Programmes detailing concerts performed by The Birmingham Amateur Harmonic Association; The Birmingham Musical Festival; Mr Harrison's Grand Concert; The Festival Choral Society; Birmingham Musical Association.
Concerts held at Birmingham Town Hall; Music Hall, Broad Street; Masonic Hall.
The Birmingham Musical Festival was the longest running classical music festival. The first event took place in 1784 with the aim of raising funds for the building of the city's new General Hospital. The Festival continued after the hospital was opened in 1779 and after 1784 became a regular fund raising triennial event. Many leading musicians and composers performed at the Festival during the nineteenth century and audiences included local and national figures and even members of the Royal Family. Felix Mendelssohn conducted, performed in and composed music for the Festival notably his oratorio, Elijah which he composed for the 1846 Festival. He conducted the first performance and Elijah was performed at every successive Festival. Other commissions included Arthur Sullivan's Light of the world 1873, Max Bruch's Das Lied von der Glocke 1879, Charles Gounod's Redemption 1882, Dvorak's The Spectre's Bride 1885 and Requiem 1891 and Edward Elgar's Dream of Gerontius 1900. Further Elgar commissions followed at each Festival up to 1912 when the principal conductor was Henry Wood.
The 1912 Festival was the last as the event had started to run at a loss and was no longer raising funds for the General Hospital. The advent of the First World War saw the end of one of the most prestigious provincial musical events.
Programmes arranged chronologically
Open, access to all registered researchers.
Gifted July 2018
Please see full catalogue for more information.
Papers arranged and described by Mark Eccleston, July 2018, in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description (ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; and in-house cataloguing guidelines.
Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material
