Joseph Nicholds (ca.1785–1860) was a player of the
keyed bugle
The Royal Kent bugle or keyed bugle is a variant of the bugle popular in the 19th century, especially in the English Army in 1856. Its six keys allow pitch to be controlled beyond that possible with a standard bugle.
History
The first known me ...
and a composer of sacred music, today known as
West gallery music
__NOTOC__
West gallery music, also known as Georgian psalmody, refers to the sacred music (metrical psalms, with a few hymns and anthems) sung and played in English parish churches, as well as nonconformist chapels, from 1700 to around 1850. In ...
.
Early life
Nicholds was born in
Coseley
Coseley ( ) is a village in the north of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, in the English West Midlands. Part of the Black Country, it is situated approximately north of Dudley itself, on the border with Wolverhampton. Though it is a part o ...
,
Staffordshire, around 1785. and worked as a limestone-breaker in the Deepfields iron furnaces nearby. He may have also played
ophicleide in the band which accompanied the singing at Providence Baptist Chapel, Coseley.
Career
Sometime after 1820 Nicholds and his three sons joined the band attached to
Wombwell's Travelling Menagerie, where he remained in the capacity of bandmaster for 21 years. The band, one of the first
brass bands, became famous for producing excellent musicians – so much so that many people came just to hear the music, without paying to go inside to see the animals.
By 1844 he appears to have left Wombwell's menagerie, as he is described as "formerly director of Wombwell's band" in a report by The Musical World journal of a performance of his
oratorio
An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...
''The Triumphs of Zion'' in
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...
, on 17 September 1844. Only part of this oratorio is known to have survived, along with several of Nicholds' hymn tunes, in a collection of
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...
music associated with the
Larks of Dean.
Around 1850 Nicholds moved to the
Ebbw Vale area of
Monmouthshire where he remained for five years. Here he published ''The Monmouthshire Melodist'', a collection of
psalm
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
and
hymn tunes and
anthems, with several pieces by other composers working in the area.
He returned to the
Black Country around 1855, and became proprietor of the Hop & Barleycorn Inn, Coseley. His most famous work, the oratorio ''Babylon'', was first performed in the newly completed Ebenezer Baptist Church in 1857 – however, it was not published until after his death.
Death
In late 1858, Nicholds was admitted to the local
workhouse
In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...
, the
Dudley
Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...
&
Sedgley
Sedgley is a town in the north of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England.
Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, Sedgley is on the A459 road between Wolverhampt ...
Union, Shaver's End (Burton Road), where he died on 18 February 1860. On 21 February,
The remains of his memorial, the tombstone, may be seen in the old Sedgley cemetery (now the Garden of Rest), placed into the ground close to the centre of the park – only the inscribed tablet survives of what was a 10-ft tall
obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...
-topped monument. It reads:
THIS
MONUMENT WAS ERECTED
IN 1871 BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION,
AS A TRIBUTE OF RESPECT.
IN
AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE OF
JOSEPH NICHOLDS
A NATIVE OF COSELEY
WHO DIED FEBY 18TH 1860.
AND WAS AUTHOR OF THE FOLLOWING
WORKS OF SACRED MUSIC,
THE FRUITS OF BENEVOLENCE.
GABRIELS HARP.
THE TRIUMPHS OF ZION.
THE ORATORIO OF BABYLON.
THE MONMOUTHSHIRE MELODIST.
THE SONGS OF ZION.
''"They rest from their labour and their''
''works do follow them."''
*'Nicholds Close' in Coseley, WV14 9JS, is named after the composer.
Known published work
* ''Sacred Music, A Selection of Psalm & Hymn Tunes, Adapted to Public Worship and figured for the
Organ Piano Forte &c.'' (London: for the Author, 1829).
* ''Gabriel's Harp, Original Sacred Melodies''. not located.
* ''"Fruits of Benevolence" – Tunes and Pieces adapted for Anniversaries, Charity Sermons, &c.'' not located.
* ''Triumphs of Zion – consisting of Airs, Duets, Choruses, &c., with Instrumental Accompaniment.''
ratorioc.1844. printed copy not located; partial copy in manuscript (see section below).
* ''The Songs of Zion.'' not located.
* ''The Monmouthshire Melodist: A Select Variety of Congregational Tunes, together with Six Original Anthems.'' (London: Joseph Hart, c.1850). First edition not located.
* ''Second (Copyright) Edition of the Monmouthshire Melodist and Supplement: A Work containing original Pieces, suitable for Chapel and
Sunday School Anniversaries; Also, a Variety of
Chants, Tunes, &c. by Various Authors, Especially adapted for Congregational Use; The whole Edited and Arranged for the Organ, Pianoforte, &c., by the late Joseph Nicholds.'' (
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
: George Sage, and London: John Shepherd,
upplement_published_Bristol:_Henry_Keeler.html" ;"title="Bristol.html" ;"title="upplement published Bristol">upplement published Bristol: Henry Keeler">Bristol.html" ;"title="upplement published Bristol">upplement published Bristol: Henry Keeler c.1869).
* ''Babylon, An Oratorio.'' Composed c.1857, first published 1861. Several editions, including a revision by Cornelius Ward, and a Tonic sol-fa edition in English and Welsh language, Welsh, 1866.
* 'Funeral Hymn: Hear what the voice', published in Thomas Jarman's ''The Voice of Melody'', (London: unknown, c.1850).
* 3 anthems ('The Star of Bethlehem'; 'Joy to the World'; 'Arm of the Lord') in English and Welsh published in D.O. Evans, ''Temple Gems. (Gemau y Deml.)'', (
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...
: D.O. Evans, 1889).
* 'Dudley Castle', hymn tune, published in
John Fawcett's ''Melodia Divina'', (London: F. Pitman, Hart; 3rd edition c.1870).
Works in manuscript
* ''
heRedemption,'' oratorio. In a manuscript (1845–1848) by Moses Heap in the Larks of Dean collection (with ''Triumphs of Zion'', possibly only extracts),
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
Archives,
Preston.
* ''Miriam,'' oratorio. lost.
[Referred to in Frederick Boase, ''Modern English Biography'' (London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd., 1965), Volume 2 – I to Q, column 1132.]
* ''The Fall of Babylon,'' anthem. In a manuscript (1848) b
David Lewisin the
National Library of Wales; along with a hymn tune, 'Nicholds'.
* Several psalm & hymn tunes in the Larks of Dean collection, and a few isolated examples in other manuscript collections.
References
External links
West Gallery Music AssociationA picture of Wombwell's Menagerie band wagon in 1887
Trevor Herbert, 'Nineteenth-Century Bands: Making a Movement'
*
ttp://www.ripm.org/journal_info.php5?ABB=MWO The Musical WorldRachel Cowgill and Peter Holman (eds.), Music in the British Provinces, 1690–1914 (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007)*
Video clips
* , hymn sung b
Stream of SoundChoir
* , the hymn sung at Nicholds' deathbed, sung by
Stream of SoundChoir
* , hymn sung by Stream of Sound Choir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholds, Joseph
English classical composers
1785 births
1860 deaths
English Methodists
Classical composers of church music
People from Coseley
People from Sedgley
Foundrymen
English hymnwriters
19th-century classical composers
19th-century English musicians
19th-century British composers