Finding Aids

Biographical Sketch

Bishop, Sir Henry Rowley (November 18, 1786 – April 30, 1855) – English composer. Born to a London watchmaker, Henry Bishop gained his early education at Dr. Barrow’s Academy. By the age of 13, he was employed as a music seller with his cousin Charles Wigley. His first songs and piano pieces were published by this firm between 1800 and 1803. After spending some unsuccessful time training as a jockey in Newmarket, his patron, the racehorse owner Thomas Panton, agreed to pay for his musical education. Returning to London, Bishop studied harmony under Francesco Bianchi. Meanwhile his earliest dramatic compositions had appeared, with some success. He wrote the music for several ballets at the King’s Theatre and Drury Lane Theatre. Though the score for his first full-fledged opera was destroyed the following day, it was performed at Drury Lane on 23 February 1809. After the notable success of several works including The Maniac, Bishop was offered the post of musical director at Covent Garden in 1810, where he remained for the next fourteen years. In 1824, a dispute over his salary led him to move to Drury Lane, where he became the musical director. Bishop was a founding member of the Philharmonic Society and was also one of the original professors of harmony at the RAM. In 1833, he was awarded a prize by the Manchester Gentlemen’s Glee Club and the following year, the Philharmonic Society commissioned and performed his cantata The Seventh Day. In 1839, he took the BMus degree at Oxford and in 1841 was elected to the Reid Professorship at Edinburgh University (but resigned in 1843). From 1840 until 1848 he was the principal conductor of the Antient Concerts and was knighted on 1 June 1842 on the instigation of Prince Albert. Appointed to the chair of music at Oxford in 1848, he was awarded the DMus in 1853.

While he kept English opera alive almost single-handedly for a time, Bishop is best remembered for the song, Home, Sweet Home which was foreshadowed in Who Wants a Wife? (1816) and as a ‘Sicilian Air’ in a volume of National Airs which he edited in 1821. He then used it as the theme-song of Clari (1823), with the now famous words by the American poet John Howard Payne. Its immediate success spread quickly through Europe and it was used not only in the overture to Bishop’s Home, Sweet Home (1829), but also as a motif in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena (1830). It reached the height of its popularity, though, when Jenny Lind made it her own and it became the staple item of every ballad concert.

 

Provenance

The “Home, Sweet Home” Collection is a synthetic collection comprised of items that the Sibley Music Library has acquired at various times and from various sources. As more items are obtained, they are added to this growing collection.

 

Scope and Content

The “Home, Sweet Home” Collection was created to accompany the autograph manuscript of Henry R. Bishop’s opera Clari, or, The Maid of Milan, which was acquired by the Sibley Music Library in 1923. is housed in the Special Collections department of the Sibley Music Library. A facsimile of the manuscript is included in this collection. The collection contains published scores of Bishop’s Home, Sweet Home together with arrangements and transcriptions made by other composers. Also included are a brief extent of correspondence, numerous photographs, and a few newspaper articles. A large scrapbook containing many press items, articles, and letters is another noteworthy item in the collection.

 

Restrictions and Use

No restrictions have been placed on this collection, but reproduction of its contents will be provided to patrons only in accordance with the provisions of the United States Copyright Law (1976) and its revisions.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF SERIES

Series 1: Scores of Derived Musical Works

This series contains published transcriptions and arrangements of “Home, Sweet Home,” together with published variations on the same. Within this series, the individual works are arranged alphabetically by composer or arranger.

Series 2: Manuscript Facsimile

While this series does not include the original manuscript of “Home, Sweet Home,” it does contain reproductions of the original. Additionally, the Anderson Catalog in which the manuscript was listed for sale is included.

Series 3: Newspaper Articles

This series is comprised of articles celebrating either the song “Home, Sweet Home” or the manuscript of Clari, or, The Maid of Milan which the Sibley Music Library acquired. The articles are arranged in chronological order by date.

Series 4: Correspondence

This series includes reproductions of a letter written by John Howard Payne as well as other correspondence relating to “Home, Sweet Home.” The letters in this series are arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent.

Series 5: Artwork, Photographs, and Scrapbook

This series contains a portrait of Henry R. Bishop, several portraits of John Howard Payne, and photographs of the Payne homestead (East Hampton, Long Island), the source of which is now unknown. Also included are photographs of several manuscripts and Payne’s poem “Home.” Listed at the end of this series is a large scrapbook containing clippings and
photos relating to the song “Home, Sweet Home” and the Henry Bishop manuscript which the Sibley Music Library acquired in 1923.

 

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INVENTORY

Series 1: Scores of Derived Musical Works
Box 1

folder 1	Bishop, Henry R. Home! Sweet Home! Philadelphia: George Bacon. (2 copies)
folder 2	Bishop, Henry R. Home! Sweet Home! Boston: C. Bradlee.
folder 3	Bishop, Henry R. Home! Sweet Home! Boston: G. Graupner.
folder 4	Bishop, Henry R. Home! Sweet Home! Baltimore: George Willig.
folder 5	Bishop, Henry R. Home Sweet Home. Philadelphia: J. G. Klemm.
folder 6	Bishop, Henry R. Home! Sweet Home! New York: Armstrong Music Pub. Co. (2 copies)
folder 7	Bishop, Henry R. Home Sweet Home. New York: Atwill’s Music Saloon. (3 copies)
folder 8	Bishop, Henry R. Home Sweet Home for the Guitar. New York: Atwill Publisher.
folder 9	Bishop, Henry R. Home! Sweet Home. New York: Bourne.
folder 10	Bishop, Henry R. Home! Sweet Home. New York: Dubois & Stodart. (2 copies)
folder 11	Bishop, Henry R. Home, Sweet Home! With Additional Verses. New York: Firth, Pond & Co., 1830. (3 copies)
folder 12	Bishop, Henry R. Home! Sweet Home! New York: E. Riley.
folder 13	Bishop, Henry R. Home, Sweet Home. Boston: C. Bradlee.
folder 14	Baumbach, Adolph. Home, Sweet Home Varied for the Piano. Boston: Oliver Ditson & Co.,1859.
folder 15	Bellak, J. Sweet Home Varied. (Publisher’s data lacking.) 1861.
folder 16	Booth, C. H. H. Home, Sweet Home. Accompaniment and Violin or Cello Obligato ad. lib. New York: Geo. Molineux, 1898.
folder 17	Bruguier, D. Home Sweet Home and a Popular Rondo Arranged for Two Performers on the Pianoforte. Boston: Oliver Ditson.
folder 18	Coppock, W. R. Home! Sweet Home! Introduction and Variations for the Piano Forte or Harp. New York: Furth & Hall. (2 copies)
folder 19	Gottschalk, L. M. Home, Sweet Home. New York: William Hall & Son, 1864.
folder 20	Gottschalk, L. M. Home, Sweet Home. Boston: Oliver Ditson, 1888.
folder 21	Grobe, Charles. Home, Sweet Home Variations, Op. 207. Boston: Oliver Ditson, 1861.
folder 22	Herz, H. Home Sweet Home with Introduction and Brilliant Variations to be performed with one hand only (the left), Op. 16. MS.
folder 23	Hunt, R. F. Home! Sweet Home! Pour le Piano Variée. New York: S. T. Gordon, 1864.
folder 24	Jaell, Alfred. Home, Sweet Home: Transcription pour Piano, Op. 24. Second Edition. Leipzig: C. F. Peters.
folder 25	Kinkel, Charles. Home, Sweet Home with Variations. New York: John L. Peters, 1869. (2 copies)
folder 26	Knox, Hugh V. My Long Island Home. Words by Ed. Livingston Greenwood. Brightwaters, NY: Ed. Livingston Greenwood, 1928.
folder 27	Mazurette, S. Home, Sweet Home Variations (Imitating Wave in A Storm), Op. 17. Boston: Oliver Ditson Company, 1902.
folder 28	Meininger, J. C. Home, Sweet Home: New Variations. J. M. Stoddart & Co., 1877.

Box 2

folder 1	Osborne, G. A. Home Sweet Home. Boston: Oliver Ditson.
folder 2	Owen, Samuel. Jenny Lind’s Home Sweet Home. New York: Firth, Pond & Co., 1851.
folder 3	Popp, Wilhelm. Brilliante Concert-Fantasie über das englische Volkslied Home Sweet Home (Süsse Heimath) für Flöte mit Begleitung des Pianoforte oder Orchester, Op. 367. Hamburg: Verlag von Aug. Cranz. Flute and Piano Score.
folder 4	Rimbault, E. F. Home, Sweet Home. Edited by Heinrich Kiehl. Boston: Oliver Ditson, 1909. (2 copies)
folder 5	A set of piano variations by J. H. Slack, opus 3, variously published by:Boston: Oliver Ditson & Co. Chicago: McKinley Music Co. (plate no. 105-6). 2 copies. Chicago: National Music Co. New York: DeLuxe Music Co. (plate no. 244-6) New York: S. T. Gordon. 3 copies. New York: John L. Peters (plate no. 2059-6) Philadelphia: F. A. North & Co. (plate nos. 1666-7 and 1166) Toledo: W. W. Whitney
folder 6	Smith, William. Home Quick Step Composed for the Pianoforte. Boston: Oliver Ditson, 1842.
folder 7	Snow, J. Albert. Home, Sweet Home Variations for the Piano. Boston: W. A. Evans & Bro., Publishers, 1882.
folder 8	A set of piano variations by Sigismund Thalberg, variously published by:London: T. Broome. (plate no. T.B. 105) London: Robert Cock & Co. (plate no. 12,829) New York: Beer & Schirmer, 1857. 4 copies. New York: C. Breusing, 1857. New York: G. Schirmer, 1857. (plate no. 149) 3 copies. New York: G. Schirmer, 1866. Simplified copy (G major). (plate no. 639) 2 copies. New York: G. Schirmer, 1885. Revised and fingered by William Scharfenberg. (plate no. 3907)
folder 9	A set of piano variations by T. Valentine, variously published by:Boston: Geo. P. Reed. (plate no. 157) New York: Atwill. New York: Dubois & Stodart. (plate no. 5) 2 copies. New York: William Hall & Son. (plate no. 3011) 4 copies. New York: Hewitt & Jaques. Philadelphia: G. E. Blake.
folder 10	Watson, Michael. Home, Sweet Home. Boston: Oliver Ditson Company.
folder 11	Webb, G. J. Home, Sweet Home Arranged as a Song Duett or Trio. Boston: Oliver Ditson.
folder 12	Webb, George J. Home, Sweet Home Arranged for One, Two or Three Voices. Boston: Oliver Ditson.
folder 13	Wehli, James M. Home Sweet Home for the Piano Forte transcribed for the Left Hand Only. New York: William A Pond & Co. and Boston: Oliver Ditson & Co. (2 copies)
folder 14	Weiland, Francis. The Much Admired Air, of Home Sweet Home Arranged with Brilliant Variations for the Spanish Guitar. Philadelphia: Lee & Walker, 1841.
folder 15	Wels, Charles. Home Sweet Home with Variations for the Piano, Op. 37. Boston: Russell & Richardson, 1857.
folder 16	An unattributed waltz treatment of the theme in G major and in 3/8 time, variously published as:Home waltz. Boston: Oliver Ditson & Co. (plate no. 1206) Home, as a waltz. Boston: G. P. Reed. Home as a waltz. Boston: Parker & Ditson. 4 copies. Home, a waltz. New York: Firth & Hall. (plate no. 2433) Home as a waltz. New York: Firth, Pond & Co. (plate no. 46) Home, a waltz. New York: William Hall & Son. (plate no. 2433) Home waltz. New York: William Hall & Son. (plate no. 2433)
folder 17	To the Home of My Childhood. Arrangement without attribution, but indicated in caption as “Sicilian”. Publisher’s information lacking. Consists of four pages, numbered 69-72.

 

Series 2: Manuscript Facsimile
Box 3

folder 1	Facsimiles of the original manuscript.
folder 2	Auction catalogue, James F. Drake, Inc.: sale 1717 on March 5 and 6, 1923.

 

Series 3: Newspaper Articles
Box 3

folder 3	“Centenary of ‘Home, Sweet Home’.” New York Times Magazine, April 8, 1923, p. 4.
folder 4	“Hundred Years of ‘Home Sweet Home’: Famous Song in Original Form Now Reposes in Rochester.” Rochester Herald, April 8, 1923, p. 3C.
folder 5	“Home Sweet Home.” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, May 6, 1923, p. 3.
folder 6	“Home, Sweet Home.” Library Life: Staff Bulletin of the Boston Public Library, May 15, 1923, p. 105.
folder 7	“Music and Musicians.” The Observer, October 17, 1936, p. 14.

 

Series 4: Correspondence
Box 3

folder 8	British Museum to Miss Barbara Duncan. April 30, 1951.
folder 9	Memorandum concerning the purchase of the original musical manuscript of “Home, Sweet Home.” Signed by Edward G. Miner. July, 1923.
folder 10	Miner, Edward G. to Miss Barbara Duncan. July 16, 1928.
folder 11	Payne, John Howard to “My dear Mrs. Towson”. 2 copies, each a facsimile. April 5, 1850.
folder 12	Press release regarding the one-hundredth anniversary of “Home, Sweet Home” (carbon copy, 2 pages).

 

Series 5: Artwork, Photographs, and Scrapbook
Box 3

folder 13	Engraved portrait of Henry R. Bishop.
folder 14	John Howard Payne as Hamlet, painted by Chas. Robert Leslie. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts.
folder 15	John Howard Payne
folder 16	John Howard Payne
folder 17	John Howard Payne
folder 18	John Howard Payne
folder 19	Exterior of the home of John Howard Payne, East Hampton, Long Island
folder 20	Den in the Payne home at East Hampton, Long Island
folder 21	Den in the Payne home at East Hampton, Long Island
folder 22	Dining room in the Payne home at East Hampton, Long Island
folder 23	Guest room in the Payne home at East Hampton, Long Island
folder 24	Kitchen in the Payne home at East Hampton, Long Island
folder 25	Sitting room in the Payne home at East Hampton, Long Island
folder 26	Photograph of manuscript poem “Home” by John Howard Payne
folder 27	Copy of the original Sicilian air from which Henry R. Bishop adapted the melody to John Howard Payne’s words “Home, Sweet Home”
item 28	Scrapbook. Compiled by staff of the Sibley Music Library (apparently in the 1920s), it contains numerous documents pertaining to the song “Home, Sweet Home” and/or the autograph manuscript of the opera Clari, or, The Maid of Milan which the Sibley Music Library acquired. Affixed to its page are press items (those bearing attributions date from 1923-26), correspondence (whether in carbon copy or in signed copy), and photographs.