Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Music Examples
- Preface
- Dedication
- 1 ‘A Veritable Muck-Midden’
- 2 The Royal College of Music and the Mendelssohn Scholarship, 1900-1907
- 3 The Mendelssohn Scholarship, 1904-7
- 4 Earning a Living
- 5 Dyson's War, 1914-16
- 6 Wellington College
- 7 Winchester College
- 8 Winchester Works: The Canterbury Pilgrims, St Paul's Voyage to Melita and The Blacksmiths
- 9 Winchester towards London
- 10 Major Works, 1937-43
- 11 Director of the Royal College of Music, 1938-52: The First Five Terms
- 12 The War Years, 1939-45, Seen through Dyson's College Addresses
- 13 The Royal College of Music, 1945-7
- 14 The Royal College of Music, 1947-52: Rebuilding, Development and Endgames
- 15 Major Works, 1948-52
- 16 Return to Winchester and Retirement
- 17 Carnegie Trust, Final Works and Endings
- Bibliography
- Appendix 1 List of Dyson's Works
- Appendix 2 Texts Set by Dyson
- Appendix 3 The Canterbury Pilgrims: 35 Performances Conducted by Dyson, 1931-60
- Appendix 4 Select Bibliography
- Appendix 5 Discography
- Index of Dyson's Works
- General Index
13 - The Royal College of Music, 1945-7
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 November 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Music Examples
- Preface
- Dedication
- 1 ‘A Veritable Muck-Midden’
- 2 The Royal College of Music and the Mendelssohn Scholarship, 1900-1907
- 3 The Mendelssohn Scholarship, 1904-7
- 4 Earning a Living
- 5 Dyson's War, 1914-16
- 6 Wellington College
- 7 Winchester College
- 8 Winchester Works: The Canterbury Pilgrims, St Paul's Voyage to Melita and The Blacksmiths
- 9 Winchester towards London
- 10 Major Works, 1937-43
- 11 Director of the Royal College of Music, 1938-52: The First Five Terms
- 12 The War Years, 1939-45, Seen through Dyson's College Addresses
- 13 The Royal College of Music, 1945-7
- 14 The Royal College of Music, 1947-52: Rebuilding, Development and Endgames
- 15 Major Works, 1948-52
- 16 Return to Winchester and Retirement
- 17 Carnegie Trust, Final Works and Endings
- Bibliography
- Appendix 1 List of Dyson's Works
- Appendix 2 Texts Set by Dyson
- Appendix 3 The Canterbury Pilgrims: 35 Performances Conducted by Dyson, 1931-60
- Appendix 4 Select Bibliography
- Appendix 5 Discography
- Index of Dyson's Works
- General Index
Summary
The RCM Library
One of the most damaging accusations levelled at Dyson in his time as Director of the Royal College of Music concerned his attitude towards its library and valuable collection of musical instruments and portraits. The College had amassed a nationally important research library beginning in 1883 with the purchase (by subscription) of the entire library of the Sacred Harmonic Society, including its cases and stacks. In addition, Queen Victoria gave the College the complete library of the Concerts of Ancient Musick, the first ‘early music’ series in the world of which Prince Albert was the last director (they ended in 1848). As Nicholas Temperley points out in his article ‘The Prince Consort, Champion of Music’: ‘The moribund Ancient Concerts were also given a shot in the arm by the Prince. From 1843, he began to choose the programmes for two concerts in each season, and he invariably introduced ten or twelve novelties in each concert, choosing music from all periods up to the time of Beethoven, and drawing sometimes on his own collection.’ He introduced a remarkable variety of music for the time. Temperley lists
medieval hymns and chansons, motets and mass movements by Palestrina, a concerto by Cavalieri [played on viols], arias by Cesti and Stradella, fugues and choruses by Bach; there were pieces by Handel, Haydn and Mozart taken from outside the ordinary Ancient Concert repertory; revivals like Beethoven's Mount of Olives and Gluck's Iphigenie en Tauride; and curiosities like Rousseau's Le Devin du Village and Mozart's juvenile works.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Sir George DysonHis Life and Music, pp. 274 - 290Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2014