Arthur Frederick Monnier Harper better known to musical circles in Belfast as Monnier Harper has died at Scheveningen, Holland, after two years of great suffering following on an attack of paralysis. The announcement of this death will bring to the mind of many in Belfast recollections of a musical genius of the most extraordinary type and quality.
Thus began a report headed Death of Monnier Harper on page 7 of the Larne Times and Weekly Telegraph on Saturday 29 January 1916.
Alas, the centenary of the death of this Ulster-born composer, violinist and aviation pioneer, passed by unnoticed.
Alas, the centenary of the death of this Ulster-born composer, violinist and aviation pioneer, passed by unnoticed.
This feature collates as much as possible of the known information about him.
It’s offered complete with its several digressions and its many corners which need more time for research, for reading through the manuscripts, and for actually hearing the music. In many cases my translations from the Dutch or French sources could be improved!
It’s offered complete with its several digressions and its many corners which need more time for research, for reading through the manuscripts, and for actually hearing the music. In many cases my translations from the Dutch or French sources could be improved!
Hopefully, and gradually, those shortcomings will be rectified with your help.
All improvements and additional information gratefully received.
All improvements and additional information gratefully received.
Please note that this webpage is incomplete. From 1911 onwards much has still to be added. Work in progress!
I am indebted to a feature on Monnier Harper written by Lodewijk Muns for the website of the Netherlands Music Institute / Nederlands Muziek Instituut (NMI). That NMI website also has photographs of Monnier Harper, a catalogue of his music manuscripts and other documentation.
I’m most grateful to the NMI for permission to use here the Monnier Harper photographs from that website.
I’m most grateful to the NMI for permission to use here the Monnier Harper photographs from that website.
Note: In another example of governmental short-sightedness when it comes to cultural policies (in this case mentioning ‘limited public appeal’), the NMI lost its state subsidy in 2013, putting its important collections of manuscripts, scores and books at very serious risk.
And sincere thanks to Nicolas Gurtler for information about the Herckenrath family and Monnier Harper and also for some wonderful photographs, duly credited in the feature.
My thanks to Jan van Dooren and Yvonne Terlingen for some help with translations.
All errors are my own. Please help me correct those you notice.
My thanks to Jan van Dooren and Yvonne Terlingen for some help with translations.
All errors are my own. Please help me correct those you notice.
INTRODUCTION
Above: Arthur Frederick Monnier Harper
This photograph is © Netherlands Music Institute and used with NMI’s permission.
Northern Irish composers from the early 20th century are few and far between. So it’s exciting to come across a ‘new’ one, even if, so far, I’ve heard so little of his music – for it is a ‘he’.
Monnier Harper was his name.
His is a story of great promise cut short by early death. There’s a doting mother – maybe even a pushy mother.
Did her husband share her enthusiasm for the artistic pursuits of their two sons?
What drove her husband into a bigamous relationship in Canada?
And then there are the two promising musician sons of whom the short-lived Monnier Harper was the longer-lived of the two.
Did her husband share her enthusiasm for the artistic pursuits of their two sons?
What drove her husband into a bigamous relationship in Canada?
And then there are the two promising musician sons of whom the short-lived Monnier Harper was the longer-lived of the two.
My interest was aroused while searching unsuccessfully for music by the northern Irish composer and music journalist, W.B. Reynolds (1874-1925). Hopefully I’ll find out more about him in the future (another work-in-progress).
I read a two-part article Reynolds had written for the short-lived periodical Ulad [sic] in May and September 1905 - Ulad being ‘a self-conscious attempt to create a regional identity in Ulster, separate from that promoted by the Gaelic Revival’.
I read a two-part article Reynolds had written for the short-lived periodical Ulad [sic] in May and September 1905 - Ulad being ‘a self-conscious attempt to create a regional identity in Ulster, separate from that promoted by the Gaelic Revival’.
In the second part of Reynolds’ article, he referenced
three Ulster composers, initially unnamed, and he expanded on the
problems they faced.
The PDF on the right has the complete Reynolds’ article, published under his pen-name of William Donn. The relevant second part begins on page 3 of the PDF.
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The first of the three composers was never named but is probably Hamilton Harty (1879-1941).
That anonymity may have been because of a little local difficulty.
In 1905, Harty had published his own arrangement of My Lagan Love, a folk song collected by Herbert Hughes (1882-1937) in north Donegal in the summer of 1903. Agnes Nicholls, accompanied by Harty, her husband, performed the song at the opening concert of the Feis Ceoil in Dublin in May 1905 (Irish Times, 22 May 1905).
That anonymity may have been because of a little local difficulty.
In 1905, Harty had published his own arrangement of My Lagan Love, a folk song collected by Herbert Hughes (1882-1937) in north Donegal in the summer of 1903. Agnes Nicholls, accompanied by Harty, her husband, performed the song at the opening concert of the Feis Ceoil in Dublin in May 1905 (Irish Times, 22 May 1905).
Not long before, Hughes had published his own arrangement of My Lagan Love in his Songs of Uladh, Belfast, 1904. The words were by the Ulster poet Joseph Campbell (1879-1944) and the illustrations by Joseph’s artist brother, John Campbell (1883-1962). See RH pic.
Reynolds and Hughes were two of the adjudicators at the first Feis na nGleann (The Glens of Antrim Feis) on 30 June 1904.
Might Reynolds have been the critic whose disapproval indirectly encouraged Hughes (and Hughes’ solicitor friend and great advocate for Irish culture, Francis Joseph Bigger (1863-1926)) in his unsuccessful attempt to sue Harty for breach of copyright over his My Lagan Love arrangement?
Meanwhile, unless I’ve stretched an analogy too far, the identities of the second and third of Reynolds’ Ulster composers are revealed in his closing paragraph:
If Herbert Hughes and Monnier Harper, and the others who have not arrived so far, let out their talents to tradition and the past, technique, an orchestra, a new imaginative horizon, a fresh message, and a renewed impulse will all coalesce to urge their work to more splendid issues, profounder significances, loftier and prouder flights.
I sat up and took notice. Herbert Hughes, yes. But who the devil was Monnier Harper?
Reynolds’ article credits Monnier Harper with spending youthful years abroad and returning with a wide musical culture ‘and a knowledge of technique as the humble servant of expression which never could have been got at home, but only in a Continental centre throbbing with musical life and activity’. Now, back in Belfast, he has ‘a few pupils and ample leisure’, wasting time and energy on Greek classical subjects.
So, what’s the story?
Ultimately, it’s one of great potential, spread perhaps too thinly, across Monnier Harper’s talents as a violinist, a composer, an aviation pioneer, a sculptor and an actor.
Alas, his life was tragically cut short by illness.
Alas, his life was tragically cut short by illness.
Memories of him may have faded, but his autograph scores survive in the Netherlands Music Institute in The Hague.
Even better, thanks to the pianist Maarten van Veen, some
of Monnier Harper’s works were revived during the 2013 Hortus Festival
at Leiden, Amsterdam, Utrecht and Haren - ‘providing a beautiful way to spend a balmy yet cultured
summer evening, the Hortus Festival every year brings classical music to
the botanical gardens of four Dutch cities’.
LH pic: Programme cover for the 2013 Hortus Festival.
Part of a review from Trouw, Monday 22 July 2013, (deVerdieping, cultuur & media), page 10
The Belfast-born composer … wrote in a Debussyan style, melodically for the violin, and achingly for the cello in Scène de la tour, poème, convincingly performed by Job ter Haar [cello].
One of the songs performed by soprano Marieke Steenhoek and pianist Maarten van Veen was Harper’s Souffrances d’Hiver. This is part of the review from Moor’s Magazine:
Kunst en Vliegwerk / Art in acrobatics [flight-work], the second program of the Tenth Hortus Festival, had the theme of ‘flight’ because in the archives [of the Netherlands Music Institute] Mr van Veen found Arthur Monnier Harper, an aviation pioneer, composer, violinist, sculptor and actor who died in his twenty-seventh [actually 29th] year.
You would think that the compositions of this man in particular would simply be curiosities, but the song Souffrances d’Hiver is surprisingly beautiful, and his piano pieces are more than just nice.
You would think that the compositions of this man in particular would simply be curiosities, but the song Souffrances d’Hiver is surprisingly beautiful, and his piano pieces are more than just nice.
The manuscript (092/36) of the opening of Monnier Harper’s Souffrances d’Hiver, used by kind permission of the Netherlands Music Institute.
HIS MOTHER and FATHER at SHANE’S CASTLE
Monnier Harper’s parents were Andrew Harper and Sophie Antoinette Harper, née Monnier.
Andrew and Sophie were married on 01 August 1885 in Drummaul Parish Church, Randalstown.
The church, ‘a neat edifice in the ancient English style, with an octagonal spire of freestone’ was built in 1831-32 with a contribution of £300 from Lord O’Neill of Shane’s Castle.
O’Neill also paid for the organ, pulpit, silver communion vessels and stained glass windows.
The church, ‘a neat edifice in the ancient English style, with an octagonal spire of freestone’ was built in 1831-32 with a contribution of £300 from Lord O’Neill of Shane’s Castle.
O’Neill also paid for the organ, pulpit, silver communion vessels and stained glass windows.
RH pic: Drummaul Parish Church, Randalstown, Co Antrim.
Photo © Kenneth Allen and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Photo © Kenneth Allen and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
The important reference and connection here is Shane’s Castle.
Andrew’s father was David Harper, the Land Steward of Shane’s Castle.
Andrew’s father was David Harper, the Land Steward of Shane’s Castle.
Sophie Antoinette Monnier, the daughter of Fritz Monnier,
a merchant, was born in 1864 in Switzerland, in the French-speaking
historic university town of Neuchâtel.
The PDF on the right seeks, somewhat unsuccessfully, to find a family lineage, but does at least provide details around Sophie Antoinette’s death in 1941.
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She was employed as the Governess at Shane’s Castle,
probably from sometime around the death of William O’Neill, the 1st
Baron O’Neill (1813-1883).
William had been born William Chichester, the younger brother of Arthur Chichester, the 2nd Earl of Donegall. Ordained in 1837, William took the name O’Neill by royal charter in 1855 so that he could succeed to the estates of his relative, the 3rd Viscount O’Neill.
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states:
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states:
O’Neill [the 1st Baron] was a talented performer on the violin and organ, especially the latter instrument; he was also a skilled singer and composer. He frequently officiated as organist in the Dublin cathedrals, and wrote church music, glees, and songs, all remarkable for purity of style and grammatical accuracy, some of which were published.
Edward (1839-1928), 2nd Baron O’Neill, was William’s eldest son from his first marriage. He succeeded to the barony in 1883, and his young family would certainly have required a governess.
Edward’s eldest son had died in 1882, aged just seven; but in 1883 there was Arthur (1876-1914), Louisa (1879-1965) and the babe-in-arms Hugh (1883-1982). Rose Anne was born in 1884 and Alice in 1886.
Their home was Shane’s Castle.
The castle was originally built in 1345 and called Edenduffcarrick. A later, extensive building, probably from the time of the 17th century Plantation, acquired additions over many years. It was renamed Shane’s Castle in 1722. The architect John Nash (1752-1835) drew up plans for a new southern-facing facade in 1812, but only the conservatory and terrace had been added by 1816 when the mansion was destroyed by fire.
LH pic: Postcard image of the ruins of the old Shane’s Castle, destroyed in 1816.
RH pic: Another postcard image of the old castle ruins, showing their proximity to Lough Neagh.
A new house, the ‘new’ Shane’s Castle pictured below, was built by Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon in the 1860s for the 1st Lord O’Neill. This was the estate where Andrew Harper’s father, David Harper, worked as Land Steward.
And it was the house where the O’Neill children’s governess was Sophie Antoinette Monnier.
And it was the house where the O’Neill children’s governess was Sophie Antoinette Monnier.
This photo of the ‘new’ Shane's Castle, Co Antrim, appears here by courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.
It’s by Robert French (1841-1917) and is part of the Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
It’s by Robert French (1841-1917) and is part of the Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
The photograph on the left shows the Castle from a rather different perspective, making it difficult to reconcile the two buildings.
The photo was featured on the front page of the Antrim Guardian, 15 December 2022.
On the morning of 20 May 1922, in the new entity that was Northern Ireland, that ‘new’ Shane’s Castle was one of the four historic houses which were burnt down that day by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Look out for the reappearance of the IRA in terms of mis-information about Andrew Harper’s ‘death’!
Andrew grew up in Ballealy (sometimes ‘Ballely’) Cottage, his parent’s home on the Shane’s Castle estate. Ballealy Cottage was the Land Steward’s fine one-and-a-half storey cottage. It was built around 1835 to plans thought to be by the architect Richard Morrison (1767-1849). In the Ordnance Survey Memoirs (1838), it’s described as ‘the residence of the park-keeper … built of stone, in miniature imitation of the lodge of the ranger of Windsor Forest. Attached to it is an aviary on a small scale, in which are some gold and silver pheasants’.
The Irish Landmark Trust which looks after the Cottage and rents it out, describes it thus:
‘Set in a woodland by a stream, Ballealy presents a fairytale appearance of irregular gables and half-hipped roofs, edged with ornate bargeboards of trefoils and bold horned curls. Ballealy is built around a tiny central courtyard and is entered through an arched passageway. The outbuildings include a venison store.’
‘Set in a woodland by a stream, Ballealy presents a fairytale appearance of irregular gables and half-hipped roofs, edged with ornate bargeboards of trefoils and bold horned curls. Ballealy is built around a tiny central courtyard and is entered through an arched passageway. The outbuildings include a venison store.’
RH pic: courtesy of the Irish Landmark Trust; © photo by David Davison.
Clicking on the photo will take you to ILT’s tour of the cottage’s rooms.
Clicking on the photo will take you to ILT’s tour of the cottage’s rooms.
The PDF on the right gives some details of the Harper family and possible connections around the Shane’s Castle estate.
Ballygrooby Lodge (built c.1848) was occupied by the elderly Andrew Harper (c.1807-1895), formerly a Castle gate-keeper. Was he possibly young Andrew’s grandfather?
Also at Ballygrooby Lodge lived Annie and Martha Harper, daughters of Andrew senior and perhaps sisters of David Harper. See pages 4 and 5 of the PDF.
Ballygrooby Lodge (built c.1848) was occupied by the elderly Andrew Harper (c.1807-1895), formerly a Castle gate-keeper. Was he possibly young Andrew’s grandfather?
Also at Ballygrooby Lodge lived Annie and Martha Harper, daughters of Andrew senior and perhaps sisters of David Harper. See pages 4 and 5 of the PDF.
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THE YOUNG HARPER FAMILY
At the time of his marriage, 01 August 1885, our young Andrew Harper was working as a GPO telegraph operator, living at 6 Woodburn Terrace, Belfast.
The 1884 Belfast Street Directory lists just three houses, Nos. 2, 4 and 6 in Woodburn Terrace, off Belfast’s Ormeau Road; No.6 was occupied by Robert Martin, book-keeper. So it’s likely that Andrew had been a lodger there.
The 1884 Belfast Street Directory lists just three houses, Nos. 2, 4 and 6 in Woodburn Terrace, off Belfast’s Ormeau Road; No.6 was occupied by Robert Martin, book-keeper. So it’s likely that Andrew had been a lodger there.
Andrew and Sophie’s first-born son was named Arthur Frederick Monnier Harper.
His birth on 17 August 1886 was registered on 14 September 1886 in the District of Antrim, sub-district Randalstown (Number Registration: U/1886/7/1001/9/420), Shane’s Castle, Drummaul.
His birth on 17 August 1886 was registered on 14 September 1886 in the District of Antrim, sub-district Randalstown (Number Registration: U/1886/7/1001/9/420), Shane’s Castle, Drummaul.
Neither ‘Arthur’ nor ‘Frederick’ seem to be Harper family
names. Arthur* may have been a gesture to the eldest surviving O’Neill
son. Frederick might be in recognition of Sophie’s father Fritz, or
maybe one of his brothers.
*Arthur O’Neill (1876-1914) would become the MP for Co
Antrim and a leading figure in the opposition to Home Rule. He fought in
World War I as a Captain in the 2nd Life Guards, but was killed in
action in Belgium in November 1914 – the first MP to die in the War. His
youngest son Terence became the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland in
1963.
LH pic: Baby Carriage from Montgomery Ward & Co’s 1895 catalogue.
Reed body, bleached, upholstered in fancy cretonne, oilcloth mat on bottom, sateen unlined parasol, four S springs and 20x22 brightly plated steel wheels ... $4.80
Reed body, bleached, upholstered in fancy cretonne, oilcloth mat on bottom, sateen unlined parasol, four S springs and 20x22 brightly plated steel wheels ... $4.80
Arthur Frederick Monnier Harper’s birth certificate listed his father Andrew as a ‘Post Office Clerk’, living at 2 Heywood [sic] Avenue, Belfast. The 1887 Belfast Street Directory lists ‘A. Harper, clerk, G.P.O.’, at 6 Haywood Avenue (off Ballynafeigh Road), a new street of terrace houses (not listed in the 1884 Directory).
By 1890, ‘A. Harper, postal clerk’, had moved to 4 Stanley Terrace, Lisburn Road (between Claremont Street and the Samaritan Hospital).
From 1892, ‘A Harper, clerk’, is listed at 2 Belgravia Avenue, off the Lisburn Road. It’s the first of a terrace block and unfortunately that particular house has now been rendered and painted, concealing its nice mix of red, cream and dark grey bricks (click on the photographs in the gallery below).
From 1892, ‘A Harper, clerk’, is listed at 2 Belgravia Avenue, off the Lisburn Road. It’s the first of a terrace block and unfortunately that particular house has now been rendered and painted, concealing its nice mix of red, cream and dark grey bricks (click on the photographs in the gallery below).
It must have been difficult for the young Harper family to sustain the costs of a home just off Belfast’s Lisburn Road and also provide music lessons for a talented young son. There was a way - at least in the short term:
The Belfast News-Letter carried advertisements from Tuesday 23 August to Monday 03 October 1892 for French classes and private tuition with Madame Harpur [sic].
Classes resumed on 01 September, so presumably Sophie Antoinette had been offering similar classes in the previous year or at least the 1892 spring term.
The advertisement on the left is from 19 September 1892.
Classes resumed on 01 September, so presumably Sophie Antoinette had been offering similar classes in the previous year or at least the 1892 spring term.
The advertisement on the left is from 19 September 1892.
A second son, Cyrille St. Claire Harper, was born on 21 April 1894 to Sophie Antoinette Harper and Andrew Harper. The birth was registered in the District of Belfast (pre-1973 Q4), sub-district Belfast Urban 4. Registration number: U/1894/50/1007/64/364.
STUDIES AT THE BELFAST CONSERVATOIRE
1894 was also a year of new developments for music in Belfast.
Belfast News-Letter, Tuesday 25 Sept 1894:
Belfast News-Letter, Tuesday 25 Sept 1894:
BELFAST CONSERVATOIRE OF MUSIC
On Thursday next this institution will commence active operations, and a few days later the principal will deliver his inaugural address to the students. As this school will probably play an important part in the matter of musical education not only for Ulster, but for the whole of Ireland, we believe that some details as to its mode of working may be interesting to our readers.
The objects for which it has been established are thus set forth by the directors: –
To provide for the province of Ulster a first-class training school for professional and amateur students on the lines of the best Continental conservatoires, and to help forward the diffusion of music in its highest forms.
Much, of course, in such an enterprise depends upon the principal. In Mr. George F. Geaussent the conservatoire will have a gentleman of great experience. Those of our readers who know the great London school over which he presides will be surprised to learn that, only ten years ago the Hampstead Conservatoire began its career in the same modest way that the Belfast institution is now starting, and yet in four years from that time the school had its 500 students, and one of the finest conservatories in Europe had been built at a cost of £2,000.
In choosing the staff of professors, great care has been taken to engage gentlemen who are not only known to the directors as thoroughly competent and conscientious teachers, but who are themselves public performers. … Amongst the first group of professors will be the principal, who is taking in hand the composition classes and a number of pianoforte students. …The violin professorship has been given to Mons. Louis Duloup, whose recitals in London have stamped him as an artiste of the first rank in London …
On Thursday next this institution will commence active operations, and a few days later the principal will deliver his inaugural address to the students. As this school will probably play an important part in the matter of musical education not only for Ulster, but for the whole of Ireland, we believe that some details as to its mode of working may be interesting to our readers.
The objects for which it has been established are thus set forth by the directors: –
To provide for the province of Ulster a first-class training school for professional and amateur students on the lines of the best Continental conservatoires, and to help forward the diffusion of music in its highest forms.
Much, of course, in such an enterprise depends upon the principal. In Mr. George F. Geaussent the conservatoire will have a gentleman of great experience. Those of our readers who know the great London school over which he presides will be surprised to learn that, only ten years ago the Hampstead Conservatoire began its career in the same modest way that the Belfast institution is now starting, and yet in four years from that time the school had its 500 students, and one of the finest conservatories in Europe had been built at a cost of £2,000.
In choosing the staff of professors, great care has been taken to engage gentlemen who are not only known to the directors as thoroughly competent and conscientious teachers, but who are themselves public performers. … Amongst the first group of professors will be the principal, who is taking in hand the composition classes and a number of pianoforte students. …The violin professorship has been given to Mons. Louis Duloup, whose recitals in London have stamped him as an artiste of the first rank in London …
So the Belfast Conservatoire opened its doors for business on 27 September 1894. Its object [from the Belfast News-Letter,
21 Dec 1894] was reworded: ‘to provide for the province of Ulster a
first-class training school on the lines of the best Continental
conservatoires and to increase the facilities in Belfast for hearing
good music’.
Mr. Geaussent, its principal, planned to establish a permanent orchestra ‘in connection with the Conservatoire. Mr. Geaussent will himself direct this society, having M. L. Duloup as his leader. M. Duloup will also take the rehearsals for strings only … Some ten years ago Mr. Geaussant was the first to found a “Probationers’ School” in connection with the Conservatoire at Hampstead. These little people have their own private lessons, their own harmony lessons, their own orchestra, their own choir, their own concert, and their own examinations and prizes. The immense advantage of placing young children under thoroughly competent teachers, and having all their work submitted step by step to first class examiners must be patent to any parent who takes an interest in his children’s education.’
Start them young - that was certainly an aspect of the
musical education which benefited young Arthur Frederick Monnier Harper
and his brother. Presumably at a cost. Could that be sustained on a Post
Office clerk's salary?
In the 1895 Belfast Street Directory, 2 Belgravia Avenue is ‘vacant’.
The family had gone. But where?
The family had gone. But where?
There’s a clue in the list of Monnier Harper’s autograph manuscripts held by NMI (but who was ‘his little nanny’?):
‘Menuet / de Monnier Harper / Villa Chaumont Belfast / Composed at Chaumont / Belfast / aged 11 / dedicated to his / little nanny’.
Sure enough, in the 1895 Belfast Street Directory there is a ‘Wm. Harper’ living at Chaumont, Marlborough Park, Belfast.
Sadly, no occupation is recorded in the Directory. It’s likely there’s a family connection with William Harper, given the common surname. Perhaps the French house-name may also be of significance in some way.
Sadly, no occupation is recorded in the Directory. It’s likely there’s a family connection with William Harper, given the common surname. Perhaps the French house-name may also be of significance in some way.
Might William Harper of Chaumont be an uncle of Andrew’s, i.e. a brother of his father, David Harper, and perhaps the twin brother of Annie Harper? See page 5 of the PDF above listing the Harper family (or families!).
What school, if any, did young Arthur attend? His social airs and graces were certainly well catered for:
Belfast News-Letter, Wednesday 03 April 1895
MRS. AND THE MISSES HAINES’ ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
The annual assembly in connection with the classes in dancing and calisthenics conducted by Mrs. and the Misses Haines took place in the Ulster Hall yesterday afternoon, and was attended with all that success which is invariably associated with this most interesting function. These classes continue to enjoy an enviable popularity, and that it is well merited is abundantly proved by the skill displayed by the pupils, upon which Mrs. Haines and her daughters are to be heartily congratulated.
The large hall presented a very pleasing spectacle yesterday. All the available seats in the body of the hall, in the balconies, and on the platform were occupied by interested spectators, and the centre of the [hall (?) indecipherable word] was the arena in which some two or three hundred youthful dancers, tastefully attired, went through their graceful evolutions.
The programme, which was quite up to the high standard of previous years, comprised the following items:– … gavotte, Miss Frances [Cameron (?) indecipherable surname] and Master Arthur Harper; …
A few pupils of the day class gave Miss Alice Haines a gold necklace and Miss Rosalie Haines a gold bangle, and the latter also received a bouquet from Master Arthur Harper.
Invitations for the assembly were sent to the following, most of whom were present [there followed dozens of names]:–
Countess of Annesley and Lady Mabel Annesley, Castlewellan; the Lord Mayor (Mr Wm. McCammond, J.P.P); Sir William Q. and Lady Ewart, Strandtown; ... Mr and Mrs Wm. Harper, Chichester House; Mr and Madame Harper, Marlborough Park …
The annual assembly in connection with the classes in dancing and calisthenics conducted by Mrs. and the Misses Haines took place in the Ulster Hall yesterday afternoon, and was attended with all that success which is invariably associated with this most interesting function. These classes continue to enjoy an enviable popularity, and that it is well merited is abundantly proved by the skill displayed by the pupils, upon which Mrs. Haines and her daughters are to be heartily congratulated.
The large hall presented a very pleasing spectacle yesterday. All the available seats in the body of the hall, in the balconies, and on the platform were occupied by interested spectators, and the centre of the [hall (?) indecipherable word] was the arena in which some two or three hundred youthful dancers, tastefully attired, went through their graceful evolutions.
The programme, which was quite up to the high standard of previous years, comprised the following items:– … gavotte, Miss Frances [Cameron (?) indecipherable surname] and Master Arthur Harper; …
A few pupils of the day class gave Miss Alice Haines a gold necklace and Miss Rosalie Haines a gold bangle, and the latter also received a bouquet from Master Arthur Harper.
Invitations for the assembly were sent to the following, most of whom were present [there followed dozens of names]:–
Countess of Annesley and Lady Mabel Annesley, Castlewellan; the Lord Mayor (Mr Wm. McCammond, J.P.P); Sir William Q. and Lady Ewart, Strandtown; ... Mr and Mrs Wm. Harper, Chichester House; Mr and Madame Harper, Marlborough Park …
William Harper was one of Belfast’s leading solicitors (Harper and Mills had their offices at 84 Donegall Street).
With a residence at Chichester House, Antrim Road, he was unlikely also to be the owner of ‘Chaumont’.
With a residence at Chichester House, Antrim Road, he was unlikely also to be the owner of ‘Chaumont’.
Along with that Menuet, ‘Composed at Chaumont’, around 1897 when Arthur was ‘Aged 11’, he also wrote a piano sonatina, dedicated to his baby brother:
‘Sonatine / Monnier Harper / Dediée à St. Claire Harper / composed at the age of 11 years old’
And the following year there’s a sketch (a violin solo part) for:
‘IInd Concerto / pour le violon seul / par A. Monnier Harper / à l'âge de 12 ans’
Regrettably these are the only works with an element of dating which can be derived from the NMI listing of the autograph scores. A first-hand reconnoitre is called for!
1897 was a good year for the promising young violinist and composer.
Belfast News-Letter, 11 June 1897:
BELFAST CONSERVATOIRE OF MUSIC.
RESULT OF EXAMINATIONS
The following prizes and certificates have been awarded: –
… A free scholarship in harmony (value three guineas) has been specially awarded to Master Arthur Harper, Chaumont, Marlborough Park, Belfast. …
TECHNICAL EXAMINATIONS
Violin – Grade 3 –
… Master Arthur Harper, Marlborough Park. …
RESULT OF EXAMINATIONS
The following prizes and certificates have been awarded: –
… A free scholarship in harmony (value three guineas) has been specially awarded to Master Arthur Harper, Chaumont, Marlborough Park, Belfast. …
TECHNICAL EXAMINATIONS
Violin – Grade 3 –
… Master Arthur Harper, Marlborough Park. …
Belfast News-Letter, 01 July 1897:
BELFAST CONSERVATOIRE OF MUSIC.
[College Square]
STUDENTS’ CONCERT.
DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES BY THE LADY MAYORESS.
The first annual distribution of prizes and students’ concert in connection with the Belfast Conservatoire of Music took place last evening in the Grand Hall of the Young Men’s Christian Association, Wellington Place. There was a large and representative attendance, and the capital programme prepared for the evening was much enjoyed by everyone present. ... Master Arthur Harper, a very clever boy, played with skill Vieuxtemps’ violin solo Romance. …
[College Square]
STUDENTS’ CONCERT.
DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES BY THE LADY MAYORESS.
The first annual distribution of prizes and students’ concert in connection with the Belfast Conservatoire of Music took place last evening in the Grand Hall of the Young Men’s Christian Association, Wellington Place. There was a large and representative attendance, and the capital programme prepared for the evening was much enjoyed by everyone present. ... Master Arthur Harper, a very clever boy, played with skill Vieuxtemps’ violin solo Romance. …
How would Master Harper’s Grade 3 in 1897 relate to today’s Associated Board (ABRSM) Grade 3?
Was young Arthur aware that the brother of the composer of that Romance had died in Belfast the previous year?
Ernest Vieuxtemps (1832-1896) had been principal cellist of the Hallé Orchestra since 1858. He was booked to play with the Belfast Philharmonic Society but collapsed on his way to the Ulster Hall and died ‘from apoplexy’.
A full account of the inquest is given in the Belfast News-Letter for Monday 23 March 1896.
Might Vieuxtemps have survived if the police constables had sought medical care rather than assuming he was ‘worse for liquor’ and so took him to the cells? A witness from Manchester said that the ‘deceased suffered from spasms. He was strictly temperate and witness never saw him under the influence of drink.’
Ernest Vieuxtemps (1832-1896) had been principal cellist of the Hallé Orchestra since 1858. He was booked to play with the Belfast Philharmonic Society but collapsed on his way to the Ulster Hall and died ‘from apoplexy’.
A full account of the inquest is given in the Belfast News-Letter for Monday 23 March 1896.
Might Vieuxtemps have survived if the police constables had sought medical care rather than assuming he was ‘worse for liquor’ and so took him to the cells? A witness from Manchester said that the ‘deceased suffered from spasms. He was strictly temperate and witness never saw him under the influence of drink.’
At the end of that July students’ concert and prize-giving, the Belfast Conservatoire’s principal, Mr Geaussent, reported on the Conservatoire’s first three years. A good
deal of cold water had been thrown upon their efforts to foster musical
culture in Belfast, reported the Belfast News-Letter. At first the pupils only numbered some fifteen or
twenty, but ‘Mr Geaussent had determined that whatever difficulties should present
themselves they would be surmounted, and that the Conservatoire would be
a success. During the last twelve months the number of pupils had
increased to some three hundred, and these came from every part of
Ulster.’
Young Master Harper studied with M. Duloup, but maybe also with the Conservatoire’s Mr [Ch.] Schilsky, described in a News-Letter review the previous year (12 Dec 1896) as a ‘very accomplished violinist, and is always certain of an enthusiastic reception’. On that earlier occasion Schilsky ‘contributed Andante and Finale, violin concerto (Mendelssohn), Cavatina (Raff), and Mazurka (Zarzychi). These afforded him good scope for the display of his powers, and his fine and sympathetic expositions won for him the most unequivocal tokens of approval’.
And there was more potentially good news for an aspiring young violin student:
Morning Post, 20 December 1897:
Herr Anton Wilhelmj, the son of the famous violinist [August Wilhelmj (1845-1908)], has been engaged as principal professor (violin) at the Belfast Conservatoire of Music, his duties commencing next January.
Just a couple of weeks later, the Belfast News-Letter, 05 January 1898, carried another advertisement for the Belfast Conservatoire:
The Directors have much pleasure in announcing that they have secured the services of Herr Hans Dressel as Professor of Violoncello, and Mr Clarence Kershaw (pupil of Herr August Wilhelmj) as second Violin and Viola Professor. These gentlemen (with Herr Adolf Wilhelmj, the newly-appointed Principal Professor of the Violin), will commence duties on Monday next.
The addition of a first-class Violoncellist to the staff will, it is hoped, prove a great boon to the district, and intending students are requested to forward their names as soon as possible.
The addition of a first-class Violoncellist to the staff will, it is hoped, prove a great boon to the district, and intending students are requested to forward their names as soon as possible.
Dressel was a pupil of Friedrich Grützmacher and Ernest de Munck (a pupil of Servais). Dr George Kennaway, in his Playing the Cello, 1780–1930 (Ashgate, London, 2014), mentions that, even as late as 1902, Dressel seems not to have recommended the use of a tail pin to his cello students. This is from Hans Dressel's Moderne Violoncell Schule, Modern Violoncello School, 2 vols. Leipzig, London, Paris and Vienna: Bosworth & Co., 1902:
The student should sit erectly on the chair, placing the
right foot firmly down, and stretching out the left. The ’Cello should
be placed in a slanting position, and tilted slightly to the right,
leaning on the middle of the player’s chest, and held by the legs.
Despite all that, his publicity photograph (LH pic) does indeed show a tail pin!
Arthur’s baby brother, St. Claire Harper, took up the cello and was said to have exceptional gifts as a performer.
Did he ever have lessons with Herr Dressel?
Did he ever have lessons with Herr Dressel?
The question is a fascinating one because there must be doubts as to whether Hans Dressel and Adolf Wilhelmj were ever in Belfast, given the problems which would all too soon beset the Conservatoire.
This was also a period of change for the Harper family – and sadly, there’s a lack of real information.
'Chaumont' in Marlborough Park, Belfast, was advertised as being for sale by auction in July 1898.
The market was slow. It was still being advertised in December that year.
RH pic: Belfast News-Letter, 22 July 1898
LH pic: Belfast News-Letter, 02 December 1898
LH pic: Belfast News-Letter, 02 December 1898
Had William Harper died, moved house or fallen on hard times? (The death of a William John Harper, aged 62, and maybe with no connection at all, was recorded in the last quarter of 1897 in Belfast.)
Or, more likely, by this the time young Arthur had gone to Brussels for his studies at the Conservatoire, leaving only his father Andrew Harper in Belfast to pick up the family's expenditure in two countries. The house in Marlborough Park would have been a major financial burden.
Nor was all well with the Belfast Conservatoire.
On Tuesday 30 August 1898, the Belfast News-Letter reported from the Belfast Bankruptcy Court:
The bankrupt was a professor of music at 9 Murray’s
Terrace. Mr. McGonigal appeared for the bankrupt … George F. Geaussent
was examined by Mr Hanna, and said he wished to deny that he had come to
Belfast to get rid of liabilities at Hampstead. He had been a ratepayer
here, and had paid everything regularly. At the time he came to Belfast
he was not insolvent. His insolvency was caused by the breakdown of the
business at Hampstead. He had £10,000 capital, but had exhausted it,
and had gone heavily into debt. He had drawn money from Hampstead to
keep the Belfast business going … During the first two years, it [the
Belfast Conservatoire] had been a losing concern, in fact it lost £1,340
… the further examination of the bankrupt was adjourned.
On Tuesday 06 September 1898, its principal, George Francis Geaussent, was in the Belfast Bankruptcy Court. It was stated that on 31 December 1897, even as he was appointing new professors in Belfast, Geaussent had assigned to his business partner Stephen Arthur Blackwood his share and interest in the Hampstead Conservatoire business. ‘The consideration was the waiving of all claims which the Hampstead business might have against the Belfast Conservatoire.’ Geaussent’s solicitor, Mr McGonigal, ‘moved for the confirmation of an order of composition of 2s in the £, payable in two equal instalments of three and six months respectively. The offer was supported by nineteen creditors for £2,075.’ The Registrar did not accept the offer.
On Tuesday 29 November 1898, the Belfast News-Letter again reported on proceedings in the Belfast Bankruptcy Court when the bankrupt principal, G.F. Geaussent, appeared before his Honour Judge Fitzgibbon.
An offer of £54 12s 6d for his household furniture was accepted.
An offer of £54 12s 6d for his household furniture was accepted.
BRUSSELS CONSERVATOIRE and YSAŸE
So at some time around this period, likely in mid-1898, though possibly even a year earlier, Arthur’s mother took him to Belgium to study at the Brussels Conservatoire with the very best violin teachers (in October 1903, the Belfast Telegraph described Monnier Harper as having studied for six years in Brussels). It’s safe to assume that St Claire Harper also went, but dad Andrew certainly stayed at home. Indeed, the marriage may have been all but over by this time.
Andrew Harper can be tracked over the next three years by his court appearances.
Unlike Mr Geaussent however, Andrew was on the right side of the law!
Unlike Mr Geaussent however, Andrew was on the right side of the law!
Read about Andrew’s court appearances in the PDF on the right.
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Andrew Harper court appearances 1899 and 1900.pdf Size : 306.177 Kb Type : pdf |
By the time of the 1901 National Census (and as previously confirmed by the 1900 Belfast Street Directory and the press account of his appearance as a witness at the trial in August 1900), Andrew was then living at 7 Ulsterville Place, just down the road from his former Belgravia Avenue residence (1892-1894).
The Census records it as 5.2 Ulsterville Place. The houses are numbered 1 to 6, each with 10 rooms. No.5 is occupied by two families: Eliza Hermon has 5.1 with 6 rooms; Andrew Harper has 5.2 with 4 rooms.
Today these are odd-numbered houses: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11.
The Census records it as 5.2 Ulsterville Place. The houses are numbered 1 to 6, each with 10 rooms. No.5 is occupied by two families: Eliza Hermon has 5.1 with 6 rooms; Andrew Harper has 5.2 with 4 rooms.
Today these are odd-numbered houses: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11.
The Census records Andrew as 37 on his last birthday, born in Co. Antrim, can read and write, and is a Postal Clerk, GPO. He is Church of Ireland, married, and is the ‘head of family’.
However, no other family members are in the house, just a 30-year-old boarder, Edwin Smyth, an unmarried salesman.
However, no other family members are in the house, just a 30-year-old boarder, Edwin Smyth, an unmarried salesman.
Arthur, St Claire and their mother are not listed at all in the 1901 Census of Ireland. At that time they were certainly in Brussels where young Monnier Harper was studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels (Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles). From comments in Belfast newspaper reviews, he spent four years at the Conservatoire and then studied privately with Ysaÿe over the next two years.
Old postcard photographs showing the neo-renaissance three-winged building of the Brussels Conservatoire, built between 1872 and 1876.
Monnier Harper’s mother was astute. Nothing but the best teachers in the world for her No.1 son: Louis Wolff (1865-1926), César Thomson (1857-1931) and Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931). Arthur also studied composition at the Conservatoire with Paul Gilson (1865-1942).
LH pic: Eugène Ysaÿe as pictured in Isabel Anderson’s book - see below and on the right.
The American writer Isabel Anderson (1876-1948) in The Spell of Belgium, Boston, 1915, summed up the attributes of both Thomson and Ysaÿe:
… much of Brussels’ musical renown was due to the presence there of the two great masters of the violin — Thompson [sic] and Ysaÿe. The former is less known in this country than Ysaÿe, who has had great success here and is a popular favourite in England as well. But he himself considers Thompson his superior, and certainly the latter is acknowledged to be the greatest living master of technique.
Both men came from Liège, in the Walloon country, and both have been head of the violin department in the Conservatoire in Brussels. When Ysaÿe resigned a few years ago, Thompson took his place. (The Conservatoire, by the way, was subsidised by the Government and was entirely for the service of the people. The aristocracy did not send their children there, employing members of the faculty to come to their homes instead.) Unlike so many great men, Ysaÿe was honoured in his own country, and appreciated and adored by his own people. He was especially adored by his pupils, who considered him a sort of god.
When Thompson played in Boston he was not appreciated. He admits that he has stage fright, and when appearing before a large audience becomes frozen and fails to play at his best. He is a master of counterpoint, and an authority on ancient music. Although a fine teacher, he sometimes becomes sarcastic, and his pupils do not worship him as Ysaÿe’s do. His son served in the Belgian army and at last accounts was convalescing from a wound, in an English hospital.
Both men came from Liège, in the Walloon country, and both have been head of the violin department in the Conservatoire in Brussels. When Ysaÿe resigned a few years ago, Thompson took his place. (The Conservatoire, by the way, was subsidised by the Government and was entirely for the service of the people. The aristocracy did not send their children there, employing members of the faculty to come to their homes instead.) Unlike so many great men, Ysaÿe was honoured in his own country, and appreciated and adored by his own people. He was especially adored by his pupils, who considered him a sort of god.
When Thompson played in Boston he was not appreciated. He admits that he has stage fright, and when appearing before a large audience becomes frozen and fails to play at his best. He is a master of counterpoint, and an authority on ancient music. Although a fine teacher, he sometimes becomes sarcastic, and his pupils do not worship him as Ysaÿe’s do. His son served in the Belgian army and at last accounts was convalescing from a wound, in an English hospital.
That appreciation and adoration of Ysaÿe can be applied to Monnier Harper. The obituary in the Larne Times on 29 January 1916 (most likely reprinted from the Belfast Evening Telegraph and probably written by its music critic Rathcol aka W.B. Reynolds) states:
Among the few favourite pupils of the great violinist, Monnier was invited each summer to the country residence of Ysaÿe along with a few other favoured ones. When in Belfast about ten years ago Monnier used to speak in glowing terms of those times when the great Ysaÿe would unbend and become one of a group of youthful aspirants and do the most marvellous feats with a violin.
Harper’s composition teacher, the Belgian composer Paul Gilson, pictured on the left, enjoyed his greatest success with La Mer (1892), four impressionistic symphonic sketches which predated Debussy’s La Mer by a decade.
Perhaps there’s also something of Eros in Harper’s all-too-brief Poème for solo cello and orchestra entitled Scéne de la tour (Péleasse & Mélisànde). It only survives in a sketch for cello and piano with annotated orchestration comments.
Around this time, Arthur played, however briefly, with the orchestra of the Ostend Kursaal.
The original source for this was simply an online reference in Breguet’s Pre-1914 Aircraft ID Challenge (see here at #227). However that has now been confirmed by the two 1904 Northern Whig concert reviews (both available farther on as PDFs).
The Northern Whig’s review on 13 April 1904 states that ‘At the age of fifteen he [Monnier Harper] was first violin in the orchestra of the Kursaal at Ostend, and it was while in that city that he approached that greatest of living violinists M. Ysaÿe in regard to further studies’.
So after formal studies at the Conservatoire, it seems that Monnier Harper helped to finance his studies with Ysaÿe through freelance orchestral work, likely 1902-1903 (a year or two should be added to the Northern Whig’s ‘fifteen’!) .
The large flamboyant entertainment and casino complex in Ostend had been built in 1877, but was extensively remodelled and rebuilt between 1898 and 1906. Alas, it was destroyed by the Nazis in 1940. Photo No.4 below (click on the thumbnail) shows the orchestra platform in the concert hall.
The original source for this was simply an online reference in Breguet’s Pre-1914 Aircraft ID Challenge (see here at #227). However that has now been confirmed by the two 1904 Northern Whig concert reviews (both available farther on as PDFs).
The Northern Whig’s review on 13 April 1904 states that ‘At the age of fifteen he [Monnier Harper] was first violin in the orchestra of the Kursaal at Ostend, and it was while in that city that he approached that greatest of living violinists M. Ysaÿe in regard to further studies’.
So after formal studies at the Conservatoire, it seems that Monnier Harper helped to finance his studies with Ysaÿe through freelance orchestral work, likely 1902-1903 (a year or two should be added to the Northern Whig’s ‘fifteen’!) .
The large flamboyant entertainment and casino complex in Ostend had been built in 1877, but was extensively remodelled and rebuilt between 1898 and 1906. Alas, it was destroyed by the Nazis in 1940. Photo No.4 below (click on the thumbnail) shows the orchestra platform in the concert hall.
Documentation about Harper’s time in Brussels seems to be scarce.
On Saturday 13 December 1902 he took part in a concert in the Salle Ravenstein featuring the music of Henri Henge. The final paragraph of the review in Le Thyrse, December 1902, page 137 was enthusiastic:
Citons enfin et surtout le jeune et talentueux violoniste Monnier Harper — dont le présent peut certes bien se passer des promesses de l’avenir — qui joua avec un grand sentiment et une aisance parfaite et dont franchement l’exécution fut en tous points irréprochable.
Finally and most importantly, mention must be made of the young and talented violinist Monnier Harper - certainly showing so much promise for the future - who played with great feeling and a perfect fluency and, frankly, the performance was flawless in everything he played.
The following advertisement appeared in Le Thyrse, Revue de Littérature, d’Art et de Critique, January 1904:
Samedi 30 Janvier [1904]: Audition musicale consacrée aux
œuvres du compositeur Henry Henge:
4 pièces pour piano; trio pour harpe, violon, violoncelle; chœur pour deux voix de femmes; diverses pièces pour chant et instruments. Parmi les interprètes: Mme Tayenne, pianiste, 1er prix du Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles; M. Harper, lauréat du Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles; la section chorale de la Fédération post-scolaire de Saint-Gilles. Directeur: M. G. Soudant.
4 pièces pour piano; trio pour harpe, violon, violoncelle; chœur pour deux voix de femmes; diverses pièces pour chant et instruments. Parmi les interprètes: Mme Tayenne, pianiste, 1er prix du Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles; M. Harper, lauréat du Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles; la section chorale de la Fédération post-scolaire de Saint-Gilles. Directeur: M. G. Soudant.
Henry (or sometimes Henri) Henge (1876-1917) was a Belgian poet and musician who seems to have been a friend of Monnier Harper over a number of years. He died of pneumonia in Bath, England, on 6 February 1917 where he’d been a refugee since August 1915. See many other references in the PDF on the right:
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Henri Henge references.pdf Size : 1092.867 Kb Type : pdf |
As W.B. Reynolds’ 1905 article in Ulad suggested, Arthur was back in Belfast for a short period or periods, after his Belgium studies. Presumably this was with his mother and younger brother, though bear in mind that St Claire Harper would also study at the Brussels Conservatoire if he hadn’t already started.
Reynolds states that Arthur has ‘spent many youthful
years abroad’. Now he ‘has returned [to Belfast] with a wide musical
culture, a remarkable accomplishment, and a knowledge of technique as
the humble servant of expression which never could have been got at
home, but only in a Continental centre throbbing with musical life and
activity. Now stranded high and dry at home, with a few pupils and ample
leisure, he proposes to waste time and energy on Greek classic subjects
…’
The reference is presumably to Harper’s opera Eros et Psyché, some or all of which (as already noted) was probably written while he was studying with Paul Gilson.
RH pic: Amor (Eros) kisses Psyché (1793) by Antonio Canova (1757-1822), Louvre.
© Jörg Bittner Unna and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
© Jörg Bittner Unna and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
Reynolds, writing in Ulad in 1905, was clearly annoyed by these impressionistic foreign influences because it meant ‘the fine, virgin material of the legends of his [Harper’s] native land go a-begging for musical treatment’.
Sometime towards the end of 1903, or early in 1904 (if the news report below is to be believed), Harper gave a recital in London’s Queen’s Hall. This was shortly before he played at the Belfast Philharmonic Society’s third Ulster Hall concert that season, in February 1904. The details are revealed in a Neuchâtel newspaper, suitably published on St Patrick’s Day, 1904!
Ever the cynic, I suspect this was written by his mother!
LOCAL CHRONICLE
Music Column. – We’ve heard that a newspaper in Belfast, Ireland, The Belfast News-Letter, reports enthusiastically about a successful young violinist, Mr. Harper (aptly named, recalling the bards of the Emerald Isle, from whom he’s probably descended). Born in Belfast, Harper showed clear signs of a great musical talent from his earliest years. We remember hearing him sing well in tune before he could talk!
He studied at the Brussels Conservatoire where Thomson and Ysaÿe were his teachers. Recently he played in London at the Queen’s Hall and in other concerts; he arrived in his hometown, preceded by the reverberations of his success in the metropolis.
The young violinist has not yet reached his 18th birthday. At the third concert of the Belfast Philharmonic Society[’s season] he was heard in the 4th Grand Concerto in D minor by Vieuxtemps, with organ accompaniment, piano and harp, the Rondo Capriccioso by Saint -Saëns and finally Spring from Eros et Psyché, the poem and music of his own composition.
A very individual style, a great refinement of tone and a dexterity, which allows him to play the most difficult passages, distinguish this young artist who is in one sense our compatriot through his mother, Mrs. Harper, born Monnier; we also have a right to be proud of his success on British soil, until we have the pleasure of hearing him one day in Neuchâtel.
His younger brother, St. Claire Harper, also promises to become a distinguished musician; he is only 7 years old but played the cello part in a trio of Mozart, with his brother and Miss Thoboï - in a concert by the St Gilles section of the Belgian Academic Extension Society in Brussels - and a little piece from Eros et Psyché; he also played a solo by Schumann, Rêve d'enfant (Childhood dream), and the Refrain du soir (Chorus of the night) by Boutterez.
The complete newspaper is available online here.
The reference to St. Claire Harper playing Mozart in St Gilles, Brussels, may suggest a promotional link with his elder brother's colleague, the composer Henri Henge, who was born in St Gilles.
The Larne Times obituary writer remembered two Belfast concerts which featured Arthur Monnier Harper:
The Larne Times obituary writer remembered two Belfast concerts which featured Arthur Monnier Harper:
[Monnier Harper] played at a Belfast Philharmonic concert and also gave a concert of his own. One of the items was the prelude to his own opera, Eros and Psyché — libretto and music from his own pen. The prelude, entitled Printemps, we think, was an exquisite piece of music as arranged for violin solo and orchestra. It showed strongly, the modern French influence of the school of Debussy, then an almost unknown name in music here. It was enthusiastically received by the audience.
The
first of these concerts was the Phil concert in Belfast’s Ulster Hall on 05 February 1904. It was a
miscellaneous concert and the accompanist was the 24-year-old Hamilton
Harty.
Pic on right: Monnier Harper - photo © Netherlands Music Institute, used with NMI’s permission.
Belfast Telegraph, Thursday 08 October 1903
BELFAST PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY
Prospectus of Season
The prospectus of this, the thirtieth season of our premier choral and orchestral society, has reached us … The third subscription concert for February 5th, 1904, will be miscellaneous. Mdlle. Lydia Nervil (soprano), of the Opera Comique, Paris, and the Carl Rosa Company; Miss Beatrice McCready (contralto), who has already sung for the society; and Mr. Charles Bennett, a young bass, are the vocalists.
Master Monnier Harper, a young Belfast violinist of 17 years, pupil of M. Ysaÿe and M. Caesar Thomson at the Brussels Conservatoire for six years, should be welcome amongst us. The newspapers, the literary and artistic press, speak very highly of him. La Libre Critique of Brussels says (we translate from the French): – ‘M. Monnier Harper, a virtuoso and an artiste of the violin for whom one will not be far mistaken in predicting the best future, charms by his technical qualities of the first order, his beautiful, clear sonority, and his sweetness of interpretation, his rare and delicate soulfulness, his understanding of the great pathways (of his art).’ These Belgian critics are not enthusiastic without due provocation.
Mr. Mark Hambourg, the great Russian pianist, now famous the world over, will also play at this concert. At the fourth subscription concert Wagner’s Lohengrin will be performed. …
The PDF on the right has the uncredited concert review published in the Northern Whig morning newspaper.
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Interestingly, Harper’s teacher, Ysaÿe, had played at a Belfast Philharmonic concert just one year earlier. One wonders what, if anything, he said about his Irish pupil.
Eight months after Harper’s Phil concert, the Phil’s soloist on Friday, 14 October 1904, was Fritz Kreisler, accompanied by Hamilton Harty. One of the works played by Kreisler that evening was Harper’s regular party piece: Zigeunerweisen by Sarasate.
The Belfast Telegraph’s music critic (surely W.B. Reynolds?), reviewing Kreisler’s concert, wrote on 18 October that ‘Mr Monnier Harper seemed, a year ago, to play this piece more in Sarasate’s own petulant, sun-weary, amorous fashion’.
One month after that 1904 Belfast Phil concert, Monnier Harper travelled to Dublin for an afternoon concert given on Saturday 05 March in Mr Leggett Byrne’s ballroom in 27 Adelaide Road. He was advertised (Irish Times, Tuesday 01 March) as ‘the distinguished violinist and composer, who is a pupil of Ysaÿe, and whose first appearance this will be in Dublin’.
The concert was reviewed in the Irish Times on 07 March 1904. The relevant paragraphs are below, but the full review (in the PDF on the right) adds little extra and I doubt that ‘the Hon. Mrs. Royse’s capable ladies’ orchestra’ would have accompanied Monnier Harper!
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Monnier Harper in the Irish Times 1904.pdf Size : 228.684 Kb Type : pdf |
‘MIRUS’ CONCERT
An exceedingly enjoyable concert took place on Saturday afternoon at Madame Leggett Byrne’s, 27 Adelaide Road, it was in connection with the forthcoming ‘Mirus’ Bazaar, and the occasion was rendered exceptionally interesting by the presence of a young Irish violinist, Mr. Monnier Harper, who has attained a high reputation in Belgium and elsewhere.
Mr. Harper is not yet eighteen, but he has managed in his short career to acquire a very remarkable mastery of his instrument. He has performed and earned distinction in Brussels, Ostend, Antwerp, and Bruges, and has had the advantage of such teachers as the famous Ysaÿe, and M. Caesar Thomson. He was accorded a very cordial reception on Saturday.
His pieces were the adagio and finale of Max Bruch’s Concerto in G minor, an Impromptu of Hengl [Henri Henge], and Zigeunerweisen by Sarasate. In addition to having mastered the technique of the instrument, the young musician can unfold the soul of his piece with exceptional power and verve. He plays the tender passages with ease, and with invariable sympathy. These passages more amply charged with chords and the difficult furioso phrases are executed with wonderful skill, and the legitimate tricks of his art are always effectively employed. When we add that his tone production is admirable we have about exhausted the sides of his art which call for notice.
His playing gave great delight to his audience. More effective, and because of its intricacy and varying sentiment, was his rendering of the remarkable Zigeunerweisen of Sarasate. This was a finished piece of execution, and the young artist was enthusiastically encored.
In predicting for Mr. Harper a brilliant career we are saying no more than what has been already heartily said in the most enlightened musical circles in Belgium.
An exceedingly enjoyable concert took place on Saturday afternoon at Madame Leggett Byrne’s, 27 Adelaide Road, it was in connection with the forthcoming ‘Mirus’ Bazaar, and the occasion was rendered exceptionally interesting by the presence of a young Irish violinist, Mr. Monnier Harper, who has attained a high reputation in Belgium and elsewhere.
Mr. Harper is not yet eighteen, but he has managed in his short career to acquire a very remarkable mastery of his instrument. He has performed and earned distinction in Brussels, Ostend, Antwerp, and Bruges, and has had the advantage of such teachers as the famous Ysaÿe, and M. Caesar Thomson. He was accorded a very cordial reception on Saturday.
His pieces were the adagio and finale of Max Bruch’s Concerto in G minor, an Impromptu of Hengl [Henri Henge], and Zigeunerweisen by Sarasate. In addition to having mastered the technique of the instrument, the young musician can unfold the soul of his piece with exceptional power and verve. He plays the tender passages with ease, and with invariable sympathy. These passages more amply charged with chords and the difficult furioso phrases are executed with wonderful skill, and the legitimate tricks of his art are always effectively employed. When we add that his tone production is admirable we have about exhausted the sides of his art which call for notice.
His playing gave great delight to his audience. More effective, and because of its intricacy and varying sentiment, was his rendering of the remarkable Zigeunerweisen of Sarasate. This was a finished piece of execution, and the young artist was enthusiastically encored.
In predicting for Mr. Harper a brilliant career we are saying no more than what has been already heartily said in the most enlightened musical circles in Belgium.
His PR team was working well. The concert was mentioned in the Brussels press (in Le Thyrse, revue d’art bi-mensuelle, Vol.5, p.408, 1903-1904), remaining suitably vague about the Concerto’s accompanying forces:
‘Monnier Harper, the talented young violinist whom we have heard on occasion in Brussels, is having a great success on tour in Ireland. His Dublin concert with Max Bruch’s Concerto, the Concert Impromptu by Henge and Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen was a triumph.’
One month later came the Belfast concert which is the second of the two mentioned in that Larne Times obituary.
LH pic: Concert advertisement, Belfast Telegraph, Friday 8 April 1904, page 2.
Also published on Friday 1 April and Wednesday 6 April.
Clara Butt clearly had the better date on the Friday evening!
With thanks to Nicolas Gurtler, the concert programme is available in the three pics below (click to enlarge); the PDF has an excerpt from the concert review in the Northern Whig newspaper, 13 April 1904.
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Northern Whig review Apr 1904.pdf Size : 141.711 Kb Type : pdf |
Harper returned to Brussels - I assume with mother and brother, for St Claire Harper must have been about to begin his cello studies at the Brussels Conservatoire .
As a postscript to this section, and based on references in Lodewijk Muns’s feature on the NMI website to an anonymous biographical sketch in the NMI’s Monnier Harper archive, Arthur’s creativity was described as restless and wide-ranging. Excitement and drama were in his blood.
Most likely during his time at the Brussels Conservatoire, Arthur wrote a nihilistic play entitled La main de fer. He was playing the lead role when the police arrived and stopped the performance because of its seditious content!
He was also interested in sculpture, apparently fascinated by the dissecting room of a medical faculty.
The anonymous biographical sketch states that his clay sculptures were mainly of' ‘dying miners’.
The anonymous biographical sketch states that his clay sculptures were mainly of' ‘dying miners’.
LH pic: The interior of a dissecting room in Edinburgh, with half-covered cadavers on benches, 1889.
Photograph © Wellcome Library, London, and available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0
Photograph © Wellcome Library, London, and available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0
1905-1909
In Brussels on 10 April 1905, Monnier Harper married Anna Maria Françoise Louise Herckenrath (1883-c.1942) from Apeldoorn in the Netherlands.
The PDF on the right gives some of Miss Herckenrath’s background.
She was known as Anny.
She was known as Anny.
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Herckenrath family information.pdf Size : 451.847 Kb Type : pdf |
I am indebted to Nicolas Gurtler for these four Herckenrath family photos. All four © Nicolas Gurtler.
On the left, Monnier Harper and his wife Anny.
Below (please click to enlarge), Anny’s parents and sisters:
Léon Johannes Paulus Herckenrath (1835-1894); his wife Anna Maria van Kuyk (1859-1939); and the three Herckenrath sisters - Anna Maria Françoise Louise Herckenrath (1883-c.1942), Léonie Françoise Marie Herckenrath (1888-1961) and Léonie Susanna Waltera Maria Herckenrath (1890-1976).
On the left, Monnier Harper and his wife Anny.
Below (please click to enlarge), Anny’s parents and sisters:
Léon Johannes Paulus Herckenrath (1835-1894); his wife Anna Maria van Kuyk (1859-1939); and the three Herckenrath sisters - Anna Maria Françoise Louise Herckenrath (1883-c.1942), Léonie Françoise Marie Herckenrath (1888-1961) and Léonie Susanna Waltera Maria Herckenrath (1890-1976).
The couple had one daughter, named Lygia Anny, born in Brussels. Interestingly the birth was registered in The Hague Municipal Archive as 11 February 1905. Given a registration date of 1939, might this have been a misremembrance or mistake for 1906?
Did Arthur bring his new bride back to Belfast with him? With his daughter - born or unborn?!
Given the advertisement which appeared in the Belfast Telegraph on Tuesday 6 June 1905, it seems possible the newly-weds spent the summer of 1905 in that city.
Monnier Harper’s debut recital at the Concertgebouw
Lodewijk Muns, writing on the NMI website, mentions Monnier Harper’s début in the Kleine Zaal of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw on 19 December 1905. On the previous day, De Telegraaf listed the programme contents:
Emil Sjögren
Mendelssohn
Monnier Harper
Wagner
Saint-Saëns arr. Ysaÿe
Monnier Harper
Grieg
Monnier Harper
Violin Sonata [in G minor, so either No.1 or No.3]
Violin Concerto
Trois morceaux caracteristiques de la Ier Suite
[Rêverie, Pastorale Arabe and La Neige]
Romance [original piano solo or arrangement for violin and piano?]
Valse Caprice [6 Études, Op.52 No.6]
Violin Sonata
Aus dem Volksleben, Op.19
Printemps (fragment from the opera Eros et Psyché)
The concert was sandwiched between Carl Flesch the previous night and Fritz Kreisler the following night.
Distinguished company!
That unfortunate scheduling called for a last-minute re-think of the programme.
Out went the planned Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and the Romantic trifles.
Instead it was Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and a Bach Fugue in G minor.
Might such last-minute changes have affected the performances?
The following day, composer and critic Daniël de Lange (1841-1918), writing in Het Nieuws van den Dag, thought the young lad had bitten off more than he could chew. Monnier Harper was not yet ready ‘to stand on his own two feet’ and there were technical and rhythmical shortcomings. Harper was also too ready to give his own opinions in unsolicited words to the audience.
‘And yet I felt that here was an artist of importance’, wrote de Lange.
De Lange described it as rhapsodic, bursting with Sturm und Drang expression, ‘but one senses exactly what powerful ambition there is in the innermost being of the composer’.
Despite the obvious workings of a very lively mind in the music’s minutiae, de Lange reckoned that Monnier Harper needed more study and self-criticism.
RH pic: caricature of Daniël de Lange. Source currently unknown. More information here.
There was worse to follow that same day in De Telegraaf, 20 December 1905, from the pen of critic and violinist Otto Knaap (1866-1917) who was known as ‘Mahler’s persistent enemy in the Dutch press’.
The original texts of both reviews are in the PDFs on the right, alongside my translations.
Improvements welcomed!
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Concertgebouw review by Daniel de Lange 1905.pdf Size : 355.621 Kb Type : pdf |
Below is my translation of Otto Knapp’s review.
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Concertgebouw review by Otto Knaap 1905.pdf Size : 426.678 Kb Type : pdf |
Above: Otto Knaap. Pic courtesy of Henk van Dijk. See here.
Invitation concert Arthur F. Monnier Harper and Frida van der Eyken
During the interval I was puzzled and perplexed. I wondered why Mr Monnier Harper has come here from Brussels. What is the significance of his invitation concert, for which, by the by, tickets were also sold for cash?
In the concert programme were some clippings from very favourable printed reviews. Here is a sentence from the Belfast Evening Telegraph: ‘When Monnier Harper played Bach’s violin fugue in G minor, you felt that that way was the right one ...’
Coming from the inkwell of an Irish critic perhaps there’s some misplaced patriotism peeping round the corner? Because Mr. Harper has not only played the fugue very poorly from a technical standpoint, but he is not within a mile of understanding how Bach should be played – and what audacity he has to be so poorly prepared. I need not enter into particulars; the interpretation seemed as nothing.
Nor could the violinist rise to the occasion in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. His technical and expressive ability is not able to cope with such a titanic work. There are certainly some violinists in the Concertgebouw Orchestra who would perform this better.
He showed a better side in the first work: the "Sonata in A major [but likely G minor!]" by Sjögren. A piquant style, with a self-satisfied air, an even temperament and some truly great feeling. But everything was achieved with a roughness and a lack of security. Brusqueness without power. It was advanced dilettantism, nothing more.
The truth can only help point Mr. Harper in the right direction. And so I advise him, in all conscience for the time being, not to be a concert soloist, but to study hard for a few years. ‘... Ses qualités techniques de premier ordre, sa belle sonorité claire, sa compréhension des grandes lignes ...’ There it is – I must be cruel to be kind and save Mr. Harper disappointment – there’s not a word of truth in that. Such reviews as those are also written here in Holland for family and friends. Mr. Harper has enough musical qualities to become a violinist of high merit over time. But first he must study hard and listen to the work of many great violinists. Those wretched praises of unchallenged reviewers – they largely destroy many a young talent and are the cause of many artists’ disappointments. If one line of Shakespeare is incorrect, it is this: ‘Good counsellors lack no clients.’ [Measure for Measure, Act I Scene 2]
I know that Mr. Harper will one day be grateful for this advice.
The pianist, Miss Frida van der Eyken, played three little compositions by the concert giver. He does have composition talent. All three simple numbers speak with an Irish accent, with, here and there, suggestions of Villiers Stanford and ..... Grieg. Yet there’s no conscious plagiarism; although the pieces do run on a bit. The second one is called (I’ve seen the programme), Pastorale arabe. Why? I know Arabic music and can assure the composer that Arabia is on another map!
Miss Frida van der Eyken was the accompanist and played in a very creditable manner, which sometimes approached the very limits of artistry.
Was Monnier Harper disheartened by such severe criticism?
It’s a pity there’s less information about his activities over the next few years.
Perhaps he was composing. Perhaps he was spending more time at home with his wife and their baby daughter Lygia.
It’s a pity there’s less information about his activities over the next few years.
Perhaps he was composing. Perhaps he was spending more time at home with his wife and their baby daughter Lygia.
LH pic: Baby daughter Lygia with her proud parents, Arthur and Anny. Photo courtesy and © of Nicolas Gurtler.
Monnier Harper’s recital work over the next years remained limited in its programming aspirations by today’s standards.
Had marriage dimmed his creative spark?
Concert-giving 1905-1909
There’s a clue of what he was up to in a review of a performance he gave with the Arnhem Orchestral Society in 1909 of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, conducted by Jan Albert Kwast (1851-1918).
This is from the Provinciale Geldersche en Nijmeegsche courant, dated 06 August 1909:
... The great significance of the evening however was in the performance of the Irish violinist Arthur Monnier Harper who, having an address in Paris, is currently a temporary resident in Apeldoorn*. Mr. Monnier Harper has already spent some years in our country: in 1906 he was attached to the Residency Orchestra (Viotta) and performed several times in The Hague as a soloist ...
*Apeldoorn of course was Arthur’s wife’s home town and presumably where the young couple now lived.
Other concerts in 1906 gleaned from newspapers included Monnier Harper as the featured soloist 'from Brussels’ with a double vocal quartet in Voldersgracht, Delft, on Sunday 25 February (Delftsche courant, 23 February).
The Apeldoornsche courant on 21 and 28 April 1906 advertised a concert in Park Tivoli on 30 April given by pianist Jan Rijkes from Deventer, soprano Mrs W. van Maren Bentz van den Berg-Thomas from Vlissingen and violinist (cue drum roll!) Sir Arthur Monnier Harper from Brussels.
The Delftsche courant for 07 May 1906 gave a rave review to Harper’s playing of the Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor (presumably with piano accompaniment) and an encore of a movement from a Paganini Concerto in a concert (described as his second appearance) with the Delftsche Zangers.
Wieniawski’s Legende was his response to the demand for yet another encore. Harper’s playing was described as a huge success - ‘he certainly knows how to captivate and impress with his art’.
RH pic: De Doelen, Delft, built 1831, renovated 1904.
On 20 February 1907, Monnier Harper and colleagues (soprano Mrs W. van Maren Bentz van den Berg-Thomas, baritone Joan Lulofs from Berlin and pianist Joséphine Lulofs from Apeldoorn) gave a Musical Evening in Delft’s Stads Doelen ‘for members and patrons with their ladies’ of the Maatschappij tot Nut van ’t Algemeen - a non-profit organisation in the Netherlands for developing individuals and society, primarily through education (Delftsche Courant).
The musical relationship with the Lulofs would be a lasting one. Below is a review from De Nieuwe Koerier Maas- en Roerbode, dated Wednesday 3 April 1907. Note the appearance of Arthur’s baby brother, cellist Cyrille St Claire Harper. Was he playing the same Mozart Trio as mentioned in the 1904 St Gille’s concert review?
Concert [by] Lulofs and Monnier Harper.
For the artists, last Monday must have been so depressing, faced as they were with a hall that was as good as empty. Even the scanty audience seemed embarrassed. It’s also sad that Roermond’s image as a “city of art” is unlikely to resound quite so loudly for much longer!
At the start, that sorry state of affairs was of course clearly reflected in the performance; how could it be otherwise? And it was made so much worse by constantly thinking about the rather substantial deficit the concert promoter would have to make up afterwards. So it was surprising that the artists still gave so much.
Mr Johan Lulofs, the soloist, has a beautiful sound that reveals an already advanced technique. His mezzo-voce especially is very beautiful, and his diction is as clear as can be. Mr. Lulofs feels what he sings; everything is expressed with great artistry. He makes no concessions to the vulgar taste of the public. And so he chose seven songs from the cycle Dichterliebe (Schumann); a choice that did full justice to the singer’s art, but which will bring him no loud acclaim from the average Mr Joe Public. Mr Lulofs is a singer, whose aim to achieve the best in his art deserves every encouragement, and upon whom the attention of the concert-going public must remain focused. Wholeheartedly we wish him every success!
Monnier Harper is a virtuoso with an established reputation. We’ve read reviews from various places in England, Belgium, etc., which were unanimous in their praise for the superb talent of this violin-artist. Monnier Harper’s performances were indeed astounding; in pieces that require the greatest virtuosity, the artist really shines at his best. In Wienawski’s Legend, the Mazurka by Musin, and Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen, Monnier Harper was in his element.
The youthful St. Clair [sic] Harper is already quite proficient playing the cello; there’s a lot in that boy. However, I regret that he is performing in public far too soon.
Ms. Lulofs, the pianist, had a difficult task, which however was acquitted with the utmost devotion. The accompaniment of the songs in particular was excellent; also her playing in the trio by Mozart.
RH pic: A fine portrait of Cyrille St. Claire Harper, courtesy of and © Nicolas Gurtler. Note the lack of a final 'e' in Clair.
Two and a half years later, that review above was reprinted on page 2 of the Goedkoope Purmerender Courant, 21 November 1909, serving as publicity for a concert on 02 December 1909 (see below).
Then, its author was identified as Henri Tijssen (1862-1926), the Dutch composer and conductor.
LH pic: Henri Tijssen c.1911 when he’d been conductor of the Roermonds Mannenkoor for 25 years.
Did Arthur study in Paris before he went to Brussels? Or had he taken lessons in Paris after his time in Brussels? Did he really have an address in Paris? Or was he just canny when it came to marketing?
In January 1908, he’s now advertised as ‘Arthur Monnier Harper, violin-virtuoso, Paris’. Below is a concert advertisement with its accompanying advertorial blurb from the Purmerender Courant on Sunday 19 January 1908.
In January 1908, he’s now advertised as ‘Arthur Monnier Harper, violin-virtuoso, Paris’. Below is a concert advertisement with its accompanying advertorial blurb from the Purmerender Courant on Sunday 19 January 1908.
— Blijkens achterstaande advertentie wacht ons Dinsdagavond een groot kunstgenot.
De Heer Joan Lulofs, baritonzanger te Berlijn, geeft dan hier een concert met medewerking van Arthur Monnier Harper, violist te Parijs en Mevr. de Maremont, sopraan te den Haag.
In een alhier door de stad verspreide circulaire blijkt, dat de Heer Lulofs en de violist in meerdere plaatsen van ons land met veel success zijn opgetreden; voegen we hier nog bij, dat de Heer Lulofs zich verzekerd heeft van de medewerking van den heer Brugge alhier, voor de pianobegeleiding, dan gelooven we alle verdere aanbeveling overbodig te mogen achten. Ongetwijfeld belooft dit een mooie uitvoering te worden.
‘... Undoubtedly, this promises to be an unforgettable performance.’ In the absence of a review, it has to be assumed that the concert lived up to that promise because, in December 1909, Monnier Harper would be back - this time as top of the bill.
Meanwhile, here’s part of a review printed in De Maasbode on 29 January 1908:
TIEL, 28 January. Last night was a night of fine artistic enjoyment. A vocal and instrumental concert given by Messrs S. Dresden, Amsterdam (piano), J. Lulofs, Berlin (baritone) and A. Monnier Harper (violin), in the Savings Bank Building, attracted an admittedly small in number but highly appreciative audience. ...
As for Mr Monnier Harper, words are insufficient to express the sublime; he gave his very soul, lifting his performances again. What feeling and understanding radiated from each work. ...
On Saturday 16 May 1908 in the Groote Zaal of the Park Tivoli, as advertised in the Apeldoornsche courant, 13 and 16 May, there was the first public performance by pupils of Ms Clasine Cokart.
Of particular interest here was the guest appearance ‘of 12 year old cellist St. Clair Monnier Harper from Brussels’.
He was actually 14 years old by this time! (‘St Clair’ seems to have become the preferred usage for St Claire.)
And the young lad was back the following month.
The Apeldoornsche courant carried advertisements on 25 and 29 July for an ‘Extraordinary Concert’ in the Park Tivoli on 30 July. Taking part were four musicians: Willem Perk, opera-singer (Heldentenor) from Berlin; Ubo Riedel, violinist from Apeldoorn; St. Clair Monnier Harper, cellist from Brussels; and Josephine Lulofs, piano accompanist. Disappointingly, no programme details were given.
There's a mention of Harper’s violin in the Apeldoornsche Courant, 27 July 1909. It’s described as a ‘Cremona-hollandica’, an instrument by Dr van Leeuwen (1872-??). He was a medical doctor in The Hague who made experimental instruments, one of which won a silver medal for its tone at Brussels in 1910.
LH pics © Bonhams.
Lot 207 in Bonhams’ London auction rooms on 22 May 2013 was a violin, c.1910, ascribed to Dr van Leeuwen. The estimate was £3,000 - 4,000 (US$ 3,900 - 5,100). The length of its back was 356mm (14in) of an amber brown colour. The violin was inscribed internally: Cremona Aullandia, fecit 's Gravenhage 1910, ... 1912, Dr van Leeuwen.
Lot 207 in Bonhams’ London auction rooms on 22 May 2013 was a violin, c.1910, ascribed to Dr van Leeuwen. The estimate was £3,000 - 4,000 (US$ 3,900 - 5,100). The length of its back was 356mm (14in) of an amber brown colour. The violin was inscribed internally: Cremona Aullandia, fecit 's Gravenhage 1910, ... 1912, Dr van Leeuwen.
As with 1908, details for Monnier Harper’s activities in the following year, 1909, are scarce.
Newspaper sightings are limited to July to December and are detailed in the PDF on the right, plus the one concert shown below.
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MH concerts in 1909.pdf Size : 638.587 Kb Type : pdf |
Schuitemakers Purmerender Courant,
24 November 1909, page 3
24 November 1909, page 3
Goedkoope Purmerender Courant,
5 December 1909, page 2
5 December 1909, page 2
— Het concert Donderdagavond in „Amicitia” gegeven beloofde prachtig te worden, althans de verschillende verslagen in andere bladen gaven zooveel roem, dat ’t een zekerheid was, dat men een genotvollen avond zou doorbrengen.
Hoewel de zaal niet flink was bezet, schijnt ’t publiek tegenwoordig meer belang te gaan stellen in het goede dat hier meermalen geboden wordt.
De heeren Arthur Monnier Harper van Parijs (viool) en Joan Lulofs van Apeldoorn (bariton) en J. A. Kwast van Arnhem (piano) als concertgevers met welwillende medewerking van mej. L. Simons (sopraan) van hier, hadden dan ook een dankbaar gehoor en ondervonden zeer veel succes.
Hoewel de zaal niet flink was bezet, schijnt ’t publiek tegenwoordig meer belang te gaan stellen in het goede dat hier meermalen geboden wordt.
De heeren Arthur Monnier Harper van Parijs (viool) en Joan Lulofs van Apeldoorn (bariton) en J. A. Kwast van Arnhem (piano) als concertgevers met welwillende medewerking van mej. L. Simons (sopraan) van hier, hadden dan ook een dankbaar gehoor en ondervonden zeer veel succes.
So yet again an appreciative audience and a great success - but actually, in ‘box office’ terms, it was only ‘quite busy’, the fickle public preferring the tried and tested!
The reviews of Monnier Harper’s concerts make intriguing reading. They leave the over-riding impression of a man who is a showman, loves the limelight and plays with passion and drama - lots of jerky movements and facial grimaces.
‘Over the top’ is the phrase that comes to mind, pointing to the next stage of his life when theatrical appearances were to the fore. Working with Lili Green would have certainly reinforced that direction.
Liaisons with Lili Green
Monnier Harper was an early associate of the Dutch dance pioneer Lili Green (1885-1977) and wrote several works for her.
Lili (sometimes Lily or Lilly) Green (Alice Sally Marie Green) was born and grew up in Surinam where her father owned a coffee plantation. After his death, she settled in The Hague in 1905 and enjoyed a remarkably long career as a dancer and choreographer. Her dramatic approach attracted enthusiastic audiences in Amsterdam, Paris, Vienna and Berlin.
Rated as highly as Anna Pavlova, Lili Green’s début show (described as a dance-song fairy tale) in 1907 in The Hague was inspired by having seen Isadora Duncan dance in Scheveningen.
Many of Green’s early dance performances in the Netherlands included performances by other musicians, including a pianist, singer and violinist. Might Monnier Harper have been involved in those shows?
RH pic: Lili Green. Courtesy and copyright of theaterencyclopedie.nl. See article here.
The Provinciale Geldersche en Nijmeegsche Courant, 06 August 1909, reported that ‘According to the Nieuwe Courant, the temporary Apeldoorn resident, Irish violinist Arthur Monnier Harper, has composed for Lilly [sic] Green, an extravaganza in ballet form, which is now in rehearsal and will be staged in September by the French Opera in The Hague.’
The Haagsche Courant, 21 October 1909, advertised the première, taking place a few days later.
Note the inclusion of a work by Harper’s teacher Paul Gilson.
Sunday and Wednesday 24 and 27 of this month, at half past three in the Schouwburg [Koninklijke Schouwburg - the Royal Theatre], matinée, led by Lili Green.
Before the interval: Fantasie über Canadische Volksweisen Paul Gilson; Après-midi d’un Faune, Claude Debussy; and the dancing: Floral Dance, music by Ms. A. v. Velthuisen, danced by Ms. Jacoba van der Pas, and Serimpie, a Javanese dance performed by Ms. X. After that will be performed Leo Elfer, by Le Comte de Lisle.
After the interval, Lumen, a fairy story in one act, will be performed, with text by Lili Green, music by Monnier Harper and with the chorus of Mr. van Meel.
The person not credited above is surely Jan Greshoff (1888-1971), writer and journalist in The Hague, who is said to have made his writing debut with Lumen, ‘an adaptation in verse of a ballet-scenario’.
Whether or not the artistic relationship between Harper and Green continued during the intervening years, it resurfaced in Amsterdam in 1913.
At this time, Lili Green was dancing under the assumed Russian name Vallya Lodowska, along with Andreas Pavley and the singer/dancer Margaret Walker. On 20 January 1913, in the Algemeen Handelsblad, Amsterdam’s Stadsschouwburg (Municipal Theatre) advertised ‘a third and final Dance Evening’ in which Lodowska, Pavley and Walker would be supported by pianist Cath v Lokhorst and violinist Monnier Harper (Thursday 23 January).
The orchestral score, parts and unison chorus part for Lumen survive in NMI’s archives (092/35, 092/39, 092/34 and 092/33).
Two other works written for Lili Green survive:
(i) there’s a piano sketch or fragment for Flowers Fairy Tale, a musical drama in five acts (092/49) and
(ii) Lux tenebris - a piano solo part (092/50).
Green only retired in 1948, but then set up a ballet school in Washington D.C. for the next 11 years before returning to The Hague.
Interestingly, Monnier Harper’s daughter Lygia became a dancer, and worked with Lili Green and Anna Pavlova.
She eventually settled in the Dutch East Indies (Tjolomadoe, Central Java), married (on 06 February 1928) to Mr H C A Klasing (1901-1986).
Nieuwe Apeldoornsche Courant, 27 October 1923
Under the auspices of Mrs. Jos. Lulofs there will be an artistic evening in Tivoli on Friday, Nov. 2 … the third will be the youthful dancer Lygia Monnier Harper. … She was six months with the opera, and also in the ballet of the famous Lily Green, in London with Pavlova, the famous Russian star. She is the daughter of the very special and lovely, well-known Irish violinist Arthur Monnier Harper, who died in 1916 at almost 29 years of age - and she has lots of charm and grace. She dances with her lady-partner Potihilla Poort [an advertisement five days later has Pitcholla Poort; an advertisement on 23 February for a Great Masked Ball has Totchilla Poort].
Nieuwe Apeldoornsche Courant, 05 July 1924
Matinée “Vrijenberg” Loenen, 9 July ... Miss Lygia Monnier Harper and lady-partner will offer some artistic dancing. Josephine Lulofs accompanies as usual.
Arnhemsche Courant, 30 July 1924
On the dance floor … Lygia Monnier Harper and Totchilla Poort reaped success with their classical dancing …
The beginnings of flights of fancy
For Lygia’s father, life over the next few years was full of huge distractions and challenges along the way.
Powered flight was very much ‘in the air’ during the first decade of the 20th century. Louis Blériot (1872-1936) had been experimenting with a series of aircraft from 1905 onwards, with varied results. The success in late 1906 of Alberto Santos Dumont in winning the prize awarded by the Aéro Club de France for the first flight by a heavier-than-air aircraft of over 100 metres spurred Blériot on to more ambitious efforts.
In June 1909, he shared the Prix Osiris awarded triennially by the Institut de France for the Frenchman who made the greatest contribution to science.
Just over a month later, in his Type XI monoplane, he flew across the English Channel from Les Baraques, near Calais, to Northfall Meadow at Dover on Sunday, 25 July 1909, winning the Daily Mail challenge prize of £1,000.
In June 1909, he shared the Prix Osiris awarded triennially by the Institut de France for the Frenchman who made the greatest contribution to science.
Just over a month later, in his Type XI monoplane, he flew across the English Channel from Les Baraques, near Calais, to Northfall Meadow at Dover on Sunday, 25 July 1909, winning the Daily Mail challenge prize of £1,000.
LH pic: Commemorative poster, 1909. The crossing from Calais by airplane. Blériot landing on the coast at Dover. By unknown (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.
Monnier Harper was inspired.
Lodewijk Muns, writing on the NMI website, notes that 1909 was also the year of the first flight over Dutch territory.
It wasn’t by Monnier Harper.
Lodewijk Muns, writing on the NMI website, notes that 1909 was also the year of the first flight over Dutch territory.
It wasn’t by Monnier Harper.
De Dordrechtsche Courant, 17 August 1909, page 2:
‘On Friday on the heath at Vaassenschenweg, Messrs Elbe Rieciel and Arthur Monnier Harper, violinists from Apeldoorn, tried out their homemade flying machine.
‘At first, the machine quite often refused to budge, but with some helpful hands it finally began to move beyond this earthly vale of tears.
‘However, the unevenness of the terrain made the colossus waver and with a thump it smashed into the hillside, crushing the two bicycles which provided the forward momentum.
‘Fortunately, the two pilots were unhurt.
‘When the machine is restored, they will probably attempt another journey.’
‘At first, the machine quite often refused to budge, but with some helpful hands it finally began to move beyond this earthly vale of tears.
‘However, the unevenness of the terrain made the colossus waver and with a thump it smashed into the hillside, crushing the two bicycles which provided the forward momentum.
‘Fortunately, the two pilots were unhurt.
‘When the machine is restored, they will probably attempt another journey.’
Door de heeren Elbe Rieciel en Arthur Monnier Harper, violisten te Apeldoorn, zijn Vrijdag op de heide aan den Vaassenschenweg, met hun eigengemaakte vliegmachine eenige proeven genomen.
In het begin weigerde de machine nog al eens, doch door hulpvaardige handen begon zij zich eindelijk boven het aardsclie tranendal te bewegen.
Door de ongelijkheid van het terrein maakte het gevaarte echter eenige bedenkelijke zwenkìngen en kwam met een lievigen smak tegen den heuvel aan, waardoor de ‘beide fietsen, die voor gangmaking dienst deden, verpletterd werden.
De twee luchtreizigers bekwamen gelukkig geen ongelukken.
Wanneer de machine weder hersteld is, zullen zij waarschijnlijk een nieuwen tocht ondernemen.
In het begin weigerde de machine nog al eens, doch door hulpvaardige handen begon zij zich eindelijk boven het aardsclie tranendal te bewegen.
Door de ongelijkheid van het terrein maakte het gevaarte echter eenige bedenkelijke zwenkìngen en kwam met een lievigen smak tegen den heuvel aan, waardoor de ‘beide fietsen, die voor gangmaking dienst deden, verpletterd werden.
De twee luchtreizigers bekwamen gelukkig geen ongelukken.
Wanneer de machine weder hersteld is, zullen zij waarschijnlijk een nieuwen tocht ondernemen.
Lodewijk Muns also mentions an undated letter from Arthur to his mother in which he suggests that much money might be made from a seaplane. Just hold that thought ...
Alongside his aviation experiments, Monnier Harper’s music-making continued. Hopefully an inspection of the autograph scores in the NMI will show that his composing also continued apace!
LH pic: Monnier Harper at work on his Type No.1 monoplane, probably at Apeldoorn. Photo © Netherlands Music Institute, used with NMI’s permission.
1910-1916
The Delftsche Courant, on 15, 19 and 20 January 1910, advertised a Special Concert on Friday 21 January in the great concert hall of the Stads Doelen, with the Residentie-Singing Association’s Mixed Voice Choir ‘Euphonia’, directed by Mr. J. G. van Meel — and with the participation of soloists: Bram van der Stap, Baritone, Delft, and Monnier Harper, Violin, Paris.
A review appeared in the Delftsche Courant, 22 January 1910 and included these sentences:
The instrumental soloist, the violinist Arthur Monnier Harper, is in the fullest sense of the word, a ‘virtuoso’. No wonder the public was in ecstasy as I’ve never heard before in the Delft auditorium. In Corelli’s Variations sérieuses [Violin Sonata in D minor, Op.5 No.12, La Folia], with its extensive cadenza, the playing of the soloist wasn’t poised enough.
Nor was the performance of Beethoven’s Romance in F like those we get to hear from the German violinists. However, in Pablo de Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen the talented artist was entirely in his element; all the difficulties were wonderfully overcome, and it’s really not surprising that everyone in the audience, including this writer, applauded as long as they did; the artist once again performed on stage, this time it was Henri Wieniawski’s Légende [Op. 17], played in the best and most artistic way.
Mr Van Meel accompanied the various solos in a very creditable manner; the grand piano from Mr. Hoek’s store had a very pleasant tone and, as on earlier occasions, provided a great service.
Monnier Harper’s love of acting came into its own later that year when he was booked for several variety shows at the Coliseum in London.
The main attraction was the great French actress, Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923).
She had been offered a fortnight’s run of performances, two a day, at London’s Coliseum in September/October 1910.
The main attraction was the great French actress, Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923).
She had been offered a fortnight’s run of performances, two a day, at London’s Coliseum in September/October 1910.
LH pic: Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt from the 1890s by British photographer William Downey (1829-1915).
Sarah Bernardt may have had serious qualms about appearing in the show, but Monnier Harper probably didn't need to think twice!
There’s a remarkable photograph in the NMI collection showing him in the role of Paganini at those performances (see below). Apparently
there are other photos from the Coliseum show in the NMI collection with Monnier Harper in the roles of Wagner
and Liszt.
The ‘Paganini’ photo (on the right) is captioned with a reference to Sarah Bernhardt. It’s Monnier Harper as Paganini, playing at the Coliseum in London, 1910. Photo © Netherlands Music Institute, used with NMI’s permission.
Sir Oswald Stoll (1866-1942), a ‘self-made captain of popular entertainment’, built the Coliseum in St Martin’s Lane. As Lynn Garafola has written in Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes (Da Capo Press, New York, 1989), Stoll aspired to high tone. ‘Off-colour language was banned; ribaldry frowned upon. And, always, among the acrobats, animal acts, and ventriloquists were to be found elevating attractions from the legitimate theatre and concert hall … [including] Stoll’s greatest coup, Sarah Bernhardt, who, beginning in 1910, made numerous appearances in selections from her repertory.’
That nearly didn’t happen at all. Many newspapers reported the same story as the Sydney Morning Herald, Friday 14 January 1910, page 7:
Sir Oswald Stoll (1866-1942), a ‘self-made captain of popular entertainment’, built the Coliseum in St Martin’s Lane. As Lynn Garafola has written in Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes (Da Capo Press, New York, 1989), Stoll aspired to high tone. ‘Off-colour language was banned; ribaldry frowned upon. And, always, among the acrobats, animal acts, and ventriloquists were to be found elevating attractions from the legitimate theatre and concert hall … [including] Stoll’s greatest coup, Sarah Bernhardt, who, beginning in 1910, made numerous appearances in selections from her repertory.’
That nearly didn’t happen at all. Many newspapers reported the same story as the Sydney Morning Herald, Friday 14 January 1910, page 7:
Mme. Sarah Bernhardt will receive from the Coliseum, London, a fee of £1,000 per week during September and October next. It is considered to be virtually a music-hall engagement.
That last sentence was the problem. Music-hall and vaudeville were not her thing.
Sarah Berhardt’s worries are mentioned in the newspaper report in the PDF on the right.
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Sarah Bernhardt's music hall predicament.pdf Size : 288.858 Kb Type : pdf |
LH pic: Courtesy of and © Nicolas Gurtler, a photo of Monnier Harper as Franz Liszt in 1910.
The following extract from the Sydney Morning Herald’s story sums up Sarah Bernhardt’s reservations:
… the truth of the matter is that the term music-hall rather frightens her. She did not at first, when negotiations began, understand that the Coliseum was not a theatre for the legitimate drama … Her standpoint is this: She will appear in legitimate drama at the Coliseum or elsewhere in London. She will not do a turn in a music-hall after or before acrobats, fancy dances, or learned animals, as she put it herself.
Monnier Harper seems to have had no such qualms. He had a wife and daughter to support, not to mention his aviation ventures which were beginning to take off.
Sarah Bernhardt was just one of the acts he supported. There was also Yvette Guilbert (1865-1944), the French cabaret singer and actress.
The Stage, Thursday 29 September 1910, page 13:
‘On Monday Mme. Yvette Guilbert will return to the London Coliseum, and prominent in the list of newcomers will be Sarkœzi and Monnier, who promise a novel act.’
‘Sarkœzi is a cymbalist [= cymbalomist] who has already been seen by a select few in this country; he played before the King and Queen at Bangor and at Marlborough House, and he has also given an exhibition of his powers before the Czar.’
‘Harper Monnier [sic] is a Dutch violinist and composer of considerable prominence in his own country. He has conducted his own operas at The Hague and in Amsterdam, and has fulfilled concert engagements in Paris. He comes to England practically as the protégé of the [Third] Earl of Kilmorey [1842-1915], for whom he played in London when Princess Christian was a guest of the earl.’
LH pic: Yvette Guilbert, by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, 1894
Above: Yvette Guilbert singing Linger Longer, Loo, by Toulouse Lautrec, 1894
From comedy and farce on the bright side, there’s always a balancing darker side to life.
In 1910, Monnier Harper’s wife and daughter Lygia were with him in London where they lived in a poor neighbourhood.
Family letters reveal that Anny was unhappy there and she wrote to her sister Françoise for financial help.
There’s also a suggestion that Arthur cheated on Anny, not unconnected with his eventual death which was most likely from late-stage syphilis.
Months earlier, illness, probably tuberculosis, had struck down Arthur’s younger brother.
In 1910, Monnier Harper’s wife and daughter Lygia were with him in London where they lived in a poor neighbourhood.
Family letters reveal that Anny was unhappy there and she wrote to her sister Françoise for financial help.
There’s also a suggestion that Arthur cheated on Anny, not unconnected with his eventual death which was most likely from late-stage syphilis.
Months earlier, illness, probably tuberculosis, had struck down Arthur’s younger brother.
Death of cellist brother, St Claire Monnier Harper
The death of Arthur’s young cellist brother, Cyrille St Claire Harper (1894-1910), was the great tragedy of 1910. So far I’ve failed to find a death record or any further details, but on St Claire’s death Henri Henge composed an Elégie for cello and piano which seems to have been published by Breitkopf & Härtel, though again I’ve failed to track down a copy, apart from the one listed in the NMI library.
The Larne Times obituary for Arthur, 29 January 1916, stated that ‘The younger [brother], St. Clair [sic] Harper, was a cellist of such
exceptional gifts that he was the genius of the great Conservatoire at
Brussels. His death took place two years ago, and the Belgian Royal Family were
represented at the funeral.’
The writer has misremembered his facts. St. Claire did indeed die in 1910 and the NMI catalogue also gives the date of Henge’s Elégie for St. Claire as 1910.
The Apeldoornsche Courant carried advertisements on 29 January and 2 February 1910 for a concert in the Tivoli at 8pm on 5 February with Arthur Monnier Harper, violinist, The Hague, Joan Lulofs, baritone, Apeldoorn and J Kwast (Arnhem Orchestral Society), piano, Arnhem.
‘Proceeds from this concert will go towards the costs of admission to a sanatorium for the little cellist St. Clair Monnier Harper, who is dangerously ill.’
The newspaper had already added its own comment on 29 January suggesting that a stay in a sanatorium was the only possibility for the young cellist’s recovery. On 04 February the newspaper offered its assistance:
Tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 5, as already reported, a Tivoli concert will be given for the benefit of the little cellist St. Clair Monnier Harper, who is dangerously ill. It’s hoped that the proceeds of this concert will meet the initial costs of hospitalisation in a sanatorium.
It’s certainly hoped that many will lend their support, especially those who have previously shown their interest by attending the concert given by the young cellist.
Tomorrow night’s concert promises to be very interesting. Mr. Monnier Harper, father [actually brother of course!] of St. Clair, includes works written by himself, and also taking part will be Mr. Joan Lulofs, baritone, and Mr. J. Kwast, director of the Arnhem Orchestra Society.
Perhaps there are also residents who are unable to attend this concert and would like to contribute something to the charity. We therefore declare ourselves willing to receive those contributions – one less thing for the concert organisers to worry about.
It’s a laudable and humane venture.
Please also see the concert advertisement in this issue.
The concert givers have already received extensive evidence of support, including the kindness of Mr. Steghgers who has provided the concert programmes for free.
A very favourable review of the concert, published in the Apeldoornsche Courant on 09 February 1910, noted that the concert was well attended and that it was an artistic and financial success. At the end of the evening, Monnier Harper thanked everyone ‘for this tribute to his sick brother’.
The death of St Claire that year is underlined by the 1911 National Census of Ireland.
By this time, Arthur’s father, Andrew Harper, has not been heard of for many years - indeed not since the 1901 Census of Ireland. In the 1911 Census (03 April 1911), he reappears, alive and well, living as a boarder in 22 Mountcharles, off University Road, Belfast.
According to that Census, Andrew Harper was born in Co Antrim, his age is given as 45, his occupation is simply ‘G.P.O’ (General Post Office) and his religion is Church of Ireland.
To my surprise, also listed in the Census is Sophie Antoinette Harper [née Monnier], aged 39, born in Switzerland, described as a ‘Guest’ and Church of Ireland.
According to that Census, Andrew Harper was born in Co Antrim, his age is given as 45, his occupation is simply ‘G.P.O’ (General Post Office) and his religion is Church of Ireland.
To my surprise, also listed in the Census is Sophie Antoinette Harper [née Monnier], aged 39, born in Switzerland, described as a ‘Guest’ and Church of Ireland.
Their status was ‘Married’ for 23 years. Two children had been born alive - but only one was living at that time.
LH pic: Courtesy of and © Nicolas Gurtler, a photo of Monnier Harper’s mother, Sophie Antoinette Harper.
The word ‘guest’ seems to imply a temporary sojourn. Perhaps this was a final parting of the ways for Andrew and Sophie. Did she realise he would emigrate to Canada in two years' time? A photo in the NMI collection has a handwritten note on the reverse stating ‘Murdered by the IRA in Quebec’. More of that 'cover story' shortly!
Meanwhile, Monnier Harper was leading a schizophrenic existence in the worlds of music and aviation, developing new directions in both spheres. In April 1910 he was playing for diners in Rotterdam's Restaurant Loos - a relationship that would develop. Note also a new violin concerto to add to his repertoire list!
Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad, 26 April 1910
Concert Hall C.N.A. Loos, Dinner-Orchestra every evening with the famous violin virtuoso Arthur Monnier Harper, including Beethoven Romance in F; Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
The Coliseum appearances in September and October 1910 in the guise of Paganini, Liszt and others was a success with the public. In March 1911 Monnier Harper was in England with more of his composers’ imitations - ‘Monnier Harper, Violinist Vagabond’.
Nottingham Evening Post, Monday 06, Tuesday 07, Saturday 11 March 1911:
THE EMPIRE Theatre of Varieties, Nottingham … Monday, March 6th, 1911, and during the week.
Chas. T. Aldrich, America’s greatest and most versatile artiste; Wheeler and Berkeley, ‘The Toff and the Taxi’; The Delevines, ‘The Wicked Witch’s Wish’; Georgia Coons, In a Sunny Southern Scena; Messrs. Wolsey & Williams present the American Opera Company, ‘OJIJAH’; Monnier Harper, Violinist Vagabond; The Bioscope, Latest Up-to-date Subjects’ Rose and Challoner, The Porter and the Singer; Will Van Allen, Tramp Musician.
Two complete and distinct performances nightly.
Chas. T. Aldrich, America’s greatest and most versatile artiste; Wheeler and Berkeley, ‘The Toff and the Taxi’; The Delevines, ‘The Wicked Witch’s Wish’; Georgia Coons, In a Sunny Southern Scena; Messrs. Wolsey & Williams present the American Opera Company, ‘OJIJAH’; Monnier Harper, Violinist Vagabond; The Bioscope, Latest Up-to-date Subjects’ Rose and Challoner, The Porter and the Singer; Will Van Allen, Tramp Musician.
Two complete and distinct performances nightly.
He soon introduced this variety show act to Apeldoorn’s Tivoli Park.
Nieuwe Apeldoornsche Courant, 20 April 1911 and Apeldoornsche Courant, 22 April 1911:
Uitvoering Robur et Velocitas
Saturday, 22 April 1911, 7.30pm, in Park Tivoli.
Performance by the celebrated violinist Arthur Monnier Harper, Impersonator of great musicians.
followed by
Distinguished visitors, a one-act comedy
Madame is not at home, a one-act comedy by L. E. Hijdeloo*
Afterwards a ball …
* The Apeldoornsche Courant has L.E. Hydelaar
The review in the Apeldoornsche Courant, 26 April 1911, was perhaps less than enthusiastic - each to his own!
... Mr Arthur Monnier Harper, already well-known here as a violinist, contributed imitations of Liszt and Paganini, achieving great success in the auditorium, mostly with young people.
Those who esteem Mr. Harper as a serious artist will surely find it enjoyable to hear him next Thursday in a more serious concert in collaboration with Ms. Jos. Lulofs.
After the break, Madame is not at home, was performed, a comedy in one-act. ...
Amsterdam soon caught up with this new trend. Within a few weeks Monnier Harper was starring alongside (though topping the bill) with Eduard Jacobs (1868-1914), said to be the first Dutch comedian, in Amsterdam’s Bioscope-Theater.
Façade of Nöggerath’s Bioscope-Theater (1907), Amsterdam.
The Bioscope-Theater on Reguliersbreestraat was created in 1907 by Franz Anton Nöggerath before the real craze for cinemas took hold in 1911. It was a 700-seater theatre and evening performances showed films, but really as a prelude to popular farces, short plays or variety shows – hence the retention of Cinema and Theatre in the building’s name.
In De Telegraaf, 03 June 1911, Monnier Harper has top billing at the Bioscope-Theater:
HUGE SUCCESS!!!
MONNIER HARPER
from London,
first time in Holland.
Exceptional Violin Virtuoso
and Composer-Imitator.
EDUARD JACOBS
Poet-Singer
with new repertoire
The show ran for several weeks, well advertised in the Algemeen Handelsblad and De Telegraaf, and initially running every day, 2-4.30pm.
Over four days from 12 June, Het nieuws van den dag: kleine courant advertised the same line-up, but with ‘a new programme’, daily at 8pm.
RH pic: Eduard Jacobs, courtesy Theo Bakker.
And work continued in England. This from the Leicester Chronicle, Saturday 30 September 1911:
Leicester Palace ... A. Monnier Harper, the impersonator of Liszt and Paganini … [included amongst ‘other attractions’]
In an advertisement in The Stage, Thursday 05 October 1911, page 12, ‘A. Monnier Harper’ is listed among the calls for Monday, Oct. 9th, 1911, for the Manchester Hippodrome – a rehearsal at 12 noon. It’s part of a listing for seven theatres, including the London Coliseum, the Hackney Empire, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, etc., all belonging to Oswald Stoll’s theatrical empire.
Also in 1911, there was time for a house move from Apeldoorn to Scheveningen (98 Kanaalweg).
And there was more.
Monnier Harper had flying lessons from Adriaan Mulder (1880-1966), who was the first Netherlands aviator to be awarded a pilot’s licence after passing his test in April 1911.
LH pic: Adriaan Mulder, the Dutch aviation pioneer.
Then there was the new business venture.
Monnier Harper became the Netherlands representative for the Weston Hurlin Co., a supplier of aircraft components.
Monnier Harper became the Netherlands representative for the Weston Hurlin Co., a supplier of aircraft components.
Flight magazine, 04 November 1911, page 967 has this paragraph:
W.H.C. Propellors in Holland
MR. MONNIER HARPER, 98, Kanaalweg, Scheveningen, Holland, now flying the Monnier Harper monoplane, has taken up the agency for W.H.C. aeroplanes, fittings and propellors in Holland.
Some months earlier, the Nieuwe Tilburgsche Courant, 02 August 1911, and the Provinciale Geldersche en Nijmeegsche Courant, 03 August 1911 carried an interesting news piece:
Vliegmachine met beweegbare vleugels / Flying Machine with movable wings
On Saturday [10 August 1911] in the garden of the building for Arts and Sciences at the Coolschen canal in Rotterdam an airplane with movable wings will be exhibited.
The machine is a Blériot model largely built of Spanish reed [Arundo donax – but most likely a type of bamboo] making it much easier, lighter and more resilient than with any other wood. The inventor, Mr. A. Monnier Harper, designed it with this timber, guided by the fact that, when there’s an accident, many aviators are injured or even killed by the splinters from broken or decaying wood.
The inventor has already experienced this himself about 2 years ago in a Blériot machine with some decaying wood; without an engine, he glided from a hill in Apeldoorn, but the machine was destroyed in a fall, [fortunately] without injuring the pilot.
Further, the [new] machine has two motors: one Azani motor (6 cyl.) of 35 horse power, which drives the propeller screw, and behind it, a F.N. [Fabrique Nationale] engine of 2 horse power, which will trigger the movement of the wings.
Moreover, this monoplane, like a biplane, has altitude control in the front as well as at the back. The balance of the machine is maintained through the stabilising plates. If the balance becomes out of kilter, it will be corrected by the movement of the aforementioned plates.
How the wings move is a of course a secret, although we are allowed to publish that this is set in motion by a very nifty set of springs, incl. the motor itself.
The whole plane weighs approximately 150 kg and will be assembled by Mr Cortlever in Rotterdam.
Mr Harper will make his first test flight in Apeldoorn on the 10th August.
But before that, it looks as if there was a photo-shoot opportunity!
RH pic: This is believed to be the plane which was to be given its test flight on 10 August 1910.
The likely assumption is that this is Mr and Mrs Monnier Harper, probably taken near Apeldoorn.
Credit: Pic courtesy of Breguet’s pre-1914 ID Challenge #227. More here.
More to follow in due course - taking Monnier Harper's story through his seaplane, his flying school, his stroke in 1914, his divorce, his protracted illness and eventual death on 02 January 1916 ...