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James Garratt suggested that “the Mass seemingly Elsewhere, Smyth wrote that “to squash that Mass
shakes its fist at the conventionality and isolationism and relegate it to limbo for 33 years was a triumph
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of the British choral tradition.” Certainly not much of the art of refusing to see. Will anyone point to the
changed in the British choral scene in the early twenti- masterpieces of the ’nineties that naturally put its poor
eth century, at least in terms of preferred genres. Sam- nose out of joint? Where are they today?” 26
uel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912), whose choral works Smyth describes the lead-up to the eventual second
cemented his fame, set nothing in Latin, and the same performance thus:
is true for Frederick Delius (1862–1934), whose Mass of
Life is based on Nietzsche and whose Requiem uses a In the middle ’twenties, my pre-war musical
text by Heinrich Simon. Vaughan Williams’s Mass from activities having been staged mainly in Ger-
1921 is unaccompanied, while that by Charles Wood many, I bethought me … of the Mass, which
uses only organ accompaniment. Holst, Vaughan Wil- had never achieved a second performance,
liams, and Wood set a few additional unaccompanied which none but grey-beards had heard, and
Latin texts, but Latin was not the focus of their choral the existence of which I had practically forgot-
efforts. Only the prolific Stanford wrote a choral/or- ten. A couple of limp and dusty piano-scores
chestral Mass in this period, the Mass Via Victrix Op. were found on an upper shelf, and after agi-
173, as well as three unaccompanied masses and an tated further searchings and vain enquiries at
unaccompanied Magnificat. Messrs. Novello’s, the full score turned up in
Accordingly, Smyth’s initial attempts to secure a sec- my loft. In spite of the judgment of the Facul-
ond performance were failures. Despite claiming to be ty the work had evidently been appreciated by
“mad keen” about the Mass, choral societies “all had the mice, and on sitting down to examine it I
commitments which prevented a date being fixed for its shared their opinion, and decided that it real-
performance.” A friend of Smyth’s was told that “at ly deserved a better fate than thirty-one years
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Amsterdam the Committee of the Choral Union were of suspended animation. But when I consulted
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afraid of the effect of producing a woman’s work.” the publishers as to the possibility of a revival,
Smyth later wrote about this period: the reply was: ‘Much as we regret to say so, we
fear your Mass is dead.’ This verdict stung me
I think the slaying of the Mass … not only into activity. 27
distressed but honestly surprised Barnby [the
conductor]. Yet gazing back … I see that noth- Thanks to Smyth’s efforts, Adrian Boult conducted
ing else could have been expected. Year in year performances in Birmingham (February 7, 1924) and
out, composers of the Inner Circle, generally London shortly thereafter (March 3).
University men attached to our musical insti- A century later, performances are finally increas-
tutions, produced one choral work after an- ing. Recent performances of the Mass have taken
28
other—not infrequently deadly dull affairs— place across Britain and in the United States, Germany,
which, helped along by the impetus of official Austria, the Netherlands, and Sweden, sung by a very
approval, automatically went the round of our wide range of choruses, including symphony chorus
Festivals and Choral Societies, having paid the (BBC Symphony Chorus), professional choir (Voices
publisher’s expenses and brought in something of the Ascension), cathedral choir (Cathedral Choral
for the composers before they disappeared for Society, Washington National Cathedral), town/gown
ever. Was it likely, then, that the Faculty would chorus (Eastman-Rochester Chorus), and community
see any merit in a work written on such dif- chorus (Cappella Clausura). Still, Smyth’s contribu-
ferent lines—written too by a woman who tions as a choral composer continue to be overlooked
had actually gone off to Germany to learn her in places where they might be expected. She is missing
trade? from Chester Alwes’s two-volume A History of Western
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Choral Music (2016); she is absent from Stephen Town’s

CHORAL JOURNAL August 2025 Volume 66 Number 1 13