Dr. Henry Coward : The Pioneer Chorus-Master. [The Man; Life Story; Compositions; Dr. Coward and Choral Technique; The Sheffield Choir; List of Choral Works Conducted or Prepared by Dr. Coward]

London : John Lane, The Bodley Head ; New York : John Lane Company ; [London : The Ballantyne Press], 1911., 1911. Very Good. 4 pp., 1 leaf, 101 pp., 16 pages of advertisements ; 5 plates, 3 portraits (including the frontispiece) 20 cm. ; LCCN: 11-19601 ; LC: ML422.C87 ; OCLC: 766839 ; Bibliography: "List of choral works conducted or prepared by Dr. Coward.": p. 97-101. ; green cloth with gold lettering and decorations ; Biography of the founder of the Sheffield Choir ; laid-in is an authograph letter signed from one of Dr. Coward's children, M. L. Coward, written in July of 1944 to E. Weston of York in answer to a question concerning a memorial for the conductor ; "Musical Festivals were held in Sheffield in the early 19th century, but they had lapsed until 1895 when some members of the St. Cecilia Musical Society called a meeting to discuss the possibility of reviving them. The first took place on October 10th 1895, as a single performance of Mendelssohn's "Elijah", conducted by Dr. Henry Coward. Its success led to a second Festival in 1896, and the establishment of a triennial Musical Festival in Sh effield. The Sheffield Musical Union chorus was set up in 1876 by Dr. Coward, and was particularly noted for its triumphant performance of Elgar's "Dream of Gerontius" and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the Queen's Hall in London on April 9th 1904. Press reports suggested that 'No choir that we know of can compete with the Sheffield singers in mastery over every effect that the most exacting critic could expect from a choir'. In 1908, the chorus took part in a tour of Canada and the United Stat es, followed in 1911 by an even more ambitious six-month world tour, covering 34,000 miles and giving 134 concerts in Canada, The United States, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania and South Africa. Dr. Coward remained its conductor for 57 years, retiring in 1933. "--(Notes compiled from the web page of the Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus) ; most astounding is a photograph showing Dr. Coward conducting a choir of 60,000 children and teachers in Norfold Park, Sheffield, in the presence of Queen Victoria (!) ; detailed, measure-by-measure instructions given to singers are reproduced for "Fire, Fire My Heart" by Thomas Morley and "The Lady Oriana" by John Wilbye ; VG