Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

'
492 SOOIETA ARMONICA SOCIETY OF BRITISH MUSICIANS
The programmes are entirely instrumental, and
consist of movements from the ohamber-musio
of the great masters, as well as from the works
of Grieg, Dvorak, Saint-Saens, Liszt, Gradener,
Svendsen, Tchaikovsky, and Miguel Angelo.
Short analytical remarks are written by Sr.
B. V. Moreira de Sa, to whose energy and
eutliiisiasra the Society owes much of its
success. w. B. s.
SOCIETA ARMONICA. Founded about
1827 for the purpose of giving subscription
concerts in which symphonies, overtures, and
occasionally instrumental chamber works were
intermingled with vocal numbers usually drawn
from the Italian operas. Mr. H. Forbes was
the conductor, and Tolbecque and the younger
Mori were the leaders of the band. Beethoven's
Overture in C major, Berlioz's Overture to Les
'
Francs Juges,' Reissiger's Overture in F minor,
and the Overture to 'Les Huguenots,' were
among the works which gained a first hearing
in England at the Society's concerts ; and
Weber's Mass in G was also produced. Among
the vocalists who assisted in the concerts were
Mmes. Grisi, Persiani, Albertazzi, Bishop, Alfred
Shaw, Miss Clara Novello, and Miss Birch,
Messrs. Phillips, Rubini, Tamburini and Lablache,
Mario and Ivanoff. The band included
Spagnoletti, A. Griesbach, Willy, Wagstafif,
Dando, Patey, Jay, Alsept, Lindley, Hatton,
Brookes, Dragonetti, Howell, Card, Ribas,
Barrett, Harper, etc. Henri Herz, the pianist
and composer, and Hausmann the violinist,
made their first appearance in this country at
the Societa Armonica. The concerts were successively
held at the Crown and Anchor Tavern
in the Strand, Freemasons' Tavern, and the
Opera Concert room in the Haymarket. They
terminated in or about the yfear 1850. 0. M.
SOCIETE DE MUSIQUE DE CHAMBRE,
POUK INSTRUMENTS i VENT. This is a Society
for the performance of chamber-music for wind
instruments in Paris. It was founded by
Mons. Paul Taffanel, the distinguished fluteplayer,
and the first concert took place on
Feb. 6, 1879. Six concerts were given in the
February, March, and April of each year at
4 P.M. on alternate Thursdays, at the Salle
Pleyel ; subscription, 20 francs per season.
The executants were all artists from the Conservatoire
concerts, or those of Pasdcloup—such
as flute, Taffanel ; oboe, Gillet and BouUard ;
clarinet, Grisez and Turban ; bassoon, Espaignet
and Bourdeau ; horn, Garigue and Br^mond
;
piano, Louis Dimmer. A Society modelled on
tliis, the 'Wind Instrument Chamber Music
Society,' did good work in London in the
years 1889-93. o.
SOClfiTfi DES CONCERTS DU CONSER-
VATOIRE. See vol. i. pp. 574, 575.
SOCIETY OF BRITISH AND FOREIGN
MUSICIANS.
A benevolent society, established
in 1822 to provide a fund for the relief of its
members during sickness ; to assist in the
support of those who, by old age or unavoidable
calamity may become unable to follow their
profession ; and to allow a. certain sum at tlie
death of a member or a member's wife. The
office is at 28 Gerrard Street, and the Secretary
is Mr. F. Orcherton. c. M.
SOCIETY OF BRITISH COMPOSERS.
This Society was founded in 1905 with tlie
primary object of promoting the publication of
works by British composers. As a proof of the
need of something of the kind, it may be pointed
out that in two years after the Society's formation
the number of members (composers) and
associates (others interested in the movement)
was 254, while there had been published fortyfour
works of various kinds, principally chambermusic
and songs. The Society issues a Year-
Book, which is a useful volume, being a complete
list of its members' compositions, published or
in MS. The publication of music is undertaken
by the Society, either by defraying the whole
or part of the cost, subject to the approval of
an elected council, or at the sole expense of the
composer concerned ; the engraving and printing
is done at cost price and the terms as to royalties,
etc., are of an exceedingly favourable nature.
The publications are issued by the publishing
company, Charles Avison, Ltd., on behalf of
the Society, and the trade agents are Messrs.
Breitkopf & Hartel. N. G.
SOCIETY OF BRITISH MUSICIANS, The,
was founded inl 834 with the object of advancing
native talent in composition and performance.
In the original prospectus of the Society attention
was called to the contrast between the
encouragement offered to British painting, sculpture,
and the tributary arts at the Royal
Academy, and the comparative neglect of Englisli
music and English musicians, the overwhelming
preponderance of foreign compositions in all
musical performances being cited as calculated
'
to impress the public with the idea that musical
genius is an alien to this country,' and as
tending also ' to repress those energies and to
extinguish that emulation in the breast of the
youthful aspirant, which alone can lead to preeminence.'
One of the rules adopted was to
exclude all foreign music from the programmes
of the Society's concerts and to admit none but
natives of Great Britain among its members ;
but this was set aside in 1841, when the Committee
reported in favour of ' introducing a
limited proportion of music by composers not
members of the Society either British or foreign,
and the suggestion was adopted, though not
without strong opposition, in which the editor
of the Musical World joined (Miisical World of
Oct. 14, 1841). In its earlier days the Society
achieved a complete success, numbering in 1836
as many as 350 members, while its finances
were also in » prosperous state. It not only
gave concerts of works of established merit, but