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J.B.Dalby FRCO

Started by chris13, March 01, 2017, 12:08:01 PM

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chris13

A few years ago I purchased two miniature scores of Beethoven's symphonies, one of symphony nos 7 and one of nos 9 from a secondhand book shop in north Lancashire. The hardback copy of the 9th symphony had been given as a school prize in 1935 to J.B Dalby.

Yesterday evening some friends of ours visited and we started to discuss a performance of the Ode to Joy broadcast during the opening concert of the Elbphilharmonie and so I opened the copy of the score. To my delight our friend said that her mother had known a Mrs Dalby (possibly the wife of J B Dalby) when she lived close to the secondhand bookshop.

This morning I have started to search for any details of J B Dalby on the internet and found one of his publications whilst he was organiser of music for the city of Aberdeen Education Authority. I know this is the same J B Dalby because inside one of the scores I found a subscription concert programme for 1960-61 season at the Music Hall Aberdeen. I also know that by 1966 he had achieved a BMus and FRCO.

I would very much like to know how these scores migrated to north Lancashire and wonder if anybody on this forum could help. Our friend said last night that they thought he became Professor Dalby which implies he took a post in the music department at Lancaster University and this is something I could fairly easily explore. However any other information in the meantime would be most helpful.

Thank you
Chris

David Drinkell

The Scottish composer, Martin Dalby, is an Aberdonian - I think maybe son of JB.  Bio here:

http://www.impulse-music.co.uk/martindalby/biography/

I used to meet Martin during my Kirkwall days at the St. Magnus Festival.

chris13

Thank you David for your reply.

Yes I have confirmed that Martin Dalby was the son.

J.B Dalby came from Silverdale in north Lancashire and finally retired there, thus explaining how the score ended up in a Carnforth secondhand bookshop. JR was organist at St Machars Cathedral (hope I have spelled it correctly) between 1938-54.

He did not teach at Lancaster University as I had hypothesised.

David Drinkell

I had often wondered about the surname Dalby - Martin himself is as Scots as you can get, but the surname is North of England.

Yes, now you come to mention it, Martin's father was at St. Machar's for a long time.  It's a fine building - the nave and west towers of what was there pre-Reformation - and has a rather splendid Father Willis, tastefully enlarged by Mander.

chris13

It appears that Silverdale was not the birthplace of J.B Dalby as stated in the St Machar's website. Another website gives Shipley in Yorkshire as his birthplace along with the fact that he attended Salt's School which is probably in nearby Saltaire. He retired to Silverdale. His dates I believe are 1910-1987.

The Beethoven score turns out not to be a school prize but the Harding Prize awarded by the Royal College of Organists. Although the front covers contains a slip of paper saying that it is the Harding prize in the hand of John Dalby it always bothered me why there wasn't an official certificate giving details of where the prize came from and I made the wrong assumption it came from a school.

chris13

Turned on the telly this evening and caught the end of Songs of Praise. The last hymn was from St Machar's and there were some scenes of the organist at the console.