Henry Gadsby (1842-1907)

[albion]

Post moved to Composer Reference board.

[albion]

Apparently there are some manuscripts at the BL, but the reference

Music manuscripts 1862-88
Music Misc.. Deposit 2004 /23

does not lead to a description.

Just found out that they were acquired by the BL at a 2004 Bonhams auction - here is the catalogue entry:

MUSIC - GADSBY (HENRY) Archive of autograph musical manuscripts, many incorporating revisions and corrections, by Henry Gadsby, comprising his "Symphony No 2 in A major...op: 4...Written in Feb: 1867. Rescored Sep: 1873", his "Festal Symphony" of 1887-88 ("First performed at the Crystal Palace Saturday Concert Novr 3rd 1888"), 'Harold' ("Festal March for Full Orchestra (with Organ Accomp: ad lib"), an "Original Composition for the American Organ", and piano duet arrangements of 'Andromeda' ("written expressly for the Crystal Palace Saturday Concert"), 'The Forest of Arden', and 'The Hunt is Up'; together with a presentation baton to Gadsby from the lady members of the CCA An rare example to two pre-Elgarian English symphonies. Henry Gadsby (1842-1907) was a contemporary of Stainer's at St Paul's choir school and began his musical career as organist at St Anne's, Blackfriars. He was one of the first musical professors at the Guildhall School of Music, as well as Professor of Harmony and of the Piano at Queen's College. Much of his work, including 'Andromeda', was commissioned by August Manns for the Crystal Palace.

so at least two symphonies and a Festal March survive ....

[Mark Thomas]

Tantalising ... but see my comment on Wingham.

[albion]

It's fascinating to learn of someone who one's never heard of before and who had such a, on the face of it, tempting catalogue but the key issue is always: how good is the music?

At the moment we cannot make any assessment of many of these forgotten composers, but information is the first step.

[Alan Howe]

I'm with Mark - again!

[albion]

I'm with Mark - again!

Of course, nobody (including myself) is expecting masterpieces to emerge if and when scores are found and examined, but then this surely is the UC rather than the UM forum - a place for disseminating information, however arcane and perhaps of interest to others (possibly numbered on the fingers of one hand)!

[eschiss1]

Hrm. http://lccn.loc.gov/unk84191774 says "Publisher: Novello" but also says "Manuscript". ... maybe just noting that the -work- was published by Novello but that the holding is a manuscript copy? Hopeful maybe. (Lord of the Isles is the work in question.)

[albion]

Lord of the Isles was advertised by Novello (in their customary back-of-every-octavo catalogue) as a paperback, costing 4/0: in the context of the LOC catalogue entry that manuscript reference looks a bit odd - most unlikely that it is anything other than an error, but you never know...

[Alan Howe]

I do not denigrate research - I have done plenty of it myself, e.g. into Percy Sherwood in 2005-6. So,  dig away by all means, but bear in mind that most archaeology finds small pieces of pot rather than long-lost treasures.

[albion]

dig away by all means, but bear in mind that most archaeology finds small pieces of pot rather than long-lost treasures.

Oh, rest assured that I always bear it in mind - but small pieces of pot often tell how people lived in former times and what their tastes were. If Victorian concert-goers, orchestras and conductors responded with approval, if not rabid enthusiasm, to native works written in a certain idiom, that might be considered interest enough for some (from a socio-musical viewpoint).

[Alan Howe]

Small pieces of pot don't make a great display for anyone except experts, however. It's buried treasure - or at least pieces thereof - that make a great exhibit. Anyway, lest I push the analogy too far, I'll leave it at that...

[eschiss1]

I am going to have to assume that on your side of the pond "pot" is not also slang for marijuana, or the last few posts would not have been written with straight faces. !

[Alan Howe]

It has the same double meaning over here - but not in the context of archaeology!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[albion]

Small pieces of pot don't make a great display for anyone except experts, however. It's buried treasure - or at least pieces thereof - that make a great exhibit. Anyway, lest I push the analogy too far, I'll leave it at that...

No doubt a pertinent analogy, but to some members of the forum, perhaps (including myself), the issue of whether an unsung work is a 'masterpiece' or not is simply not that important: after all, this is not 'Unsung Masterpieces'.

As stated before, this is quite obviously not a plea to record everything extant by Henry Gadsby and Thomas Wingam, or Frederic Cowen, or anybody for that matter - it is simply an attempt to bring these names into the public arena and hopefully, lead to further investigation.

I'm sorry, but at present there seems to be a great deal of negative reaction to such attempts, unless it relates to certain composers - which is not the impression I got when I joined the forum.

[Arbuckle]

Good for you Albion, common sense! I don't expect the "Sung" composers to have only composed masterpieces, and when they have produced something less than spectacular, I don't give up on them. I love learning about every composer, sung or unsung, just because the sounds they have produced have the potential to reach me at a place my own soul and creativity can't go (or I would be a composer myself). I feel that to honor those who could (and can) write music, I need to be open to what they had/have to say, not expecting every note to thrill me, perhaps, but to enjoy the thrill of discovery nonetheless.  I never imagined I would get to hear any of the music of the thousands of forgotten composers I have read about (mostly looking for piano concertos!), and yet right here on this very forum I have heard probably more than a hundred pieces by those same until now "forgotten" people. I am happy when I get to hear unheard music, and then I can decide for myself whether it is "my" kind of masterpiece or not. I put things up here, not because I think they are all masterpieces, but because I think some of you may have the same curiousity I have, and if I can pay back at least a little for what I have gained here, then to the good.  And I think at one time there was an entry in Baker's, perhaps, that described Anton Bruckner's symphonies as nothing more than extended orchestrated organ pieces. I think the guy who wrote that was wrong, but he had the right to his opinion as does any of us, but if someone had decided based on that not to bother with Bruckner, then we'd have missed a lot of glorious sounds. So, please, don't stop researching, and finding names, those you have brought up recently are very interesting. And to the rest of you musicological archeologists, who knows but what some of those "shards" you find are tiny pieces of not a pot, but a Holy Grail? And I for one will enjoy hearing whatever you dig up, somebody could someday play it for us, and then I could learn for myself whether it was worth it or not. I can't do much, but I can listen and (greatly)appreciate what the rest of you bring. Thanks.