Henry Croswell et al. in St Mark's Church, Marylebone Road, London - 2 October, 1881, 07:00 PM
from Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell, page 272:
O[rgan]. – Medium; the organist surpliced and prominent.
H[ymns]. – Church Hymns - but none to lend.
C[hoir]. – Large, surpliced with cathedral singing. I heard some very fine voices.
[The congregation numbered] 110 – […] There was an ordinary congregation including many strangers without Books. I saw no enthusiasm.
S[ermon]. – We didn't stop.
Henry Croswell, Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell. In British Library, number 000826807, C.194.c.113 , p. 272. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1551365842957 accessed: 30 January, 2025 (By permission of the British Library.)
Listeners
Listening to
hide composers| hymns selected from 'Church Hymns' | performed by the choir and organist of St Mark's Church Marylebone Road |
| performed by the choir and organist of St Mark's Church Marylebone Road |
Experience Information
| Date/Time | 2 October, 1881, 07:00 PM |
| Duration | 45 minutes |
| Medium | live |
| Listening Environment | in the company of others, indoors, in public |
Notes
Henry Croswell (1840–93) kept a record of his visits to churches in London over a period of more than twelve years (1872–85). He made methodical notes about the number of clergy, the churchmanship, the congregation, the sermon and the church architecture, as well as commenting on the music that he heard (the organ, the hymns and the choir). The above listening experience has been extracted from one of these records. ‘Church Hymns’ (1871) and ‘Church Hymns with Tunes’ (1874) were publications of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (S.P.C.K.), under the musical editorship of Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900). This collection was the most successful of the competitors to ‘Hymns Ancient and Modern’ in the late nineteenth century, containing a larger number of hymns overall, and more hymns specifically intended for children and young people.