ABSTRACT
In the 1840s and 1850s the two principal musical societies used artists from the wider musical world as their soloists. Newspaper coverage suggests that the concerts put on by the Distins and the Brahams and the visits of Italian singers were successful to a certain extent, but none could match the success of the concerts promoted by Louis Jullien, one of the most important visitors to Belfast during the 1840s and 1850s. By helping to establish open-air and promenade concerts that were attended by thousands, he had a significant impact on the musical life of Belfast. Jullien would introduce a new instrument of his own invention, the clavicor. It was some time before he returned, but he became an annual visitor to Belfast thereafter. For visiting artists with open-air instruments, the summer outdoor promenade concert offered the prospect of a far bigger paying audience than the concert hall.
