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The Freemantle Collection

The Freemantle Collection

The music manuscripts and publications collected by William Thomas Freemantle comprise one of the most important music collections in Leeds Special Collections. The materials were purchased by Lord Brotherton from the personal library of William Thomas Freemantle (1849-1931) who was a musician, author and collector from Sheffield.

This exhibition will be a guide through the collection, highlighting some of the more significant materials that researchers can find within the archive. Freemantle had a particular interest in 18th and 19th century English music, especially for choral and church settings. He also gathered a large amount of materials on Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, who was the composer who first sparked his interest in collecting.

This online exhibition was created by Joe Whelan, an Undergraduate BA Music student as part of a Lord Laidlaw Undergraduate Research and Leadership Scholarship, September 2016.

Charles Dibdin

In our catalogue: The Islanders | The marriage act : a farce, in two acts. As it is performed at the Theatre Royal in Covent-Garden

The Freemantle Collection contains a large amount of manuscripts and autograph scores by Charles Dibdin (1745-1814) an English composer and dramatist. Freemantle had a particular interest in Charles Dibdin and English Choral music in general. There are 40 bound volumes of Dibdin material in the Freemantle Collection.

The image shows Dibdin’s autographed score for ‘The Islanders’. This also includes a score for its abridged version ‘The Marriage Act’. 'The Islanders' was a three-part Comic Opera which Dibdin wrote in 1780 when he had just returned to work at Covent Garden. He was assigned to write a pantomime for the Christmas season but persuaded management to perform ‘The Islanders’ as well. They did on 15 November 1780, but on the condition that Dibdin’s name wasn't attached. The material was taken from two operas; ‘L’Isle Sauvage’ (Theatre-Francais, 8 July 1743) and ‘La Colonie’ (Theatre-Francais, 25 October 1749), both by the French playwright Germain-Francois Poullain De Saint Foix.

The Islanders was a largely successful production and a year later in 1781, 'The Marriage Act' was performed. It was an altered version of 'The Islanders', changed into a two-act farce, which focused on a sub-plot of the original production.

Charles Dibdin's 'Table Entertainments'

In our catalogue: Datchet Mead

One significant body of work that Dibdin produced was the ‘Table Entertainments’. These were one-man shows, performed himself and consisting of his own songs and compositions, interspersed with stories, narration and jokes. These light theatre performances were toured around England for 9 months in an effort to raise funds for his planned emigration to India. However, once he embarked on the voyage he failed to make it past Cornwall on account of his seasickness. His diaries and books from the tour provide a valuable insight into 18th century England, particularly life as a performing musician.

‘Datchet Mead, or The Fairy Court' is one of these ‘Table Entertainments’. It was originally written as a serenade by Dibdin for the wedding of the Hereditary Prince of Wirtemberg and the Princess Royal of Great Britain on the 18th of May 1797, but was crafted into a shorter version called ‘The General Election’. It was this adaptation that was performed as part of the ‘Table Entertainments’, which he toured and later performed in the New Sans Souci Theatre, just off Leicester Square, in 1797.

'Dr Benjamin Cooke's Protest'

Dr. Benjamin Cooke's Protest

In our catalogue: Dr. Benjamin Cooke's Protest | Memoir of Dr. Benjamin Cooke

Benjamin Cooke (1734-1793) was an English organist, composer and musician. He became the organist for Westminster Abbey in 1762 and found compositional success through his prize-winning glees, which became public favourites. Cooke was the musical director at the Academy of Ancient Musick in London until 1789 when he was replaced by Dr. Samuel Arnold, who took over the academy’s concert series.

Cooke was disgruntled by this spurning from the Academy’s membership and this re-discovered document, 'Dr. Benjamin Cooke’s Protest', shows his anger at being forced to resign. This is the letter that was written to be delivered at the General Meeting of the society in 1790. Cooke’s upset over his dismissal is understandable as he had been involved with the Academy for 46 years. The Protest sheds light onto Cooke’s life and also the workings of the Academy of Ancient Musick.

Also in the Freemantle Collection is an autograph draft of a biography on Benjamin Cooke by his son, Henry Cooke, titled 'The Memoir of Dr. Benjamin Cooke'. This references his father's dismay at being dismissed.

E. J. Loder's 'Manfred'

In our catalogue: Bound manuscript copy of the score of 'Music of Manfred' in the hand of W.T. Freemantle | Manfred: instrumental and vocal parts.

Within the Special Collections is a recently rediscovered score for 'Manfred', a musical setting of Lord Byron’s dramatic poem of the same name, composed by Edward James Loder in 1855. The collection also contains the orchestral score, instrumental and vocal parts, the composer's autograph and also a score by W. T. Freemantle, who was a very skilled copyist. It is written for soprano, alto, tenor and bass (SATB) chorus, soloists and orchestra.

'Manfred' tells the story of a guilt-ridden noble, Manfred, who summons seven spirits to help him forget the death of his beloved Astarte. Byron wrote it during a time when the supernatural was popular among English audiences. Loder’s composition is the second to be inspired by the text; following Schumann’s setting in 1852, and before this Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony in 1885.

Edward James Loder (1809–1865) was an English composer who primarily wrote operas, cantatas and works for voice. After studying in Germany under Ferdinand Ries, one of his first jobs was arranging the music for 'Black-eyed Susan', a comic opera, which he did with the melodies of Charles Dibdin.

W. T. Freemantle the composer

In our catalogue: Six Kyries by William Holland and 2 letters to W. T. Freemantle.

As well as being an organist, teacher and ardent collector, W. T. Freemantle also composed. He premiered two of his pieces at his debut organ recital in 1871, performing his 'Andante in Ab' and 'Andante in Eb'. Later in 1875, Freemantle published his first book of Kyries, including three of his own, although not all the reviews were positive.

Freemantle composed throughout his life, mainly church and choral works, but never received great critical or commercial acclaim. However, he contributed heavily to the musical life of Sheffield as a teacher, organist and musical director. His writing which has generated a lot of knowledge on local history, biography, geography and culture.

Mendelssohn's 'Christe du Lamm Gottes'

In our catalogue: Felix Mendelssohn Collection

One of the greatest assets provided by Freemantle is the large amount of Mendelssohn material he collected. Outside of the Mendelssohn family, he had the largest private collection of Mendelssohn material in the world.

Score of ‘Christe du Lamm Gottes’ for SATB and orchestra is one of the more significant pieces found in the Special Collection archive. It is the autograph score that was presented to the MP Thomas Attwood by Mendelssohn. ‘Christe du Lamm Gottes’ (Christ, you lamb of God) is based on a Lutheran Hymn and was set by Mendelssohn as a Chorale Cantata. This was during a time when Mendelssohn was very interested in studying the works of J. S. Bach, who also composed a setting to this hymn, and was influential in Mendelssohn’s interpretation.

Mendelssohn's 'Allegro Brillante'

In our catalogue: Allegro brillante, for two performers, on the piano-forte : op. 92

One significant document in the Freemantle Collection is a manuscript of Mendelssohn’s ‘Allegro Brillante’ in A major, Op. 92. It is a copy of Mendelssohn’s early compositional sketches for this work, which Freemantle transcribed from the original autograph, presumably to allow comparison to the final completed composition.

The document contains passages from the ‘Allegro assai vivace’ section in 6/8, which most printed publications begin with. However, it also contains fairly complete sketches of an ‘Andante’ section, which comes before the ‘Allegro assai vivace’. The Andante was omitted from the first publication by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1851 and in all subsequent copies, but was restored in the 1994 edition by E. G Heinemann, published by G. Henel Verlag. The 'Allegro assai Vivace' section is different to the published composition - one example being in the Primo part, where the opening of the Vivace contains harmonic differences between the sketch and final composition, but retains rhythmic similarities.

The MS is dated 26 March, 1841, in Leipzig. This work was written as a gift to Clara Schumann to show support for her whilst she was engaged in legal battles with her father. It was first performed on Wednesday 31 March 1841, at the Gewandhaus concert hall in Leipzig. It was also the first concert that Clara Schumann gave under her new name, having previously performed as Clara Wieck.

Mendelssohn's 'Elijah'

Mendelssohn's 'Auf Einer Gondel' and 'Elijah'

In our catalogue: Auf einer Gondel | 'Elijah. A sacred oratiorio'. | "Elijah" : a comparison of the original and revised scores

There are also many more important and interesting Mendelssohn works within the Special Collection. Among them are six scores of Mendelssohn Lieders without words, called ‘Auf Einer Gondel’, written in 1831. They form part of Mendelssohn’s ‘Songs without words’, which were written between 1829-1845. They were published separately, but came to be collectively called so when later published. The first volume was in 1932, by Novello, London, called ‘Original melodies for the Pianoforte.’

Special Collections also has a copy of Mendelssohn’s original draft of ‘Elijah'. It is copied in Freemantle’s hand, with all the notes and annotations by Mendelssohn included. There is also a volume entitled 'Elijah: a comparison of the original and revised scores' containing an analysis of the differences between the scores by Joseph Bennett.

John Alexander Symington

Symington the 'thief'!

A lot of Freemantle’s materials were sold to Lord Brotherton and placed in the care and curation of John Alexander Symington (1887–1961), who was appointed Lord Brotherton’s personal librarian in 1923. He organized, collected for, and oversaw the private library of Lord Brotherton. Symington then became the Keeper of the Collection at the University Library, where all of Lord Brotherton’s materials were donated. While at the Library he continued to curate the vast collection, until 1938 when he was dismissed after a corruption scandal.

The suspicions of the Library would turn out to be correct. Newly discovered information from the Library of Congress show that Symington syphoned a large amount of Mendelssohn material from Lord Brotherton and sold it to the Library of Congress for his own personal profit. Letters between Symington and the head of the Library of Congress Music Division, Harold Spivake, prove that Symington sold a large amount of Mendelssonia to the Library.

A lot of interesting material on Mendelssohn now resides in the Library of Congress as a result of Symington’s corruption. There is a large collection of letters and papers sent between Freemantle and various members of the Mendelssohn family, which give a greater understanding of how the collection was formed. The only copy of Freemantle’s unpublished Mendelssohn Biography also resides in the Library of Congress.

The Brotherton Library contains a large amount of Mendelssohn material, but if it wasn’t for the dealings of Symington the Brotherton Library would have been one of the premier resources in world for Mendelssonia. But thankfully, the rest of Freemantle’s materials have been left un-touched and now forms a significant and important part of the Special Collections.