A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/University Musical Societies

UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETIES. Of these there are four in the British Isles requiring notice.

I. Cambridge. The Cambridge University Musical Society (C.U.M.S.) was founded as the 'Peterhouse Musical Society,' in Peterhouse (now modernised into 'St. Peter's College') by a little body of amateurs in Michaelmas Term 1843. The earliest record which it possesses is the programme of a concert given at the Red Lion in Petty Cury on Friday, Dec. 8:—

	Part I.
Symphony Glee Solo Flute Song Overture	No. 1. 'Ye breezes softly blowing'. Portuguese air with Variations. 'In native worth' (Creation). Masaniello.	Haydn. Mozart. Nicholson. Haydn. Auber.
	Part II.
Overture Ballad Walzer Song Quadrille	Semiramide. 'As down in the sunless retreats.' Elisabethen. 'Fra poco a me.' Royal Irish.	Rossini. Dikes. Strauss. Donizetti. Jullien.

In its early days the Society was mainly devoted to the practice of instrumental music, the few glees and songs introduced being of secondary interest. The Peterhouse Society had been in existence for about eighteen months, and had held eleven 'Public Performance Meetings,' when the name was changed to that of the Cambridge University Musical Society. The first concert given by the newly-named Society was held on May 1, 1844; it included Haydn's 'Surprise' Symphony, and 'Mr. Dykes of St. Catharine's College' sang John Parry's 'Nice young man' and (for an encore) the same composer's 'Berlin wool.' The Mr. Dykes who thus distinguished himself was afterwards well known as the Rev. J. B. Dykes, the composer of some of the best of modern hymn-tunes. There is not much variation in the programmes during the early years of the Society's existence. Two or three overtures, an occasional symphony or PF. trio, with songs and glees, formed the staple, but very little attention was given to choral works. The conductors were usually the Presidents of the Society. In 1846 Dr. Walmisley's name frequently appears, as in his charming trio for three trebles, 'The Mermaids,' and a duet concertante for piano and oboe. In 1850 the Dublin University Musical Society, having passed a resolution admitting the members of the C.U.M.S. as honorary members, the compliment was returned in a similar way, and the Cambridge Society subsequently entered into negotiations with the Oxford and Edinburgh University Musical Societies, by which the members of the different bodies received mutual recognition. In Dec. 1852 professional conductors began to be engaged. One of the earliest of these (Mr. Amps) turned his attention to the practice of choral works. The result was shown in the performance of a short selection from Mendelssohn's 'Elijah' (on March 15, 1853), 'Antigone' music (May 28, 1855), and 'Œdipus' (May 26, 1857), when Dr. Donaldson read his translation of the play. On the election of Sterndale Bennett to the professorial chair of Music, he undertook whenever time would allow to conduct one concert a year. In fulfilment of this promise, on Nov. 17, 1856, he conducted a concert and played his own Quintet for piano and wind, the quartet being all professionals. In the next few years the Society made steady progress, the most notable performances being Mozart's Requiem; Bach's Concerto for 3 PF.s; Beethoven's Ruins of Athens;' the 'Antigone' again; a selection from Gluck's 'Iphigenia in Aulis'; Beethoven's Mass in C and Choral Fantasia; and a concert in memory of Spohr (Dec. 7, 1859).

In 1860 the Society gave its first chamber concert (Feb. 21). In the following year the Society gave a performance of the 'Œdipus' in the Hall of King's College, the dialogue being read by the Public Orator, the Rev. W. G. Clark. At a subsequent performance of the 'Antigone' in the Hall of Caius College (May 20, 1861) the verses were read by the Rev. Charles Kingsley. On March 9, 1862, the name of Schumann occurs for the first time to the beautiful Andante and Variations for two pianofortes (op. 46). In the following year the Society produced for the first time in England the same composer's Pianoforte Concerto (op. 54), played by Mr. J. R. Lunn. Other achievements worth mentioning were the performance in 1863 of the Finale to Act I. of 'Tannhäuser,' of Schumann's Adagio and Allegro (op. 70) for PF. and horn, his Fest-overture (op. 123, first time in England), and of the march and chorus from 'Tannhäuser.'

The concerts of the next nine years continued to keep up the previous reputation of the Society, and many standard works were during this period added to the repertory.

In 1870 Mr. Charles Villiers Stanford (then an undergraduate at Queen's) made his first appearance at a concert on Nov. 30, when he played a Nachtstück of Schumann's, and a Waltz of Heller's. In 1873 he succeeded Dr. Hopkins as conductor, and one of his first steps was to admit ladies to the chorus as associates. This was effected by amalgamating the C.U.M.S. with the Fitzwilliam Musical Society, a body which had existed since 1858. The first concert in which the newly-formed chorus took part was given on May 27, 1873, when Sterndale Bennett conducted 'The May Queen,' and the 'Tannhäuser' march and chorus was repeated. In the following year the Society performed Schumann's 'Paradise and the Peri' (June 3, 1874), and on May 2, 1875, his music to 'Faust' (Part III) for the first time in England. The custom of engaging an orchestra, consisting mainly of London professionals, now began, and enabled the C.U.M.S. to perform larger works than before. The number of concerts had gradually been diminished, and the whole efforts of the chorus were devoted to the practice of important compositions. By this means the Society has acquired a reputation as a pioneer amongst English musical societies, and within the last few years has produced many new and important compositions, besides reviving works which, like Handel's 'Semele' and 'Hercules,' or Purcell's 'Yorkshire Feast Song,' had fallen into undeserved oblivion. A glance at the summary of compositions performed, at the end of this article, will show the good work which it is doing for music in England.

In 1876 a series of Wednesday Popular Concerts was started, and has been continued without intermission in every Michaelmas and Lent Term to the present time. These are given in the small room of the Guildhall, and generally consist of one or two instrumental quartets or trios, one instrumental solo, and two or three songs. The performers consist of both amateur and professional instrumentalists. More important chamber concerts are also given in the Lent and Easter Terms; and to these, Professor Joachim—an honorary member of the Society—has often given his services. The Society, as at present (Nov. 1884) constituted, consists of a patron (the Duke of Devonshire), 16 vice-patrons, a president (the Rev. A. Austen Leigh), three vice-presidents, secretary, treasurer, librarian, committee of eight members, ladies' committee of six associates, conductor (Dr. C. V. Stanford), 280 performing, 130 non-performing members and associates, and 20 honorary members. The subscription is 21s. a year, or 10s. a term. Besides the popular concerts once a week in Michaelmas and Lent Terms, there is usually a choral concert every Term, and in Lent and Easter Terms a chamber concert of importance, and choral and instrumental practices once a week.

The following is a list of the most important works produced and performed by the C.U.M.S. Numerous overtures and symphonies and much chamber music, by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Bennett, etc., have been omitted for want of space. The works marked with an asterisk were performed by the Society for the first time in England.

Astorga. Stabat Mater.
Bach, C. P. E. Symphony, No. I.
Bach, J. S. Concerto for 3 Pianos; Concerto for 2 Pianos; Suite for Orchestra. B minor; 'My spirit was in heaviness'; Vioin Concerto; 'Now shall the Grace'; *Halt im Gedächtniss.
Beethoven. Ruins of Athens; Mass in C; Choral Fantasia; Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt; Choral Symphony.
Bennett. Exhibition Ode; The May Queen; The Woman of Samaria.
Brahms. Requiem; Song of Destiny; *Symphony, No. I; Liebeslieder; *Rhapsodie, op. 53; Es ist das Heil; Concerto, Violin, op. 77; Tragic Overture, op. 81.
Cherubini. *Marche Religieuse.
Garrett. *The Triumph of Love; *The Shunammite.
Gluck. Selection from Iphigenia in Aulis.
Goetz. *Sonata for Piano (4 hands); 'Nénia'; *PF. Sonata, 4 hands.
Handel. Selection from The Messiah; Ode on St. Cecilia's Day; Dettingen Te Deum; Selection from Samson; Funeral Anthem; Coronation Do.; Selection from Alexander's Feast; Acis and Galatea; Semele; Israel in Egypt; Hercules; Concerto G minor.
Haydn. Mass. No. I.
Joachim. *Elegiac Overture; Theme and Variations for Violin and Orchestra.
Kiel. *Requiem.
Leo. *Dixit Dominus.
Mendelssohn. Selection from Elijah; Music to Antigone; Music to Oedipus; Psalm XLII, Psalm CXV; 'To the Sons of Art'; Lauda Sion; Violin Concerto; Walpurgis Night; St. Paul.
Mozart. Jupiter Symphony; Requiem; Mass, No. I; Mass, No. XII; *Minuets for 2 Violins and Violoncello.
Palestrina. Hodie Christus; Selection, Missa Papae Marcelli.
Parry, C. H. H. Scenes from Prometheus Unbound; *Symphony in F; PF. Trio in E mi.; PF. Quartet in A minor.
Purcell. Yorkshire Feast Song.
Romberg. Lay of the Bell.
Schumann. Andante and Variations, op. 46; *PF. Concerto, op. 54; Adagio and Allegro, op. 70; *Fest Ouverture, op. 123; Paradise and the Peri; *Faust (Part III); The Pilgrimage of the Rose.
Spohr. Selection from The Last Judgment; Selection from Calvary; 'God Thou art great.'
Stanford. *Pianoforte Concerto; *Trio, Piano and Strings; *Resurrection Hymn; *Sonata. Piano and Violin; *Psalm xlvi; *Elegiac Symphony; 'Awake, my heart.'
Steggall. *Festival Anthem.
Stewart. *Echo and the Lovers.
Volkmann. *Serenade for Strings, p. 63.
Wagner. Finale, Act I of Tannhauser; March and Chorus, Do.; Kaiser-Marsch; Prelude to Die Meistersinger; Siegfried-Idyll.
Walmisley. *Trio, 'The Mermaids'; *Duet-Concertante, Oboe and Flute.

[ W. B. S. ]

[App. p.806 "To the list of important works given by the Cambridge Society add the following:

Bach, J. S. St. Matthew Passion; Ein' feste Burg.
Bridge. J. F. 'Rock of Ages.'
Cowen, F. H. *Symphony in F.
Joachim, J. Hungarian Concerto.
Macfarren. Violin Concerto.
Mackenzie, A. C. Violin Concerto.
Parry. C. H. H. Trio in B minor; PF. Quartet in A♭; String Quintet in E♭; Symphony in F.
Schubert. Symphonies, Nos. 8 and 9; 'Song of Miriam.'
Schumann. 'Advent Hymn.'
Stanford, C. V. Elegiac Ode, op. 21; PF. Quartet in F; PF. Quintet in D minor; 'The Revenge.'
Thomas. A. Goring. *Suite de Ballet.

The asterisks indicate first performance in England."]

[ M. ]

II. Oxford.—At the close of the last and the beginning of the present century, Oxford concerts were probably superior to any in England outside London. A performance was given once a week in Term-time, and the programmes in the Bodleian show that at least one symphony or concerto was played at each. But the old Oxford Musical Society disappeared, and the societies now existing are of comparatively recent date. There has been no Choral Society on a large scale confined to members of the University since the disappearance of the 'Männergesangverein' some seven years ago; but there are two important societies largely attended by members of the University, the Oxford Choral Society and the Oxford Philharmonic Society. The former was founded in 1819, but in its present shape may be said to date from 1869, when the late Mr. Allchin, Mus. B., St. John's, became conductor, a post which he held till the end of 1881. Under his direction the Society became exceedingly prosperous, and the following works, besides the usual repertoire of Choral Societies, were performed: 'Israel in Egypt,' the 'Reformation Symphony,' Schumann's 'Pilgrimage of the Rose,' and Wagner's 'Siegfried-Idyll.' The following English compositions were performed by it in Oxford almost as soon as they were brought out: Barnett's 'Ancient Mariner,' Macfarren's 'St. John the Baptist' and 'Joseph,' Stainer's 'Daughter of Jairus,' and Sullivan's 'Martyr of Antioch.' Mr. Allchin was succeeded as conductor by Mr. Walter Parratt, Mus. B., organist of Magdalen, and on his departure from Oxford in 1882, Mr. C. H. Lloyd, M.A., Mus. B., organist of Christ Church, assumed the baton. Amongst the most notable works given under their direction may be mentioned Schubert's B minor Symphony, Gounod's 'Redemption,' and Parry's 'Prometheus Unbound.' The president of the Society is Dr. Stainer, who was also the founder of the Philharmonic Society in 1865. He, however, conducted only one concert, and in October 1866 Mr. James Taylor, organist of New College, Mus. B. (1873), and organist of the University (1872), accepted the post of conductor, which he has held ever since. The compositions performed under his direction include the following:—Bach's 'God's time is the best,' Beethoven's E♭ Concerto and Choral Fantasia, Cherubini's Requiem in C minor, Schubert's 'Song of Miriam,' Spohr's 'Fall of Babylon,' Schumann's 'Paradise and the Peri,' Bennett's 'Woman of Samaria,' Benedict's St. Peter,' and Ouseley's 'Hagar.'

The attempt to establish Symphony Concerts in Oxford has so far proved a failure, but the Orchestral Association, which meets weekly under Mr. C. H. Lloyd's direction, boasts about fifty members, many of them belonging to the University. Chamber music owns two strictly academic associations. The older of these, the University Musical Club, originated in the gatherings of some musical friends in the rooms of the present Choragus of the University, Dr. Hubert Parry, during his undergraduate days. After him, Mr. C. H. Lloyd, then a Scholar of what is now Hertford College, took up the meetings, and in 1871 they developed into a public institution. The number of members rose rapidly, reaching as high as 138 in 1880. In the following year the Club, then under the presidency of Mr. Franklin Harvey, M.A., of Magdalen, celebrated its tenth year by a great réunion of past and present members. During the last few years the tendency of the Club has been to give good performances of chamber music by professional players, and it occurred to some, including the writer of this notice, that it would be desirable to establish an association for the development of amateur playing. The scheme was floated in the summer of 1884, and the 'University Musical Union' met with a success far exceeding its promoters' hopes. Over a hundred members were speedily enrolled, and regular professional instruction in quartet-playing, etc., has been provided every week, so that any amateur player who will work may, during residence, make himself conversant with a large amount of chamber music.

No account of University music in Oxford can be considered complete without some notice of the College concerts. The first college that ventured on the experiment of replacing a miscellaneous programme of part-songs, etc., with a complete cantata was Queen's. In 1873 Bennett's 'May Queen' was given in the College Hall, with a band, and since then the following works have been performed with orchestra:—Barnett's 'Ancient Mariner,' Bennett's 'Ajax' music; Macfarren's 'May Day,' and 'Outward Bound,' Gade's 'Crusaders,' Mendelssohn's 'Walpurgis Nacht,' Handel's 'Acis and Galatea,' Gadsby's 'Lord of the Isles,' Schumann's 'Luck of Edenhall,' Alice Mary Smith's 'Ode to the North-East Wind,' and 'Song of the Little Baltung,' Haydn's Surprise Symphony, Mozart's E♭ Symphony, and Bennett's F minor Concerto. For its 1885 concert the Society has commissioned its conductor, Dr. Iliffe, organist of St. John's College, to compose a new work, which will be called 'Lara.' For some years Queen's College stood alone in the high standard of its programmes, but of late its example has been extensively followed, and the following complete works were given in the Summer Term of 1884. Gade's 'Comala' at Worcester, and his 'Psyche' (with small band) at Keble; Barnett's 'Ancient Mariner' at New, and his 'Paradise and the Peri' (with band) at Merton; and Macfarren's 'May Day' at Exeter.

To sum up, we have in Oxford every year four concerts of the highest class, two given by the Philharmonic, and two by the Choral; we have two concerts of chamber music every week in each Term; any instrumental player has a weekly chance of practising both orchestral and chamber music, and at least six colleges may be depended on to perform a cantata of considerable dimensions every year. The following works will be heard in Oxford with orchestra during the early part of 1885:—Beethoven's 'Mount of Olives,' Stainer's 'St. Mary Magdalen,' Mozart's 'Twelfth Mass' (so called), Mendelssohn's 114th Psalm and Reformation Symphony, Spohr's 'Christian's Prayer,' Lloyd's 'Hero and Leander,' Handel's 'Alexander's Feast' and 'Acis and Galatea,' Goring Thomas's 'Sun Worshippers,' Mackenzie's 'Bride,' Gade's 'Erl King's Daughter,' and Iliffe's 'Lara.' There will also be performances of three other works, but the details are not yet (Nov. 1884) settled.

[ J. H. M. ]

III. Edinburgh.—The germ of the first students' musical society established in Scotland is traceable to a 'University Amateur Concert' of February 1867, 'given by the Committee of Edinburgh University Athletic Club, the performers consisting of members of the University, assisted by the Professor of Music, by amateurs of the Senatus Academicus, and by members of St. Cecilia Instrumental Society.' The following winter the Association was organised, and in 1868, 1869, and 1870 concerts were held. An arrangement having been made for elementary instruction to members deficient in previous training, the society was recognised as a University institution by an annual grant of £10 from the Senatus. But its numerical strength was weak, and at a committee meeting in Nov. 1870 it was resolved 'to let the society, so far as active work was concerned, fall into abeyance for the session of 1870–71, in consideration of the difficulty in carrying on the work from want of encouragement from the students.' In the winter of 1871 the present Professor of Music, warmly supported by some of his colleagues, was able to get the matter more under his control, and he was elected president and honorary conductor. Amongst reforms introduced were the use of his class-room and of a pianoforte for the practisings, and the drawing up and printing of a code of rules and list of office-bearers. The latter consists of a president, vice-presidents, including the principal and some half dozen professors, honorary vice-presidents, a committee of some ten students, with honorary secretary and treasurer, and with choirmaster. Subsequently the Duke of Edinburgh complied with the request of the president that His Royal Highness should become patron.—The main object of the Society, as stated in the rules, 'is the encouragement and promotion amongst students of the practical study of choral music.' After the reorganisation of 1871 considerable impetus was given to the matter, and the annual concert of 1872 evinced marked advance and higher aim. Besides a stronger chorus, a very fair orchestra of professors and amateurs, with A. C. Mackenzie as leader, played Mozart's G minor Symphony, some overtures, and the accompaniments; and the president and conductor was presented by his society with a silver-mounted bâton. Recent years have brought increased success, both as to annual concerts and as to numbers, which in five years rose from 64 to 236, the average number being some 200. The twelve concerts annually given since 1872 have been very popular, and on the whole well supported. Although the annual subscription is only 5s., and expenses are considerable, in 1883 the balance in hand was about £200, enabling the society not only to present to the Senatus a portrait of the president, but also to subscribe £50 towards the expenses of an extra concert given during the tercentenary of the University in 1884, and a large collection of music for men's voices, with orchestral accompaniment specially scored, for much of it has been acquired out of the yearly balances in hand. A gratifying outcome of this new feature in Scottish student-life is that each of the other Universities of Scotland have followed the example of Edinburgh—Aberdeen, St. Andrew's, and Glasgow, each possessing a musical society giving a very creditable annual concert. The formation of such a student-chorus, East and West, North and South, cannot fail to raise choral taste amongst the most educated portion of the male population of Scotland, and to afford, as in the days of Queen Elizabeth, opportunity of taking part in most enjoyable artistic recreation. And by no means the least part of the value of University musical societies is that their associations tend through life to foster and cement students' regard for their 'Alma Mater.'

[ H. S. O. ]

IV. Dublin.—The University of Dublin Choral Society, like many other similar Societies, originated with a few lovers of music among the students of the College, who met weekly in the chambers of one of their number^[1] for the practice of part-singing. They then obtained permission to meet in the evening in the College Dining Hall, where an audience of their friends was occasionally assembled. These proceedings excited considerable interest, and in November 1837 the Society was formally founded as the 'University Choral Society,' a title to which the words 'of Dublin' were afterwards added, when the rights of membership were extended to graduates of Oxford and Cambridge. [See Trinity College, Dublin.]

In 1837 the amount of printed music available for the use of a vocal association was small. The cheap editions of Oratorios, Masses, and Cantatas were not commenced until nine years later, and it was not until 1842 that the publication of Mr. Hullah's Part Music supplied choral societies with compositions by the best masters. The Society therefore for some time confined its studies to some of Handel's best-known works, such as 'Messiah,' 'Israel in Egypt,' 'Judas Maccabseus,' 'Jephthah,' 'Samson,' 'Acis and Galatea,' and 'Alexander's Feast,' Haydn's 'Creation' and 'Seasons,' Romberg's 'Lay of the Bell,' and the music to 'Macbeth' and the 'Tempest.' In 1845, however, an important advance was made by the performance, on May 23, of Mendelssohn's music to 'Antigone,' which had been produced at Covent Garden Theatre in the preceding January, and from that time forward the Society has been remarkable for bringing before its members and friends every work of merit within its powers of performance.

The following list shows the larger works (many of them frequently repeated) which, in addition to those mentioned above, have been performed at the Society's concerts:—

Bach. Passion (St. John); Magnificat.
Balfe. Mazeppa.
Beethoven. Mass in C; Mount of Olives; Ruins of Athens; King Stephen.
Carissimi. Jonah.
Cherubini. Requiem Mass.
Costa. Eli.
Cowen. The Corsair.
Gade. The Erl-King's Daughter; Spring's Message; Psyche; The Crusaders.
Gadsby. The Lord of the Isles; Alice Brand.
Gollmick. The Heir of Linne.
Handel. Saul; Joshua; Esther; Theodora; The Dettingen Te Deum.
Hiller. Lorelei.
Macfarren. The Sleeper Awakened; John the Baptist.
Mendelssohn. St. Paul; Lauda Sion; Athalie; Christus; The First Walpurgis-Nlght; Loreley.
Monk. The Bard.
Mozart. Requiem.
Rossini. Stabat Mater.
Smart. The Bride of Dunkerron.
Spohr. Last Judgment; Psalm 84.
Stewart. A Winter Night's Wake; The Eve of St John (both written for the Society).
Sullivan. Martyr of Antioch; Te Deum; On Shore and Sea.
Van Bree. St. Cecilia's Day.
Verdi. Requiem Mass.
Weber. Jubilee Cantata; Music in Preciosa; Liebe und Natur.

Several large selections from operas containing a choral element have been given, as Mozart's 'Idomeneo,' 'Zauberflöte,' and 'Don Giovanni'; Weber's 'Der Freischütz' and 'Oberon,' etc.

For many years the old-fashioned regulations compelled the Society to employ only the choristers of the Cathedral for the treble parts in the chorus, and on occasions where boys' voices were inadequate, to give its concerts outside the college walls; but in 1870 permission was granted to admit ladies as associates, and since that time they have taken part in the concerts of the Society.

About the year 1839 the Church Music Society, of which Mr. J. Rambaut was conductor, was founded in Trinity College. It appears to have restricted itself to the practice of psalmody, and to have had but a brief existence.

[ G. A. C. ]

1. Mr. Hercules H. G. Mac Donnell.