Trinity College London (). John Broadwood & Sons'

NINE SYMPHONIES Foreign Fingering. German and English Text, in Two

THE MUSICAL TIMES

AND SINGING-CLASS CIRCULAR.
AUGUST 1, 1903.

TRURO CATHEDRAL.

'A prety compacted towne, well peopled and wealthye marchauntes. . . . There is not a towne in the weste parte of the Shyre more comendable for neatnes of buyldinges, and for beyng served of all kynde of necessaries; nor more discomendable for Pryde of the people.'

Whatever may have been the neatnes of buyldinges' which caught the eye of old John Norden, the architectural features of Truro in the present day are not of supreme interest, the Cathedral, of course, excepted. Truro can however claim to be one of the oldest towns in England. As at Wells, a stream of water runs through its principal streets, though its raison d'être is not so obvious as in the Somersetshire city.

Let us for a moment or two turn from the buildings and the silently flowing stream to some distinguished Truronians. Taking them in chronological order, we begin with one who had the least enviable reputation-Samuel Foote Thus wrote John Norden concerning Truro (1720-77), the actor and dramatist. So keen three hundred years ago. If the old topographer was his wit that even serious Dr. Johnson was had stood in the streets of the Cornish capital obliged to lay down his knife and fork and forego on the middle day of July in the third year of his dinner in order to laugh: The dog was so the 20th century, he would probably not very comical-no, sir, he was irresistible,' said

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have applied the term 'discomendable' to the the great lexicographer. Foote, though he little 'Pryde of the people': verily they have deserved the honour, was buried by torchlight in something to be proud of! the West cloister of Westminster Abbey. The

Before treating of the principal feature of 'prince of enamellers,' Henry Bone, R.A. (1755the little city-that stately pile now standing 1834), first saw the light at Truro. Not a few in the midst of its narrow streets, its beautiful of the 500 products of his brush-now so eagerly new Cathedral-we may consider something of sought after by collectors-came into existence interest other than the strictly ecclesiastical. at 15, Berners Street, London, where he lived.

A fine example of Bone's work may be seen in specimen of Renaissance monumental art of the the National Gallery-his large enamel 'Bacchus Jacobean period, decorated with emblematic and Ariadne,' after Titian, sold for 2,200 guineas! figures such as Time, Death and the like, and Of saintly Henry Martyn, the martyr-missionary having semi-recumbent figures clad in the (1781-1812), more anon. A statue in Lemon costumes of the day, the whole executed in Street, Truro, commemorates one of its dis- fine alabaster and marble of different colours. tinguished natives-Richard Lemon Lander About a century ago this monument needed (1804-34), the great explorer of the Niger and restoration. The work was duly carried out, central Africa. Lander received his second and upon its completion the mason employed name because on the day of his (Lander's) birth made out his bill thuswise:Colonel Lemon won the contested election for the borough. Who was Colonel Lemon? He was a native of Truro, and the composer of one of the best double chants, an amateur product that has found its way into almost every collection. It first appeared in John Marsh's 'The Cathedral Chant Book,' and is dated '1790.' We give the chant in its original form :-

To putting one new foot to Mr. John Robartes, mending the other, putting seven new buttons to his coat, and mending his breeches knees.

To two feet to his wife Phillipa, mending her eyes, and putting a new nosegay in her hand.

To two new hands and a new nose to the captain. To two new hands, and mending the nose of his wife, repairing her eyes, and putting two new cuffs to her gown.

To making and fitting two new wings on Time's shoulders, and making a new great toe, mending the handle of his scythe, and putting a new blade to it.

This familiar little church-tune naturally leads us back to our main point-Truro Cathedral. All other English Cathedrals are haloed with historical interest. Truro has its history to make, and the generations yet unborn will yield the material and the historians. There were Bishops of Cornwall in the long, long ago: their names are on record from circa 865 to 1046. In the latter year the See was merged into that of Exeter, and so remained for over eight hundred years. More than one attempt had been fruitlessly made in the 19th century to revive the ancient See of Cornwall, but the magnificent gift of £40,000 by Lady Rolle towards an endowment brought the matter to a practical issue, with the result that the late Edward White Benson, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, was consecrated the first Bishop of Truro on St. Mark's Day, 1877.

THE BAPTISTERY.

One of the first acts of the new Bishop was to set about the building of a mother-church for his diocese. It was decided to erect the new Cathedral on the site of St. Mary's Church, Truro, as that 16th century edifice sadly needed restoration. The late Mr. J. L. Pearson, R.A. the first English cathedral, be it observed, was elected architect of the proposed fane, and founded and built since the Reformation-were he, with much skill, incorporated into the new laid with great ceremony by King Edward VII. building the South aisle of the old church. (then Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall) Some of the ancient monuments have found a on May 20, 1880. The erection of the Choir, place in Mr. Pearson's noble building. One, in Transepts, Baptistery, and a portion of two the north transept, is to the memory of a John bays of the Nave was completed in 1887, and Robartes and his wife (1614). It is a remarkable consecrated on November 3 in that year by

the second Bishop of Truro (Dr. G. H. elaborately treated and recessed under gabled Wilkinson), now Bishop of St. Andrews. On arches, the tympana being filled with sculpture that occasion the choir of 100 voices was not, as in many ancient examples, representing conducted by Mr. (now Dr.) G. R. Sinclair, the Doom or kindred subjects, but more while Mr. (now Dr.) C. H. Lloyd presided at naturally exhibiting our Lord in His acts of the fine organ erected by Father Willis. The mercy and love. A statue of King Edward VII. following is a specification of the instrument, finds a prominent and appropriate place in the situated, as our illustration on p. 519 shows, in West front. the triforium, the organist also occupying that elevated position:

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Upon entering the sacred edifice one is struck with its splendid proportions no less than its perfect symmetry. Nothing offends the eye, Feet. and one is hardly conscious of the newness of the stonework, so riveted is the attention on the satisfying harmonization of the whole with its constituent parts. A great success,' remarked an experienced journalist to the present writer, a verdict that tersely summarizes one's own impressions of a noble piece of work, creditable alike to its promoters and to him who designed it. Mr. Pearson unfortunately did not live to see the completion of his masterpiece; but all the details he had so carefully planned have been faithfully carried out with filial devotion by his son, Mr. Frank Loughborough Pearson.

Feet

16

Twelfth

8

Fifteenth

8

Mixture (3 ranks)

8

Double Trumpet

16

4

Tromba

8

Flute Harmonique

4

Clarion

...

4

The entire length of the building, from east to west, is about 300 feet. The fullpage view of the interior which we give on p. 519 will furnish a general idea of the building, without the necessity of entering upon architectural details that might appear too technical. One or two features of special interest must, however, be noticed. To the left of the South Porch is the beautifully designed Baptistery of which we give a photograph. This architectural gem' commemorates the life and labours of the great missionary, Henry Martyn, a native of Truro. The son of a miner, he was educated at Truro Grammar School and afterwards at Cambridge, where he came out senior wrangler in 1801, being then under twenty years of age. After his ordination he determined to become selected India as the field of his self-denying a missionary. He labours. There his sweetness of character endeared him to all, even Mohammedans, with whom he came into contact. He took a long It may be of interest to give a few grains of journey into Armenia and Persia for the purpose information concerning the architecture of the of making thorough and complete translations of Cathedral. Its style is Early English, with the Bible into the languages of those countries; characteristics of buildings of the early part of but, alas, after severe fatigue and privations, he the 13th century. The imposing central tower- fell a victim to fever and died at Tokat in 1812, called the Victoria Tower and built by Mr. J. in the thirty-second year of his age. Dean Hawke Dennis, a generous Cornishman, at a Stanley said that he was buried with all the cost of £15,000-is literally the outstanding honours due to an Archbishop.' Certain it is feature of Mr. Pearson's noble design. It is surmounted by a spire, which makes the total height 250 feet. The two Western towers have yet to be built. Differing from many ancient Cathedrals, both in this country and abroad, the Western doorways are two-not three, or one The Southern Transept is a memorial to (see our illustration on p. 517). Moreover, they Dr. Benson, first Bishop of Truro. The stained both enter directly into the Nave through glass of its windows, executed by Messrs. a shallow Narthex, and not, as is frequently the Clayton and Bell, is of the richly-toned kind case, into the aisles through the Western towers. characteristic of thirteenth century work. These two doorways, of lofty dimensions, are The North Transept, ten feet longer than that

Total number of sounding stops 45; of pipes 2,622.

that the memory of Henry Martyn has been worthily honoured in the quiet corner of the Cathedral which to-day casts its shadow over the birthplace of this humble yet noble-minded son of Truro.