During the first weekend in November the Canonbury Masonic Research Centre held its fifth international conference which drew speakers and delegates from the UK, Germany, Holland, Italy, Hungary, Romania, and the USA. Delegates heard twelve presentations on the theme of ‘Freemasonry in Music and Literature’, and were treated to a series of highly enjoyable musical recitals.
    The proceedings commenced with a paper by Andrew Pink, who is based at the Music Department of Goldsmith’s College, London University. Speaking on the theme of ‘Eighteenth-century English Masonic Song Repertoire’, he emphasised how the study of the seven liberal arts, including music, helped to provide an intellectual basis for modern Freemasonry, and how songs in particular, were used to promote metaphorical notions of social cohesion and harmony. Dr. Edward Batley followed this with a fascinating presentation on the great German writer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Dr. Batley, an Emeritus Reader in German from the University of London, explained how Goethe had been initiated on 23 June 1780 into the Amalia Lodge in Weimar, and how, for half a century, he continued to have a relationship with the ‘high’ degree systems of eighteenth-century Freemasonry as well as the quasi-masonic Order of the Illuminati. Dr. Batley also highlighted some of the obvious masonic components in his works.
    The next speaker was Diane Clements, the Director of the Library and Museum of Freemasonry at Freemasons’ Hall, London, who spoke on the nineteenth-century musician and conductor, Sir Michael Costa. Mrs Clements explained how Costa arrived in London from Naples in the early 1820s and rapidly rose to prominence as a successful conductor. He became a Freemason, was Grand Organist from 1851-4, joined the Supreme Council in 1869, and composed the grand march which was played at the installation of the Prince of Wales as Grand Master in 1874.
    Following lunch, delegates were treated to a rousing rendition of several masonic songs performed by the Sheffield and District Masonic Choir led by John Wade.
    Professor Andrew Prescott of the Centre for Research into Freemasonry at Sheffield University then looked at the Old Charges as a neglected literary genre and stressed how evidence concerning masons’ guilds in the medieval world is similar to that concerning other guilds. Focusing on the two oldest known masonic charges––the Regius and Cooke manuscripts of circa 1390 and 1410 – he showed how these rare documents can be compared to other medieval productions of this type in the light of the laws passed by Henry VI intending to regulate craft assemblies.
    The day was then rounded off with a presentation entitled ‘Freemasonry in the work of Sir Walter Scott’, ably delivered by the Curator of the Library and Museum of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, Robert Cooper. He drew attention to the fact that few of Scott’s biographers mention his masonic membership before expounding on the various masonic themes that appear in Scott’s many literary offerings.
    Day two began with a paper on eighteenth-century masonic songs, marches and cantatas in the Netherlands and elsewhere delivered by Dr. Malcolm Davies of The Cecilia International Music School, Holland. He explained how musicians joined lodges for a variety of reasons ranging from idealism to self-advancement as many were itinerant and frequently found themselves in foreign lands. Dr. Davies also showed how the lyrics of many masonic songs reflect Freemasonry’s role in the vanguard of social change in the Enlightenment, and how some were even revolutionary. This tone-setting presentation was followed by Dr. Marie Mulvey-Roberts, who presented a study of the narratives that can be found in the artwork of William Hogarth. Currently based at the University of the West of England in Bristol, Dr. Mulvey-Roberts gave an intriguing and thought-provoking talk on the art of this celebrated artist and mason. By showing a number of Hogarth’s works including his famous picture Night the audience were invited to observe the various masonic references secreted in his paintings.
    Next to speak was the pioneering historian of Freemasonry, Emeritus Professor David Stevenson, who produced two milestone studies on early-modern Scottish Freemasonry in the late 1980s. Presenting a well-researched study entitled, ‘Why was James Boswell a Freemason? An old question revisited’, Professor Stevenson examined the references to Freemasonry in Boswell’s diary and autobiographical writings. He concluded that although Boswell served as Master of his lodge, his membership has been played down by masonic historians, who evidently found his rather rakish and licentious private life difficult to reconcile with the moral obligations of being a mason. Indeed, Stevenson noted that some Freemasons even refused to accept that Boswell had ever been a member of the craft despite the fact that he served as Deputy Grand Master of Scotland from 1776-78.
    After lunch Dr. Andreas Onnerfors from the Swedish University of Lund gave an enlightening talk on ‘Masonic songbooks and the relationship between musical texts and ideology’. He outlined the multifaceted nature of eighteenth-century masonic songs. Some were part of the revelation, some intimated Freemasonry’s pure intentions, while others contained a form of poetry that spread across Europe during the Enlightenment, a form heavily impregnated with the ideals of morality, virtue, and brotherhood.
    Last to speak was Dr. Clare Nelson, the Head of Research and Teaching Development at the Trinity College of Music, London. Part talk and part performance, Dr. Nelson lucidly navigated eighteenth-century works of masonic relevance by composers such as Francesco Geminiani, the 6th Earl of Kellie, Samuel Wesley, and James Oswald. Dr. Nelson then played extracts or whole pieces by these composers on violin, and was accompanied by a colleague on piano. One haunting piece by the Scottish Jacobite mason, James Oswald, was written to mimic a lone piper, and was deliberately composed so as to evoke the highs and lows of a dramatic highland battle. It was the perfect way to end a thoroughly rewarding conference.