LOFTHOUSE, Charles Thornton (1895-1974)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 1249 Lofthouse
Held at	: Royal College of Music   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.rcm.ac.uk/library/contactus/archivesandrecords/ ›
Full title	: LOFTHOUSE, Charles Thornton (1895-1974)
Date(s)	: 1950s-1970s
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: c 4 boxes
Name of creator(s)	: Lofthouse | Charles Thornton | 1895-1974 | music educationist, conductor and harpsichordist

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Charles Thornton Lofthouse, born York, 12 Oct 1895; chorister, St Paul's Cathedral, 1904-1910; attended Royal Manchester College of Music; after World War One, studied the organ with Walter Parratt and conducting with Adrian Boult at the Royal College of Music; studied the piano with Alfred Cortot in Paris and the harpsichord with Aimee van der Wiele and Gustav Leonhardt; B Mus, 1930; D Mus, Trinity College, Dublin, 1935; accompanist to the London Bach Choir, 1921-1939; developed art of continuo playing, for which he was the first person to use a harpsichord in the Royal Albert Hall; professor at the RCM, 1922-1971; Director of Music at Westminster School, 1924-1939, and Reading University, 1939-1950; appointed examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, 1923, and acted as external examiner in music for several university institutes of education; created and conducted the University of London Music Society, 1934-1959; performed as a continuo, chamber or solo harpsichordist throughout Europe and in the USA; died London, 28 Feb 1974. Publications: Commentaries and Notes on Bach's Two- and Three-Part Inventions (London, 1956).

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers of Charles Thornton Lofthouse, 1950s-1970s, comprising correspondence and associated material relating to his role as a music examiner; research papers and related correspondence for lectures and courses, mostly relating to 17th and 18th century music and the harpsichord repertoire; research papers for his Commentaries and Notes on Bach's Two- and Three-Part Inventions (London, 1956); programmes and cuttings of recitals by Lofthouse or in which he participated; music scores annotated by Lofthouse.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English.

System of arrangement:

Unsorted.

Conditions governing access:

Usual conditions of the Library of the Royal College of Music apply. See the RCM website or contact the RCM Library for details.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Photocopying is permitted at the discretion of the Archivist for research purposes only.

Finding aids:

Uncatalogued.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Given to the RCM by Hermione Thornton Lofthouse (daughter) in 1999.

Allied Materials

Related material:

National Register of Archives: Click here to view NRA record

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Compiled by Robert Baxter as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project. Source: Article by Lionel Salter, Grove Dictionary of Music.

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
Mar 2002