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Collection Description
Collection name
Manchester Musical Festival (1828, 1836)
Unique identifier
1501/24
Description
A collection of programmes and wordbooks relating to the first and second Manchester Musical Festivals, including performances given in the Collegiate Church and Theatre Royal, Manchester in 1828 and 1836.
Both festivals comprised morning and evening performances. The former were typically three-act performances of sacred choral music, held at the Collegiate Church, Manchester. The latter, described as Grand Miscellaneous Concerts, were held in the Theatre Royal and were generally two-act vocal concerts, with orchestral overtures/symphonies at the beginning of each part (and sometimes at the end) and occasional instrumental solos.
All documents include a list of Patrons for the Festival and provide detailed information regarding the vocal soloists (see below). With the exception of those for the evening concerts of 1836, all programmes also list the members of the orchestral ensemble, led by Franz Cramer (morning) and Nicholas Mori (evening).
First Manchester Musical Festival: 1828
An incomplete set of programmes and wordbooks for the First Manchester Musical Festival of 30 September to 3 October 1828, comprising material for three morning (1-3 October) and one evening concert (30 September), held with a copy of the Regulations for the event.
Vocal: Madame Catalani, Madame Stockhausen, Madame Puzzi and Madame Caradori Allan; Miss Paton, Miss Love, Mrs W. Knyvett, Miss Godfrey and Miss Stephens; Mr Braham, Mr Vaughan, Mr William Knyvett, Mr E. Taylor, Mr Isherwood and Mr Phillips; and Signor Curioni and Signor Pellegrini.
The programmes for the morning performances cite Thomas Greatorex (organ) and that for the evening concert lists Mr Mori (violin), Mr Nicholson (flute), Mr Willman (clarinet), Messrs Lindley and Mr W. Lindley (cello) and Signor Puzzi (horn).
Morning performances:
1 October 1828: A Grand Selection of Sacred Music, from the works of Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, etc, the second act comprising Part I of Haydn, The Creation (with some brief handwritten annotations, mostly numerical).
2 October 1828: Handel, The Messiah.
3 October 1828: A Grand Selection of Sacred Music, from the works of Handel, Haydn, Leo, Croft, Pergolesi, etc.
Second Manchester Musical Festival: 1836
Prospectus and complete set of programmes and wordbooks for the four morning and three evening performances of the Second Manchester Musical Festival, held with a document entitled, The Second Grand Musical Festival, in Manchester, 1836; some account of its origins and arrangements, a criticism of the musical performances, a description of the Fancy Dress Ball, with a corrected and complete list of the company (tract 2).
Vocal: Mrs. H.R. Bishop, Mrs. W. Knyvett, Miss C. Novello, Mrs A. Shaw, Mr Braham, Mr Bennett, and Mr H. Phillips; Madame Caradori Allan, Mademoiselle Assandri, and Madame Malibran de Beriot; and Signors Ivanoff and LaBlache, with Monsieur De Beriot (violin) and Mr. W. Wilkinson (organ and chorus master).
Morning performances:
All of these concerts were described as 'A Grand Performance of Sacred Music'.
13 September 1836: Haydn, The Creation, with a coronation anthem by Thomas Attwood, a selection from Mozart, Requiem and Henry Bishop, The Seventh Day.
14 September 1836: the first English performance of Spohr, The Christian's Prayer. Also, selections from Handel, Jephtha, Solomon and Israel in Egypt.
15 September 1836: Handel, The Messiah.
16 September 1836: including Beethoven, The Mount of Olives and Spohr, The Last Judgement. Two copies of this document are held, each with the handwritten note that 'Malibran did not sing'.
Evening performances: 13, 14 and 15 September. The programme for the second concert carries a handwritten annotation noting that this was 'Malibran's last concert'.
Note: another set of programmes for the second Manchester Festival (1836) is contained within the papers of Sir George Smart and held at Lbl c.61.g.13. These include some extensive handwritten annotations regarding the performances and carry further information regarding the illness and enforced retirement of Madame Malibran.
Date range
1828 - 1836
Associated People and Organisations
Spohr, Louis -
Mori, Nicholas -
Manchester Musical Festival -
Malibran, Maria -
Haydn, Joseph -
Handel, George Frideric -
Greatorex, Thomas -
Cramer, Franz -
Associated Places
Collegiate Church, Manchester
Associated Times
19th century - early Victorian 1837-1850
Associated Content
Brochures
Annotations
Word books
List of orchestral players
First performances
Programme notes
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British Library
The British Library
St Pancras
,96 Euston Road
London
NW1 2DB Open Map
DOMUS
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closed
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