William Herschel’s Yorkshire Years

Autor: Michael Hoskin
Rok vydání: 2015
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal for the History of Astronomy. 46:159-172
ISSN: 1753-8556
0021-8286
Popis: William Herschel (1738-1822; referred to in what follows as "William") was the pre-eminent constructor of large reflecting telescopes at the end of the eighteenth century, and he himself used his various instruments to discover some 700 double stars and 2500 nebulae and clusters. As a theoretician, he saw gravity as the prime agent of change in deep space, and he described the life cycles of nebulae, stars, and star systems. But, amazingly, he was a musician for the first half of his life. His closing years in music, during which he became a dedicated amateur astronomer, are well documented, partly because he shared his home in Bath with his sister Caroline, the chronicler of the family. But the pre-Bath years he spent as a jobbing musician in the north of England have been shrouded in mystery. In what follows, we explore this episode in William's life, and suggest how it was that a novice organist was offered the prestigious post that took him to Bath.Sanctuary in EnglandIn November 1757, William Herschel and his older brother Jacob arrived in England, seeking refuge from the war against the French now raging in their native Hanover.[1] It was not their first time in England. The previous year, when both were bandsmen in the Hanoverian Guards, their regiment had been summoned there by George II (who was both Elector of Hanover and King of Britain) because of a threat of invasion by the French, and they had made friendships with English musicians that would now stand them in good stead. Jacob had found army life uncongenial and while in England secured his "dismission," and it was as a civilian refugee from French-occupied Hanover that he arrived in England for the second time. William, however, was still in the army, along with their father Isaac, and in the turmoil following the defeat of the Hanoverians by the French at the Battle of Hastenbeck Isaac had told William that as he was a boy and not under oath, he need have no qualms about deserting and fleeing to England.[2] Isaac had been arrested as a way of compelling the return of his son, a futile gesture that was soon abandoned. But William was technically still a soldier and would not be able to return to Hanover until he too had secured his dismission.Isaac had borrowed to the hilt to fund the flight of his two sons, and they arrived in England with scarcely a penny between them. William went to a music shop and offered to copy music, and this he did so promptly and efficiently that the shopkeeper was delighted.[3] Humdrum work, but it ensured the brothers need not fear starvation. The friends they had made on their previous visit were soon helping find them musical engagements, although William had to be patient when his prima donna of a brother refused to play unless he was himself first fiddle. But Jacob was in demand as a teacher. And so they survived until the autumn of 1759 when the French were expelled from the region of Hanover and Jacob was able to return home and audition (successfully) for a position in the Hanoverian Court Orchestra. To help pay for his passage, William gave him every penny he could lay hands on, and found himself in difficulties as a result.[4]In the spring of 1760, William secured an engagement or two in London - on 15 February, he played a violin solo at one of Charles Barbandt's concerts[5] - but he found the capital "overstocked with musicians":Very opportunely I had an offer of going into Yorkshire where the Earl of Darlington wanted a good Musician to be at the head of a small band for a regiment of Militia of which he was the General. The engagement being upon a liberal plan, and not binding for any stipulated time I gladly accepted it.[6]William as director of the band of the militiaWilliam tells us that he made the journey to Richmond in Yorkshire, in the north of England, where the militia were quartered, by coach. …
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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