Vincent Novello
Until it was destroyed by enemy action in 1940 there was a stained glass window in memory of musician Vincent Novello in St Andrew's chapel in Westminster Abbey. This was put up in 1863 and showed a figure of St Cecilia. The glass was by Lavers & Barraud. The inscription read:
In Memory Vincent Novello
He was born on 6th September 1781 in London, a son of Italian Giuseppe Novello, who had emigrated to England in 1771, and Joan (Wins). His elder brother was Francis. He was a choir boy at the Sardinian embassy and also an organist at the Catholic chapel of the Portuguese embassy in London. In 1811 he published "Collection of Sacred Music as performed at the Royal Portuguese church in London " and other collections followed. He was a founder member of the Philharmonic Society. In 1808 he married Mary Hehl and had 11 children. Son Joseph Alfred Novello succeeded his father in the Novello publishing house, daughter Clara was a noted opera singer and Mary Victoria was a writer. Wife Mary died of cholera in 1854 after they had moved to Nice in France, and Vincent died there on 9th August 1861.
Further reading:
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
His workbooks are in the collections of the British Library and Royal College of Music
This image can be purchased from Westminster Abbey Library
Image © 2024 Dean and Chapter of Westminster