Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
Unknown Artist, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
In 1837 William Sterndale Bennett, then regarded as England’s most exciting young composer, made history in quite another... field.
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By Steven van der Meulen (d. 1568), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Sir James Melville eavesdrops on Queen Elizabeth I’s music practice, and incurs Her Majesty’s displeasure.
From an engraving by DJ Pound, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domaon
Acclaimed in Germany as a composer on a par with Mendelssohn himself, Bennett sacrificed his life and talents for music in Britain.
© Tmx468, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0.
The great British public leaves a German tourist speechless during a county match at the Oval in London.
Photo by Herbert Rose Barraud (1845-1896), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Stylish batting in cricket is about variety, invention and frankly anything that works, and we have Dr W.G. Grace to thank for it.
From ‘The Book of the Cat’, by Frances Simpson (1903).
Victorian cat-lover Harrison Weir launches into his favourite subject, but finds his audience growing restive.