Collection Expansion
Though the university awarded its first music degree in 1612, and appointed its first Professor of Music in 1764, formal tuition in music did not feature in its academic programme until the 20th century. As a result, music collecting was largely sporadic and unplanned, and significant items were often acquired incidentally as part of larger multi-disciplinary collections. The purchase of Ebenezer Prout's music library in 1910 was the first deliberate effort to strengthen the Library's music holdings, and the acceptance of printed music under legal deposit brought further rapid and sustained growth of the collection.
Ebenezer Prout: portrait from Musical Times, 1899.
Gall V.9.40
Ebenezer Prout (1835-1909) was a music scholar, composer and editor who taught composition and harmony at the three main London music colleges - the Royal College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music, and the Guildhall School of Music - before his appointment as Professor of Music at the University of Dublin in 1894. Prout's music showed little originality, and he largely abandoned composition as the series of theoretical works he published between 1889 and 1897 achieved considerable success.
Ebenezer Prout: Harmony
(London, 1889)
Prout G.23
Following the death of Sir Robert Prescott Stewart in 1894, Ebenezer Prout was nominated his successor as Professor of Music, largely through the reputation of his published theoretical works. Harmony, first issued by Augener in 1889, was an immediate success, leading to frequent reprints and revised editions. The typographical style - closely-printed text laid out in numbered paragraphs - was not unusual in textbooks of the time. Unlike previous writers on aspects of music theory, Prout used real extracts from the works of renowned composers to illustrate his text, delving into his extensive personal library to find suitable examples.
Ebenezer Prout: 'The 48 fugues from Bach's 'Wohltemperirtes Klavier' put into score and analysed'
Prout E.95
Prout's obituary in the Musical Times observed: 'He was a devout Bach worshipper, and probably knew this incomparable composer's music as well as any man in Europe'. His analysis of the fugues from Bach's Wohltemperirte Clavier was published posthumously in 1910, based on this manuscript dating from 1890. The didactic purpose of the exercise is leavened in the manuscript by a glimpse of the more humorous side to Prout's character. Prout fitted amusing words to the fugue subjects, intended primarily to serve as an aide memoire for students. These were widely known amongst musicians of the time, and were even published in Charles Vincent's 1911 edition of the 48.
Catalogue of Ebenezer Prout's music library
Prout M.45
Within weeks of Prout's death in December 1909 his extensive music library had been purchased by Trinity College for £500. The Bursar paid a further £60 out of College funds for a new bookcase to house the collection: this stood in the Long Room until the 1960s.
Prout's library contains almost 3000 items, including printed music, theoretical works, and a number of manuscripts (including about 30 of his own compositions, most of them unpublished).
Prout made the final addition to his collection on 27 October 1909, just a week before he died. Rather poignantly, the new item was Studies in fugue by C. H. Kitson, one of his successors as Professor of Music at Trinity College.
By the latter part of the 19th century large quantities of sheet music were being received under legal deposit, much of it popular in nature. Whatever judgements are made about its musical merit, the value of this material is now recognised for what it reveals about the social attitudes, political concerns and popular tastes of its time. Many of the covers also show changes in how popular musicians are perceived: the performer associated with the work is often given much greater prominence than the composer.
Max Hoffman: Rag-time alley
(London, 1900)
EPB Pop 1 no.5
Ragtime music, characterised by its syncopated rhythm, flourished chiefly in America from about 1896 to 1918. Max Hoffman is credited with being the first to publish ragtime accompaniments for popular vaudeville songs, especially the racially-derogatory 'coon songs' of the period.
Felix McGlennon: Kruger (A dreamer I have been)
(London, 1900)
EPB Pop 3 no.50
The political concerns of the day are reflected in Kruger (A dreamer I have been) by Felix McGlennon - one of the most prolific writers of popular songs at the time. Published at the height of the second Boer War, this song lampooned the Boer leader Paul Kruger. Kruger's distinctive dress and appearance made him an easy target for the music-hall impersonator, Tom Costello.
Walter De Freece: At the races
(London, 1900)
EPB Pop 6 no.5
Vesta Tilley was the stage name of Matilda Alice Powles (1864-1952). She was one of the best-paid music-hall entertainers of her day, finding fame as a male impersonator. At the races was written by her husband, Walter de Freece.
U2: The Joshua Tree
(London, 1987)
M4-92-1507
U2's appearance at Live Aid in 1985 cemented their global reputation, and their next record The Joshua Tree became the fastest-selling album in history when it was released in March 1987. It topped the album charts in the US and the UK, and two tracks - 'With or without you' and 'I still haven't found what I'm looking for' reached number 1 in the US singles charts. The band's international standing was confirmed when they featured on the cover of Time magazine in April 1987.
Michael Bublé: To be loved
(London, 2013)
SMX-6-127
Canadian singer Michael Bublé is currently one of the most popular singers worldwide, and has a particularly strong following in Ireland. He came to prominence performing a combination of big-band jazz standards and contemporary pop songs, and has increasingly featured his own compositions as his fame has grown. To be loved, his eighth studio album, was released by Reprise Records in April 2013.