CALLAWAY CENTRE ARCHIVE

Finding Aid for the Papers of Hugh McMahon

  • SUMMARY
  • SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
  • BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
  • SERIES LIST
  • SERIES DESCRIPTION AND BOX LIST

SUMMARY

Creator: / Hugh Gregory McMahon
Title: / The Papers of Hugh McMahon
DateRange: / 1897 - 2005
Extent: / 10 archival boxes; 1 Lever Arch file; 4 sound recording CDs; 8 3 ½” floppy discs
Provenance/Original Order: / The Papers were secured by Sir Charles Court who performed under McMahon’s baton and advocated his historical significance.
The order of items within the Series is alphabetical and has been imposed by the Archive.
Status: / Partially processed

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Papers consists of McMahon’s handwritten arrangements, published scores, and a file of related documents. It also includes digitalcopies of selections of McMahon’s arrangements, either as Sibelius files on 3 ½” floppy discs, midi files of recordings on CD, or hard-copy printouts (score plus parts). The digital files were produced (ca 1998-2005) by John Bentley, Music Librarian to the City of Perth Band.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Hugh Gregory McMahon (4 May 1870 –30 June 1944) was one of Australia’s most significant contributors to band music culture in the period 1897 to 1944. Labelled by renowned British adjudicator James Ord Hume as the ‘Emperor of the Cornet’, McMahon was a fine musician with a virtuosic technique. McMahon was born into a mining family in Araluen, New South Wales and took up the cornet at the age of 17. He held the position of Bandmaster with the Hillgrove Brass Band in New South Wales winning prestigious national competitions such as the Championship of Australasia in Bathurst in 1899. He moved to Western Australia in 1910, where he directed the Perth City Band and the Boulder City Band.

His arrangements of 19th century opera favourites and compositions were well received by British immigrants who were adjusting to their new homeland in the Australian goldfields.

SERIES LIST

  1. Handwritten music
  2. Published music
  3. Digital copies
  4. Biographical documents

SERIES DESCRIPTION

SERIES 1: Handwritten music

Handwritten music including original compositions and arrangements by McMahon, dating circa 1930.

BOX 1

Title / Composer/Arranger / Basic Arrangement / No. of pages
All Aboard for DixieLand / McMahon / Cornet / 3
Annie Laurie / /McMahon / Violin, Bass / 2
Attila / Verdi/possibly McMahon / Score / 39
Boheme, La / Puccini/McMahon / Parts / 37
Boronia / /McMahon / Piano score / 1
Cavatina de Cornet / unknown / Piano score / 2
Cavalleria Rusticana No 1 / Verdi/McMahon / Score and 2 parts / 44
Cavalleria Rusticana No 2 / Verdi/ McMahon / Score / 39
Challenge, The / Score / 7
Day in Ireland, A / Bulch / Baritone part / 1
Endearing Charms / /McMahon / Cornet and piano part / 1
Ever of Thee and Alas! Those Chimes / /McMahon / Cornet / 1
Fantasia / Hughes/McMahon / Score / 16
Georgia March / McMahon / Parts / 20
Golandrina, La / /McMahon / Part / 1

BOX 2

Title / Composer/Arranger / Basic Arrangement / No. of pages
Gladiators Farewell March / Parts / 21
Has Sorrow thy Young Days Shaded / /McMahon / Piano part / 1
Home Guard March, The
Irish Gems March / /McMahon / Parts / 19
John Brown / /McMahon / Score / 1
Left Wheel / /McMahon / Piano score / 1
Lost Chord, The / Sullivan/McMahon / Score and parts / 21
Manon Lescaut / Puccini/McMahon / Parts / 20
Manon Lescaut / Puccini/McMahon / Score / 33
March No.1 / McMahon / Parts / 5
March No. 2 / McMahon / Parts / 4
March No. 3 / /McMahon / Parts / 3
March No. 4 / McMahon / Parts / 4
March No. 5 / McMahon / Parts / 4
March No. 6 / McMahon / Parts / 3
March No. 7 / McMahon / Parts / 4
March No. 8 / McMahon / Parts / 4
March No. 9 / McMahon / Parts / 8
Mary / /McMahon / Part / 1
My Hero / Strauss/McMahon / Part / 7
Note Value / McMahon / Part / 4

BOX 3

Title / Composer/Arranger / Basic Arrangement / No. of pages
Otello / Verdi/McMahon / Parts / 95
Paloma, La / /McMahon / Score / 2
Pedestrians, The /Joyces / /Allan / Part / 1
Pick Pick on the Mandolin / /McMahon / Piano part / 1
Polka / /McMahon / Part only / 1
Remembrance / /McMahon / Score / 4
Rose of Tralee / /McMahon / Part only / 2
Rule Brittania and Pretty Jane / /McMahon / Part / 4
Sally Horner / /McMahon / Score only / 2
School Days March / /McMahon / Score/draft / 2
Songs we Love / Arr. McMahon / Score only / 40

BOX 4

Title / Composer/Arranger / Basic Arrangement / No. of pages
Spirit of Triumph, The / /McMahon / Parts / 21
Tancredi / Rossini/McMahon / Soprano in e flat / 3
There in a Flower / /McMahon / Parts / 2
Tone Poem, A / Allison / Parts / 6
Travatore, Il / Verdi/McMahon / Parts / 38
Tosca / Puccini/McMahon / Score / 33
Valse ‘Syringa’ / Compiled and arranged by McMahon / Score / 19
WA Scouts Parade March / Njlander/McMahon / Score / 21
Weep Step / /McMahon / Score / 1
Waltz / /McMahon / Score / 1
When you and I were Young Maggie / /McMahon / Parts / 2
William Tell / Rossini/Swift / Score / 43

BOX 5

Title / Composer/Arranger / Basic Arrangement / No. of pages
Celebrated Songs / /McMahon / Parts / 65
Dreams on the Ocean / Gungl / Score / 32
Songs of Fame / McMahon / Parts / 43
Southern Alps / /McMahon / Parts / 43
Southern Alps / /McMahon / Score – incomplete / 34
Trills Polka / /McMahon / parts

Note: Box 5 is a later addition to the collection. At the request of the family these manuscripts have been kept separate.

SERIES 2: Published music

Collection of published music belonging to McMahon, some including handwritten parts for instruments.

BOX 6

Title / Arranger /Composer / Arrangement
Absent Song / J. Metcalf / Parts/song
All Aboard for DixieLand One Step / G. Cobb/Higgs / Piano
Ash Grove, The / H. Round / Soprano or horn
Ave Maria / Gounod / Voice/piano
Bandolero / L. Stuart / Voice, piano
Because Song / G. d’Hardelot / Voice/piano
Bedouin Love Song / C. Pinsuti / Voice/piano
Blow, Blow, thou Winter Wind / J. Sargeant / Voice/piano
British Empire, The / Band journal
Buy a Broom / H. Round / Horn/soprano
Clarion March / H Ellis / Banjo
Coloured Major, The / J. Neat / Banjo/piano
Commonwealth of Australia National Anthem, The / L. Sayers
Coonland Memories / J. Pidoux / Banjo/piano
Coontown Review / R. Jennings / Piano
Daddy You’ve been a Mother to me / F. Fisher / Strings, woodwind, brass
DallasModernSchool / H. J. Ellis / Banjo
Darkey’s Delight / J. Pidoux / Banjo/piano
Darkey’s Romance, A / E. Grimshaw / Banjo/piano
Darkey’s Wedding, The / P. Eno / Banjo/piano
Dream Song / E. Grimshaw
Dream of Home, The / L. Arditi / Voice/piano
Duet by Mozart / - / Violin only
Dusky Belle, A / E. Grimshaw / Bano/piano
Fantasia on Donizetti’s Opera / T. Oesten / Piano
Fantasia on Verdi’s Luisa Miller / T. Oesten / Piano
Five Starred Flag, The / F. Murchison / Piano/voice
For Good Old England / R. Turner / Piano/voice
Hand in Hand / Egan & Whiting / Strings, woodwind, brass
The Hardy Norseman / H. Round / Soprano/horn
Grand March Bonnie Scotland / H. Kennedy / Banjo/piano
Hear you Calling me / C. Marshall / Voice/violin/piano
If with all your Hearts / F. Mendelssohn / Trombone/piano
In the City of Sighs and Tears / K. Mills / Piano/voice
Kentucky Memories / E. Grimshaw / Banjo/piano
Lady of Beauty / H. Griffin / Trombone/piano
Lancashire Clogs / E. Grimshaw
Last Watch, The / F. Weatherly / Voice/piano
Life’s Epitome / K. Rae / Voice/piano
Little Nell / J. Hartman / Cornet/piano
Love me, and the World is Mine / E. Ball / Piano
March Hongroise / Kowalski / Piano

BOX 7

Title / Arranger /Composer / Arrangement
Marguerite / C. A. White
Maying / A. Smith
Meditation / Bach/Gounod / Violin/piano
Medley Overture / Ferrazzi / Cornet
Men of Harlech, The / H. Round / Cornet/piano/trombone
My Old Kentucky Home / J. Hartman / Cornet/piano
My Sahara Rose / W. Donaldson / Strings, woodwind brass
National Emblem March / E.E. Bagley / Piano
National Rag, The / L. Lou
Oh! Oh! Hear the Wild Wind Blow / T. Mattei
On the Banks of Allan Water / J. Hartman / Cornet/piano
Our Journal / C. Trussell / Cornet, horn, trombone
Out on the Rocks / M. Sainton Dolby / Voice/piano
Perfect Day, A / C. J. Bond / Piano/voice/cornet/bass
Picador,The / J.P. Sousa / Violin, trombone, bass
Pilgrims March / S. Clark / Piano
Pirouette pas seul / H. Finch / Piano and parts
Poliuto / Donizetti/Swift / Brass band score
Pretty Jane / J. Hartman / Voice/piano
Processional March / S. Clark
Remember me no More / C. Stephano / Piano
Saxophone Waltz Song / B. Sisk
Secrets / C. Ancliffe
Siren’s Song / A. Lindahl / Piano
Semper Fidelis / M. Sousa / Cornet, piano, violin
Skipping Rope Dance / H. Ellis / Banjo
Spanish Romance, A / E Grimshaw
Song of the Toreador / Bizet / Voice/piano
Sweethearts Waltz / A. Sullivan / Piano
Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes / A Sullivan / Voice/piano/parts
That Tumble-down Shack in Athlone / M. Carlo & A. Saunders / Strings, woodwind, brass
Thora / F. Weatherly / Voice/piano
Tired / J. Worthington / Voice/piano
Tis I / C. Pinsuti / Voice/piano
Tis the Day / R. Leoncavallo / Voice/piano
Until Song / W. Sanderson / Voice/piano
Violin Solo’s / Carl Viotti
Waltzing / J. Gil????
War Hymn ‘Fearing! Oh God’ / Dr. J. Summers
When the Ebb-Tide Flows / S. Gordon
Who Got the Cherries from Georges Cherry Tree / F. Gillies / Piano, drums
You don’t need the Wine to Have a Wonderful Time / H. Rogers and H Akst / Piano score only
You’re a Million Miles from Nowhere / W. Donaldson / Strings, woodwind, brass

SERIES 3: Digital copies

Digital copies of selected arrangements by McMahon, either as Sibelius files on 3 ½” floppy discs, midi files of recordings on CD, or hard-copy printouts (score plus parts). The digital files were produced (ca 1998-2005) by John Bentley, Music Librarian to the City of Perth Band.

Box 8 – Digital arrangements

Name of work / Composer/Arranger / Score/parts / CD availability
Attila / Verdi/unknown / Yes / yes
Boheme, La / Puccini/McMahon / yes / yes
Cavalleria Rusticana, No 1 / Mascagni/McMahon / yes / yes
Cavalleria Rusticana No. 2 / Mascagni/McMahon / yes / yes
Challenge, The / Calvart/unknown / yes / yes
Celebrated Songs / Unknown/McMahon / yes / yes

Box 9 – Digital arrangements for brass band

Name of work / Composer/Arranger / Score/parts / CD availability
Dreams on the Ocean / Gung’l / Yes / yes
Georgia March / /McMahon / Yes / yes
Gladiators Farewell March, The / Blankenburg/McMahon / Yes / yes
Irish Gems / /McMahon / Yes / yes
Little Ondonta, A / Allison / Yes / no
Mahon Lescaut / Puccini/McMahon / Yes / yes
Otella / Verdi/McMahon / Yes / yes
Songs of Fame / /McMahon / Yes / yes

Box 10 – Digital arrangements for brass band

Title / Composer/Arranger / Score/parts / CD availability
Songs we love / /McMahon / Yes / yes
Spirit of Triumph / /McMahon / Yes / yes
Tosca / Puccini / Yes / yes
Trills, The / McMahon / Yes / yes
Trovatore, Il / Verdi/McMahon / Yes / yes
Valse ‘Syringa’ / Taylor/Hume / Yes / no
William Tell / Rossini/Swift / Yes / yes

SERIES 4: Biographical documents

  • ‘The McMahon’s: An Overview’
  • ‘The Legends in Brass’
  • ‘Music in the Goldfields’
  • ‘Extract from Sir Charles Court’s Book’
  • ‘Program from HillgroveHospital, 1897’
  • ‘Adjudicator’s report’
  • ‘Newspaper articles/reviews’
  • ‘Photographs’
  • Related historical sites
  • Personal details (birth certificates etc)
  • ‘Boulder Wins at Ballarat’, 1904-1905 Jean Farrant
  • Receipts published in the papers c. 1882
  • Copy of envelope to Peter Webster
  • Handwritten chronology of McMahon’s life
  • Hill End brochure
  • Photocopied photographs from Kalgoorlie Boulder
  • ‘Back to the Goldfields: Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie 1892-1940’, A.N. Bingley
  • Notes from the Boulder Town Hall Opening 1908 (photocopied)
  • ‘Golden Footsteps: A Promotional Interactive Walk’
  • Photocopied newspaper articles re McMahon’s 64th birthday

1

Finding Aid prepared by Amelia Peachment (2005); revisions 23 July 2009, and 7 January 2010