THE AYRTON PAPERS:MUSIC IN LONDON, 1786 1858

PAMELA WILLETTS

RECENTLY acquired papers^ of William Ayrton (1777-1858), musician and critic,sometime Director of the Italian opera at the King's Theatre, and editor of theHarmonicon, proved to be the residue of the collection of Ayrton's correspondence andpapers presented by Miss Phyllis Ayrton, his great-granddaughter, in 1964. The newcollection consists mainly of family papers, but, owing to the wide social and musicalconnections of Ayrton's father and those of the Arnold family into which he married, thesetouch on many notable personalities and events. The centre is mainly London, but there isinteresting material concerning Cambridge and other places mentioned in a travel journalof 1786 written by Ayrton's uncle, William Ayrton of Ripon.

William Ayrton was bred up to the musical profession by his father. Dr. EdmundAyrton (1734-1808), organist, vicar-choral of St. Paul's, layclerk of Westminster Abbey,and Master of the Children of His Majesty's Chapels. Dr. Ayrton had a numerous familybut he gave this second son a liberal education as well as a grounding in music and'rendered him fit to engage in any situation, or associate in any society'.^ William Ayrtonmarried on 17 May 1803 Marianne, daughter of the composer and organist of WestminsterAbbey, Dr. Samuel Arnold (1740-1802), who had been a member of his father's circle offriends. Dr. Arnold appears in the new collection as the writer of an affectionate andwhimsical letter to his daughter (16 August 1795)." Her sisters, he wrote, found it too hotto accompany him to the Abbey, and ^poor Pill Garlick must trudge alone'; herecommended in her hostess and godmother, Mrs. Mallett, 'hourly examples worthyimitation, as her gentleness of manner, and well observed knowledge of the world (such asa female should possess)' and asked her to make his compliments 'for a man of business isalways awkward at Compliments, and to tell you the truth I never had that Knack . .. ' Dr.Arnold was more sympathetic than his wife and daughter to the suit of another man ofbusiness, the publisher James Harrison,^ for his daughter's hand in 1792. Harrison was awidower, 'within 2 months of 39', and had a son by his first marriage. A letter (24 June1792) to Dr. Arnold from the rejected suitor thanked him for playing 'a kind and a candidpart' and mentioned that he had Ventured to remonstrate, at some length, in a letter sentlast night to Mrs. Arnold'.^ Harrison was not to know that the ladies were not taking himseriously. A mischievous postscript by Marianne to a letter from her mother (21 June1792) to Dr. Arnold held no hope for Mr. Harrison: 'I think I begin to waver in my

(before)//.v'J determination, when 1 consider the respectable black beard; the delights ofSon in Law |i.c. stepson | of 77 to play with;& the sweet A\r of Paternoster Row; joind tothe age which 1 have been iiscustomed to Love in a l''ather . . .'" A scries of letters (1792-1.S12) to Marianne from her mother gives a few more glimpses of Dr. Arnold enfamille^and even a few snatches of his speech, for Mrs. Arnold wrote conversationally.^ Shegrumbled at him (19 May 1799) for being an unwilling correspondent: 'let me hear of yourschemes & projects & as your lazy Daddy won't (he'll pretend to say busy, & can't Isuppose) do you let me know —when does he come ?' She dismissed them both (4 Feb-ruary 1801) as 'now Jog trot old folks' but went on to describe a visit to the theatre: 'wewent into the Pit -to please me—I saw & heard . . . the Stranger: & our Veteran [Dr.Arnold's comic opera, ( cteran Tar] — \hc Wife& the Mother could not be quiet enough togive the individual fair play I shall see it again with more critical composure before I makeup my Mind entirely —it is certainly a very loyal interesting little piece & the musicpretty—very pretty some parts—the House very full, & a great deal of fair applause youunderstand my meaning—no paper credit last Night.' She was to attend a concert thefollowing day 'tho' there is not a Note play'd that would carry me—all good things—butreally worn to Shreds'. Hut despite the cheerfulness there is a twist at the end of the letter:7 feel ;;/i'.\-(7/that in this Spot of Cabal & evil speaking. Lying and Slandering—there islittle chance ot serenity—for anybody (true I only hear of it; mix in it I never will)—Icannot but connect favorable ideas with absence from Westm"": . . .' Later, the same year,there is a lively description of a journey home from Woburn (14 September 1801): 'at lasthowever dirty pavement, thick foggy unsavoury Atmosphere & jolting & rattlingannounced the Change — & (as y": P'ather says— /say) ^^Here weare^' & "so wx zv&—lobe surewe .//•(•" <S notes higher . . .' But their anticipation of a comfortable welcome home wasdisappointed: '1 supp()sc you ihtiught of a tacc dish of Tea; & you saw me enjoying it, &Papa his Tumbler of Rum & Water; & a Woburn Cake Toasted & Butter'd—aye herecomes a very lamentable Tale indeed . . .' for the maids had played truant and 'gone Arm inArm I suppose to CV/fZ/Jc/jiious devout pair'. Dr. Arnold was injured in a fall from his librarysteps in i7()S and his health was permanently impaired."* He continued with hisprofessional engagements and during the last year of his life there are references to hisconducting and rehearsing his works: (21 July 1802) 'Y"! Feather is rehearsing for Tomorr.1 \ ng. ///(• '',,' Lcllcr^ \ 1 )r. Arnold's musical farce, the Snty-Third Letter]. In August therewas a sudden decline in his health; a visit to Brighton brought no improvement and hedied on 11 October. .Marianne's journals show her grief, but his death seems to haveremoved an obstacle to her marriage.

An earlier record from \\ illiam Ayrton's side of the family is the first part of the originaljournal kept by his uncle, another William Ayrton who was organist of Ripon, on hisjourne\ to London in 1786." ' This now joins the unidentified end of the journal in thepre\ious Ayrton collection." The purpose of his journey was to bring his son, WilliamMorell Ayrton (b. 1778), who had been elected a King's Scholar at Westminster, to residewith his uncle; Dr. Edmund Ayrton was Master of the King's Scholars among his manyother duties. William Ayrton of Ripon attended many musical functions during his visit of

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barely a month, and his comments are those of a professional though provincial musician.On 26 May he attended one of the first series of subscription concerts arranged by JohannPeter Salomon at the Hanover Square Rooms. The performers included Salomon asleader, Clementi at the piano, and 'Fisher^^ played the Hautboy very accurately', a note-worthy event as the intonation of the baroque oboe was difficult to control. He attendedseveral rehearsals in Westminster Abbey (27, 29, and 31 May) for one of the series ofspectacular musical festivals in commemoration of Handel organized by Joah Bates. 'Thevery grand orchestra to the amasing number of 700 and upwards' played a mammothprogramme which included Handel's Dettingen Te Deum, two concertos, and severalanthems and choruses; practices and performances lasted from 12 o'clock to four in theafternoon. On i June he was at a 'practice of the Messiah', which was attended by theRoyal family, bishops, ambassadors 'and most of the distinguished persons in Town'; hegave the size of the audience, excluding performers, as 2,545. On the following Sunday hewas critical of the chanting at the Abbey: 'they sung in tune but not in time oweing to thedifferent maner of speaking their words which was not close and altogether as CantaFerma ought to be, clashing as the Pop guns when irregular firings in the Park are made.'His account of the young musical prodigy, William Crotch,^^ adds a few details to what isknown: (8 June) 'Young Crotch being now ten years old did surprise me in playing on theHarpsichord, Clementi's Lessons, being laid before him, he play'd them with greatrappidity'; (12 June) 'he sat to the Harpsichord and playd many lessons, and sung to uswith great propriety: he gave me a book of his owne composition which surprised me to seeso much correctness and judgment in so young a boy'; (13 June) 'Master Crotch and hisMother came to tea; he playd on ye organ, harpsichord. My Lord Rochford came in tohear Crotch: all the gentlemen think him a merakle: my brother gave him a guinea.' LordRochford himself was the possessor of a remarkable unbroken soprano voice: (i o June) 'At120 Clock Lord Rochford came to the Doctors, and sung Sol Fa and Glees in parts, one byJos. Baildon, Adieu to the village delights in E: his Lordship took the upper part, which hesung very well with a soprano voice; he also sung. He shall feed his flock, and I know thatmy Redeemer liveth, with the same sort of voice which surprised me how he sustain thatsort of voice quiet through. I suppose Lord Rochford to have attained the age of20 years.' '* On his journey home to Ripon the elder William Ayrton visited relatives andsaw the sights in Cambridge including the fields near Emmanuel where 'young gentlemenplay at that laboreous game Cricket'. On the eve of his departure he was entertained byseven young Cantabrigians: 'they endeavoured to make me drunk, they succeeded.' Heplayed the organ in Newark and saw the collections of a Mr. Pocklington: (26 June) 'He avery curious gentleman. Pictures, Statutes, and many muscikell Instruments, a very finesituation.' He played the organ again at Southwell, and near Mansfield he visited thecotton mills and lace manufactory where he saw lace 'being worked the same as a stockingLoom, and after with a needle in frames'.

Young William Ayrton, then a boy of nine, gets only a passing mention in his uncle'sjournal and the first we hear of him directly in the Ayrton papers is in 1793, when he wassixteen and his future wife slightly older. An entry in Marianne's original pocket-book for

17»)3 reads: *W Ayrton leans over the sopha looks at me nursing Mrs Barrow's baby.' Thetiagment was carefully mounted and annotated by her husband, 'From my Mary's PocketIiook for 1793: -Some indication of my early love for her (a very true one), and that shewas not insensible to it'.^^

More prosaic but very detailed information about the Ayrton household during the firstyears of their marriage comes from William Ayrton's account books of domestic andpersonal expenditure, into which he also entered his income from teaching. The books for1S03 and 1805 to 1810 have now come to join the account book for 1804 acquiredpreviously."" The 1803 account book opens after his marriage to Marianne on 17 May andgets oft to a good start with a gift of ^^ioo from Marianne's godmother. Without this giftthe accounts would have been in arrears almost immediately for the outgoings for that firstincomplete year were ;C48i. 17.V. i id. as against receipts of ^£538. 35. od. They lived in thestyle appropriate for a young and ambitious professor of music with a fashionableclientele. Expenses for 1803 included visits to the opera (25 June: 125. 6i., made up of 85.opera, 2s. book, and 2s. 6d. coach) and Vauxhall (22 August: 165. lod.^ including transportand supper), and ^Marianne visited Cambridge in September (£3. 35. od. for her place inthe coach and expenses there). Purchases included necessary reference books such as Dr.Burney's General History of Music and his Memoirs of. . . Metastasio^ and there wereseveral payments to well-known music publishers. As the later account books show theirincome was boosted by the dividends from the Consols made over to William Ayrton aspart ol Marianne's marriage settlement ; ^ she had also retained control through trusteesover residual money from her father's estate (he died intestate). Ayrton had at first refusedto sign the marriage settlement;'^ presumably he objected to the clause relating to themoney intended tor her use 'independantly and exclusively of the said William Ayrtonwho is not to intermeddle therewith . . .'. The later account books show that he maintainedtheir standard of living chiefly from a successful teaching practice in these early years oftheir marriage, despite the interruptions of illness and a growing family. After a briefperiod of residence at 98 Sloane Street the young couple returned in the autumn of 1806 toJames Street (now Buckingham Gate), Pimlico (fig. i). Old Dr. Ayrton apparently left hishouse at no. 24, w here he had once enjoyed the use of a large garden, reputedly haunted, onthe c\pir> of his lease.'"^ He joined the young Ayrtons at no. 4 James Street where heresided until his death on 22 May 1808. The address was a good one but there was analarmmg amount of illness in the family (Marianne's mother hinted that the house wasdamp: (13 November 1809) 'far be it from me to prove myself a screech-owl, or croakingRaven, but, is it quite sure & certain that your situation is as free from unwholesome damp,as it is really beautiful V-^^ All the children were poorly and three of them died young:William Ayrton had typhus in the autumn of 1808 and Marianne later developedconsumption. They escaped smallpox for Ayrton was advanced enough to have hischildren vaccinated; the 1808 account b<K)k gives the fee for Fanny's vaccination as£i,.T,s.od. By his will of 6 October 1802 Dr. Ayrton left William/; 100,'my old family organwith the C'lough arms upon it', 'all my music in Manuscript Printed Music and MusicBooks', his own portrait by Hoppner, and paintings by his brother-in-law Nicholas DalL

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Fig. I. Richard Horwood, Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster (1792-99), showingJames Street (1795). Map Library, i Tab. 22, Sbeet B 3

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A codicil dated 15 May 1808 added the silver cup presented to him by 'my Brethren atSt. Paul's' and a harpsichord by Tabcl.^'

Abstractsof Marianne's journals, from 1786 until her death in January 1836, made andannotated by her husband in 1842, now join her own transcripts made from her originalpocket-books during her last illness." There are many gaps in Marianne's transcripts for,as her husband noted, some were 'so nearly illegible —that is—written and crossed—that1 destroyed them after extracting everything, except matters of merely temporaryinterest'. Amongst the new material of interest in the abstracts is a record of WilliamAyrton's first proposal. He had been accepted on 7 October 1800: 'Years of faithful andlender attachment surely deserved the reward, if calling me his wife shall prove one to him. . . May I have the power to strengthen and retain his attachment, for now he thinks muchtoo highly of me!' (annotated by her husband in 1842: 'No, I did not, my dear andexcellent Mary!'). There was apparently an obstacle to their engagement—possibly Dr.Arnold had grander plans for his daughter—for a week before her father's death Mariannenoted (13 October 1802) 'Told my mother of Williams 21 declaration to me. Bless him' and(24 (October) 'W illiatn my only worldly support'. During the first years of her marriage herjournals are mainly concerned with the births—and deaths—of children, but the missingyears now covered by her husband's abstracts show that by 1813 the Ayrtons were partof the musical establishment. That year Ayrton became a founder-member of thePhilharmonic Society and undertook the management of their concerts. Marianne'srecord of engagements from March to July (fig. 2) shows the extent of their musical andsocial activities. Of particular interest is the mention of the performance at Drury Lane on5 March of the Messiah with Mozart's accompaniments 'first time in England', and hertwo music parties (30 May, 9 July) led by Salomon and Viotti. Her engagements in 1814included duiing at 'Mr Alsagers'. Thomas Alsager, a proprietor of The Times and a notedmusical amateur, later held elaborate music parties at his house in Queen Square. Therearc no entries for i8i6, a year when Ayrton travelled abroad to engage singers for theItalian opera at the King's Theatre, of which he undertook the musical direction in 1817.But an entry on 16 March 1817 is very relevant to his current occupations: 'Mr. Alsager todine. Thc> phned Don Giovanni'; for on 12 April 1817 the first performance in Englandot Dim (jiinunnt was given at the King's Theatre and this was regarded as the highlight ofAyrton's three seasons (1817, 1821, and 1825) as musical director. Marianne's journals ofthe 182OS include frequent mentions of her own ill health, apparently consumption, butshe lived until 25 January 1836. Her sympathy with a fellow sufferer is evident from a notein her transcripts from her pocket-books recording a dinner party at James Street, whenthe guests included Sir George Smart and Weber: (16 April 1826) 'van Weber—{he ill).'\\ eber died in London at the house of Sir George Smart on 5 June. Her entries for 1829conclude on a despairing note: 'Sickness, expence, and disappointment have embitteredmy existence for some weeks . . .' and she prayed for God's blessing on her family in theirMong and irksome fatigues' (later annotated by her husband, 'Long, but not irksome, my

own .Mary').Memoranda by Ayrton's daughter Fanny, who kept house for him after her mother's

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-^i-r

^,

2. Abstract of Marianne Ayrton's journal (1813). Add. MS. 60372, fol. 31

death, have some points of surprising interest." On 23 May 1844 she recorded: 'Our GreatMusical Party, in which Mr. C.. Dickens introduced Miss Weller [annotated by Ayrton,^^ho phn ed charmingly on the P.F. and delighted everybody as much by her performanceas her great beauty'], Mendelssohn, Sivori and Joachim came and played. 250 peoplecame.' The celebrated pianist, Ignaz Moscheles, was also present. The Miss Wellerintroduced by Charles Dickens was Christiana Weller, whom he had met in Liverpool at aMechanics' Institute soiree. ** To his great embarrassment Dickens had read out to hisaudience an introduction, previously unseen by him, for 'a young lady whom I have somedifficulty and tenderness in announcing—Miss Weller, who will play a fantasia on thepiano', lo make amends for his clumsiness Dickens invited her to lunch the next day andsubsequently introduced her to his friend, T. J. Thompson, whom she married later thesame year. Another brief entry by Fanny on 20 May 1847, 'Miss Lamb died, aged 81',drew the follow ing comment from Ayrton, 'one of the most sensible, amiable women I wasever acquainted with', loyal tribute to the memory of Charles Lamb's unfortunate sister,from one who knew the family well. -

W illiam Ayrton's papers and correspondence relating to his seasons as Director ofMusic at the King's Theatre survive in the previous Ayrton collection.^^ Here is ampleevidence of the qualities which made him a successful although not generally popularadministrator: business sense and eye for detail combined with tenacity of purpose andconsiderable diplomatic skills. During the legal case on 10 January 1818 when Ayrton wassuing his manager, Edward Waters, for his remuneration during the 1817 season, he wasdescribed as 'a gentleman—a scholar—acquainted with foreign languages—understoodnot only what belonged to the science of music, but to the business of the world'.^^ Hiscounsel went on to elaborate on the difficulties of Ayrton's duties at the King's Theatre incomposing the 'jarrinp feelings' of the performers: 'It required a man of profoundknowledge of the world to soothe the irritations of the one or flatter the other in order toinduce them to make a sacrifice of their vanity. It required such a man as Mr. Ayrton, aman of suavity of manners, of great address, of sound judgment, and refined taste.' Lessstage-managed than the evidence of the singers and employees of the King's Theatre whowere brought on as witnesses for the plaintiff is the earlier unsolicited testimony of thecelebrated tenor, John Braham, who wrote on 4 March 1817: 'I sincerely rejoice at theProsperity of the Opera House—and hope it may ever continue—with you at the Head ofthe musical Directorship —for I believe without your able and efficient administration—the Doors would have been closed by this time.'^ John Ebers, who succeeded Waters asmanager, wrote in his memoirs that he had accepted the management for the 1821 season'conditional on .Mr. .Ayrton's undertaking the direction of the Opera. With this precautionI thought myself tolerably safe; for the talent and established reputation of Mr. Ayrtonwas in itself a guarantee of success.'^^ Apart from dealing with the intrigues of rival singersthe Director of .Music had also to negotiate with a committee of aristocratic backers. Alii,'htl\ handled account of a crisis addressed to one of the committee. Viscount Lowther,on -\ September 1824 shows that Ayrton brought considerable literary skills to his tasks.The background was that Benelli, who had purchased Ebers's interest in the theatre, had

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absconded and had advertised for sale all the properties of the theatre; the singers wereholding a protest meeting under the colonnade in the Haymarket:

At this critical moment I arrived in town, and, in my way from tbe Golden Cross, found myself inthe midst of the infuriated throng; the ghost in Don Giovanni was particularly active andclamourous, and, no longer intent on reclaiming a libertine, thought only of claiming his salary.One of the party assured me that be had but 4/6 left in his pocket, but I bad not the heart to tell bimthat it was about as mucb as he bad earned. The wbole however became somewhat pacified when Iexplained to them the nature of an injunction, and made tbem understand that the Cbancellor, outof bis distinguished regard for singers and dancers, and bis passionate admiration of operas, wouldcertainly save Signor Ambrogetti's breecbes, and Mad'!'' Noblet's silken caleqons from the ignominyof a public sale.^

Further examples of Ayrton's effective use of the pen, mainly in combative mood, areto be found in the new collection. The committee in charge of a Musical Festival inWestrninster Abbey for the benefit of the Westminster Hospital was trounced in a draftletter of 9 August 1828. ^ With a Pepysian eye for the relation of the value of presents tothat of the services performed Ayrton declined a gift of plate worth fifty guineas asinadequate recognition of his services which he recited: persuading the Dean to allow aperformance with Italian and Latin words, translating these words, selecting theperformers and music, obtaining the gratuitous services of Madame Grisi, undertaking'the difficult and disagreeable duty of arranging with the principal singers' concerning theperformance of the music, answering letters from them 'and their friends', and finallycarrying the responsibility for an outlay of more than ( 2,000.

Ayrton's services were again in demand for the management of the Royal MusicalFestival in Westminster Abbey in 1834, and indeed for several subsequent festivals, whichseem from their programmes to have been modelled on the Handel Commemorations ofhis youth. An innovation in 1834 brought down on him the wrath of the London musicalestablishment. He was taken to task by the Spectator (28 June 1834) for bringing in outsideperformers: 'Persons wholly incompetent have been admitted, nay, brought from a greatdistance; while meritorious professors resident on the spot have been rudely excluded.Boys and girls, unable to perform the easiest passages in decent tune, have been thrustforward, in order to puff the Tenterden Street School into notice; while some even of thechoir of the Abbey have been shut out.'^^ Against this hostile comment may be set themore measured tones of The Times (2 July 1834): 'Thus has terminated the RoyalFestival, which, though some clouds appear to lower upon its commencement, hassucceeded altogether far beyond the most sanguine expectation, and afforded the highestgratification to some thousands of His Majesty's loyal subjects.' The Times review waspresumably written or approved by Ayrton's friend, Thomas Alsager.

Another example of Ayrton's pugnacity is given by a draft letter relating to the eminentharpist, composer, and impresario, Robert Bochsa. On 2 and 4 December 1826 there hadbeen a celebrated and successful prosecution for libel by Bochsa of the Examiner and theSunday Monitor. Bochsa had made skilful use of the current law of libel and proceeded byindictment. The case aroused great sympathy for the defendants and was raised by Henry

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Brougham in the House of Commons on the last day of the session: *it was one of thegreatest instances of injustice and oppression that men were subject to a prosecution byindictment for merely publishing that which was well known to be true.'^^ The chargesagainst l^)chsa, that he was a forger, convicted under French law, and a bigamist, wereaccepted in many quarters and he lost his connection with the Royal Academy of Music.Ayrton was not, however, successful in his attempt to dislodge Bochsa from the King'sTheatre where he had gradually infiltrated himself after the former's departure at the endof the 1825 season. In a draft letter (28 November 1827) written in answer to a request forinformation 'under the safeguard of official secrecy' to J. B. Mash of the LordChamberlain's Office Ayrton catalogued Bochsa's offences, and then touched on thequestion w hich concerned him : 'Now, my dear sir, is this a man that ought to be placed atthe head of the theatre to which the King gives his name ?'^ The crux came a few lineslater: 'That he is supported by a few, a very few, people of fashion, only proves their uttercontempt for virtuous feeling: the great body of our nobility view him, and the patronagehe has received, with honest indignation.' Ayrton's protests were in vain, as were hisattempts to get at liochsa in the Harmomcon, a campaign which was restricted after thelibel case to sarcasm and none too scrupulous insinuation. Bochsa continued at the King'sTheatre until 1832, and Ayrton had to content himself with an epigram in his literarycommonplace-book .^^

Dialogue between a reader of the Hamionicon and tbe Editor.(on tbe exposure of Bocbsa in that publication.)

Reader

Wbo is tbe fellow you attackW itb sucb deatb-doing knocks. Sir ?

Editor

A forger, bigamist, and quack.And a notorious Boxer.

A lesser battle lost by Ayrton is revealed by correspondence of 1840 with George Long,editor of the Penny Gyclopedia (1833 43).^ Ayrton objected to the style and content of thearticle on the pianoforte and endeavoured to persuade the editor to publish a strangelylimping disclaimer: 'The foregoing is not from the pen of the gentleman [Ayrton himself]who has contributed all the articles relative to music, except one, in this work.' The editor,a classical scholar, was his match and pointed out that not only would there be a list ofcontributors but that some of Ayrton's objections were unfounded: (8 } July 1840) 'I donot assent to the accuracy of all that you say. I do not think the diagrams utterlyunintelligible, & I think I can understand them. But we have a large body of readers whoare artizans, & I am certain from the communication that I have had with them that theywill be glad to see the article.' The article was by Robert Womum, the inventor of severalimprovements to piano actions; some of these are illustrated in his article.

A more favourable example of William Ayrton's critical judgement is given by his

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running commentary on an '^Imperfect & uncorrected Sketch of a course of 6 lectures onMusic; drawn up at the request of Mr Faraday, for his instruction in engaging alecturer'. "^ This must date from Michael Faraday's early years at the Royal Institution (ofwhich Ayrton was a founder-member) when his duties included arranging the lectures.Rossini's Barber of Seville (first performed in Paris in 1816) is mentioned. The outline(fig. 3) is remarkably comprehensive: starting from ancient Hebrew music it passesthrough Greek and Arabic music; early and later church music, both Catholic andreformed; various styles of singing (with the comment, 'Most of the modern Italiansingers instances of a false style,—fashionable and fleeting'); pianoforte music ('Many ofthe present composers for that instrument, as Hummel, Ries, Czerny, Pixis, Herz, &c. willbe forgotten thirty years hence; with the exception of a very scanty portion of their works. . . ' ) ; Italian, French, and English opera; Mozart compared with Rossini ('Mozart's operashkely to stand the test of time, and to become standards of taste. Most, not all, of Rossini'slikely to be forgotten in a few years—when another favorite of fashion rises up to take hisplace'). The outline ends with Handel and Haydn, and the remark that 'none of the manygreat works of the former are, or are ever likely to become, obsolete. The same may be saidof The Greation^ & the Symphonies, of the latter.' Ayrton did not, apparently, have such ahigh opinion of Handel's operas.^ Most of the judgements passed stand up well today.What is surprising is the absence of reference to Bach and Beethoven. The date of writingwas not too early to take into account the Bach revival encouraged by Samuel Wesley inEngland. To judge from an unsigned article, probably written by Ayrton, in theHarmonicon in 1823, he regarded Beethoven as an eccentric genius: 'Beethoven is asoriginal and independant in his general modes of thinking, as he is in his musicalproductions. A decided enemy to flattery, and an utter stranger to every thingdishonourable, he disdains to court the favour of every one, however wealthy or exalted inrank . . . Thus he has for years resided in Vienna in open hostility with many, and infriendship only with the few whom the admiration of his great genius will not allow to takeoffence, either at the singularities of his manners, or at the ill-judged candour with whichhe declares his opinions both of persons and things.' Many years later Ayrton had theopportunity to hear the late works of Beethoven at the concerts organized by ThomasAlsager for the Queen Square Select Society and the Beethoven Quartet Society.^^

Three of Ayrton's memoranda books, from 8 March 1849 until two months before hisdeath in 1858, preserve some later judgements.'**' There are some strange juxtapositions:(24 March 1852) 'New Philharmonic Concert, first performance. M. Hector Berlioz'Symphony, Romeo Juliet^ which is either a burlesque, or a remarkable instance of stolidignorance combined with the grossest vanity'; (26 March 1852) 'Mr. Lodge Ellerton's3 quartets, at his house, Connaught Terrace; performers, M. Sainton, Mr. Cooper, Mr.Hill, and SigC Piatti. All three good; the i^' and 3':' most masterly & effective; equal to allbut the very best of the three great masters; superior to any of Spohr, Onslow, andMendelssohn.' Such praise coming from a critic of Ayrton's acuity suggests that thesequartets might be worth reviving. But the following comment is perplexing: (30 June1853) 'Purcell Commemoration, West. Abbey. "Benedicite", very dull. Jubilate in D,

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Fig. J. W illiam .Ayrton's outline ofa course of music lectures (after i8i6). Add. MS. 60370, fol.

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good. Anthems, "Out of the deep*', and "My heart is inditing", both unworthy of thecomposer.' What was it that offended Ayrton's taste ? There is a rare mention of Bach,(6 April 1854) 'Seb. Bach's Passionsmusik, at Han. Sq. Rooms', unfortunately with nocomment. Despite Ayrton's age the picture is still one of lively activity ('Sir F. Dwarris'sTurtle Dinner' on i July 1853) ^^^ ^ ^ en interest in modern developments. He recordedfor instance (25 September 1851) the successful laying of the submarine telegraphbetween Dover and Calais. A meticulous concern with detail led Ayrton to make regularnotes of weather conditions (snow on 9 May 1853), and transport costs. On 23 September1851 he gave 'as a curious fact, as to expence and speed in moving about London' adetailed account ofa journey by boat and bus from Westminster Bridge to London Bridge,Bethnal Green, back to Chelsea by bus, and by river to Hungerford stairs; the total cost fora journey of eighteen miles was i^. 3^. and it took from 10.30 a.m. to 2 p.m. includingstoppages and an appointment. After his son moved to Leeds in 1847 there are frequentmentions of train journeys with notes of fares and timings. Ayrton presumably travelledfirst class, since, in a letter to his son (19 October 1847), he attributed an accident to afriend to economy: 'He was penny-wise, and took the 21' class. His throat was cut, bybeing forced against the wooden partition in one of the carriages that are only halfdivided.'^1

The small collection of Ayrton's autograph compositions now acquired shows that thestyle of his most successful pieces, light-weight part-songs and glees, changed little overthe years.-* The earliest pieces date from 1799 and are perhaps associated with the Singingand Dancing Club, a private society, of which Ayrton was a founder-member andsecretary ;'' members included Samuel Arnold junior and his sister Marianne (Ayrton'slater wife), and Frederick Nicolay junior, presumably the son of the music librarian toQueen Charlotte. Ayrton's patriotic hymn, 'Joy to Queen Victoria', which is included inthe collection, was performed at the opening of the Birmingham Festival on 19 September1837. That same day Ayrton, who managed the Festival, reported to his children that' TheHymn was very well performed, and much more effective than I expected'.'*^ Excerpts ofreviews and criticisms (1832) of two of Ayrton's works, a canzonet, 'Oh! Memory!', and aPastoral Duet, 'Fair and fair, and twice so fair', which were published anonymously, areannotated 'Criticisms on my two comps!' ;'* this establishes their authorship and providesa closer dating.

Two commonplace-books were among the products of Ayrton's active leisure hours andretirement.^ One contains miscellaneous but carefully selected information on a widerange of subjects. It appears to have been compiled after the appointment of his son,William Scrope Ayrton, as Commissioner for Bankruptcy at Leeds, and the departure ofhis daughter, Fanny, to reside with her brother. 'Now, for the first time in my life, I foundmyself living alone, as a single man. Alas!'** His life now centred on his club, theAthenaeum, of which he had been a founder-member in 1823. A note of 1849 givingstatistics relating to the British Museum (number of volumes 435,000; average number ofreaders per day 250, 'But the attendance has of late years very much decreased') includes acomment on Panizzi, 'well qualified as Librarian. After 10 years of labor has produced

19

letter A in sixteen folio vols.' Ayrton's discriminating eye noted information on postalservices, the use of chloroform, circulation of newspapers, railway and farming stock, andpeople, including an acid comment on Spohr's defence of Dr. Samuel Sebastian Wesleyversus 77;c Times: 'Absurd enough. A Doctor of Oxford appealing to a foreign professorfor a certificate of his capability!'. A cutting ofa concert review (Morning Ghronicle, 9 July1853), with faults of grammar and spelling underlined, shows that he must have been aterror to young reporters. More seriously, he included a cutting of Michael Faraday'sletter to The Times (7 July 1855), describing the filthy state of the Thames as observedfrom a steamboat between London and Hungerford Bridges at low water: 'Theappearance and the smell of the water forced themselves at once on my attention. Thewhole of the river was an opaque brown fluid . . . Near the bridges the feculence rolled up inclouds so dense that they were visible at the surface . . .' Ayrton's poem. Past and Present,was inspired by the recent cholera epidemics: the copy mounted in his literarycommonplace-book is headed '(Reprinted from The Examiner of Oct. 4th, 1851, and dailybecoming more applicable.)'.

London fell sick; ten thousand were struck down.'Close every cburcbyard! empty every drain!'Were the loud cries tbrougbout tbe trembling town;Mayor, meetings, press, atid doctors swell tbe strain.

London got well. The cries then died away;Tbe danger past, tbe sewers tbeir ordure leak,Tbe grasping rectors snatcb again tbeir prey,Tbe churcbyards still witb festering corpses reek.And Thames, witb poison well supplied from shore to sbore.Refunds its noxious stream, and is imbibed once more!

The literary comtnonplace-book was apparently started as a record of Ayrton's leisurereading. The first entr> consists of excerpts from G. Ellis's Specimens of the early EnglishPnels (1801); other items include poems from Ossian and The Anti-Jacobin; extracts fromMrs. Piozzi's Anecdotes of Johnson (i-j()b), Southey's Letters from Spain and Portugal(1797), G. Baldwyn's Political Recollections, relative to Egypt (1801), and H. Kett'sElements of General Knowledge (1802). At the end of the book and dating from a laterperiod are original pieces by his friends, or of his own composition, including an eulogy ofLord Melbourne:

To Viscount Melbourne.

Sagacious, eloquent, polite, and just.Long may'st thou hold thy great, tby sacred trust.True friend of Cburcb, safe belm of State!Lov'd by tbe people, bonor'd by the crown.Thy patriot-zeal is read in Tories' frown.Thy honesty in Lyndburst's bate.

W. A.June 26, 1837.

20

^ . /"^ U^e

i^ A^ / ^fr

••^•?

tVcwe—A\M \ i . M J I U N , , , X T M K X VV

T h e R t . H o n . J . W, (

l t d bv Dr . 11

THOMAS YOUV.. Es,rs. Th. S,ac-.a.. Passag. Av

' "

^nn. .

ges by Dr, I/.

Jii-citii/ivv—\U H I M . . . ; . W . C

I, John Wilson Cr<,kcr,w,ll,lo as [please •You asked for an IcClo.s.. I ^ive jou a f W . « ;And graciously gram, of n.y free wiH aloneInstea.l ofa Bath, a fine piece of Bath Slone

^. ^. William Ayrton's literary eommonplace-book. Add. MS. 60358, fol. 86

Specimens of club humour (fig. 4) include a verse protest against the installation ofafrieze rather than warm baths. Ayrton appears as one of the leaders of the 'GrowlingC-horus'. He had enough sense of humour to include a poem against himself:

Is Henderson the worst of bores ?No, Ayrton is a worse. Sir . . .

Ayrton's last piece of writing is completely in character. He annotated a copy of Notesand Queries (20 February 1858) 'W. A. 15/3/58. My last literary effort'."*^ The issuecontained an article signed 'Alpha' on Don Juan, and Ayrton noted: 'It somehow or othergot wind, that I wrote the above article, and for some days I was regarded with a mostsuspicious look by some ultra-tories at the Athenaeum.' William Ayrton may be forgiventor harking back at the end of his life —he died on 8 May 1858'*^—to the part he had playedin the history of Don Giovanni, in his reference to 'an opera whose renown spread far andwide from the da) when it was so splendidly produced in London'.

1 Add. MSS. 60358-60381, acquired at Sotheby's,21 Nov. 1978, 2g8.

2 Add. MSS. 52334-52358.3 Obsencr, \\ Jan. 1818. Cutting in Add. MS.

4 \dd. \1S '10370. fnls. ^}, 54'.5 James Harrison published, among otber works,

an edition of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary' (London,1786) and the series Harrisoti's British Classicks(London, 1785).

6 Add, MS. 60370, fol 50.7 Ibid.. Inl. 41J'8 Add. MS. 60371.9 Sec T. Busby, Concert Room and Orchestra

•ineccJntes {London, 1825), vol. iii, p. 152.10 .\dd. MS- 603H0. Quotations arc from a tran-

script accompansing the journal, made in iH(i6h\ William Scrope \\rinn, sun of the \(iuni;erW ilium Ayrton. m which some of the eccentrici-ties of spelling are standardized.

11 Add. MS 52352.12 Johann (Christian Fischer (1733 1800), one of the

most celebrated contemporar>- oboists.13 For further details of Crotch's musical gifts see

Dr. C. Burney, '.Account of an Infant Musician',Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society,Ixix (1779), part i. pp. 183-206; the Hon. D. Bar-rington, 'Some account of little Crotch', Miscel-lanies (I^ndon. 1781), pp. 311 25.

14 He was older: W illiam Henry Nassau dc Zuyle-stein, 5tb f arl of Rochford, was horn in t754.

15 In Add. .MS. 52351.16 Add. MSS. 60360-60366 and Add. MS. 52344.

17 For the marriage settlement see Add. Charters75566,75865.

18 Add. MS. 60372, fol. 13.iQ Add. Charter 75863 is an indentureof the lease to

Dr. Ayrton, 28 Sept. 1785.20 Add. MS. 60371, fol. 82.21 Add. Charter 75864. Hermann Tabel (d. 1738 in

London) was a well-known maker of harpsi-chords.

22 Add. MS. 52351 (Marianne's transcripts); Add.MSS. 60372-60373 (William Ayrton's abstracts).

23 Add. MS. 60373, fols. 27-60.24 For Charles Dickens and Christiana Weller see

W, Dexter, The Letters of Charles Dickens (Lon-don, 1938), vol. i, pp. 572-608 passim. Dickensintroduced her to musical circles in London andshe pla\ed at the Hanover Square Rooms on11 and 13 June 1844.

25 Among Lamb's letters to Ayrton is a rhymedepistle, 12 May 1817, referring to Don Ciovanni,and concluding:

'Ha! Mr. Ayrton!With all your rare tone—'

See E. V. Lucas (ed.), The Letters of Charles Lamb(London, 1935), vol. ii, pp. 206-8. Mary Lambwas subject to temporary fits of insanity.

26 Particularly Add. MSS. 52335-52337^-27 Observer, 11 Jan. 1818; cutting in Add. MS.

52335-28 In Add. MS. 52337A.29 J. Ebers, Seven Years of the King's Theatre

(London, 1828), pp. 38-9.

2 2

30 In Add. MS. 52335.31 Add. MS. 60370, fols. i7-2o\32 Press cuttings in Add. MS. 60379; the Tenterden

Street School was the Royal Academy of Music,founded in 1823.

33 Hansard, 13 Dec. 1826.34 Add. MS. 60370, fols. 15-16.35 Add. MS. 60358, fol. 131b. For the Bochsa affair

see the Harmonicon, iv (1826), pp. 9-11, 30, 64,69-7^ i59> 186; V (t827), pp. 3-4, I I I , 240; vi(1828), pp. 48,59,94,224.

36 Add. MS. 60370, fols. 25-31\37 Ibid., fols. 11-12^.38 Harmonicon, viii (1830), p. 138.39 Programmes of these societies are in Add. MS.

52347. See also P. J. Willetts, Beethoven andEngland (London, 1970), pp. 53-8.

40 Add. MSS. 60367-60369.41 Add. MS. 60370, fol. 7,T,\42 Add. MSS. 60374-60375.43 See Add. MS. 52345.44 In Add. MS. 52354.45 Add. MS. 60370, fols. 21-2.46 Add. MS. 60359 (miscellaneous commonplace-

book); Add. MS. 60358 (literary commonplace-book).

47 Add. MS. 60373, fol. 60.48 In Add. MS. 60378.49 Obituary in The Centlemen's Magazine, N.s. iv

(1858), p. 686. The date of death is wrongly givenas 8 March in D.N.B. William Ayrton's will, infavour of his son and daughter, is Add. Charter75568.