Lady Lyttelton in Windsor Castle - 8 October, 1840
from Letter from Lady Sarah Lyttelton to her daughter, the Hon. Caroline Lyttelton, 9 October 1840, page 303:
Yesterday evening, as I was sitting here comfortably after the drive, by candlelight, reading M. Guizot, suddenly there arose from the rooms beneath oh such sounds! It was Prince Albert—dear Prince Albert—playing on the organ, and with such master skill as it appeared to me, modulating so learnedly, winding through every kind of bass and chord, till he wound up into the most perfect cadence and then off again, louder and then softer. No tune, and I am too distant to perceive the execution or small touches, so I only heard the harmony; but I never listened with … more >>
Sarah Spencer Lady Lyttelton, Letter from Lady Sarah Lyttelton to her daughter, the Hon. Caroline Lyttelton, 9 October 1840. In Hon. Mrs. Hugh Wyndham (ed.), Correspondence of Sarah Spencer, Lady Lyttelton 1787–1870 (London, 1912), p. 303. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1541435848345 accessed: 26 December, 2024
Listeners
Listening to
hide composersUnspecified organ music | performed by Prince Albert |
Experience Information
Date/Time | 8 October, 1840 |
Medium | live |
Listening Environment | in private, indoors |
Notes
Lady Sarah Spencer married William Henry Lyttelton on 3 March 1813, after which she was known as Lady Lyttelton. He succeeded his half-brother as 3rd Baron Lyttelton in 1828. After her husband’s death, Lady Sarah became Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria, and, from 1842, governess to the Queen’s children.