1897: The call of the Continent

A Shropshire Lad and those poems he kept back had been a volcanic and distressing catharsis. Relaxation and pastures new were now the order of the day and so in the summer of 1897 he toured the Continent for a month, first to Paris for a week, then Rome for three or four days, Naples for ten; then homeward bound – a further four to five days in Rome and one in Paris.

Just after he returned to Highgate in late September, he wrote a letter to his stepmother with his observations on Paris, Naples, Pompeii, Vesuvius, Capri and Ischia, He had turned out to be an assiduous and committed tourist, writing about places so as to give the reader a very good sense of them in a colourful and literate guidebook sort of way. He had obviously been very taken by the beautiful buildings in Paris, the wildness and picturesqueness of the Bois de Boulogne, and, like most other visitors to Paris, had concluded ‘They make a deal more of their river than we do of ours: it is all edged with handsome quays and crossed with handsome bridges.’ In Naples, where the Scirocco was blowing out of Africa, he reproduced the colours and feel of the landscape, and the active presence and sounds of the volcano:

Morality and sexual difference then and now

It is most likely that Housman had concluded by the late 1880s that he was different, most likely homosexual. There was no suggestion that Edward or Lucy were ever aware of this fact or that any behaviour of Housman's prompted enquiry. No additional shadows were placed over his life by parental rejection, though for Housman the potential must always have been there.

Writing today about Housman's sexual orientation may seem to be superfluous but it is relevant to examine how he handled his situation then and throughout his life. In particular, the moral and social significance of sexual relationships in British society seems to have been totally recalibrated. Commonplaces of British society today are that unmarried young people live together careless of reactions from parents or society; couples frequently have children before they marry; birth control makes the procreation of children a matter of choice; divorce will be the fate of about half the population of marrieds. Civil partnerships and marriage for same sex couples have been introduced; after a debate in the British House of Commons on gay marriage, the Prime Minister David Cameron was reported at the time as saying in a broadcast:

Sexual activity seems to have been deprived of its social and religious significances. It has become clear that enjoyment of any particular variety of sexual pleasure is not restricted to a particular part of the gender spectrum. Our vocabulary and usage seems not to have caught up with these facts, and not with the reality of a spectrum that ranges from platonic friendships based on pleasurable traits and companionship, through all kinds of physical alliances prompted by the giving and receiving of bodily pleasure, to rounder and more complex attachments where sexual compatibility and unconditional devotion co-exist. Any equation of the words ‘sex’ and ‘love’ is today misguided in the extreme.

Salutem in Christo.

My very good Lord

Your Letters came not to my hands till Tuesday night last, soe that it was impossible for me to give your Lordship answere by that Poast as you desired. Besides his Majesty before I receyved them, had both notice of the avoydance of the Livinge, and bestowed the same upon one of the Poore Scotchmen. But upon my humble request his Majesty is pleased you shall have it for your Chaplaine, yet upon this condition, that you faile not soe soone as may be to accommodate one of these Scotchmen, with some other Livinge in lieu thereof. I would have sent my warrant into the Signett office for drawing up of this Presentation, but that neyther in your Letters to my selfe or my Secretary is any mention of your Chaplens name, which I pray faile not to lett me knowe as soone as you please.

His Majesty upon Thursday last is gone once more towards the North, upon Advertisement given, that the Scotts for certaine ar broke into England with an Army of 20000 men. I pray God bless his Majesty, and that he may be able to prevent theyr Designes, which certainly intend noe good to Church or State. Soe in hast I leave your Lordship to God Almightyes protection, and rest

Your Lordships very lovinge Freind and Brother.

W: Cant:

Lambeth. August 22. 1640

To the Right Reverend Father in God my very good Lord and Brother the Lord Bishop of Chester. these

Salutem in Christo

My very Good Lord.

Aboute a Month since I receaved a Letter from your Deane. In which I finde he is somewhat sensible of the Losse that will come by the Prohibition sent in his Majesties Name, to Command that Not Renewing of Leases into Lives, and particularly the Not Letting of anie part of the Close at Chester to Brewer, or Malster. But yet he promises all Obedience, and I hope, will performe itt. And if your Lordship gaine anie Health and Contentment by itt, I shall be heartily Glad to have beene an Instrument in procuring itt. I hope the Deane takes noe inward pett at this, nor labors to distemper the Goverment there or Cast a Bone between the Church and the Citty, thereby to discontent you. For if I should finde this, he should heare of me in another way. Yet I must Confesse, I’am afraid there is something, that makes the man froward: And that he should doe it at this tyme; and by such meane Instruments, as Sub-Sextons: And that after a Discreete Major had brought the Citty to the Cathedrall agen after a long Discontinuance from it: And especially without so much as acquainting your Lordship with it, seemes to me full of Indiscretion.

My Lord you know I have noe Jurisdiction there. And yet rather then I would suffer anie Distemper to increase, I have made bold privatly to acquaint his Majestie with itt; Who is not well pleased with the Action, especially att this tyme. And hath therefore Commanded Me to write unto you, That you forthwith speake with the Deane, as also with the Major, and his Brethren, that this Difference be Composed; And that the Major be suffer’d to sitt quietly in the Seate, where (your Lordship sayes) he was anciently wont to sitt. Against which, if the Deane have anie Just Exception, there may be a better tyme hereafter to have it heard then now. And I doubt not, but I shall prevayle with his Majestie to give itt a Hearing hereafter, if there shall be Just Cause for itt. In the meane tyme I am to Leave this Busines upon your Care. And I hope you will be able to give His Majestie a Good Accompte of itt, when tyme shall serve.

YVONNE Rokseth would be surprised and pleased to know that a two-day conference devoted entirely to the last fascicle of the manuscript she so carefully edited in the 1930s, some eighty years ago, took place in March 2014. Her work is still the starting place for any research on Mo. The opening folio of Mo 8, fol. 350r (see the front cover of this volume), is now a familiar image. Although fascicle 8 has only this single historiated initial of singing clerics on its first folio, each motet in the nearly fifty following folios begins with illuminated initials that decorate the margins of the page with leaves, vines, and occasional dragons.

Since the work of Robert Branner in the 1970s, it has been generally accepted that fascicles 1–7 of Mo were illuminated by artists active in Paris in the second half of the thirteenth century. But because Branner considered fascicle 8 to be later (c.1300) than the scope of his book, he had little to say about it. We can presume that, when the manuscript was first produced, its folios were somewhat larger, particularly at the top margin. The folios are now c.192 × 136mm; the textblock (written space) is c.128 × 77mm. Fascicle 8 was carefully trimmed for binding so as not to cut off any of the decoration that occupies the margins outside the textblock. Rokseth believed that fascicle 8 was not originally bound with fascicles 1–7, beginning with an independent life and its own foliation. At some point fascicles 1–7 were all trimmed to match the size of the folios in fascicle 8, sometimes clipping some of their decoration at the edges. But we do not know whether fascicle 8 was joined to the seven earlier fascicles prior to the manuscript's current binding from the seventeenth or eighteenth century.

The tonsured clerics singing before a book on a lectern as depicted in the Mo 8 initial (see Figure 3.1a) come from a long line of illustrations for Psalm 97, Cantate domino canticum novum (‘Sing to the Lord a new song’). But they reflect actual practice, for on major feasts the solo singers in the choir of Notre-Dame in Paris would come down out of their stalls to sing from the eagle lectern that stood in the centre aisle between the two sides of the choir.

Salutem in Christo

Sir

I have receaved from you a very kinde Letter in the Name of yourselfe and the Towne. And I pray when you meete with your Brethren the Aldermen next, bee pleased in my name to give them Thankes for itt. And before the Writt can come to you to give you power to proceede to an Election, I shall not fayle to Nominate a very fitt person to you for that service. And I pray lett them know withall, that I take itt very kindly from the Towne, that they have beene pleased soe unanimously and feely to grant this Request which I made unto them.

I understand by the Clarke of the Checke, that you purpose to bee att London after Christmas upon some Occasions of your owne. Att which tyme I pray fayle not to come over to Lambeth and speake with mee. And then I shall say more to you then I have now Leysure to write. Soe to Gods blessed protection I leave you and the Towne, and rest

Your very Loving friend

W: Cant:

Lambeth December 16th 1639.

To my very Loving frend Mr Jennings Maior of the Towne of Reading These

Sir

If you enioy the place you have gotten about the Prerogative, I pray take care that my Servants whome I have provided for under you may have all such allowances payed them, as I have assigned in Mr Holfords time. And particularly William Harman who hath compounded for Stephen Halls part. Soe God blesse you

Your dyeing freind

W: Cant:

January 8. 1644/5

Sir:

I thanke you for the letters which I have received from yourself and the Colledge. I should be gladd it would please God to make me able to doe as much for that Colledge as your letters impute to mee, and I am willinge of my selfe to doe.

For the present business I think I shall not find matter enough without great extremity to remove Mr Harrington; and I doe not think it wilbe fitt for mee to goe accordinge to rygour, where there is apparant waie for equitye. I had remembered your Motion for chardges though you had not written. But twenty pounds is too heigh for 2 Journeys to London. I shall doe with thadvise of my Counsell, that which to my judgment shall seeme fittest. It were not amiss I thinke that by the first Carrier you did send mee upp a Bill of the Chardges, that soe I maye the easier order and proportion it.

I praie likewise att the same tyme send me word, howe the course of your Statuts runne, for matter of punishment in such contempts and other practizes as Mr Harrington hath runne into in his business; both such as concerne your selves, and such as concerne the Visitour: And likewise whither the Visitour may by his owne power assigne and inioyne the punishment, (especially extra visitationem) or whither it be to bee inioyned by you and the Officers or only confirm’d: and whither any particular punishment be expressd, and what it is, with any other necessarie circumstance; that I may not send downe an imperfect Act, or goe beyond myne owne power, or usurpe upon yours: Beinge very desirous to performe your Statuts but not to make any breach upon them.

For the revocation of the Commission in the Court of Requests, any Counsellour I thinke may doe it, and that's less chardge then to send upp a Fellowe. If Mr Dorrell have any knowledge of that Barr, I will sett him to moove it: If not you may write to what Counsellour you will to have it done.

Despite Hindemith's intentions, and the overview of the previous chapter, the practical application of the Unterweisung requires further clarification. This is partly owing to the incomplete fourth volume (on four-part writing) and the dubious fidelity of the posthumously-published third volume. There can be little doubt that Hindemith intended his music theory for teaching and composition purposes: many reports from Hindemith's students recall his active use of Unterweisung material in class. However, the texts themselves – particularly the first, theoretical volume – do not always make the crucial relationship between theory and practice explicit, and the volume on two-part writing, though instructive, does not contain sufficient instruction for denser textures. Theorising the psychoacoustic relationship of harmonic partials to construct a pitch hierarchy offers a fascinating and enriching academic pursuit: but how might it help the enthusiastic student to compose music?

The present chapter cannot answer this question directly. We cannot take Hindemith's theory and apply it to his music without the need for several undermining assumptions: what do we make of music in three or more parts? What if our composition is not contrapuntal and functions without clearly defined voices? How should we use Series 1 and 2 to generate compositions? How does an identification of harmonic fluctuation affect our compositional process? Should we aim for certain harmonic fluctuation models, which Hindemith seemed to be moving towards in Unterweisung III? How does a combination of these factors affect foreground and background structural levels? Too much Unterweisung theory is missing or incomplete and though much of its basis is scientifically conceived, its application appears hazily subjective. However, we may consider those elements of Hindemith's music that are representative of his general style, and offer a mixture of set theory, salience principles and voice-leading reduction to provide an analysis of Hindemith's music. Crucially, in doing so we may find a way back to his music theory; his theory and practice are interwoven. In other words, we may reach for a study of his music to better understand and appreciate the theory that he was in the process of building.

Though it is not claimed as a new theory of Hindemith's music per se, this chapter offers a method for the study of Hindemith's theoretical principles within free composition, which is used throughout the rest of the book.

The new engineering

Northern machine-makers generally came from modest beginnings. James Watt jun. in 1802 labelled Leeds engineers as ‘men without character and without means’, prevented by social background from becoming ‘eligible connections’ for Boulton and Watt. The time when humble origins were worn with pride by the wealthy and successful was still a generation or more away. Relative to other manufacturing industries, textile engineering raised many former artisans to success, prosperity and social advancement. To call this ‘rags to riches’, though, may be stretching a point.

Machine-making originated in a largely artisanal world of small workshops, where in the early years basic tools and equipment largely sufficed, and external capital was not always needed for expansion. The skill was the thing. As in other craft industry, there was an expectation that most or all sons would follow the trade and join the family business. In places where this new engineering sector was located, there were few or no guilds, nor other restrictions. Apprenticeship within certain crafts was a respected qualification. In other industries where entry costs were low, over-capacity could bring the weakest firms to failure. Here, with the market for machinery fast expanding, it often bucked the trend during economic downturns. This would not have happened unless this most technical – and increasingly so – of industries produced machines which were of good quality and economically viable. So evidently the trade satisfied customers, attracted plenty of orders, and returned profits sufficient to finance much of its own expansion. Yet there was a high dropout rate: many early participants quit textile engineering altogether.

This chapter explores the origins and experiences of textile engineers from the first generations, those building businesses in Keighley and Leeds from around 1780 until c. 1830. Most likely to succeed in the longer term were those with mechanical aptitude and perspective. This view of course benefits from historical hindsight. But mechanical skills did not guarantee continuity, and in fact the initial range of participants was wide. So where did they emerge from, which trades, industrial background, and district? And what does the calibre of machine-makers, masters and men, reveal of the products, and about the industry's changing character through these early decades?

Major figures and leading businesses

William and Joseph Drabble

Occupied the Silver Street works in Holbeck after Jubb left in 1796, and before Taylor and Wordsworth. The brothers were not especially important technically, but very significant as their extensive clan connected leading textile engineers, then and later. Through a series of marriages, Drabbles were linked to Jubb, Taylor, Wordsworth and John Pollard in Leeds, and Hattersley in Keighley.

Connections are not fully established but the weight of evidence is compelling, centring upon descendants of Joseph Drabble of Wortley by Penistone, his sons William (b. 1743) and John (dates unconfirmed); and daughter Sarah (b. 1752). William was father of William (b. 1769) and Joseph (b. 1773) Drabble of Silver Street. Sarah was the first wife of John Jubb the elder. John Drabble apparently married Hannah Parkin (b. 1743), seemingly aunt of Richard Hattersley (q.v.). Daughters of John and Hannah married Samuel Pollard, Joshua Wordsworth and Joseph Taylor. The elder John Jubb seems to have been uncle by marriage not only to the Drabbles of Silver Street, but also to Mary Pollard, Martha Wordsworth and Hannah Taylor, and great uncle of the second Martha Wordsworth.

William and Joseph Drabble established their Silver Street business probably in 1796, certainly by 1798, while still in their 20s. Conceivably they had been Jubb's apprentices, so versed in woollen, cotton and worsted machinery. Their main business became flax and hemp machine-making. They employed both Wordsworth (after he married their cousin Martha) and Taylor (who later married Martha's sister).

In 1800 the brothers bought neighbouring land to expand Jubb's workshops. Wordsworth in 1834 noted that the oldest Silver Street buildings were erected ‘nearly 40 years since’. But Joseph pulled out of the partnership in 1806, advertising the following year a modern ‘extensive manufactory’ at the Steander, producing flax, tow and hemp machinery. From 1809, he struck a deal with William Farmery (q.v.) to make new and adapt old machinery on Farmery's patented system. Soon afterwards he became insolvent, and the Steander works and its stock of flax-spinning, roving and carding machinery were sold.

Sir.

I have lately receaved from you two Letters. The one which beares date Aprill 21/11 telles mee, That some malicious persons had raysed upon you a Rumour, as if you were an Arminian: And that you were willing to signifie this to mee yourselfe, rather then to have the report reach mee from others. This Letter came to mee just as I was sending my former Letters to you. But I did not thinke fit, to take anie greate notice of it; because it came not home to that greater Busines of which you stood accused to mee. After these came your second, very large, which gave mee the whole relation of your Busines. And I must Confesse, I am glad if itt can soe dye, and end in a Mistaking of Dr Rivetts. But you must give mee leave to tell you Two Things. First that mistaking, or noe mistaking, ‘tis a very ill favour’d Accident both for yourselfe, and the Church of England, that such a Rumour should bee raysed and spredd. Secondly that the words which you are sayd to have spoken (as they are related to mee) are very desperately fowle in themselves, and cannot be salved by anie pretence of being mistaken. And therefore since I see the Queene and the Prince Electour and Sir William Boswell all satisfyed, That the whole Busines was a Mis-understanding, I will hope, you did not speake the words which are reported to mee, and rest satisfyed for the present as they doe. Provided that the Busines dye soe, and be quietted. But if it rise agen, and make anie Distemper in that Church att theire Synods, or otherwise, you must then give me leave to take more Care of the Church of England then of you. And I heartily pray you to make this a Sad Warning to yourselfe for your future Conversation there in all Kindes. So to Gods blessed protection etc

Lambeth. May 24th. 1639.

Sir John Lambe,

I do appoint and authorise you, to call Dr More to personall residence to his parsonage of Barton in the County of Bedfordshire diocese Lincoln: and to proceed against him according to Law, if he obey not, or do not reside there.

W: Cant:

December ultimo 1638

Salutem in Christo

May it please your Grace

The state of the Scottish Affayres, as now they stand, cannot bee unknowne to you. Nor the violence which hath been used in Church Businesses. Nor the Indignityes which have been putt upon such grave, and orderly Church-Men there, as have shew’d them selves dutifull towards his Majestie, and zealouslie carefull of good order in the Church. For divers of them have been forced to forsake theire Countrey, and to betake them selves with theire wives and Children, some hither and some to Ireland, to seeke succour and releife, the persecution att home shewinge noe mercye. In this theire Extremity his Majestie out of a Christian and pious care to preserve them, which have suff’red for him, and the Church of Christ, hath thought fitt to provide in some measure for their Necessityes; and as soone as might bee. And hath therefore taken some of them to his owne Care; And recommended divers to the right honourable the Lord Keeper for such Benefices as exceed not 100li per annum. And hath commanded mee to take Care of other some, and to write my letters to every Bishop in my Province to provide for one, or more of them, accordinge as any Benefice within the value aforesayd shall fall voyd, within theire Guift, and disposition respectively. To your Grace his Majestie hath Commanded mee to assigne two, and doubts not but you will take the best Care you can accordinglie. Of which

you must not fayle Nor of givinge mee an account of the receipt of these letters. Soe to Gods blessed protection I leave you and rest

Your Graces very loving friend and Brother

Lambeth. October 15th 1639

Your Grace is to send a Copie of these letters (mutatis mutandis) to the Bishops of your province. And in them to assigne two to the Bishopp of durham. One to the Bishopp of Chester. And one to Carlile. And soe soone as ever you can provide for them, which are assigned to you, your Grace is to give notice hither, that the Men may be sent downe to receive the Benefices provided for them.