
Image from Sunderland Daily Echo. November 15 1898. access here
North East in the 19th Century
When we think of the northeast of England in the 19th Century, we think of coal and shipping. The region also had a rich cultural life. Writers, musicians, artists from (or visiting) the region made it a rich environment amidst the industrial background. All towns had theatres, music halls, and meeting rooms used to entertain and inform.
Who was Coleridge-Taylor?
Composer, Samuel Coleridge Taylor, is best known for Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, which received its commercial premier at Sunderland on 16th November 1898. He visited the region to conduct a number of times and was friends with a north-east industrialist and music enthusiast Nicolas Alan Kilburn from Bishop Auckland.(1)
Concert: Nature's Bounty Date: Saturday 23 March 2013, Knox Church, Dunedin, New Zealand. Hiawatha's Wedding Feast
What else did he do?
Coleridge-Taylor used his medium and celebrity to advocate for Black music. He wrote Twenty-Four Negro Melodies in 1905 and performed at the White House.(2)
Coleridge Taylor based his most famous choral work on a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. At times it was more popular than Handel’s Messiah. Coleridge-Taylor even named his son Hiawatha, after his most famous work.(3)
Uploaded to You Tube 2 Dec 2020
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's 24 Negro Melodies for piano
The Sunderland Daily Echo, on Tuesday November 15th 1898, heaped praise on Coleridge-Taylor’s work and him as a young composer, with ‘ brilliant career before him.’ It even included a drawn portrait of him, rare for these times. (4)
Two days later a full report on the premier and the composer was published. Glowing with praise for the piece and Coleridge-Taylor, however it is regrettable that the journalist makes reference to Coleridge-Taylor’s African blood as enabling him to compose, ‘the wild bursts of barbaric harmony which occasionally characterised the work.'(5)
The day after the premier the Sunderland Daily Echo printed a letter of thanks to Kilburn from the composer who had travelled back to London.
"I can assure you I have never felt as highly gratified as I did at last evening’s performance.
My train was very punctual and I was actually at home at 7.30am!
Please give my kindest regards to Mrs Kilburn and Paul and all my Sunderland friends."
S. Coleridge Taylor
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In the news
References;
1. Creighton, S. 2020 The Involvement of People of African Heritage in the North East. An Introduction. P14 accessed 12/02/2023
2. Hakim, A. (2020) The history of African & Caribbean communities in Britain. London: Wayland. P 213
3. ttps://www.classical-music.com/features/works/the-song-of-hiawatha-how-the-cantata-trilogy-made-samuel-coleridge-taylor-a-household-name/ accessed 12/02/2023
4. Sunderland Daily Echo Tuesday November 15th 1898. Accessed 26/08/23 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000289/18981115/023/0003
5. Sunderland Daily Echo Thursday November 17th 1898. Accessed 27/08/23 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000289/18981117/053/0004
6.
Did you know?
Samuel's mother was English but his father was African. He never met his father as he likely returned to Africa while his mother was still pregnant with him.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor died at just age 37!
He died of pneumonia. It was said that his death was a result of the stress of his financial situation. How could somebody so talented be stressed about money?
Over to You!
History Detective Challenge
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was born on the 15 August 1875 and died on the 1st of September 1912.
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What can you learn about the movement of black people around the world at this time?
Explore the answers to...
Who was Samuel's father and why did he come to London?
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Did Samuel's father live anywhere else in the world?
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How did he get to London? When did he arrive?
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What was happening around the world in 1875?
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How had the world changed between 1875 and 1912?
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Final thoughts...
Samuel's legacy is his music. What better final thoughts to have than to listen to one of his compositions and appreciate his genius.