British History
Posts in The Copybook tagged ‘British History’
The way St Cuthbert found water for his island retreat confirmed that Northumbria’s church was the real thing.
Unlike some later chroniclers, Bede did not transpose well-known miracles from one saint to another. He researched authentic miracles of Northumbrian saints and found close (but never exact) matches in the lives of saints from the Roman Empire, to show that Christianity in the British Isles was cut from the same cloth.
When violinist Joseph Joachim proposed a toast to the world’s greatest composer, he was cut off in mid flow.
German composer Johannes Brahms was well-known for his mercurial attitude to praise. Up to a point he accepted it happily enough, but if ever it became oppressive he would do almost anything to escape it. Charles Villiers Stanford, professor of music at the Royal College of Music and at Cambridge University, was present on one of these occasions.
Composer Johannes Brahms disliked the adulation sometimes heaped on him by fans, and found quite imaginative ways to avoid it.
Composer Johannes Brahms liked his music to be appreciated, but if the eulogies became cloying his manner would undergo a marked change. His friend Charles Villiers Stanford tells us about one occasion when Brahms used all his ingenuity to escape a too-flattering fan.
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford recalls the very different receptions given by British and German audiences to a little bit of Brahms.
Britain’s position outside the European Continent, politically and physically, has in no way lessened her appetite for European culture. Indeed at the very height of Empire, so Sir Charles Stanford tells us, a little critical distance gave the British an appreciation (and a common courtesy, one might add) that the Continentals lacked.
Douglas Jardine came up with a plan to deprive the watching public of one of the finest sights in all sport.
The ‘Bodyline’ Test series between Australia and England in 1932-33 remains one of the most controversial moments in cricketing history. It all stemmed from the almost freakish genius of Don Bradman, who to this day remains far and away the best batsman the game has ever seen, but England captain Douglas Jardine was determined to see as little of him as possible.
Sir Hubert Parry advised students at the Royal College of Music to respect their teachers, but to think for themselves too.
In 1918, Sir Hubert Parry reminded students at the Royal College of Music that their teachers were not there to tell them how to play music, but to tell them how other people play music. Putting that knowledge to good artistic use must be, even for students, a very personal affair.