Young Adult Fiction: Technology Reading List

Having updated the blogged reading list for my doctoral research on a somewhat irregular basis over the years and compiled them a couple of years ago, they are somewhat bitty.

This is therefore an updated bibliographical list which will form an appendix for my thesis in the (hopefully not too distant) future. I have removed the blurb which was present in previous lists, as each title links to Amazon where much more information can be found.

Anderson, MT (2002) Feed
London: Walker Books.

Anderson, MT (2004) The Game of Sunken Places
New York: Scholastic.

Ashby, Madeline (2012) vN
Nottingham: Angry Robot.

Ashby, Madeline (2013) iD
Nottingham: Angry Robot.

Asher, Jay & Mackler, Carolyn (2011) The Future of Us
London: Simon & Schuster.

Bacigalupi, Paolo (2009) The Windup Girl
London: Orbit.

Bannon, James (2011) i2
Los Angeles: Banco Picante Press.

Barnes, Jennifer Lynn (2013) The Naturals
London: Quercus.

Blackman, Malorie (1999) Dangerous Reality
London: Doubleday.

Bradbury, Jason (2009) Dot.Robot
London: Puffin.

Briggs, Andy (2008) hero.com: Rise of the Heroes
Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Briggs, Andy (2008) villain.net: Council of Evil
Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Brooks, Kevin (2010) iBoy
London: Penguin.

Cabot, Meg (2008) Airhead
London: Random House.

Card, Orson Scott (1977/1985/1991) Ender's Game
New York: Tom Doherty Associates.

Clarke, Cassandra Rose (2013) The Mad Scientist's Daughter
Nottingham: Angry Robot.

Cline, Ernest (2011) Ready Player One
London: Arrow Books.

Cline, Ernest (2015) Armada
London: Random House.

Collins, BR (2011) Gamerunner
London: Bloomsbury.

Collins, BR (2012) MazeCheat
London: Bloomsbury.

Collins, Suzanne (2008) The Hunger Games
London: Scholastic.

Collins, Suzanne (2009) Catching Fire (Hunger Games Book 2)
London: Scholastic.

Collins, Suzanne (2010) Mockingjay (Hunger Games Book 3)
London: Scholastic.

Condie, Ally (2010) Matched
London: RazorBill.

Dalquist, Gordon (2013) The Different Girl
New York: Dutton Books.

Dashner, James (2011) The Maze Runner
Frome: Chicken House.

Dashner, James (2013) The Eye of the Minds
New York: Delacorte Press.

Dashner, James (2014) The Rule of Thoughts (Mortality Doctrine 2)
London: Random House.

Dashner, James (2015) The Game of Lives (Mortality Doctrine 3)
London: Random House.

Day, Susie (2010 (2008)) serafina67 *urgently requires life*
New York: Scholastic.

Dickinson, Peter (2001 (1998)) Eva
London: Macmillan.

Doctorow, Cory (2008) Little Brother
London: Harper Voyager.

Doctorow, Cory (2012) Pirate Cinema
New York: Tom Doherty Associates.

Driza, Debra (2013) MILA 2.0
London: HarperCollins.

Driza, Debra (2013) MiLA 2.0 Origin: The Fire
London: HarperCollins.

Driza, Debra (2014) MiLA 2.0: Renegade
London: HarperCollins.

Falkner, Brian (2011) brainjack
London: Walker Books.

Fisher, Catherine (2007) Incarceron
London: Hodder Children's Books.

Goldman, EM (1995) The Night Room
London: Puffin.

Harrison, Kate (2011) Soul Beach
London: Indigo.

Harrison, Kate (2012) Soul Fire
London: Indigo.

Hodkin, Michelle (2012) The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
London: Simon & Schuster.

Horton, Ben (2010) Monster Republic
London: Corgi Books.

Hoyle, Fred (2010 (1957)) The Black Cloud
London: Penguin.

Lancaster, Mike (2011) 0.4
London: Egmont.

Lancaster, Mike (2012) 1.4
London: Egmont.

Landstrom, Sam (2010) Metagame
Las Vegas: Amazon Encore.

Lassiter, Rhiannon (1998) Hex
London: Macmillan.

Lassiter, Rhiannon (1999) Hex: Shadows
London: Macmillan.

Lassiter, Rhiannon (2000) Hex: Ghosts
London: Macmillan Children's Books.

Leigh, Jena (2012) Revival
Amazon.

Lewis, Stewart (2011) You have seven messages
New York: Delacorte Press.

Lloyd, Saci (2011) Momentum
London: Hodder Children's Books.

London, Alex (2013) Proxy
New York: Philomel Books.

Lord, Karen (2013) The Best of All Possible Worlds
London: Jo Fletcher Books.

McEvoy, Seth (1986) All Geared Up (Not Quite Human Book 2)
London: Dragon Grafton Books.

McLaughlin, Lauren (2011) Scored
New York: Random House.

Merle, Claire (2012) Glimpse
London: Faber & Faber.

Meyer, Marissa (2012) Cinder
London: Puffin.

Meyer, Marissa (2013) Scarlet
London: Penguin.

Miller, Lauren (2014) Free to fall
New York: HarperCollins.

Murail, Marie-Aude, Murail, Lorris & Murail, Elvire (2002) Golem 1: Magic Berber
London: Walker Books.

Murphy, Pat (2012 (1987)) Rachel in Love
Untreed Reads.

Myers, EC (2012) Fair Coin
New York: Pyr.

Myracle, Lauren (2004) ttyl
New York: Amulet Books.

Naam, Ramez (2013) Crux
Nottingham: Angry Robot.

Naam, Ramez (2013) Nexus
Nottingham: Angry Robot.

Ness, Patrick (2013) More Than This
London: Walker Books.

Nix, Garth (2012) A Confusion of Princes
London: HarperCollins.

Odle, EV (1923) The Clockwork Man
London: Doubleday, Page & Co..

Oliver, Lauren (2011) Delirium
London: Hodder and Stoughton.

Patrick, Cat (2013) The Originals
New York: Little Brown and Company.

Pearson, Mary (2011) The Rotten Beast
Macmillan USA.

Pearson, Mary E (2010) The Adoration of Jenna Fox
London: Walker Books.

Philbrick, Rodman (2006) The Last Book in the Universe
London: Usborne Publishing Ltd.

Plaisted, Caroline (2001) e-love
London: Piccadilly Press.

Plum-Ucci, Carol (2008) Streams of Babel
Orlando: Houghton Mifflin.

Price, Lissa (2012) Starters
London: Doubleday.

Revis, Beth (2014) The Body Electric
Scripturient Books.

Rose, Malcolm (2010) Jordan Stryker: Bionic Agent
London: Usborne Publishing Ltd.

Roth, Veronica (2011) Divergent
London: HarperCollins.

Roth, Veronica (2012) Insurgent
London: HarperCollins.

Rush, Jennifer (2013) Altered
New York: Hachette.

Seifert, Christine (2011) The Predicteds
Naperville: Sourcebook Fire.

Shusterman, Neal (2008) Unwind
London: Simon & Schuster.

Shusterman, Neal (2012) Unwholly
London: Simon & Schuster.

Stephenson, Neal (1992) Snow Crash
London: Penguin.

Terry, Teri (2012) Slated
London: Orchard Books.

Terry, Teri (2013) Fractured
London: Orchard Books.

Terry, Teri (2015) Mind Games
London: Orchard Books.

Thorpe, David (2007) Hybrids
London: HarperCollins.

Tintera, Amy (2013) Reboot
New York: Harper Teens.

Tsui, Susan (2012) You Shouldn't Call Me Mommy
Oneiros Press.

Vizzini, Ned (2004) Be More Chill
New York: Miramax Books.

Wasserman, Robin (2007) Hacking Harvard
New York: Simon Pulse.

Wasserman, Robin (2009) Crashed
London: Simon & Schuster.

Wasserman, Robin (2009) Skinned
London: Simon & Schuster.

Wasserman, Robin (2010) Wired
London: Simon & Schuster.

Wells, Robinson (2012) Feedback
London: Harper Teen.

Wells, Robison (2011) Variant
New York: HarperCollins.

Wells, Robison (2013) Blackout
New York: HarperCollins.

Westerfield, Scott (2004) So yesterday
New York: RazorBill.

Westerfield, Scott (2005) Uglies
London: Simon & Schuster.

Young, Suzanne (2013) The Program
New York: Simon Pulse.

Zadoff, Allen (2013) Boy Nobody
London: Orchard Books.

Gins

For some time I have been intending to list the gins available at home, as peering into the cupboard always seems to miss something. This is therefore an alphabetical list of gins from which I am currently able to choose; I have included a link to the producer's website where known, details of the gin's geographical provenance and a brief description from the bottle.

• Adnams Copper House Dry Gin (40%) [website]
  Handcrafted and copper stilled in the heart of Southwold
  (Adnams, Southwold, IP18 6JW)


• Beefeater London Dry Gin (40%)
  Distilled in the heart of the City
  (Montford Place, London, SE11 5DE)


• Bloom (40%) [website]
  A delicate floral gin inspired by the beauty of nature
  (G&J Greenall, Warrington, WA3 6PH)


• Boe Superior Gin (41.5%) [website]
  Inspired by the original receipe of Franz de la Boe
  (VC2 Brands, Stirling, Scotland, FK7 7NP)


• Bombay Amber (47%) [website]
  London Dry Gin vapour infused with nutmeg and toasted black cardamom balanced with bitter orange zest. Finished in French Vermouth barrels
  (The Bombay Spirits Company, Bacardi-Martini Ltd, Kings Worthy, Winchester, SO23 7TW)


• Bombay Sapphire (40%) [website]
  (The Bombay Spirits Company, Bacardi-Martini Ltd, Kings Worthy, Winchester, SO23 7TW)


• Bombay Sapphire East (42%) [website]
  For a unique gin with a subtly exotic taste our Master of Botanicals journeyed east, to Asia.
  (The Bombay Spirits Company, Bacardi-Martini Ltd, Kings Worthy, Winchester, SO23 7TW)


• Boodles (40%)
  Fashioned with a proper balance of traditional herbs and botanicals without the addition of citrus.
  (Proximo Spirits, EC2R 5BJ)


• Brecon Botanicals Gin (43%) [website]
  From the four corners of the world


• Broker's Premium London Dry Gin (40%) [website]
  (Broker's Gin, TW17 8AG)


• Bulldog (40%) [website]
  A brazen blend, perfectly balanced with natural poppy, dragon eye and hints of crisp citrus.
  (G&J Greenall, WA 6PH)


• Caorunn (41.8%) [website]
  Small batch distilled and handcrafted in our Copper Berry Chamber at Balmenach Distillery in the Speyside region of the Scotting Highlands.
  (Balmenach Distillery, Cromdale, PH26 3PF)


• Chancery Original Recipe London Dry Gin (43%)
  Distilled five times. A marriage of 100% pure grain spirit and nine exotic botanicals
  (Chancery London Dry Gin, Birchwood, WA3 6PH)


• Cocoa Gin (42%) [website]
  (Hotel Chocolat Ltd, London, EC2M 6XB)


• Conker Spirit: Dorset Dry Gin (40%) [website]
  We are Conker Spirit, Dorset's first gin distillery
  (Conker Spirit Distillery, Dorset, BH6 5HA)


• Cotswolds Dry Gin (46%) [website]
  Non-chill filtered. Our gin is unfiltered so that all of the flavour from the botanical extracts and essential oils is suspended in the spirit, creating a beautiful pearlescent cloudiness when ice or mixer is added.
  (The Cotswold Distilling Companyu, Phillip's Field, Whichford Road, Stourton, Shipston on Stour, CV36 5HG)


• Daffy's (43.4%) [website]
  The finest copper pot single-batch distilled gin
  (Daffy's Gin Ltd, 3-5 Melville Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7PE)


• Darnley's View (42.7%) [website]
  A distinctive gin with warming spice botanicals
  (Wemyss Vintage Malts Ltd, 4 Melville Crescent, Edinburgh, EH3 7JA)


• Durham Gin (40%) [website]
  A good honest spirit handmade in a copper pot still.
  (Durham Distillery, DH7 9TT)


• Fifth Spire (47%) [website]
  Handcrafted in small batches using fresh citrus fruits
  (Greywood Distillery Ltd, Lichfield, WS14 0GE)


• Gin Mare (42.7%)


• Gordon's:The Original (37.5%) [website]
  Special Dry London Gin distilled in Great Britain since 1769
  (Tanqueray Gordon & Co, Lakeside Drive, London, NW10 7HQ)


• Haymans London Dry Gin (40%) [website]
  We have been making the finest handcrafted gins since 1863. Hayman's London Dry Gin is a classic blend of ten carefully selected botanicals including juniper, coriander and citrus fruits, producing a crisp, elegant and balanced gin of the London dry style.
  (Hayman Distillers, CM8 3YE)


• Hendrick's Gin (44%)
  This handcrafted gin is distilled from a proprietary recipe which includes traditional botanicals such as juniper, coriander and citrus peel. The 'unexpected' infusiuion of cucumber and rose petals results in a most iconoclastic gin. It is not for everyone.
  (William Grant and Sons Ltd, Scotland, ML4 3AN)


• Hoxton Gin (43%) [website]
  Warning! Grapefruit and Coconut
  (Calabrese Harte Enterprises Ltd)


• M Savers Gin (37.5%)
  (Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC, Gain Lane, Bradford, BD3 7DL)


• Madam Geneva (42%)
  London Dry Gin as it should be. Simple, dry and juniper forward with angelica, citrus and a hint of liquorice.
  (Eccentric Gin, Wheatsheaf Rooms, High Street, Llantrisant, CF72 8BQ)


• Martin Miller's Gin (40%)
  Distilled in Englnd and blended with Icelandic water for Arctic clarity
  (The Reformed Spirits Co, Plaza 535, Kings Road, London, SW10 0SZ)


• No 3 London Dry Gin (46%) [website]
  No 3 London Dry Gin is made in the time-honoured fashion born of 300 years of using traditional copper pot stills.
  (Berry Bros & Ruddington, No 3, St James's Street, London SW1)


• Norfolk Gin (39%) [website]
  Norfolk Gin made by hand in the fine city of Norwich. Flavour and taste at its best... enjoy!
  (New Adventure (Norfolk) Ltd, No 21, Norwich, NR4 7QP)


• Old English Gin (44%) [website]
  (Hammer & Son Ltd)


• Oliver Cromewell Dry London Gin (37.5%)
  Delicately infused and traditionally distilled classic zesty dry gin
  (Aldi Stores, Po Box 26, Atherstone, CV9 2SH)


• Opihr (40%) [website]
  Botanicals from the ancient spice route
  (G&J, WA3 6PH)


• Plymouth Gin - Navy Strength (57%) [website]
  Plymouth Gin has been the gin of the British Royal Navy for over 200 years.
  (V&S Plymouth Ltd, Black Friars Distillery, Plymouth, England)


• Portobello Road No 171 Gin (42%)
  (171 Portobello Road, London)


• Professor Corneliuss Ampleforth's Bathtub Gin (43.3%)
  (2 Leylands Manor, TN6 2RH)


• Silent Pool (43%) [website]
  Intricately realised gin distilled from grain, precisely crafted in England.
  (Silent Pool Distillers, Surrey, GU5 9BW)


• Sipsmith (41.6%) [website]
  (Sipsmith, 83 Cranbrook Road, London, W4 2LJ)


• Six o'clock Gin (43%) [website]
  Strikingly Smooth: 6 o'clock is a refreshingly smooth gin with a clean flavour led by juniper. The smoothness flows from out custom-built copper pot still with its unique double sphere head, together with the selection of botanicals and our distiller's craft; only the pure heart of each run makes the cut.
  (Bramley & Gage Ltd, Thornbury, BS35 3UU)


• Star of Bombay (47.5%) [website]
  An extraordinarily refined gin crafted in single batches with bergamot and ambrette seeds in harmony with Bombay's signature botanicals
  (The Bombay Sapphire Distillery, Laverstoke Mill, Laverstoke, RG28 7NR)


• Tanqueray Number 10 (47.3%)
  Fresh botonicals and hints of citrus give Tanqueray NoTen its exquisite flavour and smooth finish. Tanqueray NoTen is a refreshingly unique spirit which makes a truly fresh tasting martini
  (Charles Tanqueray & Co, London, W1U 5AP)


• Tanqueray Rangpur (41.3%) [website]
  Distilled Gin with rare Rangpur Limes and other botanicals


• Tesco finest London Dry Gin (43%) [website]
  Nine botanicals. Juniper, zesty citrus, subtle earthy tones and a hint of spice.
  (G&J Distillers for Tesco Stores Ltd, Cheshunt, EN8 9SL)


• The King of Soho (42%) [website]
  This premium quality gin is a tribute to the King of Soho, a man who never settled for the ordinary and challenged the establishment.
  (West End Drinks Ltd, W1S 4TE)


• The Lakes Gin (43.7%) [website]
  The Lakes Gin - the only gin distilled in Cumbria. The Lakes Gin, lovingly hand crafted in our small copper pot still, is truly born of The Lake District.
  (The Lakes Distillery Company Ltd, Cumbria, UK)


• The Oringial Bombay London Dry Gin (37.5%) [website]
  Eight hand selected botanicals from a 1761 recipe
  (The Bombay Spirits Company, Bacardi-Martini Ltd, Kings Worthy, Winchester, SO23 7TW)


• Thomas Dakin Gin (42%)
  A classic style single gin with juniper and citrus notes, distilled in small batches in our copper pot stills.
  (Thomas Dakin Distillers, WA3 6PH)


• Whitley Neill (42%) [website]
  Handcrafted Dry Gin. Small Batch. Distilling gin for eight generations since 1762
  (Halewood International Ltd, Liverpool, L36 6AD)


• Williams Chase (48%) [website]
  The Spirit of Herefordshire. Made from apples grown on our farm.
  (Chase Distillery, Rosemaund, HR1 3PG)

Android, Twitter App and Tweetdeck Website

The situation:

• I have four Twitter accounts
• I post to all the accounts manually from the official Twitter app on my Android phone
• I use Tweetdeck on my laptop to schedule posts to one Twitter account

In 2015 Twitter changed the Tweetdeck login credentials. This presented no massive issue to me as I only really use Tweetdeck to schedule one account and I do that from the laptop once every few months. On the very odd occasion I need to schedule things on the other accounts, I can switch accounts relatively easily - albeit manually - on the laptop.

However, occasionally I need to edit the scheduled tweets in Tweetdeck from my Android phone. As there is no Tweetdeck app, I have to use Chrome. When accessing tweetdeck.twitter.com and entering the login credentials, I am simply redirected to the Twitter app on my phone. This is infuriating and useless. I don't want to log out of the Twitter app as it has all the four accounts set up and is tiresome to set them all up again.

This basically means that it is impossible to use Tweetdeck from my phone while the Twitter app is logged in.

While it might be a simple workaround, I could not find any reference to this issue anywhere else online so I thought it was worth posting: simply open an incognito window in the Chrome browser, visit tweetdeck.twitter.com and enter the login credentials for the account you want to schedule or manage and everything works as you would expect.

Wesley on Cathedral Music

To most people who have heard of him, Samuel Sebastian Wesley is probably best know for his various anthems; however, in 1849, just before he moved to his new post as Organist of Winchester Cathedral, he wrote A Few Words on Cathedral Music and the Musical System of the Church, with a Plan of Reform which considers the state of music in English cathedrals at the time and offers suggestions for its improvement. All of his observations must be read within the context of the great reforms of the century being carried out by the Cathedral Commission, a part of which including the dissolution of cathedrals' choral foundations with their funds and lands being transferred to their cathedrals.

A scanned copy of the original document has been digitised as part of Google's book scanning programme and can be viewed at hdl.handle.net/2027/nnc1.cu62381024, but I have transcribed, corrected and added a couple of explanatory footnotes to the text and this edition can be freely downloaded.

However, for anyone who does not wish to wade through the whole document, I have extracted some comments which illustrate the state of cathedral music in the nineteenth century, and Wesley's take on the issues faced by those involved in all aspects of cathedral life that he considers:

• before you can accomplish even any moderately correct and impressive performance of the Choral Service of the Church, it is absolutely necessary that there should be, first, competent performers, (or Ministers); secondly, the guidance of an able conductor, (or Precentor); and thirdly, that the musical compositions performed should be the emanations of genius, or of the highest order of talent.

• The least number of men which can constitute a Cathedral Choir capable of performing the service is twelve.

• What, for instance, can any one who has visited the Opera Houses, the Theatres, Exeter Hall, or any well conducted musical performances, think of a chorus of one to a part? Ask the men working the mills of Yorkshire and Lancashire what they would think of it? And yet, this amount of chorus would be a vast improvement on the present state of things at Cathedrals; for there may be sometimes seen one man singing chorus!

• The Clergy are the irresponsible directors of Cathedral music. The views of the highest order of musical professors are never brought to bear on the subject.

• The mixture of the Choral and Parochial modes, now so common, is inconsistent with a just appreciation of the Choral Service [...] It was a very early law in the Church, that none but those qualified by previous study and preparation should be allowed to sing in the service; confusion being the inevitable result of a different course.

• The beautiful Choral Service of the Church, like other sublime things, would necessarily render the auditor speechless, and produce a tone of feeling far different from that which results in utterance. Paley, in his sermon on the text: “Lest that, by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast-away”, describes the danger even to the Clergy themselves which attends the frequent and formal “intermixture with religious offices”; and it is surely one of the most beautiful attributes of Choral Service that the worshipper is not compelled at any time to utter anything to interrupt the prostration of mind which would ever attend a perfect performance of that service in our beautiful Cathedrals.

• Since the destruction of monasteries, the Cathedrals had been the only nurseries of musical talent, and boys could not now be obtained, so the treble parts were performed by men singing in falsetto, or by a musical instrument called Cornet.

• The pious founders of Cathedrals never contemplated the ludicrous and profane state of things we now witness. Their music, like their architecture, was the best they could give. Modern Chapters cannot be wholly free from blame, for the superiority of the secular performances of music over those of Cathedrals, and the Church generally, must strike every one.

• To suit the reduced Choirs of Cathedrals composers have departed from the true school of composition. Their recent Anthems have not been Choral: they have been devised simply to exhibit particular singers. Solos, Duets, &c.; and the Te Deum, Jubilates, Magnificats, &c, commonly sung in Cathedral service, are more like glees than Church music; and these seem, moreover, to have been written simply for the amusement of their authors, no official demand having proceeded from the Church.

• The illusive and fascinating effect of musical sound in a Cathedral unfortunately serves to blunt criticism, and cast a veil over defects otherwise unbearable. No coat of varnish can do for a picture what the exquisitely reverberating qualities of a Cathedral do for music. And then, the Organ! what a multitude of sins does that cover!

• Multiplication of small uninteresting Churches in the outskirts of large towns, however good in intention, is far from an universal success. Numerous instances occur, in which such Churches are almost invariably empty, or the very next thing to it. One magnificent Cathedral or Church in a large town, with its musical services properly performed, would more surely attract a congregation of ten thousand, than ten small Churches of the ordinary kind, with a preacher as the sole attraction.

• As Cathedral Service existed at the Reformation, the sermon formed no part of Divine worship. The preacher delivered his discourse in the open air, (as in the Green Yard at St Paul’s) or in the antechoir, (as is still the practice in some cathedrals) and the attendance of those who had joined the worship in the church was by no means general. A reference to the Canons of the Church of England will shew that so far from the sermon being considered an essential part of the service, no minister was allowed to preach unless he had received a licence from the Bishop; and, till a very recent period, the parochial minister invariably divested himself of the surplice, and preached in his gown; by way of shewing that he had ceased to administer the Word of God, and that what he then promulgated was to be viewed simply as his own commentary on the sacred writings, and to be received or rejected as it was in conformity with sound principles.

• But public opinion, unfortunately, is rarely brought to bear on Cathedral music.  Persons who but seldom attend Cathedral Service, are much impressed with the beauty of the architecture, the effect of the organ, and the sound of the human voice chanting the prayers, (all of which together furnish some idea of the exquisite nature of a service properly performed.

• The prospect of bringing the Clergy to a just sense of the claims of music in the Cathedral Service of this country seems all but hopelessly remote. They still, in the main, view their own labours as all-important, and disparage the art in its most important bearings; as did the Puritans of Elizabeth’s reign.

• Music, assuredly, will ever form a leading feature in our public worship. This or that form of worship may be varied or set aside, for none can ever be worthy of its object; and hence all forms must ever be open to discussion; but, assuredly, music will ever have a place in the ceremonies of religion. If asked what species of music it is that will ever thus be honoured, can we point to any but the “Church School?” — the purest, the most impressive of all — at once the most simple and the most sublime; demanding the highest order of merit in its composer, and producing, beyond all comparison, the most irresistible effect on the auditor. If asked how the Church came to possess this as its own, the answer is, By the means it attained its other numerous excellencies, by having the best intellects of many centuries shut up in the religious and peaceful seclusion of Monastic Houses and properly given to its development.

• Josquin displays a largeness of conception and breadth of effect quite annihilative of the claims to peculiar merit ostentatiously put forth in behalf of our Tallis, — a portion of whose writings, when performed at the present day, tends to bring anything but good will to the musical offices; being destitute, it really should be said, of almost every kind of merit, and constituting one interminable monotony which no one can, or ought to, put up with.

• Some would reject all Music but the unisonous Chants of a period of absolute barbarism,—which they term “Gregorian”. All is “Gregorian” that is in the black, diamond, note! These men would look a Michael Angelo in the face and tell him Stonehenge was the perfection of architecture!

• Antiquarian and Motet Societies, and some newly-formed Choirs, have lately disturbed something they consider valuable, by raking amongst the long-discarded specimens of an early date and of good for nothing authors. Such bodies bring odium on Church music.

• At Birmingham it was contemplated to perform Divine service in the Town Hall, in order to make use of its organ and highly effective Choral Society. Our Cathedrals are the places for a fine performance of the choral service of the Church. Let attention be kept steadily on them till all hope has departed. 

• How different a picture is presented in the sister arts! The highest order of talent in them is appreciated, and a source of fortune and honour secured to its possessor. The work of a few days produces for the artist a sum of money greater than the work of a life (of the lives of many) would to the Church musician. Mr Landseer, it is said, has in eight days painted the picture of a horse for which he has received a thousand guineas. Turn we to Cathedrals. Were the musician who should produce a work of the highest merit in eight days, to ask, not a thousand guineas, but a thousand shillings, pence, farthings, the reply would be, invariably, “NO!” Let him study hard in his art, from the age of eight to thirty-five, sacrificing every interest to this one sole pursuit, let him offer his work as a present to some Cathedrals, and they would not go to the expense of copying out the parts for the Choir!

• [Musical professionals] feel, also, that the Clergy either systematically disparage music, or at best view it with a cold side glance, and have ever done so since the reign of Elizabeth; and this for no better reason than that the interests of religion were far above those of music. 

• Painful and dangerous is the position of a young musician who, after acquiring great knowledge of his art in the Metropolis, joins a country Cathedral. At first he can scarcely believe that the mass of error and inferiority in which he has to participate is habitual and irremediable. He thinks he will reform matters, gently, and without giving offence; but he soon discovers that it is his approbation and not his advice that is needed. The Choir is “the best in England”, (such being the belief at most Cathedrals), and, if he give trouble in his attempts at improvement, he would be, by some Chapters, at once voted a person with whom they “cannot go on smoothly”, and “a bore”. The old man knows how to tolerate error, and even profit by it; but in youth, the love of truth is innate and absorbing.

• The painter and the sculptor can choose their tools and the material on which they work, and great is the care they devote to the selection: but the musician of the Church has no power of this kind; nay more, he is compelled to work with tools which he knows to be inefficient and unworthy — incompetent singers and a wretched organ! He must learn to tolerate error, to sacrifice principle, and yet to indicate, by his outward demeanour, the most perfect satisfaction in his office, in which, if he fail, he will assuredly be worried and made miserable.

• Music, as it is now performed in our Cathedrals, when compared with well-regulated performances elsewhere, bears to them about the proportion of life and order which an expiring rush-light does to a summer’s sun. The higher order of musical composition belonging to the Church is now lost sight of. No new efforts by men of commanding talent are perceptible. Nor is this to be wondered at, seeing that the Choirs have long been reduced below a state in which such compositions could be sung with effect.

• That the Church has been the originator of all improvement in the art of music, and has, from the earliest periods availed herself of every excellence which the advance of time supplied, is demonstrably a fact.

• The first instance of a departure from the “monotony” [from chanting] is at that burst with which the Choir, as the representatives of the people, break forth at “And our mouth shall shew forth Thy praise.” To a person used to Choral service, the impression he receives at this passage, in parochial service, from the ordinary tone of voice being preserved, is, “Well, where is the praise? why don't you shew forth the praise?” The reply may be anticipated. “It is a spiritual shewing forth of praise that is meant, not an outward and visible demonstration.” But how, let it be added, how is that effect on the part of a congregation best attained? By a mispronouncing, provincial clerk, and shrill discordant school children, making the hurried, half intelligible response? or by the beautiful arrangements of the Church Choral Service? 

• In discussing Edward VI's time: “The race of voiceless and incompetent priests was not then known; everywhere the Choirs were filled with singers. Deans had not tasted the sweets of Choir plunder, nor Chapters learned to disregard the obligation of an oath.” - History of Cathedral Music. Simpkin and Marshall, London.

• The abject position in which we see the lay-clerk at present, in many instances, would have excited the indignation of Christian people four centuries ago; and this maintenance, it is believed, would be ample for all present purposes, did it exist; but, unfortunately, the authorities at Cathedrals, to whose care the musical funds were entrusted, have, in various instances, taken them away from the musical department, and applied them to their own uses.

• Vocal and instrumental performers are to [the composer] the colour and canvass of the painter, the chisel and stone of the sculptor. Great artists of the latter kind will at once admit the inconvenience of having their materials chosen for them by the Clergy. They would hardly entrust a brother artist, however eminent, with the selection; and yet, under existing circumstances, composers for the Church, (should there be any) must content themselves with such singers and organs as the Chapters provide.

In response to his own observations, Wesley responds with his Plan which extends beyond the number, abilities and pay of the cathedral musicians to the reordering of cathedrals to allow the organ to best serve the choir. (Amongst this, however, he continues to find opportunity to highlight his concerns.)

• The number of lay Choir-men in daily attendance should never be less than twelve, this being the least number by which the choral service can be properly performed.

• To ensure the constant attendance of twelve it would be necessary to retain at least three additional voices (one of each kind) to meet the frequent deficiencies arising from illness or other unavoidable causes. The stipend of the former might be £85 per annum; of the latter £52. These lay singers should be required to give the degree of attention to rehearsals and every other musical duty exacted of all such persons at ordinary performances of music, and, like others, they should be subject to an early removal in cases of wilful inattention. Should it not be deemed desirable for them to occupy themselves in trade, or other pursuits, (and that it is not desirable cannot be a question, their Cathedral duty, if properly followed, being the work of a life,) the salaries should be higher, and not less than from £100 to £150 per annum.

• The election to the office of lay Choir men should rest with the organists or musical conductors of three Cathedrals, namely the one in which the vacancy occurs, and the two nearest to it, the Dean and Chapter of the former exercising their judgment as to the religious fitness of the candidate. In fixing, as is here proposed, the number of the lay singers at the minimum number, twelve, it may be added, that in any Cathedral town where the musical services of the Cathedral were conducted in a meritorious manner, they would undoubtedly enjoy great popularity, and enlist the voluntary aid of many competent persons. An addition of six such might probably be relied on; and this, although inadequate—the requirements of such large buildings as our Cathedrals being considered — would be a great advance upon present things.

• A Musical College in connection with one of the Cathedrals, and under the government of its Dean and Chapter, seems indispensably necessary for the tuition of lay singers; and, what is more important, for the complete education of the higher order of musical officer employed as the Organist, Composer, or Director of the Choir. Lay singers for Cathedrals are not easily procured; and the above arrangement would greatly facilitate the object of providing every Cathedral with the required number for its Choir, and for imparting a thorough and complete musical education to the musical professors employed by the Church. A School of this kind might not be self-supporting, possibly; every Cathedral, therefore, should be required to contribute something to its maintenance.

• The Cathedral Organist should, in every instance, be a professor of the highest ability, — a master in the most elevated departments of composition,— and efficient in the conducting and superintendance of a Choral body.

• If salaries of from £500 to £800 a year be suggested for the Provincial Organists, or Musical Directors of Cathedrals, it will be said how many Curates there are in the Church at a salary of £60 or £80 per annum? But it is not here a question of men standing at the threshold of their profession. The artists pointed to are the bishops of their calling—men consecrated by their genius, and set apart for duties which only the best talent of the kind can adequately fulfil.

• The organ is a difficult subject. It seems a pity that every Cathedral should not possess a noble specimen of this instrument; its effects are so glorious — worthy of its distinguished use in the services of religion and of our splendid Cathedrals. Architects greatly object to its ordinary position on the choir screen; and it must be confessed, that were the Choirs perfect in their work, and the true school of Church composition rigidly adhered to, a large organ for the accompaniment of the Choral service is unnecessary. A small beautifully voiced organ, as near the Choir at possible, is the desideratum. It should not be on one side; for then, the music being arranged antiphonally, error exists from the organ’s sounding on one side differently to what it does on the other. The best arrangement which has occurred to the writer, is that of making a choir screen of the organ itself, and bringing the singers close to the instrument. Or, if it were determined, as no doubt it soon would be in numerous cases, were the Choral Service rendered all that musicians could wish, to take a portion of the nave for public accommodation, the instrument might stand sideways on the floor, and the screen be entirely removed; preserving, however, a suitable shelter for the authorities from the great draught existing in these large buildings.

• The boys received great care formerly in respect to their vocal tuition. A great portion of each day seems to have been devoted to exercises. Their voices, however, at the best, are a poor substitute for the vastly superior quality and power of those of women.

• Music can never be rehearsed and made sufficiently accurate to brave public opinion unless superintended by a competent Conductor.

• Once place the music on a sound foundation, and, no doubt, assistance would flow in from many quarters, in aid of what would be found in the Cathedral towns one of the greatest public advantages.

Despite the polemic nature of the entire document, towards the end Wesley's underlying commitment to improving the musical provision of cathedrals as part of the worship is shown as he concludes

Let us indulge a hope that the claims of this subject will find support, and that its merits will be better understood. Amongst the dignitaries of the Church are several distinguished persons who are fully alive to the high interests of music, and who do not forget that whatever is offered to God should be as faultless as man can make it. Music should not be compelled to bring her worst gift to the altar!

Banana Cake

I was looking for a recipe for a banana cake and a friend showed me an ancient recipe, cut from a newspaper, which they swear by. Being the twenty-first century, I photographed it so I could try it myself. It is simple and was a success. I therefore share it here (in a slightly tweaked version to make it as easy as possible) for others, and to make it easier for me to read in future.

Ingredients:

• 70g (3oz) butter
• 4 bananas chopped into chunks
• 200g (8oz) (dark) brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• pinch of salt
• 140g (6oz) plain flour

1. Heat the oven to 160c/325f/GM3 and grease a loaf tin.
2. Put each ingredient in order listed above into a food processor, and whizz after each one is added. (Or mix them together in order in a bowl, making sure the bananas are well mashed up.)
3. After the flour has been added and whizzed, pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for an hour, or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Lichfield Cathedral's Choral Foundation: broadcasting to the nation since 1934

While I was trying to check the (fairly obscure) details of a piece of music that Lichfield Cathedral Choir has broadcast on BBC radio in the distant past, as is sometimes the way with the Internet, I serendipitously stumbled across an online archive of all the copies of the RadioTimes from 1923 to 2009 that the BBC has made available which I had not previously encountered. Having been scanned and optical character recognised (the processes whereby the computer turns a scanned image into searchable text, rather than just a picture), the data is not perfect. However, it provides a remarkable resource to explore all sorts of things.

From a broadcasting perspective, seeing how the BBC's radio stations developed from just a National and Regional service to the genre-based stations to the more recognisable Radios 1 to 5 we have today is interesting. But coupling this with the geekily written historical detail of the stations on Wikipedia and being able to see how their output changed in response to moments of historical significance is fascinating.

In the musical world, it is possible to track the career of individuals: one particular example I found was seeing a cathedral organist move from Oxbridge organ scholar to organist of one of the country's more notable cathedrals via various other abbeys and cathedrals through their appearances on broadcast choral evensongs. Alongside this, it also showed their involvement with other groups over the course of their career.

Having clarified the tiny detail for which I was originally looking, I ended up searching for 'Lichfield Cathedral', and this resulted in a whole range of programmes - on both radio and television - over the past ninety years. Because of this, I felt it was worth updating the details of broadcasts which I maintain on Lichfield Cathedral Choir's website.

Firstly, I was able to fill in a couple of blanks and add details about original broadcast times and stations to the existing list of broadcast choral evensongs. Gratifyingly, there were no additional broadcasts to add to this list (wading through past music lists 15 years ago clearly paid off), but I did remove some as the BBC's listings showed that the broadcasts were not always of the Cathedral Choir singing on them. In this list, it is interesting to see that in days gone by, the BBC seemed to install themselves in the Cathedral for a stretch at a time, as between the 1940s and 1960s there are runs of two or three weeks in a row when the service was broadcast from Lichfield, but then there are years between such runs.

Secondly, the list of other radio broadcasts was significantly fleshed out. This had not been something I had been collecting details for, but odd editions of Sunday Worship had crept into the audio archive, so I had included them. Thanks to the RadioTimes archive, I think the listing in now complete. From this, it is clear that the broadcasting of a matins-based service antedate the broadcasts of evensong (1937 as opposed to 1939), but acts of worship from Lichfield are trumped by a broadcast of an organ recital from 1934 (and a documentary style programme gloriously described as a 'microphone impression' of the Cathedral from the same year).

Thirdly, because of the amount of data involved in keeping copies of television broadcasts, these had never featured highly in the archives. However, having this information to hand, means this listing has also been completed. This list is not so extensive, and the majority of entries are from the past twenty years; nevertheless, it is nice to know there was a broadcast of Songs of Praise from Lichfield in November 1972.

Finally, the wealth of details that I discovered meant that I did not want to miss anything out, or be left confused when people offered a broadcast of choral evensong from Lichfield from the 1940s, as someone did some years ago, subsequently telling me it was an RSCM course. I have therefore created the supplementary broadcasts page which is where everything which has a musical connection broadcast from Lichfield is detailed. This includes broadcasts made by the Cathedral's chamber choir, recitals by organists visiting the Cathedral (and therefore not a part of the Foundation), the broadcasts of evensongs sung by other choirs, including an Eton Choral Course, the RSCM Festivals, and the BBC Singers directed by George Thalben Ball. The evensongs with the BBC Singers seem to be in addition to those broadcast as part of the 'standard' choral evensongs as they are on Sundays, not Tuesdays or Wednesdays: maybe there was a greater appetite for broadcast religion in the post-war years.

Overall, this is fortuitous timing as the choir's #LentQuiz which is currently running is based on recordings made of the Cathedral Choir over the past fifty years (the extent of the audio archive), and it is nice to have the records as complete as possible as the Foundation's 700th anniversary celebrations start on Easter Monday. However, there is still scope for development: ultimately, it would be nice to link all of the entries back to the RadioTimes original data so the complete records can be seen (I have necessarily cut some repeated details to save space). Also, as the OCR process is not entirely accurate, if 'Lichfield Cathedral' has not be recognised, my searches would not have found the records, so there could be some other programmes which may need adding at some point.

As with all such research, it is inevitably ongoing, there will be more to add, and there will doubtless be corrections. However, more excitingly, as this information is now available, it is my hope that we might find some of the recordings still exist and that the audio (and visual) archives can be expanded.