Henry Croswell et al. in St Martin's Church, Gospel Oak, London - 22 May, 1881, 07:00 PM
from Transcript of the diaries of Henry Croswell, page 256:
O[rgan]. – All away from the Chancel and badly played. It was a dreadful, unmusical service.
H[ymns]. – Mercer, a miserable selection.
C[hoir]. – A few young women, incapables, with tunes in which nobody joined.
[The congregation numbered] 130 – A great failure. In the proper hands it might be a great success.
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. 256. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1551347513949 accessed: 29 November, 2024 (By permission of the British Library.)
Listeners
Listening to
hide composers| Anglican church music | performed by the choir and organist of St Martin's Church Gospel Oak |
| hymns selected from Mercer's hymnal | performed by the choir and organist of St Martin's Church Gospel Oak |
Experience Information
| Date/Time | 22 May, 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. William Mercer’s ‘The Church Psalter and Hymn Book’ (1854, enlarged, 1856; new edition, 1864; reprinted with Appendix, 1872) was one of the principal Church of England hymnals before the publication of ‘Hymns Ancient and Modern’. The music editor was John Goss.