The Dolmetsch name is strongly associated with Haslemere and we were intrigued by the title of a concert that is coming up as part of Haslemere Festival’s Dolmetsch Centenary Weekend: Sunrise and Meditations: Music for Carl Dolmetsch and Joseph Saxby with Chris Orton (recorder) and Slava Sidorenko (piano).

This concert will explore the music and connections between pieces written for Dr. Carl Dolmetsch and Joseph Saxby for a series of concerts the duo gave at Wigmore Hall that began in 1939. The musical partnership between Carl Dolmetsch and Joseph Saxby lasted 60 years.

So much has been written about the Dolmetsch Family and Tom Service of BBC Radio 3’s Listening Service described dolmetsch.com  as “one of the most complete musical websites around, a truly amazing resource.” 

This is an extract from Joseph Saxby’s obituary in The Independent in 1997:

The world of early music has been dealt a double blow with the deaths of Joseph Saxby and Carl Dolmetsch within just over two weeks. Saxby had been principal harpsichordist at the Haslemere Festival for 60 years and a partner to Carl Dolmetsch in duo recitals which took them all over the world.

Saxby was born in London in 1910, the son of the celebrated Russian violinist Michael Zacharewitsch, who, at the age of 12, had played the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the composer conducting. His mother was Joan Saxby, an American, and it was her name that he adopted in order to avoid confusion with his father.

He first appeared on the concert platform as his father’s accompanist when he was still in his teens and entered the Royal College of Music in 1927 under Hubert Fryer for piano and composition as his second study. He went on to achieve considerable success as a soloist and accompanist and played for the famous Irish tenor John McCormack on his farewell tour. It was in 1932 at the Oxford Playhouse that Saxby first met Carl Dolmetsch and his sister Nathalie when they formed a baroque trio to provide incidental music for a Shakespeare production. The experience inspired Saxby to turn to the harpsichord and he subsequently studied with Arnold Dolmetsch, Carl’s father and founder of the Haslemere Festival. This was the beginning of a friendship and musical partnership which was to last for over 60 years. “The Dolmetschs are my family,” he said. Dolmetsch and Saxby undertook 49 international tours and gave 42 Wigmore Hall recitals. Saxby first appeared at the Haslemere Festival in 1938 playing the Bach Brandenburg Concerto No 5 and appeared in every subsequent concert until he retired at the age of 80. 

Saxby moved to Haslemere after the Second World War and soon became an established local figure. He entered into the life of the town with enthusiasm, playing the piano accompaniment at the annual pantomime, put on by the local amateur dramatic society: he was also available for any charitable cause, which he undertook as if it were an important professional engagement. He was, admittedly, a showman, but always in the best of taste. Each year at the Haslemere Festival, after having played an intricate solo suite with great virtuosity, he would rise, bow, and, with an impish smile, give a sweeping gesture as if to say, “It was nothing.” 

Saxby was not only a fine musician but a charming, ebullient and lovable man with a wicked twinkle in his eye which captivated all who knew him. His puns were legendary and his sense of humour equally so, but not always complimentary. A story is told about a time when he was chatting to friends in the street and an ambulance screamed past. In a flash, Saxby remarked: “It reminds me of a soprano I once accompanied.”

Richard Noble Former editor of The Consort wrote:

"Carl will be especially remembered for the warmth of his personality whenever he stood before an audience. He delighted to come forward when performing a perhaps unfamiliar piece in a concert to add some additional information that had been inadvertently omitted from the printed program notes. On the rare occasion when something went wrong, he would immediately share a spontaneous joke with his listeners before starting again and had a rare ability to make his audiences feel part of the show. Joseph will always be remembered as an ebullient, convivial, extrovert punster, a wonderful foil to Dr. Carl, with whom he enjoyed 60 rich years of music."

And, when Haslemere Festival posted about The Dolmetsch Centenary Festival they received a message:

"How wonderful to see the photograph of Joseph Saxby playing piano, I worked at Redcot years ago where he was a resident, a lovely man, so talented." 

It made us wonder if other Haslemere residents could share their memories of Joseph Saxby. There is a Facebook group called Haslemere Past Photos so one of our volunteers posed the question:

With Haslemere Festival on my mind and particularly The Dolmetsch Centenary Festival next weekend, I've been reading in the archives about The Dolmetsch Family and Joseph Saxby who accompanied Carl Dolmetsch for decades. They were lifelong friends. I am interested to know if any of you in this group could share any memories of Joseph Saxby, for example, from his many times accompanying The Haslemere Pantomine or as organist at Our Lady of Lourdes. If there are interesting replies, they may possibly be included in a new article about this musical partnership. <i.e., for This is Haslemere>.

At the time of writing, we have had two public replies! The first:

I was organist at the Parish Church (St Bartholomew's) and knew Jo <Joseph Saxby> very well. I was asked to accompany some of the choral concerts in the church, conducted by Dr. Chalmers Burns. I also used to take part in the pantomimes where Geraldine Rugman played one of the pianos, and Jo the other. She played her part "straight" - as written; Jo played around with his part outrageously, often with hilarious results. There was also a drum kit in use. Andrew Millinger

And the second reply:

Joseph played the organ at my wedding at Our Lady of Lourdes on 3 April 1971. My wife makes sure I remember the date. I am afraid I don't much remember the day, probably like most grooms!  Brian Blood

And this second reply made us sit up and take notice as Brian Blood’s wife is the daughter of Carl Dolmetsch, Marguerite, and Mr Blood will be participating in a Talk and Q&A at Haslemere Festival’s Dolmetsch Centenary Weekend with his wife and Philip Thorby! We suspect he will tell us a lot more. Brian Blood and Marguerite Dolmetsch were interviewed by Michael Portillo in one of his Great British Railway Journeys. View here, 13 minutes in.

It is wonderful for this duo to be remembered in music and words at The Dolmetsch Centenary Weekend. To find out more and/or take part in recorder workshops and/or hear top recorder recitals, visit the Haslemere Festival website here.