Gordon Cleather The Timpani
G. Gordon Cleather presented two lectures to the Royal College of Organists in 1908 which are now titled "The Timpani". The titles are "The Timpani: With Special Reference to Their Use with the Organ”, along with “Music in Rhythm-As Exemplified by the Timpani”. This package contains both lectures.
These two lectures serve as "little time machines into the performance practices of timpanists at the turn of the 20th Century." Cleather stated at the outset that his topics would include the "rhythmical [sic.] side of the instrument, the artistic side, the construction, and the need to establish a recognized school and standard of Timpani-playing". "Music in Rhythm…" and was delivered from "a player's standpoint" rather than from a purely scientific or historical perspective.
The personal stories shared with his audience make these lectures come alive as valuable insights into early 20th-century timpani performance practices. For example, Cleather relates a "timpani lesson" involving George Smart and Haydn during the famous "drumming" incident, describing how "The early practice was to hit the drum near the center of the skin" but "Haydn demonstrated the proper method of hitting the skin closer to the rim to George Smart during a concert Haydn conducted at Hanover Square in 1794."
These two lectures are considered important historical documents that capture timpani performance practices and pedagogical thinking from the early 1900s. They represent an attempt to systematize and standardize timpani instruction at a time when the instrument was still developing its modern identity in the orchestra.
The work is particularly valuable for understanding the transition period in timpani playing technique and the evolving standards of performance practice during the early 20th century.
