A brief history of music at Tillington

How it began
When Susan and Walter Evershed first invited young people to make music at Tillington Old Rectory in September 1961 they simply wanted to share their family's enjoyment of music with others. 26 young people, including their three older children, met for a musical weekend under the direction of Walter and a family friend. 14 played instruments, the rest were singers. The first programme was a mixed bag of such delights as Waltzing Matilda, arranged by Wood, and the Mozart Ave Verum, with Bizet and Handel in between. This was the first of a series of long week-ends that became known as "Music Weekend" and continued until 1973.

How it grew
In 1963 and 1964, two of the young Music Weekenders took over from the original directors. These two, now professional musicians themselves, continued conducting until 1967. The programmes became increasingly ambitious and the concerts more polished. In 1967, instead of using Tillington Village Hall, with a tolerant audience of friends and parents, we joined the Flower Festival at Rogate Church. We gave a short concert of sacred music after Choral Evensong on Saturday. On the Sunday we presented a similar programme at Coldwaltham Church, in aid of the Sussex Churches Campaign with which Walter was closely involved.

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The end of an era
1968 was unusual in that there was no Music Weekend. By this stage most of the original participants were at universities and colleges and it was less easy to find a time to meet. The 1969 MWE was held in February, culminating in a Concert of Music for Voices and Instruments in St Mary's Church, Petworth. Walter died in August 1969 so there was no summer music week-end. But 1970 was unique in that there were two gatherings. First came an Easter concert in memory of Walter, which included both orchestral and choral music of a good standard, many players and singers by now being embarked on careers in music.

The second phase
Then in July 1970 the "second generation" of MWEs began, aimed at Susan and Walter's youngest daughter's age group, with John Lubbock conducting. This new group of players and singers were more generally talented than the first group had been at the start and included many who were to become professional musicians. They met for four summers, always at the end of July, retaining the mixture of orchestral and choral music. Perhaps the most noteworthy programme was the one that included Britten's St Nicolas Cantata, in 1972, which was also the largest of all the gatherings at Tillington.

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The setting
Music was of course very important, but much of the enjoyment of MWEs for those who took part was in the setting at Tillington and the activities that took place around rehearsals. Apart from the music in the programme, the house was alive most of the day and night with groups playing and singing together for the love of it or engaged in the various duties that catering for a large house party involved. Those who needed a rest from music-making could walk, sail, ride or play tennis, as well as talk late into the night. There was usually an end of week-end party of some kind, which often involved dancing, on the lawn if weather permitted, or in the Village Hall. Nobody went home at the end of a music week-end without a sense of loss or some degree of exhaustion!

The book
A now-fragile and much-thumbed book records the years with the names of all participants, the programmes, photographs, letters of thanks and other tributes. In the book there's a cutting from a Radio Times article by Victor Gollancz about the Proms. He said:

"The music, the people, the performers, the conductor, oneself - we were all merged in a sort of perfection of living: I would even dare to say that we all loved one another. And what a joy it has been, night after night, suddenly to find oneself young again, if only by a kind of adoption! They are heaven, these young people, with their honesty, their spontaneity, their eagerness, what I can only call, in the spiritual sense, their courtesy and grace.

I had the idea, when I got home one evening, that if only you could get the young people of all nationalities to stand together and listen to music in all the capitals of the world, war would become impossible."

Above the cutting, Walter wrote: "The following newspaper cutting has nothing whatsoever to do with the Tillington music week-end or with any of the people taking part"

The MWE 2001 celebration
Although Susan and Walter's oldest son died in 1992, the rest of the family hoped to recapture something of that youthful spirit as a tribute to them, and in remembrance of many happy MWEs.
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