The Agency of Music in Industrial Society: A Comparative Study of the Royal Manchester Institution, Manchester Athenaeum and Manchester Mechanics’ Institution, 1834-1860

Abstract

Abstract Three institutions dedicated to education, rational recreation and moral improvement existed concurrently in early Victorian Manchester: the Royal Manchester Institution, the Manchester Mechanics’ Institution and the Manchester Athenaeum. Their archives reveal the prominent place of music within each institution’s programmes, in the form of lectures, classes and concerts, yet so far the significance of such music has been overlooked. Alarmed by civil unrest and radical activism, the industrial elite of Manchester – frequently described as the world’s first industrial city – hoped to shape the ‘lower orders’ to align with existing societal ideals. Music, through the institutions, was frequently employed as an agent of ideology and social control. But the intent behind the institutions’ musical programming did not always reflect how the music was used or received in practice. This article asks what the institutions aimed to achieve and how music acted in ways not always envisaged by the organizing committees. It critiques existing literature that views these institutions as primarily a means of social control, arguing that such an approach risks diminishing the experiences of those involved and obscuring more nuanced reasons for the promotion of and engagement with music. Exploring the activities and musical participation of protagonists within these institutions and in their wider lives affords new understanding of the agency of music in industrial society.