John Curwen
John Curwen (born November 14, 1816 in Heckmondwike , Yorkshire , † May 26, 1880 in Manchester ) was an English congressional preacher who popularized the Norwich sol-fa, invented by the music teacher Sarah Ann Glover , as a tonic sol-fa . This was a method of singing lessons based on solmization and especially suitable for schools. The suggestion for this came in 1841 from the resolution of a conference of Sunday School teachers in Hull .
Curwen's Grammar of Vocal Music was published in 1843 , in 1853 he founded the Tonic Sol-Fa Association , in 1863 the Tonic Sol-Fa Agency (later J. Curwen & Sons) and in 1879 the Tonic Sol- Fa college . As early as 1864 he gave up his ministry and devoted himself entirely to training his method.
Some of his other teaching works include:
- The Standard Course of Lessons and Exercises or The Tonic Sol-Fa Method (1861, 2nd ed. 1872)
- Musical Statics (1874, 2nd edition 1906)
- The Teacher's Manual of the Tonic Sol-Fa Method (1875)
- How to Observe Harmony (1861, 2nd ed. 1875)
- Tonic Sol-Fa Primer (at Novello)
- Musical Theory (1879)
He also published a monthly from 1851 (The Tonic Sol-Fa Reporter) and published many classical works (oratorios, etc.) in tonic-sol-fa notation.
His son John Spencer Curwen (born November 30, 1847 in Plaistow, † August 6, 1916 in London) wrote several writings on the tonic sol-fa method and a biography of his father ( Memorials of John Curwen , 1882). From 1866 he was editor of the musical Herald .
His son John Kenneth Curven took over the publishing house in 1920 and ran it until his death on February 25, 1935.
literature
- K. Mollowitz: About d. Music education with Ann Glover and John Curven , doctoral thesis Königsberg 1933
- HW Shaw: The Musical Teaching of John Curven , in: Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association LXXVII, 1950.
- Charles Edward McGuire: Music and Victorian Philanthropy: The Tonic Sol-fa Movement , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009
- Bernarr Rainbow: John Curwen: A Short Critical Biography , Sevenoaks: Novello, 1980
- Herbert Simon: Song and Words: A History of the Curwen Press , London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1973
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Curwen, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English music teacher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 14, 1816 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Heckmondwike , Yorkshire |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 26, 1880 |
| Place of death | Manchester |