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John Fawcett of Bolton: the Changing Face of Psalmody

Sally Drage

[a paper given at the second Music in Nineteenth-Century Britain conference, held at Durham University in 1999. Published Nineteenth-Century British Music Studies, 2, ed. J. Dibble and B. Zon (Ashgate, 2001) pp.59-69.] - Reproduced with permission.

Some research subjects have clear parameters and are easy to define, whereas others are frankly untidy, with numerous tangents and exceptions. The study of psalmody definitely belongs to the latter category. The main problem is that it is a truly parochial subject: small-scale church music, mostly consisting of anthems, and psalm and hymn tunes, and usually written by amateurs for amateurs to perform, has never had a very high profile, so primary sources may be fragmentary and secondary ones unreliable. Many of its most important developments occurred in the provinces and both the type of music and its performance practice could differ markedly, not only between denominations, but also between counties and even adjacent villages. One solution is to focus on a particular area over a short period of time; another is to concentrate on a single composer, in this case, John Fawcett. His life and music illuminate changes in psalmody at the beginning of the 19th century. In particular, his development from self-taught amateur to respected professional is matched by a corresponding change in his musical style.

By the late 1700s psalmody in provincial parish churches was thriving, and the old style of slow, unaccompanied singing of metrical psalms, lined out by the parish clerk, was virtually obsolete. In larger towns, worship was likely to have been enhanced by the acquisition of an organ and a choir of charity children, and in less affluent, more rural areas, the music was often led by a society of singers, accompanied by a band of wind and/or string instruments, and trained by an itinerant psalmody teacher, who compiled, composed and sold a large repertoire of psalm tunes and anthems - sometimes termed 'west gallery' music, because of where it was sung. The rapid growth of nonconformism, especially in the newly-industrialised towns of the north-west, produced equally important musical developments. Methodists, in particular, regarded full congregational involvement as a vital element of worship, and realised the emotional force of linking meaningful texts to easily memorable tunes, whether existing popular secular melodies, or new ones written in a similar style. One composer, James Leach of Rochdale, may be regarded as the father of northern, nonconformist psalmody. Leach was a hand-loom weaver who taught himself music in his spare time and eventually became a full-time choral director, before meeting an untimely end in a stagecoach accident at the age of thirty-six, in 1798. He published two sets of psalm and hymn tunes,(1) 'for the use of churches, chapels and Sunday schools', and a large volume of set3pieces,(2) anthems and hymns (3) appeared posthumously. Leach's musical worth is questionable, as many of his pieces are harmonically uninteresting and he had problems sustaining ideas, but he was one of the first composers to write extended set pieces with instrumental accompaniment, which became part of the standard repertoire of anniversary services celebrating the foundation of chapels and Sunday schools. His general style of florid, simply harmonised tunes was imitated more successfully by later composers, especially John Fawcett.

Fawcett's background, like Leach's, is typical of other nonconformist composers of this period. They were often craftsmen, self-educated, and sturdily independent in their religious and political beliefs. Fawcett was born on December 8th, 1789 at Wennington, a small village north-east of Lancaster.(4) His family was staunch Wesleyan Methodist, and, as might have been expected, he followed in his father's footsteps and became an apprentice shoemaker. By then, they had moved to Kendal, and here, as his obituary describes, he developed an early love of music, listening to organ voluntaries at the parish church, and aged nine, buying himself an old fife, and attempting vainly to play it. He then joined a singing class, and having learnt to read music by copying out parts for all the singers, he mastered the flute and started composing. Apart from hymn tunes, one of his first pieces was a political song, 'New brooms sweep clean', written at the time of a general election, probably that of 1783, when he would have been aged thirteen.

At seventeen years of age Fawcett was appointed choirmaster at St George's, Kendal, on a salary of £5 a year. St George's was a chapel of the main parish church, Holy Trinity. Fawcett's choir was regarded as one of the best in the area and 'executed [anthems] in a very creditable manner'. Although there may well have been some instrumental accompaniment in the chapel, there was no organ, and so Fawcett taught himself to play hymns in two parts, with the addition of occasional chords, on an organ owned by a local gentleman. He also joined the volunteer corps, which was formed in case of an invasion by Napoleon, and 'acquired a knowledge of a few instruments, with the view to get into the band'. When the threat of invasion receded and the volunteers disbanded, a local militia was formed instead, and Fawcett joined as a second clarinet player. He was quickly appointed bandmaster, and led with an E-flat clarinet, composing quick steps, slow marches, waltzes and troops 'to the satisfaction of his friends'. None of Fawcett's military band music seems to have survived, but the hope remains that a collection of band parts will be discovered, preferably of both secular and sacred pieces, as it seems likely that there were links between military and psalmody bands.

We do not know when Fawcett's earliest psalmody books were published, as none of them are dated. According to his obituary, his first book appeared a short time after his majority, which suggests a date of either extremely late in 1810, or more likely, early in 1811. A New Set of Sacred Music (London: For the author by James Peck) is a substantial work of sixty-four strophic tunes and a short set piece. It is multi-purpose and so was more saleable: Fawcett may have been working in an Anglican chapel, but, as the title page states, it contains hymns and psalm tunes to be 'sung by different denominations of Christians'. However, it is certainly nonconformist in style, and in particular, it imitates Leach. The part-writing is usually quite elaborate, including a little ornamentation, plenty of passing notes and a characteristic four-note melodic turn, which was used by many other nonconformist composers. There are few dynamic markings except where a piano passage in thirds, usually sung by trebles alone to the penultimate line of text, is followed by a homophonic forte ending for all voices, and although there is some text repetition, there is no overlap, as in the popular fuguing tunes of the mid-eighteenth century, in which the words could become totally obscured. The bass is figured, but the indication 'Inst' rather than 'Org', when voices are silent, suggests possible alternative accompaniment, such as bassoon or cello [see 'Lindale'].

Lindale
Play MIDI file.

The music of this collection may be straightforward, but voice allocation and the layout of parts are problematic, and illustrate the changing performance idiom of psalmody, which had a profound effect on its sonority. In the eighteenth century, rural composers used a normal SATB layout but retained the Renaissance practice of placing the air in the tenor part. The psalm or hymn tune would still have been clearly heard as it would have been doubled at the octave by women and boys, perhaps within the choir, but certainly within the congregation, and possibly also by treble instruments. However, by the end of the century, it was more common for the air to be placed conventionally in the treble, although it was usually still printed just above the bass for the convenience of keyboard players, with the tenor on the top line in a TASB layout. Some examples also exist with the alto instead of the tenor placed at the top in an ATSB layout, so, not surprisingly, there was some confusion unless the air and part allocations were clearly marked, especially as nonconformist composers often wrote equally melodious soprano and tenor parts creating duet passages in thirds and sixths, and either part might be considered to be the air [example.1]. A further problem was that alto and tenor parts were commonly printed in the treble clef, an octave higher than sung. Incorrect performances might include a TASB or ATSB layout sung as SATB, with the top line as the air, and perhaps with the alto sung an octave too high, or with the tenor line treated as the air but doubled at the octave [see table 1].

Table 1. Part allocation

    post - 1800 (correct)
    Tenor
    Alto
    Soprano (air)
    Bass
    or
    possibly
    Tenor
    Soprano (air)
    Soprano (air)
    Bass

    post - 1800 (incorrect)
    Tenor (sung as soprano air)
    Alto (possibly sung 8ve higher)
    Soprano (sung as tenor)
    Bass

    or

    or Tenor (sung as soprano)
    Alto (possibly sung 8ve higher)
    Soprano (sung as tenor air - doubled 8ve higher)
    Bass

    Alto (sung as treble air)
    Tenor (sung as alto)
    Soprano (sung as tenor)
    Bass
    or Alto (sung as treble)
    Tenor (sung as alto)
    Soprano (sung as tenor air - doubled 8ve higher)
    Bass

Fawcett's first book poses a similar puzzle. Although he does indicate the part layout for the first hymn, 'TATB' is unhelpful to singers, and could mean SATB, or TASB, or even two soprano or two tenor parts. It is only in a few later pieces, such as 'Lindale' [fig.1], that the solution emerges when short duet sections between the first and third lines are marked '2nd Treble' for the upper part and for the lower, '1st Treble', followed by 'Tenor' when all four parts resume. This definitely implies that sopranos should sing the top line and that the line next to the bass, which is, therefore, the air, should be sung by tenors, presumably with soprano doubling. If so, Fawcett's first book, which is his only work in this layout, may well be the last psalmody collection to be published in a tenor-led format. However, when a later edition appeared in about 1837,(5) the air, still placed above the bass, was clearly allocated to the 'Trebles', and certainly, by 1830, when Fawcett's Vocal Instructor, or Young Musician's Companion (London: Clementi and Co.; Goulding, d'Almaine, and Co.), was published, his opinion on correct part allocation was very different:

    As the subject has been a matter of dispute among the lower class of musicians, perhaps a few observations may be useful... It is common in some places to call the Tenor the Air or Tune, and the Treble, a sort of second or accompanying part; this is very incorrect...

Fawcett's obituary describes how he used two books to teach himself composition. The first was Christopher Simpson's A Compendium of Practical Music, first published in 1665 as The Principles of Practical Music delivered in a Compendious, Easie and New Method, which, together with John Playford's A Brief Introduction to the Skill of Music, was the main composition tutor for over a hundred years. The ninth and final edition of Simpson was published as late as 1775, although, as harmonic style had changed, it is debatable whether it would have been of much help to a beginner, and it is described, slightly sarcastically, as a 'blind book for a young composer'. Fawcett's second self-help book, Peck's Advice to Young Beginners, was apparently much more useful. This would seem to be an earlier edition of Advice to a young Composer, or a short Essay on Vocal Harmony, new edition, price 2s and 6d, as advertised in an 1837 catalogue of the London firm, James Peck,(6) but its usefulness cannot be judged conclusively as neither edition now seems to be extant. James Peck was one of the most prolific psalmody publishers in the early years of the 19th century. He published Fawcett's first three books of psalm and hymn tunes, and advertised a comprehensive service for composers at the end of the same catalogue, 'music arranged, revised, engraved, printed and published for authors'.

In about 1814, just before publishing his second set of hymn tunes, Fawcett acquired a copy of the Salisbury composer, Joseph Corfe's Thorough Bass Simplified (1805), using it to improve earlier compositions. Many years later, in the preface to his Vocal Instructor (1830) he still held Corfe in high regard, describing him as an 'excellent writer', presumably because Corfe's method of teaching harmony from the bass rather than linearly, as in Simpson and Playford, was both more understandable and applicable to an aspiring early nineteenth-century composer.

Corfe's instructions were certainly effective. Fawcett's A Second Sett of Psalm and Hymn Tunes (London, For the author by James Peck [1814]), is harmonically secure: the air is firmly in the treble with every part clearly marked, and although the bass is still figured, chords in small notes for the right hand are also printed. It is especially notable for five pieces, which include parts for two horns with a separate figured organ bass, and one extended piece, which also includes parts for two violins or flutes. The orchestration is similar to Leach's but it is far more musically adept. Also, about 1814, Fawcett wrote an oratorio, The Promised Land, which soon obtained 'a widespread reputation', and which was included in a concert he organised - the first 'ever performed in Kendal by native talent'. Unfortunately, it is impossible to judge whether the reputation of The Promised Land was justified, as, although it was published by James Peck,(7) it is now missing.

Apart from possible links with militia bands, another poorly documented aspect of psalmody is the involvement of local singers in provincial music festivals. Programmes with details of the soloists do exist, but the chorus is usually unnamed. Brian Pritchard has identified many festivals promoted by the Ashley family,(8) and commented that the chorus was frequently made up of singers from the Ancient Concerts, the Chapel Royal, and local cathedral choirs, but that, more unusually, there are references to the 'Lancashire chorus singers' at festivals in York and Newcastle. Also, in the festival programmes listed in the RMA Research Chronicle by Pritchard and Douglas Reid,(9) we find that the 'celebrated women chorus singers from Lancashire' sang at Birmingham and Derby, and that chapel singers from Hey, Shaw and Oldham sang at Liverpool and Manchester. John Fawcett was involved in local festivals, and took part in three, which do not seem to have been previously documented. His obituary describes how he and nine other singers were engaged by Charles Ashley to sing the chorus parts at a three-day festival at Kendal in 1815, and subsequently at Whitehaven, also in 1815, and at Preston in 1816. The programme at Kendal and Whitehaven consisted of 'Messiah, part of Creation, Mount of Olives and Israel in Egypt, &c.' and the principal soloists were Mrs Salmon and Mr Braham.

When Fawcett was twenty-eight he took another step towards becoming a full-time professional musician. He moved to Farnworth, just south of Bolton, to lead the singing and train the choir and band at the Wesleyan Sunday school at a salary of £20 a year, on a seven-year contract. Meanwhile, he prospered as a shoemaker, acquired a number of employees, and built a house. He also composed a third book of psalmody,(10) and was appointed conductor of a reed band at Edgefold Colliery, Worsley, which was owned by the Bridgewater Trustees.(11) It is possible that further research will reveal that psalmody bands had industrial as well as military connections.

In 1825 Fawcett moved to the centre of Bolton, where he continued to run a shoe shop, but gave up shoemaking, so that he would have more time for composing and teaching.(12) By 1836 he was listed in a Bolton directory as a 'professor of music',(13) and for 30 years taught nearly everything: 'piano, organ, harmonium, flute, violin, cello, double bass, singing, composition, etc.'. He was particularly well known as a good double bass player, and took part in local concerts for many years,(14) including presumably those of the Bolton Philharmonic Society, to whom he dedicated an anthem, 'Now is Christ risen from the dead',(15) which was performed at their concert of 'Sacred and Miscellaneous Music' on February 21st, 1839,(16) He also trained local church choirs, most probably using the old method of 4-note 'Lancashire' sol-fa, which was used by itinerant psalmody teachers in the 18th century. He would have learnt about this method in Simpson's A Compendium of Practical Music and wrote a treatise of his own on it in 1854.(17)

According to his obituary, Fawcett led the choirs at the chapels in Bridge Street and Mawdsley Street. He must have taken up the appointment at Bridge Street Methodist Chapel either late in 1835 or very early the next year, as he wrote to the chapel trustees in January 1836:

    Gentlemen,
    You will doubtless expect me to look after the Books and Instruments belonging to Brook Street Chapel, and see that all are kept in proper order, but as I have not as yet been authorised to get anything done that is or might be wanting I thought it best for some plan to be laid down by you for me to act upon, perhaps it would if you think best for me to get the repairs done, or Strings, &c., which are or might be wanting, and give a quarterly account. There is one violoncello now in a state not likely for use, and if it remains unrepaired it will soon be in pieces. There is also a string wanting to one of the violoncellos.

    I have now a favour to beg respecting the Hymn-Books, there are many of them incorrect, which makes confusion among the Singers. I shall be greatly obliged, if you will take away those and replace them with correct ones.
    I remain, your obedient st.,
    John Fawcett

    N.B. As a Funeral Sermon will be preached on Sunday night next I thought you perhaps might wish the old Funeral Ode ('Vital Spark') sung, as I had the Singers practising it at my house Monday night after preaching. I practised them with the above piece supposing it might be desired. I think should it be desired we can go thro' it desantly; I do not state this thro' any particular desire of my own, only I always think it best to have proper notice when anything particular is wanted.(18)

This letter is apparently no longer extant but it seems to be genuine, and it is interesting that the chapel evidently owned at least two cellos, although whether these were used regularly in worship or only on special occasions is unclear. James Lightwood states that Fawcett was organist at Bridge Street, but other sources describe him as lead singer or choirmaster, and a 1901 newspaper article on Bolton's music implies that an organ was not installed until Richard Leigh took over the position of choirmaster.(19) Fawcett was obviously concerned that the music should be performed correctly and his final comment may indicate that he had previously been expected to provide 'desant' performances without prior warning and so without adequate rehearsal time.

Once in Bolton, Fawcett composed yet more psalmody, so that by the time he was forty-one he could proudly advertise that he was the author of fifteen books of sacred music,(20) and his obituary reckoned that the final total was in excess of 2,000 pieces. Robert Wylie, writing in 1924,(21) stated that Fawcett, together with the publisher, J.Hart, who specialised in psalmody, did a great deal to lower the price of printed music, presumably because of the popularity of Fawcett's music in Hart's editions, and that it was 'considered a great event when they issued ... the Messiah for half a guinea'.

Although Fawcett's music was extremely popular during his lifetime, fashion changes, and some of his compositions can no longer be traced. As already noted, his oratorio, The Promised Land, is now lost, as are a Harmonium Tutor, a Vocalist's Manual (which could be The Vocal Instructor), and Miriam's Timbrel listed in a Bolton bibliography compiled in 1913, the splendidly titled Bibliographia Boltoniensis.(22) Also, Fawcett composed seven sets of psalm and hymn tunes but numbers 4, 5 and 6 are missing, and another collection, The Voice of Harmony, containing seventy-four anthems and set pieces, was published in three volumes, or in fifty-nine parts, but apart from the first volume of twenty-six pieces, only another twenty-one are known to have survived, and ten of these are only in tonic sol-fa.

It seems that, although much more music was published in Britain during the nineteenth century, much more has also been lost as it has been regarded as of little importance. Liverpool Central Library, for instance, has disposed of much of its music stock, including rare local material. There is an urgent need for a British Union Catalogue of post-1800 music, before more irreplaceable publications disappear. Obviously, eighteenth-century books have also disappeared, but there are still many in existence, including a remarkable number of psalmody collections, possibly because the paper is relatively tough, or possibly because even by the nineteenth century they may have seemed rather quaint, and so were worth preserving as curiosities, even if their musical worth was questionable.

Fortunately, many of Fawcett's publications are still extant, including an oratorio, Paradise, two temperance song books, a Chanters Guide and a Juvenile Pianist's Companion. His works take up nearly five columns in the British Library catalogue, although it seems that three piano pieces, and four 'newly fingered' editions of works by Dussek, Gildon and Palermo, are wrongly attributed, especially as the earliest, an Etude de Salon published in 1848 when John Fawcett was 58, is described as Opus 1. These pieces are much more likely to be by one of his sons, also called John, who studied at the Royal Academy and gained a Bachelor of Music at Oxford, before catching a severe chill at the opening of the Art Treasures Exhibition in Manchester in 1857. He died a few days later, aged thirty-three.

Fawcett is perhaps the most prolific psalmody composer of the early nineteenth century, though two nonconformist contemporaries, Thomas Clark, a shoemaker from Canterbury, and Thomas Jarman, a tailor from Clipstone in Northamptonshire, wrote nearly as many pieces. He is also one of the few to change his compositions to fit in with new ideas. His first three sets of psalm and hymn tunes were written in the traditional florid nonconformist style, but later hymns gradually became less elaborate, and by the time he published The Universal Chorister at the end of his life in 1860 he was firmly ensconced in the mainstream Victorian fashion of sober syllabic tunes. In the preface, an essay on Congregational Psalmody, he rejects his earlier compositions, condemning:

    those ballad-like compositions which though correct both in the accentuation and harmony, yet the repetitions of the words and the lightness of its style render it unfit for congregational psalmody and therefore unbecoming in a place of worship.

Another enlightening book by Fawcett is The Vocal Instructor (1830), in which he gives basic theory instruction and includes a chapter on how to sing gracefully. Most of his comments are eminently sensible: do not sing too loudly, or through your nose; do not alter the pronunciation; sing smoothly, and do not take unnecessary breaths; practise trills carefully; and do not use any ornamentation unless you know exactly where it should be employed. Such rules also appear in eighteenth-century psalmody prefaces, but two others are new and seem to be connected more closely with secular practice. He suggests altering one's expression to fit the sentiment of a hymn, looking animated and cheerful when singing about praise and thanksgiving, and showing humility when singing about lamentation and sorrow, adding a perhaps contradictory warning, 'to endeavour to sing without affectation'. Modern congregations might be slightly puzzled by such facial antics, and would definitely be surprised if singers obeyed another of Fawcett's rules describing glissando. This is particularly interesting, as it seems to refer to a true portamento, widespread in nineteenth-century instrumental music, not just to the anticipation of a note, or to the filling in of intervals with other steps of the scale. Fawcett obviously expected this glissando to be used in religious music as he illustrated it with an extract from a sacred work - written by him.(23) As he explains:

    In plaintive singing, there are tones produced which belong neither to the Diatonic, the Chromatic, nor the Enharmonic species; these expressive tones, having no fixed name, I will venture to call the Languid Glide, which is performed in the same manner as when you are playing on the Violin or Violoncello, &c. instead of ascending Diatonically, Chromatically, or Enharmonically, you glide your finger up or down the string, swelling and diminishing the tone as the subject requires. Plaintive singing also frequently requires on certain sorrowful subjects, the faltering of the tongue, as if overwhelmed by grief. I will give you one example in the plaintive style, in which the Languid Glide may be introduced; and that you may perceive the precise places where to introduce it, I will draw a line between the notes, leaving the swell and diminish to be learnt by your observation.

Although references to this type of glissando, which is one of the most important aspects of nineteenth-century style, occur in other treatises of the period, such as Domenico Corri's The Singer's Preceptor of 1810, it is not usually employed intentionally in the performance of religious music today.

A final quotation from Fawcett's Vocal Instructor, illustrates that although he changed his compositions to fit in with the accepted style of the day, he still faced prejudice as a provincial composer:

    Never reject a good composition, on the ground of its not having a great author's name attached to it.* If the composition be really good receive it; but if it be false, or dry and tasteless, reject it, whoever be the composer.

    *A few years ago a musical gentleman in London informed me that a certain piece of music, composed by Mr Clark, was laid before, perhaps, the best organist in London. The organist, on examining the composition, and seeing the name Clark atteched to it, began to play it, observing it was an excellent composition, and spoke highly of the abilities of Dr Clark, as a composer; but when he was informed that it was the composition of Clark, the shoemaker, of Canterbury, the bigoted organist immediately laid it down, as unworthy of being played through.(24)

It is easy to dismiss the work of a local composer, such as Fawcett, as unimportant, as many of his pieces are short and quite simple. Despite being self-taught, he was a very competent musician, and although William Millington's comment that 'few men have done more for the cultivation of music',(25) may seem rather excessive, Fawcett does deserve a small but special place in the history of English music, particularly for the quality of his orchestral anthems. In particular, his Voice of Harmony contains fine examples of fully-scored extended pieces, which, although they may occasionally imitate Handel, nevertheless still merit performance today.

Fawcett died on October 26th, 1867, and was given a resplendent funeral with a full choral service. His own anthem, 'Spirit leave thine house of clay', and Tallis's responses were sung at his grave. The pious sentiment at the end of a memorial acrostic:

      Esteemed shall be his name through future years;
      Thousands, his gently flowing strains shall move,
      To gain the bliss of raptured choirs above.

has not been fulfilled, but he is not totally forgotten. His music was still being sung by the Baptists at Huncoat on Whit-Monday in the 1920s;(26) an anthem, 'I was glad when they said unto me', from The Voice of Harmony was performed at Foolow Methodist Chapel in the Peak District for their anniversary in 1959;(27) one tune, 'Melling', remains in the Methodist Hymns and Psalms (1983) and two anthems are included on the CD, 'Vital Spark of Heav'nly Flame - Music of Death and Resurrection from English Parish Churches and Chapels 1760-1840'.(28)

References: 1) J. Leach, A New Sett of Hymns and Psalm Tunes ... (London: For the author , sold by Preston & Son, [and] R.Massey, Manchester [1789]). J. Leach, A Second Sett of Hymns and Psalm Tunes ... (London: For the author , sold by Preston & Son, [and] R.Massey, Manchester [1789-98]) back
2) A set piece is through-composed, but, unlike an anthem, uses a metrical text back
3) J. Leach, A Collection of Hymn Tunes and Anthems ... (London: T.Preston [1798-]) back
4) Unless otherwise stated, all biographical information is from 'Death of Mr John Fawcett', Bolton Chronicle (2nd Nov. 1867) back
5) The volume is again undated, but includes a full-page advertisement of James Peck's publications, dated 1837 back
6) [see note 5] included in J.Fawcett, A New Set of Sacred Music 2nd edn (London: J.Peck [c.1837]) back
7) Advertised on the title page of Fawcett's A New Set of Sacred Music 2nd edn [c.1837] back
8) B. Pritchard, 'The Provincial Festivals of the Ashley Family', Galpin Society Journal XXII, March (1969), pp.58-77 back
9) B. Pritchard, 'Some Festival Programmes of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries 3. Liverpool and Manchester' RMA Research Chronicle VII (1969) pp.1-27. B. Pritchard and D.J. Reid, 'Some Festival Programmes of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries 4. Birmingham, Derby, Newcastle upon Tyne and York' RMA Research Chronicle VIII (1970) pp.1-33 back
10) The title page of A Third Sett of Psalm and Hymn Tunes ... (London: Printed by James Peck [1818-1825])) is undated, but it was sold 'by the Author at Halshaw near Bolton'. Halshaw is south of Bolton, in the direction of Farnworth back
11) W. Millington, Sketches of Local Musicians and Musical Societies (Pendlebury: 'Journal' Office, 1884), p.57 back
12) Millington, Sketches of Local Musicians and Musical Societies, p.57 back
13) Pigot and Son's Directory, (1836), p.16 back
14) Millington, Sketches of Local Musicians and Musical Societies, p.56 back
15) The last piece in the first volume of The Voice of Harmony, (London: Hart & Co. [n.d.]) back
16) A programme of this concert is in a collection of miscellaneous programmes, 1838-44, Bolton Archives, B782.BOL(R.S) back
17) J. Fawcett, The Lancashire Vocalist (London: Hart & Co. 1854) back
18) J.T. Lightwood The Music of the Methodist Hymn-Book (1935), p.399. Unfortunately Lightwood does not indicate the whereabouts of this letter and it cannot now be found in local archives, etc back
19) Leigh was still alive in 1901, and so presumably took over the post after Fawcett. 'Bolton's Music and Musicians No.1 - Some Old Recollections', The Bolton Journal and Guardian, 2nd March, 1901 back
20) On the title page of The Vocal Instructor, or Young Musician's Companion (London: Clementi and Co.; Goulding, d'Almaine, and Co., 1830) back
21) R.Wylie, Old Hymn Tunes: Local Composers and their Story, (Accrington: 1924) p.34 back
22) A.Spark, Bibliographia Boltoniensis (Manchester: at the University Press, 1913), pp.62-63 back
23) An untitled setting of 'Hear my prayer' for solo and keyboard in The Vocal Instructor, p.112 back
24) p.43. back
25) Millington, Sketches of Local Musicians and Musical Societies, p.58 back
26) Wylie, Old Hymn Tunes: Local Composers and their Story, p.34 back
27) Verbal communication from Foolow Methodists, who bought a copy of the first volume of The Voice of Melody by subscription for 18s. in 1862 back
28) Hyperion CDA67020 back

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