Blogs using the British Newspaper Archive Blog #5 ‘For unto us a child is born’ – Handel’s Messiah performed.

 Blogs using the British Newspaper Archive

Blog #5 (URL links are broken)  All images  © The British Library Board

‘For unto us a child is born’ – Handel’s Messiah performed.

Attending, for the fifth time at the Royal Albert Hall, on the 2 December 2012, a performance of Handel’s Messiah, sung from scratch by 3,854 souls under the direction of Brian Kay, I wondered about the endurance of this work, and the love that people have of singing in it. For me, one of the most moving pieces is the passage ‘For unto us a child is born’, anticipating the birth of Christ.   What of other past performances? The British Newspaper Archive has plenty of articles.

The Messiah was sufficiently well  known less than twenty years after its composition in 1744 for the work to be included in the Three Choirs meeting, and formed on the 4^th September 1861, and it is described as a ‘Sacred Oratorio’.

Oxford Journal - Saturday 15 August 1761 page 3

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000073/17610815/007/0003

A year later on the 17^th September 1762, the three choirs of Hereford, Gloucester, and of Worcester cathedrals gave a performance in Hereford cathedral. Tickets were not cheap at five shillings each.  It seems so unthinkable to us today; it was the newspapers which communicated with the performers, as: “The Performers are desired to be in the town on Sunday evening, in order to rehearse on Monday the 13^th [September] in the Morning, and to dine with the Stewards on the day following.”

Oxford Journal - Saturday 28 August 1762

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000073/17620828/007/0002

 

For the Three Choirs meeting of September 1763, no less than three Handel oratorios were  performed, all in the Booth Hall, Gloucester. On the 7^th September  there was – the oratorio Samson; on the 8^th September, the oratorio Athalia; on the 9^th September – Messiah.

Oxford Journal - Saturday 20 August 1763 page 2

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000073/17630820/009/0002

 

 

The Manchester Mercury in 1766 advertised two performances of the Messiah, to celebrate the opening of the new organ at the parish church in Halifax. These were morning performances.

 

Manchester Mercury - Tuesday 19 August 1766 page 3

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 

 

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000239/17660819/009/0003

 

 

 

 

A week ahead of the concert, the Norfolk Chronicle advertised a performance of the Messiah at St. Peter’s [Mancroft ?] on the 10^th September 1790.   In this, the chorus “for unto us a child is born” is cited.

Norfolk Chronicle - Saturday 04 September 1790 page 1

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000246/17900904/014/0001

 

 

 

The Elgin Courier reprinted a report from the Times giving a detailed account of the Messiah, as performed at the Sydenham Crystal palace during the afternoon of Monday 15^th June 1857. The scale of the performance must have been magnificent, considering the huge size of the Crystal Palace. ‘“For unto us a child is born” was perfect’, ran the report, which ends by stating: “The Queen will be present at the performance today” (19 June). There are many other reports of this concert in the BNA:

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1850-01-01/1859-12-31?basicsearch=handel%20messiah%20crystal%20palace&somesearch=handel%20messiah%20crystal%20palace&exactsearch=false

 

 

Elgin Courier - Friday 19 June 1857

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000457/18570619/007/0002

The reporting of the Messiah became almost routine for many newspapers – the brief anticipatory entry in the Worcestershire Chronicle of April 1891 being typical.

Worcestershire Chronicle - Saturday 18 April 1891 page 2

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000350/18910418/013/0002

 

In its long report of the Handel Festival of 1891, The Dover Express included an illustration, giving us some idea of the great scale of these performances of the Messiah in the second half of the 19^th century, in the Crystal Palace. There was even a press gallery, as we can see.

 

 

Dover Express - Friday 03 July 1891 page 2

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000330/18910703/004/0002

 

 

 

Photographs of a performance of the Messiah in Bath in 1939, conducted by Maurice Miles give us the sense of what it was like to work and sing in a large chorus. It gives us the immediacy of the chorus and the soloist Astra Desmond.

 

 

Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette - Saturday 25 March 1939 page 23

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

 

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000515/19390325/191/0023

 

 

So, the performances today of Messiah from scratch reflect the movement of mass participation in its performance, which in turn generates by word of mouth more admiration and enthusiasm for the work. People come from all over the world to sing in the Albert Hall. These stirring performances today echo the enthusiasm of so many others, both in Dublin in 1742 (the original performances), and then all over the UK from that time onwards. For me, the music that Handel composed “For unto us a child is born” is one of the finest choral movements of all time, anticipating as it does the coming of Christ.

 

Ed King

December 2012 

 

 

Further reading:

 

Scratch Messiah http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scratch_Messiah

 

The Really Big Chorus. http://new.trbc.co.uk/wp/?page_id=3265

 

Handel Messiah. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_%28Handel%29

 

 

 

 

 

Blogs using the British Newspaper Archive Blog #4 Jane Austen imitated by PD James

 

Blogs using the British Newspaper Archive

Blog #4 (URL links are broken) 

Jane Austen imitated by PD James

All images  © The British Library Board

Recently reading PD James Death comes to Pemberley, I wondered how reviews of this novel compared to those of Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen had sold the copyright of the novel to Thomas Egerton, and he published the first edition in January 1813 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice ). Perhaps it was Egerton who placed the advertisement in the Morning Post  on 9 February 1813 (p.2 col.2): ‘This day published, in 3 vols. price 18s. in boards, Pride and Prejudice; a Novel, by a Lady, Author of “sense and Sensibility”…’

 The Morning Post 9 February 1813

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000174/18130209/002/0002

Pride and Prejudice sold well. By October 1813, Mackay’s Circulating Library was advertising the novel in its list of new books, in the Caledonian Mercury - Saturday 9 October 1813 (p.3 col.5)

The Caledonian Mercury - Saturday 9 October 1813

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000045/18131009/012/0003?_=1350670811367

J. Bottrill, a Printer and Bookseller in Lutterworth, stated that he added the novel to his circulating library in the Northampton Mercury - Saturday 23 October 1813 (p.3 col.2); and on the 5 November in the Leicester Journal (p.3. col. 1).

Northampton Mercury - Saturday 23 October 1813

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000317/18131023/030/0003

The second edition Pride and Prejudice was advertised in the Morning Post - Saturday 20 November 1813 (p.2 col.2)

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000174/18131120/002/0002

In 1818, a year after Jane Austen died, the issue by John Murray of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, “…together with a biographical note of the Author”, in four volumes, prompted a lengthy, favourable review of Jane Austen’s works in The Scots Magazine - Friday 01 May 1818 ( p.57 col.2; p. 58). The review begins, as below:

The Scots Magazine - Friday 01 May 1818

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000547/18180501/016/0057

The review continues: …“When this period arrives, we have no hesitation in saying, that the delightful writer of the works now before us [i.e. Northanger Abbey and Persuasion], will be one of the most popular of English novelists, and if, indeed, we could point out the individual who, within a certain limited range, has attained the highest perfection of the art of novel writing, we should have little scruple in fixing upon her. She has confined herself, no doubt, to a narrow walk. She never operates among deep interests, uncommon characters, or vehement passions. The singular merit of her writings is, that we could conceive, with the slightest strain imagination, any one of her fictions to be realized in any town or village in England…She has much observation, - much fine sense, - much delicate humour, - many pathetic touches, - and throughout all her works, a most charitable view of human nature, and a tone of gentleness and purity, that are almost unequalled. …As stories they are nothing in themselves, though beautiful and simple in their combination with the characters. … such is the facility and the seemingly exhaustless invention of this lady, that, we think, like a complete mistress of a musical instrument, she could have gone on in the same strain for ever…”

The Scots Magazine - Friday 01 May 1818

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000547/18180501/016/0057

If Jane Austen’s qualities attracted such praise only a year after her death, the reception by reviewers of Death comes to Pemberley has been more mixed. The Guardian review is mocking and starts: “It is a truth not universally acknowledged that a classic novel is not in want of a sequel.” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/oct/31/death-comes-to-pemberley-pd-james  )

 The Historical Novel Review is also negative: “…I'm sorry Ms James, I normally love your work, but I’m afraid I won’t even be keeping this one on my e-reader.” (http://historicalnovelreview.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/death-comes-to-pemberley-by-p-d-james.html)  

The New York Times Sunday Book Review is far more complimentary: “Not infrequently, while reading “Death Comes to Pemberley,” one succumbs to the impression that it is Austen herself at the keyboard.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/books/review/death-comes-to-pemberley-by-p-d-james-book-review.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&  )

The Independent also gushes: “It's a great joint achievement, and a joyous read.”  ( http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/death-comes-to-pemberley-by-pd-james-6256572.html  )

For my own part, Death comes to Pemberley is erudite, well-plotted, picking up very well on the characters and situations of the earlier work. Perhaps PD James was knowingly constrained by the plot and characters of Pride and Prejudice, in which Jane Austen so clearly displays the goodness, fallibilities and follies of mankind, with a restrained, yet occasionally barbed, language that will never be equalled.

Ed King 

December 2012

Blogs using the British Newspaper Archive Blog #3 Roman amphitheatres

 Blogs using the British Newspaper Archive

Blog #3

(URL links are broken) 

 Roman amphitheatres

Upon recently visiting the Roman amphitheatre at Arles, I marvelled at the scale of the building, and Roman engineering skills. 

Pictures taken of Arles amphitheatre – Images © Edmund M B King

BNA images  © The British Library Board

 

During the visit, we came across a notice board: “Principaux amphitheatres du monde romain”, which shows a list of dimensions for each one. Arles is number twelve on the list, out of twenty-one. I was intrigued that Pouzzoles ( Pozzuoli/ Puteoli)  was even larger than the colosseum in Rome.

As the wiki articles on these amphitheatres states:

 “The elliptical structure [at Pozzuoli] measures 147 x 117 meters (482 x 384 feet), with the arena floor measuring 72.22 x 42.33 meters (237 x 139 feet). “ 

“Capua is one of the largest in existence; the longer diameter is 170 m (185 yd), the shorter 140 m (152 yd), and the arena measures 75 by 45 m (83 by 49 yd), ...”  

“[The Colosseum]  is elliptical in plan and is 189 meters (615 ft / 640 Roman feet) long, and 156 meters (510 ft / 528 Roman feet) wide, with a base area of 6 acres (24,000 m).”

The measurements on this list at Arles, for the Rome Colosseum and for Capua are substantiated by measurements cited today. However, the measurement for Pozzuoli appears to be incorrect.

Picture taken of Arles amphitheatre – Image © Edmund MB King

Accounts of Roman amphitheatres appeared early in UK newspapers.

Rome Colosseum.

The obvious size and presence of the colosseum in Rome prompted many reports, such as the one. ‘The Colosseum at Rome’, in the Leicester Journal - Friday 4 September 1829 (p4. Col 4). Signed by ‘[A] Correspondent in an American paper’, it reads as a survey of the building, with an educational tone, imparting as many details as possible.

Leicester Journal - Friday 4 September 1829

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000205/18290904/020/0004

  

 

There is a striking illustration: ‘Archaeologists in Rome: a lecture in the colosseum’ - printed in The Graphic - Saturday 28 October 1893 p.13. It shows a large group of dozens of people being escorted within the arena itself, giving us the impression of size of the interior, together with the amount of interest that such an ancient ruin was arousing.

The Graphic - Saturday 28 October 1893

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000057/18931028/022/0018?_=1350894997754

Pozzuoli amphitheatre

Pozzuoli amphitheatre is mentioned in a chatty account entitled: ‘A continental trip. Letter IX’, published in the Leicester Chronicle - Saturday 29 March 1856  (p.4 cols. 1-2) : “The Cathedral [in Naples] is dedicate to St. Januarius, or Gennaro, as the Italians call him – the principal saint of Naples. His history is replete with miracles. It is said that when exposed in the amphitheatre of Pozzuoli to be devoured by lions, the animals licked his feet, and became tame; which converted many to Christianity…”

Leicester Chronicle - Saturday 29 March 1856  

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000172/18560329/053/0004

A week later in the same newspaper, ‘Letter X’ offers more: “The most perfect among the ruins of Pozzuoli are those of the Amphitheatre on the hill behind the present town. The date of its construction is unknown, but it is said to be older than the Coliseum of Rome, which it resembles in its elliptical form, and in being surrounded with rows of marble seats rising above each other. …” (Leicester Chronicle - Saturday 05 April 1856 p.4 col.1-2)

Leicester Chronicle - Saturday 5 April 1856  

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000172/18560405/056/0004

Capua amphitheatre

In a ‘London’ editorial ( a pot-pourri of miscellaneous matters), published in the Reading Mercury - Monday 28 June 1830 (p.2 col. 1), ‘Ancient Remains’ mentions Capua amphitheatre: “A letter from Naples, dated on the 2^nd  June says, “At Santa Maria, near Caserts (ancient Capua), his Scicilian Majesty has had explorations made amidst the fine relics of the amphitheatre. There have been found in the caverns forty gold medals, six bronze, and a very singular mask of ivory. The gold and medals are of the times of the Emperors.” ”

Reading Mercury - Monday 28 June 1830

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000367/18300628/003/0002

Interest in Roman amphitheatres continued as more discoveries were made. In ‘Excavations at Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Capua’, printed in the Hereford Journal - Saturday 22 February 1862 (p.3 col.6), “We learn from a correspondent at Naples that fresh excavations have been made during the last month (January) at Pompeii, in that part of the city (insula) near two theatres. Painting and frescos have been discovered… At Capua the excavations of the amphitheatre are about to re-commence, as well as at Pompeii, which contains the most remarkable circus of antiquity, as regards its state of preservation , especially the underground part, which is of unparalleled interest.”

Hereford Journal - Saturday 22 February 1862

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000398/18620222/014/0003

 

 

So, we return to Arles amphitheatre. The Graphic published ‘A day at Arles’ on Saturday 24 June 1882 ( p.13): “The Amphitheatre at Arles is the largest built by the Romans out of Italy, and dates from the time of Caligula. It is 459 feet by 341 feet, has five corridors, and contained about 26,000 spectators. From one of the towers there is a magnificent view of the old town below [this is still true today], of the larger and lesser Rhone winding through the plain and the distant mountains…” http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000057/18820624/022/0013

On page 15 of the same issue, four illustrations are printed of this amphitheatre. The views of the interior and the exterior convey the sense of scale and monumentality that can be viewed today. 

The Graphic  - Saturday 24 June 1882

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000057/18820624/025/0015?_=1350419447172

 

As The Graphic article states in conclusion to ‘A day at Arles’:  “No one who can spare the time, especially those who have not been to South Italy, should pass Arles without a visit.”

Ed King

November 2012

Images taken of Arles amphitheatre - © Edmund MB King

Further reading

List of Roman amphitheatres. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_amphitheatres

Flavian Amphitheater (Pozzuoli). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavian_Amphitheater_%28Pozzuoli%29

Capua - amphitheatre. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capua#Amphitheatre

Colosseum – Rome. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum

Arles amphitheatre - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arles_Amphitheatre