The guitar in Victorian England : a social and musical history / Christopher Page.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Page, Christopher, 1952- author.

Series:

Musical performance and reception.

Musical performance and reception

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Pratten, Catharina Josepha, 1824-1895.

Pratten, Catharina Josepha.

Guitar--England--History--19th century.

Guitar.

Guitar music--England--19th century--History and criticism.

Guitar music.

Guitarists--England.

Guitarists.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 230 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2025.

Summary:

In 1893 Clara Lindow sang the ballad Dreamtide to her own guitar accompaniment in the Cumbrian hamlet of Lowick. A writer for the local newspaper not only admired her 'marked skill and ability' but also considered the concert to be a sign of 'the onward march of light and learning in our time'. Amateurs like Miss Lindow were at the heart of a Victorian revival of guitar playing, especially for accompanying the voice, which has never been fully acknowledged and has often been denied. This book is a ground-breaking history of the guitar and its players during the era when the Victorians were making modern Britain. The abundant newspaper record of the period, much of which is now searchable with digital tools, reveals an increasingly buoyant guitar scene from the 1860s onwards. No part of Victorian life, from palace to pavement, remained untouched by the revival.

Contents:

A Victorian conspectus

Guitar players and their repertoires to the 1860s

The Book of Acts

New opportunities from the 1860s onwards : Penny Readings and Amateur Concerts

Madame Catharina Josepha Pratten and others

The guitarists of the streets.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 09 Jun 2025).

ISBN:

1-009-06279-4

1-009-06299-9

1-009-05388-4