ABSTRACT
The Commemoration celebrations had acquired the distinctive character of a musical festival from the early eighteenth century onwards. In his edition of the John Marsh Journals, Brian Robin’s notes: ‘Large-scale festivals became an increasingly familiar part of provincial music making during the 18th century, particularly in cathedral cities. Charles William Corfe doctoral exercise was heard during the Grand Commemoration week of 1852, when a star-studded group of soloists, including Clara Novello, Sims Reeves and ‘the great violinist’ Joseph Joachim, graced the festival performances. The critical reports in Jackson’s Oxford Journal, complementing with comments after the event the copious advertising of the Commemoration beforehand, developed from the few lines characteristic of the eighteenth-century reportage to many columns. A systematic survey of the nineteenth-century Oxford Commemorations - charting repertoire, performers, venues, ticket prices, and other arrangements - leaves no doubt as to the substantial nature of these proceedings.
