ART.
=Architecture.=--[By J. A. COSSINS.]--Although anciently possessing a
Church, a Priory and a Castle, Birmingham now retains hardly a vestige
of the work of the builders of the middle ages. When the old Parish
Church of St. Martin was pulled down in 1872 to make way for its very
fine successor, the indications of its history, hidden for nearly two
centuries by a casing of brickwork, were revealed: traces were found of
the work of the 12th and 13th centuries, and considerable remains of
what must have been a fine building, mainly of the 14th century. The
altar tombs, with effigies of the Lords de Birmingham, were carefully
preserved and refixed in the new Church, and are well worthy of
examination.[40]
A few houses of the framed timber and plaster construction common in
the 17th century, remain in Digbeth, and one of a very interesting kind
was this year removed from the corner of Bull Street. The earliest in
date is the Old Crown House, which is probably of the first half of
the 16th century. This was a very interesting specimen of the more
massively constructed, but simpler kind, with gables at the extremities
of the front, and a central porch of two stories; but the whole of
the ground floor was reconstructed about twenty years ago, and it has
recently been further disfigured by painting and graining. At Camp
Hill there is a very fine half-timbered house in good preservation.
This has the date 1601 cut on the porch. Most of the houses burnt by
Prince Rupert, when he sacked the town in 1643, were probably of the
half-timbered kind, since several still remain.
ST. PHILIP’S CHURCH.--From this time there is nothing to mark the
architectural progress of the town until the important event of the
making by Act of Parliament, passed in 1711, of a new parish of St.
Philip in Birmingham. This was immediately followed by the building of
the Church of St. Philip, a remarkably good example of the School of
English Renaissance founded by Wren and continued by his pupils, of
whom the architect of this Church, Thomas Archer, was one of the most
successful. The first stone of the Church was laid in 1711, and it was
consecrated in 1715. It is a large building, the area divided into nave
and aisles by square, fluted pillars, carrying semicircular arches, and
supporting galleries which extend over the aisles. With the exception
of the steeple, the whole has been restored, and within the last year
the chancel, which was but a shallow recess, has been lengthened by one
bay. The fine east window by Mr. Burne Jones, a native of Birmingham,
is considered to be one of his most successful works.
The building of the Church was soon followed by the erection of rows
of houses of an uniform character on the north and south sides of the
churchyard. These have nearly all disappeared: they were built of brick
in the good domestic style of the early part of the last century, with
picturesque doorways, with curved and broken pediments, balustraded
parapets, and heavy white sashes with broad moulded frames. The
interiors had fine oak staircases with turned and twisted balusters,
and were good examples of the cheery home-like dwellings of their
time. Other buildings, forming “The Old Square,” of a somewhat similar
character, have lately been pulled down to make way for a new street,
and very little that is even as old as the “Georges” will be left us
after a very short time.
THE TOWN HALL.--The building of the Town Hall, begun in 1832, was
the first great local architectural event of the present century. It
was designed by Messrs. Hansom & Welch, architects, of Liverpool, in
professed imitation of the Corinthian Temple of Jupiter Stator at Rome,
but it falls far below its prototype in the scale and richness of the
“order.” To properly adapt a temple of the Romans to the various wants
and requirements of a Town Hall for the people of Birmingham required
considerable inventive skill, and to obtain the required height the
temple was mounted on a lofty rusticated basement. The grand flights
of steps to the colonnades, which add so much dignity to the Greek
and Roman temples, are here accessible only by means of a ladder. It
is nevertheless a noble building, of Anglesey marble, though what we
admire in the exterior is due to the ancient architect, and not to the
adapters. The interior is well suited to its many and varied uses, but
the entrances are narrow and undignified, and the lobbies insufficient.
THE FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL, or King Edward’s School, was founded on the
property belonging to the Gild of the Holy Cross, taken possession of
by Henry VIII., and restored to the town by Edward VI. in the shape
of an educational endowment. The old hall used by the Gild stood
on the site of the present school, and it is probable that it was
used as a school until new buildings were erected in 1707. Of that
edifice drawings are in existence, which show it to have been of two
storeys, and forming three sides of a quadrangle, with a tower over
the central and chief entrance, terminated by a cupola. The buildings
were of brick, with stone dressings; the windows square-headed, of the
heavy-sashed description used in the domestic architecture of the time.
A high balustraded parapet hid the roofs from sight.
The School was pulled down in 1832, and the present noble building
erected on its site. The style is that of the latter half of the
fifteenth century, commonly called Tudor, and although erected so
soon after the revival of Gothic architecture, it has scarcely been
excelled for boldness and propriety of design or for purity of detail.
It forms on plan a nearly equal-sided square. The chief front, facing
New Street, has slightly projecting wings, in which are fine Oriel
windows, of two stories, the intermediate length being divided by
boldly projecting buttresses, terminated by crocketed pinnacles, into
nine bays of two stories in height. The entrance is in the middle bay,
through a handsome moulded and carved doorway, to a vestibule finely
groined in stone. The upper floor of the central part of the front is
now occupied by the Girls’ School, and is lighted by grand traceried
and transomed windows of three lights. The south front, looking towards
the railway station, contains the Boys’ School, and is of a simpler,
but quite as good a design as the main elevation. The two principal
schoolrooms are very fine, with open timber roofs. The architect was
Sir Charles Barry, and a striking similarity between the details of
this building and of those of the Houses of Parliament of about this
time may be observed.
CHRIST CHURCH.--Christ Church, consecrated in 1813, stands at the
junction of New Street with Ann Street, and occupies the most prominent
and the best position in the town, but is quite unworthy of its site.
It is in the quasi-Classic style prevailing in the time of George
III., with a lofty but ill-proportioned tower and spire, and a western
portico of the Roman Doric order.
ST. PETER’S.--Several of the churches succeeding the last were built
by the well known Thomas Rickman; among these were St. Peter’s in Dale
End, a heavy, uninteresting building, with a Grecian Doric portico,
surmounted by a “Temple-of-the-Winds”-like structure as a steeple.
ST. THOMAS’S.--St. Thomas’s, at Holloway Head, another of Rickman’s, is
designed in the same spirit, but with details of the Ionic order. Some
of the earliest efforts of the revival of Gothic architecture were made
here by Rickman, the most important of which,
ST. GEORGE’S, a large perpendicular structure, is for its time fairly
good, but the details are thin and wiry.
A number of cheap churches followed in the first half of the present
century, none of them deserving of notice; but some better things were
being done.
ST. CHAD’S.--The Roman Catholic Cathedral Church of St. Chad, in Bath
Street, by the elder Pugin, though in some parts bare and mean from
want of funds, shews the genius of the architect in its plan, its
imposing interior, and its fine western front.
Of the churches of quite modern date, we have first the rebuilt Mother
Church of St. Martin before referred to. The tower was re-cased and the
spire rebuilt in 1854-5, and in 1873-5 the present building was erected
by Mr. J. A. Chatwin, architect, of Birmingham, and completed in 1875,
at a cost of £28,256. The style is Gothic, as it had become perfected
in the middle of the 14th century, and it has been used by the
architect with great skill and judgment. The interior is exceedingly
fine, and the exterior not unworthy of it. Preserved in the north and
south chapels at the east end, are the fine sepulchral monuments of
the Lords de Birmingham. It has excellent stained glass windows by Wm.
Morris, Hardman, and others.
ST. AUGUSTINE’S and the LEA MEMORIAL CHURCH, both at Edgbaston, are
also fine churches by the same architect. The noble spire of the former
is a conspicuous and beautiful object from a large extent of country.
ASTON CHURCH has lately been rebuilt by Mr. Chatwin, with the exception
of the tower and spire, at a cost of £15,000. The church contains
many monuments of the Erdingtons, Ardens, Holts, Devereux, and other
Warwickshire families. The very beautiful tower and spire are of the
15th century.
HANDSWORTH PARISH CHURCH has also been rebuilt by the same architect,
with the exception of the tower and the “Watt Chapel.” Besides the
monument by Chantry to James Watt, there are interesting monuments to
Boulton, Murdock, and other local celebrities.
THE CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, in Conybere Street, lately erected by Mr.
Hansom, of London, in the style of the 13th century, has an extremely
fine interior, groined throughout with stone. The tower and spire are
unfinished.
Another good church by the same architect, is that of ST. CATHERINE (R.
C.) in the Horse Fair, also with unfinished tower and spire.
THE DISSENTING CONGREGATIONS have some noteworthy buildings. Amongst
those of the Unitarians, the Church of the Messiah, in Broad Street,
by Mr. Bateman, and the “Old Meeting Trust” Church, in the Bristol
Road, lately erected by Mr. J. A. Cossins, are the most important. The
Baptists have two handsome churches, the Church of the Redeemer, in
Hagley Road, by Cubitt, of London, and Wycliffe Church, by the late
Mr. Cranston, in Bristol Street. The Catholic Apostolic Church of the
Irvingites, in the “Sand Pits,” is a bold building of brick and terra
cotta, with a noble nave, by Mr. Chatwin.
THE MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS of the town, with the exception of the Town
Hall, are nearly all of quite recent construction. First among these
is the Council House in Colmore Row, near the top of New Street. This
noble and commodious building was opened in 1878, and comprises a
grand suite of reception rooms, a fine Council Chamber, semicircular
on plan, offices for the Mayor, Town Clerk, Surveyor, Treasurer, Chief
of Police and other officers, and a large number of committee rooms.
The approaches, staircases and corridors are all handsome and spacious.
The fronts are constructed of Derbyshire stone in the Italian style,
the principal elevation towards Colmore Row consisting of an imposing
centre, with _porte-cocher_, and wings. The tympanums of the pediments
are filled with groups of sculpture, and the large arch over the
portico contains some fine work in Mosaic by Salviati. The architect
was Mr. Yeoville Thomason.
ART GALLERY.--Adjoining the Council House, is the Art Gallery, by the
same architect, which forms with it one block of buildings surrounding
a quadrangle. This was opened last year, and is a series of galleries
probably not excelled by any in England. The principal feature of the
interior is a vast domed circular room, from which the other rooms are
entered.
THE PAROCHIAL OFFICES, in Edmund and Newhall Streets, by Mr. Ward,
form a large and handsome block, containing the offices of the Poor
Law Guardians, the Superintendent Registrar of Births, Deaths and
Marriages, &c.
THE GALLERIES OF THE SOCIETY OF ARTISTS, New Street.--The principal
room is circular, 52 feet in diameter, and there are several other
rooms, which, with the fine Corinthian Portico, were completed in 1829.
They have since been much improved and enlarged, and now form a very
excellent set of galleries.
To describe properly the Educational Buildings of the town would
require a volume; a few only of the principal ones can be noticed.
The Grammar School, the oldest of them, has already been referred
to. The Mason College, founded by the late Sir Josiah Mason, is a
fine building of brick and stone in Edmund street, the first stone of
which was laid in 1875, and the building opened in October, 1880. This
institution comprises large and complete Laboratories for Chemistry,
Physics, Physiology, Botany, and Engineering; four Lecture Theatres,
and a very great number of class and other rooms of all sizes, suited
to their varied requirements, the whole covering an area of about 2,500
square yards. The style of Architecture is that of the 13th century.
The principal front in Edmund Street, of about 150 feet in length,
is symmetrically arranged with a lofty centre and gabled side wings.
The principal entrance in the middle of the front is a very large and
deeply recessed moulded and shafted archway opening to a fine groined
vestibule, the cross passages leading from which are also groined in
stone. Over the entrance is a lofty double oriel beneath a gable,
the terminal of which is a mermaid (the crest of Sir Josiah Mason),
122 feet from the pavement. The cost was about £60,000, including
the elaborate and costly fittings of the laboratories. The whole of
the buildings and fittings were designed by Mr. Jethro A. Cossins,
Architect, of Birmingham.
THE BIRMINGHAM AND MIDLAND INSTITUTE and the FREE LIBRARIES form one
united group. The Institute buildings, by Mr. Edward Barry, were opened
in 1856 by the Prince Consort. The completion of the design to receive
the Reference and Lending Libraries was carried out by Messrs. Martin
and Chamberlain; the whole has since been largely added to, the Lending
and Reference Libraries have been rebuilt, and a new wing erected in
Paradise Street, by the same architects.
THE SCHOOL OF ART, also by Martin & Chamberlain, in Edmund Street, is
in the very original modern Gothic style, almost created by the late J.
H. Chamberlain, and practised with such great success by the firm to
which he belonged. The School is perhaps the finest of their works, and
possesses a rare grace and refinement in every detail. The arrangements
for the convenience of masters and students are also excellent.
BOARD SCHOOLS.--Since the passing of the Elementary Education Act, in
1870, about thirty large Board Schools have been erected in the town,
most of them by Messrs. Martin and Chamberlain, they are nearly all of
great excellence and are ornaments to the town.
THE EXCHANGE, in Stephenson Place, was built in 1865, by Mr. Edward
Holmes, architect, of Birmingham, and has since been considerably
enlarged. It has a large exchange room on the ground floor, over a
part of which is a room for assemblies. The building also contains a
Restaurant, shops on the ground floor, and a large number of offices.
The fronts, towards Stephenson Place and New Street, in a Gothic style,
are lofty and imposing.
THE “ARCADES” are a feature of modern Birmingham. The Great Western
Arcade was built in 1876, at a cost of £70,000. Mr. W. H. Ward, of
Birmingham, was the architect. The avenue, four hundred feet long, has
eighty-four shops on two stories, the upper tier opening to a balcony.
The length is divided equally by a circular space covered by a lofty
dome. The glazed roof is carried by a series of semicircular arches,
the perspective effect of which is very striking.
In an almost straight line with the last, and only divided from it by
the width of a street, is the North Western Arcade, by Mr. W. Jenkins.
In its general features it is much like the first, but of greater
width, and the shops are larger.
It may be added that these arcades have been financially a great
success, and are much used as a convenient and pleasant thoroughfare
from the Great Western Station to Corporation Street.
There are several other arcades in the town, some of which are worthy
of a visit.
Until the passing of the Street Improvement Act of 1876, Birmingham had
but very few streets that were worthy of the size and importance of the
town. New Street is, however, a fine and picturesque thoroughfare, the
slight rise and easy curve contributing very much to the general effect.
CORPORATION STREET, leading from New Street, opposite the entrance to
the Railway Station, to the Aston Road, has been but lately formed; it
is not yet entirely finished, but is already an unusually fine street.
Many of the buildings are of great height and costliness. It promises
to be one of the noblest thoroughfares to be found in any of our great
towns.
ASTON HALL.--Sir Thomas Holte, whose family had long been resident
at Duddeston, in the parish of Aston, began to build this magnificent
house in 1618, and in 1631 he came to reside in it. In 1864 it was
purchased by the Corporation of Birmingham, together with forty-three
acres of the once extensive park, immediately surrounding it, and in
the same year it was thrown open to the public. Dugdale, who wrote
whilst the Hall was fresh from the hands of the builders, calls it “a
noble fabric, which for beauty and state much exceedeth any in these
parts,” and the same may yet be said of it. It is well situated on
high ground at a distance of about two miles from Stephenson Place,
and retains about it some of the grand old chestnut and other trees
for which the park was famous. Most of the outbuildings, including the
stables, houses of the Chief Falconer and other officers, and the chief
entrance lodge also remain, and add much to the interest and general
effect. The principal front, approached by what remains of the Chestnut
Tree Avenue, is symmetrically arranged, and consists of a central block
with wings of considerable projection, enclosing a court of which one
side is open to the East. The chief entrance door in the middle of
the front is under a square tower furnished with a lofty ogee curved
roof, each of the wings has also a door from the court, under a similar
tower. The towers, the curved gables, and the lofty bay windows which
terminate the wings, combine in producing an extremely picturesque and
imposing effect. The windows are all square headed and mullioned, the
walling is of thin bricks, with windows, doors, and other important
details of stone.
The entrance hall is fine and lofty, and the principal staircase with
massive square newels and scroll work balustrade is extremely rich in
effect. The great drawing room, the dining room, Lady Holte’s room,
and the great gallery, 136 feet long, are all grand apartments with
elaborate ceilings in intricate geometrical patterns, rich cornices,
and magnificent chimney pieces. Besides those mentioned, there are
a great number of rooms of less importance. Many of the principal
apartments contain collections of great interest.
=Painting.=--[By E. R. TAYLOR.]--For the opening of the Corporation
Art Gallery in November, 1885, the large room was filled with a loan
collection of pictures by Mr. G. F. Watts, R.A., and Mr. E. Burne
Jones, A.R.A. These works, together with others of a decorative
character, belonging to the town, have enabled the Birmingham public to
view, for the first time, the highest phases of English Art.
The history of Art proves that, when the nobler walks of Painting and
Sculpture reach a high standard of execution, decorative character, and
poetic insight, Art, as applied to manufactures, makes corresponding
progress. Decorative and poetic art in painting as seen in the works
of Leighton, Watts, Burne Jones, Rossetti, Mason, Richmond, Albert
Moore, Walter Crane, and others is, therefore, of special interest to
a manufacturing town like Birmingham. So long as these men exhibit the
possibilities of decorative art, their work must be fraught with good
to those engaged in applying similar principles to art manufactures,
and (what is of equal importance) must educate those who are to be
users of art productions.
BIRMINGHAM ARTISTS.--The names of at least two Birmingham men will ever
hold a prominent place in the annals of English Art,--David Cox and E.
Burne Jones; and as, from his residence here and his being a member of
the Royal Society of Artists in this town, George Mason may also be
fairly considered a local man, Birmingham may be said to have produced
three great Masters--each perhaps the highest in his particular
branch--in the three most characteristic phases and developments of
English Art. Of this the town may be justly proud.
DAVID COX.--David Cox was born in Birmingham in 1783. His birth-place
was near to “The Old Crown,” a noted ancient timbered house in
Deritend. He received his early art instruction from Joseph Barber, who
conducted an academy close to the site of the present Municipal School
of Art. In the mastership of that academy, Joseph Barber was succeeded
by his son, J. Vincent Barber. A few doors away, Samuel Lines carried
on a drawing school. These were the only means of art instruction in
the town until the formation of the Society of Arts, whose work is now
continued in the above-mentioned Municipal School. Cox was apprenticed
for eighteen months to a miniature painter on lockets and snuff boxes.
Owing to the bankruptcy of his master, his engagement was terminated
at the end of that period. He afterwards became scene painter at the
Birmingham Theatre, then under the management of the elder Macready.
John Varley, the famous water-colour painter, and Müller also gave
him a few lessons in water-colours and oils, respectively. Thus Cox
received what was for his day a fairly good education in art, if in
this we include his initiation first into miniature painting and then
into scene painting.
In 1813 he was elected a member of the Society of Painters in Water
Colours. During his whole career, he seems to have possessed a strong
affection for his native place; and, as soon as he was freed from
the worries and anxieties of teaching, he came to Greenfield House,
Harborne, where he spent the last eighteen years of his life, working
at his beloved art, and paying visits, from time to time, to favourite
Bettws-y-Coed. He died in 1859.
Cox was contemporary with Constable and Crowe. All three received
but slight recognition of their merits while living; but since death
their work has been highly praised and much sought after. Yet these
men--and Cox particularly--were the first to carry out that direct
study from nature which has become the characteristic of the English
school, as distinct from the studio compositions and artificialities
which flourished from the time of Claude to their own. There is every
probability that the love for English scenery--scenery so full of
colour and character; so varied and so changeful--has been greatly
stimulated amongst the people by the fact that these artists have
portrayed its beauties in their paintings, and have thus instilled a
perception of, and love for, these beauties in nature.
Of the works of Cox, the Art Gallery contains thirty-three oil
paintings (the Nettlefold Bequest), and two or three water-colours.
This is perhaps the finest collection of his oil colours extant, and
among it may be specially mentioned: “Sheep Shearing” (27) and “Driving
Cattle” (28), both full in colour, and simple and direct in execution;
while “Changing Pasture” (9) may be cited as one of his best works. In
the picture last mentioned, the sunset sky, the purplish blue distance,
and the truth of the light in the middle distance and foreground should
receive particular attention. “In the Hayfield” (26) is more in his
water-colour manner; as is also his grand “Rhyl Sands” (10), in which
the effect of the sea breeze is felt all over the picture. “Bettws
Church” (11), “Tending Sheep, Bettws-y-Coed” (12), and “Evening”
(24) are excellent examples of that quiet and unaffected, yet highly
poetic treatment by which he ennobled the simplest materials; while
“The Shrimpers” (31) is perhaps the best of his pictures of a sandy
shore. “The Missing Lamb” (2) is interesting, in that it shows his
method of commencing work. “Asking the Way” (40) is a fine example
of his water-colours. In the midst of these beautiful specimens of
Cox’s labour is placed “The Late David Cox” (17), by Sir John Watson
Gordon--one of the most successful portraits of a great artist by a
brother artist. Alike by its success and the evident sympathy between
painter and subject, the work recalls the portrait of Hook by Sir J. E.
Millais.
Whilst a careful study of Cox’s life and pictures, of his earnest
and loving methods of work, and of the glorious harvest therefrom
resulting, has had a highly beneficial effect on the world of Art,
there is no doubt that from the sudden rise in value of his pictures,
and the consequent magnifying of any scrap of paper his hand had
touched, as well as from the fact that the work of his latest and
broadest style was most accessible, a certain servile imitation of his
mannerisms, supplanted the earnest and loving study of nature, which
characterised Cox to the end. These mannerisms, which by long study
he had earned the right to use, and which in his work were always
full of meaning, too often became in the productions of his imitators
meaningless and pretentious. Time, however, is curing this evil; and
the good alone will remain. As an example of the enormous increase in
the monetary value of his pictures, it may be stated that “Lancaster
sands,” for which Cox received £10, was sold at the Gillott sale for
3,000 guineas.
GEORGE MASON.--The work of George Mason, A.R.A. (born 1818; died
1872), marks a further development of English Art. He, like Frederick
Walker, opened up still deeper poetic sympathies for us. During the
varied phases of humanity, its toil and its rest, were no longer
treated as mere accessories to the landscape, but as a large and
essential part of it; not inserted to give a point, or story, or bit of
colour to the picture, but intended from the beginning to essentially
form a part of its growth as a work of art. And even when there is
no human incident poetically treated, as in his “Evening Hymn,” or
“Harvest Moon,” there is something in his schemes of colour or other
treatment of his landscape which occurs to awaken a human interest
never reached even by Cox or Turner. This school has had the strongest
and widest influence on the English Art of to-day. It is greatly to be
regretted that the Birmingham Art Gallery contains no examples of the
works of George Mason.
E. BURNE JONES.--The third phase is that represented by Mr. E. Burne
Jones and Mr. Watts. This being the most recent development, its force
cannot yet be measured; but there is little doubt that it will be the
greatest of the three. For six months after the opening of the gallery,
one end of the large room aforesaid was filled with a magnificent
collection of the works of Mr. Burne Jones; and at a recent exhibition
of the Birmingham Society of Artists, was shewn his noblest work, “The
Six Days of Creation.”
The sale of the Graham collection has dispersed most of these. Perhaps
no previous sale had evoked so much interest,--not even that of the
Gillott collection. The enthusiasm then evinced, as well as the large
prices obtained, shew that the work of the artist is already receiving
just recognition. In addition to “The Six Days of Creation,” there were
(_e.g._) exhibited at Birmingham “Le Chant d’Amour,” “Venus’s Mirror,”
“The Beguiling of Merlin,” “Love in the Ruins,” “Love Disguised as
Reason,” but as these are no longer here, it is unnecessary now to
describe them. “The Feast of Peleus” has been lent by its fortunate
possessor, Mr. Alderman Kenrick, M.P. This picture--at least from an
artist’s point of view--is one of the painter’s most beautiful works.
At the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, the Goddess of Discord throws
down a golden apple, to be claimed by the most beautiful. Juno, Venus,
and Minerva rise eagerly to claim it. In the foreground are three
fates. The composition, drawing, scheme of colour, and marvellous
realization even of the minutest details of form and colour render this
work one of exceptionally high character, and, taken as a whole, the
most enjoyable of all the artist’s productions.
Attention may also be here directed to the fact that there have been
placed in St. Martin’s and St. Philip’s Churches, Birmingham, two
lovely stained glass windows, both designed by Mr. Burne Jones. The
artist’s practice in stained glass, tempera, and mosaic has, no doubt,
greatly influenced his style of composition and colour.
MUNICIPAL GALLERY.--Pictures by the following Birmingham artists, named
alphabetically, belong to the Corporation:--
Baker, Alfred--(an artist of great promise, who died when
young)--“Harvest Time.”
Baker, S. H.--“Nant Gwylt.”
Breakspeare, W. A.--“The Daughter of the House.”
Burt, C. T.--“The Edge Hills, from Burton Dassett.”
Feeney, P. M.--“Llyn Idwal.”
Hall, W.--(David Cox’s most intimate friend and biographer)--“A Peep
out of Church, Bettws-y-Coed.” This picture is interesting as depicting
a scene in the art-home of Cox.
Henshaw, F. H.--Three fine landscapes, of which the best is “A Distant
View of Kenilworth Castle.”
Langley, Walter, R.I.--“Memories”--an excellent example of this artist,
who has already by his work done much honour to Birmingham. It shows
his deep sympathy with the humble life of English fisher folk, and is
admirable in execution, lighting, and colour.
Lines, Samuel--“Llyn Idwal.”
Munns, H. T.--Portraits.
Phillips T., R.A.--Portrait of Sir John Franklin.
Pratt, Jonathan--Portraits.
Roden, W. T.--Portraits.
Taylor, Edward R.--“The Birmingham Reference Library, Destroyed by
Fire, January, 1879.”
Walton, Elijah--“Monte Tofana in Tyrol.”
Wyatt, H.--“Juliet.”
One other name should be included in any list of Birmingham artists.
It is that of Mr. W. J. Wainwright, A.R.W.S., who has accepted a
commission for the Art Gallery.
In the circular picture gallery will be found the admirable series of
historical works by Sir James D. Sinton, P.R.I., representing scenes in
the life of a soldier in the sixteenth century.
Among the portraits of special local interest are those by Mr. W. T.
Roden, of Samuel Lines, the Birmingham artist; of Peter Hollins, the
Birmingham sculptor; of his Eminence Cardinal Newman; and of John Henry
Chamberlain, who has been justly described as the “second founder of
the Birmingham and Midland Institute,” and who, until his lamented
death, was Chairman of the School of Art. Those of John Bright, by
Frank Holt, R.A.; of George Dawson, by H. T. Munns; of William Murdock,
by John Graham; of Arthur Ryland, the founder of the Birmingham and
Midland Institute, and sometime Mayor of the town, by Sir J. W. Gordon;
and of Sir John Franklin, by T. Phillips, R.A., also deserve note in
this connexion.
WATTS AND PORTRAITS.--The large room of the Art Gallery is nearly
filled with a collection of Mr. Watt’s pictures, kindly lent by the
artist. Much interest now attaches to these works, as Mr. Watts
has just offered them, with others, to the nation. We can somewhat
measure this noble gift when we remember that the collection contains
portraits of some of our ablest and most famous men, as well as large
and important figure pictures, the work of a lifetime, and that these
are the best works of an artist of world-wide reputation. The English
School of portraiture has attained a high standard in the works of
such artists as Millais, Holl, Ouless, and Richmond; but the portraits
by Watts stand apart from even these in their nobility of treatment,
scheme of colour, and rendering of the man, his very life and soul.
The portraits of Mr. Burne Jones, the Marquis of Salisbury, and Lady
Garvagh, recall to mind the best works of Reynolds and Gainsborough.
Again, Dr. Joachim, a lamp-light study--is quite Rembrandt like.
Those of Cardinal Manning, Carlyle, Mr. Browning, Mrs. Manners, in
blue against a blue background; John Stuart Mill, Lord Lawrence, Lord
Sherbrook and Philip Calderon, R.A., also merit careful observation.
Mr. Watts’s subject pictures are painted with the noblest motives,
and the methods of execution and schemes of colour are all made
subordinate to the idea. The subject “Love and Death,” was suggested by
the struggle of near friends to resist a fatal disease in a young man
whom the artist was painting; and here the power of art, imagination,
colour, conception, drawing of drapery and figure, all unite, not for
technical display, but to realize in an intense degree the motive
of the picture. The same may be said of “Mammon;” dedicated to his
worshippers. In the previous picture the colour is blue-grey; in this
it is gold and scarlet. “The Meeting of Jacob and Esau” is a striking
instance of the successful definition of opposite characters. “Orpheus
and Eurydice” is descriptive of the moment when Orpheus looks back,
and when, by reason of this act of impatience, Eurydice sinks back to
Hades. “Fata Morgana,” turning on her followers through life, is also a
splendid work.
This room further contains the large painting by Professor W. B.
Richmond, M.A., entitled “An Audience in Athens during a Representation
of the Agamemnon.” This, too, is a most valuable decorative work of Art
in the attitudes, costumes and expressions of the audience, and in the
rendering in colour and tone of the clear sunlight of Greece. Other
decorative works in the Art Gallery are Mr. Albert Moore’s “Dreamers,”
lovely figures most delicately painted in a scheme of yellow orange,
grey and green; “Sapphires,” blue and orange; and “Canaries,” yellow
orange and grey, with a little green. On a screen will also be found a
small but very fine collection of works in water-colour by Mr. Walter
Langley, R.I., including “Amongst the Missing,” “Time moveth not,” and
many well known works by this artist.
The town possesses one of the strongest examples of Sir Frederick
Leighton, P.R.A. “A Condottiere” is quite Titianesque in its painting
of flesh, armour, and drapery. One example by Mr. Alfred W. Hunt is
also the property of the town. It is called “A Norwegian Midnight,” and
therein are displayed colour, mystery, sense of space, and moving cloud
forms. Two of the finest paintings by Mr. Henry Moore, A.R.A., are also
included--“Summer Time, off Cornwall,” and “The Newhaven Packet.” Other
works in the Gallery of more than ordinary interest are: “Intellect
and Instinct,” by H. Stacey Marks, R.A.; “Detected Correspondence,” by
John Opie, R.A.; “A Martyr of the 16th Century,” by W. Geets; “February
Fill Dyke,” by B. W. Leader, A.R.A.; “Ready for Work,” by John S. Noble;
“A North-West Gale,” by John Brett, A.R.A.; “Homeward,” by W. Napier
Henry; and “The Poacher’s Widow,” by Breton Riviere, R.A.
It is a matter of real congratulation to Birmingham that her sons
have taken a prominent place in the world of Art, and that, owing to
an enlightened policy, the town now possesses a suitable gallery,
wherein high-class works may be viewed by all. The works exhibited,
whether purchased by the Committee or on loan, are generally of such a
decorative character as to be of the greatest value to designers and
other Art workmen. It is to be hoped that, stimulated by past example,
as well as by present opportunities, the inhabitants will fully
appreciate the importance of furthering that Art, which is at once a
source of pleasure to the workers, and of illimitable enjoyment to the
beholders.
=Sculpture.=--[By WHITWORTH WALLIS.]--The history of the birth and
growth of sculpture, with no word for its decadence, death, and
ultimate renaissance would alone be a subject difficult to compress
into the space of a volume, but when there is to be added to that some
account of the art in the time of the supremacy of its achievement,
before it became tainted with decay, the task is vast indeed.
Fortunately such a dissertation is not required in this place.
The art of sculpture is not restricted, as most people think, to the
carving of mere marble and stone. In its strict meaning it is the art
of _cutting_ any material whatsoever into any required shape; but the
word is now generally accepted for the art of representing anything by
form, no matter what the material may be, or what the method of its
making; so that the word “sculpture” applies to Sculpture proper, and
to castings in bronze, as well as to the carving of gems, ivories, and
to modelling in wax and clay.
EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.--In every part of the world, in modern as in
ancient times, savage races have delighted to decorate their weapons
with carving, and to make representations of men and animals, which
they afterwards worshipped. But it was Egypt, that cradle-land of
learning and of art, which seems to be the nation where first the
rudeness of savage carving was brought under restraint and nurtured
into Sculpture. What had previously been an amusement was changed by
their priests into an art. But these very priests who first fostered
the art were ultimately the means of stunting its growth and arresting
its highest development. The reverence which long ages of worship
caused the archaic statues to receive induced the priests, who were
the representatives of learning and of wisdom, to make these old types
symbolical of divine attributes, and it was considered sacrilegious to
attempt to alter what had gradually come to be believed was the true
likeness of the god. Thus religion, which was the kind foster-mother
of the arts of sculpture and painting, came, later on, to be its most
determined enemy.
Whilst in Egypt Sculpture was being strangled by Convention, all
progress being arrested, and all originality starved out of it by the
regulations which bound it to its archaic form, a new race of artists
arose along the shores and amidst the islands of the Mediterranean.
In Greece Art found a new and happy home. Greek Sculpture, based on
Egyptian precedent, and influenced greatly in its growth by Phœnician
thought, gradually freed itself from all the trammels of the past, and
formed a school of Sculpture, the results of which have never been
equalled in all the after ages of art production.
GREEK SCULPTURE.--It was left to the beauty-loving Greeks to perceive
that Sculpture was of all others the art by which they could best
express and best immortalise the most perfect of all Nature’s physical
beauties. It was the Greeks who made Sculpture what it was, and with
their school died out the highest development of the art.
The conquests of Alexander, and all that followed in their train--the
treasures of the East unfolded, mighty monarchies founded, stately
cities built--afforded opportunities for the spread of this art.
Thus it became transplanted into strange lands, and was subjected to
new influence and aspirations. After the Macedonian and Syrian wars
the victorious Romans carried off with them the statues and other
art objects from the conquered countries. Following in the train of
their conquerors came the Greek artists themselves to Rome, but the
art never became naturalised there, it soon lost all its ideality and
became merely imitative in treatment. Under Antoninus it lost much of
its grace and elegance, but the spirit of the Greek is mighty even
in dying, and though it sank under Severus and his successors, its
influence was still apparent until close upon the time of Constantine,
when the great art of the ancients was entirely lost.
ITALIAN SCULPTURE.--Sculpture revived in Italy in the thirteenth
century under Nicolo Pisano. All the remains of art which had escaped
destruction from barbarian violence, religious fanaticism, and natural
causes, were now carefully collected, and the sentiment of reverence
and admiration for the antique gradually developed into that great
revival which we designate “The Renaissance.” The wealthiest and most
powerful Florentine families vied with each other in the encouragement
of art in all its branches, and with the artists of the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries raised modern art to its loftiest pitch of
splendour. Despite this fact it never attained the sublimity and
tranquil grandeur of the antique. After the glorious epochs of Michael
Angelo and Raphael a rapid decline set in. True feeling quickly
disappeared, giving way to affected grace, extravagance, and excessive
ornament. During the eighteenth century, Winckelmann was the first
who influenced the revival of modern art, and opened the eyes of his
contemporaries to the glories and elevated beauty of the arts of
antiquity. Antonio Canova became the founder of the new period, his
works being specially marked by pure simplicity and classical ideality,
and by his side stands Thorwaldsen, whose artistic productions were as
admirable as they were numerous.
ENGLISH SCULPTURE.--In England John Banks, who may be regarded as
the father of English ideal sculpture, paved the way for his great
successor John Flaxman, and the latter with his deep appreciation
of severe simplicity and true form, his love and admiration for the
Greek statues, brought into this country the classical spirit, and
founded the schools of the nineteenth century. To judge by the progress
which modern sculpture has made, and by the many noble works erected
of late years, it is on a far safer road than during the end of the
sixteenth century. In England it is not likely that there will ever
be such a great school of sculpture as of the sister art of painting.
The greatest hope for ideal or poetic sculpture rests with the people
themselves, who must be able to appreciate and love the beautiful, and
this elevation of the taste of the public can only be accomplished by
artists refusing to pander to a low ideal, but fearlessly and jealously
devoting themselves to the execution of those works which will touch
the tenderest feelings and arouse the noblest thoughts.
LOCAL SCULPTURE.--Birmingham, though possessing a fair number of
sculptural monuments, can boast unfortunately but of few which show
real artistic merit. In the Entrance Hall of the Free Libraries,
Ratcliff Place, stands Mr. Foley’s admirable statue of Prince Albert,
which is considered to be one of his finest works. The Prince is
attired in the robes of the Order of the Garter. By its side is placed
the companion statue of her Majesty the Queen, which was also entrusted
to Mr. Foley. That artist unfortunately dying, the work was carried out
by Mr. Woolner, R.A., with far from a pleasing result. Both statues are
intended for the Council House. The largest, and certainly one of the
most prominent, monuments in Birmingham is the bronze statue erected by
the inhabitants to the memory of Admiral Lord Nelson. It is situated in
High Street, and was executed by Sir Richard Westmacott. It represents
Nelson in a reposeful and dignified attitude, his left arm resting upon
an anchor. The background is formed of the prow of a vessel and a sail.
The statue is mounted on a pedestal of statuary marble, embellished
with figures. The corner posts are said to be cannon formerly in use
on board the “Victory.” An auctioneer, who lived in High Street, left
sixpence per week to be paid in perpetuity, out of the rent of a house,
to be devoted to the cleaning of the statue.
The bronze statue of Sir Robert Peel, at the top of New Street, is
interesting as being the work of a talented Birmingham sculptor, Mr.
Peter Hollins, and for the fact that it was the first bronze statue
cast in one piece in Birmingham. The attitude of the Statesman is one
of firmness; the face is very expressive, and shows strong intellectual
power. Mr. Hollins likewise executed the statue erected to the memory
of Sir Rowland Hill, which stands in the Post Office, Paradise Street.
Of other works by this sculptor, I would draw attention to the busts of
William Scholefield, Mathew Davenport Hill, Q.C., and David Cox, all
of which are in the Museum and Art Gallery, and a fine bust of J. W.
Whateley, in the General Hospital.
At the Five ways, Edgbaston, stands the statue erected to the memory
of Joseph Sturge, an eminent member of the Society of Friends. The
monument is pleasing in arrangement. The centre figure represents
Joseph Sturge, his right hand resting on the Bible, his left extended
towards a figure symbolical of Peace, whilst on the other side is a
figure typical of Charity. This is reputed to be an excellent likeness
of the philanthropist, and the expression is one of benevolence and
tenderness. It is the work of the late John Thomas, a sculptor of some
eminence, who unfortunately died before he could put the finishing
touches to this memorial. Mr. Thomas was also the sculptor of the
statue of Thomas Attwood “the father of Political Unions,” situated
at the top of Stephenson Place. Thomas Attwood stands in the act of
addressing a public meeting, the right hand outstretched, whilst his
left grasps a scroll bearing the word “Reform.” In the Art Gallery is a
fine bronze group of Boadicea and her daughters, also the work of Mr.
John Thomas.
In front of the Council House stands the statue of Dr. Joseph
Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen, who was driven from the town
by a Birmingham mob, and whose property was destroyed in the riots
of 1791. The statue, a very pleasing one, is the work of Mr. F. J.
Williamson, of Esher, who is also the sculptor of the adjacent statue
of Mr. J. Skirrow Wright, and by the same hand is a striking bust of
Mr. Sam: Timmins, F.S.A., which stands in the Reference Library, and an
equally admirable bust of the late Dr. Heslop, now in the Mason Science
College. This artist also executed the latest addition to Birmingham
Sculpture, the statue of Sir Josiah Mason, and was also entrusted with
the statue of the late George Dawson, opposite the Art Gallery, which
stands under a highly ornate canopy, designed by the late John Henry
Chamberlain. This statue, which is supposed to be an excellent likeness
of Mr. Dawson, was executed on account of the dissatisfaction caused
by the first figure, the work of Mr. Woolner, R.A. The effigy by the
latter sculptor is still most unfortunately permitted to remain in the
vestibule of the Free Library.
At the back of the Town Hall, stands a Memorial Fountain, erected
to commemorate the municipal services of the Right Hon. Joseph
Chamberlain, M.P. In the south side is a medallion portrait of Mr.
Chamberlain, by Mr. Thomas Woolner, R.A. The memorial, which is
architecturally treated and richly decorated with Venetian mosaics, was
designed by the late John Henry Chamberlain.
In Ratcliff Place stands undoubtedly the finest statue in the town,
that of James Watt, by Alexander Munro. The calm dignity of the figure,
the graceful pose of the same, the grand thoughtful face, and the
very remarkable likeness of the great engineer, render it a work of
the highest excellence. The original model of the head is in the Art
Gallery.
The Art Gallery contains in addition to those already mentioned as
located therein, the two original plaster models of Foley’s great
statues of Burke and Goldsmith; an interesting copy of the Venus di
Medici by Raphael Monti, and some very admirable specimens of early
Italian and renaissance sculpture. In the Vestibule stands a very
dignified and impressive bronze statue of Buddha of Indian make, and
of the greatest antiquity; and also a very remarkable piece of Hindoo
sculpture in black marble.
In St. John’s, Deritend, is a memorial bust of John Rogers, who edited
the first English Bible, and was the first martyr of the reign of Queen
Mary.
The Parish Church of Handsworth, some little distance from Birmingham,
contains one of Sir Francis Chantrey’s most remarkable and beautiful
works, the statue of James Watt; and by the same sculptor is a fine
monument erected to the memory of William Murdock. Here is also the
excellent bust of Matthew Boulton, by John Flaxman.
=Music.=--[By W. BAYLEY MARSHALL.]--The most casual observer cannot
fail to notice the rapid strides which Birmingham has taken in recent
years in the cultivation of Music. We have now an orchestra of nearly
one hundred performers composed of citizens of the town, numerous
choral societies both public and private, well-qualified professors in
all the branches of musical study, and an excellent musical club. These
combined agencies are rapidly removing the stigma which was formerly
so truthfully applied--that Birmingham was like a boa-constrictor,
making a huge meal of music once every three years, and doing little
but sleep between times. In no branch of music is this progress more
manifest than in the services of the church. Some sixteen years ago,
it was quite the exception to hear even the psalms chanted; now
choral services and well-rendered anthems may be heard in most of the
churches. The limits of this article will only allow a brief reference
to the principal societies and agencies engaged in the furtherance of
music in Birmingham.
TRIENNIAL FESTIVALS.--The Birmingham Triennial Festivals are now
universally acknowledged to be the most important Music meetings in
the Kingdom. The first Festival was held in 1768. In 1799 the scale
of the celebration was enlarged, and since then, with one exception,
they have been held triennially. The management is in the hands of a
small committee, appointed by the Governors of the General Hospital,
and the whole of the proceeds go to the funds of that Institution;
this has amounted to upwards of £120,000 since the foundation of the
Festivals. During the period of more than a century over which the
Festivals have now extended, they have attained European celebrity, and
have been distinguished by the production of a large number of original
works of the highest rank, among which may be mentioned: Mendelssohn’s
Lob-gesang (1840), and Elijah which was specially written for the 1846
Festival; Costa’s Eli (1855), and Naaman (1864); Bennett’s Woman of
Samaria (1867); Sullivan’s Kenilworth (1864), and Light of the World
(1873); Smart’s Bride of Dunkerron (1864); Barnett’s Ancient Mariner
(1867), and Paradise and the Peri (1870); Benedict’s St. Peter (1870);
Macfarren’s Resurrection (1876); Gade’s Zion (1876) and Psyche (1882);
Hiller’s Nala and Damayanti (1871); Randegger’s Fridolin (1873);
Cowen’s Corsair (1876) and Sleeping Beauty (1885); Gounod’s Redemption
(1882) and Mors et Vita (1885); Gaul’s Holy City (1882); Stanford’s
Three Holy Children (1885); Dvorak’s Spectre’s Bride (1885). The next
Festival will be held in 1888. Secretary, Mr. R. L. Impey, 26, Waterloo
Street.
FESTIVAL CHORAL SOCIETY.--The date of the foundation of the Birmingham
Festival Choral Society, the premier society of the town, is unknown;
in 1834, Mr. G. Hollins, the first Organist of the Town Hall was
appointed conductor; upon his death in 1841, Mr. Stimpson was appointed
to both offices, and the society was reorganised and established with
a permanent relief fund to be employed in case of sickness among its
members. In consequence of ill-health, Mr. Stimpson resigned the
conductorship in 1855, and Mr. Stockley (the present conductor),
was appointed; Mr. Stimpson continuing as organist of the town, the
duties of which office he still faithfully discharges. Since 1846, the
choruses of the Musical Festivals have been mainly composed of members
of the Festival Choral Society. The society gives annually a series of
high-class subscription concerts. The management is in the hands of a
Committee of fifteen members. Secretary, Mr. S. V. Cornish, 55, Varna
Road, Edgbaston.
AMATEUR HARMONIC ASSOCIATION.--The Birmingham Amateur Harmonic
Association was established in the year 1855, and, as its name implies,
is a purely Amateur Association, more for the study and practice of
choral music than for the public performance thereof.
The members have, however, done good service in placing before their
friends at open rehearsals and private concerts, from time to time,
a great number of works previously unknown to Birmingham, the most
important of which are--Handel’s oratorios, Jephtha (1871) and Joshua
(1872); Haydn’s First Mass (1859); Hummell’s Mass in E flat, which was
specially printed for the Association, and produced for the first time
in England on December 13, 1865; Gounod’s Messe Solennelle in G (1866),
Gallia (1873), and Messe du Sacré Cœur (1878); Schubert’s Mass in E
flat, first performance in England (1868), Song of Miriam (1869), and
Mass in F (1884); Benedict’s Cœur de Lion (1869); Gade’s Erl King’s
Daughter (1869); Sullivan’s On Shore and Sea (1872); Macfarren’s St.
John Baptist (1874); Smart’s Jacob (1875); Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia
(1875); Astorga’s Stabat Mater (1881); Bridge’s Boadicea (1881);
Hodson’s Golden Legend (1884); Lloyd’s Hero and Leander (1884); and
for the first time in England, Raff’s Die Tageszeiten (1885). Mr.
Alfred J. Sutton was appointed conductor at the commencement of the
Association’s existence, and continued in office until 1877, when, upon
his resignation, Mr. Stockley, the present conductor was appointed;
the members meet weekly for practice during the winter months. The
management is in the hands of a Committee of fifteen members. Honorary
Secretary, Mr. W. Bayley Marshall, 15, Augustus Road, Edgbaston.
AMATEUR MUSICAL UNION.--The Edgbaston Amateur Musical Union was
established in 1863, for the cultivation and encouragement of the
taste for orchestral music, and for the study and performance of
orchestral works by the great composers. This society has by hard work
and energetic management slowly but surely made its way; at the first
concert only fifteen amateur members assisted in the band, only two
of whom were among the wind department; the band now consists of 47
members, is practically complete as to wind, and even includes drums.
The library belonging to the society now contains a very fine and
complete collection of standard works besides a large number of pieces
of a lighter character.
Mr. C. J. Duchemin, who took a very active part in the formation of
the society, for nineteen years acted as honorary conductor; upon his
resignation in 1882, Mr. Alfred J. Sutton was appointed conductor.
Honorary Secretary, Mr. R. B. Bandinelli, Pinson Villa, Fulham Road,
Sparkhill.
PHILHARMONIC UNION.--The Birmingham Philharmonic Union was established
in 1870, upon a somewhat similar basis to the Festival Choral Society,
under the conductorship of Dr. C. Swinnerton Heap. The Society has
given annually since its formation a series of concerts, with somewhat
varying pecuniary success; and, like its companions, has introduced
many important novelties, among which are:--Bach’s St. Matthew Passion
and the Christmas Oratorio, and Max Bruch’s Odysseus. The Society meets
weekly for practice. The management is in the hands of a committee of
nine members. Secretary: Mr. C. H. Woodward, 71, Colmore Row.
MIDLAND MUSICAL SOCIETY.--The Midland Musical Society was established
in 1880 by the members of the advanced singing class in connection
with the Church of the Saviour. Unlike the other musical societies of
the town, the Midland Musical Society is free, the members not paying
any subscription; the free use of a rehearsal room being granted by
the Church Committee, and the conductor, Mr. H. M. Stevenson, being
an honorary officer. The Society possesses a lending library of over
1,000 volumes of music for the use of its members, and now consists of
a chorus of 240 and a well appointed amateur band. Several concerts
for charitable purposes have been given by the members, and a series
of ten concerts for the working classes, in the Town Hall, to which
the admission was twopence and sixpence for floor and galleries
respectively, at one of which Gounod’s Redemption was performed. It is
the intention of the committee to continue these concerts during the
ensuing season. Honorary Secretary: Mr. H. M. Parker, East View, Robert
Road, Handsworth.
SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION CHORAL SOCIETY.--The Birmingham Sunday School Union
Choral Society was established in 1880. As its name implies, this
society is connected with the Sunday School Union, and resulted from
the very successful annual festivals which were given by a chorus of
some 700, selected from the various schools in the union. The society
meets weekly for practice under the conductorship of Mr. Alfred R.
Gaul. Hon. Secretary: Mr. H. Parkes, 33, Brighton Road, Moseley.
MUSICAL SOCIETY.--The Birmingham Musical Society was established in
1842 upon the basis of a friendly sick and benefit society, and for
the social intercourse of music lovers and especially for the practice
of glee and madrigal singing. The members meet fortnightly, and so
successfully have the affairs of the society been managed that the
invested funds amount to upwards of £2,000. The excellent performances
of the Birmingham Glee Union, Messrs. Bickley, Woodall, Young, and
Stilliard, all of whom are members of the society, are well-known
throughout England. The onerous post of Musical director, which has
been filled by many musicians of note, is now ably occupied by Mr. W.
George Halliley.
MUSICAL ASSOCIATION.--The Birmingham Musical Association was founded
in 1879 with the object of providing a series of high-class concerts
at popular prices, establishing classes for musical instruction, vocal
and instrumental, and the provision of a large Musical Library. Upon
further consideration the establishment of classes and the formation
of a library were abandoned. The weekly cheap concerts on Saturday
nights have been continued with a few intermissions during successive
winters and have now reached a total of 159, to which the admission
is threepence and sixpence for the floor and galleries respectively.
A band and chorus have also been organised and have rendered material
assistance at the Saturday night concerts. Honorary Secretary, Mr. H.
Hendriks, 25, Cannon Street.
MESSRS. HARRISON’S CONCERTS.--This admirable series of subscription
concerts was established in 1870. Prior to this the present senior
partner, Mr. T. Harrison, gave high class miscellaneous concerts at
irregular intervals, commencing as far back as 3rd February, 1853, when
the late Mr. Weiss and Mr. Sims Reeves (who was even then spoken of
as the great English Tenor), took part in the programme. In 1870, Mr.
Harrison took his nephew Mr. Percy Harrison into partnership, and the
annual series of subscription concerts were inaugurated, the management
of which for enterprise and skill in securing all the leading artistes,
vocal and instrumental, of the musical world, has made them well-known
throughout the kingdom. Besides treating their subscribers to such
stars as Patti, Nilsson, Albani, Titjens, Sims Reeves, Lloyd, Santley,
Maas, Norman Neruda, Sophie Menter, Charles Hallé, Pachmann, Hans von
Bülow, Joachim, Wilhelmi, Piatti, Bottesini, &c.; lovers of orchestral
music have been provided for by the annual engagement of Mr. Charles
Hallé’s well-known band.
MR. STOCKLEY’S CONCERTS.--The Subscription Orchestral Concerts were
instituted in 1873 by Mr. Stockley, the conductor of the Festival
Choral Society. For the first few seasons these excellent concerts
met with but scanty support, and were carried on under serious
difficulties, and at a considerable loss; three concerts were given
each season, and the band consisted of about 50 members. Mr. Stockley,
however, steadily persevered with the good work, and met with
increasing support; in 1881, the band was augmented to its present
number of 80, of whom no less than 76 are _bona fide_ residents in the
district; in the following year the number of concerts were increased
to four each season; and the support now accorded is most encouraging,
the annual balance-sheet no longer showing a loss. The programmes
have always included a complete symphony at each concert, one or two
classical overtures and smaller orchestral pieces; two singers of
eminence have been engaged for each concert, and the vocal items as
far as possible arranged to correspond with the classical character
of the instrumental. Mr. Stockley must now be congratulated upon the
successful result of thirteen years’ hard work, under very discouraging
circumstances at first, to popularise good orchestral music.
CHAMBER CONCERTS.--Birmingham in the past has persistently refrained
from adequately supporting chamber concerts, even when the quartette
consisted of some of the greatest living instrumentalists. Dr. C.
Swinnerton Heap, with praiseworthy zeal, gives an annual series of
high class chamber concerts, for which the subscription list is much
smaller than the excellence of the concerts should command. It is to be
earnestly hoped that his labours will in the end be rewarded with the
success they so richly deserve.
THE CLEF CLUB.--The Clef Club was founded in 1881, to provide a central
resort for the study and practice of vocal and instrumental music,
combined with the general accommodation of a Club. Monthly Smoking
Concerts are held in the Club Rooms, the executants being selected from
among the members, and the programmes confined to strictly “chamber
music.” It may safely be said that since its formation the Clef Club
has done much to elevate the taste of its members, and promote the
study and appreciation of chamber music. The success which attended
the development of the Club was so great, that greatly enlarged
premises soon became necessary; and the promises of support being so
encouraging, it was determined to register the Club under the Companies
Act, and very greatly enlarge the original scheme. Sir Arthur Sullivan
kindly accepted the post of President of the Club, and showed warm
interest in the details of the new scheme. The lease of the present
club premises in Paradise Street, close to the Town Hall, having been
secured, and the extensive alterations completed, the club entered upon
its new life in July, 1885. In addition to the monthly concerts there
is an impromptu smoking concert every Friday night. Honorary Secretary,
Mr. F. E. Huxley, Clef Club, Paradise Street.
FLUTE SOCIETY.--The Birmingham Flute Society, probably the only flute
society in England, was established in 1856 to encourage and develop
the performance of classical flute music; the Society possesses a
very fine library, consisting of all the concertante duetts, trios,
and quartettes of Berbiguier, Fürstenau, Kuhlau, Kuffner, Kummer,
Gabrielsky, and Tulou. The members meet twice a month. Honorary
Secretary, Mr. Arthur H. Hughes, 40, Chapman Road, Smallheath.
MUSICAL INSTRUCTION.--There is no more important step in the
development of the study of music than a thorough system of elementary
education; the Birmingham School Board, fully recognising this, in 1876
made provision for the systematic teaching of music in all the schools
under their control. Mr. W. Dobson was appointed superintendent of
musical instruction, and has formulated a very thorough system; the
tonic sol-fa method is adopted and infants, if only seven years of age,
are taught to sing from note correctly. One hour per week is allotted
to this subject in two half-hour lessons; in addition to this two or
more classes are occasionally grouped in divisions for united rehearsal
and musical drill. In addition to instruction in singing, violin and
brass band classes were commenced last winter, also on the tonic sol-fa
method, and have been very successful. Many thousand children have thus
been taught, by their voices being trained in connection with the ear
and understanding, to sing correctly, and have been musically educated
in such a way as to enable them in after years to listen intelligently
and enjoy good music.
SCHOOL OF MUSIC.--The School of Music in its present form at the
Birmingham and Midland Institute was commenced in 1885. Classes were
established in the following branches--theory of music, elementary and
advanced part singing and solo singing, (a separate class for each
voice, soprano, contralto, tenor and bass). The pianoforte, violin
(elementary, intermediate and advanced), clarionet, flute, violoncello,
and brass instruments generally. During the first term there were
1,233 students in the school, the fees range from one penny per lesson
to half-a-guinea for a term of 12 to 15 lessons. During the current
season the following additional classes have been sanctioned by the
Council--organ, bassoon, oboe, double bass, and viola; and it is
probable that classes will be formed for ensemble orchestral playing
and part singing.