A collection of 44 programmes from the Exeter Hall, London. The programmes date from 1834 to 1880. The collection is divided into programmes given by the New Philharmonic Society and programmes of concerts organised by other groups.

General Programmes
The collection contains 32 items from concerts organised by various groups – not including the New Philharmonic Society - of which around two thirds are from oratorio performances. Over half of the programmes in the collection of general programmes are from concerts organised by the Sacred Harmonic Society, the majority of which are from the 1860s and 1870s. These represent performances of oratorio, including a number of performances of Handel oratorio. Just under a third of the programmes in the collection are from the series “Wednesday Concerts” – also known as “Wednesday Evening Concerts” – dating from the late 1840s and 1850s. These programmes are from concerts that contained a mixture of vocal items and orchestral items. Finally, there are a couple of items in the collection from the Amateur Music Festival in the 1830s.

New Philharmonic Society Programmes
There are ca. 22 items from concerts organised by the New Philharmonic Society. The collection includes fliers, full programmes and a prospectus for the society. The collections dates from 1852, 1853 and 1855: these years relate to the first, second and fourth seasons of the Society. The collection is not complete for these seasons: there are programmes for the first, second, fourth and fifth concerts in the first season (1852), as well as six fliers and one prospectus for the society. There are programmes from the first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth concerts in the second season (1853), and programmes from the first (two copies), second, third, fourth and fifth concerts of the fourth season (1855). The programmes are from concerts of chiefly orchestral and choral music, usually containing at least one substantial work, for instance a symphony. There are also some solo vocal items in the majority of programmes: these are chiefly arias or extracts from oratorio or opera.

Arrangement:
The programmes are divided between general programmes and programmes from the New Philharmonic Society. Within each section, the programmes are arranged chronologically. Exceptionally, the fliers from the first season (1852) of New Philharmonic Society programmes are at the front of the New Philharmonic Society sequence in chronological order, and are not interspersed with the programmes from concerts on the same date.

1834 - 1880

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Not Specific

• Amateur Music Festival -
• New Philharmonic Society -
• Sacred Harmonic Society -
• Wednesday Concerts, Exeter Hall -

• Exeter Hall
• London [England]

• 19th century - early Victorian 1837-1850
• 19th century - late Victorian 1876-1899
• 19th century - mid Victorian 1851-1875

Centre for Performance History Prince Consort Road London London SW7 2BS United Kingdom

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cph@rcm.ac.uk

020 7 589 4340

020 7 589 7740 

Mon-Fri by appointment

During the course of 2008 a new facility providing collection storage space, reader facilities and office space will created for the Centre for Performance History at College Hall, the site of the RCM's Hall of Residence in London W12. This will eventually offer improved access to researchers, and provide the collection with a secure and stable environment, all in one place. In order that the relevant parts of the collection can be packed and prepared for the move, and then re-shelved at the new facility as expeditiously as possible, all facilities and services (including photographic services and access to the programmes collection) of the Centre for Performance History are suspended until 12 January 2009. The Museum of Instruments will continue to operate a full service (including public opening during the summer vacation) throughout this period. We apologize for the inevitable inconvenience that this closure will cause to colleagues, students, researchers and members of the public, but believe that the improvements that will result will benefit the long-term preservation of the collections and will provide enhanced access to them for all users.