Thomas Vincent:
Portrait of an Eighteenth Century Musician
by Kathryn Gleasman Pisaro
Chicago, Illinois
Article
Bibliography
End Notes
About the Author
How can those of us performing today
learn about the life of our predecessors?
We can reconstruct, as it were, historical
free-lancers from the records of their
time and the pieces they wrote. Thomas
Vincent, an oboist living in London in the
eighteenth century, provides us with a good
study for our reconstruction: a performer and
composer who lived in a fascinating time in
musical history. His music and our knowledge
of his life can enhance our understanding of life
for an eighteenth century musician.
Thomas Vincent was born into a musical family. With a bassoonist for a father,
an organist for a brother and oboists and singers for relatives, continuing in
the family traditions would not be at all unusual. His early musical training
was probably received in the home, from his family. The choice of the oboe is
not unusual, either, for according to Eric Halfpenny, "... among the new wind
instruments which rose to the forefront in the second half of the seventeenth
century none surpassed the hautboy, or oboe, in the esteem of musicians."1
His father very probably guided him to one of the finest oboe makers who lived and worked in London, possibly even the famous Thomas Stanesby. The oboe of the time "was made in three pieces, of boxwood, ebony, or ivory with keys of brass or silver ... Three finger-holes (for each hand) provide the primary scale of D major ... and a closed key sound d' sharp when the hole it covers is opened by the right little finger. Below that key there is another hole covered by a swallow-tail open key ... which gives a c' natural when it is closed".2 His oboe playing relative, having a 19-year head start on a career, very likely gave him advice as to where to buy reeds, for" ... (f)rom the number of records of purchases of reeds and the professional quality, it would appear that many oboe players in the eighteenth century dispensed with the trouble of making their own reeds. All the same, it is unreasonable to assume that oboists were completely unused to making reeds and unfamiliar with simple techniques of adjustment."3 A young oboist would definitely be expected to have basic musical instruction and decent equipment before beginning a
serious musical career.
Vincent was obviously interested in a career as a musician, for our records describe him as Sammartini's finest student. Giuseppe Sammartini, brother of the famous composer, came to London in 1728 from Italy and according to Quantz ... ... ranked ... with ... Vivaldi and Madonis as the outstanding players he had heard."4 His admirers in London included G.F. Handel, who attached his name to many oboe solos in his operas,5
and the Prince of Wales, for whom he was music master. He is recorded in letters
of the time as "the greatest (oboist) that the world had ever known."6 Sammartini combined these legendary performing skills with a prolific compositional output, becoming one of the leading writers of concertos and sonatas in England between 1730 and 1750. Though most of his works became well known only after his death, many of his marches and minuets were known to the royal household and some were played for the King's birthday celebrations. Sammartini, as a member of an internationally famous family of musicians, a well-respected oboist, a man with steady employment in the royal household, and a prolific composer, was in a position many of his students would wish to emulate in their own careers.
Thomas Vincent, however, did not fulfill such grandiose ambitions, mixing steady employment in the King's Band with outside engagements on the oboe and a limited amount of composing.
The King's Band was an ensemble of long tradition, originally being minstrels employed by the monarchy in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but in 1626 becoming an organized band of musicians with a leader: the Master of Music. The ensemble waxed and waned in popularity at court, depending on the particular monarch's musical interests. In Vincent's time it had settled into an established 24-piece eighteenth century orchestra, but "...the band was in a state of steady decline, occasioned partly by lack of interest on the part of the sovereign and partly by his reliance upon a group of musicians paid not from the Treasury but from the Privy Purse."7 Even in this decline though, "...it is evident from the names that occur in the lists that ... the
sovereign could command the finest musicians."8 Unfortunately, the "Finest Musicians" were not paid very well for the salary of L45 16s 16d could have done little more than supplement what they earned in other ways."9 Vincent's duties in the King's Band included "...the performance of odes annually composed for (his) Majesty's birthdays, for New Year's Day, and to celebrate victories,
...
attendance on Royal Weddings, baptisms, state banquets and state concerts."10 Supplemental duties include "...Instrumental Musick
...
to be performed at St. James Cathedral Royal..."11 The King's Band seems to be one of those jobs that can require a full-time commitment from the players in one stretch of time, then have no work for them at other times. The impossibility of advance notice for much of the work, for example, an impromptu victory celebration, must have made it difficult to take other jobs, even during lulls in the performance schedule.
During Thomas Vincent's tenure in the band (1735-1778) the Masters of Music included such prominent London musicians as Maurice Green (1735-55) and William Boyce (1755-79). The next Master of Music, John Stanley (1779-86) was also involved in Vincent's life, hiring him for concerts at the Foundling Hospital. Maurice Green was an extremely influential musician with a colorful history, involving bitter feuds with Handel and appointments to every major musical post in England: organist at St. Paul's , organist and composer for the Chapel Royal, Professor of music at Cambridge, to name just a few. His students William Boyce and John Stanley were also very influential in the London scene. William Boyce followed in his teacher's footsteps in many posts: Master of Music, Professor of music at Cambridge and composer for the Chapel Royal. He also worked quite successfully in the Drury Lane Theatre. John Stanley's influence stemmed from his appointment as organist to the Honorable Society of the Inner Temple and governor of the Foundling Hospital. Obviously, working in the King's Band meant the finest musicians in London were aware of one's playing abilities, a circumstance that, as we see below, helped Thomas Vincent's freelance career.
During his time in the King's Band, there are records of a few of the concerts Thomas Vincent played on as an extra to supplement his salary. These can give us a glimpse of his life outside his "main gig". The Foundling Hospital, of which John Stanley was governor,
often gave performances of Handel's Messiah for charity. Thomas Vincent's name is listed on the orchestra bills for the concerts of May 15, 1754 and April 27, 1758, earning 10 shilling each time for playing in a section of 4 players.12
This information is very amusing to those present day freelance oboists who supplement their income with innumerable Messiahs. It gives one a real sense of deja vu to see one of our predecessors in the same situation, and to see that remunerations were very small at that time also. In fact, the servants were paid more than the oboists!
Vincent's salary in the King's band combined with his extra work made him established and prosperous enough to become a joint manager in the King's Theatre in 1765, while working there as a musician. An interesting sidelight to the history of the King's Theatre is Handel's role as its joint manager, from 1729 to 1734, where he was bankrupted. Unfortunately, Vincent met the same fate. As Judith Millhouse states, "The persistent lack of realism about opera finances among
...
eighteenth century impresarios has been a source of perpetual astonishment to modern scholars."13 She also points out that "(t)he King's Theatre was not nearly big enough to pay the daily charge at regular theatre rate
...
A house three times the size
...
would have been required."14 Vincent's musical sense was certainly truer than his economic sense, as the resident composer during his years as manager was J.C. Bach, and composers like Gluck were often performed.
After this financial debacle, the main record of Vincent's late playing career is his continued participation in the King's Band. From our overview of his life, we see a competent performer making a respectable living playing the oboe. His work in the King's Band demonstrates his competency on the instrument, since that group demanded musicians who
"...
were evidently prepared to tackle almost anything".15 He was well-known in the London musical scene through his associations with the Masters of Music, men with great influence in the community. His financial investments in the King's Theatre show him to be a man of some monetary resources, desiring an income through investment. He seems to be a respected member of a fascinating community.
Although his compositional output also included a sett of familiar lessons for the harpsicord (1755) and two songs, his virtuosic oboe sonatas (1748) will be our tool to discover
more about him as an individual. His first three sonatas are in a traditional form: slow-fast-slow-fast, with the second slow movement omitted in Sonatas IV-VI. They all begin with a slow movement of substantial length, characterized by beautiful melodic writing and are followed by virtuosic second movements, many using dance rhythms. The third movements have the most variety, with a Siciliana in the first sonata, a simple one-line transition in the second and an extended singing Andante in the third. The last movements are all minuets with mostly stepwise melodies, using grace-notes and trills as written-in ornaments to enhance the light, flowing character.
In our overview of the entire set of sonatas we shall start with the opening slow movement of each. These movements have quite a few things in common melodically. The opening bars always give a straightforward statement of the main theme, but Vincent develops the themes by sometimes using them at the opening of the second section in another key and/or as a basis for sequential material throughout the piece. In the sonatas in which he does not return to the first theme in the beginning of the second section (Sonatas 11, V and VI) a new theme is used and developed.
The melodic similarities between the slow movements extend to the basso continuo writing. None of the opening movements have complex melodic writing for the lower part, but there is always an important harmonic function. One of the few uses of the basso continuo for a melodic effect is in the opening of the Sonata V, but as we see here, it quickly returns to its role as harmonic base.
This is not an interweaving of lines on the level of Bach, but a simple, traditional basso continuo part.
Another aspect the slow movements have in common which indeed appears throughout Vincent's sonatas, is unusual harmonic and melodic writing. Some of the transitions between the first and second sections have unusual writing in a negative sense. An example of this is in Sonata 11, where the jump of a fourth in his basso continuo writing does not connect the sections fluently. Since there is stepwise motion both before and after the repeat, this jump of a fourth to a dissonance as
a way to connect the sections looks like the work of an amateur, not like a professional composer who would match the fluidity of the basso continuo writing on either side of the repeat sign:
There are places in the sonatas where Vincent's unusual harmonic and melodic ideas serve a very positive purpose. One of the most dramatic is the deceptive cadence later on in the same sonata. This unusual move includes a jump of a tritone in the oboe part and complete change of melodic and harmonic character by repeating the tritone between the oboe and basso continuo four times. It seems to completely stop the piece, heightening the tension and startling the listener.
These slow movements however, for all their similarities, each have a unique character. We see Siciliana patterns and rhythms in Sonata VI, phrasing in one bar lengths to open Sonatas I and
II, four bar lengths to open Sonata V and even five bar lengths to open Sonata
III. There is a sense that Vincent wanted each opening movement to function as a strong and expansive opening statement, and our overview of these slow movements can begin to show Vincent's characteristics as a composer.
The virtuoso second movements also have a number of things in common. First, they all show Vincent's abilities as an oboist by the technical demands in the piece. The sixth sonata contains an excellent example of Vincent's virtuosic writing - very difficult to play both on the instrument of his day and ours yet requiring a sense of lightness, grace and relaxed fluidity:
Second, the quantity and speed of the trills
written shows a high degree of mastery of this difficult aspect of oboe playing, with many of the most demanding sections of this piece, however, also using the easiest trills to finger on the baroque oboe. Third, the basso continuo parts all provide basic harmonic progressions and connect phrases with one or two beats of melodic material, such as scales or arpeggios, while the oboist catches a breath for the next section. Fourth, we see the same unusual writing in the transitions between the first and second sections in the fast movements that were seen in the opening slow movements. Sonata Il's transition is a typical example of Vincent's lack of finesse in moving from one section of the piece to the other:
Traditional harmonic and melodic analysis cannot convey the sense of fun and the emotional effect of these pieces when played. Vincent, as an experienced performer, knew through his work in music what effective music making was and captured these indefinable feelings in this composition.
A closer look at one movement will show a composer's style in ways that cannot be seen in two or three measure musical examples. Since Sonata
II is often played in the present day and available on compact disc,16 its first movement will be discussed as a representative of Vincent's style.
The first movement, in A minor, is cast in a binary form with repeats, a traditional Baroque framework. The opening section moves to the expected relative major and a harmonically adventurous second section culminates in a deceptive cadence and return to the minor key of the beginning. The opening four bars of the piece contain material that reappears in various ways throughout the piece, as is common in baroque music. For example, the written-out grace notes contained in the first measure of the piece also appear in the opening of the second section.
The movement begins with a pleasant, uncomplicated character that changes in the second section. The pastoral nature is altered by constantly changing new material. The standard cadence pattern ending in A minor is disrupted by a strident deceptive cadence in the third and fourth beats of measure
eighteen, keeping the tension unrelieved until the last measure of the movement, where a cadence pattern similar to the one ending the first section closes off the movement. The movement creates an emotional statement with the conflict of pastoral and dramatic elements.
Both this movement and the rest of his music, show a person very well-versed in the subtleties of the oboe and the music of the time. The piece has a flow and an ease that withstands the compositional errors of an amateur. The virtuosic requirements of his music, both in technical and musical aspects, give us information as to the abilities of the player of his day. As music written by an oboist, we cannot use the excuse that the composer did not realize the difficulties involved in playing the baroque oboe, as some lazy players say about such technically difficult writers as Bach and Vivaldi.
Our view of Thomas Vincent's life and music shows a way of life very familiar to modern day free-lancers. To see the struggles of making a living, making wise musical and financial choices and seeking to express oneself in music, both written and performed, carried out over 200 years ago gives us more understanding of the twentieth century freelancers role. Sometimes the smaller characters in a musical landscape can shed light on the situation of the time in a way the major figures cannot. We may not all feel like we are capable of the achievements of Handel or Bach, but many people working in music today can understand the situation of Thomas Vincent. As a successful player and composer, he deserves our respect. As a human figure in a musical landscape of giants, he gives us understanding, both of that time, and our own.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Burgess, Geoffry and Peter Hedrick. "The
Oldest English Oboe Reeds? An Examination
of 19 Surviving Examples," The Galpin Society
Journal, XLII (1989), p. 32-69
Carse, Adam. Musical Woodwind Instruments.
New York: DaCapo Press, 1965. 381 p.
[Cudworth Festschrift] Music in eighteen-century
England: Essays in memory of Charles Cudworth.
Edited by Christopher Hogwood and Richard
Luckett. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1983. 265 p.
Halfpenny, Eric. "A Seventeenth-Century Tutor for the Hautboy," Music and Letters, XXX/3 (1949), p. 355-363.
Harley, John. "Music at the English court in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries," Music and Letters, L/3 (1969), p. 332-51.
Millhouse, Judith. "Opera finances in London, 1674-1738," Journal of the American Musicological Society, XXXVII/3 (1984), p. 567-592.
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Edited by Stanley Sadie. Washington, D.C.: Macmillan, 2980. Articles on Giuseppe Sammartini, Thomas Vincent, Maurice Green, William Boyce, John Stanley, and London: The King's Band and The King's Theatre.
Oboe Sonatas between 1700-1750, Paul Dombrecht, oboe. Compact Disc. Accent ACC 57804 D.
Robbins Landon, H.C. Handel and his World. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1984.
Vincent, Thomas. Six Solos for a Hautboy New York: Performers' Facsimiles, No. 35951. 19p.
Whitwell, David. "The Baroque wind band and wind ensemble," The history and literature of the wind band and wind ensemble, Northridge, CA: Winds, 1983, Vol. 3, 228 p.
END NOTES
1 Halfpenny, Eric, "A Seventeenth-Century Tutor for the Hautboy", Music and Letters, XXX (October) 1949), p. 355.
2 Carse, Adam, Musical Wind Instruments, (New York: Da Capo Press, 1965), p. 130.
3 Burgess, Geoffrey and Hedrick, Peter, "The Oldest English Oboe Reeds? An Examination of 19 Surviving Examples," The Galpin Society Journal, XLII (August 1989), p. 35.
4 Churgin, Bathia, "Giuseppe Sammartini", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, (ed.
by Stanley Sadie, 1980), Vol. 16, p. 457.
5 The New Grove, "Sammartini", Vol. 16, p. 457.
6 The New Grove, "Sammartini", Vol. 16, p. 457.
7 Harley, John, "Music at the English court in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries", Music and Letters, L/3 (July 1969), pp. 332-33.
8 Harley, John, "Music at the English court p.337.
9 Harley, John, "Music at the English court p.
333.
10 Harley, John, "Music at the English court pp. 34142.
11 Harley, John, "Music at the English court p.
351.
12
Robbins Landon, H.C., Handel and his World, (Boston, Little Brown & Co., 1984), pp. 198-200.
13 Millhouse, Judith, "Opera finances in London, 1674-1738", Journal of the American Musicological Society, XXXVII/3 (fall 1984), p. 592.
14 Millhouse, Judith, "Opera finances in London, 1674-1738", p. 590.
15 Harley, John, "Music at the English court...", p. 342.
16 Vincent, Thomas, "Sonata 11", in Oboe Sonatas Between 1700-1750, Paul Dombrecht, oboe (Accent: ACC 57804 B).
About the Author
Kathryn Gleasman Pisaro is an active member of Chicago's musical community. She received a degree in Oboe Performance at DePaul University, studying with Gladys Elliot She currently studies with Grover Schiltz. She plays with many orchestras, including some work with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Opera Theatre Orchestra for the Chicago Symphony. She also has played in shows at the Chicago, Auditorium and Marriot Lincolnshire Theatres, avant-garde 20th Century music with several performance ensembles and studied baroque oboe at the Baroque Performance Institute in Oberlin, Ohio this summer. She is presently principal oboe in the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, is on the faculty at Judson College, Elgin Community College and DePaul University and teaches private oboe students.