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Edited by
Andrew Morris, Taught in secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive schools in London before becoming Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years,Bernarr Rainbow, Widely recognised as the leading authority on the history of music education
Edited by
Andrew Morris, Taught in secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive schools in London before becoming Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years,Bernarr Rainbow, Widely recognised as the leading authority on the history of music education
Edited by
Andrew Morris, Taught in secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive schools in London before becoming Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years,Bernarr Rainbow, Widely recognised as the leading authority on the history of music education
Edited by
Andrew Morris, Taught in secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive schools in London before becoming Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years,Bernarr Rainbow, Widely recognised as the leading authority on the history of music education
Edited by
Andrew Morris, Taught in secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive schools in London before becoming Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years,Bernarr Rainbow, Widely recognised as the leading authority on the history of music education
from
PART I
-
Studies from Music and the English Public School (1990)
Edited by
Andrew Morris, Taught in secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive schools in London before becoming Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years,Bernarr Rainbow, Widely recognised as the leading authority on the history of music education
The series of articles contributed anonymously by John Graham to the Tonic Sol-fa Reporter and its successor, the Musical Herald, between 1888 and 1892 provide the eye-witness accounts incorporated in this chapter. The first school to be visited was Sherborne. [BR]
Sherborne in 1888
Tonic Sol-fa Reporter, August 1888, pp. 466–8
It is often taken for granted that, while elementary schools give music a fair share of attention, the art is neglected to a large extent in the curriculum of the great public schools of the country. The idea has got abroad that there is a lack of musical interest among high-school boys. Mr Joseph Barnby said recently that about ninety per cent of the boys at Eton College had no musical ear. This is not as it should be. It will be well to enquire the reason for this state of things. If the children of the poor can learn to sing so generally and so readily, it is evident that the youth of England have a latent talent for music, and the grand old doctrine, that singing is a universal privilege, must be preached until there is a great awakening among the schools of the upper classes. But before assuming that these schools are in a state of musical heathendom, it should be known what is their actual condition. Possibly they have some sort of music, and at least the experiences of the professors at these institutions deserve consideration.
Edited by
Andrew Morris, Taught in secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive schools in London before becoming Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years,Bernarr Rainbow, Widely recognised as the leading authority on the history of music education
from
PART I
-
Studies from Music and the English Public School (1990)
Edited by
Andrew Morris, Taught in secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive schools in London before becoming Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years,Bernarr Rainbow, Widely recognised as the leading authority on the history of music education
As with other enterprises, developments in public school music were abruptly halted by the declaration of war in 1914. For the next four years the shock of World War was felt in every sphere of national life. Two further years were then occupied by the slow process of demobilisation. A new spirit now made itself felt and it is no coincidence that this sense of invigoration was also found in the educational field, or that attempts were now made to establish music on a less tentative footing in public schools. What had already been achieved in some schools – and then placed in jeopardy by wartime decimation – proved to have been the disparate achievement of a handful of enthusiasts, each improvising as best he could to suit the needs of a particular situation. Attempts were now made to review individual aims and devise a less random approach.
An early manifestation of this activity occurred in a symposium on ‘Music in Public Schools’ published in Music & Letters in 1922–3. The paper's editor, A. H. Fox Strangways, was particularly well placed to initiate the event. After graduating at Oxford in 1882, then studying music at the Berlin Hochschule, he had taught modern languages in two public schools before succeeding Alan Gray as director of music at Wellington in 1893. Although he later gave up teaching for musicology and musical criticism, Fox Strangways' knowledge and experience of working conditions in public schools equipped him notably to lead an investigation of musical conditions there.
Edited by
Andrew Morris, Taught in secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive schools in London before becoming Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years,Bernarr Rainbow, Widely recognised as the leading authority on the history of music education
Edited by
Andrew Morris, Taught in secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive schools in London before becoming Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years,Bernarr Rainbow, Widely recognised as the leading authority on the history of music education
Edited by
Andrew Morris, Taught in secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive schools in London before becoming Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years,Bernarr Rainbow, Widely recognised as the leading authority on the history of music education
Edited by
Andrew Morris, Taught in secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive schools in London before becoming Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years,Bernarr Rainbow, Widely recognised as the leading authority on the history of music education
Writing a chapter on the St Paul's Schools, that is St Paul's School (SPS), St Paul's Girls' School (SPGS), and the boys' prep school Colet Court, I had to think long and hard how to create something that provides an overview of music in these schools, bearing in mind my experience of a mere twenty-one years at the helm of SPS music department. Inevitably this chapter is a personal take on the subject, incomplete for those hoping for a potted history, but I trust not too inaccurate in the facts and opinions put forward.
It is always a temptation in this age of competitiveness to try to outdo the opposition and claim that one's own school is the best. All schools are different; all excel in some areas. Exam league tables do not tell us everything save the fact that certain schools are fortunate in being able to attract the cream of clever children by dint of historical reputation or geographical location. Such children are often very talented in areas apart from academic subjects. They may become outstanding actors or musicians or excel at sport. It is incumbent on staff in these schools to see these pupils' skills are realised. The standard will be high, but those teaching in these high-flying schools should not be smug that it is they who have created this high standard; rather, their skill is to enable their pupils to aspire.
Edited by
Andrew Morris, Taught in secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive schools in London before becoming Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years,Bernarr Rainbow, Widely recognised as the leading authority on the history of music education
Edited by
Andrew Morris, Taught in secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive schools in London before becoming Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years,Bernarr Rainbow, Widely recognised as the leading authority on the history of music education
This is the first serious study of music in independent schools. The high standard of musical work in such schools has long been known but now Andrew Morris and his team have provided up-to-date details. There are contributions from seven individual schools - Bedford, Dulwich, Eton, Gresham's, St. Paul's, Uppingham and Worksop - as well as chapters about Girls' Schools, Preparatory Schools, Choir Schools and Specialist Schools. Andrew Morris was Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years and was President of the Music Masters and Mistresses Association in 1996-97. He is thus ideally placed to mastermind a substantial compendium of information which is eminently readable and absorbing. The book includes material from Bernarr Rainbow's study, Music in the English Public School (1990) and brings it up to date. As a historian, Rainbow looked back at how music developed in independent schools. Progress was slow, even tortuous, but Rainbow's fascinating documents, supported by his commentary, show how idealism won through and Morris and his colleagues bear eloquent witness to the very positive development over the last fifty years. ANDREW MORRIS taught in secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive schools in London before becoming Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years. He was President of the Music Masters' and Mistresses' Association from 1996-97 and President of the RAM Club at the Royal Academy of Music 2005-06. He has examined for the ABRSM for over thirty years. DR BERNARR RAINBOW is widely recognised as the leading authority on the history of music education. CONTRIBUTORS: Catherine Beddison, Elizabeth Blackford, Timothy Daniell, Richard Mayo, James Peschek, Alastair Sampson, Graham Smallbone, Jonathan Varcoe, Myfanwy Walters, Nathan Waring, Robert Weaver, Hilary Webster.
Edited by
Andrew Morris, Taught in secondary modern, grammar and comprehensive schools in London before becoming Director of Music at Bedford School for thirty-two years,Bernarr Rainbow, Widely recognised as the leading authority on the history of music education