SearchGetRecordCrystal Palace Concerts (1852-61, 1891)
Collection Summary
Collection Title
Crystal Palace Concerts (1852-61, 1891)
Unique Identifier
c.370.a
Description
Two volumes of programmes relating to performances given at the Crystal Palace, Sydenham from 1852-61 and in 1891.
Volume 1 (1852-61)
Programmes for seven Saturday afternoon concerts given during the 1856-57 season. Also, a programme for a Grand Promenade (3 April 1852) and for concerts given on 13 April 1860 and 31 July 1861. Programmes are bound chronologically.
1. Saturday Afternoon Concerts
These were two-part concerts of vocal, instrumental and orchestral repertory given by the Company’s Band under the direction of August Manns. All concerts took place in the Music Room, by the Queen’s Apartments, in the North Wing.
All programmes contain historical notes, with the words for the vocal pieces.
26 January 1856: Mozart Concert, to mark the 100th anniversary of the composer's birth. Miss Grace Alleyne and Miss Palmer (vocal), August Manns (violin), Mr W. F. Reed (cello), and Messrs George Russell, John Francis Barnett and W. H. Adams (piano).
9 February 1856: Grace Alleyne (vocal), Mr Van Heddegham (violin) and Mr W. H. Adams (piano).
1 March 1856: Miss Grace Alleyne and Mr Leffler (vocal), Mr Sonnenberg (clarinet) and Madame Schwab (piano).
22 March: Miss Grace Alleyne (vocal), Mr George Collins (cello) and Mr W. H. Adams (piano). This programme is followed by an advertisement, with programmes, for the music performed by the Company’s Band and by the Band of the Coldstream Guards on 31 May (Saturday Shilling Day) and by a list of Fete Days at the Crystal Palace during the month of June.
[1856]: Undated handbill for a concert involving Mr Svendsen (flute) and Mr Papé (clarinet).
16 May 1857: Miss Banks and Mr Wilbye Cooper (vocal) and Mademoiselle Maria Trautmann (piano).
5 December 1857: Mozart Concert, to mark the anniversary of his death. Miss Stabbach and Mr Santley (vocal), with a chorus selected by from Royal Italian Opera (chorus master, Mr Smythson) and Herr [Ernst] Pauer (piano).
2. Other concerts
3 April 1852: programme of the music performed by various military bands as part of a Grand Promenade. The names provided below indicate the conductors of the various bands.
Royal Horse Guards, Mr J. R. Tutton (South Transept)
Coldstream Guards, Mr Godfrey (North Transept)
Royal Artillery, Mr W. Collins (East Gallery)
Second Life Guards, Mr Grattan Cooke (East Nave – South Side)
Scots Fusileers, Mr C. Boose (East Nave – North Side)
Grenadier Guards, Mr Schott (West Nave – South Side)
First Life Guards, Mr Waddell (West Nave – North Side)
Each band played a programme of movements derived largely from opera or from dances before combining for a rendering of God Save the Queen.
13 April 1860: arrangements for the day, including a concert by the Company’s Band at 1pm and a Vocal and Instrumental Concert at 3pm. Mademoiselle Piccolomini, Mr Patey and Signor Mariano Neri (vocal), Mr Duhem (cornet) and Mr Pape (clarinet), conducted by August Manns.
31 July 1861: programme and wordbook for Madame Grisi’s Farewell Festival. This was a two-part concert of solo and ensemble vocal music (with an orchestral overture at the start of each act), given by Madame Penco, Madame Didiče, Madame Rudersdorff, Madame Tiberini, Signor Mario, Signor Tiberini, Signor Ronconi, Signor Graziani, Monsieur Zelger, Signor Tagliafico, Signor Neri-Baraldi, Monsieur Faure, Signor Tamberlik and Madame Grisi (vocal) conducted by Mr Costa.
Volume 2
Wordbook for the Tonic Sol-Fa Jubilee Festival given at the Crystal Palace on 18 July 1891.
The title page of this document cites the involvement of 20,000 singers, with Miss Emily Spada (vocal solo), Mr J. Frank Proudman, Mr H. W. Weston and Mr F. Wilson Parish (organ), and Messrs A. L. Cowley, L. C. Venables and W. G. McNaught (conductors).
The festival comprised three concerts:
12 noon: Morning Concert, by 5,000 Juveniles, including Juvenile Orchestra with Cowley (conductor) and Proudman (organ)
3pm: Afternoon Concert by 4, 000 Provincial Singers with Spada (vocal) and full orchestral accompaniment, conducted by Venable with Weston (organ). The programme also notes the performance of a piece by the ‘African Choir’.
7pm: Evening Concert by 3, 000 Metropolitan Singers with Full Orchestral Accompaniment, conducted by McNaught with Parish (organ).
Volume 1 (1852-61)
Programmes for seven Saturday afternoon concerts given during the 1856-57 season. Also, a programme for a Grand Promenade (3 April 1852) and for concerts given on 13 April 1860 and 31 July 1861. Programmes are bound chronologically.
1. Saturday Afternoon Concerts
These were two-part concerts of vocal, instrumental and orchestral repertory given by the Company’s Band under the direction of August Manns. All concerts took place in the Music Room, by the Queen’s Apartments, in the North Wing.
All programmes contain historical notes, with the words for the vocal pieces.
26 January 1856: Mozart Concert, to mark the 100th anniversary of the composer's birth. Miss Grace Alleyne and Miss Palmer (vocal), August Manns (violin), Mr W. F. Reed (cello), and Messrs George Russell, John Francis Barnett and W. H. Adams (piano).
9 February 1856: Grace Alleyne (vocal), Mr Van Heddegham (violin) and Mr W. H. Adams (piano).
1 March 1856: Miss Grace Alleyne and Mr Leffler (vocal), Mr Sonnenberg (clarinet) and Madame Schwab (piano).
22 March: Miss Grace Alleyne (vocal), Mr George Collins (cello) and Mr W. H. Adams (piano). This programme is followed by an advertisement, with programmes, for the music performed by the Company’s Band and by the Band of the Coldstream Guards on 31 May (Saturday Shilling Day) and by a list of Fete Days at the Crystal Palace during the month of June.
[1856]: Undated handbill for a concert involving Mr Svendsen (flute) and Mr Papé (clarinet).
16 May 1857: Miss Banks and Mr Wilbye Cooper (vocal) and Mademoiselle Maria Trautmann (piano).
5 December 1857: Mozart Concert, to mark the anniversary of his death. Miss Stabbach and Mr Santley (vocal), with a chorus selected by from Royal Italian Opera (chorus master, Mr Smythson) and Herr [Ernst] Pauer (piano).
2. Other concerts
3 April 1852: programme of the music performed by various military bands as part of a Grand Promenade. The names provided below indicate the conductors of the various bands.
Royal Horse Guards, Mr J. R. Tutton (South Transept)
Coldstream Guards, Mr Godfrey (North Transept)
Royal Artillery, Mr W. Collins (East Gallery)
Second Life Guards, Mr Grattan Cooke (East Nave – South Side)
Scots Fusileers, Mr C. Boose (East Nave – North Side)
Grenadier Guards, Mr Schott (West Nave – South Side)
First Life Guards, Mr Waddell (West Nave – North Side)
Each band played a programme of movements derived largely from opera or from dances before combining for a rendering of God Save the Queen.
13 April 1860: arrangements for the day, including a concert by the Company’s Band at 1pm and a Vocal and Instrumental Concert at 3pm. Mademoiselle Piccolomini, Mr Patey and Signor Mariano Neri (vocal), Mr Duhem (cornet) and Mr Pape (clarinet), conducted by August Manns.
31 July 1861: programme and wordbook for Madame Grisi’s Farewell Festival. This was a two-part concert of solo and ensemble vocal music (with an orchestral overture at the start of each act), given by Madame Penco, Madame Didiče, Madame Rudersdorff, Madame Tiberini, Signor Mario, Signor Tiberini, Signor Ronconi, Signor Graziani, Monsieur Zelger, Signor Tagliafico, Signor Neri-Baraldi, Monsieur Faure, Signor Tamberlik and Madame Grisi (vocal) conducted by Mr Costa.
Volume 2
Wordbook for the Tonic Sol-Fa Jubilee Festival given at the Crystal Palace on 18 July 1891.
The title page of this document cites the involvement of 20,000 singers, with Miss Emily Spada (vocal solo), Mr J. Frank Proudman, Mr H. W. Weston and Mr F. Wilson Parish (organ), and Messrs A. L. Cowley, L. C. Venables and W. G. McNaught (conductors).
The festival comprised three concerts:
12 noon: Morning Concert, by 5,000 Juveniles, including Juvenile Orchestra with Cowley (conductor) and Proudman (organ)
3pm: Afternoon Concert by 4, 000 Provincial Singers with Spada (vocal) and full orchestral accompaniment, conducted by Venable with Weston (organ). The programme also notes the performance of a piece by the ‘African Choir’.
7pm: Evening Concert by 3, 000 Metropolitan Singers with Full Orchestral Accompaniment, conducted by McNaught with Parish (organ).
Format
Date range of collection
1852 - 1891
Accumulation Dates
-
Suggested Audience
Not Specific
Associated People or Organisations
- Weston, H. W. -
- Venables, L. C. -
- Trautmann, Marie -
- Tonic Sol-fa Festival -
- Spada, Emily -
- Second Life Guards -
- Scots Fusiliers -
- Santley, Charles -
- Russell, George William ('AE') -
- Royal Italian Opera -
- Royal Horse Guards -
- Royal Artillery Band -
- Reed, W. F. -
- Proudman, J. Frank -
- Pauer, Ernst -
- Parish, F. Wilson -
- Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus -
- McNaught, William Gray -
- Manns, August -
- Grisi, Giulia 1811 - 1869
- Grenadier Guards -
- First Life Guards -
- Crystal Palace Orchestra -
- Cowley, A. L. -
- Costa, Michael -
- Collins, George -
- Band of HM Coldstream Guards 1785 -
- Barnett, John Francis -
- Alleyne, Grace -
- Adams, W. H. -
Associated Places
This collection is about
Location Details
British Library, Music Collections
96 Euston Road London NW1 2DB United Kingdom Open Map
Email
music-collections@bl.uk
Telephone
020 7412 7772
Fax
020 7412 7751
Visiting Information
Reprographic services
See http://www.bl.uk for details
Collections Overview
See: http://www.bl.uk/collections/music/music.html
For details of other collections held at the same location: See the location record
Additional Collection Information
Accrual Status
closed
Related Publications
Management Information (Type)
Collection Owner(s)
Collection Creator(s)
Collection Collector(s)
Collection Custodians(s)
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