John Hullah – författare

The composer and music teacher John Pyke Hullah (1812-84) enjoyed considerable success with The Village Coquettes, his 1836 opera with a libretto by Charles Dickens. He is best remembered, however, for his 'singing school for schoolmasters' which he directed at London's Exeter Hall in the 1840s and later at the specially built St Martin's Hall. Although his use of the French fixed sol-fa system was quickly superseded by Curwen's tonic sol-fa approach, his efforts - with the support of Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth - embedded music firmly in the school curriculum. An influence on the rapid growth of British amateur choral societies, he was also appointed the first government inspector of music in training colleges in 1872. First published in 1886, this biography was prepared from Hullah's notes by his second wife, Frances Rosser Hullah (1839-c.1921), a professional sculptor and writer on music for women's periodicals.

The music teacher and composer John Pyke Hullah (1812-84) is best remembered for his 'singing school for schoolmasters'. Through his dedicated efforts music was embedded into the school curriculum, and his inspiration influenced the rapid growth of amateur choral societies in Britain. Professor of vocal music at King's College, London, from 1844 to 1874, Hullah was elected to the committee of management of the Royal Academy of Music in 1869 and in 1872 became the first government inspector of music in teacher training colleges. The work reissued here is the second edition, published in 1876, of lectures given at the Royal Institution in 1865 on the topic of Italian, French, German and English music from the Renaissance to Handel. It expands on part of his overarching 1861 course of lectures, The History of Modern Music, which is also reissued in this series.

The music teacher and composer John Pyke Hullah (1812-84) is best remembered for his 'singing school for schoolmasters'. Through his dedicated efforts music was embedded into the school curriculum, and his inspiration influenced the rapid growth of amateur choral societies in Britain. Professor of vocal music at King's College, London, from 1844 to 1874, Hullah was elected to the committee of management of the Royal Academy of Music in 1869 and in 1872 became the first government inspector of music in teacher training colleges. Published in 1862, this accessible history of music from plainsong to the mid-nineteenth century, which Hullah divided into four periods, was first given as a course of six lectures at the Royal Institution in 1861. A further series of lectures, The Third or Transition Period of Musical History, is also reissued in this series in its 1876 second edition.

The definitive edition of the state-approved textbook used in Hullah's singing classes and in schools throughout Britain and the colonies during the second half of the nineteenth century.The definitive edition of the state-approved textbook used in Hullah's singing classes and in schools throughout Britain and the colonies during the second half of the nineteenth century.

Accounts of a series of separate visits to schools in many parts of Europe and the USA at a time when the "myth" of continental musical supremacy was being seriously challenged in Britain.Accounts of a series of separate visits to schools in many parts of Europe and the USA at a time when the "myth" of continental musical supremacy was being seriously challenged in Britain. Although published under one cover here,these accounts were written separately. Hullah's was drawn up in the form of an official report to the Board of Education when serving as government inspector of music in 1879. Apart from its interest as a firsthand account of conditions, the document had wider significance. The outspoken criticism it contained of the state of music teaching in German schools became the catalyst that enabled Hermann Kretzschmar to lead his successful crusade for reform in1903. J.S.Curwen's accounts, on the other hand, were written later as well as being those of a private individual. They were originally intended for publication in the journal of the Tonic Sol-fa movement founded by his father.