NOVEMBER 15, 1937.

THE LANTERN, GAFFNEY. S. C.

PAGE SEVEN

Great Private Musical Library On Campus

During the past summer possibly the greatest private collection of music books in the United States arrived at Limestone College.
This library is owned by Powell Everhart, and was shipped to him from London by the trustees of the estate of the late Dr. Orlando A. Mansfield of England.
Dr. Mansfield was seventy-two years old when he died during the summer of 1936 at his residence in Cheltenham, England. He was the son of a minister, was a fine musician at an early age and continued his studies and practice to such purpose that early in his career he earned a Doctor of Music Degree from the University of Toronto, as well as various other degrees, academic and professional from other important institutions of learning, and was recognized during most of his musical life as one of the world's greatest authorities on music and musical subjects. As a great teacher he was generally conceded to be among the foremost in the world. Among other pupils of his, Powell Everhart held a note-worthy place in the affections of this wonderful, scholarly, and elegant old gentleman for over fifteen years so that the relation was more like that of father and son than of master and student. Mr. Everhart  was with Dr. Mansfield in England for a short period of study where he lived with the Mansfields and while they were in America he was a constant habitue of their house. Thus it was that Powell Everhart came to own this extensive library which cost Dr. Mansfield a whole lifetime of seeking and acquiring and presents practically the sum-total of musical literature sought by the modern connoisseur of such things.
In order to cover the subject thoroughly and effectively it will be best to divide the library into sections, discussing each separately. Among the musical scores are found enormous representations of solo piano literature, organ works, full scores of sacred and operatic works, (numbering perhaps six thousand), ensemble music, chamber music, orchestral masterpieces and several collections of complete works of some of the greatest masters. In the collection of literature about music and related subjects are found important musical periodicals in continuous chronological succession reaching back as far as 1862 and in some cases complete files of all issues since the beginning. Then some large sections devoted to Musical History and Biography, Musical Theory, Hymnology, Aesthetics, Acoustics and allied sciences, and several shelves of amusing and enlightening anecdotes and items of like interest.
To those interested in antiques it will beenough to indicate that the book of the earliest date found here is that of 1711; that there are many more following "up the years" from that date. It is perhaps astonishing to find this book in the most perfect state of preservation when we stop to consider that it was printed and bound 65 years before American Independence, 45 years before the birth of Mozart and 21 years before the birth of Haydn. Indeed, it was about 80 years before the real outbreak of the French Revolution. Let us say that the grandsons, seven times removed,

of all of the people then living are now nearly all dead of old age. These things bring us face to face with bare realities compared to which our own little problems and our myopic viewpoint of truth seem to assume a meagre importance ineed.
 The above mentioned book is "The Great Abuse of Musick" by Arthur Bedford, printed by J. H. for John Wyatt at "The Rose" in St. Paul's Churchyard. It is a panegyric against the use of a great art as a medium for vulgarity, obscenity, cheapness and carelessness of workmanship which, with a few substitutions of terminology, might apply at the present day, except for the comparative mildness to that vein of denunciation which would now be necessary. The paper, printing, and binding show much advance on the methods and materials of only a few years previous and remind one greatly of the early English edition of the History of the Jews by Josephus, which came out in the early 19th century, nearly a hundred years later.
  Some of the books (with their respective dates) published in the 18th century are as follows: Treatise of Musick - Speculative, Practical and Historical by Alexander Malcolm, Edinburgh, 1721; The Score of the 12 Concertos composed by Corelli, revised and corrected by Dr. Pepusch, brought out by John Walsh in London in 1725; 'Memoirs of the Life of the Late George Frederic Handel', by Mainwaring, published in London in 1760 (year after Handel's death and was the first edition of the first Biography ever written on Handel, was bought on March 24, 1824 at a sale of old Dr. Boyce's books by Sir George Smart, both men among England's greatest musicians, and is autographed by Smart); The Complete Psalmodist, by J. Arnold, London, 1769; Lock's Hymn Tunes, published for the benefit of the Charity of the Lock Hospital in London, edited by Mr. Madan, 1769; "Le Tableau Parlant" by Gretry, (Full Score), Paris, 1769; "Alceste," opera in Full Score, by C. W. von Gluck, Paris, 1776, (the first Paris Edition following the Viennese edition of c.1769). There are many more which need not be enumerated. The above  are many more which need no| be enumerated. The above citations will give a very good idea of representations from musical scores, biography, theory, history, and hymnology.
  To mention a few publications and dates from the 19th century the following are listed: Eight Books (4 volumes) of the First Twenty-Five Psalms by Benedetto Marcello, Venice 1803, (one of the most beautiful specimens of music-printing from movable type on elegant and durable hand-made paper); Hymn Tunes by John Rippon, D; IX, no date but early 19th century, since the first edition was dated 1795, and this is the 7th edition of a work which had a wide sale in its day; Complete Dictionary of Music by Thomas Busby, London, 1811; Musical Biography (of composers of the three previous centuries) London, 1814; Busby's Grammar of Music, printed by John Walker, London, 1818; Hymn-Tunes compiled  and collected by Latrobe, 1814; Biographical and Historical Dictionary of Music, complete, London 1824; "Mass in G" (full score} by von Weber, printed by Haslinger in Vienna in 1818, probably the 17th numbered copy of the original edition and belonged to the Choral Harmony Society; Anecdotes, 3 vols. 1825; Encyclopedia or Dictionary of Music, by Danneley, London, 1825; Collection of Hymn-Tunes, by Thomas Hawkes, London 1833; Clark's set of Hymn-Tunes, 1835; Sacred Minstrelsy, (2 vols., a collection of sacred music by the" great masters of all ages and nations, London, 1834); Hummel's Complete Piano Method, printed in London in 1829 by Boosey & Co., and dedicated to George IV (contains a facsimile of Hummel's script).
The early publications and editions of Vincent Novello from this century contains Boyce's

Services and Anthems, complete, (4 vols.) Purcell's Sacred Music, complete in 5 vols., Croft's Anthems, complete in 2 vols., Haydn's 16 Masses. The above were published between 1828 and 1832, Also here might be placed the 2 volumes containing the 12 concertos, in full score, by Handel although these seem to indicate by their typography, paper, binding, etc., to belong to the middle 18th century.
Having enumerated a few items of particular interest from the standpoint of date, history, or association, we shall now proceed to give an idea of the contents of special sections of this library which contains, as well as ancient scores and books, those of the most modern usage and authority.
  The literature for solo instruments and voice covers nearly everything in the field. Almost the entire standard literature for the piano and the organ is represented, with a very large collection of solo songs from the greatest masters. All of these things are in the best editions, and, in many cases, there are several different editions of the same works. Certain of these collections are not now obtainable, for example, the 60 piano sonatas of Clementi are no longer sold in complete editions.  Among the shelves devoted to piano literature are found the complete works of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Schumann, and others. To mention organ literature, the complete works of Bach and Mendelssohn for this instrument form a small part of the number of Volumes and sets in this field. To carry instrumental music to its fullest development, we find also all of the chamber-music and orchestral works of the great classical composers, as well as a large quantity by the Romanticists and the Moderns.
  The vocal literature is greatly augmented by the presence of about six thousand different ensemb1e works, ranging from the old Glee and Madrigal of the 16th Century to the full scores of the great operas and oratorios. The English Schools of Composition are especially well represented by Anthems and Cantatas from the pens of absolutely every English Musician of note since the days of Dunstable in the 15th century. Among the very valuable items are the enormous full scores of the "Messiah" of Handel, the "Seasons" and the "Creation" of Haydn, Mendelssohn's "Paul," "Elijah," and the "Lobgesang" Symphony, "Mass in D" of Beethoven, Masses by Weber, Cherubini, Schubert, Haydn, Mozart, and many works out of print for years past. The Italian Madrigalists can be studied here also as some of their best works are found in full score. Also the number of full scores to operas is, in this case, unusually large and complete in some respects. Of rare interest is the opera; "Zanetta" which contains the autograph of its creator, Auber.
  The literary section of this library contains some of the most important Encyclopaedias, Dictionaries, and Histories of Music now to be obtained not to mention some hundred or so volumes of special bio-graphical interest. Here appears a great collection of musical theory text books, comprising the entire list of Novello's Music Primers days of J. Dunstable in the 15th century. Among the very valuable items are the enormous full scores of .the "Messiah" of Handel, the "Seasons" and the "Creation" of Haydn; Mendelssohn's "Paul," "Elijah," and the "Lobgesang"textbooks, comprising the entire list of Novello's Music Primers, all of Prout's extremely valuable texts, all of those of Kitson, Anger, Macfarren, Pearce, F. A. Gore-Ouseley, and innumerable others. The subjects covered from all angles are Rudiments, Harmony, Counterpoint, in all of its many phases, Fugue, Form, Analysis, Instrumentation, Methods and studies for all modern instruments and the voice, books on conducting and choir-training, treatises on composition dating from the 18th century to the present day exposing the opinions and ideas of the greatest masters in this encyclopaedic field of endeavor. The section devoted to Hymnology is a very comprehensive one, leaning particularly

to the hymns, ancient and modern, of the Church of England, but also showing, among the several volumes, all of the important hymnals of the various Christian Congregations of the world. Not only could it be said that the collection of tunes and tune-books would do credit to a special collective instinct, but this material is backed by a great quantity of discursive and critical literature on this branch. Add to these several hundred books on Musical Sciences, aesthetics, criticism, and anecdotes of varying degrees of appeal, and there is still left complete files of the following periodicals between the given dates: The "Musical Opinion from 1877-1935 inclusive; The "Musical Times" from 1862-1930; The "Musical Quarterly" from its initial issue in 1915 to the last in October, 1937. The first two magazines represent the best British thought on music and the third, that of America.
There is, therefore, little wonder that the Library of Congress, New York Public Library, The Libraries of Harvard, Tale, Princeton, etc., evinced rather unusual interest in this collection as was made evident by some correspondence between them and Mr Everhart. News of this library was broadcast last summer by the Associated Press.
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