Henry Croswell et al. in Holy Trinity Church, Great Portland Street, Marylebone, London - 27 November, 1881, 06:50 PM

from Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell, page 280:

O[rgan]. – Large, middling, new and showy.

H[ymns]. – Being Advent - "Hark a thrilling …"  They were Church Hymns.  The congregation did not join in at all.

C[hoir]. – Some boys and men, unsurpliced, in the Chancel; some young ladies arranged next to the Chancel.  It was a curious, dull and poor effect in all.

[The congregation numbered] 1100 – There might have been many more if it had been a fine evening and if there had been more …   more >>

cite as

Henry Croswell, Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell. In British Library, number 000826807, C.194.c.113 , p. 280. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1551439976711 accessed: 22 November, 2024 (By permission of the British Library.)

location of experience: Holy Trinity Church, Great Portland Street, Marylebone, London

Listeners

Henry Croswell
assurance clerk, Sunday School teacher
1840-1893

Listening to

hide composers
hymns selected from 'Church Hymns' performed by the choir and organist of Holy Trinity Church Great Portland Street
Anglican church music performed by the choir and organist of Holy Trinity Church Great Portland Street
'Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding'
written by Sir Arthur Sullivan
performed by the choir and organist of Holy Trinity Church Great Portland Street

Experience Information

Date/Time 27 November, 1881, 06:50 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. Croswell names the location as Portland Road, but there is no record of a church of that name in that road. However, his mention of the Rector, the Rev. Cadman, identifies the church as Holy Trinity, Great Portland Street in ‘Mackeson’s Guide to the Churches of London and Its Suburbs’ (1875 edition). ‘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.


Originally submitted by lcc5 on Fri, 01 Mar 2019 11:32:57 +0000
Approved on Tue, 14 Jul 2020 11:03:24 +0100