ay 1 8 6 9 B ennett was associated with an i m

, ,

portant ceremony at Cambrid g e S t J ohn s Colle g e of .

’

which he was a member was holdin g high festival on the ,

occasion of the consecration of a new Chapel and had ,

gathered within its walls some thousand of its own alumni

and distinguished visi t ors including t he C hancellor of the
U niversity Bennett had been asked by D r Bateson the
.
,

M aster of St J oh n s to write the Anthem for the C o n s ec ra

’

tion S ervice After ascertaining that his doing this would

.

be agreeable to Dr Garrett the O rganist of the College , ,

he gladly consented H e wrote at considerable length to

.

words selected by D r Bateson and himself The Anthem .

,

N ow my God let I beseech Thee with its grave

, , ,
’

and reverent measures was valued as a very appropriate ,

accessory to an event which saw the result of much self

sa c r i fic e on the part of man y members of the Foundation

and which was re garded by them as one of deep solemnity .

The day however was also celebrated with much outward

, ,

rej oicing .

The members of the College M usical Society wi t h the ,

assistance of London artists gave a concert in the Guild ,.

hall which was attended by the Chancellor and other

,

g uests of the Colle g e Bennet t with Carl Reinecke of

.
,

Leipzi g sittin g by his side showed a wide -awake i nterest i n

,

the proceedin g s At a supper-party later he con g ratulated

.
,
39 0 [ 8 69 — 18
7 0 [CH .

the undergraduate performers on the soothin g effect of

their strains and upon the number of B ishops whom he
,

had watched g radually sinking under its i nfluence into , ,

slumber .

E xcept for one short Prael udium in B flat written at the , ,

request of a favourite pupil H arold Thomas for perform , ,

ance at a concert Bennett had not for many years added

, , ,

to his pianoforte music S o long ago as the beginning of .

1 8 56 he was cont emplating a series of pieces illustrative of

the mon t hs of the year H e chose mottoes from the poets

. ,

also pictorial illustrations which were engraved as vignettes

for the title pages and probably set himself the task of
-
,

writi ng one number each month as that year went on .

H e finished J anuary and February ; but in M arch he

” ‘ ’

was elected to the Cambrid g e Professorship and the con ,

d u c t o rs hi p of the Philharmonic immediately followed He .

a b a n d o n e d pla y i n g In public and possibly as a natural con

f , ,

sequence ceased for some years to write for the pianoforte

, .

B y the summer of 1 8 6 9 however he had made some a d , ,

vance with the principal (the 2 n d ) movement of a Sonata ,

which he christened The M aid of Orleans T he writer

‘
.
’

remembers a day at E astbourne in that year when he was ,

shown a passag e beg inning at the 53 rd bar and in their ,

walk the same afternoon father and son san g tog ether several
times a s a piece of fun sugg ested by B ennett the two parts
, ,

written in contrary motion But this movement took some .

time to complete I n nothing that he wrote could he have

.

taken more interest yet he seemed quite content to let the

,

music as it came to him re g ulate its own progress About

, , .

the publication of his works he showed the same caution as

ever . I n this year he had quite a long correspondence
with his German publishers about printing the score of his
seven -year-old Overture Paradise and the Peri H e kept , .
’

his Symphony in G minor in manuscript till it had reached

the same age AS another i nstance of caution he would
.
, ,.

i n his later life g et his London publisher i n the case of

, ,

smaller works to en g rave them so that he might see how

, ,

they looked i n pri nt and he would then keep them to him

,

self i n that form I f he lent them to his friends for private

.

performance they would find the words Proof as M S

,
‘
.
’

s tamped upon the copies One of these was an ei g ht -part

.
39 2 [ 8 69 — 18 7 0 [ CH .

to twenty -seven per cent on the income he was making .

when he accepted the appointment I n J anuary 1 8 7 0 he .

, ,

wrote to his Aunt at Cambridge on the subj ect of some

family obligation for which they had made themselves
jointly responsible H e then mentioned his difficulties but
.
,

without referring to and perhaps without thinkin g of the

, ,

Academy as bein g the cause of them I do not tell you .

‘

these thin gs he wrote to make you unhappy but to show

,
’

, ,

you what a critical time of my life this is .

’

I n the same J anuary his daughter was happil y married

to M r Thomas Case then Fellow of B rasenose C olle g e , ,

Oxford and the second son of M r Robert Case Since

, .

leaving school i n 1 8 6 5 she had worked very hard for her ,

father and especially as a secretary had made herself

, , ,

almost indispensable She is j ust like her mother was

.
‘
,
’

his favourite phrase about her H er new home was at .

Oxford but fortunately he was still able to see her for long
,

spells of time U niversi t y terms were short and she with

.
,

her husband spent vacations in Bayswater where their ,

parents continued to reside as close neighbours N ever .

t hel e s s letters written soon after her marriage show how

,

seriously Bennett felt the loss of her assistance He .

determined to take a decided step towards lessening his

anxieties I mmediately behind the house i n Queensboro u gh
.

Terrace lay a cottag e which happened to be vacant i n , ,

Porchester Terrace H e let his own house furnished and

. ,

moved into this cottage H e could not leave his Penates .

,

even temporarily without a pan g ; but the change enabled

,

him to continue his costly work at the Academy wi t hout

further pecuniary troubles Moreover the cottage wi t h its .
,

g arden j ust large enough to contain a pear tree and a fine

mulberry tree was a pretty place M adame C la ra N ovello .

had at one time occupied it .

A letter to his friend Alfred G Price of Gloucester , . , ,

with whom he spent a few days at E aster was written from ,

his new home .

8 P O R C HE S TER T ERRA C E 1 , ,

Ap r i l 29 , 18 7 0

EAR P RI E
.

MY D C ,

I ought sooner to have thanked you for all the

pleasure my visit to you at Gloucester gave me I had a .
xx x ] A N ew H om e 39 3

very pleasant j ourney home stayed an hour in Porchester

,

Terrace and then on to Brighton where I arri ved at 6 p m

, ,
. .

I set to work at my overture and sent it off to Leipzi g O f .

a ll the Cathedral towns I know Gloucester seems to me the

,

most cheerful and happy Places like E ly Winchester

.
, ,

S alisbu r y &c seem to me like M a l i nes where old D u ss ek

, .

was organist for three years H ow about the Raven and

.

E dgar Poe ? I think if I had the chance of g ettin g a real

pipin g-bu llfin c h free of expense I would break a pane of
,

g lass and welcome the i ntruder Seriously speaking I . ,

think some family i n Gloucester would be glad to welcome

the renegade Why not advertise ? I send the sketch of
.

the B ench With best re g ards and many thanks for my

.

treat last week .

S incerely yours ,

W I LLIA M S T ER N DA LE B E N N E TT .

PS I am now writin g under the shadow of my pear

.

tree the blossom j ust sayi n g Adieu for the season

,
’
.
 C H A PT E R XXX I .

BE NN ETT WI T H TH E A C A DE M Y ST U D E NT S .

M AN Y of B ennett s friends who were outside the

’

Academy circle and who studied his interests rather

,

than those of that I nstitution thou g ht it a great pity

,

that he should clin g to a position the drawbacks of which

were so apparent while the advantages were so vague
, .

Pecuniary sacrifice on his part was not the only point

they considered A School so slenderly endowed and of
.
,

necessity rather mean at the time i n its visible equipments

, , ,

could not by any stretch of ima g i n ation be regarded as on

, ,

a par with the I ns t itutions of London where other arts and

sciences more fortunate than music were fostered Bennett s
, , .
’

connection with the place could not raise his already acquired
standing amon g t he men of his time Those near him .

regretted that he should wear himself out over an under

takin g which seemed to them unlikely to bear any frui t
withi n his life -time at all commensurate with his labours .

H e however knew W hat he was doin g H e had accepted

, , .

a commission and was evidently bent on executing it with

, ,

out counting the cost or lookin g for a return H e turned .

away from all hints that he ought to consider himself ,

whether those hints came from without or from within A .

letter written to a colleag ue who was wishi n g to be relieved

,

from teaching at the Academy gi ves a sli g ht but pertinent

,

reference to the subj ect

39 6 B
en n et t w it h t he A ca demy St u den t s [ OH .

while in the o ffice of Principal his characteristics and his

,

long experience i n a special direction were found of great

value Respect for his musicianship combined with a t rust
.
,

in the simplicity of his motives broug ht hearty allegiance ,

from his colleagues on t he S t a ff O ne or o t her of them .

may have imagined him too timid when it seemed his

province to adjust their differences ; too prone t o wait and
to try the effect of pouring oil on troubled waters ; too deaf
to discords But the Academy was passing through a
.

crisis The P ri ncipal s peace-loving and peace -promoting

.
’

propensities were invaluable at a time when the survival ”

of t he H ouse grea t ly depended upon the union of its inmates .

‘
Where he could not satisfy he at least Sir
George M a c fa rr en wrote in special reference to Bennett s
,
’

dealings with the Professors H e had a peculiar power of

drawing the love of those with whom he had commerce it
is true he shrank from the u t terance of harsh words and ,

evaded on all occasions the performance of functions that

would be painful t o those to whom they would have been
directed ; but this far less than a sympathetic manner
, ,

a positive more than a ne g ative quality rendered him the ,

centre of affection .
’

But Bennett had another qualification of a very positive ,

kind for presidin g over a place of education H e had spent

, .

the greater part of his previous life i n teachin g and i n

fl u e n c i n g young people i n studying their characters and
,

dispositions i n sympathizin g wi t h their successes or dis

,

appointmen t s S imple discourses which he commi t ted to

.

writin g and delivered i n schoolrooms when he wished to ,

s a y somethin g to his pupils of rather deeper import t han

what they could read i n a musical Grammar gi v e a clue t o ,

the serious view he took of his calling H is private p u pils .

have spontaneously acknowledged the strong i nfluence for

good which he using music as the means to an end spread
, ,

among them The Academy students were not S low to

.

appreciate their Principal O ne of them wrote soon after .

,

his death : H is interest in t he progress and careers of the

students was The numbers never rose so high
i n his time as to make individual attention on his part
imposs ible though he lived to writ e of the Academy as
,

F M g i 1 J ly 8 7 5 ’
ra s er s a a z n e, u , 1 .
x xx 1] H i s R eg ar d f or t heir I n t eres t s 39 7

growin g very large and ever making g reater demands

‘
,
’

upon his time H e did not limi t himself to the supervision

.

of S tudies H e talked to the students o f their future o f

.
,

the various openings in t he musical profession and of t he ,

direction i n which according to their special abili t ies they

, ,

might look for success H e had seen plenty of di fficul t y

.

and distress especially amongst orchestral play ers in days

, ,

when concert -en gagements were scarce and when amateur ,

pupils except for pianoforte and singing were all but u n

, ,

known i F or many years of his life he seldom went to church

.

without having first listened to some tale of distress on t he

only morning that he could be found at home A s late as .

the time of his Principalship he still demurred save i n case , ,

of very marked ability to students takin g as their chie f ,

study any orchestral instrument even were it the violin , .

H is evidence before the Society of Arts i n 1 8 6 5 showe d

him opposed to the idea of training large numbers for t he
profession The supply he thought might soon exceed
.
, ,

the deman d Tho u gh he had himself received a fre e

.

education he doubted the expediency of giving much

,

encouragement by scholarships such as M r Cole wa s

proposin g H e thoug ht that fees fixed as hi g h as practic
.
,

able would provide a safeguard against an overcrowde d

,

profession As Principal of the Academy he steadfas t l y

.
,

held the view that an educa t ional establishment should feel

some responsibility i n respect to the worldly p rospects o f
i t s pupils .

H e had a fatherly concern for the health of the students ,

and would watch for any si g ns of overstrain At entranc e .

examinations even when additional pupils were b a dly

,

wanted he wou ld consider the question of admission i n

,

the interes t s of the candidate H e would say to parents : .

‘
She seems nervous and not stron g enough ; take her
,

back i nto the country and let her g o on quie t ly with her
present teacher for another year ; and this would be sai d ’

in the presence of other Professors who thou g ht a clever

pupil was bei ng lost There Is a s t q r y told of ho w he foun d
.

a very small boy cryin g over the i ntricacies of chromatic

chords and enharmonic mod ulations Ah said he I .
“
,
”

,
“

see what you want my little fellow it is pudding ! and he

, ,
”

took him straight to his own house where he was re gale d

39 8 B en n et t w it h t he A ca demy St u den t s [ CH .

for a fortnight and perhaps got a little assistance i n his

,

musical
The monthly concerts gave him special opportunity of
observing the results of work students bein g encouraged ,

to take part in these at a comparatively early stage of t heir

course N 0 concert ever took place without his presence
.
,

so quiet and undemonstrative and yet felt so distinctly ,

throu g hout the room as to make the uppermost thought i n

every performer s mind as he or she ascended t he plat form
’

“
Will S ir Ster n dale like this ? N 0 Academy student in ”

S ir S terndale Bennett s time will ever forget him as he ’

appeared month after month at these concerts They will .

be able to recall all their lives the slight spare figure the ,

attitude of motionless attention and the deeply -knitted ,

brow which gave his face an expression of displeasure but

,

which they understood to denote only the concentration of

thought with which he listened to each performance The .

moment the sonata or song was over his face would relax , ,

often into a smile of satisfaction for though rigid and ,

unflinchin g as re gards the music to be performed at these

concerts as to the performance of it he was always ready
,

to be pleased if
H is class for composition to which he devoted a few ,

hours every week kept him in close touch with many of

,

the senior students H e had been reluctant to undertake .

this class but M r Otto Goldschmidt at the time of their

, ,

j oint election had urg ed the necessity of his takin g some

,

s ha re i n definite teachin g and he had g iven way M r

r

, .

C H C ou l d ery who was i n the class remembers his

. .
, ,

saying that though he had often been offered more than

his usual terms as an inducement to take a private pupil
in composition he had refused because he so disl iked the
, ,

idea of teaching the subj ect H e had at various times ; .

,

taken a few professional pupils for composition ; of whom

may be mentioned E dward Bache Charles S t eg g a ll , , ,

W S R o c ks t ro and W G C usins ; but he g enerally

. .
, . .

advised applicants for lessons to study under M a c fa rr en or

M o li q u e who both made a speciality of teaching the
,

subj ect H e gave some lessons in K nightsbridge B arracks

.

1
F r a s er s’
M ag a z i n e, J u ly , 18 7 5 .
40 0 B en n et t wit h t he A ca demy St u den t s [ CH .

of my fellow students than to any he made I n fact hi s

-
. ,

comments were few briefly expressed and at least in my , , ,

own case he did n ot correct or su ggest much O n rare

, .

occasions he would leave his seat and standing with his ,

back to t he fireplace would unbend talking to us and ,

answering our ques t ions Then he would send down t o .

the l ibrary for m u sic — I remember thinkin g what a quantity

,

he knew — and point out passages which haunted his min d

,

on account of their surpassin g beauty Of such examples . ,

I remember t hree bars (5 2 n d s4 t h) from the Andante in —

B eethoven s G maj or Concerto four bars (5 3 rd — s6 t h) from

’

the Adagio in B eethoven s Sonata (Op and a passage

’
.

i n M endelssoh n s Capriccio in A mi (Op 3 3 N o

’
be . .
,
.

g innin g i n the s 1 s t bar from the end Such thin gs he .

“
,
”

would say everybody ou g ht to know by heart

, .

‘
T o gau g e the actual progress made at the time in
composition or to estimate how far such progress was due
,

to his influence is impossible S tudents possessing such .

temperament as to be suscep t ible of and capable of bein g

infected by his own qualities could scarcely fail to be
influenced thereby i n their work I ntercourse with him .

stimulated and heightened the ideal and made you more

sensitive to and appreciative of beauty but it did so ,

because he was what he was no apparent effort of his own

had anythin g to do with it And indeed i n my memory .
, , ,

questions of composition teachin g or progress in composition

fade away to nothin g i n comparison with the impression
produced upon me by the man himself I cannot connect .

him as I knew him with such words as system and

, ,
“ ”

detail H e appeared to me to stand very high and

.
,

mists may have shut out the view of things below .

We were very much struck at the readiness with which

at first sight he played our scores on the piano graspin g ,

their form and contents and exhibiting an apparent f a mi

l i a r i ty with them i n spite of our defective and i n some
, ,

cases almost illegible manuscrip t s When at times we

, .

could not refrain from some expressions of wonder at his

unparalleled facility in readin g a t si g ht he would say Ah , ,
“
,

but I have lost the power now When I wa s youn g er I .

,

did not fear anythin g .

”

‘
I remember him [ 1 8 6 7 — 1 8 6 9 ] as a serious reserved ,
x xx 1] R emin is c en c es o f Pu p ils 40 1

man with bright moments b u t rarely more than plaintively

gay whose life was apparen t ly saddened by sorrow or
, ,

harassed by anxiety I can recall the remarkable smile .

wi t h which he used to greet us the pec u liarly gentle manner ,

wi t h which he always treated us Occasionally he would .

,

go so far as to enter into private conversation and would ,

S peak of something out of the ordinary course which had

happened i n his own family but at all times there seemed ,

a lon g brid g e between him and myself which I co u ld not

cross notwi t hstanding the stron g attraction towards him
, .

There was an i n d e fin a b le fasci n ation a delicacy a refinement , ,

abou t him that was palpable and akin to the refreshment

derived from intercourse with another nationality .

‘
Soon after leavin g the A cademy I asked him to let me ,

continue my studies under him as a priva t e pupil and ,

received the following reply

A THENAEU M ,

N ovem ber 13, 18 69

EAR
.

MY A LWYN D ,

H ow glad I shall be to have you as my pupil

again but I don t know how to manage it unless you come
’

in t o my class at the Academy Could not this be manag ed ? .

We be g in now at 1 0 o c lock I don t think I should like to

’
.
’

teach composition except i n a class where so many things ,

crop up (musically ) to talk about .

E ver yours sincerely ,

W I LL IA M S T ER N DAL E B E N N E TT .
’

Thos e students who remained in the class for several

years or who entered it at a later date vouch for B ennett s ,
’

d efi n i t e instruction i n composition When he could no .

longer avoid this branch of work he settled down t o it and , ,

became very interested T his was noticed i n his own .

house where as a rule he said little about pupils or teachin g

, , , .

A s time went on he would talk of his compos 1tion -class m

,

a happy vein and a s if he was pleasurably surprised at the

,

occupation proving so congeni a l H e would mention his .

y oun g composers by name and evidently enj oyed his ,

musical and personal association with them .

M r William Shakespeare writes I have never ceased .

S . B .
40 2 B en n et t w it h t he A ca demy St uden t s [ CH .

to think o f S ir Sterndale as a most ex c el l en t and t hor oug h

teacher of composition H is insistence on the stud y of .

fi r m on the part of his pupils made his teaching so useful

i n after years H e was much more particular t han any
.

other Professor I have met as to the necessity of acquiring

m a t t er c ha r a c t er in the first subject
c on t i n u i t
y f
o , c on t r a st ,

between the two subjects the middle development or ,

working the necessity of holding as precious the key of the

,

composition the avoidance of the repetition of keys Our

, .

dear master was most particular passed nothing by corrected , ,

much himself clearly expressed suggestions for improve

,

ment cuttin g down or len gthening the work I remember

, .

we were always remi nded of the study and analysis of the

classics H e was strict but kind and encourag in g troubled
.
, ,

when we were idle a li t tle cold and severe at times yet so

, ,

lovin g and noble that we all revered him I had no special .

opportunity of seeing him read at first sight other than by t he

extraordinary wa y he would play ou r attempts at composition
on the pianoforte .
’

Among the pupils of B ennet t s later life none S howed ’

him g reater devotion or remembered him wi t h more reverent

affection than the late Thomas Wingham for many years ,

D irector of the music at The Orato ry B rompton Already , .

well advanced in musical studies when he entered the

Academy he at once found a place i n Bennett s class
,
’

and in it he remained for no less than seven years H is .

Symphonies and other orchestral works were in due course

performed and they attracted considerable attention i n the
,

best musical C ircles Shortly before his own death he gave

.
,

this account of his master s teachin g ’

A S far as I can state them S ir S t ern d a le s methods

‘ ’

were as follows Careful study and analysis of the works of

.

the g reat masters H e recommended pupils always to take

.

some work as a model till they had a complete mastery of

the subj ect of form H e would frequently send down to
“
.
”

the library for some work and make one of the pupils play
it and then explai n its plan and what points of interest were
specially worth noticing When pupils were more advanced .

he would allow them more freedom but even then would ,

recommend them to study and even copy out and learn from
404 B en n et t w it h t he A ca demy St u den t s [CH .

and did my best to make myself as inconspicuous as possible .

N ow you must imagine a long table covered with an

,

official g reen baize at the head sits S ir Sterndale on each

side his p u pils : J oseph Parry Eaton F aning Roberts the , , ,

handsome and accomplished Arthur J ackson (a lovable

fellow destine d to an early death while still a s t udent ) ,

Stephen K emp Tobias M a t t ha y and last but not least

, , , ,

Thomas Win g ham who by reason of his undoubted g enius

, , ,

of t he authority he exerted and the noble example he set ,

was regarded as the doyen of the students of his t ime .

Over this group S ir S terndale presided with a certai n

i n d e fin a b l e grace and dignity which marked him a s a bein g
set apart as i n short a g reat man The recollection of him
, , , .

is as clearly before me now while I write as thou g h I was ,

speaking of yesterday and not o f— Ah ! do not ask me how

many years ago A S pare man not tall yet g iving some
.
, ,

impression of height by the propo rtion of his build and by

the extraordinary impressiveness of his head Graceful .

hair black streaked with g rey A fair broad forehead wi t h

, .

a certain feel of s t rain about i t as thou g h there were ,

consta nt neuralgia Dark piercing yet kindly eyes with a

.
, ,

merry twinkle and sympathetic and humorous wrinkles i n

the corners The great beaut y of the face lay in the finely
.

chiselled m on t h A touch of pa i n and sadness about that too

.
,

but wonderfully sensitive lips mobile to every impression , ,

and now and a gain meltin g into a smile which lighted up

the whole face and made you love the man wi t hout a word
spoken T he influence of his mere external personali t y
.

over the impressionable young artists who surrounded him

is indescribable I believe there was not one of us who
.

would not gladly have died for him who did not worship ,

him and look up to him as a being set apart To me at .

,

any rate he seemed holy beau t iful adorable

,
I t was , , .

enough to sit and watch him to watch his hand wi t h its ,

graceful sensitive fingers drumming on the table cloth to

,
-
,

watch his face as he studied the score submit t ed to him by

,

some student light up when he came to some passage less

,

than usually stupid and j ejune .

‘
H ow did he teach ? I think he tau g ht chiefly by
personal influence by the outflow o f his exquisi t e mind
, .

You lost certain thin g s when you came before Bennett by

x xx 1] R em i n i s c en c es o f Pu pil s 40 5

the mere fact of bein g i n the same room with him .

Vulgarity for instance and roughness You felt you were

, , .

in the presence of a man who without any cant about art , ,

with a capital A did really and truly move i n a higher

,

sphere t han the ordinary man and that here was a man for ,

whom the best was not too good H e taught again . , ,

by examples drawn from the g reat masters of old H is .

memory was a storehouse of all music and the range of his ,

knowled g e embraced every composer from Palestrina to

Weber and S pohr I f a student brought him something.

which touched a respo nsive chord i n his imagination which ,

was g ood enough to be considered actual music as dis

t i n g u i s hed from a mere exercise he shirked no trouble i n ,

analyzing it i n pointin g out its merits to us others who

,

had brou g ht up our club -footed sonatas and wooden -legg ed

fugues Then he would often make the contents of such a
.

work the basis of his reference to t he classics Play me .

,

he would say to one of us such and such a passage from ,

“

Weber or Show me what Beethoven would have done i n

,
” “

such a case and we were expected to remember the points

in question I f we did not then he himself would go t o t he
.
,

piano and play them and one led to another i n a wonderful

,

series of illustrations until the possibili t ies of that particular

modulation imitation or enharmonic change were completely
,

exhaus t ed I fear we often led him b y j udicio u s wiliness

.

and exaggerated i g norance to go to the piano ; for to hear ,

him play to wa t ch those delicate fingers coaxing music out

,

of the instrument to see his face light up as now M ozart

, , ,

now H aydn now Beethoven now Gluck now some half

, , ,

forgotten worthy such as Scarlatti or Buononcini forced his

way into his memory was an experience never to be ,

forgo t ten .

H e had with all his tender gentleness a power of irony

, ,

about him which inspired one with wholesom e terror H e

, .

had only to look at you i n a certain way and for the rest of ,

that day you felt you had ceased to exist H e had an .

excellent wit and a gift of kindly and yet sca t hin g satire
, ,
.

M any a time have I W ished myself unborn as he has recalled

the ori g inal authors of my most treasured melodies B ut .

his most cut t ing thin g s were always said so kindly that they
never discouraged you but on the contrary spurred you on , , ,
40 6 B en n et t wit h t he A ca demy St uden t s [ CH . mm

to try again When by some fortunate chance there

.

happened to be anything good in your work a passag e a , ,

bar ev en a sin gle chord his praise was so generous that

, , ,

t h e glow at your heart very much more than counteracted

any chill his sarcasm may have previously left there .

As the H ead and Director of a public I nstitution his

‘

manner was absolutely perfection H is charm conquered .

all hearts ; yet his dignity not assumed not arrogated b u t

, , ,

inherent gave him a personal supremacy to which all alike

,

bowed I have met many men in the course of much

.

wanderin g I have never met one who impressed me so

.

peculiarly at first sight as a great man or whose every word ,

and movement seemed so completely in harmony with an

exquisite mind and a lofty soul .
’
40 8 H on ou r s a nd Re wa r ds [ CH .

on the l ist of g uests at the annual banquet of the Royal

Academy of Arts This may appear at first S ight an
.

i ncident of no exceptional importance but i t meant a great ,

deal to an E nglish musician who had lon g ed to see music

placed i n his own country as he had seen it placed in ,

Germany on an equality with other arts A compliment

, .

of similar significance followed a few years after I n 1 8 7 0 .

the Marquess of Salisbury was elected C hancellor of the

U niversity of Oxford A new Chancellor at the first Com .
,
‘

memoration after his election himself nominates the r e

’

c i i e n t s of honorary degrees and Bennett was one of fifty to

p ,

whom he offered the de g ree of D C L in J une B ennett s . . . .

’

name appeared l a st on the printed list Thus it may be .

inferred tha t music was the last thing considered ; but at

any rate it was admitted and admitted for the first time ,

in connection with an honour reserved for t he highest

forms of distinguished attai nment T he Chancellor must .

have been convinced by the reception accorded to the

musician in the Theatre that his act was generally a pprec i
ated Fi nally wrote The D a i ly N ews William Sterndale
.
,
’

,
‘

Bennett Professor of M usic i n the U niversity of C ambridge

, ,

was rapturously hailed as a priest of Apollo and the “

M uses .Canon Li d d o n received the great o v ation of

the day but accordin g to The M or n i ng P os t and other
,

papers M r Sterndale B ennett appeared to rank next i n

,
‘

popularity .
’

A fter passin g an uneventful year at his cottage in Por

chester Terrace there came a sudden change and B ennett
, ,

found himself beset with excitements of a kind quite new

to him One aft ernoon i n M arch 1 8 7 1 when he was
.
,

teaching i n a school at Clapham a special messenger who , ,

had enquired for him at Porchester Terrace arrived with ,

a letter from M r Gladstone offerin g him the honour of

knighthood and requesting his presence at Windsor next
morn ing The offer came so suddenly and unexpectedly
.
,

without the connection which any special event mi g ht have

given that he had some hesi t ation in believin g it genuine
, .

‘
I t was a relief to me he aft erwards sa id as I entered ,
’

,
‘

Paddington S tation to catch S ight of Benedict on the

platform Then I felt it was all righ t and M r Gladstone
.
,

soon came forward and spoke to me Another friend of .

’
 K n i g h t hood

Bennett s W Boxa l l R A Director of the N ational Gallery

’

, .
, .
,

had also been summoned and on arrival at Wi ndsor it was ,

found that Dr E lvey organist of St Georg e s Chapel was ,

’

to share the hono u rs Costa had been knighted two years .

earlier Goss was similarly honoured a year later and this

, ,

generous bestowal of distinction was regarded not so much

as a mark of favour shown to individual musicians but ,

rather as a proof of Queen Victoria s desire to encourage ’

and advance the musical pro fession i n E ngland I t may .

be added that H er M aj esty had already early i n her reign , ,

conferred this honour on Sir H enry Bishop and that up to ,

the time now referred to he was the only musician who had
thus been distinguished by a B ritish Sovereign ‘
.

When B ennett was next i n C ambrid ge he entered ,

K in g s C ollege Chapel during Service time A S the con

’
.

r e a t i o n issued from the Choir at the conclusion of the

g g ,

Service and as D r Okes the Provost was nearing the

, , ,

door of egress he saw B ennett standin g aside i n the

,

opposite corner of the Ante -chapel H e left the head .

of his procession and crossed over to con g ratulate S ir ‘

Sterndale There was no more di g nified or ceremonious

.
’

man in Cambridge than D r Okes and Bennett was surprised ,

at this departure on his part from o ffi cial routine sayin g

, , ,

of it afterwards H e actually came ri g ht across the C hapel

,

to S peak to me Dr Okes would see i n Bennett the

.
’

chorister who had become the kni g ht H e chose a time .

and place under ordinary circumstances inappropriate to

, ,

insinuate in the presence of many who would observe and

,

understand his graceful act the special si g nificance which ,

B ennett s promo t ion had within those walls

’
D r Okes .

survived B ennett and showed further interest i n the latter s

,
’

early connection with the College by kind correspondence ,

with the writer and by personally hunting up the particulars

of the choristership H e found out that the boy had been
.

admitted two mon t hs before the statutable ag e of eight ,

and the laxity of this proceeding thou g h fi ft y -seven years ,

had intervened seemed to trouble the mind of the strict

,

disciplinarian .

S imultaneously with knighthood B ennett g ained another

1 Sir J oh S t o d Sir G org Sm rt w r k i g h t d b y t h Lord
n even s n an e e a e e n e e
Li t
eu en a n t of I r l d e an
4 10 H on ou rs a nd Re wa r ds [C H .

reward of a very different kind though it came quite as

,

unexpectedly I t was merely a sum of money in return

.
,

for past work not a very large sum and not of itself
, ,

requiring any special notice here B u t the incident of this .

payment the writer is alone responsible for callin g it a

,
—

reward — has sugges t ed the telling of the whole tale to

,

which it wa s the conclusion ; the tale that is of Bennett s , ,

’

career as a composer from the commercial point of view .

The connection between money and his musical com

positions seems only twice in his life to have been brought
‘

prominently to his notice and at neither of these times by ,

his own act The first occasion came when his early
.

publisher Coventry failed about the year 1 8 50 ; and the ,

second came in 1 8 7 1 when M essrs Lamborn Cock Co

, .
,

owing to some chan g e i n their business arrangements ,

desired to settle a cross accoun t which had been runnin g

between their firm and B ennett for some twenty years .

When Coventry failed Bennett s published works twenty ,

’

ei g ht In number were put up to auct i on and sold l n one lot

,

to M essrs Leader and Cock for £ 50 3 I t may be said .

,

i n passing that this was considered a high price at the

,

time and that thou g h Coventry had a varied catalog ue of

, ,

saleable works those of Bennett i n proportion t o thei r

, ,

number realised more than those of any other composer

,

save M endelssohn I n connection with this sale a com

.

pl ication arose Coventry had borrowed money on the

.

security of Bennett s works but had so borrowed from an’

intimate friend who was not a business man and who had
probably made no enqui ry as to the publisher s le g al claim ’

to them Certainly in the case of most of these works

.
,

probably in the case of all there were no deeds of assign ,

ment from the composer to the publisher Coventry how .

,

ever was able to state that he had paid Bennett for t he

,

first thirteen of the twenty -eight works With regard to .

the first eight he was unable to mention the price paid for
,

each but said that he had paid 8 0 or more i n t ot o H is

,
.

memory may have exaggerated the t rue sum for his state ,

ment places a higher value on t he music than on that which

he next publ ish ed thou g h there is nothin g in the nature
,

of the works themselves to account for the difference H e .

was able to name the separate prices paid for the next
4 1 2 H on ou rs a nd Re wa r ds [c a

to Collections of such works I n this final account he .

—

saw no further one — he was credited with the followin g

a m ou n t s

7 Pi f rt Pi
ano o e ec es

2 S r d D et
ac e u s

6 S g ( d
on s zu

Pr l d d L
e u es an es so n s

The M a y Q ueen
‘ ’

E hi bi i
x t on Ode
r r P r di
O ve t u e,
‘
a a se a n d t he
S ymph y i G mi on n

A t h m N w my G
.

’
od
‘
n e , o ,

P rt S o g S w t S t r
a - n
‘
ee ea m
’

W m of S m ri
,
‘ ’
o an a a a

Add Coven t ry s pa y
’
m en t s

1: 1 3 I I 0

H e also received money for his compositions from K istner

o f Leipzi g and perhaps also from a Pari s publisher who
,

printed several of his pianoforte pieces All his i n s t ru .

mental works that were p u bl ished i n E ngland (except two

early Concertos ) as well as his twelve songs and The M ay
,
‘

Queen were also published i n German y but he preserved

,
’

no accou nts of the payments made A quo t ation from a .

l etter will illustrate him when dealing as a com poser wi t h , ,

b u siness H ere again was the case of a cross account

.
, ,

about which nothing had been said for some years H e .

wrote to J ulius K istner i n 1 8 4 7 You write about my

account wi t h the firm of yo u r good departed brother I .

do not know how he arranged t his Y o u will know the .

money he gave me and the composi t ions he received and ,

I beg you will balance t he account and let me know i f I

am still your debtor Since I was last i n Leipzig I have .

sent Rondo Piacevole Scherzo Trio and before I left I , , ,

gave him the S ix Songs and the Suite de Pieces b u t make ,

the reckonin g j ust as you please We never made any .

S pecific arrangement together I have never received any .

-
money from him without giving a receipt and you will ,

therefore know how much he has g iven me and what my

compositions hav e been worth .
’
xx x 11] R oya l Soc iety of Mus ic ia n s 4 3
1

E nou g h has been said to sh ow how little attention

Bennett can have paid to this one side of money-earning .

When the account from M essrs Lamborn C ock Co .

reached him i n 1 8 7 1 he was comple t ely surprised to find

,

that there was a balance of nearly six hundred pounds i n

his favour H ad he given any previous t hought to the
.

matter he mi g ht have foreseen that as he had long g iven

, ,

up providin g music for his pupils except at one or two ,

schools the account would gradually turn i n his favo u r

, .

H e was exceedingly pleas ed T he prize came opportunely . .

A go od Providence may be had held it i n reserve and

, , ,

awarded it to this non -mercantile musician at a time of his

life when it seemed to be wanted .

I mmediately after he was knighted the Royal Society ,

of M usicians invited him to preside at their annual Festival

dinner . T he Secretary in a circular addressed to the ,

Patrons of the Society drew at ten t ion to the fact that the
,

Chair had never before been occupied by a musician N 0 .

o t her Society so comprehensively represen t ed the national

profession of music and B ritish mus i cians could not at the
, ,

time have devised a more si g nal way of acknowledging

,

Bennett as the head of that profession H e performed .

what was to him a novel and therefore tryin g duty with

success but not without effort .

AT H EN IEU M,
Apr i l 29 , 1 8 7 1.

MY J D EAR .
,

I have been very unwell all the week about

the dinner business but it is all now well over I t was
,
.

considered a succes s Look at The Ti mes if you can I n

. .

great haste ,

Ever your affectionate father ,

W S B . . .

For the next three months he found i t difficult t o

keep pace with the flattering consequences of his new
distinc t ion Levées g arden -parties at B uckingham Palac e
.
,

and M arlborough H ouse other social functions too i m ,

portant to disre gard entangled themselves with lecture s

,

at Cambrid g e examinations at the London U niversity

, ,
4 4
1 H on ou r s a nd Re wa r ds [ CH .

U ppingham and Queen s College and the already fixed ’

engag ements which the London season always imposed on

t h e substratum of hea vy work at the Academy and wi t h
private pupils The personal attentions now paid to him
.

were gra t ifying but t hey taxed his time H e referred t o

, .

them in a let t er to his Aunt as the crust which must be

, ,
‘

taken with the crumb ; and at the end of J uly he wrote to ’

his son I am so tired a species of remark i n which he

,
‘
,
’

had so far seldom indul g ed E arly i n August he was at

, , .

E astbourne wi t h his dau g h t er her husband and a lit t le

, , ,

grandson who j oined t he sea-side par t y for the first time .

A fortnight later he had recovered himself and was on his ,

way in high spiri t s to t h e Beethoven Fes t ival at B onn

, , .

O n this his last visit to Germany as on the firs t visit i n

, ,

18 36 Davison whom he now very rarely met in London

, , ,

was his travellin g companion M rs Davison wi t h her two .

sons and B enne t t s son -i n -law and son were also of t he

’

party and they were no little astonished as two long days

, ,

in a railway carriage passed on at the continuous u n fl a g g i n g ,

merriment with which the two old friends infected one

another Ferdinand H iller conducted t he Bonn Festi v al
. .

H e welcomed Benne t t with great cordiality One night .

,

when a large company wa s assembled for supper at a C lub

which had been placed at the disposal of the Festival
C ommi t t ee H iller having Bennett at his side made a
, , ,

graceful little speech bidding a number of youn g students ,

who were sitting near him to take a good look while t hey ,

had the chance at the grea t E n glish musician A t this

, .

Festival Bennett met the Danish composer N iels Gade , ,

whose connection with Leipzig had been similar to his own ,

but who had never been there exactly a t the same time .

Another composer who was present i n whose m u sic Bennett ,

had taken great interest when writing lectures on Th e ‘

Opera and whom he had g reat pleasure in now seeing

,
’

was the learned M Gevaer t of B ru ssels . .

The honour conferred upon him by the Queen was the

subj ect of much rejoicing at the Academy The students .
,

with generous impulse straightway purchased a grand ,

silver cup and presented it to their Principal with all

,

due formality Sir Georg e M a c fa rr e n afterwards wrote of

.

the lastin g impression which B ennett s words of reply to ’

4 16 H on ou r s a nd wa r ds
Re [c u xxxn

spoke or wrote of him at this time failed to emphasize the

fact that his days had been spent in furthering the highest
interests of his art in his native land S ir J ohn Coleridge
.
,

who knew Bennett personally spoke of a lon g and laborious

,
‘

career and added

,
’
Whether we are musicians or n ot
.
,

we can all admire t he simple unpretending and manly

,

character of our friend We can all con g ratula t e him that

.

the Queen has thought fi t to confer dignity upon a man

who d i g n i fies and adorns the noble profession which he
practises .
’
 C H A PT E R XXX I I I .

CO M O P S I TI ON S . TH E R O YA L A C A D E M Y OF M U S IC
AN D T H E A LBER T HA LL .

IN the se as on of 1 8 7 2 B ennett finished an O verture ,

which had been i n his mind for the past year or two .

This Overture was the first ins t almen t of an intention

to set music to the Aja x of S ophocles A translation of the .

C horuses had been sent to him man y years before by the , ,

Rev H erbert S now then Assistant -mas t er at Eton H e

.
’
,
.

had disappointed some of his Cambridge friends by his ,

hesita t ion i n undertakin g a work the idea of which had

ori g inat ed from themselves H e had lately been pressed .

by them to reconsider the mat t er and having written the ,

O verture he desired its immediate performance in order to ,

prove to those interested in the matter that he had made a

start with t he work The Prelude — as he c al led i t — to
.
‘

Aja x was accordingly g iven at the Philharmonic I t was .

fi nished a fortni ght before the performance but certain ex ,

c i t e m e n t s such as that caused by the Testimonial meetin g ‘ ’

and fresh a g itations with re gard to the future of the Academy ,

had tired him very much and he was unable to attend either ,

the rehearsal or the performance of his new work When .

it wa s played after his death at the C rystal Palace

, , ,

S ir A M anns spoke of it warmly as a real inspiration but

.
,
’

on its first hearin g i t created no visible impression The .

Ti mes considered that it was too short to be played as a

concert -piece Bennett on hearing that it had been coldly
.
,

received at the Philharmonic rehears al seemed a little upset , .

1
N w th R
o H Ky t o D D C o of D rh m
e ev. . nas n, . .
, an n u a

B
.

8 . .
4 18 18 7 2 —
18 73 [C H .

When asked if he thought the music was on a level with his

other Overtures he said Yes I m quite sure of that but
, ,
‘
,
’ ’

he was conscious that others did not at the time think , ,

the same As soon as he found himself at E astbourne

.

i n the begi nning of Au gust he said N ow I must finish , ,

my Sonata I want somethin g to S how to them at t he

.

Academy when I g o back Disappointment about one .

’

work acted as the incentive to another The Sonata in .

question was The M aid of Orleans H e did not finish it .

’

as he hoped to d o in that same holiday b u t he completed

,

the principal movement prefaced it with an i ntrod u ctory ,

movement of a pastoral character and wrote on Au g ust ,

24, I shall I hope send the first two movements of my

‘
, ,

Sonata to London to -morrow The S low movement which .

’

depicts the M aid of O rleans I n Prison was added early ‘

,
’

in September while he was staying for a few days with

,

his son at Sherborne i n Dorsetshire but the Finale his , ,

holiday bein g over moved slowly S ix months now came , .

during which the Royal Academy of M usic monopolized

his thoughts .

The condi t ion of affairs at the Academy had been

steadily improving At the end of 1 8 6 9 the Commit t ee
.
,

had reported a balance beyond expenditure of a substantial

sum B y the end of 1 8 7 0 this margin had been more t han
.

doubled whil e in the same year the number of students

,

rose to 1 2 1 comparing favourably with the number 6 6 at

,

the end of 1 8 6 8 By the spring of 1 8 7 2 the total reached

.

17 6 . The I nstitution had now attained its fift ieth year and
could celebrate a J u bilee with rej oicing and with gratitude ,

for 1n c rea s i n g prosperity The Society of Arts again came .

forward T he fresh negotia t ions which they now opened

.

with the Academ y had an additional importance owing t o

the fact that the Duke of Edinburgh had j oined their
musical C ommittee and was taking ac t ive interes t in their
suggestions upon musical education Representatives of .

the Socie t y and of the Academy met at Clarence H ouse ,

the Duke s residence on J uly 1 1 8 7 2

’
O n J uly 3 the
, , . ,

Academy gave a J ubilee dinner at W i l l i s s Ro oms where ’

M r Cole announced in the course of the evening t hat

‘

scholarships to the value of £ 50 0 0 could be offered to

the Academy if it remodelled its administration The
,
‘
.
’
4 2 0 18 7 2 — 18 73 [ CH .

musical education ; but throughout the neg otiations de

scribed i n these pages no C ommittee was formed to carry
a new scheme throu g h no organi zed body appeared with ,

whom the authori t ies of the Academy could deal securely

and from whom they could obtain pled g es for the future .

‘
I do not know where I am Bennett would privatel y say ,
‘
if the Prince of Wales would come forward I should have ,

no more hesitation .
’

I t was noticed that when B enne t t presided over the

,

Academy Committee he did not himself take a prominent

,

part in the debates I f at the end of a disc ussion he gave

.
, ,

any opinion he would express it i n very few words H is

,
.

colleagues however had such faith i n his jud g ment that

, ,

they were generally content to accept what he said even ,

though his reasons were not forthcomin g S ir Georg e .

M a c fa r r e n remembered that there was much curiosity at

the Academy while the negotiations about the Albert
,

H all were pending to know what was passin g in Bennet t s

,
’

mind Up to the time of the final conference he was very

.
,

reserved and gave no si g n of the attitude he was likely

,

t o take Representatives of the Society of Arts of the

. ,

Albert H all and of the Academy met at C larence H ouse

,

on M arch 8 1 8 7 3 A S the meetin g drew to a close

, .
,

something was said about the expense which the Academy

would be likely t o incur i n erecting the class -rooms The .

representatives of the Albert H all estimated this at about

20 0 0 . The proposed structural alterations implied a
building operation of an exceptional kind and some one , ,

on the part of the Academy suggested that this estimate ,

mi g ht easily be exceeded The cost of removal and re .

furnishing had also to be provided for The Academy .

had known al l alon g that this expense was a necessary

condition of the scheme and made no serious obj ection to ,

it ; but the introduction of t he subject at this meetin g gave

Bennett the chance of raisin g a question which had so far
not been considered I f we i ncur this expense he said
.
‘
,
’

,
‘
what g uarantee can we have of security of tenure ? ’

M r C ole at once replied We can g ive no guarantee ; ,

‘ ’

upon which Bennett as quickly added Then I fear we ,

‘
, ,

must decline the offer .

’

The raisin g of the required money might have g iven

xxxm ] Th e Of er Dec l in ed 4 2 1

the Academy no trouble but M r C ole s reply to Ben nett s

,
’ ’

question put a new complexion on the whole matter The .

Academy authorities could not abandon their at present

improving position could not risk any fraction of their
,

independence could not surrender the privilege of Gov ern

,

ment recognition for the sake of a new arrangement which

, , ,

however alluring it mi g ht at first sight appear was known ,

to be termi nable at any moment by the other party As .

Bennett was leaving Clarence H ouse after the meeting ,

M r (later S ir ) Charles F rea ke said to him S ir you will

, ,
‘
,

l ive to repent this The Academy authori t ies however

.
’

, ,

notwithstanding some disappointment agreed that B ennett

,

was right A fortni g ht later the Directors passed a

.
,

resolution approving the course adopted by their special

‘

C ommittee i n decl inin g the proposition to g o to the Albert

H all
.
’
 C H A PT E R X XX I V

S O M E P ER S ON A L C HA R A C T ER I ST I CS .

B EF O RE presentin g the closing scenes of Bennett s life ’

an attempt will be made to recall some personal character

i s t i c s which have failed to find a place in the foregoin g
narrative to add somethin g about his tastes and occupations
,

other than musical and even somethin g about the few

,

amusements allowed to so busy a man .

O n M arch 8 1 8 7 3 the day of the important Confer

, ,

ence at Clarence H ouse mentioned i n the last chapter he ,

wrote t o his son : I am sorry I have not written to you

‘

before O ne thin g is decided that we do not go to the

.
,

Albert H all — ( I mean the Royal Academy of M usic ) so I

am freed from meetin g s of that kind for the present We .

declined . I am pretty well and have a l u nch here

to -morrow expectin g J oachim M illais Barlow Case at , , , ,

one -thirty .

Three of the guests mentioned i n this letter were con

cerned in the production of a portrait of Benne t t which was
being finished j ust at this time The portrait owes its exist .

ence to the g enerous heart of M r Robert Case and to his

devoted regard for his friend s musicianship and personality
’
.

When at M r C ase s house where he was as much at home

’

as in his own B ennett in these later years would often seat

, , ,

himself voluntarily at the pianoforte and play short pieces ,

— a certa in M azurka of C hopin is remembered as a constant

i t em of his little pro g ramme One evening towards the .

end of 1 8 7 2 when he was thus en g ag ed Oldham Barlow , ,

the engraver was watching him and whispered to his host

, , ,

There o u ght to be a port rait of him M r C ase seized the .

’
4 4
2 Som e P ers on a l Ch a r a c t er is t ics [ CH .

graved it H e took infinite pains to preserve the likeness

.
,

and no doubt did so with all the accuracy which the art he
practised could reach A reproduction of his work has .

been adopted for the frontispiece of this book 1

.

A few facts may supplement what pictures already

tell Bennett was five feet seven inches in hei g ht H is
. .

head as M illais noticed was certainly on a larg e scale in

, ,

relation to his whole figure This would account as M r .

,

Louis N Parker ha s su ggested above and as M iss B ettina

. ,

Walker has al so suggested in her reminiscences for his ,

appearing at times taller than he was or at any rate for his ,

actual height escapin g notice H is hair was black his eyes .

,

of a deep bl u e colour H is complexion was clear and had .

,

warmth of colour but 110 fl or i d n es s H e looked his best i n

, .

the hei g ht of summer The thermometer could never be too .

high for him and he thrived beneath a burning sun which

, ,

though it tanned him but little acted as a tonic and gave ,

him the maximum of health O n the other hand when he .

,

came before the public as an ar t ist his face was remarkable ,

for its extreme pallor .

H is larg e eyes often attracted attention by reason of the

i ntense and prolon ged earnestness of their g aze I n a .

summer holiday of 1 8 6 1 he was daily playin g Bach s first ,

’

Prelude restudying with a solicitude that could not fail to

, ,

excite curiosi t y a piece of music which he must have known

,

since boyhood and must have tau g ht to coun t less pupils

, .

H e did not only play it but from time to time sat peerin g ,

into partic u lar bars of the printed music as if consider ,

in g the exact shade of tone which he would choose for each

note Davison told the writer that Bennett s unwearyin g
.
’

industry as a young man over minute details was one of

, , ,

the secrets of the individuality of his playin g and that the ,

result was alone s u fficient to differentiate him from many

eminent pianists of his time I n another holiday some .
,

years later he was often watched while he sat mo t ionless

, ,

at his pianoforte absorbed i n the silent examination of one

and the same pag e of a slow movement by M endelssohn .

1 ori g i l pi t r do
Th e t l na c u e es no en d willi gly t pho t o g r phy pro
n o a ,
a c es s
und r whi h i t p rt wi t h m y of i t
e c a s an s d t il d m
e a s an lik
s ee of s , even as a e n es s
B t t t rifi i t p riori t y o
en n e , o sa c ce s su e ve r t h g r i g T h mi t
e en av n . ee n en
r io of t h port r i t
ve s n b r prod
e a can e e uc e d wi t h pr i o ec s 1 u .
 A P ia n is t H a n ds
’
xxx 1v] s 4 5
2

O n such occasions the appearance of his wide -opened

,

eyes with their stron gly fastened but eagerly searching

,

look would fascinate a bystander however familiar with

,

him he might be .

When recalling the personality of a pianist hands and ,

fin g ers claim their share of the remembrance The key .

board of a pianoforte was perhaps t he last place at which to

observe any peculiarity i n the conto u r of Bennett s hands ’
.

There they only S howed themselves as exactly fitted for the

work they were doing and as a perfectly adjusted con,

s t i t u e n t of the instrument s mechanism I t was rather when

’
.
, ,

they were otherwise employed that something uncommon ,

about their general appearance caught t he eye The separate .

parts of the hands were shown with distinctness when he was

performing little feats and tricks for mere amusement The .

hand with the fin g ers open gave the impression of being a

, ,

large one The fingers were long so too perhaps was the
.
, , ,

hand ; but the back of the hand when he doubled the ,

fingers under it at once looked surprisingly small I t was

, .

almost triangular i n shape and probably as a result of , ,

physical trai ning scarcely any flesh was visible beyond the
,

bones that bounded the S ides The fin g ers were S lender .

,

as a ring which he wore on the third finger but which few ,

men could wear on the fourth remains to prove The , .

fingers however by their agile mo v ements by their capa

, , ,

city of wide extens i on and by the clear articu lation of their

,

j oints gave at all times a striking look to the hand as a

,

whole and through occupying a larg e space no doubt

, ,

deceived the eye as regards actual size The hu g er tips by .

-

reason probably of continued pressure had become flat and

broad as if the flesh of the upper finger joints had been
,

drawn up and collected into the form of padded cushions

nearly coinciding in breadth with t he white keys of a piano
for t e This altera t ion did n o t reach the s t age of unsight
.

l i n e s s b u t it did bring him one special discomfort which

,

g ave e v idence of its reality and exten t When he was .

obli g ed to wear kid gloves a pair large enough t o admit ,

his fingers la y quite loosely over his hand and wrists Sir .

A rthur Sullivan as a boy took lessons on the pianoforte

, ,

from him and recollected in after life that his attention had
,
-
4 6
2 Som e P ers on a l Ch a r a c t er is t ic s [ C H.

often been distracted from his work because he could not ,

help lookin g at his master s hands and wonderin g what ’

amo u nt of practice it had taken to induce such a result .

The fin g ers were very strong M iss Bettina Walker .

wrote of him in this connection — H e often said that ‘

,

when the fi ng er s are tired it is a S i g n that one has practised

,

well ; and he constantly warned me from letting any other

part of my body become engag ed i n the work It took he —
,

said from the stren gth that ou g ht to be in t he fin g ers

,
“
.
”

I n one of the little fea t s above mentioned he clearly though ,

unintentionally exhibi t ed his own possession of this

,

stren g th also t he power he had of regulating that strength

so that each of the five fin g ers S hould have an equal share
of it ; and fur t her he gave evidence of how close a coun
, ,

t erpa r t the left hand whenever he wished it to be so was

, ,

of the right This last quality would doubtless have g reat

.

Value on some sides of pianoforte playin g Sir Georg e .

M a c fa rr en in a M emorial lecture upon B ennett specially

‘ ’

, ,

referred to the fact of his two hands havin g possessed to a ,

very exceptional extent equality of effectiveness ,

.

When his mind was not absorbed with music or with

other serious tho u g hts he was fu ll of vivacity Rapidity .

of bodily movement was natural to him and had in it no ,

appearance of hurry or precipitancy H is visible alertness .

was in correspondence wi t h the no less certain quickness of

his mind thou g h in nearly all he did whether of maj or or
, ,

minor importance control was no t iceable H e excited the

, .

surprise of others by the apparent suddenness of some of

his physical acts and mental impressions H is c o m prehe n .

s i v e n es s of S i g ht wa s i n evidence to those who witnessed

him ins t antly transfer to the pianoforte unfamiliar pages of a

manuscript score H e showed something of the same gift
.

of si g ht in other ways H is household ma rvelled at the

.

celerity wi t h which he could survey his house and its con

tents as he passed through it when he came in for a few
,

moments from his work The house in Q ueensborough .

Terrace was a high one ; his book -cases were on landings ,

as well as in most of the rooms I f an inmate when read .

i ng a book heard his carriage drive up he or S he would

, ,

know that very few moments would elapse before Bennett

428 Some P er s on a l Ch a r a c t er is t ic s [ CH .

c areer with affectionate and admiring interest and naturally

thought t hat after a friendship of nearly fift y years his
knowled g e of him was complete But there was still a .

l ittle marg i n for fresh experience At t his interview he was .

fairly as t onished — s o he t old the writer a few years later ,

— when Bennett sat down to t he pianoforte and played long

extrac t s from a M S Concerto of his ( H olmes s ) composi .
’

tion which he could not possibly have heard more than

,

o nce ,and that many many years before ,

.

Of Bennett s mental activity in o t her directions than

’

music or of any resu lts arising from it there is nothing very

, ,

definite to say H is own views on such a subj ect act as a

.

caution to its discussion here H e would not have forbidden .

the statement that his early trainin g lay rather exclusively , ,

i n a S ingle direction ; but he would stron gly hav e resented

any credit bein g placed to his account for the subseq u ent ,

attainment of more varied knowled g e H e inveighed .

’
ag ainst the free use of expressions like self improvement
- ‘

or culture thinkin g that such mat t ers should go without

‘
,
’

sayin g and that the mention of them savoured of conceit

,
.

H e sternly rebuked a young man who when applying for ,

an appointment accounted for time that had elapsed since

,

leaving college by writing that he had employed i t i n con

,

t i n u i n g his studies You must never mention such a ‘

.

thing he exclaimed everybody does that A man i n his

,
’

,
‘
.
’

opinion might pride himself on what he had learnt from

,

others but must court no acknowledgment of what he had

,

a dded himsel f S elf-educated men he would say are too

‘ ’ ‘
.
, ,

oft en vain men H e had a very marked respect for

.
’

eminent scholastic le a rning approached by the s t epping

stones of an earl y liberal education H e was nurt u red in .

the atmosphere of a U niversit y where he would s t art by ,

heari ng of and by no doubt admiring heroes of learni n g

, , , .

E ven amongst his own playmates there were C ambridge

bred boys des t ined for a colle g e career With t hese he .

continued to associate when he went home from the Aca

demy for his holidays and at length saw them takin g a ,

share i n the coveted honours of a U niversity This con .

n e c t i o n with Cambridge accounted for and i ntensified an

after-regret that his own education could not have been

o f a more liberal kind H is reverence for great scholars .
x xx 1v] E a r ly E du c a t ion 4 9
2

seemed at times of his later l ife to be excessive considerin g

, , ,

his own distinction This was noticed and even thought t o

.
,

be a pity by some of his Cambrid g e friends H e did not

, .
,

however O penly show any thirst for knowledg e nor did he

, ,

attempt by any se t tled course of study to become a schola r

in the sense i n which he read the word H e wrote fro m .

Germany in 1 8 4 2 to his future wife

, ,
You must kno w
very well what an Academy education is and I often wis h ,

that I knew less of music and more of other thin g s H ow .

ever I try to make up by experience and by comin g out i n

,

the world for t he wan t of a fi rs t -rate education As a .

’

comment upon what he thus wrote about himself it may be ,

noted that a firs t -rate education such as he meant was n o t

, , ,

in his youn g days attainable in E ngland by many I t mus t .

not be assumed that there was in this respect any disability , ,

peculiar to a youn g musician B ennett always remained .

grateful for the benefits he had received at the Royal

Academy of M usic Towards the end of his life he said
.
,

at a public meetin g I can never repay the debt I owe t o

,
‘

the old place Within its walls he had not only been
.
’

tau ght music but he had come under the daily personal
,

i nfluence of men of fine character of g reat mental ability , ,

of wide and varied i nterests During the ten years of his .

residence as a student he enj oyed educational advan t age s ,

probably of a hi g her type and certainly of a much longe r

duration than those which fell to the lot of most E n glis h
youths of that period With intellect and taste cultivate d
.

by a deep study of his own art and with appealin g graces ,

of manner and disposition he lacked nothin g aft erwards at ,

any time to make him con genial and companionable t o

men whose education had been on different lines to his
own I f his early trainin g had been too much in one
.

special direction ; if his thou g hts were centred as there can ,

be lit t le doubt they were upon music he seldom betrayed , ,

this i n his intercourse with others I t was the occasion o f .

no little remark that i n the course of g eneral conversation

he not only refrained from introducin g music or musical
events as a topic but i n his own house at least discouraged
, , ,

others from doin g so A fellow -artist once remarked that

.

he thou g ht it would be possible to stay in Sterndale B en

nett s house for several days without discove r in g that he
’
43 0 Som e P ers on a l Ch a r a c t er is t ic s [ CH .

was a musician One day some musical matter was bein g

.

discussed at his table When the time came at which he .

might be expected to say something he smiled at the ,

young German lady sitting by his S ide who had j ust come ,

to E ngland well instructed i n his artistic position and ,

astonished her b y saying Ah you see I am n ot m u sical ,

‘
, ,
.
’

G Aug us t us Sala was dining at Bennett s house on an

.
’

evening when the party was chiefly composed of musicians .

I n the course of the din ner he said to his host and another ,

guest I like sit t in g between you two men because you

,
‘
,

talk of other things than music .

’

B ennett accumulated a well assorted library and one -

,

which might be considered large for a man who duri ng ,

the greater part of his life could not spare much time for ,

reading When he first took a house and was apportionin g

.

under different heads a modest sum of money this is told ,

—

by an old pocket -book — he wrote down £ 3 0 for additions ,

to the contents of his book -shelves as against £ 5 for the

furnishing of his kitchen H enry G Bohn the publisher . .
, ,

who made his acquaintance abou t the year 1 8 4 8 admired ,

his choice of books and would oft en afterwards send him

,

presentation copies of such publications of his own as had

exceptional interest Wi t h t he hi ghly cultivated and genial
.

George H ogarth a friend of Sir Walter Scott and the

,

father -i n law of Charles Dickens Bennett l ived on terms

-
,

of the closest intimacy and wi t h him he delighted to con ,

verse on literary subj ects H ogarth would examine the .

book -shelves and when the re g ret was expressed I have

, ,
‘

so li t tle time would console by saying Ah but you have

,
’

,
‘
,

the books and t here is much to be learnt on their mere

,

title pages
-
.
’

B ennett had a g ood knowledge of E n glish poetry and , ,

thou g h a lit t le shy of showing it would enjoy a q u iet talk ,

over one of his favourite poe t s with his neighbour in the

Combination-room of a C olle g e or i n his own house with
some literary friend of wider reading than his own At a .

late period of his life he had probably it had always been —

his habit to have— a few books or one book to which he , ,

would remain constant for many months t o gether He .

coul d for instance be seen evening after evening month

, , ,

aft er mon t h reading The D es er t ed Vi l l ag e ; apparently

,
43 2 Som e P er s on a l Ch a r a c t er is t ic s [ CH .

sessions was enhanced by thei r ever gracefu l arrangement ,

which did not bend to convention but showed a refreshin g ,

individuality The appearance of his rooms would often

.

prompt his visitors to speak their admirat ion A few .

days after his death his friend Davison going throu g h the ,

passages of his house stopped before one of the pic t ures

and sa i d with great feeling H e was a man who always ,

loved to have beautiful thin g s about him Of t he distin .

’

u i s h e d artists of his time Bennett knew the Landseers

g , ,

and set great store on a charming water-colour ske t ch that

S ir E dwin had painted in his alb u m H e was on intimate .

terms with Mulready and Creswick C harles K emble the .

,

actor was oft en at his house i n Russell Place

, .

H e is reported on good authority to have said at t he

, ,

Academy in his last days I do not like books , These

‘
.
’

words seemed to contradic t what has been said above ,

but they reappeared wi t hout any context which mi g ht

explain them E ven in the same house and at about the
.

same time he took a keen personal interest in forming a

small library to provide profitable emplo y ment for s t udents
while waiting for music lessons H e did however make .
, ,

reservation about the u s e of books Thus as a teacher .

,

of music he cautioned pupils against an excessive reliance

,

on theoretical text -books sugges t ing to them i n illustration

, ,

of his meaning that they should try to reduce the rules of

,

H armony within the compass of a card or sheet of note

paper Then again he often said and said it as if it were
.
, ,

a conception of his own thou g h of course it is not ori g inal

, ,
‘
I believe there can be too much reading and too little
thinking Sometimes he would say this against himself i n
.
’

reference to his own newspaper reading which he thought ,

he had allowed to g row into an excessive indulgence to the

detriment of forming independent opinions Long hours .

i n his carriag e gave the opportunity for this readin g and

especially for the S tudy of a favourite subj ect .

U p to middle life he took a keen interest in po litics ,

inclining to t he Liberal side This recalls his valued .

friendship with Wyndham Goold an I rish landowner a n d ,

M P for the county of Limerick who first came to him

. .
,

early in 1 8 4 7 for letters of introduc t ion to Leipzig whither

he was going in order to place his youn g friend A rthu r ,
x x x 1v] I n t er es t i n P ol it ic s 43 3

O Lea ry
’
in the C onservatorium Bennett was already i n
, .

the good graces of M r Goold s sisters the C ountess of ’

Dunrav en and Lady Gore Booth whom he described to ,

M endelssohn as two of o u r best amate u rs Wyndham ‘

.
’

Goold himself a most attractive and lovable man was

, ,

immediately drawn towards Bennett and thenceforward ,

when Parliament bro u ght him t o town he spent m u ch time ,

at Ru ssell Place i n no formal way but catching his busy

, ,

friend when he could and seeking his intimate companion ,

ship H e became a fresh medi u m of communication b e

.

tween B enne t t and Leipzig for he con t inued to visit that ,

place and was so appreciated there that the remembrance

, ,

of him was treasured in German families long after his

death H e liked to hear Bennett play Bach s Fu g ues
‘
.
’

but he also liked to draw him o u t upon politics He .

corresponded with him and if the one le t ter preserved is , ,

a sample of the others the poli t ical situations of the day ,

were the chief subjects of t he correspondence H e once .

told M r Arthur O Lea ry tha t he had been surprised at ’

B enne t t s i nterestin g and seemingly original views on

’

politics and that he had been puzzled as to how they had

,

been acquired Bennett would not be likely to satisfy

.

enq u iries on that point Those who knew hi m later used .

to hear him enunciate q u aint and fresh -sounding theories

on a variety of subj ects which marked him as a man of ,

curio u s thought or observation ; but he was a little irritatin g

sometimes when he declined to state the premises by which
he had arrived at his opinion H owever by one of his .
,

theories — as he himself called t hem — he would often start

l ively conversations at his own table which it would amuse ,

him to listen to but in which he would take no part H e

, .

did not care to argue I t was noticed that wi t h re gard .

to music he did not t ry to give or want to hear verba l

explanations of uncommon effects H e probably felt that .

beauty lost some of its charm i n the process of analysis .

T his same disposition of mind was shown when he wen t ,

as he much liked to do to conjuring entertainments H e , .

wanted to preserve the idea of the mystery of the thing

and it spoilt his simple enj oyment to hear any su gg estion
1
M W y dh m Goold di d
r ry dd ly m 8 55 j t h w
n th ve su en 1
of t rt i g t
a e , us as e as on e
eve s a r l t i wh w n rvi i t h Crim
o s ee a e a ve o a s on s e ce n e ea .

S . B .
43 4 Som e P er s on a l Ch a r a c t er is t ics

about the ways i n which the tricks were done H is concern .

for politics was shown in later life though not by a de ,

c l a re d adherence to any particular party O n one occasion .

he went the len gth of b ecomin g an electioneering agent in

Liberal a s a g ainst Radical interests H e put off his pupils .
,

and volunteered to conduct Colonel Romilly a candidate ,

for M ary lebone round the man y org an and pianoforte

,

facto r ies i n that borough A strong opinion which he held

.

on one subject is well remembered be cause it led him to ,

adopt an adverse and as some thought a too restrictive

, ,

view of a great public character The peace -loving and .

‘

peace promoting propensities which were noticed in his

-
’

management of the Royal Academy of Music were not ,

inconsistent wi t h abhorrence of the doctri ne of peace -a t ‘

an -
y price .H e’
would in consequence listen
, to no word ,

of praise or defence of J ohn B right as a statesman About .

this extreme attitude his friend M r Robert C ase a warm

, ,

admirer of Bright on general grounds oft en teased him ,

i n a good -humoured way and B ennett i n the same spirit ,

habitually closed his strict censure of the politician with a

lau g h whilst exclaimin g Well at any rate I could not
, ,
‘
,

sit at the same table with him Bennett however had to .

’

, ,

eat these words I n the last years of his life he annually

.

dined with the Attorney -General Sir J ohn (afterwards ,

Lord Chief J ustice ) C olerid g e C omin g home from one of .

these dinners he called in at the house of the C ases and

, , ,

with a demure look upon his face asked them to guess ,

who had been his vi s a vi s at the dinner table The riddle .

was instantly answered and this peaceful meetin g with

,

J ohn B ri g ht was for some time a subject of much raillery

between Bennett s friends and himsel f
’
.

H e had but a scanty chance of amusing himself i n the

day -time and yet his amusements lay rather without than
,

W ithi n doors They were much the same as he might

.

have enjoyed when a boy or even when a child though , ,

one might be inclined to say in some respects a pec u l i a r ,

boy or child S ir Georg e M a c fa rre n has no t iced this 1n the

.

following reminiscence : Always as a yo u th he had t he ‘

sense of humour which characterises every person of genius ,

and this never left him ; he was alwa y s quickest t o perceive

a j est and never unready with a pertinent sayin g ; but he
,
43 6 Som e P er s on a l Ch a r a c t er is t ic s [ CH .

For the last seven t een years of his life he spent his
longer holidays at Eastbourne and those who passed t hem ,

with him had a better chance i n that place than elsewhere

of observing his choice of am u sements H e never missed .

a cricket -match and on the old ground near the railway

,

station he passed many happy days Where his interes t .

exac t ly lay was never discovered but probably he had in ,

boyhood caught something of that en t husiasm for cricket

for which the town of C ambrid g e was always noted N o .

competent critic of the game watched i t more i ntently

than he did H e was always very anxious for t he s u ccess
.

of the Players whose cause he espoused as a g ainst the

,

Gentlemen maintaining that the bes t result ought t o be

,

produced when livelihood was at stake D r W G Grace . . .

,

who had already at that time made his mark was a g reat ,

thorn i n his side as an upset to his theory As a spectator .

he showed much nervousness at exciting moments so that ,

he almost invariably missed any final issue ; in fact the ,

least S hock as when the bat touched t he ball would

, ,

generally cause his eyes to blink nor could he keep them ,

open t o see if a catch were held or not but would say ,

under his breath What s that ? or What happened

,
‘ ’
? ’ ‘ ’

H e would when i n London drive off to

, if he ,

ever got the chance for the sake of seeing even a quarter
,

o f a n hour s play but this happened very seldom as t he

’
- -
, ,

cricket season came at the busiest time of his year

- .

An annual event at Eastbourne which he anticipa t ed

wi t h boyish delight was the arrival of a circus The cara .

vans g enerally reached the town in the ni g ht he would be

on the spot early i n t he morning and would stand for some ,

hours ou t side the paling of the field watchin g the company ,

as they pitched their camp cooked their meals wa t ered , ,

their horses and set up the circus -tent N o companion

, .

had t he pa t ience to remain by his side but periodical visits ,

i n the course of the mornin g would find him rooted to the

sam e spot his face still beamin g with pleasure and in t erest
, .

H e said that he admired the unceasing industry of the

people and their methodical plan of work and therein no , ,

doubt was one cause of his fascination When he lived i n

, .

Queensborou g h Terrace house -buildin g was in progress

,

there . I f an expected pupil failed to appear he would ,

x x x 1v] A t E a s t bou r n e 43 7

go out and stand i n a fixed position on the pavement for ,

three -quarters of an hour looking up at t he bricklayin g

, ,

and followin g with his eyes the workmen as they ascended

and descended t he ladders O n returning to the house .
,

he wo u ld S ho w some special knowledge of the processes

and materials of the different grades of t h e work and the
,

etiq u et t e at t ached to them b y the men .

H is u sual morning wal k a t E as t bou rne was t hrough the

town ; i n the afternoon he turned towards the country ,

sometimes going long distances On Sundays he often .

went to t he C hurches of Willin g don E ast Dean J evin gton , , ,

or Westham near Pevensey for the mornin g S ervice H e , .

went little by the sea but he always turned that way on

,

the days of an exceptionally high tide H e would be i n .

the crowd on t he Grand Parade to share the excitement ,

and amusement caused by the adventu ro u s spirits who

hazarded a ru n round a narrow part of the esplanade at the
risk of being deluged by one of the greater waves I n his .

morning walk he would look i n at the shops not always as ,

a p u rchaser but to chat with some characteristic person

, .

H e us u ally spent hal f a n hour i n the confectioner s S hop at

- -
’

the j unction of the Terminus and Sea S ide Roads not to ,

eat any t hing but because he was amused by the inde

,

penden t manner in which M rs M orris t he proprietress , ,

treated her customers The cares of business often ru ffled

.

M rs M orris s temper but he could always propitiate her

’

, ,

and both herself and her daughter came to appreciate his

morning call and t o miss him much when he died Another .

friend of humbler rank was Philadelphia H ol leb o n e an

, , ,

a g ed vendor of ve g etables who lived i n the villag e of ,

Willi n gdon and drove her donkey cart into the town every -

day Bennet t had no business dealin gs wi t h her b u t often

.
,

conversed wi t h her on his mornin g round and would repeat ,

her q u aint sayings on his ret u rn to his lodgings N 0 one .

,

howe v er had realized the ex t en t of this curio u s friendship

,

until a day of his la t er life when a companion j oined him for

an aft ernoon walk H e was a t first preoccupied appeared
.
,

to be composing and his mood wa s gloomy H e emerged

, .

on the high road above Old Eastbourne without having so

far ut t ered a word Suddenl y he woke his face lighted
.
,

up and pointin g with his stick he cried out There she

, , ,
‘
43 8 Some P er s on a l Ch a r a c t er is t ic s [ CH .

is t here she is ! H e had espied Philly as the old

,
’ ‘
,
’

dame was called on the road before him driving home

, ,

to Willingdon H e quickly overt ook her and the pleasure

.
,

of mee t in g was mutual They chat ted to each other with .

ease and wi t h a pretty cour t esy on both sides till they

, ,

reached her cotta g e where Bennett prov ed t o be qui t e a t

,

home Philly s a t down to rest in her high -backed chair

.
,

whilst he showed his companion all the arrangements of

her little dwellin g openin g cupboards lift ing the lids of
, ,

lockers and explaining i n her hearing where she kept her

,

coo king-utensils and her food and how by certain me t hods ,

of economy S he managed t o make ends mee t The hostess .

,

smiling and chuckling wa t ched him with great deligh t , ,

nodding from t ime to time i n approval of his statements .

She did not appear to know exactly who he was nor did ,

she call him by name her manner precluded any idea that
she was beholden to him for charities ; it was e v iden t ly the
man himself that made her so happy and as he led the ,

way out of the cot t age she said to his companion Dear , ,
‘
,

dear what a merry fellow he is

, .
’

Bennett found good and true friends i n all sor t s and

condi t ions of life N or must it be forgotten that he owed
.

much to the companionship of the dogs who i n t u rn became

members of his household O ne of thes e a half-bred pug .
, ,

cam e t o him i n 1 8 5 8 and it can be said with certain t y that

,

the fai t hful creature did much a few years lat er t o help , ,

his master thro u gh a time of sadness Pug was fu ll of .

‘ ’

charac t er and intelligence and thou g h he led an inde , ,

pendent and nomadic life spared a great deal of time for ,

his master generally accompanying him on his long drives

,

in t o the country and invariably keepin g himself free from

,

other engagemen t s on t he par t icular days reserved for

teaching at Sou t hgate H e was much liked by Benne t t s
.
’

friends he paid his calls upon t hem with a poli t e regularity

, ,

and always knew where to find a late dinner— for he was a

bit of a gourmet— W hen there happened to be none at his
own house There was however one of his master s best
.
, ,
’

friends of whom he lived in t error When Bennett came .

home from a concert Pu g would rush to the front door to

,

meet him ; but if J oachim with violin -case in hand al so , ,

appeared on the threshold he instantly t urned tail and made ,

 C H A PT E R X X XV
A
L ST D AYS .

IN Februa ry 1 8 7 3 Bennett reappea red as a conductor

, .

Somewhat to the surprise of his friends he accepted an ,

i nvi t ation from M r W Ku b e to direct a performance of

.

‘
The Woman of S amaria at the Brighton Festival This ’
.

was the sole occasion on which he conducted an important

rendering of the work Then a gain on M ay 2 0 he took
.
, , ,

a share i n directing a Festival S ervice for the benefit ,

of the C hoir Benevolent Fund in the C hapel of K ing s ,

’

C olle g e Cambridge
, A week later he again went to
.

Cambrid g e though this time not without effort

, I have .
‘

been so bewildered with one thing or another he wrote ,

’

a few days before when mentioning the coming e n gage

,

ment to one of his family H owever he kept his promise .

, ,

and conducted The M ay Queen for the U niversity

‘ ’

M usical Society The conc ert had a special claim to his

.

presence The S ociety was enj oyin g a fresh and vigorous

.

ex i stence under the i nspiri t in g g u idance of M r C V (now . .

S ir Charles ) Stanford and on t his par t icular evening a

,

notable departure was made by the i ntroduction for the ,

first time of ladies into t he chorus The occasion has a

, .

second interest here because i t proved to be Benne t t s

,
’

farewell to the concert-stage O n the same spot he had .

given his first concert a little more than forty years before .

Aft er spending two years at t he cottage in Porchester

Terrace B ennett had returned in M arch 1 8 7 2 to his house
, , ,

i n Q u eensborou g h Terrace ; but in the summer of 1 8 7 3

he was able to let it on lease and found another i n S t J ohn s ,
’
en . xxx v] P ea c e ful P ros pec t s 44 1

Wood Road of smaller S ize but larg e enough to hold his

, ,

p rincipal belongings The house was on two floors de

.
,

t a c he d well set back from t he road with a good S ized

, ,
-

garden behind amply stocked with shrubs and fru it trees

,
- .

E ver y thin g wanted in way of renovation both of house and ,

furniture was attended to all was cheerful and comfortable

, , ,

a n d on his return from E astbourne in September 1 8 7 3 he , ,

s ettled down very happily in his new home .

H is anxiety as to the external policy of the Academy ,

w hich had lasted for seven years was now off his mind , .

H e had the satisfaction of seeing the I nstitution supportin g

itself and rising in repute H is association with it promised .
,

for the fu ture to bring him no t hin g but pleasure O f other

, .

occupations if he found it were desirable to reduce them or

,

alter them he could afford to do so for he had no longer ,

anyone entirely dependent upon him I n J anuary 1 8 7 4 .

,

the Academy Com m ittee when he was absent from a ,

meeting voted that a salary of £ 3 0 0 per ann u m should

,

be assigned to the Principalship and this would add to ,

his resources without increasing his work By the ready .

assistance of M r H R E yers a you n g Professor who . .

, ,

had for the past few years acted as Private Secretary to

the Principal he was able t o keep pace with the grow i n g
.

details of o fficial business H e had reached the threshold .

of that quieter and less burdensome life which he had often

spoken of and had hoped might be i n s t ore for him .

By this t ime however his friends were beg inning to

, ,

realize that his stren g th had been too severely taxed by

the work and the cares of the past y ears that his health ,

had gone almost beyond hope of recovery while at times it ,

could not escape notice that his mental powers were to a

certain extent already affected H e was i n fact a worn .
, ,

out man but so elastic was his temperament and so often

,

was he still found merry and en t ertaining 1r1 his wa y s and

con v ersation t hat he could himself from time to time allay
, , ,

the fears that o t hers had on his account Though he was .

now nominall y l iving alone many i ntimate friends kept i n ,

close touch wi t h him M r Robert Case s y oungest son .

’

George would come over from I n v erness Terrace and

, ,

sta y for weeks together at the St J ohn s Wood house to ’

bear him company H is daughter and sons were able to

.
44 2
“

La st Da ys [ CH .

spend long holidays with him and the visits from O xford ,

of his little grandsons for the elder of whom he i nvented ,

games i n the garden and for whose future use he wrote a ,

Sonat ina were a great delight to him

, .

Ma c fa rre n and I he would say have now found a

‘ ’ ‘
, ,

subj ect which does not lead to argument we talk abou t our
—

g randchildren Sir George Ma c fa rr e n was a keen debater

.
’

which Bennett was not Their dispositions were in many .

respects strongly contrasted but their early personal a t tach ,

ment remained firm to the end B enne t t came home to .

St J ohn s Wood one da y much touched by the generosity

’

of some t hing that M a c fa rre n had said in one of their last

conversa t ions on the door-steps of the Academy Possibly .

B ennett had been talkin g of his own career Well Bennett .

‘
, ,
’

was M a c fa rr e n s remark you are the one of us all who

’

,
‘

has done nothing you need repent A t the Testimonial .

’ ’

M eeting in S t J ames s H all Bennett had said I thank ’

, ,
‘

my old school fellow M r M a c fa r r en for the kind manner

-
, ,

i n which he has expressed himself to-day not for the first ,

time not for the twentieth — I can t count up the number

,
’

of times in which he has so spoken of me After Bennett s .

’ ’

death S ir George M a c fa rr e n whether as Professor at

, ,

C ambrid g e or as Principal of the Academy— i n both these

,

capaci t ies he followed B ennett— never lost any opportunity

of payin g graceful tribute to the memory of his brother
m u s 1c 1a n .

Before the year 1 8 7 3 had ended Bennett had the ,

satisfaction of knowing that his new Sonata The Maid ,

‘

of Orleans was making its way I t was first played by

,
’
.

M iss Channel ] at a concert g iven by M adame Rebecca

,

J ewell M adame Arabella Goddard to whom the composer

.
‘
,

dedicated it was a t the time on a tour through the

, , ,

C olonies ; but Charles H allé Li ndsay Sloper D r H ans von , ,

B il low and M r F ranklin Taylor produced it at important

,

concerts I n December Benne t t wrote to his son : I

.
,
‘

shall look forward to seeing you on the 1 7 th I am pretty .

well and in good spirits Shall be glad when the holidays .

come They have printed 1 1 50 copies of the Sona t a

. .
’

1
F or t w en t y -on e y r M d m A Godd rd (M
ea Jo W Da v io ) ha d
pi ofor t -m i wi t h t h g r t
s, a a e . a rs . . s n
b een pl a ymg B en n et t s
’
an e us c e ea e s t c n s t a n c y.
444 La st Days [ CH .

force of lon g habi t but i n a somewhat mechanic al way , .

Yet he still wished as of old to add voluntary services t o

, ,

fixed duties Thus he spared fi v e days i n March and spent

.

t hem in C ambridge where he had undertaken the general

,

d irection of a concert though no share as a performer .

The musical circl e i n the U niversity gave this concert ,

wi t h the valuable c o -operation of J oachim i n aid of a fund ,

for raisin g a memorial to S ebastian B ach i n E isenach and ,

with s u ch a movement Ben nett was of course proud to be , ,

associated This final reference to his connection with

.

Cambridge affords an opport u nity which he himself would

most certainly have wished to see taken of acknowled g in g ,

how much he owed d u ring t he later years of his Professor

,

ship to the personal ki ndness and attention always so

,

affectionately shown to him by the lat e Gerard F rancis

C obb of Trinity Colle g e A nother Fellow of Trinity . ,

M r S edley Taylor was also a fri endly ally H e delivered

, .

lectures on Acoustics at T he Royal Academy of M usic

durin g Benne t t s P rincipalship and dedicated to him his
’

well -known treatise Sound and M usic ,

‘
.
’

I n the summer of 1 8 7 4 at E astbourne working little , ,

by little B ennet t extended to a considerable len gth a

,

Funeral M arch which he had begun i n the previous year

, ,

for the proj ected music to Aja x H ow lon g do you .

‘

think I may make it he would say ; for he had in his mind

the remembrance of the Duke of Wellin g ton s funeral i n ’

1 8 5 2 and he wanted to produce the effect of fresh bands

,

striking up as the so u nds of others died away i n passin g

, .

H e finished the orchestral music up to the point at which ,

the chorus wa s to enter and set the words ,

B t om l l y who wo ld t t d
u c e, a e u a en
T h l t d p rt r ofe fri d
H i t h r i ol m pro io t hro g
as e a u e a en ,

e n e

B ri g t h ol m bi r lo g
s n c es s n n
ea

F ollowi g t h d d for li t l w y
n e s e n e a n ,

t
O t of t h li gh t of t h g l ri g d y
n e ea a e a

gloomy port l ;
u e e a n a

T t h t hr hold of Pl t o
’

F ollowi g him who irt w r k ow

o e es u s a s

T hro g h lif t
n se v ues e e n n
h i f i t hf l fri d lo
Who w lw y t h br t d b t of mort l
u e o s a u en s a n e,

as a a s e a ves an es a s .

This was a S wan song of beautiful chords and progressions ;

‘
-
’

b u t t he subj ect was gloomy for one who may have felt that
he himself had not long to live Quietly and with apparent .
’

,
xxx v] Cl os ing Sc enes 445

resi g nation he said in the garden of his Eastbourne lodging

, ,

The ni g ht has come when I cannot work

, .
’

H e visited his daughter at Oxford twice i n September ,

and t hen began his work at the Academy writing thenc e ,

on Sept 2 8 .

MY D EAR
D OLLY ,

We had an extremely pleasant and short j ourney

to London I went strai g ht off t o the Academy and d i d
.

nearly two hours work i n openin g letters and examining

new students M y visit to Oxford did me good I am
.
,

qui t e sure and I thank Tom and yourself for yo u r kindnes s

,

to me The Academy did not receive the letter which y o u

.

wrote for me yesterday to M r Eyers —this was by accident ,

and I was all the better pleased to be there five minute s

before my usual time .

With kind love to you all ,

E ver you r affectionat e father ,

W I LLIA M S T ER N DA LE B E N N E TT .

I n December B ennett on hearing that the H anove r

, ,

Square Rooms were to be used no longer for music but i n ,

future for t he coffee -room of a club expressed a wish tha t ,

t he Academy students should give the last concert t here .

A special performance was accordingly arran ged for Dec 1 9 . .

One of the students afterwards wrote of B ennett s connection ’

with this occasion

H is conservative spirit made him g rieve over the los s
of the H anover Square Rooms sacred with musical tra ,

d i t i o n s of the past 1“
The very last concert in t he
Rooms was g iven by the students of the Royal Academy
of M usic j ust before Christmas 1 8 7 4 and strangely enough ,

it was the last concert he ever attended M any who were .

present noticed that he had a sad far-away look that night .

Possibly t he idea was in his mind tha t such changes could

not affect him long Twice during that evening he left t he
.

concert -room expressing his intention of going home and ,

each time returned as if he did n o t know how to tear him

,

self away though he felt unequal to remainin g 1

.
’

F 1
r M g i J ly 8 7 5
ra s e
’
s a a z ne, u 1 .
446 La st Da ys [C H .

H e continued to take a few pupils up to Christmas ,

and began with them agai n through the first three weeks
of J anuary 1 8 7 5 On the other hand he was evidently
.

unable to examine when he tried to do so the compositions

, ,

which had been sent by candidates for musical degrees .

D r Garrett of C ambridge afterwards wrote of a visi t which

, ,

he paid him on J an 1 2 I was with him the whole after

. .
‘

noon H e was very weak but cheerful and the afternoon

.
, ,

being very fi ne and warm he wou l d take me out in his ,

garden to S how m ethe bow -window from his old Eastbourne

lodging with which he had been presented when the house
was destroyed H e talked hopefu lly t o o of the future he
.
,

was never to see and was most kind and deli g htful
,
’

O n Thursday J an 2 1 he attended the entrance ex a m i

, .
,

nation a t the Academy On Saturday the 2 3 rd he took

.
,

two private pupils i n the mornin g but declined M r Robert ,

C ase s proposal t o drive him to the C rystal Palace where

’

his Symphony m G minor was to be played O n occasional .

excurs i ons to Sydenham where he would like to go if , ,

there was a concert on the anniversary of M endelssohn s ’

death or if he could hear a Symphony of Schumann s he

,
’

had always preferred to go by road passin g throu g h the ,

beautiful villa g e of Dulwich ; but he did not allow himself

the treat on this afternoon H e had another engagement . .

O f this t he Rev Thomas Darling wrote a fortnight

, .
,

later to The Gu a r d i a n : I t was his wont to finish his

,
‘

week s labour by givin g a free lesson to three g irls from

’

the Clergy Orphan School the house of which lay hard by ,

his own dwelling place i n S t J ohn s Wood The lesson ’

.

thus given on Sat u rday J an 2 3 proved to be the last act .

,

in his vocation and min i stry T his was again mentioned

.
’
.

by Dean Stanley from the pulpit of Westminster Abbey

, ,

as a fittin g close to his life 3 work ’

.

The next mornin g Sunday when he was called he said

, , ,

he should not g et up j ust y et This sounded unusual but .

it was only as the day wore on and he S howed no S i g n of ,

moving that a fear about him beg an to be felt I n the .

dread of a complete failure of mental power those near him ,

had lost sight of the possibility of t he less painful solution

of his trouble coming so soon H is family were seriously .

considerin g a plan of his livin g i n his daug hter s house at ’

448 La st D a ys [ CH .

The Royal Academy of M usic the Royal Societ y of ,

M usicians and the Philharmonic Society j oined in making

,

the arrangements for the Funeral which took place at ,

noon on Feb 6 As the time approached H anover Square

. .
,

was lined with carriages among them those sent by the ,

Queen and the Royal Family awaiti n g the arri v al of the ,

hearse from S t J ohn s Wood N ot the leas t solem n ’

.

episode of the day probably conceived by the tender ,

hearted M a c fa rre n was the resting of Bennett s remains

,
’

for a few silent moments at the door of the Academ y ,

before starting on the last s t age of the j ourney The .

Abbey was crowded with so large a congregation that ,

D ean S t anley aft erwards said he had seen no such gather

i ng on a like occasion save at Lord Pa lm ers t o n s fu neral
, ,
’
.

Twelve pall -bearers were chosen from am on g t hose who

had been his fellow -students and the coffin was followed ,

by representa t ives of the U niversity of Cambrid g e includin g ,

the Vice-Chancellor the M aster of St J ohn s and the Pre ,

’

c e n t o r of K ing s ; by the Earl of Dudley as President of

’

the Royal Academy of M usic with the Directors and Pro

fes s o rs of that I nstitution ; by a deputation from the Royal
S ociet y of M usicians led b y the ve t eran S ir J ohn Goss ;
by the Directors of the Philharmonic and o t her musical
Societies and by members of the German Athen aeum
, .

A mong the wreaths placed upon the co ffin was one sent
from the U n iversity of E dinburgh as if i n remembrance
of how nearly twice in his life B ennett had been within
, ,

reach of a connection with that U niversity .

The music was according to precedent that of Purcell

, , ,

Croft and H andel but one piece of Bennett s own compo

, ,
’

sitio u was added J ames T u rl e the Abbey Organist was

.
, ,

assisted by Dr S t eg g a ll Dr Stainer E J H opkins George , , . .

,

Cooper and J H opkins of Rochester The Abbey C hoi r

, . .

was au g mented by contingents from S t Paul s the Temple ’

, ,

the Chapel Royal the Chapel of Lincoln s I nn and ,

’

then numbered fi ft y -four singers The Quartet God i s .

‘

a Spiri t from The Woman of S amaria was sun g by

,
’ ‘
,
’

M as t er Beckham M essrs Foster Carter and Lawler the

, , , ,

full choir entering on the repetition of the first subj ect .

That is M u s i c whispered Arthur S u llivan to his nei g hbou r

,
’

Davison as the strains of the Quartet died away

, I t wa s .
xx xv] W t mi es n s t er A bbey 449

hard enough to bear I can tell you — s o wrote D r Garrett ,

’

to the Rev J R Lunn — and when in the middle of t he

. . .
,
‘

service unexpectedly t he soothin g s t rains of his own God

, ,
“

is a Spirit were heard (most exquisitely rendered ) there ,

were few dry eyes I t was almos t too much to see the
.

flower-covered coffin before us and remember tha t we ,

should see his face no more I confess it broke me down .

utterly but no one was m u ch be t t er and many of his old

, ,

friends and colleagues were deepl y affected Crowded .

’ ‘

as was the Abbey Sir George M a c fa r re n said to the

,
’

Academy studen t s a few years later t here co u ld not ,

‘

have been a tearless eye among the many hundreds who

con g regated t o pay the trib u te of love and admiration to
the friend and the ar t is t The g rave the site of which .
’

was chosen by Dean S tanley is in t h e N orth Choir Aisle , ,

j ust below one side of the Organ and i n close proximity ,

to the graves of Purcell and Croft .

The funeral sermon was preached next day by D r Wood

ford B ishop of Ely
, .

Yesterday he said the g reat U nder Congregation of

,
’

,
‘ -

the Dead within these walls received an addi t ional member

upon whom the t hou ghts of many present will 1“ 1‘

T here was laid i n the g rave side by side with another ,

grea t musician whose solem n strains welcomed his brother

home one of high name and honour not only i n this country
, , ,

but beyond the sea H is was one of those lives which it

.

does good to note a life beginning i n obscurit y ending

, ,

i n a wide repute The chorister-boy of K ing s Chapel

.
’

Cambridge ad v ancing to the Professorship of M usic in that

,

U niversi t y gathering round him as he grew in years the

, , ,

esteem of the whole earth and laid to rest at last amidst ,

those whom this country has for cent u ries delighted t o

ennoble he reads a lesson which we can never too oft en
,

learn how to those who do n o t waste the life which God

—

gives or dissipate or leave unc u l t u red the inspirations which

,

H e has brea t hed into them there is assigned ev en in this , ,

world a s u re reward
, .

‘
I rejoice that it has fallen to me to speak thus of
one so dis t inguished i n the U niversity which i t is the boast
of my diocese to contain within its borders Let me say .

but one word more I have nothin g to tell of the inner

.
450 F in is [CH . xx x v

spiritual life of him who was yesterday laid in the grave .

But this fact is i n the common possession of all : he was

the professor of one of the sublimest sciences a science —
,

perhaps more than any o t her i n its nobles t developments

, ,

the offspring of the Christian 1“ 1“

That science ,

like literature and painting and sculpture may be made to

,

serve ignoble uses to fan the flame of passion to minister

, ,

to dissipation and excess As far as I know the great

.
,

musician whom we lament in whatsoever he wrote main

, ,

t a i n e d to the full the moral digni t y of his A rt and so is ,

to be numbered amongst those who use God s g ifts of this ’

nature in such wise as to promote H is glory and vindicate

,

their nature as indeed divi ne .

’
 A ppen dix 45 1

APPEN DI X A .

F O UR N O TE S .

( 1) An n a ls of t he B a c h S oc i ety .

Oct 27, So i t y i t i t t d ;
1 8 49 p 3 (wh r by m h
Th e c e ns u e s ee 20 e e, a uc

r gr t t d mi t k t h d t i g i
. . .
,

O t e e e s a e, e a e s ven as c

F ir t Tri l of m i ; p 6
.

M r h a 85c 2 1, 1 0 s
‘
a
’
us c s ee 20

J ly 9 8 5 C t ry P rform ; pp 6 7
. . .

u 2 1 0 en en a e ance s ee 20 20

J
. .
, , .

un e 85 B h i Mo t t p bli h d i Lo do ;
1 1 . ac p 7 ’
s S x e s u s e n n n s ee . 20 .

M rh a 85c P rform
2 2, of Mo t t C o r t o & i t h Co rt room
1 2 . e ance e s, n ce s c .
, n e nce - s

i S t or S t ; p 3 n e s ee 2 2

April 6 8 54 t p rform i Lo do of t h P io M ik (St

. .

‘ ’
, 1 . Is e a nc e n n n e a ss n s- us

M t h w) ; pp 3 3 4 a t e s ee . 2 2- 2 .

N 8
o v. 8 54 d p rform
2 ,
1 of t h m ;. p 35
an e ance e sa e s ee . 2 .

M r h 3 8 58
a c 3 d 2 1 pp 7 6 7 8
r s ee 2 —2

A pril 3 8 59 P io M i k (S t M t t h w ) t Wm d ; p 7 8
. . .
,
‘
2 1 a ss n s- us a e a s or s ee 2

J
, . . .

un e 8 59 B h C o r t mi ll o
2 1, 1 o l d i tr m t l
ac nce sc e ane u s, v ca an ns u en a

J ly 4 8 6 B h Co rt (wi t h mo m t of M B mi or)
.
, .

u 2 1 0 ac nce 11 ve en s a s s, n

J
. .
,

t p rform of C hri t m O r t orio P rt I d I I ’

un e
3 86 1 1 1. Is e an ce
‘
s as a a s an

E gli h d t i of B h P io M ik ( S t M t t h w)
, ,
.

M rh a c86 1 2 . n s e I on ac
’
s
‘
a ss n s- us
’
a e

p b li h d ; p 39 u s e s ee . 1 .

M y a 4 86 4t h p rform
2 , 1 i Lo do
2. of t h m ; p 39 e a n c e, n n n, e sa e s ee . 1 .

A p rt from p bli p rform

a for whi h t h So i y w
u c t fo dd
e a n c es , c e c et as no un e ,

an d for whi h i t fi i l hm h dm d
c s pro i io h B h So i t y
nanc a sc e es a a e no v s n, t e ac c e

from 8 5 6 g r g l r opport i t y for i mo t h of h y r for t h

,

1 0— 2, a ve e u a un , s x n s ea c ea , e

pr t i of B h hor l m i T hi i r t ifi d by m i
ac ce ac
’
s c book d by
a us c . s s ce e a n u t e- an

c orr po d es pr r d by t h H S t h l t D S t g g l l Th So i t y
n en c e es e ve e on . ec . , e a e r e a . e c e

w asform lly di ol d M r h a 87 ssby whi h t im i t h d ompli h d

ve on a c 2 1, 1 0 c e a acc s e

growi g r l t of i t
,

th obj t for whi h i t w fo d d d o ld

e ec th
c as un e an c u s ee e n es u s s

pio ri g l bo r Th libr ry w pr
,

n ee n a d t t h R A of M i
u . e a as es en t e o e . us c .

(2 ) B en n et t pl a ced a mong t he opp on en t s of Chopi n .

hori t y of h i fri d t h l t Mr A J H ipki B t t h g i d

O n t he a ut s en e a e n s, en n e as a ne

d i t i h r t ho g h t
. .

a n u n en v ai bl e, a n d r d ih i import t
s e e u an un es e ve n c e n so an a

work t h L f f Ch pi by Prof or N i k M r H i pk i m m ory of t h

as e i e o o n es s ec s. ns s
’
e e

a tt it d t k
u by th m i i
e a en d m t r t ow rd C hopi m i pp r
e us c a n s an a a eu s a s n s
’
us c a ea s

t o r f r t p riod t r t i g i 8 48 d l t i g for
e e o a e r l y r Prof or
s a n n 1 an as n s ev e a ea s. ess

N i k wro t M H ipki t old m th t h t r ggl for y r t g i ’

‘
ec s e : h d t r ns e a e a o s u e ea s o a n

a dh r t t C hopi m i whil
e en s o d ri g t h g ood t r d b t r of
n s
’
us c e en u n
“
e -n a u e an e

St r d l B tt d J W
e n a e en n e Th word mi g h t b o t r d
an es e s e c ns ue as

ry g r b t t h p rt i l r p g
. .

n o ve t io a ve a c c u s a whi h t h y o r t k
n u e a cu a a e s on c e ccu a e a

se rio i w of t h m i l p t of Lo do i 8 48 It m h rd po
us v e e us c a as ec n n n 1 . s ee s a u n

B t t t h t h ho ld b m t io d i lo o t io wi t h ho t ili t i
en n e a e s u e en ne n c se c n n ec n
‘
s es
’

a g i t m i of hi gh p rpo wh hi w b t t l i lif w from fir t t

a ns us c a u s e, en s o n a e
’
n e as s o

l t w g d from t h ppo i t id d m r l y g i t t h fri oli t i of h i t im

as a e e O s e s e an e e a a ns e v es s e.

2 — 2
9
45 2 A ppen dix

The r mi i e g i by M r H ipki w t bro gh t t h o t i of h

n s c en c e ven ns as no u o t e n ce t e

pr t wri r t ill lo g ft r i t pp r
es en te d wh it w
n l t i th d y t
a e s a ea a n c e, a n en as a e n e a o

c oll t r b t t i g id
ec e u M r H ip k i m y i h i rly d y h b
n ev e n c e. ns a , n s ea a s, a ve e en

mi l d wh h fo d h i w t h i m di ppoi t d b y B t t mor
s e en e un s o n en us a s sa n e en n e
’
s e

g rd d x pr io or p rri d by h i g ood h mo r d b t r F rt h r h
,
‘ - u ’
ua e e es s n, a e s u e an e u e e

mi gh t f il t o t i h t B t t w
.
,

a o n t of ymp t hy
ce t t wi t h C hopi
a b t wi t h
en n e a s ou s a no n, u

m y pi i t of h P ri hool who whil h y w r r dy t i t rod t h t

an an s s t e a s sc e t e e e ea o n uc e a

ompo r t E gl d i t ro d d him mo g t h ompo r of F t i r t h r

,

c se o n an n uc e a n e c se s an as as a e

b y t h id of l i l wri t r F or t h r o B t t wo ld t t fir t
,

th an e s e c a ss c a e s. at ea s n en n e u no a s

b m h o t d wi t h t h ph l of C hopi dmir r ’
e uc a ss c 1a e e a a nx n s a e s .

B t t did t ho o pi ofort m i t h i l of y l t r H h
en n e no c se an e- us c a s e t t e an ec u e . e as

l ft m t io of C hopi i wri i g I t i dmi t t d t h t h

e no en n r pl y d h i
n n t n . s a e a e n e ve a e s

m i h i w C h m b r o rt ; b t i t h b
us c a t s o n how i t h prop r pl
a e -c n ce s u as een s n n e e a c e,

t h t h did
a e t m k olo for h pi ofor t p i l f t r of t ho o rt
no a e s s t e an e a s ec a ea u e se c nce s.

M or o r e pi i t i p b li p rform
ve , a an s i p td
,
n rily t x t d
u c e a n c e, s n o t ex ec e n ec es s a o e en

h i r p rt oir i
s e e ll dir t io e n a ec ns

F ort t ly i i t ill po ibl t r f r t h i work pi ofort t h

.

un a e t s s ss e o e e o s as a an e - ea c er

t ofollow t hr d of id a l d r b t f irly o t i o
ea ev w t r t hi g b k
e n c e, s e n e u a c n nu u s, n o s e c n ac

s om i x t y fi y r
e s d t g i t h r by om k owl d g of
- ve ea s ri r drd
an o a n e e s e n e e se v c e en e e

t oC hopi k owl dg gg t i of t h t r i h i g b
n, n e e su o id r bl A es ve a se v ce av n een c ns e a e . n

ana ly i of m i di t ri b t d t p pil i 8 3 9 d 8 4 h b g i
s s us c s u e o u s n 1 an 1 0 as ee n ve n on

p 9 4 C hopi m do t o n s r i i T h x t il bl r f r
’
na e es n oi t ccu n t e ne a va a e e e en c e s o

hi g book k p t by M B t t from t h b g i i g of 8 45 F or t h
. .
.

th te ea c n - s e rs en n e e e nn n 1 e

fir t i mo t h h t r d i t h boo k t o ly t h l o b t l o h
.

s s x n s s e en e e n es e s, n o n e es s n s, u a s su c

m i us c w ppli d t t h p pil dir t from t h ho

as a s su e Sh h o th l ft e u s ec e us e . e as us e a

proof t h t t l t a rly J
a 4 8 4 5 (t
ea s mor t h hr y r b for
a s ea as an 2 1 e. e an t ee ea s e e

i i t t E gl d t h t r t i g poi t of
. .
,

C hopi t whi h pp r
’
n s v s o n th an e even c a ea s as e s a n - n

hi g C hopi m i O f t h
,

Mr H i pk i r mi i )h h b dw t
’ ’
ns s e n s c en c e er us an as ea c n n s us c e

t r d d ri g t h
.

pi ec es e n e e i mo t h C hopi u t b t d 8 p
n wi t h
e s x n s, n c on n u e er c en t . , a

r t io t t h pi
a o th e m li t by B t ho of 5 9 T h x t i form t io
ec e s on e sa e s ee v en , e ne n a n

om from M r A rt h r O L y who i t h rly fift i t di d t h pi ofort i

.
,
’
c es u ea r n e ea es s u e e an e n

t th A
,

B tt l en n e
’
d my d who r m m b r t h t C hopi Et d w r
s c a ss a e ca e an e e e s a n s
’
u es e e

Wri t i g of li t l l t r t im
,

pr ri b d for l l p pil who joi d t h t l

es c e a u s ne a c a ss n a t e a e e,

B t t i W l k r m t io t h t h t di d m i
.

1 8 58 or t h r bo t
, Mi e ea u s, ss e na a e en ns a s e s u e us c

of C hopi d r B t t S h form d i t h pro

n un e en n eth impr io t h t e e n e c es s , e es s n a

for rt i o t h r g r t m t r
.
,

h t
er hrh d ea c h lo for C hopi
e a no suc ve n as ce a n e ea a s e s.

H er impr io w prob bly q i t orr t N o b ody who k w B t t

es s n as a u e c ec ne en n e

im g i d t h t h i ppr i t io of C hopi
.

wo ld for u mom t h on e en a ve a ne a s a ec a n n

a ppro h d h i ppr i t io g of B t ho
ac e s a B t o h r p pil t h l t
ec a n, e ee ven . u an t e u e a e

M i W lk r
. .
,

M i M H P rk
ss . of Sh ffi ld g i d by t h m m
. a es e e ,
a ne e sa e ea n s a s ss a e an

impr io of di ff r t ki d
es s n b ol t r t h r t h r l i impr io
a e en n an a s u e a e an a e a t ve e ss n.

M i P rk who b for t dyi g d r B t t h d b

,

ss a es, e p pil of D W l y
e s u n un e en n e a e en a u r es e

a t Wi h t rb m
nc es e ompli h d pi i t deca l dy of g r h r t r
e a n a cc s e an s an as a a ea t c a ac e

d g r l t t i m t h pi io ho ld h t h m w i gh t t l t
, ,

an en e a a a n en er O n n s u a ve e sa e e a ea s as

B t t i W l k r M i P rk wro t i 9
, ,

t h t of M i
a ss e na a e ss a es e n 1 0 2

o wi t h yo r f t h r w r from h t m of 8 6 6 t il E t r
.

My l‘
es s ns u a e e e t e au u n 1 un as e

868
1 . O h id M d m C l r S h m
nce eh b pl yi g
sa ,
a a e a a c u ann as ee n a n

C hopi Polo i i A fl t t rybody dmir t io Y h d b t t r t dy

’ ’
n s n a se n a o eve s a a n. ou a e e s u
4 54 A ppen dix
i ti
n v en pow r If t hi C pri h d r h d him
ve e . s a ce a ea c e in i t s prop r hro olo g i e c n c al

ord r h wo ld t h h d d dow t h fort

e e u no a ve an e n e un un a t e impr io t h t h w es s n a e a s,

i th
n d li t l di ppoi t d bo t B t t d
e en , a t e sa n e a u en n e
’
s a va n c e a s a c ompo r se .

"
(4) Tl ze p r od u c t i on S c fi u mrm n
’
P a m d zs e a nd Tfi e P en by Me
’
‘
, in 18 56 , o f s

t l i za r m om e S oc i ety
' ’

As hi p rform t f il d t r t f o r bl impr io of S h m
s e a nce a e o c ea e a av u a e es s n c u ann

as a ompo r d t h f il r pp r t h r t rd d t h
c se , an as pt e of a u e a ea s o a ve e a e e acce ance

hi m i
s us c whol i t m o ly f ir t t ho who t ook p r t i t h p
as a e, s ee s n a o se a n e er

f m
or w ll t t ho who j dg d S h m by t h t p rform
a n c e, a s e as o t se u e c u ann a e a n c e, o

ob r t h t t h r w r phy i l r o
s e ve a e e ffi i t of t h m l t r d r
e e s ca ea s ns su c en e s e ve s o en e

s u c c es s th p rt i l r
on i g w ll i gh hop l
e a Th limi t of t h
cu a e ven n e -n e es s . e s e

H o r Sq r R oom w r t r t h d b yo d d r
an ve ua e T h body of t h
s e e s e c e e n en u ance e e

H ll t og t h r wi t h t h R oy l b l o y (di id d i t o t hr Bo x ) whi h Q
.

a e e e a a c n v e n ee es c u ee n

o ld t wi t h li t t l m rg i llow d for omfort 6

,

V i t ori
c did t a no u s e, c u s ea ,
e a n a e c , 00

pro
e s T hi
ns . b pl of t h o rt room w b for t h
s can e s een on a an e c nce -
, no e e e

wri t r wi t h t h
e t mb r d d r r d for Philh rmo i o rt I
e s ea s n u e e an ese ve a a n c c nce n

o t h M mb r A o i t
.
,

th e 8 56 1 s ea s n, d S b rib r e mb r d 6 4 d
e e s, ss c a es a n u sc e s nu e e 0 , an

wo ld t h r for b y t h m l fill t h room O ry t t r t i o io

u e e e e s e ves e n ve a ac ve cca s n s,

xt r t i k t
.

s uc h g com of t h pp r
. as s of M d l oh
e e a id ea a n c es en e ss n , 10 0 e a c e s a re s a

to h b a ve old T h r i ee n w p p r r port of
s . Philh rmo i o r te e s a ne s a e e on e a n c c nce

whi h c t im t esth di t 8
a es b t if t hi w r th t r th m y m t
e au en c e a 00 u s a s n ea e u an us

i gh t whi h t h
, ,

h a ve b o t t t t d i orridor d
e en c n en t ir Th o s an n c s an on s a s e n on c e

prod d d r t h g i of R y lt
.

P r di
a a d t h P ri w
se a n e e d wi t h t h
’
as uc e un e e ae s o a v an e

it
a ss s a nc e of t h g r t t d mo t t t r t i i g r of t h g w ordi g
e ea es an s a ac ve s n e e a e, s a acc n

of t h o r rowd d g t h ri g T h d t of t h
,

to ry o t
eve acc un on e ese ve c e a e n s e a ve n e

R oy l F mily wi t h t h ir R oy l i i t or who m i lly l rg p rt y

, .

a a e a v s s, ca e n a n u n us u a a e a

i t t d mpl room b i g r r d for t h m l

,

n ec es s a e a e d t h ir t t d t i e n e s e ve e s e ves a n e a en an s n

fro t of t h or h t r d o id r bly r d d t h p o t h rwi

n e c es a, a n il bl c n s e a e uc e e S a ce e s e a va a e

for t h di e O au th or h r m t t r w r
en c e. b d d h d mor
n e c es t a a e s e e as a an a e

imm di t ff t T h t g wi t h i t org look d w ll fil l d wh o pi d

,

e a e e ec e s a e, s a n, -
e e e en ccu e

Wh 8 hor i g r w r dd d d i Soloi t
.

by t h b d lo e an a ne en 0 c u s -s n e s e e a e an s x s s

o pi d t i fro t i h h d t b o t d b for t h t ri g d i t
.
,

ccu e s ea s n n nc es a o e c un e e e e s n e - n s ru

imm di t pro imi t y of R oy l t y

,

m t pl y r o ld
en a t h ir bow
e s cTh u use e s. e e a e x a

t r lly
na u a d rt i r t ri t io
c a u se th of p rform
a ce Th
a n es c n on e ea s e e a nce e c on

d w k w rdly f
.

d t or w
uc t llow d t t k p h i
as no al po i t io e d hi
o a e u s u s ua s n, an a a a ce s

for t th
c es a h lf t r T h Philh rmo i So i t y h d of p rform d hor l
e
‘
a - u n .’ e a n c c e a t en e e c a

work b t ldom y t h t l t d o r mor t h

s, u se p rt of o r t T h
an a as e ve e a n on e a a c nce . e

p rform r of h P r di
e e s d t h P ri t d rw t p i of m r yrdom
e
‘
a a se a n e e
’
un e en a s ec e s a t

for t hr lo g ho r M O t t o Gold hmid t r m mb r d t h t M d m Li d

ee n u s. r sc e e e e a a a e n

Gold hmid t g t h p rt of t h P i d r g r t p r o l di omfort T h r

sc sa n e a e er un e ea e s na sc e e

il t io i t h H o r Sq r R oom o h r t h by t h
.

w as no m hod of et ven t a n n e an ve ua e s t e an e

op i g of l rg
en n h wi dow a pro di g whi h w of o r
e sa s - lw y n s, a c ee n c a s, c u s e, a a s

v iol ly r t d by
en t t io
es en eof t h di Th ri t i D i o i hi
a s ec n e au en c e . e c c av s n, n s

d o m t of t h P r di
en un c e en d t h P ri o t did him lf i e h dir t io ofa a se a n e e
’
u se n t e ec n

for ibl x pr io b t h w
c e e t b yo d bo
es s d wh h wro t of t h poor
n, u e as no e n un s en e e e

au di b i g t h oppr i
en c e e n i g wor
, as h lf of t h m ff o t d d
e es s ve even n e on , a e su ca e an

t h o t h r h lf
e l p
e a a s ee .
 A ppen dix 455

APPEN DI X B .

L IS T OF W O RK S
a rr g dan erly as n ea as can be d t rmi d i t h ord r i whi h t h y w r
e e ne n e e n c e e e

g i i pi t l R f r
, ,

wri t t Titl
en . of p bl i es u c zed
/ work s a re ven n ca a s. e e en c es a re

g i t t h p g wh r
ven o e a es e e t he work m t io d i t hi book
s a re en ne n s .

OPUS

F airy C hor N w mor i d ll w l p for Solo C hor

us ,
‘
o no e n e s e s ee ,
’
, us and

Or h tr ; 8 8 ;
c p 6
es a 1 2 s ee 1

F g & A d my E r i ; ppro d p im
. .

C o an Ch t
n s, a n s, u u es , c. ca e xe c s es a ve s ec en s ,

dtd 8 9 3a e t r d i 1 o t book ;
2 pp 6 9
— 2 , en e e n a n e- s ee 1 1 2 1.

S t ri g Q rt t G mi ; 8 3
.
, ,

n - ua p e ,
. 1 1 s ee . 2 2.

C zo t t ( M t t io ) C h io p ri ! p dr m t o wi t h omp t ‘ ’ ’
an ne a e a s as ,
s e a e a a , acc . for
PF d H or
. . an n.

Sympho y for O r h E fl t ; fi i h d Ap 6 8 3 ;
n p 6 c .
, a n s e .
,
1 2 s ee . 2 .

C O N C ERT O P F d O r h D mi ; 8 3 ;
,
. pp 7 3 57
. an c .
, . 1 2 s ee . 2 — 0 , 1 .

Sympho y for O r h N n D mi ; 8 3 33 ; p 8 c .
,
o. 2 , . 1 2— s ee . 2 .

O rt r t T h T mp t ; D p 8
‘ ’
ve u e o 9 3 83 ; e e es ec . 2 — 1, 1 2 s ee 2

E fl t ; J ly 6
. .

C O N C ERT O P F d Or h N
,
. .N an4 8 33 ; c .
, o . 2, a u — ov .
, 1 s ee

PR 3 2 , 3 7
r r wi t ho t t i t l D mi ; p rh p fir t i t d d for op i g mo m nt
O ve t u e, u e, . e a s s n en e en n ve e

of 3 d Sympho y ; O t
a r 8 33 n c . 1— 12, 1 .

S ym pho y for O r h N 4 A m ; 8 3 3 3 4 ;
n p 34 c o a 1 — s ee

ordi g t Sir G M f
. . . . .
, ,

2 C A RI CC I O for P F ; wri t
P , . rly i
. t en , a c c n o . a c a rr en , ea n

8 34 ;
1 p 36 s ee

Th M rry W i of W i d or ; M y 8 34
. .

O rt r t p 36
‘ ’
ve u e o e e ves n s a 1 see

wi h O r h J
. .
,

C AN Z O NET I r di t lo li 8 34 ; p 36
‘ ’
n a an ve n es s , t c u n e, 1 s ee

S O N G G t l Z phyr ; 8 3 4 ;
. .
,

,
‘
en p 36e e 1 s ee . .

C O N C ERT O P F d Or h N 3 C mi ; A g O t 3 8 34 ; pp 3 6 — 1, 1
,
. . an c .
,
o .
,
. u c . s ee .
,

O VERTURE to
‘
PARI S INA ; ’
Ma rh c , 18 35 ; s ee pp .
3 7 , 4 5, 59 , 1 8 9 — 19 2 ,

1 9 4, 2 24 .

C o nce rt o for P F mo m t o ly wri t t joi t ly wi t h G

2 . . s, 1 ve en n ,
en n . A . Ma c fa rr en ,
who m mory d t d i t b t M y 8 3 5 ;
se e p 39 a e a ou a ,
1 s ee . .
456 A ppen dix
o p us

S IX STUD IE S
form of C pri io for P F ; ordi g t D i o d in a cc s, a cc n o av s n an

F mi wri t t om t im b for t h ot h r
. .
,

M f 4 t h S t dy i
a c a r r en , u n . . en s e e e e e e s,

pro b bly t h r for i 8 3 4 ; t 3 d 5t h 6 t h rly i 8 3 5 ; md

a e e e n 1 Is ,
r , ,
ea n 1 2 ,

E m i mm r of 8 3 5 ;
a pp 3 6 3 9 n su e 1 s ee

S ON G R i g t io prob bly 8 3 5 for Th S d M l d i t p bli h d

.
.
,
.
,
‘ ’
, es na n, a 1 ,
e a cr e e o s ,
u s e

J 8 36 ; k ow t pr t wr t r wh h m d t h t t m t
an . 1, 1 un n n o e s en i e en e a e e s a e en

p 36 l 36
on

d th F o
. . .
,

T HREE M U S I CAL S K ET C HE S Th L k T h M ill t r m ,

‘
e a e, e s ea an e un

t i for P F ; prob bly 8 3 5 ; pp 3 9 4 8 48

’
—
a n, 5 a 1 s ee 1, 1 1 1 20 2, 2 1

SE STET P F d S t ri g F h rp mi ; b g prob bly i mm r of 8 3 5

. . . .
, ,

an n s, s a e un , a n su e 1

whil t yi g t S t h h y E t r wi t h K J Py who pr r d
. .
, .
,

e s a n a ou ern a , xe e ,
. . e, es e ve

M S of 3 6 b r h d d C
a t . L t mo m t b rib d D a s ea e on c er o . as ve en su sc e ec .

18 3 5; s ee pp 39 , 1 6 4, 1 6 5
Dr m ti a a c or
O ve rt r u e, s c e n ot fill d p ; 8 3 6 ; p 4 e u 1 s ee 0

N o 4 F mi ; fir t mo m
. .

Co rt once P F d Or h an c t h ddFb s ve en ea e e 12 ,

b rib d Sk t h d A pril 3 or fill d

. .
,
. .
, .
, . .

1 8 3 6 ; t hird mo m ve en t su sc e e c e 1 ,
sc e e u
p
M a y 4, 1 8 3 6 5
,
s ee PP 40 7 4 2 1 6 9 1 7 5) 7 6
T HREE IM R M P O P TU for S, P F ; a cc n t o Da v . . ordi g io s n, s oo n a tef r M a y,
18 36 ; s ee pp .
4 7 1 52 1 10 9 '

N B . . The f or eg oi n g wor ks wer e wr i t t en befor e B en n et t l eft t he R A . o f

M u s i c i n j n ly , 18 36 .

O VERTURE ,
‘
THE N A ADS ; fi i h d S p t
I
’
n s e e . 18 36 ; s ee pp .
4 1, 44, 4 5, 57 ,
58 , 6 2 , 6 3 , 6 7 , 8 8 , 1 6 2 , 1 8 9 , 2 0 2 , 4 1 5 .

N B B en n et t w en t t o Lei pz i g , f or t /ze /zr s t t i m e, Oc t 18 36

'

S O NATA for P F F mi ; b g ordi g t D i o

. . . .

e un , a c c n o av s n, in L o don n ;fir t s

mo m t i M S t L ipzi g d t d fi i h d ) J Work
. . .
,

ve en , n . a e , a e n s e a n . 2 4, 1 8 37 .

ompl t d bo t M r h 8 8 3 7
c p 6
e e a u a c 2 1 s ee 0

T HREE R O M AN C ES for P F ; N
. .
,

rt i ; N o. 1, un c e a n o. 2, Ap 10 18 37 ;
3 L ip i g M y 3
. . .
,

N o 8 37 ; p 6 e z a 1 s ee 1.

F for P F A m 4 mo m t ; L ipzi g 8 3 7 ;
. .
, , ,

A N TA I I E
S . .
,
a .
, ve en s e , 1 s ee p . 61 .

C A RI C E P F
P d O r h E m ; fir t pl y d
, M y 5
. . an c .
, a. s a e on a 2 , 18 3 8 ; s ee pp .
46 ,
6 9 , 7 0 , 7 2 , 1 1 8 , 1 2 2 , 2 2 4, 4 53
CO C N ERT rh
O, P F a n d O c , No 5, b u t p bli h d
u s e as No 4, wri t t en in
E gl d b for l i g for ipzi g
. . . . .

n an , e e ea v n Le in Oc t . 18 38 ; s ee pp .
42 , 7 0 , 7 2 ,
75 -
79, 88a I 27 _
1 2 9 1 1 3 1, I 4 ! ) 16 7 , 4 53
20 O VERTURE ,
‘
T HE W O OD- N YM H S P ,
’
Le ipzi g , N ov . 18 3 8 ; s ee pp .
7 2, 7 6 ,
86
A LLE G R GRAZ I OSO for P F ; L ipzi g D 6 7 8 3 8 ;
O pp 7 8 e ec 1 1 1 s ee 2, 1 1

t for P F ; L ipzi g X m
. . . .
, , , .

T HREE D IVER S I O N S D 838 ; pp 7 7 8 , ue s . . e , as 1 s ee . 2, .

C hor l V oi d Or h M y 9
a e, 8 39 c es a n c a 1 1

C HA MB ER T 0 for P F V l
. .
, ,

d V C ll A m Lo do
R1 8 39 ; . .
,
n, an . e o, a .
, n n, 1 s ee

pp 4 46 4 . 10 , 1 , 2 1 1, 12 .

GENEVIEVE for P F Lo do N 8 39 ; p n n, ov. 1 0 1 s ee 10 0

S N G Th B t t r L d d rt i d d r N w M i N 8 39
. . .
.
, ,
’ ’
O e e e an a ve se un e e us c, o v. 1

S ON G S t y my Ch rm r d t k ow b t t lik ly t b l t t h
.
, ,
’
,
a ,
a e ,
a e un n n, u no e o e a er an

8 39 p bli h d po t h mo ly
1 u s e s u us .
458 A ppen dix

O P US

A ci s wlzi c lz ke ka d wor ked

’
S oc i ety , an edi t i on o f a nd Ga l a t ea , on

w i t /z g r ea t i n t er es t a nd ca r e

ompo d x pr ly for t h M i W illi m who

.

30 S IX SA C RED D UET S, c se e es s e s s es a s,

g N t t h H r ford F t i l i 8 49 ( ) R m m b r w t hy
sa n o 1 a e e e es va n 1 : I
‘
e e e no

C r t or A pril E il 8 49 ; (3 ) A d who i h t h t
.

8 48 ; ( ) D
’ ‘ ’ ‘
ea 1 2 o no v 1 n s e a

will h m y ? T h k g i i g D y 8 49 ; (4) C t t hy br d po
, , ,
’ ‘
ar ou an s v n a 1 as ea u n
,

th w t r p rh p 8 5 fir t pp r d i H y f S d H
e a e s,
’
e a s 1 0 ,
s a ea e n a c ra t s
’
a c re ar

m y 85 on Th i d d t of i t ompl t d ;
1 1 pp 9 4 4 e n t en e se s x no c e e see 1 12 .

T EMA d rt i d d r N w M i A pril 8 5
.
,
.
,

V ARIA Z I O NI for P F ;
’
1 0
31 E a ve se un e e us c ,

) R N D IN O f r P F N t r i d t Bri t i h M m k ow t
.
. . ,

28 (N o. 2 O o o ec e ve a s u s eu un n n a

o t r ry rio f t gg t
. .
,

S t t io r H ll ; wi t ho t id
a ne s t
’
a u ev en c e o c n a ,
va us a c s su es

18 5o
—
51 .

33 PRELU DE S A D LE SO NS for P F i l l m jor d mi or k y S r l of

N S . .
, n a a an n e s. eve a

th w r loi d
es e p r t pi ; 8 5 53 ;
e e a s pp 3 4 s sue as s e a a e ec es 1 1— s ee . 22 ,
12 .

32 S O NATA D UO P F d V l l fi i h d M r h 6 8 5 ; , pp 9 4
. . an . ce o, n s e a c 1 , 1 2 se e . 1 ,

2 1 1, 2 1 2 .

28 (N o 3) A RI CC I O for P F E t r 8 53 O p 8 w d di t d t
C P as e 1 2 as e ca e o

J m o d gh t r of Prof or J m o who p
. . . . .
, ,

Mi C t h ri
ss a e ne a es n, au e es s a es n su

port d B t t t E di b rg h i 8 44 ;
e en n ep 6 a n u n 1 s ee 1 1

P SAL M T UNES D y of W r t h for D w o P l m dy N

. .

‘
8 53 ; a a
’
a s
’
n s sa o ov. 1

Pr i t h Lord W ho r i g
, , ,

R ll P l
u s se a c e,bo for R P ‘
a se e e ns a ve,
’
ev . .

M ri au P l m dy J ce s
’
8 54 sa o , a n. 1 .

38 T O CC ATA for P F J 3 8 54 ; p 35 a n. 1 1 s ee 2

M INUETTO E S RE SS IV O for P F ; r
. .
, , . .

i d t Bri t i h M m A g 6
P ec e ve a s u s eu u 1

rr g d for f ll or h t r by F rd Pr g r
.
. .
, ,

8 54 ;
1 a an e u c es a e ae e

R O N D EAU P S T RI STE PAS GA for P F N 8 54

. .

‘ ’
34 A I, o v. 1

S O N GS d S t ( ) I di lo ( ) Wi t r g o bot h g
, ,
. .
,
.

35 S IX zu e : 1
‘
n an ve,
’
2
‘
n e
’
s n e,
’
sun

fir t t im b y M Lo k y M r h 3 8 55 ; (3 ) D w g t l
, ,
‘
s e, rs c e ,
a c 1 , 1 a n, en e

flow r d t d O t 8 53 ; (4) C t l Gordo ; (5) A lo om

e
’
a e c 1
‘
as e n
’ ‘
s n es e

t hro g h t h wood I t r y ; (6 ) Si g m id i g Th t w
, .

’ ‘ ’
u e s s a n a en , s n . e se as
,

ompl t d i 8 55 N 4 h d b p bli h d p r t ly by C o t ry
c e e n 1 . o . a ee n u s e se a a e ven

om y r b for ;
s e pp ea s e e s ee

A NTHE M R m mb r w t hy C r t or ; o i t i g of t h D t O p 3
.

’
, e e e no ea c ns s n e ue . 0
, ,

No wi t h dd d C hor d t d Br l A g 8 55
1, an a e us , a e us s e s , u 1

R O N DEAU A P O LO NAI S E for P F fir t p bli h d i M i l A l b m

. . .

37 LA s u s e n a us ca u

of M r P y L ipzi g B t t m t io t h i i t t io t wri t
.
.
,

es s s a n e, e . en n e en ns e nv a n o e

it i l t t r of N 4 8 55
n a e e ov 1

J ANUARY F E B RUAR Y for P F ; 8 56 ; p bli h d po t h mo ly ;

. .
, ,
‘ ’ ‘ ’
, , . . 1 u s e s u us s ee

F 39°
A NTHE M ord who h ll dw ll i Th y
,
‘
L 8 56 po h mo ly
, s a e n 1 st u us

p bli h d b t wi t h omi io of port io whi h h h d d i l t r

u s e ,
u ss n a n c e a u se n a a e

work ; pp 57 6 7 s ee . 2 , 2 .

M O TET I T h O Lord do I p t my t r t 8
‘
n oi t mo
e e, m t u us
’
v c es , Is ve en

b g t C mbrid g A g 8 56 b rib d Lo do O t 8 56 ; d
, , ,

e un a a e, u . 1 su sc e n n, c 1 2n
, .

mo m t H mp t d 8 57 ; p bli h d po t h mo ly ;
ve en , pp 6
a s ea , 1 u s e s u us s ee . 2 ,

2 6 7, 26 8 , 3 9 0 , 39 1
 A ppen dix 459

O PU S
‘
TH E M AY QUEEN ,
’
A P t or l for Soli
as a , , C hor us a n d O rh c .
; 18 58 ; s ee

pp 1 9 4, 2 8 5
— 290 , 4 12 , 4 2 3 , 440 , 44 3
N B . . F r om 18 59 t o 1 8 6 2 , B en n et t g a ve mu ch t i m e t o f fi / mn ol og y ; see

2 9 1-
1515 29 3, 3 19
A NTHE M for ho m ,
St T as s
’
D a y, ‘
Oh t h at I k w wh rne e e I mi g ht fin d
H m; o t ri b t d t
i
’
c n u e o V ol . I of O u s el e y s
’
A n t hems f or c er t a i n S ea s on s
a nd F es t i v a l s f
o t he Ch u r c h o f E ng l a n d ; u s e 18 6 p bli h d 1

S ONG
.

d M i E t bo r ‘
Ma i lo m i r wri t t
en n e,
’
as u n e, 1 8 6 1 , st , a n d t he us c e en ,

E bo r A g 8 6 6 Th pr t word d p t d l t r p bli h d
,

a st u n e, u . 1 . e e sen s a a e a e ,
u s e

po t h mo ly ; p 44 3
s u us s ee

So g T ll m wh r y mm r br z wri t t lo t d r wri t t t
. .

‘ ’
n e e e e, e su e ee es, en , s an e en a

di g
,

m dt sa t h pr e p 36 3 a es a s e ec e n one s ee

d O r h for O p i g of E hibi t io
. .

OD C hor
E, 86 ;
us a n pp 3 3 3 7 c .
, en n x n, 1 2 s ee . 0 — 1 ,

3 1 9 , 3 2 1 , 4 12
d O r h for I t ll t io of C h llor t C mbrid g
.

O d e,Soli hor, C us an c ns a a n ance a a e

( ) O r h r l I t rod t io
.

1 d C hor
c H es t a whil rr n uc n an us , en c e a e, s eve e

M ; ( ) R i t (T or) S g o for i yo r pl ; ( 3 ) M i t t o ;
u s es
’
2 ec en
‘
O n u a c es
’
n ue

(4 ) So g g b gl d ; ( 5) P r t So g H l t h
.
, ,

Th l t t h yo
’
n en e e un e a a n ea

o r g firm d hi gh ! (6 ) R i t
,

t y whil ’ ‘
t o c u a Y t
e an ec e s a a e,

( 7 ) C om E t rp w k t h y hoir ; (8 ) R i t
.

rrM
s e ve e t y u s es, s a
‘
e, u e e, a e c
’
ec

(T or ) T h l t t h yo g b g y (9 ) Ai (T or ) C w for g t
.

‘ ‘
en en e e un e a r en an e e

li g r y t ; ( ) R i t
, ,

fr e d ? ( ) C hor
on e S rr M i n
’
10 us ,
‘
eve e u s es , n e e
’
11 ec

wh t God h ll d ; ( ) So h ll A lm
.

t k
‘ ’ ‘
N y l t a , e us a e a s a s en 12 s a a

M t r ; pp 3 3 4 3 3 4
a e s ee
’
s ee 20 — 2

F ANTA SIA OVERTURE PARA D I S E A D T H PERI 8 6 ; pp 3 5

. .
,

- ‘ ’
,
N E ,
1 2 s ee . 2 ,

3 9 0 , 3 9 3, 4 12
PRAELUD IU M for P F B fl t M y or J 863 a a u n e, 1

A NTHEM S ( ) Gr t i M t i g of C hoir i So t hw ll
. . .
, ,

Lord for
‘ ’
: 1 ea s our , a ee n s n u e

Mi t r M y 8 6 3 p b li h d po t h mo ly ; ( ) T h fool h t h id
ns e ,
a , 1 ,
u s e s u us 2
‘
e a sa

i h i h rt T h r i God for N o llo 3 A t h m by m d ’ ’

n s ea e e s no ve s 1 n e s o er n

p bli h d April 8 6 4
, ,

mp co os er s , u s e 1

H YM N T UNE S ( ) God Who m d t rt h d h

.
,

; ( ) H oly H oly
‘ ’ ‘
: 1 a es ea an ea ven 2 , ,

H oly bot h for S ppl m t t Th Ch l B k f E g l d ; a u e en o e or a e oo or n an

1 8 6 4.

S YM H O N Y for O r h G mi ; A ll g ro ; M t t T rio ; R o do F i l
P c e en u e o e n n a e,

8 6 4 ; R om
.
, .

1 z dd d i 8 6 7 ; pp 3 3 36 3 39 4 446
an a a e n 1 s ee 2 0 12 ,

H Y M N T UNE P h bi t t io Chri t m mor i g 8 6 6

.
.
, ,

t hi
'

‘
b t , ea c e e o s a a n,
’
s as n n ,
1 ,

p b li h d po t h mo l y
u s e s u us

W O M AN O SA M ARIA S r d C t t 8 6 7 ;
.

‘
TH E pp 3 6 4 3 6 7 F ,
’
ac e a n a a, 1 s ee .
—
,

3 7 8 , 3 8 4, 4 2 3 , 440 , 4 48
CH RU O QUARTET dd d t bo 8 6 8 ;
S a nd , a e o a ve , 1 s ee pp 3 7 7 3 7 8
SA RE D S N G Lord t Th o gw r i
. .
,

4 f m l oi for
‘ ’
C O o e e ou r s n e a s e, e a e v c es , t he
I g r t io C r mo l of Bri i h O rph A yl m Slo gh J
,

nau u a n e e n ia t s an s u ,
u , un e 2 4,

18 68
ANTHE M
.

,
N o w, my God ,
l et , I b eseec h Th ee ;
’
M a y, 1 8 6 9 ; s ee pp .
38 9 ,
4 12 .
46 0 A ppen dix
OP U S

O R GAN VO LUNTAR Y A d gio , a b 4

. v c o i p bli h d
,
u s e i n The Vi ll ag e Org a n i st ,

Ja n 18 7 0

I g of J
. .

nt roi t,
‘
T he L ord bl es s t h ee a n d k p th
ee ee,
’
for t h w dd e e in . La mbor n

o k 87 C c 1 0

H YM N T UNE S F rom
.
,

: ( 1) I n ver n es s , ‘
a ll T hy S i a nts in w rf r a a e,
’
for
D r S t eg g a ll s
’
h fy m n s f or t he Ch u r c h of E ng l a n d , Au g . 18 70 (2 ) T h e
r dia ant mor h t h p n a as se d w y for
a a ,
’
Dr E n . G Mo k
.
’
s Th e A ng l i c a n
Hy m n B ook, A u g 13 , 1 8 70
PART S N G Sw t S t r m t h t glid
. .

O 87 ; ,pp 4 4 5
‘
ee ea a es ,
’
1 1 s ee . 12 , 1 .

S O NATINA for P F C m A g 8 7 ; p 44 a u 1 1 s ee 2

H YM N T UNES ( I ) C o r g my or ly t mp t d h rt ; fir t t t word
. . .
.
, .
.
,
‘ ’
: u a e s e e e ea s se o s

dt dN 8 7 ; p bli h d po t h mo ly ; ( ) J ol of m y ‘
a e o v. 1 1 u s e s u us 2 es u , s ace

o l for Th Hy m y of M r N o llo J
s u
’
87 e na i es s s ve an 1, 1 2

Pr l d t Aj for O r h ; fi i h d J
. .
, ,

e u e o 87 p 47 ax c . n s e un e, 1 2 s ee . 1 .

S O NATA T H M AI D O O RLEAN S for R F 8 6 9 7 3 ;

,
‘
pp 3 9
E F ,
’
1 — s ee . 0 ,

4 1 8 , 44 2 , 44 3
S O N GS g li g h ly
.

TWO : ( 1) Da n c i n t c om t h mm r ;
es p 443 e su e
’
s ee

gi g i
.

(2 ) S l o b lo l t r y r ; bo t h p bl h d po t h
‘ ’
u n s et , a s e n n to h s a e ea s u is e s u

m ou sl y
P r So g O f ll t h rt for o rt gi by t h F i t zwilli m M i l
.

‘
a t- n a e a s,
’
a c nce ven e a u s ca

So i t y C mbrid g
,

Dc e 8 73 a e, o n e c . 1, 1

F r l M r h O r h wi t h C hor for t h m i t Aj 8 7 3 7 4 ;
, .

— s ee
un e a a c , c . u s, e us c o ax , 1

B l ft li t t l
en n et t fi i h d m i B lo g i g t h i rli r lif t h r
e e un n s e us c e n n o s ea e e, e e

r m i Som mo m t of S t ri g Q r t t ; p rt of E i g S r i ;
.

e a n : e ve en s a n - ua e a an ven n e v ce

an d m ll p r l of m i h t whi h g i t h b g i i g of f w o g
a s a a ce u s c -s ee s c ve e e nn n s a e s n s

or t h m for i t r m t l pi
e es F rom bo t t h y r 8 5 h d q ir
ns u en a ec es . a u e ea 1 0 e us e a u e

or t w of m i p p r t i t h d t o g t h r i p p r o r d i
o us c - a h book e s c e e e n a a e -c ve , an n suc s

(on e of whi h h lo t ) h t r d mo t of h i mi or ompo i io b t

c e s e en e e s s n c s t n s, u no

fr gm t F or t h l t i y r of h i lif h dopt d
a en s. o t t m e as n ne ea s s e e a e as c n s an co

p io t w bo d o t o m i l o t book bro gh t t him from G rm y

an ns o un c av us c a n e- s, u o e an

by h i fri d G r rd F C o b b of C mbrid g A q iri g fr h h b i t

s en e a it .
, a e. c u n a es a — so

s eem t h b i hi
s o h did m k
a ve of t h k t h book
een n s c a s e- e a e use ese as s e c - s

M y p g w r wri t t wi t h p il prob b ly i h i rri g B id

.

an a es e e en en c a n s ca a e. es es

fr gm t ry k t h for work ft rw rd p bli h d t h y o t i p rt of

,

a en a s e c es s a e a s u s e e c n a n a a

p i g of Sopr o olo whi h h i t d d t d d t Th

,

T D m th
e eu e O en n a an s c e n en e o a o
‘
e

W om of S m ri d om bj t for mo m t of o t h r So t i
,
’
an a a a, an s e su ec s ve en s e na nas

whi h h t ho g h t of joi i g t t h
c e wri t t
u i 87 n n o e on e en n 1 1.
46 2 A ppen dix

P U B LI CA T I O N S WI H O U T T O P U S -N U M B ER S .

FO R P F Rm G i Wlz : oE pr i oance
‘
en ev eve ;
’
a t s ee p 4 56 ; M i o n uet t s ess v ;
F br ry Pr l d i m B
.
. .
,

‘
J ry
a nua
’
and
‘
e ua ;
’
ae u u in flat ; So t i na na.

For rg Ad gio o i
O an a a4 v c .

AL
V OC z rd : lo li C So g R g io
an o n et B r ‘
In a ia n t ve n ess ;
’
n s :
‘
es i na t n
’ ‘
T he et t e

y my rm r M i d m i i g l gh ly o m mm r
,

La n d ’ ‘
Sta Ch a e
’ ‘
a en n e,
’ ‘
Da n c n i t c es t he su e
’

Pr og om li wi h r m h gl d
, , , ,

“
S u n set w
a t -s n s :
‘
C e ve t m e, ’
S eet St ea t at i es ,
’ ‘
Of a ll t he

a rt s.
’

Mo ( oi ) A h m
A t et r d o g ( m l oi )
8 v c es H ym 6 nt e s, A Sa c e S n 4 fe a e v c es and 12 ns

ol m b y M r
, ,

a re n ow p bli h d u llo
s e in on e v u e ess s N o ve a nd Co .

W O RK S D E D I CA I T ON OF .

pr ()
O e a ipr i Po r ( ) H Fi l d ( )
2 a nd o ry ( ) J B to C ia n t te ; 3 e ; 8 C C ven t ; 9
rmr ( )J W
. . . .

C a e ;io ( ) G 10 M ( ) W P B l ( ) M Da v s n ; 11 A a c fa rren ; 12 ea e ; 13 en

( ) S h m ( ) M d m ( ) M A d r
. . . . . .

d el ss oh n ; ( ) M 16 c u ann ; 19 os c h el es ; 22 a a e D u l c k en ; 2 4 rs n e s on ;

( )
25 R Br ( ) K J
a ( ) Joh
n et t
( ) Mi Jm o ( )
; i i
26 Py e ; 27 n S u et t ; 28 ss C a es n ; 32 A P att ;

( ) M d m Mi o E pr i o J r r
. . . . .

46 G dd rd W
a a p e A o a ; i t h ou t O us N os : n u et t s es s v to Tu ne

H opwood Pr l d i m H rol d ho m So g M i d Mi M Rob r

. . .
,
’
; ae u u to a T as ; n a en n e, to rs e t C a se ;
gr d o B
,

So i na t na, t o h is an s n, T . . Ca s e .
 A ppen dix 46 3

APPEN DI X D .

T AB E L OF COM P O S ITI ON S ARRA G E D N IN P ERI O D S .

PERI OD RIL 8 3 A RIL 8 3 6 AG E D 6

I . A P 1 2— P 1 . 1 — 20 .

O h t U p bli h d Sympho i d O rt r wri t t whil t dyi g

rc es r a : n u s e n es a n ve u es en e s u n

und r C ro t h d Po t t r ; O rt r t P ri i
e P F
c d O h t t hr
an e ve u e o
‘
a s na.
’
a n rc es r a : ee

F mi M S ;
. .

p b li h d C o rt o D mi E fl t C mi ;
u s e nce for s, a o n e, on e 2

M S Ch mb M i S t ri g Q rt t M S S t t P F d S t ri g
. . . .
, , ,

P F . . s, . a er us c : n - ua e ,
. es e ,
. . an n s .

P F S l C pri io 6 S t di ; 3 M
o os : i l Sk t h V l C zo t
a cc u es us c a e c es . oc a : 2 an ne s

So g G t l Z phyr R i g t io
. .

‘ ’
n s, en e e es na n.
,

PERI O D II . MA Y 18 3 6 — A P RIL 1 8 43 . AG E D 20 — 2 7 .

Or c hes t r a i d ; T h W ood ymph: P F d

O ve t u r r es
‘
T he Na a s
’ ‘
e -n s.
’
an

rt o N 4 F mi Ch m b M i Tri o
. .

O h t rc C pri E m ; Co
es r a : a c e, a. n ce o a er us c :

3 I mpromp t F mi ; F t i i
.
, .
,

P F Vl V ll P F S l n ; So t ce o. o os : us n a a, a n a s e,

A m ; 3 R om All gro Gr zio o ; G i ; \V l t ( p 456 )

. .
, .
,
. . . .

‘ ’ ‘ ’
; a. a n c es e a s en e v ev e a z s ee

F d go ; S i t d P e ; R o do Pi ol P F D t 3 D i r io
.

‘ ’ ‘ ’
an an u e e i c es n a c ev e ue s ve s n s.

l U fi i h d O r t orio ; So g
. . .

Th B t t r L d S t y m y h rm r ; ‘ ’ ‘ ’
V oc a : n n s e a n s, e e e an a c a e

6 So g ( t
, ,

t) of t h m wri t t i P riod I
n s Is se on e e en n e .

PERI OD I II . M AY 1 8 43 — A P RIL 18 51. AG E D 27— 35 .

[N . B . D u r i ng t he ea r ly y ea r s o f m a r r i ed l ife B en n et t p a i d c l ose a t t en t i on t o
s ec u r i ng a pos i t i on by t ea c h i ng .
]
Or c hes t r a : r r M ri
di t io ) P F d O h t
O ve t u e
‘
a e du Boi s
’
(t wo e ns . . . an rc es r a

Co rt S t
nce - 6 A mi M S (t hr
uc k or C o r t o N
di t io ) P F S l nce o. ee e ns o os

S t di L A m b l l App i t ; S h rzo I t rod zio

. . .
, , ,
.
, .

2 u es ,
’
a P t or l
i e e
’
a s s on a a
’
c e n u ne e as a e

T m e V ri zio i ; R o di o E m
a e a V l A ddi t io
a t n fi i h d O r t orio ;
n n a. oc a : ns o un n s e a

r d D t So g C t l Gordo P r t o g C om li wi t h m
,

4 S
-s ‘ ’
ac e ue s n , as e n a n ,
e ve e .

PERI OD IV MAY 8 5 A RIL 8 59 AG E D 3 5 43 . 1 1— P 1 .

— .

Th M y Q Ch m b M i So t D ’
O h t d V i
rc es r a an o c es : e a ueen . a er us c : na a uo ,

PF d V ll P F S l
an C pri io A mi ; T o ce t
o. ; Mi t t o o os : a cc cca a n ue

E pr i o R o d R o d a l Polo i
. . . . . .
,

T ri t
‘
s e ss v P P G i n ea u ,
‘
as s e, as a n ea u a na se

Pr l d e u d L o ; J es ry d F b ry V l 6 So g ( d t )
an es s ns
‘
a n ua an e rua
’
oc a : n s 2n se

wri t t i P riod I I I A t h m R m m b r w h y C r t or ( p
.
,

‘ ’
on e en n e n e s, e e e no t ea s ee .

Lord who h ll dw ll i T h y t b r l ? 8 p rt Mo t t I T h O Lord ’ ‘ ’

s a e n a e na c e - a e n ee , .
, ,
46 4 A ppen dix

PERI OD V . M AY 1 8 59 — A P RIL 1866 . AG E D 43

—
50 .

[N B . . F or t he fi r s t t h r ee y ea r s o f t hi s p er i od B en n et t dev ot ed m u ch t i me t o
Ger m a n Hy m n o l og /
J
Or c hes t r a a nd mbrid g
Voi c es : O de for 18 6 2 E x hibi t io n ; Ode for Ca e

I t ll t io O h t O rt r P r di d Th P ri ; Sympho y
ns a a n. rc es r a : ve u e,
‘
a a se an e e
’
n ,

G mi P F S l Pr l di m i B fl t A t h m O h t h t I k w wh r I
o o: ae u u n a n e s: a ne e e

mi gh t fi d H im ; Gr t i t h Lord ; Th fool h t h id i h i h rt
. .
. .
,
’ ‘ ’ ‘ ’
n ea s e e a sa n s ea

So g M id mi
.

T ll m wh r mm r br z
‘ ’ ‘ ’
n s : a
y en n e, e e e e, e su e ee es .

PERI O D VI . M AY 1 8 66 — SE TEMB ER 8 7 4 AG ED 5 — 58
P 1 . 0 .

Or c hes t r a a nd Voi ces : T h Wom

‘
of S m ri ; F r l M r h for
e an a a a
’
un e a a c ,

m i t Aj
us c O h o ax. rc t
es r a : Pr l d Aj P F S l
e u So t T h
e to a x. o os : n a a,
‘
e

A d g io 2 4 o i ; V l A t h m
. .

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