regondi two newly discovered letters

7/28/2019 Regondi Two Newly Discovered Letters

1/15

THE FREE-REED JOURNALVol. [V, 2002 , pp. 70-84

GIULIO REGONDITWO NEWLY DISCOVERED LETTERS

AlIan W. AtlasAlthough Giulio Regondi (?1 822- 1872), the foremost concertina (the "English" concertina) virtuoso and Dne afthe great guitarists of1he nineteenth century, has received hi s duc in the literature on both ofthose instrumcnts, there ismuch about his life and career that remains obscure.' Thus any new sources ofinformation about him are significant and deserve our attention. What 1'01-lows, then, reports on two previously unnoticed letters, one of which can beplaeed in ils proper context with a high degree ofeonfidence , while the otherleaves us with a number of unresolved questions.11berc is no comprchensive biogmphy ofRegondi. 'lltc best starting point is the three-part sketchby Douglas Rogcrs, "G iutio Regondi : Guitarisl, Conccrtinisl Uf Mclophonist'l A R c c o n a i s ~sanee," Cuitar Review 9 1(Fal l 1992): 92 (Wintcr 1993): 14-21; 97 (Spring 1994): 11-1 7; thismus! be suppJcmented by Tom Lawrencc, "G iuJio Regondi and the Concertina in lre land," Concertina World: Internatiollal Concertilla Association Newsleuer 411 (luly 1998): 21-25, whichpresents ncw documcntation for whal is now the carliest knowll malerial on Regondi as aconccrtini st; see also, Allan W. Atlas, Tlie Wh eatstone English Concertina in Victorian ElIg/and(Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1996), 48-54; ALIas, "Collins, Count Fosco, and the Concertina,"W{kie CollitJS Sociely Journa/ 2 (2000): 56-60; Stewart Button, Tlle Cuitar ill Ellg/and,1800-1924 (New York: Garland, 1989), 100-13, 126-33. For a dcta ilcd look at Rcgondi's tour ofthe Contillent in 1840-184 1, sec Hclmul C. Jacobs, Derjllnge Gu itarrell- ulld ConcertinavirllloseGiu/io Regondi: Eine k.ritisclle DokumellJa liOl seiller Konzertreise durc;}, Europa, 1840 uM 1841(Bochwn: Augcmus, 2001). ' ' ' ' lO other tems, bolh guitar-cenlric, are Philip J. Bone, Tlle GuitarQJJd MmuJolill: Biograpllies 01 Celebrated Players alJd Composers, 200 cd. (London: SchOIt,1954), 29 1-96, and Simon Wynbcrg, Giulio RegmuJi: The Complete Worksfor Guitar (Monaco:d itions Chanterelle, 198 1), 7-10, both ofwhich, however, have their share of errors. There is abriefentry on Regondi by lllOmas J-Jeck, "Regondi, Giulio," in rIle New Grove Diclionary ofMu-sic atu/ Musicians, rev. ed. , 00, Stanley Sadie and 10hn Tyrrcll (London: Macmillan, 200 1), xxi,122 (hereafter New Grovel2, and avalable on Jine at < http://www.grovcmusic.com >.

Although there is a eritical editio nofRegondi 's works for guitar(see above), there is nocountcrpart for his composit io ns for concertina. Needlcss to say, it would be most helpful to havesuch an edilion, one that considcrs and comes to terms with thc errors and inconsislencics thatmar th e original nineteenth-cemury publications, sorne ofwhieh fa l even to set the concertinaand piano parts in seore format (instcad they orrer separate pans only). Moreover,ofRcgondi' stwo concertos, thal in D majar was published only in part (second and third movements), andwith piano accompaniment onl y (Wheatstone, 1855), while the other, in E-flat major, was notpublished at all (see note 28 below). The edtions ofRegondi 's Serenade and Leisure Moments,Nos. 1-6, in the Concertina Connection s Musiclor lhe English Concertilla series simply reproduces the or iginal nineteenth-century publieation; see rny review in FRJ 1 ( 1999): 81-86.

70

7/28/2019 Regondi Two Newly Discovered Letters

2/15

7/28/2019 Regondi Two Newly Discovered Letters

3/15

7/28/2019 Regondi Two Newly Discovered Letters

4/15

7/28/2019 Regondi Two Newly Discovered Letters

5/15

7/28/2019 Regondi Two Newly Discovered Letters

6/15

7/28/2019 Regondi Two Newly Discovered Letters

7/15

7/28/2019 Regondi Two Newly Discovered Letters

8/15

7/28/2019 Regondi Two Newly Discovered Letters

9/15

7/28/2019 Regondi Two Newly Discovered Letters

10/15

7/28/2019 Regondi Two Newly Discovered Letters

11/15

80 FREE-REED lOURNAL, Vol. IVolher motive for doing so: his view Ihat Ihe concertina had a place in music 'swider role as a "civilizing" force. As he put it in My Musical Life:

Let the heav en-bom art ofmusic spread; let it bless the hornes and hearthsaftbe peo ple; let the children sing, and sing together; lel {he concertina[my tales], tite violin, oc the tlutc be found in cvery cottage. _ thus Jet thefactory girl forget her toil and Lhe artisan his grievan ce, and Music, theCiv iliser, tbe Rec reator, the Soothcrand Purifier afthe emoticn s, shall be-come dte mu sic oflbe future for England (p . 161).It was, arter all, to raise Ihe moral eharaeter ofhis Bethnal Green parishio

ners Ihat Haweis inaugurated Ihe concert series in the frrst place.To retum to Regondi's careee: Rcgondi, as did so man y ather music ians,supplemented his ineome from coneerts by teaching , and just how far from

London he somet im es wen! in this respeet beeomes clear from Lener 2.Lctter 2. Rccipient unknown [Rcnry or William Sudlow?1

ILiverpool'!J, 2 DeccRlber [1847?1 (scc }"ig. 2)"Oear Sir:

I quite forgol last night Ihat besides my evening lesso n I had aparty to attend at in [sic!] Birkcnhcad which precludes the possibility of my aecompany ing you to Me James Rhoden's lonight. Enelosed is anote lo him whichyou will ob lige me by handing lo him.

Oecember2 -4 Alfred Slreet

Believe meOear SirYour 's most trulyGiulio R.egondi

Innocent Ihough the lener is in its thoroughly soc ial content, il leaves uswith a number of unanswered questions.nThe lettcr is preservcd at the Pierpont Mo rgan Library, New York, Mary FlaglerCary MusieCo llection , MFC R34 3.S943 (Sennett) . lt is wriuen on fo ls. Ir and Iv ofa single bifolio (fols.

2 r ~ 2 v are blank) and measures 17.3 x 11.5 cm. Laoking al the letterlhrough fol. 2v, one sees lhed o w n remnants ofa watermark atthe topofthe page :"JWb" (the tbree leners me asu re 6.5

cm across, while lhe m'o capitaJ letters stand 2 cm tall); this refers lo the p a p e r ~ m finn ofJ.Whabnan, who se paper \Vas ubiquitous tbroughout England (and forged on the Continent); ye lwi thoul more ofthe watermark being visible--nam ely, the date, which ofien appeared below thename--it offers little help in pinning down the provenanee afthe letter (see OO low).The letter is cited withaut further comm ent in 1. Rigbie Turner, "' Infinite Riches in a LittleRoom': The Music Co lleetions in the Pierpont Margan Library,"No tes 55 /3 (1999), 576. Iamgrateful to M.r. Turner, who, upon publieation of rus artiele, immediately supp lied me with axerox reproduction of the lette r.

7/28/2019 Regondi Two Newly Discovered Letters

12/15

7/28/2019 Regondi Two Newly Discovered Letters

13/15

7/28/2019 Regondi Two Newly Discovered Letters

14/15

7/28/2019 Regondi Two Newly Discovered Letters

15/15

84 FREE-REED JOURNAL, Vol. IV

"Rowden"-is fairly eommon throughoul Ihe Laneashire distriel.30 lndeed, aseareh Ihrough Ihe on-line lnteroalional Geneologieal Index for Ihe period1830-1870 turoed up a slew of people so named. And while no one who cou ldbe even a remole possibility used Ihe spelling "Rhoden," \Ve mighl nole Ihal aJames Roden was married (lo one Maria Smilh) on 10 AugusI 1851 in IheChureh of SI. Nieholas, Chapel Street, Liverpool,31 Ihal is, Ihe very ehureh inwhieh William Sudlow was Ihen organist. Could Ihis be our Mr. "Rhoden"?Did Regondi misspe ll Ihe name? Did Ihe James R(h)oden-William Sudloweonneelion extend lo Ihe social sphere? And was il in Iha! eirele Ihat Regondiwas circulating? For OOW, the qucstions remain unan swered, 32

Rcgondi's Career (2): As Regondi himselfpoinls out in Ihe letler, he wasobliged to give a lesson (either on Ihe concertinaor Ihe guitar) on Ihe eveningofDeeember2nd. And while itiswell known lhatRegondi had a steady s!reamofstudents on both instruments in London, it is, perhaps, surprising lo find himgiving lessons in Ihe Liverpool area, for he could only have done so on a temporary basis. Thus we might liken his silualion lo thal of many presenl-dayperformers who, when their touring schedule permits a short respite in one 10-cation, sometirncs settle in as "artists/teachers- in-res id ence" for a while. Infael, perhaps il was Ihe opportunily to earo money giving a highly eoneentratedseries of lessons Ihal eaused Regondi lo linger in Ih e arca as long as he did.In tlle end, the web ofeireumslanees-cireular though it may be-points loRegondi having writlen the letler al Liverpool, most likely in 1847, and possibly lo one or anolher oflhe brolhers Henry and William Sudlow.

To eonelude: the two letlers shed al leasl a liltle new lighl on GiulioRegondi 's eareer. He was obviously heId in high esleem by no less a figureIhan tlle soon-to-bc-famous (beginning in Ihe 1870s) Hugh Reginald Haweis,wha, though certainly not one afthe "makc-or-break"crities of late-Victorianmusicallifc, nevertheless staod clase to its centcr and exerted at least sorne inf1uenee on it. As for the Liverpoolletter(and I shall assume Iha! thal is its provenance): this briefnote shows that Regondi 's activity as a teacher was not, asmighl have been expeeted, limited lo London and its environs ; and we can onlywonder just how geographieally far-f1ung bis eirele of sludents was.30Cornmunication of 5 luly 200 I from Pror. Michacl Talbot, who adds that the name is alsofound frcquently in Cheshire.31 . Core sDirectOly 01 Liverpooleditioo of 1851, 478, lists aRichard Rhoden (bootand shoem ake r) and a William Rhoden ("vict ualler") as residing in Birkenhead (they continue lo be listed in the edit ions of 1853 and 1857).Again, my thanks 10 Prof. Talbot.321might note mal there is no James Rhodcn (oc Roden oc Rowden) amoog mase listed in theWheatstone & Co. sales ledgers around the time in which we are interested. The ledgers are CUf-rently preserved in Lhe Wayne Co llectioD, The Homiman Mu se um, Landon ;1aro gratefu l to Dr.Margaret Birley and her stafffor scarching the Icdgers for me prior to my having obtained cop iesof rny own. Ofcourse it is possible that the Regondi-Rhoden (Roden) associat ion centered aboutthe guitar, orhad nothng to do with music at a1l.