Edward Francis Rimbault (13 June 1816 – 26 September 1876) was an English
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
,
musicologist
Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...
,
book collector
Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. The love of books is '' bibliophilia'', and some ...
and author.
Life
Rimbault was born in
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, to a family of French
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
extraction that had emigrated to England in 1685 after the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...
.
[A. Hyatt King, introduction to ''Catalogue of the Music Library of Edward Francis Rimbault Sold at London 31 July-7 August 1877, With the Library of Dr. Rainbeau'' (Buren, Netherlands: Frits Knuf, 1975).] His father, Stephen Francis Rimbault, was an organist, arranger and composer. The younger Rimbault was taught music by his father,
Samuel Wesley
Samuel Wesley (24 February 1766 – 11 October 1837) was an English organist and composer in the late Georgian period. Wesley was a contemporary of Mozart (1756–1791) and was called by some "the English Mozart".Kassler, Michael & Olleson, Ph ...
and
William Crotch
William Crotch (5 July 177529 December 1847) was an English composer and organist. According to the American musicologist Nicholas Temperley, Crotchwas "a child prodigy without parallel in the history of music", and was certainly the most disti ...
. At age 16, he became organist of the Swiss Church in Soho. His career as a lecturer, for which he was much in demand, began in 1838.
[
Rimbault edited many collections of music. In addition to editing or arranging contemporary operas, Rimbault took a strong interest in editing or arranging earlier English music. He did editorial work for the ]Percy Society
The Percy Society was a British text publication society. It was founded in 1840 and collapsed in 1852.
The Society was a scholarly collective, aimed at publishing limited-edition books of rare poems and songs. The president was Lady Braybrooke, a ...
, the Camden Society, the Motett Society (founded 1841 by William Dyce
William Dyce (; 19 September 1806 in Aberdeen14 February 1864) was a Scottish painter, who played a part in the formation of public art education in the United Kingdom, and the South Kensington Schools system. Dyce was associated with the Pre-R ...
), and the Handel Society.[ He was a co-founder of the ]Musical Antiquarian Society The Musical Antiquarian Society was a British society established in 1840. It published, during seven years, 19 volumes of choral music from the 16th and 17th centuries.
History
The society was established in 1840 "for the publication of scarce and ...
in 1840, for which he also did editing. In 1842, he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and was granted membership in the Academy of Music in Stockholm, which conferred on him a Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
The reputation of his work was such that he was offered a teaching position at Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, which he turned down. In 1848, he was given an honorary degree by the University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
.[
He authored several books, includin]
''Bibliotheca madrigaliana: A bibliographical account of the musical and poetical works published in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, under the titles of Madrigals, Ballets, Ayres, Canzonets, etc., etc.''
(1847)
''The Pianoforte, its Origin, Process, and Construction; with some account of instruments of the same class which preceded it; viz. the clavichord, the virginal, the spinet, the harpsichord, etc.; to which is added a selection of interesting specimens of music composed for keyed-stringed instruments''
(1860), '' Early English Organ Builders and Their Works'' (1865), co-authored ''The Organ: Its History and Construction'' (1855) with Edward John Hopkins
Dr. Edward John Hopkins FRCO (30 June 1818 - 4 February 1901) was an English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an ...
, and many others. He did a small amount of composing. Among his efforts is a tune for Philip Doddridge's ''O Happy Day, That Fixed My Choice'' and added the refrain (1854).
A. Hyatt King suggested that Rimbault may be best remembered for his magnificent library, which contained many rare items.[
He died on 26 September 1876 and was buried on the western side of ]Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...
. His grave (no.3153) no longer has a headstone or any marker. After his death, Rimbault's library was auctioned by Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge from 31 July to 5 August 1877, with many materials going to the British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
. About 300 lots (nearly 600 items) were sold to Joseph W. Drexel. Upon his death in 1888, the Drexel Collection The Drexel Collection is a collection of over 6,000 volumes of books about music and musical scores owned by the Music Division of The New York Public Library. Donated by Joseph W. Drexel in 1888 to the Lenox Library (which later became The New Yo ...
was bequeathed to the Lenox Library, a precursor of the New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
.[ Susan T. Sommer, "Joseph W. Drexel and his Musical Library" in ''Music and Civilization: Essays in Honor of Paul Henry Lang'' (New York: Norton, 1984).] Today, the Drexel Collection forms part of the Music Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...
.
Bibliography
* ''The Hymns and Hymn Writers of the Church'' (1911), Charles S. Nutter and Wilbur Fisk Tillett
Wilbur Fisk Tillett (1854–1936) was an American Methodist clergyman and educator.
Early life
Wilbur Fisk Tillett was born August 25, 1854, in Henderson, North Carolina, which at that time was in Granville County (later Vance). He was named for ...
Selective list of publications
*''Ancient poetical Tracts of the sixteenth century: reprinted from unique copies formerly in the possession of the late Thomas Caldecott, esq.'' London: Percy Society, 1842.
* ''Bonduca: a tragedy, altered from Beaumont and Fletcher, the music composed a.d.1695 by Henry Purcell. An historical sketch of the History of dramatic music in England, from the earliest time to the death of Purcell''. London: Chappell, 1842.
* ''Cathedral music, consisting of services and anthems selected from the books of the different cathedrals''. London: Chappell, 1843.
* ''Cock Lorell's bote: a satirical poem : from an unique copy printed by Wynkyn de Worde''. Early English poetry, ballads, and popular literature of the Middle Ages, v. 6, no. 2. London: Percy Society, 1843.
* ''Cathedral Chants of the XVI, XVII & XVIII Centuries''. London: D'Almaine & Co., 1844.
* ''The Book of Common Prayer, with musical notes. compiled by John Marbeck ... A.D. 1550''. Edited by Edward F. Rimbault. London: 1845, (2nd edition: London: Novello, Ewer, 1871.)
* ''Bibliotheca Madrigaliana: A bibliographical account of the musical and poetical works published in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries under the titles of madrigals, ballets, ayres, canzonets etc. etc.'' London: John Russell Smith, 1847.
*''Bartholomew Fair''. London: Notes and Queries, 1859.
*''The Christy-minstrel song-book, containing fifty-two of the most popular songs, with choruses and pianoforte accompaniments''. London: Chappell & Co., 1861.
*''Chappell & Co.'s practical directions upom the art of tuning the pianoforte...and a description of Kemp's ... amateur tuner's assistant; also, directions for tuning the harmonium''. London: Chappell & Co., 1865.
*''A catechism of the rudiments of music, adapted for beginners in any branch of the science''. London: Chappell, 1870.
*''A Catechism of Harmony, adapted to the first requirements of a student, etc.'' London: 1871.
*''A catechism of the art of singing with practical rules for the formation of the voice, especially adapted for the use of young students''. London : Chappell & Co., 1872.
*''The old cheque-book; or, Book of remembrance of the Chapel Royal from 1561 to 1744''. estminster Printed for the Camden Society, 1872.
*''The cheque book of the Chapel Royal from the reign of Elizabeth to the Accession of the House of Hanover''. Publications of the Camden Society. New series ;; 3. London: Camden Society, 1872.
*''Gallery of Great Composers''. Boston: James R. Osgood, 1874.
*''Chappell's 100 operatic melodies''. London: Chappell & Co., 8--?
References
External links
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*
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* Works b
Rimbault
in IMSLP.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rimbault, Edward Francis
1816 births
1876 deaths
Burials at Highgate Cemetery
19th-century English musicians
English book and manuscript collectors
English classical organists
British male organists
English music historians
English musicologists
19th-century British male musicians
19th-century classical musicians
Male classical organists
19th-century organists
19th-century musicologists